Magmortar
Ability
Flame Body | Vital Spirit (HA)
Movepool Additions
Heat Crash, Hyper Voice, Knock Off, Poison Jab, Roar, Temper Flare, Tera Blast
Movepool Losses
Counter, Covet, Iron Tail, Mystical Fire, Power-Up Punch, Seismic Toss, Swagger, Teleport, Torment, Toxic
Competitively Usable Moves
Offensive (Physical)
Brick Break, Cross Chop, Earthquake, Flame Charge, Flare Blitz, Focus Punch, Knock Off, Low Kick, Mach Punch, Poison Jab, Rock Slide, Temper Flare, Thunder Punch
Offensive (Special)
Clear Smog, Fire Blast, Flamethrower, Focus Blast, Heat Wave, Hyper Voice, Lava Plume, Overheat, Psychic, Scorching Sands, Thunderbolt, Weather Ball
Utility
Curse, Protect, Rest, Roar, Sleep Talk, Substitute, Taunt, Will-O-Wisp
Ability
Flame Body | Vital Spirit (HA)
Movepool Additions
Heat Crash, Hyper Voice, Knock Off, Poison Jab, Roar, Temper Flare, Tera Blast
Movepool Losses
Counter, Covet, Iron Tail, Mystical Fire, Power-Up Punch, Seismic Toss, Swagger, Teleport, Torment, Toxic
Competitively Usable Moves
Offensive (Physical)
Brick Break, Cross Chop, Earthquake, Flame Charge, Flare Blitz, Focus Punch, Knock Off, Low Kick, Mach Punch, Poison Jab, Rock Slide, Temper Flare, Thunder Punch
Offensive (Special)
Clear Smog, Fire Blast, Flamethrower, Focus Blast, Heat Wave, Hyper Voice, Lava Plume, Overheat, Psychic, Scorching Sands, Thunderbolt, Weather Ball
Utility
Curse, Protect, Rest, Roar, Sleep Talk, Substitute, Taunt, Will-O-Wisp
Base Stats | Level 100 Base Stat Range |
|---|---|
Base Stat Total | 540 |
HP 75 | 260 - 354 |
Attack 95 | 175 - 317 |
Defense 67 | 125 - 256 |
Sp. Atk 125 | 229 - 383 |
Sp. Def 95 | 175 - 317 |
Speed 83 | 153 - 291 |
Initial Thoughts (12/17/23)
Magmortar took a little longer than expected for me to dive in and appreciate some of the changes given to it this generation. However, Magmortar's slow switch from being an offensive nuke to being a powerful utility Pokemon took its hard stance in this generation. Magmortar is still quite flawed, but I feel that with Tera and some new movepool options it has the option to occupy a unique offensive utility niche.
Pros
- Magmortar got two new fantastic tools in Knock Off and Roar, allowing Magmortar to act as an offensive utility phaser focused on momentum disruption on hazard teams that also has the option to fire off STAB Lava Plumes alongside Clear Smog to block setup sweepers.
- Magmortar has an acceptable base 75/95 natural special bulk, a great 125 base special attack, and a solid ability in Flame Body to punish physical attackers who try to prey on its physically weaker side.
- Magmortar is the only Fire-type with access to both Roar and Knock Off that resists Fairy-types (with all others such as Blaziken, Incineroar, Infernape, and Emboar all being neutral to Fairy-type attacks).
- Magmortar's newfound access to terastallization allows it to get over some of its defensive typing woes, in addition to complimenting its great movepool coverage.
Cons
- Magmortar's 75/67 physical bulk is pitiful, leaving it in a difficult position against faster physical threats, or threats with physical priority.
- Magmortar's special attack is no longer the nuclear whomp engine that it used to be, leaving it decidedly outclassed in purely offensive roles, utility is the way to go with Magmortar.
- Magmortar can feel very Tera-reliant against quite a few teams, often making you feel like Magmortar will be dead weight if you don't terastallize it due to pure Fire-type's defensive shortcomings.
- While Magmortar appreciates the tier's newfound focus on special attacking Pokemon, it does not appreciate its lacking base 83 speed - which keeps it from being able to handle some specific threats (and eliminating any possibility of outspeeding Jolly 252 Tusk without a Choice Scarf).
Potential Sets
Momentum-Block Utility Phaser
Magmortar @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Flame Body
Tera Type: Flying
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Knock Off
- Roar
- Clear Smog
- Lava Plume
I've found that Magmortar's best usage comes from eschewing its nuclear capabilities and instead going with a set prioritizing utility functionality over raw power. This particular set works well on hazard teams - Knock Off cripples some opposing Pokemon, Roar allows Magmortar to phase, Clear Smog allows for setup sweepers to be reset, and Lava Plume is a decent STAB move with a good 30% burn chance. With 252 Hasty, Magmortar reaches a base speed stat of 291 which allows it to outpace some notable bulkier threats, but does not match up well against faster-paced physically focused hyper offense builds.
Tera Flying Choice Scarf
Magmortar @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Flame Body
Tera Type: Flying
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Overheat
- Thunderbolt
- Scorching Sands
- Tera Blast
Magmortar's newfound access to Tera + Choice Scarf and great coverage allows it to function as a pretty solid Choice Scarf Pokemon - STAB Overheat is going to be your designated "melt" function against threats it hits super effectively like Amoonguss, Cobalion, Corviknight, Excadrill, Gholdengo, Iron Crown, Kingambit, Metagross, Ribombee, Rillaboom, Serperior, Skarmory, and Venusaur. Thunderbolt has phenomenal coverage along with Scorching Sands (which additionally has a nice burn chance). Tera Blast Flying additionally works well in luring in some problematic Pokemon and taking them out (with defensive benefits as well like becoming immune to Ground-type attacks and resisting Fighting-type attacks); Pokemon like Blaziken, Great Tusk, Hydrapple, Iron Valiant, Keldeo, Ogerpon-Wellspring, Terrakion, Volcarona, and Zamazenta.
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