Hearthpwn

Hey there, Donnie here, self-proclaimed expert hunter pilot. I've been experimenting with this class the most and run it across all the possible archetypes imaginable, my goal always being, to create something unique and fun to play, for I believe, that the hunter class and it's inherent synergies between cards are very enjoyable.

So, cutting to the chase - I've been working on a control hunter for several months now and thanks to TGT it got a lot of really great tools. After a month of playtesting this is the version that got me to rank 5 and I'm also aiming to reach legend with it.

Massive thanks for the upvotes, glad you are enjoying the deck!

The deck has 3 main win conditions in addition to the hunters natural ability to pile on damage thanks to his hero power.

1) Outvalue the opponent

This entails excessive use of Eaglehorn Bow, your aoe's like Explosive Trap, Unleash the Hounds and Powershot and most of all landing big Lock and Load's.

2) Curve out your end curve

If you have kept the board under reasonable control, dropping Dr. Boom, Ragnaros the Firelord and King Krush on turns 7, 8 and 9 respectively can create unrecoverable pressure and lead to an instantaneous win or one shortly thereafter. This is a surprisingly consistent scenario thanks to King's Elekk and the fact that we only run 9 minions in our deck, thus pulling them more frequently.

3) Control the board and push face damage with an upgraded Eaglehorn Bow

Captain Greenskin is amazing with this weapon. The fact that you can replenish it's durability and repeatedly hit face for 4 in this patron devoid weapon removal absent meta is a win condition in itself. In addition to the 6 secrets we run, more can be fetched from Lock and Load as well as Nexus-Champion Saraad.

So there you have it, that's what I have observed from playing this deck.

Now, onto the card choices:

2x Hunter's Mark - Excellent for proccing L&L as well as generally a combo for a some aoe, though I rarely use it as a setup on the opponent's turn, often in fear of silence. There are times when it's correct to use this card as a 0-mana deal 1 damage.

1x Arcane Shot - Also one of the more easy spells to use with L&L but generally not used as such. Quite crucial as an early removal piece and has nice flexibility. Not rarely used to finish the opponent.

2x Tracking - This card is amazing and really rewards knowing the matchups you find yourself in. Quickly discovering which cards are dead weight in your deck in the current situation is key to using this card effectively. Not just based on the choice presented to you, but also the timing when you use this card. There are a lot of things to consider really. For example, if I'm holding an elekk, I might opt to wait on using tracking, as to not endanger myself of dropping my end curve from my deck. Or if I want to go for a captain greenskin combo and assemble the pieces in a timely fashion, I will agressively dig for a bow. Very tricky to use.

Bear Trap - Unconventionally, in this deck, you can very well consider your secrets 2 drops. As such, this card in particular, is basically a 2 mana 3/3 that arguably has stealth. Some intricacies to this card is, it's generally better used as early as possible. And while you often have options of dealing with some early drops from your opponent, it's a good idea to sometimes take some damage to get this guy summoned. All in all, the card is a necessity, since minions in the deck are scarce, yet it does not mess up our elekk rng.

2x Explosive Trap - This is purely a meta call in regards to the very agressive decks at large out there, mostly effective against paladin and hunter, it's consecration effect is not to be underestimated however. It can serve as a setup or finisher to your other aoes.

2x Freezing Trap - To be honest, I'm a little bit on the fence on this one, It's also a meta call I suppose - very useful against certain classes and borderline deadweight in some matchups. That being said, still pumps up your bow. I rank it just slightly higher than the other 3 hunter secrets not included in the list.

King's Elekk - A wonderful card, that has shaped the deckbuilding aspect of this list a great deal. The result being only 9 minions total, mostly with high mana costs. Counting your cards carefully can make elekk basically a high % chance of drawing this minion specifically which is very helpful if you evaluate your decision of playing it over other cards during specific turns. The body is decent and helps in trades. Overall very solid.

2x Lock and Load - This card is crazy. It really shines in the control matchups, but is not completely useless in the other ones. As I mentioned it's one of the possible win conditions of this deck - just milking crazy value out of this card. There are 44 hunter cards in total, so getting a specific one is about 2.27%. Worth noting is there is a 25% chance of getting a 5+ mana cost card and that there are 3 cards you generally don't want to see - namely Stable Master, Feign Death and Call Pet, which equates to a 6.81% chance to fizzle out. While not completely useless, these cards rarely get played and have almost zero impact. From my personal experiences, L&L is a game decider by itself, and although random, it does provide you with cards for just doing stuff and on average, those cards are meaningful. Turn 7 is usually the best turn to use this card on average, against control decks you can go really greedy and keep it till the utmost ends. If you have the coin, turn 4/5 is decent enough to play it. And while lock and loads do stack, I advise not using too many spells in that case, as you will force yourself into overdraw pretty quickly that way.

2x Quick Shot - Rare will be the times when you will draw a card with this, but spot removal is very important in a control deck, and the mana cost is adequate for usage with L&L. One of the key keeps against druid now with Darnassus Aspirant running amok.

Eaglehorn Bow - Your value machine and main tool to keep the board clear to pivot the way for your big threats. Also very handy to keep hitting face. 

Illuminator - Perhaps a bit of a surprise for most, but I have grown to love this card in hunter extensively. It allows to liberally hit with your bow, and not be afraid of dipping to certain thresholds and boasts a passable body at 3 mana. Overall it's still a bit of a meta call, because right now, without healing you wouldnt be able to last. As an argument to why I choose Illuminator over the traditional control deck's card of choice - Antique Healbot - here's my reasoning. I can play the card earlier, which is huge, not being confined to spending 5 mana for an 8 point heal with a rather disappointing body is so crucial, especially for this deck, that spends mana very efficiently. In addition, the heal is repetitive, Illuminator forces silences/removal, which healbot doesnt, as such, even if I were only to heal once, It would still tank the additional 4 damage which the opponent spent to remove it equating to the same net health gain. But it's potential is much higher than healbots - I hope this convinces some people.

2x Powershot - Very decent aoe that I'm tossing in and out of the deck. Clearly it's very good against aggro, but when I'm not just facing that much of that it's very subpar compared to explosive trap and unleash.

2x Unleash the Hounds - This card switches a lot with powershot, but ultimately I went with my favorism for unleash, since it has wider possible synergies with L&L payouts.

1x Captain Greenskin - A big fan of this on eaglehorn bow. In addition, there is also the chance of buffing an L&Led Gladiator's Longbow which is just silly. The body also challenges the other roster of 5 drops really well.

1x Emperor Thaurissan Smooths out the curve on the 6th mana and has a nice upside. Best used post L&L turns, but can also be used to set up a L&L as well as just making your hand less clunky.

1x Dr. Boom - No control deck would be complete without this guy I suppose. Helps Feign Death not be a completely worthless payout from L&L too.

1x Ragnaros the Firelord - Honestly, this guy has just been disappointing. My luck isn't very great, but I really can't bring myself to cut him out of the deck, based on his mana cost, and how well he rounds out the curve in addition to the obvious synergy with elekk.

1x King Krush - Or how I like to call him - reliable Ragnaros. Turns out that an 8/8 with charge is reaaaaaallly good when the opponent can't answer him and you drop it on the board uncontested.

Well, that's about the first round of inclusions. I'll do a rejects section soon, and post some more useful info, if I could just get some likes, please?! ^^

Hope you give the deck a shot, it sure is a change of pace from the usual hunter I imagine.

Update 27/09

-1 Arcane Shot
-1 Nexus-Champion Saraad
+1Powershot
+1 Emperor Thaurissan

The poweshot I realised is essentially 3 arcane shots in 1 card, that's why I found it more reasonable to sub 1 out for the other. Aggro still being strong as it is I deemed powershot more than necessary in this type of deck.

Sadly Saraad didn't quite deliver in the average games. And Thaurissan was deemed worthy for this deck. I had a lot of games where a turn 5 loatheb would lock me out of a complete turn due to the deck being comprised mainly of spells. Thaurissan helps alleviate that matter and his effect is truthfully helpful.

I will comment on seemingly staple hunter cards that aren't in the list.

The Bench

Mad Scientist - I get this question a lot - with 6 secrets, why would you not run this card?! Well, the answer is pretty simple, because I run 2 of each 3 different secrets, I don't run mad scientists. There's advantages to that - first off, you are casting those secrets, in turn - getting cards from L&L. Second - you don't want the wrong secret played at the wrong time, tempo doesn't matter for this deck, which is usually the reason you play the scientist. And third - it messes up your elekk rng. Already, it can happen that your elekk manages to snag the other elekk in the deck(12.5% chance), which rarely results in a joust win, adding in scientists makes elekk up to twice as unreliable as it is currently (winning 75% of my jousts).

Animal Companion - Although the beasts on average are worth for their cost, besides Misha, they don't really work in the deck. You will never have a swarmy board for Leokk to be effective and you will rarely be needing the extra 4 damage from Huffer. The 4/4 taunt, however, is very useful, but a 33% hit rate on the spell, doesn't justify running it.

Kill Command - Not that many beasts in the deck, 7 cards to be exact + any random additions from L&L. Not worth running it for the occasional +2damage buff.

Piloted Shredder - I guess it's weird to say this, but for this deck, you don't want sticky minions, you want to trade with your spells which get more effective the more stuff the opponent has on the board. Playing too much stuff just gives them a chance to trade theirs off and you'll have trouble placing your spells. Another reason is - you know how people try to play around big game hunter by not putting in any minions with 7+ attack. Well, this deck has pretty much 0 valuable silence targets the most notable being Illuminator. Therefore that is also part of the reasoning.

Savannah Highmane - Pretty much the same commentary as for the Shredder.

Update 30/9

Mulligan, tips and strategy.

Before I go on to the individual mulligans here are a couple rules of thumb. I will never mulligan away Illuminator(s), no matter the matchup and the rest of my hand composition. The risk of jousting her with elekk is very undesirable and she functions fine as a 3 drop if need be. Also, this deck plays quite passively, you will not be needing a fast start.

Also, If I can see my hand functioning fine until turns 4-5 I will generally do a full keep. It's generally better to focus on your own gameplan, as the deck works well in catching up using the board clears which simply get more effective the more tempo your opponent has amassed.

Some tips:

King's Elekk is not necessarily a 2 drop. Your big cards from the deck aren't going anywhere. It's ok for the elekk to sit in the hand in case you have other plays - drawing cards longer makes the jousts more predictable. Likewise, use Tracking smartly - either before or after elekk - depending on your desired result.

I like to play Eaglehorn Bow for tempo - ergo not attacking with it immediately, even at times when I have a secret down, or planning to play Captain Greenskin the next turn. Just because I like being flexible with when and what I attack without compromising the possible destruction of my weapon. There will be times when I would not attack a Knife Juggler in case it can fuel my aoe on a following turn.

Endure. It's often tempting to use your clears, when the opportunity presents itself. It's fine to do so. I do not do it when I don't have a plan for the following, or sometimes the 2 following turns. It's generally ok to sacrifice more health, to use your spells later, baiting a larger board to use them on, making them more effective and combo-able. Likewise, there are times when ineffective use might be called for - using Powershot just to kill a Shade of Naxrammas may be worth it. Assess and execute.

As I mentioned, there are various ways that this deck can end the game, the faster you discover this scenario, the more effective your play will be. Generally around turns 6-8 you should have your answer. Play towards that goal! These are the times where you drop King Krush and Dr. Boom from your tracking in favour of a more important card, etc. I can't really explain it, but in some point in the game there is a switch, where you go on towards an objective and it becomes very fast paced from there. Like a control priest, where you just exchanged hero powers until turn 7 and at turn 9 he is at 6 hp. Yes, that happened.

Mulligans: Note* As mentioned I always keep Illuminators and Eaglehorn Bow is always a top keep.

Druid

 Hunter:

 Mage:

Paladin: 

Priest:

 Rogue:

 Shaman: 

 Warlock:

 Warrior:

Changes after a lot more experimentation 19/11 Ulduman Wing LoE

-Elekk
-Eaglehorn
-Illuminator
-Greenskin
-Bear Trap

for

+Brann
+Kezan
+Loatheb
+Healbot
+Azure Drake

I made these changes mostly, to simply accomodate Brann. I believe the statline to be adequate and you have the ability to hold him, to better use your battlecries depending on the matchup. What the deck suffered mostly from, was big tempo swings and not having the correct cards in response. Most notably this happens against secret paladins, but also rarely against hunter and tempomage. Adding a larger midrange minion base helps with the range of answers you can propose to keep incoming damage at a minimum. Rather than going deeper into the inclusions, I will reason the cuts, because I think that point is more important. I think the necessity to remove the cards was more needed than adding in these specific ones, as that just suits my taste and meta sense - you can most likely find a better solution for yourself.

Elekk - I've been switching it between the 1 of and 2 of in this deck quite a bit. And as soon as you leave just 1 you immediately feel the need for card draw. Yet as you move in the second and have these moments where the joust pulls the other elekk, you feel incredibly sad. Mostly this is a problem, when you keep the card in your mulligan and it fails you, becomes a vanilla 3/2 and you have like 1 or 2 bad plays for the next turns + you draw into one of your end curve, which the elekk was supposed to prevent. Brann certainly helps this tremendously, and has been working nicely so far, so the 1 remaining elekk is a very welcome stay.

Eaglehorn - Abundance of traps and the additional weapons from lock and load often create a scenario, where you never need a 2nd weapon in the base deck. Keeping a 2nd copy for consistency reasons or more damage output doesn't seem to be worth it. Also, even with the amount of healing in the deck previously, you still weren't freely able to take hits at minions frequently enough, therefore I decided to stay with a one of this particular inclusion.

Bear Trap - This one got the cut, since I painfully found out, that it is proportionally weaker the later in the game it is drawn, and against a few decks, you can't even get it to trigger. For overall deck consistency, I felt with replacing it with a higher average powerlevel.

Illuminator - I believe brann bronzebeard accomplishes the feats of 1 missing illuminator as well as having an additional upside.

Captain Greenskin - simply cut, due to only one copy of eaglehorn remaining.

 Hope you enjoy!