Monotype Brassbound [W.I.P.]

Hey, my name is Stun, aka Dece1t, aka TM Cleaver, and I wanted to bring forth my most successful team I've used in Generation 7. I recently finished in the Monotype Winter Seasonals, peaking at a Top 8 Winners bracket spot before going out, which is probably the best I've done in a tournament (especially considering I was not overly serious about it initially either). As of late, school and work have been draining a vast majority of my time, and I'm lucky if I'm able to come on maybe once a week to even play my games. I was initially not going to RMT this team, but as SM came to a close, I saw no serious Steel teams be presented, and even the sample team I found to be suboptimal succeeding the Magearna Ban. That being said, this team has gotten me very consistent wins and results throughout this gen, whether it'd be casual room tournaments, mid-ladder, or even as previously mentioned, seasonals. This team has also gone through a few versions in response to the ever-changing metagame. That being said, without further ado, I would like to present: Brassbound.

At the very beginning of Gen 7, Steel was arguably one of the best types alongside Psychic and Fairy, so I took full advantage of that. The main motive behind this team was hazard stack balance/bulky offense, but at the same time not becoming too passive. I also attempted to make sure it was able to win as many matchups as possible and decrease the likelihood of running into disadvantages (where in a tier such as Monotype, this is absolutely imperative).

To start, I began with Defensive Swords Dance Mega Scizor. This is arguably the best Mega Scizor set right now, with the bulk to set up on most Pokemon that lack Fire type coverage (and even there, it has the EVs to avoid a 2KO from a Thunderbolt from Alolan Raichu even after SR). Mega Scizor was built around primarily since it is able to finish off teams late game.

Once Scizor was established, Heatran was immediately added as a mandatory Fire absorber. Any Steel team that doesn't have Heatran is bound for doom, and I initially decided to first run Specially Defensive Air Balloon. This was changed a little later down the road to the OU sub toxic set, which in Monotype it's really slept on, and it has the ability to trap and stall out a vast majority of defensive threats with a combination of Magma Storm and Toxic behind Substitute. It's a phenomenal set in short.

Once that was done and dusted, Magearna was next put on as a Special Wallbreaker. Magearna was absolutely god-sent for Steel, because not only did it solve Steel's chronic Fighting weakness, but it also proved to be an amazing wallbreaker that can easily snowball into a sweeper. Fairium-Z Trick Room was the set of choice, with Thunderbolt to break past Toxapex, and Aura Sphere to hit opposing Stel types and Normal types.

Following Magearna, Ferrothorn was then put on to not only help improve the team's chances against Water, but it also is able to rather easily set up Spikes. Iron Barbs with the addition of Rocky Helmet was also fantastic for racking up recoil against various fast physical threats, facilitating revenge killing later.

To round out the team's defensive core, Celesteela was put on. Assault Vest, at the time of building this, was peaking popularity, and I decided to follow suit so I had a highly reliable answer to Ground. It's insanely bulky, yet its not too passive. Beast Boost also allows it to also accrue special attack boosts if it manages to get a kill, which can be nice for incoming switch-ins.

Lastly, the team was desperately lacking speed, so Excadrill topped off the team to help increase my chances against Fire. Mold Breaker is also awesome to hit Pokemon with EQ that would normally be immune, such as Latios or Hydreigon. For a while, this was the version of the team that I stuck with, but then Magearna was soon suspected and banned. With that being the case, major alterations had to be made.

People were under the assumption that without Mageara, Steel would no longer be quite as amazing as it was previously; however, people could not have been more wrong. It took me a bit to find a suitable Magearna replacement, but I eventually settled on Cobalion. This not only gave me another form of speed, but this also allowed me to free up SR on Heatran to finally run Sub Toxic and I had an edge against Normal and Dark. I ran a mixed set with Stone Edge to break past Zapdos and Mandibuzz (with the addition of Volt Switch for the latter). This version was the one that stuck for a while, but with the coming of USM, there were a lot of new toys to try, so I had to jump on and give things a bit of a spin.

This is the version that I currently have. Cobalion was changed for Stakataka, an unexpectedly strong Trick Room sweeper that's able to ravage teams late-game. With a (technically) new Fire answer, it only made sense to replace Excadrill with Magnezone, so I could increase my chances against walls such as Skarmory and opposing Celesteela with the help of Magnet Pull. Keldeo was also an issue for the team, so Magnezone is also additionally able to check that after a small amount of prior damage. This is the final product I have come up with.


Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 224 HP / 44 Def / 240 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Magma Storm
- Substitute
- Toxic
- Earth Power​

Heatran unexpectedly became one of the most pivotal members on the team, especially when switching it from Taunt + Air Balloon to SubToxic. It's such a great Balance Stallbreaker with having Magma Storm to trap, and Toxic to slowly but progressively take down the likes of Chansey, Tyranitar, Zapdos, Mega Latias, and even Mew. Substitute is simply icing on the cake, allowing it to easily scout and freely toxic most switch-ins, and then proceed to stall said defensive threats out. Earth Power is mainly added to allow it to threaten opposing non-air balloon Heatrans, as well as fire types that otherwise resist magma storm. 44 Defensive Evs is mandatory in order to prevent Heatran's subs from being broken by Foul Play, and 240 speed allows it to completely outspeed Diggersby and non-scarf Tapu Bulu. Otherwise, it's biggest niche is being a mandatory switch-in to fire type attacks, and it's best used against choiced attackers who are locked and forced to switch out.

Ferrothorn @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Power Whip
- Spikes
- Leech Seed
- Stealth Rock​

Ferrothorn did initially run Thunder Wave, but with the removal of Cobalion, adding Stealth Rocks was necessary in order to retain the hazard stack format I was aiming for. Ferrothorn has a few jobs it has to accomplish being apart of this team: pressuring with hazard stack, residual damage, and softening my chances against Ground and primarily Water. Hazard stack is essential to not only limit the opponents ability to switch, but also to allow easier sweeps with Scizor and Stakataka. Rocky Helmet is given to it over Leftovers mainly to rack heavy amounts of contact damage; this is especially crucial in order to revenge kill the likes of Mega Lopunny or a +6 Azumarill. Aside form that, it has Leech Seed for both slow, residual recovery (for it and its teammates), and to further stack residual damage.

Stakataka @ Rockium Z
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Lonely Nature
IVs: 14 Def / 0 Spe
- Gyro Ball
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Trick Room​

Stakataka was so underrated at the inception of USM. With a Lonely nature and 14 Defensive IVs, Stakataka is able to accrue Attack boosts each time it gets a kill as opposed to Defense. Rockium-Z gives it a 1 time nuke to be able to get a sweep going; this boasts the ability to OHKO Mega Sableye after SR and Celesteela. Gyro Ball is actually absurdly strong, being one of the slowest Pokemon in the game (just beaten by Shuckle) and packing an additional STAB boost (so even something that is moderatley slow, such as Diggersby, will be pounded by high BP power, and faster frail threats like Greninja get OHKO'd even with resistance after SR alone). Earthquake is mandatory over Superpower in order to not only hit the same threats as the latter, but also be able to break through Toxapex (who could otherwise stop a sweep). Trick Room is also necessary in order to reverse speed tiers and, unless you are against Shuckle with 0 Speed IVs, always have it go first. Stakataka is extremely dangerous if it manages to rack up a +1 after Trick Room, despite it's crappy defensive typing, and there's very little that can wall it effectively. Stakataka also boasts the ability to sweep Fire, something that this team would otherwise struggle with substantially without.

Celesteela @ Assault Vest
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 192 HP / 252 SpA / 64 SpD
Quiet Nature
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Giga Drain
- Earthquake
- Flamethrower​

Full credit goes to TheAveng92R for the inception of this set, he is the mastermind behind this, and I am only one of the many users of it. Assault Vest Celesteela is not only incredibly bulky, but it allows it to not be a momentum drain/passive. While having no STABs can sometimes be annoying and finicky, each coverage move is substantially helpful in various matchups (primarily Ground). Hidden Power Ice allows it to be a formidable threat to both Landorus forms and Garchomp, boasting an OHKO on each after SR and/or a single layer of Spikes. Giga Drain allows it to hit Seismitoad/Gastrodon, Keldeo, and Mega Diancie, while also healing it for an often small amount of recovery. Flamethrower lets it break common Steel types such as opposing Mega Scizor, Ferrothorn, and Skarmory. Earthquake prevents it from being hardwalled by Heatran, and in turn having a high chance to OHKO that after SR. The EVs guarantee it to live a Modest Landorus-I's Earth Power after Gravity, and give it as much Special Attacking output as possible.

Scizor-Mega @ Scizorite
Ability: Technician
EVs: 156 HP / 44 Def / 252 SpD / 56 Spe
Careful Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Superpower / Knock Off
- Swords Dance
- Roost​

Defensive Scizor is incredibly bulky, allowing it to set up against anything lacking Fire coverage. Over time I did change the EVs to accomodate more speed, allowing it to always outspeed Adamant Max Speed Azumarill with Bullet Punch. Initially, I did run Knock Off to not only get rid of items (especially eviolite), but to get neutral damage against nearly anything that resists Bullet Punch. This was much later changed to Superpower for strong Fighting coverage (giving me a little more leverage against Normal and opposing Steel teams). Swords Dance gets Scizor to dangerously high attacking levels, allowing it to near-mindlessly spam +1 Technician STAB boosted Bullet Punches to rather easily clean late game. Roost is used over another coverage move or U-Turn in order to increase longevity, and to allow it to boost up a little more boldly without needing to worry about many repercussions.

Magnezone @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Flash Cannon
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Volt Switch​

Magnezone, in this much later version of the team, took the place of Excadrill mainly for its Electric coverage and the ability to abuse Magnet Pull. Volt Switch is nice to allow it to scout and pivot freely while dishing STAB damage, and Hidden Power Fire allows it to hit trapped threats, such as Mega Scizor, Ferrothorn, and even Klefki, for inevitable damage. Magnezone also gives the team a much more reliable check to Specs Keldeo (Scarf is able to be handled by a well-played Celesteela), which after some wearing down, it can kill. All in all, Magnezone was a quirky, but much needed addition in the long run, especially with the removal of Magearna.

Replays:
Vs. Dark https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7monotype-669503475
Vs. HO Normal https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/azure-gen7monotype-264353
Vs. Poison https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7monotype-608411888

The matches I saved were unfortunately a bit scarce, but it showcases the team and how it functions very nicely.

Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 224 HP / 44 Def / 240 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Magma Storm
- Substitute
- Toxic
- Earth Power

Ferrothorn @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Power Whip
- Spikes
- Leech Seed
- Stealth Rock

Stakataka @ Rockium Z
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Lonely Nature
IVs: 14 Def / 0 Spe
- Gyro Ball
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Trick Room

Celesteela @ Assault Vest
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 192 HP / 252 SpA / 64 SpD
Quiet Nature
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Giga Drain
- Earthquake
- Flamethrower

Scizor-Mega @ Scizorite
Ability: Technician
EVs: 156 HP / 44 Def / 252 SpD / 56 Spe
Careful Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Superpower
- Swords Dance
- Roost

Magnezone @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Flash Cannon
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Volt Switch


Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 224 HP / 44 Def / 240 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Magma Storm
- Substitute
- Toxic
- Earth Power

Ferrothorn @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Power Whip
- Spikes
- Leech Seed
- Thunder Wave

Cobalion @ Life Orb
Ability: Justified
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Focus Blast
- Stone Edge
- Volt Switch
- Stealth Rock

Celesteela @ Assault Vest
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 192 HP / 252 SpA / 64 SpD
Quiet Nature
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Giga Drain
- Earthquake
- Flamethrower

Scizor-Mega @ Scizorite
Ability: Technician
EVs: 212 HP / 44 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Knock Off
- Swords Dance
- Roost

Excadrill @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide
- Toxic


Thank you very much for reading, and I hope you enjoy using this team.
 
Hey this is an interesting team that's a cool take on balance Steel. I actually quite like the idea of Superpower defensive Mega Scizor for instance, which is something most people never really give enough credit. I've mostly only got some refinements for you that should help make the team overall more reliable, since it's overall built quite well.

First, the Heatran spread is suboptimal. Most Heatran will either run max Speed or next to no Speed to either Speed tie with other Heatran or take their Earth Power safely. In your case, you have nearly max Speed, but not being max means you'll always lose the Speed tie no matter what. With so many Speed EVs, you don't have the Special Defense EVs that Heatran needs to safely take an Earth Power (one layer of Spikes or Stealth Rock is enough to make it a roll to straight up OHKO your Heatran). As a result, I would recommend you take just a small handful of your bulk EVs and put them into Speed with this spread: 212 HP / 44 Def / 252 Spe. You stated that 44 Def is needed (presumably in conjunction with your 224 HP) to allow Substitute to survive Foul Play. However, if you use the Damage Calculator to test if that's actually true or not, you find that even STAB Foul Play has no chance to break a Substitute from even as low as only 20 HP and 8 Defense EVs! Thus, the Speed is easily maxed out by dropping some HP, which will help you so much in the Steel mirror.

Similarly, your Celesteela spread doesn't really do anything right now. You've sacrificed HP investment to put into Special Defense, which is helpful for special threats. However, Modest Landorus is not at all a set in Monotype because the Speed from a Timid nature is essential for outspeed big threats like Mega Charizard Y, Manaphy, Volcarona, offensive Mew, Manaphy, and many more. Thus, it doesn't serve any purpose to actually develop a spread to check a set that doesn't exist. Instead, I recommend using a spread of 252 HP / 224 SpA / 32 SpD. This spread is superior because it still survives Landorus's Earth Power under Gravity even after Stealth Rock damage, but it is better for your physical bulk.

As a third case, your Mega Scizor's bulk is also inefficient for the same reason. Mega Scizor's base HP is its lowest, which is why you would generally prefer to put EVs there instead of Special Defense. The simplest thing to do would be to just flip HP and Special Defense and use a spread of 248 HP / 56 Def / 148 SpD / 56 Spe. The extra HP EVs comes in handy against physical attackers. For instance, Mega Swampert's Earthquake can no longer 2HKO Mega Scizor anymore and Terrakion's Close Combat cannot either. The physical bulk is specifically tailored to ensure Azumarill's Play Rough cannot OHKO Mega Scizor even with one layer of spikes or Stealth Rock up, since Bullet Punch does not KO Azumarill with the help of Ferrothorn if Reflect is up. Your special bulk only suffers very slightly, taking less than 1% more damage from hits like Keldeo's Hydro Pump in exchange for so much physical bulk. Without Skarmory to help take on these physical threats, you definitely want the much better mixed bulk here on Mega Scizor and this should be really useful against a large range of matchups.

This may seem like a super minor point, but your Stakataka IVs are off by 1. That 1 extra Defense IV could be the difference between surviving and not surviving hits from say Victini. 15 Defense IVs still allows you to get the Attack boost from Beast Boost. Even though Stakataka's Attack and Defense will both be 397, Attack always takes precedence over Defense, so 15 Defense IVs is always superior to 14. I would comment that you can't actually OHKO Mega Sableye with Continental Crash because there is literally no possible way for Ferrothorn to ever get Stealth Rock or Spikes up against Mega Sableye. It's still going to do a ridiculous amount, but not getting the kill is going to be an issue for this team.

Outside of some spread fixing, there are some major threats to your team. First is Mega Sableye, which your team has no reliable answer for right now, as I showed Stakataka actually isn't good enough. As a result, I would strongly recommend bringing Excadrill back, since its Mold Breaker Toxic does wonders for beating Mega Sableye. Excadrill is also huge for beating Electric, which your team has a very hard time with as well right now. Of course, it has other great utility in beating Fire for you as well along with outspeed Greninja, which Magnezone doesn't. The reason Stakataka isn't enough for Fire is that it just can't really set up Trick Room on anything safely. Even if it does take a hit, it's always going to be in range of Infernape's Mach Punch, so Stakataka is way too unreliable for the Steel matchup. Thus, I would strongly recommend going back to using Excadrill over Magnezone. In general, Magnezone does almost nothing useful for this team. You're not particularly scared of Mega Scizor, Klefki, Ferrothorn, Skarmory, or Celesteela thanks to Heatran, so it would be great for your team to have Excadrill's help. With Excadrill threatening KOs every time it comes in, this helps give Stakataka much more breathing room in the Fire matchup and possibly allow it to pull off the sweep.

However, you've definitely tested your team more than I have, so if you really don't want to bring back Excadrill, I would suggest Hidden Power Ground instead of Hidden Power Fire on Magnezone. Your team lacks Air Balloon Heatran so that it can have Leftovers healing. As a result, the Steel mirror matchup may be a bit of a struggle. With Hidden Power Ground, you can assuredly trap and KO Heatran after you pop its Air Balloon without risking your own Heatran's precious HP. While this does mean you won't be able to KO Ferrothorn anymore, I don't see that as a big threat you need to be concerned with. Mega Scizor is also not a threat either, so it's definitely safe for this team to try this option out. It would really help make sure you have the upper hand against other Steel teams. As an aside, it also always OHKOes opposing Magnezone and deals massive damage to Stakataka, so you would have even more advantages in the Steel mirror. This is all of course at the cost of the Mega Sableye matchup, as you pretty much have to play perfectly to somehow manage to win against Mega Sableye. It's doable, but very hard.

I hope this helps. Your team overall looked really solid, but it just lacked a few small optimizations (in fact one change was actually just something you had before!). Good luck with the team!

Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 212 HP / 44 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Magma Storm
- Substitute
- Toxic
- Earth Power

Stakataka @ Rockium Z
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Lonely Nature
IVs: 15 Def / 0 Spe
- Gyro Ball
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Trick Room

Celesteela @ Assault Vest
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 HP / 224 SpA / 32 SpD
Quiet Nature
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Giga Drain
- Earthquake
- Flamethrower

Scizor-Mega @ Scizorite
Ability: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 56 Def / 148 SpD / 56 Spe
Careful Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Superpower
- Swords Dance
- Roost

Excadrill @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide
- Toxic

Optionally:

Magnezone @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Flash Cannon
- Hidden Power [Ground]
- Volt Switch
 

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