Kill Six Billion Demons

To start off, there's another clash, this time around the Purple Cloud Temple. The Bastion entry is 70 pages long, while the Pyre entry is almost 120 pages. It's kinda hard to pick a favourite on this one. The Bastion version has a great opening and excellent use of the temple itself, but the Pyre version has better action and a more epic conclusion. Both of these are very much worth reading, though.

Possibly even more hype than the clash though, was the deathmatch between Grandmother Silence and the Kings' Players. The Player's entry goes in a very unexpected direction and makes good use of the previous rounds' events (to the point where you should probably read Grandmother Silence's previous entries to make the most out of it, but Grandmother's comic is probably the single most intense thing I've seen in the entire tournament so far. I'm still a bit salty that the King's Player's won the round and grandma is dead now.

Speaking of things that make my eyeballs pop out and my jaw drop, Shoota's new comic is absolutely incredible in its oppressive horror-movie atmosphere, shocking brutality, and ominous implications for the future. It's also pretty depressing, if you've followed Shoota's story so far. Speaking of which, I should probably add Shoota's grand battle entry from round 3 for context.

Another standout matchup was Dregliege (who's yet another character mostly made out of rats) versus the perpetually insecure Lucille (also featured in the previously linked Shoota r3 comic). Lucille's comic is mostly noteworthy for an absolutely adorable Kingdom cameo, that led to several reaction images in the discord (I myself may have played a part in making that a thing), but Dregliege's version still won due to the amazing mood and artstyle, especially in the intro.

To round things off we have this amazingly drawn cooking contest form Page Turner, Temurin's adventures in prison, and some fun two-page-comics.

I have to bring special mention to the grand battles this round, because while the average number of gb's this round was way lower compared to previous rounds, the average quality was also way higher than usual. The continuation of Basil's story and the origin of the Buried King are both absolutely stunning. Sabi, Greenhorn and Jude (teaming up with the creator of Rem) all did really sweet and heartwarming "cooldown" comics that take a break from the action for some wholesome character development. And to finish things off we have Aubrey, Leslie and Xanthe binging TV together

This round we have yet another clash, this time at Red Onyx Temple. The Pyre clash does an interesting structure where you have a start that branches off into two different tracks, that then converge for the ending. They were also really good at hiding the differences between the different artists. But my favourite clash this round, and (possibly overall) is definitely the Bastion clash. From the vast number of jaw-dropping scenes, how well it manages to feel like a natural plot rather than just "these characters meet each other and start fighting", the rising tension, and the unforgettable ending. This probably hit me harder than any other comic in the entire tournament. You'd probably have to read up on the character's previous stories to get the full impact, however.

Speaking of comics that hit you straight in the heart, have amazing visuals, feel like a rollercoaster of emotions, absolutely nail the dialogue, and somehow weren't chosen by the judges, here's Temurin's encounter with Bronwyn. The other entry also deserves special mention for being a fun adventure with a heartwarming ending and some pretty cool panels.

Since we still aren't done with depressing comics, have Jude's encounter with The Cat. I like the emotions of The Cat's version better, but Jude's entry gives us one hell of a plot twist. One of the most stunning comics this round is Basil's awesome deathmatch, where he finally goes full mad scientist. No I don't know what's up with the giant baby, either, but the sidekick reviving has to do with his backstory established back in Ro P.

Speaking of stunning, we have Queen Paguroidea in a teamswap match (where the loser and possibly alse the winner switches teams) versus Prince Leopold (guy inhabiting the armor of an angel). Both of these comics are amazing, but I think Leopold's version has somewhat of an edge storywise, while Paguroidea's has an edge in the art.

Another great teamswap round is Leslie (who got a new imaginary friend in between rounds) versus Cupid (a devil who thinks they're an angel and is obsessed with love). This entry both does a great job of continuing Leslie and Tamara’s story as well as handling Cupid’s defection in the coolest way possible. This entry both does a great job of continuing Leslie and Tamara’s story as well as handling Cupid’s defection in the coolest way possible. I also have a soft spot for the opposing version, even if it's a lot less flashy.

And for the lighting round we have yet another beautifully drawn battle with Sabi, yet another fun animated adventure with Aubrey, Mnem having a really cool encounter with an adopted father-daughter duo, a hilarious deathmatch between twitch streamer Frogstar and spoiled asshole Kay, and finally this, which is absolutely adorable.

Meanwhile in the grand battles some people teamed up to create what's basically pseudo-clashes, with this one being the most notable in my mind. Speaking of collabs, Pyre did a massive collab where 70 different artists all contributed one panel each.◊ Finally I can't mention the grand battles this round without bringing up this holiday gift from Pyre’´'s resident evil tree.

We have yet another Clash here. Both of these are absolutely amazing, but I think the Bastion clash has stronger character progression (and also introduces the characters better). The Pyre clash, however absolutely blows it out of the water when it comes to the action, the climax especially is outright eyepopping.

Speaking of eyepopping, here's two newcomers who started off on the strongest foot possible in the deathmatch between The Hessian and Fungal. Both of these feature some of the most immaculately drawn action I've ever seen, though in very different styles, the former being extremely detailed and the latter being extremely simple and clean.

This round featured a lot of deathmatches, and another one that bears mention is Primrose (from the creator of Grandmother Silence) versus Bronwyn. My favourite is definitely Primrose's version, which I think has the more interesting plot, an amazing cameo form Basil (more on him further down, and the more heartwrenching death scene), That said, the Bronwyn version definitely deserves a spot here in its own right, thanks to the amazing shootout scene.

Speaking of amazingly good comics that somehow still get completely outclassed by the opposition, We have yet another breathtaking deathmatch in Rem versus the Buried King. The Buried King's entry is excellently drawn and written with this absolutely oppressive atmosphere throughout, and the Buried King himself is as horrifying as ever. But Rem's entry is a serious contender for the absolute best comic in the entire tournament, clashes included. The writing and artstyle is amazing as always, the confrontation between rem and the king is wonderful, and some of the imagery on display genuinely made my heart stop, more than once.

Let's end our rundown of top tier deathmatches with this beautiful piece, which goes in a completely different direction than you'd expect at first.

The author of Lata (from previous round's clash) submitted har dad for this round, leading to some pretty disturbing twists.

Other great comics this round include this really cool, almost western-style swordfight, this adorable encounter between two cinnamon rolls, a really oversized wrestler meeting an old friend, and Technique of Relief returning with a vengeance.

There were a lot of excellent grand battles this round. On the zanier side we have a really cool collaboration between Basil and The King's Players, two hilarious comics about Tomi the atomic princess, the adventures of the Pizza Paladin and the talking acorns, and Hanz killing absolutely everyone in drug hallucination with general Mozz Arella, who also dunked on one of Leslie's side characters. On the more somber side of things I want to end on this meeting between Shoota and Bronwyn, and this beautiful entry from the author of Queen Pagu.