Ashes of Outland is here, and Demon Hunter is exactly as good as predicted. The class has it all: card draw, pressure, healing, and tons of damage from hand.
People are still looking for the optimal Demon Hunter lists, and others are hard at work countering the class either by playing super aggressive decks or by out-controlling it, often with the help of some Sacrificial Pacts, natural or generated by Zephrys the Great, to remove big Demons for free while healing as well.
I played my Midrange Demon Hunter deck to Legend this season, going 18-6 with it for a sweet 75% winrate from Diamond 4 to Legend.
Midrange Demon Hunter decklist
Deck code: AAECAea5AwTMugPDvAPtvgPaxgMNh7oDi7oDyboD17sD4LwDmb0DusYDx8YD2cYD1cgD18gD98gD+NYDAA==
This deck can hold its own even against more aggressive Demon Hunters, and all the value it packs means that decks that try to counter the most popular meta Demon Hunter decks will not have enough tools to deal with all the threats it can get on the board.
With so many good cards in the class, it can be hard to highlight real stars. However, Imprisoned Antaen, Priestess of Fury, Altruis the Outcast, and Skull of Gul’dan have really shined in the early days.
This version derives its additional value from Netherwalker and Coilfang Warlord. If the meta turns out to be very aggressive, those can be cut for faster tools, but if the current attempts to counter the most popular Demon Hunter lists with control continue, they are the key difference that allows this deck to succeed.
Midrange Demon Hunter mulligan
Battlefiend is perhaps the best one-drop in the game right now, and should be kept in the mulligan in every matchup. If you are against an aggressive deck, you also want to find your healing cards Aldrachi Warblades and Eye Beam.
Other cards that you often want to keep in the mulligan include Skull of Gul’dan, especially if it is the left-most card or if the cards to the left of it are cheap keeps to ensure the Outcast effect, Imprisoned Antaen for its devastating swing effect, and Umberwing for early board control.
Demon Hunter tips and tricks
You can expect a lot of mirror matches. Most mirror matches revolve around the healing effect of Aldrachi Warblades and the swing turn from Imprisoned Antaen. If Antaen goes unanswered, that’s game. This deck has Coilfang Warlords that can answer Antaen on curve when you’re on the play or if you still have the Coin left at that point. Plan your coin use with that in mind, if you happen to draw Warlord early. It can also be effective to fight Antaen with Antaen: play your immediately after the opponent so that it wakes up the turn after your opponent’s Antaen.
Another key card in the mirror is Priestess of Fury, which can also win the game if left unanswered. Again, Coilfang Warlord gives this list an additional tool to fight the big Demon.
Altruis the Outcast is your main area-of-effect damage tool. Combine it with cards discounted by Skull of Gul’dan or just otherwise cheap cards like Twin Slice, and you can wipe out big boards.
Outcast mechanic is important. Try to juggle your hand so that you can activate Outcast effects. Sometimes you work them towards the left, sometimes you can play your topdeck followed by an Outcast card on the right. Combined with Altruis, the overall effect can be devastating.
Metamorphosis changes and refreshes your Hero Power. Note that you can use your attack Hero Power, play Metamorphosis, and then use the new Hero Power. Likewise, after the second use when your Hero Power switches back, you can use your Attack Hero Power again on the same turn.
When you make a minion with an awaken effect Dormant with Miaev, it will have the same awaken effect again when it wakes up. Imprisoned Antaen is scary to make Dormant. There are nonetheless rarely good opportunities to use Maiev on your own minions, the meta is a bit fast for that, the more common scenario is that you need to think which of the opponent’s minions it is best to make dormant.
Demon Hunter gameplay video
Finally, here is a gameplay video of my Legend climb with Demon Hunter. I hope it showcases how to pilot the deck and make the most out of the various tools available to the class.