Joseph’s Brew – The Grand Tournament Midrange Hunter (Beast)

Introduction

Hello, once again. Joseph Scalise here, jumping over from Weekly Legends to deliver you another article relating to the constructed side of The Grand Tournament (which I am absolutely crazy excited for). While my first pass was aimed at analyzing the most powerful constructed cards in the set, this time around I will be focused on decks and deck construction. Anyone who has seen my series or watched me play knows that I am a brewer at heart. Hitting legend is fine, but I always strive to find the most interesting or creative ways to reach the orange diamond. Brewing is my favorite part of card games, and despite what some certain rope-loving streamers think, this set is certainly going to shake up the meta. Not only was this desperately needed, but it also means that many new decks will rise from the chaos that will surely come in the next few weeks. New cards have two purposes in cards games: to either strengthen existing decks or create entirely new ones.

One thing I should make clear before we begin is that the lists are first takes. They are by no means refined, which would be impossible due to the cards not being in the game yet, but they are shells that will serve as a great place to start brewing. When I (or anyone) builds a deck you just start with a shell, play test that shell and see what needs to be tweaked or improved. Not every card in the set is going to give birth to a new deck, and not every deck you theorycraft is going to end up being good. However, this article is not just for the decks laid out below, it is also to show exactly how you want to think when you begin brewing. There is no way to know exactly what will come from the Grand Tournament, but the decks below are ones that I am excited to try, and I will most likely be playing all of them at some point next week.

Midrange Hunter (Beast)

Shifting gears away from “the old”, we take a look at a new version of Hunter that, while familiar, has some very new elements. Beast synergy has always been very strong, but, besides Starving Buzzard, you have never really been able to build an entire deck around it. Houndmaster has always been extremely powerful, but that hasn’t been enough support to justify the deck. However, now that Ram Wrangler and Bear Trap have entered the discussion, I think that changes considerably. You now have access to a lot more powerful beast support, which allows you to fill the deck with more beasts than ever before. As with classic Midrange Hunter, this deck seeks to control the board and then kill your opponent out of nowhere. However, gone are the non-beast cards like Knife Juggler and Sludge Belcher. Instead they have been replaced with more minions that better trigger Houndmaster and Ram Wrangler. It may seem strange to try and construct an entire deck around those two cards, but they can win the game on their own since you are still running Quick Shot and Kill Command, which can give you lethal out of nowhere.

Oasis Snapjaw and Jungle Panther are both going to be very good moving forward, as each of them basically guarantee a trigger for your support cards. Stranglethorn Tiger does the same thing, but just on a larger scale. Midrange Hunter thrives on constantly threatening lethal just by being a Hunter, and you have a ton of strong minions in your deck that just get stronger through synergy. I am not entirely sold on King’s Elekk due to the lower-curve of the deck, but its ability seems so solid it is at least worth testing (and it’s a beast). The last card worth noting in this list is Bestial Wrath. This card could quite possibly be horrible here, but with so many beasts it as at least worth a try. If it proves to be good, I’ll even consider running two. The classic Hunter cards all have a very high power level, and gutting the list that everyone knows to make room for extra beast or beast-oriented cards seems like an obvious change. Though the numbers (and beasts) may need to be tweaked, you are still a Hunter at the end of the day. Also, don’t play Call Pet, it’s still not good.

Conclusion

Well, there you have it. Speculation, speculation and speculation. I am so ready for Monday it isn’t even the least bit funny, and I am going to crack my packs ASAP and get crafting. Be sure to check out my other brews:

• The Grand Tournament’s Control Paladin (Non Dragon)
• The Grand Tournament’s Tempo Mage
• The Grand Tournament’s Midrange Shaman (Totem)
• The Grand Tournament’s Control Warrior (Non Dragon)
• The Grand Tournament’s Token Druid
• The Grand Tournament’s Midrange Hunter (Beast)
• The Grand Tournament’s Aggro Warlock
• The Grand Tournament’s Malygos Shaman
• The Grand Tournament’s Dragon Priest

All of these builds excite me, and I’m not sure which one I am going to bring to the ladder first. I am most intrigued by Demon Aggro, Token Druid and Tempo Mage, but Dragon Priest and Maly-Shaman also look so fun. I will return to Weekly Legends next week, where I will start to actually play the new decks, and I cannot wait for that as well. Hope you guys enjoyed this and my “top ten” article, and I hope you are as ready as I am. Remember, you never know what to expect on the new ladder, so have fun, get testing, and play what you love. Until next time, may all of your Legendaries be golden!