Landorus (Calm Mind & Bait)

Demoli

I've used this set in almost all my sand teams and it has proven to be a valuable team mate capable of removing threats that would otherwise threathen other main sweepers, namely Terrakion and Excadrill. After seeing it's abcense at the strategy pokedex, I've decided to submit it officially.

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[SET]
name: Calm Mind/Bait
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Earth Power
move 3: Focus Blast
move 4: Hidden Power Ice / Hidden Power Grass
item: Life Orb
ability: Sand Force
nature: Timid
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
ivs: Costomize in order to get the desired Hidden Power Typing

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>I should say up front that this set is NOT made for a game winning sweep, instead, this set's goal is to lure common counters and switch ins to other sweepers and eliminate them, so can, later on, perform a much neater and safe sweep. He is a great partner for the likes of Excadrill, Terrakion and Metagross.

It's relatively simple to use: switch in on something you can force out, Calm Mind on the switch and you should be able to take a big chunk from whatever comes in. Earth Power is a slightly weaker EQ from the special side, and since it is boosted by Sand Force it will deal more dmage than most people are expecting it to. Focus Blast takes care of other important targets such as Skarmory, Balloon Heatran and Bronzong. Even Blissey takes a nice chunk! The last slot is up to the user. Hidden Power [Ice] deals with dragons (like the omnipresent Dragonite), but most importantly Gliscor, who otherwise counters the other mainstay sand sweepers. Hidden Power [Grass] on the other hand, provides a way to deal with other problematic 'mons, namely Swampert, Gastrodon, and most importantly, Quagsire. It also hurts Rotom-W more than EQ. Downside is, it will leave you very vulnerable to flying pokemon. Use it only when your team can take care of the before-mentioned Gliscor and Dragonite.

But you may be asking: What does this set do that a regular SD set can't? Well, let's take a look at some calcs shall we (all calcs will be made using a +1 SpA boost and under the influence ofsand)? Against a physical Hippowdon, Landorus deals 105,95% - 124,52%, and against a specially defensive one it deals 79,29% - 93,1%, OHKO after 2 layers of spikes or prior damage. What about Skarmory? Using Focus Blast, Physically defensive is hurt by 93,71% - 110,48%, OHKO after rocks. Specially defensive is hurt by 63,17% - 74,25%. You can KO with HP Ice right after so you don't risk a second Focus Blast. Physical Bronzong takes 60,95% - 71,89%, 2HKO'd. Specially Based takes around 44,97% - 52,96%, so you can at least see which set he is using, and in case it's special based switch so another pokemon can deal with it. Standart Blissey takes 50,42% - 59,1%, so if your opponent notices you're special, and then switches to Blissey, if you predict that you can 2HKO it with Focus Blast.


When taking these calcs in consideration, one must not forget the secondary effects of Earth Power and Focus Blast: a SpD drop. These can turn the tide in your favour. Blissey got hit by a SpD drop during the first Focus Blast? Don't risk another miss and use Earth Power for the KO. Special bronzong is also safely 2hKO'd with a SpD drop. Another side effect of Calm Mind is the added special bulk, allowing you to take special hits a little better. It might seem neglegible, but it does make a difference in a few scenarios.


This set is not without drawbacks though. You are vulnerable to faster sweepers, namely starmie, gengar, Lati@s and Mixnape. Remember that as this set is not made to sweep complete teams, just to remove certain key opponents. Keep that in mind and you should prosper with this set. </p>
 
I don't see what this set has over other Landorus sets to be honest. Just use HP Ice on a SD Set if you really want to lure in the counters of Terrakion and Excadrill. On top of that, if your opponent sees a Landorus using Calm Mind, they are getting their gliscor out of there.
 
YTP said:
I don't see what this set has over other Landorus sets to be honest. Just use HP Ice on a SD Set if you really want to lure in the counters of Terrakion and Excadrill. On top of that, if your opponent sees a Landorus using Calm Mind, they are getting their gliscor out of there.
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It breaks through physical walls like Tangrowth and Skarmory more easily than its SD set. Though, I think the set just deserves an AC mention until sheer force comes out.
 
In any case,

Landorus Analysis said:
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.
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So it already has an AC mention.
 
Super Mario Bro said:
It breaks through physical walls like Tangrowth and Skarmory more easily than its SD set. Though, I think the set just deserves an AC mention until sheer force comes out.
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The problem is that no Tangrowth is going to stay in on Landorus if they see you use Calm Mind.
 
tangroth is destroyed by hp ice from the normal set anyway :/

As shrang said, when they see CM, they're gonna bring their physical walls out from the battle anyway. I don't really see the point, tbh
 
once sheer force is released this set will be 100% viable as focus blast destroys blissey and chansey, while ground fighting ice has extremely good coverage. be right now its just not worth it especially when thundurus can do all of this and more
 
I've never gotten around to using this before, but I like how Focus Blast rains destruction on Brozong and Skarmory. Unfortunately, you are now a guaranteed free switch-in for Latios and Latias.
 
Why would you run Hidden Power Grass when Grass Knot does everything it does and more? Also, a Calm Mind set won't be more then OO until Sheer Force is released.
 
Grass Knot has 20 base power on Rotom-W.

IIRC it's 60 for Jellicent and Gastrodon too.

EDIT: Just checked. 60 for Gastro, but 100 base power on Jellicent, who is damn heavy for a ghost jellyfish.
 
prem said:
once sheer force is released this set will be 100% viable as focus blast destroys blissey and chansey, while ground fighting ice has extremely good coverage. be right now its just not worth it especially when thundurus can do all of this and more
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It's true that Thundurus can do this better through NP but you can surprise your opponent with a CM Landorus. Since people expect Landorus to have SD instead of CM, they will be surprised. This is a pretty good set actually. Great job.
 
WoOoShoOo!! said:
It's true that Thundurus can do this better through NP but you can surprise your opponent with a CM Landorus. Since people expect Landorus to have SD instead of CM, they will be surprised. This is a pretty good set actually. Great job.
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I.E. Landorus is easier to stop even before and after the Calm Mind boost. Skarmory's in for trouble, though.

Yeah, just wait until Sheer Force. Landorus does make a "decent" Special sweeper when taking its Special Attack and coverage moves into account. Too bad you have nightmares in Latias, Latios, and bulky Water-type Pokemon in general. Just wish Landorus was compatible with both Sand Force + Sheer Force. I don't even think Special Landorus surpasses much of the top ten OU Pokemon.
 
As it is right now this set is completely outclassed by Substitute / Smack Down.
That is all.
(well, I guess there is hitting Hippowdon...)

When Sheer Force is released then I'm all for it but this set really isn't that good. You'll Calm Mind and then they'll just switch to something that walls you.
 
I've seen this once before. I swapped a skarm into it assuming it was the physical variant and after seeing the CM I knew what was going on. I was able to swap out skarm and deal with it appropriately. The problem I see with this set is that it doesn't take huge advantage of the surprise element it has because it doesn't punish whatever you switch into it with. Slapping on specs/life orb may be better just because it hits the wall you send to counter the physical variant on its weaker special defense side.
 
I think this set should wait until sheer force is released. It just makes sense to have a CM set with sheer force until then I dont see what this has over other landorus sets
 
Can we just replace it with Specs landorus like hereos said? You won't be breaking tangrowth after they see you CM. It's got alright suprise value, but isn't good enough to capitalise on it mostly.
 
Agreeing with everyone else when they say this variant of Landorus should simply receive an AC / OO mention until Sheer Force is released, since that will make special Landorus much more threatening / viable. Calm Mind is cool, I've thought about using it before, but as soon as your opponent sees you CM, they'll know what's going on and adjust accordingly, making the surprise value go to waste.

QC REJECTED (1/3)
 
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