Secret Mage: Super-Fun and Cheap Hearthstone Deck

There is only one week before the confirmed release of the Goblins vs Gnomes expansion on December 8th! In the meantime, while you are saving up all your gold and dust, I have a sweet constucted list that I have been playing on the ladder recently and having an absolute blast with. And best of all, as long as you have completed Naxxramas, it only includes two easily replacable legendary cards and four rares.

It is something I haven't seen others playing on the ladder at all and besides being fun, it is also pretty good and brings a little bit of the randomness we're expecting once the expansion hits. As the name of the deck says, it is a mage deck that revolves around secrets. Here's the list:

Why should Hunter secrets have all the fun?

The idea is to gain tempo or tempo and card advantage by playing Mad Scientist or Kirin Tor Mage early. Playing as a mage, you get the most value out of your Scientists because the secrets are all three mana cards, compared to hunter's two and paladin's one. Since we are running three different secrets, our opponents will be on the back foot and not necessarily be able to play around all the possibilities.

Mad Scientist is the backbone of this deck. When a Scientist dies, you get to draw a free card and then get three free mana and then get to play it immediately. All for the low cost of two mana! That's bordering on absurd and doesn't even count the 2/2 you also had for a time.

Kirin Tor Mage isn't quite as broken, but it is still a free Black Lotus (or 1.5 Innervates) when you play it and a secret on the same turn. All while getting an on-curve 4/3 for 3!

Really!

One typical opening sequence I've had on the draw:

* turn 1 - Mana Wyrm
* turn 2 - Coin + Kirin Tor Mage + Secret. Attack with 3/3 Wyrm. End turn 2 with a 4/3, a 3/3, and Mirror Entity up.

I generally mulligan secrets away unless I have Kirin Tor Mage ready to deploy on turn two. Since we only run six secrets, Mad Scientist could potentially lose value if we no longer have any to fetch from our deck when he dies. Remember, he won't go get a duplicate (small d) secret to one you already have up and he also won't give you any benefit if the only eligible secret left is already in your hand.

Duplicate (big D) has been very strong in this deck. The trick is the timing of when to play it. The best minion to get extras of is Sludge Belcher. I don't think that is a shock to anyone. Water Elemental is another great choice, although since this deck runs 14 spells, I have grown some large Mana Wyrms from time to time. Help anyone who kills Sylvanas on an empty board into a Duplicate, thinking it is a safe time. Watch out against Shaman and Mage players. If you telegraph the Duplicate, they might just give you two Frogs or Sheep, which is not what we want.

Sorcerer's Apprentice is the two drop I am least likey to play early. It can enable some big turns later, saving 2-3 mana the turn you play her in the right circumstance. Both Apprentice and Loot Hoarder are in the deck mostly for curve considerations.

Flamestrike may be a surprise inclusion for some of you. I think most mage decks on the ladder have cut this, which only increases its power for me. Literally no one expects this (outside of Arena) and it can generate insane value.

If you don't have The Black Knight or Sylvanas Windrunner, don't despair. They aren't essential to this build. I'd add in another Polymorph to take care of the large taunt minions and a bigger-stat threat like Chillwind Yeti or Sunwalker.

Of course there were some other cards to try that just missed the cut for me. Secretkeeper and Ethereal Arcanist were too cute and not powerful enough even though they fit the theme. Loatheb could go in just about every deck but doesn't fit in our plan. As for secrets themselves, Ice Block is excellent in a Freeze Mage-style deck where you just need one extra turn to Pyroblast your opponent to death, but this is not that. Spellbender is close to making the cut. Your opponent will never see it coming, but usually it is just equivalent to or worse than Counterspell.

Against Hunter's Mark, Arcane Shot, Blessing of Wisdom, Blessing of Might, Blessing of Kings, Holy Smite, Divine Spirit, Inner Fire, Backstab, Cold Blood, Sap, Earth Shock, Rockbiter Weapon, Hex, Reincarnate, Ancestral Spirit, Soulfire, and Mortal Coil, Spellbender is better than Counterspell. But versus Swipe, Explosive Shot, Cone of Cold, Hammer of Wrath, Holy Wrath, Power Word: Shield, Shadow Madness, Holy Fire, Betrayal, Shiv, Siphon Soul, and Slam it is worse. I think on balance, the second group is more heavily played and there is more downside than there is upside to the first group. That being said, having one in the mix adds to the fun of watching your opponent try to play around your secret correctly. I imagine most figure it's an Ice Block and are really shocked when their spell gets bent.

Give this deck a shot; I guarantee you'll have fun and you should do a fair bit of winning at the same time. And once GvG hits next week, I'll be back with some brand new Arena runs to get you up to speed on all the wackiness of the new cards.