Hearthpwn

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