A Miraculous Journey (Quest Mage ft. Conjurer's Calling)

Lately, I've been fascinated with cheap spells. When you play the deck right, you can do a lot for next to no mana at all. The ability to play so many cards in a turn is terribly addictive. This deck feeds that addiction and rewards it with Open the Waygate and Arcane Giant.

Mulligan

First and foremost, this is a Quest deck. This deck's win conditions almost always hinge on the extra turn provided by Time Warp. As a result, I always find myself holding on to Open the Waygate during the mulligan phase. Sure, I guess you could hope to pull the card later in the game, but I strongly advise against this. The advantages to keeping the card are too numerous to ignore. This deck makes it incredibly easy to complete the quest. You could end up doing so by turn 4 or 5. Also, Open the Waygate is a 1-cost spell! Cheap spells like this are perfect for comboing with Flamewaker, Mana Cyclone, or Magic Dart Frog. Keep the flipping quest.

For the rest of your starting hand, mulligan hard for minions. With only 12 minions in the entire deck, starting with a minion is unbelievably helpful. All minions available to you are designed to help you complete your quest, maintain board control, or cycle your deck. The only minions I mulligan are Khadgar and Arcane Giant. Since they both act as win conditions, I try to avoid having them in my hand too early in the game. Here are some better options:

• Mana Cyclone. A newcomer! Extremely dependent on spells. When paired with Elemental Evocation, this card costs nothing. You'll be free to play as many spells as you want and have them replaced with new random spells that will count towards your quest. Just make sure you keep an eye on hand size. You absolutely do not want to overdraw and accidentally burn one of your game-winning cards.
• Sorcerer's Apprentice. An era-defining card. She's a great pick if you can keep her alive. Since most of this deck's spells cost 1 mana, she'll let you play a bunch of spells free of charge. Unfortunately, her utility makes her a huge target. With only 2 health, try to help her out with a Mirror Image. She'll drop the cost of the card to 0, so it's an easy combo. Maybe give her some Bananas, too.
• Banana Buffoon. Ah, delicious Bananas. This minion will generate two of those 1-cost spells for you. He's a 3-cost minion, so he's actually a relatively slow starting minion for this deck. His fruits are nothing to scoff at, though. These Bananas count as one third of your entire quest. As mentioned earlier, Sorcerer's Apprentice is a solid candidate for these buffs, but also consider giving them to Flamewaker or Stargazer Luna. You could give your Mirror Image taunts some bite and instantly increase their value/board presence. The monkey is a great card. Just know that he could cause you to overdraw.
• Magic Dart Frog. Goodness, I cannot overstate how helpful this Frogger-looking fella has been. He's like a 2-cost, minion-specific Flamewaker. He really helps you keep your opponent's side of the board clean. Ideal spells to feed the frog are Mirror Image, Shooting Star, or Magic Trick. My favorite picks are usually Mirror Image or Magic Trick. I like the former because of the protection it provides the frog. I like the latter because it gives you more cheap spells to play early on.
• Flamewaker. Pretty much the MVP of this deck. When paired with a Sorcerer's Apprentice, he's free damage. He can kill minions, but you really want him aiming at your opponent's face. Keep him alive.
• Stargazer Luna. Usually, I keep her. Sometimes, I don't. When played right, she can help you draw a lot of cards. Just know that she'll get targeted almost right away. Without protection, you can expect to see her murdered by your next turn. Her value is simply too high. You have a lot of card draw with this deck, but she's one of your best choices. Cycling through your deck quickly will provide you with more options and more minions to synergize with. Watch your hand size.

General Strategy

Think of this as a less complicated Exodia Mage. Your main win condition is a turn 10 Khadgar, Time Warp, 0-cost Arcane Giant, and hitting the giant with Conjurer's Calling. This will let you swing for 28-32 damage during your extra turn from the giants alone! This condition relies on your drawing the 3 cards you need, completing your quest, and making it to turn 10. However, it's very possible you could end up winning from just Flamewaker damage. And sometimes, playing Arcane Giant and Conjurer's Calling is enough to win the game for you. Remember that each game can have a variety of unique win conditions. Try not to limit yourself to the OTK path. And don't be too stingy with Time Warp! You'd be surprised what an extra turn can do for you.

Shortcomings and Struggles

No minions? No synergy. Without minions, this deck is pretty much just a deck of cheap spells with no bite. Your minions are the most valuable part of the deck. You can always create and discover more spells, but you can't easily make more minions. Try to hold onto your 0-cost and 1-cost spells until you have minions that can actually utilize them. I often wait til turn 4 before I play any cards.

Challenging Match-ups

Rez Priest and Big Priest. When running this deck, both archetypes are pretty much cancerous. Honestly, I'm not smart enough to find a way to plow through those resurrected taunts and legendaries. Good luck. I'll gladly take any suggestions or strategies!

Do NOT underestimate Murlocs. They will eat you alive. This deck has no guaranteed board wipes. So, if you discover one, I recommend holding onto it just in case your opponent manages to fill the board. Same suggestion applies to Token Druids and Evolution Shamans. If you need to get rid of minions, make sure you do it BEFORE they get buffed by your opponent. It's easier to kill a 1/1 than a 3/3. Try to plink em with your hero power instead of swinging at them with your minions. You really want to keep them alive if you can.

With little to no effort, taunt-heavy decks can become a problem. Your win condition typically involves smacking face with a lot of hard-hitting minions. You can't do that very easily if there are taunts littering the board. Here, Magic Dart Frog and Flamewaker help a lot. They're able to pile a ton of damage onto taunt minions without putting themselves at risk. I recommend discovering ice-themed spells when taunts become a problem. They work well together. Ice Lance, Snap Freeze, Frostbolt, and Ray of Frost are my favorite choices.