The Professor #9 – Hunter

In this week’s ‘The Professor’, we will be looking at the final class that we have not covered; the Hunter!

The Hunter was famous for its One Turn Kill (OTK) combo before Unleash the Hounds was nerfed; it is generally an underused class in the current meta. That is not to say that it is a weak class; some players have managed to specialise in using the Hunter!

Having Beasts is the trademark of a Hunter, as most of his cards synergise around them.

Hero Power

• Steady Shot: Deal 2 damage to the enemy hero

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Steady Shot can only be used against the opponent hero; it helps to heap pressure on the opponent with its constant damage, possibly forcing him to play defensively. It should be used with a clear goal; Steady Shot does not help to maintain board control.

Secrets

• Snipe
• Freezing Trap
• Explosive Trap

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Hunter is one out of three classes to use secrets, other than the Paladin and the Mage.

The Hunter has one of the most versatile secret kits. From dealing four damage to an opponent-summoned minion, to dealing two damage to all enemy minions whenever the Hunter is attacked, opponents will have to be at best thinking caps to identify the secret.

Minions

• Starving Buzzard
• Scavenging Hydra
• Timber Wolf

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Hunter’s minions revolve around buffing beasts; removing them early will help a lot to stop a Hunter.

Beasts are required to bring out the full potential of their cards; Starving Buzzard allows a card to be drawn whenever a beast is summoned, Scavenging Hydra gets stronger whenever a friendly beast dies, and Timber Wolf allows other friendly beasts to have +1 damage!

Spells

• Multi-Shot
• Arcane Shot
• Kill Command

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Hunter has many spells that allow them to maintain board control; they mainly deal direct damage to opponent minions, putting pressure on the opponent to keep propping up the field.

Weapons

• Gladiator’s Longbow
• Eaglehorn Bow

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Hunter uses some weapons, albeit not as many as the other Weapon-wielding classes. Gladiator’s Longbow is interesting in the fact that the Hunter does not take damage if he uses it to attack minions (Immune), while Eaglehorn Bow is similar to the Warrior’s upgrade, though it only has an increased durability whenever a secret is revealed.

Counter

• Destroying minions that provide strong synergy with Beasts is essential (i.e. Starving Buzzard and Scavenging Hydra), as they help to snowball the Hunter early.
• Maintaining a certain amount of health or Taunt minions on the board will be good, as the Hunter has the ability to burst down the opponent
• Identify the secrets by making counter-measures against them

Although the Hunter is underused now, it still provides a unique viewpoint, as its cards provide a lot of synergy with each other. Players who have mastered using the Hunter have found ways to change their play to great results, so do not leave it in the cold just yet!

Let us know in the comments below on what you think of this week’s ‘The Professor’, and which class you will like us to highlight next!

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– Silfer

Image Credits: Blizzard Entertainment, Jeremy