Landorus Therian Forme
The first time i saw this spread i had mixed feelings, on one hand he got a major nerf to speed (91 really?) and a small but unnoticable nerf to his SpAtk and a giant boost towards his attack 145 is crazy. With no extra bulk i figured he wasn't that great but he grew on me and i feel he has potential.
Type: Ground/ Flying
Ground Flying is a very good combo, Landorus and Gliscor are living proof.
Stats: 89 HP/ 145 Atk/ 90 Def/ 105 SpAtk/ 80 SpDef/ 91 Spe
The stat spread is very interesting as it allows him punch holes in things with that behemoth 145 attack but his speed is quite lackluster.
Ability: Intimidate
His ability is very interesting because it allows him to lower the opponents attack on the switch essentially becoming a bulkier Gliscor. Although not as reliable as Gliscor it allows him to set up in the face of current top tier threats like Terrakion and Tyranitar etc.
Movepool: Theriandorus (you heard it here first) has the sam movepool as Landorus which is a blessing because landorus' boosting moves are even better suited to him. He also gets a few new toys from the move tutor which includes...
Block, Earth Power, Gravity, Iron Tail, Knock Off, Outrage, Sleep Talk, Snore, Stealth Rock, Superpower
The ones that stand out for me are: Earth Power power because coming off a base 105 SpAtk will hurt, Sleep Talk which could make for an interesting ResTalking set, Superpower-not a great deal different from Hammer Arm-, and Stealth Rock for a bulky support 'mon.
Movesets: (feel free to suggest)
Choicorus
Landorus-T (M) @ Choice Band/ Choice Scarf
Trait: Intimidate
EV's: 4 HP/ 252 Atk/ 252 Spe
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)/ Jolly Nature (+Spe, -SAtk)
-Earthquake
-Stone Edge
-Superpower
-U-Turn
Theriandorus' stats scream Choice Band because it helps to patch up the speed or give it some off the bat power rivaling Haxorus. Adamant is the preferred nature here because it's odd base 91 speed means it has no hope of outspeeding Haxorus let alone base 100+ like Volcarona or Salamece. With an Adamant nature and a Choice Band the only real safe switch in is Skarmory and Max Defense Skarmory takes a good 40-47% damage from a Superpower and Specially Defensive Skarm is cleanly 2HKO'd. A Choice Scarf is equally viable as it gives him the jump on pretty much everything unboosted and is going wreck pretty much anything that has the misfortune of meeting it. Unfortunately it is not going to be doing much revenge killing because common booster sit a speed tier painfully far away from his modest base 91. U-Turn is great on both sets as it keeps offensive pressure on your opponent and can Intimidate and jump out of your opponent. A choiced set would seem to be his easiest set to use with the maximum result.
Rock Polish
Landorus-T (M) @ Life Orb/ Expert Belt/ Leftovers
Trait: Intimidate
EV's: 4 HP/ 252 Atk/ 252 Spe
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)/ Jolly Nature (+Spe, -SAtk)
-Rock Polish
-Stone Edge/ Rock Slide
-Earthquake
-Fly/ Outrage/ Focus Blast
After all this talk of his odd speed Rock Polish can patch it up to make him a devastating sweeper. Again an Adamant Nature is recommended as it ouspeeds even scarfed base 115's like Raiku at +2 and since he isn't boosting his attack he really needs as much power as he can get to have maximum potential. Life Orb is the recommended item as it boosts his power without being locked into anything however if the recoil puts you off then an Expert Belt can be used (does it need mentioning that it can fake a choice?) and lastly although not ideal if you really love the recovery or if you are using him on a hail team then leftovers is viable. Standard EdgeQuake coverage makes him a very fearsome sweeper while the last slot is quite open ended. Gamefreak really trolled him by not giving him Acrobatics and leaving Fly as his only Flying STAB but it does nail Breloom and Virizion, notable resistors of EdgeQuake. Outrage nails Dragons and is just a really powerful move while Focus Blast which has a deals 42-50% damage with an Adamant nature however a Naughty nature will 2HKO after SR damage although you lose out on some Special bulk. If using Focus Blast Life Orb is highly recommended. Rock Polish turns him into a great Late-Game sweeper with fearsome brute force and a patched up speed.
Double Dansorus
Landorus-T (M) @ Life Orb/ Expert Belt/ Leftovers
Trait: Intimidate
EV's: 4 HP/ 252 Atk/ 252 Spe
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)/ Jolly Nature (+Spe, -SAtk)
-Rock Polish
-Swords Dance
-Earthquake
-Stone Edge/ Rock Slide/ Fly
If you are willing to forgo some coverage then a Double Dance set can be very potent. If brought in on the right pokemon it can sweep with impunity. Double Dance boosts his Speed to a blazing stat making him very hard to revenge kill while Swords Dance blows his attack through the roof. At +2 he reaches an attack stat of 854 which couple with life orb is ridiculous. I'm sure all of you are familiar with Double Dancing but the idea is to choose the appropriate move for the appropriate scenario. Predict a switch to Starmie simple Rock Polish and OHKO with Earthquake. Conkeldurr (etc)? Swords Dance and OHKO with a +2 Earthquake. Double Dancing makes him very situationally versatile but you lose out on some coverage meaning that Skarmory will wall you to no end. In terms of moves Earthquake is a must while the choice between Stone Edge and Fly is personal preference, Fly gets a Stab meaning it will hit very hard but with Stone Edge it won't take 2 turns to attack
Sub + 3 attacksorus
Landorus-T (M) @ Life Orb/ Expert Belt/ Leftovers
Trait: Intimidate
EV's: 100 HP/ 252 Atk/ 64 SAtk/ 92 Spe
Naughty Nature (+Atk, -SDef)/ Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
-Substitute
-Stone Edge
-Earthquake
-Focus Blast
This set capitalizes on the inevitable switches he will cause making him very difficult to revenge kill or counter. He will also be a great wallbreaker due to his ability to go mixed. Again EdgeQuake is the main attacking moves while Focus Blast hits Skarmory. The given EV spread makes him quite bulky while retaining power he needs. The 92 Speed EV's let him outspeed Standard Tentacruel (probably the only thing that needs outspeeding). The recommended item is Life Orb as it with the given EV's it will 2HKO Standard Skarmory while the rest goes into attack. Ff the recoil puts you off then and alternative spread of 100 HP/ 108 Atk/ 208 SpAtk/ 92 Spe with a Rash nature retains the bulk while still 2HKOing standard Skarm. If you wish to forgo the bulk then a set like 208 Atk/ 208 SpAtk/ 92 Spe is viable. Finally if you are in need for speed then the 100 in HP can easily be shifted to Speed. The recommended set however is given one as it will hit like a truck. This set functions as a great wallbreaker and serves to capitalize on the switches it forces.
Defensorus
Landorus-Therian @ Leftovers
Trait: Intimidate
EVs: 164 HP / 252 Atk / 94 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge/ Rock Slide/ Gravity
- U-turn
And now i finally come to Defensorus... Most of the above movesets are outclassed by Landorus however this one sets him apart. This set utilizes Intimidate to turn him into a bulkier Stealth Rocker similar to previous gen Swampert. He will be a very reliable setter due to his fearsome movepool and stats and fairly bulky. That said this moveset is generally outclassed by Gliscor which now has Roost + Poison Heal + Stealth Rock (as if he wasn't annoying enough already) and the only reason you should choose him over Gliscor is for his ability to punch holes in the enemy. On the top of that he serves as a great switch in to Terrakion, Conkeldurr and other top tier threats. Stealth Rock is on the set for obvious reasons while Earthquake and Stone Edge punch holes in mispredicted Stealth Rocks. U-Turn lets him scout out the opponent as well as nabbing a quick Initmidate giving safer switch ins to frail offensive pokemon like INfernape. Shadow Tag Chandelure (is it on ubers?) is a great partner as it can recieve a U-Turn and trap and kill common switch ins like Ferrothorn and Skarmory. Defensorus is probably his most viable set as it fills a specific niche quite nicely and is not outclassed as much by his competition.
I am still working on a defensorus set
Other Options: Landorus can run gravity over Fly in all the movesets to hit Skarmory and Levitating switch ins for super effective damage on notable users such as Rotom-W. This is a great option to utilize however it will have a noticeable lack of coverage especially with the oncoming plague of TechniLooms. Gravity can also be used in conjunction with Entry Hazards for maximum effectiveness.
Final Thoughts: Theriandorus is completely different to Landorus and should not be compared to him but rather more like a Gyarados/ Haxorus/ Terrakion meets Gliscor or a 5th gen Swampert. He is blessed with some amazing boosting moves and will be a force to reckon with. Sadly however, most of his movesets are outclassed by his genie form so think twice before deciding on him. It is also worth noting that most of his sets can wreck sun and sand teams which gives him a neat niche in rain teams and Anti-Weather teams. He is also considerably bulky when combined with Intimidate but unfortunately his defensive sets are generally outclassed by someone else. Think twice before using Theriandorus because chances are that there is someone sle who can perform the same role better. That said he is still a force to be reckoned with and played correctly should bring his user an abundance of victories (<== see what i did there). Game Freak may not have blessed him with the same obvious boons as his genie friends but the did make a very interesting 'mon in their own unique way.
Suggestions will be appreciated to help our fellow smogonites use him to the best of his ability.
