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Hearthstone's next expansion is Fractured in Alterac Valley

One of the most iconic clashes between the Alliance and the Horde comes to Hearthstone with Fractured in Alterac Valley.

Ozzie Mejia

November 16, 2021 10:00 AM

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The time has come for Blizzard to announce Hearthstone's third and final expansion for the Year of the Gryphon. To this point, Blizzard's Team 5 has been focused on the basics of World of Warcraft lore, returning to the simplest elements of that universe. Now that players have explored the Barrens and cut their teeth in Stormwind, it's time to break into all-out warfare with Fractured in Alterac Valley.

World of Warcraft veterans will recognize Alterac Valley as a key site in the conflict between the Alliance and the Horde. To push this idea forward, players will be prompted to select a faction. Those who pick the Frostwolf clan will receive a Drek'Thar Golden Legendary card, while those who fight for the Stormpike Guard will receive a King Vanndar Stormpike Golden Legendary card. Players will then be given Quests between December 7 and January 11, where the task is to earn Honor points for their faction. The winning faction will receive a special Diamond version of their faction leader's card with the release of the next mini-set.

Beyond the faction warfare, one of the most interesting elements of Fractured in Alterac Valley is the final evolution of the Year of the Gryphon's nine Mercenaries. They started out as Legendaries to start the year. Then they were integrated into Quests with the next expansion. Now the Mercenaries are all full-blown Hero Cards, each with game-changing effects. Two of those Hero Cards were revealed today: Lightforged Cariel for the Paladin and Wildheart Guff for the Druid. Take a look at what players can expect from them.

The following cards were also revealed on Tuesday:

Notice the new keyword, called Honorable Kill. While Overkill is about an excessive kill, an Honorable Kill is about an exact kill. If a minion with the Honorable Kill keyword's Attack matches their target's Health, they'll get a beneficial effect.

Look for more Fractured in Alterac Valley cards to be revealed in the weeks ahead. A total of 135 cards will be available, as has been the case with previous expansions. Hearthstone's third and final expansion for 2021 will release on December 7 with the usual pre-order incentives available soon from the Hearthstone website.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?