Two Bosses Enter: Faction champs elude LK, Paletress takes on Tyrannus
by Lisa Poisso 
May 12th 2010 at 9:00AM
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.
| Argent Confessor Paletress wins (Tyrannus dies) | |
|---|---|
| Scourgelord Tyrannus wins (Paletress dies) | |
| Tie (something else happens) |
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.Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Lore, Two Bosses Enter
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
jasonlstroh Jun 2nd 2010 7:58PM
Tyrannus! Tyrannus!
I honestly think He and Rimefang would tear Palettess and her memory in half...
Josin May 12th 2010 12:22PM
It turns out, Tyrannus wasn't much of a raider when Arthas took him. He had a vague memory of some yeti near Southshore, but those were easily dispatched.
Fr0styz May 12th 2010 9:27AM
i would like confessor to fwin but the fact is i agree with everyone saying tyrannus :(
Qot May 12th 2010 10:24AM
I actually think Paletress would probably win during an actual battle: she's got the bubble, the heals and the fear from the memory should diminish Unholy Power's damage.
However, she'd get absolutely positively trucked by the ToC champions. It wouldn't even be close to a fair fight. Tyrannus, on the other hand, has enough burst damage to make it an interesting fight if he gets the kill order right (warrior, rogue, mage, shaman, hunter) and uses Overlord's Brand on the shaman almost exclusively.
And, above all else, I don't want the ToC champions to win. Their victories (except for the LK escape) seems a bit cheap when you consider that they're allowed to go 5 on 1 instead of the normal 3 on 1.
Gurluas May 12th 2010 9:28AM
Paletress would win of course!
Boz May 12th 2010 9:30AM
All of this speculation assumes that Tyrannus is able to do anything besides stare at Paletress's thighs.
Jay May 12th 2010 9:40AM
Overlord's brand is the winning move in this fight, Unfortunately our demure caberet boothcrawler doesn't have a chance when her own healing power is turned against her.
Off Topic, I was thinking today how i would love the final winner to take on The Doctor. Mwaaa Haa Haaa could fishfingers and custard plus a sonic screwdriver take down the best WoW has to offer?
clundgren May 12th 2010 1:12PM
Shouldn't we assume that Paletress has the wit to not attack or heal when brand is on her? Plus, I'm not sure I follow Rossi's reasoning. Tyrannus doesn't have waves of adds. There is a gauntlet that you run before the encounter, but that isn't included in this fight, nor should it be. Paletress's adds, on the other hand, are a continuous part of her encounter.
In the end, though, it doesn't matter. Those milky white thighs>all.
JoJa May 12th 2010 6:15PM
@ Clundgren
Actually, Tyrannus does have a wave of adds, thus his emote copied at the beginning of this article. But thankfully some "backup" of your faction holds them off while you fight the big guy in the dungeon (only to later be destroyed by Rimefang).
In a fight just between bosses, we have to assume that if Paletress gets her adds, so does Tyrannus.
But, as you mention, the thighs have it.
aramis May 12th 2010 9:51AM
Paletress.
First of all...reflective shield. Any heals that Ty is leaching (which is NOT back to full by the way, you guys greatly exaggerate...as a healer I know this) will be moot when he hits powerfully hard most of it will be absorbed by reflective shield AND sent right back to him.
Next, Rimefang.
This "pet" only does damage if one is dumb enough to stand in a place where you'll receive full warning by the pretty glowly blue symbols that show up on the floor giving you ample warning to step away. Hoarfrost is the only move that is unavoidable (but if even if Paletress were to be caught in it AND sustain damage from Ty, she's a freakin' priest...since when have you known expert priest to be easily taken down because of a snare and melee? Have you SEEN the priests that run arena these days....yeah, that ain't happening. So then we move to Paletress' "pet," the memory. This memory doesn't just snare and fly around and have COMPLETELY AVOIDABLE AOE. This memory will actually FIGHT Ty while Paltress smites and Holy Fires and is completely invincible while the memory up. This memory can be some of the most powerful bosses we've ever seen (like Algalon?) and I'm sure you guys exaggerate when you say Ty can just burn them down with his mark. I'm sorry but that mark is not ALL THAT. No, Ty's strength lies within his powerful melee and this is mitigated by Paletress' own priestly abilities (I mean, a LOT of people complain about trying to kill a Disc Priest....it's damn hard, but that's besides the point).
I'm with Mr. Gray on this one. Ty is awesome indeed. But Paletress just has too many tricks up her sleeve, you'd think she was a sneeky rogue.
garrisod1981 May 12th 2010 10:02AM
Confessor Paletress! Perhaps you should have stayed... IN THE MOUNTAINS
KJP May 12th 2010 10:24AM
Uh... did you mean to reveal the judges' votes on the Paletress/Tyrannus battle at this point? Kind of makes our votes seem a little pointless.
flint May 12th 2010 10:47AM
The judges dont actually decided anything, the winner is still up to the readers. They're just providing some of their theories of how things would go.
KJP May 12th 2010 11:17AM
Quoting the top of this very article:
"Your votes, along with the decisions of our distinguished judges (representing WoW.com staff and readers), determine who makes it out alive."
If that's changed for the semifinals then OK, but somebody should have made that explicit, and the header should definitely be updated to reflect this.
(cutaia) May 12th 2010 11:39AM
"Let's see what the judges predict for this matchup, after the break."
Looks like for the semi-finals, they just give their opinions instead of actively affecting the outcome. Must be like American Idol. You get to hear what Simon and Co. think, but at the end of the day, it's our votes that decides who's gonna be kicked off the show. The only difference is that Rossi doesn't say "Dogg" that often. So dial 1-866-BOSSES-02 so we can watch Paletress sing us off into the credits.
Cutaia out.
Maximize May 12th 2010 10:32AM
Paletress all the way, albeit in her toughest fight so far.
It seems quite a number of people have forgotten major parts of the Paletress encounter or are giving Tyrannus too much credit.
Paletress has NINE moderately powerful adds that Tyrannus would have to battle before even getting a crack at her. That's sure to wear him down a bit.
Then we have Paletress's initial attack. That does some more damage.
At that point she becomes immune, heals, and continues to do damage. Also, I doubt her heals can be branded since she's immune. And don't forget the Memory itself has a huge health pool and a long fear that does high damage.
I'm pretty sure Paletress finishes Tyrannus off with the Memory still alive, but even if he manages to limp to the final phase, she surely takes him down then.
And remember, for these battles all the health pools are normalized so go ahead and slap on 30% more hit points to Paletress, the Memory, and the initial adds to compensate for it coming out earlier in the expansion.
For some reason, Matthew Rossi thinks the adds around the cave will play a factor. This is silly. I've never seen them have any role in the Tyrannus fight unless the group was too stupid to move away from the cave. That's even with horrible DPS in the group. So that's out.
Sky Paladin greatly exaggerates the healing Tyrannus gets from the brand. So much for that playing much of a factor.
John Zakour completely forgot Paletress's adds. AND he thinks the Memory can be burned down quickly. Those two things make me wonder how long its been since (or if) he's seen this encounter. So yeah.
The sad thing is it seems most people haven't thought this battle out very well. Other than maybe Faction Champs, no 5-man boss should have a chance against Paletress. But this is where its going to end for our most powerful combatant.
aramis May 12th 2010 11:07AM
Exactly what you said.
The holy fire she does alone is about as powerful as Ty's forceful smash. Even if the mark was up she could easily send it off and just heal herself if she takes damage from it since the damage is mirrored and not reflected. But even then...she's bubbled! When I bubble myself as a Shadow Priest and use Power Word: Death (which gives damage back to me if the person doesn't die from it) my bubble eats the damage. The same mechanics would apply here. She could Holy Fire Ty even when she's marked (a mark that doesn't last long to begin with) and her bubble would just eat the damage, while ty has to take it all. OR she could just hold back and wait for the mark to fade (because it will, like I said, that mark doesn't last long at all) and then cast her spells and just do what priests do and just kite Ty around while she's marked. And let's face it, only in phase three of Paletress is she NOT bubbled, but with all that's been discussed, I don't think Ty could even MAKE it to phase three.
(Sidebar: Yes, I use SW:D. It's a fun spell in PVP at the very least even if it's pointless to use in actual raid rotations).
And I completely forgot about her adds. Those adds ARE NOT pushovers. When you have a group of people you can work around them and of course bring them down, but one DK alone as powerful as Ty is, would have trouble getting through three at once, let alone repeat this two more times thereafter. He'll definitely be less the DK he started off being by the time he gets to Paletress.
Sky_Paladin May 12th 2010 7:39PM
Those are fair points, let me address them -
I am considering that with the three healers + Paletress' quite significant NPC heals, the Brand would have a much greater impact than the usual party of five + 1 PC healer. I am also considering that with six dps instead of the usual three, the Brand would have a much greater (double, in fact) impact than would ordinarily be expected.
As to the life of the Memory, I agree it is usually the longest phase in the fight (mostly because dps don't know to switch targets sigh) however 'long' is a matter of perspective. I usually tank Lich King on 25 man, and when I pug heroics, I'm set with equally geared players by the dungeon finder (for the most part). Like everything in the instance that is not the mounted faction champions, the Memory disappears in a blaze of white and yellow numbers.
Maximize May 13th 2010 2:17AM
Put very simply the Overlord's Brand just isn't the world destroyer some people have made it out to be. Tyrannus uses it every once in a while, and when he does, it has a moderate impact. Also, the number of extra healers or DPSers in no way makes the brand more effective. If anything, it cheapens the effect because no matter what it only gets put on one thing at a time. Furthermore, I just assumed Tyrannus takes down one pack at a time like a smart group does. If, like you imply (citing more than 5 opponents), Tyrannus just runs in there and goes straight for Paletress he has in essence a 10-man raid beating him up all at once and will keel over in like 15 seconds.
Paletress's Memory seems to last a long time because its got a very large health pool (almost 500k...which will be higher against Tyrannus because of normalization) and slows down DPS with fairly frequent fear effects.
Your personal/group gear has no relevance to this discussion. I'm sure you can kill Tyrannus hilariously fast with three 6k GS DPS, too.
jasem May 12th 2010 10:49AM
something else happens, paltress mistakingly hits rimefang early in the fight and tyranus jumps back on his dragon. draw