Hearthpwn

So, first of all I'd like to thank everyone who has viewed the deck so far and left constructive criticism. It's been really fun bouncing ideas off people of how to increase this decks efficiency. I apologise for the late guide write up but real life has kept me rather busy this last week and I didn't anticipate how well the deck would be received.

With the nerf of cards such as corridor creeper and patches, this deck is currently shining and wrecking ladder!! This is my best iteration of the standard 'tempo mage', good luck and enjoy!!

I've seen a bunch of these questions in the comments below so I'd like to clarify why I believe this is an 'anti meta' deck. 

There's so many different and reliable ways to curve/control the early which leads to increase amounts of pressure on board. This makes the aggro decks hard to stick a minion and control decks hard to stop the pressure. I'm currently finding this really strong vs the multitudes of Rogue/Priest/Shaman players atm.

Secrets. Secrets are really annoying to play around. Even if you're a regular legend player or a rank 25 noobie, it's sometimes difficult and frustrating to work around secrets. For me, all the secrets in this deck are pretty annoying to try and play around and some players even waste turns by trying not to play into a particular secret. This gives us tempo going into our next turn to gain a solid advantage over the board state. You have to play all of your secrets smart and be constantly thinking a couple of turns ahead and trying to predict what your opponent plans on playing with regards to the current board state.

Mirror Entity

Some people in the comments have bashed the card saying that it's easy to play around and should be taken out. In a way, I agree, but... this card also takes into consideration buffs to minions in hand (Rogues/Palas) and can sometimes be problematic for your opponent to deal with. It gives you a minion on the board that they have to deal with. Priests can also have a hard time vs Mirror Entity as they don't have many minions in each deck, but, the minions they do have tend to be good targets to steal to give added momentum. For example, ME onto Acolyte of Pain orLoot Hoarder gives you free card draw. These are just a couple of examples. Obviously later in the game it's harder to get value with firefly being in a bunch of decks but it will slow down your opponents hand trying to proc your ME efficiently.

Counterspell

Does exactly what it says on the label. You have to play it smart though. Is the enemy shaman nearing that possibleEvolve+Doppelgangster combo? Or does the priest have no board control and is ready to Dragonfire Potion? Drop the counterspell! Again, a versatile secret that requires you to read the board state and plan a few turns ahead. Feelsgoodman when the priest tries to Dragonfire Potion turn 6 and insta concedes because of counterspell.

Spellbender - removed (Still a good tech choice seen as though Many people won't expect it)

Another disputed card. There's only one though so don't get too angry ;) this card alone has won me games by protecting my minions fromtargetted spells or by stealing a buff. True there aren't many palas around to steal buffs from but taking one for the team in early skirmishes can easily swing the board state in your favour.

DISCLAIMER:

Yes, I know people can play around your secrets. Yes, I know some secrets simply suck in certain situations. But, more often than not by correctly reading the board state you can use each and every one of these secrets to your advantage. And of course, every time you play a secret Kabal Crystal Runner gets even cheaper to play!

Most games, you'll be able to pick up at least a 1 drop and a 2 drop. Keep hold of these and mulligan for your Kirin Tor Mage or Frostbolt for early turn 2 or 3 tempo plays. The purpose of your mulligan is to get a strong turn 1, 2 and 3. If you get this then it's quite easy to out-tempo your opponent. Arcanologist is probably one of the strongest early drops that you can play in this deck. You thin your deck so it's more consistent to draw into more reliable cards. The stats for this minion on an early board state are incredibly strong and will help you to control that early board. If you have a Kirin Tor Mage for turn 3 then the secret you draw from your Arcanologist gains so much tempo. You can even keep two copies of  Arcanologist in your opening hand (especially if you start with coin) as it draws two extra cards. The mulligan is pretty similar for most match ups... If you're against a priest though and you draw Pyros throw it away. As stated in the comments, Potion of Madness can really screw you over. 

One Drops: Mana Wyrm > Babbling Book

Two Drops: Arcanologist > Pyros (except priests) >Medivh's Valet / Sorcerer's Apprentice

You can also keep a Frostbolt for early clear and board pressure.

-- MATCH UP GUIDE IS BEING WRITTEN AND WILL BE UP ASAP --

Edit: For people that don't have and don't want to craft Pyros, I've been experimenting with adding in a Golaka Crawler to counter the early pirate pressure.

A YouTuber, under the name of 'kiwii n bacon' has made a showcase video for the deck. I feel the videos are a good representation of the deck's power, especially vs a priest and a control lock. Enjoy.

20 upvotes - Mulligan guide  - Wow... I'm really busy with uni work right now but I'll hopefully write up a mulligan guide by the end of Monday! Thanks for all the up votes so far you beautiful people :)

100 upvotes - Matchup guide

Thanks for reading. You guys are awesome ^_^