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Two Bosses Enter: Faction champs elude LK, Paletress takes on Tyrannus

Lisa Poisso
Updated ·7 min read

Two Bosses Enter ... but only One Boss Leaves, in WoW.com's series of fantasy death matches. Your votes, along with the decisions of our distinguished judges (representing WoW.com staff and readers), determine who makes it out alive.

We're down to the second and last match of the semi-finals in the ICC 5-man/Trial of the Champion season of Two Bosses Enter, One Man Leaves. This week, the Trial of the Champion PvP faction champs handily scampered beyond the reach of the Halls of Reflection version of the Lich King, 58.2% to 38.5%). Their victory earns them a berth in the season finals, throwing down inside the Two Bosses Thunderdome against the winner of this week's matchup: Argent Confessor Paletress versus Scourgelord Tyrannus.

Two Bosses Enter Semi-Finals
The Five-Man Bosses of Icecrown Citadel and Trial of the Champion

Match 1: ToC PvP Champions vs. Lich King (Halls of Reflection version)
Match 2: Scourgelord Tyrannus 60.7% vs. Argent Confessor Paletress 60.7%

As you can see, Paletress and Tyrannus are seeded in identical positions going into this deathmatch. Just as in previous Thunderdome tussles, we'll allow Paletress to front-load her usual supporting cast (after all, Tyrannus has Rimefang to keep him company). Let's see what the judges predict for this matchup, after the break. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls ... Dyin' time's here.



In Corner One: Argent Confessor Paletress

Thank you, good herald. Your words are too kind. May the Light give me strength to provide a worthy challenge.

Argent Confessor Paletress is a human priest combatant in the Trial of the Champion. She can be heard periodically speaking to the various faction champions and receiving their confessions behind the confession screen. Her abilities include Confess/Reflective Shield, Holy Fire, Holy Nova, Holy Smite, Renew and Summon Memory, which summons one of the memories of Algalon the Observer, Archimonde, Chromaggus, Cyanigosa, Priestess Delrissa, Eck the Ferocious, Entropius, Gruul the Dragonkiller, Hakkar the Soulflayer, Heigan the Unclean, Herod, Hogger, Ignis the Furnace Master, Illidan Stormrage, Ingvar the Plunderer, Warlord Kalithresh, Lucifron, Prince Malchezaar, Mutanus the Devourer, Onyxia, Prince Thunderaan, Edwin VanCleef, Lady Vashj, Vek'nilash, General Vezax, which all use the same abilities: Waking Nightmare, Shadows of the Past or Old Wounds (inflicts 1,875 physical damage to an enemy every 1 sec. for 12 sec.)

Before facing Paletress, the Scourgelord and his mount must deal with three groups of three fighters: an Argent Lightwielder, Argent Monk and an Argent Priestess.

Read more about battling Argent Confessor Paletress, and review reports from gladiators who've faced her in the tournament.

In Corner Two: Scourgelord Tyrannus

Alas, brave, brave adventurers, your meddling has reached its end. Do you hear the clatter of bone and steel coming up the tunnel behind you? That is the sound of your impending demise.

Scourgelord Tyrannus is a human death knight mounted upon his frostbrood wyrm, Rimefang. He is encountered in the Pit of Saron, the second wing of the Frozen Halls. His abilities include Forceful Smash, Overlord's Brand and Unholy Power. His mount, Rimefang, can Mark of Rimefang, Hoarfrost, Icy Blast and Icy Blast.

Learn more about Tyrannus and Rimefang's tactics.

 Judge Matthew Rossi
Victory: Scourgelord Tyrannus

Honestly, I don't think Paletress can win this, especially if we allow escorts. Because Tyrannus has the wave of adds that will eventually overwhelm the slaves, especially with the packs of adds from Paletress to drag out the process. Put in Rimefang, shadowbolting undead and Tyrannus' own abilities, and he wins this in a walk, even with Paletress' heals and giant critter.

Reader-Judge Sky Paladin
Victory: Scourgelord Tyrannus

Of all the bosses, Scourgelord Tyrannus is the best equipped to deal with Paletress and her adds. He hits murderously hard, his mount Rimefang grants significant AoE attacks, and he even has a chance to get extra damage and powerful heals through his Overlord's Brand. Conversely, Paletress has incredible healing powers, including a damage reflection shield and a whole swarm of secondary healers and additional damage dealers.

I think Tyrannus and Paletress would fight to a standstill until he puts Overlord's Brand on her. Suddenly, all the healing the priests are doing snaps the Scourgelord back to full health and the damage blows Paletress down to her "Repent" phase. At this point, Tyrannus brands his memory of the past and breaks it down quickly, but by now Paletress' allies have learned their mistakes. Tyrannus diverts his attacks momentarily to take out the escorts, since they are no longer feeding him free heals, and then it's just a straight burn between Tyrannus' melee and Paletress' holy fire in between healing herself.

I'm going to give this one to Tyrannus. I think his raw damage and capacity to leech heals from Paletress will buy him the time he needs to burn her down.

Judge Michael Gray
Victory: Argent Confessor Paletress

My money's riding on the white-haired confessor all the way. When you have this much panache, there's no losing. The overwhelming wind of her awesome will wear away at the monolithic mountain of Tyrannus, like a Yorkshire terrier slowly but surely nipping its way through a buffalo. Not to go for the nuclear option every time -- but what chance does Rimefang stand against the memory of Hogger? When Paletress can pull such a powerful companion from her deck of cards, she must reign supreme.

Reader-Judge John Zakour
Victory: Scourgelord Tyrannus

This is the toughest call of the tourney for me. Both use "pets" to do extra damage. Both have ways of healing themselves. Here's the thing: Tyrannus hits way hard. Here's the other thing: Paletress is like 100% unbeatable when the memory is up and she is shielded.

I'm guessing though that Tyrannus and Rimefang have the fire (well, frost) power to take out Paletress' memory pet fairly quickly. With the memory down, Paletress is a bit of a pushover -- which means Tyrannus wins IF Paletress can't summon another memory. (Now, if Paletress could summon a memory more than once, she is pretty unbeatable. She just sits in her little bubble while her attacks and the memory's attacks chip away at her foes. If that's the case, all foes will eventually succumb to her.) But I don't believe that's the case, so I say with a strong definitely maybe: Tyrannus wins. This one is truly in the fans' hands ...

The laws of the Thunderdome

  • The Two Bosses Thunderdome is considered neutral territory, where both combatants are able to access their usual encounter mechanics and abilities. If you can't visualize it inside the Thunderdome, visualize it someplace else -- but you must take into consideration all of each bosses' abilities and mechanics.

  • Assume that each opponent is intelligent and capable of strategic thinking.

  • All of the competitors' abilities work on their opponents, including crowd control and other effects to which bosses are usually immune (with apologies to considerations of lore on this point).

  • Assume that the opponents share similar levels, health pools and comparative overall damage output.

  • Don't get caught up in gameplay mechanics and what actual players might do in each encounter.

  • Don't neglect style, story and scale. Everything is a factor; seeking balance is your goal as a spectator and judge.


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The Five-Man Bosses of Icecrown Citadel and Trial of the Champion

Round One
Match 1: Bronjahm vs. The Black Knight
Match 2: Devourer of Souls vs. Forgemaster Garfrost
Match 3: Krick and Ick vs. Scourgelord Tyrannus
Match 4: Falric vs. Argent Confessor Paletress
Match 5: Marwyn vs. ToC PvP champions
Match 6: Eadric the Pure vs. The Lich King

Quarterfinals
Match 1: Scourgelord Tyrannus vs. Lich King (5-man, HoR version)
Match 2: ToC PvP champions vs. Devourer of Souls
Match 3: The Black Knight vs. Argent Confessor Paletress
Match 4: Vote back your favorite defeated gladiator

Semifinals
Match 1: ToC PvP Champions vs. Lich King (Halls of Reflection version)
Match 2: Scourgelord Tyrannus 60.7% vs. Argent Confessor Paletress 60.7%

Set aside the world order -- let the Thunderdome determine who's the champion of Icecrown! Come back next week to find out who'll be returning for the semi-finals of the Icecrown/Trial of the Champions season of Two Bosses Enter, One Boss Leaves.