Just Add Bacon’s Guide to Fire Fox

Fox Familiar

One of the main reasons to run a fire package or fire deck is just how reliably good its early game is. Fox Familiar is arguably one of the best one drops for agility if not for all the prisms. It’s very mana efficient, has a nice 3 health, and threatens to cycle and buff if not answered. Learning to use Fox Familiar to bait removal options is one of the most important things for any Fox player to do. 

P1 (Player 1) T1 (Turn 1) 

Fox Familiar, Opponent answers with removal, T2 Mana Flask -> Sworn Oni.

Fox Familiar, Opponent answers with guard, T2 Mana Flask Demon Pact (The Beast.)

The second tactic should only be done if you can’t clear the way with removal. Before you use Demon Pact, make sure to trade in with Familiar to help soften the target. You’re dusting it anyways so who cares if it takes 2 damage. 

If you’re going second, then it’s usually helpful to keep removal in hand to open the path for this good boy. Options like Strike Down and Grim Reprisal work well, while some like Snap Trap may be better if your opponent has large guards like Webweaver. Your removal package should allow you to play units and removal in the same turn, so make sure to keep the cost down. 

Fire Rune

Absolutely essential and mandatory for any build. 1c draw is always going to be at least good and 1c banner is almost always useful. Together, they make Fire Rune an amazingly efficient card, and the flames option is just the icing on the cake. This card is pretty useful to have a lot of the time, but be wary about building with it. If you don’t run On The Hunt, you may want to cut Kook Book so Hot Dog can find this more easily. On the other hand, its also good to keep in the opening, as it is much safer than options like Champ or Flame Sword. 

P1 T1 

Fox Familiar, Opponent Answers with Gato, Mana Flask into Hot Dog + Fire Rune.

Opponent has 3 mana to answer a 4/3 that already drew and dealt damage. If they don’t answer you have a lot of damage on board. 

Unikron, Opponent doesn’t answer/ doesn’t play guard, T2 Fire Rune.

The “We have Fox Familiar at home” strategy, doing this to someone a few times will mean your Unikron will probably start dying on play turn 1. But that’s probably in your interest so something like a Trailblazer can stick. 

Going second opens up the potential for Fire Rune to stick onto a Halcyon which can be quite damning for an aggro mirror. However, that doesn’t mean I recommend Mana Flask into Halcyon + 1c when you go first unless you are confident that they can stick. Options like Fox Familiar, Flashbang, Unikron, and Amalgam work well for this though. 

Run Wild

If you are going to run fire, you are usually running this. It isn’t mandatory, as it has anti-synergies with Huntaro, but it is certainly worth running over Huntaro. The main appeal of Run Wild is rather subtle in how its math works, but it is actually rather strong in its own right. As we will find out, Fox aggro decks place a heavy focus on efficiently cycling through cards to reach bombs faster. Fox’s engine allows him to run options like Sunder and Catch as the only reach cards and it’s entirely because of options like Run Wild. Put simply, Run Wild is a draw card. It draws a 2c unit for 3 mana, then plays it immediately. This rate on its own would be decently useful, though not quite as good as something like Call To Action, but its secondary ready effect helps push it over. Most importantly for the mirror, the ready effect allows Run Wild to pop stealth, letting Fox cut through cards like Songbird and Rite Knight with good efficiency. Additionally, its targeted draw lets it search for important cards like Brimstone and Rite Knight. And then there is Trailblazer….

P1 T1

Turn 1 Familiar, Turn 2 Removal + Unit, Turn 3 Run Wild. 

The low roll for this line of play is usually Brimstone, but getting a 4/2 Brimstone early is very helpful. Sitting on BtaC can ruin a lot of Horik decks, so make sure to get your mana’s worth. The second important unit that you could hit is Rite Knight. With Run Wild’s power boost, it’s a 3c deal 5 draw a dark card (and thin your deck) OR a 0c deal 5 thin your deck. Naturally, you only get one, but either can be helpful. I recommend sitting on Ritual, though, unless you have an Elderwood or something similar to sacrifice. Options like Canopy Archer and Kook Book are good fuel, but also I only recommend this if you have a good use for the mana. If you don’t, you can sit on it and get 6 mana in one turn. 

Run Wild into Trailblazer + Firesight. 

This is a 5 mana play and a bit different from the others. To say that it can be explosive is an understatement. Fire Rune, On the Hunt, and Fox Familiar are all 1c, so hitting this can allow those cards to come down in the same turn. Additionally, at worst you are getting -3 to the cost of cards in your hand, meaning that this can end up being only a 2 mana in more complex plays. However, actually pulling this off can be quite tricky. In the early game, the risk of hitting Trailblazer makes it hard to use Run Wild safely, and spending an entire turn to draw cards and to summon a 3/2  leaves you in a very weak position on board. If you can hold board and make this play at the same time, I recommend going for it. The impact of its cycling and cost reduction are immense and make plays like Hot Dog and On the Hunt scary. However, you will have to contend with the risk of also hitting Brimstone or Rite Knight, so plan accordingly. If you do decide to go for this on turn 3/4, make sure to play Run Wild before using your Mana Potion/Flask. 

Hot Dog

This card is your other primary buildaround for fire and is a big part of our reason to exist. A 3/2 that can charge isn’t the craziest thing in the world, but can be helpful, but that’s not the draw. The draw, in fact, is the… well, draw of Hot Dog’s effect, which notably works on Summon regardless of whether or not you are holding fire. The importance of this is that Hot Dog targets the lowest cost fire spell, meaning it will always start with Fire Rune (unless you opted for On the Hunt). This is HUGE, especially since Hot Dog is usually charging, letting him take full advantage of the rune. Additionally, Fire Rune’s flames option also becomes a good bit better, since Hot Dog’s charge lets you pop stealth. This means you can swing in with Hot Dog, punch a stealth unit with your banner, and roast another unit with flames making a big +2 trade. Later in the game, you may instead hit options like Firesight, Run Wild, Uppercut, or Catch. None of these are quite as good as Fire Rune with its raw efficiency, which makes it important to try to play Hot Dog before drawing Fire Rune. Of course, Hot Dog can also ood either On the Hunt, or, if you run that, Burn Out which allows him to double as a late game value engine. In any case, be mindful in how you deploy this good boy. 

P1 T1

Unikron/ Fox Familiar

If

• No answer, flask into dog + rune
• Answers with removal, flask into dog + rune
• Answers with guard, flask into dog, rune dog, trade with Unikron + banner

OR

• Rune Unikron, trade with dog + banner

The quality of these plays diminishes with On the Hunt, but functionally the only thing missing is the +1/+1 bonus. The plays still work when going second, but they don’t offer as big of a  tempo swing. It can still be good, but holding for a more complex play may be better.