Hey guys! Coming back since gen7, and didnt play any pre-dlc2 meta, so, I am not very familiarized with the current metagame.
Im always been fan of sand, so, I would like to know if there is some resources, templates or something to watch out when building a competitive sand team for this metagame?
Thank you
Hey, glad to have you here! The metagame's definitely shaken up quite a bit, especially with how different things are mechanically compared to Gen 7.
Sand cores have had a couple of noteworthy changes. I'll try to do my best to address everything as far as Sand goes to fill you in!
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Setters
Hippowdon has taken the throne as the superior Sand setter. There are notable reasons for this, the primary ones of which being its physical bulk in tandem with its pure Ground typing, and incredible longevity with Slack Off. This allows for it to perform as a phenomenal physical wall, which puts a decent stop against many physical wallbreakers, such as Galarian Zapdos, Garchomp, Cinderace, Zygarde, and Melmetal (kind of?). It is a great Stealth Rock setter as well, since its bulk forces out many of these Pokemon, and it has access to moves such as Toxic and Whirlwind to avoid being treated as set up fodder. Hippowdon is also such an effective wall by itself in the metagame that it has facilitated Semi-Sand cores with Excadrill, which alone can be extremely devastating for offensively oriented teams. Hippowdon is definitely the better of the two in my eyes, and my go-to as far as Sand goes.
Tyranitar lost Pursuit coming into Gen 8, which has caused for its role to change somewhat into becoming more of a specially defensive Stealth Rock setter for Sand teams. Although it isn't as reliable as Hippowdon, it has a bit of a niche in this metagame still due to its typing, which augments its specially defensive attributes to take on Pokemon such as Heatran, Dragapult, and Non-Aura Sphere Latis while providing a Dark/Ghost-type resistance; consequently, it also makes a pretty good Stealth Rock setter. I also see its Ice-type neutrality to be fairly helpful as well as a failsafe against Kyurem Black, which Hippowdon doesn't fancy taking on. Tyranitar has a much harder time than it did in past generations, though, and in my eyes, it isn't as consistent as the other Sand setting option.
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Abusers
Excadrill is as amazing of a Sand abuser as it's always been, and is an incredible win-con. It often runs Leftovers with Swords Dance / Earthquake / Iron Head / Rock Slide on Sand cores, sometimes slotting out Rock Slide for Rapid Spin due to the Speed buff and providing hazard removal. Excadrill, however, is hard walled by Physically Defensive Corviknight and Skarmory, which are able to either freely heal in front of it, pressure it with Body Press, clear hazards, and in Skarmory's case set a free hazard. Mandibuzz is also fairly annoying for it, but it can more feasibly be brute forced with boosted Iron Heads and Rock Slides, but Foul Play will blow Excadrill away if Mandibuzz is not already chipped. Excadrill, though, should not be underestimated, as it and Hippowdon alone form an amazing semi-Sand duo that pries apart many offensive archetypes.
Dracozolt is a very new, yet very welcome advent to Sand cores; the primary reason of which being its Electric-type STAB in the form of Bolt Beak, which can beat down almost every non-resist/immunity in the game with the speed boost allotted. It works fantastically with Excadrill since, unlike Excadrill, instead of being scared out by the aforementioned Flying-types, it preys upon them. However, Bolt Beak is more readily stopped by opposing Hippowdon, other Ground-types, and Ferrothorn, which has caused the development of a mixed LO set making use of Draco Meteor and special Fire-type coverage to break past these Pokemon. Although it's more readily checked than Excadrill, Dracozolt is a super fearsome cleaner that does work in this metagame if you're not prepared for it.
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Glues
Mandibuzz works really well with Hippowdon Sand cores, providing a useful Ghost- and Dark-type resistance, reliable hazard removal, and a useful defensive pivot. Overcoat allows for it to avoid taking residual damage from Sandstorm, which can force it to Roost considerably less in the long term, which is important for maintaining momentum.
Amoonguss is pretty cool on Sand teams, spreading Spores, status, and annoying Water-type wallbreakers. It works a bit better with Tyranitar than Hippowdon due to weakness synergy, but it certainly works.
As far as Fairies go, I like Clefable the best on Sand teams, since it is impervious to Sandstorm chip damage, and it is able to provide Wishport support to Tyranitar and chipped wallbreakers that want as many breaking opportunities as possible. It also has cool utility, such as Knock Off and Thunder Wave, that's good at disrupting the opposition.
Anyway, I hope that helps! Sand is in a bit of an interesting place right now, but it's certainly viable, and I implore you to give it a shot. Thanks for asking!