Quest mage knights. Hearthstone guide: Knights of the Frozen Throne decks for all classes. Main and technical cards Quest Mage

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I present to your attention a test deck of a magician with new map tasks Opening the portal. It's like a Freeze Mage deck with a win condition from an echo mage. The last archetype was very popular until it went out of rotation.

If you think that 4 giants in a deck is too much, pay attention to fiery reflections. With it, you can put one giant of each type into your deck. In addition, this deck allows you to combo with Alexstrasza. The combination looks like this:

• Play one giant ( fire giant or the Magic Giant) or two at once, depending on the conditions;
• Copy it with Fire Reflections;
• Play out Timeless Shift;
• Unleash Alexstrasz and deal 16 damage to an enemy. damage.

As a rule, this is enough to win. Sometimes difficulties arise in battles with druids and warriors, but warriors have brawl, which easily eliminates two or four giants, and druids cannot remove two giants from the board.

On your first turns, play Arcanologist (2/3 for 2 crystals) and ice block. There are other cards in the deck to complete the task, a means to get an extra copy of Fire Reflections as additional condition to win, as well as tools to add and slow down the pace of the game.

Note 1: Since the spells from the new expansion are being mined more often, a second copy of Fiery Reflections is often superfluous, but definitive conclusions can only be drawn after additional testing.

Note 2: There is another beneficial combination with Time Warp. There she is:

• Play out 2 Sorcerer's Apprentice;
• Play out 2 fiery reflections;
• Play Time Warp;
• Play Archmage Antonidas;
• Cast any spell and several Fire ball.

This combination is superior in strength to the combination with the giants, as it allows you to bypass provocateurs and deal devastating damage "in the face." However, this combo requires a lot of preparation and should not be counted on in every match. If there are too many decks with provocateurs in the meta, the combination will have to be changed a bit.

Other decks:

Knights Frozen Throne are new cards that were brought to Hearthstone along with the expansion of the same name. In total, about 135 cards were added, but you should not be scared, since only Knights are directly special cards. In the article below you will find everything actual decks with the Knights of the Frozen Throne, which were compiled by top players and streamers.

It should be noted that the presented decks are subject to change in the future, as the "meta" (best decks) is constantly changing. Anyway, blunders won't be here, as, as already noted, the decks below were created exclusively by the Hearthstone masters.

If you don't get to play any of the decks, don't get discouraged, as they are basically just a collection of ideas, interesting combos, and smart interactions.

It is not necessary to copy everything cleanly, since the essence of each deck is reduced to one specific idea that you should identify for yourself. Everything else that does not affect the overall course of the game can be replaced as desired.

Fight with the Knights of the Frozen Throne

Tempo Warrior

This deck is based on the combination of the effects of the whirlwind and the units that interact with it. So, the Warrior hero will get the Garrosh Death Knight, which is just right for the above effect.

Dead man's hand will help you survive protracted battles, and special mulligan cards will help you quickly pull out the necessary things from the deck.

Combo Warrior

Like the previous one, this one is based on Whirlwinds, but also partly reduced to tempo combos during each turn between Furious Pyromancer and Arcane Giant.

You may have seen a similar build in the past (without Knights, of course), but now its relevance has only increased. Get ready for the fact that this deck will require a lot of effort from you to master.

Tempo Warrior #2

The second version of Tempo Warrior, offering a tougher game.

In this deck, you will not use Knights for this hero, but you will try out the king from the jungle.

Paladin with the Knights of the Frozen Throne

Midrange Paladin with Murlocs

About the synergy of the Paladin and murlocs does not know only Newbie Hearthstone. This deck performed well even before the introduction of the DLC, but now that the LT Knights have appeared in the game, it has become even stronger.

Apart from the usual combos, get ready to use divine shields along with new cards. If you don't like the effectiveness of this synergy, then simply replace the cards with the corresponding trait with some other ones (like Uther the Ebon Blade, as an option).

Agro-Paladin

A deck from the primitive times of Hearthstone, which recent times infrequently used by players at high ranks.

Now that the new sample of Divine Shields has appeared in the game, you can try your luck again with it.

O hunter with the Knights of the Frozen Throne

Hunter-Control

A fascinating deck, the creator of which immediately assured that its essence was reduced primarily to fun, and not promotion in the rankings. She performs quite average even among other decks of her hero, however, she offers a completely new look at the class.

If you have always loved the Hunter, but you are tired of its standard gameplay, then it makes sense to use this assembly.

Druid with the Knights of the Frozen Throne

Rump Druid

In this expansion, Druids make do with a huge array of powerful and flexible cards.

As you can see in the screenshot, the first deck is taken with overclocking cards, which is why it was called "Ramp".

Jade Druid

The same assembly does not look like something new and its name has long been heard.

A crouching ghoul can especially spoil your blood, but if you are not afraid of difficulties, then go for it!

Aggro Druid

A common deck that has received little to no change. The build managed to do almost without the addition of maps from the new DLC, but this is primarily due to its initial strength.

The Pirate card remained the same, as well as many others, so there was not much to replace in the deck.

Shaman with the Knights of the Frozen Throne

Evolution-Shaman

The usual build, tied to the Evolution map, with which Shamans constantly play. It was decided to remove the thirst for blood, since Thrall does not combine well with it (so forget about standard totems).

The new Knight and Bone Mare are excellent - especially the latter, as it gives additional burst and protection.

Rogue with the Knights of the Frozen Throne

N'Zoth the Rogue

A medium-strength build that has been difficult and random in the past. LT Knight didn't turn it into a meta, but put it on the level of other interesting decks.

Tactics is reduced to the use of Deathrattles - abilities of cards that work after their death or upon activation by a special card. Also you have to combine Golems.

Miracle Rogue

If you prefer to play this class and don't want to lose, then in this case, pay attention to this build. She was already very powerful before, but now the deck can create new combos.

Umerang and Shadowblade will allow you to quickly clear the board and weaken the enemy without getting hit and without wasting the strength of your yuits.

You can also add Prince Valanar here instead of Sherazin, as this card performs well in the current build.

Priest with Knights of the Frozen Throne

OTK Kazakus-Priest

OTK is a kill in one turn, which, in fact, is what this deck is tied to. With multiple strong cards in the build, you can deal massive damage and pull off long combos.

First of all, you will have to rely on Raz the Captive and the Shadow Reaper Anduin. Apart from these, you can also switch to using Dark Visions looping, which is achieved with a couple of Elementals.

Here is a guide to the Mage's Quest - a new archetype of the Expedition in Un'Goro. Maybe Quest Mage is not the most popular deck on the ladder, but it is incredibly effective, unusual and unique.

And most importantly, she has a lot of convenient matchups in the current meta. In this guide, you will learn not only the features of playing for this unusual archetype, but also see various builds, discussion of optional cards and key cards. In addition, the guide will present the key points that must be taken into account when confronting a particular class both at the mulligan stage and later in the game: what cards to keep? What dangers await you? What decisions should be made? What tricks will help you improve your win rate? All this and more in detailed guide on Quest Mage.

About Quest Mage: name and history

Quest Mage- a young archetype that appeared only after the release of the Expedition to Un'Goro, which is logical, because the quest itself (the legendary task) appears only in this add-on. The magician got the most difficult task of all, but also incredibly powerful: the ability to make two moves in a row is an excellent prerequisite for winning the game. It is in order to create lethal damage that the legendary task of the Mage is usually used.

It is easy to guess the meaning of the name of the archetype - Quest Mage. This is the Mage using the quest (legendary task). Although there is some inaccuracy here: there are several versions of the Quest Mage, they use different victory conditions and tools to complete the game. In this guide, we will talk about the strongest variant of Quest Mage so far, which uses Archmage Antonidas and sorcerer's apprentices to generate an infinite amount fireballs. This particular archetype is also called Exodia Mage(Exodia Mage), which is a reference to another collectible card game. However, in order not to confuse the dear reader, hereinafter on the site the archetype will still be called Quest Mage.

Another name for the same archetype is TTK Mag. This interesting abbreviation comes from another name for the archetype: OTK Mag. This would be the name of a Mage (or other class) who kills his opponent in one move from an empty table. OTK means one turn kill - eng. kill in one move. De jure, the Quest Mage under consideration also has an OTK combination, however, due to the peculiarity of the legendary task, which gives an additional turn in which the kill occurs, the players slightly changed the name to TTK, which means two turn kill - English. kill in two moves.

Quest Mage deck variations, the pros and cons of each option

Within the Quest Mage archetype itself, one can find many variations that differ significantly from each other. At the beginning, you will be shown the main build options from professional players, then you will see a “naked” incomplete version without technical maps at all. Finally, at the end of the section, an assembly with technical cards will be presented, which the author of this article considers optimal.

Quest Mage Deck by Tyler

The most frequently seen version of the Quest Mage from the most experienced ladder player Tyler. It uses a combination with Archmage Antonidas, which allows you to deal unlimited damage to the enemy with free Fireballs.

Pros of this build:

• - A large number of draws will ensure a quick implementation of the combination
• - Stability and high performance
• - Possibility to deal an infinite amount of damage in one turn, which can be stopped in few ways

Cons of this build:

Quest Mage Deck by Tempo Storm

This Quest Mage build uses a different way to win: free exhibited Magic giants and Alexstrasza, which will reduce the opponent's health to 15, resulting in two 8/8 creatures being able to attack per turn after using Time Warp. Due to the fact that the assembly has fewer cards for the combination (only three, and in the previous five), you can fill it with other useful tools.

Pros of this build:

• - Possibility to fit more technical cards
• - Not as vulnerable to keycard loss
• - Greater flexibility: combination cards are easier to use out of combination at critical moments, they are good and on their own

Cons of this build:

Quest Mage by StrifeCro

This is not so much a Quest Mage in the usual sense, but a Control Mage using a legendary task. The build is not able to kill an opponent with 30 health in one turn from an empty table, but it is better at fighting at the table, defending, and can also go on the offensive on its own even without performing Coupling spiral.

Pros of this build:

• - Much more flexibility
• - Significantly improved matchup with Pirate Warrior
• - Ability to act outside the box

Cons of this build:

• - Instability in the wrong hands, caused by the lack of a clearly defined game plan
• - Inability to make an OTK combination

Quest Mage by J4CKIECHAN

There are a couple of things notable about this English player's build: he abandoned Heralds of rock, considering the role of these second drops overestimated. Instead, he uses others interesting cards Mage, which was not yet in the assemblies of the archetype before. In addition, the assembly does not have Conspirator's Tome, which, indeed, is sometimes too heavy and clumsy.

Pros of this build:

• - Legendary quest is easier to complete throughout the game
• - More options for using tech cards
• - More options to implement randomly obtained spells of the Mage and your opponent's class

Cons of this build:

• - Decreased matchup with Quest Rogue
• - Decreased matchup with super-aggressive decks
• - Inability to clear a significant opponent's table

Quest Mage by Savjz

The Finnish player build set its sights on one thing: destroy the Warrior Pirate. For this, both and and are used. Indeed, Pirate Warrior is an incredibly difficult (perhaps the most difficult) opponent of Quest Mage, but improving the match-up with him at such a high price negatively affects the results of other confrontations.

Pros of this build:

• - Major matchup improvement with Pirate Warrior
• - Minor matchup improvement with Aggro Druid, Quest Warrior, Paladin, Hunter

Cons of this build:

• - Deterioration of results in other confrontations
• - Sometimes not enough extras
• - There is a high risk of not completing the Binding Spiral in time, since it only requires two Conspirator Tomes to complete it

Quest Mage by ThatsAdmirable

An unusual build of the Quest Mage from a famous English-speaking commentator contains as many as four giants. All of them are supposed to be deployed before the activation of the reward for the legendary task, so they can attack after, dealing 32 damage.

Deck Pros:

Cons of the deck:

• - Lack of supply sources
• - Vulnerability to a large number of provocations
• - The need to implement a combination with low health

Mage's Quest by Rage

Another very strange Quest Mage build from Rage with Overseer synergy. The main focus is on the resistance potential of aggro decks.

Deck Pros:

• - Ability to successfully resist Pirate Warrior and other aggressive decks at the start of the game
• - Unusual assembly, thanks to which you can play on the effect of surprise
• - Thanks to Mukla, Storm of the Vale, completing the legendary task is easier, cheaper and faster

Cons of the deck:

These are the main options for Quest Mage builds from professional streamers. In the guide, the most attention will be paid to the version with the Archmage Antonidas, as it seems to be optimal today. However, much of what has been said about it will be relevant for any other version.

In the next section, you can also see the optimal assembly, according to the author of the article, comments on which will be given at the end of the next section, when all technical and optional cards are explained.

Basic and technical cards Mage's Quest

Summarizing all assemblies Exodia Mage(Exodia Mage), there are 21 main cards that are used by absolutely everyone. You can see these cards below.

Here the OTC combination itself is presented directly:, two, two Lava Spears and . In order to complete the legendary quest, you need cards that generate spells. Standard choice - two Conspirator's Tome, (they are not in the main maps), . In addition, cards are used to sort through the deck: , , , . Often complements them Vashj'ir Oracle. There are also exclusively protective tools: , , - these cards and some others will help you survive until the moment when you collect everything required cards in hand and complete the task.

There are still 9 vacancies left, which are most often supplemented by the following cards:

Paladin

Search in starting hand

Hunter: Reset the task always.

Look in the starting hand:

Shaman: leave the task always. The exception is if you are sure that you are playing against a Murloc Shaman.

Look in the starting hand:, , , - always. If there is a second drop and / or Coin - , Vashj'ir Oracle.

Druid: reset the task if you go first and you don't have a good second and third move.

Look in the starting hand:, , , , - always. if you have a second drop. , if you have .

Rogue: never reset the task.

Search in starting hand: , , , - always. If there is a second drop and / or Coin - , Vashj'ir Oracle.

Mage: leave the task always.

Search in starting hand: , , , - always. If there is a second drop and / or Coin - , Vashj'ir Oracle.

Priest: leave the task always.

Search in starting hand: , , , , - always. If there is a second drop and / or Coin - , Vashj'ir Oracle.

Warlock: leave the task always.

Search in starting hand: Look in the starting hand: , , , , - always. If there is a second drop and / or Coin - , Vashj'ir Oracle. If you have , keep it in your hand .

Question: Why should you never leave?

Second- you need 5 free slots on your half of the table in order to place four sorcerer's apprentices and Archmage Antonidas.

Third- you need a spell that will give you the first one on the deployment turn Archmage Antonidas. This spell should not become , it cannot become a secret that is already active, it cannot become if you have 1 health left (most often) and one card in the deck. Lots of things to keep in mind.

Another important point- keeping track of cards created in some other way, and cards that you put in your deck. Sometimes the same will give you, for example, which is already in your deck. Naturally, first of all, you need to use the one that is generated if you have an active task. But sometimes you can forget which copy of the spell is yours and which is created. It would seem easy enough to keep track of, but you will have a lot of worries in the game without it, so it's easy to make a mistake. In order to make your life easier, you can go to the trick - make all spell-generating cards are gold. So they will generate golden spells as well. All other cards in your deck must be non-gold. It is possible to do the opposite (generating cards are not gold, the rest are gold), but it will cost more. Of course, the first method is not cheap, but almost for the first time gold cards give at least some advantage in Hearthstone - interesting fact, but this is advice for true fans of this archetype.

At the late stage of the game, an extremely unpleasant embarrassment can happen. The key card for your combination may be the last in the deck. It's okay if it's , you'll get it in your hand just in time if you start to implement the combination a turn before the fatigue starts. Worse, if it is or - then the chances of losing are high if you have one health unit left (most often it will be). Your Salvation is an additional spell obtained earlier with a or Conspirator's Tome.

Speaking of e and Lava Spears. If you find this spell, your life will become much easier, because it will cost 2 mana crystals. So you don't need one copy Sorcerer's Apprentices or Lava Spears for a combination or you can summon as many as 5 sorcerer's apprentices at no extra cost, and therefore cast spells from Conspirator's Tome even cheaper.

And the last thing in this section is that you don't always have to implement a combination to win. You can generate a lot of damage from your hand with your spells, in addition, Sorcerer's Apprentices can attack after use Time distortion- and that's a lot of damage. Sometimes three is enough sorcerer's apprentices and completed task: fireballs will cost 1 mana crystal, that is, the maximum you use is three, and this is 21 damage. Add 9 damage from sorcerer's apprentices and take exactly 30 damage! There are other scenarios, for example, you can win as a classic Freeze Mage under protection ice blocks, if you find multiple burst damage spells. And there are really a lot of options, the main thing is to learn to see them all, which is sometimes very difficult for the Quest Mage.

Match-ups Quest Mage

As with the mulligan section, matchup information is based on recent meta reports.

Warrior

You have probably already understood that in the case of the Pirate Warrior, your chances are incredibly small. This is the worst match-up, so hope for a miracle, a bad run of the enemy and a random.

It's more interesting with Quest Warrior. These are incredibly profitable matchups for you with one exception. Most Quest Warriors use Dirty Rat, and this second drop can ruin your plans.

- In this game moment, you can easily play Blood Mage Thalnos, but this is not a very smart move. So you put on a battle cry Dirty rat your his Archmage Antonidas. Considering what the Warrior played Defender of the hills, the probability of having in his hand Dirty rat rises. After all, your opponent is not stupid and knows his the only way win. The best decision at this moment is to attack with two creatures with 1/4 and skip the turn. So you have a 50% chance to save the key card for the combination.

Question: why in the last game moment it was necessary to skip the move, and not ping in the face of the Warrior?

The first reason is that minor damage to the hero means little. But, of course, this is not the main reason. The main reason is that some Quest Warrior builds use. Therefore, if the Warrior has 30 health points, it is better not to damage him, so that he does not draw an extra card just like that.

So, returning to Dirty rat, try to always leave other unimportant creatures in your hand (best Heralds of rock, Treasure Collectors) for guard Archmage Antonidas and sorcerer's apprentices. If you have 1 key card in your hand - one non-key card is enough to protect it (more is better, but hardly optimal), if there are two key cards - keep two non-key cards, and so on. The good thing is that Quest Warrior doesn't put much pressure on creatures, so you can afford to beat Dirty rat.

- the optimal number of key and non-key cards in the Quest Mage's hand to beat Dirty rat.

The chance of being killed when you freeze the entire table is very high.

Paladin

The paladin is also slow and doesn't have much burst damage from his hand. He deals the bulk of the damage with the help of creatures, but if they are frozen, the Paladin will not be able to do anything. Not worth killing Tirion Fordring, as you start taking damage from Ashbringer. The good news is that Uther is hard to kill. Herald of doom if all of its creatures are frozen.

The only real threat to the Quest Mage in this confrontation is . This little murloc is played, it seems, by all Paladins. None of them usually pays attention to an unremarkable and weak secret. However, this is the same card that can defeat the Quest Mage. If you play it when the Mage has 1 health left, he is doomed to fail, because he will break through ice block. In order to avoid such a ridiculous defeat, try not to bring yourself to 1 health unit, in the confrontation with the Paladin, this is quite real. A good secret against Murloc Paladin is , as the only creature-targeting spells of this archetype, and combed steed, I really want to take away from him and get 1/3 on an allied creature. If possible, find a using card generation effects, however, in some cases, buffs will not matter and it is much more profitable to find an additional copy from lava, ice block, deck busting or freeze effect.

The probability that

Hunter

The hunter will always pressure you, so play defensively, look for alternative ways to win, not just the main one. It is difficult for a hunter to respond to threats with a lot of health if he does not have a table, so after clearing Herald of rock and you can set the pace Archmage Antonidas- it is unlikely that the Hunter will kill him without a table. The same can be said for several sorcerer's apprentices. Yes, it is easy to kill one, but not two or three if the Hunter's table is frozen or not at all. Then on the next turn you will be able to "spin" cheap Tomes of the Conspirator and find the same cheap spells there.

The chance of being killed when you freeze the entire table is low.

Shaman

The current Shaman builds are not as aggressive as they used to be, which is good news for you. Don't forget to play Thirst for blood and other sources of burst damage from your hand. , most likely won't survive the Shaman's turn, so don't bet too much on it (maybe two Herald of doom exposed at the same time will help).

The probability that

Rogue

The good news is that Quest Rogue is a favorable matchup for Quest Mage, thanks in large part to the freeze effects and the same Doomsayer, which is quite difficult for Quest Rogue to answer. It's important not to leave the table alive when the Rogue can complete his quest and play it, so you don't take too much damage from the 5/5 creatures. Further, creatures with jerks will become your main headache - they will be a serious threat and the main source of damage. It's good if your opponent doesn't have a lot of dash in the build, it's also good if it comes out of the deck before the Rogue's objective is completed. Many builds of the Rogue Quest have started using - this is a convenient answer for them on Herald of doom, besides, a way to overflow your hand and burn your card. Remember this spell. Do not neglect sometimes exhibiting Herald of doom on an empty table in order to win one extra turn in which the Rogue does not put up threats.

Another important point is , which the Rogue can find with Rogue Pirate and Illusions. Then you most likely won't be able to win. But it is important to play with other secrets: Antimagic. . - this trio can also spoil your plans if you do not beat all the secrets.

The chance of being killed when you freeze the entire table is high if it's Miracle Rogue, medium if it's Quest Rogue.

Druid

The most common on the ladder are the aggressive Druid archetypes, which are relatively easy to play against. Certainly not with Malfurion's perfect tempo start and bad entry on your part. Take advantage of relative invulnerability Herald of doom if your opponent's table is frozen. If your opponent has played Murlinju, try not to keep your creatures alive on his turn. You can not expose them at all or kill them with the power of the hero.

The probability that ) and play them in time to spoil the opponent's plans. Go through the deck as quickly as possible and try to be the first to realize the combination. You won't win because ice block opponent, however, it will be incredibly difficult for him to simultaneously get rid of your table and use another ice block. Most likely, the one who played the combination first will win.

Don't Forget the Potential Vashj'ir Oracle, with which you can burn two of your opponent's cards. But he can do the same. If you have, do not rush to play it, wait until the opponent is close to realizing the combination. But make sure you can kill Archmage Antonidas or sorcerer's apprentice.

More often, however, you will still meet Burn Mage or Freeze Mage, the match-up with which is difficult due to ice block your opponent. Most likely, both Bern Mage and Freeze Mage will “pierce” your ice block thanks to the mass of explosive damage from the hand, then you will have little chance of winning. It makes sense to act outside the box, spoil the opponent's plans with the help of generated cards ( ice block, so you need to get this secret in your hand as quickly as possible. You might even want to leave him in the mulligan stage.

Uncomfortable matchup - Silence Priest, because this effect removes the freeze from the creatures of the Priest, which means he will often attack you. However, the Silent Priest can also be defeated, after all, he can only provide unexpected explosive damage twice with Silence and inner rage.

The chance of being killed when you freeze the entire table is high.

Warlock

Zoolock is an easy match-up for Quest Mage, since the combo + Warlock has nothing to stop. The same goes for Hanlock. Let him have ways to kill Herald of doom, the overall picture is slightly corrected for him.

You can often kill a Warlock not with the help of combinations, but with the help of explosive damage from your hand, after all, there are not many sources of healing left for the class.

The chance of being killed when you freeze the entire table is low.

How to play against Quest Mage

If you read this guide out of curiosity, or if you want to play other decks, here are some tips on how to play against Quest Mage. Maybe you encounter them too often at your rank, or maybe you just want to defeat them for some reason. In any case, here are some tips on how to do it:

1. Look for as many ways as possible to generate Mage cards or any cards of your class - look for ice block, , , silence effects

5. Another way to beat Quest Mage is to play very fast like Pirate Warrior

6. If the Mage still starts to implement his combo, do not give up until the moment when the first one appears in your opponent's hand, costing 0 mana crystals. Until then, things can go wrong for the Mage (a lot can go wrong, by the way).

Conclusion

Quest Mage is the most interesting deck of the current meta, incredibly complex, multifaceted, flexible and multifunctional. It's also nice that the player gets a wonderful reward for their efforts - the ability to deal an infinite amount of damage per turn, as well as a consistently high percentage of wins in the ladder. All this is overshadowed not only by complexity, but also by long games. Therefore, we can say: Quest Mage is a deck for amateurs, not for mass consumption. Maybe it's even better for both the game and the players.

If you feel like you're a Quest Mage lover, head to the ladder to hone your skills on this deck. Pleasant emotions Interesting games and active brain activity is provided to you.

Thanks for reading, interesting games!- red snapper

Quest Mage "Knights of the Ice Throne". There were high hopes for this deck in the previous expansion, but they didn't materialize. How is this deck playing now?

Quest Mage with cards "Knights of the Ice Throne"

Code for importing a deck into Hearthstone:

What is called "survived". Quest Mage at some point became the best Mage deck in the new expansion. Until recently, no one would have believed it.

Unfortunately, even this “best” deck flounders around the 50% win rate line, constantly crossing it in one direction or the other. Yeah, things are bad for Jaina.

The archetype hasn't changed much, except of course one copy of [Simulacrum], which is usually added in order to put a third copy of [Sorcerer's Apprentice] in the deck and make a combo faster.

Otherwise, the deck is the same. There is still a lot of control, gain and vitality here. Without it, nowhere.

game plan

AT starting hand leave:

• [Binding Coil] – a must!
• [Arcanologist]
• [Chatty book]
• [Rookie Engineer]

The need for other cards depends on whether you know what deck your opponent is playing. If, for example, you are playing against a Warrior, then leave [Herald of Doom], because if your opponent is a Pirate Warrior, this creature can win you a match, and if it is a Control Warrior, then you will win anyway, with this archetype just not enough damage to pick you up.

You must remember that during a match you only have 3 goals:

1. Survive
2. Draw cards
3. Run a task

That is the priority. Never attack an enemy hero when you complete a Objective, you will have ENDLESS damage in your hand, so trade and only trade.

The coolest survival tool is [Herald of Doom], but try to only play it in combination with [Ice Nova] or [Blizzard]. Its effectiveness will increase many times over.

The main problem for beginner Quest Mages is that they don't count the cards in their hand and sometimes get more than 10 in their hand by burning key cards. Do not do it this way. Arithmetic is your friend.

She, by the way, will help you understand when you need to end the game. The combo with infinite damage looks like this:

• [Sorcerer's Apprentice] + [Sorcerer's Apprentice] + [Lava Spear] + [Lava Spear] + [Spiral Binding] reward. Total = 8 mana.
• Skip a move. Thanks to the Task, you will immediately start your second turn
• [Archmage Antonidas] + any spell. Total = 7-10 mana. That's all. Antonidas will generate endless free [Fireballs] for you to throw at your opponent and you absolutely don't care how much health he has.

Hello, dear readers of the site!

In this article you will see guide to Mage's Quest is a fresh archetype of the Un'Goro Expedition, built on the new mechanics of the legendary class task, with which you can deal an infinite amount of damage in a single turn. This feature allows you to call the archetype sometimes not Quest Mage, but OTC Mag or TTK Mag(technically, the kill is done in two moves, but there is no opponent's turn in between), there are other names: Mage with a quest, Exodia Mage and so on. Without much background, the reader is invited to immediately dive into the guide to this archetype, which, like all guides, will begin with the deck itself, an overview of the key and optional cards in it, as well as possible alternative builds.

This is the most popular and standard Quest Mage deck, its author is Tyler, although many other streamers had similar sheets in the early days of the Expedition to Un'Goro expansion, for example, Dog.

You should figure out what role 30 cards play in this deck. In total, there are several groups that perform different functions:

• Directly the combination itself, which takes up an unusually large amount of space: Archmage Antonidas, two Sorcerer's Apprentices, two Lava Spears.
• The combo, of course, won't work without the Binding Coil and the cards needed to complete it: Chatty Books, Petroglyphs, and Conspirator's Tomes.
• To implement the combination, as you can see, you need a lot of cards, so the mechanics of sorting out the deck, which is also in excess, are extremely important: two Treasure Collectors, two Novice Engineers, two Arcanologists, two Vashj'ir Oracles, two Sorcerer's Intelligence.
• The remaining cards are needed for survival, because while you are sorting through the deck in search of a combination, the enemy will not look at you and wait for his death, he will resist. In order to restrain aggression and survive until the X moment, the Quest Mage deck has two Heralds of Doom, two Ice Blocks, an Ice Barrier, an Ice Ring, a Blizzard.

These are all the map groups you need to create Quest Mage decks. You can't get rid of any of them, but you can partially change the internal content of each of the groups. If you change the first group, you will get a completely different Quest Mage, which kills the enemy not with infinite Fireballs, but with the help of Faerie Giants, Fire Giants and Alexstrasza. This is also Quest Mage, but we will not talk about him in this guide, because, apparently, builds with Archmage Antonidas are of more interest to players and are objectively stronger. Although, of course, different versions its pros and cons.

The second, third and fourth groups of cards are much more flexible, they can be reduced in volume, changed almost completely. It really needs to be done carefully. For example, you definitely need to generate 6 non-deck spells to complete Binding Spiral. The easiest way to do this is to help Conspirator's Tomes, but there are assemblies without them.

There is an interesting connection between the deck-drawing group and the task-generating spell group. The fact is that the more draw you have, the less you will be able and willing to use card generation. Just because rebuilding a deck is almost always better than creating new spells, there's often just not enough room for them in your hand. So, if you take a lot of draw, you will most likely have to finish Spiral Binding on the same turn that you play Sorcerer's Apprentices along with Lava Spears. There are risks here, because some spells are too expensive, sometimes they cannot be used at all (you already have the same secret active, these spells will kill your creatures, overwhelm the table and leave no room for Archmage Antonidas, etc.), which means you will lose stability if you use a lot of cards to draw. On the other hand, with their help, you will find all the necessary parts of the combination and other important tools much faster.

The other side of the coin is the overabundance of spell generation cards. They are, of course, good, sometimes you can find additional defensive tools from them or even other ways to win. This way you will consistently complete the legendary task in each game, but you will sacrifice the speed of sorting the deck, and therefore the ability to quickly collect a combination and finish the game.

Adjusting the proportions of draw cards and spell generation cards is a very difficult task, but extremely important for any Quest Mage player. If there is an optimal assembly, it is hardly found. Maybe the build should be changed depending on the player's preferences, rank, meta, and playstyle.

The last component also intervenes here - survival cards. There are not very many of them simply because there is not enough space in the deck. However, you can sacrifice either deck busting or spell generation. This further complicates the process of creating the best Quest Mage decks and its optimization. However, the archetype itself is very complex, not only at the deck design stage, but also in the game itself. The author hopes that the reader is ready for this.

So that this section does not look unfounded, below will be offered alternative Quest Mage decks with shifted priorities in different directions. You can view them by clicking on the spoilers below, and small comments will also be given there.

Quest Mage by Tyler (click to open)

The emphasis in this build is on the generation of spells (you can create at least 10 in total) at the expense of the deck busting mechanics.

Quest Mage by Savjz (click to open)

This version of Quest Mage is focused on survival and improving the losing matchup with Pirate Warrior. First of all, the possibilities of dobor are sacrificed.

Quest Mage by J4CKIECHAN (click to open)

The build eschews the defensive Doomsayers in favor of additional card generation, but also lacks the Tome of the Conspirator, which is often very difficult to implement due to the high cost and hand overflow.

Quest Mage from an unknown player (click to open)

This version is focused on getting the deck out as quickly as possible, however it often lacks hand space and time to pre-generate additional spells to cast Binding Spiral.

Optional cards of the Quest Mage deck

Blood Mage Thalnos is often a degraded version of Treasure Collector, as most decks simply don't have enough damage dealing spells. In this case, an additional attack is better. Use with the Treasure Collector if you want a lot of extra.

Dirty rat is an interesting tech card useful in many of the current meta's confrontations. Can be very useful against Quest Mages, Quest Rogues, Quest Warriors and some other archetypes. Used most often in combination with Ice Nova or Blizzard.

Servant of Pain is not the best card for this deck, since it is very easy to turn against Quest Mage by attacking the Servant of Pain several times and overflowing Jaina's hand. Under no circumstances should this be allowed. Better use the Vashj'ir Oracle.

Second copy snow storm- never hurts, but the issue is the lack of space and other priorities of the Quest Mage.

Mana Bond is a good way to deceive an opponent, advance in a task, make unexpected tempo moves, and so on. Can help finish the game in a non-standard way in the style of Freeze Mage.

Cabal Courier, Thievish Bully, Cabal Chemist- Acceptable ways to advance in the completion of the legendary task, but not so stable. However, sometimes this instability can be rewarded.

Frostbolt, Polymorph, Fireball – great cards, it's a pity that there is no place for them in the deck.

Mulligan of the Quest Mage deck

Whichever build you choose, the mulligan stage is very important. First, you must decide whether to leave the task or not. Secondly, decide on other cards to start the game.

The issue with the task is quite defined and is unlikely to raise doubts in anyone, at least in the current meta. Things might change in the future if a certain class becomes more or less aggressive, but for now, here are your priorities for the Coupling Spiral:

Important note: this choice is only applicable in cases where you don't know what archetype you are playing against. If you have already met on the ladder with some player on the Pirate Warrior, then, of course, the next time you meet him, the task must be reset. The same applies to situations where you play open deck tournaments.

We can formulate the following general rule: if you're sure you're playing with a super-aggressive deck(or Midrange Hunter - he is aggressive enough for you), reset the task. The exception is Zoolok, in the confrontation with him, you can leave the Binding Coil in your hand.

Now for the other cards. Priority number one is the Arcanologist, this is best second drop for you. In general, you must first find any second drop that sorts through the deck (not Petroglyph, and even more so not the Herald of Doom - you need these cards only when you have discarded the task from your hand, that is, you are playing with an aggressive opponent), that is, the Arcanologist , Treasure Collector, Rookie Engineer. If you have a Coin, the third moves with a deck busting will do: Sorcerer's Intellect, Vashj'ir Oracle. If you have a second move, look for a third one that will perform the same function. If you already have the second drop, you can keep the Chattering Book as well. The author does not recommend leaving her without a good "deuce", but many may argue with this statement.

You don't need any other mulligan cards, unless you reset the task, of course. In this case, always leave the Herald of Doom and the Chattering Book. Forget about third drops. If you encounter a Priest, it is not recommended to discard Ice Block from your starting hand.

Strategy for playing the Quest Mage deck

A section that is difficult to write and contain all the necessary information, since there are a lot of subtleties and important points when playing for the Quest Mage. In this section, not all important information will be provided, since it is sometimes difficult to generalize: when playing against a certain class, everything can change dramatically. Only the main points.

First, having dealt with the mulligan, remember the coin if you were lucky enough to walk second. The coin counts as a card that was not in your deck at the start of the game, which means it will help to complete the Binding Spiral. This means that Monetku is the best play out after task, not before it. Secondly, remember that the task does not have to be played on the first turn, it is often better to put the Talking Book, and on the next turn your second drop, and so on. Most often, you will not start completing the task right away, especially if you do not have a Coin.

Your actions at the start are otherwise quite simple. Move the deck as quickly as possible. This is your priority at the start: not pinging minor enemy creatures, not playing secrets, not freezing an insignificant board, not completing a task with the help of Petroglyph and other cards, but purely deck busting. First of all, always try to play the Arcanologist, and after the usual sources of sorting the deck - this advice is relevant at any stage of the game, unless, of course, there are still secrets in the deck.

Another important point - use the mechanics of sorting the deck along the mana curve at the start of the game. On the second move - the second drop, on the third - the third, on the fourth - a couple of second. Spend all your mana per turn, play "mana efficiency", as foreign colleagues would say. Don't be afraid to play Vashj'ir Oracle on turn 3, often you don't care how many cards your opponent has or what he does. You have your own tactics, which is to search required cards at the start of the game, then it will be complicated by other elements, including the containment of aggression and the completion of the task. At the beginning, your cheap creatures can help in defense, try to trade them, divert aggression from your hero.

All this is true, of course, if you have not met Pirate Warrior or another aggressive deck. If they met, from the first moves the number one priority will be survival. However, this will be your only priority throughout the game. The way to win this matchup is to clear the table and prevent new threats from being placed on it with Doomsayer. Next, you play Archmage Antonidas on an empty table, from which you don’t even get additional Fireballs, if he survives the turn, you can generate enough of them to complete the game.

When you and your opponent have more mana crystals, the game becomes more difficult. You should still try to draw as quickly as possible, however, your opponent will probably already take the board and start dealing a lot of damage to your hero. To curb his aggression, freeze effects and Doomsayers, as well as randomly generated Mage cards, are suitable. Here it is important to note the following.

Three things separate you from defeat. First - To your health. The second one is freeze effects opponent's creatures. Third - ice block. It is important to correctly prioritize the expenditure of each of these resources. First of all you use To your health, you can afford to take some damage, you can let the enemy put some firepower on the table. It's hard to come up with exact numbers when you're safe. Be aware of hand burst damage capabilities (Fireballs, Guts), attack boosts (Wild Roar, Bloodlust), and charge creatures. As long as your life is not in danger and you are not close to taking lethal damage, do not freeze enemy creatures.

Only if you can deal lethal damage or bring health close to zero, you neutralize threats freezing effects and other removals that they were able to generate. It doesn't always make sense to combine freeze effects with Doomsayer, some archetypes can easily respond to it, while others can't at all. Again, if you freeze your opponent's creatures, then you are sure that he will not deal lethal damage to you from his hand with weapons, spells or dashes. If this is possible, then you were greedy at the last stage, you should have started freezing creatures earlier.

Only when the freeze effects have ended do you turn to last resource of survival – ice blocks. By the time they start to break through, you will have very little time left to win. Therefore, you should buy by hook or by crook as much time as possible before using the Ice Blocks. Sometimes this means that you have to take risks, such as using Ice Barrier and relying on the extra 8 armor to keep your opponent from killing you. Other defensive tools that you can generate will also work (Anti-Magic, Vaporization, etc.). Sometimes they can save you and give you an extra turn before the Ice Block is activated. Keep in mind that freezing will most likely not help you, if the Ice Blocks are removed and you have 1 health, you will not be able to heal. Therefore, it is very important to correctly prioritize when choosing a defensive strategy, buy time by any means, which won't break your combo later.

It's time to talk about the combination itself. It looks like this: you cast two Sorcerer's Apprentices (2 + 2 mana), then use two Lava Spears (2 + 1 mana) on them, then use the bounty for Spiral Binding (1 mana). This is the ideal option in which the task is already completed, and all the parts of the combination are in your hand. It is possible to do everything without one Sorcerer's Apprentice or without one Lava Spear, it is possible to complete the task with four Sorcerer's Apprentices set using Conspirator's Tomes and other spell generation methods - all of them will cost very cheaply. There is a risk here that the generated cards will cost more than 4-5 mana crystals, which means you won’t be able to use them. Or this spell could be a Volcanic Potion, which, of course, should never be used with Sorcerer's Apprentices exposed.

If all is well, then you skip a turn, and Time Warp grants you an extra turn. In it you will get a card ( be careful so that fatigue does not kill you, she will do it even through the Ice Block) and your Sorcerer's Apprentices will be able to attack. This, however, is not always important. The important thing is that you should have Archmage Antonidas in your hand. By casting it, you only cast one spell that won't kill your Sorcerer's Apprentices or you (for example, the same Sorcerer's Intelligence can kill you with fatigue). So, you will get the first Fireball costing 0 mana crystals in your hand. Then you will receive them again and again until you kill your opponent.

• Always keep an eye on the number of cards in your hand, do not let them burn until you have collected all the necessary parts of the combination.
• Always keep an eye on the number of cards in your deck, avoid fatigue damage, which will often be lethal for you.
• Before playing a combination, make sure you have everything you need: 5 free places for creatures on the table, a task completed (or potentially doable with Conspirator's Tome and other cards), a spell to get a Fireball from Archmage Antonidas (this spell cannot be a secret that is already active, Volcanic Potion, a source of gain that will kill you with fatigue , or explosive damage to a creature that has no one to give it to except your own creatures).
• Keep in mind that Forbidden Flame will use up all your mana, and Sorcerer's Apprentice effects won't affect it at all.
• With the help of Petroglyph or other sources of card generation, you can get an additional Lava Copy, which will speed up and greatly facilitate the collection of a combination.
• The Mage has 31 spells that you can cast. Their average cost is 3.5 mana.

• After completing the Binding Spiral, you will have the Time Warp spell in your hand - make sure you have enough space for it.
• Keep a close eye on the cards you've generated, use them first most of the time.
• Combination Mage's Quest- the main, but not the only way to win. You can win both with burst damage from your hand and by replaying to your opponent's advantage. Sometimes you can win with an incomplete combo, for example, your Sorcerer's Apprentices after Time Warp can deal 12 damage on their own, which can sometimes be enough.
• If you don't have enough cards to get Fireball from Archmage Antonidas before your OTC turn, don't use one Lava Spear by playing only two Sorcerer's Apprentices, one Lava Spear, and the legendary quest reward on your first turn. This will only cost you 8 mana crystals, and on your next turn you can cast both Archmage Antonidas and the remaining Lava Spear on Sorcerer's Apprentice.

Match-ups Quest Mage

In this section guide to Mage's Quest key aspects in the confrontation with specific archetypes will be noted, which must always be remembered. In addition, an assessment of the chances of winning with a competent game will be given.

The mirror confrontation will be won by the one who quickly finds and implements the combination. Or the one who does not find two Ice Blocks at the right time and does not win two additional moves will lose it. Vashj'ir Oracle is a key card in the mirror match, try to use it burn opponent's cards, don't go under the Vashj'ir oracle yourself. A lot of cards don't make any sense in this matchup (Ice Nova, Ice Barrier, Blizzard, Doombringer and others), get rid of them without hesitation.

Freeze Mage is not a favorable matchup due to the lack of healing in your deck. Try to find Anti-Magic, burn your opponent's cards, spoil his plans in some other way.

Tempo Mage - try to lure explosive damage on your creatures (the only candidate is the Herald of Doom), hold the answer to the Archmage Antonidas in your hand.

Only a Silenced Priest can be a real problem for Mage's Quest, since the freeze effects are not as effective on him. The good news is that using silence will remove all positive effects from the creature, which means that you will not receive a lot of unpredictable damage. It may not get any easier than this, though.

All other Priests are very easy opponents, they just won't be able to apply enough pressure in time to push you through. There aren't many cards in Priest's collection that will stop you in any way. The only problem - stealing from your Ice Block deck. This will not mean an automatic loss for you, after all, even after your OTK move, the Priest will not have any creatures on the table, and you will have as many as five, you need to kill them somehow, and also restore your health in sufficient quantities so that the remaining The fireballs didn't finish off the Priest. However, something can still go wrong, so try to find Ice Blocks as quickly as possible, for example, you can leave them in your starting hand on the mulligan.

Even though Zoolok is an aggressive archetype, he will be easy to deal with. The fact is that he has very few opportunities to do something when his table is frozen. It is almost impossible to kill the Doomsayer, it is difficult to attack Jaina herself. So you have a free hand for a lot in this confrontation.

In principle, the same can be said about Handlock, but do not forget about the silence mechanic that he uses, and also about some, but the potential for explosive damage from his hand. Yes, and there is an answer to the Herald of Doom more often than Zoolock.

A very nasty matchup, go into survival mode at all costs and hold back the aggression. Do not try to collect a combination, spend all your resources to fight for the table.

Midrange Paladin is a simple matchup where your opponent simply lacks pressure and speed. The same Doomsayer will be very difficult to kill, few use the Rushing Kodo in their builds. Don't try to kill Tirion Fordring because Ashbringer will deal potentially more damage.

Aggro Paladin is harder, but has the same problems (not being able to kill the Doomsayer if the table is frozen).

There is only one popular Paladin card that will give you problems. it An eye for an eye. The smart paladin will choose exactly this secret from the hydrologist, the smart paladin will save it until you have 1 health point left. Then you will be doomed. Little can be done in this situation, because the Ice Block will not save. If the Paladin doesn't play the secret with the Hydrologist for a long time, by hook or by crook try not to drop your health to 1 unit.

Like Midrange Paladin, Quest Warrior is an easy opponent. His creatures have very low attack, and the task is taking too long. Means, Quest Mage will be able to go through the deck with impunity and look for a combination. To complicate matters, there is only one card that almost all Quest Warriors use, this Dirty rat. This second drop can easily defeat you solo by drawing Archmage Antonidas. The loss of the Sorcerer's Apprentice is also critical, but not fatal, after all, you can generate an additional Copy from lava or try to win with three Sorcerer's Apprentices. The Smart Quest Warrior will look for the Mulligan on the Mulligan, he will dig up more Mud Rats with the Hill Defender. And he will wait for the right moment to use it.

Your task is to reduce the chances of Dirty Rat's success.. If you have Archmage Antonidas and Sorcerer's Apprentices in your hand, hold other creatures in addition to them (preferably Doomsayers and Treasure Collectors, but any other will do) that will have a chance to sacrifice themselves to save Archmage Antonidas. Try to have another "useless" creature in your hand for every combo creature.

Pirate Warrior is a real disaster, this is the most inconvenient match-up for Quest Mage, which only a miracle will help to win. Accept your low odds and don't feel bad about losing to Eyeball Pirate's gang.

Aggro Druid's case is similar to Zoolock's: aggression, but the chances of killing the Doomsayer are quite low, as well as inflicting lethal damage with a frozen table. Although Aggro Druid has scope and his hero power, as well as Bluegill Warriors, so the situation is definitely more complicated than with Zoolock. To complicate things further, Aggro Druid can often start very tempo thanks to Innervate.

Few Shaman cards can get you in trouble. First of all count burst damage with Bloodlust, Flametongue Totem, Al'Akir and/or Jade Lightning - don't fall for these effects or any combination of them. The rest is simple.

The nice thing is that all types of Rogues are favorable matchups for the Quest Mage. The real threat is Rogue Pirate and Illusion, which can give your opponent Antimagic or ice block. Try to prevent the Rogue Pirate from returning to Valeera's hand. Be aware of the number of dashes in the Rogue Quest deck, sometimes they can do a lot of burst damage even with a frozen table. It's not bad to put the Doomsayer on an empty table in the confrontation with the Rogue in order to win the move and slow down the opponent's pace.

Don't forget about Vanish in the Rogue's Quest deck and Sap in the Miracle Rogue deck - these cards can cause your hand to overflow, which is best avoided.

Conclusion

Represented guide to Mage's Quest does not pretend to be complete and monumental. There is still a significant field for improving builds, optimizing game strategy, searching key features in specific matchups and so on. However, the author of this article hopes that guide to Mage's Quest will inspire the reader to play with this most interesting and complex archetype, which is very difficult to show good results, but this is the most pleasant thing. Quest Mage challenges players, few will be able to conquer the ladder with this deck. Maybe you, dear reader, are one of them.

Thank you for your attention and good luck in the ladder!

Prepared red snapper, edited drulezzz