by JR Cook - 9 years ago     show comments

This month I’m trying to make that push to legendary rank finally and as I talked about last week I have been using Lightbomb Priest to fight through the hoards of aggro decks I faced rank 19-13. After I hit rank 13 and the meta started to settle a bit I have switched it up to a more powerful deck – one that has been in the top 5 in the meta for a bit now. The deck is a Midrange Hunter and personally I feel only Grim Patron Warrior beats it out as the better deck on the ladder right now.

However, Grim Patron Warrior is really complex to play and sometimes in Hearthstone, I just feel like making easier decisions and not have to do as much math. That isn’t to say this deck is just face roll and win, no, despite Face Hunter there is quite a bit of strategy with Midrange Hunter.  As of right now I am sitting at Rank 9 and plan on playing this through Rank 5. It’s possible it might be my deck choice to try and hit legend depending on how the games go and the meta shifts at all.

Deck List

Midrange Hunter
Class: Hunter

Hunter (19)

• Hunter’s Mark
• Webspinner x2
• Freezing Trap x2
• Quick Shot
• Snake Trap
• Eaglehorn Bow x2
• Animal Companion x2
• Kill Command x2
• Unleash the Hounds x2
• Houndmaster x2
• Savannah Highmane x2

Neutral (11)

• Haunted Creeper x2
• Ironbeak Owl
• Knife Juggler x2
• Mad Scientist x2
• Piloted Shredder
• Harrison Jones
• Loatheb
• Dr. Boom

Alternatives

Something new I’m going to try with these guides because I get asked all the time what are some alternatives for some legendary cards you don’t have. With that said, there really is no alternative to Dr. Boom – he’s the #1 legendary card you should be crafting. Unless you’re a completely new player with no legendary cards there is no excuse at this point to not own Dr. Boom.

Harrison Jones however is a tech card ideal for going against Grim Patron Warrior, the mirror match with Hunter, and even the newly rejuvenated Aggro Paladin. He’s also insane against Warlocks using Jaraxxus. If I were to take him out I would also remove an Unleash the Hound with him and get 2x Sludge Belcher. In fact, if you find you’re playing more aggro or aren’t playing against any heroes with weapons, swapping out for 2x Sludge Belchers is not a bad idea anyway. This is honestly the only real change I would make for this deck.

Mulligan

Keep Webspinner, Mad Scientist, Knife Juggler, or Haunter Creeper. If you have a good curve in your hand already or have the coin then Animal Companion is worth keeping as well. This is really my go to mulligan strategy no matter who I end up playing against.

Strategy

What can I say, this is all about having a good curve, keeping pressure early and then finishing the game with your bombs like Savannah Highmane and Dr. Boom. Don’t try and save Quick Shot for the draw because you might only get it 1 out of 5 times if your lucky. It’s there for removal or finishing lethal more than the card draw. Play your Snake Trap smart with Knife Juggler if you can. Remember those snakes are beasts so they will play well with Houndmaster and Kill Command. Don’t blow your Ironbeak Owl too early, it might be able to save things later if your opponent throws down a Sludge Belcher when you’re already way ahead and just need to finish them off.

Last but not least, Loatheb will absolutely win you games if you play him correctly. It comes down to knowing what kind of deck your opponent is playing and when they might have a big spell heavy turn. I have won games against midrange druid simply because I dropped Loatheb when they were wanting to do their combo that turn. It basically allows you to attack that turn and have another big turn next as more times out of not you have ruined their turn. Loatheb basically allows you 2 turns in a way to finish your opponent off so use him wisely.

If you decide to rank up with this deck this week please let me know how it goes in the comments below!