Hearthpwn

Hey guys my name is Josh and i would like to share my Reno mage deck list that i have been playing on ladder to combat Shamans and Warrior's with the added bonus for control match ups, this is my 1st time ever writing up a guide so i'm sorry if it turns out bad.

First of all i would strongly recommend using Hearthstone Deck Tracker https://hsdecktracker.net/ it will help you a lot with tracking not only yours but the opponent's cards as well, this will be a major help.

I have played with a lot of different versions of Reno mage, and i have found that for me this is the strongest version so far. The inclusion of Medivh, the Guardian helps with other control/Reno matchs as they won't expect you to be running Medivh, the Guardian and therefore will use Ooze (if they have it) early on in the game, giving you a free weapon to cast spells with.

Understanding the cards: 

Babbling Book Amazing card, 1/1 body on board turn 1 can help combat pirates but the beauty of this card is, it generates you a spell, granted it might not always be a good spell but 9/10 times you will use what comes out.

Arcane Intellect I prefer this over Acolyte of Pain as you don't always draw 2 cards from Acolyte of Pain.

Frost Nova I recently added this card into my deck in place of Manic Soulcaster and i haven't looked back, its amazing for any match up, stalls for 1 turn and can combine with Doomsayer.

Kabal Courier I love this card in my Reno Decks, not only is it fun to play but i have won many a game with generated spells 1 example can be, i got a Greater Healing Potion in a aggro warrior match and won the game.

Mind Control Tech Great card at stealing a minion from opponent board, works well with Brann Bronzebeard and Dirty Rat.

Kazakus A must have in Reno decks, unbelievable value especially when combined with Brann Bronzebeard, wins you majority if your games.

Polymorph A must have spell, great for dealing with Flamewreathed Faceless and Aya Blackpaw.

Refreshment Vendor I prefer this over Mistress of Mixtures its a great body on board and heals for same.

Water Elemental Amazing 4 drop and has won me a few games VS warrior purely by freezing face for 4+ turns.

Cabalist's Tome This card is amazing value in the late game, it generates 3 strong spells which can save you a lot of games. I mean the value of this card is infinite. 

Flame Lance An MVP card that once i added in my deck i never looked back. It removes Flamewreathed Faceless like it was nothing.

Second-Rate Bruiser Amazing card VS aggro decks most times you will play it for 3 mana.

Medivh, the Guardian MVP of the deck, without none of this would be possible. The reason i run Medivh, the Guardian over Archmage Antonidas is in order for the Archmage Antonidas build to work you need to include such cards as Emperor Thaurissan, and Burgly Bully, i don't like this strategy or maybe i just couldn't make it work, but Medivh, the Guardianadds the same power and also allows you to add other cards in deck such as Flame Lance Cabalist's Tome.

Mulligans:

Vs Shaman: Arcane Blast, Babbling Book, Volcanic Potion,Frostbolt. Forgotten Torch, Doomsayer, Polymorph, Flame Lance, Acidic Swamp Ooze, Kazakus, Reno Jackson

Vs Warrior: Arcane Blast, Babbling Book, Volcanic Potion, Kazakus, Frostbolt, Forgotten Torch, Doomsayer, Acidic Swamp Ooze, Water Elemental, Reno Jackson

Vs Mage: Brann Bronzebeard, Kazakus, Arcane Intellect, Kabal Courier, Azure Drake, Water Elemental

Vs Warlock: Brann Bronzebeard, Kazakus, Arcane Intellect, Kabal Courier, Polymorph, Flame Lance, Azure Drake, Water Elemental

Vs Druid: Brann Bronzebeard, Kazakus, Arcane Intellect, Kabal Courier,  Azure Drake, Water Elemental, Medivh, the Guardian

Vs Rogue:  Arcane Blast, Babbling Book, Volcanic Potion,Frostbolt. Forgotten Torch, Doomsayer. Polymorph, Reno Jackson, Flamestrike

Vs Priest: Brann Bronzebeard, Kazakus, Arcane Intellect, Kabal Courier, Polymorph, Flame Lance, Azure Drake, Water Elemental

Kazakus Potions:

Picking the right potion at the right time may be difficult or even stressful to some, so hopefully this will help ease that process.

VS Aggro: You always want 5 mana 4 damage to all is a must, combined with armor, draw if you are looking for Reno Jackson or Summon and resurrect to help combat the board. Depending on when you use, 1 mana same stats can be a life saver aswell.

VS Jade Shaman: Generally polymorph all and revive, summon 8/8, gain 10 armor and 6 damage to all these are all fine but you really want the poly on both cards if you can, depending on when you play and if the jade counter is below 6 you can consider 6 damage to all.

VS Druid: You always want 10 mana, polymoprh can help deal with the jades that are above 6/6 and resurrect will help with board swings as Druids have hard time dealing with big boards, if you have a second potion note that freezing 3 minions might be better over polymorph as this wont hurt your minions.

VS Reno Mage: Here you are aiming for 10 mana Resurrect minions and +6 health, the reason is mage has a a hard time dealing with big boards that have more then 6 health. Also if the game goes into fatigue the 3 demons option is also good as it adds more value to your hand.

VS Renolock: You mainly want 10 mana 6 damage to all and 8 to face to help deal with Lord Jaraxxus

Play style:

The following is all from my personal experience and how i think you should pilot this deck, understand that Reno Mage is a reactive deck meaning you generally want to react to what your opponent plays, in aggro match ups you want to clear the board as much as possible via minions and spells, in control match ups you rarely want to flood the board with minions as any more then 3 minions gives their AOE spells value.

Vs Aggro Jade Shaman: So this match is all about surviving and minimizing the damage you take, and stalling out the game for as long as possible until you can play Reno Jackson. Some ways you can do this is by, Arcane Blast the Small-Time Buccaneer on turn 1, Volcanic Potion on turn 3 for board clear, Polymorh or Flame Lance for Flamewreathed Faceless (if you have coin and Flame Lance in hand, try and save coin so you can coin out  Flame Lance) also if you can try to always use  Flame Lance for Flamewreathed Faceless so you can save Polymorph for Aya Blackpaw. Don't forget the jade count in this match up shouldn't be more then 6 (2x Jade Claws, 2x Jade Lightning, 1 or 2x Aya Blackpaw).

https://hsreplay.net/replay/g8zWodeP4QRhT9grvYC4jd you can view this as an example of the match up.

VS Midrange Jade Shaman: Ok so the trick to this match up is understanding first of all there is a max potential of 12 or 13 Jades that can be made (depends on Brann Combos), so saving Polymorph for Aya Blackpaw is an almost must, saving Brann Bronzebeard to combine with Kazakus is also an almost must, now picking the potions can be tricky. You always want to pick 2x 10 mana potions but try to understand that once the jade counter is above 6 the 6 damage to all wont clear board, that being said it depends on when you play these cards and at what counter the jade is at should help you determine what you want. Generally poly all and revive, summon 8/8, gain 10 armor and 6 damage to all these are all fine but you really want the poly on both cards if you can. Some tips would be do not flood the board with minions, i would say 2 minions is more then enough, if you have to of course play 3 but no more as you give their Devolve and Lightning Storm better value. Another tip i can say is early on in the game say turns 1-6 if they play Mana Tide Totem try and clear it with Frostbolt or Forgotten Torch but later as the game progresses, i have won countless games with leaving the Mana Tide Totem up and letting them draw they start to take fatigue damage when i still have 8 cards in my deck and by this stage i have already defeated all of their Jade cards. Also saving Frost Nova and Doomsayer for once they have played their last jades cards and have no more removal can be an auto win.

https://hsreplay.net/replay/XX9YRb7s3zwYhwmrAqkMkJ you can view this as an example of the match up.

VS Aggro Pirate Warrior: This match up is almost like the Aggro Jade Shaman in the sense that you need to survive for Reno Jackson and minimize incoming damage. Some ways you can do this is by, Arcane Blast the Small-Time Buccaneer on turn 1, Volcanic Potion on turn 3 for board clear, Polymorph, Water Elemental and freezing face as much as you can is a big help aswell, you almost always want to play Kazakus on turn 4 and pick a 5 mana potion 4 damage to all and armor would be the best pick.

https://hsreplay.net/replay/k3bEUSiUyXhTcAbbE2LKLm you can view this as an example of the match up.

VS Jade Druid: This is arguably the hardest match up for Reno Mage that being said i have vs'd 3 Jade Druids on ladder and currently 2-1. The best strategy i can say is you want to mulligan or draw for Brann Bronzebeard, Kazakus and Medivh, the Guardian. Creating 2x 10 mana spells with POLY ALL and revive minions is probably the best spell you can have. Now understand that to win you need to play Medivh, the Guardian followed by your 10 mana potions, this will Polymorph their jades, summon a 10 mana minon and 3 more minons that have died this game, understand that jade druid cannot deal with big boards so use this strategy to overwhelm them.

https://hsreplay.net/replay/KS42PN9x5mhNHF8KECWNc2 you can view this as an example of the match up.

VS Miracle Rogue: This match up is also a difficult one for Reno Mage but not impossible, this match up is more about minimizing damage taken as Rogue's can dish out a lot. Using Arcane Blast and Volcanic Potion in the early stages can help to deal with their pirates. Saving Polymorph and Flame Lance can help deal with Edwin VanCleef and Questing Adventurer, saving cards like Blizzard and Frost Nova can help with concealed boards, other then Edwin VanCleef and Questing Adventurer all their cards have 4 or less health so Flamestrike and 1 or 2x 5mana Kazakus potions are great for board clears.

Unfortunately i don't have any replays available at this time but this next one i get i shall upload.

VS Renolock: This can be a hard match up, there are 3 ways you can win this match up and they are not easy. First way is to play Medivh, the Guardian followed by 2x 10 Kazakus potions (6 damage to all and and 8 damage) are best, as this will clear his board of infinite 2 mana 6/6 and deal 8 damage to Lord Jaraxxus and also summon a 10 mana minion from Atiesh repeat process and pray he doesn't have board clears. The 2nd way is to save Fireball, Roaring Torch and Frostbolt] and kill him the following turn he plays Lord Jaraxxus as these cards combined equal 15 damage. The 3rd and probably the hardest way is to pull Lord Jaraxxus and but not necessary Reno Jackson out of he's hand with Dirty Rat and Brann Bronzebeard as this will prevent him from ever being able to flood the board with 6/6 minions and therefore you will win the value game (now i know this sounds impossible but with using Deck Tracker and RNG you can make an educated guess, if you see hes had cards in his hand since turns 1-5 and you are currently at say turn 15+, good chance 1 or more them is Lord Jaraxxus and Reno Jackson.

Unfortunately i don't have any replays available at this time but this next one i get i shall upload. 

VS Reno Mage: This match up is hard due to fact that we don't play cards like Archmage Antonidas, Inkmaster Solia, Pyroblast and Manic Soulcaster. Understand that you can lose if you are at 15 health to Inkmaster Solia, Pyroblast and Roaring Torch combo. That being we can win and this is how. Try and save your removal spells like Fireball, Polymorph and Flame Lance for Archmage Antonidas and Emperor Thaurissan, wait untill he plays Acidic Swamp Ooze before you drop Medivh, the Guardian and with Cabalist's Tome you can win the value game.

https://hsreplay.net/replay/eqLy8d2oNEKEFrCXkNnhH6 you can view this as an example of the match up.

I'm sorry this turned out to be a very long guide, wasn't my intention on it being so long but i really do hope all the information i have given will help you climb the ladder.

Thank you for taking the time to read this guide, again if you have any questions please comment below and please leave a like if you enjoyed or this guide helped you in any way :) :) :)