[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: U-turn
move 3: Stone Edge / Knock Off
move 4: Punishment / Explosion / Defog
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Intimidate
nature: Jolly
evs: 24 HP / 252 Atk / 232 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Landorus-T is one of the best Choice Scarf users in the metagame. Its ability to act as a team's Ground-type and answer to fast threats alongside its generally good power and utility moves makes it very easy to put on many teams. It gives teams offensive and defensive weapons against threats such as Heatran, Toxapex, and Tapu Koko. U-turn allows Landorus-T to keep up the momentum and take advantage of the switches it forces from common Pokemon such as Tapu Koko, Toxapex, and Heatran. Stone Edge 2HKOes Zapdos, OHKOes Moltres, and allows Landorus-T to revenge kill Mega Charizard Y. Knock Off, on the other hand, removes important items from the likes of Slowbro, Zapdos, Moltres, Tapu Fini, and Tangrowth. Punishment allows Landorus-T to deal with Calm Mind Mega Latias, 2HKOing it after a Calm Mind, as well as Calm Mind Reuniclus. It works especially well with teammates that force Mega Latias to use Calm Mind multiple times, such as Corviknight. Explosion allows Landorus-T to deal more damage to certain threats, such as Garchomp, Gliscor, Kommo-o, and Rotom-W; however, keep in mind that all of them require chip damage before being KOed. Defog can be used if the role compression of having revenge killing and hazard removal in the same teamslot is needed. Unfortunately, being locked into Defog gives foes free turns. Hidden Power Ice can be used to threaten opposing Landorus-T and Garchomp. Earth Power can work on teams that are desperately in need of a reliable Kartana revenge killer and need Landorus-T's role compression. A neutral nature and 76 Special Attack EVs should be run in this case in order to secure the OHKO on Kartana. 232 Speed EVs and a Jolly nature are used to outrun +1 Excadrill.
Bulky Water-types, such as Slowbro and Toxapex, work well with Landorus-T. Slowbro can also form a pivoting core with Landorus-T with Teleport, while Toxapex is capable of taking on Ash-Greninja for Landorus-T. These Water-types also appreciate Landorus-T's Electric immunity, and Toxapex also appreciates the Ground immunity. Strong wallbreakers such as Mega Medicham, Mega Mawile, Kyurem, and Tapu Lele appreciate Landorus-T solidly handling fast threats for them and pivoting them in with U-turn. Mega Mawile and Kyurem are capable of taking advantage of Slowbro, a physical sponge that can generally pivot into Landorus-T safely, and Kyurem can additionally deal with Zapdos. Choice Scarf Landorus-T will get worn down over the course of a game, so having Defog support in the form of Corviknight, Zapdos, or Kartana is very helpful. Corviknight can also force Mega Latias to use Calm Mind multiple times, which can work well with Punishment Landorus-T.
[SET]
name: Defensive
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: U-turn
move 4: Toxic
item: Rocky Helmet
ability: Intimidate
nature: Impish
evs: 252 HP / 112 Def / 144 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Defensive Landorus-T gives teams an interim measure against threats such as Mega Mawile, Mega Medicham, and Mega Lopunny while also being a good utility Pokemon in general. Landorus-T is capable of setting Stealth Rock for its team, which allows it to make use of the switches that it forces against the aforementioned threats. U-turn is useful, as it lets Landorus-T pivot out of bad matchups against Corviknight and Slowbro. Toxic is used to punish threats such as opposing Landorus-T, Mega Latias, Kyurem, and Slowbro that might look to come in on Landorus-T. Hidden Power Fire is a viable option for teams that need a buffer against Kartana. Rocky Helmet is preferred to punish U-turn from the likes of opposing Landorus-T, Mega Lopunny, and Corviknight, as well as general contact moves from threats such as Mega Medicham and Mega Mawile. 144 Speed EVs allows Landorus-T to outrun Modest Heatran. Alternate Speed investments, such as 16 Speed EVs for Tyranitar or 88 for Bisharp, are viable if you want Landorus-T to have more bulk, but missing out on Modest Heatran can be detrimental considering how common it is.
Defensive Landorus-T finds its place on more offensive builds that appreciate it checking threats such as Mega Medicham and Mega Lopunny while also keeping up momentum and setting Stealth Rock. Landorus-T is very effective at spreading residual damage onto threats such as Landorus-T and Mega Mawile, which fast offensive Pokemon such as Tapu Koko, Mega Lopunny, and Weavile enjoy, as it allows them to get past these threats much more easily. Landorus-T has no recovery and somewhat mediocre special bulk, both of which make it vulnerable to special attackers such as Clefable, Heatran, and Tapu Lele. The good special bulk of Ferrothorn, Mega Scizor, and Slowking makes them decent partners as a result. Other Water-types, such as Tapu Fini and Slowbro, also enjoy Landorus-T's defensive presence. Strong wallbreakers such as Mega Mawile, Ash-Greninja, and Mega Medicham appreciate Landorus-T wearing down faster, frailer offensive Pokemon and safely pivoting them in.
[SET]
name: Suicide Lead
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Explosion
move 3: Swords Dance
move 4: Stealth Rock
item: Focus Sash
ability: Intimidate
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Landorus-T is one of the best suicide leads in the tier due to its powerful Explosion denying attempts from the likes of Corviknight, Zapdos, and Tapu Fini to remove its hazards via Defog, and Swords Dance boosting Earthquake and Explosion can let it take one or more opposing Pokemon down with it. Swords Dance boosts Landorus-T's Attack to titanic levels, allowing Earthquake to do enormous damage to even bulky neutral targets and making Explosion much more powerful, notably allowing it to OHKO Zapdos, Gliscor, and Slowbro while doing over 50% to Corviknight. Focus Sash lets Landorus-T live one hit from full, allowing it to get Stealth Rock up reliably in most situations.
Suicide Lead Landorus-T fits well on hyper offense teams that need to get the game started with a bang and keep Stealth Rock up if possible. Landorus-T is a great lead, as it matches up well against the vast majority of entry hazard removal options. The only notable ways to stop Landorus-T from getting Stealth Rock up are a faster Taunt user, such as Mew, or a Magic Bounce user such as Mega Sableye. Hyper offense teams utilizing Choice Scarf Victini can also make Victini the lead instead, as Landorus-T tends to trade Stealth Rock with opposing Stealth Rock setters, and it can be therefore more valuable at times to deny the opponent's Stealth Rock first and send in Landorus-T next. This pair can also take two foes with it quite easily. Staple sweepers on hyper offense such as Mega Gyarados, Belly Drum Kommo-o, Mega Garchomp, and Rillaboom are good teammates, as they all appreciate Stealth Rock wearing down the opposition and Landorus-T opening up a big hole with Explosion early-game.
[SET]
name: Offensive Stealth Rock
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Swords Dance
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Fly / Stone Edge
item: Flyinium Z / Rockium Z
ability: Intimidate
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Offensive Stealth Rock Landorus-T serves as one of the best pure wallbreakers in the metagame while also being one of the tier's more reliable Stealth Rock setters. It matches up well against common entry hazard removers like Tapu Fini and Corviknight, and it also uses its ability to force out common Pokemon like Heatran and Excadrill to either set Stealth Rock or set up a Swords Dance. Swords Dance Landorus-T is also one of the best Pokemon for breaking stall teams, as the immense power combined with a Z-Move makes checking Landorus-T quite hard for them, even with Unaware Pokemon such as Clefable and Quagsire. Fly with Flyinium Z allows Landorus-T to smash through common defensive Pokemon like Slowbro and Tangrowth after a boost. Stone Edge with Rockium Z, on the other hand, lets Landorus-T directly threaten common Defoggers like Corviknight and Zapdos while also allowing it to break through Rotom-W with greater efficiency. It also still has enough power to OHKO Tapu Fini at +2. Its targets are rather limited, however, which makes Flyinium Z the overall superior choice. The Rockium Z set also faces competition from Garchomp, which sits at a significantly better Speed tier that gives it the jump on Mega Medicham, Mega Charizard X, Mega Charizard Y, and Hydreigon, but Landorus-T retains a niche due to compressing a Ground immunity and getting better damage rolls against Corviknight.
Late-game cleaners are excellent partners for Landorus-T, as they greatly appreciate Landorus-T weakening or straight up removing bulkier Pokemon while also setting up Stealth Rock. Pokemon such as Ash-Greninja, Mega Lopunny, and Tapu Koko make for good teammates in this regard. Ash-Greninja also forms a dangerous hazard-setting duo while appreciating Landorus-T’s ability to defeat Toxapex, Blissey, Tangrowth, and Tapu Fini. U-turn variants of Ash-Greninja can also be employed to get Landorus-T in safely and exploit Pokemon such as Toxapex and Blissey. Mega Lopunny appreciates Landorus-T’s ability to weaken Corviknight and Zapdos, letting them wreak havoc later on. Landorus-T appreciates pivot support that can get it in safely. Blissey, Mega Scizor, and Slowbro are good partners as a result. Magnezone also stands out as an exemplary partner, as it can take out Corviknight and Skarmory for Landorus-T, allowing it to use its Z-Move on other targets. Landorus-T's teammates can be tuned depending on what Z-Crystal it is using. Pokemon that appreciate Pokemon such as Tangrowth, Slowbro, and Hippowdon removed make for good partners for the Flyinium Z variant, with Mega Lopunny working in this regard. Teammates that appreciate the removal or denting of Pokemon such as Corviknight, Rotom-W, and Zapdos work well as partners for the Rockium Z set. These include Kartana, Mega Scizor, and Mega Lopunny.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Hidden Power Ice can be used on the defensive set to threaten opposing Landorus-T and Garchomp while also breaking Hawlucha's Substitutes, but it's difficult to fit on the set unless your team has another Stealth Rock setter. A set utilizing Substitute, Swords Dance, Earthquake, and Smack Down with Groundium Z can be used to take advantage of Body Press Corviknight and Skarmory. Bulky sets carrying Fly with Flyinium Z and U-turn can be useful, as they allow Landorus-T to threaten immediate damage onto offensive Pokemon, such as Mega Medicham and Rillaboom. It also takes advantage of the standard bulky pivot sets tending to lure in Tangrowth. However, the loss of Toxic and Rocky Helmet makes this set worse against Pokemon such as Mega Latias and Mega Mawile.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Water-types**: Slowbro is capable of forcing damage onto Landorus-T and potentially burning it with Scald while also eating unboosted hits rather comfortably, although it fears Toxic and a boosted Supersonic Skystrike. Offensive Water-types such as Ash-Greninja, Manaphy, and Mega Swampert are all capable of threatening Landorus-T with their STAB moves as well, although Ash-Greninja can't switch into any set and the other two must be careful of Z-Moves or Explosion.
**Ice-types and Ice-type Coverage**: Landorus-T's quadruple Ice weakness means that any Ice-type move will deal heavy damage, if not OHKO. Weavile and Kyurem both outspeed non-Choice Scarf Landorus-T and OHKO it with a STAB move. In addition, Pokemon such as Tapu Koko and Mega Medicham can carry Ice-type moves, allowing them to threaten Landorus-T with enormous damage.
**Ground-immune Pokemon**: Corviknight only fears Knock Off from the Choice Scarf and Defensive sets and can proceed to remove Landorus-T's Stealth Rock rather comfortably. Gliscor doesn't even fear Knock Off, but it must be careful of Swords Dance variants. Rotom-W is threatened by a stray Toxic but can force out Landorus-T with its STAB Hydro Pump. Skarmory can use Landorus-T to freely set up Spikes. However, all of these Pokemon must be cautious of the Rockium Z set, and the rare Smack Down variant completely invalidates all of these as answers.
**Residual Damage**: Landorus-T is rather susceptible to residual damage, as it is often tasked with checking several prominent threats on the opposing team. This, in conjunction with a vulnerability to Stealth Rock, leads to Landorus-T being worn down rather easily over the course of a game.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Sputnik, 475916]]
- Quality checked by: [[Guard, 360582], [Jordy, 395754], [Solaros & Lunaris, 471780]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Finland, 517429]]
Last edited:
(Pretty sure I saw a mention).