Who are the Goblin Cartels in WoW patch 11.1?

A major portion of World of Warcraft‘s upcoming 11.1 patch — Undermine(d) — is the ability to ally with the Goblin cartels, which only makes sense. When you’re venturing into the dog-eat-dog world of the Goblin home city, who better to make friends (or at least frenemies) with than the various Goblins who already live and work there? Recently, Blizzard published a post talking about the four factions you can ally yourself with in Undermine; the article mentions that you can change which cartel you ally with each week, and they seem to have separate per-cartel friendship tracks alongside the Cartels of Undermine Renown track. That makes it seem like this will be similar to the Severed Threads Azj-Kahet Renown, where you choose someone to champion each week to work towards one set of cosmetic rewards while driving up a singular central Renown track for everything else.

Who are these cartels? Well, the four that we know about are all Goblin factions that, in some cases, we’ve been dealing with in one way or another since the game first launched! And that fifth one that Blizzard alludes to? We have a pretty good idea who that might be, too.

• The Bilgewater Cartel, led by Trade Prince Monte Gazlowe, joined the Horde in the aftermath of the Cataclysm (alongside playable Goblins), making it one of the only cartels to take a side in the old faction war. The Bilgewater tend to specialize in engineering and invention, and — if the events of The Goblin Way are anything to go by — are one of the better places to seek employment as a Goblin.
• The Steamwheedle Cartel, led by Trade Prince Marin Noggenfogger (of Noggenfogger Elixir fame, although his wife Sprinkle primarily is in charge of that these days), is the oldest and largest cartel. As you’d expect with Noggenfogger in charge, they’re focused on the alchemy business; Noggenfogger also has been seen in the Rogue class hall during Legion, and was at one point allied with Gazlowe and the Steamwheedle to try to make more humane working conditions for cartel Goblins.
• The Blackwater Cartel, led by Trade Prince (formerly Baron) Revilgaz, are perhaps best known as the pirates who run Booty Bay. They appear to have at least adopted a cover of legit business, specializing in shipping and luxury vacations, but what are those if not just dressed-up piracy?
• The Venture Company is unique in that they don’t have a Trade Prince, but they do have Grimla Fizzlecrank, who hands out the jobs anyway. Their whole business is in acquisitions, in every sense of the term; if you need it, and they can grab it, the Venture Company will sell it to you. They’ve frequently been enemies of the players (as we discussed in our article on their history), but in Dragonflight some of their members seemed to be turning over a new leaf, and in The War Within we’ve seen them setting up an underground vacation destination in The Ringing Deeps.
• Lastly, Blizzard alludes to a secret fifth cartel. Explaining who they are, and how we become allied with them, is something of a spoiler for 11.1 — but you can read Wowhead’s speculation here.

As for what you can expect by playing nice with the cartels? Blizzard mentions transmog, toys, and new customizations for your Goblin hot rod. Other rewards you can expect are the usual currencies (Valorstones, upgrade crests, and resonance crystals), catch-up Veteran and Champion track gear for alts, access to various activities in Undermine like dumpster diving and hunting complex rares, and books that give you 10 valuable knowledge points for your professions. Also? Cosmetic jetpack cloak transmog, an oversized rocket mount, and the title “the Explosive.” Is there anything more Goblin than that?