Hearthpwn

**Updates**: Newest to oldest updates are from top to bottom

-2 Ice Block, -1 Arcanologist, -1 Novice Engineer, -1 Bloodmage Thalnos, +2 Tar Creeper, +2 Book of Specters, +1 Molten Reflection

With the new Witchwood expansion, I have updated my list at a new post, including some new analysis! Give the new post an upvote if you like the new list :)

https://www.hearthpwn.com/decks/1094309-rank-4-leyline-exodia-mage

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-1Cult Apothecary, +1Novice Engineer

Wasn't too happy with how Cult Apothecary performed. Most of the time I found it awkward to play, and it was only good early in the game before I started freezing the board. I'm happier with Novice Engineer when I'm cycling into cards that can consistently stall.

From my last update, I've been happy with how Dragon's Fury has been performing against Paladin and Hunter. I don't think it's worth adding a 2nd Fury instead though because it's mostly useless in other matchups. Sometime it is possible to find use with 1 Fury, but I'd imagine the 2nd one being a dead card.

Potentially, a Cone of Cold can be added, but I prefer the Novice Engineer for the same reason as why I dropped Cult Apothecary.

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-2 Novice Engineer, +1 Dragon Fury, +1Cult Apothecary

While trying to climb the ranks at Rank 5 over ~60 games, I've been seeing a lot of paladins lately. While my winrates vs slower decks were near 100%, Paladin and Hunter were rough matchup. With these changes, I expect better outcomes. Dragon Fury is a good board wipe against murlocs or wolves, and Cult Apothecary is a good additional heal. I chose to cut the Novice Engineer because I believe there is already enough cycling in the deck and the body is too weak against Paladin and Hunter.

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-2 Coldlight Oracle, +2 Novice Engineer

After further testing, I realized that having too many Acolyte of Pain or Coldlight Oracle in hand caused hand management issues, so I replaced Oracles with Novice Engineer because it's easier to play. I chose to drop the Oracles instead of the Acolytes because Acolytes are better against aggro decks (*cough cough* Paladin). If you face more control decks like Warlock, then you can consider switching to Oracles.

 

Introduction

Hello, with the new nerfs on Patches the Pirate and Corridor Creeper, Exodia Mage's winrate is more likely to rise. Thus, I attempted to optimize the Exodia Mage list.

 

Why not use Open the Waygate?

While Open the Waygate enables another exodia combo, I would rather not rely on RNG to dictate whether I can get useful random mage spells. Therefore, I favor the Leyline Manipulator combo because I know that my wins come from my skills.

 

How to Fully Utilize the Combo

Before reading ahead, if you're not familiar with the combo, google "Leyline Manipulator OTK" and read up on it. If you know of the combo, you probably do not know the true flexibility of this combo because based on my own research, every popular Hearthstone figures had a rigid mindset on how to pull off the combo.

While people will think that both Simulacrum needs to land on Sorcerer's Apprentice, the combo also works if one of them lands on Archmage Antonidas. In fact, it's better if one of them lands on Antonidas because then he can be discounted twice by two Leyline Manipulators, allowing flexibility in mana.

Also, instead of a Molten Reflection, Coin + 4th Apprentice can be used in the combo (though it is less likely).

 

Deckbuilding

The bare minimum of cards required to pull off the combo is: 

2xSimulacrum

1x Leyline Manipulator

1x Sorcerer's Apprentice

1x Archmage Antonidas

1x Molten Reflection

With this in mind, these cards should be separated into two categories: the Set-up and the Actual Combo.

 

Set-Up: Cards that lie in this category are the Simulacrums, Leyline Manipulator, and Apprentice because we must set up discounted copies of either Apprentices or Antonidas. This means that it is absolutely bad if any of these cards end up being at the bottom of the deck because then the game would go into fatigue, leading to demise. 

Thus, including an extra copy of each of the set-up cards is a necessity. That means running a second Leyline Manipulator, a second Sorcerer's Apprentice, and Zola the Gorgon as the third Simulacrum.

 

Actual Combo: These cards are Antonidas and Molten Reflection because they are only going to be used on the exodia turn. It is okay for either of them to be at the bottom of the deck, so no extra copies are needed.

 

Other than those cards, there is a mix of cards that draw and stall. While there are many ways for this to be changed, I prefer the list that I have posted. This can be changed to your own liking, but the core cards for drawing and stalling are

2x Arcanologist

2x Ice Block

1x Ice Barrier

2x Frost Nova

1xBlizzard

2x Doomsayer

 

How to play this deck?

The deck played similarly to Freeze Mage. There are many in-depth guides on playing Freeze Mage if you need more info, but it's basically prioritizing draws in the early turns, and stalling when your life total is lowered. While stalling, you are looking into drawing and setting up for the combo.

 

Conclusion

Thanks for taking the time to read this. If there is anything I wasn't clear about, or if you have any questions, feel free to comment below. Also, remember to upvote if you like :)