CLASS FIELD GUIDE · Arcane Charges

Mage

Shape the fight with Frost, build a Fire payoff, or turn Arcane Charges into a volley of missiles.

82 starting HP99 starting gold44 class cards

The class mechanic

Build Arcane Charges to amplify burst spells. Fire spells generate Ignite stacks for explosive finishers, while Frost spells weaken enemy attacks and shatter barriers.

Spell-school synergies, energy bursts and enemy control.

Arcane spells build Arcane Charges to amplify Missiles and Explosions. Fire builds Ignite; Frost chills and shatters.

BUILD AROUND A PLAN

Three paths through the spire

Build ideas follow the current card effects and class archetypes. They are editorial starting points, not measured win-rate rankings.

01 / Arcane

Arcane · charge and release

Combine charge generation, card draw and an energy burst to cast more missiles.

Build Charges with Arcane Intellect or Arcane Brilliance. Use Evocation when your hand can spend the extra energy, then choose Missiles for one target or Explosion for a group.

02 / Fire

Fire · Ignite payoff

Build Ignite through efficient Fire spells and convert it into a heavy finisher.

Build at least three Ignite before Combustion or Pyroblast. Scorch adds Vulnerable, while Flamestrike covers groups and contributes two Ignite.

03 / Frost

Frost · measured control

Reduce incoming damage with Weak and protect your health behind barriers.

Establish Ice Armor, weaken a target, and follow with Cold Snap. Blizzard supplies multi-target damage and Weak; keep enough energy for defense.

Before your next run

Frostbolt applies Weak. Cold Snap checks for a weakened target, so the order of your Frost spells matters.
Combustion and Pyroblast have stronger branches at three Ignite and then spend it. Avoid using a finisher just before reaching that threshold.
Arcane Missiles gains extra hits from Arcane Charges. Energy without card draw can still leave a burst turn short of useful spells.

Talent planning

Choose a tree whose bonuses support the school you are actually drafting. Frost control and Arcane energy can complement a deck without forcing every card into one school.

Plan Mage talents →

Cards to look for

Arcane Intellect — Draw 2 cards. Gain 1 Arcane Charge.
Arcane Brilliance — Power. Gain 1 Strength and 3 Arcane Charges.
Arcane Missiles — Deal 5 arcane damage 3 times, +1 hit per 2 Arcane Charges. Gain 1 Charge.
Arcane Explosion — Deal 5 arcane damage to ALL enemies, +1 per 2 Arcane Charges. Gain 1 Charge.
Evocation — Gain 3 energy. Exhaust.
Fireball — Deal 9 fire damage. Gain 1 Ignite.

THE FULL SPELLBOOK

Mage cards

Card	Cost	Effect
Fireballbasic · attack	1	Deal 9 fire damage. Gain 1 Ignite.
Frostboltbasic · attack	1	Deal 9 frost damage. Apply 1 Weak.
Arcane Missilesbasic · attack	1	Deal 5 arcane damage 3 times, +1 hit per 2 Arcane Charges. Gain 1 Charge.
Mana Shieldbasic · skill	1	Gain 6 Block.
Blinkbasic · skill	1	Gain 1 Stealth. Draw 1 card.
Fire Blastcommon · attack	0	Deal 7 fire damage. Gain 1 Ignite. Exhaust.
Scorchcommon · attack	1	Deal 10 fire damage. Apply 1 Vulnerable. Gain 1 Ignite.
Arcane Explosioncommon · attack	1	Deal 5 arcane damage to ALL enemies, +1 per 2 Arcane Charges. Gain 1 Charge.
Frost Novacommon · attack	1	Deal 9 frost damage to ALL enemies. Apply 1 Weak to ALL.
Counterspellcommon · skill	1	Interrupt the enemy cast and Silence it for 1 turn.
Frost Armorcommon · power	1	Power. Gain 3 Armor and 1 Thorns for the rest of combat.
Ice Armorcommon · power	1	Power. Gain 4 Armor. Whenever you play a frost card, gain 1 Block.
Arcane Intellectcommon · skill	1	Draw 2 cards. Gain 1 Arcane Charge.
Conjure Watercommon · skill	1	Add 2 Conjured Water to your hand.
Conjure Foodcommon · skill	1	Add 1 Conjured Food to your hand.
Fire Wardcommon · skill	1	Gain 7 Block and 2 Thorns until your next turn.
Remove Lesser Cursecommon · skill	0	Remove Curse from yourself. Draw 1 card. Exhaust.
Dampen Magiccommon · skill	1	Gain 6 Block and 1 Armor.
Amplify Magiccommon · skill	1	Gain 2 Strength this turn. Draw 1 card.
Slow Fallcommon · skill	0	Gain 5 Block. Draw 1 card. Exhaust.
Detect Magiccommon · skill	0	Look at the top 3 cards of your draw pile; discard any. Draw 1 card.
Polymorphuncommon · skill	2	Put an enemy to Sleep for 2 turns (damage wakes it; bosses are immune). Exhaust.
Blast Waveuncommon · attack	2	Deal 10 fire damage to ALL enemies. Apply 2 Weak to ALL. Gain 1 Ignite.
Flamestrikeuncommon · attack	2	Deal 12 fire damage to ALL enemies. Apply 4 Burn to ALL. Gain 2 Ignite.
Mage Armoruncommon · power	2	Power. Gain 1 Energized (+1 energy each turn).
Ice Barrieruncommon · skill	2	Gain 14 Block and 2 Thorns.
Presence of Minduncommon · skill	0	Gain 1 energy. Draw 1 card. Exhaust.
Cold Snapuncommon · attack	1	If the enemy is Weak or Frozen: deal 14 frost damage. Else deal 7 and apply 2 Weak.
Evocationuncommon · skill	1	Gain 3 energy. Exhaust.
Conjure Mana Gemuncommon · skill	1	Add 1 Conjured Mana Gem to your hand.
Frost Warduncommon · skill	1	Gain 8 Block. Draw 1 card.
Teleport: Stormwinduncommon · skill	1	Gain 12 Block and 1 Stealth. Exhaust.
Teleport: Ironforgeuncommon · skill	1	Draw 3 cards. Gain 1 Energy. Exhaust.
Combustionrare · attack	1	If you have 3+ Ignite: deal 22 fire damage, spend all Ignite, apply 4 Burn. Else deal 8, apply 2 Burn.
Ice Blockrare · skill	2	Become Intangible for 1 turn and remove all debuffs. Exhaust.
Arcane Powerrare · skill	1	Gain 4 Strength this turn and 2 Arcane Charges. Exhaust.
Arcane Brilliancerare · power	2	Power. Gain 1 Strength and 3 Arcane Charges.
Blizzardrare · attack	2	Deal 4 frost damage to ALL enemies 3 times. Apply 1 Weak to ALL.
Cone of Coldrare · attack	2	Deal 12 frost damage to ALL enemies. Apply 2 Weak to ALL.
Portal: Ironforgerare · skill	2	Gain 14 Block and draw 3 cards. Exhaust.
Pyroblastepic · attack	3	If you have 3+ Ignite: deal 38 fire damage, spend all Ignite, apply 5 Burn. Else deal 22, apply 3 Burn.
Conjured Waterbasic · skill	0	Gain 1 energy. Exhaust.
Conjured Foodbasic · skill	0	Heal 6 HP. Exhaust.
Conjured Mana Gembasic · skill	0	Gain 2 energy. Exhaust.

Game data: Spires of Azeroth · 68932e1. MIT licensed. Sources & methodology