[SET]
(Swords Dance) Miasmaw @ Loaded Dice / Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Neutralizing Gas
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Tera Type: Ghost / Poison / Fire
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Scale Shot
- Earthquake
- Gunk Shot / Substitute / Tera Blast
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Details
===================
Miasmaw is one of the deadliest physical sweepers in the CAP Metagame, and it owes its success to its sky-high attack stat, access to Scale Shot, and an incredibly powerful ability in Neutralizing Gas. Together, these qualities allow it to circumvent common counterplay for sweepers such as Unaware users and Pixilate Extreme Speed from Hemogoblin, and allow it to easily decimate weakened teams after a single Swords Dance. Earthquake serves as Miasmaw’s main coverage move, hitting Steel-types that would otherwise take little damage from Scale Shot such as Equilibra, Heatran, and Kingambit. Gunk Shot is the preferred option for the last moveslot, as it allows Miasmaw to dispatch otherwise bothersome Fairy-types such as Crescideon, Enamours, and Clefable that would attempt to block Scale Shot. However, if Miasmaw is backed by teammates that can deal with these Pokemon, it can instead choose to run Substitute to protect itself from priority moves and harmful status conditions. When used alongside Tera Ghost, it can also generate opportunities to turn Extreme Speed users such as Hemogoblin and Dragonite into set-up fodder. Tera Blast can be run alongside Tera Blast Fire to provide coverage against Skarmory and Corviknight, both of whom Miasmaw otherwise struggles against. Loaded Dice is generally recommended to ensure that Scale Shot deals consistently strong damage. However, if Miasmaw is on a team without much hazard control, Heavy-Duty Boots can be used instead to alleviate its weakness to hazards, but this comes at the cost of making Scale Shot more inconsistent. Tera Ghost prevents Miasmaw from being revenge killed by Extreme Speed from the likes of Hemogobilin and Dragonite, while also allowing it to serve as a situational spinblocker. Alternatively, Tera Poison improves Miasmaw’s matchups into Fairy-types by patching up its Fairy weakness and strengthening Gunk Shot, notably allowing it to OHKO Crescideon and Clefable prior to using Swords Dance. Finally, Tera Fire grants Miasmaw immunity to burns, patches up its weaknesses to Ice and Fairy, and grants it access to Tera Blast Fire.
Miasmaw finds itself at home on hyper offense teams. Miasmaw’s typing leaves it extremely vulnerable to entry hazards, so running it alongside hazard control such as Caribolt, Great Tusk, or Hatterene is mandatory. Miasmaw struggles to break through Skarmory and Corviknight if it does not have access to Tera Blast Fire, so it appreciates being paired with a Fire-type who can take advantage of these Pokemon such as Volcarona, Iron Moth, or Gouging Fire.. Other strong Dragon-type sweepers such as Dragonite and Roaring Moon work well with Miasmaw, as not only do they help wear down each other's checks, but they also heavily appreciate Miasmaw’s ability to deal with Hemogoblin, who would otherwise stop these Pokemon dead in their tracks as they take massive damage from Pixilate Extreme Speed. Miasmaw’s physical frailty and weakness to hazards mean that it may have trouble finding ample opportunities to set up during a game, and as such, it is a good idea to pair it alongside a Pokemon that can set dual screens or Aurora Veil, such as Alolan Ninetales or Deoxys-S. Special Sweepers such as Stratagem, Serperior and Nasty Plot Gholdengo pair well with Miasmaw, as they can deal with many of the physically bulky Pokemon that may give Miasmaw trouble, while in return, Miasmaw demolishes any special walls that would otherwise prevent them from making progress. Finally, Miasmaw gets good value off of Spikes to help wear down physical walls, so Pokemon who can set Spikes such as Hisuian Samurott, Deoxys-S, and Glimmora naturally make for good teammates.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Checks and Counters
===================
**Entry Hazards**: Miasmaw’s typing leaves it very vulnerable to Spikes and Stealth Rock, which, in conjunction with its low physical bulk, greatly limit the number of opportunities it gets to set up. However, should Miasmaw choose to hold Heavy-Duty Boots instead of Loaded Dice, it can alleviate this issue.
**Skarmory and Corviknight**: Unless Miasmaw is running Tera Blast Fire, it is countered by Skarmory and Corviknight, as they resist Scale Shot, are immune to Miasmaw’s other coverage moves, and can offset any boosts Miasmaw gains from Swords Dance by using Iron Defense. However, these Pokemon take massive damage from the aforementioned Tera Blast Fire.
**Priority**: As Miasmaw is quite frail on the physical side, especially after having its defense dropped from repeated uses of Scale Shot, it is extremely vulnerable to Sucker Punch from the likes of Kingambit and Hisuian Samurott. Similarly, Extreme Speed Users such as Dragonite and Hemogoblin are perfectly capable of revenge killing Miasmaw, but this measure may prove ineffective should Miasmaw Terastallize into a Ghost-type.
**Physically Bulky Pokemon**: Dondozo, despite having Unaware shut off by Neutralizing Gas, serves as a perfectly serviceable check for Miasmaw, as it takes minimal damage from Scale Shot and OHKOes Miasmaw in return with Avalance. Arghonaut can switch-in when Miasmaw sets up and force it out with Circle Throw or cripple it with Knock Off. In a similar vein, Great Tusk usually avoids the OHKO from +2 Scale Shot and can easily finish Miasmaw off with Ice Spinner. However, these Pokemon need to be relatively healthy to safely deal with Miasmaw.
**Fast Status Spreaders**: Cresceidon can switch-in on the turn Miasmaw uses Swords Dance or Scale Shot and cripple it with Thunder Wave or Encore, or deal a large amount of damage with Moonblast, but it cannot deal with Miasmaw after it has set up, as it is OHKOed by +2 Gunk Shot. Dragapult can severely limit Miasmaw’s effectiveness as a sweeper with Thunder Wave or Will-O-Wisp, or outright OHKO it with Dragon Darts. However, Dragapult cannot switch-in directly, and is unable to check Miasmaw at +1 Speed since it is torn to shreds by Scale Shot. .
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/da-pizza-man.221710/
Quality checked by:
Grammar checked by:
(Swords Dance) Miasmaw @ Loaded Dice / Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Neutralizing Gas
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Tera Type: Ghost / Poison / Fire
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Scale Shot
- Earthquake
- Gunk Shot / Substitute / Tera Blast
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Details
===================
Miasmaw is one of the deadliest physical sweepers in the CAP Metagame, and it owes its success to its sky-high attack stat, access to Scale Shot, and an incredibly powerful ability in Neutralizing Gas. Together, these qualities allow it to circumvent common counterplay for sweepers such as Unaware users and Pixilate Extreme Speed from Hemogoblin, and allow it to easily decimate weakened teams after a single Swords Dance. Earthquake serves as Miasmaw’s main coverage move, hitting Steel-types that would otherwise take little damage from Scale Shot such as Equilibra, Heatran, and Kingambit. Gunk Shot is the preferred option for the last moveslot, as it allows Miasmaw to dispatch otherwise bothersome Fairy-types such as Crescideon, Enamours, and Clefable that would attempt to block Scale Shot. However, if Miasmaw is backed by teammates that can deal with these Pokemon, it can instead choose to run Substitute to protect itself from priority moves and harmful status conditions. When used alongside Tera Ghost, it can also generate opportunities to turn Extreme Speed users such as Hemogoblin and Dragonite into set-up fodder. Tera Blast can be run alongside Tera Blast Fire to provide coverage against Skarmory and Corviknight, both of whom Miasmaw otherwise struggles against. Loaded Dice is generally recommended to ensure that Scale Shot deals consistently strong damage. However, if Miasmaw is on a team without much hazard control, Heavy-Duty Boots can be used instead to alleviate its weakness to hazards, but this comes at the cost of making Scale Shot more inconsistent. Tera Ghost prevents Miasmaw from being revenge killed by Extreme Speed from the likes of Hemogobilin and Dragonite, while also allowing it to serve as a situational spinblocker. Alternatively, Tera Poison improves Miasmaw’s matchups into Fairy-types by patching up its Fairy weakness and strengthening Gunk Shot, notably allowing it to OHKO Crescideon and Clefable prior to using Swords Dance. Finally, Tera Fire grants Miasmaw immunity to burns, patches up its weaknesses to Ice and Fairy, and grants it access to Tera Blast Fire.
Miasmaw finds itself at home on hyper offense teams. Miasmaw’s typing leaves it extremely vulnerable to entry hazards, so running it alongside hazard control such as Caribolt, Great Tusk, or Hatterene is mandatory. Miasmaw struggles to break through Skarmory and Corviknight if it does not have access to Tera Blast Fire, so it appreciates being paired with a Fire-type who can take advantage of these Pokemon such as Volcarona, Iron Moth, or Gouging Fire.. Other strong Dragon-type sweepers such as Dragonite and Roaring Moon work well with Miasmaw, as not only do they help wear down each other's checks, but they also heavily appreciate Miasmaw’s ability to deal with Hemogoblin, who would otherwise stop these Pokemon dead in their tracks as they take massive damage from Pixilate Extreme Speed. Miasmaw’s physical frailty and weakness to hazards mean that it may have trouble finding ample opportunities to set up during a game, and as such, it is a good idea to pair it alongside a Pokemon that can set dual screens or Aurora Veil, such as Alolan Ninetales or Deoxys-S. Special Sweepers such as Stratagem, Serperior and Nasty Plot Gholdengo pair well with Miasmaw, as they can deal with many of the physically bulky Pokemon that may give Miasmaw trouble, while in return, Miasmaw demolishes any special walls that would otherwise prevent them from making progress. Finally, Miasmaw gets good value off of Spikes to help wear down physical walls, so Pokemon who can set Spikes such as Hisuian Samurott, Deoxys-S, and Glimmora naturally make for good teammates.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Checks and Counters
===================
**Entry Hazards**: Miasmaw’s typing leaves it very vulnerable to Spikes and Stealth Rock, which, in conjunction with its low physical bulk, greatly limit the number of opportunities it gets to set up. However, should Miasmaw choose to hold Heavy-Duty Boots instead of Loaded Dice, it can alleviate this issue.
**Skarmory and Corviknight**: Unless Miasmaw is running Tera Blast Fire, it is countered by Skarmory and Corviknight, as they resist Scale Shot, are immune to Miasmaw’s other coverage moves, and can offset any boosts Miasmaw gains from Swords Dance by using Iron Defense. However, these Pokemon take massive damage from the aforementioned Tera Blast Fire.
**Priority**: As Miasmaw is quite frail on the physical side, especially after having its defense dropped from repeated uses of Scale Shot, it is extremely vulnerable to Sucker Punch from the likes of Kingambit and Hisuian Samurott. Similarly, Extreme Speed Users such as Dragonite and Hemogoblin are perfectly capable of revenge killing Miasmaw, but this measure may prove ineffective should Miasmaw Terastallize into a Ghost-type.
**Physically Bulky Pokemon**: Dondozo, despite having Unaware shut off by Neutralizing Gas, serves as a perfectly serviceable check for Miasmaw, as it takes minimal damage from Scale Shot and OHKOes Miasmaw in return with Avalance. Arghonaut can switch-in when Miasmaw sets up and force it out with Circle Throw or cripple it with Knock Off. In a similar vein, Great Tusk usually avoids the OHKO from +2 Scale Shot and can easily finish Miasmaw off with Ice Spinner. However, these Pokemon need to be relatively healthy to safely deal with Miasmaw.
**Fast Status Spreaders**: Cresceidon can switch-in on the turn Miasmaw uses Swords Dance or Scale Shot and cripple it with Thunder Wave or Encore, or deal a large amount of damage with Moonblast, but it cannot deal with Miasmaw after it has set up, as it is OHKOed by +2 Gunk Shot. Dragapult can severely limit Miasmaw’s effectiveness as a sweeper with Thunder Wave or Will-O-Wisp, or outright OHKO it with Dragon Darts. However, Dragapult cannot switch-in directly, and is unable to check Miasmaw at +1 Speed since it is torn to shreds by Scale Shot. .
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/da-pizza-man.221710/
Quality checked by:
Grammar checked by:
Last edited:
