Grim Legion - Kirin Tor (US)

Welcome to the Home of the Grim Legion!

2010.12.05 Oh Yeah, Yogg-Saron 25 is Dead!

Way back when Ulduar was released, was also the time when our last major drama occurred. It delayed our progress a bit and we found ourselves skipping Yogg-Saron to focus on more current content. Aside from one random evening of screwning around in Ulduar 25, we never went back to finish the job. Well, tonight we did! We only had about 1.5 hours on Yogg, so we were unable to get the One Light in the Darkness Achievement (only one Keeper up), though we did get close. After that, killin him in normal mode (all 4 Keepers aiding us) it was pretty easy to take him down. Now we can finally check off that box...

2010.11.29 Last Guild Meeting of WotLK!

We got together for a guild meeting to review our plans for Cataclysm. We met in the Temple of Order (just above the Terrace of the Makers) in Stormpeaks, Northrend.

Skindancer announced an essay contest for a guild member to win a Dell Alienware Gaming Computer.

2010.11.03 Heroic Sindragosa-25 Down! Now 11/12

Well, not surpisingly, she was far easier than Heroic Professor Putricide, but it was nice to down her just the same. Go Grim Legion!

2010.10.24 Heroic Professor Putricide-25 Down! Now 10/12

After much pain and suffering, the bastard dies!

2010.10.04 Guild Meeting!

We visited an abandoned outpost on the far southwest coast of Sillithus.

We had some pretty big stuff to talk about, like the future of Cataclysm, and Skindancer and Sistajuju passing Guild Leadership to our wise and capable fellow officer, Decapescu. Long live the Guild Leader!

2010.08.11 Heroic Lady Deathwhisper Down, Now 9/12

Our first week trying her and BOOM! Out go the lights!

2010.08.04 Heroic Saurfang-25 Down, Now 8/12

It took a few tries, but Heroic Saurfang dropped tonight.

2010.08.01 - Heroic Blood Council-25 Down, Now 7/12

Tonight was our first attempt at Heroic Blood Council and we three-shotted them! I guess Thrall was looking out for us. Go Grim Legion!

2010.07.21 - Heroic ICC-25 Kills Update, Up to 6/12

We have been remiss in posting our Heroic ICC kills. Here they are, in reverse chronological order.

• 2007.07.21 - Heroic Valithria
• 2007.07.18 - Heroic Festergut
• 2007.07.14 - Heroic Blood Queen
• 2007.07.07 - Heroic Rotface
• 2007.07.06 - Heroic Gunship
• 2007.07.06 - Heroic Marrowgar

2010.07.12 - July Guild Meeting

We headed out to a sunny island so far south of Tanaris, that it's off the map. After the meeting, we headed to Stormwid and killed Varian.

But there was more fun in store. As we returned to Dalaran, we were told that Thunder Bluff was under attack, so we raced to Cairne's defense and stopped the Alliance cold. There were a few that seemed unwilling to give up the ghost (almost literally), like this poor fella, Scratchie. Some folks just like skating uphill, I guess.

2010.07.06 Halion - 25 Dead

If it wasn't for that dastardly maintenance day and holiday weekend, we would have downed him the first week, but hey, better late than never!

2010.06.30 Lich King - 25 Dead!

The cold, ragged Praetorians trudged down the bleak steps of Icecrown Citadel, their frosty breath slow and easy. Fatigue showed in their grim expressions, but it was mixed with an air of certainty and renewed determination. As they came to a stop, the Tauren, known as Skindancer, stepped forward, frost still caking his coarse hair.

In a deep bellow, he roars, "Arthas is Dead!"

The assembled Argent Crusaders stand almost as one, their expressions alighting with the news. And with newfound vigor they cheer, their long fight over at last.

After the cheers die down, the weary Praetorians mount their drakes and fly off into the cold night towards Dalaran and the warm hearth of the guild hall and spiced mead. This was a good day.

2010.05.05 Sindragosa-25 Dead

Sindragosa is dead! Great job folks!

2010.04.26 Guild Meeting w/ Bonus PvP!

So, we had our guild meeting and my (Skindancer) dream finally came true. The Alliance attacked during our meeting. It was hilarious. I *almost* felt sorry for them...but I didn't. :)

We chatted about some new policy and schedule changes. Guildies should check the guild forums for details.

2010.04.18 Valithria-25 Rescued!

Valithria Dreamwalker was rescued from the clutches of the Lich King! And she gave us presents! (Click here for a larger picture on our album)

2010.04.11 Blood Queen-25 Down!

The Blood Queen is down! Great job everyone!

2010.04.04 Putricide-25 Down

The Professor's nefarious schemes end now.

2010.03.07 Blood Princes-25 Down

Not only did we down them, we got the Orbwhisperer Achievement!

2010.03.04 Festergut-25 Down and Shadow's Edge Up!

Neither gas, nor spore, nor stink of blight shall keep our guild from its appointed rounds...

Dargoniist finished up the Shadow's Edge he has been craving so...

2009.03.01 Guild Meeting & Paying Our Respects...

We held a guild meeting and memorial service for Mankrik's wife in the Barrens.

Thank you all for attending and congratulations to our newest officer, Lineage (the Paladin formerly known as Zolta the Shadow Priest)!

2010.01.31 Rotface25 Down

Finally got the ooze rhythm down and killed this punk.

2009.01.18 January Guild Meeting

Our first guild meeting for the year!

Thank you to our guildies for a great turnout!

Lots of great topics:

• Refinements to Praetorian and Legionnaire rank
• New policy pages
• Imminent changes in the pre-ICC 25 man content being raided
• And various things to improve raid performance

2010.01.06 Happy New Year Daddy Saurfang!

Congratulations! You get to bury your son!

Yep, we cleared the Lower Spire today and played around a bit with some plagued goodness beyond Saurfang.

2009.12.30 A Three-Hour Tour

Dear Blizzard,

I have lots of grown up people in my guild. Please don't push out new raid content right before a big holiday period that will screw up their attendance.

Furrily yours,

Skindancer

Well, in spite of holiday MIAs, various other staffing gaps, and having to teach new people the Lady Deathwhisper fight EVERY night...we finally got her down!

Wow, the room is so much quieter without the proselytizing.

Wow, this was so easy after downing Lady Deathwhisper.

2009.12.22 Dreaming of a Grim Christmas

Interitus, our very own Santa / Bing Crosby Impersonator DK was inspired by the season to create a new variation on and old classic, I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas:

I'm dreaming of a Grim Christmas
With all the Guildies that I know
Where Icecrown glistens,
and we don't listen,
When Lady Gaga starts to crone.

I'm dreaming of a Grim Christmas
Where the end of this event draws to a near,
Where Yogg is still starin',
and we're all glarin',
At the bear, with rockets attached to his rear.

I'm dreaming of a Grim Christmas
With every Christmas card Decap doesn't write
May your Raid be merry and not dim.
And may all your Christmases be Grim.

Note: translating the in-jokes...

• Lady Gaga is another name we apply to Lady Deathwhisper; if you want to know why, you'll have to ask us directly...
• The bear, with rockets attached to his rear, refers to Skindancer tanking the rocket pack kill team for the Gunship Battle
• Decap refers to Decapere, one of our Mages (and an officer), who has a running gag about who will *not* be on his Christmas card list this year

Thank you Interitus.

Here's hoping we gave the viewers of this page a festive chuckle. :)

Happy Holidays everyone!

2009.12.08 3.3 Has Arrived...Lord Marrowgar-25 Down!

Well, I have to say, this was a pretty smooth patch. A little lag and some issues getting into the raid initially, but, after that, smooth sailing! We went in, cleared the trash to Lord Marrowgar, did an initial instructionless spoiler free pull, then got busy refining how to kill him...and kill him we did. I took a wide shot this time because I thought backdrop was just too nice to ignore.

2009.11.15 Guild Meeting

We had our November guild meeting to discuss a variety of topics.

2009.10.25 25-man Anub'Arak Down

Finally geared our DPS up enough and killed Anub'Arak!

A big "Thank you" to our guests, Aurak, Fenatorm, and Yuntrak, for their help.

2009.10.07 Heroic Vezax Down

Sure, we were late getting into Heroic Ulduar and we got distracted by the pretty new Tier 9 / Emblem of Triumph raids, but we have not completely forgotten about Ulduar; we work on it after we've done our Tier 9 chores. :)

We have also been avoiding excessive use of extended raid lockouts. As a result, we haven't had a lot of time on General Vezax (or Yogg-Saron). In spite of that, on our second visit we managed to settle on a strategy that works for us and on our third visit, we managed to take General Vezax down! It was a nice night because it was obvious from the first attempt that we had found the right strategy for our group and that he was going to die that night; it took us only two attempts to down him. Go Grim Legion!

Time to learn how to dance among the nasty clouds in the Yogg fight!

2009.09.22 Onyxia 25 Down!

Patch 3.2.2 pushed today and that means an all new Onyxia...so we killed her.

2009.09.06 25-man Twin Val'kyr Down!

We got started a little late and the Labor Day weekend created a lot of MIAs, but somehow, we managed to pull together a group and go back to the Trial of the Crusader (25-man) and beat up some bad people. We got the Twin Val'kyr down andtook a few shots at Anub'Arak.

SPOILER ALERT! Do not read the next paragraph if you don't want the content spoiled for you.

Yeah, so...we kinda forgot to take a picture until the ground shattered and we were swimming. We decided not to bother with it. So, here's the next best thing, a screenshot of the progress on the Call of the Crusade Achievement.

2009.09.02 25-man Faction Champions Down!

What a pain in the butt! Still, we got them down. It was an epic battle, probably more epic than it should have been, but we pulled it out in the end. Unfortunately, no remains except for our own bones from the previous two attempts, but here's a shot of the chest...

2009.08.19 25-Man Jaraxxas Down and Worms Achievement!

Contrary to popular belief, the "worms Achievement" is not Skindancer managing to stay worm-free in Bear Form. Rather, tonight, we implemented a new strategy to train us to eventually get the "Not one, but Two Jormungars!" Achievement. (killing Acidmaw and Dreadscale within 10 seconds of each other), and quite unexpectedly, we got it! We also two-shotted Jaraxxus (this was our first time fighting him).

2009.08.12 Heroic Mimiron Down!

What a fun fight! We had a test attempt last night then we got him down tonight after about two hours. Not bad for the first time we have ever seen him. Great job everyone!

2009.08.08 25-man Northrend Beasts Down!

This fight was a blast. We forgot to take a picture. Maybe we'll remember next time...maybe.

2009.08.08 Guild Meeting

At our August Guild Meeting, we discussed:

• Changes in DKP to accommodate the new Tier 9 Gear & Content
• Considering changing Saturday Raid night to Sunday
• Changes in raid lockouts
• Considering changing Reservist rank

And a picture!

2009.08.01 Heroic Thorim Down

After much...practice last week, we came in and one-shotted him today. Picture follows:

2009.07.19 Heroic Freya Down and Heroic Hodir One-Shotted

We have met the attack of the summer MIAs and beat it down with good recruitment and training. As a result, we were able to spend all three raid nights in Ulduar-25 this week and pay some visits to the Keepers! We downed Freya handily, but the coolest thing is that

We one-shotted Heroic Hodir the first time
we ever fought him! Go Grim Legion!

Kill shots follow:

2009.07.14 Heroic: Nuked From Orbit

We took down Flame Leviathan with Three Towers (all but Flame) tonight. Since the kill pictures all look the same, here's a shot of the Achievement.

Strangely, it shows the date of our second night in Ulduar (2009.07.15), not the night we actually earned the Achievement (2009.07.14).

2009.07.05 Heroic Auriaya Dead

After much recruiting, gearing, and training, we are reaching critical mass again for Heroic Ulduar and we managed to get back in there for a second night and down Auriaya. It's not the first time we have seen her die, but the first time we have done it as a guild run. Once the summer MIAs die down a bit, and we can fill out our raids more consistently, a lot more bosses will die. [Note: we are recruiting]

We got in some practice on Freya's adds, but did not have time to get her down tonight.

2009.06.13 Guild Meeting

We held a guild meeting today. It was a bit crowded in the Filthy Animal, but we made do.

2009.05.24 Where Did All of These Raiders Come From?

So, there we were, last Sunday planning to wrap up a week of ranking and gearing runs for our new people by heading into Heroic Ulduar and knock out Flame Leviathan. Then something unexpected happened, we suddenly had 25 Grim Legion raiders. So, we knocked out the first four bosses and basked in the glory of our newlyh resurgent raid population. Go go Grim Legion recruiting! [We could still use a Shadow Priest and Tree, BTW.]

Part of this rapid return to 25-man raiding was an influx of a large segment of people from the dissolution of Unfettered. They have been a great addition and we look forward to many fun nights of raiding. Welcome!

2009.05.09 Regular Ulduar 7/14 - Antechamber Cleared!

We finally took a real stab at Ulduar 10 tonight. We took a group of 10 people with good gear, at least one of each class except for Death Knight, and a good mix of melee vs. ranged DPS. In 4 hours, we downed the first 7 bosses, 1-shotting everyone but Kologarn and The Assembly of Iron, which we 2-shotted (note: we had never seen Kologarn or Auriaya before tonight). Congratulations to Sistajuju, Grayfang, Svelvet, Cobby, Skorpy, Koralath, Sruth, Adherage, Deathfist, and Skindancer (yours truly).

2009.05.04 Dedicated Few!

Remember those 20-man kills? Well, we got them all! Grats to everyone that got it! GO GRIM LEGION!

2009.05.03 Heroic Subtraction Achievement!

Anyone that has fought Thaddius knows he is hard. Now, imagine downing him with only 20 people. Well, we don't have to imagine it, we did it. And we did it with some undergeared people and a couple of folks completely new to the fight! Check out our WWS for the complete roster of folks that were there for this momentous event. The obligatory screenshot of the Achievement is below. GO GRIM LEGION!

2009.04.25 Regular Siege Completed!

After some brave, but unsuccessful attempts to down Heroic Ignis and Heroic Deconstructor, we formed up 10-man and proceeded to one- or two-shot all but Ignis. Well, it depends how you judge it. We actually tried a one-Tank approach with Ignis to see what we could do and although it worked far better than some had dare hope, we finally found a second Tank (in the form of Cobby switching to his Paladin alt) and two-shotted him.

We went on to two-shot Razorscale and forgot to take a picture, but hey, those first four bosses give us an Achievement, so here is a screenshot of that as proof:

Thanks to Chisato, Cobby (Playing as Maridena), Grayfang, Koralath, Novasgirl (stepped in for Saurenkh), Saurenkh, Sillazi, Sistajuju, Skorpy, Swansea, and our guest Tonktruk, who stepped in for Koralath. Grats to those that earned the Achievement!

2009.04.24 Heroic Flame Leviathan Down

Schedules aligned and we filled a few slots and got 25 people without opening week lags! We got Flame Leviathan down, but did not manage to down Deconstructor.

2009.04.23 Emalons Down!

Well, we went in and downed Heroic Emalon and then killed a couple of Regular Emalons to boot! Go Legionnaires!

2009.03.18 Heroic Naxxramas Cleared in 3:50

Tonight we ventured into Naxxramas with the ambitious goal of achieving our first one-night clear of Heroic Naxxramas. In spite of a lot of hiccups, to include having two Legionnaires (non-raid-ready folks) and the MT's computer dying, we pulled it off!

The finale was quite dramatic as the Tank for Kel'Thuzad died halfway through the fight, just as the adds were being summoned...our replacement MT (yours truly, Skindancer) picked up Kel'Thuzad and two adds. Unfortunately, a few folks had died in the transition. The fight dragged on...the adds kept hitting harder and harder...then I died with <1%, but our DPS crew managed to finish the job before they all died. It was a great finish to a good night.

Great work everyone!

Every boss 1-shotted and in spite of being a little light on raid DPS, we finished with ten minutes to spare. We felt inspired to take another picture.

2009.03.07 Sartharion + 2 Downed!

We downed Sartharion + 2 tonight. It only took two attempts, although the actual kill was a little long and rocky. Unfortunately, the picture of Sarth+2 looks about the same as regular Sarth, but hey, Skindancer's new Headpiece of Reconciliation only drops with two Drakes up, so...you can do the math.

Heroic Malygos died again tonight. A significant number of folks had to learn the fight tonight, but he died just the same.

2009.02.25 Heroic Malygos Downed

We went in and downed Heroic Malygos tonight. Go Grim Legion!

Full disclosure - This is a shot of our second kill; getting a decent kill shot of this fight makes cat herding seem predictable and easy.

2009.02.22 New & Improved Recruiting Page!

After much toil and discussion the new and improved Recruiting page is ready to go! Come find out what we need and see a thumbnail sketch of ye olde Grim Legion. A link will also be added over in the "Guild-Specific Links" bar. Tell all of your super cool uber friends!

2009.02.11 Heroic Sartharion + 1 Down

Tonight, we tried killing Sartharion with one Drake up, Tenebron. We died once, learning the new positions, but we ended up two-shotting him. Huzzah!

2009.02.07 Heroic Naxxramas Gets Faster; Eyeing Malygos

Progress continues on Heroic Naxxramas. We managed to clear it in just under 8 hours this week!

Heroic Malygos enters the regular rotation this week as our gear level begins to meet the demands of the fight.

2009.02.02 Heroic Naxxramas Cleared Again!

In spite of having new folks, we managed to clear Heroic Naxxramas again! We need to refine our technique a bit two get it down to a clean clear in just two nights, but hey, Kel'Thuzad is dead again and we now have two raid leaders with keys for Heroic Malygos!

2009.01.26 Seven Days Later

A lot has happened in the seven days since our sudden leadership transition, but we have not missed a step. All of you have done a great job of soldiering on and waging our war against the foul minions of the Scourge. You do the Horde and the Grim Legion proud. On behalf of Sistajuju, the other officers, and myself, thank you for facing our challenges and come out victorious.

For the Horde!

A catalog of the various updates and activities of those days have been incorporated into a thread in our forums.

2009.01.25 The Cleansing of (Heroic) Naxxramas

The massive feline form saunters into the tent. The signature horns give away the feral Druid living within the beast. It pauses by the fire and stretches. Sinews bulge and strain in sharp contrast to the Druid's languid demeanor. The beast relaxes and then rests on its haunches, eyes filled with a sedating drowsiness.

Archdruid Runetotem strides slowly and purposely across the room to the campfire. His slow, deep voice echoes of the mountains as he speaks, "Skindancer, you seem weary. Come, return to your form and let us discuss the way of things."

The Cat shifts into a Tauren that is both intimidating and pitiful. Dusty, thick leather armor covers a massive form that is visibly spent and disheveled. Flecks of dried blood mix with the dirt in his fingernails, and a trace of the beast lingers in his large green eyes.

Skindancer stands, salutes, and with a voice both deep and weary he answers, "Archdruid."

The Archdruid responds in kind and then sits before the fire, "Come, my brother, sit. Share my water as I share your words."

Skindancer takes the cup offered, drains it, and takes a few deep breaths. He raises a large pipe and puffs on it, blowing the smoke across the campfire, a structure takes form in the smoke. With a small amount of renewed vigor, he speaks.

"I come to relay the tale of our assault on Naxxramas, the foul floating citadel high above the land our Taunka'le brothers know as the Dragonblight. As we arrived, we saw members of the Human Alliance gathering, but they chose to work alone. We wished them well and entered the foul place."

Hours pass as Skindancer recounts the tale to the Archdruid. They pause frequently to ponder the greater meaning and relevance to the Earth Mother and the larger battle against the Scourge. The discussion draws to a close with a tale of Heroic battles with Sapphiron and Kel'Thuzad and their defeat in a single, decisive assault.

The large swirling mass of mystical pipe smoke above the fire forms ever so briefly into a crystal clear image.

"It is done. He is dead. The foul taint lingers. I doubt anything but carrion birds and the tiniest of creatures will call it home for some time, but, eventually, it should fade and crumble, giving way to the Earth Mother's gentle persistence."

The Archdruid nods, "Aye, the Grim Legion has done us all a service. They have the strength of Kodo and the endurance of Mountain. Keep your claws sharp and be wary. More challenges await you along the path the Earth Mother has provided."

Skindancer nods, "I will be ready and so will my pack."

((Great work on Heroic Naxxramas everyone! One-shotting Sapphiron and Kel'Thuzad was icing on a very tasty cake.))