Introduction:
Hi! This is a hail team I've been using and sharing around friends for a lot of the last year. Its a pretty solid example of a modern Hail "stall" team, up until a few years ago believed to be a meme playstyle but has kinda re-emerged in BW. We saw several variations of BW Hail Balance/Stall played in the most recent SPL, including a TSpike Tentacruel team run by Jisoo, and also a version of this team used by dice against watashi. Credit goes to dice for helping to optimise some of the sets before that game.
Getting the obvious stuff out of the way first, this is clearly influenced by the ABR Hail team from 2022. The base idea of Abomasnow + Spikes + TWave Latios + Reuniclus is directly inspired from that team / this is not an attempt to claim invention of that core / there's only so many ways you can build hail / the name of this thread is a joke / don't come at me.
Being a Hail team, its obviously built around the concept of chipping Pokemon that aren't normally accustomed to being chipped - the tier is built on a foundation of defensive Steel-types and Ground-types due to their Sandstorm immunity, and all of them hate to play under Hail. Chipping these Pokemon every turn is abusable by the likes of offensive Dragons, Ices, and Psychics, in particular. This team utilises this chip to support Calm Mind Reuniclus. With Hail up, several of Reuniclus' best answers are immediately nerfed including Scizor, Jirachi, Excadrill, and Bronzong. Not only that, but Tyranitar itself is encouraged to repeatedly switch in and take hazard damage to reset weather when it faces Hail teams, which is to the benefit of a Reuniclus endgame. Reuniclus is further supported by its partner-in-crime, Latios, here running a now pretty standard Colbur + TWave support set to cripple Tyranitar. A blanket special wall in Blissey helps to immediately patch-up the inherent Volcarona and Heatran weaknesses of the Aboma/Lati/Reun core as well as provide Wish and status support.
Rounding out the team is the hazard control provided by Stealth Rock Gliscor and Spike + Spin Forretress, and this is key area where this build is differentiated from the original. The alternative pairing of Skarmory + Excadrill is incredibly potent under Sandstorm, but is self-nerfed under the team's own Hail making that version quite difficult to pilot. Likewise, running Skarmory + Excadrill leaves no room for an Ice resist, an increasingly scary prospect at a time when CB Mamoswine and Shell Smash Cloyster were on the rise. The Gliscor + Forretress pairing fixes some of these issues, shoe-horning in an Ice resist and, thanks to Overcoat and Poison Heal, more happily playing in Hail than their alternatives.
The result is a variation that probably has lower true upside than the original (Forretress never gets up 3 Spikes + spins 5 times, for example, it is pretty limited), but feels significantly less punished by its own Hail, is a bit more sturdy into the trending offensive Ice types, and is likely a lot easier for the average player to pilot.
The Team:
Abomasnow @ Leftovers
Ability: Snow Warning
EVs: 248 HP / 68 Def / 124 SpA / 68 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 21 Spe
- Blizzard
- Ice Shard
- Giga Drain
- Protect
Other options:
NoneThe essential member of any Hail team. Abomasnow is an interesting Pokemon to build around - Hail's effect is perhaps the most busted of any of the weather effects, but its balanced by Abomasnow's middling stat spread and awful defensive typing requiring a lot of support to keep around long-term. Aside from Snow Warning, everything else about Abomasnow encourages it to be an offensive wallbreaker, especially its STAB Ice and Grass combination being a terror for opposing Sands and Rains. The result is that even defensive Hail teams end up running offensive-looking Abomasnows like this one, aimed at getting in, setting Hail, and shooting for high upside single turns with +SAtk Blizzards rather than trying to play a true supporter role with Leech Seed etc. Its typing just makes it want to play offensively. Leftovers and Protect is as close as Abomasnow gets to defensive, here.
The spread offers some bulk so that Abomasnow can always take one Keldeo Secret Sword with no hazards, (83.3 - 98.9%), and one Latios Draco Meteor after SR (63.2 - 74.4%), giving the option to trade with some of the tier's scarier offensive threats in a pinch. This baseline level of bulk is also just nice for coming into Scalds or weaker Earthquakes - two of Abomasnow's rare entry points. Ice Shard gives a bit of utility, picking off Focus Sash Alakazam, and though its incredibly weak off no investment, combined with Protect and Hail chip it can be sufficient to stop Dragonite, ScarfChomp, or ScarfMence from being problematic, and lets you cheat needing true speed control. The Quiet nature and speed IVs aim to thread the tight needle of underspeeding most Tyranitar to set Hail at lead, whilst still outspeeding Hippowdon which you'd rather have a fast Blizzard for.
Gliscor @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Protect
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Knock Off
Other options:
56 HP / 252 Def / 200 Speed | Jolly Nature 252 HP / 200 SDef / 56 Speed | Jolly Nature | Knock Off -> TauntThis is just standard Stealth Rock Gliscor. Fantastic lead rocker, great at keeping rocks up vs Excadrill and Tentacruel, and incredible longevity. Whilst Gliscor isn't a true hail immunity, Hail simply downgrades its Poison Heal to effectively Leftovers-rate healing, and combined with Knock Off this Gliscor finds itself with a longevity advantage over most of the tier. Ground-types are incredibly hard to go without in BW, for multiple reasons - a STAB Earthquake to threaten out Tyranitar is a big deal (especially with Hail + Psychic partners), and being able to disrupt Rotom-W Volt Switch and deny Thunder Wavers like Clefable is always valuable.
The EV spread is a mostly standard specially defensive one, which best dials into Gliscor's role as a status absorber into weaker Scalds, play chicken with Rotom-W, half-check some things like Alakazam and Latios, and annoy lead Landorus-T. Minimum speed lets you underspeed Roosting Skarmory to slap it with Earthquake and apply some pressure, but also aims to outslow opposing U-turn Gliscor to slap the switch-in with Knock Off. However, there are other spread options if you care less about these things and want to patch-up some other weaknesses. For example, if you want to cover Swords Dance Excadrill better then a bluri/feaniix-inspired 56 HP / 252 Def / 200 Speed Jolly set can outspeed all Drill for an unexpected fast Earthquake, and more cleanly win the 1v1. Likewise, the team can be pretty weak vs lead Skarmory + Jellicent, so a 56 Speed Jolly spread with Taunt over Knock Off is also worth considering vs opponents with a tendency to bring it.
Forretress @ Leftovers
Ability: Overcoat
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Spikes
- Rapid Spin
- Gyro Ball
- Earthquake
Other options:
Earthquake -> Hidden Power [Fire] Earthquake -> CounterI won't sugar coat it, Forretress is an incredibly mediocre Pokemon but it has the perfect role compression to find a place here. That role compression is a huge enabler for the rest of the team, effectively pulling some aspects of Spikes Skarmory and Spin Excadrill into a single slot which allows room for SR Gliscor to fit. Forretress ends up being far less consistent at doing either job than its alternatives, and its hardly going to get up max layers of Spikes + spin 5 times a game, so this inherently forces the team to play a bit more balanced rather than full stall.
Spikes aside, there are two other areas where Forretress differentiates itself from Excadrill. Firstly, the ability Overcoat means that, much like Reuniclus and Gliscor, Forretress has a survivability advantage over opponents under Hail and is this is especially relevant against the likes of Landorus-T or Excadrill. Secondly, Forretress is a sturdy Ice resist which lets it go toe-to-toe with Mamoswine and physical Cloyster (burn in hell). The max/max EV spread just tops out the bulk on the physical side to help perform these roles, as well as serving as a good answer to Outrage-locked Dragons.
Earthquake is probably the best 4th slot option here to hit Excadrill hard on the Rapid Spin trade, but there are other options. One that I have used a lot is Hidden Power [Fire], which turns the Scizor MU from scary into non-issue immediately. If doing this, you probably need to run a fast Gliscor to make up for the loss of an Excadrill check. Counter also has upside, again against things like Scizor on boosted Superpowers but its also really potent against SD Gliscor and is the best option you have to put big damage on a trading Landorus-T.
Blissey (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunder Wave
- Seismic Toss
- Soft-Boiled
- Wish
Other options:
Thunder Wave -> Toxic for Thundurus-TLike Abomasnow, Blissey is seeing a resurgence in BW OU. Many of the tier's strongest sets hit on the special side, such as Latios, Alakazam, Thundurus-T, and Volcarona, and a well-supported Blissey is the best answer available. Not that supporting Blissey is easy!
The set here is pretty standard. Seismic Toss is the go-to damage dealing option for consistent pressure on the aforementioned threats as well as a great burner of recovery PP in balance/stall mirrors. Wish helps to give Abomasnow and Forretress some recovery, as well as helping Latios pivot more easily into Keldeo, Gliscor pivot more easily into Terrakion/Excadrill etc. Its a really easy free click when Blissey is healthy and a switch is forecasted. The only real decision making needed when putting together Blissey sets is which status to run, with both Thunder Wave and Toxic being great options. My personal preference is Thunder Wave, as this helps to better limit Reuniclus and is also a more immediate answer to Alakazam and Latios. This comes at the cost of missing Electric-immune targets like Nasty Plot Thundurus-T, which is admittedly scary for this team though it can be covered by Latios and Ice Shard Abomasnow, sort of.
Latios (M) @ Colbur Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Surf
- Thunder Wave
- Roost
Other options:
noneNext is a standard support Latios for this style of Reuniclus-focused team. Latios is a key offensive partner to Reuniclus, acting to lure and weaken Tyranitar and Steels (especially easily with Spikes and Hail up!). Colbur Berry is the item of choice so that when Tyranitar does come in, Latios can either get two attacks off, or you can switch and survive one Pursuit if you need to preserve it. Thunder Wave serves a dual purpose - firstly it helps Reuniclus move first vs opponents in the endgame, therefore win CM Reun mirrors, and generally fish for paralysis as it boosts to success, but it also stops -2 Latios from being set-up fodder vs offense so you can cheat speed control a bit - the best BW OU teams don't run Scarfers. Paralysis is also just a broken status condition that you can abuse to cheese through some mons that normally beat these Latios 1v1, like SDef Skarmory, Clefable, etc. Its a really free an easy click move that has high value in every game, whether vs offense or hard stall.
Latios also plays a key defensive role on the team, with its Water and Fighting resistances making it the team's primary swap to Keldeo, assisted by Protect Gliscor and Abomasnow scouting its coverage. Its speed tier is key to keeping Thundurus-T, Garchomp, Terrakion and so on from ever being too scary as well. There are no other options recommended here, just use this this.
Reuniclus @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 16 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Psyshock
- Focus Blast
- Recover
Other options:
Psyshock + Focus Blast -> Psychic + Signal BeamIts just Reuniclus. Calm Mind booster that is itself Hail immune whilst everything else dies around it. The entire team is based around using Hail + Spikes + Thunder Wave to get into positions where this mon just sets up and cleans in the late-game.
My preferred coverage option is Psyshock + Focus Blast, which is hard to go wrong with. A STAB of some kind is pretty important so that Reuniclus has a reliable damage dealing option well before it reaches +6, letting it threaten Keldeo and Terrakion. I broadly prefer Psyshock over Psychic for the Reuniclus mirror, where non-paralysed Psyshock Reuniclus tends to win out vs any paralysed set. Psyshock also notably hits Terrakion in Sandstorm for more damage, or (rare example) Calm Mind Keldeo. Focus Blast is the coverage option I normally use to go alongside it, as despite the 70% accuracy its still the best Reuniclus has for things like Excadrill and Tyranitar.
In the other version you may see of this team, the coverage is switched to Psychic + Signal Beam. The reasoning is that Psychic has good upside vs a lot of the physically defensive targets in the tier, if you can find a way to make up for the bad Reuniclus mirror. The choice of Signal Beam alongside Psychic aims to cover oppposing Reuniclus (35.3 - 41.9% when boosts are matched, with confusion chance on top of paralysis and crit making this pretty favourable) whilst still having a move to hit Tyranitar. Both options are viable and dice ended up using this weirder coverage choice in SPL.
Threatlist:
Swords Dance Excadrill is the big enemy. Yes, its nerfed in Hail and doesn't get the Sand Force boost, but you can't always keep Hail up and its only ever a flinch away from breaking Gliscor. You can tech for this by running turbo speed Gliscor but that comes with a lot of compromises in terms of keeping SR vs Tentacruel, trading with Landorus-T etc.
This team is pretty Rapid Spin reliant and any team based around getting Spikes + Spinblocking has an inherent advantage. HO Lead Skarmory + Jellicent is one such example, with Forretress never ever spinning against Jellicent. Again, you can switch-up the Gliscor set to tech for this by running Speed and Taunt, but this comes with losing Knock Off.
Clefable is kind of the bane of Hail progress, being immune itself and having a toolkit of annoying moves. Blissey's Nature Cure and massive HP make it a good option to absorb paralysis and burn out its Seismic Toss PP, at which point Gliscor then beats it handily, but games vs this mon are always going to go over the 100 turn mark. It sounds weird considering its a Hail team, but Swords Dance Gliscor is a legitimate threat. Abomasnow is difficult to keep healthy and its the only Pokemon that truly threatens SD Gliscor, whilst it gets a huge number of entries on Reuniclus, Blissey, Forretress, and my own Gliscor. Challenging Pokemon to play against. Counter Forretress can help here but obviously its not that consistent.
I know the team doesn't really look that bad vs Terrakion, having a Gliscor, Reuniclus, Forretress, and speed control in Latios, but the team doesn't actually have a Rock resist and that makes CB Stone Edge 100% free every time. Its not something thats worth changing any sets for cos you have enough decent enough checks for it, just bear in mind the "I'll pivot Reuniclus into CC and find a Calm Mind" situation will never come up here, it just clicks Stone Edge 8 times.
