Icecrown Previews: Two Heads > One
September 6, 2010
The Wrath of the Lich King block will complete with the release of Icecrown in a couple of weeks, and I could not be more excited. Each class will have new abilities at their disposal, and the tournament scene will shift dramatically with all the new powerful cards.
Hunter has been absent from the Constructed tournament scene for a while, but I can safely say this will not be the case once Icecrown becomes legal. Today’s preview card is Deuce, the newest Pet for the Hunter arsenal.
Deuce is exactly the card Hunter decks have been waiting for. One of the reasons Hunter has not been a force in the tournament scene is because of the restrictions on how many Pets you can have in play at the same time. Hunter has a stable full of powerful Pets at its disposal, but it is hard to build a deck based around Pets when you can only have one in play at a time. Deuce solves this problem single-handily. When in play Deuce’s large ATK power is a huge threat to any opponent. His size alone will force opponents to deal with him quickly. If they do manage to destroy him, Deuce will enable you to grow your army of Pets.
If we have learned anything from the Wrath of the Lich King block, it’s that cards that have powers while in the graveyard are amazing. The card that pops to mind is Broderick Langforth. Broderick has been tearing up the tournament scene since his introduction, and so will Deuce. There are so many way to get Deuce in your graveyard; its ridiculous. One way is to destroy Deuce through his Pet restriction. Imagine you play Deuce on turn 2. Attack for 4 damage and then play your Dundee. Another way to get Deuce into the graveyard is to destroy it yourself. Once card that is becoming a staple in hunter decks is Envoy of Mortality. What would normally be a drawback on the Envoy of Mortality is now an outlet to destroy your Deuce. The next way we can get Deuce into our graveyard is through Find Treasure. My favorite way to send Deuce to the bin involves Hunter named as Gromble the Apt. He certainly fits in well with the class matters theme, while enabling extra utility be pitching either Deuce or Buzz. While Hunter hasn’t made a big splash in too many Constructed Top 8s, it has started to pop up over the last couple big tournaments. The most recent Hunter sightings were during the Last Chance Qualifiers for Worlds 2010. Two different hunter decks were piloted to success. Hero: Koth, Caller of the Hunt Allies: 374 Broderick Langforth
4 Offender Gora
4 Bloodsoul
4 Kagella Shadowmark
4 Dundee
4 Cromarius Blackfist
4 Munkin Blackfist
4 Kazamon Steelskin
3 Buzz
2 Rehgar Earthfury Abilities: 4
4 Snipe Equipment: 4
4 Envoy of Mortality Locations: 4
4 Orgrimmar Quests: 11
3 Uncatalogued Species
4 Bolstering Our Defenses
4 Torek's Assault Hero: Morn Salts-the-Land Master Hero: 2
2 Kel'thuzad Allies: 24
4 Broderick Langforth
4 Great Kodo
4 Dundee
3 Johnny Rotten
3 Vuz'din
3 Sayge
3 Buzz Abilities: 15
4 Snipe
4 Bombard
4 Tuskarr Kite
3 Spoils of the Hunt Equipment: 4
1 Jin'rohk, the Great Apocalypse
3 Envoy of Mortality Locations: 4
4 Eye of the Storm Quests: 11
3 The Overseer's Shadow
4 One Draenei's Junk . . .
4 Tabards of the Illidari While these Hunter decks are different they both play the same Pets. Dundee is one of the best pets in the game and its no surprise to see him included. The other pet in both decks is Buzz. Buzz has nice stats for his cost and an effect that can be crippling to all decks whose main strategy is to utilize equipment. Both decks have zero talent cards. You'll have no problem switching out the heroes for beast masters.
Where will Deuce fit into the future? I think he will become a staple for Hunter decks. Will Hunter dominate the top table like back in the Heroes of Azeroth days? I want to hear your opinions, let your voice be heard over in the forums.
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