FoO Review-Hunters

Edit: I am of course an idiot. Wraith Scythe is an axe (I've never bothered with checking types before, just seemed like it should be a sword to me, don't know why) which means it is of course not free when dual wielding Latro's Shifting Sword. Thanks to ghost for pointing that out.


The FoO Review rolls on today with the Hunter class. In addition to their abilities, Hunters also got 2 new pets and some very useful weapons to use. I think that Hunters have changed pretty drastically since the says of Elendril rush. Sen'Zir istill hanging around using one of Hunter's defining cards, Fury, but with Dark Portal we saw a new direction the Hunter could move in, solo control. I think we'll see more of a move in that direction with this set for Hunters.

Aspect of the Monkey

This card is pretty ridiculous. With this and Lightning Reflexes both running around at 1 cost, it seems Survival Hunters have added another way to combat the rush decks that are so popular. This one can't stack like the Reflexes, but it automatically shuts off almost all 1-drops and makes even most 2 and 3-drops not much more than a tiny nuisance. Should you choose the Alliance and Draenei, you can play Wisp as an ally and a re-usable card to discard.

In limited, teh card suffers from only affecting combat with your hero. If it affected all combat it would probably be too good though. It can still mess with some math in a race situation, but for the most poart, I think Hunters would rather play better cards in limited.

Freezing Trap

This is a really good card that might be rendered unplayable based on circumstances. It's basically a free Polymorph, but with the amount of ability removal running around these days, it's hard to imagine this sticking to an important ally for very long. If people start playing less ability hate though, this card definitely has a lot of potential.

In limited, Freezing Trap is nothing short of amazing. There is far less ability removal and people tend to play biger allies. I had the luxury of Freezing Chen Stormstout at my Sneak Preview. If you're playing Hunter this card is in your deck, and I would pick it relatively high in draft.

Kill Command

This card is borderline at the best for Constructed. The only deck that will still be runnign pets is Sen'Zir. If it could hit heroes as well, it would probably make it, but since it only targets allies, I just don't think it's quite good enough for a constructed deck.

In limited, it really all depends on how many pets you have. If you have less than 2 pets, I wouldn't play it at all. 2 pets you might be able to swing it if your card pool is shallow, but I think I would want 3 pets in my deck before I included Kill Command.

Misdirection

Sarmoth is good, so it stands to reason that infi-Sarmoths would be better. While that is true, using a very vulnerable in the current environment ability to gain them probably isn't worth it. This card's problem is compounded by the fact that most Hunter control decks will be of the solo or near solo variety. However, in the jank-tastic combo category is Misdirection/Brother Rhone on the Alliance side and the far more devastating Misdirection/Saurfang on the Horde side.

In limited, I think the card is probably playable. I haven'y had a chance to use it yet, but I can imagine several situations where it would be very good. Until I actually get a chance to see it in action, though I'm going to reserve judgement on this one.

Readiness

If this weren't a Survival Talent, I think Elendril might be pretty busted. As it is, I think a lot of people are overrating this card because it's the same as Yawgmoth's Will from Magic which was banned. I've already talked about this card when it came out in the FAQ, so I'm not going to rehash all that here. Nothing has changed my mind though that the card is solid but very far from broken.

In limited, it depends on your abilities, but it's rarely going to be better than Solanian's Belongings.

Silencing Shot

Again, I have already talked about this card. I still think it will be a sideboard card depending on how many game-breaking abilities see play that the Hunter has no other answer for.

In limited, it's a decent card, but Hunter generally has better removal than this. It's not a terrible play, but it's not something I want.

Take the Shot

This card actually has me pretty excited. Is Elendril the new Gorebelly? Elendril comes with his own built-in Heroic Strike. Throw in a Deathdealer Breastplate and this card has the potential to do a lot of damage much like Mortal Strike. Hunter Control looks like it could be a good deck in the new environment and Take the Shot could provide it with a solid win condition other than just chipping away with weapons or Rapid Fire.

In limted, it's another solid card that you won't mind playing, but not necessarily something you're looking to have in your deck. This is one of the reasons that I think Hunter is the best class in limted. In addition to the obvious fact that they get both pets and good weapons, their ability pool is deep enough that there are a lot of abilities that aren't great, but are still very easy to put in your deck.

As for the equipment in this set for Hunters, I think the dual wield weapons are the biggest additions. Getting to dual wield Shifting Sword with Wraith Scythe is very good for Hunters because it makes their Scythe swing for free. They can also dual wield Shiftig Swords to make each other swing for free which is very good for a control deck since it will mean no further resource investment but 2 allies killed per turn on defense most of the time. Overall, I think Hunters did very well for themselves in this set, and Hunter control looks to be a contender now.