A
Blood Mage
is an adept caster capable of hurling devastating spells from afar. Once part of the Alliance long ago, they turned to what appeared to be darker magics of fire, some becoming outright warlocks. They were once led by the mighty Kael'thas Sunstrider who succumbed to visions of grandeur. While he is gone, he remains the most famous, or infamous, rather, Blood Mage of Azeroth.
Cauterize
was a difficult Hero Power to develop but it embodies the Blood Mage well both mechanically and lore-wise. It can be viewed as "Destroy a minion with 2 health or less." In a sense, it's a bit like
Mortal Coil
, always a strong card when you can get it off. Furthermore, it helps support the class' core identity, triggering on damage revenge effects, an in-game example being
Acolyte of Pain
.
The
Blood Mage
is bit of a mixed bag class, like
Shaman
. They excel in dealing direct damage and racking up Spell Damage like a
Mage
, but also exhibit a tendency for making sacrifices for power, much like
Warlock
or
Warrior
. Yet, at the same time, they have access to more than serviceable healing and even some completely new playstyles.
I really wanted a negative keyword this time around, a bit of a departure from most of my classes. It's also very straightforward and acts in a way much like overload, to balance out some extra stats or a cheaper cost. However, there are several cases where I use
Immolate
in the
player's
flavour, just to show that a seemingly one-dimensional, negative keyword can be mechanically interesting.
Example Cards
Gemstone Trundler:
The introductory card to the Power Crystal secret cycle. Each Power Crystal secret summons a 3/3 token but each does so in different ways, therefore keeping your opponent guessing. This replaces the usual secret support the Blood Mage would have gotten.
Ignite the Wildfire:
The culmination of Spell Damage synergy in the Blood Mage class. It is not the most difficult quest, most likely done at around turn 6-7. As such, it is not an end-the-game quest, but rather a slow complementary win condition. Nevertheless, it is a roadblock in your opponent's gameplan and the reward puts them on a clock.
Wyrmcalling:
This is the first card to support token Blood Mage. Compared to
Bloodlust
this card gives a permanent Attack boost but requires significant hand advantage. Therefore, this explains why this card is so cheap for its effect. (
Mana Wyrm
is at 2 mana)
San'layn Nobleman:
This is a more generic card for Blood Mage, keeping in theme with strong healing options.
Al'ar, Absolute Zero:
KFT will see two powerful token-based cards for Blood Mage, Al'ar being one of them. Like Wyrmcalling, he also requires you to have a sizable hand advantage. As such, Token Blood Mage plays in between Wispering Woods token Druid and aggressive swarm decks like Shaman. It needs to upkeep both a board and a hand.
THE BLOOD MAGE
Cauterize was a difficult Hero Power to develop but it embodies the Blood Mage well both mechanically and lore-wise. It can be viewed as "Destroy a minion with 2 health or less." In a sense, it's a bit like Mortal Coil , always a strong card when you can get it off. Furthermore, it helps support the class' core identity, triggering on damage revenge effects, an in-game example being Acolyte of Pain .
The Blood Mage is bit of a mixed bag class, like Shaman . They excel in dealing direct damage and racking up Spell Damage like a Mage , but also exhibit a tendency for making sacrifices for power, much like Warlock or Warrior . Yet, at the same time, they have access to more than serviceable healing and even some completely new playstyles.
I really wanted a negative keyword this time around, a bit of a departure from most of my classes. It's also very straightforward and acts in a way much like overload, to balance out some extra stats or a cheaper cost. However, there are several cases where I use Immolate in the player's flavour, just to show that a seemingly one-dimensional, negative keyword can be mechanically interesting.
Example Cards
Gemstone Trundler: The introductory card to the Power Crystal secret cycle. Each Power Crystal secret summons a 3/3 token but each does so in different ways, therefore keeping your opponent guessing. This replaces the usual secret support the Blood Mage would have gotten.
Ignite the Wildfire: The culmination of Spell Damage synergy in the Blood Mage class. It is not the most difficult quest, most likely done at around turn 6-7. As such, it is not an end-the-game quest, but rather a slow complementary win condition. Nevertheless, it is a roadblock in your opponent's gameplan and the reward puts them on a clock.
Wyrmcalling: This is the first card to support token Blood Mage. Compared to Bloodlust this card gives a permanent Attack boost but requires significant hand advantage. Therefore, this explains why this card is so cheap for its effect. ( Mana Wyrm is at 2 mana)
San'layn Nobleman: This is a more generic card for Blood Mage, keeping in theme with strong healing options.
Al'ar, Absolute Zero: KFT will see two powerful token-based cards for Blood Mage, Al'ar being one of them. Like Wyrmcalling, he also requires you to have a sizable hand advantage. As such, Token Blood Mage plays in between Wispering Woods token Druid and aggressive swarm decks like Shaman. It needs to upkeep both a board and a hand.
Tokens
Remaining Knight of the Frozen Throne Set
Commons
Rares
Legendary
Lich King Challenge Card
Remaining Ungoro Set
Commons
Rares
Legendary
Classic Set
Commons
Rares
Legendary
Basic Set