With this team being featured as smogon's team of the week and my exit from seasonal where I used this team quite a bit, I wanted to show it off in another big way with my second Ubers RMT, which coincidentally is also a sand team like the first. I originally built it for LTPL and the team worked well, so I kept using it and made some slight tweaks to get it to the point it is now.
Teambuilding:
Tyranitar @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Crunch / Snarl
- Rock Slide / Rock Blast
- Stealth Rock
- Rest
Tyranitar started off the team as it does for most sand teams, acting as a pivotal defensive point of the team. It checks the dangerous Calyrex-S while also being solid against Eternatus, and with it providing Stealth Rock support already future members of the team were freed up in terms of their moveslots. I ran with Crunch + Rock Slide for the time I used the team, but if the SubSeed Calyrex-S Mu turns out to be something concerning, then either Snarl or Rock Blast can be chosen as the STAB to cover that, if any I'd personally choose Rock Blast as Crunch is really good for potential defense drops and overall power.
Marshadow @ Life Orb
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Poltergeist
- Close Combat
- Shadow Sneak
- Ice Punch
Marshadow was the next addition to the team, with it being an incredibly strong breaker I wanted to use in combination with the sand core of Tyranitar and the later added Excadrill. Shadow Sneak gave priority which helps make up for the only speed control being Excadrill under sand, and it improves the Calyrex-S Mu even more. Standard moveset for breaking with Ice Punch as the last move, originally it was Rock Tomb but I realized down the line that I struggled to break or bait Zygarde while most of the team together could take on Ho-Oh so Ice Punch was a great addition.
Tangrowth @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Grass Knot
- Earthquake
- Sleep Powder
- Leech Seed
Tangrowth helped me determine where I wanted to take the rest of the team, by giving me an incredible switch in to multiple threats to sand teams. Zekrom, Zygarde, Urshifu, Marsahdow and Groudon didn't have defensive counterplay, and Choice Band Zacian was also incredibly difficult to switch into. Tangrowth covered everything I needed in one slot, and while it's a flawed Pokemon by nature due to its low Sp.Def, it fulfills the role for the team extremely well. Switching into that many Pokemon is invaluable here, and it shores up a lot of natural issues sand teams have. Leech Seed is chosen over the usual Knock Off to support Marshadow, since Poltergeist needs items to stay on for damage, while Leech Seed on Tangrowth also helps in the Mu against Demon Zygarde; the Thousand Waves Coil Rest Scale Shot set.
Necrozma-Dusk-Mane @ Leftovers
Ability: Prism Armor
EVs: 248 HP / 140 Atk / 120 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Moonlight
- Sunsteel Strike
- Stone Edge
Necrozma-DM is almost an essential part of teams at this point, with its abilities being too important to pass up. Checking Zacian and Xerneas especially when paired with Tangrowth is perfect for what I needed, and with Tyranitar already having Stealth Rock I figured a Dragon Dance Necrozma-DM was the right set to go with. The speed outruns base 100's like Palkia at +1 and more importantly Calyrex-S at +2. The HP was put 1 below max with the rest going into Attack for the most power. Stone Edge was the coverage move of Choice, giving me even more ways to hit Ho-Oh but also giving a way to snipe Yveltal, something that soft checked Marshadow and Excadrill. Sunsteel Strike is standard STAB, and Moonlight + Leftovers lets it be decently tanky with longevity to go with it.
Excadrill @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Rapid Spin
- Earthquake
- Toxic
- Rock Slide
Finally the sand core was completed after I solved what to put in the other slots, with an Excadrill set I'm a huge advocate for since I think especially on this team it can provide more for its teammates. Swords Dance doesn't feel strong enough in terms of breaking power usually against targets like Defensive Kyogre, Groudon, Zygarde, Tangrowth, etc. To make up for that, I went with the more interesting option imo in Toxic. Having a way to poison those mons is sometimes crucial, with Marshadow and Necrozma-DM having a much easier time breaking, especially if Zygarde or Tangrowth get chipped heavily. The team lacked hazard control and needed it quite badly, so Excadrill could also cover that. This set with Leftovers sticks around quite a bit and helps the team a ton overall.
Eternatus @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 224 SpD / 32 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Dynamax Cannon
- Mystical Fire
- Sludge Bomb
- Recover
Rounding out the team is Eternatus, covering the main role I'd neglected up to this point; a Kyogre check. Multiple Pokemon could have filled this role but I chose Eternatus for a few reasons. One was that it also covered Yveltal, which could freely U-turn on Tangrowth and Tyranitar while spamming Knock Off. Another was its improved Mu against HO teams with Kyogre that other picks such as Ferrothorn didn't cover, since Choice Specs just runs through it. Heavy-Duty Boots makes those webs Mu's a lot cleaner, and overall this Eternatus was a great pick. Mystical Fire helps against but doesn't counter CM Kyogre, which to be beat has to be chipped enough to the point of using Rest then Marshadow has to threaten it out. Dragon Tail and Flamethrower could alternatively be used over Dmax Cannon and Mystical fire, just not what I went with. Sludge Bomb is interesting usually over Toxic, but I really like it here for multiple purposes. It catches Xerneas by surprise a lot, catches Zacian trying to set up on Eternatus, and still has the poison chance, making it a solid pick here. The Speed is for random Garchomps whlie also hitting the benchmarks it needs.
Threatlist:
Pokemon in green are mild threats, orange are solid threats, and red is incredibly dangerous for the team no matter what. I don't think the threatlist is huge when played right, but there are some annoyances that are quite hard to overcome sometimes.
- Calyrex-S + Grass moves - With Leaf Storm on Choice Specs sets especially, Calyrex-S can become quite annoying to deal with. Tyranitar can take 2 hits, though, so smart pivoting between it and Eternatus while threatening offensively with Marshadow is key. Leaf Storm is really rare due to it almost always being worse than Aromatherapy, and Sub Seed is also rare while being dealt with by sand chip and especially the other move options listed on Tyranitar, so it's not a perfect Mu but a more than doable one.
- Pheromosa - Uncommon pick, but still an annoyance. U-turn with Ice-type coverage is fairly hard to switch into, but everything can still take a few hits at full and Marshadow + Excadrill can beat it. The chip damage it does and pressure it applies to Tyranitar is where most of the trouble comes from.
- Galarian Darmanitan - Darmanitan lacks switch ins for the most part, with a super small pool of Pokemon even wanting to take hits from it ever. With the Necrozma-DM being offensive on this team it becomes really hard to play around. The best tactic is pivoting around its choice locked moves and threatening with chip damage from sand, rocks, and helmet until Marshadow and Excadrill can constantly threaten it.
- Dialga - I don't have the best of switch ins to this, with even Tyranitar taking a ton from Draco Meteor. Marshadow and Excadrill are good offensive pressure though, and pivoting with ndm and Tyranitar can always support the team defensively against it.
- Landorus - Defensive switch ins to Landorus usually don't exist so losing to this isn't too bad, but the only thing that can OHKO it is Marshadow, making this a bit more rough than it is on most teams which just rely on offensive pressure to beat it. Possible but hard Mu.
- Groudon + Fire move - Unless the game is played perfectly you're very likely to just lose to this. Tangrowth can't suffice as the sole counter in this Mu, making it an uphill battle to start. Trying to simply win with Necrozma-DM or Marshadow first is the best strategy, and if it's Overheat Groudon then pivoting perfectly can also help, but it's not a clean Mu.
Replays:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen8ubers-539747 (LTPL Week 6)https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ubers-1285878966-q1fe1c2pyvf6q2r42lr3nxlw0gq513hpw (Winter Seasonal Round 4)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ubers-1293275464-ntia5mgezpidjq687bx9gokyg862azapw (Winter Seasonal Round 6)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ubers-1308307528-0zxgitrdt1u397367gkq1580fqq6tm0pw (Winter Seasonal Round 9)
- PasteHonestly when making this team I didn't expect to like it as much as I did or for it to work as well as it has, but I really think this team is solid currently. The meta obviously can adapt with those bad Mu's highlighted, but I think for now it's one of the best ways to utilize sand in the metagame and has the results to back it. I like the current meta quite a bit, you can still see a lot of things that have to be explored, many unranked or lower ranked picks on the vr have a ton of potential when used right, so I'm excited to see where the meta takes us.