The Howl of The Killer - Sand Offense [Peaked #18 - 1877]

TheEnder

a petal in the wind
is a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnusis a Past WCoP Champion
~ The Howl of The Killer ~




Yeah, comfirming as Kelfki4Ubers, if that matters:


Hey there :] This is TheEnder here, bringing you guys my first ever RMT. I have been a long time lurker here on the forums, and made an account so very long ago. I have been playing Pokemon since FireRed and LeafGreen, and competitive Pokemon since the end of Gen 5. With the introduction of Gen 6, I decided to get into the OU metagame, and get some knowledge about the metagame.

With many new toys to play with, like the Mega Evolutions, the Fairy type, new threats, new mechanics and Dedenne, the metagame changed drastically. Some Pokemon that didn't see much usage before, like Bisharp, rose in usage. Other's who were top threats in Gen 5, like Salamence, dropped in usage. It has been really fun to follow the evolution of the meta, from Genesect and Rotom-W dominating, to Bridspam becoming popular, and all the way until today, where HO, Weather HO and Stall are dominating playstyles and BP too, but fuck that crap. But, I think that's enough of me rambling, let's hop right into the team.





I knew very early on i was going to build a sand team. Seeing how so many teams were speed-reliant, I loved the idea of abusing Excadrill and it's fantastic Ability Sand Rush. In tandem with a devestating attack stat, he is sweeper many teams will have trouble facing. To acivate it's ability though, I needed a Sand Streamer, and i decided to go with Tyaritar, becuase it is capable of applying offensive pressure and setting up Stealth Rocks at the same time.


Excadrill and Tyranitar shares weaknesses to Water, Fight and Ground. Therefore I decided to add Latios. This Pokemon fills so many roles on my team, as it not only checks most Water and Fighting types, like Keldeo for instance, but it also revenge kills quite a chunck of the metagame due to it's fantastic speed tier. Like that wasn't enough, Latios provoids hazard control, as it clears hazards with Defog if needed.


Next up I decided to to add Thundurus-I, since Latios singlehandedly can't take on all Ground and Fighting types that could prove to be a problem. It also gives me the ever-so important priority Thunder Wave, ensuring that faster Pokemon or setup-sweepers can be taken on. It also gives me a way to deal with Baton Pass teams, as it beats Espeon one on one and can Taunt and nueter the rest of the team (It's complete BS that the new BP teams have offensive pressure, fml).


Now I needed a Mega Evolution on my team. I needed something that could set up, and potentially sweep the opposing team, since Excadrill isn't able to pull off a sweep in every battle. I chose to go with Bulky Charizard X, as it set's up on a whole lot of threats, like unboosted Bisharp and Thundurus (barring Parasysis)


To round it off, I neede something to deal with ScarfChomp and Landorus, who otherwise does great against the rest of the team. I chose to go with LO Deoxys-Speed, as it isn't only one of the best Revenge Killers, but also a fantastic Anti-Lead.


@


Tyranitar @ Smooth Rock
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 104 HP / 152 Atk / 252 SAtk
Quiet Nature
- Ice Beam
- Stealth Rock
- Fire Blast
- Pursuit

Tyranitar is my Sand Streamer of choice. It provoides a lot of the support Excadrill needs to sweep late-game, due to being able to set up 8 turns of Sandstorm while also setting up hazards to turn some of Excadrill's 2HKO's into OHKO's. To fulfill the role given, I chose to make Tyranitar a bulky mixed tank. The EV spread is designed to OHKO opposing Latios with Pursuit on the switch, then maximize Special Attack for dealing as much damage to Excadrill's checks as possible. Ice Beam roasts (freezes w/e lel) Gliscor, Landorus formes and Garchomp on the switch, while Fire Blast takes care of Mega Scizor and Ferrothorn, who all troubles Excadrill if he doesn't get to set up. A trick with Tyranitar is saving it for late game for Exca to clean up.

Offensively:
  • 152 Atk Tyranitar Pursuit vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Latios: 302-356 (100 - 117.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
  • 152 Atk Tyranitar Pursuit vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Latias: 272-324 (90 - 107.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
  • 252+ SpA Tyranitar Ice Beam vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Landorus: 420-496 (131.2 - 155%) -- guaranteed OHKO
  • 252+ SpA Tyranitar Ice Beam vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Gliscor: 440-520 (124.2 - 146.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
  • 252+ SpA Tyranitar Ice Beam vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Garchomp: 400-472 (111.7 - 131.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
  • 252+ SpA Tyranitar Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Skarmory: 284-336 (85 - 100.5%) -- 81.3% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
  • 252+ SpA Tyranitar Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 40 SpD Ferrothorn: 360-428 (102.2 - 121.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Defensively:
  • 252 SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Landorus Earth Power vs. 104 HP Tyranitar in Sand: 307-361 (83.6 - 98.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
  • 252 Atk Garchomp Earthquake vs. 104 HP / 0 Def Tyranitar: 302-356 (82.2 - 97%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
  • 252 SpA Choice Specs Latios Draco Meteor vs. 104 HP / 0 SpD Tyranitar in Sand: 211-250 (57.4 - 68.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

@


Excadrill @ Life Orb
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide
- Swords Dance

The Killer. This thing is a monster. Outspeeding Max Speed Deo-S is no small deal, and boasting a devestating Attack stat with Base 135 it is really something to fear. After a Swords Dance, it is capable of rushing through opposing teams. It has one glaring weakness though, it gets revenged easily by common priority like Aqua Jet and Mach Punch. In addition to that, the Opponents can stall out sand turns by smart switching, and in that matter end this guys' sweep. The EV's are pretty straight-forward; max Speed and Attack, and leftover EV's in Defence. I chose to run Adamant over Jolly to have maximum damage output in sandstorm, but Jolly can be chosen for it to function ourside the sandstorm.

Offensively:
  • 252+ Atk Life Orb Excadrill Earthquake vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Garchomp: 251-296 (70.1 - 82.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
  • +2 252+ Atk Life Orb Excadrill Iron Head vs. 252 HP / 184+ Def Gliscor: 250-294 (70.6 - 83%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Poison Heal
  • +2 252+ Atk Life Orb Excadrill Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 188+ Def Mega Venusaur: 313-370 (85.9 - 101.6%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
  • 252+ Atk Life Orb Excadrill Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Azumarill: 289-341 (71.5 - 84.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Defensively:
  • 252+ Atk Choice Band Huge Power Azumarill Aqua Jet vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Excadrill: 356-422 (98.6 - 116.8%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO
  • 252+ Atk Conkeldurr Mach Punch vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Excadrill: 230-272 (63.7 - 75.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
  • 0 Atk Gliscor Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Excadrill: 308-366 (85.3 - 101.3%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO


@


Deoxys-Speed @ Life Orb
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 20 Atk / 236 SAtk / 252 Spd
Naive Nature
- Superpower
- Ice Beam
- Psycho Boost
- Knock Off

TaBuu said:
Offensive Deoxys Speed is simply too god-like in the current metagame. The ability to run Life Orb, have the ability to switch moves and outspeed threats such as Scarf Garchomp makes Deoxys-S a "staple" for HO teams.
(Hope it's okay I quoted your post TaBuu) Anyways, I agree 100 % with this quote, Deoxys Speed makes the most amazing Revenge Killer and Anti-Lead. Many people expect it to be a hazard setter, and therefore leading with Bisharp and Greninja, who both gets raped by Superpower. As you may understand, this is often my lead (unless i see Azumarill, then I lead Thundurus), and all I can really say is that I'm satisfied with it. The EV's are to always OHKO 4 HP Mega-Tyranitar with Superpower, then max Speed and dump the rest in Special Attack.

Offensively:
  • 236 SpA Life Orb Deoxys-S Psycho Boost vs. 252 HP / 72 SpD Mega Venusaur: 382-452 (104.9 - 124.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
  • 236 SpA Life Orb Deoxys-S Psycho Boost vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Assault Vest Conkeldurr: 447-530 (107.9 - 128%) -- guaranteed OHKO
  • 236 SpA Life Orb Deoxys-S Psycho Boost vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Mega Charizard X: 270-320 (90.6 - 107.3%) -- 43.8% chance to OHKO
  • 236 SpA Life Orb Deoxys-S Psycho Boost vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Quagsire: 335-395 (85 - 100.2%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO
  • 20 Atk Life Orb Deoxys-S Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Aegislash-Blade: 309-364 (95.3 - 112.3%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO
Defensively:
Lel this speedy bastard can't even dodge the Hydro Pump of a washing machine without dying, smh
  • 252+ Atk Choice Band Huge Power Azumarill Aqua Jet vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Deoxys-S: 130-154 (53.9 - 63.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
  • 16 Atk Life Orb Aegislash-Blade Shadow Sneak vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Deoxys-S: 174-211 (72.1 - 87.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO


@


Latios (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Defog
- Thunderbolt

Latios provoids the life-important resistances to the priority Excadrill is so weak to. It also boasts a great stat-distribution for revenge killing slower sweepers, with high-powered Draco Meteors. Psyshock threatens Mega-Venusaur and Conkeldurr who otherwise can prove to be a problem. Thunderbolt is here for that pesky Azumarill, as it KO's after Belly Drum and Sitrus Berry recovery (Latios is my only check to BD Azu, pretty shaky :/). It can also Defog hazards away if Thundurus' and Charizard's health is crucial in the rest of the match. EV's are straight-forward here as well, as the Speed-tie with opposing Lati@s can be crucial, and maximum damage output on Azumarill can be gamechanging.

Offensively:
  • 252 SpA Life Orb Latios Draco Meteor vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Mega Charizard Y: 246-290 (82.5 - 97.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
  • 252 SpA Life Orb Latios Psyshock vs. 252 HP / 188+ Def Mega Venusaur: 221-265 (60.7 - 72.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
  • 252 SpA Life Orb Latios Psyshock vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Chansey: 226-266 (32.1 - 37.7%) -- 93.8% chance to 3HKO
  • 252 SpA Life Orb Latios Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Azumarill: 307-361 (75.9 - 89.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Defensively:
  • +6 252+ Atk Huge Power Azumarill Aqua Jet vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Latios: 190-224 (63.1 - 74.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
  • +6 252+ Atk Huge Power Azumarill Play Rough vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Latios: 1710-2012 (568.1 - 668.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO (the counter is here)
  • 252 Atk Pure Power Mega Medicham High Jump Kick vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Latios: 212-249 (70.4 - 82.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO


@


Thundurus (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
IVs: 30 HP / 0 Atk / 30 Def / 30 SAtk / 30 SDef
- Thunderbolt
- Taunt
- Thunder Wave
- Hidden Power [Flying]

This my boy Thundurus. He is the guy who keeps the team together when it's looking bad. Facing a Mega Gyarados at +1 is never fun, but priority Thunder Wave luckily takes care of most setup-sweepers (execpt for Excadrill of course, nothing besides a rabbit and a guy on steroides stops him). Other that that, this guy is my only true answer to Baton Pass, which is a major pain in the ass to face. He also threatens Stall teams with HP Flying for MegaSaur, Amoongus and Quagsire, Thunderbolt for Skarm and Taunt for the rest of the team. Sometimes i wish I had either Grass Knot for Quagsire or HP Ice for the likes of Garchomp, Landorus and Gliscor, but I feel Stall would wreak my team badly if I decided to drop one of the moves in the current moveset. The EV's are standard, and even though i would like to have a little more bulky spread the damage output against Stall is too much to give up.

Offensively:
  • 252 SpA Life Orb Thundurus Hidden Power Flying vs. 252 HP / 72 SpD Mega Venusaur: 198-237 (54.3 - 65.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
  • 252 SpA Life Orb Thundurus Hidden Power Flying vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Amoonguss: 205-244 (47.4 - 56.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Black Sludge recovery
  • 252 SpA Life Orb Thundurus Hidden Power Flying vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Landorus: 149-177 (46.5 - 55.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
  • 252 SpA Life Orb Thundurus Hidden Power Flying vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Mega Medicham: 283-335 (108.4 - 128.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Defensively:
  • 252 SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Landorus Psychic vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Thundurus: 183-216 (61.2 - 72.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
  • 252 Atk Garchomp Dragon Claw vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Thundurus: 175-207 (58.5 - 69.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
  • 252+ Atk Mold Breaker Excadrill Rock Slide vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Thundurus: 248-292 (82.9 - 97.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
  • 252 SpA Choice Specs Keldeo Scald vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Thundurus: 235-277 (78.5 - 92.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO


@


Charizard @ Charizardite X
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 248 HP / 136 Atk / 124 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Roost
- Flare Blitz
- Dragon Claw

The Mega of the team. I'm using FLCL's spread for a bulky setup Mega Charizard X, and it has been working wonders. Due to being able to setup on (and play mindgames with) unboosted Bisharp and Thundurus (can paralyze), it takes a lot of pressure off the other team members. This guy also puts in lots of work against stall teams, especially those without Quagsire or Unaware Clefable (they aren't as good though, no offence, just saying my opinion :]). After a DD, it does a lot of work to offensive teams, and outright sweeps unprepared teams. Heatran walls this set pretty hard, and can retalitate with Earth Power and Toxic, and proceed to wear CharX down. I have considered making it an all-out offensive CharX with Earthquake instead of Roost, but the ability to set up on a much larger part of the metagame is just too tempting.

Offenisvely:
  • 136+ Atk Tough Claws Mega Charizard X Flare Blitz vs. 252 HP / 184+ Def Gliscor: 171-202 (48.3 - 57%) -- 92.6% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Poison Heal
  • 136+ Atk Tough Claws Mega Charizard X Flare Blitz vs. 252 HP / 188+ Def Thick Fat Mega Venusaur: 174-206 (47.8 - 56.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
  • 136+ Atk Tough Claws Mega Charizard X Dragon Claw vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Quagsire: 141-166 (35.7 - 42.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
  • -1 136+ Atk Tough Claws Mega Charizard X Flare Blitz vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Landorus-T: 193-228 (50.5 - 59.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
Defensively:
  • 252+ Atk Life Orb Bisharp Knock Off vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Mega Charizard X: 136-161 (37.8 - 44.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
  • 4 SpA Rotom-W Hydro Pump vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Mega Charizard X: 142-168 (39.5 - 46.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
  • 252 SpA Life Orb Thundurus Thunderbolt vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Mega Charizard X: 107-126 (29.8 - 35%) -- 18.7% chance to 3HKO
  • 252 SpA Choice Specs Keldeo Hydro Pump vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Mega Charizard X: 306-361 (85.2 - 100.5%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO



This little rabbit of doom named Azumarill has proven to be a major pain. It has Super-Effective STAB against 2/3 of my team and does a hell of a lot to the remaning Pokes. I basically have to conserve Latios until I have identified the set, the sack something to bring out Thundurus or Latios so i can kill it. The Belly Drum set sweeps my whole teams once Latios is severly weakened.


Well-built Stall teams can be hard to get past, since most of the members of my team is hard walled by at least one of the Pokes on the opposing team. Deoxys can manage to muscle past the core once Skarmory is weakened. This is done by luring it in on Tyranitar and using Fire Blast. Otherwise CharX does pretty well, as it can get past the core almost singlehandedly (needs a well-timed double-witch when Quagsire comes in)




Tyranitar @ Smooth Rock
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 104 HP / 152 Atk / 252 SAtk
Quiet Nature
- Ice Beam
- Stealth Rock
- Fire Blast
- Pursuit

Excadrill @ Life Orb
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide
- Swords Dance

Deoxys-Speed @ Life Orb
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Spd / 20 Atk / 236 SAtk
Naive Nature
- Superpower
- Ice Beam
- Psycho Boost
- Knock Off

Latios (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Defog
- Thunderbolt

Thundurus (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
IVs: 30 HP / 0 Atk / 30 Def / 30 SAtk / 30 SDef
- Thunderbolt
- Taunt
- Thunder Wave
- Hidden Power [Flying]

Charizard @ Charizardite X
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 124 Spd / 136 Atk / 248 HP
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Roost
- Flare Blitz
- Dragon Claw


Thank you so very much for clicking, reading and mabye even rating this RMT, It really means something to me :] I would love some constructive criticism to make my team improve, so it can handle the threats it currently struggels with (while still maintaining it's skelekton and playstyle). Lastly, I want to give a shoutout to my buddy bluri for helping me construct this team. Again, thank you so much for reading!

~ The Ender ~

 
I really fail to see how this team beats even simple defensive cores like quagsire/skarmory/chansey. While I can definitely see how it performs well against offense, how do you beat stall?
 

TheEnder

a petal in the wind
is a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnusis a Past WCoP Champion
I really fail to see how this team beats even simple defensive cores like quagsire/skarmory/chansey. While I can definitely see how it performs well against offense, how do you beat stall?
Excadrill alone can manage to beat the core, as it 2HKO's both Skarmory (after a SD) and Quagsire. It all depends on the the core is played... Once Skarmory is weakened, Deo-S takes on the core. If Quagsire dies, CharX has a field day cleaning. If Chansey goes down, Thundurus breaks through.

I would like to add a dedicated Stallbreaker on this team, like CM Landorus, but I'm unsure on who to replace. Please come with suggestions :]

HikerDan said:
What are your counters to Scarf Terrakion if you were to encounter one? Would it be Excadrill under sand boost?
HO teams generally have no counters to most Pokes, only checks. Excadrill outspeeds in sand, and can OHKO, and otherwise it depends on whatit decides to lock itself into. I got Pokes to take Stone Edge (Exca/TTar), Close Combat (Thundurus/Latios/Charizard (pre-mega)/Deoxys).
 
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Nice team, but my idea is that maybe you should update something in the first place, have you thought about how nerf somehow Specially Defensive Heatran? Belonging Deoxys with Super power (which sends him KO) and Excadrill, Heatran you have no way to stop it .... You may also want to consider adding a water pokemon like Azumarill instead of Deoxys-S, however, I find it unnecessary and not very powerful, you could also remove Thunderboolt to latios and give him Earthquake just convenient for pokemon like Excadrill, Heatran and other tipes steel. Try this...

Latios:@Life Orb
Trait: Levitate
Nature: Hasty
20 Atk / 232 Sp.Atk / 252 Spd
-Earthquake
-Draco Meteor>
-Psyshock
-Defog

Another thing I noticed is that you do not have to let pokemon on Aegislash preparing a shadow ball (apart tyranitar which is then destroyed by Iron head or Sacred Sword), and you have 3 pokemon that can not even make a lot of damage, 4 if Balloon holds, then at this point you may find a solution with a Dark pokemon or otherwise try a chesnaught that wall Shadow Ball with Bulletproof.

I hope I have helped you, good luck with your team ^ ^
 
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you should redo the offensive calcs on T-tar. His sand gives SpD boosts to steel types such as ferrothorn and Skarmory, so the current damage calcs are inaccurate
 
Also, might I suggest energy ball on Latios instead of tbolt. It allows you to still hit Azumarill for the same amount of damage but also provides better coverage in that it can hit the very common Rotom-Wash and the pesky Quagsire and any ground types that may try to take advantage of your sand. Not to mention, you already have tbolt on thundurus who is better at it anyways
 
you should redo the offensive calcs on T-tar. His sand gives SpD boosts to steel types such as ferrothorn and Skarmory, so the current damage calcs are inaccurate
Is false, sandstorm boost spdef of rock types pokemon, not steel...

I see that your thread are Skarmory Quagsire Azumarill and Chansey...
I do not understand how he manages to annoy Quagsire Whereas it is completely destroyed by 2 times draco meteor Latios, which is facilitated by the fact that Quagsire does not count the decline of his Spatk ... Chansey is a little problem but he can not make great damage into Excadrill and Excadrill can kill him very fast.
Skarmory die with fire blast of Ttar after stealth rock or by thunderbolt by Thundurus. And Azumarill is a problem, he is killed by only by 2 psyshock Latios and Thundurus. But is dangerous ...
Imho your problems are the ones that I mentioned test sets that I have suggested ^ ^
 

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