Excadrill
PvE Analysis
For a long time, Excadrill was anticipated as a Ground-type attacker with real potential. And then Excadrill was released, and met those anticipations beautifully. Excadrill's power and laundry-list of resistances make it a great Pokemon in many raids, and one that tends to be surprisingly tanky against many top raid bosses that are weak to Ground thanks to its Steel sub-typing.
Max Battles
When it comes to Max Raid performance, Excadrill is very much a VIP. Its capabilities as both a Steel and Ground attacker are impressive, further bolstered by having access to two 0.5 second Fast Attacks in Metal Claw and Mud Shot. It's typing is also very valuable defensively thanks to its massive list of resistances, easily making up for its relative frailty. Additionally, it possesses a surprisingly high HP stat, which makes it a good healer with Max Spirit. Honestly, this is an outstanding Pokemon that will make Max Battles substantially easier when it's needed.
In the future, Garchomp, Groudon, and Landorus-T can outperform it offensively as a Ground attacker, while Necrozma-DM, Dialga, Gigantamax Melmetal, and Gigantamax Copperajah does the same from the Steel side. However, Excadrill's incredible Attack stat, role compression, and valuable defensive typing can keep it relevant for a long, long time.
Best PvE Offensive Moveset
Mud Slap + Scorching Sands | Best |
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Metal Claw + Iron Head | Great |
- Mud Slap is preferable since Excadrill is primarily used as a Ground-type attacker.
- Mud Shot falls behind in performance due to inferior damage output. However, as it has a speedy duration of 0.5 seconds, it is the preferred Fast Attack for Max Battles to charge up the Max Meter more quickly than Mud Slap.
- Metal Claw in a nutshell performs better from a stats perspective, but isn't as useful in practice. In Max Battles, it can charge up the Max Meter quickly due to its 0.5 second duration, serving as an alternative to Mud Shot if Steel-type damage is needed.
- Scorching Sands is definitely Excadrill's best Ground Type move.
- Earthquake is stronger than Drill Run, but the later is more reliable due to being 2-bar.
- Iron Head can pair with Metal Claw if a Steel-type attacker is needed, but Excadrill isn't the best for this role.
- Rock Slide lacks STAB and has little use.
Best PvE Defensive Moveset
Mud Slap + Iron Head, Rock Slide, or Scorching Sands | Best |
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- Mud Slap is superior to Metal Claw on defense thanks to its significantly higher base power.
- Mud Shot has poor damage output for defense.
- Iron Head sports the earliest damage window, and is the hardest to dodge.
- Rock Slide doesn't get STAB, but it is hard to dodge and offers greater coverage.
- Scorching Sands works well on Defense.
- Drill Run is a bit slower than the others, but still performs okay on defense.
- Earthquake is too slow for defense.
PvP Analysis
Mud Slap + Rock Slide and Drill Run |
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Mud Slap is preferred over Mud Shot; its massive damage output is generally worth it over Mud Shot's slightly higher energy gain but far worse damage output. Metal Claw is an underwhelming move for PvP, and Steel-type coverage is typically not as valuable.
Rock Slide ties for the least amount of energy, and provides wide coverage. Drill Run is an efficient move that is recommended over Earthquake due to significantly less energy costs. Scorching Sands is weaker than Drill Run and has a higher energy cost, making it a lesser option. However, it also has a 30% chance to debuff the target's Attack, so it's not entirely outclassed. Iron Head is typically not used due to other charge moves being more valuable.
Great League | / 5 |
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Excadrill is a potent glass cannon that makes use of its Steel typing and Mud Slap's high damage output. Unfortunately, competition for the Mud Slapper role is quite high, with options like Gastrodon and Marowak being on the spotlight due to their significantly higher stats. Shadow Excadrill is preferred over regular Excadrill to maximize its damage potential, as players will be investing shields for it anyways due to its frailty. | |
Ultra League | / 5 |
Same deal with Great League; Excadrill is a glass cannon sweeper that still finds itself generally outclassed by other Ground-type Pokemon such as Gastrodon or even Golurk. Its Steel typing can provide it with a wonderful set of resistances to make up for its frailty, however. | |
Master League | / 5 |
Excadrill was once a Master League staple, being the game's best answer to the omnipresent Dialga. It was an incredible sweeper due to its nearly unmatched pacing, excellent coverage, and fairly high Attack stat. Though Excadrill's stats were abysmal by Master League standards, its resistances were often more than enough to cover for its frailty. Over time, Excadrill was powercrept. Incinerate was buffed. More powerful threats such as Zygarde-C and Palkia-O were added to the game. Landorus-T received Sandsear Storm and outright outclassed Excadrill in its role. Mud Slap was buffed too, and the much higher statted Rhyperior benefited from it significantly more than Excadrill. Though Excadrill could land a more appreciable niche in Master Premier, where it doesn't have to deal with these powerful Legendary threats and competitors, it unfortunately does not escape the mighty Rhyperior. Thus, the little mole that could is no more. |