Speed CirnoType:
Ice/WaterAbilities:
Vital Spirit or
GutsBase Stats:HP: 75
Atk: 90
Def: 80
SpAtk: 95
SpDef: 40
Speed: 120
Greetings everyone, and happy Cirno day! Today, I wanna show you guys one of the
>coolest and most underrated status absorbers in the game.
OverviewSpeed Cirno doesn't really look like much, especially with a mediocre offensive presence with her 90 base Atk stat. Fortunately for her, it's the ability that really sells for Speed Cirno; the choice between Vital Spirit and Guts allows her to function as a dangerous Sleep or Status absorber. The choice between Speed Cirno's two abilities really comes down to your team's needs, but no matter what is chosen, she does a really good job at making your opponent think twice before using a status move, provided that she has been revealed to your opponent.
Playing Speed Cirno requires a lot of experience and practice (knowing when and when not to switch in); she's incredibly frail, especially on the special side, so a timely prediction by your opponent can quickly spell the end of your status absorber. If you are able to play around Speed Cirno's faults, however, she could end up being exactly what you were looking for.
Choice Banded Status SpongeSpeed Cirno @ Special Bloomers
Ability: Vital Spirit / Guts
EVs: 252 Atk/252 Spd/4 SpDef
Jolly nature (+Spd,-SpAtk)
- Ice Ball
- Waterfall
- Poison Jab
- Double-Edge / Superpower / Thunderpunch
Speed Cirno is a puppet that performs comfortably well in the lead position, as she is able to shut down the strategies of things like HypnoBellyPass Mamizou or even Speed Shizuha, and force them out on turn 1. She is unfortunately forced out on turn 1 by faster leads and anti-leads such as Advent Marisa or Advent Reisen, though. Speed Cirno just doesn't hit hard enough on her lonesome, so the Special Bloomers helps out with this. A Choice Item nets Speed Cirno KOs (and 2HKOs) she otherwise would not be able to achieve, such as 252HP/0Def Speed Medicine without the need for setting up.
The choice between abilities boils right down to your team's needs. Vital Spirit allows her to lead on, or to switch in on common leads that carry Sleeping moves, and immediately threaten the opposition with her incredible neutral coverage backed up by a Choice Item. No matter what switches in, you now have a good deal of information about your opponent's team and what they intend to use to counter Speed Cirno, especially since the amount of puppets that resist Ice are incredibly slim, being limited to opposing Water and Ice types, the latter of which is a very rare type. Guts, on the other hand, allows Cirno to be kept hidden in the back until your opponent reveals something that can threaten a Burn or a Toxic, and allows Cirno to play at what is essentially +2 attack for the rest of the game, potentially giving her the ability to set up a late-game sweep.
Ice Ball and Waterfall are Speed Cirno's go-to STAB moves. Ice Ball is a bit stronger and has a chance to lower Defense, while Waterfall has a very useful Flinch chance backed by Speed Cirno's amazing Speed stat. Poison Jab is used to threaten opposing Water-types who would otherwise Wall Cirno's STAB combination. Lastly, Superpower prevents Speed Cirno from being walled by Attack Komachi, and hits opposing Heart-types really hard, however, Double-Edge can be used in this slot to punish Faith-types looking to tank a possible Waterfall, such as Byakuren or Shingyoku-M. Thunderpunch is an option for those who really, really need some kind of way to tickle Helper Eirin (note that it's still only a 2HKO with Guts and Bloomers).
The EVs look really simple, but they take advantage of everything Speed Cirno has going for it. Max Attack and Speed allow her to hit as hard as possible when backed by the multipliers of Band and possibly Guts, while Max Speed lets her tie with opposing base 120's like Speed Youmu or Ran, and allows her to outspeed neutral Youki, Advent Marisa, or Lyrica.
TailwindSpeed Cirno @ Lum Berry / Leftovers / Thick Fur
Ability: Vital Spirit / Guts
EVs: 252 Atk/252 Spd/4 SpDef
Jolly nature (+Spd,-SpAtk)
- Ice Ball
- Waterfall
- Poison Jab
- Tailwind
Tailwind trades the immediate power that the Special Bloomers would otherwise provide for the ability to set up a late-game win condition that either cannot be put to sleep or cannot be harmed by status, and can actually switch moves during her sweep. Lum Berry should be used alongside Vital Spirit to prevent harmful status like Paralysis from getting in the way, and Leftovers should be considered when playing with Guts to allow her to offset the potential Burn or Poison damage that she would otherwise be dealing with. Thick Fur is useable on both sets to boost Ice Ball's damage output.
The EVs given are standard, but are slightly more customize-able in this case. You could carefully pull EVs out of Speed or Attack if you know what you're doing, but keep in mind that maximum Attack and Speed are used to expand on the multipliers that Speed Cirno uses (Tailwind and Guts).
Other OptionsSpeed Cirno can run a Special set, but her options are incredibly lacking, consisting of Surf, Ice Beam, and Nature Power, the latter of which could be useful for surprising Toyohime, but it's still only a 3HKO on 252HP Chiyuri. Speed Cirno has Endure, which could be useful for proccing a Liechi or Petaya Berry, but you have to commit to Vital Spirit in this case. Her supportive options include stuff like Taunt and Rain Dance, which could give her a role as a suicide lead of sorts. Lastly, Speed Cirno has access to Aqua Jet and Ice Shard, but they don't hit very hard when backed by her low Attack Stat.
CountersA Speed Cirno who has set up has very few hard counters, but most of the game's famous S/A Rank physical walls can stand up to her blows. Water-types have the best shot at walling Speed Cirno.
The top two counters are Chiyuri and Helper Eirin. Chiyuri can come in, get a free Intimidate, and threaten a Paralysis on either the Vital Spirit or Guts variant with very little fear of damage. Chiyuri can then 2HKO back with Mana Burst if SCirno stays in for some reason. Helper Eirin takes miniscule damage even from a +1 Guts-boosted Speed Cirno, and can OHKO back with Poison Bomb.
Murasa forms can take a shot at walling Speed Cirno before it sets up, but they must be wary of Double-Edge. More unconventional options include Byakuren, DIchirin, Orange, Yoshika, DHina/Yuugenmagan, but Speed Cirno can use most of them as set-up bait. If Speed Cirno has not set up a Tailwind or is playing with the Special Bloomers set, then she can be revenged by the many number or puppets who happen to be faster than her. While Speed Cirno does have access to priority moves in Aqua Jet and Ice Shard, they don't hit hard enough to be anything to worry about.
Show Posts