Sandstorm Team

[FlyingFlygon]

OU Sandstorm Team

Hey guys. After an incredibly long absence (a year, actually), I have decided to come back to the forums. I was getting bored with competitive battling, but now that I've picked up White version, I'm fired up about battling competitively again. I'm also constructing a team for the occasion. Here it is as of now. Advice is welcome and appreciated.

;248; Tyranitar@Choice Band ;248;
Adamant; 252 Att / 252 HP / 4 Def
Sand Stream
-Crunch
-Stone Edge
-Aerial Ace
-Earthquake

T-Tar is here for two purposes. Obviously, Sand Stream is one of them. The other reason is for him to be more or less an anti-lead. The idea is to keep other leads from setting up by smashing into them with whatever is strongest against them.

;227; Skarmory@Leftovers ;227;
Impish; 252 Def / 252 HP / 4 Att
Sturdy
-Brave Bird
-Whirlwind
-Spikes
-Roost

My pride and joy. Skarmory will wall almost every physical threat to my team, as well as set up spikes. It can also psuedo-phaze with whirlwind.

;448; Lucario@Life Orb ;448;
Adamant; 252 Att / 252 Spd / 4 HP
Steadfast
-Close Combat
-Swords Dance
-Blaze Kick
-Extreme Speed

Whatever Lucario can't kill instantly it wil take a huge chunk out of with the very plain sweeping EVs. Whenever the opportunity is right, I can also Swords Dance. Extremespeed for potential revenge killing and finish offs. Also, I'm considering changing it to a special sweeper and trying to get one with Justified. As you will see, my team has almost no special capabilities.

;389; Torterra@Leftovers ;389;
Adamant; 252 HP / 252 Att / 4 Def
Overgrow
-Wood Hammer
-Curse
-Crunch
-Earthquake

An underestimated threat. Though it is a much more defensive pokemon with complimentary EVs to boot, after cursing once or twice it begins to get scary-it can wall and physically sweep at the same time.

;330; Flygon@Life Orb ;330;
Jolly; 252 Att / 252 Spd / 4 HP
Levitate
-U-turn
-Earthquake
-Roost
-Dragon Claw

Fairly self-explanitory. Dragon Claw and Earthquake for majorly powerful STABs, roost for healing off Life Orb damage and U-turn when things get ugly.

;260; Swampert@Leftovers ;260;
Adamant; 252 Att / 252 HP / 4 Def
Torrent
-Avalanche
-Roar
-Earthquake
-Waterfall

Roar for more pseudo-phazing, avalanche for dragons, and the other two for STABs.

One of the problems I forsee with this team is Gyrados. One DD and it will be untouchable, as it will be faster than Swampert and Skarmory- both my phazers. Another problem with this team (potentially solved by Lucario) is the lack of special sweeping capability. As I said, any advice is welcome.

 

[FlyingFlygon]

No one? C'mon...

 

[AromaFlora]

If you're having troubles with Gyarados, then switch out Swampert for Rotom-W imo. You already have a phazer in Skarmory, and you have multiple Ground-types already. Despite the fact that Rotom-W doesn't "learn" an Ice-type move, you can still use Hidden Power Ice if you must have it. That said, a simple Modest 128 HP/252 SpA/128 Spe Rotom-W with Pain Split/Thunderbolt/Hydro Pump/Will-O-Wisp should serve you well over Swampert's spot. (It's also a special attacker! I wouldn't call it a sweeper though, but at least it hits hard.)

Scarfing Flygon and giving it ThunderPunch over Roost is another option. That way, you have a sort of reliable revenge killer that helps against the same stat boosters, but I'm not really sure how effective it is in 5th gen OU. Still, it will do its job properly against Gyarados/Salamence/Dragonite/etc. on the revenge.

Also, Virizion over Torterra imo. It may not be doing the bulky business with Curse, but it's faster (which is good in a fast paced metagame), has Close Combat + Leaf Blade + Swords Dance, and better immediate overall bulk. You can even make it go special with Calm Mind if you want more special on your team. Two Fighters is better than two/three Grounds mainly due to how much pressure they can apply to the opposition.

Hmm... you also don't have a Fighting resistance. Skarmory may be able to take several hits, but it's down if it's unable to Roost in time, which will leave your team exposed to these Fighters. I just want to recommend Reuniclus somewhere, but I don't know where I'd fit it. Latios/Latias are alternatives too, and Latias can use a Calm Mind + Roar set to keep the phazing business running...

Oh, and since you're using entry hazards, you probably want a spinblocker. This would be your Fighting immunity for sure. Again, I'm not sure where to fit such a Ghost. You could try Jellicent with Hidden Power Electric on the last slot, but that's kinda weak and hinders it on the long run despite being more successful against Gyarados. And Rotom-W is cool so ? It's up to you for what you think is better for your team.

Get rid of Aerial Ace on Tyranitar. Yes it hits Breloom, but it's 2HKOed by Stone Edge anyway. Plus, being stuck on such a weak attack is pretty bad. Fire Punch still OHKOes Breloom and gives better neutral coverage, especially over Steel-types that would probably switch in, such as Ferrothorn. Pursuit is also a great option to consider over Fire Punch to trap Psychics and Ghosts that could get annoying.

Lucario wants Crunch over Blaze Kick. Yes, Chandelure isn't that problematic with Tyranitar, but that's not really the point. It's helpful to get a hit on Psychic-types on the switch, such as Latios/Latias/Reuniclus/etc, that would otherwise just force Lucario to switch out. Lucario's supposed to be threatening! Blaze Kick's coverage doesn't help with that.

I don't know, you got lots of alternatives to fix your team up. Hope this helps!

 

[TheBluePorygon]

Good team but Garchomp is way better than flygon for sandstorm and may I suggest excadrill?

 

[Kerosene]

Maybe replace aerial ace on your TTar with pursuit so you can trap things.