Medivh Reno Mage Standard

[TheEviscerator 2]

I replaced dirty rat with loot hoarder and  soulcaster with kabal courier,working well(or maybe its just me convincing myself budget options work too)

PS:any way to make this deck more anti-aggro?any love for fallen hero?

Edited December 23, 2016 by TheEviscerator

[DoneVida 0]

Hey guys,

First post here and I just wanted to say thank you for this deck.  I am a new player.  Just started during the WOG expansion.  Been playing tempo rogue and midrange hunter the most since then.  After this expansion my decks just were not keeping up so I broke down and spent some Christmas money on a few packs.  I made a new hunter deck,  copied Kripps Jade Rogue deck just caused it looked fun (except I don't have Sylvannas yet), and was able to put this one together.  This deck is by far the most fun I've had playing this game.  I hate playing agro anything and especially hate playing against them.  This deck really makes the turns mean something and I feel like there is a lot of decision making.  Highest I have gotten on the ladder is 13 so far but I'm still learning how to play in certain situations.  As I learn and my deck building skills get better I may make some changes.  Netdecking just proves more advantagus at the moment  Sorry for the long post.  Just wanted to say thanks and keep up the good work.

Done

[TheEviscerator 2]

Any possible techs for me to stop,for want of a better phrase,getting anally violated by every control deck i see?

[positiv2 952]

3 hours ago, TheEviscerator said:

Any possible techs for me to stop,for want of a better phrase,getting anally violated by every control deck i see?

Archmage Antonidas is the most powerful tech against control. You could also go for Alexstrasza and save burn for OTK combo. 

[JooBatanete 4]

I genuinely see no point in playing medivh instead of Antonidas in this deck. Aside from the fact that the card is unreliable and slow as ass, every single control deck is running acidic swamp ooze right now, and since atiesh is the only weapon in your deck, that means you will be playing an 8 mana 7/7 over 70% of the time.

I think the problem is that people mostly view tony as a combo card to burn your opponent, which he is indeed very good as, but the fireballs he gives you can also work wonders in fatigue games as extra removal pieces.

[Guest Graphix]

Am I the only one that noticed that   Manic Soulcaster MSG  breaks the Reno/Kazakus effects? Not sure why this is included in the 30.

[KingMe 289]

1 hour ago, Guest Graphix said:

Am I the only one that noticed that   Manic Soulcaster MSG  breaks the Reno/Kazakus effects? Not sure why this is included in the 30.

Manic Soulcaster is included because she puts a copy of what ever her target is back into the deck, which is very strong if you can hit targets such as Reno Jackson and Kazakus. Once that is done it will be the only copy in the deck so Reno Jackson and Kazakus still keep their effects when they are played. I know this as fact because I played this deck when the set first came out. 

[KingMe 289]

2 hours ago, JooBatanete said:

I genuinely see no point in playing medivh instead of Antonidas in this deck. Aside from the fact that the card is unreliable and slow as ass, every single control deck is running acidic swamp ooze right now, and since atiesh is the only weapon in your deck, that means you will be playing an 8 mana 7/7 over 70% of the time.

I think the problem is that people mostly view tony as a combo card to burn your opponent, which he is indeed very good as, but the fireballs he gives you can also work wonders in fatigue games as extra removal pieces.

Medivh, the Guardian or should I say Atiesh can be very good in late game match ups and can generate some outstanding plays. However, on a personal note, I am with you. I Feel Archmage Antonidas is the better finisher and in my Reno Mage he is who I went with over Medivh, the Guardian. 

[JooBatanete 4]

22 hours ago, KingMe said:

Medivh, the Guardian or should I say Atiesh can be very good in late game match ups and can generate some outstanding plays. However, on a personal note, I am with you. I Feel Archmage Antonidas is the better finisher and in my Reno Mage he is who I went with over Medivh, the Guardian. 

The thing is, I actually find that tony is a much better source of value in the late game as well. People tend to rate him lower because they think fireballs are only good for hitting face, which they are not. 

[Bozonik 94]

On 02/01/2017 at 1:00 AM, Guest Graphix said:

Am I the only one that noticed that   Manic Soulcaster MSG  breaks the Reno/Kazakus effects? Not sure why this is included in the 30.

Only if you cast it with Brann on the board. Otherwise the other copy isn't in your deck any more. That's all that matters. It's why you can play Reno in Mill Rogue even though nearly everything else in the deck is duplicated, since you aim to reach fatigue anyway so you will be able to play him sooner or later.

Soulcaster is huge in Reno Mage, it'd be a big mistake to exclude it.

Edited January 5, 2017 by Bozonik

[Bozonik 94]

On 02/01/2017 at 0:30 AM, JooBatanete said:

I genuinely see no point in playing medivh instead of Antonidas in this deck. Aside from the fact that the card is unreliable and slow as ass, every single control deck is running acidic swamp ooze right now, and since atiesh is the only weapon in your deck, that means you will be playing an 8 mana 7/7 over 70% of the time.

I think the problem is that people mostly view tony as a combo card to burn your opponent, which he is indeed very good as, but the fireballs he gives you can also work wonders in fatigue games as extra removal pieces.

I play both :) Sometimes get great value from Medivh but sometimes you need extra burst from antonidas. Particularly against Jade Druid, it's about the only way you can win.

[Bozonik 94]

On 22/12/2016 at 3:29 PM, TheEviscerator said:

I replaced dirty rat with loot hoarder and  soulcaster with kabal courier,working well(or maybe its just me convincing myself budget options work too)

PS:any way to make this deck more anti-aggro?any love for fallen hero?

Courier is great, and gives you another brann target. Personally I don't think this deck needs so much draw. I play courier instead of acolyte, and the 6/3 discover spell thing instead of drake. Gets you cards anyway, and more value. Bit slower cycling to Reno but turn 5 is a bit late against aggro to be fishing with passive cards for Reno anyway.

I played fallen hero for quite a while. It just doesn't do enough imo. Medivh's Valet is interesting but you probably want Ice Barrier too in that case. I play the 3/2 cthun spell damage minion as extra spell dmg instead, can be very handy.

Personally I feel Reno Mage is pretty decent against aggro if you mulligan well. Sure occasionally you get beat down but the win rate is fine. I don't even play doomsayer to avoid either a dead card or shooting myself in the foot with Kazakus summons in slower matchups. Maybe a mistake though, I'll probably try him soon.

My current version is -mistress, doomsayer, acolyte, vendor, lance, drake, emperor +forbidden flame, arc missiles, cult sorcerer, flamewaker, courier, conjurer, antonidas. Forbidden Flame and missiles can be decent antiaggro but also synergise well with antonidas. Flamewaker synergises with those well too, but it sometimes it is poor, probably the next casualty (2nd rate bruiser?). I wouldn't mind slotting in vendor to help with aggro, and thaurisan to help with antonidas. Flame Lance i tend to think you can find a good enough replacement with your discovers in the matchups that want it.

Edited January 5, 2017 by Bozonik

[VaraTreledees 138]

On 12/22/2016 at 7:29 AM, TheEviscerator said:

I replaced dirty rat with loot hoarder and  soulcaster with kabal courier,working well(or maybe its just me convincing myself budget options work too)

PS:any way to make this deck more anti-aggro?any love for fallen hero?

Both are pretty good cards, but the soul caster isn't really necessary.  You only really use it to brann > kazz > soulcaster for stupid value.  Dirty rat, however, is a card I love.  It helps you win quite a few match ups, namely renolock.  Pulling a combo piece or kazz/reno from their hand will put you in a winning position, or also as an answer to their doomsayer.  Pro tip, 19/20 if they play emperor T, they have a combo piece in their hand.  That being said, if you are still new to reno, Dirty rat is HARD to use correctly.  Both shaman and warrior carry cards that are absolutely disastrous to pull (4 mana 7/7, aya for shaman and frothing for warrior), so you really need a good read on the board and their hand to play it. 

[positiv2 952]

2 minutes ago, VaraTreledees said:

You only really use it to brann > kazz > soulcaster for stupid value.

I do not recommend playing Manic Soulcaster with Brann Bronzebeard before you play Reno Jackson as it will give you 2 copies of a card into your deck, rendering Reno Jackson useless until you draw one of the minions you copied.

[Bozonik 94]

13 minutes ago, positiv2 said:

I do not recommend playing Manic Soulcaster with Brann Bronzebeard before you play Reno Jackson as it will give you 2 copies of a card into your deck, rendering Reno Jackson useless until you draw one of the minions you copied.

Yeah, I recently played it on the rope after brann+Kazakus, forgetting in the hurry it broke my Reno play next turn... lucky for me I drew one straight back!

Generally I think it's worth running though, ideally to play on Reno. Huge against Reno opponents. Or it lets you play an early Kazakus before you get brann. It's vanilla stats against aggro are fine too.

[Go1dfish 0]

Is it a good move to swap Acidic Swamp Ooze with a Harrison Jones ?

[positiv2 952]

1 hour ago, Go1dfish said:

Is it a good move to swap Acidic Swamp Ooze with a Harrison Jones ?

Not really. The additional early body is extremely helpful. You may run both if you want though.

[Bozonik 94]

In some matchups Harrison could push you into fatigue rendering him unusable. Could save you against a doomhammer or two though...

i don't think Toxic Ooze is a bad choice either. Early warrior and Shaman weapons often get equipped at two and used that turn anyway. And it can handle stuff like frothing berserker.

[VaraTreledees 138]

On 1/5/2017 at 6:27 AM, positiv2 said:

I do not recommend playing Manic Soulcaster with Brann Bronzebeard before you play Reno Jackson as it will give you 2 copies of a card into your deck, rendering Reno Jackson useless until you draw one of the minions you copied.

Meh, you generally only use this combo in heavy value control matches, and if your in one of those, your life total is almost irrelevant.

[positiv2 952]

1 hour ago, VaraTreledees said:

Meh, you generally only use this combo in heavy value control matches, and if your in one of those, your life total is almost irrelevant.

Still, there are some matchups like freeze mage where life total matters, but so does the value. And sometimes the extra turn from Reno Jackson can save you even against control decks.

[Guest Bruced]

I burned literally all my dust and have know way of getting more. So is there any replacements for dirty rat. It is the only card I missing

[Bozonik 94]

12 hours ago, Guest Bruced said:

I burned literally all my dust and have know way of getting more. So is there any replacements for dirty rat. It is the only card I missing

It mainly just can help against other Reno/control/combo decks, it's definitely not crucial to the deck. Kabal Courier/SecondRateBruiser/any decent 2-drop (e.g. Cult Sorceror) could be played instead

[VaraTreledees 138]

On 1/9/2017 at 7:39 AM, positiv2 said:

Still, there are some matchups like freeze mage where life total matters, but so does the value. And sometimes the extra turn from Reno Jackson can save you even against control decks.

I mean its a call that has to be made on a case by case basis.  How useful is the heal?  How useful is the extra value?  Do I need the potion now?  Can I Afford to wait or is there a dirty rat in my opponents deck that will ruin my plans?  In general, the two matches you really need the full brann, Kazz and soulcaster value are reno priest and reno mage.  Reno priest its always an easy choice, if you have the combo, use it.  Against reno mage, its a much trickier proposition.  You have to judge how much burn they have left, and if you can afford to hold it.  One of the major problems in the mirror is that it frequently goes to fatigue and you really want to brann soulcaster something.  Less of an issue if you managed to pull a second torch from something though.

[FeelinFine 0]

Tried this deck at lower levels.  I wouldn't recommend it honestly, it is too slow to develop minions on the board.  Most decks are either aggro or control decks that build boards much better and easier than this deck does.  You guys used to categorize your decklists by how high in ladder you could reach.  You don't do that anymore.  You should do it again, because I've discovered that many of these "pro decks" are good higher up when people are legend and don't care about their rank, but for us who are new and grinding lower levels these decks really don't help us.

[positiv2 952]

38 minutes ago, FeelinFine said:

Tried this deck at lower levels.  I wouldn't recommend it honestly, it is too slow to develop minions on the board.  Most decks are either aggro or control decks that build boards much better and easier than this deck does.  You guys used to categorize your decklists by how high in ladder you could reach.  You don't do that anymore.  You should do it again, because I've discovered that many of these "pro decks" are good higher up when people are legend and don't care about their rank, but for us who are new and grinding lower levels these decks really don't help us.

The reachable ranks were removed because of issues like this one. A friend of mine played this deck and climbed from rank 4 to  rank 2 two seasons ago (-Manic Soulcaster, -Flame Lance, +Deathwing, +Loot Hoarder), and since then the meta hasn't changed that much, which leads me to conclusion that the deck should be able to reach rank 2 or better. I hope you see the issue - one player is unable to reach decent ranks (not sure what you mean by "lower levels"), another player reaches rank 2 with it.