The full set of cards dropping into the game with United in Stormwind has been revealed! As we always do here, it is time to review these new cards, this article focusing on how Mage is likely to perform in the new meta.
- You can see all the new cards in our United in Stormwind expansion guide.
- Our deckbuilder will let you theorycraft your own decks using new cards before the expansion arrives.
- You can simulate pack openings in our United in Stormwind Pack Opening simulator.
Keep in mind that this is an early look at the class before we've been able to play with the new cards, so while we try to be as accurate as possible in our predictions of what is to come, no one can perfectly predict the Hearthstone meta.
Mage Deck Themes in United in Stormwind
Now, while Mage does seem to have some "tri-specialization" support in the form of Sorcerer's Gambit, pushing you to use Fire, Frost and Arcane spells in one deck, I believe it is clear to anyone skimming the list of new Mage cards that Fire Mage is this set's biggest theme, with a whopping seven cards (eight if you count the questline) having some form of synergy or interaction that deals with the spell school of Fire.
The way the cards work together seem to quite successfully emulate how it feels to play a Fire Mage in World of Warcraft, actually. Hot Streak, Ignite and First Flame look like they would play very similar to the rotation of Fire Blast -> Phoenix Flames -> Pyroblast -> Fire Blast -> Pyroblast etc. in retail WoW: Slinging spells in quick succession and racking up a lot of damage. They are cheap, they "proc" future damage, and all in all, give the impression that they will be quite fun to play!
Sorcerer's Gambit - Value Begets Value
If your deck has a bunch of spells from each of those three schools of magic (Fire, Frost, Arcane), why wouldn't you include this questline spell in your deck? The first reward is essentially Starscryer's Deathrattle. The second reward lets you Discover a spell that could actually move you even closer to the final reward. The final reward gives you a cheap, strong minion with a permanent effect that I can find no certain drawbacks to! But, more on this minion down below.
So, Sorcerer's Gambit can work with a mostly Fire-oriented deck, although there are no actual Fire spells in Standard that can help you generate additional spells. Wand Thief and Runed Orb-type cards (which Discover, rather than randomly add, a spell) could help, but with enough bad RNG they are most likely not reliable enough to justify running this questline in a deck meant to maximize Fire spell output.
Interestingly enough, I think this questline could work as a replacement for Deck of Lunacy in a Lunacy Mage deck. I say this because, when I play Lunacy Mage, not rarely do I end up winning without even using the Deck of Lunacy spell (you can see the version of the deck I am using here, for reference). With the extra kick the final questline reward gives to Spell Damage, a formerly Lunatic-Mage might keep relying on the original deck instead of spinning the wheel of RNG to win.
This is what the questline's ultimate reward is. Great stats for an easy-to-play 5-cost minion, and the permanent buff to Spell Damage makes small cards such as Runed Orb creep close to Apexis Blast in power, and turns Fireballs into near Pyroblasts! With enough face-enabled damage spells still left to play, this buff could be devastating to the opponent!
Overall, I would say, based on the amount of spells that need to be played, as well as the tempo-generating rewards, that Sorcerer's Gambit would fit very well in a fast-paced deck full of cards that promote speed one way or the other, such as Refreshing Spring Water or even Incanter's Flow, the latter even having an Arcane tag and boosting the completion speed of the questline!
Hot Streak - In-Game Representation of July Right Now
There is no better way to start the upcoming hot streak of Fire-centric card reviews than with this zero cost Fire enabler! This card probably spawned from the same idea pool as Elemental Evocation, but somehow feels slightly more exciting to play with than its ancestor.
There's not much complexity to talk about here - a temporary (2) mana cost reduction that lets you sling even more cards in a single turn. If you're going for a fully Fire-based Mage deck, I reckon this card would, in most situations, be better to use than Conjure Mana Biscuit. If you're feeling particularly greedy for whatever reason, you could also throw a Fireball on turn 2 by casting this card first, or even turn 1 if you've also got a disposable Coin!
Once the expansion releases, Mage will have seven Fire spells available to them in Standard. It doesn't feel like much, but there are a couple spells that could be worth discounting: Grand Finale and Flamestrike. For Wild, coupling this with procs from Archmage Antonidas could be potentially devastating, being able to cast three Fireballs in a single turn (or even more, because who knows what can happen in Wild?).
As for how Hot Streak measures in a deck that focuses on the Sorcerer's Gambit questline, the best use I see for it is casting Hot Streak right before you know a phase of the questline will complete, then using the card's this-turn-only effect to cast another Fire spell and complete 1/3 of the next questline part's requirement.
First Flame - Card Text Consistency on Life Support
First Flame. <card effect>. Add a Second Flame to your hand.
Twin Slice. <card effect>. Add 'Second Slice' to your hand.
Extra Arms. <card effect>. Add 'More Arms!' to you hand that gives +2/+2.
Now that my rant on card text inconsistency is over, this card serves as a decent early game minion removal that costs less than a Happy Meal. Of course, it can become more potent with Spell Damage bonuses, but I think the strength of this card comes from the fact that it basically generates itself, giving you more low-cost firepower to dish out and an easy way to proc whatever effects require you to cast a spell, cast a Fire spell, etc.
It's a great early-game counter to annoying auto-include minions such as Battlefiend or Novice Zapper. I'm actually not entirely sure the latter is an auto-include (I would include it in everything!), but I see Shamans on the ladder too rarely to get a better idea!
The only drawback to this spell would be its inability to hit face, but considering its nigh-insignificant cost, coupled with getting 1+1 free for each instance of it, I'd say the drawback is quite small.
Celestial Ink Set - Cost-Reduction Poem Vibes
If you thought cost reduction would stop at Hot Streak, think again! Celestial Ink Set's only vulnerabilities are weapon destruction cards like all them oozes, or, well, reducing the cost of something like Hot Streak!
The design of this card is actually quite versatile: If you're running a deck with lots of low-cost (3 or less mana) spells and a few big ones, you have more room to maneuver by trimming your hand of low-cost spells so your get the Ink Set's effect to proc on high-cost spells. If your deck is primarily built of high-cost spells, just cast one, and get the next one potentially free!
The best-case scenario, for me at least, is reducing the cost of Refreshing Spring Water. Not only do you end up getting 4 free mana, you even draw two cards. The value gain is immense. This interaction can prolong your turn in a very positive way as well as set you up for the next one. It'll be very fun to see how people make use of this weapon, and it's also refreshing to see a class that isn't your usual "weapon class" get one and have it be so in tune with the other things Mage has to play with. It works with the questline, it works with Grand Finale - as long as you make an effort to not cost-reduce some low-cost spell, it works with anything.
Prestor's Pyromancer - Aight
I want to say it has decent stats, but I know these days a 2-mana 2/3 is not really considered decent stats, so for the purpose of not getting penalized by the Hearthstone Stat Control Association, I will say it has average stats!
Look, this is a 2-cost minion. There's really not that much to dive into here. It has the beautifully straightforward effect of making your next Fire spell, whenever it'll be cast, deal +2 damage. It's great for setting up Combustion and generating a small amount of threat on the board. Solid card.
Ignite - Forgotten Torch + Time Dilation
Ignite is very similar to Forgotten Torch, with just the execution being more stretched out but also having a much higher potential power level. Ignite's drawback is the fact that you might keep bumping into it over and over instead of reaching other key cards that are still in your deck - unless you hoard your Ignites and card draw spells until the end of the game? Let's take a closer look.
Ignite deals 2 damage, and it works to throw it in your opponent's face. Great start. Each cast of Ignite shuffles another into your deck, and deals 1 more damage than the last . Putting two of these into your deck essentially creates two separate Ignite "chains" - whether that is a good idea or not will depend entirely on how much you focus your deck around Ignite.
In conjunction with Sorcerer's Gambit, or rather its reward, Arcanist Dawngrasp, Ignite can be devastating. The game becomes a rush to throw as many Ignites as possible at your opponent. The ramping is accelerated, and there is no escape, aside from, perhaps, Oh My Yogg! and other similar effects like Shenanigans.
Could I see this card being used in a deck that quickly burns through all the cards to reach fatigue, then keeps getting a stronger Ignite each turn, and dodging fatigue damage in the process? Absolutely. Will it be quite tricky to make this deck work? Yes.
To make this effective, I reckon a massive amount of card draw and other kinds of shenanigans such as Mage Secrets are required. A juiced up Sayge, Seer of Darkmoon would be an auto-include in this deck, as well as a bajillion secrets to facilitate drawing 5-6 cards in one turn and reach the end of the deck faster.
Additionally, secrets like Rigged Faire Game can boost the speed required to reach the end condition of the deck. These big draw cards, however, become dangerous if used at the end due to the overdraw and subsequent fatigue damage. Sorcerer's Gambit would be key in order to ramp Ignite up faster, and Incanter's Flow is necessary to be able to keep drawing while not milling yourself. After that, one question, which I have no answer for yet, remains: Will it be viable to also hold onto a bunch of cards that draw a single card (such as the new Sanctum Chandler, in order to cast Ignite several times in one turn (by casting it, shuffling it, then immediately drawing it), or will the end condition of this deck rely on casting a single juiced up Ignite each turn?
Fire Sale - Insert Three Fire Emojis
If this is your first time hearing of the Tradeable mechanic, here's the gist of it: If you don't want to play a card with the Tradeable keyword, you can swap it with a random card from your deck. This transaction costs (1) mana.
We've seen many cards with this type of damaging effect, like the slightly more expensive and dangerous Chaos Nova, the more situational Tunnel Blaster, or the healthier but costly choice of Tidal Wave and even the face-melting Hellfire.
This card is the Tradeable spin-off of this type of effect. It works great in minion-less Mage decks, and just overall for Mage, because of the class' large amount of strong, cost-effective board removal which means you might already have some other sort of board removal in your hand, making it an easy choice to Trade this card for something that could become useful much faster. I would say it's one of the better Tradeable cards in the set, due to the way it can fit in most Mage decks and not feel like something you absolutely need to hold on to once it enters your hand, while still being decently strong on its own.
Overall, it is a pretty straightforward card, but its true value comes from how versatile is can be. It's not the best board clear, it's not the best draw, but it is able to do both.
Sanctum Chandler - On a Mission of Ignition
Never really expected to see "Chandler" outside of Friends.
Definition of the word "chandler" (in Middle English): a candle maker or candle seller. I suppose it fits, although I'm unsure what elementals use gold for.
Sanctum Chandler is, in Fire-centric decks, the gift that keeps on giving. Coupled with Ignite and a nearly depleted deck, it can seal your opponent's fate. It's even better than most other card draws since it guarantees you draw a spell, so minions can be safely inserted in a deck and promptly ignored by this minion.
Now, 5 mana is slightly restrictive. If you're looking to just sling spells and haven't applied any cost reduction to spells in your deck, don't expect to cast too much the turn this elemental is played. Its weakness comes from having to survive on the board for more than one round in order to make full use of it.
However, if Ignite Mage becomes a thing, and I mean a strong, dangerous thing, I could see this card being on the chopping block for a nerf to either its mana cost, health or even effect (perhaps drawing any card, not just spell cards).
Due to its relatively high cost (for the purpose of card draw), I don't see this card being used too much in decks that don't go "full Fire". But for those that do, it may just be an auto-include.
Clumsy Courier - The Hand Version of Tortollan Pilgrim
With Tortollan Pilgrim, you'd always hope to Discover the Puzzle Box of Yogg-Saron or a Pyroblast in your deck. You'd probably hope for something similar with the Clumsy Courier, but both these spells are no longer in Standard.
Ignoring whatever random spells you get from Deck of Lunacy or other non-Mage spell generation cards, Clumsy Courier only has a few options I reckon could be worth casting this way, and I say this because I'm not sure the minion (considering its cost and stats) is that great to include in a deck with spells that cost less than itself.
Ideally, you want to cast a spell that costs 7 or more using the Clumsy Courier, with the added bonus of throwing a minion on the board. The trouble is, in Standard only four spells currently meet this condition.
Mask of C'Thun and Flamestrike work well with the Clumsy Courier. Their effects do not have any "manual targeting", so you get the same effect casting it through this minion as you would casting it normally.
Grand Finale is also just as "safe" to play due to the effect having no RNG, and you end up saving one mana for whatever that's worth, but the question then is whether it is worth including Clumsy Courier, a weak-ish non-Elemental minion, in an Elemental deck, just to save one mana.
Casting Deep Freeze with this minion also saves you one mana, but the target that is to be Frozen will be determined randomly, which amounts to a small "nerf" to casting the spell this way. For one measly mana, you could end up freezing some class that doesn't even use a weapon instead of freaking Mordresh Fire Eye or some other big minion that threatens to mess you up.
I could be wrong, but I see this card as the weakest Mage card in the new set. Whether this card will become stronger as time goes on will depend entirely on whether Mages get more 7+ cost cards in subsequent mini-sets and expansions.
Grand Magus Antonidas - Fire on Top of Fire
Not sure what Antonidas is doing in Stormwind, but I assume he's there for a good reason. Starting fires, probably.
This absolute staple of Magehood, sporting a most beautiful horse, is a Legendary card made almost exclusively for Fire Mage decks. The condition that triggers the Battlecry is a remix of the Elemental tribe's prime mechanic (doing something if an Elemental was played the previous turn), but adapted and tuned to work with Fire spells.
The best case here is playing this new Antonidas against an opponent's empty board, throwing a whopping 18 damage in the opponent's face. If these Fireballs are also boosted by Spell Damage (I lean towards thinking they won't), this is all the more devastating. Thankfully, the cost of this card is decently restrictive, so you won't be able to sling much more from your hand and turn it into an OTK, though it does stray dangerously close to one.
Casting three Fire spells in a row shouldn't be too had a feat, especially with things like First Flame to keep the slinging coming. The real trick with this card is knowing when the best time to play it is. You probably wouldn't want to do it when the enemy's board is a mix of low-and-high health minions as to not waste 6 damage on a measly Wand Thief.
Nonetheless, the effect is so strong and honestly, the card has good enough stats (basically Fireball-damage stats) that I would see this an auto-include in every deck that focuses on a plethora of Fire spells.
Theorycrafting the Ignite Slingin', Card Draw Bingin' Fire Mage in United in Stormwind
Now, there's so many variables in what will make a good deck this coming meta, that who even knows if the Ignite Slingin', Card Draw Bingin' Fire Mage will be fast, strong, cool, or versatile enough to make it to the top. Still, one must try to make it work before one finds out!
Let's break this down. First, you have Sorcerer's Gambit, for a bit of draw, a bit of Discover and eventually a permanent Spell Damage +3. For completing this questline's conditions, we have:
- Five Frost spells
- Eight Fire spells
- Six Arcane spells
- Three cards that Discover a spell, to help with either questline completion or fill in the gaps of weakness in the deck.
Card draw is rampant. Rigged Faire Game nets six cards, Refreshing Spring Water nets four, and Sayge, Seer of Darkmoon can net anywhere between one and seven (averaging out at four), for an average total of fourteen cards drawn just from these cards, and a fifteenth from the first reward of the questline. That's half the deck.
Additionally, there's quite enough removal going around, but there is also Fire Sale which can count as another source of card draw if, for example, you're fighting a control decks that just slams one minion a turn.
For the late game, you're looking at playing Arcanist Dawngrasp as soon as possible, Grand Magus Antonidas once he's been properly set up, then, for the late-late game (the latest game?), dropping Sanctum Chandlers and burning the opponent with back-to-back Ignites.
This deck's weakness is most likely against decks that spit more minions than you have spells to dispose of with. Something to consider if you want to try this deck out is to identify the least useful card in the deck - whether that is some of the card draw or one of the Sanctum Chandlers - and replacing it with something like Devolving Missiles to counter minions with very powerful effects. It might even be necessary if we're about to enter an Elwynn Boar meta!
Closing Thoughts on Mage in United in Stormwind
Forged in the Barrens was very Frost-centric for Mage. United in Stormwind is very Fire-centric, so I expect Expansion #3 in Year of the Gryphon to go full Arcane.
I would say Fire Mage will be stronger than its Frosty counterpart, simply due to all of the additional face damage cards that exist in this set. I recall seeing a lot more Mordresh Fire Eye / Wildfire or Lunacy Mage decks in the Barrens meta than Varden Dawngrasp decks, or at least more successful ones. However, I think Mages definitely have a shot at producing a strong meta deck for this upcoming cycle, on the one hand because the cards look seemingly stronger, but also able to work together better.
Did I get it right? Did I get it wrong? Hit us up with your own opinion on this batch of cards in the comments below!
More United in Stormwind Class Reviews
Click on any of the banners below to be taken to our other class card reviews for United in Stormwind.
Comments
Really love the mage cards this set. Ignite really makes the quest work by both being an activator and a late game finisher after you play Dawngrasp. I also love Prestor's Pyromancer for the fact that he doesn't say "this turn" in his text. Makes him really interesting.