[overview]
**Draft Order**: Late round 2 onwards
**Price Range**: 15-16 points
**Overview**: Iron Treads offers lots of role compression for teams, especially in an eight-Pokemon format, given its typing and access to Volt Switch, Knock Off, Stealth Rock, and Rapid Spin. Furthermore, its combination of physical bulk, Speed, and a decent Attack stat allows it to switch into and force out many Pokemon while also being able to make progress against opposing teams. However, despite having Booster Energy and Rapid Spin to boost its Speed, its underwhelming Attack stat with no way outside of Booster Energy to boost it can make it easy to take advantage of.
[strategy comments]
Common Roles
========
**Bulky Pivot**: Iron Treads can switch into a lot of Pokemon and take advantage of the switches it forces with the wide variety of utility moves it has access to such as Knock Off, Endeavor, and Volt Switch.
**Entry Hazard Control**: Iron Treads is one of the few Pokemon with access to both Stealth Rock and Rapid Spin and can also viably run both on the same set. It can go head-to-head against some opposing hazard setters and end exchanges with Stealth Rock on the opposing side of the field with no hazards on your own.
Common Moves
========
**Primary STAB Moves**: Earthquake, Iron Head, Heavy Slam, Earth Power, Flash Cannon
**Setup Moves**: Iron Defense
**Utility Moves**: Endeavor, Substitute, Rapid Spin, Knock Off, Stealth Rock, Volt Switch
**Coverage**: Body Press, Ice Spinner, Megahorn, Rock Slide, Stone Edge, Supercell Slam, Wild Charge, Zen Headbutt
Niche Moves
========
**Steel Beam**: Steel Beam is useful on a sacrificial lead set in order to gain momentum and do significant damage to the more physically bulky Pokemon that switch in against Iron Treads, as well as efficiently spin blocking foes that want to spin away the hazards it sets up.
**High Horsepower**: High Horsepower serves as an alternative to Earthquake when an opponent has Grassy Terrain. Since Iron Treads appreciates the healing and Earthquake damage reduction Grassy Terrain provides, it can also be used on a terrain team itself.
Common Items
========
**Booster Energy**: Booster Energy can be used on more offensive cleaner sets to give Iron Treads a Speed boost without wasting a turn or requiring Terrain support.
**Air Balloon**: Air Balloon is used on Iron Treads to check opposing Pokemon that rely on a Ground-type move to beat it.
**Assault Vest**: Assault Vest patches up Iron Treads's mediocre Special Defense without sacrificing much, as Iron Treads only loses Stealth Rock as a viable option.
**Sitrus Berry**: Sitrus Berry gives Iron Treads an effective way of dodging 2HKOs and is an often more effective alternative to Leftovers, though it sacrifices overall recovery in longer games.
Niche Items
========
**Resistance Berry**: Iron Treads can utilize a resistance Berry to lure an opposing Pokemon or just to help survive an attack.
**Heavy-Duty Boots**: Although Iron Treads sports a 4x resistance to Stealth Rock, effectively negating any chip damage, having your spinner ignore entry hazard damage from Spikes is often useful.
**Leftovers**: Leftovers helps with Iron Treads's longevity, especially as it has no other means of recovery besides Rest.
**Rocky Helmet**: Iron Treads's physical bulk allows it to survive a lot of attacks, so punishing your opponent for using contact moves can be useful, especially against opposing spinners that look to keep hazards it wants to set up.
**Protective Pads**: Iron Treads often wants to click Rapid Spin, so Protective Pads can be used to allow it to avoid contact adverse effects.
**Focus Sash**: While Iron Treads is fairly bulky, it can easily be OHKOed by a super effective move if it lacks defensive investment, and lead sets can take advantage of this by usually setting up Stealth Rock and then using Endeavor after the Focus Sash is consumed.
**Boosting Items**: Boosting items can be used to either wallbreak or in conjunction with Rapid Spin, support to sweep by hitting specific damage benchmarks.
Tera
========
Iron Treads should simply not be your Tera Captain, as you generally want to Terastallize Pokemon that it benefits more. Iron Treads already greatly appreciates its defensive typing and between all its coverage and utility options, it should be able to always find a place on its team. However, if you were to use it as a Tera Captain, using Tera Ground or Tera Steel would allow Iron Treads to be more threatening, or using Tera Flying sheds your Fighting and Ground weaknesses. Generally good defensive types, such as Fairy and Water, can be good choices due to its natural bulk.
Draft Strategy
========
Iron Treads is a top tier entry hazard removal option in Draft, and it has a pretty expensive price tag to reflect that. Generally, Iron Treads teams are quite offensive, as it can get worn down easily and doesn't have much recovery. It should be paired with Pokemon that appreciate the utility it brings.
**Strong Wallbreakers**: Iron Treads can pivot into strong wallbreakers, such as Chi-Yu and Palafin, which can in turn open up the game for it. Iron Treads also appreciates wallbreakers taking care of bulkier Pokemon so that it can win late-game.
**Specially Defensive Pokemon**: Iron Treads needs Assault Vest in order to take hits on the special side, so it likes to be paired with specially bulky Pokemon like Mesprit and Latias.
**Ground-resistant Pokemon**: Due to its Ground weakness, Iron Treads should be paired with decently bulky Ground-resistant or Ground-immune Pokemon, such as Uxie and Rotom-W, so that you aren't forced to sacrifice a Pokemon every time it is forced out by a Ground-type.
Checks and Counters
========
**Ground-types**: Ground-types, such as Ting-Lu and Great Tusk, can block Volt Switch and hit Iron Treads back for super effective damage; however, Great Tusk, in particular, should be careful of special variants.
**Physically Bulky Pokemon**: Iron Treads is unable to make much progress on its own against Pokemon like Alomomola and Corviknight, barring special sets, but these Pokemon are susceptible to Volt Switch.
**Faster Wallbreakers**: Iron Treads's typing means it is hit super effectively by a lot of common types, so Pokemon like Iron Valiant and Greninja can force it out. However, they are mostly unable to switch in more than once.
[credits]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user1.100000 monkeboi
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user2.200000 techno
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user3.300000 princess autumn
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user4.400000 ken
**Draft Order**: Late round 2 onwards
**Price Range**: 15-16 points
**Overview**: Iron Treads offers lots of role compression for teams, especially in an eight-Pokemon format, given its typing and access to Volt Switch, Knock Off, Stealth Rock, and Rapid Spin. Furthermore, its combination of physical bulk, Speed, and a decent Attack stat allows it to switch into and force out many Pokemon while also being able to make progress against opposing teams. However, despite having Booster Energy and Rapid Spin to boost its Speed, its underwhelming Attack stat with no way outside of Booster Energy to boost it can make it easy to take advantage of.
[strategy comments]
Common Roles
========
**Bulky Pivot**: Iron Treads can switch into a lot of Pokemon and take advantage of the switches it forces with the wide variety of utility moves it has access to such as Knock Off, Endeavor, and Volt Switch.
**Entry Hazard Control**: Iron Treads is one of the few Pokemon with access to both Stealth Rock and Rapid Spin and can also viably run both on the same set. It can go head-to-head against some opposing hazard setters and end exchanges with Stealth Rock on the opposing side of the field with no hazards on your own.
Common Moves
========
**Primary STAB Moves**: Earthquake, Iron Head, Heavy Slam, Earth Power, Flash Cannon
**Setup Moves**: Iron Defense
**Utility Moves**: Endeavor, Substitute, Rapid Spin, Knock Off, Stealth Rock, Volt Switch
**Coverage**: Body Press, Ice Spinner, Megahorn, Rock Slide, Stone Edge, Supercell Slam, Wild Charge, Zen Headbutt
Niche Moves
========
**Steel Beam**: Steel Beam is useful on a sacrificial lead set in order to gain momentum and do significant damage to the more physically bulky Pokemon that switch in against Iron Treads, as well as efficiently spin blocking foes that want to spin away the hazards it sets up.
**High Horsepower**: High Horsepower serves as an alternative to Earthquake when an opponent has Grassy Terrain. Since Iron Treads appreciates the healing and Earthquake damage reduction Grassy Terrain provides, it can also be used on a terrain team itself.
Common Items
========
**Booster Energy**: Booster Energy can be used on more offensive cleaner sets to give Iron Treads a Speed boost without wasting a turn or requiring Terrain support.
**Air Balloon**: Air Balloon is used on Iron Treads to check opposing Pokemon that rely on a Ground-type move to beat it.
**Assault Vest**: Assault Vest patches up Iron Treads's mediocre Special Defense without sacrificing much, as Iron Treads only loses Stealth Rock as a viable option.
**Sitrus Berry**: Sitrus Berry gives Iron Treads an effective way of dodging 2HKOs and is an often more effective alternative to Leftovers, though it sacrifices overall recovery in longer games.
Niche Items
========
**Resistance Berry**: Iron Treads can utilize a resistance Berry to lure an opposing Pokemon or just to help survive an attack.
**Heavy-Duty Boots**: Although Iron Treads sports a 4x resistance to Stealth Rock, effectively negating any chip damage, having your spinner ignore entry hazard damage from Spikes is often useful.
**Leftovers**: Leftovers helps with Iron Treads's longevity, especially as it has no other means of recovery besides Rest.
**Rocky Helmet**: Iron Treads's physical bulk allows it to survive a lot of attacks, so punishing your opponent for using contact moves can be useful, especially against opposing spinners that look to keep hazards it wants to set up.
**Protective Pads**: Iron Treads often wants to click Rapid Spin, so Protective Pads can be used to allow it to avoid contact adverse effects.
**Focus Sash**: While Iron Treads is fairly bulky, it can easily be OHKOed by a super effective move if it lacks defensive investment, and lead sets can take advantage of this by usually setting up Stealth Rock and then using Endeavor after the Focus Sash is consumed.
**Boosting Items**: Boosting items can be used to either wallbreak or in conjunction with Rapid Spin, support to sweep by hitting specific damage benchmarks.
Tera
========
Iron Treads should simply not be your Tera Captain, as you generally want to Terastallize Pokemon that it benefits more. Iron Treads already greatly appreciates its defensive typing and between all its coverage and utility options, it should be able to always find a place on its team. However, if you were to use it as a Tera Captain, using Tera Ground or Tera Steel would allow Iron Treads to be more threatening, or using Tera Flying sheds your Fighting and Ground weaknesses. Generally good defensive types, such as Fairy and Water, can be good choices due to its natural bulk.
Draft Strategy
========
Iron Treads is a top tier entry hazard removal option in Draft, and it has a pretty expensive price tag to reflect that. Generally, Iron Treads teams are quite offensive, as it can get worn down easily and doesn't have much recovery. It should be paired with Pokemon that appreciate the utility it brings.
**Strong Wallbreakers**: Iron Treads can pivot into strong wallbreakers, such as Chi-Yu and Palafin, which can in turn open up the game for it. Iron Treads also appreciates wallbreakers taking care of bulkier Pokemon so that it can win late-game.
**Specially Defensive Pokemon**: Iron Treads needs Assault Vest in order to take hits on the special side, so it likes to be paired with specially bulky Pokemon like Mesprit and Latias.
**Ground-resistant Pokemon**: Due to its Ground weakness, Iron Treads should be paired with decently bulky Ground-resistant or Ground-immune Pokemon, such as Uxie and Rotom-W, so that you aren't forced to sacrifice a Pokemon every time it is forced out by a Ground-type.
Checks and Counters
========
**Ground-types**: Ground-types, such as Ting-Lu and Great Tusk, can block Volt Switch and hit Iron Treads back for super effective damage; however, Great Tusk, in particular, should be careful of special variants.
**Physically Bulky Pokemon**: Iron Treads is unable to make much progress on its own against Pokemon like Alomomola and Corviknight, barring special sets, but these Pokemon are susceptible to Volt Switch.
**Faster Wallbreakers**: Iron Treads's typing means it is hit super effectively by a lot of common types, so Pokemon like Iron Valiant and Greninja can force it out. However, they are mostly unable to switch in more than once.
[credits]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user1.100000 monkeboi
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user2.200000 techno
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user3.300000 princess autumn
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user4.400000 ken
Last edited: