Utility Excadrill

[Pudistours]

[SET]
name: Utility Excadrill
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Rapid Spin
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Iron Head / Rock Tomb
item: Leftovers
ability: Mold Breaker
nature: Impish
evs: 252 HP / 92 Def / 76 SpD / 88 Spe (IVs: 0 SpA)
tera type: Ghost

[SET COMMENTS]

With access to Stealth Rock and Rapid Spin, Excadrill is an excellent utility Pokemon capable of providing hazard control for its team. Leftovers give Excadrill significant staying power, while Tera Ghost allows it to take advantage of other Rapid Spin users and turn its Fighting weakness into immunity, which can be useful against threats such as Cobalion or Conkeldurr in mid or late game. However, Tera should not be overused except in emergencies or if winning the hazard duel proves crucial, especially against teams that are vulnerable to Stealth Rock. Rock Tomb is a good coverage move that can replace Iron Head, allowing Excadrill to hit Flying types (especially Talonflame, which is a common switch-in) and slow down faster Pokemon, which can help it win its duel against threats such as Ogerpon-Cornerstone or open the way for slower teammates. The spread allows Excadrill to outspeed base 110 speed Pokémon after a Rapid Spin or Rock Tomb, allowing it to threaten Ogerpon-Cornerstone, Latios or Cobalion. The 76 EVs in Special Defence allow it to resist Earth Power from standard Lead or Pivot Sandy Shocks.

Excadrill is a valuable asset in Bulky Offense or Balanced teams that will appreciate the hazard control it provides. Its numerous resistances allow it to fit easily into many defensive cores. Ghost types such as Sinistcha and Skeledirge will be valuable teammates for dealing with other Rapid Spin users. They can also check Fighting types such as Cobalion, Hawlucha or Slither Wing that threaten Excadrill, but defensive Flying types such as Tornadus-T, Mandibuzz, Skarmory or Talonflame will also have this capacity and will in turn benefit from Excadrill's double-resistance to Rock moves and immunity to Electrik moves. Slowking is also a very good partner for dealing with most of these threats, and even more dangerous ones such as Keldeo, while offering the ability to pivot and create momentum, ensuring then the safe transition from Excadrill to an offensive teammate. Keldeo, by the way, is not only a threat but also a great partner for dealing with dangers such as Greninja or Azumarill, although Rotom-W can also fulfil this role. Finally, Excadrill will appreciate the presence of strong Rock-type wallbreakers such as Hisuian Arcanine and Ogerpon-Cornerstone, who will benefit from having Stealth Rock set up and be able to pressure responses to Excadrill such as Skarmory or Mandibuzz.

[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/pudistours.577226/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user3.102/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user4.103/

P.S.: Please let me know if translating this to French and Spanish could be relevant.

 

[Estarossa]

I'm going to have to reassign this analysis unfortunately, as it does not meet the writing standards we'd expect of such as high importance Pokemon. If you would like to write something else, you are free to reserve something from the Low priority part of the reservation list, but please make sure its a Pokemon you have proper experience with in this tier if you do.

--------------------------

To discuss a few reasons why this analysis needs to be reassigned:

• The set was changed quite a bit despite it being made clear that you should be using the on-site set.
• Some mentions made very little sense in places, for instance you aren't using excadrill vs conkeldurr regardless of having more bulk, especially as its likely to just try and use knock off instead, and cobalion isn't likely to be present late game.
• Talonflame is not a common switch-in, and is not even a Pokemon currently ranked on our VR.
• Arcanine-H and Ogerpon-C are not good responses to Skarm/Madnibuzz, they take far too much from Body Slam / Foul Play respectively, and aren't Pokemon that will very reliably lure them out either to help Excadrill.
• The ghost-types helping with other Rapid Spinners comment doesn't make much sense, nothing about Excadrill specifically suggests this is an important discussion point as it is a spinner that has issues with opposing ghost-types, not an issue with opposing spinners, so the more appropriate conversation would be talking about ways of handling like opposing sinistcha instead?
• A lot of just type based commentary and type based checking such as talking about Electric/Rock resistances om it for pokemon like Tornadus-T that miss a lot of the nuance of the tier, Excadrill is not a good electric resist as its painfully bad against the two main elecs (thundy/washtom) and not very good against our main rock types either in ttar/ogerpon.
• Some comments read like there hasn't been much thought going into the actual synergies mentioned, such as talking about Keldeo being a good answer to Azumarill?

 

[Pudistours]

I'm going to have to reassign this analysis unfortunately, as it does not meet the writing standards we'd expect of such as high importance Pokemon. If you would like to write something else, you are free to reserve something from the Low priority part of the reservation list, but please make sure its a Pokemon you have proper experience with in this tier if you do.

--------------------------

To discuss a few reasons why this analysis needs to be reassigned:

• The set was changed quite a bit despite it being made clear that you should be using the on-site set.
• Some mentions made very little sense in places, for instance you aren't using excadrill vs conkeldurr regardless of having more bulk, especially as its likely to just try and use knock off instead, and cobalion isn't likely to be present late game.
• Talonflame is not a common switch-in, and is not even a Pokemon currently ranked on our VR.
• Arcanine-H and Ogerpon-C are not good responses to Skarm/Madnibuzz, they take far too much from Body Slam / Foul Play respectively, and aren't Pokemon that will very reliably lure them out either to help Excadrill.
• The ghost-types helping with other Rapid Spinners comment doesn't make much sense, nothing about Excadrill specifically suggests this is an important discussion point as it is a spinner that has issues with opposing ghost-types, not an issue with opposing spinners, so the more appropriate conversation would be talking about ways of handling like opposing sinistcha instead?
• A lot of just type based commentary and type based checking such as talking about Electric/Rock resistances om it for pokemon like Tornadus-T that miss a lot of the nuance of the tier, Excadrill is not a good electric resist as its painfully bad against the two main elecs (thundy/washtom) and not very good against our main rock types either in ttar/ogerpon.
• Some comments read like there hasn't been much thought going into the actual synergies mentioned, such as talking about Keldeo being a good answer to Azumarill?

Hi! Thanks for your feedback.

I must admit that I have never published an analysis on Smogon before, and the fact that analyses must correspond to the sets on-site was not clear to me. I thought it was a more open contribution, but I simply hadn't read the conditions properly. My mistake.

However, I would like to discuss the reasons you mentioned as I disagree with some of them. First and foremost, regarding my experience with this tier, I would like to clarify that I took the time to propose a contribution precisely because UU is a tier I'm familiar with. I've been playing UU since the beginning of the generation with quite fair results and I was still in the top 100 a few weeks ago, using this same Excadrill Utility set, actually. I don't want to sound overconfident, but I must say that I wouldn't have proposed a contribution if I didn't feel I had some legitimacy to do so.

Now, regarding your comments on the set itself:

• I didn't mean to mention Conkeldurr and Cobalion as Pokemon that Excadrill would seek to eliminate in 1v1, but rather as threats that it can bypass, at some point (either in mid or late game), thanks to its Tera Ghost, for example.
• I've seen quite a few Talonflame in UU and they were often sent in response to Excadrill. I think it's worth mentioning.
• I do believe that Choice Band Arcanine-H and Swords Dance Ogerpon-C are Pokemon that can take out Skarmory and Mandibuzz with their respective STABs. And I would say it's the very least they can do...
• It's true that Excadrill struggles against the common Electric types in UU, but its immunity still seems relevant to me, as these threats can and often will be played with a Choice item. You know better than me that a simple immunity can inhibit an overly pressing Volt-Turn. And I think that's a notable aspect of Excadrill's role, who is not only a Spinner but also a key element in quite a fair number of defensive cores.

On the other hand, I agree with you on two points:

• I wanted to underline that Excadrill is not only a Spinner but also a Hazard Setter. I think a Ghost-type teammate will always be a good teammate, and can also come in on Fighting-type attacks. Having said that, it's true that I didn't look at the other side of the coin and I didn't mention teammates that can threaten Ghost types that would like to come in on its Rapid Spin, which can be even more important.
• Keldeo “dealing” with Azumarill was a stupid comment. What I had in mind is that Keldeo should be able to eliminate a weakened Azumarill in late game, but this is not relevant. Keldeo is a terrible switch-in so I should not mention it.

In any case, I see that Excadrill is available for reservation again. I fully understand and accept it, but let me ask: if the analysis is not accepted, am I allowed to rephrase it and propose it again (based on the on-site set of course)? If yes, should I do so here? Or should I make a new reservation on the reservation index first? Or do you consider that I should not try again? Please let me know!

Thanks in advance for your reply and have a good day!

 

[Estarossa]

Hi! Thanks for your feedback.

I must admit that I have never published an analysis on Smogon before, and the fact that analyses must correspond to the sets on-site was not clear to me. I thought it was a more open contribution, but I simply hadn't read the conditions properly. My mistake. we made sure to mention this multiple times in the reservation index but thats understandeable if you missed that yea, on its own this wouldn't have been a reason for me to reassign the analysis tbh but i mentioned it at the same time because its obviously something that also had to be fixed.

However, I have to disagree with some of the comments. First of all, regarding my experience with this tier, if I'm offering my contribution it's precisely because UU is a tier I'm familiar with. I've been playing UU since the beginning of the generation with quite fair results and I was still in the top 100 a few weeks ago, using this same Excadrill Utility set, actually. I don't want to sound overconfident, but I must say that I wouldn't have proposed a contribution if I didn't feel I had some legitimacy to do so.

Regarding your comments on the set itself:

• I didn't want to mention Conkeldurr and Cobalion as Pokemon that Excadrill will seek to eliminate in 1v1, but rather as threats that it can bypass, at some point, thanks to its Tera Ghost, for example. thats fine and of itself but conk is encouraged to click knock off vs you anyway, and the commentary was kinda missing the point in terms of how late into the game a lot of these things would happen. The commentary with Coba specifically is fair but doesn't take into account the fact that this is telegraphed and should not be something you'd often doing as its often a wasteful use of your tera, which is comments that weren't mentioned either.
• I've seen quite a lot of Talonflame in UU and I really feel that they were often sent in response to Excadrill. i like talonflame too being honest but its not ranked on our VR which means it shouldn't be mentioned in analyses, and is certainly not a common Pokemon even if its underrated.
• I do believe that Choice Band Arcanine-H and Swords Dance Ogerpon-C are Pokemon that can take out Skarmory and Mandibuzz with their respective STABs. It's the very least they can do... i agree that they can! two issues though: one CB arcanine is not a common set and not one of the sets that were decided to be put on site by the uu council and vr team, so it shouldn't be mentioned in an analysis, and more importantly these Pokemon are not able to switch into skarm/mandibuzz to pressure them out easily because of the foul play / body press issue, which means the commentary on them is quite off, they can't switch into them when exca is naturally forced out by them and they aren't capable of wearing them down either because they will just switch out.
• It's true that Excadrill struggles against the common Electric types in UU, but its immunity still seems relevant to me, as these threats can and often will be played with a Choice item. You know better than me that a simple immunity can inhibit an overly pressing Volt-Turn. yes it can block volt switch but no a lot of these Pokemon don't run Choice much, the main two are thundurus-t and rotom who both don't run choice ever in this tier. Not to mention that blocking a volt switch aint even that useful vs thundy because it'll just outspeed you and focus blast you after, and vs wash you are obviously risking taking a hydro pmp directly and if they ahve ability shield then you can't even touch it either.

On the other hand, I agree with you on two points:

• Excadrill is a Spinner but also a Hazard Setter. I think a Ghost-type teammate will always be a good teammate, and can also come in on Fighting-type attacks. Having said that, it's true that I didn't look at the other side of the coin and didn't mention teammates that can threaten Ghost types that would like to come in on its Rapid Spin. And it's not less important.
• Keldeo “dealing” with Azumarill was a stupid comment. What I had in mind is that Keldeo should be able to eliminate a weakened Azumarill in late game, but this is not relevant. Keldeo is a terrible switch-in so I should not mention it.

In any case, I see that Excadrill is available for reservation again. I fully understand and accept it, but let me ask: if the analysis is not accepted, am I allowed to rephrase it and propose it again (based on the on-site set of course)? If yes, should I do so here? Or should I make a new reservation on the reservation index first? Or do you consider that I should not try again? Please let me know!

Thanks in advance for your reply and have a good day!

I've edited some comments in here from what you discussed. I appreciate your interest in contributing to UU C&C stuff, but as mentioned Excadrill is one of the most important Pokemon in UU and we as a team felt that the amount of edits needed to this analysis would be more than if one of us just wrote it ourselves. Given Ive had to reject this analysis i would prefer it be handled by someone with more experience in UU writing, as usually Pokemon of this high priority aren't allowed to be reserved by people without writing experience, but I was willing to give you ago on this one as no-one had reserved it at the time.

Given this you are free to reserve another Pokemon, but I would prefer it was from the lower priority list. We would be glad for you to do this though and appreciate the enthusiasm you have shown.

 

[Pudistours]

I've edited some comments in here from what you discussed. I appreciate your interest in contributing to UU C&C stuff, but as mentioned Excadrill is one of the most important Pokemon in UU and we as a team felt that the amount of edits needed to this analysis would be more than if one of us just wrote it ourselves. Given Ive had to reject this analysis i would prefer it be handled by someone with more experience in UU writing, as usually Pokemon of this high priority aren't allowed to be reserved by people without writing experience, but I was willing to give you ago on this one as no-one had reserved it at the time.

Given this you are free to reserve another Pokemon, but I would prefer it was from the lower priority list. We would be glad for you to do this though and appreciate the enthusiasm you have shown.

Thank you for your comments, which are interesting even if I don't always share the same interpretation. That said, you undoubtedly have much more experience than I do. And I agree when you say that Excadrill is a crucial Pokemon in UU, and that it would therefore be wise to leave this analysis to a more experienced contributor.

In any case, I'll take a look at the index and see if I can contribute in another way.

One last question: is the reservation and analysis process the same for each tier? Do we always have to choose from a list provided by the C&C Leaders? Or does the process differ from one tier to another? I'm asking because I'm also considering giving OU analyses a try.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Estarossa]

Thank you for your comments, which are interesting even if I don't always share the same interpretation. That said, you undoubtedly have much more experience than I do. And I agree when you say that Excadrill is a crucial Pokemon in UU, and that it would therefore be wise to leave this analysis to a more experienced contributor.

In any case, I'll take a look at the index and see if I can contribute in another way.

One last question: is the reservation and analysis process the same for each tier? Do we always have to choose from a list provided by the C&C Leaders? Or does the process differ from one tier to another? I'm asking because I'm also considering giving OU analyses a try.

Thanks in advance!

Yea each section individually creates a reservation list, and you simply need to request a pokemon and/or set from the list and wait to be approved. It should be the same in all sections generally, with the only change being sometimes its by pokemon, and sometimes by set.