casino

[SET]
name: CasinoGar
move 1: Hypnosis
move 2: Hex
move 3: Destiny Bond
move 4: Focus Blast / Sludge Bomb
item: Gengarite
ability: Levitate
nature: Timid
evs: 236 HP / 4 Def / 12 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
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Hypnosis is really good when it hits, this move is always a bit of a dice roll because of its accuracy but since the odds are in your favor it's still a viable choice. 60% may look unappealing but the benefits of a fast sleep inducer are so strong that it can be worth the risk. Hex is the Ghost-type STAB of choice because it gets so much damage in against sleeping foes. Destiny Bond is a great move when you're looking to take out a big threat, such as Mega Mawile or Mega Kangaskhan. It will often be hard for your opponent to play around thanks to Shadow Tag, especially if the opposing Pokemon has a choice item or only carries attacks. Focus Blast offers perfect coverage alongside Hex. It works very well to surprise Pokemon such as Tyranitar and specially defensive Heatran, that would otherwise be solid counters to Gengar. Sludge Bomb can be used for more consistency or if your team needs the coverage against Fairy-types. The last moveslot should be decided on what coverage you feel works better for your team.

Set Details
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Maximum Speed investment with a Timid nature is used to at least speed tie with other Mega Gengars and outspeed some threats, such as Greninja and Weavile. 12 Special Attack EVs are used to guarantee an OHKO on a statused Aegislash. The remaining EVs are dumped into HP so Gengar takes hits better. 4 EVs are invested in Defense and Special Defense, this is more efficient than adding 8 EVs in HP as you gain an extra stat point total. Bulk is important on this set for turns that Hypnosis misses, the more turns Genga is alive means more chances to hit Hypnosis.

-max speed with a timid nature is used to at least speed tie with other mega gengars and outspeed some threats such as greninja and weavile.
-12 SpA is used to guarantee an OHKO on a status'd Aegislash
-the remaining EVs are dumped into hp so gengar takes hits better for when hypnosis misses, the more turns you're alive to use hypnosis the better your odds are of hitting, so bulk is preferred.
-4 EVs into Def/SpDef are more efficient since they give an extra stat point total than if you put those EVs into HP
-levitate is gengars only ability pre mega but can be useful before Mega-evolving against some ground types to avoid being OHKOd in mega form. but in most cases you will want to mega evolve asap to get the huge benefits of shadow tag and the extra speed to outspeed threats such as greninja.
-an alternate spread of 188 HP / 116 Def / 4 SpA / 4 SpD / 196 Spe can be used if you find that max speed isnt necessary for you. 196 spe outspeeds up to max speed greninja while the defensive investment allows gengar to live strong moves such as CB Talonflame brave bird, mega blaziken flare blitz, and garchomp outrage pre-mega.


Usage Tips
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-use hypnosis when in a favorable position, it is especially good if you expect your opponent to switch out on the turn you havent mega evolved as you'll have a second chance to try to hit hypnosis if you didnt already on their switch. and if you do hit this gives gengar one guaranteed free turn to get off an attack.
-can be used as a lead to try to heavily weaken some of your opponents team. if the opponent doesnt have many or any pokemon faster than gengar it can be very difficult for them to take it down if hypnosis is hitting consistently. hypnosis can also put a stop to common lead strategies that involve getting rocks up. if you can stop rocks from getting up you'll disrupt your opponents game plan a lot, putting you in a good position.
-use gengar to take on defensive mons, as with gengar's investment in HP it can take more hits from their weaker attacks, giving you plenty of turns to hit hypnosis so you stop their recovery and start dishing out a lot of damage with Hex.
-if gengar is against a big threat to your team, it may be better to attempt to go 1 for 1 with destiny bond if you expect your opponent will take gengar out, rather than risking hypnosis+hex.
-when running focus blast, try to make the most of it. it's a tech move that most opponents won't expect so try to catch ttar switchins when you see it at team preview, and you can do the same for other switchins such as p2 and spdef heatran.

Team Options
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-this is not a totally reliable set, so it is best used as a backup mega
-works well as a backup mega on teams with mega kang. can deal with mons kang struggles with like physical walls such as cresselia and slowbro. it can also work well with blaziken for similar reasons
-works well with other status spreading mons so gengar can immediately use Hex on things you dont need to sleep. Twave thund, toxic suicune, wisp talon are all good examples. suicune also appreciates gengar's ability to deal with grass types like venusaur and serperior.
-Scarf Chomp appreciates Gengar's ability to deal with bulky threats like Cress and P2, while Garchomp more consistently handles offensive pokemon.
-BD azu works well with Gengar thanks to the support it provides with Shadow Tag. Gengar can trap threats to azu such as Mega Venu and Defensive Rotom-W.
-Other set up sweepers such as SD Talonflame and QD Volcarona can work well with Gengar. Gengar can use Dbond to take out big threats to these two like Garchomp, and can also utilize its tech coverage, Focus Blast, to deal with other troublesome mons for these two such as Tyranitar and Heatran.
-Fire-types in general, such as Talonflame, Volcarona, and Zard Y, also make good teammates to help deal with Steel-types and Ghosts such as Aegislash and Mega Sableye more consistently, so Gengar doesn't have to risk hitting Focus Blast or Hypnosis against them. Ghost-types can be hard for Gengar to beat since they are able to switch out of Shadow Tag if they decide to.