Tuning Blue Hunter in Classic

Hey what’s up guys it’s Phil again! I want to discuss a deck this week that is a staple of the Classic format and one you should expect to see if you plan on playing in Reborn Indy next week. The deck has been called many things from simply “Blue Hunter” to the more descriptive “Aberration Hunter” to even just “Werewolves” by the people over at Random’s Thoughts.

Blue Hunter History

Alliance Hunter is a faction/class combination that I have had a lot of experience with, even more than Joleera if you read my last article. To be honest, I’ve played Alliance Hunter in every constructed format I’ve been a part of and am known to even force it while Cube drafting. My experience with Alliance Hunter goes back to my first biggish event, and that was State Champs 2011. In that event, I won with an Aspect of the Wild-based nature damage tribal Blue Hunter deck. The cool thing about that deck was that it was Worldbreaker block, and - for better or worse - Aberration had just come out as a keyword during that block along with the Worgen race.

Following States, I took the Hunter shell into the new Core format, and it continued to perform well as it was gifted new tools from Aftermath block (i.e. Faenis the Tranquil, Grumdak, Herald of the Hunt). The Alliance/Hunter combination would continue to be based on the nature damage/Aberration theme until an initially subtle card named Viewless Wings was printed. It was that card that pushed the deck into a this crazy combo-aggro version with Leader of the Pack and Viewless Wings allowing you to do 20 damage out of nowhere. Both Viewless Wings and Leader of the Pack would eventually be banned in Core and Contemporary, and force the deck to morph again.

With all the new tools it kept getting, Alliance Hunter made a show of strength in every single format. The Core and Contemporary versions came to be almost purely allies and revolved around the power of another new ally named Archdruid Fandral Staghelm. The Classic version came to revolve around the aforementioned keyword Aberration and its interaction with Envoy of Mortality. This unintended pairing is the product of two different companies working on a single game years apart from one another. I doubt Cryptozoic happily looked back on Upper Deck Entertainment’s cards like Ring of Trials and Envoy of Mortality and decided they’d make a mechanic to abuse them in a format that wasn’t overly popular. If you’re not familiar Aberration prevents non-combat damage which self-inflicted non-combat damage is the drawback printed on Envoy and Ring of Trials. This interaction coupled with the facts that Aberration also hoses Mage, Grumdak is such a clean answer to Dethvir, Fang plays so well with everything, and many other factors created a perfect storm for one of the best decks in Classic to rise through the ranks.

Hunters from the Metamart 3k Series

The Classic version of the deck is what I want to mainly focus on today. Blue Hunter’s popularity is largely due to the fact that so many people played it in the Metamart 3k Series with three Snipers finding their way into the Top 8 of the 2012 3k in Saint Louis. So we’ll start there before we move onto my current list:

Stephen Charles McArthur
Hero: Master Sniper Simon McKey

4 Rufus Claybourne
4 Vakus the Inferno
4 Magni the Mountain King
4 Jadefire Scout
4 Grumdrak, Herald of the Hunt
4 Garet Vice
2 Banzai
4 Fang
3 Lady Bancroft
4 Ashnaar, Frost Herald
1 Boomer

4 Avatar of the Wild

4 Envoy of Mortality

4 the Report to Goldshire
3 One Draenei's Junk
3 Dr. Boom!
2 Finkle Einhorn, At Your Service!
2 Ring of Trials

Sidedeck:
1 Jeishal
1 Ring of Trials
2 Banzai
4 “Chipper” Ironbane
2 Weldon Barov

This version of the deck took down MM3k St Louis. It is noticeably low to the ground with a bit less interaction and more damage than some builds but is still highly interactive where opposing allies are concerned. Like most all versions you have reach with cards like Grumdak, Avatar, and Envoy. Finkle Einhorn gives you some resilience, and allows you to replay key cards like Ashnaar and Fang or Aberration batteries like Vakus and Rufus. Banzai plus Simon flip can do a number on graveyard-based strategies or anyone for that matter if you’re in a later stage of the game. Anyway, let’s get to another Simon list from the very same event:

Brad Watson
Hero: Master Marksman Simon McKey

3 Rufus Claybourne
3 Vakus the Inferno
4 Magni the Mountain King
3 Jadefire Scout
4 Grumdrak, Herald of the Hunt
4 Garet Vice
4 Fang
3 Lady Bancroft
4 Ashnaar, Frost Herald
4 Weldon Barov
3 Mikael the Blunt

4 Avatar of the Wild

4 Envoy of Mortality

4 Report to Goldshire
3 One Draenei's Junk
1 Dr. Boom!
2 Finkle Einhorn, At Your Service!
3 Ring of Trials

Sidedeck:
3 Banzai
1 Lady Bancroft
1 Rufus Claybourne
4 Jeishal
1 Mikael the Blunt

Brad Watson is a name many know as being one of the best players in the game and his version of the deck is an interesting take. He features the full four copies of Weldon Barov and also runs three Mikael the Blunt which allows him to play a bigger game against other aggro decks while not sacrificing much in terms of speed. I think a lot of people gravitate toward McArthur’s version of the deck and consider it as the preferred prototype because most people think of Aberration Hunter as purely an aggro deck and also because he did win the event after all. But it’s important to keep Watson’s list in mind. By just shifting a few slots around Brad was able to push the archetype into a more midrange space and his list ended up being the one I prefer.

What’s in My Hunter Deckbox

Now this leads me to my current build of the deck which is the build I would play at an event if I had to today give or take a few cards:

Hero: Master Sniper Simon McKey

Allies:
4 Garet Vice
4 Jadefire Scout
3 Lady Bancroft
3 Vakus the Inferno
4 Fang
4 Ashnaar, Frost Herald
3 Rufus Clayborne
1 Boomer
4 Grumdak, Herald of the Hunt
3 Edwin Vancleef
4 Magni, the Mountain King
1 Weldon Barov

Abilities:
4 Avatar of the Wild

Equipment:
4 Envoy of Mortality

Locations:
3 Ring of Trials

Quests:
4 Report to Goldshire
3 One Draenei’s Junk
2 Dr. Boom
2 Finkle Einhorn, At your service!

Sidedeck:
2 Banzai
4 Piercing Shots
2 “Chipper” Ironbane
2 Snipe

I’ll be the first to say it: I’m not much of a deck builder. I’m surrounded by friends who love brewing, but I’m more of a battlefield tactician than a long-term strategist. I think best when I’m in the moment and have a hard time second-guessing people who I know are flat out better at the game than I am. They made their lists for a reason. But I couldn’t help tinkering around with Blue Hunter. This list isn’t very far from any of the MM3k St Louis ones, but the changes are definitely felt across the numerous games I’ve played with it. Quickly, I want to go over what may seem like small inclusions and why I made them:

1 Boomer/1 Weldon - My reason for these fun-of’s is the result of how good they are against aggro and how bad they are against Hesriana. In a game versus Warlock it’s sometimes correct to just face-down row Weldon B even if you can play him. But in some matchups he is the end-all be-all card that wins you the game.

3 Edwin Vancleef - This dude is just bananas. I can’t overstate how much I think Edwin is possibly one of the best 4 drops in the format. Specifically for a deck that’s soft to Hesriana and good versus Mage, it felt like a no-brainer include. I don’t lose much versus Mage and gain a lot versus Warlock. With his three bodies and Protectors he also plays great alongside Fang.

2 Banzai (Side Deck) - Banzai has been in and out of the main deck based on the pilot. It is very aggressive, and combos well with you Hero, but only if things are going into your opponent’s graveyard consistently.  I moved it to the sideboard because there are a couple of decks that dump a lot of cards into the graveyard (i.e. Vorix Burn and Spider Solitaire), but I just think he’s underwhelming in most normal situations.

4 Piercing Shots - I may have overestimated how good this card is, but it has some really cool applications. It is really good against armor decks like Deathwish Warrior, which isn’t all over the format, but seems to be a very bad match up in our testing. Piercing Shots shutting down Greaves of Ancient Evil completely is just icing on the cake. There are some other interactions that could come up like opposing Ring of Trials/Envoy of Mortality, Ice Barrier, Lady Bancroft, etc.

Anyway, those are the biggest differences in my current build verses the old ones. Some changes I’ve considered is cutting some number of the Piercing Shots for Mikael the Blunt. The fun-of’s can change to round out cards like Rufus in a Mage-heavy event or Edwin in a room full of Warlocks. You could also go bigger, and cut the Boomer for more copies of Weldon Barov like Brad did. For an aggro/midrange deck, there is quite a bit of wiggle room for different players to season to taste.

This deck is probably in the top 2 decks that I could play in Indy, and it is a blast to play. You guys should definitely put it into your gauntlet of decks to test against, and give it a try yourself. If you do not see the list in my hands, someone else will surely play it. So be prepared!