Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy

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==Summary==
Praetor Rykard, also known as the Lord of Blasphemy and the God-Devouring Serpent, is a major antagonist and optional boss fight in the 2022 dark fantasy action role-playing video game Elden Ring. He is one of the demigod children of Radagon and Queen Rennala of the Full Moon. During the Shattering, Rykard's desire for immortality led to him feeding himself to the God-Devouring Serpent.
Rykard retreated into the depths of his home, the Volcano Manor, where he devoured the numerous warriors sent to challenge him. With each life consumed, the serpentine form of the Lord of Blasphemy grew more powerful and closer to his ultimate goal, devouring the gods themselves. 
He was voiced by Simon Gregor.
==Powers and Stats==
Tier: , likely 
Name: Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy, Praetor Rykard, The God-Devouring Serpent, The Blasphemous, Shardbearer Rykard
Origin: Elden Ring
Gender: Male
Age: Unknown
Classification: Master of the Volcano Manor, Former leader of Queen Marika the Eternal's Inquisition (Rykard), Primeval Serpent (God-Devouring Serpent)
Powers and Abilities:
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|-|Powers and Abilities=Superhuman Physical Characteristics, Immortality (Type 1, possibly type 2, 4 and 6, Rykard gained a form of immortality by being fed to the Serpent, which has existed since primeval times without aging, and implies he won't stay dead and will be reborn, with his severed head possibly being still alive after his defeat against the Tarnished. Tanith was trying to bring him back by devouring his body, believing it would allow Rykard to be reborn through her), Magic, Fire and Magma Manipulation (Singlehandedly revived an entire lost family of primeval, magma-based sorceries), Absorption (Can devour others and their soul to get stronger. His Great Rune grants the ability to regain health by defeating and killing enemies), Soul Manipulation and Explosion Manipulation (Can release searing spirit that repeatedly explode after delay with his Rykard's Rancor spell), Homing Attack (The skulls summoned by Rykard's Rancor will follow the target for a time before exploding), Empowerment (Grows more powerful each time he devours someone), Fusionism (Merged with the God-Devouring Serpent by letting it devour him), Body Control (Can control the body of the God-Devouring Serpent to attack and devour his foes even after it has been defeated), Breath Attack and Poison Manipulation (The Serpent can spew venom and Rykard can project Rykard's Rancor skulls from his mouth), Bodily Weaponry (Fangs, Jaws and body for the Serpent and later Rykard), Large Size (Type 2), Weapon Mastery
|-|Resistances=Resistance to Poison Manipulation (Can resist poison affliction), Sleep Manipulation (Can resist Sleep attacks), Blood Manipulation (Can resist Hemorrhage), Ice Manipulation (Can resist ice attacks), Immunity to Death Manipulation (Immune to Death Blight) and Madness Manipulation (Immune to the Frenzied Flame)
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Attack Potency: Mountain level, likely Large Star level (Capable of fighting Mid Game Tarnished, who was able to defeat a Scarlet Rot-infected Radahn, and has devoured countless powerful warriors in the past)
Speed: Massive Hypersonic+ reaction and combat speed (Can fight Mid Game Tarnished, who can react to Radahn's re-entry. Superior to both Lansseax and Fortisaxx, both of which can catch lightning from the sky)
Lifting Strength: Class K (Comparable to Mid Game Tarnished. Should be comparable to the likes of Mohg, who is capable of swinging a massive trident which is almost as large as he is. Superior to Stone Golems)
Striking Strength: Mountain level, likely Large Star level (Can harm Mid Game Tarnished)
Durability: Mountain level, likely Large Star level (Can take hits from Mid Game Tarnished)
Stamina: Superhuman (Can fight the Tarnished for an extended period of time)
Range: At least Tens of Meters via sheer size and powers
Standard Equipment: 
Intelligence: Gifted. Rykard is a skilled warrior and sorcerer who managed to recreate an entire school of Sorcery by himself by using ancient magma-based spells found on Mt Gelmir. Managed to repel the troops of Leyndell during the siege of the Volcano Manor, forcing them to retreat. Successfully tempted several powerful warriors to join his side during the Shattering by appealing to their desire to oppose the Greater Will.
Weaknesses: The Serpent-Hunter Great Spear, a spear specifically created to harm and kill giant snakes like the God-Devouring Serpent, is the only weapon capable of inflicting massive damages to him. Is now only driven by a gluttonous obsession to attain true immortality and devour the gods themselves.
Notable Attacks/Techniques:
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* Snake Bite: The Serpent lunges from one side towards you. It will sometimes follow up with a second lunge from the opposite direction.
* Grab Attack: The Serpent raises its head up high and lunges forward. If the attack connects, the snake will grab the player, slamming them twice but dealing damage only once.
* Poison Spit: The Serpent spits several globs of poison that spread out in various directions, leaving a pool of poison on the ground momentarily.
* Magma Slam: The Serpent raises its head up high, tilting it to the back. It then slams its chin on the ground, sending magma flying outwards in a very wide arc in front of it.
* Magma Upheaval: The Serpent raises and coils its head on its left and then plunges its face into the ground. After a short delay, it pulls its head from the ground, causing a wide magma eruption that travels forward in front of it.
* Magma Thrash: The Serpent raises its head up high, looking to the side with its jaws wide open. It then begins thrashing about the magma as it spins around 360 degrees, sweeping with its head and tail, sending magma splashing about in random directions.
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* Sword Combo: Rykard's most common combo involves swinging his sword from the left to the right, then right to left, ending in a stab in front of him. Note that the second swing has a slight feint where he first slams the blade's side on the ground before swinging it across to throw you off your dodge timing. Sometimes, he will not perform the stab and other times, he will perform a fourth attack by pulling the sword upwards directly after the stab, causing the ground to erupt in the area.
* Stab Combo: Rykard holds his sword to his side in preparation for a stab. He then proceeds to quickly stab at the ground in near his target three times. He will sometimes perform a fourth upheaval attack, pulling his sword from the ground and causing the ground to erupt.
* Sword & Snake Bite Combo: Rykard swings his sword from the left and follows up with bash with the serpent's head from the right. He finishes off with a lunge from the serpent head coming from the left.
* Magma Leap: Rykard leaps either forward or backwards, sending out volleys of magma in random directions upon impact.
* Groundshock: 1st phase only. Rykard plunges his serpent head into the ground, then after a moment pulls it up to send a magma shockwave AoE attack forward in a cone shape over the earth.
* Rykard's Rancor: Rykard extends his head forward and releases a small flaming skull from his mouth that creates a fire trail along its trajectory. After a short delay, explosions are released in a cascading fashion along the trail. Note that these skulls also appear from the ground periodically, with varying trajectories.
* Snake Bite: Rykard flips his head to the left, revealing the serpent which subsequently lunges forward to bite you.
* Rykard's Rancorcall: Rykard raises his sword high above to his side, appearing to empower himself. Many large flaming skulls will then rain down from the sky with the bulk of them flying towards you and exploding after a short delay as they reach their target or impact with the ground. This rain of skulls will continue for quite a while and Rykard will continue on with his standard moveset as the skulls rain down.
* Taker's Flame: If not killed during the Rain of Skulls phase, Rykard will end the phase after a while by raising his sword high above with both hands, channeling the fire in the sky into the blade. He will then cleave the ground directly in front of him, culminating in a fiery explosion.
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==Notable Matchups==
Victories:
Losses:
Inconclusive:
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