Mamoswine Is Wrong, But Still Exactly What Pokemon Unite Needs
Pokemon Unite’s Mamoswine has been spectacularly mislabeled, but it’s still exactly what the game needs to become even better.
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As I’m sure you already know, Mamoswine is a bit of a chonky lad. While Swinub is only a little over a foot tall and clocks in at around 14lbs, growing up in Pokemon Antarctica naturally subjects you to a cold so cruel you’re forced to adapt. By the time Swinub gets big and stronk, it will have grown to stand at over eight feet tall and weigh almost 45 times its original body weight. This, many people appear to believe, implies that Mamoswine isn’t exactly Usain Bolt. Hahaha.
Yesterday, Mamoswine became the most recent ‘mon to join the rapidly increasing roster of Pokemon Unite. Other than Blastoise – my favourite Pokemon of all time – Mamo is probably the ‘mon I was most excited about, having regularly used it in competitive play before Gen 8 made all of my previously existing meta knowledge completely redundant. Or was it Gen 7? Honestly, I’m not sure – either way, Mamo used to be a strange but surprisingly solid pick. I’ve always had a soft spot for it.
I had a feeling it was going to be a Defender in Unite. Deep down, I knew it, although after Gardevoir was spoiled by making it yet another Attacker, I was desperately trying to trick myself into believing I was wrong. You see, Mamoswine is the dictionary definition of an All-Rounder. While I’m happy to see neglected roles like Defender get some much-needed love, Unite could have added literally any other tank in the series to flesh out the category. Mamoswine is big, aye, and its Thick Fat ability has traditionally made it a fantastic bulky sweeper for over a decade. Not all big Pokemon are goalkeepers though, eh? Imagine sticking Ibra between the sticks just because of his height. Exactly.
I’m not coming at this from an unreasonable angle, by the way. I’ve done the maths. In terms of stats, Mamoswine has the joint lowest average total between Defense and Special Defense (70) out of all Unite’s current All-Rounders, alongside Lucario. Charizard is next lowest with an average of 81.5, whereas Machamp has 82.5 and Garchomp is kitted out with a whopping 90. Mamoswine also isn’t the slowest of the bunch – it has a Speed stat of 80, which absolutely trounces Machamp’s 55. Machamp literally has higher defensive stats and lower Speed than Mamoswine – so how come it’s an All-Rounder while Mamo is relegated to Defender?
The answer, it seems, has to do with Mamoswine’s superior HP, although I reckon given the facts mentioned above, that shouldn’t automatically pigeonhole it into a defensive role. It also only has two more points in HP than Garchomp, which, given Garchomp’s radically higher Defense and Special Defense stats, still appears to be in its favour. What’s more, the only other Defender with a HP stat above 100 is Snorlax, whose defensive average clocks in at an enormous 87.5. As for the remaining Defenders, Slowbro’s defensive average is 95, Crustle’s is 100, and Blastoise’s is an astronomical 102.5(!). The patterns all point to Mamo being an All-Rounder.
Still not convinced? Well, it’s worth noting that Mamoswine also matches both Garchomp and Machamp for Attack, boasting an outlandish total of 130 points and drastically superseding both Lucario and Charizard. Mamoswine doesn’t even have any defensive moves! It is literally an All-Rounder that has been placed in the incorrect category.
Which leads me to my next point: yes, Mamoswine has been miscategorised. But do you know what? It’s still somehow exactly what Pokemon Unite needs right now.
Back when Blastoise launched, I wrote about how it was excellent to see a Defender being given such a workably offensive moveset. Blastoise excels as a goalkeeper, but it’s a bit of a Rogério Ceni, the ex-Sao Paulo stopper who somehow managed to score 131 goals throughout his career. Mamoswine, on the other hand, is more of a John O’Shea, the Irish defender known throughout Europe for his ridiculous versatility. After Edwin van der Sar broke his nose in a 2007 clash with Spurs, O’Shea stepped up to the plate and managed to keep a clean sheet. But being a goalkeeper – or, in Unite terms, a Defender – was only part of his skillset and was arguably his weakest link. I think the same can be said for Mamoswine.
Also, before you give out to me for making a Pokemon article about sports, Unite literally has basketball hoops you do slam dunks in. Cinderace dribbles its orbs around the arena. Snorlax stretches its arms out in the Schmeichel starfish to make itself look big when it uses Block. Pokemon Unite is a sports game whether you like it or not – that’s part of the reason I can’t wait for it to get a dedicated esports scene.
Anyway, the reason Mamoswine is so good for Unite has to do with pretty much everything I mentioned above. It blurs the lines between roles in a way that is refreshingly conducive to versatility, which in turn can only make the meta more vibrant and dynamic. I played quite a few games as Mamoswine this morning, all of them drastically different from one another. In some cases, yes, I was the goalkeeper. I also jungled once – imagine solo queuing for Unite and nobody going mid? At Veteran tier, no less. Absurd! Funnily enough, I managed to clean up shop because Mamoswine can be built into an offensive powerhouse if you choose your moves correctly. What’s more, its tanky sustainability makes it pretty great in a war of attrition, allowing you to swing the level economy in your favour early on. On top of all of that, if you decide to run Score Shield on Mamoswine and manage to get off your Unite Move with the Buddy Barrier equipped… Let’s just say Zapdos doesn’t seem to matter as much when you’ve got a guaranteed 100+ points in the last two minutes, eh?
Essentially, despite being mislabeled as a Defender, Mamoswine is breathing new life into Unite. Here’s hoping it’s the beginning of a new trend where ‘mons aren’t unfairly pigeonholed into hyper-specific categories and can instead be played in a variety of different ways. Now to wait for Sylveon…
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