Pokémon Mabosstiff

[myself12]

Mabosstiff
Type: Dark
Abilities: Intimidate, Guard Dog*, Stakeout(H)
Stats: 80/120/90/60/70/85

Guard Dog: Boosts the Pokémon’s Attack stat if intimidated. Moves and items that would force the Pokémon to switch out also fail to work.

Movepool
Physical: Jaw Lock, Crunch, Outrage, Fire Fang, Ice Fang, Psychic Fangs, Play Rough, Wild Charge, Retaliate
Special: None
Status: Hone Claws, Roar, Taunt, Destiny Bond, Endeavor,

Pros
- 120 Attack is quite good
- Intimidate, Guard Dog, and Stakeout are all pretty good abilities
- Decent 80/90 physical bulk, which can be increased with intimidate
- It's dark typing allows it to fend off ghost and psychic types.

Cons
- 85 speed isn't that great
- 70 special defense isn't that great
- It has weaknesses to fairy, fighting, and bug.

Terastalizing
- A dark tera can gives its STAB more power.
- A fairy tera allows it to deal with fighting and bug types

Potential Set
Mabosstiff @ Choice Band
Ability: Stakeout/Guard Dog
Tera Type: Dark
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly/Adamant Nature
- Crunch
- Play Rough
- Fire Fang
- Ice Fang/Psychic Fangs/Wild Charge

This set allows Mabosstiff to function as an ok attacker. Stakeout allows it to come in on things it threatens and punish them for switching out. You'll probably be clicking crunch most of the time, rest of the moves are coverage.

Mabosstiff @ Leftovers/Black Glassess
Ability: Intimidate/Guard Dog
Tera Type: Dark
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Bulk Up
- Taunt
- Jaw Lock
- Play Rough / Fire Fang / Ice Fang / Psychic Fangs / Wild Charge

Jaw Lock + Taunt allows you to trap things that can't threaten you to set up with bulk up.

This thing probably won't be very viable in OU, but it will probably see usage in lower tiers (maybe UU or RU).

 

[Woodley Scholz]

The fact that it gets Ice Fang and can turn a Lando Intimidate on it’s head probably gives it some merit as a Lando counter when Home opens up.

 

[Rysurrection]

Mabosstiff @ Leftovers/Black Glassess
Ability: Intimidate/Guard Dog
Tera Type: Dark
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Bulk Up
- Taunt
- Jaw Lock
- Play Rough / Fire Fang / Ice Fang / Psychic Fangs / Wild Charge

Jaw Lock + Taunt allows you to trap things that can't threaten you to set up with bulk up.

I don't believe Mabosstiff gets Bulk Up

 

[Negative Charge]

This thing seems pretty decent? Great abilities, usable stats. Is it just powercrept by the legendary dark types and Kingambit?

 

[flamewizzy21]

It will be very difficult to use Guard Dog in practice. If your opponent sees Mabostiff not taking Intimidate, I would assume either Guard Dog or Stakeout, depending on which one is meta. If Guard Dog is meta, then your opponent will just never bring in an Intimidate mon in on it, so you’ll only activate it if you either predict your opponent when you both go for a hard switch where your pokemon is faster, OR on a lead matchup. I don’t see Mabostiff being a real setup threat where Guard dog’s anti-phazing ability becomes powerful.

tl;dr Guard Dog will probably not be relevant for singles.

 

[pika pal]

It will be very difficult to use Guard Dog in practice. If your opponent sees Mabostiff not taking Intimidate, I would assume either Guard Dog or Stakeout, depending on which one is meta. If Guard Dog is meta, then your opponent will just never bring in an Intimidate mon in on it, so you’ll only activate it if you either predict your opponent when you both go for a hard switch where your pokemon is faster, OR on a lead matchup. I don’t see Mabostiff being a real setup threat where Guard dog’s anti-phazing ability becomes powerful.

tl;dr Guard Dog will probably not be relevant for singles.

Theoretically the idea would be for Guard Dog to play a mind game: If he has Stakeout, Switching an Intimidate mon in is a safe bet to weaken the attack and put him on the back foot after, whereas Guard Dog,, if you use Intimidate instead of just a Bulky Pokemon, will give Mabosstiff a power buff while preventing you from phazing him to get rid of it (on top of inverting the play Intimidate is employed for).

The issue in this meta is we don't have much for Intimidate users compared to gens where Lando-T is running around in Singles (not to mention the general ubiquity of the ability in Doubles as mentioned), plus the mentioned mediocrity of a Boosting set to exploit the non-phazing. Both after Home and when we get Lower Tiers I could see a lot more value in that toss-up, but even working optimally, the stat line kind of holds the Dog back from the absurdity of current Gen 9 OU

 

[flamewizzy21]

...The issue in this meta is we don't have much for Intimidate users compared to gens where Lando-T is running around in Singles (not to mention the general ubiquity of the ability in Doubles as mentioned), plus the mentioned mediocrity of a Boosting set to exploit the non-phazing. Both after Home and when we get Lower Tiers I could see a lot more value in that toss-up, but even working optimally, the stat line kind of holds the Dog back from the absurdity of current Gen 9 OU

Agreed that Mabostiff won't have much use in OU. He will definitely drop down.

I see Stakeout and Intimidate as the most viable options, while Guard Dog would only start appearing if Intimidate starts becoming very common. Even then, Stakeout turns Mabostiff into a decent revenge killer with scarf. I would just replace CB with scarf from the first set, and maybe replace a coverage option with Destiny Bond. Scarf will help protect against the chance your opponent stays in, and Stakeout punishes them for swapping out. Of course this won't work in OU, where 120 Atk is sub par without some crazy gimmick. But this would put you in positions where you don't need to outplay.

 

[Geodude]

I don't believe Mabosstiff gets Bulk Up

It doesn't, but it does get Hone Claws, which in theory could be combined with Play Rough and the elemental fangs to fix their accuracy.

 

[Iceydude168]

EDIT: I lied (forgot to account for intimidate in calcs), Lando isn't that bad of a switchin

-1 252 Atk Choice Band Stakeout Mabosstiff Crunch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Landorus-Therian: 190-225 (49.7 - 58.9%) -- 75% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

-1 252 Atk Stakeout Mabosstiff Crunch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Landorus-Therian: 127-151 (33.2 - 39.5%) -- 17.7% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

With rocks up physdef Lando gets 1 switch into the banded set and at least 2 for the scarf set

The biggest issue with this thing is that its coverage moves aren't great (lack of Fighting coverage especially hurts) and that Crunch coming off base 120 Atk isn't going to force that many switches. The band set has legitimately no switchins right now (Corv is easily OHKO'd by Wild Charge) but it's really hard to get those switches to happen. A scarf set might have more openings but lacks the raw power of band and having to tera-fight just to force out Chi-Yu really sucks.

 

[STEELDRAGON]

Whoah Stakeout is a hell of a ability and outspeeds Gholdengo by 1 point. Crunch/Play Rough will nuke most things and it can also boost its speed with Trailblaze. That's about where the fun ends though. It is pretty powerful and has good neutral coverage, but faces severe competition with Kinggambit and the whole host of other dark types.