The Deck (41):
1 x Eladwen Frostmire
3 x Kristoffer Wyld
3 x Priest of the Light
3 x Tainted Oracle
4 x Fireball
4 x Lightning Strike
3 x Supernova
2 x Engulfing Flames
2 x Poison Gas
4 x Tome of Knowledge
3 x Ley Line Nexus
1 x Severing Ties
3 x Snow Sapphire
3 x Voice of Winter
2 x Dagger of Unmaking
The Rationale:
There are four cards that make this deck effective. SS, VoW, and the infamous pair, Engulfing Flames and Poison Gas. The last two are absolutely critical. Never sack one unless you've already affected the opposing hero. SS and VoW have fairly good board life, and 3x is usually enough. For greater consistency, you can replace the Daggers with one more of each. I keep Daggers for Elementalis and also to make Earthen Protector look like the stupidest card in the history of TCGs.
The idea is to stall until victory. VoW is your best friend here, but SS will also help and has the added advantage of absorbing damage. Burn cards such as Lightning Strike and Supernova pair with Eladwen's ability and the judicious use of Daggers to keep the board fairly clean. Unlike with a Death Race mage build, Fireballs do not necessarily have to be aimed at the hero. They should be, if possible, but keeping a clean board is paramount. The enemy hero will die on its own.
I will not play a T5 VoW unless I've managed to keep the board clean up until that point. Otherwise, I prefer to spar with allies and let the opponent establish an impressive board. Then I wipe him with Supernova. If you can manage to establish your own board presence early game (not common, but not especially rare if you commit to the objective), then Vow becomes a devastating play. You get turns of free damage against the opponent while they try to get an ally to stick or waste resources killing your board. Keep in mind that allies are only of moderate importance with this build. PotL and Kris both give a 1st-turn payoff, meaning that you can afford to lose them after playing them. TO doesn't have an immediate gain, but you benefit by the enemy killing him.
Mid- to Late-game heavy burn against the hero (think chain Fireballs or successive turn Supernovas) can finish the game. While this is an attractive option, and one you should endeavor to keep open, DO NOT neglect the board for it. You'll lose more games that way than you win, even with VoW, SS, and Eladwen's ability helping out. You must not let them stack allies unless you can take them out safely with a Supernova. This deck has little healing, and it's relatively expensive. Your hero can afford very little damage.
Those are the basic goals, strategies, and pitfalls of the deck. I've found it to be almost perfectly effective at the 250 range. For reason of my own blinding stupidity, I have not yet had a chance to test it at a more competitive ranking. Comments, questions, and suggestions are always appreciated.
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