Hearthpwn

 

Updates:

• • 2016-01-12
    • Added Meta Update and rewrote bits to correspond to the current meta
    • Matchup-section updated for post-LoE meta
  • 2016-01-14
    • Readded and rewrote the +1 Cone of Cold -1 Pyroblast card variation
  • 2016-01-18
    • Added meta-relevant matchups
    • Added a summarized version of the matchups for a quick overview
    • Added a subsection discussing Reno Jackson under Card Variations
  • 2016-01-20
    
    • Made minor changes to the Meta Update and the introduction
    • Added more matchups
  • 2016-01-22
    • Added VOD section
    • Added Renolock VOD
  • 2016-01-25
    • Added Secret Paladin VOD
  • 2016-03-28
    • Added Season Update
    • Added Standard Mode section (will eventually be expanded into a new guide)
  • 2016-04-01
    
    • Added Cult Apothecary to the Standard section

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Meta Update: Season 24 update

Since the last update in January, things haven't changed much. The meta has grown more stale, with decks like Zoolock, Renolock, Mid Range Druid, Secret Paladin, Control Warrior, Control Priest frequenting the ladder. Several of the post-LoE decks (Murloc Paladin, Aggro Shaman) have declined in popularity, while pre-LoE decks like Face Hunter, Mid Range Hunter, Dragon Priest, and Mid Range Paladin remain rare sights.

Standard Mode

Why Malygos Freeze Mage?

In the current meta, there are essentially two decks that counter Freeze Mage. One is Control Warrior and the other is Mid Range Druid. Freeze Mage is favored against many of the other decks run on the ladder. Paladins and Priests are notoriously bad at dealing with freeze, while Hunters and Warlocks run decks that a Freeze Mage should see a decent winrate against. A meta where silences aren't common gives Doomsayer great value. Malygos, combined with Emperor Thaurissan, gives Freeze Mage strong one-turn-kill (OTK) potential in addition to the traditional Alexstrasza play. With a consistent 26 damage burst to finish off games, your opponents will very rarely play around your lethal, holding on to their defensive counters for too long, or simply playing "safe" by denying your minions, not realizing that danger is imminent. The large burst that a Malygos combo provides is also great way of dealing with decks that rely on healing for survivability.

The Control Warriors on the ladder are almost always certain losses as your card draw will be outpaced by their armor gain. But as long as Secret Paladins remain at the top of the meta, we won't see too many Control Warriors around.

Why not Antonidas?

Antonidas is a great card, but it relies on activators and is a much slower finisher than Malygos is. You will find yourself needing at least two more turns after Antonidas hits the board. Malygos can consistently kill your opponent right after Thaurissan hits the board. The OTK potential is huge. And as with any OTK deck, the surprise factor can't be understated. Even if you generate 4 Fireballs on the same turn that Antonidas hits the board, it will take you at least 2 rounds to use said Fireballs. In addition, you are inviting your opponent to drop Loatheb.

I have seen some Antonidas-decks listing Malygos as a possible addition. The problem with doing this is that they both rely on Frost Bolt and Ice Lance to get their full value. If you use your FB/IL with Antonidas, you won't get value out of Malygos, and vice versa. But doesn't this bring more win conditions? Not quite. Your deck becomes more clunky, as Antonidas and Malygos fill literally no function outside their separate combos. In an already packed deck full of crucial cards, it is simply hard to justify an inclusion of both. Pyroblast is a more consistent alternative. While clunky, it can function both as an offensive Alexstraza and as a finsher if the game stalls.

Finishing combos

Malygos + Frost Bolt + Ice Lance gives you 17 damage when two of those cards have had their cost reduced by Thaurissan.

Malygos + Frost Bolt + Ice Lance + Frost Bolt/Ice Lance give you 25/26 damage when 3/4 of those cards have had their cost reduced.

Malygos + Frost Bolt + Ice Lance + Frost Bolt + Ice Lance gives you 34 damage when all five cards have had their cost reduced.

Admittedly, the latter is not what you are aiming for. 26 damage is enough to kill off most opponents. Pyroblast/Alexstraza followed by 17 damage is enough against decks that lack heal.

How to Freeze Mage

General mulligan: Loot Hoarder, Mad Scientist, Arcane Intellect, Bloodmage Thalnos, Doomsayer, Acolyte of Pain

1. Draw cards. Since you rely on combos to win, you need to draw fast to win. Don't be afraid to play greedy with the card draw. Taking damage is not a huge deal as you can draw into your stalling cards. Extremely aggressive decks like Face Hunter require you to think twice about drawing, but as a rule of thumb you always want to draw.

2. By turn 5, play for more card draw if you are not in immediate danger. Acolyte + Ping and taking 8 damage to the face is completely fine. Stall with your defensive cards if their aggro is very strong. With plenty of stalling cards in your deck, you are nearly guaranteed to have an answer - or at least very least able to set up a good Blizzard on turn 6. If you don't have an answer, you are probably sitting on a lot of combo cards, allowing you to finish the game by turn 9-10.

3. By turn 9, you have probably stalled with freeze and soaked up plenty of damage with Doomsayer/Ice Barrier/Healbot heal. Don't be afraid to leave enemy frozen minions on the board. As long as they don't hit you, you extend the game further, and it gives you more time to draw into your combo faster. Look for an opening with Thaurissan + Frost Nova/Ice Block if you are sitting on combo pieces. Try to keep another Frost Nova/Ice Block in case of Loatheb. Drop Alex when possible if they are sitting at unreachable hp.

The Matchups: in short

Strong: Secret Paladin, Mid range Paladin, Control Priest, Dragon Priest, Miracle Rogue, Aggro Druid, Fatigue Mage

Favored: Egg Druid, Face Hunter, Malylock, Murloc Paladin

Even: Zoolock, Renolock, Freeze Mage

Unfavored: Patron Warrior, Mid range Druid, Aggro Shaman, Tempo Mage, Mid range Hunter, Oil Rogue

Extremely Unfavored: Control Warrior

 

The Matchups: in depth 

Secret Paladin is a strong matchup. Standard mulligan applies. Try to remove their Knife Juggler as it can put on a lot of pressure if uncontested. An early Doomsayer is great as Paladins can't burst for more than 4 damage on turn 4. And without any burst damage outside Truesilver Champion and Consecration, you should be able to stall out the game until you draw your combo. Their Truesilver response to Alexstrasza plays right into your 17 damage combo. Don't trigger their +3/+2 secret if you don't have freeze, and never drop a 1 hp Doomsayer. Since I last wrote this guide, Secret Paladins have started teching in a Loatheb to combat Freeze Mages. The Loatheb will often be played on turn 7 when possible (to deny your 8 mana Frost Nova), so a Doomsayer Nova combo on turn 6 is very reasonable play.

Murloc Paladin is a favored matchup. As an OTK-deck, they rely on a lot of removal and card draw to carry them to the late game. This is the Paladin deck that run the most heals, i.e. 1-2 copies of Lay on Hands and Healbot, so you'd much rather go late and aim for the combo than have them play back to back healing after an aggressive Alex play.

Mid-range Paladin is a strong matchup, but has dropped a lot a in popularity over the past months. Like their Secret-based counterpart, they have no burst outside their weapons and Consecration, so you can go fairly late if needed. However, Alex is slightly weaker in this matchup due to Lay on Hands and Healbot. You can get them down to combo-range without much resistance as they'll sit on their heals, anticipating Antonidas or Alex. Keep tabs on Equality, Owl, Justicar, and the Quartermasters.

Face hunter is a favored matchup. The general idea here is to survive. Your goal is not to kill your opponent, but to soak up their aggression similar to how Control Priest and Control Warrior play the matchup. Contest their early game with your small minions and Frostbolt. Doomsayer is insanely strong on turn 2 as a tempo-controller, even against Haunted Creeper. Drop Doomsayers throughout as pseudo taunts. Don't be afraid to burst down their minions with your damage spells. Stall until you can clear board and Alexstrasza yourself. As you will not be able to draw cards quickly, you are in this matchup reliant on Alex and Healbot not sitting among your last few cards.

Mid range hunter is an slightly unfavored matchup, but very seldom seen on the ladder post-LoE. Many times, you'd rather want to ping your Loot Hoarder than attack into a possible Freezing Trap. Abuse their lack of healing and burst to go for a late game Malygos or offensive Alex to finish off the game.

Tempo mage has grown to become an unfavored matchup for the Freeze Mage. With a variety of secrets now being played, you can't rely on them to have Mirror Entity for some sick Doomsayer plays. The way you play this matchup post LoE is to trade cards and run the Tempo Mage dry. High priority targets are Flamewakers and Antonidas. Be extremely attentive to the secrets that come in play. Failing to identify a Counterspell, a Mirror Entity, or an absence of either (Effigy) may cost you the game. That said, you are the stronger deck in the lategame. A naked Malygos is a fantastic defensive counter to Dr. Boom, Antonidas, or other game-ending boards, as opponents often have to choose between removing her and popping your Ice Block.

Freeze mage is an even matchup. Since you don't run Antonidas while your opponent most likely does, the opponent might control the game more and force out more spells on your part. Stall until late and conserve enough spells to make use of a naked Malygos when decks are running thin. Unless your your opponent got great value out of Antonidas, he will have no way of dealing with Malygos. Save your Healbot for your opponents Alex and keep a very close eye on your card draw. Since you are going late, you want to be behind in card draw to not be the one who dies from fatigue. If you opponent draws aggressively, aim to not trigger his Ice Block. Never trigger his Ice Barrier.

Fatigue mage is a favored matchup. It is a rare deck to face on the ladder. Play this similar to how you play versus a Freeze Mage. You will both go very, very late, and both have excellent tools for denying any attempt from the opponent to speed up that process. Fatigue-mages commonly revolve around Duplicate and Echo as tools to outvalue the opponents cards while stalling the game to fatigue. Since they lack burst, just stall and aim to finish them off with your OTK the same turn their Ice Block is nullified by fatigue.

Mid range Druid is an unfavored matchup, and your second most difficult matchup. You need to spend your burn to keep up with their mid-game tempo, similar to how you combat Tempo Mage. With their Force of Nature combo from turn 9 and on, your late game freeze is not very effective. A saving grace is that the matchup is somewhat draw dependent. If the Druid gets great draws, the matchup is near unwinnable for the Freeze Mage. If he draws poorly, Alexstrasza and Malygos can swing the game in your favor.

Egg druid is a favored matchup. An Egg Druid favors board control over aggression during the early game, giving you space to draw cards of your own. Denying board development is huge versus Egg Druid, making Doomsayer a strong play once the opponent's deck is identified. Egg druids run no burst to speak of, and wins by buffing a very sticky board for a strong one-two punch. Freeze denies this play completely. Use your burn spells if needed to deny further board development (I.e. Frostbolt + ping as a response to a curved Mountain Raptor). As long as you survive the first 7-8 turns you have a very high chance of winning the game.

Aggro druids running Fel Reaver is a strong matchup, but very rare post-LoE. Bait a turn 4 Keeper of the Grove with your Doomsayer. When Fel Reaver drops, use freeze to burn his entire deck. Proceed to trade cards for an easy win.

Control Priest is a strong matchup. Since Priests don't run silences and Shadow Word: Pain is somewhat rare these days, you can get good value from your Doomsayers early on. With the introduction of Entomb, Priests now have an answer to Doomsayers from turn 6 and on. Make use of your Flamestrike whenever possible as Power Word: Shield and Velen's Chosen will eventually come out. Freeze is still great against Priests, but you have to keep the game going longer than during pre-LoE. You need to draw into more burn to ensure that the Priest can't out-heal you with Justicar, Flash Heal, and Nova, when you go on the offensive. You may want to ping your own Loot Hoarders to avoid Cabal plays from turn 6.

Dragon priest is a strong matchup. In contrast to Control Priest, Dragon Priests play their minions on curve, putting a bit more pressure on you in the early game. On the other hand, they have less healing capabilities than a Control Priests do, so you don't have to let the game go on for as long. Dragon Priests often run at least 1x Entomb, so your Doomsayer plays are less reliable than they were pre-LoE.

Zoolock/Demon Zoo is an even matchup. Use your Doomsayers as pseudo-taunts rather than board clears as they are countered by Nerubian Egg, Voidcaller, and Owl. Because of Nerubian Egg, you don't want to drop a pre-emptive Doomsayer the way you can against other aggro decks. Unlike Egg Druid and Face Hunter, the Zoo never runs dry, meaning you sometimes have to go for a tempo game. Note that the burn needed to kill a Zoolock is the lowest in the game. He will bring himself down to <20 HP with Lifetap alone. This frees up a lot of your burn. Many times, you just want to stall aggression until you can play a defensive Alexstrasza into Pyroblast/Fireball. Most Zoolocks run Loatheb, and they will drop it to prevent a huge board from getting cleared. As long as you can play around a fatal Loatheb, you have good shot at winning.

Renolock is an even matchup. They have strong curve play that is resilient to removal. Reno Jackson forces us to go very late to draw into enough burn. Given a very offensive hand, you may are better off going on the offensive and betting on Reno not sitting in their hand. But since Renolock will always want Reno Jackson against Freeze and Tempo, I generally advice against this. Try to keep your opponent at 20-26 hp and go for the OTK. Their burst is usually limited to Hellfire, Darkbomb, Jaraxxus, and Power Overwhelming.

Malylock is a favored matchup. With a slightly weaker board than both Zoo and Renolock, you should always able to take the game late. Pay close attention to what they play, as you won't know that they're Malylock until you see either a duplicate or a Blackwing Corruptor. Malylock relies on late game burst to finish the game off, which is hard countered by Ice Block. Due to 2x Healbot, you want to aim for a 25/26 damage Malygos combo. Once Thaurissan is dropped, you have to play more carefully. Remove Thaurissan, watch out for Owls, and keep an eye on their Dark Peddler use. Most run 1x Soulfire, but can obviously get another one from the Peddlers.

Patron Warrior is an unfavored matchup. This is definitely the most skill-based out of all the Freeze-matchups. A highly skilled Patron Warrior will in most cases beat a highly skilled Freeze Mage given equally decent draws. But an inexperienced Patron Warrior will definitely struggle. I'm running this deck around rank 3 in season 22, and I run into surprisingly many Patron Warriors that seem inexperienced with the Freeze matchup. While the Patron deck is fairly mapped out, he will be forced to play around both Antonidas and Malygos. In this matchup, you want to clear one set of patrons with Flamestrike and the other with Thalnos + Blizzard. However, Armorsmith is the Patron Warrior's key to survival, so it is perfectly fine to spend either a Flamestrike or a Fireball on this. Ideally, you will be able to clear one of them early on with Doomsayer, as Patron Warriors play more conservatively with their removal than Control Warriors do. Lead with Alex, and aim for a late 26 or 34 damage combo followed by Fireballs and Pyroblast.

Control Warrior is extremely unfavored. Your win condition is pulling Alex into 34 damage before he hits 40-ish armor. Remove the Armorsmiths ASAP. Pray for a late Justicar. I often hear "Is this matchup even worth playing?". For one, it's good practice and you might get much better draws than he gets. Secondly, misplays happen. Also, there is no such feeling as beating a Control Warrior.

Aggro Shaman is an unfavored matchup. Play very liberally with your burn. Freeze face when Doomhammer is up. Main goal is to survive. Play the way you play against Face Hunter.

Miracle Rogue is a favored matchup. They are the slowest version of Rogue and gets countered hard by your secrets. Lack of defensive capabilities should set up for aggressive plays on your end.

Oil Rogue is an unfavored matchup. I have next to no experience of this matchup, but freepornhub did a nice write-up on it back in October.

 

VODs

 

Card Variations

+1 Acolyte of Pain, -1 Loot Hoarder

Turn 2 is your most important turn versus the many aggro decks on the ladder, which is why Loot is the better choice. Acolyte has its benefits as well, but you will generally keep it until turn 5, often making it your slowest draw in the deck. Acolyte sometimes baits out silence, which is great as it is not the primary silence target in your deck. It also has a situational use as a stalling card. If you have already drawn key late game cards but lack stall-mechanics, an Acolyte can bait the opponent into sacrificing some tempo in order to mill a card from your deck.

+1 Novice Engineer, -1 Bloodmage Thalnos

If you don't have Thalnos, opt for more card draw instead of a Geomancer. With Malygos in your deck, +1 spell damage is redundant and not worthy a card on its own. The Thalnos acts as a pseudo-taunt in the same way a spell damage totem does. Baited silences benefits your Doomsayers and slows tempo. Another option to Thalnos is doubling up on both Acolytes and Loot Hoarders.

+1 Cone of Cold, -1 Pyroblast

When I first hit legend with this deck, I ran Cone of Cold instead of Pyroblast up until rank 1. Cone of Cold is overall a solid freeze card that comes online two turns before Blizzard. It is great versus Secret Paladin, and shines in aggro matchups where survival is key. It gives you a lot of flexibility when it comes to extending the game. It can also be played the same turn as Thaurissan for 10 mana, making us less reliant on Frost Nova for the combo setups. 

What Pyroblast allows you to do is to be much more aggressive. It sometimes allows you to go on the offensive around turn 9-10, which is very early by Freeze Mage standards. In addition, it allows you to be more liberal with your other burn spells. I this find very useful in the Tempo Mage matchup, where quick removal often trumps freezing minions. In control matchups, Pyroblast can bail you out if Malygos and Alex happen to sit among your last few cards. It also has great synergy with Thaurissan, as it can double as a Malygos in the 17-damage combo. I like running a Pyroblast for the extra aggression it provides, but this ultimately comes down to your playstyle preference and matchups.

+1 Reno Jackson?

On paper, healing 29 hp for 6 mana is a very good deal. But there are plenty of downsides to building your deck around Reno Jackson. We have to ditch a Blizzard, a Loot Hoarder, and a Fireball for sub-optimal replacements. In addition, we still have plenty of cards that we do need to run two of. As a consequence, we literally can't play Reno on curve. It is a dead card until we have drawn a large majority of our deck. This tells us that a Reno would find the most use in matchups where we are guaranteed to draw very deep into our decks. Essentially; the Paladin matchups, the Priest matchups, the Warrior matchups, and the Freeze Mage matchup. And out of those matchups, there is only one matchup where a massive heal boost would swing the matchup in our favor. The Freeze Mage mirror. This brings us to the following question; is it reasonable to switch to an overall less consistent deck in order to strongly improve the Freeze Mage matchup? Given the current meta, the answer to that question is a definite no.