Tavern Brawl – The Fury of Kael’Thas

it’s basically all mages and druids, with the occasional paladin “to the frontline”-decks thrown in.
(to the frontline is conveniently countered by mass polymorph)

i only played mage, so all my advice ist for that class. i do think that druid is slightly superior in this tavern brawl, because it’s cheap spells are better suited and it has better ways to create a threatening board, but in the end i won more games against druid that i lost.

i used Ablattel’s deck list below as a starting point, but soon it was clear that you want to play only spells, no creatures. Thalnos, Malygos, Primordial Protector and even Multicaster had to go, but if I had to play a creature, it would be the latter.
Long stoys short, I cut the creatures and Wildfires to add Sorcerer’s Gambit, 2 Syphon Mana, Ignite, Solid Alibi and second copies of Refreshing Spring Water and Flamestrike.

Basically, you can just type “spell” in the query field of deck editor and throw something together.
To actually win at a good rate, you have to choose your starting hand well and be lucky with your Runes otA.

cheap spells:
Sorcerer’s Gambit: I used it because it was always a cheap spell in my opening hand. sometimes gives you a relevant extra spell. i never got to play dawngrasp though.

First Flame: gives you 2 spells played for 2 mana total. downside: cannot be cast without creatures to target, and you do not have many creatures of your own. if you have a slow start against mage, you might not want to play “build a snowman”, because that gives your opponent a target for thair first flames.

Hot Streak and Flurry are super cheap, but have itself only very little effect on the game. Flurry has the additional downside of needing _enemy_ creatures to even can be cast. However, Shooting Star, Snap Freeze, Wildfire, Gifts of Azshara, and Volcanomancy are all inferior options because they cost more and do not offer a relevant effect either.

2 mana shots: Runed orb is by far the best, because it gives you an extra spell. Siphon Mana, Ignite, and Frozen Touch are more or less exchangable – i play 2 siphon and 1 ignite, but that’s a matter of taste.

card drawing:
full packs of Arcane Intellect, Arcane Brilliance and Refreshing Spring Water allowed me to cut Multicaster. sometimes the correct play is to use one of these as your third (discounted) spell to get the chain going. Arcane Brilliance produces copies, so it helps you not to run out of win conditions

big spells (defensive):
Mass polymorph can shrink any board no matter how big, but Druids can retaliate by global buffs if you leave too many sheep on the board. One should be enough in your deck, as you can create extra copies with Arcane Brilliance.

Flamestrike does not destroy most dragons from opposing Drakefire Amultes by itself, but together with the cheap enabling damage spells you can take them down. also comes in handy against Druid boards from Scale of Onyxia

Rune of the Archmage:
Nowadays Rune otA mostly destroys and freezes the board, so do not play it if your opponent has no creatures. You also will get a lot of useless Secrets (Objection, Explosive Runes), fizzling Seafloor Gateways and maybe some extra cards. Sometimes you get lucky and produce some skeletons, and Drakefire Amulet ist of course the Jackpot.

big spells (win conditions):
Pyroblast: useless in the early game, but can close games quickly later when played in multiples.

Build a Snowman: gives you a (relatively) cheap spell, an additional card, and ultimately a big creature to close out the game.
a little bit of everything, and on top of it it gives you a target for your First Flame if you really need one.

Drakefire Amulet:
most mage duels boil down to the question, who can better stick their dragons on the board. there are some terrible dragons (basically everything cheaper than nozdormu) and battlecries do not trigger, but you will always have a decent dragon (at least 4/12 or 8/8) to choose. obviously some are better than others.
1. Haleh, Matron Protectorate: so much fun with all the cheap spells
2. Deathwing: biggest dragon, fast clock
3. Kalecgos: so much fun with all the expensive spells (Pyroblast-Hot Streak-Pyroblast anyone?)
4. Onyxia the Broodmother (core set): also a very fast clock with all the whelps

emergency options:
1. Raid Boss Onyxia: no whelps, no immune, but still a 8/8 dragon with rush
2. Sleeping Dragon: if you are low on life
3. Primordial Dragon: if you are low on life and nothing better is offered

plain 8/8:
Nozdormu, Kazakusan, Alexstraza

plain 4/12:
Malygos, Ysera