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[[folder:Roguelikes]]
* ''VideoGame/RiskOfRain Returns'' has [[spoiler:Robomando]], a SecretCharacter who is noticeably shorter than every other character and whose abilities all just seem to be flatly worse version of the Commando's. Its "EVASIVE MANEUVER" ability in particular pretty much just makes it FacePlant awkwardly onto the ground, leaving vulnerable to attack. It sets itself apart with its special skill, which allows it to instantly purchase any chest or drone for free. Combined with a short cooldown time of five seconds, it can quickly snowball items at a faster rate than other survivors in a game where the difficulty constantly increases with time.
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** Similarly, there's Mokey Mokey. A 300/100 fairy with no effects. But its flavor text says "Sometimes he gets mad [[AndThatsTerrible and that is dreadful]]," and its support cards show just how dreadful it can be -- three Mokey Mokeys can be fused to create Mokey Mokey King] which despite having the same low stats allows you to summon as many Mokey Mokeys as you have in your graveyard when it leaves the field (destroyed, returned to the deck, etc.), and the spell card Mokey Mokey Smackdown increases Mokey Mokey's attack to ''3000'' for 1 turn if a fairy type monster you control is destroyed. The official ruling is that if a Mokey Mokey is summoned after the effect is activated, it gets the effect too. Chain all three together and you probably get very close to beating your opponent in 1 round.

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** Similarly, there's Mokey Mokey. A 300/100 fairy with no effects. But its flavor text says "Sometimes he gets mad [[AndThatsTerrible and that is dreadful]]," and its support cards show just how dreadful it can be -- three Mokey Mokeys can be fused to create Mokey Mokey King] which King which, despite having the same low stats stats, allows you to summon as many Mokey Mokeys as you have in your graveyard when it leaves the field (destroyed, returned to the deck, etc.), and the spell card Mokey Mokey Smackdown increases Mokey Mokey's attack to ''3000'' for 1 turn if a fairy type monster you control is destroyed. The official ruling is that if a Mokey Mokey is summoned after the effect is activated, it gets the effect too. Chain all three together and you probably get very close to beating your opponent in 1 round.



** Rescue Cat might be the most famous example. When it was created, most players dismissed it as a ComMon with horrendous stats and a third-rate effect, and though it had some good runs in certain Beast decks, it was broadly only considered notable for its absurdly cute looks. Come Synchro Monsters and X-Saber Airbellum in particular, and Rescue Cat jumped from cutesy ComMon to GameBreaker overnight. Its effect? Tribute it to summon two low-level Beasts, which are destroyed at the end of the turn. That's an instant Level 6 Synchro (and later, Rank 3 Xyz), right off the bat, just by itself, on a monster weak enough to be searched by dozens of effects. It's even a series of RidiculouslyCuteCritter monsters with similar effects, one of which Rescue Rabbit) had its own tournament-winning deck and remains a staple in Normal Monster-focused decks.

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** Rescue Cat might be the most famous example. When it was created, most players dismissed it as a ComMon with horrendous stats and a third-rate effect, and though it had some good runs in certain Beast decks, it was broadly only considered notable for its absurdly cute looks. Come Synchro Monsters and X-Saber Airbellum in particular, and Rescue Cat jumped from cutesy ComMon to GameBreaker overnight. Its effect? Tribute it to summon two low-level Beasts, which are destroyed at the end of the turn. That's an instant Level 6 Synchro (and later, Rank 3 Xyz), right off the bat, just by itself, on a monster weak enough to be searched by dozens of effects. It's even a series of RidiculouslyCuteCritter monsters with similar effects, one of which Rescue (Rescue Rabbit) had its own tournament-winning deck and remains a staple in Normal Monster-focused decks.
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** The Ojam Brothers are a trio of low-level Normal Monsters with goofy looks and zero attack points, which, naturally, makes them useless. That was, until Konami released a number of support cards for them, starting with a spell card that wipes your opponent's field for free if you have all three out, and also including a pair of fusions that lock down your opponent's ability to summon their own monsters, a couple of "Cousins" that can help search and bring them out, and a number of spells which boost their attack (Including their own Field Spell) as well as search and summon them. Another Ojama support card, in a CallBack to ''Anime/YuGiOhGX'', focuses on supporting [[ComboPlatterPowers LIGHT-type Machine Unions, of all things]]. This is gimmicky but surprisingly effective when played with the outdated VWXYZ cards... and downright ridiculous when played with the tournament-winning ABC cards.

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** The Ojam Ojama Brothers are a trio of low-level Normal Monsters with goofy looks and zero attack points, which, naturally, makes them useless. That was, until Konami released a number of support cards for them, starting with a spell card that wipes your opponent's field for free if you have all three out, and also including a pair of fusions that lock down your opponent's ability to summon their own monsters, a couple of "Cousins" that can help search and bring them out, and a number of spells which boost their attack (Including their own Field Spell) as well as search and summon them. Another Ojama support card, in a CallBack to ''Anime/YuGiOhGX'', focuses on supporting [[ComboPlatterPowers LIGHT-type Machine Unions, of all things]]. This is gimmicky but surprisingly effective when played with the outdated VWXYZ cards... and downright ridiculous when played with the tournament-winning ABC cards.
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As with JokeCharacter, this is a {{Game Trope|s}}. For non-game examples, see ThisLooksLikeAJobForAquaman, CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass, BewareTheSillyOnes, or HeartIsAnAwesomePower.

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As with JokeCharacter, this is a {{Game Trope|s}}. For non-game examples, see ThisLooksLikeAJobForAquaman, CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass, BewareTheSillyOnes, or HeartIsAnAwesomePower. For villains who turn out to be more competent and dangerous than they initially appear to be, see NotSoHarmlessVillain.
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* In the ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' episode "Patriot Games", Stewie is taking bets for an upcoming episode of Creator/{{Fox}}'s ''Celebrity Boxing'', in which the matchup will be Carol Jennings versus Creator/MikeTyson. Brian points out the matchup is an obvious CurbStompBattle (actress versus professional boxer) before placing a bet on Tyson. Sure enough, when the match happens, all Carol does is harmlessly [[GrumpyOldMan nag and taunt]] Tyson before he expectedly beats her up. Shockingly, she gets back up and continues nagging as if nothing happened. This process repeats several times until Tyson collapses from exhaustion, making Carol the winner without even throwing a single punch.

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* In the ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' episode "Patriot Games", Stewie is taking bets for an upcoming episode of Creator/{{Fox}}'s ''Celebrity Boxing'', in which the matchup will be Carol Jennings Creator/CarolChanning versus Creator/MikeTyson. Brian points out the matchup is an obvious CurbStompBattle (actress (elderly actress versus professional boxer) before placing a bet on Tyson. Sure enough, when the match happens, all Carol does is harmlessly [[GrumpyOldMan nag and taunt]] Tyson before he expectedly beats her up. Shockingly, she gets back up and continues nagging as if nothing happened. This process repeats several times until Tyson collapses from exhaustion, making Carol the winner without even throwing landing a single punch.
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[[folder:Western Animation]]
* In the ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' episode "Patriot Games", Stewie is taking bets for an upcoming episode of Creator/{{Fox}}'s ''Celebrity Boxing'', in which the matchup will be Carol Jennings versus Creator/MikeTyson. Brian points out the matchup is an obvious CurbStompBattle (actress versus professional boxer) before placing a bet on Tyson. Sure enough, when the match happens, all Carol does is harmlessly [[GrumpyOldMan nag and taunt]] Tyson before he expectedly beats her up. Shockingly, she gets back up and continues nagging as if nothing happened. This process repeats several times until Tyson collapses from exhaustion, making Carol the winner without even throwing a single punch.
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** Exclusive to ''Smash Remix'', a GameMod of ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros64'', is Polygon Kirby. Originally just one of the enemies for MultiMookMelee battles, ''Remix'' makes it PromotedToPlayable. None of the Fighting Polygon Team have any special moves, so they have no projectiles and are bad at recovering, and they don't have throws, so they virtually always lose the classic Attack/Block/Throw TacticalRockPaperScissors that fighting games are known for. So you'd think Kirby, despite his being one of the two most competitively powerful characters in ''64'', would also have his EvilKnockoff being pathetic with these handicaps, right? Well... Kirby [[AwesomeButImpractical barely ever uses]] his special moves in tournaments anyway, and most of his recovery is in his multiple jumps -- which Polygon Kirby retains -- rather than his up special. In addition, one of ''64'' Kirby's most major strengths is his effectiveness at [[ShieldsAreUseless easily breaking shields with his standard attacks]]. So, functionally speaking, Polygon Kirby is barely even touched by the polygons' limitations and is almost as strong as ordinary Kirby.

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** Exclusive to ''Smash Remix'', ''VideoGame/SmashRemix'', a GameMod of ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros64'', is Polygon Kirby. Originally just one of the enemies for MultiMookMelee battles, ''Remix'' makes it PromotedToPlayable. None of the Fighting Polygon Team have any special moves, so they have no projectiles and are bad at recovering, and they don't have throws, so they virtually always lose the classic Attack/Block/Throw TacticalRockPaperScissors that fighting games are known for. So you'd think Kirby, despite his being one of the two most competitively powerful characters in ''64'', would also have his EvilKnockoff being pathetic with these handicaps, right? Well... Kirby [[AwesomeButImpractical barely ever uses]] his special moves in tournaments anyway, and most of his recovery is in his multiple jumps -- which Polygon Kirby retains -- rather than his up special. In addition, one of ''64'' Kirby's most major strengths is his effectiveness at [[ShieldsAreUseless easily breaking shields with his standard attacks]]. So, functionally speaking, Polygon Kirby is barely even touched by the polygons' limitations and is almost as strong as ordinary Kirby.
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** Diotoir was covered in flammable fur that caught fire in every fight, couldn't self-right when [[FlippingHelpless flipped]], wielded an almost useless weapon, and had a big cheesy grin on the face of the robot. Yet somehow, it has won multiple awards, competitions and fights against powerful robots (especially an infamous fight where it went [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeie5cYFeis toe-to-toe]] with a future championship-winning robot ''and won''). All it needed was excellent driving, [[CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass one of the strongest pushing capabilities in the entire competition underneath its joke exterior]] and creative use of its weapon to make a lot of progress.

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** Diotoir was covered in flammable fur that caught fire in every fight, couldn't self-right when [[FlippingHelpless flipped]], wielded an almost useless weapon, and had a big cheesy grin on the face of the robot. Yet somehow, it has won multiple awards, competitions and fights against powerful robots (especially an infamous fight where it went [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeie5cYFeis toe-to-toe]] with a future championship-winning robot ''and won''). All it needed was excellent driving, [[CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass one of the strongest pushing capabilities in the entire competition underneath its joke exterior]] and creative use of its weapon to make a lot of progress. Even its fur had the "lethal" part of "joke"; it easily came off and snagged its opponents' weapons.
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* Venice in ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}} V'' was upgraded from a lowly city-state to a full-fledged civilization in the Brave New World expansion, and at a glance they seem severely outclassed - once their capital is placed they cannot settle new cities (ever!) or even annex captured ones, and their unique naval unit (the Great Galleass) is only marginally better than the standard version. But if they manage to get a decent start position and survive the early game, they quickly become overwhelmingly powerful - they get twice as many trade routes as any other civ and earn a unique replacement for Great Merchants that let them quickly curry a lot of favor with city-states or even turn them into puppet states without that nasty warmonger penalty, giving themselves more resources while denying their competition the same. They're also the only civ that can make gold purchases from puppeted cities, and being limited to one city also makes some otherwise difficult wonders (like the National Intelligence Agency) much easier to acquire. Late in the game, you'll be raking in an absurd amount of gold - magnitudes beyond the cost of to purchase whatever upgrades or military units you may need - and between that and being able to buy an army on a moment's notice, securing enough allied/puppeted city-states will make a a diplomatic victory extremely easy to achieve.

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* Venice in ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}} V'' was upgraded from a lowly city-state to a full-fledged civilization in the Brave New World expansion, and at a glance they seem severely outclassed - once their capital is placed they cannot settle new cities (ever!) or even annex captured ones, and their unique naval unit (the Great Galleass) is only marginally better than the standard version. But if they manage to get a decent start position and survive the early game, they quickly become overwhelmingly powerful - they get twice as many trade routes as any other civ and earn a unique replacement for Great Merchants that let them quickly curry a lot of favor with city-states or even turn them into puppet states without that nasty warmonger penalty, giving themselves more resources while denying their competition the same. They're also the only civ that can make gold purchases from puppeted cities, and being limited to one city also makes some otherwise difficult wonders (like the National Intelligence Agency) much easier to acquire. Late in the game, you'll be raking in an absurd amount of gold - magnitudes beyond the cost of to purchase whatever upgrades buildings or military units you may need - and between that and being able to buy an army on a moment's notice, need, so securing enough allied/puppeted city-states will make a a a diplomatic victory extremely easy to achieve.
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* Venice in ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}} V'' was upgraded from a lowly city-state to a full-fledged civilization in the Brave New World expansion, and at a glance they seem severely outclassed - once their capital is placed they cannot settle new cities (ever!) or even annex captured ones, and their unique naval unit (the Great Galleass) is only marginally better than the standard version. But if they manage to get a decent start position and survive the early game, they quickly become overwhelmingly powerful - they get twice as many trade routes as any other civ and earn a unique replacement for Great Merchants that let them quickly curry a lot of favor with city-states or even turn them into puppet states without that nasty warmonger penalty, giving themselves more resources while denying their competition the same. Being limited to one city also makes some otherwise difficult wonders (like the National Intelligence Agency) much easier to acquire. Late in the game, you'll be raking in an absurd amount of gold - magnitudes beyond the cost of to purchase whatever upgrades or military units you may need, and securing enough allied/puppeted city-states will make a a diplomatic victory nearly unavoidable.

to:

* Venice in ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}} V'' was upgraded from a lowly city-state to a full-fledged civilization in the Brave New World expansion, and at a glance they seem severely outclassed - once their capital is placed they cannot settle new cities (ever!) or even annex captured ones, and their unique naval unit (the Great Galleass) is only marginally better than the standard version. But if they manage to get a decent start position and survive the early game, they quickly become overwhelmingly powerful - they get twice as many trade routes as any other civ and earn a unique replacement for Great Merchants that let them quickly curry a lot of favor with city-states or even turn them into puppet states without that nasty warmonger penalty, giving themselves more resources while denying their competition the same. Being They're also the only civ that can make gold purchases from puppeted cities, and being limited to one city also makes some otherwise difficult wonders (like the National Intelligence Agency) much easier to acquire. Late in the game, you'll be raking in an absurd amount of gold - magnitudes beyond the cost of to purchase whatever upgrades or military units you may need, need - and between that and being able to buy an army on a moment's notice, securing enough allied/puppeted city-states will make a a diplomatic victory nearly unavoidable.extremely easy to achieve.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


* Venice in ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}} V'' was upgraded from a lowly city-state to a full-fledged civilization in the Brave New World expansion, and at a glance they seem severely outclassed - once their capital is placed they cannot settle new cities (ever!) or even annex captured ones, and their unique naval unit (the Great Galleass) is only marginally better than the standard version. But if they manage to get a decent start position and survive the early game, they quickly become overwhelmingly powerful - they get twice as many trade routes as any other civ and earn a unique replacement for Great Merchants that let them quickly curry a lot of favor with city-states or even turn them into puppet states without that nasty warmonger penalty, giving themselves more resources while denying their competition the same. Being limited to one city also makes some otherwise difficult wonders (like the National Intelligence Agency) much easier to acquire. If you can hang on past the rough early stages, you'll be raking in an absurd amount of gold to purchase whatever upgrades or military units you may need, and securing enough delegate votes from allied/puppeted city-states will quickly let you work your way to a diplomatic victory.

to:

* Venice in ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}} V'' was upgraded from a lowly city-state to a full-fledged civilization in the Brave New World expansion, and at a glance they seem severely outclassed - once their capital is placed they cannot settle new cities (ever!) or even annex captured ones, and their unique naval unit (the Great Galleass) is only marginally better than the standard version. But if they manage to get a decent start position and survive the early game, they quickly become overwhelmingly powerful - they get twice as many trade routes as any other civ and earn a unique replacement for Great Merchants that let them quickly curry a lot of favor with city-states or even turn them into puppet states without that nasty warmonger penalty, giving themselves more resources while denying their competition the same. Being limited to one city also makes some otherwise difficult wonders (like the National Intelligence Agency) much easier to acquire. If you can hang on past Late in the rough early stages, game, you'll be raking in an absurd amount of gold - magnitudes beyond the cost of to purchase whatever upgrades or military units you may need, and securing enough delegate votes from allied/puppeted city-states will quickly let you work your way to make a a diplomatic victory.victory nearly unavoidable.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


* Venice in ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}} V'' was upgraded from a lowly city-state to a full-fledged civilization in the Brave New World expansion, and at a glance they seem severely outclassed - once their capital is placed they cannot settle new cities (ever!) or even annex captured ones, and their unique naval unit (the Great Galleass) is only marginally better than the standard version. But if they manage to get a decent start position and survive the early game, they quickly become overwhelmingly powerful - they get twice as many trade routes as any other civ and earn a unique replacement for Great Merchants that let them quickly curry a lot of favor with city-states or even turn them into puppet states without that nasty warmonger penalty, giving themselves more resources while denying their competition the same. Being limited to one city also makes some otherwise difficult wonders (like the National Intelligence Agency) much easier to acquire. If you can hang on past the rough early stages, you'll be raking in an absurd amount of gold to purchase whatever upgrades or military units you may need, and securing enough delegate votes from friendly/annexed city-states will quickly let you work your way to a diplomatic victory.

to:

* Venice in ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}} V'' was upgraded from a lowly city-state to a full-fledged civilization in the Brave New World expansion, and at a glance they seem severely outclassed - once their capital is placed they cannot settle new cities (ever!) or even annex captured ones, and their unique naval unit (the Great Galleass) is only marginally better than the standard version. But if they manage to get a decent start position and survive the early game, they quickly become overwhelmingly powerful - they get twice as many trade routes as any other civ and earn a unique replacement for Great Merchants that let them quickly curry a lot of favor with city-states or even turn them into puppet states without that nasty warmonger penalty, giving themselves more resources while denying their competition the same. Being limited to one city also makes some otherwise difficult wonders (like the National Intelligence Agency) much easier to acquire. If you can hang on past the rough early stages, you'll be raking in an absurd amount of gold to purchase whatever upgrades or military units you may need, and securing enough delegate votes from friendly/annexed allied/puppeted city-states will quickly let you work your way to a diplomatic victory.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


* Venice in ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}} V'' was upgraded from a lowly city-state to a full-fledged civilization in the Brave New World expansion, and at a glance they seem severely outclassed - once their capital is placed they cannot settle new cities (ever!) or even annex captured ones, and their unique naval unit (the Great Galleass) is only marginally better than the standard version. But with a decent start position and proper planning, they are among the most powerful civs in the game. They get twice as many trade routes as any other civ and earn a unique replacement for Great Merchants that let them quickly curry a lot of favor with city-states or even turn them into puppet states without that nasty warmonger penalty, giving themselves more resources while denying their competition the same. Being limited to one city also makes some otherwise difficult wonders (like the National Intelligence Agency) much easier to acquire. If you can survive the early game you'll be raking in more than enough revenue to purchase whatever upgrades or military units you may need, and securing enough delegate votes from friendly city-states will quickly let you work your way to a diplomatic victory.

to:

* Venice in ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}} V'' was upgraded from a lowly city-state to a full-fledged civilization in the Brave New World expansion, and at a glance they seem severely outclassed - once their capital is placed they cannot settle new cities (ever!) or even annex captured ones, and their unique naval unit (the Great Galleass) is only marginally better than the standard version. But with if they manage to get a decent start position and proper planning, survive the early game, they are among the most quickly become overwhelmingly powerful civs in the game. They - they get twice as many trade routes as any other civ and earn a unique replacement for Great Merchants that let them quickly curry a lot of favor with city-states or even turn them into puppet states without that nasty warmonger penalty, giving themselves more resources while denying their competition the same. Being limited to one city also makes some otherwise difficult wonders (like the National Intelligence Agency) much easier to acquire. If you can survive hang on past the rough early game stages, you'll be raking in more than enough revenue an absurd amount of gold to purchase whatever upgrades or military units you may need, and securing enough delegate votes from friendly friendly/annexed city-states will quickly let you work your way to a diplomatic victory.

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