[OVERVIEW]
Sand Rush and high Attack make Excadrill a fast and strong attacker when sand is active. Its excellent STAB combination hits almost the entire tier for at least neutral damage. Excadrill finds itself on some variations of sand teams as the primary attacker, matching up well against all of Incineroar, Diancie, Kyurem-B, Naganadel, and Steel-types. Tyranitar is a mandatory partner to set sand, and Incineroar and Zapdos are common teammates, as they take on Water- and Grass-types that threaten Excadrill and provide Fake Out, Parting Shot, and Tailwind to maximize its offensive capabilities. Unfortunately, Excadrill has many noticeable flaws that keep it from being too common in Doubles. It can't rely on its strong, spread Earthquake due to the dominance of Rillaboom and Grassy Terrain, and it struggles against Rillaboom itself, along with many other common Pokemon in Tapu Fini, Urshifu-R, Amoonguss, and Zygarde. Furthermore, Excadrill hates opposing speed control, notably getting outsped and OHKOed by Urshifu-R and Landorus when opposing Tailwind is up, even when sand is active. Likewise, it also has a hard time against Volcanion and Incineroar in Trick Room. Lastly, Excadrill competes against Dracovish and Dracozolt as the primary sand beneficiary on sand teams, as they offer much higher single-target damage. Overall, Excadrill is an suboptimal option on an already niche style of play and, therefore, not the most common Pokemon in the tier.
[SET]
name: Sand Attacker
move 1: High Horsepower
move 2: Iron Head
move 3: Earthquake / Substitute
move 4: Protect
item: Life Orb
ability: Sand Rush
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
* High Horsepower and Iron Head are Excadrill's primary STAB options and hit Pokemon such as Incineroar, Diancie, Naganadel, and Kyurem-B for super effective damage.
* Earthquake is a spread option that can be used when Grassy Terrain is not active, but you must be wary of hurting Excadrill's partner. Substitute lets Excadrill block Intimidate and Fake Out, as well as gaining momentum against more passive counterplay.
* Protect keeps Excadrill safe and lets its partner gain a stronger position.
* With Sand Rush, Excadrill notably outspeeds the entire unboosted metagame when sand is active, even without a Jolly nature.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Excadrill can utilize Swords Dance to boost its Attack to monstrous levels and help counteract Intimidate, but it leaves Excadrill exposed for a turn. Rock Slide is an option to hit non-grounded Pokemon such as Zapdos, but its pool of targets is quite limited. Excadrill can set and remove entry hazards with Stealth Rock and Rapid Spin, but it is not the most reliable at doing either, and Excadrill would rather be attacking with any free turns it can generate.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[emma, 294304]]
- Quality checked by: [[qsns, 230771], [Yoda2798, 243662]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Adeleine, 517429]]
Sand Rush and high Attack make Excadrill a fast and strong attacker when sand is active. Its excellent STAB combination hits almost the entire tier for at least neutral damage. Excadrill finds itself on some variations of sand teams as the primary attacker, matching up well against all of Incineroar, Diancie, Kyurem-B, Naganadel, and Steel-types. Tyranitar is a mandatory partner to set sand, and Incineroar and Zapdos are common teammates, as they take on Water- and Grass-types that threaten Excadrill and provide Fake Out, Parting Shot, and Tailwind to maximize its offensive capabilities. Unfortunately, Excadrill has many noticeable flaws that keep it from being too common in Doubles. It can't rely on its strong, spread Earthquake due to the dominance of Rillaboom and Grassy Terrain, and it struggles against Rillaboom itself, along with many other common Pokemon in Tapu Fini, Urshifu-R, Amoonguss, and Zygarde. Furthermore, Excadrill hates opposing speed control, notably getting outsped and OHKOed by Urshifu-R and Landorus when opposing Tailwind is up, even when sand is active. Likewise, it also has a hard time against Volcanion and Incineroar in Trick Room. Lastly, Excadrill competes against Dracovish and Dracozolt as the primary sand beneficiary on sand teams, as they offer much higher single-target damage. Overall, Excadrill is an suboptimal option on an already niche style of play and, therefore, not the most common Pokemon in the tier.
[SET]
name: Sand Attacker
move 1: High Horsepower
move 2: Iron Head
move 3: Earthquake / Substitute
move 4: Protect
item: Life Orb
ability: Sand Rush
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
* High Horsepower and Iron Head are Excadrill's primary STAB options and hit Pokemon such as Incineroar, Diancie, Naganadel, and Kyurem-B for super effective damage.
* Earthquake is a spread option that can be used when Grassy Terrain is not active, but you must be wary of hurting Excadrill's partner. Substitute lets Excadrill block Intimidate and Fake Out, as well as gaining momentum against more passive counterplay.
* Protect keeps Excadrill safe and lets its partner gain a stronger position.
* With Sand Rush, Excadrill notably outspeeds the entire unboosted metagame when sand is active, even without a Jolly nature.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Excadrill can utilize Swords Dance to boost its Attack to monstrous levels and help counteract Intimidate, but it leaves Excadrill exposed for a turn. Rock Slide is an option to hit non-grounded Pokemon such as Zapdos, but its pool of targets is quite limited. Excadrill can set and remove entry hazards with Stealth Rock and Rapid Spin, but it is not the most reliable at doing either, and Excadrill would rather be attacking with any free turns it can generate.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[emma, 294304]]
- Quality checked by: [[qsns, 230771], [Yoda2798, 243662]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Adeleine, 517429]]
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