MSOG - Let's discuss Mage

It’s December 2^nd, which means the Mean Streets have officially launched! I hope all of your preorder packs went well, feel free to share some of your pulls with us below! That fact aside, however, let’s get into the discussion.

Mage was a strong class before this expansion, and has always been a strong class. Tempo Mage being at an all-time high of tier 1, and Freeze Mage, while not particularly top tier right now, is still an incredible deck that often limits what your opponent can do to win the game by a good amount. Quite possibly one of the best cards Mage has seen so far is the Kabal Lackey, which, assuming the Mage has a Secret in his hand, could push for some incredible value by turn 1. The only problem I see with this is the Cloaked Huntress issue. Sure, it can provide absolutely crazy Tempo value by turn 3, but playing that many cards in a single turn without reliable draw puts your hand condition at a serious disadvantage. This card will obviously be run in Tempo Mage, but perhaps Freeze Mage could use a copy as well. In combination with Archmage Antonidas, it can basically create another Fireball for 1 mana instead of the usual secret cost of 3, and those of you who play Freeze Mage know that every Fireball counts.

The Freezing Potion isn’t particularly good, but again, I could see it run in either Tempo or Freeze Mage. In Tempo Mage, it can create a free Fireball from Archmage Antonidas, but more importantly, in the early game, it can allow for free Flamewaker shots, and we all know how effective those are at board clear. Personally, I think this card’s purpose lies in Freeze Mage. It allows for Frostbolts to be used earlier on to board clear, without having to worry about losing too much of a win condition, as the Ice Lances can still get their additional effect due to the potion. Also, zero mana spells in general are simply good in Mage due to the existence of Archmage. Overall, a solid card, and I look forward to the creativity people use it with.

Potion of Polymorph is simply a less reliable version of Polymorph. Just keep running it, and no one will be ever the wiser.

The Cryomancer and Cabal Crystal Runner cards are basically more tech choices for Tempo Mage, and vary based on how your playstyle works. I like the fact that Tempo Mage decks are becoming more diverse in this sense, and look forward to seeing how these cards can, and most likely will, be integrated into at least some Tempo Mage decks.

Greater Arcane Missiles is a cute design, but overall, the effect for the cost isn’t nearly worth it. If Arcane Missiles is considered a good card at best, then that same logic should apply when this comes around – 9 damage for… 7 mana? I understand the idea behind it, but in almost every case, it will just end up as an optimistic form of board clear, and Mage already has Flamestrike, one of the best forms of removal the game currently has to offer. At the very least, it does provide a decent spell for Yogg-Saron, which won’t inherently get it killed, so that’s something. Speaking of board clear, Volcanic Potion is interesting. It can be used as a tech choice as a Tempo, or maybe even Freeze Mage, against aggressive Warlocks, potentially Zoo. Aside from that, the effect is unoriginal and underwhelming, which, yes, is harsh – yet, in all honesty, true.

Inkmaster Solia was discussed in a previous article, check it out here!

That does it for Mage this expansion. Overall, I think both Tempo and Freeze Mage received some interesting variants that very well might sneak their way into the Meta. Up next on the class discussion, we’ll be discussing Priest! Thanks for reading, folks.