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Tempo Mage Deck List Guide - April 2016 (Season 25, Wild)

Posted by: EvidentPublished: April 5, 2016Updated: October 16, 2026Dust: Dust3,200Rating: 0.5/5 (1041 votes)

Class: MageFormat: WildType: TempoStyle: Meta Deck

Mage Cards (25)

Neutral Cards (5)

0
5
1
10
2
6
3
4
4
3
5
6
2
7+

Deck Description

Tempo Mage was a very fringe deck before the release of Flamewaker. Now, it is more consistent and is able to compete with some of the top decks in the meta. The deck is very capable of seizing the board with cheap removal spells while adding value minions to the board as it curves into strong finishers like Dr. Boom and Archmage Antonidas. Loatheb can buy you an extra turn to finish off an opponent with Fireball, and Unstable Portal can outright win you games with the right draw.

Tempo Mage Deck List Update - April 2016 (Season 25)

Ethereal Conjurer and Water Elemental are your flex spots. You can try Piloted Shredder or add more Secrets into the deck.

The deck is particularly popular right now because it has a good matchup against Midrange Druid.

Tempo Mage Mulligan Guide and Strategy

Mana Wyrm, Sorcerer's Apprentice, Unstable Portal, and Mad Scientist are the general cards you are looking to get. Flamewaker can be kept if you've already got one of the previously mentioned cards or you are on the coin. Flamecannon is a good keep against Druid because it can potentially take down a hidden Shade of Naxxramas. Arcane Missiles is a good combination with Flamewaker, and is a solid keep against Paladin to deal with Muster for Battle.

Tempo Mage Tech Cards

Ragnaros the Firelord can sometimes be swapped for Archmage Antonidas. When playing Archmage it can be acceptable to add Clockwork Gnome as a way to generate a spare part, and Mirror Image to protect your face and have an additional cheap spell. Forgotten Torch is a fringe card for this deck, having access to extra spells is a positive in a spell based deck.

Tempo Mage Card Substitutions (Replacements)

Keep in mind that replacements for cards are rarely ever going to be perfect. It's usually easiest to try and come close to what the card accomplishes in the deck, or double up an already existing card in the deck.

Tempo Mage Combos and Synergies

This deck is great at just firing off missiles in different directions. Arcane Missiles and Flamewaker can wreak havoc on your opponent's board. Sorcerer's Apprentice can allow free spells to be cast, and Ethereal Conjurer can generate a possible game saving spell when necessary. Archmage Antonidas has great synergy with the low cost spells and the spell cost reduction of Apprentice.

55 Comments

  1. Bloodstrike

    Maybe change one mechanical yeti for loatheb?

    1. Driller

      I guess you need the mechanical yeti to get cheap "spells" for antonidas

  2. Daniel

    No Counterspell ? :(

    1. Luminire

      Mechanical Yeti doesn"t work well with counterspells ^^ You'll give a free one-mana bait for it :p

  3. Somebody

    A really fun deck. Question though. Has it gotten better with the Warsong nerf? Will it be able to compete with the other decks that are good now? I'm considering buying BrM before Naxx, because of this deck. Flamewaker is so important. Plus, Jaina makes me want to put a nail through my scrotum, so I'm getting Medivh. Waste of money for most people, but I can't stand Jaina. When I get Medivh, do I get his Golden Hero as well (moving animations)?

  4. Pommesfee

    I believe, this archetype needs an update. I rarely see this list anymore on the (EU) ladder and most people use the "casino" version with Saraad, Spellslinger etc (which I think is bad) or they use a list similar to what Hotform is playing.

    As for how viable the archetype is: I'm currently playing at rank 3 in the EU ladder and attempt to reach legend next week when I have a week off from work. So yeah, I believe it's very viable ( and was so even before the Warsong nerf).

  5. Thrakwore

    Thoughts on adding Rhonin and Malygos to this? A lot of spells, a well timed Thaurissan could make this even more brutal.

    1. Pommesfee

      Rhonin is debatable, even though I'm not a fan. Malygos would be insane here if Arcane Blast could go to the face. But as it is, I think he's too slow and clunky. I could see him in a more combo-ish version like freeze mage, where you stall until you get a combination of Malygos, 2x Frostbolt and 2x Ice Lance (combined 34 damage), but you would need to play Thaurissan first with all 5 cards in Hand to make it happen.

      1. Mal

        I've pulled off that Malygos combo as a freeze mage. It's hilarious.

  6. Mark Hitchhiker

    I'm currently running a similar deck but with none secrets and mad scientits and a echo of mediv + argus defender instead.

    Works pretty good since mage secrets usually serve as bites for your opponent playing low cards.

    And the echo of mediv has a pretty insane value if played right, I usually end with two ragnaros or two dr.booms + loathebs + flamewalkers + argus and a ton of mirror entities on hand.

    Is a preetty fun deck.

    Cool that often you see players playing the Kezan Mystic on turn 10 after holding it all turns.

    I did 20~13 with 90% win rate (after warsong nerf) I still didnt tried going higher but i tink its still good.

  7. WUBWUB

    Pretty sure the answer is no but is there another card you can replace archmage with? i don'T have that legendary yet.

    1. Evident

      You could go with Ragnaros or Nexus-Champion Saraad.

      1. WUBWUB

        i do have Ragnaros, i'm gonna try that thank you very much! 8D

  8. Victor

    Is there other card you can replace Dr boom with?

    1. Evident

      Ragnaros or Loatheb.

  9. loocars

    I replaced:
    - Mirror Image 2x + Arcane Blast 2x
    - Mirror Entity + Effigy
    - Emperor Thaurrissan + Loatheb

    Now it's working way better for me because it's better against Aggro Decks (Arcane Blast can always deal with some low-cost minions, Effigy gives you more Value when you play bigger minions because Aggro Decks don't have big minions and Loatheb is always good to slow down your opponent e.g.: Hunters with Unleash and Palladins with Divine Favour)

    Pretty fun Deck and not that hard to play :).

    1. asdsad

      lol why are u adding emperor thau in a tempo deck..

  10. The Alchemist

    Naive question from an arena player who so far uses his mech mage to get monthly rank 15 with extreme ease but is considering trying something new.

    Tempo is something that is represented on the board. Yet this deck has a relatively small amount of minions. It is very easy to miss out on your 2 or 3 drop with this amount of minions in a deck. And the gnome can actually be almost ignored as far as board presence goes.
    In constructed it seems every opponent has ample removal in their deck (as proven by the abysmal survival rate of a turn 2 mechwarper) If a deck has so little minions that you may miss out on having anything to drop in the first 3 turns, or if not, it often being only 1 minion that can easily be answered by your opponents removal, how can it build up a tempo advantage ? Does it not simply turn into a reactive spell caster waiting for its antonidas much of the time ?

    1. Jgrhymes

      I've been playing this for a while now and I've made a few changes for this exact reason. I find mirror entity is too easy to play around and doesn't really give you the tempo it's meant to. It makes more sense in theory than it does in practice. Once you get to rank 8+, you'll never have someone drop a good card for you. An ice block can go a long way when you have a few spare parts and you need to cycle fireballs but didn't get antonidas until turn 10. I also had to sub in a flame strike for the same reason. It has almost no comeback potential so a single flame strike can save you a few turns if you don't have your antonidas.

      Having said all that, I tend to lose most often to freeze mage with this deck because it has trouble running people over. If you like an agro style, despite having a lot of tempo, this deck dies when you don't play on curve and have a hand full of spells. Also, with the new cards, I'm finding more and more that what you get with unstable portal is below average. It always has a chance to straight out win you the game, but if it's your only 2 drop and you pull something unplayable you've lost.

    2. Hearthblazed

      Not naive at all, actually pretty insightful for someone who hasn't even played the deck. I've played a ton of games with decklists like this, and they're incredibly reliant on getting the minion they need on the turn they need it. It feels great when it works but I can't play it more than a few times without getting roflstomped because I didn't get T1 Wyrm T2 Scientist/Portal->Good minion T3/4 Flamewalker/Coin/Arcane Missiles T4 whatever 4 drop I'm running (Shredder/Water Elemental).

      There might be a way to tweak it to make it more consistent, but I'm honestly not sure if doing so would improve the deck's overall winrate. It can completely roflstomp on its best draws and can still be strong if it misses one of them, but if you don't get two of your curve cards early then you'll lose unless your opponent mulliganed into all 10-cost cards.

  11. Eliboyi

    Is it worth crafting 2x Arcane Blast for this deck? Are there any replacemenets?

    1. Evident

      I would say try some other cards first and see how you fare against aggro decks. You could try a couple of Sludge Belchers instead.

    2. Adam

      A lot of lists run 1, it's great when drake is in obviously, but it's unconditional backstab with apprentice out, and strong in the opening hand. I would say start with 1 and see how you like it.

  12. Pangoro

    How does changing arcane blast to mirror image sound?

    1. Evident

      Doesn't sound too bad.

  13. Espada

    Easily get countered by Patron deck

    1. Grolk

      I disagree, Just save the frostbolts and flamecannons for the patrons. IMO this deck has more trouble against control warriors than patron warriors due to inevitable topdecking.

      1. Adam

        I think that's actually wrong, you can get under CW with tempo mage. Early pressure into burn can often take them out before they can stabilize. However patron warrior competes for board a lot earlier, and a big patron turn on 5 or 6 is almost impossible to come back from. Missile and Flamewaker are useless, and you'd need to have very lucky flamecannon / minions in play already to deal with 4 patrons. Once they stick you can't really come back.

        1. well shit

          And that is why you add flamestrike

  14. Apayneful

    Whats a good swap for mad scientist?

    1. Evident

      Clockwork Gnome for Spare Parts might work, but Mad Scientist is really strong.

      1. Apayneful

        ya i dont have noxramas yet so thats the only thing that sucks

  15. TheTommunist

    So which is better in the current meta, Water Elemental or Piloted Shredder?

    1. Hsfan

      Water

  16. Resxxary

    I know this is maybe the best card in the deck but you have any replacement for flamewalker?

    1. Evident

      Yeah, you probably shouldn't replace Flamewaker, but you can try Spellslinger.

      1. VoidBoy

        Hey can i replace antonidas with something except ragnaros or rhonin cause i am missing both of them.By the way is it worth finish the deck cause i only miss 2 azure drakes?Thanks for the help!

        1. Evident

          Second Ethereal Conjurer and Piloted Shredder can be added. You could also add a second Arcane Blast if you have it. I would try to get those Azure Drakes because they're very helpful in this deck.

  17. Arvin

    Polymorph is OP with this deck... (Replaced 1 Water Elemental and Arcane Blast), specially when you have flamewalker on the board.. so instead of dealing Arcane Blast on a huge minion (Because I usually save it when I can play Azure Drake).. I just turn it into a 1/1 and exterminate it... LOL

  18. IceColdTx80

    replaced one water ele with Harrison jones tired of getting doomhammerd to death

  19. TaKaTa

    Replace for Arcane Blast ?

    1. Evident

      You could run a Duplicate or Piloted Shredder.

  20. Paul

    Without Dr. Boom, this deck could be playable in standard. Knowing what cards are going away in that format, what would be the best boom replacement to get ready for that?

    1. Pangoro

      Probably Ragnaros

    2. albrightalright11@yahoo.com

      Unstable portal and mad scientists and flam cannon will be gone as well

  21. AlexHearthstone12

    Saving dust for a new deck..What do you think is better: Tempo Mage or Freeze Mage?

    1. Evident

      They're both strong decks, but I'd hold off on crafting until after the expansion is release. The meta could be totally different, and with nerfs coming a lot of decks might see a significant downgrade in power.

      1. AlexHearthstone12

        Yeah.. Might be a good idea to wait and see the new cards for Whispers Of The Old Gods.. Thanks :)

  22. Melftheelf17

    Is this a tier one deck in today's Meta?

    1. Evident

      I don't think it's tier one, but it's for sure tier two.

      1. Melftheelf17

        Evident, I used the email contact info to send you a question, hope that is OK.

        1. Evident

          Yep, I sent you a response!

  23. Simple

    I used this deck to climb the ladder to Rank 8. I find that it does well against Druid/Warrior/Paladin and that I've been struggling against Hunter/Warlock. Should I consider adding Mirror Image or Sludge Belcher or something else?

    1. Evident

      Sludge Belcher is a solid edition, but I think those matches you are struggling with are just weaknesses with the deck.

  24. Zwiebug

    This is the exact same deck I have built lol
    It really rocks, easily goes to legend I guess (though I've never had the time to try it, arena addict)
    Playing the game for like 3 months now, my last rating, after only like 70 games, was 2. It's just really stronk, But really, Patron and Control Warrior!

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