That only happens if the Horde wins an honorable victory

[Amadis-draka (Amadis)]

But, they could have just blown up the fleet to do that. The invasion and attacking Rastakhan was pointless. In fact their distraction arguably saved quite a bit of the fleet, and those lives were utterly wasted. As far as the reasoning Anduin gives, they didn’t sever the ties between the Zandalari and the Horde, they just weakened the Zandalari and drove them into the Horde.

At best what you’re describing is a situation where the head doesn’t know what it’s hands are doing.

Anduin most definitely is shown consistently as having no idea what’s going on. And in the initial Alliance War Campaign quests in Vol’dun showed that High Commander Halford Wyrmbane is an excessively inefficient leader, and Shandris instead merely accomplishing his objectives more directly instead of in the convoluted manner Wyrmbane wanted to use.

Yet Shandris is still working with Wyrmbane come Nazjatar after Dazar’alor, as the Alliance remains united despite all of the above.

Which is also relevant, given that if the purpose of the attack was to destroy the Zandalari fleet in order to focus on Sylvanas, killing Rastakhan and then not pressing the attack because they killed him is completely backwards.

Further pressing on the Zandalari isn’t necessary, as is evident by the Zandalari not having been able to do anything against the Alliance ever since Dazar’alor.

So? People can have deep-seated regrets and shames and still provide correct reasoning.

Saurfang shows incorrect reasoning in forgetting what the wound that would split the Alliance was (being the idea that Genn would leave the Alliance if it went to support Teldrassil over Gilneas) and he was forgetting that because he was overwhelmed with regret and shame.

I was referring to after she gives the order and Saurfang notes that her anger has disappeared. Regardless, someone being angry is not an indication of their thinking being flawed.

That was after she had already burned Teldrassil. And being angry alone is not an indication of their thinking being flawed, no. But thinking flawed can happen - which Sylvanas did, as analyzed - and can be explained by a person being overwhelmed with anger.

She was thinking about multiple things around the same time. First her objective, then how both her and Saurfang’s actions concerning Malfurion had undermined that objective, then what would happen given the current circumstances, then the possibility of outside interference having worked against them, then she starts to think of a new way to inflict the wound when Delaryn interrupts her.

She’s not just muddling around spinning her wheels, she considers every aspect of the situation relevant to her overarching strategy before considering how to meet her goals with an alternative method, and then someone grabs her attention. We might say the idea of Teldrassil was spurred on by her interaction with Delaryn, but she wasn’t just incoherently lost.

We then have two interpretations:

Mine: Sylvanas forgets what her plan is in a moment of emotional compromise and burns Teldrassil in a lack of inhibition and sense, throwing away her entire plan to split the Alliance.

Yours: Sylvanas lied to Saurfang and the Horde and was intending to destroy the Night Elves all along without telling anyone, but had still admitted to Saurfang that the Alliance would unite if the Horde tried to win dishonorably.

Either way, Sylvanas costs the Horde everything and was never going to split the Alliance.

She doesn’t even attempt to start to come up with something new until the end of her dialog though. You’re framing someone reviewing the situation as being unstable for not immediately seizing on a new plan.

She wasn’t able to come up with anything, and even issued the orders to prepare to invade the tree before Delaryn got her attention. She wouldn’t have come up with burning Teldrassil at all if Delaryn hadn’t talked to her and pushed her over the edge.

Saurfang knew the basics, his role was in advancing her tactical aims, not to know the entire strategy for the war. You might say not telling him was a critical flaw considering that he allowed Malfurion to escape, but that was an absurd blunder even within the confines of what Saurfang knew.

It was also an absurd blunder on Sylvanas’ part, who specifically told Saurfang that the Alliance would unite if the Horde won dishonorably, when Saurfang was the kind of person for whom winning honorably included near arbitrary dueling rules that could be enacted and adhered to at any moment. Sylvanas consistently doesn’t understand the people she’s dealing with.

I’m certainly not seeing what you’re seeing in that vagueness.

You certainly do, as you know you also don’t know what Sylvanas real plan was, assuming she was lying to Saurfang and Horde the whole time.

Okay? I’ve read your reasoning, and I disagree.

And at least seven others do not disagree, and I’ll take their support over your dismissal.

Even if we accept that it was a blessing more of Elune than Tyrande, it still has absolutely no relevance. It was just a temporary buff that disappears after the quest is done, and the Worgen seen afterwards haven’t changed in any notable regard.

Worgen haven’t even gotten their model updates yet, it would be unreasonable to expect they would also get character customization like the Night Elves did when they aren’t even in their finalized customization yet.

But the Worgen and the Night Elves aren’t the Alliance, they’re just two factions within the Alliance. As it is they’ve grown closer while also growing more ideologically, and militarily, distinct from Anduin and Stormwind.

Side note, the Worgen leaving the Horde’s weaker front and attacking on their stronger front is arguably a good thing.

Except it’s not distinct from Anduin and Stormwind, as both Shandris and Genn are simultaneously supporting Anduin and Stormwind at the same time they are supporting the Night Elves at Darkshore.

I do agree, though, that leaving the Horde’s weaker front and pushing them out of Darkshore was a good thing.

The bolded section is the issue here. If Sylvanas’ goal is to divide the Alliance, she is still on track for that. In the previous sections you didn’t quote, I note that rather than undermining the idea as she’s presented it to Saurfang, she was just lying about that being the only way in order to garner his support and fight the war in a way the Horde would be comfortable with.

If the idea that she lied is correct, then that means the contingency that she herself set that the only way to win and divide the Alliance was by fighting honorably was false. Which aligns with the fact that Sylvanas keeps saying that the war is on track to achieve her objectives.

Whether or not you think that means a loss for the Horde depends on what you think those objectives are, how they’ll come about, and how they’ll affect the Horde. Personally, I think her main objective right now is to destroy the Alliance. Most material we have shows that she wants that.

She could have been making up something to Saurfang in saying the Alliance would unite if the Horde did not win honorably to get him into doing what she wanted, but then as addressed up above, she both made him think he had to act honorably, which included sparing Malfurion, and also ended up being right even if she didn’t intend to be that acting dishonorably in burning Teldrassil did unite the Alliance against her as they all came for Lordaeron.

Nobody could have foreseen that Saurfang would let Malfurion go. It doesn’t even align in terms of being honorable, and it would result in a ton of Horde blood being shed down the road. Not to mention that it was brought about from a literal deus ex machina.

At most she should have just stayed to make sure he did it.

As you had also commented, Horde soldiers seek to die honorable deaths in combat. Saurfang even thought Malfurion killing him in Astranaar would have been an honorable way to go. Further fighting against Malfurion would have resulted in more blood shed, yes. Blood shed that Horde soldiers could have very well reveled in and died happily in, if their senses of honor could be held intact. Whatever that entails.

Not sure why you have that preference. Anyway, it’s a major setup, something will happen with it at some point.

Blizzard has a consistent track record of ignoring major setups and forgetting about them, especially when it comes to the Night Elves.

And it’s my preference because I’d rather the Night Elves not be responsible for more war, especially when the narrative can say that Tyrande would be wrong to and Anduin should have been listened to all along. That would be further kicking of the Night Elves that I am absolutely against.

Right, like making things up that contradicts our available information is such a reasonable position. Stop if you want on that basis.

Not making things up. Merely speculating and acknowledging things as agnostic until confirmed. That’s not headcanon. Assuming something that hasn’t been confirmed is the definition of headcanon, which is your status quo assumption.

Once again, I stand by that you are factually wrong in assuming status quo is canon. And I will stop conversation on the basis of your insisting otherwise to promote your headcanon as canon.

What? Those two things make no sense together. On the one hand you have people thinking Malfurion was boring and disliking that he didn’t support the Alliance, so Blizzard responds by having him support the Alliance and fight the Horde. On the other hand, you have people saying the Alliance is too static, boring, reactionary, super good, or unified, and the solution is supposed to be them doubling down on all those things?

In the first situation Malfurion effectively switched gears to what people wanted from him, but in the second situation Blizzard is supposed to do the opposite of what people want by continuing to do what they’ve done for years?

Key there is people wanted Malfurion dead, which was what Blizzard didn’t go with.

And likewise, Blizzard can make the Alliance races more distinctive and independent without copying the internal drama that is the staple to the Horde narrative so far.

As far as I’m concerned this is all good. And if Anduin were to scold Tyrande, she should just tell him off.

And get villain batted to stop the war.

I think that would be a very poor outcome. You’d have Tyrande going from no mercy mode and blaming Saurfang for the war to her just chastising him. At that point she may as well just be wearing eyeshadow.

Forcing Saurfang to atone for his crimes for the rest of his days is far less merciful than simply killing him so he will suffer no longer.

Afrasiabi says right there that they consider the divide to be foundational and fundamental to the franchise. They can’t “resolve” it by doing the exact same thing they’ve done every time before. In your next quoted section he talks about how he’d rather allow the factions to group together rather than create a third faction. I think overall that may mean the Alliance and Horde both effectively being dissolved as institutions.

Or unified into a single global institution to stand against global threats.

And then all players could play together. War Mode could be Anarchy Mode, where everyone is a PvP target if you’re not grouped with them, like many of the PvP gameplay activations already in game.