Hearthpwn

 

Introduction

Hello hello! A few of you may remember me from my KnC decklist post where I also included my personal in-depth analysis:

https://www.hearthpwn.com/decks/1033682-leyline-exodia-mage-w-in-depth-analysis ... (skip the update texts and start reading at "Introduction" if you are interested).

Ever since the Witchwood expansion was released, I have been trying out different combinations of cards in Leyline Exodia at Rank 5. Many lists I have given up. I told myself "If I can't keep a consistent win-rate above 50% to reach Rank 4, then this list is sh*t."

Many lists later, I have found the list that finally brought me to Rank 4, and that is the one you see right now. Maybe it's not Tier 1, but it should be viable!

 

What makes this list different from KnC?

R.I.P Ice Block. Due to the loss of Ice Block, only 2 secrets, Ice Barrier, are in the deck. Thus, I got rid of 1 Arcanologist.

To make up for the loss of Ice Block, I've included Tar Creeper, which does reallllllly well against aggro. That leaves 1 free slot left.

From the new Witchwood expansion, what caught my attention for the list was Book of Specters. It's a card that lets you draw further into your deck by 3, which is really good for reaching the last combo piece that may be sitting at the bottom of your deck! Also, there are enough minions in the deck where Book can draw at least 1 minion consistently. Thus, I got rid of the 1 Novice Engineer and included 2 Books.

After many testing, I realized that whenever Book discarded Molten Reflection, pulling off the combo would be more difficult, so I took down Bloodmage Thalnos and included a second copy of Molten Reflection.

 

Why is Ice Barrier still in the deck? Run Arcane Artificer instead!

I prefer Ice Barrier because Arcane Artificer gets in the way of Simulacrum, and it's difficult to get enough healing with Arcane Artificer. I've tried many games with Artificers, and it has not been good enough for me. Also, I'd rather run Ice Barriers, because that will give me a reason to run 1 Arcanologist, which is a good 2-drop against aggro.

 

How does the playstyle differ from its older version

From the KnC version, I was concerned with accidentally discarding certain combo pieces because it could lose the game if certain cards were at the bottom of the deck (you can read more about this from the link I posted earlier). In this version, it's not as detrimental because 1 damage of fatigue won't matter anymore since we are not relying on Ice Block to survive.

Rather than relying on the last Ice Block to survive, you are now relying on the last freeze spell (Frost Nova and Blizzard. And so, it is important to keep track of the number of freeze spells and to hold onto them for as long as possible. Ice Barriers and Tar Creepers help you stall until you absolutely have to start using your freeze spells.

Also, it is important to know when to use the Book of Specters. It's usually good to play it on turn 2, because that is when most of the minions are still in the deck. When I see Book of Specters appear on my starting hand, I try to mulligan away all the minions to guarantee the draws. Other than that, sometime you will need to hold onto to it until you're looking for the last minion combo piece.

Playing Book at the wrong time can cost you a game when you needed to draw into freeze spells. Also, you don't want to use it if there is a high risk of discarding too many Molten Reflection/Simulacrum.

 

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 :)