by JR Cook - 9 years ago     show comments

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Every week the pros from team Fade2Karma break down the “Deck of the Week” . These decks are seeing a lot of play either in constructed ladder or tournaments. Team F2K explain the deck lists and how to play them. View past Deck Lists of the Week.

This week’s deck is written by pro player F2K-Dethelor.

Deck List

Fade2Karma Midrange Hunter
Class: Hunter

Hunter (19)

• Hunter’s Mark
• Webspinner x2
• Freezing Trap x2
• Quick Shot x2
• 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 x2
• Loatheb
• Dr. Boom

One of the oldest decks in Hearthstone, first played in closed beta with Tigers and Houndmasters and then popularized in Season 1 by Lifecoach, Midrange Hunter is always a force to be reckoned with. The inclusion of the BRM-introduced card Quick Shot made the deck even stronger. You can run 1 or 2 copies of the card which is essentially a stronger Quick Shot and your best answer for these pesky turn 1 Zombie Chows.

Nowadays the most popular and in my opinion strongest Midrange Hunter variant is Jab’s.

This is not an aggro deck; you should fight for board control in most matchups until you can afford to switch to face in order to finish off your opponent.

So, you shouldn’t hesitate to use Quickshot – even with a full hand – in order to clear.  Zombie Chows, Flame imps, Knife Jugglers, Mana Wyrms, and Sorceress Apprentices should be probably getting quickshoted in the early game. This is the reason I chose to run two. Realizing when you have to switch gears and start going all-in is one of the most important things you have to consider playing the deck.

Generic  Mulligan

Playing First: Keep Webspinner, Hunter’s Mark if you have Webspinner/Creeper in certain matchups. Always keep at least a two drop, Mad Scientist is usually best. If you have a 2 drop, also keep Animal Companion.

Playing Second: You can have a wider mulligan range playing second. If you have two 2-drops ideally you coin 2 drop into 2 drop so searching for a 3-drop is probably a good idea. If you have an expensive hand you will probably play on curve so saving the coin can be correct.

Matchups

Control Warrior Favorable

Highmane is your best card in this match up. Play around brawl if it´s the only way for the warrior to turn the game around. You should be able to constantly beat Control Warriors, especially if you hit a decent midgame curve.

Patron Warrior Fair

This matchup can go both ways but if the Warrior runs double Ghoul you will have a harder time. Harrison Jones is huge in this matchup since they will probably not play around it and destroying a 4-1 Death´s Bite can be devastating for them. Try to rush them down before they rush you down with patrons and play smart with Freezing Traps to retain board control. You should almost always kill their Armorsmiths.

Zoolock – Favorable

Our deck has many cards which can be devastating for them. Houndmaster, Unleash the Hounds (/w or without Juggler) can all turn the game around. You should fight for board control (except if you have the before mentioned combo in your hand) until the point where you can finish them with your spells and Hero Ability.

Handlock – Fair

Probably the hardest Warlock matchup for our deck. Handlock can play huge threats in the midgame for only 4 mana and swarm the board in the late game with Moltens. Keep Owl and Hunter´s Mark in your opening Hand and don´t let return a Healbot into his hand unless you are pretty confident you can still win. As opposed to Face Hunter, If you don´t have any burst in your hand you probably shouldn´t bring him very close to 10-hp especially if you have a solid board.

Malygos Warlock – Favorable

Unleash the hounds is very good here because of Implosion. You should pressure them in the mid-game since they can out-threat you with their Dragons and Healbots in the late game. Since the deck does not run Molten Giants you can safely burst them in the late-game.

Oil Rogue – Fair

Although some players claim this match-up is Rogue favored, I believe it can go both ways. You should always clear the Rogue´s minions and Eaglehorn Bow is excellent for that. Don´t

Hesitate to use Quick Shot to clear if you have to. Your freezing traps can completely shut-down Valeera if you control the board, unless she is lucky enough to have a Deckhand in Hand. You should also try to force them to use their saps on Shredder etc. to protect your Highmanes. If your Highmane doesn´t get sapped, more often than not – you win.

Midrange Paladin – Fair

Depending on your exact and your opponents list, Midrange Paladin can be either a tricky or a pretty balanced match-up. Turn 1 Zombie Chow is very strong and shifts the game to the Paladin´s favor. Paladins can negate your Freezing Traps very easily so you should hope for a big Unleash Turn. Don´t forget that you can remove the Peacekeeper´s effect with your Owl!

Control Priest – Fair

I don’t have enough experience with this deck but since we have plenty of solid minions you can pressure them a lot. Keep Hunter’s Mark in case they run Deathlord. If they don’t have an answer to your Highmanes they are in serious trouble. Be mindful of Shadow Madness and punish them with your Loatheb.

Midrange Shaman – Favorable

In you manage to keep the board in the early-mid game this match-up should be pretty easy. You can always come back with Juggler+Unleash.

Aggro Paladin – Unfavorable

Aggro Pallys are faster than you and that is usually a problem.  Mulligan heavily for your early drops and tries to not let them develop out of control. Haunted Creepers and Unleash trade really well against their minions. Develop a freezing trap in the late game against an empty board to block chargers.

Tempo Mage – Fair

This matchup is anyone’s game. Keep Bow when going second or if you have 1-2 drops. If they have their early drops you will usually struggle. Both decks have some late game burst so the player to become the aggressor will win most of the time.

Freeze Mage – Fair

Keep Owl for Mad Scientists and Doomsayers. We have a much better time against Freeze Mage than Face Hunter does because of our sturdy minions – Shredder and Highmane. Loatheb is also amazing and should ideally be played between turns 5-7 or after Alexstrazsa is played.

Face Hunter – Unfavorable

Against fast decks, the player to populate the board first will win most of the times. Face Hunter runs more 1-drops and has a much better chance of hitting these drops. Their huge burst potential also allows them to force you make the trades.  Try to win the board quickly and punish their chargers with Freezing Traps. If they have Unleash the Hounds, we are in a bad shape.

Druid  – Favorable

Freezing trap and Highmanes are your best cards in this match-up. You should keep in mind that they can proc Freezing Trap with Force of Nature. If you are way ahead you should probably consider playing around combo so trading is sometimes probably correct – even in the late game.

You can find me streaming on http://twitch.tv/dethelor and I offer coaching for $30 an hour.  Please follow me on twitter @F2K_dethelor