Weekly Legends: DK Jaina Grinder Mage

Introduction

Time to grind out some Druids. I have returned from my far-off travels, and am back this week to break down one of the cooler decks I’ve seen since KFT. Grinder Mage is something I’ve had in mind for the past month, but I just wasn’t sure how to make it work. Luckily, MrMockRock went ahead and did it for me. His list is an interesting build that he piloted all the way to legend. What makes this version so unique is that, unlike most slow control lists, it does not have any real finishers to speak of. You have access to Frost Lich Jaina and that’s really it. Instead of pushing towards big threats, you really win by simply running your opponent out of cards turn after turn after turn. Grinding them down (hence the name) is a win condition in an of itself. That may be hard to see just by looking over the list, but the more we discuss the cards, the more you will understand how it all comes together.

Key Cards

The Tech

While that may be an odd section heading, I wanted to lump these cards together because they are all important one-of choices that help give this build some extra power. The first part to look at here is the secret package. As you have double Arcanologist, you can freely slot in whatever secrets you want. The three here are Ice Block, Ice Barrier, and Counterspell. Block and Barrier are both fantastic options for the current meta, as they each give you just a little more staying power against faster decks. Though it is hard to take advantage of block in the same way combo decks do, sometimes you just need one extra turn to get to your Frost Lich Jaina or Alexstrasza. In addition, being able to run Counterspell is fantastic against things like Ultimate Infestation or Evolve. What makes the card strong is that most people will not see it coming, and you can often lead your opponent right into it with the proper set up.

The other tech cards worth discussing are the single Volcanic Potion, Acolyte of Pain, and Skulking Geist. Each of these cards serves a very important purpose, and they all add to the deck in their own way. Potion is good because, though you have double Flamestrike (more on that later), having one more small AOE can be great for chipping down big boards or clearing early aggro pushes. Beyond that, Acolyte of Pain is a great way to generate some extra card draw when you have slower or more awkward hands. Two is a bit redundant, but the 1/3 body is useful in many situations just to smooth out your draws. Geist is just here for Jade Druid. Though the other two cards can be tweaked, you need to play the six drop in this build. You are a grinder deck, which means you win by running your opponent out of resources. That simply will not happen against Malfurion unless you get rid of his Jade Idols.

Polymorph

Polymorph is your premium removal spell and it should be saved above all others. Being able to get rid of any big threat is fantastic, and being able to remove any buffs or deathrattles is even better. A big part of playing this deck is making good use of your mana and knowing how and when to save your different spells. There are a lot (a lot) of ways to kill things here, and you want to stay on top of all of them. Don’t just use a spell on a threat. Understand why you’re using that specific spell on that specific threat. Sometimes you need to save this for Tirion Fordring, sometimes you need to use it when you have the mana, and sometimes you just need to turn away early damage. Always look at the different cards in your hand and only use this one when your other options have been exhausted.

There is no reason to pull the trigger on Polymorph just because you can. Always have a target or specific use in mind before you run this one out. There are always going to be problematic cards in each matchup, but sometimes it is right to take out a 5/5 or 6/6. There are always going to be more removal spells, but they are not always going to be as efficient as poly. There is no “right” target here. If you have no options against a threat, take it down right away. Yes, transforming a 2/4 Frothing Berserker or a 4/4 Enchanted Raven may not feel great, but it is a lot better than taking chunk after chunk of damage. Also note that Poly is a great way to trigger Frost Lich Jaina‘s ability. This does not come up often, but it is something to think about when playing towards the DK.

Flamestrike

Going off of the above discussion, Flamestrike is going to act as your premium AOE. This card is still one of slow Mage’s best tools. In fact, there are going to be many cases where it outright wins you the game. I would say this is one of your strongest tools and you want to try to get as much value from it as you possibly can. You are a slow grinder list, and that means it is ok to be greedy. Using clear spells is always going to be tricky because you need to know how to get value without letting your opponent beat you up to much. You want to read your hand, look at your health, and then see how many beatings you can take. Then, you need to measure that against how many minions your opponent has in play and how many cards they have in their hand. You typically want to take down at least three bodies here, but that varies from match to match. In addition, if your opponent is top-decking or only has one card it can be right to just remove a single or two threats. Don’t just wait for a big board, react to the game state first.

Don’t worry about selling Flamestrike. You are a deck that is going to remove minions. Your opponent knows that, and they also know that you are packing the seven mana spell. If your opponent knows you have strike in hand one of two things are going to happen. They are either going to run a few minions to bait it out, giving you extra time to set up your other plays, or they are going to run hard into it and give you a ton of value. Each of those works for you, so you need to start setting this card up as soon as possible. Yes, pinging something down to four health is going to be obvious, but you have other ways to kill things should your opponent hold back. This deck isn’t so much about setting up Flamestrike as it is forcing your opponent to play into it because they simply will not have enough damage if they do not.

Alexstrasza

Will we ever get through a Mage deck without talking about Alexstrasza? Unlikely. The dragon is one of the best Mage cards around, and, as always, she is not easy to use. I bring up the 8/8 here, not to once again discuss the balancing of damage/healing, but rather to point out how much pressure she can bring into a game. Most of the time (nearly all of time) you are going to win games with this deck by getting your opponent into top-deck mode where they simply do not have any gas. You have cards, they don’t, you win. However, you are still a Mage at the end of the day, and there are ways to put together burn should your need it. If you find yourself in a situation where you have damage in hand, or if you are going up against a slow deck, you should not be afraid to lean on Alex as your alternate finisher. She may not be as strong as the Frost Lich, but she does a great job of comboing people down. It is very easy to fall into the grinder mindset and overlook other ways you can win the game, but there are other paths. Don’t just see the dragon as a control tool, understand how much pressure she can represent if given the chance and play to her if possible.

Frost Lich Jaina

The win-con herself, Frost Lich Jaina is a beater of a card that can (and will) slowly grind any deck down to dust. Though she may not seem too powerful at first glance, her ability generates a lot of value that is surprisingly hard to catch up. Water Elemental is a strong card, and they can really spin out of control once you have two or three going. Not only do they help freeze out big threats, but the healing they provide also makes it very unlikely that you die to burst. In fact, once you get the 3/6’s going it is hard for any deck to kill you. Your goal with this list is to make it so your opponent is top-decking with no minions on the board. Many lists are going to sputter at that point, but you need ways to actually finish out the game. The Frost Lich is how you make that happen.

The most important thing about becoming Frost Lich Jaina is getting those precious Water Elementals. Always think about the different ways to get your opponent’s minions to one health and work hard to get there. This may seem like a difficult thing to do, but you have so much chip damage and removal (not to mention the Water Elementals on board) that you should have no problem setting up your hero power. There are even times where you can ping down your own minions to get the 3/6’s. The final note here is to always become the Frost Lich as soon as you can. Most of your game is going to be spent killing things, which makes it hard to take a turn transforming. If you have the DK in hand you should build up the board in a way that allows you to play here without losing too much of the board or leaving yourself exposed to damage. You don’t have to rush here. Jaina will eventually win you the game, but it does not happen right away. Don’t put yourself into a risky position just because you want to get her going.

Matchups

The four decks I’ve seen the most during the early days of the meta.

Jade Druid

We start with public enemy number one. Jade Druid is an incredibly strong deck that continues to get more and more popular by the day. While it may seem odd, your deck is very well tuned against the green threat. Your long-term strategy does a good job against Druid because by the time you get to your bigger threats you will have considerably worn them down. Yes, you are eventually going to need Skulking Geist to win this matchup (unless they steal it with the Lich King!), but that doesn’t need to come right away. Just note that you win this game by being proactive. You simply cannot sit back and try to slyly take down your opponent’s different cards. Even without Jade Idol, Druid is going to be able to draw a ton of threats and get big. You want to get into a position where you play the tempo game and become the aggressor. This is not going to be easy, but always look for ways to get ahead in minions. Once you do, you should be able to use your removal and run your opponent down.

The most important part of this game is going to be saving your big removal. Polymorph and Meteor are both very strong against gigantic Jade Golems, and that is something you need to recognize early on. There is going to come a point in this matchup where your opponent starts to get huge. Do not panic. Rather, just slowly take down your opponent’s threats one turn at a time. Doomsayer/Frost Nova can be especially strong against big bodies if your opponent has limited removal or cards. Also note that rarely are all the cards in your opponent’s hand going to be jade cards. Always count how big your opponent can potentially get and then sculpt your removal accordingly.

Aggro Druid

According to charts (and my ladder play) it seems that Druid has taken up the two most popular spots in the current meta. Aggro Druid was strong before KFT, and you better bet they pack a heck of a punch now. This is an interesting game that, barring some insane start or Innervate shenanigans, is going to fall vastly into your favor. The reason is that you have enough AOE and spot removal to chip down Druid turn after turn after turn. Flamestrike and Blizzard are fantastic here, as our plays like turn two Doomsayer. Your entire goal needs to be controlling the board and getting your opponent out of cards. Aggro Druid is strong, but they have some of the worst topdecks in the game. If you can limit their resources you should be able to roll.

This is perhaps the only matchup where you want to liberally use your removal. Anytime you can clear a threat you should. Aggro Druid has always been good at building, and that goes double now that they have their new tools. Sitting back and letting two small minions stick around can easily cause the game to slip away and the damage to pile up. Do not get reactive here. Attack your opponent’s minions and don’t wait to see what happens. The only exception to the above rule is to save your AOE (including Doomsayer/Frost Nova) for Living Mana. The 2/2’s are very strong against your deck and they can kill you on the spot if you have no good answer. Playing sayer on turn four (or any turn before you think they are going to come down) is a great way to deter the card and buy extra time.

Kazakus Priest

While we do live in a Druidic world, we also live in a world where Priest is one of the most played classes. Kazakus Priest has some strong tools that help it against most of the field, and they have some powerful plays against you. You want to treat this matchup like a slow game, where your goal is to get your opponent out of cards in any way that you can. One of the problems with facing Priest is that they do not run too many minions. That largely invalidates a lot of your removal and can make your hands quite dead. Work hard to set up your end game and do not be afraid to drop down Doomsayer on an empty board to clear the path for something like Alextrasza or The Lich King.

This is a matchup where you want to play to Frost Lich Jaina as well as you can. Priest plays like control, but they are really a combo deck that leans heavily on the interaction between Shadowreaper Anduin and Raza the Chained. That combo means they are going to be able to do a lot of damage, and that damage piles up in a hurry. However, if you have one or two lifestealing Water Elementals you should be able to keep out of their range. Even one 3/6 can be enough to keep them at bay. For that reason, always try to bait out their Shadow Word: Pain early on. It also helps to save Alexstrasza for the end of this match as well.

Pirate Warrior

Though it has fallen, I doubt Pirate Warrior will ever fully leave the meta until rotation. The deck just has all the blinding-speed it’s always had and it just keeps coming.  As you can expect, this is going to be one of your more difficult matchups. Pirate gets off the block quickly, and it does not take long for them to completely overwhelm you. One dead turn or bad play can leave you in a deep hole. To combat that, you need to run out any body you can and try to get to the middle turns intact. Remove every minion that comes down and work towards any secret you might be able to play. Pirate, like aggro Druid, is a list that does not topdeck well. They have a ton of resources early on, and then they slowly wind down. However, they also have a wide range of live cards. When thinking about how to survive against Garrosh you should always calculate their damage potential both in their hand and in their deck. This will help you understand what plays to make and what lines will keep you alive. Also note that Frostbolt on your opponent’s face can be a great way to stop any potential top-decked weapon.

Midrange Paladin

Wrapping up the top five is Midrange Paladin, a deck that leans on its early game and tries to end things quickly in a flurry of strong cards and cheap murlocs. This game is going to be another good matchup for you. Not only does Paladin have limited deathrattle options, but they are also quite susceptible to removal. The way you win this match is by setting up strong Flamestrikes and Meteors. Each of those cards hits Paladin’s board quite hard, and they will both buy you a ton of extra time. Getting to your finishers in this one is not going to be too difficult, it is losing from value play after value play that makes this hard. Use Blizzard and Volcanic Potion as chip damage and do not be afraid to just Frost Nova to buy an extra turn. Frost Lich is insanely strong against Paladin and once she comes down the game is almost always going to be over. Polymorph should always be for Tirion Fordring and Alexstrasza is almost always going to be used on your own face. While you never want to be too greedy, this is one game where you should try to wait that one extra key turn before burning AOE. Catching even one more minion can be extremely important.

Mulligan Guide

This deck does not play like traditional control, but it does mulligan like it. Your goal here is to get as much early removal as possible and then build up from that point as much as you can. Arcanologist, Frostbolt, Primordial Glyph and Doomsayer are your four must-keeps that you want to look for in every matchup.  Though it is more situational, Medivh’s Valet can also work as an early keep against aggro when you have a slow or heavy hand.

In terms of the other options, Arcane Intellect should be kept with a good curve or against slower decks, and Acolyte of Pain should always be kept with a strong opening or the coin. Frost Nova should never be kept against slower builds, but you always want it with Doomsayer against aggro or midrange decks. However, it is not strong enough on its own. Finally, Volcanic Potion is a great keep against aggro (including Paladin) and Polymorph is strong when you have a curve before it.

Conclusion

Grinder Mage is a list I am quite fond of. Though there have been many control builds throughout Hearthstone’s history, none of them truly capture the essence of pure control like this one. I love the fact that there is no true win condition, and I also enjoy just slowly wearing my opponent out of cards. This is not just a point and kill things list. It is a deck where you need to conserve resources and carefully calculate how you’re going to take down each and every threat. More thinking is always better, and this build truly promotes that. Plus, you get to play Frost Lich Jaina. Until next time, may you always succumb to true power.

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