If you loved the Dungeon Runs from Kobolds & Catacombs then I think you are going to like the Monster Hunt in The Witchwood! Our Monster Hunt guide covers all of the ins-and-outs of this single-player mode for the new expansion and features a heroes, bosses, and equipment list as well as some tips and tricks!
Release Date: April 26th, 2018 – 10am PST!
The Monster Hunt Lore
“Deep within the woods, an evil presence stirs. A curse has fallen on the Witchwood. You must venture into the forest and root out this foul darkness once and for all. But, beware; strange howls pierce the moonlit night, and fearsome creatures prowl the gloom among the ancient trees and gnarled firs. Hold fast, and let courage see you through this night!”
As I mentioned this is very similar to the Dungeon Runs from Kobolds and Catacombs. You will face down 8 bosses and along the way you will grab some new equipment and get cards that upgrade your hero power or synergize with your hero!
Monster Hunt Heroes (Monster Hunters) List
When you start a Monster Hunt you will get your choice of 1 of 4 unique heroes (monster hunters) that are based off of a current Hearthstone class. These heroes have a special hero power and cards that create new playstyles and strategies!
Monster Hunter Hero Guides
We’ve got some basic info below, but we’ve compiled full guides for each of the monster hunters in the following links!
- Houndmaster Tips and Tricks Monster Hunt Guide
- Time-Tinker Tips and Tricks Monster Hunt Guide
- Tracker Tips and Tricks Monster Hunt Guide
- Cannoneer Tips and Tricks Monster Hunt Guide
Houndmaster Shaw (Houndmaster)
You might recognize him from the Hunter Legendary, Houndmaster Shaw.
Hero Power: Dog Whistle (2 Mana) – Summon a 1/1 Bloodhound with Rush.
Tess Greymane (Tracker)
You might recognize her from the Rogue Legendary, Tess Greymane.
Hero Power: Scavenge (2 Mana) – Discover a class spell that has been played this game.
Darius Crowley (Cannoneer)
You might recognize him from the Warrior Legendary, Darius Crowley.
Hero Power: Fire! (2 Mana) – Fire your Cannons! If they kill any minions, refresh this.
Toki, Time-Tinker (Time-Tinker)
You might recognize her from the Mage Legendary, Toki, Time-Tinker.
Hero Power: Temporal Loop (0 Mana) – Start your turn over.
Nemesis Boss List
Each monster hunter is after their nemesis and will occasionally face off against them at the end of your run. If you defeat a final boss with each different monster, that is when you will face off against Hagatha the Witch!
Darius Crowley (Cannoneer) Nemesis: Lord Godfrey
- Health: 60
- Hero Power: Pistol Barrage (1 Mana) – Deal 2 damage to a minion and the minions next to it.
- Flavor: The Lord of Shadowfang Keep has a bullet to pick with Crowley.
Houndmaster Shaw (Houndmaster) Nemesis: Glinda Crowskin
- Health: 50
- Hero Power: False Heart (Passive) – While you control a minion, your hero is Immune.
- Flavor: The leader of Hagatha’s dark cult hides behind her loyal minions.
The Final Boss: Hagatha the Witch
We have a full guide on the fight with Hagatha the Witch right here: How-to Defeat Hagatha the Witch Guide!
Hagatha is unlocked when you complete the dungeon run with all four monster hunters.
- Health: 100
- Hero Power: Bewitch (Passive) – After you play a minion, add a random Shaman spell to your hand.
Monster Hunt Bosses List
During each Monster Hunt run, you will face eight different encounters. Based on the similarities between this mode and Dungeon Run, first encounters should be very easy, and the difficulty is going to ramp up the higher you get. As for the final challenge, you will encounter your nemesis based on which monster hunter you are playing. Once you’ve complete each of the four classes, you will then unlock the chance to battle Hagatha the Witch!
A Mangy Wolf
- Health: 15
- Hero Power: Guttural Howl (1 Mana) – Give a random minion in your hand +1/+1.
- Flavor: Unearthly howls drive the wildlife mad.
Azalina Soulthief
- Health: 50
- Hero Power: Unfinished Business (2 Mana) – Summon three 1/1 Wisps.
- Flavor: Her children’s safety is her top priority. At any cost.
Baran the Blind
- Health: 30
- Hero Power: Bulldoze (1 Mana) – Spend all your armor. Deal that much damage to a random minion.
- Flavor: Poor vision doesn’t matter with strength like his.
Blood Witch Gretta
- Health: 30
- Hero Power: Blood Red Apple (Passive) – Spells cost Health instead of Mana.
- Flavor: Magic is powerful in her grove… but it comes at a cost.
Brushwood Centurion
- Health: 60
- Hero Power: Survival of the Fittest (3 Mana) – All minions attack random enemy minions.
- Flavor: This once-stalwart defender of the woods now sows chaos.
Captain Shivers
- Health: 75
- Hero Power: Plunder (0 Mana) – Draw a weapon from your deck.
- Flavor: Vowing vengeance, his cursed crew haunts Gilnean shores.
Chupacabran
- Health: 30
- Hero Power: Bloodthirst (1 Mana) – Give a friendly minion Lifesteal.
- Flavor: It used to feed on local livestock. Now it hungers for more.
Crooked Pete/Beastly Pete
- Health: 40
- Hero Power: Bloodthirst (1 Mana) – Give a friendly minion Lifesteal.
- Flavor: The locals report that Pete is up to no good again.
- Health: 50
- Hero Power: Beast Within (1 Mana) – Give your minions +1 Attack.
Cragtorr
- Health: 40
- Hero Power: One with the Trees (2 Mana) – Reduce the cost of minions in your hand by (1).
- Flavor: Seeds sewn from hatred, sustained by dark magic.
Cultist S’thara
- Health: 40
- Hero Power: Poisoned Drink (Passive) – Whenever a player draws a card, deal 1 damage to them.
- Flavor: A silver tongue to accompany her silver daggers.
Cutthroat Willie
- Health: 25
- Hero Power: Shank (2 Mana) – Deal 1 damage to a minion. Draw a card.
- Flavor: WANTED: For doing exactly what his name suggests.
Doctor Sezavo
- Health: 20
- Hero Power: Hollow Needle (2 Mana) – Deal 1 damage to a minion. If it dies, restore 3 Health to your hero.
- Flavor: It’s good to give blood. But not to him. He’s not a real doctor.
Experiment 3C
- Health: 60
- Hero Power: Consume – Destroy a friendly minion, then draw 3 cards.
- Flavor: It’s a Murloc! It’s a Dragon! It’s… everything?
Face Collector
- Health: 60
- Hero Power: A New Face – Transform a minion into a random one that costs (2) more.
- Flavor: Beware his terrible minions and their ever-shifting faces.
Forlorn Lovers
- Health: 70
- Hero Power: Together Forever (Passive) – Whenever a friendly minion dies, shuffle a copy into your deck.
- Flavor: Bound by vows, she just won’t let go.
Garrow, the Rancorous
- Health: 40
- Hero Power: Death and Taxes (1 Mana) – Deal 1 damage to your opponent for each minion they control.
- Flavor: Missing? Dead? He’ll still collect.
Gnarlroot
- Health: 30
- Hero Power: Splinter (1 Mana) – Take 2 damage. Summon a 2/2 Treant.
- Flavor: Gnarled, twisting roots, splintering to life.
Gnomenapper
The Gnomenapper puts your minions into a sack. Once in the sack, they go to his side of the board with a card called “Stuffed Sack” and has 3 health and 0 attack with a deathrattle of “Return your stolen minion!”.
- Health: 40
- Hero Power: Nab (2 Mana) – Put an enemy minion into a sack.
- Flavor: A collector of gnomes. Real ones.
Groddo the Bogwarden
- Health: 30
- Hero Power: From the Swamp (Passive) – Whenever an enemy dies, raise a 1/3 Bloated Zombie.
- Flavor: Dead emerge from the swamp. It’s not a pleasant scent.
Gobbles
Gobbles is going to be one of the first monsters you challenge!
- Health: 10
- Hero Power: Starving (Passive) – Whenever a friendly Beast dies, draw a card.
- Flavor: Every dying beast makes this dreaded carrion bird stronger.
Gravekeeper Damph
- Health: 35
- Hero Power: Grave Mistake (3 Mana) – Trigger all minions’ Deathrattles twice.
- Flavor: The rattle of bones remain a comfort to him.
Griselda
- Health: 30
- Hero Power: Witch’s Kiss (2 Mana) – Tranform a random minion into a 0/1 Frog with Taunt.
- Flavor: Watch those lips, she’ll kiss just about anything.
Grubb the Swampdrinker
If you defeat Grubb the Swampdrinker, you will be offered his hero power as a card reward: Chuck (6 Mana) – Discard all minions from your hand and deal their Attack to the enemy hero.
- Health: 50
- Hero Power: Chuck (1 Mana) – Destroy a friendly minion and deal its Attack to the enemy hero.
- Flavor: An iron gut, and quite the throwing arm.
Grum
- Health: 40
- Hero Power: Terrify (4 Mana) – Shuffle a minion into its owner’s deck. It costs (4) less.
- Flavor: Grum likes to smash. He also likes to bash. And crash.
Gustave, the Gutripper
- Health: 50
- Hero Power: Cull the Meek (1 Mana) – Destroy a minion with the lowest Attack.
- Flavor: Hagatha’s pet eats his way from the bottom of the food chain up.
Infinite Toki
- Health: 60
- Hero Power: Chronoacceleration (2 Mana) – Give a friendly minion Mega-Windfury. At the end of your turn, it dies.
- Flavor: One either dies a hero or mangles time enough to become a villain.
Inquisitor Hav’nixx
- Health: 40
- Hero Power: Devour Soul (4 Mana) – Halve the enemy hero’s Health.
- Flavor: A mind is a terrible thing to waste. It’s far too delicious.
Manhunter Ivan
- Health: 25
- Hero Power: Trap Preparation (2 Mana) – Put a random Secret from your deck into the battlefield.
- Flavor: Watch your step, this traitor is an expert trapper.
Niira the Trickster
- Health: 25
- Hero Power: Unstable Growth (1 Mana) – Give all minions +1/+1.
- Flavor: She plays with wee critters… until they’re big critters.
Plaguemaster Rancel
- Health: 40
- Hero Power: Poison Flask (2 Mana) – Deal 2 damage to a minion. If it survives, give it Poisonous.
- Flavor: Dying to his touch is terrible. Living is even worse.
Raeth Ghostsong
- Health: 60
- Hero Power: Desecrate (1 Mana) – Deal 1 damage to all minions. If any die, refresh this.
- Flavor: There’s a reason you should burn the dead.
Ratcatcher Hannigul
- Health: 40
- Hero Power: Cannibalism (Passive) – Whenever a minion dies, give the adjacent minions +1 Attack.
- Flavor: Rats aren’t always the most loyal pets.
Ravencaller Cozzlewurt
- Health: 15
- Hero Power: Call of the Raven (1 Mana) – Add a random 1-Cost minion to your hand.
- Flavor: The feathered fiends of Gilneas flock to his sinister call.
Rottooth
- Health: 15
- Hero Power: Fading Bite (2 Mana) – Gain +2 Attack this turn.
- Flavor: Incorporeal or not, those claws hurt!
Sazzmi Gentlehorn
If you defeat Sazzmi Gentlehorn you get the option to take the card: Enchanting Tune (4 Mana) – Gain control of all enemy minions. Set their Attack and Health to 1.
- Health: 35
- Hero Power: Infatuation (1 Mana) – Gain control of enemy minions with 1 or less Attack.
- Flavor: This satyr has a tendency to attract more than just rats.
Sephira Dusktalon
- Health: 40
- Hero Power: Tangled Wrath (Passive) – Whenever your opponent casts a spell, draw a spell from your deck.
- Flavor: Even your own magic can be twisted by these woods.
Shudderwock
- Health: 50
- Hero Power: Frumiousity (Passive) – All Battlecries trigger twice.
- Flavor: And ‘lo in uffish thought he stood, crying “Battle” in the wood.
Splintergraft
- Health: 40
- Hero Power: Grafted Bark (2 Mana) – Choose a minion. Add a 2/2 copy to your hand that costs (2).
- Flavor: She’ll take a piece of you and make it her own.
The Mute
- Health: 25
- Hero Power: … – Silence a minion.
- Flavor: …
The Scarecrow
If you defeat The Scarecrow before your final battle, you will get the option to get the Scythe which is a 3 Mana 1/1 Weapon that reads: Doesn’t lose Durability. When you kill a minion with this weapon, gain +1 Attack.
- Health: 40
- Hero Power: Harvest (1 Mana) – Destroy a friendly minion. Restore 8 Health to your hero.
- Flavor: His enchanted scythe drinks deep from every harvest.
The Whisperer
- Health: 25
- Hero Power: Echoes of the Witchwood (Passive) – All spells have Echo.
- Flavor: Do you hear the echoes of his whispers?
Vitus the Exiled
- Health: 40
- Hero Power: Monstrous Aura (Passive) – Your minions have +1/+1.
- Flavor: Corrupted. Banished. Hungry.
Wharrgarbl
- Health: 30
- Hero Power: It’s Raining Fin (2 Mana) – Draw 3 Murlocs from your deck.
- Flavor: The Witchwood’s curse has not been kind to the local Murlocs.
Winslow Tobtock
- Health: 40
- Hero Power: Hypnotize (2 Mana) – Each player shuffles their hand into their deck and draws that many cards.
- Flavor: His tricks will leave you both in a daze.
Monster Hunt Treasure List
Treasures largely operate the same as they did in the Dungeon Run. However, while there is some treasures that are the same, there are a lot of new ones. Including some that are unique to each monster hunter!
Passive Treasures List
Passive treasures trigger at the beginning of each match and last throughout the game.
- Caltrops – After your opponent plays a minion, deal 1 damage to it.
- Crystal Gem – Start with an extra Mana Crystal.
- Entrenchment – Your minions have +2 Health.
- Expedite – Passive Your minions cost (1) less.
- First Aid Kit – At the end of your turn, restore 2 Health to all friendly characters.
- Glyph of Warding – Enemy minions cost (1) more.
- Lunar Signet – After you play a minion, trigger its Deathrattle effect.
- Pillage of the Fallen – Whenever your weapon is destroyed, equip a random weapon.
- Potion of Vitality – Double your starting Health.
- Scepter of Summoning – Your minions that cost (5) or more cost (5).
- Small Backpacks – At the start of the game, draw 2 cards.
Cannoneer Passive Exclusives
- Dragonfire Ammo – Your Cannons do 1 extra damage.
- Tactical Reinforcements – Whenever you fire your Cannons, reduce the cost of a card in your hand by (2).
- Victorious Rally – When you fire your Cannons, give your minions +1 Attack this turn.
Houndmaster Passive Exclusives
- Companionship – Your Bloodhounds have +2 Attack.
Time-Tinker Exclusives
- Rewind – When your hero dies, restart the game and remove this from your Dungeon Deck.
- Double Time – After you cast your first spell in a turn, cast a copy of it (targets chosen randomly).
Tracker Passive Exclusives
- Cult of the Wolf – You can use your Hero Power twice each turn. It costs (1) less.
- Sticky Fingers – Cards that didn’t start in your deck cost (1) less.
Active Treasures List
- Angry Mob (2 Mana) – Destroy 2 random enemy minions. Upgrade this and shuffle it into your deck.
- Bandage (2 Mana) – Restore all friendly minions to full Health. They can attack again this turn.
- Beastiary (8 Mana) – Fill your board with copies of random minions from your opponent’s deck.
- Beastly Beauty (2 Mana) 2/5 – Rush After this attacks a minion and survives, transform this into an 8/8.
- Brass Lantern (1 Mana) – Discover a coopy of a card in your deck. Repeat this 2 more times.
- Butch (4 Mana) 1/1 – Has +1/+1 for each friendly Beast that died this game.
- Chaos Theory (2 Mana) – Both players cast all spells in their hand (targets chosen randomly).
- Coin Pouch (2 Mana) – Summon a random 3-Cost minion. Upgrade this and shuffle it into your deck.
- Creepy Curio (1 Mana) – Summon three 1/1 Ghosts. Upgrade this and shuffle it into your deck.
- Frenzied Trapper (5 mana) 5/5 – Battlecry: Put 5 random Hunter Secrets into the battlefield.
- Gattling Gunner (4 Mana) 5/3 – Whenever you play a card, deal damage equal to its Cost to a random enemy minion.
- Gentleman’s Top Hat (1 Mana) – Give a minion +2/+2 and “Deathrattle: Give your Top Hat to another random friendly minion.”
- Grave Mistake (0 Mana) – Trigger all minions’ Deathrattles twice.
- Grizzled Reinforcement (3 Mana) 4/3 – Battlecry: Summon an extra Cannon.
- Holy Book (6 Mana) – Silence and destroy a minion. Summon a 10/10 copy of it.
- Hunter of Old (3 mana) 3/6 – Whenever you cast a spell, gain Spell Damage +2.
- Hunter’s Insight (3 Mana) – Reduce the cost of all cards in your hand by (3).
- Impetuous Companion (3 Mana) 5/5 – Battlecry: Swap hands with your opponent.
- Nalaa the Redeemer (6 Mana) 9/9 – Divine Shield. Taunt. After this minion survives damage, gain Divine Shield.
- Old Militia Horn (2 Mana) – Give your minions +1/+1 and Taunt. Upgrade this and shuffle it into your deck.
- Plague of Murlocs (3 Mana) – Give your minions: “Deathrattle: Summon a random Murloc.”
- Pristine Compass (3 mana) – Draw a card and add 2 extra copies of it to your hand. They cost (0).
- Sack of Coins (2 Mana) – Summon a random 6-Cost minion. Upgrade this and shuffle it into your deck.
- Sack of Gnomes (4 Mana) – Fill your board with random Gnomes.
- Safe Harbor (2 Mana) – Choose a minion and put it into your hand. It costs (0).
- Shallow Graves (9 Mana) – Summon 7 random minions that died this game.
Cannoneer Active Exclusives
- Seabreaker Goliath (10 Mana) 15/15 Pirate – Costs (1) less for each time you’ve fired your Cannons.
- Tuskarr Raider (4 Mana) 3/9 Pirate – Rush After this minion attacks, fire your Cannons.
Houndmaster Active Exclusives
- Bubba (7 Mana) 9/9 Beast – Battlecry: Summon six 1/1 Bloodhounds to attack an enemy minion.
- Princess (5 Mana) 5/5 Beast – Battlecry: Gain the Deathrattles of 3 random minions in your deck.
- Sic ‘Em (6 Mana) – Summon 3 minions from your deck with the highest attack.
Tracker Active Exclusives
- Tools of the Trade (2 Mana) – Discover one of Tess’s weapons and equip it. Return this to your hand.
Monster Hunt Card Back
We’re assuming that you can earn this card back by defeating all of the bosses with each of the new heroes, but there’s no official word on this!
Does the Crystal Gem add a mana crystal for the monster as well? It seems like every time I grab it they also get the benefit, is anyone else having this happen to them?
I found an exploit for going against The Whisperer where you get counterfeit coin and sinister strike for an auto win. Just thought I’d put that out there
There’s another much funnier, with Tess and having the Cult of the Wolf treasure, you literally rock The Whisperer to death. LOL!
I got Gobbles as final boss and it was so easy :D, he had just 7 cards and this bossfight was a present for me
What will be if i get two “double time”?
I’ve found a new Weapon! While playing with Tess a weapon named ‘The Exorcisor’ appeared! It has 4/4 stats and passive ‘Silence any minion damaged by this.
Can someone tell blizzard that Frenzied Trapper (Tracker reward) doesn’t work with Shudderwocks double battlecry.
There is a limit for the amount of secret one player can have on board. The limit is 5 since the 1st battlecry reaches the limit, the 2nd battlecry can’t put anymore secret. Basically, you can only have a total of 5 secrets on board.
OTKed that spells have echo monster on turn 4 at 50 health with Tinker. Had reduced spell cost by 1 and top-decked my arcane missiles. 😀
I arcane missiles him down turn 2. Actually I just finished beating the run with all 4 characters, toki took the longest at 3 tries, Cantonese I did twice, because I kinda didn’t finish the tracker quest first, both first try, tracker I did second try, and Shaw I did first try, now own to hagatha.
I had so much fun with two of those guys in my deck and cannons do +1 (x2)
I also had my battlecries triggered twice off of Brann, and my hero power cost (1)
For 1 mana I had 5 cannons that dealt 3 a piece. It was the most fun I’ve had in Hearth. Final boss was a breeze (I got Azalina).
You can kill it turn 1 with tracker & something that lets you hero power turn 1. (Either cult of the wolf or Crystal shard) When you use the hero power with no class spells cast, you get a small rock. (0 mana deal 1)
Many clicks later, you get a t1 kill.
Turn 1 OTK with Tess 1 mana hero power and A Small Rock. Easiest boss of my life.
Yeah, it gets better! If you use the tracker hero power when no spells have been cast yet, you get a “small rock” which is basically a moon fire. I got the “you can use your hero power twice a turn and it costs one less” upgrade one run so I OTKd the level 7 spirit guy on turn 1!
I just beat the Monster Hunt with Darius! I had my final boss to be Azalina. She just keeps on buffing her wisps until she plays ‘wisps of the elder woods’ and either fill the board or just buff the ones that already exist and, oh boy, you dont want them buffed.
Plus there is another one Cannoneer active exclusive minion that adds one more cannon to the board as a battlecry.
Which is pretty insane, specially combined with the +1 damage passive.
Does anyone know if we get packs for this?
No, just card back for completing it all.
You get a card pack for each character you beat 1p monsters with, in order tracket, cannoneer, houndmaster, time-tinker.
Thank you for correcting my error.
All spells have echo……………………………….he’s have a coin!!!!!!!
Still not out?
10am pst most likely.
I see the Witchwood in Solo Adventures, but it says opens in 1 week. I thought today was the day the Monster Hunt was released. Am I wrong?
It should be today, probably the information about it into the game aren’t updated
How to get the new back has been given in the patch notes from about a week ago:
Monster Hunter – Acquired from completing the Monster Hunt with all four heroes and defeating the evil in The Witchwood (evil means defeating Hagatha).
Shudderwock is Tess’s Nemesis, and The Face Collector is Toki’s nemesis.
i think infinite toki is toki’s nemesis, makes more sense.
I’m pretty sure Ben Brode said that Toki’s final boss is Toki herself, just her in the future trying to stop herself because in the future she messes things up.
I was mistaken. I thought I saw a pattern that wasn’t there.
Hero Power for Crooked Pete/Beastly Pete is incorrect 😉
Sorry for asking, but has the new expansion been released yet? My device says that Hearthstone requires an update, but none are available. Also, have they released the expansion but not the monster hunt? So there are decks being made but no details of dungeon loot yet?
Sorry for all the questions, but thanks in advance for replies!
Whoops, sorry, part of my question is answered in the description (the part about when the monster hunt will be out)
So my only question is whether withstood is fully out then!
The Witchwood expansion fully releases April 12th at 10:00 AM PST
Why does it say March 26 today is March 26 Creepy
Was supposed to be April 26th, sorry about that!
Dungeon Run was the best single-player experience in HS so far. I’m glad they’re keeping the format and giving it a new twist!
I don’t think so. The best was LoE. In my opinion they should create at least one adventure like this (since karazan is rotating out). Dungeon run is not that god as an old classic adventure.
Granted, the best single-player moment I’ve had in HS was when Archthief Rafaam stole my deck in LoE. I remember hopelessly trying to win against my OP deck. However, that surprise factor can only hold the first time. I love LoE and I agree it is the best adventure of all 4 classic adventures, but it becomes stale quite fast, just as the rest of the adventures. Actually, I found myself going back to the Karazhan Prologue and the Chess Boss in Heroic Mode more often than to any boss in LoE, because they were more fun. The good (great) thing about Adventures was that you knew exactly what cards and rewards you got for completing them, which made them real money worthy. The Heroic Bosses were also a nice challenge, but sometimes too obnoxious. I hated having to restart a game vs The Lich King until I had the perfect starting hand, and for some Heroic Bosses you also kind of need a perfect starting hand.
Dungeon Runs, on the other side, I played hundreds of bosses until I began to feel they were stale. When I want some relax I still start one and try something whacky. For F2P players this is a huge mode because it lets you play with all the good cards you can’t play in constructed due to lack of money. I still wish to get the Dungeon Run Quest in my daily quest because it gives me a reason to play them. For me it’s clearly the overall best single-player experience in HS.
They had a single player adventure tied to the Knights of the Frozen Throne release! It wasn’t as long as the previous ones, but it was F2P and The Lich King fight with all 9 classes was actually quite fun to pull off and rewarding too (Young Arthas skin for Paladin).