Two Bosses Enter: The ICC-ToC Season
by Lisa Poisso 
Feb 24th 2010 at 9:00AM
Welcome, welcome, please take your seats ... We're so glad to see you back in the stands at the Two Bosses Thunderdome! The judges have already taken their seats, down in the covered box -- that's right, the one with the red awning. They imported that monstrosity from Silvermoon, you know. The Consortium was in an uproar when they found out the tournament directors had ordered directly from the Sin'dorei. All that brocade ... Such a shame it'll inevitably be marred with the blood and gore of the gladiators. Oh, yes, the judges will get more than their fill of the messy glory; you didn't think those are their best robes, did you? How positively droll of you to assume -- Oh look, here's Dr. Dealgood now, come along to introduce the judges' panel.
Ladies and gentlemen, gnomes and ghouls, welcome to a brand new season inside the Thunderdome ... Where Two Bosses Enter, but only One Boss Leaves! We present for your bloodthirsty pleasure fresh foes from the inner reaches of the five-man instances of Icecrown Citadel, along with seasoned gladiators from the Trial of the Champion. These ferocious combatants will be evaluated by the distinguished panel of judges you see before you, just beneath the blood-red awning in the box below. Let's meet them now.
On the left sits Sir Matthew Rossi, a seasoned veteran of -- well, of everything worth being a veteran of, ladies and gentlemen, a veteran of simply everything. If it can be beheaded with a blade, it's a certainty that Sir Rossi has made its acquaintance. Next to him is Sir Michael Gray, somewhat of an insider on the scene and the renowned impresario of some new Gnomish technology called machimi ... machina ... a very noble project, you can be sure of it. Beside him, you'll find Chef Zapperz of <Time Well Wasted>, who we've heard also dabbles in tales of peoples from far beyond our frontiers -- more Draenei nonsense, I'm sure, there couldn't possibly be other people in the sky, that's just ridiculous ... Nothing against Sir Zapperz, you understand ... And finally, ladies and gentlemen, a man of the people, your very own Sir Sky Paladin, rising to represent you from the very stands of the Thunderdome!
Don't forget, ladies and gentlemen, that your votes serve as the fifth voice from the judging box. Be sure to present your ballot before leaving the Thunderdome.
And now, allow us to present the latest season in this spectacle of carnage: The Five-Man Bosses of Icecrown Citadel and Trial of the Champion.
- 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
- March 6: Eadric the Pure vs. Lich King
Should your favorite find defeat on the Thunderdome's demanding floor, despair not. The Thunderdome will allow a popular vote to bring back one defeated contestant to fight again in the quarter-finals. Play your vote carefully, friends -- and take your seats, for the first match is ready to begin: Bronjahm versus The Black Knight!
- 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, including crowd control and other effects to which bosses are usually immune, work on their opponents (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.
In Corner One: BronjahmMore souls to power the engine! Finally ... a captive audience!
The Godfather of Souls is the first boss of the Forge of Souls within Icecrown Citadel. He must be killed in order to power down the forges and continue through the area.
Bronjahm casts Shadow Bolt and Corrupted Soul, a Drain Soul-like spell creating a Corrupted Soul Fragment that heals Bronjahm as long as he is within range of it. At about 30% health, Bronjahm teleports to the center of the room and casts Soulstorm around the edges of the room, into which he attempts to fear opponents.
Read more about Bronjahm's battle tactics, or review reports from those who've faced him in battle.
In Corner Two: The Black KnightDid you honestly think that an agent of the Lich King would be bested on the field of your pathetic little tournament? I've come to finish my task.
The Black Knight is the final boss of the Trial of the Champion in the Crusaders' Coliseum. Opponents must face him in three sequential forms: corporeal form, skeleton form and ghost form.
Corporeal Form
- Death's Respite
- Raise Dead Raises either Arelas Brightstar or Jaeren Sunsworn
Skeleton Form
Corporeal and Skeleton Form
Ghost Form
Study more of The Black Knight's battle tactics, or review the observations of those who've faced him in the past.
Inside the Thunderdome
Two Bosses Enter matchups are about substance and style, not game play and mechanics. Don't base your strategies on player tactics, which opponent has been easiest or most difficult for you personally, or the difficulty of each opponent relative to instance progression. Vote for the spirit of the battle as set forth above. Set aside differences in opponents' health pools, game level and actual damage output. Absolutely no game-mechanic nitpicking!
| Bronjahm wins (The Black Knight dies) | |
|---|---|
| The Black Knight wins (Bronjahm dies) | |
| Tie (something else happens) |
Set aside the world order -- let the Thunderdome determine who's the champion of Icecrown! Come back next week to find out who is the victor of the Icecrown-Trial of the Champions season of Two Bosses Enter, One Boss Leaves.Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Lore, Two Bosses Enter
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
david12156 Feb 24th 2010 9:06AM
its pretty obvious who would win a duel due to the black knights multiple lives and also his AOD(army of undead)
Extrox Feb 24th 2010 9:13AM
Maybe... but Brohnjam has Soul!
Then again, in a fight to the death that could be a disadvantage.
ZMES_Matt Feb 24th 2010 9:37AM
...but BK's AoD spawns zombies with relatively low health in a circle quite a bit aways from him: I think Soulstorm would insta-kill all zombies as they spawn out in the storm.
Also, don't forget about Bronjham's corrupted soul that heals him for a huge chunk of his health. I think the melee swinging BK is SoL
sgtsolidus Feb 24th 2010 12:26PM
Phase 1 BK has the first summoned ghoul, now while at first it would be mildly effective, Corrupt Soul would quickly make it a hindrance. When the BK is brought down enough he will die for the first time with the ghoul exploding doing a good amount of damage to Bronjahm.(Assuming he doesn't move away) Phase two BK will summon many adds. at first Bronjahm will use Corrupt Soul and most likely will slash out with Magic's bane, killing most of the ghouls at which point he'll teleport away from all the exploding ghouls and start casting soul storm which would kill off the rest of the ghouls. The black night will then be in ghost form. This 'could' end the match but then there's fear. As a typical fear user Bronjahm would chain this spell like there's no tomorrow finally killing the black night in the soul storm.
TL;DR fear wins
Falgorn Feb 24th 2010 9:12AM
All I'll say here is that I can finish Bronj with 100% mana on my healer. Even with good groups this can not be achieved on Death Knight so my feeling is Death knight is the clear victor.
Bystander Feb 24th 2010 9:44AM
"Two Bosses Enter matchups are about substance and style, not game play and mechanics. Don't base your strategies on player tactics, which opponent has been easiest or most difficult for you personally, or the difficulty of each opponent relative to instance progression."
nyttyn Feb 24th 2010 9:14AM
TBH, bronjham would never ever die due to the fact that the black knight wouldent be able to stop curropt soul. Hell, he wont even use soulstorm until third form I think, and then its game set match for black knight due to spell spam.
lilgeeky2 Feb 24th 2010 9:27AM
Remember that soul storm does not hit anything immediately around Bronjham though, and the Black Knight, i would assume, is immune to Bronjham's fear due to his being undead (if not in the first phase then definately by the 2nd). If the Black Knight does end up making it to the 3rd phase, Bronjham is totally getting the Marked for death debuf (200% increased damage)
Bystander Feb 24th 2010 9:52AM
"All of the competitors' abilities, including crowd control and other effects to which bosses are usually immune, work on their opponents (with apologies to considerations of lore on this point)."
So the fear is definitely in play.
lilgeeky2 Feb 24th 2010 10:27AM
my bad, forgot about that detail
shadowcaster Feb 24th 2010 10:52AM
Not sure this applies here. BK wouldn't be immune because he is a boss. He would be immune because he is undead, but like your run of the mill undead is immune to fear. I think the rule applies for things like stuns, for example, that don't work on bosses but do work most other times. So your saying that the BK will not be immune to fear even though your average undead is?
It says "effects to which bosses are usually immune". This is an effect where undead are immune, and it has nothing to do with him being a boss. This seems like a gray area to me. Can we get a ruling here from the judges?
Josin Feb 24th 2010 9:19AM
So um... how do you make a balanced bracket with 6 matchups, exactly? Who gets the bye into the 3rd round? Or after the first round, is it going to be a triple threat match?
Maybe after the first round, we can vote one of the losers back in again?
You know... I don't complain about this every season just because I like to complain. I don't. I enjoy the feature a lot, and it's frustrating when I see you guys have to scramble to figure out some way to patch up poor planning. Especially since it could be avoided if someone sat down and sketched out a bracket in 30 seconds and realized where the flaws were.
That said, I'd love to vote for Bronjahm, but if there's one thing we've learned, it's that the Black Knight keeps coming back. And hits harder in the process. Bronjahm just doesn't have the staying power to hold back the undead gladiator long enough to pick up the win. I suspect the Black Knight would ignore the Corrupt Soul mechanic just as easily as most random PuGs do.
Sanguinarius Feb 24th 2010 9:37AM
They state right in the article that a loser gets voted back in during the semi-finals. That would make 4 contestants.
Josin Feb 24th 2010 10:17AM
How am I supposed to make irate tirades if I have to stop and read first?
Josin Feb 24th 2010 10:19AM
Personally I'd rather have seen a qualifying round with Paletress vs. Eadric and Marwyn vs. Falric, but the vote for the worst method works, I guess. It did for Eregos, anyway.
And hey, maybe I can get Bronjahm back after he gets owned by the Black Knight.
Pointman Feb 24th 2010 9:28AM
Bronjahm: Say it out loud!
Black Knight: I, um...
Bronjahm: Hah! Say it out loud, brother!
Black Knight: I don't... want...
Bronjahm: SAY IT OUT LOUD!
Black Knight: I'M BLACK AND I'M PROUD!
Bronjahm wins.
Josin Feb 24th 2010 9:32AM
/win
Mr. Crow Feb 24th 2010 11:08AM
yeah, /thread really.
Well done Pointman. ^_^
Sanguinarius Feb 24th 2010 9:35AM
I have a feeling that AotD is going to carry the Black Knight to the final round. Unless he winds up fighting another "minion caller", the sheer damage output of his ghouls focused on a single target combined with his disease ticks and empowered strikes gives him an extreme advantage in "one on one" combat. Cheater.
nyctef Feb 24th 2010 10:10AM
I think soulstorm would take care of the AotD fairly effectively; but while that's going on then the Black Knight is going to carry on mauling Bronjahm, so he'd end up winning.