VGC VGC 2020 - Sand Offense

[Hello Fellow Human]

Introduction:

Hello everyone, I'm Arkhalis VGC. I started in 2016, but played mostly in VGC 2018, then took a break in 2019 (I didn't like the meta, so I played OU during this time) - now I'm back. This is my first team for 2020, but it's changed a lot since I first created it after tons of playtesting. I reset my ranking recently to try out the newest version of the team (for accurate team-specific stats) and got to 1418 with a record of 32-15 (68.09% win rate) in one night. Overall, across the 73 games I’ve played, this team is currently 54-19 (73.97% win rate) and peaked at 1534 (#461). I'm confident I can at least get to the mid-1600s, but I'm currently taking a break making a new team that I’ll have out soon (I’m really excited for this). In the meantime, I decided to write this team review to try to get some rates so it's as efficient as possible once I get back to grinding with this team.



Evolution of the Team:
(Note that there were smaller edits in between, these were just the major changes made)

Mark I: I originally built the team around my successful VGC 2018 sand team (https://pokepast.es/7ce19fba4006bda6) since I was able to carry over most of the Pokemon from that team onto my 2020 team. Then, since Salamence and Tapu Bulu were banned, I threw on Gigantamax Sandaconda (I wanted to try out its ability and see how viable it was) and Corviknight (Tailwind + good tank) to make up for the losses (Team: https://pokepast.es/107cef2aca946388). Since most of my team was on my amazing 2018 roster, I figured it couldn't be that bad - I was wrong. Very, very wrong. I blew through low-ladder (mostly due to my actual skill), but once I got to slightly higher ranks, I was getting destroyed for pretty obvious reasons. For one, I had three steel types, making my team severely weak to fire. Not only that, but the only three non-Steel types I had were all weak to grass. Finally, this team got dunked on by rain teams.

Mark II: On the next version of the team (https://pokepast.es/374464e160bbef0e), spoiler alert: things didn't get much better. I decided to make two major changes:

->

and

->

. The team got slightly better, but not by much. I added Duraludon solely because I wasn't really using Aegislash, but there's not much to say here since it had the same problem as Aegislash did. The only notable part of this is the fact that I still had the triple steel dilemma. Rotom added a check to two of the main weaknesses the team had - grass and rain. The problem was, while it effectively walled grass Pokemon, namely Ferrothorn, it failed miserably at checking rain. I made the mistake of A: using only one Pokemon to counter an entire archetype and B: it's literally weak to what it's trying to check. For these reasons, the team failed again and I went back to the drawing board.

Mark III: This version is when the team started to get good (https://pokepast.es/104e3e406f0362ac). This time around, I changed the last two mons yet again, but this time it was actually effective. Firstly, I changed

->

. Because of this, Rotom was now effectively able to fulfill its job of walling rain. Since my team still needed a check to grass (and it's also always nice to have a fire type). While not a very meta pick, I chose to change

->

(super underrated Pokemon in my opinion) for a few reasons. Firstly, my team lacked a strong special attacker. Because Intimidate isn't as prevalent this year, I tried to get away with more physical attackers than usual, but that doesn't mean that Intimidate is completely gone or that I don't still need special coverage. Also, it has super good coverage options (fire, ghost, grass, etc.), allowing it to be an effective offensive mon. Finally, Dynamax Chandelure is surprisingly strong due to the fact that it has a high special attack stat and decent bulk. Because of these changes, the team became a lot better, but I wasn't finished quite yet.

Mark IV: The most recent and most successful version of the team is the one I'm about to show you. I knew Sandaconda wasn't cutting it for a long time, but I didn't know what to replace it with until now. On this version of the team, I added Gyarados. The main reason for this change is that while I was watching videos of VGC 2020 sand teams to get ideas, I stumbled upon a ThatsAPlusOne video (

) that used an extremely similar team Pokemon-wise. Because of this video, I decided to try changing

->

because I figured it would be a good pick up seeing as he found success with it on his team. When I did this though, I made a few major edits. Firstly, I changed Bulldoze -> Bounce. This was just to help to give it more STAB options + the speed boost when Dynamaxed (and I never used Bulldoze anyways). Also in certain situations, Bounce is actually a pretty good move. Also, I changed

->

, Intimidate -> Moxie, and I changed the EVs up. Lastly, the team finally has a Water-Fire-Grass core. Overall, this is the current version of the team and the one that's gotten me to my current rating, soon to be even higher.



The Team:

@

Ability: Moxie
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Power Whip
- Bounce
- Stone Edge

Role:
Damage

The first Pokemon of the team is Gyarados. Gyarados is important to the team for a few reasons. Its main purpose is to deal damage and stack up Moxie boosts. Gyarados makes for a good Dynamax Pokemon due to the ability to gain a speed boost for it and its allies and it also has the capability to one-shot certain unsuspecting Pokemon such as Rotom-Wash and Barraskewda with Power Whip. Another reason I have Gyarados on this team is to be used as an anti-Dracovish lead along with Rotom since Dracovish can destroy my team if left unchecked. Finally, if I lead with Gyarados and it's an unfavorable position to be in, in certain situations I'm able to bait out an electric type attack and get a free switch into Excadrill (I'll link the replay below). One strategy I like using with this Pokemon is trying to get an early kill, get the moxie boost, then Dynamax to effectively get rid of the Choice Band lock, but still have the boost.

@

Ability: Sand Stream
Level: 50
Happiness: 160
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Rock Slide
- Crunch
- Low Kick
- Ice Punch

Role:
Damage

My Tyranitar set is pretty straight-forward. The main purpose it has on this team is for setting up sand, but it's also super useful due to the high damage output coupled with the large amount of coverage it provides. Finally, having the Choice Scarf is super good for Tyranitar because now it can usually hit first with a double targeting Rock Slide, which is good for the STAB damage and the flinch chance it provides.

@

Ability: Sand Rush
Level: 50
Happiness: 160
EVs: 180 HP / 252 Atk / 76 Spe
Adamant Nature
- High Horsepower
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide
- Protect

Role:
Damage

Another pretty straight-forward set on this team is my Excadrill. I use it for strictly offense and it works perfectly. This is the Pokemon on my team that I Dynamax the most due to the absurd damage output and speed it has. I mostly use Excadrill as a lead with Tyranitar and in doubt, they can both usually go first and spam Rock Slide for flinches.

@

Ability: Mirror Armor
Level: 50
EVs: 100 HP / 252 Atk / 132 SpD / 24 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Brave Bird
- Iron Head
- Tailwind
- Roost

Role:
Support / Tank

Corviknight is the third and final Pokemon that has lasted from the original team all the way until now. This is because of the sheer amount of utility it provides for the team, mostly Tailwind. The reason I chose Corviknight over Whimsicott was for two reasons: Mirror Armor and damage output. Mirror Armor is such a good ability because of how easily it can cripple any Pokemon who dares to attempt to Intimidate my team (my usual lead in these situations is Corviknight and Chandelure). Corviknight used to get one-shotted by Arcanine (if it wasn't Intimidate) and other prominent fire type Pokemon, so I gave Corviknight an Occa Berry and that solved the fire problem. Corviknight is also super good because of its naturally high bulk. Finally, even though it has a "meh" attack stat, it can still dish out a respectable amount of damage.

@

Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
Happiness: 160
EVs: 244 HP / 4 SpA / 248 SpD / 12 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Leaf Storm
- Thunderbolt / Volt Switch
- Will-O-Wisp
- Protect / Helping Hand

Role:
Support / Tank

While being the least used Pokemon on this team, Rotom is still super important to this team. One reason is that it's really good against rain teams because of its typing, but it's also important for my anti-Dracovish lead because of Will-O-Wisp (and again, its typing is really good against it too). Even if there isn't a Dracovish to shut down though, Will-O-Wisp is still a really good move to have and provides enough utility on its own to justify Rotom's spot on this team. Also, while I don't use it often, Dynamax Rotom is actually super strong. Having a 140 base power STAB grass move and a 130 base power STAB electric move without any downsides is nothing to laugh at. Its special attack may not be the highest, but it's still capable of easily taking out common Pokemon such as Gastrodon and Rotom-Wash in one hit and being able to do a massive amount of damage to Dracovish (enough to take it out in one turn if you double target it). Also if anyone is wondering about the random 4 special attack EVs, it's because it's not a guaranteed one-hit K.O. on a max HP Rotom-Wash without it. Note: just to make sure everything is clear, the damage feats that I just mentioned (besides Gastrodon and Dracovish) are referring to Dynamaxed Rotom-Mow. Lastly, Helping Hand is a nice option > Protect for the utility / surprise factor (and if Dynamaxed, you still get Max Guard), but if you want to use this team, you can use either option - they both work well.

@

Ability: Infiltrator
Level: 50
Happiness: 160
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Heat Wave
- Shadow Ball
- Energy Ball
- Protect

Role:
Damage

Last, but certainly not least is Chandelure. As I mentioned before in my team evolution section, I believe Chadelure is a super underrated Pokemon for multiple reasons. On this team, Chandelure has a similar job to Excadrill, which is just simply doing damage. It has a super well-rounded moveset, including a STAB + Charcoal boosted double targeting Heat Wave, STAB Shadow Ball for Dragapult (can live an attack when Dynamaxed to kill after with Shadow Ball, or under Tailwind, it outspeeds Dragapult and can take it out in one hit), and Energy Ball for Gastrodon. This is the other Pokemon that I Dynamax a lot on this team besides Excadrill.



Defensive Type Chart:

Closing Thoughts:

Overall, I think this is a very solid team, but I know it isn't perfect and could always use some help, which is why I'm here. Mainly, I could use some help with EVs (I've never been good with them), so I'm very open to suggestions on those. I am also sure there are some other flaws I'm not seeing that you guys could help out with. Thank you for reading my post, have a great day! :D



Copy / Paste:

https://pokepast.es/57a9572204fefc95



Replays:

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8vgc2020-1030596162 - Perfectly played game
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8vgc2020-1031660564 - Stalling out an entire Trick Room
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8vgc2020-1031668465 - Another very well played game (super proud of Turn 7)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8vgc2020-1031739502 - Chandelure clutches up
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8vgc2020-1030322680 - Not the best replay, but it shows how I beat Lucario / Whimsicott (low ladder game since I don’t have many other good replays of me shutting down this combo, but it gets the point across)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8vgc2020-1033484740 - Outplaying a Trick Room team
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8vgc2020-1033499872 - I feel super dirty about winning after getting 2 important flinches
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8vgc2020-1036025752 - Easy come back​

 

[Aaraeus]

I really like this team and I’m playing a similar variant on showdown and cartridge. Somehow it just “clicks”. Bare in mind I’m still new to the meta and my ELO is a lot lower than yours, but I have a few beginner questions:

1. What are some calculation results on the Bulky Gyarados? What can it notably survive? +1 WP Dmax Rock from Coalossal while d-maxed? Thunderbolt from 252SpAtk Rotom?

2. Ttar spread. I actually prefer a slightly bulky Weakness Policy user here. It’s a fantastic secondary Dynamaxer to Gyarados. This allows for more viable options, eg leading with Ttar and Gyarados and getting a max flying speed boost while Ttar protects against a max knuckle or geyser for Ttar to sweep.

3. The rotom set is interesting. I’m running a bullied variant - 252hp and 252spatk.

I’ll run some calculations when I get home.

What’s your strategy for Hard Trick Room or Coalossal/Lucario with Surf/Beat Up?

 

[Hello Fellow Human]

I really like this team and I’m playing a similar variant on showdown and cartridge. Somehow it just “clicks”. Bare in mind I’m still new to the meta and my ELO is a lot lower than yours, but I have a few beginner questions:

1. What are some calculation results on the Bulky Gyarados? What can it notably survive? +1 WP Dmax Rock from Coalossal while d-maxed? Thunderbolt from 252SpAtk Rotom?

2. Ttar spread. I actually prefer a slightly bulky Weakness Policy user here. It’s a fantastic secondary Dynamaxer to Gyarados. This allows for more viable options, eg leading with Ttar and Gyarados and getting a max flying speed boost while Ttar protects against a max knuckle or geyser for Ttar to sweep.

3. The rotom set is interesting. I’m running a bullied variant - 252hp and 252spatk.

I’ll run some calculations when I get home.

What’s your strategy for Hard Trick Room or Coalossal/Lucario with Surf/Beat Up?

1. For the first question, if I’m being honest: I don’t really I know. I used it because I figured it would be better than Sandaconda and it was on a known VGC players team that was similar to mine, so I thought it would fit well on my team. Since then, I’ve actually started using my own Choice Band / Moxie set, giving Gyarados a lot more of an offensive role on the team. Since Gyarados wasn’t that great of a tank before, this role switch has actually benefitted the team very well and so far it has an astonishing 17-3 record. The reason this set works so well is because Choice Band obviously allows for a lot of damage, but if you can get an early kill with it, Moxie kicks in and gives you even more attack. From here, you can actually Dynamax and effectively get rid of the effects of Choice Band, while still having the attack boost + Moxie access.

2. Honestly, I really like Weakness Policy and I actually tried it for a while, but I never got the effect I needed. It’s an amazing item, but just with my personal play style, I prefer faster mons (hence the Choice Scarf). It’s also nice because Tyranitar already has a high attack stat, so I feel it doesn’t really need the Weakness Policy (and I was also continually getting killed by fighting moves, which was pretty annoying). Finally, the synergy of a fast Excadrill coupled with a fast Tyranitar is super threatening because people don’t really expect scarf T-tar as much as slower and stronger variants. The double Rock Slide spammability is super nice and in doubt, you can always Dynamax to get rid of being locked into a single move.

3. On this team, Rotom fills a lot more of a defensive role since that’s what I need. It also came onto the team to stop Dracovish and rain teams (which has worked super well, especially with Gyarados). Another reason I haven’t invested much into Sp. Atk is because of the fact one of my Rotom’s main moves is Helping Hand. Nobody runs Helping Hand on Rotom, so the surprise factor + the sheer utility of the move immediately makes it a threat. Lastly, my Rotom In Dynamax form already has amazing offensive capability, and I feel it has all it needs with the 4 Sp. Afk EVs (to one shot Rotom Wash which it otherwise wouldn’t).

4. I’m glad you asked this question because I feel this is where rates will help a lot. Hard Trick Room is pretty easy as if there’s an Indeedee / Hatterene, I can spam Rocks and hope (which kinda sucks, but works more than you would think). For Dusclops, it’s a really easy OHKO with Dynamax Chandelure. My team honestly shits on Lucario / Whimsicott leads. They’re super easy to predict and Chandelure in Dynamax form actually one shots Lucario and can survive any of its STAB moves (I’ve literally never lost to this combo). As for Coalossal / Weavile, I’m honestly still trying to figure this out since I’m deathly scared of going against it. I’ve gone against it once in the large amount of games I’ve played, but I lost that time, so I really don’t know. I’m thinking if I invest into more defensive EVs on Excadrill, I may be able to live one of Coalossal’s attacks in Dynamax form and kill it in one hit in return.

Edit: After some calcs, I realized either redirection such as Follow Me or running a Focus Sash on Excadrill is the most reliable way to beat the Coalossal setup combo.
Edit #2: I thought about it and if I have both Gyarados and Excadrill out as a lead, I might be able to take it out with at least one of them as long as I predict who to Dynamax correctly

 

[DaemonWhite]

Well, after reading through your team, it is very hard to poke holes in it. The only thing I would say is that Low Kick is useless vs Dynamaxed Pokemon (Low Kick will always do 1DMG vs DMax. That is the main reason I chose Superpower, although I changed it to Brick Break now to deal with Screens and get more damage from Max Knuckle. Based on your team make up, I believe that the Choice Scarf fits better cause your team and is required to help Tyranitar go first. Your team is very solid; looking at your team, it would need your opponent to simply outplay you because your team isn't loosing because it doesn't flow well.

 

[Hello Fellow Human]

Well, after reading through your team, it is very hard to poke holes in it. The only thing I would say is that Low Kick is useless vs Dynamaxed Pokemon (Low Kick will always do 1DMG vs DMax. That is the main reason I chose Superpower, although I changed it to Brick Break now to deal with Screens and get more damage from Max Knuckle. Based on your team make up, I believe that the Choice Scarf fits better cause your team and is required to help Tyranitar go first. Your team is very solid; looking at your team, it would need your opponent to simply outplay you because your team isn't loosing because it doesn't flow well.

Superpower is good except for the attack drop. Another option like you said, is Brick Break, which is probably the better alternative. The main reason I use Low Kick is for Snorlax since it’s really annoying to take out with what I have. I’m going to test out Brick Break since I actually haven’t tried it yet. Thank you!
Edit: also lol, see what I mean about the similar team thing? xD

 

[DaemonWhite]

Superpower is good except for the attack drop. Another option like you said, is Brick Break, which is probably the better alternative. The main reason I use Low Kick is for Snorlax since it’s really annoying to take out with what I have. I’m going to test out Brick Break since I actually haven’t tried it yet. Thank you!
Edit: also lol, see what I mean about the similar team thing? xD

After reading the Gyarados take..... We might have to full on Mirror Match

 

[Hello Fellow Human]

After reading the Gyarados take..... We might have to full on Mirror Match

Uh, oh... you have my secret weapon...

 

[Aaraeus]

1. For the first question, if I’m being honest: I don’t really I know. I used it because I figured it would be better than Sandaconda and it was on a known VGC players team that was similar to mine, so I thought it would fit well on my team. Since then, I’ve actually started using my own Choice Band / Moxie set, giving Gyarados a lot more of an offensive role on the team. Since Gyarados wasn’t that great of a tank before, this role switch has actually benefitted the team very well and so far it has an astonishing 17-3 record. The reason this set works so well is because Choice Band obviously allows for a lot of damage, but if you can get an early kill with it, Moxie kicks in and gives you even more attack. From here, you can actually Dynamax and effectively get rid of the effects of Choice Band, while still having the attack boost + Moxie access.

2. Honestly, I really like Weakness Policy and I actually tried it for a while, but I never got the effect I needed. It’s an amazing item, but just with my personal play style, I prefer faster mons (hence the Choice Scarf). It’s also nice because Tyranitar already has a high attack stat, so I feel it doesn’t really need the Weakness Policy (and I was also continually getting killed by fighting moves, which was pretty annoying). Finally, the synergy of a fast Excadrill coupled with a fast Tyranitar is super threatening because people don’t really expect scarf T-tar as much as slower and stronger variants. The double Rock Slide spammability is super nice and in doubt, you can always Dynamax to get rid of being locked into a single move.

3. On this team, Rotom fills a lot more of a defensive role since that’s what I need. It also came onto the team to stop Dracovish and rain teams (which has worked super well, especially with Gyarados). Another reason I haven’t invested much into Sp. Atk is because of the fact one of my Rotom’s main moves is Helping Hand. Nobody runs Helping Hand on Rotom, so the surprise factor + the sheer utility of the move immediately makes it a threat. Lastly, my Rotom In Dynamax form already has amazing offensive capability, and I feel it has all it needs with the 4 Sp. Afk EVs (to one shot Rotom Wash which it otherwise wouldn’t).

4. I’m glad you asked this question because I feel this is where rates will help a lot. Hard Trick Room is pretty easy as if there’s an Indeedee / Hatterene, I can spam Rocks and hope (which kinda sucks, but works more than you would think). For Dusclops, it’s a really easy OHKO with Dynamax Chandelure. My team honestly shits on Lucario / Whimsicott leads. They’re super easy to predict and Chandelure in Dynamax form actually one shots Lucario and can survive any of its STAB moves (I’ve literally never lost to this combo). As for Coalossal / Weavile, I’m honestly still trying to figure this out since I’m deathly scared of going against it. I’ve gone against it once in the large amount of games I’ve played, but I lost that time, so I really don’t know. I’m thinking if I invest into more defensive EVs on Excadrill, I may be able to live one of Coalossal’s attacks in Dynamax form and kill it in one hit in return.

Edit: After some calcs, I realized either redirection such as Follow Me or running a Focus Sash on Excadrill is the most reliable way to beat the Coalossal setup combo.
Edit #2: I thought about it and if I have both Gyarados and Excadrill out as a lead, I might be able to take it out with at least one of them as long as I predict who to Dynamax correctly

Some great points. I might try scarf Ttar / CB Gyarados, but so far I'm really liking how surprised people are when their Rotom doesn't OHKO my Gyarados. It's also helped against other attackers like Torkoal/Duraludon that struggle to take it down.

As for your last point wrt Coalossal + Weavile, that's the easiest one for me! Lead with Tyranitar + Excadrill. Sand boosted Excadrill will outspeed (I think) Weavile (it definitely outspeeds surf Dragapult leads). Max quake on Coalossal and you're set. You can fire punch/rock slide with Ttar.

 

[Hello Fellow Human]

Some great points. I might try scarf Ttar / CB Gyarados, but so far I'm really liking how surprised people are when their Rotom doesn't OHKO my Gyarados. It's also helped against other attackers like Torkoal/Duraludon that struggle to take it down.

As for your last point wrt Coalossal + Weavile, that's the easiest one for me! Lead with Tyranitar + Excadrill. Sand boosted Excadrill will outspeed (I think) Weavile (it definitely outspeeds surf Dragapult leads). Max quake on Coalossal and you're set. You can fire punch/rock slide with Ttar.

Shoot yeah, I didn’t even think about targeting Weavile, I’m so dumb, thank you lol. I overthought everything. Does anyone run sash though? A double target might not hurt just in case (but I guess Rock Slide has nice double targeting already anyways). Thanks for the tips!

 

[Hello Fellow Human]

Bump

 

[PigeonV]

Hi Friend, I tried with your team, overall works really well.
May I ask how do you usually deal with Indeedee lead trick room team? It's quite hard to stall 5 turns if it's a super low-speed team.

 

[Hello Fellow Human]

Hi Friend, I tried with your team, overall works really well.
May I ask how do you usually deal with Indeedee lead trick room team? It's quite hard to stall 5 turns if it's a super low-speed team.

Usually I just lead Excadrill / Tyranitar and go for double targeting moves. It’s annoying, but flinch hacks work more than you would think honestly. It is also possible to play through the Trick Room, which sucks, but it’s possible to do with the correct predictions and using Dynamax correctly. Sorry I can’t help much with such a common core, but I have been working on a new team at the moment that obliterates that lead (RMT will be out soon). Once I get back to using this team I’m going to find a way to consistently play around that lead, for now, I’m super sorry that I couldn’t help too much.