The Greatest Race of Hunters: Hunter Class Card 101

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Hunter? The greatest race? Who would even care, they’re bottom of the barrel in Arena and Constructed in the current meta as I write this article…right? Bottom of the barrel in a tier list doesn’t ALWAYS mean bad, it just means hard to use effectively. Don’t let that fool you though, Hunters are a worthy foe in the hands of someone who has practiced them. With numerous removal options that rival Mage and Shaman in terms of effectiveness, Hunters can clear even the most tenaciously tough minion lines with clever use of their traps and trick shots. Additionally, legions of friendly and dependable beast minions can aid you. While usually weaker than equivalent mana cost cards, beasts have strong synergy with each other. Combined with Steady Shot, Hunters can whittle away at an enemy Hero surprisingly quickly, adding a unique pressure to the Hunter deck that most other classes lack.

While Hunters may be considered the worst class in Constructed and Arena currently, I don’t think they are inherently unplayable. They might not be able to compete at the highest competitive level currently, but this may be due to a lack of diligence by the community as opposed to a lack of power in the deck. Just as an anecdote, the winning character of the Street Fighter 4 EVO (world championship) was named Gen, and he was considered one of the worst characters in the game. Due to his strange moveset and high execution requirements, a lot of professional players brushed him aside and didn’t even consider him. Which turned out to be a massive mistake as someone put the time and effort in to master the character that no one knew, and took everyone by surprise with the unique and unorthodox character. Just some food for thought going into this 101 session.

Of course, these ratings are meant to be discussion points for advanced players and introductory knowledge for newer players. String your Eaglehorn bow, set your Explosive Trap, Unleash the Hounds, and let the hunt begin !

Grading Scale

• 0 : Seriously, don’t put this card in your deck. It’s bad and I will probably explain why it is bad on a card by card basis.
• 1: Unless you are running a strategy that heavily centers around needing this card or a strategy that buffs this card to overwhelming value, skip it.
• 2: A card that is usually worth considering at least. Weigh your options, and be sure that there are no alternatives that do the same thing for your deck but do it slightly better. (Think Argent Protector vs Hand of Protection for Paladins)
• 3: Now we’re getting to the good stuff. These cards are good, but they lack the utility of 4 and 5 scoring cards. Often good at doing one thing and doing it well, they are perfect if you need them to do that one thing. It can slice, but don’t expect it to dice.
• 4: Strong cards. You can almost expect to encounter this card once, maybe twice per encounter against this class and you should probably have at least one of these in every deck you make for said class.
• 5: These are the true class defining cards. Fitting in either an aggressive or control deck, these cards are the staples of the class and you can expect to see two in nearly every situation (Or more if you’re in arena).

Hunter’s Mark

This card is basically a single target, free to cast version of Paladin Equality. It looks a lot stronger than it is at first glance simply because it suffers the same problem that Priest Silence does: It doesn’t do enough to warrant a card slot in a 30 card deck, most of the time. For heavily control based Hunters, being able to use Hunter’s Mark in combo with Arcane Shot or something like Wild Pyromancer or even Elven Archer makes it at least worth considering. Besides the issue of basically forcing you to 2 for 1 an enemy card, Hunter’s Mark and it’s health reduction is a great mechanic to have in Hunter decks. If only it costs 1 or 2 mana instead and drew a card too… Definitely a more valuable card in Constructed vs Arena.

Arena: 1/5 | Constructed: 2/5

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Arcane Shot

2 damage, 1 mana. The same card as Holy Smite, it also brings the same amount of utility to the table. Great for knocking out a majority of 1-2 and even some 3 drops, having damage on demand is rarely a bad thing. Not the most exciting card to use, but definitely a needed card for either control or aggressive Hunter decks.

Arena: 3/5 | Constructed: 4/5

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Bestial Wrath

This is a really weird, situational card. For 1 mana, the effects on it are pretty insane, especially if you consider it on something like a Young Dragonhawk. However, with the beast limitation it’s such a hard card to get any real value out of in most practical situations. There are some cool things you can do with it (King Krush into Ragnaros with this card is pretty amusing). A cool enough card with some decent combo play. I don’t believe this card is a bad card and the rarity of it’s use can catch people off guard and let you make a big play with it. Again, the difficulty of it’s use and it’s practicality makes it harder for me to give it a higher score. If you’re running a heavy beast deck though, consider it for sure.

Arena: 1/5 | Constructed: 2/5

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Flare

The bane of Ice Block and Blood Imp, Flare is an interesting card. While it is rarely worth taking over other rares in Arena, the utility the card provides is very powerful for Constructed. At worst, this card is 1 mana to draw a new card. At best, you can completely destroy an enemy’s game plan, taking away crucial secrets or removing stealth given by minions such as Master of Disguise (Ever try to take out a stealthed Hogger before? It’s not fun). For Constructed, having 1 in your deck is a decently smart move.

Arena: 1/5 | Constructed: 3/5

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Tracking

This card was a lot stronger in the previous Hunter OTK decks which required certain linchpins for their win conditions (such as old Unleash the Hounds). Without specific combos to land as win conditions though, I feel like this card has lost a lot of value since it requires you to throw away 2 cards. While sometimes it can save you by hitting that 1 card that you need to survive a situation, throwing away 2 cards for 1 is just too large of a price to pay. If decks were bigger, this would be a better card, but having 2 cards that you can throw away to pick another card doesn’t seem very likely without some bad side-effects.

Arena: 1/5 | Constructed: 1/5

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Timber Wolf

Great for Beast centric Hunters and was an important part of the old Hunter OTK style. However, with the nerfs to the OTK, this card becomes a very weak class specific 1 drop. Compared to Northshire Cleric, Voidwalker, Flame Imp, Mana Wyrm etc, this card is just not up to par with other class 1 drops. While it is mana efficient with it’s aura (as long as there is a beast or two out), having 1 hp is too large of a weakness for this card to overcome in many decks. Has good synergy with Snake Trap or the new Unleash the Hounds. But, as the Hunter OTK went to nerftown so did this card

Arena: 1/5 | Constructed: 2/5

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Explosive Trap

Explosive Trap can be a great momentum shifter for a game that is starting to get out of hand. Basically a Consecration for half the mana cost, it also comes with the drawback of your opponent being able to play around it. At the same time, all of the Hunter secrets cause the enemy to change their play in someway, shape or form, which can be enough to swing the game sometimes. There’s not much else to say about this card except that it’s very solid on paper, but can be very lacking in practice. I guess you could always combine it with Hunter’s Mark for a psuedo-Equality/Consecration combo on a single target. A good secret that gets proportionally worse the better the people you play against are.

Arena: 2/5 | Constructed: 2/5

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Freezing Trap

Again, this is a secret version of another class spell, this time being Sap. However, this card has the trade off of course of not being able to target what you want to specifically send back to the player’s hand. With this caveat, this card becomes trickier to play due to the fact that you may be giving an opponent a powerful battlecry back into their hand, such as Defender of Argus or Shattered Sun Cleric. Also you could in theory remove those buffs from something that has them on it and send it back to their hand. Additionally this card can make things like Deathwing and Ysera unplayable, although those are pretty unique cases and I can’t say that it adds incredibly to the card’s usefulness. Having this card in your deck as a change of pace and an additional trigger for your Eaglehorn Bow is nice though.

Arena: 3/5 | Constructed: 3/5

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Misdirection

This card, a lot like Freezing Trap, is way too easy for experienced players to outmaneuver. Most players will send their weakest card after a Hunter with a secret out first, so most of the time you will wind up trading this card for an enemy minion to crash into either one of your minions or one of the enemy minions. One of the best uses of this card is to play it when your board is empty to at least force an enemy to enemy trade. Like all Hunter secrets, it gains some extra bonus points from being able to synergize with Eaglehorn Bow, but Misdirection is definitely on the lower spectrum of Hunter secrets. It can be a very amusing card in some situations though.

Arena: 2/5 | Constructed: 2/5

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Snake Trap

Another secret that helps to confuse the opponent as to what is actually out on the field. This card is essentially a 3/3 that is summoned when one of your other minions is attacked. Combines really well with Timber Wolf and the Leokk summon off of Animal Companion for a really cheap Force of Nature. Probably the strongest of the Hunter traps due to the fact that the opponent can’t nullify the value of the card by playing around it as much as the other two. Also a great way to pump up a Starving Hyena!

Arena: 3/5 | Constructed: 3/5

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Snipe

Probably the hunter secret that most consistently does what you want it to do when you set it out. 4 damage on an incoming minion is either straight up removal or some heavy damage that will allow another spell such as Arcane Shot or some minions on your board to finish the job. Again, this secret is just another class card as a secret (Shadow Bolt in this case), but since your opponent has the chance to play around it, it can be weaker in some situations if they go ahead and drop something like Loot Hoarder onto the field. Manipulating your opponents plays and keeping them guessing through secrets is an advantage in some situations though. Remember though, enemy minions such as Shattered Sun Cleric and Dark Iron Dwarf still get their battlecry out before getting picked off, so you still have to deal with their buff. Overall, probably the best Hunter secret, as it will often 1 for 1 with a card and shut down an enemies momentum. Beware of Divine Shield though!

Arena: 3/5 | Constructed: 3/5

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Scavenging Hyena

This card is just basically a Beast limited Flesheating Ghoul. Given that situation, this card can actually be easier to pump up than the neutral minion equivalent though with clever use of two Hunter specific cards: Snake trap and Unleash the Hounds. By tackling the 1/1 spawns into anything that will kill them from either of those cards, that is an easy +6/3! for this card. Besides those specific combos, this card is just average, and falls prey quickly to Silence cards even if you do manage to boost it up. Not a bad card, but it’s main uses are too easily broken to put too much faith into this card.

Arena: 1/5 | Constructed: 2/5

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Starving Buzzard

A powerful draw engine that also got hit by the Hunter OTK nerf by being reduced to 1 hp from 2. Honestly, as good as it’s drawing is, it’s not really reasonable to expect this card to live for more than a turn, but there are some uses for it still. Obviously, there’s the straight forward use of putting it down and then playing a bunch of low cost beasts from your hand such as Timber Wolf and Young Dragonhawk. However, I think it’s better to think of this card as a “bursty” card draw like a Divine Favor, where you would combo this card with something like Unleash the Hounds or Snake Trap for 3+ draws at once. Bluntly put, this card really needs some sort of buff. Either make it a ⅓ for 2 or better yet make it a 1 drop. Having it as a 2 drop currently just makes this card weak when compared to other draw engines such as Northshire Cleric. Nice in a beast heavy deck, but unfortunately a lot of the most effective Hunter decks aren’t actually loaded with Beasts at moment. Once Blizzard takes a closer look at the Hunter class and especially “beast synergy”, I’m sure this card’s value will increase greatly.

Arena: 1/5 | Constructed: 2/5

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Eaglehorn Bow

This is downright an amazing card. Eaglehorn Bow at first is just a 3 mana Firey War Axe. However, when combined with the myriad of secrets that Hunters can and should play, this weapon starts becoming one of the most insane “value” cards in the game. Either combining it with Steady Shot to go to the face for 5 damage a turn without using minions or using it to maintain board control, continually “rolling” the durability of your Eaglehorn Bow makes it really hard for your opponent to get any sort of momentum going. Beware of the dreaded Acidic Swamp Ooze, and try to combo with this weapon with Spiteful Smith or Captain Greenskin!

Arena: 4/5 | Constructed: 5/5

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Animal Companion

This card is a spell that summons one of 3 random animal companions. Note that it being a spell is very important, because it allows you to go around things like Mirror Entity or Snipe. The 3 companions are of varying uses and strengths. Widely considered to be the worst, Leokk is a 2/4 that buffs all other minions with +1 attack. Basically a more tanky Raid Leader, Leokk isn’t weak overall but compared to the other two minions you can get from this card it’s frustrating to see Leokk come up more often than not. Huffer is a 4/2 charge minion and basically a half cost Argent Commander (granted he has no Divine Shield and that’s pretty important.) Either as decent removal or good to the face damage, Huffer is a solid minion for only 3 mana. Finally, there’s Misha, who is just a 4/4 taunt. Stronger than the average bear, (Ironfur Grizzly) Misha is a fantastic drop to see on Turn 3 more often than not. Unfortunately, many people suffer the curse of Leokk with this card. Regardless of what is actually drawn by the card, you have a good minion at a discount rate that isn’t affected by entry countering secrets. Not a bad deal. They’re also all beasts for Kill Command!

Arena: 4/5 | Constructed: 5/5

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Deadly Shot

This card is very powerful removal. While it is a random removal, you can remove the random element obviously by eliminating all but one minion on the field (Preferably the BIG one). If that’s not a thing, you could always pray to RNGesus for his blessings in removing the proper minion. Finally, since this is a hard removal that is fairly cheap (Compared to something like Assassinate or Siphon Soul), it doesn’t kill your entire turn and allows you play cards like Argent Commander should your first attempt at removal fails. Overall, a very powerful removal spell. Bonus points for being able to kill Faerie Dragon and Laughing Sister!

Arena: 5/5 | Constructed: 5/5

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Kill Command

3 damage for 3 mana is pretty ok. 5 damage for 3 mana is pretty great! Kill Command is a really great card with beasts on the field seeing as you are able to target the enemy hero with it if needed. If you need it as removal, 5 damage on a minion is stronger than a Shadow Bolt and even 3 damage for 3 mana isn’t terrible. Obviously you’ll want a Beast out to make FULL use of this card, but don’t get stuck on “omg my value” if you have to use it at 3 damage to make a crucial play. A fairly decent card.

Arena: 3/5 | Constructed: 4/5

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Multi-Shot

This is a primo card. Most of the time this card will 2 for 1 with relative ease, being able to remove a majority of 2 and 3 drops in the game. While it does require 2 enemy minions to be on the field (it wouldn’t be MULTI-shot otherwise), this card is an excellent answer to heavy minions early such as a Knife Juggler who is buffed by a Shattered Sun Cleric or a similar situation. It does have the random element to it like Cleave or Deadly Shot, but obviously you can minimize it through careful removal of the other targets you do not wish Multi-Shot to hit. Besides that there’s not much else to say, it’s a pretty straight forward and solid removal card.

Arena: 4/5 | Constructed: 4/5

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Unleash the Hounds

The infamous linchpin to the old Hunter OTK, this card is wildly different since it’s remake. Quadrupling it’s mana cost, now instead of giving all of your beasts +1 attack and charge, it summons 1/1 beasts with charge in an amount equal to the amount of enemy minions on the field. Confusing? A little bit, but it has some very practical uses in some situations. Against a loaded enemy board, dropping this card with a Leokk down instead spawns a swarm of 2/1s. Combining with Starving Buzzard gives this card the additional effect “Draw X cards equal the amount of enemy minions on the field”. Last but not least, the 1/1 hounds are excellent fodder to buff up your Starving Hyena should you choose to run one. Obviously much weaker than it’s previous incarnate, Unleash the Hounds still has some uses and isn’t quite as useless as the kneejerk reaction to the change would have you believe.

Arena: 2/5 | Constructed: 3/5

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Houndmaster

Who let the dogs out? Houndmaster is basically a super Shattered Sun Cleric with, of course, the condition that it is for Beasts only. 4/3 is a pretty strong body for 4 mana (see: Spellbreaker), and when combined with a naturally beefy Beast like Oasis Snapjaw, Houndmaster can make a pretty intimidating board presence with his battlecry. Also, much like SSC, he will allow your lower minions to trade up nicely if the situation calls for it (A Snake Trap Snake could take out something as heavy a Spellbreaker or a Kor’Kron Elite!). Great in Beast heavy decks or even a deck with just a few beasts due to how insane this battlecry is. IIf you look for equivalents, the battlecry itself is Mark of the Wild, which is a 2 mana drop. If you use the battlecry, Houndmaster is a 2 mana 4/3, equal to a Succubus without the drawback!

Arena: 3/5 | Constructed: 4/5

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Explosive Shot

This is a really cool card. 5 damage to the main target and 2 the side, this card is really easy to 2 for 1 or even 3 for 1 with and a complete board control swing. Just remember to prioritize to targets well (Try to splash onto untargetable stuff like Faerie Dragon or Blood Imp). Smarter players may play around this card, but even then you have a 5 mana card that has a potential of 9 damage at best, 5 damage at worst. This card has the added benefit of being a rare so some people may forget to play around it just because they don’t see it as often as other removal cards. A really great spell that is powerful with proper aim.

Arena: 4/5Constructed: 5/5

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Tundra Rhino

A beefier, more expensive and more conditional Warsong Commander. This card is weaker than it’s Warrior counterpart obviously due to it’s increased cost. It goes without saying that Tundra Rhino can obviously allow some pretty strong plays with it’s Beast synergy, but until Blizzard buffs the concept of Beast synergy as a whole this card will be a fairly weak 5 drop. You might get some potential extra value out of this card in regards to your opponent using a removal card or a Silence on it due to it’s high HP pool and scary card text. Great drop a turn before Savannah Highmane though!

Arena: 2/5 | Constructed: 3/5

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Savannah Highmane

One of the saving graces of the Hunter class card set and arguably the best Beast card in the game. (Yes, even better than Core Hound and King Krush). Basically a super version of a Harvest Golem (aka the METAGOLEM), this card can be a real headache for your opponent to deal with. Combined with any card that has the word Beast on it (Timber Wolf, Tundra Rhino, Houndmaster etc), this card can achieve some pretty insane value. Easily the best Hunter class card just due to it’s presence and ability to give you card advantage.

Arena: 5/5 | Constructed: 5/5

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Gladiator’s Longbow

This is a very interesting card. Basically an Arcanite Reaper for 7 mana, this card has the added benefit of preventing return damage from any unit you swing at with your hero. Unfortunately, the card is pretty slow for what it could be. Ideally, this card would be better as a card that is closer to a Truesilver Champion (maybe a 5 mana drop for a 4/2 with immune). A really neat card though, don’t undervalue it due to it’s high mana cost, it can really bail you out of some hairy situations or solidify your board control.

Arena: 3/5 | Constructed: 3/5

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King Krush

King Krush stomps onto the field as the Hunter Class Legendary and is pretty intimidating on paper. An 8/8 with Charge, he is very effective at smashing a majority of the minions that can be played or as a surprise burst damage to the face of your opponent. You can even play Beastial Wrath to make him a 10/8 with Immune for the duration of the turn you play him on, allowing him to tackle into Ragnaros and get out alive. Unfortunately, King Krush in reality is a fairly lackluster card due to his 9 mana cost and obvious weakness to taunt. Compared to something like Pyroblast or even Ragnaros (essentially an 8/8 with Charge for 8, although obviously you can’t control the target), King Krush falls behind. Even the surprise 8 damage factor is slightly weaker due to Hunters already having decent damage from their hands by method of cards like Kill Command, Huffer from Animal Companion or even just two Arcane Shot cards and a Steady Shot. I mean, at least his play animation is cool and he’s a HUGE DINOSAUR. Unfortunately, he’s just a resoundingly mediocre class Legendary. However, a mediocre Legendary is still an excellent bomb to drop on the opponent lategame. If you have him, he’s probably worth a slot in your deck, but I wouldn’t actively pursue him for a Constructed deck.

Arena: 3/5 | Constructed: 3/5

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Top 5 Overall Hunter Class Cards for All Deck Types

1. Savannah Highmane
2. Eaglehorn Bow
3. Explosive Shot
4. Multi-Shot
5. Deadly Shot

Overall, Hunters have not been the same since the removal of their OTK combo deck. With Beast synergy being cool on paper but weak in execution, Hunters unfortunately sit at the bottom of the barrel at the moment in terms of their “viability” and overall strength as a deck. Depending instead heavily on their strong weapon (Eaglehorn Longbow), variety of powerful removal spells and the neutral minion pool more than most classes, Hunters are basically pigeon holed into weird spell heavy removal/go for the face style for most situations.

Until Beast synergy is actually more powerful than it’s current iteration (which I hope Blizzard is working on), Hunters will have to work much harder than most classes for their wins. I had a lot of fun playing Hunter to make this guide and find the bow/secret deck to be a pretty fun deck to play. Ideally, I would like to see Blizzard make Hunters viable as a “Beast Mastery” spec or as a “Marksman/Survival” spec, which would depend on Beasts for one or Traps/Shots for the other.

For now, those are just pipe dreams and Hunters are pretty doomed to be weaker than Rogues/Warlocks/Mages, just like World of Warcraft during the entirety of the Burning Crusade! Yes, Blizzard, I’m still mad about that. Remember though, whenever you are playing your Hunter deck, you atleast have the minor advantage of people possibly playing sloppy against you because “lol hunter is weak I can do whatever” or “god what does THAT class do again?”. If you dream of being the best Hunter in the world, don’t let me discourage you, just realize that it’s going to be a hard path.