Hearthpwn

Hey Everyone,

UPDATED - 8/1/2018

+1 Giggling Inventor
-1 Harrison Jones

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+1 Tinkmaster Overspark
-1 Mind Control Tech

-2 Mana Wyrm
-2 Arcane Intellect
-1 Frost Nova

+2 Glacial Shard
+2 Bonfire Elemental
+1 Mind Control Tech

For those of you tired of the stale meta, welcome! I wanted to share my surprisingly successful hombrew deck involving archtype(s) we dont see to often: Odd/Big Spell Mage! I think this deck performs very well in the current meta, especially with the comeback/rise of zoo and aggro from Hunter and Paladin. The upgraded mage hero power is extremely strong for controlling early-mid game and Dragon's Fury is incredibly effective at clearing Lesser Emerald Spellstone and Silver Hand Knights buffed with Level Up! from Paladins.

HSDog vs. Odd Big Spells Mage VOD

 VOD Link w/ Timestamp

Odd Big Spells Mage Full Guide!

Win Condition: Use a combination of your hero power, taunt minions, and great options for card draw to handle early game aggression. Around turn 5 this deck starts picking up with several key combos being available in the turns after that. Finally use Frost Lich Jaina / Dragoncaller Alanna to finish off your opponent, either by stalling or by bursting them down with dragons.

Mulligan (order of importance):

Against Aggro:
Glacial Shard, Tar Creeper, Mind Control Tech, Stonehill Defender, Black Cat, Arcane Artificer

Against Midrange:
Black Cat, Stonehill Defender, Tar Creeper, Rotten Applebaum, Voodoo Doll

Against Control:
Black Cat, Voodoo Doll, Stonehill Defender, Bonfire Elemental, Dragon's Fury, Frost Lich Jaina

General Gameplan:

Early Game:
Make good value early game trades with your hero power and taunt minions. Again, the plan is to hold on to general board control and hold out as much as possible until the true power of this deck comes out. Don't be afraid to use your hero power! Its stronger than most people think and players easily tend to forget about that extra 1 damage (since no one runs Odd Mage on the ladder). Don't be afraid to turn 1 play an arcane artificer if you have one - people are hella intimidated by this minion. Save your Glacial Shard (unless playing against heavy aggro/zoo) to set up for Bonfire Elemental or to freeze big targets. Turn 2 should be used to ping Acidic Swamp Ooze or Fire Fly that may come out.

Mid Game:
This is where this deck shines. At this point you should have a varitey of combos due to the great draw this deck has and making value trades without expending too much energy. Here are some of the best combos:

5 Mana:
Dragon's Fury / Deck of Wonders + Arcane Tyrant -> Clears the board and gets you later game value
Voodoo Doll + Hero Power -> obvious - but a great removal tool

6 Mana:
Arcane Artificer + Deck of Wonders -> Gain 5 armor, put some late game value into the deck, and put a "soft taunt" minion out on the board

10 mana:
Deck of Wonders + Dragon's Fury -> Basically a guaranteed 5 damage board clear to everything, on top of giving yourself some late game value
Black Cat + Flamestrike -> 5 damage board clear
Arcane Artificer + Flamestrike + Hero Power -> Clears the board, gets you LOTS of armor, and a situational ping if you need 2 more damage to clear something

Late Game:
Play Frost Lich Jaina as soon as possible. Always opt for a board clear before doing this if your opponent has an oppressive board. Continue to trade for value and pump out as many water elementals as you can. Baron Geddon can be a lifesaver when used on a large board, healing in games more than 10 health while clearing the board. If you are playing against a control deck - don't be afraid to use Flamestrike to clear just 1 minion! Control decks don't typically run a minion flooding win-con in this meta (sans Druid). If you are running low on options, aggressively play Dragoncaller Alanna to set up a kill on your next turn. Few cards can deal with this and generally you would have played enough big spells at this point to land 20+ Damage the following turn.

Why Deck of Wonders?
Since I've seen this card get printed, I've always tried to get this bad boy to work. Can you sometimes discard your hand to a Cataclysm? Yes. Can you sometimes lose your hero power as Frost Lich Jaina to Dinomancy or Shadowform? Yes. However, in general, this card works pretty great. First, it has awesome synergy with Dragon's Fury and Dragoncaller Alanna. Secondly, after using this card I've noticed most offensive spells can only target enemies and most defensive spells target friendly characters. So, after playing this card I would not extend your board past 2 or 3 minions, as there is always a chance of a Twisting Nether or Brawl. However, its sometimes great to get free buffs to your minions. So make sure you always try to leave a few minions on the board after playing this. This card can also be used as a Hail Mary - if you think you may lose the next turn and you've already played it, use Black Cat or Bonfire Elemental to fish for a Scroll of Wonder. Lots of spells cast from this card also grant card draw - excellent for hitting your win cons while keeping high cost mana spells in your deck. Overall, this is a fun card, makes games interesting and different, and is a huge surprise to your opponents when you play it.

Card Replacements:

All of the Big Spells; Dragon's Fury, Flamestrike, and Deck of Wonders are all irreplaceable. With that, Arcane Tyrant is also irreplaceable, as they provide a huge tempo swing after using any of them. They are the cornerstones of this deck.

Tinkmaster Overspark
This card is crucial to winning the harder matches that this deck has, namely Hadronox druid, Cubelock, and Velen OTK Priest. Turing one of their minions into a beast, even if its the 5/5 is not only an effective silence, but also ruins game-plans involving Bloodreaver Gul'dan, Greater Diamond Spellstone, and Witching Hour by completely changing the minion. If you are having trouble with zoo/aggro on the ladder, you can try switching this for Mind Control Tech, Ironbeak Owl, or Frost Nova, but running Tinkmaster Overspark really helps with this deck's weaker matchups.

Harrison Jones
I love this card in the current meta. So many weapons - which are being mostly used around turn 5. Great for card draw and puts a decent sized minion on the field. This can easily be replaced by a Gluttonous Ooze if you need more survivability. If you find that you are not running into many weapons whatsoever - Blazecaller is another great body, large removal tool that can fit with the elemental package.

Baron Geddon
Blazecaller could be a better replacement if you find your not running into many zoo matchups. The lifesteal from both of these combo'd with Frost Lich Jaina is incredible.

Dragoncaller Alanna
Again, this card has a lot of synergy with the big spells aspect of this deck. Sometimes I find I really need the burst damage to melt Deathstalker Rexxar or other Death Knights. However, Ysera is another strong Odd costed control card. It is a sub-par replacement, but a replacement nonetheless.

Frost Lich Jaina
Again another card that is too hard to replace. The elemental in this package is innately strong, with Tar Creeper, Arcane Tyrant, and Baron Geddon. This is the best Control Win Con mage has right now.

If I've missed something important out or if any of you guys have questions - leave a comment!

Thank you all for viewing my deck and liking this deck!! I hope you all give it a try and enjoy playing it as much as I am. I hope this deck will bring triumph in the ranked ladder of this meta.

-K-Dawg