SS OU Excadrill Sand Balance

[jeremy.tayhy]

I tried to make a balance team revolving around Sand Rush Excadrill, by covering its weaknesses and utilising chip to make Excadrill's job easier.

Excadrill (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide

This is my win condition of my team. I usually reserve it for late-game where it can clean up. I chose Life Orb for maximum damage output, as Clefable can provide healing if needed. Swords Dance is chosen over a coverage move to solidify this win condition.

Hippowdon (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Slack Off
- Whirlwind
- Earthquake

Hippowdon is my Fire resist. It serves as my sand setter, as sand provides residual chip which makes Excadrill's job easier and also activates Sand Rush. It also serves as my rocks setter, as well as my phazer to counter setup sweepers.

Mandibuzz @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Overcoat
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Foul Play
- Roost
- U-turn
- Defog

Mandibuzz is my counter to Ground types. serves as my defogger, which can also help with checking Dragapult. Overcoat allows Mandibuzz to not take chip from sandstorm, which helps with its survival. Heavy-Duty Boots allow Mandibuzz to not take 25% from rocks. U-turn allows me to switch in Hippowdon or Ferrothorn more easily.

Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Teleport
- Moonblast
- Wish
- Protect

Clefable serves as my Fighting type check, especially Conkeldurr. Magic Guard allows Clefable to act as a status sponge while also avoiding chip from Sand. Teleport allows me to set up a nice pivot core with Mandibuzz and Rotom-Heat, and also allows for Wish-passing.

Rotom-Heat @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Overheat
- Volt Switch
- Toxic

Rotom is my answer to steels like Corviknight, as well as waters like Toxapex. Toxic allows Rotom-Heat to spread status, while Nasty Plot allows for Rotom to setup for an Overheat nuke.

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Spikes
- Body Press
- Knock Off
- Leech Seed

Ferrothorn is my water resist, especially against mons like Dracovish. Spikes allows me to hazard stack, and Leech Seed allows Ferrothorn to get off some chip while staying healthy. Body Press allows me to check mons like Bisharp and Ferrothorn, while Knock Off brings more utility to the team.

Here's an importable!

https://pokepast.es/6c74c6c15979bbcf

Thank you very much for reading through this RMT of mine! I appreciate any feedback.

​

 

[Neck Rope]

a few red flags

-if youre running sand rush you have to have smooth stone on your sand setter if you dont run rapid spin. (rapid spin makes up for the speed and gets rid of hazards)

-you only have one real sweeping mon (if excadrill dies you die) you have rotom but thats not v reliable thanks to overheat harshly lowering your attack stat.

-aromatherapy/heal bell over teleport on clefable. your team is very weak to burns/poison/para.

-you lack a much-needed spd mon

how i personally would change this team.
(individual mon changes)

Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Heal Bell
- Moonblast
- Wish
- Protect

Cinderace @ Focus Sash
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Court Change
- Pyro Ball
- Iron Head
- U-turn
this is the replacement for rotom. you have court change for putting hazards on the opponents side and pyro ball for anti-fero. you can also stay in on clefable and 2hko with iron head.

Excadrill (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rapid Spin

Toxapex @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Baneful Bunker
- Haze
- Scald
- Recover
replacement mandibuzz. if you arent gonna run unaware on clef you need something to antisweep. i choose toxapex because of the high tankiness and ability to poison off of a protect. this also adds a bit of stall if youre in a rock in a hard place.

https://pokepast.es/5425489796df7911 <----batch change

 

[Tapeworm]

Hey, man. Pretty standard Sand balance team you're running, nothing too flashy and definitely gonna get the job done. A few things going on that limit its effectiveness somewhat so here's a few optimisations you'll want to make.

1. Run Spin on Exca. I get what you're shooting for with Exca being your late-game cleaner so you prioritised set up and coverage, but it really is inefficient for a Spike stack team which relies on chip and hazard wear like this one to break through Toads and opposing Hippos, etc. Defogging away your own hazards is not the best idea and I'd highly recommend Spin over Rock Slide or SD (I'd recommend you ditch Rock Slide). Run Knock Off or Taunt on Mandi over Defog if you really choose to keep it (we'll get to that later).

2. You've got your Mandibuzz and Hippo's roles the wrong way around. Hippo is best as a phys Def mon (it can run mixed Def but it's unnecessary to consider here) and Mandi is best as SpD. The reasons are for Hippo to face off vs things like opposing Drills without risking wear to your Ferro, since Hippo has reliable recovery it's going to be your best option for those 1v1s between the two. Mandi on the other hand is a good option to protect against common Ghost-spam, but it's not as happy eating Shadow Balls without SpD investment. Not much more to add, just swap those.

3. Mandibuzz is cool and can have a place on this team as a more solid Ground immunity than Rotom-H, but honestly, since you have Ferro and Hippo to help vs Mold Breaker Exca, I think you could do instead with some more fire power. T-Tar is a great option here as it's able to eat Shadow Balls like Mandi can, but it also serves as a second Sand setter for Exca, lets you directly attack Rotom-H who you have only very loose answers for right now, and force out opposing Defoggers so your hazards stay up. Your team needs it more than Mandi and you have TelePass Clef to keep it healthy throughout the game as well.

That's about it for changes you should make. Personal changes I'd make if I used this team is Rocky Helmet on Ferro to grind down Fish more easily since it can be a huge threat to your team, and Discharge over VS on Rotom to better face off against Defoggers and Pex who are both quite annoying.

Give these a shot and have fun.

Sets

Excadrill @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Swords Dance
- Rapid Spin

Hippowdon @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Whirlwind
- Slack Off

Tyranitar @ Choice Band
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stone Edge
- Crunch
- Earthquake
- Fire Punch

If you really want it:

Mandibuzz (F) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Overcoat
EVs: 252 HP / 160 SpD / 96 Spe
Careful Nature
- Roost
- Knock Off
- Foul Play
- U-turn