The Empower mechanic is introduced with the Alliance War expansion. Empower is the mechanic predominantly used by the Aldmeri Dominion (Intelligence, Willpower and Agility – blue, yellow, green). Next to the Dominion, Empower will also be accessible for Assassin, Mage and Monk decks. Here is the definition of Empower: When your opponent takes damage, actions with Empower increase in effect... ...

Alliance War is the third cardpack expansion for The Elder Scrolls Legends. The set features cards showcasing the battle for the Ruby Throne from The Elder Scrolls Online (see the official Bethesda announcement). Alliance War contains over 100 new cards and introduces five new factions. These factions complete all possible combinations of tri-color attributes in Legends. Each one has it’s own special mechanic. In addition, Alliance War will also come with new visual effects, music tracks and a gorgeous playmat (Sparkypants has spoiled the music on twitter and the playmat can be seen here).
tesl.blog has collected all you need to know about Alliance War (AW) here. You will find some general information, more detailed looks at the new cards and mechanics. This page is updated frequently, so please check back often, as our content is growing!
- General Information about the expansion
- The Official Trailer
- The New Game Mechanics
- Overview of Cards
- In-Depth Card Reviews (selected cards, work in progress)
- Alliance War Card Crafting Guide
- Alliance War Titles – A few tips & tricks on how to earn them
1. General Information
Alliance War is available since April 15th, 2019. As part of a pre-order offering, players were able to purchase 50 card packs and a premium Legendary card from the expansion plus the exclusive ‘Warmonger’ title and a premium card back for $49.99.

2. The Official Alliance War Trailer
Here is the official trailer.
3. The New Game Mechanics
Empower Mobilize
Four of the five new factions in Alliance War come with a new mechanic:
- Empower: When your opponent takes damage, actions with empower increase in effect for the turn (Aldmeri Dominion).
- Mobilize: You can play an item with Mobilize to an empty lane. When you do, summon a 1/1 Recruit and equip the item to it (Daggerfall Covenant).
- Veteran: The Veteran effect triggers after the creature survives its first attack (Ebonheart Pact).
- Expertise: Cards with Expertise have a bonus effect at the end of the turn if you’ve played either an action, item, or support card that turn (Guildsworn).
The Empire of Cyrodiil also has a unique “capability”, as the faction benefits from having creatures in both lanes. However, this is not a new mechanic or keyword, but just a new synergy introduced on certain cards.
In a series of articles, TESL.BLOG takes a look at the new keywords and the new mechanics. How will they influence the meta? Which deck building strategies will leverage them? Find the answers in the articles below…
The Expertise Mechanic in The Elder Scrolls Legends
The Alliance War expansion introduces the Expertise mechanic to The Elder Scrolls Legends. Expertise is a mechanic associated with The Guildsworn (attributes Strength, Intelligence, Willpower – Red/ Blue/ Yellow), a faction that combines the Mage Guild and the Fighters Guild. They are independent of all other Alliance War factions, although the other factions and Houses can actively involve the expertise... ...
The Mobilize Keyword
The Alliance War expansion introduces the Mobilize keyword to The Elder Scrolls Legends through several item cards. Mobilize is associated with the Daggerfall Covenant (attributes Strength, Intelligence, Endurance (= red, blue, purple), a faction that loves to defeat their foes with powerful enchanted weapons, engages in legendary armor and is home to some of the most skilled blacksmiths in all... ...
The Veteran Effect in The Elder Scrolls Legends
The Alliance War expansion introduces the veteran effect to The Elder Scrolls: Legends. The veteran effect of a creature triggers after it survives its first attack. The mechanic is designed to promote a proactive game plan. It aims to use creatures to fight for the board or to go face, alternatively. The mechanic supports beat down strategies within aggressive or... ...
4. Overview of Cards
Card images are available here (thanks to Reddit user DQ_Joe), and here on legends-decks.com. The following sortable and searchable table shows a list of all cards in Alliance War by attribute.
Attribute/ Class/ Faction | Magicka Cost | Card Title | Type | Rarity |
---|---|---|---|---|
Strength | 0 | Cauterize | Action | Common |
Strength | 2 | Ebonthread Cloak | Item | Rare |
Strength | 2 | Ornamented Sword | Item | Common |
Strength | 2 | Pact Oathman | Creature | Common |
Strength | 2 | Salvage | Action | Epic |
Strength | 3 | Covenant Plate | Item | Common |
Strength | 3 | Craven Conscript | Creature | Rare |
Strength | 3 | Fighters Guild Berserker | Creature | Common |
Strength | 4 | Guildsworn Incendiary | Creature | Rare |
Strength | 4 | Pact Shieldbearer | Creature | Epic |
Strength | 4 | Windhelm Gatekeeper | Creature | Common |
Strength | 5 | Fighters Guild Elite | Creature | Legendary |
Strength | 5 | Jorunn's Vanguard | Creature | Rare |
Strength | 5 | Orsinium Forge | Support | Legendary |
Strength | 6 | High Rock Stalwart | Creature | Common |
Strength | 6 | Lyris Titanborn | Creature | Legendary (unique) |
Strength | 7 | Guildsworn Bloodluster | Creature | Epic |
Intelligence | 0 | Forked Bolt | Action | Common |
Intelligence | 1 | Ravaging Elixir | Support | Rare |
Intelligence | 1 | Soul Wraith | Creature | Common |
Intelligence | 2 | Altmer Flameslinger | Creature | Common |
Intelligence | 2 | Emeric's Warlord | Creature | Legendary |
Intelligence | 2 | Guildsworn Wayfarer | Creature | Common |
Intelligence | 3 | Channeled Storm | Creature | Common |
Intelligence | 3 | Vanus's Scribe | Creature | Rare |
Intelligence | 4 | Covenant Oathman | Creature | Common |
Intelligence | 4 | Sparksmith | Creature | Rare |
Intelligence | 4 | Telekinesis | Action | Epic |
Intelligence | 5 | Lion Guard Armaments | Item | Common |
Intelligence | 5 | Nereid Sister | Creature | Epic |
Intelligence | 5 | Soul Shred | Action | Legendary |
Intelligence | 5 | Staff of Ice | Item | Rare |
Intelligence | 6 | Abnur Tharn | Creature | Legendary (unique) |
Intelligence | 6 | Mages Guild Conjurer | Creature | Epic |
Willpower | 0 | Sound the Alarm | Action | Common |
Willpower | 1 | Outflank | Action | Common |
Willpower | 2 | Alchemy | Action | Epic |
Willpower | 2 | Guildsworn Revitalizer | Creature | Common |
Willpower | 2 | Mystic of Ancient Rites | Creature | Epic |
Willpower | 3 | Forward Camp | Support | Legendary |
Willpower | 3 | Gray Viper Brigand | Creature | Epic |
Willpower | 3 | Luminous Shards | Action | Common |
Willpower | 3 | Renowned Instructor | Creature | Common |
Willpower | 3 | Strategist's Map | Support | Rare |
Willpower | 4 | Bruma Oppressor | Creature | Rare |
Willpower | 4 | Legion Zero Templar | Creature | Common |
Willpower | 4 | Varen Aquilarios | Creature | Legendary (unique) |
Willpower | 4 | Wish | Action | Rare |
Willpower | 5 | Guildsworn Cavalier | Creature | Rare |
Willpower | 5 | Guildsworn Oathman | Creature | Common |
Willpower | 7 | Guildsworn Honeytongue | Creature | Legendary |
Agility | 0 | Back-Alley Footpad | Creature | Common |
Agility | 1 | Baandari Opportunist | Creature | Epic |
Agility | 1 | Bewildering Speed | Action | Rare |
Agility | 1 | Dominion Oathman | Creature | Common |
Agility | 1 | Inspiring Soldier | Creature | Common |
Agility | 3 | Dragonguard Outcast | Creature | Rare |
Agility | 3 | Dunmer Tyro | Creature | Common |
Agility | 3 | Shadowscale Hunter | Creature | Rare |
Agility | 4 | Unrelenting Siege | Support | Legendary |
Agility | Valenwood Sentry | Creature | Common | |
Agility | 5 | Assassin Beetle | Creature | Rare |
Agility | 5 | Daedric Titan | Creature | Epic |
Agility | 5 | Spoils of War | Action | Common |
Agility | 6 | Invoker of the Hist | Creature | Legendary |
Agility | 7 | Debilitate | Action | Epic |
Agility | 7 | Empire Dreadmage | Common | |
Agility | 7 | Sai Sahan | Creature | Legendary (unique) |
Endurance | 1 | Great Moot Squire | Creature | Common |
Endurance | 1 | Hush | Action | Rare |
Endurance | 2 | Cruel Axe | Item | Rare |
Endurance | 2 | Imperial Lackey | Creature | Rare |
Endurance | 2 | Poisoned Dagger | Item | |
Endurance | 3 | Black Marsh Prodigy | Creature | Rare |
Endurance | 3 | Covenant Mail | Action | Common |
Endurance | 3 | Steel-Eyed Visionary | Creature | Legendary |
Endurance | 3 | Supply Runner | Creature | Common |
Endurance | 4 | Empire Oathman | Creature | Common |
Endurance | 4 | Spiny Haj Mota | Creature | Epic |
Endurance | 4 | Strategic Deployment | Action | Common |
Endurance | 5 | Dark Anchor | Creature | Epic |
Endurance | 6 | Bishop of the Hour | Creature | Epic |
Endurance | 7 | Black Marsh Centurion | Creature | Common |
Endurance | 7 | Xivkyn Banelord | Creature | Legendary |
Endurance | 10 | Mannimarco | Creature | Legendary (unique) |
Neutral | 3 | The Ruby Throne | Support | Legendary (unique) |
Neutral | 5 | Battle of Chalman Keep | Action | Legendary (unique) |
Guildsworn | 2 | Guildsworn Apprentice | Creature | Rare |
Guildsworn | 4 | Master of Incunabula | Creature | Epic |
Guildsworn | 11 | Vanus Galerion | Creature | Legendary (unique) |
Aldmeri Dominion | 3 | Dominion Battlereeve | Creature | Rare |
Aldmeri Dominion | 6 | Ayrenn’s Chosen | Action | Epic |
Aldmeri Dominion | 8 | Ayrenn, Dominion Queen | Creature | Legendary (unique) |
Daggerfall Covenant | 2 | Daggerfall Phantom | Creature | Rare |
Daggerfall Covenant | 8 | Covenant Masterpiece | Item | Epic |
Daggerfall Covenant | 9 | Emeric, Covenant King | Creature | Legendary (unique) |
Ebonheart Pact | 3 | Forerunner of the Pact | Creature | Rare |
Ebonheart Pact | 4 | Mournhold Taskmaster | Creature | Epic |
Ebonheart Pact | 5 | Jorunn The Skald-King | Creature | Legendary (unique) |
Empire of Cyrodiil | 2 | Empire Recruiter | Creature | Rare |
Empire of Cyrodiil | 3 | Transitus Shrine | Support | Epic |
Empire of Cyrodiil | 5 | Clivia Tharn | Creature | Legendary (unique) |
5. Alliance War Card Crafting Guides
New players might be overwhelmed by the sheer amount of cards in this expansion. Our crafting guides show what cards are strong and of universal use.
Alliance War Crafting Guide – Legendaries
Have you saved a good amount of soul gems to craft a few legendary cards from the Alliance War expansion? Would you like to add the best staple cards from the set to your collection? This guide will help you to craft the best legendary cards for you depending on whether you prefer to play aggro or control. Legendaries in...
Alliance War – The Epics to Craft – A Guide for New Players
Have you finished crafting the legendaries from Alliance War? Do you now want to go after the Alliance War epics and add them to your collection? This guide will help you to craft the best Alliance War epics to expand your collection in the most cost efficient way. Epics in Alliance War To complete your collection of all epics in...
6. In-Depth Card Reviews
We are looking to review selected cards from the expansion and pull together the articles in this section.
Clivia Tharn – Uses & Synergies
Clivia Tharn is the Empress Regent of the Empire of Cyrodiil. Clivia is the child of Grand Chancellor Abnur Tharn, the Imperial overlord of Nibenbay and the head of the Elder Council, and his 7th wife Pulasia, and his 16th daughter overall. She married Leovic of the Longhouse Emperors. When Leovic was overthrown and killed in a rebellion led by... ...
Dominion Battlereeve – Uses & Synergies
Silverfuse revealed Dominion Battlereeve during her stream. The Aldmeri Dominion gets a 3/3 for 3, which is one of the most popular stat lines recently. The High Elf comes with a plethora of opportunities to inflict damage to your opponent. He deals one damage when you summon him, another point when he dies and more pings whenever you slay a... ...
Strategic Deployment – Exclusive Card Reveal & Review
Today, we are honored and super-excited to reveal a new Alliance War card, Strategic Deployment. A big thank you to Bethesda and Sparkypants for allowing tesl.blog to be part of the hype! Strategic Deployment is a common 4-cost action in Endurance, that summons two 1/1 Recruits in each lane. That’s four tokens for four magicka, which is pretty similar to... ...
Varen Aquilarios – Uses & Synergies
Varen Aquilarios is a very unique addition to Willpower in the Alliance War expansion of The Elder Scrolls Legends. Before we look at the card, let’s understand a little about the lore surrounding this character. Varen Aquilarios – ESO Lore Varen Aquilarios sparked a rebellion after Emperor Leovic legalized Daedra worship across the Empire. He won many victories across Cyrodiil.... ...
7. Alliance War Titles

Player titles are a fun collectible in The Elder Scrolls Legends. Alliance War, like all other expansions brings us multiple new titles to earn. While some are relatively easy to get, others require you to play with certain cards and/ or combos from the expansion. But there is also a hidden title Nirn’s Doom that you might not even see in your list of titles in the game. These are particularly rare and sought after. The following article provides an in-depth guide with a few decklists.
Alliance War Titles – A Guide with Decklists
Complete guide to all Alliance War titles for The Elder Scrolls Legends. Find a decklist for each new player title, including the hidden title Nirn's Doom. ...