At a Glance (3/3):
Blast your opponent into oblivion with this bomb, dealing a whopping 10 icons of fire, earth, and 1-10 physical damage! And, of course, tossing it around during halloween will guarantee to be a big hit!

In-Depth (3/4):
The attack is a combination of a sheer volume of icons spread out across multiple elements. This makes shields like Faerie Tabard and Pirate Captains Hat quiver with fear and reflectors like Clawed Shield and Ultra Dual Shovel clamor with rage. You can never fully block this bomb, and that's what makes this feared as a tactical weapon.

The problem though is that like all bombs... you can only use it once. This means that while you will still do damage if your opponent has god-like intuition and uses the appropriate countermeasures when you use this, you will have lost the opportunity to use this bomb at its fullest. Getting the bomb blocked, and especially reflected, can be a real game changer. You will need to use this wisely!

Price (2/2):
This is the best bomb in the game, with Grapes of Wrath-esque power for only what? ~6-7m? That's pretty solid. Compare the aforementioned grapes' price of ~300m or so? Granted, one would probably get more use out of an extra anagram sword in their set such as Sword of Tawre and spend an extra 3-4m, but if you need that immediate power, this is it.

A relatively new alternative is Maractite Bomb, which is ~2x more expensive than this and boasts a different array of elements.

Bonus (1/1):
So glad you can only equip one of these. That'd be too op. Though, I would imagine that everyone wouldn't oppose having two in a set, including me...

Final Score: 9/10

Rated on October 27, 2014

Ghostkerbomb is a weapon known by old-timers, newcomers, hardcore battlers, and casual battlers alike for good reason: this Hidden Tower weapon is the most powerful piece of equipment many battlers will ever own.

Ghostkerbomb sports a price tag very close to its Hidden Tower stock price, and it is one of the most commonly traded weapons on the market. Ghostkerbomb may only be used once per battle, but it deals a crushing blow - 10 Earth icons, 10 Fire icons, and two sets of .5 to 5 Physical icons. Additionally, only one Ghostkerbomb may be equipped.

The fact that Ghostkerbomb deals two sets of .5 to 5 Physical icons rather than a single set of 1 to 10 Physical icons is worth noting. If you have been browsing around iDB for a while, then you probably have a feel for how variable Physical icons tend to work. Since Ghostkerbomb has two independent sets of Physical icons, its hits tend to fall near the average of 25.5 icons. These independent sets of Physical icons mean that Ghostkerbomb will rarely hit for its max of 30 icons - only 1/100th of the time. At the same time, Ghostkerbomb will only hit for its minimum of 21 icons 1/100th of the time. Ghostkerbomb offers a nice amount of consistency; 80% of all hits will range from 23.0 to 27.0 icons.

Ghostkerbomb's average hit of 25.5 icons makes it one of the strongest weapons in the game available to players. The only weapons to offer stronger hits would be Seasonal Attack Pea and Super Attack Pea, both of which are far out of reach for most players. At a price between 7m and 7.5m, Ghostkerbomb represents the strongest attack available to most players, albeit just for one turn per battle.

Ghostkerbomb is a 1-Player battler's best friend. When it comes to grinding wins in the 1-Player arena, one important aspect is the amount of damage a battler can inflict in a single turn. One hit KOs are highly desirable for grinding wins, and no weapon in the Hidden Tower will better assist players in the one hit KO department than Ghostkerbomb.

In terms of 2-Player use, Ghostkerbomb is still useful. Its usefulness has diminished some in the Anagram metagame, but it can still help in landing a crushing blow. The main downside in 2-Player is the fact that Ghostkerbomb is only once per battle; set space is limited and oftentimes players feel better off having an extra multiple use weapon in place of Ghostkerbomb. Still, Ghostkerbomb is exceptionally difficult to defend against. Pirate Captains Hat is one of the best options, reducing Ghostkerbomb's hit by 15 icons. Ultra Dual Shovel and Clawed Shield will be mildly useful, but both of these weapons will only be worthwhile plays if Ghostkerbomb is paired with another Earth/Fire weapon. The new Fan of Swords will fare better than an Anagram Sword against Ghostkerbomb, but it still falls slightly behind.

Despite being only once per battle, Ghostkerbomb's power is so far above weapons in its price range that it is justifiable to use in a large number of situations. As the strongest bomb in the game, and the strongest weapon many players will ever own, Ghostkerbomb deserves a 10/10.

Rated on August 18, 2013