ORAS OU Mega-Diancie Sand (1516+ currently)

[Liam MacRoibin]

Hi there, this will be my first proper post on the site, I wouldnt call myself a good player so don't expect much of a detailed report on my team. I had been struggling to pass 1400s in OU and after going on solid winning streaks with a new team I'd suddenly hit a losing streak. Not with this team thou, currently on 1516 rating and going strong went on a 9 game streak and every time I lose I win after. My first time in the 1500s and looking for suggestions since I know the team can be walled by several mons, eg Celebi the Walling Cabbage.

Diancie @ Diancite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 32 Atk / 224 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Moonblast
- Diamond Storm
- Earth Power
- Protect

I kinda picked my mega after choosing to use my other mons, it seemed to fit what I wanted, Fast, hit strong and stopped status/hazards. I don't see many people using this mon anymore, a generic basic spread as not much else you can do with it. Spamming DS in the sand and getting all the boosts is hella fun thou.

Tyranitar @ Smooth Rock
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 248 HP / 80 Def / 180 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge
- Pursuit
- Ice Beam

This guy is here for only 3 reasons. To set up rocks for me, to set up sand for excadrill and to take a few hits I don't want other mons taking. I tend to sack Tar a lot during games but usually when I'm in a tough spot bringing out Tar to set up a sand drill sweep puts a lot of pressure on my opponent, especially if I've removed the ground resist. The spread is for decent bulk and pursuit/ice beam are nice coverage moves to have. The Smooth Rock is to keep sand up as long as possible incase I can't bring drill out straight away.

Excadrill @ Life Orb
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide
- Rapid Spin

Nothing new about a sand rush drill. It's fairly straight forward and it's still around these days because it works, T-tar brings the sand and drill brings the kills. Adamant nature becuase with rush not like anything other than stuff stat boosted is going to outspeed this thing and out of sand it's mainly death fodder. I chose rapid spin over swords dance because I didn't see a benifit in SD, stuff is either dying or not and I really hate hazards on my side.

Weavile @ Life Orb
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Icicle Crash
- Ice Shard
- Poison Jab

With how popular mons like Tank-Chomp and Lando-T are I decided I needed something that would hit them and other annoying Ground types checking my current line-up. With it's high speed and Ice stab moves it always seems to do the job. Knock off is one of the best moves in the game and priority Ice Shard takes on low health scarfs. I picked Poison Jab over Low Kick as I wanted to hit Fairys more effectivly. Since Iron Head on Excadrill was my only Steel move.

Keldeo @ Choice Specs
Ability: Justified
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Scald
- Secret Sword
- Hydro Pump
- Icy Wind

As much as I hate its design I can't help but admit to how powerful Keldeo is in OU. Appart from Assault vest conks nothing wants to switch into a specs scald. I chose Specs over Scarf because the teams got some decent speed already and in the past I've noticed Scarf Keldeo just doesn't hit as hard as I'd like. It's still fast enough to outspeed most of the tier without the Scarf and the spread is just a basic one with Icy Wind to hit flying/ground types.

Thundurus-Therian @ Leftovers
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Agility
- Nasty Plot
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]

My new favourite special sweeper, I got the idea of using him because in past teams I always tended to use teams weak to any strong electric type. This guy is immune with its abilty and when I saw how powerful it can get with Plot Agility I was in love.
After one NP it a thunderbolt can do 66-78% to a SpD Heatran. I think it's the suprise factor as people aren't used to seeing a Thunderus other than the usual T-wave T Bolt kind.
Went with Modest because speed is decent already and I want to hit hard.

There are a few annoying mons to this team that I've encountered, more so walls. Celebi is an issue and Weavile is the only mon that can hit it. Rotom-W with its bulk and Wow is annoying. Bulky Grass and Ground types in general are annoying for me to deal with.
So yeah that's the team, if you guys have any suggestions it would be great.

No replays available but proof of rating, no reason to lie since it's low lol but still
https://pokemonshowdown.com/users/drachenmorder

 

[Futatsuiwa of Sado]

Hey there Liam MacRoibin, I'm really likin' the team you have here! It's really solid, to be completely honest but there's some weaknesses that could be patched up with a few simple changes.

I noticed that opposing Excadrill are very threatening as Keldeo is your best way to deal with it, but it's EXTREMELY shaky because *cue calc*
252+ Atk Life Orb Excadrill Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Keldeo: 261-308 (80.8 - 95.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Life Orb Excadrill Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Keldeo: 238-281 (73.6 - 86.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Excadrill Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Keldeo: 201-237 (62.2 - 73.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Excadrill Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Keldeo: 183-216 (56.6 - 66.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
If Excadrill gets a Swords Dance under it's belt, or if Keldeo is weakened enough, I can see a clean 6-0. To remedy this, along with answer that slight Water-type weakness (Rotom-W is a threat like you mentioned), I'd recommend running Breloom>Weavile. Breloom gives you a solid offensive check to something like Excadrill or Lopunny while still providing your team with a strong priority, wrapped up with the ability to check threatening Water-types like Azumarill and CM Manaphy, and wonderful utility in the form of Spore.

Breloom Set

Breloom @ Life Orb
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Spore
- Bullet Seed
- Mach Punch
- Swords Dance

Once Weavile is removed, Landorus and Garchomp become threatening as well as Celebi, although Keldeo, Diancie and TTar deal with them respectively (less so TTar vs Celebi if its like Nasty Plot or something though). Something that you could try to help with this is NP Thundurus-I with HP Ice and TWave>Thundurus-T. . Scarf variants of Landorus and Garchomp are somewhat rarer now, especially Garchomp. If its Scarf Chomp, you can most likely play around this with a combination of Keldeo and Thundy. I suggest the specific coverage moves along side Nasty Plot because while +0 HP Ice does bop the Lando and Chomp, it doesn't bop Celebi, which is where Nasty Plot comes in allowing Thundurus to 2HKO Celebi. Serperior is another threatening mon that this helps you with, with T-Wave providing you with a way to cripple Serperior, which could easily 6-0 if it gets to +2 . Your best option against Serperior is probably T-Wave with Thundy, if able to, weaken with HP Ice and revenge or just T-Wave then revenge. Either way works, so it's just nice to have since previously it would've involved having to sack numerous Pokemon to dent it enough to kill it (TTar lives and does about 50, Exca can revenge but gets weakened far etc.)

Thundurus-I Set

Thundurus @ Life Orb
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 ATK / 30 Def
- Nasty Plot
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power Ice
- Thunder Wave

Because you seem to have issues against Mega Venusaur and Amoonguss since you don't really have anything to hit them hard besides a boosted Thundurus, but they live various attacks from it and can either damage or Spore it in return. You could probably afford to run Psychic>Protect on Diancie for this reason. While Protect is a lovely luxury for Diancie, I think you would much rather have the coverage for Venusaur here instead. Do be aware, however, that this is still only a 2HKO even against Offensive Venusaur so it's best to weaken it via Excadrill or something first. Another thing you could do here is run HP Flying>Icy Wind on Keldeo if you feel like you're THAT weak to Venusaur. Psychic+Sand chipping away/limiting Recovery should suffice well enough, especially when paired with Excadrill being able to take it on somewhat. Icy Wind doesn't do much for you anyways since it's mostly used for Lati, which your team doesn't have issues with whatsoever.
252 SpA Choice Specs Keldeo Hidden Power Flying vs. 232 HP / 4 SpD Mega Venusaur: 168-198 (46.7 - 55.1%) -- 69.5% chance to 2HKO
252+ Atk Life Orb Excadrill Earthquake vs. 232 HP / 0 Def Mega Venusaur: 200-238 (55.7 - 66.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Mega Venusaur Giga Drain vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Excadrill: 184-217 (50.9 - 60.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

So uhh yeah, that's what I got. I tried to keep the team as true to it's original form as possible, that being an OFFENSIVE team with Diancie and Sand. Hope I helped or at least gave you some ideas of what you could do! Good Luck with the team!~

Tl;dr

-->

-->NP+HP Ice

-->Psychic>Protect

-->Hp Flying>Icy Wind

 

[celes]

Hey Liam MacRoibin, Thundurus-Therian is definitely an underrated threat in OU, especially when provided with the proper team support. Your team however has a few flaws in its structure. By basing your team around M-Diancie and a Sand core of Tyranitar + Excadrill, your team becomes susceptible to bulky Waters and Grass types like M-Venusaur, Tangrowth, Amoonguss, Slowbro, Suicune, and etc. You do have ways of revenging and beating them in general, but you don't have any way of switching into them directly. M-Venusaur directly is a huge pain for your team since Keldeo, M-Diancie, and Thundurus-T all struggle immensly in breaking it. Sand teams in general also shouldn't only have one Water resist since they're pressured by Rain teams enough as it is, plus specific Pokemon like Keldeo, Azumarill, Volcanion, and Rotom-W pose generally huge threats to them as well. As it is, your team doesn't have a single switch-in to any of the aforementioned Pokemon, but it does have members that they can switch in on. My rate will focus on fixing these issues, while also trying to improve the synergy of your team.

Similarly to Latios, every single team needs at least one Keldeo answer since it's one of the most dominating Pokemon in the meta. To provide you with an answer to Keldeo, a reliable switch-in to Landorus-T (which you currently don't have), and something that can stomach a hit from opposing M-Diancie which you also can't switch into, you should run Gastrodon > Keldeo. This provides you with an answer to all of the Water types I mentioned before, bar Hidden Power Grass Volcanion, Substitute + Calm Mind Keldeo, and Belly Drum Azumarill, and can also reliably take two Moonblasts from M-Diancie by running 76 EVs in Special Defense. It also can check Weavile and Bisharp in place of Keldeo, plus it provides you with a much needed M-Metagross check. Now, to help check all of the sets I mentioned Gastrodon couldn't before, provide you with an additional Water resist, and a lure to M-Scizor and Ferrothorn so M-Diancie can break through teams easier, you should run Hidden Power Fire Latios > Weavile. Latios also provides you with a check to bulky Grass types like M-Venusaur and Amoonguss that your team struggles with.

Since your team doesn't handle Gengar, Charizard-Y + Pursuit, or (Mega) Alakazam very well, and since your Excadrill doesn't run Swords Dance to abuse extra Sand turns, I feel like you should run Chople Berry > Smooth Rock on Tyranitar as well as run Air Balloon > Life Orb on Excadrill since your Ground immunities aren't very solid, and this is your sole way of breaking Clefable which can easily Life Orb stall you.

My last two suggestions will be focused on M-Diancie and Thundurus-T since they're both very weak to M-Venusaur and Chansey, and I feel like a few adjustments can be made to help them break through these Pokemon rather than both just get walled by them. I think you should run Focus Blast > Agility and Hidden Power Flying > Hidden Power Ice on Thundurus-T, as well as run Timid > Modest Nature and Expert Belt > Leftovers. The move changes allow you to take on M-Venusaur, Amoonguss, Celebi, and Chansey much better to support M-Diancie, and the Nature change allows you to revenge kill Manaphy and Charizard-Y which annoy bulky offense builds a lot. After a Nasty Plot, Expert Belt allows you to 2HKO Chansey with Focus Blast, OHKO Defensive M-Venusaur, Amoonguss, and Celebi with Hidden Power Flying. None of these require Stealth Rock to be up, but to guarantee the OHKO on a fully Specially Defensive Assault Vest Tangrowth you will need Stealth Rock damage first.

Lastly, with Latios luring in Ferrothorn and M-Scizor, and Nasty Plot Thundurus-T beating Chansey, M-Venusaur, and Amoonguss, I think you should run Rock Polish M-Diancie > Protect M-Diancie as your win condition. This helps make up for Thundurus-T no longer running Agility, and can help with breaking Rain teams and opposing Sand teams. With a spread of 196 Atk / 120 SpA / 192 Spe and a Rash Nature you outspeed the fastest Pokemon in the meta (Jolly Sand Rush Excadrill) after a Rock Polish, have a fair shot of 2HKOing standard Calm Clefable with Diamond Storm, and the SpA still is higher than what it would be with a Naive Nature (Naive hits 419 SpA with Max EVs, this spread hits 424 SpA with 120 SpA EVs).

Updated Team

Diancie-Mega @ Diancite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 196 Atk / 120 SpA / 192 Spe
Rash Nature
- Moonblast
- Diamond Storm
- Earth Power
- Rock Polish

Tyranitar @ Chople Berry
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 248 HP / 80 Def / 180 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Pursuit
- Stone Edge
- Stealth Rock
- Ice Beam

Excadrill @ Air Balloon
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Iron Head
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Rapid Spin

Latios @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Psyshock
- Draco Meteor
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Recover

Thundurus-Therian @ Expert Belt
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 30 HP / 0 Atk / 30 Def / 30 SpA / 30 SpD
- Nasty Plot
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Flying]
- Focus Blast

Gastrodon @ Leftovers
Ability: Storm Drain
EVs: 232 HP / 200 Def / 76 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Scald
- Earthquake
- Recover
- Toxic

Hope I was able to help!

 

[Liam MacRoibin]

Thank both of you for the detailed and thought out responses. Your feedback is definitely helpful. I'll try out your suggestions and let you know how I get on. I think one benefit I had during my current testing was that I only came up against one Venasaur during all the games. Thanks Again!

 

[urban]

Hello, Liam. I think your team is decently solid as it is now, but I think a few changes could improve the team and make things a bit easier for you.

First off, I and most others will tell you that a competitive team needs a solid switch in to Keldeo, which your team currently lacks. For this reason, I believe you should replace at least one member with a solid Keldeo check. Looking through your team, Weavile seems to accomplish the least, as you already have a way to trap and beat the Latis with Ttar, and you also don't really need the speed the speed it provides for threats like Tornadus-T. Therefore, I think you should replace Weavile with Latios. Latios gives you a decent Keldeo switch in as well as an answer to Venusaur. As far as sets go, you do not need a Defogger with Excadrill on the team, so I think a Calm Mind set could work really well for you. Calm Mind Latios does a great job at luring in and taking huge damage out of some pretty big threats to your team - things like Heatran and Clefable. It also really helps against CM Slowbro and MegaBro.

The second change I would suggest is replacing Thundurus-T with Thundurus-I. In the current metagame, the difference in speed tier is incredibly important as running Thundy-T leaves you significantly more vulnerable to threats like Garchomp, the Latis, and Mega-Metagross. For that reason, I think you will find way more usefulness out of Thundy-I. In particular, I think a mixed Thundurus set would do wonders for your team. Mixed Thundy is an excellent lure for ScarfTar, Excadrill, and the Latis and doesn't have to rely on the shaky accuracy of Focus Blast.

The last few suggestions I have are more minor. The first is to change Mega Diancie's spread to a more physically oriented spread. The spread I typically use is 200 Atk / 56 SpA / 252 Spe with a Naive nature. The physically oriented spread helps against Clefable, Amoonguss, offensive Mega-Venu, and Mega-Gardevoir. The SpA EVs are to guarantee the OHKO on Bisharp with Earth Power. I would not change the moveset at all for Mega Diancie, as the moveset you are running is just about the only one it can pull off in the current metagame imo. The second minor change would be to change Tyranitar's item to a Chople Berry and Ice Beam to Toxic or Superpower. The Chople Berry is to prevent both Alakazam forms and Mega Lopunny from running through your team once Driller is gone. Superpower may seem odd on a Support Tar, but when paired with a Chople Berry, you can really surprise your opponents and nail some nice KOs. If you're not feeling Superpower, Toxic is also an option to put Lopunny and Lando-T on a timer. The final suggestion, which probably boils down to personal preference more than anything else, would be to run Jolly Excadrill with Swords Dance>Rock Slide. Jolly Excadrill hits some important benchmarks when out of sand - particularly max speed Heatran. Replacing RS with SD mitigates the power drop somewhat, and the primary targets of RS (Char-Y, Talonflame) are already handled decently well by the rest of your team.

Import with Changes in Bold

Diancie-Mega @ Diancite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 200 Atk / 56 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Moonblast
- Diamond Storm
- Earth Power
- Protect

Tyranitar @ Chople Berry
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 248 HP / 80 Def / 180 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Pursuit
- Stone Edge
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic

Excadrill @ Life Orb
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Iron Head
- Earthquake
- Swords Dance
- Rapid Spin

Latios @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psyshock
- Draco Meteor
- Calm Mind
- Recover

Keldeo @ Choice Specs
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Hydro Pump
- Secret Sword
- Icy Wind

Thundurus (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Superpower
- Knock Off

I hope I was able to help out!