How to counter secret mage using control priest?

[SeeerQ 0]

Been loosing to secret mages a lot lately. Anyway to counter them? The spells they have are annoying and they are able to kill of my big minions using fireball, polymorph etc. How do you counter them? 

[Mursilis 34]

If you're running into secret using builds more often than not, you could tech in a pair of Eater of Secrets.  This would get rid of their secrets and give you another big minion they have to deal with.

Edited November 27, 2017 by Mursilis

[Caldyrvan 377]

In general learn to play around the secrets. Play a weak minion to test for Mirror Entity,  play a minor spell or even The Coin to test for counterspell etc.

Keep in mind what you already saw and what it can be and not. Most mages are using these Secrets in varying numbers:

• Counterspell
• Mirror Entity (sometimes only one)
• Mana Bind is sometimes seen too
• Ice Block (more a thing for Exodia Mage)
• Ice Barrier

As for other spells, you can tease them to use their polymorph etc on a minion worth it but one you care less about and play to drop another when the mage is running out of specific spell or when it becomes unlikely for them to have one of them in hand now.

Edited November 27, 2017 by Caldyrvan

[VaraTreledees 138]

Hard to give specific advice without seeing your deck list, but in general, you want to save your Dragonfire for the turn they tempo out their 5/5's (generally play them with counterspell or spell bender so it is the optimal answer if you have the coin).  Save your coin and other less useful spells to check for counterspell.  Mulligan hard for pain, or really anything to efficiently answer Mana wyrm.  Weather the early onslaught and try to stabilize before they assemble the burn to finish you.  Holy fire is also good in Highlander as it answers their 5/5's and helps you stabilize.  Save death to answer a hydra if you can.  The standard burn package is 2 fire balls, 2 valets, 2 frost bolts and 2 portals.  Keep track of what they have and haven't used, play around the burn if you can, ie going into turn 8, if they have 2 fireballs left, and you are at 11 heal yourself.  

 

More then anything though, sometimes you have to just realize when you are falling too far behind on board, and risk playing favorably into their secrets.  Yes if they counter your Dragonfire potion, you will most definitely lose, but if you have to wait a turn to test for it, taking an extra 8-10 damage will also cost you the game more often then not 

Edited November 29, 2017 by VaraTreledees