The Tauren & The Goblin – Warcraft Story & Lore

Latest Episodes:

#104: On Draka and Afterlives: Maldraxxus Sep 07, 2020

Show notes

Nick and Katie are back with a whole new animated short to talk about! This time, we learn about Draka's experiences serving in Maldraxxus. But first Katie and Nick try to list notable orc women. Then, the duo review Draka's life. Draka was born weak and set out on a quest to get ingredients for a potion to cure her, but it turns out the quest itself did the job. Then she meets Durotan and they get married and have a kid. They are exiled to Alteract Valley and Nick shares the two versions of their meeting with Orgrim and the ensuing ambush, as detailed in Lord of the Clans and Chronicle Volume II. Draka is killed in the ambush but Nick focuses on the particularly tragic death of Durotan.
The pair then discuss the cinematic. They talk about Draka becoming a rogue in the afterlife. They consider why the other denizens of Maldraxxus are all skeletons, and wonder about the purpose of existence. They talk about the shot of the two felguards and how it was cribbed from Harbingers: Illidan, and look at what that could mean, assuming Blizzard wasn't just blindly reusing assets (although Nick points out that they reuse assets in the game all the time.) They talk about what the implications are that the Legion is in the Shadowlands, unless Draka is free to leave the Shadowlands, which also has massive implications, and wonder about the flow of power between the various realms. Finally, Nick considers if Draka's soul was split like Uther's, but because of her existence on Alternate Draenor.
Thank you for listening to The Tauren & the Goblin! Please send any comments or questions to taurengoblin@mash.gg or @taurengoblin on twitter. Our next live show is scheduled for 9/10 at 11:30 pm E at twitch.tv/mashthosebuttons. Come join us!

Episode URL: http://mtb.gg/2im
Show Twitter: twitter.com/TaurenGoblin

Hosts:
Nick Zielenkievicz
twitter.com/WookieeBH
Katie Grace
twitter.com/hyrulemaster77

Thank you for listening to a Mash Those Buttons podcast! You can keep up with all of our podcasts in the following locations.

Website: mashthosebuttons.com
Twitter: twitter.com/themashnetwork
Discord: mash.gg/discord

#103: On Uther and Afterlives: Bastion Aug 31, 2020

Show notes

Blizzard released the first of four Afterlives animated shorts on Thursday, and Katie and Nick couldn't wait to talk about it. The cinematic focuses on what happened to Uther after he died, so the duo begins by talking about Uther's life.
They talk about how Uther was an apprentice to Alonsus Faol, who then selected him to become part of the Order of the Silver Hand. Uther was given the Libram of Justice and served with Anduin Lothar and Turalyon. In the Second War, the paladins fought the orc death knights and won. Uther later discovered the betrayal of the Alliance by Alterac, and then fought in the battle of Blackrock Spire. Turalyon christened him the Lightbringer. Uther led the assault against the Burning Blade at the Dark Portal.
Uther then takes on Arthas as a student, who he sees as a son. Nick and Katie enjoy the fact that Uther gave Arthas ceremonial shoulderplates. Arthas starts to fall under the sway of the Lich King, which culminates in the Culling of Stratholme. Arthas eventually kills Uther, but his story does not end there. Uther is entombed in the Western Plaguelands, and quests in Burning Crusade and Wrath of the Lich King had players interacting with his ghost.
Now caught up, the pair are able to talk about the cinematic. They talk about how Arthas plays such a key role in the cinematic, and speculate on what his role in Shadowlands will be. They look at Uther's invocation of the Light just before dying, and wonder if the Light isn't responsible for what's happening in Bastion. They examine how Uther's soul was split, and consider if that could be an effect of being stabbed by Frostmourne. In particular, they wonder about another famous victim of Frostmourne, Sylvanas. They talk about Devos and Uther become dark angels and wonder just who the bad guys in Bastion will be. Nick congratulates Blizzard on using Arthas to market Shadowlands.
Thank you for listening to The Tauren & the Goblin! Please send any comments or questions to taurengoblin@mash.gg or @taurengoblin on twitter. Our next live show is scheduled for 9/3 at 11:30 pm E at twitch.tv/mashthosebuttons. Come join us... Visit website for full summary.

Episode URL: http://mtb.gg/2if
Show Twitter: twitter.com/TaurenGoblin

Hosts:
Nick Zielenkievicz
twitter.com/WookieeBH
Katie Grace
twitter.com/hyrulemaster77

Thank you for listening to a Mash Those Buttons podcast! You can keep up with all of our podcasts in the following locations.

Website: mashthosebuttons.com
Twitter: twitter.com/themashnetwork
Discord: mash.gg/discord

#102: On C'Thun and Ahn'Qiraj (feat. CognitivePit) Aug 27, 2020

Show notes

Ryan aka CognitivePit from Warcraft Reloaded is here with Nick and Katie to talk about C'Thun and the Gates of Ahn'Qiraj since the gates just opened on WoW Classic! Nick asks Ryan if he got his Scarab Lord title and he did not. Ryan then talks a bit about playing through the Ahn'Qiraj experience. They then get into some of the lore around C'Thun and the gates and talk about Fandral Staghelm sending his son Valstann to regrow Silithus. Valstann stumbles into Ahn'Qiraj and awakens C'Thun and the Qiraji and the War of the Shifting Sands begins. Nick wonders about how people keep wandering into sleeping Old Gods acusing problems.
Nick then goes back to the origins of Ahn'Qiraj, talking about how the Zandalari awoke the C'thraxxi Kith'ix, who led an Aqir army, and started the Troll-Aqir war. The Aqir were pushed into Ahn'Qiraj where the Zandalari and Gurbashi trapped them, and then they were warped into the Qiraji by C'Thun's power. Ryan goes into the ways the Anubiseth were affected by C'Thun and talks about some of the Ahn'Qiraj bosses like the Twin Emperors and Prophet Skeram.
They then talk about Fandral going nuts when Valstann is killed and how Fandral ultimately joins Ragnaros. This leads to a discussion of how Old Gods tend to corrupt people.
They talk about Saurfang leading the united war front, and the effort required to gather so much cloth for the war effort for bandages.
Nick brings up how Cho'gall started the War by sacrificing several cultists to awaken C'Thun.
Finally, Ryan ends by talking about his show Warcraft Reloded.
Thank you for listening to The Tauren & the Goblin! Please send any comments or questions to taurengoblin@mash.gg or @taurengoblin on twitter. Our next live show is scheduled for 9/2 at 10:30 pm E at twitch.tv/mashthosebuttons. Come join us!

Episode URL: http://mtb.gg/2ie
Show Twitter: twitter.com/TaurenGoblin

Hosts:
Nick Zielenkievicz
twitter.com/WookieeBH
Katie Grace
twitter.com/hyrulemaster77

Thank you for listening to a Mash Those Buttons podcast! You can keep up with all of our podcasts in the following locations.

Website: mashthosebuttons.com
Twitter: twitter.com/themashnetwork
Discord: mash.gg/discord

#101: Warcraft 101 (feat. Bryce & James) Aug 21, 2020

Show notes

Nick and Katie are back but Katie brought friends! Joining the pair tonight are James, Katie's brother, and Bryce, Katie's boyfriend. James plays WoW but hasn't paid much attention to the lore, and Bryce has only just started playing but has picked up some tidbits of story from Katie through osmosis. To honor episode #101, Katie decided to hold a Warcraft 101 style class so she and Nick could educate these two "students."
With introductions out of the way, Bryce starts with a lengthy narrative vividly describing his understanding of the Warcraft lore. It is definitely influenced by Katie's opinions. He starts with the orcs forming the Horde on "Durostar" and coming through the portal and leads through the events of Warcraft III and then up to Battle for Azeroth. James then has a turn, and he is able to describe the history of WoW by going through his memory of the raids. Katie and Nick try to correct some of what they can.
James asks about the history of the warchief. Bryce says that Grommash, Garrosh, and Thrall were the three warchieves and they now sit on the Horde council, along with Vol'jin's ashes. Nick then runs through a quick history of the position from Blackhand (as manipulated by Gul'dan) up through Sylvanas killing Saurfang and then fleeing and the formation of the Council.
Bryce then asks about mages and portals. Katie talks about the Kirin Tor and the group concludes that mages are terrible.
Finally, we finish with James and Bryce describing WoW characters, and Nick and Katie (with help from Gin from Morally Grey and Ali from Dungeon Fables in the chat) trying to guess who they are talking about.
Thank you for listening to The Tauren & the Goblin! Please send any comments or questions to taurengoblin@mash.gg or @taurengoblin on twitter. Our next live show is scheduled for 8/19 at 10:30 pm E at twitch.tv/mashthosebuttons. Come join us!

Episode URL: http://mtb.gg/2i8
Show Twitter: twitter.com/TaurenGoblin

Hosts:
Nick Zielenkievicz
twitter.com/WookieeBH
Katie Grace
twitter.com/hyrulemaster77

Thank you for listening to a Mash Those Buttons podcast! You can keep up with all of our podcasts in the following locations.

Website: mashthosebuttons.com
Twitter: twitter.com/themashnetwork
Discord: mash.gg/discord

#100: On Shadows Rising Jul 29, 2020

Show notes

Join Nick and Katie as they celebrate 100 episodes. First, they take a moment to thank everyone for helping them get this far.
Nick and Katie both just finished the Shadowlands pre-expansion novel, Shadows Rising by Madeline Roux, and they are excited to talk about it. Nick talks about missing the various voice talents when reading the story, and Katie talks about Susan Wokoma, the voice actress for Talanji, reading the audio book.
They talk about Zekhan's role in the book and the fact that Bwonsamdi calls him Zappy Boy. Nick suggests that Bwonsamdi has a loose relationship with the fourth wall like Deadpool. Katie talks about Zekhan's large role in the book. They talk about his near death scene burning in the tar, and Nick says he wasn't worried because all deaths are cheapened at the moment since we are about to head into the Shadowlands.
The pair point out that the climax of the story happens simultaneously with Sylvanas ripping the Helm of Domination apart in Icecrown and opening the hole in the sky.
They consider troll regeneration and look at what was wrong with Apari’s leg.
Then then talk about Anduin and Roux's depiction of leadership, with many of the characters physically exhibiting signs of stress and rubbing their temples often.
They talk about the evolution of Tyrande as the Night Warrior and her brief but important role in the book.
Nick considers the Stockades where Sira is imprisoned and how they had a role at the start of the expansion and now again at the end.
They talk about the Horde and Alliance and how the Horde is at relative peace at the end, while the Alliance is still in turmoil.
Thank you for listening to The Tauren & the Goblin! Please send any comments or questions to taurengoblin@mash.gg or @taurengoblin on twitter. Our next live show is scheduled for 8/6 at 10:30 pm E at twitch.tv/mashthosebuttons. Come join us!

Episode URL: http://mtb.gg/2hh
Show Twitter: twitter.com/TaurenGoblin

Hosts:
Nick Zielenkievicz
twitter.com/WookieeBH
Katie Grace
twitter.com/hyrulemaster77

Thank you for listening to a Mash Those Buttons podcast! You can keep up with all of our podcasts in the following locations.

Website: mashthosebuttons.com
Twitter: twitter.com/themashnetwork
Discord: mash.gg/discord

Where We're Going (feat. Gin) Jul 24, 2020

Show notes

Nick's conversation with Gin continues as they get into what they are most looking forward to in the next expansion. SPOILERS FOR SHADOWS RISING AND FOR SHADOWLANDS AHEAD. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
Gin says he's most looking forward to Sylvanas' journey for how she gets from poofing out of Ogrimmar to breaking the Helm of Domination. He also mentions that Warcraft's first homosexual relationship has been confirmed in that Flynn Fairwind and Matthias Shaw are a couple in Shadows Rising. Nick expresses surprise in that he missed the clues in game.
GIn talks about how the book involves everyone reaction to Sylvanas but doesn't feature her for much of it. He talks about how Nathanos and Sira Moonwarden are working together, as well as Talanji and Bwon'samdi, and of course Flynn and Shaw.
They get into a discussion of Turalyon and Alleria and Nick misunderstands what Gin is saying. They talk about how Turalyon was so fixed by his time with the Light (and Xe'ra) and now that he is out from under that, he can finally grow again. They talk about how the Warcraft lore has grown since Chronicle came out and that the Light and the Void are being disassociated from good and evil.
Nick asserts that the reception for Shadowlands will entirely hinge on how welll Blizzard can reveal Sylvanas' motives. If players are unhappy with the reveal, then their opinions of the expansion willl be harsher. If they appreciate it, Battle for Azeroth can retroactively be made better.
They discuss the need for a Chronicle Volume 4, and how much of the lore around the Argus raid is missing. They talk about using Chronicle Volume 4 to fill in the lore from the viewpoint of the other characters (the first ones?)
They speculate about how souls can be split after death and Gin talks about his expectations that the blacksmith in the Maw willbe a major character. They talk about some of the artifact weapons. They also talk about many of the characters they look forward to interacting with.
Thank you for listening to The Tauren & the Goblin! Please send any comments or questions to taurengoblin@mash.gg or @taurengoblin on twitter. Our next live show is scheduled for 7/22 at 10:30 pm E at http://mtb.gg/2hb
Show Twitter: twitter.com/TaurenGoblin

Host:
Nick Zielenkievicz
twitter.com/WookieeBH

Thank you for listening to a Mash Those Buttons podcast! You can keep up with all of our podcasts in the following locations.

Website: mashthosebuttons.com
Twitter: twitter.com/themashnetwork
Discord: mash.gg/discord

#99: Where We've Been (feat. Gin) Jul 15, 2020

Show notes

Gin from Morally Grey is here to fill in for Katie and talk with Nick about playing alts and some of his recent interview with Madeline Roux, author of Shadows Rising.
They start with Nick diving into Gin's favorite part of the interview with her, talking about her writing process and her favorite characters. They discuss how some people have problems separating the actions of fictional characters from the authors or creators, with Nick talking about the recent death threats against Laura Bailey.
They then talk about podcasting while drinking, and Nick credits Gin for his sounders on Morally Grey. They talk about recording podcasts and the struggles with editing them, and then switching to streaming. They also talk about recording episodes in a cluster for release later. They also discuss Gin's plans for Morally Grey as it moves from Warcraft II into Warcraft III. Gin also talks a bit about A Thousand Years of War, regarding Turalyon and Alleria.
They get off on a tangent about screenshots, with Nick talking about how he takes too many screenshots and Gin not taking any at all.
They then talk about the Developer Livestream where it was revealed that Torghast would not be gated and they complain a bit about Horrific Visions being gated behind dailies. Nick compares that to the Paragon reputations, and then talks about how a single attunement would be preferable to daily unlocks.
Gin is appreciative that seemingly everything discussed at Blizzcon will be in Shadowlands, and was elaborated on in the livestream. Nick points out that Blizzard seems to be carefullly responding to the criticisms of the development process for Battle for Azeroth. They compare how few mythic + dungeons they've run.
Gin talks about his alts for a bit, and then talks about the headcanon of race-changing your character. Nick defers since he has never race-changed, but Gin talks about how his one character has been multiple people. Nick then complains that the collections in the game are getting too big.
Gin and Nick compare histories of playing and quitting the game throughout the early expansions. Then they talk about weapon skill points and how they levelled up their unarmed combat.
They talk about Grim Batol in Cataclysm and how there are no kid dwarven or tauren models. This leads to a facetious discussion on the origin of gnomes.
Thank you for listening to The Tauren & the Goblin! Please send any comments or que... Visit website for full summary.

Episode URL: http://mtb.gg/2h3
Show Twitter: twitter.com/TaurenGoblin

Hosts:
Nick Zielenkievicz
twitter.com/WookieeBH
Katie Grace
twitter.com/hyrulemaster77

Thank you for listening to a Mash Those Buttons podcast! You can keep up with all of our podcasts in the following locations.

Website: mashthosebuttons.com
Twitter: twitter.com/themashnetwork
Discord: mash.gg/discord

#98: On Alts (with Spazz Wesson) Jul 01, 2020

Show notes

Nick and Katie are back with special guest Spazz Wesson to talk about playing alts in World of Warcraft. But first, they talk about what they've been doing in game. Spazz mentions that he's been killing the same few MoP bosses for mounts, and this leads to a discussion about 8.3 being one of the deader final patches in WoW history. The trio compares 8.3 with 6.2 and 7.3, delving into why features such as the Mage Tower made Legion such a strong expansion. They consider if the strength of the prior expansions is a detriment to the subsequent content. They conclude with Katie talking about playing with her boyfriend and boring him with lore.
Spazz asks the question, " When you watch a cinematic in game for the first time, do you react as your main, as yourself or do you react as all your characters?" Nick throws the question to Spazz first, who talks about his alts and how his main is a night elf. Katie talks about her family of alts including Klanker and his Night Elf wife. Nick mentions the Battle for Azeroth cinematic and how Sylvanas' "For the Horde!" made him feel at the time. They discuss how their various alts relate to one another, and bring up other cinematics including Elisande's pre-raid encounter. They go in depth on the burning of Teldrassil, as that affected all characters differently. Nick and Spazz agree that everyone should have a Sylvanas loyalist character. They talk further about how their characters reacted to Sylvanas trusting them early in the Horde campaign. Finally, hey talk a bit about how alts level through the world.
Thank you for listening to The Tauren & the Goblin! Please send any comments or questions to taurengoblin@mash.gg or @taurengoblin
on twitter. Our next live show is scheduled for 7/6 at 10:30 pm E at twitch.tv/mashthosebuttons. Come join us!

Episode URL: http://mtb.gg/2gk
Show Twitter: twitter.com/TaurenGoblin

Hosts:
Nick Zielenkievicz
twitter.com/WookieeBH
Katie Grace
twitter.com/hyrulemaster77

Thank you for listening to a Mash Those Buttons podcast! You can keep up with all of our podcasts in the following locations.

Website: mashthosebuttons.com
Twitter: twitter.com/themashnetwork
Discord: mash.gg/discord

#97: On "A Moment in Verse" Jun 17, 2020

Show notes

Nick and Katie are back with new WoW content to talk about! But first, Katie is excited because not only did she get Ahead of the Curve on Heroic N'Zoth (and thus, her mount) but she also was able to get the Mail Muncher mount as well! And she's been having fun playing with her brother. Nick, meanwhile, has been hanging out in Mechagon.
Nick brings up his theory that life the last few years and especially into 2020 feels alot like living on Azeroth where there are constant planetary threats emerging.
Finally, the duo gets into "A Moment in Verse," the new short story by Madeline Roux, who will be authoring "Shadows Rising," the Shadowlands prequel novel. They talk about Lor'themar being very serious in his role as Regent Lord, and how he and Thalyssra have connected since their meeting in the Void Elf and Nightborne intro quests. They also discuss their working together in Naz'jatar, and their increasing closeness suggested in their post-Reckoning dialog.
They discuss Lor'themar's arrival in Suramar, and how he's greeted by Thalyssra. They get into an off-topic discussion about how the TItans would have made all the races, so there would be some biological compatibility. They talk about Lor'themar's poetry, and go over some of the highlights of his poem, "The Adder." They talk about how the adder is Kael'thas, and speculate on whether Lor'themar and Kael'thas will interact with each other in Shadowlands.
They also talk about how Shadows are used in the story. Nick compares Lor'themar to Illidan, and then Nick comments that elves need cell phones.
Thank you for listening to The Tauren & the Goblin! Please send any comments or questions to taurengoblin@mash.gg or @taurengoblin on twitter. Our next live show is scheduled for 6/24 at 10:30 pm E at twitch.tv/mashthosebuttons. Come join us!

Episode URL: http://mtb.gg/2g5
Show Twitter: twitter.com/TaurenGoblin

Hosts:
Nick Zielenkievicz
twitter.com/WookieeBH
Katie Grace
twitter.com/hyrulemaster77

Thank you for listening to a Mash Those Buttons podcast! You can keep up with all of our podcasts in the following locations.

Website: mashthosebuttons.com
Twitter: twitter.com/themashnetwork
Discord: mash.gg/discord

#96: On Loremaster feat. Frazley, Loremaster of Guests Jun 03, 2020

Show notes

Frazley from Stories Around Azeroth, The Frazlcast, The Converted Podcast, The Frazley Report, Be Great Today, and more is here to talk about working on getting Loremaster! But first, he and Katie discuss their recent D&D session together. They talk about Katie playing a Dragonborn and not having darkvision and Frazley playing a gnome (of course!) and some of their shenanigans. They also talk about the joys of learning how to play D&D and the fun that can come from not knowing what you're doing. Katie goes in depth on the time she was able to tame a manticore.
Finally, Frazley talks about leveling alts. Katie mentions that her guild You Had One Job defeated N'Zoth without her. Nick talks about how he was trying to level through Warlords of Draenor in the alpha but he was doing it wrong.
The trio gets into discussing Frazley going for loremaster, and they talk about some of their favorite zones to level through. They get into a discussion of where they think the game is going. Frazley theorizes about N'Zoth's real fate, and they riff on Sylvanas being reincarnated as a gnome. They look at how Cataclysm changed the game and the questing experience. Frazley mentions his struggles leveling through Burning Crusade. Katie reminisces about enjoying Northrend. Nick considers how Blizzard’s sliding narrative has helped the game and will ensure that it will never run out of content. They consider whether the game should travel to someplace completely new or expand lore for existing content.
Thank you to Frazley for coming on the show! Thank you for listening to The Tauren & the Goblin! Please send any comments or questions to taurengoblin@mash.gg or @taurengoblin on twitter. Our next live show is scheduled for 6/3 at 10:30 pm E at twitch.tv/mashthosebuttons. Come join us!

Episode URL: http://mtb.gg/2fn
Show Twitter: twitter.com/TaurenGoblin

Hosts:
Nick Zielenkievicz
twitter.com/WookieeBH
Katie Grace
twitter.com/hyrulemaster77

Thank you for listening to a Mash Those Buttons podcast! You can keep up with all of our podcasts in the following locations.

Website: mashthosebuttons.com
Twitter: twitter.com/themashnetwork
Discord: mash.gg/discord

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