VGC18 Your Typical Sand Team

Hey there, VGC18 is coming and...as it is very like VGC15 but with new additions in gen 7, im a noob in here, as my only real experience in vgc was vgc17. As such, I just watched people that were better than me at teambuilding and such.
My favourite mon has always been Tyranitar, so i prety much want to do a Sand team, and then i looked at Cybertron's team and breakdown of said team, and i liked that one, but not everything about it. So, this team is pretty much like that one, certain mons are exactly like that team, but with a couple different mons. The EV spreads are borrowed from various sources as those are my weakest point when it comes to teambuilding.
Let's get to it.

Tyranitar @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sand Stream
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Rock Slide
- Assurance
- Superpower
- Ice Punch

My boy the Tyrano. Standard Sand setter, and going full offensive wiht him. Max attack and speed EV with jolly nature and choice scarf to outspeed most things, and only be slower than certain pokemon that can be handled by the rest of the team. The set provides Rock Slide for spread damage, stab and chance to flinch, Superpower and Ice punch for coverage(like other Ttar or Land-T, i hate that thing). Assurance is a weird move but i started liking it, because it can combo well with the other threats on my team, as they both have spread attacks and are faster than Ttar, so assurance will have most of the time the guaranteed 120 base BP on it.
Speaking of one of those companions...


Salamence @ Salamencite
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 44 Atk / 212 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Hyper Voice
- Double-Edge
- Tailwind
- Protect

Salamence as the mega of choice, providing with intimidate before mega evolving, utility from Tailwind and really nice spread and single target damage. Max speed with naive nature and those attack EVs to make sure he can get some nice KO with double-edge, as I believe that it was made to be able to OHKO a non-bulky Lele. Still could consider another attack instead of Double-Edge for coverage, probably Draco Meteor for other Salamence, Hydreigon or Naganadel, but i feel like Salamence isn't the one that should be needed to deal with those. Also, he will always outspeed my Ttar like this, so Hyper Voice + Assurance is a great way of killing things like Mega-gross.
Lets check our sand abuser.

Excadrill @ Life Orb
Ability: Sand Rush
Level: 50
EVs: 180 HP / 252 Atk / 76 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Drill Run
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide
- Protect

Standard Excadrill, going for max damage and just enough speed to be faster than most things under Sand, or tailwind(or both for the overkill). Standard coverage moves, and running Drill RUn instead of Earthquake so it can bypass Wide guard and decimate foes. Otherwise, pairing him with Ttar and start doing double Rock Slides is pretty solid as agame too, while iron head will make quick work of Lele and Bulu. Personally, i don't like using him too much, but i don't have many options here. I was considering Landorus-I, but i think that I already have enough special damage and i didn't want another mon x4 weak to ice.
And to round up the japan sand combo, another of my favourite mons.

Aegislash @ Ghostium Z
Ability: Stance Change
Level: 50
EVs: 188 HP / 252 SpA / 68 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Flash Cannon
- Wide Guard
- King's Shield

Standard Aegislash, carrying the Z crystal for the insanely powerful Z-move. Shadow ball and flash cannon as standard Stab, you cna't use him without king's shield and Wide Guard for utility, a move that has saved me quite a few times against the likes of Landorus-T, Stakataka, Charizard-Y and oppposing sand teams. I believe that the EVs allow him to outspeed other Aegislash, while still having a decent speed under Tailwind, as outside Tailwind (or sand in the case of excadrill), most of the team is in the mid-to-low speed tier.
This is the core that i got almost the same from that team, but personally i don't like Rotom-W, and I saw low use on bulu, even while he pairs so well with the team. And considering some weaknesses I found and will talk later, maybe I'll go use him later. But for now, i rounded up the team with a nice pair.


Tapu Fini @ Choice Specs
Ability: Misty Surge
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Muddy Water
- Ice Beam
- Scald

Going for a Specs set on fini, with 4 coverage moves and investing in hp with max Spa. This little guy is here to deal with thing like opposing sand teams, Landorus-T and the likes of other Salamence and Hydreigon. With tailwind support he can be quite fast, and with specs deal an unexpected amount of damage. Also provides with good utility in the form of Misty Terrain. This set im not 100% sure yet, because my Team could lack overall bulk, but so far it's been working well.
And my favourite partner to Fini.


Zapdos @ Misty Seed
Ability: Pressure
Level: 50
EVs: 236 HP / 116 Def / 28 SpA / 84 SpD / 44 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Roost
- Heat Wave
- Tailwind

At first I used him with Electrium Z and full speed and special attack, but i really felt like I could use some bulk in the team, some physical bulk other than Salamence's intimidate. Thunderbolt as a way to damage water types(other than gastrodon of course) and Heat Wave for coverage. I used HP Ice in it's place, but i foudn mysefl needing more often fire coverage as Zapdos usually went with fini who already has ice beam. Roost for recovery and Tailwind to support the team, in case I didn't bring Salamence or he got killed and i could use it again.I got the EV spread from some usage stats resource web, as i honestly suck at doing those.

Overall I think the team covers a lot of threats like Mega-Kang and opposing weather teams, but I want you to help me identifying weak points in the team, or in the sets. One thing I found, and that's why im considering going into Bulu instead of fini, is Gastrodon. The guy is a nightmare for my team, as I have no reliable way of killing him while he can wreak havoc through my team with ground, water and ice attacks, while making Fini's watter attacks useless.

So I could really use some help to polish this team, and also, forgive my grammar and spelling, I tried to correct every mistake i saw.
Until the next time, farewell.

EDIT: Maybe going back to the ol' Japan sand with Amoongus to give the coverage for Gastrodon, but then using either Koko or Fini for coverage woudl be bad for him with the terrains, and would lose the way to hit Kartana and Ferrothorn that Heat Wave from Zapdos gives, and i think that gastrodon and Zapdos undermines my damage output...SO any option i am not seeing here?
UPDATED TEAM


Tyranitar @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sand Stream
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Rock Slide
- Assurance
- Superpower
- Ice Punch

My boy the Tyrano. Standard Sand setter, and going full offensive wiht him. Max attack and speed EV with jolly nature and choice scarf to outspeed most things, and only be slower than certain pokemon that can be handled by the rest of the team. The set provides Rock Slide for spread damage, stab and chance to flinch, Superpower and Ice punch for coverage(like other Ttar or Land-T, i hate that thing). Assurance is a weird move but i started liking it, because it can combo well with the other threats on my team, as they both have spread attacks and are faster than Ttar, so assurance will have most of the time the guaranteed 120 base BP on it.

Speaking of one of those companions...

UPDATED
Salamence @ Salamencite
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hyper Voice
- Flamethrower
- Tailwind
- Protect
Changed to a max SPA/SPE with flamethrower instead of Double-edge to give the team the fire coverage it needs. Otherwise, Hyper VOice for spread and Stab, Tailwind for support and protect as a staple.

Lets check our sand abuser.
UPDATED
Excadrill @ Life Orb
Ability: Sand Rush
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Drill Run
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide
- Protect

Updated to max speed to be useful outside of Sand and Tailwind as well, as it wasn't hitting any defensive benchmarks anyway with HP investment. Other than that, Drill Run to a more powerful STAb than Earthquake that can bypass wide guard, Rock slide for spread damage and flinch chance and Iron Head for a secondary Stab+fairy killer.
UPDATED

Aegislash @ Ghostium Z
Ability: Stance Change
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Flash Cannon
- Wide Guard
- King's Shield
Changed to no speed investment so he can perform better under TR in case I can't stop it.
Standard dual stabs with wide guard for support and Ghostium Z for a absurdly powerful Z-move.

Tapu Bulu @ Assault Vest
Ability: Grassy Surge
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 56 Atk / 30 Def / 172 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Horn Leech
- Wood Hammer
- Superpower
- Stone Edge
AV Bulu, able to survive and 2HKO back Heatran, while also OHKO every bulky water type. Moves for maximum coverage.

Thundurus @ Grassy Seed
Ability: Prankster
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 236 Def / 12 SpA / 4 SpD / 4 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Taunt
- Thunder Wave
Bulky Support Thundurus, with slightly les bulk than Zapdos, but more utility in the form of Prankster Taunt and Thunder Wave for more speed control rather than just having double tailwind. Thunderbolt and HP ice for coverage.

This last iteration of the team has no major counters like it had Before, with Gastrodon being just unkillable by my team, and now my team has answers for almost everything they can bring against me, even if it is a small answer, still better than none.
Feel free to point out flaws that i didn't notice or things like that, I would appreciate it.

Until the next time, farewell.
 
Last edited:
Yeah, really solid team and I definitely get why you made the changes you made. The first thing I'd say is I'm personally really not a fan of Aaron's Excadrill spread. I don't really see why you wouldn't run at least enough speed to outrun +1 Timid Volcarona (considering pretty much all of them are either quiver dance or scarf) at 140 speed EVs or Modest Scarf Naganadel at 172 EVs. I don't think there are any defensive benchmarks that the HP EVs allow it to hit and LO damage would most likely ruin them anyway.

I definitely see why you say Gastro is giving you problems, in fact bulky waters in general seem to be pretty annoying considerig you only have Zapdos that has a favourable matchup vs them and the japan sand core really doesn't appreciate them (probably why Bulu was on there originally). Something that you could try is replacing Zapdos with Thund-T as a more offensive bulky water check. Obviously then you lose the synergy of Mist Seed Zapdos+Fini and trade bulk and a second tailwind setter for a little bit more power and better coverage. Thundy could also have a lot of options for items here. If you're particularly worried about Gastrodon, a LO Timid Grass Knot has a good chance to OHKO reasonably bulky Gastro and LO HP Ice also has a decent-ish chance to OHKO barely invested AV Lando-T (so guaranteeing the OHKO on other variants other than I guess Yache). AV Thund-T could also make sense, bringing you a little bit closer to the bulk of Zapdos while still having more offensive presence and having space for both Grass Knot to 2 shot Gastro and other moves you may want to run like HP Ice, Sludge Bomb or Volt Switch. If it's not clear, I haven't tested any of these and I'm not really sure how replacing Zapdos would affect your other matchups but it seems like something you could consider. HP Fire might not even be the worst idea on an AV set considering Kartana in particular puts in a lot of work against the team.

As you said, swapping Fini for Bulu certainly improves your bulky water matchup, but I kid of like the idea of Japan Sand + Fini just for the immuity to burn misty terrain provides. Kartana could be interesting, though you would need to drop Aegislash for something (and maybe put Darkinium on tar). I'd say you've definitely got options here, kind of just depends where you want to take the team really.
 
Yeah, really solid team and I definitely get why you made the changes you made. The first thing I'd say is I'm personally really not a fan of Aaron's Excadrill spread. I don't really see why you wouldn't run at least enough speed to outrun +1 Timid Volcarona (considering pretty much all of them are either quiver dance or scarf) at 140 speed EVs or Modest Scarf Naganadel at 172 EVs. I don't think there are any defensive benchmarks that the HP EVs allow it to hit and LO damage would most likely ruin them anyway.

I definitely see why you say Gastro is giving you problems, in fact bulky waters in general seem to be pretty annoying considerig you only have Zapdos that has a favourable matchup vs them and the japan sand core really doesn't appreciate them (probably why Bulu was on there originally). Something that you could try is replacing Zapdos with Thund-T as a more offensive bulky water check. Obviously then you lose the synergy of Mist Seed Zapdos+Fini and trade bulk and a second tailwind setter for a little bit more power and better coverage. Thundy could also have a lot of options for items here. If you're particularly worried about Gastrodon, a LO Timid Grass Knot has a good chance to OHKO reasonably bulky Gastro and LO HP Ice also has a decent-ish chance to OHKO barely invested AV Lando-T (so guaranteeing the OHKO on other variants other than I guess Yache). AV Thund-T could also make sense, bringing you a little bit closer to the bulk of Zapdos while still having more offensive presence and having space for both Grass Knot to 2 shot Gastro and other moves you may want to run like HP Ice, Sludge Bomb or Volt Switch. If it's not clear, I haven't tested any of these and I'm not really sure how replacing Zapdos would affect your other matchups but it seems like something you could consider. HP Fire might not even be the worst idea on an AV set considering Kartana in particular puts in a lot of work against the team.

As you said, swapping Fini for Bulu certainly improves your bulky water matchup, but I kid of like the idea of Japan Sand + Fini just for the immuity to burn misty terrain provides. Kartana could be interesting, though you would need to drop Aegislash for something (and maybe put Darkinium on tar). I'd say you've definitely got options here, kind of just depends where you want to take the team really.
Thanks for the response! I've already decided on some changes or the team and i've been testing them out.
The first was a bit of a niche one, dropping double edge on mence for Flamethrower as needed fire coverage(and adjusting EVs and nature for that), as well as investing more speed on Ecadrill, as it was pretty annoying being slower than other excadrills for example, and even with a sand as core, I found myself being prety flexible with what I bring to the game, not always relying on sand, and finding more use on Tailwind.
Also, I decided to drop Fini for a Grassium Z Bulu(which im not sure if I should play him with Grassium, as pretty often i would rather use teh Z attack on Aegislash, still testing other things like pinch berry, or AV). And as an answer for Trick Room teams, as my only option was to kill the setter before it is used and that wasnt reliable, I swapped Zapdos with Thundurus-I as support, with thunderbolt, hp ice, Taunt and probably Thunder wave. That's why i got Flamethrower on mence, as i lost the fire coverage of Zapdos' heat wave. Thinking about going with grassy seed on Thundurus and investing more in special bulk.
About this team the main concern I have is the lack of more ways to hit Heatran and Landorus that Fini had, as mostly my way to kill Heatran is Excadrill(who can get killed back if Heatran is using Shuca Berry) or Tyranitar's superpower(which isnt reliable as well). I found that having a prankster taunt is a godsend against a lot of matchups, as well as grassy terrain and grass coverage, and the only thing im lacking is water coverage, but i don't see how can I fit that here. If i'm not using double edge at all(which still im not sure about), maybe Hydro Pump instead of Flamethrower could be good, but that needs some calcs done.
At least having some ways to dealing with a threat like heatran, even if they arent a lot, is better than having no way of damaging or dealing with a certain type of pokemon(all bulky water types, even more Gastrodon).
Thanks for the answer, I'll edit the updated team later.
 

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