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Earthquake and Iron Head provide fantastic coverage for Excadrill, slamming common threats like Galarian Slowbro, Nihilego, and Mamoswine. Rapid Spin lets Excadrill clear entry hazards thanks to matching up well against other entry hazard setters like Nihilego and Chansey. Toxic burdens defensive checks like Tangrowth, Slowking, and Hippowdon, allowing Excadrill or a teammate to get past them in the long-term. However, Toxic is useless against certain answers like Skarmory. Alternatively, Stealth Rock can be run for more role compression thanks to Excadrill pressuring entry hazard control like Rotom-W and Hatterene and being able to set up Stealth Rock against Pokemon like Nihilego and Jirachi thanks to its typing. Moreover, finding another Pokemon to run Stealth Rock can strain teambuilding, though Excadrill becomes unable to cripple and wear down threats like Hippowdon. Magnet Rise is an option over Iron Head to completely shut down Hippowdon from setting up Stealth Rock, being immune to Earthquake and punishing it with Toxic, though Excadrill's offensive capabilities become more limited. Mold Breaker bypasses Levitate from Rotom-W, Rotom-H, and Hydreigon, allowing Excadrill to severely damage them with Earthquake while also allowing Excadrill to circumvent Hatterene's Magic Bounce. Maximum Attack investment lets Excadrill threaten Amoonguss and Primarina as much as possible, though maximum investment in Special Defense in an option to better check threats like Hatterene, Rotom-W, and Galarian Slowbro via directly switching in. Excadrill both removing and setting entry hazards gives it a place on many bulky offense and balance teams. Thundurus-T is a great partner that can remove Flying-types like Skarmory, Celesteela, and Moltres that hinder Excadrill. Grass-types like Tangrowth and Amoonguss can switch into Water- and Grass-types like Azumarill and Zarude for Excadrill. They also scare out Hippowdon. Fighting-type checks like Salamence and Slowking provide great support against threats like Cobalion and Conkeldurr, with Salamence also beating Grass-types like Zarude and Tangrowth as well as helping Excadrill keep entry hazards off the field thanks to it beating entry hazard setters it struggles with like Skarmory and Swampert. Salamence also beats bulky variants of Swords Dance Scizor. Other entry hazard setters like Nihilego and Cobalion can cover setting Stealth Rock for Excadrill, freeing up a moveslot to run Toxic. Fast offensive threats like Zygarde-10%, Azelf, and Salazzle appreciate Excadrill's support and can deal with faster threats like Thundurus-T and Hydreigon. The latter two also check Amoonguss, Tangrowth, and Skarmory.

Excadrill is a great suicide lead for hyper offense teams thanks to Mold Breaker, allowing it to set up Stealth Rock against Hatterene and pressure Rotom-W with Earthquake. Rapid Spin supports its team against opposing Stealth Rock setters like Nihilego and Swampert. Excadrill also keeps Sticky Web off the field thanks to its amazing matchup against Ribombee, which normally hinders many hyper offense teams. Rock Tomb heavily damages Thundurus-T and Moltres and slows down faster threats like Zarude for its teammates to set up on. Steel Beam is an option that allows Excadrill to retain momentum after setting up Stealth Rock, preventing Defoggers like Salamence from removing Stealth Rock. A Focus Sash guarantees Excadrill can survive a hit and get up Stealth Rock before fainting. This Excadrill set fits best on hyper offense teams, allowing teammates to come in and sweep after setting up Stealth Rock. Deadly setup sweepers like Thundurus-T, Gyarados, and Celesteela all appreciate entry hazard support wearing down checks like Chansey, Skarmory, and Nihilego. Thundurus-T takes advantage of the Flying-types Excadrill lets in like Skarmory and Celesteela, while the latter two also appreciate Excadrill removing opposing Stealth Rock with Rapid Spin, preventing chip damage so they can sweep more easily. Rapid Spin support also allows Gyarados to run items like Mystic Water instead of Heavy-Duty Boots. Spikes leads like Scolipede can form an entry hazard stacking core with Excadrill.

Swords Dance boosts Excadrill's Attack to sky-high levels, letting it overwhelm the sturdiest of physical walls like Tangrowth and Amoonguss with its STAB moves if Stealth Rock is up. In conjunction with Mold Breaker, it can break through Quagsire's Unaware. Rapid Spin lets Excadrill compress entry hazard removal alongside boosting its Speed, making it a dangerous late-game threat, as faster threats like Zygarde-10% can no longer revenge kill it. Rock Slide is an option to slam Moltres, which otherwise counters this set, and hit Thundurus-T and Celesteela, but it only should be used if the team can fit entry hazard removal elsewhere. Leftovers makes Excadrill harder to wear down, further facilitating its sweeping attempts. Excadrill best fits on offensive teams that give it ample opportunities to wallbreak. Pivot support from Zarude, Thundurus-T, and Slowking can bring Excadrill in safely to set up against their checks like Togekiss and Chansey. Notably, Slowking is a slow pivot, providing Excadrill with a free switch with Teleport. Slowking and Thundurus-T are also great at taking advantage of Celesteela and Skarmory, both of which wall Excadrill. Amoonguss and Tangrowth can provide a key defensive backbone for Excadrill, taking on threats like Conkeldurr, Hippowdon, and Azumarill. Entry hazard support from Nihilego and Swampert is key in helping Excadrill break through physical walls like Tangrowth and Amoonguss. Early-game wallbreakers like Hydreigon and Conkeldurr can weaken walls like Celesteela and Moltres for it to cleanly sweep late-game. Other Steel-types like Celesteela and Jirachi can make up for Excadrill's frailty by checking threats it normally would like Hydreigon and Hatterene.

Sand Rush allows Excadrill to outspeed most of the metagame under sand. Rock Slide is vital coverage for Flying-types such as Yveltal and Ho-Oh, while Rapid Spin allows Excadrill to remove entry hazards in a pinch. The Speed boost can also be useful to continue attacking after sand ends. Swords Dance turns Excadrill into a powerful sweeper, though it is limited by sand turns. Alternatively, Toxic allows Excadrill to perform a more support-oriented revenge killing role, letting it cripple Pokemon such as Yveltal, Zygarde-C, Landorus-T, and Lugia. Life Orb allows Excadrill to consistently OHKO threats such as physically defensive Necrozma-DM and specially defensive Yveltal and 2HKO untransformed or offensive Zygarde-C at +2, as well as having a good chance at OHKOing Eternatus and Ho-Oh with slight chip damage without any boosts. On the other hand, Leftovers allows it to play a more slower-paced game and avoid being stalled into defeating itself with recoil by foes such as Tangrowth and Zygarde-C. Though a Jolly nature is preferred to outspeed maximum Speed Necrozma-DM outside sand as well as Adamant Sand Rush Excadrill under sand, Adamant can be used for extra power. Tyranitar is a mandatory teammate to provide Sand Stream support. It also sets Stealth Rock to help Excadrill pick up KOs and checks both Calyrex-S and Lunala, which can revenge kill and wall Excadrill, respectively. As Excadrill is prone to having its weather replaced by Groudon and Kyogre, Pokemon that can deal with them such as Lunala and Eternatus, respectively, are helpful partners. Pokemon that appreciate Steel-types and Eternatus removed such as Xerneas and Kyogre can benefit from its support. Excadrill can also lure certain walls such as Landorus-T into being poisoned, which helps other Pokemon such as Marshadow KO them.

Stealth Rock provides invaluable chip damage throughout a game, while Rapid Spin allows Excadrill to clear entry hazards against other leads, improving matchups against other hyper offense leads such as Aerodactyl, Mew, and Shuckle. Keep in mind that Slurpuff can bounce back Stealth Rock with Magic Coat and prevent Excadrill from spinning with Yawn, Froslass can block Rapid Spin and create a guessing game with Taunt while always being able to set a layer of Spikes, and Cloyster can clear Excadrill's hazards while easily taking it out with Icicle Spear after a Shell Smash. The Speed boost also allows Excadrill to threaten Eternatus with Earthquake if it uses Toxic Spikes on the first turn while also dissuading fast threats such as Calyrex-S from coming in. Be careful about spinning on Ferrothorn and Rocky Helmet Necrozma-DM, as hazards are not cleared if Excadrill faints from recoil. Rock Tomb 2HKOes Ho-Oh, preventing it from using Defog, while also deterring sweepers from setting up in front of Excadrill. Furthermore, the Speed drop allows a teammate to outspeed the foe, deterring setup such as Geomancy from Xerneas. Earthquake allows Excadrill to dent other leads such as Necrozma-DM, Eternatus, and Ferrothorn while preventing it from being used as setup fodder by Substitute users such as Zekrom and Zygarde-C, whereas Toxic allows Excadrill to pressure bulky Pokemon such as Yveltal with passive damage. Focus Sash guarantees it can take a hit to set Stealth Rock, and Mold Breaker allows Excadrill to ignore the rare Magic Bounce and and hit Giratina-O through Levitate. A Jolly nature is used to outspeed maximum Speed Necrozma-DM. Excadrill fits on hyper offensive teams that appreciate its ability to reliably set Stealth Rock while keeping them off your side. Powerful sweepers such as Xerneas, Calyrex-S, Groudon and Zekrom that can punish Defoggers and appreciate walls being chipped are therefore a perfect match. It struggles to spin against Ghost-types such as Calyrex-S, so Yveltal is recommended to both threaten them and prevent Defog with Taunt. Excadrill also often fails to prevent Stealth Rock from Rocky Helmet Necrozma-DM, which can be pressured with Pokemon such as Kyogre, Groudon, and Calyrex-S.

Earthquake allows Excadrill to take on most Pokemon that are weak or not resistant to Ground-type attacks such as Zeraora, Victini, Ferrothorn, Garchomp, Urshifu-R, and Dragapult. Iron Head targets Ice- and Fairy-types such as Avalugg, Alolan Ninetales, Tapu Bulu, and Tapu Lele. X-Scissor is used to take on Zarude and Celebi while also dealing with other Dark- and Psychic-types such as Hydreigon and Slowbro. Rock Slide targets Flying-types such as Zapdos, Galarian Moltres, and Mantine. Sand Rush allows Excadrill to outspeed threats such as Blacephalon, Zeraora, Zarude, and Choice Specs Dragapult under sand. Maximum Speed investment allows Excadrill to outspeed threats such as Tapu Bulu, Adamant Diggersby, and Choice Specs Pelipper. An Adamant nature paired with a Choice Band allows Excadrill to OHKO threats such as Keldeo after Stealth Rock and 2HKO Slowbro with X-Scissor. A Jolly nature can be used to outspeed threats such as +1 Adamant Dragapult and Choice Scarf Weavile in sand. Excadrill should be safely brought in to take advantage of the sand with methods such as Eject Button Hippowdon or by bringing it on resisted attacks such as Latias's Draco Meteor. All of Excadrill's teammates appreciate its ability to take on Ice-, Psychic-, and Fairy-types, clear entry hazards with Rapid Spin, and act as a revenge killer in sand against threats such as Barraskewda, Choice Specs Dragapult, and Choice Scarf Tapu Bulu. Hippowdon is a mandatory partner for Excadrill, as it sets sand and Stealth Rock, as well as being able to bring in Excadrill safely with Eject Button. Hippowdon can also take on physical threats such as Dragon Dance Dragapult, Zeraora, and Bisharp for Excadrill. Gastrodon and Seismitoad offer Excadrill an immunity to Water-type attacks such as Mantine's Scald and Barraskewda's Waterfall. Gastrodon offers a more defensive presence thanks to Recover, while Seismitoad checks Azumarill, which would otherwise beat Excadrill. Swords Dance Garchomp wears down shared checks like Celesteela with Fire Fang, takes on Mantine with Stone Edge, and can become dangerous setup sweeper with Scale Shot, which makes handling Pokemon like Spectrier much easier. Landorus-T provides a Ground immunity, allowing it to switch into Hippowdon's Earthquake; it is also a great revenge killer that can take on weakened threats such as Zeraora, Spectrier, and Urshifu-R with its Choice Scarf set. Gravity Landorus-T can threaten Pokemon such as Skarmory, Celesteela, and Corviknight for Excadrill, as well as taking on Steel teams in their entirety if it carries Bulk Up and Substitute. Nidoking can beat Steel-types such as Heatran, Ferrothorn, and Celesteela with Earth Power + Flamethrower or Flying-types such as Mantine, Pelipper, Corviknight, and Dragonite with Thunderbolt + Ice Beam. Mamoswine is a great late-game cleaner that can pick off weakened threats such as Garchomp, Dragapult, and Hydreigon with Ice Shard while also being able to remove items such as Slowking's Heavy-Duty Boots with Knock Off.

Earthquake deals with Fire- and Steel-types, allowing Excadrill to remove threats such as Victini and Heatran. Rock Slide allows Excadrill to threaten Flying-types such as Zapdos and Crobat that switch into Earthquake. Rapid Spin allows Excadrill to remove only the opponent's entry hazards, which synergizes with Steel's tendency to stack entry hazards. Iron Head deals with Fairy- and Ice-types such as Tapu Bulu and Kyurem. Toxic may be used to punish defensive Pokemon like Mew and Slowbro. A Choice Scarf allows Excadrill to outspeed a majority of the metagame and remove threats like Zeraora, Dragapult, and Victini. Ferrothorn is a good teammate, as it covers Excadrill's weaknesses to Ground and Water by checking Hippowdon and Kingdra and it sets up entry hazards to chip foes. Aegislash provides a Fighting immunity and can punish physically defensive walls such as Slowbro and Mantine with Toxic. Heatran offers a Fire immunity and can trap and remove bulky walls such as Mew and Porygon2 that Excadrill struggles with. Celesteela provides a Ground immunity and threatens Grass- and Steel-types such as Amoonguss and Ferrothorn. Alternatively, Corviknight or Skarmory could be considered as the Ground-immune partner, as they both threaten Fighting-types such as Galarian Zapdos and Kommo-o. Melmetal heavily damages bulky walls such as Amoonguss and Toxapex, which allows Excadrill to clean Psychic and Poison teams late-game. Jirachi threatens physical walls such as Slowbro, Amoonguss, and Celesteela for Excadrill and can wear down Poison and Water teams with its Choice Specs set. Bisharp deals with faster, frailer Pokemon such as Choice Scarf Victini and Blacephalon with Sucker Punch and can break down walls such as Slowbro and Porygon2 with its Swords Dance set.

With Swords Dance, Excadrill becomes an effective late-game sweeper for Steel teams, allowing it to break through walls such as Toxapex, Slowbro, and Zapdos, which improves the matchup of Steel teams against Poison, Psychic, and Electric teams. Earthquake deals with Poison- and Steel-types, allowing Excadrill to OHKO bulky Pokemon such as Toxapex and Melmetal after a Swords Dance. Rock Slide allows Excadrill to OHKO threats such as Thundurus-T, Zapdos, and Crobat after a Swords Dance. Iron Head may be considered instead, as it allows Excadrill to clean late-game in the Fairy and Dragon matchup and hit common switch-ins such as Landorus-T harder. Rock Blast can be considered to break the Substitutes of Kyurem and Galarian Moltres, but it is less consistent than Rock Slide. Rapid Spin allows Excadrill to boost its Speed, pick off weakened Pokemon, and take advantage of forced switches, allowing it to outspeed would-be answers such as Victini, Zeraora, and Gengar. Leftovers prolongs Excadrill's longevity, allowing it to set up and threaten opposing teams multiple times in a match. Ferrothorn checks threats such as Tapu Fini and Hippowdon for Excadrill and sets up entry hazards to chip the opposing team. Specially defensive Aegislash can tank weak special attacks from physically defensive walls such as Slowbro and Porygon2 and punish them with Toxic while also providing a Fighting immunity. Heatran provides a switch-in to Fire-type attacks and can utilize a Choice Scarf set to make up for Excadrill's reduced Speed, allowing it to outspeed and KO threats such as Choice Scarf Tapu Bulu and Victini. Celesteela, Corviknight, and Skarmory provide a Ground immunity and utility in the form of Leech Seed, pivoting, and entry hazards, respectively. Choice Scarf Magnezone can trap and KO opposing Steel-types such as Celesteela, Corviknight, and Skarmory and Water-types such as Urshifu-R and Keldeo, all of which Excadrill struggles with.

Excadrill is one of the most threatening sweepers in STABmons, pressuring many defensive cores and outpacing offensive Pokemon like Zeraora, Cinderace, and Terrakion when sand is active. Earthquake and Thousand Waves are usually interchangeable, with Earthquake having more power but Thousand Waves trapping opponents and generating momentum. Additionally, Thousand Waves is not weakened by Grassy Terrain from Rillaboom. Sunsteel Strike lets Excadrill beat Fairy-types and wear down Ground-resistant Pokemon, and Rapid Spin clears entry hazards. Swords Dance makes Excadrill a powerful sweeper in sand, while Shore Up allows Excadrill to take on a more supportive role with Rapid Spin. A Jolly nature lets Excadrill revenge kill Pokemon like Nidoking and Mamoswine outside of sand, but an Adamant Nature provides Excadrill with a ton of power to let it break walls like Buzzwole after just a bit of prior damage. Leftovers is the preferred item to provide passive recovery and offset chip damage from stray hits and Rocky Helmet. Alternatively, Metal Coat makes Sunsteel Strike even more threatening against walls after chip damage. Tyranitar or Hippowdon are mandatory teammates to provide sand. Excadrill requires partners like Rotom-W, Thundurus-T, and Crawdaunt that can deal with both bulky Water- and Ground-types like Slowbro and Hippowdon and its biggest checks, Corviknight, Celesteela, and Skarmory. Dracozolt helps Excadrill overwhelm Ground-types while beating Steel- and Flying-types, making it a staple on sand teams. Defensive Water-types like Toxapex and Slowbro can also help as pivots into Ground- and Flying-types while generating momentum for Excadrill with Flip Turn and Teleport, respectively.

High Horsepower and Iron Head are Excadrill's primary STAB options and hit Pokemon such as Incineroar, Diancie, Naganadel, and Kyurem-B for super effective damage. Earthquake is a spread option that can be used when Grassy Terrain is not active, but you must be wary of hurting Excadrill's partner. Substitute lets Excadrill block Intimidate and Fake Out, as well as gaining momentum against more passive counterplay. Protect keeps Excadrill safe and lets its partner gain a stronger position. With Sand Rush, Excadrill notably outspeeds the entire unboosted metagame when sand is active, even without a Jolly nature.

Specially defensive Excadrill is a good form of role compression, capable of setting Stealth Rock, clearing entry hazards, and checking prominent metagame threats, in particular, Tapu Koko. Earthquake is its primary STAB attack, hitting Alolan Raichu and Tapu Koko hard and can also discourage specially offensive Fire-types like Heatran and Volcanion from switching in. Rapid Spin removes entry hazards, and Excadrill's natural resistance to them means it can often switch in multiple times even without recovery. Toxic cripples switchins such as Tangrowth and Landorus-T. Stealth Rock complements Excadrill's ability to support its teammates and compress roles. Alternatively, if another teammate already has Stealth Rock, Excadrill can opt for Iron Head to better deal with Kyurem-W and Fairy-types like Clefable and Tapu Lele. Leftovers is Excadrill's only form of recovery, but Heavy-Duty Boots is also an option on more offensive teams if Spikes is a particular concern. Mold Breaker helps Excadrill threaten Rotom formes with Earthquake by bypassing Levitate and also eases prediction for Stealth Rock and Toxic by going through Magic Bounce. 32 Speed EVs allow it to outpace Modest Magnezone and Victini after V-Create. Specially defensive Excadrill fits best on offense teams as a utility Pokemon that serves as a Tapu Koko counter. It benefits from any Special Defense boost; however, gods with high Special Defense like Ho-Oh and Zamazenta ease its ability to take hits. Since Excadrill takes the Special Defense slot while still being weak to prominent special threats such as Volcanion, Slowking and Kyurem-W are helpful to shore up this weakness. Offensive threats enjoy Excadrill's ability to clear entry hazards and potentially land a Toxic on Landorus-T while still keeping entry hazards on the foe's side for them to more easily wallbreak. This is especially beneficial to those that tend to switch out repeatedly throughout a game like Victini and Rayquaza. Conversely, they threaten Skarmory, Ho-Oh, and Corviknight, which Excadrill struggles to take on. Rotom-W checks Rayquaza and Zamazenta-C, which would otherwise easily break Excadrill due to its low Defense.

Sand Rush Excadrill is a dangerous sweeper under sand thanks to its high Attack and offensive typing. Earthquake is its main attack, OHKOing numerous offensive Pokemon such as Zeraora and Heatran. Rock Slide hits Pokemon that are immune to Ground, notably Ho-Oh and Yveltal. Swords Dance further boosts Excadrill's Attack, allowing it to break through sturdy physical walls such as Magic Guard Clefable and Ferrothorn. Iron Head is its secondary STAB option that hits some Pokemon like Kyurem and Landorus-T harder, and its flinch chance can be useful to take down foes Excadrill struggles with otherwise, like Landorus-T, Unaware Clefable, and Tangrowth. Rapid Spin instead gives it some utility by removing entry hazards while also giving it the potential to sweep outside of sand. Leftovers is the preferred item to increase Excadrill's longevity and utilize its great defensive typing; however, Life Orb can be used to increase its damage output at the cost of being more prone to getting worn down. Sand Rush lets Excadrill outspeed the entire unboosted metagame, even fast Choice Scarf users like Kartana. An Adamant nature maximizes its damage output, but Jolly is an option to outspeed Pheromosa and its Speed receiver outside of sand at +1 Speed. Excadrill's already great Attack and decent Speed make it flexible with what slot it can fit into. A sand setter is mandatory for Excadrill; Tyranitar is preferred, as it can act as a reliable switch-in to dangerous Pokemon like Yveltal, Kyurem-W, and Galarian Moltres once sand runs out, and it also provides Stealth Rock to chip Excadrill's checks and counters and can lure Landorus-T and KO it with Ice Beam. Dracozolt is another sand staple that can break physical walls that trouble Excadrill, especially Skarmory, Corviknight, and Ferrothorn. Together, they wear down Landorus-T for the other to break through. Magnezone can trap and eliminate these two Pokemon, which makes it a great teammate, although it does not provide much defensive utility. Sand cores are very susceptible to Ground- and Fighting-type attacks, so the rest of the team should focus on shoring up these weaknesses. Ho-Oh is immune to Ground, checks Tangrowth, and also provides great Attack for Dracozolt, Defense or Special Defense for Excadrill, and Speed for Tyranitar. Similarly, Rotom-W can handle Ground-type Pokemon and check other weather setters that would otherwise be problematic. Tangrowth and Buzzwole deal with Zygarde-10%, which can bypass Ho-Oh and Rotom-W's Ground immunities with Thousand Arrows. Clefable can switch in on Close Combat from Buzzwole and Zeraora and is also immune to sand chip damage thanks to Magic Guard.

Excadrill is a cornerstone on sand teams, serving as a capable wallbreaker and sweeper for the archetype thanks to its high Attack, access to Swords Dance, and doubled Speed under sand. Additionally, its solid bulk and fantastic defensive typing give it many opportunities to set up against the likes of Clefable, Tapu Lele, and Tapu Koko. Swords Dance alongside a Z-Move lets Excadrill clean up weakened defensive Pokemon like Slowbro, Ferrothorn, and Tapu Fini. Giga Impact gives it access to Breakneck Blitz, allowing Excadrill to break through common Pokemon like Zapdos as well as chipped Slowbro and Tangrowth after a boost. Rapid Spin can be used if Excadrill's team can't fit Defog elsewhere and gives Excadrill the ability to limit Stealth Rock Clefable, patch up its Speed without the need for sand, and remove entry hazards for Pokemon weak to them like Mega Charizard Y. Toxic can be used in the fourth slot to wear down Slowbro, Tangrowth, Landorus-T, and Zapdos, especially alongside sand damage. Substitute is an option to use non-Body Press Corviknight as setup fodder. Leftovers allows for Excadrill to take advantage of its solid defensive typing, giving it easier setup on Pokemon like Clefable and Tapu Koko. However, forgoing Normalium Z can be detrimental against teams carrying Slowbro, Zapdos, and Tangrowth. Jolly is the preferred nature to Speed tie with opposing Excadrill, but if adequate Excadrill counterplay is on your team, Adamant can be used for its higher power, which is notable for dispatching Slowbro and Tangrowth a bit easier. Excadrill necessitates sand to function properly, so either Tyranitar or Mega Tyranitar are mandatory alongside it. Mega Tyranitar is also a great Stealth Rock setter, chipping Excadrill's answers into the range of its attacks. Both Tyranitar formes are also notable for being able to beat Zapdos one-on-one for Excadrill and having Pursuit to cripple Mega Latias. Corviknight effortlessly walls Excadrill, so teammates that can deal with it, such as Zapdos and Magnezone, make excellent teammates. Both are also notable for tearing open physically defensive Tangrowth, which would otherwise halt Excadrill's sweep. Swords Dance and Choice Band Kartana sets are also capable of forcing damage onto Corviknight and Zapdos, causing them to falter at checking Excadrill. Faster Pokemon like Ash-Greninja and Mega Lopunny can exploit Excadrill's mediocre Speed outside of sand, with Ash-Greninja revenge killing it even under sand with Water Shuriken, so partners such as Toxapex, Slowbro, and Corviknight are needed to help remedy this issue. Ferrothorn and Ash-Greninja are notable partners for their ability to set Spikes, allowing Excadrill to pressure Pokemon that would otherwise check it like Tangrowth. Calm Mind Clefable and Reuniclus are solid partners for Excadrill, as they appreciate Excadrill dismantling Steel-types that can halt their sweep. They also provide a solid defensive backbone which Excadrill can fall back on once sand has run out.

Lead Excadrill serves as an important member on hyper offense teams to set up Stealth Rock, as well as keep opposing entry hazards off the field for Pokemon like Volcarona and Gyarados. Adding onto the fact that there are not many Electric-type immunities featured on hyper offense, Excadrill's inclusion is all the more important. However, even with this advantage, it still finds itself outclassed by Mew and Landorus-T due to it being unable to prevent Pokemon like Corviknight and Tapu Fini from using Defog and it not having a good defensive typing like the other two do. Setting up Stealth Rock is Excadrill's main role, and when paired with Mold Breaker, it can even set up Stealth Rock against Magic Bounce users like Mega Diancie and Mega Sableye. Mold Breaker also lets Excadrill's Earthquake hit Levitate users like Hydreigon, Rotom-W, and Mega Latias, letting Excadrill not be complete setup fodder against them. Rapid Spin defines Excadrill's niche over other entry hazard leads like Landorus-T and Mew, letting it keep hazards off the field before it gets KOed. Rock Tomb can slow down faster Stealth Rock users like Garchomp and Landorus-T so that Excadrill can use Rapid Spin before they KO it. It can also slow down setup Pokemon that might try to take advantage of Excadrill like Mega Gyarados and Thundurus-T. Focus Sash is chosen as the item so that Excadrill is usually able to get up Stealth Rock before getting KOed. Lead Excadrill exclusively fits on hyper offense teams and, as such, has teammates that are commonly found there. Pokemon that appreciate Excadrill's ability to keep entry hazards off the field such as Gyarados and non-Heavy-Duty Boots variants of Volcarona, Weavile, and Thundurus-T serve as great teammates to pair with it. Excadrill can also function on Sticky Web teams to provide Stealth Rock when the Sticky Web setter is Ribombee while also giving the team a form of entry hazard removal, which Shuckle cannot do. Additionally, due to the nature of hyper offense being rather slow at first, Tapu Koko is especially threatening to the archetype, making Excadrill an important teammate because it resists or is immune to both of Tapu Koko's STAB moves. Pokemon like Weavile and Greninja who have multi-hit moves are also invited in by Excadrill, so it appreciates partners like Mega Gyarados, Mega Scizor, and Kommo-o that can pivot into these Pokemon.

Excadrill provides good utility to hyper offense teams in AG as a lead due to the potent combination of Stealth Rock and Rapid Spin. Stealth Rock deals residual damage to most foes attempting to switch in, and Rapid Spin prevents opposing entry hazard setters such as Necrozma-DM, Ferrothorn, Eternatus, and Tyranitar from keeping entry hazards up against Excadrill. Additionally, Rapid Spin is occasionally useful for gaining a Speed boost after being used, deterring naturally faster Pokemon such as Calyrex-S and Zacian-C from attempting to switch in. Rock Tomb is great for 2HKOing Ho-Oh, which is able to switch into Stealth Rock with Heavy-Duty Boots and remove it with Defog, while also lowering the foe's Speed so a teammate is able to outspeed it, preventing sweepers such as Geomancy Xerneas and Dragon Dance Zygarde-C from gaining Speed boosts on Excadrill. Wallbreakers such as Kyogre and Yveltal also appreciate being able to take advantage of slower Pokemon on the field. Earthquake can OHKO Zacian-C after a Defense drop from Close Combat or chip damage from Rapid Spin or Rock Tomb while preventing Substitute users like Zygarde-C and Zekrom from using Excadrill as complete setup fodder. Toxic punishes Yveltal, which can use Defog against Excadrill. Focus Sash allows Excadrill to withstand powerful attacks such as Kyogre's Water Spout and Marshadow's Close Combat and almost always guarantees it gets to set Stealth Rock. Excadrill should only be used on hyper offense, where Pokemon such as Xerneas, Zacian-C, Calyrex-S, Rayquaza, and Groudon appreciate its ability to both set and remove entry hazards. Excadrill generally struggles against Ghost-types such as Lunala, Giratina, and Calyrex-S as they are able to block Rapid Spin, so Yveltal is a great partner for it. Excadrill dislikes using Rapid Spin against Rocky Helmet Necrozma-DM, so Kyogre, Calyrex-S, Yveltal, and Groudon can pressure it extremely well. Excadrill should be led with in most matches so it can immediately set Stealth Rock, deter opposing entry hazards, and maximize its teammates' offensive potential.

Defensive Excadrill is one of the few reliable spinners in the metagame and, thanks to its excellent typing, can also switch into all common variants of Tapu Koko. Regenerator lets it come in multiple times per game to clear entry hazards, supporting offensive and entry hazard-setting teammates alike by clearing hazards on its side only. Earthquake provides reliable damage and OHKOes Tapu Koko, which Excadrill is often tasked with checking. Iron Head is a secondary STAB move that helps against Tapu Lele, but Rock Slide is an option to beat Defog Moltres and catch Talonflame on the switch. Toxic is also an option to poison Excadrill's common switch-ins like Tapu Fini and Garchomp. Stealth Rock makes Excadrill an all-in-one entry hazard control package and allows it to force chip damage onto Tapu Koko. Rocky Helmet is the preferred item to further chip Pixilate Tapu Koko and opposing pivots. The given EV spread outspeeds Modest Tapu Lele, avoids the 2HKO from Pixilate Tapu Koko's Facade, and avoids the 3HKO from Tapu Koko's Dazzling Gleam. Excadrill works well on hazard-stack balance and bulky offense teams thanks to its good longevity and Rapid Spin. It pairs especially well with Spikes Ferrothorn, Skarmory, and Mew, especially since it also bears the burden of checking Tapu Koko for them. While Excadrill has decent bulk, it can easily be overwhelmed by powerful wallbreakers like Zarude and Inteleon, making solid checks like Chansey and Intimidate Skarmory excellent teammates. It also can't check strong Fire-, Fighting-, and Water-types due to its typing, necessitating teammates like Toxapex and Tapu Fini. Thanks to Excadrill keeping entry hazards off the field without removing opposing hazards, it pairs well with powerful offensive teammates like Garchomp and Zarude, which appreciate the extra chip damage; additionally, Excadrill can reliably switch into Tapu Koko, one of their more prominent revenge killers. Excadrill has a poor matchup against several common entry hazard setters, especially Garchomp and Skarmory, so a secondary entry hazard remover like Defog Corviknight can be valuable.

Excadrill is a decent entry hazard lead in the metagame thanks to its ability to set Stealth Rock against Magic Bounce Pokemon. It also has great utility moves in Rapid Spin and Rock Tomb to aid it in the matchup versus other common leads like Deoxys-S and Smeargle. Rock Tomb lowers the Speed of opposing lead Pokemon that Excadrill or its teammates would otherwise be slower than, and it also prevents sweepers like Dynamaxed Yveltal, Mega Rayquaza, and Xerneas from KOing Excadrill with Speed boosts under their belt. A high Attack stat and Earthquake ensure that Excadrill isn't passive setup bait, letting it threaten common entry hazard setters such as Primal Groudon, Necrozma-DM, and Ferrothorn as well as potentially OHKO Zacian-C; this forces them to KO Excadrill, which allows its teammates to safely enter the field and take advantage of the Stealth Rock that it has laid. Toxic is also a viable option over Earthquake to pressure Pokemon such as Dragon Dance Zygarde-C, support Arceus formes without Refresh, and other Pokemon that try to set up on Excadrill. Rapid Spin removes entry hazards set by other lead Pokemon such as Deoxys-S, Primal Groudon, and Smeargle and provides Excadrill with a Speed boost to outspeed and threaten faster Pokemon. A Jolly nature is used to outspeed Smeargle, support Arceus formes, Modest Yveltal and Xerneas, and, after one Speed boost from Rapid Spin, Jolly Zacian-C. Focus Sash is the chosen item, as it guarantees that Excadrill will survive any one non-multi-hit move from faster Pokemon, which improves the chance of it getting Stealth Rock up. Excadrill fits best on hyper offense teams due to the fact that other playstyles generally do not appreciate a dedicated suicide lead. Beating lead Substitute Zacian-C is essential for offense, as otherwise, said foe will most likely outspeed and KO or severely damage the rest of Excadrill's team, preventing safe setup in most cases. Entry hazard-sensitive Pokemon such as Mega Rayquaza, Lunala, and Yveltal really appreciate Excadrill's ability to get rid of entry hazards. Other sweepers such as Zacian-C, Xerneas, and Dragon Dance Zygarde-C are also great teammates for Excadrill. Pokemon that can block Excadrill's Rapid Spin like Ferrothorn and Ghost-types like Lunala can be problematic, so teammates that can take advantage of them such as Zacian-C and Yveltal are also appreciated.

Excadrill is Steel's go-to revenge killer with its excellent Ground- and Rock-type coverage, which makes it a solid wincon against Fire, Electric, and Poison teams. Earthquake works well with Excadrill's ability, Mold Breaker, allowing it to threaten Rotom-W and Galarian Weezing. Rock Blast may be used over Rock Slide to get past Substitutes from Kyurem and Dragonite's Multiscale, but the damage is highly inconsistent. Toxic allows Excadrill to put Mega Sableye, a huge roadblock for Steel teams, on a timer due to Mold Breaker, in addition to punishing common switch-ins such as Landorus-T, Slowbro, and Porygon2. Rapid Spin removes entry hazards without clearing the hazards Steel teams stack. A Choice Scarf with a Jolly nature lets Excadrill outspeed threats such as unboosted Volcarona, Victini, and Zeraora and boosted Kommo-o. Ferrothorn provides Excadrill with a switch-in to Water-types like Mega Swampert and Slowbro, and it helps Excadrill break through defensive cores with Stealth Rock and Spikes support. Corviknight, Skarmory, or Celesteela provides Excadrill with a Ground immunity. Corviknight can give it a safe switch-in with U-turn and threaten Fighting-types with Brave Bird, Skarmory can set entry hazards so that Excadrill can force progress against bulkier teams, and Celesteela threatens Grass-types like Ferrothorn, Rillaboom, and Zarude with Flamethrower. In return, Excadrill provides an Electric immunity and can take on threats such as Choice Band Zeraora and Tapu Koko. Aegislash and Heatran provide a Fighting and Fire immunity, respectively, and can switch into most special attacks aimed at Excadrill. Heatran, in particular, can nullify Fire-type moves from Choice Scarf Blacephalon, which outspeeds Excadrill and poses a huge threat to Steel teams. Wallbreakers such as Bisharp, Mega Scizor, and Choice Specs Aegislash can pressure physical walls such as Porygon2, Slowbro, and Mega Venusaur, which helps Excadrill clean opposing Normal, Psychic, and Poison teams late-game.

With Swords Dance, Excadrill becomes a threatening sweeper and late-game cleaner, as it can break through bulky Pokemon such as Toxapex, Melmetal, and Mandibuzz. Rock Slide deals with Flying-types that switch into Excadrill such as Crobat, Zapdos, and Mega Charizard Y. Rapid Spin boosts Excadrill's Speed, letting it take advantage of forced switches and outspeed checks such as Gengar, Zeraora, and Mega Charizard Y. Rockium Z allows Excadrill to bypass checks in Celesteela and Mandibuzz, as well as ensuring the OHKO on both Mega Charizard X and Mega Charizard Y. Ferrothorn can take on Water- and Ground-type moves from Urshifu-R and Mega Swampert aimed at Excadrill, and it also sets entry hazards to help Excadrill break down the opposing team. Aegislash provides a Fighting immunity and can weaken checks such as Slowbro and Mantine with Toxic. Heatran provides a Fire immunity and can check threats like Victini and Volcarona, which Swords Dance Excadrill cannot due to not running Choice Scarf. Corviknight and Skarmory provide a Ground immunity and can check Fighting-types such as Terrakion. Alternatively, Celesteela may be used as the Ground-immune partner, as it can handle offensive threats such as Rillaboom and Mega Diancie that Excadrill struggles with. These Ground-immune teammates also lure in Electric-types such as Tapu Koko and Magnezone, which Excadrill can set up on. Choice Scarf Magnezone forms a good wallbreaking core with Excadrill, as it removes Steel-types like Skarmory and Ferrothorn that Excadrill struggles with, as well as removing threats like Keldeo and Urshifu-R. Jirachi and Mega Scizor benefit from Excadrill's wallbreaking abilities, as they can clean late-game against Poison and Flying teams and Dragon and Fighting teams, respectively.

Excadrill's decent Speed tier and access to Mold Breaker make it a good choice for Choice Scarf revenge killing, outspeeding major threats such as Mimikyu, Pheromosa, and Dragapult. Horn Drill is Excadrill's best hope at breaking past defensive Pokemon such as Cresselia and Tapu Fini, with a 30% chance of OHKOing them as long as they aren't Dynamaxed. Rock Slide is Excadrill's most powerful option for coverage against Flying-types. Rock Tomb is a weaker alternative that does provide Speed control in a pinch.

When it comes to Sand Stream sweeping, no Pokemon does the job better than Excadrill, who fully takes advantage of Dynamax to both set up the sand, and Max Moves to increase its bulk. Rock Slide's chance to flinch makes it a good choice for a Rock-type attack outside of Dynamax, but Rock Blast deserves special mention for blasting through Disguise and Focus Sash. Swords Dance makes Excadrill less reliant on Dynamax to sweep, and lets Excadrill deal massive damage to defensive Pokemon such as Tapu Fini and Cresselia. Brick Break allows Excadrill to boost its Attack while Dynamaxed via Max Knuckle, in addition to breaking Reflect and Light Screen outside of it. While Excadrill is fully capable of setting up sand on its own thanks to Dynamax, consider pairing Excadrill with Hippowdon or Tyranitar to ease reliance on Max Rockfall in certain match-ups. Items Weakness Policy takes full advantage of Excadrill's Dynamax capabilities, especially since its two Max Move STABs boost its defensive stats. Focus Sash gels well with setting up Swords Dance at unexpected times, opening up new late-game sweeping opportunities. EV Spreads 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe with Jolly: This EV spread makes Excadrill as fast as possible, outspeeding key threats under Sandstorm such as Dragapult and Choice Scarf Cinderace. 196 Atk / 140 SpD / 172 Spe with Jolly: This EV spread gives Excadrill enough Special Defense to survive Choice Specs Rotom-W's Hydro Pump while Dynamaxed, while still outspeeding up to Choice Scarf Naganadel under Sandstorm.

With Mold Breaker and an excellent typing, Excadrill has the tools to deal with major threats, such as Mimikyu and Rotom-W. Rock Tomb is essential for providing Speed control. If using Focus Sash, Excadrill is a good choice for setting up Stealth Rock. Horn Drill gives Excadrill a 30% chance to bust through defensive Pokemon that would otherwise wall it, such as Celesteela. Swords Dance lets Excadrill take advantage of more passive threats, such as Cresselia. If using Assault Vest, Brick Break is a reasonable replacement while Dynamaxed thanks to Max Knuckle, and has the bonus of breaking Reflect and Light Screen otherwise. Items Focus Sash lets Excadrill focus on supporting the team to its fullest extent, without worrying about getting OHKOed. Assault Vest is the item of choice if Excadrill plans on Dynamaxing, making it a surprisingly bulky Pokemon. It also lets Excadrill handle Nihilego far better than it would otherwise. EV Spreads 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe with Jolly: This maximizes Excadrill's Speed and power, letting it outspeed Pokemon in a similar speed bracket such as Dragonite and Gyarados. 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe with Adamant: While this spread no longer allows Excadrill to outspeed Dragonite and Gyarados consistently, it does allow Excadrill to KO Dynamax Nihilego with Rock Tomb + Earthquake under Grassy Terrain. 244 HP / 116 Atk / 148 Spe with Adamant: This spread is a good fit for bulkier Assault Vest sets, allowing Excadrill to OHKO Dynamax Naganadel with Max Quake, while still outspeeding them after one use of Rock Tomb.

For full USUM 1v1 analyses, you can check out the USUM format page.

Moves Stealth Rock provides passive chip damage, breaks Focus Sashes, dissuades the repeated switching of Flying-types, and can almost always be set up thanks to Mold Breaker. Toxic allows Excadrill to put pressure on Defoggers and bulky Pokemon that take little damage from Earthquake and Rock Tomb. If used with Rock Tomb against a Defogger, Toxic lets a slower Excadrill keep up Stealth Rock while dealing passive damage. Another mention is Zygarde-C, which Excadrill typically outspeeds and can cripple before Substitute goes up. Rock Tomb lets Excadrill give your followup offensive threat a Speed advantage and allows it to defeat faster leads with Taunt while also dissuading setup, which is very important considering it is Excadrill's only response to setup Pokemon barring Toxic. The Speed drop also allows another teammate to Taunt other leads or Defog users trying to remove your Stealth Rock after Excadrill is KOed. Rapid Spin gives anti-entry hazard support, which lets Excadrill at least force a neutral playing field most of the time. Earthquake gives Excadrill some offensive punch, enabling it to deal significant damage against other leads, break Substitutes, and 2HKO Primal Groudon. Non-Ground-immune Taunt users like Mega Gengar dislike Earthquake as well due to Excadrill's decent Attack stat. Forgoing Rapid Spin in order to run Rock Tomb, Toxic, and Earthquake on one set is an option, but doing so leaves Excadrill without a way to clear hazards, which is one of the biggest reasons to use it. Set Details 252 EVs in Attack and Speed combined with a Jolly nature give Excadrill the most effectiveness, letting it outspeed anything below maximum Speed base 90s, neutral-natured Zygarde, and everything except maximum Speed Deoxys-S after a Rock Tomb while making Earthquake and Rock Tomb do the most damage. Focus Sash is required because Excadrill's poor bulk and mediocre defensive typing leave it OHKOed by many Pokemon that it's trying to lead against. Mold Breaker gives Excadrill its niche of setting up Stealth Rock on Magic Bounce users and allows Earthquake to hit Pokemon with Levitate, such as Giratina-O. Usage Tips Using Rock Tomb first is often a good option, as Excadrill can outspeed most Pokemon after one use, giving some chip damage and a Speed drop to go along with Stealth Rock. Excadrill unfortunately loses the lead matchup versus Cloyster, meaning going to an alternate lead is almost always a better plan. As a suicide lead, Excadrill's purpose is getting Stealth Rock up while denying your opponent's entry hazards. Sacrificing Excadrill is usually preferred over saving it because you are able to gain an advantage by switching in the appropriate threat. Excadrill has the ability to keep Stealth Rock up against support Arceus formes due to its Toxic immunity, the rarity of Will-O-Wisp, and Defog having less PP than Stealth Rock. While Taunt users can prevent Stealth Rock, Excadrill has other ways of crippling them. For example, Yveltal takes decent damage from Rock Tomb and Mewtwo along with its Mega Evolutions dislike the Speed drop and take significant damage from Earthquake. If not used as a lead, Excadrill can find some use later in the game provided that its Focus Sash isn't broken, as Earthquake 2HKOes Primal Groudon and can stop a sweep provided that chip damage is given. Against an Arceus-Ground, you must pay special attention to the opponent's team structure to determine your next move. If it appears to be the only Defogger, it is most likely a support variant, and you should use Rock Tomb. If it is not, Stealth Rock is best, as Swords Dance sets with Substitute can inflict massive damage otherwise and Rock Tomb does very little to the Substitute. Earthquake has value here in breaking the Substitute, as Rock Tomb does not. Dealing with Deoxys-S depends on if your opponent has a Ghost-type or not. If one is present, spamming Rapid Spin is a surefire way to clear hazards while slowly wearing Deoxys-S down. However, if one isn't present, two Rock Tombs let Excadrill outspeed it and set up Stealth Rock when Taunt runs out and click Rapid Spin until you win again. Something worth mentioning is Rocky Helmet, which makes the Rapid Spin spamming strategy useless if Deoxys-S is wielding it. Fortunately, Earthquake can easily dispatch the frail speedster. Team Options As a suicide lead, Excadrill fits only on hyper offense archetypes, which have the offensive pressure to punish Defog users and appreciate Stealth Rock. Marshadow is a valuable Pokemon, as its combination of typing, Speed, and movepool lets it function as a priority safety net and anti-offense tool for defeating certain threats that otherwise could cause problems. In addition to this, Spectral Thief bypasses Substitute, allowing it to defeat the Substitute users that otherwise would set up on Excadrill. Its typing also gives it spinblocking capability, which is appreciated in certain matchups. Necrozma-DM is also useful, as it beats Cloyster one-on-one. However, it cannot prevent Cloyster from getting Spikes or Toxic Spikes up. Outside of this, Necrozma-DM is an excellent setup sweeper that appreciates the Stealth Rock that Excadrill sets because it pressures Ho-Oh and Yveltal, two common answers to Necrozma-DM. A Taunt user is useful, as the move tends to stop Cloyster from doing too much, beats Smeargle more easily, and prevents Defog. Popular users of the move include Yveltal and Mega Gengar. Mega Gengar in particular can trap and remove certain Defog users, such as Arceus-Water and Xerneas, and utilizes Taunt, providing the benefits mentioned above along with spinblocking capability. Icy Wind also lets it defeat Cloyster one-on-one while avoiding the KO, as +1 Cloyster does not outspeed. Priority users such as Yveltal, Marshadow, Extreme Killer Arceus, and Rayquaza can defeat runaway setup sweepers that set up on Excadrill. Almost every setup sweeper and wallbreaker appreciates Stealth Rock. Examples include Xerneas, Necrozma-DM, Primal Groudon, Zygarde-C, and Yveltal. Xerneas is able to directly threaten support Arceus formes, Primal Groudon can threaten almost everything due to the Speed drop, Zygarde-C appreciates support Arceus formes being hit with Toxic, and Yveltal is able to taunt support Arceus formes thanks to the Speed drop.

When Excadrill has its Sand Rush activated by Tyranitar’s Sand Stream, it becomes one of the fastest spread attackers in the format. Earthquake is the primary move, as it inflicts the most damage overall, although Iron Head deals more single-target damage, and Rock Slide’s chance to make the foe flinch can bail Excadrill out of tricky situations. Groundium Z is the preferred item for circumventing Wide Guard and dealing more than two Earthquakes worth of damage in a single turn, although Life Orb’s more consistent boost makes it a viable alternative. Airborne partners such as Mega Salamence are valuable to allow the free use of Earthquake.

Moves Earthquake is the strongest and most spammable move on this set, with high Base Power and few reliable switch-ins bar Flying-types. Iron Head is Excadrill's other STAB move, allowing it to nab important KOs on threatening Ice- and Fairy-types like Avalugg and Tapu Bulu while also being a more reliable move to lock into when Earthquake isn't safe. Rock Slide rounds off Excadrill's coverage by allowing it to hit Flying-types that can safely switch in on its other moves such as Zapdos, Mantine, and Mega Charizard Y. Rapid Spin allows Excadrill to provide entry hazard control for Ground-types, something they usually lack, and become a fast offensive spinner under sand. X-Scissor can alternatively be used, as locking Excadrill in Rapid Spin can sometimes be a horrible idea. X-Scissor gives Excadrill a reliable move to use against Psychic teams, freeing the user from mind games against Slowbro and Latios, as the former resists Iron Head and the latter is immune to Earthquake. Set Details Maximum Attack and Speed EVs along with an Adamant nature maximize Excadrill's wallbreaking potential by letting it hit as hard and fast as possible. Choice Band further increases its sheer strength and limits the number of Pokemon that can switch in on it. Life Orb can alternatively be used to allow Excadrill to switch moves while sweeping, but this results in a loss of power and inflicts recoil with each attack, causing Excadrill to get worn down easily. Life Orb Excadrill notably fails to secure a 2HKO on Slowbro. Sand Rush patches up Excadrill's mediocre Speed stat under sand. Usage Tips Using Excadrill out of sand can be extremely risky due to its mediocre Speed. Try to take advantage of its wallbreaking potential to the fullest by always using it when sand is up. Try to remove Excadrill's checks and counters like Skarmory before sending it in the battlefield, as bringing it in when its counters are still present can result in a huge loss of momentum and sand turns. After setting up sand through Hippowdon, don't directly switch Excadrill in on strong attackers like Tapu Bulu, as Excadrill's bulk isn't amazing. On the other hand, switching it in on a predicted Toxic or a weak resisted hit is perfectly fine. Try to keep Excadrill healthy throughout the match if you plan on sweeping with it. Once it has taken even a bit of chip damage, it becomes very easy to KO through priority moves. Choice Band Excadrill is an excellent wallbreaker and can be used early-game to break through the opponent's defensive cores before letting a cleaner come in and sweep. Using Life Orb on Excadrill requires a completely different mindset. Such an Excadrill can use more accurate moves to pick off a foe even though it fails to do as much to the foe's teammates, something Choice Band Excadrill cannot. Only go for Rapid Spin if it is absolutely necessary or if the opponent can do very little damage to Excadrill, as Excadrill hates taking strong hits. For example, removing Sticky Web is usually a top priority due to how threatening it is against offensive Ground teams. If Excadrill's sweeping potential is unneeded, feel free to use Rapid Spin while sacrificing Excadrill. Don't prioritize clearing away entry hazards, however, if the opponent can use Excadrill as setup bait. Team Options Hippowdon is the most important partner for Excadrill, providing sand through Sand Stream to activate Sand Rush. It can also take physical priority moves that threaten Excadrill such as Mach Punch and Aqua Jet while providing Stealth Rock support. In exchange, Excadrill can beat threatening Ice- and Grass-types like Kyurem-B and Tapu Bulu. Gastrodon and Seismitoad's immunity to Water-type moves makes them almost guaranteed partners to take on threats like Kingdra and Greninja. Seismitoad has a better offensive presence, being able to take on threats like Belly Drum Azumarill, while Gastrodon has reliable recovery. Landorus forms an amazing offensive core with Excadrill, providing a special wallbreaker to complement Excadrill's physical offense. It greatly appreciates Excadrill's ability to take out Ice-types as well. Dugtrio excels at trapping and removing annoyances like Keldeo, while Excadrill's Rapid Spin can help preserve its Focus Sash. Mamoswine is another physical wallbreaker that supports Excadrill by wearing down their shared checks. It also provides priority, Ice-type coverage to break bulky Flying-types like Gliscor, and Knock Off support to break through annoyances like Porygon2. Garchomp provides a Fire resistance and the ability to nuke walls with strong Z-Moves. Choice Scarf Krookodile can be used to clean up after Excadrill wallbreaks early-game. It can also Pursuit trap threats like Latios. Finally, Nidoking provides mixed wallbreaking and Toxic Spikes support to make it easier for Excadrill to sweep.

Moves Earthquake is Excadrill's primary STAB option, with respectable damage output and no drawbacks. Iron Head acts as a secondary STAB move, letting it hit Pokemon like Tapu Bulu, which resists Earthquake, for super effective damage. Toxic allows Excadrill to cripple Pokemon such as Mega Sableye and Mandibuzz that can otherwise wall it. Rapid Spin provides utility in the form of entry hazard control, freeing up a moveslot that is otherwise used on Defog on teammates like Skarmory. Rock Slide can be used over Toxic as a coverage move thanks to its ability to hit Flying-types like Zapdos, Tornadus-T, and Mega Charizard Y for super effective damage, which are otherwise capable of taking Excadrill's STAB moves with ease. Set Details Choice Scarf along with maximum Speed EVs and a Jolly nature enables it to outspeed and KO major threats to Steel teams, like Mega Charizard Y. Maximum Attack EVs maximize its damage output and allow it to hit as hard as possible. Its ability, Mold Breaker, lets it bypass other abilities like Sturdy and Levitate. Usage Tips Use Excadrill to revenge kill threats like Mega Charizard Y and Entei early-game, if necessary. Be careful what to lock it into; while Earthquake is highly spammable, it is rarely wise to use it when Flying-types like Skarmory remain. Try removing them before bringing Excadrill in to clean up. Alternatively, using its other moves to nail Flying-types like Zapdos on the switch is fine. However, Excadrill has rather low damage output and fails to break through physically defensive walls like Celesteela and Skarmory, so it should usually be switched out to an appropriate check. Furthermore, an Excadrill Choice-locked into Rock Slide or Iron Head can very easily be taken advantage of. For example, Magnet Pull Magnezone can trap and remove it, eliminating a huge threat to both Electric and Steel teams. Be careful of locking Excadrill into Rapid Spin. Due to its terrible damage output, it generally ends up turning Excadrill into setup bait. Try bringing it in through pivots like Volt Switch Magnezone, as its bulk isn't extremely good, and it is prone to getting worn down quickly. Keep Excadrill healthy throughout the match if it is needed to spin away entry hazards. Team Options Skarmory supports Excadrill by providing a Ground-type immunity along with entry hazards to make cleaning up late-game much easier. Excadrill, in return, is capable of revenge killing Electric- and Fire-types that threaten Skarmory while providing Rapid Spin support to help retain Skarmory's Sturdy and freeing up a moveslot that could otherwise be used on Defog. Similarly, Celesteela's Ground-type immunity greatly helps Excadrill, and Excadrill's ability to revenge kill Electric- and Fire-types supports the other. Heatran's ability Flash Fire allows it to take Fire-type moves that are super effective against Excadrill. While Excadrill is capable of outspeeding and KOing most Fire-types by itself, faster Choice Scarf users like Victini pose a threat to it, thus making Heatran an optimal partner. Magnezone is another great way to get rid of annoyances. Magnet Pull lets it trap Skarmory, Celesteela, and Ferrothorn, allowing it to get rid of them with ease. Ferrothorn also proves itself to be a great teammate for Excadrill due to its impeccable defensive stats and ability to set up entry hazards. Lastly, Mega Scizor is a great late-game setup sweeper that appreciates the fact that Excadrill wears down their shared checks and revenge kills Fire-types. It can also bring Excadrill in with a slow U-turn, which it appreciates, as it has no means of recovery and dislikes being worn down.

Moves Earthquake is Excadrill's primary STAB move; it hits the hardest and has few reliable switch-ins besides Flying-types. It benefits from Mold Breaker letting it hit Levitate users. Iron Head is Excadrill's other STAB move and hits Grass-, Fairy-, and Flying-types like Tapu Bulu, Clefable, and Togekiss for more damage. Rock Slide complements Excadrill's STAB moves well, forming an EdgeQuake combination with Earthquake and letting Excadrill hit Flying-types like Mantine for super effective damage. Rapid Spin turns Excadrill into a fast entry hazard remover, outspeeding most of the metagame and almost guaranteeing hazard removal. Set Details Maximum Attack and Speed investments along with a Jolly nature maximize Excadrill's revenge killing potential. Mold Breaker allows Excadrill to hit Levitate users like Rotom-Wash with Earthquake while also bypassing other abilities like Sturdy. A Choice Scarf lets Excadrill outspeed and revenge kill threats to Ground teams like Mega Charizard Y. Usage Tips This set can afford to take hits. Although it takes hefty damage from strong hits, switching it in to revenge kill threats like Grass Knot Tapu Koko and Solar Beam Mega Charizard Y is a good play. That still doesn't justify being reckless with it, though; Excadrill's bulk is poor, and it hates coming on strong hits repeatedly. Try switching it on a predicted Toxic or weak resisted hit. Use Excadrill primarily for revenge killing threats like Tapu Bulu early-game. Locking Excadrill into Rapid Spin is a dangerous play and can cause a huge loss of momentum or lead to the opponent getting a free turn to set up. Only go for Rapid Spin if neither of those situations is likely to happen and getting rid of entry hazards is extremely important. Although this set's main role is to get rid of threats early-game, it can still be used as a late-game cleaner once its checks and counters are eliminated. Be careful when choosing what to lock Excadrill into, as it isn't very strong and can end up being complete setup bait against Pokemon that resist the move it's locked into. Team Options Choice Scarf Excadrill fits best on non-sand teams, as there is little reason to not use Sand Rush Excadrill on teams with Hippowdon. Gastrodon and Seismitoad are excellent switch-ins to Water-type moves that Excadrill fears. Furthermore, Excadrill can eliminate Pokemon with Grass-type coverage like Mega Charizard Y and can switch in on a predicted Toxic. Seismitoad has a better offensive presence as well as access to Stealth Rock, but Gastrodon has reliable recovery that helps it take on Water-types better. Landorus can easily eliminate physically defensive walls that Excadrill struggles against like Skarmory and can switch in on threatening Ground-type moves. Dugtrio can trap and remove checks to Excadrill like Keldeo, while Excadrill can preserve Dugtrio's Focus Sash by clearing entry hazards. Mamoswine is an option to break through Grass-, Ground-, and Flying-types that Excadrill hates like Breloom, Hippowdon, and Gliscor. Garchomp and its Mega Evolution excel at luring and eliminating physically defensive walls like Skarmory to support Excadrill. Choice Band Krookodile is an excellent wallbreaker that can wear down the checks it shares with Excadrill. Landorus-T is an excellent setup sweeper that appreciates Excadrill's ability to revenge kill threatening Ice-types. Finally, Nidoking can break through bulky Flying-types like Celesteela and Gliscor with its coverage moves and can set up Toxic Spikes to help Excadrill clean up late-game.

Moves Swords Dance lets Excadrill break through defensive Pokemon with boosted attacks. Earthquake is Excadrill's strongest STAB move. Iron Head is Excadrill's secondary STAB move that lets it hit Ground-immune Pokemon such as Tornadus-T and Gliscor. Rapid Spin allows Excadrill to support teammates such as Focus Sash Dugtrio. Set Details An investment of 252 EVs in Attack and Speed maximizes Excadrill's offensive potential. A Jolly nature lets Excadrill outpace threats such as Choice Scarf Greninja and +2 Modest Mew while sand is up and Pokemon like Nidoking and Mimikyu outside of sand. An Adamant nature can be used to provide more power, but Excadrill will be slower than the aforementioned threats. Sand Rush gives Excadrill a +2 boost to its Speed stat while sand is up. Steelium Z lets it break past defensive Pokemon such as Gliscor. Usage Tips Make use of Swords Dance and Excadrill's Z-Move to break through defensive cores such as Mandibuzz + Mega Sableye + Alolan Muk found on Dark teams. Try to time Hippowdon's Sand Stream with Excadrill so you have Swords Dance boosts while sand is still up, which means that you can't be forced out by offensive threats like Keldeo. Try to keep Excadrill healthy throughout the game so it can clean late-game more easily. Excadrill is one of Ground's best tools against Fairy teams, so use it to pressure threatening setup sweepers such as Tapu Bulu and remove wallbreakers like Mega Diancie. Use Rapid Spin to support teammates, particularly Focus Sash Dugtrio, which can trap and remove threats such as Greninja and Tapu Bulu. Use Swords Dance when forcing the opponent to switch into a defensive Pokemon like Gliscor. Avoid being burned by Pokemon like Will-O-Wisp Mew because burns will cut Excadrill's Attack stat in half, leaving it useless against common walls. Team Options Hippowdon is an important teammate because it allows Excadrill to make the most of Sand Rush with Sand Stream and provides Stealth Rock support for it as well. Dugtrio is important to remove various offensive threats like Alolan Raichu and defensive Pokemon such as Celesteela and Zapdos with Gravity up. Excadrill supports Dugtrio by removing hazards for it, and Dugtrio can revenge kill extremely quick threats with Sucker Punch. Seismitoad can take advantage of Water-types for Excadrill due to its ability Water Absorb. Other Pokemon with a Water immunity such as Gastrodon can fulfill the same role as well. Mega Garchomp is great for removing walls like Celesteela, clearing the path for Excadrill. Landorus works similarly to Mega Garchomp, removing walls that Excadrill struggles with. It can also provide Gravity for Excadrill so it can break through Celesteela. Mega Steelix can act as a secondary Fairy check, tanking hits from threats such as Tapu Bulu and removing them with Heavy Slam. Mamoswine is a great check to Flying- and Dragon-types and can pick off weakened Pokemon with Ice Shard, as well as supporting Excadrill with Knock Off, crippling checks such as Porygon2.

Moves Earthquake is Excadrill's primary STAB move, which hits both opposing Pokemon for good damage, and it is preferred for its higher damage output when used with Groundium Z. Alternatively, Drill Run can be used to bypass Wide Guard and hit single targets harder. Iron Head hits Ground-immune Pokemon such as Landorus-T and Mega Salamence while also allowing Excadrill to OHKO prominent threats such as Tapu Lele and Kyurem-B. Swords Dance lets Excadrill turn itself into a dangerous sweeper and overcome Intimidate drops, and Protect is mandatory in order to allow allies to take care of threatening opposing Pokemon. Set Details The given EV spread and nature allow Excadrill to hit as hard and as fast as possible. Adamant is preferred to Jolly, since Jolly doesn't hit any relevant benchmarks. Sand Rush lets Excadrill outspeed the entire unboosted metagame under sand. Its other abilities aren't useful because being a fast attacker is Excadrill's only solid niche. Groundium Z is the preferred item, which gives Excadrill a way to hit exceptionally hard and KO bulkier threats such as Tapu Fini. Steelium Z can be used instead to KO select Ground-immune threats, such as Landorus-T. If neither of those items sounds appealing, Life Orb can be used if you value a higher consistent damage output to a one-time use Z-Move. Usage Tips Excadrill is a decent lead to apply pressure early on, although it won't likely want to stay in for too long until its checks have been dealt with. It also works as a great mid- or late-game sweeper due to its high Speed under sand. You should generally avoid setting up Swords Dance until Excadrill's checks have been dealt with. Opposing weather setters should be KOed, as should other checks like Flying-types or Intimidate users. Finally, it's important to make the best use of Excadrill's limited sand turns, so don't use Protect if it's not necessary. Team Options Tyranitar is an absolutely mandatory teammate for its ability to set sand. The two also have decent synergy together, with Tyranitar checking most of the Flying-types that Excadrill is unable to beat and Excadrill threatening fast attackers that prey on Tyranitar's low Speed. Furthermore, Celesteela checks are mandatory, as Celesteela readily beats both Tyranitar and Excadrill. Electric-types such as Zapdos and Tapu Koko are good partners, with Zapdos providing speed control and a Ground immunity while Tapu Koko provides Terrain control. Fire-types such as Volcanion and Heatran work too. Additional rain checks are recommended, since sand teams naturally struggle versus rain teams. Water-types such as Tapu Fini or Grass-types such as Amoonguss and Tapu Bulu are good options. Tapu Fini provides Terrain control, as does Tapu Bulu, while Amoonguss checks Trick Room. Landorus-T is another common Pokemon that both Tyranitar and Excadrill struggle with. Water-types such as Tapu Fini and Ice-types such as Kyurem-B scare it out. Kyurem-B has the added benefit of soft checking rain along with Flying-types.

Moves Stealth Rock chips opposing Pokemon, allowing setup sweepers to break through them more easily. Rapid Spin clears entry hazards from Excadrill's side of the field, allowing it to match up nicely against other lead Pokemon. Rock Tomb lets Excadrill hit Flying-type Pokemon like Ho-Oh for super effective damage while also lowering the foe's Speed. This allows it to soft check setup sweepers that rely on Speed boosts such as Dragon Dance Mega Rayquaza and support teammates such as Vivillon that appreciate slower foes. Toxic can cripple walls like defensive Arceus formes and offensive setup sweepers such as Geomancy Xerneas and pressures Defoggers by crippling their ability to switch in through the battle to clear hazards. Earthquake prevents setup sweepers such as Swords Dance Arceus from using Substitute to safely set up. However, using Earthquake means that Excadrill can't cripple setup sweepers such as Arceus-Ghost with Toxic. Set Details Maximum Attack and Speed EVs alongside a Jolly nature allow Excadrill to hit as hard as possible and outspeed Pokemon such as Modest Yveltal and Adamant Primal Groudon. A Focus Sash allows Excadrill to survive any one attack, nearly guaranteeing that it can set up Stealth Rock or get off a Toxic. Mold Breaker gives Excadrill an advantage over other leads by letting it set up Stealth Rock against Magic Bounce Pokemon such as Espeon on Baton Pass teams and Mega Sableye. Usage Tips Excadrill should mostly be used as the lead Pokemon to almost guarantee it setting Stealth Rock. This also allows Excadrill to cripple threats such as Primal Groudon with Toxic before they can set up. When using Excadrill, decide carefully whether getting up hazards or removing them is more important. If there is a Pokemon on your opponent's team that can clear hazards easily against a majority of your Pokemon, then Excadrill should prioritize removing hazards over setting up Stealth Rock. Mold Breaker lets Excadrill badly poison all Pokemon that aren't Poison- or Steel-type, which helps it against other entry hazard setters and removers and lets it win the hazard war. Excadrill should slow down offensive setup sweepers such as Swords Dance Primal Groudon with Rock Tomb, allowing faster teammates to revenge kill them with more ease. If the opponent has a bulky Defogger such as Arceus-Water or Giratina, it should not try to set up Stealth Rock until after they are gone. Against potentially faster Pokemon that can lead against Excadrill, such as Choice Scarf Yveltal, it is better to just set up Stealth Rock rather than trying to slow them down with Rock Tomb. Team Options Setup sweepers and wallbreakers such as Dragon Dance Mega Rayquaza, Geomancy Xerneas, and Ultra Necrozma appreciate Excadrill's ability to clear entry hazards from the field, set up Stealth Rock to cripple their checks such as Skarmory and Ho-Oh, and badly poison defensive Pokemon such as Lugia for them. Since Excadrill's main purpose is to set up Stealth Rock, it enjoys teammates such as Marshadow and Arceus-Ghost that can act as spinblockers as well as Defog users such as Yveltal that have a decent matchup against other lead Pokemon. Pokemon such as Arceus-Ground and Primal Groudon appreciate Excadrill's ability to set up Stealth Rock, allowing them to run another coverage move. Vivillon appreciates Excadrill's ability to spin away Stealth Rock and lower the foe's Speed stat with Rock Tomb, allowing it to easily get off a Sleep Powder and then proceed to set up. Taunt users such as Yveltal and Mega Gengar are able to stop Defog users such as Arceus-Water from clearing Excadrill's hazards. Fast Taunt users like Yveltal benefit from Excadrill's Rock Tomb, as after one Rock Tomb they can outspeed and Taunt Defog users such as support Arceus formes. Other Pokemon such as Ultra Necrozma and Eruption Primal Groudon make great teammates for Excadrill, as they can beat most Defog users. Choice Scarf Pokemon such as Xerneas can revenge kill threats such as Mega Rayquaza.

With Mold Breaker and Earthquake, Excadrill can threaten to blast through Rotom-Wash and Rotom-Heat and deal massive damage to Hydreigon. Mold Breaker also lets Excadrill KO Mimikyu through its Disguise with Iron Head. Rock Slide is a standard coverage move that can also induce flinch like Iron Head. Horn Drill can be used as an OHKO move in desperate situations to have a chance of defeating bulky threats such as Celesteela, Suicune, and Cresselia. A Jolly nature lets Excadrill outspeed Dragon Dance Mega Gyarados, boosted Blaziken, and Naive Pheromosa. Adamant can be used for more power, but then Excadrill has a chance to lose against speedy Pheromosa and Blaziken. This Excadrill has a harder time against bulky foes such as Celesteela, Suicune, and Cresselia, since its only chance to defeat them is to get lucky with Horn Drill. Make sure to prepare against these threats with stallbreakers.

Sand Rush makes Excadrill a fearsome sweeper in the sand, with STAB Earthquake dealing an incredible amount of damage with Life Orb and Iron Head being a good anti-Fairy move. Rock Slide is the usual coverage to hit Flying-types such as Mega Charizard Y and Zapdos. Swords Dance turns Excadrill into a dangerous late-game sweeper, though Excadrill's not so great bulk can make it hard to set up. An Adamant nature works best, since Excadrill outspeeds almost everything in a sandstorm anyways. However, Jolly can be used to ensure Excadrill outspeeds Mega Gyarados if your team loses control of the weather and outspeed +2 Jolly Blaziken if the weather is on your side. Groundium Z lets Excadrill defeat major defensive threats after a Swords Dance with Earthquake, such as Suicune, Hippowdon, and Ferrothorn. It also lets Excadrill smash through Garchomp and Mega Kangaskhan without a boost most of the time. If you can't afford to put a Groundium Z on Excadrill, Life Orb is still good for consistent damage output. Excadrill works best as a late-game sweeper, since its bulk isn't very good, meaning it's in serious trouble if it doesn't KO a threat. Excadrill will need a Pokemon with Sand Stream to function well. Tyranitar and Hippowdon are the best choices for this, with Tyranitar being a versatile offensive Pokemon and Hippowdon being a bulky check to many physical attackers and a better setter of Stealth Rock for Excadrill to take advantage of. Note that these two share a lot of weaknesses with Excadrill, so preparing for bulky Water-types like Suicune, Tapu Fini, and Slowbro will be extremely important. Celesteela is an issue to prepare for as well, and Garchomp is problematic if you go with Excadrill and Tyranitar together.

Moves Now being able to switch between moves, Excadrill does a fantastic job against Pokemon that rely on defensive abilities such as Rotom-Wash and Mimikyu, thanks to Mold Breaker Earthquake and Iron Head. Rock Slide takes advantage of Excadrill's okay Speed and allows it to bluff a Choice Scarf, but Rock Tomb provides better support because of the Speed drop. Swords Dance can let Excadrill smash through slower teams, while Stealth Rock helps against opposing Focus Sash Pokemon, Volcarona, and Charizard. Horn Drill is Excadrill's best way of defeating Celesteela and Cresselia, and it is the only reasonable last move if using Assault Vest. Focus Sash lets Excadrill survive one powerful attack when at full health, such as boosted Ghostium Z + Shadow Claw from Mimikyu. Air Balloon works great against Pokemon that rely on Ground-type STAB moves such as Garchomp, and Assault Vest lets Excadrill survive a Hydro Pump from defensive Rotom-Wash. Adamant works best because of the extra power, but Jolly Excadrill outspeeds unboosted Mega Gyarados and Adamant Mega Charizard X. You'll need Pokemon to deal with Celesteela, Cresselia, and bulky Water-types such as Suicune, Tapu Fini, and Slowbro.

Moves The combination of Stealth Rock and Mold Breaker is the entire reason to use this Excadrill set, as it will always manage to set up the entry hazard even against teams with a Magic Bounce user, something no other setter can boast. The chip damage from hazards makes life significantly easier for all sorts of offensive Pokemon, and the guarantee of setting them is very appealing. Toxic helps with breaking down stall teams and also provides a way of discouraging Defog, as it threatens the longevity of common Defog users such as Arceus-Water and Arceus-Dragon that are often required to check other Pokemon later in the game. Rapid Spin is used to allow Excadrill to beat most other hyper offense leads, preventing hazards from being set against it fairly reliably. Earthquake is the attacking move of choice for this set, as it enables Excadrill to better check Klefkiand 2HKOes most Primal Groudon. Rock Tomb is another option that 2HKOes Ho-Oh and prevents Excadrill from being setup fodder for Mega Salamence. Set Details Mold Breaker allows Excadrill to set up entry hazards on the two common Magic Guard users, Mega Sableye and Mega Diancie, without them being reflected back. It has additional utility in ignoring the Levitate ability of Latias, Latios, and Giratina-O, making them less capable of clearing the hazards Excadrill sets. Focus Sash is the item of choice because it means Excadrill can reliably set Stealth Rock against hyper offensive builds without being OHKOed by any of the many Pokemon that can do so. 252 Speed EVs with a Jolly nature allow Excadrill to outspeed most support Arceus formes, meaning that they cannot Defog away the Stealth Rock that Excadrill sets. It also has the added benefit of letting Excadrill outspeed maximum Speed neutral-natured base 90s.The remaining EVs are used to boost Excadrill's damage output. Usage Tips For the most part, this Excadrill set should be used as a suicide lead and should only be preserved sparingly, as its usefulness is relatively low after the early-game. An exception to this is against teams with Klefki, as Excadrill can completely counter Klefki so that Pokemon vulnerable to Klefki will not struggle so much with it. Even against Klefki teams, however, Excadrill is likely to be the least useful Pokemon after it has successfully set up Stealth Rockand should only be preserved when there is no large potential cost to preserving it. Against teams with Darkrai and an opposing suicide lead that Excadrill beats, Excadrill can be used as the lead. However, if Darkrai is the opposing lead of choice, switch out to your Darkrai counter immediately. If Darkrai is on a team without an obvious suicide lead, chances are that Darkrai will be the opponent's lead, so leading with Excadrill against those teams is rather pointless. If they do not lead with Darkrai, Excadrill can probably be switched in on their entry hazard setter and either remove the Stealth Rock set or set up Stealth Rock itself on a possible Darkrai switch, depending on which is more important in that particular game. Mega Kangaskhan is another potential lead matchup that Excadrill does not appreciate. Against Mega Kangaskhan teams, it is smarter to lead with something that can handle Mega Kangaskhan instead of with Excadrilland then to try to get Excadrill in during the early-gameto set and potentially remove hazards as quickly as possible. Teams with spinblockers can be an issue for Excadrill, but Toxic dissuades many spinblockers from switching in, and most spinblockers find it difficult to handle common partners to Excadrill such as Darkrai and Yveltal. Toxic should be used as often as possible against stall teams to waste cleric PP and discourage the removal of the hazards Excadrill has set. Team Options This Excadrill set is particularly good on hyper offense, so good partners are Pokemon that fit well on that playstyle. Xerneas and Darkrai, for example, appreciate the guaranteed Stealth Rock that Excadrill provides and can exert significant pressure to prevent Defog. One of the most important teammates for Excadrill is something that can deal with Darkrai, which completely shuts down lead Excadrill. Good options for this role are Ho-Oh and Choice Scarf Xerneas. Other good team options include Pokemon that appreciate the hazard removal that Excadrill provides, with Yveltal, Shaymin-S and Rayquaza being some examples that appreciate the support because it vastly increases their longevity. Excadrill is also a useful partner for Pokemon that dislike facing Klefki, as Excadrill counters Klefki very effectively, although it will not always have the opportunity to do this after doing its job in the early-game. Having a team member like Zekrom or Mega Tyranitar is highly recommended to reinforce your team against Mega Salamence, which can set up on Excadrill very easily, especially with Refresh. This Excadrill set also appreciates the use of a Ghost-type, both as a spinblocker and as an answer to Mega Kangaskhan, which can counter lead Excadrill relatively easily. Arceus-Ghost and Mega Gengar in particular fit well here, with Arceus handling Mega Kangaskhan significantly better than Mega Gengar as well as being an Extreme Killer check and a Swords Dance sweeper. However, Mega Gengar matches up very well against stall and some common forms of balance, and it can trap potential Defoggers for Excadrill.

Moves Earthquake hits Pokemon such as Primal Groudon and Klefki super effectively. It is also the strongest move Excadrill can use to hit neutral targets such as Primal Kyogre. Iron Head enables Excadrill to hit Fairy-types like Xerneas for super effective damage and provides useful coverage in hitting Pokemon immune to Earthquake, such as Latios and Giratina-O. Iron Head is also what enables Excadrill to check Geomancy Xerneas in sand, and it has a very nice 30% flinch chance, which can be crucial in some situations. Rapid Spin enables Excadrill to completely shut down Klefki by removing the Spikes it attempts to set up. Swords Dance boosts Excadrill's Attack and allows it to break down most Pokemon that do not outspeed it. However, it is tricky to set up effectively in sand, as Excadrill will only have three turns left to sweep before the sand runs out, and it cannot set up with Swords Dance on much. Alternatively, Rock Slide hits both Ho-Oh and Mega Salamence for good damage, OHKOing the former and discouraging setup from the latter. It hits Flying-type Pokemon such as Lugia and Yveltal slightly harder than Iron Head as well. Set Details Sand Rush doubles Excadrill's Speed in sand, making it a nightmare for offensive teams. This also enables Excadrill to check Xerneas, which it outspeeds even after a Geomancy and does a large amount of damage to with Iron Head. Jolly is the nature of choice so that Excadrill outspeeds maximum Speed neutral-natured base 90s, most notably Ho-Oh, and most common support Arceus formes, which can be crucial in allowing Excadrill to KO them when they are weakened. An Adamant nature can be used for the extra power, with Adamant Excadrill boasting the ability to 2HKO Primal Kyogre without Stealth Rock most of the time, but Jolly is generally preferred. Life Orb is the preferred item to increase Excadrill's power so that it can wallbreak more effectively, but Air Balloon is an option for Excadrill to minimize both hazard damage from Spikes and recoil damage. Air Balloon is better with Swords Dance Excadrill sets, which do not mind the lack of the immediate power of the Life Orb set as much. It also allows Excadrill to better check Klefki, as it will not wear itself down with Life Orb recoil as often. Usage Tips This Excadrill set is intended to be a late-game sweeper against offensive teams, as Pokemon on them frequently lack the bulk necessary to tank Excadrill's hits and will not be able to outpace it in the sand. It also can be used as an additional way to check opposing Arceus, thanks to its typing resisting Arceus's STAB moves and it being faster than Arceus in sand, as well as most fast but frail attackers such as Mewtwo, Darkrai, and Geomancy Xerneas. Against balanced teams, Excadrill can be used as a wallbreaker, coming in on common Pokemon like Klefki and firing off powerful attacks; however, common support Arceus formes check Excadrill, so be careful in firing off attacks recklessly, as that will result in Excadrill fainting to Life Orb recoil and not achieving much. It can also outpace most Ho-Oh and revenge kill Ho-Oh with Rock Slide if it needs to in a pinch. If Excadrill is running Life Orb and you intend to attempt to sweep with it, be careful you don't get it whittled down too much to sweep in the process of wallbreaking. Team Options Sand support from Tyranitar is mandatory with this set. Without sand, this set cannot function nearly as well against offensive teams, although it does retain some utility in its matchup against bulkier teams by means of its wallbreaking power and good defensive typing, as well as its access to Rapid Spin. Good answers for Primal Kyogre and Primal Groudon are incredibly important, because they reset the weather and the weather they set cannot be overridden by Tyranitar's sand. Pokemon like Latias and Latios can handle both Primal Kyogre and Primal Groudon, and other options like Primal Groudon itself and Arceus-Water can handle one of them each. Excadrill provides good Rapid Spin support for Pokemon like Ho-Oh and Mega Salamence, which can in turn help Excadrill by wearing down mutual checks like Arceus-Water. Special attackers like Xerneas and Darkrai appreciate Excadrill being able to counter Klefki, as it results in their being able to play more recklessly, and they can be very difficult to handle when Klefki is removed from the picture. Dark-types like Darkrai and Yveltal can make good teammates due to their ability to take on Ghost-types like Arceus-Ghost and Giratina-O, which can effectively deal with Excadrill.

Earthquake is Excadrill's most powerful STAB move, and it becomes highly spammable after eliminating Ground-immune foes like Rotom-W and Staraptor. Iron Head lets Excadrill pick up KOs against Pokemon that resist or are immune to Earthquake such as Heracross and Gengar, and it targets Ice-, Fairy-, and Rock-types like Weavile, Togekiss, and Terrakion without having to lock into Earthquake. Rock Slide hits Flying-types like Zapdos, Thundurus, Mandibuzz, and Mega Charizard Y. Shadow Claw allows Excadrill to dominate against Psychic teams, being able to at least 2HKO every relevant Pokemon with Stealth Rock up outside of Meloetta. X-Scissor is a niche option over Shadow Claw to hit Meloetta and do more damage to Slowbro and Celebi. However, giving up Shadow Claw leads to Excadrill losing momentum against Psychic-types that take neutral damage from X-Scissor like Jirachi, Victini, Mega Gallade, and Mega Gardevoir. Choice Band increases Excadrill's potential as a sweeper and revenge killer, allowing it to net important OHKOs against threats like Kyurem-B, and Mega Gallade after prior chip damage. Maximum Attack and Speed investment with an Adamant nature allows Excadrill to do as much damage as possible and reach a fantastic Speed tier in sand, outpacing the likes of Deoxys-S and Choice Scarf Latias. Excadrill offers Ground teams its ability to offensively check Ice-types like Weavile and Mamoswine that would inhibit Garchomp and Landorus, function as a switch-in and check to Thundurus, which sweeps through the rest of the team outside of Mamoswine, and check fast offensive Psychic-types with good coverage like Life Orb Deoxys-S and Choice Specs Latios, which would otherwise overwhelm Ground's defensive core. Hippowdon provides indispensable support for Excadrill by setting sand and Stealth Rock and is able to switch into physical attackers like Mega Lopunny and Mega Gallade. Landorus can chip physical walls for Excadrill such as Skarmory, Rotom-W, and Hippowdon. Landorus can also set Gravity for Excadrill, allowing it to spam Earthquake freely, albeit briefly since sand and Gravity won't be up for long. Gastrodon is immune to Water, which proves to be very useful against threats like Kingdra, and can sponge special attacks with its decent bulk, good typing, and reliable recovery. Seismitoad is an alternative Water-immune teammate that has a better Speed tier and offensive movepool, including Sludge Wave for checking Belly Drum Azumarill and Knock Off, which can cripple various foes such as Eviolite holders like Chansey and Porygon2 or Leftovers users like Skarmory and Ferrothorn. Mega Garchomp's mixed wallbreaking proves useful against many common defensive cores, working with Landorus to take out physical and mixed walls, paving the way for Excadrill to sweep. Mega Garchomp is also another Fire-resistant teammate and can check Mega Charizard Y with Stone Edge. Mamoswine can easily threaten bulky Ground-types like Hippowdon, Gliscor, and bulky Garchomp with its Choice Band-boosted Icicle Crash. Additionally, it's the only source of priority on most Ground teams, being able to reliably take out weakened threats like Hydreigon and Yanmega with Ice Shard. Nidoking utilizes its wide array of Life Orb- and Sheer Force-boosted special attacks to break through certain walls for Excadrill, namely Skarmory and Gliscor. Furthermore, Nidoking may drop one of its coverage moves for Toxic Spikes to passively chip some of Excadrill's checks like Slowbro and Porygon2.

This is a sample set. We aren't working on ORAS Monotype analyses at the moment, but check out ORAS Monotype resources for more information about the metagame.

This is a sample set. We aren't working on ORAS Monotype analyses at the moment, but check out ORAS Monotype resources for more information about the metagame.

Moves Earthquake is Excadrill's main Ground-type STAB attack, used for dealing as much damage as possible to the opposing team. Drill Run is a decent alternative to Earthquake that gets around Wide Guard and doesn't hit Excadrill's partner, which is often Tyranitar. However, Excadrill that are using Drill Run must watch out for Aegislash using King's Shield because, unlike Earthquake, Drill Run makes contact. Iron Head is Excadrill's secondary STAB move, which hits bulky Fairy-types such as Sylveon and Ice-types such as Kyurem-B, with a convenient chance to flinch that pairs nicely with Excadrill's high Speed under sand. Rock Slide hits Flying-types like Talonflame and Mega Charizard Y that are immune to Earthquake and deals decent spread damage, which is especially important if Excadrill runs Drill Run instead of Earthquake. Protect shields Excadrill from attacks while its teammate deals with a threat, stalls out opposing field conditions, and gives it safety while attaining the Sand Rush boost by switching in Tyranitar. Set Details Sand Rush is Excadrill's main niche and is essential to its success. Maximum Attack and Speed investment should be used to help Excadrill hit hard and fast, thus taking advantage of the limited turns of sand. Alongside those EVs, an Adamant nature is chosen over a Jolly one, as Adamant Excadrill already outspeeds nearly everything under sand, including Deoxys-A, Choice Scarf Landorus-T, and certain Tailwind-boosted threats such as Bisharp and Volcanion. Life Orb makes Excadrill far more threatening, but a Focus Sash can be used to ensure Excadrill survives any one hit. Usage Tips Bring Excadrill in as soon as possible to when sand is set so that it starts hitting the foes hard with attacks backed by Sand Rush-boosted Speed. Try to avoid situations where Excadrill needs to use Protect, as this wastes a precious turn of sand. Excadrill typically works best mid- to late-game, to clean up the opposing team after it has taken some damage. Delaying Excadrill's entry into the battle gives the rest of the team time to take out Wide Guard or Intimidate users, as well as problematic Pokemon such as Rotom-W. If running Earthquake, that should be the move Excadrill uses in most cases, with the other attacks used only as needed to supplement its coverage. Team Options Tyranitar is a required partner for Excadrill to be successful, as it is the only viable setter of sand. Due to the similarity in coverage between standard Tyranitar and Excadrill sets, a lure Tyranitar set with moves such as Ice Beam and Fire Blast can help take out Landorus-T and Ferrothorn, respectively, which would normally be solid answers to the duo. Excadrill has many Pokemon that threaten to cut its rampage short, so it needs teammates that are able to take on those threats before they can cause too much trouble. First and foremost is Rotom-W, which is probably the best Excadrill answer in the metagame due to its typing, ability, and access to Will-O-Wisp. Grass-types such as Amoonguss, Serperior, and Virizion can help Excadrill out here, as they also take on other troublesome Water-type threats including Keldeo and Suicune. Although Grass-types work as decent partners to Excadrill, opposing Grass-types are problematic, so teammates such as Latios, Talonflame, and Mega Gengar are solid choices. Mega Gengar is especially notable, as it is able to trap and remove opposing weather setters, ensuring that Excadrill's sand turns will not be cut short. Finally, teammates that can take on Landorus-T such as Keldeo, Rotom-W, and Kyurem-B are absolutely required due to its prevalence and great matchup against Excadrill. If Excadrill is using Earthquake, it needs teammates that can avoid taking damage from the attack, like Ground-immune Electric-types such as Zapdos and Thundurus. Their Electric-type STAB moves also allow them to take on the two most popular weather setters, Politoed and Mega Charizard Y. Wide Guard support from teammates such as Conkeldurr protects Excadrill from the fairly common spread moves it is weak to, Earthquake and Heat Wave. A teammate with Wide Guard also adds another Pokemon that Excadrill can safely use Earthquake beside. Helping Hand support from a teammate such as Cresselia allows Excadrill's spread attacks to deal far more damage and take fuller advantage of the limited sand turns.

Moves Earthquake hits Fire- and Steel-types for super effective damage. Earthquake is also strong enough to deal decent damage to neutral targets. Rock Slide has good coverage alongside Earthquake. Rock Slide can OHKO Mega Charizard Y and Talonflame, both of which Excadrill outspeeds in sand. Iron Head OHKOes Fairy-types and is a reasonably powerful secondary STAB move. Protect lets Excadrill's partner take out a Pokemon that threatens Excadrill. Swords Dance could be used, but wastes a turn of sand; Excadrill is normally better off just attacking. Set Details Sand Rush doubles Excadrill's Speed in sand. Because of this, there is no benefit to running a Jolly nature, as Excadrill reaches 280 Speed with an Adamant Nature. 280 Speed is faster than all relevant threats under normal conditions. Life Orb boosts the power of Excadrill's attacks by 1.3. Focus Sash ensures Excadrill survives one hit, potentially letting Excadrill use two attacks before fainting. Usage Tips Excadrill should be lead with either Tyranitar or Hippowdon, as this lets Excadrill's Speed be doubled on turn one. If Excadrill isn't being lead with, be careful as you switch it in, as Excadrill has relatively poor bulk. Because of Excadrill's high Speed in sand it can easily clean up against weakened teams. When playing against other weather teams it is best to keep Excadrill in the back, as it is likely that the opposing team will lead with their weather inducer to counter sand. Team Options Either Tyranitar or the more niche Hippowdon are required to set up sand for Sand Rush Excadrill to be worth using. Tyranitar can make use of an Air Balloon to give it a pseudo-immunity to Earthquake. Hippowdon should be EVed to take on common physical attackers, and Ice Fang might be worth using on it in order to take on Landorus-T and Thundurus. Rotom-W is immune to Earthquake and is able to take on both opposing Water-types and physical attackers by burning them. Rotom-W is also able to take on Landorus-T with Hydro Pump. Cresselia is immune to Earthquake, can take on Fighting-types, shut down Trick Room teams, and provide Helping Hand support for Excadrill. Thundurus can OHKO opposing Ground-types with Hidden Power Ice and spread Thunder Waves and Taunts. Thundurus threatens Flying- and Water-types, which trouble Excadrill with its STAB Thunderbolt. Talonflame can OHKO Grass-types which resist Earthquake, and provide useful Taunt and Tailwind support.

Moves Earthquake is a spread move and will OHKO most Fire-, Electric-, and Steel-types. This can be useful for clearing the way for sweepers such as Mega Salamence. With Mold Breaker, Excadrill is able to hit Pokemon with the ability Levitate with STAB Earthquake, importantly the Rotom formes and Cresselia. Rock Slide is another spread move which rounds out Excadrill's coverage, hitting the Flying-types which are immune Earthquake for super effective damage. Rock Slide also has a decent chance to cause at least one of the opposing Pokemon to flinch, which, while unreliable, can be beneficial. Iron Head OHKOes Fairy-types such as Sylveon, Gardevoir, and Mega Altaria. Because Iron Head is a single target move, it bypasses Wide Guard to hit Rock-types more reliably than Earthquake. Swords Dance boosts Excadrill's Attack by two stages, giving it a chance to sweep. Swords Dance can be used over Iron Head, as at +2 Excadrill can OHKO Sylveon and Mega Gardevoir. Protect not only is useful to prevent Excadrill from fainting while its partner takes down a threat but also can be used to stall out turns of opposing Trick Room, Tailwind, and weather. Set Details With Mold Breaker, Excadrill use Earthquake to hit Pokemon with the ability Levitate. A 252 Atk / 252 Spe spread can be used on Excadrill, as it needs to hit as hard and as fast as possible. An Adamant nature will allow it to OHKO bulkier Rotom-W with Earthquake, whereas a Jolly nature will let it outspeed maximum Speed Rotom formes. A Focus Sash guarantees that Excadrill will survive one attack, which means that Excadrill is almost always able to use at least one attack before fainting. Usage Tips Due to its relatively poor bulk, Excadrill has a hard time switching into attacks. Because of this Excadrill should either be led with or brought in after something has been KOed. If leading with Excadrill, it should be brought alongside the Pokemon that either support it or it supports, such as Togekiss and Mega Salamence respectively. If not leading with Excadrill, it should be kept in the back until Pokemon that are faster and can OHKO it have been taken down, such as Mega Charizard Y. Team Options Togekiss is immune to Earthquake and can provide both Follow Me and Tailwind support. Follow Me allows Excadrill to set up Swords Dance more easily, whereas Tailwind fixes Excadrill's Speed issues. Mega Salamence appreciates Excadrill's ability to take on the Rotom formes and Steel-types with Earthquake. This lets Mega Salamence set up Dragon Dances more easily, as many of its counters are no longer issues. Thundurus can spread Thunder Waves to help with Excadrill's Speed problems, and can check Landorus-T by OHKOing it with Hidden Power Ice. Excadrill can OHKO Tyranitar and the Rotom formes, which allows Talonflame to use Brave Bird more freely. Talonflame also can provide Tailwind support for Excadrill. Because it is part Grass-type, Ludicolo is capable of taking Excadrill's Earthquakes; Ludicolo also helps Excadrill deal with many common Water-types.

Moves Earthquake is Excadrill's most powerful STAB move and is more reliable due to Mold Breaker ignoring the ability Levitate and allowing Excadrill to hit Pokemon that possess it, the most notable of which is Rotom-W, which would otherwise counter this set. Excadrill can also outspeed Gengar and OHKO it with Earthquake. Iron Head is Excadrill's secondary STAB move and is notable in being able to flinch the opponent, which works great when combined with a Choice Scarf. It also hits Fairy-types such as Sylveon and Togekiss for super effective damage. Rock Slide gives great neutral coverage with Earthquake and allows Excadrill to hit Flying-types such as Zapdos, Thundurus, Mega Charizard Y, Talonflame, and Gyarados super effectively, which avoid Earthquake and don't mind an Iron Head. Horn Drill and Fissure are 30% accurate OHKO moves and can act as a last-resort option against Pokemon that Excadrill cannot KO with any of its other moves. Horn Drill is the preferred option, as it hits everything except Ghost-types; however, the most common Ghost-types in Battle Spot are Aegislash and Gengar, and they are both hit hard by Earthquake anyway. Notable Pokemon that are hit by Fissure include Sableye and Jellicent, so the choice is up to you. Another benefit of Mold Breaker is that Excadrill can hit Pokemon with the ability Sturdy with its OHKO move; these include Skarmory and Donphan. Set Details An offensive EV spread is used to maximize Excadrill's Speed with a Choice Scarf and give it as much power as possible. The Choice Scarf is chosen to give Excadrill the jump on faster Pokemon such as Mega Manectric, (Mega) Gengar, Choice Scarf Chandelure, Greninja, Raikou, and Mega Lucario and KO them with Earthquake. Adamant is the preferred nature, as it gives Excadrill some additional power to use alongside the Speed that the Choice Scarf provides; however, a Jolly nature can be used instead to get the jump on neutral-natured base 100 Speed Pokemon at +1, including Mega Charizard X, Mega Blaziken, and Volcarona, and KO them with the appropriate move. Usage Tips Choice Scarf Excadrill works best as a revenge killer, utilizing its high Speed and powerful Earthquake to finish off weakened teams. Leading with it might put you in an unfavorable matchup, forcing you to sacrifice it or switch out, both of which give your opponent momentum. Even though Excadrill's Attack stat is quite high, it is unable to OHKO bulkier threats at full health and its mediocre bulk leaves it susceptible to being KOed back or severely weakened in the process, so getting prior damage on the opponent's team will allow Excadrill to come in and easily finish them off. This also allows you to scout the opposing team for Flying-types, which are immune to Earthquake. Team Options Due to Excadrill's ability to take out Electric-types as well as his 4x resistance to Rock moves, it makes a great partner for Pokemon such as Gyarados, Talonflame, Mega Charizard Y, Mega Pidgeot, Mega Pinsir, and Togekiss. Excadrill desperately needs help getting past bulky Water- and Ground-types, so bringing a Grass-type such as Mega Venusaur, Mega Sceptile, Roserade, or Serperior is a good idea. Excadrill can also help them by revenge killing the Fire- and Flying-types that give them trouble.

Moves Earthquake is Excadrill's strongest move and main sweeping tool. Earthquake hits key threats such as Aegislash, Mega Manectric, Mega Blaziken, Mega Gengar, and Mega Charizard X. Iron Head is Excadrill's secondary STAB option; it works well with the Speed boost of Sand Rush, as it can pull off clutch flinches. Its main targets are Togekiss, Sylveon, and Mamoswine. Rock Slide gives great coverage alongside Earthquake and can also make foes flinch. It works great against Zapdos, Thundurus, Mega Charizard Y, and Talonflame, as they are all immune to Earthquake and resist Iron Head. Swords Dance gives a tremendous boost to Excadrill's Attack stat, and when paired with the insane Speed provided by Sand Rush, it allows Excadrill to sweep teams. Set Details Maximize Excadrill's Attack and Speed for optimum sweeping potential; the remaining 4 EVs go into Defense, as it is preferred to have an odd HP stat when using a Life Orb to minimize the recoil Excadrill receives from it. Life Orb gives a 30% boost to Excadrill's attacks at the cost of 10% HP; this gives Excadrill a much-needed increase in power while also allowing flexibility with its move choices. Excadrill doesn't like taking hits in the first place, so the recoil from the Life Orb isn't too much of an issue. Azumarill can pick Excadrill off with Aqua Jet after two rounds of Life Orb recoil, though, so watch out for that. An Earth Plate or Soft Sand can be used instead to keep Earthquake hitting hard and prevent recoil, at the cost of losing a lot of power to Excadrill's other moves. Adamant is the preferred nature, as it gives Excadrill extra power and it still outspeeds everything in the tier that hasn't boosted its own Speed. Jolly is also an option to stop Timid Trace Gardevoir from coming in, outspeeding Excadrill, and OHKOing it with Focus Blast. It also allows Excadrill to get the jump on Jolly Mega Salamence after a Dragon Dance, Adamant Sharpedo after two Speed boosts, and Adamant Mega Charizard X and Mega Blaziken after two boosts. Usage Tips Sand Rush Excadrill needs an active sandstorm to make use of its fantastic Speed stat, so bring it in once you have set it up. Pokemon such as Azumarill and Conkeldurr can bypass Sand Rush and KO Excadrill with some prior damage with their super effective priority moves, so eliminating these is a top priority. Using Swords Dance can give Excadrill an enormous boost to its attacks, but it uses a valuable turn of sandstorm to set up and also leaves Excadrill vulnerable to being attacked. Only use it if you are matched up against a Pokemon that is likely to switch out and you know you can afford the turn of sandstorm. Switching Excadrill in on Electric-types such as Thundurus and Raikou is your best chance to set up a Swords Dance. Team Options Bringing either a Tyranitar or Hippowdon is mandatory to set up the sandstorm necessary for Excadrill to abuse Sand Rush. The problem with them is that they share weaknesses with Excadrill including Water, Fighting, and Ground. You also need a teammate that can easily take care of Azumarill, which is probably Sand Rush Excadrill's biggest threat. Venusaur and Roserade work well, as they resist Excadrill's— as well as Tyranitar's or Hippowdon's— weaknesses and can also deal with Azumarill well. Serperior can also come in and start setting up Leaf Storm boosts against most things that threaten Excadrill's sweep. Latias and Latios make for good partners, as they resist Water and Fighting while being immune to Ground thanks to Levitate, while Excadrill resists their Dragon, Fairy, and Bug weaknesses. They can also manually set up sandstorm, while Latias can even use Healing Wish to get Excadrill in safely and also heal it in the process.

Moves Earthquake is Excadrill's most powerful STAB option, utilizes Mold Breaker by hitting Levitate users such as Rotom-W, Rotom-H, and Gengar for super effective damage, and hits key threats such as Aegislash, Mega Manectric, Mega Charizard X, and Heatran for super effective damage. Iron Head is Excadrill's secondary STAB option and offers valuable super effective coverage against Pokemon such as Sylveon, Togekiss, Clefable, and Mamoswine. The choice between Rock Slide and Rock Tomb is personal preference: Rock Slide has more power, while Rock Tomb sports slightly better accuracy and drops the target's Speed by one stage, which can allow Excadrill to outspeed a faster opponent on the next turn or allow a teammate to come in and outspeed it. It also makes revenge killing much easier. Swords Dance offers a significant increase in power and allows Excadrill to power past bulky Pokemon such as Cresselia, Porygon2, Ferrothorn, and Aegislash. Stealth Rock provides entry hazard support, which helps break enemy Focus Sashes while also taking a chunk out of Charizard and Talonflame. It also works great with Mold Breaker, as Magic Bounce users such as Espeon and Mega Absol can't reflect it. Set Details An offensive EV spread is used to give Excadrill as much power and Speed as possible, with the remaining EVs put into Special Defense to ensure Excadrill survives a Focus Blast from Mega Gengar when equipped with an Assault Vest. An Adamant nature is preferred over Jolly to give Excadrill a boost to its attacks, guaranteeing the OHKO on Mamoswine and Mega Manectric (accounting for Intimidate); on the other hand, Jolly gets the jump on neutral-natured base 100 speed Pokemon such as unboosted Mega Charizard X, Volcarona, and Entei. A Focus Sash is the preferred item, as it allows Excadrill to avoid an OHKO and be left with 1HP, meaning it can either get in an attack before going down or to ensure that Stealth Rock gets set up. An Air Balloon makes Excadrill immune to Ground attacks, namely Earthquake, and forces the opponent to use a weaker move to pop the Air Balloon. This is especially helpful against Pokemon such as Garchomp, Landorus-T, and Mega Salamence, although Excadrill shouldn't be trying to fight them anyway. An Assault Vest cannot be used with either Swords Dance or Stealth Rock, which is why Horn Drill is used in the fourth slot. Assault Vest notably allows Excadrill to survive a Hydro Pump from defensive Rotom-W and Focus Blast from offensive Mega Gengar, while Excadrill can KO both with Earthquake. Usage Tips Excadrill needs to avoid switching in, as taking an attack will break its Focus Sash or pop its Air Balloon, which is why this set works best as a lead. From the lead position, Excadrill can easily set up Stealth Rock and then either switch out or start attacking. If using an Air Balloon, you can make use of predicted Earthquakes to switch Excadrill in for free. Beware of Fake Out users such as Mega Lopunny, Infernape, Mega Medicham, and Mienshao, as they can all break Excadrill's Focus Sash with Fake Out and proceed to KO it with a super effective move. You can also take advantage of Pokemon such as Cresselia, Porygon2, and Thundurus to switch in on a Thunder Wave or Toxic and set up a Swords Dance. Team Options Pokemon that enjoy Stealth Rock support to either discourage Talonflame switching in or have the opposing Pokemon's Focus Sashes being broken to aid their sweep make for good partners to this set; these include Greninja and Blaziken. Venusaur can help Excadrill deal with Azumarill and Breloom, while it appreciates having Excadrill to take out Talonflame.