Finally, after years of patience, my most-wanted suspect is finally here! I have sworn to myself that should Magearna ever get the suspect test, I would 100% get the voter reqs. After finally attaining those stupid reqs of 50 games with an 80% GXE, I have fulfilled my oath. I also apologize in advance for the very massive essay I’m about to type up regarding why this machine needs to go in the first place.
OVERVIEW:
Magearna has always been a prominent threat since Generation 7, where it was officially introduced. It had an amazing defensive typing, an amazing Sp. Atk stat, a great move-pool, and relatively good bulk. The mechanical doll had access to nifty set-up moves such as Shift Gear and Calm Mind, which only amplified its potential as a special sweeper. Its signature ability, Soul Heart, allowed it to accrue multiple Sp. Atk boosts throughout the battle, making it a force to be reckoned with. So, why wasn’t this banned in the last generation? First, let’s take a close look at why the machine was so good:
Typing
Magearna’s typing in Steel/Fairy was astoundingly good, granting it nine resistances and two immunities, and its only two weaknesses lying in Ground and Fire. While some might scoff at this typing as Klefki and Mawile, also Steel/Fairy, did not fare so well, one should note that Klefki wasn’t too great after the Prankster nerf and that Mega Mawile was actually an Uber in Generation 6. Don’t forget that Zacian-Crowned, another Steel/Fairy, was banned from Ubers, making it the second mon to currently occupy Anything Goes alongside Mega Rayquaza (third if one includes the Arceus ban in Generation 4).
Stats
The most notable stat of this machine would have to be the 130 in Sp. Atk. Sure, it’s no Mega Mewtwo Y, but the stat ties with other amazing OU special attackers such as Gengar, Magnezone, Latios, and Tapu Lele. What makes Magearna stand out from these attackers, however, is its surprisingly decent bulk, boasting 115 in both Defense and Sp. Def. The speed is not amazing, but Magearna has a few tricks up its miniscule arms . . .
Move-pool
This mechanical doll’s move-pool is insane. Aside from the ass-busting 140 STAB move that is Fleur Cannon, Magearna also has access to very good coverage such as Ice Beam, Thunderbolt, and Focus Blast. It also has access to some reliable set-up moves, remedying its mediocre speed with Shift Gear while boosting its Sp. Atk and Sp. Def with Calm Mind. All of this already made the mechanical doll quite a choice for special attackers.
Ability
But that’s not all. What made Magearna so nasty was undoubtedly its signature ability in Soul Heart. Soul Heart basically has implications of being a special version of Moxie, boosting the machine’s Sp. Atk stat when an opponent falls in battle. That’s a good way to look at it . . . had that been the true case. What I’m saying is that if the opponent (or ally in VGC) dies in any way, either to hazards, status, or simply screwed by Magearna, it gets the Sp. Atk boost. Soul Heart isn’t just a special Moxie; it’s better than that. The mechanical bitch doesn’t even have to get its hands dirty just to get that boost.
As strong as it was, Magearna was not without its flaws. Its typing, while great, did leave it weak to Ground and Fire. Landorus-Therian and Garchomp were two notable Ground types that checked the mechanical doll really well. Heatran was still popular during that era and was probably the machine’s worst nightmare, although it didn’t probably want to take an unexpected Focus Blast or Aura Sphere. Its lack of reliable recovery meant that switching into multiple times on hazards would eventually leave it prone to being finished off by mons it could have usually threatened, such as Ash-Greninja or Mega Alakazam (the latter being banned now, by the way). Thus, to a certain degree, Magearna wasn’t entirely unstoppable, though “unstoppable” is a pretty weak term considering what the little prick could pull off back then. And then Generation 8 dropped.
CHANGES:
Even before Magearna made its entrance through the DLC, Generation 8 was already quite the shit-fest in terms of competitive. For the introduction of new mons, there were practically unviable mons such as Greedent or Grapploct, but there was almost no middle ground. It just jumped to absolute demons such as Cinderace, Dracovish, Spectrier, etc., which were eventually banned. This was also without taking Dynamax, quite possibly the nastiest mechanic Game Freak had to offer yet, into account. NatDex’s suspect regarding this mechanic had to be the most volatile thread I’ve ever witnessed, and I don’t quite think it’s going to get topped for a while. It goes without saying that the metagame was an absolute mess.
So enough about Gen 8 being shitty; where did Magearna become broken in all of this? With every DLC, some pre-existing mons made a comeback with new moves. Some of these were actually wonderful as they had the chance to bolster the viability of a mon. Lycanroc-Dusk had access to Close Combat and Play Rough, both which worked really well with its Tough Claws ability. Scizor, as well as some Flying types, got Dual Wingbeat, giving Scizor another great Technician-boosted move and finally a viable offensive STAB for the physical Flying types that lacked Brave Bird. Some mons received new moves that actually straight-up busted them; Mega Blastoise with Shell Smash and Mega Alakazam with Nasty Plot were, without a doubt, the best examples as they were sent straight to Ubers. As for Magearna . . . the mechanical doll got two of the most unnecessary moves in Draining Kiss and Stored Power. Both were nails in the coffin, and both finally warranted a much-needed suspect test.
Some might be snickering at the fact that a 50 BP recovery move is how Magearna started to become broken, but there are a couple of things to consider. Remember when I said Magearna had a lack of reliable recovery and that it could easily get worn down by hazards? Draining Kiss just remedied that problem. Not to mention, this was a STAB recovery move for the machine as well, so this move was more viable than it seemed. It’s also important to remember that Soul Heart can easily negate the seemingly pathetic damage of Draining Kiss, probably boosting it to astronomical levels if played around wrong.
Stored Power can work very well on the right mons that choose to utilize it. Z-Celebrate Victini is OU’s best Stored Power user, being able to utilize +1 into all of its stats before spamming it on any non-Dark type (fun fact, a Z-Celebrate boosted Stored Power actually has a 43.8% chance to OHKO a specially-defensive Toxapex). I’ve mentioned that Magearna had access to Shift Gear and Calm Mind; put these two with Stored Power and one can begin to see where this is headed. If that’s not enough, keep in mind that the mechanical bitch’s ability will continually increase its Sp. Atk stat every time something falls, which only boosts Stored Power even more. Both new moves eventually led to Magearna’s most popular/broken set: Shift Gear/Calm Mind/Stored Power/Draining Kiss. Speaking of sets, this isn’t even the machine’s only set . . .
SETS:
SG/CM/SP/DK
This is the set I just mentioned, and what is undoubtedly Magearna’s most devastating set. After getting up a boost in Shift Gear or Calm Mind (the former being more possible), Magearna has the option to either get a second set-up off or simply Stored Power. When it starts to look bad for Magearna’s health, simply click Draining Kiss to put it back in a good position. This set’s only reliable check has to be specially-defensive Heatran, and that’s pretty much it. If predicted correctly, some Ground types such as Landorus-T or Garchomp could theoretically get the jump on it, but sometimes that may fail too.
SG + 3 Attacks
Before Generation 8 dropped, this was a popular set for the machine in Generation 7. After one Shift Gear, Magearna technically out-sped a good portion of the metagame, even against some Scarf users. The attacks can vary, but most users of this set will probably carry Ice Beam for coverage against the pesky Ground types that could pressure it, simply OHKOing any variants of Landorus-T and Garchomp while putting Hippowdon in a pretty unfavorable position. Volt Switch can be used for the momentum if it got too rough for the mechanical doll, while Thunderbolt simply let it sweep. I’ve seen a lot of these pricks use Fleur Cannon as their third attack, though some would probably prefer Aura Sphere or Focus Blast against other Steel types that could possibly hinder the chance of a sweep. In NatDex, Magearna also retains its access to Z-moves, and now one has to play the guessing game of which Z-move the machine is carrying.
Assault Vest
This was another Generation 7 favorite; since Magearna was already fairly bulky, an Assault Vest could prove troublesome for staple specially-offensive mons such as Mega Charizard Y (the little shit can actually LIVE a Drought-boosted Fire Blast even without full EVs in Sp. Def). This set’s main attacks usually include Fleur Cannon, which does devastating damage, Volt Switch for fixing the harsh Sp. Atk drop, and Focus Blast and Ice Beam for coverage. Hp Fire was also an option even if it did not do as much damage as the other two coverage moves.
Heart Swap
Although it wasn’t the most efficient set, it certainly was a migraine inducer for those unprepared for it. Magearna’s Fleur Cannon always had that problematic Sp. Atk drop, which would force it to switch in most cases. Why let that stop it when it can simply pass off that problem to you? Then it’s back in a nice position. This can be seriously irritating to a lot of specially-offensive mons. This set can also carry Pain Split to fix its health, making the mechanical bitch even more annoying than it used to be.
Choice Specs
This is actually another really good Magearna set with its main debut in Generation 8. A Specs Fleur Cannon can now rip anything that is neutral or weak to Fairy with little-to-no difficulty, even dealing almost half of any resistant mon’s health. Focus Blast or Aura Sphere hits even harder, scaring out poor Heatran. Volt Switch is there for the momentum as usual. In this set, Magearna can actually screw dedicated special walls such as Blissey, switching out its Heavy Duty Boots or Leftovers by using Trick to swap the Specs onto the wall. This set is more dangerous than it implies.
All of the listed sets now presents another problem; you have to predict one of the sets correctly if you even want to have a chance against this prick. This was basically the same problem with Cinderace, but it’s even worse in this case considering Magearna probably has less checks in comparison to the fire bunny. And while once figuring out Cinderace’s set does allow you to adapt a strategy (albeit with some difficulty), all it usually takes is one wrong guess on Magearna’s set and you might as well take the loss. Want to force out Magearna’s SG/CM/SP/DK set with Heatran after seeing the Shift Gear? Oh wait, it’s actually Shift Gear with Focus Blast, and down your poor Heatran goes (and don’t forget the prick gets that Sp. Atk boost). How about switching in Blissey at the same time Magearna switches in? Get crippled by getting locked by a Trick Choice Specs. Why not try to switch to something like bulky Volcarona, something that can actually scoff at a lot of the machine’s coverage moves? Watch in horror as Magearna accrues some set-up moves while you’re forced to switch out to something to stop the set-up to no avail. Speaking of sets, a problem I have seen in this discussion thread is that some teams are forced to run two checks simply because of how many sets Magearna can run, and quite frankly, two checks may still not be enough.
CONCLUSION:
So there you have it. Magearna was already an absolute bitch in Generation 7 by virtue of its great typing, excellent stats, varying move-pool, and a very helpful ability to boost its sweeping capabilities. Generation 8 only turned it from 100 to 1000 to make the mechanical shit not just mostly unstoppable, but even less predictable and therefore harder to check.
I AM 100% PRO-BAN. THIS FUCKER NEEDS TO GO.