Well, its that time of month again. Time to talk about hitting legend, the meta, and the deck I used. As always, here is my disclaimer. I just enjoy doing write ups about these things in the hopes some people find it helpful or entertaining. There is a chance this might be the last one of these I do as I am just getting tired of how the game design has been. This write up will only be slightly different from last month’s since I only changed a couple cards.
This is the first time I used the same deck two months in a row. The other decks that are currently dominating the meta just held no interest to me. I will touch on them when I talk about match ups. The only exception was Shaman, but I do not have the time to play that many long games. I just play casually.
BSM (Big Spell Mage)
Big spell mage does exactly as it says. It plays big spells and Ideally plays them early. The deck can be incredibly explosive by playing Sunset Volley and Tsunami as early as turn four. It can also grind out some value with an early Norgannon if you are playing that version. The version I landed on uses Surfalopods and Norgannon. I also have The Galactic Projection Orb in main deck.
Pros:
Incredibly explosive. The deck can outright steal wins on turns 4-6. Hitting a turn 4 Tsunami into a turn 5 Conman is just devastating. With the addition of Orb and Norgannon you can grind out games that lists without them would struggle to have enough gas to finish.
Cons:
Hyper agro will most likely wreck you. Unless you get a great opening curve or can slam a turn 4 Volley/Tsunami you are going to have a rough time. The deck is also draw dependent. If your spells/draws are on the bottom half you are in for a bad time.
Notable Cards:
Norgannon - I swapped out Kalecgos for him and I am pretty happy with it. Having another threat being able to come down on turn 4 is very nice. The ability to slow down an opponents turn 4 and 5 have been great. I would also like to note that I got a few wins by going turn 4 increase costs, turn 5 cast 2 secrets one being Summoning Ward, Turn 6 deal 40 damage. It was funny every time.
Dreamplanner Zephrys - Incredibly versatile card. Choosing cards that go to the opponents face has finished out quite a few game. Choosing the option to effect the opponent’s board can keep you alive, feed Orb, and actually create an infinite. If you get Vanish and have it in your Orb, it creates an infinite with Conman. You just get to keep playing Orb every turn off Conman and the Vanish returns him to hand.
Surfalopod - I did not run it in my list last month. I do like it in this list and gets the job done. Sea Shill → Surfalopod → Watercolor Artist allows for another line of play that gets a turn 4/5 Tsunami going. The only problem I have is that it does not allow for Conman/Orb to benefit from the cast. But, it is still worth it.
The Galactic Projection Orb - God, I love this card. Being able to get Volley and Tsunami off on the same turn feels like cheating every time. Add in some spells discovered from Wandmaker and Zephrys and it becomes a value machine. Especially if you have a Conman to play it again. I have yet to face a deck that can withstand back to back Orbs.
Skyla - Duh.
King Tide - Duh.
Meta:
The meta is in a weird place in my opinion. Mana cheat decks like BSM, Cliff Dive Shaman, and druid are very prevalent. But, in my climbing session yesterday I saw a TON of Dazzler Control DK and Overheal Priest. If I had to take a guess it is because they can wipe boards while also gaining life and really surviving. It was honestly a huge breath of fresh air seeing these two decks come up very frequently. BSM and Ramp/Reno druid are still very prevalent but not as bad as they were last month. It has placated a bit of my doom and gloom. I just hope the devs move away from mana cheat.
Match-ups:
Death Knight - I can’t stress enough how nice it has been seeing a true blue control deck thrive. Razzle Dazzler has given DK the midrange it desperately needed to help it transition into the late game. Combined with board wipes and life gain, the deck can really outvalue most decks. I also want to point out that Reno/Boomboss barely existing is a huge boon to other control decks. This deck gave me the most trouble by far.
Demon Hunter- Every single one was pirates and I can’t blame them. I was honestly surprised how often I could win against them. Turn 4/5 Tsunami or bust most of the time. Definitely in DH’s favor.
Druid - It was all hyper ramp. I had numerous games where the druid would play 2-3 ramp spells and then just die. Or ramp into Marin then die. The only times they squeeked out wins were the insane turn 5-6 Eonar 20+ mana turns. Definitely in BSM’s favor.
Hunter - Man, this class is truly suffering. I saw maybe 2 agro hunters and they just got rolled over. I saw a few Egg Hunters, but the deck just does nothing if you do not draw an egg. I saw one Secret Hunter and it was an auto win. The class needs help badly.
Mage - Where did all these Elemental Mages come from?! I think I saw almost as many Elemental Mages as I did BSM. I was genuinely blown away by it. In the mirror I completely demolished most people with well timed Cult Neophytes and Norgannons. When Elemental mage gets an aggressive start they are kind of terrifying. I definitely wnet positive against both though.
Paladin - Where did Pipsi go?!?! I did not see a single Pispi Paladin. Did something happen I am not aware of? It was all hand buff and one swarm. Hnad buff does well but if you can freeze them out from their weapon they truly suffer.
Priest - Every single priest was overheal. The deck is incredibly strong. It can easily wipe boards and keep the priest healed up. If you can kill off their Hidden Gem it really hurts them. Same with their Injured Hauler. Cult Neophyte and Norgannon were pretty big helps as well. Deck is a sleeper and can easily be tier 1.
Rogue - ALL THE WEAPONS ROGUES! This deck has exploded in popularity. Unfortunately for them the second Tsunami lands they concede. I can see this deck just demolishing many other decks. They just literally can’t beat being frozen. Free wins are free.
Shaman - Where did the Reno Shamans go?! I don’t think I saw a single one. Only saw evolve and Razzle/Cliff Dive. They were prety much always too slow and only the very aggressive openers gave me trouble.
Warlock - I would say it was 80% Painlock and 20% fatigue. Painlock is an absolute menace and they will just completely run you over unless you curve out. Fatigue is a bit slower and relies on Pop’gat/Crescendo combo to stay in the game. If they did not get it they went down.
Warrior - Reno Warrior seems to be dead. It is all Hydration or Odyn. Odyn Warrior is just free wins. Hydration Warrior is a pain. Turn 4/5 Ziliax into spamming Ziliax is a pain to get through. Orb into Conman were absolute lifesavers in these matches.
In my opinion BSM is still tier 1 even after the nerfs. I had close to a 70% win rate into legend and did my D5 to legend climb in one play session. There are solid counters to it and I think it is in a fair place compared to other powerful decks.
Final Thoughts:
The meta seems to be in a slightly better place than a week and a half ago. Seeing so much DK and Priest having success and punishing mana cheat decks has been nice. I still do not like how much of the design space is taken up by mana cheat and I hope it changes in the next expansion. There is also a huge disparity with some classes. Hunter and Rogue just seem like dumpster classes right now.
The deck!
BSM
Class: Mage
Format: Standard
Year of the Pegasus
2x (1) Miracle Salesman
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
2x (5) Surfalopod
1x (6) Norgannon
1x (6) Portalmancer Skyla
2x (9) Sunset Volley
1x (10) The Galactic Projection Orb
2x (10) Tsunami
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