Two Bosses Enter: King Ymiron vs. Mal'Ganis
by Lisa Poisso 
Dec 3rd 2009 at 6:00PM
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.
King Ymiron (Utgarde Pinnacle) You invade my home and then dare to challenge me? I will tear the hearts from your chests and offer them as gifts to the death god! Rualg nja gaborr!
King Ymiron is the slumbering king of Northrend's Vrykul, the leader of the Dragonflayer clan who lies sleeping within Gjalerbron. Fanatically adored by his people, the now undead king has proven his worth to the Lich King.
Like the kingly Vrykul he is, King Ymiron hits like Thor's hammer. Normal hits are hard, and his Dark Slash cuts down 50 percent of the target's health. The king protects himself with Bane and complicates matters with the random cast of Fetid Rot.
Periodically during battle, King Ymiron's Screams of the Dead paralyze opponents for 8 seconds. During this time, he runs to one of the four longboats in the room to channel a spell from a Vrykul ancestor there. He will use that ability until the longboat burns shortly thereafter. Spectators may choose a different scenario for the sake of this match's neutral setting, but Ymiron will continue to have access access to the usual longboat abilities.
Longboat abilities include:
- Spirit Burst
- Summons an orb that causes AoE shadow damage and moves around the room.
- Spirit Strike
- Summons minions
Mal'Ganis (The Culling of Stratholme) As you can see, your people are now mine. I will now turn this city, household by household, until the flame of life has been snuffed out forever.
Mal'Ganis is not merely the last boss in The Culling of Stratholme – he's one of the Nathrezim sent by Archimonde to head up the plot to turn Prince Arthas to darkness and make him the Lich King's greatest champion.
Note that while we do allow minions into the ring with our Two Bosses Enter competitors, Prince Arthas Menethil will not be in attendance inside the Two Bosses Thunderdome. As with the usual Culling of Stratholme mechanics, it will not be necessary for King Ymiron to "kill" Mal'ganis, merely to "defeat" him and cause him to escape.
Read more about Mal'ganis and his usual methods of dealing with intruders, and then check up on comments from players who've fought him.
The smackdown
Two Boss matchups are about substance and style, not game play and mechanics. No player-tactic or game-mechanic nitpicking! Vote for the spirit of the battle as set forth above. Set aside differences in opponents' health pools, game level and actual damage output.
Who wins, and why? We'll see you down below in the comments – can you come up with a convincing scenario that will sway other readers to your point of view?
| King Ymiron wins (Mal'ganis is forced to run) | |
|---|---|
| Mal'ganis wins (King Ymiron dies) | |
| Tie (something else happens) |
Cast your vote in this match of Round Two of the five-man Wrath of the Lich King season to help us determine who rocks Wrath's five-man world.Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Fan stuff, Features, Lore, Bosses, Two Bosses Enter
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
t0xic Dec 3rd 2009 6:06PM
This would have to be one of the most boring fights to watch. Sorta like a resto druid duel.
Igantinos Dec 3rd 2009 6:06PM
King Ymiron wins (Mal'ganis is forced to run) 2 (40.0%)
Mal'ganis wins (King Ymiron dies) 2 (40.0%)
Tie (something else happens) 1 (20.0%)
this is what I love about camping wow.com getting a shock when a poll pops up with the exact same percents. I personally believe that Mal Ganis is such a greater character and is of course in lore a lot more powerful in the end he would be unbeatable.
Tridus Dec 4th 2009 5:52AM
Except that in every stand up fight we ever see Mal'ganas in lore wise, he loses. People have a vastly over inflated sense of how strong his combat skills actually are.
Alanid Dec 4th 2009 12:50PM
@Tridus
That may be true, but lets look at it this way. In Stratholme Mal'Ganis didn't want to kill Arthas, just piss him off so he would come to Northrend. In Northrend (against Arthas) Arthas surprised him when he attacked. I haven't finished the quest to kill him again in Icecrown so I don't know how that plays out. But so far he hasn't fought at his fullest. Add to this that Dreadlords are excellent tacticians and paranoid about EVERYTHING, I think it will be a very close fight, but Mal'Ganis will eventually win in my opinion.
Angus Dec 4th 2009 6:40PM
Alanid:
I have done that quest. He loses and runs. Like stupidly sorry excuse of being in a weak body.
You really think he would be at his fullest in this fight? I imagine this is how it plays out:
Mal gets shoved into an arena with a bunch of boats. "Oh, this won't end well." Seeing an opponent sitting in a chair already he figures out the odds of winning this. "They gave him prep time, his own transportation and a chair? I do believe I am in trouble."
Stepping forward he begins the assault and the King smiles and smacks him in the face.
Carrion Swarm is used to good effect, but Sleep is pretty much worthless as his next attack breaks it. Ymiron finally gets annoyed and uses Bane. Since Mal isn't exactly a major DPS powerhouse he begins hurting himself and then Dark Slash hits. So now he's pretty hurt, Mind Blast isn't really helping and suddenly he gets stunned and the King goes and breaks a boat. A bunch of ghosts show up. He attempts to use sleep on one, but being undead they don't care, his normal AE does do the job though.
"Oh that is not good, as long as it is those things I am fine though."
The next few seconds are spent in a race with Malganis losing and then the King stuns him and breaks a boat. Malganis doesn't really know his danger and keeps fighting "Oh, that seemed to have done little to nothing. Just then the King makes an orb of energy right next to Malganis and then stuns him. "NOOOOOOOOOOOO"
As Malganis is almost finished by this move he opens a portal.
"You may have won this time, but I am Malganis!!! I will have my revenge!"
Malganis vanishes and the King looks to his left as a figure appears.
"Excellent. WHen he comes for you next I will be waiting."
Ymiron looks to his King and kneels. "As you wish."
Shaverdian Dec 3rd 2009 6:10PM
A tough call, however, I'm going with Ymiron on this one. Dark Slash seems enough to work extremely well.
Natsumi Dec 4th 2009 1:14AM
Don't forget the debuff Fetid Rot.
ccbutch Dec 3rd 2009 6:12PM
King Ymiron finally puts Mal'Ganis down. Aside for the lore perspective Mal'Ganis keeps winning due to Vampiric Touch which gives him the edge, however the King has Fetid Rot which will decrease that greatly and putting up bane should nullify it. If it doesn't then Dark Slash will. Add that too all the other tricks the King has, longboats, and Mal'Ganis doesn't stand a chance.
That is until people say "It's Mal'Ganis, he can't lose"
Siaperas Dec 3rd 2009 6:17PM
Mal'ganis would approach Ymiron confident in his own abilities as a Dread Lord. He may know that Ymiron is king of the Vykrul, but I don't think he would understand that until he attacks Ymiron.
Mal'ganis starts the attack by blasting as fast as he can with his magic, and Ymiron just charges into him. The weight of the sword staggers Mal'ganis, and he tries to sleep Ymiron in an effort to make some distance. Unfortunately, Ymiron is an undead, and he cannot sleep. The spell is ineffective. This fight quickly devolves into something akin to a shadow preist fighting a death knight, when the shadow preist cannot make any distance and cannot CC. And while the screams of the dead will be ineffective for Ymiron to use on Mal'ganis, the sheer brutality of his attacks alone quickly overcomes the dread lord.
The fight was over the second it began, and for all his power and pride in being a Dreadlord, Mal'ganis is reminded about his final confrontation with Arthas. Close to death with his pride wounded, Mal'ganis flees from what he probably thought would have been an easy victory. Ymiron advances to the next round.
Cody Dec 3rd 2009 6:39PM
That's the biggest thing to remember. King Ymiron is undead and can't be put to sleep :)
Besides, between fetid rot, bane and dark slash, Mal'ganis can't keep his health up even with Vampiric Touch.
Hail to the King, baby!
t0xic Dec 3rd 2009 6:20PM
That's why I chose Tie =) He just gets to 1% and walks away. He's like a demonic Kael Jr.
dodgeballer2005 Dec 3rd 2009 6:23PM
I personally believe that Mal'Ganis is no match for Ymiron. Sure, he has sleep and restoration, but that won't help much against Dark Slash. Also, if Mal'Ganis actually is able to bring Ymiron's health down, he will summon a longboat ability and make that much harder.
Also, Bane isn't going to be that nice either.
Nazgûl Dec 3rd 2009 6:24PM
"This shall be a fine test, King Ymiron."
Ymiron begins the fight strong with a Dark Smash. The weakened but still potent Dreadlord is not one to be so easily conquered, and a Mind Blast and Carrion Swarm level the King's health to match his. Mal'ganis is stunned, however, by the Screams of the Past, as Ymiron evokes the power of the longboats.
Ymiron, now versed in the ability to Spirit Strike, knocks the Dreadlord down to 20% before the crafty demon sends the King back into a slumber. During this time, Mal'ganis uses Mind Blast and Carrion Swarm several times to bring the Vrykul to near defeat. Sleep expires before he can finish the job, and he is again hit by Screams of the Dead. Ymiron evokes Spirit Burst, dealing a chunk of Shadow damage to the dreadlord. With a Dark Smash, Mal'ganis rests at a mere 7% of his full HP.
Ymiron, now understanding the Dreadlord's tactics, casts an aura of Bane upon himself. He is again sent into a slumber, but as Mal'ganis moves to diminish the remaining health from the once-dead king, he is blasted by Bane, dealing the final blow. Like the coward he is, he vanishes, tail between his legs, back to his twisted homeworld.
(In the above scenario, I take a few liberties and assume that Fetid Rot and Vampiric Touch act against each other to essentially negate the extra healing Mal'ganis receives from Ymiron's melee attacks. Dark Smash would still be unaffected.)
Nazgûl Dec 3rd 2009 6:25PM
I need to learn to read. All instances of "Dark Smash" above should be corrected to "Dark Slash".
Danarok Dec 4th 2009 6:01AM
Nazgul: "....before the crafty demon sends the King back into a slumber. During this time, Mal'ganis uses Mind Blast and Carrion Swarm several times to bring the Vrykul to near defeat. Sleep expires before he can finish the job...."
(following the wowhead spell link)
Sleep
2% of base mana 45 yd range
1 sec cast
Puts an enemy to sleep for up to 8 sec. Any damage caused will awaken the target.
Ymiron, as an undead, would normally be immune to sleep effects, but even if we assume he were not, the first damage from a hit or even the Carrion Swarm dot would wake him up.
Nazgûl Dec 5th 2009 10:11AM
Understood, but if Mal'ganis couldn't Sleep him for 8 seconds, it'd be a boring and runaway victory for Ymiron.
videvekartuspaan Dec 3rd 2009 6:26PM
Ymiron probably couldn't kill Mal'ganis, but he could attack him so brutally and quickly that Nal'ganis would do what any dreadlord would, retreat and think of a better strategy. Ymiron wins.
lisapoisso Dec 3rd 2009 6:31PM
@toxic Read, read, read! "As with the usual Culling of Stratholme mechanics, it will not be necessary for King Ymiron to 'kill' Mal'ganis, merely to 'defeat' him and cause him to escape." And see the poll choices; Mal'ganis' leaving at 1% means a win for King Ymiron, NOT a tie.
Dave Dec 3rd 2009 6:34PM
I'm going to have to side with Mal'Ganis on this one. Yes, Ymiron is pretty tough, and it seems that Mal'Ganis doesn't have much to use against him. But that's only what we've seen, and that isn't much. He's not really trying to defeat Arthas in CoS, he's just trying to piss him off enough that after he's "defeated" and "flees," Arthas will follow.
I can't imagine he has any such grand ambitions against Ymiron. This is no-holds-barred, winner-take-all. Fully unleashed, a Dreadlord of Mal'Ganis's status trumps Vrykul King (even if he is undead).
Rexton Dec 3rd 2009 6:35PM
Hail to the King baby.
I'm having trouble making dark slash not OP for this fight, and since Ymiron has plenty of other abilities, I'm just going to ignore it.
The only way for Mal'Ganis to avoid most of the King's abilities is to stay airborne (He does have wings, don't think he won't use them.). Mal'Ganis will cast sleep and use his two ranged abilities. This'll hurt Ymiron a bit, but once he's awake the tides will turn. Screams of the Dead will stun Mal'Ganis, dropping him from the sky. That'll take some of Mal's HP away. Ymiron will come in, use his fetid rot and then use the first boat, summoning his minions. As Mal returns to normal, the king throws his minions (Yes, throw.) at the skyward demon. The minions then grab ahold of Mal's wings, weighing him down.
At this point, Mal will activate Vampiric Touch, but Ymiron will throw down some Fetid Rot again. The minions grip holding tightly, Mal is no longer able to take to the skies.
They both use their stuns at this point, for comedic purposes.
Once they are unstunned/awake, Ymiron activates Bane. Mal uses his main two attacks, damaging them both. As soon as he can, Ymiron stuns Mal and uses his second boat: Spirit Strike time.
The King goes in and starts using his new ability. With Mal quickly losing health, even with his self heal, He sees no way out but to run, in his usual style. Without having to use all his boats, the King proves his reign is still supreme.