Deck Tech: Hearthstone’s Echo Mage deck doubles up on minions

This week, I wanted to shine the spotlight on a deck that placed in the finals of one of my recent Fireside tournaments. Echo Mage is a rather fun deck archetype that doesn’t quite fall under Tempo Mage or Freeze Mage. The deck can be competitive but is not often seen on the tournament circuit. Echo of Medivh and Duplicate are the main cards that make this deck really shine. After that, you chock it full of cards like Molten Giants, Antique Healbots, and Sludge Belchers. All of those will provide you with additional utility to help you win games.

Trust me, it’s fun to play.

In addition to the previously mentioned minions, Echo Mage features Doomsayers and Explosive Sheep to help you keep the board clear. Illuminators and Ice Blocks will provide you with additional cushion to help you stay in the game longer.

On the mulligan

You don’t want secrets in your opening hand at all. Get rid of them. Do keep any Mad Scientists, Illuminators, or Frostbolts you happen to pick up. The early game can be a fragile start for you.

Mage (14)

• Frostbolt x2
• Arcane Intellect x1
• Duplicate x2
• Frost Nova x2
• Ice Block x2
• Echo of Medivh x2
• Polymorph
• Flamestrike x2

Neutral (16)

• Doomsayer x2
• Explosive Sheep
• Mad Scientist x2
• Sunfury Protector
• Acolyte of Pain
• Big Game Hunter
• Antique Healbot
• Illuminator
• Emperor Thaurissan
• Alexstrasza
• Sludge Belcher x2
• Molten Giant x2

Early game

You’re not going to have much of an early game here, sadly. Mad Scientists will help. Your Frostbolts can immediately remove threats like Darnassus Aspirants or Knife Jugglers that happen to crop up. Acolyte of Pains and Illuminators are handy here. Actually, the Illuminators practically increase in value later on if you manage to hit them with Duplicates or Echo of Medivh. At that point, you end up with maybe four or more Illuminators on the board. Watch as the health just rolls in.

Mid game

At this point, you want to try to set up your Duplicate in such a way that nets you valuable minions. While having extra Molten Giants isn’t always a bad idea, having a Duplicate catch your Sludge Belcher for the extra taunts or the Antique Healbot for the extra health might prove to be a greater strategic value throughout the rest of the game.

The Frost Nova and Doomsayer combo are designed to help you reset the board in case it becomes completely lopsided against you. Loatheb will help prevent your opponents from messing with the rest of your game plan if you drop it during key turns.

Saving the Coin allowed me to execute the Doomsayer and Frostnova pairing on turn 4. The Divine Shields are ineffective in this situation.

Late game

At this point, you’re just dropping giants all day, every day to finish the game. Alexstrasza is in there to give you a bit of a jump against your opponent. It all depends on the minions that you have successfully Duplicated or used Echo of Medivh on. Adjust your game plan accordingly to the classes and matchups below.

Play Explosive Sheep, cast Echo of Medivh, play second Explosive Sheep, Hero Power, and watch as your opponent gets saddened.

Alternative cards to consider

There aren’t many cards I’d consider adding or switching out. Depending on how you feel or what you think you’re susceptible to, you can always add extra copies of certain cards such as Antique Healbot if you need that extra healing power.

• Blizzard
• Sylvanas

Blizzard gives you more AOE control and provides another alternative setup for your Doomsayer. Sylvanas can be Duplicated or Echoed to provide even more fun frustrations for your opponent.

Class matchups

Druid: Darnassus Aspirants should be removed the moment they hit the board. Mulligan for at least a Frostbolt and save it. If that extra mana crystal manages to stick for more than a turn, your odds go south since they’ll be able to race you and win. Multiple copies of your Sludge Belchers will easily help you control the game. Realistically though, almost any card in the deck can be duplicated to great success. If Doomsayer gets silenced by their Keeper of the Grove, Duplicate can fix that problem for you. Your healing minions should keep you out of range of Force of Nature and Savage Roar.

Hunter: This one’s a terrific matchup for you. Illuminators are the key. Play them, copy them, and watch them do work for you. The Midrange Hunter matchup will be much slower and you’ll have to grind out that win.

Mage: When playing Freeze Mage, duplicate your Illuminators and Antique Healbots. Eventually you’ll get to a point where they won’t have the damage to get through all the healing that you’re doing. Just make sure you have a way to blow up the opposing Archmage Antonidas.

Paladin: Explosive Sheep and the Mage Hero Power at the right times will clear out the board for you. It’s a poor man’s Consecration, but it allows you to knock out Silver Hand Recruits, Knife Jugglers, and non-Shielded Minibots. Hold on to your Frost Nova and Doomsayer combo. If the Paladin manages to get all their secret cards in play, try to activate them all before freezing everything and dropping the Doomsayer bomb.

Priest: Ugh, Dragon Priest sucks here as they’ll have numerous taunt minions up. Frost Nova and Doomsayer will need to connect and clear the way. Feel free to Duplicate the Doomsayer. Lightbomb will make a mess so take care not to overextend and try to Echo your key minions at the right time. Good targets are Molten Giants, Sludge Belchers, and Emperor Thaurissan.

Rogue: Copy your Sludge Belchers, Illuminators, and Antique Healbots. Do that and you can outlast them and win.

Shaman: Hex is the scariest card in the whole deck since it can shut you out of your Duplicate plans. But then again, there’s no real bad Duplicate target in your deck. Use Echo to fill your hand with Giants and other finishers and just take this one. Shaman decks should not present a major threat to this deck.

Warlock: Warlocks are your worst matchup in this situation. Zoo can apply pressure early on leaving you to pray for a lucky Doomsayer. Not to mention things like Nerubian Eggs will spring back to life as 4/4 spiders. Handlock is another terrible matchup for you. Duplicate your Giants here along with Doomsayers.

Warrior: This is a tough one since they have many tools that can counteract yours. Luckily, you have the ability to generate more between Echo of Medivh and Duplicate. Emperor Thaurissan, Giants, Sludge Belchers, and your healing cards are all excellent Duplicate targets.

Good luck on the ladder! Hope you enjoyed this deck as much as I did. Let me know how your results are.