Hearthpwn

This deck is intended for new players with a limited card collection.

Mage is a great class for beginners. It has arguably the best basic class cards in the game, and one of the best hero powers as well. So let's jump right in to this deck...

STRATEGY

Mulligan - A good rule-of-thumb is to toss everything that costs more than 3 mana. Ideally, you want a Mana Wyrm in your opening hand, as well as a follow-up 2 and 3 drop. 

Turn 1 - If you don't have a Wyrm in your opening hand, it's okay to skip Turn 1 (do not play Arcane Missiles on an empty board). If you have the coin and have two 2-cost minions in hand, it's okay to coin one out on turn 1, and then play the other on turn 2. It's generally a bad idea to use the coin if you don't have a follow-up play on the next turn.

Turn 2 - Because we have a lot of 2-cost cards in this deck, we should have some options here. If he played a minion with 2 or 3 health, you can Frostbolt it. If he skipped his turn 1, then play a minion. Do not Frostbolt the enemy hero. If all else fails, just hero power and pass.

Turn 3 - Harvest Golem is nice because it is "sticky" (deathrattle leaves another minion on the board after it dies). Shattered Sun Cleric can buff your minions to help trade efficiently into other minions. Generally you don't want to use Arcane Intellect on turn 3 because it doesn't help develop your board. Save this card for later when you are running low on cards to help regain card advantage. Mirror Entity is okay if it is the only option, but once again, you ideally want to play it on a later turn when you can play another card with it. Acolyte of Pain is for card draw (the more cards you can get out of him before he dies, the better).

Turn 4 - Water Elemental is always a good choice, because at 6 health, it is hard to remove on turn 4. Sen'jin Shieldmasta is good for protecting your minions and forcing your opponent to trade his minions or use removal. Fireball is for big minion removal, and Polymorph is for big minion removal/denial of value (Polymorphing a Paladin's Tirion Fordring, for example, is a great use of this card).

Turn 5 - Azure Drake is a staple in many decks, especially for Mages. It has spell damage as well as card draw, both of which are important. It's such a simple card, yet has so much value. If you don't have 2 Drakes, I highly recommend crafting at least 1.

Turn 6 - Boulderfist Ogre is a good heavy-hitting card. Faceless Summoner is a premium Mage card, and with all the free WotOG packs you get, hopefully you got at least one. It is two minions for the price of one, you can't beat that value!

Turn 7 -Flamestrike is your board clear. If your opponent has board control, it's a good "reset" button that clears most early-game minions. This is especially helpful against aggro decks which run a lot of low-cost minions and aim to flood the board.

GENERAL ADVICE

Don't waste your spells on the enemy hero, especially early game. Spells are for board control only. Remove enemy minions with spells, use your own minions to "go face". Only aim your spells at the hero if it wins you the game.

Play "on curve" when possible. You want to use as much of your mana each turn as possible with the least amount of cards. On turn 7, playing a single Boulderfist Ogre is generally a better choice than playing 3 or 4 low-cost cards.

Don't over-commit to the board. If you find yourself with 10 mana and a bunch of low-cost minions in hand, don't just puke them all out onto the field. Doing so just begs for a board clear from your opponent, which leaves you with no board presence and no cards in hand to recover. Typically, I try to have between 2 to 4 minions on board at any given time. 

Card advantage. If you have more cards in-hand than your opponent, then you have card advantage. This is important because it gives you options. If you play all your cards and resort to "top-decking", then your options are limited to whatever single card you happen to draw each turn. This deck has a lot of card draw (Arcane Intellect, Acolyte, Drakes) so if your hand is starting to get low, look for these cards to help replenish.

"Trading up". Removing your enemy minions, while keeping your own, is important. This is why our spells shouldn't be used on the opponent's face. If you can't use a spell to remove an enemy minion, then use your own. Ideally, you want to "trade up" or "trade efficiently". This means, for example, using your 3/2 minion to take out their 4/3 minion. Also, when possible, you want to trade your minions in such a way that it kills their minion, but leaves yours alive. This denies them board presence, while building your own.

Board Control. Early in the game, you want to focus on trading/removing minions. Don't worry about the enemy face just yet. You want to gain control of the board first, then start going face. Ignoring the enemy minions and going face sets yourself up to lose the board, which will usually lose you the game.

DOWNGRADES

This deck still too rich for your blood?

• Azure Drake --> Gnomish Inventor
• Cult Sorcerer --> Kobold Geomancer or Loot Hoarder
• Faceless Summoner --> Stormwind Champion

UPGRADES

Here are cards that are replaceable:

• Mirror Entity
• Acidic Swamp Ooze
• Harvest Golem
• Shattered Sun Cleric
• Sen'jin Shieldmasta
• Boulderfist Ogre

These cards see a lot of play in competitive mage decks:

• Ethereal Conjurer (League of Explorers)
• Flamewaker (Blackrock Mountain)
• Arcane Blast
• Cabalist's Tome
• Forbidden Flame
• Archmage Antonidas
• Sylvanas Windrunner
• Ragnaros the Firelord
• Bloodmage Thalnos
• Yogg-Saron, Hope's End