The full set of cards for March of the Lich King has been revealed a little while ago, and we're nearing the time when they can finally become a part of our collection. Still not sure what to make of Mage or what kind of decks to play? We've broken down the class archetypes for the upcoming expansion, discussed the new cards, and gathered a variety of theorycraft decks from streamers, pros, and community members to guide you on Day 1.
First off, there is a lot of other relevant content that you might be interested in:
- You can find full information about the upcoming set in our March of the Lich King expansion guide.
- You can create and share your own decks featuring all these new cards via our deckbuilder.
- The new Rewards Track has been fully detailed. Get a head start on the early XP gains and stay prepared for launch!
- Major Patch 25.0 (plus hotfixes) has prepared the ground for the expansion with various game mode updates and features.
- Need a more detailed overview of March of the Lich King themes and mechanics? The initial announcement coverage has it all.
- Expect special Signature cards to add to your collection, and improved duplicate protection coming with the new Reroll Feature.
- Remember, you are able to open your packs faster than usual - should you wish to!
Now, onto what's approaching ever closer. Before we jump into a variety of potential decks, here is a quick look at the class in the upcoming expansion:
Lich King Mage - Quick Impressions
- Two main archetypes seem to be supported the most - Burn/Combo Mage and Casino Mage.
- But Big Spell Mage got a nice singleton addition as well.
- Arcane spell school synergy is the major driving force.
- A lot of cheap spell generators were added which can actually support any given archetype.
- The two class legendaries are pushing the main archetypes even further, each in their respective direction.
Lich King Mage - Expansion Cards & Archetypes
Based on the cards Mage is getting, two main archetypes seem to be the most prevalent: Burn/Combo Mage and Casino Mage. A singleton addition for Big Spell Mage also makes an appearance.
Burn/Combo Mage
Arcane Bolt and cards that generate extra copies of it are going to be bread and butter of decks that want to focus on a lot of face damage or setting up combos off cheap spells. Potential Cost reduction and double-cast can make it easier for you to spell-sling your opponent down faster and with less resources; or from a higher life total. Prince Renathal will be around for a while still.
Casino Mage
Fan favorite makes a return. Ready to spin the wheel another time? Grand Magister Rommath has got your back! "Prizes" for everyone, whether you want them or not! For this archetype, Arcane Bolts can serve as a cheap fodder to feed the Energy Shaper which in turn will grow Rommath's battlecry. Just keep spinning! And if that isn't enough for you, maybe Prismatic Elemental's Vast Wisdom can rub off on you illuminating path to victory.
Big Spell Mage
While Mage literally got only one big spell, and it is a good one, the fact that many of the small spell generators are minions can help this archetype as well. You don't have to pollute your deck with cheap spells making your big spell synergies less consistent, but you can still get some small removals or chip face damage in form of Arcane Bolts or other generated spells.
Lich King Mage - Top Neutral Cards
Direct Archetype Support
- The Sunwell can be a slow, but powerful engine for Rommath's grand entrance.
- Bonelord Frostwhisper will be a wild card in many decks, I suspect, three turns is a lot, but it might not be enough, but being able to play any card for free sure is a powerful effect and Mage could certainly try and take advantage of that.
- Nerubian Vizier and Umbral Geist can be used to generate more spells to feed Rommath.
General Tech Options
- Astalor Bloodsworn might be another card that could potentially sneak into any deck, since even if you draw him later on, you can essentially get to the 3rd iteration on your next turn and 8 or 16 damage split among enemies can act as a board clear or a finisher, similar to Alexstrasza the Life-Binder.
- Plaguespreader will be an annoying card to play against, but it might also backfire on you. So I'd imagine faster decks would want to use it more often, but with how many powerful cards are out there, it is an option for sure.
- Sanctum Spellbender can sort of act as another Blademaster Okani, it will create a soft taunt vs spells and might force enemy minions to trade into it.
- Enchanter will probably become an enabler for multiple cheap, low damage AOEs to clear bigger boards, but it can simply give your minions more trading power vs big taunts or other threats you might want to clear out.
- Translocation Instructor is another neutral disruption tool, but I don't really see it becoming popular, not only did your opponent already played a minion you are going to swap, but you might put in something even worse. But yes, you could remove their combo piece they didn't draw yet, true. Could also act as a quasi-silence vs Taunts for aggro decks, but there are certainly better options for that.
- Coroner is a nice little card that might make an appearance in faster decks that can utilize the Freeze effect to gain more early tempo and/or the Silence later on to push through a Taunt.
- Street Sweeper will most likely not see as much (or any) play in Mage, but it deserves a mention as a neutral AOE.
- Sunfury Clergy gives heals. Heals are always nice. We like heals.
Lich King Mage - Day 1 Hearthstone Decks to Try
Not sure what to play for the class once it's time to start marching? We've gathered a handful of early deck ideas from all across the Hearthstone tavern just to help you out:
McBanterFace's Arcane Bolts
McBanterFace goes straight to the point, no funny business. Arcane Bolts, Aegwynn, Vexallus. Go! Burst down your opponent before they do the same to you!
Edelweiss' Arcane Combo
Edelweiss leans a bit more on early minion tempo and chip face damage, namely from Vicious Slitherspear, and further works with Naga synergy to give herself more breathing room and options to take the enemy down.
Edelweiss' Arcane Quest Combo
A twist on Edelweiss' previous Combo deck where she leans heavily into card draw and completing the Questline as fast as possible to give herself permanent, passive +2 Spell Damage from Arcanist Dawngrasp instead of relying on keeping a minion on the board with Aegwynn buff for the same effect.
Edelweiss' Casino Mage
A slightly more control oriented version of Casino Mage, where the main goal is still to generate a lot of random spells and eventually activate Rommath but can fall back on Magister Dawngrasp's Arcane Burst as well.
Edelweiss' Big Spell Mage
A relatively established Big Spell package with the new addition of Arcane Defenders while also being able to generate some removal/chip damage via Arcane Wyrm and Arcsplitter that will not pollute the spell pool. Shoutout to Astalor Bloodsworn which can become a board clear, or a finisher in its 3rd form.
Superior David's Arcane Quest Mage
This is only a slight variation from Edelweiss' Quest Mage shown earlier, which just comes to show that a list like this might be close to its refinement, once more players get to play with it. Expect to see similar decks soon.
Thjis' CYLEO OTK Mage - Twitch Chat Edition
Thijs played a variety of decks during his theorycraft stream and one of them seemed to have been a chat suggestion, a so called CYLEO MAGE, which revolved around OTK with Vexallus and bunch of Arcane Bolts. You can check the result here.
Arcane Roulette by Yours Truly
My version of Arcane Mage for the Lich King set. I started with the Arcane Bolt synergy as most people, but kept leaning more and more towards slower and more control oriented deck and ended up with a mix of everything.
I kept the very many new hand and deck attack tools that are coming in mind, so you are not locked into any one strategy but can branch off into whatever you need at the moment, based on what you get offered via the resource generators or on what you are left with once your opponent is finished destroying your cards or runs out of steam.
- Bunch of Arcane Bolts with Aegwynn and Vexallus can provide for a lot of face damage.
- Generous spell generation will eventually feed Rommath for a big spectacle, Taelan Fordring helps you draw him more consistently in a 40 card deck.
- And the entire Naga package serves as a framework for the deck: providing bodies, card draw and resource generation to keep throwing at your opponent while forming the win condition of your choice.
More Class Coverage for March of the Lich King
Want to look at what we've put together for another March of the Lich King contender? The navigation links below can take you there in an instant!
What do you think of Mage's card package for the upcoming expansion? Which decks are you going to take for a spin once March of the Lich King goes live on December 6? Is there something else from your favorite content creator that we didn't include here? Let us know in the comments!
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