Saurfang is an SI:7/Alliance asset

[Super Dickmann]

IDK, I wanted to get the CE of BFA but ultimately cancelled my order. So while I might still play this game for now I'm not interested in getting any additional things anymore, because fuck this.

I don't buy merchandise outside the games or use the cash shop, but a lot of people do. I might be obligated to buy an Anduin shirt to keep to my word in the event Delaryn doesn't betray Sylvanas.

[Aucald]

I can't believe after Blizzard said many times that Sylvanas will not have the same faith as garrosh, we still have extreme low IQ people who think it will still happen.

"Not having the same path/story as Garrosh" is a pretty wide and open-to-interpretation thing. I don't think BfA will be a MoP retread either, but there are definitely certain themes that are already being repeated or rehashed that anyone who played through MoP ought to be familiar with. What happens next is anyone's guess, though.

- - - Updated - - -

It would be good if Saurfang would go away from his stupid "HONOR!" But even then going (demon) rampage after your new best friend challenged the Warchief and lost in a duel isn't his way.

He can challenge Sylvanas himself if he wants though.

I think Saurfang didn't challenge Sylvanas to Mak'gora in Darkshore because he felt he didn't have the right to do so (he considered it, as we know from "A Good War") - but ultimately he'd bought into the war and its outcome, and at the time felt that Sylvanas' solution to the impasse with Malfurion was a mere technicality. But take that, add it to the events at the Battle of Lordaeron, and whatever else Saurfang's Alliance interrogators have told him about the Horde's actions in the faction war, and it seems increasingly likely that Saurfang escaped just because he now feels he has to. In his view, Sylvanas must be stopped before she corrupts the honorable heart of the Horde just like the Legion did back on Draenor.

Ultimately I think we're going to see a Mak'gora or similar duel between him and Sylvanas for the heart of the Horde. I don't know if he'll win it, or lose, or if something completely else will occur, but I feel confident it's only a matter of time.

[Wildberry]

By the way, now that literally everyone except Gallywix, Sylvanas and the allied faction leaders is not just a traitor but also has collaborated with the Alliance at some point, who would you vote for?

You know, I've given this some thought lately, and I really hate to say this, but if we're getting rid of Sylvanas and they don't do anything to fix Saurfang, the "best" (Least worst, but still really bad) candidate for Warchief is Thrall.

I'm not happy about it, and I'd much prefer they build up someone new, but barring an unpredictable event like bringing Jorin Deadeye back and building him up over the course of an expansion + book, we're stuck with:
-Thrall
-Saurfang
-Eitrigg
-Lor'themar
-Baine
As viable Warchief contenders at the moment. I can't stress enough that none of them are good, but this is the hand we're working with.

We can automatically write Baine off, for obvious reasons. Lor'themar was not only in talks with the Alliance fairly recently, but has only ever been shown to care about Blood Elves (Something the Battle For Lordaeron, perhaps unintentionally, cements). Not to mention, a Blood Elf has no business leading the Horde.

So we're left with Thrall, Saurfang and Eitrigg.

As of right now, assuming Saurfang is an Alliance asset* that's completely unforgivable and rules him out.

I don't really care for either Eitrigg or Thrall, both are way too close to the Alliance for my tastes, but my vote for Thrall comes down to two points. The first is that Eitrigg left the Horde out of disgust, Thrall wandered off to go save the world and LARP as a stand-in Earth Warder. Secondly, we've already seen Thrall as Warchief and know how he governs. Since Warcraft characters typically don't learn from mistakes, we could at least guarantee a vacancy for a "Hot headed Orc General who wants to stir thing up with the Alliance."

Given that Eitrigg isn't idealistic like Thrall, knows what Orcs are like, witnessed Garrosh's "descent into being a really mean guy" up close, and left the Horde once out of disgust, he's much more likely to keep a tighter grip on unruly subordinates.

*All of this, of course, hinges on the idea that Saurfang is in fact an Alliance asset.

I'm not dishonest enough to pretend that things look fine for Saurfang right now, they don't. At the first sign of cooperation with Anduin, I'm dropping him, permanently. The only way I think they can possibly salvage the trainwreck of Saurfang post 8.1 is to have him either unaware, or unappreciative of any and all Alliance aid, topple Sylvanas, continue the war and strike at least one fairly significant blow against the Alliance.

But, since we have no reason to assume that will happen, given that this expansion is more than likely to end with the Horde submitting to Anduin Wrynn, he's currently in the "Literally Worse than Thrall" camp.

[Minikin]

You know, I've given this some thought lately, and I really hate to say this, but if we're getting rid of Sylvanas and they don't do anything to fix Saurfang, the "best" (Least worst, but still really bad) candidate for Warchief is Thrall.

I'm not happy about it, and I'd much prefer they build up someone new, but barring an unpredictable event like bringing Jorin Deadeye back and building him up over the course of an expansion + book, we're stuck with:
-Thrall
-Saurfang
-Eitrigg
-Lor'themar
-Baine
As viable Warchief contenders at the moment. I can't stress enough that none of them are good, but this is the hand we're working with.

We can automatically write Baine off, for obvious reasons. Lor'themar was not only in talks with the Alliance fairly recently, but has only ever been shown to care about Blood Elves (Something the Battle For Lordaeron, perhaps unintentionally, cements). Not to mention, a Blood Elf has no business leading the Horde.

So we're left with Thrall, Saurfang and Eitrigg.

As of right now, assuming Saurfang is an Alliance asset* that's completely unforgivable and rules him out.

I don't really care for either Eitrigg or Thrall, both are way too close to the Alliance for my tastes, but my vote for Thrall comes down to two points. The first is that Eitrigg left the Horde out of disgust, Thrall wandered off to go save the world and LARP as a stand-in Earth Warder. Secondly, we've already seen Thrall as Warchief and know how he governs. Since Warcraft characters typically don't learn from mistakes, we could at least guarantee a vacancy for a "Hot headed Orc General who wants to stir thing up with the Alliance."

Given that Eitrigg isn't idealistic like Thrall, knows what Orcs are like, witnessed Garrosh's "descent into being a really mean guy" up close, and left the Horde once out of disgust, he's much more likely to keep a tighter grip on unruly subordinates.

*All of this, of course, hinges on the idea that Saurfang is in fact an Alliance asset.

I'm not dishonest enough to pretend that things look fine for Saurfang right now, they don't. At the first sign of cooperation with Anduin, I'm dropping him, permanently. The only way I think they can possibly salvage the trainwreck of Saurfang post 8.1 is to have him either unaware, or unappreciative of any and all Alliance aid, topple Sylvanas, continue the war and strike at least one fairly significant blow against the Alliance.

But, since we have no reason to assume that will happen, given that this expansion is more than likely to end with the Horde submitting to Anduin Wrynn, he's currently in the "Literally Worse than Thrall" camp.

do you mean another one besides teldrassil?

because i think the chances of that are fairly zero.

The game would literally explode.

[Syegfryed]

do you mean another one besides teldrassil?

because i think the chances of that are fairly zero.

The game would literally explode.

it don't need to be like teldrassil, since teldrassil didn't benefit the horde in nothing overall, but at least put the factions in equal terms, cause right now the alliance is wining in every front

[Arrashi]

We can automatically write Baine off, for obvious reasons. Lor'themar was not only in talks with the Alliance fairly recently, but has only ever been shown to care about Blood Elves (Something the Battle For Lordaeron, perhaps unintentionally, cements). Not to mention, a Blood Elf has no business leading the Horde.

Nope. You write baine off. But will golden girl do the same ?

[Wildberry]

do you mean another one besides teldrassil?

because i think the chances of that are fairly zero.

The game would literally explode.

Right now they're winning, as Syegfryed mentioned, this would just make us even. Beyond that, a blow like that is the only way to cleanse Saurfang of being an Alliance shill.

Nope. You write baine off. But will golden girl do the same ?

Right now, my money's on her cutting out the middle man and letting us worship Anduin directly.

[Arrashi]

Right now, my money's on her cutting out the middle man and letting us worship Anduin directly.

Why cut him ? Anduin making friends like baine shows how glorious he is. And befriending "warchief" of opposite faction...now that is some dank greatness.

Lets be real - they allowed nathanos to become some guys self-insert, blizz has no control over its writers. And that puts us on goldens mercy. Mudmug shine on our souls.

[Super Dickmann]

I'm not happy about it, and I'd much prefer they build up someone new, but barring an unpredictable event like bringing Jorin Deadeye back and building him up over the course of an expansion + book, we're stuck with:
-Thrall
-Saurfang
-Eitrigg
-Lor'themar
-Baine
As viable Warchief contenders at the moment. I can't stress enough that none of them are good, but this is the hand we're working with.
.

The best choice out of those listed and ignoring Gallywix who would be my first pick because we've clearly fucked the Warchief position beyond repair anyway, is Eitrigg, at least per his BFA appearances. Dude is just the most standard orc, but he's pro-war, he doesn't bitch and unlike Saurfang he's not some form of Alliance stooge. On top of that, he's bland enough to lend himself to whatever generic Big Bad plotline Blizz want to run and still be fit when the cocaine pile runs out and they make another faction war. Everyone else is compromised.

[Minikin]

it don't need to be like teldrassil, since teldrassil didn't benefit the horde in nothing overall, but at least put the factions in equal terms, cause right now the alliance is wining in every front

Right now they're winning, as Syegfryed mentioned, this would just make us even. Beyond that, a blow like that is the only way to cleanse Saurfang of being an Alliance shill.

well it was kinda the warchief's decision. and i think it was her only option (and a bit of her psychosis) given that saurfang didnt kill stormrage. so to me at least its debatable that it didnt benefit the horde. I mean it sure as hell didnt benefit the alliance and the horde decided to do it. If its not good for the alliance the only pathway left would be that its beneficial to the horde. I am not trying to troll or be obtuse but i dont see how it doesnt benefit the horde.

As for alliance winning on every front. I havent had time yet to go through my horde. Is there something crazy happening horde side due to alliance (barring the upcoming raid of zuldazar). Or do you guys mean zuldazar?

[Super Dickmann]

well it was kinda the warchief's decision. and i think it was her only option (and a bit of her psychosis) given that saurfang didnt kill stormrage. so to me at least its debatable that it didnt benefit the horde. I mean it sure as hell didnt benefit the alliance and the horde decided to do it. If its not good for the alliance the only pathway left would be that its beneficial to the horde. I am not trying to troll or be obtuse but i dont see how it doesnt benefit the horde.

As for alliance winning on every front. I havent had time yet to go through my horde. Is there something crazy happening horde side due to alliance (barring the upcoming raid of zuldazar). Or do you guys mean zuldazar?

It's in 8.1.

We know at least that despite all the fearmongering, the table quests were in fact basically non-canon as I argued repeatedly pre-8.1 and torching Teldrassil did essentially mean that the Horde took all of Northern Kalimdor, hence necessitating the Alliance return by ship, so the War of Thorns was fairly beneficial, it's just that those benefits are overshadowed by the fact that as said, in 8.1 we're apparently losing on all fronts.

[Minikin]

It's in 8.1.

We know at least that despite all the fearmongering, the table quests were in fact basically non-canon as I argued repeatedly pre-8.1 and torching Teldrassil did essentially mean that the Horde took all of Northern Kalimdor, hence necessitating the Alliance return by ship, so the War of Thorns was fairly beneficial, it's just that those benefits are overshadowed by the fact that as said, in 8.1 we're apparently losing on all fronts.

oh well that makes sense.

cuz honestly yea the alliance attacks undercity and its lost but given that how every alliance fanboy secrectly wants lordearon back, and sylvanas just gave a fat middle finger as she iron man flew to a zepplin showed horde as the military mastermind way before anything. like yea alliance has super heroes but their troops are like turnips holding foam swords. horde lacks overpowered saiyans leading it but its army has a brain.

so them winning earlier but losing now puts both even no?

then zuldazar happens. which puts them even right? or is there more happening?

i would guess though that it wont remain like that given gameplay and faction reasons. pretty sure the alliance will get a loss too bringing both even.

HOWEVER. honestly I have to say in the end the horde will lose this. Now this is speculation and honestly not saying this because I play alliance (more guild reasons than faction stupidity). Because the reason for the war to end the alliance. but we know that will never happen due to the game being what it is. neither can totally end the other. meaning they set her up for failure the moment this story was coined. So the only way horde can come out of this is either she gets a Kerrigan 2.0 or she gets Garrosh 2.0. And the alliance once again will end up with "we are victims! /sob" or "we forgive you! /mount rainbow honorable pony".

neither options are ideal

edit: worded my words all wrong.

[Wildberry]

Why cut him ? Anduin making friends like baine shows how glorious he is. And befriending "warchief" of opposite faction...now that is some dank greatness.

That's something I hadn't considered actually. I suppose the only time they won't shove Anduin down our throats is if keeping him at a distance makes him look better. In this case it does.

Lets be real - they allowed nathanos to become some guys self-insert, blizz has no control over its writers. And that puts us on goldens mercy. Mudmug shine on our souls.

As ridiculous as that is, at least it's not Anduin. The guy deserves to be roasted, but atleast he's not Christie Golden.

The best choice out of those listed and ignoring Gallywix who would be my first pick because we've clearly fucked the Warchief position beyond repair anyway, is Eitrigg, at least per his BFA appearances. Dude is just the most standard orc, but he's pro-war, he doesn't bitch and unlike Saurfang he's not some form of Alliance stooge. On top of that, he's bland enough to lend himself to whatever generic Big Bad plotline Blizz want to run and still be fit when the cocaine pile runs out and they make another faction war. Everyone else is compromised.

If we're taking BfA Eitrigg in a vacuum, he beats out Thrall. I've just been taking BfA characterizations with a grain of salt because most characters seem to have shifted in personality a bit for the faction war.

I suppose we'll have to see how Eitrigg pans out as the expansion progresses. If they try to go back to pre-8.0 Eitrigg, though, I'm on board with Thrall. Mostly because I'm banking on Thrall being incompetent enough to let himself be undermined by another Garrosh figure, again.

As much as I've enjoyed BfA's Gallywix, he's not Warchief material. The position is damaged, and Gallywix would be a riot in it, but it's just too ridiculous to fathom for me.

I'm still floored by their decision to turn Saurfang into an Alliance stooge. Did they honestly think Horde players would be more excited to rally behind him? Offing Sylvanas was always going to cause problems. Why would they put their thumb on the scale for Saurfang, less than they did for Vol'jin? Honestly, the more 8.1 gets changed/fleshed out, the more I'm absolutely convinced that the writers have completely drifted off into their own universe and can't be brought back to reality.

[Syegfryed]

It's in 8.1.

We know at least that despite all the fearmongering, the table quests were in fact basically non-canon as I argued repeatedly pre-8.1 and torching Teldrassil did essentially mean that the Horde took all of Northern Kalimdor, hence necessitating the Alliance return by ship, so the War of Thorns was fairly beneficial, it's just that those benefits are overshadowed by the fact that as said, in 8.1 we're apparently losing on all fronts.

or the table quests were in fact canon after all...

[Super Dickmann]

or the table quests were in fact canon after all...

They can't have been as regards Kalimdor at least since the Horde own all of Darkshore at the start and Tyrande mentions how they've been given no support and will have to attack by sea, meaning they don't have the option to use Ashenvale either. So either it happened but didn't amount to anything and the Horde took these places somewhere in between 8.0 and 8.1 or we can just shovel that bullshit down a hole and pretend it never happened.

I'm still floored by their decision to turn Saurfang into an Alliance stooge. Did they honestly think Horde players would be more excited to rally behind him? Offing Sylvanas was always going to cause problems. Why would they put their thumb on the scale for Saurfang, less than they did for Vol'jin? Honestly, the more 8.1 gets changed/fleshed out, the more I'm absolutely convinced that the writers have completely drifted off into their own universe and can't be brought back to reality.

It's baffling. Dagger in the Dark was meant to cast Garrosh as 100% in the wrong and acting out of personal animus, but Golden herself through Baine mentioned that it was basically proportionate for Vol'jin's treason. Instead of their do-over Mists making it more clear cut in favor of the rebel they instead have the Dark Rangers wait out and talk to him instead of instantly attacking and make the figure most of the anti-Sylvanas Horde players were latching onto into at best an unwitting Alliance asset sent by the CIA to bring in regime change to the Horde to benefit Anduin.

It's either they're planning a twist or Golden and company are so far off the reservation that they think the Horde dislikes its own faction and wouldn't side with Saurfang unless he, like Baine, were bringing peace with our glorious teenage leader.

[Jastall]

It's in 8.1.

We know at least that despite all the fearmongering, the table quests were in fact basically non-canon as I argued repeatedly pre-8.1 and torching Teldrassil did essentially mean that the Horde took all of Northern Kalimdor, hence necessitating the Alliance return by ship, so the War of Thorns was fairly beneficial, it's just that those benefits are overshadowed by the fact that as said, in 8.1 we're apparently losing on all fronts.

Losing on all fronts makes sense, the Horde obviously overextended and doesn't have the supply infrastructure to hold so many fronts. The Zandalari Fleet might have helped with that, but not when it is at the bottom of the sea. The problem with the War of the Thorns wasn't that it failed to be a victory -as a military operation it's one of the most decisive wins in Warcraft history- but that its fallout was far more than the Horde was able to handle. It's basically the Horde's Pearl Harbor and Operation Barbarossa rolled into one.

Now obviously that won't last and the scales will be evened in 8.2 most likely, but beyond the silliness in regards to characters being stupid, the actual sequence of events in the faction war makes sense to me, even if we take into account the heavily nerfed Alliance so that the story can even get off the ground without the Horde army getting vaporized by the Vindicaar + Warframes or decimated by a Cenarius-Malfurion tag team. There's no way in hell that the Horde and its relatively primitive infrastructure and lower population could possibly win a global war of attrition against a far more advanced, numerous and defensively established enemy, not without external help at least.

[Feanoro]

Is there something crazy happening horde side due to alliance (barring the upcoming raid of zuldazar). Or do you guys mean zuldazar?

In 8.1, there's a scene where the Lich Queen, Danuser, Baine, etc have a conference (apparently post raid) where Danuser tells Her Maggotness that reports from all over say the Alliance is near victory. Pretty standard. To have even a hint of victory, Alliance has to read about it by playing Horde. Not be shown it, certainly not participate in it.

I suppose the only time they won't shove Anduin down our throats is if keeping him at a distance makes him look better.

We'd like him at a distance too. Say about in the Andromeda galaxy should do for starters.

most characters seem to have shifted in personality a bit for the faction war.

That's putting it mildly, we have some shifts that would make a psychiatrist's career.

I'm still floored by their decision to turn Saurfang into an Alliance stooge. Did they honestly think Horde players would be more excited to rally behind him? Offing Sylvanas was always going to cause problems. Why would they put their thumb on the scale for Saurfang, less than they did for Vol'jin?

I love the "any help whatsoever automatically makes him Anduin's puppet" reasoning in this thread. As many times as Blizz has mashed the factions together to face the Big Bad, it's somehow a surprise that Shaw, Saurfang himself, Lich Queen, and pretty much everyone understands that Saurfang loose would cause her problems. What, should Shaw have put a battalion of red shirts there for him to cleave down, roaring zug zug, mothaf***ers?

Vol'jin dying was BS, and appointing Sylv was a braindead move that has completely blown up the Horde playerbase. You have the "Sylv and the Meat Shields" fans versus the "Noble Savage" fans, as well as "BElves and edgy Undead make up most of the Horde toons, so warchief should be Sylv" going nuts.

[Super Dickmann]

Losing on all fronts makes sense, the Horde obviously overextended and doesn't have the supply infrastructure to hold so many fronts. The Zandalari Fleet might have helped with that, but not when it is at the bottom of the sea. The problem with the War of the Thorns wasn't that it failed to be a victory -as a military operation it's one of the most decisive wins in Warcraft history- but that its fallout was far more than the Horde was able to handle.

Now obviously that won't last and the scales will be evened in 8.2 most likely, but beyond the silliness in regards to characters being stupid, the actual sequence of events in the faction war makes sense to me, even if we take into account the heavily nerfed Alliance so that the story can even get off the ground without the Horde army getting vaporized by the Vindicaar + Warframes or decimated by a Cenarius-Malfurion tag team. There's no way in hell that the Horde and its relatively primitive infrastructure and lower population could possibly win a global war of attrition against a far more advanced, numerous and defensively established enemy, not without external help at least.

I'm not debating the plausibility of the turn, since it was already established in A Good War by both Sylvanas and Saurfang that the Horde would be most effective in a blitz and that while they could engage in a battle of attrition, it would be a loss because of their lower population, fortification and industry. Taking Northern Kalimdor gave them access to a lot of resources, while losing the Undercity was a much lesser loss for the Horde, but that didn't change the basic calculus already set up. I also expect either Azshara or Sylvanas to pull a reversal, but the overall course being in favour of the Alliance is fine.

That said, losing on all fronts and defeat being in the span of weeks is a bit much and is obviously meant to show how dire things are before said reversal and possibly compensate the Alliance for the feeling that they've been on the backfoot before. It doesn't make a lot of sense as regards Kalimdor or even EK, but if we apply it to the new front in Zandalar and thus the course of the war from there it works. I also disagree about the Vindicaar, which as I've gone into in other topics is really overrated as a weapon and has a lot more value as a logistical tool.

[Jastall]

I'm not debating the plausibility of the turn, since it was already established in A Good War by both Sylvanas and Saurfang that the Horde would be most effective in a blitz and that while they could engage in a battle of attrition, it would be a loss because of their lower population, fortification and industry. Taking Northern Kalimdor gave them access to a lot of resources, while losing the Undercity was a much lesser loss for the Horde, but that didn't change the basic calculus already set up. I also expect either Azshara or Sylvanas to pull a reversal, but the overall course being in favour of the Alliance is fine.

That said, losing on all fronts and defeat being in the span of weeks is a bit much and is obviously meant to show how dire things are before said reversal and possibly compensate the Alliance for the feeling that they've been on the backfoot before. It doesn't make a lot of sense as regards Kalimdor or even EK, but if we apply it to the new front in Zandalar and thus the course of the war from there it works. I also disagree about the Vindicaar, which as I've gone into in other topics is really overrated as a weapon and has a lot more value as a logistical tool.

Defeat in a matter of weeks is indeed a weird choice of words unless Nathanos means only in Zandalar and/or the EKs; the conditions for a Horde defeat obviously include an attack on Orgrimmar at the very least, and while the Horde is on the back foot they aren't weeks from losing their capital. Weeks from losing in the EKs is plausible if the Alliance is winning/already won the battle for Stromgarde, especially if the bulk of the Forsaken military has to relocate to defend Darkshore instead of their former homeland. Silvermoon will still stand, but by itself it is more an annoyance than a real threat in the grand scheme of things.

I exaggerated the Vindicaar's impact a bit, but it would remain a critical war asset which would have changed the course of the operation for sure. If nothing else, it is an unparalleled scouting and transportation tool, which directly counters the main way the Horde won, via Saurfang's surprise attack which did not allow the Alliance time to redeploy. Plus, these Warframes have been shown to vaporize Legion star destroyers. I can't imagine the Horde's shirtless armies and wooden catapult faring very well against them. Plus Cenarius alone would be difficult to face, the Horde doesn't have a demon-boosted Grom this time around.

And I think a problem in regards to the war's storytelling (as if it needed another) is that it won't feel like the Alliance is winning. Sure, they kill Rastakhan, but then get two characters wounded in turn. The Darkshore scenario is billed as this whole turning of the tide in Kalimdor but, well, much internet ink has been spilled regarding how that doesn't work very well. Warfronts are static and thus ironically a terrible mean to convey the state of the war beyond "these people are fighting there". The War Table ops will only be getting more suspect/outdated as the xpack goes. We have one character's word that the Alliance is on the cusp of victory in the Horde debrief of the Battle of Dazar'alor, but the raid's aftermath for the Alliance has them moping about how much they lost instead of celebrating their gains.

[Super Dickmann]

Defeat in a matter of weeks is indeed a weird choice of words unless Nathanos means only in Zandalar and/or the EKs; the conditions for a Horde defeat obviously include an attack on Orgrimmar at the very least, and while the Horde is on the back foot they aren't weeks from losing their capital. Weeks from losing in the EKs is plausible if the Alliance is winning/already won the battle for Stromgarde, especially if the bulk of the Forsaken military has to relocate to defend Darkshore instead of their former homeland. Silvermoon will still stand, but by itself it is more an annoyance than a real threat in the grand scheme of things.

If it weren't for the "on all fronts" line which muddies it a bit I would actually scribe to this entirely as the interpretation of those lines. I.e, that when they mean Alliance victory in a few weeks they're referring to Zandalar and Kul Tiras. It'd fit with the mention of Alliance victory being in he context of discussions on their next moves, be it Genn and Anduin discussing pressing their advantage or Sylvanas positing a way to turn things around with Derek and Ashvane, which have no real applicability outside the new continent conflict. We know for a fact that the Horde is definitely not losing in weeks in Kalimdor considering they hold all the North save a now contested Warfront and this is a cause of complaint for the night elves and EK is in limbo. So from this I'm reading this line as meaning that in a few weeks if things continue as they are the Alliance will win in the new continents and secure naval dominance, basically ensuring the isolation and slow defeat of the Horde elsewhere.

In terms of assets, the Cenarion Circle is joining in as of the new patch, so at least their neutrality is being set aside a bit with Thisalee Crow joining the Alliance and so on. The Vindicaar being absent is still conspicuous but that ship has sailed at least. We'll file it under the same subsection as Nightborne telemancy or the loa not helping Zandalar during the siege directly and only using champions.

Finally, as regards the feeling of victory, we're in a weird position where no side is satisfied, since the Alliance feel like their win is downplayed and even a clear victory like Zandalar where they have two people wounded whereas Horde lose more than half the Zandalari fleet and the King dies is not just framed as having some kind of high cost but also is denied from being capitalized on because Jaina and Anduin are afraid it'll hurt the trolls feelings. In turn, as this thread demonstrates, while the Horde's condition is more ambiguous than it at first appears, we're also basically set on the path to Mists 2.0 and the Burning of Teldrassil didn't really feel like a win, even though the War of Thorns was provably effective, so both sides feel shafted.