Nominating
Excadrill
What effect did Excadrill have on the metagame?
Excadrill can be largely attributed to the rise of Defensive Landorus, as TankChomp usually didn’t cut it as a reliable Exca check. Granted, Landorus also checked Mega Charizard X, but Defensive Lando began rising in usage around the same time Sand got really popular, so Excadrill is likely the reason. Excadrill had an interesting history in OU this gen, starting out as somewhat rare in early XY, and from there, steadily rising in usage throughout the generation until it’s peak in late ORAS, when Defensive Landorus became the most common Pokemon in the tier. To a degree, it can also be attributed to the rise of Bulky Offense, in order to take Exca’s hits and not lose to unboosted. Notably, Excadrill forced offense to carry some sort of offensive check to it, usually defensive Lando, but sometimes Breloom, Azumarill and Crawdaunt, generally super effective priority that could OHKO. It also, in turn, resulted in the rise in Tyranitar’s usage, as the two go together like a key in a keyhole, where the resultant opened door contained nothing more than a whole lot of fast destruction and devastation.
In what main roles was Excadrill used?
Excadrill was commonly used as a sweeper. In sand, it outsped most common scarfers and sweepers, and could typically KO most of offense easily. After a Swords Dance, it’s difficult to stop in sand via offense, with teams usually resorting to strong, super effective priority to OHKO it before it did too much. However, it had other sets, though both were significantly less used than it’s Sand Rush variant.
Sand Rush Sweeper
This is Excadrill’s most potent and well known set, and the reason for it’s large influence on the tier. This set typically ran max speed and max attack with an Adamant nature, holding a Life Orb and with the moves Earthquake, Iron Head, Rock Slide, and Swords Dance or Rapid Spin, depending on what the team needs in terms of hazard removal. Some Excadrill ran Jolly, however, primarily to outpace opposing Adamant Excadrills in sand if the Jolly Excadrill’s team was weak to opposing sand. This reduced the likeliness of speed ties being mandatory to beat it. Some Excadrill chose to forgo the Life Orb in favour of Air Balloon. This had a few benefits. First of all, it gave an Excadrill that SDd on a Lando switchin an extra chance to break Landorus and sweep anyways, also dodging Garchomp’s Earthquake as well. However, Air Balloon wasn’t awfully common as the raw power offered by Life Orb was usually preferred. Due to it’s dependence on Sand to do it’s job, this set is almost always paired with either Tyranitar or Hippowdon, often with a Smooth Rock to maximise Sand tuns.
Choice Scarf
While less common than it’s Sand Rush variant in Gen 6, Choice Scarf is useful on teams where a ground type revenge killer is needed that can also hit common “ground resists” such as Rotom-W and Bronzong, but a Sand setter doesn’t fit on the team. While niche, this set has it’s uses. It typically runs an identical moveset and EV spread (max speed max attack) to Sand Rush except it runs Mold Breaker as opposed to Sand Rush, always runs Jolly and always run Rapid Spin in the last moveslot, that moveset being Earthquake, Iron Head, Rock Slide and Rapid Spin.
Support Excadrill
Probably the least common of Excadrill’s sets, this set is less dedicated to direct offensive prowess, unlike it’s sand rush and choice scarf sets. This set ran a fully specially defensive spread, sometimes with speed investment to outpace Rotom-W, with the moveset Earthquake, Iron Head, Rapid Spin, and either Toxic or Stealth Rock. This set usually ran Leftovers. It’s niche over other defensive grounds such as Hippowdon, Landorus-Therian and Garchomp is Mold Breaker, being one of the few defensive grounds that can directly threaten Rotom-W and Toxic or set up rocks on Magic Bouncers, which is noteworthy as very few Mega Sableye appreciate Toxic. This set gained a degree of popularity around the time of the Mega Sableye and Shadow Tag test, as it was one of the few Pokemon that set up rocks on Mega Sableye that didn’t as easily invite in Goth to trap and cripple it, as it did with Heatran and the like, and if it has a scarf tricked on, it can attempt to flinch Goth to death with Iron Heads that do well over 40% and that 3hkos, preventing Goth from brainlessly resting on it. It also switches in on Latios’ Draco Meteors as a result of it’s defensive typing, can beat Bronzong, spread Toxic or Rapid Spin. Unlike Bulky Starmie, it had a surprising degree of offensive presence. While a more niche ground than the more common ones, it can still be useful on certain teams.
What caused it to have a significant impact?
Excadrill’s ability to demolish frailer offensive teams unboosted in sand and deal huge damage to balance after a Swords Dance made it an incredibly powerful sweeper. So much so, in fact, that it was banned in Generation 5, though it was unbanned this gen primarily due to the weather nerf, which cut Excadrill’s sweep to 8 turns at the most. However, make no mistake, this was more than enough time for Excadrill to do damage. Excadrill had pretty high attack, an Earthquake stronger than Garchomp’s, EdgeQuake coverage in EQ and Rock Slide (though it unfortunately didn’t get Stone Edge), Swords Dance, and also Rapid Spin, enabling it to be one of the few offensive rapid spinners not named Starmie that were viable in OU. However, it’s biggest and best trait is being a very good abuser of Sand Rush, which gave it a speed stat of 550 in Sand with an Adamant nature, and an even higher one with Jolly. It also had the potential to flinch hax through opponents with Iron Head and Rock Slide, with both having a 30% chance to flinch, though this is somewhat minor compared to it’s other traits.
How do/did you deal with this Pokemon in OU?
The most common and widespread answer to Excadrill is Landorus, particularly the Defensive variant. Defensive came in on almost any attack Excadrill had, punished it with Rocky Helmet, and OHKOd back with Earthquake, assuming it wasn't on a balloon. It could be Iron Head flinched to death at +2 and easily chipped away at by teammates, though. Scarf Lando couldn’t directly switch in but could take any single attack and KO back, again, assuming not air balloon. Double Dance was usually EVd to live Iron Head as a 3hko, and often used Excadrill as setup bait when Rock Polish was the ideal move. Skarmory, while not as common and nowhere near as splashable, countered Excadrill pretty reliably, resisting it’s STABs and taking very little from Rock Slide. It could roost off any damage rather reliably to stall sand turns and wittle away at it with Brave Bird, or just phazed it out with Whirlwind if it tries to boost. Defensive Tangrowth is noteworthy as it switched in on any variant, only really fearing +2 SD variants that flinched it with Iron Head, but once in, it could chunk it back with it’s own Earthquake, though it didn’t always OHKO. What makes it noteworthy is it’s ability to do it repeatedly if Excadrill is not SD. Rotom-Wash was another common defensive counter, but it lost to Scarfed sets with Mold Breaker. Quagsire, while less common, was unique in that it countered even SD boosted Excadrill due to Unaware. While not as good a switchin, TankChomp could take any single attack and OHKO non Air Balloon variants with EQ, and, unlike Landorus, hit even Air Balloon with Fire Blast. However, it was prone to being OHKOd by +2 Earthquake and being worn down. Defensive Slowbro, while OHKOd by +2 Adamant EQ after rocks, and 2hkod by unboosted Adamant, could deal with it pretty adequately if it came in on an Iron Head or a free switch via Scald burns. Defensive Mega Slowbro countered any variant and had a stronger Scald to boot.
Breloom with Technician Mach Punch was another typically used method to deal with Excadrill on more offensively inclined teams who disliked running momentum sucks like Skarm, or Lando didn’t fit well on their team, as LO with just Jolly OHKOd Sand Rush variants. However, it couldn’t reliably switch in for fear or Iron Head. Mega Charizard Y erased Excadrill’s Sand, outsped, and vaporised Excadrill with it’s Fire STAB. However, it did fear Rock Slide, and Tyranitar, a decent check to Mega Zard Y, was the most common partner of Excadrill. Azumarill, like Breloom, could annihilate Excadrill with it’s priority. However, it had to be Choice Band to somewhat reliably OHKO unboosted as it took a tonne from Earthquake, preventing it from Belly Drumming. Crawdaunt is in a similar vein, but LO would usually suffice in KOing it. Mega Alakazam could trace Excadrill’s Sand Rush, outspeed, then OHKO with Focus Blast. Keldeo could take any single hit and retaliate with a Scald, potentially burning it and very often plain OHKOing, hit it with a Secret Sword/Focus Blast, or just blow it off the field with Hydro Pump if it’s Keldeo checking partners are scald burned/sufficiently weakened. Mega Lopunny could Fake Out stall it of Sand turns, and once sand came down, it could OHKO Excadrill easily. Mega Heracross lived any of it’s attacks and annihilated it with Close Combat.