You have five options
[Update: The mount has been chosen! It’s going to be the Wandering Ancient, which is described as a “large and leafy mount.” Every active Shadowlands player will get the mount in the first quarter of 2021.]
World of Warcraft mounts used to be a badge of honor. In Vanilla, having a mount meant something: that you had earned the hordes of gold required to ride it. Slowly, over time, Blizzard started giving out mount rewards in-game like candy, while allowing players to buy them directly for real money.
Since then, mounts have moved from a scarcity to a “gotta collect them all” commodity. Blizzard is swift to capitalize on this, providing “mount sales” and special limited-edition mounts tied to physical products. Now, they’re allowing players to choose from one of five new mount concepts to appear in Shadowlands: but this one will be free for expansion owners.
Basically, head to the Blizzard forums from now until September 18 at 3:00PM PT, and you can have your say. Once a winner is chosen “every player with Shadowlands activated on their account” will get the mount: right now, the estimated completion time is the first quarter of 2021.
You can find all of the options below, and there’s a good spread! At least one is magical, one is cute, another is sickening, the Nerubian Swarmer is probably scary and the Wandering Ancient sounds regal. My vote is for the Swarmer: the Nerubian race was one of my favorite aspects of Warcraft III.
Choose the next Shadowlands mount [Battle.net]
Wandering Ancient – Not all ancients are interested in war or lore, some just want to travel the world! A large and leafy mount, the Wandering Ancient invites you to climb aboard and grab ahold of its branches as you embark on a lumbering expedition.
Soaring Spelltome – In the forgotten depths of the Dalaran library, this oversized tome was found flapping madly around the room. Open the pages of this arcane-infused book and hitch a ride to magical adventure.
Nerubian Swarmer – When the Helm of Domination shattered, the Nerubians under the control of the Lich King were unleashed. Some were captured by the Argent Crusade and turned by their allies in the Ebon Blade. Now their spidery claws are put to use as mounts, skittering through the frozen tundra of Icecrown in pursuit of the rampaging undead.
Curious Caterpillar – A curious caterpillar found its way to the Heartland in Valley of the Four Winds one night and gorged itself on the oversized vegetables. The Pandaren of Halfhill awoke the next morning to find the crops half-eaten and an enormous, slumbering caterpillar among them. Too large to become a butterfly, this friendly worm is just the right size to train as a mount.
Gooey Slimesaber – From the slime pools of Plaguefall emerged all manner of jellied creature, including this sticky kitty. A slimy saber cat that’s dripping with ooze, it’s the kind of mount that you’re going to want to wear gloves for.
