[DoD] Quest Hunter
- Last updated Dec 22, 2019 (Descent of Dragons)
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Wild
- 22 Minions
- 6 Spells
- 2 Weapons
- Deck Type: Ranked Deck
- Deck Archetype: Quest Hunter
- Crafting Cost: 11240
- Dust Needed: Loading Collection
- Created: 12/15/2019 (Descent of Dragons)
- ShinkHero
- Registered User
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- 6
- 21
- 54
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Battle Tag:
N/A
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Region:
EU
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Total Deck Rating
325
This is by far the deck I enjoyed the most playing last expansion.
Now it's back.. more powerful than ever!
If you're wondering why there aren't that many cards from the new set, it's because I rather build a solid deck than a fancy one.
STATS (updated on Dec 17)
These stats are from this updated version, the best performing one.
I've played about 40 games with the two previous versions, with an average WR of 70%.
You can follow me on twitter for daily updates on my deck testing:
https://twitter.com/ShinkHero_HS
FULL GUIDE
INTRODUCTION
This archetype isn't easy to pilot, because during the same game you may have to go with different play styles (control, tempo/aggro, combo), depending on 3 factors: your opponent life total, your quest progression and the board state. Understanding when it's the right time to switch (from the control strategy to the "full face" one, for example) is crucial to have good results with this deck.
CARDS THAT DIDN'T MAKE THE CUT
- Clear the Way: too slow in my opinion. It has synergies for sure but the reward is not good enough to run a potential dead draw when you need something good.
- Shu'ma: it's decent just to complete the quest (but still way worse that Swarm of Locusts).. when the quest is done it sucks cause you cannot buff your tokens, you can just throw it on the board and hope for the best, so in that spot I rather have Boommaster Flark.
- Veranus: this card can be crazy good, but we can make a good use of it only if we are behind with the quest and we need to remove stuff without the quest hero power. So I rather complete my quest faster and pressure with a board full of tokens than trying to control the board that much and that late.
- Revenge of the Wild: this is too situational and you simply don't need it to otk your opponent. I rather have more good standalone cards that this garbage.
- Sea Giant: I think this card is a bait, it can be good for sure but the games where you can play it easily are those where you rather have a taunt than a giant with zero defensive abilities. On the other side, in matchups where we need it the most (against slow control decks for example) it's pretty hard to play cause the opponent will never leave us a full board of tokens.
- Scavenging Hyena: it could fit nicely in this deck but I think it deserves the "31th spot" so it's not good enough, although it synergizes a lot with all the rush beasts.
MULLIGAN
The mulligan strategy doesn't change that much between aggro matchups and the slower ones.
WITHOUT COIN
You are always playing quest on turn 1 so you want to keep Springpaw and every 2-drop, exept for Knife Juggler. If you already have one of these, you can also keep Desert Spear cause it's our best 3-drop. If you are against a slower matchup you may consider keeping SN1P-SN4P or Swarm of Locusts, just one of these two.
WITH COIN
You always look for Springpaw and 2-drops and also keep Desert Spear. Unless you're against an aggressive deck you should always keep Swarm of Locusts as well, to play it on turn 5 with coin. If your opponent is a slow matchup SN1P-SN4P is also worth keep but if you already kept Swarm of Locusts play this one on turn 5 and SN1P-SN4P on 6, to not lose value due to his deathrattle locking your board.
GAMEPLAN
GOAL OF THE DECK
This deck's goal is pretty simple: complete the quest as fast as possible (turn 7-8 on average) and abuse your hero power to destroy your opponent.
Our strongest combo is Leeroy Jenkins + Unleash the Hounds + HeroPower on turn 10, to deliver at least 14dmg if the opponent's board is empty, +3dmg for every enemy minion in play (so 29dmg with 5 minions on the enemy board, with no taunt of course).
THE COIN
Usually, when you're on coin, your most valuable options to use it are...
- on turn 2, to coin out a 3-drop (like Desert Spear or SN1P-SN4P)
- on turn 4, to coin out Faceless Corruptor if you have a token on the board
- on turn 5 (almost always the best choice), to coin out Swarm of Locusts or double SN1P-SN4P (if you have both go for the swarm first)
OUR CURVE, TURN BY TURN
Always quest on t1.
Keeping in mind mulligan tips, you have good chance to hit some early drop like Questing Explorer, Hench-Clan Hogsteed and Springpaw. Hero powering on t2 it's fine too and it will happen sometimes, unless you're on coin.
On t3 your best play is Desert Spear but also playing SN1P-SN4P, Microtech Controller or Animal Companion it's fine.
If you manage to stick 2 minions on the board (or even just 1 minion with a Desert Spear in play) t4 becomes a wonderful spot for Cult Master, the most powerful draw engine of this deck (do not use it on curve if it doesn't draw at least 2 cards). On this turn you can also play Bone Wraith, a good defensive card that recently replaced Houndmaster Shaw in this list.
T5 is a nice spot with the coin for the previous reasons. Without the coin though you can still go for a powerful play with Faceless Corruptor or with a 2-drop like Knife Juggler and a 3-drop.
T6 is the right time to boost up the quest progression with Swarm of Locust (+7 on the quest counter) or double SN1P-SN4P (+6 over 2 turns). Halazzi, the Lynx is also a reasonable play but a bit of a tempo loss (if you play it, make sure to get at least 4-5 linxes and to not overdraw).
On t7 we usually push to complete the quest on the spot or at least on the following turn.
Now that you completed the quest, you can switch to a more aggressive gameplan and start setting dangerous board each turn (while trading with your rush minions). If you have Unleash the Hounds in hand, keep track of your burst potential each turn and wait to use it (unless you have lethal or if it's really necessary) until you get the full combo with Leeroy Jenkins or Leokk out of Animal Companion... maybe even double Unleash can get you there, so keep always track of the damage potential.
PLAY STYLE
Even if our curve is pretty much the same no matter who we are facing, our way of dealing with the board (or not) depends a lot on who's our op and how much it will take to complete our quest. 90% of the times we just want to trade everything with our rush minions, until we change hero power and we start setting threatening boards each turn. But there are few spots, in some games, where our op will do the trades for us.. in those cases you should not lose face dmg, even if it's just a couple. In every other situation just trade off all the stuff.
MATCHUPS
VS DRUID
- Against quest druid should be a slightly favorable match
- Other druids like the dragon one are too slow to compete with us.
- Treant/token druid may be an issue if it can stick a solid board, so trade efficiently and play around savage roar and soul of the forest.
VS HUNTER
- Hunter is mainly highlander, wich is a close to an even matchup. The way they can win is by pushing a lot of damage in the mid game, so trade efficiently and try to save Zilliax for a huge heal with quest hero power or magnetizing it to a SN1P-SN4P.
- If you're against Face Hunter it could be a really tough matchup. If they start with their side quest on t1 our chance to win are pretty low. Our winning plan are just two: the first way is to kill them before they kill us, possible only through raw minion pressure (like faceless corruptor on t5) and without our quest hero power (there's not enough time); the second way is to find Zilliax in time and squeeze all the possible healing out of it.
VS MAGE
- Highlander mage is ok matchup, unless they do optimal use of their freeze effect (wich could be painful, since we want to play a lot of minions every turn). They can also shut down the game with some huge highroll of Power of Creation or just an early Luna's Pocket Galaxy. We usually win this with an Unleash the Hounds combo.
- Cyclone mage is not that popular but I think it's a slightly easier matchup than the highlander one.
VS PALADIN
- Paladin could be OTK, in that case it's a favorable matchup since their 2x Time Out are not enough to be out of our burst range.
- Other paladins like the Highlander one should be slightly favorable too, cause they fight for the board but we just counter their efforts until the quest is done.. then they die.
VS PRIEST
- Priest could be Combo, wich is by far our worst matchup, in that case you should always trade everything while planning to complete the quest asap. If you do so you may win, but usually they kill you before turn 7-8.
- If it's a slow priest, unless it's a taunt resurrect one, you should be good.
VS ROGUE
- Tempo rogue should be an hard matchup but I managed to have a positive wr against them so I think it's just matter of practice. Always play for board control and you should win with the usual Unleash after t8-9.
- If it's deathrattle though, try to not pop their big boys if you can, cause they cannot a lot of the times due to our minions low stats. Uness the magnetize Zilliax on a Mechanical Dragon you should be fine.
VS SHAMAN
- So, shaman is basically just Galakrond. It's surprisingly a good matchup (around 80% wr) and it's crazy cause I think that nothing is highly favorable against it (exept for old ctrl warrior, maybe) so, 80% seems a nice score to me! The matchup is not that different to a tempo rogue one: play for board control in the early and mid game, then set up lethal around turn 9-10. Due to shaman's nature of going wide on board, a lot of the times you'll win just with one Unleash the Hounds, so always keep in check your burst potential. The issue against shaman is the pressure that cards like their Galakrond can make, but if you survive long enough you win on the long run. The worst scenario for you is when they play too many taunts with Dragon's Pack or Titanic Lackey (this one can be the worst if Shudderwock gets played).
VS WARLOCK
- Warlock is more likely to be an Handlock, wich is a good matchup I guess. Just always trade and don't commit on a board too much. Be careful if a Mountain Giant is played cause it can deliver a lot of dmg. You basically never lose this matchup unless they become the aggressor.
- Zoolock instead should be EZ win, cause they try to do what we do (in the early game) but they don't get a new OP hero power in the mid/late game, so just trade everything off and you should be fine.
VS WARRIOR
- If it's tempo Galakrond should be fine, we have way more tools to win the board.
- Against pirate warrior we may struggle to survive until the quest is over cause they SMORC a lot and we only got few taunts.
- If Control Warrior will be a thing again, we'll have probably a slightly unfavorable matchup against it, but not an unwinnable one.
CARDS EXPLANATION AND BONUS TIPS
Why I included these cards:
Animal Companion: just a single copy of it cause it's more useful in the late game, but also nice if played on curve for tempo.
Diving Gryphon: just a powerful card draw and rush minion all in one, auto include.
Halazzi, the Lynx: it's like an extra swarm of locusts that has better synergies with cards like Cult Master.
Boommaster Flark: simply too good after the quest or to complete it exactly (0/2 bombs cannot attack otherwise).. better than Shu'ma for sure! That card is barely decent only before the quest (but garbage if compared to Swarm)
Knife Juggler: in this deck jugglers can shoot a lot! I won games just with knifes where double jugglers survived couple turn on the board.
Microtech Controller: an extra 3-drop to boost our quest and to synergize with Zilliax [/card],[card]Faceless Corruptor and Knife Juggler.
Bone Wraith: it recently replaced Houndmaster Shaw to be more defensive on curve against aggro, cause Shaw on curve almost never survived and it was good only around t6-t7 when we already wave better cards to play.
Cult Master: this card is nuts, can cycle half of your deck in a single turn if played right and I would never swap it for a Tracking. Usually I play it on turn 4-5 only if it draws me at least 2 cards, otherwise I just wait for a good spot cause if it's played well it wins me the game.
Faceless Corruptor: tis card is just broken and it synergize with tokens, so it's an auto include in this list.
Giggling Inventor: I know, it seems too slow after its nerf, but I can tell for sure that it's not. It's a perfect inclusion for this list cause it's just good to play on t7 for your quest progression (+3) and to get 2 divine shield taunts in play. On t9 is also nice because it defends you while developing a board with your hero power.
REPLACEMENTS
If you miss some card you can try replacing it with one of these (depending on the mana cost and the role of the replaced card):
- 2nd copy of Animal Companion
- Veranus
- Sea Giant
- Shu'ma
- Desert Hare
- Scavenging Hyena
KDK made a showcase of the deck
Is it worth it to craft Giggling Inventor or can I find a replacement for it? It will soon rotate out of standard. I'm missing 2 copies of it.
Yeah, I think so. It's a rare so not that expensive and for what it does in this list it's absolutely woth it. It can be dropped on t7 to save your life against aggro or on t9 with hero power to set a threatening board with just one card... It's even better than Boommaster Flark on average. But if you want to try other replacement maybe you can see how it goes with an extra Bone Wraith and a Sea Giant (or any other card in the section "replacements" of the guide up here).
Me craft it already. I must say I don't regret. Thanks. The deck is also not boring at all. I enjoy playing it.
I'm glad you enjoy the deck, thanks for the feedback and good luck :)
Any good replacements for Halazzy and Boomaster, or are they core cards?
It's hard to say man. Flark is the most replaceble of these two and you can try subbing it with one among Shu'ma, Sea Giant, Clear the Way or second copy of Animal Companion. About Halazzi I don't think there's a way to replace it without losing a lot of synergy cause, toghether with Swarm of Locusts and SN1P-SN4P, it's one of our core cards... but you can still try replacing it with Hunting Mastiff (to be intended as a mid/late game tool, not as a 2drop for sure) and see if it works for you, although there's a big difference between these cards. Let me know if this will work for you, I hope so.
Hey! Really fun deck! I 've been playing it for couple hours.
I have problems against control warrior, got any tips?
I read all the guide and I like it :)
Thanks for the kind words man, I'm glad you're enjoying this deck.
- The warrior m.u. is hard, mostly cause you cannot afford to be greedy on the mulligan otherwise it could go really bad if it's pirate or galakrond tempo. So, unless you are facing 80+% control warriors, you should always mulligan as if it was aggro, then adapting the gameplan if it turns out to be ctrl.
- You want always to complete the quest very soon of course but do not commit into low value plays in order to do that (for example dropping the SN1P on turn 3 when you have other 3 drops cause is not that good, maybe even terrible if you have the coin, cause you can squeeze more value out of it by waiting t5 with coin or t6).
- Your wincondition is the leeroy+unleash+hp combo almost always, but in order to put them into range you have to deliver some damage through minion sticking on the board during the game.
- For the time you completed the quest (let's say turn 7/8) you should be ahead on board (or even at least) since you opponent isn't aggro and you have so many rush minions. So you have initiative to put threats and bait their removals. Do not commit too much into their clears though, there's no need to. You simply have to play individual cards like Flark, Giggling or Swarm + hero power (around turn 8/9). Flark delivers 8 dmg just with bombs but if one of these minions stiks and you can connect face, after hero powering again, you should put them into range. I'm not saying it's easy, but is winnable.
- The final step is to smack them in the face with the combo, so you may need your opponent to overextend (with 5 minions on his board you have full combo) and because almost nobody plays quest hunter they will very likely fall into this trap, hopefully without taunts (but keep checking your burst every turn to never miss lethal, even before setting the combo, just by having double unleash in hand cause it happens a lot, trust me). In order to let your opponent overextend you have to not trade everything of course, so let him deal with the board and hope he value trades to keep his pieces alive.
- Of course you have to draw the leeroy combo to actually try this gameplan, so my advice is to squeeze a lot of card draw out your Cult Master (you have enough time to be greedy in this matchup, so capitalize it).
That's all I can tell about this matchup, I hope it's helpful. Thank you again for the feedback and good luck on ladder :)
Im very thankful for the reply and the depth comment! I will focus on the unleash + leery combo to finish them of.
Btw I didnt have success with flark in the deck so I switched it for a silence mainly for taunts. (It have helped me many times tbh).
Maybe you have another opinion on what to sub for silence? Maybe one desert spear or one giggling?
//sakmo :)
I don't think a silence fits in this list, cause it's a dead draw when you need a card to pressure or one that spawns minions to complete the quest. If you're facing a lot of taunts deck (like handlock) you should try Veranus instead. Anyway I would recommend to keep Flark in the list or at least to replace him with another threat like Sea Giant if you really don't like the Flark.
The card you could cut to include a Veranus (or Hunter's Mark if you don't have Veranus) should be Bone Wraith or a Knife Juggler imo.
This deck is secretly OP and it's also a lot of fun. I wonder if anyone will find out this true someday :D