EDIT: apparently Magearna already got moved to S, read this as : Why Magearna should stay S
Magearna A+ -> S
As many of you already know, Magearna's rise to S rank has been a topic of discussion for the past few days. I'd like to summarize all of the phenomenal stuff Magearna does in OU and try to convince you that it belongs in S rank, right next to Landorus-Therian.
1. Rise of the Shift Gear set
With the ban of Mega-Metagross Magearna has an incredibly easy time sweeping through offense with this set. Shuca Berry can help it target its ground weakness while a simple use of Stealth Rock by its team combats its weakness to STAB fire attacks. Z-crystals, in particular Fairium Z and Fightinium Z allow Magearna to nuke a Pokemon and gain a special attack boost to go from there, however Electrium Z can be used as a lure for pokemon such as Toxapex and Celesteela. In addition to that, it can be completely unchecked by scarf user such as Greninja and Nihilego that aim to target mainly Volcarona. It also has a solid matchup against Balance, only struggling against Stall where it manages to force out Mega-Sableye and can sometimes combat Dugtrio with Shuca Berry.
2. Utility of the Assault Vest set
Thanks to it's great Fairy/Steel typing and access to Volt Switch this pivoting blanket checking monstrum of a set has been around since the start of SM OU. It is the best psychic resist in the tier as well as the best overall Greninja answer. The one thing holding this set back from being on every team is that it fits rather poorly with the best current Megas Mega-Scizor and Mega-Mawile and is hard to fit onto Mega-Charizard Y teams, however, some Mega-Pinsir action might interesting.
3. Standalone Trick Room set as well as daddy of Trick Room Teams
The standalone Trick Room set used to be the go-to for most offensive Magearna, however, Shift Gear has kind of taken its position in the metagame... for now? It is undeniable that the set itself is very threatening in OU as the combination of bulk and offensive powerhouse via Z-Crystals has the potential to destroy most teams.
However, this is not where Magearna's use of Trick Room ends. By itself it has created a new viable archetype in OU, which is dedicated Trick Room. Until this generation, good Trick Room setter where mostly psychic/ghost types , limiting the defensive utility a Trick Room team was able to have (such as dark resists). For example in this blunder live at the top of the OU ladder 3/7 teams were Trick Room. If you think dedicated Trick Room is a gimmick then your knowledge is outdated, because Magearna begs to differ.
Magearna A+ -> S
As many of you already know, Magearna's rise to S rank has been a topic of discussion for the past few days. I'd like to summarize all of the phenomenal stuff Magearna does in OU and try to convince you that it belongs in S rank, right next to Landorus-Therian.
1. Rise of the Shift Gear set
With the ban of Mega-Metagross Magearna has an incredibly easy time sweeping through offense with this set. Shuca Berry can help it target its ground weakness while a simple use of Stealth Rock by its team combats its weakness to STAB fire attacks. Z-crystals, in particular Fairium Z and Fightinium Z allow Magearna to nuke a Pokemon and gain a special attack boost to go from there, however Electrium Z can be used as a lure for pokemon such as Toxapex and Celesteela. In addition to that, it can be completely unchecked by scarf user such as Greninja and Nihilego that aim to target mainly Volcarona. It also has a solid matchup against Balance, only struggling against Stall where it manages to force out Mega-Sableye and can sometimes combat Dugtrio with Shuca Berry.
2. Utility of the Assault Vest set
Thanks to it's great Fairy/Steel typing and access to Volt Switch this pivoting blanket checking monstrum of a set has been around since the start of SM OU. It is the best psychic resist in the tier as well as the best overall Greninja answer. The one thing holding this set back from being on every team is that it fits rather poorly with the best current Megas Mega-Scizor and Mega-Mawile and is hard to fit onto Mega-Charizard Y teams, however, some Mega-Pinsir action might interesting.
3. Standalone Trick Room set as well as daddy of Trick Room Teams
The standalone Trick Room set used to be the go-to for most offensive Magearna, however, Shift Gear has kind of taken its position in the metagame... for now? It is undeniable that the set itself is very threatening in OU as the combination of bulk and offensive powerhouse via Z-Crystals has the potential to destroy most teams.
However, this is not where Magearna's use of Trick Room ends. By itself it has created a new viable archetype in OU, which is dedicated Trick Room. Until this generation, good Trick Room setter where mostly psychic/ghost types , limiting the defensive utility a Trick Room team was able to have (such as dark resists). For example in this blunder live at the top of the OU ladder 3/7 teams were Trick Room. If you think dedicated Trick Room is a gimmick then your knowledge is outdated, because Magearna begs to differ.
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