Huddle Up
Huddle Up can be considered a smaller version of The Scourge. Naga minions are significantly smaller on average compared to Undead, so it makes sense that Huddle Up is cheaper.
The immediate thought goes to Big-Spell Mage, but we’re not too excited by this prospect. Drawing this spell with Under the Sea sounds underwhelming, when we would much rather find another good spell, such as Tsunami or Sunset Volley. A random 7-drop is rarely going to be worth spending 6 mana on. It does give us an immediate follow up to Under the Sea, but it shouldn’t be difficult to deal with for slower decks, while it’s a bit too slow for aggressive matchups. Drawing it after a Surfalopod could also lead to mixed results, especially if our board is already occupied by a couple of minions, leading to diminishing returns.
This spell becomes more interesting in Druid decks, as wide boards are more threatening in the class. Treant Druid, for example, could use it as a full board reload card that forces the opponent to AOE or risk getting killed by Cultivation. It can also be drawn and discounted to 6-mana by a turn 5 Summer Flowerchild. Worth trying.
Score: 2
Burndown
Drawing 3 cards for 3 mana usually finds a way to a constructed deck. The drawback of Burndown is not a big deal if we’re playing a fast deck that is expected to have a high churn of cards. For example, Spell Mage is an ideal fit for Burndown thanks to its burn-based game plan. We can also discount Burndown with Manufacturing Error to 0 mana, making it very flexible when we use it.
Aggressive Mage (or Druid) decks in the future should also be highly interested. Basically, any deck with a low curve makes Burndown’s drawback irrelevant, which turns it into a very good draw engine.
Score: 3
Portalmancer Skyla
This might be one of the most impactful cards of the mini-set. Skyla grants Mage access to the Rogue set, while possessing a powerful ability that makes it the ideal fit for Big-Spell Mage. This is a stronger version of Barbaric Sorceress, as it costs 5-mana while giving us much greater control over the outcome.
The cost swap is targeted, always hitting our lowest and highest cost spells. Easy deckbuilding maneuvers should guarantee a big swing turn. We just need cheap spell generators at the bottom end of the curve, while keeping the Big-Spell top end curve. Miracle Salesman, Greedy Partner or Metal Detector allow us to play Tsunami or Sunset Volley immediately on the turn we drop Skyla.
We’ve established that Skyla is a powerful standalone card for Big-Spell Mage, but granting access to the Rogue set is huge for Big-Spell Mage. Sea Shill can help us play Under the Sea on turn 4. Conniving Conman can take the role of Grey Sage Parrot, repeating one of our big spells to apply persistent pressure on the opponent. Metal Detector is obviously amazing for the deck.
This is a very exciting addition to the Tourist lineup.
Score: 4
Final Thoughts: Great set for the Mage class, which should help increase interest in several of its strategies. Big-Spell Mage should be one of the most exciting decks to try out on day 1. We’ll see if Skyla turns the archetype into a serious meta contender. Treant Druid could also benefit from these Mage cards, if the archetype is given a chance.
