[SET]
name: Sand Rush Sweeper
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Iron Head
move 4: Giga Impact / Rapid Spin
item: Normalium Z / Leftovers
ability: Sand Rush
nature: Jolly
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Excadrill is a cornerstone on sand teams, serving as a capable wallbreaker and sweeper for the archetype thanks to its high Attack, access to Swords Dance, and doubled Speed under sand. Additionally, its solid bulk and fantastic defensive typing give it many opportunities to set up against the likes of Tapu Lele, Magearna, and Tapu Koko. Swords Dance alongside a Z-Move lets Excadrill clean up weakened defensive Pokemon like Slowbro, Ferrothorn, and Tapu Fini. Giga Impact gives it access to Breakneck Blitz, allowing Excadrill to break through common Pokemon like Zapdos as well as chipped Slowbro and Tangrowth after a boost. Rapid Spin can be used if Excadrill's team can't fit Defog elsewhere and gives Excadrill the abilty to limit Stealth Rock Clefable, patch up its Speed without the need for sand, and remove entry hazards for Pokemon weak to them like Mega Charizard Y. Toxic can be used in the fourth slot to wear down Slowbro, Tangrowth, Landorus-T, and Zapdos, especially alongside sand damage. Substitute is an option to use non-Body Press Corviknight as setup fodder. Leftovers allows for Excadrill to take advantage of its solid defensive typing, giving it easier setup on Pokemon like Clefable and Magearna. However, forgoing Normalium Z can be detrimental against teams carrying Slowbro, Zapdos, and Tangrowth. Jolly is the preferred nature to Speed tie with opposing Excadrill, but if adequate Excadrill counterplay is on your team, Adamant can be used for its higher power, which is notable for dispatching Slowbro and Tangrowth a bit easier.
Excadrill necessitates sand to function properly, so either Tyranitar forme or Hippowdon are mandatory alongside it. Mega Tyranitar and Hippowdon are also great Stealth Rock setters, chipping Excadrill's answers into the range of its attacks. Both Tyranitar formes are also notable for being able to beat Zapdos one-on-one for Excadrill and having Pursuit to cripple Mega Latias. Corviknight effortlessly walls Excadrill, so teammates that can deal with it, such as Cinderace, Zapdos, and Magnezone, make excellent teammates. All three are also notable for tearing open physically defensive Tangrowth, which would otherwise halt Excadrill's sweep. Swords Dance and Choice Band Kartana sets are also capable of forcing damage onto Corviknight and Zapdos, causing them to falter at checking Excadrill. Faster Pokemon like Ash-Greninja and Mega Lopunny can exploit Excadrill's mediocre Speed outside of sand, with Ash-Greninja revenge killing it even under sand with Water Shuriken, so partners such as Toxapex, Slowbro, and Corviknight are needed to help remedy this issue. Ferrothorn and Ash-Greninja are notable partners for their ability to set Spikes, allowing Excadrill to pressure Pokemon that would otherwise check it like Tangrowth and bulky Garchomp.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Steelium Z is a niche option that can push more damage onto Pokemon like Tapu Fini, Gliscor, physically defensive Tangrowth, and Landorus-T, but these targets can be pressured by Normalium Z anyway while also causing headaches for Zapdos and Rotom-W. Air Balloon is a decent alternative that drastically improves Excadrill's matchup against Hippowdon while also reversing the matchup against other Ground-types such as Garchomp, Landorus-T, and Gliscor. However, these matchups aren't worth being stonewalled by Tangrowth, Slowbro, and Zapdos. A suicide lead set consisting of Stealth Rock / Earthquake / Rapid Spin / Toxic or Steel Beam can be used on hyper offensive teams to guarantee Stealth Rock, thanks to Mold Breaker, and to keep hazards off its side of the field. However, such a set is generally outclassed by Landorus-T, which brings a nuclear Explosion to the table, and Mew, which brings Spikes and Taunt. A specially defensive set can be used to check a myriad of Pokemon like Magearna, Tapu Koko, and Tapu Lele while providing Rapid Spin, but it is easy to wear down and overwhelm.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Flying-types**: Corviknight, Zapdos, and Mega Charizard Y are immune to Excadrill's Earthquake and take its Iron Head decently well, while they can all retaliate with super effective coverage. Mega Charizard Y can also remove potential sand, causing Excadrill to be slower than it. However, the former must be wary of Substitute variants if it lacks Body Press, and the latter two are shattered by +2 Normalium Z.
**Faster Pokemon**: When unboosted by sand or Rapid Spin, Excadrill sits are at a poor Speed tier. As a result, faster Pokemon like Garchomp, Cinderace, Ash-Greninja, and Mega Lopunny are capable of revenge killing it. Ash-Greninja in particular has a powerful Water Shuriken to dispatch of Excadrill even when its boosted. However, none of these Pokemon can switch into Excadrill directly and cannot beat it if its Speed is boosted.
**Grass-types**: Physically defensive Tangrowth is incredibly difficult for Excadrill to break if it has used its Z-Move, and Tangrowth can wear Excadrill down with Rocky Helmet and Giga Drain or neutralize it with Sleep Powder. However, Tangrowth can be crippled by Toxic long-term. Rillaboom, while unable to switch in directly, deals heavy damage to Excadrill with a priority Grassy Glide. Even if Rillaboom is taken out, Excadrill may have to contend with Grassy Terrain weakening its Earthquake.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Solaros & Lunaris, 471780]]
- Quality checked by: [[Jordy, 395754], [Guardsweeper, 360582], [Sputnik, 475916], [Zneon, 487629]]
- Grammar checked by: [[martha, 384270]]
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