Years ago, when Warcraft was still a relevantly young buck, there came about a Demon of terrible power. Powerful as he was, he did often warn of his inevitable wrath, and forewarned the mortals of the world that they hadn't taken adequate precautions.
"You are not prepared."
Little did they know that this foreshadowing did not pertain to the arrival of the demon lord in the mortal world, but rather to his intentions to wreak havoc in the card world. Illidan Stormrage is coming, and we couldn't be more unprepared.
The demon hunter power creep is coming, and there doesn't seem to be anything we can do to stop it. The demon hunter is going to redefine what the terms "tempo" and "aggro" mean to the game, and I am going to explain why card by card, based on what we know now. Here is a link to reference the list to those whom do not know them by name yet. https://www.hearthpwn.com/guides/7292-demon-hunter-hearthstones-10th-class
Keep in mind, what I will be reviewing will pertain to the aggro/tempo version of the deck, which will certainly be the strongest variant in my opinion.
Shadowhoof Slayer: Underwhelming on first glance. A tribed elven archer with one more attack at the drawback of potentially taking face damage in exchange. But when you realize what the class does as a whole, you begin to realize that this card is actually incredible within the strategy.
Chaos Strike:There are actually people writing this off as underwhelming. This card is in fact, insane. 1 less damage that shadowbomb and limited by taunt is a small price to pay considering it replaces itself, and also follows the "give your hero attack" theme. Incredible card.
Aldrachi Warblade: This card is nothing short of absolutely bonkers. This card single handedly remedies the biggest "weakness" of the class. Taking too much damage trading face? Just use the plethora of attack increasing cards that you have along side this to heal back a TON of the damage you would have otherwise taken. This card is absolutely busted in this class.
Coordinated Strike: One of their more mellow cards, but also insane. Like bees, it swarms the board with 1/1's. But this is actually better because you can use it proactively, and you can better control where the damage goes. It also has ridiculous synergy with Wrathscale Naga, whom we will get to later in the list.
Soul Cleave: This is actually one of their weaker cards. It's a little overcosted for what its doing, and furthermore than have similar card options that are just better.
Chaos Nova: This won't go into the aggro version that I am focusing on, but this card is bonkers otherwise. If there is some variant of demon hunter control that works, this card will be a big part of why.
Satyr Overseer: Your going to see me using the work bonkers a fair amount, and this card is just that. Absolutely insane in the fast demon hunter. In demon hunter your hero attacks, and he attacks a lot. This card speaks for itself. It's just insane.
Glaivebound Adept: I actually am having a tough time deciding if this makes the cut for the final list. It's certainly not a bad card, as its condition can be met in a million ways with DH, but it might just be a tad too heavy.
Flamereaper:This is a control weapon, and much like Choas Nova, if control DH becomes a thing, this will be in it.
Eye Beam: Ohhhhhhhhhhhh boy. Oh my. This card. This card is just, beyond unfair. Such a simple effect, and yet this is one of the best hearthstone cards ever printed. EVER. The fast, low curve version of this deck is going to have 0 difficulty playing this on 0. And what is this on 0? A backstab...with lifesteal...that deals 3 damage...to ANY MINION. This card is single handedly the card that will make demon hunter out tempo anything else. I am just in awe at this card.
Wrathspike Brute: Filed into the if dh control works, this will be in it.
Wrathscale Naga:You know, when you read eye beam you think "okay, this class gonna be scary" and then you stumble onto this. What is this? Ordinarily underwhelming, but after having seen what dh's are getting I just cannot put into words how good this is. This class is getting SO MUCH DAMAGE from SO MANY SOURCES that this is just piling even more on. DH has a ridiculous amount of ways to spew a wide board, curving into this. But wait, lets say you don't curve into this. Well it combos ridiculously with the two rush factory spells they got. And this can go face, which is where dh already has property rights.
Blade Dance:So back when I said soul cleave has a card that does it better, this is what I was talking about. If Eye Beam somehow didn't get the tempo (that you probably already had all game already) back in your favor, this sure gonna do it. If your hero gets 2 or more attack, this card becomes absolutely disgusting. Lucky for the rest of the classes, dh doesn't have access to many ways to boost their attack...
Feast of Souls:"But Spacetime, surely building a deck with such a low curve would mean it would run out of gas quickly right?!" Absolutely should be the case, but it ain't going to happen. Like Wrathscale Nage, the DH class has ways to absolutely abuse the crap out of this. This card is 2 mana draw 3 90% of the time. And a better arcane intellect all of the time.
Hulking Overfiend:Control demon hunter being thing=this being in it.
Illidari Felblade: If they ever make another Goofy Movie the creators of this class are going to be the leads. As stated, the low curve dh decks will have no issue using outcase, and this card played with outcast is disgusting.
Raging Felscreamer: Control DH
Battlefiend:
"Lol, hey flame imp how's life been?"
"It's been fine, you're lookin' good."
"Yeah man I've been working out, getting my life together. How about you? You still deal 3 damage to your master whenever he calls on you?"
"Well yeah of course, I am a 1 mana 3/2, there has to be a drawback to that right?"
"No man you're living in the past! They have this new demon hunter diet that totally makes you your best self. The best you can be! I'd say you should try it, but you probably couldn't afford it."
Blur:Not that great. It's cute with some weapons, but they can heal themselves in better ways.
Command the Illidari: I mean this is just locust swarm but better. 1 mana is worth way more than a 1/1 rush. And dh has synergy with this out the wazoo. Insane in this class.
Umberwing:The deeper you delve into this class the more you wonder how much longer this can go on. This card is just, ridiculous. It has synergy with near everything dh is doing, and just helps secure the early game even more than dh already was.
Ur'zul Horror: The fast version is just straight up playing 2 of this. It's a more aggressive firefly, and firefly was amazing.
Spectral Sight:Yup, again outcase is not a problem. Card draw sure should be for this type of deck, but as demonstrated here and with Feast of Souls, it clearly will not be.
Skull of Gul'dan. LOL well flame imp already had his ego beaten up, might as well beat up Far Sight as well. Or nourish. This 9 mana worth of Farsights....in one card....
Warglaive of Azzinoth:Too heavy for aggro, will see play in control.
Furious Felfin:I guess the class needed its own raptor? With 1 more attack and rush.
Twin Slice:Pounce with huge upside and massive synergy. Moving on.
Metamorphosis:Just in case you somehow didn't "get there" through other means. Have a discounted pyroblast that you can split up.
Mana Burn: People are actually somehow saying this is underwhelming. This is ABSOLUTELY BONKERS (<--there it is again). This deck is already going to be drawing a lot, so having something cheap to weave in is great. I saw some people say rebuke never saw play. Lol this is far from rebuke, and far better. This stops minions, and is cheaper. This protects your board so well, and is just beyond disruptive. This shouldn't exist.
Pit Commander: Control
In Conclusion
Yes, this is pretty much all we have seen so far, and other classes are getting cards too. But there's just no question, dh aggro is going to be absolutely disgusting. And I will even be so brash to say that there is not going to be a single other aggro/tempo deck that will be playable because of this class. Demon hunter appears to be rogue but with more burst, card draw, tempo, and healing. I am more than happy to hear counterpoints to this. I could go even further comparing each of these cards to their closest counterparts that currently exist, and how they are just better versions.
I know, without seeing the entire set making early claims feels bad, but I just don't see this going another way.
It does seem strong. However, how well the deck does seems pretty heavily meta dependent. The only card that seems truly guaranteed scary is metamorphosis because Blackwald Pixie + Clockwork Automaton in wild will be too easy to pull off at some point.
I highly argue about Satyr Overseer, it dies to almost anything (the potential is more likely to be in Arena) and the bonus is not that great either way.
Shadowhoof Slayer is "ok" in a very aggressive shell only.
Feast of Souls as you play with better oponents, you will realize that letting you having a bunch of 1/1s so you can "draw" (you still need them to die on your turn, by trading, very very situational) will be not the common thing.
Ur'zul Horror firefly was amazing because it could survive pings and small 1/1 tokens on their own, this doesn't.
I highly argue about Satyr Overseer, it dies to almost anything (the potential is more likely to be in Arena) and the bonus is not that great either way.
Shadowhoof Slayer is "ok" in a very aggressive shell only.
Feast of Souls as you play with better oponents, you will realize that letting you having a bunch of 1/1s so you can "draw" (you still need them to die on your turn, by trading, very very situational) will be not the common thing.
Ur'zul Horror firefly was amazing because it could survive pings and small 1/1 tokens on their own, this doesn't.
Shadowhoof will be in the aggressive decks, because all they are going to care about is making sure they are curving out. 1 drops weave very well with a hero power that costs 1 mana. This on turn 1 is a better elven. This on turn 2 is 2 mana 2/1 with Battlecry: deal 2 damage with hero power. That is very good.
Feast of souls isn't just about them "letting you" have a bunch of 1/1s. In the earlier stages of the game, non control decks are developing minions of their own. It is not seemingly difficult whatsoever for DH to develop wide boards early and quickly. On top of that, they received cards that have great synergy with this in the form of wide, weak rush minions.
As far is Ur'zul goes, it will still see play as a two of in the fast deck no question. Yes, firefly could survive pings, but in the early stages sinking mana into hero powers is a tempo loss. Acornbearer turned out to be a fine card if token druid was good at the time. This is close to the same concept. This deck is going to thrive in the 1-3 mana range, and this just takes that further. And again, the 1 mana cost hero power is ridiculous with these cards that give you something to do with that other 1 mana. Play this turn 1, if it dies turn 2 you have another plus hero power. It's efficient, and fills your curve.
Antaen would only go into a control deck, if played at all. Jury's out on the dormant mechanic still. People seem to be comparing him to reno, but he is much worse. Reno cannot go face, which adds reliability. In aggro, this card is WAY too slow. Turn 5 pass with no effect until turn 7 won't be better than other things you can be doing.
Soul Split is probably bad. It's faceless manip for 1 less mana, but has a drawback of not being able to target your opponent's stuff. It is also horrible in the fast build, because your mana sweet spot is 1-3, and 4 mana to copy any minion in that slot is detrimental. The only way I could see this being played is if down the line there is some minion that enables some crazy combo, and this would have to further that.
Edit: Soul split is literally a carbon copy of molten reflection. I just now realized the friendly minion also must be a demon. Yeah, it bad.
I highly argue about Satyr Overseer, it dies to almost anything (the potential is more likely to be in Arena) and the bonus is not that great either way.
Shadowhoof Slayer is "ok" in a very aggressive shell only.
Feast of Souls as you play with better oponents, you will realize that letting you having a bunch of 1/1s so you can "draw" (you still need them to die on your turn, by trading, very very situational) will be not the common thing.
Ur'zul Horror firefly was amazing because it could survive pings and small 1/1 tokens on their own, this doesn't.
Shadowhoof will be in the aggressive decks, because all they are going to care about is making sure they are curving out. 1 drops weave very well with a hero power that costs 1 mana. This on turn 1 is a better elven. This on turn 2 is 2 mana 2/1 with Battlecry: deal 2 damage with hero power. That is very good.
Feast of souls isn't just about them "letting you" have a bunch of 1/1s. In the earlier stages of the game, non control decks are developing minions of their own. It is not seemingly difficult whatsoever for DH to develop wide boards early and quickly. On top of that, they received cards that have great synergy with this in the form of wide, weak rush minions.
As far is Ur'zul goes, it will still see play as a two of in the fast deck no question. Yes, firefly could survive pings, but in the early stages sinking mana into hero powers is a tempo loss. Acornbearer turned out to be a fine card if token druid was good at the time. This is close to the same concept. This deck is going to thrive in the 1-3 mana range, and this just takes that further. And again, the 1 mana cost hero power is ridiculous with these cards that give you something to do with that other 1 mana. Play this turn 1, if it dies turn 2 you have another plus hero power. It's efficient, and fills your curve.
Shadowhoof Slayer are you really comparing this to an elven archer? because it has been long since we stopped playing that card. The card is just ok, the ping is really relevant because you could be facing the same class, and 1 health minions are bad against that class. I might even prefer to play the 1 mana 2/2 over this.
Feast of souls: in most ranked games, minions don't last long. It is a fact, that's why Corridor Creeper was so good. In the first weeks, half the ladder will be infested with Demon Hunters, so forget about having a bunch of minions to trade into during your turn. You would need those 2 rush token generator cards in hand while playing Feast of Souls during the same turn. And most of the times you won't have the luxury to do both or even have them both at the same time. I could be wrong, but we have seen that Cult Master is not a very good card in token decks. My opinion is based on what we have seen in other cards with similar effects.
Ur'zul Horror: I'm not saying this card won't see play, I'm just saying that your comparison was wrong. You also ommiting the context, acornbearer is good in that specific deck because it is a 1 mana token generator in a token deck. If you are making an aggro deck, acorn might not be the card you would want to be playing with.
I believe that we will see some of the Demon Hunter cards be nerfed, maybe even twice :p But I could be totally wrong, time will tell.
Demon hunter is basically going to be face hunter. There's a lot of early game here and quite a bit of burn. It'll out tempo most decks and then you slam skull of gul'dan, meta, or the 10/6 imprisoned dude as your finisher. SMOrc demon hunter seems strong.
I think control demon hunter is just bad, because the late game is straight up weaker than other late game decks. The big scary finisher is pit commander, and I guess it summons itself, betterhead, or the 10/6. Embiggen/quest druid, reno mage, and rez priest will have no problem out-statting that. Same with the galakronds. Maybe you run highlander, but then the demon cheat-out stuff becomes much, much worse and you're still just worse than other late game decks.
I agree with a lot of your evaluations if they were a little less exaggerated. The only truly bonkers cards in my eyes are the imprisoned 10/6, skull of gul'dan, the 3/1 naga, and eyebeam. The 2/3 weapon with lifesteal is bad because demon hunter is trying to kill the opponent as fast as possible before they get to the broken stuff. Unless you're fighting exactly face hunter you shouldn't worry about your own life total, and if the lifesteal doesn't matter then this card just has bad stats.
Res Priest is leaving since Cloning Gallery rotates.
There should be more big Demons coming in this expansion, also if you are a Hipster you can always try to turn it into a Control Highlander deck and have Dragonqueen and Zephrys available for late game, but Control is most likely not what he is best at, I clearly see a Mid-range approach most viable, its class identity and flexibility is more of a mix of Roque (Tempo, Draw very cost efficiently, Mana Cheating) and Warlock (excellent AoE, flood board with small minions and keep the opponent on its Toes, while having only lifesteal available as means to heal) I'd even argue Demonhunter can draw even more greedily than both Roque/Warlock or any other class for that matter. Main Weakness being in Healing just like the mentioned classes.
But spacetime, surely if you go wide enough with taunts, you can stifle all of this terrible incoming damage you're receiving right? Boy, we sure thought so.
Thank goodness they don't have a way to cast mass dispel on ALL of your taunts WITH a 3/5 body AND has charge.
Yes yes spacetime but a card like that costs what, 6 maybe even 7 mana?
Yup, sure does. Could you imagine if this was like a 4 drop or something. How crazy would that be...
This card proves that this problem just isn't going to get any better. I am putting my joking and bonkers-ing aside for this one. People have no idea what they are in for with this. This card is ABSOLUTELY ridiculous. This is just short of Avenging Wrath with a 1 mana 6/7 attached to it. But it's infinitely better as it also is recurring.
This card would be insane if this was a battlecry, let along an ongoing effect. It was my initial prediction that some control classes, mainly warrior, may be able to keep up with the damage DH will put out. But then, you see this. This can be dropped to clear a board, or just fireball their face. This card is so much in one card I just cannot fathom it. Bonemare 2.0 is the closest thing I can think of. This is both a win-more, and a catch-up mechanic.
Mark my words, and save this post so you can throw it back at me if I am wrong (because I would be thrilled if I am). Hearthstone is about to completely warp around this class. Every other class will need to build to beat Demon Hunter. There is no class that will out tempo it. Nothing. There will likely be only few classes that will be able to out value it as well, and those classes are likely going to die to it long before then.
If you're excited, that's good. I am too overall. But be ready, DH stone is coming, and it will remain until it is changed.
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Years ago, when Warcraft was still a relevantly young buck, there came about a Demon of terrible power. Powerful as he was, he did often warn of his inevitable wrath, and forewarned the mortals of the world that they hadn't taken adequate precautions.
"You are not prepared."
Little did they know that this foreshadowing did not pertain to the arrival of the demon lord in the mortal world, but rather to his intentions to wreak havoc in the card world. Illidan Stormrage is coming, and we couldn't be more unprepared.
The demon hunter power creep is coming, and there doesn't seem to be anything we can do to stop it. The demon hunter is going to redefine what the terms "tempo" and "aggro" mean to the game, and I am going to explain why card by card, based on what we know now. Here is a link to reference the list to those whom do not know them by name yet. https://www.hearthpwn.com/guides/7292-demon-hunter-hearthstones-10th-class
Keep in mind, what I will be reviewing will pertain to the aggro/tempo version of the deck, which will certainly be the strongest variant in my opinion.
Shadowhoof Slayer: Underwhelming on first glance. A tribed elven archer with one more attack at the drawback of potentially taking face damage in exchange. But when you realize what the class does as a whole, you begin to realize that this card is actually incredible within the strategy.
Chaos Strike: There are actually people writing this off as underwhelming. This card is in fact, insane. 1 less damage that shadowbomb and limited by taunt is a small price to pay considering it replaces itself, and also follows the "give your hero attack" theme. Incredible card.
Aldrachi Warblade: This card is nothing short of absolutely bonkers. This card single handedly remedies the biggest "weakness" of the class. Taking too much damage trading face? Just use the plethora of attack increasing cards that you have along side this to heal back a TON of the damage you would have otherwise taken. This card is absolutely busted in this class.
Coordinated Strike: One of their more mellow cards, but also insane. Like bees, it swarms the board with 1/1's. But this is actually better because you can use it proactively, and you can better control where the damage goes. It also has ridiculous synergy with Wrathscale Naga, whom we will get to later in the list.
Soul Cleave: This is actually one of their weaker cards. It's a little overcosted for what its doing, and furthermore than have similar card options that are just better.
Chaos Nova: This won't go into the aggro version that I am focusing on, but this card is bonkers otherwise. If there is some variant of demon hunter control that works, this card will be a big part of why.
Satyr Overseer: Your going to see me using the work bonkers a fair amount, and this card is just that. Absolutely insane in the fast demon hunter. In demon hunter your hero attacks, and he attacks a lot. This card speaks for itself. It's just insane.
Glaivebound Adept: I actually am having a tough time deciding if this makes the cut for the final list. It's certainly not a bad card, as its condition can be met in a million ways with DH, but it might just be a tad too heavy.
Flamereaper: This is a control weapon, and much like Choas Nova, if control DH becomes a thing, this will be in it.
Eye Beam: Ohhhhhhhhhhhh boy. Oh my. This card. This card is just, beyond unfair. Such a simple effect, and yet this is one of the best hearthstone cards ever printed. EVER. The fast, low curve version of this deck is going to have 0 difficulty playing this on 0. And what is this on 0? A backstab...with lifesteal...that deals 3 damage...to ANY MINION. This card is single handedly the card that will make demon hunter out tempo anything else. I am just in awe at this card.
Wrathspike Brute: Filed into the if dh control works, this will be in it.
Wrathscale Naga: You know, when you read eye beam you think "okay, this class gonna be scary" and then you stumble onto this. What is this? Ordinarily underwhelming, but after having seen what dh's are getting I just cannot put into words how good this is. This class is getting SO MUCH DAMAGE from SO MANY SOURCES that this is just piling even more on. DH has a ridiculous amount of ways to spew a wide board, curving into this. But wait, lets say you don't curve into this. Well it combos ridiculously with the two rush factory spells they got. And this can go face, which is where dh already has property rights.
Blade Dance: So back when I said soul cleave has a card that does it better, this is what I was talking about. If Eye Beam somehow didn't get the tempo (that you probably already had all game already) back in your favor, this sure gonna do it. If your hero gets 2 or more attack, this card becomes absolutely disgusting. Lucky for the rest of the classes, dh doesn't have access to many ways to boost their attack...
Feast of Souls: "But Spacetime, surely building a deck with such a low curve would mean it would run out of gas quickly right?!" Absolutely should be the case, but it ain't going to happen. Like Wrathscale Nage, the DH class has ways to absolutely abuse the crap out of this. This card is 2 mana draw 3 90% of the time. And a better arcane intellect all of the time.
Hulking Overfiend: Control demon hunter being thing=this being in it.
Illidari Felblade: If they ever make another Goofy Movie the creators of this class are going to be the leads. As stated, the low curve dh decks will have no issue using outcase, and this card played with outcast is disgusting.
Raging Felscreamer: Control DH
Battlefiend:
"Lol, hey flame imp how's life been?"
"It's been fine, you're lookin' good."
"Yeah man I've been working out, getting my life together. How about you? You still deal 3 damage to your master whenever he calls on you?"
"Well yeah of course, I am a 1 mana 3/2, there has to be a drawback to that right?"
"No man you're living in the past! They have this new demon hunter diet that totally makes you your best self. The best you can be! I'd say you should try it, but you probably couldn't afford it."
Blur: Not that great. It's cute with some weapons, but they can heal themselves in better ways.
Command the Illidari: I mean this is just locust swarm but better. 1 mana is worth way more than a 1/1 rush. And dh has synergy with this out the wazoo. Insane in this class.
Umberwing: The deeper you delve into this class the more you wonder how much longer this can go on. This card is just, ridiculous. It has synergy with near everything dh is doing, and just helps secure the early game even more than dh already was.
Ur'zul Horror: The fast version is just straight up playing 2 of this. It's a more aggressive firefly, and firefly was amazing.
Spectral Sight: Yup, again outcase is not a problem. Card draw sure should be for this type of deck, but as demonstrated here and with Feast of Souls, it clearly will not be.
Skull of Gul'dan. LOL well flame imp already had his ego beaten up, might as well beat up Far Sight as well. Or nourish. This 9 mana worth of Farsights....in one card....
Warglaive of Azzinoth: Too heavy for aggro, will see play in control.
Furious Felfin: I guess the class needed its own raptor? With 1 more attack and rush.
Twin Slice: Pounce with huge upside and massive synergy. Moving on.
Metamorphosis: Just in case you somehow didn't "get there" through other means. Have a discounted pyroblast that you can split up.
Mana Burn: People are actually somehow saying this is underwhelming. This is ABSOLUTELY BONKERS (<--there it is again). This deck is already going to be drawing a lot, so having something cheap to weave in is great. I saw some people say rebuke never saw play. Lol this is far from rebuke, and far better. This stops minions, and is cheaper. This protects your board so well, and is just beyond disruptive. This shouldn't exist.
Pit Commander: Control
In Conclusion
Yes, this is pretty much all we have seen so far, and other classes are getting cards too. But there's just no question, dh aggro is going to be absolutely disgusting. And I will even be so brash to say that there is not going to be a single other aggro/tempo deck that will be playable because of this class. Demon hunter appears to be rogue but with more burst, card draw, tempo, and healing. I am more than happy to hear counterpoints to this. I could go even further comparing each of these cards to their closest counterparts that currently exist, and how they are just better versions.
I know, without seeing the entire set making early claims feels bad, but I just don't see this going another way.
+
Can't target Dormant minions.
It does seem strong. However, how well the deck does seems pretty heavily meta dependent. The only card that seems truly guaranteed scary is metamorphosis because Blackwald Pixie + Clockwork Automaton in wild will be too easy to pull off at some point.
I highly argue about Satyr Overseer, it dies to almost anything (the potential is more likely to be in Arena) and the bonus is not that great either way.
Shadowhoof Slayer is "ok" in a very aggressive shell only.
Feast of Souls as you play with better oponents, you will realize that letting you having a bunch of 1/1s so you can "draw" (you still need them to die on your turn, by trading, very very situational) will be not the common thing.
Ur'zul Horror firefly was amazing because it could survive pings and small 1/1 tokens on their own, this doesn't.
The answer to all your doubts will always be
Shadowhoof will be in the aggressive decks, because all they are going to care about is making sure they are curving out. 1 drops weave very well with a hero power that costs 1 mana. This on turn 1 is a better elven. This on turn 2 is 2 mana 2/1 with Battlecry: deal 2 damage with hero power. That is very good.
Feast of souls isn't just about them "letting you" have a bunch of 1/1s. In the earlier stages of the game, non control decks are developing minions of their own. It is not seemingly difficult whatsoever for DH to develop wide boards early and quickly. On top of that, they received cards that have great synergy with this in the form of wide, weak rush minions.
As far is Ur'zul goes, it will still see play as a two of in the fast deck no question. Yes, firefly could survive pings, but in the early stages sinking mana into hero powers is a tempo loss. Acornbearer turned out to be a fine card if token druid was good at the time. This is close to the same concept. This deck is going to thrive in the 1-3 mana range, and this just takes that further. And again, the 1 mana cost hero power is ridiculous with these cards that give you something to do with that other 1 mana. Play this turn 1, if it dies turn 2 you have another plus hero power. It's efficient, and fills your curve.
He still forgot reviewing those, accidently looks like I tried to show off a combo.
Sorry missed the new ones.
Antaen would only go into a control deck, if played at all. Jury's out on the dormant mechanic still. People seem to be comparing him to reno, but he is much worse. Reno cannot go face, which adds reliability. In aggro, this card is WAY too slow. Turn 5 pass with no effect until turn 7 won't be better than other things you can be doing.
Soul Split is probably bad. It's faceless manip for 1 less mana, but has a drawback of not being able to target your opponent's stuff. It is also horrible in the fast build, because your mana sweet spot is 1-3, and 4 mana to copy any minion in that slot is detrimental. The only way I could see this being played is if down the line there is some minion that enables some crazy combo, and this would have to further that.
Edit: Soul split is literally a carbon copy of molten reflection. I just now realized the friendly minion also must be a demon. Yeah, it bad.
Shadowhoof Slayer are you really comparing this to an elven archer? because it has been long since we stopped playing that card. The card is just ok, the ping is really relevant because you could be facing the same class, and 1 health minions are bad against that class. I might even prefer to play the 1 mana 2/2 over this.
Feast of souls: in most ranked games, minions don't last long. It is a fact, that's why Corridor Creeper was so good. In the first weeks, half the ladder will be infested with Demon Hunters, so forget about having a bunch of minions to trade into during your turn. You would need those 2 rush token generator cards in hand while playing Feast of Souls during the same turn. And most of the times you won't have the luxury to do both or even have them both at the same time.
I could be wrong, but we have seen that Cult Master is not a very good card in token decks. My opinion is based on what we have seen in other cards with similar effects.
Ur'zul Horror: I'm not saying this card won't see play, I'm just saying that your comparison was wrong. You also ommiting the context, acornbearer is good in that specific deck because it is a 1 mana token generator in a token deck. If you are making an aggro deck, acorn might not be the card you would want to be playing with.
I believe that we will see some of the Demon Hunter cards be nerfed, maybe even twice :p
But I could be totally wrong, time will tell.
The answer to all your doubts will always be
Demon hunter is basically going to be face hunter. There's a lot of early game here and quite a bit of burn. It'll out tempo most decks and then you slam skull of gul'dan, meta, or the 10/6 imprisoned dude as your finisher. SMOrc demon hunter seems strong.
I think control demon hunter is just bad, because the late game is straight up weaker than other late game decks. The big scary finisher is pit commander, and I guess it summons itself, betterhead, or the 10/6. Embiggen/quest druid, reno mage, and rez priest will have no problem out-statting that. Same with the galakronds. Maybe you run highlander, but then the demon cheat-out stuff becomes much, much worse and you're still just worse than other late game decks.
I agree with a lot of your evaluations if they were a little less exaggerated. The only truly bonkers cards in my eyes are the imprisoned 10/6, skull of gul'dan, the 3/1 naga, and eyebeam. The 2/3 weapon with lifesteal is bad because demon hunter is trying to kill the opponent as fast as possible before they get to the broken stuff. Unless you're fighting exactly face hunter you shouldn't worry about your own life total, and if the lifesteal doesn't matter then this card just has bad stats.
Res Priest is leaving since Cloning Gallery rotates.
There should be more big Demons coming in this expansion, also if you are a Hipster you can always try to turn it into a Control Highlander deck and have Dragonqueen and Zephrys available for late game, but Control is most likely not what he is best at, I clearly see a Mid-range approach most viable, its class identity and flexibility is more of a mix of Roque (Tempo, Draw very cost efficiently, Mana Cheating) and Warlock (excellent AoE, flood board with small minions and keep the opponent on its Toes, while having only lifesteal available as means to heal) I'd even argue Demonhunter can draw even more greedily than both Roque/Warlock or any other class for that matter. Main Weakness being in Healing just like the mentioned classes.
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But spacetime, surely if you go wide enough with taunts, you can stifle all of this terrible incoming damage you're receiving right? Boy, we sure thought so.
Thank goodness they don't have a way to cast mass dispel on ALL of your taunts WITH a 3/5 body AND has charge.
Yes yes spacetime but a card like that costs what, 6 maybe even 7 mana?
Yup, sure does. Could you imagine if this was like a 4 drop or something. How crazy would that be...
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This card proves that this problem just isn't going to get any better. I am putting my joking and bonkers-ing aside for this one. People have no idea what they are in for with this. This card is ABSOLUTELY ridiculous. This is just short of Avenging Wrath with a 1 mana 6/7 attached to it. But it's infinitely better as it also is recurring.
This card would be insane if this was a battlecry, let along an ongoing effect. It was my initial prediction that some control classes, mainly warrior, may be able to keep up with the damage DH will put out. But then, you see this. This can be dropped to clear a board, or just fireball their face. This card is so much in one card I just cannot fathom it. Bonemare 2.0 is the closest thing I can think of. This is both a win-more, and a catch-up mechanic.
Mark my words, and save this post so you can throw it back at me if I am wrong (because I would be thrilled if I am). Hearthstone is about to completely warp around this class. Every other class will need to build to beat Demon Hunter. There is no class that will out tempo it. Nothing. There will likely be only few classes that will be able to out value it as well, and those classes are likely going to die to it long before then.
If you're excited, that's good. I am too overall. But be ready, DH stone is coming, and it will remain until it is changed.