RBY OU Sandslash [GP Ready]

Sandslash
Type: Ground
Stats: 75 | 100 | 110 | 55 | 65

Introduction

Sandslash has similar matchups to Rhydon and Golem, but lacks their secondary Rock-typing, giving them a useful resistance to Normal- and Flying-type attacks, but giving them an even greater weakness to Water- and Grass-type attacks, as well as a weakness to Ground-type attacks. However, Water- and Grass-type attacks are very rare in RBY 1U, and most Ground-type attackers have Normal-type STAB, such as Snorlax and Tauros. The lack of Ground-type weakness however gives Sandslash an advantageous matchup versus the Rock-types. Sandslash also lacks a secondary STAB, making it harder to chip at Exeggutor, and weaker versus Zapdos. It still beats Zapdos 1 on 1, thanks to its good physical stats, but the lack of Flying-type resistance and Rock-type STAB make it a far from comfortable matchup. It also is slightly faster than Rhydon and Golem, which notably gives it the jump on Exeggutor and Chansey. All in all, it's a Pokemon with a good matchup versus both Rock-types and Zapdos, which can boost its power further with Swords Dance, but otherwise struggles to compete with other Ground-types, which offer more immediate power, and check Pokemon such as Snorlax and Zapdos far more effectively.

Sets

Swords Dance

Sandslash
- Earthquake
- Swords Dance
- Slash
- Hyper Beam / Rock Slide / Body Slam

Set Details

Earthquake is STAB, and is a great, spammable move. Swords Dance lets it boost its attack, making it distinct from other Ground-types in the tier. Slash is the best choice in the third slot, letting it break Reflect Chansey. Hyper Beam is usually the choice in the final slot to hit Pokemon which take boosted Earthquakes fine, but Rock Slide also has perfect coverage alongside, hits Flying-types super-effectively, and has no recharge should it fail to KO. Body Slam is an alternative in the final slot: it is worse vs Zapdos than Rock Slide or Hyper Beam, but it gives it the option of trying to land paralysis on Pokemon such as Starmie which otherwise switch in and force Sandslash out comfortably.

Other Options

Sandslash doesn't really have the bulk or typing to make great use out of Rest, but Substitute could potentially be usable to exploit free turns generated by full paralysis.

Checks and Counters

Exeggutor is the best check, due to its Ground-type resistance and high defense, and its near-ubiquitous presence. However, Psychic is a roll to 2HKO. Dragonite can use Sandslash as set-up bait. Starmie has decent physical bulk, Recover, high Speed, and can hit Sandslash super-effectively with Blizzard, exploiting its low special. Cloyster outspeeds, has exceptional physical bulk, and has a good chance OHKO with STAB Blizzard, and Lapras, although outsped, also OHKOs with STAB Blizzard and has the physical bulk to take a boosted attack. Articuno is 2HKOd Rock Slide but can OHKO with STAB Blizzard. Tauros outspeeds and can 2HKO with Blizzard. Kingler and Victreebel outspeed and OHKO Sandslash with their STAB (albeit it's a roll in Victreebel's case), although Earthquake can sting Victreebel. If needed, Chansey can take an attack, and 2HKOs with Ice Beam.

 

Victreebel doesn't always OHKO Sandslash with Razor Leaf.

Egg only has a coinflip chance to 2HKO with Psychic so it's not a very sure counter.

 

Sandslash is quiet bad in rby 1u meta (thx to victory road i used a lot bad mons), this mon requiers specific team for it, you should go with non-lead starmie or lapras for good type coverage => you have to drop 1 big4 pokemon or use lead gutor

 

I would challenge describing Sandslash's matchup versus Zapdos as "good." You call out that Sandslash beats Zapdos 1 on 1, which is most often true, but not always. Don't forget that Rock Slide's 3HKO is a roll with a reasonable margin of error, plus lower accuracy. If both Pokemon are staying in to play for 3-5 turns to KO Zapdos's speed becomes a factor - it has a much higher crit rate and it gets to hit first. Even if both Pokemon come in fresh, Sandslash doesn't have as great of an edge as it seems.

But something more important worth noting that tilts that matchup even further is that Sandslash is not always a great Zapdos switch-in ... which really sucks because that's one of the big things that you want your Ground to be able to do! Now obviously Sandslash can switch into a predicted Thunderbolt or Thunder Wave, but if the Zapdos is in against your Alakazam, Chansey, Jynx, or Exeggutor you're probably expecting to eat a Drill Peck. Combine that with all the stuff listed above (Sandslash needs to hit all 3 or 4 of its Rock Slides while praying Zapdos doesn't crit) and Sandslash isn't something you'll be comfortable actually using against a Zapdos too much.

Eh, long story short I play with Zapdos a lot and Sandslashes never scare me.

 

Hmm... good points indeed.

And Rock Slide netting that 3HKO is important to note, Slash doesn't do that...

 

Slash is really good against Reflect Chansey though, which is in my opinion a strong trait of it. I don't think I'd use Rock Slide, I'd hate seeing Egg just coming in freely.

The team I made with Sandlash was blizzbolt starmie lead, big 4 + sandlash (slash+beam). With this team I go egg against Zam lead (you create a future set-up spot by sleeping it) and i'd switch out to chansey against Starmie lead too, that way you keep it fresh to support. Sandslash handles electrics for starmie and starmie handles waters for sandslash (and that way starmie can be tauros support as well).

Then for the Snorlax set I suppose you can be free, reflectlax can be useful against fishlax and tauros at the same time (two annoying match-ups for sandslash), but then you don't have an offensive answer to opposite reflectlax and amnesia lax shits on the team, so you could go counterlax (to boom on an annoying target as well). More unsual sets like Reflect + SD could work since sandslash can sort of be a gengar answer + is good v rocks.

I don't think it's that great overall, I don't believe it to be on the higher end of E ranks. Having a 6th that loses to Tauros is always difficult (and in this case it loses to most 6ths too)

 

They are not similar at all, but their match ups are. Would you call Jolteon similar to Zapdos? Seems wrong to me. Sandslash offers a decent speed, Swords Dance and Slash. But can't:
1 Explode
2 insta-attacking, if you think of it he can't threat stuff before Swords Dance that means he can be switched on an SD turn/attacked by Chansey whatever
3 countering or even facing Zapdos according to the set
4 switch on Body Slam/Hyper Beams/Booms

The differences are clearly visible. They are not similar in my eyes, but rather really different, All they share is the ground type and some matchups like vs Egg/Reflect Chansey with way different roles.

 

changed the first line to "Sandslash has similar matchups to Rhydon and Golem, "

 

Body Slam should be a slash on the last slot with Rock Slide and Hyper Beam. It's the worst move vs Zapdos but Zapdos still takes some Slams before killing Sandslash (if at all) and then it it not that dangerous anymore. Body Slam is mainly for Starmie. Since (unparalyzed) Starmie switches into every other attack Sandslash can throw around. Body Slam can be used to fish for PAR on the predicted Starmie switch-in or on predicted Recover turns after Starmie switched into EQ/Slash (since Starmie basically has to Recover predicting the switch to a Chansey or something cause otherwise it does not check Sandslash anymore). If you don't want to slash it on the main set, at least give it a mention in OO.

 

"Body Slam is an alternative in the final slot: it is worse vs Zapdos than Rock Slide or Hyper Beam, but it gives it the option of trying to land paralysis on Pokemon such as Starmie which otherwise switch in and force Sandslash out comfortably."

any edits you'd make to that?

 

Reading the analysis more closely, I think the OP needs correction. It should state that the reason to use Sandslash is it's access to Slash, which makes it (in combination with it's gorund typing) one of the best outright Reflect S-Toss Chansey answers. Which makes the statement you made in that quote false (Slash does the same damage as Rhydon RS).
Even further, I would not slash Slash with Rock Slide.

In my mind the set should look something like that
SD
EQ
Slash
Hyper Beam/Rock Slide(/Body Slam)

 

edited again

 

what about sand attack?
it seems to me there are really two different sets
EQ
SD
Slash
Hbeam/Rockslide/bslam
or,
EQ
Slash
Sand Attack
Bslam / Substitute

running sd with bslam doesnt rly make sense to me tbh since you have no coverage alongside earthquake so even if you predict correctly on the SD turn youre not much better off against either eggy or zapdos. i guess if u para starmie the first time then it cant switch into sd in the future but i dont think sandslash is switching in and out often enough for that to matter (its very different from rhydon in that way)

SD seems almost niche to me in general in this meta tbh, the normals tend to run reflect, youre prob mainly using slash against eggy anyway so sd is for zapdos / random 6th matchups. and sometimes against paraed pokes or normal switchins but idt reflectlax rly wants to switch in even if u arent running sd?

sand attack / substitute is best for para’ed switchins but since sandslash outspeeds half of most teams it can be used other times too. mostly id want sand attack to reduce eggy’s status moves accuracy and sand attack is also way more spammable than sd or bslam / still is good even if you predict wrong. sand attack helps for reflectlax too

 

Sand Attack is the kind of thing that a pokemon might run if it literally had no better moves to run imo, which isn't the case here. Sand Attack just doesn't offer enough benefit unless it's spammed over multiple turns, which Sandslash doesn't have time to do and the effects are completely negated by switching anway