Freeze Mage Deck List Guide – Rise of Shadows – June 2019

Check out alternative versions of this deck on our Freeze Mage archetype page!

Freeze Mage Mulligan Strategy & Guide

VS Fast Decks

Higher Priority (Keep every time)

• Doomsayer – Your main early board clear.
• Frost Nova – Board freeze that forms a nice combo with Doomsayer.
• Acolyte of Pain – Early card draw minion that forces the opponent to decide between clearing it or going face.
• Arcane Intellect – Card draw.

Lower Priority (Keep only if certain conditions are met)

• Mountain Giant – Can be fast enough together with Conjurer's Calling when on the Coin.
• Luna's Pocket Galaxy – Can be kept together with some early-game cards.

VS Slow Decks

Higher Priority (Keep every time)

• Mountain Giant – Your main early pressure minion.
• Luna's Pocket Galaxy – Long-term pressure.
• Acolyte of Pain – Early card draw minion.
• Arcane Intellect – Card draw.

Lower Priority (Keep only if certain conditions are met)

• Conjurer's Calling – Keep with Mountain Giant .
• Doomsayer – Can be kept with Luna's Pocket Galaxy or early threats to set up a clear board for your big plays.

Freeze Mage Play Strategy

There are several ways to win the game with Freeze Mage. Your specific plan to win an individual game can change depending on the situation and your draws, but usually some path becomes more natural as the game progresses. Some of the ways you can win include:

• Alexstrasza the opponent to set them down to 15 Health. Follow it up with Fireball + Fireball + Frostbolt to deal 15 damage for 10 mana. This is the classic Freeze Mage win condition, but it does not work well against healing or armor.
• Play Mountain Giant. Play Conjurer's Calling. Profit. Giants can end the game early, especially in combination with some burn spells from hand. The Giants strategy can be used early in the game, especially when you are on the Coin. If you can draw some additional cards early on with Arcane Intellect, you can set up a nice Mountain Giant + Coin + Conjurer's Calling turn.
• Play minions. Freeze the opponent’s board for multiple turns while you hit face. Profit. Because the deck runs both Frost Nova and Blizzard, it can freeze the board multiple times at relative ease. If you can land some big minions on the board – Mountain Giant or Astromancer – you can use your minions while denying the opponent a chance to use their minions, and run away with the game.
• Play Archmage Antonidas. Play spells. Profit. Archmage Antonidas can generate tons of resources for you, and if the opponent cannot answer it promptly, it can just win the game alone. Combine Antonidas on turn 10 with Frost Nova for a major swing.
• Whenever you have minions on the board, Alexstrasza can threaten lethal. If Alexstrasza is discounted down to one mana from Luna's Pocket Galaxy, just about any minions will do, as you can use multiple damage spells from hand on the same turn.
• Discounting all minions in your deck with Luna's Pocket Galaxy can enable an endless stream of threats combined with multiple board freezes and win the game.

VS Aggro Decks

If you can stabilize, you usually win the game. Pay attention to your health total, because your means of protecting it are limited.

Your main healing card in the deck is Zilliax. You do not have a lot of Mechs to Magnetize Zilliax on, only the Annoy-o-Trons from Giggling Inventor, and sometimes random Mechs that you may conjure up with Conjurer's Calling. Therefore, Zilliax is usually played as a separate minion, but pay attention to any random minions you generate to look for better opportunities.

The only other healing card in the deck is Alexstrasza. Alexstrasza can get you back up to 15 health, which can win some games where it helps you stabilize. There are several things to consider when using Alexstrasza: First, you may want to use Alexstrasza offensively. If you can ever set up 15 damage ready to go, dropping that Alexstrasza targeting the opponent can just steal the win. Second, as Alexstrasza sets you to 15 health instead of restoring health, finding the right time to play it can be difficult. You want to use it to heal as much as possible, but as it costs nine mana, you need to make sure that getting to 15 health is enough to keep you safe for the following turn as well. Whether to attack or defend with Alexstrasza and when exactly to do so in an aggro matchup is one of the most difficult things to decide when playing the deck.

In addition to healing, you can stall the game with freeze effects. Frost Nova, Blizzard, and Ray of Frost are all useful, and can be combined with Doomsayer for a board clear. Ray of Frost can freeze a big minion for multiple turns or sometimes destroy a minion. You can also use it strategically to save your full board freezes for later stages of the game. Note that Doomsayer can also be played without a freeze effect, especially early in the game when the opponent does not have a large board presence yet – it can be effective in preventing the opponent from snowballing out of control even if it only kills one minion, or sometimes even if it kills nothing at all.

You can also defend with Taunt minions. Zilliax and Giggling Inventor are natural Taunt minions in the deck, but Conjurer's Calling can create more. Conjurer's Calling on a Mountain Giant is especially effective, as Mountain Giant can only transform into itself or Grave Horror, and you therefore have a 75% chance to get at least one Taunt minion when you use Conjurer's Calling on a Mountain Giant.

Finally, the secrets from Arcane Keysmith can be crucial in aggro matchups. Arcane Keysmith is first and foremost a tech card against aggro, as secrets can provide you with armor or destroy attacking minions.

While understanding how to defend is important, you should also keep an eye out for opportunities to strike back. If you’re on the Coin, an early Mountain Giant can turn the tables and force the aggressive deck to defend. If you have multiple freeze effects in hand, combining them with a big minion can also end the game early in your favor. Defend, but be ready to strike back if you find an opening.

VS Control Decks

Against control decks, the situation is different. You are the aggressor, because your defensive tools are limited and pale in comparison to your offensive capabilities.

Your opponent’s healing capabilities play a crucial role in strategy selection. Combining Alexstrasza and burn spells is a classic Freeze Mage way to end the game, but most slow decks have healing or armor gain, so a total of 30 damage does not quite cut it. Usually, you need minion damage too, and the win comes from a combination of minion damage and burn spells.

Maintaining a steady flow of pressure is important. Conjurer's Calling is a powerful card, but you have plenty of targets for it, so typically you do not need to try to get value from it immediately. Mountain Giant, Astromancer, and Giggling Inventor are all excellent targets for Conjurer's Calling, so typically you can play some of them without using the spell too. Do not overcommit to the board, but rather ration out your threats so that your board is always scary and you can always refill it.

Luna's Pocket Galaxy can play a major role by discounting all of your big minions in the deck. Then you can proceed to draw, freeze, and play minions, all at the same time for the most tempo possible.

Freeze Mage Card Substitutions

Freeze Mage is an expensive deck. You run some combo pieces for direct damage finish while also retaining many of the most expensive cards from other Mage decks.

• Arcane Keysmith is a defensive option. A more aggressive build can go for Novice Engineer for additional card draw.
• Zilliax is one of the best cards in the game. You really should craft it, because you can use it almost everywhere. For a budget replacement, you could try Lifedrinker.
• Astromancer adds more threats and more Conjurer's Calling targets to the deck. You can try Rabble Bouncer or Giggling Inventor as a budget replacement.
• Kalecgos makes faster burn possible and provides a discovered Mage spell. You can try Pyroblast, even though it is not quite the same.
• Archmage Antonidas is crucial for direct damage reach, as the deck itself runs only a limited amount of direct damage spells. You can try Pyroblast, even though it is not quite the same.
• Luna's Pocket Galaxy is one of the main reasons the deck made a comeback, as it allows for more powerful swing turns with minions and freeze effects. It might be possible to play the archetype without it, but there are no direct replacements, so you would need to add some appropriate tech card against the meta you are facing.
• Mountain Giant is a key card to use with Conjurer's Calling. It cannot be replaced.
• Alexstrasza is a key combo piece for a two-turn direct damage kill. It cannot be replaced.
• Doomsayer is your only early board clear and has great synergy with freeze effects. It cannot be replaced.