Grimm Face Hunter

The characters of the famous tale have grown older...

Red Riding Hood has gone missing in a mission!

The Old Wolf is the main culprit

The Hunter is on her tracks

He's visited the Grandmother first, to gather any clues - wait, this one looks so much like the Old Wolf... AAAGH!

Deck Overview

Welcome to my Even Hunter list, the next generation of  Face Hunter.

DoD UPDATE: the deck is currently further shifted towards Face archetype.

• - Lesser Emerald Spellstone / + Phase Stalker
• - Explosive Trap / + Dragonbane

> It's better than you think: I just climbed from rank 5 to rank 3 with it, with a winrate that I believe should float around 60%. Sure, this is also because i am skilled with the deck (after losing tons of games), but the results are quite good for an out-of-radars archetype.

Even with no board-significant turn-1 plays, Secrets are perfect to regain initiative and keep up with Tempo.

Indeed, this deck has tools to deal with almost any deck in the meta, provided a wise mulligan, smart plays, and obviously, a decent card draw RNG. The only decks where the game is more in the hands of your opponent than yours are Reno decks. 

You might even consider The Darkness, if Reno decks are so frequent in the meta (not sure of how this could perform tho).

The Golden Rule of the Grimm Face Hunter

1. No, it doesn't mean you only SMORC face here, it means you try to prevail with the damage output as fast as possible, helped by the upgraded Hero Power.
2. This still implies trading with the board, whenever that gives you an additional advantage for the next turn, and holding from going full-board, if you expect board-clears.
3. The skill to know when it is best to go face or trade is extremely subtle (you must know pretty well what your opponent might be playing in the next turns), but hugely rewarding when mastered, especially with Face/Aggro decks: it makes the whole difference between losing badly and surprisingly prevailing on your opponent (i spent whole days losing with the deck before reaching that point).

Mulligan: main keepers

• ALWAYS keep 1x Mad Scientist.
• If that fails to happen, and you are unsure what kind of deck you are facing, keep 1x Kindly Grandmother.
• Cat Trick against Mage and Priest, but any deck with a number of spells will do (few popular exceptions with little to no spells anyway: Odd Rogue, Mech Hunter, Aggro Quest Shaman).
• Spellbreaker is vital against Warlock, Big Priest, Mech Paladin. But notice it is also significant against a number of typical Wild situations, such as Stargazer Luna, Doomsayer, but also against Aggro/Tempo playing Mechs or Murlocs, etc.
• SI:7 Infiltrator against Mages.

Mulligan: secondary keepers

Once you have already secured a main keeper in your hand, depending on the matchup, consider a secondary keeper:

• Hyena Alpha and Houndmaster are probably safe secondary keepers for any matchup. 
• Snipe, Houndmaster Shaw against any Aggro and Tempo, including Pirate Warrior, Odd Rogue, Secret and Cyclone Mage.
• Explosive Trap, Glaivezooka against Aggro and Token.
• Lesser Emerald Spellstone only against Control.

Tips & Tricks

• Snipe denies the nasty effect of Duplicate against Secret Mage, because sniping happens during their turn.
• Turn-4 is generally your swing turn, even moreso with the new Hyena Alpha.
• Houndmaster is a real monster. The swing he grants if you manage to play him is often game-winning.
• Don't be afraid of playing Houndmaster Shaw on curve: in the very worst case, he will act as a great soft taunt. Additional synergy with Kindly Grandmother and Big Bad Wolf (pretty ironic), as they all rush in the same turn.
• Lifedrinker gives you more reach, as well as an additional edge against other Aggro and Burn decks, including Secret Mage: it's always a fair topdeck.
• Against Secret Mages, try your best to pop secrets with playarounds (it takes time to get the right skill to do so).
• Mages will probably feel safe behind Ice Block, and wait to use Reno Jackson until the block is triggered: you should hold SI:7 Infiltrator for lethal, to remove the Ice Block followed by lethal damage.

Tech Cards

Flare instead of 1x Kindly Grandmother, if Secret Mages are too frequent.