OU Kartana

[OVERVIEW]

The first thing that jumps out when looking at Kartana is its absolutely massive Attack stat that trumps even that of Deoxys-A. Access to Swords Dance and its ability Beast Boost allow Kartana to become a monstrous sweeper under the right conditions. In addition to resisting most commonly seen priority moves such as Extreme Speed and Water Shuriken, Kartana's typing also allows it to deal with common threats on stall, including Unaware walls like Clefable and Quagsire. With base 109 Speed, Kartana outpaces plenty of threats in the OU tier, including common Pokemon like Landorus-T, Tapu Lele, and Keldeo. Unfortunately, Kartana falls just short of Speed tying with base 110s such as Latios and Gengar. Although Kartana's Attack stat is sky-high, it has relatively low Base Power moves, with its strongest Steel-type STAB move having only 70 Base Power. Its coverage moves are also equally weak; for example, Sacred Sword isn't more than 85 Base Power. Even after a Swords Dance boost, Kartana is unable to break through bulkier threats such as Skarmory and Celesteela due to the low Base Power of these moves. Because of this, a Z-Move nuke is almost mandatory in order to facilitate a possible sweep. Despite access to a fair number of coverage moves, Kartana still manages to be completely walled by Pokemon such as Zapdos, which takes a pittance from any of its moves even after a Swords Dance boost and can OHKO it back with Heat Wave. Kartana's excellent Defense stat is completely undermined by its abysmal Special Defense stat and average HP stat, which means that it is blown back by even resisted special hits and cannot hope to switch in on anything other than a neutral physical hit or Poison-type attack. Although it requires plenty of team support, Kartana can successfully function as a early-game breaker or late-game cleaner.

[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Leaf Blade
move 3: Smart Strike
move 4: Sacred Sword
item: Fightinium Z
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Jolly
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Swords Dance boosts Kartana's already ridiculously high Attack stat to astronomical levels and allows it to break through most non-defensive Pokemon with its relatively low Base Power moves. Leaf Blade and Smart Strike are Kartana's main STAB moves and hit a large portion of the tier for neutral or super effective damage, barring Steel- and Fire-types such as Celesteela and Heatran. Sacred Sword rounds off Kartana's coverage and hits the majority of what Leaf Blade and Smart Strike do not, such as Magnezone and Ferrothorn, with the exception of Steel-types that are neutrally hit by Fighting-type moves, such as Celesteela and Skarmory, and Pokemon like Zapdos and Volcarona that resist all three of Kartana's moves.

Set Details
========

A Jolly nature along with maximum investment in Speed and Attack allows Kartana to hit as hard as possible while outspeeding as many threats as possible, such as Keldeo, Terrakion, Garchomp, Mega Pinsir, Nihilego, Volcarona, and other threats in the base 100 Speed tier. Investment in some bulk in order to more easily capitalize on setup opportunities may seem attractive due to Kartana's good Defense stat and already very high Attack stat, but because of its low Base Power moves and poor special bulk, this is a highly inferior option to full offensive investment. Fightinium Z is by far the best item option on Kartana, as it allows Kartana to break through the bulky Steel-types that attempt to wall it after a Swords Dance boost, such as Skarmory, Mega Scizor, and Celesteela. It is also worth noting that +2 All-Out Pummeling is capable of OHKOing offensive Volcarona without risking a Flame Body burn.

Usage Tips
========

Finding setup opportunities isn't as difficult as one might think; however, it is making use of Kartana's accumulated boosts successfully that is more challenging. Kartana naturally forces out Pokemon that cannot touch it, such as Ferrothorn, Tapu Fini, Mimikyu, and Mega Venusaur lacking Hidden Power Fire, so try to set up a Swords Dance upon forcing the switch. Early-game, it may be better to use one of Kartana's attacking moves instead of using Swords Dance when forcing a switch, as it may wear down Kartana's switch-ins for a sweep late-game. Alternatively, using Swords Dance early-game and netting a crucial KO or heavily weakening defensive threats such as Celesteela, Skarmory, and Mega Scizor may also be worth sacrificing Kartana for. While Kartana is naturally quite fast, it still fails to outspeed threats at the base 110 Speed range and above, such as Latios and Gengar. Try to eliminate or weaken these threats before attempting to set up, as otherwise they can come in with impunity and proceed to KO Kartana. When equipped with Fightinium Z, Kartana is capable of OHKOing or nearly OHKOing premier defensive threats such as Skarmory, Celesteela, and Mega Scizor after a Swords Dance boost. Don't shy away from using Kartana's Z-Move on its intended target, as opposing teams will not likely have another answer to +2 Kartana, so switching out will only hurt them in the long run. Once Kartana gains a +3 Attack boost from the combination of Swords Dance and a KO thanks to Beast Boost, it is nearly impossible to stop outside of strong, unresisted priority and faster Pokemon. Kartana also has the capability to demolish stall teams due to its inability to be poisoned, ease of setting up, and ability to break through Unaware walls like Clefable and Quagsire by virtue of its typing.

Team Options
========

Because Kartana's moves have such low Base Power, entry hazards are essential for KOing extremely bulky Steel-types; for example, +2 All-Out Pummeling has a decently high chance to OHKO physically defensive Skarmory after Stealth Rock damage. Greninja is one of the best Spikes setters in the tier, and it can easily wear down or even KO threats to Kartana with its fantastic coverage and Protean ability. Heatran is immune to Fire-type moves, and while it shares a Fighting-type weakness with Kartana, it can easily get up Stealth Rock multiple times during the match due to its excellent natural bulk and tendency to force switches. Landorus-T is also a great teammate to set up Stealth Rock, as it resists Fighting-type moves, has a good offensive presence, and can get Kartana in safely via a slower U-turn. Kartana excels when faster threats are removed, so strong priority users such as Zygarde, Weavile, and Mawile can help eliminate them. Weavile has the added benefit of being able to Pursuit trap Pokemon faster than Kartana like Latios and Gengar. Other trappers like Magnezone are able to eliminate bulky Steel-types such as Skarmory, Celesteela, and Mega Scizor, allowing Kartana to preserve its Z-Move nuke for another threat.

Other than damaging entry hazards like Stealth Rock and Spikes, Sticky Web is one of the most effective ways to set up a Kartana sweep, as many of its faster enemies are grounded and unable to outspeed Kartana after the Speed drop without a Choice Scarf equipped. Smeargle and Shuckle are both viable users of the move and can provide additional Stealth Rock support.

Because Kartana offers such little defensive synergy, it is best paired with offensive Pokemon that can create holes in the opposing team for Kartana to eventually clean up. Ash-Greninja, Keldeo, Tapu Lele, Tapu Koko, and Gengar are all excellent examples of offensive threats that can easily force the opponent on the defensive and pave the way for a Kartana sweep. Defensively oriented teammates can also be helpful to serve as a pivot for Kartana or to absorb special hits that Kartana is unable to take. Tapu Fini in particular gains special mention for its resistance to Kartana's two weaknesses, Fire and Fighting. It can also halve a foe's HP with Nature's Madness or wear it down with Moonblast and Scald. Additionally, while Kartana isn't extremely susceptible to entry hazards, Tapu Fini can also utilize Defog to prevent Kartana from being worn down every time it enters the battlefield. Specially defensive Zygarde can easily tank most neutral special hits for Kartana and takes on Fire-types for it, while Kartana deals with the Fairy-types that give Zygarde issues.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Kartana is a fairly one-dimensional Pokemon, meaning that it does not have a wide variety of viable sets; however, there are several other niche options available to it. Choice Scarf is a decently viable option but is inferior to the Swords Dance sweeper set, as its low Base Power moves and poor offensive typing leave it unable to KO setup sweepers that it is meant to check, such as Mega Charizard X and Volcarona. Steelium Z is a useful option to nab the KO on bulky Grass-types such as Amoonguss and Venusaur, but it is inferior to a Fightinium Z set due to the latter's ability to break through more common threats like Mega Scizor and Celesteela. Adrenaline Orb is an interesting option to mess with Landorus-T switch ins, as Kartana will gain a +1 Speed boost from Adrenaline Orb and +1 Attack from Swords Dance + Intimidate, and then it gains the ability to sweep the opposing team by obtaining additional Attack raises from Beast Boost. However, this is a rather gimmicky option, as Kartana will still take considerable damage from Earthquake and Rocky Helmet recoil. Kartana has access to Defog, but its frailty means that it will rarely have the chance to utilize the move more than once, and it takes up a valuable moveslot for Swords Dance or a coverage move. Psycho Cut and Night Slash are very situational coverage options, with the former hitting Mega Venusaur and Amoonguss harder than any other move Kartana has with the exception of a +2 Corkscrew Crash and the latter hitting Alolan Marowak without expending Kartana's Z-Move. Lastly, a set consisting of Swords Dance, Leaf Blade, Sacred Sword, and Vacuum Wave along with Grassium Z can function on defensive teams as a decent stallbreaker due to its ability to remove common stall staples such as Dugtrio, Toxapex, and Skarmory with the correct plays. Another benefit of running Grassium Z is the ability to KO Alolan Marowak at +2 and KO all variants of Zapdos after a bit of prior damage.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Faster Attackers**: Anything that possesses base 110 Speed or higher outspeeds Kartana and can KO it with the proper move. Despite its good Defense stat, Kartana still falls to super effective Fighting- and especially Fire-type moves.

**Faster Special Attackers**: Kartana drops to nearly any decently powerful special attack, even when resisted, due to its paltry base 31 Special Defense. For example, Tapu Koko's Electric Terrain- and item-boosted Thunderbolt has a good chance to OHKO Kartana from full health, and most resisted special attacks land a 2HKO on Kartana at worst.

**Bulky Steel-types**: Although Fightinium Z provides Kartana with the means to possibly break through bulky Steel-types that attempt to wall it, Kartana cannot hope to break through them without first setting up, and Skarmory in particular is able to eat a boosted hit from full health and phaze it out with Whirlwind. Celesteela can take an unboosted All-Out Pummeling and OHKO Kartana with Flamethrower or Fire Blast, but it falls to a +2 All-Out Pummeling.

**Bulky Grass-types**: Bulky Grass-types such as Mega Venusaur and Amoonguss can tank any hit bar the rare +2 Corkscrew Crash or boosted Psycho Cut and proceed to threaten Kartana with Hidden Power Fire. Physically defensive Tangrowth functions similarly but still takes a decent amount of damage from +2 All-Out Pummeling, as it does not resist Fighting-type moves.

**Defensive Zapdos and Volcarona**: With proper defensive investment, both of these Pokemon can easily tank a boosted hit from Kartana by virtue of their typing and OHKO with their Fire-type moves in return.

**Alolan Marowak**: Alolan Marowak is decently physically bulky and can take a boosted STAB move from Kartana as well as being immune to Fighting-type moves, only fearing the rare Night Slash.


[OVERVIEW]

  • Hella high attack
  • Kinda fast-ish, still outsped by 110+
  • Ass special defense
  • Ass base power moves
  • Swords Dance is op
  • Breaks through Unaware users because typing

[SET]
name: BreakDance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Leaf Blade
move 3: Smart Strike
move 4: Sacred Sword
item: Fightinium Z
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Jolly
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
  • Use Swords Dance to break shit
  • Leaf Blade + Smart Strike are strongest (weakass) STAB moves
  • Sacred Sword covers everything else for the most part, still weak af tho
Set Details
========
  • Jolly cuz you don't wanna lose to Keldeo and below lul
  • Beast Boost still gives you Attack boost with Jolly because 181 Atk l0l
  • Fight Z + Sacred Sword poops on Steels at +2 like Skarm and Metagross
  • Max / max Atk and Speed because duh
Usage Tips
========
  • Get safe switch ins when possible because Kartana is literally frail as a card on the special side
  • Can force out and then set up on things like Tapu Fini and Ferrothorn (watch out for t wave I guess)
  • Absolutely wrecks stall with typing and Swords Dance
  • Getting a KO grants more power so even revenge killing with Kartana despite not boosting can be very effective in a late-game sweep
  • Has actually good defense but not HP so it still shouldn't be switched in if possible
  • Faster threats are hard to deal with, eliminate those before trying to set up

Team Options
========
  • Entry hazards = easier sweeping
  • Greninja is the best Spikes user and is fast and can eliminate many threats to Kartana
  • Basically Water-types that attack like Keldeo / Gyarados etc good synergy
  • Magnezone traps steels
  • Something to sponge special hits like Tapu Fini
  • Kartana excels on webs teams, shuckle / smeargle can be good teammates for this reason
  • Something to kill Zapdos and Volcarona since they resist the entire moveset... Nihilego takes both on

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
  • no
  • jk defog
  • and steelium-z
  • and *sigh* scarf

Checks and Counters
===================
  • Literally anything faster than it
  • Any special attack
  • Fat Grasses and Steels (latter can be punished with +2 All-Out Pummeling tho)
  • Zapdos and Volcarona
 
Last edited:

Colonel M

I COULD BE BORED!
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- Mention Defog in OO I guess. You can throw Steelium Z there too.

But seriously this is lit otherwise.



QC 1/3
 

Gary

Can be abrasive at times (no joke)
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Lol memes

But in all seriousness everything written here is really vague. I'd like to see it more fleshed out and detailed with less lols before we can allow this to be written up. I know Kartana sucks but regardless, needs to be done that way. As soon as you put it in QC, that tells us that it's finished and ready to be checked, but in its current stage, it looks like a bunch of placeholder sentences, which is fine for when it's a WIP, not in QC.

Tag me when you're done and I will give you a second check.
 

PK Gaming

Persona 5
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To summarize this, you want to start with the most important pros of Kartana in the first line of the overview, followed by the 2nd most relevant point, then the third and so on.

Example:
  • Kartana functions on offensive teams as a breaker, utilizing its obscenely high Attack stat and Swords Dance to wallbreak.
  • It's good Speed gives it utility against offensive teams, as it is capable of outspeeding Pokemon such as Garchomp, Terrakion and Tapu Lele.
  • It's typing and good physical Defense makes it a passable switch in to dangerous threats like Garchomp and Mega Metagross.
  • Unlike most sweepers, it doesn't have to worry about Unaware users such as Quagsire and Clefable since it can cleanly OHKO them

And then you hit up the cons:
  • It's abysmal Special Defense makes it take huge damage from even resisted Special moves, and is a huge weak point in general.
  • While fast, it is generally easy to revenge KO, since it's outspaced by common faster Pokemon such as Gengar, Pheromosa and Scarf users.
  • It can struggle to sweep in practice due to its poor coverage and a complete reliance on FightiniumZ.
 

Halcyon.

@Choice Specs
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As ass as it is, I think Timid Kartana should be mentioned in OO. Its something people WILL use whether we include it or not, and I think it has at least as much merit as Adrenaline Orb. At the very least, if we don't include Timid Kartana, I would remove Adrenaline Orb, since it's only useful one time and you don't even beat Lando with +1/+1 and take a huge chunk of your health from EQ + two turns of Rocky Helmet.

I would also include a separate Checks and Counters section for general special attackers. You mention it in the faster pokemon section, but I mean, Tapu Koko has a good chance of OHKOing Kartana with a Magnet boosted Thunderbolt lol. This thing is so frail on the special side that pretty much any special attacker can beat it. Just try to emphasize that even resisted special attacks will often 2HKO it if not straight up OHKO it.

Finally, and other members of QC may disagree with me, I think Psycho Cut should be slashed with Smart Strike. It really doesn't provide you with much coverage, other than stuff like Tangrowth, which you 2HKO with Sacred Sword at +2 anyway. I suppose you also hit Bulu with it, but I don't think Bulu is more relevant than stuff like Mega Venusaur, Amoonguss, Toxapex, and Gengar (Smart Strike isn't a guaranteed KO at full, but Psycho Cut is). I think it at least deserves a slash instead of an OO mention.

Other than those things, consider this a QC check!

QC 2/3
 
I added an additional section about faster special attackers in the Checks and Counters section, but I'm going to hold off on adding the Psycho Cut slash and the Timid mention until I get more QC input, as I know the latter especially has been vehemently opposed for quite some time now.

Thank you for the check, this is now written and ready for QC #3.
 

Gary

Can be abrasive at times (no joke)
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Tbh a Kartana without a Z move is shit anyway, but Timid Kartana is honestly a shitty gimmick that serves no merit outside of surprise factor. You are basically forcing Kartana to conform to ~109 base Attack in order to get the Speed boost, so you are absolutely forced to SD at some point to clean, and you still fail to touch bulkier builds. Kartana's main niche lies in its massive Attack and ability to blow through fat cores, not sweep. Adrenaline Orb is gimmicky as well, but at least you retain the high Attack power of Kartana and can still pose as a massive threat to bulkier builds at +2, and with Lando being such a common pivot, if played correctly a +2 Kartana can be very hard to revenge at +1 for teams lacking something like Zapdos, Steela, Skarm, etc because of its Speed tier which keeps it from being revenged by common Scarfers. Again, pretty shitty without a Z move, but it sure as hell beats Timid.

And yes, QC did just discuss this so please don't mention it.
 

p2

Banned deucer.
before i drop a 3rd check i just wanna say that i think this should be a second set

Kartana @ Grassium Z
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Leaf Blade
- Sacred Sword
- Vacuum Wave

this set trades being able to bully fat grasses and stuff for an absurd stall matchup, it basically 6-0s nearly all varieties of stall and being able to have that mon that can 6-0 stall with ease is just really great. it's pretty awesome and still has its uses because it can still pressure fat waters and in general bloom doom is a fuckin nuke, it just breaks so much stuff. you could pair this with a lot of stuff, but i think its most effective on defensively inclined teams. Vertex also introduced me to this set so he might have more to say about it
 

Gary

Can be abrasive at times (no joke)
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I wouldn't give Kartana so much credit on being able to break stall. The only set that actually can successfully break stall is that gimmicky Vacuum Wave set, because otherwise Dugtrio just traps you and on double Defog stall Zapdos walls you regardless.

Probably worth mentioning that another perk of the Grassium set is that it can OHKO all variants of Zapdos with just a bit of prior damage at +2. Timid sets just drop regardless. Same with Alolan Marowak, which actually just dies.

QC 3/3
 
I wouldn't give Kartana so much credit on being able to break stall. The only set that actually can successfully break stall is that gimmicky Vacuum Wave set, because otherwise Dugtrio just traps you and on double Defog stall Zapdos walls you regardless.

Probably worth mentioning that another perk of the Grassium set is that it can OHKO all variants of Zapdos with just a bit of prior damage at +2. Timid sets just drop regardless. Same with Alolan Marowak, which actually just dies.
QC 3/3
Implemented, ready for GP
 

frenzyplant

Inertia is a property of matter.
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1/2 :)

add remove (comments)

[OVERVIEW]

The first thing that jumps out when looking at Kartana is its absolutely massive Attack stat that trumps even that of Deoxys-A. Access to Swords Dance and its ability Beast Boost allow Kartana to become a monstrous sweeper under the right conditions. In addition to resisting most of the commonly seen priority moves such as Extreme Speed and Water Shuriken, Kartana's typing also allows it to deal with common threats on stall, including Unaware walls like Clefable and Quagsire. At With base 109 Speed, Kartana outpaces plenty of threats in the OU tier, including common Pokemon like Landorus-T, Tapu Lele, and Keldeo. Unfortunately, Kartana falls just short of Speed tying with base 110s such as Latios and Gengar. Although Kartana's Attack stat is sky-high, (hyphen) it has relatively low Base Power moves, with its strongest Steel-type STAB move having only 70 Base Power. Its coverage moves are also equally weak; for example, Sacred Sword and Night Slash aren't more than 85 and 70 Base Power, respectively. (I don't think this is necessary. also, Night Slash is only given a cursory mention in OO, so maybe just talk about Sacred Sword?) Even after a Swords Dance boost, Kartana is unable to break through more bulky bulkier threats such as Skarmory and Celesteela due to its the low Base Power of these moves. (to link this sentence to the previous examples) Because of this, a Z-Move nuke is almost mandatory in order to facilitate a possible sweep. Despite access to a fair number of coverage moves, Kartana still manages to be completely walled by Pokemon such as Zapdos, who which takes a pittance from any of its moves even after a Swords Dance boost and can OHKO it back with Heat Wave. Kartana's excellent Defense stat is completely undermined by its abysmal Special Defense stat and average HP stat, which means that it is blown back by even resisted special hits and cannot hope to switch in on anything other than a neutral physical hit or Poison-type attack. Although it requires plenty of team support, Kartana can successfully function as a early-game breaker or late-game cleaner. (this sentence should be fine because it includes some new information, but be careful of "conclusion sentences" that don't actually tell the reader anything)

[SET]
name: BreakDancer
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Leaf Blade
move 3: Smart Strike
move 4: Sacred Sword
item: Fightinium Z
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Jolly
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Swords Dance boosts Kartana's already ridiculously high Attack stat to astronomical levels and allows it to break through most non-defensive Pokemon with its relatively low Base Power moves. Leaf Blade and Smart Strike are Kartana's main STAB moves, (remove comma) and hit a large portion of the tier for neutral or super effective damage, barring Steel- and Fire-types such as Celesteela and Heatran. Sacred Sword rounds off Kartana's coverage, (remove comma) and hits the majority of what Leaf Blade and Smart Strike do not, such as Magnezone and Ferrothorn, with the exception of Steel-types that are neutrally hit by Fighting-type moves, such as Celesteela and Skarmory, and Pokemon like Zapdos and Volcarona that naturally resist all three of Kartana's moves.

Set Details
========

The EVs and nature are fairly straightforward. A Jolly nature along with maximum investment in Speed and Attack allows Kartana to hit as hard as possible while outspeeding as many threats as possible, such as Keldeo, Terrakion, Garchomp, Mega Pinsir, Nihilego, Volcarona, and other threats in the base 100 Speed tier. Investment in some bulk in order to more easily capitalize on setup opportunities may seem attractive due to Kartana's good Defense stat and already very high Attack stat, but because of its low Base Power moves and poor special bulk, it this (since you use "it" to refer to different things in this sentence) is a highly inferior option to full offensive investment. Fightinium Z is by far the best item option on Kartana, as it allows Kartana to break through the bulky Steel-types that attempt to wall it after a Swords Dance boost, such as Skarmory, Mega Scizor, and Celesteela. It is also worth noting that +2 All-Out Pummeling is capable of OHKOing offensive Volcarona without risking the a Flame Body burn.

Usage Tips
========

Finding setup opportunities aren't isn't as difficult as one might think; however, it is making use of the Kartana's accumulated boosts successfully that is more challenging. Kartana naturally forces out Pokemon that cannot touch it, such as Ferrothorn, Tapu Fini, Mimikyu, and Mega Venusaur lacking Hidden Power Fire, so try to set up a Swords Dance upon forcing the switch out. Early-game, it may be better to use one of Kartana's attacking moves instead of using Swords Dance when forcing out a switch, (either "forcing out a(n opposing) Pokemon" or "forcing a switch") as it may wear down Kartana's switch-ins for a sweep late-game. Alternatively, using Swords Dance early-game and netting a crucial kill KO or heavily weakening defensive threats such as Celesteela, Skarmory, and Mega Scizor may also be worth sacrificing Kartana for. While Kartana is naturally quite fast, it still fails to outspeed threats at the base 110 Speed range and above, such as Latios and Gengar. Try to eliminate or weaken these threats before attempting to set up, as otherwise they can come in with impunity and proceed to KO Kartana. When equipped with Fightinium Z, Kartana is capable of OHKOing or nearly OHKOing premier defensive threats such as Skarmory, Celesteela, and Mega Scizor after a Swords Dance boost. Don't shy away from using Kartana's Z-Move on its intended target, as opposing teams will not likely have another answer to a +2 Kartana, so switching out will only hurt them in the long run. Once Kartana gains a +3 Attack boost from the combination of Swords Dance and a KO thanks to Beast Boost, it is nearly impossible to stop outside of strong, unresisted priority and faster Pokemon. Kartana also has the capability to demolish stall teams due to its inability to be poisoned, ease of setting up, and ability to break through Unaware walls like Clefable and Quagsire by virtue of its typing.

Team Options
========

Because Kartana's moves have such low Base Power, entry hazards are essential to obtaining KOs on KOing extremely bulky Steel-types; for example, +2 All-Out Pummeling has a decently high chance to OHKO physically defensive Skarmory after Stealth Rock. Greninja is one of the best Spikes setters in the tier, and it can easily wear down or even KO threats to Kartana with its fantastic coverage and Protean ability. Heatran is immune to Fire-type moves, and while it shares a Fighting-type weakness with Kartana, it can easily get up Stealth Rock multiple times during the match due to its excellent natural bulk and tendency to force switches. Landorus-T is also a great teammate to set up Stealth Rock, as it resists Fighting-type moves, has a good offensive presence, and can get Kartana in safely via a slower U-turn. Kartana excels when faster threats are removed, so strong priority users such as Zygarde, Weavile, and Mawile can help eliminate them. Weavile has the added benefit of being able to Pursuit trap Pokemon faster than Kartana like Latios and Gengar. Other trappers like Magnezone are able to eliminate bulky Steel-types such as Skarmory, Celesteela, and Mega Scizor, allowing Kartana to preserve its Z-Move nuke for another threat.

Other than damaging entry hazards like Stealth Rock and Spikes, Sticky Webs Web is one of the most effective ways to set up a Kartana sweep, as many of its faster enemies are grounded and unable to outspeed Kartana after the Speed drop without a Choice Scarf equipped. Smeargle and Shuckle are both viable users of the move, (remove comma) and can provide additional Stealth Rock support.

Because Kartana offers such little defensive synergy, it is best paired with offensive Pokemon that can create holes in the opposing team for Kartana to eventually clean up. Ash-Greninja, (hyphen) Keldeo, Tapu Lele, Tapu Koko, and Gengar are all excellent examples of offensive threats that can easily force the opponent on the defensive and pave the way for a Kartana sweep. Defensively oriented teammates can also be helpful to serve as a pivot for Kartana, (remove comma) or to absorb special hits that Kartana is unable to take. Tapu Fini in particular gains special mention for its natural resistance to Kartana's two weaknesses, Fire and Fighting. It can also halve the a foe's HP with Nature's Madness or wear it down with Moonblast and Scald. Additionally, while Kartana isn't extremely susceptible to entry hazards, Tapu Fini can also utilize Defog to prevent Kartana from being worn down every time it enters the battlefield. Specially defensive Zygarde can easily tank most neutral special hits for Kartana, (remove comma) and takes on Fire-types for it, (comma) while Kartana deals with the Fairy-types that give Zygarde issues.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Kartana is a fairly one-dimensional Pokemon, meaning that it does not have a wide variety of viable sets; however, there are several other niche options available to it. Choice Scarf is a decently viable option, (remove comma) but is inferior to the Swords Dance sweeper set, as its low Base Power moves and poor offensive typing leave it unable to KO setup sweepers that it is meant to check, such as Mega Charizard X and Volcarona. Steelium Z is a useful option to nab the KO on bulky Grass-types such as Amoonguss and Venusaur, but it is inferior to a Fightinium Z set due to its the latter's ability to break through more common threats like Mega Scizor and Celesteela. Adrenaline Orb is an interesting option to mess with Landorus-T switch-ins, as Kartana will gain a +1 Speed boost from Adrenaline Orb and +1 Attack from Swords Dance + Intimidate, and then it gains the ability to sweep the opposing team by obtaining additional Attack raises from Beast Boost. However, this is a rather gimmicky option, as Kartana will still take considerable damage from Earthquake and/or (remove spaces) Rocky Helmet recoil. Kartana has access to Defog, but its frailty means that it will rarely have the chance to utilize the move more than once, and it takes up a valuable moveslot for Swords Dance or a coverage move. Psycho Cut and Night Slash are very situational coverage options, with the former hitting Mega Venusaur and Amoonguss harder than any other move Kartana has with the exception of a +2 Corkscrew Crash and the latter hitting Alolan Marowak without expending Kartana's Z-Move. Lastly, a set consisting of Swords Dance, Leaf Blade, Sacred Sword, (comma) and Vacuum Wave along with Grassium Z can function on defensive teams as a decent stallbreaker due to its ability to remove common stall staples such as Dugtrio, Toxapex, and Skarmory with the correct plays. Another benefit of running Grassium Z is the ability to KO Alolan Marowak at +2 and KO all variants of Zapdos after a bit of prior damage.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Faster Attackers**: Anything that possesses base 110 Speed or higher outspeeds Kartana and can KO it with the proper move. Despite its good Defense stat, Kartana still falls to Fighting- and Fire-type moves, both of which are fairly common on many fast physical attackers.

**Faster Special Attackers**: Kartana drops to nearly any decently powerful special attack, even when resisted, (comma) due to its paltry base 31 Special Defense. For example, Tapu Koko's Electric Terrain- and item-boosted Thunderbolt has a good chance to OHKO Kartana from full health, and most resisted special attacks land the a 2HKO on Kartana at worst.

**Bulky Steel-types**: Although Fightinium Z provides Kartana with the means to possibly break through bulky Steel-types that attempt to wall it, Kartana cannot hope to break through without first setting up, and Skarmory in particular is able to eat a boosted hit from full health and phaze it out with Whirlwind. Celesteela can take an unboosted All-Out Pummeling and OHKO Kartana with Flamethrower or Fire Blast, but it falls to a +2 All-Out Pummeling.

**Bulky Grass-types**: Bulky Grass-types such as Mega Venusaur and Amoonguss can tank any hit bar the rare +2 Corkscrew Crash or boosted Psycho Cut and proceed to threaten Kartana with Hidden Power Fire. Physically defensive Tangrowth also (repetitive) functions similarly, (remove comma) but still takes a decent amount of damage from +2 All-Out Pummeling, as it does not resist Fighting-type moves.

**Defensive Zapdos and Volcarona**: With proper defensive investment, both of these Pokemon can easily tank a boosted hit from Kartana by virtue of their typing and OHKO with their Fire-type moves in return.

**Alolan Marowak**: Alolan Marowak is decently physically bulky, (remove comma) and can take a boosted STAB move from Kartana as well as being immune to Fighting-type moves, only fearing the rare Night Slash.
 

Fireflame

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[OVERVIEW]

The first thing that jumps out when looking at Kartana is its absolutely massive Attack stat that trumps even that of Deoxys-A. Access to Swords Dance and its ability Beast Boost allow Kartana to become a monstrous sweeper under the right conditions. In addition to resisting most commonly seen priority moves such as Extreme Speed and Water Shuriken, Kartana's typing also allows it to deal with common threats on stall, including Unaware walls like Clefable and Quagsire. With base 109 Speed, Kartana outpaces plenty of threats in the OU tier, including common Pokemon like Landorus-T, Tapu Lele, and Keldeo. Unfortunately, Kartana falls just short of Speed tying with base 110s such as Latios and Gengar. Although Kartana's Attack stat is sky-high, it has relatively low Base Power moves, with its strongest Steel-type STAB move having only 70 Base Power. Its coverage moves are also equally weak; for example, Sacred Sword isn't more than 85 Base Power. Even after a Swords Dance boost, Kartana is unable to break through bulkier threats such as Skarmory and Celesteela due to the low Base Power of these moves. Because of this, a Z-Move nuke is almost mandatory in order to facilitate a possible sweep. Despite access to a fair number of coverage moves, Kartana still manages to be completely walled by Pokemon such as Zapdos, which takes a pittance from any of its moves even after a Swords Dance boost and can OHKO it back with Heat Wave. Kartana's excellent Defense stat is completely undermined by its abysmal Special Defense stat and average HP stat, which means that it is blown back by even resisted special hits and cannot hope to switch in on anything other than a neutral physical hit or Poison-type attack. Although it requires plenty of team support, Kartana can successfully function as a early-game breaker or late-game cleaner.

[SET]
name: BreakDancer Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Leaf Blade
move 3: Smart Strike
move 4: Sacred Sword
item: Fightinium Z
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Jolly
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Swords Dance boosts Kartana's already ridiculously high Attack stat to astronomical levels and allows it to break through most non-defensive Pokemon with its relatively low Base Power moves. Leaf Blade and Smart Strike are Kartana's main STAB moves and hit a large portion of the tier for neutral or super effective damage, barring Steel- and Fire-types such as Celesteela and Heatran. Sacred Sword rounds off Kartana's coverage and hits the majority of what Leaf Blade and Smart Strike do not, such as Magnezone and Ferrothorn, with the exception of Steel-types that are neutrally hit by Fighting-type moves, such as Celesteela and Skarmory, and Pokemon like Zapdos and Volcarona that resist all three of Kartana's moves.

Set Details
========

The EVs and nature are fairly straightforward. (doesn't really add anything) A Jolly nature along with maximum investment in Speed and Attack allows Kartana to hit as hard as possible while outspeeding as many threats as possible, such as Keldeo, Terrakion, Garchomp, Mega Pinsir, Nihilego, Volcarona, and other threats in the base 100 Speed tier. Investment in some bulk in order to more easily capitalize on setup opportunities may seem attractive due to Kartana's good Defense stat and already very high Attack stat, but because of its low Base Power moves and poor special bulk, this is a highly inferior option to full offensive investment. Fightinium Z is by far the best item option on Kartana, as it allows Kartana to break through the bulky Steel-types that attempt to wall it after a Swords Dance boost, such as Skarmory, Mega Scizor, and Celesteela. It is also worth noting that +2 All-Out Pummeling is capable of OHKOing offensive Volcarona without risking a Flame Body burn.

Usage Tips
========

Finding setup opportunities isn't as difficult as one might think; however, it is making use of Kartana's accumulated boosts successfully that is more challenging. Kartana naturally forces out Pokemon that cannot touch it, such as Ferrothorn, Tapu Fini, Mimikyu, and Mega Venusaur lacking Hidden Power Fire, so try to set up a Swords Dance upon forcing the switch. Early-game, it may be better to use one of Kartana's attacking moves instead of using Swords Dance when forcing a switch, as it may wear down Kartana's switch-ins for a sweep late-game. Alternatively, using Swords Dance early-game and netting a crucial KO or heavily weakening defensive threats such as Celesteela, Skarmory, and Mega Scizor may also be worth sacrificing Kartana for. While Kartana is naturally quite fast, it still fails to outspeed threats at the base 110 Speed range and above, such as Latios and Gengar. Try to eliminate or weaken these threats before attempting to set up, as otherwise they can come in with impunity and proceed to KO Kartana. When equipped with Fightinium Z, Kartana is capable of OHKOing or nearly OHKOing premier defensive threats such as Skarmory, Celesteela, and Mega Scizor after a Swords Dance boost. Don't shy away from using Kartana's Z-Move on its intended target, as opposing teams will not likely have another answer to a +2 Kartana, so switching out will only hurt them in the long run. Once Kartana gains a +3 Attack boost from the combination of Swords Dance and a KO thanks to Beast Boost, it is nearly impossible to stop outside of strong, unresisted priority and faster Pokemon. Kartana also has the capability to demolish stall teams due to its inability to be poisoned, ease of setting up, and ability to break through Unaware walls like Clefable and Quagsire by virtue of its typing.

Team Options
========

Because Kartana's moves have such low Base Power, entry hazards are essential to for KOing extremely bulky Steel-types; for example, +2 All-Out Pummeling has a decently high chance to OHKO physically defensive Skarmory after Stealth Rock damage. Greninja is one of the best Spikes setters in the tier, and it can easily wear down or even KO threats to Kartana with its fantastic coverage and Protean ability. Heatran is immune to Fire-type moves, and while it shares a Fighting-type weakness with Kartana, it can easily get up Stealth Rock multiple times during the match due to its excellent natural bulk and tendency to force switches. Landorus-T is also a great teammate to set up Stealth Rock, as it resists Fighting-type moves, has a good offensive presence, and can get Kartana in safely via a slower U-turn. Kartana excels when faster threats are removed, so strong priority users such as Zygarde, Weavile, and Mawile can help eliminate them. Weavile has the added benefit of being able to Pursuit trap Pokemon faster than Kartana like Latios and Gengar. Other trappers like Magnezone are able to eliminate bulky Steel-types such as Skarmory, Celesteela, and Mega Scizor, allowing Kartana to preserve its Z-Move nuke for another threat.

Other than damaging entry hazards like Stealth Rock and Spikes, Sticky Web is one of the most effective ways to set up a Kartana sweep, as many of its faster enemies are grounded and unable to outspeed Kartana after the Speed drop without a Choice Scarf equipped. Smeargle and Shuckle are both viable users of the move and can provide additional Stealth Rock support.

Because Kartana offers such little defensive synergy, it is best paired with offensive Pokemon that can create holes in the opposing team for Kartana to eventually clean up. Ash-Greninja, Keldeo, Tapu Lele, Tapu Koko, and Gengar are all excellent examples of offensive threats that can easily force the opponent on the defensive and pave the way for a Kartana sweep. Defensively oriented teammates can also be helpful to serve as a pivot for Kartana or to absorb special hits that Kartana is unable to take. Tapu Fini in particular gains special mention for its resistance to Kartana's two weaknesses, Fire and Fighting. It can also halve a foe's HP with Nature's Madness or wear it down with Moonblast and Scald. Additionally, while Kartana isn't extremely susceptible to entry hazards, Tapu Fini can also utilize Defog to prevent Kartana from being worn down every time it enters the battlefield. Specially defensive Zygarde can easily tank most neutral special hits for Kartana and takes on Fire-types for it, while Kartana deals with the Fairy-types that give Zygarde issues.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Kartana is a fairly one-dimensional Pokemon, meaning that it does not have a wide variety of viable sets; however, there are several other niche options available to it. Choice Scarf is a decently viable option but is inferior to the Swords Dance sweeper set, as its low Base Power moves and poor offensive typing leave it unable to KO setup sweepers that it is meant to check, such as Mega Charizard X and Volcarona. Steelium Z is a useful option to nab the KO on bulky Grass-types such as Amoonguss and Venusaur, but it is inferior to a Fightinium Z set due to the latter's ability to break through more common threats like Mega Scizor and Celesteela. Adrenaline Orb is an interesting option to mess with Landorus-T switch-ins switch ins, as Kartana will gain a +1 Speed boost from Adrenaline Orb and +1 Attack from Swords Dance + Intimidate, and then it gains the ability to sweep the opposing team by obtaining additional Attack raises from Beast Boost. However, this is a rather gimmicky option, as Kartana will still take considerable damage from Earthquake and / or Rocky Helmet recoil. Kartana has access to Defog, but its frailty means that it will rarely have the chance to utilize the move more than once, and it takes up a valuable moveslot for Swords Dance or a coverage move. Psycho Cut and Night Slash are very situational coverage options, with the former hitting Mega Venusaur and Amoonguss harder than any other move Kartana has with the exception of a +2 Corkscrew Crash and the latter hitting Alolan Marowak without expending Kartana's Z-Move. Lastly, a set consisting of Swords Dance, Leaf Blade, Sacred Sword, and Vacuum Wave along with Grassium Z can function on defensive teams as a decent stallbreaker due to its ability to remove common stall staples such as Dugtrio, Toxapex, and Skarmory with the correct plays. Another benefit of running Grassium Z is the ability to KO Alolan Marowak at +2 and KO all variants of Zapdos after a bit of prior damage.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Faster Attackers**: Anything that possesses base 110 Speed or higher outspeeds Kartana and can KO it with the proper move. Despite its good Defense stat, Kartana still falls to Fighting- and Fire-type moves, both of which are fairly common on many fast physical attackers (I would give examples here).

**Faster Special Attackers**: Kartana drops to nearly any decently powerful special attack, even when resisted, due to its paltry base 31 Special Defense. For example, Tapu Koko's Electric Terrain- and item-boosted Thunderbolt has a good chance to OHKO Kartana from full health, and most resisted special attacks land a 2HKO on Kartana at worst.

**Bulky Steel-types**: Although Fightinium Z provides Kartana with the means to possibly break through bulky Steel-types that attempt to wall it, Kartana cannot hope to break through them without first setting up, and Skarmory in particular is able to eat a boosted hit from full health and phaze it out with Whirlwind. Celesteela can take an unboosted All-Out Pummeling and OHKO Kartana with Flamethrower or Fire Blast, but it falls to a +2 All-Out Pummeling.

**Bulky Grass-types**: Bulky Grass-types such as Mega Venusaur and Amoonguss can tank any hit bar the rare +2 Corkscrew Crash or boosted Psycho Cut and proceed to threaten Kartana with Hidden Power Fire. Physically defensive Tangrowth functions similarly but still takes a decent amount of damage from +2 All-Out Pummeling, as it does not resist Fighting-type moves.

**Defensive Zapdos and Volcarona**: With proper defensive investment, both of these Pokemon can easily tank a boosted hit from Kartana by virtue of their typing and OHKO with their Fire-type moves in return.

**Alolan Marowak**: Alolan Marowak is decently physically bulky and can take a boosted STAB move from Kartana as well as being immune to Fighting-type moves, only fearing the rare Night Slash.
GP 2/2
 

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