Hearthpwn

Hey guys, it's Strika again with yet one more strong Mage brawl deck (about 90 % wins for me with this deck).

As you might have noticed, this week's Tavern Brawl is a long-run control matchup, where you don't need many minions in your hand/deck or any help with the card draw. Instead, as I have seen, you should utilise the inspire capability and keep some mass removals for they may come in handy, indeed.

Since the random Hero Powers are limited (only 12, and you don't get any of the classic characters' powers) you have to anticipate what can you (and your opponent) play next turn before you actually make your drops. This deck is tuned to squeeze most of the available hero powers and contain your enemy's threats.

Spells are plenty in this Brawl (thanks in no small part to Wild Magic), so Mana Wyrm is pretty useful. Flamecannon and Frosbolt should be on board with you, as there are many potential targets to remove, many of them created with Activate!, Bone Minions, Open the Gates, Pile On!!! and The Majordomo.

Counterspell is very useful because of the spell-loaded gameplay, and, accordingly, so is the Mad Scientist.

Unstable Portal is not an essential card, but I just love the RNG it brings, so keep it or leave it (you can change it for Knife Juggler, for example, as he can have many a chance to throw his knives). Fireball is a must, and Polymorph can help you deal with some big and sticky guys (you can't always rely on ME SMASH, right?) Blizzard and Flamestrike are essential as they deal with hosts of enemy minions created by the earlier mentioned powers, while Decimate and Poison Cloud also serve as nice additions to your (and your opponent's) mass removal arsenal .

Since the game involves so much hero power use, Insipire-triggered minions can play a big role. Maiden of the Lake combined with Kodorider and, if you're lucky, with Mukla's Champion can overwhelm your foe in style. Just be careful about Decimate, it can be annoying!

Ta-da! Behold the mighty Archmage Antonidas, the Reaper of Foes and Burner of Faces. All your spells become so cheap with one of the Activate! effects (and you can get a whole bunch of different spells by using Wild Magic), so this guy alone can win you this game easily. Thanks to Pile On!!!, he can pop up on the board very quickly and boy, you know how much havoc he can wreak!

Dr. Boom is just too solid to omit and Frost Giant is a nice cherry on the cake, for he usually drops for 2-3 mana in this Brawl.

Mulligan for small minons and spells, and try to use the Hero Power as often as possible (do not overextend - for example, if you see that your opponent has Bone Minions active, do not waste your Poison Cloud, or don't draw too much cards, or you can find yourself burning your deck soon). In most cases, you will just Fireball your foe to death.

Good luck and have fun!

Here's list of all Hero Powers available in this week's Tavern Brawl for your reference: http://www.hearthstonetopdecks.com/tavern-brawl-week-19-whos-the-boss-now/