Millhouse Manastorm, Master Baiter

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Millhouse Manastorm can be one of the most useful cards in the game, although it is a highly debated card amongst top players. I’ll talk about how I use him and some of the ways he can soak up damage and bait cards, as well as some of his disadvantages.

Going Second, Coining

If you go second and you draw Millhouse Manastorm, he’s a great card to keep, especially if you also have a taunt in hand. Coining Millhouse out will give you a 4-4 for two mana instantly. That’s some very strong presence instantly. In almost all hands, if I have Millhouse Manastorm drawn as second, I will coin him. If I wait longer to play him, the likelihood of my opponent having more spells is quite high, and, even worse, the likelihood of spells that can be combo’d together or spells that ruin my board.

Going First

If you’re going first, keeping Millhouse Manastorm in your hand instead of trading is very situational. For me, if I have a good two drop in my hand that I want to hold onto, keeping Millhouse doesn’t feel very good. If I have Stormforged Axe AND Millhouse, it means that Stormforged is going to get delayed, which can be a problem against a strong coined play (like a Rogue’s Coined Defias Ringleader, or a Hunter’s Starving Buzzard, or any class’ Pint-Sized Summoner), I probably will trade out Millhouse. Playing a control deck, if you’re going to take Millhouse going first, you need to still have some way of dealing with a minion that gets coined out. If you’re comfortable knowing that you might end up playing Millhouse on your third turn, or putting out Millhouse as a 4/4 against whatever coined play your opponent used, then you can keep him.

Before talking about the midgame Millhouse Manastorm, let’s talk about his battle cry and how he can backfire OR make some sick baits.

Your Enemy’s Spells Cost (0) next turn; Which spells might you see after Millhouse is played early?

Druid: Wild Growth, Mark of the Wild, Naturalize, Bite, Swipe, Nourish, Starfire

• Wild Growth was likely to be played anyway; he gets it faster, but you still have a 4/4

• Mark of the Wild, an early minion has Taunt and +2/+2. He buffs a guy early; this hurts. Millhouse plus another card will handle this most times (or sometimes alone), but this sets you back

• Naturalize will probably not be played. If it is, he’s desperate and you get cards

• Bite could be used to kill Millhouse, but it’s a key druid card he no longer has if he does.

• Swipe is the same for Bite; he uses a critical card due to desperation

• Nourish is scary. If he has that in his hand, he will get sick draw early.

• Starfire/Starfall is similar to Bite/Swipe. He kills Millhouse, but wastes a key card.

Shaman: Lightning Bolt, Rockbiter Weapon, Feral Spirit, Lightning Storm, Lava Burst, Hex

• Lightning Bolt needs to be comboed with spellpower or another card to kill Millhouse

• Rockbiter Weapon needs another minion, a weapon, or another spell card to kill Millhouse

• Feral Spirit- Okay he has two taunts. But you still have Millhouse. Not ideal, but not terrible.

• Lightning Storm- This is desperate and a waste to use.

• Lava Burst- See Lightning Storm

Warlock: Corruption, Demonfire, Drain Life, Shadow Bolt, Hellfire, Sense Demons, Siphon Soul, Twisting Nether

• Corruption will kill Millhouse but leaves him for one turn. Totally fine.

• Demonfire can make a two drop stronger or hurt Millhouse. You probably won’t see this alone against him.

• Drain Life can kill Millhouse if there are two, or can finish him off combo’d with another spell

• Shadow Bolt will kill Millhouse. This is ideal for the Warlock, since that’s what SB is for

• Hellfire could be combo’d with Mortal Coil. It works well if the Warlock has a Molten Giant in hand, too. Unlikely, but you might see this.

• Sense Demons isn’t in most decks, but this would be handy for a Warlock

• Siphon Soul blows up Millhouse and gets health back, but leaves the Warlock feeling empty inside

• If you need insight on why a Warlock doesn’t want to use Twisting Nether.. You should probably start reading this article again.

Paladin: Blessing of Might, Blessing of Wisdom, Humility, Equality, Consecration, Blessing of Kings, Hammer of Wrath, Avenging Wrath, Holy Wrath

• Blessing of Might will give a minion 3/3, but it won’t hurt you. And it won’t be on a strong minion

• Blessing of Wisdom MIGHT be used on your Millhouse to make you reluctant; this is an indicator the Paladin is scared and does not have anything early to deal with Millhouse

• Blessing of Kings will make a recruit or other small minion stand up to Millhouse

• Hammer of Wrath can be used as a combo and/or draw, but not a big threat

• Avenging Wrath- Someone might randomly shoot in the dark here.

• Holy Wrath- He’s REALLY shooting in the dark and drawing a card

• Blessed Champion / Lay on Hands - You’re not going to see ‘em.

Hunter: Arcane Shot, ALL Secrets (2), Deadly Shot, Kill Command, Explosive Shot

• Arcane Shot isn’t going to kill Millhouse unless he has two or he has a charge minion combo’d

• The secrets he can play do not stack well with each other generally, and if shows them all at once, it makes it easier for you to trap them intentionally to figure them out

• Deadly Shot will kill Millhouse for free, and allow a minion onto the board as well. This is often a good trade for Hunter.

• Kill Command can kill Millhouse if he has a beast (and he will). Basically same scenario as Deadly Shot.

• Explosive Shot is better not wasted on Millhouse, but sometimes a Hunter will if need be. If they even have the card in their deck in the first place.

Priest: Mind Vision, Shadowform, Thoughtsteal, Mindgames, Holy Nova, Holy Smite, Mind Control

• Mind Vision / Thoughtsteal can give a Priest some unique cards right away for free, but this is something that will unlikely impact Millhouse

• Shadowform is something that will not kill Millhouse directly, but this is a great free card for the Priest.

• Mindgames can be annoying for a Priest to get for free, but is pretty chancy.

• Holy Smite / Holy Nova- Not going to help a Priest with only Millhouse on the board

• Mind Control could be really annoying in this situation, but if he uses it on Millhouse, then he can’t use it on one of your higher cards later

Warrior: Heroic Strike, Shield Block, Mortal Strike, Execute

• Heroic Strike is definitely coming out if he has one. He will still take two damage likely

• Shield Block will draw him a free card and give five armor, but it isn’t doing anything about Millhouse

• Mortal Strike will kill Millhouse, but at the cost of an important lategame card

• Execute might work with a charge minion or another spell like Inner Rage, but if he uses it here, it’s a waste for him in most cases

Rogue: Cutting to the chase on this one. Most Rogue spells cost virtually nothing. If they have Sprint in their hand, they’ll be SUPER happy. Not much else. If they manage to get a buff on a minion or Eviserate Millhouse, that’s about else a Rogue can do.

Versus Mage

Do not use this card against Mages except on turn two or coining him out if you go second. Even then, he will likely not survive. He could be hit by Polymorph, Fireball, any freezing spell, maybe even Flamestrike. Now, if the Mage DOES play any of those cards, that’s not so bad for you. At least you know you baited one. But in the midgame, you do NOT want any of those Mage cards messing with whatever you have on board for free. In lategame, he COULD be useful if the mage is out of cards in hand. If you ever see Archmage Antonidas; do not play this card, ever. You WILL be put in an infinite loop of fireballs — free spells spawn a fireball, then the fireball spawns another fireball… You die. Don’t do it. There are so many Mage cards to ruin your day against Millhouse. Turn two or coin him, or probably don’t do it.

Midgame

Using Millhouse Manastorm in the midgame, especially from turns four to seven and eight, is extremely risky against most classes. Mage is a given. Druids and Shaman have a lot of board clear type spellcards that can destroy anything you’ve set up if you just decide to throw Millhouse out with your other minions. Paladin can buff a ton of minions if you throw out Millhouse, so be wary of that.

Against Rogues, Priests, and Warriors, you’re generally safe to throw Millhouse out in the midgame. Keep in mind how many minions your opponent has on the board, which spells he has already played, and the likelihood that he will play a card that hurts your strategy. Referring to the spells above will help out with this. Just be sure to be very mindful and use good judgment in the midgame. It is by far the scariest time to use this strong 4/4 card.

Verdict

It’s never a hundred percent safe to play Millhouse Manastorm, but you can say that about a ton of cards. He’s a great two drop for 4/4 in a deck that is lacking in low-cost minions. He’s definitely an expert-level card that has uses in all parts of the game if you’re aware of opportunities. His biggest strength definitely comes in the early game. If you bait out powerful spells from your opponent in order to kill him, then that means Millhouse has done his job. If they don’t, Millhouse is going to do some damage very early on, and this can be very frustrating for your opponent to deal with. If you see an opportunity in the midgame to combo Millhouse with other cards, or if you really desperately need a minion to buff into a taunt, or even just desperately need a minion on the board, he can be useful. But if you make a mistake, or play him at the wrong time, things can backfire in an instant.