I've never had too much trouble against the mages with my Achilles list. Not saying that they aren't hard games or that I have a flawless w/l/r against them, but knowing how they operate and their weaknesses is key. With enough practice, you can get that negative matchup to at least a 50/50 split, probably more.
Majiya is the toughest of the bunch for
Lance. In particular, Infernal Gargoyles put up quite a wall, plus Maj's ability rape Nightshade. To beat her, generally sac Nightshades after T2 and examine your opening hand before Kris beats on T1. If your later sac choices are going to prove hard, pitching kris on t1 is actually better than playing him. Brutalis and the stoneskins are just too sturdy for kris to have an impact like he does against others. If you have other things you can afford to sac, by all means go for the early pressure, but kris just dies too easily. At the end of the day, winning or losing against Maj will be all about your fatties.
Raven and
Aeon are just too hard for Maj to kill, and lance's ability makes it even harder for portal-based variants.
In short, try to rely less on your early weenies and more on your cc fatties. It's okay to sac Stop, Thief and just use it when you happen to have it, since ToK is your only target and current Maj decks tend to rely so much on tempo play and costly allies that it takes them a while to get value off it. Try to time your
Raven and
Aeon plays just right for maximum impact. You only have a few of each and can't afford to let them go to waste.
Also, proper
IGG manipulation is key. Remember to kill what you can before using your resources whenever what you draw could affect the rest of your turn. Also remember that
Portal leaving play will NOT trigger
IGG's draw. Lastly, remember that Maj often packs Shriek of Vengeance, since it has plenty of application (including the mirror) but Maj CAN and WILL blow up
IGG when the opportunity arises. Sac extras like normal in the early game, but don't throw them away needlessly. You may need a spare.
Eladwen weenie decks are rather similar to Majiya, but the game is slightly less askew from how you'd normally play. Weenies are a little more important, since your opponent plays for early board control but a buff Nightshade can trump their cards with ease. However,
Eladwen dealing 4 to allies instead of 3 means that she has an easier time taking out
Aeon by comparison.
When going for the t5 board buyback after
IGG, remember to play around Nova as much as possible. When saccing correctly, you'll often have a choice on T5 between an Anklebreaker or Jas/
Raven. Use
Anklebreaker if you already have a couple allies on board, OR Jas/
Raven if your board is fairly clear. If your board is empty, there's no point in playing Anklebreaker to avoid a Nova. You WANT your opponent to spend their turn playing a nova to damage themselves and refill your hand. Also, if you cripple an ally with AB/Jas/
Raven, you don't need to bother killing it, especially if you have
IGG. If the enemy's best out is a Nova, You only gain value from the opponent killing their own cards. If they don't nova, your deck is EASILY capable of harassing multiple targets at once so it's no big deal if you have to attack more than one or two allies.
The biggest danger in Elad's arsenal is
Armored Sandworm, only since it counters Anklebreaker and
Nightshade attrition pretty hard. However, one hit with Raven and you can let that fatty sit in play doing nothing. There's also always Assassinate if need be, not to mention keeping it at bay with a well-timed
Retreat while you deal with the rest of their board and wait for one of your more permanent solutions.
Gravebone is strong, but its strength lies in a huge flaw- IGG aboose. GB relies in powerful tempo plays, such as playing multiple bombs or playing a nova plus a fatty in the same turn thanks to his SE. However, your IGG matches the card advantage from his revivals and your allies are not only hasty tempo plays, but one of your allies on board is worth two of GB's thanks to all your stuns and disables.
Gravebone operates by using his shadow ability to both create powerful tempo plays AND grinding out card advantage. You have the cc and hastiness to counter his power plays, but what about his powerful card advantage? Sure, IGG helps, but how do you outplay GB?
Easy.
Don't kill allies.
Use Raven and
Anklebreaker to debuff them instead. Other decks, like Wulven, already do this with
Captured Prey, etc. However, they have a limited number of these cards and GB typically will have ways to sacrifice the targeted ally (or sever ties).
Lance's various attack debuffs, however, are near infinite in supply, making the deck essentially the best way to counter GB. One smack from Raven keeps Ogloth in check indefinitely, two smacks with an Anklebreaker renders Infernal Gargoyle useless, etc. Add in
Jasmine's ability, and you have as many ways to screw over GB as they have self-sacrificial outs. Just keep up pressure the whole game and render his bombs ineffective, and GB matchups should be yours.
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