Why didn't they nuke Stormwind instead?

[JustRob]

I don't get it. The Horde nuked Theramore with a mana bomb. But why didn't they target Stormwind instead? Boom, Stormwind gone, Varian dead, Alliance falls apart.

It seems quite silly to waste such an OP weapon on a relatively tiny settlement that poses no threat whatsoever.

[Daetur]

I admittedly haven't cared to look much into the "lore" surrounding it, but Theramore was extremely close to Horde territory and one of Garrosh's main platforms was expansion and resource procurement. Removing Alliance presence and an Alliance foothold near the Barrens was his priority- not to mention the fact that Theramore was more directly involved in the attacks launched on the Barrens and the destruction of Camp Tauraho.

(Also, and primarily, gameplay reasons- it's a lot easier to remove a relatively minor questing hub than a major capitol.)

[Lochton]

Theramore was a strategic point for a navy, with a high way directly to Orgrimmar.

[Sansnom]

I don't get it. The Horde nuked Theramore with a mana bomb. But why didn't they target Stormwind instead? Boom, Stormwind gone, Varian dead, Alliance falls apart.

It seems quite silly to waste such an OP weapon on a relatively tiny settlement that poses no threat whatsoever.

Strategy wise,
You think the Horde could just fly an airship into the Alliance capital without them knowing or reacting?

Game wise,
No idea.

[JustRob]

As far as I know, that highway only runs through Dustwallow Marsh, it doesn't even go through the barrens. And Theramore had nothing to do with Taurajo

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Strategy wise,
You think the Horde could just fly an airship into the Alliance capital without them knowing or reacting?

Game wise,
No idea.

Any reaction would have been too late, cuz once that bomb is dropped... Boom

[dixincide]

Flying a basic mount (as a horde) in stormwind is a pain. Flying an airship wouldn’t go unnoticed. I don’t think they’d make it close enough to do any damage.

[TheCount]

1. Theramore is on Kalimdor, which makes it a much easier target considering that a majority of the Horde's power is on this continent
2. Garrosh viewed Theramore as a mistake, it was allowed to be set up by Thrall who he viewed as being weak.
3. With Theramore gone, taking other Alliance controlled areas would be easier as the next bastion of Alliance power on Kalimdor was Darnassus which is very far from central and souther kalimdor

[McNeil]

It took a couple of assaults on Theramore to even have the mana bomb succesfully land. The first attack failed (when the Horde players zone in), the second ''invasion'' is pretty much the Horde players cleaning up the place from Alliance and saving Thalen, and only then they dropped the bomb. Stormwind is a lot tougher to clear.

[Aeula]

I don't get it. The Horde nuked Theramore with a mana bomb. But why didn't they target Stormwind instead? Boom, Stormwind gone, Varian dead, Alliance falls apart.

It seems quite silly to waste such an OP weapon on a relatively tiny settlement that poses no threat whatsoever.

Theramoore was closer and a more immediate threat due to it being the point where the alliance invasion of the Barrens began (With Jaina's approval, before the bomb) and was continuing. Plus the mana bomb wasn't big enough for stormwind. Look at the size of the crater and compare it to stormwind. At most it'd take out a district.

[Deleted]

I don't get it. The Horde nuked Theramore with a mana bomb. But why didn't they target Stormwind instead? Boom, Stormwind gone, Varian dead, Alliance falls apart.

It seems quite silly to waste such an OP weapon on a relatively tiny settlement that poses no threat whatsoever.

That would remove Stormwind and the Highking, it would still leave an Alliance base of operation on Orgrimmars doorstep and do you really think the Alliance would fall apart because SW is gone? Or is it because of Varian? Because I believe the Alliance was long established before Varian even entered the picture.

[JustRob]

That would remove Stormwind and the Highking, it would still leave an Alliance base of operation on Orgrimmars doorstep and do you really think the Alliance would fall apart because SW is gone? Or is it because of Varian? Because I believe the Alliance was long established before Varian even entered the picture.

Varian is the leader of the Alliance. Kill the leader, and the rest falls apart in confusion. The same was true during the first war. Stormwind wouldn't fall to the orcs no matter how hard they tried, but once Llane was assassinated, the troops lost morale and the kingdom fell.

[TheramoreIsTheBomb]

If they did, they'd all go ham on every single Horde localization in retaliation.

[TheCount]

Varian is the leader of the Alliance. Kill the leader, and the rest falls apart in confusion. The same was true during the first war. Stormwind wouldn't fall to the orcs no matter how hard they tried, but once Llane was assassinated, the troops lost morale and the kingdom fell.

The first war is very different compared to now. Back in that war it just the humans of Stormwind, now its various leaders of various groups. Granted if you nuke Stormwind you kill both Varian, Anduin and Genn which would severely cripple their moral. With Theramore still intact though, it would be vary possible to rally whats left of SW and launch an attack on Org. Also a giant blimp with a bomb attached would be very noticeable and very easy to counter, it only worked on Theramore because a majority of its defenders were exhausted from the battle on the ground.

[Rivin]

Varian is the leader of the Alliance. Kill the leader, and the rest falls apart in confusion. The same was true during the first war. Stormwind wouldn't fall to the orcs no matter how hard they tried, but once Llane was assassinated, the troops lost morale and the kingdom fell.

He wasn't the leader of the Alliance until mid-MoP. Besides which, while Stormwind might've fallen into chaos, the other members of the Alliance have their own separate leaderships, and just taking out Stormwind wouldn't cripple them at all. It might even have been more dangerous, with the night elves to the west and Theramore to the south of the Horde capital.

[Kraddark]

I think there are a couple good reasons already stated.

Stormwind is more heavily guarded.

Theramore was a very important stronghold in Kalimdor.

Garrosh is crazy.

It was their first try?

I don't think they blew anything up beforehand. Maybe they chose Theramore as a first target because they felt it would make for a good test of the technology. I believe the mana bomb was able to be used multiple times. They probably felt it would be easier to get it back in the event of a failure.

[Skronk]

Any reaction would have been too late, cuz once that bomb is dropped... Boom

havent you noticed how dense the skies are above SW with gryphon riders? how fast do you think the zepplyn carrying it can go to apparently be spotted too late to be swarmed by the alliance air force? Also i doubt the navy dont patrol the seas immediately surrounding SW so unless the zepplyn had stealth capabilities it'd be noticed looooooooong before it got to stormwind.

Now, even if i'm talking out my ass, the area around Theramore was essentially entirely controlled by the horde, at least compared to the relatively horde free southern kingdoms so at very least targeting SW with it would significantly less likely to succeed.

[Nirathiel]

I don't get it. The Horde nuked Theramore with a mana bomb. But why didn't they target Stormwind instead? Boom, Stormwind gone, Varian dead, Alliance falls apart.

It seems quite silly to waste such an OP weapon on a relatively tiny settlement that poses no threat whatsoever.

1. Well Garrosh wanted to take out Theramore because he knew that once he attacked it then the Alliance would send many of their soldiers and best commanders and weaken the Alliance, its like why take out 10000 soldiers in a battle and risk losing plenty of your own men when you could just huddle em all up in 1 place and nuke it.
2. he could somewhat have Kalimdor for himself by destroying a strategic position where the Alliance could invade from, and by destroying it and doing a blockade around the continent he tried to cut off the Alliance reinforcements while he deals with the Night Elves and Draenei.
3. He would've never reached Stormwind if he decided to cross to EK, cause the Alliance would have alot of outposts and scouts and the Alliance leaders in EK would just go out to meet him with their own army, it would be a slaughter-fest for Garrosh and the Horde.

[Rosstafa]

1. Theramore is in Horde territory so to speak, so more reason to get rid of it.

2. Attacking Stormwind directly would result in massive casualties, and it would be difficult to get any sizable force that close to Stormwind itself. The blimp carrying the mana bomb would never get close to the city, and Garrosh's plan would have been 10x harder to achieve. Theramore, while a strong fort, is nothing compared to Stormwind. The Alliance would have been able to mobilise quickly. I have no doubt that if things had gone differently, he might have had another mana bomb made and given it a go though.

[Ralo]

(Also, and primarily, gameplay reasons- it's a lot easier to remove a relatively minor questing hub than a major capitol.)

But you can still quest there. In fact, characters that hasnt done the scenario will see the unexploded version of Theramore, and you can visit it any time by talking to a nearby bronze flight person if you did do the scenario.

[AeneasBK]

Wasn't Jaina about to basically destroy Orgrimmar in retaliation before Thrall talked her down or someting? I wonder if he would have been able to if Stormwind had been the target.