Dragon Hunter - Rank 2
- Last updated Mar 11, 2019 (Level Up Nerf)
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Wild
- 23 Minions
- 4 Spells
- 2 Weapons
- Deck Type: Ranked Deck
- Deck Archetype: Unknown
- Crafting Cost: 14240
- Dust Needed: Loading Collection
- Created: 3/7/2019 (Level Up Nerf)
- RagingAlphaWalrus
- Registered User
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- 12
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- 93
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Battle Tag:
RagingWalrus
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Region:
US
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Total Deck Rating
157
Hello! On the off chance that you follow me, you'll know that Dragon Hunter has been basically the only deck that I've played since the Witchwood launched. In fact, I hit legend with it the same week of the launch, so I know a thing or 2 about how to play it. This is the Dragon Hunter list that I've used to hit rank 3 on only day 6 of the March 2019 season, & I'm still climbing. I've struggled building a consistent Dragon list due to how diverse the meta is, but with all the odd paladin around, this list feels right. I'll write a bare bones guide now, but I'll write a much more thorough guide later on & update it as I climb the Standard Ladder this season, but I wanted to get the deck on here for others try look at.
How to Play:
What you're doing here is using your minions to control the board. Despite the fact that you're playing as a hunter, this isn't a face deck. Focus on board control, using Candleshots, Rush from Shaw, Scaleworms, Scorchers, Zilliax, ect. Ideally you go toe to toe on the board, while pushing incremental damage with your hero power until you can drop big bombs with Emeriss. If you've seen my other Dragon Hunter decks, you know that this contains the powerful game winning combo of Emeriss into Leeroy Jenkins & Faceless Manipulator for 24 points of burst. This almost always wins the game, as your hero power has ideally kept your opponent down to below 25 health for the game. Because of this combo, the way you play the deck can be flexible, you can focus on pushing tempo or playing control, knowing that you always have that burst if you need it. You have access to two copies of Tracking as well as two copies of Stitched Tracker, so you can pull it off at an alarmingly consistent rate. Alexstrasza is included here (and I would say that she is core) for games against Warrior and Priest, where you aren't really getting their life total down but need to combo them off to win, Alex can just set them down to exactly where you want them.
Mulligan:
The mulligan here is pretty straight forward, you're always keeping Fire Fly, Candleshot, Tar Creeper, & Rexxar. If you suspect that your opponent is playing something heavy, like Odd Warrior, Cloning Gallery Priest, Malygos Druid (yes, they still exist) look for Emeriss. She is absolutely key to winning those matches.
Tech:
Spellbreaker: Not too much to say about this one, Silence is good to have.
Gluttonous Ooze: There are still a fair amount of Cubelocks on the ladder, as well as Odd Warrior (you're looking to destroy Super Collider) and of course, Odd Paladin's Vine Cleaver.
Hunter's Mark: I actually consider this a tech card for this deck, if you find yourself running into more odd paladin and zoo, feel free to cut 1 copy or 2 and mix your early game a bit more (Prince Keleseth & Stonehill Defender are what come to mind off the bat).
Side Board:
These are cards that aren't in this current list, but cards that I would add depending on what the metagame is looking like for where I'm at on the ladder.
King Krush: I usually have a copy of Krush in here, but because I'm running Deathwing in this current iteration, Krush felt a bit too heavy. I usually save him as a back up in the event I don't have access to Faceless & Leeroy, but have them down low, 16 points of burst is still incredible. I would add Krush in if I was seeing a lot more control, and would probably cut 1 Fire Fly to add him.
Skulking Geist: If Druid finds themselves taking another big step into the spotlight, then Geist will certainly make a return. Odd Warrior is still semi popular, so Geist isn't a bad inclusion just for that, as destroying their omega assemblies/shield slams can just auto win the game.
Mojomaster Zihi: Back when Mecha'Thun was really popular for those few weeks, I ran Zihi in all of my decks, but I haven't seen a hint of the Mechanical Old One in a bit, so Zihi is out. If you're seeing Mecha'Thun druid, Geist is better as it get's their naturalizes and biology projects, which I noticed some players started holding onto when Zihi was getting tech'd in, but if it's Mecha'Thun Warlock, Zihi is the go to.
Card Choices:
Candleshot: 1 mana 1/3 weapon that allows you to ping without taking damage. Just really good for early board control, and of course, is the part of the Hunter's Mark combo where you take down a big minion injury free.
Fire Fly: Just an excellent 1 drop for competing for early board control. Since we don't have any 2 drop minions, it servers as an excellent 2 drop as well.
Tracking: 1 mana draw 3 is just gross, helps you dig to your combo, a dragon, or of course, Rexxar.
Hunter's Mark: It's been nerfed twice and is still pretty good. With Rexxar, Candleshot, Scorchers, and Prim. Drakes, we have a lot of ways to utilize it.
Gluttonous Ooze: See above, but there are still a lot of classes that run powerful weapons that we don't want them getting as minimal value as possible. As good as this deck is, no deck can beat a Warlock with an Active Skull, so this should always stay in your list.
Stitched Tracker: Use for finding combo pieces, dragons, rush, etc.
Tar Creeper: Just an outstanding anti-aggro minion, can save you by itself if your opponent has a perfect opening curve. I'm going to miss it so much come rotation.
Houndmaster Shaw: You just win if Shaw goes unchecked.
Scaleworm: A criminally underrated 4 drop, a 5/4 with rush (we almost always have a dragon in hand at this point) is just plain good. Trades with Tar Creepers, Chain Gangs, Vicious Fledglings, Hench Clan Thug, Zilliax, etc.
Spellbreaker: You should always have access to silence, so we run 1 copy here.
Dragonmaw Scorcher: With Odd Paladin still be grossly popular, Scorcher is outstandingly good. It also nicely softens up the board for rexxar to finish everyone off the next turn.
Faceless Manipulator: As stated above, this is meant for your Emeriss/Leeroy combo, but don't hesitate to use if the time calls for it.
Leeroy Jenkins: As stated above, this is part of your game winning combo, but can be used for emergency minion removal.
Zilliax: Almost every deck in the game should be running this card, it's just great. Really helps you get into the midgame/late game ahead.
Deathstalker Rexxar: Flat out, best card in Hearthstone right now.
Crowd Roaster: Heavy removal, pairs really nice with Shaw (if Shaw is on board) as it allows you to take down 2 giant things for 7 mana.
Primordial Drake: Big taunt, late game AoE, & Dragon Synergy. It's perfect.
Alexstrasza: Alex can set you up for the combo win, rescue you from low health, she's versatile. Her main purpose here is to be on the offensive side, but she's saved me countless times defensively too.
Deathwing: Deathwing is good, actually! At least he is here. I have him here because Wall Priest is a deck, evenlock is a deck, so many decks with Big Minions exist. I've also found that playing Deathwing with an active Rexxar means we don't care if we throw our hand away because we can just build gigantic Zombeasts to back him up. Deathwing has hard carried me in a handful of games, it feels great getting some use out of him again.
Emeriss: Your win condition. Pump up your Leeroy combo, or a bunch of Zombeasts, or a bunch of minions you just didn't get to play yet. While your opponent has to worry about what you have in your hand, they already have to spend what removal they have on the 8/8 Dragon you just played. Emeriss is one of my favorite cards ever, and I'm proud to have made Dragon Hunter a legitimate (if fringe) deck built off her Wings.
Card Replacements:
This is an expensive deck, and there are some expensive minons that you might not have! I'll cover the obovious ones here, but feel free to ask below about other ones that I didn't mention.
Gluttonous Ooze: Since we don't run Keleseth, Acidic Swamp Ooze is just fine here.
Houndmaster Shaw: Shaw feels really important in this deck as he helps maintain board control, but if you don't have him, I would recommend Stonehill Defender or Flanking Strike.
Zilliax: Seriously, if you don't have Zilliax, go craft it. But if you really can't, I would probably just stick with Flanking Strike. Fungalmancer or Cobalt Scalebane would be interesting 5 drops to try, mainly because they can turn Fireflies that are drawn late into a threat.
Deathwing: Turns out that a legendary that doesn't see a lot of play doesn't end up in a lot of people's collections. I would replace Deathwing with King Krush or The Lich King. If you don't have either of those, I would add in some more early/mid game, so again, Flanking Strike, Stonehill Defender, something like that.
Match Up Tips:
I'll return and update this portion as I get time. If there is an archetype on here that I haven't covered and you would like to see, let me know! I hope you give this deck a try! I'll reply to all questions/suggestions below, so feel free to post away!
Paladin:
- Odd: Odd Paladin used to be one of my toughest match ups, but thanks to the rounds of nerfs, and just my better understanding of how to deal with it, this feels like one of your best match ups. Board Control, Board Control, Board Control. That's the name of the game, and you have more than enough tools. Candleshot, Fire Fly, Tar Creeper, Scaleworm, Dragonmaw Scorcher, Rexxar, Primordial Drake, Shaw, Deathwing, you should be just fine. Generally the make or break turn is 4 (if they have coin) or 5 when Fungalmancer can come down. You must prevent an on curve funglemancer and you have enough tools to do that. Use Hunter's Marks to deal with Frost Wolf Warlords & Storm Wind Champions. Unless you have a terrible start and are in need of a board presence, always save Ooze for Vinecleaver.
- OTK: I haven't seen this much lately, but if you're playing against Holy Wrath or Horseman OTK, you need to be rushing for your combo, the typical mid-range beat down strategy will not work. Use trackings and stitched trackers to find Emeriss, Leeroy, and Faceless Manipulator. That is your golden way to win. Try to save Spellbreaker for Lynessa if you can. Try to save Ooze for Uther.
- Even: Another board control match up, Even is favored towards us. Do your best to prevent swing turns with cards like Blessing of Kings. If they play a fully activated Corpsetaker that you can't kill, but have Spellbreaker in hand, don't be stingy & silence it. This a game where Deathwing can auto win it for you, due to hand count generally being low in the late game for them, and most even paladin's seem to be cutting equality post nerf (please correct me if the stats don't back this assumption up).
Druid:
- Malygos/Togg: I would say that this match up is favored towards us, but the game plans in between us & the Druid are pretty similar, we need to race to our combo. Druid has such powerful card draw, armor generation, and removal that a typical mid range attack can only take you so far. In the event that you are just working on armor removal the whole game, remember that we have Alexstrasza just for that situation.
- Mecha'Thun: This is a tough match up, but one that we rarely see. If you start seeing this deck again, cut a fire fly and put in Geist. Geist is an auto win against most druid decks right now, so if you start seeing a lot of druid, the game plan is simple, draw and play Geist, & GG.
Hunter:
- Master's Call: I typically approach this match up the same way I approach Odd Paladin, I focus on board control. You also need to be smart about, don't play too wide, save your hunter's marks for Hyenas. If they have a beast on the field, it needs to go. Force them to use their Kill Commands on your minions, once you force them out of their burst, it turns into a Rexxar vs. Rexxar match, and because we have our combo and other big Dragons, we can typically win those with ease.
- Deathrattle: This is definitely the worst match up of this deck, and that deck alone has been one reason why I've struggled on finding a strong, consistent build. This deck is one of the reasons that I run Deathwing, once you destroy/silence the cubes, clear out Kathrena, you still have a giant board of beasts that can just wipe you out in a turn, Deathwing is your comeback. It's another reason that I run 2 Hunter's Marks and 2 Crowd Roasters, so you can take down big things (and Roaster's battle cry takes down Charged Devilsaurs).
- Spell: A rare match up, but there are still people who play Spell Hunter out there (and it's still pretty good). I approach Spell Hunter the same way i approach Master's Call, force them to use their burst on the board and you can win in the late game. If they Zul'jin, use Deathwing as your counter, a board full of Wolves & Animal Companion's are nothing compared to him. If this deck makes a bigger comeback, I would tech in 1 copy of Flare to deal with one group of secrets.
Rank Proof:
Just got Emeriss in a pack, looking for a new deck to create utilizing it. What cards would you recommend to replace the ones rotating out?
Which ones don't you have? I can give you a replacement list for each one if you'd like.
After the rotation I should have enough dust to craft everything I don't have, but I'll need replacements for the Un'Goro and KotFT cards.
Understood, if you're just waiting til rotation to play it, it'll be much different then (I can't wait to see what new tools we get) but the core power of this deck will still be in place. However, if you want to try this deck out now, but don't want to use any Year of the Mammoth cards, I can certainly try an alternate build for you for right now, just let me know!
waiting for a new version after rotation
got no dust because I've crafted all HoF-rotating cards in golden ^^
cya then
Can't wait! Looking forward to getting some new Dragons added. Hopefully hunter gets some new class ones as well.
LOVE IT SUPER NOVICE DECK BUILDER HERE AND I MUST SAY I ALSO LOVE DRAGONS. YOU KNOW WHAT THIS GAME NEEDS?
MORE DRAGONS!!
Deck seems a little top-heavy. Especially against odd aggro mage. Makes me feel like I'm playing priest and have nothing to do for 4 turns if my mulligan goes badly.
Legend every month player here, also well north of 2000 ranked hunter wins... I have tried to pilot this deck through 30 games and have yet to come close to positive win ratio... I didn't expect 60%+ win rate but I just can't see how people are remotely enjoying this.
I like it because I can win and rank up with it. Some people just do better with different decks.
I'm currently sitting at a 71% win ratio with it, always love me some dragon decks
That's great! Some decks just click differently than people, maybe I need to add a disclaimer that this isn't an easy/auto pilot deck like most hunter decks are, but it is fun (though I know different people consider different things "fun"), it's different for the community, and it has the potential to climb ranks if you pilot it just right. I'm happy that you're having success with it!
Definitely +1'd as I love the idea of a competitive Dragon Hunter build, echo JARVIS's sentiments regarding the awesomeness of Deathwing, and really appreciate in-depth deck guides. Great job ragingalphawalrus!
As for deez447, if you like this general archetype maybe try out Qulx's Emeriss Hunter: https://www.hearthpwn.com/decks/1217081-emeriss-hunter. I've been playing a version of it for months since we chatted about it in the Hunter forums and it might fit your Hunter play style a little better (Kathrena + Oondasta). What I love is that, like this deck, it still has a unique element in the form of Bright-Eyed Scout. Qulx's version is likely better optimized, but I've been having fun subbing 2x Fire Fly for 2x Doomsayer, 1x Acolyte of Pain for 1x Mind Control Tech, 1x Gluttonous Ooze for 1x Harrison Jones (though y'all have probably convinced me to undo this), and 1x Faceless Manipulator for 1x Mountain Giant (I know the manipulator enables a sweet sweet Leeroy burst, but I love getting out a 0 cost Giant the same turn I play Bright-Eyed Scout). However, after seeing this deck I kind of want to get Alexstraza in there now as throwing that out for 5 would feel awesome.
+1 for using Deathwing.
he is my favorite classic card
It really has been so nice using him again, he just feels like a natural fit in any Hunter deck that uses Rexxar.
decks faced so far: pogo rogue, odd face mage, spell hunter, Egg Zoo Warlock, Deathrattle Hunter
pogo rogue: lost because, and im not joking around, about 13+ Zilliax. kept Lab Recruiter them and using them as shields when i was going for lethal.
odd mage: lost due to inability to maintain board control and mitigate face damage.
Deathrattle Hunter: Lost because turn 2 keleseth into turn 3 raptor egg into deathrattle trigger and second raptor egg is amazing.
spell hunter:lost. not really sure what i misplayed on here, but i got outplayed.
Zoo Warlock: Won with board control and constant hero power.
in all the lost matchups so far, ive had two problems: I just crafted Houndmaster Shaw and cant figure out how to use him properly. and using Deathwing as a last resort board clear seems to just postpone losing instead of coming back. maybe this is due to bad rexxar luck, but all three i had to deathwing and lost shortly after.
Overall, really fun deck, just needing some guidance on Deathwing and Shaw
Shaw is definitely a card you want to play on curve, he generally won't last long, your opponent will do what they can to remove him. At 6 health though, that can be a challenge. Overall, using him should be straightforward and 9 times out of 10 you just want him down on turn 4 (sometimes you might want to coin him on 3, it just depends on your opponent). Shaw is excellent post Emerris as well, as you can instantly take the board back with him giant minions that he's given Rush to.
Deathwing is a bit trickier, the best way to use him to just have a strong idea of what your opponent is trying to do and knowing whether or not you can counter it without him. I find myself using him mostly on Evenlock, Hunter, Mage, and Priest boards if they get too wide. Somtimes the game is lost and you just Deathwing and pray, but most of the time, you play him because you recognize that they can't deal with a 12/12 Dragon right away, and you just start churning out/playing big zombeasts.
An absolute blast to play, and a personal dream come true (dragon hunter + control hunter) for my favorite class. Creativity in hunter doesn't come around much since it's so heavily geared toward face (or "midrange" if you throw two Highmanes in your face deck) and Rexxar is an unbelievably powerful control tool.
Finally something different then the 3 hunter types we saw now long enough. Sadly, i played 8 games and im on 1-7...i lost to thief rogue, Mechathun Lock, Zoolock, Shudderwock Shaman...yeah basicly to everything...
I didnt have a single game against pala or priest. The only game i won was against a Spell Hunter. I started at rank 8.
I guess im doing it wrong. Somehow i sit on a buffed hand full of zombeast n stuff and i usually also have to combo leeroy/faceless in my hand...but i cant go face with it since there is some little taunt or secret or crap around.
Basicly the main thing i fail is, that i have no board but a godlike hand. Ill give it a break and try again later.
Anyway, i upvote, its somehow cool, i just cant play it:)
Thank you for the up vote! It isn't easy to pilot (it's been the deck i've played over 90% of my Hearthstone games with since the Witchwood came out and it took me time to iron out the best way to play it), but I bet if you stuck with it a bit more you'd start winning! I haven't gotten to write the Warlock part yet, but if you are running into more Mecha'Thun, definitely cut 1 Fire Fly & add Mojomaster. You could also add in a flair or 2 and another spellbreaker if you are seeing a lot more decks with taunt and/or secrets.