The Great Dark Beyond: 3 Best Hunter Decks!

Blizzard is wrapping up 2024 with The Great Dark Beyond, an incredible set that brought 145 new cards to Hearthstone. After this set came along, the meta changed, and more lists have found their own space under the sun!

Hunter has been one of the most popular classes throughout this set. In fact, three Hunter lists have win rates above 56.60%, according to HSReplay.

So, we, at Cards Realm, decided to test out these Hunter decks, and write a fast, objective guide to show you all the ways you can explore this class!

"Token" decks notoriously focus on creating or somehow accessing cards that weren't included in the original list as you play. In this one, in particular, we'll use Discover, a keyword that offers you three cards, and lets you pick one to add to your hand. The best thing about playing multiple Discover cards in your deck is that, this way, you'll be able to analyze your current game state and pick the best option for you at that moment.

For instance, if I draw a spell that deals a lot of damage to a single target, but the enemy board is full of small minions, it won't be effective at all. However, if I Discover a spell, I'll have more options and will be able to pick, for instance, a card that deals less damage but hits multiple targets. The fact we'll be able to pick a card, even if it's just out of a limited pool, is very impactful.

You can use Discover in many ways with this deck. You can even change your Hero Power with Exarch Naielle.

Furthermore, a few other cards are better when you use Discover, like Parallax Cannon, which becomes more powerful, and Alien Encounters, which becomes cheaper.

Of course, just Discovering cards isn't enough to win games. Your main win condition is putting pressure on your opponents with your minions after you buff them a little. In fact, Spell Token Hunter includes interesting ways to summon these more minions, like Gorgonzormu, Sneaky Snakes, Awakening Tremors, and Alien Encounters.

To make these many minions even more powerful, you'll play Zilliax Deluxe 3000 with the Pylon and Ticking modules, Bunch of Bananas, and Birdwatching.

The best mulligan for this deck is to keep something for turn 1, like Vicious Slitherspear or Sneaky Snakes, and something that gives you a lot of value on turn 3 - either Exarch Naielle, to change your Hero Power, or Gorgonzormu, to put more minions in play.

Grunter Hunter also plays, albeit a bit less, a few of the same Discover cards as the list above, like Exarch Naielle, Tracking, Birdwatching, and Titanforged Traps.

However, it also plays Ranger Gilly, which lets us add Warrior cards to this deck. This, in turn, gives us more possibilities and changes our priorities.

Its Deathrattle already buffs the minions in our hand considerably, but veteran Hearthstone players know that Warrior also interacts with this handbuff mechanic. So, if we use Warrior cards, we'll be able to explore it even further.

Our goal is to fill our hand with minions by Discovering them, and then, use cards like Reserved Spot and Cup o' Muscle. After you put them in play, spells like Always a Bigger Jormungar will let you deal even more damage, and hopefully catch your opponent off-guard.

An interesting combo is Warsong Grunt or Hollow Hound with Always a Bigger Jormungar. If you've already buffed this minion considerably while it was in your hand, you'll be able to deal a lot of damage with it on the same turn you play it because of its Rush. Your opponent won't have time to react.

The best cards for your mulligan are Tracking, Reserved Spot, and Exarch Naielle.

The Hunter list with the highest win rate is Secret hunter - according to HSReplay, it is over 58%! This is no surprise, actually. After all, this deck has been dominant for months now.

Like its name suggests, your goal is to play as many Secrets as you can so you can put your opponent in difficult situations. Whenever you play a Secret, they'll have to think on their feet and find alternative solutions to "check" which resource you got.

For instance, if you have an Explosive Trap in play, your opponent might have to use an inefficient spell at that moment just to find out if it is an Ice Trap.

These situations are common when you play this deck, and your opponent nearly always ends up behind. They won't be comfortable even after you reveal many Secrets, as Product 9 will return all of them to you.

This deck is naturally more defensive compared to the other lists in this article, but it still includes a few tools to finish matches. In this strategy, Zilliax Deluxe 3000 is more aggressive - you'll use its Power and Haywire modules so you can make up for the fact this list is more defensive than others.

Another great option is Patchwork Pals' Animal Companions, as well as Vicious Slitherspear and Bunch of Bananas. Some Animal Companions have Charge, or buff other minions. Vicious Slitherspear also becomes more powerful whenever you play a spell - namely whenever you use Bunch of Bananas.

I highly recommend you look for Costumed Singer and Titanforged Traps when you mulligan, as they'll be your main sources of Secrets.

Secrets that draw or summon other cards, like Bargain Bin and Hidden Meaning are great, as they'll give you resources, either in your hand or on your board. Another card that plays this role well is Patchwork Pals.

If you're more of a Shaman player, we got you! Click here to check out the top 3 best Shaman decks from The Great Dark Beyond!

I hope you enjoyed reading this article. What do you think of these lists? Tell us your thoughts in our comment section below.

Thank you for reading, and see you next time!