Beast Mastery Midrange Hunter (Season 35)

NOTE: If you have two Quick Shots in your collection from Blackrock Mountain, feel free to play them over the two Arcane Shots. I simply did so for the sake of not having to buy BRM and to keep the deck safe from rotation.

Hello, everyone! This is the first deck I’m posting here on the site, and this build is based off of the list run by Sparks for Season 35. As of right now, I’ve been climbing from Rank 20 and have currently hit 16 with this deck (I know this doesn’t say much, but I feel it’s an accomplishment thus far). It’s a very interesting midrange deck for Hunter, and I’ve affectionately named it Beast Mastery after the specialization for WoW hunters; after all, the deck plays so many Beasts and Beast synergy cards, and it even contains one of the signature abilites of a BM Hunter, Kill Command! Best of all, the entire deck comes in under 2000 dust, without needing a single Legendary (the most expensive card in the deck being Rat Pack)!

Anyway, allow me to go over the specific cards that make the mesh of this deck, and hopefully, if you want to try it out, it’ll lead you up the ladder!

Key Cards of BM Hunter

Alleycat: I feel that this cute little kitty has become a staple in Hunter decks, and with good reason. Two attack and two health split over two bodies for one mana is never a bad deal at all, and it combos very well if you have early trades to make to grow Scavenging Hyena. I tend to keep this critter against control decks for an early aggro play that they may or may not be able to deal with easily, and as an early play against aggro decks to offer an efficient means of board control.

Scavenging Hyena: Scary enough of a two-drop that most people like to kill it early; this is why you DON’T play it early, and instead wait for an opportune moment to make trades with your other Beasts to grow Hyena into a monster. It’s most definitely one of the key threats of the deck, but it’s important to know how to play it correctly.

Dispatch Kodo: Kodo has so many uses against a variety of formats that it should probably see play in almost any Hunter deck, as well. This guy can come down early as removal on a body with a big butt, or you can play with your buff synergies and make it even more effective at removing an opponent’s minion or, if you’re in a racing position, the enemy’s face. Always a solid play to make, so definitely look for the opportunity to line it up.

Rat Pack: Pack is a great card to have on the board for an impending board wipe from control decks; it helps you keep board presence, and allows you to threaten a Timber Wolf to come down and make your opponent’s life miserable. Another great play is to have a buffed Pack clear out an opponent’s minion, follow it up with Wolf and Tundra Rhino, and smack the opponent’s face for some surprise damage. There truly is no replacement for this card, so if you have the dust right away, pick these up first.

Savannah Highmane: For six mana, a 6/5 that has a Deathrattle able to pull more cards out of your opponent’s hand (AKA spending more removal) is absolutely strong, and rightly deserves to be the top-end of this deck. Allowing Highmane to be buffed by Trogg Beastrager or Smuggler's Crate beforehand is never a bad deal, either. If you don’t want to shell for Highmane, Stranglethorn Tiger is also an okay option, but I feel that Highmane gives you more durability in the longer games.

Trogg Beastrager, Smuggler's Crate (you all don’t know how badly I’ve wanted to type Smuggler’s Copter, being a former Magic player…): Beastrager has a great rate for two mana, and the extra buff to a random Beast in hand is all upside from the basic counterpart, Bloodfen Raptor. Crate gives the same benefit double-time, but there’s only one copy in the deck to limit how many you draw in your opener without a Beast in hand to buff. Obviously, you don’t want to play these cards if you don’t have something to buff, but Beastrager at least can be played as a Raptor if you need some sort of board presence.

Kill Command: Ah, yes, we’ve come to this lovely card. KC is a very nice Swiss army knife, either letting you take out an X/3 or smaller, or setting up for bigger kills or, if the play is right, pressuring the opponent’s face. Obviously, you don’t fling KC just because you have a Beast on the board, but if your opponent is down to 10 health or less, it may be right to cut that number in half to take away some of his or her outs. Used wisely, KC is very powerful in this deck, and I would not recommend playing less than two.

As far as specific matchups go, I’ll have to take time to take some notes on these, but stay tuned, and I’d be happy to provide matchups and synergies to look for! Thanks for checking the deck out!