Hearthpwn

Hi, I'm TheJordude from compLexity gaming. This season I got legend (seeded #10) with my meta tuned midrange Hunter deck that I climbed from rank 4-legend with a very high win ratio (70-80%). I streamed most of the latter part of the climb if you want to see the VOD, but I couldn't get the last 4 wins as my computer kept crashing when trying to stream.

You can find me on:

Twitch: http://www.twitch.tv/TheJordude

Twitter: https://twitter.com/coL_TheJordude

Goals of the deck

A lot of people will tell you that Hunter is the easiest deck to play. I am one to disagree as there are many decisions you have to make with this deck, and any hunter deck to be honest.

With this deck, try to:

- Get board control as early as possible. This may require some aggressive plays to get this control... so yes you will have to trade minions, and use your spells and weapons

- Try to gain big tempo swings. Cards like Mad Scientist into Snake Trap, Houndmaster, Hunter's Mark, Knife Juggler + Unleash the Hounds, Eaglehorn Bow and more all help you achieve this. Yes there is a lot! (That's why this deck is op)

- Try to be as efficient as possible. After say turn 3 or 4, really try to utilize your mana as efficiently as possible. Later in the game try to weave in your hero power every turn to maximize your damage and so you don't run out of steam so quickly.

- Know when to be aggressive. After a certain point in the game, you want to transition your board control into aggression. This can happen anywhere from turn 4 onwards, depending on your situation and who you are against. Against other aggros you may want to keep controlling the board, or race them if you feel you have the burst. Against midrange/control you may want to be aggressive because you know you are running out of steam and need to kill them soon.

- Your power spike is from turns 2-6. If you can snowball your early game advantage and stay efficient, it is hard to lose.

Card Choices

Hunter's Mark - Can get a lot of value by either killing a big taunt such as Deathlord, or simply just getting tempo by running a Webspinner or a snake into an annoying threat like Druid of the Claw

Webspinner over Abusive Sargent or Leper Gnome [/card] - Webspinner synergizes well with [card]Kill Command and Houndmaster. It can also get you amazing beasts like Savannah Highmane or Stranglethorn Tiger for later in the game or filling the curve better. You are playing for control, you don't have as fast of a game plan where you would play aggressive cards like Leper Gnome which doesn't provide you much in the longer run.

Snake Trap  (x2)- You can often bluff this as being another secret as not many people expect 2 of these traps which can really mess up their plays. When it goes off, the snakes are very useful for getting board control by trading against aggro minions, or combining with Houndmaster, Hunter's Mark or Kill Command. I really like double snakes in this secret pally/zoo meta as the snakes does a lot of work in getting you control of the board.

Bear Trap - Makes it very awkward for your opponent to deal with when you have Snake Trap up with it. The taunt is also very nice against aggro and it allows you to set up your beast synergy cards like Houndmaster and Ram Wrangler.

Haunted Creeper - Strong, sticky 2 drop that's a beast and can normally stick around as a great target for Houndmaster

Ironbeak Owl - Even though you have Hunter's Mark I like the Owl for beast synergy, quick bypass of Taunt and removing buffs.

Knife Juggler - Combo's well with Snake Trap and wins you almost every game against zoo when combo'd with Unleash the Hounds

Mad Scientist - Can't play secrets without this card, absolutely broken. Also you have 3 secrets so there is a lower chance this card is dead if you open up with a secret in your hand

Eaglehorn Bow - Great weapon to clear minions for board control. Can also get a lot of face damage in, especially when you get secrets activated

Animal Companion - Anything you get off this card is good.

Kill Command - Helps you get the reach you need to finish off your opponent, It can also be used as removal as it is very efficient

Unleash the Hounds - A lot of people cut 1 UTH. But I REALLY like 2, there are so many times where this card is very useful. Either for reach for lethal, dealing with a big board and comboing with Knife Juggler, getting value off Houndmaster. A lot of decks right now fills there board, which is why this card at 2 copies is good right now.

Houndmaster - 2 copies are really good in my opinion because you will normally always get the battlecry off on curve since you have so many beasts and tokens that are sticky enough to last.

Piloted Shredder - An alternative turn 4 play when you can't play a battlecry Houndmaster. Very sticky minion that fits in all midrange decks.

Cult Master - With double Snake Trap and 2 Unleash the Hounds, not to mention Haunt Creeper you have a lot of tokens that you often are trading in. Trading in those tokens for cards will often net you 2-4 cards on average.

Loatheb - Great 5/5 body that locks out your opponent and secures your win when you are ahead

Ram Wrangler - Similar to Houndmaster, you will often have a beast to easily get the battlecry off on curve. On average you can get a solid beast, but sometimes you get lucky and get King Krush, Savannah Highmane, etc and just blow out the game.

Savannah Highmane - Best minion in the game. Can't be BGH. Sticky. 2/2 leopards are great. The Kappa rule is that if you get a hit to face with this card, you are probably going to win the game (seems to be true every time though)

Dr. Boom - Boom bots op. Applies a lot of pressure. Helpful when you are running out of steam or when played on curve on a follow up of Savannah Highmane

 * I currently don't run a Quickshot as I feel the 2nd Snake Trap does a lot more with the meta for getting board and you don't run out of cards when you have Cult Master. I usually never find the need to have the extra 3 damage burn to win.

Mulligans

Always try to get:

- Webspinner

- Mad Scientist

- Haunted Creeper

Consider keeping based on your matchup, have the coin and/or how your hand will curve:

- Knife Juggler

- Animal Companion

- Any secret

- Eaglehorn Bow

 - Unleash the Hounds

- A 4 drop (if the rest of your hand curves really well and you have the coin)

General Matchups

Hunter: Either way

Normally depends on the draw, how efficient you are, and if you can gain early tempo. However if you're against face, you are unfavored, but sometimes you can pull wins off of big taunts from Houndmaster and a much stronger tempo.

Warrior: Favoured

Midrange versions of Hunter are favoured against control as they have hard times dealing with your Savannah Highmane. Patrons however are unfavoured since they have many Whirlwind effects that will constantly remove your beast tokens. Sometimes you get enough pressure though and finish them with an Unleash the Hounds after they Patron flood.

Mage: Either way

If against tempo, the matchup really depends on the early game tempo swings and board control, like the Midrange hunter mirror. Against Freeze, it really depends if you get a good Loatheb turn as well as applying enough pressure early on.

Shaman: Either Way

Basically all Shaman on ladder is aggro. In this matchup you need to get taunts from Animal Companion and Houndmaster and you can normally win.

Paladin: Favoured

Against secret pally, Snake Trap and Unleash the Hounds are MVP. The tokens do a lot in gaining tempo and procing secrets and you will often be able to gain board control around turn 3-5.

Priest: Either way

Priest's often will have a slower start where you can develop minions early. Hunter's Mark is crucial in dealing with big/buffed taunts and developing tempo. If Priest's can stabilize with Lightbomb and Entomb it becomes difficult to finish them.

Rogue: Either way

This matchup can go either way as you can win by getting early tempo and pressure to just burn down the Rogue. Or they have the early removals and gain tempo from Si7: Agent, Bladeflurry, Sap, etc.

Warlock: Favoured

All matchups are favoured either because you get early board control and pressure against slow Warlocks, forcing them to have Reno Jackson or bust. Or against Zoo they build a big board and you win from a Knife Juggler, Unleash the Hounds. Your secrets are also important against warlock as they have a hard time dealing with all the tokens.

Druid: Favoured

You will normally out tempo the Druid and just pressure them with a strong board that they can't come back. They have to open up with their ramp or get a very good swipe to take the game from you.

That's basically all I have to say for this deck. If you don't seem to find success for this deck for some reason do not give up. This deck does require some practice so that you can really fine tune your decision making. There are always quite a few options during a lot of your turns, so it may help to look back at your games to identify them and confirming which was the best.

I also provide private coaching for anyone that prefer individual guidance to improve. If that is something you would be interested in just send me a private message here and we can go on from that.

here's a coaching sample video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jieTE4P1ngg