Fractured in Alterac Valley

The land is still, the powder fresh. Almost feels like the valley is holding its breath.

Form your ranks, we will not yield. With axe and club and thunder-blood we'll die before we kneel!

When morning comes, it's time to fight! We'll plant the flag of victory as we prove our might!

Raise your voice for Alterac! Just remember (Whoa-oh-oh)

Never fall back. Never fall back. Hold the bridge, pull the ridge, never fall back!

Never fall back! Oh, never fall back! Claim the mines, hold the line, never fall back! (Go!)

Never fall back! Oh, never fall back! (Wait!)

(What's that?)

(They summoned the Ice Lord!)

Hurry! Fall back! Hurry! Fall back! (Fall back!) (Fall back!)

Their captains are quaking their base for the taking. Push forward, attack! We'll never fall back! Because we're here in Alterac!

Fractured in Alterac Valley

Collection
Watermark
Logo

Type:

Expansion

Format:

Wild

Collection name:

Alterac Valley

Mini-set:

Onyxia's Lair

Ann. date:

November 16, 2021

Release date:

December 7, 2021

Total cards:

135

Total cards by rarity

50

35

25

Wild format
With the arrival of the Year of the Wolf, Fractured in Alterac Valley is now a Wild format card set, which means cards from the Fractured in Alterac Valley will no longer be playable in Standard format matches. For more information, see Game format.

Fractured in Alterac Valley is Hearthstone's 19th expansion, featuring new 135 collectible cards released on December 7, 2021.^[1]^[2] Set in Alterac Valley, the expansion depicts the epic battle between the Alliance and the Horde and concludes the story of 10 mercenaries, who decided to join the battle for honor and shards of a fallen naaru.

Fractured in Alterac Valley features again 10 mercenaries, this time max leveled as hero cards, a new keyword Honorable Kill which triggers its bonus effect when the card deals exact lethal damage to the target on their owner's turn, and Objective spells which have an ongoing effect lasting for 3 turns.

Fractured in Alterac Valley also features a faction event that lasts from December 7 to January 11, which the player fights for honor points to claim the diamond version of the faction leader card they have chosen.

How to get[]

Fractured in Alterac Valley craftable cards can be obtained by one of the following methods:

Opening card packs with the usual prices and purchasing options
Crafting for the usual amounts of Arcane Dust depending on the cards' rarity

Uncraftable cards

These specific cards can be obtained through other means. For more information, see their respective articles.

Pre-order

Prior to the expansion's release, players could purchase one or both of the following bundles:
- Fractured in Alterac Valley Bundle costs $49.99 USD; it comes with 60 Fractured in Alterac Valley card packs, two random Legendary cards, and Vanndar Stormpike card back.
- Fractured in Alterac Valley Mega Bundle costs $79.99 USD; it comes with 80 Fractured in Alterac Valley card packs, 5 Golden Fractured in Alterac Valley card packs, two random Golden Legendary cards from Fractured in Alterac Valley, the unique Vanndar Stormpike card back, the alternate warrior hero Vanndar Stormpike, Battlegrounds Perks, a random legendary Mercenary card, and 5 Mercenaries/Mercenaries Packs.

Pre-purchase Mega Bundle
Pre-purchase Bundle

Cards[]

Fractured in Alterac Valley card set features 135 collectible cards, which can be recognized with a special watermark (the Flag symbol) behind the card text, not found on other cards.

The Mini-set, Onyxia's Lair, is also considered part of Fractured in Alterac Valley set, featuring 35 additional cards.

Customize this list

Neutral

Related cards

Demon Hunter

Related cards

Druid

Related cards

Choice cards

Hunter

Related cards

Mage

Related cards

Paladin

Related cards

Priest

Related cards

Rogue

Related cards

Shaman

Related cards

Choice cards

Warlock

Related cards

Warrior

Related cards

Themes[]

Hero Cards[]

Our merry band of mercenaries have grown stronger in their travels. Now they’re max level and ready to fight! Each hero card has a powerful Battlecry and Hero Powers that can turn the course of battle!^[3]

New Keyword: Honorable Kill[]

Sometimes the damage lines up just perfectly and it feels so right! Cards with the Honorable Kill keyword grant you a bonus effect when they use exact damage to kill an enemy minion on your turn.^[3]

Objectives[]

Alterac Valley is full of strategic Objectives that you can use to your advantage. Objectives are spells that have effects that last three turns! Claim the Objective and press the advantage while you have it!^[3]

Other features[]

Battle for Alterac Valley[]

Battle for Alterac Valley was a special event that started on November 30, 2021 and lasted until April 5, 2022.^[4] The event features a legendary quest chain that rewards a total of 12 golden rare cards and 1 golden legendary card.

All players are allowed to choose a faction: Alliance or Horde. Alliance players will receive a golden Vanndar Stormpike, while Horde players will receive a golden Drek'Thar, who represent the leader of each faction. Then, players from both factions will get a legendary quest chain that requires Honor points to get the rewards.

Honor can be obtained by playing Ranked, Arena, or Duels only.
Each lost game rewards 10 Honor.
Each winning game where two players of same faction rewards 20 Honor.
Each winning game where two players of opposite faction rewards 40 Honor.

No matter which faction the player chooses, the rewards in the quest chain are the same, with the only difference being the order of rewards. Each quest represents "rank" of their faction with different amount of Honor required to promote.

Alterac Valley Honor event
Alliance quest	Quota	Horde quest
Corporal	40	Grunt
Sergeant	80	Sergeant
Master Sergeant	180	Senior Sergeant
Sergeant Major	260	First Sergeant
Knight	400	Stone Guard
Knight- Lieutenant	500	Blood Guard
Knight- Captain	540	Legionnaire
Knight- Champion	620	Centurion
Lieutenant Commander	660	Champion
Commander	780	Lieutenant General
Marshal	840	General
Field Marshal	900	Warlord
Grand Marshal	1400	High Warlord

In the middle of the event, on January 11, Blizzard Entertainment announced the Alliance to be the winning faction^[5], with 4.7 billion Honor points out of a combined total of 8.6 billion honor accounted from all players that participated in the event^[6]. All players, no matter which faction they chose, received the diamond version of Vanndar Stormpike by logging in after February 15^[7].

From April 5, 2022, players who haven't completed the Honor event will be able to continue through Gameplay - Alterac Valley achievements.

Lore[]

In World of Warcraft[]

This section uses content from Wowpedia.

Official overview[]

Long ago, the warlock Gul'dan exiled a clan of orcs called the Frostwolves to a valley hidden deep in the heart of the Alterac Mountains. The Frostwolf Clan eked out a living until Thrall triumphantly united many of Azeroth’s orcs. The Frostwolves, however, chose to remain in the valley rather than joining Thrall in Orgrimmar – and their relative peace has since been challenged by the arrival of the dwarven Stormpike Expedition. The Stormpike Expedition’s desire to mine and plumb the underexplored caves for relics has invited conflict with the Frostwolf Clan, but opinions are divided on who struck first. Were the dwarves who arrived in the valley peaceful explorers who were massacred by the orcs, or did they plan to poach and conquer?^[8]

Description[]

Hidden within the Alterac Mountains, Alterac Valley is the home of the Frostwolf clan. The Stormpike dwarves have established a foothold in the valley and seek to plumb its depths for riches and links to their ancestral past. A large-scale battleground, each side attempts to destroy each other's tower fortifications and slay the enemy General (Vanndar Stormpike or Drek'Thar).

History and politics[]

QuestCallToArmsAlteracValleyTCG — "The Frostwolf Clan and the Stormpike Expedition battle for supremacy of this territory."

Long ago, before the First War, the warlock Gul'dan exiled a clan of orcs called the Frostwolf Clan (led by Durotan, father of Thrall) to a hidden valley deep in the heart of the Alterac Mountains for refusing to drink the blood of Mercenaries/Mannoroth. It is here in the valley's southern reaches that the Frostwolves eked out a living until the rise of Thrall's new Horde.

After Thrall's triumphant uniting of the clans, the Frostwolves, now led by the orc shaman Drek'Thar, chose to remain in the valley they had for so long called their home. In recent times, however, the relative peace of the Frostwolves has been challenged by the arrival of the Dwarven Stormpike Expedition.

The Stormpike Expedition have set up residence in the valley to search for natural resources and ancient titan relics. It is likely that they did not know of the Frostwolf orcs' connection to the area when choosing to visit the valley. Despite their intentions, the dwarven presence has sparked heated conflict with the Frostwolf orcs to the south, who have vowed to drive the interlopers from their lands. The Stormpike dwarves sent in an initial expedition, the Stormpike Guard, to search for ancient relics of their past and mine for natural resources and were attacked (they felt) without provocation by the territorial Frostwolves.^[9]

Additionally the Ironforge dwarves believe they have a right to the lands as well, and Magni Bronzebeard has issued a "sovereign imperialistic imperative" to the Stormpike Guard to take the land for the kingdom of Ironforge. Other connections to ancient dwarves (previously Earthen) are the troggs that are found in the northern part of the valley.

At this point in time both factions (possibly even the troll faction as well) believe they have historical connections to the valleys and want to take them back. Note that the Winterax gave up on the valley and went to look for greener pastures.

Alterac Valley appears not to have been updated to reflect recent lore developments since the Shattering — most notably with Drek'Thar and Elerethe Renferal — and remains an active battleground.

Dun Baldar, the Alliance base
Frostwolf Keep, the Horde base
World of Warcraft map

In Hearthstone[]

Expansion overview[]

The Frostwolf orcs and the Stormpike dwarves have long been at war, fighting over an icy battleground and the pieces of a fallen Naaru. You must pick a side in this conflict: will you support the Stormpikes of the Alliance, or the Frostwolves of the Horde? Join powerful mercenary Heroes in their fight for pivotal strategic objectives and Honorable Kills. With resentment as bitter as the cold, we are Fractured in Alterac Valley!^[3]

Blog overview[]

The temperature is low, but the tensions are high on this storied battlefield, where the Horde and the Alliance fight for honor and shards of a fallen naaru. The two factions are locked in eternal battle, and have put out a call for new Heroes to help turn the tide. Take key Objectives and secure Honorable Kills to help your faction claim victory! The conflict is inevitable, and you must pick a side. So come, claim your place as a champion among those who are Fractured in Alterac Valley!^[1]