Hearthpwn

Mana Wyrm: do I really need to explain it? Also a common misconception: YOU DONT NEED TO MULLIGAN FOR SPELLS IF YOU HAVE MANA WYRM IN HAND. A hand of Mad Scientist, Mana Wyrm and Flamewaker is the dream hand against any class but maybe zoo.

 

Arcane Missiles: They definitely need a bit of luck, but without them the matchup against paladins and hunter wouldn't be the same. Against control it's important to find the right moment to make at least some use out of them, otherwise they just turn into fodder for Antonidas or Flamewaker.

 

Sorcerer's Apprentice: one of the main reasons why tempo mage exist, reducing the mana cost of your removal to take control of the board early or to get insane tempo with unstable portal (when they dont get Wisps).

 

Mad Scientist: the reason ANY secret is in this kind of deck, and not the other way around. Obviously play it as soon as possible because Mirror Entity really loves being in your hand.

 

Frostbolt: one of the best cards in the game. Early removal, stop for Mysterious Challengers, burst, you name one.

 

Flamecannon: Tempo card, at its best against druids and priests. Its obvious shit against token generators so make sure to use it before Muster for Battle or Imp-losion.

 

Unstable Portal: portal surely needs your RNG, but as long as Sorcerer's Apprentice is on the field it should almost always give you tempo. Plus, playing Tirion Fordring on turn 5 is always sweet.

 

Mirror Entity: insane tempo swing if put into play by Mad Scientist, used to be the card that made the matchup against druid so easy, now a bit less cause of Darnassus Aspirant. Notable drawbacks: Explosive Sheep Doomsayer Unstable Ghoul.

 

Flamewaker: the other reason this deck exist, if it lives more than one turn is usually game over. Don't be afraid to put it on an empty board because it will almost always force a mana inefficient play for the opponent, given how badly he wants to remove it.

 

Arcane Intellect: I really dislike intellect. I never want it in my starting hand, it's tempo loss against aggro and advances you in fatigue against control. If I could I would play a 3rd Azure Drake or a 3rd Ethereal Conjurer instead. That said, it's a spell for Flamewaker and Archmage Antonidas and draws you cards if you really badly need that Fireball to finish the opponent off.

 

Piloted Shredder: simply the best 4 drop in the game.

 

Fireball: excellent board control spell. Not even kidding. I wonder where else may I point it to...

 

Azure Drake: I love drakes. I think they are better than draw spells because if you are not fishing for burn then a drake is basically an Arcane Intellect with the additional text "if you draw an Ogre Magi with Dragon tag, it costs two less". Then there is always the hilarious situation when you pull Blackwing Corruptors from Unstable Portal.

 

Ethereal Conjurer: i'm very impressed by this guy. First of all a 6/3 is nothing to be laugh at if you throw it on an empty board. Moreover the discover mechanic allows you to change your game plan midgame or to find spells that perfectly suits the situation you're in. I think this card alone has made the matchup against Control Priests, RenoLocks and Freeze Mages better (Duplicate, Polymorph, Ice Block). It can even search for an Ice Barrier against Druids or Arcane Explosion against paladins. No, you should never choose Spellbender. No, not even against Secret Paladin.

 

Loatheb: game winning play against Rogues and Freeze mages, I love it because it adds an element of inevitability to the game. If you have burst in hand or board control playing him will result almost certainly in a win. In addiction he is able to stops these annoying Secret Paladins from spamming spells when you have Mirror Entity down.

 

Archmage Antonidas: awesome finisher, in control matchups you may need to save some cheap spells (I personally find no room for Emperor Thaurissan) for him (which should be played on the same turn obviously: don't expect him to survive) so don't recklessly throw all your hand away.

 

Dr. Boom: Dr. 7. Perfectly balanced.

Mirror Image: this is no dedicated aggro deck. In my opinion they belong to a more aggressive / not value oriented incarnation of the deck.

 

Arcane Blast: Actually I would have played oneArcane Blast over one Arcane Missiles, but I have none in my collection and spending 400 dust for an Arcane Shot which cannot go to the face feels really bad. Feel free to try it though because it synergizes (is that even a verb?) very well with the two Azure Drakes.

 

Sir Finley Mrrgglton: This is an interesting one. I have yet to try it but it comes to mind because he is both a one drop (it never hurts against aggressive decks) and changes your hero power to a BETTER one. I'm saying better because this deck is really focused (as every deck obviously) in either aggroing against midrange decks, staying alive against aggro (unless you are outtempoing them) and getting a lot of value in attrition matchups when you don't have a soul crushing starting hand. Your hero power really seems mediocre in any case. For examples if you are planning to fireball face for the win then a couple Steady Shots can get the job done twice as quicker, Dagger Mastery is better when you don't care about your life total and I think I don't need to explain why Armor Up! is good against Burst Shamans and Freeze Mages or why Life Tap or Reinforce are both excellent options against Control Warriors or RenoLocks. The more I speak about it the more I wanna try it.

 

Counterspell: I don't like it simply because I want control over the secrets I pull from my Mad Scientists. If next turn my opponent has 7 mana I want to sacrifice a scientist to either force my opponent not to play Dr. Boom or press the "Thanks" emote.

 

Rhonin: I've been having a bit of trouble in outvaluing Control Warriors (a real plan if you don't have a bursty starting hand) or RenoLocks if I don't get Duplicate from Ethereal Conjurer. I think that Rhonin+Antonidas or Rhonin+Flamewaker may put a full stop to this problem. I don't have the card but I think I would have tried it over Arcane Intellect probably.

 

Toshley: I think about him as a cheaper Rhonin which is also not BGHable, feel free to try it over an AI, but remember that Spare parts are significantly weaker than Arcane Missiles in the attrition game.

 

Water Elemental: I think Piloted Shredder is just better.

Piloted Shredder is regarded everywere as the best 4 drop in the game. Namely for a few reasons:

It survives targeted removal spawning a 2-drop.

It survives AOE spawning a 2-drop.

It kills 2/4s (usually 3 mana) while leaving a 4/1, which is definitely vulnerable to ping classes, but they still have to spend two mana for it, generating both tempo advantage (5mana for the opponent vs 4mana and a random 2-drop for you).

If ignored 4 damage to face for turn are somewhat of a big deal.

The two drop itself, if RNG is kind to you, it's a big deal for the opponent.

Minor thing, it isn't susceptible to Shadow Word: Death, Shadow Word: Pain and Shadow Madness.

Just for the sake of critical thinking I'm going to reverse the question.

Why should I play Water Elemental over Piloted Shredder?

It kills 4/3 (4 mana) leaving a 3/2 behind. I think this is a misconception. The only 4/3 played right now are, guess what, Piloted Shredders themselvels. So the most you can receive from the trade is a perfect trade (two drop leftover from shredders almost always kills a 3/2).

Water Elemental is good against weapon classes. 5/9 classes.

Rogue: where it shines. Because Rogue's removal is damage-based, here it does almost everything shredder does, other than surviving a gigantic Blade Flurry.

Paladin: his most fearful incarnation generally plays 5 weapons (2muster 1 coghammer 1 truesilver 1 tyrion) of which three are only side effects to the real spell (muster, the 3 1/1s are the big deal, against Tirion Fordring you are in a race anyway and Ashbringer+random 1/1 kills the water elemental).I think the choice between the two doesn't make much of a difference in this matchup, and water elementals die badly to Blessing of Kings (especially on a Divine Shield minon), even if they froze the attacker.

Shaman: it simply never survives (heal 6 for 4 mana, would you play a card like that? Holy Light). And if it survives [card]Feral Spirit[/card]s are going to be in the way. It's not a 4 cost card that will make your matchup against burst shaman better. If you want to make that MU better, just add more Arcane Blasts.

Warrior: IT DOESNT LEAVE SOMETHING ON THE BOARD AGAINST TARGETED REMOVAL(Shield Slam and Execute) AND Brawl. This reason alone is in my opinion sufficient to make it less effective than Piloted Shredder, even if it is good against weapons. There's a reason why people keep shredders on the opening hand against warrior.

Hunter: they play 4 weapons max, but I admit they are damn effective if you are racing them.

Plus add the downsides:

If ignored is 3 damage to face (vs 4).

It's resilient to AOE having 6 health, but loses to the others (leaving nothing behind).

Is susceptible to targeted removal (leaving nothing behind).

Minor note: susceptible to Shadow Word: Pain and Shadow Madness.

IN THE END?

I think that you should run Water Elemental OVER Piloted Shredder only in specific metagames. Otherwise i think shredder is just plain superior most times.

 

Flamestrike: 7 mana is a lot of mana and they don't help against big minions.

 

I'll add them, but here they are:

Sylvanas Windrunner: adding her would surely add even more resilience to the deck, especially against control decks. I currently don't have her but, although it shines in mage versions with Duplicate, I think it may be worth to try it in control-heavy metagames over an Arcane Intellect or an Unstable Portal. So fell free to try it.

Spellslinger: I think it belongs to faster versions of tempo mage (the ones with Mirror Image) where you are so focused on tempo that giving a spell to the opponent shouldn't change much. If they are trying to catch you from behind they'll usually have card advantage over you anyway, while you are trying to finish the game as quickly as possible, quickly emptying your hand. In this slower version though the symmetry is not broken, so I don't think is worth to play it.

General mulligan and curve strategy:

What you really want to do with this deck, as every deck, is curve out. 

What you really want to do, if going first is either

 

Mana Wyrm - 2 drop - 3 drop or 2drop+1drop

or (gonna remove the word "drop" from now on)

nothing - 2 - 3 or 2+1 - 4

 

Remember that Sorcerer's Apprentice discounts are a thing!

If going second things get a bit more trickier:

You can do either 

 

coin 2 - 2 or 1+1 - 2+1 or 

Mana Wyrm - coin 3 or coin 2+1 - 3 or 2+1

nothing - 2 - 4 - 4

 

You can even save your coin for Flamewaker, but don’t become obsessed with it to the point to mess up your curve.

 

DON’T DO Mana Wyrm coin Mana Wyrm unless you have perfect 2 mana cost creature follow up. Usually the coin can both fill up your curve better and pump both the Mana Wyrms.

Those are the guidelines to curve out considerable well. They obviously move to the background when you need to answer an immediate threat.

SHOULD I REALLY READ ALL OF THIS?

No, if you really are experienced on how a deck should curve out you are perfectly fine.

My point is this incarnation of tempo mage doesn’t need all the fancy early game super combos that made the archetype infamous.

On the play a hand of Sorcerer's Apprentice Flamewaker Piloted Shredder is perfectly fine.

On the draw a hand of Mad Scientist Piloted Shredder Piloted Shredder Ethereal Conjurer is fine if you know you are going to face a slow deck.

 

General mulligan strategy:

ALWAYS KEEP:

Mana Wyrm,[ card]Sorcerer's Apprentice[/card] and Mad Scientist are the minions you always want in your hand in the early game, they should NEVER be mulliganed away, so they won’t be mentioned in every single matchup. You should mulligan FOR them. They are referred below as the “must keeps”

As a general tip always prioritize minions over spells, because unless you are facing a serious threat (Secretkeeper, Darnassus Aspirant, Tunnel Trogg) you can always play your minions first then remove the opponent's minions the turn after via fast cards, generating tempo in the process.

ALWAYS MULLIGAN:

I personally never keep Unstable Portal in my opening hand unless I have a Mana Wyrm or both Mad Scientist and Sorcerer's Apprentice (and not in every matchup, see below) .

Arcane Intellect. You wanna see it when you are out of gas.

EVERY 5+ drop.

 

Paladin:

Going First:

100% keep: Arcane Missiles Frostbolt Flamecannon (Secretkeeper).

NEVER double frostbolt, double flamecannon or frostbolt+flamecannon (Shielded Minibots and Haunted Creepers shrekt you otherwise).

Situational keep: Flamewaker if you already have  one of the must keeps, Unstable Portal if you already have a mana wyrm or mad scientist+ sorcerer's apprentice, Piloted Shredder if you already have a must keep 2-drop and a flamewaker. 

Going Second:

100% keep: Arcane Missiles Frostbolt Flamecannon (Secretkeeper) Flamewaker.

NEVER double frostbolt, double flamecannon or frostbolt+flamecannon.(Shielded Minibots and Haunted Creepers shrekt you otherwise).

Situational keep: Double Flamewaker if you have a mana wyrm. Piloted Shredder if you manage to get a coin2-2-3-4 curve with a removal in it. 

Note that a turn-one Secretkeeper when you are going second, even if the opponent has only one secret, will always put you in a word of trouble if you don’t have removal, because if you coin out Mad Scientist she can kill him leaving a 2/1, whereas if you coin out Sorcerer's Apprentice she may die due to Noble Sacrifice.

 

Druid:

Going First:

100% keep: Frostbolt Flamecannon (Darnassus Aspirant). If 100% sure is aggro druid even Arcane Missiles.

Situational keep: Flamewaker if you already have a two drop and a removal.

Going Second:

100% keep: Frostbolt Flamecannon (Darnassus Aspirant). If 100% sure is aggro druid even Arcane Missiles.

Situational keep: If 100% sure is aggro druid even Fireball because Fel Reaver is the only card you are going to lose to 100% if unanswered. Piloted Shredder if you manage to get a coin2-2-3-4 curve with a removal in it (or if the first 2 is sorcerer's apprentice, the important thing is that you contest Darnassus aspirant), Unstable Portal if you already have a sorcerer's apprentice and a removal (coin apprentice, removal+portal). 

Be sure to contest Darnassus Aspirant if going second, even coin Mad Scientist and Fireblast the turn after could be good enough if you don’t have removal.

 

Warlock:

There is a bit of a debate around Flamecannon here. I personally still want it in the early game because other than being a great answer to Imp Gang Boss you can still pop the Nerubian Egg and finish it with Flamecannon. The early game (provided no haunted creepers) is the only moment when it could be useful, then between Imp-losions and trade leftovers i never want to draw it.

Going First:

100% keep: Frostbolt Flamecannon.

NEVER double frostbolt, double flamecannon or frostbolt+flamecannon (Haunted Creeper and Nerubian Egg shrekt you otherwise)

Situational keep: Flamewaker [/card] if you already have a must-keep two drop. [card]Unstable Portal if you already have a mana wyrm or mad scientist+ sorcerer's apprentice. Piloted Shredder if you already have a must keep two drop and a flamewaker.

Going Second:

100% keep: Frostbolt Flamecannon.

NEVER double frostbolt, double flamecannon or frostbolt+flamecannon (Haunted Creeper and Nerubian Egg shrekt you otherwise)

Situational keep: Flamewaker if you already have a must-keep two drop. Piloted Shredder if you already have a must keep two drop and a flamewaker. Double Flamewaker if you already have a mana wyrm. Double Piloted Shredder if you already have a must keep 2-drop. Unstable Portal if you already have a sorcerer's apprentice and a removal (coin apprentice, removal+portal). If 100% sure is RenoLock you could do the slow [nothing - 2 - 3 - coin 5 - 5] curve (see below.)

Personally I always coin out Sorcerer's Apprentice vs a Voidwalker. Freebie is freebie, but feel free not to if you have a more conservative play style or you have a Flamewaker to save the coin for.

 

Shaman:

Going First:

100% keep: Arcane Missiles Frostbolt Flamecannon.

Situational keep: I REALLY think you should mulligan for the must keeps, particularly Mana Wyrm, and for removals in this matchup. Flamewaker if you already have a must-keep two drop or a removal can be ok. Unstable Portal if you already have a mana wyrm or mad scientist+ sorcerer’s apprentice can be ok.

Going Second:

100% keep: Arcane Missiles Frostbolt Flamecannon.

Situational keep:I REALLY think you should mulligan for the must keeps, particularly Mana Wyrm, and for removals in this matchup. You can keep Flamewaker if you have removal. You could try keeping Unstable Portal if you already have a sorcerer’s apprentice and a removal (coin apprentice, removal+portal) but don't expect her to survive.  

 

Priest:

Going First:

100% keep: Flamecannon

Situational keep: Flamewaker if you already have a must-keep two drop (play them fast because of Cabal Shadow Priest). Piloted Shredder if you already have a must keep 2-drop. Unstable Portal if you already have a mana wyrm or mad scientist+ sorcerer’s apprentice. 

Going Second:

100% keep: Flamecannon, even 2 of it.

Situational keep: Flamewaker if you already have a must-keep two drop (play them fast because of Cabal Shadow Priest). Piloted Shredder if you already have a must keep two drop. Double Flamewaker if you already have a mana wyrm. Double Piloted Shredder if you already have a must keep 2-drop. Unstable Portal if you already have a sorcerer’s apprentice and a removal (coin apprentice, removal+portal). Vs control priest there is the true possibility to do the very slow but still effective [nothing - 2 - 3 - coin 5 - 5] curve. So a hand of Mad Scientist Flamewaker Ethereal Conjurer Loatheb could be fine.

Personally I always coin out Sorcerer's Apprentice vs a Northshire Cleric. In this case I think is a mistake not to.

 

Mage:

Going First:

100% keep: Frostbolt, Flamecannon.

Situational keep: Flamewaker if you already have a must keep 2 drop. Piloted Shredder if you already have a must keep 2 drop and a flamewaker. Unstable Portal if you already have a mana wyrm or mad scientist+ sorcerer’s apprentice.

Going Second:

100% keep: Frostbolt Flamecannon Flamewaker.

Situational keep: Flamewaker if you already have a must-keep two drop. Double Flamewaker if you already have a mana wyrm. Double Piloted Shredder if you already have a must keep 2-drop. Unstable Portal if you already have a sorcerer’s apprentice and a removal (coin apprentice, removal+portal). Piloted Shredder if you manage to get a coin2-2-3-4 curve with a removal in it

 

Warrior: 

Going First:

100% keep: Piloted Shredder, mulligan away your spells.

Situational keep: Flamewaker if you already have a must keep two drop. Double Piloted Shredder if you already have a must keep two drop. Unstable Portal if you already have a mana wyrm or mad scientist+ sorcerer’s apprentice.

Going Second:

100% keep: Piloted Shredder, mulligan away your spells.

Situational keep: Double Shredder if you already have a must keep two drop. Flamewaker if you already have a must keep two drop or shredder. Double Flamewaker if you already have a mana wyrm. Vs control warrior there is the true possibility to do the very slow but still effective [nothing - 2 - 3 - coin 5 - 5] curve.

 

Hunter:

Going First:

100% keep: Arcane Missiles Frostbolt Flamecannon.

NEVER double frostbolt, double flamecannon or frostbolt+flamecannon (Haunted Creeper shrekts you otherwise).

Situational keep: Flamewaker if you already have a must keep two drop. Piloted Shredder if you already have a must keep two drop and a flamewaker.

Going Second:

100% keep: Arcane Missiles Frostbolt Flamecannon Flamewaker.

NEVER double frostbolt, double flamecannon or frostbolt+flamecannon (Haunted Creeper shrekts you otherwise).

Situational keep: Flamewaker if you already have a must keep two drop. Double Flamewaker if you already have a mana wyrm. Piloted Shredder if you manage to get a coin2-2-3-4 curve.

 

 

Rogue:

Going First:

100% keep: None, I think you should mulligan for the must keeps in this matchup.

Situational keep: Flamewaker if you already have a must keep two drop. Unstable Portal if you already have a mana wyrm or mad scientist+ sorcerer’s apprentice, Piloted Shredder if you already have a must keep 2-drop and a flamewaker. 

Going Second:

100% keep: None, I think you should mulligan for the must keeps in this matchup.

Situational keep: Flamewaker if you already have a must-keep two drop . Piloted Shredder if you already have a must keep two drop. Double Flamewaker if you already have a mana wyrm. Double Piloted Shredder if you already have a must keep 2-drop. 

 

 

 

Premise: the real problem with the deck is inconsistency. If you draw two piloted shreeders and a 7 drop on the play against secret paladin you are gonna lose. But hey, it's not only warriors' prerogative to always have Fiery War Axe in the opening hand. Also I don't think the decks has any astonishingly good or bad matchups, it all depends on wether you get good cards and how you structure the game. I cannot stress it enough: THIS VERSION OF TEMPO MAGE IS PERFECTLY CAPABLE OF ENDURING A MIDRANGE GAME, so there's no need for a fast start with a lot of burst in order to win.

Not giving percentages because I currently don't keep track of my winrate and I think percentages, as we say in Italian, "lasciano il tempo che trovano" (it's an idiom which refers to the fog, which leaves the weather as it was when it came, I think it translates in "leave things as they are"). What really matters is that you try to put as much effort in any game as you can.

This guide will take in account some factors:

1 You don’t always have Mana Wyrm on turn 1: this little fella makes all the matchups easier.

2 I’M GOING TO REPEAT IT. I don’t think this deck has astonishingly good or astonishingly bad matchups overall. It’s not like his aggressive counterpart where the matchup are heavily polarized. You should try the best to win every game: don’t concede to an aggressive start because you certainly have the tools to comeback.

3 Always play as your opponents are making the best choices and have the best cards everytime. This sentence doesn’t apply to those situations, like obvious lethal on the board from the opponent, where you should in any case go for it and hope the opponent doesn’t know how to count (or simply has “an inner love for minion trading”).

4 I’m going to list only the most common decks, if you have any particular request about how this deck fares against, tell me in the comments.

 

Playstyle tips vs aggressive decks:

Try to prioritize minions over spells unless the threat is real (the good old Darnassus Aspirant, Tunnel Trogg, Sorcerer's Apprentice, Secretkeeper). If he ignores them you could then punish him with spells the turn after generating tempo. You don’t have any heal so the keyword here is RACE. Don’t remove their worthless 1/1s with your 3/2 unless you are in the early game and you don’t have better things to do (with no turn 3 play sometimes vs hunter it's worth to pop their Haunted Creepers with your Mad Scientist to Fireblast one of them) or unless leaving the 1/1s alive is going to generate better trades for him (classic case of popped Haunted Creeper vs zoo with you having Sorcerer's Apprentice and Mad Scientist on the board, in that case you should trade them both into the Spectral Spiders).

If you know 100% you are going to die the following turn you should go for heal rng.

The possibilities are:

Ethereal Conjurer: Ice Block Ice Barrier Mirror Image Ice Lance Frost Nova

Unstable Portal: Heal minion or taunt minion

If you know you are going to die 100% unless you take a risky move which may let the opponent kill you but if he doesn’t then you are in a good position to win the game, take your risks.

The classic situation involves Mysterious Challenger on a empty board on his part, with you low on life (say 15). If you know for sure he is gonna ignore the Dr. Boom you have in hand and you could play, and you have two creatures to proc the Noble Sacrifice and kill it,  just play Dr. Boom and take the 10 damages hoping no Blessing of Kings + Muster for Battle, then use your removal the following turn when you can also his face with your 7/7 (or 7/1). Removing the challenger will cause you to lose even more tempo and burst, likely losing you the game . If he trades then you have 2 boom bots and you still have the Fireball / Frostbolt in hand.

 

Playstyle tips vs controllish decks:

Ethereal Conjurer and Azure Drake are your best friends here. Don’t flood the board unless you are getting lethal the turn after with the minions you are playing. Also, because of AOE and Reno Jackson trading instead of going face it’s almost always the best option unless you tested for aoe the turns before. It’s important to make the best possible use out of your “weakish” card here, namely Arcane Missiles, Flamecannon, Frostbolt. Another useful strategy is to deny them big drop by scacrificing your mad scientist in key turns (that’s why I don’t like Counterspell).

 

 

SHAMAN

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

Burst shaman:

Try to get the lowest curve possible, control his early game minions and pray he doesn’t get the dream hand.

Tunnel Trogg must die on sight. Don’t burn a card on Leper Gnome if you can ping it. On turn 4 is almost always correct to play Piloted Shredder if you have it because it kills both the Feral Spirits leaving a two drop behind if they don’t have Earth Shock. If you don’t take any damage at all from his early game minions then it’s hard for them to burst you from 30, but if they see Doomhammer that it’s still a possibility. Ethereal Conjurer cards include Ice Block Ice Barrier Mirror Image and Ice Lance. You have to race him so don’t be afraid of taking a little bit more damage than you should. Always remember to take into account 10 damage more though if he has Doomhammer on the board because of Rockbiter Weapon. Don’t plan on him having x mana mana crystals locked next turn: Lava Shock is a card. Be careful also of Elemental Destruction, although that card is only scary if the opponent already has Doomhammer equipped. Loatheb usually seals an upcoming victory if you have board control.

Overall very scary matchup if they see the card in the right order, but remember that this last sentence applies to your deck as well.

Threats: Tunnel Trogg, Doomhammer.

Cards to play around: Doomhammer+Rockbiter Weapon, Elemental Destruction, Lava Shock .

Your Key cards: Mana Wyrm, Mad Scientist, Frostbolt, Flamecannon, Ethereal Conjurer.

 

PALADIN:

 

 

 

Secret Paladin:

This matchup is strange: it revolves around two factors from his side: either they have Secretkeeper on turn one and Mysterious Challenger on turn 6 or they don’t. In the first case is a very scary matchup, with you almost always playing from behind, in the other case usually it's them who are trying to catch you.

Try to get the lowest curve possible. Other than super explosive hand from your part you should control the board. Secretkeeper must die as soon as possible (keep a removal for him). Kill every minion in sight (Blessing of Kings, Coghammer) unless you are planning to set up lethal for the following turn or playing around a secret. If you can’t kill a minion completely is worth at least to get rid of the divine shield if there is one. Arcane Missiles is at its best on boards flooded with 1/1s. Try not to leave your early game minions that you care for at 1 health because of the Light's Justice summoned from Muster for Battle. Try not to set up a board state where Consecration rapes you, 1 health equals 2 health for minions in the late game, whereas 3 health doesn’t equal 2 health. Learn how to play around his secrets: ie don’t kill their Piloted Shredder if it’s the only minion he plays alongside a secret (Redemption), proc Avenge only if you can kill the avenged minion or you are facing a big threat. Attack with a creature with > 2 health if you are not sure it’s Noble Sacrifice or not. Usually Competitive Spirit shouldn’t be able to buff more than 2 creature if you work around it, play a worthless minion for Repentance. Usually when Mysterious Challenger is played on an empty board, the result for you playing around all his secrets is a 10/9 Mysterious Challenger, which is till a tough one but definitely manageable through removals. Play as many card as possible if you have board control already because of Divine Favor. Ethereal Conjurer can give you aoe (even Arcane Explosion, which in this matchup is very good) or Polymorph for Tirion Fordring. Flamewaker value is also a priority, don’t waste him because you’ll find out that almost always he’s getting removed the turn after. Although if you want to slow the game down you can play it naked on turn 3: it will force awkward trades. Another useful strategy is to deny them a big drop play by sacrificing your Mad Scientist in key turns. Keep in mind anyway that hey are perfectly able to go through several turns without playing a single minion (Truesilver Champion, Blessing of Kings, all the secrets, Muster for Battle, Coghammer, Reinforce) but the only bad ones they can give you for Mirror Entity are usually Secretkeeper and Argent Squire. In this matchup you can go to 3 life without any problem if he already used his lone Truesilver Champion, as long as you keep his board clear, paladins are not infamous for their burst.

As long as they don’t get the dream starting hand you should be able to win with no excessive effort, and sometimes with a bit of luck you can win even against the dreaded Shielded Minibot - Muster for Battle -Piloted Shredder - Loatheb - Mysterious Challenger- Dr. Boom - Tirion Fordring skill curve (although you are perfectly fine if you don't, SECRET PALADIN OP BLIZZ PLS NERF). You can be the aggressor in this kind of matchup but usually I find myself winning by grinding them out of cards.

Threats: Secretkeeper, Mysterious Challenger, Dr. Boom, Tirion Fordring.

Cards to play around: Repentance, Avenge, Noble Sacrifice, Competitive Spirit, Redemption, Mysterious Challenger turn 6, Coghammer, Consecration, Blessing of Kings, Truesilver Champion to face, Early Muster for Battle, Divine Favor.

Your Key Cards: Mana Wyrm, Flamewaker, Arcane Missiles, Frostbolt.

 

Midrange Paladin:

I think this matchup is highly positive. You can either go the offensive route or the value route with a very big chance of winning anyway as long as you play the game correctly.

Early game advices are the same vs every deck that plays Muster for Battle, try not to reduce your valuable early game minions to 1 health. Remember that even if one of your guys is Aldor Peacekeepered it’s still an excellent guy smasher. Flamewaker is an excellent minion for killing those 1/1 but be sure to play it with a spell because double Truesilver Champion mean it will surely die after. Try not to set up a board state where Consecration rapes you, 1 health equals 2 health for minions in the late game, whereas 3 health doesn’t equal 2 health. Quartermaster is a card that you should play around by trading with their 1/1s as long as you are not giving up a lot of damage doing that (this also plays around Coghammer a little bit). Keeper of Uldaman can reduce a big threat like Dr. Boom into a feasible minion. (half Aldor Peacekeeper / half Fire Elemental) while also buffing a silver hand recruit to a 3/3, so if none were played I would consider not playing that Dr. Boom or Archmage Antonidas. As vs any control deck you can deny them big drops by sacrificing Mad Scientist on key turns. Equality can’t really be played around if not by not flooding the board excessively when you are already winning and by always trading minions. Ethereal Conjurer can give you new cards to work with via Duplicate, Arcane Intellect and Echo of Medivh if you are running out of cards. If Justicar Trueheart shows up try to end the game as quickly as possible because the more they push that button that more value they get. Always consider Lay on Hands / Antique Healbot if planning for lethal.

Overall good matchup in my opinion.

Threats: Quartermaster, Tirion Fordring, Dr. Boom, Justicar Trueheart.

Cards to play around: Equality, Muster for Battle, Coghammer, Consecration, Keeper of Uldaman, Quartermaster, Lay on Hands.

Key cards: Arcane Missiles, Flamewaker, Piloted Shredder, Ethereal Conjurer, Azure Drake.

 

Murloc Paladin:

Awkwardness at it best. Seriously, should I really be losing because of 30+ damages charging murlocs?

Be aggressive, they are an heavy control deck with inevitability granted by a devastating combo which simply kills you, so don’t bother trying to outvalue them, especially if they managed to make the murlocs die in the early game. Equality + Wild Pyromancer is a board clear for 4 mana, even doable under Loatheb for 9 mana. Equality + Consecration is much better from their point of view but it’s not viable under Loatheb. Consecration + Wild Pyromancer / Bloodmage Thalnos is something you should remember as a possibility if you are trying to build a board that baits equality. Beware of Mirror Entity copying Doomsayer or Murloc Warleader (thus buffing ALL murlocs for +4+2). As vs every control deck, try to control their Acolyte of Pain and give them only one draw if possible. They have a hefty amount of healing (usually 5 cards between Refreshment Vendor, Antique Healbot and Lay on Hands) so take that into account when setting up lethal. Loatheb can buy you a turn against Anyfin Can Happen.

Anyfin Can Happen: if it is the first one, on empty board the damage of a perfect one is (2 Murloc Warleader 2 bluegil warrior 1 Old Murk-Eye) aura +4/+2—> charging 6/4 (2/1)+ 1 charging 11/6= 23 damage. Don’t bother calculating the second one.

Overall good matchup if you have an aggressive start otherwise if they start chaining card draw and board clear till turn 10 you are in a world of trouble.

Threats: Anyfin Can Happen.

Cards to play around: Equality, Wild Pyromancer, Consecration, Anyfin Can Happen, Acolyte of Pain, Antique Healbot, Lay on Hands, Murloc Warleader, Doomsayer.

Your key Cards: Piloted Shredder. Loatheb.

 

MAGE

 

 

Freeze Mage:

Bad matchup, but definitely better with Ethereal Conjurer.

Try to get the lowest curve possible (other than Arcane Missiles). You should start the aggression early and never give him time to chill out. Try to proc his Ice Block as soon as possible. Play threats every turn you can and keep your Fireballs for his Doomsayers. The only way to play around aoe with this decks are Piloted Shredders, so play them if you expect Flamestrike is gonna happen the following turn. Be careful with Mad Scientist: if they haven’t played any Doomsayer yet Frostbolt or Forgotten Torch on Mad Scientist + Doomsayer to proc Mirror Entity is a guaranteed board clear. Mirror Entity should be played or pulled just before turn 9 so they can’t play Alexstrasza that exact turn. If Ice Block is up and they have a Mad Scientist in play first kill the Mad Scientist then proc the block. Kill Acolyte of Pain in one shot unless you want him to overdraw, which is almost always worth it. Kill Emperor Thaurissan on sight, two discounts are almost always gg. Boom Bots can kill him if they need to clean the board when they are low on life and don’t have another Ice Block, so try to save Dr. Boom for that situation unless you need him as a threat before. Archmage Antonidas will almost surely bait a fireball, so consider to play it if you have nothing better to do. Ethereal Conjurer can save you with Ice Block, Ice Barrier and Counterspell, or give you burst to proc that Ice Block. If they are in the freeze/aoe phase consider even Spellbender if the other cards are worthless because it can feign an Ice Block. If Ice Barrier is up on your side leave one of their critters up so they can maybe greedily go face activating the secret. It’s an option not to proc his Ice Barrier if you have burst in your hand and wanna pop Ice Block directly through it. If you are desperate Unstable Portal can sometimes get you healing, never give up, try everything before conceding. Be sure to be able to clean an Alexstrasza / Emperor Thaurissan / Archmage Antonidas unless you want the match to result in a loss. Loatheb can stop them completely for a turn unless they have Alexstrasza. Reno Jackson versions are even trickier so in that case as soon as you notice it (Novice Engineer, Explosive Sheep) you should go for the long game OR try to pop his block and kill him asap.

Don’t lose the will to fight even in situation that may appear hopeless: sometimes that last Fireball / Alexstrasza is just on the bottom of their deck.

Threats: Emperor Thaurissan, Alexstrasza, Archmage Antonidas.

Cards to play around: Frost Nova+ Doomsayer, Ice Block, Ice Barrier, Acolyte of Pain, 15 burst without Emperor Thaurissan (Fireball + Fireball + Frostbolt), Flamestrike, Blizzard + Doomsayer, Reno Jackson.

Your best cards: Piloted Shredder, Ethereal Conjurer, Loatheb, Dr. Boom, Fireball.

 

Tempo mage:

Ah, the mirror. If you manage to keep their early game at bay and you grind them out of cards they usually won’t be able to deal with the stream of cards you keep drawing from azure drakes and Ethereal Conjurer.

Try to get the lowest curve possible and trade almost everything in the early game. Kill their Sorcerer's Apprentices and Mana Wyrms on sight. Mad Scientist requires a bit of workaround, in the sense that you should almost always proc that mirror entity with a minion you could kill in the same turn. If Mirror Entity doesn’t proc than is 100% Counterspell (feed Arcane Missiles to it) unless the card was discovered from opposing Ethereal Conjurer, then it’s better to kill a low cost card first (Duplicate, Effigy). If it still doesn’t proc then it’s either Spellbender, Vaporize, Ice Block or Ice Barrier so you must attack face with a worthless minion first. Piloted Shredder should always be played on turn 4 unless you are facing a threat. Flamewaker should die on sight. Don’t worry, yours will die too, so be sure to get al least some value with it. The breaking point of the match is reached when they run out of cards or they only have spells in their arsenal: here you should start the aggression, even if you are taking some risks doing so, because if you are low on life hard-controlling the board while not doing damage in return will only cause you to die from a topdecked Archmage Antonidas. Play always around Fireball if you can though. If you can’t kill Ragnaros the Firelord build the biggest and worthless possible board. If you are ahead a Loatheb will as always be the last nail on their coffin.

Grind them out.

Threats: Mana Wyrm Sorcerer's Apprentice, Flamewaker, Archmage Antonidas, Dr. Boom, Ragnaros the Firelord, Rhonin.

Cards to play around: Mirror Entity Counterspell Fireball

Your best cards: Mana Wyrm Frostbolt Flamewaker Fireball Mad Scientist Piloted Shredder, Azure Drake, Ethereal Conjurer.

 

WARLOCK

 

 

 

Zoo:

Theorically one of the worst matchup, I find it way better with this non all-in version.

Try to get board control as soon as possible, this way you can get the favorable trades. Nerubian Egg stop your random damage cards (Arcane Missiles, Flamecannon) so if it’s the only minion on the board it may be worth to pop it and Flamecannon the Nerubian. Always use Flamecannon over Frostbolt if they're doing the same job. Sometimes in flooded boards where you only have Flamecannon as removal and you need to deal with a threat there’s nothing to do but yolo it if you want to win. Mad Scientist should always give you a little free tempo via Mirror Entity. Remember that Flamewaker will do almost nothing when facing an Imp Gang Boss. Voidcaller should be kept alive unless you have a Fireball to clear the Mal'Ganis / Doomguard that will “fall” from it. Try to keep the board as clear as possible because of Power Overwhelming, Abusive Sergeant, Mal'Ganis (+2+2aura) and Sea Giant shenanigans (especially after an Imp-losion, here is the moment to put those useless Arcane Missiles to good use or to play your Flamewaker). Remember that in some versions they play Loatheb too! If you collect burn in your hand and you don't need to use it on minions you should start going face (Life Tap is your friend in this matchup) but always count for 9 more incoming damage than you see (Power Overwhelming + Doomguard) and eventually kill him. Ethereal Conjurer can do a good job at finding additional burst or freeze spells.

Still a very difficult matchup.

Threats: Voidcaller, Sea Giant, Dr. Boom, Mal'Ganis.

Cards to play around: Nerubian Egg + Abusive Sergeant / Power Overwhelming, Power Overwhelming himself, Voidcaller + Mal'Ganis / Doomguard, Doomguard himself, Mal'Ganis himself, Loatheb, Sea Giant.

Your best cards: Frostbolt Fireball Mad Scientist

 

Malygos Warlock:

Ah another control-combo deck. I generally find it more vulnerable to burst and aggression than RenoLock though, especially if he doesn't see a ton of early game.

You are the aggro here. Remember that Flamewaker will do almost nothing when facing an Imp Gang Boss. Use Flamecannons to kill his Imp Gang Bosses and try to save Mirror Entity for turns 4 (Twilight Drake, Twilight Guardian), 5 (Blackwing Corruptor) 6 (Emperor Thaurissan) and 9 (Malygos). Be sure not to build a board that gets raped by Hellfire. After turn 4 your cycling 5 drops will contribute to build aggression while not causeng card disadvantage. Kill emperor thaurissan immediately. Kill brann bronzebeard immediately. If the game goes on too long you will eventually die to Malygos + double darkbomb + soulfire. If you don’t trade always consider blackwing corruptor punish (especially on piloted shredder, big tempo swing for the opponent). It’s a good idea to keep track of the combo pieces he already used to know if he can no longer burst you down. In that case he will eventually play Malygos as a threat, so if given the option to discover a Polymorph you may as well take it. They run double Big Game Hunter so you should definitely play around it, or at least expect it. If planning for lethal always consider antique healbot and even brann bronzebeard+antique healbot if past turn 8. If choosing between going face now or later choose now because of defender of argus. Ethereal conjurer can give you new cards to work with via Duplicate, Arcane intellect and Echo of medivh if you are running out of cards.

Overall something in the middle between aggression and defence from your part. Is that the definition of midrange?

Threats: Brann Bronzebeard, Twilight Drake, Malygos.

Cards to play around: Hellfire. Big Game Hunter Brann Bronzebeard+ Antique Healbot, Blackwing Corruptor, Malygos.

Your best cards: Fireball, Flamecannon, Frostbolt, Mad Scientist, Azure Drake, Ethereal Conjurer.

 

RenoLock:

I really don’t like this matchup. I actually don’t like playing against RenoLock with any non-combo deck. Bursting him down as you were used to with normal handlock is not possible, because he will just Hellfire your board down, play Molten Giant and then play Reno Jackson. Taking the slow route is not possible either, because he will just outcard you thanks to F%$/%/ Life Tap (which is only balanced because of the 2 damages, technically) then Shadowflame your board away and play Reno Jackson. If you hold your cards back choosing to get a lot of value from them, he will just play Mountain Giants and Twilight Drakes, taking the offensive route. If you try to answer every card he plays with burn instead of pointing it to his face he will eventually play Lord Jaraxxus and outvalue you. It’s this tension between different possible playstyles from both players in addition to the fact that taking the wrong route can be source of heavy punishment by the RenoLock player that makes the matchup vs this deck one of the most difficult but also most satisfying if you manage to win.

Actually I’ll let the cat out of the bag: this slower version of tempo mage, with double 5 drops that cycle was born specifically to let me have a better chance against RenoLock. That’s why I don’t like Arcane Intellect: Azure Drakes and Ethereal Conjurers do the same thing AI did but they leave an undercosted body (in comparison to the body you where going to eventually draw from AI) on the board. Conjurer specifically, other than not costing you a card and usually getting a Darkbomb from the opponent’s hand, via the discover mechanic lets you choose the better card IN THE SPECIFIC SITUATION YOU ARE IN. I can’t stress enough how awesome this is: either aggroing or controlling, ethereal conjurer will never ever be a dead card against RenoLock. And I’m not even speaking of the awesome situation where he gives you Duplicate or Echo of Medivh! But let’s speak about the decisions in the matchup now.

You will have the tempo lead for the first turns of the game, but avoid playing only minions which die to Hellfire and Demonwrath. Also try not to play more than 3 minions if you don’t have to (Mind Control Tech). Trade efficiently with the first minions he plays (Zombie Chow, Dark Peddler, Imp Gang Boss) He will eventually play a big threat on turn 4 (Twilight Drake, Mountain Giant, Piloted Shredder) or 5 (Feugen, stalagg, loatheb), so try to have a mirror entity out. Piloted Shredder is good here as it is against any deck with aoe. Starting from turn 5 start casting your Azure Drakes and Ethereal Conjurers (choose wisely the card to discover!) to provide pressure without card disadvantage. Dr. Boom on curve is Dr. Boom on curve. Setting him at 10 life or less is ok but make sure to have an answer to Molten Giant + Reno Jackson / shadow flame if going for that route. You should always try to clean the board unless it is super expensive from your side because of Shadowflame. Sometimes you can test if he has Reno Jackson or another card for healing (Refreshment Vendor, Antique Healbot) by pushing for a little bit of damage. Kill Emperor Thaurissan on sight. Even if he has already used Demonwrath, Hellfire and Shadowflame don’t overextend with big minions because Twisting Nether is a card. If you choose to push damage through eventually, do it sooner rather then later because of Defender of Argus and Sunfury Protector. They have inevitability in the form of Jaraxxus (which can also be used for healing) and Thaddius or Arcane Golem combo (16 dmg) so try not to go for the super late game. Loatheb when you have a board of small minions can be difficult for the opponent to answer. He plays Loatheb too so take that into account if planning to burst him down. Archmage Antonidas + some useless spell can be game changing, especially if they already used Siphon Soul and Big Game Hunter (Abusive Sergeant + Big Game Hunter).

Threats: Lord Jaraxxus, Feugen + Stalagg, Molten Giant, Arcane Golem + Power Overwhelming + Faceless Manipulator, Mountain Giant, Twilight Drake, Emperor Thaurissan.

Cards to play around: Demonwrath, Hellfire, Shadowflame, Mind Control Tech, Reno Jackson, Antique Healbot, Lord Jaraxxus, Molten Giant, Twisting Nether, Defender of Argus.

Your best cards: Loatheb, Azure Drake, Ethereal Conjurer, Archmage Antonidas, Dr. Boom.

 

Flood Zoo (with or without Hobgoblin):

Very, very hard matchup. They flood the board too quickly so the only way to win is through big burst while your minions stall the board. They also tend to life tap more than they should because of the low cost of their cards, basically at least Fireballing themselves before the end of the match.

Try to get the lowest possible curve. Always use Flamecannon over Frostbolt if they do the same job. Sometimes in flooded boards where you only have Flamecannon as removal and you need to deal with a threat there’s nothing to do but yolo it if you want to win. In the early game try to control the board so Sea Giant and Reliquary Seeker don’t join the party earlier than they should, Flamewaker should aid in this  task provided there is no Imp Gang Boss. Then go face as much as you can before Echoing Ooze+Defender of Argus combo  or just the Defender of Argus himself stops you from doing so.  Kill Hobgoblin on sight. Hope to get some burst to kill them while they are busy to clean out your board: they usually run no healing. Ethereal Conjurer mvp: Frost Nova, Ice Lance, Frostbolt, Fireball, Pyroblast. Plus they HAVE TO trade for it because 6 damage to the face is nothing to laugh at.

Overall very scary matchup but if you get a lot of burst and behave as the aggressor it can be win.

Threats: Hobgoblin, Reliquary Seeker, Sea Giant, Gormok the Impaler.

Cards to play around: Sea Giant, Gormok the Impaler, Defender of Argus.

Your best cards: Frostbolt Fireball Ethereal Conjurer

 

WARRIOR

 

 

 

Control Warrior:

Keyword: take it slow.

They are Fiery War Axe and Brawl depent. If they don’t have them on the turn that are needed they are pretty much screwed. But without considering “I choose death” scenarios, what should you do?

Don’t bother playing around Fiery War Axe, just play your two drop normally. Then if you have a follow up that doesn’t die to it, even better. Keep all your Piloted Shredder, they are so hard to kill for them it’s not even funny. Starting from turn 5 you should start playing your cycling 5 drops to continue the aggression without card diadvantage. If he is low on life consider saving your burn for his face (Frostbolt on his face also stops his weapon for a turn, effectively giving you tempo), otherwise use it as removal. Try to kill their Acolyte of Pain in one shout: they don’t have that much in terms of card draw. Try not to get your minions damaged because of Execute. If you are going to play a big threat the following turn (Dr. Boom), sometimes is better to go face to remove armor for Shield Slam. Don’t overextend because of brawl (Dr. Boom demands a brawl alone: quite the powerful card). If he as Sylvanas Windrunner in play kill her as efficiently as you can otherwise a brawl net turn will clear all your board and give him the minion that survives. Don’t leave all your minions to 2 life : Baron Geddon is a thing. Ethereal Conjurer can give you new cards to work with via Duplicate, Arcane Intellect and Echo of Medivh if you are running out of steam. Archmage Antonidas can give new life to your dead Arcane Missiles and Frostbolts. Don’t become super greedy with him, sometimes one Fireball is just enough. Justicar Trueheart is more of a threat than what is seems. She can easily turn a normal game into a fatigue one, so when she touches the battlefield mid-late game turn your playstyle to a value-based one immediately unless you have a very big hand size already. Alexstrasza pointed at you with Death's Bite equipped at 2 charges is one of the most annoying thing in the game. Try to defense yourself: if there is no way you can do it, than just play as if they don’t have Grommash Hellscream. If you are trying to kill him remember they can suddenly gain 10 health with shield maiden + Shield Block.

Threats: Sylvanas Windrunner, Grommash Hellscream, Alexstraza, Baron Geddon, Ysera, Dr. Boom.

Cards to play around: Brawl, Death's Bite, Acolyte of Pain, Execute, Shield Slam, Baron Geddon, Shieldmaiden + Shield Block, Sylvanas Windrunner.

Your best cards: Piloted Shredder, Azure Drake, Ethereal Conjurer, Dr. Boom, Archmage Antonidas.

 

Patron Warrior:

Kill their Warsong Commander on sight… ehm no… sorry… It’s a very bad matchup anyway.

Be the aggressor and hope they don’t have Death's Bite turn 4 into turn 5 Grim Patron + Inner Rage.

They don’t have lot of healing and removal so aggroing is the best option here. Kill their Armorsmiths as soon as they touch the battlefield and try to collect burn. Piloted Shredder is as good as it is against normal warrior. Don’t reach a board state where you’re destroyed by a naked Whirlwind. Clean the board for their Battle Rages and try to 1 shot their Acolyte of Pain: the more cards they draw the more probability the have to combo off. If he equips Death's Bite on turn 4 may be worth Frostbolting his face to delay the combo. If they manage to make 4 Grim Patrons you should try to kill them via removal and trade. If Grim Patron is on the board don't play <2 attack minions. Ethereal Conjurer can give you Flamestrike sometimes. Big minions shouldn’t be damaged because their only removal is Execute. Try to play around Grommash Hellscream + Inner Rage at 8 mana.

Overall very scary matchup due to this deck lacking AOE. It’s winnable only with early aggression or making him reaching a small hand size via card draw denial.

Threats: Grim Patron+Death's Bite+ Inner Rage/Whirlwind, Dr. Boom, Grommash Hellscream, Ragnaros the Firelord.

Cards to play around: Whilwhind, Armorsmith, Battle Rage, Acolyte of Pain, Death's Bite, Grim Patron, Execute, Grommash Hellscream + Inner Rage.

Your best cards: Piloted Shredder, Ethereal Conjurer, Fireball, Frostbolt.

 

DRUID

 

 

 

Aggro Druid:

I love playing against any druid, but this matchup is not as lopsided as many people think it is. Druid sure suffers Mirror Entity a lot, but due to Darnassus Aspirant now they have a minion that effectively is a drawback to copy for Mirror Entity controller.

Try to get the lowest possible curve. Darnassus Aspirant should die or you simply get will get outtempoed and lose. If you don’t have removal you can even ping it after sacrificing a Mad Scientist. If they play Living Roots on turn one is fine to use Arcane Missiles to kill Saplings. Sometimes I even keep fireball given how bad an unanswered Fel Reaver is. Mirror Entity is good almost at any stage of the game unless they feed you leper gnomes of darnassus aspirants. If you manage to get a Piloted Shredder on the board on turn 4 he is one of the best Keeper of the Grove killer out here. Swipe is one of the best spells in the game so it’s better to play around it. Always calculate Savage Roar damage before turn 7 and Force of Nature + Savage Roar after turn 7 (Innervate). Loatheb can make sure you are safe for the next turn while Ethereal Conjurer can find you Ice Block, Ice Barrier or Mirror Image to survive.

Usually if you manage to stabilize after their initial aggression you should be able to win the game via card advantage.

Threats: Darnassus Aspirant, Fel Reaver, Dr. Boom.

Cards to play around: Swipe, Keeper of the Grove, Fel Reaver, Force of Nature + Savage Roar,

Your best cards: Mad Scientist, Flamecannon, Frostbolt, Fireball.

 

Midrange Druid:

You should be able to win easily.

Be aggressive and sacrifice your Mad Scientist whenever a good opportunity to trade shows up, they suffer Mirror Entity a lot (other than Darnassus Aspirant). Darnassus Aspirant should die or you simply get will get outtempoed and lose. If you don’t have removal you can even ping it after sacrificing a Mad Scientist. If you manage to get a Piloted Shredder on the board on turn 4 he is one of the best Keeper of the Grove killer out here. sometimes if Shade of Naxxramas is on the board alone you can try to kill it with Arcane Missiles if the card doesn’t have any other good application. Swipe isSwipe. Always trade with Azure Drake because Swipe scales “very well” with spell damage. As long as you keep yourself out of Force of Nature + Savage Roar combo you should be able to win easily either via aggression or grinding them out of cards (Wild Growth and Innervate are card disadvantage). Loatheb can make sure you are safe for the next turn while Ethereal Conjurer can find you Ice Block, Ice Barrier or Mirror Image to survive.

Threats: Darnassus Aspirant, Shade of Naxxramas, Azure Drake, Dr. Boom.

Cards to play around: Swipe, Keeper of the Grove, Force of Nature [/card]+ [card]savage roar,

Your best cards: Mad Scientist, Flamecannon, Loatheb.

 

ROGUE

 

 

 

Oil Rogue:

Don’t let them take the board.

Take the aggressive route and don’t let them take the board. They suffer mirror entity a lot, sometimes they will be forced even to SI:7 Agent your Mad Scientist, which gives you a free 3/3. If they give you Violet Teacher is pretty much game over. Don’t go all: letting him Blade Flurry or Bloodmage Thalnos/ Azure Drake + Fan of Knives your whole board is demanding a loss. Always remove Azure Drake and Bloodmage Thalnos because rogue is THE class when it comes to spells damage benefits. Violet Teacher should die on sight. Loatheb almost completely stops them for a turn. They play Loatheb too so don’t be caught off guard. If trying to outvalue them remember they can suddenly replenish their hand with Preparation + Sprint.

In the end don’t let them take the board because they have insane burst.

Threats: Violet Teacher, Edwin van Cleef, Bloodmage Thalnos, Azure Drake, Loatheb.

Cards to play around: Blade Flurry+ tinker’s sharpsword oil / Deadly Poison, Loatheb, Bloodmage Thalnos /Azure Drake + Fan of Knives, Preparation + Sprint, Double Eviscerate.

Your best cards: Mad Scientist, Loatheb.

 

Miracle Rogue:

Thanks to Tomb Pillager this deck is reborn. It’s a bit inconsistent, if you are aggressive enough you should be able to win.

Play threat after threat: removing them will shrink their hand size. Mad Scientist is very good since the only low drop they have is bloodmage thalnos. Gadgetzan Auctioneer is good but they have better get some value from it before passing the turn because Flamecannon will get him even under a Conceal. Always remove their creature: they play very few of them. Loatheb completely stops them for a turn.

I’m not really an expert of this matchup but from what I have experienced if you take the aggressive route they are in trouble.

Threats: Gadgetzan Auctioneer, edwin van cleef, Bloodmage Thalnos, Azure Drake.

Cards to play around: Bloodmage Thalnos /Azure Drake + Fan of Knives.

Your best cards: Mad Scientist, Flamecannon, Loatheb.

 

PRIEST

 

 

 

Control Priest:

With this non all-in version of tempo mage in my opinion the matchup is ok since running out of card is a much more remote possibility.

You don’t have to be super aggressive here, but don’t let them toy around with Deathlord too much. Kill Northshire Cleric immediately unless you want to get outcarded. They used to have just Northshire Cleric to work around Mirror Entity, now with Museum Curator things have changed. Be careful with Flamewaker, play it early because of Cabal Shadow Priest. Piloted Shredder is a big problem for them. Starting from turn 5 you have your good old cycling 5 drops that you love again control decks. Ethereal conjurer can even give you new cards to work with via Duplicate, Arcane Intellect and Echo of Medivh if you are running out of cards. Try to let them Entomb your smaller cards, not your big threats. They have countless board clears so it’s not possible to play around all of them. Try to remove all his threats before Justicar Trueheart comes into play otherwise their creature will never die.

Don’t panic and play it slowly, they don’t have many wins conditions so if Museum Curator gives them bad cards you should be able to remove his threats and win the long game.

Threats: Northshire Cleric, Entomb, Justicar Trueheart, Auchenai Soulpriest.

Cards to play around: Power Word: Shield, Shadow Word: Death, Cabal Shadow Priest, Lightbomb, Holy Nova, Excavated Evil, Auchenai Soulpriest + Circle of Healing.

Your best cards: Piloted Shredder, Azure Drake, Ethereal Conjurer.

 

 

Dragon Priest:

I like this matchup because Flamecannon is very efficient in removing his threat and Mirror Entity is good if they don’t have Northshire Cleric (which is also their only draw engine).

Being aggressive is not necessary here but it never hurts. Northshire Cleric should die immediately because is his only source of card advantage. Mirror Entity is always efficient if they don’t have Northshire Cleric. Flamecannon is at his best in this matchup. Play Flamewaker fast because of Cabal Shadow Priest! Piloted Shredder on turn 4 is problematic for them. If you decide not to trade consider Blackwing Corruptor and Power Word: Shield as a source of possible punishment. Try not to get rekt by Holy Nova and Lightbomb: don’t overextend. They only have Ysera and sometimes Chromaggus as big threats, so grinding them out is a true possibility.

Threats: Ysera, Chromaggus, Northshire Cleric.

Cards to play around: Cabal Shadow Priest, Lightbomb, Holy Nova.

Your best cards:  Flamecannon, Piloted Shredder.

 

 

HUNTER:

 

 

 

Midrange hunter:

I personally would have liked this matchup, if it wasn’t for a card, Freezing Trap.

Here being the aggressor is much easier than against the face kind, because they have an higher curve. Try not to activate their traps if they have Eaglehorn Bow equipped. Always play around their traps the best that you can. Always kill mad scientist as the last of their creature (Snake Trap). If you don’t have removal for Ironfury grizzly the don’t go face with a 2/2 (Bear Trap). Freezing Trap is a big tempo swing but if you have small creatures proc it sooner rather than later because he can remove your little minions leaving you no choice but to activate it with a bigger creature (you have no charge minions). Flamewaker should help killing those Snakes coming from Snake Trap, but always kill Knife Juggler before activating it. Always kill their Knife Jugglers. Unleash the Hounds should be played around, especially if he has played no Knife Jugglers yet. Try to deny them big drops by sacrificing Mad Scientist on turn 6 (Savannah Highmane) or 7 (Dr. Boom). When you get enough burst start the aggression, even if this decision might be somewhat risky. Always kill his beasts for Kill Command, Houndmaster and Ram Wrangler. If you are gonna die next turn try getting an Ice Block, Ice Barrier or Mirror Image from Ethereal Conjurer. If you are desperate try Unstable Portal: sometimes it can give you taunts or heals.

If you don’t get outtempoed and make good use of your Mirror Entity it’s a good matchup.

Threats: Knife Juggler, Mad Scientist, Leokk, Savannah Highmane, Dr. Boom.

Cards to play around:  Eaglehorn Bow, Unleash the Hounds, Kill Command, Houndmaster, Ram Wrangler, Freezing Trap, Bear Trap, Snake Trap.

Your best cards: Mad Scientist, Fireball, Frostbolt.

 

 

Face Hunter:

TAUNT AND HEAL IS CHEATING.

So we’re not cheating. This is bad.

Try to get the lowest possible curve, and to race them. Hard control the board trying to take as little damage as possible, hewer deal damage to him as well (don’t slam your 6/3 on their 1/1). Your Mad Scientists are good here, because even a little bit of tempo can be game-changing. If they don’t get their own Mad Scientists should be easier. Always play around their traps the best that you can. Always kill mad scientist as the last of their creature (Snake Trap). If you don’t have removal for Ironfury grizzly the don’t go face with a 2/2 (Bear Trap). Explosive Trap should almost always be activated sooner rather than later, because you want to build your board. Flamewaker should help killing those snakes coming from snake trap, but always kill Knife Juggler before activating it. Always kill their Knife Jugglers. Unleash the Hounds should be played around, especially if he has played no Knife Jugglers yet. Always kill their beasts first because of Kill Command. Frostbolting face to negate 3 damages from Eaglehorn Bow is always a possibility. If you are gonna die next turn try getting an Ice Block, Ice Barrier or Mirror Image from Ethereal Conjurer. If you are desperate try Unstable Portal: sometimes it can give you taunts or heals.

If you get a lot of burn or you can behave aggressively it’s definitely possible to win.

Threats: Knife Juggler, Mad Scientist, Leokk.

Cards to play around: Unleash the Hounds, Kill Command, Explosive Trap, Bear Trap, Snake Trap.

Your best cards:  Flamewaker, Mad Scientist, Ethereal Conjurer, Fireball, Frostbolt.