Firestorm - Legendary control
- Last updated Jul 7, 2015 (Blackrock Launch)
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Wild
- 19 Minions
- 11 Spells
- Deck Type: Ranked Deck
- Deck Archetype: Unknown
- Crafting Cost: 6860
- Dust Needed: Loading Collection
- Created: 11/5/2014 (Naxx Launch)
- user-17180457
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Battle Tag:
N/A
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Region:
EU
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Total Deck Rating
1562
PLEASE READ
You love Mage? You are a control Player? Than its your deck. It has been successfully played in both legendary and non legendary Ranks, also i do strongly recommend reading the whole guide and asking after it, if needed.
Let me explain the Idea behind this (until now) new/different concept.
I tried to transfer the concept behind a control Warrior deck on a Mage with the best parts of a secret Mage and this is what came out. It took me very long to solve the issues against aggro decks, but now i can honestly say, that your having a good time against any type of deck, just like control warrior. If you have any questions beyond this Guide, feel free to contact me per PM or ask me on twitch.tv/brookandlyn and if you like it, leave a +1.
The Core
Frostbolt (2)
Counterspell (1)
Duplicate (2)
Kirin Tor Mage (1)
Fireball (2)
Polymorph (1)
Water Elemental (2)
Flamestrike (1)
Mad Scientist (2)
Unstable Ghoul (2)
Acolyte of Pain (2)
Loatheb
Sludge Belcher (2)
Sylvanas Windrunner
Slots for changes
Earthen Ring Farseer (1-2)
Counterspell (1)
Polymorph (1)
Sen'jin Shieldmasta (1)
Faceless Manipulator (1)
The Black Knight
Ragnaros the Firelord
Alexstrasza
Ysera
Pyroblast (1)
Cairne Bloodhoof
Harrison Jones
Acidic Swamp Ooze (1)
Arcane Intellect (1)
Twilight Drake (1-2)
Big Game Hunter (1)
Spellbreaker (1)
Ironbeak Owl (1)
Flamestrike (1)
Abomination (1-2)
FAQ
Q: Too little card draw?
A: No. This deck cycles well and you will quickly overdraw after using Duplicate + draw engine. If you desperately want more draw, add one Arcane Intellect as suggested above.
Q: I think some of your choices suck, can i replace X with Y?
A: Yes. Any Card I recommend for a swap is listed in the Section above.
Q: This deck seems slow, sucks vs aggro?!
A: I heared that quite often and its not exactly true. Im sorry to say that but playing mage is different from any other control Deck and you are more likely just unexperienced with it, besides it is "harder" to play than control Warrior. Even though i have to admit that this deck is not made as an aggro counter so you will have to make some changes if you want to build it like that. Be aware that it will hurt your control Matchup. The changes i do recommend are listed below in the specific Matchup section and will include most likely changes for Zoo (ofc suggestions for others), because against other aggro decks changes are not necessarily needed.
Q: How can i replace Alexstrasza?
A: I do not recommend replacing her because you can use her so fine for a heal against aggro decks. If you dont need her for that, i would suggest Pyroblast for the offensive nature.
Q: Is it possible to swap core cards?
A: Yes but i would be careful with that. One thing i can suggest : replace Kirin Tor Mage for a Spellbreaker
Q: Suggestions if facing a lot of Handlocks?
A: Big Game Hunter (1)
Q: Suggestions against Zoo?
A: Abomination, Zombie Chow
Videos - HOW TO PLAY CONTROL MAGE
VS Aggro Paladin
VS Aggro Hunter
VS Control Priest
VS Freeze Mage
VS Zoo
Mulligan and Rules
General rules against aggro : Try to mulligan for Mad Scientist, Earthen Ring Farseer, Frostbolt, Unstable Ghoul, than Sen'jin Shieldmasta and Acolyte of Pain. You want to draw into your Sludge Belcher, aswell as Flamestrike. It is important to understand that aggro Matchups are more a Battle for the Board and Life as for Resources, because its very likely that aggro Decks are running out of steam very quick (zoo loses his life). Therefore aggro Decks wont trade if they dont absolutely have to and that is the Key, you have to force them to do that and that is the Reason why taunted Minions are so good. Aggro Decks tend to establish a large board and taunt Minons force them to downsize it. Also you can see now why AOE is so good against aggro and why Unstable Ghoul and Earthen Ring Farseer are Keycards. Besides their body Ghoul is a taunted Minion which also provides AOE, while Earthen Ring gives you health. The Water Elemental on the other hand can keep weapon classes off your face and if your facing a lot of Weapon Classes, consider putting in Ooze is maybe worth it.
General rules against control : Mulligan for Mad Scientist, Water Elemental, Kirin Tor Mage, Frostbolt. One of my friends found fitting words for the key in control Matchups "once you can duplicate your 4+ Minions its gg anyway." If you get the combo Unstable Ghoul + Acolyte of Pain keep it. While control Matchups are much more complex than aggro, their general understanding is as simple as aggro. Its just the opposite, control Matchups are a Battle for Ressources first, than Board and after that Life. It constitutes the Reason why Duplicate is the Key Card in control vs. control, especially in combination with Sylvanas Windrunner. She alone is a Card which forces your opponent get a answer as she not just destroys his Ressources but steals them for you at best. Duplicate doubles that effect on her and on any other good Minion (Ragnaros the Firelord just for expample) in control Matchups which you now can hopefully understand a bit better.
Matchups
Hunter
Mulligan agressive for Unstable Ghoul, Earthen Ring Farseer, Mad Scientist, Frostbolt. Water Elemental and Acolyte of Pain are also a good keep. Every hunter will try to face you down as quickly as possible and therefore you have, as might noticed plenty of answers in this deck to stall their agression. Ghouls are very strong in this Matchups as they will rape Huffer, Haunted Creeper, Leper Gnome, Mad Scientist and Webspinner. Sometimes everyone at the same time.
Frostbolting Undertaker is a good play, otherwise save it for Houndmaster. Polymorph will take care of the Savannah Highmane and if you dont have it, use Fireball.
Dont be afraid of the Eaglehorn Bow, because once if you have a living Water Elemental, he wont be able to use it and its much more safe to activate his traps and even if your Elemtal dies, it will stall 6 Damage.
Counterspell is able to crush his Kill Command and your Farseer will keep you alive and also represent a solid body for the board. Acolyte of Pain seems weak but its likely that they will kill him also as soon as possible to denie you from drawing answers. Both is good for you!
Things you want to get duplicated : Ghoul,Farseer,Senjin, Belchers, Water Ele. Once you can duplicate one of them the Matchup gets highly in your favour Just watch out for a Flare but nowadays many of them only run 1 or even zero.
Priest
Keep : Frostbolt, Earthen Ring Farseer, Mad Scientist, Kirin Tor Mage, Fireball, Water Elemental.
Duplicate : Water Elemental, Sludge Belcher, Loatheb, Sylvanas Windrunner and any other 4+ Drop.
Frostbolting the Northshire Cleric is fine alswell as using it on a turn 3 Blademaster without Circle of Healing. Kirin Tor Mage is excellent here because of the 4 Attack and overall this Matchup is really ok. Priests will have a very hard time to deal with a duplicated 4+ drop and Flamestrike will almost certain kill all oh his Minions. Try to ping his minions over face unless he has Cleric in play, that implies you have Flamestrike ready and make him fear a boardclear even if you dont have it, it will make your trades easier for you. Counterspell is a very powerful tool because unless he has a Power Word: Shield or Coin it will hurt him very much to remove it. This is also why a duplicated Loatheb can seal the game right away. I cant really say much more here because fighting Priests is just a slow grind and you will do fine if your Duplicate does its Job. Just make Sure he cant Cabal Shadow Priest your Acolyte of Pain, Unstable Ghoul and Mad Scientist and not to get caught by Mind Control.
Warrior
Keep : Water Elemental, Mad Scientist, Kirin Tor Mage, Frostbolt, Earthen Ring Farseer, Acolyte of Pain
Duplicate : Water Elemental, Sylvanas Windrunner and your other 4+ drops (but Senjin)
Your goal : Denie his card draw and give him as little armor as possible.
How to do? Use Frostbolt on Acolyte when he is not already activated by Cruel Taskmaster. Try to maximum two hit a Armorsmith. Avoid playing your unstable gouls against his Armorsmith or Acolyte unless you hold a Frostbolt or have something on board which will deal with them right away. DO NOT play a duplicated Sylvanas Windrunner or other Legendarys if he hasnt already played his Brawl. Using Fireball for Baron Geddon or leftovers of Grommash Hellscream is a really good move, also you will try to save your Polymorph for his Ysera if he runs her. Always value Polymorph over Fireball. Once you can establish a good board and maybe duplicate your Water Elemental he will be forced to Brawl or use his hard removal on "just" a 4 drop which will lead in a huge advantage for you in the lategame.
Warlock - Zoo
First note : If you facing a lot of Zoo, make some changes or this will be a bad Matchup. Change for example Sen'jin Shieldmasta and one Counterspell for two Abomination.
Keep : Frostbolt, Unstable Ghoul, Mad Scientist, Sen'jin Shieldmasta
Duplicate : Unstable Ghoul, Abomination, Sen'jin Shieldmasta , Sludge Belcher
Your goal : Grind him out of Steam if possible
How to do? Make sure that your mulligan is agressive and hope for the best. Frostbolt his Undertaker, Knife Juggler, Flame Imp. Fireball his Doomguard, Dark Iron Dwarf, Nerubian and Flamestrike his board when possible. Even though this battle is almost entirely for Board and Life, you have sometimes to play it slow to make best use of your Hero Power. Even if it seems that this play can hurt you a bit more, but if that increases your chance of a great Duplicate it is often worth it. Use Alexstrasza for heal on yourself. Nothing more to say.
twitch.tv/brookandlyn
I just had a thought (because Archmage Antonidas is my only legendary, and I don't intend to play this deck w/o the core cards anyways) but would the mad scientist deathratte count as a spell if Antonidas is on the field?
No. It doesn't buff your Mana Wyrm, either, so... :)
Oh well. ^^'
First off I want to say i love this deck. I have always hit a rank 17 w/ 3 stars block. I can now say I have seen rank 14 but I have began backsliding. I am having serious trouble with Shaman. It's not the deck, but my approach that is at fault. Can some one please help me out? Its not a lack of cards, I just cant keep up with the # of minions he plays...and bloodlust AHHH! CURSE YOU THRALL!!!
Against Sea Giant Bloodlust Shaman,I would probably say play counterspell once he's used all of his cheap removal(and if he still has coin) or he can oneshot you with bloodlust. Kill totems before going for the enemy's face.
Against Windfury Burst shaman, I would save BK for Al'akir and draft a Harrison for the Doomhammer.
nice deck man, been a while trying to resurrect the old control mage, and you done the job well :)
personally i swap kirin tor with polymorph, senjin with spellbreaker, and flamestrike with ysera for stability and control matchup, because I often meet with priest control...
for you who think this deck bad against zoo, I tell you this deck is actually quite good. But of course you must draw the right card in order to win with zoo. It's like warrior control that need a 2 drops like fiery war axe and armorsmith to deal with zoo early. Zoo is generally a very stable aggro that have no hard counter at all, so a good deck against zoo usually hold about 70%-80% win rate. So don't expect to win every time you face zoo.
Yes that is normal. So your point is saying an control deck loses vs aggro if not drawing early game? I do also recommend the post from sillyandrew on http://www.hearthpwn.com/decks/117195-firestorm-legendary-control?page=3 to you.
So i just saw your edit, it just seems to me that you are the problem. Sorry.
What is your opinion about replacing [card]Sen'jin Shieldmasta[/card] with [card]Big Game Hunter[/card]? I am facing a lot of Handlocks, but I don't want to get ripped apart by zoo/hunters either. Which card should I take out for [card]Big Game Hunter[/card]? Can you give me some advice?
Btw, I LOVE your deck.
Edit: spelling mistakes
That is a good replacement, im almost certain it has already been mentioned somewhere. Go for it.
Good deck in theory, but it performes well only against other control. Builds up too slow and loses board control fast, since early game is weak (unstable ghoul and mad scientist is all you can play on turn two and both trade pretty badly). This kind of early game works for Warriors since they have Fiery War Axe, but here you just get left behind and stabilizing is hard, especially if you don't get a flamestrike by turn 7.
I found that I use Alexstraza defensively 8 times out of 10, so life is definitely something to look out for here.
Loses pretty bad against zoo, shaman, rogue. Hunter is better, especially if your water elemental can freeze its bow in its tracks.
From experience, hardest matchup is against Shaman. Their early game is so strong you cannot stabilize, I got absolutely destroyed every single time. No defense against turn early flametongue, Flamestrike does not enough to get board control back.
From my experience, Shaman is one of the easiest. I recommend the post from sillyandrew on http://www.hearthpwn.com/decks/117195-firestorm-legendary-control?page=3
First of all, really nice deck, it's unusual to see "different" decks in HS, and be unexpectable is always a key to win, "Surprise Mother......"
On the other hand, i agree with Interzoid. Found this deck weak in early plays, hard to stabilize. The replicate combo is really nice, but i achieved the kill condition of the deck one time in almost 15 plays (sometimes i win without doing it, others i lose, almost 50% of winrate chance). Almost all the games i'm crying for survive between turn 3/4 to turn 7.
I Found Mad Scientist doesn't do a nice job. Sometimes i use him for board control and he turns me a Replicate on acolyte or Farseer. The play Acolyte of Pain + Unstable Ghoul is nice for draw cards, but the lack of board control it causes (2 Creatures with 1 damage + 1 damage on Board) will crush your next play (Sen'jin Shieldmasta or Water Elemental) who will face in average 3 minions if playing against aggro, controls generally doesn't but pression on this turn. Consequences, spend all of your forces trying to survive until turn 7. Remember, Flamestrike helps only if you got enough life for continue fighting.
Even when you get late game isn't easy to do the combo, you need at least two turns and few minions on the board for replicate your masterpiece monster. It's really hard to use replicate before play your monster and survive. I tryed Archmage Antonidas cause one turn will be enough for play, protect my monster and get a fireball for free. Anyway, i'm bound to get killed with my open defense, If i got nice defense Replicate isn't a good play, cause trades will come before enemies spells generally.
Anyway, the kill condition of this deck is very nice. Need some improvements for survive in the meta game on drops 2 3 4. I'm trying changes on Mad Scientist, Unstable Ghoul and Acolyte of Pain. I never run out of cards, so acolyte isn't a good play for me, Ghoul is good, but for a 2 play i whould prefer other cards and Scientist is freaking me out with his secrets in wrong time, it's better go for an Kirin Tor Mage and play the secret for free when you want than just RNG in my opinion.
Good Points: Unique, unpredictable plays, strong late game, Counter Spell, Insane board Control after turn 7.
Bad Points: Slow, weak plays on turn 2/3, Water Elemental is an illusory defense if enemy doesn't have weapon, easy to lose secrets with Mad Scientist, not viable on meta gaming.
Conclusion: Little improvements can make this deck really good, unless you play Hand-Locks, HandMage. In my Opinion, ofc.
Have you any suggestions on those "bad" 2/3 turns? I really like to hear some improvements besides Mad Scientist. He wont be replaced under any circumstances.
First of all, did you think those ""bad"2/3 turns" aren't so bad as i said? maybe i'm doing wrong things, but i don't think so, i read intirely your guide and sillyandrew post against Aggros and felt very difficult early game.
Turn 1 coin / haunted creeper followed by turn 2 Flametongue totem it's a win already for Shaman. He kills anything you can put on the board on turn 2 (Ghoul or Scientist, doesn't matter) and the two spider tokens buffed by flametongue will kill anything you can play the turn after that, even a water elly. So you're stuck with an empty board until turn 4 while the shaman can develop his game.
Killing the flametongue with Frostbolt (if you're lucky enough to have it) stalls your board, and next turn he plays Mana Tide Totem on an empty board while all you can play is a lousy Unstable Ghoul. Hardest matchup imho. Other matchups are winnable, this has been a nightmare.
EDIT: it is entirely possible that I'm just playing this wrong, ofc ;-)
If your problem is facing shaman, i think Crazed Alchemist is a nice choice, however, shammy wans't expected to be a problem.
mmm, would someone upload a video of a shaman matchup? I'm definitely doing something wrong here...
That Coin + Creeper into flametounge is a dreamstart against any early aggression from any deck, i dont get those points when people (and you here) complaining about losing to a dreamstart from XY deck. This is how Hearthstone goes and you can lose also favourable matchps with some bad luck. My advice is try again and again and read whats in the guide or post i recommend. Than maybe change some cards if needed. So did i when i replaced ysera and i do often replace other cards ofc but i dont update the deck every time because its already written down what to do. I wish you good luck with doing that and maybe some better draw luck ;)
Point taken ;-)