[Legend] Tempo Mage
- Last updated May 20, 2016 (Old Gods)
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Wild
- 17 Minions
- 13 Spells
- Deck Type: Ranked Deck
- Deck Archetype: Tempo Mage
- Crafting Cost: 5440
- Dust Needed: Loading Collection
- Created: 5/11/2016 (Old Gods)
- trevorius01
- Registered User
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- 3
- 4
- 15
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Battle Tag:
N/A
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Region:
N/A
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Total Deck Rating
250
Changelog
5/14/2016: -1 Faceless Summoner -1 Mirror Image +1 Arcane Missiles +1 Forbidden Flame. Added matchups/mulligans section.
5/18/2016: -1 Arcane Missiles +1 Faceless Summoner. 2 missiles was too much, by the time turn 6 rolled around I was missing a minion to solidify my board position. So I improved my odds by putting the faceless back.
5/20/16: Added legend ladder gameplay video.
Intro
Hello everyone, my name is Trevorius and I'm a Legend player from the good ol' U.S.A. Since it's finals time, I've obviously been grinding Hearthstone instead of studying (Cs get degrees). And during my climb to legend I kept coming across the same decks over and over. Lots of warrior, lots of shaman, and a whole TON of rogue. So I decided to make a tempo mage deck that can deal with the meta. You'll see some of the synergies that make this a deck to be reckoned with. If you have any questions feel free to ask them in the comments.
Some parts of the guide aren't completed yet, I'm currently in the process of moving, so I will finish them ASAP!
Here is my proof of Legend as well as my stats with the deck
Notable Cards
Cult Sorcerer - This is a new card from WotoG, and it's an amazing addition to the already strong tempo mage roster. A 3/2 passes the value test for a 2 drop, plus the spell damage can be useful in the early or late game. You don't even need to run C'Thun to make use of this card. When comboed with cards like Arcane Blast or Frostbolt it can take out popular 4 health minions such as Totem Golem, Tomb Pillager, and Frothing Berserker
Flamewaker - Here is the minion that makes this deck so strong. I know some people are going to ask in the comments, "What can I replace Flamewaker with?" And I'm going to tell you right now, there is NO replacement. Flamewaker combos swing the game extremely fast. Without this card you'll never be able to beat aggro decks because they will simply swarm the board while you sit there helpless.
Cabalist's Tome - Another great WotoG card. Tome creates instant value, because you get 2 extra cards without drawing. And the next best part is that you will never get a bad spell. Even if you get Shatter, you can still use it to activate Flamewaker or Archmage Antonidas. If you exhaust your hand taking control of the board early, this can be a nice way to replenish it and possibly combo with some minions you already have on the board.
Faceless Summoner - And the last WotoG card in this deck, Faceless Summoner. I've seen some tempo mage decks running Sylvanas Windrunner, but I personally believe running 2 copies of this card is better. When you run Sylvanas Windrunner against control you usually control the board. So you either drop her on an empty board and she gets instantly removed, or leave her in your hand and she's a dead card. Faceless Summoner gives you the 5/5 body AND a 3 drop, which is harder for control decks to remove and provides more ammo against an aggro deck.
Mulligans/Matchups
In general you will want to mulligan for your low-cost minions and spells. I always keep mana wyrm, sorcerer's apprentice, and cult apprentice. For spells, always keep frostbolt and arcane blast. I will go over the matchup specific mulligans as well as strategy below
Warrior:
Warrior is kind of difficult to mulligan for since there are so many popular warrior decks right now. You have control, and midrange/patron, and pirate aggro. These are all different matchups in the way you play and mulligan, so try to mulligan for the matchup you face the most. Against control you should follow the standard mulligan and DON’T keep arcane missiles. Against cards like armorsmith and acolyte of pain it will do more harm than good. If you have the coin and while you beat them down. Make sure not to overextend your board because most decks are running doube brawl. Try to bait out their targeted removal like execute and shield slam before you drop archmage antonidas or ragnaros.
Against midrange you will play very similar to control, except there is no need to play around brawl. Make sure you save flamestrike for the decks that are running patron, or for when the enemy builds up a large board of their 3-4 health minions like frothing berserker, armorsmith, and monkey. Spell power with arcane blast is a godsend to deal with these 3-4 health minions as well.
If you think you’re up against a pirate aggro deck it's ok to keep arcane missiles and mirror image. Also, if you have the coin you can keep flamewaker with a good curve. It can be a great tool to clear the early board this deck attempts to establish. Don’t try to rush for lethal against this deck. They have too many tools to burst you. Instead, attempt to clear their minions and freeze their face at key points using water elemental and possibly frostbolt if necessary. Mirror image can either be played early to protect your early game minions, or late in the game to keep a possible leeroy jenkins at bay.
Warlock:
You’re most likely going to be facing a zoo deck, so I would always mulligan like that is your opponent. That means go for every default mulligan and add arcane missiles and forbidden flame if you already have a minion. If you have the coin you can keep flamewaker and mirror image. Try to make the best early game hand possible so you can survive long enough to drop your big threats. Make use of your spell synergies to out-tempo the board flood and once you have control of the board it’s basically impossible to lose. If you had a bad mulligan, just use spells to clear the board and wait till you can use a flamewaker combo or flamestrike to take control of the board.
If they’re renolock you’re gonna have a harder time because of the amount of versions of the deck. Try to read the enemy and see if they’re playing like they have Reno in their hand or not. Don’t use your burn before they’ve used Reno if you have to kill them with it over 2 turns. I’ve gotten f***ed too many times when I attempt to burst a Reno warlock over 2 turns only to have them heal up and “wow” emote me. Establish a strong board and burst them when they’re not expecting it.
Shaman:
Mid-range and aggro shaman both have the same early game cards so you mulligan the same against them. Follow the default mulligan and add arcane missiles and try to get a cult apprentice + arcane blast combo if you can. That combo will take out a totem golem and force the shaman to fight to get his board back. Also keep flamewaker if you have a decent curve and the coin.
Against midrange try to use polymorph to swing tempo. Use it on a Thing From Below or possibly a Flamewreathed Faceless to claim the board and put your opponent on the defensive. Also save Flamestrike. Even if there is an opportunity to use it doesn’t mean you should. Save it for when the board gets really out of control.
For aggro, do your best to keep their board clear. Aggro Shaman is built of of their ability to quickly flood the board with high value minions due to overload. And then beat your face in with doomhammer. If you clear their board with your multitude of spells you should be fine. Don’t worry about developing a really strong board, because they’ll just ignore your minions anyways. Just play minions if it works with your curve or spells.
Rogue:
This deck actually functions very well against miracle rogue. Spell power + Arcane blast allows you to easily kill their 4 health minions while clearing the board. Polymorph can neutralize an Edwin Van Cleef or a minion buffed with Cold Blood. And Flamestrike can take care of a stealthed board. Plus the fact that no rogues are running blade flurry means it will be hard for them to kill your bigger minions like Azure Drake and Faceless Summoner. Just develop your board and don’t let them keep any minions for too long.
Hunter:
Midrange hunter is coming back into the meta so I thought I’d really quickly discuss it. I haven’t played this matchup a lot, but it is fairly straightforward. Just like midrange shaman and warrior, keep their board as clear as possible so they can’t use beast synergies, and watch for the turn 8 Call of the Wild. Use polymorph on their Savannah Highmane to ruin their day and you should have a fairly easy matchup.
Druid:
Ramp druid is probably one of the hardest matchups this deck faces. Their ability to drop big minions before you have a way to deal with them can really make your life hell. Try to kill them before they are able to establish a big board, because you lack the ability to clear it effectively. Luckily, druid lacks board clear except for swipe, so as long as you play around that you should be able to maintain a decent enough board to finish them before they have established to many big minions
Paladin:
I haven’t seen a lot of control paladin on the ladder, most likely because its a hard and slow deck to play. But the few matchups I did have went about the same way. Keep a small but effective board to avoid equality combos, and try to get good value out of antonidas so you can burst through the heals. Try to save polymorph for Tirion or Sylvanas, don’t waste it on something like a doomsayer. That’s about all the advice I have against paladin.
Priest:
Try to bait out shadow word pain before you drop your water elementals. And try to bait entomb or power word death before you drop an antonidas or ragnaros UNLESS you can kill them the turn after and just want them to waste 6 mana on not healing. Otherwise, those cards alone are enough to win the game for the priest. The loss of lightbomb does help this matchup, so you can establish a strong board and the priests will eventually have to use single target removal on your less valuable cards, allowing you to drop your finishers.
You could add another Arcane Missiles. They can both function as cheap activators for Flamewaker and Archmage Antonidas as well as gaining early game tempo against aggro decks. Arcane Missiles is slightly more RNG dependent, though.
No Master of Ceremonies? I've been using it lately and it pretty awesome!
I think it's too unreliable. You only have 4 spell damage minions, and they're removed almost instantly by the enemy to make sure you don't get more value out of them. I will definitely test it out though.
Ay, I normally play Master of Ceremonies as part of a 5 mana combo with Cult Sorcerer or Bloodmage Thalnos (5 speel damage minions in the deck, in my case). The real problem is managing to find the right time for this "combo", tho. As a tempo mage, you will normally have other priorities by turn 5, but I still think having Master of Ceremonies in the deck pays off, somehow. If it survives until the next turn (and has triggered), you are likely to own the board.
I could maybe see subbing out an Ethereal Conjurer for the Master of Ceremonies. It would make the deck play slightly different but I don't think it would be too bad.
I really dislike Water Elemental, my list is -2 Water Elemental +1 Cabalist Tome and Thalnos.
It's is very good vs shaman protecting you from hammer but in any other match the card advantage save the day.
Water Elemental is also very good vs zoo, hunter, and warrior. It's one of the highest valued 4 drops in the game because of its 6 health. With 3 damage it can kill most 2-3 drops in the game and it also has a freeze effect on top of that. You can't take this minion out and still create tempo the same way.
Any thoughts on the amount of Kodos out there right now? I've been playing tempo mage for the last few days and have had almost half (45%) of my flamewakers removed by it.
I'm a big fan of Tempo Mage honestly. I've been trying to find a setup that I like and I think yours looks really good on paper. I'm gonna try it when the servers come back up and I'll let you know my experience with it.
I am running a slightly modified version of this deck. I have yet to use Forbidden Flame. As far as matchups go, what would you use Forbidden Flame on. Im wondering if I should include it depending on my matchups.
Also, to be more solid for tournaments, what additions would you make? This deck does well for me in tourneys but then something goes wrong in semis and finals.
Help is appreciated thx.
Forbidden Flame is a flex spell. You can use it on a target that NEEDs to be eliminated or you can use it as a free trigger for Antonidas. These qualities are what make the spell what it is. In terms of damage it's mana inefficient but it also can't be used on the face. I suspect that's why the author didn't use more than one copy.
As for what you can do with tournaments it's a matter of what you're facing. All decks have weaknesses to deal with. You can't be 100% effective against everything. I would say it's a matter of evaluating. I'm not a pro but it would be hard for anyone to tell you what you can change if they don't know what issues your having and what decks are giving you trouble. If aggro decks are a problem then you might want to opt for something to slow them down until you can board clear. Like mirror image. If it's more control based maybe something to keep your board in control like a second polymorph.
Forbidden flame is very flexible, I basically use it whenever I don't have other options or I don't want to use my burn spells on a minion. It can be used to take out early minions like tunnel trogg, or it can deal 8 damage to a ragnaros. It really depends on your hand and the situation. Also, don't forget it can be used as a free activator for flamewaker and antonidas. You can basically turn it into a cheaper arcane missiles or a fireball under those circumstances.
Wow what an awesome deck. So good to finally get a decent remake of tempo after WoToG release. Ive played 9 games on ladder and won 7 so far. It stands up well against every class save Warlock and surprisingly, Rogue. I just lost against Rogue in 5 turns due to Edwin Van being dropped on turn one and a disastrous mulligan (Azure drake + 2 water element TWICE!!!). Keep up the good work Mr. Trev!
OK cabalists sucks
2 games in a row Ive gotten 2 shatters, and no, you cant play shatter if there are no frozen minions
terrible rng on this card
You have a tiny sample size. It is irrelevant.
It's a good card.
That's pretty unfortunate and also highly unlikely. It most likely will not be that bad again. Every spell besides shatter will be a great addition to your hand. Just keep playing the deck and don't give up because of a little bit of bad RNG.
Clearly you havent played it enough to see what it can really do. I've had Cabalist tomb generate 4 more Cabalists in a row. couple that with sorcerers apprentice and you're laughin!
I know. I was just bitching because it lost me 2 games in a row. remember this the next time you guys get salty
Any thoughts on fitting the new Mukla in here for the combo with archmage? I use it in my tempo deck and it does work great. At the same time that extra body from faceless is nice... would love to hear your opinion