Evil draws close, my friends! I’m ecstatic to provide another Odd Demon Hunter guide, this time with the new Madness at the Darkmoon Faire remodel! If you have been following me for a while, you can skip ahead to the BUILD section of this guide. Newcomers to Odd Demon Hunter, let me get you up to date!
My history with Wild Odd Demon Hunter
Odd Demon Hunter is my favorite deck; I’ve played and refined the archetype since it was born back in April. For the full tumultuous history of the Odd Demon Hunter archetype from its inception in the Ashes of Outland, up until the release of Scholomance Academy. Start here with my History of Demon Hunter article.
That is going to give you a detailed, comprehensive history. I break down everything Odd Demon hunter until that point and explain why the deck died upon the release of Scholomance Academy.
There is a ton of info there, but I would rather leave you with more than enough information rather than too little. As predicted, the release of Scholomance Academy took Odd Demon Hunter off the map entirely until the latest expansion, Madness at the Darkmoon Faire. I’m currently smiling, absolutely ebullient now that I can confidently say Odd Demon Hunter is back at the top tables!
Odd Demon Hunter received a complete makeover courtesy of Madness At the Darkmoon Faire. I have had a lot of success and tons of fun with these new builds. Considering the irrelevance mentioned above of Odd Demon Hunter during the Scholomance season and the fact the archetype gained practically nothing from that expansion, let’s bridge the gap between Odd Demon Hunter’s previous successful builds and the newer builds of the archetype.
Illidan’s Last stand, the days before the Scholomance Academy
The days before the Scholomance Academy was the last time Odd Demon Hunter was even close to a tier one deck. From the past few months, most wild meta reports completely omit Odd Demon Hunter from the tier list, not even good enough for the bottom tier. It was that bad during the Scholomance Academy season, and Illidan completely vanished from the wild ladder.
Soon enough, we started getting spoilers for Madness at the Darkmoon Faire, and I pulled these next two builds straight from my day one theorycraft piece if you would like to check that out, Three day-one Odd Demon Hunter decklists for the Darkmoon Faire.
Once I could get my hands on the new Madness At the Darkmoon Faire cards, I was able to start confidently lowering the mana curve. It didn’t take long to determine that Acrobatics and Stiltstepper are powerful enough to function as a hard top of Odd Demon Hunter’s mana curve. After some tweaks (I posted more details on these tweaks on Twitter @Maym_52) and essentially taking the weapon deck’s strength and injecting it into the former Sligh build in place of the more expensive cards. Here is my current list:
My current build for Odd Demon Hunter in the Darkmoon Faire
To date, I’m still trying to perfect the list further. Don’t hesitate to switch out a card to see if there is something different you prefer playing. If you need a card to cut, consider Guardian Augmerchant.
Besides that, if you plan on running a weapon tutoring package like Double Jump & Dreadlord’s Bite, you should try playing only one Double Jump and using it as a three-card package instead and see how you like it.
Using the second copy of Double Jump increases the risk since there is a good chance it becomes a useless card after drawing both Dreadlord’s Bites. However, it works very well with cards like Pen Flinger and Intrepid Initiate, so you should consider it if you take that path in building your Odd Demon Hunter deck in the Darkmoon Faire expansion.
In my pocket meta, Dreadlord’s Bite brought me a lot of success. However, there are massive differences between what decks you might find at each rank in Hearthstone, so keep that in mind as you learn the deck.
Even with testing tons of different options with my builds of Odd Demon Hunter, I secured a leaderboard finish for November with the deck. Also, as I write this guide, I’m holding legend Rank 23 NA with exclusively Odd Demon Hunter. Love it or hate it, Odd Demon Hunter is back, and the Wild format will have to adapt. In my opinion, Odd Demon Hunter is once again a Tier one deck in the Darkmoon Faire.
The core of Odd Demon Hunter in the Darkmoon Faire
Here it is, the new core of Odd Demon Hunter! These cards can push out incredible amounts of damage. This strategy is consistent and strong against Control decks, Aggressive decks, and especially Combo decks. Dreadlord’s Bite has tested much better than I had originally expected before release and is very strong against both Aggro and Control strategies. The consistency and serious damage output the weapon package provides greatly compliments the steady stream of gas this core produces. Now that we have a tutorable and reliable weapon and plan on running over 20 one drops, I think Southsea Deckhand and Patches the Pirate become core.
What cards can I add to Odd Demon Hunter in the Darkmoon Faire?
Firstly, I want to explain the parameters. New versions of Odd Demon Hunter require an extremely low mana curve to function properly. The low mana curve does much more than simply synergize with Acrobatics and Stiltstepper. The low curve strategy is what Illadin and Baku the Mooneater have always wanted.
You gain fantastic mulligans and rewarding agency over the outcast mechanic as a whole. The low mana curve also allows you to constantly use Odd Demon Hunter’s absurd hero power, Demon’s Bite. I don’t know the exact number yet, but I think Odd Demon Hunter needs to run 21 – 22 one cost cards MINIMUM, 23 being ideal.
The case for Relentless Pursuit in the Darkmoon Faire
I’ve tested the deck with eight three drops (adding Relentless Pursuit). The card is good, don’t get me wrong. Fireballs have always been good. But the deck felt a bit too clunky for my liking, and Relentless Pursuit is by far the worst of the expensive cards.
The low-curve requirement just doesn’t leave any room for Relentless Pursuit, notably the only listed build option that doesn’t cost one mana. I like the card and will continue to test it, especially with a spell synergy package like Pen Flinger and Intrepid Initiate, but remember always to keep roughly 22 deck slots dedicated to one cost cards.
All that said, I recommend pulling from any combination of the cards above to round out your build. Many of these cards function as small packages, The outcast Double Jump package requires some sagacity in planning. Still, Odd Demon Hunter gains a lot from the cycling Crimson Sigil Runner and Consume Magic provide. I’m sure there are at least half a dozen effective ways to build the outcast package with or without Double Jump. Again, for my exact take on these options, refer back to the BUILD section of this guide.
The obvious aim of Odd Demon Hunter is to kill your opponent as quickly and efficiently as possible. Maximizing this will, of course, take a lot of practice and meta-knowledge. Try Odd Demon Hunter out on your next climb and see how it goes! The Odd Demon Hunter deck can hang with the big boys of the wild format again in the Darkmoon Faire!
Mulligans depend on Metagame
Mulligans with Odd Demon Hunter typically depend on the opposing class. Lowly Squire and Battlefiend are pretty poor in the mirror, for example (dying to Demon’s Bite), which is a factor playing that matchup. I hope this goes without saying, always mulligan Patches the Pirate and Baku the Mooneater.
The pirates are typically the best opening against aggressive classes like Rogue and Paladin. In my meta, I mulligan as if my opponent is playing an aggressive deck if I pair against a Druid. The same theory applies to Warlock or Mage (even Shaman and Warrior in some metagames), which depends on your meta. Correctly determining your opponents deck style based on their class and your metagame is a skill you will develop over time and through constant play.
What about three cost cards for Odd Demon Hunter?
I rarely keep any three cost cards unless I have a clear route to put Dreadlord’s Bite into an early outcast position, but that can also depend on the opposing class and personal meta.
Piloting is going to come down to matchup knowledge and experience. Knowing how to be judicious with your resources and properly aligning them against what your opponent’s deck contains is paramount. Eventually, you will learn which draws frequently result in wins against which archetypes, which will further influence your mulligans.
Odd Demon Hunter in the Darkmoon Faire tips & tricks
The games with Odd Demon Hunter are short. Still, the pilot has many different impactful options on a turn to turn basis, along with the rewarding nature of some of the build packages produce a deck with a surprisingly high skill ceiling.
Just some quick general pointers, always mind outcast positioning. Try to play out your sequencing mentally beforehand to avoid mishaps. Sequencing can be tricky with this deck; Odd Demon Hunter’s ability to produce multiple instances of conditional damage from hand magnifies this, resulting in many conditional exact lethal’s.
Remember, every single point of damage counts! Every Battlefiend and Lowly Squire proc, and every Dreadlord’s Bite outcast or neglecting to weave in a Demon’s Bite. Missing even a point of damage can easily cost an entire game. Calculate the risk of playing Stiltstepper on four or five mana to try and augment your clock since, at four power, it requires an action from the opponent.
Alternatively, holding Stiltstepper back to increase the efficacy of your current clock, which is also fantastic on 6+ mana. Stiltstepper and Acrobatics both spike immensely in power past the six mana mark, but grinding with the deck is the best way to get a proper feel for playing those cards.
The importance of mana efficiency for Odd Demon Hunter
Tap all of your mana as much as possible while laying on the Demon’s Bite button, but I typically never play any of the three drop cards in the deck on turn three. Sometimes this particular build of the deck can feel a bit thin on good tap out options on three mana for that reason. If you are having trouble maximizing your three mana turns, FireFly and U’zul Horror can be good options to fill out the curve, as well as cycling with Crimson Sigil Runner or Consume Magic help.
Threat order, how does it work?
As far as which threats to play, there is no order. People ask about threat order a lot, and my answer is always the same. The threat order depends on the matchup and the texture of that particular game. The pirate opening is typically best against aggressive decks. But even past that, avoid holding onto Southsea Deckhand. Your goal is to pull patches from your deck, not draw it! Even just from turn one to two, trust me, you will draw Patches the Pirate! Mana Burn is the epitome of this mindset, being a card that rewards meta and matchup knowledge.
You should predicate your play on three factors: Resource efficiency, your opponent’s counterplay/options, and damage output. If you are having trouble with this, try to envision the result of multiple play lines and then evaluate them based on these metrics.
Thinking ahead is the best advice I can offer for piloting Odd Demon Hunter in the Darkmoon Faire. Through my almost twenty years of playing card games, nothing was more important than understanding the value of thinking ahead.
As I said earlier, the deck may be difficult to play perfectly, but Odd Demon Hunter is extremely forgiving! The Odd Demon Hunter deck has unbeatable draws and polarizing matchups, so focus on having fun. Try to mix in some manageable goals in your sessions. It may seem rudimentary, but even simply eliminating sequencing errors with cards like Southsea Deckhand or Lowly Squire/Battlefiend make you a better player. Little things add up over time.
The likely nerfs coming to Demon Hunter.
There is a slight issue here, which I honestly have no idea how to evaluate. Demon Hunter is currently dominating standard. The fact it is powerful in the Standard format leads to crafting apprehensions regarding potential balance changes. I have played Aggressive Demon Hunter to legend for a few months in a row now in the standard format. And there is no other way to say it; the deck is strong.
There is currently a viable Demon Hunter Combo deck, a robust and consistent Demon Hunter Aggro deck, and the tapout Control style deck that has ruled the format for months, Soul Demon Hunter. Demon Hunter is so versatile and strong in standard right now it’s hard to imagine what cards would be safe from a potential nerf.
If Blizzard decides to hit any cards of the Soul Fragment package, Odd Demon Hunter is fine. Same thing if they hit Skull of Gul’dan again. My friend and fellow writer DankestDad has been insistent Blade Dance needs change, reminiscent of the card’s predecessor Blade Flurry.
My nerf predictions for Standard Demon Hunter
I think Blizzard nerfing Soul Demon Hunter is likely, but what is more relevant for Odd Demon Hunter is if Blizzard decides to roll out another wave of general nerfs to the Demon Hunter class with regards to standard. Wild will probably feel the trickle-down of something like that, and Twin Slice is the card that comes to mind.
Enough negativity, I just wanted to make sure anyone planning on crafting Odd Demon Hunter is aware of that risk. I firmly believe Odd Demon Hunter can easily survive a couple of small balance changes. The new build strategy is fast, robust, and consistent.
Time grows short, my friends; I will keep posting updates on Twitter as often as possible. Please let me know what you think of Odd Demon Hunter in the comments below! What build allowed you to climb the highest? What did I get wrong? As always, I appreciate each and every read!
My thanks,
-Maym
Do you want to have your deck featured or work with AceGameGuides on creating strategic content? Email Arend@AceGameGuides.com, and we’ll talk! For more of AceGameGuides, be sure to join the new discord!
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Evil draws close, my friends! I’m ecstatic to provide another Odd Demon Hunter guide, this time with the new Madness at the Darkmoon Faire remodel! If you have been following me for a while, you can skip ahead to the BUILD section of this guide. Newcomers to Odd Demon Hunter, let me get you up to date!
My history with Wild Odd Demon Hunter
Odd Demon Hunter is my favorite deck; I’ve played and refined the archetype since it was born back in April. For the full tumultuous history of the Odd Demon Hunter archetype from its inception in the Ashes of Outland, up until the release of Scholomance Academy. Start here with my History of Demon Hunter article.
That is going to give you a detailed, comprehensive history. I break down everything Odd Demon hunter until that point and explain why the deck died upon the release of Scholomance Academy.
There is a ton of info there, but I would rather leave you with more than enough information rather than too little. As predicted, the release of Scholomance Academy took Odd Demon Hunter off the map entirely until the latest expansion, Madness at the Darkmoon Faire. I’m currently smiling, absolutely ebullient now that I can confidently say Odd Demon Hunter is back at the top tables!
Odd Demon Hunter received a complete makeover courtesy of Madness At the Darkmoon Faire. I have had a lot of success and tons of fun with these new builds. Considering the irrelevance mentioned above of Odd Demon Hunter during the Scholomance season and the fact the archetype gained practically nothing from that expansion, let’s bridge the gap between Odd Demon Hunter’s previous successful builds and the newer builds of the archetype.
Illidan’s Last stand, the days before the Scholomance Academy
The days before the Scholomance Academy was the last time Odd Demon Hunter was even close to a tier one deck. From the past few months, most wild meta reports completely omit Odd Demon Hunter from the tier list, not even good enough for the bottom tier. It was that bad during the Scholomance Academy season, and Illidan completely vanished from the wild ladder.
Soon enough, we started getting spoilers for Madness at the Darkmoon Faire, and I pulled these next two builds straight from my day one theorycraft piece if you would like to check that out, Three day-one Odd Demon Hunter decklists for the Darkmoon Faire.
Once I could get my hands on the new Madness At the Darkmoon Faire cards, I was able to start confidently lowering the mana curve. It didn’t take long to determine that Acrobatics and Stiltstepper are powerful enough to function as a hard top of Odd Demon Hunter’s mana curve. After some tweaks (I posted more details on these tweaks on Twitter @Maym_52) and essentially taking the weapon deck’s strength and injecting it into the former Sligh build in place of the more expensive cards. Here is my current list:
My current build for Odd Demon Hunter in the Darkmoon Faire
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To date, I’m still trying to perfect the list further. Don’t hesitate to switch out a card to see if there is something different you prefer playing. If you need a card to cut, consider Guardian Augmerchant.
Besides that, if you plan on running a weapon tutoring package like Double Jump & Dreadlord’s Bite, you should try playing only one Double Jump and using it as a three-card package instead and see how you like it.
Using the second copy of Double Jump increases the risk since there is a good chance it becomes a useless card after drawing both Dreadlord’s Bites. However, it works very well with cards like Pen Flinger and Intrepid Initiate, so you should consider it if you take that path in building your Odd Demon Hunter deck in the Darkmoon Faire expansion.
In my pocket meta, Dreadlord’s Bite brought me a lot of success. However, there are massive differences between what decks you might find at each rank in Hearthstone, so keep that in mind as you learn the deck.
Even with testing tons of different options with my builds of Odd Demon Hunter, I secured a leaderboard finish for November with the deck. Also, as I write this guide, I’m holding legend Rank 23 NA with exclusively Odd Demon Hunter. Love it or hate it, Odd Demon Hunter is back, and the Wild format will have to adapt. In my opinion, Odd Demon Hunter is once again a Tier one deck in the Darkmoon Faire.
The core of Odd Demon Hunter in the Darkmoon Faire
Here it is, the new core of Odd Demon Hunter! These cards can push out incredible amounts of damage. This strategy is consistent and strong against Control decks, Aggressive decks, and especially Combo decks. Dreadlord’s Bite has tested much better than I had originally expected before release and is very strong against both Aggro and Control strategies. The consistency and serious damage output the weapon package provides greatly compliments the steady stream of gas this core produces. Now that we have a tutorable and reliable weapon and plan on running over 20 one drops, I think Southsea Deckhand and Patches the Pirate become core.
What cards can I add to Odd Demon Hunter in the Darkmoon Faire?
Firstly, I want to explain the parameters. New versions of Odd Demon Hunter require an extremely low mana curve to function properly. The low mana curve does much more than simply synergize with Acrobatics and Stiltstepper. The low curve strategy is what Illadin and Baku the Mooneater have always wanted.
You gain fantastic mulligans and rewarding agency over the outcast mechanic as a whole. The low mana curve also allows you to constantly use Odd Demon Hunter’s absurd hero power, Demon’s Bite. I don’t know the exact number yet, but I think Odd Demon Hunter needs to run 21 – 22 one cost cards MINIMUM, 23 being ideal.
The case for Relentless Pursuit in the Darkmoon Faire
I’ve tested the deck with eight three drops (adding Relentless Pursuit). The card is good, don’t get me wrong. Fireballs have always been good. But the deck felt a bit too clunky for my liking, and Relentless Pursuit is by far the worst of the expensive cards.
The low-curve requirement just doesn’t leave any room for Relentless Pursuit, notably the only listed build option that doesn’t cost one mana. I like the card and will continue to test it, especially with a spell synergy package like Pen Flinger and Intrepid Initiate, but remember always to keep roughly 22 deck slots dedicated to one cost cards.
All that said, I recommend pulling from any combination of the cards above to round out your build. Many of these cards function as small packages, The outcast Double Jump package requires some sagacity in planning. Still, Odd Demon Hunter gains a lot from the cycling Crimson Sigil Runner and Consume Magic provide. I’m sure there are at least half a dozen effective ways to build the outcast package with or without Double Jump. Again, for my exact take on these options, refer back to the BUILD section of this guide.
The obvious aim of Odd Demon Hunter is to kill your opponent as quickly and efficiently as possible. Maximizing this will, of course, take a lot of practice and meta-knowledge. Try Odd Demon Hunter out on your next climb and see how it goes! The Odd Demon Hunter deck can hang with the big boys of the wild format again in the Darkmoon Faire!
Mulligans depend on Metagame
Mulligans with Odd Demon Hunter typically depend on the opposing class. Lowly Squire and Battlefiend are pretty poor in the mirror, for example (dying to Demon’s Bite), which is a factor playing that matchup. I hope this goes without saying, always mulligan Patches the Pirate and Baku the Mooneater.
The pirates are typically the best opening against aggressive classes like Rogue and Paladin. In my meta, I mulligan as if my opponent is playing an aggressive deck if I pair against a Druid. The same theory applies to Warlock or Mage (even Shaman and Warrior in some metagames), which depends on your meta. Correctly determining your opponents deck style based on their class and your metagame is a skill you will develop over time and through constant play.
What about three cost cards for Odd Demon Hunter?
I rarely keep any three cost cards unless I have a clear route to put Dreadlord’s Bite into an early outcast position, but that can also depend on the opposing class and personal meta.
Piloting is going to come down to matchup knowledge and experience. Knowing how to be judicious with your resources and properly aligning them against what your opponent’s deck contains is paramount. Eventually, you will learn which draws frequently result in wins against which archetypes, which will further influence your mulligans.
Odd Demon Hunter in the Darkmoon Faire tips & tricks
The games with Odd Demon Hunter are short. Still, the pilot has many different impactful options on a turn to turn basis, along with the rewarding nature of some of the build packages produce a deck with a surprisingly high skill ceiling.
Just some quick general pointers, always mind outcast positioning. Try to play out your sequencing mentally beforehand to avoid mishaps. Sequencing can be tricky with this deck; Odd Demon Hunter’s ability to produce multiple instances of conditional damage from hand magnifies this, resulting in many conditional exact lethal’s.
Remember, every single point of damage counts! Every Battlefiend and Lowly Squire proc, and every Dreadlord’s Bite outcast or neglecting to weave in a Demon’s Bite. Missing even a point of damage can easily cost an entire game. Calculate the risk of playing Stiltstepper on four or five mana to try and augment your clock since, at four power, it requires an action from the opponent.
Alternatively, holding Stiltstepper back to increase the efficacy of your current clock, which is also fantastic on 6+ mana. Stiltstepper and Acrobatics both spike immensely in power past the six mana mark, but grinding with the deck is the best way to get a proper feel for playing those cards.
The importance of mana efficiency for Odd Demon Hunter
Tap all of your mana as much as possible while laying on the Demon’s Bite button, but I typically never play any of the three drop cards in the deck on turn three. Sometimes this particular build of the deck can feel a bit thin on good tap out options on three mana for that reason. If you are having trouble maximizing your three mana turns, FireFly and U’zul Horror can be good options to fill out the curve, as well as cycling with Crimson Sigil Runner or Consume Magic help.
Threat order, how does it work?
As far as which threats to play, there is no order. People ask about threat order a lot, and my answer is always the same. The threat order depends on the matchup and the texture of that particular game. The pirate opening is typically best against aggressive decks. But even past that, avoid holding onto Southsea Deckhand. Your goal is to pull patches from your deck, not draw it! Even just from turn one to two, trust me, you will draw Patches the Pirate! Mana Burn is the epitome of this mindset, being a card that rewards meta and matchup knowledge.
You should predicate your play on three factors: Resource efficiency, your opponent’s counterplay/options, and damage output. If you are having trouble with this, try to envision the result of multiple play lines and then evaluate them based on these metrics.
Thinking ahead is the best advice I can offer for piloting Odd Demon Hunter in the Darkmoon Faire. Through my almost twenty years of playing card games, nothing was more important than understanding the value of thinking ahead.
As I said earlier, the deck may be difficult to play perfectly, but Odd Demon Hunter is extremely forgiving! The Odd Demon Hunter deck has unbeatable draws and polarizing matchups, so focus on having fun. Try to mix in some manageable goals in your sessions. It may seem rudimentary, but even simply eliminating sequencing errors with cards like Southsea Deckhand or Lowly Squire/Battlefiend make you a better player. Little things add up over time.
The likely nerfs coming to Demon Hunter.
There is a slight issue here, which I honestly have no idea how to evaluate. Demon Hunter is currently dominating standard. The fact it is powerful in the Standard format leads to crafting apprehensions regarding potential balance changes. I have played Aggressive Demon Hunter to legend for a few months in a row now in the standard format. And there is no other way to say it; the deck is strong.
There is currently a viable Demon Hunter Combo deck, a robust and consistent Demon Hunter Aggro deck, and the tapout Control style deck that has ruled the format for months, Soul Demon Hunter. Demon Hunter is so versatile and strong in standard right now it’s hard to imagine what cards would be safe from a potential nerf.
If Blizzard decides to hit any cards of the Soul Fragment package, Odd Demon Hunter is fine. Same thing if they hit Skull of Gul’dan again. My friend and fellow writer DankestDad has been insistent Blade Dance needs change, reminiscent of the card’s predecessor Blade Flurry.
My nerf predictions for Standard Demon Hunter
I think Blizzard nerfing Soul Demon Hunter is likely, but what is more relevant for Odd Demon Hunter is if Blizzard decides to roll out another wave of general nerfs to the Demon Hunter class with regards to standard. Wild will probably feel the trickle-down of something like that, and Twin Slice is the card that comes to mind.
Enough negativity, I just wanted to make sure anyone planning on crafting Odd Demon Hunter is aware of that risk. I firmly believe Odd Demon Hunter can easily survive a couple of small balance changes. The new build strategy is fast, robust, and consistent.
Time grows short, my friends; I will keep posting updates on Twitter as often as possible. Please let me know what you think of Odd Demon Hunter in the comments below! What build allowed you to climb the highest? What did I get wrong? As always, I appreciate each and every read!
My thanks,
-Maym
Do you want to have your deck featured or work with AceGameGuides on creating strategic content? Email Arend@AceGameGuides.com, and we’ll talk! For more of AceGameGuides, be sure to join the new discord!
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