When in Rome...
INTRO
A long time ago - a little after the end of Round 1 - Layla, the first archived RMT of this generation, was published, and I really like some of the ideas for the sets that were used, and of course so did everyone else, making them my go-to sets for each of those Pokemon if just for a time. I used some of the sets in Layla to make a style of play that I hadn't used to much success before - Sand Offense, specifically around Excadrill. I tried not to make this team not quite cookie-cutter per se, and in that regard I think I succeeded in the fact that many of these Pokemon use some fairly unused yet successful options to let them get the jump on some unexpected Pokemon.
I made this team around November of last year. Most of its team members are fairly bulky though admittedly I play it like a hyperoffense team, with each teammate capitalizing on the others' weaknesses to come in and either batter the opponent right away with a powerful STAB attack, set up and fire away and hit ridiculously hard, or play the prediction game and gamble on hitting a switchin very hard with a coverage attack. In that last regard I usually play fairly well, and I like to predict. I usually let Landorus or Excadrill sweep with the other team members supporting and weakening any threats, though each team member except maybe Tyranitar can sweep the opponent by itself if given the right conditions.
While, again, this team has not changed much if at all since the last time it was used, it still functions as well as it did several suspect tests ago, having beaten or tied a few famous players in the time that I've used it both then and now. However I do think the team has lost a bit of its initial power, as I haven't gotten anywhere near where I peaked at with this during the era of Blaziken, Garchomp, and Swift Swim. I think that the raters of this team can find what I can't fix, increasing the edge this team has and will hopefully have for a long time.
IN-DEPTH
Caesar -
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 180 SAtk / 76 SDef
Sassy Nature (+SDef, -Spd)
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Standard MixTar set, props to Iconic for showing the world how it works! I usually lead off with Tyranitar only when I'm up against a clear skies team, since I don't want to gamble against a Politoed and I can't do too much to Ninetales, which makes me sad. However, usually once they're down, I send in Tyranitar immediately to do its thing. I tend to start off with using Stealth Rock, especially if the opponent seems to lack a Rapid Spinner, though sometimes I'll go on the offensive and hit something hard. If I come in on a Latios or something that I can easily take out I tend not to set up right away - I'll usually just set up SR or gamble and hit the switchin with a coverage attack. In that regard I've been successful, and I'm proud of that. Anyways, in terms of the moveset, Tyranitar is the only user of SR on this team, while Crunch is for STAB, and the last two moves are for coverage. Flamethrower is a heckuva lot more reliable than Fire Blast while Ice Beam is great for snagging any Gliscor on the switchin. The given EVs 2HKO Ferro and OHKO Gliscor with their respective coverage moves, and then maxing out HP with the rest to buff Tar's phenomenal Special Defense.
Constantine -
Trait: Technician
EVs: 240 HP / 16 Atk / 252 SDef
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
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Though more a check to key threats than a sweeper, Scizor is a fantastic Pokemon on this team. I don't understand why people haven't been using Lum Berry SD Scizor, because it gives me the opportunity to set up on so many things that its not even funny. I tend to come in on something that can't hurt me, and SD while it switches out. If it tries to paralyze or burn me, too bad, its a free boost. Scizor tends to work as my check to frailer sweepers as well Reuniclus, especially troublesome TR versions - they can't do much to me with Focus Blast while I OHKO with a boosted Bug Bite. The EVs aren't actually a far cry from the Standard Swords Dance set, though this tends to place more emphasis on the fact that Scizor can easily take many special attacks and threaten to sweep from there, since you really only need a little investment to do a lot of damage with Scizor. The moveset is almost self-explanatory at this point - SD + STAB + recovery. Bullet Punch also makes a great revenge killing move if I need to use it that way.
Alto Mare -
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
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Latios is a fantastic wallbreaker, there's no doubt about that, given his nice set of resistances as well as his amazingly powerful attacks. I tend to use Latios to punch holes in the opponent with Draco Meteor and Surf among other things but he also makes a great check to Terrakion - if they come in on say Tyranitar I can come in as they either boost or attack me. I outspeed those that don't Rock Polish right away and I outspeed any that use Swords Dance, notwithstanding that I take little damage from Terrakion anyways. Sometimes Latios can sweep on its own, though those times are few and far between - that's better left to the next two Pokemon. In terms of the moveset Draco Meteor is just plain powerful though I tend to save it for last, while Surf gives me coverage on Tyranitar and Heatran who want to capitalize on tanking a Draco Meteor. HP Fire curbstomps Ferrothorn, while Psyshock not only allows me to 2HKO Blissey (though admittedly I wish it did more to Chansey) but it also lets me check a lot of Fighting-type sweepers, namely Terrakion and Virizion.
Changes:
-Put Recover over Hidden Power Fire
-Put Recover over Hidden Power Fire
Brutus -
Trait: Sand Rush
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
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Excadrill is one of two primary sweepers on this team, the other being Landorus. We all know how great Excadrill is as a sweeper, so I don't need to explain how that works, seeing as its stock-standard. I usually let out Excadrill as soon as safely possible, meaning that whenever any surefire counters are gone I just let it loose. Other times I'll send it out early just as an indication to my opponent that I have it and that I can use it well, putting some pressure on them. The moveset is, again, stock-standard, though I chose return over X-Scissor since I don't usually have any trouble with Celebi, who is usually either weakened or KO'd by Scizor. Return also lets me deal great damage to Gliscor, doing something like 60% at +2, meaning if its taken some damage before (if it hasn't been disposed of already), I can just plow right through it.
Changes:
-Put Air Balloon on over Life Orb
-Put Air Balloon on over Life Orb
Maximus -
Trait: Sand Force
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
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The second primary sweeper that I carry, Landorus's spot was originally carried by Gliscor way back in the early phases of this team, but Landorus has been there ever since and I haven't regretted a single match with him. Swords Dance Landorus is just so powerful its not even funny, and if you get a Sub up on the switch, you can cause so much trouble. While Excadrill is usually my sweeper in the face of fellow offensive teams, Landorus truly shines when I'm up against a slower stall team or teams of that nature - it doesn't really care about entry hazards, and with Sub and Leftovers, it's really easy to get a boost or two in and go to town. I had been using Substitute as my only option, but august recently suggested that I run a Life Orb and Hidden Power Ice to take care of Gliscor. I'll sometimes use that, though generally I find Gliscor is down or significantly weakened by the time I send out Landorus, and there's always Rotom-W in the wings to take care of it if anything comes up.
Hadrian -
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 212 Def / 44 SAtk
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
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Rotom-W is both a bit of a defensive glue and a catch-all for any threats that I couldn't handle otherwise. It takes on rain teams very well, thanks to its resistances as well as Thunderbolt. Rotom-W is usually there if i accidentally let one of my sweepers out too early - if Skarmory or Gliscor is still alive, I can just send this thing out and hit one of them hard or their switch in not quite as hard. I tend to lead with Rotom-W if I'm facing a rain team, but in the face of another sand team I can usually send this thing in on Excadrill considering that I don't really take much from its main attacks, though I do have to be wary of those packing Return, since there is a chance that I could be KO'd otherwise. I pack HP Fire over Will-o-Wisp as the most common switch-in to Rotom-W in my experience tends to be Ferrothorn, letting me soundly smack it with HP Fire. I also outpace most Scizor, considering they don't really invest in Speed much if at all. As for the EV spread, I've worked fine with it as it is, though if it is that big of an issue I'll just change it to the standard spread to see if that works any better.
Changes:
-Changed the EV spread from 168 HP / 252 SAtk / 88 Spd to 252 HP / 212 Def / 44 SAtk
-Changed the EV spread from 168 HP / 252 SAtk / 88 Spd to 252 HP / 212 Def / 44 SAtk
CONCLUSION
And that's all folks! Thank you for reading. Sand as a whole, again, hasn't changed much since the introduction of B/W, except maybe for the banning of Garchomp, so despite the fact that this team may have already hit its peak a while back, I believe that this team still works and is as solid now as it was back in November, maybe even more so because of the banning of some of the major threats to this team. I'm not retiring this team now, nor will I for a long time, if just because its a fun team to play with, and when you get right down to it, that's all that really matters.
All right, that's it! Thanks for reading, and discuss if you want!
