[Spark] Beasty Tactics (S4)
- Last updated Sep 20, 2016 (Karazhan)
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Wild
- 14 Minions
- 14 Spells
- 2 Weapons
- Deck Type: Ranked Deck
- Deck Archetype: Midrange Hunter
- Crafting Cost: 2440
- Dust Needed: Loading Collection
- Created: 7/30/2014 (Naxx Launch)
- Sparkaz
- Pro Player
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Ladder Decks:
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The Deck has been updated to Death Trap since the Starving Buzzard nerf and Beast Master since BRM !
Hello everyone I'm Spark, Legend player from Hearthstone, you probably know me for my Pyromaniac Secrets Control Hunter build and today I'm glad to present you another Hunter Deck.
I've always liked the synergy that this class has around beasts and I think the meta shift and the new cards from Naxx is bringing it back to life.
Why bring back Mid Range Hunter ?
You probably remember the time where Sunshine Hunter was dominant back when Unleash the Hounds had a 2 mana cost. At this time, I played it a lot and made an older guide which was kind of a basis for this new deck.
After the nerf, this build died almost instantly but I think that it's time to bring it back with a major tweak : switch back to the Eaglehorn Bow and Traps synergy which was really dominant in my Pyromancer build. This time, Snipe is swapped out because of all the Nerubian Egg and other painful Deathrattle minions (plus the fact that the Miracle Rogue era is kind of dying with Naxx), Explosive Trap is mandatory as a lot of people are playing Zoo with the new power Naxxramas gave to this deck and Freezing Trap is just an amazing tempo card that allows you to keep board control against other Mid Range and Control decks.
What Naxxramas is bringing to the deck ?
First of all, the deck now has the perfect turn 1 : Webspinner. This card will almost always die but you don't really care since it is just giving you a free card kind of like a cheap Loot Hoarder but the card doesn't even comes from the deck and it will always be a beast. There are a lot of useful beasts for the deck in the collectible cards going from Dire Wolf Alpha or Stonetusk Boar to Stranglethorn Tiger or King Krush and including the cards that the deck already use (having 3 Savannah Highmane during the same game can totally crush your opponent).
Drawing a less valuable beast is not really a concern since the card is free and it will still have the synergy with the deck : drawing with Starving Buzzard, powering up a Scavenging Hyena or giving a target to Houndmaster.
The fact that it costs 1 mana also allows you to use it on Starving Buzzard turn for one more draw, or to give you a cheap way to activate Kill Command or Houndmaster. If it stays on the board, it can make great use of Hunter's Mark and combo with Scavenging Hyena.
I think you get the idea, after testing it a lot, I just love this card (for a beast focused hunter off course).
The second new toy to work with is Haunted Creeper. The deck finally has a decent turn 2 to play apart from the vanilla River Crocolisk, it can be played on its own contrary to Dire Wolf Alpha or Scavenging Hyena which are more combo oriented.
Basically, this card ensure you to have something on the board and more importantly a way to kill hunter's marked target (since you work with a 1/2 or 2 1/1). The only sad thing about it is that the 1/1 spiders are not beasts but it would have been too strong because of the easy trigger on Starving Buzzard and Scavenging Hyena. The card itself is really valuable and annoying to deal with because it ensures you some form of board presence and the fact that it is a beast and a 2-drop makes it perfect for Mid Range Hunter.
The last card to notice is Maexxna, it is not that great on his own but the fact that it is a beast make it a great pick for this deck. It will generally force your opponent to deal with since it is a strong threat regarding board control and therefore lack answers for the Savannah Highmane play. It is an insane follow up to Tundra Rhino and is also really awesome when combined with Houndmaster even if they silenced it before because it will give a resilient taunt like Oasis Snapjaw can do.
Anyway, we'll need to see how people adapt to this card but at the moment it is just awesome at baiting out silences and hard removals, and if not dealt with it just kills everything on his way. I'm just a bit sad that it is not a 5-drop with a bit less toughness because the card can only find a spot in a beasts focused hunter decks righ now in my opinion.
Tweaks around the initial basis :
In comparison to the older Sunshine Hunter, I also found useful to cut some of the situationnal cards to play them as a one of and therefore improve the consistency of the deck.
- Timber Wolf is a really great tool when going for an Unleash the Hounds combo but having 2 of them can struggle in your hand. You can also consider Dire Wolf Alpha for its great synergy with Haunted Creeper but it has less flexibility with Unleash the Hounds plays and that's pretty much the purpose of this slot.
- Scavenging Hyena is an awesome Hunter card but the fact the it needs to be combo'd doesn't make it a great turn 2 play on its own. It also often baits silences or hard removal for your later threats when played properly. Having one in the deck is really perfect for the consistency of the deck so it doesn't rely too much on it working but can surprise the opponent when used at the right time.
- Ironbeak Owl can bypass taunts for the finishing blow or deal with painful effects by silencing the minions. Very useful overall and I may play 2 in the future as there are so many things to target with the release of Naxx.
- Tundra Rhino can set up very interesting plays when followed by Savannah Highmane or Maexxna the next turn if it survives. It also benefits greatly from Houndmaster thanks to its nice toughness and is good at killing weak minions when it comes into play. Its unique effect also allows you to get instant value out of Hyena from our beloved lion king and Webspinner combo'd with Hunter's Mark or the dream powered up Scavenging Hyena with charge. Its weaker stats and the fact that your opponent will often want to deal with it makes it perfect as a one of to fill the curve.
- Stampeding Kodo can be really useful at killing the lower minions for free and giving you a presence on the board. It will sometimes act like Tundra Rhino on turn 5 by killing a weak minion but this one won't hurt himself and has one more attack that will be valuable to trade the next few turns and off course it doesn't come with the unique effect of giving charge to your beasts. It is possibly the best target for Houndmaster once it is on play but its battlecry can be useless in some situations so playing one is the best way to ensure it doesn't struggle in your hand. Those 2 situationals cards give the deck some versatility on turn 5 or later.
Those cards and Maexxna remain situationals and the slots are really flexible depending on personal preferences or can simply evolve depending on the state of the metagame ;)
Update with Mad Scientist release :
- Inclusion of 2x Mad Scientist as the card brings good card advantage and tempo.
- Addition of 2x Flare to adapt to the current meta loaded with Hunter using traps.
- Loatheb comes in the deck to prevent board wipes or finishing combos.
- Leeroy Jenkins is used to close out games faster.
They replace the previous tech cards : Timber Wolf, Scavenging Hyena, Ironbeak Owl, Tundra Rhino, Stampeding Kodo and Maexxna
Last few tips :
- Don't hesitate to play Starving Buzzard followed by a couple of beasts in the late game if you have a lot of mana and no other plays, the card isn't restricted to its synergy with Unleash the Hounds since there are many beasts in the deck ;) I also sometimes see myself playing it in the mid game with only one or two beasts if I have both copies in hand and save the other for a potential combo. Off course it depends on the plays available to you, if you have an optimal play to take control of the board go for it ! Overall I would say that the deck is now less reliant on getting a Starving Buzzard into Unleash the Hounds combo thanks to the Webspinner value and the stickness power of Haunted Creeper so you shouldn't be afraid to play those cards independantly if it seems like the best play ;)
- I can't say how many times I finished the game with Kill Command or even double Kill Command. This card is just amazing at finishing games so be aware of how you use it in the late game. However, don't be too greedy if you're opponent plays a Chillwind Yeti on turn 4 and your only response is a beast into Kill Command just go for it, it's great at controlling the board too. The card is the equivalent of Mage's Fireball and its versatility really help the deck ;)
- Eaglehorn Bow is great at controlling the board and threatening the opponent's life, use it efficiently and don't waste its durability ! Remember that you have two copies in the deck so sometimes using both charges to kill their consecutive plays is the right thing to do, but using the last charge for the face without a reason and without the other bow in your hand is not a good idea.
On this topic, be sure to make the most value out of your traps, you'll need some practice to acquire the art of it, remember that they have a very strong utility. Explosive Trap is very good against Zoo and Freezing Trap just wrecks a Druid tempo for example.
Conclusion
I'm really happy to bring back a beast focused Hunter and play it on the ladder and I feel it's really great in the current meta as it has favorable match up against Zoo, Druid and Shaman (which are the classes I face the most currently). If you face too much Freeze Mage, including a Flare could be a good idea ;)
Here are my results with the deck from Rank 15 to Legend :
Total : 86-26 (112) 77%
Hunter Mid Range : 19-7 (26) 73%
Warrior Control : 11-3 (14) 79%
Zoolock : 9-3 (12) 75%
Priest : 9-2 (11) 82%
Shaman : 9-1 (10) 90%
Druid : 7-3 (10) 70%
Miracle Rogue : 5-2 (7) 71%
Hunter Aggro : 3-3 (6) 50%
Handlock : 4-1 (5) 80%
Paladin Control : 3-0 (3) 100%
Paladin Mid Range : 3-0 (3) 100%
Backspace Rogue : 2-1 (3) 67%
Secrets Mage : 1-0 (1) 100%
Giants Mage : 1-0 (1) 100%
That's it for the guide guys, I hope you'll enjoy the Deck as much as I do !
Don't forget to show your support by upvoting the Deck if you liked and don't hesitate to discuss about it or ask any question in the comment section below ;)Follow me for more content and updates !
- Twitter : SparkazHS
- Youtube : Spark Hearthstone
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Ahah sorry about that mate =P Anyway, Naxxafari Hunter already took the place to introduce this to the community, meanwhile I was working on this since a long time and was just waiting for those spiders =( But hey, we can't be first everytime ^^
On a side note, I'll be writing a full guide for Hearthstoneplayers.com so I hope it will help sharing it with the community (don't know if they will set it as free or premium guide, I'm not the one who decide)
I'm totally over age for the beers so no problem about that bro =D Looking forward to share a virtual one with one on the ladder =P
Another strong submission from you, Spark. Been looking to update from your previous Sunshine Hunter deck to reflect the beast synergy coming out of Naxx. And this looks to be the one. Thanks for being such a quality contributor.
Yeah I'm so happy that Naxx brang back the beasts to the table =D I really think that webspinner and haunted creeper are the big reason for that as it gives you early board presence and stickness power so you don't run out of steam ^^
Hey mate, thanks for the compliments =P Hunter is kind of my thing you know, always feels good to see people enjoying my way to go with this class ^^
Snapjaw has been replaced by Tundra Rhino actually.
Playing a second owl would probably be in place of a situational card : Stampeding Kodo if the meta shift makes it useless, Maexxna or Tundra Rhino are considerations too and the last one I'm thinking of is Scavenging hyena but keeping one seems really interesting for the deck. It will really depends on how the meta evolve but currently playing with one is fine and I really like my one of selection for now ^^
Hi Spark!
I have played the secret deck for a week now and somewhat its consistency varies on the ladder you're at. Tweaks left and right, depending on the opponent. But bottom line is, I gotta say, It is indeed an awesome deck IMO.
I have been playing this deck list for about an hour now and I would say its pretty neat. Webspinner is amazing. (Managed to fetch King Krush twice now.) So far, so good with this one. Thank you for the deck lists! Fan here :D
Thanks for the support bro =D Yeah as I always say, tweak it according to your playstyle and what you face and all should be fine ;)
Too bad I still can't buy the Plague Quarter on EU to test this deck. :-/ How does it perform at higher ranks? Like R3+ ?
I climbed from Rank 3 to 1 yesterday with it (facing mostly Zoos, Druids and Shamans), may go Legend with tonight if I have the time ^^
Thx for this deck. I'll give it a try (a bit tired of my face hunter). I have a question: why noone is using Beast instead of Maexna for example. Is is so bad realy?
The Beast is just an amazingly punishing card unfortunately, moreover its body is not that appealing to me : considering the drawback I would prefer if its toughness and attack were switched ^^
Mid Range is generally focused around Tempo plays and the beast is the opposite of that when the opponent kills it =/
thank you spark. i just registered on this site so that I wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed the secret deck. I have made a minor changes due to so many rush deck from rank 10 to rank 7. I enjoyed it very much. I am using this new animal deck. And I have so much fun too. Thank you. Quick question, I want to add flare and a leroy or rag to be finisher. Which card would you take it out? Let me know.
Thank you very much.
Really no need for finishers, Kill command does the job. If you really want Leeroy I would say either Oasis Snapjaw/Stampeding Kodo/Maexna
Flare can be considered for a webspinner if facing too much freeze mage ;)
ok will try. thank you very much. seriously.
You're welcome thanks for the awesome support bro ;)
As always, there is not one list to rule them all and you can pretty much work around my ideas to find tweaks adapted to your playstyle ;)
That's how i originially played the deck but definitely they are just amazing. Try it yourself and you'll see (don't get focused by the card you got but just by the fact that you had a free beast)
If you're not conviced you can still go with the boar but you'll lost on card advantage versus control heavy decks ^^
How do you deal with handlocks with this deck?
Pretty easy : Freezing Trap the Mountain Giants, Hunter's Mark Molten Giants when going for UTH and finish with Kill Command even if they still have taunt. All about agression and timing ;)
Yeah I really thought about it and tried a little bit but the problem was that 90% of the time the Rhino was dealt with and then I just lost tempo of the game because of that =/
But I may try it back depending on how the meta evolves because Stampeding seems to find less and less utility as times goes on ^^
Absolutely agree. I have had amazing plays with Tundra Rhino t5 followed by charged Savannah or Maexxna t6. I use it in place of Snapjaw, so much more value... If you do your board control right, the opponent may not be able to deal with Rhino by t5, and 1 turn alive is all you need of him!
(I even played a bit with The Beast to be used in that combo (following Rhino), but found it too clumsy overall. But it IS fun, definitely)
Hey guys, after drawing some Tundra Rhino out of my wepspinners and seeing that my opponent had a hard time dealing with those plays. I decided to give it a second chance and finally included it in the list (replacing Oasis Snapjax has it is a bit slower and less resilient but fits the curve pretty well and has similar stats, weaker but with a unique effect that can't be ignored)
Thanks for insisting ;) (I already played one in my older sunshine hunter, don't really know why I wanted to cut it)