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Across the Timeways

Hearthstone's Across the Timeways: Fabled Hero Mechanic Retrospective

Last Updated: November 10, 2025

Lady Azshara Hearthstone card art from Across the Timeways expansion.

Blizzard Entertainment's digital card game, Hearthstone, has seen many meta-defining expansions, but few altered the fundamentals of deckbuilding quite like "Across the Timeways." This memorable set transported players through the annals of Warcraft history, introducing powerful mechanics centered around iconic heroes from various eras. Its most significant and lasting contribution was the "Fabled" hero system, a mechanic embodied by legendary cards like the Druid powerhouse, Lady Azshara. This expansion created a fresh strategic landscape by allowing legendary figures from lore to not only join the battle but bring their signature allies and artifacts with them.

The Timeways Unfold: A Journey Through Warcraft History

Released in November 2022, "Across the Timeways" was a celebration of Warcraft's rich narrative, uniting beloved characters from the past, present, and even alternate timelines. The core concept revolved around these heroes transcending their own eras to clash on the Hearthstone board. This thematic approach allowed for a diverse roster of familiar faces to appear, each bringing unique abilities and lore-driven flavor to the game.

The narrative framework saw the bronze dragon Chromie recruiting champions to mend temporal rifts, leading to unexpected alliances and epic confrontations. This expansive theme provided fertile ground for a wide array of card designs, creating a cohesive vision of a timeline-spanning conflict that resonated with lore fans and veteran players alike.

Fabled Heroes: A Game-Changing Mechanic

At the heart of "Across the Timeways" was the groundbreaking "Fabled" hero mechanic. These were not just legendary minions; Fabled heroes were titans of lore so powerful that including them in your deck automatically added a "Fabled package" of three specific, synergistic Legendary cards, increasing your deck size to 33. This innovative system had a profound impact on how players approached deck construction and in-game strategy.

The introduction of Fabled heroes signified a new tier of power. Choosing a Fabled hero wasn't merely adding a strong minion; it was committing to a powerful sub-theme that came pre-packaged with its own support.

Key aspects of the Fabled hero mechanic as it played out were:

  • Automatic Legendary Inclusion: Each Fabled hero automatically added three thematically linked Legendary cards to your deck, enhancing its overall power and creating new win conditions.
  • Strategic Deckbuilding: Players had to build their 30-card decks around the pre-determined 3-card Fabled package, leading to the creation of entirely new archetypes.
  • High-Impact Plays: The ability to draw into a curated set of powerful legendaries led to more impactful turns and dynamic game states, though it sometimes impacted deck consistency.
  • Deep Lore Integration: Each Fabled hero's package was deeply tied to their story, immersing players in the Warcraft universe like never before.

This mechanic created exciting new archetypes and revitalized old ones, offering a layer of strategic depth that defined the expansion's era.

Lady Azshara: Druid's Legendary Powerhouse

Leading the charge for the Fabled heroes was Lady Azshara, a formidable 10-mana Legendary minion for the Druid class. A character steeped in millennia of lore, Azshara brought her immense power to the Hearthstone battlefield, and her Fabled package immediately spawned the dominant "Azshara Ramp Druid" archetype.

Lady Azshara's card read: (10) Mana 8/8 - Battlecry: Summon two 5/5 Naga Royal Guards with Taunt. Shuffle 'The Tidestone of Golganneth' into your deck. Her Fabled package consisted of:

  • Lord Slitherspear (4 Mana 4/5): After you cast a spell, give another friendly Naga +1/+1.
  • Zin-Azshari Crystal (2 Mana Spell): Gain 2 Mana Crystals this turn only. Draw a card.
  • The Tidestone of Golganneth (5 Mana Spell): Discover a spell from your deck. Summon a 5/5 Naga that casts a copy of it (targets chosen randomly).

This package provided board presence, ramp, and an incredible late-game value engine with the Tidestone, solidifying Azshara's place as one of the expansion's most impactful cards.

Beyond Azshara: The Pantheon of Heroes

Lady Azshara was just the first glimpse into the pantheon of Fabled heroes that arrived with "Across the Timeways." The full 145-card set featured other iconic figures who made their mark on the meta:

  • Varian Wrynn (Warrior): His Fabled package included the legendary sword Shalamayne and focused on controlling the board and powerful weapon synergies.
  • Medivh, the Guardian (Mage): Centered around his staff, Atiesh, his package shuffled powerful, high-cost spells into the deck, rewarding "Big Spell" archetypes.
  • Garona Halforcen (Rogue): Her package introduced Legendary poisons and stealth-based minions, creating a deadly tempo and combo-oriented playstyle.
  • Broxigar the Red (Warlock): An unusual but effective choice, Broxigar's package focused on self-damage and summoning powerful demons from the Twisting Nether.

Each of these Fabled heroes carved out a niche in the meta, making "Across the Timeways" one of Hearthstone's most ambitious and thematically rich undertakings.

The Legacy of the Timeways

The Fabled mechanic was ultimately a thrilling experiment. While it created some of the most powerful and memorable decks in the game's history, it also presented significant balancing challenges. The 33-card deck size and guaranteed Legendary packages led to a power creep that Blizzard addressed in subsequent patches. However, the expansion remains a fan favorite for its deep commitment to Warcraft lore and for pushing the boundaries of Hearthstone's core gameplay. It was an unforgettable journey through time that left a permanent mark on the game.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What was the "Across the Timeways" expansion?

"Across the Timeways" was a major Hearthstone expansion released in November 2022. It focused on bringing iconic heroes from different eras of Warcraft lore into the game and introduced the "Fabled" hero system.

How did Fabled heroes work?

Fabled heroes were a type of Legendary minion. When you included one in your deck, they automatically added three specific, synergistic Legendary cards to your deck, increasing its size to 33 and building a powerful theme.

Which class was Lady Azshara for?

Lady Azshara was a Fabled Legendary minion for the Druid class in the "Across the Timeways" expansion, defining a powerful Ramp and Naga-focused archetype.

Was the Fabled mechanic successful?

The mechanic was very popular for its flavor and for enabling powerful new decks. However, it was also criticized for contributing to power creep, and several Fabled cards required balance adjustments during their time in the Standard format.