Weekly Legends: Dinomancy Hunter

Introduction

The dense jungles of Un’goro continue to give us cool decks. There are all sorts of things flying around the ladder right now, and this week we are going to break down one of the more interesting takes on Midrange Hunter. While the archetype is nothing new (it is one of the most popular lists right now) this take, which comes from NabbokHS, is truly different. Rather than relying on burst, this version plays to Dinomancy and stresses the importance of board control. This gives the build some real legs that allows it to play multiple modes. Sometimes you want to go the aggressive route, sometimes you want to curve in the way of a true midrange build, and some games you’re going to slowly run out threats and continuously buff up your minions more and more. There are multiple ways to pilot this deck, and while you still want to press hard on your curve, that is not the only answer here.

Key Cards

Hunter’s Mark

We begin our discussion with one of the more interesting tech cards that Hunter has available. Hunter’s Mark is one of the most important cards in the deck because it helps you understand the two different modes this build has. Sometimes you want to use the one mana spell alongside your early board to push through damage and win the tempo games, while other games you want to use this as your fail-safe to take down that one clutch your taunt your opponent needs to survive. This is a read you need to make early on because it helps you sculpt your gameplan. For instance, is this worth using on a turn four Bloodhoof Brave, or is better to trade your board into the 2/6? That decision is key, and entirely depends on the damage you have as well as what your curve looks like. If you have a strong turn five play it is probably better just to lose your board and try to save the mark for Alley Armorsmith next turn. However, if you’re already planning to drop Savannah Highmane on six, or if you have pushed through a lot of damage already and really want to put Warrior into a tight spot, then mark is better to keep priority. These types of situations are going to be everywhere when piloting this deck. You constantly need to make the decision between pushing damage and playing for tempo, and Hunter’s Mark is a good example of that delicate balance.

Dinomancy

The namesake of the deck, Dinomancy is a very interesting card. Steady Shot is one of the reasons Hunter is as good as it is, but it does it have its limitations. While losing the ping does cripple your damage, it also makes you stronger in a lot of ways. Anyone who has played Midrange Hunter knows how much the archetype depends on board control to win games. This card perfectly embodies that idea, giving you a way to make everything a threat. Being able to turn your Kindly Grandmother into a 3/3 or your Rat Pack into a 4/4 really puts the pressure on your opponent. Not only does it allow you to trade efficiently, but it also gives you a way to bait out removal that your opponent would rather save for later. Getting a big beast on turn five to eat removal before Savannah Highmane is a great way to close out games.

Remember that, like so many strong tech cards, nobody is going to expect Dinomancy. This gives you a huge advantage because it allows you to set up gigantic blow out trades that your opponent will not prepare for. All it takes it one good swing to out-tempo your opponent for good. In addition, since this hero power never goes away it just gets more and more value each turn. That 3/3 Alleycat may not seem too bad at first, but when it becomes a 5/5 into a 7/7 your opponent is going to be scrambling for answers. Just be patient with the buffs and do not overextend if you don’t need to. Dinomancy puts you in control of the pace. Simply look for good trades and try to buff up your smaller minions to stretch out threats.

Unleash the Hounds

Forever tricky to use, Unleash the Hounds is one of those cards where not playing it is more important that playing it. This card gets you a ton of value, and you can really milk that throughout a game. Treat the spell much like AOE in that you want to wait until the last possible second to play it in order to get as much value as you can. Of course, that does not mean you want to lose the board looking for value, but you should really try to hold back on this one. Many decks these days love to flood the board, and the more minions they put down the more work you can do with the dogs. Most of the time they are going to help you trade and preserve your board against faster decks. However, the card can also do quite a bit of damage. When going back and forth for control with your opponent you should typically hold off for one extra turn with the hounds if you can afford to. Once they think you don’t have it they won’t play around it, and that’s why you to blow them out.

Another important reason to hang onto Unleash the Hounds is because of how many things it combos with. The charging 1/1’s do a great job of helping you re-fill your hand with Cult Master, they can give you instant threats with Houndmaster or Dinomancy, act as removal with Hunter’s Mark, and also make your Scavenging Hyenas huge. In fact, Hyena/Rhino/Hounds is one of the best ways to get lethal out of nowhere. Be aware of these different interactions and always read your hand before playing running the spell out. The trick to the card is using it to gain control over the board first and then looking for other interactions second.

Cult Master/Scavenging Hyena

While both of these cards inherently do different things, I lumped them together because they both work in the same way. That is, they reward you for being able to trade in minions. Hunter was one of the biggest winners of the rotation because a lower power level led to less removal. That meant minions stuck around more than they once did. That is important for this build because you have a lot of cards that rely on having a beast, including both Scavenging Hyena and Cult Master. Each of these cards can generate a lot of value, but only if you can put them into the right situations. You have to plan for these cards by using your tempo to keep ahead of your opponent, and if you do that you will be rewarded.

Each of these cards are strong because they instantly take the heat off the rest of your minions. That is very important because it leads your opponent to make some very poor decisions when deciding what and how to trade. Of course they want to clear out your Misha to stop damage and beast synergy, but doing so many leave your master alive to draw you more cards next turn. The same logic is also applied to hyena, which needs to be taken out before everything else. However, notice this strategy only works while you’re ahead. A 6/4 beast is very scary, but it is very easily taken care of by many things. The same goes for a 4/2. It is not so much that these cards are strong on their own, it is that they put your opponent into very awkward situations. Work hard to set them up and do not hesitate to go with them if you can trade away your opponent’s threats at the same time.

Piranha Launcher/Tol’vir Warden/Tundra Rhino

The five spot has always been weird for Hunter, and this deck is no exception. There are three choices here, and they each serve a distinct purpose that helps with your victory. Tundra Rhino is a very good tool with all of your swarm beasts and gives you ways to randomly OTK your opponent with Hyena. Read the midgame and see if you want to play this as a tempo threat or if you want to hold it for quick damage. Beyond that, we have Tol’vir Warden. While I am not a huge fan of this card, I will say that being able to thin your deck later on in the game can come in handy against other midrange or board-centric decks where you need big threats. This card could be a second rhino, but it does do some good work here because of how well you control the early board. Just try your best not to play the 3/5 while behind.

Of course, the most interesting inclusion here is Piranha Launcher. This could also be a second Tundra Rhino (do not run two Tol’vir Wardens) but I have been very impressed with how strong this card has been. Not only does it give you a way to ping your opponent after you’ve switched out Steady Shot, but is gives you a 1/1 beast that you can buff with Dinomancy or Houndmaster. Being able to constantly generate a 3/3 each turn is very strong, especially when you’re pumping out other big bodies. This card is not essential, but it allows you go long in games and gives you a great way control the board. A 1/1 does a lot more than you would think, especially when it comes out for free.

Matchups

These are the decks I have seen the most while grinding up the ladder.

Pirate Warrior

Double Golakka Crawler. Enough said. While I am (mostly) joking, the two crabs in addition with your board presence highly tilt this game in your favor. Pirate has been one of my best matchups in the game, and I do not think that is a coincidence. The weapon-lovers are very strong when they can get their board control rolling, but they truly struggle in games where they cannot use their early cards to control the board. As a result, your goal in this matchup is to kill all of Pirate’s early minions and then steadily run them over as you get bigger and bigger. The biggest swing your opponent has is turn one N’zoth’s First Mate, which enables them to control your early threats. However, you should not let that discourage you or take you off of your curve. Losing your Alleycat may cause you to pause on a turn two Scavenging Hyena, but you need to play the 2/2 just to make your opponent react.

This game is typically going to be decided around turns five and six. If you’re ahead your opponent will have to use their weapons on your beasts (giving you a distinct edge in pressure) and if you’re behind you will likely just succumb to their ample burst. Look for taunts wherever you can find them and never take damage over the board unless you have lethal. One of the best ways to get ahead here is to play Dinomancy and then buff up your 2/2 to kill their Frothing Berserker or Bloodsail Cultist. The buff can straight up win this game on its own because once you get ahead of Pirate it is going to be difficult for them to come back. Always remember that Pirate has to respect your burst potential, meaning they are going to trade when they can. That is great for you because your top end is much more powerful than theirs.

Midrange Murloc Paladin

As noted by my rant last week, Midrange Paladin has taken a very aggressive slant these days. The deck seems to lean heavily on strong murlocs and quick burst, which can create some problems for us. Not only do the early plays control the board, but it is very hard to fight through things like Spikeridged Steed, Tirion Fordring or Primordial Drake. For those reasons, this is one game where you really want to be as aggressive as possible. Paladin’s biggest weakness is that they have dead turns. This may not always happen right away, but there is going to be a point where they just put down a lone body or have to hero power/pass. That is what you’re looking for in this one, and as soon as you sense weakness you need to push hard.

This game is going to be played as pure tempo, where you push out your own minions while taking away your opponents. Paladin has very little ways in the realm of catch-up. Their only real way to get back into a game is either Equality or Consecration against a smaller board. For that reason, once you get a hold of the game you should try to keep a deathrattle minion around. Even something like a Kindly Grandmother can be enough to keep up damage if your opponent uses AOE. Beyond that, always remember to take out your opponent’s minions on turn five to discourage Spikeridged Steed, and do your best to flood on those turns as well. Sunkeeper Tarim can be a problem, but only if you have one or two minions.

Note: If you’re seeing a lot of Paladin you can play two Hungry Crab and one Golakka Crawler instead of two crawler and one crab.

Aggro Druid

Aggro Druid has skyrocketed in popularity over the past week. The deck is very fast, and you need to get a handle on the first three turns or you are going to lose. Period. End of story. Goodbye. Treat this deck like you would Pirate Warrior. That is, trade everything you have and kill all of their cards as they come down. Druid thrives off of minions and they are almost useless without them. If you clear their board for the first couple turns they are going to make some really weak plays, which you can easily punish them with a string of giant threats. Even something as simple as a 1/2 can give your opponent a body for Mark of Y’shaarj or allow them to buff and trade. If you get out ahead of Druid early many of their cards are going to rot in their hand, which allows you to control the pace.

The shift in this matchup is going to come on turn five. This is because that is where Aggro Druid can leverage Living Mana. The 2/2’s may not seem too bad on paper, but it is hard to catch up with that much instant power. In addition, the crystals also trade with your beasts. That means if you try to ignore the minions and do your own thing they are very often going to wear you down and lead up to a big roar. The way you combat that swing turn is by having so much pressure that you can simply play through the mana. This then makes your opponent trade into you, taking away their board and letting you keep priority without losing tempo.

Midrange Hunter

A battle for the board. That’s all this is, and that’s all it has ever been. The overarching rule of the Midrange Hunter mirror is whoever gets out ahead first is going to win because they can just leverage damage while their opponent has to react. For instance, if your opponent hits you in the face with a Misha and then drops down a Rat Pack you have to spend your turn dealing with one of those threats. That then gives them the chance to hit you in the face the next turn and put down another beast. That type of pacing is exactly where you want to be here. Do everything you can to take the first two turns and recognize when you have an opening to start pushing face. While you do not have some of the control cards typical midrange runs (Eaglehorn Bow, Kill Command) if your opponent is playing cards that aren’t beast and you are you should be able to win.

This is another matchup where Dinomancy can do a lot of work. All it takes is one good trade for this one to be over, and if you can set up a big blowout your opponent doesn’t plan for you can run away with the game. While you aren’t going to use the spell early on, switching your hero power and using it to buff on turn four can be a great way to get ahead right before the Savannah Highmane push. In that vein, Houndmaster is the most important card in this matchup from both sides of the table. Do everything you can (including trading your board into a Rat Pack) to make sure your opponent has no beasts on turn four, and work extremely hard to get a master target for yourself.

Quest Rogue

Did somebody say auto-win? The recent spike in Quest Rogue is one of the biggest reasons to play Hunter right now. Though Valeera can get ahead of you if they have a strong Glacial Shard opening, she just does not have the tools to deal with your pressure. This game is all about damage. You are not going to be able to matchup with The Caverns Below, which means you just need to focus on going face. Let your opponent react to you and do everything within your power to push from turn one. While it is rare that you are going to set up lethal by turn five, if you are far ahead or if your opponent has a low life total, they simply won’t have the opportunity to play their quest without dying. The only reason you trade in this game is if your opponent plays a high-value minion (Novice Engineer, Glacial Shard, Bilefin Tidehunter) that you do want them to bounce or if they are going to quest on the next turn. This is also a game where you usually want to hold off on Dinomancy. If you have an opportunity to run it out you should, but you are going to get a lot of power out of Steady Shot. Think about how your damage is going to play out before committing to the new power.

Mulligan Guide

As with any Hunter deck, you absolutely need to start out quickly with early beasts and a good curve. This is so key that you cannot keep any other card in your hand if it doesn’t contribute to the first two turns. Your must keeps are going to be Alleycat, Hungry Crab and Jeweled Macaw. If you have a one drop or the coin you can also keep Crackling Razormaw, Golakka Crawler and Kindly Grandmother. Scavenging Hyena should only be kept if you have a one drop coming before it. Animal Companion and Rat Pack should always be kept with the coin and a curve. Unleash the Hounds is strong if you have a good opening against any board flood deck (Hunter, Paladin, Druid) and Houndmaster is very strong if you have the coin and a good curve or if you believe you are going to have a beast by turn three against another board-centric deck.

Conclusion

I will never get sick of cool Hunter builds. I think, out of every hero, Rexxar has some of the most interesting interactions in the game. Beasts are always fun, and this deck is chock full of exciting cards that lead to some fun plays. A lot of the stock midrange lists right now focus on pushing damage through the early board, and this is the first one that I’ve seen that actually builds on it. There are just a lot of cool, rarely seen cards here, and you all know how much I love that. Until next time, may you always Hunt alone.

---