Which of Ferrothorn or Shuckle is better for NatDex AG as a hazard setter?

Question

Ferrothorn has spikes, stealth rock, and a good ability if up against a physical attacker. It also has a good Gyro Ball so that taunt doesn't ruin it. Leech seed is another good move.

On the other hand, Shuckle has contrary Shell Smash, stealth rocks and sticky webs(sticky webs > spikes in my opinion) with absurdly high defenses. It has numerous item possibilities and is probably more versatile than Ferrothorn.

The question is, which one is better? The format would be Gen 8 Natdex ag on showdown, if you're wondering.

*Note: Please include sets

Comments

According to the VR, Ferrothorn is B Rank while Shuckle is down in C rank. The reason is: Ferrothorn provides good defensive utility outside of Hazards: it can check Primal Kyogre. It can also keep itself healthy with Leech Seed through the game and has much more survivability. It also has a way better typing.
Shuckle is unique as it's the one of only two mons to get both Stealth Rock and Sticky Web. Unless you're running a hyper offense team that really needs those things, don't run Shuckle. It is definitely not more versatile than Ferrothorn. It has very little utility outside of setting it's Hazards.
Ferrothorn fits more on Balance and Bulky Offense,  while Shuckle fits exclusively on Hyper Offense.

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Smeargle also gets both Sticky Web and Stealth Rock and is available in Nat Dex AG. It is also better than Shuckle as a suicide hazard setter lead.

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They serve different purposes. Shuckle is a lead, and a lead strictly. It’s meant to set hazards and die, while ferrothorn is supposed to do other stuff such as dealing with threats like xerneas while having hazards on the side. Honestly, Smeargle is a better suicide lead than Shuckle due to sleep/paralysis and moody shenanigans.

Answer 1

Physically defensive Ferrothorn is a valuable defensive cornerstone that provides entry hazard support and checks many prominent physical attackers such as Zekrom, Groudon, and Zygarde. Its excellent typing also allows it to soft check Kyogre, which allows Eternatus to play more offensively. Iron Defense or Curse allows Ferrothorn to bolster its Defense to check physical setup sweepers such as Dragon Dance Zekrom and Zygarde. Body Press is the preferred attack on Ferrothorn, as its power is based on Ferrothorn’s Defense; it also allows Ferrothorn to punish Yveltal for using Roost, helping Ferrothorn keep entry hazards up and weakening Yveltal to enable a Calyrex-S sweep. Knock Off and Curse are alternatives to Body Press and Iron Defense, respectively, that debilitate pivots heavily dependent on Heavy-Duty Boots such as Ho-Oh, cripple item-dependent breakers such as Marshadow, and threaten Calyrex-S. Knock Off also allows Ferrothorn to make immediate progress against opposing Eternatus and Ferrothorn by removing their Black Sludge and Leftovers. However, the extra stage of Defense that Iron Defense provides over Curse is often crucial for surviving matchups against certain powerful physical sweepers such as Life Orb Zygarde and Swords Dance Groudon. Leech Seed allows Ferrothorn to gain an incredible amount of passive recovery alongside Leftovers while chipping foes. Maximum Defense and HP investment with a Bold or Impish nature allows Ferrothorn to best handle the threats it checks.

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Shuckle faces competition from Slurpuff as a Sticky Web setter, as it can block Defog or Rapid Spin attempts with Misty Explosion and deter opposing entry hazard leads and Taunt users with Magic Coat.
Shuckle should only be used on hyper offense teams that can make full use of Sticky Web.
Devastating setup sweepers such as Dragon Dance Zygarde-C, Xerneas, and Zekrom can set up in front of Shuckle once Encore has been used and proceed to Dynamax and sweep without being locked into a move. Red Card also cannot phaze out Pokemon under Dynamax, making the aforementioned setup sweepers tougher to deal with.
Because Shuckle is passive, it relies on Toxic or Infestation to wear down Defog users like Ho-Oh and Yveltal that can remove Sticky Web and Stealth Rock with ease. Giratina can shrug Toxic off with Rest and is immune to trapping, and Excadrill can use Rapid Spin against Shuckle and keep its Stealth Rock up. However, Encore in conjunction with offensive pressure from teammates can negate this.

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tldr Ferrothorn is better in most situations because it can use spikes and do a lot of other things that Shuckle can't do.