[OVERVIEW]
Excadrill's great defensive typing allows it to check a variety of Fairy- and Electric-types in the meta, primarily Tapu Koko, Magearna, and Tapu Lele, and access to Rapid Spin lets Excadrill support entry hazard-weak teammates like Volcarona. Sand Rush enables Excadrill to become a threatening sweeper, as it outspeeds the entire metagame in sand. Alternatively, Mold Breaker can let Excadrill bypass Magic Bounce, letting it freely use Stealth Rock or Toxic on Mega Sableye. Unfortunately, without sand support, Excadrill's speed leaves a lot to be desired—outside of the sand, Excadrill is outpaced by dangerous Pokemon such as Volcarona, Garchomp, and Mega Medicham. Excadrill additionally struggles to break past common Flying-types like Skarmory, Celesteela, and Landorus-T. Furthermore, Excadrill's weakness to Landorus-T and Skarmory, two of the most common hazard setters in the tier, hinders its ability to function as a consistent hazard remover.
[SET]
name: Sand Rush Sweeper
move 1: Earthquake
move 2: Iron Head
move 3: Rock Slide
move 4: Rapid Spin / Swords Dance
item: Life Orb
ability: Sand Rush
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Earthquake is a very powerful STAB move, able to OHKO offensive Pokemon such as Greninja as well as 2HKO defensive Pokemon like Tapu Fini with Stealth Rock support. Iron Head allows Excadrill to deal heavy damage to most Pokemon that resist Ground-type attacks, especially Tapu Bulu. Rock Slide lets Excadrill break past certain Flying-types that could otherwise halt its sweep such as Zapdos, Charizard, and Thundurus, as well as hit Rotom-W, Skarmory, and Celesteela neutrally. Rapid Spin lets Excadrill support its team through entry hazard removal. Excadrill can act as an effective Rapid Spin user, as it forces switches to defensive Pokemon and offensively threatens every relevant Ghost-type in OU. Alternatively, if Excadrill's team has another hazard remover or is not weak to entry hazards, Swords Dance is an option to enable Excadrill to break through more defensive teams.
Set Details
========
Sand Rush doubles Excadrill's Speed in sand. This allows it to outspeed the entire metagame, only having to fear priority, opposing Excadrill, and Mega Alakazam's Trace when the sand is up. Maximum Attack investment is used to ensure as many 2HKOs and OHKOs as possible. Maximum Speed investment with a boosting nature lets Excadrill take full advantage of Sand Rush, outspeeding Choice Scarf Gengar and Speed tying with opposing Excadrill. A Jolly nature additionally enables Excadrill to outspeed Timid Heatran, Jolly Mamoswine, and neutral-natured base 100s outside of sand. Life Orb is the preferred item, boosting the power of all of Excadrill's moves and allowing it to 2HKO offensive Zygarde as well as Tapu Fini if Stealth Rock are set.
Usage Tips
========
When the sand is up, Excadrill can be sent in as a revenge killer. Because of its extremely high Attack stat, Excadrill is a difficult Pokemon to switch into. Unless the opponent has a solid counter like Skarmory or Landorus-T, they will likely be forced to sacrifice a Pokemon or let one become extremely weakened, aiding Excadrill's later sweep. Late-game, after threatening priority users like Ash-Greninja and opposing weather setters like Pelipper and Mega Charizard Y have been removed, Excadrill can be sent in off a free switch in and proceed to use its power and coverage to sweep.
Team Options
========
Sand setters are a requirement for Sand Rush Excadrill. Tyranitar is a good option—a mixed set with either Ice Beam or Fire Blast has the potential to lure Landorus-T or Skarmory for Excadrill. Smooth Rock can be used for extra sand turns, but it isn't always a necessity. Hippowdon is another possible sand setter with more longevity than Tyranitar. Volcarona and Charizard appreciate Excadrill's Rapid Spin support. Mega Charizard Y in particular wallbreaks for Excadrill and can reset sand turns if necessary. It also appreciates Pursuit support from Tyranitar, completing an excellent core between the three. Wallbreakers able to muscle past Rotom-W and Slowbro, such as Ash-Greninja and Thunder Punch Mega Medicham, are appreciated to ease Excadrill's final sweep. Magnezone can trap and remove Skarmory and Celesteela, but it typically has poor defensive synergy when used in conjunction with Excadrill and Tyranitar. Electrium Z users such as Tapu Lele and Gengar are alternatives to lure and eliminate Celesteela. Methods of dealing with opposing weather setters like Pelipper are important. Tapu Koko and Thundurus can place heavy pressure on rain teams, while a lure such as Hidden Power Electric on Mega Charizard Y or Keldeo could be used to eliminate Pelipper early. Pivots such as Assault Vest Tangrowth are helpful switch-ins to dangerous priority users, such as Ash-Greninja, Azumarill, and Breloom, as well as powerful attackers on rain teams such as Kingdra and Mega Swampert.
[SET]
name: Focus Sash
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Rapid Spin
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Toxic
item: Focus Sash
ability: Mold Breaker
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Stealth Rock is a boon to every team, and Mold Breaker in conjunction with Focus Sash ensures that unless Excadrill is hit with Taunt, it will be able to set the hazard. Rapid Spin allows Excadrill to further support its team by removing entry hazards from its side of the field. Since Excadrill threatens every relevant Ghost-type in OU, it can function as an effective user of Rapid Spin. Earthquake is a powerful STAB move that can strike a large portion of the tier for a good chunk of damage. Toxic is good to use on bulky Pokemon that come in to take Earthquake, such as Tangrowth, bulky Water-types, and Landorus-T and prevents Excadrill from being setup fodder for Ground-resistant Pokemon; thanks to Mold Breaker, Excadrill can also use it on Mega Sableye.
Set Details
========
Mold Breaker lets Excadrill set up Stealth Rock in the face of Mega Sableye. It also allows Excadrill to land Toxic on Mega Sableye, use Earthquake on Rotom-W, and hit Mimikyu through Disguise. Focus Sash is used to ensure Stealth Rock can be reliably set up. Thanks to Focus Sash, all of Excadrill's investment can go into offenses. Maximum Speed investment with a Jolly nature is run to outspeed Timid Heatran and neutral-natured base 100s and Speed tie with other Excadrill. Maximum Attack investment allows Excadrill to hit as hard as possible with Earthquake.
Usage Tips
========
Unless the opponent has a faster Taunt user, such as Azelf, or a threatening Fake Out user like Mega Medicham, it is usually safe to lead with Excadrill and set up Stealth Rock. If the opponent also sets up entry hazards, spin them away with Rapid Spin. Use Toxic to hinder any Pokemon that attempt to set up on Excadrill or to wear down bulky Water-type switch-ins. Should the opponent have a hazard remover in the back not threatened by this variant of Excadrill, such as Skarmory or Tapu Fini, still set up hazards to pressure the opponent into removing them while you switch into your team's answer.
Team Options
========
This variant of Excadrill is best suited for offensive teams. Offense staples, such as Mimikyu, Greninja, and Landorus-T, make for good partners. VoltTurn cores appreciate the entry hazard support and removal Excadrill provides. Electric-types like Tapu Koko also appreciate Excadrill's ability to cripple opposing Ground-types with Toxic. Rock-weak Pokemon like Volcarona and Charizard appreciate Excadrill's ability to remove hazards. In addition, Volcarona appreciates Stealth Rock breaking opposing Focus Sashes. Grass-type pivots, such as Tangrowth and Amoonguss, can take on Tapu Fini and other bulky Water-types that this variant of Excadrill brings in.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Steelium Z could be used in conjunction with Swords Dance on Sand Rush Excadrill to allow Excadrill to break through some of its common counters, like Landorus-T and Tangrowth, while Rockium Z could be used to deal heavy damage to Celesteela and Skarmory. However, the consistent power boost that Life Orb provides is typically preferred. Alternatively, Sand Rush Excadrill could use an Air Balloon to aid the matchup against opposing sand teams. However, this loses out on a significant amount of power. Swords Dance and Rapid Spin can be used together in place of Rock Slide, but the loss of coverage can be damaging to Excadrill's potential to sweep. A Choice Scarf set could be used with Mold Breaker to aid Excadrill's hazard removal abilities while providing opportunities to sweep late game without requiring sand support, but because of Excadrill's middling speed, it fails to revenge kill Pokemon like Volcarona. Excadrill's exploitable coverage also leaves it prone to becoming setup fodder. A specially defensive set could also be used to accentuate Excadrill's ability to check Fairy- and Electric-types like Tapu Koko, Magearna, Tapu Lele, and Magnezone. However, this variant of Excadrill is extremely slow and is thus prone to being revenge killed.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Bulky Flying-types**: Skarmory completely walls every variant of Excadrill. Other bulky Flying-types, such as Landorus-T and Celesteela, can cause serious problems for Sand Rush Excadrill. Celesteela in particular is very difficult to wear down due to its common combination of Leech Seed, Leftovers, and Protect.
**Bulky Grass-types**: Bulky Grass-types like Tangrowth can easily switch in on Excadrill, though they have to be careful of Corkscrew Crash on the Sand Rush set. Tapu Bulu, though it is weak to Iron Head, sets up Grassy Terrain, weakening Earthquake for several turns.
**Bulky Water-types**: Bulky Water-types such as Rotom-W and Slowbro can handle the Sand Rush variant of Excadrill. However, these Pokemon have to be wary of Toxic on the Focus Sash set, while Rotom-W additionally has to worry about Mold Breaker Earthquake.
**Priority**: Super effective priority users can easily revenge kill Excadrill. Ash-Greninja's Water Shuriken can OHKO Excadrill, even through Focus Sash. Azumarill and Breloom, though less common, are also able to handle Excadrill. Strong Sucker Punch users, such as Bisharp and Mega Mawile, can also be threatening if Excadrill has been worn down by Life Orb.
Last edited:
