*Adjusts tinfoil hat*

Speculating is fun, isn't it? In this post I'll be looking at some evidence/possible hints given to us so far and making some conclusions about where we could be heading (and also the more easily answered question - with whom?). Take this as the ultimate truth at your own discretion.

Return of Old Friends

We already knew at the beginning of this year that all expansions would be thematically linked, and Rafaam being the head of the League of E.V.I.L. got people speculating right away that other fan favourite League of Explorers characters might return too during this year. Yesterday's teaser video cemented that theory. But was it just an attempt to bamboozle us? I don't think so. Blizzard tends to hide some clues about future expansions in single player content and this time the most promising one has been Ol' Toomba's interaction with Elise.

The expansion clue? Image posted originally by Reddit user MysticZamasu.

Last time when we saw Elise she was not in a desert but in the jungle of Un'Goro Crater leading a group of junior scouts. Additionally, the Year of the Dragon expansion teaser image had desert-y surroundings, alongside some hieroglyphs and the exact same runes that the League of Explorers heroic card back has.

Familiar looking runes?

Based on this we're definitely heading into a desert area with some, if not all, of the LoE heroes making a return.

Talking with the Boss

More potential clues can be found when playing Warlock in the Great Dalaran Heist. Under some conditions (which I'm unsure about, possibly your first Warlock run ever) Rafaam pops up during the first encounter, and he has some high praise to give.

Instrumental, eh? No offence to Tekahn's efforts, but I personally didn't notice him doing much more than any of the other 8 henchmen did. Why does Rafaam think he's so special then (other than representing his own class in the Heist)? What might Tekahn know that the others don't?

You can get a clue of Tekahn's origins when picking a hero to play in Dalaran Heist, as he mentions the Neferset, a Tol'vir tribe. With a quick googling you can find out that in Warcraft lore, the tribe was lead by Dark Pharaoh Tekahn, ruling over Neferset City in...

A Return for More?

Uldum. Looks like our Tol'vir friend may be a deceased king from the desert region of Uldum.

The area would certainly give some amazing potential for an expansion: in addition to the Lost City of the Tol'vir, the area is home to air elementals and Al'Akir with the Throne of the Four Winds and the Vortex Pinnacle. We've also got the amazing Titan facility, the Halls of Origination, which may be of the most important titan creations in all of Azeroth as it is rumored to have great treasure within the walls, and secrets that could endanger all life on Azeroth. It certainly seems like the League of E.V.I.L. would want do to something with secrets of that caliber.

We shortly visited Uldum in the first chapter of League of Explorers with Reno Jackson when he acquired the Rod of the Sun, one of the three pieces of the Staff of Origination which Rafaam was after back then. Now, armed with Tekahn's inside knowledge of the area and the entire city of Dalaran, he might be after something more...

Final sidenote: I've seen some people already speculating that the third expansion with its fiery colors in the expansion image above might have something to do with Deathwing. Guess who was Tekahn's boss in Warcraft lore? A certain black dragon... and it is Year of the Dragon of course...

What do you think about this theory? Hopeful thinking or a sound case? Let us know what you expect to see in the new expansion in the comment below.