I wanted a spot to talk about what's become my favorite deck to pilot (and to watch). It's not a great performing deck on ladder right now due to the power of some top tier meta decks, but it can hold its own in a controlled environment, as we've seen in tournament play.
Looking forward, it seems like the rotation will do a lot more good than harm for this deck, with Razakus, Jade Druid, and Patches in particular heading to wild. On the big spell mage side there aren't many losses, but they could be significant: Medivh, the Guardian, Firelands Portal, and Dirty Rat are most notable. While tempo is often a secondary win condition, Medivh and Firelands portal are pretty much the only ways this deck has of applying pressure. Firelands Portal also provides single target removal (convenient in a 5-health meta with Corridor Creeper and Bonemare) and another 7-cost target for Dragon's Fury. On the other side, Dirty Rat is a great combo destroyer and even has its applications against battlecry-reliant decks like Tempo Rogue when paired with all of the AOE removal.
Obviously we can't predict the next set of cards, but how do you think the deck will fare? Will the tempo loss kill the archetype, or can it survive on the back of Frost Lich Jaina?
With the likes of Dragon's Fury and Dragoncaller Alanna, I think big spell mage will still kind of stick around. I believe mage will revert back to full burn mage though. The loss of Medivh and Firelands portal are veeery detrimental to big spell mage, in my opinion. That said, who knows what they'll get next expansion. Their legendary could be based on huge spells.
Maybe they'll get more powerful elementals, and can go back to a tempo build. Anyways, you asked about big spell mage, and in my opinion, it'll be one of the rarer mage decks going forward, finding moderate success only because of the "surprise factor" of playing against it. I could be wrong though.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Twitch name: Anatak15 NA Legend Season 48, 49, 52, 53, 54, 74
Considering the reactive style of this deck + DK Jaina, I imagine it will stay at the same power level until it rotates. It reminds me of the old armor warrior with Justicar. Turtle up, remove your opponents minions, and survive through fatigue. I don't think team 5 wants a repeat of that particular meta ever again. I do not believe it will ever be tier 1. My guess is that Mage will get a 9-cost spell next expansion to compensate for the losses.
I'm not sure I really understand the point of Alex in this deck, seeing as there's no burn. Is it purely defensive, or are you using it to get your opponent closer to a fatigue death? On the other side, Dragoncaller Alanna provides a nice wide set of threats, but it has no effect on the board, doesn't allow a ping on the same turn, and it's susceptible to Psychic Scream and Twisting Nether (neither of which are likely to have been used prior to it given the deck's lack of pressure). It seems like it's being included simply because of the big spell synergy without much consideration for how it swings your win rate.
I almost wonder if the deck would be better off playing a Primordial Drake instead. You're rarely going to be able to play Alanna against tempo decks. Primordial Drake would give you added AOE damage, a big taunt, and at eight mana it can be combined with a ping to potentially generate a water elemental. It's also a 4-health minion, so it's naturally anti-priest.
2) Secret package or taunts? Frozen was playing a secret package in the world championship, but that's a huge risk as it obviously dilutes your Dragon's Fury pool. I'm more partial to Tar Creeper + Lone Champion, personally.
3) Discounted tempo minions.Arcane Tyrant is a natural fit in this deck, obviously. Though if you're playing purely for the Frost Lich Jaina win condition, I can understand not including it. Still, even if tempo isn't your goal, it's nice for softening up opposing minions and it's added lifesteal if you can connect with it while the DK effect is up.
That said, thoughts on Corridor Creeper? It seems silly to even be considering it in a control deck, but with the amount of minion clears at your disposal it shouldn't be too tough to discount it. I lean towards "nope" on this one, though, as I'm not sure it really advances your win condition.
4) Card draw. How much do you run? And what form?
5) Tech choices. Lots to choose from here. How many are reasonable to include? I'm currently running double Dirty Rat for Priest matchups primarily. Skulking Geist is a necessity against Jade Druid, obviously. Do you run a Golakka Crawler? How about ooze for Aluneth or Skull of Man'ari?
In the championships, Alexstrasza was used mostly offensively, IIRC. I think this is because the deck lacks face burn, actually. It's too early to tell if she'll be needed (or even available) post-rotation. But Dragoncaller Alanna is a major part of the reason the deck even exists, so I don't imagine that card being removed.
Secret package is out. It's too much of a liability now, and it will be largely pointless if Ice Block gets Hall of Famed.
Tempo minions are in. This isn't meant to be a minionless deck, so I don't even understand the hesitation here.
Card draw is Raven Familiar and whatever the new set brings that isn't a cheap spell.
You can't possibly discuss tech choices when we know nothing about the expansion. That's just pointless crazy-talk. But I will say that without Patches the Pirate, I don't know why you'd think Golakka Crawler will still be a thing.
You can't possibly discuss tech choices when we know nothing about the expansion. That's just pointless crazy-talk. But I will say that without Patches the Pirate, I don't know why you'd think Golakka Crawler will still be a thing.
I'm talking about the current meta with this post.
But Dragoncaller Alanna is a major part of the reason the deck even exists, so I don't imagine that card being removed.
I don't think it really is. Frozen didn't include it in his deck. I realize the tournament meta is wildly different from ladder, but from the new additions, Dragon's Fury is really the reason this deck exists, with Arcane Artificer slightly behind it. I'm asking about the Alanna inclusion because I'm curious: when does it win you a game that you weren't already going to win? It's largely unplayable against tempo decks. I guess you could drop it against Razakus and either hope that he doesn't have Psychic Scream or that you quickly draw it again (assuming he doesn't deal with it prior to the scream). Jade Druid? Doesn't seem relevant; your win condition is Skulking Geist + fatigue. Control Warlock? Too much AOE removal.
Tempo minions are in. This isn't meant to be a minionless deck, so I don't even understand the hesitation here.
I guess I'd ask a similar question here. Will you ever develop enough minion presence to burn down a combo deck in time? And on the other side of it, does cheap minion presence provide anything against tempo decks that isn't just taken care of with your removal tools? I realize a free Creeper always feels like a great play, but I'm just wondering how it advances your win condition with this deck.
Dragoncaller Alanna and Alexstrasza are a potential two turn win condition outside of the main one of just fatiguing them. The idea behind it would be to play Alanna and then the next turn you Alex their face and then burst them down with three of the 5/5 dragons you summoned. Obviously it isn't as reliable to pull off because of various factors, whether it is being under too much pressure, removal such as Psychic Scream, Anduin's battlecry (but you would save this combo until after he is played anyways), Twisting Nether and the likes, but it does give you the option of winning in something other than fatigue.
The main idea is obviously to win by grinding them out of resources but if you aren't able to do that, this combo does give you another way to potentially close out the game.
I'm not a great player and am not that experienced with this deck, but I have managed to win a couple of games on the back of that combo.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
Hey folks,
I wanted a spot to talk about what's become my favorite deck to pilot (and to watch). It's not a great performing deck on ladder right now due to the power of some top tier meta decks, but it can hold its own in a controlled environment, as we've seen in tournament play.
Looking forward, it seems like the rotation will do a lot more good than harm for this deck, with Razakus, Jade Druid, and Patches in particular heading to wild. On the big spell mage side there aren't many losses, but they could be significant: Medivh, the Guardian, Firelands Portal, and Dirty Rat are most notable. While tempo is often a secondary win condition, Medivh and Firelands portal are pretty much the only ways this deck has of applying pressure. Firelands Portal also provides single target removal (convenient in a 5-health meta with Corridor Creeper and Bonemare) and another 7-cost target for Dragon's Fury. On the other side, Dirty Rat is a great combo destroyer and even has its applications against battlecry-reliant decks like Tempo Rogue when paired with all of the AOE removal.
Obviously we can't predict the next set of cards, but how do you think the deck will fare? Will the tempo loss kill the archetype, or can it survive on the back of Frost Lich Jaina?
With the likes of Dragon's Fury and Dragoncaller Alanna, I think big spell mage will still kind of stick around. I believe mage will revert back to full burn mage though. The loss of Medivh and Firelands portal are veeery detrimental to big spell mage, in my opinion. That said, who knows what they'll get next expansion. Their legendary could be based on huge spells.
Maybe they'll get more powerful elementals, and can go back to a tempo build. Anyways, you asked about big spell mage, and in my opinion, it'll be one of the rarer mage decks going forward, finding moderate success only because of the "surprise factor" of playing against it. I could be wrong though.
Twitch name: Anatak15
NA Legend Season 48, 49, 52, 53, 54, 74
Considering the reactive style of this deck + DK Jaina, I imagine it will stay at the same power level until it rotates. It reminds me of the old armor warrior with Justicar. Turtle up, remove your opponents minions, and survive through fatigue. I don't think team 5 wants a repeat of that particular meta ever again. I do not believe it will ever be tier 1. My guess is that Mage will get a 9-cost spell next expansion to compensate for the losses.
In terms of optimizing the deck right now, I had a few questions for anybody trying to make it work right now:
1) Alexstrasza versus Dragoncaller Alanna (or both)?
I'm not sure I really understand the point of Alex in this deck, seeing as there's no burn. Is it purely defensive, or are you using it to get your opponent closer to a fatigue death? On the other side, Dragoncaller Alanna provides a nice wide set of threats, but it has no effect on the board, doesn't allow a ping on the same turn, and it's susceptible to Psychic Scream and Twisting Nether (neither of which are likely to have been used prior to it given the deck's lack of pressure). It seems like it's being included simply because of the big spell synergy without much consideration for how it swings your win rate.
I almost wonder if the deck would be better off playing a Primordial Drake instead. You're rarely going to be able to play Alanna against tempo decks. Primordial Drake would give you added AOE damage, a big taunt, and at eight mana it can be combined with a ping to potentially generate a water elemental. It's also a 4-health minion, so it's naturally anti-priest.
2) Secret package or taunts? Frozen was playing a secret package in the world championship, but that's a huge risk as it obviously dilutes your Dragon's Fury pool. I'm more partial to Tar Creeper + Lone Champion, personally.
3) Discounted tempo minions. Arcane Tyrant is a natural fit in this deck, obviously. Though if you're playing purely for the Frost Lich Jaina win condition, I can understand not including it. Still, even if tempo isn't your goal, it's nice for softening up opposing minions and it's added lifesteal if you can connect with it while the DK effect is up.
That said, thoughts on Corridor Creeper? It seems silly to even be considering it in a control deck, but with the amount of minion clears at your disposal it shouldn't be too tough to discount it. I lean towards "nope" on this one, though, as I'm not sure it really advances your win condition.
4) Card draw. How much do you run? And what form?
5) Tech choices. Lots to choose from here. How many are reasonable to include? I'm currently running double Dirty Rat for Priest matchups primarily. Skulking Geist is a necessity against Jade Druid, obviously. Do you run a Golakka Crawler? How about ooze for Aluneth or Skull of Man'ari?
In the championships, Alexstrasza was used mostly offensively, IIRC. I think this is because the deck lacks face burn, actually. It's too early to tell if she'll be needed (or even available) post-rotation. But Dragoncaller Alanna is a major part of the reason the deck even exists, so I don't imagine that card being removed.
Secret package is out. It's too much of a liability now, and it will be largely pointless if Ice Block gets Hall of Famed.
Tempo minions are in. This isn't meant to be a minionless deck, so I don't even understand the hesitation here.
Card draw is Raven Familiar and whatever the new set brings that isn't a cheap spell.
You can't possibly discuss tech choices when we know nothing about the expansion. That's just pointless crazy-talk. But I will say that without Patches the Pirate, I don't know why you'd think Golakka Crawler will still be a thing.
"Why, you never expected justice from a company, did you? They have neither a soul to lose nor a body to kick." -- Lady Saba Holland
Dragoncaller Alanna and Alexstrasza are a potential two turn win condition outside of the main one of just fatiguing them. The idea behind it would be to play Alanna and then the next turn you Alex their face and then burst them down with three of the 5/5 dragons you summoned. Obviously it isn't as reliable to pull off because of various factors, whether it is being under too much pressure, removal such as Psychic Scream, Anduin's battlecry (but you would save this combo until after he is played anyways), Twisting Nether and the likes, but it does give you the option of winning in something other than fatigue.
The main idea is obviously to win by grinding them out of resources but if you aren't able to do that, this combo does give you another way to potentially close out the game.
I'm not a great player and am not that experienced with this deck, but I have managed to win a couple of games on the back of that combo.