World of Warcraft/WMG

== Highlord Bolvar is == Or at the very least,  At the battle of the Wrathgate, we are led to believe that  However, after the battle when Alexstraza and Korialstraz are talking, Alexstraza says "Ashj zila gul kirasath lok ante il lok buras danashj Gul gul." Using the in-game translations, this translates to Knowing this, and the quest chain that follows   we can infer that Bolvar  Furthermore, given the proximity to   it's possible, even likely, that he
 * Come the
 * Also if you pay attention to the cinematic it looks like
 * So we can infer:.
 * This is now officially confirmed.
 * Saurfang Junior is a Death Knight. No word on Bolvar, apart from him yelling something at some point, though it looks like he'll show up as part of the Alliance again.
 * Or, if the theory further down holds up, he's going to be.
 * Confirmed too

Next Hero Class is gonna be dragons.
The dragons have been around forever, and they have confirmed shapeshifting skills. Some of them enjoy changing into the different races, and they all have different tastes. This fits with the lore and would be Crazy Awesome; so, the next Hero Class will likely be the dragons, released sometime near Cataclysm.
 * Red Dragons would be the most likely type to be playable. Their flight is in the best shape out of the five, they favor mortals much more than other flights, and their abilities can cover tanking, healing, and dps.
 * Class =/= Race
 * Let's take a quick look at that. The death knights (our first hero class) all have the same starting area (with Alliance and Horde races phased out to each other), all have a single capitol "city" with Archeus, and all start with equal standing to all faction cities when they finally join their respective factions. To put it differently, if you take an orc warrior, they will be an orc first and foremost behind being a warrior. A human death knight will be a death knight above being human. It's not that long of a stretch once you put it into that kind of perspective, making it seem like different races are just different kinds of (insert hero class here) rather than the other way around.
 * It would be more likely that the class would be "Dragoon" or a half-dragon hybrid type with abilities representing several of the dragons. Considering 3/5 flights are not evil or rampant, talent trees could revolve around using them, making them a type of Paladin. Red would be a type of Warrior Tank, Green would be Druid Healing, and Bronze would be Arcane Mage style...with unique abilities to the flights.
 * Dragonsworn/Drakonid.
 * Double-Jossed. Blizzard said they have no plans to make another hero class, and the next regular class to be added will be monks.

Variation - Next races, if included will be Ogres (Horde) and Red Drakonid (Alliance)
Check out Dustwallow Marsh in the game. The Ogres are seeking refuge with the Horde from aggression from the Red Dragon Flight. The Ogres are all also now the size of Tauren and are pretty much running this Horde village.

The Red Dragonflight is known for it's eniminity with the Horde, and now against Ogres. To make things more blatant, Drakonid's were openly discussed by Blizzard as consideration for a playable race.
 * The Ogres in Dustwallow Marsh were run out of their village by Onyxia's brood, part of the Black Dragonflight.

The Curse of Flesh corrupted more than just the residents of Azeroth
The Curse of Flesh was created by the Old Gods to "facilitate assimilation" of the Titans' new world, and turned most of the Earthen and Mechagnomes into their current states (as dwarves and gnomes). However, when the Titans tried to remove the curse, they found that doing so would destroy Azeroth (thus forcing the Titans to contain the Old Gods using Azeroth as the prison, C'thun in the Temple of Ahn'Qiraj and Yogg-Saron inside Ulduar). However, if the curse only affected the races of Azeroth, why would it's removal destroy the planet? Simple: the Curse of Flesh infected Azeroth itself. However, it did more than just corrupt the planet. Bear in mind that the Old Gods have been based on the Cthulhu Mythos: C'thun is named similarly to Cthulhu, and Yogg-Saron matches up with Yogg-Shoggoth. Cthulhu and Yogg-Shoggoth are 2 of the most well known Old Gods from the Cthulhu Mythos, along with The King in Yellow (aka Hastur), Nyarlathotep, and Azathoth. Assuming Blizzard is naming their Old Gods based on H.P. Lovecraft's, then Azathoth should become something like... Azeroth. The Curse of Flesh made the entire planet into an Old God.
 * It's "Yog-Sothoth," not "Yogg-Shoggoth." A shoggoth is an Eldritch Abomination of a different color, so to speak. But otherwise...the scary thing is that it makes sense.
 * Ah, apologies for the mistake, Yog-Sothoth was what was intended.
 * Wasn't the planet already chaotic, strange, and weird with the Old Gods on it and then the Titans came, locked down the Old Gods and cleaned it up? I don't think this theory works, except maybe Azeroth was an Old One to begin with and the Titans killed it and left it there to put stuff on?
 * Yes and no. The Old Gods did rule it originally, using the Curse of Flesh to help. However, the lore in places implies that the Titans made Azeroth, and that the Old Gods invaded and corrupted it (Algalon being the biggest indicator of this).

Arthas wants us to get to Icecrown.

 * It's a Xanatos Gambit to get him entire raids worth of fully-geared level 80 champions - at least, once he's killed us and brought as back as his minions. What in the world (of Warcraft) could stand against the might of Ensidia, for example?
 * Pretty much confirmed ingame; if you encounter him during one Alliance quest in Howling Fjord, he says that you're not yet powerful enough to serve him.
 * So why doesn't he wait until Cataclysm is released and try and get a bunch of level 85 players with appropriate gear under his control rather than settle for level 80 players?
 * Gameplay and Story Segregation, naturally.

Garrosh is setting up a Thanatos Gambit in an attempt to live up to his father.

 * At first he's sitting in Nagrand moping about how his father Grom was responsible for the orcs being turned into an army of killing machines; once he hears that Grom died fixing that mistake, he sets about trying to turn the Horde into an army of killing machines. He's planning to make some kind of horrific "mistake", sacrifice himself to fix it, and be remembered as a hero like his father.
 * That would depend on him being sharp enough to come up with something like that.

The holy Light is a force of universal balance.

 * The Light, which gives equal benefits to paladins and priests of any faction is what causes the regular changes to class abilities in a desperate attempt to keep the universe in some sort of equilibrium.
 * Or, it's the Force.
 * It does have a light side and a dark side...

Arthas has good reason to let the heroes live.

 * He might not be satisfied with his current body and the heroes' prowess impressed him enough to spare them. He could be pulling a Diablo gambit on everybody and is willing to sacrifice plenty of small scale operations and minions to do it. Heck, the open hostilities between the Alliance and the Horde with both sides rightfully pissed at each other means that he doesn't have to worry about his power base being seriously threatened.
 * In connection with the WMG further down stating that, the entire scenario could be an even further Diablo gambit: the Lich King is likely hoping that, by luring the heroes of the world to Icecrown and forcing them to fight their way through Arthas' armies and then Arthas himself, only the strongest mortals in existence could hope to reach him.   Naturally, this is one of those theories that are too cool to actually happen, but the paralells are definitely there.
 * Oddly enough.

Garrosh, and possibly Varian, are being driven crazy by the effects of Saronite.

 * Garrosh, as we all know, is a major scrappy after going from being fairly mellow in Burning Crusade to Axe Crazy racist stubborn Too Dumb to Live Jerkass who thinks Orcish fighting bloodlust can replace things like supplies and siege equipment (and this is coming from a career-long Horde player!). This only happened after he moved from the relatively uncorrupted fields of Nagrand to the frosty continent of Northrend, building a fortress from a black material that looks suspiciously like Saronite. During Blizzcon '09, when the new look of Orgrimmar was revealed, the similarity of the metal to the one used in Warsong Hold and elsewhere in Northrend was explicitly pointed out. This could all be a coincidence, but after hearing, This Troper is hoping the writers have a way out of the upcoming freight train of Scrappyness approaching the storyline if they leave it that way. As for Varian, well, it's fairly unlikely that this is the reason for him acting a bit Jerkass-y as he is wont to do since he came into WoW. On the other hand, he has also had a rather abrupt personality change from the comics to his introduction in the actual game, and this would be a nice unifying circumstance for both the Horde and the Alliance.
 * So...saronite is what they make Conflict Balls out of?
 * It explicitly puts you under the control of a Cosmic Horror who likes suffering. Why wouldn't it be made of saronite?
 * Given that a large number of level 80 Blacksmithing items have saronite as a large component, it would also explain the apparent bloodlust of the player base too.
 * My theory is that everyone is being driven insane by Saronite. It's all part of a Xanatos Roulette by the Old Gods.
 * What about players? They can wear full saronite armor and never exerience a thing. Having halucinations basod on the ammount of saronite gear would have been awesome.
 * According to Darion Mograine, the Ashen Verdict has learned how to bend Saronite to their will. He doesn't say why, but this indicates there is a method and the Ashen Verdict found it.
 * Yes, and the Old Gods are certainly not behind that. Not at all. That certainly is not going Just As Planned for them.
 * The gates of Ogrimmar are being refitted with dark iron that looks a little like Saronite. It's possible that Garrosh may arm himself with similar equipment, apart from wielding Gorehowl, his father's axe again.

Garrosh's term as Warchief will be short.
It will essentially last long enough for him to utterly destroy relations with the Alliance and have the Horde teetering on the brink of destruction as a result of his crazy policies, when Thrall returns in a He's Back moment and puts Garrosh in his place.
 * Let's hope. Sure, Blizzard is trying to ramp up the faction conflict...but putting The Scrappy in charge of one side is probably not the best way to go.
 * Actually, there's a certain amount of logic in making Garrosh the new Warchief. First is that he fought Thrall for it and won (there's a video of it here). Second is that he reminds the orc population of their pre-corruption past and what it means to truly be an orc, whereas Thrall has always been calling for a truce between the Horde and the Alliance to help fight bigger threats (which for the most part has been proven rather needless: parties from both sides can take down the bigger threats to Azeroth without any need for cross-faction cooperation) whereas most orcs would rather like to get revenge on various parts of the Alliance. If there was to be an election between the two of them, pundits would be saying that Garrosh appeals to core ideals in the voting public, whereas Thrall has policies with an eye to the future and the "bigger picture".
 * He didn't "win." The fight was interrupted. And the comics retconned it into Thrall solidly trouncing Hecksqueal anyway.
 * It turns out that he already significantly upset Cairne enough to challenge him to a duel, which ends in . It's likely that he won't go over well with the other races, especially if he actually does kick the trolls out of Ogrimmar for being "weak", especially considering the blood elves' and Forsaken's more tenuous loyalty to the Horde; Garrosh may crack down on the Forsaken even harder than Thrall did, and thus cause tension the races.
 * Garrosh is at least reasonable. The trolls are looking to take back Echo Isles, so he kicks them all out and it works out for the best. The Blood Elves know they're a problem and are trying to prove themselves, probably. As for the Forsaken Undead...well, Sylvanas isn't certainly doing anything to win points with anyone, using both New Blight and Val'kyr to resurrect new Forsaken to her cause. He's at least right in suspecting her as becoming no different than the (former) Lich King. He also felt imense guilt when
 * Ah, but the guilt over  was mostly over his own loss of honor given the circumstances, rather than actually  . It should also be noted that Garrosh is definitely causing tension among the races of the Horde. He's definitely gotten on Vol'jin's bad side and alienated him, despite Thrall mentioning Vol'jin as one of the people Garrosh should be listening to. I for one think that Garrosh might be deposed even before Thrall gets back. After all, Vol'jin implied he'd be there to kill Garrosh once the people started wising up to how incompetent he was, and Vol'jin does seem more of a sensible successor to the title of Warchief than Garrosh (at the very least, he seems to fall more in line with Thrall's ideas than Garrosh does).
 * And we'd hope Thrall will be back afterwards.

An Old God has parasitically fused to Deathwing.
Consider: when Deathwing originally revealed himself as psychopathically evil, the other Dragonflights teamed up with him and took him and his down. Now, however, according to Word of God, nothing matches up to him alone, with, likely, the sole exception of the Titans, who are nowhere to be found. Luckily. We know that the two Old Gods encountered before were well on their way to unsealing themselves; Yogg-Saron's seal was so poor it was practically leaking on its own, before he got to working on it. Deathwing's been hiding in the depths of the planet... where the three remaining Old Gods are kept. What are the chances at least one decided to take the Curse of Flesh a little further, if it meant freedom and a bit of temporary power loss?
 * This is pretty much canon. According to Word of God, one of the reasons Deathwing is so powerful now is that the Old Gods, who drove him insane in the first place, are growing in power. As a consequence, Deathwing's power has also increased. It wouldn't be much of a stretch to assume that the remaining Old Gods are piggybacking on Deathwing's return.
 * Given that Deathwing needed a ton of metal plates to keep himself together and whole, I wouldn't be surprised if one of the Old Gods got him to "upgrade" the armour plating with armour made with their own version of saronite.
 * Sort of confirmed. Not in detail but the Blizzcon Q&A did mention that a third Old God (that is, not C'Thun or Yogg Saron) has been "signing Deathwing's paychecks".
 * This might have some potential as an event has come up in the beta wherein Alexstraza tries to do what she did with Malygos and finally put down Deathwing. What happens? She succeeds. The kicker is that afterwards he revives and beats the crap out of her, necessitating the player bearing her away (one hopes in her elven form) and another red dragon sacrificing himself to slow Deathwing down.

World of Warcraft is hypnotic!
Why has nobody mentioned this yet? How else can this game be so addictive, so time-consuming, and not to mentioned it has ruined people's lives? Be very careful when playing this game!
 * What a silly notion! I only play for 20 hours each day, and I'm sure a lot of people could say the same, thus rendering your point moot, sir.
 * ... ._. Holy Tauren... And there are people who play Warcraft AND surf TV Tropes... The poor, poor souls.

Every player character is a Time Lord.
Sure, why not?

Onyxia and Nefarian were mates.
Let's face it: unless dragons are capable of asexual reproduction, I doubt there were many other ways that Onyxia could have produced all of those whelp eggs...
 * So who's Sartharion been bumping uglies with? The guy's got an entire cavern full of dragon eggs to protect, who laid all of them?? (I'd suggest Onyxia, but that would lead to... interesting implications about Sartharion's love life...)
 * Those are twilight dragon eggs, which are the result of magical black dragonflight experiments carried out by Sintharia (Nefarian and Onyxia's mother) using nether dragon energies, so it's possible that they're hers, and/or some of the eggs weren't black dragon eggs to begin with. Though since Sintharia croaked a little while before Wot LK, and Sartharion is working for Sintharia's mate-turned-rival Deathwing (who took over the experiments), the possibility of Sarth being the father becomes slimmer.
 * Sintharia isn't dead, so she's still most likely producing eggs. All dragons are either asexual or willingly engage in incest to continue their flight. Now that the Twilight has dragons in their own right, they are probably able to reproduce without the magic infusion.
 * One, the Twilight Dragons are created from corrupting and mutating Netherwing Dragon eggs, we even see Sintharia procuring some of them as far back as BC, though there are signs the black flight may have found away to use other eggs now; and two, all Twilight dragons come from corrupted eggs of other flights, since one of the quests in Cata involves the player making sure the first ever fertile Twilight Broodmother to be created is killed.

World of Warcraft is an alternate universe, and the inhabitants are being helplessly manipulated against their will...

 * Chief Archaeologist Letoll is on to us!


 * Darion Mograine. This is a "right place, right time" situation for him. He's the leader of the Knights of the Ebon Blade, already undead, and allied to the "good guys" i.e. not the Scourge, and most importantly he's broken free from the Lich King's control.
 * Tirion Fordring. One of the Light's most ardent and powerful champions, it would be a supreme irony.
 * Either that or he's got a different ending planned altogether. One of the Icecrown quest chains sends you all around the world looking for a cure for a paladin who's been infected by the Scourge, and eventually the Naaru intervene, saying that their compassion for this paladin has inspired them to help by taking the paladin "into the Light". Tirion might be shooting to pull a similar trick:
 * This Troper inerpreted Uther's warning as "The Scourge must always have a leader, or else they will go berserk" rather than "The Scourge will go berserk if their leader is killed", so such a gambit might not pay off.
 * It depends on how the Scourge leadership actually works. If they need someone standing around controlling them into doing anything more than mindless killing, then the "ascend into the Light" trick wouldn't work, but if they just need someone to fill the gap in the chain of command regardless of what they actually do, then it would work.
 * Considering the Lich King exerts control over the entire scourge via telepathy...yeah.
 * Thrall. Just as much one of the "good guys", has shown considerable skill at keeping a diverse and often aggressive group working... semi-peaceably together, and it might just explain why Garrosh is in charge.
 * Can't happen. Blizzard has already stated that he.
 * Correction: MMO-Champion stated that after hearing it from Something Awful. Blizzard has not confirmed it; and the fact that makes it highly unlikely.
 * Cairne. One of the most pacifistic characters in-game, for similar reasons as Thrall, and explaining why Baine has stepped up to lead the Tauren.
 * Can't happen. Blizzard has already stated that he.
 * "Executed by Garrosh," hell.
 * . The Lich King has apparently been torturing him mercilessly  in order to control him. However, he's been hanging on to his free will the entire time, and still refuses to obey Arthas even now, during the Icecrown siege. He's defied the Lich King's attempts to control him much, MUCH longer than any other being to date, and if that kind of sheer willpower and resistance to corruption doesn't qualify him to , then I don't know what does.
 * That's what my money's on. I've turned it into a bit of a joke in my guild -- " and becomes the new Lich King, calling it now."
 * Well, I was wrong about the part, but it turns out.
 * Sylvanas. Just because.
 * Pretty much debunked. We've learned that Sylvanas will still be allied to the Horde in Cataclysm and that she's also "in the doghouse" as a result of the wrathgate incident.
 * Not nessisarly. She could simply add the Lich Kings's forces to her own and kill those that refuse (likely many). She'd still be part of the horde though... maybe...
 * While we all now know that she doesn't take over for Arthas, news out of the beta shows that when Arthas died, some of the more intelligent Scourge gained freewill and joined the Forsaken. Almost certainly the most significant ones? The Val'kyr, which she has decided to use  Garrosh is not pleased.
 * Velen. I did hear a rumor that he was stepping down. He's certainly peaceful enough, and Nobundo could take his place.
 * Eh? Who told you that one? No, the draenei, as a race, look likely to sit on their tails for another entire expansion pack. And while Nobundo gets some of the respect he rates nowadays, he's no Velen.
 * Wait, what? Isn't the stated goal of the Scourge to... wipe out all life on Azeroth? So if the Lich King dies, then the Scourge will... do everything it's already doing. Oh no, how horrible. I guess they'll do it faster, since Ner'Zuhl and Arthas are both pathetically incompetent.
 * One should note that Arthas is an inexperienced college-age slightly gullible Prince who has never properly lead anything in his life. Ner'zhul has no excuse.
 * Arthas is actually 31 years old during most of the Wrath of the Lich King expansion, and no longer so gullible at all. He has properly lead quite a good many things, assuming that you are not confusing "extreme views and refusal to give up" with "improper leadership". Finally, he's not incompetent; he just doesn't care. Arthas doesn't actually WANT to kill everyone the way Ner'zhul did (yes, did, because Arthas destroyed and consumed him); he just wants to rule. If people serve him in life, less work for him. But honestly, excluding the show-of-power-threat invasion event, name one instance in which Arthas, once under his own command, went out of his way to kill ANYONE who didn't come to him/get in his way first. 'x3; He just doesn't care.
 * Hes dead, Arthas killed him. So yeah he kinda does
 * It's possible that the Scourge would become like the undead in Duskwood, still a threat, but without a leader, and that in numbers alone (combined with their ability to raise the dead), they would be too great a threat for the Alliance or Horde to defeat. The "New Lich King" would thus be a way to end the threat once and for all, rather than a way of preventing the threat from getting worse.
 * Sure, the Scourge without a leader wouldn't be much worse than when Arthas was in charge. However, a non-evil Lich King can hold back the undead to an extent, and the effects have become clear in Cataclysm as the Argent Dawn and Cenarion Circle begin to retake the Plaguelands.

Terenas Menethil II is the Lich King
After his soul was taken by Frostmourne he took control and he consumed Arthas and Ner'zhul.

The Lich King ISN'T the result of Arthas and Ner'zhul merging together
Because since when do villains actually merge together into one more powerful villain? It's unheard of! Either both of them are sharing a body (Ner'zhul in the armour, Arthas wearing the armour) or one has absorbed the other so that they can become more powerful (the various plot points seem to imply that Ner'zhul absorbed Arthas, however the backstory suggests that Arthas has the willpower and drive to actually overpower Ner'zhul and take his power for his own).
 * Canon. The Lich King is, according to Metzen, "Arthas's body and personality, and Ner'zhul's wisdom, experience, power, and evil." Note that none of the Ner'zhul parts actually require his presence, however. Rather, they are remnants Arthas retains after destroying/consuming Ner'zhul at the end of his five-year sleep.
 * This also explains why the Scourge was so completely ineffective in Wo TLK. Ner'Zhul is the least competent leader in all of existence. Ever.

No character is actually dead
Everyone that is dead just can't find their corpse and doesn't want to take 25% damage on all their gear.
 * Alternatively, the time it takes for a named monster to respawn is the time it takes to run to their corpse.

The Infinite Dragonflight is led by Nozdormu from an alternate timeline.
Bear with me on this one. The events described in the War of the Ancients trilogy changed history, altering how said war took place. One of these events was the death of an orc at the hands of the Burning Legion -- chronologically, the first orc the Legion ever encountered. Now, imagine what happened when the Legion later discovered Draenor and the orcs living there. They would know what the then-peaceful species was capable of. Rather than ignoring something too weak to be of any value, the Legion would corrupt the orcs and unleash them upon Azeroth.

Here's where this gets a bit complicated. Had the orcs never come to Azeroth, Medivh would never have been able to send Thrall to Kalimdor, and the alliance that turned back the Burning Legion in Warcraft III would never have been formed. Without that alliance, the Legion could very easily have been able to conquer Azeroth. Imagine what would happen to anything living on Azeroth after its subjugation by the Legion -- including the Dragonflights.

In other words, had the Legion never been turned back, the Bronze Dragonflight may well have become the Infinite Dragonflight. The Infinite are simply trying to preserve their own existence, by altering key historical events to ensure that they are created.
 * Alternatively, Nozdormu is the leader of the Infinite Dragonflight, but not the original founding leader who founded the Infinite Dragonflight at some point in the future. At some point in the timeline, Nozdormu found out about the Infinite Dragonflight, killed it's leader and took over, leading them to make attacks at pivotal points in the timeline to lead the Bronze Dragonflight (and the players) into attacking them, thus wiping them out and removing them from the timeline and/or greatly curbing the effect the Infinite Dragonflight could have on the timeline. Presumably, the Infinite Dragonflight is (and causes) some kind of temporal paradox by existing, so forcing them to alter time and fail slowly unravels the paradox that allows them to exist, as they are forced to conform to the normal flow of time and events. Eventually, Nozdormu will reappear to lead the players on an attack to prevent the Infinite Dragonflight from ever existing, thus undoing both the paradox that created the Infinite Dragonflight, AND the grandfather paradox they just created by stopping the Infinite Dragonflight being created in the first place (i.e. the 2 paradoxes will cancel each other out, leaving the timeline intact).
 * The problem is that this doesn't explain why the Infinite are attacking the specific historical events they are. Every single one would, if the changes succeeded, alter who would win the Battle of Mount Hyjal. Stopping Thrall from escaping Durnholde Keep would mean the orcs never went to Kalimdor, thus reducing the strength of Azeroth's armies quite significantly. Keeping Medivh from opening the Dark Portal would mean the orcs never reached Azeroth, let alone Kalimdor. If Arthas hadn't purged Stratholme the Legions army would have been much more massive and able to steamroll through the defenders easily.
 * Well, if the Infinite Dragonflight were originally going to subtly change the result of the Battle of Mount Hyjal, then it might have been impossible for the Bronze Dragonflight to notice the effects until it's too late. Thus, Nozdormu taking over the Infinite Dragonflight and forcing them to take a more direct approach would draw them out into the open, allowing the Bronze Dragonflight (and the players) to stop them. Also, it could be that the original leader of the Infinite Dragonflight was created as a result of a different result of the Battle of Mount Hyjal, thus forcing him to ensure that he came into existence (which IS a bootstrap paradox in itself). The big question, however, is why the Infinite Dragonflight want to alter.
 * If the big change the Infinite are after is is making sure that the Burning Legion wins the Battle of Mount Hyjal, then I'm pretty sure changing the winner of the would accomplish the same result: the Legion takes over Azeroth and corrupts all upon its surface. Different battleground, same objective, really.
 * Alternatively, Nozdormu becomes the leader of the Infinite Dragonflight from the future and is leading all their attempts to fulfill their goal of bringing about [[Doctor Who the end of time ITSELF!]. It's mentioned that Nozdormu is tormented by the fact that he knows exactly when and how he's going to die and can do nothing to prevent it. The Infinite Dragonflight represents his attempt to shatter the future and thus allow him to escape his death. Since he's presumably immortal unless killed, this also explains the significance of their name.
 * Alternatively alternatively! We know that Nozdormu was shown the time and place of his death. What if that time and place was being defeated in the End Time as Murozond, at the hands of adventurers? This would mean that he, somewhat paradoxically, became the leader of the Infinites, a group trying to mess up the timeways, because he knew that him becoming Murozond was what was (is?) meant to happen in the true timeline.
 * But having the Orcs not come to Azeroth makes the plot go to hell. First, without Orcs in Azeroth, Ner'zhul is unable to obtain the artifacts he needs to portal out of Draenor. This means that Draenor doesn't get destroyed, but it also means that there is no Lich King, at least not for a while, since Ner'zhul never steps into the Twisting Nether and thus wouldn't get captured by Kil'jaeden. Now, without the Lich King: 1) There is no Cult of the Damned, therefore Kel'thuzad doesn't join and bring the plague into Lordaeron, and doesn't get killed by Arthas; 2) Arthas doesn't purge Stratholme (hell, even with the orcs, stopping Arthas here like the Infinite Dragonflight tries to do in the Co T instance would spoil the Legion's plan altogether), and later on Dalaran and Quel'thalas remain standing; 3) Kel'thuzad isn't revived, and he doesn't summon Archimonde and the Legion into Azeroth; 4) There is no Battle of Mount Hyjal at all. And also, since Quel'thalas and the Sunwell are intact, there is no High Elf/Blood Elf divide, and importantly there are no crazy mana-addicted elves to attempt to summon the other legion guy Kil'jaeden into Azeroth either.

The mastermind behind everything is...Jaina Proudmoore!
Yes.

Kel'Thuzad will return again at some point.
We didn't get his phylactery in the second coming of Naxxramas, so we can't be sure that he's been defeated for good.
 * When we see him next he will have merged with Kael'thas. Naxxramas was merely a setback.
 * As insane as this idea sounds, I LOVE the idea of a double KT tag team. Plus, Tempest Keep (and the Sunwell) was merely a setback... The question is who would be dumb enough to resurrect both of them?
 * "A-HA! I've done it! Behold the absolute power of Wilfred Fizzlebang, master necromancer! You are bound to me, death knights!"
 * Even if it's a gag fight, it would be hilarious to see the three of them team up. "You thought that big brute killed me? You forget, warlocks can use soulstones!" And of course, when they lose, the 3 of them would simultaneously yell "This is merely a setback!!"

Kael'thas isn't gone.
We never fought Kael'thas. The one we killed was a shapeshifting demon sent by Kil'jaeden to lead the blood elves to their doom. Kael'thas was being held captive but escaped during the events of Sunwell Plateau. Knowing his people would never trust them again, he vowed to help them discreetly.

He donned a mask and became Aethas Sunreaver.

(someone told me this was a good idea so I'm posting it here, also ib4 setback)


 * Alternatively, Kael is a mage. |3 He just knew how to use Mirror Image before we did. MAGISTER'S TERRACE WAS MERELY A SETBACK<3
 * Actually, that would explain his Character Derailment between Warcraft III and Burning Crusade a lot better than the token explanation of "fel magic is bad." It also gives a better explanation than Retcon for why in Arthas: Rise of the Lich King it's pointed out that he salvaged some very important artifacts from the Scourge invasion of Quel'thalas (including King Anasterian's skull and the runeblade Felo'melorn/Flamestrike), but these are not mentioned or dropped in Burning Crusade- an imposter probably wouldn't even know they existed in the first place, much less that Kael had them and that they were important.

Turalyon and Alleria are fighting demons on Argus.
There are multiple dimensional gateways akin to the Dark Portal scattered throughout Outland even now. Many of them are even functional. And even if we presume that those are the only dimensional gateways that still exist, they canonically lead to other worlds.

Seeing as the Burning Legion had a hand in the creation of those gateways, who's to say that one (or more) didn't lead to Argus (usually theorized to now be a major Legion base)? And a paladin and a paranoid, edgy elven ranger, working together, would have at least something of a chance of surviving against all of those demons. Especially if they somehow managed to bring reinforcements.

It also might explain what happened to Nemuraan. Because the alternative is that he was Random Anonymous Auchenai Anchorite #9999 that we killed in the Crypts, and that'd just be pathetic.

Players are actually a Titan defense mechanism.
Throughout the game there are various Titan strongholds and other bases of operations, all used to store and contain the Old Gods. However, all of these places have one thing in common, their security is a joke. Titan equipment gets corrupted all the time and is often used to aid the very forces they are meant to "contain". None of this makes sense, as the Titans are frequently described as being some of, if not the most powerful beings in all of Warcraft. The reason? Because their main security is in fact the players. WoW players were created by the Titans in order to defeat the various Cosmic Horrors that live on Azeroth. As every player is in fact, Titan blessed, that explains how groups of 25 unimportant lore outsiders are able to take down some of the heaviest canon hitters with relative ease.
 * Does this mean the Spirit Healers are in on the Titans' plans, or are they just part of Azeroth's magical structure?
 * Could be a bit of both: they could be built into Azeroth's magical structure by the Titans as part of their plans.
 * Our entire world is just a defense mechanism for Azeroth, which is the actual real world. As players we're running endless simulations, showing the success or failure of different tactics. You don't want to know how deep the rabbit hole goes.

All of those seemingly useless items Griftah sells in Shattrath DO work.
Except they only work for NPCs. Or the players are already wearing them all, since they give us powers we have.
 * So that's why Asric and Jadaar got fired...
 * Trust me. Some of the players could use a soap-on-a-rope necklace.

Kil'jaeden possessed Velen at the end of the SWP raid.
Come on, listen to Velen's voice in his speech at the end! It sounds nothing like him! Kil'jaeden is just biding his time, waiting for a suitable distraction (such as draenei getting to actually do something in Cata). Then Blizz will introduce draenei warlocks with the justification of "Velen said it's ok!" and then when everyone else is busy with whatever terrible evil that manifests itself in the fourth expansion pack, they'll strike. With man'ari!Velen as their leader. We're screwed.
 * Highly unlikely. Kil'jaeden didn't get killed, just punted back through the Sunwell so hard his necklace fell off. And quit suggesting draenei warlocks; the very idea is cringe-worthy.
 * There's no reason he can't possess someone while still alive. And draenei being warlocks is only wtf-inducing if they willingly chose it. I'm sure Kil'jaeden is powerful enough (and cool enough) to enslave them all, if he had a way around the naaru. It depends on how kickass a demonic mindmeld of Kil'jaeden and Velen is; if they can take O'ros, they'd do quite a bit of damage before Shattrath could send reinforcements.

Arthas isn't Dead.
Ok, ignoring that blatent use of Dues Ex Machina in the final battle against the Lich King, there is one thing that has always bothered me... where the hell did his father and the other spirits get the strength to do that. But I won't go into that... The main point of this WMG is quite simple... Arthas isn't dead... and my reasoning for this is quite simple. It wasn't the father who appeared when the sword was broken... it was one of the Old Gods, or at least a represnetive. The reasoning behind this (besides the spooky back tone in his voice when they needed a new Lich king), comes from a number of things. First of all, the Line 'No King Rules forever', was also used by one of the older gods during your raid fight against them. Also, when Arthas asks about it being over, it looks his father is shaking his head. The reason why Arthas isn't dead, is because his soul was snatched up by one of the old gods, and the darkness that he sees before him isn't death, but instead a time of servitude and mind control. Eventually he will return, as a future raid boss/enemy. Plus, Warcraft 3/WoW can be seen in some ways as 'his' story, in a similar manner to how the 6 Star wars movies were Anakins story. Unlike Anakin however, Arthas hasn't pulled off a heroic redeeming sacrifice.... Assuming anything I said actually made sense to you.
 * At least as much sense as anything else here, eh? Valid points enough, though, really. And on that note, Icecrown was merely a setback!
 * Almost certainly true on the grounds that Blizzard loves to reuse Raid bosses.

The Mortal Races of Azeroth Will Succeed the Dragons
Of the five Dragonflights the Titans appointed, two (possibly three) have gone insane and turned evil. Who are the ones who've had to thwart these dragons? The mortal champions of the Alliance and the Horde. Given this, and the fact that even the Titan Pantheons aren't what they once were, it may eventually become up to Azeroth's mortals to keep their own house. Should the Titans ever return in full, they may even appoint which races do what as they did with the Dragons, since the Alliance and the Horde are proving themselves to be the strongest forces on the planet at the moment, just as it was with the Dragons at their time.
 * Given that there's 10 (and soon 12) player races, the Titans are going to have to come up with some new aspects for them to represent. Plus, given that 2 of the races aren't native to Azeroth (Orcs and Draenei), 2 of them were created by the Curse of Flesh (Dwarves and Gnomes) and 2 races are afflicted with a curse of some sort (Worgen and Forsaken), it only leaves half the player races as legitimately Titan created (and even then that's assuming Night Elves were actually creations of the Titans and/or an evolutionary offshoot of Trolls rather than being created/"influenced" by Elune, and that Blood Elves are counted as merely victims of their own addiction rather than being in cahoots with the Burning Legion). All in all, it mat leave the Titans with the impression that it might just be quicker to blow up Azeroth and start from scratch. (Cue the expansion after Cataclysm involving the return of the Titans as a series of raid bosses)
 * Hadn't considered the Dwarves/Gnomes and Worgen/Forsaken angles. Though another option, if the Titans assigned aspects, would be to assign one aspect each to a race of both the Alliance and the Horde. Tauren & Night Elves would be nature, for example, each taking the Green Dragonflight's gig for their respective faction. Blood Elves & Draenei could take over for the Bronze (perhaps even why the Bronze Dragons see your orphan as such a threat when you visit during Children's Week). The addition of Goblins and Worgen spanner the works a bit, but then perhaps there has been enough change on Azeroth to warrant a new aspect in need of protection.
 * Actually, none of the races so far (except possibly the Goblins and Tauren-- we don't know very much about their archaeological origins) are "legitimately" the creations of the titans, by your standard. Humans are a variant of the Vrykul who are a variant of giants who, you guessed it, succumbed to the Curse of Flesh. Night Elves are related to Trolls, who are related to a race of entities who pre-date Titanic interference on Azeroth. High Elves are direct, historically recorded descendants of Night Elves. Earthen, Mechagnomes, some Giants, and Dragons are the only remaining "pure" Titanic constructs left on the planet (and, again, each one of those has populations who have become corrupted). Even the freaking Ramkahen, who were totally made up for a new zone in Cata, have succumbed to the Curse of Flesh, and the only remaining non-cursed ones are the result of an Old-God corrupted elemental lord... corrupting them some more in reverse.

Garrosh is such a hyper-aggressive Jerkass because there's a shard of Saronite lodged in his brain.
This may sound like a really out-there theory, but think about it. What does exposure to saronite do, considering it's the hardened blood of an Old God? It causes aggression; the unwavering desire to fight and kill. Something Garrosh's no stranger to. And seeing as Garrosh loves to fight- when he gets the opportunity- it's possible that on a battlefield somewhere, a saronite arrow or blade got stuck in Garrosh's skull. He had the wound healed and taken care of discreetly so as not to look 'weak', but the healer could have made a mistake, as this IS a medieval-ish setting, and the wound never fully healed. Maybe a piece of saronite got stuck in his skull, and that much exposure to saronite on a regular basis is literally warping Garrosh's brain and actions. It explains everything.
 * Unfortunately there's a hole in that theory: he was a hyper-aggressive Jerkass before they left for Northrend.
 * Alternate theory: Thrall is the one with saronite in his brain. It would explain promoting Garrosh to Warchief.
 * This. Seriously Thrall, wtf.
 * No one's suggested that both of them might? Garrosh is...well, Garrosh; and Thrall not only left him in charge, but reinstated Gallywix. (Unless, of course, Thrall is giving them both just enough rope with which to hang themselves...)

Being a Defias is the national hobby of Stormwind
Just saying. It seems everyone except PCs belongs to this secret society. It's something they do in the weekends. Grabbing a red bandanna and hiding behind an apple tree is the local equivalent of morris dancing. And because it's a secret society no-one is sure who everyone else is.
 * this post is a CMOA
 * Agreed.
 * Being a member of Defias is the same thing as being a member of the Dollars?

Tseric committed suicide
Blizzard didn't say anything since they didn't want the public to know that forum trolls led a community manager to suicide.
 * The forums are just terrible enough to make this possible.

The parents of the Children's Week orphans didn't just die, they were stupid.
So stupid they couldn't find their way back to their body from the graveyard after dying.

The Draenei and the Blood Elves will replace the Bronze Dragonflight as Guardians of Time.

 * In line with my earlier WMG about Azeroth's mortals replacing the Dragonflights, the Draenei and Blood Elves will perform the duties of the Bronze Dragons, either together or as separate members of the Alliance and the Horde. The Bronze Dragons are fully aware of this, which is why they almost immediately attack the Draenei and Blood Elf orphans you take to the Caverns of Time during Children's Week. Those two are the ones who will lead the Bronze Draenei & Bronze Blood Elves. This is also, if other theories are true, why the Infinite Dragonflight exists. They don't want these uppity mortals interfering with their gig and strive to make the events that would lead up to it not happen, damn the consequences (seeing as they're personally screwed anyway, what have they got to lose?)

We are living in a alternate universe where Knack became cannon and Weilla became a Fanfic writer
Try a say this dose not make sense I DARE YOU
 * What.
 * ... Dude.. Die for Our Ship much? Canon is canon; Jaina has never been in love with Thrall. Deal with it.
 * Forget any and all shipping for one moment (why does everyone always assume everything is about that?) and take a objective look at Weilla's writing style, characterizations, plotting, and dealing with lore (which, despite being a AU verse takes into account as much Lore as possible), then compare all of the above to Knaak. Yeah, think on that.
 * YMMV, strongly. She might be better than Knaak, but that's not saying much of anything. Writing is, in this troper's opinion, still significantly sub-par.
 * Poor spelling aside, it does make sense. Say what you will about Weiila's writing (and, trust me: none of us are going to convince anyone that we're the supreme arbiters of quality), but she's at very least more proficient at both plotting and characterization than Knaak.

== The optional final boss of the Bastion of Twilight will be C'thun resurrected at full power and the horrifying secret will be The Old Gods playing a role in the creation of the Twilight Dragonflight. == The Twilight Bastion is said to include "a sixth Algalon-style optional, ultra-hard boss," and a "horrifying secret" in a room full of black dragon eggs. Considering that Cho'Gall is the last required boss of the raid, and he works for C'Thun, it would be reasonable to have to fight C'Thun after the raid falls into the pit. As for the eggs, it's possible that the Old Gods are linked to the Twilight Dragonflight, and are manipulating the creation of the Twilight Dragonflight so that they can put them under their control and destroy the Black Dragonflight when it is no longer useful, similar to how Gul'Dan made the first Death Knights, but made them loyal to him rather than Doomhammer.
 * It'd hardly be the first attempt by the Old Gods to control a Dragonflight, and Blizzard has already shown an interest in revamping old-world raid content for new expansions. Having C'thun make an appearance in the Bastion of Twilight doesn't seem that far-fetched, really.
 * According to this ripped video,

And the winners of Icecrown Citadel are...

 * Or:

Azeroth is a Spiral world.
Either that or Algalon is the closest thing that the Warcraft universe has to Anti-Spiral. Loken, the one entrusted with the Titans, was corrupted, and certain events (his death) sent a signal that the world had become too corrupt, and it could be said that the world was doomed if the players hadn't intervened. Oh, and the battle takes place in space, with Algalon possessing an attack called Big Bang. This quote helps seal the deal that Azeroth and its beings possess Spiral Power: "Algalon: Perhaps it is your imperfection that which grants you free will. That allows you to persevere against cosmically calculated odds. You prevailed where the Titans' own perfect creations have failed."


 * It would explain why, whenever a new threat appears, the players can grow to the exact level needed to defeat it and no higher: once they have re-established themselves as the top predator, there is no need to continue evolving, because the environment doesn't change.

Hogger is a shaman.
Explains him coming back stronger in Cataclysm.

In Cataclysm, Azuregos will lead the Blue Dragonflight.

 * It's been confirmed that it will be Kalecgos, not Azuregos.

Only mortals can kill the Old Gods
The Titans originally could not kill the Old Gods without risking the destruction of Azeroth. However, their deaths at the hands of player characters have not caused such havoc. It could just be that their imprisonment has weakened them. Or perhaps because they've been taken one at a time instead of at once. But it could also be that only mortals, beings linked, if not necessarily native, to Azeroth itself are able to harm the Old Gods without risking untold damage to their world.
 * So the mortal races are the planet's equivalent of white blood cells?

The Infinite Dragonflight are trying to prevent the death of Nozdormu
Nozdormu was informed by the Titans themselves of when and how he would die. This was done to keep him thinking he didn't answer to anyone. Eventually, Nozdormu's death happened as planned, but his Dragonflight couldn't handle it. They began to plan ways to alter history so as to prevent Nozdormu's death and bring him back, and corrupted into the Infinite Dragonflight as a result.

Gallywix is left in charge of the Bilgewater Cartel to keep Garrosh in line.
I've seen noted the odd detail that Gallywix is retained as Trade Prince of the Bilgewater goblin cartel despite the fact he's an out and out traitor and his own people seem to hate him. However, Thrall's intentions may be more far sighted than we realize. Thrall knows perfectly well that Garrosh is not fully up to leading yet, and is counting on the other Horde leaders to keep him in check until he grows into his role. The goblins are a potential spanner in the works, though. If Thrall had a new leader appointed in Gallywix's place, the odds are high that new leader is someone who would feel grateful to the Horde for its aid. Grateful enough, perhaps, to not question Garrosh or work against him if need be. Nor can Thrall tell his new member nation "Welcome to the Horde, don't turn your back on the guy in charge." But with Gallywix, Thrall has someone who will do exactly that without Thrall having do anything to ensure it. Gallywix can keep Garrosh on his toes in a way no other Horde leader except maybe Sylvanas could, but with the goblins as a whole being a lesser risk than the Forsaken.

Darion Morgraine is the Lich King in disguise.
We haven't seen his face since he supposedly became a death knight, have we? He is actually the Lich King, the Knights of the Ebon Blade never broke away from the Scourge, and  And someday, when we least expect it, the death knights whom the Alliance and Horde trusted will kill the leaders and take over both factions, enslaving the armies to the Lich King's rule...

The Faction Champs and priest mobs didn't die in the To C raid/dungeon.
Come on. There's no way they would throw their lives away in the name of "training." The corpses are just there for gameplay's sake.

When Blizz need to get the Horde-Alliance tension but again, it'll involve Anduin Wrynn.
Partly because the kid is quite honestly shaping up to be the best damn potential faction leader there is. He' all pro-peace so he's gonna either die or be corrupted since that would get rid of someone who would have a chance to bring peace AND provide Varian with his latest reason to hate the Horde, since if something does do Anduin in it will be done to frame the Horde. Seriously, Anduin is like a giant red button saying "WARNING! WARNING!" for Varian. Nothing enrages him like a threat to his son. That, or....

A bad guy will attempt to kill Anduin.
An enemy that is too strong for both factions to defeat will, for whatever reason, attempt to kill Anduin, maybe not even intentionally. For extra goodness a memeber of the Horde or even Thrall himself will save everyone's favourite prince. A supposed, distant Old God might not motivate Varian to team up with the Horde, but someone else gunning for his son? Plus, if Garrosh cools down and becomes half-way more reasonable who here can't say that despite personal dislike of Varian & Garrosh if the two of them actually worked together they'd kickass halfway to Outland & back?
 * Hell yes they would. And I can see Garrosh saving Anduin's life. He may hate the Alliance in theory, but that doesn't extend to an innocent child.
 * The novel of The Shattering also shows Baine Bloodhoof developing a respect/friendship for Anduin. So he, if nobody else, will likely step up to help the prince.

Expansions will follow a linear pattern of "two new races, hero class, two new races, hero class, etc.
It just seems right.
 * Quite likely, but they might switch it up.

Kobolds will be a playable race for the Horde.
Firstly, there's a quest in the Stonetalon Mountains in which you press some nearby Kobolds into fighting Alliance soldiers. The quest-giver seems very interested to learn that this is possible. Secondly, the Alliance kills Kobolds much more often than Horde. Thirdly, I want to hear male Kobolds using /flirt or /silly and making innuendo about their iconic candles. If they're deemed insufficiently intelligent, the Goblins could lend them some Kaja'Mite. The Alliance in turn might get Furbolgs, Murlocs, Centaurs, Dryads... I don't really have any great ideas for them.
 * Murlocs for Horde, Dryads for Alliance sounds swell.

Kaja'mite is the blood of an old god.
Just like Saronite, Kaja'mite is a by-product of an old god who lives deep beneath the south seas. However, unlike Saronite which just makes you crazy, those who mite Kaja'mite for long periods of time makes you intelligent....and greedy. That's right. Every time you drink kaja'cola, you're really DRINKING THE BLOOD OF A FREAKING OLD GOD!!! Anyway, it's possible that the old god in question desires the goblins as servants. This could also explain the goblins' love of explosions; their creator smiles upon them unmaking the titans' world bit by bit, boom by boom.

The Qiraji and silithids will be a future Big Bad.
It'd be easy to do- have silithid hives creep north through Kalimdor with each expansion. There are already hives in Silithus, Un'goro Crater, Tanaris, and the cataclysm unearthed (and submerged) one in the Thousand Needles, they'd just have to add a hive or an entrance to the hive caverns in a new zone or two for another couple expansions until it got to the Cenarion Circle in Desolace. Ahn'Qiraj is now shown on the Kalimdor map as a zone, but has no NPCs, quests, or monsters, and neither of the raids were updated, so there's room for Blizzard to do something with the zone and raids in a later expansion. The kingdom also still has deep ties to the Old Gods through C'Thun, so a resurgence isn't impossible. (Heck, maybe even Qiraji defectors could become a playable race?)

The Titans are a bunch of idiots who pussied out of doing the job properly.
Name me ONE place where the titans did something that some evil dude didn't fuck up big time much later? Aren't the titans almighty gods for crying out loud!?
 * To be honest, the Titans have seeded and created countless worlds (Or so it is implied). Azeroth is but one, which explains why they've never came back to help out against the Old Gods (So far). It's less that they're cowards or idiots, and more that they just don't care. They've far better things to do.
 * So instead of just being pussies, they seed thousands of planets and don't bother helping when needed, even when their own work has backfired massively (world-clearing weapon in Uldum) they just ignore it?... that seems even worse!
 * The Titans CAN'T destroy the Old Gods. Read the lore. The Old Gods symbiotically bonded with the planet and the races, so if they die by the Titans' hand, the planet dies as well. They're also fighting against everything that Sargeras did, and know full well he's eventually coming back. They're preparing for war, and one planet isn't going to change the fate of the universe. Also, the Re-Originator didn't backfire, it's working as intended. The Titans have much more to worry about than the petty squabbles on one insignificant planet. They need to stop the Legion.

'''== Thrall isn't coming back. ==''' Despite claims that Garrosh's position is temporary, Thrall will not be reclaiming the title any time soon. Why did Blizzard introduce Garrosh in the first place? Because they wanted conflict between the factions, and the Horde needed a more aggressive leader for that to happen. So as long as they want the Alliance and the Horde at war (which will probably be the for the rest of WoW), Garrosh is likely to stay Warchief. Near the end of Cataclysm, Thrall will either be killed off or suffer a fate similar to Bolvar Fordragon's (Metzen even hinted at Blizzcon 2010 that Thrall could act as a replacement for Neltharion), rendering him unable to return and leaving Garrosh as Warchief.
 * Babies Ever After were mentioned. So if he hasn't knocked up Aggra by the next-to-last patch of Cata, he's going to live. If he has (and it'll probably be twins; calling it now), I give it about a 50-50% chance he's doomed. (Or not; he is, after all, an author-pet.)

"Fel Corruption" is a popular Blizzard tool for a reason.

 * There's been some rather awe-inspiring forum backlash against the use of random demonic corruption to "transform" popular WCIII characters into Idiot Ball-hefting raid bosses. Illidan Stormrage is the most obvious with Prince Kael'Thas's "setback" and recovery being another. This could very easily be a reason to let these aforementioned popular characters return to lend us their desperately needed aid in our eventual battle against Sargeras, almost guaranteed to be in The Twisting Nether. These characters with their demonic taint - or even demonic slave-soul in Illidan's case - will have been sucked into the Nether upon death and very likely subjected to agonies unceasing for their failures. When the player characters come storming in we'll liberate them, and they can be completely in-character when they side with us. Of course we'll have to kill Illidan again when he finds a way to steal Sargeras's magic, but that's par for the course with a character like him.

Blood Elves and Draenei will be back in the spotlight in a future raid patch.
Ever since the release of Wrath of the Lich King, the two BC races have just been sitting around in their respective capitol cities, twiddling their thumbs. Sure, you saw more then a few Draenei and Blood Elves fighting scourge in Northrend, but on the whole, their presence in the overall story of Wrath was nowhere NEAR as big as it was in Burning Crusades. Granted, Wrath wasn't really SUPPOSED to be about them, but still, it feels like they've just been tucked into a corner and forgotten about. Sadly, these two races are still being ignored in Cataclysm........at least, so far. Now that the Alliance and Horde are gearing up for another all-out war, everyone in their respective factions will be expected to do their part, including these two.

Now that Garrosh Hellscream is Warchief, he may get well and truly tired of the Blood Elves' recent lack of presence in the Horde's various theaters of war. That, combined with the fact that it was the Draenei that restored the sunwell and saved their people, Garrosh may feel it necessary to remind the Blood Elves of just where exactly their loyalties are SUPPOSED to lie. Lor'themar Theron may not be too happy with any radical actions Garrosh will no doubt take, and this IS Garrosh we're talking about afterall. He's not going to go up to the Lor'themar and ask nicely for more support. Meanwhile, on the Alliance side of things, Varian Wrynn may be similarly dissatisfied with a lack of major Draenei presence on Alliance fronts and may have a bone or two to pick with Prophet Velen regarding the matter. While Varian would not be as harsh toward the Draenei as Garrosh would be toward the Blood Elves, you can bet that Varian will want to do something to remind Velen of the commitments he and his people swore to the Alliance years ago. Not to mention that Varian might not be all that happy that Velen reignited the sunwell for the Blood Elves, curing them of their crippling fel addiction and giving them, and by proxy the Horde, an advantage. In both cases, the Sunwell will be a major point of contention and the name of the raid patch could be "Return to the Sunwell" in which Alliance players will try to take the Isle of Quel'Danas by force and Horde players will try to repel them (not an actual battleground, mind you. More like Alliance players fighting Horde NPC's and vice versa, kinda like the gunship battle in Icecrown Citadel).
 * There were quite a few high elves that weren't in Quel'thalas during the Third War, and they're still in service to the Alliance or the Kirin Tor of Dalaran. Restoring the Sunwell would've helped them too (although definitely not as much as it helped the Horde). However, something else that could easily come into play involving both the Blood Elves and High Elves is that since the restoration of the Sunwell, supposedly no more elves should be at risk for turning into Wretched, but in Cataclsym, the high elves of Quel'Lithen Lodge in the Eastern Plaguelands are all Wretched, so something's up.
 * Not so fast. "Quite a few" high elves outside of Quel'thelas during the Third War is arguably pushing it; Dalaran and Lordaeron probably had the largest population of high elves outside of Quel'thelas, and both places got decimated. The small contingent that went with Jaina to Theramore and Kirin Tor agents who fled or were otherwise in the field when KJ built his sandcastle are all that remain of that population. It's a moot point regardless, because 90% of all surviving high elves became blood elves, regardless of their location at the time (a number that's been stated several times by Blizzard). Either they dropped everything and went home, or accepted blood elven ideology after the fact (ie: Koltira). Regardless of the prominence of the Silver Covenant in Wrath, high elves are grossly outnumbered by blood elves, and their numbers in the Alliance are thusly trivial. The Quel'Delar quest chain suggests that even Lor'themar, with his stated antipathy toward them (that doesn't seem to have lessened in Cataclysm as of 4.1 and the scene with Vereesa and Halduron in Ghostlands), allowed Auric and a small number of quel'dorei pilgrims access to the Sunwell. And besides that, nowhere in the SWP coda or Quel'Delar questline does it state that no elves can ever become Wretched again. The fate of Quel'Lithien Lodge in Cataclysm can be handwaved in any number of ways that don't involve renewed high/blood elf fighting.
 * Here's a thought: The worgen and the goblins. Between the Forsaken invading Gilneas and the goblins' ship getting blown up by SI:7 just for being there, the Cata races would both be much more gung-ho about a Horde/Alliance war than the BC races currently would. Some inner-faction tension could occur as a result. This troper can easily imagine Greymane becoming frustrated with Prophet Velen's pacifism streak. Not sure how goblin / blood elf tensions could play out though.
 * Goblin / Blood Elf tensions got a small set-up in Azshara. The Blood Elves are trying to preserve historical sites and artifacts, while the goblins don't care and are eager to tear them down. It's not a lot, but it's something.
 * A possibility involving the Blood Elves that could also clear up a somewhat common lore complaint (at least partially)- Koltira Deathweaver. He joined the Horde to follow his people, now the blood elves, but he's working for Undercity rather than Silvermoon City in the battle for Andorhal. He could've volunteered or been sent to help as a gesture of goodwill towards the rest of the Horde, or just as a reminder from Silvermoon that they're still there. The blood elves already have a decent reason to be wary of the Forsaken right now, since Sylvannas is gearing up to be the first Lich Queen, and finding out that she's torturing one of their own could be the push they need to call her out.

The Val'kyr were sent to Sylvanas by Ner'zhul.
While the Lich King was a merge of both Arthas and Ner'zhul, Arthas was clearly the dominant spirit (at least during Wot LK). Because of this, the last shred of Arthas' humanity held the Scourge back and kept them from annihilating the Alliance and the Horde. Ner'zhul was not happy with this and desired a new host, so he arranged for us to kill Arthas and replace him with Bolvar. This plan backfired, however, as Bolvar proved incorruptable, and the Lich King went dormant entirely. Ner'zhul, more powerless than ever, once again desired a new host. Sylvanas is an ideal target. She's rash, ruthless, and possibly even insane. She cares more about results than methods, and with the Forsaken's numbers diminished from war with the Alliance and the Scourge, is desperately in need of more troops. So Ner'zhul sends her his Val'kyr, who offer their services while wanting seemingly nothing in return. In actuality, the Val'kyr have been spent to begin working Sylvanas into a host for Ner'zhul.
 * The problem with this theory is that Arthas wasn't just the "dominant spirit" as of Wot LK, he was the sole spirit in the body. The end of the Arthas novel, which presumably takes place shortly before the xpac starts, has Arthas annihilating both Ner'zhul and the last remnants of his own humanity. Not to mention the fact that the val'kyr who've joined the Forsaken aren't getting "nothing" in return for their services: they're getting job security and a new purpose. Bolvar hardly has the desire to raise new undead, after all.

The next Dragon Aspect of Earth will be...
Since Deathwing's the Big Bad of Cataclysm, it's pretty much a given that he's going down, leaving the Black Dragonflight without a leader. Somebody's going to have to step up and take his place. Possible candidates-
 * Nalice. She hasn't really done anything, but she's the Black flight's ambassador to the Wyrmrest Accord, giving her the most opportunity and experience working with key players of the other flights, including Alexstrasza herself. Probably a bit evil, though.
 * Sabellian. He's Badass, fairly friendly and actually seems quite sane for a member of the Black flight, and counts mortals, including Rexxar, among his friends. However, spending so much time in Outland has probably left him a bit disconnected from Azeroth.
 * Being in Outland could make Sabellian a pretty good choice. Nethalian went insane due to the influence of Azeroth's Old Gods, but Sabellian might be out of their reach.
 * The purified Black Dragonflight egg created in the Badlands chain. But it's going to be a Chekhov's Gun or Chekhovs MIA until the final raid with Deathwing or sometime after his defeat.
 * To be more specific,.
 * The next Black Aspect is probably, actually.
 * Nobody.
 * To be more specific,.
 * The next Black Aspect is probably, actually.
 * Nobody.
 * Nobody.
 * Nobody.

One of the new expansions will see us returning to Outland.
Burning Crusade was the first major expansion for WoW, and as such it lacked a lot of the refinement that later expansions would bring in. With Cataclysm, Blizzard has brought the Classic zones up to the new standard set by Wrath Of The Lich King. This leaves Outland as the odd one out among the regions, giving Blizzard good reason to go back and improve it. Because Outland is just a load of islands floating in the middle of nowhere, it wouldn't take much effort to add some new zones. Or we could use Ner'zhul's old portal network to visit new worlds; perhaps the homeworld of the Ethereals, or a fully fel-corrupted outpost of the legion. Plus, Blizzard could use this opportunity to fix some of the Egregious issues with the principal villains-
 * Illidan: At the very least, he should have more screen time. In all my time questing in Outland, I think he appeared all of two times. Granted, Arthas recieved a lot of Villain Decay by appearing too much, but Illidan is a complex character, and his motives deserve more exploration. Another option would be to retcon his death and make him a friendly character. This would give Blizzard an excuse to implement the Demon Hunter hero class with Illidan as the faction leader. Lets face it, who wouldn't want to play as a blindfolded, dual-wielding demon slayer?
 * There's probably more to this theory than one would think. At Blizzcon 2010's Lore panel, the question of Illidan's redemption was brought up and Metzen & co. said it was something they'd be interested in. The Cataclysm quest chain in the revamped Felwood featuring a student of Illidan (in which his Always Chaotic Evil BC portrayal is dialed back to the Well-Intentioned Extremist of Warcraft 3 and TFT, and we're reminded of his heroism in the Third War) also lends some credence to the idea that we haven't seen the last of Illidan.
 * As of Blizzcon 2011, Illidan's return is "likely".
 * Kael'thas: I'm not sure a retcon would work for Kael, because he's more tightly connected to the story than Illidan was (Tempest Keep, summoning KJ, etc), but it would be cool to bring him back as the Blood Elf faction leader, rather than that non-entity Lorthemar. Kael's descent into villainy wasn't really presented tragically enough, it would be good to see how he went from Well-Intentioned Extremist to Complete monster in more detail.
 * Vashj: DEFINITELY needs more character development, she's pretty much a nonentity at the moment. Some exploration of exactly what her minions were hoarding the water in Zangarmarsh for would help, as would her relations with partner-in-crime Illidan.
 * It was explicitly explained that Vashj was hording the water so that Illidan could use it, along with the raw mana Kael was collecting from the Netherstorm, and along with the vials of water from the well of eternity, to make a new well of eternity in outland, likely with the intention of using it's power to defend himself from Kil'Jaeden or go stomp Arthas in revenge, though most people considered an Earthshattering Kaboom the more likely outcome.

Cho'gall doesn't die at the end of the Bastion of Twilight.
Cho'gall has twice so far shown a talent for surviving despite having been said to have died. It happened first when he was thought dead by Rend and Maim after they had droven their axe into his chest. The second time it happened it was when Med'an kamehameha'd Cho'gall, who then had broken ruins fall on top of him. He might just prove his toughness once again. As well as that, Cho'gall is THE leader of the Twilight's Hammer, which is the major enemy of the expansion, alongside the Black and Twilight dragons. He's far too iconic as the cult's leader to die in the first raid.
 * They might in fact turn it into a Running Gag with Cho'gall continuing to show up alive in several raids in later patches, all up until the patch featuring the Deathwing raid.
 * So Cho'gall will be the new Kael'Thas?
 * Cho'gall was the original Kael'Thas
 * The Bastion of Twilight has canonically fallen, and the preview text for Dragon Soul mentions that most of Deathwing's allies and followers, Cho'Gall included, are dead.

The Time Warp from The Rocky Horror Picture Show will be the dance of a future playable race.
Why? Because it would be awesome.

The Frostmane trolls are paying for the Drakkari's betrayal
After the Cataclysm, the Frostmane trolls in Dun Morogh are acting strange; one quest has new Dwarf players sneaking around their camps, and overhearing that the spirits (Loa) have abandoned them. In Wrath of the Lich King when the scourge invades Zul'Drak, the Drakkari trolls turn on their Loa and take their power for themselves, as a last ditch effort to fight the scourge. The Frostmane trolls are an offshoot of the Drakkari, and likely worship the same Loa, but after what the Drakkari did, the Loa abandon the Frostmane as well.

Cenarius will eventually = bad news for the Horde in Ashenvale... unless he gets killed fighting against Ragnaros
Cenarius is back and alive and kicking, helping fight against Ragnaros's forces at Hyjal. After he's finished, he'll go fight against the Horde in Ashenvale. I really don't think just sit idly by while the Horde cuts down Ashenvale's forests. He didn't do so when Grom Hellscream's forces came to Ashenvale. If so, things won't look too good for the Horde there. And Garrosh, the son of the person who previously killed him, won't help matters.

Illidan saw the Draenei as demons because of their connection to the Eredar.
Illidan betraying the Broken and attacking Shattrath in Burning Crusade made no sense and seemed like Card Carrying Villainy. However, there's one other group that he was that outright antagonistic toward - demons. As a demon hunter, Illidan saw demons as pure evil and was willing to manipulate, use, and enslave them for his own purposes. Being familiar with the Burning Legion, he had doubtlessly seen plenty of Eredar, and upon learning that Draenei and Eredar are two factions of the same race he likely decided that Draenei are basically demons, and therefore must be either controlled or destroyed.

Alextrasza is out to kill us all.
She seems relatively unphased by the execution of her brother, Malygos, and seems quite willing to do the same to Neltharion. Who's next? Nozdormu will be taken out for collaboration with the Infinite Dragonflight, Ysera will turn out to be still affected by the Nightmare, and then, when all the dust clears and we're left with four Dragonflights headed by puppets of the so-called 'Lifebinder,' only then will we see that we have played right into her hands. It will turn out that she was driven mad during her captivity with the Dragonmaw, and now she's out to destroy all mortal life. Or enslave it. One or the other.
 * She does express regret that she had to kill Malygos even if it was ultimately necessary, and in the leadup to her fight against Deathwing in the Twilight Highlands, despite knowing that he crossed the Moral Event Horizon 10,000 years ago and never looked back, notes that she feels similarly about killing him (She's less successful this time, but will get another chance with the rest of the aspects, Thrall and the players in Dragon Soul).

Gallywix will cross the Moral Event Horizon.
Why? Because it would be genuinely shocking if Gallywix killed off a major lore character or something similar. I mean yes, he did try to sell his own people into slavery so it goes without saying he's an evil prick, but he's still a goblin, so not many people take him seriously. That will change though, once he does something genuinely disgusting. And he could do it too. His short story over at us.battle.net implies that he murdered people to become trade prince.
 * Perhaps he's the mysterious Twilight Prophet.
 * It was someone else, see below...

The final major content patch of Cataclysm (when we fight Deathwing) will be called The Hour of Twilight
"Hour of Twilight" Has been a recurring phrase throughout the expansion, spoken by Deathwing, Fandral, and Ragnaros. In the novel Thrall: Twilight of the Aspects we learn through Ysera's prophecies that it's the event in which the Old Gods will claim their final victory and exterminate all life on Azeroth. Sounds like the perfect setting for an all-or-nothing battle.
 * As of patch 4.3, "Hour of Twilight" is confirmed as the final 5 man dungeon in the slate of three that will lead up to the Deathwing raid, Dragon Soul.
 * Completely confirmed as of Blizzcon.

N'Zoth will be the Big Bad of the next expansion, and Queen Azshara and/or Xavius will be his dragons.
N'Zoth has remained a mysterious and malicious force throughout Cataclysm. He has been described as the one "signing Deathwing's checks," and is obviously the "higher power" that the Twilight's Hammer answers to above Deathwing. However, 4.3 will be the final raid content patch of Cataclysm, and it is unlikely that they will try and shove N'zoth in when the rest of his brethren have been the final bosses of their own instances.

The most important point, however, is that he is the creator of the Emerald Nightmare, which has been a speculated expansion for quite some time; therefore, it would make sense for him to be the Big Bad of that expansion. C'thun was more-or-less the final villain of the original WoW, so it wouldn't be too far-fetched to have an Old God as the main villain. Xavius as the Nightmare Lord would most likely be one of his main enforcers, and Queen Azshara would be allied with him, as well.

The only problem with this theory is that N'Zoth was implied to be beneath Vashj'ir and would have played a role in the cancelled Abyssal Maw raid. Still, if he's gonna be a future Big Bad or even a boss before Deathwing in the Deathwing Raid, he'd obviously have to be moved.
 * That isn't necessarily a problem. Patch 4.3 info has revealed the final battle against Deathwing will start in a special, phased version of Dragonblight (specifically the area surrounding Wyrmrest Temple). There's no reason they couldn't do something similar for a N'Zoth fight, if we don't end up fighting it in this expansion.
 * It has been stated that Mists of Pandaria will not have a Big Bad. Then again, that doesn't preclude either Azshara or N'Zoth from showing up, especially considering that Illidan was apparently originally supposed to be Burning Crusade's final boss.

The Twilight Prophet is...

 * Millhouse Manastorm. Sure he “died” in Stonecore but the players Never Found the Body.
 * Jossed. The prophet is.

Assuming another expansion introduces new races, the Horde will gain the Pandaren and the Alliance will gain the Murlocs or something similarly "ugly".
So, one of the meta reasons for the Draenei and the Blood Elves becoming playable in Burning Crusade was so that the Alliance would have a less "human-looking" race, and so the Horde could have a more human-looking race, right? It occurred to me that even so, the Horde doesn't have a truly cute/cuddly race (Alliance at least has Gnomes), while the Alliance still doesn't have a really monstrous-looking race (Draenei may look less human, but they're still not as monstrous in appearance as the orcs or trolls). Additionally, the Pandaren might be able to help mediate some of the more recent conflicts within the Horde, such as Garrosh alienating many of the other racial leaders, the controversy over Sylvanas using the val'kyr, and the naming of Gallywix as leader of the goblins (which, although not brought up by the other Horde races, is likely wildly unpopular amongst the goblins themselves), thereby winning back some of the Horde sympathy that was lost with recent revelations.
 * Bets on Nerubian remnants. They will start out in some Northrend coastal region, have racial bonus to Tailoring profession, some immobilizing "webshot" ability and a ton of Spider-Man jokes.
 * Jossed...

How the problems with the Horde leadership will be resolved.
Given all the troubles with Garrosh and Sylvanas, it seems as if the Horde is on the verge of splintering apart, which is the last thing they need given their reignited conflict with the Alliance. Once the problems on the elemental plane are solved, Thrall will return to the Horde and relieve Garrosh of his title as Warchief (hopefully remonstrating him for causing so much tension amongst the Horde while he does it). Meanwhile, in the Eastern Kingdoms, Lor'themar will finally grow a pair, step up to the plate and do something by trying to reason with Sylvanas, and hopefully convince her to take whatever she's planning down a few notches. After all, the Forsaken and blood elves are outcasts even among the Horde, so it makes sense that they're more closely allied with one another. And finally, the goblins will become completely fed up with Gallywix's shenanigans, overthrow him, and replace him with Boss Mida.

The Old Gods are Reapers

 * Ancient, incomprehensible beings of pure evil that slowly erode your willpower and sanity, turning you into their thralls? Coincidence?

The residents of Rustberg Village are being exterminated by both Horde and Alliance in a genocide.
(The one in the Tol Barad Daily "Not The Friendliest Town".) The village is actually a peaceful utopia. The residents are of all the races that make up the Horde and the Alliance. It would hurt the cause of both the Horde and the Alliance to have it proven that the races can all live together in peace, so the factions are systematically slaughtering them.

Deathwing will go One-Winged Angel for the final fight.
We have already seen some tentacles on him during the Alexstrasza questline. If the first phase of Deathwing's encounter is breaking off his adamantium plating, then there's nothing holding him in dragon form. Maybe he'll even rant about becoming 'a New God' before mutating into some un-dragony thing. .

Thrall is secretly getting sick of both the Horde and the Alliance ruining his efforts for peace, and the hiatus to save the world from the Cataclysm is one way of getting away from it
In The Shattering Prelude to Cataclysm, Thrall laments that Varian doesn't trust him and the younger generation of the Horde (not just Garrosh) is more warlike as a result of having gotten used to fighting undead, and presumably also due to the idea of atoning for the Old Horde's atrocities being lost on those who didn't live through them. Eitrigg, hearing this, notes that Thrall seems soul sick, and suggests getting a mate and children to ensure that he will have an heir should he pass on. The Desire part of the Elemental Bonds quest indicates that Thrall wants, more than anything, to give up being Warchief and raise a family. It's thus possible that he won't return to being Warchief, especially if there are ways he can help all of Azeroth rather than just the Horde.

End Time is not that last we will see of Murozond.
The Murozond that the players encounter in End Time is merely one of the multiple possibilities of what Nozdormu could become as a result of being corrupted by the Old Gods. If the timeline in which Deathwing is slaughtered by the heroes of Azeroth prevails, perhaps the Old Gods will have a slightly different agenda for Nozdormu, one that could twist him into an even more powerful Lord of the Infinite.

Sabellian is giving black dragon eggs to the Burning Legion.
The Black Dragonflight have a history of breeding dragons for mounts. Perhaps Sabellian, the only "good" black dragon on a continent swarming with the Legion, has been gathering the eggs for them all this time.

Velen is doing nothing because he is literally building his power for a single spell.
The reason Velen has been doing bugger all despite being both the most powerful priest on Azeroth and possibly one of the most powerful mages (remember, Velen was one of their leaders when the Draenei were the Eredar, whose power stemmed entirely from the arcane, not the Light, and he was one of the most powerful) is because he literally gathering power. The purpose? To wound or weaken the Dark Titan himself so the heroes can strike Sargeras down, or at least distract him enough that the Titans can get around to cleaning up their mess.
 * In one Swamp of Sorrows quest, in which Velen appears to put a Broken out of his misery, the questgiver remarks that he's overwhelmed with gratitude that Velen would show up for something like this because Velen is otherwise spending all his time and energy preparing for the final battle with the Legion.

Stormwind is in the grip of an orwellian dictatorship
Okay, let's look at the facts here. Stormwind has a population size that is simply impossible if the state does not employ people breeding farms, magical aging or simply lies about its population. The government expected a guild of stonemasons to rebuild the largest city in the world for free, something which only a totalitarian state would expect. Anyone who commits a crime is put indefinitely into one of the two city prisons, with mundane prisoners being locked in the stockades. And, despite the fact that the stockades have been overrun by criminals for years now, the guard keeps putting in new prisoners as if nothing was happening. The various counties that are traditionally under protection from stormwind have received no extra troops for more than a dozen years, despite stormwind supposedly having troops to spare (another lie to make the government look good? Or do they need the soldiers to curtail thoughtcrime within the city?). SI:7, the stormwind guild of spies and assassins, is manned completely with former criminals, more than 3000 men suddenly having becoming utterly loyal to the alliance, a feat impossible without the use of manipulating minds. The nobles, which form the ruling party, are absolutely unassailable and the king never takes public action against them. Whenever a noble actually does something that is not acceptable to the ruling party, he doesn't get a trial, he just gets an assassin. In all honesty, the more you think about it, the more it makes sense. The guilds, the church, even crime in the city is regulated by the government.

The Titans and the Old Gods are two different factions of Xel'Naga.
Titans seed worlds right? Except these guys made the races of Azeroth and the Outland rather than Protoss and Zerg. This can also tie-in with the WMG above regarding player races as Titan Security Systems™. Stretch it a bit further and the Old Gods can be the introduced in Starcraft II.

Gilneas will become a majority of Civilised Worgen
It's already halfway there as soon as you're past the beginning-game. Soon enough, instead of it just being a handful of NPCs who are 'turned', thanks to all these Player Characters coming in and the mass invasion of the original Worgen, the Civilised Worgen will pretty much replace true humans. While there is no cure, there are clearly ways to stay sane, you can change forms at will after a few levels, and the country will become a population center for Worgen, in the same way Mulgore is a population center for Tauren and Dun Morogh is the population center for Dwarves.

A fifth (or tenth) expansion will feature a gateway into Sanctuary
The humans have had their power restraints removed in the end of Diablo II, in Diablo III we saw what this unrestrained power does to a godlike Superprime... with a few more decades of experience and refining, Sanctuary should be just about the proper place for a level 150 WoW player.