Lore of Hearthstone, Episode #3: Classic Set - Horde Edition

Part four of a series that seeks to talk about the lore behind the Classic and Basic cards of Hearthstone.

Click here for the index. 

HORDE

The Horde as it's going to be discussed in this article is actually the third incarnation of the Horde, vastly separate from the first two Hordes (sometimes colloquialy known simplly as the 'Old Horde') as well as the 'Iron Horde' splinter faction that would be created afterwards.

During the events of the First War, the term 'Horde' simply referred to the enroaching invading armies of orcs that emerged from Dark Portals from their world of Outland and besieged Azeroth. While the First War ended with significant casualties on both sides, the Second War was far, far more decisive. The orcs returned, this time striking alliances with the Amani forest trolls, the insane goblins, and ogres, but facing a united Grand Alliance caused the utter defeat and disbandment of the Old Horde, with the deaths of nearly every single leader, and the destruction of the Dark Portals when members of the Alliance braved through the harsh world of Outland and even defeated the orc forces there. It was from the ashes of this defeat that the current Horde would rise. 

The defeat of the orcs caused their internment en masse on Azeroth, cut off from their world of Outland, and this caused the young farseer Thrall to be able to rediscover the dormant spirituality of his people. He broke the orcs away from their imprisonment, stole several ships and sailed away from the humans to carve a path for themselves in life. During their journeys as they sailed west, they saved the trolls of the Darkspear tribe from an insane sea witch, and assisted the peaceful taurens in battling centaurs. This lasting bond between the orcs, trolls and taurens, all of whom share many similar cultural views, would become the backbone of the Horde during the Third War. 

This Horde would see themselves be embroiled with the Third War when the Warsong clan succumbed to demonic corruption and slew the demigod of the night elves, Cenarius. However, the Horde, the human Alliance and the night elves managed to put their differences aside to combat the Burning Legion together. During this period the Horde struck out the harsh lands of Durotar, away from the Alliance races, for their own, but conflict broke out anyway, leading to renewed hostilities between Alliance and the Horde. During this period of time, thanks to conflict between the renegade demon hunter Illidan Stormrage and the forces of the undead Scourge, a group of undead led by Sylvanas Windrunnner found themselves freed from the influence of the Lich King. Calling themselves the Forsaken,they would strike an alliance of convenience with the Horde -- although over time, the Forsaken would find themselves even more prominent and loyal to the Horde. During the events of Burning Legion, the remnants of the high elves that are abandoned by the Alliance and suffering from withdrawals of magic addiction rebranded themselves the Blood Elves, and joined the Horde. And while their previous allies,  the goblins remained neutral for much of the Third War and the events of World of Warcraft, the goblins of the Bilgewater Cartel found their island home destroyed during the Cataclysm and attacked by members of the Alliance, causing them to throw in with the Horde again. And during the events of Mists of Pandaria, the Huojin faction of the Pandaren joined the Horde. During the events of Battle of Azeroth, the allied races of the Nightborne Elves, Highmountain Tauren, Mag'har Orcs, Zandalari Trolls and the Vulpera formally joined the Horde.

The Horde, while inherently peaceful, are comprised of inherently warlike races, especially during the period of time between Cataclysm and Mists of Pandaria where the Horde found itself under the lead of the warlike Garrosh Hellscream, who is intent in crushing the Alliance under his heel. This would cause Garrosh to find enemies everywhere, even within the Horde itself, culminating in an alliance between the Alliance and most of the Horde to defeat Garrosh Hellscream... but that's a story for another day. 
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ORCS

The orcs are, among the humans, one of the most prolific races in the world of Azeroth, due to the whole 'humans-vs-orcs' thing that the first two Warcraft games had going on. And the history of the orcs is, perhaps, one of the longest ones that we'll be covering for the Horde this time around due to the sheer amount of screentime they had in all four main games. As such, while I may do a more dedicated orc lore section somewhere down the line, this is going to be a more truncated version of  the history of the orcs throughout the first three wars and the World of Warcraft era. 

The peaceful brown-skinned (you read that right) orcs are the resident race of the world we would later know as Draenor. For a time, they lived a shamanistic tribal life, worshipping the elemental spirits of the land, having minimal contact with the ogres and draenei that lived on the planet as well. The orcs were the dominant tribe of the land, and lived in relative peace... until they caught the attention of the demonic forces of the Burning Legion. The demon lord Kil'jaeden the Deceiver tricked the elder orc shaman Ner'zhul, posing as his ancestral spirit, and goaded the orcs into war against the draenei. This caused the elements to abandon the orcs, and a desperate Ner'zhul learned the truth of Kil'jaeden's nature. While Ner'zhul refused to corrupt his race further, his apprentice, Gul'dan, was far more eager.Gul'dan deposed Ner'zhul as spiritual leader, and wholeheartedly agreed to follow Kil'jaeden in exchange for power. Gul'dan replaced shamanism with the vile warlock arts, and united most of the major orc clans under the leadership of the brutal warchief Blackhand the Destroyer, forming the first incarnation of the Horde. They were also approached by the mighty pit lord Mannoroth, and Gul'dan caused all the orcs to drink Mannoroth's blood (although some clans, like the Frostwolf,  refused to partake in the ritual), bleaching their skin green with fel magic and driving them with such a fierce bloodlust, causing them to almost wipe out the draenei into extinction.

Without an enemy, the orc clans almost tore each other apart until Gul'dan promised a new world for the Horde to conquer -- contacted by the human magus Medivh,possessed by the Burning Legion, Gul'dan and Medivh opened the Dark Portal together, thus unleashing the Horde onto Azeroth, sparking the First War where the vicious orc Horde did battle with the unprepared humans. The First War was brutal, with massive casualties on both the side of the vicious,reckless Horde and the unprepared but more organized humans of the kingdom of Stormwind, and the First War eventually ended with the destruction of the Kingdom of Stormwind. reckless Horde and the unprepared but more organized humans of the kingdom of Stormwind, and the First War eventually ended with the destruction of the Kingdom of Stormwind. reckless Horde and the unprepared but more organized humans of the kingdom of Stormwind, and the First War eventually ended with the destruction of the Kingdom of Stormwind.  reckless Horde and the unprepared but more organized humans of the kingdom of Stormwind, and the First War eventually ended with the destruction of the Kingdom of Stormwind.  reckless Horde and the unprepared but more organized humans of the kingdom of Stormwind,and the First War eventually ended with the destruction of the Kingdom of Stormwind. 

During the eve of the Second War, a new warchief, Orgrim Doomhammer, overthrew Blackhand as the warchief of the Horde. Doomhammer got rid of Gul'dan's allies, the demon-worshipping Shadow Council, only sparing Gul'dan for his services in creating death knights for the Horde. The Horde, at this point, faced the combined strength of all seven human kingdoms, the dwarves and gnomes of Khaz Modan, and the high elves of Quel'thalas, and the orcs found allies of their own -- the trolls, ogres, goblins and enslaved red dragons. However, while the Horde initially had the upper hand, Gul'dan would betray the Horde, taking the Stormreaver and Twilight's Hammer clans to search for the mystical power of the Tomb of Sargeras instead of participating in the war. Doomhammer, bereft of one third of his forces, sent the Horde on Gul'dan's tails, and this infighting caused the Alliance to gain the upper hand and crush the divided Horde. A further expedition by brave heroes into the Dark Portal destroyed the Dark Portal for good, and slew many leaders of the Horde, including Gul'dan and Ner'zhul.

The remnants of the orcs left at Azeroth were rounded up and put into internment camps, and, cut off from the source of demonic powers in Draenor, fell into lethargy. Seven years after the end of the Second War, an orc enslaved by humans, Thrall of the Frostwolf Clan, rose up from the ranks,learned about the shamanistic heritage from orc elders, and, after blessing from the dying Doomhammer, freed the orcs as the new warchief of the new Horde. Thrall's Horde stole ships and sailed away to the distant land of Kalimdor, on the way making allies with the Darkspear Trolls and Kalimdor's resident Tauren. During this period, the Third War began, and the Burning Legion once more invaded the world of Azeroth. The Warsong Clan, led by Grom Hellscream, was seduced by Mannoroth once more, drinking his blood and regressing into their old,fel-driven bloodlust. While they initially battled each other, the Horde was forced to ally themselves with the human survivors from Lordaeon and the resident night elven Sentinels to fight the Burning Legion. In the process, Grom Hellscream confronted Mannoroth and slew the pit lord at the cost of his life, freeing the orcs forevermore from demonic corruption. The orcs made their last stand alongside the humans and night elves against the forces of Archimonde, stalling them enough for Malfurion to destroy the demon lord.freeing the orcs forevermore from demonic corruption. The orcs made their last stand alongside the humans and night elves against the forces of Archimonde, stalling them enough for Malfurion to destroy the demon lord.freeing the orcs forevermore from demonic corruption.The orcs made their last stand alongside the humans and night elves against the forces of Archimonde, stalling them enough for Malfurion to destroy the demon lord.

Heroes of the Horde (WC3)

After the fall of the Burning Legion, Thrall founded the new Horde capital Orgrimmar in the land of Durotar (named after Thrall's father Durotan), but tensions caused by attacks from the human forces caused the old human/orc tensions to rise once more. By the time of World of Warcraft, while Orgrimmar is founded as one of the biggest cities in the land, the Alliance and Horde were once more at war. During the events of Burning Crusade, the orcs, returning to Draenor for the first time since the Second War, found the Fel Horde -- red-skinned orcs far more corrupted by demon blood, led by the remnants of the Old Horde. The orcs also met the Mag'har, brown-skinned orcs who were never tainted by wrfare or demonic corruption, among them Garrosh Hellscream, son of Grom Hellscream. Garrosh would be instrumental in subsequent conflicts, rising among the ranks of the Horde during the events of Wrath of the Lich King, and eventually into warchief during the events of Cataclysm when Thrall stepped down to better investigate the turmoil of the elements caused by the Shattering. Garrosh was a far more aggressive and brutal leader than Thrall ever was, however, taking advantage of the disaster to claim vast swathes of the land for the Horde.

This led to the events of Mists of Pandaria, where Garrosh would drop a mana bomb and obliterate the human city of Theramore, and attempted to have Vol'jin, leader of his troll allies, assassinated. This caused alienation of Garrosh and his loyalists even from the other races (and other orcs) of the Horde, culminating in a decisive battle between Garrosh's "True" Horde (Garrosh having stolen the heart of the Old God Y'Shaarj to empower himself and his forces) and the combined forces of the rest of the Horde and Alliance. While awaiting trial, Garrosh would free himself with the aid of the renegade bronze dragon Kairozdormu, and escape into the past. Garrosh would arrive to stop the Old Horde from drinking the blood of Mannoroth, creating an alternate, splinter timeline alongside alternate versions of the Old Horde's warlords, leading to the events ofWarlords of Draenor. Coupled with this new Iron Horde, Garrosh would seek to bring this new army to bear upon 'our' Azeroth, and the Iron Horde had to battle against the Draenei and Frostwolf clan of their timeline, as well as an army of Alliance and Horde forces from the original timmeline. The Gul'dan of this alternate timeline would attempt to summon the Burning Legion, but those plans, too, were thwarted. This led to the death of Garrosh and most of the alternate-timeline warlords, but the alternate Gul'dan managed to escape to the original timeline. Gul'dan would then trigger the events of Legion, where he succeeded where his original counterpart failed, unnleashing the power within the Tomb of Sargeras and allowing the full force of the Burning Legion to enter our world. 

Frostwolf Grunt: The humble Grunt is the basic melee troop that is the first accessible to the orc faction in Warcraft I, II and III. They are the simple troops, knowing only battle and excelling at it. The quotes, "what you want?" and "time for killing!" are quotes that orc Grunts have in all three original Warcraft games. The Frostwolf Clan is one of the great orc clans, named due to their kinship to the gigantic frost wolves that they ride. The Frostwolf clan placed great value in family and harmony with the land, and most famous among the Frostwolves would be the warchief of the Horde, Thrall. Mobs called Frostwolf Grunt are level 90 mobs found in Frostfire Ridge in Battle for Azeroth.

Wolfrider: The Wolfrider is based on the Raider units that appeared in Warcraft I and III. The two quotes it says, "ready to ride" and "taste my steel", are the unit-ready and attack quotes of the Raider unit in Warcraft III, respectively. During the First War, the raiders were fast-moving orcs mounted on gigantic darkwolves, moving quickly and attacking as the orc Horde's most efficient, if expensive, ground troops. During the Second War, rumours of disloyalty caused Orgrim Doomhammer to disband the raider organizations, forccing them all into the ranks of grunts. By the time the Third War happened, Thrall created a new generation of Raiders from the Frostwolf Clan, led by Thrall's loyal head of security Nazgrel. In Warcraft III Raiders dealt extra damage to buildings, and was able to throw nets to ground flying units. In World of Warcraft, many orcish raiders or wolf riders could be found in various locations, although a specific mob called 'Wolf Rider' wouldn't be found until Warlords of Draenor, being level 110 Horde mobs in Ashran.


Warsong Commander: The Warsong clan is a warlike orc clan famously led by Grom Hellscream during the Second and Third War, and by Garrosh Hellscream from Cataclysm onwards. The Warsong clan is one of the most warlike orcs among the orc clans that are part of the Horde. Most famously, the Warsong clan under Grom Hellscream is responsible for succumbing to demonic corruption and slaughtering the demigod Cenarius during the Third War, and later a significant portion of the clan sided with Garrosh Hellscream when he caused the civil war within the Horde. Specific mobs called Warsong Commander is found in Warlords of Draenor in Dark Portal, Tanaan Jungle, and heroes of the Alliance and Horde slay them to uncover the machinations of the Iron Horde.

Kor'kron Elite: Kor'kron Elite are Horde NPCs that guarded Orgrimmar during Garrosh's leadership throughout Cataclysm and Mists of Pandaria, replacing the older Orgrimmar Grunts, and are subsequently removed after Garrosh was deposed. The Kor'kron Guard itself is an organization created as an elite bodyguard force that is fiercely loyal not to the Horde, but to the current warchief. Under Garrosh's leadership, the Kor'kron is expanded and its members reduced to exclusively orcs loyal to Garrosh, and were led by Garrosh's head enforcer Malkorok. Following the Siege of Orgrimmar, a majority of the Kor'kron were slain or imprisoned.
 
Bloodsail Corsair: We talked about the Bloodsail pirates in the Alliance section of the lore, so I won't repeat myself. Bloodsail Corsairs are specific enemies in Stranglethorn Cape added in Cataclysm, although WoW's Bloodsail Corsairs are humans.

Earthen Ring Farseer: The Far Seer are master orc shamans, most famous among the Far Seers is Thrall, warchief of the orc. In Warcraft III, Far Seers are hero units able to call on chained lightning, see far throughout the land, summon spirit wolf allies and even create an earthquake at command. The Earthen Ring Farseer's two quotes, "my eyes are open" and "of course" are quotes said by the Far Seer unit in Warcraft III. The Earthen Ring itself is an organization that are instrumental in Burning Crusade in attempting to heal Outland's broken world, and the ranks of the Earthen Ring expanded to admit draenei. No specific mob is called 'Earthen Ring Farseer', though there are many orc Far Seers that are part of the Earthen Ring.

Thrallmar Farseer: The Thrallmar Farseer is a Far Seer from the town of Thrallmar, a Horde town named after Thrall located in Hellfire Peninsula, Outland, an outpost that sends adventurers out to control the fel orcs of Outland. The actual Far Seer that is stationed in Thrallmar is a female tauren called Regulkut.


Injured Blademaster: The Injured Blademaster is based on the Blademaster hero unit from Warcraft III (most famous among these Blademasters being Grommash Hellscream and Samuro). The Blademasters are elite warriors that mainly drew its forces from the Burning Blade Clan, one of the most savage clans during the first two wars. Under Thrall's leadership, the broken and scattered Blademasters resolved to now fight for honour and free other orcs from demonic control... although in the campaign, Fel Blademasters serve the Burning Legion. The Blademaster in Warcraft III are able to summon multiple mirror images of themselves, wind-walk and move quickly and invisibly like the wind, (skills that are given to mage and monk respectively in WoW), deal critical strikes and spin around in a Bladestorm as their final skill.

 
Arathi Weaponsmith: The Arathi Weaponsmith isn't based on any specific mob or NPC, but her name refers to Arathi Basin, located in the Arathi Highlands, is a PvP battleground where the remnants of the human kingdom of Arathor battle against the mainly-forsaken forces of the Horde attempting to gain the resources to rebuild Lordaeon.
 
Razorfen Hunter: The lore behind this card's going to be a bit confusing. The Razorfen is a tribe of quillboar -- boar-men native to Kalimdor -- and the biggest quillboar tribe as of World of Warcraft. The artwork and voice clearly depicts an orc, however, so the Razorfen Hunter might simply be an orc hunter who hunts Razorfen quillboars specifically, or a hunter that operates near the Razorfen area.

Raid Leader: The Raid Leader is a card that depicts actual players in a World of Warcraft raid, and a 'raid leader' is the term used to represent the player in charge of organizing the 10-25 players involved in any given raid. Raid Leader's lines, "handle it" and "hit it very hard" are a reference to a memetic video, Onyxia raid wipe, where the raid leader in that video is an example of a bad raid leader who shouts verbal abuse to his raid members.

The following cards don't have much lore associated with them, or any sort of equivalent mob in WoW: Cruel Taskmaster, Frostwolf Commander (which of course is from the Frostwolf clan), 
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TROLLS

The trolls that are part of the Horde is actually merely a single tribe among the many, many variations of trolls out there -- the Darkspear. The Trolls are one of the oldest races of Azeroth, and some sources claim that even the immortal elves were descended from trolls. The various troll tribes worship the wild gods known as the loa and ancestral spirits, although some evidence showed that these loa are aspects similar to the gods worshipped by druids. Trolls are known for their voodoo and savagery. Once, long before the War of the Ancients, the mighty troll empire of Zandalar ruled over a vast majority of Kalimdor. The Zandalari had a rigid caste system, and these 'lesser' trolls would eventually break away from the Zandalari empire, forming the forest, jungle, dark and ice trolls. Greatest among these 'lesser'trolls were the forest troll tribes of Amani and Gurubashi. The trolls would be instrumental in breaking and dispersing the insectoid Aqiri empire, sending them fleeing to various places where they would later evolve into the nerubians, mantids and silithids of present day. The mighty troll empires would be dismantled thoroughly by the rise of the night elves and their arcane magic, earning a hatred between night elves and trolls that persisted to  this day. The subsequent War of the Ancients and the magical explosion that ripped the continent apart would destroy even more of troll territory. During the Second War, the forest trolls of Zul'Aman, led by Zul'jin, were recruited into the Old Horde to take their vengeance against their high elven rivals of Quel'thalas and the humans of Arathor. However, when the Old Horde fell,the Amani scattered away. 

During the Third War, the Darkspear Tribe (an offshoot of the ancient Gurubashi), led by the witch doctor Sen'jin, found themselves besieged by murlocs under the command of the mighty Sea Witch Zar'jira. The arrival of the orc warchief Thrall and his new Horde allowed the trolls to survive and slay their enemy, although Sen'jin fell in the process. With Sen'jin's son Vol'jin becoming chieftain in his stead, the Darkspear Trolls swore eternal loyalty to the Horde, and participated throughout the Horde's conflicts throughout the Third War. They established a settlement in the Echo Isles, but during the events of World of Warcraft, the Darkspears were forced to flee the Echo Isles by the powerful magics of the insane witch doctor Zalazane. Prior to the Cataclysm, Vol'jin would finally put Zalazane down for good with the aid of many adventurers.

During Cataclysm, the ancient troll tribe of Zandalari suffered fairly heavily, prompting them to send out the prophet Zul to gather representatives of the major troll tribes -- Amani, Gurubashi, Darkspear and the ice trolls of Zul'drak. However, Vol'jin refused to partake in the new troll empire, claiming that the people of the Darkspear is the Horde, not the other warlike trolls. Thanks to Vol'jin rallying both Horde and Alliance, they are able to first staunch the assault forces from of Zul'Aman and Zul'Gurub. During Mists of Pandaria, the Zandalari took the opportunity of the mists of Pandaria lifting to strike an allegiance with their very ancient allies, the mogu, and were instrumental in resurrecting the mogu's ancient ruler, Lei Shen. The Zandalari and the various surviving troll tribes allied with the Mogu in battling the forces of Alliance and Horde, and both forces would ultimately fall. During this period of time, Garrosh Hellscream attempted to have the highly vocal Vol'jin silenced with assassins, but Vol'jin survived the assassination attempt. After Garrosh was forcibly deposed during the Siege of Orgrimmar, in which the Darkspears were instrumental in assisting, Vol'jin would be named the new warchief of the Horde, a position he would hold throughout the events of Warlords of Draenor until his death during the assault on Broken Shores in Legion. 


Voodoo Doctor: The Voodoo Doctor is based on the Witch Doctor unit from Warcraft III, especially true since its summon quote, "someone call for da doctor?" is the Troll Witch Doctor's build quote. In Warcraft III the witch doctors are able to drop down wards -- Sentry Wards, Healing Wards, and Stasis Ward -- which are the basis for the shaman totems in World of Warcraft. The Voodoo Doctor's healing ability seems to reflect the Healing Ward, one of the main uses of the Witch Doctor in Warcraft III. The Darkspear trolls practice the art of voodoo, a darker bend of shamanism that channels the power of the loa. The troll leaders Sen'jin and Vol'jin are alternately depicted as Witch Doctors and Shadow Hunters.

 
Sen'jin Shieldmasta: The Sen'jin Shieldmasta takes his name from the troll leader Sen'jin, father to Vol'jin and the leader of the Darkspear trolls that died to his wounds while fighting the Sea Witch and her murloc underlings. The name Sen'jin is also used for Sen'jin Village, a Darkspear settlement off the coast of Durotar, established when the Darkspear trolls were forced to evacuate Echo Isles during World of Warcraft. "Taz'dingo" (sometimes rendered 'tastingo') is a reference to a line that Troll Headhunters in Warcraft III can say as a warcry or while attacking.

Frothing Berserker: The Troll Berserker unit was introduced in Warcraft II as an upgrade to the Troll Axethrower unit, given ethe xtra strength and speed caused by ingestion of potions from goblin alchemists. In Warcraft III: the Frozen Throne, the base Troll Headhunter unit can be upgraded into Troll Berserkers, enabling them to have the ability Berserk, increasing their damage at the cost of taking more damage, something reflected in all three 'Berserker' cards in Hearthstone. In World of Warcraft, Berserking is a racial trait unique to trolls, increasing the character's attack and casting speed for 10 seconds. The Frothing Berserker's quote, "my blade be thirsty!" is an attack quote from the Shadow Hunter unit from Warcraft III .

Gurubashi Berserker: The Gurubashi Berserker, despite his strange look, is a troll. Specifically, a dire troll -- trolls mutated by the vile magic that the Gurubashi Empire drew from the deity they worshipped, Hakkar the Soulflayer, turning them into gigantic, hulking monstrosities. The Gurubashi Berserker is the name of two units allied with the Gurubashi clan of trolls found in the Gurubashi fortress of Zul'Gurub, and later in Mists of Pandaria's Throne of Thunder.

 
Amani Berserker: The Amani Berserker is a berserker from the Amani Empire, led by Zul'jin. Allied with the Horde during the Second War, and working independently throughout World of Warcraft, specific enemies called Amani Berserkers in WoW can be found in Eversong Woods and the target of an annihilation quest from the nearby Blood Elves. We covered the Amani tribe above. The Amani Berserker's quotes, "who you wan' me kill?" and "it's time for a little blood!" are, respectively, the idle and attack quotes for the Troll Headhunter unit from Warcraft III. 
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TAUREN
The Tauren are a peaceful yet powerful race, who, like the orcs and trolls they are allied with, share similar spirituality of shamanism. Ancient Tauren (then known as yaungol) were also strongly associated with the nature demigod Cenarius, who gifted them the ability of druidism. The Tauren lived in Kalimdor's forests and plains, worshipping the deity they call the Earth Mother. During the Third War, the migrating Tauren are subjected to constant attacks by the centaur races, and Thrall's Horde, comprised of orcs and trolls, helped the Tauren beat back their enemies. For generations, the Tauren, led by chieftain Cairne Bloodhoof, had been roaming the Barrens as nomads, but after joining the Horde, they are able to claim the grasslands of Mulgore for themselves, eventually establishing the city of Thunder Bluff there.After the Battle of Mt.Hyjal, the tauren would return to live in Mulgore, but remained part of the Horde. During the events of World of Warcraft, Cairne's tribes were often opposed by the Grimtotem tribe, who wished leadership over the tauren. The Tauren druids are also on the forefront of any crisis surrounding the Emerald Dream alongside their night elven counterparts. 

In the events leading up to Cataclysm, the Tauren suffered greatly at the hands of the renegade tauren Magatha Grimtotem. In a bid for a power play between the Tauren, Grimtotem and her tribe cozied up to the temporary warchief, Garrosh Hellscream, and took advantage of the mountin tensions between the Horde and Alliance, and engineered the death of Cairne Bloodhoof by poisoning Garrosh's blade during a mak'gora between Cairne and Garrosh, causing Cairne's dishonourable death. Grimtotem took the opportunity to slaughter a large amount of the other tauren tribe elders in a night of blood. Cairne's son, Baine Bloodhoof, survived became chieftain of the Tauren, battling the Grimtotems and banishing them from Thunder Bluff. Baine's leadership was questioned by many among the Tauren, yet he was eventually accepted when he showed restraint and diplomacy when dealing with the threats within Mulgore. During Mists of Pandaria, the tauren Sunwalker Dezco was one of the several tauren who had dreams of Pandaria, and with these visions, was able to locate the mysterious island of Pandaria for the Horde. While the tauren remained loyal to Garrosh previously, by this time the tauren rebelled alongside the rest of the Horde and help retake Orgrimmar from Garrosh's forcces.


Sunwalker: The Sunwalkers were an organization of tauren paladins founded during Cataclysm (allowing the tauren paladin to be playable), when the taurens began learning the art of paladins, balancing the worship of the moon by the night elves by worshipping the sun. In tauren culture, the sun and the moon are the eyes of the Earth Mother, and deserve equal balance. Since then, the sunwalkers have been an integral part of the Horde's forces.

Southsea Captain: We've covered the Southsea pirates in the Alliance section under Southsea Raider, so this just happens to be a captain of said Southsea pirates. While the actual character with the title 'Southsea Captain' in World of Warcraft, Stinkbraid, is a human, there have been tauren pirates in other places, such as Mr. Smite, first mate to Captain Greenskin, and Fleet Master Seahorn (which this card borrows the TCG artwork of) from Booty Bay.

The following cards are all original to Hearthstone, with no real equivalent in WoW: Tauren Warrior. Like the Worgens, the Tauren don't really get a lot of cards in the Basic and Classic set, huh?
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FORSAKEN (and other undead)

The Forsaken's history was complex. During the Third War, the renegade paladin-turned-death-knight Arthas Menethil laid waste and murdered nearly the entire population of the human kingdom of Lordaeon and the high elven city of Quel'thalas. The defeated forces were raised as part of the undead Scourge, nothing more than minions to the mighty Lich King, leader of the Scourge. Yet during the events of Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, the demon hunter Illidan Stormrage did battle against the Lich King, attempting to destroy the icy continent of Northrend and shatter the Frozen Throne and the Lich King. While Illidan was unsuccessful, Illidan's ritual was enough to break the thrall of the Lich King on a portion of the more distant armies of the Scourge. These independent undead had their spirits and memories returned, freed from the commands of the Lich King. These Forsaken, led by former ranger-general of Quel'thalas, Sylvanas Windrunner, rebelled against Arthas and Kel'thuzad, champions of the Lich King, forcing them into a retreat from Lordaeon. Sylvanas, styling herself the banshee queen, began a power play with her forsaken forces to dominate the undead forces in Lordaeon, earning the loyalty of the dreadlord Varimathras,and seemingly slaughtering the other dreadlords that ruled the land, Detheroc and Balnazzar, as well as killing the Alliance captain Othmar Garithos. Claiming the ruins of Lordaeon for the Forsaken, they decided to carve their own path through destiny. A majority of the playable forsaken inWorld of Warcraft are the human undead of the citizens of Lordaeon. 

Based off Undercity -- a series of tunnels constructed underneath the former capital city of Lordaeon -- the Forsaken ended up joining up with the Horde prior to World of Warcraft, in order to protect themselves from threats of the Alliance. The Tauren saw potential in the Forsaken, and with their membership in the Horde, they have a valuable foothold in the Eastern Continent. Despite their sinsiter nature, the Forsaken have proven themselves to be loyal members of the Horde, if somewhat unpredictable. The Forsaken was instrumental in dealing against the fanatical Scarlet Crusade, and in Burning Crusade, Sylvanas was one of the key members of the Horde that assisted what remained of her old people -- now the blood elves -- to integrate themselves into the Horde. The Forsaken were particularly eager to take the war to the Lich King during Wrath of the Lich King, with Sylvanas overseeing the construction of Forsaken towns and being the spearhead of many offensives during the campaign into Northrend.

However, the actions of Sylvanas's right-hand-man, Grand Apothecary Putress, independent of any orders from the Forsaken, unleashed a plague indiscriminately during the battle for Wrathgate, drenching the battlefield that wiped out not only the undead forces of the Scourge, but also the living of the Alliance and Horde members. During this period, the treacherous dreadlord Varimathras took the chance to make a power play, narrowly killing Sylvanas and seizing control of Undercity in the name of the Burning Legion. Sylvanas, the rest of the Fosaken, and the Horde then took the battle and besieged Undercity, killing Varimathras and Putress. Despite this, the disaster at Wrathgate had caused tensions between the Forsaken and the rest of the Horde, with the Horde positioning Kor'kron guards in Undercity.Sylvanas and the forsaken returned to Northrend regardless, however, and Sylvanas was instrumental in the fall of her killer and tormentor, infiltrating Icecrown Citadel and, alongside various other organizations, brought down the Lich King. 

In Cataclysm, free from their quest of vengeance, the forsaken is more committed than ever to self-preservation and proving their loyalty to the Horde. Sylvanas accepted intelligent Scourge members that were freed after the Lich King's death, and the val'kyr in particular were instrumental in helping the forsaken 'procreate' by bringing a new generation of forsaken into existence with their necromantic powers. During this period, the cataclysm caused the fall of the wall that once secluded the human kingdom of Gilneas, and under the order of Garrosh Hellscream, Sylvanas and a forsaken army besieged the kingdom to conquer the lands. Despite all the suspicion directed towards them, the forsaken continued to be loyal to the Horde throughout all the subsequent battles, although they ultimately sided with Vol'jin and the majority of the Horde in dethroning Garrosh when the warchief became too violent. During Legion, the death of the then-warchief Vol'jin caused him to name a surprised Sylvanas Windrunner warchief, a task that put the forsaken into the forefront of the Horde. 

While we're not quite sure whether these undead Hearthstone cards are allied with the Scourge or the Forsaken, we're going to lump all of them here because there's not really a lot in the Classic set.



Abomination: The Abomination was introduced in Warcraft III as one of the heavy-hitting untis of the Undead race, being used by both the Scourge and the Forsaken once the latter is established. Formed out of a patchwork of multiple corpses, the abomination is a simple minded brute wielding butcher knives and meat hooks, surrounded by a cloud of disease that damage those around it, and are able to cannibalize corpses to restore health. The Abomination card's two lines of dialogue "what we do?" and "rend and tear!" are taken verbatim from Warcraft III. Various mobs called 'Abomination' appear in various Forsaken-controlled areas in WoW.

Flesheating Ghoul: The Flesheating Ghoul shares its name with an identically-named enemy in the dungeon Drak'tharon Keep. Ghouls are the shock troops of the Scourge, and are introduced in Warcraft III. More durable and savage than shambling zombies or rattling skeletons, the ghouls are the main cheap melee unit and lumber-harvesters that the undead race can mass-produce in Warcraft III, mutataed from the humans that they once were with huge fangs and claws. Ghouls are feral and animalistic, retaining no memory of their past life, and their main power is to regenerate by cannibalizing the corpses of the dead. What the ghouls lack in intelligence they make up in ferocity. Where undead forces are found -- Scourge or Forsaken -- ghouls are bound to be close by. Death Knights in WoW can also summon ghouls. Specific mobs called Flesheating Ghoul are level 63-81 ghouls found in Drak'tharon Keep.

The following cards are all original to Hearthstone: Crazed Alchemist, Cult Master, Wild Pyromancer, Spiteful Smith and Kidnapper. All of them are basically Forsaken characters.
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BLOOD ELVES

The Blood Elves, the sin'dorei, were once the High Elves. The High Elves were the descendants of the same Highborne that dabbled in arcane magic recklessly and summoned the Burning Legion to Azeroth (see the Night Elves section). These High Elves were exiled, and founded their own kingdom of Quel'thalas, based around the magical fountain, the Sunwell. The high elves prospered for thosuands of years, enjoying a very healthy alliance with human nations in fighting first the elves' enemies, the Amani trolls, and later during the Second War against the Horde. However, during the Third War, the death knight Arthas led the Scourge towards Quel'thalas, slaughtering nearly the entire population of the city, killing the high elven leaders and corrupting the Sunwell in order to revive his majordomo, Kel'thuzad, into a powerful lich.The living survivors, led by the prince Kael'thas Sunstrider, allied themselves with the human Alliance, and were forced to destroy the tainted Sunwell. Yet this destruction of the Sunwell caused a crippling addiction in most of the elves -- now named blood elves in remembrance of the fate of their race -- as they suffered withdrawal symptoms from a lifetime filled with contact with magic. 

Spellbreaker (WoW)

Theaving his regent, Lor'themar Theron, to safeguard the ruined Quel'thalas, Kael'thas led a large group of his most powerful warriors and sorcerers to aid the Alliance in rooting out Scourge and demon forces in Lordaeon. However, the blood elves were subjected to extreme racism by the xenophobic human grand marshal, Othmar Garithos, who constantly gave the blood elves suicidal or menial missions. In one such mission, Kael'thas was forced to accept aid from the Coilfang naga under Lady Vashj to survive the undead onslaught, but the blood elves were then arrested and sentenced to death by Garithos for this 'treachery'. Damning the Alliance for this, Kael'thas' forces rejected the humans and the Alliance and broke out of prison, slaughtering a large amount of humans in the way. Alongside Vashj's naga,the blood elves were brought to another world -- Outland, what remained of the world once known as Draenor. There, Kael'thas pledged his allegiance to Vashj's master, Illidan Stormrage, who was lured Kael'thas with promises of both the destruction of their enemy, the Scourge, as well as teaching them how to siphon magic from alternative sources -- fel. Despite their victories over the demons and fel orcs that once ruled Outland, Illidan's forces, including the blood elves, could not outmatch Arthas and the rest of the Scourge, and were beat back into Outland. as well as teaching them how to siphon magic from alternative sources -- fel. Despite their victories over the demons and fel orcs that once ruled Outland, Illidan's forces, including the blood elves, could not outmatch Arthas and the rest of the Scourge, and were beat back into Outland. as well as teaching them how to siphon magic from alternative sources -- fel. Despite their victories over the demons and fel orcs that once ruled Outland, Illidan's forces, including the blood elves, could not outmatch Arthas and the rest of the Scourge, and were beat back into Outland. 

During the events of World of Warcraft, in Quel'thalas the majority of the blood elves under Lor'themar Theron were given forminable new magic by Kael'thas, giving the blood elves the ability to forcibly rip magic from arcane-bearing creatures, allowing them to take back Quel'thalas and restore Silvermoon City from the forces of the Scourge. The Alliance having turned their back on the blood elves, and the racist night elves raiding their settlements, they found aid from an unexpected source -- the forsaken, members of the Horde, led by the once high elven Sylvanas Windrunner. Thus the blood elves under Lor'themar joined the Horde during the events of Burning Crusade. After securing their holdings from both the Amani trolls (who were enraged that their former enemies were allowed admission into the Horde) and the treacherous blood elf Dar'khan Drathir, the blood elves turned to return to Outland and rejoin their Prince. During this time, the paladin organization known as the Blood Knights bound the naaru M'uru and drained the powers of the Light from him to use their paladin skills.


However, the blood elven forces in Outland had not ended well. Kael'thas had been seduced by promises of power and pledged his allegiance to Kil'jaeden and the Burning Legion, while a majority of his old force remained staunchly loyal to Illidan. A group of blood elves sickened with Kael's erratic actions led by Voren'thal surrendered to Shattrath Citty and formed the organization known as the Scryers. The insane Kael'thas, stole M'uru from the Blood Knights in an attempt to usher Kil'jaeden into the world of Outland. The Blood Knights were turned into the Shattered Sun Offensive, and managed to kill Kael'thas and his empowered minions, although at the cost of losing M'uru. This ultimately caused  the restoration of the Sunwell, however, a new source of Light for the blood elven paladins,blessed by the other naaru. The Sunwell's restoration and Kael'thas's death marked a new beginning for the blood elves, as they were no longer beholden to draining magic from other creatures, and embraced their new religion with the Light.

The blood elves would prove loyal in the rest of the Horde conflicts that followed, and during Wrath of the Lich King, the Dalaran archmage Aethas Sunreaver was instrumental in brokering a truce between Alliance and Horde from the magical city's front, with the blood elves very intent to see the Lich King -- who razed Quel'thalas so many years ago -- fall. During Mists of Pandaria, the blood elven mage Thalen Songweaver, would be instrumental in creating the mana bomb Garrosh would use to destroy Theramore. The blood elves were increasingly alienated by Garrosh's leadership, and Lor'themar considered pulling Quel'thalas out of the Horde and rejoining the Alliance. However, during talks between Lor'themar and the High King Varian Wrynn, the enraged mage Jaina Proudmoore violently expelled all blood elven mages from the magical kingdom of Dalaran, claiming Dalaran for the Alliance, causing the end of any talks between Lor'themar and the Alliance. However, the blood elves are nonetheless angered at Garrosh. While they were instrumental during the campaign in Pandaria, the blood elves quickly siezed the chance when Vol'jin rebelled against Garrosh to oust the warchief. During Legion, the blood elves once allied to Illidan make a return to fight the Burning Legion. The blood elves are also instrumental during the nightborne rebellion.

Shattered Sun Cleric: The Shattered Sun Clerics are units that can be found in Shattrath City in Burning Crusade, members of the Shattered Sun Offensive -- an organization of blood elves and draenei that banded together, gathered by the naaru to combat the crazed blood elven prince, Kael'thas, and his attempt to summon the Kil'jaeden. The artwork for Shattered Sun Cleric is actually the artwork for Lady Liadrin herself in the TCG, representing her tearing up the tabard for House Sunstrider and donning the Shattered Sun banner.


Doomsayer: Doomsayers are the name of NPCS in World of Warcraft that appeared prior to the release of the Cataclysm expansion, standing around in the capital cities of the Alliance and the Horde and proclaim about how the end of the world is coming. More Doomsayers (and Validated Doomsayers, in reference to another Hearthstone card) recently returned in the recent Legion expansion, and while there aren't blood elven Doomsayers, they all don the same outfit that the Hearthstone Doomsayer card wears (ah, cross-platform referencing!), some of them even yelling the Hearthstone Doomsayer's entry quote: "the end is coming!"

Sunfury Protector: The Sunfury force is a group of blood elves that act as Kael'thas Sunstrider's bodyguards, remaining loyal to Kael'thas even after a majority of the blood elves left him prior to the Burning Crusade. The Sunfury are opponents in dungeons and quests relating to Kael'thas throughout the events of Burning Crusade. The mob with the specific name Sunfury Protector is found in the area Manaforge Duro.


Blood Knight: The Blood Knights are an order of blood elven paladins formed prior to the Burning Crusade. Led by Lady Liadrin, first of their order, the Blood Knights, unlike traditional paladins, sapped the power of the holy Light from the trapped naaru M'uru held beneath their headquarters (which is probably why the Blood Knight is able to suck power from everyone else's divine shields). After M'uru's death and an encounter with other naaru, the Blood Knights have became more benign, drawing their power from the new Sunwell. By the time of Legion, the Blood Knights would be a part of a reinvigorated Order of the Silver Hand.

 
Silvermoon Guardian: Silvermoon Guardians are level 15 guard units in WoW that patrol the Blood Elven capital of Silvermoon, as well as the Eversong Woods. They don't actually have divine shields in World of Warcraft, though. 

Spellbreaker: Spell Breakers (parsed with a space) are units in the Human faction in Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, although in the campaign they appeared almost exclusively alongside other blood elves. Armed with a shield and throwing blades, Spell Breakers is an anti-spellcaster unit that is completely immune to magic. Their attacks deal damage to mana, and when it does so it deals extra damage to the unit. Spell Breakers are also able to Spellsteal, stealing buffs and displacing them, and take control of enemy summoned units. In World of Warcraft, while blood elven guards don armour similar to Spell Breakers in Warcraft III, actual units named Spellbreakers do not appear until Mists of Pandaria.

Mana Addict: Mana addiction is a key part of blood elven lore after the destruction of the sunwell, and the reason they're so desperte for a new source of magic. The Mana Addict card represents a Wretched, a subspecies of blood elves that have failed to control their addiction and have overindulged in sucking mana sources and driven mad because of it. The Wretched are found in the blood elven starting area, wandering the Eversong Woods and the ruins of Silvermoon.

The following cards are original to Hearthstone: Secretkeeper and Master of Disguise.
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GOBLINS

The goblins are a race known for two things: their greed and their penchant for explosives. The rivals of the similarly explosive engineers, the gnomes, the goblins began life as a slave race under the zandalari trolls, but exposure to a substance called kaja'mite uplifted the goblin race's intelligence, and caused them to rebel and overthrow their zandalari troll overlords, armed with technology and explosives. The goblins then broke apart into various groups known as cartels, and thus began a battle in the economic area as they abandoned conventional warfare for an economical one. They broker their explosives and their steam technology, and by the time of the Second War, the Steamwheedle Cartel was drafted by the Horde, supplying them with sappers, zeppelins and alchemists that allowed the Horde access to warfare on the sea and the air.However, most other goblin cartels refused to pick a side, remaining neutral. When the Old Horde fell, the Steamwheedle cartel retreated, and most other goblins ended up vowing to remain neutral in any large-scale wars, seeing it far more profitable to play both sides against each other.

In the Third War, this was exactly the stance they took. While members of the Alliance, Horde, and even the Scourge encountered various goblin laboratories, they would sell their wares and services to any side who could pay their price in gold. However, during the founding of Orgrimmar, the Steamwheedle Cartel under the leadership of the engineer Gazlowe was contracted to build the city from the ground up, and while throughout World of Warcraft Gazlowe and the Steamwheedle Cartel remained neutral, they were still more tolerant of the Horde. Throughout WoW, various goblins would be met as enemies of multiple factions.

During Cataclysm, the Bilgewater Cartel (the playable goblins in WoW) were spending their days as they always do -- backstabbing, dealing with money and explosives in their island of Kezan when the black dragon aspect Deathwing emerged from Deepholme. Deathwing unleashed a blast into Kezan's central volcano, causing it to erupt, with the goblins forced to pay the Trade Prince Gallywix a significant sum of money to escape the sinking island. However, the treacherous Gallywix took all the money, and in true goblin fashion, sold his fellow goblins to slavery. This goblin ship was sunk by Alliance ships, however, stranding the race on the Lost Isles. The resourceful goblins managed to build a temporary settlement and met a group of orc survivors from the same Alliance fleet.The goblins would be instrumental in helping the orcs rescue the warchief Thrall from the Alliance fleet, who, in turn, helped the goblins in taking down Gallywix. Seeing no way out, Gallywix swore allegiance to the Horde, and became the unwilling leader of the Bilgewater Cartel as they joined the horde. The goblins would eventually settle in the land of Azshara, as well as the aptly-named goblin slums of Orgrimmar. While they are the newest race to join the Horde, they have been surprisingly loyal. Throughout the events of Garrosh's reign over the Horde, Gallywix is one of the warchief's chief supporters, but eventually joined the rest of the Horde in the Darkspear rebellion when Garrosh paid Gallywix a mere fraction of what was promised during the Pandaria campaign.While content to stay on the back lines and let other Horde leaders or his goblin underlings fight the battle, inLegion Gallywix personally led the defense of the goblin lands of Azshara. 

Booty Bay Bodyguard: The Booty Bay Bodyguard refers to the area of Booty Bay. Initially introduced in Warcraft III as a multiplayer map, in World of Warcraft Booty Bay is a pirate seaport located on the southern tip of Stranglethorn Vale, with a large goblin population. Booty Bay is under the government of the Steamwheedle Cartel goblins, and their enforcers, the Blackwater pirates. The town of Booty Bay is under constant war between the Blackwater and Bloodsail factions of pirates. While there's no specific NPC called Booty Bay Bodyguard in WoW, the guards of the town is called 'Booty Bay Bruiser', which is honestly close enough.


Gadgetzan Auctioneer: The town of Gadgetzan is a goblin-run town located in the Tanaris desert, and headquarters of the Steamwheedle Cartel. Gadgetzan is a neutral town in the Alliance/Horde conflict, and all are welcome. Gadgetzan also boasts one of the biggest neutral auction houses that both Alliance and Horde members can bid for, which is what this card is referencing. The auctioneer in Gadgetzan is called Auctioneer Beardo. We'll talk about Gadgetzan (and Beardo) a bit more when we actually reach the Mean Streets of Gadgetzan expansion.


Venture Co. Mercenary: The Venture Co. Mercenary are level 16-17 enemies in Northern Barrens that Horde beginner characters, whether they be orc, troll or tauren, would have to battle. They are primarily goblins, but troll and dark iron dwarf variations also exist. The Venture Company is one of the most notorious goblin cartels, being known for their parrticularly unscrupulous methods, being the target of tauren ire in tauren starting quests. Venture Co. is also allied with various villainous groups like the Defias Brotherhood, Kael'thas Sunstrider and the Iron Horde

The following are original to Hearthstone: Mad Bomber, Reckless Rocketeer. They're all crazy goblins!

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Hearthstone and the World of Warcraft TCG:
A little bonus feature here now that we've cleaned up the length of this article... the Basic and Classic set of Hearthstone actually borrows a lot of artwork from the old World of Warcraft TCG, using artwork of some characters to represent other characters. As with the previous article, I'll be talking about the Hearthstone cards that borrow the artwork of the TCG cards of actual prominent WoW characters.


Frostwolf Warlord depicts Eitrigg, a major supporting character in World of Warcraft. Eitrigg of Clan Blackrock was a veteran of both the First and Second War, and is an orc with an undying hatred for humans, and Eitrigg, alongside Orgrim Doomhammer and Varok Saurfang, was named three of Warchief Blackhand's mightiest lieutenants during the events of the First War. Eitrigg continued to serve as a loyal lieutenant to the Old Horde during the changing of the guard from Blackhand to Doomhammer, and he was also responsible in raising the half-orc Garona Halforcen. Eitrigg had dismissed Garona's words to him about the insidious plotting of Gul'dan and the Shadow Council, but had essentially allowed her to escape. After the defeat of the Old Horde, Eitrigg began pondering Garona's words seriously and begins to believe that the Old Horde was flawed. Disavowing the Horde and finding dishonour in their actions, Eitrigg went off in search of a place to die... which was when he met another disgraced warrior -- the human ex-paladin Tirion Fordring. Tirion and Eitrigg fought each other, but during the fight, Eitrigg ended up saving Tirion's life when the tower they were fighting on began to collapse, and the two ended up forging a bond of honour. Tirion would return the favour by saving Eitrigg from Alliance forces, returning Eitrigg to the New Horde, under Thrall, where Eitrigg was elated to find that his people have re-embraced the shamanistic roots of the orcs.

In World of Warcraft and Burning Crusade, Eitrigg would be found in Orgrimmar in Thrall's throne room, serving as one of the Warchief's Honor Guard and advisor. Eitrigg would give many quests to the new recruits of the Horde, sending them out to fight against threats both external and internal. In Wrath of the Lich King, Tirion Fordring, now High Lord of the Argent Crusade, specifically requested Eitrigg as a 'good orc' to represent the Horde, and Thrall obliged, with Eitrigg helping to lead Horde forces in the Argent Stand. Prior to Cataclysm, as Thrall prepared to hand over the reins of the Horde to Garrosh, he assigned Eitrigg, Vol'jin and Cairne Bloodhoof to help guide Garrosh. While disagreeing with many of the decisions Garrosh made, Eitrigg continued to serve as advisor to the young Warchief. He would also be seen in Burning Steppes with his son Ariok, and worked with adventurers to stop his former clan, the Blackrock, from invading the Redridge Mountains. Eitrigg personally helped to cause a pit lord summoned by a Blackrock Clan warlock to break free of their control and turn its rage on its summoners. Eitrigg soon chafed under Garrosh's militiastic leadership, and in Mists of Pandaria, Eitrigg was noted to be among the many high-ranking orcs who grew dissatisfied with Garrosh's aggressive and orc-centric leadership of the Horde. Eitrigg would side alongside with most of the Horde against Garrosh during the Siege of Orgrimmar, but was wounded in combat against the two Kor'kron Dark Shaman. Despite his wounds, Eitrigg is able to inform his allies of Garrosh's transformation via the Heart of Y'Shaarj, and would survive the battle. In Legion, Eitrigg would appear at Bladefist Bay as a quest-giver, and would essentially serve as one of the main representatives of the orcs among Horde leadership. Eitrigg would be captured by the Felrage Naga during the events of the conflict against the Burning Legion, but would be freed and would be recruited into the ranks of the Valarjar, the warrior organization. If the player character was not a warrior, Eitrigg would be the representative of the Valarjar, wielding Strom'kar, the Warbreaker.


Cruel Taskmaster depicts Blood Guard Gulmok, a level 70 quest-giver located in Shadowmoon Valley in Outland, one of the leaders of the Horde outpost stationed there. He recruits Horde adventurers to hepl him hold the territory against the incoming armies of the Burning Legion demons, and would eventually sent adventurers to spearhead the assault into their fortress of Legion Hold.


Gurubashi Berserker depicts Korrak the Bloodrager, a mighty dire troll that is the chieftain of the Winterax tribe of ice trolls, first seen in a segment of the contested area of Alterac Valley. Both Alliance and Horde adventurers attempted to slay Korrak during their many, many fights for dominance over Alterac Valley, but while Korrak was slain many times, his tribe was able to resurrect him. After a while, though, Korrak and his tribe vanished from Alterac Valley, leaving behind the conflict-torn land. He woudl return in Wrath of the Lich King, where adventurers are able to enter the Ampitheater of Anguish, an arena in Northrend. Korrak is the fifth (out of six) bosses that adventurers will fight there. Despite being empowered by the Drakkari, who infused him with loa strength, Korrak was slain once more.

Southsea Captain depicts Fleet Master Seahorn, a tauren pirate member of the Blackwater Raiders (Blackwater pirates wouldn't show up in Hearthstone until Whispers of the Old Gods), and Seahorn hangs out in the Salty Sailor Tavern in Booty Bay. Seahorn is a quest-giver for the Blackwater Raiders' faction, sending adventurers out to sabotage the operations of their rival crew, the Bloodsail Buccaneers. Seahorn also sent adventurers for some good ol' booty-hunting. Seahorn would, surprisingly, be one of the many allies of Azeroth that would defend Mt. Hyjal from Ragnaros's minions during the events of Cataclysm, and would appear randomly in the inns during the events of Warlords of Draenor, searching for a mystical compass from orcish legend.


Wrath depicts Muln Earthfury. He originally debuted in Shaman, a comic book that was meant as a tie-in to the Cataclysm expansion. High Shaman Muln of the Earthern Ring was among the many shamans that received troubling visions (and, later on, unreliable visions) during the lead-up to the elemental chaos of the Cataclysm, and he attempted to divine the mad ramblings of the senile far-seer Drek'thar. A long-thought-dead shaman called Shotoa would appear to the Earthen Ring, presenting them with an alternate way of communicating with the elements -- by dominating them. This led to a split within the Earthern Ring, with some preferring Muln's traditional methods, while some are drawn to Shotoa's temptations. Eventually, Muln discovers that Shotoa was in fact a disguised agent of Ragnaros, and this false Shotoa very nearly led the Earthern Ring members into an ambush until Muln arrived to help rescue them, getting the unstable elements of the world to assist him by giving them a common enemy -- Shotoa. Muln Earthfury would appear in-game in Cataclysm, assisting fellow shamans Thrall, Aggra and Nobundo in maintaining the rift above the Maelstrom. Muln would appear alongside his fellow shamans several times, during Thrall and Aggra's wedding and during the fight for Mt. Hyjal. After the death of Deathwing, Muln would officially step down as leader of the Earthern Ring in favour of Thrall. In Legion, Muln (one of the Shaman champions) shows up in Deepholm, trying to assist the new Farseer of the Earthern Ring (a shaman player) in seeking the aid of the Elemental Lords as allies in the fight against the Burning Legion. Muln and the Farseer would discover and fight a group of Twilight's Hammer cultists working to revive the twilight dragonflight, and they would battle the Mistress of Twilight, Zeryxia. Muln was extremely opposed to Magatha Grimtotem's arrival to the assembled forces of Azeroth, and was openly hostile towards the treacherous Tauren, but was convinced by the draenei shaman Nobundo that it would be better for them to be able to keep an eye for Grimtotem.


Shattered Sun Cleric actually depicts Lady Liadrin, as mentioned above. Lady Liadrin is the martiarch of the Blood Elves' Blood Knights organization, and is an alternate paladin hero in Hearthstone. We'll be covering Lady Liadrin herself in the 'Alternate Heroes' section!


Booty Bay Bodyguard depicts Vixton Pinchwhistle, a level 70 PvP rewards vendor, selling gear rewards that are only available to purchase with PvP tokens. Previously located in Area 52 of Netherstorm, Vixton Pinchwhistle has since moved to the goblin city of Gadgetzan.


Gadgetzan Auctioneer depicts Krixel Pinchwhistle, who, like his brother Vixton, used to sell PvP reward gear in Area 52. Krixel is also briefly simultaneously located in Orgrimmar, Stormwind City and Blade's Edge Mountains as an arena vendor. In Warlrods of Draenor, Krixel Pinchwhistle and his niece Kimzee Pinchwhistle crash-landed on the Spires of Arak in alternate Draenor, and was wounded during the crash-landing. He enlists the help of adventurers to help him free fungal-infested goblins with a serum, before returning to his home base in Pinchwhistle Gearworks.


Captain Greenksin depicts Short John Mithril, a goblin pirate captain of the Bloodsail pirates. Adventurers would encounter Short John Mithril in the Gurubashi Arena, where he would start the massive bloodbath in the Gurubashi Arena by dropping the treasure chest in intervals of 3 hours.


The Battle Axe token created by Arathi Weaponsmith depicts the Fel Iron Hatchet, a weapon craftable by blacksmiths in WoW.