Awesome job pulling all that together into an article! Personally hoping for a return of all the Old Golds for a Black Empire expansion in 2020.
It feels weird to say, but it really feels like Hearthstone is driving so much of the world building in WoW these days. The Old Gods, the Tortollans, revamped Karazhan, fleshing out of existing races like the worgen, trolls, kobolds and murlocs (the latter two were later reflected in game, wouldn't be surprised to see a lot of Witchwood in an eventual Gilneas revamp).This is pure speculation, but I'm like 99% sure we are gonna see a Mechagon expansion in Hearthstone this fall/winter as a send-off to all of the mechs introduced in the Boomsday expansion.And I'm still waiting for the really fun Hearthstone version of Gadgetzan make it into WoW!
I feel like Y'Shaarj is gonna be back for three reasons. One, if anything is ever-living in WoW it's an Old God. It's not a big retcon when they keep telling you "even death may die" for all these years. Two, every story thread gets picked up again and the only story threads left in Pandaria are the Klaxxi and Y'Shaarj. We've already seen most of the Pandaria characters back in some capacity in Legion except for those two. Three, it's just too awesome in a Rule of Cool sense to have all four Old Gods come back together. You have to have an OMG moment to make headlines and this is BfA's Return Of Illidan moment.
Not even going to mention that WotG's board is a corrupted version of Stormwind City, as well as all the Old God whispers seemingly pointing to Anduin?"The boy-king serves at the master's table. Three lies will he offer you.""Three lies. Da first one been told. Bound by dat throne? No. Free. Free! Da next gonna come soon. Maybe dey see dis one.""The veil wanes. His crown will open the way."
The mural of Y'shaarj resembles what Soggoth the Slitherer looked like in the Hearthstone game: https://wow.gamepedia.com/Soggoth_the_Slitherer#/media/File:Soggoth_the_Slitherer_HS.jpg
Since I have the chance to post something that it is on-topic and something I came to understand I'll just shoot it off:Azeroth , after the Black Empire , had alot of races wondering around.You have Stormforged Dwarfs,Mechagnomes , Vrykul & Taunka.We have Trolls & Goblins around to what is called now Maelstorm or how the titans call it "The Well of Eternity".Keep this in mind.From the wound an Old God left behind mindless trolls eolved into Night Elves , Zandalari trolls , Gurubashi trolls , Zul'aman trolls & Drakkari trolls and many other trolls that didnt got to form an empire or a large enough group to be known to the Titans.From Yogg-Saron's corruption some of the Vrykuls started devolving into humans , Stormforged Dwarfs into Dwarfs , Mechagnomes into Gnomes , Taunka into Taurens.Everything else is derived from these.The only races that were empowered and evolved are the ones exposed to Azerite.Those exposed to corruption devolved.Now , we have races brought on Azeroth by Sargeras's Burning Crusade : Orcs & Draenei and their alterations.Forsaken & Undeads are a product/consequence of Legion.We know N'zoth had something to do with how bulky Kul'tiran humans are and why their religion involves the sea but thats all to it.If you keep these things that I wrote above in mind the whispers where Old Gods refer to us as their creation.Those whispers are true.So , from their perspective this is all planned by them : The chaos we create , the defeat of Legion. We are their rebelious kids..
Fun article, you can tell a lot went into it