Badass Midrange Hunter - Ladder Climber
- Last updated Feb 18, 2016 (Explorers)
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Wild
- 18 Minions
- 10 Spells
- 2 Weapons
- Deck Type: Ranked Deck
- Deck Archetype: Unknown
- Crafting Cost: 4000
- Dust Needed: Loading Collection
- Created: 1/8/2016 (Explorers)
- GiordyBear
- Registered User
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- 9
- 14
- 29
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Battle Tag:
Giordy
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Region:
EU
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Total Deck Rating
482
Hi guys, I'm Giordy, Italian legendary player and former Hearthstoneplayers writer.
Today I want to present you a formidable deck which gifted me with the longest win streak I have ever experienced: it brought me from rank 10 to 5 without ever loosing a match and I'm currently rank 3.
* Meta Changes * :
I tried different cards in this deck, but I eventually chose to keep it in its original form.
I tried adding Jugglers, and while they combo well sometimes, they're still no beasts, and I wanted to base this deck on beasts synergy.
I tried replacing Ragnaros with Flare, and even if it's really good against freeze mage, that is usually a favorable matchup anyway, and I haven't had many occasions to use it against secret paladin to be honest. Ragnaros is always good, no matter what.
I am considering trying a Gladiator's long bow instead of Ragnaros for extra reach, but that's just an idea, I'm gonna have to test it first.
Is This Deck Legend Material?
It surely is. Here is a video of legend player Nat bringing honor to our cause.
It took me a lot of play time to edit the original deck and sand out the rough edges, but now it has the perfect balance I was looking for in a midrange deck.
Strengths of the deck:
The deck is optimal against midrange, combo and control decks. Even though it struggles a little against aggro/burn decks, it still has a lot of tools to get back on track against those matchups. The strength of the deck is its great mana curve, which grants a valuable play every turn, except on turn one. Matter of fact, the curve is so good that you don't ever feel the need to draw cards.
The value you get from turn 2 to 7 is huge, though, and the enemy will have a hard time dealing with all your minions, traps, weapons and spells. If you fall behind, you can still make it thanks to Unleash the Hounds and Explosive Trap. If your opponent is playing very difensively, you can pull out the big guns: Savannah Highmane and Dr. Boom.
I believe a good deck is a deck which has a little bit of everything, and this one certainly does. There are various ways to win the game, and various secrets to trick the enemy into misplaying.
Deck Wicknesses:
The deck struggles against extremely aggressive decks such as Secret Paladin and Zoo. Since it's a midrange deck, it shines from turn 2 to 7, allowing you to make valuable trades in that time span. This is why it's so important to try and keep board control.
Mulligan guide:
Mulligan is pretty standard with a midrange hunter, hence it doesn't change much in the various matchups: remember that priority n° 1 is board control, at least at the beginning.
You want to try and get Webspinner if you don't have the coin, otherwise 2-drops are welcome.
All 2-mana drops are welcome, though try to keep the ones which most fit your current matchup (Haunted Creeper against secret pally, King's Elekk against druid and priest, Mad Scientist versus everyone.
I generally keep 3-mana-cost cards such as Eaglehorn Bow or Animal Companion, provided that I hold at least a 2-mana drop as well.
Throw back secrets and try to get Mad Scientist, unless you get a secret that is specifically good against the deck you are facing, like freeze trap against druid, Explosive Trap against paladin, or Bear Trap if lacking other 2-mana drops.
Favorable Matchups:
- Control Warrior, Control Priest, Control Paladin, Ramp Druid.
60/40 Matchups:
- Midrange Paladin, Dragon Priest, Midrange/Control/Reno Warlock.
50/50 Matchups:
- Zoo, Tempo Mage, Face Shaman, Combo Druid, Patron Warrior, Mech Mage.
40/60 Matchups:
Secret Paladin, Face Hunter.
How to win against Secret Paladin:
Even though the match is pretty hard, if you play smart enough you can beat secret paladins, too. The key to winning in this matchup is to trigger as few secrets as possible and to leave as much crap as possible on the board (your opponent's minions). If you go face most of the time your opponent won't be able to benefit from the incresed buffs of the secrets, hence he won't be able to overwhelm you on the board. If you just go face and he does, too, you can outdamage him anyway, for as a hunter you have more burst damage.
When the Mysterious Challenger is played you can wait one turn before triggering the secrets, provided you have Unleash the Hounds or Dr. Boom to play on the following turn. Again, if you play smart enough you can totally beat them.
Gameplay:
If you are eager to watch the deck in action here is a video of our friend Kristophesaurus Dinosaurus playing it:
Possible Replacements:
-2 Piloted Shredder, +2 Tomb Spider; or -1 Ragnaros, +1 Flare.
FAQ
Is King's Elekk worth running?
In this version of the deck I choose to run King's Elekk for two reasons:
1) King's Elekk is a nice draw source and, even if not reliable, it still nets you some good late-game cards sometimes.
2) King's Elekk is a beast and it comboes with Houndmaster.
Isn't this deck the same old same old?
It certainly is. If you are looking for a deck that will blow your mind with quirkiness and originality you will not find it here. However, I tried to revive a good old archetype which seems to be forgotten nowadays and make it playable on today's ladder. If that disappoints your eagerness for creativity, I'm sorry, but I'm just offering a viable and reliable deck.
Discussing Traps:
I chose to play three different traps for two reasons: for one, the enemy will have a hard time figuring out which trap will be next; that often leads to misplays on his part. Secondly, the variety of traps helps you use the one which fits better your current needs.
The traps I included in the list are the most efficient ones in my opinion. I tried running a Snake Trap, but in high ranks my opponent would figure out it was a snake and would just go face the whole time. On the other hand, all the traps I have included trigger no matter what when they hit face and they can often save you from crazy combos.
Conclusions:
I'm glad you guys like the deck, I know it looks pretty standard but it took me a lot of grinding to try and perfect it, so it would mean a lot to me if you remembered to upvote it. If you have any questions or comments feel free to drop your thoughts below!
I'll catch you later, fellas!
Giordy
Replacement Ragnaros ?
I haven't been playing it recently, but the meta has changed much since then, hence I think it's still viable. Give it a try and see how it goes :)
Sporting a 90% winrate so far with this deck from ranks 22 to 11. (25-3)
Thanks!
Awesome!!! Keep going!!
So I've been persisting with this deck but as soon as I hit rank 7 I hit a brick wall. Probably averaging a 50% win rate and just can't climb higher... Record is now 50-21.
Having a lot of trouble with rush decks and locks in general, any suggestions?
Considering dropping a webspinner for powershot to see if it helps any...
(my webspinner rng has been utterly abysmal of late, getting 1 drops most of the time... lots of chickens)
I add leeroy jenkins to replace ragnaros because sometimes i just need more damage for lethal but ragnaros isn't that stable.People dont expect to see leeroy in mid range hunter.Most of the time they let their guard down and I can burst them down with leeroy-unleash combo.
That's an evergreen, it's a totally viable substitution :)
Leeroy Jenkins would probably be a better alternative, since it can deal the same damage as King Crush for one less mana if you couple it with the hero power, AND it can combo with Unleash the Hounds. Nonetheless, if you don't have Leeroy King Crush could work, too.
I would try Gladiator's Longbow otherwise, it deals up to 7 damage to the face and it's a great board control tool.
I use almost exactly the same deck but with a flare instead of Rags. Might be a suggestion.
I tried that and actually changed the deck list with that replacement, but in the end there were few occasions in which I could use Flare at the right moment, so I ended up going back to an evergreen powerhouse such as Ragnaros. I will have to try Gladiator's Longbow and see how well it works compared to Rag.
So I recently decided to take up Midrange Hunter as my first complete deck, due to the high dust cost of Combo Druid. Unfortunately, I had dusted 2 Highmanes a while ago, sooo I had to spent dust on them again (pain in me bum). Once I go this deck up and running, I had to start from the bottom like Drake (No... not Azure Drake nerds; the rapper).
This meant I had to start grinding from rank 20, despite my bonus stars from my incomplete Combo Druid deck getting me to Rank 16 last season. (I tried SMOrc and it didn't go so well...I was desperate. :( )
In Rank 20 thus-far, I have battled only 3 opponents and went 2-1. The first game I simply did not get my Mulligan's, and eventually board control did no good as I was unable to identify the mage as a burn mage (not the deck's fault).
The next two games I was mentally ready however, and won against a Control Priest (stated as favorable in the guide) AND a Face Hunter (stated as 40/60 matchup in guide). The reason that's bold is because once I got the groove of the deck, it was obvious that to win you simply need to put some damage on the aggressor (hero power when possible), and control the board with traps. I played smart, and eventually had more cards in hand than the Face Hunter about turn 6 (I had 6, he had 3). Freezing Trap and Bear Trap further ensured victory on his last attempted assault (yes...that is a felony kids).
I know it's Rank 20 and it is pitiful, but this is just the beginning. I will edit this post with my Rank and winrate whenever possible as the season progresses. Happy net-decking boys! :D
Rank 18 with 1 star. Winning streak yet to be broken.
Update: Rank 15, 4 stars
I am really glad that it has been working out well for you! Once you have the cards, the smarts is all you need ;)
5/11 and in casual mode. Not a very solid deck, sorry to say. Last season I used a midrange hunter in ladder (ranking 10) and had awesome results (70% winning rate actually), but this one just doesn´t seem to work:
*Priest Win(opponent quit at turn 2), Win (very weak noideawhat deck)
*Warrior Lose, Lose (both aggro)
*Mage Win(pathetic control deck), Win (awful mech deck), Lose (great mech deck), Lose (control deck)
*Warlock Win(Renolock, but no Reno)
*Hunter Lose (aggro)
*Rogue Lose (aggro)
Maybe I just had bad luck, but I doubt it.
Thanks for sharing, though. It was fun to test it :)
Ranking 10? If your max rank on the ladder is 10, you can't really state that it's a bad deck. I made 10 today with this deck, after 2 days of playing on the ladder.
Anyway, try the original version of the deck, maybe you'll like it more.
I used this deck last season and made it to rank 5 (stopped playing there), the only real weakness being against secret paladin. Overall had a 57% win rate (even though I was 3-12 against secret pally). I'm playing it again this season and am winning >50%.
There are a lot of decisions that go into this deck. When to trade and which options to play when. Coming from Combo Druid, this one took some playstyle changes, but it's been worth it and I've had a lot of fun with a non-cancer Hunter!
Awesome, keep playing it, it's worth it ;)
30 games so far with a 70 % win-rate, awesome deck! (BTW I still use the webspinners instead of the knife jugglers)
Oh and I'm also a big fan of flare! It's so fun to burn out the christmas tree :)
This deck blows huge ass.
It consistently gets mauled by burn mages..... haven't beaten one yet.
Dude, if you can't play the deck, don't whine about it.
Juggler is very versatile and it can be played in different ways. In absence of a solid 2-mana drop you can play juggler no problem, it's still a dangerous 3/2 for 2. The combo with haunted creeper can always cause some damage, and the most powerful way of playing the juggler in this deck is in combo with Unleash the Hounds. If you're stuck at rank 20 the problem shouldn't be with the deck. I can personally make it to rank 5 with any standard deck, it doesn't really matter which one. I suggest you watch some tutorials on trading and tempo, and watch some streamers play. That always helps in understanding the mechanics of the game and of the various decks.