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Hey guys! This is TeenageQi#1504 on NA server and today I will introduce some fresh, fun, and useful TGT new cards included decks. The first one is this so-called "FOR DALARAN!" Tempo Mage deck, originally built by me and it still has room for updating and upgrading.

 

Let's take a quick glance at this TGT theme mage deck first. 

Besides some core cards (Arcane Missiles, Mirror Image, Mana Wyrm, Flamecannon, Sorcerer's Aprrentice, Flamewaker, Azure Drake, Archmange Antonidas)  in the already existed Flamewaker Tempo Mage, there are a bunch of new TGT cards supporting this well-paced tempo mage deck: 

 

1* Arcane Blast - it enjoys double the spell damage effect, which means it's a easy, neat 4 dmg spell targeted on a single minion as long as you have at least 1 creature with spell damage buff, and it's quite easy to achieve this Blast+Spell Damage combo since we have Bloodmage Thalnos and 2*Azure Drake that can offer spell damage buff; also, Flamewaker's split damage can count as a kind of "spell damage +2". I replace 1*Frostbolt with Arcane Blast because in most of the games Frostbolt is used to take down an early threat on board (like Knife Juggler) or freeze a weapon class's face to shut down the weapon for a turn, and other than Freeze Mage, we don't often win by a Frostbolt directly hit into the face; instead, we take control of the tempo, stablize our board and use the spell damage as the finisher for the last 3-6 damage to win the game. 

p.s. if you worry about the fact that there are only 3 actual minions that have spell damage + 1, you can try add Soot Spewer, Dalaran Aspirant to further empower your spell damage system. In that case, I recommend 2* Arcane Blast then. 

 

2* Fallen Hero - I can't praise this card more, it's another spell damage +1 and the only difference is that it takes effect on your hero power, which turns your Fireblast into "Shadow Form Phase1", 2 mana for a 3/2 minion on board and the potential ability to use your hero power for 2 damage, and this can hugely switch the tempo if you play Fallen Hero and ping your opponent's low health creatures. Even if you have to play it on turn 2 or coin it out on turn 1, it's still a 3/2 stat strong early threat that can put your opponent in pain. 

 

1* Garrison Commander - at first I've tried put 2* Garrison Commander and 1* Coldarra Drake in this Tempo Mage deck, but only to find out that if you don't run a few minions corresponding to the inspire mechanic ( like Frost Giant, Boneguard Lieutenant, Maiden of the Lake ) , then it won't generate much future value for you by just using your hero power again and again. Thus, 1* Garrison Commander in this deck is mostly used as a combo card, play it at high cost and combo with your Fallen Hero to wreck your opponent's board. Still, at worst, it's a 2/3 body on board in the early game and can help make board trade for you. 

 

1* Spellslinger - OMG I'm in love with this card! Deep in the mood! Let's take a look: for the stat, Spellslinger is a 3/4 which is highly likely better than 4/3 Kirin Tor Mage, because it can eat a 1-2 mana cost minion and still be alive in most of the cases; next, it gives you a RANDOM spell from the entire collection, and this effect is the key to that miracle treasure chest. Imagine a Mage get Lay On Hands, Mind Control, Deadly Shot from Spellslinger in a late game, and also imagine how hilarious it would be if your opponent get the only card that can turn him back into the game like Tree of Life. Playing Spellslinger is not only a decent synergy within this Tempo Mage deck, more importantly, this card has a fun and crazy interaction with your opponent and it creates the situation that you can never expect. So, is there any single reason not to bring this card in? I can think of none. After all, we are a Mage, we need to CAST A SPELL! 

 

1* Polymorph: Boar - it's as good as it's first estimated by hearthstone websites and streamers; Polymorph: Boar is a more flexible version of the original classic Polymorph (: sheep), it's a 3 mana spell that means it can unleash the boar 1 turn earlier, to add on, it can gain huge value both cast on friendly minions or opponent's minions: you can cast it on 1 of your mirror image taunt to summon a "huffer" and hunt your opponent down, or you can cast it on your opponent's Rag and Flamewaker will take care of the rest. Polymorph: Boar is a spell, a charge, a minion, and also, an answer to a complicated board. 

 

1* Nexus-Champion Saraad - I've already told  you guys that I'm in love with Spellslinger, so you can definitely know my attitude is towards Saraad. It's a more expensive, powerful and cooler version of Spellslinger, and it won't gift your opponent with crazy spells like Spellslinger always does! Play it, Ping a guy, Awarded a spell, Play the spell, Ping again, Awarded a spell... who needs the f**king Victory! I already won myself the entire game because I'm having tons of fun more than my opponent! 

 

1* Emperor Thaurissan - needless to say too much, Emperor Thaurissan is the no.1 legendary in BRM adventure, the Dr.BOOM of BRM. Drop it down on a good turn, then you just make Archmage Antonidas' life soooooooo easy. Aha! Aha! Aha! To Battle! Aha! Aha! 

 

1* Rhonin - it's a 7/7 War Golem that your opponent doesn't even want to BGH, the 3 Arcane Missle sometimes are way destructive than Rhonin himself. 3 Arcane Missle equal at least 9 damage split among enemy characters, countless phew phew phew from Flamewaker, attack gaining from Mana Wyrm, and sometimes the trigger for Archmage to produce nearly infinite Fireballs for you. Just be brave and have the guts to play Rhonin on board, he may die instantly but his death grants you opportunities and burst of spell damage. 

 

Above are my personal description of this For Dalaran! Tempo Mage deck that I've made, I'll never promise you to reap victory non-stoppablely with this deck but I can 100% ensure that you can have insanely amount of fun with it. Thanks for your reading today and in the next part I'll focus on the instruction and write a lot about how to function and maximize the value of this cooooooool deck. 

 

Instruction on how to operate this mage deck: 

It's hard for me to summarise a universal way to utilize this tempo-based mage deck, so in the following paragraphs I'll divide the situations by match-ups with different classes and demonstrate how to handle the real battle. 

I've been playing a lot for 3 days after TGT officially launched and here's the popular decks in ranked mode from my personal observation -

SecretDin/TokenPally, Dragon Warrior, Dragon Priest, Face Hunter, TGT Control Shaman, Midrange Zoo, Combo Druid/Beast Druid, Mech Mage/Tempo Mage (with Effigy) 

 

Detailed Gameplay Instruction

- When you queue into aggro and fast-paced decks like SecretDin and Face Hunter: 

In the start hand, no matter with coin or without, Mana Wyrm and Arcane Missles are our best choices. A 1/3 Mana Wyrm won't be that easy to deal with if you go first and play it on turn 1, especially when your oppnent is Paladin or Priest; with Mana Wyrm as your start, you can follow up by casting spells to clean your oppnent's early board minions and meanwhile give your Mana Wyrm increased attack. Then, what if we don't have Mana Wyrm in the start hand? In this situation, try to find any possible early 2 mana cost minions like Garrison Commander and Fallen Hero. Mostly, turn 2 Garrison Commander is better than Fallen Hero, it's a 2/3 compared with 3/2, which means it can help you clean a 2 attack 2 health enemy and still survive; Fallen Hero can bring much more value when it's played with your hero power pinging down an enemy minion. 

* A common confusion and frequently asked question on whether one should keep Flamewaker in start hand or not when play against aggro decks: 

Personally, I'd always view Flamewaker as a kind of combo card other than a 2/4 minion. To specify, it won't be that worthy if you just drop the Flamewaker with 3 mana and don't trigger its effect with spells. Thus, keep Flamewaker if you can have at least 1 other combo part within your start hand ( the coin, Arcane Missles, Mirror Image, Arcane Blast, etc. ) , otherwise don't be too stubborn to stick with Flamewaker, let it go and find yourself a better start. 

A general rule in match-ups against aggro deck is that you should be willing to cast spells to get rid of your opponent's board threats whenever it's possible, don't try to be super greedy and daydream of a massive, dobule Flamewaker double/triple Arcane Missles combo - of course that happens sometimes but not often; to face the reality, that combo is so rare. Aggro decks depend on early low cost minions to put on board pressure and they will snowball the advantage against you with buff spells and damage spells if you can't clean their board efficiently. So, don't be a miser of collecting spells in your hand, cast them, control the board, gain your tempo back and win the game. 

The same rule also applies to Nexus-Champion Saraad - don't be irrational at his seemingly super cool ability, trigger his ability only when you need a spell desperately or you can really gain some value from your hero power that turn. I've seen people playing this deck and some of them rather Saraad and hero power on turn 7 instead of just dropping the intimidating Dr.Boom that sits right in their hand. I know, the animation of Saraad is cool and you may never get bored of receiving spells one after another from him; it's okay to play like this if you are in casual mode, but if you are laddering and you want to improve your win rate, use this card smartly and don't make Saraad like a cool effect toy. 

 

 

Last edited on 2015.08.28. By TeenageQi