Mage is All the Rage

Hearthstone Posted 2014/06/16 at 7:03 PM by williedills

MageMages' Arena Fuel

- In constructed play this card is often too slow and by the time you can play it you might be dead. In arena where the style is more control oriented this card really shines and it’s mere existence forces people to play differently.

- 3 damage for 2 mana is a good deal but the added ability to freeze gives the Mage another way to deal with larger creatures as you can Frostbolt then ping creatures to death or set up bigger Flamestrikes. This card also synergizes with Ice Lance for some finishing burst.

- This card is the one that really sets Mages apart. 6 damage will kill most big creatures but if the Mage uses them on creatures it almost feels like a victory because they’re at least not going to your face. Either way, for 4 mana this card is incredibly strong.

- This card used to be better but after it was nerfed to 4 mana it has seen a lot less play. It’s still a fine card and allows Mages to stall for even bigger Flamestrikes or burn spells.

- Mages not only get all that sweet removal but they get a 4-drop that actually outshines a . The 6 health on this card makes it very difficult to remove which means it often costs 2 cards to take care of.

- Mages also have the ability to start furiously fast with this 1-drop that grows for every spell cast. Mana Wyrm + + can straight up lead to free wins as the damage just snowballs from there.

- in combination with the Mage hero ability this card means that no creature is safe no matter how much health it has. Killing Mages with their own sheep is probably the most satisfying moment you will ever have in Hearthstone, however, so at least there’s that.

- this card is not as strong as the others but gets an honorable mention because it can often deal with stealth creatures and helps grow Mana Wyrms. It also has a 50/50 chance to kill most 2-drops for 1 mana which can lead to some big tempo swings in the early game.

May reportRogueBeating Mages

Comment by 1236752Pyroblasting faces feels good, even though it is somewhat cheap.
Also, anyone who might spend some time watching popular videos might have seen the horrific Frostbolt plus 4 Ice Lance Arena combo. I think that's more painful to bear than a Pyroblast to the face.Comment by SilegyPyroblasting faces feels good, even though it is somewhat cheap.
Also, anyone who might spend some time watching popular videos might have seen the horrific Frostbolt plus 4 Ice Lance Arena combo. I think that's more painful to bear than a Pyroblast to the face.Comment by 1109396Mages make up 20% of the class picked in Arena, but in reality you'll face them on average a lot more than 20% of the time, especially if you start winning games. The fact is, mages also have more "staying power", meaning a mage deck if built correctly with some luck are likely to go 7 wins or above, therefore facing on average a bigger number of opponents than the rest of the classes.
I like to play Rogue in Arena (if Mage is not available), and noticed that usually if I win 3 or 4 games I start facing mages a lot more often than the rest of the classes.Comment by williedillsThis is a valid point. I spoke about this on the show but I have lately noticed a trend of getting to 8-10 wins without any losses, then facing 3 insane Mage decks in a row and losing all 3. These are the Mages that got the good drafts and they tend to bunch up at the high win totals.

However, 20% is the actual number as the majority of people don't win a lot of games and get to this point.Comment by Klaital1Where is the next Angry Chicken episode? :/Comment by ShalottEI don't see it on hearthhead but you can find it on amove.tv http://amove.tv/news/2014/6/17/hack-the-dreamComment by quelianosI honestly have more problems with rogues in arena than mages. I once beat a mage who had four flamestrikes and it felt wonderful. He was spamming me with threats so it was one of my most exciting wins in Hearthstone. After you win a few games, it is true though that you will see mostly mages, followed by rogues and shamans.