Hearthpwn

Come in and Warm your Frozen Boots by the Fire!

 

Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Gunnolf, and I am originally from the Land Down Under a.k.a. Australia. I am an avid gamer that has acquired a real passion for card games, which originated from my humble beginnings as a Yu-Gi-Oh collector and eventually grew from my dabbling in Cardfight Vanguard and Buddyfight, until we reached the game we know as Hearthstone.

I've played Hearthstone since the days of classic, with multiple accounts on both EU and NA servers. Despite having reached the Rank of Legend and my own personal mentality of equating 'having fun' with 'winning', I am not really a fan of meta power-grinding & net-decking, not that there is anything wrong with that. Therefore, I enjoy thinking about new, cool and fun deck ideas that push boundaries while also allowing you to win and those are what I want to share with you guys every-time I post a decklist.

I have presently become a contributing writer to WILDHS and will be posting articles there on a semi-regular basis, regarding deck-archetypes the status of the meta as well as how to get the most fun out of this game even if you aren't a big spender. If any of this sounds interesting, then I highly recommend that you check out of the website, as the writers and the owner himself are some of the nicest people you'll ever meet with great in-game knowledge (link to be website can be found HERE). You can also follow me on Twitter for latest updates.

If you genuinely like my content and would like to see me produce more of it, then please consider supporting me on Patreon. This is by no means necessary but it will definitely help me out in the long run. Thanks for Reading ^^

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Deck Introduction

Welcome back guys once again, for another one of my decks with a slight interesting twist. This one is going to be a long read as I am extremely passionate about mage decks and in particular about the ones that involve intense resource management and the notion of thinking a few turns ahead (so if you are not interested in the introduction, you are more than welcome to skip ahead. You won't hurt me feelings, I swear ^^).

Freezemage was the archetype that took me through many a rank in hearthstone and it's reduction in viability with the creation of super aggro and infinite resource production saddened me quite a bit as I felt that a decent chunk of skill was sucked out of the game. However, with Exodia mage becoming all the more viable with each new card printed we are seeing a surge in the archetype.

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The Big Debate: Open the Waygate vs Emperor Thaurissan

Ok so when it comes to the Wild Format there is a decent divide between players over what the superior choice is when it comes to deck building. The arguments are as follows:

Open the Waygate: The people who favor the quest, argue for its superiority over the Emperor Thaurissan version with the following reasons:
1) Less  vulnerable to Dirty Rat as the deck runs additional minions like Babbling Book.
2) Has a good chance of discovering additional answers through the random card generation aspect by virtue of Babbling Book,Cabalist's Tome &Primordial Glyph.
3) Does Not require a one turn setup.

Emperor Thaurissan: Conversely those that favor Thaurissan, argue for his superiority over the Open the Waygate version with the following reasons:
1) The deck does not depend on Random Card Generation to win. It works much like the old freezemage lists in so far as you need to dig through your own deck.
2) You can custom build your deck around the meta i.e. include more anti-aggro options if there is such a prevalence.
3) There are less prerequisites to fulfill with the Emperor Thaurissan version as opposed to the Open the Waygate build-around. Essentially: Draw the Combo Pieces and Thaurissan + Play Thaurissan as opposed to Generate Random Spells + Complete Quest by Playing Random Spells + Draw the Combo Pieces.

From an objective vantage-point I am more inclined to favor the non-quest version due to the lack of the random element. However, having said that both are viable and Open the Waygate does offer more deck-building options in so far as including Arcane Giant and Alexstrasza over Archmage Antonidas and Sorcerer's Apprentice.

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So why are you running Open the Waygate & Emperor Thaurissan? Isn't that Greedy?

Well let's have a look at my decklist. How many random card generators am I running? Exactly two (Primordial Glyph) which are evidently not enough. So how do I plan to complete the quest? The answer comes in the form of Archmage Antonidas.

Essentially, in this deck, Open the Waygate is Not the win-condition but rather a Tech card. Ok so when decks like these become prevalent, you will want to be geared towards winning the mirror match. Unlike mine, the other two versions of the Exodia Mage series (whether it is Open the Waygate or Emperor Thaurissan) are not well equipped in breaking through Ice Block effectively meaning that playing the combo first will not automatically win you the game. By including the quest card as a tech choice, we effectively increased our odds at beating Mages, Priests and Rogues (that steal or generate Ice Block) as all the Fireball created by Archmage Antonidas will complete the quest during the OTK turn thus allowing us to proc the Ice Block play the quest reward and win without allowing out opponent any comeback potential.

Synopsis: Open the Waygate is included as a control control killer card and the quest is completed by virtue of the Fireball production from Archmage Antonidas.

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Mulligan and Card Choices

The mulligan for this deck is essentially similar to that of Freezemage. You're always looking for Mad Scientist, Frost Nova and Doomsayer as well as card draw. If you think you will be facing an aggro deck, it is strongly recommended that you toss away Open the Waygate in favor of finding additional ways of dealing with early pressure. In case of control, you always keep the quest.

Now the interesting part about this deck is that depending on the meta it can be slightly customised to deal with aggro/midrange or control. In essence, if a control/combo meta is afoot I would maintain the deck as is, however if you're facing a greater number of aggro decks it is recommended that you consider the following substitutions:

-1 Acolyte of Pain & -1 Research Project or -1 Ice Barrier / +2 Volcanic Potion or +2 Frostbolt.

Simulacrum: There is only one reason to ever run this card. It is just a Sorcerer's Apprentice replacement in the eventuality that one copy gets milled by Dirty Rat, Death Grip, Gnomeferatu or overdrawn. Whatever the case may be, it is not a part of the combo, just a enabler.

Open the Waygate: The best way to think of this card is as a really expensive Eater of Secrets that only targets Ice Block and always shows up in your opening hand or as the original Alexstrasza that existed during the beta that not only set your opponent's life to 15 but also shred their armor back to zero.

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Final Thoughts

This is all for now. I will continue to update this deck meta to meta and see if the new expansion will release any card that further boosts this deck's viability. I want to thank everyone who participated in debates concerning the Exodia archetype and those who inspired me to engage in the creative use of Mage Quest.

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Author's Notes

I enjoy deck-building a multitude of interesting decks that are both entertaining and Legend viable (with some odd Free-to-Play lists mixed in). So if you like this deck (or anyone of my other ones) consider leaving a thumbs up, as it really helps in the long run! :)

Thank you guys for all your support and if you have any suggestions, let me know. 

 

Check out my other decks!

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