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Cheap Mage (not only) for starters [with explan...

  • Last updated Nov 29, 2014 (Naxx Launch)
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Wild

  • 16 Minions
  • 14 Spells
  • Deck Type: Ranked Deck
  • Deck Archetype: Unknown
  • Crafting Cost: 520
  • Dust Needed: Loading Collection
  • Created: 10/5/2014 (Naxx Launch)
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Yesterday, I started on the American servers from scratch. No Naxx cards, no dust, no gold ... a very different and interesting way of Hearthstone after being used to just build any deck on EU without having to worry about cards.

So I went with Jaina and made this deck. I dusted every non-mage card out of the few packs you get after starting and took it from there. Even though it doesn't look like much, the result is surprisingly solid and within 24 hours I went from nothing to rank 16 with a few impressive winning streaks. I'll continue with this deck until I finally get the dust for Bloodmage Thalnos. And then I'll rule the world! :)

 Gameplay:

Straight forward. Put down your cheap minions and use spells to help clearing the board. Reach 4 mana and start putting out your midrange minions. Use your bigger spells to clear the opponent's side, while your guys go face. Then he dies. ^^


Points to consider for some of the cards:

 

Mana Wyrm: Your dream start! Going 2nd and following with a Coin and a Leper Gnome is ideal. Don't expect it to become a 5/3 or even bigger. It has a big target symbol on its head and will likely die the turn after you played it. If you can follow up with some spells: good! If not: don't worry! Don't hold it back until you draw some spells to boost it. And also don't play spells JUST to boost it! Drop it and watch your opponent waste some removal spell on it. Good!

 

Ironbeak Owl: Look at it as a Silence spell with a built-in 2/1 creature. Not the other way around! Save it for silencing something pesky. Don't ever drop it just because it might do 2 damage next turn. The 2 mana are much better used for your hero power in his face. If you keep it from turn 1 and ten turns later finally get to use it vs. a Sludge Belcher or a Kel'Thuzad, you'll thank me. ^^

 

Acolyte of Pain: Similar story, but no reason to save it for any particular moment. It's primarily a card draw engine. If you're card starved or need that special card topdecked right NOW, there's nothing wrong with using your hero power on your own Acolyte or running him into something bigger. Use it to kill Paladin tokens or anything with preferably 1 attack - even if you're gonna Flamestrike that same turn anyway.

 

Kobold Geomancer: Try to hold it back until you can play it immediately followed by some spell like Arcane Explosion. This might make quite a difference vs. a Shaman's totem forest or the likes. Like the two cards above: It's mainly there for its special and not for its 2 attack power.

 

Fireball (and your other direct damage spells): Don't just mindlessly shoot them at your opponent! A turn 1 Arcane Missiles may be tempting, but really, it's so much better used when there's some lowies on the other side of the board. If it doesn't do the job perfectly, you can always finish up with your hero power or whatever else. Your spells are NOT there to kill your opponent. They CAN do it and should of course do it, when the situation dictates, but they are primarily there to pave the road for your Water Elementals etc.

 Mulligans:

Simple: Keep any minion costing 3 or less mana and toss everything else. Also ditch duplicates of Owls, Acolytes, and Kobolds.


Water Elemental is the first exception of this rule of thumb. It kills Warriors single handedly if you can protect it. Shamans, Hunters, and Paladins are also quite vulnerable to the built-in freeze. So keep one if you're facing one of those classes. Rogues and Druids also dont't dig to be frozen, but they're affected to a somewhat lesser extent. You still may want to consider keeping it in your starting hand. This guy has been MVP in my team more often than any other card.

 

The 2nd exception is Frostbolt vs. a Priest. It's your only way to safely kill his Northshire Cleric before turn 5, which needs to be done or she'll ruin your early game by pinging your low minions to death and also drawing a few cards in the process.
In case I didn't make my point yet: It's REALLY important to keep a Frostbolt, unless it's the Naxx Priest variant with Undertaker and the usual other suspects that won't give him a lot of free mana to heal up. But just like against Warlock, you can't know. So expect the worst and gear up for that darn Cleric!

 

If you didn't get one in your starting hand, then hold on to an Owl as the 2nd best early "removal" and toss everything else when facing Anduin.

Replacements:

Oh, the Azure Drakes aren't exactly cheap, I know. I started out with 2 Ogre Magi and replaced those as soon as I had enough dust for the drakes. Similar story with the Uncommons. Just use any basic card with the same mana cost until you can make those. Elven Archer, Acidic Swamp Ooze, and Razorfen Hunter come to mind for the 1/2/3 mana slot.

 Improvements:

Bloodmage Thalnos for a Kobold Geomancer because it's all about the +1 spell damage AND you get an extra card.

 

Blizzard for Arcane Explosion since there's quite enough early removal in this deck. Namely your little minions, cheaper spells, and of course your hero power. AE doesn't do much once you reach the endgame, but a "freeze all" plus the 2 (3? 4?) damage is always good to have. If you can afford a 2nd Blizzard, then replace 1 Flamestrike with it. I strongly suggest to build and include those 2 Blizzards as soon as you have the required dust.

 

Sludge Belcher for the Taz Dingos. For 1 mana more you get a lot more bang for your buck. Plus this change also uncrowds the 4 mana slot. It requires the Naxx addon and if you have it, then go ahead and change the deck accordingly. If you don't, then no big harm done. The Sen'jin Shieldmasta is still a great card.

 Famous last words:

I know that this deck isn't all that revolutionary. I know that you won't sail straight through to legendary with it. But I also know that it can beat any deck out there even without that "perfect draw".

I had fun building something pretty basic and I was really surprised about the amount of successful matches this cheap deck gave me. It should be noted, that the cards mentioned under the "Improvements" tab above make this deck even better. Since they are quite expensive and/or hard to come by though, I didn't update the original decklist cause the idea for it is to be competitive AND cheap. If you own the cards mentioned there, then go ahead and make this little gem even stronger! :)

I spent quite some time to write this guide and if you're still reading at this point, please make me happy and klick the +1 button - even if you're not planning to take this deck out for a ride.  ;)