Deathrattle Demon Hunter

Hellllllllllllo my fellow mage and paladin - *ehm* I mean Hearthstone players! Today I wanted to bring you a deck that has been tossed around and considered middle of the pack and possibly convince you that its a lot better than it's been represented as. I got legend with it today exclusively with it after lots of games against the new decks.

So to start, let me answer the elephant in the room: How does it compare to No Minion Mage and Secret Paladin? Actually, it's strong against both. The mana cheating it can achieve can rival paladin, and win in attrition. As for mage, the deck pilots as an aggro deck and uses its stick boards to deal with flamestrikes + other board clear before finishing with Illidari Inquisitor. I truely believe it's a well rounded deck that will only get stronger once the mage and pally nerfs go live (fingers crossed).

With all that being said, lets jump into how the deck generally performs and how to pilot a best-case-scenario game. I'm going to break the deck down into 3 parts: Deathrattle Core, Control and Value, and Finishers. In a general sense, you want to create *sticky* boards that pair your Deathrattle Core with some form of Control and Value. So lets take a look at the parts individually:

Deathrattle Core - all of your deathrattle cards are part of the core, however Razorboar and Razorfen Beastmaster are your bread and butter. These are cards you ALWAYS keep in the opening hand. These two minions will let you establish boards, maintain chip damage, and cheat a whole lot of mana. Especially paired with a couple other cards in the deck.

Control and Value - this is your Watch Posts, Kargal Battlescar, and Skull of Gul'dan/Illidari Studies. These are cards you want to pair alongside your sticky deathrattles. The Watch Posts will help deal with aggro and mage, while also baiting out your opponents removals.

Finishers: Illidari Inquisitor + Weapons. These are the cards that you will do damage to face with and oh my is Inquisitor the most powerful card I've used in DH so far. I'd be comfortable saying I win half of my games because of this bad boy. Its very powerful and gives us an "execute" of sorts.

Now that we have our deck broken down into parts, here is the general game plan.

1. Establish Deathrattle Core to stick to the board.

2. Play and Protect your Control and Value (Watchposts or Skull)

3. Use finishers to close out game

Now, let's break down each card and talk about it's strengths:

Illidari Studies - If you take anything from this guide, its this: Do NOT use this on turn 1 or 2 just because you have nothing else to play. This isn't a use-it-and-forget-it studies like other classes. Because the card generates an outcast card, you are encouraged to play it immediately. On turn 1 and 2 the only thing you can get and play is a runner or spectral sight. But if dont hit either, you are putting your outcast in a terrible hand position. I usually hold this until turn 4 (There are a lot of good 4- outcast cards). This card has the lowest priority compared to establishing deathrattle core or watch posts.

Trueaim Crescent - This card is the reason deathrattle DH can mana cheat just as much as secret paladin. It essentially gives your deathrattle minions a rush, and paired with Ace Hunter Kreen they can have rush + immunity. Using this on turn 1 can means on turn 2 you can play a razorboar that charges into a 3/3, killing it, and spawning your own 3/3 or 2/4 from hand. So much value here. It's also worth mentioning that it has 4 durability, which is great for lasting until turn 8 where you can drop an Inquisitor and hit face for 9 damage.

Tuskpiercer - Not too much to explain on this card. Always keep it in opening hand and use both charges ASAP. To put more deathrattles in your hand.

Far Watch Post - Great card to draw early against no minion mage and tbh it's great against aggro too. Its a 2/4 with the ability to attack. Yes, it can attack. If you pair this (or the other watchpost) with Trueaim Crescent, it will also attack your selected target despite saying it cannot attack. Very powerful for turn 2 or 3 swing plays.

Fogsail Freebooter - Okay so heres a hot take on this card since its getting thrown around a lot on decklists. I hate this card. It's not a ton of value (compared to the meta which is super mana cheat) and it is terrible to draw into late. If you want to cut a card, start here. I'm still trying to figure out what I can replace this with. Good into aggro but not good enough to stop secret pala alone.

Razorboar - Part of your deathrattle core. Always keep this in your opening hand. This can reach all your deathrattles that are or less than 3 cost which is your beastmaster and cultist. Lots of times opponents won't even try to remove this. I find it to be a safe 2 damage chip per turn.

Ace Hunter Kreen - I'm actually not seeing this card in a lot of lists and it baffles me. I can safely say this card has won me so many matchups because of its high value paired with Trueaim Crescent and a sticky board. Not to mention it helps you take less damage with Trueaim into big minions. People freak out to kill this too and it's hilarious. 11/10 would recommend

Death's Head Cultist - This is our saving grace. We take a TON of damage from attacking + Berserkers so these Cultist heals will keep you afloat. Great card for protecting our watch posts too. If possible, try to cheat this card out through Razorboar or Beastmasters. I usually mulligan this card though as it's not amazing early unless you also have a Razorboar in the opening hand.

Mor'shan Watch Post- Same as the Far Watch Post but this card will destroy Secret Paladin. They have to trade with it during their turn (avoids their secret procs) and all of their pressure comes from minion drops. Always keep this against any deck but drop mulligan it vs Mages. Remember, this card can attack when paried with Trueaim Crescent.

Razorfen Beastmaster - This card is part of our core and should never be mulliganed. It can also pull another copy of itself in your hand, which can then pull another deathrattle minion from your hand giving you insanely strong board stick. Try to hit berserkers with this deathrattle if possible as its 8/10 of stats for 3 mana. Insane.

Darkspear Berserker - This is our greed card. 5/7 for 4 mana is strong, but even stronger when its pulled from a Beastmaster. Ideally we want to use this card as our final push to get their HP at 15 or less, but can also trade very efficiently.

Renowned Performer - Strong 4 cost deathrattle. Great when pulled by Death Speaker Blackthorn as well.

Vengeful Spirit - I was actually very hesitant of this card at first, but it's actually amazing. If I get this as the left card in my opening hand I'll generally keep it, as its such a strong turn 4 play. It helps regenerate your hand and find more drops for your deathrattle core to pull. It also thins your deck to find your finishers faster.

Taelan Fordring - This card is actually solid for our mana curve. 5 Mana is kinda awkward for us as we want our deathrattles to be at 4 or less, and our bigger cards are around 7-8. This will also pull us an Inquistor and provides additional protection for our Control cards.

Skull of Gul'dan - Good for mana cheating, but more for hand replenishment late game. Be careful using this into Paladin's Oh My Yogg! or Mage's Counterspell.

Death Speaker Blackthorn - Wow this card has some value. Always keep it in your opening hand, even though its a 7 mana card. I play this on curve almost always. So much value...

Kargal Battlescar - I've seen some people saying this card isn't worth, but I strongly disagree. At it's worst (in my experience) it's a 7 mana summon two 5/5's. At best, its been a 7 mana summon four 5/5's. Its just a strong reply to your last win condition board getting wiped and plays really well with inquisitor follow up.

Illidari Inquisitor - My new favorite DH card. This bad boy will win you soooo many games. Don't play this on turn 8 without a weapon, even if you have nothing else. The fact that you can do 9 damage face immediately with this card means you can do 18 over two turns with both of them as a finisher. Since it has Rush, it can also clear a large taunt before going face as well. 12/10 would recommend. Keep in mind that with Illidari Studies, you can find Felosophy which will duplicate this card. Meaning you can have THREE executes in one game. Very powerful indeed.

Matchups:

No Minion Mage - Look for Far Watch Post and Razorboar in the opening hand. Trueaim Crescent performs terrible in this matchup so avoid that if you can. Play this matchup as if you are playing an aggro deck. Meaning that you don't just play minions because you can, but you constantly are generating a board and going face. Trading should be kept to a minimum as your goal is to get the mage to 10-15 HP by turn 8. Execute with Inquisitors. If they use Ring Toss to search for Ice Barrier, try to summon Darkspear Berserker's to fish for Mirror Entity. Yes it gives them a 5/7, but it can also kill them with its deathrattle. Always keep in mind their two copies of Flamestrike and play around them. Death Speaker Blackthorn into Kargal Battlescar is very hard for them to deal with. If they get an early Incanter's Flow + Deck of Lunacy, just accept that it's the state of the game and some games can't be won.

Secret Paladin - Look for Mor'shan Watch Post and keep Trueaim Crescent if you find it. This isn't an aggro match, it's a cheat mana and value one. Trade efficiently, play around secrets, and maintain board control. Note: the deck performs well against secret paladin because it can play around Galloping Savior and Oh My Yogg! very easy. Just be aware of Avenge and make sure you play around Noble Sacrifice with your hero power/weapon.

All other matchups - Play the deck in it's general win condition. Play Deathrattle core, then Control, then use finishers to end the game quickly. Rogue can be difficult if they get a good start, but you should out attrition them quite easily.