Stratos
Banned deucer.
old analysis was monstrously outdated so i just took it upon myself to start the new one, dont sue me
Sets should be imo:
Wide Guard WP
LO Sneak
Lefties Sub
will write up soon.
Overview
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Aegislash is one of the best utility Pokemon in DOU. Its great defensive typing and stats make it a good switch-in to many of the most powerful attackers in the metagame, including Kangaskhan, Metagross, Diancie, and Kyurem-B, four extremely potent offensive threats that are otherwise hard to check and definitely impossible to check with a single slot. Its powerful, nearly unresisted STAB moves are capable of 2HKOing basically anything that doesn't have investment in bulk. It can effectively run multiple different sets: most commonly a Wide Guard support set, but also an offensive bruiser with Life Orb and Shadow Sneak, or a late-game cleaning wall with Substitute.
However, Aegislash's low Speed and lack of recovery make it vulnerable to being worn down over the course of the match, as it often has to take multiple hits before it attacks: one when it switches in on a hit and another on the turn it attacks. Its weaknesses to the common types of Dark, Fire, and especially Ground don't help its case either; it can take all but the strongest of hits from full health, but once chip damage removes half of its health, its utility is drastically limited. The fact that it is forced to run a unique Protect, King's Shield, doesn't help either. While it can sometimes bluff your opponent into not attacking for fear of a -2 Attack stat drop, or actually get a crucial -2, it's far more likely to let Aegislash get burned, put to sleep, or Encored.
Wide Guard Tank
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name: Wide Guard Tank
move 1: Shadow Ball
move 2: Flash Cannon
move 3: Wide Guard
move 4: King's Shield
item: Weakness Policy
evs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
ivs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
nature: Quiet
Moves
========
Shadow Ball and Flash Cannon are Aegislash's STAB attacks and complement each other well, only really missing out on Bisharp. Unfortunately, they have very little super effective coverage; Aegislash will pick up many 2HKOs, but very few OHKOs. Wide Guard is a spectacular support move to protect Aegislash's partners from Rock Slide, Diamond Storm, and, less frequently, Earthquake, Hyper Voice, and Heat Wave. It also has the nifty property of making Landorus-T unable to come in on Aegislash, especially if it lacks Stone Edge. Beware of the rarer Knock Off Landorus-T, but it does activate Weakness Policy. Substitute is an option over Wide Guard to take advantage of Aegislash's ability to force switches and to prevent Amoonguss from putting it to sleep, but Wide Guard is typically more useful. Besides, Aegislash doesn't want to dent its own HP because it wants to stay out of the KO range of super effective moves. All Aegislash should have King's Shield because Protect is already great and Blade forme cannot take hits.
Set Details
========
Aegislash doesn't need much more complicated investment than maximum HP and Special Attack. With less Special Attack, Aegislash loses the chance to OHKO Kangaskhan at +2, which is pretty important. Because Aegislash mirrors are fairly common, everyone does their own thing with Speed. Some minimize it fully to get the second hit on other Aegislash (to hit while the opposing Aegislash is in Blade forme), others use 4 Speed Modest to get the first hit (even Shield forme Aegislash can take up to 80%), and others use 80 Speed on a Tailwind team to get the jump on Mega Diancie. In general, less Speed is good so that Aegislash can take more hits in Shield forme, but you should make your own decision based on your team's needs. Safety Goggles is another item option, allowing Aegislash to counter Breloom, Venusaur, and Amoonguss, but it is useless in all other matchups.
Usage Tips
========
This set is mostly used as a pivot, switching in on threats, forcing them out, and taking a chunk out of something with one of its STAB attacks. Weakness Policy is used to discourage the opponent from attacking Aegislash with a super effective move that won't KO, which greatly extends Aegislash's lifespan by forcing the opponent to use non-super effective attacks to whittle Aegislash down first before taking it out. As such, it's recommended to keep Aegislash at high enough HP to keep the threat effective. Some important benchmarks are 55% for Mega Diancie's or Kyurem-B's Earth Power, 65% for Heatran's Heat Wave, and 75% for Mega Kangaskhan's Sucker Punch. If your opponent does activate Weakness Policy, something is probably going to faint every time Aegislash attacks, so you should focus on making its rampage last as long as possible. Typically this set is used early- and mid-game to keep momentum in your favor and won't survive to the end of the match, though you of course should keep it around if you're relying on it to check a specific threat such as Mega Metagross.
Team Options
========
More than anything, this Aegislash is spectacular with Pokemon that need help with Diancie, such as Mega Charizard Y and Kyurem-B. Honestly, though, it fits on most teams because of its all-around utility. It is awkward on Tailwind teams though, as it will be exposed in Blade forme much more often. This set is great on balanced teams which emphasize defensive synergy, especially if they include fast sleep, redirection, or Fake Out, which are all useful for extending its +2 rampages. More offensive teams would probably prefer Life Orb Aegislash.
Life Orb
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name: Life Orb
move 1: Shadow Ball
move 2: Flash Cannon
move 3: Shadow Sneak
move 4: King's Shield
item: Life Orb
evs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpA
ivs: 0 spe
nature: Quiet
Moves
========
Shadow Ball and Flash Cannon are powerful dual STAB attacks for Aegislash, as Bisharp is the only relevant Pokemon which resists both. Unfortunately, their super effective coverage is quite poor; while Aegislash 2HKOes almost everything, it OHKOes very little. Shadow Sneak is weak but useful: when a threat is at very low HP, Aegislash can simply pick it off as opposed to using King's Shield then Shadow Ball, having to take a hit and leave its partner vulnerable for two turns. All Aegislash should run King's Shield because Protect is awesome and Blade forme cannot take hits.
Set Details
========
Because Aegislash mirrors are fairly common, everyone does their own thing with Speed. In general, Aegislash wants to move second whenever possible, to take hits in Shield forme. However, because this set has a good chance to OHKO other Aegislash, it wants to move first in the mirror matchup. How much creep you run is up to you. A Mild set with 80 Speed EVs is also viable to beat base 110 Speed Pokemon in Tailwind. With Life Orb, Aegislash deals absolutely ridiculous damage, 2HKOing all but the absolute bulkiest of Pokemon with the appropriate move. Even 252 HP Mega Charizard Y is not safe, and it's one of the most specially bulky Pokemon that isn't a dedicated sponge. Spooky Plate can also be run with relatively few drawbacks, as Aegislash is usually using Shadow Ball, and it even allows you to bluff Weakness Policy.
Usage Tips
========
This Aegislash should simply be used as a hammer, just hitting things and wreaking havoc early-game in order to open holes for faster Pokemon to clean up.
Team Options
========
This Aegislash goes best on hyper offense teams. It is a great Trick Room check for those kinds of teams because it OHKOes every common setter except Cresselia, which still takes huge damage, and because it has priority and the bulk to take hits well and stall out Trick Room, unlike the rest of the team. It also checks Shaymin-S, a Pokemon which hyper offense often has trouble with.
Substitute Leftovers
########
name: Substitute Leftovers
move 1: Shadow Ball
move 2: Flash Cannon
move 3: Substitute
move 4: King's Shield
item: Leftovers
evs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
ivs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
nature: Quiet
Moves
========
Shadow Ball and Flash Cannon provide Aegislash with two-move coverage that hits every relevant Pokemon except Bisharp neutrally. Substitute and King's Shield is a classic cleaning wall combination; alternating between the moves with attacks thrown in allows Aegislash to live forever if the Pokemon which can beat it one-on-one are eliminated. Substitute also helps to patch up King's Shield's inability to block status moves, though Aegislash is still vulnerable to Encore and Taunt. In addition, Aegislash can use Substitute along with its ability to force switches earlier in the game to play around its usual switch-ins.
Set Details
========
Leftovers is vital for healing so that Aegislash can fulfill its role as a win condition via Substitute + King's Shield stalling. No more complex investment than maximum Special Attack and HP is necessary; even this comparatively bulky Aegislash is useful for hitting hard. Because Aegislash mirrors are fairly common, everyone does their own thing with Speed. In general, less Speed is good so that Aegislash can take more hits in Shield forme, but this set wants to win the mirror matchup because it has the ability to use Substitute on the opposing Aegislash and bait it into Blade forme or fish for King's Shields. How much creep you run is up to you.
Usage Tips
========
This set's main role is to serve as a win condition, cleaning the opponent's team after its counters are removed, simply by being unkillable. Early game, it can be used to blast the opponent's team with powerful Ghost-type moves and check some threats, but be sure to keep it healthy if it's likely to be your win condition.
Team Options
========
More defensive teams, which enjoy Aegislash's defensive traits but typically suffer from a lack of clear win conditions, will get the most mileage out of this set. Of course, this set needs support, and it only works on teams which are adept at clearing out its checks, which is to say Fire-, Ground-, Dark-, and strong Water-type move users. As basically all of these types are fairly popular in the metagame, this set is quite difficult to use; most teams will be better off with the tank set instead. However, it is still viable if the team is able to support it.
Other Options
########
The tank set can run Sitrus Berry to extend its longevity while bluffing Weakness Policy, but generally the threat is less effective than the real thing. It could also use Shadow Sneak for the generic usefulness of priority, but the attack seriously does almost nothing, so Wide Guard is usually more useful. The Life Orb set could use Sacred Sword over Flash Cannon to hit Bisharp, but as Bisharp is faster and almost OHKOes Aegislash, it's usually better to keep Flash Cannon, which has much better neutral coverage. For example, if the opponent could switch in either Hydreigon or Landorus-T, Flash Cannon will cover both, while Sacred Sword and Shadow Ball cover one each. A Berry lure set is a possibility, with Shuca Berry + Hidden Power Ice for Landorus-T or Colbur Berry + Sacred Sword for Bisharp, if either of these Pokemon poses a serious problem for your team.
Checks & Counters
########
**Typing Advantage**: Dark-type Pokemon are basically the only Pokemon that can shrug off a Shadow Ball, and all are capable of dealing heavy damage back to Aegislash. As such, they are the best Aegislash switch-ins. Bisharp is especially good for resisting both of Aegislash's STAB attacks. Pokemon with strong Super Effective STAB attacks such as Mega Charizard Y and Life Orb Landorus are capable of OHKOing Aegislash and make it much easier for the opposing team to keep it at bay.
**Utility Moves**: Sleep allows a foe to safely hit Aegislash without having to take major damage back, and burn puts it on a short timer so that it is no longer entirely free to alternate between attacking and using King's Shield. In addition, Amoonguss can sponge Aegislash's attacks fairly well with Rage Powder. Unfortunately, all of the common sleep users go from checks to countered if Aegislash packs Safety Goggles, and sleep- and burn-inducing moves do not work on an Aegislash behind a Substitute, although burning a Substitute Aegislash is a great way to beat it. As a last resort, Taunt forces Aegislash to stay in Blade forme so it can be hit. Unfortunately, Aegislash can simply switch out, not to mention the foe will still have to eat at least one Shadow Ball. Encore is effective on every single one of Aegislash's moves, trapping it either into Blade forme or a useless Protect. It's basically a strictly superior version of Taunt versus Aegislash, but the only remotely common users are Politoed and Togekiss. All of these utility moves are especially safe, because King's Shield does not stop them.
**Miscellaneous**: The foe can force Aegislash to switch in on resisted hits and take chip damage until it's within KO range of super effective coverage moves. This is how Aegislash is actually handled in the vast majority of cases. The hits it takes will get to it eventually, and it is much less effective when it can't attack with impunity.
Sets should be imo:
Wide Guard WP
LO Sneak
Lefties Sub
will write up soon.
Overview
########
Aegislash is one of the best utility Pokemon in DOU. Its great defensive typing and stats make it a good switch-in to many of the most powerful attackers in the metagame, including Kangaskhan, Metagross, Diancie, and Kyurem-B, four extremely potent offensive threats that are otherwise hard to check and definitely impossible to check with a single slot. Its powerful, nearly unresisted STAB moves are capable of 2HKOing basically anything that doesn't have investment in bulk. It can effectively run multiple different sets: most commonly a Wide Guard support set, but also an offensive bruiser with Life Orb and Shadow Sneak, or a late-game cleaning wall with Substitute.
However, Aegislash's low Speed and lack of recovery make it vulnerable to being worn down over the course of the match, as it often has to take multiple hits before it attacks: one when it switches in on a hit and another on the turn it attacks. Its weaknesses to the common types of Dark, Fire, and especially Ground don't help its case either; it can take all but the strongest of hits from full health, but once chip damage removes half of its health, its utility is drastically limited. The fact that it is forced to run a unique Protect, King's Shield, doesn't help either. While it can sometimes bluff your opponent into not attacking for fear of a -2 Attack stat drop, or actually get a crucial -2, it's far more likely to let Aegislash get burned, put to sleep, or Encored.
Wide Guard Tank
########
name: Wide Guard Tank
move 1: Shadow Ball
move 2: Flash Cannon
move 3: Wide Guard
move 4: King's Shield
item: Weakness Policy
evs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
ivs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
nature: Quiet
Moves
========
Shadow Ball and Flash Cannon are Aegislash's STAB attacks and complement each other well, only really missing out on Bisharp. Unfortunately, they have very little super effective coverage; Aegislash will pick up many 2HKOs, but very few OHKOs. Wide Guard is a spectacular support move to protect Aegislash's partners from Rock Slide, Diamond Storm, and, less frequently, Earthquake, Hyper Voice, and Heat Wave. It also has the nifty property of making Landorus-T unable to come in on Aegislash, especially if it lacks Stone Edge. Beware of the rarer Knock Off Landorus-T, but it does activate Weakness Policy. Substitute is an option over Wide Guard to take advantage of Aegislash's ability to force switches and to prevent Amoonguss from putting it to sleep, but Wide Guard is typically more useful. Besides, Aegislash doesn't want to dent its own HP because it wants to stay out of the KO range of super effective moves. All Aegislash should have King's Shield because Protect is already great and Blade forme cannot take hits.
Set Details
========
Aegislash doesn't need much more complicated investment than maximum HP and Special Attack. With less Special Attack, Aegislash loses the chance to OHKO Kangaskhan at +2, which is pretty important. Because Aegislash mirrors are fairly common, everyone does their own thing with Speed. Some minimize it fully to get the second hit on other Aegislash (to hit while the opposing Aegislash is in Blade forme), others use 4 Speed Modest to get the first hit (even Shield forme Aegislash can take up to 80%), and others use 80 Speed on a Tailwind team to get the jump on Mega Diancie. In general, less Speed is good so that Aegislash can take more hits in Shield forme, but you should make your own decision based on your team's needs. Safety Goggles is another item option, allowing Aegislash to counter Breloom, Venusaur, and Amoonguss, but it is useless in all other matchups.
Usage Tips
========
This set is mostly used as a pivot, switching in on threats, forcing them out, and taking a chunk out of something with one of its STAB attacks. Weakness Policy is used to discourage the opponent from attacking Aegislash with a super effective move that won't KO, which greatly extends Aegislash's lifespan by forcing the opponent to use non-super effective attacks to whittle Aegislash down first before taking it out. As such, it's recommended to keep Aegislash at high enough HP to keep the threat effective. Some important benchmarks are 55% for Mega Diancie's or Kyurem-B's Earth Power, 65% for Heatran's Heat Wave, and 75% for Mega Kangaskhan's Sucker Punch. If your opponent does activate Weakness Policy, something is probably going to faint every time Aegislash attacks, so you should focus on making its rampage last as long as possible. Typically this set is used early- and mid-game to keep momentum in your favor and won't survive to the end of the match, though you of course should keep it around if you're relying on it to check a specific threat such as Mega Metagross.
Team Options
========
More than anything, this Aegislash is spectacular with Pokemon that need help with Diancie, such as Mega Charizard Y and Kyurem-B. Honestly, though, it fits on most teams because of its all-around utility. It is awkward on Tailwind teams though, as it will be exposed in Blade forme much more often. This set is great on balanced teams which emphasize defensive synergy, especially if they include fast sleep, redirection, or Fake Out, which are all useful for extending its +2 rampages. More offensive teams would probably prefer Life Orb Aegislash.
Life Orb
########
name: Life Orb
move 1: Shadow Ball
move 2: Flash Cannon
move 3: Shadow Sneak
move 4: King's Shield
item: Life Orb
evs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpA
ivs: 0 spe
nature: Quiet
Moves
========
Shadow Ball and Flash Cannon are powerful dual STAB attacks for Aegislash, as Bisharp is the only relevant Pokemon which resists both. Unfortunately, their super effective coverage is quite poor; while Aegislash 2HKOes almost everything, it OHKOes very little. Shadow Sneak is weak but useful: when a threat is at very low HP, Aegislash can simply pick it off as opposed to using King's Shield then Shadow Ball, having to take a hit and leave its partner vulnerable for two turns. All Aegislash should run King's Shield because Protect is awesome and Blade forme cannot take hits.
Set Details
========
Because Aegislash mirrors are fairly common, everyone does their own thing with Speed. In general, Aegislash wants to move second whenever possible, to take hits in Shield forme. However, because this set has a good chance to OHKO other Aegislash, it wants to move first in the mirror matchup. How much creep you run is up to you. A Mild set with 80 Speed EVs is also viable to beat base 110 Speed Pokemon in Tailwind. With Life Orb, Aegislash deals absolutely ridiculous damage, 2HKOing all but the absolute bulkiest of Pokemon with the appropriate move. Even 252 HP Mega Charizard Y is not safe, and it's one of the most specially bulky Pokemon that isn't a dedicated sponge. Spooky Plate can also be run with relatively few drawbacks, as Aegislash is usually using Shadow Ball, and it even allows you to bluff Weakness Policy.
Usage Tips
========
This Aegislash should simply be used as a hammer, just hitting things and wreaking havoc early-game in order to open holes for faster Pokemon to clean up.
Team Options
========
This Aegislash goes best on hyper offense teams. It is a great Trick Room check for those kinds of teams because it OHKOes every common setter except Cresselia, which still takes huge damage, and because it has priority and the bulk to take hits well and stall out Trick Room, unlike the rest of the team. It also checks Shaymin-S, a Pokemon which hyper offense often has trouble with.
Substitute Leftovers
########
name: Substitute Leftovers
move 1: Shadow Ball
move 2: Flash Cannon
move 3: Substitute
move 4: King's Shield
item: Leftovers
evs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
ivs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
nature: Quiet
Moves
========
Shadow Ball and Flash Cannon provide Aegislash with two-move coverage that hits every relevant Pokemon except Bisharp neutrally. Substitute and King's Shield is a classic cleaning wall combination; alternating between the moves with attacks thrown in allows Aegislash to live forever if the Pokemon which can beat it one-on-one are eliminated. Substitute also helps to patch up King's Shield's inability to block status moves, though Aegislash is still vulnerable to Encore and Taunt. In addition, Aegislash can use Substitute along with its ability to force switches earlier in the game to play around its usual switch-ins.
Set Details
========
Leftovers is vital for healing so that Aegislash can fulfill its role as a win condition via Substitute + King's Shield stalling. No more complex investment than maximum Special Attack and HP is necessary; even this comparatively bulky Aegislash is useful for hitting hard. Because Aegislash mirrors are fairly common, everyone does their own thing with Speed. In general, less Speed is good so that Aegislash can take more hits in Shield forme, but this set wants to win the mirror matchup because it has the ability to use Substitute on the opposing Aegislash and bait it into Blade forme or fish for King's Shields. How much creep you run is up to you.
Usage Tips
========
This set's main role is to serve as a win condition, cleaning the opponent's team after its counters are removed, simply by being unkillable. Early game, it can be used to blast the opponent's team with powerful Ghost-type moves and check some threats, but be sure to keep it healthy if it's likely to be your win condition.
Team Options
========
More defensive teams, which enjoy Aegislash's defensive traits but typically suffer from a lack of clear win conditions, will get the most mileage out of this set. Of course, this set needs support, and it only works on teams which are adept at clearing out its checks, which is to say Fire-, Ground-, Dark-, and strong Water-type move users. As basically all of these types are fairly popular in the metagame, this set is quite difficult to use; most teams will be better off with the tank set instead. However, it is still viable if the team is able to support it.
Other Options
########
The tank set can run Sitrus Berry to extend its longevity while bluffing Weakness Policy, but generally the threat is less effective than the real thing. It could also use Shadow Sneak for the generic usefulness of priority, but the attack seriously does almost nothing, so Wide Guard is usually more useful. The Life Orb set could use Sacred Sword over Flash Cannon to hit Bisharp, but as Bisharp is faster and almost OHKOes Aegislash, it's usually better to keep Flash Cannon, which has much better neutral coverage. For example, if the opponent could switch in either Hydreigon or Landorus-T, Flash Cannon will cover both, while Sacred Sword and Shadow Ball cover one each. A Berry lure set is a possibility, with Shuca Berry + Hidden Power Ice for Landorus-T or Colbur Berry + Sacred Sword for Bisharp, if either of these Pokemon poses a serious problem for your team.
Checks & Counters
########
**Typing Advantage**: Dark-type Pokemon are basically the only Pokemon that can shrug off a Shadow Ball, and all are capable of dealing heavy damage back to Aegislash. As such, they are the best Aegislash switch-ins. Bisharp is especially good for resisting both of Aegislash's STAB attacks. Pokemon with strong Super Effective STAB attacks such as Mega Charizard Y and Life Orb Landorus are capable of OHKOing Aegislash and make it much easier for the opposing team to keep it at bay.
**Utility Moves**: Sleep allows a foe to safely hit Aegislash without having to take major damage back, and burn puts it on a short timer so that it is no longer entirely free to alternate between attacking and using King's Shield. In addition, Amoonguss can sponge Aegislash's attacks fairly well with Rage Powder. Unfortunately, all of the common sleep users go from checks to countered if Aegislash packs Safety Goggles, and sleep- and burn-inducing moves do not work on an Aegislash behind a Substitute, although burning a Substitute Aegislash is a great way to beat it. As a last resort, Taunt forces Aegislash to stay in Blade forme so it can be hit. Unfortunately, Aegislash can simply switch out, not to mention the foe will still have to eat at least one Shadow Ball. Encore is effective on every single one of Aegislash's moves, trapping it either into Blade forme or a useless Protect. It's basically a strictly superior version of Taunt versus Aegislash, but the only remotely common users are Politoed and Togekiss. All of these utility moves are especially safe, because King's Shield does not stop them.
**Miscellaneous**: The foe can force Aegislash to switch in on resisted hits and take chip damage until it's within KO range of super effective coverage moves. This is how Aegislash is actually handled in the vast majority of cases. The hits it takes will get to it eventually, and it is much less effective when it can't attack with impunity.
Ogreview
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name: Wide Guard Weakness Policy
move1: Shadow Ball
move2: Flash Cannon
move3: Wide Guard
move4: King's Shield
item: Weakness Policy
evs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
nature: Quiet
ivs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
Moves
========
========
========
========
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name: Life Orb
move1: Shadow Ball
move2: Flash Cannon
move3: Shadow Sneak
move4: King's Shield
item: Life Orb
evs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpA
nature: Quiet
ivs: 0 Spe
Moves
========
========
========
========
########
name: Substitute Leftovers
move1: Shadow Ball
move2: Flash Cannon
move3: Substitute
move4: King's Shield
item: Leftovers
evs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
nature: Quiet
ivs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
Moves
========
========
========
========
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- Great defensive traits make it a good switchin on a large portion of the metagame, notably including Kangaskhan, Metagross, Diancie, and Kyurem-B, four extremely potent offensive threats.
- Access to powerful Ghost STAB means it can 2kho most of the metagame.
- Three different sets: bulky support with Wide Guard, offensive bruiser with Life Orb and Shadow Sneak, and end-game wall with Substitute.
- Low speed and no recovery means it is vulnerable to being worn down over the course of the match.
- Three common weaknesses in Dark, Fire, and Ground; it can take a hit of them from full health but not once it's been weakened.
- King's Shield is shit and makes it extremely vulnerable to Spore and Wisp.
########
name: Wide Guard Weakness Policy
move1: Shadow Ball
move2: Flash Cannon
move3: Wide Guard
move4: King's Shield
item: Weakness Policy
evs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
nature: Quiet
ivs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
Moves
========
- Shadow Ball primary STAB, Flash Cannon provides coverage for Darks and Kang
- Wide Guard is a useful support move; it protects partners from Rock Slides and Diamond Storms and, less frequently, Earthquakes, Hyper Voices, and Heat Waves. Landorus-T is useless vs WG Aegis, especially if packing Rock Slide > Stone Edge
- King's Shield even tho its shit cuz taking hits in sword form = nope
========
- Fairly straightforward HP and SpA investment to make a bulky hard-hitting tank.
- Speed investment: Everyone does their own thing. Some minimize it fully to get second hit on other Aegis, some use 4 Speed Modest to always get first hit, some EV for other benchmarks in or out of Tailwind, some even use minimized Level 99. Speed is put low here because Aegis wants to take all hits in shield form, but make your own decision on what specific benchmark you want to hit.
- Can use sub over WG to take advantage of your ability to force switches and prevent Amoonguss from Sporing, but WG is typically more useful. Besides, youre then chipping away at your own HP; Aegis always wants to stay out of SE move KO range to make it extremely annoying, and moves on sub don't activate WP.
- Goggles can be used on the first set to turn amoonguss, breloom, venu from checks into fodder but is otherwise outclassed
========
- This set is mostly used as a defensive pivot, switching in on threats, forcing them out, and taking a chunk out of something with one of its STAB attacks.
- Weakness Policy is used to "discourage" the opponent from attacking Aegis with a super effective move from high HP; it's recommended to keep aegi at high enough HP, depending on opponent's team composition (some relevant ones include 55% for diancie/kyurem ep, 65% for tran heat wave, and 75% for Kang Sucker/Lando EQ) to keep the threat effective.
- If your opponent is a goon and activates it anyways then basically you can just kill something every turn until your Aegislash is forced out or killed, so you should try to support it and make the rampage last as long as possible.
- Typically used early/mid game and won't survive till the end of the match
========
- More than anything, this Aegislash is great with Pokemon that really enjoy having a Diancie check. As such, it goes really well with Charizard, but also things like Kyurem-B. It kind of just fits on every team because of its all-around utility.
- Awkward on tailwind tho cuz its in blade form a lot more then
- For use on balanced teams which emphasize defensive synergy; if it's on teams with fast sleepers/fake out/redirection then all the merrier because its +2 rampages become that much more potent. Hyper offensive teams probably would prefer the Life Orb variant.
########
name: Life Orb
move1: Shadow Ball
move2: Flash Cannon
move3: Shadow Sneak
move4: King's Shield
item: Life Orb
evs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpA
nature: Quiet
ivs: 0 Spe
Moves
========
- Shadow Ball and Flash Cannon provide powerful dual STAB
- Shadow Sneak is still weak, but can be used to pick off low-HP threats where you would normally have to take a hit first, or sometimes have to kings shield then take a hit.
- king's shield because fuck taking hits in sword form
========
- same note on speed as above, tho now modest isnt rly an option, you could do like rash tho
- With Life Orb, Aegislash deals ridiculous damage, 2hkoing basically everything with the appropriate STAB move. 252+ SpA Life Orb Aegislash-Blade Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Mega Charizard Y: 185-218 (51.3 - 60.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO not even zard is safe, and its seriously one of the most specially bulky pokes that isnt just a straight up wall.
- Could possibly use spooky plate but you'll probably want more power rather than a slightly longer living aegis. however, does let you bluff WP.
========
- just hit things and do big damage
- Should typically be used early game to open holes for your faster pokemon to clean.
========
- hyper offense shit. Works well to open holes, and serves as a great TR check since it completely donks TR setters (even cress takes big damage and can easily be chipped in with a partner)
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name: Substitute Leftovers
move1: Shadow Ball
move2: Flash Cannon
move3: Substitute
move4: King's Shield
item: Leftovers
evs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
nature: Quiet
ivs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
Moves
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- Shadow Ball + Flash Cannon is gr8 2 move coverage
- Substitute + Protect with leftovers is the classic lategame wall combo; block any status, soak any hit, heal up with leftovers. Especially nifty on Aegislash because ks sucks
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- Leftovers is used to give Aegislash longevity so it can stay alive nearly infinitely by alternating Substitute and King's Shield.
- The EVs are simple
- same note about speed again
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- This set is supposed to be used after its counters are removed to clean the opponent by being unkillable.
- Early game can be played like the tank set, but make sure you keep it healthy if it's likely to be your win condition.
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- balanced / more defensive teams who want aegislash's defensive traits but also lack clear win conditions and can viably remove aegislash's counters.
- this set is pretty difficult to use in the current metagame because most things can break its subs, most teams are better off with the first set.
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- Sitrus on first set for extra lifeyness?
- sneak on the first set maybe but generally less utility than WG and weak as fuck
- Sacred Sword over Sneak or Flash Cannon on the LO attacker to hit Bisharp (kang 2hkoed by either), but is otherwise outclassed.
- Shuca + HP Ice, Colbur + Sacred Sword berry lures for lando, bisharp respectively
- maybe SD? pretty bad but it could possibly do something if u catch ppl by surprise maybe
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- Hyperstrong Attacks: I'm talkin shit like Zard Y Overheat, LO Lando-I Earth Power. If you have something which can OHKO this thing your life is much simpler.
- Dark-Types: Basically the only things which can tank a shadow ball and do shit back. Bonus points if you have Bisharp, which can also tank Flash Cannon
- Sleep/Burn: Not perfect, but good. Former puts it out of commission so you can safely hit it, latter puts it on a short timer so it can't just KS every other turn for lulz. Bonus: can't protect against these. sleep users cant touch aegi aside from sleepin it tho
- Taunt: Last resort, forces it to stay blade form or switch out so you can do significant damage. Downsides: you still have to tank shadow balls
- Bringing it into unusable HP levels with neutral and resisted attacks: what you'll end up wanting to do, usually.
- encore from toed or kiss is great no matter what move aegi uses
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