Are you tired of Freeze Mage and Mech Mage? Do you want to try something different? Flamewaker could be exactly what you’re looking for to kick start your simple old Mage deck into high gear.

As Knife Juggler’s bigger, magical cousin, Flamewaker works when you have a lot of low-cost spells that you can use for his special ability. It acts like a much friendlier Wild Pyromancer in many ways, since this ability can clear the board of one-health minions while leaving your own minions untouched. Flamewaker is also a relatively strong minion in its own right, with 2/4 stats that can destroy almost any two or three-cost creature thanks to the Mage’s hero power and Flamewaker’s own ability. The fact that it costs three mana is also useful, since Mages have lacked reliable three-drops that presented any sort of threat outside of Kirin Tor Mage.

The Hearthstone community hasn’t quite decided where Flamewaker falls when it comes to the meta yet, so the deck lists are a little scattered. You see decks that are overloaded on one-cost spells, some decks that go heavier on the late game, and even some Mech Mages that try to abuse Flamewaker’s synergy with Spare Parts. I tried over a half dozen deck lists, using everything from Kel’Thuzad to Arcane Missiles, before I found one that consistently showcased Flamewaker’s power.

Card justifications

Mirror Image is a cheap, easy stalling card that generally needs two cards to remove it when you’re playing against aggressive decks. Its cheap cost also works well in combination with Sorcerer’s Apprentice and Flamewaker, giving you the potential for a powerful third turn.

Clockwork Gnome is mostly for an additional bit of early game, not to mention how well its Spare Part can work with Antonidas, Violet Teacher, Mana Wyrm, and Flamewaker. It could be easily replaced with any other early game card, such as Zombie Chow, if you prefer higher minion quality at the cost of the deck’s theme/gimmick.

Your tech card of choice can replace Big Game Hunter, depending what scares you the most in the current meta. Mind Control Tech for swarm, Kezan Mystic for secrets, etc.

I’m also classifying Flamestrike as a “tech card” in this particular deck since it was the only way I could deal with Grim Patron Warriors. I found plenty of Mage decks with Flamewakers but no Flamestrikes, and the one thing they all had in common was a 100% loss rate against Grim Patron. If you find some other way to beat Patrons, or if you don’t see many of them for whatever reason, then feel free to use something else.

Playing the deck

I’m going to be honest; this deck wasn’t made for climbing the ladder, because that’s not the point. The point here is to showcase what Flamewaker can do, and this deck does that in a splendid fashion. The amount of low cost spells, especially when combined with Sorcerer’s Apprentice, can deal a mind-blowing amount of damage in a very short period of time. I also included cards like Violet Teacher and Antonidas because they synergize with cheap spells too, if only for the sake of an overall theme.

Starting hand choices for any deck with Flamewaker really depend on whether you’re going first or second. If you’re going first you should probably fish for more useful early game cards like Mana Wyrm or Mad Scientist, and only hold on to Flamewaker if you already have potential ideas for turns one and two. If you’re going second then I think keeping Flamewaker in your opening hand is a fantastic idea, considering The Coin’s combo potential. Flamewaker, Coin, and Mirror Image or another one-cost spell can secure quite a bit of board presence on turn three, not to mention other potential combinations with secrets, Frostbolt, Unstable Portal, etc on the following turn. Four to six random damage, in conjunction with the strength of cards like Flamecannon, can decimate your opponent’s field and protect cards like Violet Teacher or Sorcerer’s Apprentice so that they can continue to influence the board.

This deck’s biggest strengths were against Face Hunter, with an impressive (and somewhat startling) 100% win rate versus that frustrating deck type. It also held its own very well against Priests, Paladins, and other Mages, though the Priest games were usually very long and would come down to fatigue damage. Control Warriors and Druids were the biggest obstacles, with their larger minions that are unfazed by Flamewaker’s poke damage. Minions that benefited from taking damage, such as Acolyte of Pain, Grim Patron, and Imp Gang Boss, offered several problems as well, though there are ways around that as long as you play smart.

I think Flamewaker is an excellent card that will give Mages a lot more options when it comes to their deck types, while also giving less popular Mage spells a chance to shine. Some people may not like it due to its RNG mechanics, but if you don’t mind that part of Hearthstone then you should definitely include Flamewaker in your off-brand or Tempo Mage decks.