Hey, this is my first ever (maybe last) RMT and after lurking around some nat dex seasonals I'd like to show off a sand team I made to climb the ladder as I usually am a person who doesn't really spend time making "serious teams". I'm not really into nat dex much and I'm more of an OU person but I do think this tier has its upsides and lots of new techniques to explore with its large vast of pokemon and z moves (even if this team isn't too unique). This team got me to the #1 spot within a day and I went 28:1 from the 1600ish all the way there which means I don't really know if the team is 100% optimized yet but I have a good feeling about it.
Proof of peak:
Excadrill @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Swords Dance
- Rapid Spin
The most common pokemon to use with Tyranitar it's no surprise Excadrill is on a sand team. It is my form of speed control, hazard removal, and a very powerful setup sweeper given the right matchup. Leftovers help keep Excadrill healthy and allow it to become a good pivot against mons such as opposing clefables and magearnas. Very standard yet effective set and I feel like Rapid Spin is better than Rockslide because it allows Excadrill to not to always rely on the sand to get its speed up and removing hazards is very important on this team as 4/6 of my team gets affected by spikes/rocks.
Kartana @ Normalium Z
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Leaf Blade
- Sacred Sword
- Giga Impact
Next up is Z Normal Kartana which is probably the one thing that separates this team from a normal OU team :x. Normalium Z is a very powerful set in this metagame filled with balance and helps break holes in the opposing team vs mons like Zapdos so that Excadrill can have an easier time to sweep. It is a mon that can force many mind games with Swords Dance and there isn't really a mon that can switch in and take hits after it sets up. Its offensive typing is also very appreciated so it doesn't get overwhelmed by Rillaboom or Landorus which are mons Excadrill faces issuses with.
Tyranitar @ Tyranitarite
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 88 HP / 252 Atk / 168 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge
- Pursuit
- Crunch
When I started I felt like sand wasn't used quite as often as Tyranitar didn't appreciate the metagame trends of Dragapult and Spectrier being banned and mons like Blissey or Latias not being used as often and the competition it faces with Weavile who has been rising since the ace ban. So I wanted to see if it's still a pokemon that holds up to this day which I believe it does well with the compression of sand + pursuit trapping + having stealth rocks it still proves as a very potent threat to the metagame. 168 speed EVs outrun base 50 speed mons so it could potentially have an easier time revenge killing. It's still amazing at trapping mons such as Reuniclus/Slowking-G/Latias/Latios and is a great defensive backbone for the team. Crunch is used to beat mons like Reuniclus and Latias-Mega who might not want to switch out and the rest is pretty standard.
Toxapex @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 144 Def / 112 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Haze
- Toxic Spikes
- Recover
Not really big on Toxapex but for this team, its defensive capabilities are amazing at soft checking the majority of the metagame threats such as Greninja, Lopunny-Mega, and Scizor-Mega. Haze is needed to stop set up sweepers such as Clefable and Magearna because things can get out of hand very easily without it. Toxic Spikes are a good way to threaten offensive teams and are very valuable in this meta where there aren't many poison types running around besides Toxapex. Scald is very appreciated for this team because there are too many offensive threats that can overwhelm this team like Mawile and Landorus so it's nice to be able to have a bit of an offensive presence and scare them out.
Moltres @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 248 HP / 88 Def / 28 SpD / 144 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Toxic
- Mystical Fire
- Roost
- Scorching Sands
The only unique mon on this team and in my opinion still a very underrated mon in the metagame even with ace banned. Without this mon so many mons can easily steamroll through this team like Kartana, Volcarona, Mawile. I think that this specific set is very optimal because I already have a form of hazard removal and Toxic is super good to hit and punish mons like Latias-Mega and almost any bulky water type. I chose Mystical Fire over Flamethrower to help it be an even better volc answer and can deny calm mind sweeps from mons like Magearna and Clefable. Scorching Sand is used to hit Heatrans and it can potentially burn other mons like Scald which makes its coverage very solid.
Clefable @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Moonblast
- Soft-Boiled
- Flamethrower
This team really appreciates a Fairy Typing so that such mons like Kommo or Garchomp can't 6-0 and a form of passive wall-breaking. Life Orb is preferred to optimize its breaking capabilities. Clefable is used to soak up status and tears holes into balances with a couple of CMs up. Flamethrower is used over Thunderbolt/Thunder because I feel like my team can beat pex over time and has a much harder time with mons such as opposing Excadrill and Scizor which is why I opt for it.
Threats:
SD
is probably the worst matchup to run into as you need to use Kartana as your pivot and you only have like 1 chance to switch into it Clefable can also threaten but only does 60ish% damage at +2 making it very unreliable.
HO is really scary for this team as it's really easy to overwhelm Moltres (Lead Landoruus guarantees to get rid of it as well unless you can outplay the explosion)
No Freeze Dry resist and only Kartana can outspeed it or Exca with sand up.Paste: https://pokepast.es/33709e58bfcbec84
I really enjoy Natdex and when Mag gets inevitably banned I hope to play tournaments more seriously and have an even more enjoyable experience with it. ^^ pce
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