Team IHearthU Deck Guide: Faramir Secret Mage

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Introduction :

Hey guys, [IHU]Faramir here, bringing you another awesome deck you can try out and have a lot of fun with. I played this deck in the Viagame House Cup and it went on to be played by many players in Seatstory Cup #2. You can call it Secret Mage or Value Mage. I love this deck since its the very definition of a midrange deck. If you enjoy confusing your opponents and driving them mad with doubt over what secret you currently have equipped, this might just be the deck for you!

Key Cards :

This version of Mage relies a lot on its strong midgame. Kirin Tor Mage is critical to the deck’s success. Paired with the right secret to counter your opponent’s move, it can give you a huge tempo boost that can carry you to victory. Other than Kirin Tor Mage, this deck doesn’t have many cards that stand out. Mana Wyrm provides an early threat while Sludge Belcher and Loatheb protect your board in the midgame. Water Elemental can be great against classes with weapons, especially Warrior since it can take away a core source of removal. Sylvanas Windrunner and Ragnaros the Firelord get great value when played on curve or onto the right board.

Mulligan Guide :

You don’t play a lot of 1-drops in this deck so you should mulligan for Mana Wyrm, Mad Scientist and Loot Hoarder. You generally don’t want to draw your secrets early, so you throw them back unless you already have a Kirin Tor Mage in hand. It’s fine to keep your 3-drops like Harvest Golem and Kirin Tor Mage if you have The Coin. You generally just want to curve out well in the early turns and get the ball rolling.

How to Play :

The gameplay of this deck is very straight forward and is very similar to Druid in many ways. You want to curve out well, make great trades and out-value your opponent. Efficient spells like Frostbolt, Fireball and Polymorph help you gain tempo. Kirin Tor Mage combined with a secret is also a huge tempo play since you get to play a card for free. Azure Drake, Mad Scientist and Loot Hoarder are your sources of card draw and card advantage. Sylvanas and Ragnaros are used to push through your opponent’s defenses and finish them off. Water Elemental is another minion that trades well in the midgame and can completely shut down weapons. This deck is similar to the Druid deck that plays 2 combos. It is the definition of midrange and does well against pretty much every control deck like Warrior, Priest and Handlock. Other midrange decks like Druid, Shaman and Miracle Rogue are pretty much even matchups that can go either way. Zoo and Hunter are difficult for the Mage deck since it is very hard for Mage to answer early pressure.

Specific Matchups :

This deck has 3 kinds of match-ups, so we will look at one example of each.

Warrior (Control):

Against Warrior you are going for a similar strategy that several other midrange decks use with a lot of success: you make him run out of cards by out-valuing him. To achieve that goal, your midrange minions have to get a lot of value. It is hard to snowball against a Warrior since they run Fiery War Axe, Unstable Ghouls and Armorsmith. You try to pick up tempo in the midgame with cards like Water Elemental, Loatheb and Black Knight. Sylvanas Windrunner and Ragnaros the Firelord should give you the edge you need in this matchup to push for the win. Counterspell is probably the most important of the secrets in this matchup because Warrior doesn’t have a lot of low-impact spells that they can just throw away.

Miracle Rogue (Midrange):

This matchup is very much even. Different from the Warrior matchup, in this matchup you need to pick up tempo early and push for a lot of damage. It is nearly impossible to out-value a Miracle Rogue since their card draw is way better than yours. You have to bring him low before he gets off an incredible Auctioneer turn and can maintain board control from there on. Mana Wyrm, Mad Scientist and Kirin Tor Mage are key in this match-up. The key to victory is to gain tempo, push for damage and disrupt as much as you can with secrets. A Turn 8 Ragnaros the Firelord could be able to turn the tides in your favor as well, or maybe even land a lethal shot.

Warlock Zoo (Aggro):

This match-up is very difficult for a couple of reasons. Your strategy in the other 2 match-ups is to either out value and out draw them or to straight out tempo them early game. Both of those strategies are terrible against aggro decks. It is nearly impossible to out value and out draw a Zoo player because of their ability to Life Tap. It is hard to out tempo them early because they have a lot of early drops and cheap spells like Soulfire to effectively clear your board. There isn’t really a third option, so we go back to option 2 and try to win the early game. That means Mana Wyrms are once more key. Another card you need is The Coin. It is nearly impossible for you to succeed if Zoo gets something like a double Flame Imp start. Frostbolt helps with early trades early as well. If you should manage to get a good start, look for Sludge Belcher to protect your board and Flamestrike to clear your opponent’s and confirm board control. This match-up is an uphill battle, but it is definitely possible to win.

Important Combination of Cards :

Kirin Tor Mage + Counterspell/Mirror Entity:

It really comes down to your judgement which one of these secrets you play with the Kirin Tor Mage. Experience helps with anticipating what your opponent will probably do next. Try to counter it with the correct secret since getting 6 mana worth of cards for 3 mana is a great tempo play.

Kirin Tor Mage + Duplicate:

You generally want to use this if you only have 1 Kirin Tor Mage in your hand but more than one secret. This allows you to use the effect of Kirin Tor Mage as often as possible since it is always a great play in the midgame.

Loot Hoarder/Mad Scientist/Azure Drake + Duplicate:

Since these cards are your primary sources of card draw, they are your preferred targets to trigger Duplicate next to the Kirin Tor Mage, especially if you play against Control.

Mana Wyrm + Spells:

Try to buff your Mana Wyrm with as many spells as possible to achieve good trades and possibly a lot of damage to the opponent’s hero.

Budget Replacement of Legendary Cards :

Sylvanas Windrunner:

It is so hard to replace Sylvanas since she has such a unique ability. You want a card that still gives you a lot of tempo if you can’t have the Deathrattle. A card like Argent Commander gives you some of the same tempo and board control. Frost Elemental is another budget option as it provides a large body with a powerful tempo ability.

 

The Black Knight:

The Black Knight is not necessarily a key card in this deck, so he is rather easy to replace. Just put in a second Sludge Belcher or maybe even a 4-drop like a Chillwind Yeti. If you want another 6-drop, Boulderfist Ogre is worth considering

 

Ragnaros the Firelord:

Ragnaros has a unique ability to make people rage about RNG. If you don’t own him or just don’t want to play him, you can replace him with a second Flamestrike or a Pyroblast to push for that last bit of damage. However, Pyroblast is generally not great in this deck as it is a poor tempo play.