As I'm pretty new to the competitive scene, a Sandstorm team, to me, seemed like a good way to go for beginners. I've been casually running this on Shoddy with some decent success; I win a good deal more than I lose, but I still have a fundamental flaw I'd like to fix and maybe get some help with: Suicune shits all over this team. Every game I've lost so far was because Suicune showed up, so that's basically what I've come here to hopefully fix. Anyway, here's the team:
Hippowdon@Leftovers
~Earthquake
~Slack Off
~Stealth Rock
~Toxic
For future reference, all EVs are ripped directly from the main site analysis as I'm not confident enough to get super creative yet. This is my lead, and he serves the purpose of setting up SR at the beginning of the game. He obviously doesn't outspeed anything, but he's able to set up pretty consistently. EQ is there for STAB, Slack Off is there for tankage; Toxic here is iffy for me, because while it has been extremely useful in crippling things and forcing switches, I've on more than one occasion been faced with a flying-type sweeper with nothing to do but Toxic and try to out-stall it.
Cradily@Leftovers
~Mirror Coat
~Recover
~Rock Slide
~Toxic/Grass Knot
Part of the reason I have this guy on here is sorta for cool factor, but he's actually been a really reliable member of the team. The SpD boost it gets from Sandstorm does a lot to its credit. As I was typing this up actually, I thought of slapping Mirror Coat on here as a way to "counter" Suicune, as I've used a similar strategy over PBR Wi-Fi for some lulz. I have Toxic on Shoddy right now but I'm thinking that Grass Knot will end up being a better option since Hippo's already got it. This guy serves as a special wall and stall whore, both of which I think he does quite well.
Tyranitar@Choice Band
~Stone Edge
~Crunch
~Earthquake
~Pursuit/Aqua Tail
One of the most potent physical sweepers in the metagame ends up working with this team quite well. By now Sandstorm has already been raging, so he's pretty easy to switch in thanks to the SpD boost. The reason I'm shaky on Pursuit is that I'm not so confident in my prediction just yet - it's what I'm running now, but I think that maybe Aqua Tail may end up being the better choice.
Empoleon@Petaya Berry
~Agility
~Substitute
~Surf
~Ice Beam/Grass Knot
I was never much of an Empoleon fan before, and even when making this team I really just slapped him on here because I felt like I needed some special support... but the more I use this guy, the more that I'm convinced. This Empoleon is a fucking beast. I make it a habit not to whip this guy out until most of the game has run its course, but when he does make his appearance, it usually means the match is over (barring Suicune ): ). A late game SubPetaya sweep has saved my arse on more than one occasion.
Questionables
I kinda threw these Pokes on here mostly because they're personal favorites and they don't get clocked by Sandstorm, but the more I use this team the more I feel that they just don't fit in - here was where I was hoping to get some advice on replacing them, or tailoring their sets to better help this team.
Scizor@Life Orb
Swarm
~Swords Dance
~Bullet Punch
~Superpower
~U-Turn
I know this guy is a beast in the D/P/Pt metagame right now, but I have trouble switching him in and setting him up. It seems like everybody is running EQ ):
Aerodactly@Expert Belt
~Aqua Tail
~Earthquake
~Fire Fang
~Stone Edge
I've loved Aero since R/B/Y, but it just doesn't seem like he's cut out to be anything but a lead - at least not in the way I've been using him. Admittedly I'm not as shaky on this guy as I am about Scizor, because he's got some decent coverage and he's won me a match or two by doing a kind of hit-and-run maneuver with my walls. Still, he seems a bit out of place.
All in all, the object of this team is pretty simple, but effective: take out a third or more of the opponent's team with residual damage combined with powerful sweepers, open the gate for Empoleon when I'm sure he'll switch in on something he resists, and sweep away. The name, Desert Land... well, that's a reference to Super Mario Bros. 3 (the other best Nintendo franchise ever). I know this team could use a lot of work, but I wouldn't be here if I wasn't able to admit it.

Hippowdon@Leftovers
~Earthquake
~Slack Off
~Stealth Rock
~Toxic
For future reference, all EVs are ripped directly from the main site analysis as I'm not confident enough to get super creative yet. This is my lead, and he serves the purpose of setting up SR at the beginning of the game. He obviously doesn't outspeed anything, but he's able to set up pretty consistently. EQ is there for STAB, Slack Off is there for tankage; Toxic here is iffy for me, because while it has been extremely useful in crippling things and forcing switches, I've on more than one occasion been faced with a flying-type sweeper with nothing to do but Toxic and try to out-stall it.

Cradily@Leftovers
~Mirror Coat
~Recover
~Rock Slide
~Toxic/Grass Knot
Part of the reason I have this guy on here is sorta for cool factor, but he's actually been a really reliable member of the team. The SpD boost it gets from Sandstorm does a lot to its credit. As I was typing this up actually, I thought of slapping Mirror Coat on here as a way to "counter" Suicune, as I've used a similar strategy over PBR Wi-Fi for some lulz. I have Toxic on Shoddy right now but I'm thinking that Grass Knot will end up being a better option since Hippo's already got it. This guy serves as a special wall and stall whore, both of which I think he does quite well.

Tyranitar@Choice Band
~Stone Edge
~Crunch
~Earthquake
~Pursuit/Aqua Tail
One of the most potent physical sweepers in the metagame ends up working with this team quite well. By now Sandstorm has already been raging, so he's pretty easy to switch in thanks to the SpD boost. The reason I'm shaky on Pursuit is that I'm not so confident in my prediction just yet - it's what I'm running now, but I think that maybe Aqua Tail may end up being the better choice.

Empoleon@Petaya Berry
~Agility
~Substitute
~Surf
~Ice Beam/Grass Knot
I was never much of an Empoleon fan before, and even when making this team I really just slapped him on here because I felt like I needed some special support... but the more I use this guy, the more that I'm convinced. This Empoleon is a fucking beast. I make it a habit not to whip this guy out until most of the game has run its course, but when he does make his appearance, it usually means the match is over (barring Suicune ): ). A late game SubPetaya sweep has saved my arse on more than one occasion.
Questionables
I kinda threw these Pokes on here mostly because they're personal favorites and they don't get clocked by Sandstorm, but the more I use this team the more I feel that they just don't fit in - here was where I was hoping to get some advice on replacing them, or tailoring their sets to better help this team.

Scizor@Life Orb
Swarm
~Swords Dance
~Bullet Punch
~Superpower
~U-Turn
I know this guy is a beast in the D/P/Pt metagame right now, but I have trouble switching him in and setting him up. It seems like everybody is running EQ ):

Aerodactly@Expert Belt
~Aqua Tail
~Earthquake
~Fire Fang
~Stone Edge
I've loved Aero since R/B/Y, but it just doesn't seem like he's cut out to be anything but a lead - at least not in the way I've been using him. Admittedly I'm not as shaky on this guy as I am about Scizor, because he's got some decent coverage and he's won me a match or two by doing a kind of hit-and-run maneuver with my walls. Still, he seems a bit out of place.
All in all, the object of this team is pretty simple, but effective: take out a third or more of the opponent's team with residual damage combined with powerful sweepers, open the gate for Empoleon when I'm sure he'll switch in on something he resists, and sweep away. The name, Desert Land... well, that's a reference to Super Mario Bros. 3 (the other best Nintendo franchise ever). I know this team could use a lot of work, but I wouldn't be here if I wasn't able to admit it.