Legit the only reason the Circle manages to get anything done is because of Hamuul.
Not being a good diplomat is one thing. But actively antagonizing major geopolitical powers and being bratty levels of obstinate in refusing to acknowledge reality is another.
It doesn’t take a great diplomat to understand that during the whole Darkshore issue in BfA that Anduin/Stormwind literally physically didn’t have troops to spare with the other battlefronts going on AND maintaining enough security for the city with the massive amount of elven refugees Stormwind took in after Teldrassil (when they were under no obligation to do so in the first place).
But Tyrande just heard “No”, threw a tantrum and stormed out like the petulant child she always behaves as.
Her writing may not be good, but at least consistent
Because in the end, she was not only just plain right; she was super-right. Not only did the Alliance manage to win in Darkshore; they followed that up with victory in Dazar’alor and Stromgard, all while Stormwind was relatively safe because the Horde was too busy losing Sylvanas’s war.
The narrative keeps reinforcing that Tyrande’s tantrums are actually correct.
She literally risked dying(or worse) by claiming the night warrior power. Yes it worked in her favor(like her freeing Illidan) but it ultimately caused future headaches that the players had to deal with(namely killing illidan and then saving her)
Also, if Anduin had sent forces to Darkshore he might have lost either Dazar’alor or Stromgarde. Or both.
Exactly. Not to mention Velan was literally standing right there with them when they had that conversation just shaking his head at her.
She literally just didn’t want to hear the harsh reality of the fact that Stormwind’s (and all the other races forces) were already spread thin across multiple theaters of combat in the Eastern Kingdom, Kul Tiras and Zandalar.
Heck, even the drawback of being the Night Warrior worked in her favor by creating the tear that eventually because Amirdrassil.
I’m not arguing Anduin was wrong. I’m arguing the narrative ensured Tyrande was right. Even her worst decisions turn often out to be right. She throws a fit and storms out, and lo and behond, Darkshore was taken by the nelves as the Alliance took the other areas.
To be fair, if I was Tyrande and in her position, I’d be royally pissed too that the alliance was prioritizing Stromgarde, a dead kingdom at the time that they cared nothing about for literal decades and helping their allies retake their territory wasn’t even a priority.
But I also think that scenario was also meant to show that Anduin was prioritizing the wrong things and ignoring his allies needs
We literally just got a story about how they can’t handle their own defense without their hands being held by the Alliance even with half the territory and neighbors trying their best to have good relations and coordinate against common threats.
If Sylvanas remained in power and managed to force a siege vs exausted forces, the post-darkshore campaign for the nelves would have likely been grinding and terrible vs whatever holdouts they faced who refused to give up Ashenvale after Baine took over.
If memory serves, Darkshore was already in absolute tatters even before the burning of Teldrassil due to Deathwing. I believe it was described as being “destroyed more thoroughly than any other part of Azeroth”. And Malfurian even mentioned that the only reason it hadn’t shattered and been washed away by the sea was due to the efforts of the Ancients and Grovekeepers.
And after the Alliance victory there, when Rexxar visited the area to check it out it had become a virtually dead land that was even devoid of birds.
When we learned how the two battlefronts ended, Darkshore didn’t surprise me. Fighting night elves in the forest should always be a terrifying thing, and when all the night elfs go to fight your garrison and support staff in the forest? Nightmare fuel for those allowed to survive, forever.
But… Stromgarde? Really. The Alliance won… Stromgarde.
The nearest major Alliance port is Menethil Harbor, where troops would have to cross a bridge to reach; take out the bridge, cut off that support. It has a lonely pirate dock to support it, and that’s not gonna do much.
By land, the nearest ally is Aerie Peak via… A tunnel. Collapse the tunnel, which also happens to be across the zone from Stromgarde anyway.
Horde have support from land through a wall they control at least one side of, still hold substantial holdings beyond that wall, and forsaken don’t need as much resupplying as the living because undead.
And all so the Alliance can… What? It’s poorly positioned as a staging ground into Hillsbrad, because of the difficulties resupplying it. It’s even worse for Gilneas due to lacking a port.
Hell, Gilneas would do a better job both as a rallying point for a land invasion and a supply point for naval missions. Why not there? Why… Stromgarde? Other than nostalgia.
Stromgarde being won by the Alliance makes no sense. It shouldn’t’ve even been a battle for them.
Their only concern in the 4th War war not losing naval superiority, and they had bomb/mined the Golden Fleet. Sacrificing a small army to murder Rastakhan won them nothing but a dead small army and a nearly dead Mekkabutts.
And the focused hate of a country that had no intentions of giving Sylvanas more than a couple token concessions and could always rebuild after your desperate decapitation attack.
