Free Basic Mage
For this edition of Deck of the Week, I thought it would be a good idea to get back to the basics and do a deck for those who are just starting out in Hearthstone. With so many cards and 2 Adventures to play through, it can be daunting to even get started collecting and playing cards. So this week, I’ve got a free deck that can be built with cards you start the game with. The only requirement is that you level Mage up to level 10, which can easily be done by playing practice games.
I built this deck myself and when played correctly can easily get to rank 20 for the seasonal card back and should even be good into the mid-teens. After that, you’ll need to start using other, more versatile cards to keep up with some of the more refined decks that most people run. This deck is essentially a tempo deck, meaning you play a powerful card each turn that your opponent has to deal with inefficiently, giving you an advantage in the long run.
The Basics
With a deck like this, you want to focus on board control. That means that you have more minions in play than your opponent does. You accomplish this by making smart trades. A good example of a smart trade is if your opponent has a minion with 2 attack and 2 health on the board, you attack it with your minion that has 2 attack and 3 health. His minion dies and he has to spend extra resources to get rid of that 1 extra health left on your minion.
The other way mages in particular maintain board control is their hero power. You might not think that 1 damage means anything, but if it allows you to kill a minion you otherwise would have had to leave on the board, it can mean the whole game.
Value
Another important aspect of this deck is getting the most value out of each card. A big mistake that a lot of new players make is sending as much damage as they can to their opponent’s face. That 4 mana Fireball taking 6 health from your opponent on turn 4 can seem very strong, but it’s almost always better to save it and make a play for board control. Then you have that 6 damage on a later turn to kill one of their big minions or an easy way to deal the last 6 damage you need to kill your opponent at the end of the game.
Some other value cards in this deck are the Water Elemental and the Stormwind Champion. With 6 health, the Water Elemental can take a lot of punishment, and its freeze ability can buy you another turn to finish off a particularly tough minion. The Stormwind Champion is a threat by himself at 6/6, but his real power is the +1/+1 buff he grants to your other minions. This lets them kill an enemy minion they may not have been able to before, making a smart trade. Also, because of the way health is calculated in Hearthstone, his buff can effectively heal a damaged minion for 1 damage.
Finishing the Game
I already touched on finishing off a game with a great big Fireball to the face. A lot of games will end this way, but again, the main way to win with this deck is by having board control. You kill your opponent’s minions on your terms, then when the board is clear, use your minions to deal damage to the opponent’s face. If you get behind on board control, Flamestrike can wipe the enemy board, allowing you to try and get control again.
Another threat in this deck is the Gurubashi Berserker. Each time it takes damage, it gains 3 attack. Since your hero power lets you deal 1 point of damage wherever you want, you can basically give this minion its buff whenever you have an extra 2 mana! Most experienced players will know about this though, so it’s always better to make a smart trade with this troll than to get greedy and only attack face with him.
That’s all for this deck. Again, this deck is 100% free and can be used as soon as you get your mage to level 10. It’s a great deck to start learning the basics and I hope you have some fun playing it. If you have any questions, leave them in the comments or PM me at ritterific@agentsofgame.com.
