I think it depends, at least in part on what you are trying to achieve in the contest. If your strategy for dealing with the Trollkin guard is to bribe them with the remains of your lunch, or to sneak past them without raising the alarm then no one need die, even on a complete victory.
And if your plan is to capture them all for use as hostages, or for interrogation then the effects will only be semi-permanent "I thought you were going to ransom him back to his family?" "I was, but I got a complete victory and now he is a permanent captive...".
The reverse is more true, that in a simple contest you generally require a complete victory for a permanent effect (which sort of leads back to Thom and Nick - yes, an unlucky roll *can* kill a character in a simple contest - but only if they fumble and their oppononent criticals. With a mastery advantage (or by spending a HP) you can guarantee not fumbling. OK if every player goes down to a major defeat it might be tricky justifying not killing them in some circumstances - but then they can loose big time in an extended contest too...
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