Hearthpwn

Hey everyone,

3 weeks ago I posted my Chaos Control Hunter Deck for Season 61:

[Legend] Kharan Chaos Control Hunter (v3)

While I and many others had great success with it and hit legend I wanted to try a different approach to additionally improve it. Because this deck got popular I had data of over 10,000 games as a sample size to analyze the weaknesses. Primarly I tried to get a better winrate against Rogues and Mages as I was facing them together more than 40% of all my games played, while keeping the really strong winrate against warriors and other control/midrange decks.

The new version I made does not change the playstyle or the goal of the old deck but optimizes the draw and tempo in the early game. As both version are viable and there are a lot of cards substituted I wanted to leave the old deck guide as it is and make a new one specially for this version and the differences to the other variant.

Introduction to the general deck idea

The first thing you will notice is that this is not a full beast deck, not a full mech deck, and not really a full spell hunter deck either. It contains the best of these approaches and uses a lot of removal tools to buy time and survive to strike back with a variety of big combos.

The main problem of a controlly approach at hunter is the card draw. Thats why you need high value cards and a lot of ways to draw/save cards.  You play this deck passively. In general you mulligan for low cost defensive cards and control the board until your opponent runs out of steam then you fight back with your big 3 combo threats:

• Unleash the Beast with Zul'jin
• Mechanical Whelp with Nine Lives
• Vereesa Windrunner with Rapid Fire

The strength of this deck is flexibility. You don't need to wait for only one specific card to win because all combos from different archtypes synergize with each other and you actually  have the time to use them all due to great survivability. With Nine Lives it is possible to react dynamically to all kinds of decks and draw and recycle needed cards for combos or get more removal/taunt to survive dangerous situations.

Differences to v3

Old Cards (taken out)

New Cards (taken in)

In general the deck has a lot more early tempo and midgame draw now which helps immensely in tempo/aggro matchups. While Acolyte of Pain is a very good draw card it needs time on the board and does not help much at controlling with only 1 attack. Even in combination with Wild Pyromancer and Rapid Fire it was often not worth the cards because of the tempo loss.

By adding Ursatron instead you get a strong turn 3 play and still draw a card. The deck already had enough mechs in it to make this card viable but I also switched Rotten Applebaum for Safeguard to have one more in the pool. The advantage of drawing a mech in this deck is that you are very likely to always draw Zilliax and Safeguard quickly to counter aggro decks.

It also turned out that Safeguard is very solid with Nine Lives to save at least 5 hp and get an additional target on the field for Spider Bomb and Zilliax. By removing Bomb Toss and Bloodmage Thalnos, Nine Lives got a lot more consistend when played with Zul'jin and Archmage Vargoth. 

Another big change in this deck is the use of 6 secrets with Subject 9 and Masked Contender. The main reason I added them is the great draw/deck thinning they provide and the control and tempo gain that they give. Rat Trap was by far the most useful card in many matchups (rogues, warrior) and still good in every other. So by adding a second one and two ways to draw it faster it is guaranteed that your opponent is locked to only playing 2 cards every turn for the whole game, which is impossible for many decks. Freezing Trap ensures an advantage in every situation even when pulled by Masked Contender in turn 3 and only triggered by a small enemy minion. Snake Trap is just as great for this deck because you have many minions that needs to by cleared by your opponent even he plays aggro.

Also Rat Trap and Snake Trap are the best starter traps for Masked Contender because they can't be triggered in early turns before he is played. I decided to only play 3 different secrets 2x times each to reduce the luck involved to get a needed trap by playing Masked Contender and also to not overdraw your hand by Subject 9. Even drawing 2-3 cards and getting a 4/4 minion is a lot of value for a 5 mana card.

Eaglehorn Bow turned out to be the least helpful card in the deck. The statistics showed that it had the lowest winrate by draw and played in critical matchups and did not contribute a lot to already good matchups. So even with the new secrets it is not necessary in this deck as you don't need the damage or control it gives you. Also Secret Plan is not needed anymore because it can't get pulled by the secret draw cards and we already have enough of them in the deck.

The last change I did is to cut Wild Pyromancer out and put Marked Shot in. I noticed that with the new additions AOE was not that necessary anymore because you have a much better early board presence. Wild Pyromancer would hurt your own minions too much and was always a very bad card in control or midrange tempo matchups and contributed to the draw problem the deck had. Marked Shot then is a more reasonable choice because it is a great midgame removal tool and also a great way to keep a full hand. Also the deck was lacking 4 mana cards and good turn 4 plays and a new way of getting more cards back from Zul'jin after cutting Secret Plan.

Other card details

Really good as an early removal tool and also useful in lategame to finish the game.  If you can survive early without using it, save it to finish with Vereesa Windrunner. With Zul'jin or Archmage Vargoth you can play it for free and get a copy back due to twinspell.

A really useful trap to disturb early aggro builds and counter single big minions if you can remove the rest of the board. Also an additional spell for Zul'jin.

A must have trap against control but also against aggressive decks especially if you go first. I keep it on my starting most of the times and try to play it early in round 2. Sometimes it wins games by itself if the enemy uses the coin to play 2 cards early and does not expect Rat Trap.

Here are two examples of this happening: 

https://hsreplay.net/replay/J53hKjkKQbPMog3SFMURam https://hsreplay.net/replay/dAzNfTMrQG2uT7dprhFpDi

A solid minion and a solid spell which builds a strong combo with Archmage Vargoth and Zul'jin. Also Leokk buffs the snakes which is often very useful.

Good control removal. Very strong against other control decks and ok against aggro. The amount of board damage in this deck helps to clear small minions so this card can target the big ones without relying on luck. Also good to have it played early to have a guaranteed kill later with Zul'jin. It is the only spell which exclusively targets the enemy board.

My favorite card of this expansion. It replaces the function of tracking and gets additional value besides the draw.  With the 4 deathrattle minions in this Deck (Spider Bomb, Mechanical Whelp, Safeguard, Ursatron) you have very strong options to react to any situation and deck you are facing. Against control play it e.g. in round 9 after a Mechanical Whelp died to get an instant 7/7 and another Mechanical Whelp on the board. Or use it as an additional Deadly Shot in combination with Spider Bomb. Against aggro play it to get taunt with Safeguard or  with Ursatron to get a lot of draw. Also gives additional cards and effects back with Zul'jin.

Mainly to be used for Nine Lives to get additional removal ('Deadly Shot') to survive. It is also very useful that it as a magnetic minion. You can combine it with Ursatron or your other mechs to gaing extra damage or run it into a big minion and trigger the deathrattle effect instant.

A great 4 mana minion with 6 health. Can be used to trade early minions and has insane value in combination with Animal Companion, Unleash the Beast. If you go second you can often coin him out in round 3 and most of the times play Animal Companion in the next turn.

Another great 4 mana minion with 6 health. Rush is always useful, especially if you use him in combination with Spider Bomb or Mechanical Whelp later in the game.

Very versatile card which can be used early in turn 5 to trade and heal a small amount of health or can later after you get your Mechanical Whelp to build a devastating 10/9 lifeleech, rush, divine shield minion and heal instanty for 10 health. Can also eat any remaining Safeguard taunts to get additional 5 health.

One of the key combo cards. I keep it in hand in midrange and control matchups to play it as early as I can. Even if it gets silienced it counts as a dead deathrattle minion for Nine Lives.  After playing both Nine Lives you can easily get 5 7/7 minions on board which most decks can not handle in 2-3 turns. I often kill him in the same round I play him with Rapid Fire or the Zul'jin hero ability. Also combos greath with Houndmaster Shaw in round 10 to trigger the deathrattle instant and trade a minion with the 7/7 rush minion in the same turn.

Control Hunter basically works because of this card. Insane value in all situations because of the twinspell mechanic. If you play versus another control deck you play both cards before Zul'jin and get 2 back so you can play up to 6 5/5 rush minons with 2 cards used. Against offensive decks it is a great aggro stopper, especially if you coin it out in round 5 and play it two times in a row. Also combos really good with Archmage Vargoth if you still have him in round 10.

Another great value card and finisher. Even without the use of spelldamage it is a solid minion that gives a 2/3 weapon for up to 6 damage. But if you also have some leftover Rapid Fires that you didnt need to survive up to this point you can finish the enemy or do some high value board kills. Most of the time I keep the last charge of the weapon, wait for Rapid Fire and do 6-12 damage which is more than enough most of time.

With 17 good spells in this deck you win the game almost always when you play him. In a typical game you gain armor, fill your board with 5/5 minions, animal companions, clear the enemy board, get your hand completely filled with value cards and 3 traps on the field. So don't be too greedy and wait too long to play him.

Often it is enough to have a Unleash the Beast, some traps and maybe an Animal Companion or Nine Lives played to get insane value.  If you are in a long control game the best order to play him would be after your Mechanical Whelp combo (to profit from Nine Lives) and before the Vereesa Windrunner combo (to get at least 2 Rapid Fire back to finish the game).

Mulligan guide

Good in any matchup

Against Aggro

Against Control

Statistics

Matchups

• Good (+50% Winrate): Bomb Warrior, Tempo Rogue, Midrange Hunter, Control Warrior, Big Shaman, Dragon Warrior, Secret Hunter,  Secret Paladin,  Mech Paladin, Khadgar Dragon Mage

• Decent (~50% Winrate): Token Druid, Mech Hunter, Zoo Warlock, Murloc Shaman, Ressurect Priest

• Bad (-50% Winrate): Silence Priest, Nomi Priest

Budget options & Variants

If you are missing legendary/epic cards from this deck you can consider these cards as a replacement.

Replays (v3 version)

Warrior

Various Decks

https://hsreplay.net/replay/csersWZ9Xhc8ChTbficN8G

https://hsreplay.net/replay/vKoUTpgAf5CeTBALfbtazJ

https://hsreplay.net/replay/BmVwebYeCbTzDkw2Lwoc2X

https://hsreplay.net/replay/2oa3yjECUrSmUK4YeSsEKH

https://hsreplay.net/replay/Kd8PcGTFBP9DWJhihGSfAA

https://hsreplay.net/replay/YReUv9kq4FY4jFG7DPTo9R

https://hsreplay.net/replay/BEGhr2Dz3qymQJt2HLNRKM

https://hsreplay.net/replay/csersWZ9Xhc8ChTbficN8G

https://hsreplay.net/replay/sGAcPddsGeTToDf79NYBAY

Druid

Token - https://hsreplay.net/replay/9Gb8afmAkWwBZUkKMVh7wi

Hunter

Mech - https://hsreplay.net/replay/6fn3KZJUMmS9Mw3NMBuJSG

Midrange Beast - https://hsreplay.net/replay/NYvZSaGkSAZ5DSqrhQ4XC5

Mage

Khadgar Dragon - https://hsreplay.net/replay/ESw8yLAALpEJpnnJhJsrL6

Paladin

Mech - https://hsreplay.net/replay/5yL7BYx5T9zW39yGaoUGUB

Priest

Nomi - https://hsreplay.net/replay/JX5na7kn3oiotEchj77NnD

Rogue

Tempo - https://hsreplay.net/replay/hKLMEegSjmKC9p6JHUENiA

Tempo - https://hsreplay.net/replay/Hu83eD8zaMVY6udPeqabQG

Shaman

Shudderwock - https://hsreplay.net/replay/SdR8egKyKKtCjGhYpGAgXT

Warlock

Zoo - https://hsreplay.net/replay/9sYNT9dT83jQz2wsRe3vVa

Tutorials / Videos (v4)

Played by kiwiinbacon

Played by Tommy_Wave

Tutorials / Videos (v3)

Played by kiwiinbacon

Played by Jeleniowatyy

Played by me to show some games vs a Control Warrior deck because there was high demand for this matchup. 

These videos are for the first versions of this deck but even if the older versions use many other cards the general passive playstyle is the same. I will update this list if someone wants to do a new tutorial/playtest video.

Played by Xatanael Hearthstone in legend

Played by Furo at Rank 9

Spotlight tutorial by RegisKillbin 

Guide by FailCraft

If there is high demand, I will stream to show some live gameplay of this deck.

Kharan Twitch

Thanks everyone for the great support!