Which Warlord did it better?

[Warcite]

Hello lore friends,

Ever since WOD was announced, I could not help but imagine what the warlords were going to be like. I had re-read Rise of the Horde, and tried to take mental notes on each chieftain and what significance they had in our universe. Granted, there are some who did more than others, I think it’s safe to say that our main timeline would be nothing had it not been for these main universe (MU) orc leaders.

From the looks of it, we’re winding down with WOD and can get a good idea of what these alternate universe (AU) warlords brought. Having played the game and following the lore, I can’t help but compare and contrast each warlord to their MU counterparts. Thus, I wanted to get everyone’s opinion on the matter: which warlord (or chieftain) played a more impactful role/was more powerful? I’ve got my list here but want to hear from you all:

Blackhand
MU- Played a minor role in the formation of the horde and their first “warchief”. Ultimately was used by the shadow council to further their endeavors. Killed by Ogrim.
AU- Served as the warlord for the Blackrock clan. Primarily was the “figurehead” for the army of the Iron Horde by supplying the army with a majority of the troops.
Verdict: I thought AU Blackhand was “stronger” than his MU counterpart and quite frankly, played a much strong role.

Kil’Rog
MU- Very loyal to the horde and stayed behind on Outland to ensure Ner’zhul could make it to Shadowmoon in order to open up a portal.
AU- Did not do much in the game, save being one of the last warlords to live and “assist” Grom. Even then, his patience with the Iron Horde grew thing and ultimately, drank the demon blood that set forth the foundation for patch 6.2
Verdict- Still a tad too early for me, but I liked MU’s version of Kil’Rog simply because he did much more as a character.

Grom
MU- Kind of an ass, but a very powerful warrior. Was very easily influenced and easy to temper. Died a “hero”, but sure left a jaded legacy.
AU- I’m honestly not too impressed with Grom from this AU. While he certainly looks cool and serves as the warchief of the Iron Horde, he’s done very little in game as of right now. When Gul’dan confronts him in the 6.1 cinematic, I could not help but think Gul’dan was right when he said, “You soldiers died for nothing”. I’m holding out that he does something in 6.2, but I really wish Grom did more in the AU
Verdict- I have no idea which one I like at this point…both are kind of bland.

Gul’Dan
MU- Everything we’ve been through in our universe is either directly or indirectly because of this dude. His actions and attitude is what shaped our history. He’s one of the most influential characters in the lore.
AU- Crafty and scheming, but I’m not sure what to think of him yet. He’s got a grand “plan” up his sleeve, and I can’t wait to see how it plays out. I’m hope is that he will become an even more influential character than his MU counterpart. I think he knows about his counterpart’s fate…so I hope he learns from that (although knowing his core personality, he’s still going to let his confidence get the best of him).
Verdict- TBD

Ner’zhul
MU- What I like about Ner’zhul is just how much of a tragic hero he’s become. He’s one of the only leaders I can somewhat sympathize with, simply because he was tricked, manipulated, and tossed aside. That alone really caused him to have a, “screw it all” attitude and lead him to rip open portals in Draenor, and ultimately become the Lich King.
AU- Surprisingly, Ner’zhul kept to a fairly similar path in his AU version. Forced to join the Iron Horde, Ner’zhul did everything he could to “save” his clan but ultimately, ended up damning himself in the long run. I’m actually quite happy with how he turned out as a character and while it’d be nice for him to “return”, I think he got the most fulfilling story out of all the warlords.
Verdict- MU was a more influential character (or more powerful), but AU was done well.

Durotan
MU- Noble and ethical, Durotan pretty much stayed true to his character in our universe. I’m not a huge fan of him as a whole, but I do think he is a pretty influential individual.
AU- Same? I’ve honestly not really played much of the Horde side, but from what I’ve gathered, he’s fairly the same. I hope he does something drastic in the future.
Verdict- TBD, I still think it’s too early to tell.

Kargath
MU- One of the last surviving “OG” members. While I can’t recall him doing a whole lot, he was a surviver and willing to do whatever it took to survive.
AU- Sadly…did not do much, aside from having fun in the arena and fighting the avatar of Terrok. I really wish Blizzard did more with him as a character (I think originally he was going to live after High maul).
Verdict- I liked MU better…but AU had so much potential sadly wasted.

Over all, I really wish Blizzard did more with some of the characters in the AU. I remember reading Rise of the Horde thinking how bad ass these folks were going to be in WOD. While some turned out great, I feel a lot of them were just forgotten (don’t get me started on Ogrim and other characters). So what do you all think? Which warlords did you enjoy (MU and AU)?

[Friendlyimmolation]

AU Grom seems a bit more caring then his MU counterpart. He seemed to be distraught over Killrogg's betrayal and showed the slightest of hints of sadness in the 6.1 on news of Garrosh. Still as good of a fighter as his MU counterpart but without all the experience. 6.2 will show if he continues to be bad ass or gets killed off like a chump.

[Jaspias]

grom got screwed over in the au. he should have been a reckless berzerker always recklessly charging the front lines without thinking of the consequences. he should have been the first warlord down, but he throws all of his lackeys at us instead like a scheming supervillian. I prefer MU grom. so skilled he one-shots mannoroth yet so careless he dies from standing in the fire...

[Aquamonkey]

All the MU versions were better. Except Gul'dan. MU Gul'dan was a dupe. AU Gul'dan seems to be an actually partner in Legion business.

[Shampro]

Prefer AU - Grom, Blackhand and Gul'dan.

Grom actually has a goal and a motivation, pride but not in the annoying kind. Instead of just sorely being reckless, and nothing else, though I still liked MU, mainly when he got older and was suffering from withdrawls. Blackhand AU literally fused with an elemental and was basicly a monster, enough said. AU Gul'dan seems like x10 more powerful and Legion focused than his MU.

Indiferrent - Kargath

Kinda liked a bit more MU - Ner'zhul and Kilrogg.

[Friendlyimmolation]

grom got screwed over in the au. he should have been a reckless berzerker always recklessly charging the front lines without thinking of the consequences. he should have been the first warlord down, but he throws all of his lackeys at us instead like a scheming supervillian. I prefer MU grom. so skilled he one-shots mannoroth yet so careless he dies from standing in the fire...

Grom never let the blood lust overtake him. He was an amazing fighter. The fire stunned him both times, its probably like a flash bang and disorants you.

[Jokubas]

Blackhand
Didn't get to be Warchief in the AU, but he actually had the power he thought he had in MU.
-Point goes to AU.

Kilrogg
I honestly don't remember him too well in the MU, and he hasn't done much in the AU yet. I'm leaning towards AU purely because the MU one died before the games that fleshed out characters, but I don't feel I can choose one or the other.
-Point in limbo.

Grom
MU Grom was a major and memorable character. AU Grom started as more or less the same guy, but Garrosh's vision of the future allowed him to see the flaw in the way he coped with his wife's death. AU Grom's been out of the picture a lot, but I think it's because they don't want us to directly associate him with the Iron Horde's atrocities to help prop him up as legitimately heroic unlike ours. AU Grom was Warchief and had the power that entailed. Our Grom wasn't Warchief, but he freed the orcish people. They're both pretty equally influential.
-Point to both.

Gul’dan
MU Gul'dan was nothing more than a pawn who was crushed when his plans were discovered and forced to flee, where his masters laughed and killed him. AU Gul'dan is a legitimate powerhouse all on his own, and manages to keep things on track even as unexpected variables appear. I'm uneasy about AU Gul'dan because he feels borderline Villain Sue, but for influence and power, he's got the edge by a significant margin. I think having a weak villain who still manages to make a mark can have a lot more depth and at least provides variety, but MU Gul'dan was a sucker.
-Point to AU.

Ner’zhul
MU Ner'zhul was a good guy who was tricked and essentially went mad from losing everything. AU Ner'zhul feels like he's just crazy. He really should have defected to the resistance against the Iron Horde instead of willingly choosing dark powers. MU Ner'zhul not only ended up more powerful thanks to Kil'jaeden, but made a much bigger mark on Azeroth and Draenor.
-Point goes to MU.

Durotan
They're really the same guy, but AU Durotan got to do more.
-Point goes to AU.

Kargath
Honestly AU Kargath still got more development than MU Kargath.
-Point goes to AU.

Overall
MU: 2 (Grom, Ner'zhul)
AU: 5 (Blackhand, Grom, Gul'dan, Durotan, Kargath)

[Zulkhan]

The MU versions are definetely better, at least in most cases, since they received an amount of development the AU versions could only dream of.

Blackhand in MU is an ambitious, power-hungry dictator who plays mind-games (games he constantly lost but oh well) with Gul'dan to consolidate his position as Warchief of the Horde. In AU this guy is pretty much content in being the actual second-in-command and the backbone of the Iron Horde with his Foundry, all he does is being an incredibly generic villain, with some good voice acting, honestly, but still generic and shallow.

Ner'zhul is not even worth mentioning. The MU version is shown in his journey from "good-intentioned moron" to "insane and power-hungry madman", the AU version starts from the latter already from the moment he's introduced due to his Dark Star meddling. Skippable.

Grom is decent. Not much characterization but still pretty coherent with the character, especially with the character he actually was on Draenor (and not when he met Thrall).

Little to say about Durotan. Pretty much the same, but with a bigger spotlight.

I was never really that fond of Kargath and I wasn't of his AU version aswell, but his expanded background and story makes look at him in a very different way. The way he "goes off" is fitting, but very rushed. Overall, I generally feel indifferent to both, only a bit less after the Lord of Wars' story.

Kilrogg was my prefered Chieftain in MU, and still like his AU counterpart by default as a consequence, but really, he has little to no development in WoD. I really liked the LoW story but that's it. His betrayal, in that particular moment, fitted a lot his character IMO but overall, AU Kilrogg was little more than a walk-on. Really hoping for something interesting in 6.2.

Gul'dan is maybe the only AU version who really beats his MU counterpart by a long margin. He still looks stupid and demented in some occasions, but this time at least he shows to hold some actual authority and power, instead of being an hopeless creep frantically running around in search of "powa" and never tasting it in any satisfying manner.

But now, let's be serious for a moment. Best AU counterpart who massively beats his MU version is blatantly AU Garrosh.

AU Grom seems a bit more caring then his MU counterpart. He seemed to be distraught over Killrogg's betrayal and showed the slightest of hints of sadness in the 6.1 on news of Garrosh

I guess Garrosh's revelations about the future of the Horde and how things were going downhill because of Grom's recklessness stroke him in some way. However, Grom was always a sweetheart deep within, all emotional and caring about those very close to him, even if nothing more than a ruthless killing machine against his enemies.

grom got screwed over in the au. he should have been a reckless berzerker always recklessly charging the front lines without thinking of the consequences. he should have been the first warlord down, but he throws all of his lackeys at us instead like a scheming supervillian. I prefer MU grom. so skilled he one-shots mannoroth yet so careless he dies from standing in the fire...

The word "scheming" couldn't be farther from the word "Grom", really.

Grom in his prime was indeed reckless as FUCK but in this universe is the freaking Warchief, something he has never been in MU (cannot say we missed much) so he has far different responsibilities. Plus, the way Garrosh shown him the future and how things were going to screw up if he drank the demon blood kinda gifted him with a bit more of good sense. Ofcourse you can still prefer the MU version but AU Grom wasn't really "screwed up", it wa logical for him to be that way.

What wasn't going to be logical was seeing the Warchief of the Iron Horde dying within the first 5 minutes of the starting zone because being careless and stupid is cool.

AU Ner'zhul feels like he's just crazy. He really should have defected to the resistance against the Iron Horde instead of willingly choosing dark powers

Choosing those dark powers is what turned Ner'zhul into a madman in the first place. And he kinda had no choices, when he had to choose no Alliance was there already to show any kind of support, and following the Exiles' example was simply suicidal. In fact, what ensured their survival is Ner'zhul choosing to please Grom, who in turn let the whole Shadowmoon clan alone. When the Alliance eventually shows up, Ner'zhul is too consumed by the Void to turn back.

While I agree AU Ner'zhul was just a nutcase from the moment we met him the first time, he at least ends up looking as a sort of martyr instead of the gullible fool he was in MU.

[Zuben]

AU Kargath was imo the most interesting Warlord after Grom, so it was teribly wasteful of Blizz to have him killed so quickly. Hopefully he'll live on through HotS some day...

[Deleted]

Overall
MU: 2 (Grom, Ner'zhul)
AU: 5 (Blackhand, Grom, Gul'dan, Durotan, Kargath)

I agree for the most part. But I have a few notes.

I would've liked to see Kargath and Kilrogg have a little bit more story progression.

Ner'zhul should've shown some regret for siding with the Iron Horde imo, and his story should've been accessible to the Horde as well (or at least a part of it, not just the dungeon)

Grom hasn't done anything truly awesome, he's only thrown his army and commanders at us, he's not really done anything himself besides taunting us. I'd like to see him do something more for him to have a satisfying story progression. But if he survives this expansion and carries on to the next expansion (or maybe more?) then that compensates for his lack of action.

[Arrashi]

Noone of them. All of them were better in MU. AU warlords are basically a joke characters who bring shame to they family village.

[McNeil]

I find all the AU warlords to be huge jokes, except for maybe Gul'Dan. MU warlords are better.