Black War Steed

Black War Steed Bridle summons the Black War Steed — a massive black warhorse in barding and spiked plate, historically tied to the human cavalry of Stormwind. The mount was added to World of Warcraft back in patch 1.4 as the war version of the standard human horse, originally meant for players who reached the PvP rank of "Commander" and above. In the modern store no rank or battleground faction reputation is required anymore: any Alliance character can buy this bridle for 15 Marks of Honor.

The mount is sold by Lieutenant Karter, the mount quartermaster, at the entrance to the Champions' Hall in the Old Town of Stormwind. On patch 11.1 The War Within the mount is fully current — there have been no changes to its acquisition terms or price. It is one of the simplest and cheapest ways to complete the Alliance "black war" racial PvP-mount set and to make noticeable progress in collection meta-achievements.

• Classic Stormwind steed — the Black War Steed is the war version of the standard human horse, but in a unique black color scheme with barding and metal plating. For a human paladin or warrior it is the most thematic PvP-oriented ground mount
• Completing the Alliance "black war" mount set — together with the Black War Tiger, Black War Ram, Black War Mechanostrider and Black War Elekk, the steed is part of the classic PvP-mount set for the Alliance races. All five are sold by the same vendor at the same price
• Cheap purchase for 15 Marks of Honor — the marks are earned in just a few wins in random battlegrounds, and the purchase is available right after your first PvP activities with no extra requirements
• Progress toward mount-count achievements — the purchase counts toward the meta-achievements Leading the Cavalry, A Horde of Hoofbeats and other rewards for the total number of mounts
• Account-wide access — once the bridle is used, the mount enters the shared collection journal and becomes available to every Alliance character on the account, regardless of race and class
• Historical Commander-rank legacy — in classic WoW the mount was a symbol of hardcore PvP. Now it is a reminder of the era of ranks, collectible over an evening of ordinary battlegrounds

Since patch 7.0 (Legion) the old grind of separate battleground tokens was removed from the game, and all PvP-mounts of this type were moved onto the single Mark of Honor currency. Separate Alterac Valley, Warsong Gulch or Arathi Basin tokens are no longer needed — all five Alliance "black war" mounts are now bought the same way.

Lieutenant Karter stands at the entrance to the Champions' Hall in the Old Town of Stormwind. It is the same courtyard where the battleground quartermasters and arena-organizer NPCs stand, so by looking for this one vendor you effectively open up the entire PvP hub of the capital.

Route from the hearthstone

1. Teleport to Stormwind via your hearthstone, a portal from Valdrakken, the Bastion or any other major The War Within hub
2. Move from the Mage Quarter or the Trade District toward the Old Town — it lies to the northeast of central Stormwind
3. The Champions' Hall is in the eastern part of the Old Town, its entrance guarded by sentries and Alliance banners
4. Lieutenant Karter stands on the open square right in front of the Hall's doors, next to the other PvP quartermasters
5. Coordinates for your navigator:

If your character is Horde

The mount is bound to the Alliance and cannot be bought on a Horde character. The only way to add it to the account while playing Horde is to create an Alliance character, accumulate Marks of Honor on it, buy and use the bridle, after which the mount will appear in the journal of all your Alliance characters on the account. On a Horde character the steed will not appear in the collection. The Horde has its own equivalent — the Black War Wolf, sold by Bork in Orgrimmar.

Mark of Honor is the single PvP currency introduced in patch 7.0 alongside Legion and still current today. At level 80 in The War Within you can earn it in practically any PvP activity.

Main sources

• Regular battlegrounds — for a win you receive a reward chest that is guaranteed to contain Marks of Honor. A loss also grants a reduced amount. The fastest and shortest battlegrounds are Warsong Gulch and Temple of Kotmogu
• Epic battlegrounds — Alterac Valley, Isle of Conquest and the epic version of Warsong Gulch give more marks per win, but take longer. The best option if you are farming several mounts from Lieutenant Karter's stock at once
• 2v2 and 3v3 skirmish arenas — unrated arenas give a few Marks of Honor per win and do not require a pre-made team
• Rated arenas and battlegrounds — give an increased amount of Marks of Honor plus Conquest points if you are leveling the current PvP season in parallel
• Weekly PvP quests in Stormwind — handed out by the PvP quartermasters near the Champions' Hall, so they are picked up on the way to Lieutenant Karter herself

How long it takes

With active play, 15 marks are gathered in about 40–60 minutes:

• 3–5 wins in regular battlegrounds of 10–15 minutes each
• Or 1–2 wins in epic Alterac Valley
• Or 8–10 wins in skirmish arenas

If your goal is to collect all five Alliance "black war" mounts at the same vendor at once, budget for 75 Marks of Honor and 3–5 hours of focused PvP farming.

1. Walk right up to Lieutenant Karter at the Champions' Hall
2. Right-click to open the trade window
3. Make sure your bags hold at least 15 Marks of Honor
4. Find the Black War Steed Bridle in the goods list and confirm the purchase
5. Right-click the item — the Black War Steed spell is automatically added to your mount collection
6. If you do not yet have the Apprentice Riding skill, learn it from any riding trainer in the Alliance capitals before your first ride

What else is worth buying from the same vendor

Lieutenant Karter sells the full set of Alliance "black war" racial mounts. The prices and terms are identical — 15 Marks of Honor, no reputation or rank requirements:

Mount	Item
Black War Steed	Black War Steed Bridle
Black War Ram	Black War Ram
Black War Tiger	Black War Tiger
Black War Mechanostrider	Black War Mechanostrider
Black War Elekk	Black War Elekk

It is best to spend one vendor visit on the entire set — this fills five slots in the mount collection and immediately advances the related achievements for the number of mounts owned.