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Could Rexxar Become the New Orc Leader in World of Warcraft?

Gaming

Could Rexxar Become the New Orc Leader in World of Warcraft?

Sure, maybe he’s been a little busy playing Hearthstone.

But that’s no excuse for why Rexxar, the half-ogre, half-orc beastmaster and former Champion of the Horde has been conspicuously absent from the controversy surrounding Garrosh Hellscream and the Siege of Orgrimmar in Patch 5.4 of World of Warcraft.

What the hell has the Mok’Nathal Clan mainstay been up to? I came across a post on Reddit by user thefirdblu entitled “What happened to Rexxar?” that brought up some intriguing points concerning the topic:

“With Garrosh being taken out, we’re going to need to find a new Warchief. People are speculating it’ll be Vol’jin, which does make a lot of sense. And I wouldn’t be surprised if Vol’jin turned out to be the new leader of the Horde, but that still leaves room for a leader of the Orcs.”

The Horde has never been without an orc as its commander-in-chief. Although there’s a strong possibility that Thrall could reclaim the Warchief position (due largely in part to the guilt he feels for choosing Garrosh as his successor and the desire to make amends), Vol’jin has recently shown an extraordinary amount of initiative, leadership ability, and confidence — the Darkspear Rebellion of Patch 5.3 being a prime example.

The Horde has never been without an orc as its commander-in-chief.

However, is Vol’jin ready to take on the considerable responsibility of leading the entire Horde and not just a band of trolls from Echo Isles? More importantly — will the Horde itself pledge its full allegiance to him, including the orcs who remained steadfastly loyal to Garrosh?

If there is a strong orc presence right there in the throne room alongside Vol’jin, say in the form of a certain half-orc, half ogre, Champion of the Horde the answer could be a resounding yes. Which brings us to our boy Rexxar’s current situation:

“Now, Rexxar’s story is pretty much the ‘prince denied his throne’ plot. His father denies him, and he’s still in Outland trying to win back his family and people. He’s completely neutral to the Horde and Alliance, ignorant to the entire situation (unless Thrall happened to tell him while he was in Outland), and would be a completely fresh start for the Orcs. This works out well for the Horde, having a new leader that they know isn’t a hot-headed young warrior, but rather an experienced vagabond that helped found Orgrimmar.”

Although Rexxar isn’t completely neutral to the Horde/Alliance struggle (he was one of the founding fathers of Orgrimmar after all), the crucial point that thefirdblu makes concerns Rexxar’s temperament: He isn’t the bloodthirsty jingoist that Garrosh has been in the events leading up to the Siege of Orgrimmar.

rexxar-nikolai-ostertag

As Rexxar has said himself: “I have watched the other races… I have seen their squabbling, their ruthlessness. Their wars do nothing but scar the land, and drive the wild things to extinction. No, they cannot be trusted.”

Would this revulsion towards the current Horde’s policies make Rexxar too dispassionate to endure such an important position within the hierarchy? Maybe.

But what if helping to depose Garrosh and establishing a Horde more humane and understanding in nature could smooth things over between Rexxar and his pops, Leoroxx?

“For Rexxar, this would be a great ‘redemption’ story. Him earning his ‘throne’ and being given the opportunity to prove himself to his father and people.”

Of course, Leoroxx disowned Rexxar for joining the Horde in the first place — but that was because Leoroxx is a pacifist by nature. Besides, that was a different Horde then.

“The only downside I could see to this is his ignorance to the whole situation. He hasn’t ever lead people so I don’t think he’d really understand the weight of that role. But, if he isn’t the leader of the Horde, I could see it working. His role wouldn’t be as big, and he’d be (more or less) under Vol’jin (or whoever becomes the leader)’s wing.”

This would be the best situation for Rexxar because of his experience: Not the full burden of leadership but an important position that would cause him to mature as a tactician and commander through his newfound responsibilities.

Also, if he is the next Orcish leader, we can’t forget that he’s Mok’nathal. Half Orc and Half Ogre. In the future, I have no doubt in my mind that Blizzard will implement the Ogres into the Horde as a playable race. Whether it’s the next expansion, or the one after, I see it happening. With the Mok’nathal being related to them, there’s already a foundation for their joining.”

Ogres aren’t a very attractive option as the next playable Horde race for many players.

And who can blame them really? The ogres we’ve seen in-game for the most part are pot-bellied grotesqueries who lumber around and speak in uncouth sentence fragments.

But let’s not forget their history. That’s right: “Some orc scholars believe the ogres were once intelligent and the dominant species of Draenor before the orcs rose to power. Orcs and ogres were enemies for generations until the rise of the horde.”

Besides, Blizzard could easily refashion a playable splinter faction of ogres into something far more enticing to the fanbase.

Besides all of that, I can’t really see anybody else taking on the role of the Orcish leader. Maybe Saurfang, but he’s too old. Maybe Eitrigg, but he hasn’t had any major role in anything. I can’t really think of anybody else besides Thrall and I doubt he would ever come back as Warchief. Which really leaves Rexxar: the fresh, neutral, completely badass, Champion of the Horde to take on the role of Warchief.”

Thrall might be the most conducive option for Warchief in terms of stepping back in and setting everything back to status quo — but we’ve been that route before. While Thrall would most likely be welcomed back with open arms, we can’t forget that his position with the Earthen Ring is nothing to sneeze at. In fact, reclaiming his position as Warchief might even be seen as a regression.

One option that thefirdblu didn’t mention is Nazgrel, who would also serve as a strong candidate for orc leadership — but that’s another article for another day.

Is Rexxar too detached from the current politics of the two factions to be worth a damn in a position of leadership? Is he relegated to serving out the rest of his storyline days putting around in Outland? Does Chris Metzen even remember the dude exists? Time and the Siege of Orgrimmar will tell.

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