So can Mega Aggron, plus aggron is slower so skarmory can atleast outspeed some taunters (don't know why anyone would use a slow taunter lol), plus skarmory has access to reliable recovery whereas mega aggron doesn't, he also takes up a mega spot with would rather go charizard, venusaur etc and skarmory has better defensive typing with 2 immunities over Aggrons 1 and one of the immunity is ground which earthquake is a very common move, skarmory also has 1 less weakness because of the flying type and can hold leftovers something mega aggron wishes he had, plus offensively steel is a crappy stab, while flying stab is great in the current meta.
So mega aggron can be worn down while skarmory can't because of roost, plus mega aggron misses recoiless stab head smash
Dragon Tail cannot be Taunted, and MAggron beats all viable Fairies 1v1 (if you read my original post you saw the calcs) so no, MAggron cannot be prevented from pHazing via Taunt unlike Skarm. I don't understand the comment about slow Taunters, nobody suggested running Taunt on Aggron. Skarmory does have reliable recovery, which is why it is A- rank while MAggron is being proposed to move up to B-, a whole rank lower. However, while MAggron does have "
notable flaws than those above them that affect how [it] function in the tier", its "
positive traits still outshine [its] negatives, [since it] require a bit more team support to bring out [its] full potential", usually in the form of a cleric to wake it from its Rests or heal it with Wish (quotes from B rank definition). It's not hard to switch a MAggron in to take a Wish, just fyi. This support is also usually trivial to provide because MAggron is often found in Dragon/Fairy/Steel cores and in such cores the Fairy, such as Clefable or Sylveon, typically fulfills a cleric role already. I agree that MAggron takes up a Mega slot and that losing access to the twin kings of XY Stall, MVenu and MCharizard X, is a shame, but let's be honest: not
all teams have a perfect fit with one of those two, and the meta is overprepared for MVenu as is and the Stealth Rock weakness is a real turn off when it comes to CharX, even though he does have reliable recovery. I would disagree with the statement that Skarmory has a better typing than MAggron: While MAggron has 3 weaknesses, two of them are primarily physical (Ground and Fighting), and with filter and his base 230 Defense, even Super Effective physical hits do pitiful damage. Meanwhile, both of Skarmory's weaknesses (Fire and Electric) are primarily Special, making it exceedingly easy to fry the bird, even with Fire Blast from physical attackers. Mega Aggron's STAB is relevant because it beats Fairies, allowing him to pHaze 10x more reliably than Skarmory as he cannot be prevented from shuffling with Taunt. Skarmory's Flying STAB, on the other hand, is completely irrelevant as Skarmory does not invest in or run attacks bar on teams that desperately need MHeracross checks. This segues nicely into another pro MAggron has over Skarmory: Offensive presence. Mega Aggron's base 140 Attack and high weight make his Heavy Slam threatening even uninvested, getting crucial 2HKOes on Defoggers like Lati@s, which aids him as a pHazer as shuffling to rack up hazard damage is meaningless without hazards being up. Mega Aggron also can force switches, which Skarmory finds trouble doing: If MAggron comes in on a Clefable as it Calm Minds, it can take a +1 Flamethrower and KO in return with Heavy Slam, so the Clefable player will likely switch out. This gives Aggron the opportunity to use Dragon Tail, causing the initial switch in to take damage from both hazards and DTail while the Pokémon that is pHazed in also takes hazard damage. This makes him much more effective than Skarmory as a pHazer. MAggron does indeed miss leftovers, but it does
not miss Head Smash as it does not have the role of wallbreaker, it has the role of pHazer.
TL;DR:
Mega Aggron is better than Skarmory as a
pHazer (not physical wall) due to the following reasons:
~Dragon Tail
cannot be Taunted
~Mega Aggron's Heavy Slam
breaks through Fairies and Substitutes that stand in Dragon Tail's way
~Mega Aggron has
better bulk on both sides and Filter, allowing it to pHaze Special Attackers or physical attackers with Super Effective STAB. Illustration for better bulk:
(252+ Atk Huge Power Azumarill Waterfall vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Skarmory: 91-108 (27.2 - 32.3%), 252+ Atk Huge Power Azumarill Waterfall vs. 252 HP / 16+ Def Mega Aggron: 69-82 (20 - 23.8%) -- guaranteed 5HKO; 0 SpA Rotom-W Hydro Pump vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Skarmory: 165-195 (49.4 - 58.3%) -- 66.4% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery, 0 SpA Rotom-W Hydro Pump vs. 252 HP / 240 SpD Mega Aggron: 114-135 (33.1 - 39.2%) -- 99.9% chance to 3HKO)
Illustration for ability to pHaze threatening boosted sweepers:
(+1 252+ Atk Tough Claws Mega Charizard X Flare Blitz vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Skarmory: 488-576 (146.1 - 172.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock, +1 252+ Atk Tough Claws Mega Charizard X Flare Blitz vs. 252 HP / 16+ Def Filter Mega Aggron: 279-328 (81.1 - 95.3%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock)
~Mega Aggron
forces switches with his 140 base Attack and strong STAB move
~Mega Aggron
beats the common Defoggers Latios and Latias 1v1, removing the opponent's source of hazard control and thus increasing the effectiveness of pHazing as a strategy