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To Rank 5 and Beyond! - TGT Control Hunter

  • Last updated Dec 9, 2015 (Explorers)
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Wild

  • 20 Minions
  • 10 Spells
  • Deck Type: Ranked Deck
  • Deck Archetype: Unknown
  • Crafting Cost: 10980
  • Dust Needed: Loading Collection
  • Created: 8/24/2015 (TGT Launch)
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  • Battle Tag:

    WhatAChamp

  • Region:

    US

  • Total Deck Rating

    514

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The following deck is one that I adapted from an older control hunter deck I used to play (Kurmagit's Gahz'rilla control hunter). With the addition of TGT, control hunter improved in two areas that it greatly struggled in previously: AOE and card draw.

I used to run control hunter around rank 7-9 with fairly good success. With new additions, I've been winning consistently in rank 5 and 6 and plan to take it further.

LOE UPDATE

It's been awhile since this deck has seen play but two new cards have made it all the more appealing:

Sir Finley Mrrgglton: Steamwheedle Sniper was our way to make our hero power useful. With Finley we can take a more control-oriented power such as Priest or Warrior (even Druid or Mage are nice).

Zombie Chow: Because the deck can pull out a control hero power, this deathrattle isn't a huge loss like it was before. The early game of chow helps us establish our board much better. Losing Kezan can be a hit, however, so make your decision based on the meta.

Sylvanas Windrunner: Since we can play the game slower now, Slyvanas works better for us than Loatheb. I'll be testing both, however.

Flare can be switched out for another Quick Shot or any of the other cards if you find you're not facing many secret pallies.

 

 EDIT: As per recommendation of Mayawaska, I've swapped Animal Companion out for Deadly Shot and haven't looked back. I wasn't getting a ton of mileage out of Azure Drake, and the reduction from Emperor Thaurissan often didn't help too much so I swapped both of them for Sludge Belchers to save me from aggro. Finally, I took out a Steamwheedle Sniper (I actually don't have two anyway) and replaced it with Flare because of the new paladin meta. I'll switch it back if it ever dies down.

Here are the two new cards that have bumped up the effectiveness of this deck:

Powershot is exactly what hunters needed in terms of a cheap AOE that can be proc'd when you want it. By turn 3, most aggro decks have three squishy minions on the board, allowing a quick turnaround for you.

Dreadscale is amazing for clearing out aggro and for drawing cards from Acolyte of Pain. Control hunter used to have to rely on using Wild Pyromancer with spells for the AOE and card draw which sometimes fell short when you didn't draw one or the other, so this card makes it more consistent.

Note that I intentionally left out Lock and Load. I find that the spells in this deck are often too useful as activators at the right moment or strong removal to blow all of them just to get a few more cards that might not benefit you. Many hunter cards aren't very useful in this deck so it's sort of a waste of a deck slot. I might change my mind in the future but that's how I feel so far.

 

Gameplay

Against aggro decks, the idea is to survive until late game. Thankfully this deck has an obscene amount of AOE with pyros, dreadscale and powershot. Once you stabilize the board, you can turn everything around and hit your opponent with high value cards that do a ton of damage.

Against control decks, the idea is to put pressure on the board early and make the most of your acolyte card draw. The hunter hero power allows you to continually apply pressure even when you have no minions on your board. Hunter's mark is an amazing card in this matchup, turning the tables easily. There is nothing wrong with spending your T2-4 hero powering if nothing better comes up. This also allows you to amass cards and not worry about your card draw.

 

Although most hunter synergies are well known, I'll go over a few of my key choices here:

Wild Pyromancer and Acolyte of Pain. These cards are mandatory both for AOE purposes against aggro and token decks AND for drawing cards. It is rarely wise to place one down without the other unless you have two copies in your hand, you need the pressure, or you know your opponent will suffer from trying to remove it. Your early game is often spent using your hero power until you can pull off a good AOE or card draw combo.

Arcane Shot, Quick Shot and Hunter's Mark. All three of these cards are awesome for mid-size removal. Do not waste them since they work amazingly well with Wild Pyromancer and Dreadscale. You need to be really conscious of how you use Hunter's Mark because it's an instant removal of any minion when combined with your AOE.

Kezan Mystic + Flare: Too many mages, face hunters and secret paladins. It's pretty much all I face so these two are mandatory at least for now. If the meta changes, I'd love to get another Quick Shot andSteamwheedle Sniper back in.

Try to leave Steamwheedle Sniper until you can hero power with him or else you can lose value. Sometimes you have to drop him early to stop a rush though. I had Animal Companion in initially but removed it because I found it didn't do much to change my board state. Every once in awhile it could finish or provide a necessary taunt but I wasn't entirely satisfied with it.

Deadly Shot is actually an amazing card. I used to use it way back when but dropped it when I started getting more removal with Hunter's Mark, and Big Game Hunter. I swapped out Animal Companion for it because I found I used AC to clear out key targets that I could often just take out with Deadly Shot. The nice thing about Deadly Shot is that it gives you yet another big minion removal and your opponent will often not expect it. I've even used it to clear things like Flamewaker that can get out of hand quickly.

 Savannah Highmane, Gahz'rilla, Dr. Boom and Ragnaros the Firelord are all important so that you can manhandle your control opponents and continually punish them with huge threats. Try to bait removal with the highmanes first if possible.

 

Good sample turns:

Against aggro:

T1 --> Pass, T2 --> Hero Power --> T3 Powershot --> T4 Steamwheedle Sniper + targeted hero power

Against control:

T1 --> Pass, T2 --> Hero power --> T3 Animal Companion --> T4 Piloted Shredder --> T5 Loatheb --> T6 Wild Pyromancer/Dreadscale + Acolyte of Pain + Hunter's Mark on big target

 

General Mulligan Guide:

Against aggro: Quick Shot, Wild Pyromancer, Powershot, Dreadscale, Animal Companion, Arcane Shot, Steamwheedle Sniper, Kezan Mystic (if mage or hunter)

Against control: Acolyte of Pain, Wild Pyromancer, Piloted Shredder, Animal Companion, Quick Shot, Steamwheedle Sniper, Kezan Mystic (if mage or hunter)

 

Potential Card Swaps:

Sylvanas Windrunner for Loatheb, Dr. Boom or Ragnaros the Firelord. I'm still toying around with having Sylvanas in the deck over Loatheb. She's often a dead card in aggro matchups whereas Loatheb can keep your board alive or stop opponents from killing you with spells. Also Loatheb comes out Turn 5 and we're sorely lacking in 5 drops.

Second Azure Drake or Antique Healbot for any missing legendaries.

Sludge Belcher for the healbot or drake if you don't like not having taunts.

Quick Shot, Freezing Trap or Eaglehorn Bow for Steamwheedle Sniper.

Explosive Trap for Dreadscale.