Hello everyone and welcome to my 272nd analysis, this time featuring Crabbydroid.
Overview: Crabbydroid's Base Speed ties with some very big names like Lord Pumpseed and Warmaster Sherezar, allowing him to outspeed most deniers. He also has a wide arsenal of debuffs that he can apply, like Nanovirus, buff removal, Stun, Freeze and Shock. These allow Crabbydroid to deal with many situations with ease. Having Tough as a trait is extremely helpful in today's meta to combat the various debuffs enemies might apply. Later on, Crabbydroid also gets Trait Protection as a trait, allowing him to best the extremely powerful Warmaster Thalassa. Should you go for it, Crabbydroid can also be an attacker, although he is not nearly as successful at being an attacker as he is at being a denier. Regardless, Crabbydroid is a very versatile and dangerous monster that can easily leave an impact on the battlefield.
Builds:
Monsters that have access to Group 4 skills will have a slightly different build path. I will list the most viable builds for each Rank since some moves in Group 4 are pivotal to some sets' success. The monster's role will likely remain the same, however, so this won't be exhaustingly long as I won't repeat the same things.
Rank 0
(Denier)
Moves:
-Irukandji
-Palancar Beauty
-Sea Wasp Box
-Great Barrier Savior/Ray Charge
Runes: 3 Speed
Mutant Rune options: Speed&Life
Relics: Essences and Banners
Build Explanation:
Irukandji is like Kihaku's Kuzushi, but on steroids. It removes buffs before applying both Freeze and Stun to all enemies, allowing it to not only bypass artificial immunities like immunities as buffs and Evasion, but also combat Hardened variants. The remaining moves are not nearly as impressive as this one, but they have their uses. Palancar Beauty is a debuff removal that costs no momentum, and also the extra turn is as flexible as always. Sea Wasp Box is an AOE Nanovirus that also applies Nanovirus to a single enemy, combating Hardened variants and Dodge Area monsters. Finally, Great Barrier Savior costs no momentum thanks to the extra turn it gives, and it gives all allies Sea Hater and Precision. These are not fantastic effects, but they can be game changing in some scenarios: Sea Hater will cause your attacker to definitely kill its target if said target is in the Sea Book, and Precision can be used to reduce the severity of effects like Blind and Daze. Ray Charge is an alternative if you don't find Great Barrier Savior useful. It will do decent damage to Water monsters while applying Nanovirus to its target, plus it allows Crabbydroid to do something if he gets hit with CD Activation.
3 Speed with Life Mutations is a must on a denier.
(Attacker)
Moves:
-Irukandji
-Ray Charge
-Catfish Charge
-Palancar Beauty/Great Barrier Savior
Runes: 3 Strength/2 Strength 1 Speed
Mutant Rune options: Strength&Life, Speed&Life
Build Explanation:
Crabbydroid's Base Strength at 3542 is definitely useful, and he will probably outspeed any attacker he faces. His moveset features some attacks that an attacker might like as well alongside his usual moves, so Attacker Crabbydroid is far from being a dream, though don't expect him to be the next Gorg. Irukandji is too useful to not run even as an attacker, in case you might need to deny enemies rather that deal damage. The debuff removal becomes especially noteworthy this time if your denier is using Freeze or Stun effects, since the Recently Denied buff will be removed before the deny effects are applied on Irukandji. Ray Charge is way more useful on this set as a spammable attacking move. Catfish Charge has Base 30 against one enemy and 30 against all enemies, totaling at Base 60 against one enemy and Base 30 against the other two. This makes it Crabbydroid's strongest single target attack (if not used against a Dodge Area monster) and its element allows it to do massive damage to Water monsters. The last moveslot depends on the enemy team and your playstyle. Palancar Beauty allows Crabbydroid to remove defensive effects from enemies before attacking with no momentum lost, allowing him to combat things like Mega Taunt and Evasion - this move is the choice most of the time. If these don't concern you, Great Barrier Savior can allow Crabbydroid to eliminate any Sea monsters the enemy might have, since this set is an attacker after all.
Crabbydroid will definitely outspeed attackers with no Speed Runes, so run 3 Strength against them to pump up your damage to the max while still going before them. If they do have some Speed boost, run 2 Strength 1 Speed, but this will probably make you unable to one-shot, or at least have a real chance to do so.
Rank 1: Crabbydroid learns "Lion's Mane" at this level, a single target Trait Disable followed by Mega Stun. His Trait also evolves to include Freeze Immunity.
(Denier)
Moves:
-Irukandji
-Palancar Beauty
-Sea Wasp Box
-Lion's Mane
Runes and Mutant Runes are the same as given above.
Build Explanation:
Lion's Mane is extremely useful against monsters with annoying Traits like Taunt, Dodge Area, Hardened variants and Artifact. Not only does thier trait get removed, but they are also denied for 2 turns. This move allows Crabbydroid to disrupt strategies like Taunt-Dodge Area.
(Attacker)
Moves:
-Irukandji
-Ray Charge
-Catfish Charge
-Lion's Mane/Palancar Beauty
Runes and Mutant Runes are the same as given above.
Build Explanation:
This move is extremely useful to deny opposing attackers or Team Speed holders, assuming your team has a Team Speed holder as well. It can also allow Crabbydroid to reach the enemy's Dodge Area monster by disabling the Taunter's trait. You can run it over Palancar Beauty, depending on your strategy and the enemy team's composition.
Freeze Immunity is a decent addition to Crabbydroid's Trait since many Water and Sea monster have Freeze as their deny method.
Rank 2: Crabbydroid learns "Cannonball" at this level, a Base 40 Water AOE that applies Stun, Shock and Nanovirus to all enemies.
(Denier)
Moves:
-Irukandji
-Palancar Beauty
-Cannonball
-Lion's Mane
Runes and Mutant Runes are the same as given above.
Build Explanation:
Cannonball gives Crabbydroid another deny move, and since it applies Nanovirus as well, the enemies won't get a Recently Stunned buff. It is a strict upgrade to Sea Wasp Box and a much needed power boost to Crabbydroid in general. The Shock it applies can be useful against extra turn users as well.
(Attacker)
Moves:
-Irukandji
-Ray Charge/Catfish Charge
-Cannonball
-Catfish Charge/Ray Charge/Palancar Beauty/Lion's Mane
Runes and Mutant Runes are the same as given above.
Build Explanation:
Attacker Crabbydroid enjoys Cannonball as much as Denier Crabbydroid does. This gives him a good AOE, and a way to deny enemies while damaging them. For the rest of the Ranks, the standard pick will be Ray Charge in the second slot and Catfish Charge in the last. This gives Crabbydroid the optimum amount of damage and utility, with 3 damaging moves and 2 AOE deny attacks. However, changes can be made based on the enemy team. Either Ray Charge or Catfish Charge must be present on the set, so pick one of them. You can replace the other one with Lion's Mane if there is a dangerous enemy on the opposing side of the field that you feel like you have to deny, or you feel that the Trait Disable will be crucial. Palancar Beauty is the other option to get a free buff removal before attacking, which allows Crabbydroid to counter Evasion and other damage blocking effects that might deter an attacker.
Rank 3: Crabbydroid learns "Eel Charge", a Base 35 Thunder AOE that applies Thunder Weakness before dealing damage, and Shock after dealing damage. His Trait also evolves to include Trait Protection.
Denier Crabbydroid does not need this and Attacker Crabbydroid has no room for it.
The Trait Evolution is pretty significant though, since makes it so that there is absolutely no way to Freeze Crabbydroid or get rid of his Tough Trait. This is very useful against monsters like Warmaster Thalassa who use such methods.
Rank 4: Crabbydroid learns "Portuguese Man O' War" at this level, a single target Mega Freeze that also applies Freeze and Drowned to all enemies.
(Denier)
Moves:
-Irukandji
-Portuguese Man O' War/Palancar Beauty
-Cannonball/Palancar Beauty
-Lion's Mane/Palancar Beauty
Runes and Mutant Runes are the same as given above.
Build Explanation:
This move gives Crabbydroid yet another AOE deny, and this one also counters Dodge Area monsters, since you can target them to Mega Freeze them and the Freeze the rest. It can also target Hardened variant monsters to dey them with better success. Drowned is an uncommon Torture, which is valuable in Torture teams and Stamina Drain focused teams. If you feel like you absolutely have to run Palancar Beauty for an emergency buff removal, you can run it over any of your moves other than Irukandji, depending on which of the three is the least effective agains the given enemy team.
Attacker Crabbydroid does not need this either, since the only utility it provides is countering Dodge Area monsters to deny them, which is not the type of utility this set needs.
At Rank 5, Crabbydroid's Trait evolves to include a SC: Shock.
This is good to counter extra turn users like Samael. Using Cannonball after this will give enemies Drowned, Nanovirus and Shock with just one move, which will deal significant damage very fast.
Teammate Options: Thanks to Shock and Drowned, two rare Torture effects, in addition to Nanovirus, Crabbydroid can find itself at home on Torture teams with both of its sets. In general, Crabbydroid's wide range of valuable debuffs make him a great addition to any team. For more Teammate options, check out this article.
Countering Crabbydroid: Crabbydroid fails to do much against Taunt-Dodge Area cores. Control Immunity will leave him unable to deny you with his AOEs, but watch out for Lion's Mane. Attacker Crabbydroid will not be able to one-shot at higher Ranks, so you can afford to take some hits if necessary, but don't forget that this Crabbydroid still has AOE deny moves and powerful Torture effects. For more Counter options, check out this article.
