Hearthstone: Captain Hooktusk Guide - How to defeat Hooktusk, tips, Prize Fighters and Shrines

The cards are out, but that’s not all that’s included in the Rastakhan’s Rumble expansion. Titled Rumble Run, this is the latest bit of single-player content to be added to Hearthstone, and it's similar to the Monster Hunt and Dungeon Run releases from previous expansions.

Rumble Run sees you choosing a starting Shrine which will align you to one of nine teams. That Shrine grants a bonus effect as you battle through up to eight bosses, and you'll have the chance to pinch some of their tastiest minions for your deck if you manage to beat them too.

One of the bosses you might come up against is called Captain Hooktusk, who is effectively the representative of the Rogue class. In this article we've outlined Hooktusk's Shrines, his special minions, and provided you with a few tips and tricks to take down the pirate leader.

Head back to our core Rumble Run guide for more help with the latest single-player content.

This article contains additional reporting by James Pickard

Other Rumble Run boss guides:

• Wardruid Loti - Wardruid Loti guide (Rumble Run)
• Zul'jin - Zul'jin guide (Rumble Run)
• Hex Lord Malacrass - Hex Lord Malacrass guide (Rumble Run)
• High Priest Thekal - High Priest Thekal guide (Rumble Run)
• Princess Talanji - Princess Talanji guide (Rumble Run)
• Captain Hooktusk - Captain Hooktusk guide (Rumble Run)
• Zentimo - Zentimo guide (Rumble Run)
• High Priestess Jeklik - High Priestess Jeklik guide (Rumble Run)
• War Master Zoone - War Master Voone guide (Rumble Run)

Captain Hooktusk Shrines

When you start a fight with Captain Hooktusk he'll have access to one of three Shrines in his collection. The choice of Shrine will be random, but here's what you might potentially face in this match-up.

• Bottled Terror: Your other minions have Stealth. Deathrattle: Give your minions +2 Attack
• Pirate's Mark: After you cast a spell, cast it again (on the same target)
• Treasure from Below: At the start of your turn, steal a card from your opponent's deck. It costs (2) less

Captain Hooktusk Cards

Like all of the bosses in Rumble Run, Captain Hooktusk has access to some extremely powerful minions. Here's what he has to play with:

• Lobstrok Tastetester: After you cast a spell, draw a spell from your deck. It costs (2) less
• Parrot Mascot: Combo: Add a copy of each card you've played this turn to your hand
• Pesky Rascal. Immune. Start of Game: Draw this
• Raging Contender: Rush. Deathrattle: Fill your board with random Pirates
• Salty Looter: Battlecry and Deathrattle: Steal a card from your opponent's hand
• Sharktoothed Harpooner: Battlecry: If you're holding any cards that didn't start in your deck, reduce their cost by (4)

Captain Hooktusk Tips and Strategy Advice

Now that we’ve had a number of chances to square off against Captain Hooktusk, here are a few words of advice to keep in mind when facing her and her three different Shrines:

Bottled Terror:

• This is a Shrine that you’ll want to kill off as quickly as possible, that shouldn’t be too much of a problem though as it only has 2 Health.
• Even though all the minions she plays will have Stealth when they enter the field you’ll want to play as much of a board control game as possible to reduce the Attack power buff she grants them when the Shrine dies.
• Be aware of cards such as Raging Contender that can create potentially huge tempo plays for Hooktusk. If she fills the board with Pirates and then triggers the Shrine you’ll be in big trouble.
• If you have AOE spells that don’t need to be targetting – such as Flamestrike or Fan of Knives – these will be particularly useful at killing he minions while they are under the effect of Stealth.

Pirate’s Mark:

• This can be a frustrating Shrine when it’s active so do your best to keep it dormant, especially in the late game when Hooktusk can chain together a lot of cheaper or more powerful spells.
• She can basically play like Miracle Rogue with Lobstrok Tastetester on the board that will allow her to cycle through spells. They have the added bonus of being discounted by 2 Mana if drawn this way too, so clear that minion as soon as possible.
• If you’ve noticed the theme for Captain Hooktusk yet, it’s another deck focused on setting up big tempo plays, so if you control the early game you should be in a strong enough position to win in the mid-to-late game.

Treasure from Below:

• This Shrine has the potential to set up some ridiculous tempo turns for Hooktusk so it’s absolutely worth killing at just two Health.
• When it’s dead, the deck doesn’t really do all the much to be afraid of outside of a usual Tempo Rogue strategy, so maintain board control and push for face damage when possible.
• If Captain Hooktusk is able to get a handful of your cards through the Shrine or other effects, watch for even most discount effects from cards like Ethereal Peddler or Sharktoothed Harpooner that will make them incredibly cheap to play.
• Like other versions of this deck you’ll want to keep her weapons in check whenever possible as they can be buffed.
• Be aware of a potential Tess Greymane play on Turn 8 that will replay all of the cards she’s stolen from you throughout the game.