[OVERVIEW]
In a metagame defined by Ground types, Excadrill's niche in Ubers comes from its carves a niche for itself with its respectable base 135 Attack, (Having relatively average Attack is not exactly a 'niche') access to the bountiful support move of Rapid Spin, (RC) and ability to sweep teams utilizing Sand Rush. Although its use necessitates a Sand Stream setter on its team, this is not necessarily a problem. Excadrill is the focal point of any sand build, as it provides to the playstyle a consistent check to Geomancy Xerneas, (RC) one of the most metagame defining threats; and, (RC) threatens opposing teams with its ability to countersweep in this manner the threat of a sweep of its own. Excadrill also possesses a useful resistance to Extreme Speed and immunities to Electric and Poison Thunder Wave and Toxic, (RC) granted by its unique Ground / Steel typing. (AP) ; which, accounts for a total of All in all it has eight resistances and two immunities, which can make it hard to stop its sweep making it all the more difficult to stop its late-game onslaught. However, Excadrill’s poor 60 / 65 defenses mean that it cannot switch into even resisted attack, (AC) forbid that it be switched into even resisted attacks; (RSC) and, (RC) the introduction of the Primals has made Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre make it difficult to keep up sand for Sand Stream to be set, as both relevant sand setters in Hippowdon and Tyranitar are threatened greatly by each of the Primals. ORAS has also introduced a powerful new threat in Mega Salamence, a superb check to Excadrill. (Avoid time-sensitive statements) Excadrill is also effectively checked by Mega Salamence. Although Excadrill is weak to the common Ground-, Fire-, and Water-type attacks, it remains a potent offensive threat that can decimate underprepared teams.
[SET]
name: Sand Rush
move 1: Rapid Spin / Substitute
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Iron Head
move 4: Rock Slide / Swords Dance
ability: Sand Rush
item: Life Orb
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
nature: Jolly / Adamant
ivs: 29 HP
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Rapid Spin allows Excadrill to support is the defining trait of Excadrill, supporting its teammates with hazard removal. However, i If Rapid Spin support is not necessary for a necessity to Excadrill's team, Substitute is an fine alternative for the first moveslot, (AC) as . I it takes advantage of the switches Excadrill causes punishes well the most common method of stopping Excadrill's prowess, sacrifices; and, (RC) allows Excadrill to avoid status moves any attempt of burn from Will-O-Wisp. Earthquake is Excadrill's most consistent STAB attack, and will deals immense damage to anything that does not resist it. Iron Head rounds out Excadrill's coverage by utilizing its secondary STAB, (AC) ; and, in Sandstorm, gives Excadrill the ability to revenge kill a Geomancy-boosted allowing it in sand to revenge kill Xerneas at +2 Speed Xerneas that lacks significant Speed investment. In the last slot, Rock Slide is the preferred option because it gives Excadrill a way to hit Ho-Oh, an which would otherwise check to Excadrill should it lack the move. If Ho-Oh is of no concern to Excadrill's team, Rock-type (AH) coverage may be forgone in place of Swords Dance to raise pump Excadrill's Attack to monstrous levels, which can allow Excadrill to effectively wallbreak or sweep, allows Excadrill to wallbreak for a teammate; or, sweep on its own, depending on the matchup.
Set Details
========
Life Orb is the best item for Excadrill to hold, as the power boost granted by it secures several key OHKOes in conjunction with hazards, such as that on standard Geomancy Xerneas with Iron Head. Although, the power boost that Life Orb offers is this is a crucial component to of Excadrill's offensive prowess, (AC) ; Air Balloon is another option, as it a fine choice for an item as well. It gives Excadrill the ability to check Primal Groudon much better, and simply has the general utility of a Ground type immunity; the latter being a reason why it compliments Swords Dance so well. It Air Balloon also lets Excadrill to more liberally spam Rapid Spin because Life Orb recoil is no longer an issue present. Maximum Attack and Speed investment allow to Excadrill to sweep and wallbreak as effectively as possible. is to hit as hard as possible, and maximum Speed investment gives Excadrill the speed it needs to effectively clean, or wallbreak, under Sandstorm. A Jolly nature is preferred because it allows Excadrill to outspeed a Geomancy-boosted Xerneas at +2 Speed that lacks significant Speed investment if Sandstorm is up, and also to outspeed Pokemon with base 100 Speed and a neutral nature ; but, its main purpose is for consistency in and out of sandstorm, outpacing neutral base 100s and under in order to get off Rapid Spins when needed. An Adamant nature may be used to increase Excadrill's damage output, (AC) simply for the raw power it grants to Excadrill; but with it Excadrill becomes a less reliable check to Xerneas , a consistent Geomancy Xerneas check is far more important than the marginal increase in power. Do note, that, a Jolly nature mandates the use of a Life Orb for any real damage to be dealt Life Orb should be used with a Jolly nature to make up for the decrease in power, (AC) ; and an Adamant nature should be used with Air Balloon for the same reason, if Air Balloon is used, an Adamant nature is recommended alongside it to compensate for the power foregone when Life Orb is used. A 29 HP IVs is are used run to minimize Life Orb recoil if Life Orb is being used; however, if Air Balloon is used, the feature is abysmal.
Usage Tips
========
Bring Excadrill into battle after one of your own Pokemon has fainted. Doing this gives Excadrill free turns to either attack, force a switch and set up a Substitute or a Swords Dance, or, (RC) spin away hazards, if needed to. Although Excadrill functions best when Sandstorm is up, acknowledge that depending on the matchup, Excadrill can still be effective can still pull its weight without it. Against bulkier, passive teams, Excadrill is fast enough to pose a threat to common stall mons Pokemon on stall teams, (RC) such as, (RC) Clefable, Tyranitar, Aegislash, Primal Groudon, and Water Arceus Arceus Water carrying Ice Beam instead of lacking Judgement; each of which Excadrill can force out, set up a Swords Dance, and sweep. Against balanced teams Excadrill can freely switch into Steel-types , (RC) switch into and force out Steel types, such as Klefki and Jirachi, (RC) (This seems to go against the sentence in the overview where you said that Excadrill cannot even switch into resisted attacks) in order to receive free turns to attack and weaken walls for Excadrill's teammates. Against hyper offensive teams sand must be up for Excadrill to fulfil its roles, it is required that sand be up for Excadrill to fulfill any of its niches; however, but when sand is up Excadrill is very effective against them, (AC) it has an incredible advantage over this archetype, mainly because of how these types of teams rely as they often rely on Extreme Speed or another Steel-resisted priority attack to revenge kill fast sweepers. The most ideal scenario to sweep will be when Xerneas sets up Geomancy, Sandstorm is set, and, Excadrill is able to revenge kill Xerneas and proceed to clean; though, it can be difficult to set Sanstorm because sacrificing Tyranitar to Xerneas for Sand turns may open up holes in your team to another sweeper; such as, Mega Salamence, Calm Mind Latias and Latios, or, Arceus Dark. Play wisely with your sand setter throughout the match by luring with it and double switching, and, by preserving its HP bar so it can check what it must, when needed to. W It is important to preserve your sand setter, as opposing weather setters, such as Primal Groudon; and, checks to Excadrill, such as unevolved Mega Salamence, can disrupt Excadrill's prowess by removing sand. (AP) stripping it of Sandstorm; or, reducing its Attack with Intimidate and using Excadrill as set up fodder, respectively; so, it is imperative to either eliminate these threats, or to the least, weaken them so Excadrill can push past them. Make sure to remove or weaken Excadrill's checks before attempting a sweep, as it must be able to break through them in the limited number of turns sand lasts. Nonetheless, be aware of how many turns of Sandstorm there are, and capitalize with smart plays on the turns in which it is set. (Sorry if any of this feels like I'm imposing my own analysis - I'm just trying to cut down on unnecessary detail and get across ideas as clearly and succinctly as possible. If you think I've misunderstood something, let me know)
Team Options
========
Tyranitar, (RC) and or, (RC) Hippowdon, (RC) are is absolutely necessary for the success of this set. Including In addition to their ability Sand Stream, which sets up sand of setting Sandstorm for Excadrill upon switch in, either of them are able to both can provide Stealth Rock to wear down Excadrill's checks. (AP) ; the former Tyranitar is able to check Mega Salamence and other bulky Flying-types (AH) exceptionally well with its Rock typing, (AC) ; while, (RC) the latter Hippowdon is able to check Extreme Killer Arceus and Primal Groudon with its high HP and Defense stats. Both setters are threatened greatly by Primal Kyogre, thus making Pokemon that can check Primal Kyogre, such as Latias, Latios, Primal Groudon, Grass Arceus Grass, and Ferrothorn, (RC) exceptional teammates; the latter is even capable of providing can also provide Spikes support to further capitalize on Excadrill's ability to force switches. Dark-types (AH) such as Yveltal, Darkrai, and Dark Arceus Dark make outstanding teammates for Excadrill because they can eliminate Lugia, Giratina, and Ghost Arceus Ghost, three of Excadrill's most solid checks; most importantly the latter two, which the latter two also block Excadrill's Rapid Spin. In return, they appreciate Excadrill's ability to deal with revenge kill a Geomancy-boosted Xerneas, (RC) and, ability to threaten other Fairy-types, such as Clefable and Klefki, with its potent dual STAB moves stabs. Water-types (AH) such as Primal Kyogre that can defeat the bulky Ground-types (AH) which that check Excadrill, such as; regular Groudon, Ground Arceus Ground, and Gliscor, make good teammates as well. Said Water-types (AH) can also bait in Latias and Latios, giving Tyranitar the opportunity to switch in and trap them with Pursuit. A reliable check to Mega Salamence is necessary, as indispensable to Excadrill's use, otherwise, (RC) Mega Salamence can set up to +6 Attack and Speed on Excadrill with Dragon Dance and Roost effortlessly set up Dragon Dances and Roost stall the hell out of Excadrill. Tyranitar is generally the preferred Sand Stream user will usually be the easiest to fit because of how well it compresses it provides a Flying-type (AH) check, a Stealth Rock setter, and a Sandstorm setter into one; though, fit in a secondary check to Mega Salamence if possible. Another way to offset Excadrill's weakness to Mega Salamence is to stack checks with other set up sweepers, such as, Stone Edge Extreme Killer Arceus, and Mixed Primal Groudon. With such set up sweepers, you can lure out Salamence and severely damage it with a super-effective coverage move, so that it can no longer check Excadrill late-game. (This seems like a separate topic to the analysis) Flying-types (AH) pair wonderfully with Excadrill, as they are able to switch into Ground-type (AH) attacks aimed at Excadrill; (RSC) while, (RC) Excadrill is able to spin away Stealth Rock for them. Mega Salamence, Rayquaza, Ho-Oh, Yveltal, and Shaymin-S Sky make great teammates for this reason. (AP) ; though, e Each of them also possesses superb offensive synergy with Excadrill, as well.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
A bulky support set utilizing Excadrill's Hidden Ability, (RC) Mold Breaker, consisting of the moves Rapid Spin, Earthquake, Toxic, and Substitute, (AC) with an EV spread of 172 HP / 152 Atk / 156 SpD / 28 Spe, an Adamant Nature, and Leftovers may can be used as a status spreader and soft check to Latios and Latias, and a hard check to some Arceus forms, such as Arceus Fairy and Arceus Electric; however, it is not very bulky, is slow and vulnerable to common attacking types, is setup (No space) fodder to for many common setup (No space) sweepers, and does not hard check any of the biggest threats in the tier only hard checks what are essentially irrelevant Pokemon in the metagame. A Choice Band set that also utilizes Excadrill's Hidden Ability, (RC) Mold Breaker, (RC) can be used to hurt quell standard balance teams which that rely on Pokemon with the ability Levitate, such as Giratina-O, Latias, and Latios, to check Ground types, such as Giratina-O, Latias, and Latios; however, it can be unreliable fails to offer any reliable utility, as locking being locked into Rapid Spin can be dangerous arise nasty consequences.
Checks & Counters
===================
**Mega Salamence**: Mega Salamence can switch in on a predicted Earthquake, lower Excadrill's attack with it's pre-evolution ability, Intimidate before Mega Evolving, and set up Dragon Dance. However, it can fail to does not reliably check a Swords Dance variants set when Sandstorm is up; Air Balloon variants can also especially be a nuisance to Mega Salamence, (AC) as they must be hit with a resisted attack before vulnerable to Earthquake.
**Rayquaza**: Rayquaza can switch in on a predicted Earthquake; and, with its ability, (RC) Air Lock, negate the effects of Sandstorm and effectively neuter Excadrill's source of speed, leaving it vulnerable to a super- effective (RH) coverage move in such as Earthquake, V-Create, or Aqua Tail.
**Skarmory**: Skarmory is able to switch into any attack that from Excadrill has, (RC) and Roost off the damage, (AC) taken in the process; all while stalling out Sandstorm turns, (RC) and being able to phaze away with Whirlwind any boosts Excadrill has acquired. Although Excadrill can easily use Skarmory as a free turn to spin away hazards against Skarmory, Skarmory can apply pressure with hazards of its own in Spikes, (RC) and force Excadrill to repeatedly inflict Life Orb recoil on itself by using Rapid Spin. However, Air Balloon Excadrill effortlessly finds free turns on against Skarmory, and can spam Rapid Spin with next to no drawbacks whatsoever, causing a stalemate between the two.
**Landorus-T and Gliscor**: The former is able to tank any attack that Excadrill has with its respectable Defense after an Intimidate drop, (AC) ; while, (RC) the latter can comfortably stall out Excadrill's sand turns with Roost and stop Swords Dance shut down set ups with Taunt. Both are immune to Excadrill's Earthquake, granted that they are Flying types; and, (RC) each threatens Excadrill with powerful Earthquakes of their own. However, Landorus-T struggles to check an Air Balloon + Swords Dance set, and Gliscor is unable to do anything to the same set, (RC) bar Taunting it.
**Non-Primal Groudon and Ground Arceus Ground**: With their immense Defensive physical bulk and higher speed tiers, Non-Primal Groudon and Ground Arceus Ground can take stomach any of Excadrill's attacks, (RC) and threaten it back Excadrill with an OHKO from their Ground-type STABs moves. Non-Primal Groudon also removes sandstorm changes the weather upon switch-in with its ability, Drought; though, it can be worn down by Excadrill if repeatedly switched into Earthquake.
**Ghost Arceus Ghost and Giratina-O**: Both can switch into Excadrill freely on a predicted Rapid Spin, (RC) and inflict a burn with Will-O-Wisp, (AC) ; though, (RC) Substitute can pose problems to these two. The latter even also has an immunity to Ground-type (AH) attacks, (RC) granted by its ability, Levitate. Either Both are able to inflict massive damage to on Excadrill with their STAB attacks and coverage moves, as well.
**Yveltal**: Physically defensive Yveltal can tank any coverage move Excadrill has, (RC) and hit back hard with a Dark Aura-boosted Foul Play. Furthermore, both defensive and offensive Yveltal can pick off Excadrill with a powerful Sucker Punch.
**Bulky Water-types (AH) and Grass Arceus Grass**: Bulky Water-types (AH) such as Primal Kyogre and Water Arceus Water check Excadrill with their impressive physical bulk, (RC) and threaten back with an OHKO from their Water-type attacks. Grass Arceus Grass resists Earthquake and can cripple Excadrill with Will-O-Wisp, or, (RCs) 2HKO it with a powerful Judgement.
