Elemental Hero Power Mage
- Last updated Feb 3, 2020 (GA Week 2)
- Edit
- |
Wild
- 22 Minions
- 8 Spells
- Deck Type: Ranked Deck
- Deck Archetype: Hero Power Mage
- Crafting Cost: 9800
- Dust Needed: Loading Collection
- Created: 1/29/2020 (GA Week 2)
- GamerPanda
- Registered User
-
- 9
- 44
- 39
-
Battle Tag:
GamerPanda#11334
-
Region:
US
-
Total Deck Rating
763
Elemental Hero Power Mage
-Galakrond's Awakening-
Galakrond's awakening is bringing some new life to hero power mage! Arcane Amplifier just released and I've created a hero power/elemental combination, along the lines of minion mage with the bonus of using Mountain Giants, which are also elementals. Fun & effective so far!
Out of 58 matches total, mixed casual/ranked. It's been a few months since I last got into HS so I'm playing at Rank 14 but I've been playing for years, usually between Legend and Rank 5.
I found an Italian HS Streamer Poly playing this deck through HSReplay- super nice guy played the older version (- amalgam/zilliax) and posted a video for those looking to see the deck in play: (Thanks!)
UPDATE 2/3/20: I'm glad this deck is getting some traction and people are having fun with it. I added a card breakdown/general mulligan and plan to add class specific notes when I can.
The most recent change was to remove 2X Arcanosaur :( since it wasn't really pulling it's mana cost. We replaced it with 2X Nightmare Amalgam and a Zilliax to replace the 2 lost elementals and the amalgams have synergy with both elementals and act as a mech to magnetize Zilliax for heals which we didn't have before.
I also added an Italian streamer, Poly's video clip to show the deck being played!
DECK GUIDE: WIN CONDITION/PLAYSTYLE
This is a midrange minion mage variant. You're looking to stick big threats (Mountain Giant, Animated Avalanche, Jan'alai, the Dragonhawk, Siamat) and get big damage with these + Fireball finishers, 2 of which you often will have in hand near Turn 8 for 12 damage.
Recover early-mid game board control using Arcane Missiles, Spirit of the Dragonhawk + Hero Power buffs (Arcane Amplifier + Daring Fire-Eater, a surprisingly effective combo which auto-activates Jan'alai in most cases). Cheating out minions early (Elemental Evocation) can lead to big pressure or control.
SUBSTITUTIONS
I would suggest Voodoo Doll if you need spot removal
Scorch to help bring minions down into pingable range or just remove for cheap/make handspace (beware specters draw risk)
Sunfury Protector on giants or other beefy minions as anti-aggro
Zephrys the Great since there is a lot of draw and he is also an elemental.
Teching 1X Spellbreaker might not be a bad idea against taunts and can also be used on Ragnaros the Firelord to allow him to hit face himself.
GENERAL MULLIGAN
Always: Book of Specters, Mountain Giant (could hard mulligan for Book), Elemental Allies, Elemental Evocation, Daring Fire-Eater.
Vs. Aggro: Violet Spellwing, Spirit of the Dragonhawk, Daring Fire-Eater, Arcane Amplifier (esp. with Elemental Evocation play on 1).
Vs. Control/Combo: What do we want? BIG THREATS. When do we want them? NOW. Mountain Giant, Animated Avalanche, Elemental Evocation, Look to Jan'alai as soon as possible, keep the pressure on them to remove until they can't. 3 dmg pings are great if you can get an Arcane Amplifier early. Completing the sidequest should help inch you closer to an Turn 8-10 Fireball lethal.
CARD CHOICES
Draw Mechanisms
Multiple ways to keep a full hand for when you draw that Mountain Giant or need a specific card (ex. need Spirit of the Dragonhawk and have a HP buff card in hand). Book of Specters is fantastic with only 7 other spells in the deck. It's fairly unlikely to draw a spell, but happens sometimes, not usually more than 1. Completing Elemental Allies makes playing Book even safer. Bonfire Elemental usually gets played naturally to keep elemental synergy and has the bonus of 1 draw and the 5/5 body is just fine.
The 1X Elemental Allies sidequest is great- no need for 2 since there's only 7 other spells, some of which you'll natural draw. EZ to complete and you'll typically tutor a Fireball (finisher), Elemental Evocation (for pressure plays), and a Book of Specters so you can re-fill without fear since most of your spells are already drawn!
Hero Power Synergies
Assembling Spirit + either HP buff card makes for a great clear for as cheap as 5 mana (Fire-Eater (or Evocation > Amplifier) > Spirit > Ping) to deal 9 damage. Jan'alai activated. Important to have against aggressive decks. I'm sure it's very frustrating for them see Evocation > Amplifier on 1 since any 3 health minion won't survive and they're forced to remove it before they can stick anything below 4 health. It's 5 health is very beefy for a 3 drop- remember the old EVIL Miscreant? Of course Pyromaniac also fits in this category. Obviously playing Jan'alai is good, better on a clear board so the 8 damage goes face and sets up fireball lethal after they spend their next turn removing Ragnaros the Firelord
Elemental Synergies
There are 15 elementals in the deck. You should always have a tribal card for sidequest or to activate the next play. Rarely should you not have your elemental synergies active.
Water Elemental's freeze effect is devastating on weapon classes, especially Galakrond Warrior. If you can consistently freeze the face the invokes are useless. Consider Evocation > Water Elemental on 2 if you think you'll get value.
Your other elementals are bigger bodies that you want to prioritize getting out ASAP. Siamat and Avalanche can be out on 5, you can try the aggressive Windfury/DS combo if you think they can't handle it. Giant can be out on 3 with coin and successful Book on 2.
You can play Violet Spellwing on 1 even if you're gearing up for Giant since it returns a spell to your hand on death. If you aren't against aggro it's better saved as an activator or cheap quest completer.
Nightmare Amalgam + Zilliax provide the most heals possible in the deck, which were notably lacking, especially needed against aggro and face hunter.
Remnant of Conjurer Mage
Certainly better than the previous Fire Hawk, it does bring a potentially powerful punch to the party. Khadgar and Conjurer's Calling go together to create game-winning swings by casting Conjurer's Calling, preferably on a weakened Mountain Giant, Animated Avalanche, and also works great on Arcanosaur's weak 3/3 body to create multiple 6 drops. The synergy of these cards + Jan'alai (Turn 9 Summon 2 Ragnaros!!) is worth the extra risk of drawing a spell during a T2 Book of Specters.
Hope you found the description useful! It's the first iteration of this archetype in GA so I would really appreciate some good feedback and a +1 if you like the deck. I'm not sure what else to make an upvote goal for, but I'll add some example matches if I can't get someone to make a video showcasing the deck hehe :) Thanks!
You need to unlock 2X copies of it through the Galakrond's Awakening story mode
Wow thats dumb.. first time to pay for something in 5 years?
If there's another way I don't know it, sorry. :(
Not your fault :D
You can buy the expansion with gold
I did it, althought It will compromise your next expension day one pack opening
First of all, LOVE this deck, great work on it!
So, for the weaker cards here (Pyromaniac and Fire Hawk), what are you thoughts on these possibilities:
- Scorch: Good synergy with the already extent Elemental Train
- Siamat: Another elemental that has lots of versatility.
- Hailbringer: Also another elemental that makes your board wider while providing control through freeze.
Would love to hear your thoughts!
Thanks! I agree those 2 cards are the weaker ones. I like the Siamat idea, works great and can be used defensively or offensively + maintains elemental synergy. Maybe 1 Siamat in place of 1 of Pyro. I can try it out later, too.
I think Scorch is cool and can help make handspace for cheap + works with elementals but also weakens Book of Specters to have more spells in the deck. I think it's not worth the risk of discarding or messing up the anticipated draw from the sidequest.
I think Hailbringer sucks. I haven't used it, so I can't say that it does for sure.... maybe if the 2 Ice Shards had Rush I would like it. If you try it would you let me know how it went?
I do see the Firehawks and at least 1 Pyro probably getting dropped for other minions in future changes.... still playing with what those will be. Let me know if you think of anything else. :)
Thanks for sharing. I'll give the Hailbringer a try and see how it feels. Great point on the Scorch, I'll leave that one on the sideline. The other card I was thinking about, but didn't mention was Sandbinder for the draw, which is good with the Mountain Giants and unlikely to play while the effect is dead. My hangup is that it is not itself an elemental and could interrupt the elemental train.
Also, looking through the lists of elementals now, I'm intrigued by the possibility of Quicksand Elemental, to generate favorable trades. But I also think it could end up being just another card that sits in your hand too long until you're actually ready to use it, but worth maybe experimenting with.
Thank you! such a wonderful deck for mage players after almost an expansion!
I changed it a little bit and think you're wrong about Hailbringer. it makes rouge (especially the new quest one) and warrior crazy and it will be a good replacement for Pyromaniac.
I've also swapped out a Book of Specters for another Elemental Allies and it was a better experience overall.
I tried a similar deck yesterday only adding more hero power dudes like the mechs that add 2 HP dmg and instead of the elementals I took healing with Zilliax and Khartut and a control card Siamat (also an elemental :)). But its fun for sure when your Pyromaniac and Spirit can clear a solid board AND draw you 3 cards with one hero power...I won an insane game against a deathrattle rogue who could put +3+3 on his hand three times but I survived them all and my last turn with empty deck was a lethal ping for 2 dmg on his face.
Hi! I'm not sure which card you mean about the mech that adds 2 HP damage? I do sometimes miss the healing.. you could run Zilliax but I guess my plan was to be more on the midrange side rather than use control elements like Khartut/Zilliax/Flamestrike/Blizzard/Kalecgos but if you're seeing success with a control package will you report back? Thanks!!
Clockwork Automaton...! It doubles your hero power. Together with Arcane Amplifier and some cards reduced to 1 mana using galaxy you can get lethal combo's. Also synergizes with Zilliax to get more healing all of a sudden (on turn 10 worst case).
So say you have a Clockwork and an Arcane Amplifier and a Daring Fire eater up, you do (1+2+2)*2 = 10 dmg hero power.
I have won a fair amount of games doing an OTK with these cards at some point, especially when one or more HP cards only cost 1 mana. Have to admit, most success I had was on casual, on standard ladder I lost a lot more at rank 15.
Here is a link to a recent game I played:
https://hsreplay.net/replay/hpABP8FCkYToD8JMJbP7qn
So my deck is more an OTK/Combo deck than midrange. I Only win from aggro if its tokens and I get an early dragonhawk and extra hero power. Say a token druid who has no removal cards will suffer against the dragonhawk. Face hunters are a race, about 50/50.
So in my variant I am trying to cast galaxy spell with the dragon that lets me reduce its cost to 0. So I have some dragons in the deck as well, no quests for instance. Early on I want the Dragonhawk, fire-eater and Amplifier, then cast galaxy and then draw me some lethal combo. It fails miserably when both galaxy and Jana'lai are in the bottom of my deck, since then I just do not have a win condition. I am still pondering how to fix this.
In your variant you have more direct damage with fire balls, the mountain giants+conjurer and the Avalanches and Jana'lai so your deck is less dependent on only 2 key cards.
And I added Faceless Manipulators to copy me an extra Khadgar to combo me 4 Rags or to give me another Clockwork for extra *2 hero power. Can also be used to copy strong minions of the opponent...one game I copied a really buffed up mech from a mech pala and then killed his copy and happily won with mine.
Oooh OK that's what you meant. Cool idea especially if you're playing a Luna's Galaxy to get the doubling for cheap. Faceless also interesting. I saw someone using Sathrovarr for extra Rags as well but expensive. Looks like a lot of cards could work, I wouldn't want to go below the 15 elementals I have now, esp since removing the 2 firehawks make cheaper elementals a little harder to come by. Thanks for the suggestion maybe I can try it out later today.
omg yes! this is a winner, most of all it's fun!
Thanks! It IS fun, just needs some tweaking I'm sure.
Insane decklist love it took out one Pyromaniac for another Elemental. Currently only played 5 games but only lost one game but it is so much fun to play. I was hoping Elementals will take thier way back and this works perfect for me. :)
Thanks! I agree that Pyromaniac and Fire Hawk are probably the clunkier parts and are the best things to sub for other cards. Not sure what yet. What elemental did you sub in? Any sub suggestions welcome.
Cosmic Anomaly and it carried some games it´s nuts
Thanks for this deck my dude, its amazing. Currently at rank 3 and on a streak from rank 5.
yw!! Good luck climbing!