You’re climbing that ladder, your deck is nigh unbeatable, and you’ve not had any troubles yet – things are working in your favor. When all of a sudden, the Mech Mage attacked.
What works best against something like that, though? Not only does the Mage class have plenty of destructive spells at its disposal, it’s got freezing cards and secrets galore – on top of the mechs that just keep coming out. Sometimes it can feel like a little too much to deal with all at once – especially early game. So how do you beat the new meta?
We all know the Mech Mage is like a Zoolock deck; you’ve got to be able to play control or mid-range. Another aggro deck will only make it angry, right? So, what’s the easiest way to beat her and her fireballs of hatred? We’re going to take a look at our favorite Heroes and go into detail on how exactly to use them to win in a Mech Mage fight.
Face Hunter Rexxar
The Hunter, the hero power that deals two direct damage to the enemy hero every turn if you so desire – but not against a Mech Mage.
So, what hunter deck will take care of this for you? Simple answer, Face Hunter. Bonus, it’s cheap to make. To make this deck from square one, you’ll need 2,720 dust – not too bad for you new players!
The benefit of this deck is that it’s still an aggro deck, and everyone can play those! But to play it well, you have to know what you’re doing – I’m here to help with that.
Hero Power is something you want to use every turn possible, so when you’re not clearing the enemy board make sure you leave enough mana to use it! Before your opponent has a chance to play any taunts play your Wolfriders, Arcane Golem and Unleash the Hounds, then go for face. This means attack your enemy as quickly as possible, and take them out quick. If you come up against taunts, that’s what the Ironbeak Owl is for! Remember that the point of this deck is to win before you make it to late game.
Freeze Mage with Jaina
What better way to fight a mage than with another mage? In order to beat the ever-present mech horde that’s knocking at your door, you’re going to need something a little more than just stronger cards. With this deck, your answer is to freeze everything. The overall cost to create this deck from scratch is 5,580 dust.
The bad thing about a Freeze Mage is the cost, if you’re relatively new to the game and don’t have enough for the Legendaries and Epics, you will have a hard time using a cheap freeze deck. The idea here is to keep your enemies frozen if they’re not dead, while you continually deal damage to the enemy hero through minions and spells. RDU specifically built this deck to face against Amaz in the Dreamhack Cup in 2014, so it’s been tried and proven true already – plus the Freeze Mage is making a comeback to the meta. When you see that Mechwarper make its appearance, don’t be afraid to use your Frostbolt to take it out – no sense it letting the game be easier for the enemy!
Oil Rogue Valeera
One of the best ways I’ve personally seen to beat the mech mage – or any aggro deck for that matter – would be an Oil Rogue. This is one of the decks to use when it’s 3AM and you’ve been up against the same aggro deck for the past 3 games, you just want to destroy them so bad that they get off for the night. To make this deck, you need to at least have 3,540 dust. Otherwise it may turn out to be a dud.
The point of an Oil Rogue is to clear the board and wait until you’ve got a good 20+ damage combo to unleash against the enemy hero. Between your ability to always have a weapon equipped, the oils that add additional damage to it, and Blade Fury to finish, this deck makes Mech Mage easy work. (Or any aggro deck for that matter.) You’re going to get your combo off mid to late game, so Sprint will come in handy – especially after a long day of clearing that board over and over!
Handlock with Gul’dan
What better way to fight against the meta than to turn to our best friend, Mr. Draw Cards for Days. One of the better ways I’ve seen to counter the Mech Mage is a good, old-fashioned Handlock. What makes this such a danger in general are the giants, Molten Giant and Mountain Giant, both of which cost (1) less for each card in your hand. If you think you want this deck (and I know you do), it’ll cost you a whopping 6,580 dust – so definitely not a good choice for newer players.
The point of this deck is to end the game early with hard hitters (i.e. the giants), while still maintaining control of the board. Loetheb is in there to ensure that your enemy at least has one turn where spells are just – well – inaccessible. And it includes Dr. Boom for the obvious reasons. When your opponent gets lucky and plays out a monster – I’m talking to the priests with the Lightwell combos here – Big Game Hunter becomes your best friend. Overall, if you have the dust and don’t mind spending it, Handlock is one of the better decks to climb the ladder in general.
Ramp Druid with Malfurion
Druids have some of the most troubling mid-late game actions in Hearthstone, with their constant buffs and ability to turn even a 1 attack minion into a 10 attack monster after a single turn, multiple times, all the while playing other hard hitting cards. So this must be one of the fabled 10k dust decks you’ve been hearing about, right? Wrong. Fortunately for you, it doesn’t have the cost of a Control Warrior and comes to a median 5,880 total dust to create.
The point of this deck isn’t combos – it’s to survive long enough to play consistently mid through late into the game. Sludge Belcher and Sunwalker are your best defenders, with The Black Knight coming out to destroy any enemy taunt minion and Big Game Hunter to deal with any over the top enemies. Ragnaros the Firelord will be your best friend -while he doesn’t attack, he does deal 8 damage directly to a random enemy. Overall, it’s a very straightforward deck and one that has the ability to completely eradicate a Mech Mage.
That ends us up for five different ways to beat the pesky new meta Mech Mage.
While there are more ways to beat her than what I’ve listed here, these have been the most consistent from what I’ve seen and experienced myself. Remember, each deck has its own playstyle – so if you prefer aggro decks more than the others, take the Face Hunter – it’s got the closest style of play to what you’re used to, etc.
If you have any questions about any of the decks presented feel free to ask in the comments below and we will get you an answer!
Published: Feb 28, 2015 12:05 pm