Two Bosses Enter: Jan'alai vs. Zanzil
by Mathew McCurley 
Oct 3rd 2011 at 8:00PM
It's a rumble in the jungle where two big names in the Zul'circle face off in WoW Insider's ring. Jan'alai, avatar of the dragonhawk, faces off against potion master Zanzil and his crazy concoctions. I think that this could be one of the more interesting fights in this season of Two Bosses Enter. Troll versus Troll, Zul'Aman versus Zul'Gurub. Choose your empire!
Last week's fight went as predicted. Vanessa VanCleef, mistress of poisons and daughter of the late, great Edwin VanCleef, beat out Daakara by just shy of a thousand votes. Wow. You guys sure do love Vanessa. I love her, too -- but come on lady, put on some pants. Azerothian winters are going to be cold this year.
| Jan'alai | |
|---|---|
| Zanzil |
The rules of the ring
- The WoW Insider Ring 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 squared circle, 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.
Jan'alai doesn't mess around. Even though he beat Corborus by only four votes, Jan'alai is no lightweight. With his loyal hatchlings and potent fire attacks, Jan'alai calls upon the fires of the dragonhawk to ignite his foes. This avatar feels more primal than his opponent Zanzil, having a real connection with the wilds and his avatar animal. If anyone is going to put up a good fight against the cauldron master himself, Jan'alai has a pretty good shot. Plus, everyone knows that the gods of Zul'Aman watch over their avatars with care.
Jan'alai's abilities include:
- Flame Breath
- Fire Bomb
- Jan'alai will summon Amani'shi Hatchers to spawn Dragonhawk Hatchlings, who cast Flame Buffet.
Zanzil, Zanzil, Zanzil. You are truly a fan favorite, even though you are a Troll. Easily defeating Beauty and her pups, Zanzil and his potent potions move on to face Jan'alai and his many dragonhawk allies. Zanzil's master work with potions and their subsequent abilities was the crux of his last fight, but will the same hold true against another like-minded Troll? Zanzil is representing Zul'Gurub, and he won't let anyone sully the great city's pride.
Zanzil's abilities include:
- Zanzil Fire
- Voodoo Bolt
- Terible Tonic
- Zanzil's Graveyard Gas requires a drink from the green cauldron.
- Zanzil's Resurrection Elixir (blue) will call forth a resurrected Zanzili Berserker, which can be frozen after a drink from the blue cauldron.
- Zanzil's Resurrection Elixir (red) will raise a cadre of Zanzili Zombies who swarm Zanzil's enemies, which can be AOEed down after a drink from the red cauldron.
Shocker of shockers, Vanessa VanCleef beat out Zul'Aman CEO Daakara by just under 1,000 votes. Vanessa VanCleef was at the center of the Cardboard Assassin controversy in the last season of Two Bosses Enter, and some players just won't forget it. Commenters were quick to back Daakara, going the logical and pragmatic route. Daakara is, after all, the leader of the Amani tribe and took over after one of the most powerful trolls in the history of Trolls: Zul'jin. Vanessa, while a prodigy and powerful force to be reckoned with, just would not have the tool set to deal with the ever-changing and unpredictable Daakara. Alas, Vanessa VanCleef is this week's winner.
Reader mibu.work1 had a great analysis of the fight that really set the perspective that I tried to achieve when thinking about this matchup:
I can honestly say that this is a matchup where, logically, there is no contest. Remember Daakara's title 'the invincible'. This is the guy that fought to the top spot left by ZUL'JIN and gained the support of the four high priests of the amani gods, not to mention their Hex-Lord. He had to have fought his way to the top, and was the leader before the Zalandari came back. Not only that, but he has shown the ability to channel four animal gods, something only Zul'jin has done before, and to command them with near the same level of efficiancy as those who devoted their lives to those gods, I.E. the high priests. We may honestly be looking at the most spiritually attuned and physically powerful troll ever seen in game, short of Zul'jin or Vol'jin. Think about that.
Now we've assessed Daakara's abilities, I'm just going to say that despite his opponent being a 16-year-old girl with high talent as a rogue, and nothing more, I'm gonna say that sadly, vanessa is going to win because she is popular as hell. Never mind the fact that her deterrance works simmilarly to a hunter's and that hunter's detterance does jacksh*t against the Lynx form, never mind that lightning totems will build up and tear through her and her adds, never mind that one lynx add can shred half a dozen of hers before being brought down by focus-fire, never mind that she only utilizes her poisons outside of battle and never during, never mind that she has no counter against paralysis, charges, claw-frenzies, and her erratic shadowstepping is going to bite her when there are firebreaths and tornadoes flying, she is going to win because she is popular. Why is she popular? Because she has nice thighs and covers her face.
Come to think of it, Zul'jin had both those going for him, hmmmm....Darky, like most of us, loves an underdog:
Is it wrong that I voted for daakara just because I knew he wouldn't be voted for? Plus Who doesn't love da troll mon?Bellajtok's account of the fight was a concise version of the way the fight played out in my head:
Unfortunately true. But I don't think she'd win this one without being crazy prepared to the point of having a poison specifically designed to overcome Daakara's shape-shifting metabolism and form, plus a way to heal and get rid of the bleed, and a a way to avoid surge. Basically, not going to happen.And finally, I agree with James:
Here's how I imagine the fight going: Daakara strikes Vanessa for a bleed. She poisons him. He shapeshifts into bear, rendering the poison less effective as the bear spirit fortifies his mind and strengthens his body. He uses Surge, which Vanessa can't avoid. She's now taking 500% increased physical damage- which includes bleeds. Daakara then switches to Lynx, and with his adds, bleeds, and rush attacks, deals some massively increased physical damage. If she's not dead from that before the surge debuff expires, he switches back to bear to reapply it, and then back to Lynx again to finish her off. When she starts to trying to use her explosives, he turns into a dragonhawk and flies away, letting her die from her bleeds and explosions.
My prose is not so magnificent as Fizzyl's, but I think you get the idea.
If there was justice in this competition the Cardboard Assassin would cost Vanessa "I've got a fan base therefore I always win" Vancleef the victory in this match up. Turnabout being fair play and all.
| Vanessa VanCleef | |
|---|---|
| Daakara |
The battle begins!
Remember, Two Bosses Enter matchups are all about substance and style, not gameplay, mechanics, and numbers. 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 mechanics nitpicking!
Set aside the world order -- let the WoW Insider Ring determine who's the champion! Your votes determine the outcome in WoW Insider's series of fantasy deathmatches, Two Bosses Enter, One Boss Leaves.
Filed under: Two Bosses Enter
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Amaxe Oct 3rd 2011 8:22PM
Well, Zanzil seems popular so far. maybe he'll be the one to throw Vanessa out on her ear.
Bellajtok Oct 3rd 2011 8:46PM
Oh please. Oh please oh please oh please please please please. His awesome insanity might just give him enough popularity to cancel out her extreme popularity.
Andrew Oct 4th 2011 4:28AM
I think he should. To be perfectly honest, I think Zanzil has one of the most talented voice actors that this game has ever seen. The dude plays crazy like nobody else. I mean, just listen to him talk in the Stranglethorn Vale level 85 quest line. I have no idea who the voice actor is, but he's incredible.
Average Joe Oct 3rd 2011 8:25PM
Zanzil has a terrible habit of standing in one spot and just casting, not the smartest strategy with Jan'alai's abilities. Also, even though it's not listed, Jan'alai can teleport. This makes for effective cauldron access, helps for avoiding Zanzil Fire, and can put some distance between himself and the berserker add.
I'm calling both combatants' smaller adds a non-point in this matchup. The dragonhawks will die in Graveyard Gas, and the zombies will die in fire... and we all know Jan'alai loves fire :)
Bellajtok Oct 3rd 2011 8:32PM
Zanzil. All the way. Not only is he made of awesome, but he's also got the fighting advantage. Especially if we assume he has and can use his cauldrons, but he'd win even without that. With cauldrons: He grabs the blue cauldron, deals 70% of Jan'Alai's health, and kills him easily from there, possibly by using his poison gas while Jan'Alai is still frozen.
Without cauldrons: Poison gas like a boss. Kills the hatchers and the dragonhawks before they can do anything, with his poison-resistant adds beating on Janny. Also, there's no cure for Jan'Alai to reach for the gas if there aren't cauldrons.
If Jan'Alai got to the blue cauldron and used it first, he might win. But given that these are Zanzil's cauldrons, and he knows how to use them best, I'm gonna give the win to Zanzil.
Also: OMGYAY I got quoted!
Angus Oct 3rd 2011 9:21PM
He can't use his own cauldrons. He never uses them in fights against players. They are strictly for Jan'Alai and his buddies.
Bellajtok Oct 4th 2011 9:43AM
Well, I consider that a game mechanic, in much the same way an attack pattern would be. I'm pretty sure Zanzil's smart enough to use his own cauldrons.
GhostWhoWalks Oct 3rd 2011 8:59PM
I'm going to give this clash to Jan'alai, though it's a tough one to call. Their abilities match up so well that it's almost like we're dealing with a mirror match. http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MirrorMatch Which one has large swarms of weak adds? Both. Which one can cast a row of fire that hurts people who stand in it? Both. Which one creates terrain hazards that the opponent must avoid? Both.
Thus, it falls to the subtle details that make them different to decide the battle. Zanzil can summon those big Berserkers, while Jan'alai casts his fire row more often and his adds increase the damage taken by it. In the end, I say that Jan'alai will be able to freeze and kill the Beserkers quickly enough that they won't be a problem while Zanzil has a problem moving out of the fire and casting his attacks at the same time.
Honestly, though, this is a fight that could go either way. Can Zanzil avoid the Fire Bombs? Can Jan'alai avoid getting roasted ironically by Zanzili Fire? I guess we'll see.
Nadia Oct 3rd 2011 9:09PM
These are cauldrons even Azil's rocks can't break.
Vanessa's in trouble!
Quaza Oct 3rd 2011 9:10PM
Zanzil. Both combatants will dodge the other's "Line of Bad", Jan'Alai can use his short-ranged teleport to easily handle cauldrons, both combatants will use their abilities to AoE the other's adds, and both will avoid the opponent's AoEs. The problem for Jan'Alai is that his adds don't respawn - but Zanzil's do. And on this fight, that will tip the scales.
Fletcher Oct 3rd 2011 9:26PM
Oh Zanzil, Zanzil, I just love that voodoo that you do!
Both bosses can avoid each others' ground fire effects. Jan'alai can easily use his fire bombs and the fire cauldron to defeat Zanzil's zombies, and he can use the blue cauldron on the berserkers and put a fire under them to easily dispatch them.
The kicker is Zanzil's toxic gas. While Jan'alai can use the green cauldron to neutralize this, his adds will choke and die on it. Even if the Hatchers get to the green cauldron in time, the dragonhawk hatchlings aren't smart enough to! Without his adds, Jan'alai is denied his major tricks, and he's easy prey to Zanzil.
Andrew Oct 3rd 2011 9:33PM
Zanzil. Jan'alai can AoE down Zanzil's adds with the red cauldron and freeze/damage the beserkers with the blue, but Zanzil only needs to use his gases to take care of all Jan'alai's adds and before you know it it's Zanzil and an increasing number of low-health beserkers against Jan'alai. Jan'alai doesn't have any abilities to keep Zanzil busy, so he can either single target Zanzil or the adds, but not both. Zanzil and his undead cronies will simply overpower the budgie priest.
Edymnion Oct 3rd 2011 10:52PM
Zanzil all the way. Jan's hatchers never participate in the fight, they only move to hatch dragonhawks, and the dragonhawks are not sentient so they couldn't fly over and use the cauldrons. That means all Zanzil has to do to clear out any opposition is to simply flood the area with poison gas. Unlike Jan's bombs, there is no safe place to stand in the gas field, so Jan's adds go down real quick. And all Zanzil has to do is lay down a zanzil fire between Jan and the cauldrons, and Jan has no choice but to either walk through the fire intentionally and take massive damage, or try to run around the long way and let the poison take effect. Same with the beserkers and the zombies.
I think Jan'alai is going down pretty easily.
Bapo Oct 3rd 2011 11:54PM
Vanessa is this season's cardboard assassin. : /
Natsumi Oct 4th 2011 11:22AM
Apparently she was last season's Cardboard Assassin too :p
mibu.work1 Oct 4th 2011 1:09AM
I'm honestly voting for Zanzil mostly because I LOVE his voice while Jan'alai's is fairly forgettable. That, and I think Zanzil has potential to beat Vanessa, I want a Troll victory for this season.
Kristalknight18 Oct 4th 2011 6:23AM
I was really surprise to see how much support zanzil gets over jan'alai. Honestly I think this would be an epic fight to watch. Just picture those adds going at each others necks toe to toe, canceling each other out. Zanzil got the big blue brute to back him up, but jan'alai is super quick on his toes he could take care of him fast. And the most awesome part, poison gas and fire bombs. Now we all should know when those things are together, it's super bad. To me is a draw, but if there could only be one jan'alai would win. Zanzil it's a turret and doesn't really move, I doubt he'll move out of fire.
EaterOfBirds Oct 4th 2011 6:26AM
im trying to do it fairly and consider the boss mechanics etc, but i just love Zanzil ^ ^ watch out Vanessa...
uncorpse Oct 6th 2011 11:06AM
Zanzil, I JES' LOVE DAT VOODOO THAT YOU DO!
Silversol Oct 4th 2011 10:18AM
My money is on the troll.