Hello, nice to digitally see everyone. My name is Casey Ehlert, and according to the U.S. National Top 8 coverage, I am a “professional gamer.” Today, I’m going to give a step-by-step rundown of the deck that I took to a second place finish at U.S. Nationals and a spot in Hunter lovers’ hearts.
 

Here’s the list my friend Scott and I used to slay the proverbial dragon and earn ourselves 6-2 and 7-1 Day 1 records, respectively.

Hero

Grumpherys

Allies

4 Apprentice Merry

4 Jeleane Nightbreeze

4 Parvink

4 Korthas Greybeard

4 Hootie

2 Warden Ravella

3 “Chipper” Ironbane

2 Moira Darkheart

2 Medoc Spiritwarden

2 King Magni Bronzebeard

1 King Mukla

1 Kavai the Wanderer

Abilities

4 Arcane Shot

4 Trophy Kill

Equipment

4 Blastershot Launcher

Quests

4 The Perfect Stout

4 Chasing A-Me 01

3 The Missing Diplomat

3 The Defias Brotherhood

2 Battle of Darrowshire

Side Deck

3 Halberd of Smiting

2 Medoc Spiritwarden

1 King Mukla

1 Warden Ravella

1 “Chipper” Ironbane

1 Moira Darkheart

1 Kavai the Wanderer

The deck’s development started after a somewhat similar list popped up out of the Northwest Regionals scene. That list revolved around Bestial Wrath; Master of the Hunt; the fearsome trio of Hootie, Chops, and Fury; and Blastershot Launcher. I was drawn to the list immediately. After testing it extensively, a few glaring holes reared their ugly heads. Master of the Hunt had the tendency to leave your hand depleted and you in an all or nothing scenario. That, combined with the fact that sometimes you would draw it without a Pet or a Pet without it, left it on the bench. I considered its place in the side deck for a while, due in part to its contribution to beating Warlock, which we expected a lot of. We eventually ended up with the powerful Halberd of Smiting instead.

Another problem the deck had was Fury; we just found him not right for this strategy. How can you run a Hunter deck without the best 5-drop in the game, though? It’s simple—this is a control deck first and foremost. You are not trying to win the game on turn 6, and in the best case scenario, Fury was just a less versatile Trophy Kill or even Vanquish. It was okay against Sarmoth, for instance, but with Shadowburn and Shadow Bolt running around, he’s still a target against them. In the 5-drop slot, Blastershot Launcher was just way better for what we were trying to do: control the game.

Other than that, a lot of the core elements found their way into our heavily revised list. Korthas Greybeard, Hootie, Parvink, Arcane Shot, Trophy Kill, and of course The Perfect Stout all transferred over. This is where the lists took dramatic turns. The extra slots made available from the missing Pets and Pet-related abilities allowed us to play the more traditional Alliance control elements.

We expected a ton of Phadalus the Enlightened rush decks, seeing as its popularity was skyrocketing after it won DMF Chicago. The deck was built first and foremost with this in mind. Apprentice Merry and Korthas Greybeard in the 1-drop slot and Jeleane Nightbreeze and Hootie in the 2-drop slot were all maxed out to survive the early rush. Hootie in particular is just a house against any deck relying on an onslaught of 1-drops. He turns them all into 1 ATK / 1 DEF and 0 ATK / 2 DEF allies and gives you unfair trades all day long. Turn 1 Korthas followed by turn 2 Hootie will make Phadalus’s blue face turn red and Grennan Stormspeaker’s red face turn blue. If your opponent doesn’t have removal for the turn 2 Hootie, then you basically just stole all the tempo he or she may have had from going first, or cemented your tempo if you went first. He also turns off any early-game Eskhandar’s Right Claw or Scarlet Kris action from a Warrior, and turns Sarmoth into a scratching post.

King Mukla is an interesting monkey. When the set was first spoiled, I really took a liking to him. And after the post–Through the Dark Portal field had been established, King Mukla stood out once again. He is just an absolute beast against Pagatha Soulbinder. Our matchup versus Pagatha was not the best one, but King Mukla almost single-handedly turned it around. I originally ran two, but after realizing he was unique, one was relegated to side deck duty. He steals Sarmoth or Guardian Steelhorn and brings the beats, not to mention that the only card in Pagatha’s arsenal to get rid of him is Shred Soul. Against the slower Alliance or Horde control decks, he is just as good. Against the faster rush decks, he isn’t as good as he appears because of the untargetable duo of Apprentice Merry and Jeleane Nightbreeze. He is really good at stealing their Parvink, though, and this is often enough to turn around an unwinnable situation. Did I mention that you get to play with a giant monkey? I even doubled my money on a Goin’ Bananas $1 Illinois state lottery ticket on the ride home from Nationals. He’s really the gift that keeps on giving.

The Perfect Stout is one of my favorite quests. It’s a perfect fit in any control style build because it accomplishes two of the things you really need to win: it provides tempo and card advantage at the same time. Are you staring down Grennan on turn 6 and just know that your opponent is holding a Moko Hunts-at-Dawn? If you’re sitting on this little gem and perhaps a Trophy Kill, then you can just sit back and hold the game together until you drop a Blastershot Launcher or King Magni Bronzebeard to take complete control. Its first effect is obviously useless against all the solo shenanigans running around, but hey, nothing’s perfect.

Blastershot Launcher in Hunter is better than Perdition’s Blade in Shaman. There, I said it. Long-range is so good in this game. I think this card will see a ton of play for a long time to come, and frankly, I’m surprised it took so long for people to catch on. Its virtual card advantage is only surpassed by an active King Magni Bronzebeard. Whether shooting down Thunderhead Hippogryphs and Guardian Steelhorns on turn 5, or generating insane two-for-none exchanges on turn 7, this thing makes a good case for gun control.

While King Magni Bronzebeard’s power speaks for itself, I want to touch on the subject of running two in my main deck. I think it’s essential. Searching up a second with a Missing Diplomat when you have the first in hand will usually lock a game up long before your opponent realizes it. A rush deck has to overextend to kill the first one, and when you drop the second, it’s all but over. He’s the undisputed best late-game threat around, so you really want a second in case the first is removed with Ophelia Barrows; Shred Soul; Eye of Kilrogg; Alas, Andorhal; or the like. Try it and you’ll see—nothing beats multiple copies of King Magni.

The night before the tournament, Scott and I had a dilemma. We wanted to fit in the fourth Trophy Kill because we saw a boatload of Grennan Stormspeaker decks running around the Last Chance Qualifiers on Thursday. It seemed to be a crazy amount—something like 60% or more. Trophy Kill keeps the powerful turn 5 and 6 plays of Stone Guard Rashun and Moko Hunts-at-Dawn at bay, and combined with Blastershot Launcher, it’s our main weapon against them. We tried time and time again to rearrange the list to justify cutting this or that, when Scott eventually had the genius idea to end all genius ideas: “61?” I have never run 61 cards in any tournament in any card game, sanctioned or otherwise, but at that point, it just seemed right. Looking back, I still don’t know what I’d cut going into the tournament. Based on the matchups we played, the obvious choice would be Kavai the Wanderer, as she was mainly in there for Warlock and neither of us faced any. Your guess is as good as mine; maybe the deck was just destined to be normal +1.

How It Fares Against the Field

The matchup versus Grennan Stormspeaker is usually dependent upon the die roll. The problem with Grennan (as opposed to Phadalus the Enlightened) is that ferocity combined with burn can end the game well before you can take control. You basically start at 25 health thanks to his hero power, so you have to preserve the damage count as best you can early on. If you miss your 1-drop when you’re going second, it’s usually a bad start. Thankfully, Grennan has a habit of missing drops, and you need to take advantage of this to win when the Grennan player is going first. Trophy Kill and an unanswered Blastershot Launcher are your best friends here.

The deck you most want to see staring back at you is Phadalus the Enlightened rush. Sometimes Phadalus can beat you when your opponent goes first, but that’s generally when he or she draws two or three copies of The Defias Brotherhood and a ton of 1-drops, and you miss your 1- or 2-drop. Even then, the game isn’t unwinnable, and overall, I’d put this matchup at around 85–90% in your favor, no joke. The only bad cards in your deck for this matchup are both named Medoc Spiritwarden, and even he can be good for you sometimes.

The deck you least want to see staring back at you is probably Gorebelly solo. Post–side deck, this match is in your favor, but beating it game 1 is pretty tough. Your plan against it is to get an active Medoc and let him do his thing. You have to get rid of Bloodrage the moment it hits the board or you’ll be run over by card advantage. If your opponent draws multiple copies of Counterattack!, it’s bad for the same reason. If your opponent is running Cleave, you really have to play well to win. Korthas, Hootie, and Medoc are the all-stars if you can draw them early.

Pagatha in the hands of a good player is rough, as well. If it has main-deck Eye of Kilrogg combined with a multitude of Shred Souls, you are in for some trouble. You should side out Korthas Greybeard and some combination of Hootie and Apprentice Merry here, because they’re just targets for them. Even though it would seem that you should try to out-rush this deck, the best plan is to out-control it. Get a decent damage source down, such as Blastershot Launcher or Halberd of Smiting, and run your opponent out of cards as best you can. Make sure to keep Fel Armor in check and take advantage of the end-of-turn Spirit Healer trigger with Kavai or “Chipper.” Thankfully, Pagatha is on the decline thanks to the emergence of the weapon-based solo decks.

So, what does the future hold in store for Grumpherys? Well, the obvious choice would be to switch to the new Draenei Hunter, Kana Nassis. You lose the ability to protect Magni with your face, and the powerful The Perfect Stout, but you gain Rescue the Survivors!, its interaction with The Defias Brotherhood, and (potentially) Lightning Reflexes. Another obvious switch is to fit in the best common in the Fires of Outland set, Kulvo Jadefist, and give Warden Ravella her walking papers. Kavai can exit side-door left as well. Krenig Soulguard is a little man with a big plan. All by his lonesome, he gives you an excellent tool against Pagatha, taking out Fel Armors and Spirit Healers all day long.

To be honest, I haven’t tested much Fires of Outland Constructed yet. I’m waiting to see what the international community comes up with in the next month. One thing is for sure, though: Combat Rogue is going to be a powerhouse. I’m not that confident in Hoot ’n Shoot’s matchup versus the suddenly powerful knife deck so far. If you feel like taking down one of the Top 2 slots at your local Regional event to lock up your 2008 National invite, then the Rogue decks look like a good place to start testing.

Thanks for your time, and I hope to see you back here soon!