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Two Bosses Enter: King Ymiron vs. Mal'Ganis
Two Bosses Enter ... but only One Boss Leaves, in WoW.com's series of fantasy death matches. Welcome to Round Two of the five-man Wrath of the Lich King season. Grab a seat, and let's get ready to rumble! Lorehounds should have plenty of material to root through in the playbills of this week's Two Bosses Thunderdome matchup, as King Ymiron (Utgarde Pinnacle) takes on Mal'Ganis (The Culling of Stratholme). King Ymiron enters the ring after a close battle against King Dred, while Mal'ganis is undoubtedly still riding high after an easy defeat of Omorok the Tree-Shaper earlier this season. Listen up for the ground rules: All of the competitors' abilities, including crowd control and other effects to which bosses are usually immune, work on their opponents. Assume that the opponents share similar levels, health pools and comparative overall damage output. This deathmatch takes place in neutral territory, which shall in no way hinder either opponent from using his usual resources. Get creative in your scenario, if necessary, but make it work in spirit. Don't get caught up in gameplay mechanics and what actual players might do in each encounter. Don't neglect style, story and scale. Let the Thunderdome gates open, and let the contestants come forward. As Dr. Dealgood would say: Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls ... Dyin' time's here.
One Boss Leaves: Krik'thir flays Gortok Palehoof
Two Bosses Enter ... but only One Boss Leaves, in WoW.com's series of fantasy death matches. This season's combatants come from the original five-man instances of Wrath of the Lich King. Gortok Palehoof got the raw end of the deal inside the Two Bosses Thunderdome this week, as his one-minion-at-a-time strategy folded under the onslaught of Krik'thir the Gatewatcher's slice-and-dice minions. The outcome was decisive: 58 percent for the Nerubian, and only 36 percent for the Magnataur. Quite a few spectators thought the outcome would have been different if Palehoof had been allowed to deploy his entire collection at once – but alas, in keeping the fight structure reasonably close to what players experience, it was not to be. Vodkamartini: Dear WoW.com, I want to thank you for setting the rules in my favor. With my team able to take on my opponent's lackeys one at a time, it was a simple slaughter. I can't remember if it was the idiot furbolg or the worm (A WORM? WHO BRINGS THE BOTTOM OF THE FOOD CHAIN TO A FIGHT?) that aggroed the entire room, but it went quite quickly after that. Watcher Narjil believed the opposing group, with one attacking in hopes of the Watch Him Die achievement, while the rest stupidly stood there, too busy to contemplate imminent slaughter or arguing over who gets my Golden Limb Bands, may have been in what the humanoids call a "Leeroy Jenkins moment." It does not matter; they were foolish to come.
Two Bosses Enter: Gortok Palehoof vs. Krik'thir the Gatewatcher
Two Bosses Enter ... but only One Boss Leaves, in WoW.com's series of fantasy death matches. This season's combatants come from the original five-man instances of Wrath of the Lich King. We've got adds here, people: it's Gortok Palehoof (Utgarde Pinnacle) versus Krik'thir the Gatewatcher (Azjol-Nerub). Gortok steps into the Thunderdome fresh from a resounding defeat of Lavanthor, while Krik'thir arrives after besting the Commander Stoutbeard/Kolurg from The Nexus. Let's review the ground rules: Assume that the opponents share similar levels, health pools and comparative overall damage output. New clarification: All of the competitors' abilities, including crowd control and other effects to which bosses are usually immune, work on their opponents. This deathmatch takes place in neutral territory, which shall in no way hinder either opponent from using his usual resources. Don't get caught up in gameplay mechanics and what actual players might do in each encounter. Don't neglect style, story and scale. Let the doors open, and let the contestants come forward. As Dr. Dealgood would say: Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls ... Dyin' time's here.
One Boss Leaves: King Dred chomps Herald Volazj
Two Bosses Enter ... but only One Boss Leaves, in WoW.com's series of fantasy death matches. This season's combatants come from the original five-man instances of Wrath of the Lich King. The heat's on in the Two Bosses Thunderdome -- not only in the ring itself, as competitors slash, cast and bash one another on their way toward the final matchup, but in the comments too. How will style balance substance? Who can make the best case for a victory? This week, the votes pointed to King Dred. The great devilsaur raked opponent Herald Volazj 50% to 46%. Spectators who sided with King Dred put their faith in his sheer power. "... I think this one will have to go to Dred," observed Psiwave. "I'm a Herald fanboy (Lovecraft FTW!), but the herald is punching at mist here. Dred runs on pure instinct: no doubts, no regrets, just hunger." But plenty of readers believed Volajz's tricks would carry the match.
Two Bosses Enter: Herald Volazj vs. King Dred
Two Bosses Enter ... but only One Boss Leaves, in WoW.com's series of fantasy death matches. This season's combatants come from the original five-man instances of Wrath of the Lich King. This week's Two Bosses fantasy deathmatch throws another loser who was voted back into the competition into the pit: King Dred, who lost his last match against King Ymiron, returns to test his claws against the subtle insinuations of Herald Volazj. Volazj is riding high in this season's tournament, easily winning his first matchup against Novos the Summoner and then shutting down Grand Magus Telestra. This week's ground rules: Assume that the opponents share similar levels, health pools and comparative overall damage output. This deathmatch takes place in neutral territory, which shall in no way hinder either opponent from using his usual resources. Don't get caught up in gameplay mechanics and what actual players might do in each encounter. Don't neglect style, story and scale. Let the doors open, and let the contestants come forward. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls ... Dyin' time's here.
One Boss Leaves: Loken shockwaves Gal'darah
Two Bosses Enter ... but only One Boss Leaves, in WoW.com's series of fantasy death matches. This season's combatants come from the original five-man instances of Wrath of the Lich King. Returning underdog Loken showed why he was among the fighters readers voted back into the season, downing Gal'darah this week in the Two Bosses Thunderdome. Fifty-eight percent of the vote went to the Dark Titan from the Halls of Lightning. Gal'darah brought in some positive comments but ultimately lacked the votes to carry him through. Elovan: Gal'darah could easily shift to rhino form and simply Impale Loken anytime he tries to use his novas. That plus his insane whirlwind could take down Loken pretty easily imho catharsis80: Don't forget Enrage, enabling him to attack 125% faster than Loken does, and considering the article says they have "comparative overall damage output"... Yeah, I think the results are quite obvious, since Gal can interrupt and Loken can't. PLUS, Pulsing Shockwave will do practically nothing to Gal, since he'll be all over Loken like white on rice. Nolls74: This, plus Gal has his rhino buddies who will charge Loken and knock him around like a rag doll. All of you picking Loken have no sense of style and are only judging it based on "Loken sucks for players; he must be the ultimate boss."
Two Bosses Enter: Gal'darah vs. Loken
Two Bosses Enter ... but only One Boss Leaves, in WoW.com's series of fantasy death matches. This season's combatants come from the original five-man instances of Wrath of the Lich King. This week's match in the Two Bosses Thunderdome makes the healer in me cringe: Gal'darah (Gundrak) versus Loken (Halls of Lightning). Gal'darah steps into the Thunderdome on the laurels of a solid 68.4 percent victory in his last battle against Moorabi. However fearsome his reputation, Loken creeps into the ring as an underdog, having lost his most recent battle against Anub'arak and subsequently re-earning a berth through the reader vote that brought back three vanquished combatants. This week's ground rules: Assume that the opponents share similar levels, health pools and comparative overall damage output. This deathmatch takes place in neutral territory, which shall in no way hinder either opponent from using his usual resources. Don't get caught up in gameplay mechanics and what actual players might do in each encounter. Don't neglect style, story and scale. Let the doors open, let the crowds take to their feet. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls ... Dyin' time's here.
One Boss Leaves: Eregos downs Keristrasza
Two Bosses Enter ... but only One Boss Leaves, in WoW.com's series of fantasy death matches. This season's combatants come from the original five-man instances of Wrath of the Lich King. How crazy does crazy get? Keristrasza's brand of crazy was mind-numbing enough to drop her from the skies in this week's Two Bosses Thunderdome. Eregos maintained the upper hand with a full 50% of the vote in this week's fantasy deathmatch. "In her maddened state, I'd say Keristrasza is at a large disadvantage," wrote DruidGuard. "All too eager for her own death, driven mad and facing down one of the major blue dragons that helped imprison her, Keristrasza might very well eat a full Planar Shift burst to the face. Not to mention she'll be facing down a very angry Ley-Guardian Eregos every so often with his Enraged Assault. "If she was on her A game, she might have a chance with careful kiting and freezing, but in her current mental state, I'm not sure how well she'd act. Ley-Guardian Eregos just seems too strong and cunning for this battle, so I'm afraid Ley-Guardian Eregos gets my vote on this one. Such a shame, but remember, this IS ultimately what Keristrasza wants."
Two Bosses Enter: Keristrasza vs. Ley-Guardian Eregos
Two Bosses Enter ... but only One Boss Leaves, in WoW.com's series of fantasy death matches. This season's bosses come from the five-man instances of Wrath of the Lich King. We've let reader votes seed the battles for the next bracket of Two Bosses Enter, One Boss Leaves, which leads straight away to this epic pairing: Keristrasza (The Nexus) versus Ley-Guardian Eregos (The Oculus). To get these two into the Two Bosses Thunderdome, we're going to stage a jailbreak. The two dragons will meet in the swirling skies above The Nexus. We'll remove the drake-riding mechanic from the encounter - there's enough draconic blood here already, don't you think? The ground (err, air?) rules: Assume that the opponents along with their minions share similar levels, health pools and comparative overall damage output. This deathmatch takes place in skies above The Nexus, (or a Thunderdome facsimile thereof). This shall in no way hinder either opponent from using his or her usual resources. All the usual minions will be available to each boss. There will be no drake-riding mechanic involved. Don't get caught up in gameplay mechanics and what actual players might do in each encounter. Don't neglect style, story and scale. Time to take flight now. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls ... Dyin' time's here.
One Boss Leaves: Three bosses enter, 16 stay
Two Bosses Enter ... but only One Boss Leaves, in WoW.com's series of fantasy death matches. This season's bosses come from the five-man instances of Wrath of the Lich King. Your favorites are back! Readers voted this past week to bring back three combatants who hadn't made it through the second bracket in this season of Two Bosses Enter. Earning fresh berths as the battles continue are: Loken (Halls of Lightning), 401 votes King Dred (Drak'tharon Keep), 380 votes Ley-Guardian Eregos (The Oculus), 167 votes Fans of Eck the Ferocious landed just short of earning the little gorloc another bid, bounding in with 162 votes. Join us after the break for a complete list of fourth-bracket matches in this season of Two Bosses Enter, One Boss Leaves.
Two Bosses Enter: Bring back your favorites
Two Bosses Enter ... but only One Boss Leaves, in WoW.com's series of fantasy death matches. This season's bosses come from the five-man instances of Wrath of the Lich King. We're balancing the brackets as we get approach the culmination of this season of Two Bosses Enter ... One Boss Leaves, and it's your chance to bring back your favorite underdog! Is there a boss you think got the short end of the stick? If the reader votes didn't carry your favorites through to victory, dip back through both first- and second-bracket competitors and tell us who you think deserves another shot. We'll fold the three with the most votes back into the competition. Vote for your favorites after the break.
One Boss Leaves: Anub'Arak pounds Loken
Two Bosses Enter ... but only One Boss Leaves, in WoW.com's series of fantasy death matches. Welcome to Round Two of the five-man originals Wrath of the Lich King season. Grab a seat, and let's get ready to rumble! The results from the last match of this bracket are in: Anub'Arak (Azjol-Nerub) has clearly given Loken (Halls of Lightning) a solid pounding, 55% to 40%. While some readers seemed puzzled by this week's pairing (kozom: "bug + zapper = ???"), Sunsinger wove a lengthy tale of Anub'Arak's emergence as the victor: Yes, he knew this presence. He felt it only few times before, but beings of metal and lightning did not forget things easily. After all, his body was a masterpiece, one that probably surpassed all of the Titans' creations left on Azeroth in terms of fine craftsmanship. Not only had he known the appearance of his guest the moment the latter stepped into the Halls, he also was easily reading his intentions. Even if not for his mind sensors, it wasn't hard to tell that the Spider King came here to kill him. For a being of such ambition, the Lich King was even late to try and eliminate his most immediate rival, the Old God, because both of them were not the type of beings that liked to share power, and the Prime Designate knew that he stood somewhere between them and that sooner or later he would have to face the forces of the Scourge. And he would defeat them.
Two Bosses Enter: Anub'Arak vs. Loken
Two Bosses Enter ... but only One Boss Leaves, in WoW.com's series of fantasy death matches. Welcome to Round Two of the five-man Wrath of the Lich King season. Grab a seat, and let's get ready to rumble! Here we are: the final matchup of the second bracket of Two Bosses Enter, featuring the five-man bosses of original Wrath. Before we loose our competitors to one another's depradations inside the Thunderdome, we'd like to remind spectators that we'll have an extra vote next week to balance out the bracket. We'll be taking your votes from among every loser so far (including Round One). The top three underdogs will return to compete in the next bracket (for a total of 16 competitors). And now ... Anub' Arak of Azjol-Nerub versus Loken from the Halls of Lightning. The ground rules: Assume that the opponents along with their minions share similar levels, health pools and comparative overall damage output. This deathmatch takes place in neutral territory (or a Thunderdome facsimile thereof), which shall in no way hinder either opponent from using his usual resources. All the usual minions will be available to each boss. Don't get caught up in gameplay mechanics and what actual players might do in each encounter. Don't neglect style, story and scale. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls ... Dyin' time's here.
One Boss Leaves: Skadi spears Bjarngrim
Two Bosses Enter ... but only One Boss Leaves, in WoW.com's series of fantasy death matches. Welcome to Round Two of the five-man originals Wrath of the Lich King season. Grab a seat, and let's get ready to rumble! In a relatively close contest inside the Two Bosses Thunderdome, Skadi the Ruthless rained down a whirlwind of destruction upon General Bjarngrim, 56% to 40%. The general's electric charge proved to be all-too temporary, as Skadi's relentless pressure left the crowds roaring in the stands. A roundup of reader opinion yields several narratives worth a read (check out Baldagrim and Chipperbane's mini-sagas on page two of the comments) along with some solid rationales in support of both sides. bob: Bjarn has no problem on this fight. Between Ironform and Def Stance, he can take Skadi's WW and Poisoned Spear; he doesn't even need to run out of WW. Skadi, on the other hand, has zero defense against Bjarn's WW. Bjarn makes it thru the drake phase fine, as he has lieutenants to heal his party up if they take a little frost cloud damage. Far too often, despite WoW.com's attempts to emphasize this to the voters, these polls come down to which fight annoys players more and has nothing to do with the actual comparisons of abilities between bosses. In that kind of poll, Skadi is def the winner, 'cause his air phase is annoyingly long and there is very little room to maneuver away from his WW on that little platform.
Two Bosses Enter: General Bjarngrim vs. Skadi the Ruthless
Two Bosses Enter ... but only One Boss Leaves, in WoW.com's series of fantasy death matches. Welcome to Round Two of the five-man Wrath of the Lich King season. Grab a seat, and let's get ready to rumble! Before we begin setting up this week's Two Bosses battle, let's dispense with the inevitable. Click this link into the Way-Back Machine, crank up the estimable Mr. Murphy and get your party on. There. All done? Now let's get down to business, because the stakes are high in today's Thunderdome deathmatch as General Bjarngrim (Halls of Lightning) meets Skadi the Ruthless. The general commanded an impressive 66% of the vote in his first-bracket battle against Sjonnir the Ironshaper. He'll need the authority this week. His new opponent, Skadi, carved out an even larger first-round victory with his 82% thrashing of Dalronn and Skarvald. Time for a quick review of the standard Two Bosses Thunderdome ground rules: Assume that the opponents along with their minions share similar levels, health pools and comparative overall damage output. This deathmatch takes place in Skadi's territory (or a Thunderdome facsimile thereof), which shall in no way hinder General Bjarngrim from using his usual resources. All the usual minions will be available to each boss. Don't get caught up in gameplay mechanics and what actual players might do in each encounter. Don't neglect style, story and scale. And now, more audio love to set the gladiatorial mood: Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls ... Dyin' time's here.
One Boss Leaves: Tribunal overcomes Eck's ick
Two Bosses Enter ... but only One Boss Leaves, in WoW.com's series of fantasy death matches. Welcome to Round Two of the five-man originals Wrath of the Lich King season. Grab a seat, and let's get ready to rumble! Tribunal of Ages' defenses proved too high-tech for Eck the Ferocious in this week's Thunderdome, with 59% of spectator votes anchoring the little gorloc's bounds and handing victory to the Tribunal. Two Bosses readers continue to dial up the creativity and effort in their play-by-plays of the fight, hoping to win more votes for their gladiator of choice. "Like ... like what?" you're asking. Like this story (which actually supports a victory for the hapless Eck) from reader Sky Paladin:The snow was grey, here. The plague on Northrend left few things untouched, and the snow was not one of them. Dark blotches flared here and there, with odd white patches where footprints had disturbed it. A small trail of white blotches marked where Roo, a small gorloc child, struggled enthusiastically to make his way to the Halls of Ulduar. Bounding slowly beside him was his guardian and friend, Eck the Ferocious. "This place very scary," Eck commented to Roo. "You sure this the right way? Iron dwarves really not very tasty." "We remember," Roo replied. "Yes-ss, we came here with hero from before. Just over the big hole to forever. You can jump, yes?"
Two Bosses Enter: Eck the Ferocious vs. Tribunal of Ages
Two Bosses Enter ... but only One Boss Leaves, in WoW.com's series of fantasy death matches. Welcome to Round Two of the five-man Wrath of the Lich King season. Grab a seat, and let's get ready to rumble! Hold onto your hats, boys and girls -- this week's a wild one in the Two Bosses Thunderdome. Gather 'round in amazement as Eck the Ferocious tackles the Tribunal of Ages encounter from Halls of Stone. Been held back by that challenge a time or two yourself, eh? You're not alone. First-bracket boss Anomalus found himself shut out by the Tribunal, as well, falling short by less than 3% of the Thunderdome vote.Eck's first-bracket victory over Amanitar was slightly more energetic, with Eck bounding to a 6% margin over his opponent. Time for a quick review of the Two Bosses Thunderdome ground rules: This match takes place inside the Tribunal of Ages in the Halls of Stone. Why is Eck here? Because it's a fantasy deathmatch, of course. (Work with it, people, work with it.) In this scenario, we'll retain the basic mechanic of the Tribunal of Ages encounter. Brann Bronzebeard's survival still determines the success or failure of the mission. Eck is therefore challenged with holding the Tribunal at bay long enough for Bronzebeard to complete his task. (If you can prefer to come up with some other figure to stand in for Bronzebeard, feel free to exercise your creativity in the comments.) Assume that foes share similar levels, health pools and a comparative overall damage output. Don't get caught up in game mechanics and what player characters might do in each encounter. Style and scale are your main considerations. And now, the weekly Thunderdome call-out: Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls ... Dyin' time's here.
One Boss Leaves: Xevozz buffets Ionar
Two Bosses Enter ... but only One Boss Leaves, in WoW.com's series of fantasy death matches. Welcome to Round Two of the five-man originals Wrath of the Lich King season. Grab a seat, and let's get ready to rumble! The lightning power of Ionar did nothing but feed the rage of Xevozz in this week's Thunderdome action. Xevozz defeated the hapless lightning revenant with 60% of the spectator's roaring approval. Tucked away in the stands, however, were a few dissenters, such as Xtian. Xtian: Since when would these bosses not kite each other? They presumably would do whatever is most likely to win them the round, which probably means not standing near each other. Ionar would power surge one of the arcane energy balls, forcing Xevozz to move away. Ionar would then attack Xevozz. The ethereal could respond by teleporting everyone on top of the arcane energy, but then Ionar would just disperse and become immune to damage. Xevozz would once again have to run away from the protection of his arcane energy, at which point Ionar can fry him with little worry. If Xevozz decided not to engage the elemental and instead hang by his arcane balls, Ionar could just keep dotting up Xevozz, who has no ranged attack.Clearly the ethereal is not going to win this one.But siding with the victor was Massa, who offered a panoramic take on the battle.
Two Bosses Enter: Ionar vs. Xevozz
Two Bosses Enter ... but only One Boss Leaves, in WoW.com's series of fantasy death matches. Welcome to Round Two of the five-man Wrath of the Lich King season. Grab a seat, and let's get ready to rumble! Energy sweeps the Thunderdome this week as Ionar of the Halls of Lightning confronts Xevozz from the Violet Hold. Mage-Lord Urom gave Xevozz a bit of a struggle in Xevozz's first-bracket match, while Ionar easily overcame Ichoron in his own shot at a berth in this round. Which boss will zap the other's strength this week?Time for a quick review of the standard Two Bosses Thunderdome ground rules: Assume that the opponents along with their minions share similar levels, health pools and comparative overall damage output. This deathmatch takes place on neutral territory, which shall in no way hinder either combatant from using his or her usual battle abilities. All the usual minions will be available to each boss. Don't get caught up in gameplay mechanics and what actual players might do in each encounter. Don't neglect style, story and scale. And now, the weekly Thunderdome call-out: Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls ... Dyin' time's here.
One Boss Leaves: Volazj shuts Telestra outside the cycle
Two Bosses Enter ... but only One Boss Leaves, in WoW.com's series of fantasy death matches. Welcome to Round Two of the five-man originals Wrath of the Lich King season. Grab a seat, and let's get ready to rumble! The demented whisperings of Herald Volazj threw Grand Magus Telestra into chaos during this week's cage match. Herald Volazj emerged the easy victor, even while spectators danced about the mechanics of the match. Would Telestra's mirror images fight one another? As mere copies of the magus, would they even be affected by Volazj's Insanity? The vote was decisive, even if the opinions were not -- but the tales of confusion in the comments were unparalleled. Savor, if you will, Kinka's epic entry. Kinka: The Grand Magus is out with an expeditionary force seeking to map and plot ancient, malignant powers for Malygos deep beneath Azjol-Nerub. For a long while, the work is routine. After all, the undead are child's play to magi on their fire magics. That, coupled with the brute force of the handful of dragonspawn and the single young drake that had accompanied them, meant that before too long at all, they were done fighting through the undead lines and were cataloging magics thought long lost to the upper world.
