[OVERVIEW]
Excadrill is a fast, threatening attacker with Sand Rush, which allows it to outspeed the entire unboosted metagame under sand. It can also function as a setup sweeper with Swords Dance, which lets it easily punch holes in opposing teams. However, being reliant on sand is a significant flaw considering the prevalence of opposing weather teams in Doubles OU. Also, by nature of being a fast attacker, Excadrill is very susceptible to opposing speed control. On top of all this, it's checked by a number of DOU's top threats such as Landorus-T and Celesteela. Overall, Excadrill performs excellently on sand teams, but otherwise, it shouldn't be used over other Ground-types such as Landorus-T and Zygarde.
[SET]
name: Sand Attacker
move 1: Earthquake / Drill Run
move 2: Iron Head
move 3: Swords Dance
move 4: Protect
item: Groundium Z / Steelium Z
ability: Sand Rush
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Earthquake is Excadrill's primary STAB move, which hits both opposing Pokemon for good damage, and it is preferred for its higher damage output when used with Groundium Z. Alternatively, Drill Run can be used to bypass Wide Guard and hit single targets harder. Iron Head hits Ground-immune Pokemon such as Landorus-T and Mega Salamence while also allowing Excadrill to OHKO prominent threats such as Tapu Lele and Kyurem-B. Swords Dance lets Excadrill turn itself into a dangerous sweeper and overcome Intimidate drops, and Protect is mandatory in order to allow allies to take care of threatening opposing Pokemon.
Set Details
========
The given EV spread and nature allow Excadrill to hit as hard and as fast as possible. Adamant is preferred to Jolly, since Jolly doesn't hit any relevant benchmarks. Sand Rush lets Excadrill outspeed the entire unboosted metagame under sand. Its other abilities aren't useful because being a fast attacker is Excadrill's only solid niche. Groundium Z is the preferred item, which gives Excadrill a way to hit exceptionally hard and KO bulkier threats such as Tapu Fini. Steelium Z can be used instead to KO select Ground-immune threats, such as Landorus-T. If neither of those items sounds appealing, Life Orb can be used if you value a higher consistent damage output to a one-time use Z-Move.
Usage Tips
========
Excadrill is a decent lead to apply pressure early on, although it won't likely want to stay in for too long until its checks have been dealt with. It also works as a great mid- or late-game sweeper due to its high Speed under sand. You should generally avoid setting up Swords Dance until Excadrill's checks have been dealt with. Opposing weather setters should be KOed, as should other checks like Flying-types or Intimidate users. Finally, it's important to make the best use of Excadrill's limited sand turns, so don't use Protect if it's not necessary.
Team Options
========
Tyranitar is an absolutely mandatory teammate for its ability to set sand. The two also have decent synergy together, with Tyranitar checking most of the Flying-types that Excadrill is unable to beat and Excadrill threatening fast attackers that prey on Tyranitar's low Speed. Furthermore, Celesteela checks are mandatory, as Celesteela readily beats both Tyranitar and Excadrill. Electric-types such as Zapdos and Tapu Koko are good partners, with Zapdos providing speed control and a Ground immunity while Tapu Koko provides Terrain control. Fire-types such as Volcanion and Heatran work too.
Additional rain checks are recommended, since sand teams naturally struggle versus rain teams. Water-types such as Tapu Fini or Grass-types such as Amoonguss and Tapu Bulu are good options. Tapu Fini provides Terrain control, as does Tapu Bulu, while Amoonguss checks Trick Room. Landorus-T is another common Pokemon that both Tyranitar and Excadrill struggle with. Water-types such as Tapu Fini and Ice-types such as Kyurem-B scare it out. Kyurem-B has the added benefit of soft checking rain along with Flying-types.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Excadrill has few other options, since it really can't afford to replace any of its moves. Rock Slide hits select Flying-types like Zapdos and Mega Charizard Y, but giving up Swords Dance is not desirable. It can run Stealth Rock, but again, giving up Swords Dance is a massive pain. In terms of items, Focus Sash adds a little longevity, but the power drop is noticeable. Air Balloon lets Excadrill set up Swords Dance in front of Landorus-T and Stomping Tantrum Metagross.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Ground-types**: Bulky Ground-types such as Landorus-T and Zygarde can take a hit and KO Excadrill with a super effective attack. Landorus-T has the added benefit of being immune to Ground and having Intimidate.
**Water-types**: Bulky Water-types such as Tapu Fini and Milotic greatly threaten Excadrill. They have to watch out for Swords Dance-boosted Z-Moves, however.
**Flying-types**: Flying-types with their immunity to Ground are problematic for Excadrill. Landorus-T and Salamence also have Intimidate on top of this. Celesteela is immune to Excadrill's primary STAB attack and resists the other. It can recover its HP with Leech Seed plus Leftovers and beat Excadrill one-on-one as well. Zapdos can KO Excadrill with its coverage moves and Roost off damage from Iron Head.
**Opposing Weather**: Since Excadrill is pretty reliant on Sand Rush, it doesn't fare well against opposing rain teams. They threaten it with super effective Water-type attacks, while Excadrill can do little in return. Hail and sun are also annoying, but they are overall less threatening because Excadrill and its typical partner Mega Tyranitar can beat Alolan Ninetales, Mega Abomasnow, and Mega Charizard Y.
**Intimidate**: By virtue of being a physical attacker, Excadrill is susceptible to Intimidate users. Landorus-T and Scrafty get special mentions because they both hit it super effectively. However, Excadrill can use Swords Dance to overcome Intimidate drops.
**Tailwind and Trick Room**: Opposing speed control is very threatening because it takes away one of Excadrill's best attributes: its high Speed. Tailwind users such as Mega Salamence and Zapdos are often immune to its primary STAB attack, and Trick Room is even worse since sand teams are typically pretty fast.
Excadrill is a fast, threatening attacker with Sand Rush, which allows it to outspeed the entire unboosted metagame under sand. It can also function as a setup sweeper with Swords Dance, which lets it easily punch holes in opposing teams. However, being reliant on sand is a significant flaw considering the prevalence of opposing weather teams in Doubles OU. Also, by nature of being a fast attacker, Excadrill is very susceptible to opposing speed control. On top of all this, it's checked by a number of DOU's top threats such as Landorus-T and Celesteela. Overall, Excadrill performs excellently on sand teams, but otherwise, it shouldn't be used over other Ground-types such as Landorus-T and Zygarde.
[SET]
name: Sand Attacker
move 1: Earthquake / Drill Run
move 2: Iron Head
move 3: Swords Dance
move 4: Protect
item: Groundium Z / Steelium Z
ability: Sand Rush
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Earthquake is Excadrill's primary STAB move, which hits both opposing Pokemon for good damage, and it is preferred for its higher damage output when used with Groundium Z. Alternatively, Drill Run can be used to bypass Wide Guard and hit single targets harder. Iron Head hits Ground-immune Pokemon such as Landorus-T and Mega Salamence while also allowing Excadrill to OHKO prominent threats such as Tapu Lele and Kyurem-B. Swords Dance lets Excadrill turn itself into a dangerous sweeper and overcome Intimidate drops, and Protect is mandatory in order to allow allies to take care of threatening opposing Pokemon.
Set Details
========
The given EV spread and nature allow Excadrill to hit as hard and as fast as possible. Adamant is preferred to Jolly, since Jolly doesn't hit any relevant benchmarks. Sand Rush lets Excadrill outspeed the entire unboosted metagame under sand. Its other abilities aren't useful because being a fast attacker is Excadrill's only solid niche. Groundium Z is the preferred item, which gives Excadrill a way to hit exceptionally hard and KO bulkier threats such as Tapu Fini. Steelium Z can be used instead to KO select Ground-immune threats, such as Landorus-T. If neither of those items sounds appealing, Life Orb can be used if you value a higher consistent damage output to a one-time use Z-Move.
Usage Tips
========
Excadrill is a decent lead to apply pressure early on, although it won't likely want to stay in for too long until its checks have been dealt with. It also works as a great mid- or late-game sweeper due to its high Speed under sand. You should generally avoid setting up Swords Dance until Excadrill's checks have been dealt with. Opposing weather setters should be KOed, as should other checks like Flying-types or Intimidate users. Finally, it's important to make the best use of Excadrill's limited sand turns, so don't use Protect if it's not necessary.
Team Options
========
Tyranitar is an absolutely mandatory teammate for its ability to set sand. The two also have decent synergy together, with Tyranitar checking most of the Flying-types that Excadrill is unable to beat and Excadrill threatening fast attackers that prey on Tyranitar's low Speed. Furthermore, Celesteela checks are mandatory, as Celesteela readily beats both Tyranitar and Excadrill. Electric-types such as Zapdos and Tapu Koko are good partners, with Zapdos providing speed control and a Ground immunity while Tapu Koko provides Terrain control. Fire-types such as Volcanion and Heatran work too.
Additional rain checks are recommended, since sand teams naturally struggle versus rain teams. Water-types such as Tapu Fini or Grass-types such as Amoonguss and Tapu Bulu are good options. Tapu Fini provides Terrain control, as does Tapu Bulu, while Amoonguss checks Trick Room. Landorus-T is another common Pokemon that both Tyranitar and Excadrill struggle with. Water-types such as Tapu Fini and Ice-types such as Kyurem-B scare it out. Kyurem-B has the added benefit of soft checking rain along with Flying-types.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Excadrill has few other options, since it really can't afford to replace any of its moves. Rock Slide hits select Flying-types like Zapdos and Mega Charizard Y, but giving up Swords Dance is not desirable. It can run Stealth Rock, but again, giving up Swords Dance is a massive pain. In terms of items, Focus Sash adds a little longevity, but the power drop is noticeable. Air Balloon lets Excadrill set up Swords Dance in front of Landorus-T and Stomping Tantrum Metagross.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Ground-types**: Bulky Ground-types such as Landorus-T and Zygarde can take a hit and KO Excadrill with a super effective attack. Landorus-T has the added benefit of being immune to Ground and having Intimidate.
**Water-types**: Bulky Water-types such as Tapu Fini and Milotic greatly threaten Excadrill. They have to watch out for Swords Dance-boosted Z-Moves, however.
**Flying-types**: Flying-types with their immunity to Ground are problematic for Excadrill. Landorus-T and Salamence also have Intimidate on top of this. Celesteela is immune to Excadrill's primary STAB attack and resists the other. It can recover its HP with Leech Seed plus Leftovers and beat Excadrill one-on-one as well. Zapdos can KO Excadrill with its coverage moves and Roost off damage from Iron Head.
**Opposing Weather**: Since Excadrill is pretty reliant on Sand Rush, it doesn't fare well against opposing rain teams. They threaten it with super effective Water-type attacks, while Excadrill can do little in return. Hail and sun are also annoying, but they are overall less threatening because Excadrill and its typical partner Mega Tyranitar can beat Alolan Ninetales, Mega Abomasnow, and Mega Charizard Y.
**Intimidate**: By virtue of being a physical attacker, Excadrill is susceptible to Intimidate users. Landorus-T and Scrafty get special mentions because they both hit it super effectively. However, Excadrill can use Swords Dance to overcome Intimidate drops.
**Tailwind and Trick Room**: Opposing speed control is very threatening because it takes away one of Excadrill's best attributes: its high Speed. Tailwind users such as Mega Salamence and Zapdos are often immune to its primary STAB attack, and Trick Room is even worse since sand teams are typically pretty fast.
Last edited: