OU Spotlight: Landorus-T

Though it is not as old as Starmie, Gengar, or Tyranitar, Landorus-T has been, since its release in BW, undoubtedly one of the most iconic Pokémon in OverUsed. It rose even more in usage during the sixth generation, and as much as people did not expect it to be able to do better, it seems that the legendary lion will stay one of the—if not the—most dominating Pokémon in the tier for a while.

But let's have a look at the monster itself. It has a decent base 91 Speed stat as well as a colossal base 145 Attack, which allows even the defensive sets to hit quite hard. Its base 105 Special Attack is also notable (for example, it is better than that of Mew) and allows the beast to run Hidden Power to surprise some of its usuals checks. Also, in addition to its good offensive presence, it has 89 / 90 physical bulk, which, paired with a great ability in Intimidate, makes Landorus-T a decent pivot able to endure hits from physical attackers such as Mega Metagross, Mega Charizard X, and Excadrill, and it's worth noting that it even is a good check to opposing Landorus-T. Its good double typing also gives it two immunities, Electric and Ground, which are almost mandatory for any competitive squads, as well as resistances to Poison, Fight, and Bug, but also a weakness to both Water and Ice, which are also very common in OverUsed.

But the best asset of Landorus-T is undoubtedly its high versatility, which stems from its large movepool. It has access to almost everything it can dream of, namely Stealth Rock, which allows it to act as the premier Stealth Rock user on offensive teams; U-turn to pivot; the famous EdgeQuake combo, which can hit every single Pokémon at least neutrally; Knock Off, Hidden Power Ice, and Hidden Power Fire to lure its checks; Smack Down if hitting airborne Pokémon is needed; and two setup moves in Swords Dance, which is a must-have for a physical sweeper, and Rock Polish to be able to outspeed the entire metagame.

Hot Sets

Landorus-T @ Rocky Helmet: Ability: Intimidate; EVs: 252 HP / 216 Def / 24 SpD / 16 Spe; Impish Nature; - Earthquake; - Stealth Rock; - Hidden Power Ice / Stone Edge / Knock Off; - U-turn

Landorus-T can run different sets, but it is mostly known as a pivot. This set uses its decent physical bulk paired with Intimidate to act as a good check to all the physical attackers, such as Mega Charizard X, Excadrill, and Tapu Bulu. It is also one of the main reason for physical Pokémon to run Water or Ice coverage (for example, Mega Metagross running Ice Punch), though thanks to its ability, Landorus-T can easily take one hit even from super effective physical moves if needed. The EVs used are quite classic, maximizing HP and Defense to be able to tank hits as well as .possible while still being able to hit decently hard thanks to its amazing base Attack. The Speed EVs let Landorus-T outspeed threats such as Magnezone, Azumarill, and Choice Band Tyranitar if needed, but you can use a 0 Speed repart in order to underspeed opposing Landorus-T, win the U-turn war, and grab momentum. The 24 EVs in Special Defense allow Landorus-T to take a Draco Meteor from Latios from full health, as well as to get high chances to avoid a KO from Tapu Koko's Hidden Power Ice. This set also takes advantage of Landorus-T's great movepool: Stealth Rock is one of the best moves in the game, and Landorus-T can set it up for offensive teams without breaking their rhythm thanks to its access to U-turn, which is the best way to bring in glass canons or annoying Pokémon for the opposing team without any risk. It will always run Earthquake in the third slot as a reliable and powerful STAB move, but the fourth move depends on what the team needs: Knock Off is always useful, while Hidden Power Ice is a good way to damage opposing Garchomp and Landorus-T without taking any risk (it's telling how overused a Pokémon is when it has to run a lure move for itself), allowing others physical sweepers such as Mega Charizard X and Excadrill to break through, and Hidden Power Fire can be run to hit Mega Scizor or Ferrothorn for Pokémon such as Mega Metagross, Latios, and Tapu Lele so they won't have to run a dedicated coverage move for those Steel-types. Toxic is another tricky move that can catch foes like Rotom-W, Zapdos, Buzzwole, and opposing Landorus-T. Finally, it has two item choices: Leftovers gives it turn-by-turn recovery, which is extra good because it does not have access to any healing move (probably its only flaw), while Rocky Helmet punishes physical attackers and allows Landorus-T to inflict always useful chip damages without even attacking.

/ Landorus-T @ Rockium Z / Flyinium Z: Ability: Intimidate; EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe; Adamant Nature; - Earthquake; - Swords Dance; - Stone Edge / Fly; - Stealth Rock / Rock Polish

Despite its great pivot skills, Landorus-T has also a very good Attack, a decent Speed tier, and access to moves that are able to boost both of them, turning itself into a terrifying sweeper. Its offensive set forgoes all defensive capabilities, using a spread that increases its Attack and Speed, which, with an Adamant nature, leaves it with a very few reliable switch-ins. Concerning its item, Landorus-T was blessed for the seventh generation with new toys in the Z-Moves, which increase its wallbreaking capabilities even more and make it an even more versatile threat. It will run either a Rockium Z or a Flyinium Z, but more on that later. An offensive Landorus-T will almost always run a boosting move, most likely Swords Dance, which boosts its high Attack to sky-high levels, and sometimes Rock Polish, in order to outspeed everything even on offense and to properly crush those frail teams. Earthquake is the best Ground STAB attack in the game, thanks to its good Base Power and its perfect accuracy. Landorus-T will also run another coverage move, which basically leaves it with two options, depending of the item it is using. Fly is another STAB attack able to hit Ground-resistant Pokémon such as Tapu Bulu, opposing Landorus-T, and Tangrowth or Mega Venusaur, but it has to be used as a Z-Move because a two-turn attack allows your opponent to play around it. However, when you click a STAB-boosted Z-Move, bar defensive Pokémon that resist Flying, there is little chance not to get a KO. The other Z-Move option is Stone Edge, which is also a viable attack otherwise. As said previously, the EdgeQuake combo can hit everything for neutral damage, and Stone Edge is also a good option for the last slot if you are running Fly but do not need another setup move; however, with the Rockium Z and Continental Crush's high Base Power, Stone Edge is an efficient way for Landorus-T to KO Pokémon that would otherwise be able to tank its attacks, such as Skarmory, Celesteela, and Rotom-W. Finally, don't forget that Landorus-T can still run Stealth Rock if needed.

Landorus-T @ Choice Scarf: Ability: Intimidate; EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe; Jolly / Naive Nature; - Earthquake; - U-turn; - Stone Edge; - Knock Off / Hidden Power Ice

Last but not least, thanks to its great Attack and decent base Speed, Landorus-T is also a good Choice Scarf user. Using a standard maximum Attack and Speed spread, it can outspeed most of the metagame and eventually surprise opposing Pokémon that thought they would outspeed and kill it; when playing against it, that's a good reason for scouting its set before letting your Latios or Tapu Lele try to revenge kill it. It will almost always use Earthquake and Stone Edge as go-to attacking moves, as well as U-turn in order to gain momentum and pivot on its switch-ins. Knock Off is the fourth move of choice, in order to cripple annoying Pokémon such as Skarmory, Rotom-W, Celesteela, and opposing Landorus-T, but Hidden Power Ice is also viable as a way to 2HKO the aforementioned Landorus-T, since they are most of the time the main checks to physical attackers on offense.

Not Sets

While Landorus-T does not run many other sets at this stage of the metagame, here are two fun sets that have been used during the last World Cup.

Landorus-T @ Life Orb: Ability: Intimidate; EVs: 40 HP / 184 Atk / 32 SpA / 252 Spe; Naughty Nature; - Earthquake; - Hidden Power Ice; - Gravity; - Knock Off

TDK played this set during the last World Cup to account for cosine180's high usage of both Rotom-W and Landorus-T. Gravity Landorus-T is a great Pokémon to use against stall since it will be able to smack down Skarmory and Zapdos, which are its usual counters, and benefit from the sheer power given by the Life Orb. It also has a little Special Attack investment to catch opposing Landorus-T on the switch, as well as to hit Pokémon such as Tapu Bulu and Rocky Helmet Tangrowth for more damage. Knock Off is a good utility move on the last slot, able to hit Psychic-types such as Latios and Slowbro. As said in TDK's post, you will have to build smart around it, since this set struggles to check other threats that Landorus-T usually covers. But it's always a bad surprise to discover it in front of you.

Focus Sash Landorus-T is a rarely used Pokémon, but it is another fun toy to use for hyper offense. It will basically be able to set up Stealth Rock on everything bar Mega Sableye, and though it is not as fast as Azelf, the other dedicated suicide lead, its ability to heavily damage the opponent's team at the very beginning of the game is a huge plus. An Earthquake supported by a maximum Attack investment can, coupled with Knock Off, smash everything your opponent will lead with, and Explosion is a good move to put in work while gaining momentum and being a pain for Defoggers like Tapu Fini.

Good Cores

Powerful special attackers such as Keldeo, Latios, Hoopa-U, Greninja, and Tapu Lele are excellent teammates for Landorus-T since they will be able to use their powerful STAB moves for free against your opponent's physical tanks once Landorus-T has pivoted out on them. Magnezone is also a good teammate, since it can remove the likes of Mega Scizor, Skarmory, and Celesteela, as well as hit bulky Water-types for Landorus-T; using it on a team with Landorus-T will make those Pokémon think twice before switching in, since a U-turn can easily let Magnezone remove them, and Knock Off can also serve as a way to remove Skarmory's Shed Shell on stall, which is going to be incredibly annoying for this kind of teams. Physical attackers such Mega Metagross or Mega Charizard X are also good partners, pressuring your opponent even more, especially if you are running Hidden Power Ice or Fire to catch your opponent's physical tanks on the switch, providing room for the others to clean the opposing team. Volt Switch users such as Tapu Koko and Rotom-W can also form a VoltTurn core with Landorus-T, which allows you to pressure the opposing team and to keep momentum.

Mega Metagross + Magnezone + Landorus-T

Metagross-Mega @ Metagrossite: Ability: Clear Body; EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe; Jolly Nature; - Meteor Mash; - Zen Headbutt; - Bullet Punch; - Earthquake

Magnezone @ Assault Vest: Ability: Magnet Pull; EVs: 132 HP / 252 SpA / 124 Spe; Modest Nature; IVs: 0 Atk; - Volt Switch; - Flash Cannon; - Hidden Power Fire; - Thunderbolt

Landorus-T (M) @ Rockium Z: Ability: Intimidate; EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe; Adamant Nature; - Swords Dance; - Earthquake; - Stone Edge; - Stealth Rock

This core allows Landorus-T to perform as well as possible on offense. You can use either offensive or pivot sets, but in both cases, Magnezone will be able to trap and KO the annoying Steel-types, while Landorus-T will be able to overwhelm its usual checks as well as bulky teams thanks to its raw power, and Mega Metagross will crush offensive teams thanks to its unresisted coverage and its good Speed tier. It is one of the most classic cores you can find at the beginning of the seventh generation, and there is no doubt that it is also one of the most effective.

Metagame Trends

Landorus-T is one of those Pokémon that define the metagame it appears in. It does a better job in a more offense-inclined metagame, since the pivot or the Choice Scarf sets are not that good against bulkier teams, especially if they carry defensive behemoths such as Skarmory, Alomomola, and Zapdos. However, its use of U-turn can cover this small flaw, since it will always be able to give a wallbreaker or a stallbreaker a free switch against those fat Pokémon. If you want it to carry the match by itself, it's against offense that it will be at its best, since it will often be able to come on a physical threat, such as Mega Charizard X, pivot for free on it with U-turn, and let you send your heavy hitter on its check; this basically means a KO against frail offense teams, which need to keep pressure on the opposing teams.

Conclusion

Landorus-T is one of those Pokémon that have become symbolic of OverUsed through the years, and nothing seems to be able to reach the same amount of success: though the other Ground-types like Gliscor, Hippowdon, Gastrodon, and Garchomp are excellent in their respective roles, they don't have the same mix of offensive and defensive abilities and utility. Though its omnipresence attracts more and more attention, it looks like it will stay at the top of the OverUsed charts for a long time.

HTML by anto.

« Previous Article