Crocodilian

"A hideous mutation, unnatural and abhorrent. Narration_cc_courtyard_crocodile.wav"

- The Ancestor.

Many decades ago, the Courtyard was built on top of a drained swamp; now that the once great and splendid gardens, luxurious halls and mansions are overgrown and crumbling, the wilderness of the Moor has returned to reclaim what men have taken from nature. Bit by bit, buildings are slowly sinking into the growing swamp, and plants and animals once driven from their ancestral homes are recolonizing the overgrown gardens.

But even nature itself is not safe from the blood curse, and the Crocodilian is proof of this. The crocodile-mosquito hybrid is one of the few non-human victims of the Crimson Curse, and even though it is incapable of spreading the Curse itself, it is a very deadly foe that can become the cause of a party's demise if taken lightly.

Behavior
The Crocodilian is a miniboss appearing in several Courtyard missions. Despite the first mission being Apprentice Level, it's highly advisable to bring characters with high resolve levels; the mission plays host to your first encounter with this beast, and you won't see it coming until it's already engaged you in battle.

The Crocodilian will always use Swarming Corruption and Lurking Fear on its first turn; afterwards, it will use random skills. It is highly resistant to debuffs and Blight, but relatively vulnerable to Bleed, Stun and Move effects. When defeated, it will always drop one trinket from a Trinket Set.

Abilities
Teeth Rake deals medium-high damage and Bleed on a single hero, pulling them forward 2 ranks. It also has a high chance to inflict medium-high Stress damage. Swarming Corruption is the Crocodilian's main attack for spread damage, hitting the entire party at once. The damage is mild to moderate, but it comes with a high chance of Stress damage and an ACC debuff.

The Crocodilian has two moves to buff itself. Lurking Fear raises its damage and PROT while also moving it back one space (unless it's already at the back, in which case it moves forward). Submerge drastically increases its Dodge and heals it slightly, but it's also the warning for the beast's ultimate attack: Apex Predator. This deadly lunge deals devastatingly high damage on up to three heroes (two on Apprentice level), almost certainly bringing them to Death's Door; it also moves the Crocodilian to the very front of the enemy formation.

Strategy
While the Crocodilian will always start in Rank 4, it will start moving forward pretty quickly. Having Abilities to hit the Croc in the back is nice, but by no means required. This is because as soon as the Croc moves into Rank 3, you want to pull it into 1. This is because the Croc can't use Submerge and the subsequent Apex Predator from Rank 1 and 4. Keeping the Croc from using Apex Predator is the main focus of most strategies because Apex Predator is by far the biggest risk in the fight, being able to hit 2 or 3 Heroes for massive damage.

Aside from Apex Predator, the other attacks are by no means completely threatless. Both Teeth Rake and Swarming Corruption deal decent damage and leave either a Bleed or a really bad -ACC debuff. Being able to deal with these attacks is really important, especially the pull from Teeth Rake. Having a team that can deal with being moved is very important.

For offense, having heroes that can hit either Rank 1 or 2 is very important. That's where the Croc will spend most of his time during the fight, unless pushed back with something like Uppercut from Bounty Hunter or Slam from the Abomination. While Blight is mostly ineffective, both Bleed and Stun are fairly effective. The usual Stun chance is around 50%, but with the right Trinkets on someone like Occultist, it's possible to get an almost guaranteed Stun. Avoiding getting hit by Teeth Rake or giving your heroes another Turn after Croc used Lurking Fear to move into Rank 2, so it can be pulled forward again. Bleeds are very effective, since the Croc has muliple actions. Having someone like Highwayman to lower Croc's Bleed resist even further is also effective. Riposte however isn't very effective. The only cleave Croc has is Swarming Corruption, which leaves a nasty -ACC debuff, which lowers the already low base ACC of Riposte even further. Especially at higher levels, Riposte becomes even harder to use against Croc since it doesn't have scalign ACC. It's always stuck at 85.

Preferred Heroes

 * Abomination - Deals the highest base damage when Transformed to Rank 1-3 with Rage and can reposition with Slam. Slam also allows Abom to push Croc into Rank 4 as a last ditch effort to prevent Apex Predator. This will move Croc out of Abom's reach however. Can provide decent support even in Human form, especially when equipped with Broken Key to stun Croc.
 * Bounty Hunter - Can completely counter Croc by using a combination of Uppercut and Come Hither. Flashbang can serve as a replacement, but is very random. He also provides good damage, especially when Croc is marked. He will pretty much never be out of position since he works in any Rank from 1-3, but be mindful of Uppercut, since it can only be used in Rank 1/2.
 * Crusader - Basically immune to Crocs movement and can hit Rank 1/2 very hard with Smite. Has the most consistant heal since it heals a set number instantly from anywhere. Even has a Stun to Stun Croc when it uses Lurking Fear at the very end of a turn. Croc will usually outspeed Crus, allowing him to land a Stun as the last action in the Turn, allowing your other heroes to disable it, even if it highrolls speed, since it's Stunned.
 * Flagellant - Can hit the Croc with very big bleeds, especially Exsanguinate. Reclaim is a great way to counter the DoT Teeth Rake applies. Since it triggers before DoT, it will prevent Death by DoT, which is the most common way of Death due to 0 HP. He is fairly resistant to Croc's moving, since he can move into Rank 1 with just one Turn.
 * Grave Robber - Very resistant to being moved around and helps reposition your team if needed with a combination of Lunge and Shadow Fade. Doesn't do a whole lot utility wise, but is great to counter being moved and deal some good damage with Lunge.
 * Highwayman - Very resistant to being moved since he can hit any Rank from basically any Rank. Point Blank shot is very inflexible however, so it's usually better to start him in the back and slowly move forward while using Open Vein to Bleed the Croc.
 * Houndmaster - Very resistant to being moved. Hounds Rush, Blackjack, Guard Dog and Target Whistle are all great moves to have for Croc.
 * Man-at-Arms - Having Bolster up is nice for the fight and something to do on Turn 1. Rampart can be used to push Croc into Rank 3 to pull him forward. if nothing else is available. His Guard can be used to lower Apex Predator damage when the Croc submerges and can save lives if things go bad. A nice addition to most teams.
 * Occultist - Can both Pull the Croc from Rank 3 and Stun it very very well. His heal is a bit inconsistant, but can be used regardless of position. Allows heroes like Leper to chew through Croc while it's stunned. He usually has a 80-90% chance to Stun the Croc when he has Demon's Cauldron equipped.
 * Shieldbreaker - Probably the best counter to Croc. Puncture counter the Croc completely, since it can pull enemies in Rank 2, which is exclusive to it. She can deal decent damage to Croc and prevent damage with Serpent Sway. Should be a part of any team that tries to take on Croc since she counters it so well.

Reasonable Choices

 * Hellion - Very position reliant. If she is anywhere that isn't Rank 1, she loses a huge chunk of her best offensive moves. Bleed Out is able to hit the Croc in Rank 1 for huge damage.
 * Jester - Battle Ballad is just good enough to warrant bringing Jester at times. He provides little offense since the only way he can hit Rank 1 is Dirk Stab. Finale is a big finisher that, when used too early, will make Jester a sitting target due to the heavy debuffs. He is also very fragile and can die very quickly to Teeth Rake. If you really can't think of anything else in Rank 3, bring Jester and press Battle Ballad as much as possible before he gets moved out of the back.
 * Leper - Same problems as Hellion, but slightly more flexible in hitting Croc. Croc starting in the back isn't really a problem, since you'll usually want to use Revenge on Turn 1 anyways. Chop will start hitting the Croc very hard when it's in the front. If you can stop Croc from moving Leper out of position, he can chew through Croc in a few turns.
 * Plague Doctor - Her Blight don't do a lot, but Incision can deal a suprising amount of damage. Disorienting Blast is a bit inconsistent, but can serve as a way to stop Croc from using Apex Predator. Battlefield Medicine is relatively position reliant, but can deal with the DoT of Teeth Rake fairly well.
 * Vestal - Very position reliant. Her heals can get multiple people off of Deaths Door, but preventing Apex Predator completely is usually more effective. Her Stuns and damage are not that great either, making her somewhat of a liability for the fight. She still perform decently because her Stun is decent for stunning Croc.

Poor Choices

 * Antiquarian - Due to the very high ACC of Croc, he dodge focused Support doesn't do a lot. Her offense is pretty much limited to Nervous Stab since Festering has a very low chance of landing.
 * Arbalest/Musketeer - Can't hit Rank 1, which is where Croc will usually sit for most of the fight. Gets screwed by the movement of Teeth Rake.

Abilities
Apprentice =

Veteran =

Champion =

* Apex Predator will only be used after Submerge.

Vegetation
The Crocodilian is always accompanied by a trio of ordinary water plants that grow in the blood-soaked swamps of the Moor and the Courtyard. These plants are nigh-invulnerable but have no offensive presence, and serve only as barriers for the Crocodilian, preventing heroes from permanently manipulating the beast's position by clearing up spots in the formation.

All Areas

 * Supplicant
 * Sycophant
 * Gatekeeper
 * Chevalier

The Courtyard

 * Manservant
 * Esquire
 * Courtesan

Bosses

 * Baron
 * Viscount
 * Countess
 * Garden Guardian

Trivia

 * One of the Crocodilian's attacks is named after an H.P. Lovecraft Story called "The Lurking Fear."
 * If both the Crimson Court DLC and The Color of Madness DLCs are installed, the Crocodilian can be fought as part of the Endless Harvest mission. Interestingly, the Crimson Court doesn't even have to be enabled for it to appear. The Crocodilian is the only Crimson Court enemy that can be encountered in the Endless Harvest.