Sand

[Pillow]

After moderate success with my sun team, I decided to delve into the realm of sand.
Sand and I don't have a great history, but this one hasn't been doing that bad. It got me to the 1700's twice, which probably isn't much to you guys, but it's a big deal for me.
Not only that, but I also won an OU tourney with this team, no losses obviously. I'm not sure if that counts for anything, but I think it's kind of cool.
I also wanted to try Sandslash, so that's a thing.
Like usual, bold for changes.

Tyranitar @ Leftovers
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 64 SAtk / 192 SDef
Sassy Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Crunch
- Ice Beam
- Fire Blast
Tyranitar serves a plethora of purposes on my team. It sets up the sand, it's my main Stealth Rocker, it's my primary special wall, and it counters SO MANY THINGS thanks to its fantastic mixed movepool.
The EVs are pretty standard for a specially defensive Pokemon. Fire Blast for Ferrothorn and Forretress, and Ice Beam for dragons.

Sandslash @ Life Orb
Trait: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Rapid Spin
Sandslash, oh Sandslash. Why don't people use you more? You're so good.
Sandslash is the main sweeper of this team, and the basic reason that this team was made.
Thanks to the sand, giving him over 500 speed, he acts as a great revenge killer, and because of the switches he can force, he can easily set up a Swords Dance and proceed to sweep.
But wait, there's more! He can also Rapid Spin on a switch, clearing up my field.

Terrakion @ Choice Band
Trait: Justified
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- X-scissor
- Quick Attack
Man, I'm stupid. How could I forget to add the hardest hitting thing on the team?
My first rodeo with CB Terrakion. My god, it's powerful.
This thing is basically my last resort if I can't beat something. Either that, or it cleans up late-game.

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Trait: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 168 Def / 88 SDef
Relaxed Nature
- Spikes
- Leech Seed
- Protect
- Power Whip
Man, I love Ferrothorn. It's so useful, granted you already have a Pokemon with Stealth Rock. Otherwise it just becomes a mess. But because my Tyranitar has Rocks, this Ferrothorn can be used to it's best extent.
Spike-stacking is one of my favorite things to do, and Ferrothorn is arguably the best user. Leech Seed is wonderful too, giving both of my walls or anyone else reliable recovery as long as the opponent stays in.

Latios @ Life Orb
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Dragon Pulse
- Surf
- Hidden Power Fire
- Roost
This team has a lot of firsts for me, including Sandslash, Reuniclus, and ANY form of Latios. The only Eon Twin I've used is Latias, but after using Expert Belt Latios on this team, I can see why it's used more.
This thing is the main special sweeper and can sweep teams by itself. I like Dragon Pulse more than Draco Meteor, because Latios is designed to sweep, not revenge or anything.
The rest is pretty much standard, HP Fire for Ferrothorn and such, Surf, and Roost for some reliable recovery.
Thanks Red3mpti0n for suggestion Life Orb.

Reuniclus @ Leftovers
Trait: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Bold Nature
- Calm Mind
- Psychic
- Focus Blast
- Recover
Oh, you send in a Physical wall on my Sandslash? Say hello to Reuniclus.
Calm Mind Reuniclus can be unstoppable mid/late-game, and with Psychic and Fighting coverage, great stats and recovery, this thing is so good.
The only real problem is that people usually forfeit during my set up so I can't sweep. ;-;

And that's the sand team that got me to 1700 on the OU ladder. Thanks for reading and feel free to leave any suggestions!

 

[Red3mpti0n]

Sandslash, oh Sandslash. Why don't people use you more? You're so good.
Sandslash is the main sweeper of this team, and the basic reason that this team was made.
Thanks to the sand, giving him over 500 speed, he acts as a great revenge killer, and because of the switches he can force, he can easily set up a Swords Dance and proceed to sweep.

Sandslash is by no means bad, but is underwhelming in many ways. Its attack leaves a lot to be desired and it's pitifully slow, even with Sand Rush. In order to outspeed half the things you'd want to spin on/revenge, it needs to be Jolly, meaning its attack suffers even more (and even then it barely outpaces Scarf Landorus). At that point, you're better off using a stronger scarfer that can revenge-kill more reliably, even if it is slower. It's ok to use, just be sure not to forget what Sandlash is; it is a fast spinner that can attack, NOT a fast attacker that can spin.

LO > EBelt on Latios. You might as well take the extra power since you can't bluff the Choice item as effectively without Draco. You can negate the recoil and sandstorm damage with Recover as well. It's an great attacker and perfectly viable as is, but I don't think it will be "sweeping" much w/o either DD or CM.

You're going to be relying HEAVILY on Terrakion to deal with Genesect, but other than that the rest of the team looks pretty decent. Oh and congrats on 1700 and the tourney!

 

[Pillow]

Hey, thanks!
I guess I never considered Life Orb, but it does make sense.
And thanks for the Sandslash info, I'll try to remember that.

 

[undisputed]

Hey!

So your team looks pretty cool as is. I've been wanting to make a Sandslash team for a while. Pretty underrated Pokemon. The one thing I don't like about your team is Reuniclus. In my opinion, the metagame has made a major shift away from Reuniclus' glory days. Just about everything is powerful enough to 2HKO it, and there are very few Pokemon that aren't faster than it. Overall, it just spells disaster. Instead, I'd like you to think about Mix Salamence. Really underrated mid-game Pokemon, and the Pokemon that counter Sandslash (like Ferrothorn, Skarmory, Water types, Gliscor, Sun Teams, etc) all fall prey to Salamence! With Sandslash Rapid Spin support, Mix Salamence has room to shine in the midgame.

I like Life Orb Latios, but I really dislike Hidden Power Fire. If you add Mix Salamence, I don't see the big need for Hidden Power Fire, and I think you could afford to put on Calm Mind. Not only will Calm Mind give you the extra boost to beat some annoying Pokemon (like Jellicent or Keldeo), but Dragon Pulse and Surf are your main two attacking options anyway. I hardly find myself using a different move than those two, so I think Calm Mind only adds to Latios' effectiveness. Calm Mind Latios can take on Sun teams by itself, and Rain teams are hard pressed to beat it. Calm Mind also helps vs. Tornadus-t, the most annoying Pokemon ever.

Good luck with your team dude!