As coming off of an Uncharted 3 kick, what better name for a Sandstorm team than Iram of the Pillars. In UC3 Iram is the city in which has been lost in the desert that contains amazing wealth as well as another secret which I’m not going to add for those who haven’t played through yet.
Team Building Process:
When I started the team, I knew I wanted a sandstorm in OU and what better choice than Tyranitar for Sandstream as well his ability to absorb damage as well as take out some common leads or at least for changes.
After that I needed something that could abuse the Sandstream and thought that Gliscor would be the perfect candidate for this as Sand Veil and his ability to wall threats in the current metagame.
After seeing what I had, I knew I wanted a revenge killer. Scarf Latios would allow me to Outspeed most +1 Dragons and knockout with an Ice Beam as well as deal with Starmie,Gyarados and Landorous so Latias got the spot with no more thinking toward it.
At this point I believed taking the team to a defensive palystyle would benefit. Forretress could easily set up spikes while Jellicent could take fire attacks aimed at him while keeping the ability to burn enemies and spam recover to keep up walling. Heatran came in as an attempt to deal with Grass types and other fire types. Air Balloon seemed like the best choice for Heatran so he could come in on a ground attack and deal some massive damage on the switch.
After some play testing and getting destroyed on a particular occasion, I decided it was time to possibly change the direction of the team. I decided to drop my walls for more favorable attackers. Gliscor also got a revamp going from Toxic Stall to ACRObat in which proved just as effective against Machamp, Scrafty and Conkeldurr as well as letting me deal damage to threats that I couldn’t earlier deal with as easily. DD Gyara came is as just a thought with the ability Bounce and has proven to be valuable as the paralyze has been proven as a game maker in many situations. Scizor also gave me the ability to trap many opponents as well as revenge kill and scout.
Without further to ado:
IRAM OF THE PILLARS
The Storm:
Tyranitar @ Lum Berry
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 64 SAtk / 192 SDef
Sassy Nature (+SDef, -Spd)
- Stone Edge
- Crunch
- Fire Blast
- Superpower
Choosing between Hippowdon and Tyranitar was a difficult choice at first as both are very reliable sources for Sandstream that this team loves. Tyranitar @ Lum Berry finally got the choice due to a more varied move pool. Crunch allows for massive damage to the psychics and ghost in the game while generally being able to survive their attacks. Fire Blast allows for dealing with the grass pokemon that usually appear in other weather teams, as well as allowing me to OHKO most Breloom after a failed Spore attempt. Superpower allows me the ability to effectively deal with opposing Tyranitar, however I have been experimenting with Low Kick over Superpower. Stone Edge is in the set now due to the coverage it allows TTar to have and the increased crit chance is always welcomed.
Sun Above the Desert:
Heatran @ Air Balloon
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Lava Plume
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Stealth Rock
- Earth Power
At first glance Heatran with Hidden Power [Grass] may seem as odd mix however the surprise that has allowed has been great. The ability for Heatran to deal with Rotom – W and Gastordon has proven great over the trials this team has been put through. The rest of the set seems pretty standard. Lava Plume hits for decent and the chance to burn is always a great thing, as well as a way to eliminate the Magnezones which believe switching in on this is a good decision. Stealth Rock is a necessity anymore for teams, and I benefit from todays meta of constant switching, especially in weather wars. Earth Power is here just for a great way to deal with Ninetales on other weather teams other fire types.
Curse of Iram
Latios (M) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid (+Spe, -Atk)
- Trick
- Draco Meteor
- Thunderbolt
- Psyshock
When I first started back, I was amazed to see that Latios had fallen from the graces of Uber to OU and I planned to abuse this fully. Choice Scarf allows this to come in after a partner has fallen and fully take its speed to his advantage. Draco Meteor is amazing. At first I opted to not run it on the set however after testing, it has been very effective of dealing with the threats I was using Ice Beam for. Thunderbolt also allows me to deal with Starmie easy in which this team hates as well as flying pokes. Psyshock is still being played around with that this time but so far so good. The move is allowing me to hit Blissey for decent damage as well as OHKO particular variations of Tentacruel while giving my team another way to deal with Fighting pokemon in case of Gliscor going down.
Springs of Iram
Rotom - W @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpAtk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Trick
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Rotom - W came in as a change up for Gyarados. After trying several pokemon, I found that Rotom - W helped the team more than others. With the ability to scout, revenge and even make some walls useless. I found this pokemon as a great switch to the team. With the great typing, Rotom helped the team out giving many resistances and easy switch ins the team didn't have before. I am open to suggestions about this spot however due to the belief that something else may better feel the spot.
Guardian of Iram
Gliscor @ Flying Gem
Trait: Sand Veil
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Substitute
- Earthquake
- Acrobatics
Oh the fun of ACRObat. I can never thank Okami and Alice enough for suggesting this to me. Before I used ACRO I was using the Toxic stall in which you seen everywhere now. With Sand Veil, I can generally switch in on a resisted or immune attack, sub, and dance then hit like a truck. Behind the safety of Sand Veil and one Substitute, nothing is going to easily switch into Gliscor. With proper switches, Gliscor has swept more times than I care to count.
Plague of the Scarab
Scizor @ Choice Band
Trait: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SDef / 4 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Pursuit
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Superpower
Scizor, the Pokemon we all know and hate. The EV spread above varies from the standard by 4 speed allowing me to outspeed other Scizor sets. Pursuit is used to trap those weak to Dark and the majority of the times ends with the knockout. Bullet Punch is the one thing I love about this. After a battle has lasted so long, generally most pokemon have taken enough damage for Bullet Punch to eliminate whatever is left, baring Steel. U-Turn is a great STAB that allows for scouting as well as major damage to anything that doesn’t resist it. Finally Superpower is for all of the common Scizor counters that like to switch in on Scizor while delivering massive damage and more than likely the OHKO.
Thank you all for taking the time to view this team after all the work I have put into typing this.
P.S. If someone could tell me how to get my banner in that would be great
UPDATE: Rotom - W for Gyara. Broke 1300+ rating 3/9/2012
Team Building Process:
When I started the team, I knew I wanted a sandstorm in OU and what better choice than Tyranitar for Sandstream as well his ability to absorb damage as well as take out some common leads or at least for changes.
After that I needed something that could abuse the Sandstream and thought that Gliscor would be the perfect candidate for this as Sand Veil and his ability to wall threats in the current metagame.
After seeing what I had, I knew I wanted a revenge killer. Scarf Latios would allow me to Outspeed most +1 Dragons and knockout with an Ice Beam as well as deal with Starmie,Gyarados and Landorous so Latias got the spot with no more thinking toward it.
At this point I believed taking the team to a defensive palystyle would benefit. Forretress could easily set up spikes while Jellicent could take fire attacks aimed at him while keeping the ability to burn enemies and spam recover to keep up walling. Heatran came in as an attempt to deal with Grass types and other fire types. Air Balloon seemed like the best choice for Heatran so he could come in on a ground attack and deal some massive damage on the switch.
After some play testing and getting destroyed on a particular occasion, I decided it was time to possibly change the direction of the team. I decided to drop my walls for more favorable attackers. Gliscor also got a revamp going from Toxic Stall to ACRObat in which proved just as effective against Machamp, Scrafty and Conkeldurr as well as letting me deal damage to threats that I couldn’t earlier deal with as easily. DD Gyara came is as just a thought with the ability Bounce and has proven to be valuable as the paralyze has been proven as a game maker in many situations. Scizor also gave me the ability to trap many opponents as well as revenge kill and scout.
Without further to ado:
IRAM OF THE PILLARS
The Storm:
Tyranitar @ Lum Berry
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 64 SAtk / 192 SDef
Sassy Nature (+SDef, -Spd)
- Stone Edge
- Crunch
- Fire Blast
- Superpower
Choosing between Hippowdon and Tyranitar was a difficult choice at first as both are very reliable sources for Sandstream that this team loves. Tyranitar @ Lum Berry finally got the choice due to a more varied move pool. Crunch allows for massive damage to the psychics and ghost in the game while generally being able to survive their attacks. Fire Blast allows for dealing with the grass pokemon that usually appear in other weather teams, as well as allowing me to OHKO most Breloom after a failed Spore attempt. Superpower allows me the ability to effectively deal with opposing Tyranitar, however I have been experimenting with Low Kick over Superpower. Stone Edge is in the set now due to the coverage it allows TTar to have and the increased crit chance is always welcomed.
Sun Above the Desert:
Heatran @ Air Balloon
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Lava Plume
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Stealth Rock
- Earth Power
At first glance Heatran with Hidden Power [Grass] may seem as odd mix however the surprise that has allowed has been great. The ability for Heatran to deal with Rotom – W and Gastordon has proven great over the trials this team has been put through. The rest of the set seems pretty standard. Lava Plume hits for decent and the chance to burn is always a great thing, as well as a way to eliminate the Magnezones which believe switching in on this is a good decision. Stealth Rock is a necessity anymore for teams, and I benefit from todays meta of constant switching, especially in weather wars. Earth Power is here just for a great way to deal with Ninetales on other weather teams other fire types.
Curse of Iram
Latios (M) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid (+Spe, -Atk)
- Trick
- Draco Meteor
- Thunderbolt
- Psyshock
When I first started back, I was amazed to see that Latios had fallen from the graces of Uber to OU and I planned to abuse this fully. Choice Scarf allows this to come in after a partner has fallen and fully take its speed to his advantage. Draco Meteor is amazing. At first I opted to not run it on the set however after testing, it has been very effective of dealing with the threats I was using Ice Beam for. Thunderbolt also allows me to deal with Starmie easy in which this team hates as well as flying pokes. Psyshock is still being played around with that this time but so far so good. The move is allowing me to hit Blissey for decent damage as well as OHKO particular variations of Tentacruel while giving my team another way to deal with Fighting pokemon in case of Gliscor going down.
Springs of Iram
Rotom - W @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpAtk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Trick
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Rotom - W came in as a change up for Gyarados. After trying several pokemon, I found that Rotom - W helped the team more than others. With the ability to scout, revenge and even make some walls useless. I found this pokemon as a great switch to the team. With the great typing, Rotom helped the team out giving many resistances and easy switch ins the team didn't have before. I am open to suggestions about this spot however due to the belief that something else may better feel the spot.
Guardian of Iram
Gliscor @ Flying Gem
Trait: Sand Veil
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Substitute
- Earthquake
- Acrobatics
Oh the fun of ACRObat. I can never thank Okami and Alice enough for suggesting this to me. Before I used ACRO I was using the Toxic stall in which you seen everywhere now. With Sand Veil, I can generally switch in on a resisted or immune attack, sub, and dance then hit like a truck. Behind the safety of Sand Veil and one Substitute, nothing is going to easily switch into Gliscor. With proper switches, Gliscor has swept more times than I care to count.
Plague of the Scarab
Scizor @ Choice Band
Trait: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SDef / 4 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Pursuit
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Superpower
Scizor, the Pokemon we all know and hate. The EV spread above varies from the standard by 4 speed allowing me to outspeed other Scizor sets. Pursuit is used to trap those weak to Dark and the majority of the times ends with the knockout. Bullet Punch is the one thing I love about this. After a battle has lasted so long, generally most pokemon have taken enough damage for Bullet Punch to eliminate whatever is left, baring Steel. U-Turn is a great STAB that allows for scouting as well as major damage to anything that doesn’t resist it. Finally Superpower is for all of the common Scizor counters that like to switch in on Scizor while delivering massive damage and more than likely the OHKO.
Thank you all for taking the time to view this team after all the work I have put into typing this.
P.S. If someone could tell me how to get my banner in that would be great
UPDATE: Rotom - W for Gyara. Broke 1300+ rating 3/9/2012
