The best night elf villain?

[Mace]

They don't often go bad, but when they do, they have been incredibly powerful and difficult to stop.

Which has been the best villain in your opinion? Whether you feel the most powerful , fiercest and challenging or the best written, best conceived, best executed/played out, or the most evil, destructive, influential night elf villain in wow? Whatever measure you use, which gets your vote? They don't have many, probably boast one of the fewest from a race, but the renegades do really stand out.

Who gets your vote? Even if it's merely your favourite night elf villain.

Queen Azshara?
Lord Xavius
Lord Illidan
Grand Magistrix Elisande
Arch Druid Fandral Staghelm
Warden Sentinel Cordanna Felsong

Twisted by the magics they fiercely devoted themselves too, a couple of these found redemption at/after death's door - and 1 of them's fate is unknown, still, despite how lawfully good this race is, they've made some of the most memorable baddies in Warcraft. Pick your fave.

[Darththeo]

Queen Azshara ... really not that much of a choice.

Xavius was meh ... one zone with a dungeon and raid and then gone (Would have been better if they could have figured out an Emerald Dream expansion).
Illidan wasn't really a villain ... still wonder why we fought him in Burning Crusade.
Elisande is Nightborne so I don't count her.
Staghelm was fun, but doesn't hold a candle to Azhara.
Felsong is just a evil Maiev in my view.

[Fixxit the Gnome]

Queen Azshara for sure.

Nuff said.

[Super Kami Dende]

Queen Azshara ... really not that much of a choice.
Elisande is Nightborne so I don't count her.

To be fair if you don't count Elisande you shouldn't count Aszhara as Aszhara has been a Naga longer than Elisande has been Nightborne.

I'd say its a toss up between Queen and Xavius for me. Xavius mostly because he fucked the Emerald Dream for so long and brought about the death of Ancients, Dragons and Ysera.

[Fixxit the Gnome]

.. and Ysera.

Fuck, forgot about that.

My favourite Aspect.

[Aucald]

I would actually put Xavius over Azshara for best villain - Azshara is more powerful and the bigger threat, but she's not really done a whole lot since becoming the queen of the Naga. Xavius, on the other hand, has made himself known on many occasions - capturing Malfurion, plunging the whole of Azeroth into a Nightmare plague, corrupting Teldrassil, corrupting Staghelm, and finally throwing his lot in with the Legion (maybe) and fully corrupting the Emerald Dream as well as several notable Archdruids and Ysera herself before being stopped. Xavius has a bigger footprint than Azshara in terms of villainy - Azshara has a lot to do if she wants to overtake her former adviser in the halls of notable WoW villains.

[Dagoth Ur]

I'd have to go with Xavius too. The way he trolled Tyrande and Malfy is something all villains should strive for.

[Deleted]

Staghelm for me. His motivation is the best. Also, most of the others are not night elves anymore.

[Mace]

Elisande is Nightborne so I don't count her.
.

Why? Queen Azshara is Naga, and Lord Xavius is demon, as is Illidan, and you have no trouble counting them. Stop thinking because nightborne are slightly different now, they aren't night elf heroes or villains. You do realise, shal'dorei is what we call night elf kaldorei empire elves right, they are more night elven than naga. All of what we've seen Azshara and Illidan in wow have not been as night elves, yet you have no qualms counting them in that category though they are no longer kaldorei, yet a clearly purple nocturnal night elf looking character like Elisande somehow doesn't count?

Yay, i elisande, night elf, got rays from my new well make my skin go darker, and all of a sudden I don't count as a night elf, because some players can't see nightborne elf as anywhere near night elves but are fine with naga and demon night elves.

- - - Updated - - -

To be fair if you don't count Elisande you shouldn't count Aszhara as Aszhara has been a Naga longer than Elisande has been Nightborne.

I'd say its a toss up between Queen and Xavius for me. Xavius mostly because he fucked the Emerald Dream for so long and brought about the death of Ancients, Dragons and Ysera.

Oh good, someone else said it, there was no need for me to semi-rant.

- - - Updated - - -

Staghelm for me. His motivation is the best. Also, most of the others are not night elves anymore.

Staghelm perhaps is the villain i sympathise with the most. But I also sympathise wtih Elisande, she is very well written, all her actions were motivated by saving her people though they were the wrong choices and she should have known better, for she willingly nearly caused the enemy to win - though you may argue, the night elven nightborne would have been destroyed before we could save them if she hadn't done what she did. My problem with Illidan is i did not really buy his going all bad in TBC, minus him being the arch villain of TBC he'd have been perfect, but then he'd have only been an anti-hero and not on this list.

I wonder if I should have had Maiev on that list too, she did go all villain, albeit for a short while.

[Deleted]

From books perspective, I really like Xavius. He was one of the most competent Highborne in whole WoTA Trilogy.
About Illidan... I liked him as a character before Legion, but I didn't like turning him into a villain in TBC.
Also I don't like turning Fandral into villain, but I adore him as a character, he's one of my favourite NEs.

Ah, and I would also add Vashj as a ex-NE villain. She was great and I prefer her far more than barbiedoll-queen Azshara.

[Mace]

From books perspective, I really like Xavius. He was one of the most competent Highborne in whole WoTA Trilogy.
About Illidan... I liked him as a character before Legion, but I didn't like turning him into a villain in TBC.
Also I don't like turning Fandral into villain, but I adore him as a character, he's one of my favourite NEs.

Ah, and I would also add Vashj as a ex-NE villain. She was great and I prefer her far more than barbiedoll-queen Azshara.

oh yeah, i forgot about vashj and Maiev even if she awas only briefly a villain

[Verdugo]

I'd have to go with Xavius too. The way he trolled Tyrande and Malfy is something all villains should strive for.

Is it really? I thought we abhor those that make fun of mentaly retarded.

[Dagoth Ur]

Is it really? I thought we abhor those that make fun of mentaly retarded.

Well since villains constantly fail at conquering the world and all that usual villian stuff... maybe settling down for something simpler like that is the way to go!

[Blizzard Moneybot]

Maiev even if she awas only briefly a villain

Maiev is only a villain, even briefly, if you think the Alliance and human bullshit was a good thing for the night elves to burden themselves with.

[Mace]

Maiev is only a villain, even briefly, if you think the Alliance and human bullshit was a good thing for the night elves to burden themselves with.

Wolfheart? She is definitely full on villain there.

[sillag]

azshara has some potential but when we just show up to the 8.2 raid on lfr mode and kill her in a big circular room she will join the long list of warcraft characters who blizzard's inept writing team completely wasted.

[Lyssander]

Fandral Staghelm.
Queen is a nice villain, but she is a naga now, Xavius is a satyr and Elisande a nightborne. Their biology is changed, and they have not been a part of the night elf society for thousands of years. Fandral on the other hand is a night elf through and through. He is also one of the few villains in wow that actually have good reasons to be what he is.

[Darththeo]

Why? Queen Azshara is Naga, and Lord Xavius is demon, as is Illidan, and you have no trouble counting them. Stop thinking because nightborne are slightly different now, they aren't night elf heroes or villains. You do realise, shal'dorei is what we call night elf kaldorei empire elves right, they are more night elven than naga. All of what we've seen Azshara and Illidan in wow have not been as night elves, yet you have no qualms counting them in that category though they are no longer kaldorei, yet a clearly purple nocturnal night elf looking character like Elisande somehow doesn't count?

Yay, i elisande, night elf, got rays from my new well make my skin go darker, and all of a sudden I don't count as a night elf, because some players can't see nightborne elf as anywhere near night elves but are fine with naga and demon night elves.

I don't even count Illidan as a villain ... Illidan is Illidan.

[Aucald]

I don't even count Illidan as a villain ... Illidan is Illidan.

Illidan's villainy, such as it was, has been recast into anti-heroism by Legion's portrayal of the events and the re-framing of his deeds as extreme actions against the greater evil of the Legion itself.

[Deleted]

Fandral Staghelm...

I'm soooooo sick of Azshara... She's such an overrated character. I'm glad she'll be done with in bfa