I am actually kind surprised they went with Mengsk instead of Valerian. Varian seems like he would mesh well with the other commanders better in terms of allegiances. My guess is that Valerian would have a similar theme, but less “cruel dictatorish” if ya get what I mean.
Non-canon is non-canon. Granted, there are still limits when people suggested adding in characters from other Blizz franchises like WarCraft and Diablo.* Even though I’m still relatively awful at playing as Mengsk, I’m glad he got put in. Nm it’s a delight to play with someone who’s good at using him, but he truly does have a different play style (so much that I heard the code behind him is rather complex, and would require an actual, good developer, to properly work on).
The way he treats his “LaTr” (laborers/troopers) wouldn’t fit well with Valerian’s style. You can argue that Raynor treats his infantry worse than Zerg units, but at least that part of lore is still there. Plus, we’d miss out on all the extra quotes for the late emperor himself!
If it weren’t a pipedream, I would’ve liked to seen Valerian’s as yet another CO. Perhaps specializing in air, with few, scant, elite ground units? So like a “reverse HH”?
My only other pitch for him would be a team with Kate Lockwell… she has a reporting mechanic where if she drums up enough “viewership points”, she can attract the attention of other COs not in use, and you get to use a subset of their assets, abilities, and units. Alternatively, Valerian could’ve been the one she calls upon instead or in addition to (and in this non-canon timeline, she and Valerian end up being more of an item! 
)
*. FWIW, that would be silly, but I would dig it. Always liked that part about Super Smash Bros. series, but this may require a branch-off in gameplay 
Some good points. One commander I would like if they ever resume work on this game is Niadra. She could be an interesting commander that spawns all her units from the commander itself.
1 Like
I thought somebody pitched an idea where she could have some fusion of Protoss tech, given where things last left off in the HotV camp.
1 Like
That would actually be a very good idea. What is she even had her own hybrids?
In Nexus Coop, Valerian is build all around Umorjian Technology, Defense Power and Elitemechs.
He has as example Planetary Fortress from the beginning, can call down rocket attacks with his topbar, control his own odinhero unit (also call his phoenix mecha friend for a period of time), most units (thor, his special cyclones, bc etc.) can set in a defensive position where they gain new abilities or strengthen their existing one.
1 Like
Because it’s easier to write?
edit: edit to say most was fixed by now, but even if it can no longer be seen in the topic, the above way to write the name show it could have indeed been a decision based on how easy/hard it is to write the name lol.
3 Likes
I think Varian’s from Warcraft. He will be totally underpowered with only some footmen and crude machines as his units.
Laughs in Wings of Liberty campaign mod Human from NikoN.
Well, Arcturus is easier. Here, we could’ve just gone with “junior” 
1 Like
I was tired when I wrote this. Corrected the spelling.
You “fixed” the title and 2/3 words of the original post.
But the quotes are because “It’s Valerian not Valarian” lol.
Yep, nice choice Blizzard indeed.
1 Like
Also, Nexus coop has a Valerian commander. You might want to check it out. I think it suits his theme but I find it over the top.
Ditto. It’s a copy past job at this point
But he’d have Alliance mages.