The Intro
Hello again everyone and welcome back to my little corner in the Hearthstone world. I would like to thank everyone the comments about the Pirate Rogue deck on here and on Twitter. That deck is for sure a little funky but you guys can go here and find the article if you would like to give it a shot. Anyways, let’s move on to something a little more controversial in today’s day and time in the Hearthstone community and that is Face Hunter/Aggro hunter.
First off, there are slightly different versions of this deck and different names. The version I am showing in this article is one that Pro player Forsen made popular. There are various versions of this on the net if you want to take a look around. To be honest, we all know the deck type and what it can do.
The Opinions of The Deck
Judging by the title of this article, you can tell that some people think that this deck is a cancer to the Hearthstone Meta. That the only reason people play this type of deck is either they are Free to Play players (or F2P for quicker typing reasons) or that the player just isn’t very good. There is also a great consensus of players that thinks that this type of deck is killing the ladder and playing on it. That the ladder, especially early on, is filled with this type of deck and it is frustrating seeing it every other game.
For instance, I was watching the 2015 World Championship on Twitch and inside of the chat people were talking about this deck. The most popular comments were the fact that it was a cancer and that it doesn’t take real skill to play this deck. Many people said they would be ashamed to play this type of deck and that if they had to play it then they just wouldn’t play Hearthstone. Basically, they were above playing this deck.
On the other side of…
There are people that think that this deck is just another deck to beat within the Meta of the game. That there is a time and place for any deck and this is just one of those decks.
It is just interesting how a certain deck like this can truly divide people in an argument. This deck is truly a love it or hate situation and there is no middle ground. You either find it undignified to play this deck or you love it and think this deck is your go-to deck when you need a quick win.
Where I stand
So, the question of the hour is..where does HalfBroke Chris stand on this issue?
Well let’s all pull up a chair and get ready for my Hearthstone soapbox moment.
First off, I think that this deck is a great deck, especially for early ladder climbing. I think that when you are trying to climb the ranks, you need a deck that will help you get through games a little faster and this deck does that. This deck isn’t perfect by any means. This deck can run into trouble if it doesn’t end a game early. With that being said, I think that it can beat many of the most popular decks on the ladder and if you are looking for a good deck to climb with than this is one you should try. It moves quick and if you are in the high double digit rank than this deck will help you get into single digits a lot faster than running a slower control deck.
I am also not in the consensus that thinks this deck is a cancer. I think that this deck belongs right alongside Secret Paladin, Aggro Druid, or any other deck that sits atop the most popular decks. This deck isn’t any different than a Haste or Burn deck in Magic the Gathering. People say the same comments about those decks and they still exist after all these years. The Meta in Magic may change but the basic concept always stays around.
This deck does require skill to play it. If you make a wrong choice early on when it comes to mulligans and the first three or four turns, you will lose every game. Many people may think the deck is simple but it does require a good mind to still make decisions around card choices. Is it as hard of a deck to navigate as say Control /Patron Warrior….HELL NO!! Many players have trouble running a deck like that but that doesn’t make it any better or worse. It just makes it different.
Lastly, if you think that only bad players use this deck than odds are it is because you have lost to this deck many times and really just want it to go away. Bottom line is, odds are a player like that just has trouble beating the deck and can’t figure out how to stop a deck that doesn’t require a lot of Legendries. Not every deck needs dr-boom or a lot of dust to create to be good and this is one of those decks.
With that out of the way, let’s talk about this deck and why it runs so well.
Deck Breakdown
Ok, the first thing you may notice about this version of the Face Hunter deck is that it includes snake-trap, loatheb, and piloted-shredder, Most versions of this deck doesn’t include a card with a four or five mana drop in them but let me tell you why I like this.
First off, snake-trap has a lot of synergy with knife-juggler. If you are able to keep knife-juggler on the table when this trap hits than you are throwing a lot of them knifes out on one turn.
Secondly, piloted-shredder is a great card in any deck. It is a great four drop that is just sticky. It allows you to have two creatures for the price of one (duh) but in this deck it gives you an option that is hard to get off the table like most of the early drops, hence why it is sticky.
And Lastly, there is loatheb. This is a great addition because if you get it out say on turn 5 or 6, it can mean death to a player because odds are they won’t be able to play any spell that can clean anything off the board. It also doesn’t hurt that it is a 5-5 and that always is a great help.
The other cards in the deck are pretty self-explanatory and we can tell why they are there. This deck is designed to be quick and straight forward and hit the player, hence the name, right in the face. You don’t worry about board control unless you have to. You just bring it as hard and fast as you can and try to end the game by turn 7 or 8.
In Closing
I know that there will be some people that do not agree with me and that is fine. Also, feel free to leave me some comments below because I can always be swayed to a different side. I welcome any comments, even if they don’t agree with me.
I think any deck that wins consistently should be played within the game. It doesn’t matter if it is a budget deck or a Control Warrior deck that costs the moon to produce. I think if a deck wins, you play it, bottom line. Also, we as a community, if we don’t like a deck, should just try a little harder to beat it and not scream about how many people play it. If you figure out how to stop it than it will quit growing.
This deck is fast and consistent. Every game seems to play the same and it will win. Don’t be ashamed to play it, especially if you are trying to climb the ladder. Just play a deck that wins and don’t worry about who doesn’t like it.
That’s what the squelch option is for.
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