Pokémon Mandibuzz

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Olly

Mandibuzz #630
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Type: Dark/Flying

Base Stats: 110/65/105/55/95/80

Notable Moves:
Defog
Foul Play
Knock Off
Roost
Taunt
Toxic
U-Turn
Whirlwind

Those are probably the only moves you should ever be using on Mandibuzz.

Overview:
This generation was kind to Mandibuzz. A buffed Overcoat protecting it from powder moves. A buffed Defog, making it probably the best Defog user available right now. A buffed Knock Off. It's not all good news though, as the new generation introduced a new weakness to the new Fairy type.

Possible sets:
Mandibuzz @ Leftovers
Ability: Overcoat
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SDef [If playing on cartridge use 252 HP / 252 DEF / 4 SDef]
Bold Nature
- Foul Play
- Taunt
- Defog / Toxic
- Roost

This is the set I am currently running. Foul Play to stop you being set up fodder for Swords Dance/Dragon Dance users. Most people right now seem to play Mandibuzz quite badly, and they will do stuff like Dragon Dance up with their Dragonite, when they can't win providing you are running Foul Play. Taunt is to stop you being set up fodder for defensive Pokemon. Mandibuzz actually outspeeds many defensive Pokemon, you can taunt Blissey, Ferrothorn, Skarmory and make them setup fodder for something else on your team. Defog is the fail safe clearance of hazards option. If you don't want/need this I imagine the next best option is Toxic to allow you to stall out the opponent. Finally Roost is your bog standard recovery move for a defensive Pokemon. Comes with the added benefit of allowing you to stall out Tyranitar who is often slower than you.

Options:
Mandibuzz can also go specially defensive. Running a Calm nature, and max HP and SDef. It also has the new buffed Knock Off in its movepool, which I'm sure will interest some, though I find the above moveset so good that it's hard to find a slot for it. Whirlwind is another option for racking up hazards damage, but is kind of counter productive if you are running Defog on the same set.

Team Options:
I haven't really thought about this section yet. Obviously if you are running Defog you're probably using it to clear the way for a Pokemon like Talonflame.

Please note:
I have only played pre-Pokebank OU. So my ideas are only really for that metagame. Maybe others can give me ideas on different threats to Mandibuzz post-Pokebank.
 
Mandibuzz is the best pokemon no one is using right now IMO. It is so difficult to deal with that I end up running stealth rocks on some teams just to lure this thing out while I still have something to take it out with. Forget about gen 5 mandibuzz. Gen 6 has made this pest an incredible supportmon with buffs to knock off, overcoat, foul play coverage, and defog. While it does suffer 4mss, most mandibuzz will help a team every game in some way and is integral on all stall teams that suffer from hazards and could benefit from taking items away from opponents, or from a bulky phazer.
 
As I've noted in many different posts, I'm huge on Mandibuzz this gen. Been using her on every team in Pokebank (the only worthwhile OU tier, honestly, I mean the other one will plumb stop happening in a month or so) and she's been an MVP. The blend of Overcoat and Dark's new importance in countering the new and improved Ghost make her one of the new great pokemon of this gen.

I prefer a specially defensive set, which allows her to handily survive even the likes of Gengar's Thunderbolt (Mega or Life Orb) or Rotom's Volt Switch with over 50% remaining. She also counters essentially every Grass pokemon around, given her immunity to their powders and resistance to their attacks.

Using her as a solid wall, like the OP suggests, may have merit (I've never tried it but it looks legit). But I vastly prefer this wilier set:

Mandibuzz @ Leftovers
Ability: Overcoat
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SDef
Careful Nature
- Knock Off
- Roost
- Toxic
- Whirlwind

Mandibuzz, despite her Stealth Rock weakness, can switch in to a vast swath of the meta (although she does enjoy a spinner/defogger), given her incredible bulk on both sides. From there she can use STAB Knock Off to disarm the opponent (and do a surprising amount of damage for someone with such low and uninvested Attack; Ghosts, especially Harvest Trevenant, just hate it), and Toxic to wither it away. But the ace in the hole is Whirlwind, which not only is helpful for phazing special attackers, is not only useful for general shuffling and hazards damage, but allows Mandy to Knock Off multiple opponents.

The beauty of it increases when you get into the mind games. Nobody likes having their team disarmed, so often times players predict Knock Off and switch in a pokemon that's already lost their item. Thanks to Toxic, hazard support and Knock Off's increased damage, even if Mandy Knocks Off a switch-in, plenty of damage gets done and the opponent is disrupted. Once you get in the swing of things, though, it's a free Whirlwind for even more chaos.

Of course, Mandabuzz does have her weaknesses. Mega Pokemon not only generally counter her (Mega Gengar notably does not, but Mega Kangaskhan loves Mandy) but they can't have their items knocked off; on the other hand, few of them enjoy Toxic on the switch-in, especially without passive recovery in Leftovers. Rocks hamper Mandabuzz's switches, and strong physical pokemon, especially those with Justified like Terrakion, love switching in and wrecking with Stone Edge.

Still, Mandabuzz is a shining gem in X and Y, and this is just one of many options for her.

In terms of Team Options, Mandy really likes working with folks who can set up hazards and/or clear them away. Empoleon, for instance, can run Defog and Stealth Rock on the same set, and takes Rock attacks while enjoying Mandabuzz's immunity to Ground. While Rotom-H shares Mandabuzz's weakness to rocks, it walls her weaknesses to Ice and Electric and burns physical attackers that might give her trouble (trick variants shouldn't be used with Knock Off Mandibuzz for obvious reasons). Aegislash works as a great pivot to Mandibuzz, luring in Ghost, Dark and Ground attacks, as well as specially-focused attackers in general who don't care about King's Shield. Excadrill not only spins (and if you really want, sets up rocks), but comes in on and immediately threatens every Mandibuzz's worst enemy, Tyranitar. Finally, a cleric is always nice to ensure Toxic doesn't stop Mandy's fun; Celebi resists Electric and can U-turn from Pursuit and Ghosts, while the likes of a Chansey, Blissey or Florges can run generic cleric sets that help Mandy's whole team.
 
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I actually used Mandibuzz in OU last gen to major success, oddly enough, because it just doesn't die and provides valuable team support. With all the buffs Mandibuzz received this gen, (you also forgot Dark now is neutral to steel, so Mandibuzz can now, say, 2HKO Excadrill with Foul Play, for example,) I don't see why she isn't getting more usage. She's SOOOO GOOOD, I can't stress that enough.
 
Mandibuzz is one of the most improved 'mons this gen, matching things like Scolipede, Azumarill, and Togekiss. I personally opt to run a similar set to the OP, but with an EV spread of 248 HP/176 Def/ 84 Spe. The Speed IVs let Mandibuzz outspeed Specially Defensive Roserade and everything slower, which includes many prominent walls and bulky offense threats.

I personally loves using this thing side by side with M-Charizard Y, since Defog clears the annoying sneaky pebbles right away, and leaves Charizard Y to wallbreak to the point where my late-game sweepers can do just that: sweep. I also like to pair it with Florges, since things that would plague Mandibuzz, like Rotom-W and Jolteon, are laughed at.

tl;dr: Mandibuzz is a monster, possible OU candidate
 
I run a Mandibuzz on one of my teams, and let me tell you, this thing walls so many pokemon. Combined with the Duel screen support my Espeon has, means she can shrug off nearly every attack you can think of. I run this set.

Mandibuzz @ leftovers (Overcoat)
Impish
Foul Play
Knock Off
Tailwind
Roost

252 HP, 129 Defense, 129 SpD

I was going to use Defog, but I have magic Bounce Espeon on my team, so I didn't need a defog user(plus defog would remove my duel screens) I went with Tailwind because it helps my team out alot. I can't tell you how many times tailwind has made me win games. Mandibuzz can get in first turn roosts against a bunch of electrics that could hit her with thunderbolt And lets her get off a foul play against some of the most powerful mega evos to OHKO them, or get close too it.
 
Do you know the sheer amount of people I come across who try to set up Power up Punches with Kang on this thing? Or DDNite? People cray, stop it.

And yeah, IMO Mandi is like, the only worthwhile user of Defog. Only 2 mons get Taunt/Defog in pre-pokebank, the other of which is Crobat who really has better things to do. After pokebank, Skarm also gets the combo, but I can't think of any other notable wielders. Not to mention, Mandi is bulky as hell, actually has more overall bulk than Skarm-

252+ Atk Conkeldurr Drain Punch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Mandibuzz: 100-118 (23.5 - 27.8%)
252+ Atk Conkeldurr Drain Punch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Skarmory: 82-97 (24.5 - 29%)

Mandibuzz also has great special bulk too, which is something Skarm definitely can't shout about.

And to round it off, STAB Foul Play is a massive asset, especially in combination with Taunt. Between those two moves and your massive bulk you just cause so many things problems.
 
It's nice to see a Mandibuzz discussion! As I've said many times, Mandibuzz itself hasn't changed much but the metagame sure has, and Mandi can check a huge list of threats. I used Mandi in BW NU, and wrote the current preview on Mandibuzz, so I have plenty of experience with it. Talk about underrated. It has great typing, excellent mixed defenses, reliable recovery, and packs a surprisingly quick Taunt, which ruins opposing stall teams. What more could you want?

Oh, you want it to take out physical attackers? Foul Play lets Mandibuzz counter any Aegislash set with ease and mangle physical mons.

What's that, you want it to remove hazards for your team too? No problem, Mandibuzz is the best pre-bank Defog user in my book, which works perfectly alongside Taunt.

Did you say you need Phazing support? Mandi's got Whirlwind and Knock Off to complement it.

You're running stall yourself? Mandibuzz fits right in, with Toxic and SubRoost stalling.

Did I mention that Overcoat allows it to fit into Sand teams easily and block Spore/Sleep Powder?

Mandibuzz fits really well into most teams and you can choose its set to suit your needs. I'm excited to see how many other people catch on and what tier Mandibuzz will wind up in this generation.
 
I'm so happy my girl is getting the attention she deserves this gen since she was massively overlooked last gen for whatever reason. I used her in UU and OU last gen and i constantly knocked off the entire opposing teams items countless times. IDK if it were due to low level players or what, but she worked wonders for me. This is the set I used
Mandibuzz@Leftovers
EV's: 248 HP/252 SpD/8 Def
Trait: Overcoat
Careful Nature
-Toxic
-Roost
-Knock Off
-Whirlwind

Yea yea yea I'm taunt weak I know already. Because of this guy nothing could set up in it's face due to Whirlwind and I could toxic stall the shit out of so many pokemon. Knock off was there to neuter the pokemon on the otherside while roost gave me reliable recovery.

EDIT: WHOOPS I have a rough time remembering the defensive oriented natures.
 
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I'm so surprised Mandibuzz was NU last generation. It's an awesome defensive Pokemon, and I think its access to defog is the niche that will bring it into the limelight.

There's not really much I have to add, all of you guys above me basically summed up my feelings about this wonderful Pokemon. I've been using it on my stall team and I really enjoy the support it brings to the table. I actually like this thing just as much as (if not more than) Skarmory and Crobat/Golbat, three other flying types I've tried out with Defog.

One thing I do with Mandibuzz is give it minimum Speed (0EVs, 0IVs, negative nature) because this lets an uninvested Aegislash (156 Spe) outspeed you (148 Spe). That way, if any Aegislash is foolish/unlucky enough to stay in on you and attack, you'll be getting a guaranteed OHKO on Blade Forme as opposed to a 2HKO or 3HKO on Shield Forme.
 
CyclicCompound said:
I'm so surprised Mandibuzz was NU last generation. It's an awesome defensive Pokemon, and I think its access to defog is the niche that will bring it into the limelight.

There's not really much I have to add, all of you guys above me basically summed up my feelings about this wonderful Pokemon. I've been using it on my stall team and I really enjoy the support it brings to the table. I actually like this thing just as much as (if not more than) Skarmory and Crobat/Golbat, three other flying types I've tried out with Defog.

One thing I do with Mandibuzz is give it minimum Speed (0EVs, 0IVs, negative nature) because this lets an uninvested Aegislash (156 Spe) outspeed you (148 Spe). That way, if any Aegislash is foolish/unlucky enough to stay in on you and attack, you'll be getting a guaranteed OHKO on Blade Forme as opposed to a 2HKO or 3HKO on Shield Forme.
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I'm not sure thats worth the cost of having slower Taunts, especially when you can just Taunt Aegislash to stop it from setting up and using King Shield.
 
meteor64 said:
I'm not sure thats worth the cost of having slower Taunts, especially when you can just Taunt Aegislash to stop it from setting up and using King Shield.
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That's a very valid point, I hadn't thought of that. I don't run Taunt on my current set, so it's not an issue for me, but I suppose Taunt would come in handy in many situations. I'll be sure to try that out. Would you recommend I still run Foul Play in conjunction?


EDIT: I just re-read your post a few posts up from my first one where you talk about using both Taunt and Foul Play.
 
With access to Taunt, Defog, the new Knock Off, and reliable recovery, this momma is gonna be a terror. Or an annoyance to face at least.

I used one last gen, but whenever I used it I just kept wishing it was some other defensive mon. Dark/Flying back then wasn't really the best. But now that Dark is the only type with a resistance to Ghost... look out players, Mandibuzz is here to stall you out all day until you tire and it feasts on your entrails.

The eternal question is probably going to be what attack move to run, whether it be Knock Off or Foul Play. I'd say it depends on what threat's your team is worried about. If you are afraid of Megas, use Foul Play to put a dent in MKanga, Megazard X, etc. If you don't care, Knock Off is better to create some havoc on the opposing team. No Leftovers? Life Orb? Choice items? Mandibuzz is getting hungry...
 
I used one last gen with a specially defensive set, it was pretty bulky. It has a decent amount of speed for a wall, but it's unfortunate that it get's outsped by toxic stall gliscor which I hate ever so much even with something like mega venasaur whose immune to toxic (since it can afford to just dump everything into speed/hp and stall most of the match with protect/sub/toxic).

I see it working as a very good aegislash counter for all sets including mixed which not many things can switch into safely and KO. With drizzle/drought teams not plaguing the metagame anymore and being one of the best defoggers in the game, I think it has a shot of at least getting back into UU (possibly OU, maybe). Mega mawile, azumarill, and gardevoir are the only common fairies that threaten it to switch out (togekiss could possibly be stalled out with toxic stall and a specially defensive set with enough Speed EV's to outspeed it since most of them prefer to run fire blast or aura sphere over dazzling gleam as a second attack). Hazards are very hard to get rid of the rapid spin way. I've never had trouble keeping them up with gourgiest spin blocking mostly anything, but mega blastoise.
 
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OMG, Mandibuzz is actually usable! <3 The debuff to Steel types that makes it neutral to Dark type attacks helps her out too, as does the Defog buff. Now its' Foul Play is unmatched, able to OHKO-2HKO most physical Steel types, especially if they DD/SD/BU up. Luckily, Foul Play doesn't take its' power off of the user, but off of what it's hitting. :3
 
Mandibuzz was always an interesting case. I even remember it getting some attention in gen V Ubers, and yet it ended up dropping into NU.

Defog is really the biggest gift though, and gives it a chance to shine over Sableye, who in my eyes slightly outshone it as a supporter and physical wall last gen by being able to destroy physical attackers before they could even move, having no weaknesses and no issue with Stealth Rock, with phazing being the only advantage Mandibuzz really had over it. Taunt + Defog is great although I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Mew as potentially wielding these moves; Mew is still going to be a fantastic stallbreaker.
 
Mandibuzz is surprisingly good. It is a great aegislash counter so pokemon who have trouble getting past aegi will appreciate mandibuzz's help. Many dangerous pokemon loves defog supprt (talonflame, charizard, volcarona, dragonite etc.) so it is indeed very viable for defensive and balanced teams alike.
 
The most successful role for her I've found is to come out early after rocks are out and begin a Knock Off/shuffle marathon. It is so helpful dragging out Talonflame into rocks, who unless Roosts on that turn get blown away and is essentially dead if your opponent can't get rid of rocks. If they have a Gliscor you will often cause a rage quit immediately if you Knock Off on the switch and they are poison healess. I really don't mind if she dies after a certain point because the degree to which the enemy is disorganized afterwards puts you at a big advantage even 5-6, but I've killed Talonflame s easily this way. I think it's worth running enough speed against minimum speed Gliscor for this reason in this role, otherwise stick to the defenses. As a pure shuffler annoyer I love Red Card for unexpected Knock Offs in my favor. Particularly handy also with Sticky Web since yeah she has good speed which goes great with Taunt.
 
Looking into Mandibuzz for a stall team, breeding currently. Is Foul Play really necessary when I can phaze setup pokemon with whirlwind? Thinking of doing Knock-Off/Taunt/Whirlwind/Roost, and having other pokes on toxic. I love the idea of abusing knock off, which is a shame because I also really enjoy STAB foul play utterly wrecking Aegisslash
 
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DukeofFortuneMan said:
Looking into Mandibuzz for a stall team, breeding currently. Is Foul Play really necessary when I can phaze setup pokemon with whirlwind? Thinking of doing Knock-Off/Taunt/Whirlwind/Roost, and having other pokes on toxic. I love the idea of abusing knock off, which is a shame because I also really enjoy STAB foul play utterly wrecking Aegisslash
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Playtest it on PS! I always think this is good for cartridge players because breeding etc can be such a hassle that you had better make sure what you are breeding is actually good, otherwise it's an enormous waste of time.
 
DukeofFortuneMan said:
Looking into Mandibuzz for a stall team, breeding currently. Is Foul Play really necessary when I can phaze setup pokemon with whirlwind? Thinking of doing Knock-Off/Taunt/Whirlwind/Roost, and having other pokes on toxic. I love the idea of abusing knock off, which is a shame because I also really enjoy STAB foul play utterly wrecking Aegisslash
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Foul Play is how you threaten nearly all offensive pokes, and I'm pretty sure killing DDNite is much better than phazing it. IMO Whirlwind is for hazard-centric teams.

Also Mandibuzz without either Toxic or Foul Play does absolutely nothing to threaten your opponents, you need one at least.

I'm not sure Knock Off is really that much more worthwhile on Mandibuzz this gen than compared to previous, given how its improved damage output is pretty wasted on Mandi, even with STAB. It still holds the same utility it did, I just don't think its significantly better. With uninvested base 65 Atk you're still tickling things.

For a Stall team I would probably go with Foul Play/Taunt/Whirlwind/Roost. You can have other Knock off users that actually make use of the buffed damage anyway, and Taunt/Foul Play is REALLY too good to pass up, especially since you're not going the Toxic route at all.
 
I'm a little curious, how much does foul play do on sword dance Scizor, assuming you switch in on it when it reaches +2? With steel no longer resisting dark, this is a pretty good thing for Mandibuzz and using foul play in general (also has STAB).
 
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