[Top 5] Best Hearthstone Mage Decks That Wreck Hard!

Updated:

19 Nov 2022

Mage is one of the most interesting classes in Hearthstone. It is very popular among both new and pro players because of the powerful basic and classic cards, mages have, such as Flamestrike. Mages also have very good highlander cards, as well as many secret synergies.

Here are the best 5 mage decks:

Standard format:

Highlander Mage

Highlander Mage is a singleton deck control deck. It uses 30 different cards in order to activate the effects of cards such as Reno the Relicologist and Zephrys the Great.

What’s good about this deck:

It is viable in every meta
It has many powerful unique legendary cards which add a lot of flavor to the deck and make it much more interesting to play
It has very good tech options against both aggressive and control decks

How to play effectively:

Aggressive decks like Tempo Demon Hunter can be quite the problem for this deck. When playing against them, mulligan for Doomsayer, Overconfident Orc and Zephrys the Great. These cards can help you control the board better
Your game plan against aggressive decks should be to control the board until they run out of resources. Try to stabilize the game with cards such as Reno the Relicologist
When playing against control decks, you should try to squeeze out the most value of your cards. In such match-ups, mulligan for Escaped Manasaber, Twilight Drake and your Highlander cards
Many players throw the game by playing Puzzle Box of Yogg-Saron at the wrong time. Don’t play it when you are already ahead and winning as it can screw you over. It should be used as a “last hope” type of card
Be careful with your highlander cards. If they aren’t glowing in yellow, then their effects won’t activate. The most common reason for this is your opponent playing cards like Bad Luck Albatross

Cards used in this deck:

# 1x (1) Arcane Breath
# 1x (1) Ray of Frost
# 1x (2) Astromancer Solarian
# 1x (2) Doomsayer
# 1x (2) Khadgar
# 1x (2) Zephrys the Great
# 1x (3) Arcane Intellect
# 1x (3) Frost Nova
# 1x (3) Ice Barrier
# 1x (3) Overconfident Orc
# 1x (4) Bone Wraith
# 1x (4) Conjurer's Calling
# 1x (4) Escaped Manasaber
# 1x (4) Twilight Drake
# 1x (4) Water Elemental
# 1x (5) Malygos, Aspect of Magic
# 1x (5) Naga Sand Witch
# 1x (5) Rolling Fireball
# 1x (5) Ruststeed Raider
# 1x (6) Blizzard
# 1x (6) Dragoncaster
# 1x (6) Reno the Relicologist
# 1x (8) Deep Freeze
# 1x (8) Power of Creation
# 1x (8) Tortollan Pilgrim
# 1x (9) Alexstrasza
# 1x (9) Dragonqueen Alexstrasza
# 1x (10) Kalecgos
# 1x (10) Puzzle Box of Yogg-Saron
# 1x (10) The Amazing Reno

Here is the deck code:

AAECAf0EHvqsA5+bA427A4oBlpoD/KMDqwTLBO0E5r4D8qUDg5YDhLYDjQiLA+G2A9alA+yvA9y+A8kD8K8DkqQD3sQDoJsDi6QDxQSRsQOKngPCoQOMtgMAAA==

Spell Mage

What’s good about this deck:

It is one of the most interesting decks to play in the whole game
Every game will be unique because of the randomness of the deck
It isn’t expensive to craft
It has very strong value cards such as Font of Power

How to play effectively:

Mulligan for Learn Draconic, Incanter’s Flow, Ancient Mysteries and Font of Power. Flame Ward can also be very good if you are playing against an aggressive or token deck
Against aggressive decks, your main goal should be to control the board. When your opponent is exhausted and has no cards in hand left, try to close out the game with burn spells and the randomly generated minions you have
Incanter’s Flow will reduce the cost of all cards in your deck, except for The Amazing Reno. Therefore, you should try to use this card as early as possible
Font of Power can generate a lot of value, while Apexis Blast generates a lot of tempo. Both of these cards can be very good in the right match-ups
The Amazing Reno can be used as a very effective board-clear while providing value for the following turns. When he is played, minions won’t activate deathrattle and reborn effects, which can be good against decks such as Big Druid and Token Druid

Cards used in this deck:

# 1x (1) Evocation
# 2x (1) Font of Power
# 2x (1) Learn Draconic
# 2x (1) Magic Trick
# 2x (1) Ray of Frost
# 2x (2) Ancient Mysteries
# 2x (2) Incanter's Flow
# 2x (3) Arcane Intellect
# 2x (3) Flame Ward
# 2x (3) Frost Nova
# 2x (3) Ice Barrier
# 2x (5) Apexis Blast
# 2x (5) Rolling Fireball
# 2x (6) Blizzard
# 2x (8) Power of Creation
# 1x (10) The Amazing Reno

Here is the deck code:

AAECAf0EAsW4A4y2Aw6MuQPxrwP/nQOfmwP0qwPBuAOrBL+kA8sE7QSBvwPsrwPJA6CbAwA=

Wild Format:

Quest Mage

Quest Mage is the best deck in the wild format. It needs to play 8 spells that didn’t start in its deck in order to complete its quest Open the Waygate.

What’s good about this deck:

It is the best deck in the wild format
It only requires 2 legendary cards to craft, which makes it very affordable to craft for a wild deck
It has only 1 bad match-up, which is Even Shaman

How to play effectively:

Mulligan for Evocation, Licensed Adventurer, Questing Explorer, Sorcerer’s Apprentice and Starscryer. These cards can either generate spells or make them cost less mana, which can help you severely when completing your quest
You should play aggressively during the early-game. Flamewaker and Sorcerer’s Apprentice can help you do so, while cards like Mana Cyclone can help you generate more spells
Once you complete your quest, try to end the game with the quest reward “Time Warp”
By the time you complete your quest, you will have cast lots of spells so Mana Giant and Arcane Giant will cost 0 mana. Play them along with Time Warp, so you can attack with them on your second turn
Be careful with how many cards you have in your hand. Sometimes cards like Mana Cyclone can fill your hand, which will result in you overdrawing an important combo piece and you don’t want that to happen

Cards used in this deck:

# 2x (0) Elemental Evocation
# 1x (1) Evocation
# 2x (1) Magic Trick
# 1x (1) Open the Waygate
# 2x (1) Ray of Frost
# 1x (1) Violet Spellwing
# 2x (2) Book of Specters
# 2x (2) Licensed Adventurer
# 2x (2) Mana Cyclone
# 2x (2) Primordial Glyph
# 2x (2) Questing Explorer
# 2x (2) Sorcerer's Apprentice
# 2x (2) Starscryer
# 1x (3) Banana Buffoon
# 2x (3) Flamewaker
# 2x (8) Mana Giant
# 2x (12) Arcane Giant

Here is the deck code:

AAEBAf0EBMW4A9DBAvusA9KJAw3IhwP/nQOfmwPO7wK4tgPimwOYxAK7pQPmBPe4A+MR/awDgrQCAA==

Reno Quest Mage

Reno Quest Mage is a control deck that runs a single copy of each card. It controls the game until it completes its quest and wins the game with the help of Time Warp.

What’s good about this deck:

It can be very interesting to play
More than half of the cards in the deck are legendaries, which add a lot of flavor to the deck
It has access to 5 different highlander cards with extremely strong effects

How to play effectively:

Mulligan for Questing Explorer, Licensed Adventurer and Mad Scientist. These cards can help you cycle your deck faster while providing a good body to help you control the board.
Doomsayer, Flame Ward and Zephrys the Great can be very effective against aggressive decks, while Kazakus and Brann Bronzebeard can help you beat control decks. Look for these cards in the mulligan phase as well according to the deck you are facing
Try to complete the quest with cheap spells you discover with Arcane Breath, Primordial Glyph and Cobalt Spellskin. Evocation can help you a lot to complete the quest as well
Once you complete the quest, playing its reward ”Time Warp” alongside Archmage Vargoth will make you take 3 turns in a row, which should be more than enough to win you the game
After you assemble your combo, play Mana Giant, Arcane Giant, Dragonqueen Alexstrasza and Alexstrasza to kill your opponent

Cards used in this deck:

# 1x (1) Arcane Breath
# 1x (1) Evocation
# 1x (1) Open the Waygate
# 1x (1) Ray of Frost
# 1x (2) Astromancer Solarian
# 1x (2) Book of Specters
# 1x (2) Doomsayer
# 1x (2) Licensed Adventurer
# 1x (2) Mad Scientist
# 1x (2) Primordial Glyph
# 1x (2) Questing Explorer
# 1x (2) Zephrys the Great
# 1x (3) Arcane Intellect
# 1x (3) Brann Bronzebeard
# 1x (3) Flame Ward
# 1x (3) Ice Block
# 1x (4) Archmage Vargoth
# 1x (4) Kazakus
# 1x (4) Maiev Shadowsong
# 1x (4) Sky Gen'ral Kragg
# 1x (5) Cobalt Spellkin
# 1x (5) Malygos, Aspect of Magic
# 1x (6) Emperor Thaurissan
# 1x (6) Reno Jackson
# 1x (6) Reno the Relicologist
# 1x (8) Mana Giant
# 1x (9) Alexstrasza
# 1x (9) Dragonqueen Alexstrasza
# 1x (10) The Amazing Reno
# 1x (12) Arcane Giant

Here is the deck code:

AAEBAc2xAh76rAPFuAPQwQKfmwONuwPO7wKKAbi2A/cNmMQCu6UD/KMDqwSFF7+kA8AB1pkD2LsC7b4D87cDgbED4bYD1hHDFpKkA/2sA8UEkbEDjLYDgrQCAAA=

Secret Mage

Secret Mage is a fast aggressive deck. It cheats out mana by playing secrets for free and uses lots of burst damage to close out the game.

What’s good about this deck:

It has insanely good card draw with the legendary weapon Aluneth
It can deal lots of burn damage, while not running out of resources
It has very good boar-clear options, which help it beat other aggressive decks
It isn’t expensive to craft
It can effectively disrupt its opponents plays with its secrets

How to play effectively:

When mulliganing, your highest priority should be getting Aluneth. You can also try to get Arcanologist and Mad Scientist
Kabal Lackey and Kirin Tor Mage can be very effective in the early game as well. They allow you to generate a lot of tempo and overwhelm your opponent
After playing a few secrets, you will be able to play Kabal Crystal Runner, which is a 5/5 minion for free. This will help you to further take control of the board
In the mid and late game, you should try to use your burn minions such as Medivh’s Valet and Cloud Prince to reduce your opponents HP
Aluneth will help you gain a lot of resources. You will be drawing 4 cards each turn for free. Use your burn spells and minions effectively to kill your opponent

Cards used in this deck: