[overview]
**Draft Order**: Round 3 onwards
**Price Range**: 14-15 points
**Overview**: Landorus-T's great utility, set versatility, access to Intimidate, and ability to pivot with U-turn make it a very useful pick. It is often the glue that holds a draft together, thanks to Intimidate in combination with its natural bulk and the defensive utility moves it has making it incredibly difficult for physical attackers to deal with, sometimes even if they have an Ice-type move. With a respectable base 91 Speed, Landorus-T is also a strong Choice Scarf user, and its pool of utility moves can support other offensive sets.
[strategy comments]
Common Roles
========
**Defensive Utility**: Landorus-T's defensive typing, in conjunction with Intimidate, makes it a tough wall to break—even for neutrally attacking physical attackers—despite a lack of reliable healing. Its already high base Attack allows you to invest more EVs defensively, which allows it to set up Stealth Rock, trigger its Intimidate more, and pivot for a longer time.
**Offensive Utility**: When invested more in offensive stats, Landorus-T can still use moves like Stealth Rock, Taunt, and U-turn, serving as a good offensive utility pick while dishing out much stronger Ground-type attacks. Its Special Attack stat is also usable, meaning physical walls have to be wary about switching into it.
**Revenge Killer**: A base 91 Speed means that Landorus-T outspeeds nearly the entire unboosted metagame when using a Choice Scarf. This combined with a stellar Attack stat makes Landorus-T a very viable revenge killer, even if it doesn't have the widest pool of coverage moves.
**Setup Sweeper**: With access to Swords Dance and Bulk Up, Landorus-T can use either to clean up a weakened team. Substitute also helps it set up more safely, allowing it to avoid status or scout its foes having Ice-type coverage moves.
Common Moves
========
**Primary STAB Moves**: Earthquake, Earth Power
**Setup Moves**: Swords Dance, Bulk Up, Substitute
**Utility Moves**: Stealth Rock, U-turn, Taunt, Brick Break
**Coverage**: Rock Tomb, Rock Slide, Stone Edge, Crunch, Hammer Arm, Outrage, Grass Knot, Focus Blast, Sludge Bomb, Sludge Wave, Psychic, Tera Blast
Niche Moves
========
**Gravity and Smack Down**: Gravity and Smack Down are used on slightly different occasions. Gravity works better against teams with multiple Ground-immune Pokemon, while Smack Down is better against teams with just one, such as Corviknight. If you value Landorus-T having a Ground immunity on your side, be wary about using Gravity.
**Fly**: Fly + Power Herb is an option if the opposing team has a naturally decently bulky Grass-, Bug-, or Fighting-type Pokemon that would be hard to KO if not for catching it off guard with Fly, but sacrificing an item slot for something that can potentially be scouted is something that has to be considered as well.
**Scorching Sands / Body Slam**: Bulky Pokemon are commonly answers to Landorus-T, so having moves to fish for a status infliction against those Pokemon is a viable strategy, although it could backfire if Landorus-T has to use too many of these weak moves to successfully get the status infliction.
Common Items
========
**Rocky Helmet**: Rocky Helmet is a fantastic option for getting some chip damage off to punish the weakened attacks that will be coming after Intimidate, particularly useful in punishing opposing U-turn and Knock Off.
**Choice Scarf**: Landorus-T is a usable revenge killer, so Choice Scarf is the best option for revenge killing sets.
**Leftovers**: As Landorus-T is not especially vulnerable to Stealth Rock, if you expect to be pivoting in and out with it a lot, Leftovers will likely be a better choice instead of Heavy-Duty Boots if you do not have another item in mind. It's useful on both utility and setup sweeper sets, although if Landorus-T is expected to be pivoting with U-turn a lot, it will rarely have time to get good value from Leftovers.
**Resistance Berry**: Despite not necessarily being useful against Ice-types, Yache Berry is a good item against the Ice-type coverage moves that will assuredly be coming Landorus-T's way. It won't allow Landorus-T to survive long, as the moves will still hit as hard as a 2x super effective move, but it might give Landorus-T the turn required to gain an advantage. With Water-type coverage moves being much less common than Ice-type ones, the other resistance Berry Landorus-T can effectively use is Passho Berry, which is still good for surprising offensive Water-type Pokemon that threaten to OHKO Landorus-T.
**Sitrus Berry**: Sitrus Berry is good for recovering some health and is better for high-tempo games where Leftovers will not have time to give Landorus-T the value that a Sitrus Berry would.
Niche Items
========
**Choice Band**: While being locked into Earthquake is rarely ideal, even most Ground-resistant foes don't want to take an Earthquake from a Choice Band Landorus-T. Its coverage is generally able to assist in covering the Pokemon Earthquake does not hit, but since its physical movepool is limited, this set will often be doling out more a powerful U-turn.
**Assault Vest**: Landorus-T can use an Assault Vest to switch more easily into mixed attackers while taking advantage of Intimidate against their physical attacks. Assault Vest sets are particularly vulnerable to chip damage with no means of recovery, but they might make the difference against teams that have a lot of special attackers.
**Damage-boosting Items**: In matchups where Landorus-T can constantly fire off Ground-type moves, Soft Sand can be used to boost its power while still letting it switch moves.
**Power Herb**: Power Herb should only be used with a Fly set. An important thing to remember is that while Fly is still usable after Power Herb is consumed, it will be much easier for your opponent to take advantage of, so use it wisely.
Tera
========
Landorus-T seems like a very obvious choice for a Tera Captain, finally gaining access to a reliable Flying-type coverage move for offensive sets or shedding its Ice weakness on defensive sets. However, in practice, it is often incredibly underwhelming due to lacking a way to boost its Speed on setup sets and a lack of any reliable healing making it generally pretty easy to KO. If it is chosen as a Tera Captain, Tera Water is great for defensive sets due to flipping Landorus-T's weaknesses and giving it a solid defensive typing. Tera Blast Flying + Earthquake makes for a very difficult Pokemon to switch into, and even outside of Tera Flying, Landorus-T can gain much needed coverage with whichever Tera type + Tera Blast you decide to go.
Draft Strategy
========
Landorus-T checks off so many of the parameters that one looks for in a draft team that you can pretty much draft anything alongside it. Having an immunity to Ground and Electric, two very common coverage types, Landorus-T appreciates being able to switch in on those types of moves and U-turn out against unfavorable matchups into something that can handle its weak points.
**Bulky Water-types**: Bulky Water-types are already fantastic, so the two covering each other's weaknesses is just the cherry on top. Bulky Water-types such as Alomomola, Rotom-W, and Ogerpon-W that also have pivoting moves are especially useful in forming a dangerous pivot core with Landorus-T.
**Potential Wincons**: Unfortunately, without reliable speed control, Landorus-T will not realistically be winning any games by itself. Be sure to draft a Pokemon like Iron Valiant or Zarude that appreciates being pivoted into while it softens up the team for those Pokemon with Stealth Rock.
**Special Attackers**: Landorus-T loves to lure in physical walls only to pivot out into a strong special attacker that can begin punching holes into teams. In addition to Pokemon like Darkrai and Greninja, Gholdengo is a fantastic teammate, as it appreciates a Ground-immune partner, while Landorus-T appreciates the Ice resistance and entry hazard removal blocking that Gholdengo provides.
**Other Entry Hazard Setters**: Landorus-T will almost always be your Stealth Rock user due to its relatively limited movepool, and with Intimidate and U-turn, it will cause a lot of pivoting on both sides of the field. You can punish all of that pivoting with entry hazard users like Overqwil, Tentacruel, and Glimmora, which all appreciate the Ground immunity Landorus-T gives your team. Since sometimes it has offensive matchups it would rather not have Stealth Rock on, it should still not be the only hazard setter on your roster.
Checks and Counters
========
**Water-types**: Most bulky Water-types can shrug off a defensive Landorus-T's Earthquake while threatening it out with a STAB move, while offensive Water-types like Greninja and Ogerpon-W are able to outspeed and OHKO it with their STAB moves.
**Ice-types or Ice-type Coverage**: Landorus-T often falls victim to getting chunked by Ice-type coverage, as Pokemon such as Great Tusk, Meowscarada, and Iron Treads that would otherwise be relatively safe switch-ins for Landorus-T can include it in their movesets.
**Ground-immune Pokemon**: Sometimes taking two turns to hit the foe with Gravity + Earthquake is not a practical solution to dealing with Ground-immune Pokemon such as Uxie, Gliscor, and opposing Landorus-T, and with no Flying-type coverage, Landorus-T has to rely on painfully inaccurate Rock-type coverage moves or the weak Crunch to hit them, which many Ground-immune foes are neutral against anyway.
**Strong Special Attackers**: Strong special attackers, such as Terapagos and Darkrai, can take advantage of Landorus-T's middling special bulk to force it out, even with substantial investment in special bulk.
**Chip Damage**: Landorus-T wants to switch in as much as possible, but the more chip damage it takes, the harder it makes it to do so with no way to reliably heal itself.
[credits]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/drizzle.313217/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/theuncultured.629845/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/scribble.356084/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/jcmshadow.551115/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/princess-autumn.564960/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/ken.594478/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/solarbeam.470115/
**Draft Order**: Round 3 onwards
**Price Range**: 14-15 points
**Overview**: Landorus-T's great utility, set versatility, access to Intimidate, and ability to pivot with U-turn make it a very useful pick. It is often the glue that holds a draft together, thanks to Intimidate in combination with its natural bulk and the defensive utility moves it has making it incredibly difficult for physical attackers to deal with, sometimes even if they have an Ice-type move. With a respectable base 91 Speed, Landorus-T is also a strong Choice Scarf user, and its pool of utility moves can support other offensive sets.
[strategy comments]
Common Roles
========
**Defensive Utility**: Landorus-T's defensive typing, in conjunction with Intimidate, makes it a tough wall to break—even for neutrally attacking physical attackers—despite a lack of reliable healing. Its already high base Attack allows you to invest more EVs defensively, which allows it to set up Stealth Rock, trigger its Intimidate more, and pivot for a longer time.
**Offensive Utility**: When invested more in offensive stats, Landorus-T can still use moves like Stealth Rock, Taunt, and U-turn, serving as a good offensive utility pick while dishing out much stronger Ground-type attacks. Its Special Attack stat is also usable, meaning physical walls have to be wary about switching into it.
**Revenge Killer**: A base 91 Speed means that Landorus-T outspeeds nearly the entire unboosted metagame when using a Choice Scarf. This combined with a stellar Attack stat makes Landorus-T a very viable revenge killer, even if it doesn't have the widest pool of coverage moves.
**Setup Sweeper**: With access to Swords Dance and Bulk Up, Landorus-T can use either to clean up a weakened team. Substitute also helps it set up more safely, allowing it to avoid status or scout its foes having Ice-type coverage moves.
Common Moves
========
**Primary STAB Moves**: Earthquake, Earth Power
**Setup Moves**: Swords Dance, Bulk Up, Substitute
**Utility Moves**: Stealth Rock, U-turn, Taunt, Brick Break
**Coverage**: Rock Tomb, Rock Slide, Stone Edge, Crunch, Hammer Arm, Outrage, Grass Knot, Focus Blast, Sludge Bomb, Sludge Wave, Psychic, Tera Blast
Niche Moves
========
**Gravity and Smack Down**: Gravity and Smack Down are used on slightly different occasions. Gravity works better against teams with multiple Ground-immune Pokemon, while Smack Down is better against teams with just one, such as Corviknight. If you value Landorus-T having a Ground immunity on your side, be wary about using Gravity.
**Fly**: Fly + Power Herb is an option if the opposing team has a naturally decently bulky Grass-, Bug-, or Fighting-type Pokemon that would be hard to KO if not for catching it off guard with Fly, but sacrificing an item slot for something that can potentially be scouted is something that has to be considered as well.
**Scorching Sands / Body Slam**: Bulky Pokemon are commonly answers to Landorus-T, so having moves to fish for a status infliction against those Pokemon is a viable strategy, although it could backfire if Landorus-T has to use too many of these weak moves to successfully get the status infliction.
Common Items
========
**Rocky Helmet**: Rocky Helmet is a fantastic option for getting some chip damage off to punish the weakened attacks that will be coming after Intimidate, particularly useful in punishing opposing U-turn and Knock Off.
**Choice Scarf**: Landorus-T is a usable revenge killer, so Choice Scarf is the best option for revenge killing sets.
**Leftovers**: As Landorus-T is not especially vulnerable to Stealth Rock, if you expect to be pivoting in and out with it a lot, Leftovers will likely be a better choice instead of Heavy-Duty Boots if you do not have another item in mind. It's useful on both utility and setup sweeper sets, although if Landorus-T is expected to be pivoting with U-turn a lot, it will rarely have time to get good value from Leftovers.
**Resistance Berry**: Despite not necessarily being useful against Ice-types, Yache Berry is a good item against the Ice-type coverage moves that will assuredly be coming Landorus-T's way. It won't allow Landorus-T to survive long, as the moves will still hit as hard as a 2x super effective move, but it might give Landorus-T the turn required to gain an advantage. With Water-type coverage moves being much less common than Ice-type ones, the other resistance Berry Landorus-T can effectively use is Passho Berry, which is still good for surprising offensive Water-type Pokemon that threaten to OHKO Landorus-T.
**Sitrus Berry**: Sitrus Berry is good for recovering some health and is better for high-tempo games where Leftovers will not have time to give Landorus-T the value that a Sitrus Berry would.
Niche Items
========
**Choice Band**: While being locked into Earthquake is rarely ideal, even most Ground-resistant foes don't want to take an Earthquake from a Choice Band Landorus-T. Its coverage is generally able to assist in covering the Pokemon Earthquake does not hit, but since its physical movepool is limited, this set will often be doling out more a powerful U-turn.
**Assault Vest**: Landorus-T can use an Assault Vest to switch more easily into mixed attackers while taking advantage of Intimidate against their physical attacks. Assault Vest sets are particularly vulnerable to chip damage with no means of recovery, but they might make the difference against teams that have a lot of special attackers.
**Damage-boosting Items**: In matchups where Landorus-T can constantly fire off Ground-type moves, Soft Sand can be used to boost its power while still letting it switch moves.
**Power Herb**: Power Herb should only be used with a Fly set. An important thing to remember is that while Fly is still usable after Power Herb is consumed, it will be much easier for your opponent to take advantage of, so use it wisely.
Tera
========
Landorus-T seems like a very obvious choice for a Tera Captain, finally gaining access to a reliable Flying-type coverage move for offensive sets or shedding its Ice weakness on defensive sets. However, in practice, it is often incredibly underwhelming due to lacking a way to boost its Speed on setup sets and a lack of any reliable healing making it generally pretty easy to KO. If it is chosen as a Tera Captain, Tera Water is great for defensive sets due to flipping Landorus-T's weaknesses and giving it a solid defensive typing. Tera Blast Flying + Earthquake makes for a very difficult Pokemon to switch into, and even outside of Tera Flying, Landorus-T can gain much needed coverage with whichever Tera type + Tera Blast you decide to go.
Draft Strategy
========
Landorus-T checks off so many of the parameters that one looks for in a draft team that you can pretty much draft anything alongside it. Having an immunity to Ground and Electric, two very common coverage types, Landorus-T appreciates being able to switch in on those types of moves and U-turn out against unfavorable matchups into something that can handle its weak points.
**Bulky Water-types**: Bulky Water-types are already fantastic, so the two covering each other's weaknesses is just the cherry on top. Bulky Water-types such as Alomomola, Rotom-W, and Ogerpon-W that also have pivoting moves are especially useful in forming a dangerous pivot core with Landorus-T.
**Potential Wincons**: Unfortunately, without reliable speed control, Landorus-T will not realistically be winning any games by itself. Be sure to draft a Pokemon like Iron Valiant or Zarude that appreciates being pivoted into while it softens up the team for those Pokemon with Stealth Rock.
**Special Attackers**: Landorus-T loves to lure in physical walls only to pivot out into a strong special attacker that can begin punching holes into teams. In addition to Pokemon like Darkrai and Greninja, Gholdengo is a fantastic teammate, as it appreciates a Ground-immune partner, while Landorus-T appreciates the Ice resistance and entry hazard removal blocking that Gholdengo provides.
**Other Entry Hazard Setters**: Landorus-T will almost always be your Stealth Rock user due to its relatively limited movepool, and with Intimidate and U-turn, it will cause a lot of pivoting on both sides of the field. You can punish all of that pivoting with entry hazard users like Overqwil, Tentacruel, and Glimmora, which all appreciate the Ground immunity Landorus-T gives your team. Since sometimes it has offensive matchups it would rather not have Stealth Rock on, it should still not be the only hazard setter on your roster.
Checks and Counters
========
**Water-types**: Most bulky Water-types can shrug off a defensive Landorus-T's Earthquake while threatening it out with a STAB move, while offensive Water-types like Greninja and Ogerpon-W are able to outspeed and OHKO it with their STAB moves.
**Ice-types or Ice-type Coverage**: Landorus-T often falls victim to getting chunked by Ice-type coverage, as Pokemon such as Great Tusk, Meowscarada, and Iron Treads that would otherwise be relatively safe switch-ins for Landorus-T can include it in their movesets.
**Ground-immune Pokemon**: Sometimes taking two turns to hit the foe with Gravity + Earthquake is not a practical solution to dealing with Ground-immune Pokemon such as Uxie, Gliscor, and opposing Landorus-T, and with no Flying-type coverage, Landorus-T has to rely on painfully inaccurate Rock-type coverage moves or the weak Crunch to hit them, which many Ground-immune foes are neutral against anyway.
**Strong Special Attackers**: Strong special attackers, such as Terapagos and Darkrai, can take advantage of Landorus-T's middling special bulk to force it out, even with substantial investment in special bulk.
**Chip Damage**: Landorus-T wants to switch in as much as possible, but the more chip damage it takes, the harder it makes it to do so with no way to reliably heal itself.
[credits]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/drizzle.313217/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/theuncultured.629845/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/scribble.356084/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/jcmshadow.551115/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/princess-autumn.564960/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/ken.594478/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/solarbeam.470115/
Last edited:
