Let's resume our focus on Hearthstone with this time, a big insect... That we don't crush that easily.
Lost in the jungle of Hearthstone cards? Don't worry young lady, the brave knight Jargruuf of the Lys d'Or will guide you out of this labyrinth. To do this, today we will pass in front of the cave of a most frightening creature: Anub'Arak.
Summer is coming, the birds are singing, the rabbits are coming out of their nests, and the swallows are poking their snouts out of their burrows, or something like that, I'm no wildlife expert, but let's move on. It is above all the return of these charming wasps and their dreaded stingers. Faced with them, there are all types of reactions and means of defence. Some stop moving… And get stung. Others run in all directions… And get stung. Not to mention those who wear flip-flops and engage in a duel worthy of a “wasp and sword” film... And who get stung. You don't understand where I'm coming from? My dear simple-minded friend, all I wanted to say is that taking out Anub'Arak in Hearthstone is like picking up a rifle to chase away the wasp: an overreaction, impractical, and not necessarily effective, but which has its charm.
The big beast that goes up, goes up, goes up...
Anub'Arak is a legendary thief appeared with the extension of the Grand Tournament present only in 3% of the thief decks of the ladder. For 9 crystals, we have an 8/4 which, each time it is supposed to die, will return to its owner's hand while leaving a 4/4 Nerubian on the board. We are therefore dealing with an ultra late-game creature, given that it will take an entire turn to be placed, and which will not have an immediate impact, unlike an Alexstrasza for example. Anub'Arak's main interest is its ability to exhaust opposing solutions.
Certainly fragile with its 4 life points, it will still be necessary to use a card or two to overcome it, knowing that it will be able to come back the next turn, where it will be necessary to take care of it again because its 8 attack points pose too great a threat. Getting rid of Anub'Arak is akin to forcing a bloody brat to take a nap. After fifteen tries, you get bored, exhausted, and finally fall asleep while the victorious brat plays with his toys.
A map that is too situational
Anub'Arak's immense weakness will be its utter uselessness when silenced. Its 8 potential damage will impress, but it will be far too easy to kill it for such a mana cost, and Nunub' will therefore be absolutely unprofitable. It will be necessary to ask it once all the opposing silences have passed, which makes it very difficult to play, and far too late game. Add to this that when faced with aggressive decks, even midrange, it will be to the game what the knife is to mashed potatoes: useless and superfluous. Add to that that she will have immense difficulties against the Druid, his silences, and his ability to finish the match very quickly, or even against the Priest and his Mind Control. The latter, if it allows your opponent to take control of Anub'Arak, will be synonymous with assured defeat, and that's usually pretty bad.
How to play it
However, the big ugly spider can still be used in some decks. First of all because she will be excellent against the Control Warrior, exhausting all her removals, one by one, but also because she can be a good finisher at the end of a particularly long game. Moreover, being uncommon, your opponents will often tend to forget it and not keep solutions for its arrival. Here is a little recipe, offered by the house, to win with Anub'Arak without taking advantage of an opponent's power cut, or his heart problems.
To be able to use it in good conditions, you will need a deck with board control very strong and this will go above all through good clean boarders: the Fan of Knives is an interesting solution, combined with a Blood Mage Thalnos, or an Azure Drake, ensuring you draw in addition to eliminating the most enemy creatures weak. The Flurry of Blades is also possible, offering more damage, but it will require you to add cards to the deck that play on the mechanics of weapons.
Finally, the Dark Iron Stealth is a must-have, very strong against aggro decks to clear the field, or to weaken a creature while offering a 4/3 on the board. Because, yes, it will also be essential for you to have a significant presence on set. For this reason, any creature with very high added value, such as the Piloted Shredder*, the Azure Drake, the Vendor of Refreshments, or even the Spitter-Vase, will be extremely useful. Thus, you will put constant pressure on the opponent, forcing him to use his control spells on your creatures to successfully survive this midrange aggression. Once these are exhausted**, you can ask Anub'Arak who will act as a finisher, because the ugly villain opposite will have, if all went well, exhausted his solutions.
Given my legendary kindness, I offer you in this article an example of a deck revolving around Anub'Arak. So ? Do we say thank you to Uncle Grugruuf? Of course, don't expect to reach a 95% win rate in the ladder, because once again, playing Anub'Arak will be much less effective than a Secret Paladin or a Combo Druid. However, it remains possible and pleasant to play it, although often necessary to modify it in order to adapt to the meta.
*As you may have noticed, little rascal, these cards will not be available in standard mode, and you will have to find other creatures, or play in free mode.
**I advise you by the way to use Hearthstone deck tracker, or an equivalent, in order to note during the game the cards played by your opponent. That way, you'll know when to land Anub'Arak without risking silence or mind control.
