Summary: Hello! Jarret is the guest this weeek! Topic: Deck Battle! Reasons to be happy this week What is a Deck Battle? Once a month, a guest host brings their favorite deck onto the show to battle the current reigning champion deck for control of the Happy Hearthstone Deck Battle Throne! If the challenger wins the best-of-3 series, their deck becomes the new Reigning Champion Deck and will fight off future challengers until it loses, or until it’s earned its place in the Happy Hearthstone Hall of Fame! View the Deck Battle Archive + The Happy Hearthstone Hall of Fame Defending Deck: Jarret’s Futurist Tempo Mage Deck keeps the punches rolling swiftly, and avoids cards that’ll cycle out of Standard next year.Challenger Deck: Dan Patriss’ Beastmaster Hunter, Andrew Brown’s Warlock Demon Zoo, Craig’s Dragon Priest Futurist Tempo Mage Creatures 2x Babbling Book: Don’t underestimate this 1/1. His Battlecry fuels your deck and adds unpredictability. 2x Mana Wyrm: Probably the best class 1-drop in the Classic or Basic set. With its 3 health, this minion can get out of control and even become a win condition. 1x Bloodmage Thalnos: Deceptively powerful, Thalnos gives you cycle, spell damage, and a token: incredible value for 2 mana. 2x Cult Sorcerer: Because Mage has burst, C’Thun was never relevant in the class, but a 3/2 body with spell damage is perfect. 2x Sorcerer’s Apprentice: Anything that makes cards cheaper is good. She allows Tempo Mage to maintain the board, race aggro, or finish off control decks. 1x Barnes: Barnes is all about tempo. The dream is pulling Ragnaros, but most of the other minions in this deck have some utility and demand attention from your opponent. 2x Water Elemental: Water Elemental may seem like a control card, but its massive 6 health and text allows Tempo Mage to own the board or slow down weapon classes. 2x Azure Drake: Azure Drake is the first card I craft on free-to-play accounts. Tempo decks need card draw, and Azure Drake provides the bonus of spell damage and a decent body for 5 mana. 1x Archmage Antonidas: I usually think Antonidas is too slow for a tempo deck, but he can win games against control decks and transform useless spells that may come from Babbling Books and Cabalist’s Tome. If Mean Streets slows down the meta, this Legendary will become Tempo Mage’s win condition. 1x Ragnaros the Firelord: I don’t need to explain why this card is good, so I’ll complain about the lack of a comma. Spells 1x Mirror Image: This spell is useful for protecting Antonidas or other minions, especially against weapon classes and midrange decks. 2x Arcane Explosion: If Shaman and Zoo continue to rule, expect Arcane Explosion to be in most Tempo Mage decks. 2x Frostbolt: Mage’s most useful spell. Frostbolt can win the board for you or essentially “Sap” a big minion. Its 2 mana cost allows it to easily be combined with spell damage minions or Fireballs to finish off an enemy. 2x Arcane Intellect: As Flamewaker moves into wild and after the Yogg nerf, this card’s utility is somewhat decreased. However, you still need the ability to refill your hand when you run out of gas against slower decks. 2x Fireball: In some matchups, Fireballs are your win condition. Combine them with spell damage, Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Arcane Missiles, and Frostbolt for up to 24 damage. In a pinch, they can also protect you from many of the game’s most powerful minions. 2x Polymorph: Malygos, Savannah Highmane, Ragnaros, Tirion, Sylvanas, Edwin, and Grommash all want to ruin your day. To them, we say “Baaa.” 1x Cabalist’s Tome: Like Arcane Intellect, Cabalist’s Tome is not as good if you’re not playing Yogg, Flamewaker, or Arcane Giants. On the other hand, refueling with cards that are good on average, especially later in the game, can help you pull out a win. 2x Flamestrike: Midrange Shaman and Hunter, and Zoolock are likely to continue to be popular in 2017. Flamestrike will win games against these decks. Substitutes In case you don’t have some of the ideal cards, here are some quality back-ups and alterations you can use, which all keep with the same theme and strengths of the deck. Kabal Courier: You lose a little tempo with a 2/2 minion for 3 mana, but the ability to pick the right card for the situation may make up for it. If this card was Mage-only, it would be an auto include. Counterspell: If played perfectly, this Secret can win games against Hunter, Freeze Mage, Priest, etc. However, 3 mana for an unpredictable effect doesn’t make the cut. Firelands Portal: A card that can flip the board is always useful. 5 damage for 7 mana isn’t ideal, but Firelands Portal is a good alternative to the 1-mana spells when the meta is slower. Medivh, the Guardian: Medivh is a valid alternative to Antonidas. If the meta is faster, and you’re not running Barnes, he’s probably better. Arcane Giant: I didn’t include Arcane Giants in this deck for multiple reasons: I expect the card to be nerfed during rotation, a vanilla 8/8 isn’t as good in Mage as most other classes, and Giants (like the other minions in my sideboard) have bad synergy with Barnes. However, if the meta leans towards midrange or control, 2 of these could become a win condition. Arcane Missiles: 3 random damage isn’t as good without Flamewaker, but if flood decks and tokens continue to be common, this card is useful, especially combined with spell damage. Harrison Jones: Expect Spirit Claws, Fiery War Axe, and Eaglehorn Bow to remain popular in 2017. And with weapon buffing being more common in Mean Streets of Gadgetzan, weapon destruction will be even more valuable. Yogg-Saron, Hope’s End: Post-nerf Yogg isn’t nearly as powerful, but it can still be a potential comeback card, or at least make losing less agonizing. Kabal Chemist: Kabal Chemist could be good for Tempo Mage, but too many of the potions may not be useful enough for this type of deck. The Duel Community Questions: Most-Anticipated card of Mean Streets? iTunes Reviews Donations (More info) Card of the Week This is a FAKE card designed by Josh. It is NOT real. You can find more of my made-up cards on Twitter.Josh’s card: Jarret’s card: Extra Rogue Secrets: Farewell What do you want to see in future episodes?
