As the release of the new set draws near, we start to see the entire collection of cards coming together. Hunters get great value in Saviors of Uldum with Wild Bloodstinger and Scarlet Webweaver. These cards help Hunter decks be able to play for the later stages of the game. They might even make Highlander Hunter a viable deck.
Wild Bloodstinger is the New Dirty Rat
Clocking in as a six mana 6/9 Beast, Wild Bloodstinger is Dirty Rat and Swamp King Dred combined into a single card. Its Battlecry summons a minion from the opponent’s hand and forces him to attack it.
First of all, this is a very solid stat line. Though similar to Swamp King Dred, this is necessary because the Bloodstinger is forced to attack a minion the second it hits the board. Nine health is quite a lot and it should live through pretty much any encounter.
The important part of this card is the disruption effect. Dirty Rat was so strong when it stopped people from playing their key winning cards. This could very well become the same necessary card for slower Hunters.
There’s really no combo disruption in the current metagame and it could definitely help against meta decks like Cyclone Mage. Being able to get rid of Stargazer Luna, Khadger, Sorcerer’s Apprentice and Mana Cyclone would all be good plays.
Scarlet Webweaver Combo Potential
Scarlet Webweaver is a six mana 5/5 Beast. Kind of a lackluster stat line, but has quite the powerful Battlecry attached to it. That Battlecry will reduce the cost of a random Beast in your hand by five.
Right off the bat, this raises eyebrows on potential OTK combos. Tundra Rhino is a five mana minion that gives all of your Beasts Charge. If Scarlet Webweaver hits that with its Battlecry, you could output enough damage to kill an opponent from full.
Alternatively, it could just be a good top-heavy Hunter card. It could reduce your new Wild Bloodstinger to one mana, and that would make a huge swing in the game. It could also just be a good card for your Highlander Hunter, reducing the cost of your top-end beasts like a potential King Krush. Getting a four mana King Krush is even better than a seven mana one with Dinotamer Brann.
Highlander Hunter Coming Together
Both of these cards sound like a nice fit in a more control type highlander deck. Throw in the Dinotamer Brann for the synergy, and that’s three easy inclusions. The skeleton for the deck is still a little difficult to come up with, but it seems it will definitely need Zul’Jin.
Running spells are the best way to make a control style deck. Deadly Shots, Unleash the Hounds, Unleash the Beast, and more are actually all very strong for controlling the pace of the game along with Zul’Jin’s Battlecry. Throw in Dire Frenzy on some targets that synergize with Tundra Rhino or have Charge, and now you’ve created a win condition in control mirrors.
There are still a lot of cards yet to be revealed for the Hunter class and the neutral set. The neutral highlander Legendary needs to be solid to make all of this work. Something similar to Kazakus would leave out the ridiculous healing of Reno Jackson, but have a big enough impact on the game to matter and have a viable highlander deck.
Images courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment via their official website.
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