Ground
========
Landorus-T finds itself on Ground teams as a fantastic revenge killer and excellent option to add to any team due to it being one of the few viable Choice Scarf Pokemon available to Ground teams. Landorus-T provides a fantastic way to keep faster foes in check outside of sand, which most Ground teams lack, able to take down threats such as Porygon-Z and Choice Specs Keldeo after prior chip outside of sand. Landorus-T also has access to fantastic setup moves that allow it to become a threatening setup sweeper, namely Rock Polish, which allows it to take on offensive teams very easily, and Swords Dance, which allows it to break through walls with more ease. Intimidate is a fantastic ability that allows it to check physical attackers by dropping their Attack by one stage, allowing it to take on threats such as Mega Lopunny. U-turn allows Landorus-T to capitalize on the switches it forces by bringing in a more favorable teammate, allowing it to pick up momentum for Ground teams. Additionally, it brings fantastic utility moves in Knock Off, which can cripple walls such as Suicune by removing Leftovers, and Defog, allowing it to clear hazards off the field. Unfortunately, Landorus-T stacks Ice- and Water-type weaknesses that Ground-type teams are naturally weak against, though its secondary Flying-type provides Ground with a neutrality to Grass-type coverage and an immunity to Ground-type attacks, and though it is a fantastic pivot, due to its lack of recovery, it needs to be brought into battle cautiously. Also, by using Landorus-T, Ground teams miss out on using Landorus, which is a staple to Ground teams by providing Gravity support and being able to form a nice wallbreaking core with Excadrill as a fantastic special attacker.
[SET]
name: Choice Scarf (Ground)
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: U-turn
move 4: Defog / Stone Edge / Toxic
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Intimidate
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Earthquake is Landorus-T's strongest STAB attack, allowing it to take on Pokemon such as Keldeo. Knock Off allows it to cripple Pokemon by removing their items, such as Chansey's and Porygon2's Eviolites, and can be spammed in the Psychic matchup. U-turn allows Landorus-T to safely bring in a teammate and pick up momentum while taking on Pokemon such as Celebi that can be a nuisance for Ground teams to deal with. Defog allows it to clear entry hazards from the field, freeing a slot for its teammate Excadrill. Stone Edge is an option over Defog to take on Pokemon such as Volcarona, Zapdos, and Mega Charizard Y. Since using Stone Edge means it can no longer use Defog, however, the team becomes more vulnerable to hazards and can be broken more easily by wallbreakers such as Tapu Bulu. Toxic allows it to cripple switch-ins such as Porygon2 and Staraptor, which would otherwise easily wall it.
Set Details
========
Maximum Attack and Speed investment alongside a Jolly nature and Choice Scarf allows Landorus-T to hit as hard and fast as possible, allowing it to outspeed threats such as Mega Lopunny and Porygon-Z at +1. Intimidate allows Landorus-T to check physical attackers such as Victini and Mega Gallade.
Usage Tips
========
Landorus-T should take advantage of forced switches by using the turn to get off a free U-turn and bring in a teammate or clear entry hazards off the field with Defog. Since being locked into Defog can invite setup sweepers in, it is best to make sure the team can still check them before doing so. Intimidate allows Landorus-T switch into physical attackers it can easily take care of such as Choice Scarf Excadrill. However, if the opposing player has a switch-in to Landorus-T, it should click U-turn to pick up momentum. Knock Off should be used to cripple foes by removing their items, such as Porygon2's Eviolite, allowing Choice Band Excadrill to 2HKO it with Earthquake, or Suicune's Leftovers, preventing it from being able to spam Substitute. Landorus-T can also be used as a lead due to its natural Speed paired with Choice Scarf and U-turn, which can be used to scout the opponent's set and pivot into a better teammate. Landorus-T is a fantastic late-game revenge killer, being able to clean through weakened teams and take on threats such as Keldeo after minor chip damage. Landorus-T should pivot out against Pokemon it cannot take on with U-turn and bring in a better teammate. However, against Pokemon such as Choice Scarf Greninja, Landorus-T should directly switch out to a Pokemon that can tank its Ice Beam such as Gastrodon.
Team Options
========
All Ground teams appreciate Landorus-T's ability to clean late-game with its Choice Scarf, outspeed threats such as Mega Gallade, remove items such as Porygon2's Eviolite, and clear hazards with Defog such as Sticky Web and Toxic Spikes. Hippowdon has access to Sand Stream and Stealth Rock, both of which chip down potential checks to Landorus-T, giving it an easier time cleaning late-game, and appreciates Landorus-T's Intimidate, which only further bolsters its capabilities as a mixed wall. In return, Landorus-T appreciates Hippowdon's ability to take on physical attackers and wipe off the damage with Slack Off, taking the pressure off of Landorus-T to be the team's only switch-in to physical attackers. Excadrill forms a nice offensive core with Landorus-T, as they both share similar checks and can help each other chip them down. Excadrill can also take on annoying Fairy-type Pokemon such as Tapu Bulu that Landorus-T struggles to take down and appreciates Landorus-T's Defog, which allows it to run extra coverage such as X-Scissor or even Swords Dance over Rapid Spin. Seismitoad and Gastrodon provide the team with a Water-type immunity, being able to freely switch into Water-type attacks that threaten Landorus-T. Gastrodon is a more defensive option, being able to passively recover and chip foes with Toxic, that appreciates Landorus-T's ability to remove the items of other walls such as Mandibuzz with Knock Off, allowing Gastrodon to wear them down more easily. Seismitoad brings a more offensive presence, being able to beat Pokemon such as Azumarill. Garchomp can form a fantastic physical wallbreaking core with Landorus-T, as it can break walls such as Porygon2 with Swords Dance and Devastating Drake, allowing Landorus-T to sweep with more ease late-game. Landorus-T also appreciates Garchomp's ability to take on physically defensive Pokemon that it has trouble breaking past such as Ferrothorn with Fire Blast. Dugtrio's Arena Trap allows it to trap threats such as Tapu Bulu, which it can weaken with Sludge Wave, and pick off weakened threats such as Celebi with Sucker Punch. Nidoking is a great teammate that makes up for an absence of Landorus, being a strong special attacker that is also able to hit Ground-immune Pokemon such Levitate and Flying-type Pokemon for Landorus-T.
[SET]
name: Double Dance (Ground)
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Stone Edge
move 3: Swords Dance
move 4: Rock Polish
item: Rockium Z
ability: Intimidate
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Earthquake is Landorus-T's main STAB attack and allows it to take on Pokemon such as Scizor, Excadrill, and Mega Altaria. Stone Edge allows it to take on Flying-types such as Skarmory and Celesteela that are immune to Earthquake. Swords Dance allows it to take on defensive threats such as Mega Venusaur and Ferrothorn and helps it against bulkier teams. Rock Polish allows it to take on offensive threats and become a sweeper by outspeeding offensive threats such as Choice Scarf Greninja.
Set Details
========
Maximum Attack and Speed investment paired with a Jolly nature allows Landorus-T to hit as fast and hard as possible, being able to outspeed the entire unboosted metagame such as Choice Scarf Greninja after a single Rock Polish. Rockium Z allows Stone Edge to become Continental Crush, taking out Pokemon that would otherwise wall Landorus-T after a boost, such as Celesteela after Stealth Rock. Intimidate allows Landorus-T to take on Pokemon such as Scizor and Mega Lopunny as well as find more opportunities to set up against physical attackers such as Mimikyu.
Usage Tips
========
Landorus-T should set up to sweep once all its checks and counters such as Celesteela have been weakened to a point where it can sweep through the opposing team. It should set up Swords Dance against more defensively oriented teams, allowing it to beat Pokemon such as Ferrothorn and Chansey. However, against more offensively oriented teams, Landorus-T should set up Rock Polish, since Pokemon are most likely unable to wall it even without a Swords Dance boost. It should avoid status conditions at all times, as burns prevent it from being an effective cleaner while Toxic poisoning puts Landorus-T on a timer, limiting the amount of time it has in battle. Landorus-T should be kept healthy the entire match until it is ready to sweep, allowing it to set up more comfortably. Landorus-T should set up against a physical attacker such as Mimikyu to take advantage of Intimidate allowing it to set up more easily. Landorus-T should time the use of Continental Crush, as it can help break checks such as weakened Celesteela, which would otherwise be impossible to break.
Team Options
========
All of Landorus-T's teammates appreciate its ability to break walls with Swords Dance and outspeed threats such as Choice Scarf Greninja after a Rock Polish. Landorus-T appreciates Hippowdon's ability to set Stealth Rock, as it provides useful chip allowing Landorus-T to clean more easily late-game. Excadrill appreciates Landorus-T's ability to beat Choice Scarf Greninja at +2 Speed, allowing it to run an Adamant nature and become a more fearsome wallbreaker. Excadrill can also break Fairy- and Ice-type Pokemon such as Tapu Bulu and Kyurem-B for it in return. Seismitoad and Gastrodon are the team's Water-immune Pokemon. The former is a special wallbreaker that can take on threats such as Azumarill with Sludge Wave, while the latter is a more defensive Pokemon that Landorus-T can fall back on and switch into powerful special attacks such as those of Kyurem-B. It can also provide Toxic support, weakening Landorus-T's checks such as Rotom-W late-game, allowing it to clean more easily. Mamoswine appreciates Landorus-T's ability to dent the other team with its powerful attacks, letting it more readily click Ice Shard to clean through weakened teams. It can also use Knock Off to remove items from defensive Pokemon such as Porygon2's Eviolite, allowing Landorus-T to always OHKO Porygon2 with +2 Continental Crush after Stealth Rock damage. Mega Garchomp is a fantastic mixed attacker, being able to take on a variety of different threats due to its dual STABs and access to coverage in Fire Blast and Stone Edge. Mega Garchomp can also tank +6 Azumarill's Aqua Jet, allowing the Ground-type team to use the better of the two Water-immune Pokemon in Gastrodon. Dugtrio can support Landorus-T with Memento, allowing it to set up Swords Dance and Rock Polish with more ease.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Ground
--------
Sludge Wave and a Naive nature can be run over Defog on the Choice Scarf set to allow Landorus-T to catch Tapu Bulu off guard and OHKO it. However, running Sludge Wave means losing out on running Defog, which makes the team weaker to entry hazards such as Sticky Web and Toxic Spikes. Flyinium Z can be used with Fly instead of Stone Edge and Rockium Z to target and OHKO defensive threats like Buzzwole, which would otherwise wall it.
Checks and Counters
===================
Ground
--------
**Water-types**: Water-type Pokemon that are faster or can easily wall Landorus-T all threaten it by outright OHKOing it with powerful STAB attacks, such as Keldeo with Hydro Pump, or burning it through Scald, such as Swampert.
**Ice-types**: Ice-type Pokemon such as Kyurem-B and Alolan Ninetales can threaten to OHKO Landorus-T with their powerful STAB attacks. Pokemon such as Weavile and Mamoswine can also threaten to OHKO it with priority Ice Shard.
**Physical Walls**: Physical walls such as Porygon2 and Skarmory can easily wall Landorus-T due to their above average bulk and ability to shrug off damage with their recovery moves. However, after a Swords Dance boost, Landorus-T can 2HKO Porygon2 with its STAB Earthquake and can OHKO Skarmory after minor chip damage with Continental Crush.
**Status Conditions**: Status conditions such as burn and Toxic poison severely limit Landorus-T's ability to sweep, as the former prevents it from effectively wallbreaking and the latter puts it on a timer, limiting the number of turns it has left on the battlefield.
**Revenge Killers**: Faster attackers such as Choice Scarf Greninja, Choice Scarf Keldeo, and Choice Scarf Latios can all threaten Landorus-T with their powerful STAB attacks. Strong priority attacks such as Choice Band Dragonite's Extreme Speed and Azumarill's Aqua Jet can threaten to severely dent it as well.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[maroon, 305839]]
- Ground analysis by: [[maroon, 305839]]
- Quality checked by: [[Misaka Mikoto, 240969], [Moosical, 215618], [Eien, 100418]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Electrolyte, 148071], [The Dutch Plumberjack, 232216]]
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