Wow, so I clearly undervalued the Mana Wraith, at least in this match-up. You guys made a lot of good arguments for it though, so I wound up going with it. I hadn't considered that it would essentially have taunt and draw my opponent to use removal or trade into it and the likelihood of it negatively impacting me is minimal, as I at least can play it if and when it makes sense for me.
OPTIONS FOR PICK #11: Bloodsail Raider vs Hungry Dragon vs Mirror Image. Ooo, I feel like Hungry Dragon is going to be the pick here. It's a 5/6 for 4, and changes are I could potentially deal with the 1-drop with my hero power. The Raider is essentially a 2/3 for 2, which isn't terrible and Mirror Image can certainly be a useful wall, the Dragon just seems like the strong pick here. Thoughts?
I think your reasoning makes sense for the Hungry Dragon. Plus this is your first 4 drop minion and its not awful to wait to play it until turn 6 (w/ your hero power) which makes it ideal to hold onto with Blackwing.
Agree with your reasoning.. though I am not a big fan of Hungry dragon rng but with shattered sun cleric you actually might have a very good shot at having a board going into T4 to get rid of even a Flame Imp if needed. Plus Corrupter Synergy..
Always be careful with The hungry dragon. For example if you absolutly need to put him on the board in order to not loose board control and it reaval that it's a Dust Devil you may loose the game only because of bad RNG. So if you want a safer pick I think Mirror Image is very good. The decision is tough But I would probably pick the safer card here
Always be careful with The hungry dragon. For example if you absolutly need to put him on the board in order to not loose board control and it reaval that it's a Dust Devil you may loose the game only because of bad RNG. So if you want a safer pick I think Mirror Image is very good. The decision is tough But I would probably pick the safer card here
The best part about mage is that a Dust Devil, or any other 1-health minion is no problem for the Mage's hero ability... I think Hungry Dragon is the better option available.
I like the dragon too. There are a lot of 1 drops with 1 mana which does mean that a mage can handle them fairly well. Do need to wait for turn 6 to have the dragon + HP to finish off the 1 drop and at that point it's basically a 5/6 for 6 which isn't great. Ideally you'd be able to play it on turn 4 and kill the 1 drop without loosing your minion. That's when it's the strongest play.
I'm not a big fan of Mirror Image because with no attack it can't kill anything so it means your using a card just to stall your opponent and giving up tempo and card advantage to do that. That isn't necessarily bad as it could be the 1 more turn you need to finish him off or to keep some high attack minion alive but it could also o pretty much nothing.
Glad to see I'm not super off-base there. I picked up the Hungry Dragon and then actually went on to pick up another dragon card. My options for pick #12 were Gazlowe vsFeugen vs Chromaggus and I just gut-picked Chromaggus. Feel free to let me know if you disagree with that pick, but it just seemed like the superior choice and as a bonus it was another dragon to help activate my Blackwing Corruptor. It could also help me with some late game card draw and is a big body that dodges BGH.
OPTIONS FOR PICK #13: Dalaran Mage vs Mad Bomber vs Dragon's Breath. I'm nearing the half-way point of the draft. For Mages, is there a general ratio of removal to minions that would be recommended? I have 2 removal spells (Frostbolt and Fireball) and 10 minions. Should I try adding to my removal collection with Dragon's Breath? Would Mad Bomber be too random to be valuable? I feel like extra spell damage can be good, but I fear that the arena puts too much inconsistency into the mix for the Mage to be the top pick of these three. My feeling is that I want to pick Dragon's Breath, but that would be my fourth 5-cost card. Curve-wise, should I value the 2-drop Bomber higher?
Feugen is pretty solid in Arena since he's really hard to remove and I like his lower cost so he doesnt just sit in your hand. Chromaggus isn't really wrong... he works as well with Corruptor as he works poorly with Fel Reaver so that's a wash. I can see why you gut picked that.
For this pick, Dragon Breath is really pricey unless you can make exchanges. You only have 3 2 drops, maybe 4 if you count Frostbolt which means you can use more of them. Mad Bomber fits the bill nicely, especially since he can work w/ your hero power later on.
Mad Bomber is usually more upside than downside because he doesn't damage himself. He's better than your vanilla 3/2.
A common case is to play him on turn two. Either you play him into an empty board and he decreases life totals slightly (mostly a wash, maybe slightly good for our tempo deck). Or, in the other common case, you play him when the opponent has one minion in play. If the minion has 2 health, then he's better than 1 in 4 to outright kill it, and is 70% to hit it at least once.
He's only bad if you're ahead on board (boo hoo) or if you have lots of little guys in play. The latter seems unlikely for this deck.
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I actually like Dragon's Breath even though it's no fireball or frostbolt. It's sometimes more expensive and is less damage than fireball, but it's still 4 damage that can be pointed anywhere. I don't think we have too much burn right now either.
In my case, I like both of these and think it's pretty close.
Mad Bomber, especially on a class that can ping, is great value. Dragon's Breath is decent, and it's not hard to make it cost 3 in arena, but it still is not that efficient (as in - I wouldn't be unhappy to play it, but I'd rather play a good early game threat).
Chromaggus is great - it's hard to lose if it sticks even one round.
Lots of solid praise for the Mad Bomber. I hadn't thought about it being able to damage a minion to the point that I could then ping with my hero power for the kill. I picked it up.
OPTIONS FOR PICK #14: Dragonkin Sorcerer vs Bluegill Warrior vs Gnomeregan Infantry. This seems like it should be between the Dragonkin and the Bluegill. The 2/1 charge seems like a decent early drop minion. The Dragonkin, is a 3/5 for 4, as the likelihood of me powering it up is I think 0% given the Mage class. It's a less powerful yeti. Am I silly for ignoring the Gnomeregan Infantry? Am I silly to think that I should pick up another 2-drop?
Dragonkin would be my pick. you might be able to get a spare part for him or something. I think he's better than the Murloc, though not really great and its another dragon which for your corruptor. The murloc wouldn't be a bad choice per se, but i'm not a huge fan of it b/c it only trades with 2 health things, most of which will be 2 drops.
yeah dragon kin should be nice. . it's another dragon so your corruptor is looking better and better. plus it wud avoid being taken out by spell damage in early game I think so should trade with something. and it's only your 2nd 4 drop... which is esp. good if you want to hold hungry dragon for t6.
Based on the feedback, it sounds like the Dragonkin Sorcerer is the proper pick to help round out my 4-drops. And a 3/5 certainly isn't bad.
Total side-note before jumping to the next pick: This thread (and the previous one) has been super helpful and I've really enjoyed going through this process. I thought it'd be fun to make a logo for my "Teach a Man to Fish" thread series, as I definitely plan to keep doing this, and I just love trying my hand at graphic design. (Logos/branding in particular I find just super interesting.) Anyway, I thought I'd share the logo, along with a minimalist class icon for Mage.
Okay, back to the draft! OPTIONS FOR PICK #15: Oasis Snapjaw vs Acidic Swamp Ooze vs Piloted Shredder. So this seems like an easy pick of the Piloted Shredder. Based on statistics, it's one of the most commonly picked cards in arena, especially in 12-win arena decks. In addition, I currently have four 2-drops and only two 4-drops. While the Ooze is a solid 2-drop, my belief here is that the Shredder is still the better pick. Would anyone argue for the Ooze over the Shredder?
Wraith wins from me too..
Also has weird synergy with Fel Reaver by reducing the no of cards ur opponent can play in a turn..lol
Wraith. Completely agree with previous posters
Grammar nazi or just the people who care are warmly welcome in pm.
Wow, so I clearly undervalued the Mana Wraith, at least in this match-up. You guys made a lot of good arguments for it though, so I wound up going with it. I hadn't considered that it would essentially have taunt and draw my opponent to use removal or trade into it and the likelihood of it negatively impacting me is minimal, as I at least can play it if and when it makes sense for me.
OPTIONS FOR PICK #11: Bloodsail Raider vs Hungry Dragon vs Mirror Image. Ooo, I feel like Hungry Dragon is going to be the pick here. It's a 5/6 for 4, and changes are I could potentially deal with the 1-drop with my hero power. The Raider is essentially a 2/3 for 2, which isn't terrible and Mirror Image can certainly be a useful wall, the Dragon just seems like the strong pick here. Thoughts?
I think your reasoning makes sense for the Hungry Dragon. Plus this is your first 4 drop minion and its not awful to wait to play it until turn 6 (w/ your hero power) which makes it ideal to hold onto with Blackwing.
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Agree with your reasoning.. though I am not a big fan of Hungry dragon rng but with shattered sun cleric you actually might have a very good shot at having a board going into T4 to get rid of even a Flame Imp if needed. Plus Corrupter Synergy..
Always be careful with The hungry dragon. For example if you absolutly need to put him on the board in order to not loose board control and it reaval that it's a Dust Devil you may loose the game only because of bad RNG. So if you want a safer pick I think Mirror Image is very good. The decision is tough But I would probably pick the safer card here
The best part about mage is that a Dust Devil, or any other 1-health minion is no problem for the Mage's hero ability... I think Hungry Dragon is the better option available.
I like the dragon too. There are a lot of 1 drops with 1 mana which does mean that a mage can handle them fairly well. Do need to wait for turn 6 to have the dragon + HP to finish off the 1 drop and at that point it's basically a 5/6 for 6 which isn't great. Ideally you'd be able to play it on turn 4 and kill the 1 drop without loosing your minion. That's when it's the strongest play.
I'm not a big fan of Mirror Image because with no attack it can't kill anything so it means your using a card just to stall your opponent and giving up tempo and card advantage to do that. That isn't necessarily bad as it could be the 1 more turn you need to finish him off or to keep some high attack minion alive but it could also o pretty much nothing.
Obvious choice is obvious
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Glad to see I'm not super off-base there. I picked up the Hungry Dragon and then actually went on to pick up another dragon card. My options for pick #12 were Gazlowe vsFeugen vs Chromaggus and I just gut-picked Chromaggus. Feel free to let me know if you disagree with that pick, but it just seemed like the superior choice and as a bonus it was another dragon to help activate my Blackwing Corruptor. It could also help me with some late game card draw and is a big body that dodges BGH.
OPTIONS FOR PICK #13: Dalaran Mage vs Mad Bomber vs Dragon's Breath. I'm nearing the half-way point of the draft. For Mages, is there a general ratio of removal to minions that would be recommended? I have 2 removal spells (Frostbolt and Fireball) and 10 minions. Should I try adding to my removal collection with Dragon's Breath? Would Mad Bomber be too random to be valuable? I feel like extra spell damage can be good, but I fear that the arena puts too much inconsistency into the mix for the Mage to be the top pick of these three. My feeling is that I want to pick Dragon's Breath, but that would be my fourth 5-cost card. Curve-wise, should I value the 2-drop Bomber higher?
Mad Bomber is the pick here for me. good 2 drop beats out low tier 3 and 5 cost cards
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Feugen is pretty solid in Arena since he's really hard to remove and I like his lower cost so he doesnt just sit in your hand. Chromaggus isn't really wrong... he works as well with Corruptor as he works poorly with Fel Reaver so that's a wash. I can see why you gut picked that.
For this pick, Dragon Breath is really pricey unless you can make exchanges. You only have 3 2 drops, maybe 4 if you count Frostbolt which means you can use more of them. Mad Bomber fits the bill nicely, especially since he can work w/ your hero power later on.
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I'm in agreement with the Mad Bomber... I tend to pick that card in just about every class, save for Paladin.
Mad Bomber is usually more upside than downside because he doesn't damage himself. He's better than your vanilla 3/2.
A common case is to play him on turn two. Either you play him into an empty board and he decreases life totals slightly (mostly a wash, maybe slightly good for our tempo deck). Or, in the other common case, you play him when the opponent has one minion in play. If the minion has 2 health, then he's better than 1 in 4 to outright kill it, and is 70% to hit it at least once.
He's only bad if you're ahead on board (boo hoo) or if you have lots of little guys in play. The latter seems unlikely for this deck.
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I actually like Dragon's Breath even though it's no fireball or frostbolt. It's sometimes more expensive and is less damage than fireball, but it's still 4 damage that can be pointed anywhere. I don't think we have too much burn right now either.
In my case, I like both of these and think it's pretty close.
Mad Bomber, especially on a class that can ping, is great value. Dragon's Breath is decent, and it's not hard to make it cost 3 in arena, but it still is not that efficient (as in - I wouldn't be unhappy to play it, but I'd rather play a good early game threat).
Chromaggus is great - it's hard to lose if it sticks even one round.
Lots of solid praise for the Mad Bomber. I hadn't thought about it being able to damage a minion to the point that I could then ping with my hero power for the kill. I picked it up.
OPTIONS FOR PICK #14: Dragonkin Sorcerer vs Bluegill Warrior vs Gnomeregan Infantry. This seems like it should be between the Dragonkin and the Bluegill. The 2/1 charge seems like a decent early drop minion. The Dragonkin, is a 3/5 for 4, as the likelihood of me powering it up is I think 0% given the Mage class. It's a less powerful yeti. Am I silly for ignoring the Gnomeregan Infantry? Am I silly to think that I should pick up another 2-drop?
Dragonkin would be my pick. you might be able to get a spare part for him or something. I think he's better than the Murloc, though not really great and its another dragon which for your corruptor. The murloc wouldn't be a bad choice per se, but i'm not a huge fan of it b/c it only trades with 2 health things, most of which will be 2 drops.
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yeah dragon kin should be nice. . it's another dragon so your corruptor is looking better and better. plus it wud avoid being taken out by spell damage in early game I think so should trade with something. and it's only your 2nd 4 drop... which is esp. good if you want to hold hungry dragon for t6.
While Dragonkin is average, other choices are just bad.
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Based on the feedback, it sounds like the Dragonkin Sorcerer is the proper pick to help round out my 4-drops. And a 3/5 certainly isn't bad.
Total side-note before jumping to the next pick: This thread (and the previous one) has been super helpful and I've really enjoyed going through this process. I thought it'd be fun to make a logo for my "Teach a Man to Fish" thread series, as I definitely plan to keep doing this, and I just love trying my hand at graphic design. (Logos/branding in particular I find just super interesting.) Anyway, I thought I'd share the logo, along with a minimalist class icon for Mage.
Okay, back to the draft! OPTIONS FOR PICK #15: Oasis Snapjaw vs Acidic Swamp Ooze vs Piloted Shredder. So this seems like an easy pick of the Piloted Shredder. Based on statistics, it's one of the most commonly picked cards in arena, especially in 12-win arena decks. In addition, I currently have four 2-drops and only two 4-drops. While the Ooze is a solid 2-drop, my belief here is that the Shredder is still the better pick. Would anyone argue for the Ooze over the Shredder?