Weekly Legends: Midrange Hunter

Introduction

Ah, Hunter. I always love when a class goes from the dark depths of obscurity back to the relevant side of the meta. I like it even more when that class is one of my all-time favorites. It has been a while since Hunter got around to midranging people’s faces off, but that is exactly what it has done in the first weeks of the new format. The class got some incredibly strong tools in Un’goro, all of which have strengthened it in a ton of new and interesting ways. Midrange Hunter is always at its best when it has the proper minions at its disposal, and the crater sure has brought some strong bodies along within it.

This base of this week’s list comes from Toolunfit, who decided to take Midrange in an interesting direction. There are currently many ways to make this build, and they all help counter different decks in different ways. This core of this build, which I am particularly fond of, is a more face-oriented midrange list that looks to play the Hunter game while also packing enough burst to quickly knock your opponent down to zero. Hunter’s biggest advantage over other classes is being able to end the game by simply going face hard and making their opponent react to them. This then allows them to spam more and more big minions while the other players slowly (or quickly) dies as they answer threats. This deck takes full advantage of that priority by combining some of the more popular builds around the ladder and tweaking a few key slots to really help it push for face when needed.

Key Cards

Timber Wolf

This is perhaps the most interesting inclusion in the entire build. However, understanding the 1/1 is important because it helps let you see how everything is going to gel together. Timber Wolf is an aggressive card that rewards you for having board control. While weak on its own (and admittedly weaker than the other one drops this deck has) it does a very good job of allowing you to take priority of a game. One of the most important aspects of playing this deck is knowing when and how to push damage. As mentioned above, Hunter loves the board and can take advantage of just about any situation where they can push damage while their opponent is behind. The new builds have many efficient early beasts, and being able to wolf even a few minions while ahead will instantly put you in control of the game and allow you to pace it in the way you want.

Timber Wolf is a card that works well because of its versatility. There are times where you can use it to trade up (keeping you on the board) and there are going to be times when you throw it down and just use it as fast damage. When you have this card in hand you always want to look for ways to properly set it up. Maybe you need lethal with Unleash the Hounds, or maybe you just have to trade in your Alley Cats into a Frothing Berserker. Those small plays matter, and they all help you push your game plan forward in the way that you want. Controlling the board through minions is typically going to be your first priority, but never underestimate the power that raw damage can do. This is especially true if you want to bait out AOE and tie up your opponent’s next turn.

Golakka Crawler

The ladder is all about innovation and combating what you see. And this card does that really well. I honestly do not think anyone should play Midrange Hunter right now without Golakka Crawler. The 2/3 is so important to this deck that I would be willing to say your win-rate goes up at least ten percent with it. When evaluating a tech card you need to see what it does, how good it is going to be when it does that, as well as how strong it can be without its ability. Crawler hits on all three levels. Pirates are currently everywhere. Not only are they in actual Pirate Warrior, but you will also see Patches the Pirate in Aggro Druid, Rogue, and Zoo. That means the crab is rarely ever a dead card, and when it hits (especially on a bigger pirate) it is a gigantic tempo swing in a deck that really doesn’t have any.

Beyond its ability, the crab is a 2/3 beast for two. That might not be the most exciting stat line ever (hello River Crocolisk), but it gets the job done in terms of both beast triggers and curve. Something that is important to note about both this card (and the deck as a whole) is that you need to value your curve over just about anything else. For example, while you may want to wait a turn on playing this to eat your opponent’s next pirate, simply hero powering in an aggro matchup on turn two is unacceptable. Getting that body down will not feel as good as using the trigger, but if it trades well of allows you to keep up pressure then it’s worth it. You need to value your board, especially in games of aggression.

Unleash the Hounds

Another tech-ish card, Unleash the Hounds is very good for a lot of the same reasons Timber Wolf is. Versatility is always going to be king in Hearthstone, and having cards that help you clear, trade, or push when needed is absolutely fantastic. Unleash is a strong play against just about every deck right now. People love to flood the board in the early days of the meta, and you can punish all of them for doing so. Just understand the way you are going to use them in most matchups. If you need to get maximum value then you might want to wait a turn or two to see how many minions your opponent is going to play, but if you want to use them for presence or damage you should try to set them up quickly. The dogs pack on a lot of damage, but they are also quite weak to taunt. Understand that, and always try to play them down where you can get them in without getting locked out by a wall. It can also be a great tempo play to just run them out if you have a Leokk or Timber Wolf to  maximize their value.

Bittertide Hydra

I think that Bittertide Hydra is the most interesting (and most important) inclusion in this build. The five mana 8/8 is key because it helps out your curve and gives you a big beater where you need one the most. The five spot is currently the most competitive slot in Hunter. There are many cards you could run here, ranging from Stanglethorn Tiger to Nesting Roc to even Princess Huhuran. However, I believe the dragon (beast) trumps them all simply because of how much damage it threatens. It is an old adage that you cannot take a Savannah Highmane hit, and there is no way anyone is going to be able to survive a Hydra. This card is going to eat hard removal immediately, which perfectly paves the way for your Savannah Highmane to come down next turn. And, if your opponent doesn’t have a good answer, they are likely going to die.

Now, it is also important to mention Bittertide Hydra‘s downside. The giant beast does ding you for three every time it gets hit, but for the gameplan of this deck that really doesn’t matter. In Hearthstone, like all card games, life is a resource. Sometimes you want to have a lot of it, but in a deck with as much aggression as this one that shouldn’t be a concern. Yes, you may take six or nine damage to your face (I’ve taken fifteen and still won) but if you’re pushing more damage through with an aggressive class you are still going to be in control. The card is also amazing on an empty board. Just be careful about playing it into a bunch of tokens, and you should watch it against both Mage (their hero power/freeze) and Paladin (Aldor Peacekeeper).

Stampeding Kodo

Though not in the original list, I think Stampeding Kodo is a very important tool to have right now. Taunt Warrior is everywhere at the higher ranks, and it only continues to grow in popularity as the days go by. So much so, that it is very hard to know if you’re up against it or Pirate Warrior when you queue into a game. That is bad news for us because taunt is one of Hunter’s toughest matchups. Not only do they have a ton of removal and AOE options with both Brawl and Sleep with the Fishes, but their large taunts repeatedly lock you down time and time again. I would say the only way to get Quest to zero is to start out fast and then try to cleanly remove their midgame taunts before they can reach things like Primordial Drake. Kodo is one of the best ways to do this because it crushes both Bloodhoof Brave and Alley Armorsmith.

Now, if you don’t want to run Stampeding Kodo, there are a couple of alternatives. Personally, as Bittertide Hydra is already in this deck, I like lowering the curve and trying to get some more two drops. This helps with a lot of the board-focused deck running around and enables you more ways to push early damage. However, Nesting Roc is also a fantastic option in today’s faster meta. The 4/7 body is quite strong, and you have plenty of different ways to set it up in a deck like this one. This slot could even be Deadly Shot, but I am not a big fan of that card because there are simply too many games where you will find yourself praying for good RNG

Matchups

The five decks I have seen the most on the early ladder.

Pirate Warrior

Still number one, Pirate Warrior continues to be a force on the ladder. Garrosh and his weapon-lovers don’t appear to be going anywhere just yet, and you want to be ready for them. This game is going to be one of tempo-aggression coming from both sides. That is to say, you need to spend your early turns controlling the board and then as soon as you get the board you need to hit your opponent hard. Forcing Pirate back is not an easy task, but as soon as you do it you should steamroll them. Push all of your resources into the board and try to get anything, no matter how big or small, onto an empty table. If you can build ahead moving into Bittertide Hydra or Savannah Highmane you should be able to take this one.

While this is going to be a difficult matchup, your Golakka Crawlers can blow it wide open. While you typically want to hit their board as soon as you can, there are going to be many times where you have other early plays above the crawler. I usually will always favor playing one of my other early minions and then try to hit something like a Naga Corsair or Southsea Captain. That gives you a great way to cement a mid-board and also frees up damage that you would normally have to use as removal. On that note, it is important to weigh your damage options up against removal. Kill Command and Eaglehorn Bow are both good ways to preserve your tempo, but they also are the ways you end the game one turn ahead of your opponent’s triple Upgraded Arcanite Reaper.

Taunt Warrior

Right behind its aggressive counterpart, Taunt Quest Warrior is another powerhouse in its own right. This is by far one of your hardest matchups, and one that you need to win sooner rather than later. I would say this is the one matchup where you simply need to go with all out aggression and work very hard to force your opponent to answer you. Build out your board as much as you can and try to end the game by turn seven. While it will not come down every game, Primordial Drake is almost always going to be the game-ender in this matchup. The 4/8 body is very hard (nearly impossible) to get through and the two damage just destroys any type of board you can build. I honestly don’t think I’ve beaten a single drake. For those reasons, you need to maximize your damage and let your opponent come up with ways to answer you.

Your deathrattle minions are extremely important against Garrosh. It is not too hard to build up a big board against Warrior, but keeping that board is another matter. The newer quest decks pack a ton of AOE, including Whirlwind, Ravaging Ghoul, Sleep with the Fishes, and Brawl. All of that spells trouble, and you need to work hard to stay ahead of it any way that you can. Even something as simple as a 2/2 Rat Pack can allow you to keep the damage and minions you need to keep pushing. When trading you always want to make sure to keep your token-makers intact when possible.

Miracle Rogue

Thanks to Eloise, Quest Rogue has taken a backseat to its more miraculous counterpart. This new version is full of strong tempo plays that can just ruin a deck like ours. For those reasons, this is a game where anticipation is key. Sap is brutal when you’re behind, and Vilespine Slayer is horrible if its hits your Bittertide Hydra or the like. The way you beat this is by planning for such cards and making your opponent use them in the way that you want. For example, getting out a Sap on your turn five to clear the way for a Savannah Highmane on six, or flooding the early board with Alleycat and two Kindly Grandmothers to force them into a bad Fan of Knives. Houndmaster also does a great job of baiting out removal before your big threats come to town.

Another important thing to understand about the new Miracle is what type you are up against. While the double Arcane Giant version is still the most popular, many have begun to switch to Leeroy Jenkins as their finisher of choice. Look at the way your opponent is pacing the game and see how much damage they are putting on. Their burst is regulated to Cold Blood and Eviscerate, but that is quite a bit of damage. You want to keep your opponent focused on you as much as possible and make it so they cannot properly leverage their threats. Push for the board quickly to try and jump on their slow start.

Midrange Hunter

The mirror match is going to be an absolute bloodbath and you better get ready for a knife fight in a phone booth. This game is even tighter than Pirate Warrior match because it is largely going to be decided on turn three. That is not an exaggeration. It is very easy for your opponent to lead with Alleycat, which you can respond to with your own cats. They then play Scavenging Hyena and trade in. From there, you need to have an answer or the game is over because of the pressure they can pour on. This type of situation manifests itself in many different ways, but this matchup typically comes down to who can get their minion out ahead first. Once you get a single minion ahead of your opponent all you need to do is push or trade efficiently and this game should be locked up.

You need to invest all of your resources here into the board. Damage is only going to relevant during turns five and beyond. It is very easy to fall into a trap where you push thinking you have the edge only to suddenly lose board and find yourself on the wrong end of a Houndmastered Savannah Highmane. Hunter has no healing, but they do have taunts. Only completely go all-in for a push when you have lethal already in your hand or when you think you can out burn your opponent. Losing trades on the board or depending on minions staying alive is never the way to go. This is a matchup where you only give up priority when you can win.

Aggro Druid

Though I am not sure if I see this or Quest Rogue more, I decided to go with Druid because it has been more prevalent as of late. The new Malfurion deck comes in a wide range of different forms, but they all just want to burst you down as fast as possible. This is an odd game where you need to get in damage to pressure your opponent, but you really need to focus on the board first. Token shines because of all the cheap buff cards Druid has at its disposal, and if you just let them get three or four minion to stick you are going to get run over. You need to be very careful about them having any minions and it always helps to add +1/+1 to all of their minions when figuring out how they might trade on their turn. This is perhaps the only game where you can really afford to take things slow. As good as Druid is when they have a full board, the deck has some of the worst topdecks in the game. The damage can always come later. First you should work towards slowly wearing them down and running them out of resources. Once you get there, you should win the middle game every single time.

Mulligan Guide

As with any Midrange Hunter, you just need to mulligan for your curve. Alleycat, Jeweled Macaw, Kindly Grandmother, and Crackling Razormaw are what you want to look for early. Scavenging Hyena can also be a strong early keep, but you typically only want it when you have something to play before it so it can get instant value. The same rule applies to Timber Wolf. Golakka Crawler is a great keep against any deck that might have pirates, but you can also keep it on curve if you have no beasts.

You want to always keep Animal Companion and Rat Pack if you have the coin or a good curve. Unleash the Hounds should be kept against any type of deck that loves to flood the board, and both Houndmaster and Infested Wolf should be kept with the coin and good opening coming before them.

Conclusion

Who else is having this much fun? Un’goro continues to shine for me and this deck is one of the many I have had a blast playing. Hunter has been down for too long, and this new version brings some really fun interactions to the midrange list. There is a lot going on out on the ladder right now, but if you want to team up with Rexxar there is no better way. Until next time, may you always hit your curve.

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