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Big Pecks
- The wielder's Defense cannot be lowered.
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Overcoat
- Grants immunity to damage from weather effects.
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Weak Armor
- Boosts Speed by 1 stage and lowers Defense by 1 stage when hit by a physical move.
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Level 100 Statistics (see level 5, 50, 100)
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Min- |
Min |
Max |
Max+ |
| HP |
110
|
- |
361 |
424 |
- |
| Atk |
65
|
149 |
166 |
229 |
251 |
| Def |
105
|
221 |
246 |
309 |
339 |
| SpA |
55
|
131 |
146 |
209 |
229 |
| SpD |
95
|
203 |
226 |
289 |
317 |
| Spe |
80
|
176 |
196 |
259 |
284 |
Overview
Although she might not look the part, Mandibuzz has quite a bit of bulk under all of those feathers. She has 110 / 105 / 95 defenses, an ideal support movepool, and a useful Dark typing which makes it a decent wall. At first glance, Mandibuzz might seem like an all-around monster with such great defenses, good Speed for a wall, and a powerful STAB Brave Bird; however, her low offenses make her much less intimidating. In addition, her Flying typing gives her a weakness to Stealth Rock, which hurts her walling capabilities. Nonetheless, Mandibuzz makes up for her weaknesses by being able to Roost off damage, Taunt opponents, and phaze them out with Whirlwind.
Despite being a Flying-type and consequently weak to Stealth Rock, Mandibuzz can still wall a select few threats. Specially defensive Mandibuzz is in fact a counter to some of the most common special attackers in the tier: Slowking, Sceptile, Lilligant, and Accelgor. Taunt is a great move that prevents Slowking and Accelgor from setting up Nasty Plot and Spikes, respectively. It is also an answer to opposing stall teams, as Mandibuzz's base 80 Speed lets her outrun most walls in RU and prevent them from healing or spreading status. While the opponent is prohibited from healing, Mandibuzz can heal herself with Roost, which is especially helpful to mitigate Stealth Rock damage. In addition, Roost removes her Flying typing, allowing the vulture to take Rock-, Ice-, and Electric-type attacks more easily. Be careful, though, as this makes her more susceptible to Ground-, Bug-, and Fighting-type attacks. All in all, Taunt, Roost, and her two immunities—namely to Ground- and Psychic-type attacks—make Mandibuzz hard to take down.
Despite the emphasis on her Special Defense, Mandibuzz is also able to take on physical attackers due to her high base Defense. This is especially useful as Whirlwind can force out set-up Feraligatr, Crawdaunt, Scyther, and Drapion, as well as special sweepers such as Omastar and Sigilyph, but note that Mandibuzz will take a lot of damage in the process. Brave Bird or Foul Play are the preferred moves in the last slot, as Mandibuzz will otherwise become useless if Taunted. Brave Bird hits surprisingly hard even off Mandibuzz's base 65 Attack, OHKOing Sceptile and Lilligant after Stealth Rock damage. Brave Bird also lets Mandibuzz damage Pokemon that can heal or are immune to Toxic, such as Roselia, Clefable, Poliwrath, and Qwilfish. As Taunt will prevent these Pokemon from healing, Brave Bird will eventually wear them down, allowing Mandibuzz to beat them one-on-one. Foul Play is useful for hitting physical attackers, such as Kabutops, Druddigon, and Entei, harder than Brave Bird. Alternatively, Toxic can be used to cripple walls such as opposing Mandibuzz, Slowking, and Cryogonal.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
248 HP EVs are used to minimize Stealth Rock damage and possibly give Mandibuzz one more switch-in, while 252 Special Defense EVs make the vulture as bulky as possible on the special side. The remaining EVs are put into Defense to help buffer hits against Feraligatr, Scyther, Drapion, and other physical threats. An alternative EV spread of 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD can be used to let Mandibuzz play the role of a physical wall, countering Drapion, Crawdaunt, Scyther, Golurk, and Fighting-types.
As far as teammates go, a spinner is appreciated as Mandibuzz's Stealth Rock weakness hinders her ability to switch in multiple times. Cryogonal is an especially good partner; the two cover almost every special attacker in the tier bar Moltres. Cleric support from Pokemon such as Uxie and Roselia is also welcome, as Mandibuzz's ability to wall after becoming poisoned or burned is greatly hindered. Pokemon which can set up Spikes or Toxic Spikes are helpful, because Whirlwind enables Mandibuzz to force switches that rack up entry hazard damage on the opponent. Other useful partners include Fighting- and Water-types, such as Hitmonchan and Feraligatr, respectively, as Mandibuzz removes Spiritomb for Fighting-types and gets rid of the Grass-types that trouble her Water-type teammates.
Other Options
Mandibuzz does have a few other support moves worth considering. Knock Off rids opponents of their Eviolite, Leftovers, or Choice items, but Mandibuzz's other moves are generally more useful. Tailwind and U-turn are also interesting options, as Mandibuzz can set up a sweep for one of her teammates. Although somewhat gimmicky, a Choice Band set can surprise the opponent; she can use Brave Bird to deal major damage, scout with U-turn, and still keep Substitute + Calm Mind Uxie in check with Punishment.
Checks and Counters
Stealth Rock and status—mainly burns and Toxic—both limit Mandibuzz's longevity. Taunt will also annihilate Mandibuzz, as she will be unable to heal off damage from both Brave Bird recoil and opposing attacks. As for specific Pokemon, Rock-types are the number one counters. Aggron 4x resists Brave Bird, is immune to Toxic, and will OHKO Mandibuzz with Head Smash. Other physically attacking Rock-types, such as Rhydon and Kabutops, can hit Mandibuzz hard with STAB Stone Edge. Steel-types, most notably Steelix and Klinklang, completely wall Mandibuzz, but must be careful of Taunt and Whirlwind. Electric-types, such as Magneton, Rotom, and Manectric, resist Brave Bird and can hit very hard with a STAB Electric-type move. Mandibuzz also becomes vulnerable to Fighting-type attacks when using Roost; slower Fighting-types such as Hariyama or Poliwrath can take advantage of this and KO Mandibuzz with some prediction. Mandibuzz also cannot directly switch into most Fighting-types, as Medicham and Gallade will both 2HKO with Hi Jump Kick and Close Combat, respectively.
