The Arcane Hunter/Shocksplitter deck is making big moves in the Hearthstone meta following the March Of The Lich King expansion. We've seen this deck hit one-turn-kills (where you kill an opponent very early with all the damage in one turn) before turn 10.

RELATED: Hearthstone: Frost Death Knight Deck Guide

Combo decks are always a lot of fun in Hearthstone, and this one is no different. It makes use of the Hero Power interaction between the Shockspitter and pairs it with cards that return the Splitters to your hand, including a happy return of the Youthful Brewmaster to the meta.

Arcane Shockspitter Hunter Deck List

There are a few variations of this deck, but this is the one we've settled on so far.

Card By Card

Here's a breakdown of the various cards in the deck and how they find their way into this powerful combo.

• Devouring Swarm - An absolute essential part of the puzzle. Best played when you have Shockspitters on the board, which is possible because the card only costs 0 mana. You can return two, three, or even four Shockspitters to your hand this way. More on that below.
• Candleshot - Excellent chip damage to the enemy hero and for early board clear - you want to control the early game, so you don't get swarmed and killed quickly by a really fast deck.
• Ricochet Shot - Board clear.
• Tracking - Essential to get the moving parts of your deck.
• Bloodmage Thalnos - Good spell damage for potential Arcane clears and damage to enemy hero, plus card draw to get things moving.
• Arcane Quiver - Helps you pick up various Arcane spells for cheap, great for taking care of fast decks and for dealing extra damage.
• Conjured Arrow - In the deck for board clear, synergy with Arcane quiver, and to give you extra card draw later to put the final killing blow down.
• Selective Breeder - Copies a beast in deck. Great for getting extra Shockspitters.
• Bloodseeker - Damage and board clear.
• Shockspitter - The most essential part of the entire deck. Can end up dealing massive damage to the enemy.
• Talented Arcanist - Extra spell damage.
• Youthful Brewmaster - Hello, old friend. Return Shockspitters to your hand and deal more damage.
• Brann Bronzebeard - Excellent for extra damage from the Shockspitters.
• Halduron Brightwing - Extra spell damage.
• Harpoon Gun - Get those cheap beasts, early damage, and board clear.
• Zola The Gorgon - Copy your Shockspitters for even more ridiculous damage.
• Eversong Portal - Combines well with all the Spell Damage in the deck, good for clear, or for dumping a very strong minion on turn five or six.

Deck Playstyle Tips

To keep this short and sweet, the main aim of this deck is to use your hero power when available, use the deck rotation and card draw to pull your Shockspitters, and then deal massive damage with them over the course of one or two turns.

There are two main sources of damage in this deck: Shockspitters and Arcane. You need to use your Hero Power to activate the real potential of the Shockspitters, but the Arcane damage is also a great way to chip your opponent down.

This variation of the Arcane hunter also leans heavily into the Arcane damage provided by cards like Arcane Quiver and Conjured Arrow. Go fast, deal damage directly to the enemy hero, and try to clear early boards with your weapons. Any window you see to do damage to the opponent, take it.

Mulligan Tips

Wondering what cards to dump, and which cards to keep at the start of the game? Here are some tips.

• Keep
  • Tracking
  • Devouring Swarm
  • Selective Breeder
  • Any weapon

• Throw Away
  • Eversong Portal
  • Bloodmage Thalnos
  • Brann Bronzebeard

You are essentially looking to keep cards that enable you to pull what you need from your deck in the manner you want to pull it. Selective Breeders for Shockspitters, weapons for early damage and board clear, and Tracking to pick up the missing pieces.

Deck Matchups

The magic of the Arcane hunter is that it can beat pretty much any deck, as long as it's played correctly, and you get the cards in the correct order.

• Threats
  • The biggest threats you'll face as an Arcane Hunter are the new Blood Death Knight decks that have great control, damage, and Life Steal
  • You will also struggle with fast tempo/aggro decks (decks that play a lot of minions early) as you really only have a few board clear options

• Easy Matchups
  • The Arcane Hunter deck performs well against the majority of decks, and while it can be a bit of an RNG fest to see if you get the right cards, usually you can get the damage off in time
  • This deck really excels at anything that takes a while to get going, like Frost Death Knight, Ramp Druid, or Quest Priest

NEXT: Hearthstone: Best Neutral Cards In March Of The Lich King