Finally... My BSM Write Up

Multiplayer Discussion
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As always, my disclaimer! After returning to HS 7 months ago I have done a write up on the deck I used each month to hit legend. I did not do one a few weeks ago because I was honestly disgusted by the meta. But, things have shaken out a bit and I was in the mood. So, here we go.

BSM(Big Spell Mage) is at its heart, a midrange deck with combo elements. Which is a weird thing to say about a deck that spams 9 and 10 cost spells starting on turn 4. The deck has already gone through some evolutions and some more attrition based versions are seeing play. This will be about the build I landed on.

Pros:
The deck can just outright win games on turn 4-6 with the opponent having no chance to really do much about it. With the right draws you can drop a big spell turn, after turn, after turn. The amount of value and damage can overwhelm even the most controlling of decks. The deck in its current version is very consistent. There are multiple ways to pop off turn 4-6.

Cons:
Hyper aggressive decks can take you out even if you land a turn 4 Tsunami/Volley. If an opponent can land 6+ attack minions on board early then they can just eat up your elementals. No healing. If you get low their is nothing to bring you back up out of lethal range.

Matchups:

DK
As long as you are not running the Surfalopod/Under the Sea version then this is a very positive match. Not having to worry about random plagues make it a much better time. I put this far into mage’s favor.

DH
Pirate Demon Hunter can put out some very serious pressure and have you mostly dead before a Tsunami can hit. I barely ever see any other Demon Hunters, so I can’t comment on them. I put it a bit in Demon Hunter’s favor.

Druid
I do not understand how some people are saying Druid does well against BSM. These are almost always outright free wins. The only time I have ever had a bit of trouble is if they land an ultra early Ziliax. Heavy in mage’s favor.

Hunter
I only see a few egg Hunters here and there. I barely see any Hunter if I am being honest. They were all lopsided wins for mage.

Mage
Whoever gets more Conmans wins. Or if you hit a perfect Cult Neophyte for the blowout.

Paladin
Handbuff pally can dump enough stats to eat your Elemental and has enough lifesteal to stay in the game. HB takes the edge. I only faced a couple Earthen and combo Paladins. They went down without much ado.

Rogue
The new weapon rogue gets hard countered. Wishing Well Rogue can high roll some insane Legendary minions but often can’t overcome multiple Tsunamis. Same with excavate.

Priest
I am barely seeing them and I am only seeing Zarimi. They never have an answer to Tsunami spam. Mage’s favor.

Shaman
Swarm Shaman can be absolutely terrifying. If they curve out you are going to be hurting before you get your 1st Tsunami out. Swarm is favored. Big/Reno Shaman is not the terror I see people talk about. They always crumple around turn 6.

Warlock
Painlock is an absolute menace. 8/8 giants and 6/6 Infernals eat your elementals. Combined with an aggressive opener it can just ruin you. Definitely in Painlock’s favor. Sludgelock is just a question of if they get Pop’gar/Crescendo. If they don’t they struggle.

Warrior
If they do not get an early Ziliax they just fold to Tsunami spam.

Notable Card Choices:

The Galactic Projection Orb. Good lord this thing does work. Having a Volley and Tsunami loaded can end a game. Getting to spam it with Conman feels so absurd. With spells from Zephrys/Kalecgos/etc added into the pool you can just instantly end a game. The only downside is that it can snipe the mana reduction from Tsunami. This is well worth the risk in my opinion. It is just that strong. I have discovered Vanish off Zephrys allowing me to go infinite.

Kalecgos. I do not see how this guy does not get more love. He can come down on turns 4-6 with Sea Shill. Even on turn 8 I have had him get insane value. On turns 4-6 the opponent may be able deal with the elementals, but often times the 12hp is too much to overcome and he continues to see value. He has been a powerhouse every time he hits the field.

Puzzlemaster Khadgar. When he comes down on turn 4 he is pretty fantastic. Turn 5 good. And turn 6 he is fine. He is not there to outright win games. He is there to just build up value and tilt the scales in your favor.

Dreamplanner Zephrys. Sometimes he gives you the nuts. Sometimes it is just decent. Over the long haul it is almost always useful and adds fuel to your Orb at the top end. He can literally create an infinite if you get a Vanish.

Skyla/King Tide. They are pretty obvious as they allow you to pop off as early as turn 4.

Mulligan:

Skyla/King Tide are auto keeps. You keep anything that can produce coins. Lastly you want either a big spell or Watercolor Artist so you have a big spell to pop off with. Against other mages you are hard looking for and snap keeping Cult Neophyte. I have completely blown out other mages countless times because of it.

How to play:

The deck pretty much plays itself. Get coins or Sea Shills so you can drop a Skyla/King Tide into Tsunami as soon as humanly possible. Then start playing Conman until the opponent concedes. Khadgar and Kalecgos are extra ways to pop off if you do not draw into Skyla/King Tide. You just bury people under value.

Should it be nerfed?
No. Other decks are doing brutally broken things. If I had to nerf one thing, I would put Skyla to 6 mana to push the speed back a turn. The deck can be completely blown out or pushed back a turn or two just with a well timed Neophyte or Speakerstomper.

Here is the final list I landed on.

BSM

Class: Mage

Format: Standard

Year of the Pegasus

2x (1) Miracle Salesman

1x (1) Scarab Keychain

2x (2) Cult Neophyte

2x (2) Gold Panner

2x (2) Greedy Partner

1x (2) Instrument Tech

2x (2) Wandmaker

1x (3) Dreamplanner Zephrys

2x (3) Metal Detector

2x (3) Sea Shill

2x (3) Watercolor Artist

2x (4) Conniving Conman

1x (4) King Tide

1x (5) Portalmancer Skyla

1x (6) Puzzlemaster Khadgar

1x (8) Kalecgos

2x (9) Sunset Volley

1x (10) The Galactic Projection Orb

2x (10) Tsunami

AAECAaXDAwjv0wS4xQXLnwa6pwaHvwbjzwbM4Qb14gYLkIMGhY4G9JsGzpwG0J4GtqcGxboG6ckG7ckG78kG7+YGAAA=

To use this deck, copy it to your clipboard and create a new deck in Hearthstone

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You’re doing the lords work covering how well the match ups are (as well as the dwindling priest and hunter numbers glad to know I ain’t the only one noticing)
You actually managed to analyze the deck and explain how BSM is effectively racing with their opponent to get their front line up, the way you describe it it almost sounds fair when you considered what the deck has to go against nowadays and just how many matchups are an utter coin toss. Hell, I’d even go as far to say you made it actually fair by flat out admitting the decks a 1 trick pony, if they can survive your one trick the first time chances are they can survive the second. You even thought to offer mulligan advice!

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I do not have a favorite class. Since returning I have reached legend with 6 different classes. I try very hard to be very honest about each deck I play and its place in the meta.

I am glad you enjoyed the analysis. We are at a point where all currently successful decks are doing absurdly broken things by turn 5 or are setting up for their broken thing to happen soon.

I have yet to decide what to run next month. But, I am hoping to make it a class I have not used if possible.

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Nice one!

This is what we need on the forum, posts like these :slight_smile: Keep up the good job, and thanks!

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Really a great and helpful post! I will try this version. I still have Norgannon in mine.

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He barely did not make the cut. Turn 3 is a pivot turn and I would much rather either Watercolor/Weapon/Sea Shill than play him. I do
not think he is wrong, I just could not quite justify him in my list.

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You hit legend with a busted deck?

THAT’S CRAZY

This is why hitting legend doesn’t matter anymore. Literally just cut and paste whatever busted deck the devs are ignoring and won’t patch and get your extra dust at the end of the month. And before anyone comes in here and talks about win rates at high legend, if the deck isn’t that great, why are roughly 50% of the people out there playing it?

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I have also done it with completely random homebrews. I do these for people who want to learn and maybe hit legend as well.

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I’m curious about this take. I’m sitting at a 65 % win rate vs BSM as Big Shaman and I’m curious to see how you pilot your deck compared to the other BSM I’m facing. The only times I’m actually losing vs BSM is when they can Orb → Conman → Conman and I’m running out of steam.

Pool + Cliff Dive is usually enough to deal with the Tsunami, and Frosty Decor lets you delay until you can chain them.

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It helps all of us even if we ain’t fans of the deck ourselves. Hearing what makes it sweat and how it ticks helps out those in the gutter struggling against it, thanks again for filling in the blanks for me on what besides shaman can hold a candle to it

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Turn 6 Kalecgos is big. They often never have an answer to 12 hp. Normally they can deal with the elementals and then Kalecgos just gains too much value. If they do kill him you can Conman and free cast another spell and they have to deal with it AGAIN or it is another turn of free spells. It is brutal.

EDIT: I just played a game against hydration Druid that is supposed to deal with BSM very well. Kalecgos single handedly won the game. Discovered an extra volley. Turn 8 was free volley coin coin Orb. Followed by 2 Conman waiting for more Orbs. It is just too much burst damage.

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Fair enough, haven’t fought a BSM running Kalecgos yet. Only easy answer with an empty board would be Cliff Dive into Kologarn, Yogg, Golganneth or Walking Moutain and Thrall’s Gift into Hex.

Depends on your board mainly, if you used Tsunami before, it’s a lot trickier

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With Sea Shill Kalecgos lands turn 6 and casts a Tsunami for free. You have to deal with the entire board. Even if you do, Conman comes down and you are treated to another Tsunami. I can’t begin to stress how freaking good he is. He can also come down on turn 4 which has instantly won me the game every time.

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You probably haven’t played against it, but I’ve been told there is a high success rate against BSM playing Reno Rogue.

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Yea, but by turn 6, Shaman board is most likely not empty. There is either a Razzle with 2 to 4 minions or a Sludge Frosty Decor. Obviously, you have to deal with the board, but you have a board of your own to deal with it or the Tsunamis are, at the very least, weakened.

If the shaman board is empty on T6, he’s screwed haha

I’d love to do a quick skirm vs you if you have time, curious to see how you pilot it! LFP#11816

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The one thing in your take that stands out to me? They stuck mage with a bunch more cards that take agency from the player. The very thing I have complained about since a certain nameless designer took over.

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Nice write up on BSM!

My disclaimer: I was not a Legend player until I took BSM to Legend. Under the old Ladder system, I would be so bored with Standard by time I got within a few ranks from Legend that I would just abandon the grind. I never felt like there was much incentive (an ugly card back and eventually an extra pack) to get to Legend.

I have been unhappy with Standard for the last several years, but if a meta did pull me into playing on the Ladder, I would just stop at D5. I did not realize how much easier it is to get to Legend under the new Ladder system. I only hit Legend because I got so involved with experimenting with BSM builds that I happened to hit Legend in the process—twice!

I get a bit annoyed when players characterize BSM as deck that can win by turn 4 or emphasize that it tends to win by turn 6. Ya, if King Tide hits on turn 4, which has a low occurrence, and it can only be done by a BSM player who went first, and is actually followed up with a turn 5 Tsunami or Sunset Volley without the opponent being prevent the turn 5 big spell or being play an answer on 5, then they will likely lose, but BSM does not kill on 4.

Some players will see what they draw on 5 before they will concede. To me, winning on 4 means delivering lethal on 4, and BSM cannot do that.

Most of my wins with BSM will not happen until turn 6 or beyond. A lot of wins occur turn 9 or beyond. There are players that want to characterize BSM as aggro deck that closes out games by turn 5 and that is not an accurate depiction of the deck.

Screenshots of recent BSM matches that took 7 or more turns to win:

https://imgur.com/a/xGw3hXI

My experiences of using BSM against other classes:

DK was one of the easiest classes for me to beat. I have only played against Blood DK twice.

DH was a class that I rarely faced, and it’s a hard class to beat, but it’s not an unwinnable matchup. I feel like I have won more than my fair share of matchups against DH even without running Heatwave in the deck. I just recently added one Heatwave to my deck, and I have only played the card a handful of times. My version generally runs nine 1-2 cost cards and 2x Star Power, so that helps some against DH aggro.

Druid initially was a very easy class to beat, but the meta has shifted away from builds like Dragon Druid to more Reno Druid and Dungar Druid builds, which are bad matchups for BSM. These matchups are not unwinnable, but they are definitely tilted in favor of Druid.

Hunter is running a greater variety of decks than I think most players are aware of, and some of those decks are bad matchups for BSM.

Mage is mostly comprised of BSM (Surflapod or Orb variations) and Elemental Mage, but there is third, less played, spell-heavy archetype (Ping Mage?), which plays with Seabreeze Chalice.

Paladin runs mostly Handbuff and Flood, but there are some other lesser played varieties that seem to be tooled to deal with BSM. Handbuff is a challenge to play against, but I would say that the matches are tilted in favor of BSM. Flood is more difficult for BSM to deal with (for my Orb version, anyways), but I rarely encounter Flood.

Priest players are experimenting with so many different builds, and some seem adept at beating BSM, but I rarely encounter those builds.

Rogue Wishing Well can highroll to steal matches, while the elementals tend freeze out Weapon Rogue, so Rogues tend to be an easy win for BSM.

Warlocks are hands down the worse class matchup for BSM.

Warrior was one of the easiest classes for BSM to beat, but the decks have shifted to better deal with BSM, which can make for some long and challenging games.

I really like Kalecgos in BSM for its value and for yet another way to cheat out big spells, but I ended up cutting the card in favor of Norgannon. I don’t feel like I am completely done experimenting with BSM yet, and I may eventually work Kalecgos back into the deck. My BSM only plays one Sea Shill, so it had less of a chance to cheat out Kalecgos early.

I also do not run Dreamplanner Zephrys, since I do not run Kalecgos to help cast cards like Vanish, and my version tends to be in constant danger of overdrawing cards. I also cut Cult Neophyte from my deck, because it was not helpful against a lot of decks even though it’s a great card in the mirror match and against some spell heavy decks.

This ^ is what I expect to happen on Thursday.

I do not run Wandmaker in my deck, because it gives a lot of bad random spells, so I just started to run Heatwave instead, because it helps versus aggro, and it costs 2, so it can still activate Greedy Partner.

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Handbuff paladin is a very dumb choice as a counter to it; in fact all mid range “reasonably paced combo” decks are abysmal against it because they are just slower with barely any defenses; the right answer is a fast deck.

It’s why it has warped the meta around it; many fast decks that are very simple even when they are SLOWER because their combos are often less clunky; frankly I stopped playing because I’m bored piloting them.

HOWEVER maybe some more “smart control” is opening up; some kind of mid-range control; or maybe the only solution is “Priest-like” control (help us all).

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My previous edit was crushing that exact deck lol.

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What, no Holy damage Pallies in your ranks??

I barely see any other

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