Introduction
Today, things get interesting. While we have covered a few of the top quest decks over the past couple weeks, we are now branching from the main path and entering the weird. Quests did not hit the ground running as much as many would have guessed, but there are still some I have a lot of hope for. Though I have given up on Paladin (and maybe Hunter if it doesn’t get its act together) I think Mage still has some potential. Today we are going to break down why that is and analyze a list I have been working on for the past week. Now, I am not saying today’s deck is going to be the top of the meta (I am not even saying its going to be super competitive) but I really do believe there is something here. I would treat today as a theory-crafting article where we look at an archetype and see the different ways it can come to light. Taking an extra turn is one of the most powerful things you can do in a card game, and I think it is a very strong tool for the long-lost Reno Mage build.
The Deck
So far I have only seen the Mage quest used for OTK decks that play like freeze. However, not only do those decks seem worse than freeze, but they also lack the inherent power that Freeze has. Even so, taking an extra turn is an extremely powerful ability and the more I thought about Open the Waygate, the more I wanted to play it. Since then, I have tried just about every possible Quest Mage build there is. I have tried it in tempo, I have played it in aggro, and I even suited it up with both freeze and heavy control. However, looking at my stats, the one build that has performed miles ahead of everything else is Reno (or rather Singelton). In fact, the build we are looking at today took me up about 800 points on the legend ladder.
Reno Mage may not be the first thing that comes to mind when trying to Open the Waygate, but Mage has become one of the most powerful classes in the game. There are so many good spells and so many strong options in Mage that it does not get punished too hard for losing consistency. There are a ton of cards (Arcanologist, Primordial Glyph) that support the singelton build, and a lot of them work naturally with Open the Waygate. The quest is strong, but you don’t need the quest to win with this deck. That is extremely important, and one of the key reasons I think this type of list works.
Key Cards
This section will explain some of the deck’s most important cards.
Open the Waygate
The entire reason to play this deck, Open the Waygate is one of the most powerful cards in the game. Anyone who has spent time playing card games knows how insane taking an extra turn in a game can be. In fact, it usually just ends things on the spot. That is the hope with this list, where you pace the game in a slower manner to set up a turn that your opponent cannot come back from. You will notice there is no “finisher package” here. Rather, you are going to kill your opponent with burn or a string of minions when you have the board. Arcane Giant is the only real card you want to have when playing the quest, everything else is going to completely depend on the situation at hand.
A big point about this card is that it does not always have to win you the game outright. Having an extra turn will almost always be lethal in one form or another, but it doesn’t have to be lethal. Sometimes you just need an extra turn to draw into that clutch Ice Block or to clear the board and get ahead with Archmage Antonidas. You aren’t going to race to the five mana spell, but you also want to realize when you need it. That extra turn comes in handy in a wide range of situations, and being able to get it in hand sooner than later is usually good. On that note, you don’t have to use the quest once you get it either. Just having it on call can really mess with your opponent. Knowing that you can always just go twice in a row will cause people to make risky plays, which can often be their downfall.
The Random Spells
A big bonus of playing a Mage list with Open the Waygate is that you don’t need to work hard to make the quest work. Many current quest lists (looking at you Hunter!) force you to cripple your deck. However, Mage is a class that naturally wants to play random cards that did not start in the deck. There are a ton of options for you here, ranging from Babbling Book and Kabal Courier to Kazakus and Archmage Antonidas. That doesn’t even include Primordial Glyph or the coins you can rip from Burgly Bully. Mage has a ton of amazingly powerful spells, and there will be many games where you are just playing Frostbolts and Fireballs while also working towards your end game. As noted above, don’t work too hard to get the quest online unless you desperately need it. It is better to let it occur naturally.
You want to pace this game as if you were a control deck in the vein of the old Reno build. That means you just want to clear big boards with AOE and use your ample spot removal to take down any bigger threats giving you trouble. Just note that while you are going to have some choices when it comes to Primordial Glyph, you generally have no control over what spells you might get. The best way to pace your random cards is to try to get them when you aren’t under pressure or don’t need to immediately impact the board. It is often better to fight with what’s in your deck and then try and figure out what you’re going to get later on. It is easy to caught up in questing, but you want to build your random effects around the game state. Looking for that one key turn when you can drop Cabalist’s Tome can be the difference between winning and losing.
Kazakus/Inkmaster Solia
The number one reason to a play a deck full of one-ofs is access to both Kazakus and Inkmaster Solia. As I mentioned in the video, we live in a much different world than we did pre-rotation. Though games are still fast, the power level has dropped drastically across the board. That means that Inkmaster Solia is now quite powerful. Tempo plays currently rule the ladder, and while those come in a wide range of different forms, being able to clear a board or hit for damage while also putting down a solid threat is extremely strong. The 5/5 is also fantastic with Open the Waygate because she allows you to both play the quest and add a body that can attack immediately on the next turn. Her and Arcane Giant are a quick way to 13 damage, which is usually enough with burn or other minions.
Kazakus is the other half of this equation, and the gang leader is better than ever. While the power has gone down in many decks, the 3/3 continues to be just as unfair as he has always been. So much so that I believe he alone (even without Inkmaster) is absolutely worth playing all one-ofs. Everybody knows how strong Kazakus was in a pre-Un’goro world, and now he absolutely insane. There are very few strong deathrattle minions these days, so his AOE is almost always going to be a full clear. Not to mention, he also draws cards and gives you numerous ways to control the board through freeze and polymorph effects. Oh yeah, and his spell does not start in your deck.
Cabalist’s Tome
Cabalist’s Tome may seem like a very obvious inclusion in this deck, but I do not think it is core. There are many ways to generate spells from outside of your original 30, and you can get easily get to six without tome. I bring up this point to discuss the idea that this deck (as a singelton build) has a ton of flex spots. The meta is very diverse right now, and there is no telling what you are going to face. Some ranks have a lot of Rogue, others are drowning in Hunters, while some are just chock-full of Warriors and Paladins. You should feel free to tune this deck to whatever classes you are seeing the most and do not hesitate to shift this deck towards your play style. The mix-and-match ability of an list like this is one of the biggest reasons to play it in the first place. Just be careful to always have extra card generators and do not forget to play the core combo pieces like Frost Nova/Doomsayer. Some very strong cards right now (besides Tome and Inkmaster) are The Black Knight, Stampeding Kodo, Gluttonous Ooze, Mind Control Tech and Eater of Secrets. I also think Golakka Crawler is quite strong.
Archmage Antonidas
There are several finishers available for Mage, ranging from Alexstrasza to Medivh, the Guardian to Pyroblast. While I think do not think you run a deck like this one without the inclusion of Alexstrasza and her usual unfairness, I have chosen to go with Archmage Antonidas as my key finisher. The reason for this is two-fold. One, all of the extra Fireballs that the old wizard creates are spells for your quest. That is very important because it allows you to both get aggressive and push for the quest at the same time. There have been many games where I have just Fireballed my opponent twice, gotten the quest, and then took an extra turn on my next turn and finished them off. Beyond that, Antonidas is also good because he demands immediate attention. This means you can almost always play him with a spell or two on the turn before you waygate in order to soak up your opponent’s mana and give you a clear path to victory.
I will say that Medivh, the Guardian is a very strong choice as well. Though I have not fully tested his potential, having access to his weapon when you are setting up the quest is usually going to be game ending. Not only that, but he also can just work as an attrition tool that you use to wear your opponent down in slower matchups. If you can Medihv and then use Fireball/Open the Waygate on your following turn you get a five mana and four mana minion that both have charge. Add in Arcane Giant in addition to the burn you have on your extra turn and the game should be over every time. This could be an interaction worth testing.
Matchups
The most common matchups I’ve seen while playing.
Pirate Warrior
No matter how much the meta shifts, Pirate Warrior will always be there. The aggro deck continues to stay strong and will likely continue to do so in the coming month. The list can do some incredibly unfair things, and it is faster than anything else (except maybe Aggro Druid). As a result, this is going to be a very hard battle. While you have your stacked end game, Pirate is stacked everywhere else. This is the one match where you really need to ignore your quest and focus on getting control of the board. Every minion Pirate has is going to translate into damage and that means you need to do what you can to make sure their minions never live longer than a turn. Your hero power works well for this early, and you should try hard to smoothly transition into on-board minions around turn three or four.
There are a lot of tools in this deck teched towards combating Pirate, including Water Elemental, Doomsayer, Kazakus, and Acidic Swamp Ooze. However, if you are seeing a lot I would recommend sliding in extra weapon destruction or playing Golakka Crawler. The main gameplan here is to control the first four turns and then push for damage after that. Bodies should always be your first priority against Warrior, but you should also not shy away from just pointing burn at your opponent’s face once you shift to the middle turns. This not only helps you close things out before your opponent finds lethal, but it also can make your opponent nervous and force them to take plays they normally would not. Remember, if Pirate is using their weapon on the board they are not killing you.
Control Mage
I am not really sure what to call the new Mage decks that have popped up all around the ladder, but they seem to love controlling the board until they kill you in one gigantic burst. That screams control to me, so that’s what I’m going with. While Jaina has some very powerful (and consistent) tools, this is a matchup that almost always falls in your favor. The reason for this is that you and your opponent are largely going to be doing the same things for most of the game, but you have an extra turn and they don’t. The way you use that to your advantage is by getting them low enough where you can pop their Ice Block and then immediately take your extra turn. When this happens, their block goes away and gives you lethal.
Do not play scared here. This is a matchup where you need to work hard to keep priority. The new versions of Mage have a ton of burn at their disposal and as soon as you fall behind they will leverage that damage. That then forces you into a corner where they can simply wear you down turn after turn. Play to Alexstrasza and always aim to have something on board against their minions. While they are also on the dragon plan, Mage can do quite a bit of work by chipping away with their smaller threats. It is also important to remember that you only have one Ice Block and they have two. This is the main reason you need the quest to win this because you can’t give them a chance at counter play.
Note: Work hard to set up Burgly Bully on an empty or favorable board to force them to give you coins.
Midrange Paladin
Midrange Paladin has gotten much more aggressive over the past week, but that does not mean their plan has changed. This deck still seeks to try and pace their opponent each turn before slamming down one of their gigantic finishers to wrap things up. They just do it with murlocs now. This is an interesting matchup that is going to be played in two parts. The first is up to turn four where you are going to work hard to get ahead of things like Vilefin Inquisitor or Rockpool Hunter. The murlocs get worse as the game goes on, so the more you can force them back the better your chances will be.
Once that stage of the game ends, you are going to find yourself up against a long string of big threats. Save your removal and freeze for these turns. Paladin does not put on that much pressure, and taking down a body or two can buy you a lot of time. Another key part of the later game is to look for key turns. For instance, you typically want to clear on turn five to make sure they don’t have access to Spikeridged Steed and playing down a turn seven Doomsayer can shut down a turn eight Tirion Fordring. The biggest problem for you is going to be Ragnaros, Lightlord because the 8/8 can immediately offset any damage you have strung together. To overcome this you just want to make sure you have the board when you play Alexstrasza. They cannot get down rag and answer the dragon in the same play.
Midrange Hunter
Another deck that just seems to hang around and hang around, Midrange Hunter is most likely going to be your hardest matchup. Like Pirate Warrior, this is a game where you need to focus on getting control of the board. Not only does Hunter snowball extremely well, but they also love to adapt their early beasts with Crackling Razormaw or trade them in to buff a Scavenging Hyena. Not to mention the damage they can do with Houndmaster. You want to be reactive in this game. Always look at your removal options and see what they could be best used for. For instance, you have to save your Polymorph for a Savannah Highmane and you usually want to try to hold onto your AOE for when your opponent pops a Rat Pack or goes wide.
Even after playing this matchup quite a bit, I am not sure if you want to keep the quest or not. My gut tells me yes, but only if you have some early action. So much of this battle is going to be decided in the early game that you need to make sure you have something to play, even if it simply a vanilla 2/3 on turn two. Every body matters against Rexxar, and even a Babbling Book can trade with their one drop. As such, I will always keep the quest with a good curve, but I’d pitch it if I don’t have any real action. The extra turn is rarely going to be lethal against Hunter, but you can often pull very far ahead against them just by going twice and clearing out their board.
Miracle Rogue
Miracle Rogue is still very popular, it is just not as popular as the top four decks. As shown in the video, this is a game where you typically want to take things slow. Anticipation is very important here because the current Rogue decks have a ton of threats and you need to figure out ways to get rid of them all. While Sherizan, Corpse Flower can be annoying at times, she is usually the least of your worries. Do not be afraid to just take her out with a removal spell or trade. Yes, your opponent is going to rez her from time to time, but it is not worth using something like a Polymorph only to get blown out by double Arcane Giant or a 10/10 Edwin Vancleef. The most important aspect of this match is making sure you are able to cleanly take out Gadgetzan Auctioneer and understanding when and how to pressure. Rogues do not have that many efficient removal spells, and they have no healing. As such, you should try to get aggressive as the game progresses to force your opponent into a tight corner. Yes, Rogue is hard to match when they are blitzing you down and bouncing anything you play, but when they start having to use their damage on your board they will crumble.
Mulligan Guide
When mulliganing with this deck you need to look for all of your starting cards and pitch everything else. Babbling Book, Acidic Swamp Ooze, Arcanologist, Doomsayer, Shimmering Tempest, and Primordial Glyph are your must keeps. Frostbolt and Flame Geyser are both great against board-centric decks, and you should always keep Medivh’s Valet against aggressive decks if you have no other early game.
Frost Nova should be kept with Doomsayer if you’re up against a midrange build. Volcanic Potion is a great against all aggro, while Kabal Courier and Arcane Intellect are good with a strong curve or the coin. Polymorph should be kept alongside early game against decks that go big early, and it is right to hold onto both Kazakus and Water Elemental if you have a curve coming before them.
Conclusion
Man this meta sure is fun. I have just been cranking out decks on my account, and this is one of the coolest I’ve played. While the numbers can still be changed, I do believe this is the most promising Quest Mage build to date. Un’goro continues to amaze and surprise, and I am not slowing down on this train at all. I am going back to the grindstone and seeing what other cool things we can look at moving forward. Until then, may you always take a turn…and then another turn.
Published: Apr 26, 2017 08:05 am