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Hearthstone | Posted by | 4 years, 9 months ago
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Control Strategies vs Deathrattle Demon Hunter

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to pick the community's brain on how y'all approach playing against DR DH as a Control or Midrange deck.  I find this match-up awkward to navigate and could use some help.

At first I tried to constantly keep the board clear, but my current strategy has been to ignore their summoning minions like Razorboar and Razorfen Beastmaster while playing my early small minions and going face. At the same time I save my removal for a bigger swing turn later.  My rationale has been:

  1. I'd rather they kill off their own minions so that I can deal with the stuff they summon on the following turn instead of allowing them to attack with slightly larger threats
  2. They don't usually run much healing so early dmg can help set up lethal later as even when you survive the initial waves of DR minions there's always Illidari Inquisitor lurking to kill you on Turn 8 and again on Turn 9 via N'Zoth

However, this obviously allows them to make favorable trades against my board early and it can be tough to clear everything later if they have taunts up from Renowned Performer/Death's Head Cultist or refill via Death Speaker Blackthorn.

Have you had success with a different strategy?  Or, if you play DR DH, what sorts of control/midrange strategies give you the most trouble?

Thanks!

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  • Hi everyone,

    I just wanted to pick the community's brain on how y'all approach playing against DR DH as a Control or Midrange deck.  I find this match-up awkward to navigate and could use some help.

    At first I tried to constantly keep the board clear, but my current strategy has been to ignore their summoning minions like Razorboar and Razorfen Beastmaster while playing my early small minions and going face. At the same time I save my removal for a bigger swing turn later.  My rationale has been:

    1. I'd rather they kill off their own minions so that I can deal with the stuff they summon on the following turn instead of allowing them to attack with slightly larger threats
    2. They don't usually run much healing so early dmg can help set up lethal later as even when you survive the initial waves of DR minions there's always Illidari Inquisitor lurking to kill you on Turn 8 and again on Turn 9 via N'Zoth

    However, this obviously allows them to make favorable trades against my board early and it can be tough to clear everything later if they have taunts up from Renowned Performer/Death's Head Cultist or refill via Death Speaker Blackthorn.

    Have you had success with a different strategy?  Or, if you play DR DH, what sorts of control/midrange strategies give you the most trouble?

    Thanks!

  • If you're playing control, and aren't priest, then sadly there's very little you can do but hope they don't get their curve for Skull of Gul'dan, Death Speaker Blackthorn, and Illidari Inquisitor. After that, pray that they don't discover Felosophy or are playing the late game deathrattle deck. Basically, you're playing a very bad matchup is what I'm trying to say.

    On the question of whether to crack the boars or to leave them be, that will depend very much on the number of cards your opponent has in hand, but in most cases its better to simply kill the boar because nearly all outcomes will result in you taking 3 damage anyway. But if you're playing for tempo its pretty much a guessing game, very much dependent on your handreading skills.

    Friendly
    • Quote From dapperdog

      If you're playing control, and aren't priest, then sadly there's very little you can do but hope they don't get their curve for Skull of Gul'dan, [Hearthstone Card (deathspeaker blackthorn) Not Found], and Illidari Inquisitor. After that, pray that they don't discover Felosophy or are playing the late game deathrattle deck. Basically, you're playing a very bad matchup is what I'm trying to say.

      On the question of whether to crack the boars or to leave them be, that will depend very much on the number of cards your opponent has in hand, but in most cases its better to simply kill the boar because nearly all outcomes will result in you taking 3 damage anyway. But if you're playing for tempo its pretty much a guessing game, very much dependent on your handreading skills.

      Thanks for your analysis dapperdog!  I agree that it's an unfavored match-up and you're right that it can become unwinnable if they curve out well so it may not be worth over-analyzing.

      As for the boars, you're spot on in saying that there are many factors that play into that decision so there probably isn't a one-size-fits-all strategy.  My general approach has been to treat them like Secrets, only playing into them if I have an answer ready for the minion summoned, but I should give the killing off immediately strategy a go more often and see how it works out.  The situation I find myself in most frequently is:

      • Turn 1 Tuskpiercer
      • Turn 2 Razorboar 
      • And then my choice is between spending a spell to clear the boar or trying to develop something like Wandmaker if it's my Turn 2 or Mankrik if it's my Turn 3

      So if they go first they'll have 3 cards in hand and if they go 2nd they'll have 4 cards, but in both cases they'll have an extra DR card drawn from Tuskpiercer. 

      If they don't get Tuskpiercer in the mulligan, it's often Hero Power on Turn 1 so they'd have 4 or 5 cards in hand after T2 depending on if they went 1st or 2nd.  In this case I don't know for sure that they have a DR in hand, but the odds seem likely given the kept rate of Razorfen Beastmaster and Sneaky Delinquent.

      But you're right that whether I pop or not I'm almost always looking at a 3-damage threat so the only really bad outcome is when Beastmaster gets summoned as that can let them cheat out even more mana on their next turn.  On the flip side, waiting allows them to play their 2/3-mana DR minion of choice from hand and then target something else with the boar's DR.

      Thanks again for your analysis; it's been great food-for-thought!

       

  • Play control shaman, run Perpetual Flame and laugh as you clear their entire board and half their hand for 1 mana (Overload isn't real).

    • Quote From Erodos

      Play control shaman, run Perpetual Flame and laugh as you clear their entire board and half their hand for 1 mana (Overload isn't real).

      Haha, I've been on the receiving end of a few full-board clears from Perpetual Flame and can vouch for how salty that can make an opponent feel!  I think I might need to experience this satisfaction against DR DH myself; is there a list you've been having fun with or would recommend?

      • Quote From RangDipkin
        Quote From Erodos

        Play control shaman, run Perpetual Flame and laugh as you clear their entire board and half their hand for 1 mana (Overload isn't real).

        Haha, I've been on the receiving end of a few full-board clears from Perpetual Flame and can vouch for how salty that can make an opponent feel!  I think I might need to experience this satisfaction against DR DH myself; is there a list you've been having fun with or would recommend?

        When in doubt about a Control Shaman list, you can always trust WiRer: https://twitter.com/wiRerHS/status/1400848417572720654

        • Quote From Erodos

          When in doubt about a Control Shaman list, you can always trust WiRer: https://twitter.com/wiRerHS/status/1400848417572720654

          Thanks a lot!  I had to replace 2 cards but even still it's a super fun deck :D

  • Speaking from experience, after the first summon, the DH usually does not have any deathrattle minions to summon from their hands so I usually just clear them out. After playing a lot of control Warrior, I just demolish demon hunters because Bulwark of Azzinoth is an absolutely amazing card.

    • Quote From PopeNeia

      Speaking from experience, after the first summon, the DH usually does not have any deathrattle minions to summon from their hands so I usually just clear them out. After playing a lot of control Warrior, I just demolish demon hunters because Bulwark of Azzinoth is an absolutely amazing card.

      Thanks for sharing your experience!  It's great to hear that clearing the board has worked well for you and it sounds like I gotta try that strategy more often!  Sadly, I think I'll get plenty of practice as I've been running into a bunch of them on the ladder lately :\

      • Quote From RangDipkin
        Quote From PopeNeia

        Speaking from experience, after the first summon, the DH usually does not have any deathrattle minions to summon from their hands so I usually just clear them out. After playing a lot of control Warrior, I just demolish demon hunters because Bulwark of Azzinoth is an absolutely amazing card.

        Thanks for sharing your experience!  It's great to hear that clearing the board has worked well for you and it sounds like I gotta try that strategy more often!  Sadly, I think I'll get plenty of practice as I've been running into a bunch of them on the ladder lately :\

        Np, glad I could help