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Dragon Mage deck list guide - Saviors of Uldum - Hearthstone (August 2019)

Our massive guide to playing Dragon Mage in Saviors of Uldum.

Dragon Mage is a Hearthstone deck that contains a den-full of roaring fire-breathers all hell-bent on leaving your opponent as a pile of ash. It combines these large and powerful Dragon minions with some of high value summoning and discount effects that are available to the Mage class in order to generate an imposing and impenetrable board presence.

As you might expect with a deck full of very expensive minions, it can take a while until you bring them onto the board. However, if you keep control in the early game you’ll be able to unleash some massive minions in the latter stages that can devastate your opponent.

In this latest version of our Dragon Mage guide, you’ll find the deck list that has taken this archetype to the higher tiers of competitive play in the new Saviors of Uldum meta. Further on, we also have detailed strategy tips, with advice on how to play the deck to its fullest. There’s also a Mulligan guide, plus a closer look at the cards and combos that make the deck so strong.

UPDATE - AUGUST 2019 #1

There’s a new expansion coming out! A new expansion with absolutely no dragons in it! For that reason, this deck list remains mostly unchanged, aside from the addition of the super-powerful Siamat.

Dragon Mage deck list and strategy

Here is the version of Dragon Mage that’s seeing the most competitive play right now. While players appear to have settled on this list we’ll be sure to return with any updates if they are needed.

MageNeutral
1 x Archmage Arugal2 x Doomsayer
2 x Book of Specters2 x Firetree Witchdoctor
2 x Khadgar1 x Sunfury Protector
2 x Conjurer's Calling1 x Brightwing
1 x Arcane Keysmith2 x Voodoo Doll
1 x Luna's Pocket Galaxy1 x Scaleworm
2 x Astromancer2 x Twilight Drake
1 x Kalecgos2 x Dragonmaw Scorcher
1 x Zilliax
1 x Crowd Roaster
1 x Siamat
1 x Alexstrasza
2 x Mountain Giant

Select and copy the long ID string below, then create a deck in Hearthstone to export this deck into your game.

Deck Import ID: AAECAf0EDMUE+wa+7AKJ8QLM9ALG+AKggAPolAOWmgOKngOEpwO3rAMJigHhB40Izu8Ct/ECw/gC6IkD7IkDg5YDAA==

More great Mage guides:

General strategy

Although this deck exists under the name Dragon Mage, the use of Dragon minions in this deck is only a small part of what makes it tick. Instead, they work in tandem with a number of powerful cards from recent card sets.

The standout card in this regard is the new Mage legendary, Khadgar. This minion offers a vast amount of potential as it doubles the number of minions spawned by cards with Summon effects, allowing you to pair it with the likes of Conjurer’s Calling and Astromancer to see a lot of extra value from those cards.

Altogether, it can be a rather greedy and very risky deck, but the potential rewards can be soul-crushing for your opponent.

Early game:

As you are at your weakest during the early stages of the game, try your best to maintain control and contest for the board using your early drops and hero power. If you have a Mountain Giant or a Twilight Drake in hand, you’ll want to avoid using many cards during this phase of the match, so you can either drop one early or give it a big Health buff. Even if you do very little in the opening turns, these big minions can start to swing the game back in your favour when they’re slammed down.

Mid game:

Now you can begin to assert yourself even more in the game. Scaleworm and Zilliax are both ways for you to catch up should you be facing a tough board - the Rush keyword typically allowing you to clear off at least one minion immediately.

Now might also be a good time to pull the trigger on your Khadgar combo. If you’re looking at a rather bashed up Mountain Giant, for example, you can play Khadgar alongside Conjurer's Calling in order to get two fully healed giants to play with.

Late game:

The game plan is much the same as Dragon Mage enter the final stages of a match. You have more ways to execute a big tempo turn with Khadgar and Astromancer if your hand size is still healthy, or simply with Siamat to break down an enemy minion or two. If that’s not enough, you have Kalecgos on hand too as a big late game threat that can also hand you a powerful spell to use for free. Essentially, keep slamming down large minions and, eventually, your opponent should run out of answers for them all!

Aggro opponents

Here are a few tips to help you best any aggro decks you may come up against on the ranked ladder:

  • 1. They have the power to race you down quickly so do everything you can in the early game to stall their aggression.
  • 2. If you manage to get a big Twilight Drake or Mountain Giant down early you should be able to get a foothold in the game from there.
  • 3. Doomsayer is key. Even playing it on an empty board will stall your opponent for a turn, giving you precious time to gather your hand for a decent recovery.
  • 4. Don’t be afraid to drop an Archmage Arugal on curve just to get a minion on the board. The value gain won’t be as important against aggro.

Control opponents

Keep these words of advice in mind when you come up against control decks:

  • 1. As both decks will be slow to get started you should have more time to draw cards and set up for the latter stages of the match.
  • 2. As this deck has no hard removal, you’ll either want to try to take the initiative to get on the board first so you can dictate trades, or look for spells like Polymorph from your Discover effects.
  • 3. Anticipate when board clears might be coming. There’s no use going for a big Khadgar play straight away if there’s a decent chance your opponent has a card like Brawl waiting in hand. Bait it out first!
  • 4. Luna's Pocket Galaxy can give you too much for opponents to handle during the mid to late game with all your 1 cost minions.

Dragon Mage Mulligan guide

Look for these cards during the Mulligan phase in order to make the best start with Dragon Mage:

  • 1. Book of Specters: Considering this deck runs almost no spells you should be able to get some terrific value from this, and it’ll help set up an early Mountain Giant or beefy Twilight Drake.
  • 2. Mountain Giant: If you can hold off on playing cards in the opening turns you can drop this very early and start threatening your opponent’s life total.
  • 3. Firetree Witchdoctor: You have an excellent chance of holding a Dragon while playing this minion in the early game.
  • 4. Twilight Drake: As you’ll likely have more cards in your hand in the early stages of the game, holding onto this and playing it early is the best way to get the most value from it.

Dragon Mage tips, combos and synergies

There are a handful of very powerful combos in Dragon Mage that are key to making the deck effective. We’ve listed the most important ones below:

- Khadgar is one of the most significant cards in this deck. At just two mana, you should save him to be played alongside Conjurer's Calling or Astromancer to get the most value out of those cards.

- This deck is full of expensive Dragon minions that have powerful Battlecry effects but fairly weak stats. Once you’ve used them for their grand entrance, remove them with Conjurer's Calling to summon minions of equal cost in their place that may offer better value on the board.

- Don't forget that you can ping your Voodoo Doll using your hero power for a rapid removal combo.

- Kalecgos can offer some incredible value by letting you play a big minion on the board and then follow it up with an expensive spell on the same turn.

- With all the Dragon minions in this deck you shouldn’t have a problem activating the bonus effect from Firetree Witchdoctor in order to add more spells to your hand. Similarly, Scaleworm should only be played when you can gain the bonus Attack and Rush effect.

- The more cards you have in your hand at the time, the more expensive the minion you'll summon from Astromancer. Astromancer is also a great target for Conjurer’s Calling due to its low stats and high cost.

- In a similar fashion, Mountain Giant costs one mana less for each other cards you're holding in your hand at the time he's played.

Card choices and substitutions

As the name would suggest, a number of Dragon cards play a vital part in the success of Dragon Mage. Here are those minions and a few other important key cards, as well as substitution options where possible:

  • Book of Specters: Some huge value card draw for the deck that can make playing your Mountain Giants even easier, or boost the Health of your Twilight Drakes even further.
  • Khadgar: An important piece for getting even more value out of the Summon effects within this deck. Used alongside them you can really overwhelm your opponent.
  • Conjurer's Calling: One of the cards that become even stronger when played alongside Khadgar. You can use it to rescue a dying minion and turn them into something more powerful.
  • Twilight Drake: With the slow start this deck makes you should have a lot of cards in hand to grant this a big Health boost in the early game.
  • Zilliax: A solid minion to slot into the deck. Can help you catch up if you’ve fallen behind to aggro.
  • Astromancer: With all the cards you’ll be holding in hand at times you can see some significant value off of this minion. You can consider swapping one or two out for Mind Control Tech should you find yourself running into a lot of aggro decks.
  • Crowd Roaster: Comes in with a big Battlecry effect that should kill off most minions. It’s an excellent target for Conjurer’s Calling too if you want to find a minion with better stats to sit on the board.
  • Kalecgos: A large Dragon minion that can be a major threat during the late game. Try to get as much value as you can out of the Battlecry effect too by picking a strong or expensive Spell.
  • Mountain Giant: A huge minion that you can get out onto the board early considering the number of cards you’ll be holding and the ones you can draw in the early game.

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