The function of the deck is to get Fire Hawk and Arcane Amplifier out as early as possible with Elemental Evocation to do as much damage early as possible. Prioritize Fire Hawk since it is relatively vulnerable and needs to get it's damage in before it can be taken out. Then shift to boosted face damage and Animated Avalanche to finish the job. Games are usually over by turn 8, after which your odds of winning plummet fast. Either way the games are short which I welcome in this meta.
The other keys I find are:
card draw seems very important unless you luck out with the right cards early, so play around Elemental Allies to bring the burn cards in, consider more draw power
getting Animated Avalanche in play (x2) early with Evocation can be a death blow (theoretically as early as turn 2), be mindful of saving an Elemental to play the round before you can play Avalanche to get it's twin
get Fire Hawk out on turn 1, don't wait for more attack, he's too vulnerable
protect Fire Hawk, Arcane Amplifier and Avalanche with Mirror Image, good vs attacks and random destroy effects
boost your burn and hero power whenever possible
For me, Lackey (specifically Rogue) and Embiggen Treant decks do the best against it as they are best able to neutralize the early minion aggression. Without inflicting early damage it's very hard to do enough midgame. Unfortunately, there are a lot of these decks right now.
This deck is pretty darn cheap to make with zero legendaries or epics. It just seems one dynamic short of being viable as it is currently too streaky... I feel bipolar playing it. Maybe Luna for draw may be the boost it needs, but I don't have her so I can't try. Let me know if anyone figures something out.
Mirror Image and Spirit is counterproductive in your deck, the more face damage you include in your deck, the more efficient your deck is. Think something like Face Hunter, it use bad cards, but together it work well.
Lyconik, I agree about removing spirit. I tried him out because the deck was losing a number of games to Druid with lots of early creatures. Spirit can be awesome here with a Amplifier on the board... but right now that doesn't seem to happen enough. He's back on the bench for now.
I did add another Arcane Intellect.
I disagree about Mirror Image though. In a lot of games (in this particular deck) this card is critical in keeping the heat off the other cards and my face... and buys time. It is also great vs Priest. Priest doesn't do much on their side of the board until they drop Convincing Infiltrator on turn 4 or 5 to take care of a key card. Drop a few Mirror Images then kill it to better the odds your key card survives.
I am still on the fence about Daring Fire Eater. It helps quite a bit, particularly with an Amplifier in play, to do damage or take out a bothersome minion. I may try removing it but I need more damage so it's hard to take out.
I will look at more elemental options and perhaps Pyroblast (which I don't have). But the last thing I want it to draw a Pyroblast at the start of the game and I am not sure it will save the day enough on turn 10. I threw in Doomsayer for now to try out.
I started playing it with Deck Tracker for data and so far it's 11-10 floating around rank 10. Druid seems to be my nemesis so far at 0-3. Though a Paladin sure made me his bitch. I am 4-0 vs Priest and 2-0 vs Mage.
Crazy stat of the day is my coin stat. With coin it is 14% win rate and without coin it's 71%. That tells me that I need more card draw. I'd craft a Luna but she rotates out soon.
Maybe more + spell damage will help. There's a 0/6 Elemental for 2 I can try. Or perhaps I need to consider controlling their board a bit more again with a mass damage card or two.
Or maybe I need to craft Leeroy Jenkins or Faceless Corruptor.
Druid ruins this deck regularly. I had my best start so far, dropping 2x Fire Hawk 5/3 on turn one.... and lost to a Druid.
I am just about to use my last dust to craft Leeroy for this deck unless someone wants to stop me because perhaps without boosts or return to hand he doesn't add enough value.
Mage doesn’t really need Leeroy in a deck with two Fireballs. I totally see Jan’alai in this deck though, maybe a Cyclone/Chenvaala package with Scorch to synergize with the elementals, or like more burn with Lifedrinkers which are useful against aggro too.
Druid ruins this deck regularly. I had my best start so far, dropping 2x Fire Hawk 5/3 on turn one.... and lost to a Druid.
I am just about to use my last dust to craft Leeroy for this deck unless someone wants to stop me because perhaps without boosts or return to hand he doesn't add enough value.
Leeroy works in many decks and is a must craft IMO. So even if you craft him and don't use him for this deck, he will find his place somewhere.
Thanks Mort1ons. When the deck draws well it is a Blitzkrieg. But it often doesn't which makes it streaky.
I crafted Leeroy and am trying him out. I am not waiting to use him as a finisher, if he can do his 6 damage I play him.
I am still working on the right amount of draw and limited creature control to get it more balanced. Druid dropping so many good minions fairly early is a huge problem. Everyone else seems to make for a competitive match.
I took out Mirror Image for a while but they are back in there. I've also been trying Gadgetzan Auctioneer and Faceless Corruptor but I am not sure if either will make the cut.
I did try Chenvaala, but found his ability came too late in the game usually. By turn ~6 I have usually lost creature advantage and am switching to direct Face damage or Avalanche to try to finish the job. I also tried Cyclone with a little more success and I may try him again. But usually he would get me 1 or 2 spells.
I dont think a face mage works but if you want to try something you should have less minions and more burst, i dont think the slow elemental package fits
I dont think a face mage works but if you want to try something you should have less minions and more burst, i dont think the slow elemental package fits
This. It's close and fun but doesn't quite get there often enough. Seems to be the story for Mage.
I decided to really try some other classes for the first time. My impressions seem to line up to shows in the following way.
Hunter is like the live version of Lion King if it had a surprise T-Rex. Face Hunter is the Dad who was taken to the show against his will. Warrior is Stomp if they were all hungover. Rogue is like mini versions of the cast of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon trying to break into a 1920s bank vault. Druid is like Cats on steroids and catnip. Mage is the Blue Man Group... They are over there doing something that catches your attention occasionally but not really leaving an impression on anyone. Shaman is Gremlins on steroids and catnip. Warlock is the Dracula puppet musical from Forgetting Sarah Marshall.
Okay I am bringing this up again as I have tried tweaking it. I think it holds it's own vs all classes except embiggen Druid where it has nearly a 0% win rate. Many times I get within 1 turn of winning and full health only to lose. It does quite well vs Rez Priest, Face Hunter, Warrior, Mage, and Shaman though sometimes the card draw is just not good enough to win. Rogue and Warlock results are mixed but Rogue is a little tougher.
If I could just get it to win some games vs Druid it may be competetive. If you have any ideas let me know. Next trial I think I am going to pull out Frenzied Felwing and Dune Sculptor for 2x Azure Explorer to boost the spell damage further but I doubt it's enough. Felwing is almost always a free drop or 1 mana. The goal is to win before turn 8.
Seems to be working so far. I also pulled out Cyclone for another Emissary to keep it focused. Up from rank 15 to 12 after a few matches and even beat an Embiggen Druid.
Here is the latest version. I must say that I am addicted to playing this deck. It wins between turn 4-8 and if you don't have them on the ropes at that point you can just quit. Druid still destroys it by ramping up big creatures quick and then Rogue is the next toughest.
I refocused the deck to it's intended purpose. I added 2x Frenzied Felwings which really work well in here. Dropping an Arcane Amplifier turn 1 followed by doing 5 damage with it turn 2 then dropping Felwing is good value. But Felwing seems to be valuable when ever you drop it. Even turn 1 if you have a coin and Arcane Missiles.
I gave up on draw.
I recently replaced 2x Mirror Image with 2x Blazing Battlemage at Lyconik's suggestion. I still like Mirror Image a lot, but Blazing Battlemage can do damage while Mirror Image cannot and Mirror Image dilutes the spell pool that Elemental Allies pulls from. You ideally want it to pull damage spells.
I haven't yet had a turn 2 2x Avalanche yet. But I did have a turn 3 2x Avalanche that activated Elemental Allies and had mirror image in play to protect them (before subbing those out).
I have only been playing it in casual recently though so I am not sure how it does in the ranked meta. But it's fun. Hopefully it will get some more help with the rumored Mage assisting Year of the Phoenix.
Race to the face. Just curious if you think this can be made viable as a budget Standard deck.
You will have to end things early or you'll lose. It seems to work well in a few trials, I will try ranked next.
I am actively tweaking it as I go but here's the baseline.
Meant to post this in Deck Building.
The function of the deck is to get Fire Hawk and Arcane Amplifier out as early as possible with Elemental Evocation to do as much damage early as possible. Prioritize Fire Hawk since it is relatively vulnerable and needs to get it's damage in before it can be taken out. Then shift to boosted face damage and Animated Avalanche to finish the job. Games are usually over by turn 8, after which your odds of winning plummet fast. Either way the games are short which I welcome in this meta.
The other keys I find are:
For me, Lackey (specifically Rogue) and Embiggen Treant decks do the best against it as they are best able to neutralize the early minion aggression. Without inflicting early damage it's very hard to do enough midgame. Unfortunately, there are a lot of these decks right now.
This deck is pretty darn cheap to make with zero legendaries or epics. It just seems one dynamic short of being viable as it is currently too streaky... I feel bipolar playing it. Maybe Luna for draw may be the boost it needs, but I don't have her so I can't try. Let me know if anyone figures something out.
Mirror Image and Spirit is counterproductive in your deck, the more face damage you include in your deck, the more efficient your deck is. Think something like Face Hunter, it use bad cards, but together it work well.
So I'm thinking about Lifedrinker and Blazing Battlemage instead of Mirror Image and Daring Fire-Eater. Also, a second copy of Arcane Intellect instead of the Spirit.
Good luck.
Pretty sure I got wrecked by a deck like this today around rank 2. Seems okay tbh.
Lyconik, I agree about removing spirit. I tried him out because the deck was losing a number of games to Druid with lots of early creatures. Spirit can be awesome here with a Amplifier on the board... but right now that doesn't seem to happen enough. He's back on the bench for now.
I did add another Arcane Intellect.
I disagree about Mirror Image though. In a lot of games (in this particular deck) this card is critical in keeping the heat off the other cards and my face... and buys time. It is also great vs Priest. Priest doesn't do much on their side of the board until they drop Convincing Infiltrator on turn 4 or 5 to take care of a key card. Drop a few Mirror Images then kill it to better the odds your key card survives.
Replay1
Replay2
I am still on the fence about Daring Fire Eater. It helps quite a bit, particularly with an Amplifier in play, to do damage or take out a bothersome minion. I may try removing it but I need more damage so it's hard to take out.
Replay
Replay2
I will look at more elemental options and perhaps Pyroblast (which I don't have). But the last thing I want it to draw a Pyroblast at the start of the game and I am not sure it will save the day enough on turn 10. I threw in Doomsayer for now to try out.
I started playing it with Deck Tracker for data and so far it's 11-10 floating around rank 10. Druid seems to be my nemesis so far at 0-3. Though a Paladin sure made me his bitch. I am 4-0 vs Priest and 2-0 vs Mage.
Crazy stat of the day is my coin stat. With coin it is 14% win rate and without coin it's 71%. That tells me that I need more card draw. I'd craft a Luna but she rotates out soon.
Maybe more + spell damage will help. There's a 0/6 Elemental for 2 I can try. Or perhaps I need to consider controlling their board a bit more again with a mass damage card or two.
Or maybe I need to craft Leeroy Jenkins or Faceless Corruptor.
I will try extra spell damage first.
Druid ruins this deck regularly. I had my best start so far, dropping 2x Fire Hawk 5/3 on turn one.... and lost to a Druid.
I am just about to use my last dust to craft Leeroy for this deck unless someone wants to stop me because perhaps without boosts or return to hand he doesn't add enough value.
Moved for you. :-)
I got anihilated by this deck this morning. I had no idea what was coming at me and before I realised I lost the game.
Nice deck!
Mage doesn’t really need Leeroy in a deck with two Fireballs. I totally see Jan’alai in this deck though, maybe a Cyclone/Chenvaala package with Scorch to synergize with the elementals, or like more burn with Lifedrinkers which are useful against aggro too.
Leeroy works in many decks and is a must craft IMO. So even if you craft him and don't use him for this deck, he will find his place somewhere.
Thanks Mort1ons. When the deck draws well it is a Blitzkrieg. But it often doesn't which makes it streaky.
I crafted Leeroy and am trying him out. I am not waiting to use him as a finisher, if he can do his 6 damage I play him.
I am still working on the right amount of draw and limited creature control to get it more balanced. Druid dropping so many good minions fairly early is a huge problem. Everyone else seems to make for a competitive match.
I took out Mirror Image for a while but they are back in there. I've also been trying Gadgetzan Auctioneer and Faceless Corruptor but I am not sure if either will make the cut.
I did try Chenvaala, but found his ability came too late in the game usually. By turn ~6 I have usually lost creature advantage and am switching to direct Face damage or Avalanche to try to finish the job. I also tried Cyclone with a little more success and I may try him again. But usually he would get me 1 or 2 spells.
I dont think a face mage works but if you want to try something you should have less minions and more burst, i dont think the slow elemental package fits
Favorite Cards: 1. Lord Jaraxxus | 2. Malygos| 3. Edwin VanCleef | 4. Zephrys the Great| 5. Deathwing
I am going to try to get Boompistol Bully and Scorch in. I forgot Scorch has synergy with Elementals and amazingly I don't have any yet.
This. It's close and fun but doesn't quite get there often enough. Seems to be the story for Mage.
I decided to really try some other classes for the first time. My impressions seem to line up to shows in the following way.
Hunter is like the live version of Lion King if it had a surprise T-Rex. Face Hunter is the Dad who was taken to the show against his will. Warrior is Stomp if they were all hungover. Rogue is like mini versions of the cast of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon trying to break into a 1920s bank vault. Druid is like Cats on steroids and catnip. Mage is the Blue Man Group... They are over there doing something that catches your attention occasionally but not really leaving an impression on anyone. Shaman is Gremlins on steroids and catnip. Warlock is the Dracula puppet musical from Forgetting Sarah Marshall.
Okay I am bringing this up again as I have tried tweaking it. I think it holds it's own vs all classes except embiggen Druid where it has nearly a 0% win rate. Many times I get within 1 turn of winning and full health only to lose. It does quite well vs Rez Priest, Face Hunter, Warrior, Mage, and Shaman though sometimes the card draw is just not good enough to win. Rogue and Warlock results are mixed but Rogue is a little tougher.
If I could just get it to win some games vs Druid it may be competetive. If you have any ideas let me know. Next trial I think I am going to pull out Frenzied Felwing and Dune Sculptor for 2x Azure Explorer to boost the spell damage further but I doubt it's enough. Felwing is almost always a free drop or 1 mana. The goal is to win before turn 8.
Seems to be working so far. I also pulled out Cyclone for another Emissary to keep it focused. Up from rank 15 to 12 after a few matches and even beat an Embiggen Druid.
Here is the latest version. I must say that I am addicted to playing this deck. It wins between turn 4-8 and if you don't have them on the ropes at that point you can just quit. Druid still destroys it by ramping up big creatures quick and then Rogue is the next toughest.
I refocused the deck to it's intended purpose. I added 2x Frenzied Felwings which really work well in here. Dropping an Arcane Amplifier turn 1 followed by doing 5 damage with it turn 2 then dropping Felwing is good value. But Felwing seems to be valuable when ever you drop it. Even turn 1 if you have a coin and Arcane Missiles.
I gave up on draw.
I recently replaced 2x Mirror Image with 2x Blazing Battlemage at Lyconik's suggestion. I still like Mirror Image a lot, but Blazing Battlemage can do damage while Mirror Image cannot and Mirror Image dilutes the spell pool that Elemental Allies pulls from. You ideally want it to pull damage spells.
I haven't yet had a turn 2 2x Avalanche yet. But I did have a turn 3 2x Avalanche that activated Elemental Allies and had mirror image in play to protect them (before subbing those out).
I have only been playing it in casual recently though so I am not sure how it does in the ranked meta. But it's fun. Hopefully it will get some more help with the rumored Mage assisting Year of the Phoenix.
For reference standard casual 25-19.