Hearthpwn

Mulligans (Aim for these)

• Alleycat (ONLY if you're going first AND have Crackling Razormaw)
• Bloodsail Corsair (ONLY if you're going 1st AND have Golakka Crawler
• Crackling Razormaw
• Trogg Beastrager

Mulligans (If you have it, keep it, but only 1)

• Bearshark
• Eaglehorn Bow
• Animal Companion

Strategy

Priests are heavily draw and value dependent, so the strategy here is to mitigate these strengths where we can. We NEED to have value going into turn 2 to justify Alleycat and Bloodsail Corsair drops on turn 1. I will mulligan out these cards if I'm going second. Reason being, they are too weak by themselves while going second against Northshire Cleric, Radiant Elemental, Potion of Madness, and Spirit Lash. Going second it is not uncommon to coin out Trogg Beastrager or even a naked Crackling Razormaw on turn 1.

The trick here is to ensure that you have board going into turn 3. This is the turn where we want to be dropping either Bearshark or rolling with Animal Companion. If you need to equip Eaglehorn Bow this turn, that's still okay (but only use it so swing on upcoming minions as we have made no development this turn).

Turns 4+ we want to be ramping our minions with either Houndmaster, Crackling Razormaw, or even your other Animal Companion (as this has a 66% chance to roll for more damage). Bittertide Hydra is also amazing on curve, its also significantly more powerful when followed by Savannah Highmane (Adapting either of these minions with anti-spell is soul crushing post Dragonfire Potion) 

*Kindly Grandmother I feel this card deserves its own tidbit. It is extremely weak to Potion of Madness. It not only takes a minion away from us but it also gives them a 3/2 which can be utilized to clear out our own development. We also don't want this in our hand with Trogg Beastrager as it obtains almost no value in this match up. What we want to do with this card is play it going INTO your opponents turn 5 or 6, to prevent a Nova or Fire Pot from obtaining max value.

*Deathstalker Rexxar I actually do not keep this card in my hand against priest. It is likely by the time you need it, you will have drawn into it. It also takes away from the value and development of the board we are trying to build early in the game. In the event that you must play this card, remember not to bank too high on high attack minions if your opponent hasn't used Shadowreaper Anduin.

Mulligans (Aim for these)

• Alleycat (ONLY if you're going first)
• Bloodsail Corsair
• Crackling Razormaw
• Trogg Beastrager
• Golakka Crawler
• Eaglehorn Bow [ONLY if you're going first AND have perfect curve (If going 2nd keep it)]

Strategy

Unfortunately, this match up comes down to draw a lot of the time. If your opponent is able to drop Prince Keleseth early AND Shadowstep him turns 1/2, it will be a very difficult battle. But, don't count yourself out quite yet, as this rogue deck severely lacks card draw, so a lot of their answers will have to be drawn into.

For the early game we want to be able to drop out an Alleycat or Bloodsail Corsair on turn 1, going first. We want to be on the board as soon as possible and bait out undervalued Backstabs. We also want to get the opponent to drop a pirate as soon as possible. This will pull Patches the Pirate and create another target for our Golakka Crawler. Many times your opponent will activate with Southsea Deckhand early. When this happens it greatly reduces the reach of their deck late game.

When playing Golakka Crawler remember to play around backstabs. We DON'T want this to remain at full health. Bringing this minion down to a damaged 3 health, prevents a backstab from occuring. This means your opponent needs to ping for 2 somehow AND make a trade/take it to face.

Crackling Razormaw is also a highly valued card for this match up. Almost any buff is fantastic, even on Alleycat. Buffing damage baits removal, poison can take a weapon durability, deathrattle helps maintain board, health or +1/+1 can usher a Stab or Deckhand. All great options for baiting out the value of our opponents deck.

The main strategy for this match is going to revolve around keeping your opponent off the board. This is why we keep Eaglehorn Bow in this match up, as we will be using it as a source of removal rather than extra face damage. Minions should only be traded to protect against backstabs, or as a last resort to maintain the board. 

Turns 6 and 7 are crucial points against rogues. going into turn 6, try to ensure that you have at least 2 high value targets on the field to help against the loss of momentum that comes with Vilespine Slayer. We also want to ensure that going into turn 7, our opponent has no minions to buff with Bonemare. Being mindful of these, don't be afraid to push face damage going into these turns if you're able to secure a high amount of damage. This rogue deck has no source of healing. So if you have a Tracking or Kill Command take the opportunity to bring your opponent as low as possible and close the game out with your hero power.

Mulligans

• Alleycat
• Bloodsail Corsair (ONLY if going second AND have Golakka Crawler)
• Crackling Razormaw
• Trogg Beastrager
• Golakka Crawler
• Eaglehorn Bow (VERY important in this match up)

Strategy

This match up is extremely draw dependent. It is very difficult to outpace an opponent that ends up having a better curve than you, and can easily be decided within the first 3 turns of the game. Because Hunters achieve their power on the board, we want to keep Eaglehorn Bow and use this to trade with minions on turns 2 (when going 2nd) and turns 3/4. If you're opponent is ahead, this card and Unleash the Hounds are our only true board flips to help us develop our own board, while clearing out theirs. 

The reason we want to keep Bloodsail Corsair with Golakka Crawler going 2nd is that it provides another way to flip board (Which we don't have much of). On turn 2, being able to coin, ping for 1 and provide a higher health minion on the board can work wonders if your opponent lacks his own Eaglehorn Bow

This match up is fairly straight forward other than that. Going 1st is a huge advantage here. Just be mindful of Unleash the Hounds, and not to play excessive minions that aren't needed on the board.

Mulligans

• Alleycat
• Bloodsail Corsair (ONLY if you have Golakka Crawler)
• Kindly Grandmother (ONLY if going 2nd)
• Crackling Razormaw
• Trogg Beastrager
• Bearshark
• Eaglehorn Bow (ONLY if going 2nd, for board flipping)

Strategy

There are 2 easy ways to lose in this match up. The first is simply being out ramped, while not having enough force to close the game before they start dropping taunts and Ultimate Infestation. The second way is if your opponent has perfect jade curve.

Ideally in this match up we want to be able to drop a Bearshark and use whatever means we can to buff him with Crackling Razormaw and Houndmaster. Using Stitched Tracker on turn 5 is great to discover Crackling Razormaw/Trogg Beastrager, or Bittertide Hydra/Savannah Highmane to maintain buffs and curve. 

Because druids typically have a hard time removing things from the board, they will often use Wrath as a 3 ping rather than card draw, which ends up being a major plus, forcing them to further top deck their answers. Be weary going into turns 5/6 due to Spreading Plague. I'll try to trade off any Alleycats or pirates I may have on the board to deter value from their upcoming taunt wall. 

In this match up it's typically okay to use Kill Command as a source of removal rather than face damage (unless it's obvious you can close the game with it). Don't forget Unleash the Hounds into Crackling Razormaw for +3 attack or poisonous when necessary. Or Unleash the Hounds and rolling for Leokk with Animal Companion if the going gets tough.