Secret of the Dragon's Den

[Tyranical]

Secret of the Dragon's Den
​

Hello Smogon!
It's been a long time since I've had a RMT on these forums, and that's because I took a long break from competitive pokemon. I've been in a rut for the last two weeks that I've been back, but I came up with a good team. I was sick today so I was thinking, "This is a good time to make a team" so that's what I did. Frankly I was surprised that this team would get as high as it did so quickly, after about a few hours of laddering this team I got a Ladder Rating of 1910 and I expect it to get even higher!. I used this team on my alt "Ttar FTW" and I'm proud to present my newest team. This Team is basically a Drags+mag team, but I do have Keldeo so I guess I can't totally call it that. Anyway, this team relies on punching holes and good switches to succeed. So without further ado here it is.

Kyurem-Black @ Choice Band
Trait: Teravolt
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Outrage
- Dragon Claw
- Ice Beam
- Fusion Bolt

Remember in the earlier days of BW when Choice Band Haxorus was a decently popular lead? Kyurem-B is similar to Haxorus but Kyurem's attack stat is on a whole new level. It's a surprisingly versatile pokemon on this team, and you can do many things with Choice Band Kyurem-B. It can punch massive wholes in the opposing team right off the bat, if they are unprepared. Outrage is stupidly powerful, and it will leave a dent in anything resisted or not. Kyurem-B can also be brought out later on to crush weakened walls or slower sweepers. It has a decent set of resistances as well, and can defeat a lot of sun abusing pokemon. Kyurem is deently bulky as well and can take some hits. Kyurem isn't weak to Ice attacks but does have a dreaded weakness to stealth rock, which is another reason to bring him out first. Kyurem-B is basically the powerhouse and hole puncher for the team, and can weaken counters for it's dragon brethren.

Garchomp @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Rough Skin
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Dragon Claw

Revenge is best served cold, and that is exactly what Garchomp plans to do. As a revenge killer, Garchomp can stop most sweepers dead in their tracks bar anything with Ice Shard. STAB Earthquake and Dragon Claw are the main attacks of this set, Garchomp may have to use Outrage to defeat Dragonite however. Garchomp is kind of the glue of the team, and can stop things from going very wrong for this team. Not to mention, it makes a decent late game sweep if you play your cards right. Garchomp is not weak to Stealth Rock, which is a big plus for it's revenge killings. I try not to use Earthquake too much if I don't need too, because you never want to let Landorus set up on an immunity. Garchomp can occasionally surprise Latios and Latias with it's speed, but more often than not they play it safe. Overall garchomp adds quite a bit to the team, and the opponent will find that it is not safe to go back in the water.

Keldeo @ Leftovers
Trait: Justified
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Calm Mind
- Surf
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Secret Sword

I used to have Magnezone in this spot to go for a four drag+2 mag kind of thing, but after a few matches, I felt Keldeo would do better here. Keldeo isn't just one of the best sweepers in the OU tier it's also an excellent pokemon against rain teams and performs better on weatherless teams in my opinion. Keldeo doesn't fear Ferrothorn unlike most water type pokemon and can easily tear any type of team to shreds after a calm mind. However, many teams are prepared for Keldeo and are always cautious so bring out Keldeo once Kyurem-B has weakened or KO'd any walls that stand in Keldeo's way. I used to have Hydro Pump but I've lost one or two matches to Hydro Pump's less than reliable accuracy, so I opted for Surf. Rain is fairly common, and often Keldeo can get STAB rain boosted Surfs against the other team. Secret Sword is a beautiful move agianst Blissey/Chansey and is reliable overall. Tentacruel can wall Keldeo to an extent but is crushed by Kyurem-B and Latios. Keldeo is a fantastic pokemon all around and fits in well with the team. If you're unprepared you just may get all washed up by Keldeo and left out to dry.

Latios (M) @ Choice Specs
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Surf
- Dragon Pulse

Latios has incredibly powerful STAB attacks coming off of a Choice Specs, and is always a great addition to any Drags+mags team. Surprisingly enough though, I rarely need to use Draco Meteor and can spam Dragon Pulse against weakened teams. Frail sweepers like Breloom are KO'd by most attacks Latios has to offer, and are no match for Latios' speed and raw power. Scizor is severely weakened by Surf and is easily 2HKO'd, Latios can dent a good deal of its alleged counters which greatly helps out the other Dragon types. Ninetales and Specs Politoed are massacred by Draco Meteor and even Tyranitar doesn't love to take a DM. Draco Meteor should be used with caution though, becuase of it's harsh effect on Latios' special attack. Latios isn't really as much of a wallbreaker as Kyurem-B is and is more similar to Garchomp as an attacker. Latios appreciates walls being weakened and can still return the favor to Dragonite and Keldeo. As a defensive pivot, Latios can come in on fighting attacks aimed toward Kyurem-B and possibly force a switch. Because it is a Choice attacker, Latios relys on switching as well and is part of what this team is about; smart and effective switches.

Magnezone @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Magnet Pull
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Modest Nature
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Thunderbolt
- Flash Cannon

I used to have Magneton over Magnezone becuase it was faster and flowed with this team's offensive playstyle. However I needed more bulk and power instead of speed, so I decided to use Magnezone. Volt Switch helps this team's momentum keep flowing and is a fantastic move. Magneton can revenge kill to a degree, but the Scarf is really only used for fast volt switches. Magneton isn't as fast as Garchomp or as powerful as Latios, but it can trap steel types. That is probably the only reason players use Magnezone and Magnezone, and they really do help out. Magnezone can 2HKO most steel types with Hidden Power Fire which lets the rest of the team rampage. Thunderbolt is a stronger option against Skarmory and is harder to switch in on. Magnezone fears Jolteon, and will have to switch out on contact. Flash Cannon is also useful agaisnt Terrakion but not much else. It can hit Gliscor but it is far wiser to switch to Keldeo. Magnezone doesn't have many other uses outside of trapping steels, and should be conserved for that function. It's steel typing is also decent for switching in to Dragon attacks. It can also sponge Ice Beams and can outspeed and KO Starmie and Mamoswine. Magnezone can use Volt Switch to bring in more powerful wallbreakers like Kyurem-B. Magnezone has a useful niche on the team, and if you underestimate Magnezone you'll be in for a Shock.

Dragonite @ Leftovers
Trait: Multiscale
EVs: 4 HP/ 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- ExtremeSpeed

The final member of my team is Dragonite, it's not the best Dragon type out there but it works well on this team. The majority of the team has a Choice item, but Dragonite can set up and tear through teams late game. Multiscale is a unique ability and will allow Dragonite to take hits it could not before. If the team has executed it's plan to weaken or defeat Dragon counters, then Dragomite should have no problem crushing teams. One Dragon Dance lets Dragonite outspeed many threats and then continue to boost it's attack with Moxie. This team really needed some strong priority against weakened fast threats, so Dragonite helps there. Dragonite can even 6-0 teams that are unprepared and will punish any weakened team. Dragonite is less versatile than some members of the team but has a deadly specialization. It's not really great at weakening counters but it can potentially surprise enemy teams . Leftovers doesn't provide as much power as life orb but works better with Multiscale. Dragonite is more of a bulky dragon type and fills an interesting niche with the team.

 

[Jukain]

I've always enjoyed DragMag teams. This one can use a little bit of work though. Right off the bat, with the departure of Tornadus-T, Magneton has become a completely useless Pokemon. Its minor Speed advantage is pretty much meaningless, and it's too weak for this metagame. I'd replace it with Magnezone. Magnezone is much bulkier and more powerful than Magneton, while the Speed difference isn't all that important. Magneton is something you throw on a team if you want 2Mag. You're not going for that here though, so run Magnezone (a simple yet effective Choice Specs set will suffice).

With that out of the way, don't run a Choice Band set on Kyurem-B. It can in fact be a great bulky mixed attacker. Your team is in need of a bit of bulk and a simple wallbreaker, one of the basic components of a DragMag team. Furthermore, Kyurem-B has always in my experience lacked the Speed and priority that a good CB user has. Personally, I prefer a rather odd set that runs 220 HP / 252 SAtk / 36 Spd Modest and a moveset of Ice Beam / Earth Power / Fusion Bolt / Roost. Modest is indeed the best nature for the job, making Ice Beam insanely powerful while allowing for Kyurem-B to utilize its great bulk. Fusion Bolt still does more than enough to the relevant Water-types, while Ice Beam and earth Power cover almost every threat in the metagame. This thing can tank Dragon Pulses from unboosted CM Latias and rain-boosted Hydro Pumps. It even has a chance of surviving Choice Scarf Terrakion's Close Combat (plus Scarf Keldeo's Secret Sword, hence the EVs). Yeah, it's bulky. Not only that, but it can also rip apart the opposition even better than CB. It demolishes walls like they are sheets of glass. It also prevents redundancy with Salamence, which is what you currently have.

Finally, switch to an Expert Belt with Hydro Pump / Secret Sword / Icy Wind / Hidden Power Ghost on Keldeo. Icy Wind + HP Ghost can nail incoming Lati twins, Gengar, and Alakazam. A CM set doesn't really suit a team with a super fast offensive pace and other sweepers. A lure lets you severely cripple annoying Jellicent and Celebi for the rest of the match. This change isn't 100% necessary but definitely improves the overall strategy of your team.

tl;dr

- Magneton -> Choice Specs Magnezone

- Kyurem-B -> bulky mixed set

- Keldeo -> Expert Belt set

Magnezone and Kyurem-B

Magnezone @ Choice Specs
Trait: Magnet Pull
EVs: 172 HP / 252 SAtk / 84 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power Fire
- Flash Cannon

Kyurem-B @ Life Orb
Trait: Teravolt
EVs: 220 HP / 252 SAtk / 36 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Ice Beam
- Earth Power
- Fusion Bolt
- Roost

Good luck!

 

[Tyranical]

Hey thanks for the suggestions. I did change Magneton to Magnezone and I agree it works better. I'll try out the changes you've suggested and thanks for your time!

 

[Vert]

Nice Team!

DragMag is a playstyle that is easy to play with good prediction, and is very effective, so I'll start rating!

• Your team lacks a user of Stealth Rock, so I recommend using a different set on Garchomp letting you defeat spinners, let pokemon on your team defeat Focus Sash, Sturdy, and cripple weak SR pokemon. Stealth Rock defines the metagame, so I strongly recommend you using SR Garchomp or another SR user. Now lacking a Choice Scarf user, try Choice Scarf on Keldeo, who can late-game sweep, especially against rain teams, and is much better than Choice Scarf Magnezone, which I consider mediocre v. Substitute or LO due to it not being able to outspeed other scarfers and more notable Starmie, Dugtrio, and Alakazam -- Jolteon to a lesser extent.

SR Garchomp

Garchomp | Life Orb / Focus Sash / Leftovers / Rocky Helmet | Rough Skin
252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe | Jolly

Stealth Rock | Swords Dance / Fire Blast | Outrage | Earthquake

tl;dr

Choice Scarf Garchomp ==> SR Garchomp

CM Keldeo ===> Choice Scarf Keldeo

(optional)Choice Scarf Magnezone ==> Life Orb Magnezone or Substitute Magnezone

Good Luck n_n

 

[Halcyon.]

Hey Tyranitar! Cool DragMag team. I've never personally used it, but I know that in this extremely offensive meta, it can be effective.

The first thing I notice is that you don't have any Stealth Rock user. While this isn't completely necessary on every team, Dragon spam appreciates the 2HKOs being turned into OHKOs. For this, I would recommend Stealth rock Lead Garchomp over your current Scarf Garchomp. Garchomp finds plenty of opportunities to set up Rocks, and doesn't really need the fourth choice of Dragon Claw on his move set anyway, so you shouldn't have trouble fitting it on. I would recommend Focus Sash as an item, since it will guarantee you Rocks up on the first turn, thouhg you can opt for Life Orb if you would prefer the power.

Next, I honestly think giving Kyurem a Choice Band is a waste of its amazing offensive potential. I suggest replacing it with the Substitute + 3 Attacks set. Kyurem has amazing attack, sure, but it also has oft forgotten base 120 special attack, which makes it a very potent mixed attacker. Your team also has Garchomp and Dragonite on the physical side, which do plenty for the team already, so there's no real need for another physical threat, but Kyurem becomes a perfect answer to bulky Waters with Fusion Bolt, and Ice Beam can deal serious damage to Landorus-T coming in thinking they can lower your attack. Earth Power is the final move since it can take out Jirachi, which can be a serious pain for your team in the rain.

Finally, there are a few smaller changes I would recommend. Change Dragon Pulse to Trick on Latios, and make it a Choice Scarf user instead of Choice Specs, or give it Life Orb and use Recover over Dragon Pulse. Dragon Pulse is just too weak to lock yourself into, and with Garchomp and non-choiced Keldeo, you shouldn't have much of a problem dealing with Tyranitar. Speaking of Keldeo, I would change it to an Expert Belt set With Hydro Pump / Secret Sword / Icy Wind / HP [Bug / Ghost]. The final move really depends on what your team struggles with most. If it hates Jellicent, use Ghost. If it hates Celebi more, use Bug. Ghost is probably the safer bet since it can deal with both, but Bug is more reliable for Celebi. Up to you though.

Well I hope I was able to help! Good luck with the team!

Sets

Garchomp @ Focus Sash
Trait: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd / 4 SAtk
Naive Nature
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Fire Blast
- Stealth Rock

Kyurem-Black @ Leftovers
Trait: Teravolt
EVs: 56 HP / 216 Atk / 236 Spd
Lonely Nature
- Fusion Bolt
- Ice Beam
- Earth Power
- Substitute

Latios (M) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spd / 4 SDef
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Surf
- Trick

Keldeo @ Expert Belt
Trait: Justified
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spd / 4 HP
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Secret Sword
- Hidden Power [Ghost]
- Icy Wind

 

[Tyranical]

Hey everyone,
thanks for the rates and suchI will definitely consider them. I will change Kyurem-b to either a mixed or substitute+3 attacks(depending on which works better) and Keldeo to an expert belt w/icy and hp ghost. I'm a little shaky on changing scarf Garchomp though, and the team does pretty good without stealth rock. I'll still consider putting stealth rock on it and thanks for all the rates everyone!

 

[Epic OU]

Great team but,

You might want to consider icy wind on Keldeo instead of HP Ice. That being said maybe you should replace calm mind with a different move like HP electric or something. Also you might want to put a scarf on Keldeo for some fast water and fighting stab. Plus Garachomp could still be scarf or be swords dance. Thanks!

 

[Tyranical]

Thanks epic OU, I've been testing the new sets for Kyurem-Black and Keldeo and I'm enjoying them so thanks everyone.

 

[dice]

Hey Tyranitar. This team is a pretty good example of what DragMag should look like in the current metagame; however, there are a few problems your team has that I would like to fix. First of all, like many others have mentioned, you lack Stealth Rock. I cannot exaggerate how important Stealth Rock is to have on any team you create. You have two Pokemon weak to Stealth Rock yourself, so you must know the hardships it creates in the gamestate if Stealth Rock is present. Stealth Rock itself keeps several huge sweepers at bay; a few I can think off the top of my head are Dragonite, Volcarona, Gyarados, and Kyurem-B. The chip damage turns a lot of 2HKO's into OHKO's, 3HKO's into 2HKO's, etc. and it will make you win far more consistently. Secondly, Keldeo serves literally no purpose on your team. Keldeo is used in teams as a Water resist and an offensive check to Scizor while having offensive presence. In your case, you already have several Water-resists, so Keldeo is not needed in that department. Its ability to check Scizor is redundant with Magnezone's fabulous trapping abilities, so why do you have it on your team? It seems like Keldeo is simply a wasted moveslot, and you could improve your team exponentially with a change in Keldeo's slot. Lastly, your team does seem weak to some opposing dragons. and threats. Latios, for example, can simply come in, click Draco Meteor, and then it's basically a free KO everytime. Opposing Terrakion are rather troublesome since your only Fighting-resist that isn't OHKO'd by Stone Edge (Latios) is Choiced and easily fucked by a Pursuit from two common Terrakion partners in Tyranitar and Scizor. Your team is also rather weak to opposing Outrager's like Kyurem-B since your only resist is Magnezone (lol) and you lack effective means to revenge kill except using Scarf Garchomp which locks you into a move that's easily set up on. Lastly, strong Psychic and Ghost-type Pokemon like Reuniclus, Gengar, Alakazam, etc. really give shove a sandwich up your rump because you lack a Pokemon to effectively tank them on. Your best bet is Dragonite, which, to say the least, is an awful check. Because of these problems, I have a few suggestions.

First of all, changing Scarf Garchomp to your Stealth Rock setter will make your life a lot easier. You gain a Stealth Rock'er to nab that chip damage on your opponent's team, and you also gain a "dedicated lead" of sorts since you can live any hit with a Focus Sash and strike back with Garchomp's ferocious STABs. Garchomp is an effective Stealth Rock'r and it's the best Dragon that sets Stealth Rock in OU, so it seems like a perfect match for your DragMag team. A set of Stealth Rock / Fire Blast / Earthquake / Dragon Claw @ Focus Sash with max Atk and Spe EV's and a Naive nature should work out perfectly. Fire Blast let's you hit Skarm, then go for Stealth Rock as they Custap, and then nail them again so you have a Sash'd Pokemon with Stealth Rock up against a dead Pokemon with Stealth Rock and Spikes up. You're winning in that situation IMO. As I mentioned previously, changing Keldeo's slot to something for beneficial to your team will help in the long run. A Scizor seems like it'd fit perfectly in front of Keldeo. Scizor checks Outrager's, opposing Terrakion, Lati@s, and opposing Psychic and Ghost-type Pokemon like Alakazam, Reuniclus, and Gengar. Scizor seems to fit perfectly and give you an out to the said threats. Since you seem to need it desperately to check several Pokemon, I'd try out the Trapper set since you can trap the said threats with Pursuit. If not, you can always try out Bulky SD or Band sets since those two also seem like they could fit as well (ps look here). It's all up to you for testing, since theorymon in rating can't decide on which set you will like the best. Lastly, with these changes, you lose one important thing: a Scarfer. You need a Scarfer to revenge kill opposing pesky Dragons. Latios is your best bet to Scarf'ing since Dragonite is a bad Scarfer, but I would just make it a Scarf Latias. Scarf Latias gets access to Healing Wish unlike Scarf Latios, and its Special bulk is cool if you need to switch into Keldeo desperately. A Latias set of Draco Meteor / Psyshock / Trick / Healing Wish to effective check Dragon's and Healing Wish a weakened sweeper back to life if need be would work well. This fixes your redundancy issues and threat issues for the most part.

I hope I helped. Good luck.

 

[Tyranical]

Hey thanks for the in depth rate, I'll try out these changes soon and they sound pretty good. I see your point with Reuniclus, Terrakion, and Latios and I believe Scizor may work out better for the team. Thanks again and I'll definitely try this out.