Is Gliscor good competitively?

As an avid competitive Pokémon player and content creator, this is a question I get asked frequently regarding the Fanged Scorp Pokémon. And my answer is an emphatic yes! In fact, I think Gliscor remains one of the most underrated support Pokémon in the current metagame, capable of enabling defensive and balanced team archetypes with its impressive longevity and utility.

Gliscor‘s Stats and Attributes

Let‘s start by examining why Gliscor‘s base attributes make it well-suited for competitive play:

• Great Defensive Typing: The Ground/Flying typing give Gliscor handy resistances to Fighting, Bug, and Fire attacks, while eliminating its Electric weakness with Levitate.
• Excellent Natural Bulk: Base 75 HP and 125 Defense means Gliscor has plenty of physical durability even before EV investment.
• Reliable Recovery: Access to reliable recovery in Roost and Poison Heal allow Gliscor to stick around for the long haul.
• Useful Support Options: With access to entry hazards, status, Knock Off, and pivot moves, Gliscor offers great team support.

These innate traits enable Gliscor to adequately perform defensive and utility roles. But Gliscor also stands out from its Ground-type counterparts with some key advantages:

Comparison to Other Popular Ground Types

As we can see, Gliscor‘s Defense sits solidly above Landorus and Garchomp, while lagging slightly behind Hippowdon‘s impressive physical bulk. However, Gliscor outpaces the competition in overall utility – hazards, status, recovery, pivot moves to differentiate itself as one of the most versatile Grounds around.

Gliscor‘s Niche and Value in the Metagame

Across Sword/Shield‘s Online Singles and Battle Stadium Singles formats, Gliscor maintained ~4% usage in 2022 according to Pikalytics – squarely OU by community standards. This usage backs up Gliscor‘s viability, as it carved out a role on balance and stall teams needing a physical pivot.

Common transition moves like U-Turn enable Gliscor to bring in offensive teammates safely against predicted switch-ins attempting to capitalize on its mediocre damage output. Once in safely, Gliscor can eliminate counters with its coverage or set up entry hazards and crippling status:

• Stealth Rock – Chips away at heavier foes and compounds residual damage
• Toxic – Exerts pressure and wears down bulkier targets
• Knock Off – Removes important recovery items and Eviolites

Thanks to reliable recovery between Poison Heal, Roost, and Leftovers, Gliscor also serves as an effective check to prominent special attackers it can switch in on like Kyurem, Tapu Lele, and Ash-Greninja:

As we can see, defensive Gliscor avoids the 2HKO from even super effective attacks and can stall out most special attackers with status and Roost. This unique utility provided match-long defensive utility and enabled balance teams to preserve win conditions.

Effective Gliscor Sets

While Gliscor can run a few viable sets, a Poison Heal defensive set makes the best use of its natural bulk and recovery:

Gliscor @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 244 HP / 192 Def / 72 Spe
Impish Nature

• Earthquake
• Toxic
• Roost
• Protect

This spread maximizes physical bulk with maximum HP and Defense investment while outpacing other walls. Meanwhile, the moves provide reliable recovery, rack up residual poison damage, and help scout common Choice item users. An alternate set using Ice Fang for ground immunity can work as well.

Good Teammates

As a defensive pivot, Gliscor pairs well with setup sweepers it can bring in safely like:

• Dragon Dance Gyarados – Gliscor checks common Electric-type counters while Gyarados pummels teams after a boost
• Calm Mind Tapu Fini – With Gliscor eliminating Poison types, CM Fini easily sets up on special attacks
• Swords Dance Kartana – Another threat Gliscor can pivot out to take advantage of removed Fairy/Flying types

Entry hazard removal and cleric support from the likes of Tapu Fini and Mandibuzz also helps ease residual damage Gliscor will take throughout matches.

The Verdict on Gliscor‘s Viability

So in summary – yes, Gliscor remains a highly viable competitive Pokémon as an excellent physically defensive pivot enabling defensive playstyles in the current metagame. Usage statistics, damage calculations, and battle records back up Gliscor‘s utility across multiple generations.

While it lacks raw power compared to other Grounds, a defensive Gliscor set carries games through longevity, hazards, status, and pivotal switches bringing in offensivewin conditions. And I predict Gliscor will continue seeing similar competitive success as long as popular special attackers and wallbreakers it counters like Kyurem, Lele, and Kartana remain fixtures of the format.

Give Gliscor a shot on your next competitive team – I think you‘ll come to appreciate the Fanged Scorp‘s unique brand of stall and support!