Landorus (Analysis)

Taking over for Nachos.




Ground/Flying


Landorus



[Overview]

<p>Landorus is just one of those Pokemon that has everything he needs to succeed. 125 base Attack backed up with STAB Earthquake is already good enough, but with Sand Force, Earthquake reaches ridiculous levels of power, while Stone Edge also gets a nice boost. Landorus is no slouch in the special department either, with 115 base Special Attack and a decent special movepool allowing him to easily go mixed. He also possesses decent 89 / 90 / 80 defenses to take hits while setting up either Swords Dance or Rock Polish. His typing also compliments his defenses, giving immunity to Toxic Spikes, Spikes, Ground-, and Electric-type moves, and giving an important resistance to Fighting-type moves.</p>

<p>Despite all this, Landorus still suffers from some major flaws. His typing has its drawbacks, leaving him weak to Water- and Ice-type attacks, which is worsened by the popularity of Azumarill and Water-types in general. His physical movepool is very small, with no Fire-type move to help mitigate his problem with Steel-types who are immune to Earthquake. Landorus also needs to be run alongside Tyranitar or Hippowdon in order to function at his full power, meaning he must compete with Excadrill as a sand sweeper. Nevertheless, Landorus is a force to be reckoned with, and should be considered for any sand team.</p>

[SET]

name: Rock Polish
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Stone Edge / Rock Slide
move 3: Rock Polish
move 4: Hidden Power Ice
item: Life Orb
nature: Naive
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe

[Set Comments]

<p>Landorus reaches an amazing 660 Speed after a Rock Polish, outspeeding even the fabled Excadrill. This, coupled with Sand Force, lets Landorus tear through pretty much any offensive team. Landorus can also find plenty of places to set up with the threat of an absurdly powerful Earthquake and respectable defensive stats. Even bulky Pokemon such as Ferrothorn, Jellicent, and Slowbro will have trouble standing up to Landorus's Earthquakes, meaning that Landorus can attempt to sweep even when these Pokemon are still at good health.</p>

<p>Earthquake and Stone Edge are the bread-and-butter attacking moves, reaching 253 and 169 Base Power respectively, taking into account STAB, Life Orb, and Sand Force. Rock Slide can be used over Stone Edge for more reliability, but the drop in power is terrible on a set that needs all the power it can get. Hidden Power Ice seems like an odd option at first, but it allows Landorus to maul Gliscor, opposing Landorus, and hit Salamence and Dragonite accurately.</p>

[Additional Comments]

<p>The EV spread couldn't be simpler: 252 Attack gives Landorus as much bite as possible, while 252 Speed helsp him outspeed the base 100 Speed tier. A Naive nature avoids reducing Landorus's great Special Attack. Although it may seem tempting to replace Naive with Naughty, Landorus will then lose the ability to outspeed Pokemon with base 90 Speed. Hammer Arm can go over Hidden Power Ice with a Jolly nature to hit Air Balloon users and Hydreigon, but this leaves Landorus walled by Gliscor while also stripping Landorus of the ability to OHKO opposing Landorus. Although Brick Break may seem like a better option than Hammer Arm, the power drop is too great to justify use. Grass Knot is another option in the last moveslot, 2HKOing Hippowdon and OHKOing Quagsire, but has little use otherwise. Lastly, Hidden Power Flying can be used if you really want to lure in and OHKO Virizion and Breloom while also hitting Tangrowth, but it's completely useless outside of that.</p>

<p>The first thing to consider when putting Landorus on your team is whether to use Tyranitar or Hippowdon. Both bring the sand that Landorus needs, so the decision depends on what your teams needs more. Tyranitar is the main option for the ability to take down Bronzong and Skarmory, the two best counters to Landorus. Tyranitar can also lay down Stealth Rock, and his Special Defense is increased due to the sand. Hippowdon, while unable to destroy Landorus's counters, can also lay down Stealth Rock, Roar the opponents team around to soften it up, and act as an amazing physical wall.</p>

<p>Obviously, Stealth Rock alone won't help Landorus get past walls, so Spikes support helps immensely in this regard. Ferrothorn is the obvious choice, easily taking the Ice- and Water-type moves that Landorus attracts and threatening back with Power Whip, Gyro Ball, and Leech Seed. Landorus also likes Wish support, allowing him to attempt a sweep multiple times if the first should fail. The main candidates for this position are Vaporeon, Chansey, and Blissey, as Landorus covers their weaknesses. The choice depends on whether your teams needs a special wall or a bulky Water.</p>

<p>As mentioned earlier, Landorus absolutely hates Bronzong and Skarmory, both of whom easily take any of his hits and KO back with Gyro Ball and Brave Bird, respectively. A Substitute Magnezone with Magnet Rise easily beats both of them, trapping and KOing Skarmory with Thunderbolt, while using Magnet Rise on Bronzong to avoid Earthquake and 2HKOing with Thunderbolt. Air Balloon users also cause Landorus grief, especially Heatran, who can easily take a Stone Edge and KO back with Fire Blast or Hidden Power Ice, although Hammer Arm can OHKO Heatran. A few Scarf users and naturally faster Pokemon can survive one of Landorus's attacks and KO back. A specially defensive Tyranitar can deal with all of those threats with relative ease.</p>

[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Stone Edge / Rock Slide
move 3: Swords Dance
move 4: Substitute / U-turn
item: Leftovers / Life Orb
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[Set Comments]

<p>After a Swords Dance, which isn't too hard to get against any defensive team, Landorus reaches 698 Attack. This may not seem all that special at first, as almost every other Swords Dance / Nasty Plot user reaches stats that high with only one turn of setup. However, Landorus gains the edge over them through a combination of his typing, stats, and ability. His typing gives him immunity to Spikes, Toxic Spikes, and Thunder Wave, ensuring his sweep will not be cut short. His stats ensure that he can take a hit or two while setting up Swords Dance, while his ability boosts his already strong attacks to insane levels, letting him easily KO any wall that doesn't resist Earthquake with just a single layer of Spikes on the field, assuming Landorus is holding a Life Orb.</p>

<p>Earthquake and Stone Edge are the attacking moves of the set, providing great coverage, only resisted by Bronzong, Breloom, and Virizion. The last move depends on what item Landorus is holding. Substitute goes with Leftovers, allowing Landorus to avoid predicted status moves, potentially allowing for another Swords Dance, which can ensure victory. Substitute also works well against offensive teams if you predict a switch—this allows Landorus to take care of a faster threat. U-turn goes with Life Orb, giving you the ability to scout the opponent's answer to Landorus and act accordingly.</p>

[Additional Comments]

<p>Hammer Arm is an option in the last slot to leave a huge dent in Bronzong and hit Air Balloon users, but the Speed drop makes it an undesirable option. Hidden Power Ice can easily get rid of Gliscor, but it forces Landorus to run a Life Orb to ensure a KO. Yache Berry can let Landorus bluff a Choice Scarf early-game, and potentially save him when sweeping late-game if something tries to revenge kill him. Passho Berry is also an option, allowing Landorus to take Water-type hits and KO back. A slightly gimmicky option for the last moveslot is the move Knock Down. Although it has less power than Stone Edge, it removes any Ground-type immunity the opponent might have, allowing Landorus to maul either his counter or whatever switches in.</p>

<p>Once again, including Tyranitar or Hippowdon in the team is mandatory for setting up the sand that Landorus loves. Tyranitar is, once again, the preferred choice for its ability to lure in Bronzong and Skarmory, two of Landorus's best counters, and roast them with Fire Blast. Hippowdon can easily set up Stealth Rock, Roar the opposing team around to weaken the few things that can take on Landorus, and act as a great physical wall. The choice between the two really depends on whether you need the ability to lure in Landorus's counters or a physical wall with reliable recovery.</p>

<p>Wish support is still welcome, especially if Landorus is using Substitute. The best users of Wish are Blissey, Chansey, and Vaporeon. Both Chansey and Blissey can spread paralysis with Thunder Wave, greatly aiding Landorus in sweeping. The choice between the two is simple: if Seismic Toss will be the only way of dealing damage, Chansey will be more effective. Blissey will be more effective if you decide to use Ice Beam or Flamethrower. Vaporeon, while unable to use Thunder Wave, can take on the majority of Ice Shard users more effectively than Blissey or Chansey, and potentially burn them with Scald. Vaporeon can also utilize Roar to shuffle the opponent's team around to weaken it for Landorus. Of course, phazing the opponent won't accomplish much without entry hazards, so setting some up will help immensely. The best hazard-setter to pair with Landorus is Ferrothorn, who easily takes on the Water- and Ice-type moves aimed at Landorus. It can set up Spikes on a large number of Pokemon while being able to use Thunder Wave to cripple the opponent.</p>

<p>The best counter to Landorus is Bronzong, who resists every common move Landorus carries barring Hammer Arm, and can 2HKO back with Gyro Ball or screw Landorus over with Trick Room. Celebi can also work well if Landorus isn't running U-turn, which will OHKO with a Swords Dance boost. Tangrowth and Gliscor work when Landorus doesn't use Hidden Power Ice, which will heavily damage Tangrowth and OHKO Gliscor. Because Landorus can't boost his Speed with this set, he is easily revenged killed by a large number of Pokemon, the most dangerous being Latios, Hydreigon, Virizion, and Thundurus. A specially defensive Tyranitar can handle Latios and Hydreigon, Pursuiting Latios while KOing Hydreigon with Superpower after Stealth Rock and sandstorm damage. Reuniclus can take on Virizion by either defeating it in a Calm Mind war or setting up Trick Room and hitting it with Psychic. Reuniclus can also take on non-Nasty Plot versions of Thundurus, although Taunt will cripple Reuniclus.</p>

[Set]

name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Stone Edge / Rock Slide
move 3: U-turn
move 4: Hammer Arm / Hidden Power Ice
item: Choice Scarf
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
nature: Jolly / Naive

[Set Comments]

<p>Landorus often finds himself a tad too slow to go up against offensive teams effectively. Slapping on a Choice Scarf easily remedies this problem, turning Landorus into an effective revenge killer, and an amazing late-game sweeper. Landorus also has access to U-turn, which while not as good as it was in DPP, it is still an amazing move for any Choice Scarf user. Landorus also boasts a great typing, which leaves him immune to Toxic Spikes and Spikes, and an ability which gives him a much-needed power boost to clean up weakened teams. Top it all off with respectable defensive stats and you get one of the best Choice Scarf users in the game.</p>

<p>Earthquake and Stone Edge are the obvious moves here, providing great coverage with only 3 viable Pokemon resisting the combination. Rock Slide can be used over Stone Edge for more reliability, but the power drop is noticeable. U-turn, although having lost its main use in this generation, is still an amazing move to have in hard-to-predict situations and to help keep up the momentum for your team. The last move is a toss-up between Hammer Arm and Hidden Power Ice. Hammer Arm hits Air Balloon users and Hydreigon. While Brick Break may seem like the better option, Landorus is rarely staying in for more than a turn, so the Speed drop is irrelevant, and Brick Break is noticeably weaker. Hidden Power Ice severely dents Gliscor, but leaves Landorus as set-up bait in the process.</p>

[Additional Comments]

<p>The EVs are standard fare: 252 Speed allows Landorus to outspeeds positive-natured base 100s, while 252 Attack gives Landorus as much punch as possible. The nature depends on which move you happen to run in the last moveslot. The last moveslot is quite flexible, so you can choose what goes there based on what you want to take care of. Hidden Power Flying is usable for hitting Breloom and Virizion, but it suffers from the same problems as Hidden Power Ice, and only rarely OHKOes Virizion. Outrage is a fun option to hit Dragon-types, but the lack of STAB and the locking effect make it a risky option.</p>

<p>Unsurprisingly, Tyranitar and Hippowdon are the primary teammates for setting up the sandstorm that Landorus needs. Tyranitar is the main choice once again due to its ability to go mixed and either weaken or outright KO many of Landorus's counters and checks. Hippowdon, while not being able to boast about weakening Landorus's counters so much, can easily set up Stealth Rock, Roar around the opposing team to soften it up for Landorus, and act as an excellent physical wall. The choice between the two is simple: if your team needs a great physical wall, Stealth Rock user, and phazer, go with Hippowdon. If you desire the ability to break down the walls that stand in Landorus's way, go with Tyranitar.</p>

<p>Because of the large amount of switching Landorus will cause, entry hazard support is more important than ever. Once again, Ferrothorn makes the best user, taking on the walls that Landorus can't get through and setting up Spikes, while also threatening them with Power Whip, Gyro Ball, and Leech Seed. A Wish user, while not as needed for this set, is still welcome. The options for this role are Chansey, Blissey, and Vaporeon. Out of them, Vaporeon is the best user to pair up with Landorus, being able to inflict burns via Scald and Roar the opponent's team around to soften it up with entry hazard damage.</p>

<p>Because of this set's reduced power, Landorus will often find himself unable to sweep the opposing team. The walls that cause Landorus the most grief are Skarmory and Bronzong, both able to dodge Spikes and Earthquake while being able to set up on Landorus. A Magnezone helps Landorus greatly, trapping both Skarmory and Bronzong and OHKOing and 2HKOing them, respectively. Of course, Magnezone alone won't take care of all walls, so pairing Landorus with potent wallbreakers such as Choice Specs Latios and Hydreigon, Choice Band Terrakion, and Choice Band Haxorus, will easily break down most walls that Magnezone can't handle.</p>

[Other Options]

<p>With 115 Special Attack and a respectable special movepool, a specially-based moveset can be used as a lure of sorts, luring in many of Landorus's normal counters and taking them down. A mixed set consisting of Earthquake, Stone Edge, Hidden Power Ice, and Grass Knot can act as a great partner for Excadrill, destroying many of Excadrill's checks and counters. Landorus also learns Bulk Up and, oddly enough, Calm Mind, but the lack of any form of recovery besides Leftovers hurts either moves' viability. Landorus can also make use of a Choice Band to boost his already great Attack to ridiculous levels. For example, Hippowdon takes 47.4% - 56% from a Choice Band Earthquake, an assured 2HKO with a layer of Spikes. Landorus also learns Explosion, but the effective damage reduction it received this generation makes it an undesirable option. With access to Swords Dance and Rock Polish, Landorus can run a double dance set, but Terrakion pulls this off slightly better due to better coverage with its STABs attacks.</p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p>Landorus's counters depend heavily on what set and moves he's running. Gliscor can take any sets lacking Hidden Power Ice with ease, stalling out Stone Edge's low PP. Without boosted Stone Edge, Skarmory checks Landorus, as does Bronzong should Landorus lack Hammer Arm. Hippowdon takes anything besides boosted Earthquake and Grass Knot. Celebi has a field day if Landorus opts not to run U-turn. Also, Landorus risks being revenge-killed; faster users of super effective moves can take down the Swords Dance set, while strong attackers can take down the Rock Polish set if Landorus doesn't OHKO. Air Balloon users are a problem that plagues Landorus lacking Hammer Arm, most being able to take a unboosted Stone Edge easily and retaliate. Priority users are also a problem for Landorus, Azumarill being the worst of the bunch due to having an absurdly powerful super effective priority attack in Aqua Jet.</p>

[Dream World]

<p>Landorus gets Sheer Force for its Dream World ability. For physical sets this ability is useless, Sand Force being the ability of choice. Sheer Force allows Landorus to run fully Special sets, with most of its special moves getting a boost.</p>
 
On the Rock Polish set, I think Swords Dance should be either slashed in or given a sentence or two in additional comments. Randorosu likes being able to set up on either Offense or Stall, and with resistances to Ground, Electric, resistance to Fighting, and neutrality to Stealth Rock, Randorosu can find enough time to set up both boosts and go to town with just Earthquake and Stone Edge.

One last comment. I think Rotom-W deserves a mention as a teammate. Scarf Rotom-W scares off things that give Randorosu trouble, like Skarmory, and can keep momentum going with Volt Change.
 
An Encourage Special set deserves a mention in the DW section. 115 Base SPA is nothing to laugh at, and STAB LO Encourage boosted Earth Power hurts everithing that doesnt resist it. It also gets Encourage Boosted Focus Blast and Psychic, Calm Mind and Hidden Power Ice for coverage or Flying for another STAB.
 
Good stuff. Nachos did an amazing job with the skeleton so be sure to make sure the write-up is just as detailed.

Approved 1/2
 
I think Double Dance deserves its own set, probably replacing Swords Dance. Using a whole moveslot only for more accuracy against Bronzong (who beats you anyway) is a waste when Rock Polish is so good. U-Turn has some uses with Water or Ice berry to bluff a Scarf, but the current SD set only lists SD and Lefties, so it should be left in AC, along with the berries.

However, carrying both boosting moves makes Randorosu much harder to handle, as Bronzong and SE priority are the only things that can safely check both and team preview eases the choice. The analysis says that Double Dance is walled by Gliscor, but even Britscor takes min 95.5% from LO +2 Stone Edge and can only Toxic him back, should SE miss...
 

Lee

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Substitute NEEDS to be a primary option in the fourth moveslot of the Swords Dancer (Brick Break lol). SubDance @ Leftovers is his best set IMO.
 

panamaxis

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Gliscor is running close enough to max hp and defense in the BW metagame.

I think a special encourage set is worth considering considering 115 base special attack is great and it demolishes the physical set's counters. I'd be interested to see what other QC guys think.

Edit: Unless Encourage Randorosu isn't released yet?
 
Is Bulk Up worth a mention somewhere ? It lets you actually set up on things like non HP Ice Bronzong and other physical stuff, especially with Sub. Not to mention is stops most priority and physical revenge killing attempts, especially Ice Shard and Aqua Jet.
 
The second paragraph in the overview looks strange since it leaves off at Doryuzzu being weaker with the Balloon (though it was just said he was a problem for Randorosu to consider). In the final draft, add another statement about Randorosu having problems like competing with other similar sweepers in general at the end of the second paragraph and it will look better.
 
Landlos.

While the English names aren't confirmed yet, Landlos is the official romanization of Randorosu. So stop calling it Randorosu. It's hard to read and distinguish from Reuniclus.
 
Still no feedback about Double Dance ? Even if it doesn't get it's own set, it should at least get slashed in as an alternative to Substitute. Even though it's the better option against Gliscor, it's pretty much the only status inducer Randorosu fears, Sub+LO recoil really lowers it's survivability and RP is better against almost everything else.
 
OK, might have taken forever, but I finally got the Swords Dance set written up. (I promise I won't ever take that long again) Anyway, would a Choice Band be viable enough to be added?
 
I'm not going to do a full grammer check, but remove this:
Looking at Landorus, its hard to understand why he isn't getting much usage.
It's not really true anymore, Landlos gets a shit-ton of use.

Great analysis though.
 
Looking at Landorus, its hard to understand why he isn't getting much usage. His base 101 Speed jumping ahead of the 100 Speed tier, a great 125 Attack backed up with the ability to go mixed or special with 115 Special Attack, decent defensive stats combined with a great typing that renders Landorus immune to Spikes and Toxic Spikes while only taking neutral damage from Stealth Rock and providing immunties to Electric and Ground-type moves, access to Rock Polish and Swords Dance, and topped off with an amazing ability that increases the power of his Earthquake to insane levels while also boosting Stone Edge all makes him seem like 5th Generations Garchomp.
Really big run-on. Also, since the plurality of his traits is clear, it should be
all makes him seem like 5th Generations Garchomp.
 

bugmaniacbob

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Bumping this again because I need a 3rd QC check.
You don't need another QC check. The third check rule only applies for analyses that were not already fully approved. Since this analysis was fully approved about a month ago, its approval in Quality Control still stands.

You can continue writing this.
 
Has anyone actually USED Choice Scarf Landlos? I'm under the impression that Choice-locked Earthquake is a piece of shit, with all the flying / levitators / balloons in the game, teams always have at least 2-3 of them per team. Garchomp is probably the only acceptable user of it, because he commonly uses Outrage / Dragon Claw AND Stone Edge all on the same set, with Outrage and Dragon Claw being his main moves, not Earthquake :/
 
Looking at Landorus, its hard to understand why he isn't getting much usage.
Remove this from the overview, as usage stats generally change and comments on usage can therefore become outdated.

Already, Landorus has seen increased usage to the point of being nominated a suspect.
 

Rhys DeAnno

Slacking Off
Has anyone actually USED Choice Scarf Landlos? I'm under the impression that Choice-locked Earthquake is a piece of shit, with all the flying / levitators / balloons in the game, teams always have at least 2-3 of them per team. Garchomp is probably the only acceptable user of it, because he commonly uses Outrage / Dragon Claw AND Stone Edge all on the same set, with Outrage and Dragon Claw being his main moves, not Earthquake :/
I saw scarf frequently in Round 1, and though its usage has fallen off in favor of RP, a very high effective attack stat (it hits about 26% harder than Garchomp in sand) and U-Turn make the scarf set extremely legit. In addition, Stone Edge hits very hard even without STAB, helping to round out EQ.
 

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