The Many Uses of the Millhouse Manastorm

Author: DirtyWizard

I get very bored very quickly, and unless I am playing with a deck that contains large helpings of unpredictability and RNG, I can only handle 3 or 4 games in a row before I get the itch to switch. But although this means that I will never have the patience to reach a high rank on the ladder, it also means that I rack up huge experience using the so-called non-competitive ‘fun’ cards like Millouse Manastorm.

I am a huge fan of taking cards that everybody else says are unplayable, and finding ways to make them at least half-viable. So for all of you out there who have been dying to throw a Millhouse Manastorm into your deck, but so far haven’t (due to desperate cries of “don’t do it!” from your fellow Hearthstone players), here are a few strategies you can use to make Millhouse Manastorm a surprisingly useful part of your deck.

Strategy One: The Titanic Turn Two Spell-Sucker

This is the most obvious way to use Millhouse Manastorm, and according to many players, the only way to use him. It consists of using Millhouse Manastorm on turn 2 (or turn 1 with the coin), which will give you one of two distinct advantages:

1. Great early board presence
If your opponent is playing a deck low on spells, then chances are you will get away without any drawbacks, and you now have a fantastic (and very OP) board advantage — after all, a 4/4 poses a significant threat at such an early stage in the game. For this reason, Millhouse Manastorm becomes ‘Titanic’ in the true sense of the word - big and powerful.

2. Baiting late-game spells
If your opponent has a couple of key late-game removal spells, then great - most opponents get excited at being able to squash your 4/4 for free with a turn 2/3 fireball, or at Hexxing poor millhouse into a (not completely useless) frog. This makes Millhouse Manastorm become ‘Titanic’ in the nautical sense of the word - he will definitely sink. However, that’s a good thing - your opponent has just wasted key late-game removal on getting rid of a 2-drop card. When your bigger minions hit the game later they’ll be wishing they hadn’t!

So, it’s a turn-two winner every time, right? Now quite… here are a few class-specific dangers to watch out for:

Mage: Pyroblast. A pyroblast will never be used against your Millhouse Manastorm. If your opponent is holding a pyroblast, then prepare for 10 damage to your face next turn. But this isn’t a huge worry, as no sensible adversary will mulligan for a pyroblast on purpose, so most sensible adversaries will not be holding one. This is just one of those risks you’ve got to take.

Hunter: Animal Companion. This is probably the most annoying answer to Millhouse Manastorm. EVERY Hunter is probably holding an Animal Companion, and every Animal Companion is a formidable threat. The best you can hope for is the 4/2 charger who will just run into your Millhouse Manastorm, but this is only a slightly favourable trade. Tip: If you are planning to play a turn-two Millhouse Manastorm against a Hunter, mulligan for a Dancing Swords, as this is the perfect answer to all three of the Animal Companions.

Priest: Mind Control. You can easily handle losing Millhouse Manastorm, but can you handle your opponent stealing him for free? To be honest though, this isn’t THAT bad - Mind Control is annoying at late-game stages, so you know at least you’ve got it out of the way. Plus, just like Pyroblast, it is an unlikely response… and you can always follow up like you would against Animal Companion with the Dancing Swords.

Paladin: The most common problem here is finding yourself staring down the nostrils of a 5/5 token with Divine Shield (Hero Power + Blessing Of Kings + Divine Shield). At least your opponent probably has quite an empty hand now.

Druid: Probably the worst class to play a turn-two Millhouse Manastorm against - the Druid has spells that add mana crystals, as well as lots of other useful spells for super-powering their minons. And because they can play their spells for free, they will be using their Innervates to get their high-powered minions onto the board as quickly as possible. With a Druid players, you’re not just giving them a chance to waste late-game cards in the early game, you’re actually pushing them into the late game itself. For example, Violet Teacher + Innervate + Coin is already 3 minions on the board and 3 mana to spare… Tip: Throw Millhouse Manastorm OUT of your starting hand against a Druid.

Rogue: Sap. The Rogue has the potential to empty lots of spells at you, especially if they’re holding a Sprint - plus once they’re finished, they can Sap that Millhouse Manastorm back into your hand for another round. Tip: Don’t fall for the bait - leave them exhausted for the time being, and save your Millhouse Manastorm for one of the later-game strategies I am going to discuss shortly.

Warrior, Warlock and Shaman do not really carry any specific major or common threats other than those already described - with the exception of the Warrior who will probably enjoy a quick free card draw + 5 armour, these classes are more likely to simply empty some key spells at you.

Strategy Two: The Lorewalker Follow-Up
If you have a Lorewalker Cho and a Millhouse Manastorm, then you want to play them in that order as soon as possible. Having something with Taunt on the board really makes this work even better, but is not vital.

Similar to the first strategy, this baits the opponent into emptying key spells at you with the added bonus of an extra threat - Lorewalker Cho - that will give you a copy of every spell unless dealt with quickly. I have found that more often than not, your opponent will not play spells. Some will carry on regardless, and others will have a quick way of removing your Lorewalker Cho before emptying spells at you - again though, as this is more of an early-game strategy, this usually works to your advantage.

Strategy Three: Loatheb’s Companion
If you want to get some really solid board presence in the mid-late game that lets you control what your opponent can play next turn (spell-wise), then Millhouse Manastorm followed by Loatheb on the same turn is an incredible move.

For just 7 mana you get 9/9 worth of stats on the board, with the added advantage of knowing that your opponent can only play a maximum of two spells next turn (and that’s with a full set of mana crystals) - this is because this combination makes every spell, regardless of original cost, cost 5 mana. Of course, this will make certain spells cheaper and others more expensive - but at least you know exactly how many your opponent is able to play, and if they do decide to play two spells that turn, that’s all they’re going to do.

Minions or spells, sucker? You can’t have both!

Strategy Four: The Top-Decker Wrecker
We have looked at the most common use for Millhouse Manastorm (an early-game 4/4 that gives you presence or baits spells), as well as a couple of mid-range strategies.

But what many people forget about is that Millhouse Manastorm can be great in the late game if your opponent is top-decking.

When your opponent has 10 mana and no hand, whatever they draw they can usually play, regardless. So if they draw a spell, making it free is not going to give them any real advantage. Of course, there are exceptions to every rule - cards like Sprint, Thoughtsteal and Arcane Intellect can still ruin your day… but the risk is much lower, and you have just got a 4/4 for 2 mana.

Conclusion

I hope you found some of this useful, and would ask you to please leave your comments below - yeah yeah yeah, you can’t comment without an account. So what? Register now - it’s really fast, and in less than 2 minutes you can be either complimenting or criticising my post to your heart’s content!

If the interest is there, I’ll do more write-ups - and believe me when I say that I have found competitive uses for practically ALL of the non-competitive cards!