Two Bosses Enter ... but only One Boss Leaves, in WoW.com's series of fantasy death matches. It's a brand new season and a brand new format, introducing judges from WoW.com and the WoW community at large -- and of course, your votes. Grab a seat, and let's get ready to rumble!

Despite heaving all the saronite he could muster at the Devourer of Souls, Forgemaster Garfrost found himself devoured whole in this week's cage match. Three out of four Thunderdome judges handed the match to the Devourer, bolstered by 55.5% of the spectators. Judge Sky Paladin bore the banner for the dissenters, with a spirited account of the two bosses' meeting that delights (despite perhaps not actually swaying the vote).

Join us after the break for the judges' decisions, plus your chance to vote in the next battle of the season: Krick and Ick vs. Scourgelord Tyrannus. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls ... Dyin' time's here.
Devourer whips the pants off Garfrost

It seemed a fairly simple task for the Devourer of Souls to unmoor the soul of the mighty simpleton, Forgemaster Garfrost.

Judge Zapperz: The Devourer of Souls

This fight pits a bodiless floating, overly dramatic, three-headed entity thing against a big, not-all-that-intelligent, ice-covered, undead giant who starts off talking like Dr. Suess. I'm sorry, I know Garfrost may be a master with a forge, but he's not bright. He's one of those fellows good at one thing at the expense of everything else, including common sense, making this easy for me to call.

Devourer leads with a couple of Phantom Blasts, ticking Gar off. Gar tosses some nasty saronite at Devourer, following it up with his Thundering Stomp. Devourer lets loose Unleashed Souls ('cause if you're going to devour souls, you might as well make 'em work for you). The rush of purple souls is no factor, as they don't do enough damage to make the dense giant notice.

Gar's lack of higher reasoning skills is his downfall. The guy doesn't have all his rods in the fire. Gar clobbers Devourer with a Thundering Stomp or two, then suddenly decides he needs to forge a new weapon. Note to mobs: don't turn your back and make a new weapon in the middle of a fight; it's considered bad form and is dumb. While Gar makes his precious weapon, Devourer whittles him down with more Phantom Blasts, weakening the giant mental midget as he finishes his weapon.

Gar turns his anger on Devourer, hitting him with everything but the frozen kitchen sink. Of course, Gar's brain is too frozen to realize that Devourer has locked Mirrored Soul on him, so all of the damage Gar is dishing out he is also taking. Gar pretty much kills himself; Devourer wins. (Either that, or Gar trips over his shoelace while stopping to adjust those underpants he complains about, and the Devourer Well of Souls him to death. Bottom line: Garfrost's frosted brain is too dense for him to win this fight.)

Judge Matthew Rossi: Devourer of Souls

Garfrost is going to end up killing himself on this one. Devourer and Garfrost both have annoying adds, but Devourer summons his. They can't be targeted; they just pick someone and attack. Likewise, Devourer can only mirror Garfrost, meaning that every time Garfrost smacks Devourer, he takes the damage himself. Garfrost has no way around Devourer's other damaging abilities, either. He has to melee for the majority of his attacks, so he'll end up standing in the goop (since there's no reason for Devourer to move out of it), and he's going to eat those blasts right in the face.

Plus, he's a moron. Devourer in a walk.

Judge Michael Gray: Devourer of Souls

Garfrost and the Devourer seem like a relatively even match at face value, since both of these combatants are masters of some tricks that were once raid-wiping nightmares. (The dreaded don't-stand-in-fire, break-line-of-sight, and quick-response-to-environment gimmicks have been big raid-killers in the past. They've all incited more than their fair share of nerdrage in Azeroth.) Ultimately, though, I think this fight's going to come down to finesse.

Don't get me wrong. Garfrost is big and powerful, but he's also dumb. Okay, Garfrost is very, very big and very, very powerful. But with that great power comes great dumbness. The Devourer is a fast boss, swapping and switching targets at almost every heartbeat. If Garfrost can't overwhelm the Devourer with superior force right away, the Devourer will swap between tactics far too quickly for the giant to keep up. While Garfrost will no doubt do huge damage to Devourer, the fact that so much of that damage will get reflected back at the big galoot seals the deal.

Garfrost is near and dear to my heart, as I empathize with his obsession about wearing clean underpants. And while mothers and bloggers the world over approve of his fastidiousness, I'm forced to admit the Devourer will trounce him.

Judge Sky Paladin: Forgemaster Garfrost

Garfrost hummed as he navigated the Storm Peaks, searching for stones for his work. He picked up another rock, which unexpectedly bit him.
"Garfrost not understand, little stone, why you should cause woe."
The rock hissed and glowed with baleful anger. "Your idiocy is without parallel. Surely you recognize --"
"Ahhhh. Not a rock. I very sorry."
Garfrost hurled the Devourer of Souls over his shoulder. It wailed as it plummeted into the central basin; then, with a malicious grin, it activated its Mirrored Soul. The Devourer hit the ground hard, then rolled, and rolled -- into the Engine of the Makers.
Garfrost howled with annoyance. Somehow, he knew that the rock was still hurting him, even in that far-away place.
"Garfrost is simple, happy creature. Why you do these bad things?"
A sibilant, female voice called shrilly from the pit. "Simpleton! I am the Devourer of Souls. Do not defy me!"
Darkness covered the pit. The Devourer looked up to see a large block of saronite dropping at high speed.
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Garfrost hammered out one of the Devourer's faces, into a ghastly, screaming face. "Garfrost likes this one. I shall call it, 'Ghoul Commander's Cuirass.' Yes. I shall give to Lady Deathwhisper, and we shall have tea together." The Frost Giant slipped the new armor piece into his front pocket and set about making some cupcakes.
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, 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: Krick and Ick

No! That one! That one! Get that one!
I've changed my mind ... Go get that one instead!
What are you attacking him for? The dangerous one is over there, fool.

Krick and Ick are a gnome and a plague eruptor who are in league with the Lich King as bosses in the Pit of Saron, inside the second wing of the Frozen Halls.

• Toxic Waste
• Mighty Kick
• Shadow Bolt
• Pursuit
• Pursuit Confusion
• Poison Nova
• Explosive Barrage

Read more about how Krick and Ick plague their opponents in battle.

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.

• Forceful Smash
• Overlord's Brand
• Unholy Power

Rimefang:

• Mark of Rimefang
• Hoarfrost
• Icy Blast
• Icy Blast

Learn more about Tyrannus and Rimefang's tactics.

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!



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

Match 1: Bronjahm vs. The Black Knight – THE BLACK KNIGHT
Match 2: Devourer of Souls vs. Forgemaster Garfrost – DEVOURER OF SOULS
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

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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.

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Tags: devourer-of-souls, featured, forgemaster-garfrost, garfrost, ick, krick, krick-and-ick, lore, scourgelord-tyrannus, tyrannus, wow-boss, wow-boss-battle, wow-bosses, wow-lore

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Lore, Two Bosses Enter