Hearthstone's Year of the Hydra, the 2022 Core Set, and Voyage to the Sunken City are almost here, so it's time to give Demon Hunter a review of what's to come. Below you will find our thoughts on the class as they pertain to the brand new Hearthstone year. We're going to go over the archetypes we expect to see play, the heavy-hitting cards, a general overview of Demon Hunter's other cards, and a theorycraft deck for you to try out on Day 1.
Before we jump straight into our review, we've got a few pieces of content you may want to check out.
- If you haven't seen the whole Core Set for 2022, check out our guide.
- All the cards have been revealed for Voyage to the Sunken City.
- You can build decks with all these cards in our deckbuilder.
- Need a set rotation refresher? Learn more about card set rotations in Hearthstone.
- Open your card packs early by creating your own Fireside Gathering.
- Check our pack opening simulator to test your luck.
Now with that done, let's jump into it!
Year of the Hydra Demon Hunter Quick Impressions
- Hope you like your Fel diet, because it's going to be one of the staple servings.
- Demon Hunter could very well embrace the new Naga tribe, with most Demons going on a strike.
- Not a whole lot of Deathrattle support, and it's not easy to find a clear vision for Big Demon Hunter either.
- We got used to seeing Final Showdown in the majority of competitive decks for the class, but that might be about to change.
- At least both of the new Legendaries (Lady S'theno and Xhilag of the Abyss) seem fairly potent.
- Overall, a solid 5/10 to be on the safe side. There might be a decent Fel spell school focus and potential Aggro focus, but not much else that immediately screams "huge power level".
Demon Hunter Power Level
Rotating Cards From Year of the Phoenix & The Core Set
Before we dive further into the foreseeable future, a quick note on what's about to become the past. The cards that are coming and the cards that are leaving are both going to impact the class in their own ways. Since it can be tricky to remember which expansions belong to which Hearthstone year, here are the 3 big sets we are saying goodbye to:
What does that mean for Demon Hunter? Gone are the two notable board clears, often used in combination with Spell Damage: Immolation Aura and Felscream Blast. A lot of reliable card draw is on its way out: Double Jump, Acrobatics, Skull of Gul'dan, and especially Glide shenanigans (Spectral Sight is technically from Ashes of Outland, but also a part of the existing Core set - so at least that's not going anywhere). Losing the versatility of Illidari Studies is pretty huge, too.
No more Il'gynoth, or the entire Soul Fragment package (but that's been largely forgotten already, except for the occasional Irebound Brute pairings). Expendable Performers + Felfire Deadeye moving away means one sad Kurtrus, Demon-Render (with Wrathscale Naga coming back, that could've been one unbearable combo).
The class also enjoyed a close relationship with Neutral Demons such as Magtheridon and Mo'arg Artificer. All in all, there is a good deal to potentially mourn here. These 3 expansions marked the initial (powerful) year of the Demon Hunter class in Hearthstone, so it's no wonder many of these picks stand out.
Year of the Hydra Demon Hunter Archetypes
It's more or less familiar territory, unless something not immediately obvious is hiding in the depths:
- Fel - A fair number of new tools, both minions and spells. Should be the way to go.
- Aggro - It hasn't been around for a while, but maybe there is enough to give it a try in the brand new meta.
- Deathrattle - Possibly neglected? That is, even more than lately.
- Big - An archetype that never quite becomes a thing. Sounds like murky waters.
- Questline - Lack of reliable card draw might do it in.
Brief glances aside, a closer look at each of these archetypes could perhaps allow us to better divine their odds of success:
Fel Demon Hunter in Year of the Hydra
We still got our good pal Jace Darkweaver, and so we still got hope. With both Multi-Strike and Predation sharing the associated spell school tag, there is enough Fel synergy to speak of here. Given the latter card's connection to the Naga tribe, quite a few of them might sneak their way in to bolster the archetype. Lady S'theno looks to be especially useful.
Metamorphosis remains with us as part of the new Core Set, although it hasn't seen much use over the past year. It also helps that Demon Hunter is holding onto Aldrachi Warblades and Chaos Strike.
Aggro Demon Hunter in Year of the Hydra
Once upon a time, it used to be so common and feared. But can those glory days return? With many smaller minions swarming the board and that cheap Hero Power, such possibility always exists. Wayward Sage could help with a strong opening. Irondeep Trogg still remains in Standard (and Battlefiend in Core). Vicious Slitherspear might pretend that it's Intrepid Initiate.
The new Arcanite Reaper looks potentially interesting as a finisher, but Aggro Demon Hunter has always cared about controlling the board first and foremost in order to push that early minion damage face. Glaiveshark is more of a maybe, although the damage hits the enemy hero as well.
Deathrattle Demon Hunter in Year of the Hydra
The whole Deathrattle package from Forged in the Barrens still remains: your Tuskpiercer, Razorboar, or Razorfen Beastmaster. The new Azsharan Defector card doesn't seem to be particularly strong on its own, but there is some synergy with Bone Glaive weapon.
Alas, slim pickings when it comes to Neutral cards. Play a new 4 mana 7/7 Selfish Shellfish and hope they can't kill it? Azsharan Sentinel feels a tad too slow, while Naval Mine could be rather difficult to trigger.
Big Demon Hunter in Year of the Hydra
The Naga direction might very well turn out to be a dead end, but Sigil of Reckoning pairs nicely with the newest Colossal. Caria Felsoul might try to become relevant? If it doesn't sound terribly convincing, that's probably because it isn't.
Questline Demon Hunter in Year of the Hydra
It feels a little weird to be considering Questline Demon Hunter as its own separate entity, seeing as Final Showdown eventually merged into various decks as time went by - from Fel DH, through Il'gynoth OTK, to Irebound Brute and even Kazakusan. The same could be said for Kurtrus, Demon-Render. It might struggle to find home now.
Cheaper Feast of Souls is probably more of a meme, there aren't many token generators (just Coordinated Strike with the exit of Expendable Performers). But at least all Tradeable cards remain. Perhaps there is something to be done with any of the new Neutral Legendaries - Sir Finley, Sea Guide, Ambassador Faelin, and Queen Azshara. I also expect that somebody is just going to try with Reno Jackson.
Year of the Hydra Demon Hunter Heavy-Hitters
With the refreshed Core Set and the new Voyage to the Sunken City expansion, there is a decent number of options deserving of a more detailed coverage. But we're just going to pick a handful of heavy-hitters: the cards whose power level stands out, and which are very likely to have the biggest impact in the coming months.
Lady S'theno's Impact in Year of the Hydra
The type of Legendary card players are happy to try to fit into just about any viable Demon Hunter deck. A minion which could turn into a great board clear or a source of considerable face damage, as long as one has enough spells to act as fuel. Definitely shows potential with the entire Fel package, but might also finds itself working in favor of slower strategies. In a way also encourages exploring the Naga tribe angle further.
Xhilag of the Abyss' Impact in Year of the Hydra
Stands out among other Colossals with the number of appendages alone: each one taking its space on the board as a separate minion. There is also this considerable scaling potential for the tokens - if they aren't removed quickly, that's a lot of damage stacking up. It's possible most Demon Hunter decks will try to include it one way or another.
Multi-Strike's Impact in Year of the Hydra
Very versatile. Especially for a class with wide access to a number of Attack buffs and weapons (ahem, Aldrachi Warblades). Or even with Hero Power alone to clear a couple of early small minions. Low mana cost damage card is not something Demon Hunter would ever pass on.
Neutral Cards for Demon Hunter in Year of the Hydra
Does anybody smell Naga? Probably won't become best friends with our Demon Hunters, but there are a few tribe representatives worthy of at least a mention.
Rainbow Glowscale might not make the cut versus Guild Trader and Talented Arcanist, although it has that tribal synergy going for it. Very curious about the value of School Teacher.
There is also this... creature, enjoying the life of a pirate. Add Demon Claws and we've got a fair pairing.
Nothing else particularly stands out (besides various Neutral Legendaries mentioned before), Demon Hunter just doesn't seem to be very welcoming towards Murlocs or Mechs.
Fel Demon Hunter V2.0 - A Theorycraft Deck for Voyage to the Sunken City
I'm nothing if not an ardent Jace fan; there just can be no other way. Consuming tasty Fel cookies while swimming against the current is a tempting proposition. Who cares if all those other Demon Hunter decks might not work out, let's at least have this one powerhouse.
It's a pass on Final Showdown, better invite some Naga over instead. It's either that kind of minion presence, or focusing more on the removal and card draw (which could result in many turns of doing nothing). With both Immolation Aura and Felscream Blast no longer available, it's harder to justify keeping Spell Damage cards around.
Rustrot Viper is always a fair tech consideration if we're being worried about weapons (possibly replacing one of the Naga minions). I'd love to see Metamorphosis prove itself and earn its Core Set keep.
Final Thoughts
If Demon Hunter struggles to find its identity during these initial months of the Year of the Hydra, it won't come as a great surprise. The class got used to playing off board while drawing through the deck quickly and setting up larger removal turns. It could be nice to see a different approach enjoy its deserved spotlight.
If Fel package and Naga minions don't deliver, then there might not be a whole lot to look forward to. The Questline doesn't feel particularly exciting, yet it's always had its devoted followers. Remains to be seen whether Aggro or the unlikely Big Stuff might break through.
Core Set 2022 also does little for the class. Wrathscale Naga possibly waiting around for more support, while Flamereaper seems pretty much unplayable. And so we put our trust in Jace Darkweaver once more.
Thanks for following along! Do you agree with our takes? See any different routes for the Demon Hunter class to explore, or is it meant to sink beneath the waves for the time being? Let us know where you stand and which of these cards you're most looking forward to try.
More Out of Cards Year of the Hydra Reviews
We've got more to talk about for Hearthstone's Year of the Hydra that officially begins on April 12. Check out all of our Standard class reviews!
More Wild Reviews for Voyage to the Sunken City
We've been hard at work preparing additional insights into the new Voyage to the Sunken City cards with a Wild spin. Check out all the classes released so far down below.
Comments
Yup, have to agree on this one, I don't see any of these archetypes being that great for DH but that's honestly just fine. Illidan can always wait till the mini set or next expansion