For Xavius and Natalie Seline, which debuted in this expansion but are counted among the Classic set, I will cover in the "Neo-Classic" page where I'll add in all new cards that are retroactively added to the Classic set, and I also added a lot of new stuff for Battlegrounds.
This one took a long while to write. I was originally about to release this slightly before the solo adventure got announced, so I stopped writing it. But then the solo adventure did get announced shortly afterwards, and there wasn't a whole ton of content drawn from WoW... but then the challenges are released and that actually had a bunch of WoW bosses, so yeah, I decided to just wait until that's been released, and ended up blazing through the solo adventure stuff. A version of this also had Xavius, Natalie and Battlegrounds stuff before I shunted them off into the revised Neo-Classic page.
Illidan Stormrage, the Betrayer
Illidan Stormrage, often known by his moniker "the Betrayer", is a character with complex motivations and a long history. Ten thousand years prior to the events of the Warcraft and World of Warcraft games, Illidan Stormrage was one of the key players during the War of the Ancients, when the night elven people and their godly allies waged war against the attempted incursion of the demonic forces of the Burning Legion. Twin brother to Malfurion Stormrage, both brothers grew up alongside -- and fell in love with -- the same woman, Tyrande Whisperwind, in the night elven capital of Suramar. While he originally trained in the same druidic arts that his brother Malfurion has, but was quickly drawn to the strange arcane arts that the Highborne (the higher caste of the night elven people) practice. While Malfurion and Tyrande both found their sense of purpose with their chosen paths of being a druid and a priestess of Elune respectively, Illidan ended up becoming the personal caster of the Highborne's military leader, Kur'talos Ravencrest.
Queen Azshara and the Highborne's treachery and their contact with the Burning Legion became clear, and Illidan Stormrage basically embarked on a one-man journey to sabotage the Highborne, with his allegiance always a bit of a mystery to his brother and the other night elves. Ultimately, Illidan's loyalties are split -- he mostly sided with Malfurion, Tyrande and Cenarius in taking down Azshara, but his own greed and lust for power caused him to preserve part of the Well of Eternity against his comrades' wishes. Illidan became more and more power-hungry during the War of the Ancients, and many conflicting emotions within the young night elf's mind caused him to take drastic measures. His lust for power, his admiration for the magical power the demons wielded, his unrequited love for the priestess Tyrande... ultimately, this made Illidan susceptible to the whispers of the Highborne loyalist Xavius, and Illidan seemed to turn and ally with the Highborne. This, however, was also a feint on Illidan's part in order for him to gain more power. Illidan was brought before the demonic lord of the Burning Legion, Sargeras, who gave Illidan a 'gift' for his allegiance -- Illidan's eyes was burnt out, blinding him but also giving him 'spectral sight' via orbs of mystical fire, allowing Illidan to see all forms of magic. Illidan became Azeroth's first Demon Hunter, and the knowledge that this encounter with Sargeras caused Illidan to realize the sheer magnitude of the Burning Legion's influence, and realized that merely defeating them on Azeroth is nothing, a mere bucket in a massive ocean. Illidan bid his time, however, and hunted for the powerful artifact known as the Demon Soul, created by the mad dragon aspect Deathwing. Upon delivering it to the Highborne, Illidan betrayed them and fought alongside Malfurion to implode the demons' portal with the Demon Soul, collapsing the Well of Eternity and causing the massive Great Sundering, stopping the Burning Legion from coming through, splitting the original super-continent of Kalimdor into smaller landmasses, created the gigantic Maelstrom at the center of Azeroth and sending the night elf capital city of Zin-Azshari falling into the depths of the ocean.Against the express orders of the other night elves, Illidan kept several vials of the Well of Eternity's waters, and Illidan used these vials to create a new Well of Eternity atop Mt. Hyjal, to make it a source of powers and immortality for the night elves, despite the fact that the Well of Eternity was what caused the Highborne's corruption and drew the demons' attention in the first place. The rest of the night elves are horrified by Illidan's actions and association with the chaotic arcane magic, but Illidan is convinced that this power was the only way to safeguard themselves from the demons' return, regardless of the sacrifice. For this treachery, Malfurion and the rest of the night elven leadership imprisoned Illidan Stormrage in a prison deep beneath Mt. Hyjal... for ten thousand years.
Ten thousand years passed since the War of the Ancients, with Illidan stewing in the prison while guarded by the organization known as the Wardens. Illidan was released by a desperate Tyrande Whisperwind when, as Illidan himself had warned, the demons did return during the events of what is known as the Third War, where the demons razed the Eastern kingdoms with the aid of the undead Scourge, and began making their way into Kalimdor. Facing many losses, when Tyrande and Malfurion were on their way to awaken the slumbering druids, Tyrande decided to go off into Illidan's prison to releasing him. Tyrande fought her way through Illidan's wardens and released the Demon Hunter, who was quick to jump into fight against the demons.
In an attempt to impress both his brother and Tyrande, Illidan stage an assault against the demonic influence in Felwood, battling across the demons, undead, satyrs and corrupted ancients that have besieged the once-tranquil forest. During his Felwood campaign, a mysterious death knight, Arthas, hinted that Illidan would be able to gain enough power to face off against the mighty dreadlord that led the Felwood invasion, Tichondrius, by utilizing a foul artifact -- the Skull of Gul'dan. Illidan, drawn to the source of power and seeing the sheer power of the demons, claimed the Skull of Gul'dan from its demonic keepers, and consumed it, transforming even further into a demonic visage, sprouting giant horns, cloven feet and wings. This granted Illidan a massive amount of power, allowing him to put down the demonic invasion in Felwood with ease and murdering the dreadlord Tichondrius, but Malfurion and Tyrande are so horrified that they banished the now-transformed Illidan from kal'dorei lands.
After the Burning Legion's defeat in Nordrassil, Illidan was visited by one of the Burning Legion's most powerful leaders, Kil'jaeden, who made a deal with Illidan, granting him a mission in exchange for more power -- destroy the Frozen Throne, and kill Ner'zhul, the Lich King, who had betrayed the Burning Legion during the Third War. Illidan needed forces to do this, and 'forced the hand of fate', summoning his old Highborne allies, now transformed into the underwater serpent-people known as the Naga, to the surface. Aided by a massive army of Naga, Illidan fended off the pursuit of his vengeful warden, Maiev Shadowsong, who made it a point to track down and hunt down Illidan even as he made his way to the Broken Isles, the ruined remains of the Highborne cities that fell into the depths of the ocean during the War of the Ancients. Most importantly, it held the Tomb of Sargeras, and Illidan made his way into the depths of the tomb to claim the artifact known as the Eye of Sargeras while his naga warriors held off Maiev and his army of Wardens. Illidan and Maiev clashed on the Broken Isles, and left the place when Malfurion and Tyrande arrived with reinforcements, making his way to the ruins of the magical city of Dalaran. His plan was to use the Eye of Sargeras to melt Northrend itself and destroy the Frozen Throne, heedless of the effects it is causing on the rest of Azeroth. Maiev and Malfurion, convinced that Illidan is trying to murder everyone on Azeroth, put a stop to Illidan's ritual, interrupting it before it could be completed.However, as the night elves are about to pass judgment on Illidan, Maiev's own treachery was made known, falsely claiming that Tyrande was killed and devoured by the undead Scourge. Illidan and Malfurion teamed up to rescue Tyrande from where she was trapped. This caused Illidan to have some modicum of peace with his brother and his former love, and they ended the conflict there as Illidan disappeared through a portal to another world, Outland, attempting to evade the wrath of Kil'jaeden. Maiev, however, managed to chase Illidan down and capture him, binding him in a prison crystal until he was saved by his loyal naga servitor, Lady Vashj, as well as their new ally, the blood elven prince Kael'thas Sunstrider. Now armed with an army of naga and blood elves, as well as some local draenei led by Akama, Illidan unleashed a massive battle, destroying and subjugating the local fel orcs and demons that served the Burning Legion, before mounting a massive offensive on the local demonic warlord, Magtheridon of the Black Temple. Now the most powerful force in Outland... Illidan still found himself seen and visited by Kil'jaeden, and Illidan quickly turned this opportunity to claim that he's merely gathering forces to offset his setback.
Illidan then took the naga and blood elves back to Azeroth to destroy the Lich King, besieging Northrend and battling against Scourge forces, facing off mainly against the champions of the Lich King -- the death knight Arthas Menethil and the crypt lord Anub'arak. The two forces made a huge clash around the giant mountain of Icecrown, attempting to wrest control of the obelisks that controlled entry into the Frozen Throne. Their forces and champions depleted, Illidan faced off against Arthas personally at the foot of the Frozen Throne and engaged him in one-on-one combat... but Illidan lost in the battle, badly maimed but alive. Vashj and Kael'thas picked up their wounded leader and retreated to Outland, while Arthas ascended the Frozen Throne and became the new Lich King.
Illidan remained in Outland for the duration of the original World of Warcraft, recovering from his wounds and gathering his forces -- it was at this point that various night elves and blood elves were secretly trained into becoming demon hunters loyal to Illidan. The first WoW expansion, Burning Crusade, took place as the heroes of the Alliance and the Horde poured into Outland, fighting against the forces of both the Burning Legion and Illidan that has taken over Outland. Illidan's increasing paranoia and power-seeking caused him to expand his forces all over Outland, subjugating many local people and earning the ire of the Alliance and Horde. Later on, it's also revealed that Illidan's army of Illidari demon hunters began campaigns to other Burning Legion controlled worlds as a trial run to see Illidan's attempts to wipe out the Burning Legion to fruition, and it's Illidan's focus towards these efforts that caused him to ignore the Alliance and Horde adventurers dismantling his forces in Outland. The Legion's agents themselves, fearing that Illidan's ability to create portals to Legion worlds, pushed the Alliance and the Horde into conflict with Illidan. Compounding this were multiple betrayals -- a significant proportion of the blood elven people decided to join the Horde, while Kael'thas Sunstrider became crazed with power and aligned himself with the Burning Legion. The Draenei leader Akama's frustrations with Illidan's desecration of the Black Temple, itself originally a sacred site to the Draenei people. Illidan bound part of Akama's soul as a means to control the old draenei when he discovered Akama's treachery and attempt to conspire with the jailed warden Maiev Shadowsong.
Illidan's distractions and single-minded focus to fighting the Burning Legion caused him to lose interest in holding on to Outland, and he ignored as adventurers crushed and slew his lieutenants one by one... until the Black Temple itself was besieged by an army of adventurers, including Maiev and a freed Akama. Realizing he did not have enough time, Illidan sent his demon hunter army to the planet Mardum in search of the Sargerite Keystone, an artifact that can open portals to other demon worlds (including the Legion homeworld of Argus), before facing off against the champions of Azeroth atop the Black Temple. Illidan was initially able to overpower the gathered adventurers, but Maiev's interference allowed the adventurers to get the drop on Illidan and slay the demon hunter.
...or at least, that seemed to be the case. As revealed later on in Legion, after this battle Maiev brought Illidan's corpse (with Illidan's soul bound onto the body) into the Vault of the Wardens in the Broken Isles. Illidan's army of Illidari Demon Hunters, fresh off their victory in Mardum, attacked the Wardens to retrieve their leader's body, but was soundly routed and imprisoned alongside their leader in the Vault. For many years, the Illidari lay imprisoned, unknown to the rest of the world, until the events of Legion. An alternate-universe Gul'dan made his way to the Vault of the Wardens, defeated the Wardens and absconded with Illidan's body. Using a ritual, Illidan's soul was banished into the Twisting Nether, while Gul'dan unleashed a gigantic portal allowing the final invasion of Azeroth by the Burning Legion. Gul'dan attempted to use Illidan's body as a vessel for Sargeras's spirit to enter Azeroth.
During this conflict, the released Illidari Demon Hunters cooperated with the united armies of the Alliance and the Horde. The Illidari braved through many challenges to assemble the items needed to restore Illidan's soul from the Nether while Illidan's soul fought and escaped from the demons in the Twisting Nether, before finding its way to Helheim where it's trapped by the Val'kyr Queen Helya. The adventurers rescued Illidan's soul, and with the aid of the archmage Khadgar, fought the spirit of Sargeras that Gul'dan has placed within Illidan, and allowing Khadgar to restore Illidan to his full glory. Illidan takes control of his body and attacks Gul'dan, ripping him apart with fel energy in the same way that Gul'dan had killed King Varian Wrynn earlier in this war. Illidan then rallied the nearby adventurers, proclaiming that they can now follow him into the Abyss.
Working together with his former foe Maiev Shadowsong, Archmage Khadgar and Prophet Velen, Illidan fought his way through the Broken Shore all the way to the top of the Cathedral of Eternal Night, aiding adventurers in fighting Burning Legion leaders like the dreadlord Mephistroth. Adventurers would battle the Fallen Avatar of Sargeras deep within the Tomb of Sargeras, while Illidan, Khadgar and Velen faced Kil'jaeden. Kil'jaeden was sent retreating to his Legion ship, while Illidan and Velen pursues the Eredar. Illidan tells the assembled heroes how merely sealing portals would be futile, for the Burning Legion is immortal and they are able to return from the Twisting Nether if not slain there. The inspired heroes attacked Kil'jaeden and slew him abroad his ship in the Nether, and Illidan used the Sargerite Keystone to open a permanent rift between Azeroth and the Legion homeworld of Argus, a reckless move that allowed the forces of Azeroth to invade Argus itself.
During the lead-up to the invasion of Argus, Illidan and Velen had a long discussion about the history of the Draenei and the Eredar, mocking Velen for his staunch beliefs about how the Light has led and shaped every decision leading to this point, even the Draenei's corruption into the Eredar. Illidan participated in many battles in Argus, aiding in taking down the massive Antaen Lightbreaker. The god-like being of Light, the Prime Naaru Xe'ra would attempt to fulfill the prophecy by forcibly grabbing Illidan and transform Illidan into the 'child of Light and Shadow', Illidan struggled and forcibly rejected Xe'ra, roaring about how he had once traded his freedom for power, and he will never do so again. Illidan broke free and killed Xe'ra, horrifying all that are present. Illidan told those present that their blind faith to the Naaru and the Light has blinded them, telling them that they should save themselves instead of waiting for some 'chosen one'.With the Army of Light now hostile towards Illidan, he and the Illidari set up a base in the Antoran Wastes, while the leaders of the assembled force attempted to strategize on how to best take out the Legion's stronghold. Many of the Legion's mightiest demons were destroyed permanently during this conflict by Illidan's forces, the Army of the Light, and the champions of Azeroth. As the combined army attacked Antorus, the Burning Throne, Illidan participated in helping to slay the mighty demons Kin'garoth and the Coven of Shivarra, as well as the corrupted souls of the Pantheon, before facing off against the world-soul of Argus itself. With the Pantheon truly freed, they told the mortals to return to Azeroth while they dealt with Sargeras, who was attempting to devour and corrupt the world-soul of Azeroth. The heroes of Azeroth would return home while the Pantheon imprisons Sargeras, and Illidan offers to stay behind, noting that 'the hunter is nothing without the hunt', opting to become Sargeras's jailor. As the rest of Azeroth's heroes returned victorious to their world, the revived Pantheon used their power to draw Sargeras and rip him into Argus, imprisoning him with Illidan as the jailor, finally allowing the long life of Illidan Stormrage to a resounding victory against the demons of the Burning Legion.
Several of Illidan's quotes as a hero in Hearthstone draws from the character's lines from Warcraft III and World of Warcraft. His threaten quote, "You are not prepared", is taken from the Burning Crusade expansion trailer, a line that has became synonymous with Illidan Stormrage himself due to the hammy way in which he says it. "Evil draws close" and "I grow impatient" are taken from his affirmative and clicking lines in Warcraft III. "Vengeance is mine" is taken, appropriately enough, when you order Illidan to attack in Warcraft III. His arena selection line is taken from one of his 'pissed' lines. His line when you play Metamorphosis is also his line in the campaign of Warcraft III when he activates Metamorphosis after claiming the Skull of Gul'dan. "How is it even possible" is taken from one of his lines during his boss fight in Burning Crusade.
Illidan is featured in the card arts of Chaos Nova, Inner Demon, Mana Burn, Command the Illidari, Spectral Sight and (maybe) Feast of Souls.
As with other basic heroes, Illidan has (or will) receive a lot of skins:
- Demonic Illidan depicts Illidan after he has undergone Metamorphosis, notably a variation of the ability seen in Warcraft III: Reforged and Burning Crusade where Illidan keeps most of his appearance intact instead of becoming a huge shadow monster.
- Demonbane Illidan depicts Illidan wearing the tier 20 demon hunter armour, the Demonbane Armor.
- Felravager Illidan seems to be original to Hearthstone? Most other Tavern Regular achievement armour is based on a specific raid armour, but I can't find anything pertaining to 'Felravager'.
Lady Vashj
Lady Vashj was born in the city of Vashj'ir, daughter to the high leader of the city, Lestharia Vashj. Ten thousand years prior to the events of Warcraft, Vashj would travel to the capital city of Zin-Azshari and became a member of the Highborne, becoming the personal handmaiden of Queen Azshara herself. Vashj was obsessed with pleasing her queen, only wanting to remain in her queen's favour, and was noted to model her hairstyle and clothing to emulate Azshara. Eventually, Queen Azshara and the Highborne are enthralled by the offer of great power given by the fallen titan-turned-demon Sargeras, and Vashj shared in her queen's delight for this newfound source of power. At some point during the days leading up to the War of the Ancients, Azshara made the whimsical offer to Tyrande to serve as her handmaiden, which Tyrande refused. Seeing Tyrande as a rival for Azshara's affections, Vashj tried to kill Tyrande, but her assassination attempt failed and Vashj fled. The War of the Ancients raged on, and the Well of Eternity collapsed during the event, dragging the city of Zin-Azshari and the Highborne downwards towards the ocean floor, Vashj among them. While the Highborne were presumed dead by the world, they were in fact approached by a strange, powerful eldritch force deep within the ocean -- later revealed to be the mightiest of the Old Gods, N'Zoth the Corruptor -- who offered them survival. Thus, unknown to the world, the Highborne survived, transformed into the twisted beings known as the Naga.Lady Vashj became one of the most powerful of the Naga, ascending into a being known as a Naga Sea Witch, with extra arms, snakes for hair, and the ability to command the weather on her fingertips. During the events of Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, Illidan Stormrage sought to obtain some new allies in order to destroy the Frozen Throne, and summoned the naga from the depths of the ocean. A massive force of the naga, led by Lady Vashj, arrived to answer Illidan's call. While Illidan believed that this was because of old Highborne debts, in reality, Vashj and the other Naga came because of the designs of the Old Gods, who wanted Illidan's campaign to succeed to spark war all over Azeroth. Lady Vashj's naga would assist Illidan in his campaign, and Vashj herself would first appear before the night elven warden Maiev Shadowsong inside the Tomb of Sargeras, telling the warden of their shared night elven history and the origins of the Naga. Vashj was not seen for the remainder of Illidan's campaign in the Broken Isles or Lordaeron, and she and the rest of the Naga were separated from Illidan, who escaped through a portal to Outland after a confrontation with Malfurion.
Loyal to Illidan, Vashj set out to scout out new allies and find a way to bring them to her master in Outland. Vashj would select the Blood Elven Prince, Kael'thas, for this end, offering her aid to Kael in fighting against the undead forces holding Lordamere Lake. Vashj also knew that Kael was serving under the racist human lord Garithos, and being seen working with the naga would discredit Kael in Garithos's eyes. Ultimately, as Garithos withdrew his forces from Kael, Vashj was able to find opportunities to offer hers, and the end result ultimately got Kael'thas locked in the dungeons of Dalaran. Lady Vashj would infiltrate the dungeons through the waterways, free Kael and his people, and managed to convince Kael to abandon the Alliance in favour of a new master -- her master. Joining forces, the naga and blood elven groups went through the portal to Outland, and they would see Illidan captured by Maiev Shadowsong. Working together, they freed Illidan from captivity, who began to organize the forces they have assembled in taking over Outland. They would take down and dismantle the operations of the Burning Legion commander that has taken over Outland, the Pit Lord Magtheridon, and take the fight to Magtheridon's Black Temple and depose the demon, but Illidan soon found himself working under Kil'jaeden once more. Lady Vashj is present and commanded the naga forces during the Illidari assault on the Frozen Throne, although the champions of the Lich King would eventually emerge victorious, and Vashj retreated with the defeated body of her master. In Warcraft III, Lady Vashj had the abilities Frost Arrows, Mana Shield, Forked Lightning and Tornado.
During Burning Crusade, unlike other minions of Illidan, Lady Vashj remained loyal to her master Illidan, commanding her massive naga army to help in furthering Illidan's war-machine. Vashj is known to participate and lead the assault that would wipe out Warden Maiev Shadowsong's forces and capture the Warden. Lady Vashj's naga enslaved the Broken tribes, putting them to work to drain the waters of Zangarmarsh, taking control of the water. Lady Vashj herself carefully monitors the operations of the Coilfang Reservoir from her seat of power, Serpentshrine Cavern. Adventurers of the Alliance and Horde would arrive, and began to dismantle Illidan Stormrage's operations throughout Outland. One of these campaigns led the adventurers from Azeroth to the Coilfang Reservoir, and after wiping out Lady Vashj's minions in the Slave Pens, the Underbog and the Steamvault, the adventurers would mount an assault on Serpentshrine Cavern, facing Lady Vashj as the sixth and final boss of that raid. As she fell, Lady Vashj's final words are an apology to her master.Her boss fight in the adventure mode has her using the unique card Coilfang Elite, which is a reference to the Naga minions she will summon in her Burning Crusade boss fight.
In Hearthstone, the Lady Vashj's summoning quote ("Water is life") is taken from her introduction quote during her boss fight in Burning Crusade. Her attack quote is taken from one of her attack quotes in Warcraft III. As an alternate hero, Vashj's 'threaten' quote is taken from one of her aggro lines from Burning Crusade, her opening remark is taken from one of her lines when she kills a player, and her arena selection quote is when she activates the Archery ability. Her quote when casting Lightning Storm is taken from when she enters her second phase in Burning Crusade. In Hearthstone's 'Ashes of Outland' expansion, Lady Vashj is upgraded after her death into a partially-robotic form called Vashj Prime, like many other legendary cards that have a 'Prime' form, seemingly by the enigmatic Iron Legion. Lady Vashj has been depicted with different amounts of arms (either four or six) depending on the artwork, as well as the fact that there exist two different 'naga sea witch' models, with differing arm counts pre-Legion. In Hearthstone, Lady Vashj's card and hero art has four arms like Warcraft III and the Legion naga models, whereas her 'Vashj Prime' artwork shows her with six arms, like how she was depicted in many of her WoW artwork.
Prince Kael'thas Sunstrider
Prince Kael'thas Sunstrider was the Prince of the High Elven nation of Quel'Thalas. Prior to the events of the Third War, Kael was a renowned prince and a respected senior member of the Kirin Tor council of Dalaran. Born as the only son of King Anasterian Sunstrider, Kael rose into prominence within the ranks of Kirin Tor, being present for many of the events Dalaran was embroiled in during the events of the First and Second War. After the Second War, he developed an attraction for another mage of Dalaran, Lady Jaina Proudmoore. However, Jaina's heart was with another prince, Arthas Menethil of Lordaeron, causing her to rebuke Kael's advances. During the events of Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, Kael suffered much loss at the paladin-turned-death-knight Arthas, whose brutal conquest of Quel'Thalas razed the High Elven city to the ground, defiling the land, tainting the legendary Sunwell that the high elves drew power from, and wiping out an approximated 90% of the high elven people, including Kael's own father. Kael abandoned Dalaran at this point to attempt to reorganize his people, blaming their trust for other races like humans for the fall of Quel'Thalas. Ironically, it was this very abandonment that caused Kael to survive the subsequent destruction of Dalaran at the hands of the Eredar Archimonde.
Kael and the regent-lord Lor'themar Theron attempted to rally the high elf survivors, but the prince was regarded with scorn by a large amount of the surviving high elves, who saw the Prince as being absent during Quel'Thalas's darkest hour. Without the Sunwell, however, the high elven people began to experience withdrawal symptoms from a lifetime of bathing in its magical energies. Kael was also forced to destroy the defiled remains of the Sunwell, which began corrupting all around them. At this point in time, Kael renamed his shattered people the 'Blood Elves', in honour of the tragedy that had befallen their once-great people. Kael also refused to take the title of 'king', noting that his father would be known as their last king of their people. At this point, Kael was also known as a Blood Mage. (In-game, the Blood Mage was the fourth hero for the Human faction, added in the Frozen Throne expansion, able to cast Flame Strike, Drain Mana, Banish and Phoenix)Despite the high elves' icy relationships with the Alliance post-Second-War, Kael would rejoin the remnants of the Alliance battling the Scourge forces that are tearing through Lordaeron, early during the events of Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne. Kael sought revenge against the Scourge, although he took care to leave most of his people in Quel'Thalas with Lor'themar, only bringing the most powerful followers available with him. Kael led his people through Silverpine Forest under the leadership of the Alliance, but the sheer amount of undead there forced Kael to seek refuge on the opposite side of the River Arevass. As he escorted his convoy of supply wagons, Kael met a group of night elves from the continent of Kalimdor, led by Tyrande Whisperwind and Maiev Shadowsong, who had arrived there in hunt for the betrayer Illidan Stormrage. Kael quickly surmised that Illidan might be after the latent energies left behind in the ruins of Dalaran, and despite Maiev's protests, Tyrande decided to assist the blood elves in escorting his caravan, under the deal that Kael would help them hunt down Illidan.
As the bolstered convoy fought against their undead pursuers, Tyrande stayed behind in the bridge over the River Arevass to hold off a particularly large undead force, destroying the bridge and being swept down-river. Kael sought to rescue his ally, but Maiev stopped him, demanding that Kael honour their bargain in helping the night elves hunt down Illidan. Kael did this, and his blood elves assisted the night elves in assaulting the entrenched Naga forces, who are using a mighty artifact called the Eye of Sargeras as part of a ritual. The assault was successful, and Illidan's ritual was interrupted. As the defeated Illidan was held by the vines of the arch-druid Malfurion, Kael was baffled to hear Malfurion condemn Illidan for causing Tyrande's death, not realizing that there was some bad blood between the night elven forces. Kael spoke up at this, telling Malfurion that Tyrande was swept downriver instead of being 'torn apart', revealing Maiev's deception.
The night elves left to tend to rescuing Tyrande, while Kael'thas was left in the ruins of Dalaran. However, his superior among the Alliance, Grand Marshal Garithos, dismissed Kael's excuse of helping the night elves as a fanciful excuse, and it was clear at this point that Garithos loathed working with non-human races, constantly insulting Kael's blood elves and relegating them to doing the menial task of repairing arcane observatories in Dalaran. Kael begrudgingly did this, but their lack of shipyards made travelling through Lordamere Lake a problem. A mysterious figure, Lady Vashj of the naga, arrived and offered her services to aid Kael, citing their common ancestry. With the aid of the Naga, Kael was able to take and hold all of the area around Lordamere Lake and chased out the undead forces there. However, Garithos would arrive and condemn Kael for consorting with the Naga, none-too-subtly warning Kael that he considered this an act of treason. Kael soon found himself stripped of all his non-elven forces, with all the foot-soldiers, cavalry and support teams being recalled by Garithos from the front lines. With only a skeleton crew left, Kael's forces were quickly overrun when the undead arrived en-masse, and he would end up taking aid from Lady Vashj once more. With Vashj's aid, they defeated the undead around Dalaran, and Kael confided into Vashj how the blood elves have been feeling an emptiness ever since the destruction of the Sunwell.
Garithos arrived just as the Naga were leaving, and arrested Kael and the blood elves for treason, smugly telling Kael that he can now deal with Kael and his people as what he felt they deserved, and imprisoned Kael and his blood elves within Dalaran's dungeons. Kael was once more freed by the timely arrival of Lady Vashj, who freed Kael from his cell. Together with Vashj, Kael would work his way through the Dungeons of Dalaran, freeing his brethren from their cells. As they escaped their jailers, Vashj told Kael about her master, Illidan, who is a mighty sorcerer who would be able to help Kael's people be freed from their magic addiction. As they made their way through Dalaran, Kael was forced to slay his former friend, Jailor Kassan, in order to reach the inter-dimensional portal left by Kel'Thuzad during other events in the Third War.
Arriving in Outland, Kael and Vashj fought against Maiev to rescue the captured Illidan, and the freed Illidan promised Kael a way to help the Blood Elves manage their addiction, by substituting fel magic as the energy the blood elves were once dependent on. Pleased with this, Kael would pledge his allegiance to Illidan for the remainder of the events of the Third War. As detailed above, Kael would assist Illidan in his campaign in Outland, wiping out the demonic minions of Magtheridon, before taking the fight to the Pit Lord himself. Alongside Illidan, Kael would then travel to Northrend to destroy the Frozen Throne, and Kael would meet the tormentor who tore down his nation, Arthas. Kael would mock Arthas, meeting the Death Knight several times during the conflict and constantly teleporting away to avoid direct conflict. During one of their fights, it's known that Kael engaged Arthas with the holy relic Felo'melorn, but Kael was forced into retreat and the blade lost in the snow of Northrend. With their campaign a failure, Kael and Vashj retreated back to Outland with the maimed Illidan, and would not been seen until Burning Crusade. 
During the events of Burning Crusade, Kael attempted to gather the rest of the blood elven people still left on Azeroth, sending Grand Magister Rommath to spread Illidan's teachings. As Illidan grew more and more obsessed with taking the fight to the Burning Legion and the world of Argus, Kael'thas became alienated, feeling that Illidan is not living up to his promises of glory and power. Kael's own liberal usage of fel magic also caused him to grow more and more unstable. It's in this place of vulnerability that the blood mage was contacted by the demon lord Kil'jaeden, who whispered to him that Illidan had kept from him the secret of molding fel magic because Illidan did not see him as a worthy tool. During the attempt to take down Shattrath City, a significant amount of Kael's blood elves, led by Voren'thal the Seer, defected and joined Shattrath City. Moreover, due to Illidan's refusal to aid Kael in this campaign on Shattrath, a larger rift began to grow between the two. Eventually, Kael began to abandon Illidan and embraced Kil'jaeden as his people's new benefactor.Kael set out and claimed the magic-rich area of the Netherstorm as his base of operations, and claimed the citadel of Tempest Keep for his own, subjugating the mighty naaru called M'uru. Kael's attack on Tempest Keep also would lead to a large portion of the draenei to flee in the Exodar and eventually landing on Azeroth and joining the Alliance. The primary bulk of the blood elves coming from Azeroth (now aligned with the Horde) as well as the Scryer faction would discover that Kael'thas had entered an alliance with the Burning Legion, and the blood elven people, as a whole, would disown their prince. The blood elven people was split even further, with both Kael's factions and the Scyers all vying for blood elven recruits.
The archmage Khadgar and the naaru A'dal requested help from the champions of the Alliance and the Horde to stop Kael'thas's insane plans, with them obtaining the Cipher of Damnation to prevent Kael from using it, and later on set up to invade Tempest Keep itself, attacking and slaughtering Kael's loyalists and the other entities that Kael had bound to his service. Kael was the final boss of the Tempest Keep raid, being faced as the final boss in The Eye. The adventurers faced off against Kael'thas, the self-proclaimed "Sun King", and defeated him. Kael managed to cheat death, however, by escaping through the teleportation magics of his minion Priestess Delrissa.Kael would resurface, although his appearance was changed due to his use of fel magic -- his skin pale, and a massive fel crystal spike that protruded out of his chest. Kael'thas would arrive on Azeroth in Quel'thalas, attempting to reinvigorate the Sunwell -- not as a way to restore his people's magic, but to power a portal that would allow Kil'jaeden to enter into Azeroth. Arriving on Silvermoon City with his fel-blood elves, this earned Kael the enmity of Lady Liadrin and the other blood elves of Silvermoon, who take up arms to take down the mad prince once and for all. Thus the Shattered Sun Offensive is formed, taking up arms to attack Magister's Terrace, where Kael'thas has set up his base, preparing to transformed the mortal incarnation of the Sunwell, Anveena, into the portal to summon Kil'jaeden. With the aid of the blue dragon Kalecgos, Kael'thas made his final stand, driven truly insane by the Burning Legion's influence, and was ultimately slain by adventurers. Ironically, when he had abandoned his people in his quest for ultimate power, his abduction of M'uru would cause a chain of events that would allow the draenei prophet Velen to revitalize the Sunwell.
In Hearthstone, Kael'thas's summon quote is taken from the introduction line when you fight Kael'thas in Tempest Keep. His attack quote is an excerpt from his aggro quote from his Tempest Keep boss fight, while his death quote, "merely a setback", is taken from his line in Magister's Terrace, where he claimed that his first defeat in Tempest Keep was "merely a setback". This line has been often used as a running gag among the WoW community on Blizzard's penchant to reuse villains who survived seeming deaths to show up in a subsequent dungeon raid.
Akama
A portion of the Draenei that remained on Draenor were transformed and mutated into what would be called the "Broken" by the large amount of energies that was unleashed during the destruction of Draenor, gaining extra tentacles, sunken facial features, and massive fangs. Among them is the Elder Sage Akama, leader of the Ashtongue Tribe. Once an uncorrupted Draenei and the Exarch of the Vindicators, Akama spent his young at the Temple of Karabor, and left behind to evacuate as many draenei as possible from the Burning Legion. He fell into a coma during the battle, and was the most exposed to the fel energies that caused some of the Draenei to mutate into the broken. At some point, the Broken were either banished or left on their own accord, and Akama did so and joined the Ashtongue Tribe, eventually becoming their leader. While the Broken felt nothing but despair and abandonment towards the world around him, Akama ended up witnessing the birth of the first draenei shaman, Nobundo, who made contact with the elements for the first time, allowing the shaman to attain power beyond the means that the draenei people were used to.
During the events of Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, the Broken of the Ashtongue Tribe were besieged on all sides by fel orcs and demons in Outland. Their village was under attack by a particularly large group of fel orcs, but they obtained aid from an unexpected band of inter-dimensional travelers -- Illidan Stormrage and his naga and blood elven forces, who offered to rid Akama of the fel orcs plaguing his tribe in exchange for his help. With Illidan's aid, the fel orc bases were destroyed and Akama's forces would help Illidan in wiping out the rest of Magtheridon's orc minions in the area. When Illidan, Vashj and Kael'thas went to attack the Black Temple, Akama and his most elite vindicators went with Illidan, using their powers of stealth and invisibility to walk into the Black Temple unseen and slay the guards, deactivating the defenses that would have made the conquest of the Black Temple much more difficult. Akama would participate in taking down the mighty Pit Lord Magtheridon as well. In Warcraft III, Akama had permanent invisibility that only dispelled when he attacked (which is what Akama Prime's card ability is based on) as well as the spells Chain Lightning, Feral Spirit, Shadow Strike and Reincarnation.Illidan had promised to return the Black Temple to Akama and the Draenei, since the Black Temple was once a sacred site to them, but Illidan showed no signs of doing so between the events of Warcraft III and Burning Crusade. Suspecting treachery from the get-go and seeing the increasingly vile methods that Illidan is using like training more demon hunters and using Magtheridon's blood to create fel orcs, Akama began to view Illidan as not a liberator, but simply the next in a long line of conquerors who sought to subjugate the Draenei. Akama contacted Illidan's nemesis, the warden Maiev Shadowsong, telling her to meet him in Orebor Harborage to discuss how best to take down their mutual enemy. Illidan, however, learned of Akama's duplicity, and ripped out a portion of Akama's soul and bound it to his service with magics. With this, Illidan forced Akama to trick Maiev into leading her forces into an ambush, where all of Maiev's soldiers were killed and the Warden herself was captured. Many of Akama's Ashtongue draenei perished in this ambush, however, intensifying Akama's anger. Akama was appointed as Maiev's jailer in the Warden's Cage, still intending to find a way to take down Illidan.
In Burning Crusade, adventurers of the Alliance and Horde are able to meet Akama, who was a level 70 NPC guarding Maiev's cell. Akama would task adventurers in a chain of quests to prove that they are not allied with Illidan, and Akama tells the adventurers that it's best for Akama and the Ashtongue to pretend to serve Illidan until the time is right, and sends the adventurer to retrieve some powerful artifacts. Akama was forced to kill one of his closest ally, Seer Olum, to make it seem to the Illidari that Akama was truly subjugated by Illidan.During the raid on the Black Temple, the third boss is the Shade of Akama, the portion of Akama's soul that Illidan bound to his service. The adventurers attacked and defeated the Shade of Akama, finally releasing Akama's soul from his forced servitude to Illidan. Akama frees Maiev from her cage, and they band together to help end Illidan's grip upon Outland. Summoning the spirits of his fallen comrades, Akama would assist the adventurers in opening the gate to the top of the temple, and would participate in the initial stages of the final battle against Illidan. After Illidan's defeat, Akama swears to purify the Black Temple.
In Mists of Pandaria, Akama briefly shows up as a boss in the Brawler's Guild, noting that he wants to keep his blades sharp. He is also briefly involved in a questline involving the Council of Black Harvest, when the adventurer retraces the steps of the warlocks Kanrethad Ebonlocke through the Black Temple. Recognizing the adventurer, Akama ends up helping him or her hunt down the warlock. In Legion, the spirit of Illidan Stormrage assigns a powerful demon hunter (your demon hunter character) to recruit Akama to the Illidari cause, for Akama knows of much of Illidan's plans to destroy the Burning Legion. Akama is confronted at the summit of the Black Temple, and manages to take out all of the demon hunter adventurer's allies. Depending on choices made earlier in the storyline, Akama's fate is different. If the Illidan-fanatical Kayn Sunfury is present, the Shade of Akama is torn out once more and Akama would be bound to the demon hunter commander. If the anti-Illidan Altruis the Sufferer is present, Akama will join the Illidari willingly, and would later participate during the battle in Niskara in piloting the Fel Hammer.Akama's summon line is taken from a quote in the "A Distraction for Akama" quest in Burning Crusade, where he reveals his true allegiance after being freed by the adventurer. His attack line is taken from a possible quote he can say when killing an enemy while acting as your hero's champion in Legion. Akama Prime's summon line is taken from a line of dialogue that could be spoken by the Shade of Akama in Legion, while Akama Prime's attack line is taken from a line that both Akama and the Shade of Akama can say as an ally in Legion.
In the alternate timeline/universe visited in Warlords of Draenor, a pre-corrupted Akama, still an Exarch of the Draenei, is a High Vindicator who aids the heroes from Azeroth in Lunarfall, at one point facing off against the orcs of the Shadowmoon Clan, and participated in several of the battles and quests against the Iron Horde.
Magtheridon
During the events of the Third War, Magtheridon was a mighty Pit Lord that has taken over the broken world of Outland, the shattered remains of Draenor, homeworld of the orcs. Arriving from the Dark Portal created by Ner'zhul, Magtheridon was known to be the one that led the subjugation of Outland and turned a vast majority of the surviving orcs into battle-crazed Fel Orcs loyal to the Burning Legion. When Illidan Stormrage and his loyalist fled to Outland and decided to establish a post, Illidan's first order of business was to take down the mighty Pit Lord, who ruled from his stronghold of Black temple. Magtheridon remained in his palace, not realizing as Illidan, Kael'thas, Vashj and Akama dismantled his armies of fel orcs and shut down the portals to the Twisting Nether in Outland. Illidan's troops then led a two-pronged attack on the Black Temple itself, slaughtering many of Magtheridon's commanders and lieutenants. Illidan and his lieutenants arrived onto Magtheridon's throne room and engaged him in battle, with the confused Magtheridon thinking that the Legion has sent Illidan to test him. Illidan seemingly slaughtered Magtheridon and deposed him as Ruler of Outland. In Warcraft III, despite using the model of a regular Pit Lord, Magtheridon had eleven skills instead of a hero's traditional four.
During Burning Crusade, however, it's revealed that Magtheridon was not actually killed, but rather captured, and, while near-death, was dragged by Illidan's Forces into Hellfire Citadel, chained by foul magics, while Magtheridon himself was used as a source of fel blood to give Illidan an endless supply for his army. When adventurers of the Alliance and Horde arrived onto Outland, a group attacked Hellfire Citadel, and is the boss of the "Magtheridon's Lair" wing, the innermost part of Hellfire Citadel. Magtheridon's card effect is loosely based on the initial part of his raid in WoW, where adventurers must kill the Hellfire Warders keeping Magtheridon imprisoned before facing and slaughtering the mighty Pit Lord himself, seemingly slaying him for good. Magtheridon's summon quote in Hearthstone is based on one of the taunts he will make towards adventurers moving through the Hellfire Citadel; his 'I am unleashed' line is a line his WoW counterpart would say when he's freed from the draining mechanic; and his attack line is a truncated version of his aggro voice line in WoW.
In the Ashes of Outland story mode, Magtheridon is one of the many denizens of Outland that has been transformed by the Rusted Legion, and is the final boss fight in the third chapter of the story mode, leading an army of Rusted Legion minions in assaulting the Black Temple, intent on reclaiming his former seat of power. Aranna Starseeker and her crew of Outcast Demon Hunters managed to defeat him, however.
Kayn Sunfury
Kayn Sunfury is a blood elven demon hunter who is a prominent member of the Illidari, and a staunch supporter of their master Illidan Stormrage. Like the rest of the Illidari Demon Hunters, Kayn was imprisoned within the Vault of the Wardens by Maiev Shadowsong alongside the corpse of their master, only to be unleashed onto the world during the events of Legion where the Illidari were needed to combat the powerful demonic legion. As the Illidari reorganized around a particularly powerful demon hunter commander (your character), Kayn would take issue to the presence of Altruis the Sufferer, a demon hunter who had betrayed Illidan Stormrage in the past. Eventually, while the two would fight through gritted teeth through the world of Mardum, Kayn and Altruis would come to blows and the demon hunter commander would be forced to pick between Kayn and Altruis. Whichever one they side with will serve as their second-in-command, while the other will depart. If Kayn becomes the second-in-command, he will serve as a constant quest-giver, aiding the demon hunter commander in reclaiming the powerful artifact weapon (either the Aldrachi Warblades or the Twinblades of the Deceiver), organizing hunts for powerful demon lieutenants, and becoming one of the more prominent champions among the Illidari organization.
Altruis the OutcastDuring the events of the Third War, Magtheridon was a mighty Pit Lord that has taken over the broken world of Outland, the shattered remains of Draenor, homeworld of the orcs. Arriving from the Dark Portal created by Ner'zhul, Magtheridon was known to be the one that led the subjugation of Outland and turned a vast majority of the surviving orcs into battle-crazed Fel Orcs loyal to the Burning Legion. When Illidan Stormrage and his loyalist fled to Outland and decided to establish a post, Illidan's first order of business was to take down the mighty Pit Lord, who ruled from his stronghold of Black temple. Magtheridon remained in his palace, not realizing as Illidan, Kael'thas, Vashj and Akama dismantled his armies of fel orcs and shut down the portals to the Twisting Nether in Outland. Illidan's troops then led a two-pronged attack on the Black Temple itself, slaughtering many of Magtheridon's commanders and lieutenants. Illidan and his lieutenants arrived onto Magtheridon's throne room and engaged him in battle, with the confused Magtheridon thinking that the Legion has sent Illidan to test him. Illidan seemingly slaughtered Magtheridon and deposed him as Ruler of Outland. In Warcraft III, despite using the model of a regular Pit Lord, Magtheridon had eleven skills instead of a hero's traditional four.
During Burning Crusade, however, it's revealed that Magtheridon was not actually killed, but rather captured, and, while near-death, was dragged by Illidan's Forces into Hellfire Citadel, chained by foul magics, while Magtheridon himself was used as a source of fel blood to give Illidan an endless supply for his army. When adventurers of the Alliance and Horde arrived onto Outland, a group attacked Hellfire Citadel, and is the boss of the "Magtheridon's Lair" wing, the innermost part of Hellfire Citadel. Magtheridon's card effect is loosely based on the initial part of his raid in WoW, where adventurers must kill the Hellfire Warders keeping Magtheridon imprisoned before facing and slaughtering the mighty Pit Lord himself, seemingly slaying him for good. Magtheridon's summon quote in Hearthstone is based on one of the taunts he will make towards adventurers moving through the Hellfire Citadel; his 'I am unleashed' line is a line his WoW counterpart would say when he's freed from the draining mechanic; and his attack line is a truncated version of his aggro voice line in WoW.
In the Ashes of Outland story mode, Magtheridon is one of the many denizens of Outland that has been transformed by the Rusted Legion, and is the final boss fight in the third chapter of the story mode, leading an army of Rusted Legion minions in assaulting the Black Temple, intent on reclaiming his former seat of power. Aranna Starseeker and her crew of Outcast Demon Hunters managed to defeat him, however.
Kayn Sunfury
Kayn Sunfury is a blood elven demon hunter who is a prominent member of the Illidari, and a staunch supporter of their master Illidan Stormrage. Like the rest of the Illidari Demon Hunters, Kayn was imprisoned within the Vault of the Wardens by Maiev Shadowsong alongside the corpse of their master, only to be unleashed onto the world during the events of Legion where the Illidari were needed to combat the powerful demonic legion. As the Illidari reorganized around a particularly powerful demon hunter commander (your character), Kayn would take issue to the presence of Altruis the Sufferer, a demon hunter who had betrayed Illidan Stormrage in the past. Eventually, while the two would fight through gritted teeth through the world of Mardum, Kayn and Altruis would come to blows and the demon hunter commander would be forced to pick between Kayn and Altruis. Whichever one they side with will serve as their second-in-command, while the other will depart. If Kayn becomes the second-in-command, he will serve as a constant quest-giver, aiding the demon hunter commander in reclaiming the powerful artifact weapon (either the Aldrachi Warblades or the Twinblades of the Deceiver), organizing hunts for powerful demon lieutenants, and becoming one of the more prominent champions among the Illidari organization.
Altruis the Sufferer is a renegade, leaving behind the night eleven people and joining Illidan Stormrage in Outland to train as a Demon Hunter at some point between Warcraft III and Burning Crusade. Prior to Burning Crusade, though, Altruis eventually left Illidan's service after deciding that the demon hunter has became too similar with the demons they are sworn to fight, and would set up camp with his trusty nether drake companion Nethrandamus in western Nagrand. Adventurers of Azeroth who arrived in Outland during Burning Crusade would onto a mysterious being riding a nether drake, and the investigation would lead an adventurer (you) to meeting Altruis. Altruis warned the adventurer about an incoming invasion, noting that the Burning Legion was seizing an opportunity in the weakening of Illidan's forces. Altruis told the adventurer that the demons were using wards to cloud the visions of the demon hunter, and alongside Nethradamus, Altruis worked together with the adventurer to dismantle the many mo'arg and gan'arg bases set up in Nagrand, finding out about the two Forge Camps and taking the spell-warding towers there and slaying the wrathguard commanders. They also recruited the former mo'arg master planer Sal'salabim into helping them, using his insider knowledge to sabotage the Legions' fel cannons to blow up the two Forge Camps and halting the Legion's designs on Nagrand. Altruis would also be involved in instructing the adventurer in hunting down and dismantling the Illidari demon hunter tutor Varedis Felsoul, telling the hero to take out Varedis's minions and dismantle his operation. .
At some point between Burning Crusade and Legion, Altruis the Sufferer was captured by the Wardens and held prison alongside the other demon hunters loyal to Illidan in the Vault of the Wardens. When the demon hunters broke free from their prison and are unleashed to fight the Burning Legion's latest invasion, Altruis and the Illidari loyalist Kayn Sunfury butted heads due to their radically different stances on Illidan Stormrage, particularly Altruis's part in the killing of Varedis Felsoul. The two of them worked through gritted teeth alongside an Illidari demon hunter (your demon hunter character) who led the demon hunters in Illidan's absence. Altruis, Kayn and the adventurer slew their way through Burning Legion agents, but were unable to stop Gul'dan from absconding with Illidan's corpse. Eventually, however, Altruis and Kayn's arguments turned into a fight between the two of them, forcing the demon hunter commander to choose which one of the two would serve underneath him or her. Depending on the player's choice, the one not selected would depart. If selected, Altruis would end up becoming one of the more constant givers of Illidari-related quests, essentially taking Kayn Sunfury's place.
Nethrandamus
Nethrandamus is the mighty nether dragon mount of Altruis the sufferer, accompanying him in some parts of his storyline. Adventurers aiding Altruis would be lent Nethrandamus as a mount, where the nether dragon would allow adventurers to ride them while they surveyed the Forge Camps in Nagrand. Nethrandamus does not make any appearances outside of Burning Crusade, however, even though Altruis does appear in Legion.
High Astromancer Solarian
While the vast majority of the blood elven people would abandon Prince Kael'thas when he descended into madness and became an agent of Kil'jaeden, a group of blood elven devotees stayed with Kael'thas as he made his first stand against the adventurers of Azeroth in Tempest Keep. Among them is High Astromancer Solarian, a powerful blood elven mage experimenting with fel magic, and has her face reduced into a black void with glowing purple eyes. She is encountered in The Eye, the final wing of Tempest Keep, and is the penultimate boss fight before the adventurers of the Alliance and Horde faced against Kael'thas. In the final parts of the fight, Solarian would be transformed by the power of the fel magic into a mighty demon, a Voidwalker..
Solarian's summon quote in Hearthstone is taken from her quote when entering the second phase in World of Warcraft. Solarian Prime's summon quote is taken when she enters the third phase of her fight, which is when she transforms into a Voidwalker. Notably, Solarian Prime is one of the few "Prime" cards in Hearthstone to not be a simple cyborg upgrade.
Reliquary of Souls
The Reliquary of Souls is a mysterious being found in the Black Temple raid, serving as the sixth boss in the Black Temple. What the Reliquary of Souls is, or whether it's created or merely found by Illidan's forces is not exactly clear, but it faced off against the adventurers of the Alliance and Horde when they arrived on its chamber. The Reliquary of Souls is a being with three faces encased in a strange series of crystals, each with powerful skills and spells of their own. The adventurers would face first the Essence of Suffering, followed by the Essence of Desire, and finally the Essence of Anger. During the fight, they released the souls captured or stored within the Reliquary, before ultimately destroying it for good. While originally thought to be a unique being, similar beings would be found sparsely in other parts of Azeroth, including the Devourer of Souls (found in the Forge of Souls in Icecrown Citadel) and the Essence of Order (also found in the Black Temple during Mists of Pandaria).In Hearthstone, the card "Reliquary of Souls" represents the first face/phase of the fight, the Essence of Suffering, and its summon and attack quotes are modified from dialogue spoken by Essence of Suffering in World of Warcraft. Its death sound, on the other hand, is taken from the death sound of the Essence of Desire, which is not represented in Hearthstone at all. "Reliquary Prime" represents the Essence of Anger, albeit with several cybernetic enhancements, and its summoning and attack lines in Hearthstone are taken from his aggro and soul-scream ability quotes in WoW respectively.
Keli'dan the Breaker
When Illidan subjugated the mighty Magtheridon, he appointed the fel orc Keli'dan the Breaker as Magtheridon's jailor, with Illidan respecting Keli'dan's ruthlessness. Keli'dan the Breaker would serve as the final boss in the Blood Furnace wing of the Hellfire Citadel raid. When the adventurers of the Alliance and horde attacked Hellfire Citadel, Keli'dan the Breaker stood his ground, condemning the heroes of Azeroth for 'ruining everything', unleashing blasts of powerful burning novas at the heroes. Ultimately, Keli'dan was slain, and wished his killers 'good luck', for they will need it if they would attempt to face his charge. Keli'dan's quote in Hearthstone ("Come closer... and burn!") is taken from Keli'dan's dialogue in his boss fight when he casts his infamous Burning Nova attack.
In Warlords of Draenor, an alternate-universe Keli'dan the Breaker was one of Ner'zhul's lieutenants and served as master sorcerer of the Shadowmoon Clan, serving as the final boss in the Umbral Halls sub-zone. The Umbral Halls was infiltrated by the heroes of the Alliance and Horde, and Keli'dan desperately attempted to contact his master Ner'zhul. After a brief battle against the heroes, Ner'zhul himself arrived and killed Keli'dan personally for his failure.
Kargath Bladefist
Kargath Bladefist was raised into a life of slavery by the ogres of the Gorian Empire, used as a gladiator in the Highmaul arena. His ogre captives told him that the price for his freedom was one hundred orc lives taken while fighting in the arena. Kargath did so, but the ogres merely laughed at him and tossed him in the dungeon. In rage and frustration, Kargath severed his shackle-bound right hand, inspiring a rebellion of the other orc prisoners, who did the same and sliced their own arms off. Kargath then led the orc prisoners in uprising, eventually slaughtering the Gorian Empire's emperor. This formed the creation of the Shattered Hand Clan, one of the major orc clans of Draenor. The Shattered Hand Clan settled down in Bladefist Hold, in the forest known as the Spires of Arak. Kargath would replace his severed hand with a gigantic blade that became his moniker: "Bladefist". The Shattered Hand was known as one of the more violent clans, loving to cause pain to others and even to themselves. It's noted that in honour of Kargath's own act, the clan's warriors would ritually mutilate themselves to emulate Kargath Bladefist.
When the first Horde was formed, Kargath Bladefist and the Shattered Hand was one of the clans that quickly agreed to join, and Kargath was notably one of the few non-warlock members of the Shadow Council. Prior to th First War, Kargath led an offensive consisting of his Shattered Hand, the Burning Blade and the Dragonmaw to exterminate the arakkoa of the Spires of Arak. Knowing of the superweapon that the Arakkoa possessed, Kargath struck a deal with the Arakkoa Outcasts, and with their help, Kargath was easily able to wipe out the high arakkoa and the outcasts alike. Kargath's actions destroyed high arakkoan civilization and led to the formation of the arakkoan dynamic circa-Burning-Crusade.
During the First War, the Shattered Hand Clan was one of the clans that were noted to be unpredictable and had given themselves over to bloodlust, fighting among themselves, and this caused Warchief Blackhand to leave them behind on Draenor in favour of easier-to-control warriors. During the events of Warcraft II, however, Kargath was able to finally journey through the Dark Portal to Azeroth, and was one of the most influential Horde figures during the events of Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal, and is one of the handful of playable 'heroes' in that game. Kargath and Grommash Hellscream were the first to join the plan of the shaman Ner'zhul. Kargath participated in defending Hellfire Citadel with the ogre-mage Dentarg as a deliberate feint to distract the forces of the Alliance that entered through the Dark Portal. Much of Kargath's clan was slaughtered by the Alliance forces, and, realizing that he was left to die, Kargath escaped with what remained of his clan. His attempt to gain more reinforcements from Nagrand was met with refusal, and a defeated Kargath was forced to abandon the struggle, and wait for a time when he could reclaim Hellfire Citadel in the future.
While Kargath Bladefist's fate was initially unknown, he survived the shattering of Dreanor, and found himself transformed into a fel orc, having replaced his other hand with a weapon as well. It's unknown whether Kargath was transformed during Draenor's destruction, by Magtheridon or by Illidan, but during the events of Burning Crusade, Kargath Bladefist now rules over Hellfire Citadel and works as the leader of the Fel Horde, a group of fel orcs that serve Illidan Stormrage. Kargath Bladefist would serve as the final boss of the Shattered Halls wing of Hellfire Citadel. Adventurers of the Alliance and the New Horde would arrive and slaughter Kargath's Fel Horde lieutenants, slaughter Warchief Kargath himself, and eventually travel to kill Magtheridon, who the Fel Horde held prisoner.
In the alternate timeline/universe of Warlords of Draenor, Kargath Bladefist's pre-war history remained the same, although he was never transformed into a green-skinned orc or a fel orc. He is one of the more prominent members of the alternate-universe Iron Horde, fighting against the arch-mage Khadgar in Kargathar Proving Grounds. Adventurers from Azeroth fought him in Bladefist Hold, where the adventurer has channeled the spirit of the Arakkoa god Terokk. Kargath fought the adventurer and very nearly killed him, but is saved by Terokk via a teleportation spell. The alternate-univese Kargath would ultimately be slain, met as the first boss in the Highmaul raid, fought in an arena. In the live action Warcraft movie, Kargath Bladefist made a minor cameo, easily identified by his big-ass blade-arms. None of Kargath's quotes are taken from any of his game appearances.
Teron Gorefiend
Teron Gorefiend, born as the orc Teron'gor of the Shadowmoon Clan, was a being whose claim to fame rose from the events of the Second War. Teron'gor was one of Gul'dan's most devoted followers, and a member of the demon-worshiping Shadow Council that drove the orcs into conflict against the humans of the world of Azeroth. Seven years prior to the events of the First War, Gul'dan recruited Teron'gor and taught him fel magic, one of the earliest shamans to fall into the temptations of powerful fel warlock spells. While initially idealistic, Teron'gor became loyal to Gul'dan, and participated in many of the atrocities that the orcs committed against the Draenei. Teron'gor led an assault of orc warlocks that destroyed the Draenei city of Shattrath, and besieged the temple of Auchindoun. The spirits of dead draenei were able to turn the tide and slew many of the Shadow Council's agents, and in desperation, Teron'gor's warlocks attempted to summon a mighty demon, but instead summoned something else, the otherworldy being Murmur, whose arrival ripped Auchindoun apart. The devastating arrival of Murmur wiped out a significant amount of the draenei there, allowing Teron'gor to capture the survivors with ease before capturing and containing Murmur deep within Auchindoun.
During the events of Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness, the existence of the Shadow Council was discovered by the new warchief, Orgrim Doomhammer. Unwilling to be a pawn of a council of schemers like the previous warchief, Blackhand, Doomhammer slaughtered every single member of the Shadow Council, including Teron'gor himself. Only the comatose Gul'dan was spared, and upon his awakening, Gul'dan submitted to Doomhammer's authority, promising powerful warriors to turn the tide of battle against the mighty mages that the humans wield. One of Gul'dan's efforts was taking the corpses of the human knights of Stormwind, and, with a foul ritual involving the death of some of Gul'dan's necrolytes, Gul'dan pulled the souls of his Shadow Council members and placed them within the bodies of the human knight corpses, forming the very first "Death Knights" to walk the land of Azeroth. Among those resurrected, was Teron'gor, now calling himself Teron Gorefiend.Teron Gorefiend led the Death Knights, and, surprisingly, remained a loyal member of the Horde even when Gul'dan abandoned the Horde in search of the Tomb of Sargeras. When Doomhammer was defeated, Teron Gorefiend and the other orc commanders led the Horde survivors to the Dark Portal, escaping to their homeland of draenor. While they suffered heavy losses, Gorefiend's necromantic arts bought them the time they needed to escape. In the events of Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal, Teron Gorefiend convinced the elderly shaman Ner'zhul, Gul'dan's former master and teacher, to unite the remaining clans into a Horde once more. Ner'zhul intended to open dimensional gateways to other worlds, and Gorefiend agreed to help him, as long as he's allowed to claim a world for his own. Gorefiend was dispatched to Azeroth to claim powerful artifacts for the ritual. Gorefiend also sought allies, although Rend and Maim, the sons of Warchief Blackhand, refused their support. Gorefiend ended up encountering the black dragon aspect Deathwing, who offered his aid for access to Draenor, where Deathwing intended to hide the eggs of his brood there. Gorefiend and Deathwing assaulted Alterac, claiming the Book of Medivh from its king, and to Dalaran to claim the Eye of Dalaran. Gorefiend rejoined the Horde in Draenor, but during the attempted ritual, Ner'zhul was thrown into the Twisting Nether, while the unstable rifts that the ritual caused tore Draenor apart and ripped the world into the unstable Outland. The paladin Turalyon faced against Gorefiend in battle, slaying the death knight and freeing his spirit.
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| Alternate Timeline Teron'gor |
In Warlords of Draenor, an alternate-timeline Teron'gor is still a member of the Shadow Council, and they attacked Auchindoun, just like the prime timeline. This time, Teron'gor was successful in summoning the pit lord Magtheridon. Teron'gor himself served as the final boss of the Auchindoun raid in this alternate timeline, eventually being slain and thrown off a cliff. Teron'gor would survive, however, by gorging on the draenei souls in Auchindoun, becoming a hideously bloated abomination with a massive demonic maw on his belly, now calling himself "Gorefiend". Gul'dan moved the hideous Gorefiend into the Hellfire Citadel, where he was allowed to feed on the souls of weak orcs that are unable to be transformed into fel orcs. Gorefiend served as the sixth boss in the Hellfire Citadel raid, but was slain permanently by the adventurers.
Al'ar, the Phoenix God
The mightiest ability of the Blood Mages, and especially Kael'thas Sunstrider, was to summon a mighty Phoenix that would continually resurrect itself after dying. While Kael'thas summoned many Phoenixes through the course of the events of Warcraft III, none were given a name until Burning Crusade, where Kael'thas's favoured phoenix was known as Al'ar, the Phoenix God. Al'ar serves as the first fight in the wing known as The Eye located in Tempest Keep, where Kael'thas is attempting to do his own machinations with his army of renegade Blood Elves. Like most phoenixes, Al'ar's fight involves the mighty phoenix resurrecting itself multiple times through the course of the battle. Al'ar was presumably killed during this battle, although Al'ar makes a cameo in the "Ashes of Al'ar" item that allows you to ride him as a mount.
Archspore Msshi'fn
The leader of the peaceful Sporeling people living in Sporeggar is the Sporeggar Primus, Msshi'fn. Leading his peaceful people, Msshi'fn welcomes the adventurers of the Alliance and Horde, and upon proving their worth to the Sporeling people, Msshi'fn would begin giving quests to them, grateful for their assistance in their time of need. Msshi'fn would allow adventurers to trade glowcaps, mushrooms that the sporelings use as currency, in exchange for a higher reputation with the Sporeggar faction. In Hearthstone, Mssh'fn receives a 'Prime' form whose visuals are completely original to Hearthstone.
Ysiel Windsinger
Ysiel Windsinger is a night elven druid and a quest-giver located in the Cenarion Refuge inn, located in Zangarmarsh. As the leader of the Cenarion Expedition, Ysiel would give out quests to adventurers of the Alliance and the Horde to help maintain the natural balance in Zangarmarsh, which has been disturbed by the activity of the naga loyal to Illidan. Ysiel and the adventurers would discover that the naga are pumping water out of the lakes of Zangarmarsh, and take steps to sabotage the naga's efforts to restore the natural state of the marsh. In Legion, Ysiel briefly appears in Dreamgrove alongside other druids.
Beastmaster Leoroxx
The mighty Leoroxx is the leader of the tribe of Mok'nathal, the tribe of half-ogre, half-orc hybrids created by the ancient ogre Gorian empire living in Blade's Edge Mountains. Most famous among the Mok'nathal is Rexxar, Leoroxx's son, known for his participation in various conflicts during the time of the Third War and recognized as a champion of the Horde. Prior to the First Horde's crossing of the Dark Portal, Leoroxx butted heads with his son. Leoroxx and the rest of the enslaved Mok'nathal were freed by a group of orc tribes including the Frostwolf, Thunderlord and Whiteclaw clans, and Leoroxx quickly pledged the support of the Mok'nathal in aiding with felling the Gorian Empire. Leoroxx himself would strangle Imperator Kelgrok, the very being who started the breeding program to create the Mok'nathal slave race. Like his son, Leoroxx is a Beastmaster, a warrior that fights alongside animal companions, most often alongside his lynx Tethik.
After freeing themselves from the Gorian Empire, the Mok'nathal maintained a very pacifistic attitude towards life, swearing off fighting and refused to participate in any of the battles that ravaged Draenor. Despite this, Leoroxx's son Rexxar joined the Horde and left through the Dark Portal, believing that there was nothing left for him among the Mok'nathal. Angered by this, Leoroxx disowned his son. During the events of Burning Crusade, Horde adventurers would re-discover Leoroxx and his tribesmen. Leoroxx was initially hostile towards his estranged son. Rexxar, having matured and embraced the Mok'nathal's values, would prove his worth by destroying the ogre tribes that are bothering the Mok'nathal, eventually re-earning his father's respect once more. Leoroxx would task Horde adventurers in proving their worth and slay some of the greatest local threats to the Mok'nathal, including Vekh the Arakkoa, Gnosh Brognat the ogre and Dreadwing the nether dragon. Leoroxx would also ask adventurers to slay the ethereal Nexus-Prince Razaan, who has been collecting souls -- including Mok'nathal ones -- for nefarious purposes.
The Lurker Below
The Lurker Below is a mighty Kraken (specifically, the crustacean/fish-mutant kind) that resides in one of the raids in Coilfang Reservoir, the Serpentshrine Cavern, where Lady Vashj has made her lair. The Lurker Below is the second out of six bosses in the raid, and to summon the Lurker Below, the adventurers must actually fish in the Strange Pool location of the dungeon, where it would emerge and attack the adventurers. There's not much lore to the Lurker Below, it's just a mighty aquatic beasts that are affiliated with the Naga. Worth noting that the Lurker Below was the very first instance of the "fish-like" Kraken model, until multiple others would appear in subsequent Burning Crusade patches in Azeroth, meaning that the Lurker Below might not have been native to outland and is in fact brought over from Azeroth by the Naga.
Kanrethad Ebonlocke
Kanrethad Ebonlocke is a powerful human warlock and former leader of the Council of the Black Harvest, a group of like-minded warlocks transcending allegiances founded during the events of Mists of Pandaria. As a veteran of various conflicts and fighting for the Alliance, Kanrethad was present when he witnessed Illidan Stormrage's death in Burning Crusade during the siege of the Black Temple, recording and sharing the secrets of Illidan's transformation with the Council of Black Harvest, creating the organization shortly after Deathwing's defeat in order to pool their resources. Kanrethad was known to travel with the Forsaken warlock Jubeka Shadowbreaker to Outland, studying the various demons of the fel-tainted land. Through these travels, Jubeka feared that Kanrethad's obsession with learning of Illidan's ability to transform into a demonic form would break Azeroth the same way that Gul'dan had broken Draenor, but Kanrethad assured Jubeka that he brought her along as insurance, trusting the other warlock to banish him should he fall into temptation. As they traveled through various locales in Outland, Kanrethad hypothesized that it's the Shrine of Lost Souls that was the power source Illidan used to control demons without falling into corruption himself.
Eventually, an adventuring warlock (your player character) would follow in Kanrethad's mysterious footsteps after locating a strange book called the Codex of Xerrath in the Isle of Thunder. Learning about the Council of Black Harvest, the nameless warlock would retrace Kanrethad's steps in Outland, learning of his journey to unlock Illidan's secrets. The warlock would arrive too late, walking onto the summit of the Black Temple to witness Kanrethad Ebonlocke walking through a demonic gateway, having been transformed into a monstrous demonic form similar to the Metamorphosis form that Demon Hunters use. The warlock adventurer fought against Kanrethad, and by taking control of a summoned pit lord, was able to delay Kanrethad long enough for Jubeka to finally arrive and cast the spell to banish Kanrethad, and locks the corrupted warlock within the Altar of Damnation. The warlock adventurer would walk out of this encounter with the ability to transform their fire spells to create fel-green flames.During the events of Legion, a cult known as the Cult of the Green Flame, attempted to free Kanrethad from his imprisonment. Fearing the Burning Legion, Kanrethad pleaded with Jubeka and the warlock adventurer, asking for their aid. After defeating members of the Cult of the Broken Flame, the warlock adventurer (at this point the Ebonlord of the Council of Black harvest) would siphon the fel energy from Kanrethad, turning him back into a human. Transformed back into a human and regaining his sanity, Kanrethad pledges his allegiance to the Council of Black Harvest, acting as a champion when the Ebonlord fought against the Legion. Kanrethad's human form's summon quote is taken from one of his spawn quotes as an ally in Legion. In the Trial by Felfire story mode, Kanrethad Prime fought Aranna Starseeker and her band of outcasts, seemingly working as an agent of the Rusted Legion, facing their group at the beginning of the second chapter.
Maiev Shadowsong
We covered Maiev Shadowsong in the alternate heroes segment, back when she was added as an alternate playable Rogue hero. The tl;dr version of her lore is that she is the leader of the faction of Wardens who was assigned to watch over Illidan Stormrage during his 10-thousand-year imprisonment, and hunted down Illidan obsessively to the exclusion of all else during the events of Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, hounding Illidan and even prepared to sacrifice high priestess Tyrande Whisperwind if it will get her closer to her goal. She hounded Illidan even to Outland, but was eventually defeated. She hung out in Outland all the way until Burning Crusade, where she would be instrumental in aiding adventurers in their raid into the Black Temple and taking down Illidan seemingly for good. Maiev went crazy without a quarry for the first time in ten thousand years, but calmed down a fair bit during Legion, where she begrudgingly assisted the resurrected Illidan and his Demon Hunter followers in their fight against the Burning Legion.
Lady Liadrin
We covered Lady Liadrin before, the matriarch of the Blood Knight faction of the Blood Elves, and one of the major leading figures of the Blood Elven faction that abandoned Illidan and Kael'thas and chose to forge a future with the Horde.
Zixor, Apex Predator
Zixor is a mighty warp stalker that's original to Hearthstone. The regular Zixor is a normal warp stalker with a bunch of extra tattoos, while Zixor Prime, like most other "Prime" cards, is Zixor after a bunch of cybernetic augmentations. If the flavour text is anything to go by, Zixor is one of Leoroxx's pets. In the Trial by Felfire story mode, Zixor (in its Apex Predator form) is the third boss fought by Aranna Starseeker and her band of Outcasts, with Zixor menacing a tiny Sporeling called Sklibb. After defeating Zixor, Sklibb would join Aranna's party.
Murgur Murgurgle
None of the Murlocs actually ever showed up in Outland, and thus Murgur Murgurgle and the rest of his Sungill tribe are actually original to Hearthstone. The only lore we ever get about them comes from the flavour text in Hearthstone, describing Murgur Murgurgle as being the champion that rose to the challenge of surviving in the harsh Outland. Considering it's got a "Prime" cyborg upgrade, Murgur seems to be allied with the Iron Legion in some way. In the Trial by Felfire story mode, most of the 'Prime' cards, including Murgurgle, are allied with the Rusted Legion, and presumably they have all been recruited and upgraded by the Rusted Legion.
Shadowjeweler Hanar
Shadowjeweler Hanar is a draenei that's unique to Hearthstone. There's absolutely nothing to really go on here, although it's neat to note that the three jewels Hanar are holding -- green, orange and purple -- match the Hunter, Paladin and Mage secret icons respectively, showing you the three non-Rogue Secrets Hanar can create for you.
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STORY MODE:
Azzinoth
The mighty Azzinoth was a powerful demon (most often depicted as a Doomguard, although the TCG artwork depicts a Terrorguard instead) that commanded a regiment of the Burning Legion. He was slain by Illidan Stormrage during the War of the Ancients ten thousand years prior to the events of modern-day Warcraft, and upon his death Illidan claimed the mighty demon's warglaives. There is not much that is known about Azzinoth, however, other than the fact that Illidan slew him. Hearthstone is the only time that this battle is actually been shown to happen.
Mannoroth the Destructor
Mannoroth was the most powerful and most savage of the demons known as the Pit Lords, and when Archimonde recruited these demons to the cause of the Burning Legion, the eredar lord recognized Mannoroth's value as a brutal fighter and placed the pit lord as his second-in-command. Mannoroth was at the forefront of many of the Legion's conquests of worlds. During the War of the Ancients ten thousand years before the events of modern-day Warcraft, the Highborne attempted to summon the Burning Legion to Azeroth, but their attempts were met with limited success. Disappointed with the performance of the demon Hakkar the Houndmaster, Sargeras sent out someone more reliable, Mannoroth, who was far more brutal and refused any sort of failure from the Highborne. A combination of fear of the mighty pit lord and Mannoroth's own instructions of spellwork, the Highborne are able to solidify the portal, allowing hundreds of demons to pour through. As Mannoroth basked in combat against the night elven resistance, he was too late to stop Malfurion from killing Xavius through a dream-form and cutting off the portal. Fearing punishment, Mannoroth quickly worked with the remaining Highborne, allowing his master Archimonde and a reborn Xavius to assist in the invasion. Mannoroth also witnessed Illidan's acceptance of Sargeras's dark gift. Archimonde erected magical barriers around the palace, and Mannoroth waded into battle, single-handedly slaughtering entire regiments of night elves and clashed with the demigod Cenarius himself. Mannoroth's rampage, as is that of the rest of the Legion, was halted by the destruction of the portal by the Stormrage brothers, sucking in Mannoroth and the rest of his demonic kin back into the Twisting Nether.
Ten thousand years later, the world Draenor became known to the Burning Legion, which they thought to be a useful pawn in mounting a second invasion to Azeroth. Kil'jaeden whispered to select orcs, particularly a power-hungry one named Gul'dan, and dispatched Mannoroth to meet with the orc warlock. Gul'dan convinced twelve orc chieftains to drink from Mannoroth's spilled blood, thus condemning their clans into the Blood Curse of Mannoroth, quickly spreading through the rest of the First Horde, and infecting a vast majority of the orc race. This curse turned their skins from brown to green, and instilled them with a barbaric rage that caused them to grow even more bloodthirsty and violent.Several wars tore Azeroth asunder as the orcs poured from Draenor to Azeroth, but it was not until the Third War that the Burning Legion truly became involved. Where the orcs ultimately failed in being heralds of the Burning Legion, their next attempt, the undead Scourge, succeeded, and the lich Kel'Thuzad summoned the mighty eredar lord Archimonde into Azeroth. Following Archimonde are his commanders, which included Mannoroth. As Mannoroth and the demons destroyed the paltry remains of the kingdoms in Lordaeron, the dreadlord Tichondrius approached Mannoroth, noted that his Scourge succeeded where Mannoroth's orcs had failed. This enraged Mannoroth, but Tichondrius arrived not just to mock the Pit Lord, but to offer him information of where the orcs are -- across the sea in Kalimdor. Enraged, Mannoroth demanded that the orcs were his by right, and he would seek vengeance for their failure. Mannoroth's own master, Archimonde, arrived, and ordered Mannoroth to exercise patience, and use the orcs as useful tools. Upon arriving on Kalimdor, Tichondrius suggested that Mannoroth could use the orcs to destroy their ancient enemy Cenarius, for one of the original orc chieftains that drank Mannoroth's blood had clashed with the demigod.
Mannoroth spilled his blood into a Fountain of Life near where the Warsong orcs were fighting against Cenarius and the night elves, and as predicted, the desperate Grom Hellscream ended up seeking out the defiled Fountain of Life and drank from it, corrupting the Warsong Clan and infusing them with the Burning Legion's chaotic powers. Transformed into red-skinned fel orcs, Grom Hellscream was able to slay Cenarius. It was at this point that Mannoroth revealed himself, taking full control of Grom thanks to the Blood Curse, and binding the Warsong Clan to his will. The rest of the Horde's orcs, led by Thrall, worked together with the local Tauren and human refugees led by Jaina Proudmoore, and eventually was able to restore sanity back to Grom Hellscream. Thrall and Hellscream would face off against Mannoroth in a ravine. Shrugging off the efforts of Thrall, Mannoroth gloated that the curse on the orcs will never be broken, and he owned them, body and soul. An enraged Hellscream, fighting the bloodlust, charged onto Mannoroth and sliced Mannoroth's chest apart, killing the surprised Pit Lord, although the eruption of energies would also deal a mortal wound to Grom, killing the orc shortly after. Upon Mannoroth's death, the blood curse upon the orcs was lifted. Some time later, Mannoroth's skull and armour were claimed by the orcs and put upon a memorial on the Horde capital of Orgrimmar. His tusks would be claimed by Grom's son Garrosh and be used as shoulder-pads. Interestingly, among the other major demons that participated in the Third War, Mannoroth was perhaps the only one to have never returned or reformed in any capacity, despite not having been slain in the Twisting Nether.
During the events of Cataclysm, heroes of the Alliance and Horde cooperated with the bronze dragonflight and traveled back in time to help prevent the Infinite Dragonflight from meddling with time. One of these moments is the War of the Ancients, as explored in the 'Well of Eternity' raid. These time-displaced adventurers faced Mannoroth and his lackey, the night elf captain Varo'then, as the final encounters in the raid, unaware that they were facing warriors from the future. In the alternate timeline of Warlords of Draenor, the arrival of Garrosh Hellscream from the future caused a splinter timeline where instead of drinking from Mannoroth's blood, the orc chieftains bore witness to a rejection of Mannoroth's offer, refusing to become a slave. With the aid of Garrosh and the war-machines of the present day, Mannoroth was slain by a combination of demolisher iron stars and by having Gorehowl stabbed into his skull. Mannoroth's corpse would be transformed by this universe's Gul'dan into a shambling monstrosity that served as the penultimate boss fight in Hellfire Citadel.
Queen Azshara
By this point, Queen Azshara has been mentioned in the various segments of this article. Born during the age prior to the War of the Ancients, Azshara was considered as the most beautiful of the night elven people, in no small part due to her extremely rare golden eyes, and indeed seemed to retain her youthful features even as she grew older. Azshara quickly rose to become one of the most beloved monarch in night elven history, being intelligent, beautiful and manipulative. As one of the Highborne and a very able practitioner of the arcane arts herself, Azshara was long fascinated with the Well of Eternity, the font of power that laid at the center of the once-whole continent in Azeroth. Azshara indulged in all of her interests, ordering the construction of a gigantic bejeweled palace near the Well of Eternity, and renamed the night elven capital after herself, Zin-Azshari, or 'glory of Azshara'. While the high caste of the Highborne were distrusted by many of the night elven commoners, Azshara was immensely popular and this act was celebrated by the entire people.
Taking up residence in Zin-Azshari, the Queen's main interest was to unlock the secrets of the Well of Eternity, dispatching her many Highborne arcanists, eventually discovering that they could manipulate the cosmic energies flowing from the Well. As one of the mightiest magic-users among the kaldorei, Azshara attempted to take command of the lake's energies, and her first attempt transformed her royal scepter into Sharas'dal, Scepter of Tides, which gave her power over water, the seas and aquatic creatures. This allowed Azshara to perform greater feats that deified her even more in the eyes of both the Highborne and the night elven people, allowing Azshara to construct great temples to Elune in various places with her seeming mastery over the waters. Azshara expanded the borders of the night elven empire in all directions save for one -- Mount Hyjal. While the excuse was out of respect for their kindship with the forests, in reality Azshara was unsettled by the Wild Gods that lived there.The Highborne worked under Azshara's orders to constant study of the Well, growing far more reckless in drawing energy from the Well. This drove the Well of Eternity into chaos, causing dark storms to break out over its surface and staining its waters black. At one point, Azshara and her most trusted advisor, Xavius, attempted to use the powers of the Well to mold the world in Azshara's image. This caused them to meddle with far greater amounts of magic than they had before, and this would draw the eye of a very interested observer -- Sargeras, the fallen titan and demonic master of the Burning Legion. Sargeras spoke to Xavius, and with Xavius as an intermediary, Sargeras's influence spread to Azshara and the rest of the Highborne. Sargeras tricked Queen Azshara into constructing a portal, and this led to the first invasion of Azeroth by the Burning Legion, an event now known as the War of the Ancients.
The demons, led by Hakkar the Houndmaster and Mannoroth the Destructor, attacked Zin-Azshari, only sparing the Highborne, before moving towards Suramar. While thousands of her people died in the ensuing carnage, many of whom fought to their last breath for their beloved queen, Azshara merely looked upon them from her castle and laughed at the deaths, deeming them necessary for her to be the matriarch of a new perfect world shaped after her vision. Azshara herself did not care for the paltry resistance formed by a group of night elves, putting her attention into constructing a larger, more stable rift to the Twisting Nether. It is noted that at this point, even some of the demon commanders like Mannoroth respected the sheer power Azshara wielded. However, the combined forces of the night elf resistance, the arrival of three time-traveling heroes, the alliance with other creatures like the dragons, tauren, earthen and Wild Gods, and the untimely betrayal of Illidan Stormrage all caused Azshara's efforts to fail, and the War of the Ancients would be a loss to the Highborne and the Burning Legion. The Well of Eternity imploded, the demons of the Burning Legion banished back to the twisting nether, and Zin-Azshara and the Highborne were blasted deep beneath the surface of the ocean as the continent was sundered into two.
For a long time, everyone in Zin-Azshara were presumed dead, swallowed by the gigantic Maelstrom that now took up the center of Azeroth where the original Well of Eternity was. In reality, Azshara and the Highborne survived, with Azshara using the power of Sharas'dal to create a magical shield around herself and her followers. However, as death seemed to come, a strange fish with strange red eyes whispered to Azshara, seemingly keeping the night elf queen from drowning. The fish revealed itself to be the herald of an immensely powerful being, the Old God N'Zoth, trapped beneath the ocean. N'Zoth offered to save Azshara in exchange for servitude. Proud even on the face of death, Azshara altered the deal -- N'Zoth was clearly desperate for servitors, so they will serve... provided Azshara was still a queen that would rule alongside N'Zoth instead of under him. N'Zoth reluctantly agreed, and thus the Highborne night elves were transformed into the part-elf, part-fish race known as the Naga, with Azshara herself taking a unique appearance among the naga, having features of a giant octopus as opposed to the serpentine or eel-like features of her minions.
For the next ten thousand years, the Naga built up their numbers and created a new empire, founding the capital known as Nazjatar. In this way Azshara built up an even mightier empire beneath the ocean. Azshara herself did not appear in the present day for the longest time even as her naga people found their way to the surface during the events of Warcraft III and World of Warcraft, although statues of her appeared in various places in Azeroth, usually in places venerated by the Naga. She made a brief appearance in Cataclysm (depicted using the Naga Sea Witch model), appearing to be behind the troubles plaguing Darkshore to divert the arch-druid Malfurion Stormrage's attention from Mt. Hyjal, appearing merely to mock Malfurion for being distracted before retreating back into the ocean. While she did not appear, she is known to be the one behind the orders of the attack on Neptulon the Tidehunter, sending her Naga to assault the elemental lord. A group of adventurers would also time travel to the time of the War of the Ancients and face off against Azshara as the second boss in the Well of Eternity raid -- this past Azshara regarded the time-traveling heroes as a nuisance and apparently only used a fraction of her power against them.
Queen Azshara would send her naga warriors to claim one of the Pillars of Eternity, the Tidestone of Golganneth, during the events of Legion, but her forces were stymied by the efforts of Prince Farondis of the Highborne. Azshara herself (or at least an illusion of her) briefly battled Farondis before retreating, promising the world that her wrath is coming.Azshara's huge role and long game would come to fruition during the Battle of Azeroth, having used her influence to corrupt Lord Stormsong and the Tide-sages of the human nation of Kul Tiras, seeking to gain control of the nation's legendary naval fleet. Azshara's influence transformed Lord Stormsong into a K'thir, a type of Faceless One. Her Naga scoured both Zandalar and Kul Tiras, gathering powerful artifacts for her. The Alliance and Horde would clash in Dazar'alor, and Queen Azshara took the chance to ambush both tired forces by unleashing a massive army of naga, who attacked all of the shores across the Great Sea, dragging many prisoners down to Nazjatar. Heroes of the Alliance and Horde, meanwhile, are also in pursuit of a mighty artifact of the Old Gods, Xal'atath, and neared Nazjatar. Azshara, after playfully mocking her 'master' N'Zoth, put the Tidestone of Golganneth in position, channeling a mighty spell that split the ocean apart, right under the Alliance and Horde fleets, causing all the ships to crash upon the seabed, right in front of the formerly underwater city of Nazjatar.
This would set of the long and grueling Nazjatar campaign for both the champions of the Alliance and the Horde, pitting her most powerful champions against them. The champions of the two factions were forced to unite together and use the Javelin of Suramar to break the protective barrier around the Tidestone of Golganneth. Queen Azshara formally invited the heroes into her palace, the Eternal Palace, a massive structure where the queen resided, the heroes of the Alliance and Horde cut their way through Azshara's champions, suspicious that Azshara must have some need of them if she was toying with them so much. During this period of time, the Heart of Azeroth, a mighty artifact in possession of the heroes, grew more and more powerful... which was what Azshara was counting upon. Queen Azshara is faced as the final battle in the Eternal Palace, using the battle as a distraction while she siphoned the power of the Heart of Azeroth to shatter the prison of her master, the Old God N'Zoth. As Queen Azshara fell, she managed to break the final seal that held N'Zoth in place. As N'zoth is freed, a massive tentacle rescued the seemingly-dead Azshara and brought her down into the abyss.
Despite her acts in freeing him, N'Zoth had Queen Azshara bound in magical chains and left her to the mercies of Dark Inquisitor Xanesh. When the adventurers besieged N'Zoth's capital of Ny'alotha, the Waking City, they came across Azshara, slew Xanesh, and struck a bargain with her. Azshara would help give the adventurers the means of defeating N'Zoth in exchange for her freedom. Azshara revealed that she had in her possession the mighty Old God artifact, the blade Xal'atath, and claimed that she had intended on driving the dagger into N'Zoth's heart herself once the Old God had lowered his guard. Azshara gave Xal'atath to the black dragon Wrathion, before opening a portal and disappearing, intending to 'claim the true throne of power' for herself.
Captain Varo'then
Captain Varo'then is the leader of Queen Azshara's personal elite guard during the War of the Ancients, as well as a practitioner of the Highborne's arcane arts. After the apparent death of Xavius, Varo'then rose into the position of the right hand of the queen. Like most of Azshara's followers, Varo'then was fanatically loyal to the Highborne queen, although he reined in his emotions. During the events of the War of the Ancients, Varo'then and Illidan were dispatched to retrieve the mighty artifact called the Demon Soul from Deathwing, and participated in the final battle in the Well of Eternity atop of giant bat-like creatures, but was slain. In the original World of Warcraft, Varo'then appears as a ghost in the Azshara zone (later on, Varo'then's ghost would be relocated to Lake Mennar). In Cataclysm, Varo'then appears alongside Mannoroth in the boss encounter of the Caverns of Time raid for the Well of Eternity, and the time-traveling adventurers would slay Varo'then, claim his sword and use it to defeat Mannoroth.
(Data for Varo'then's card was in the game client, presumably intended for the Mannoroth boss fight, but he was never implemented as a card in the final version of the adventure mode).
Jarod Shadowsong
Jarod Shadowsong is the younger brother of Maiev Shadowsong, who rose to the rank of captain during the War of the Ancients, serving as a member of the Guard of Suramar when his sister Maiev was one of the Sisters of Elune. Not being of noble birth, both Shadowsong sibling obtained their ranks through hard work and effort. Jarod Shadowsong captured a mysterious, dying mage called Krasus, who claimed to come from ten thousand years in the future after a strange phenomenon displaced him temporarily. Jarod did not have much time to ponder this, as, accompanied by the young priestess Tyrande Whisperwind, the brothers Malfurion Stormrage and Illidan Stormrage, and even the night elves' demigod, Cenarius, they were quickly embroiled in what would be known as the War of the Ancients. Jarod was put in charge of the night elf army's four mightiest spellcasters -- the brothers Stormrage, the time-displaced Krasus and his companion Rhonin. Night elven leadership crumbled during the War of the Ancients. Their leaders were killed either through assassination or in combat, and when a particularly incompetent leader Desdel Stareye was killed due to his own panicking, the far more capable Jarod assumed field command of the night elves, quickly finding himself appointed the new leader of the night elf army. The approval of Cenarius and a group of demigods, as well as that of the other races like the earthen and the tauren showed their approval of Jarod, solidified his position and confidence. Jarod's leadership was able to hold the line against the Burning Legion's army until the arrival of their commander, Archimonde, and also deteriorated the night elven view of the caste system, where the common-born Jarod Shadowsong provided them with more results than the dead noble commanders. However, this earned him the ire of Archimonde himself, who savagely beat up Jarod personally. Jarod was saved when the Stormrage brothers cast their magic on the Well of Eternity, sucking Archimonde back into the Twisting Nether. After the Sundering, Jarod was the first to discover Illidan's creation of a second Well of Eternity, but his attempts to stop Illidan simple resulted in Illidan overpowering him with his arcane powers, and was present at the sentencing of Illidan's imprisonment, approving of Malfurion's choice. After these events, Jarod abdicated from his position of leader and directed all of the petitioners to the priestess of Elune, Tyrande Whisperwind. Never liking the position of leadership, Jarod happily faded into the background.
Over time, Jarod grew disillusioned with the night elven way of life, and eventually had a secret relationship with Shalasyr, a novice priestess. Jarod also considered leaving the night elven people, heading into self-exile, and his lover Shalasyr decided to go with him. Now considering each other as husband and wife, Jarod and Shalasyr spent the next ten thousand years in the wilderness, until the events of the Third War, where the Night Elves became mortal after the destruction of the World Tree Nordrassil. Shalasyr became struck by an illness due to aging, and asked to be brought back to their people. While ostensibly to seek aid from the priestesses of Elune, Shalasyr knew it was her time to die and wanted to die among her people, and to make sure her beloved did not remain alone in exile. Shalasyr passed as they arrived on Darnassus. Jarod reunited with the night elves, but one figure among them -- his own sister Maiev -- loathed Jarod for abandoning his people and duty. Jarod attempted to mend his relationship with his sister, when he aided her in her search for a string of Highborne murders, but eventually this relationship became strained when Jarod realized that his own sister was the killer they were looking for. Unable to kill her own sister, Jarod allowed Maiev to escape in a moment of weakness. Afterwards, Jarod was appointed as head of a new organization dedicated to hunting down criminals like Maiev, and ended up working together with Tyrande's surrogate daughter, Shandris Feathermoon, who is a close friend of Jarod's.
Having mostly appeared in novels prior to this (mainly the War of the Ancients trilogy and Wolfheart), Jarod Shadowsong finally appeared in-game in Cataclysm, appearing in Mt. Hyjal, being held captive by Twilight's Hammer agents and about to be sacrificed in a ritual. Adventurers are sent to infiltrate the base in Darkwhisper Gorge, inciting conflicts within the members and causing an internal fight between ogre and non-ogre members of the cult while they freed Jarod Shadowsong. Jarod would later aid the defense of Mt. Hyjal against the forces of Ragnaros, working once more with the same demigods he fought with during the War of the Ancients.During Legion, Jarod aided the Wardens in the search for the missing Maiev across the Broken Isles, feeling guilty for not being a good enough brother to his sister, and not realizing the foul influence that had caused his sister to commit the murders in Darnassus. Jarod is first seen in the town of Bradensbrook, and sought the aid of an adventurer to investigate Black Rook Hold. Meeting the bound ghost of his former liege Kur'talos Ravencrest, Jarod and the adventurer would put the night elf spirits to rest and break the enchantment cast upon them, before finally freeing his sister. They bury the hatchet, and slay the ghost of another former night elven leader, Desdel Stareye. Later on, Jarod would work alongside Cenarius in defending Black Rook Hold and Bradensbrook from Burning Legion assaults. Alongside the adventurer, Jarod would discover the demon behind the resurrected and manipulated night elven ghosts, an Inquisitor called Lorgos the Resurrector. Alongside the adventurer, Jarod would slay Lorgos, as well as Lord Erdris Thorn, one of the local guard captains driven crazy for the demons. During the events of Battle for Azeroth, Jarod Shadowsong entered active duty as leader of the night elven forces in combat, defending Darkshore from Horde soldiers.
Kur'talos Ravencrest
Kur'talos Ravencrest was one of the leaders of the Kaldorei Resistance during the War of the Ancients, and is known as the Master of Black Rook Hold, coming from a noble house that was not part of the Highborne Caste. However, Ravencrest was noted for being a politician first and foremost, and refused to seek non-Night-Elven races for aid against the Burning Legion because he feared the defection of more conservative and less tolerant commanders, refusing to commit any sort of resources in beseeching help from the Tauren, Earthen and even the Dragons. Despite his racism, Ravencrest was still a very capable leader, in no small part due to the powerful artifact called the Raven's Eye, allowing Ravencrest to read and understand any language. Ravencrest mentored a young Illidan Stormrage during the War of the Ancients, promoting Illidan as the leader of the Moon Guard, but eventually regretted his decision when the Moon Guard died from Illidan's reckless magic-manipulation. Despite evidence to the contrary, Ravencrest refused to believe that Queen Azshara was the one behind the Burning Legion's arrival on Azeroth. It was Azshara herself that ended up commanding Kur'talos Ravencrest's death, dispatching the assassin Kelorn Nightblade and stabbed Ravencrest from the back of the next. Ravencrest was swiftly avenged by a time-displaced champion of the Horde, Broxigar the Red.
During the events of Legion, the energy from the foul rituals done by Gul'dan on Illidan's corpse caused the spirit of Kur'talos Ravencrest and the rest of his clan back to their ancestral home, and their ghosts are bound by Gul'dan's magics to protect Black Rook Hold. The restless spirits of the Ravencrest clan believe they are reliving the horrors of the War of the Ancients. Adventurers would cut their way through these spirits, facing against the dreadlord Dantalionax, who manipulates Kur'talos through illusions, and when the deception is revealed, Kur'talos summons the spirits of his ancestors to help break himself from the dreadlord's control.
Hakkar the Houndmaster
Not to be confused with Hakkar the Soulflayer (it was a coincidence, the team that designed the two Hakkars accidentally used the same name for two relatively major characters), Hakkar the Houndmaster was a mighty general of the Burning Legion. Known as the first major demon general to cross the portal during the War of the Ancients, Hakkar the Houndmaster participated in the War of the Ancients alongside Mannoroth. Described as a huge, flaming skeletal knight, Hakkar earned his nickname by his mastery over the Felhounds that he was able to summon with his whip. During the War of the Ancients, Hakkar battled and attempted to remove Malfurion and the time-traveling Krasus from the Resistance, but his attempts were foiled by the Sisters of Elune. Hakkar later attempted to kill Tyrande Whisperwind, but the arrival of her lover Malfurion caused the Houndmaster's defeat when Malfurion called upon his druidic magic to vanquish Hakkar with a lightning storm.
Hakkar apparently survived this ordeal, returning thousands of years later in Legion, where he is shown as a Fel Lord. Hakkar the Houndmaster appeared with many other demon lords in the Tomb of Sargeras, crushing the forces of Azeroth in the disastrous battle for the Broken Shore. Hakkar is heavily involved in the Hunter class storyline, where the leader of the Unseen Path (you) attempted to track down Hakkar, who is unleashing his Felhounds to feed on Dalaran's mages. The Hunter tracked down where Hakkar is breeding his Felhounds in the island of Faronaar, attempting to strengthen them to be resistant to physical attacks, and managed to capture one to study its weaknesses. With the aid of other organizations like the Sentinels, Farstriders and the Silver Covenant, the Hunter set up a trap for Hakkar and his mutated Felhounds in the Violet Hold. The Hunter defeated Hakkar's felhounds and defeated Hakkar.
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TRIAL BY FELFIRE:
Aranna Starseeker
Both the primary protagonist of the "Trial by Felfire" story mode and an alternate playable hero for the Demon Hunter class, Aranna Starseeker is original to Hearthstone, the younger sister of Elise Starseeker of the League of Explorer. Feeling overshadowed by her sister, Aranna headed off to Outland to seek out power, and in her journey, ended up encountering mysterious, powerful demons that speak of a 'Rusted Legion'. On her way, she rescued several locals from these monstrous creatures, saving the naga shaman Shalja, the sporeling druid Sklibb, the mag'har orc priest Karnuk and the broken rogue Baduu. All of them outcasts in their own way, Aranna and her band fought against multiple agents of the Rusted Legion, stole a Demolisher and braved a gigantic Felstorm to reach Illidan Stormrage's base in the Black Temple.
Upon proving themselves against one of Illidan's agents, Mother Shahraz, Illidan began training most of the Outcasts in the art of becoming a Demon Hunter. Among the group, however, Baduu elects to leave, horrified by the prospect of teaming up with demons. After sparring and using the demon hunter arts, Aranna, Shalja, Sklibb and Karnuk became Demon Hunters. During this period, Aranna and Illidan found common ground regarding their respective pompous elder siblings. They finished their training at an opportune moment, because the Black Temple soon came under assault by the Rusted Legion, led by Illidan's old foe, Magtheridon, transformed into the mechanized 'Magtheridon Prime'. After defeating Magtheridon Prime, alongside Illidan, the Outcasts headed off to assault the Rusted Legion's base, fighting against their generals to hunt down and put down their mighty overlord, Mecha-Jaraxxus. However, on the way to fighting Jaraxxus, they find that their former comrade, Baduu, has also fallen prey to the mechanization done by the Rusted Legion, and are forced to mercy-kill their former comrade. Aranna realized that many of the Rusted Legion's agents are transformed against their will.
After a mighty battle against Mecha-Jaraxxus, they were able to defeat the cyborg demon, but Illidan gave orders for all of them to wipe out the Rusted Legion to the last. Aranna, horrified at this thought and realizing that Illidan and Mecha-Jaraxxus aren't so different after all, implored with her leader to reconsider. This led to a clash between Aranna and her Outcasts against Illidan, but after a battle, Aranna got through to Illidan, and they end up trying to rehabilitate the Rusted Legion.
Aranna's Outcast
These four characters are all original to Hearthstone, and most of their story is tied to Aranna Starseeker. Aranna saved Shalja the Naga from Xur'goth the observer; Sklibb the sporeling from Zixor; Karnuk the orc from Baltharak; while Baduu shows up to assist the Outcasts when they were having trouble fighting against Kanrethad Prime. They were all members of races that were either native to Outland, or were present there in large numbers. As mentioned above, Baduu would leave the group upon arriving on the Black Temple, an act that Karnuk and Shalja took in relative indifference. Shalja would spar with Aranna, while Sklibb would spar with Karnuk, as they mastered demon hunter techniques. Baduu Prime would be seemingly killed during the Outcasts' assault on the Rusted Legion. Not a whole ton of lore can really be said here.
The Rusted Legion
A vast majority of the Rusted Legion bosses are all original to Hearthstone. They are all apparently build and created by Mecha-Jaraxxus, who escaped Boomsday Labs and began to create his own army of half-mechanical demons, although the ranks of the Rusted Legion also included a lot of local creatures forcibly transformed into members of the Rusted Legion. Some of the Rusted Legion bosses also share card art with non-legendary cards in Ashes of Outland. Inquisitor Dakrel is an Inquisitor Demon, and shares his card art with the Rustsworn Inquisitor. Dakrel is the first sign of the Rusted Legion that Aranna fights in Outland. Xur'goth is a mechanized Observer, and shares her card art with Darkglare, and is defeated by Aranna when she attempts to capture Shalja. Baltharak is a Nathrezim/Dreadlord, and attempted to corrupt Karnuk before his defeat at the hands of the Outcasts. Kanrethad Prime (who we covered above) also attempted to defeat the Outcasts, but was defeated with the aid of Baduu. Burgrak Cruelchain is just sort of hanging out, trying to repair a Demolisher, but the Outcasts manage to repair it with a bunch of spare parts and steal the Demolisher to get past a gigantic Felstorm.
Jek'haz is a cursed Arakkoa with metallic wings and jet-boosters that was part of Magtheridon Prime's assault force that assaulted the Black Temple. Gok'amok is a transformed ogre that was the first foe faced when the Outcasts attacked the Rusted Legion's base. Flikk, sharing his artwork with the Imprisoned Scrap Imp, was a seemingly harmless-looking imp that was swiftly stomped on and replaced by the mightier Rusted Fel Reaver.
Felstorm Run
While this iteration of the Felstorm is original to Hearthstone and no such weather phenomenon exists in Outland, the Felstorm is based on a gigantic tornado-like swirl of fel energy seen in Legion, created when the alternate-reality Gul'dan broke the barrier between worlds on the Tomb of Sargeras, allowing the Burning Legion's massive invasion force to enter Azeroth. The Felstorm is a fixture in the Broken Isles, and part of the main storyline of Legion would involve the adventurers of the Alliance and Horde working together with other champions to use ancient artifacts known as the Pillars of Creation to close the Felstorm and seal the Tomb of Sargeras.
Mother Shahraz
Among the bosses in the adventure mode, Mother Shahraz is the only one to have any sort of background in World of Warcraft. She is a mighty Shivarra demon that served Illidan Stormrage, and is well-known as being one of its mightiest, serving as the seventh boss in the Black Temple raid in Burning Crusade. Mother Shahraz is the leader of the Shivarra and Succubi that served Illidan, and is located in the sub-area known as the Den of Mortal Delights. Adventurers need to defeat the other bosses in the Black Temple (Shade of Akama, Teron Gorefiend, Reliquary of Souls, Gurtogg Bloodboil) before the door to Mother Shahraz's den opens, and it's after facing her that the adventurers are able to defeat the final gauntlet of blood elven councilors to Illidan and subsequently face Illidan himself. Other than being a loyal lieutenant to Illidan, however, there isn't much that is known about Shahraz.
Mecha-Jaraxxus
Mecha-Jaraxxus is a form of Lord Jaraxxus that's original to Hearthstone. Originally debuting as a purchaseable alternate warlock hero portrait during the Boomsday Project expansion, apparently at some point between Boomsday and Ashes of Outland, Mecha-Jaraxxus left the Boomsday Labs (it's implied that Boomsday Labs went... well, ka-boom) and set off to found his own army, the Rusted Legion. Wanting vengeance against Dr. Boom, Outland and pretty much everyone out there, Mecha-Jaraxxus and his army of mechanized demons kidnapped and enslaved many residents of Outland to subject them to the mechanical transformation that made them subservient to the Rusted Legion. However, after a failed attack on Illidan's Black Temple, this caused Illidan, Aranna and her band of Outcasts to attack Mecha-Jaraxxus's own base and wipe out his lieutenants, before eventually taking out Mecha-Jaraxxus himself.
Doom Lord Kazzak
The 'challenges' segment adds a couple of extra new bosses. Most of them we've covered above (Maghteridon, Teron Gorefiend, Shahraz, Vashj, Kael'thas and Illidan) but we have three new faces in Hearthstone! Doom Lord Kazzak first showed up in the original World of Warcraft, a mighty Doom Lord, a type of evolved and stronger Doomguard. Lord Kazzak was noted to be among the demonic hordes that arrived on Azeroth with Archimonde during the Third War, and following the defeat of the Legion during the Third War, Kazzak and his demon legion was forced to retreat into the Blasted Lands, making his base in the Tainted Scar and causing problems for both the Alliance and Horde heroes. During the events of Burning Crusade, Kazzak would be responsible for activating the Dark Portal and opening a way to the shattered world of the Outland. Kazzak left his minion Lieutenant Kruul behind to supervise his operations on Azeroth, while he departed into Outland. Due to this act, Kazzak was promoted to Doom Lord Kazzak, and set up shop in the Throne of Kil'jaeden, a mountain in Hellfire Peninsula. Doom Lord Kazzak became one of the non-dungeon bosses in Burning Crusade, and was presumably defeated there.
In the alternate timeline, Kazzak arrived in the alternate-world Draenor and once more stands near the Throne of Kil'jaeden, calling himself Supreme Lord Kazzak.
Gruul the Dragonkiller
We covered Gruul back in Classic. Gruul is a mighty Gronn lord that lived in Draenor and later Outland, and became one of the most notable bosses there in his dungeon. While Gruul has been a Classic legendary, this is the first time when he's depicted in Hearthstone with his World of Warcraft red skin instead of purple. If you use the collectible Gruul card against the Gruul boss, he will lampshade this and mock the 'Purple Gruul'.
Supremus
Supremus is the second boss in the Black Temple raid. There isn't a whole ton of lore about Supremus, really, he's just a mighty blue-flame Abyssal demon that Illidan has bound to his service. Supremus was meant to be a legendary card in Ashes of Outland, but ended up being converted into the non-legendary Supreme Abyssal card.
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