Demon Hunter becomes Hearthstone’s 10th class
A whole lot of work has to go into creating a new class. With 9 in the game already, all with their own unique identity, it’s difficult to make standout characteristics with a new class. They’ve pulled out all the stops with Demon Hunter though - here’s everything new coming to Illidan’s crew.
What is Demon Hunter’s Hero Power?
Demon Hunter’s Hero Power is Demon Claws. It costs just 1 mana, unlike all the other basic Hero Powers in the game, and gives your Hero +1 Attack this turn. Something for you Wild format players out there - this means Genn Greymane has no effect on Demon Hunter, as the Demon Claws already only costs 1 mana. Baku the Mooneater boosts the ability to give you +2 Attack this turn.
What is Demon Hunter’s Identity?
Like Illidan’s character in the Warcraft series, Demon Hunters are power-seeking beings, embracing dark magic to take on the Burning Legion at their own game. They gain the power of fallen demons, and wield large curved warglaives to slice through their many enemies. They’re aggressive attackers, sacrificing their own followers and life in pursuit of a larger goal. Demon Hunters, especially Illidan, have been rejected by society, alienating both their own people and forcing retaliation from their foes. Their various unique mechanics bring out this flavour of character. The claws, weapons, taunts, and lifesteal fit well into several deck archetypes. Demon Hunters have a particular affinity for summoning token minions, and are able to benefit from their deaths too, again pulling from that flavour of sacrificing their own minions to deal damage. Since Demons respect power, Demon Hunters have recruited many of them to their own side. You’re likely to see a lot of spicy Demon Hunter + Demon synergies once the meta develops and Demon Hunter gets more cards in future expansions.
Demon Hunter cards - full list
Here’s a quick list of all the Demon Hunter cards revealed in the Hearthstone 2020 Showcase:
- Demon Hunter overview - Hearthstone: What does Demon Hunter do? 2. Tier List - Hearthstone deck tier list (Ashes of Outland) 3. Aggro Demon Hunter - Aggro Demon Hunter deck list guide (Ashes of Outland) 4. Midrange Demon Hunter - Midrange Demon Hunter deck list guide (Ashes of Outland) 5. Highlander Demon Hunter - Highlander Demon Hunter deck list guide (Ashes of Outland) 6. Token Demon Hunter - Token Demon Hunter deck list guide (Ashes of Outland) 7. Big Demon Hunter - Big Demon Hunter deck list guide (Ashes of Outland)
Coordinated Strike Shadowhoof Slayer Command the Illidari Twin Slice Chaos Nova Flamereaper Battlefiend Satyr Overseer Blade Dance Wrathscale Naga Ur’zul Horror Raging Felscreamer Feast of Souls Metamorphosis Warglaives of Azzinoth Hulking Overfiend Consume Magic Glaivebound Adept Wrathspike Brute Skull of Gul’dan Soul Cleave Blur Mana Burn Eye Beam Illidari Felblade Aldrachi Warblades Umberwing
New Keyword - Outcast
Because of Demon Hunters’ banishment from society, the class’ unique keyword - Outcast - reflects this. Outcast abilities trigger when the card played is situated on the far left or right of your hand, making card ordering extremely important with Demon Hunter. Here’s a constantly-updating list of Outcast cards we’ll be seeing:
Consume Magic Skull of Gul’dan Eye Beam Illidari Felblade
Check out the Outcast keyword in action below!
When is the Demon Hunter release date?
Demon Hunter will be available for free on April 7th when the newest expansion releases - Ashes of Outland. You’ll be introduced to the class with four story-focused prologue missions first, though - these go live on April 2nd. You’ll experience the story of Illidan first becoming a Demon Hunter, getting his point of view of the Burning Legion’s invasion of Azeroth - perfect for the less-initiated among us on Warcraft lore. On April 7th, you’ll get access to the class, the Hero Illidan, and 30 Demon Hunter cards - 10 Basic cards and 20 Demon Hunter Initiate cards, belonging to the Year of the Dragon. From Ashes of Outland onward, Demon Hunter will receive 15 class cards per expansion, rather than the standard 10, to compensate for the fact that the class has fewer cards overall. This means there’ll be 45 Demon Hunter cards available at launch, with the 15 ones from Ashes of Outland, and 30 from the Demon Hunter Prologue. There’ll even be decks available to use right away, so if you’re not feeling our Demon Hunter deck guides, you can jump right into a game.
Illidan Stormrage in Hearthstone Battlegrounds
Hearthstone’s Battlegrounds game mode is also getting a bite out of Illidan’s introduction. His passive Hero Power will be Outcast, which gives his left- and right-most minions an attack right off the bat at the start of combat. This sounds pretty damn powerful, guaranteeing you go first as well as giving you an extra attack at the same time. Something like Zapp Slywick could really benefit from this. Check out our Battlegrounds Hero Tier List for our placement of Illidan once he’s available! That’s all you need ahead of Demon Hunter’s launch, but check out our theorycrafted Aggro Demon Hunter deck guide to get you nice and ready for the class’ grand opening! We’re expecting them to make a splash, and will update our Deck Tier List accordingly.
