Devil review

Melbourne Staryus, coached by Devil

Devil got two very good offensive types, but had less options in terms of defence. Let's see how he drafted.
His OU picks are terrifying, and anyone facing him should carefully prepare for Mega Zard X, Victini and Blacephalon individually or face the risk of being completely destroyed. Victini is even one of his Z captains, making sure that absolutely nothing can wall it safely. And it gets even worse when you realise he drafted Torkoal, which can not only spin rocks away, but also set up the sun and get a shell smash sweep if the opponent thinks of it as a mere wall. And just when you thought your water types would save you, he brings Rotom-Heat and Trevenant, two very good mons which can function both offensively and defensively. His team could seem overall frail, but with the extremely bulky walls of Cofagrigus and Jellicent he can eat up any hits. Cofagrigus as the second Z captain is very interesting, as it can use Haze to heal itself, Memento to heal others, and god knows what else Devil has planned. His team even has trick room potential, with mons like Cofagrigus and Hoopa-C being able to sweep an unprepared opponent. As far as cores go, he has a decent Voltturn core with Victini, Rotom-Heat, Silvally and even Torracat (which, with an Eviolite, Will-o-wisp and Intimidate, could be surprisingly good defensively, as well as having decent speed and offenses).
However, not everything about his team is good. One thing that stands out is the trouble he can have with hazards. Only Torkoal gets stealth rocks, and both his hazard removal options (Torkoal and Rotom-Heat) are weak to rocks and prone to getting KO'd by the initial rocks setter, if said setter simply runs Stone Edge or Rock Slide. If rocks stay up on his side, all his fire types get seriously damaged, especially a non mega-evolved Charizard. Another problem his team has is how weak he is to knock off and dark types in general. Only 5 members of his draft aren't weak to Knock Off, and only his mega can reasonably switch into it (since both his Z captains are weak to dark and would take a good amount of damage even while holding a z crystal). As for dark types in general, Devil has no Fairy, Fighting or Bug types able to counter them (even though he had no fairy options and his only bug option was Shedninja), his best bets being non-STAB Dazzling Gleam or Focus Blast. His speed could be worse, but only two mons above 100 and none above 110 definitely means his team can be reliably outsped by an already fast scarfer. He also has no steel type, which would be a great defense against the rock types that destroy most of his team, or a normal type to prevent Shadow Ball spam. He does have a few options for a setup sweep like Ddance Mega Charizard or Nasty Plot Mismagius, but none of these really have the bulk to ensure a sweep by themselves, and the rest of his draft makes it tricky to provide the right support for them. Finally, he has no Ground type, which means that his Jellicent, his best way to stop Water/Ground/Rock types, can be attacked without risk and that Volt Switch can be spammed freely.
Overall, Devil's draft is extremely scary for the defender, but can be played around by a well prepared opponent. He has excellent offensive options that can rip through teams, but not much synergy among individually good mons. His team lacks solid walls to rely upon, and has key weaknesses that any serious opponent will be sure to exploit. Nevertheless, underestimating him and going in without a serious plan will lead to a crushing defeat. His draft is in no way impossible to beat, but he has many ways to surprise an opponent who doesn't think of all possibilities, and I think his team members will be frequent candidates for the MVP spot.


This draft gets an 8/10