The Sopranos: OU Semi-Stall (Peaked #99)

The Sopranos – A Semi-Stall Team


First Glance



Introduction

Amidst the mechanical changes Generation 6 has brought us, as well as the huge variety of offensive threats that have risen due to mega evolutions, the old days of stall are long gone. The days of stacking Stealth Rock/Spikes/Toxic Spikes and keeping them on the field with a spin blocker are over. Thanks to Defog’s buff and the sheer wallbreaking power of many mega evolutions, the defensive play style has been somewhat compromised. I thought to myself, how do I adapt? Do I switch to hyper offense? What about balance? After trying the latter to some success and the former to a less-beneficial result, I decided to construct a team that adapts stall/defensive play even in Generation 6’s offensive environment.

I came up with the following structure: two defensive cores consisting of two Pokemon each, a mixed wall, and a tankish Pokémon that can deal some solid offensive damage. Essentially, it is a semi-stall team that focuses on using only one entry hazard in Stealth Rock, with the rest of the damage coming from the many status moves the team wields. Let’s look at the team in depth, presented in their respective cores/roles and nicknamed in honor of me recently finishing the TV Series, The Sopranos. At certain points, I’ve provided some commentary on things that I'm skeptical about/considering changing, so I’d appreciate feedback that responds to those in addition to any general critiques. For the record, this team peaked #99 on the new ladder.


The Team


The Physically Defensive Core


Skarmory @ Leftovers (Chris Moltisanti)
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 224 HP / 252 Def / 32 SpDef
Impish Nature (+Def, -Sp Att)
- Stealth Rock
- Defog
- Whirlwind
- Roost

When building the team, I knew I wanted a Defog user to keep up with the rest of the teams who carry one, and I also knew I wanted to use Stealth Rock as my lone hazard. Skarmory not only does both of these things, but it has been my favorite physical wall for many years. It stops many of the biggest threats in OU extremely easily, including Garchomp, Gyarados, Excadrill, Weavile, Haxorus, Metagross, Conkeldurr, Mawile, and Landorus-T. I originally had Skarm playing the spiker role, with Heatran setting up rocks. I quickly realized that this was a waste of time because Mandibuzz, Latios/Latias, and opposing Skarmory can get in easily and undo what took me four turns to set up, turns I could’ve used to poison, burn, or leech seed an opposing Pokémon. It also seems to get more opportunities than Heatran to use Stealth Rock, at least in my experience. With all the Charizards and Talonflame running around in this meta, rocks need to get up ASAP if I’m going to prevent them from completely destroying me.

Because my team is semi-stall at heart, I need a phazer to rack up as much Stealth Rock damage I possibly can. I decided to include one phazer per core, with a total of two (Heatran is the other). This also insures that I have something to get rid of Dragon Dance/Swords Dance Boosts from Pokemon like Garchomp, Excadrill or Gyarados. Not having an attacking move is surprisingly ok; if the opponent doesn’t run taunt, Skarmory can always accomplish its job. Skarmory is the least offensive member of the team, in this sense, as the other members can at least cause some decent damage. Despite this, Skarmory is a reliable physical wall whose duties are extremely vital to my team’s success.



Rotom-W @ Leftovers (Bobby Bacala)
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpDef
Relaxed Nature (+Def, -Spe)
- Volt Switch
- Wil-o-Wisp
- Hydro Pump
- Protect

Although Skarmory is a great physical wall, it does not cover all the defensive needs my team requires, specifically protection against the highly used physical fire-type sweepers like Talonflame, Mega Charizard X, and Infernape, as well as the less common but notable Darmanitan or Arcanine. With the exception of MegaZard X (which not many things can really handle) Rotom covers Skarmory’s blaring fire weakness, and in turn, these Pokémon.

Now I know you’re probably looking at this set with a multitude of questions: Why is he not using Resto Chesto? No Pain Split? Protect on Rotom? A full 252 in two stats? First of all, I’ve always disliked the Rest set because you are forced to sacrifice leftovers for a Chesto Berry, and if you opt to use Leftovers instead, you are guaranteeing your opponent two free turns in which they can easily set up on you. Secondly, I chose Protect over Pain Split because it allows me to both scout moves and stall against statused Pokémon that would otherwise deal massive damage if I stayed in and tried to heal via Pain Split. You’d be surprised how fast Rotom’s health returns to full with some good predicting, not to mention the fact that I frequently find myself Leech Seeding with Venusaur and pivoting to Rotom-W, who still fills the pivot role well due to Volt Switch.

The EV spread is to maximize my physical bulk, as I am more focused on spreading status and staying alive rather than dealing damage. That said, running a Relaxed nature allows both moves to come off of neutral stats rather than hindering ones, and both moves deal decent to massive damage depending on who’s on the receiving end. So, Rotom’s job, much like Skarmory’s, is simple: burn anything and everything, protect to stall, and either pivot or rinse something with a Hydro Pump.



The Mixed Wall



Venusaur @ Venusaurite (Paulie Walnuts)
Ability: Chlorophyll/Thick Fat
EVs: 252 Hp / 252 SpDef
Calm Nature (+SpDef, - Att)
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Leech Seed
- Synthesis

I’m putting Venusaur, my mixed wall, in between the analyses of each defensive core symbolically, because it serves as the glue between the two. Once the Venusaurite activates, Venusaur becomes capable of walling an extremely wide variety of Pokémon due to Thick Fat and the increase in physical bulk it receives. It also perfectly checks some of the Pokemon that give both of my cores trouble, like Mixed Aegislash and even SD/NP Mega Lucario. Basically, unless you run a STAB Psychic or Flying Move, Mega Venusaur is going to give you a severe headache.

The STAB moves I’m using are self-explanatory; they allow me to take care of the extremely annoying Rotom-W and Clefable. And because of the new Sleep Powder mechanics, Mega Venusaur has become the ultimate Breloom counter. Additionally, he functions pretty well as a secondary wall for each core in the event another key wall goes down. With Leech Seed, Venusaur acts a small-time cleric of sorts, allowing the other Pokémon on my team to get some decent amounts of health restored with a little prediction. Whether its status absorbing, pseudo-cleric’ing, or tanking, Mega Venusaur does a superb job.

As happy as I am with this set’s ability to help my team accomplish its overall goal, I am wondering if there is a better EV spread/nature for its purpose. Should I put some EVs in defense to increase its physical bulk a little more?



The Specially Defensive Core


Clefable @ Leftovers (Carmela)
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpDef
Calm Nature(+SpDef, -Att)
- Moonlight
- Moonblast
- Aromatherapy
- Toxic

In my opinion, Clefable was always underrated. She was my favorite special wall in Gen 4 UU and Gen 5 RU, and her reliability gained her spots on more of my teams than you can imagine. Fast-forward to Gen 6, and her usability has become OU caliber, especially with her new STAB fairy attacks, immunity to dragon, and resistance to fighting. For the first time, Clefable can now check some significant physical threats like Conkeldurr in addition to almost every special attacker. That being said, though, Clefable’s role on my team is primarily a specially defensive, clerical one.

But while healing my team of status ailments with Aromatherapy and poisoning the enemy with Toxic, Clefable also packs a surprising punch. Moonblast deals an average of 50% to common switch-ins Lucario and Bisharp, and about 80% to most Conkeldurr sets. Its chance to drop the opponent’s special attack also comes in handy if Clefable needs to stall something out, making it easier to beat threats such as Rotom-W or Greninja one on one. Minus Mega Lucario, Mega Charizard-Y, Mega Venusaur, and Latias, Clefable stalls out most of the special attacking spectrum.

Clef is also the reason Magic Guard is my favorite ability; she can shut down leech seeders and laughs at the random scald burns/sludge bomb poisons, or any other status inducing move that isn’t freeze or sleep. Also, being able to switch in on anything without having to worry about entry hazards is truly a relief when in the heat of a game.



Heatran @ Leftovers (Tony Soprano)
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpDef
Calm Nature (+SpDef, - Att)
- Lava Plume
- Toxic
- Roar
- Ancientpower

The second member of my specially defensive core is another Pokémon whose usefulness has increased past its already sky-high effectiveness of past generations, Heatran. With Charizard-Y, Genesect, and Talonflame running amok, Heatran is a great check to all three. Against the former, it only takes 54-64% of damage from a Focus Mi-- Blast and OHKO with Ancientpower provided it has taken Stealth Rock damage. The same goes for Talonflame, whose strongest moves are even less effective against it. Genesect can barely touch Heatran, so it literally ends up killing itself with Stealth Rock damage until Conkeldurr can kill it with Mach Punch.

Toxic is for residual damage, and Lava Plume roasts the steel types that are immune to it, as well as the small, added chance to burn a switch in. Any burns that Heatran causes increase my team’s bulk and ability to stall, as residual damage is the key to my overall strategy. Much like Clefable, Heatran’s typing also allows it to handle some physical threats, as well, like Mawile and Bisharp (provided they don’t carry the uncommon Brick Break).

As well as Heatran takes hits, I’ve been wondering if a slightly more offensive EV spread would be more effective, specifically to OHKO Talonflame and MegaZard-Y. Part of me thinks this is a very limited and situational reason to change it up, but I know I’d be happy once the two are quickly dispatched and out of my hair. Many of the attacks he takes anyway are resisted/immunities, so perhaps I can get away with a little more offensive investment.



The Clean Up/Revenge Killer


Conkeldurr @ Life Orb (Silvio Dante)
Ability: Guts
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Att / 4 SpDef
Adamant Nature (+Att, -SpAtt)
- Drain Punch
- Ice Punch
- Knock Off
- Mach Punch

When building this team, I noticed that I was easily swept by both Mega Lucario sets and SD Bisharp if it carries Brick Break. At the same time, I also wanted a purely offensive tank that could dish out some serious damage. Conkeldurr was the answer to both of these. It OHKOs 252 HP Bisharp and does around 50-70% to Lucario with Mach Punch, which is a KO if it has taken prior damage. Note that many people switch Lucario into Clefable; if I see a Lucario on the opposing team, I’ll almost always Moonblast on the first turn out, where someone would expect a status move. Nine times out of ten, I’ll hit the Lucario and put it in Conkeldurr’s kill range. Overall, Conk serves as a late game sweeper who is more than capable of finishing off what has been burned, poisoned, or just weakened.

Ice Punch is for the army of Gliscors and Landorus-Ts one faces in OU, as well as catching an un-megaevolved Venusaur on the switch when my opponent predicts a Knock Off and tries to get a free Mega Evolution. Knock Off is useful for walls or removing Choice Items, and also does a pretty hefty chunk to Aegislash.

While I do like Conkeldurr, it has a very situational role on my team and is the only thing keeping my team from being classified as full stall. Not every opponent will predict a Knock Off and walk their Venusaur into an Ice Punch, the same way not every opponent will allow their Lucario to be damaged before it attempts a sweep. I’m wondering if there is a better Pokémon that can handle the threats I brought Conkeldurr in to take care of and also gel better with the rest of the team.



List of Severe Threats


Mega Charizard-X – The bane of this team. If it gets up a Dragon Dance, I’m usually finished, unless Rotom is at full health enough to take a few Dragon Claws and Hydro Pump it. Because of Hydro Pump’s unreliable accuracy and the fact that it is neutral against MegaZard X makes my best check to this thing a pretty sad one.

Mega Lucario – The Swords Dance set completely destroys this team. The Nasty Plot set is somewhat manageable if the opponent opts out of using Aura Sphere, as Heatran can live any common NP boosted attack save Aura Sphere and hit Lucario with a Lava Plume.

Latias – Psyshock makes short work of Mega Venusaur and Clefable, and while Heatran can easily take both of Latias’ stab moves, if it carries Surf, my specially defensive core gets dismantled.



Conclusion

This squad is one of sentimental value to me, because I’m able to use many of my all-time favorites together effectively in a play style that I'm comfortable with. But as much as I’ve come to love this team, there are still some minor things I’m skeptical about. I addressed them in the individual analyses, but I’ll list them here again, just to make everyone’s lives easier:

-Would a slightly more physically defensive set be beneficial to Mega Venusaur?
-Would a little more offensive investment be useful to Heatran?
-Is there another Pokemon that would accomplish Conkeldurr’s duties (checking Bisharp, Lucario, and providing some offensive prowess)?
-Are there any changes I can make to the team that will allow me to better handle the threats listed above?

I’d appreciate any feedback on the points I’ve raised, as well as general critiques and suggestions for things I may be missing (I’m sure there are plenty). Thank you so much for taking the time to read this RMT.
 
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Choice Band Azumarill is probably what you are looking for to replace Conkeldurr. It checks Mega-Luc, Bisharp, hard counters Char X, and in general deals more damage than Conkeldurr while still having that priority.
 

i excel

Banned deucer.
The problem I see is that you don't have enough offensive pressure for Stealth Rock to be your lone hazard. The lack of offense is giving the troubling sweepers the opportunity they need to set up. You can try Calm Mind Clefable over your current set changing the EVs to max Defense with a Bold Nature and a move set of Calm Mind / Flamethrower / Moonblast / Soft-Boiled. This set puts a lot of pressure on offensive teams, while checking Mega Lucario and Lati@s, two Pokemon you mentioned were problematic. I don't foresee the loss of Aromatherapy as being terribly important. You have solid switches to status anyway. Toxic and WoW can't hurt Clefable, while Venusaur is immune to most sleep inducing moves. Not to mention Conk gets a Guts boost. Speaking of Conk, I would recommend you try an Assault Vest set. This will help make up for any loss of special bulk you feel by changing Clefable to bold, and also allows you to check many special threats like Lucario and Lati@s.

A final change to consider would be trying out Spikes on Skarmory and Stealth Rock on Heatran. Though this is largely up to preference, since you may not want to have to play around Defog consistently. It could definitely help against more defensive teams and help you apply pressure to offense. If you were to try this you could also run Taunt on Skarmory with enough speed to outspeed Mandibuzz to prevent the easy Defog.

You have a nice team here. Good luck.
 
Thank you for the rate. I actually tried AV Conkeldurr a little while ago; it was pretty good and it's actually a nice Latias lure. I tried CB Azumarill also in Conk's place, too, which also served me quite well. I'm slightly skeptical about having double water and fairy typing on the team, but overall Azumarill was able to late game clean-up way better than Conk did and still checks all of the threats I needed it too (Latias, Luc, Bisharp, ZardY, etc).

Defog Skarmory is a pretty annoying thing for the team, but I manage to play around it most of the time. Thanks again for the rate, I'm gonna be testing Conk vs. Azumarill on a separate account.

Edit: I will update the thread if Azumarill gains a permanent spot. Until then, I'll keep the original analyses.
 
Small Rate, but I'll just make the major points. I highly suggest you run Unaware > Magic Guard on your Clefable. This allows you to easily take set-up sweepers like Mega Charizard X and Mega Lucario.The Calm Mind Set with CM / Moonblast / Flamethrower / Soft-Boiled is all you need to pose a great threat to your opponent's team. 252 hp / 252 def spread. yea, this rate sux, also try out shher force conk as the bulk helps you in the long run, drain punch / thunder punch / ice punch / mach punch will help you.

great team, gl
 

BTzz

spams overhand rights
is a Contributor Alumnus
Hi. I feel like some adjustments to your Clefable set could alleviate a lot of your teams problems. To help with your Charizard X issue, you could go with Unaware on Clefable and make it Physically Defensive. Charizard X's +0 Flare Blitz only does 39.5 - 46.7% to this set and Magic Guard isn't a huge loss since you're carrying Aromatherapy in addition to Defog. This change also helps with SD Lucario, provided it doesn't have Bullet Punch. I also suggest replacing Toxic + Moonlight on Clefable with Wish + Protect. I think Wish support would be a great asset to your team. You can keep Heatran healthy enough to combat Latias. Wish also keeps Rotom healthy for checking Talonflame, so you could possibly forgo Ancient Power on Heatran for Stealth Rock, allowing you to put Spikes on Skarm. AV on Conk would make up for Clefable's loss of special bulk and would help with with Latias and NP Luke, gl!
 
Ok, so after a week or so playing around with this team, I've mad the following changes:

-I have replaced SR with Spikes on Skarmory and have given Heatran SR instead. This gives my team the ability to deal a little more residual damage to the enemy, as the general attacking power on this team isn't terribly plentiful (save Conkeldurr).

-I (regrettably) replaced Knock Off with Rock Slide on Conkeldurr. This allows me to OHKO MegaZard Y, while I can not be OHKO'd by any of its moves thanks to Assault Vest.

-After many suggestions, I finally got myself to change Clefable's set to a physically defensive 252 HP/ 252 Def with Unaware. This checks MegaZard X along with every other physical Dragon type, as well as giving me another check to Latias since Clefable is immune to D Meteor and Psyshock fails to deal enough damage due to it's physically defensive spread.

So with these changes comes a newly found threat: Landorus. A special attacking set with Earth Power, Focus Blast, and Psychic completely destroys me, as I have nothing that can safely switch in and take more than two hits from it. My only hope is for Conkeldurr to barely live a Psychic and OHKO with Ice Punch. It's important to note that I came across a Calm Mind Landorus variant and after one CM, Conk can't take a physic at full health despite having max Sp. Def and AV.

Any idea how I can edit the team to better cover Landorus?
 

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