THL Kobolds and Catacombs Card Reviews: Mage, by Sage

Aluneth: 2/5
​I hate this weapon. I want to love it, because I’ve wished exactly for it in the past, but as time went on I realized it would just probably lose you the game. You’d either end up self-milling, or fatiguing way too fast.  I wish they printed something else, but I still plan to play it in my Tempo Mage. That’s the one place I think this will do very solid work.  The only Mage deck with minimal draw is helped greatly by insanely card advantageous effects like this.  Given infinite resources to swarm the board and face with, Tempo will win every time.  Only helping one archetype doesn’t do much to curry my love though, even if I *love* Tempo Mage the most.

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Dragoncaller Alanna: 3/5
Oh baby I love the flavor of this card. She’s gorgeous, and her effect is extremely strong. This is Big Spell Mage’s #1 Wincon.  However, I think Big Spell can definitely work without her. Which means she isn’t pushing the archetype as much as the spells that support it are. I think a Dragon Mage would be pretty neat.  Very solid 3 out of 5.

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Dragon's Fury: 5/5
This is the spell that makes Big Spell Mage work. Keep your spells big (at least 5 mana) and this is a full board clear almost every time. Along with Blizzard and Flamestrike, ain’t a damn thing sticking to the board vs Big Spell!  Love this card, can’t wait to play some big spells.

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Deck of Wonders: 3/5
Okay, so 3 out of 5 seems pretty high for a “Fun” card, but hear me out.. Big Spell is getting pushed pretty hard, and part of that push is this spell.  It dilutes your deck with 5 mana “Scrolls” that cast a random spell much like Yogg.  Yogg was very competitive in his time, and with the extra 5 mana spells this really helps the archetype of Big Spell go a long way. 3 out of 5.

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Leyline Manipulator: 2/5
This guy is really cool! He discounts your spells that you get randomly, but the generators are slow and this guy comes out on 4, so I think he won’t see much play outside silly casino decks that look to get value off him.  Maybe he’s a 1-of in Elemental decks.

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Explosive Runes: 3/5
Ok 3 out of 5! Very Solid! Probably the best Secret printed in a long time for mage.  It’s still a Secret though, and it is no Ice Block. Works weirdly with Divine Shield. Very solid 3 out of 5.

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Lesser Ruby Spellstone: 4/5
This card is incredible. Anything that generates resources is always good; this generates up to 3 spells in a deck that already has resource generation and sustain in Frost Lich Jaina. You can look at it as a 2 mana Cabalist’s Tome. That’s roughly accurate. It is heavily pushing the Elemental Mage archetype, so Mage is in for a very interesting time this next expansion. I can’t wait to try out the new Elemental Mage.

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Shifting Scroll: 1/5
I really dislike this card. It is inconsistent and doesn’t work in either Big Spell or Elemental Mage.  Feels like a fun card, and it it is definitely fun. Play this in your casino mage decks and have fun!

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Arcane Artificer: 4/5
Finally, Mage has a form of healing, and it comes in the form of a nice little Elemental too! The body isn’t much, but it’s 1 mana and fits perfectly into every archetype of Mage except tempo.  This doesn’t need much more said about it other than HEALING IN MAGE! :AwwYiss:

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Raven Familiar: 3/5
Much like Arcanologist works for Secret Mage, this works for Big Spell Mage. I am really looking forward to Big Spell Mage, but aside from it being the first Beast Mage has gotten (and therefore able to be pulled by the Curator) there isn’t much more to say about this card.  Solid, and helps advance the archetype. 3 out of 5.

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