GG Godly Gift

[Eggs]

Here's a team that I was using in OMSL and on ladder to some decent success.


Dialga was chosen as the God primarily for its great stat spread. Previous Comfey teams I ran featured Kyurem-White as the god, but I have found Dialga to be a better choice due to its higher Defense, allowing Quagsire to act as a solid Alolawak switch in (the special attack drop doesn't matter too much). Rest is chosen to add to Dialga's longevity, and synergizes with Aromatherapy on Comfey.
Originally, this was a Banded Rillaboom in the HP slot, but I realized the team synergized more with a Swords Dance breaker. After noticing that Eviolite Thwackey is bulkier than Rillaboom and had nearly the same Speed and Attack stats, I decided to swap them out. No Godly Gift team is complete without the weird NFE pick.
Ban Alolan Marowak. Please.
Comfey is an amazing win condition and setup sweeper, and can often clean up games as soon as the opposing team lacks a fairy resistance. Comfey's special attack increases from base 82 (289) to base 150 (438), a ~51% increase, enabling it to blow through fragile fairy resists and bulky Pokemon hoping to stop its sweep. The set I ran is a monoattacking set, as the team appreciates Aromatherapy more than Comfey's ability to 1v1 other Calm Mind users with Stored Power. Aromatherapy is also useful for dealing with stray Toxics that can attempt to stop a Comfey sweep.
Bulky SpDef Excadrill is an excellent set in this format, checking a wide variety of special attackers and providing valuable utility in Rapid Spin. Steel/Ground is an excellent defensive typing, and Excadrill's base speed also allows it to check many slower Pokemon inheriting attacking stats. Swords Dance was slapped on here because Excadrill can sometimes autowin games after a Swords Dance and a Rapid Spin, and because I was using Dialga as a hazard setter.
Tyranitar is here to shore up my Eternatus matchup, and act as yet another win condition. Speedy Dragon Dance Tyranitar also has the potential to accidentally autowin games, and it has great synergy with Excadrill as always.

You may have noticed that this team has 4 setup sweepers, this is because it's funny a reflection of the fast-paced nature of the format. Each of these Pokemon has a setup move for a reason, and this metagame is ripe with opportunities to set up and sweep/wallbreak. Additionally, this team lacks any pivoting moves, forcing you to rely on prediction and positioning to get in your sweepers. While not bad, it does make the matchup versus Hyper Offense a bit harder and more prediction reliant.

 

[UT]

Similar to Eggs McGee, I wanted to share the teams that I brought to OMSL and give some insight into what I think worked, what didn't work, and how they interreact with the meta. Also, pannuracotta and I had a gentleman's agreement to not bring Maro-A, so that allowed for some more flexibility in teambuilding.

Team One: Dusk Mane, Zydog and Pivots

I wanted to build a team around Zygarde-10% as the meta is generally really weak to Thousand Arrows right now, but also didn't want to have to use Zygarde-50% as my God. Dusk Mane is a fantastic mon, both as a stand alone and a donor, so it made a lot of sense to bring. Nidoqueen is often my choice of special attacker when using a God with a good-but-not-great Special Attack, as Sheer Force is amazing and its typing makes it a useful switchin to a number of things. I then filled out the team with some Regenerator pivots cause I'm an AAA main to get Zydog into position as often as possible.

The matchup in game one was actually really rough for me, because they brought two good switchins to Zydog in Lando-T and Rillaboom, and this team has a hard time making progress otherwise. Dusk Mane really carried me here in no small part due to a timely crit, but I still like the idea of Zydog in this meta and think it has potential.

Team Two: Xern+Lucha Offense

I think Xerneas is really underrated as a God, because it is such a fantastic win condition by itself. It's a terror in Ubers, and yet in Godly Gift at least half the opposing team has OU Special Defense, making it even more of a threat. Speaking of insane threats, Unburden Hawlucha with an actual attack stat is one of the best win conditions in the game. Lando is a really strong defensive answer in either the HP or Defense slot, Pult needs no explination, and Rilla was there to provide terrain. Bisharp is surprisingly threatening right now, but still a far cry from Maro-A.

On team preview, we both brought Hawlucha, and honestly it looked like whoever won the speed tie was going to win the game. Hax came in my favor yet again, winning the speed tie and also getting the full Para on Volc, but we see both Xern and Lucha as major threats.

Team Three: SubOgre Balance

This was easily the worst team I brought, the only idea I really liked from it was Sub Calm Mind Kyogre. It's subs are actually very hard to break without strong attacks, and it only takes one or two boosts to threaten the entire metagame. Most teams have a defensive mon or two it can freely sub against, but with how fast-paced the meta is right now, it's a gamble to bring. It eats slower teams alive though. I haven't figured out how to build super well around Kyogre yet, but it's such a good stand-alone mon that I want to try. I also need to stop building with Regenerator so much

Overall Thoughts

I think it's extremely important to remember when building that your Uber is not only your donor, it's an Uber allowed on a mostly-OU team. Make sure that it synergizes well with your team, and consider that it can often be the best mon on your team. Xern and Dusk Mane are amazing Gods right now in large part for being great mons.

I think Offense is the name of the game right now, unless you're willing to commit to full Stall. I'm curious to see what happens post-Maro-A, but even our Maro-less matches heavily favored offense.

Hawlucha is my next pick for most dangerous Attacker after Maro-A. It does have the disadvantages of being a one-time sweeper, needing someone to set terrain for it, and having a far weaker Attack stat (Maro-A's regular Attack was roughly equivalent to 210 Base), but it's impossible to revenge kill without priority and still insanely strong with good coverage.

I think Eternatus will take a step back post-Maro-A ban. I still think it will be good, and it's amazing as a stand-alone mon and has great Special Attack and Speed to donate, but perhaps it's biggest selling point was enabling Maro-A. It can also be annoying to build with, as it's hard to use its Special Attack without essentially ending up with a second Etern; I think this is why Specially Defensive Etern is a common set.

Anyway, those are my thoughts on my teams, and my first week's attempt at Spotlighting Godly Gift. Please feel free to respond with questions, comments, improvements, other ideas, or insults!

 

[Eeveepunter]

I'm sad that persian-a didn't make the viability rankings. I think it is at least as good as Scizor and deserves a C+ ranking

 

[Eeveepunter]

yooo maro running low kick now? i havent seen that yet, lax cant even switch into that on trick room
i generally cant think of any mon who can switch into low kick eq poltergeist with kyu-b's attack
i guess the best way to beat that set is a faster hard hitting mon?

MaxDef 150 Def Lando can do it kind of and scares it out with eq.

Gyarados same thing but even better, it's actually pretty decent in the def slot with intimidate and gets those dragon dances off easier. Predicting flare blitz gives you a lot of health to work with
Tradeoffs are sacrificing a lot of power for MaxDef and pivot ability compared to Lando.

Mence is basically the same as Gyarados but with different coverage and more attack.

Basically intimidate mons are your best option for defensive counterplay.

 

[Jrdn]

What do people think about rain or swift swim in particular? Stuff like base 170 SpA rain boosted swift swim mons seem pretty difficult to handle in my experience laddering. Rain in general is pretty damn powerful but I feel like swift swim is probably what puts it over the edge

 

[UT]

What do people think about rain or swift swim in particular? Stuff like base 170 SpA rain boosted swift swim mons seem pretty difficult to handle in my experience laddering. Rain in general is pretty damn powerful but I feel like swift swim is probably what puts it over the edge

If you get Specs Mantine banned before it gets ranked I will cry

I think rain is one of, if not the best, team based archetypes in Godly Gift, but at least in my experience I have not found it to be broken. Being able to have two Swift Swimmers receive elevated attack stats (usually 120/170 or 131/131 from what I have seen) is amazing, especially when they are able to spam boosted water attacks or perfectly accurate Hurricanes.

However, there are already some trends in Godly Gift that work against Rain. I have found strong priority to be very common, and no amount of swimming swiftly can outspeed priority. Bulkier teams can create some heinously fat mons that even rain-boosted teams have trouble breaking through, and normally the rain abusers do not carry set up moves. As always, you also have the disadvantage of using Pelipper as one of your mons, who provides very little utility outside of rain, while your opponent can bring six useful mons.

I do think part of what makes Rain really good right now is that Maro-A is still warping defensive cores and Uber choices in a way helps to enable it. Fast offense is really strong right now, and Rain usually wins those match-ups by being faster offense. Slower teams based around Dialga, Dusk Mane and other bulkier Ubers I am hoping will become more common post Maro-A ban, and those teams should be better able to stomach Rain's attacks and hit back hard.

However, if we find Rain to be even better post-Maro-A ban, I don't think it's very far from being broken right now. I am hoping we will find the meta settle down a little bit and become more balanced, or at least not more offensive, but if not I could potentially support a look at Swift Swim (and maybe the other weather speed abilities, but Rain has much better setters and abusers right now).

 

[Ren]

Hi, not laddering for the suspect since I don't want to vote ban here but I also don't wanna vote dnb on what's an incredibly broken mon. Just here to drop a team for those who may be struggling to get reqs, used this for Week 1 & 2 of Spotlight it's pretty good I'd say :)

https://pokepast.es/64d2a104a9c20b38

You can run either Jolly or Adamant on Alolan Marowak, Adamant secures more 2HKOes, particularly on Quagsire, but Jolly outspeeds Zeraora and Dragapult. You also need to play well against Xerneas squads.

 

[UT]

Week two is in the books for me, and especially with the Maro-A suspect test drawing to a close, I want to share more thoughts on teams and ideas that worked well for me in OMSL (and some ideas that did not work). Once again, we played a best of three with a gentleman's agreement to not bring Maro-A (love you emillight).

Team one: Ho-oh Balance Staring Zeraora

When building this team, I got overly caught up in individual mons and sets I like and neglected team chemistry, but I think it has some very good ideas here. Ho-oh is a very underrated God as it's a good stand-alone Uber and can make offensive and defensive contributions to your team, allowing it to support a wide range of team ideas. Aegislash with high HP is extremely tanky and a solid check to two of the best offensive win-conditions in the tier in Xern and Lucha. Zeraora has a high-powered STAB with great typing and amazing speed; slap a Choice Band on it, and it's got very few non-Ground checks. Nidoqueen is a nice mon that take advantage of good-but-not-great Special Attack donations and still be a credible threat.

The one thing I overlooked is this team is cripplingly weak to Ground types, especially Thousand Arrows, so of course Emillight brought Big Zyg and a second ground type. I was really impressed with the synergy behind their team; Zygarde-Complete is a fairly mediocre donor, but a complete menace with set-up and Thousand Arrows. I think Zyg-C with good team support is an under-explored win condition that really breaks through common defensive cores, and will definitely explore it more.

Short version, I like a lot of ideas on this team, hate the synergy, and rolled into an awful matchup; but Emillight's team looks very scary and tough to beat, I fully deserved to get 6-0ed here.

Team two: Eternatus Offense Staring Maro-B

The original inspiration behind this team was trying to figure out how to replace Maro-A. Short version, you can't, but Speedy Aegislash brings a lot to the table in it's own right. The best thing in my eyes is that it is an offensive check to both Xern and Lucha, who are the scariest mons in the post-Maro-A meta. It also has a great typing, and if it can get a Swords Dance off (which it often can due to it's good bulk and typing), it hits about as hard at +2 as Maro-A does at +0; not nearly as immediately threatening, but still very good in its own right.

I finally paid attention to team synergy, and am really happy with how it turned out. Specially Defensive Etern, HP-boosted Lando, and Defense-boosted Slowking provide a very strong defensive backbone and cover a wide range of threats, especially with Aegi and Scarf Kart providing offensive checks. Moltres-G is also a very strong double-dance mon that can put in work against both fast and slow teams.

This was easily the best played match of the three, and I think really highlighted what makes this team good. It was able to handle Hawlucha and Xern, and Aegi was a threatening win-condition. Eternatus is going to lose a lot of punch with Maro-A gone, but still be a very, very solid God.

Team three: Zekrom Hyper Offense with Hawlucha

My turn to use Hawlucha; this is a much more straight-forward team. Lando to get up Rocks and maybe explode, Volc to set up against Fat teams, Kart as a fast no-set-up win-con, and then the Electric core. Hawlucha is very standard, and exceedingly threatening as a win condition. I have been trying out Offensive Koko over screen setting since it has great offensive typing and speed, and doesn't need obscene Special Attack to break it. Zekrom is often my pick for HO God since it can set-up and beat defensive cores with a combination of Sub, Dragon Dance, and Teravolt.

...which is exactly what happened. Zekrom essentially won the game with it's Sub-Dragon Dance set. I do like this team overall, and it definitely has more room to improve, but Zekrom and Hawlucha make great win-cons against opposite types of teams.

My overall thoughts are largely the same as last week; I think a wider range of Gods and mons will be viable post-Maro-A, but it still feels pretty matchup heavy right now. Games 1 and 3 this week were very much impacted by matchup, and so was game 2 to a lesser extent. The synergy between your God and your regular mons continues to be the biggest factor in my mind; in each game, the team with better synergy was able to control the game and win.

Please feel free to respond with questions, comments, improvements, other ideas, or insults!

 

[Senko]

The one thing I overlooked is this team is cripplingly weak to Ground types, especially Thousand Arrows, so of course Emillight brought Big Zyg and a second ground type. I was really impressed with the synergy behind their team; Zygarde-Complete is a fairly mediocre donor, but a complete menace with set-up and Thousand Arrows. I think Zyg-C with good team support is an under-explored win condition that really breaks through common defensive cores, and will definitely explore it more.

​

After pestering Kris for a while, BIG ZYG was finally freed, allowing me to finally display the true power of the big ass snek.
as UnnerfTalonflame mentioned, its quite a medicore God as a stat donator, really only offering good HP and Defense, but focusing on building WITH Zygarde is the wrong way to think about it. The point of Zygarde in GG is to build around it and essentially focus on getting it in and nothing else.

​

This was the team featured in my OMSL match with UnnerfTalonflame and my second draft of experimenting with Zygarde.
The building process here was relatively simple:

• What Zygarde set fits best for the metagame?​
• What Pokemon do I need to check for Zygarde to function as a win-condition?​
• What Pokemon can be used as teammates to remove the aforementioned Zygarde checks?​

The first question was resolved pretty quick, considering how offensively diverse GG is, making speed control and offensively pressuring things invaluable, so i decided Substitute + Dragon Dance was the best set to use, as Coil + Rest takes too long to truly get going and can be exploited by the plentiful wallbreakers in this tier.

The next step was figuring out what checks Zygarde and stops it from making progress and abusing Thousand Arrows. Eternatus is the biggest threat to this team, especially its offensive set. Dynamax Cannon is extremely strong, especially after a Meteor Beam SpAtk boost and its defensive Toxic Spikes can also cripple Zygarde, as it lacks Rest. Pheromosa is also a pretty big threat, resisting Thousand Arrows and posing a big problem with access to Triple Axel. Xerneas (as you can see, opposing Gods are very threatening) is another large problem, carrying a powerful Moonblast and Substitute to prevent Glare. Inheritors like Tapu Lele, Tapu Koko, Weavile, and even defensive inheritors like Slowking and Clefable can be annoying to play around and stop Zygarde from making progress.

To alleviate these problems for Zygarde, having a sturdy defensive core while also maintaining offensive presence was needed. Defense inheritor Nihilego was an extremely nice fit for this build, allowing it to provide a strong offensive presence while also taking advantage of its good natural bulk and typing to check key Pokemon like Eternatus, Tapu Koko, and other Fairy-types. HP inheritor Tapu Fini was another excellent fit, taking advantage of fatter mons that can wall Zygarde and force them out via Taunt and Calm Mind. Corviknight (Attack inheritance was more of a dump) and SpDef inheritor Landorus-Therian provided nice utility and defensive backbone to check several things, namely Ground-types and Fairy-types (I originally ran SpDef Excadrill but Nihilego does a good job checking Xerneas already and Landorus-Therian is generally better as a Stealth Rock user). Finally, I gave Zygarde's Speed to Aegislash, giving it a great offensive presence and threatening strong Ghosts like Dragapult with Shadow Sneak while also providing defensive utility vs. Fairy-types.

Overall, Zygarde-Complete definitely needs more time to be experimented but i foresee it to be a very potent wincon and require legitimate counterplay.

 

[Gman]

Hi everyone :) I'm here to post one of the teams I'm most proud of, all metagames combined! It has amassed significant success on ladder, namely helping me go 49-1 in two separate suspect runs. I also know Dragonillis has been using it for the same purpose!
This is the team's importable: It's an Eternatus bulky offense structured on a dual-axis gameplan: Hazard stack on the one hand, and Status spam on the other.

Klefki @ Lagging Tail
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Spikes
- Thunder Wave
- Switcheroo
- Dazzling Gleam​

Klefki - HP

With 140 Base HP, full Def investment, and the best defensive type combination in the game, Klefki works as a decent blanket check to a plethora of physical threats. In particular, it stops offensive Dragon-, Dark- and Fairy-types such as Weavile, Giratina-A, Obstagoon, Grimmsnarl, Klefki, and Persian-A in their tracks. It's also an emergency check to Hydreigon.
Klefki's movepool allows it to provide incredible utility in any match and to be a cornerstone of both of the team's strategic axes. Regarding hazards, I opted for Spikes as its first move. It's an excellent move to click against Dark-types or Psychic Terrain setters when chipping them with Dazzling Gleam isn't essential. When facing Shuckle or other Encore-wielding mons, Spikes represents a safe bet, as well.
In regards to Status, I opted for Thunder Wave over Toxic, and it has worked wonders, as it retains utility against Steel-types. Admittedly, the list of threats that Klefki stops by virtue of typing alone isn't all too impressive, but Thunder Wave multiplies it by a lot, as it invalidates several offensive Pokemon for the remainder of the match. Staples such as Dragapult, Kartana, Volcarona, Kyurem-White, Mewtwo, Zamazenta, and Speed-receivers like Terrakion and Conkeldurr become a lot less threatening once paralyzed.
Klefki's most interesting move, however, is Switcheroo. The move by itself is quite decent, as it can deprive opposing defensive threats of reliable items even if Klefki has been Knocked off. Nevertheless, it is in conjunction with Lagging Tail that Switcheroo really shines, so using Klefki as a Knock Off absorber ought to be avoided, if possible. Indeed, Lagging Tail is not detrimental to Klefki, per se, as it retains the option to move first by using Thunder Wave, Spikes, or Switcheroo. This means that even against opponents that risk OHKOing Klefki, it still is able to preemptively strike with the move that is most vital on the spot. Dissimilarly, Lagging Tail brings many offensive threats to a hard and definitive stop. This notably includes many Pokemon that are immune to Thunder Wave and many that would still outspeed my breakers even when paralyzed by means of repeated Set-up, Trick Room, Weather, Webs, Abilities, or Terrains. As such, Klefki can (and has) cripple(d) the likes of: Agility/Trick Room Calyrex-I, Rock Polish/TR Necrozma Dusk Mane, Quiver Dance Volcarona, Light Orb Pikachu, Geomancy Xerneas, Lightning Rod AlolaWak, Marowak, Excadrill, Seismitoad, Shift Gear Genesect, Kingdra, Regieleki, CM Tapu Koko, Offensive Eternatus, Venusaur, Hawlucha, Nidoking, Garchomp, Fast Hatterene, Dracozolt, Stakataka, Zeraora, Cloyster + other Shell Smash users, Rhyperior, and so on.
Finally, Dazzling Gleam is there so Klefki can avoid being a sitting duck against Dark types that risk winning on the spot, as it deals significant damage to most of them. It can also serve to break Substitutes, so as to enable one of the crippling moves.
I generally avoid running Pokemon that lack recovery in defensive roles. Klefki, however, is so versatile and effective at crippling what it needs to once and for all, that the absence of even passive recovery has never been a problem. Ideally, when Klefki goes down, it will have invalidated at least one key threat, if not several, for the duration of the match. Basically, only 5 threats will receive just minor chip and avoid being crippled by Klefki, namely Tapu Lele/Indeedee, Tyranitar, Bisharp, and Incineroar. Considering that in Godly Gift basically any Pokemon can be an offensive threat (even NFEs), the fact that Klefki has trouble stopping just 5 of them ought to tell you how good of a blanket check he really is; and the keychain can still set Spikes against the 5, if it needs to.
One would imagine that Klefki will be useless against the same opponent a second time if Lagging Tail is revealed. While it is true that it might not be as sure to cripple what it needs to on the first try, Klefki still retains impressive bulk and durability, and it will force guessing games throughout the match, exploiting forced switches to set Spikes. Overall, Klefki is the absolute MVP of this team, as it enables various customized gameplans.

Eternatus @ Black Sludge
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Sludge Bomb
- Recover
- Flamethrower
- Dragon Tail​

Eternatus - Atk?

Eternatus is an absolute necessity as a donor for the team, and it solidifies its backbone. It alleviates the stall match-up and the TSpikes match-up on its own, and it provides a vital Fire resistance to the rest of the team. Full SpDef investment makes it a reliable counter to special threats such as Psychic Volcarona, Kyogre, Clefable, Rotom-formes, Regieleki, Araquanid, Pelipper, Venusaur, and Tapu Koko. Recover and Black Sludge ensure Eternatus's durability and allow it to stall out moves with more ease, in combination with Pressure. Indeed, this makes it a decent switch-in to Ho-Oh's Sacred Fire, Necrozma's Sunsteel Strike, and random Close Combats, Eruptions, and Water Spouts.
Sludge Bomb is useful as a status spreader and secures hits versus Fairy-types. SBomb has an edge over TSpikes as it allows to poison non-grounded Pokemon and to retain utility against Taunt and Magic Bounce users. Flamethrower complements it well, hitting Steel-types for decent damage. In particular, it chips Necrozma, takes care of the otherwise annoying Ferrothorn, and ensures that Eternatus can check Kartana and Scizor in a pinch.
Dragon Tail is extremely useful as a means of PHazing away set-up attempts, notably from the likes of Volcarona, Blastoise, Tornadus-T, and Weakness Policy Necrozma-DM. It deals decent damage to Dragon-types and can be used as an emergency option against them, as well. Against Ditto, it facilitates self-improofing, as Eternatus will have enough time to recover before being hit by Ditto. Furthermore, it prevents Heatran from trapping and disposing of Eternatus. Since it has a higher priority than Trick Room, it is also a decent way to hinder that playstyle. Finally, once Heavy Duty Boots have been knocked or traded, DTail racks up Hazard damage more efficiently. Eternatus thusly participates in both of the strategic axes, as well.

Landorus-Therian @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
IVs: 30 Spe
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic
- Earthquake
- U-turn​

Landorus - Def

Landorus completes the defensive backbone of the team and glues it together. While it only gains +5 Base Defense from Eternatus, a full investment makes it a fearsome physical wall in conjunction with Intimidate and Leftovers's passive recovery. Landorus fulfills essential roles as the team's only Ground immunity, Volt Absorber, and rocker. Stealth Rock is particularly important for the first gameplan axis, and becomes even more threatening after my Steel-types dispose of opposing Boots. Toxic serves the second axis, putting a timer on some set-up sweepers such as Lunala, Rotom-formes, opposing Landorus, Garchomp, Kommo-o, Buzzwole, Groudon, Zekrom, Rhyperior, Incineroar and so on. Earthquake is an important move to pressure Eternatus, Excadrill, as well as Steel- and Electric-types, in particular after they've been crippled by Klefki. It also turns Landorus into a more reliable counter to Dragon Dance Tyranitar, which can otherwise pose a threat to the team. Finally, U-Turn creates some momentum for the team's breakers, and allows it to pivot out of a predicted Hatterene switch-in (and a potential Air Balloon Heatran trap). 30 IV allow Lando to underspeed opposing defensive Landos and ensure momentum against them. I decided against running Knock Off as 3 of my mons already deal with opposing items.
Overall, Lando's a straightforward Pokemon to use, it's always very efficient and does its jobs as a Hazard + Status setter, plus it counters Pikachu and the rare Incineroar, and improofs my Kartana.

Dragapult @ Choice Specs
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hex
- Draco Meteor
- Shadow Ball
- U-turn​

Dragapult - SpA

With 145 Base SpA and Choice Specs on top of its naturally high speed, Dragapult becomes a force to be reckoned with. Ghost is a particularly effective offensive typing in this metagame: the fact that the blobs are banned and that other Normal-types are quite the rare sight means that locking into a Ghost move isn't nearly as detrimental as it could be. Dark-types do exist, of course, but they can be muscled through.
On this team, Dragapult primarily serves the role of a sweeper, but it can also wallbreak quite well, if needed. Clear Body is a Webs countermeasure.
Hex is the culmination of the second axis: a 130 base attack from 584 SpA is a serious nuke that outright cuts through opposing defenses, allowing Dragapult to clean lategame or to break through particularly sturdy walls. Draco Meteor is a strong, immediate nuke that's very useful to get rid of a particularly dangerous threat early on, like some of the legendary Dragons. Shadow Ball is a great midground move with more immediate power than unboosted Hex and no drawbacks, dealing significant damage to physically oriented walls. Locking oneself on Shadow Ball, as such, is hardly ever detrimental. U-Turn is there to generate some momentum against predicted Dark- and Normal-type switch-ins. The chip is quite measly, however, so this is the one move I'd be ready to change, on the whole team.
Dragapult is very important to revenge-kill threats that have been Paralyzed by Klefki. It also participates to the first strategic axis: as the team's spinblocker, it ensures that the Hazards that have been stacked won't be unilaterally removed. As such, it forces the opponent to Defog, which can be exploited in other ways...

Kartana @ Choice Band
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Smart Strike
- Sacred Sword
- Leaf Blade​

Kartana - SpD

SpDef Band Kartana serves as the main initial breaker of the team. With its sheer initial power, it will dominate the early game. Its solid typing and acceptable bulk generally let it perform well as a secondary Water and Electric resistance and as a Ground-type answer. Indeed, with Leaf Blade, it can pressure bulky Waters and Grounds that would otherwise withstand Bisharp's attacks. Smart Strike is a decent secondary STAB option meant to hit Fairies such as Xerneas, Hatterene, and Clefable hard. You wouldn't believe it, but its infallible precision has come in handy, at times. Sacred Sword is there as a means to deal decent damage to Steel-types and to Defense-boosting Pokemon such as Snorlax and Corviknight. Knock Off, however, is the single most important move on Kartana, as it removes Helmets, Boots, Sludges, and Leftovers from predicted switch-ins such as Ho-Oh, Eternatus, Tangrowth, Ferrothorn etc.
Kartana's wallbreaking is essential for the other 2 offensive Pokemon to find a path. It also ensures that Hazards will be as detrimental as possible to the opposing team.

Bisharp @ Life Orb
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Swords Dance
- Iron Head
- Sucker Punch​

Bisharp - Spe

Bisharp acts as a set-up sweeper. With Eternatus's speed, a high Attack, and Swords Dance, it does this incredibly well. Its access to Sucker Punch gave me the idea to retain an Adamant Nature, thus hitting walls a lot harder and facilitating a sweep. Sucker Punch is incredibly good, in a metagame where Scarf is found on quite a few Gods and other offensive threats, which eliminates a lot of 50:50s. It allows Bisharp to retain its dangerousness versus offensive threats that outspeed it due to its Nature, and to revenge kill a lot of faster threats.
Knock Off serves as Bisharp's main STAB. Its power is significant even on opponents that have lost their item to Kartana. Iron Head punishes the Fairies, Darks, and Fightings that resist its Dark STABs. There aren't a lot of walls that can withstand one of these 2 moves from a Bisharp at +2.
What's most important, however, is how Bisharp consolidates the Hazard game: if switched in on a predicted Defog (and they aren't too hard to predict, once the opposing field has 2-3 hazards and Boots have been knocked), Bisharp will find itself at +2, something which often ends the game then and there. Indeed, while Swords Dance is useful against Stall to overpower walls manually, against most other match-ups, Bisharp rarely has the opportunity to set up; but Defiant boosts happen a lot: Intimidate, drops from Moonblast, King Shields and Shadow Balls, Webs, and of course, Defog. I don't really see Bisharp as a Defog deterrent, but rather as a Sword of Damocles, forcing the opponent to either perish from Hazards or from its blade.
Bisharp also has an important role as being the main improof to Dragapult, to Klefki and to itself.

Strategy

The team functions on dual tracks. The general course of action includes early Knocks from Kartana, early use of Landorus's Rocks and Toxic, and the necessary intervention of Klefki or Eternatus against set-up sweepers. Progress is made by accumulating statuses and hazards, and forcing the opponent into a bind. In the end, Dragapult's Hex and/or Bisharp's Defiant ought to win the game. Kartana is more often than not my lead against balances, but one needs to be wary of Choice Scarves on unexpected mons such as Nidoking or Kyurem-White.
Hazards control needs to be deterred as much as possible, so harding Dragapult into Rapid Spin users must be risked, at times.
Once Lagging Tail has been switched to an opposing mon that might still pose thread without it (because it can recover damage and set-up again, for example), Kartana and Bisharp should avoid clicking Knock unless they're sure to be able to 1v1 the mon. Clearly, unlike Thunder Wave, Lagging Tail can only cripple one Pokemon throughout the duration of the match, so choosing the threat to use it on is essential. When several threats to the team exist, it should be reserved for those that can't be Paralyzed nor handled by other teammates. Sometimes, however, when a miss would mean the end of the game, opting for Switcheroo over TWave can be a good idea (for example against Modest Sub Geomancy Xerneas, on a 1v1). If Lagging Tail ends up on the wrong Pokemon, the damage is reversible, as it can still retrieve it. The one thing to truly avoid at all costs is receiving an Assault Vest, as Klefki will become mere fodder then.
Careful plays against Weakness Policy are recommended, especially when the opponent seems too confident when switching his Necrozma_DM against Eternatus, or his Rhyperior vs Lando. Calyrex-Ice often carries it, too, so opting for a non-super effective move can be safer, at times.

Against stall: Kartana has the sheer power and coverage to cut through a lot of walls, or to at least deprive them of their items. It has an amazing match-up against all Unaware users (Pyuku, Quag, and Clef), some of which would shrug off Bisharp's boosts. Eternatus will absorb TSpikes and spread Poison, Klefki can switch items around and pressure with Spikes and TWave until enough mons are statused for Dragapult to clean. Heal Bells can and should be outstalled! Bisharp's cleaning remains a strong possibility, but Defog Corviknight can carry Body Press and must be scouted.
Against webs, the lead isn't quite important, I generally go with Kart so it'll have immediate Speed and power. Both Clear Body Dragapult and Defiant Bisharp are vital in the match-up, and should be sent out when one or the other can comfortably win. Until then, Klefki can run havoc of offensive mons and Eternatus can DTail away set-up sweepers.
Against Veil/Screens, chipping the Light Clay holder and avoiding 2 full rounds of screens is essential. If possible, one should avoid the second round ever going up at all. Stalling turns with Eternatus's PHazing and Klefki's TWaves and Spikes is a decent way to make progress in those turns where the offensive mons would be at a disadvantage. If this match-up really scares you, you can opt for Brick Break on Kartana, Infiltrator on Dragapult, or both.
Against Trick Room, Dragon Tailing on set-up attempts helps, Kartana's relative bulk and Bisharp's Sucker Punch all help. Lagging Tail needs to be used wisely, as TWave is not nearly as useful as it is in other MUs.
Against Weather and Terrain teams, you need to understand which mon is the most important one to hamper with Lagging Tail, achieve that and dispose of the setters as quickly as possible.

Weaknesses

Weak spots of the team include the following:

• Ground Special Attackers, like Seismitoad and Nidoking, can force uncomfortable 50:50s and will generally pose quite a lot of problems to the defensive core.
• Offensive Ice- and Dragon-types such as Kyurem-W, Offensive Eternatus, and Calyrex-Ice can be problematic and require careful play and predictions. Reshiram, were it run, would have no reliable switch-in.
• Opposing Bisharp can be dangerous, one must avoid allowing it to set-up.
• Specs Tapu Lele receiving Speed can be extremely annoying.
• Opposing Spikes can be threatening. The team doesn't have removal, which is superfluous for all other hazards, but not for Spikes. As such, the match-up needs to be played carefully, and disabling the Spikes user must be a priority!
• Siamato is too much to handle for the team
• So is Kebab mlml!

Thank you for reading this far, hope you enjoyed it! Have fun playing Godly Gift

 

[Eeveepunter]

I've been doing a little thinking about the prevalence of offense in this meta and partially I think it's because if you're a top tier wall breaker, the opponent only has 2 and a half slots to check you. Most good wall breakers need 2 whole pokemon to check them in the first place so if you didn't get lucky and have two answers to the wall breaker(s), full stall falls apart very quickly. I think after Marowak-A bulky offense has more room to breath but I don't know that stall can handle the kind of damage that gets tossed around here.

 

[Arkeis]

Actually, stall can be successful. Successful enough to get me to the top of the ladder.
Here's the team.

Shuckle @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Careful Nature
- Knock Off
- Toxic
- Stealth Rock
- Rest

Description

If you put a non-uber in slot 1 of your team, that Pokemon becomes the God that passes its stats to the rest of the team. In this case, the only relevant stats are Defense and Sp. Defense (although low Speed is okay for Trick Room teams).

Quagsire @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Toxic
- Recover
- Haze

Description

Quag is a generally good counter to physical attackers that like to boost. In particular, it handles Hawlucha with less than 150 base Attack. Anymore than that and it gets 2HKOed by Close Combat after Leftovers recovery. It's also good against special Regeleki which I've encountered on more than one occassion.

Bewear @ Leftovers
Ability: Fluffy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Body Press
- Sleep Talk
- Darkest Lariat
- Rest

Description

All right, here's the first team member that shows you just how bulky something with Shuckle's defenses can be. Bewear is so beefy that not even STAB Fighting moves can 2HKO it.

170 Base Attack 252+ Atk Choice Band Blaziken Focus Punch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Fluffy Bewear: 190-225 (42.7 - 50.6%)

That's right, the most powerful Fighting-move in the game boosted by the uber with the highest base Attack won't even do 50% to it after Leftovers recovery. And since no one actually uses Focus Punch much less with a Choice Band, that means moves like Close Combat and High Jump Kick will do even less. Meanwhile Bewear's massive Defense means Body Press will 2HKO most non-resists and that's very helpful against powerful physical sweepers like Kartana, Crawdaunt, and Bisharp. And one more thing - even though Alolan Marowak is banned and Fluffy makes Bewear take more damage from Fire-moves, it can still handle it pretty well and 2HKO it with Darkest Lariat.

170 Base Attack 252+ Atk Thick Club Marowak-Alola Flare Blitz vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Fluffy Bewear: 204-240 (45.9 - 54%)

Corviknight @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Roost
- Body Press
- U-turn
- Defog

Description

Honestly, this slot is pretty much filler since nothing benefits from base 10 Special Attack. I wanted something that can handle Psychic and Flying moves to take pressure off Bewear (pun not intended). As well as something that can clear hazards since I don't want Hatterene switching into things like Landorus-T and Mold Breaker Excadrill. So Corviknight seemed like the best Pokemon for the job.

Mareanie @ Eviolite
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 60 Def / 200 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Knock Off
- Scald
- Haze
- Recover

Description

Toxapex is banned, but Mareanie isn't. And Mareanie has the exact same base HP as Toxapex, but it also benefits from Eviolite. Combine that with Shuckle's Sp. Defense and you have a 900 Sp. Defense stat as well as Regenerator. This Pokemon laughs at special attackers on Rain teams like Mantine. Even Specs Kyogre's Thunder won't 2HKO.

252+ SpA Choice Specs Kyogre Thunder vs. 252 HP / 200+ SpD Eviolite Mareanie: 116-138 (38.1 - 45.3%)

Although Mareanie can't 2HKO the things it counters like Bewear can, it's still a very useful Pokemon as a mini-Toxapex. It removes items, spreads Burns with Scald, stops boosts with Haze, and can absorb Toxic Spikes.

Hatterene (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Life Dew
- Protect
- Dazzling Gleam
- Aromatherapy

Description

Most teams have a defensive Pokemon in the HP slot that can set entry hazards. So here we have the bulkiest Magic Bouncer in the game to counter them. Hatterene can also cure the team of status which is quite useful for two Pokemon that only have Rest as a means of recovery. Protect is there to gain an extra turn of Leftovers recovery as well as scout for moves. Some Pokemon like Rayquaza may be special or physical, so knowing which team member to send in is important.

Threats

Special attackers with Psyshock/Psystrike
Since both of these moves target the Defense instead of Sp. Defense, they can easily beat Mareanie and take down the rest of the team with the appropriate coverage move.

Electric Terrain teams
These teams use Tapu Koko and/or Alolan Raichu and usually have Kyurem-W or Rayquaza as their god. A boosted Thunderbolt or Rising Voltage can 2HKO Mareanie and they can OHKO Quagsire if they have Grass Knot. Even without that, Focus Blast, Psychic, and Dazzling Gleam will still at least 2HKO.

Victini in the Sun
This one is less of a threat and requires several conditions. The sun must be up, the god must have at least 150 base Attack, and Victini must be Adamant and Choice Banded. Only then can it guarantee a 2HKO with V-Create on both Bewear and Quagsire as well as the rest of the team.


For the first two threats, the only way to play around it is to poison them with Shuckle and then predict which moves they'll use and switch to the appropriate counter while Toxic wears them down. Hatterene's Protect can help in this regard. For the third one, just Knock of the Band and Bewear can just barely survive the 2HKO and beat it with Darkest Lariat.

BUT WAIT
THERE'S MORE!

I've used two other Pokemon on this team and they've done pretty well so they deserve to be mentioned.

In the Special Defense slot

Reuniclus @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Iron Defense
- Calm Mind
- Recover
- Stored Power

Description

I've used Reuniclus instead of Mareanie before and there are some benefits as well as downsides. If no Dark-types are left, Reuniclus can sweep entire teams after a few boosts. But if it cannot get a chance to boost, it can't really do anything to the opposing team. Reuniclus can handle Psyshocks and boosted Stored Powers much better than Mareanie. But it can't deal with stat boosters other than to boost its own stats and hope no critical hits occur. And lastly, Magic Guard is an amazing ability and means you don't have to worry about entry hazards. But without the passive healing of Regenerator, you are forced to Recover after tanking powerful special moves.

In the Speed slot

Ditto @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Imposter
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Transform

Description

Since Bewear resists Stealth Rock, Mareanie has Regenerator, and Corviknight has Defog, Hatterene is more of a convenience than a necessity. Ditto fits in this slot since it copies the opponent's Speed stat after transforming. It's a great insurance in case something goes wrong and one of your defense-slot Pokemon gets KOed or you encounter a sweeper that the rest of the team just can't handle.

Overall, I'm glad this team proves you don't need an uber to do well in this meta. Thanks for reading and here's the team if you want to try it out.

 

[Eeveepunter]

Yes! Great team, I played you on the ladder, that fat Bewear is a perfect blanket check to so many physical attackers, well played.

 

[UT]

Another week down, another set of teams to post. This week's theme, which surprisingly took me until week 3 to get to, is BIRDS. Ask me about the Carolina Chickadee, my favorite bird.

Team one: Banded Rayquaza + Tapu Lucha

This team revolves around it's offensive core of Hawlucha, Rayquaza and Tapu Koko. Rayquaza is an underutilized God in my opinion. It is a fantastic wallbreaker; Banded Dragon Ascent hits like a truck, and almost all of the Flying resists are Steels, who do not appreciate catching V-Create instead. It can also make a reliable cleaner with Extreme Speed and puts a huge amount of pressure on the opposing team. Most importantly, it draws out and cripples or KOs some of Hawlucha's best checks.

The other selling point of using Rayquaza as your God is the twin 150 Attack stats it offers, which Koko and Lucha put to great use. Koko in particular can dance all over many teams with its fantastic speed tier, access to U-Turn and Roost proving it is also a bird, and very powerful Thunderbolts and Dazzling Gleams. Hawlucha has been covered several times previously, but fits fantastically well on this team with Ray breaking down its checks and and Koko being another reliable win condition and terrain setter.

The defensive core is nothing special, but tries to hold on long enough for the offense to do its job. Aegi is the emergency Xern and Lucha check, Lando is the blanket physical check + Rocks, and Mandi is the blanket special check + Defog. Mandi and Lando can also pivot to bring in the offensive core safely, as they can take a stray hit, but would rather not.

The battle this week highlights the offensive core well. Ray batters down the defensive core, Hawlucha makes a push, and then Koko cleans up the rest.

Team two: Yvetal Offense

Okay, there is only one bird on this team, but it is a really big one and the God. Often overshadowed by it's brother Xerneas, Yvetal is still a force in the Godly Gift meta. Perhaps its biggest asset is the versatility it can pack into one set, allowing it to make progress against stall, balance, and offensive teams. Dark Pulse, boosted by Dark Aura and Life Orb, has a big kick to it, while Oblivion Wing provides longevity and Taunt shuts down any passive shenanigans the other team might be up to. Lastly, Sucker Punch, even when uninvested, is still a strong priority move that can come in handy in a pinch.

Victini, with its powerful V-Creates, and Dragapult, with its fantastic speed tier and coverage, round out the offensive core. They are also both able to pivot, which is nice for Choiced users. Hatterene can shut down many of the defensive mons in the tier without a sweat thanks to Magic Bounce and it deters hazards, which the birds do not like. Slowking is the Regen pivot, and Kart is the closest thing this team has to speed control.

This battle, while a little haxy, shows the potential of Yvetal well as it literally got all six KOs. Dark Pulse and Oblivion Wing have great coverage, power, and sustainability together, and it uses Sucker Punch to pick off a weakened Weavile. Taunt is the only move that doesn't accomplish much here, but pretend the Heatran tried to set rocks instead of missing Magma Storm and we're all good.

The big takeaway from these two games is using the Gods as wallbreakers is a powerful tool to open up the opposing team. Ray, Yvetal, and most of the other Gods have powerful offensive stats, powerful attacks, great abilities, or all three, and can punch large holes in the other team to clear the way for a fast boosted OU mon like Koko, Pult, or Lucha to come in and finish the job. The only trick is stitching together a defensive core strong enough to hold on long enough that the other team does not punch through you first...

 

[Senko]

After fortunately having Godly Gift as LCotM and getting through a suspect test, the metagame has undergone many changes offensively and defensively, so we think a new Viability Ranking update is apropos.

[GEN 8] GODLY GIFT VIABILITY RANKING CHANGES (SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2021)


GODS:

- UR -> C (Spe)
- UR -> C (Spe)
- UR -> C (Spe, SpD)
- UR - B (Atk, Spe)
- A -> S (Spe)
UR -> C (HP, Spe)
- UR -> B (Def, SpD)
- UR -> A (Def, SpD)
- UR -> A (Def, SpD)
- UR -> C (SpA, Spe)
- C -> UR
- A -> B (Def, SpD)

Ubers you should NOT run:






(Aura Break)

FOLLOWERS:

- B -> B+ (Spe, Atk)
- B- -> A- (Spe, Atk)
- UR -> A (Spe)
- B- -> B+ (Spe)
- A+ -> S (SpA)
- B+ -> S (Atk)
- UR -> B+ (Spe, HP)
- B+ -> A+ (HP, Def, Spe)
- B -> A (SpA, Def)
- UR -> A (SpA)
- B -> B+ (SpA)
- B -> B+ (Atk, Spe)
- B+ -> A (Atk)
- UR -> B (Atk, SpA)
- UR - A (HP)
- A- -> A+ (SpA, HP)
- A- -> A (HP, SpA)
- UR -> B+ (Atk)
- UR -> B (Atk)
- A -> A- (SpD, HP)
- B- -> C (HP)
- A -> B (HP)
- A -> B+ (Spe, Atk)
- A- -> B+ (SpD)
- S -> UR (BANNED)
- C+ -> C (Spe)
- B+ -> B- (HP)
- A- -> B- (Def, SpD)
- B- -> C (SpD, Spe)
B- -> C (HP)
- B - C (Def)
- B- - C (Def)

 

[UT]

(First post, so sorry if the formatting is weird)
View attachment 268475
I want to talk about Mantine. It is currently on the viability rankings, but only as a defensive mon, and I think that undersells how good of a swift swim sweeper it can be.

Specs Mantine inheriting from Kyurem-W is a great sweeper and even wall breaker. Under rain it can out-speed everything up to +1 base 95 with a modest nature, enabling it to have insane power:

Hide

252+ SpA Choice Specs Mantine Hurricane vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Eternatus: 378-445 (89.7 - 105.7%) -- 37.5% chance to OHKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Mantine Surf vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Zacian-Crowned in Rain: 394-465 (121.2 - 143%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Mantine Surf vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Corviknight in Rain: 282-333 (70.5 - 83.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery (with 120 base SP Def)
252+ SpA Choice Specs Mantine Hurricane vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Ferrothorn: 318-375 (71.6 - 84.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery (with 120 base HP)
252+ SpA Choice Specs Mantine Hydro Pump vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Torkoal in Sun: 306-362 (89.2 - 105.5%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO (with 120 base SP Def)

Mantine has a niche over the other main swift-swimmers (Kingdra and Seismitoad) due to how spammable its STABs are, especially hurricane. The only relevant mons that resist both flying and water are Zekrom, Dracozolt, and Rotom-W, and none of them can switch in:

Hide

252+ SpA Choice Specs Mantine Hurricane vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Zekrom: 181-213 (53 - 62.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Choice Specs Mantine Hurricane vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Dracozolt: 241-284 (75 - 88.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Mantine Hydro Pump vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Rotom-Wash in Rain: 256-302 (57.6 - 68%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery (with a 120 base HP)

It is also immune to sticky webs which can be huge, and has decent enough bulk to take stray priority hits (except for Pikachu) and even moderately-powerful special attacks. Running it as the special attacker also allows you to still run Seismitoad as the physical attacker, which can handle whatever is leftover once Mantine is done.

I've been able to peak at top-15 on the ladder using a team I built in three minutes largely due to Mantine's sweeping potential (unfortunately I have only saved replays locally, not online). I think Mantine should be added as Special Attack receiver as virtually nothing in this tier can avoid the 2HKO from its STABs, and it outspeeds everything at +0.

Edit: grabbed a replay real quick, not the best example but does show it OHKOing a Dragapult with a resisted move: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8godlygift-1167134653-l8qge41j9c9a4ur0ww7lpszy1ve7v1spw

Edit: here's a better replay of it using Hurricane to break through and sweep:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8godlygift-1177168867-j1gn0unkx18rwqazro52ht84ewxrqiopw

Edit: here's a better replay of it nuking a lot of things:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8godlygift-1177783154

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8godlygift-1178849333-0nxv5hrloboj4fwxeovzoy0yrxsbnqcpw

- B -> A (SpA, Def)

My work here is done. Thank you.

 

[UT]

Sadly, my work here is not actually done, Spotlight League rolls on. Which means another week of teams!

Team one: Caly-I, Pikachu, and Pivots

This team, which is heavily inspired/lightly modified from one 23Gz ran against me, aims to abuse Pikachu as much as possible. Thanks to Light Ball and inheriting Caly-I's Attack, it hits an absurd 942 Attack. Access to Fake Out + Extreme Speed makes it an insane anti-offense mon as it can revenge kill almost any non-Ghost, with Knock Off and Volt Tackle destroying Ghosts/fat mons that could handle FakeSpeed. Pikachu's biggest weakness is obviously its bulk, which is somewhere between pathetic and non-existent; that is why the four other mons all have pivoting moves to try and get it in as many times as possible. Sub Caly-I can be problematic for fat teams that don't care as much about Pikachu, and the rest of the mons are to provide defensive counterplay to some of the more dangerous mons in the tier like Xern, Hawlucha, and Dragapult.

The strategy worked well this week, as the pivots were able to get Pikachu in early and often to beat up on Eggs' core before Lando stepped up to finish mopping up (with an assist from Fat Mandi at the end). I do think this team has room for improvement as two of the pivots lack recovery, which could be difficult in a long game; Pikachu generally helps avoid the long game however.

Team two: Etern Hazard Stack with Pult and Sharp

I finally broke down and re-used an Uber, sorry guys. The object of this team is to use three fat hazard setters (Spikes from Skarm, Toxic Spikes from SpD Etern, and Rocks from Drill) to stack hazards against opposing teams and wear them down. Pult and Sharp are both dangerous attackers, especially with boosted SpA or Speed, and have the nice side effect of each deterring a type of hazard control (although admittedly not well, since their low bulk and fear of status are detriments). Slowking is there to be fat and because I do not know how to build without Regen.

I did not play this game particularly well, especially the hazard stacking part, but my team's bulk, recovery, and a timely crit on Zama allowed my defensive core to outlast Eggs', setting up Bisharp for the win. I do like this team a lot, but it does need to be piloted better in the future, live and learn.

Team three was an AAA Godly Gift team I literally stole from 23Gz, and I don't know if they want it posted, so not going to write that one up. But it was fun to play, great suggestion playing it Eggs, and good luck the rest of the tour!

 

[dhelmise]

heewwoo :3

Firstly:

Welcome UnnerfTalonflame to the Godly Gift council! His performance in OMSL has been very good, and we figured we could use a third member to help solve tiebreaks.

Secondly:

We did a vote on Hawlucha and Pikachu.

Hide

	Kris	emillight	UnnerfTalonflame	Outcome
Pikachu	Ban	No Ban	Ban	Ban
Hawlucha	Ban	Ban	Ban	Ban

Both Hawlucha and Pikachu have very limited checks, and beating the former often relies on having an opposing terrain setter to outplay the terrain that Hawlucha's seed correlates to. Pikachu is almost unbeatable for most offensive teams unless they sacrifice a slot for a Ghost-type or Landorus-T, and even then, Pikachu can predict a switch in from a Ghost-type with Knock Off or pivot into a teammate to handle the latter.

As a result, Hawlucha and Pikachu are both BANNED from Godly Gift. Rejoice!

 

[okgoogle4]

All right bye pikachu lets get going:

Why the isn't Ice Horse (Glastrier) being used with Mewtwo or Zazamenta speed which will make it absolutly broken not mention it absolutly monster-level defenses and speed with mewtow it gets:

100/145/130/65(lol)/110/130

Not to forget with mewtwo's speed it gets BST of 680

 

[UT]

With Finals week in the books for me, I have (hopefully, barring tie break) one final set of teams to post and wrap up my time in Spotlight League. It's been a blast and I have had a really fun time building, testing, and playing Godly Gift. I also really appreciated getting to play Eggs again, they're an amazing player and I had a ton of fun playing against them!

Team One: Dawn Wing + Scary Spider Trick Room

Trick Room is an archetype I loved pre-Maro-A ban, but had not explored much since. Thanks to a ton of teambuilding help from beauts, we were able to find a team that I was comfortable with and I think was really strong. Araquanid is the star of the show; Choice Specs Hydro Pump 2HKOs everything, even SpD Etern, a resist, and OHKOs almost everything. Victini is always very strong thanks to V-Create, and Dawn Wings has a lot of breaking potential as well. The only real weak link on this team is Stakataka; it really only is here to prevent an auto-lose to Pikachu, which is now banned. Going forward I would probably replace it with Guts Conkeldurr.

This was a tough matchup that I did not play great, but again I think highlights the power of the breakers. Araquanid does amazing damage, and so does Victini, but I did not play well enough around Taunt or Skarmory to be able to deliver the win. Sorry beauts, this team deserved better (and also will be better with Conkeldurr). Trick Room is definitely 100% still viable; Scary Spider is not Maro-A, but it is scary.

Team Two: Pika-Ray-Pult Offense

Not going to spend as much time on this team since Pika is now banned, but I have been really enjoying Rayquaza+two fast cleaners. It's such an amazing breaker as Dragon Ascent and V-Create covers basically the entire meta, and donates two amazing offensive stats. Dragapult is a great partner, but Pika will need to be replaced. The rest of the team is bulky pivots to get the breakers in as much as possible,

The archetype worked basically to perfection, Pult punched a lot of holes early, Ray broke down what was left, and Pika cleaned up the remainder. This will absolutely be an archetype I use going forward, Ray is very underrated.

Team Three: SPECS MANTINE IS RANKED

It is no secret I am a huge fan of rain in Godly Gift. I had avoided bringing it all tour, but in a winner-take-all game three with Finals on the line, I wanted to bring something I was comfortable with and knew how to play well. This team has three fantastic win conditions, Seismitoad, Mantine, and Xerneas. Mantine doesn't have quite the raw power that Scary Spider has, but with rain and a great secondary STAB in Hurricane, it's nothing to be messed with either. Xerneas was already my pick for best win-con in the tier, and with Hawlucha banned, it's even more clear-cut. Noteably, two of Rains tougher match ups, Pikachu and Hawlucha, are now banned; I expect it to be an even more powerful archetype going forward.

This was, frankly, an awful matchup for Rain. Eggs brought a Sand setter, two forms of priority, and Water Absorb. Even with those limitations, the team still shined and was able to overwhelm his core and win.

And that is (hopefully) my time in Spotlight League! I love the meta, and will always be down for a challenge, teambuilding, or just general questions, even when it does not have a ladder. I'm excited to be on council going forward, and am thankful to Kris and emillight for the opportunity to join them. Please feel free to reply with any questions, comments, suggestions, or insults!

 

[The Number Man]

Hello I made this team for the OMSL finals tiebreak game.



The idea is demon eternatus is busted af, you just have to cover Spa inheritor pult (with HP clefable) and not get in danger of losing a pp war to Corviknight (Magnezone). The rest of the team is just building around that concept, spikes skarm since their fogger is dead and it benefits fat wincons, Scarf Lando since quake becomes more spammable. Sash Zam to protect vs random cheese like Hawlucha, but now that Lucha ban is in effect you can just replace it with Specs starmie or just LO Zam.

Enjoy!

 

[dhelmise]

Hi a few things

firstly, sample teams coming soon

secondly, welcome beauts to the council!

happy now Think?

 

[UT]

Your Godly Gift Council is hard at work, and we've done a thing.

Xerneas and Dragapult are banned from Godly Gift!​

Quick Ban...	Kris	Senko	UT	beauts	Total
Xerneas	BAN	ABSTAIN	BAN	BAN	3-0-1 BAN
Dragapult	BAN	ABSTAIN	BAN	BAN	3-0-1 BAN

Xerneas is incredibly strong in the Godly Gift metagame due to its access to Geomancy in conjunction with Power Herb. In a tier where most Pokemon have OU defenses, +2 Fairy Aura Moonblast tears through teams unless they bring dedicated defensive checks such as bulky Necrozma Dusk-Mane, Aegislash, or Heatran. Xerneas's bulk and typing let it take even fairly powerful neutral hits while setting up, making checking it offensively difficult as well. With its best checks being other Ubers that often lack reliable recovery, handling Xerneas is too much of a burden on teambuilding. Xerneas is also a fantastic donor, with its stats being a great fit on offensive teams. Altogether, Xerneas is too powerful for the current Godly Gift metagame, and is henceforth banned.

Dragapult has shown that even in the post-Marowak-Alola meta, Ghosts are still incredibly strong. Possessing an absurd 142 base Speed and now able to receive 130+ base Special Attack stats, Dragapult can fire off powerful Shadow Balls with near-impunity. Even Shadow Ball switch-ins, such as Mandibuzz and Yveltal, cannot switch into multiple Draco Meteors consistently. Dragapult's access U-turn often punishes these switch-ins as well, giving the user momentum easily. Dragapult's incredible speed stat, along with its powerful STABs and boosted Special Attack via the Gods, makes it too powerful for the Godly Gift metagame and it is now banned.

Sample teams should be out soon, but will take longer due to these bans.

Tagging Kris to implement is this really necessary they're TL.

 

[Fardin]

idt ill be participating in omgs but i dont want my teams to go to waste. ill drop here some of my best teams i built to hopefully inspire some people with it. i think this meta game is the most fun out there rn, hopefully it gets the love it deserves

https://pokepast.es/85375c769a809df8
https://pokepast.es/efee684e7e87f4d1
https://pokepast.es/e6363255696a37fa
https://pokepast.es/edffb7d19972e0b9
https://pokepast.es/b0c8c22171fa8eb3

 

[UT]

Good evening. We are adopting Sleep Moves Clause, and new resources are imminent.

Tagging Kris to implement and in the hills to say are you happy now?