Landorus-T, the King of VGC



The notorious King of VGC from 2015 is back in the format and as common as ever. With its great Attack stat, above average bulk, excellent typing, and access to Intimidate, Landorus-T looks to reclaim its throne in VGC 2018.
Pros
*Landorus boasts an enormous 145 Attack stat with STAB Earthquake, allowing it to deal heavy damage to multiple targets at once
*Able to run immense bulk investment while retaining damage because of its Attack stat
*Combined with a plethora of viable moves, Landorus can deal Super Effective damage to every single Pokemon in the format
*With Intimidate and 89/90 Defensive bulk, Landorus effectively tanks Physical attacks
*Ground / Flying typing is weak to only two types: Water and Ice, both of which are predominantly Special Attacks
*Enormous Item flexibility; Assault Vest, Choice Scarf, Groundium Z, and Life Orb are all viable options that opponents have to watch out for
*With Life Orb, Special Attacking Landorus becomes viable with its 105 SpA stat
*When there’s a Rock Slide, there’s a way
Cons
*89/80 Special Defense Bulk isn’t terrible, but it also makes Landorus susceptible to many Special Attacks if not running Assault Vest
*With the introduction of Z Moves and Mega Speed Changes, Pokemon such as Metagross and Charizard Y now threaten KO’s on non Scarf Landorus
*Introduction of Tapu Fini and Tapu Bulu threatens and neuters Landorus with STAB moves or Grassy terrain respectively
Movepool
Because of Landorus’ numerous spreads with similar moves, I will stray from my traditional format and describe the moves in this section.
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide / Rock Tomb
- Superpower / Knock Off / U-turn
- U-turn / Protect
*Earthquake is one of the main factors contributing to Landorus’ popularity and usage. A STAB spread move of one of the best offensive types, Earthquake allows Landorus to deal hefty damage.
*Rock Slide, arguably the best move in VGC and healthiest move for competitive play, provides not only a strong Rock type move, but also has a 30% to flinch targets it hits. Everyone has been haxed out or bailed out by Rock Slide at some point in VGC.
*Rock Tomb is an option for those seeking a form of speed control, dealing the same amount of damage as a spread Rock Slide would. Used primarily to bypass Wide Guard, Rock Tomb is also used by slower, bulkier variants to control speed.
*The Third moveslot presents the most variance in Landorus’ movepool.
*Superpower allows Landorus to hit Pokemon such as Heatran, Kangaskhan, Snorlax, and Tyranitar without having to worry about damaging allies with Earthquake
*Knock Off, a better move than it was in 2018 due to the introduction of Pinch Berries, is also useful for effectively knocking 50% HP off of opponents.
*U-turn is run in this slot if you are running Landorus with Protect; U-turn is a pivotal move that allows Landorus to reposition and apply more Intimidates
*U-turn, as stated above, is used for better positioning and to escape Shadow Tag that is increasingly common on teams. U-turn also helps pivot Landorus away from Ice type moves
*In general, you always want to run Earthquake, U-turn, and a Rock Type move.
Set #1 - Assault Vest Landorus-T
Landorus-Therian @ Assault Vest  
Ability: Intimidate  
Level: 50  
EVs: 116 HP / 36 Atk / 4 Def / 156 SpD / 196 Spe  
Adamant / Jolly Nature  
- Earthquake  
- Rock Slide / Rock Tomb
- Superpower / Knock Off
- U-turn
*Currently the most common item on Landorus, Assault Vest Landorus aims to survive attacks
*With 116 / 156 SpD, Landorus can survive:
*+164 SpA Tapu Lele Hydro Pump 87.5% of the time
*+2 252 SpA Milotic Scald 87.5% of the time
*252 SpA Tapu Lele Z Psychic in Psychic Terrain 93.8% of the time
*+252 SpA Choice Specs Tapu Lele Psychic in Psychic Terrain 100% of the time
*+252 SpA Ice Beam from both Cresselia / Porygon2 100% of the time
*+252 SpA Charizard Y Overheat in the Sun 100% of the time
*+36 Attack allows Landorus to still pick up KO’s on 4/0 Heatran 100% of the time even after an Intimidate Drop
*However, if -1 +36 Atk Landorus Earthquakes a 252/0 Heatran, it’s only a 37.5% to KO
*-1 +36 Attack also KO’s Tyranitar with Superpower, however misses the KO on Mega Tyranitar
*196 Speed EVs allow neutral nature Landorus to hit 136 speed, an important number
*136 Speed means that after one Icy Wind, Landorus will outspeed all Pokemon 203 Speed and below, notably Pheromosa, Tapu Koko and Gengar
*196 Speed EVs allow +Spe Landorus to hit 149 speed, outspeeding Modest max speed Tapu Lele by two points
*196 Speed therefore also outspeeds Pokemon specifically EV’d to outspeed 252 Spe Tapu Lele by one point
*Assault Vest Landorus, while still outputting reasonable damage, is more about ensuring that Landorus lasts on the field as long as possible to cycle Intimidates. It also allows Landorus to tank SpA Z Moves from Pokemon such as Tapu Lele or Charizard Y
*There exist even slower, bulkier spreads for AV Landorus that invest little to nothing in Speed at all. However, I’m not a fan of Landorus with little to no speed investment.
Set #2 - Choice Scarf Landorus-T
Landorus-Therian (M) @ Choice Scarf  
Ability: Intimidate  
Level: 50  
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 4 SpD / 244 Spe  
Adamant Nature  
- Earthquake  
- Rock Slide
- Superpower / Knock Off
- U-turn
*The good old VGC 2015 classic, Scarf Landorus is once again available for us to abuse again
*In this set, Landorus aims to hit as hard and as fast as possible; while not nearly as bulky as Assault Vest, Choice Scarf allows Landorus a multitude of options
*Landorus threatens outright KO’s on Tapu Koko and Mega Gengar before either can move
*Scarf Rock Slide, notoriously one of the best strategies in VGC, deals chip damage to both opponents with a ~40% chance to flinch at least one Pokemon
*While you could in theory have a fast Rock Tomb user for speed control, why are you using Choice Scarf Landorus if not for Rock Slide
*Being incredibly fast also means that Landorus can U-Turn to safety before receiving any Super Effective attacks; however, be careful not to U-Turn into a Pokemon with Protect
*It is generally advisable to U-Turn into Pokemon that do not normally carry Protect / will likely not Protect to attack Landorus, even if it does less damage
*For those wondering, 244 Spe Scarf Landorus hits the same speed as 252 Spe Scarf Landorus because Pokemon rounds down. I took the 8 EVs to give an extra point in Defense and Special Defense instead.
Set #3 - Groundium Z Landorus-T
Landorus-Therian @ Groundium Z  
Ability: Intimidate  
Level: 50  
EVs: 236 HP / 36 Atk / 20 Def / 52 SpD / 148 Spe  
Adamant Nature  
- Earthquake  
- Rock Slide / Rock Tomb
- U-turn   
- Protect
*Because Groundium Z provides a nuke of damage, EV’s in attack are traded for added bulk for Landorus to get Z Earthquake off
*236 / 20 Defense allows Landorus to survive
*-1 252 Atk Tough Claws Mega Metagross Ice Punch 75% of the time
*-1 +252 Atk Parental Bond Mega Kangaskhan Ice Punch 95% of the time
*-1 +252 Atk Tyranitar Ice Punch 100% of the time
*236 / 52 Special Defense allows Landorus to survive 252 SpA Life Orb Tapu Koko HP Ice 93.8% of the time
*+36 Attack Landorus still does hefty damage after an Intimidate
*-1 +36 Atk Landorus Tectonic Rage KO’s Mega Metagross 75% of the time
*-1 +36 Atk Landorus Tectonic Rage KO’s 252 / 0 Shuca Berry Heatran 100% of the time
*-1 +36 Atk Landorus Tectonic Rage KO’s Tapu Koko and Mega Manectric as well
*While Earthquake and U-turn are still required, Rock Slide can be swapped for Rock Tomb for speed control against opposing Landorus
*148 Speed EVs allow Landorus to outspeed Timid 252 Spe Pelipper and any Pokemon aiming for the 129 Speed stat
*After Rock Tomb or Icy Wind, Landorus also outspeeds Mega Salamence and Naganadel
Set #4 - Special Landorus
Landorus-Therian @ Expert Belt
Ability: Intimidate  
Level: 50  
EVs: 36 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA / 20 SpD / 196 Spe  
Modest Nature  
- Earth Power  
- Stone Edge / Sludge Bomb
- Hidden Power [Ice]  
- Protect
*A Landorus set developed by Angel Miranda in late 2015, Special Landorus proves to be equally viable in 2018
*Because Special Landorus is so rarely used, you can surprise people and often net a KO right off the bat
*Earth Power deals surprising amounts of damage, and with either Expert Belt or Life Orb, can pick up clean knock outs on Mega Metagross, Shuca Berry Heatran, and Manectric
*Stone Edge is an option if you are weak to Charizard Y, as -1 0- Attack Expert Belt Landorus-T Stone Edge still KO’s 100 / 100 Mega Charizard Y 81% of the time
*36 / 20 SpD Landorus also lives a +252 SpA Mega Charizard Y Heat Wave in the Sun
*Sludge Bomb can replace Stone Edge on teams that have decent answers for Charizard, allowing Landorus to outright KO Tapu Bulu and 2HKO both Tapu Lele and Tapu Fini
*Hidden Power Ice allows Landorus to KO any Landorus below 100 / 68 SpD, as cleanly KO 4/0 SpD Mega Salamence
*Life Orb can be run in place of Expert Belt for those seeking an extra bit of power to KO bulky Pokemon such as AV Landorus.
*However, Expert Belt is generally a better item for Special Landorus as you are not running much bulk to begin with. Recoil from Life Orb can often KO Landorus
*196 Speed EVs, as mentioned in the Assault Vest set, allow neutral nature Landorus to hit 136 speed, an important number
*136 Speed means that after one Icy Wind, Landorus will outspeed all Pokemon 203 Speed and below, notably Pheromosa, Tapu Koko and Gengar
*Because of its single target damage, Special Landorus is especially useful on teams that wish to run Tapu Bulu as well
Using Landorus Therian
Because of its incredible flexibility as well as Intimidate, Landorus easily fits itself onto many teams.
*When using Landorus, be wary of Pokemon such as Porygon2, Cresselia, Tapu Fini, and Milotic
*All four of these Pokemon are bulky enough to tank Landorus’ damage and threaten KO’s in return
*Landorus is typically ran with at least one Flying / Levitating Pokemon, so that it may Earthquake freely next to its ally
*Using U-Turn to repeatedly cycle Intimidates is one of Landorus’ chief responsibilities in 2018, a heavily offensive Z move format
*Landorus finds ways to integrate itself into almost every team, but notable team cores with Landorus include:
*Tapu Fini / Tapu Lele +  Zapdos + Landorus
*Charizard Y + Landorus + Cresselia
*Tapu Bulu + Manectric + Special Landorus

When in doubt, click Rock Slide.

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