Scalise’s Sessions: Secret Mage

Introduction

Shhh! We have covered more than our fair share of decks on Scalise’s Sessions, and this week we are taking a trip to the top of the meta. Secret Mage is a deck that has been steadily gaining ground over the past month, and now it may well be one of the strongest decks around. Mage is a class that has a ton of great options in the low-power level game we all find ourselves in, and that has made certain cheap minions like Mana Wyrm and Medivh’s Valet extremely valuable. This tempo build is good, not because it has gotten that much better over the past few months, but because everyone else has gotten worse. Healing is rare in today’s Hearthstone, which means anyone who can play the aggro tempo game is going to have an advantage. And this one plays the tempo game very well.

The Deck

While you can run a lot of different packages, tech options, and finishers for this build, I vastly prefer this week’s list because it keeps things simple. I have talked on end about consistency in card games, and this version is predicated solely on that trait. You always want to have a nice blend of early minions, secrets, and secret activators. That means there is no reason to get fancy. This deck comes with a pretty basic secret package and whole lot of tempo-based two-ofs. I like thing when they’re easy, and nothing is quite as easy as early minions into tempo plays into damage. There are ways to spice this up (as covered in the replacements section) but I don’t think there’s any reason to fix what isn’t broken.

Early Game

While the name is “Secret Mage”, your real goal here is tempo. In fact, it is much better to operate like the Tempo Mage decks of old than try to become something new. You want to get out early, press your minions for damage, and then cap things off with burn. A 2/3 has never been stronger than it is right now, which gives you a considerable advantage. Things like Arcanologist hold the board without doing any extra work, which opens the door for you to build out your curve. Get your early minions down onto the board and protect them with your spells.

The other important part of starting games is finding small combo interactions to pull ahead. This deck is crafted on quick-hit plays that instantly let you take over a game. Something as simple as going Kabal Lackey/coin/Medivh’s Valet on turn two to kill a Scavenging Hyena or opposing Arcanologist instantly gives you the priority you need to build into your middle game. This also goes for tempo cards like Kirin Tor Mage. Get them out quickly and use their free mana to pull ahead.

Middle Game

These are the parts of the game where you want to try and get your secret value. The secret package can go a long way, but only if you plan correctly. Using your Counterspells or Mirror Entitys to control the board and set up your threats is very important, but you don’t want to give your opponent an easy out. Try to structure your game in a way that is going to constantly keep them on their toes. When your opponent is playing low-value cards to get around secrets they aren’t advancing their own gameplan, which is all you care about at the end of the day. As soon as they take a lackluster route you want to press for the board as hard as you can.

The middle turns are also very important for maintaining the tempo you built up early on. Cards Kabal Crystal Runner and Sorcerer’s Apprentice are very strong while you’re ahead, but very weak when you’re not. For that reason, you want to think about how to set up the mid-game threats in a way where your opponent needs to work to keep up. Think a few turns ahead and structure your removal in a way that is going to give you a clean board to work with. This is the one time where you want to use your burn on the board.

Another important aspect of the middle game is understanding when to push for damage. As the game goes on your threats are going to get worse and your opponent’s are likely going to get better. Your burn becomes your main priority at a certain point and you need to recognize when that is. Once you think you are losing the board (or once you recognize that your opponent’s threats are getting too big to handle) you need to leverage all of your damage at their face and set up your spells.

Late Game

Did someone say burn? The end game here is completely centered around pushing for lethal. You do not have the tools to sit back and lightly pick off minions or try to go long. Yes, there is a bit of reach, but, like Aggro Druid, this is a deck that does not topdeck well. Mana Wyrm may be great turn one when backed up by constant tempo spells, but on turn seven it is just a one mana 1/3. Ouch. For that reason, you want to allocate all of your resources into damage once you switch to the end of the game

It is best to look at all of your minions as simple burn spells during this part of the game. This helps you recognize how they might push damage through and helps you know which plays to take to maximize pressure. For example, using a Fireball to protect a Kabal Crystal Runner against a Hunter may be a good play if you have a secret up because the 5/5 will likely add up to more than six damage if it lives for two turns. However, if your opponent is a Mage that play may not be great because of all the ways they can pace the game.

The last part of this is to know that Medivh, the Guardian is also just a burn spell in another form. The 7/7 is a value machine, but those bodies are pressure and nothing more. You can try to set them up in ways where they take over the game, but don’t work too hard to get value from him. He is going to get you value no matter what.

Matchups

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

Discover Mage

It has finally happened. Pirate Warrior has been knocked off of its perch atop the meta. While it didn’t fall too far (it is just right below this after all) Mage now claims the top slot. Discover/Burn Mage is a very strong deck that aims to do exactly what secret does in a slightly different way. While you depend on fast starts and consistent tempo, they are built on slow burn and more controlling cards like Kabal Courier. This is a game where you need to crank up your pressure from turn one. Discover Mage likes using minions to fight for the board, but they will try hard to hold back their spells (which they use for end-game burst). If you get out quickly it is going to soak up their removal, which in turn soaks up damage. It is also a good idea to try and save your Counterspells for the end of the game where they can shut down key bursts of damage.

The biggest obstacle here is going to be Ice Block. Whenever you face Discover Mage the ever-present threat of Alexstrasza is going to hang over your head. It is almost impossible to take down the dragon (unless you have your own block), and that means you can never let your opponent get comfortable. Use your burn liberally on their face and do everything you can to take them off of their fail safes. It may not seem like a smart play to use two or three burn spells on turn eight to break a block, but that then prevents them from using Alex on nine because your ping is always going to be lethal. The golden rule here is, unless you are under immediate threat of dying, you want to take whatever measure you can to pop their secret.

Pirate Warrior

Pirate may be down, but they are not out. The deck continues to evolve in a new light, depending on strong board presence and crazy fast tempo swings to combat some of the other board-centric aggro decks running around. For that reason, all you care about in this game is the early board. Your early minions can be tough to deal with, but Warrior’s weapons will largely keep your pushes in check. The most important turns here are going to be three and four because if you can’t answer things like Frothing Berserker or Bloodsail Cultist the game is basically over. Try your best to conserve your spells for those two turns and use your minions for all early clearing.

Prepare for a race here. Like you, Pirate Warrior is a deck that gets worse and worse topdecks as the game progresses. For that reason, once you get ahead on the board you need to go fast. Frostbolt is one of the best spells in this game because it freezes your opponent’s face. Saving the two mana spell when getting into a tight game is a great way to suddenly shut your opponent out of damage they thought they had. Ice Block is also a great tool here because it allows you to push and forces your opponent to play conservatively. Being able to ignore the board and just go face is where you want to be in this game. Turning a Fireball at your opponent may make them second guess their plays and make a bad move they normally wouldn’t.

Midrange Paladin

Midrange Paly is a deck you need to be ready for in today’s world, and it is the matchup where you need to be the most focused on the board. No deck in the game plays off of their own minions better than Paladin and they have numerous cards they want to curve into. Gentle Megasaur and Murloc Warleader dominate the early game, while Sunkeeper Tarim and Spikeridged Steed will take over the middle. You cannot let your opponent get set in this one. This game is all about pushing forward fast and constantly keeping your opponent off balance. Sometimes that means getting in early damage to make them use their more reactive cards and sometimes that means constantly clearing their board to take value away their minions. This game is going to be pure tempo more than anything else. You are often going to win with a big bomb, which means you want to work to set up both Medivh, the Guardian and Pyroblast. Both of those cards can help you offset some of Paladin’s bigger plays and give you a way to power through both Tirion Fordring and Ragnaros, Lightlord. The two big legendaries can create problems. To beat them you want to overtake the board and set your opponent into a position where they cannot easily come back.

Midrange Hunter

It seems that all the topdecks want to do what you do. That is get out those early minions and use them to quickly snowball. Hunter is notorious for that gameplan, but, unlike Paladin, they structure their curve purely based off of damage. This game is going to be a one on one where you and your opponent are both seeing who is going to blink first. You cannot play scared int his game, but you also do not want to play stupid. Letting your opponent get an easy Houndmaster onto their turn three Animal Companion is stupid. However, ignoring your opponent’s turn five beast to push damage and take them off of a Savannah Highmane is not. It is all about tempo and playing to the damage you have in your hand.

When going up against Rexxar you want to make sure you can always find ways to make them second guess their line of play. This is not easy to do because it only takes one strong turn for them to take over the game. Things like Houndmaster of Savannah Highmane put them in control of the board, and they will snowball that potential. For you to win this game (presuming you get ahead early) you need to keep your opponent on the back foot. Do not hesitate to start throwing burn at their face. If you have damage in hand that adds up to lethal you should just go for it when you have the mana. Like when playing Warrior, this is a game where your can win as long as your opponent is worried about staying alive rather than damage.

Aggro Druid

Aggro Druid, which we covered last week, is one of the hottest builds around. The deck has a lot of fast power and they will punish anyone who doesn’t get their gameplan together fast enough. For that reason, this is a matchup where you want to sit back and try to play control. It doesn’t take much to set Druid off the rails. One strong swing turn where you get the board should be enough to lock your opponent out. Druid has no catch up cards and they also do not pack any removal. For that reason, once you can pace the game your opponent’s only strong counter is going to be Living Mana. The flood of 2/2’s is hard to play against and it is also hard to plan for. Rather, you just want to leverage all of your damage as soon as you get ahead on the board. Tempo your opponent as best you can, but know that you are likely going to be on a timer. The only way this plan changes if you have Counterspell. The secret is insanely strong against Druid because they have almost no way to play against it. I would almost always save it (and any activators you have) for turn four. This puts them into a very awkward position if they depended on getting value from Living Mana. Even if they have a cheap spell, the secret will typically delay them one turn.

Tip and Tricks

Know that you do not have to burn Kabal Lackey on turn one. While that is often going to be how the 2/1 is used, there are quite a few situations where you want to hold back on a secret. Don’t just run out Counterspell into your opponent’s coin because you can. Patience is key when playing this deck. Also note there will be games where you can play Lackey on turn one to get a body and not play a secret even if you have one.

Protect your early Mana Wyrms at all costs. There is no one drop in the game like the 1/3 right now, and it will snow ball extremely quickly. You should not hesitate to use whatever resources you can to make sure the spell-lover doesn’t die. You don’t need it to win the game outright, but you want to get in as many hits as possible.

Set up Medivh’s Valet. The 2/3 is arguably your best card when it’s turned on, but that is not always going to be easy to do. Most of your secrets (with the exception of Ice Block) are going to be triggered right away. That means the two drop is typically only going to be live on the same turn you play a secret. Understand this and look for your window to get in the three damage.

Your secret package is very important, and you need to play the spells in anticipation of what your opponent might do. Things like Counterspell or Mirror Entity can easily be played around. As a result, you want to play into situations where, even if your opponent knows what they are, they are going to have trouble. This means situations where they need to go off their curve to play a low-cost threat or use a spell just to save a better one.

Play to your burn. More specifically, set up Pyroblast. The ten mana spell is an amazing finisher because so few decks run ample healing to get above it. You want to press hard when the card is in your hand and start allocating burn as damage rather than removal. Know when you need to make the switch and go for it. Even if it means showing your hand.

Mulligan Guide

As noted above, you are a tempo deck. That means you need to aggressively (aggressively!) look for all of your early game minions. Your one drops are your life blood and you want to throw everything back that doesn’t feed into them. The general rule for this build is to get early minions alongside one or two spells. Those can be removal or secrets, but you want a mix of different things. However, never only keep spells in hopes of drawing minions. This mulligan only works the other way around.

Must Keeps:

Kabal Lackey Mana Wyrm Arcanologist Sorcerer’s Apprentice Frostbolt

Situational Keeps:

Medivh’s Valet is a solid keep in matches where you need an early body and don’t have one, or when you have cards that help you pump out an early secret (such as Kabal Lackey).

Primordial Glyph should be kept with any opening minion.

Arcane Intellect is strong when you have an early curve that comes before it or when you’re facing a slow deck. Do not keep this card on its own.

Your secrets are all good in different situations, but the general rule is to keep one as an activator alongside other opening secret cards. Going with too many can bog down your hand.

Kirin Tor Mage is strong with an early secret or a good curve.

Fireball can be kept if you have a good tempo hand with a strong curve.

Hold onto Ethereal Arcanist if you have a curve and the coin.

Replacements

There aren’t too many replacements you can make to this build, but the ones you have access to have a large impact. The secrets are core, but they are also flexible. Some decks run Potion of Polymorph, some prefer double Ice Block, and Spellbender is also quite a popular choice. When you are looking for secrets the only ones you have to have are two Counterspells and two Mirror Entitys.

Some lists have also cut Kabal Lackey because it can be very low impact during the middle and later stages of the game. That is a switch I do not agree with because the 2/1 leads to some insanely explosive starts. However, you could trim it if you wish for other value cards like Kabal Courier.

You can tech in some more powerful midgame threats if you find yourself slipping during turns three, four or five. Water Elemental is a pretty popular choice to shut down midgame weapons, but you can get as creative as running things like Burgly Bully to even Pyros. Whatever you choose, the goal here is to get something that does a great job of challenging the board.

Pyroblast is an obvious tech finisher that can be ported into other finishers or early game. I have seen some builds running Archmage Antonidas in this spot, while other people are starting to trend back towards Yogg-Saron, Hope’s End.

Conclusion

Whether you like Mage or not, there is no doubt that the class is powerful. I am still not sure how Secret remains so strong, but consistency is worth quite a bit in the current meta. Tempo has always been king in Hearthstone, and this goes to show how true that is even when the tempo is putting out generally lackluster minions. If you enjoy the spell class and want to try some under-used cards this deck is definitely worth a shot. Until next time, may you always counter spells.

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