Hearthpwn

Hunter is still a second tier class.  They definitely got some love but they're still not the most competitive.

Look at the other tools other classes get... Hunter is one of the OG secret classes.  Where's their arcanologist?  Card draw?  Etc

Definitely in a better space as compared to last xpac, but still has a ways to go

Awesome, had no idea and crafted it yesterday.  

Far too early to say if it's 'good.'  

Probably better than anticipated, but I don't think it will be a top tier deck.

Quote from LatinLegacy >>

Quote from memecian >>

I almost can't believe myself that I'm saying this and I probably shouldn't because I'm getting too tired but I start to believe that hunter will be at least tier 2 in the next meta. Hunter gets pretty good early game tools actually from this expansion even though you might not realize it at the first glanze. Hunter's weapon arsenal gets boosted by Candleshot which is actually pretty good early game board control card which also let's you play pirates if you include Eaglehorn's Bow in your deck (and you will, this is hunter after all). Dire Mole is another great early game buffable card which can be e.g. 4/3 on turn 2 if you happen to get Crackling Razormaw. Corridor Creeper can be played probably on turn 4 with 3-4 mana which is a nice tempo gain. This is possible because you have cards like Alleycat, Snake Trap (which is actually pretty good secret) and Unleash the Hounds. So my point is that Hunter will probably not be as bad as people think. It just won't go to the direction Blizzard promoted it to us.

Early game was never really the issue with Hunter. Mid to late game was & will remain the issue. A majority of my Hunter wins over the last few expansions were simply due to having a strong opening hand that I am able to snowball my opponent within the first 5 turns, then finish them off Kill Command + Hero Power. That became more difficult as Team 5 gave numerous classes ways to deal with early game aggro. Once your board was wiped out, it became very difficult to regain control of it. With the cards you mentioned along with Cave Hydra, Hunter will have an even better early game but the late game issues will continue to exist. 

Balance is such a delicate act.

If you nerf buzzard + unleashed Hunters will have worse card draw than shamans.  If you nerf highmane what kind of mid to late game will a hunter have?

There are decks that do well against hunter.  Miracle for one.

I'll agree it does get old playing the same class 4/5 times though.

Miracle has a favorable matchup vs hunter.  Sapping a savannah is just game over.

Just finished getting it.

I was slacking on my heroics so I did all but the first wing (which I had already completed) today.

Not a big fan of the heroics tbh.  Blizzard IMO is pretty ridiculous with some of their design decisions.  They want RNG in the game, just not game altering RNG.  As such, they nerfed Nat Pagle and TInkmaster Overspark.  Then they release a whole content expansion where the heroic difficulties are entirely based on RNG to make them 'challenging.'  

None of the challenges were incredibly difficult.  If the RNG gods don't favor you though the grind can be annoying.

Let me guess.  You cried about zoo and miracle rogue too?

I'm running this deck.

Obviously adjustments should be made based on what you're facing a lot of.  I was facing a lot of druids, so I swapped in The Black Knight.  Can swap in whatever you like in that slot, Sylvanas, Baron Geddon etc...

Also experimenting with Faceless Manipulator.  I need to play with it more, but I consider that a tech spot and I'd consider any number of cards in there although typically I swap for Brawl.

Haven't really missed Ysera yet.  The games where she made a difference seemed to be few and far between.  This deck with The Black Knight, Sylvanas Windrunner, and/or Baron Geddon has been the most consistent so far.

One card I would say is non negotiable is Spellbreaker.  The silence has won me a TON of games.

*edit*Could also consider Cruel Taskmaster a tech slot.  Possibly another Slam or Cleave depending on what you're facing a lot of.  I still think it provides excellent synergy with the current deck, but you may need more removal depending on the match-ups you're facing.

Nice to see a warrior in there as well!

I much prefer Ysera to Ragnaros atm.  EVERYONE seems like they're running big game hunter and Ysera seems to always get at least two turns before it's taken out.  I still like using sylvanas to bait out the Tinkmaster Overspark first.

Mages are still strong.  Just have to alter your playstyle.

Seems like mid range freeze/control with antonidas is pretty dang strong right now.  Doomsayer + Frost Nova is just so nasty.

I feel like Grommash Hellscream might fit your deck a little better than Alexstraza.  Inner Rage and Rampage = 15/8.  Or Cruel Taskmaster if you dont have those other cards at that time and you need a finisher.

I also think two Execute is also pretty necessary as it doesn't look like there is much hard removal for big creatures if it gets to that point.

Also wondering about the Shield Bearer.  I understand why its there, but I'm not sure it adds enough to the deck.  I think Cleave might offer your cards protection through removal.

My current deck has Whirlwind and Cleave.  I keep going back and forth on whether or not to replace Cleave with Wild Pyromancer.  They both provide pretty much the same function, and the pyro could potentially leave you with a body on the board.  Wild Pyromancer probably synergizes better with an enrage deck.  Also been toying with throwing Doomsayer in that spot purely for tempo purposes.

Also looks like your card draw is completely designed around Acolyte of Pain.  I'm not sure how I feel about that.

I think people are missing a large point.

This and its current variations are about control just as much as the Gorehowl/Alexstraza.  You constantly kill their minions and whittle them down when you can and then go for the set up.