Captain Hooktusk is a hero that has been patched the most in Hearthstone Battlegrounds. When Hooktusk was first released, it was marginally more powerful compared to other heroes. After taking a nerf, Hooktusk stayed at the bottom of the tier list. After several buffs and nerfs, Hooktusk finally found a comfortable spot in high Tier 2. 

As of now, Captain Hooktusk's Hero Power is "Remove a friendly minion. Choose one of two from a Tavern Tier lower to keep." At first glance, it may not seem as powerful. The secret behind this Hero Power is that if you remove a Tier 1 minion, it returns another Tier 1 minion. There is no loss of value from playing 0 mana Hero Power.

The picture above shows the complete list of Tier 1 minions. The most intuitive way of utilizing the Hero Power is to play it on a Battlecry minion. Take the Battlecry benefits, remove the minion, and find another minion to replace the body. Another plan is to buy Wrath Weaver, play Tier 1 Demon minions, then use the Hero Power to find another Demon minions to scale Wrath Weaver faster. We will divide this guide into two parts.

1. Gold Printer with token minions

The first and the most powerful strategy is to find a token minion to play Hooktusk's Hero Power on the token half every turn. This way, the token minion and Hooktusk's Hero Power become gold printers. Here, the "gold printer" includes two different meanings. One is the gold you spend every turn, and the other is golden minions you get by finding a triple.

The first part of the gold printer is prominent. If you play Hero Power on half of a minion every turn to find another token minion, you will get extra gold and minion for free. This way, you will build a stronger board with also getting extra gold.

The second part of the gold printer is not as intuitive but the most crucial part. Hooktusk discovers a free Tier 1 minion every turn, so it is more likely to find a triple minion. Regardless of how weak the golden minion itself is, it will allow you to discover a minion from a higher tavern tier. This way, Hooktusk can quickly find a Tavern Tier 5 or 6 minion, a core minion for any composition.

In both cases, the critical point is that you want to target the Hero Power on Tier 1 minions every time. All token minions are in Tier 1, and you want the same minions to find a triple. Even if you can target a higher Tavern Tier minion, search for Tier 1 minion every turn.

2. Wrath Weaver Demons

Ideally, you would want to print infinite golds with token minions. However, Bartender Bob does not always give you the minions you wish. In these cases, there is a second option: Wrath Weaver. If you find a Wrath Weaver on turn 1, keep it. On turn 2, don't level up and search for Demon minions. Play the Demon minion you found and use your Hero Power on the Demon minion.

The best outcomes of the Hero Power are second/third Wrath Weaver and more Demons. However, there are more find outcomes for Demons. Even if you don't find Demon minions, token minions can give you extra gold for Tavern Up flexibility. Buff cards like Micro Mummy and Blood Gems also help to build a decent board.

For both cases, the common idea is that Captain Hooktusk can build a stronger board and create extra golds simultaneously. Having two different Tier 1 minions on turn 1 is Hooktusk's unique ability.

You can go for high roll comps for a 1st place finish by going for the gold printer strategy. Wrath Waver comp has strength in safely finishing in the top half of the lobby. If you use Hooktusk's Hero Power correctly, you can start far ahead of other heroes. Enjoy winning with Captain Hooktusk!

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