[OVERVIEW]
Landorus-T has a small niche in DOU as a pivot with considerable offensive capabilities, though it otherwise leaves a lot to be desired. Boasting a monstrous base 145 Attack stat, good coverage, and Speed above the likes of Rillaboom, Heatran, and Metagross, Landorus-T can be a menace to slower team compositions, such as semi-Trick Room teams; it can efficiently wear them down with Intimidate and damaging U-turns while threatening quick OHKOs on low-health and type-weak targets. However, its lack of notable resistances is a notable flaw for its role as a pivot, forcing it to rely on its average natural bulk and Intimidate to take hits. It also has debilitating weaknesses to Water and Ice, making it tricky to utilize in matchups against Mew, as well as rain teams and slower teams with Porygon2 and Volcanion while they have Trick Room up. Intimidate's effectiveness is also not so pronounced, as numerous physical attackers in the format, such as Urshifu-R, Diancie, and Metagross, have ways to get around it, though Landorus-T's better match-up against Zygarde is one boon over standard Intimidate user Incineroar. What ultimately dooms it, however, is Rillaboom's omnipresent Grassy Terrain making Earthquake not worth the moveslot, leaving it without a consistent damaging option for the likes of Volcanion, Zygarde, and Diancie. This missing piece ultimately makes it reliant on short trades with burst damage.
[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Superpower
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: U-turn
move 4: Explosion
item: Choice Band
ability: Intimidate
nature: Jolly / Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
* Superpower takes the usual role of STAB attacks as the set's generalist attacking option, useful for threatening KOs on weakened foes and particularly handy for destroying key Fighting-weak targets, such as Porygon2, Heatran, and Kyurem-B. However, its drawbacks make it difficult to use repeatedly.
* Knock Off allows midground plays by doubling as a decent attacking option, particularly against Ghost-types Dragapult and Spectrier, as well as a nifty utility move, removing key items such as Meteor Herb on Necrozma and Celesteela, Eviolite on Porgyon2, and Assault Vest on Rillaboom and Kyurem-B.
* U-turn lets Landorus-T pivot off the field while decently wearing down the opposing team, and it is particularly useful for punishing opposing Rillaboom.
* Explosion, when Landorus-T has outlived its usefulness, can deal devastating damage with great neutral coverage while also providing a free switch for an appropriate teammate to take advantage.
* A Jolly nature is primarily recommended, as this lets it outrun the fastest Rillaboom variants and Adamant Zygarde and Kyurem-B quite handily, though if these are not a concern, then Adamant can be used for more power.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
A bulky, more defensive pivot set with Toxic and Stealth Rock can be used to take advantage of Intimidate more, though Landorus-T's lack of meaningful resistances makes it a poor choice for the role. A Choice Scarf set can be run to make Landorus-T a faster pivot, allowing it to outspeed the entire unboosted metagame with a Speed-boosting nature. Several Rock-type coverage moves are available; Stone Edge is the most powerful and can 2HKO Zapdos, Rock Slide is particularly good at damaging Volcarona while it's next to redirection and may pick up flinches, and Rock Tomb can provide speed control.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[KennyJ, 154787], [Memoric, 215000]]
- Quality checked by: [[Yoda2798, 243662], [Yoda2798, 243661]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Adeleine, 517429]]
Landorus-T has a small niche in DOU as a pivot with considerable offensive capabilities, though it otherwise leaves a lot to be desired. Boasting a monstrous base 145 Attack stat, good coverage, and Speed above the likes of Rillaboom, Heatran, and Metagross, Landorus-T can be a menace to slower team compositions, such as semi-Trick Room teams; it can efficiently wear them down with Intimidate and damaging U-turns while threatening quick OHKOs on low-health and type-weak targets. However, its lack of notable resistances is a notable flaw for its role as a pivot, forcing it to rely on its average natural bulk and Intimidate to take hits. It also has debilitating weaknesses to Water and Ice, making it tricky to utilize in matchups against Mew, as well as rain teams and slower teams with Porygon2 and Volcanion while they have Trick Room up. Intimidate's effectiveness is also not so pronounced, as numerous physical attackers in the format, such as Urshifu-R, Diancie, and Metagross, have ways to get around it, though Landorus-T's better match-up against Zygarde is one boon over standard Intimidate user Incineroar. What ultimately dooms it, however, is Rillaboom's omnipresent Grassy Terrain making Earthquake not worth the moveslot, leaving it without a consistent damaging option for the likes of Volcanion, Zygarde, and Diancie. This missing piece ultimately makes it reliant on short trades with burst damage.
[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Superpower
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: U-turn
move 4: Explosion
item: Choice Band
ability: Intimidate
nature: Jolly / Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
* Superpower takes the usual role of STAB attacks as the set's generalist attacking option, useful for threatening KOs on weakened foes and particularly handy for destroying key Fighting-weak targets, such as Porygon2, Heatran, and Kyurem-B. However, its drawbacks make it difficult to use repeatedly.
* Knock Off allows midground plays by doubling as a decent attacking option, particularly against Ghost-types Dragapult and Spectrier, as well as a nifty utility move, removing key items such as Meteor Herb on Necrozma and Celesteela, Eviolite on Porgyon2, and Assault Vest on Rillaboom and Kyurem-B.
* U-turn lets Landorus-T pivot off the field while decently wearing down the opposing team, and it is particularly useful for punishing opposing Rillaboom.
* Explosion, when Landorus-T has outlived its usefulness, can deal devastating damage with great neutral coverage while also providing a free switch for an appropriate teammate to take advantage.
* A Jolly nature is primarily recommended, as this lets it outrun the fastest Rillaboom variants and Adamant Zygarde and Kyurem-B quite handily, though if these are not a concern, then Adamant can be used for more power.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
A bulky, more defensive pivot set with Toxic and Stealth Rock can be used to take advantage of Intimidate more, though Landorus-T's lack of meaningful resistances makes it a poor choice for the role. A Choice Scarf set can be run to make Landorus-T a faster pivot, allowing it to outspeed the entire unboosted metagame with a Speed-boosting nature. Several Rock-type coverage moves are available; Stone Edge is the most powerful and can 2HKO Zapdos, Rock Slide is particularly good at damaging Volcarona while it's next to redirection and may pick up flinches, and Rock Tomb can provide speed control.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[KennyJ, 154787], [Memoric, 215000]]
- Quality checked by: [[Yoda2798, 243662], [Yoda2798, 243661]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Adeleine, 517429]]
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