CAP gliscor

[uppa]

[SET]
Defensive Hazard Setter (Gliscor) @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 244 HP / 36 Def / 228 SpD OR
244 HP / 248 Def / 16 SpD
Tera Type: Water / Ghost
Careful / Impish Nature
- Spikes / Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Toxic / Knock Off / U-turn
- Protect

[SET COMMENTS]
Set Details
===================

Due to its unmatched longevity and myriad utility options, Gliscor establishes itself as one of the most effective hazard setters in the format. Its ability to outlast common defensive Pokemon like Arghonaut and Venomicon and threaten the likes of Galarian Slowking and Garganacl grants Gliscor numerous opportunities to set hazards throughout a game. Spikes is the primary hazard of choice, leveraging Gliscor's ability to generate free turns in order to set more layers of Spikes. Gliscor may choose to run Stealth Rock instead, either when paired with a Spikes setter or with U-turn for a less passive set overall. Toxic allows Gliscor to threaten Pokemon by putting them on a timer, such as Zamazenta, Great Tusk, Cresceidon, Arghonaut, Rillaboom, and Ogerpon-W. This synergizes with Protect, allowing Gliscor to force chip damage on poisoned targets that threaten it out. Note that Gliscor sets running Toxic may find themselves walled and taken advantage of by Pokemon like Equilibra, Venomicon, and Air Balloon Gholdengo. For this reason, Gliscor may run Knock Off or U-turn in order to make progress or regain momentum in these matchups. Gliscor lacking Toxic, however, are unable to effectively threaten bulky setup sweepers like Zamazenta, Dragonite, and Revenankh. Protect is mandatory on every Gliscor set, enabling its longevity by giving it a free turn to recover with Poison Heal and having the benefit of scouting the opponent for coverage that may threaten it. A specially defensive spread grants Gliscor the ability to check special attackers like Raging Bolt, Iron Moth, Iron Crown, and Dragapult while retaining a positive matchup versus physical attackers like Hemogoblin, Cinderace, Zamazenta, and Kingambit by virtue of its typing. A physically defensive spread grants Gliscor more consistency against the physical threats it seeks to punish and notably lets it spread Toxic in the face of poor matchups like Great Tusk, Dragonite, and Ogerpon-W. Water is Gliscor's primary choice of Tera type on specially defensive sets, granting it improved matchups versus Darkrai, Deoxys-S, Cresceidon, Chuggalong, Walking Wake, and Gholdengo. Tera Ghost can be used on physically defensive sets in order to block Rapid Spin from Great Tusk, at the cost of worsening matchups against the likes of Roaring Moon, Gholdengo, and Dragapult. The given physically defensive spread with 16 Special Defense EVs allows Gliscor to take a Life Orb-boosted Psycho Boost from Deoxys-S and a +1 Dragon Pulse from Raging Bolt from full health. It's specially defensive EV spread with 36 Defense EVs allows Gliscor to survive Ivy Cudgel from Ogerpon-W from full health, and both spreads run 244 HP EVs to maximize Gliscor's recovery from Poison Heal.

Gliscor can fit on any team style bar hyper offense, but it thrives the most on balance teams that appreciate its ability to soak up hits, set entry hazards, and spread Toxic or Knock Off to whittle down the opposing team. Teams will often partition Spikes and Stealth Rock between Gliscor and another Pokemon, like Stealth Rock on Garganacl or Venomicon or Spikes on Arghonaut and Skarmory. Gliscor may appreciate a spinblocker to secure hazards, with partners like Kitsunoh and Air Balloon Gholdengo denying Rapid Spin from Equilibra or Great Tusk, respectively, and the latter blocking Defog attempts from Corviknight. Other forms of hazard removal, like Cinderace's Court Change and Rapid Spin from Mollux, are easily denied by Gliscor itself, forcing Terastallization from the latter. While it often runs Knock Off itself, teams using Gliscor often use Knock Off from Arghonaut, Weavile, or Roaring Moon to force hazard damage on resilient Heavy-Duty Boots users like Cresceidon and Venomicon. Gliscor is often unable to fully wall or punish wallbreakers on its own, and it appreciates the presence of bulky Water or Ice-resistant Pokemon like Arghonaut, Mollux, and Cresceidon to form a defensive core. Pokemon that are heavily reliant on their items to function, such as Krilowatt, Cresceidon, and Mollux, heavily appreciate Gliscor’s ability to act as a consistent switch-in to Knock Off.

[SET]
Swords Dance (Gliscor) @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 244 HP / 36 Def / 228 SpD OR
244 HP / 248 Def / 16 SpD
Tera Type: Water / Normal
Careful / Impish Nature
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Knock Off / Facade
- Protect

Swords Dance Gliscor sets itself apart from other sweepers like Kingambit and Zamazenta with its utility over the course of a game and ability to threaten a sweep multiple times. With its superb defensive profile, Swords Dance Gliscor is able to take advantage of lower-paced teams giving it setup opportunities and trade positively into offensive structures. Being able to set up Swords Dance without risk in the face of opposing Gliscor, Venomicon, Garganacl, Mollux, Clefable, and Alomomola, among others, allows it to punish passive play and break through defensive cores with its near-unresisted coverage. Knock Off is the secondary move of choice for Gliscor, as it allows Gliscor to make progress against Arghonaut and Cresceidon, more easily pressure Equilibra, and break through Air Balloon Gholdengo. Facade is an equally potent choice, allowing Gliscor to break through Venomicon and opposing Gliscor with greater ease, and provide strong neutral coverage as a mid-ground to hit most Tera types seeking to avoid Earthquake, like Tera Grass Iron Moth and Tera Flying Kingambit, Roaring Moon, Chuggalong, and Mollux. Protect is mandatory, as it grants Gliscor a free turn to activate Poison Heal and the ability to safely recover throughout a game. Water is Gliscor's most effective Tera type, flipping its weaknesses to Water and Ice and letting it take most hits neutrally while leveraging its good bulk. Tera Normal is a valid option for sets running Facade, greatly boosting Gliscor's wallbreaking capabilities and removing both of its weaknesses. A specially defensive spread grants Gliscor more opportunities to set up throughout a game and limits the amount of Pokemon that force it out, but a physically defensive spread allows Gliscor to more comfortably take on physical sweepers like Kingambit, Bulk Up Revenankh, and Hemogoblin. The given physically defensive spread with 16 Special Defense EVs allows Gliscor to take a Life Orb-boosted Psycho Boost from Deoxys-S and a +1 Dragon Pulse from Raging Bolt from full health. Its specially defensive EV spread with 36 Defense EVs allows Gliscor to tank Ivy Cudgel from Ogerpon-W from full health, and both spreads run 244 HP EVs to maximize Gliscor's recovery from Poison Heal.

Balanced, bulky offense, and even stall teams seeking a bulky late-game sweeper appreciate Swords Dance Gliscor. While it lacks the utility of its Spikes set, Swords Dance Gliscor remains an incredible asset for defensively oriented teams that need a way of breaking down opposing defensive teams. Gliscor pairs well with teammates that can stack hazards and spread Knock Off throughout a game and check the Pokemon that commonly force it out. Arghonaut is an obvious choice for this role, as it covers Gliscor's poor matchups into Weavile, Equilibra, Darkrai, and Hisuian Samurott, but other hazard setters like Ting-Lu, Venomicon, and Clefable are viable companions. Swords Dance Gliscor has a tendency to be forced out by Encore users like Cresceidon and Iron Valiant, so teammates like Mollux, Ogerpon-W, and Gholdengo serve well to punish those particular matchups. Gliscor appreciates offensive teammates to help break down its checks, such as Kyurem, Darkrai, Iron Crown, and Raging Bolt targeting Pokemon such as Arghonaut, Skarmory, and Great Tusk. Much like its hazard setter set, Gliscor provides a reliable absorber of Knock Off to benefit item-reliant teammates like Cresceidon, Galarian Slowking, Moltres, and Mollux. Additionally, Swords Dance Gliscor plays an important role on stall teams, spreading Knock Off and exerting offensive pressure on Pokemon with great longevity, such as Alomomola, Garganacl, Clefable, and opposing Gliscor, which are otherwise difficult for stall teams to remove. Pairing Gliscor with an Ogerpon-W check such as Hydrapple, Sinistcha, or Amoonguss forms a potent core, which should be used alongside stall staples like Dondozo, Blissey, Alomomola, Corviknight, Skarmory, and Clodsire.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
===================

Swords Dance Gliscor may find it worth forgoing Earthquake in favor of both Facade and Knock Off on the same set. Doing so allows it to threaten all of Venomicon, Air Balloon Gholdengo, Arghonaut, and Equilibra while retaining Facade's consistency. While dropping Gliscor's only STAB option makes it less immediately threatening towards Galarian Slowking, Chuggalong and Garganacl, it results in a set that combines both the progress making of Knock Off with Facade's ability to hit most targets neutrally regardless of their Tera type, making it a valid alternative as a late-game sweeper.

Both Gliscor sets may find it beneficial to run Tera Dragon in order to patch up a team defensively against Ogerpon-W. While not as all-encompassing as Tera Water—notably worsening Gliscor's ability to deal with Hemogoblin and Chuggalong—Tera Dragon ensures Gliscor can safely punish Ogerpon-W with Toxic or Facade without risking a 2HKO from Power Whip or Ivy Cudgel.

Entry hazard setter Gliscor has the option of running Poison Jab as its main attacking move to benefit stall teams. This allows Gliscor to punish Hatterene in order to set Spikes while also letting it directly threaten Ogerpon-W and fish for poison throughout a game. Poison Jab is almost exclusively run with Knock Off, due to the former compressing the damage and utility of Gliscor's usual Earthquake + Toxic combination. Another unique benefit is Poison Jab's greater PP count compared to Earthquake and Toxic, allowing it to outlast opposing Gliscor in the event of a PP stall war.

Taunt is a flexible option for Gliscor on stall teams that allows Gliscor to deny hazards from opposing Arghonaut, Gliscor, Skarmory, and Ting-Lu, prevent pivoting attempts from Galarian Slowking and Malaconda, and stop Alomomola, Clefable, Venomicon, and others from using their healing moves. While it comes with the opportunity cost of losing Knock Off or Toxic, it can serve as a potent means of denying progress from slower balance teams.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Special Wallbreakers**: Even with full special defense investment, Gliscor is unable to stay in versus many of the tier's wallbreakers, including Darkrai, Deoxys-S, Primarina, Walking Wake, and Kyurem.

**Setup Sweepers**: While Gliscor threatens progress on most Pokemon with its combination of Toxic and Earthquake, many setup sweepers are able to circumvent Gliscor's options by way of their typing, Tera, or item choice. Air Balloon Gholdengo, Taunt Roaring Moon, Cawmodore, and Nasty Plot Venomicon all have the ability to use Gliscor as setup fodder, among others.

**Ice-type Coverage**: Some Pokemon that could be threatened or walled by Gliscor in theory, such as Great Tusk, Dragonite, and Meowscarada, commonly run coverage to target Gliscor's Ice weakness.

**Miasmaw**: Miasmaw is a major annoyance for Gliscor, as Neutralizing Gas shuts off Poison Heal and causes Gliscor to take massive poison damage, which usually forces it out. However, Miasmaw cannot consistently switch in on Gliscor due to its physical frailty and hazard weakness.

**Opposing Gliscor**: Swords Dance Gliscor is able to use opposing hazard setter Gliscor as setup fodder. Additionally, two hazard setter Gliscor facing off often results in a stalemate, where neither is encouraged to switch out and three layers of spikes are set on each side of the field. This can result in a PP stall war between the two Gliscor, resulting in the loss of one Gliscor and the other's resources being greatly limited.

[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/uppa.583322/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/da-pizza-man.221710/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/lasen.273339/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/lumari.232216/

 

[Da Pizza Man]

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[SET]
Spikes Defensive Hazard Setter (Gliscor) @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 244 HP / 36 Def / 228 SpD
244 HP / 248 Def / 16 SpD
Tera Type: Water / Ghost
Careful / Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Spikes / Stealth Rock (Swap these two and Earthquake in the move order, the defining moves of your set should always be listed first)
- Toxic / Knock Off / U-Turn
- Protect

[SET COMMENTS]
Set Details
===================

Due to its unmatched longevity and myriad utility options, Gliscor establishes itself as one of the most effective hazard setters in the format. Its ability to outlast common defensive Pokemon like Arghonaut and Venomicon and threaten the likes of Galarian Slowking-Galar and Garganacl grants Gliscor numerous opportunities to set hazards throughout a game. While Gliscor's immediate power is relatively poor compared to other bulky ground-types like Landorus-Therian and Great Tusk, Earthquake is still mandatory in order to dissuade switchins from Pokemon like Mollux, Slowking-Galar, Cinderace, and Chuggalong. (Not true as eq-less sets have become a thing recently, also even if it was this sentence is kinda redundant). Spikes is are the primary hazard of choice, leveraging Gliscor's ability to generate free turns in order to set more layers of Spikes. Gliscor may choose to run Stealth Rock instead, either when paired with a Spikes setter or with U-turn for a less passive set overall. Gliscor sets running Toxic may find themselves walled and taken advantage of by Pokemon like Equilibra, Venomicon, and Air Balloon Gholdengo. For this reason, Gliscor may run Knock Off or U-Turn in order to make progress or regain momentum in these matchups. Gliscor lacking Toxic, however, are unable to effectively threaten Pokemon like Arghonaut and Dragonite. (Talk a bit more about why you would want to run Toxic on Gliscor, I really don’t think you should be talking about mostly the negatives for a move that is your first slash). Protect is mandatory on nearly every Gliscor set, enabling its longevity by giving it a free turn to recover with Poison Heal, and having the benefit of scouting the opponent for coverage that may threaten it. Additionally, Protect allows Gliscor to force Toxic chip damage on its target. A specially defensive spread allows Gliscor the ability to threaten special attackers like Raging Bolt, Cresceidon, Iron Moth, Iron Crown, and Dragapult while retaining a positive matchup versus physical attackers like Hemogoblin, Cinderace, Zamazenta, and Kingambit by virtue of its typing. A physically defensive spread grants Gliscor more consistency against the physical threats it seeks to punish, and notably lets it spread Toxic in the face of poor matchups like Great Tusk, Dragonite, and Ogerpon-Wellspring. Water is Gliscor's primary choice of tera on specially-defensive sets, granting it improved matchups versus Darkrai, Deoxys-Speed, Cresciedon, Chuggalong, Walking Wake and Gholdengo. Tera Ghost, while niche, is usually can be (If it’s good enough to get a slash, it should not be described as niche imo) used on physically-defensive sets in order to block Rapid Spin from Great Tusk, at the cost of worsening matchups like Roaring Moon, Gholdengo, and Dragapult.

Gliscor can fit on any team style bar Hyper Offense, but it thrives the most on balance teams that appreciate its ability to soak up hits, set hazards, and spread Toxic or Knock Off to whittle down the opposing team. Teams will often partition Spikes and Stealth Rock between Gliscor and another Pokemon, like Stealth Rock on Garganacl or Venomicon, or Spikes on Arghonaut. Gliscor may appreciate a spinblocker to secure hazards, with partners like Trace Kitsunoh (Kitsunoh is always running trace, so this is kinda redundant) or Air Balloon Gholdengo denying Rapid Spin from Equilibra or Great Tusk respectively. Other forms of hazard removal, like Cinderace's Court Change or Rapid Spin from Mollux are easily denied by Gliscor itself, forcing a tera from the latter. While it often runs Knock Off itself, teams using Gliscor often use Knock Off from Arghonaut, Weavile, or Roaring Moon to force hazard damage on resilient Heavy-Duty Boots users like Cresciedon and Venomicon. Gliscor is often unable to fully wall or punish wallbreakers on its own, and appreciates the presence of bulky Water or Ice-resistant Pokemon like Arghonaut, Mollux, and Cresciedon to form a defensive core. Pokemon who are heavily reliant on their items to function, such as Krilowatt, Cresceidon, and Mollux heavily appreciate Gliscor’s ability to act as a consistent switch-in to Knock Off. (You can use different examples if you like, it’s up to you, I just really want you to emphasize how good of a Knock Absorber Gliscor is).

[SET]
Swords Dance (Gliscor) @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 244 HP / 36 Def / 228 SpD
244 HP / 248 Def / 16 SpD
Tera Type: Water / Normal
Careful / Impish Nature
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Knock Off / Facade
- Protect

Swords Dance Gliscor sets itself apart from other win conditions like Kingambit and Zamazenta with its utility over the course of a game and ability to threaten a sweep multiple times. Utilitizing the same defensive profile as its Spikes set, Swords Dance Gliscor is able to take advantage of slower-paced teams giving it setup opportunities and trade positively into offensive structures. Being able to risklessly set up Swords Dance without risk in the face of opposing Gliscor, Venomicon, Garganacl, Mollux. Clefable, and Alomomola, among others, allows it to punish passive play and break through defensive cores with its near-unresisted coverage. Knock Off is the secondary move of choice for Gliscor, as it allows Gliscor to make progress against Arghonaut and Cresceidon, more easily pressure Equilibra, and break through Air Balloon Gholdengo. Facade is an equally potent choice, allowing Gliscor to break through Venomicon and opposing Gliscor with greater ease, and provide strong neutral coverage as a mid-ground to hit most Tera types seeking to avoid Earthquake, like Tera Grass Iron Moth, and Tera Flying Kingambit, Roaring Moon, Chuggalong, and Mollux. Protect is mandatory, as it grants Gliscor a free turn to activate Poison Heal, and the ability to safely recover throughout a game. Water is Gliscor's most effective tera type, flipping its weaknesses to Water and Ice, and taking most hits neutrally while leveraging its good bulk. Tera Normal is a valid option for sets running Facade, greatly boosting Gliscor's wallbreaking capabilities and removing both of its weaknesses. A specially defensive spread grants Gliscor more opportunities to set up throughout a game and limits the amount of Pokemon that force it out, but a physically defensive spread allows Gliscor to more comfortably take on physical sweepers like Kingambit, Bulk Up Revanankh, and Hemogoblin.

Balanced spike-stacking Balance and Bulky Offense teams seeking a bulky win condition appreciate Swords Dance Gliscor. While it lacks the utility of its Spikes set, Swords Dance Gliscor remains an incredible asset for defensively-oriented teams that need a way of breaking down opposing defensive teams. Gliscor pairs well with teammates that can stack hazards and spread Knock Off throughout a game, and check the Pokemon that commonly force it out. Arghonaut is an obvious choice for this role, as it covers Gliscor's poor matchup into Weavile, Equilibra, Darkrai, and Hisuian Samurott-Hisui, but other hazard setters like Ting-Lu, Venomicon, and Clefable are viable companions. Swords Dance Gliscor has a tendency to be forced out by eEncore users like Creceidon and Iron Valiant, so teammates like Mollux, Ogerpon-Wellspring, and Gholdengo serve well to punish those particular matchups. Gliscor appreciates offensive teammates to help break down its checks, such as Kyurem, Darkrai, Iron Crown, and Raging Bolt targeting Pokemon such as Arghonaut, Skarmory, and Great Tusk. Pokemon who are heavily reliant on their items to function, such as Krilowatt, Cresceidon, and Mollux heavily appreciate Gliscor’s ability to act as a consistent switch-in to Knock Off. (You can use different examples if you like, it’s up to you, I just really want you to emphasize how good of a Knock Absorber Gliscor is).

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
===================

Swords Dance Gliscor may find it worth forgoing Earthquake in favor of both Facade and Knock Off on the same set. Doing so allows it to threaten all of Venomicon, Air Balloon Gholdengo, Arghonaut, and Equilibra while retaining Facade's consistency. While dropping Gliscor's only STAB option makes it less immediately threatening towards Galarian Slowking-Galar, Chuggalong and Garganacl, it results in a set that combines both the progress-making of Knock Off with Facade's ability to hit most targets neutrally regardless of their tera type, making it a valid alternative as a win condition. (Want you to add a couple things here. First of all, add a mention of Tera Dragon, as it’s helpful for teams that struggle against Waterpon at the cost of worsening its matchup into hemo. Secondly, bring up Poison Jab as an alternative to Toxic on Stall teams, as it allows Gliscor to spread poison while also being able to hit Hatterene).

Checks and Counters
===================

**Special Wallbreakers**: Even with full special defense investment, Gliscor is unable to stay in versus many of the tier's wallbreakers, including Darkrai, Deoxys-Speed, Primarina, Walking Wake, and Kyurem.

**Setup Sweepers**: While Gliscor threatens progress on most Pokemon with its combination of Toxic and Earthquake, many setup sweepers are able to circumvent Gliscor's options by way of their typing, tera, or item choice. Air Balloon Gholdengo, Taunt Roaring Moon, Tera Flying Chuggalong, (I’m ngl, I haven’t seen this in a while) and Nasty Plot Venomicon all have the ability to use Gliscor as setup fodder, among others.

**Ice-type Coverage**: Some Pokemon that could be threatened or walled by Gliscor in theory, such as Great Tusk, Dragonite, and Meowscarada (Not entirely sure mewoscarda is this is the best example tbh, but gking usually forgoes Ice-type coverage, so I don’t really like it here) Slowking-Galar, commonly run coverage to target Gliscor's Ice weakness.

**Miasmaw**: Miasmaw is a major annoyance for Gliscor, as Neutralizing Gas shuts off Poison Heal and causes Gliscor to take massive poison damage, which usually forces it out. However, Miasmaw cannot consistently switch-in on Gliscor due to its physical frailty and hazard weakness.

**Opposing Gliscor**: (Yes I’m serious about this. SD Gliscor uses hazard setter Gliscor as set-up fodder, and two hazard setter Gliscors are unable to deal any consistent damage to each other, which generally forces one/both of them out or for them to engage in a PP Stall War).

[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/uppa.583322/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/da-pizza-man.221710/
Grammar checked by:

QC 1/2
Very well done, sorry for the delay on this

 

[uppa]

implemented, ty for the kind words

 

[kenn]

amQC! take it or leave it ;)
add remove comment

My 1st ever amQC so don't be mean to me :(

[SET]
Defensive Hazard Setter (Gliscor) @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 244 HP / 36 Def / 228 SpD
244 HP / 248 Def / 16 SpD
Tera Type: Water / Ghost
Careful / Impish Nature
- Spikes / Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Toxic / Knock Off / U-Turn
- Protect

[SET COMMENTS]
Set Details
===================

Due to its unmatched longevity and myriad utility options, Gliscor establishes itself as one of the most effective hazard setters in the format. Its ability to outlast common defensive Pokemon like Arghonaut and Venomicon and threaten the likes of Galarian Slowking and Garganacl grants Gliscor numerous opportunities to set hazards throughout a game. Spikes are the primary hazard of choice, leveraging Gliscor's ability to generate free turns in order to set more layers of Spikes. Gliscor may choose to run Stealth Rock instead, either when paired with a Spikes setter or with U-turn for a less passive set overall. Toxic is an important utility option that allows Gliscor to threaten put Pokemon that take negligible damage from Earthquake or Knock Off, such as Zamazenta, Great Tusk, Cresceidon, Arghonaut, Rillaboom, and Ogerpon-Wellspring, Dragonite, and Revenankh, on a timer. Gliscor sets running Toxic may find themselves walled and taken advantage of by Pokemon like Equilibra, Venomicon, and Air Balloon Gholdengo. For this reason, Gliscor may run Knock Off or U-Turn in order to make progress or regain momentum in these matchups. Gliscor lacking Toxic, however, are unable to effectively threaten bulky setup sweepers like Zamazenta, Dragonite, and Revanankh. (I kinda roped this in with the earlier statement about what Toxic does as it feels very cyclical when reading it.) Protect is mandatory on every Gliscor set, as it allows it to proc Poison Heal with Toxic Orb, enablinges its longevity by giving it a free turn to recover with Poison Heal, and having s the benefit of scouting the opponent for coverage that may threaten it. Additionally, Protect allows Gliscor to force Toxic chip damage on its target. A specially defensive spread allows Gliscor the ability to threaten special attackers like Raging Bolt, Cresceidon, Iron Moth, Iron Crown, and Dragapult while retaining a positive matchup versus physical attackers like Hemogoblin, Cinderace, Zamazenta, and Kingambit by virtue of its typing. A physically defensive spread grants Gliscor more consistency against the physical threats it seeks to punish, and notably lets it spread Toxic in the face of poor matchups like Great Tusk, Dragonite, and Ogerpon-Wellspring. Water is Gliscor's primary choice of tera on specially-defensive sets, granting it improved matchups versus Darkrai, Deoxys-Speed, Cresciedon, Chuggalong, Walking Wake and Gholdengo. Tera Ghost can be used on physically-defensive sets in order to block Rapid Spin from Great Tusk, at the cost of worsening matchups like Roaring Moon, Gholdengo, and Dragapult.

Gliscor can fit on any team style bar Hyper Offense, but it thrives the most on balance teams that appreciate its ability to soak up hits, set entry hazards, and spread Toxic or Knock Off to whittle down the opposing team. Teams will often partition Spikes and Stealth Rock between Gliscor and another Pokemon, like Stealth Rock on Garganacl or Venomicon, or Spikes on Arghonaut. Gliscor may appreciate a spinblocker to secure hazards, with partners like Kitsunoh or Air Balloon Gholdengo denying Rapid Spin from Equilibra or Great Tusk respectively. Other forms of hazard removal, like Cinderace's Court Change or Rapid Spin from Mollux are easily denied by Gliscor itself, forcing a tera from the latter. While it often runs Knock Off itself, teams using Gliscor often use Knock Off from Arghonaut, Weavile, or Roaring Moon to force hazard damage on resilient Heavy-Duty Boots users like Cresciedon and Venomicon. Gliscor is often unable to fully wall or punish wallbreakers on its own, and appreciates the presence of bulky Water or Ice-resistant Pokemon like Arghonaut, Mollux, and Cresciedon to form a defensive core. Pokemon who are heavily reliant on their items to function, such as Krilowatt, Cresceidon, and Mollux heavily appreciate Gliscor’s ability to act as a consistent switch-in to Knock Off.

[SET]
Swords Dance (Gliscor) @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 244 HP / 36 Def / 228 SpD
244 HP / 248 Def / 16 SpD
Tera Type: Normal / Water*
Careful / Impish Nature
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Facade / Knock Off*
- Protect

*I rearranged this as the more the meta develops, the more I truly believe being Normal Tera is more beneficial as with Kyurem back, you are neutral to all of its hits and you gain STAB on Facade. Also being Normal Tera avoids losing to Hex Dragapult and Gholdengo

Swords Dance Gliscor sets itself apart from other win conditions like Kingambit and Zamazenta with its utility over the course of a game and ability to threaten a sweep multiple times. Utilizing the same defensive profile as its Spikes set, Swords Dance Gliscor is able to take advantage of slower-paced teams giving it setup opportunities and trade positively into offensive structures. Being able to set up Swords Dance without risk in the face of opposing Gliscor, Venomicon, Garganacl, Mollux. Clefable, and Alomomola, among others, allows it to punish passive play and break through defensive cores with its near-unresisted coverage. Knock Off is the secondary move of choice for Gliscor, as it allows Gliscor to make progress against Arghonaut and Cresceidon, more easily pressure Equilibra, and break through Air Balloon Gholdengo. Facade is an equally potent choice, allowing Gliscor to break through Venomicon and opposing Gliscor with greater ease, and provide strong neutral coverage as a mid-ground to hit most Tera types seeking to avoid Earthquake, like Tera Grass Iron Moth, and Tera Flying Kingambit, Roaring Moon, Chuggalong, and Mollux. (Maybe rearrange these sentences based on my previous comments on Normal Tera being more potent atm imo) Protect is mandatory, as it grants Gliscor a free turn to activate Poison Heal, and the ability to safely recover throughout a game. Water is Gliscor's most effective tera type, flipping its weaknesses to Water and Ice, and taking most hits neutrally while leveraging its good bulk. Tera Normal is a valid option for sets running Facade, greatly boosting Gliscor's wallbreaking capabilities and removing both of its weaknesses. (Again, rearrange this if you go with the previous comments I made about Normal > Water Tera) A specially defensive spread grants Gliscor more opportunities to set up throughout a game and limits the amount of Pokemon that force it out, but a physically defensive spread allows Gliscor to more comfortably take on physical sweepers like Kingambit, Bulk Up Revanankh, and Hemogoblin.

Balanced and Bulky Offense teams seeking a bulky win condition appreciate Swords Dance Gliscor. While it lacks the utility of its Spikes set, Swords Dance Gliscor remains an incredible asset for defensively-oriented teams that need a way of breaking down opposing defensive teams. Gliscor pairs well with teammates that can stack hazards and spread Knock Off throughout a game, and check the Pokemon that commonly force it out. Arghonaut is an obvious choice for this role, as it covers Gliscor's poor matchups into Weavile, Equilibra, Darkrai, and Hisuian Samurott, but other hazard setters like Ting-Lu, Venomicon, and Clefable are viable companions. Swords Dance Gliscor has a tendency to be forced out by Encore users like Creciedon and Iron Valiant, so teammates like Mollux, Ogerpon-Wellspring, and Gholdengo serve well to punish those particular matchups. Gliscor appreciates offensive teammates to help break down its checks, such as Kyurem, Darkrai, Iron Crown, and Raging Bolt targeting Pokemon such as Arghonaut, Skarmory, and Great Tusk. Much like its entry hazard setter set, Gliscor provides a reliable absorber of Knock Off to benefit item-reliant teammates like Cresciedon, Galarian Slowking, Moltres, and Mollux.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
===================

Swords Dance Gliscor may find it worth forgoing Earthquake in favor of both Facade and Knock Off on the same set. Doing so allows it to threaten all of Venomicon, Air Balloon Gholdengo, Arghonaut, and Equilibra while retaining Facade's consistency. While dropping Gliscor's only STAB option makes it less immediately threatening towards Slowking-Galar, Chuggalong and Garganacl, it results in a set that combines both the progress-making of Knock Off with Facade's ability to hit most targets neutrally regardless of their tera type, making it a valid alternative as a win condition.

Both Gliscor sets may find it beneficial to run Tera Dragon in order to patch up a team defensively against Ogerpon-wellspring. While not as all-encompassing as Tera Water— notably worsening Gliscor's ability to deal with Hemogoblin and Chuggalong— Tera Dragon ensures Gliscor can safely punish Ogerpon-wellspring with Toxic or Facade without risking a 2hko from Power Whip or Ivy Cudgel.

Hazard setter Gliscor has the option of running Poison Jab as its main attacking move to benefit stall teams. Poison Jab allows Gliscor to punish Hatterene in order to set Spikes, while allowing it to directly threaten Ogerpon-wellspring and fish for poison throughout a game. Poison Jab is almost exclusively run with Knock Off, due to the former compressing the damage and utility of Gliscor's usual Earthquake and Toxic combination. Another unique benefit is Poison Jab's greater PP count compared to Earthquake and Toxic, allowing it to outlast opposing Gliscor in the event of a PP Stall War.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Special Wallbreakers**: Even with full special defense investment, Gliscor is unable to stay in versus many of the tier's wallbreakers, including Darkrai, Deoxys-Speed, Primarina, Walking Wake, and Kyurem.

**Setup Sweepers**: While Gliscor threatens progress on most Pokemon with its combination of Toxic and Earthquake, many setup sweepers are able to circumvent Gliscor's options by way of their typing, tera, or item choice. Air Balloon Gholdengo, Taunt Roaring Moon, and Nasty Plot Venomicon all have the ability to use Gliscor as setup fodder, among others.

**Ice-type Coverage**: Some Pokemon that could be threatened or walled by Gliscor in theory, such as Great Tusk, Dragonite, and Meowscarada, commonly run coverage to target Gliscor's Ice weakness.

**Miasmaw**: Miasmaw is a major annoyance for Gliscor, as Neutralizing Gas shuts off Poison Heal and causes Gliscor to take massive poison damage, which usually forces it out. However, Miasmaw cannot consistently switch-in on Gliscor due to its physical frailty and hazard weakness.

**Opposing Gliscor**: Swords Dance Gliscor is able to use opposing hazard setter Gliscor as setup fodder. Additionally, two hazard setter Gliscor often results in a stalemate, where neither is encouraged to switch out and three layers of spikes are set on each side of the field. This can result in a PP Stall War between the two Gliscor, resulting in the loss of one Gliscor and the other's resources greatly limited.

[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/uppa.583322/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/da-pizza-man.221710/
Grammar checked by:

 

[Lasen]

add
remove
(comment)

Copyedit

[SET]
Defensive Hazard Setter (Gliscor) @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 244 HP / 36 Def / 228 SpD OR (unfortunately a necessary word)
244 HP / 248 Def / 16 SpD
Tera Type: Water / Ghost
Careful / Impish Nature
- Spikes / Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Toxic / Knock Off / U-Turn
- Protect

[SET COMMENTS]
Set Details
===================

Due to its unmatched longevity and myriad utility options, Gliscor establishes itself as one of the most effective hazard setters in the format. Its ability to outlast common defensive Pokemon like Arghonaut and Venomicon and threaten the likes of Galarian Slowking and Garganacl grants Gliscor numerous opportunities to set hazards throughout a game. Spikes are the primary hazard of choice, leveraging Gliscor's ability to generate free turns in order to set more layers of Spikes. Gliscor may choose to run Stealth Rock instead, either when paired with a Spikes setter or with U-turn for a less passive set overall. Toxic is an important utility option that allows Gliscor to threaten Pokemon that take negligible damage from Earthquake or Knock Off, such as Zamazenta, Great Tusk, Cresceidon, Arghonaut, Rillaboom, and Ogerpon-Wellspring (Toxic is not used because you do better damage than EQ/Knock, it's used to put everything on a timer; there's times where I'd rather eat the status than get hit by Knock Off + bit weird to bring up Knock Off here BEFORE discussing it as an alternative). Gliscor sets running Toxic may find themselves walled and taken advantage of by Pokemon like Equilibra, Venomicon, and Air Balloon Gholdengo. For this reason, Gliscor may run Knock Off or U-Turn in order to make progress or regain momentum in these matchups. Gliscor lacking Toxic, however, are unable to effectively threaten bulky setup sweepers like Zamazenta, Dragonite, and Revenankh. Protect is mandatory on every Gliscor set, enabling its longevity by giving it a free turn to recover with Poison Heal, and having the benefit of scouting the opponent for coverage that may threaten it. Additionally, Protect allows Gliscor to force Toxic chip damage on its target (move this last point to Toxic mention). A specially defensive spread allows Gliscor the ability to threaten special attackers like Raging Bolt, Cresceidon, Iron Moth, Iron Crown, and Dragapult (weird list where only Moth is really "threatened" + I'd never include Cresceidon among these other; maybe "check" or even "switch into"?) while retaining a positive matchup versus physical attackers like Hemogoblin, Cinderace, Zamazenta, and Kingambit by virtue of its typing. A physically defensive spread grants Gliscor more consistency against the physical threats it seeks to punish, and notably lets it spread Toxic in the face of poor matchups like Great Tusk, Dragonite, and Ogerpon-Wellspring. Water is Gliscor's primary choice of tera on specially-defensive sets, granting it improved matchups versus Darkrai, Deoxys-Speed, Cresceidon, Chuggalong, Walking Wake and Gholdengo. Tera Ghost can be used on physically-defensive sets in order to block Rapid Spin from Great Tusk, at the cost of worsening matchups like Roaring Moon, Gholdengo, and Dragapult. EV explanation?

Gliscor can fit on any team style bar Hyper Offense, but it thrives the most on balance teams that appreciate its ability to soak up hits, set hazards, and spread Toxic or Knock Off to whittle down the opposing team. Teams will often partition Spikes and Stealth Rock between Gliscor and another Pokemon, like Stealth Rock on Garganacl or Venomicon, or Spikes on Arghonaut and Skarmory. Gliscor may appreciate a spinblocker to secure hazards, with partners like Kitsunoh or Air Balloon Gholdengo denying Rapid Spin from Equilibra or Great Tusk respectively. (Gholdengo blocks Defog, too which is major so bring it up) Other forms of hazard removal, like Cinderace's Court Change or Rapid Spin from Mollux are easily denied by Gliscor itself, forcing a tera from the latter. While it often runs Knock Off itself, teams using Gliscor often use Knock Off from Arghonaut, Weavile, or Roaring Moon to force hazard damage on resilient Heavy-Duty Boots users like Cresceidon and Venomicon. Gliscor is often unable to fully wall or punish wallbreakers on its own, and appreciates the presence of bulky Water or Ice-resistant Pokemon like Arghonaut, Mollux, and Cresceidon to form a defensive core. Pokemon who are heavily reliant on their items to function, such as Krilowatt, Cresceidon, and Mollux heavily appreciate Gliscor’s ability to act as a consistent switch-in to Knock Off.

[SET]
Swords Dance (Gliscor) @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 244 HP / 36 Def / 228 SpD OR
244 HP / 248 Def / 16 SpD
Tera Type: Water / Normal
Careful / Impish Nature
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Knock Off / Facade
- Protect

Swords Dance Gliscor sets itself apart from other win conditions like Kingambit and Zamazenta with its utility over the course of a game and ability to threaten a sweep multiple times. Utilizing the same defensive profile as its Spikes set (no cross-referencing sets, people don't wanna have to read what the other set had they wanna jump to THIS set and get all the information they need), Swords Dance Gliscor is able to take advantage of slower-paced teams giving it setup opportunities and trade positively into offensive structures. Being able to set up Swords Dance without risk in the face of opposing Gliscor, Venomicon, Garganacl, Mollux. Clefable, and Alomomola, among others, allows it to punish passive play and break through defensive cores with its near-unresisted coverage. Knock Off is the secondary move of choice for Gliscor, as it allows Gliscor to make progress against Arghonaut and Cresceidon, more easily pressure Equilibra, and break through Air Balloon Gholdengo. Facade is an equally potent choice, allowing Gliscor to break through Venomicon and opposing Gliscor with greater ease, and provide strong neutral coverage as a mid-ground to hit most Tera types seeking to avoid Earthquake, like Tera Grass Iron Moth, and Tera Flying Kingambit, Roaring Moon, Chuggalong, and Mollux. Protect is mandatory, as it grants Gliscor a free turn to activate Poison Heal, and the ability to safely recover throughout a game. Water is Gliscor's most effective tera type, flipping its weaknesses to Water and Ice, and taking most hits neutrally while leveraging its good bulk. Tera Normal is a valid option for sets running Facade, greatly boosting Gliscor's wallbreaking capabilities and removing both of its weaknesses. A specially defensive spread grants Gliscor more opportunities to set up throughout a game and limits the amount of Pokemon that force it out, but a physically defensive spread allows Gliscor to more comfortably take on physical sweepers like Kingambit, Bulk Up Revenankh, and Hemogoblin. EVs explained?

Balanced and Bulky Offense teams seeking a bulky win condition appreciate Swords Dance Gliscor. (Gliscor is sometimes stall's sole real wincon but there's no mention of it here, amend and provide teammate examples) While it lacks the utility of its Spikes set, Swords Dance Gliscor remains an incredible asset for defensively-oriented teams that need a way of breaking down opposing defensive teams. Gliscor pairs well with teammates that can stack hazards and spread Knock Off throughout a game, and check the Pokemon that commonly force it out. Arghonaut is an obvious choice for this role, as it covers Gliscor's poor matchups into Weavile, Equilibra, Darkrai, and Hisuian Samurott, but other hazard setters like Ting-Lu, Venomicon, and Clefable are viable companions. Swords Dance Gliscor has a tendency to be forced out by Encore users like Cresceidon and Iron Valiant, so teammates like Mollux, Ogerpon-Wellspring, and Gholdengo serve well to punish those particular matchups. Gliscor appreciates offensive teammates to help break down its checks, such as Kyurem, Darkrai, Iron Crown, and Raging Bolt targeting Pokemon such as Arghonaut, Skarmory, and Great Tusk. Much like its hazard setter set, Gliscor provides a reliable absorber of Knock Off to benefit item-reliant teammates like Cresciedon, Galarian Slowking, Moltres, and Mollux.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
===================

Swords Dance Gliscor may find it worth forgoing Earthquake in favor of both Facade and Knock Off on the same set. Doing so allows it to threaten all of Venomicon, Air Balloon Gholdengo, Arghonaut, and Equilibra while retaining Facade's consistency. While dropping Gliscor's only STAB option makes it less immediately threatening towards Slowking-Galar, Chuggalong and Garganacl, it results in a set that combines both the progress-making of Knock Off with Facade's ability to hit most targets neutrally regardless of their tera type, making it a valid alternative as a win condition.

Both Gliscor sets may find it beneficial to run Tera Dragon in order to patch up a team defensively against Ogerpon-wellspring. While not as all-encompassing as Tera Water— notably worsening Gliscor's ability to deal with Hemogoblin and Chuggalong— Tera Dragon ensures Gliscor can safely punish Ogerpon-wellspring with Toxic or Facade without risking a 2hko from Power Whip or Ivy Cudgel.

Hazard setter Gliscor has the option of running Poison Jab as its main attacking move to benefit stall teams. Poison Jab allows Gliscor to punish Hatterene in order to set Spikes, while allowing it to directly threaten Ogerpon-wellspring and fish for poison throughout a game. Poison Jab is almost exclusively run with Knock Off, due to the former compressing the damage and utility of Gliscor's usual Earthquake and Toxic combination. Another unique benefit is Poison Jab's greater PP count compared to Earthquake and Toxic, allowing it to outlast opposing Gliscor in the event of a PP Stall War.

Taunt good on stall

Checks and Counters
===================

**Special Wallbreakers**: Even with full special defense investment, Gliscor is unable to stay in versus many of the tier's wallbreakers, including Darkrai, Deoxys-Speed, Primarina, Walking Wake, and Kyurem.

**Setup Sweepers**: While Gliscor threatens progress on most Pokemon with its combination of Toxic and Earthquake, many setup sweepers are able to circumvent Gliscor's options by way of their typing, tera, or item choice. Air Balloon Gholdengo, Taunt Roaring Moon, and Nasty Plot Venomicon all have the ability to use Gliscor as setup fodder, among others.

**Ice-type Coverage**: Some Pokemon that could be threatened or walled by Gliscor in theory, such as Great Tusk, Dragonite, and Meowscarada, commonly run coverage to target Gliscor's Ice weakness.

**Miasmaw**: Miasmaw is a major annoyance for Gliscor, as Neutralizing Gas shuts off Poison Heal and causes Gliscor to take massive poison damage, which usually forces it out. However, Miasmaw cannot consistently switch-in on Gliscor due to its physical frailty and hazard weakness.

**Opposing Gliscor**: Swords Dance Gliscor is able to use opposing hazard setter Gliscor as setup fodder. Additionally, two hazard setter Gliscor often results in a stalemate, where neither is encouraged to switch out and three layers of spikes are set on each side of the field. This can result in a PP Stall War between the two Gliscor, resulting in the loss of one Gliscor and the other's resources greatly limited.

[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/uppa.583322/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/da-pizza-man.221710/
Grammar checked by:

Sorry this took so long. The info here is good but you're a little long-winded, explaining things that should be a bit intuitive (eg mentioning Gliscor's typing helping it secure wins against Zamazenta, saying "both sets" when it's implied).
There's a bunch of small grammar and syntactical errors I did not fix throughout for I am at work + European.

2/2

 

[uppa]

implemented xoxo :revolving_hearts:

 

[a blue banana]

GP Team

 

[Lumari]

i will do

 

[Lumari]

remove add / fix (comments); (AC=add comma; RC=remove comma; SC=semicolon)
GP 1/1 GP Team done

Copyedit

[SET]
Defensive Hazard Setter (Gliscor) @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 244 HP / 36 Def / 228 SpD OR
244 HP / 248 Def / 16 SpD
Tera Type: Water / Ghost
Careful / Impish Nature
- Spikes / Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Toxic / Knock Off / U-turn
- Protect

[SET COMMENTS]
Set Details
===================

Due to its unmatched longevity and myriad utility options, Gliscor establishes itself as one of the most effective hazard setters in the format. Its ability to outlast common defensive Pokemon like Arghonaut and Venomicon and threaten the likes of Galarian Slowking and Garganacl grants Gliscor numerous opportunities to set hazards throughout a game. Spikes are is the primary hazard of choice, leveraging Gliscor's ability to generate free turns in order to set more layers of Spikes. Gliscor may choose to run Stealth Rock instead, either when paired with a Spikes setter or with U-turn for a less passive set overall. Toxic is an important utility option that allows Gliscor to threaten Pokemon by putting them on a timer, such as Zamazenta, Great Tusk, Cresceidon, Arghonaut, Rillaboom, and Ogerpon-W. This synergizes with Protect, allowing Gliscor to force chip damage on poisoned targets that threaten it out. Note that Gliscor sets running Toxic may find themselves walled and taken advantage of by Pokemon like Equilibra, Venomicon, and Air Balloon Gholdengo. For this reason, Gliscor may run Knock Off or U-turn in order to make progress or regain momentum in these matchups. Gliscor lacking Toxic, however, are unable to effectively threaten bulky setup sweepers like Zamazenta, Dragonite, and Revenankh. Protect is mandatory on every Gliscor set, enabling its longevity by giving it a free turn to recover with Poison Heal (RC) and having the benefit of scouting the opponent for coverage that may threaten it. A specially defensive spread allows grants Gliscor the ability to check special attackers like Raging Bolt, Iron Moth, Iron Crown, and Dragapult while retaining a positive matchup versus physical attackers like Hemogoblin, Cinderace, Zamazenta, and Kingambit by virtue of its typing. A physically defensive spread grants Gliscor more consistency against the physical threats it seeks to punish (RC) and notably lets it spread Toxic in the face of poor matchups like Great Tusk, Dragonite, and Ogerpon-Wellspring. Water is Gliscor's primary choice of Tera type on specially defensive (RH) sets, granting it improved matchups versus Darkrai, Deoxys-S, Cresceidon, Chuggalong, Walking Wake, (AC) and Gholdengo. Tera Ghost can be used on physically defensive (RH) sets in order to block Rapid Spin from Great Tusk, at the cost of worsening matchups against the likes of Roaring Moon, Gholdengo, and Dragapult. The given physically defensive (RH) spread with 16 Special Defense EVs allows Gliscor to live take a Life Orb-boosted Psycho Boost from Deoxys-S and a +1 Dragon Pulse from Raging Bolt from full health. It's specially defensive (RH) EV spread with 36 Defense EVs allow Gliscor to live survive Ivy Cudgel from Ogerpon-W from full health, and both spreads run 244 HP EVs to maximize Gliscor's recovery from Poison Heal.

Gliscor can fit on any team style bar hyper offense, but it thrives the most on balance teams that appreciate its ability to soak up hits, set entry hazards, and spread Toxic or Knock Off to whittle down the opposing team. Teams will often partition Spikes and Stealth Rock between Gliscor and another Pokemon, like Stealth Rock on Garganacl or Venomicon (RC) or Spikes on Arghonaut and Skarmory. Gliscor may appreciate a spinblocker to secure hazards, with partners like Kitsunoh or and Air Balloon Gholdengo denying Rapid Spin from Equilibra or Great Tusk, (AC) respectively, and the latter blocking Defog attempts from Corviknight. Other forms of hazard removal, like Cinderace's Court Change or and Rapid Spin from Mollux, (AC) are easily denied by Gliscor itself, forcing a Terastallization from the latter. While it often runs Knock Off itself, teams using Gliscor often use Knock Off from Arghonaut, Weavile, or Roaring Moon to force hazard damage on resilient Heavy-Duty Boots users like Cresceidon and Venomicon. Gliscor is often unable to fully wall or punish wallbreakers on its own, and it appreciates the presence of bulky Water or Ice-resistant Pokemon like Arghonaut, Mollux, and Cresceidon to form a defensive core. Pokemon who that are heavily reliant on their items to function, such as Krilowatt, Cresceidon, and Mollux, (AC) heavily appreciate Gliscor’s ability to act as a consistent switch-in to Knock Off.

[SET]
Swords Dance (Gliscor) @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 244 HP / 36 Def / 228 SpD OR
244 HP / 248 Def / 16 SpD
Tera Type: Water / Normal
Careful / Impish Nature
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Knock Off / Facade
- Protect

Swords Dance Gliscor sets itself apart from other win conditions sweepers like Kingambit and Zamazenta with its utility over the course of a game and ability to threaten a sweep multiple times. With its superb defensive profile, Swords Dance Gliscor is able to take advantage of slower-paced teams giving it setup opportunities and trade positively into offensive structures. Being able to set up Swords Dance without risk in the face of opposing Gliscor, Venomicon, Garganacl, Mollux,(comma surely?) Clefable, and Alomomola, among others, allows it to punish passive play and break through defensive cores with its near-unresisted coverage. Knock Off is the secondary move of choice for Gliscor, as it allows Gliscor to make progress against Arghonaut and Cresceidon, more easily pressure Equilibra, and break through Air Balloon Gholdengo. Facade is an equally potent choice, allowing Gliscor to break through Venomicon and opposing Gliscor with greater ease, and provide strong neutral coverage as a mid-ground to hit most Tera types seeking to avoid Earthquake, like Tera Grass Iron Moth (RC) and Tera Flying Kingambit, Roaring Moon, Chuggalong, and Mollux. Protect is mandatory, as it grants Gliscor a free turn to activate Poison Heal (RC) and the ability to safely recover throughout a game. Water is Gliscor's most effective Tera type, flipping its weaknesses to Water and Ice (RC) and taking letting it take most hits neutrally while leveraging its good bulk. Tera Normal is a valid option for sets running Facade, greatly boosting Gliscor's wallbreaking capabilities and removing both of its weaknesses. A specially defensive spread grants Gliscor more opportunities to set up throughout a game and limits the amount of Pokemon that force it out, but a physically defensive spread allows Gliscor to more comfortably take on physical sweepers like Kingambit, Bulk Up Revenankh, and Hemogoblin. The given physically defensive (RH) spread with 16 Special Defense EVs allows Gliscor to live take a Life Orb-boosted Psycho Boost from Deoxys-S and a +1 Dragon Pulse from Raging Bolt from full health. It's Its specially defensive (RH) EV spread with 36 Defense EVs allow allows Gliscor to live tank Ivy Cudgel from Ogerpon-W from full health, and both spreads run 244 HP EVs to maximize Gliscor's recovery from Poison Heal.

Balanced, bulky offense, and even stall teams seeking a bulky win condition late-game sweeper appreciate Swords Dance Gliscor. While it lacks the utility of its Spikes set, Swords Dance Gliscor remains an incredible asset for defensively oriented (RH) teams that need a way of breaking down opposing defensive teams. Gliscor pairs well with teammates that can stack hazards and spread Knock Off throughout a game (RC) and check the Pokemon that commonly force it out. Arghonaut is an obvious choice for this role, as it covers Gliscor's poor matchups into Weavile, Equilibra, Darkrai, and Hisuian Samurott, but other hazard setters like Ting-Lu, Venomicon, and Clefable are viable companions. Swords Dance Gliscor has a tendency to be forced out by Encore users like Creceidon Cresceidon and Iron Valiant, so teammates like Mollux, Ogerpon-Wellspring, and Gholdengo serve well to punish those particular matchups. Gliscor appreciates offensive teammates to help break down its checks, such as Kyurem, Darkrai, Iron Crown, and Raging Bolt targeting Pokemon such as Arghonaut, Skarmory, and Great Tusk. Much like its hazard setter set, Gliscor provides a reliable absorber of Knock Off to benefit item-reliant teammates like Cresceidon, Galarian Slowking, Moltres, and Mollux. Additionaly Additionally, Swords Dance Gliscor plays an important role on stall teams, spreading Knock Off and exerting offensive pressure on Pokemon with great longevity, such as Alomomola, Garganacl, Clefable, and opposing Gliscor, which are otherwise difficult for stall teams to remove. Pairing Gliscor with an Ogerpon-W check such as Hydrapple, Sinistcha, or Amoonguss forms a potent core, which should be used alongside stall staples like Dondozo, Blissey, Alomomola, Corviknight, Skarmory, and Clodsire.

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
===================

Swords Dance Gliscor may find it worth forgoing Earthquake in favor of both Facade and Knock Off on the same set. Doing so allows it to threaten all of Venomicon, Air Balloon Gholdengo, Arghonaut, and Equilibra while retaining Facade's consistency. While dropping Gliscor's only STAB option makes it less immediately threatening towards Galarian Slowking-Galar, Chuggalong and Garganacl, it results in a set that combines both the progress making (RH) of Knock Off with Facade's ability to hit most targets neutrally regardless of their Tera type, making it a valid alternative as a win condition late-game sweeper.

Both Gliscor sets may find it beneficial to run Tera Dragon in order to patch up a team defensively against Ogerpon-Wellspring. While not as all-encompassing as Tera Water—notably worsening Gliscor's ability to deal with Hemogoblin and Chuggalong—Tera Dragon ensures Gliscor can safely punish Ogerpon-Wellspring with Toxic or Facade without risking a 2HKO from Power Whip or Ivy Cudgel.

Entry hazard setter Gliscor has the option of running Poison Jab as its main attacking move to benefit stall teams. Poison Jab This allows Gliscor to punish Hatterene in order to set Spikes (RC) while allowing it to also letting it directly threaten Ogerpon-Wellspring and fish for poison throughout a game. Poison Jab is almost exclusively run with Knock Off, due to the former compressing the damage and utility of Gliscor's usual Earthquake and + Toxic combination. Another unique benefit is Poison Jab's greater PP count compared to Earthquake and Toxic, allowing it to outlast opposing Gliscor in the event of a PP stall war.

Taunt is a flexible option for Gliscor on stall teams that allows Gliscor to deny hazards from opposing Arghonaut, Gliscor, Skarmory, and Ting-Lu, prevent pivoting attempts from Galarian Slowking and Malaconda, and stop Alomomola, Clefable, Venomicon, and others from using their healing moves. While it comes with the opportunity cost of losing Knock Off or Toxic, it can serve as a potent means of denying progress from slower balance teams.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Special Wallbreakers**: Even with full special defense investment, Gliscor is unable to stay in versus many of the tier's wallbreakers, including Darkrai, Deoxys-Speed, Primarina, Walking Wake, and Kyurem.

**Setup Sweepers**: While Gliscor threatens progress on most Pokemon with its combination of Toxic and Earthquake, many setup sweepers are able to circumvent Gliscor's options by way of their typing, Tera, or item choice. Air Balloon Gholdengo, Taunt Roaring Moon, and Nasty Plot Venomicon all have the ability to use Gliscor as setup fodder, among others.

**Ice-type Coverage**: Some Pokemon that could be threatened or walled by Gliscor in theory, such as Great Tusk, Dragonite, and Meowscarada, commonly run coverage to target Gliscor's Ice weakness.

**Miasmaw**: Miasmaw is a major annoyance for Gliscor, as Neutralizing Gas shuts off Poison Heal and causes Gliscor to take massive poison damage, which usually forces it out. However, Miasmaw cannot consistently switch in (RH) on Gliscor due to its physical frailty and hazard weakness.

**Opposing Gliscor**: Swords Dance Gliscor is able to use opposing hazard setter Gliscor as setup fodder. Additionally, two hazard setter Gliscor facing off often results in a stalemate, where neither is encouraged to switch out and three layers of spikes are set on each side of the field. This can result in a PP stall war between the two Gliscor, resulting in the loss of one Gliscor and the other's resources being greatly limited.

[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/uppa.583322/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/da-pizza-man.221710/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/lasen.273339/
Grammar checked by: