Excadrill [QC 0/3]

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Shurtugal

Shurtugal

The Enterpriser.
is a Tiering Contributor
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Who let the this Mole out?

QC Approved:
GP Approved:

Overview
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  • While Excadrill got the boot last gen because of it's unrivaled speed with Sand Rush and monstrous attack stat, Sand Storm's nerf has allowed it to come back in OU once again!
  • While it can no longer reliably spam Sand Rush as it once did in BW1, Excadrill's monstrous attack stat, bulk, and mediocre speed allow it to be a great niche Pokemon in XY OU.
  • It's almost an unrivaled Spinner as it can do this more reliably than most of the other spinners in the tier. Mold Breaker, it's new DW ability that had not been released when it had been banned in BW1, allows it to spam Earthquake much more reliably.


Fast Rapid Spinner
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name: Fast Rapid Spinner
move 1: Rapid Spin
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Iron Head / Rock Slide
move 4: Stealth Rock / Swords Dance
ability: Mold Breaker
item: Chople Berry / Air Balloon
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
nature: Jolly

Moves
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  • Rapid Spin is gets Move Slot 1 because of the necessity of the rapid spin, which is vital for Excadrill to perform it's job as a fast rapid spinner.
  • Earthquake is mandatory as it's the strongest STAB in Excadrill's movepool and it's also the most spammable thanks to Mold Breaker
  • Iron Head is usually used for STAB, but Rock Slide; albiet weaker, has better overall coverage.
  • Stealth Rock is used in the last slot since it's the best move in the game, but if something else has SR you can use any forsaken coverage move from Move Slot 3.

Set Details
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  • Chople Berry is the primary item choice to beat Air Balloon Aegislash and Gengar reliably so that it cannot be spin blocked, as well as bypassing random Focus Blast Pokemon in the forms of Thundurus (which also gets Superpower), Terrakion, Alakazam, and others.
  • Air Balloon gets the second slash because it can spin Sticky Web much more reliably and it allows Exca free opportunities against ground-type threats.
  • Leftovers and Life Orb could be used for more longevity or power but one most note that it becomes harder to Rapid Spin with these item choices.
  • Maximum EV investment is used to be as fast and strong as possible since this set is geared more towards offense.



Usage Tips
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  • Excadrill should be used when the player has SR weak Pokemon, as Excadrill can often perform better than a Defogger depending on what the team calls for.
  • Excadrill should never be sacrificed or gone before the opponent's hazard setter is gone, and Excadrill has successfully removed SR.
  • Excadrill's Mold Breaker and EQ allow it to perform a more offensive role than most Defoggers and it's bulk and Steel-typing should be taken into consideration as well as it gets multiple opportunities to fire off an Earthquake or Rapid Spin.


Team Options
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  • Thundurus, Charizard, Gyarados, Volcarona, Thundurus-T, M-Pinsir, and any other offensive Pokemon that is weak to SR can generally thrive from Excadrill's support. It should be noted that most SR weak Pokemon can check Fighting and Ground type attacks, which Excadrill cannot tackle by itself.
  • Excadrill equally appreciates Pokemon that can set up on its counters (Skarmory, Landorus-T, Talonflame, and Gouregiest) from Pokemon such as Thundurus, Thundurus-T, and Gyarados

Choice Scarf
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name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Iron Head
move 3: Rock Slide / X-Scissor / Shadow Claw
move 4: Rapid Spin
ability: Mold Breaker
item: Choice Scarf
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
nature: Jolly / Adamant

Moves
========

  • Earthquake is used to utilize Mold Breaker and Choice Scarf to be one of the fastest revenge killers with one of the most spammable STAB moves in the game thanks to Mold Breaker bypassing Levitate
  • Iron Head is used for Dual-STAB and can often smack around Pokemon like Clefable or Scarf Togekiss quite hard in a pinch. Also has a decent niche of Flinching thanks to the speed boost offered from Scarf.
  • Move 3 can be any coverage move used to cover whatever is necessary. Rock Slide offers a wonderful Ground / Rock coverage, which is is quite amazing offensively. X-Scissor scores the KO on Lati@s and Celebi while Shadow Claw can hit Gouregeist and Trevaunt.
  • Rapid Spin is mandatory in the last slot for fast spinning, which can be awfully useful if you see that Excadrill is about to die and hazards are not ideal. You can replace Rapid Spin for another coverage move but Exca's movepool is shallow that it almost always it not worth it.
Set Details
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  • Choice Scarf is mandatory to boosts Excadrill's mediocre speeds to lethal ones.
  • The EVs are straightforward: they are used to maximize Excadrill's speed and strength for best possible revenge killing prowess.
  • Adamant can be used if one finds that outrunning M-Alakazam or Scarf Rotom-W unnecessary.

Usage Tips
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  • Excadrill is a great to use mid- or late-game for some serious revenge killing. Thanks to Mold Breaker, Earthquake is easy to spam since it negates the effects of Levitate.
  • Excadrill can revenge kill a lot of top tiers, such as Lucario, Charizard, M-Pinsir, Rotom-W, Genesect, and Thundurus to name a few.
  • Excadrill shines when used on a team that can both utilize his Revenge Killing abilities as well as his incredibly fast Rapin Spin, which can remove hazards almost as reliably as Defog when the opponent does not have a ghost-type.

Team Options
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  • Pokemon that are weak to Stealth Rock make great partners to Excadrill.
  • Earthquake switch-ins and Fighting-type switch ins are even more important than before since being locked into Earthquake might sometimes be bad when the opponent has a Flying-type Pokemon.
  • Pokemon such as Gyarados and Charizard are two partners that do this the greatest.
  • Pokemon that appreciate Excadrill's ability to lure in top dogs like Lucario also make for great teammates.

Assault Vest
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name: Assault Vest
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Iron Head
move 3: Rock Slide / Shadow Claw
move 4: Rapid Spin
ability: Mold Breaker
item: Assault Vest
evs: 248 HP / 136 Atk / 24 SDef / 100 Spe
nature: Adamant

Moves
========

  • Earthquake is mandatory to take advantage of the additional bulk and Mold Breaker to spam this against threats that could otherwise OHKO Excadrill on the switch (Rotom-W and Gengar to name a few).
  • Iron Head is needed for the Dual-STAB, and can be used to reliably defeat Fairy types thanks to the additional bulk.
  • Rock Slide and Shadow Claw can be used depening on what you want to hit: Rock Slide gets the first slash since it offers more coverage but Shadow Claw can be used to hits Gouregiest and Trevaunt.
  • Rapid Spin is the best niche here as it can utilize its bulk for more rapid spin opportunities.




Set Details
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  • The additional bulk offers more Rapid Spin opportunities and it allows Excadrill to switch reliably into Rotom-W's Hydro Pump and still threaten with EQ.
  • Should be used on bulky offensive teams or even stall as the slow speed and reduced attack investment makes this Pokemon a sloppy choice on Heavy Offense.
  • The EVs are utilized to outrun minimal invested base 100s. The attack EVs allows Excadrill to OHKO defensive Rotom-W after SR and the rest was invested into Special Defense. (Thanks EonX, although I want QC opinion).



Usage Tips
========

  • This should be used on more bulkier teams as the attack drop makes this a momentum-eater on heavy offensive teams.
  • Should be used with SR-weak partners like Gyarados or Dragonite
  • Make sure you don't overestimate Excadrill's bulk -- Fire Blast from Zard-Y is still a clean OHKO even if you use maximum investment in HP and SpD.




Team Options
========
  • Works well with bulky teams. Partners like Gyarados (mega or SubDD) work wonders since it can utilize Excadrill's ability to defeat Rotom-W and spin to have an easier time setting up. Gyarados' intimidate can help it come in on some of Excadrill's counters in the form of Landorus-T, Keldeo, or Physical Lucario and easily set up a sweep.
  • Should be noted that Exacdrill fits perfectly with teams weak to Fairy- and Dragon- types as it's noticeable bulk and steel- typing make it a great choice to combat these Pokemon.

Other Options
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  • Excadrill can utilize a Sand Rush set, but with the sand nerf it's not as reliable as it was last gen. (Should be noted that Sand Rush Excadrill has access to the move Sand Storm and can set up it's own sand).

Checks & Counters
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  • Landorus-T is an easy bet as it can switch into every Excadrill set.
  • Balloon Aegislash can switch in and spinblock fairly easily.
  • Talonflame can check Excadrill if it doesn't carry Rock Slide, as well as Dragonite and KyuB.
  • Physical Thundurs can lure it in and OHKO with Superpower. Keldeo can tank an EQ and retaliate with any one of it's dual STABs.
  • Gyarados with Intimidate should live Rock Slide and threaten Excadrill out.
  • Scarf Pokemon can threaten most Excadrill sets as things like Scarf Heatran can OHKO and outrun every set but the scarf Excadrill.
  • Pokemon that can boost its own speed can also check it like Dragon Dance Tyranitar or Automatize Aegislash.
  • Conkeldurr can easily switch in and KO with Drain Punch.
  • Excadrill can also be revenged killed fairly easy by faster threats.
 
Last edited:
Just a reminder (which is kind of bad since you've just written part of it up), analyses should be in bullet-points form until the 2nd QC check.
 
Just hide the stuff from the written portion and put it in Bullet Points.

Also I find Aegislash a crappy mention of a spinblocker. At least against Excadrill.

252+ Atk Aegislash-Shield Sacred Sword vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Excadrill: 180-214 (49.7 - 59.1%) -- 99.6% chance to 2HKO

(180, 184, 186, 188, 190, 192, 194, 196, 198, 200, 202, 204, 206, 208, 210, 214)

I'll post more later when it is bullet point up.
 
Not sure why you calced that for Aegislash in shield form, should be in blade form. Air Balloon aegislash is probably the best Excadrill spin blocker for HO anyway from experience.

Scarf Exca is definitely worth it when you are pushed for team slots - revenge killer and rapid spin in one. Mold Breaker EQ sweeps more often than you would think as well.
 
Yeah you're right. I forgot to flip it on the calc. Though I do have to say Aegislash is taking over 80% from EQ anyway.
 
Assault Vest Excadrill is actually something I've been working with lately. It's honestly pretty good. It's able to tank a lot of hits, especially Draco Meteors from the likes of Lati@s and Goodra. It's also really cool against Fairy types such as Florges, Togekiss, and Sylveon (though Azumarrill screws it royally) I've kind of struggled with the EVs, but here's what I've used so far:

Excadrill @ Assault Vest
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 248 HP / 136 Atk / 24 SDef / 100 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide

The EVs look a bit complicated (and as I've said, I've struggled finding the most optimal spread) but I'll expand on that later. This is a cool set for teams that just need a spinner that can perform some other roles as well. Thanks to the heavy HP investment and Assault Vest, literally no Ghost-type is OHKOing you unless Aegislash carries Sacred Sword. From there, your STABs will take care of virtually any Ghost-type your opponent has. The only issue can come in the form of Jellicent as this Excadrill is a bit more reliant on tanking some hits rather than just brute forcing everything like the Offensive spinner set and the fact Jellicent can tank an EQ and potentially burn you with Scald or Will-o-Wisp. Obviously, your STABs beat most Ghost- and Fairy-types while Rapid Spin is obvious to help out teammates such as Dragonite, Talonflame, and Charizard with their obvious SR weakness. However, your coverage move is a bit interchangeable. I personally find Rock Slide to be the best since you can tank an Outrage or two and KO Dragonite, Kyurem-B, and other such physical Dragons that are weak to Rock. However, since Iron Head can usually 2HKO these threats after SR anyway, Shadow Claw is definitely usable if you need Excadrill to be a more dedicated spinner as it hits the only two Ghost-types that Excadrill can't hit for neutral damage with EQ; Trevenant and Gourgeist. Just know that both can burn Excadrill with Will-O-Wisp anyway, so it might be better to use another Pokemon to handle them or drop them into Iron Head KO range. X-Scissor can stick it to Celebi and hit Lati@s harder, but Iron Head usually does this well enough and the Assault Vest boost lets you handle their attacks better.

So, EVs. Basically, I started with the BW2 Ubers bulky spinner set and adjusted from there. I focused on HP since Assault Vest boosts Special Defense and Excadrill does have some nifty physical resistances to Rock, Dragon, Steel, and Bug. The Speed EVs let Excadrill outspeed uninvested base 100s like Celebi. From there, the Attack EVs hit the highest possible remaining boost point and the leftover EVs go into Special Defense due to Assault Vest. Again, there's probably a more optimal spread, but the set hasn't really disappointed me much.

As for teammates, most Pokemon that are weak to SR will appreciate this Excadrill as it reliably spins away entry hazards. Talonflame, Charizard, (Mega Zard Y especially since its Drought can make it easier to beat Jellicent, Trevenant, and Gourgeist) and Dragonite quickly come to mind as they can easily find their way in on the Ground- and Fighting-type moves Excadrill is weak to (Dragonite also resists Water) Spikes is really useful to chip away at the bulkier Ghost-types that can cause this Excadrill some problems. (Jellicent, Trevenant, and Gourgeist) Deoxys (Speed and Defense) is more of a dedicated Spiker while Greninja can set up Spikes, keep up offensive pressure, and lure out Electric-, Bug-, and Fairy-type moves for Excadrill to switch-in on. Be sure to cover for the shared Fighting weakness with Greninja though!
 
Sorry I ran into some issues.

Bullet Points are complete.

I'm using EonX-'s EV spread for Assault Vest Excadrill since they seem better than what I had. I would like QC opinion on this. I also removed SR on the AV Excadrill that was a typo on my part.
 
I talked this over with PK Gaming, and we've come to a decision on this. Unfortunately, it looks like this was a bit rushed, and the results are seriously flawed. PK and SMB spent a lot of time going over the issues in this analysis, and unfortunately at the end, things felt like they were too thoroughly flawed to fix. Among glaring issues:
  • On a Pokemon with 110 base HP, 65 base Special Defense, and an Assault Vest, you only have 24 EVs on Special Defense. When you consider that Special Defense EVs work 50% harder with the Vest, and Pokemon with high HP and low defenses classically need more investment in defenses than HP. This is just a simple error that seems too obvious to let slide.
  • Yeah yeah, Sand Stream nerf. Still, ZERO mentions of Sand Rush outside of OO? Extremely questionable.
  • Naming something "Fast Rapid Spin" on a Pokemon with no "Slow" RS set is really weird.
  • Overview is very weak, and misses most of the point of Excadrill.
  • Choice Scarf? On a Pokemon whose 2 most notable moves are complete garbage on a Choice set? Nope.
  • From PK:
    "Pokemon that can boost its own speed can also check it like Dragon Dance Tyranitar or Automatize Aegislash."I'm not sure what you're trying to say here. These set up sweepers are checking Excadrill after they've set up... because they're sweeping.
    Click to expand...
  • Mentioning generic "Choice Scarf" Pokemon when only two are really relevant (Heatran and Rotom-W) - the rest of the time they're way too fast for it to matter (Mold Breaker) or way too slow to matter (Sand Rush).
We could continue, but unfortunately considering the issues in just getting the analysis this far, we decided that we'll have to reassign it. Sorry about this, but Excadrill is too important a Pokemon to take chances with.
 
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