Hello everyone! I go by the name of Letters. I've been playing mons competitively for about 5 years now. I'm a former player on PO, but that died so I spend most of my time playing on Smogon now. Anyway, I'm just showing off a little team that I built not too long ago for the SM OU tier. I hover around 1700/1800 with this team unless I'm on tilt. It's somewhat inconsistent due to heavily relying on prediction, but when I play well it tends to work well. Anyway, without further ado, here's the team.
Importable
Teambuilding Process
Charizard-Mega-Y @ Charizardite Y
Ability: Drought
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Fire Blast
- Solar Beam
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Roost
Just a pretty standard Charzard Y set. I went with Fire Blast as STAB because this in fact a nuking Pokemon. It doesn't tend to sweep very well because of its speed tier, so I went with Power > Accuracy. Fire Blast hits like an absolute truck and alone destroys most of the metagame. The second move that I went for is Solarbeam. This helps abuse the Sun, and hit bulky Waters like Tapu Fini. I have Hidden Power Ice because I made this team around the time everyone and their mother was using Zygarde. Tapu Fini was already a good enough answer, but it got overwhelmed rather easily. Many people liked switched Zygarde into Zard Y thinking they can scare me out to set up or KO me, only to get smashed by HP Ice. HP Ice also helped deal with Garchomp and Landorus-T so I didn't always have to rely on the accuracy of Fire Blast, and the weakness of Solarbeam. I don't have Focus Blast simply because I think I have more than enough counterplay to Heatran and Tyranitar as things currently are, so I didn't see it as necessary. Lastly, I have Roost. This increases longevity, especially when I'm forced to switch into Rocks. It takes the pressure off of always having to get Rocks off of the field (it is still a priority though).
Tyranitar @ Smooth Rock
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Ice Beam
- Stealth Rock
- Thunder Wave
- Crunch
Next up is Tyranitar. Again, a very simple and basic set. Tyranitar has 2 roles, set up Rocks, and set up the Sand for Excadrill. These EV's are just added for bulk purposes. Ice Beam is there to hit Zygarde, Garchomp, and Landorus-T hard. Stealth Rocks are there for obvious reasons. The bulk helps consistently get Rocks up throughout a match. Thunder Wave is the one move on this set that doesn't get used much. I have it just in case I need to paralyze a fast threat on the opposing team. More often that not it doesn't get used though. Crunch is there just for STAB purposes. Tyranitar hit decently hard with no investment, and allows me to get important chip damage for other members.
Excadrill @ Steelium Z
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Rapid Spin
- Iron Head
Excadrill is the team's main Sweeper/Wallbreaker. It does both, very well. I went with an Adamant nature to increase power, and I never saw a need to be Jolly. Swords Dance is there to boost Excadrill's Attack to aid in sweeping or breaking teams. Earthquake is the primary STAB move. Rapid Spin is there to help get rid of hazards for Zard. I'm using Iron Head for dual STAB and for the Steelium Z. At +2, Corkscrew Crash decimates most of Excadrill's checks after some chip damage. I'm able to handle most of the tier with just these two moves, but the biggest problem with Excadrill also being my hazard removal is that I often times have to decide between keeping Excadrill and leaving hazards up, or losing Excadrill and removing hazards.
Tapu Fini @ Leftovers
Ability: Misty Surge
EVs: 24 HP / 252 SpA / 232 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Hydro Pump
- Moonblast
- Hidden Power [Fire]
Tapu Fini is one of the two mons that isn't as easily predictable on this team. Through typing and sheer natural bulk, Tapu Fini is still able to check the things that I need it to, and that makes an Offensive set viable. The EVs are there to maximize Special Attack, and allow Tapu Fini to outspeed max Speed, neutral natured base 95s, most notably Kyurem-Black and Zygarde. Calm Mind is there to boost a sub par base 95 Special Attack stat. The added special bulk sometimes comes into play, but typically not too often. I have Hydro Pump as a STAB move. I chose Hydro Pump over Surf or Scald because with no boosts it has chances to 0hko things like Landorus-T, and offensive Heatran where the latter 2 don't. That chance can mean the difference between having to deal with Rocks (Lando) and dropping to Bloom Doom (Tran). Moonblast rounds out the STAB moves and just gives me another move to hit decently hard without having to worry about accuracy. Lastly, I have HP Fire. This helps deal with Mons like Scizor and Ferrothorn that love switching into Tapu Fini. This extra damage can help both Excadrill and Ferrothorn when it comes time for them to sweep late game. Outside of those two mons it doesn't get much use, but they are common enough to justify keeping it (oh how I wish this thing got a decent Psychic move).
Skarmory @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Roost
- Whirlwind
- Spikes
- Brave Bird
Another nice and basic set. Nothing really special here in terms of the set. Roost is there to help Skarmory wall things throughout an entire match. Whirlwind is nice for phazing set up sweepers, racking up hazards damage, and beating Baton Pass. Spikes are just another level of hazards that I'm using because I'm running a Spinner and not a Defogger now. The hazard damage really help Excadrill and Dugtrio sweep. Brave Bird is there so I'm not Taunt fodder or useless and things like Medicham and/or Pinsir. It also serves to get pretty decent chip damage on a lot of mons.
Dugtrio @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Arena Trap
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Memento
- Toxic
And last but not least we have Dugtrio. I chose Scarf because it allowed Dugtrio to trap and kill things like +1 Volcarona, Tapu Koko, Protean Greninja, and various other mons. It served primarily as a revenge killer, and sometimes it came it to clean late game. I also picked an Adamant nature because the extra power really helps Dugtrio in the long run. Every so often I switch and use Jolly, but I don't often run into situations in which running Jolly would be better. Earthquake is there for STAB reasons, and Stone Edge hits the Flying types that Earthquake can't. Memento is seldom used, but can be used to give Fini or Excadrill an easier set up. Memento can also help if I let a set up sweeper get a little out of hand. Toxic is also another rarely used move. With Mega Medicham and Mega Heracross being released now, I've considered changing it to Aerial Ace to hit Heracross a little harder.
How to Use the Team
Replays
Threatlist in progress
Ideas for edits so far
If you have made it this far, I appreciate it. Any and all suggestions and discussions are welcome.
Importable
Charizard-Mega-Y @ Charizardite Y
Ability: Drought
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Fire Blast
- Solar Beam
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Roost
Tyranitar @ Smooth Rock
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Ice Beam
- Stealth Rock
- Thunder Wave
- Crunch
Excadrill @ Steelium Z
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Rapid Spin
- Iron Head
Tapu Fini @ Leftovers
Ability: Misty Surge
EVs: 24 HP / 252 SpA / 232 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Hydro Pump
- Moonblast
- Hidden Power [Fire]
Skarmory @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Roost
- Whirlwind
- Spikes
- Brave Bird
Dugtrio @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Arena Trap
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Memento
- Toxic
Ability: Drought
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Fire Blast
- Solar Beam
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Roost
Tyranitar @ Smooth Rock
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Ice Beam
- Stealth Rock
- Thunder Wave
- Crunch
Excadrill @ Steelium Z
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Rapid Spin
- Iron Head
Tapu Fini @ Leftovers
Ability: Misty Surge
EVs: 24 HP / 252 SpA / 232 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Hydro Pump
- Moonblast
- Hidden Power [Fire]
Skarmory @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Roost
- Whirlwind
- Spikes
- Brave Bird
Dugtrio @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Arena Trap
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Memento
- Toxic
Teambuilding Process
First I wanted to start off with my favorite Mega of all time, Mega Zard Y. Zard Y was very under used at the beginning of SM OU and I wanted to use it because no one else was. It still has a very solid speed tier, it still has very few switch ins, and is overall a fairly easy Pokemon to build around. I just went standard with Zard because I saw no reason to spice things up.
Next I was thinking about what cores I could use to help Zard Y, and Ttar + Excadrill very quickly came to mind. Excadrill and Zard Y pair extremely well together offensively. They can both handle each others checks, and weaken teams for each other. I chose scarf Tyranitar and a Life Orb, SD, 3 attackcs Excadrill.
Next I needed something to resist both Water and Fighting and add a little bit more defense to the team so I went with Tapu Fini. Tapu Fini fit this role rather nicely. The bulk and typing helped deal with things like Greninja, and Tapu Fini had access to Defog for hazard control, and Misty Terrain to help Excadrill deal with burns had I ever needed to switch into a Scald or a Will-o-Wisp. I went with the standard defensive set.
Next I saw that my team was fairly weak defensively, and had no Ground resist, so I slapped Skarmory on the team. Skarmory and Tapu Fini formed a pretty decent defensive core. Skarmory also served as my Stealth Rocker because at this point I didn't have one. Skarmory patched a lot of holes and overall improved the team greatly. With hazards, nice defensive capability, and phazing, I could avoid some set up sweepers and not auto lose to strong Physical or Ground attacks.
The last slow on the team went to Dugtrio. I added Dugtrio because is helped beat things like Tyranitar, Heatran, and Toxapex for Zard, and could clean up and/or break holes in the opposing team for Excadrill. I went with a Sashed set because this would serve as a back up dealing with some set up sweepers, and because I have Zard on the team, keeping hazards off the field is an absolute must. This would mean that my sash would ideally be in contact more often than not.
That rounded out the team and I went into testing. Through testing I noticed the following flaws:
1) Scarf Tyranitar SUCKS. It would die too quickly, not hit hard enough, not outspeed enough, and not set up Excadrill very often because of the few Sand turns I would have.
2) Excadrill was dying way too quickly. Life Orb certainly helped it's kill power, but it just didn't feel like I enough. Even switching Excadrill into weak attacked severely hampered its use.
3) Defensive Tapu Fini didn't really do much outside of Defog and eating hits from Gren. I know that's what I added it to the team for, but it was just more or less a deadweight.
4) Skarmory is not the best Stealth Rocker. It's hard to rely on it for Rocks and such an important role checking physical attackers. It hurt Skarmory's longevity and it didn't do either of its jobs as well as I would've liked it to.
5) Sash Dugtrio was actually fine. It was just really weak and got outsped by a lot of things. This team isn't a fast one, but some mons that really annoyed my team were not handled by Dugtrio (Volcarona, Tapu Koko, various Scarf mons).
These issues lead me to using a 1) defensive, Stealth Rock Tyranitar with Smooth Rock to increase Sand turns for Excadrill. 2) Changing Excadrill to a Steelium Z, SD set. 3) Changing Tapu Fini to be offensive. 4) Giving Skarmory Spikes because I changed my Stealth Rocker, and 5) adding a Scarf Dugtrio.
As things currently stand, this has been the final state of the team.
Next I was thinking about what cores I could use to help Zard Y, and Ttar + Excadrill very quickly came to mind. Excadrill and Zard Y pair extremely well together offensively. They can both handle each others checks, and weaken teams for each other. I chose scarf Tyranitar and a Life Orb, SD, 3 attackcs Excadrill.
Next I needed something to resist both Water and Fighting and add a little bit more defense to the team so I went with Tapu Fini. Tapu Fini fit this role rather nicely. The bulk and typing helped deal with things like Greninja, and Tapu Fini had access to Defog for hazard control, and Misty Terrain to help Excadrill deal with burns had I ever needed to switch into a Scald or a Will-o-Wisp. I went with the standard defensive set.
Next I saw that my team was fairly weak defensively, and had no Ground resist, so I slapped Skarmory on the team. Skarmory and Tapu Fini formed a pretty decent defensive core. Skarmory also served as my Stealth Rocker because at this point I didn't have one. Skarmory patched a lot of holes and overall improved the team greatly. With hazards, nice defensive capability, and phazing, I could avoid some set up sweepers and not auto lose to strong Physical or Ground attacks.
The last slow on the team went to Dugtrio. I added Dugtrio because is helped beat things like Tyranitar, Heatran, and Toxapex for Zard, and could clean up and/or break holes in the opposing team for Excadrill. I went with a Sashed set because this would serve as a back up dealing with some set up sweepers, and because I have Zard on the team, keeping hazards off the field is an absolute must. This would mean that my sash would ideally be in contact more often than not.
That rounded out the team and I went into testing. Through testing I noticed the following flaws:
1) Scarf Tyranitar SUCKS. It would die too quickly, not hit hard enough, not outspeed enough, and not set up Excadrill very often because of the few Sand turns I would have.
2) Excadrill was dying way too quickly. Life Orb certainly helped it's kill power, but it just didn't feel like I enough. Even switching Excadrill into weak attacked severely hampered its use.
3) Defensive Tapu Fini didn't really do much outside of Defog and eating hits from Gren. I know that's what I added it to the team for, but it was just more or less a deadweight.
4) Skarmory is not the best Stealth Rocker. It's hard to rely on it for Rocks and such an important role checking physical attackers. It hurt Skarmory's longevity and it didn't do either of its jobs as well as I would've liked it to.
5) Sash Dugtrio was actually fine. It was just really weak and got outsped by a lot of things. This team isn't a fast one, but some mons that really annoyed my team were not handled by Dugtrio (Volcarona, Tapu Koko, various Scarf mons).
These issues lead me to using a 1) defensive, Stealth Rock Tyranitar with Smooth Rock to increase Sand turns for Excadrill. 2) Changing Excadrill to a Steelium Z, SD set. 3) Changing Tapu Fini to be offensive. 4) Giving Skarmory Spikes because I changed my Stealth Rocker, and 5) adding a Scarf Dugtrio.
As things currently stand, this has been the final state of the team.
Charizard-Mega-Y @ Charizardite Y
Ability: Drought
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Fire Blast
- Solar Beam
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Roost
Just a pretty standard Charzard Y set. I went with Fire Blast as STAB because this in fact a nuking Pokemon. It doesn't tend to sweep very well because of its speed tier, so I went with Power > Accuracy. Fire Blast hits like an absolute truck and alone destroys most of the metagame. The second move that I went for is Solarbeam. This helps abuse the Sun, and hit bulky Waters like Tapu Fini. I have Hidden Power Ice because I made this team around the time everyone and their mother was using Zygarde. Tapu Fini was already a good enough answer, but it got overwhelmed rather easily. Many people liked switched Zygarde into Zard Y thinking they can scare me out to set up or KO me, only to get smashed by HP Ice. HP Ice also helped deal with Garchomp and Landorus-T so I didn't always have to rely on the accuracy of Fire Blast, and the weakness of Solarbeam. I don't have Focus Blast simply because I think I have more than enough counterplay to Heatran and Tyranitar as things currently are, so I didn't see it as necessary. Lastly, I have Roost. This increases longevity, especially when I'm forced to switch into Rocks. It takes the pressure off of always having to get Rocks off of the field (it is still a priority though).
Tyranitar @ Smooth Rock
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Ice Beam
- Stealth Rock
- Thunder Wave
- Crunch
Next up is Tyranitar. Again, a very simple and basic set. Tyranitar has 2 roles, set up Rocks, and set up the Sand for Excadrill. These EV's are just added for bulk purposes. Ice Beam is there to hit Zygarde, Garchomp, and Landorus-T hard. Stealth Rocks are there for obvious reasons. The bulk helps consistently get Rocks up throughout a match. Thunder Wave is the one move on this set that doesn't get used much. I have it just in case I need to paralyze a fast threat on the opposing team. More often that not it doesn't get used though. Crunch is there just for STAB purposes. Tyranitar hit decently hard with no investment, and allows me to get important chip damage for other members.
Excadrill @ Steelium Z
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Rapid Spin
- Iron Head
Excadrill is the team's main Sweeper/Wallbreaker. It does both, very well. I went with an Adamant nature to increase power, and I never saw a need to be Jolly. Swords Dance is there to boost Excadrill's Attack to aid in sweeping or breaking teams. Earthquake is the primary STAB move. Rapid Spin is there to help get rid of hazards for Zard. I'm using Iron Head for dual STAB and for the Steelium Z. At +2, Corkscrew Crash decimates most of Excadrill's checks after some chip damage. I'm able to handle most of the tier with just these two moves, but the biggest problem with Excadrill also being my hazard removal is that I often times have to decide between keeping Excadrill and leaving hazards up, or losing Excadrill and removing hazards.
Tapu Fini @ Leftovers
Ability: Misty Surge
EVs: 24 HP / 252 SpA / 232 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Hydro Pump
- Moonblast
- Hidden Power [Fire]
Tapu Fini is one of the two mons that isn't as easily predictable on this team. Through typing and sheer natural bulk, Tapu Fini is still able to check the things that I need it to, and that makes an Offensive set viable. The EVs are there to maximize Special Attack, and allow Tapu Fini to outspeed max Speed, neutral natured base 95s, most notably Kyurem-Black and Zygarde. Calm Mind is there to boost a sub par base 95 Special Attack stat. The added special bulk sometimes comes into play, but typically not too often. I have Hydro Pump as a STAB move. I chose Hydro Pump over Surf or Scald because with no boosts it has chances to 0hko things like Landorus-T, and offensive Heatran where the latter 2 don't. That chance can mean the difference between having to deal with Rocks (Lando) and dropping to Bloom Doom (Tran). Moonblast rounds out the STAB moves and just gives me another move to hit decently hard without having to worry about accuracy. Lastly, I have HP Fire. This helps deal with Mons like Scizor and Ferrothorn that love switching into Tapu Fini. This extra damage can help both Excadrill and Ferrothorn when it comes time for them to sweep late game. Outside of those two mons it doesn't get much use, but they are common enough to justify keeping it (oh how I wish this thing got a decent Psychic move).
Skarmory @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Roost
- Whirlwind
- Spikes
- Brave Bird
Another nice and basic set. Nothing really special here in terms of the set. Roost is there to help Skarmory wall things throughout an entire match. Whirlwind is nice for phazing set up sweepers, racking up hazards damage, and beating Baton Pass. Spikes are just another level of hazards that I'm using because I'm running a Spinner and not a Defogger now. The hazard damage really help Excadrill and Dugtrio sweep. Brave Bird is there so I'm not Taunt fodder or useless and things like Medicham and/or Pinsir. It also serves to get pretty decent chip damage on a lot of mons.
Dugtrio @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Arena Trap
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Memento
- Toxic
And last but not least we have Dugtrio. I chose Scarf because it allowed Dugtrio to trap and kill things like +1 Volcarona, Tapu Koko, Protean Greninja, and various other mons. It served primarily as a revenge killer, and sometimes it came it to clean late game. I also picked an Adamant nature because the extra power really helps Dugtrio in the long run. Every so often I switch and use Jolly, but I don't often run into situations in which running Jolly would be better. Earthquake is there for STAB reasons, and Stone Edge hits the Flying types that Earthquake can't. Memento is seldom used, but can be used to give Fini or Excadrill an easier set up. Memento can also help if I let a set up sweeper get a little out of hand. Toxic is also another rarely used move. With Mega Medicham and Mega Heracross being released now, I've considered changing it to Aerial Ace to hit Heracross a little harder.
How to Use the Team
Choosing a lead
This is arguably the most important part of the game. Chances are you will be leading with 1 of 4 Mons, Charizard, Tapu Fini, Tyranitar, or Dugtrio. When choosing the lead you NEED to analyze the opponent's team. The top things to consider:
Is there a Greninja?
Is there a Tapu Koko?
Is there anything to threaten Zard Y?
Can Fini/Tar get a surprise kill early?
Is it stall?
What is the most likely lead on the opposing side?
When Greninja is on the team, you are likely leading either Charizard or Fini because people lead with Greninja a lot.
If Tapu Koko is there, you're likely leading with Dugtrio, Tyranitar, or Excadrill because Tapu Koko is probably the most common lead in OU.
If your opponent has nothing to 0hko Zard with, leading with it helps turns the battle in your favor turn one. I'll get into more detail about this later.
If your opponent's likely lead is Garchomp or Landorus, and they have nothing to threaten Fini with immediately, leading with Fini can get you a nice kill turn one. Leading Tyranitar can also get you an Ice Beam or trading Rocks.
If you're facing stall, you're likely going to lead Zard or Fini. No real reason to lead with anything else.
And the most complicating part of choosing a lead is determining what your opponent's lead will be. The most difficult lead to predict is a team that consists of Greninja, Tapu Koko, and Landorus-T (or a similar composition) simply because all 3 are excellent leads, and choosing wrong can really make battles difficult early on.
If your opponent has Tapu Koko + Greninja, Tapu Koko is normally the lead, so I lead Dugtrio. If the opponent has Landorus-T + another potential Rocker, it's best to avoid leading Zard because you don't want to lose it to a Scarf Rock move turn one.
This part is honestly all about analyzing the opponents team, trying to determine sets, and figure out what is best. It's hard to give clear cut rules because team composition as a whole is important when analyzing. I'll go more into depth on this process when I show replays.
Post Lead Play
After choosing a lead the next step is to figure out sets. Greninja is the most important set to determine because you handle it differently depending on which one it is. The main goal of the team is to sweep with either Excadrill or Dugtrio. Weaking mons along the way through chip damage, hazard damage, and Zard Y's wallbreaking is how you typically do this. This team can be very prediction heavy which leads to it being inconsistent, so always try to stay on your game.
Keep in mind, this isn't really a defensive team. Trying to play too defensively will lose you most games, but you also aren't an aggro team, so trying to be too offensive also hurts.
This is arguably the most important part of the game. Chances are you will be leading with 1 of 4 Mons, Charizard, Tapu Fini, Tyranitar, or Dugtrio. When choosing the lead you NEED to analyze the opponent's team. The top things to consider:
Is there a Greninja?
Is there a Tapu Koko?
Is there anything to threaten Zard Y?
Can Fini/Tar get a surprise kill early?
Is it stall?
What is the most likely lead on the opposing side?
When Greninja is on the team, you are likely leading either Charizard or Fini because people lead with Greninja a lot.
If Tapu Koko is there, you're likely leading with Dugtrio, Tyranitar, or Excadrill because Tapu Koko is probably the most common lead in OU.
If your opponent has nothing to 0hko Zard with, leading with it helps turns the battle in your favor turn one. I'll get into more detail about this later.
If your opponent's likely lead is Garchomp or Landorus, and they have nothing to threaten Fini with immediately, leading with Fini can get you a nice kill turn one. Leading Tyranitar can also get you an Ice Beam or trading Rocks.
If you're facing stall, you're likely going to lead Zard or Fini. No real reason to lead with anything else.
And the most complicating part of choosing a lead is determining what your opponent's lead will be. The most difficult lead to predict is a team that consists of Greninja, Tapu Koko, and Landorus-T (or a similar composition) simply because all 3 are excellent leads, and choosing wrong can really make battles difficult early on.
If your opponent has Tapu Koko + Greninja, Tapu Koko is normally the lead, so I lead Dugtrio. If the opponent has Landorus-T + another potential Rocker, it's best to avoid leading Zard because you don't want to lose it to a Scarf Rock move turn one.
This part is honestly all about analyzing the opponents team, trying to determine sets, and figure out what is best. It's hard to give clear cut rules because team composition as a whole is important when analyzing. I'll go more into depth on this process when I show replays.
Post Lead Play
After choosing a lead the next step is to figure out sets. Greninja is the most important set to determine because you handle it differently depending on which one it is. The main goal of the team is to sweep with either Excadrill or Dugtrio. Weaking mons along the way through chip damage, hazard damage, and Zard Y's wallbreaking is how you typically do this. This team can be very prediction heavy which leads to it being inconsistent, so always try to stay on your game.
Keep in mind, this isn't really a defensive team. Trying to play too defensively will lose you most games, but you also aren't an aggro team, so trying to be too offensive also hurts.
Replays
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-579602843 - Tar and Fini are the top 2 leads in this game because of team composition.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-579581590 - Hardest composition to predict. Lead Duggy, got it right. Had he lead Lando I wouldn't have been in a good place.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-579575501 - Duggy beats half his team. Koko was the predicted lead. A little haxy of a match though. Shows you the biggest threat to the team though.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-579573207 - VS Baton Pass
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-579571640 - Cookie cutter display of how to use the team.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-579568045 - Another slightly haxy match. Shows you the job of Z Drill.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-579581590 - Hardest composition to predict. Lead Duggy, got it right. Had he lead Lando I wouldn't have been in a good place.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-579575501 - Duggy beats half his team. Koko was the predicted lead. A little haxy of a match though. Shows you the biggest threat to the team though.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-579573207 - VS Baton Pass
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-579571640 - Cookie cutter display of how to use the team.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-579568045 - Another slightly haxy match. Shows you the job of Z Drill.
Threatlist in progress
Ideas for edits so far
Make Duggy Jolly so I can outspeed things like Scarf Gengar and Keldeo, and give it Aerial Ace so I can hit Mega Heracross harder.
Optimizing EVs on Tyranitar. Doing something with the Thunder Wave slot.
Optimizing EVs for Fini. More bulk would definitely be nice. 290 isn't an incredibly common speed tier to need to outspeed, so potentially dropping that an adding bulk. Giving Fini Defog/Ice Beam > HP Fire so I can change the spread a bit and not have to rely on Drill for hazard removal. Maybe changing the set, or Pokemon as a whole.
Giving Zard Focus Blast > HP Ice.
Excadrill sometimes misses not having a Rock move.
Azumarill and Keldeo are both mons I've considered over Fini
Optimizing EVs on Tyranitar. Doing something with the Thunder Wave slot.
Optimizing EVs for Fini. More bulk would definitely be nice. 290 isn't an incredibly common speed tier to need to outspeed, so potentially dropping that an adding bulk. Giving Fini Defog/Ice Beam > HP Fire so I can change the spread a bit and not have to rely on Drill for hazard removal. Maybe changing the set, or Pokemon as a whole.
Giving Zard Focus Blast > HP Ice.
Excadrill sometimes misses not having a Rock move.
Azumarill and Keldeo are both mons I've considered over Fini
If you have made it this far, I appreciate it. Any and all suggestions and discussions are welcome.
