Scalise’s Sessions: Discover Mage

Introduction

Time to switch gears. While the quests were fun, there were just a few that I couldn’t make work (*cough* Hunter *cough*). And, instead of making you guys read about bad decks, I figured we’d do some teaching instead! So, welcome back to Scalise’s Sessions, where we break down some of the big players in the Hearthstone metagame and learn how to play them. We are (at the time you’re reading this) over a month into the new set and things still seem to be pretty wide open. Many classes are viable, and that gives us a lot to work with. I decided to kick off the new set of session articles with Discover Mage, one of the premier decks right now. Not only is the deck very strong against a lot of the other popular classes, but the list is tricky to pilot. It is hard to see how the pieces come together, and there are a lot of small decisions that matter in each game. Today we are going to look at all that and see the best way to take this list up the ladder.

The Deck

There are many versions of this deck now, but I prefer the classics. As such, I decided to go with Psy_Guenther’s original list. Not only do I believe this one to be have the best mix of spells and minions, but I also think it plays the tempo game better than any other list out there (including his current one). Discover Mage is interesting because it is a control deck that makes great use of early tempo and board control. Yes, most of your power is going to come from your finishing burn and large threats, but getting there is going to depend on key early turns and a removal-based mid-game.

This list plays a lot like a mix of Freeze and Midrange Hunter. That is to say, you want to end the game in a flurry of spells, but instead of stalling each turn with your frost, you want to use value minions. This helps you build unlike any other deck in the game and enables you to mold your style in a range of different ways. Remember that this build does not have one path. There are many routes to victory, including playing straight control with Medivh, the Guardian and Alexstrasza, or getting hyper aggressive with Mana Wyrm and early burn. Adaptation is key.

Early Game

As mentioned above, you need to begin this game with minions. Your board control (even something as simple as a Babbling Book) is absolutely key to winning games, and this is where you need it the most. While it may not be obvious, trading in minions or making your opponent trade in minions is a good way of stalling and protecting your life total. That then helps you move the game at your pace and prevents you from being overrun by faster decks. For those reasons you want to look for all of your early bodies and just run them out when you can.

In that same vein, being able to pace the game in a tempo-style is also important. You have a very strong deck, but there are a lot of slow cards that are very weak in a vacuum. For example, Kabal Courier is great for playing into your mid-game value, but it is also a 2/2 for three. That isn’t going to cut it if you’re behind or struggling to keep up with Pirate Warrior. For those reasons, you want to get a handle on the first two turns to make sure you can drop down those type of cards while you’re ahead. Letting your opponent back onto the board is fine, falling behind during a stalemate is not.

Try to get out your secrets here when possible. Paying three mana to inherently do nothing is not how you want to spend a turn when things starts to get really tight as the game goes on. As a result, you want to play Ice Block or Ice Barrier sooner rather than later. They can be a large tempo-loss, but if you have a turn two Arcanologist it can help trade. In addition, a turn four or five Medivh’s Valet is a great follow up that helps you make up for not impacting the board the turn before.

Middle Game

The middle of the game is going to be where you bridge your opening turns with your late ones. This section is usually a bit awkward in that you may have some wasted mana or some dead turns, but that is fine. All you need to focus on here is trying your best to stay one step ahead of your opponent. Leverage your removal to make sure your opponent never gets anything to stick. This will slowly grind them out of plays. Try to set up Meteor if possible and do not hesitate to pull the trigger on Polymorph. The less damage you take, the easier it will be to set up lethal in the late game.

Do not forget your finishers. It is very easy to get caught up in your plays, but understand that all of your removal is setting up your end game burst or big minions. You want to try to get a hold of the board around turn six or seven to push you ahead. Even if your board is not threatening, having extra breathing room for a turn or two (especially behind Ice Block) is all the time you need to put together burn.

Late Game

Almost all of your games are going to end in two ways: big minions or burn. Your whole plan is to build toward the later turns where you can push your opponent out of the game with quick damage that they cannot handle. There is very little healing to go around these days, which makes cards like Pyroblast and double Fireball fantastic finishers. Once you switch into this stage of the game you need to push hard and start throwing everything you can at your opponent’s head.

Understand how you need to use Medivh, the Guardian. The 7/7 is a great value card. Sometimes he will be your win condition and other times he will serve as a value tool that makes your spells a little better. Against control you typically want to save him as a way to wear your opponent down, but against faster decks you should just run him out when you have the chance to do so. He is hard to stop once he gets going.

Do not shy away from swinging with the Atiesh. That may seem counterproductive, but there are times where you need the extra damage or you want to ping something down and keep the board. Value is important. Keeping a hold of the game is better.

As with Freeze Mage, you need to understand the best way to use Alexstrasza. Doing ten or more damage to your opponent’s face is very strong, as is going back up to fifteen against aggro. Getting your life up before an opponent breaks an Ice Block can help you stay alive or set up burn, while waiting to hit your opponent after they have used healing is a good way to ensure you won’t run into problems setting up lethal. One of the biggest problems I see when people use the dragon is that they are too careful with her. This deck packs a ton of burn, and your opponent will be scared once they get hit by Alex. If you have a block up (even if you are at low life) using her ability on your opponent is the right play because it puts you back in control of the game.

Matchups

A breakdown of the different decks I see while playing ladder.

Pirate Warrior

When facing Pirate (and you will face Pirate) you need to hyper focus on the early turns of the game. The aggressive Warrior list makes a living on decks that start off slow, and it will rush you down in a hurry if you aren’t careful. This matchup can be very tricky because, even if you do manage to stabilize behind a secret they will often go big with Arcanite Reaper and just wear you down. For that reason, there are two win conditions in this matchup. The first is the aggro route, where you get early board presence and then quickly use your burn to wear Garrosh down before he can properly set up his finishing damage. This is not always the way you want to play this game, but if you get out ahead of them on turns one, two, or three you should work hard to force them to into bad plays.

As you may know, the other win condition here is going to be a combination of secrets and Alexstrasza. Pirate is very good at killing people, but they also have difficulty getting through the Ice Block/Ice Barrier combo. That goes double if you heal up to fifteen and get an 8/8 down. You want to control their board throughout the game and remove every minion you see. You will still take damage through that plan, but the dragon should put you out of finishing reach your opponent might have. Do everything to get to her.

Note: Frostbolt on your opponent’s face can be a great way to prevent dying to a topdecked weapon.

Midrange Paladin

Midrange Paladin is one of the premier decks in the game, and you are going to beat it by going all in on the tempo plan. While you do not need to be aggressive, you do need to work to hold the board and slowly chip away at your opponent’s life total. All forms of Paladin try to hold the early board with their murlocs and getting out ahead of the fish is important. Paladin snowballs harder than any other class in the game (with the exception of Hunter) and you do not want to try and play them from behind. Run out all of your threats and then use whatever spells you can muster to protect them. Even something as simple as an Arcanologist can help you get to your middle turns ahead, which then really takes the wind out of Paladin’s bigger threats.

The number one card you have to watch out for here is Ragnaros, Lightlord. The 8/8 can absolutely demolish your plan and will often just win your opponent the game on the spot if you aren’t prepared. Rather than trying to fight through it (though you can by pinging something and hoping the elemental hits that instead) you need to have board control by turn eight. Firelands Portal is one of the best card in this game, and you should always try to set it up on seven to discourage the 8/8. Another good way to stop the legendary is to push aggressively into an Alex. That way, if they do try to heal up to save health you can simply negate it with the dragon.

Discover Burn Mage

Ah, the good ol’ mirror match. This game is a very interesting fight where you and your opponent are both going to be as aggressive as possible. This game is largely settled during the first four turns because whoever has board control is going to be able to snowball very hard. The way to think about this match is whoever has priority is going to end up on top. Do whatever it takes to keep your minions around and lean on your burn second. Once you get ahead you need to be aggressive, but if you don’t have early board control you will never reach that point in the first place. Also understand when you need to start pushing with your burn. Your goal is to get your opponent to use their Alexstrasza defensively, which means you want to stack up damage on turns six through eight.

The best card in this matchup is Ice Block. Both you and your opponent are going to have two lives, so you need to really work at popping your opponent’s before they pop yours. As long as you do this one turn ahead you can simply ping them right out of the game. It is also important to watch out for Ice Barrier. If your opponent has low health you should always try to burn them out rather than run in minions. There is no reason to give them eight extra health for free.

Note: Medivh, the Guardian is another very strong way to take the board in this game. Unless you are in danger of dying to minions you need to play him as soon as you can.

Midrange Hunter

Midrange Hunter is a difficult matchup for any Ice Block Mage. Not only do they have their oh-so-annoying hero power, but they also come equipped with a ton of sticky threats that just keep ticking you down turn after turn. Hunter has one of the best curves in the game. However, when that curve falters they really struggle. This is yet another matchup where the early board matters. Getting ahead of your opponent to deny things like Scavenging Hyena, Houndmaster, or Crackling Razormaw is key to soaking up damage and preventing your opponent from steamrolling you. Just play bodies here and worry about their abilities later. A 2/3 Medivh’s Valet on turn two is going to be a lot more important than it will be on turn five.

This is a matchup where you want to tempo early and then rapidly switch to control. Like Pirate, this is a game where Alexstrasza is going to often put you out of damage range. Work hard to trade with everything Hunter has and do not worry about being too defensive. Rexxar loves synergy cards and you want to work very hard to kill any beasts your opponent might have. Even leaving one Alleycat alive can given them buff targets or set up Kill Command. Be hyper aware of all their deathrattle minions and constantly think of the best way to clear with the spells in your hand and the minions on the board.

Miracle Rogue

Rogue is still hanging around the ladder, proving that (once again) Miracle never truly dies. In this game you are the aggressor, plain and simple. Not only does Rogue have no taunts to shut down your early plays, but they also have zero healing to speak of. This leaves them very vulnerable to big burst and quick pressure. Knowing that is key because it helps you plan out your turns. This is the one matchup where you can start setting up lethal three or four turns ahead. There is just nothing they can do about Fireball into a late Firelands Portal into Pyroblast. While you do not want to ignore their minions, killing things does not matter as much as you think. Most Miracle decks these days rely on big threats to slowly wear down their opponent. This means they have little burst, making your secrets very strong against them. Just take the time to clear their big threats and use everything else to push the damage gameplan. If you can start hitting them hard on turns one or two they will never be able to catch up when you start pumping out your haymakers.

Tip and Tricks

One of the most important tips with this deck is to always tailor your play style to your spells. You are going to hoard a lot of different spells from outside of your deck, and knowing the best way to get use out of them is very important. If you stack up a lot of freeze you should try and play the stall game, while if you get a ton of burn you just want to start throwing it out as fast as you can. Your spells are going to change each game and you should know the best way to adapt.

Choosing with Primordial Glyph is not always easy to do. You usually want to take burn first and then look for other options. Freeze comes second, and extra secrets are always a good option (especially at low life).

In that same vein, Kabal Courier is very good at helping you adapt to different decks. Look for removal or healing when you’re up against an aggressive deck and try to find finishers or burn against slower builds.

Play to your Ice Block. Having the secret essentially gives you an extra turn, allowing you to set up two turn lethal in a wide range of different ways. If the spell is active and you have burn in hand you should not worry about the board or tipping your hand. Just push with damage and see if your opponent has the answers.

Fireball is almost always going to be used for board control rather than burn. There are a lot of strong decks on ladder that make a living off of the middle game, and being able to take those out with a simple four mana spell helps keep you in control.

You need to build to Alexstrasza. While it is easy to start moving towards the dragon on turn seven or eight, if you have her in hand early you want to make sure you have your opponent on the ropes (or control of the board) when she comes down. One of the only ways she is not effective is if your opponent can easily push damage past her or easily remove the 8/8. Start thinking about building to lethal on turn two or three.

Mulligan Guide

You have to open quickly with this deck and you need to do it with minions. For that reason, you should look for all of your early bodies when mulliganing and then work towards keeping your value spells. Everything that cannot help you in the first two turns should be thrown back. You only want to keep for value once you have opening bodies.

Must Keeps:

Babbling Book Mana Wyrm Arcanologist Frostbolt

Situational Keeps:

Bloodmage Thalnos can be kept if you have an early Frostbolt and there is a four attack minion (Frothing Berserker/Animal Companion) that you need to efficiently kill. Otherwise, always throw him back.

Medivh’s Valet can be kept if it slots into your curve around an early secret or Arcanologist.

Primordial Glyph should always be kept if you have any opening minion.

Arcane Intellect and Kabal Courier are both good with a good curve or the coin.

Ice Barrier can be a good keep with the curve or the coin when facing a hyper-aggressive deck.

Fireball is strong against a midrange or board-centric deck if you have a good curve and the coin.

Replacements

This list has had a ton of different iterations over the past two weeks, and they all have a certain amount of merit. While the core of the build (early minions into control into burn) is not going to change, there are some strong choices that can be made depending on what decks you’re facing the most.

Many lists have cut Babbling Book and others have let go of Kabal Courier. While I do not agree with that, you could make the switch for more value cards or stronger spells. I have seen Flame Geyser in some builds and a few versions have also teched in Sorcerer’s Apprentice to go stronger on the tempo front.

A single Volcanic Potion, which has become much more popular as of late, can be a good addition to fend off different aggro decks. The original list also ran Gluttonous Ooze. The card is a fine choice if you’re seeing a lot of weapon or Pirate decks, but I think the build is good enough against those lists without it. Still, you could cut a book or Polymorph to slide it in if needed.

Conclusion

Class is back! Well, I hope you guys enjoyed our bounce back to Scalise’s Sessions, and I also hope you are looking forward to the future ones. There are so many awesome decks to choose from right now, and I am not sure where I’m going next. If there is anything you want to see (or any deck you want to learn) just let me know in the comments. I hope you enjoyed our look into Discover Mage. Until next time, may you always discover more Ice Blocks.

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