Hearthstone Wiki:Archived/Tempo Mage

Tempo Mage (also known as Aggro Mage or Burn Mage) is a Mage deck type that aims to aggressively maintain early board control by using cheap spells and minions, notably Mana Wyrm and Arcanologist and finish the game with direct burn from hand. They use Aluneth and Stargazer Luna to maintain constant fuel.

Tempo Mage was a dominant archetype throughout much of Hearthstone's history. Its strong start with Mana Wyrm and its ability to control the board while dealing efficient burn damage kept it in a good spot. The rotation of cards such as Flamewaker, Arcane Blast, Unstable Portal and Forgotten Torch going into the Year of the Raven has injured Tempo Mage's ability to compete in Standard, with the Secret Mage offshoot of it being far more successful at the beginning of the year. However, with the addition of Aluneth, Tempo Mage returned to the forefront, often hybridizing with Secret Mage.

The deck archetype made a return in the Year of the Raven in the absence of Secret Mage, this time utilizing more low-cost burn spells with Vex Crow for board tempo. This was around the time when the line between Tempo and Aggro Mage was blurred. The version of Tempo Mage in The Boomsday Project uses bonus Spell Damage to increase the efficiency of their burn spells.

Tempo Mage in the Year of the Dragon experienced a shift in playstyle involving spamming cheap spells while maintaining a large amount of value with Mana Cyclone. This version of Tempo Mage is sometimes referred to as Cyclone Mage. Some versions of Cyclone Mage hybridize with Conjurer Mage.

Common cards

The following cards are usually in the deck.

Core cards

The following cards are played in most or all versions of the deck:

Optional cards

The following cards are played more than occasionally, but not always:

Wild cards

Wild cards that fit well into this deck type: