Forum:The Warchief After Garrosh: Theories, Anyone?

With the recent release of info pertaining to the recent Mists of Pandaria press event, we are now aware that the final patch of the Mists of Pandaria expansion will be a grand siege of Orgrimmar by both the Alliance and the Horde, with the express intention of removing Garrosh Hellscream as Warchief of the Horde. Personally, I am actually surprised they're going through with it - I had thought that if a Horde boss was to become a raid boss and be deposed by players, it would be Sylvanas first, THEN Garrosh. But eh...

This now begs the question of the succession. We pretty much knew in Wrath of the Lich King that if Thrall were to step down, Garrosh would be his chosen successor. But the successor to Garrosh himself will be less easy to determine. Who could possibly take the mantle? I myself have a few theories:


 * Baine Bloodhoof. Baine no doubt still harbors resentment for Garrosh killing his father in the mak'gora and may be one of the voices calling for his removal, just as Cairne was before his untimely death. Though he is still somewhat adjusting just to leading Thunder Bluff and the tauren tribes after Cairne's death, Baine may take the mantle if called upon to do so. Other than the Darkspear trolls, no other member race of the Horde is as valued an ally to the orcs as the tauren.
 * Vol'jin. The chieftain of the Darkspear has made no secret of either his loyalty to the Horde or his distaste for Garrosh. In the troll starting experience on the Echo Isles, in one of the brazier visions, we actually see and hear Vol'jin threaten Garrosh's life: "I'll be watchin' as ya people slowly become aware of ya ineptitude. I'll laugh as dey grow ta despise ya as I do. And when tha time comes dat ya failure is complete and ya 'power' is meaningless, I will be dere to end ya rule, swiftly and silently." I feel that based on his clear antipathy for the son of Hellscream, Vol'jin may well be the chief motivator in the Horde's move against Orgrimmar.
 * Varok Saurfang. It's very possible that the major push for change will also come from within orcish society itself - from veterans like Saurfang. Enough people have pushed for it, wondering why he was not appointed over Garrosh when Thrall left in Cataclysm. One of a few veterans of the pre-Thrall Horde, Saurfang has both experience and wisdom on his side - and it would maintain an orcish Warchief for the Horde. Saurfang is also not fond of Garrosh, who he believes glorifies his father's sacrifice while glossing over the fact that Grom had been the first to drink from the cup bearing the blood of Mannoroth, making him the living embodiment of the Blood Curse as a result.
 * Sylvanas Windrunner. With Garrosh gone, Sylvanas may see this as an opportunity to make her move. This could come in two possible scenarios: Either one, she directly takes control of the Horde herself as the Warchief; or two, she uses her abilities of illusion, mind control and possibly even necromancy to take control of whoever ends up being chosen to succeed Garrosh. This second scenario would work perfectly if the candidate is a lesser-known or even unknown Horde champion. In either scenario, Sylvanas would have free rein to work on the Forsaken Blight and use it to her heart's content, solidifying her hold on the regions of Lordaeron and Gilneas she controls. My human paladin on Cenarion Circle has expressed the possibility that things will come to a head between Undercity and Hearthglen, resulting in a war between the Forsaken and the Argent Crusade for control of the remainder of Lordaeron.
 * The return of Thrall. This is probably the prevailing theory among the speculators. I believe that it might be possible, but given his devotion to serving the elements and acting as protector of Azeroth after the fall of Deathwing and the fading of the Aspects, he may well refuse.

Opinions? -- Joshmaul, Loremaster of Chaos (Leave a Message) 09:07, 19 March 2012 (UTC)


 * If you ask anyone in my guild, they know where my opinion is at... for the past year or so I randomly shouted Vol'jin 2012. I do hope the Vol'jin leads the group that removes Garrosh from power though.
 * Wouldn't it just be hilarious in Gallywax finally re-appeared, buying his way into the throne... *cough* 09:10, 19 March 2012 (UTC)
 * Eh, I figure Gallywix will be killed at some point too, so that Her Tallness can (finally) take over. --[[Image:IconSmall_Deathwing.gif]] Joshmaul, Loremaster of Chaos (Leave a Message) 11:11, 19 March 2012 (UTC)
 * I believe that Vol'jin will lead the effort to remove Garrosh from power for the Horde and if Blizz does decide to make Boss Mida the goblin leader then they can just have Gallywix as a boss in the Garrosh raid. Personally I think that an orc will become a warchief. With that in mind I think that we will be introduced to the Warchief during this expansion. After all Garrosh a war hero of the Northrend War earned the hearts of the vast majority of his people, so perhaps an orc hero in the Pandaren Campaign will earn the hears of the orcs as well. --Sairez (talk) 19:59, 19 March 2012 (UTC)
 * Yep, Vol'jin will have to do in that raid for sure. Metzen said that Thrall will be returning to the Horde, so i count with Thrall! --Mordecay (talk) 20:05, 19 March 2012 (UTC)
 * Thrall. But not the Thrall I remember. Back in my day...[[Image:inv_helmet_44.png|22px]]  (talk contribs) 20:10, 19 March 2012 (UTC)
 * Probably Thrall. Other than that, Drek'Thar, Nazgrel, Rehgar or Saurfang seem the most likely options. I doubt a non-orc will become warchief. Though I'm still hoping for Jaina Proudmoore. Ijffdrie (talk) 23:56, 13 April 2012 (UTC)