[SET]
name: Sand Sweeper
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Iron Head
move 4: Rapid Spin
item: Air Balloon / Leftovers
tera type: Fire / Ground
ability: Sand Rush
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Excadrill serves as the main sweeper on sand teams, as well as being the main entry hazard remover these teams need. Swords Dance lets it reach thresholds like 2HKOing Alomomola with a +2 Earthquake and Gliscor with +2 Iron Head, with its typing allowing to set up on Pokemon like Raging Bolt, Galarian Slowking, and non-Air Balloon Gholdengo. Rapid Spin lets Excadrill remove hazards and outspeed threats like Darkrai outside of sand. Air Balloon is the preferred item to have a temporary immunity to Spikes and Ground-type moves coming from the likes of Landorus-T and Great Tusk. Leftovers can be useful to regain some health over the course of the battle. Heavy-Duty Boots is also an option to ignore hazards entirely, especially useful for clearing Sticky Web. Tera Fire's main appeal is that it gives Excadrill an advantage over Moltres and other common users of Will-O-Wisp like Dragapult and Cinderace. Tera Ground allows Excadrill to guarantee OHKOing targets such as Iron Treads and Raging Bolt unboosted. Tera Ghost provides a crucial immunity to Fighting-type moves like Close Combat and Body Press from Pokemon such as Zamazenta, Corviknight, and Skarmory. Tera Flying is another option that still allows Excadrill to resist Fighting while having the benefit of flipping the matchup versus Ground-types like Landorus-T, Great Tusk, and Ting-Lu.
Tyranitar is Excadrill's best friend, setting the sand that Excadrill needs to thrive while also packing Stealth Rock and Knock Off, which can soften the enemy team to the point where Excadrill can sweep. Tyranitar helps beat Zapdos and, most importantly, Moltres, which Excadrill struggles to break through. The greatest problem sand teams face is Roar Zamazenta, which can shuffle them around while threatening a powerful Body Press. Similarly, Corviknight and Skarmory can boost with Iron Defense in the face of Excadrill while punishing contact moves with Rocky Helmet. Therefore, partners like Primarina, Gholdengo, and Sinistcha are great teammates; in return, Excadrill threatens their counters like Darkrai and Iron Moth. Another highly troublesome matchup for these teams is Ogerpon-W, which resists both of Excadrill's STAB moves. For this reason, checks like Corviknight and Skarmory are recommended. Corviknight can provide momentum with U-turn and can use Defog to ease Excadrill's stress. Meanwhile, Skarmory has Spikes, which can force even more passive damage alongside sand. Hydrapple and Sinistcha can check Rillaboom, Dondozo, Zamazenta, and Ogerpon-W, with Hydrapple providing extra breaking power with its ability to boost with Nasty Plot and Sinistcha providing a reliable defensive backbone with Strength Sap and Matcha Gotcha. Ironically enough, Ogerpon-W is a great partner for Excadrill due to its ability to brute force its way through troublesome matchups like Corviknight, Skarmory, and Moltres; it also has utility moves like U-turn for momentum and Encore to lock foes into moves Excadrill can use as an entry point, like Protect on Gliscor and Calm Mind on Raging Bolt. Ogerpon-W is also able to absorb Water-type moves, protecting both Excadrill and Tyranitar in the process. Finally, Ogerpon-W is able to bait in Pokemon that are scared of Excadrill, like Raging Bolt. Swords Dance Gliscor is an excellent partner for Excadrill, as it excels at defeating both Zapdos and Moltres thanks to its better resilience and status immunity. Dragapult is a good addition to these teams thanks to its immediate power, the ability to cripple various counters like the aforementioned Zamazenta and Ogerpon-W with Will-O-Wisp, and capacity to bring momentum with U-turn. Moltres also brings status and momentum-generating to the table, but it trades greater Speed and power for greater longevity with both Roost and better defenses. Assault Vest Galarian Slowking can help relieve some pressure from Tyranitar, Excadrill's best teammate, thanks to its hit-taking abilities, which is especially relevant against Primarina and Walking Wake.
[SET CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/1ldk.517709/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/zastra.558636/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/fayawizard.616497/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/adorluigi.528364/
name: Sand Sweeper
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Iron Head
move 4: Rapid Spin
item: Air Balloon / Leftovers
tera type: Fire / Ground
ability: Sand Rush
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Excadrill serves as the main sweeper on sand teams, as well as being the main entry hazard remover these teams need. Swords Dance lets it reach thresholds like 2HKOing Alomomola with a +2 Earthquake and Gliscor with +2 Iron Head, with its typing allowing to set up on Pokemon like Raging Bolt, Galarian Slowking, and non-Air Balloon Gholdengo. Rapid Spin lets Excadrill remove hazards and outspeed threats like Darkrai outside of sand. Air Balloon is the preferred item to have a temporary immunity to Spikes and Ground-type moves coming from the likes of Landorus-T and Great Tusk. Leftovers can be useful to regain some health over the course of the battle. Heavy-Duty Boots is also an option to ignore hazards entirely, especially useful for clearing Sticky Web. Tera Fire's main appeal is that it gives Excadrill an advantage over Moltres and other common users of Will-O-Wisp like Dragapult and Cinderace. Tera Ground allows Excadrill to guarantee OHKOing targets such as Iron Treads and Raging Bolt unboosted. Tera Ghost provides a crucial immunity to Fighting-type moves like Close Combat and Body Press from Pokemon such as Zamazenta, Corviknight, and Skarmory. Tera Flying is another option that still allows Excadrill to resist Fighting while having the benefit of flipping the matchup versus Ground-types like Landorus-T, Great Tusk, and Ting-Lu.
Tyranitar is Excadrill's best friend, setting the sand that Excadrill needs to thrive while also packing Stealth Rock and Knock Off, which can soften the enemy team to the point where Excadrill can sweep. Tyranitar helps beat Zapdos and, most importantly, Moltres, which Excadrill struggles to break through. The greatest problem sand teams face is Roar Zamazenta, which can shuffle them around while threatening a powerful Body Press. Similarly, Corviknight and Skarmory can boost with Iron Defense in the face of Excadrill while punishing contact moves with Rocky Helmet. Therefore, partners like Primarina, Gholdengo, and Sinistcha are great teammates; in return, Excadrill threatens their counters like Darkrai and Iron Moth. Another highly troublesome matchup for these teams is Ogerpon-W, which resists both of Excadrill's STAB moves. For this reason, checks like Corviknight and Skarmory are recommended. Corviknight can provide momentum with U-turn and can use Defog to ease Excadrill's stress. Meanwhile, Skarmory has Spikes, which can force even more passive damage alongside sand. Hydrapple and Sinistcha can check Rillaboom, Dondozo, Zamazenta, and Ogerpon-W, with Hydrapple providing extra breaking power with its ability to boost with Nasty Plot and Sinistcha providing a reliable defensive backbone with Strength Sap and Matcha Gotcha. Ironically enough, Ogerpon-W is a great partner for Excadrill due to its ability to brute force its way through troublesome matchups like Corviknight, Skarmory, and Moltres; it also has utility moves like U-turn for momentum and Encore to lock foes into moves Excadrill can use as an entry point, like Protect on Gliscor and Calm Mind on Raging Bolt. Ogerpon-W is also able to absorb Water-type moves, protecting both Excadrill and Tyranitar in the process. Finally, Ogerpon-W is able to bait in Pokemon that are scared of Excadrill, like Raging Bolt. Swords Dance Gliscor is an excellent partner for Excadrill, as it excels at defeating both Zapdos and Moltres thanks to its better resilience and status immunity. Dragapult is a good addition to these teams thanks to its immediate power, the ability to cripple various counters like the aforementioned Zamazenta and Ogerpon-W with Will-O-Wisp, and capacity to bring momentum with U-turn. Moltres also brings status and momentum-generating to the table, but it trades greater Speed and power for greater longevity with both Roost and better defenses. Assault Vest Galarian Slowking can help relieve some pressure from Tyranitar, Excadrill's best teammate, thanks to its hit-taking abilities, which is especially relevant against Primarina and Walking Wake.
[SET CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/1ldk.517709/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/zastra.558636/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/fayawizard.616497/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/adorluigi.528364/
Last edited by a moderator: