[overview]
**Draft Order**: Round 6 onwards
**Price Range**: 5-6 points
**Overview**: Just like all the other future paradoxes, Iron Leaves suffers an identical issue, i.e., not being able to activate its ability easily due to the lack of a viable Electric Terrain setter, unless having its item slot sacrificed for Booster Energy. It also suffers with an underwhelming defensive typing. But that doesn't stop it from being one of the most fierce low-value late-game sweepers in the meta. Let us go over its strengths and weaknesses one by one which will help us understand its current viability and usefulness in this format.
[strategy comments]
Common Roles
========
**Setup Sweeper**: Iron Leaves can utilise the item Booster Energy to boost its already solid 104 speed by 1.5x. After a Swords Dance, it can sweep through entire teams, especially with hazard support. It can also make Booster Energy to boost its Attack by 1.3x instead, using Agility or Trailblaze for boosting its speed.
**Wallbreaker**: Swords Dance & Choice Band elevates Iron Leaves' exceptional 130 Attack stat to an even higher level, giving it enough wallbreaking prowess to break through several of the top tier walls in the format, enabling its teammates to clean up remaining of the opponent's team.
**Revenge Killer**: Commonly used with the Booster Energy or Choice Scarf items, Iron Leaves acts as a fantastic revenge killer for its teammates, finishing off low HP Pokemon with ease.
Common Moves
========
**Primary STAB Moves**: Leaf Blade, Psyblade
**Setup Moves**: Swords Dance, Trailblaze, Agility
**Utility Moves**: Taunt, Substitute, Protect
**Coverage**: Close Combat, Brick Break, Sacred Sword, Facade, Megahorn, X-Scissor, Night Slash, Throat Chop, Wild Charge
Niche Moves
========
**Solar Blade**: If drafted in a Sun team or paired with a Sun setter, this 125 base power no recharge (under Sun) STAB move can deal massive damage to its foes.
**Calm Mind**: Although with an underwhelming base 70 Special Attack and not enough strong special coverage moves, it can make use of this boosting move as a surprise factor in matchups with many physical walls. It also boosts its already amazing special bulk making it harder to knock out with special attacks.
**Electric Terrain**: Activating its ability by itself is a fun tactic which can surprise your opponents. Although limiting its moveset, this move can be used in certain matchups where few damaging moves are required.
**Quick Attack**: Although hard to fit into the moveset, Quick Attack can come in handy to finish off other faster Pokemon which are down to low health.
Common Items
========
**Booster Energy**: Booster Energy is undoubtedly the most popular item used on Iron Leaves. It can be used to boost its Speed stat by 1.5x (usually paired with Swords Dance) or its Attack stat by 1.3x (usually paired with Trailblaze or Agility) and turn it into a destructive late-game cleaning machine in a single turn.
**Choice Band**: Choice Band sets are often used to enable the wall breaking capabilities of Iron Leaves, usually including STAB moves and its fantastic coverage moves.
**Choice Scarf**: Choice Scarf is commonly used with Iron Leaves to help it revenge KO many fast threats in matchups. With its solid 104 Speed stat it can often manage to run Adamant nature with this item, and along with the several strong coverage moves it has access to, this makes Iron Leaves a really dangerous lower tier ready to avenge its teammates.
**Heavy-Duty Boots**: In a metagame full of entry hazards, Iron Leaves appreciates not having to worry about taking extra chip damage which helps it maintain its longetivity and get more opportunities to setup.
Niche Items
========
**Assault Vest:** Often ignored by many, but this futuristic swordsman has a really solid special bulk, which can be elevated to the next level using the Assault Vest item, making it near impossible to knock out with a few neutral special attacks. This item can be used in matchups where it needs to use all four of its moveslots for attacks, to take advantage of its diverse enough coverage options.
**Leftovers:** Leftovers can be used with Substitute sets, where it aims to take advantage of its remarkable bulk, aiming to gradually break through the opponent's team with its attacks.
Tera
========
Iron Leaves is one of the best choices if you're looking to draft a lower tier Tera Captain which can act as a setup/late-game sweeper for your team, worth between 6-7 points range. Tera benefits this Pokémon a lot, helping it sweep more efficiently, boosting its damage output or flipping its awful defensive type matchups, which consists of six 2x weaknesses and one 4x weakness. Tera Fire is used to prevent it from getting burned, and also baiting foes into using Will-o-Wisp against it, giving it a free turn to setup. Tera Ground, Fairy & Ghost are often used to provide it with stronger coverage using Tera Blast. Tera Fighting is also commonly used to gain STAB on its strongest coverage move, Close Combat. And finally Tera Steel as its premier defensive Tera type, getting rid of 4 of its 7 weaknesses and turning them into resistances/immunities.
Draft Strategy
========
Despite the several impressive remarks been left on Iron Leaves in this analysis, in reality, it's not a very popular pick in the SV Draft metagame. It is due to its Tera reliant nature, a bad typing both defensively and as STABs, and also being reliant on the Booster Energy item on most of its sets to successfully setup sweep in games where it has a favourable matchup. But in spite of all this, Iron Leaves can be a solid piece on a team's roster if provided with enough support to maximize its potential.
**Hazard Setters**: As any other setup sweeper, Iron Leaves also heavily appreciates teammates which can reliably set up hazards on the other side of the battlefield, enabling it to finish off chipped Pokemon and break foes holding Focus Sash or with the abilities Sturdy and Multiscale.
**Slow Pivots**: Due to a horrible defensive typing, Iron Leaves often cannot switch-in to plenty of attacks. Slow and bulky pivots can help it to safely enter the battlefield without taking much unnecessary damage or risk getting knocked out. Teammates such as Galarian Slowking, Alomomola & Swampert are suitable for this role.
**Wallbreakers**: While Iron Leaves can function as a wallbreaker on its own, it's certainly not the best one out there. Strong high-tier wallbreakers help in wearing down or knocking out those extremely bulky physical walls which prevent Leaves from sweeping. Teammates such as Palafin, Gouging Fire, Enamorus, Landorus & Darkrai are suitable for this role.
**Hazard Control**: The top 3 spinners - Great Tusk, Iron Treads, Terapagos as well as other decent spinners and good defoggers such as Corviknight & Mandibuzz are all great teammates for Iron Leaves, which help to remove those pesky entry hazards from the field. Since Iron Leaves cannot always run Heavy-Duty Boots, it appreciates stuff which doesn't make it regret doing so.
**Screens Setters**: Dual screens setters or Aurora Veil users can be really helpful to Iron Leaves as being able to tank more hits gives it better and easier opportunities to setup and enable its sweeping potential. Teammates such as Klefki, Scream Tail & Alolan Ninetales are suitable for this role.
Checks and Counters
========
**Steel Types**: Both of Iron Leaves' STAB types are resisted by Steel types. And while it has access to Close Combat, many Steels are bulky enough to not get knocked out by a single non-STAB Close Combat. Many Steel types are also neutral to Fighting moves due to their secondary typing, such as Jirachi, Scizor, Corviknight, Tinkaton, Klefki and more.
**Contact Effects**: Items and abilities which affect contact moves such as Rocky Helmet, Rough Skin, Static & Flame Body are devastating for Iron Leaves, since almost all of its attacks are contact moves and it cannot run Protective Pads most of the time.
**Red Card**: Red Card can be used on defensive Pokemon to take a hit from Iron Leaves and force it to switch-out. This wastes its Booster Energy which can be disastrous, as it usually relies on it to sweep in many matchups.
**Status Moves**: Status moves like Will-o-Wisp, Thunder Wave & Prankster Taunt and Encore are a common way to deal with Iron Leaves. Burning or paralyzing Iron Leaves can stop it from being a threat and catching it on the turn it decides to use a setup move and encoring it forces it to switch out, as it cannot usually run Mental Herb, wasting the item it runs the most, Booster Energy.
[credits]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/xginesect.669919/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user2.200000
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user3.300000
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/teriso179.686780/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user4.400000
**Draft Order**: Round 6 onwards
**Price Range**: 5-6 points
**Overview**: Just like all the other future paradoxes, Iron Leaves suffers an identical issue, i.e., not being able to activate its ability easily due to the lack of a viable Electric Terrain setter, unless having its item slot sacrificed for Booster Energy. It also suffers with an underwhelming defensive typing. But that doesn't stop it from being one of the most fierce low-value late-game sweepers in the meta. Let us go over its strengths and weaknesses one by one which will help us understand its current viability and usefulness in this format.
[strategy comments]
Common Roles
========
**Setup Sweeper**: Iron Leaves can utilise the item Booster Energy to boost its already solid 104 speed by 1.5x. After a Swords Dance, it can sweep through entire teams, especially with hazard support. It can also make Booster Energy to boost its Attack by 1.3x instead, using Agility or Trailblaze for boosting its speed.
**Wallbreaker**: Swords Dance & Choice Band elevates Iron Leaves' exceptional 130 Attack stat to an even higher level, giving it enough wallbreaking prowess to break through several of the top tier walls in the format, enabling its teammates to clean up remaining of the opponent's team.
**Revenge Killer**: Commonly used with the Booster Energy or Choice Scarf items, Iron Leaves acts as a fantastic revenge killer for its teammates, finishing off low HP Pokemon with ease.
Common Moves
========
**Primary STAB Moves**: Leaf Blade, Psyblade
**Setup Moves**: Swords Dance, Trailblaze, Agility
**Utility Moves**: Taunt, Substitute, Protect
**Coverage**: Close Combat, Brick Break, Sacred Sword, Facade, Megahorn, X-Scissor, Night Slash, Throat Chop, Wild Charge
Niche Moves
========
**Solar Blade**: If drafted in a Sun team or paired with a Sun setter, this 125 base power no recharge (under Sun) STAB move can deal massive damage to its foes.
**Calm Mind**: Although with an underwhelming base 70 Special Attack and not enough strong special coverage moves, it can make use of this boosting move as a surprise factor in matchups with many physical walls. It also boosts its already amazing special bulk making it harder to knock out with special attacks.
**Electric Terrain**: Activating its ability by itself is a fun tactic which can surprise your opponents. Although limiting its moveset, this move can be used in certain matchups where few damaging moves are required.
**Quick Attack**: Although hard to fit into the moveset, Quick Attack can come in handy to finish off other faster Pokemon which are down to low health.
Common Items
========
**Booster Energy**: Booster Energy is undoubtedly the most popular item used on Iron Leaves. It can be used to boost its Speed stat by 1.5x (usually paired with Swords Dance) or its Attack stat by 1.3x (usually paired with Trailblaze or Agility) and turn it into a destructive late-game cleaning machine in a single turn.
**Choice Band**: Choice Band sets are often used to enable the wall breaking capabilities of Iron Leaves, usually including STAB moves and its fantastic coverage moves.
**Choice Scarf**: Choice Scarf is commonly used with Iron Leaves to help it revenge KO many fast threats in matchups. With its solid 104 Speed stat it can often manage to run Adamant nature with this item, and along with the several strong coverage moves it has access to, this makes Iron Leaves a really dangerous lower tier ready to avenge its teammates.
**Heavy-Duty Boots**: In a metagame full of entry hazards, Iron Leaves appreciates not having to worry about taking extra chip damage which helps it maintain its longetivity and get more opportunities to setup.
Niche Items
========
**Assault Vest:** Often ignored by many, but this futuristic swordsman has a really solid special bulk, which can be elevated to the next level using the Assault Vest item, making it near impossible to knock out with a few neutral special attacks. This item can be used in matchups where it needs to use all four of its moveslots for attacks, to take advantage of its diverse enough coverage options.
**Leftovers:** Leftovers can be used with Substitute sets, where it aims to take advantage of its remarkable bulk, aiming to gradually break through the opponent's team with its attacks.
Tera
========
Iron Leaves is one of the best choices if you're looking to draft a lower tier Tera Captain which can act as a setup/late-game sweeper for your team, worth between 6-7 points range. Tera benefits this Pokémon a lot, helping it sweep more efficiently, boosting its damage output or flipping its awful defensive type matchups, which consists of six 2x weaknesses and one 4x weakness. Tera Fire is used to prevent it from getting burned, and also baiting foes into using Will-o-Wisp against it, giving it a free turn to setup. Tera Ground, Fairy & Ghost are often used to provide it with stronger coverage using Tera Blast. Tera Fighting is also commonly used to gain STAB on its strongest coverage move, Close Combat. And finally Tera Steel as its premier defensive Tera type, getting rid of 4 of its 7 weaknesses and turning them into resistances/immunities.
Draft Strategy
========
Despite the several impressive remarks been left on Iron Leaves in this analysis, in reality, it's not a very popular pick in the SV Draft metagame. It is due to its Tera reliant nature, a bad typing both defensively and as STABs, and also being reliant on the Booster Energy item on most of its sets to successfully setup sweep in games where it has a favourable matchup. But in spite of all this, Iron Leaves can be a solid piece on a team's roster if provided with enough support to maximize its potential.
**Hazard Setters**: As any other setup sweeper, Iron Leaves also heavily appreciates teammates which can reliably set up hazards on the other side of the battlefield, enabling it to finish off chipped Pokemon and break foes holding Focus Sash or with the abilities Sturdy and Multiscale.
**Slow Pivots**: Due to a horrible defensive typing, Iron Leaves often cannot switch-in to plenty of attacks. Slow and bulky pivots can help it to safely enter the battlefield without taking much unnecessary damage or risk getting knocked out. Teammates such as Galarian Slowking, Alomomola & Swampert are suitable for this role.
**Wallbreakers**: While Iron Leaves can function as a wallbreaker on its own, it's certainly not the best one out there. Strong high-tier wallbreakers help in wearing down or knocking out those extremely bulky physical walls which prevent Leaves from sweeping. Teammates such as Palafin, Gouging Fire, Enamorus, Landorus & Darkrai are suitable for this role.
**Hazard Control**: The top 3 spinners - Great Tusk, Iron Treads, Terapagos as well as other decent spinners and good defoggers such as Corviknight & Mandibuzz are all great teammates for Iron Leaves, which help to remove those pesky entry hazards from the field. Since Iron Leaves cannot always run Heavy-Duty Boots, it appreciates stuff which doesn't make it regret doing so.
**Screens Setters**: Dual screens setters or Aurora Veil users can be really helpful to Iron Leaves as being able to tank more hits gives it better and easier opportunities to setup and enable its sweeping potential. Teammates such as Klefki, Scream Tail & Alolan Ninetales are suitable for this role.
Checks and Counters
========
**Steel Types**: Both of Iron Leaves' STAB types are resisted by Steel types. And while it has access to Close Combat, many Steels are bulky enough to not get knocked out by a single non-STAB Close Combat. Many Steel types are also neutral to Fighting moves due to their secondary typing, such as Jirachi, Scizor, Corviknight, Tinkaton, Klefki and more.
**Contact Effects**: Items and abilities which affect contact moves such as Rocky Helmet, Rough Skin, Static & Flame Body are devastating for Iron Leaves, since almost all of its attacks are contact moves and it cannot run Protective Pads most of the time.
**Red Card**: Red Card can be used on defensive Pokemon to take a hit from Iron Leaves and force it to switch-out. This wastes its Booster Energy which can be disastrous, as it usually relies on it to sweep in many matchups.
**Status Moves**: Status moves like Will-o-Wisp, Thunder Wave & Prankster Taunt and Encore are a common way to deal with Iron Leaves. Burning or paralyzing Iron Leaves can stop it from being a threat and catching it on the turn it decides to use a setup move and encoring it forces it to switch out, as it cannot usually run Mental Herb, wasting the item it runs the most, Booster Energy.
[credits]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/xginesect.669919/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user2.200000
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user3.300000
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/teriso179.686780/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user4.400000
Last edited:
