The Serpent

The Serpent – Unleashing the God of Fear

Champion Breakdown

About The Serpent

Character Class: Cosmic

Brief Overview: Known as the God of Fear, The Serpent, originally Cul Borson, is a formidable cosmic character in Marvel Contest of Champions. Drawing his dreadful power from the very fear of living beings, The Serpent boasts abilities such as Coldsnap Immunity, Power Gain, and True Focus. His playstyle revolves around intense power control and leveraging fear to debilitate opponents, making every battle a test of courage.

The Serpent Origin: The Serpent originates from the rich lore of Marvel Comics where he is depicted as the eldest son of Bor Burison and the brother of Odin. He became a significant adversary after gaining power through the fear of others, leading to his eventual entrapment beneath the oceans by Odin.

Lore Background

The Serpent History: Cul Borson, after gaining immense power from the fear of beings on what was then known as Aesheim (ancient Earth), was sealed away by his brother Odin to prevent further destruction. This ancient and powerful being has been biding his time, gathering strength from the fears of others, and is now ready to unleash havoc across the Nine Realms again in Marvel Contest of Champions.

Personality Traits: The Serpent’s personality is defined by his insidious nature and his ability to instill and feed off fear. His strategic, fear-driven combat style in the game mirrors his manipulative and terror-inducing demeanor, making him a uniquely challenging opponent and ally in battles.

The Serpent's Gameplay Mechanics

Basic Abilities: Coldsnap Immunity, Power Gain, True Focus, Unblockable, Fear, Pierce, Inexorable

  • Light Attacks: Quick, less damaging but useful for setting up combos.
  • Medium Attacks: Balanced damage and reach, acts as a combo enhancer.
  • Heavy Attacks: Slow but powerful, potentially breaking enemy defenses.

Passive and Active Abilities:

  • Coldsnap Immunity: Immune to Coldsnap effects, preventing freeze and related damage.
  • Power Gain: Gains power over time, enabling more frequent use of special attacks.
  • True Focus: Prevents enemies from evading or going invisible against his attacks.
  • Unblockable: Certain attacks become unblockable, forcing opponents to take damage.
  • Fear: Inflicts fear on opponents, reducing their defensive capabilities.
  • Pierce: Ignores a portion of the opponent’s armor.
  • Inexorable: Increases resistance against being knocked back in combat.

Special Attacks:

  1. Special 1: Chill of Fear - Strikes terror into the heart of opponents with a fear debuff and a coldsnap damage.
  2. Special 2: Maelstrom of Nightmares - Deals massive damage based on the opponent's armor, useful against heavily armored foes.
  3. Special 3: Hour of the All-Father - Increases Buff effects and potentially reactivates the Dread buff, making The Serpent extremely dangerous in prolonged fights.

Signature Ability: Immortal Resilience Activates a unique shield that makes The Serpent especially tough to defeat in dire situations, providing Death Immunity and recovery based on Dread levels.

Strategy and Playstyle

General Strategy: Leverage The Serpent's Fear and Power Gain abilities to control the pace of the fight. Use his unblockable attacks to break through defenses and employ his special attacks strategically to maximize damage and debilitation effects.

Advanced Techniques: Combining The Serpent’s innate ability to generate fear with his energy-based special attacks can create openings in enemy defenses, making timing and sequence of moves critical for maximizing his combat effectiveness.

Mastery Tips

Skill Mastery: Mastering The Serpent requires careful management of his power and the strategic use of his fear-inducing abilities. Timing his specials with Dread levels can turn the tide of battle.

Team Composition: The Serpent fits well in teams that benefit from or supplement Power Gain and Fear tactics, enhancing both offensive and defensive strategies through synergies.

Synergies:

  1. The Main Event – With Absorbing Man, Titania, and Attuma: Enhances instant damage effects and personal Fury potency.
  2. Minister of Justice – With The Destroyer and Odin: Provides a Flourish Passive boost under certain health thresholds.
  3. Polearm Pals – With Vox, Terrax, Galan, Jabari Panther, and Mister Negative: Increases Cruelty Buff potency when striking opponents against the wall.
  4. Hammer Time – With Thor variations and Cull Obsidian: Boosts attack rating for hammer attacks.

Countering The Serpent

Counter Tactics: Use characters with strong bleed or poison abilities to bypass his direct damage immunities. Avoid using Unblockable and Unstoppable effects to prevent triggering his Fear debuffs.

The Serpent Counters:

  1. Doctor Voodoo: Effective at converting buffs into poisons, which can significantly weaken The Serpent.
  2. Archangel: His Neurotoxin ability can bypass some of The Serpent’s immunities and control his power gain.

Conclusion

Final Thoughts: The Serpent is a powerful addition to any roster, particularly valuable for his ability to control the battlefield through fear and power manipulation. His unique mechanics and strategic depth offer a rewarding challenge for both new and experienced players.

Encouragement to Experiment: Experimenting with different strategies and team compositions can unlock the full potential of The Serpent, making him a versatile and formidable force in your lineup. Explore various gameplay styles to find how best to harness his powers of fear!