theoddone23's (71% WR) In-Depth Hybrid Hunter
- Last updated May 13, 2017 (Un'Goro Launch)
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Wild
- 22 Minions
- 6 Spells
- 2 Weapons
- Deck Type: Ranked Deck
- Deck Archetype: Midrange Hunter
- Crafting Cost: 2160
- Dust Needed: Loading Collection
- Created: 5/4/2017 (Un'Goro Launch)
- VeePlaysHS
- Registered User
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- 8
- 37
- 38
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Battle Tag:
N/A
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Region:
EU
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Total Deck Rating
720
Intro
Hello! My name is Ivona; I go by theoddone23. I am a multiple Legend Hearthstone player. I started playing Hearthstone in September 2015, and I first hit Legend in September 2016. Since then I have been entering Legend rank consistently, finishing in the top 1000 and reaching top 100 or top 200 throughout the month. My highest reached rank so far is #97, and I did it with Mid-Range Shaman. I am also a Hearthstone streamer; I stream multiple times per week with my colleague Zeronnix. You can find our stream on this link: https://www.twitch.tv/hswithtandz if you want to learn more about us and see what decks we play. Also, I invite you to like our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/HSwithTandZ where you can stay in touch with us and know all about when we will stream and what decks we will play.
Also, this is our YouTube channel, where you can see all our previous broadcasts: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPwKrNaz6ZP_ro-8d5JezbQ
Now, about this deck! This is my newest version of Midrange - Hybrid Hunter that I found really suitable for this meta. I have tested lots of tech choices like Flare, Golakka Crawler etc, but I found this "simple" version to be the most consistent. Hunter is the strongest the way it is - you play your game and make your opponent adapt to it; not the other way around. It is not made to counter anything since then it is weak to other classes. Just play this version that has decent winrate against all the other classes and you'll be fine :)
This is the newest stream highlight with this deck:
This is the whole stream video where I'm playing this deck in the first half of the stream:
Also, I played this version of the deck on stream and you can see it here:
Here, you can see the YouTube review that Khristophesaurus made for this deck (thanks a lot!!:) :
Here is an amazing video of this deck that Furo made (thanks!!):
Here is an awesome YouTube review that Ultimatevictor made about this deck (thanks!!):
General playstyle? Play your early game and CURVE OUT into your late game minions (like Savannah Highmane). People underestimate the importance of curving out in a Hunter and this deck is made to do that! Hard mulligan for your 1-drops and try to predict early game turns in order to achieve maximum synergy. I will talk about it when I go over general mulligan anyway!
Also, if you like the deck, please upvote so more people can see it!
You can also check out my other decks from the past expansion (now they are WILD decks!):
http://www.hearthpwn.com/decks/708529-theoddone23s-legend-61-wr-in-depth-reno-priest
http://www.hearthpwn.com/decks/720226-theoddone23s-legend-67-wr-in-depth-wind-fire
Also, my Hydra Pirate Warrior (NEW!): http://www.hearthpwn.com/decks/817032-theoddone23s-legend-70-wr-in-depth-hydra-pirate
And my Elemental Shaman (NEW!): http://www.hearthpwn.com/decks/811154-theoddone23s-in-depth-elemental
WINRATE UPDATE: http://prntscr.com/f4hkj3
NEW SESSION (06.05.2017. on a different PC so the winrate resets from the previous one):
General Mulligan and playstyle
Always a keep:
Alleycat - Arguably the best 1-drop a Hunter can have; its mini-Patches! If you have a choice between this and Jeweled Maccaw, always play the Alleycat first - it gives you more board presence. The only time you actually keep Alleycat (and have another 1-drop as well) is if you have Knife Juggler to pair it with on turn 3. But it is pretty much a must to play it on turn 1, regardless of whether you have the coin.
Jeweled Macaw - An amazing 1-drop that lets you predict your future turns by giving you another beast to play, and also helping you curve out in late game when you need something extra to play. It is second best 1-drop and is very desirable in early game and not as bad later either.
If you have a 1-drop, I suggest keeping:
Crackling Razormaw - An amazing tempo card that should almost always be played with battlecry. One of its best uses (on 1-drops) are:
- +3 Health on your 1-drop (Alleycat, Maccaw or coined-out Kindly Grandmother or Direwolf Alpha, Scavenging Hyena etc.)
- +3 Attack on your 1-drops etc. to allow trading into the opponent's minions that have more health
- Poisonous, to allow trading into power early drops from your opponent that you wouldn't usually remove
- Deathrattle: Summon two 1/1 plants, for a sticky board and more board presence
- Divine Shield, for a good trade
- +1/+1 for a good trade
You don't really need Stealth, Windfury, not being targeted or Taunt early on, but sometimes it can be useful.
Dire Wolf Alpha - not a very good keep unless you have a 1-drop, but can be amazing if you have Alleycat on turn 1! Also it is very good with Unleash the Hounds and Rat Pack deathrattle.
Kindly Grandmother - the least situational out of all the 2-drops you would want to keep. It is very good and amazing when adapted. I almost always recommend a keep!
Scavenging Hyena - kind of situational since it can be really strong and game winning if used properly. I suggest keeping it if you have a 1-drop that you suspect you will trade early with - like Alleycat and Macaw. If you can, keep it for Unleash the Hounds turn!
Knife Juggler - I don't really recommend keeping it unless you have a good reason (or a bad hand) since it is amazing with Unleash the Hounds! But you can play it as tempo and in synergy with Alleycat, Kindly Grandmother deathrattle etc. Use it wisely, but play it if you need to!
3-drops..
I don't really recommend keeping them since you already have a lot of early drops you want MORE! Unless you have a crazy hand, or at least something to play early on, you don't hold on to this - they will come eventually. But these I will mention and let you know when it is good to keep them!
Animal Companion - Probably one of the best 3-drops a Hunter can have. It is good to keep it when you already have something early on. Try to at least somewhat predict the outcome of the companion you get when you play it if you already have a board and try to decide whether or not it is worth playing it (for example, what if you get Huffer and your opponent has a minion on a board you don't want to trade into, and it contests your Huffer - do you trade or not). It can be really good with Unleash the Hounds if you happen to get Leokk! :)
Eaglehorn Bow - since the deck doesn't run secrets, you only use it for board control (don't go face in early game since those are your only charges and you need it to contest minions). You keep it when you suspect you are playing vs a class that needs to be controlled early (aggro decks etc).
Kill Command - usually not a keep. Use it for board control and possible lethal setup.
Rat Pack - not a keep, but has amazing synergy with adapt and Houndmaster. Make sure you don't fill your board when it pops to get all the rats :) Very strong 3-drop!
Unleash the Hounds - not a keep, not even versus aggro - you want early board control. But two copies really come in handy versus aggro decks, especially if you have Direwolf Alpha, Leokk or Juggler on board, which happens a lot :)
!!! Vicious Fledgling - MVP of this deck! Try to go face with it almost at all costs because it is usually game winning. Always try to go for Windfury because you will get to attack and adapt AGAIN! You always go for adapt that your opponent can't counter - not being a target of spells if your opponent is a caster is great, Stealth is even better. Health can be really good, attack into 4-attack minion versus Priest is also really beneficial... you get the point. Go face with it as much as you can and HIDE IT from your opponent as much as you can, and you probably win the game!!!
Other MVP's
Houndmaster - amazing with almost every card in the deck, especially with Rat Pack. It gives immense value and tempo!
Savannah Highmane - Hunter's only and the best Legendary minion. :D Extremely vicious and difficult to handle, this minion is sometimes auto win. It has amazing deathrattle effect and should almost always be played on turn 6!!
Matchups versus certain classes... What to do.. What do do...
- Paladin (Murloc): Sometimes the deck struggles versus the aggressive version of the deck. Use your early game to control the murlocs as much as possible. If you stabilize after turn 3, Warleader and such, you have a chance for a few powerful turns until the Paladin legendaries hit the board :) try to kill all the murlocs by making valuable trades and don't go into Consecrate by making the board sticky and making his trades awkward. Beware of Tarim if he has a board, also don't leave up ANY minions on turn 6 if you don't need to because of the Spikeridged seed.
- In case you struggle: Deadly Shot, Hungry Crab
- Warrior (Quest): Sometimes it is difficult, since Hunter is not as strong versus this deck as it used to be. But if you manage to curve out properly and create early pressure that you answer the taunts with, you'll be fine. Savannah Highmane is usually your best friend.
- If you struggle: Deadly Shot, Hunter's Mark
- Warrior (Pirate): Not as bad of a matchup as it used to be. If you establish a board quickly and contest his board while taunting, you should be fine. Try to put board control on the priority list and start going face when they run out of juice.
- If you struggle: Golakka Crawler, Nesting Roc
- Warlock (Zoo): Not as common on ladder, but now you have a really strong early game and should not struggle versus the Zoolock. Just trade into his minions and press that Hero Power to stop the tapping! :)
- Shaman (Elemental): Not as common in ladder at the moment; you have a pretty good matchup. Keep applying the pressure and beware of the big AoE, especially Volcano :)
- Rogue (Quest): As usual, if they finish the quest super early, they can win. But you have the advantage of early pressure and by that you can stop them from quest progress. They don't run Sap and Vilespine Slayer so your Savannah Highmane can live happily ever after. Just stay at high health (which you will since they don't attack with small quest minions a lot) and deal enough damage to be able to smorc if they finish the quest at some point.
- If you struggle: Hunter's Mark, Deadly Shot (both to reduce the damage from 5-attack minions when it's kind of too late to trade efficiently)
- Priest (all kinds): They used to be good in this matchup but now they are just too slow. You shouldn't have problems. Just make sure you clear the board if you play vs Purify priest since your trouble can escalate fast if you ignore the minions, with all the buff mechanics!
- If you struggle: Hunter's Mark, Deadly Shot
- Mage (Freeze, Quest, Aggro, Control): Not a difficult one if you know how to do it. Don't overflood the board (Doomsayer), press that Hero Power OFTEN, make the board sticky and awkward and try to rush down. DO NOT pop the Ice Barrier if you think you won't have enough board damage to remove the armor in time and he's only on few HP! Once you pop the Ice Block on 2 or 1 HP, you basically don't need the board anymore - just rely on Hero Power. Basically try to finish the game as fast as you can. Vicious Fledgling is usually your best friend :)
- If you struggle: Hunter's Mark, Deadly Shot for Doomsayer, Alex
- Druid (Aggro): Trade the board as much as you can, use Unleash the Hounds wisely and you should be okay - your deck is still faster. They have no answer to big threats like Savannah Highmane etc.
- If you struggle: Explosive Trap
The last few tips and explanations...
- Why no tech choices? - as I said in the intro, the deck is strong enough to carry you through every game without having to tech. If you feel the need, all the tech choices are listed in the previous section! :)
- Do you insta concede to any deck? - no.
- Do you win just by playing minions on curve and going face? - no. It requires thinking and planning and that is what this guide is made to do!
That's it from me - for now at least! Please upvote if you like the deck, and also make sure you visit our stream and say hi :) https://www.twitch.tv/hswithtandz
I know that a lot of people have trouble playing Vicious Fledgling. Sometimes you just need to play a 3 drop on curve, but other times your hand can allow you to be creative with the way you play it. Just because you CAN play it does not mean you SHOULD play it all the time.
For example, if you're playing against a Paladin and turn 4 is coming up, you often times don't just want to drop it without protection: chances are they will have a weapon in hand, and you'll instantly lose it. If you have an Animal Companion, you'd want to drop that instead. Along those same lines, if you've gone second against Paladin, and you can turn 2 coin out the Fledgling, that's a great play. There is no way they could have the 4 mana to play their most common weapon, so you can hopefully get a turn to attack face.
Another thing to consider is when you have Crackling in your hand as well. This lets you play both when you have 5 mana, and immediately adapt the Fledgling to give it bigger stats, stealth, divine shield, or more health. This deck has a low curve, so you'll often have the resources in hand during the first few turns of the game to find alternative plays to simply dropping a naked Fledgling on turn 3, which is certainly not always a good play.
I love your comment; I couldn't have put it better. Thank you for making this guide even better and posting relevant information!! :D
You might just add a "budget deck" or something similar to your title, because mid hunter is one of the cheapest (while also competitive) decks to play right now. Your list e.g. only has 2 epics and 0 legendaries in it, a great start for every newcomer! Right now Hunter is slightly below top tier, but nonetheless a very solid & straightforward choice, so I guess every newbie should find some kind of success with it! :)
Personally I like to have at least one Tundra Rhino in the deck, that why one Fledgling needed to go for it.
My take on the deck: VOD Midrange Beast Hunter
Youtube-Player:
Hey :) Thanks for your feedback and a great video! I didn't add budget simply because of those two epics, but it is definitely a good idea! I'll make sure I post your video so everyone can see it :)
So far only matched against quest warriors and jade elemental shamans. They both wreck this build.. big time.
I haven't seen too many of those on ladder (I'm pretty sure not one Elemental Shaman :D). Those matchups are challenging, but Hunter as a class mostly has at least 45-55% versus all the classes. I can't help with matchmaking, I guess I can wish you luck in queue-ing :D and offer any help I can regarding the deck if you have questions! :)
I'm having the same issue - to be fair though, Quest Warrior matches up very well against a LOT of decks. That said, if you have a strong start, it's not unbeatable or anything.
My only truly brutal matchup is against Elemental Shaman. It absolutely owns pretty much every version of Hunter right now, in my opinion. Their multiple cheap AOEs tend to clear your board, and as soon as you ignore their totems or1/1's to go face, Flametongue Totem creates brutally unfavorable trades against you. I lose this matchup 90% of the time.
That said, this deck is quite fun as-is, and effective in almost all matchups. I played Murloc Paladin and finished at Rank 2 last month, and was looking for something fun to play this month - I like this more than the homebrew variant I had come up with myself, where I had 2x Rhino. This deck oddly functions just fine without them, and the 2x Vicious are MVPs - if they can attack twice, you almost always just win the game as a result. The card is that strong!
Hey :) thanks for a wonderful feedback! Like you said, Quest Warrior is just a good deck to play if you know how to operate it and has a lot of good matchups, but Hunter is able to beat it still, especially with the Highmane beauty. :D
Elemental Shaman is a tough one, and I know because I was always happy to play versus a Hunter when I played Elly Shaman last season :) but I try to create content for a lot of people who play different things :) also Hunter is one of my favorite classes still!
I am really glad someone gets the idea behind the deck :) trying to keep it simple, and just not thinking too much about techs - I was messing with Flare, Golakka, Hungry Crab etc. for a while and I realize I hate having cards that are useless in any other matchup :D Vicious is so underrated but I'm trying to bring it back into the game:p
Hey :) Thanks for the feedback! I really hope you know I don't expect anyone to enjoy the deck I create. It is a matter of opinion; we are all different players and enjoy different decks. However, I do have to point out a few things. :)
When you write opinions about the cards, it is simply a lot better (if you want to be taken seriously) to start with giving your opinion about the card, for example "I think this card is ... " rather than "this card is ... ". Since you have stated that some of the core Hunter cards are bad - I understand what you wanted to say, but for a lot of Hunter players it won't be exactly relevant since you use a lot of words like "disaster, super bad, ultra bad" and such. And I'm not talking about my decklist at all, just giving you advice on how to judge in a less biased way.
For me, Jeweled Macaw has done wonders. I have heard a lot of people complaining about the RNG of it, but as you said, if you don't want that, you play something else. For me, it won a lot of games and I'm happy with it. It has an instant effect and you don't have to wait for that Hatchling that might or might not appear - plus, adding one more card to a Hunter deck slightly breaks its consistency and lowers your chance of getting what you really need in the future turns.
Scavenging Hyena is not a beast that should be played on curve. It is a tool that you use in synergy with trading so you get it out of reach of dying. I rarely play it on curve because then, yes, it dies. But it can win you a lot of games if you use it properly (by adding more health and damage to it, you lower the chance of your opponent having an answer). Tundra Rhino combo is quite expensive (7 mana + the cost of other beasts you have on board to trade with).
I already explained why I didn't add Golakka - the matchup versus Pirates is already really good because of its token nature, and it would disrupt the consistency of the deck. For me, there are far too many Priests and Paladins (with no pirates) that make Golakka pretty useless. Same thing about Tar Creeper - you don't need improving versus Pirate Warrior. This is a semi aggressive deck that deals quite well with it (you're welcome to check the stats, comments of other people, my previous vods and vods of all the people who played the deck on stream). I feel pretty confident playing versus Pirates, if you don't think you have a good matchup I suggest switching to a deck you feel more comfortable with. And, as with any other card, having two card "in hand is just useless" - I don't think there are many cards you enjoy having two copies of? :) Eaglehorn Bow is essential for a Pirate Warrior matchup because otherwise you will get stomped over.
You say that Rat Pack "can be silenced" by priest. Yes, it can. Also, they can silence your Kindly Grandmother, Savannah Highmane, adapted minions, Hyena... anything. If you want to play around board clears and removals by not playing a card because a certain class has a removal in the deck, I suggest playing control decks because I feel like you get stressed a lot my people reacting to your deck - maybe you would feel more comfortable being in the opposite role. For me, Rat Pack has been great and I will definitely play it.
And in conclusion, my hand is mostly as good as I mulligan it. If you have questions regarding the mulligan, I advise you to check the first video posted on this guide. You can see that I mulligan away pretty much everything because I had mulligan for a 1-drop. I don't keep 3 costs and most of the 2-costs. And I don't consider myself lucky, I just know what I need to have in hand.
Also, you have the right to question anyone's winrate if they keep it secret. But I don't. I update regularly with all my stats (it is posted in guide at the moment) and if I don't have stats available, I don't post it. I am an active member of this community who actually cares about the validity of the information I provide, because I have a lot of regulars who know that if I post my winrate - that's my winrate. So, yes, you have the right to question everything as you should, but I encourage you to do your homework before you state something like this (and the homework includes previous deck lists by me and whether the stats match the deck titles).
And your comment about Bitterhide + Tundra / Razormaw - yes, it owuld be dream-like to have that sort of combo, but in real games, that just doesn't happen too often. So I decided not to break the consistency of it.
Again thank you for the feedback.You have the right to your opinion :) but the deck, the way it is, has done wonders for me and people are in general super happy with it. If it was a complete disaster, I assume I would get such feedback and learn how to live with it :) my advice, after reading your post, would be to play more control-like classes. You seem to have a mind of someone who plays around stuff a lot, and I'm guessing that's where you will find your perfect deck. :)
Thanks for the reply! :) I also enjoy quality discussion and I can say that your comments are quite reasonable and will definitely inspire people to think about all the possibilities. I tested Cult Master but honestly I would mostly have so much value on Unleash (maybe I wait for too long) that I would overdraw by trading :/ so it's just not for me I guess. :D I'm glad that we could agree to disagree on certain points and I'm really looking forward to hearing your opinion on different decks in future! :)
I kind of agree, it's a bit too risky to run it since there is no option for armor up or heal :D
ahem, theoddone23 is not a dude :P
Hahah I gave up on explaining that I'm a girl a long time ago I think :D :)
But thanks :)))
also, tried out the deck, was in the low ranks, but climbed from 15 to 9 without a hitch, won against mostly everything in the meta - even Quest Warrior (who mulliganed away the quest)...beat Quest Rogue (too fast for him), Aggro Druid with and without Murloc package (too fast), Exodia and Burn Mage, Murlocadin, Midrange Hunter and even a Zoolock...don't know the exact win ratio, but it was a very fast climb from those ranks...might go for rank 5 with this before switching to a more controlish style (I usually prefer)...nice job Ivona, greetings to your colleague too :3
Thank you for an amazing feedback :D I'm so glad the deck is working nicely for you!:) I'll make sure I say hi to Zeronnix :D
Neat deck! But I don't have Rat Pack nor the dust to craft one... any suggestion for replacement? Thanks :)
Hey :) I suggest playing Infested wolf instead! :)
Thanks! :D
Hey :) I like your replacements - if it works for you, go for it of course :D Gratz!:)