Hearthpwn

10/1/14 - Decklist updated. Loatheb is just needed to stop those clutch AOE's and other spell oriented plays. Scavenging Hyena wasn't consistent enough without pre-nerf Buzzard card draw.

 

Added: 1x Loatheb

Removed: 1x Scavenging Hyena

 

9/26/14 -  Decklist updated. Changes result in less draw problems.

Alright. After playing with the deck a bunch as it was, I discovered that the Buzzard nerf does not let us be greedy anymore with some of our card choices. For example, Knife Juggler worked well in the past, but that was when we could draw unlimited cards with Buzzard, to the point of even frequently reaching fatigue combined with our Cult Master.

 

I want to have a quick discussion on "card draw."

What is the purpose?  It is to have cards in your hand (obviously) and (1) maximize your mana usage every turn. The more cards you have in hand, the more strategic you can be as you have options, thus (2) maximizing your card's value.

How do we draw cards? One card per turn, plus other sources. Those include spells and minions. For Hunter, we have our Starving Buzzard and Webspinner. Neutrals include Loot Hoarder, Acolyte of Pain (which some have been trying with Wild Pyromancer combos), Gnomish Inventor, Cult Master, Gadgetzan Auctioneer, and Azure Drake. Of the neutrals, I feel the best and natural choice for Hunter midrange is Cult Master. After the Buzzard nerf, I play tested the new Starving Buzzard, but found him too high on the curve with too low hp to make an impact. I was frequently running out of cards and losing before I could utilize him in closely contested games. So we are only left with our Cult Master. The only problem with Cult Master is that we NEED to have minions on the field ready to die before we play him. Otherwise, he WILL die before you get value from him. DO NOT play him on an empty board 95% of the time. If our minions need to be on the field each turn to be fed to Cult Master the next, this makes things like Haunted Creeper, Snake Trap, Sludge Belcher, and Savannah Highmane very important due to the minions they drop from deathrattle (*I still need to explore Harvest Golem). However, in a control heavy meta, we cannot always guarantee we will be left with anything on the board. How do we solve this? Not directly, but indirectly! Think back to why we wanted cards in the first place: to maximize our mana usage. Another way to solve this would therefore be to insert higher mana minions. And this is what I've done, and so far it is working GREAT. I've beaten the vast majority of control warriors and priests so far. Zoo has definitely grown tougher, but I'm around 50% with them. I bring you the most recent post Buzzard nerf changes:

ADDED: 1x Tundra Rhino, 1x Mad Scientist, 1x Freezing Trap

REMOVED: 1x Knife Juggler, 1x Scavenging Hyena, 1x Houndmaster

 

9/15/14 - Buzzard nerf announced for the 22nd. Now costs 5 mana for a 3/2 Buzzard. This deck doesn't receive its only draw from Buzzard anyways, so that's the good news. To roll with the punches, I took out 2x Starving Buzzard and added another Cult Master and Sludge Belcher. With the huge Hunter nerf and less people playing Hunter, guess what deck will be up and coming? Secret Mage decks, and other secret oriented plays. Having a 2nd Flare now is mandatory, as well as cycling through your deck faster for Cult Master, since the Buzzard is no longer useful for early/mid game draw. Since part of the benefit of Stonetusk Boar was working with the Buzzard, I chose to replace him with Flare.

 

ADDED: 1x Cult Master, 1x Flare, 1x Sludge Belcher

REMOVED: 2x Starving Buzzard, 1x Stonetusk Boar

 

8/31/14 - Decklist updated. Packs more punch now.

Deck was performing very strong early game, but tapered off mid-late. Added more early game potential and a few mid/late game improvements, notably Sludge Belcher. Savannah Highmanes are just too powerful to not have both in most matchups. Stonetusk Boar can function as a surprise trap removal if needed.

 

ADDED: 1x Stonetusk Boar, 1x Scavenging Hyena, 1x Sludge Belcher, 1x Savannah Highmane.

REMOVED: 1x Flare, 1x Acidic Swamp Ooze, 1x Freezing Trap, 1x Loatheb.

 

8/29/14 - Decklist Update

Deck was performing well, but inconsistently against Zoo, Reynad Hunter, and other rush. After update, very hard counter to secret Hunter and better versus Zoo. Acidic Swamp Ooze is functioning very well in current meta: Warrior, Hunter, Rogue. The changes made the deck feel smoother and more powerful. These changes guarantee you a stronger early game, which often leads to early victory mid game. My legendary ranking is skyrocketing from these changes and games are easier to win.

This deck is strong in most match-ups. Its primary weakness is against decks that hit face directly and play few minions (Miracle Rogue and Weapon/Charge Warrior). ALWAYS keep Haunted Creeper, Snake Trap, Webspinner, Knife Juggler, Starving Buzzard, Scavenging Hyena. Warlock and Hunter: keep Unleash the Hounds. Mage and Hunter: keep Flare. Warrior, Hunter, Paladin, Rogue: Keep Acidic Swamp Ooze. Against Miracle Rogue, keeping Savannah Highmane is an interesting option if you have low drops in hand, especially if you can coin it out (this can stop them from playing Auctioneer + Conceal turn 6). The only effective way they can deal with this is Sap. If they don't have two in hand you can win.

 

Control Warrior: I'd venture 70% win rate for me. During your Control Warrior matchups, expect to reach fatigue and have 10 cards in hand more often than not... and then execute the chump. I win many of these matchups with full hp, while the Warrior struggles for field control and draws cards the whole match. You should typically have something on the field nearly every round due to Snake Trap, Haunted Creeper, and Savannah Highmane. Don't worry about him stacking armor too much... you don't have too many crucial targets for his Shield Slam. He will run out of clears and cards eventually, and then you gut him like a fish. IF you do happen to drop below 12 hp and are at 8-10 mana, make sure you have a taunt down or Freezing Trap down.

 

Zoo (Warlock, Paladin, or Mage): You are favored to win, but you will need to pull a Unleash the Hounds. Also keep Snake Trap, Ironbeak Owl, Starving Buzzard, Haunted Creeper, pretty much anything with low mana. Since Hunter is already strong against Zoo, I decided to not include any Explosive Trap in my deck. If you find yourself struggling against massive numbers of Zoo, try removing Acidic Swamp Ooze and starting with one Explosive Trap.

 

Priest: This can be a tougher matchup, but very doable. If they start early Northshire Cleric and you have no way to remove it fast, you might be in trouble. For this reason, I mulligan for any low mana drops and Hunter's Mark, or Freezing Trap.

 

Rogue: This deck > Minion Rogue. Against Miracle Rogue, you will usually lose, unless you can flood field early and land Loatheb. Worst match-up for this deck. Around ranks 1, 2, and legend I noticed there were a lot more Miracle Rogues. Hunter actually has the PERFECT cards to beat Miracle Rogue, but you will have to modify your decklist. I recommend removing 1x Hunter's Mark, and 1x Dire Wolf Alpha. INSERT 1x or 2x Snipe, 1x or 2x Deadly Shot. The goal here is to still be strong versus other matchups, but particularly strong versus the POS Miracle Rogue deck. Am I salty? Yes...

(1) Snake Trap + Starving Buzzard. Well that's an obvious one. Usually the opponent will know what you are doing. However, in some match-ups, they will be unlikely to stop it. Psychological trick to make this more potent: when you play your buzzard, make sure you play at least ONE beast to proc its effects one time, and that your opponent has a minion on the field able to kill the Starving Buzzard. More often then not, the opponent will attack into the buzzard, assuming you do not have snake trap down.

 

(2) Snake Trap + Knife Juggler. So many knives! I've killed scores of 4-5 mana drops like this, and then had permanent field control.

 

(3) Snake Trap activated + turn 4 Cult Master: Draw 3 cards early? Thank you! And GG more than likely. The card draw you can get from Cult Master is insane, to the point where your Unleash the Hounds can often be used offensively instead of card draw.

 

(4) Snake Trap activated + turn 4 Houndmaster: what a nice early 3/3 taunt!

 

(5) Snake Trap activated + Timber Wolf or Dire Wolf Alpha. Nice way to boost damage for clear.

 

(6) Haunted Creeper played first turn with coin, turn 2 Knife Juggler. Slam that Haunted Creeper into anything with 2 attack damage and chuck a few knives. Gain field control!

 

(7) Haunted Creeper destroyed + Cult Master: More cards! Sacrifice those non beast spiders for more draw.

 

(8) Haunted Creeper destroyed + Dire Wolf Alpha: Those 1/1 bodies might not be beasts, but dropping the Dire Wolf Alpha between the pair sure makes an unpleasant surprise for your poor opponent.

 

(9) Hunter's Mark + Haunted Creeper / Snake Trap activated: What a satisfying way to kill those pesky Druid 4/6 Taunts! Even more satisfying when done on Ragnaros...

 

(10) Tundra Rhino + Savannah Highmane: There are different ways to play this one. More likely than not, your Rhino will be sniped turn 5 if you play him. This might be okay with you if you want to call out your opponents removal to protect your 6 drop Highmane. However, I've found a more feasible combo is to play your Highmane first. If he is not silenced or killed, combo the Rhino next turn with the 2/2's your Highmane will drop. Play this combo smartly. Sometimes it's better to hold the Rhino, and sometimes it's worth the charge right away.

 

(11) Scavenging Hyena. Combos with many things in this deck. If you have your Tundra Rhino out (depending on which version of this deck you are playing) and it SURVIVES, and you play call of the hounds next turn with your Hyena out... God bless your opponent's corpse. Before it gets eaten by the Hyena. The most reliable way to play the Hyena I've found is to play turn 1 Webspinner, turn 2 Scavenging Hyena. Sacrifice Webspinner. Say Yes! to turn two 4/3 drops.

 

(12) Savannah Highmane on the field + Starving Buzzard: Destroy your Savannah Highmane and spawn two beasts = 2 card draw.

 

(13) Savannah Highmane on the field + Knife Juggler. Laugh while your spawned Hyenas throw knives.

 

(14) And the notorious Leeroy Jenkins + Unleash the Hounds combo. This has won me several games by itself. If you decided to include Leeroy Jenkins in your deck, look-out for this combo. Gets even better if you are at 10 mana and have a Starving Buzzard and Timber Wolf in hand.

Cult Master: I played mid-range hunter for the longest time. While I'm still in love with those original Hunter decks, I discovered a major Hunter weakness: reliable card draw. Now, with the release of the Naxx Webspinner, a lot of this was alleviated. However, it is still a problem from time to time and you can lose games because of it. Cult Master, if played well, will solve your card draw problems for good. In fact, my original deck design had two of them, but I decided that was a little too much (I was reaching fatigue almost every match and then winning, lol). Sometimes I'd end up with two in hand and no beasts to play. I think two is a possibility in this deck, but what will you remove? I'm not sure. Probably the Scavenging Hyena or a Kill Command. Possibly a Savannah Highmane.

 

Flare: Two flares or one? That is the question (UPDATE: Too many secret Hunters, and now Paladins and Mages. Run 2x Flare). For a while when Reynad's Hunter was 80% of the ladder, two were necessary. Now that Control Warrior and has risen in response (ty Reynad...), as well as Priests and some control Paladin, flare isn't quite as good. However, Flare can win you the game against Miracle Rogue as well as Reynad Hunters straight up. Two just seems a lot, but not a bad choice by any means.

 

Ironbeak Owl: Having at least one silence in your deck is a good idea. It ALWAYS will get a good use. Sometimes it wins the game straight up (silence dat taunt!!). Additionally, it's a cheap beast. Having two in your deck is not a bad idea. If you find yourself facing a lot of Warlock zoo, running two is recommended. The silence on Nerubian Eggs and Void Terrors can save you the game. Also turnsAncient of War from a 5/10 into a 5/5. Works great versus Priest. The more I talk about this card, the more I want to include a second in my deck. The problem is that it doesn't really add to your offensive power much, aside from the ability to go through taunts.

 

Scavenging Hyena: This card is one I struggled with. When it wasn't in the deck, I discovered I had a weak 2-3 mana minion spot. Having or not having one drop like this will greatly influence who rules the opening phase of your game. I messed around with River Crocolisk for a while... a sturdy opening card, for sure, but it falls off late game (can you tell I'm a master Zerg yet? Those hounds resemble speedlings sometimes...). The Hyena solves both of these problems, as it becomes a serious threat late game, and early game needs to be dealt with right away. The best use (IMO) and most common way I use the Hyena is turn 2 after I played Webspinner turn one. A two drop with 4/3 stats is a powerful way to start the game.

 

Kill Command: Two might be unnecessary. Having both definitely gives you a lot of finishing power, and amazing one turn kill combos. They are also useful as clear. If you decide to take one out, you could put in another Flare, or even another Tundra Rhino for fun!

 

Knife Juggler: Update: For stronger early game control, included 1x in deck. And OMG the knives go flying with these deck combos! There are several cards he works well with, including Snake Trap and Haunted Creeper (and the dream: Knife Juggler + Leeroy Jenkins + Unleash the Hounds = House of Flying Daggers). Problem is, he just isn't a beast. Enjoy the carnage. =)

 

Savannah Highmane: This is arguably one of the strongest 6 drops in the game. The highest mana drop in my decklist, it is a force to be reckoned with. The two 2/2's are no laughing manner either (oh snap... they're hyenas...;). Having two in the deck gives your deck more mid-late game power, but can screw you over early if you are unfortunate enough to have two in the same hand against a Zoo deck, for example. If you choose to run only one, your win percentage WILL drop against Priest and Warrior decks, or anything else with sustain. Conversely, you'll win more if you are facing mostly rush decks.

 

Tundra Rhino: An undervalued card, really. Since I chose to run two Savannah Highmane, this card becomes more potent (UPDATE: Running one seems to be doing a lot better in the current meta. This is the primary reason I took Tundra Rhino out). Also, as a stand alone creature, it's a decent, beefy charge that will likely trade 1-for-2. It will guarantee to bring the removal from your opponents hand if played on an empty field. If they happen to have no removal... =) =) =). Be wary of playing this card against priests once they hit 6 mana. It sucks to have this guy get stolen by the pesky Cabal Shadow Priest.

 

Loatheb: Such a solid card. And he gives you shrooms. You can play it to stall Miracle Rogue, or that Druid Force of Nature Wombo Combo. Or to even protect against an Unleash the Hounds or Blizzard. Or... yeah... it's a good card. If you rather stick more to the beast theme, go with another 5 drop Tundra Rhino.

 

Leeroy Jenkins: Personally, I hate this card because of Miracle Rogue. I use it because it is indisputably the BEST charge card ever. And it combos with your Unleash the Hounds. A little too good to not pass up. Good finishing power, and gives you a 2nd charge in your deck.