Excadrill (QC 0/3)

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kilometerman

Banned deucer.
[OVERVIEW]
* Excadrill is a dedicated suicide lead that combines the roles of hazard setter and hazard remover
* Viability has decreased since SM as mid and late-game hazard removers are more common, meaning there are less suicide leads for Excadrill to counter
* A combination of Stealth Rock and Mold Breaker allow it to set up hazards even against Magic Bounce users
* STAB Earthquake and the move Rapid Spin allow Excadrill to counterlead Stealth Rock Primal Groudon
* Offers little to no use outside of as a rocks suicide lead, which is not as viable a role anymore
* Poor bulk forces Excadrill to use a focus sash, leaving it weak to Taunt users that prevent it from setting up Stealth Rocks or using Toxic
* An immunity to Toxic allows Excadrill to switch in on certain Toxic users such as Lugia or Stealth Rocks Arceus-Fairy if not used early-game, as well as being able to prevent slower defoggers from using Toxic and Defog to faint it
* Average speed tier allows it to outspeed bulky Pokemon such as defensive Primal Groudon
* Rock Tomb prevents setup sweepers and counterleads from being a threat to the rest of your team

[SET]
name: Lead
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Rock Tomb / Earthquake
move 3: Toxic
move 4: Rapid Spin
item: Focus Sash
ability: Mold Breaker
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpDef / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

* Stealth Rock is mandatory on most teams due to its ability to consistently deal chip damage and cripple Pokemon weak to it such as Ho-Oh and Mega Salamence.
* Excadrill can use Mold Breaker to reliably set up Stealth Rock and Toxic on Magic Bounce users such as Mega Diancie and Mega Sableye, as well as hit Giratina-O with Earthquake
* Earthquake is Excadrill's primary offensive move as it's STAB-boosted and also hits Primal Groudon, another common lead, for super effective damage. It also hits common spinblockers such as Marshadow and Mega Gengar.
* Rock Tomb hits Flying-types, restricts Pokemon such as Mega Salamence, Rayquaza, and Xerneas from setting up with speed boosts, and is a guaranteed 2HKO on Ho-oh. It also slows down counterleads such as Arceus-Ground so that a Taunt user or hard-hitting Pokemon such as Eruption Primal Groudon can outspeed them.
* Toxic cripples Pokemon that threaten to Defog its Stealth Rocks such as support Arceus forms and Giratina-Origin. It also cripples bulkier Pokemon that would otherwise take little damage from Earthquake and Rock Tomb
* Rapid Spin clears opposing hazards.

Set Details
========

* Focus Sash is used so that Excadrill can survive at least one turn and set up Stealth Rock
* 252 attack EVs are used as Excadrill is used as a suicide lead, and therefore does not need any extra bulk. It also increases Rock Tomb and Earthquake damage and puts Primal Groudon in the 2HKO range.
* Max speed allows Excadrill to outspeed base 90 through base 101 speed Pokemon with 252 speed EVs, as well as uninvested Arceus forms

Usage Tips
========

* Excadrill is best used as a suicide lead
* Earthquake and Rapin Spin allow it to force Stealth Rocks Primal Groudon and Dusk Mane Necrozma, both common leads in the Ubers meta
* If facing Deoxys-Speed, it's important to always use Rapid Spin turn 1 if your opponent has a spinblocker. If not, Excadrill can use Rock Tomb until it outspeeds and Taunt wears off, and then set up its own rocks. Also play carefully around Rocky Helmet Deo-S.
* Excadrill should not be used as a lead if your opponent has Cloyster, Pheromosa, or Greninja, as these Pokemon are dedicated leads that beat it.
* Be wary of Mega Salamence carrying Substitute and Dragon Dance, as Rock Tomb cannot break a substitute after Intimidate.
* Spinblockers can prevent Rapid Spin from clearing opposing hazards.
* Excadrill can easily get up rocks versus Giratina-Origin as long as it is not carrying Shadow Sneak.
* Be wary of fast Taunt users such as Deoxys-Speed, Yveltal, Mega Mewtwo Y, and Mega Gengar.
* Excadrill outspeeds the two Choice Scarf Users in the tier, Yveltal and Xerneas, after a Rock Tomb if they're carrying a Modest nature.
* Avoid Rocky Helmet and Iron Barbs users such as Ferrothorn and Deoxys-Speed, who make Rapid Spin useless.
* Avoid leading against Shuckle and instead wait for an opportunity to switch in later in the game to clear away Sticky Webs.

Team Options
========

* Without needing to be the team's rocker, Primal Groudon can instead run an offensive set. Rocks also deal chip to Waterceus and Groundceus, preventing them from switching in as much on it. Eruption Primal Groudon specifically benefits from Excadrill, as it can switch in on a Pokemon slowed down by Rock Tomb and outspeed it.
* Pokemon with a strong offensive presence pair the best with Excadrill. By only using hard-hitting Pokemon that can either kill or set up on your opponent's defogger, you force your opponent to make a risky gamble on how important it is to remove rocks.
* Pokemon such as Solganium Z Dusk-Mane Necrozma, Focus Sash Dragon Dance Rayquaza, and Mixed Primal Groudon can be used to cover Excadrill's weakness to Mega Salamence carrying Substitute and Dragon Dance.
* Rocks cripple Ho-oh, making sure Xerneas can sweep with Geomancy more safely
* Yveltal benefits from rocks as they cripple Ho-oh and prevent Darkceus and Fairyceus from being able to switch as much
* Ultra Necrozma appreciates rocks as they punish Yveltal and put it in OHKO range of unboosted Stone Edge
* Wallbreakers and setup sweepers including but not limited to Mega Salamence, Rayquaza, and Palkia benefit from rocks breaking Focus Sashes and putting certain Pokemon in OHKO or 2HKO range
* Focus Sash users like Rayquaza and Flying types such as Mega Salamence appreciate Rapid Spin limiting your opponent's ability to keep up rocks
* Taunt users such as Yveltal and Mega Gyarados can use Taunt to prevent defoggers from removing Excadrill's rocks after it dies. Mewtwo and Mega Gengar also don't need the speed drop from Rock Tomb to effectively use Taunt.


[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

* Excadrill can be used as a sand sweeper when paired with Tyranitar. With a Jolly nature, it can outspeed the entire unboosted metagame under sand, and deal serious damage with STAB Iron Head and Earthquake. It can run a Life Orb for extra power or an Air Balloon to better handle Primal Groudon and Arceus-Ground.
* Excadrill can run a Groundium Z wallbreaker set that is a guaranteed OHKO on all common Primal Groudon sets as well as Dusk Mane Necrozma.
* Bulldoze combines the speed drop from Rock Tomb and the STAB damage from Earthquake, however it gives flying-type Pokemon including Mega Salamence and Rayquaza the ability to set up.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Cloyster**: Cloyster is able to use set up on Excadrill with Shell Smash and OHKO it with Icicle Spear.

**Dedicated Anti-Leads**: Pheromosa, Mega Kangaskhan, Deoxys-Speed, and Darkrai all pose a significant threat as they can kill, put to sleep, and Taunt Excadrill before it can get its rocks up. Deoxys-Speed with Rocky Helmet also prevents Rapid Spin.

**Giratina-Origin**: Giratina-Origin carrying Shadow Sneak can 3HKO Excadrill and Defog away its hazards.

**Lead Dragon Dance Sweepers**: Mega Salamence carrying Substitute and Dragon Dance is able to set up against all Excadrill sets, and Dragon Dance Substitute Zygarde can set up if Excadrill is not carrying Toxic.

**Taunt Users**: Taunt users such as Mega Gengar and Yveltal can use Taunt to prevent Stealth Rocks from being set up.

**Support Arceus forms**: Support Arceus forms, mainly Groundceus, outspeed Excadrill and Defog its hazards away. However they can be crippled with Toxic or slowed down with Rock Tomb, and they generally wouldn't be used to counterlead unless the opposing team doesn't heavily rely on them for any purpose other than using Defog.

**Shuckle**: Shuckle can set up Sticky Webs on Excadrill and lock it into a damaging move with Encore, or lock it into Rapid Spin so that a spinblocker such as Ghostceus can switch in and prevent the removal of Sticky Web.

**Ferrothorn**: Ferrothorn takes negligible damage from Earthquake and can Leech Seed Excadrill while setting up its own Spikes. Its ability Iron Barbs also prevents Rapid Spin.

**Skarmory**: Skarmory is immune to Toxic, immune to Earthquake, can set up Spikes and prevent Rapid Spin with a Rocky Helmet, and Defog away Stealth Rocks.
 
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The overview format is wrong (see other skeletons or the index OP for guidance on this), and the formatting uses asterisks (*) and not dashes for the bullet points. The use of brackets to explain detail are also not what we use in C&C, expand these to sentences before any QC checking can be done.
 
Not QC but just for quick noting:

Overview should have the bullet point format like the other sections

Gira-O isn't immune to Earthquake because of Mold Breaker (Levitate)
 

Ropalme1914

Ace Poker Player
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Not QC, but should the Cloyster part really say that it can 2HKO it with Icicle Spear? The good part about the matchup is that Cloyster can get a free Shell Smash to outspeed and OHKO it, forcing Excadrill to switch or just use Earthquake to break its Sash since using rocks means that you now have a +2 Cloyster with its Sash intact that can spin rocks away, it just should never use Icicle Spear on it without Shell Smashing first. Also, Icicle Spear being multi hit would mean nothing to break sashes if it was a 2HKO anyways.
 
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charizard8888

Catch The Wave
is a Forum Moderator Alumnus
Not QC, just a few suggestions
[OVERVIEW]
* Excadrill is a dedicated suicide lead that combines the roles of hazard setter and hazard remover
* A combination of Stealth Rock and Mold Breaker allow it to set up hazards even against Magic Bounce users
* STAB Earthquake and Rapid Spin allow Excadrill to counterlead Stealth Rock Primal Groudon. (Should be rephrased as this makes it sound like Rapid Spin is Excadrill's STAB)
* Offers little to no use outside of as a suicide lead (With that, you can also add in that it is predictable yet effective)
* Poor bulk forces Excadrill to use a focus sash, leaving it weak to Taunt (Using Sash has no relation with being weak to Taunt, clarify it; is it because Excadrill use a lot of status moves?)
- Should add in that it has a good number of resistances to common offensive types, immunity to Toxic which is used by Pokemon like Giratina, Lugia
- Mention that its Speed is sub-par but acceptable as with complete investment it can outpace the likes of like Primal Groudon, bulky Arceus, and other such Pokemon.



[SET]
name: Lead
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Rock Tomb / Toxic
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Rapid Spin
item: Focus Sash
ability: Mold Breaker
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

* Stealth Rock is mandatory on most teams due to its ability to consistently deal chip damage and cripple Pokemon weak to it such as Ho-Oh and Mega Salamence.
* Excadrill can use Mold Breaker to reliably set up Stealth Rock on Magic Bounce users such as Mega Diancie and Mega Sableye. (This line is explained in Set Details so perhaps it should be removed from here or merged with the above one)
* Earthquake is Excadrill's primary offensive move as it's STAB-boosted and also hits Primal Groudon, another common lead, for super effective damage.
* Rock Tomb hits Flying-types and Levitate users and also prevents Pokemon such as Mega Salamence, Rayquaza, and Xerneas from setting up with speed boosts. (Mold Breaker can get past Levitate too; It doesnt actually prevent but rather restricts the speed setup sweepers in their tracks; Also notably it heavily weakens Ho-Oh)
* Toxic cripples support Arceus forms that threaten to defog stealth rock (This suggests that Toxic has very limited uses; replaces just support Arceus with bulky Pokemon not hit hard enough by EQ / RTomb + it is mainly to weaken foes like Giratina, Lugia)
* Rapid Spin clears opposing hazards.

Set Details
========

* Focus Sash is used so that Excadrill can survive at least one turn (Also guarantees that Stealth Rock can be set up)
* 252 attack EVs allow Excadrill to deal good damage with Earthquake (Notably it puts Primal Groudon in the 2HKO range)
* Max speed allows Excadrill to outspeed base 90 through base 101 speed Pokemon with 252 speed EVs, as well as uninvested Arceus forms
* Mold Breaker allows Excadrill to set up Stealth Rock against Magic Bounce users such as Mega Diancie and Mega Sableye (Add in Toxic too; Also helps against Levitate)

Usage Tips
========

* Excadrill is best used as a suicide lead
* Earthquake and Rapin Spin allow it to counterlead Stealth Rocks Primal Groudon, a very common lead in the Ubers meta
* Excadrill can also 2hko Deoxys-speed and Dialga, and use Rapid Spin to get rid of their hazards
* Excadrill should not be used as a lead if your opponent has Cloyster, Pheromosa, or Greninja, as these Pokemon are dedicated leads that beat it.

Team Options
========

* Without needing to be the team's rocker, Primal Groudon can instead run an offensive set. Rocks also deal chip to Waterceus and Groundceus, preventing them from switching in as much on it.
* Rocks cripple Ho-oh, making sure Xerneas can sweep with Geomancy more safely
* Yveltal benefits from rocks as they cripple Ho-oh and prevent Darkceus and Fairyceus from being able to switch as much)
* Ultra Necrozma appreciates rocks as they punish Yveltal and put it in OHKO range of unboosted Stone Edge)
* Wallbreakers and setup sweepers such as? in general benefit from rocks breaking Focus Sashes and putting certain Pokemon in OHKO or 2HKO range

[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

* Excadrill can be used as a sand sweeper when paired with Tyranitar (This can be elaborated by adding in Sand Rush info, other moves including Iron Head / SD / Rock Slide, item Life Orb / Balloon, what it can check like Xerneas and other fast attackers)
* Excadrill can run a Groundium Z wallbreaker set that is a guaranteed OHKO on all common Primal Groudon sets (Also Semi-bulky Necrozma DM without Ultranecrozium Z)

Checks and Counters
===================

**Support Arceus forms**: Support Arceus forms, mainly Groundceus, outspeed Excadrill and Defog its hazards away. However these can be crippled with Toxic or slowed down with Rock Tomb.

**Cloyster**: Cloyster, another common hyper offense lead, ignores Excadrill's sash with Icicle Spear and is able to 2hko it.

**Giratina-Origin**: Giratina-Origin takes negligible damage from Earthquake and can easily Defog away Excadrill's hazards.

**Ferrothorn**: Ferrothorn takes negligible damage from Earthquake and can Leech Seed Excadrill while setting up its own Spikes.

**Dedicated Anti-Leads**: Pheromosa, Mega Kangaskhan, and Darkrai all pose a significant threat as they can kill or put Excadrill to sleep before it has an opportunity to get its rocks up

**Skarmory and Celesteela**: Both of these Pokemon are immune to Toxic and Earthquake, and take negligible damage from Rock Tomb.

**Shuckle**: Shuckle can easily play around Excadrill and use Encore to get up Sticky Web. (I may be wrong here but you can Toxic Shuckle on the first turn and then you can spin away its webs after Encore ends.)
 
I think you should mention that Rock Tomb slows down Defog Groundceus and other fast Defog leads, allowing certain follow up Taunt users like Yveltal or Mega Gyarados to Taunt before they can Defog to keep up rocks, if they come in after Exca is KO'd, or allowing a usually slower wallbreaker to threaten to KO the Defogger before they can Defog. In a similar vein Taunt users should be added to Team Options.
 
Mention the advantages of Mold Breaker in Set Details as well.

Usage Tips could do with more buffs. Should Excadrill always be suicided? What if there is a chance to gain momentum by switching it out after setting SR and preserving at 1 HP?

What's the strategy vs Defog Arceus? These things are noted in places like Moves but are actually better suited to making Usage Tips look less bare.

Bulldoze can go to OO - it combines Rock Tomb's speed drop and Earthquake's targets, but has clear downsides. I'll stamp after the changes.
 
overview:
* Excadrill is a dedicated suicide lead that combines the roles of hazard setter and hazard remover
to expand on this, mention it has lost some of its utility as a hazard remover since there aren't many other suicide leads to combat since suicide lead hazard setters have dropped in viability in USM due to the increase in viable defoggers in the tier (makes it harder to keep your hazards up).

* Offers little to no use outside of as a suicide lead, predictable but effective
kinda misleading. sure its effective at getting the rocks up but it is almost impossible to stop defog reliably in this meta with HO, which means once your rocks get defogged, you play the game without hazards. spikes leads are probably the most viable suicide leads rn and cloyster destroys lead exca. this point seems like a filler anyway so i'd like to see you expand on what actually makes it effective/ineffective here.

* An immunity to Toxic allows Excadrill to switch in on Toxic users such as support Arceus or Lugia if not used early-game
not a fan of this point as it only really wants to switch into lugia if anything. support arcs all threaten exca especially since they're pretty much always faster. maybe u can make a point for things like sr fairyceus too.

mention how rock tomb allows you to prevent dd set up sweepers such as mega salamence from setting up. its one of its biggest aspects of the set: being able to drop the speed of counter leads before setting your rocks up, while also threatening sweepers that try to set up.

excadrill is a steel type which means defoggers cant toxic you and then spam slow defog to prevent rocks.

set:
change the slashing to

Stealth Rock
Rock Tomb/Earthquake
Toxic
Rapid Spin

This set allows the set to function on the majority of offense without needing specific support. Without toxic, you can't threaten support arceus forms with defog. Without rock tomb, you struggle vs dd lead sweepers (especially with substitute). You can however get away with earthquake>tomb in some cases where you have solid offensive Salamence checks on the team (dusk mane, mixed pdon, priority etc). Stealth rock, toxic, rock tomb, and rapid spin are all staple moves with earthquake being a much more niche option.

moves:
* Excadrill can use Mold Breaker to reliably set up Stealth Rock and Toxic on Magic Bounce users such as Mega Diancie and Mega Sableye, as well as hit Levitate users with Earthquake
This point was maybe relevant in oras when latis and zong existed? The only real levitate user these days that Excadrill needs to threaten is Gira-O which can be chipped with toxic. Gira O also can only stop you from getting rocks if they have sneak so toxic + sr is a fine way to deal with Gira (levitate users).

to continue off the above point, if you're looking for things to talk about with earthquake, mention how it helps you vs common spinblockers such as mega gengar and marshadow, which are otherwise not bothered by rock tomb or toxic too much.

* Rock Tomb hits Flying-types, restricts Pokemon such as Mega Salamence, Rayquaza, and Xerneas from setting up with speed boosts, and is a guaranteed 2HKO on Ho-oh. It also slows down defoggers such as Arceus-Ground so that a Taunt user can outspeed and use Taunt to prevent a Defog.
I like how you mention slowing down defoggers. This is relevant to mention in all cases, even if it isn't a defogger that you're slowing down. Change the point to "slowing down counter leads so you can bring in hard hitting pokemon to abuse a slowed/crippled pokemon". This makes a bit more sense since you can threaten defoggers with things like eruption pdon. most taunt users already outpace support arc unless you're referring specifically ygod, which you could mention in usage tips or team partners.

set details:
* 252 attack EVs allow Excadrill to deal good damage with Earthquake, and specifically puts Primal Groudon in the 2HKO range.
this point needs to be changed since earthquake is not a staple move in the set. the main reason to run attack is because you're a focus sash lead and don't need to put the evs in bulk, so you'd rather maximize damage output in general. You can still mention that earthquake 2hkos pdon but make sure you focus on the fact that its a sash lead that doesnt need to use the evs anywhere else.

change the extra 4 evs to SpD instead of Def. It improves the roll of +2 xerneas moonblast by 6.3% whereas physical bulk doesn't improve anything noteworthy that i'm aware of (correct me if i'm wrong).
+2 252+ SpA Fairy Aura Xerneas Moonblast vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Excadrill: 323-381 (89.4 - 105.5%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
+2 252+ SpA Fairy Aura Xerneas Moonblast vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Excadrill: 321-378 (88.9 - 104.7%) -- 50% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

usage tips:
* Earthquake and Rapin Spin allow it to counterlead Stealth Rocks Primal Groudon, a very common lead in the Ubers meta
in reality this is a pretty awful point. as you can see by Excadrill's skeleton, there is only one viable set in the meta (lead). Primal Groudon will never lead or try to counterlead when its pretty much guaranteed that Excadrill users will be leading it.

* Excadrill can also 2hko Deoxys-speed and Dialga, and use Rapid Spin to get rid of their hazards
dialga? this isnt a common lead in usm. deoxys is fine to bring up but please go into more depth about the lead matchup between deoxys and excadrill. for example, if excadrill uses any other attack than rapid spin as deoxys sets up rocks, they can immediately go to a spinblocker afterwards to keep their rocks up. you can also mention how exca can rock tomb and get rocks up once its faster and taunt wears off etc. you can also bring up how its difficult to spin vs rocky helmet deo (even though its less common in today's meta).

add a point to watch out for sub dd mence, as rock tomb cannot break a substitute after an intimidate, so exca becomes setup fodder.

add a point to watch out for spinblockers.

add a point to watch out for sneak gira o which can defog effectively vs excadrill. mention here that you set rocks vs any gira set which doesn't have sneak (which most sets don't because of the rise in hex).

add a point to be weary of taunt leads such as ygod, m2, or even mgar (if lacking eq).

add a point to mention that you outspeed the most common scarfs in the tier (ygod and xern) after a rock tomb if they're modest.

add a point to watch out for iron barbs or rocky helmet which can make rapid spin useless.

add a point that you can't really counterlead shuckle either or prevent it from setting hazards.

team options:
* Without needing to be the team's rocker, Primal Groudon can instead run an offensive set. Rocks also deal chip to Waterceus and Groundceus, preventing them from switching in as much on it.
more specifically, you can mention how eruption primal groudon benefits from excadrill's ability to rock tomb turn 1 and stealth rock turn 2 vs many pokemon. then primal groudon comes in on a slowed down mon and can fire off a free eruption. this is a set that people commonly used in sm with excadrill so might be worth mentioning in this point to highlight another reason why groudon really synergizes with excadrill.

* Taunt users such as Yveltal and Mega Gyarados can use Taunt to prevent defoggers from removing Excadrill's rocks after it dies.
other taunt users like mewtwo or mega gengar don't rely on rock tomb to get the taunt off so you might want to mention these as they can be a bit more reliable since they can be used mid game to pressure defog and not just early game.

i think the most important thing to mention in team options for sr exca is that you want proactive and very threatening offense pokemon. you want set up sweepers, hard hitting mons that pressure defog, or even taunt users. you need to always keep momentum up since you won't be able to ever get rocks up again once they are defogged. running a passive pokemon such as cm arceus ground/scarf ygod etc means you can't stop defoggers from removing your rocks. if you have hard hitting sweepers, the opponent usually has to trade-in and sack their defogger to even get rid of your rocks.

i'd run some offensive pokemon that can deal with mence in case it leads and gets out of hand. this is especially important if you run EQ>rock tomb. you want offensive mons that naturally check it like dusk mane (with Z), sash dd + draco ray, mixed pdon (can eat a hit and ko back), and even priority helps!

you bring up how your own rocks break other teams sashes. you forget to mention however, that rapid spin helps you run your own sash users! it also helps you run flying type pokemon that are weak to rocks such as mega mence, ray, or ygod.

checks and counters:
**Support Arceus forms**: Support Arceus forms, mainly Groundceus, outspeed Excadrill and Defog its hazards away. However these can be crippled with Toxic or slowed down with Rock Tomb.
how great of a counterlead is this actually? you still slow down arceus and then get your rocks up (they cant slow defog since you have more pp anyway and they cant toxic you). their best bet is to ice beam + wisp and then go for slow defog? unfortunately that means you toxic them back and they probably take a shit ton of damage + you can switch and try to get rocks up later.

**Giratina-Origin**: Giratina-Origin takes negligible damage from Earthquake and can easily Defog away Excadrill's hazards.
again, how great of a counterlead is this actually? if it lacks sneak, you get free sr and toxic since they cant toxic + slow defog vs you. if they try to defog, they just take toxic damage until they die. they may prevent rocks at that moment, but they lose their gira o to toxic and then excadrill remains alive.

**Dedicated Anti-Leads**: Pheromosa, Mega Kangaskhan, and Darkrai all pose a significant threat as they can kill or put Excadrill to sleep before it has an opportunity to get its rocks up.
even rocky helmet deo S can give exca problems between taunt/rocky helmet spinblock.

**Ferrothorn**: Ferrothorn takes negligible damage from Earthquake and can Leech Seed Excadrill while setting up its own Spikes.
you need to mention iron barbs since it prevents exca from spinning vs ferro.

**Skarmory and Celesteela**: Both of these Pokemon are immune to Toxic and Earthquake, and take negligible damage from Rock Tomb.
skarm i can see but celesteela does not really counterlead vs Exca. you 100% get rocks vs both of these. vs skarm you have to watch out for helmet + spikes, otherwise you can spam spin to stop spikes and if it carries defog, you have more sr pp anyway. Celes can seed you and then what? you still get your rocks up.

**Shuckle**: Shuckle can set up Sticky Webs on Excadrill if it is not carrying Toxic.
shuckle sets up webs anyway vs exca since it can just click encore to lock you into a move. take out the toxic part and explain how encore ensures webs please.

i see no mention of DD lead sweepers. specifically sub mence, since excadrill cannot break sub with rock tomb after intimidate. they also threaten excas that do not carry rock tomb. if you dont carry toxic, sub + dd zyg becomes a threat. rock tomb can mitigate damage vs standard dd leads, but some variations of lead exca are weaker to these dd users, while sub mence always poses a significant threat.

I also see no mention of taunt users. please add a point and explain how they interact with exca, whilst giving examples of common taunt pokemon.

now lets talk about reordering. this is my preferred order, but you can also ask other qc.
Cloyster
Dedicated Anti-Leads
Gira-O
DD Leads
Taunt Pokemon
Support Arc
Shuckle
Ferro
Skarmory (remove celes)

make sure you change the points for each of these C&C mons to better explain how they interact vs lead exca.

implement and i'll stamp
 

kilometerman

Banned deucer.
overview:

to expand on this, mention it has lost some of its utility as a hazard remover since there aren't many other suicide leads to combat since suicide lead hazard setters have dropped in viability in USM due to the increase in viable defoggers in the tier (makes it harder to keep your hazards up).


kinda misleading. sure its effective at getting the rocks up but it is almost impossible to stop defog reliably in this meta with HO, which means once your rocks get defogged, you play the game without hazards. spikes leads are probably the most viable suicide leads rn and cloyster destroys lead exca. this point seems like a filler anyway so i'd like to see you expand on what actually makes it effective/ineffective here.


not a fan of this point as it only really wants to switch into lugia if anything. support arcs all threaten exca especially since they're pretty much always faster. maybe u can make a point for things like sr fairyceus too.

mention how rock tomb allows you to prevent dd set up sweepers such as mega salamence from setting up. its one of its biggest aspects of the set: being able to drop the speed of counter leads before setting your rocks up, while also threatening sweepers that try to set up.

excadrill is a steel type which means defoggers cant toxic you and then spam slow defog to prevent rocks.

set:
change the slashing to

Stealth Rock
Rock Tomb/Earthquake
Toxic
Rapid Spin

This set allows the set to function on the majority of offense without needing specific support. Without toxic, you can't threaten support arceus forms with defog. Without rock tomb, you struggle vs dd lead sweepers (especially with substitute). You can however get away with earthquake>tomb in some cases where you have solid offensive Salamence checks on the team (dusk mane, mixed pdon, priority etc). Stealth rock, toxic, rock tomb, and rapid spin are all staple moves with earthquake being a much more niche option.

moves:

This point was maybe relevant in oras when latis and zong existed? The only real levitate user these days that Excadrill needs to threaten is Gira-O which can be chipped with toxic. Gira O also can only stop you from getting rocks if they have sneak so toxic + sr is a fine way to deal with Gira (levitate users).

to continue off the above point, if you're looking for things to talk about with earthquake, mention how it helps you vs common spinblockers such as mega gengar and marshadow, which are otherwise not bothered by rock tomb or toxic too much.


I like how you mention slowing down defoggers. This is relevant to mention in all cases, even if it isn't a defogger that you're slowing down. Change the point to "slowing down counter leads so you can bring in hard hitting pokemon to abuse a slowed/crippled pokemon". This makes a bit more sense since you can threaten defoggers with things like eruption pdon. most taunt users already outpace support arc unless you're referring specifically ygod, which you could mention in usage tips or team partners.

set details:

this point needs to be changed since earthquake is not a staple move in the set. the main reason to run attack is because you're a focus sash lead and don't need to put the evs in bulk, so you'd rather maximize damage output in general. You can still mention that earthquake 2hkos pdon but make sure you focus on the fact that its a sash lead that doesnt need to use the evs anywhere else.

change the extra 4 evs to SpD instead of Def. It improves the roll of +2 xerneas moonblast by 6.3% whereas physical bulk doesn't improve anything noteworthy that i'm aware of (correct me if i'm wrong).
+2 252+ SpA Fairy Aura Xerneas Moonblast vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Excadrill: 323-381 (89.4 - 105.5%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
+2 252+ SpA Fairy Aura Xerneas Moonblast vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Excadrill: 321-378 (88.9 - 104.7%) -- 50% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

usage tips:

in reality this is a pretty awful point. as you can see by Excadrill's skeleton, there is only one viable set in the meta (lead). Primal Groudon will never lead or try to counterlead when its pretty much guaranteed that Excadrill users will be leading it.


dialga? this isnt a common lead in usm. deoxys is fine to bring up but please go into more depth about the lead matchup between deoxys and excadrill. for example, if excadrill uses any other attack than rapid spin as deoxys sets up rocks, they can immediately go to a spinblocker afterwards to keep their rocks up. you can also mention how exca can rock tomb and get rocks up once its faster and taunt wears off etc. you can also bring up how its difficult to spin vs rocky helmet deo (even though its less common in today's meta).

add a point to watch out for sub dd mence, as rock tomb cannot break a substitute after an intimidate, so exca becomes setup fodder.

add a point to watch out for spinblockers.

add a point to watch out for sneak gira o which can defog effectively vs excadrill. mention here that you set rocks vs any gira set which doesn't have sneak (which most sets don't because of the rise in hex).

add a point to be weary of taunt leads such as ygod, m2, or even mgar (if lacking eq).

add a point to mention that you outspeed the most common scarfs in the tier (ygod and xern) after a rock tomb if they're modest.

add a point to watch out for iron barbs or rocky helmet which can make rapid spin useless.

add a point that you can't really counterlead shuckle either or prevent it from setting hazards.

team options:

more specifically, you can mention how eruption primal groudon benefits from excadrill's ability to rock tomb turn 1 and stealth rock turn 2 vs many pokemon. then primal groudon comes in on a slowed down mon and can fire off a free eruption. this is a set that people commonly used in sm with excadrill so might be worth mentioning in this point to highlight another reason why groudon really synergizes with excadrill.


other taunt users like mewtwo or mega gengar don't rely on rock tomb to get the taunt off so you might want to mention these as they can be a bit more reliable since they can be used mid game to pressure defog and not just early game.

i think the most important thing to mention in team options for sr exca is that you want proactive and very threatening offense pokemon. you want set up sweepers, hard hitting mons that pressure defog, or even taunt users. you need to always keep momentum up since you won't be able to ever get rocks up again once they are defogged. running a passive pokemon such as cm arceus ground/scarf ygod etc means you can't stop defoggers from removing your rocks. if you have hard hitting sweepers, the opponent usually has to trade-in and sack their defogger to even get rid of your rocks.

i'd run some offensive pokemon that can deal with mence in case it leads and gets out of hand. this is especially important if you run EQ>rock tomb. you want offensive mons that naturally check it like dusk mane (with Z), sash dd + draco ray, mixed pdon (can eat a hit and ko back), and even priority helps!

you bring up how your own rocks break other teams sashes. you forget to mention however, that rapid spin helps you run your own sash users! it also helps you run flying type pokemon that are weak to rocks such as mega mence, ray, or ygod.

checks and counters:

how great of a counterlead is this actually? you still slow down arceus and then get your rocks up (they cant slow defog since you have more pp anyway and they cant toxic you). their best bet is to ice beam + wisp and then go for slow defog? unfortunately that means you toxic them back and they probably take a shit ton of damage + you can switch and try to get rocks up later.


again, how great of a counterlead is this actually? if it lacks sneak, you get free sr and toxic since they cant toxic + slow defog vs you. if they try to defog, they just take toxic damage until they die. they may prevent rocks at that moment, but they lose their gira o to toxic and then excadrill remains alive.


even rocky helmet deo S can give exca problems between taunt/rocky helmet spinblock.


you need to mention iron barbs since it prevents exca from spinning vs ferro.


skarm i can see but celesteela does not really counterlead vs Exca. you 100% get rocks vs both of these. vs skarm you have to watch out for helmet + spikes, otherwise you can spam spin to stop spikes and if it carries defog, you have more sr pp anyway. Celes can seed you and then what? you still get your rocks up.


shuckle sets up webs anyway vs exca since it can just click encore to lock you into a move. take out the toxic part and explain how encore ensures webs please.

i see no mention of DD lead sweepers. specifically sub mence, since excadrill cannot break sub with rock tomb after intimidate. they also threaten excas that do not carry rock tomb. if you dont carry toxic, sub + dd zyg becomes a threat. rock tomb can mitigate damage vs standard dd leads, but some variations of lead exca are weaker to these dd users, while sub mence always poses a significant threat.

I also see no mention of taunt users. please add a point and explain how they interact with exca, whilst giving examples of common taunt pokemon.

now lets talk about reordering. this is my preferred order, but you can also ask other qc.
Cloyster
Dedicated Anti-Leads
Gira-O
DD Leads
Taunt Pokemon
Support Arc
Shuckle
Ferro
Skarmory (remove celes)

make sure you change the points for each of these C&C mons to better explain how they interact vs lead exca.

implement and i'll stamp
Mention the advantages of Mold Breaker in Set Details as well.

Usage Tips could do with more buffs. Should Excadrill always be suicided? What if there is a chance to gain momentum by switching it out after setting SR and preserving at 1 HP?

What's the strategy vs Defog Arceus? These things are noted in places like Moves but are actually better suited to making Usage Tips look less bare.

Bulldoze can go to OO - it combines Rock Tomb's speed drop and Earthquake's targets, but has clear downsides. I'll stamp after the changes.
Ready to be checked
 
The Trap God's lengthy QC hasn't been implemented properly. Give it a proper read and fix his points if you want QC approval over rejection.
 
If you had a time to use my VR post to meme in April fools day you should have worked on this smh.
Expect QC to be dead until UPL is over so I'm gonna drop an AM

[OVERVIEW]
* Excadrill is a dedicated suicide lead that combines the roles of hazard setter and hazard remover
* Viability has decreased since SM as mid and late-game hazard removers are more common, meaning there are less suicide leads for Excadrill to counter
- Remove, GP team / QC will tell you to remove generational shifts. This point also applies to every other suicide leads (deo-s / smeargle / etc)
* A combination of Stealth Rock and Mold Breaker allow it to set up hazards even against Magic Bounce users
* STAB Earthquake and the move Rapid Spin allow Excadrill to counterlead Stealth Rock Primal Groudon
- Rework on this point. Hazard removal is already mentioned in the first bullet and if you specifically wanna emphasize access to rapid spin do so by working on the first bullet. Earthquake also gives excadrill some offensive presence which is important against other SR users like pdon or necrozma-dm
* Offers little to no use outside of as a rocks suicide lead, which is not as viable a role anymore
- Ditch this. You are not trying to make overview sound like 'this is a shit mon so you shouldn't use it'. "not as viable a role anymore" too has reference to generational shifts, which I would highly recommend removing.
* Poor bulk forces Excadrill to use a focus sash, leaving it weak to Taunt users that prevent it from setting up Stealth Rocks or using Toxic
- Wrong idea over here. Excadrill isn't vulnerable to taunt because of its bulk... it is that taunt can hamper its role - and this becomes less of an issue if you decide to use rock tomb.
* An immunity to Toxic allows Excadrill to switch in on certain Toxic users such as Lugia or Stealth Rocks Arceus-Fairy if not used early-game, as well as being able to prevent slower defoggers from using Toxic and Defog to faint it
- Ditch. Excadrill is ideally going to die in first few turns after setting rocks up and can't really provide its team with those theoretical defensive utilities.
* Average speed tier allows it to outspeed bulky Pokemon such as defensive Primal Groudon
* Rock Tomb prevents setup sweepers and counterleads from being a threat to the rest of your team

- Ditch. I would rather talk about how it faces competition with the likes of Deoxys-S and Cloyster - the former that has taunt & spikes and the latter that also has spin / icicle spear to bypass sashes / setup move in shell smash to have some offensive presence against defoggers

[SET]
name: Lead
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Rock Tomb / Earthquake
move 3: Toxic
move 4: Rapid Spin
item: Focus Sash
ability: Mold Breaker
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpDef / 252 Spe

I have no objection from pristine set from 'The Vision' TTG

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

* Stealth Rock is mandatory on most teams due to its ability to consistently deal chip damage and cripple Pokemon weak to it such as Ho-Oh and Mega Salamence.
* Excadrill can use Mold Breaker to reliably set up Stealth Rock and Toxic on Magic Bounce users such as Mega Diancie and Mega Sableye, as well as hit Giratina-O with Earthquake Isn't really significant, you are gonna toxic it and run it anyway, since it will KO you first and defog later
* Earthquake is Excadrill's primary offensive move as it's STAB-boosted and also hits Primal Groudon, another common lead, for super effective damage. It also hits common spinblockers such as Marshadow and Mega Gengar.
* Rock Tomb hits Flying-types, restricts Pokemon such as Mega Salamence, Rayquaza, and Xerneas from setting up with speed boosts, and is a guaranteed 2HKO on Ho-oh. It also slows down counterleads such as Arceus-Ground so that a Taunt user or hard-hitting Pokemon such as Eruption Primal Groudon can outspeed them. - Put this above Earthquake to order the slashing properly
* Toxic cripples Pokemon that threaten to Defog its Stealth Rocks such as support Arceus forms and Giratina-Origin. It also cripples bulkier Pokemon that would otherwise take little damage from Earthquake and Rock Tomb This is implied from your first sentence.
* Rapid Spin clears opposing hazards.

Set Details
========

* Focus Sash is used so that Excadrill can survive at least one turn and set up Stealth Rock
* 252 attack EVs are used as Excadrill is used as a suicide lead, and therefore does not need any extra bulk. It also increases Rock Tomb and Earthquake damage and puts Primal Groudon in the 2HKO range.
* Max speed allows Excadrill to outspeed base 90 through base 101 speed Pokemon with 252 speed EVs, as well as uninvested Arceus forms
* Add a bullet for Mold Breaker here

Usage Tips
========

* Excadrill is best used as a suicide lead
* Earthquake and Rapin Spin allow it to force Stealth Rocks Primal Groudon and Dusk Mane Necrozma, both common leads Stealth Rock users in the Ubers meta
* If facing Deoxys-Speed, it's important to always use Rapid Spin turn 1 if your opponent has a spinblocker. If not, Excadrill can use Rock Tomb until it outspeeds and Taunt wears off, and then set up its own rocks. Also play carefully around Rocky Helmet Deo-S.
* Excadrill should not be used as a lead if your opponent has Cloyster, Pheromosa, or Greninja aren't really viable enough to warrant a mention in an analysis, as these Pokemon are dedicated leads that beat it.
* Be wary of Mega Salamence carrying Substitute and Dragon Dance, as Rock Tomb cannot break a substitute after Intimidate.
* Spinblockers can prevent Rapid Spin from clearing opposing hazards. Specify what Ghost-types can do this
* Excadrill can easily get up rocks versus Giratina-Origin as long as it is not carrying Shadow Sneak.
* Be wary of fast Taunt users such as Deoxys-Speed, Yveltal, Mega Mewtwo Y, and Mega Gengar.
What? Do you not know what excadrill does? It is an anti-lead that can beat or at least dent all of them with rock tomb or equake
* Excadrill outspeeds the two Choice Scarf Users in the tier, Yveltal and Xerneas, after a Rock Tomb if they're carrying a Modest nature.
* Avoid Rocky Helmet and Iron Barbs users such as Ferrothorn and Deoxys-Speed, who make Rapid Spin useless. You only fail to remove hazards with spin if you faint on the turn you spin
* Avoid leading against Shuckle and instead wait for an opportunity to switch in later in the game to clear away Sticky Webs. You have sash up and you are better off at least setting rocks anyway... also you have a spin which you can use unless you are encored

A lot of things here aren't really Usage Tips. I would suggest evaluating this section as a whole

Team Options
========

* Without needing to be the team's rocker, Primal Groudon and Necrozma-DM can instead run an offensive set. Rocks also deal chip to Waterceus and Groundceus, preventing them from switching in as much on it They do switch in often to look for an opportunity to defog... wat Eruption Primal Groudon specifically benefits from Excadrill, as it can switch in on a Pokemon slowed down by Rock Tomb and outspeed it.
* Pokemon with a strong offensive presence pair the best with Excadrill. By only using hard-hitting Pokemon that can either kill or set up on your opponent's defogger, you force your opponent to make a risky gamble on how important it is to remove rocks.
* Pokemon such as Solganium Z Dusk-Mane Necrozma, Focus Sash Dragon Dance Rayquaza, and Mixed Primal Groudon can be used to cover Excadrill's weakness to Mega Salamence carrying Substitute and Dragon Dance.
* Rocks cripple Ho-oh, making sure Xerneas can sweep with Geomancy more safely Mention how xern makes defogger think twice before using such move with the threat of setting geo in their face
* Yveltal benefits from rocks as they cripple Ho-oh and prevent Darkceus and Fairyceus from being able to switch as much
* Ultra Necrozma appreciates rocks as they punish Yveltal and put it in OHKO range of unboosted Stone Edge
* Wallbreakers and setup sweepers including but not limited to Mega Salamence, Rayquaza, and Palkia benefit from rocks breaking Focus Sashes and putting certain Pokemon in OHKO or 2HKO range
* Focus Sash users like Rayquaza and Flying types such as Mega Salamence appreciate Rapid Spin limiting your opponent's ability to keep up rocks
* Taunt users such as Yveltal and Mega Gyarados gyarados isn't really fast enough use other examples like mewtwocan use Taunt to prevent defoggers from removing Excadrill's rocks after it dies. Mewtwo and Mega Gengar also don't need the speed drop from Rock Tomb to effectively use Taunt.


[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

* Excadrill can be used as a sand sweeper when paired with Tyranitar. With a Jolly nature, it can outspeed the entire unboosted metagame under sand, and deal serious damage with STAB Iron Head and Earthquake. It can run a Life Orb for extra power or an Air Balloon to better handle Primal Groudon and Arceus-Ground.
* Excadrill can run a Groundium Z wallbreaker set that is a guaranteed OHKO on all common Primal Groudon sets as well as Dusk Mane Necrozma.
* Bulldoze combines the speed drop from Rock Tomb and the STAB damage from Earthquake, however it gives flying-type Pokemon including Mega Salamence and Rayquaza the ability to set up.

Checks and Counters
===================

**Cloyster**: Cloyster is able to use set up on Excadrill with Shell Smash and OHKO it with Icicle Spear.

**Dedicated Anti-Leads**: Pheromosa, Mega Kangaskhan, Deoxys-Speed, and Darkrai all pose a significant threat as they can kill, put to sleep, and Taunt Excadrill before it can get its rocks up. Deoxys-Speed with Rocky Helmet also prevents Rapid Spin.

**Giratina-Origin**: Giratina-Origin carrying Shadow Sneak can 3HKO Excadrill and Defog away its hazards. Rather explain how shadow sneak can KO excadrill before it gets to spin and gira-o itself is one of the bulkier spinblockers in the tier

**Lead Dragon Dance Sweepers**: Mega Salamence carrying Substitute and Dragon Dance is able to set up against all Excadrill sets, and Dragon Dance Substitute Zygarde can set up if Excadrill is not carrying Toxic.

**Taunt Users**: Taunt users such as Mega Gengar and Yveltal can use Taunt to prevent Stealth Rocks from being set up.

**Support Arceus forms**: Support Arceus forms, mainly Groundceus, outspeed Excadrill and Defog its hazards away. However they can be crippled with Toxic or slowed down with Rock Tomb, and they generally wouldn't be used to counterlead unless the opposing team doesn't heavily rely on them for any purpose other than using Defog.

**Shuckle**: Shuckle can set up Sticky Webs on Excadrill and lock it into a damaging move with Encore, or lock it into Rapid Spin so that a spinblocker such as Ghostceus can switch in and prevent the removal of Sticky Web.

**Ferrothorn**: Ferrothorn takes negligible damage from Earthquake don't think so, all ferro runs max spdef and takes considerable amount. it can only stall out exca bc leech seed and can Leech Seed Excadrill while setting up its own Spikes. Its ability Iron Barbs also prevents punishes Rapid Spin.

**Skarmory**: Skarmory is immune to Toxic, immune to Earthquake, can set up Spikes and prevent Rapid Spin with a Rocky Helmet, and Defog away Stealth Rocks.
 

wehraboonightmare

Banned deucer.
I'm "friends" with Kilometerman and "he said" that if someone else wants the writeup than they can have it and can feel free to use/build off of what's already done. If no one comes to the plate than he'll finish it up when his ban expires.
 
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