[OVERVIEW]
Mamoswine is a great wallbreaker in BDSP OU due to its excellent STAB combination and an insane Attack stat that makes it nearly unwallable. It makes great use of Life Orb, as its huge Attack stat and unique Ice-type priority move in Ice Shard allow it to finish off Dragon-types and can also be useful for chipping down neutral targets into KO range for other attacks. It can also make use of Substitute to ease prediction, with the drawback of less damage output. Unfortunately, while Mamoswine's typing is advantageous offensively, it's lacking defensively with no defensive utility outside of Thick Fat and an Electric immunity. Mamoswine is unable to capitalize off of this, as it can't consistently come in on Volt Switch from common Electric-types such as Rotom-W, while fellow Ground-type wallbreaker Garchomp can. Mamoswine's STAB moves, while good, can easily be played around. Combined with a mediocre Speed stat, this makes Mamoswine very prediction-reliant without Substitute compared to other, more reliable wallbreakers such as Crawdaunt, Azumarill, Infernape, Garchomp, and Breloom. Mamoswine's weaknesses also leave it vulnerable to common priority such as Aqua Jet, Mach Punch, and Bullet Punch from Crawdaunt, Azumarill, Infernape, and Scizor. Mamoswine also has great competition in the form of Garchomp, as the latter is often used over Mamoswine because of its higher consistency and better defenses. However, although Mamoswine possesses a great deal of weaknesses, its strength more than makes up for the effort needed, as Mamoswine's STAB combination makes switching into it effectively very tough, as most switch-ins get 2HKOed.
[SET]
name: Life Orb Attacker
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Icicle Crash
move 3: Ice Shard
move 4: Stealth Rock / Freeze-Dry
item: Life Orb / Never-Melt Ice
ability: Thick Fat
nature: Jolly / Naive / Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Earthquake and Icicle Crash are very strong STAB moves that can take care of many slower Pokemon such as Togekiss, Heatran, and Magnezone. Ice Shard is useful for revenge killing Dragon-type threats such as Latias, Garchomp, and Dragonite while also being useful to revenge kill other Ice-weak targets such as Breloom, Gliscor, and Shaymin. Freeze-Dry is useful to deal major damage to Rotom-W on the switch in, usually making it unable to check Mamoswine again alongside Stealth Rock chip, and it is also useful for dealing with Quagsire. Stealth Rock provides good role compression, as Mamoswine can beat common Defoggers such as Gliscor and Latias. Life Orb is the preferred item, as it boosts Mamoswine's wallbreaking potential by a decent amount, although it has the drawback of recoil. Never-Melt Ice is a strong alternative, as it retains the power boost for Ice-type moves but doesn't have the drawback of recoil. Jolly is the preferred nature, as it outspeeds Jolly Feraligatr and Breloom, but an Adamant nature can be used, as Mamoswine still outspeeds threats such as Modest Heatran and bulky Gliscor while boosting priority damage. A Naive nature can be used to strengthen Freeze-Dry without much compromise.
Mamoswine fits best on offensive teams, as it is able to guarantee damage on Scizor and Clefable, which can be capitalized on by Pokemon such as Feraligatr, Breloom, and Latias. Mamoswine appreciates pivots that help it get onto the battlefield such as Scizor and Rotom-W. Mamoswine capitalizes on entry hazards; as such, Stealth Rock from Garchomp or Heatran and Spikes from Roserade or Skarmory help it break more easily. Mamoswine appreciates Latias healing it back to full health with Healing Wish, as Life Orb recoil is a big weakness that Mamoswine has to deal with. Grass-types such as Rotom-C and Shaymin can cover for Mamoswine's Water weakness relatively well. Sweepers such as Feraligatr, Azumarill, Lucario, and offensive Scizor also appreciate Freeze-Dry Mamoswine, as it is able to lure in and KO Rotom-W and Slowbro, which are often their greatest counters. Rapid Spin support from Starmie can also help reduce the amount of residual damage Mamoswine takes, and in return, Starmie can force out Skarmory while removing the Spikes it sets up.
[SET]
name: Substitute
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Icicle Crash
move 3: Ice Shard
move 4: Substitute
item: Leftovers / Never-Melt-Ice
ability: Thick Fat
nature: Adamant / Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Mamoswine being extremely prediction-reliant is ultimately one of its biggest downfalls; however, Mamoswine can circumvent this issue by using Substitute to provide a layer of defense to fall back on, as well as an immunity to status conditions. Ice Shard is useful if a foe survives a hit, as this set lacks power. Icicle Crash and Earthquake are a beautiful offensive pairing, as the majority of the metagame will be 2HKOed. Leftovers is usually the item of choice, as it will help Mamoswine heal off Substitute's recoil, but Never-Melt Ice is also useful if it needs the extra firepower. Adamant is Mamoswine's preferred nature, as it allows it to gain a bit power back from not having Life Orb. However, a Jolly nature is also an option to outspeed Jolly Feraligatr and Breloom.
Substitute Mamoswine is best paired with Pokemon that can eliminate its most common counter, Rotom-W. Pokemon such as Breloom, Latias, Tangrowth, and Shaymin can do the job. Additionally, Pokemon that can get rid of entry hazards such as Latias, Gliscor, Scizor, and Starmie make Mamoswine's job a lot easier. Late-game cleaners such as Life Orb Scizor, Choice Band Dragonite, Swords Dance Lucario, and Feraligatr also benefit immensely from Mamoswine's wallbreaking potential. Mamoswine also appreciates Latias healing it back to full HP with Healing Wish.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Mamoswine is capable of becoming a Stealth Rock lead that can counter some of the lead metagame with Focus Sash and Oblivious; however, it's usually better to run the wallbreaker set, as it offers more power and can still be used as a Stealth Rock setter. Mamoswine can use Choice Band, as it's very powerful. However, it's often dismissed in favour of Life Orb, as they have similar damage output. Mamoswine can also use Choice Scarf to get rid of its speed issue; however, not getting to switch up Mamoswine's moves isn't ideal, and not getting a big damage boost makes it inferior to Choice Band, which is already unviable. Mamoswine can switch Freeze-Dry for Icicle Spear to OHKO Dragonite, even with Multiscale intact, as well as SubPunch Breloom; however, its inconsistency makes it less useful than Icicle Crash.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Rotom-W**: Rotom-W is one of the only counters to Mamoswine. It doesn't get affected by Earthquake and Icicle Crash bounces right off it, while it can OHKO Mamoswine back with Hydro Pump and even burn Mamoswine with Will-O-Wisp if it needs to. However, Rotom-W must be wary of switching in on Freeze-Dry, as with Stealth Rock chip, it can 2HKO Rotom-W, making it unable to switch in again.
**Skarmory**: Skarmory is one of the only walls to Mamoswine, as it doesn't take too much damage from Icicle Crash while having reliable recovery in Roost. However, although Icicle Crash doesn't do enough damage to 2HKO Skarmory outright, a deadly flinch chance means that Mamoswine might be able to break through with enough flinches and luck.
**Bulky Water-types**: Bulky Water-types such as Slowbro, Gastrodon, and Milotic all tank non-Choice Band Mamoswine's hits and can either possibly OHKO or burn Mamoswine. Gastrodon needs to be wary of Freeze-Dry, as it's a 4x super effective move. Slowbro and Milotic can both shrug off Freeze-Dry, however.
**Faster Pokemon and Priority**: While faster Pokemon like Starmie, Lucario, Alakazam, and Infernape can't switch into Mamoswine's attacks, all of them outspeed Mamoswine and are able to OHKO it. Priority users such as Crawdaunt and Scizor can also 2HKO Mamoswine, with the former being able to OHKO it after Stealth Rock chip.
**Residual Damage**: As Mamoswine usually runs Life Orb, it will get worn down with entry hazards damage, as Mamoswine will typically switch out a lot of times. Substitute Mamoswine doesn't have this issue, however, as it has Leftovers to heal itself back up.
[credits]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/james-boter.571463/
Quality checked by:
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Grammar checked by:
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Mamoswine is a great wallbreaker in BDSP OU due to its excellent STAB combination and an insane Attack stat that makes it nearly unwallable. It makes great use of Life Orb, as its huge Attack stat and unique Ice-type priority move in Ice Shard allow it to finish off Dragon-types and can also be useful for chipping down neutral targets into KO range for other attacks. It can also make use of Substitute to ease prediction, with the drawback of less damage output. Unfortunately, while Mamoswine's typing is advantageous offensively, it's lacking defensively with no defensive utility outside of Thick Fat and an Electric immunity. Mamoswine is unable to capitalize off of this, as it can't consistently come in on Volt Switch from common Electric-types such as Rotom-W, while fellow Ground-type wallbreaker Garchomp can. Mamoswine's STAB moves, while good, can easily be played around. Combined with a mediocre Speed stat, this makes Mamoswine very prediction-reliant without Substitute compared to other, more reliable wallbreakers such as Crawdaunt, Azumarill, Infernape, Garchomp, and Breloom. Mamoswine's weaknesses also leave it vulnerable to common priority such as Aqua Jet, Mach Punch, and Bullet Punch from Crawdaunt, Azumarill, Infernape, and Scizor. Mamoswine also has great competition in the form of Garchomp, as the latter is often used over Mamoswine because of its higher consistency and better defenses. However, although Mamoswine possesses a great deal of weaknesses, its strength more than makes up for the effort needed, as Mamoswine's STAB combination makes switching into it effectively very tough, as most switch-ins get 2HKOed.
[SET]
name: Life Orb Attacker
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Icicle Crash
move 3: Ice Shard
move 4: Stealth Rock / Freeze-Dry
item: Life Orb / Never-Melt Ice
ability: Thick Fat
nature: Jolly / Naive / Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Earthquake and Icicle Crash are very strong STAB moves that can take care of many slower Pokemon such as Togekiss, Heatran, and Magnezone. Ice Shard is useful for revenge killing Dragon-type threats such as Latias, Garchomp, and Dragonite while also being useful to revenge kill other Ice-weak targets such as Breloom, Gliscor, and Shaymin. Freeze-Dry is useful to deal major damage to Rotom-W on the switch in, usually making it unable to check Mamoswine again alongside Stealth Rock chip, and it is also useful for dealing with Quagsire. Stealth Rock provides good role compression, as Mamoswine can beat common Defoggers such as Gliscor and Latias. Life Orb is the preferred item, as it boosts Mamoswine's wallbreaking potential by a decent amount, although it has the drawback of recoil. Never-Melt Ice is a strong alternative, as it retains the power boost for Ice-type moves but doesn't have the drawback of recoil. Jolly is the preferred nature, as it outspeeds Jolly Feraligatr and Breloom, but an Adamant nature can be used, as Mamoswine still outspeeds threats such as Modest Heatran and bulky Gliscor while boosting priority damage. A Naive nature can be used to strengthen Freeze-Dry without much compromise.
Mamoswine fits best on offensive teams, as it is able to guarantee damage on Scizor and Clefable, which can be capitalized on by Pokemon such as Feraligatr, Breloom, and Latias. Mamoswine appreciates pivots that help it get onto the battlefield such as Scizor and Rotom-W. Mamoswine capitalizes on entry hazards; as such, Stealth Rock from Garchomp or Heatran and Spikes from Roserade or Skarmory help it break more easily. Mamoswine appreciates Latias healing it back to full health with Healing Wish, as Life Orb recoil is a big weakness that Mamoswine has to deal with. Grass-types such as Rotom-C and Shaymin can cover for Mamoswine's Water weakness relatively well. Sweepers such as Feraligatr, Azumarill, Lucario, and offensive Scizor also appreciate Freeze-Dry Mamoswine, as it is able to lure in and KO Rotom-W and Slowbro, which are often their greatest counters. Rapid Spin support from Starmie can also help reduce the amount of residual damage Mamoswine takes, and in return, Starmie can force out Skarmory while removing the Spikes it sets up.
[SET]
name: Substitute
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Icicle Crash
move 3: Ice Shard
move 4: Substitute
item: Leftovers / Never-Melt-Ice
ability: Thick Fat
nature: Adamant / Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Mamoswine being extremely prediction-reliant is ultimately one of its biggest downfalls; however, Mamoswine can circumvent this issue by using Substitute to provide a layer of defense to fall back on, as well as an immunity to status conditions. Ice Shard is useful if a foe survives a hit, as this set lacks power. Icicle Crash and Earthquake are a beautiful offensive pairing, as the majority of the metagame will be 2HKOed. Leftovers is usually the item of choice, as it will help Mamoswine heal off Substitute's recoil, but Never-Melt Ice is also useful if it needs the extra firepower. Adamant is Mamoswine's preferred nature, as it allows it to gain a bit power back from not having Life Orb. However, a Jolly nature is also an option to outspeed Jolly Feraligatr and Breloom.
Substitute Mamoswine is best paired with Pokemon that can eliminate its most common counter, Rotom-W. Pokemon such as Breloom, Latias, Tangrowth, and Shaymin can do the job. Additionally, Pokemon that can get rid of entry hazards such as Latias, Gliscor, Scizor, and Starmie make Mamoswine's job a lot easier. Late-game cleaners such as Life Orb Scizor, Choice Band Dragonite, Swords Dance Lucario, and Feraligatr also benefit immensely from Mamoswine's wallbreaking potential. Mamoswine also appreciates Latias healing it back to full HP with Healing Wish.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Mamoswine is capable of becoming a Stealth Rock lead that can counter some of the lead metagame with Focus Sash and Oblivious; however, it's usually better to run the wallbreaker set, as it offers more power and can still be used as a Stealth Rock setter. Mamoswine can use Choice Band, as it's very powerful. However, it's often dismissed in favour of Life Orb, as they have similar damage output. Mamoswine can also use Choice Scarf to get rid of its speed issue; however, not getting to switch up Mamoswine's moves isn't ideal, and not getting a big damage boost makes it inferior to Choice Band, which is already unviable. Mamoswine can switch Freeze-Dry for Icicle Spear to OHKO Dragonite, even with Multiscale intact, as well as SubPunch Breloom; however, its inconsistency makes it less useful than Icicle Crash.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Rotom-W**: Rotom-W is one of the only counters to Mamoswine. It doesn't get affected by Earthquake and Icicle Crash bounces right off it, while it can OHKO Mamoswine back with Hydro Pump and even burn Mamoswine with Will-O-Wisp if it needs to. However, Rotom-W must be wary of switching in on Freeze-Dry, as with Stealth Rock chip, it can 2HKO Rotom-W, making it unable to switch in again.
**Skarmory**: Skarmory is one of the only walls to Mamoswine, as it doesn't take too much damage from Icicle Crash while having reliable recovery in Roost. However, although Icicle Crash doesn't do enough damage to 2HKO Skarmory outright, a deadly flinch chance means that Mamoswine might be able to break through with enough flinches and luck.
**Bulky Water-types**: Bulky Water-types such as Slowbro, Gastrodon, and Milotic all tank non-Choice Band Mamoswine's hits and can either possibly OHKO or burn Mamoswine. Gastrodon needs to be wary of Freeze-Dry, as it's a 4x super effective move. Slowbro and Milotic can both shrug off Freeze-Dry, however.
**Faster Pokemon and Priority**: While faster Pokemon like Starmie, Lucario, Alakazam, and Infernape can't switch into Mamoswine's attacks, all of them outspeed Mamoswine and are able to OHKO it. Priority users such as Crawdaunt and Scizor can also 2HKO Mamoswine, with the former being able to OHKO it after Stealth Rock chip.
**Residual Damage**: As Mamoswine usually runs Life Orb, it will get worn down with entry hazards damage, as Mamoswine will typically switch out a lot of times. Substitute Mamoswine doesn't have this issue, however, as it has Leftovers to heal itself back up.
[credits]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/james-boter.571463/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/bt89.487308/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/dex.277988/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/savouras.409438/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/dead-by-daylight.571069/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/autumn.384270/
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