kacaw! Mandibuzz in NU

[ryan]

Mandibuzz​

110 HP / 65 Atk / 105 Def / 55 SpA / 95 SpDef / 80 Spe​

With the tier changes that the beginning of July brought us, of all the tiers, the only change we saw was a drop for Mandibuzz from RU to NU. Mandibuzz is a Pokemon with excellent mixed bulk, great Speed for a bulky Pokemon, and fairly mediocre attacking stats. Still, its combination of bulk and Speed is something that is a rare find in NU. Below you can find a list of the more notable moves in Mandibuzz's movepool.

Support Moves

• Knock Off
• Rain Dance/Sunny Day
• Roost
• Snarl
• Substitute
• Taunt
• Toxic
• Whirlwind

Offensive Moves

• Air Slash
• Bone Rush
• Brave Bird
• Dark Pulse
• Foul Play
• Heat Wave
• Nasty Plot
• U-turn

While Mandibuzz may not have a wide variety of moves to choose from, the ones it has allow it to be fairly effective. One thing that I find noteworthy is that Golbat can do almost everything Mandibuzz can better; it can also run a Nasty Plot set, and it has better bulk with Eviolite, better defensive typing (which gives it 4x Bug and Fighting resistances), higher Speed, and a very similar movepool. One cool thing that Mandibuzz has which Golbat does not is an immunity to Psychic-type attacks; Golbat is even weak to them! Another great thing that Mandibuzz has is its STAB Foul Play. On top of these, Mandibuzz does not have to run Eviolite for its bulk. It can instead benefit from the passive recovery of Leftovers.

That being said, I think it's probably going to be important, when using Mandibuzz, to play it to its advantages. Use it for its Psychic-type immunity, awesome bulk, and great Speed.

What kinds of sets have you guys been trying? What kind of set do you think Mandibuzz can use to distinguish itself over another Pokemon that may be able to play a similar role more effectively?

 

[The Quasar]

Few lines to you, especially to underline good Treecko's analysis. I think Mandibuzz would be a good weather supporter (Rain Dance/Sunny Day and U-turn) so enough annoying with moves like Taunt and Toxic (in symbiosis with Roost and Whirlwind) . Also IMHO Swagger (with Foul Play) can be raised like good support move.
About immunity, it's not only for psychic-type attacks but ground-type too. Well, that's the weakness of defensive spiker Garbodor. Who knows, could it a good stall defensive core?

 

[Don Honchkrorleone]

Sub needs a mention on the support moves imo

This is what I've been using so far.

Mandibuzz (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Big Pecks
EVs: 252 Def / 248 HP / 8 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Toxic
- Taunt
- Roost
- Foul Play

I know lot of people are praising its specially defensive qualities, but its defense is actually higher. The only thing I can say is God. This thing is SOOOOOOOOOOOO hard to take down with a physical move. The best move on this set is Foul Play. It OHKOes all those Golurk thinking it has Brave Bird, and also dents a ton of high Attack Pokemon that come on the butchy vulture such as Sawk (can be OHKOed after Spikes), Zangoose (Facade is just a 2HKO after Rocks, and Foul Play destroys after hazards) and more. I find Foul Play superior to Brave Bird because it actually dents stuff, while Brave Bird is not that powerful because of her mediocre 65 Atk, and as the OP said, STAB Foul Play is something she has that Golbat doesn't, so it must be abused to its fullest.

 

[Brambane]

Mandibuzz (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Big Pecks
EVs: 252 Spd / 84 SAtk / 172 HP
Timid Nature
- Roost
- Substitute
- Toxic
- Air Slash

This is what I run and it works pretty well. To be honest, you can switch SpA to Atk and use Brave Bird; I just prefer Air Slash for the flinch rate. It really messes with Pokemon like Alomomola who have trouble breaking its Substitute. The EVs allow Mandibuzz to make 101 Subs and always 2HKO Sawk with Air Slash.

 

[ryan]

Sub needs a mention on the support moves imo

Agreed. I added it.

Good stuff so far too. I know there's not really a WHOLE lot of variety with Mandibuzz (especially since it hasn't even been NU for a week yet!), but I'm interested in seeing what else people are using. I've been saying since it dropped that I figure Sub/Toxic is probably one of its better sets, so that's cool.

STAB Foul Play is really huge too! I was messing around with Liepard on the ladder for funsies last week, and it's amazing how hard it hits so much of the tier.

 

[Blast]

Lately, I've been playing with a defensive core of Seismitoad, Garbodor, and Mandibuzz and it works wonders, with Toad and Garbo providing hazards and then Mandibuzz just Whirlwinds the crap out of the opponent. They also cover each other's weaknesses really well and I've had a ton of fun using them together. :D

 

[Dell]

I'm interested in seeing how Mandibuzz would play out in NU. I agree with most others that users should honestly stray towards a more defensive nature and make use of its good utility options from there. Going a more offensive route with the use of Nasty Plot and Weak Armor seems enticing, but it doesn't at all have the offensive stats to pull it out, especially for how average the base power of its special STAB moves are.

A decently fast Taunt coupled with its great bulk allows it to shut down a lot of other defensive Pokemon, and obviously Roost takes the cake as the most important move in its arsenal for what it's trying to do; stall beat out opposing Pokemon 1v1 with its utility. Foul Play seems like a whole of fun on this thing considering that Mandibuzz receives STAB from it, allowing it to give a lot of physical attackers such as Golurk or Primeape a hard time. Brave Bird can also be used if you don't want to lose to Sawk, but even against that will you receive good damage output.

So far it's a bit too early for me to have a straight-up opinion for it, but I will agree that it isn't a particularly versatile Pokemon and faces a lot of competition with Golbat in general. If this was Stage 8, where Psychic types were most rampant at the time I wouldn't at all be surprised that it would have been an amazing Pokemon there, but right now, it does seem pretty apparent that Golbat does almost everything superior even with the various small advantages. Nevertheless, Don Honchkrowleon's set is probably its best at the moment, as it uses its unique niche in STAB Foul Play,

 

[Raseri]

I'm like the only Mandibuzz fan in #neverused so I guess i should give my opinion. U-turn is my favourite move on Mandibuzz, particularly if you can keep Stealth Rock off the field. U-turn out of common switch ins (Rock-types, electrics) and go to a counter! U-turn on something with such sheer bulk is just amazing. I run Brave Bird / taunt / uturn / roost and it works fairly well. Taunt is mainly to stop recovery from Musharna, other Mandi etc so I can wear them down with Brave Bird or go to something much stronger. Mandi isnt a top tier threat at all, shes an above average Pokemon with amazing bulk and shitty offenses.

random note: Braviary has higher special attack than Mandi!

Mandi is fun because of her cool typing as well, psychic and ground immunitys are both very valuable right now. She is a solid switchin to Golurk, Musharna, and specially based Water-types. Mandibuzz is a nice "ohshit" button when im not sure what my opponent is running. It is nearly impossible to OHKO her because of having some of the best defensive stats the tier has :)

 

[NfskMjmMal]

An option that could work is to run 44 Speed EVs in order to just outpace the standard Shadow Ball + Status + Pain Split + Heal Bell Misdreavus and to do a lot of speed-creeping on base 80s with little or no investment. Mandibuzz with Taunt completely shuts down standard Misdreavus, Musharna, and a bunch of other things. Although Misdreavus is the only Pokemon above Mandibuzz's base 80 that you would be outspeeding with these EVs, it might be worth it, as Misdreavus is very common (nearly 10% in the past 3 months).

Spike-stacking teams would probably prefer set of Foul Play, Whirlwind, Roost, and Taunt, whereas on teams with little hazards, Toxic may be the better option over Whirlwind. The Seismitoed + Garbodor + Mandibuzz stall/hazard stacking core sounds really good and I want to try it out. Be careful about Jynx though!

 

[ScraftyIsTheBest]

I think Mandibuzz could be a really good special wall in NU, since it can check Psychic-types and wall most special attackers in general with its excellent special bulk. I used the set Mandibuzz would typically run in RU, with Foul Play instead of Brave Bird, and I really like using it on my stall team. It can stop threats such as Exeggutor, Musharna, and to an extent special Samurott, and it did a great job at racking up entry hazard damage. A cool core I'm thinking of is Munchlax and Mandibuzz, since Munchlax can take on any special hit that Mandibuzz can't take, and between the two of them, you can wall pretty much every special attacker in the tier. The duo also have Whirlwind, so a double phazing can make hazard damage rack up more quickly. A decently fast Taunt and Foul Play also make it an excellent Musharna check, since it can't Moonlight and will die to numerous Foul Plays over the course of the match.

 

[Hot N Cold]

Roost, Foul Play or Brave Bird and Taunt are staple on Wall Mandi, last move between Toxic or Whirlwind mostly imo Knock Off is a super interesting option too.

Toxic Spikes are very good for Mandibuzz then you dont need Toxic anymore.

A gimmicky set Nasty Plot + Roost can work as well, and finally 2 offense moves to coverage.

 

[Aasgier]

An option that could work is to run 44 Speed EVs in order to just outpace the standard Shadow Ball + Status + Pain Split + Heal Bell Misdreavus and to do a lot of speed-creeping on base 80s with little or no investment.

Wut? 44 Spe is rarely enough to outspeed Misdreavus as many Misdreavus run 40 or 44 Speed themselves. Or more, because many Skunks attempt to outspeed Misdreavus and as such run about 60 speed, and there will be Misdreavus which are safe against any of those regardless (Nasty Plot Misdreavus, or fast variants of the standard defensive Misdreavus like my own.

And also, 44 Spe will result in Mandibuzz taking more damage than it would like from powerful special attacks, either STAB or SE coverage (let alone both) and if Mandibuzz starts running even more speed OHKO's and 2HKO's would appear while those Pokémon otherwise would be safely walled.

I think Mandibuzz is better off running 248 HP, 252 in either Defensive stat and the remaining 8 EV's in either Speed or the other defensive stat.

Mandibuzz has pathetic offensive stats, so I don't think a Nasty Plot set is a good idea. To give an idea of how low Base 55 SAtk is:

0 SpA Mandibuzz Air Slash vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Leavanny: 268-316 (92.09 - 108.59%) -- 50% chance to OHKO

I sense a problem if you can't OHKO something 4× weak to a move. Ofc, Mandibuzz can run max offensive stats, but even then it shows you can, and will be walled by anything that is remotely bulk, even things that aren't special walls, like Metang. Lickilicky and Audino would be huge roadblocks as well, and let's not forget Munchlax and about any Rock-type.

 

[Majestic Electric]

Mandibuzz @Leftovers
Trait: Big Pecks
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spe
Impish Nature
-Swagger
-Foul Play
-Roost
-Whirlwind / Toxic

I've been trying this set out lately and it's surprisingly effective. Now, I know what your thinking "Why Swagger?" Well, considering Foul Play is Mandibuzz's most reliable move, why not make it even more powerful? We all know what Swagger does, so once used on an opponent, Foul Play will do massive damage. Swagger also comes with the added bonus of forcing switches, so you can predict something coming in and either Whirlwind it out or poison them, depending on your preference in the last slot. The reason this set is more physically based is because its job is to kill off physically based foes and its more bulky on the physical side.

 

[DTC]

Mandibuzz kicks so much ass it's not even funny. It is pretty much a one man walling machine that can also completely shut down defensive Pokemon. I like Roost / Foul Play / Toxic / Taunt the most at the moment. If you run Substitute over Taunt, you become a lot easier to set up on, and you cannot shut down Pokemon that want to set up hazards or want to Heal Bell/Wish or w/e. That fast Taunt is so sexy. U-turn is also a pretty interesting option. Mandibuzz has a bit of 4MSS, but she tends to do just fine with any combination of her good moves as long as you have Roost in there.

Mandibuzz can pretty much beat most of the tier 1v1, although she has some trouble switching into certain things. It is even hard to switch out of Mandibuzz, because even if you are switching into something like Golem or Regirock, if they are Toxic'd or Taunt on the switch, you can completely shut it down and beat it.

Like Raseri said, Mandibuzz is an amazing "panic button". This makes her a really good lead because her massive bulk allows her to scout out what the opponents want to do, and she can shut down hazard setters with Taunt.

I think Mandibuzz will become a staple in this tier. She's just so ridiculously solid in any situation and is a great Pokemon to rely on, similar to everyone's favorite Normal-type Kangaskhan. The fact that she has insane bulk, reliable recovery, AND decent offensive presence (Foul Play and Brave Bird hit hard despite Mandibuzz's crappy base Attack), makes her so damn good. She's just that general wall/disabler that you can put on a team even though she doesn't directly synergize with it and she will still be awesome.

 

[vyomov]

Mandibuzz and Seismitoad actually form a really good core: Seismitoad takes the rock and electric type attacks Mandibuzz doesn't like while Mandibuzz takes grass type attacks with ease.

 

[Punchshroom]

How does a spread of 248 HP / 116 Def / 144 SDef @ Careful sound? The defense allows Buzz to survive Golurk's CB Ice Punch after SR, while the special defense gives her more bulk and reduces the chance of a 2HKO from stuff like Ludicolos Ice Beam and Charizard's Fire Blast (both Life Orbed) and Jynx's unboosted Ice Beam.

 

[InsaneDragoniteHD]

I have been using this set lately :
Mandibuzz@Leftovers
252 sp. def/252 HP/4 def
Set :
Toxic
Taunt
Roost
Foul Play

I like to run this set, because with max special defense, you wall pretty much almost everything in the tier, bar those super effective moves. Toxic is a very effective move to run on this set, as it allows you to cripple those walls that think they can switch into Mandibuzz and you can cut the life short of those sweepers like Ludicolo and Carracosta, who think they can take it down. You can then go for the taunt to prevent them from even setting up that Shell Smash or that Rain Dance on the switch, allowing you to be able to cripple them before they switch out. But you do have to look out for the ice beam or any super effective move against Mandi or any move that hits on the physical side on this set,because that will shorten Mandibuzz's life line. Jynx is a huge problem for this set,if she switches in to revenge kill it. Foul Play can surprise those Golurk that think they can switch in on Mandi, expecting a brave bird and wham ! Golurk is OHKO'd by Foul Play due to its high attack, and then you can say goodbye to the stone Golem. More problems for this set would be faster taunters like Misdreavus(I think) or pokemon with prankster like Murkrow or even Liepard. Also, pokemon like Golem and Regirock completely wall this set, even though it has Toxic, they can hit with a super effective rock slide or even a rock blast, denting Mandibuzz for the remainder of the match. This is where Roost comes in. Roost allows to heal that HP that you lost from those attacks and if they attack again, it won't be super effective due to the loss of the flying typing for the turn. Roost also helps to stall even further with this set, so from my experience, Mandibuzz is an amazing stallmon so far, and I do expect it to be more used. But one more problem for Mandibuzz would be SR, because since she is part flying,she will be taking damage from Stealth Rocks every turn, therefore shortening her life line, but you can use roost to heal off that damage, meaning that you can switch in more.

Status is a bigger problem for Mandibuzz though, as I had a battle where a guy paralyzed my Mandibuzz with a T-Wave coming from a Rotom-F(don't know why and I switched in expecting him to switch out), and it did cripple Mandi, but she was still able to perform her role, just not as effectively. Toxic is a huge problem for Mandi, because that will wear her down to the point where she can not do her job for the remainder of the match.

I have also found that you can run Whirlwind over Toxic, but that only helps in a phazing team, which I was not using Mandi in a phazing team, but more of a balanced team.
(I am just starting posting,so this might be wrong)