Crocodilian

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 has 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; the sickness that has taken root in the Courtyard is now spreading into the swamp, and there is no creature great or small that is safe from its twisted influence.

Where this mighty beast came from, no one knows; some say it was always living deep within the swamps of the Moor, while others think that it must have been imported from some far away land by one of the nobles for his collection of exotic animals before it escaped from the menagerie.

One thing is clear; this amphibious marauder must have had close contact with those tainted with the Crimson Curse, for it has mutated into something abhorrent, part crocodile, part insect.

Its strong reptilian legs are replaced with armored insect legs, black spines grow from its back, and the large hump on its back with bleeding holes in them is nothing more than a wreathed hive for mosquitoes and other carriers of the Crimson Curse.

Behavior
The Crocodilian is a miniboss appearing in several Courtyard missions. Despite the first mission being Apprentice Level, bringing low resolve level characters is inadvisable when fighting this fiend.

The Crocodilian will use Lurking Fear and Submerge to buff itself. Lurking Fear also moves the Crocodilian.

Teeth Rake deals medium-high damage and bleed on a single hero, pulling them forward 2 ranks.

Its strongest attack is Apex Predator, which deals high damage and bleed on up to three heroes. It will only use this move after it uses Submerge.

Strategy
The Crocodilian always begins in rank 4, and is always accompanied by 3 VEGETATION type enemies. It is unlikely for a hero to hit these plants due to their incredibly high DODGE stat, and even if a hit is successful, their vast HP pool and high protection prevent any foreseeable death of the plant.

The skill Lurking Fear shuffles its own position, and it possesses a very low Move Resist, so managing the Crocodilian's rank is not difficult, given the right skills equipped. Keeping the Crocodilian in rank 4 by constantly knocking it back will completely prevent it from using Teeth Rake while keeping it in rank 1 will prevent Swarming Corruption. Both options will prevent its use of Apex Predator, as it can only use Submerge in ranks 2 and 3.

It is possible to quickly kill the Crocodilian with focus damage and stuns. Because the Crocodilian takes two actions per round, attacks that inflict bleed can help quickly defeat him.

Abilities
Apprentice =

Veteran =

Champion =

* Apex Predator will only be used after Submerge.

Blacksmith and Guild
It is crucial that Weapons and Armor should be upgraded to at least level 1. Defeating the Crocodilian with level 0 equipment is nigh impossible.

Explanation
Vestal - Stun (50% chance but still worth trying), heal, party heal (can save multiple heroes from death door) makes her a perfect pick for the fight.

Safe picks - Heroes with abilities to reposition and reach backlines, allowing them to consistently deal damage.

Specific ones - Can be used for marking team or as extra supports but are mostly unsuitable for the fight.

Bad picks - Due to their low range and general immobilty, they are almost useless for the fight.

Marking Team
A Marking team is not always effective, as the Crocodilian remains on 3rd and 4th position most of the time. That makes abilities like the ones of the Bounty Hunter nearly useless. Also, the Arbalest is heavily limited as she can't reach the Crocodilian in the 1st position in the cases where it is pulled there, and she is nearly useless when pulled forward by Teeth Rake. Additionally, the Crocodilian is fast and takes two actions per round, which will cause the mark to wear off more quickly than usual. This forces your heroes to reapply the mark instead of dealing damage or using other support abilities.

An effective party composition would include Vestal/Occultist, Grave Robber/Hound Master/Highwayman, Bounty Hunter.

Trivia
One of the Crocodilian's attacks is named after an H.P. Lovecraft Story called "The Lurking Fear."