Rate my Sandstorm Team?

[msdavis13]

Hey, so I thought I'd design a Sandstorm team for online wi-fi battles, not pokemonshowdown battles, which is why I'm using both Swagger and Aegislash. Note that the team is somewhat gimmicky, but I feel like it works well. I figured I'd throw it up to see what suggestions I get before I dive too far into breeding it to turn back. What do you think?

Tyranitar @ Tyranitarite
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Stone Edge/Rock Slide
- Crunch
- Fire Punch

Tyranitar is my lead, obv. With a single DDance it can outspeed most threats and has dual STAB coverage in Stone Edge and Crunch. I tend to lean towards accuracy with my moves, as I have been screwed in battles over missing a Stone Edge one too many times. He possesses natural bulk with his base stats so I invested entirely in his offensive capabilities.

Aggron @ Assault Vest
Ability: Heavy Metal
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Heavy Slam
- Rock Slide
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch

Aggron is one of my two walls, this one being more traditional. With a sandstorm giving rock types 50% increase to their SpD, plus Assault Vest and full EVs in SpD, his SpD is nearly as strong as his Def, all combined with the fact that he's still able to pack quite a punch with adamant nature and full Atk EVs. I was considering switching Assault Vest out for Iron Ball or something, but I figured Heavy Metal was enough added weight, so adding bulk was more than enough.

Quagsire @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SpD
Calm Nature
- Swagger
- Toxic
- Recover
- Sandstorm/Protect

This is one of my favorite walls in the game, but it is kind of an odd choice that you rarely see. I love the ability Unaware. It allows me to switch into an unsuspecting setup pokemon and take it down with them having no idea why their triple Swords Dance Lucario is doing no damage. Swagger is the reason this set works: it increases the damage they do to themselves without threatening Quagsire in any way. Toxic and Sandstorm both add to the punishment, with recover being added to allow him to stay in the fight as long as he wants, adding Swaggers and Sandstorms as needed. I initially had Protect over Sandstorm, but seeing as how short sandstorms last in this gen, I figured I'd need as many sandstorm users as possible.

Aron @ Shell Bell
Ability: Sturdy
Level: 1
Serious Nature
- Endeavor
- Toxic
- Roar
- Sandstorm

I'm sure the choice to take this will raise some eyebrows. In my opinion, FEAR Aron is an excellent revenge killer, one that on unsuspecting opponents can single handedly sweep their team. Toxic is to take down rock or ground types that are immune to the sandstorm, and roar is to get rid of anyone who is completely immune to this strategy. Sandstorm, like Quagsire, is to provide additional ways to bring my sandstorm back, in case Tyranitar goes down.

Lucario @ Life Orb
Ability: Steadfast
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Nasty Plot
- Flash Cannon
- Psychic
- Vacuum Wave

One of my two Special Sweepers. Unlike my Physical sweepers in Tyranitar and Aggron, Lucario doesn't really possess any natural bulk. Due to this, I decided to take Vacuum Wave over Aura Sphere, as even with full speed EVs, it's not that fast. Switching in to take down something like an enemy Aggron then setting up a Nasty Plot to finish a sweep is an excellent strategy in my book. I'm still not confident I've chosen the best moveset for this one, however. I know Dark Pulse is an option, and a lot of people run both Aura Sphere and Vacuum Wave.

Aegislash @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Flash Cannon
- King's Shield
- Substitute

This one is an Uber, I know. I think it's too fun to ignore online, however. Special Aegislash is a ton of fun, and people rarely see it coming. Set up a substitute to protect me while I'm in blade forme allowing me to sweep as I please. Then I can simply King's Shield to get back into Shield Forme to set up another if I ever get it knocked down.

So what do you think? I think it's a pretty solid team, but I'm open to suggestions.

EDIT: Sorry mods, I have no idea why, but it set the prefix as Battle Log? I totally meant to put down Team Help haha.

 

[PlatinumDude]

The biggest mistake of sand teams is having it filled with nothing but Rock/Ground/Steel Pokemon. That's bad because this leaves you very vulnerable to Grass, Water, Ground and Fighting Pokemon. Sand teams must have resistances to these types, explained later.

Mega Tyranitar should be Jolly because with Adamant, it fails to outspeed Greninja at +1 Speed.

Vanilla Aggron is terrible because of its bad defensive typing. It's bad because it's weak to the latter three types I mentioned above, and those are common. 4x weaknesses to Fighting and Ground hurt even more. Sand Rush Excadrill is the better alternative, as it not only provides Rapid Spin support to help Aron do its job, but it also does a better job at demolishing opponents thanks to Sand Rush doubling its Speed. It's also stronger than Aggron:
-Earthquake
-Iron Head
-Rock Slide
-Rapid Spin
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 252 Atk/4 Def/252 Spe
Item: Air Balloon/Life Orb
Ability: Sand Rush

You could use Quagsire as a setup sweeper check, though. But that set leaves it massive Taunt bait. Slowbro is a better alternative over it because it doesn't get worn down by sandstorm as fast thanks to Regenerator:
-Scald
-Psyshock/Ice Beam/Fire Blast
-Thunder Wave/Toxic
-Slack Off
Nature: Bold
EVs: 252 HP/232 Def/24 SDef
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator

As an FYI, Aegislash is banned to Ubers, and regular Lucario stacks weaknesses on the team. Though Ferrothorn is a Steel Pokemon as well, it provides important resistances to Water to take advantage of. Talonflame is also a better priority abuser and helps deal with Grass Pokemon:

Ferrothorn:
-Stealth Rock/Spikes
-Leech Seed
-Gyro Ball/Thunder Wave
-Power Whip/Protect
Nature: Relaxed
EVs: 252 HP/88 Def/168 SDef
Item: Leftovers/Shed Shell
Ability: Iron Barbs

Talonflame:
-Swords Dance
-Flare Blitz
-Brave Bird
-Roost
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 252 Atk/4 Def/252 Spe
Item: Life Orb/Sharp Beak/Sky Plate
Ability: Gale Wings

or
-Flare Blitz
-Brave Bird
-U-turn
-Tailwind/Roost
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 252 Atk/4 Def/252 Spe
Item: Choice Band/Sharp Beak/Sky Plate
Ability: Gale Wings

or
-Bulk Up
-Brave Bird
-Roost
-Taunt/Will-o-Wisp
Nature: Careful
EVs: 248 HP/8 Def/252 SDef
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Gale Wings

or
-Brave Bird
-Taunt
-Will-o-Wisp
-Roost
Nature: Careful
EVs: 248 HP/252 SDef/8 Spe
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Gale Wings

or
-Swords Dance
-Flare Blitz
-Brave Bird
-Natural Gift
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 120 HP/252 Atk/136 Spe
Item: Liechi Berry/Salac Berry
Ability: Gale Wings

 

[skyburial]

Do you play by Smogon rules? If so, you'll need to pick between your Aron and Aggron as they violate the species clause...

 

[PlatinumDude]

Do you play by Smogon rules? If so, you'll need to pick between your Aron and Aggron as they violate the species clause...

Even if both Aron and Aggron are kept, this doesn't violate species clause. Species clause is preventing 2 Pokemon of the exact same species being on the same team. For instance, you can't have 1 male Meowstic and 1 female Meowstic on the team because both are the exact same species. However, you can have members from the same evolutionary line on the team (Porygon2 and Porygon-Z, or Huntail and Gorebyss, for instance).

 

[msdavis13]

The biggest mistake of sand teams is having it filled with nothing but Rock/Ground/Steel Pokemon. That's bad because this leaves you very vulnerable to Grass, Water, Ground and Fighting Pokemon. Sand teams must have resistances to these types, explained later.

Hmm ... I figured having a good mix between the secondary types was good enough, but I know a lot of my secondary typings leave it very vulnerable to 4x super effective moves, Quagsire being notable for grass type.

Mega Tyranitar should be Jolly because with Adamant, it fails to outspeed Greninja at +1 Speed.

Noted and changed.

Vanilla Aggron is terrible because of its bad defensive typing. It's bad because it's weak to the latter three types I mentioned above, and those are common. 4x weaknesses to Fighting and Ground hurt even more. Sand Rush Excadrill is the better alternative, as it not only provides Rapid Spin support to help Aron do its job, but it also does a better job at demolishing opponents thanks to Sand Rush doubling its Speed. It's also stronger than Aggron:
-Earthquake
-Iron Head
-Rock Slide
-Rapid Spin
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 252 Atk/4 Def/252 Spe
Item: Air Balloon/Life Orb
Ability: Sand Rush

I know that entry hazards would be a weakness to this team, as Aron would be completely countered by it. Having a Rapid Spinner is probably necessary, but my concern is that Excadrill has a lot of offensive potential, but I had Aggron on the team primarily for its defensive stats. Perhaps Forretress would be a good alternative? But that would be sacrificing a lot of offensive potential on the team, leaving Tyranitar as the sole physical burden.

You could use Quagsire as a setup sweeper check, though. But that set leaves it massive Taunt bait. Slowbro is a better alternative over it because it doesn't get worn down by sandstorm as fast thanks to Regenerator

I'm aware of the tauntbait which Quagsire would probably bring. That's part of the beauty of the set in my mind. Switching Quagsire into a pokemon that would normally set up, or switching into an already setup pokemon either forces them to switch to a taunter and removes their setup, or stay in and get worn down by Quagsire. I don't think Slowbro would do nearly as good a job on my team as Quagsire.

Do you play by Smogon rules? If so, you'll need to pick between your Aron and Aggron as they violate the species clause...

Not since they banned the use of Swagger. I'm also aware that Aegislash is uber, but I think it's too fun so I use it regardless haha.

 

[PlatinumDude]

I know that entry hazards would be a weakness to this team, as Aron would be completely countered by it. Having a Rapid Spinner is probably necessary, but my concern is that Excadrill has a lot of offensive potential, but I had Aggron on the team primarily for its defensive stats. Perhaps Forretress would be a good alternative? But that would be sacrificing a lot of offensive potential on the team, leaving Tyranitar as the sole physical burden.

I'm aware of the tauntbait which Quagsire would probably bring. That's part of the beauty of the set in my mind. Switching Quagsire into a pokemon that would normally set up, or switching into an already setup pokemon either forces them to switch to a taunter and removes their setup, or stay in and get worn down by Quagsire. I don't think Slowbro would do nearly as good a job on my team as Quagsire.

1. Forretress is terrible to use in OU now because it's setup bait for plenty of things.

2. Slowbro is the better alternative over Quagsire because it brings an important Fighting resistance to the team, something Quagsire lacks; it can even switch into the Fighting moves aimed at Tyranitar and Excadrill, for instance. It also has better overall bulk than Quagsire.

 

[skyburial]

Even if both Aron and Aggron are kept, this doesn't violate species clause. Species clause is preventing 2 Pokemon of the exact same species being on the same team. For instance, you can't have 1 male Meowstic and 1 female Meowstic on the team because both are the exact same species. However, you can have members from the same evolutionary line on the team (Porygon2 and Porygon-Z, or Huntail and Gorebyss, for instance).

\^0^/

Eevee team time, Wish Passes for everyone.

 

[skyburial]

Not since they banned the use of Swagger. I'm also aware that Aegislash is uber, but I think it's too fun so I use it regardless haha.

Well yeah, Mega Ray is fun too, and so is Dialga, Mega Mewtwo, etc. Nobody said ubers weren't fun.

I think I've gone up against enough Swag-ki's to be over it :)