Glastrier is one of the new Pokemon added in Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield‘s Crown Tundra DLC, and it has made some waves in the competitive battling scene. This unique Legendary Pokemon is one of the two possible mounts for the Legendary Pokemon Calyrex, but since Calyrex is banned in the current competitive format, Glastrier and Spectrier are getting their time to shine. Glastrier is a defensive powerhouse that hits like a truck out of control and only gets more powerful the longer it is in play.
In this ongoing series, we’re highlighting the most powerful and unique Pokemon currently making a name for themselves in the competitive battling scene. In the previous installment, we highlighted the beloved returning Pokemon Metagross and how it fills a specific physically offensive role in the current meta. Glastrier fills a similar role, though its typing and stat array lend itself to a far different playstyle than the beloved Metagross. Now it’s time to focus on the coolest horse in Galar: Glastrier.
Glastrier is a mono-Ice type Pokemon, which is admittedly not the most popular typing in competitive Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield. Being mono-Ice means that Glastrier takes 2x damage from Fire, Rock, Steel, and Fighting moves, and takes 0.5x damage from just Ice attacks. Unfortunately, all of Glastrier’s weaknesses are fairly commonplace in competitive battles at the moment, especially with Incineroar and Metagross being so prominent in the meta currently. Urshifu has also seen a recent spike in use as well, and Urshifu is an expert at dealing powerful Fighting attacks, like Close Combat.
Glastrier’s saving grace comes in the form of its absolutely wild stat spread. Glastrier and Metagross have similar stat arrays, but Glastrier is even more bulky than Metagross is. Glastrier has a base 100 HP, 145 Base Attack, 130 Base Defense, an abysmal 65 Special Attack, an impressive 110 Special Attack, and a brutally slow 30 Speed. Comparatively, Glastrier is much more bulky than Metagross in exchange for a lower base Speed. However, Glastrier absolutely thrives in Trick Room, where Metagross is rather unpredictable depending on the opponent’s team. Trick Room is a common Speed Control strategy in competitive VGC battles, and should definitely be considered if bringing Glastrier onto the team. Additionally, Glastrier’s ability is Chilling Neigh, which boosts Glastrier’s Attack whenever it knocks out an opponent, making it have deadly snowball potential if not kept in check.
Despite being a mono-ice type, Glastrier has a decent move pool to choose from, depending on what a comp team is missing. The easiest way to support Glastrier is to have a partner that can knock out potential threats, but with its wild Defenses and HP, Glastrier is not an easy Pokemon to take down. One of the staples of Glastrier’s movepool is Icicle Crash, which gets a STAB boost and has a 30% chance to flinch. High Horsepower is a great coverage move for Glastrier as it can help pad its weakness to Steel Pokemon. Close Combat would also work in this regard, though not against Metagross. Protect is never a bad pick as it can help cushion Glastrier until Trick Room is set up. Swords Dance could also be a deadly pick if the opponent does not stop you from setting it up, as the massive boost to Attack will help Glastrier start the match dealing huge damage. This damage potential alone makes it worth picking Glastrier in The Crown Tundra’s First Adventure.
As stated before, Glastrier can perform exceptionally well in Trick Room due to its abysmal Speed stat. There are few viable Pokemon that would outspeed Glastrier if Trick Room is up, so having a Trick Room setter on the team would be a great strategy. Dusclops is easily one of the best Trick Room setters in Pokemon Sword and Shield at the moment, in addition to being one of the spookiest Pokemon in existence. Dusclops with Eviolite is commonplace in the current meta as it can withstand most one-shot moves and can set up Trick Room before fainting. Porygon-2 would also fit this role quite well.
An interesting pick for teammates would be the blindingly fast Regieleki. Having two Pokemon at opposite ends of the Speed spectrum puts the opponent in an interesting position. Both Regieleki and Glastrier can hit hard, and putting Trick Room up will ruin one while boosting the other. Almost nothing can outspeed Regieleki, so it will be able to get at least one move off before fainting, which allows Glastrier to finish the Pokemon off for a free Chilling Neigh boost. However, focusing on Glastrier will allow Regieleki to run wild and lead to a lot of destruction as well. It will certainly put the opponent in an odd position when determining who to focus down.
The always-reliable Tapu Fini is also a great pick, as both Glastrier and Tapu Fini are very bulky, which will make the opponent burn a lot of moves and resources to just take out one of these tanks. Tapu Fini would also do well to cover Glastrier’s glaring Fighting weakness, especially considering Urshifu’s recent rise through the competitive meta. Generally any Pokemon that can help cover Glastrier’s common weaknesses is a great fit for a partner.
Glastrier is without a doubt a solid bulky physical sweeper that can clear out an entire team if the opponent lets it get set up. Running a Glastrier with a Weakness Policy can help accelerate the snowball effect, as when the opponent hits Glastrier with a super effective move it will raise Glastrier’s Attack by two stages – a MASSIVE boost to the already powerful ice horse. Combine that with either Swords Dance or a Chilling Neigh proc and Glastrier will be nigh-unstoppable. Anything that resists Ice attacks can either be hit by one of Glastrier’s coverage mooves or dealt with by Glastrier’s teammate.
In terms of countering this deadly horse, as mentioned before Urshifu is a solid pick. Breaking through Glastrier’s physical Defense is tough, so a Pokemon like the returning Pheromosa may not be a bad pick either – though Pheromosa is very frail. It will definitely outspeed Glastrier provided Trick Room is not set. Other solid pick could be Charizard who is a great Special Attacker -especially if running a Sun Team. Essentially Glastrier would ideally be countered by a Special Attacker, but can be brute-forced with physical Attack if the Attacker is strong enough. Overall, this chilly horse is a massive threat in the meta at the moment and is likely one of the main reasons Urshifu has risen back up in usage in the recent weeks.
Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield are available now for Nintendo Switch.
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