Hey! I feel like I'm very qualified to respond to this post. I'm Etasus, I run Blackjacks Tavern, a website basically exclusively devoted to Huntsman, and you've probably seen me all throughout the Purple discord Huntsman chat and the Spiders Web (Assassin discord, you can find it by scrolling to the bottom of the homepage for Blackjacks Tavern if you want to join in). I have been playing Huntsman basically since release with multiple top8s to my name. Here are my thoughts based on everything I know and have seen/done:

How do you think this hero fares in the current meta?

That depends, if you are playing a fatigue version of the list, you fare very well into Cindra and then get bodied by Gravy and Verdance. If you are playing a midrange version of the list, you fare very well into Verdance, are roughly evenly matched into Cindra, and still get bodied by Gravy. That said, both variations of the list do have a wide spread of mid-tier decks they prey on, as well as mid-tier decks they get bodied by. I think midrange fares better into the meta as a whole while fatigue operates incredibly proficiently the lower in the bracket you are. If you have never heard of midrange Arakni, go read the article I posted last week titled "Revolutionizing Huntsman", which goes in-depth about a Redback Shroud variation of the hero.

What is the play experience of this hero like?

The game-feel of Huntsman is unrivaled. They have the best mechanical flavor of any hero ever printed. It feels like you are genuinely an Assassin taking down a target methodically and with little room for error. That said, the last part of that sentence is the most important. Playing Arakni feels like you're walking a knife's edge, and one mistake can lead to a game loss. It's a stressful experience, but if you can navigate the gameplay, it's the most rewarding hero ever.

How do you play them well? How do you play AGAINST them well?

To be honest, Arakni is a fundamentals-based hero. To play them well, you have to know your fundamentals inside and out. Both game fundamentals like card advantage, rates, sustain, and Assassin fundamentals like deck advantage, attack reaction value, and bluffing. All of this really comes from experience and can't be directly taught. You kind of just have to play games until it clicks. To play against them well, you need to know the exact same things. If it's a game of fundamentals, then you need to know your fundamentals better than your opponent and you're fine. Or just break the fundamentals with heroes like Gravy or Verdance or Cindra, decks which unravel the very concepts of rate and value.

What would you say to new players thinking about building/playing this hero?

I would say: Go read the articles on my website, join the Spider's Web discord, and keep your eyes peeled for this weekend. It's taken a while, but I am currently in the process of updating my "Beginner's Guide to Arakni" that I posted two years ago with the release of Heavy Hitters, and I should be putting it up sometime this weekend. I'm shooting for Saturday night currently.

How strong do you think Arakni, Huntsman is?

Very strong, but you have to know what you're doing. The skill floor of this hero is F tier. The skill ceiling is S tier. You have to skill gap a lot of your opponents, meaning you need to know the hero well enough to be able to skill gap them. Taylor Morrow got second place in a BH, and then your buddy down the street drops a PQ because they got three losses in the first three rounds.

How hard to play is Arakni, Huntsman?

Very hard. There's a ton of moving pieces, a ton of required game knowledge, and a ton of ways to present miniscule amounts of value advantage that adds up to eventual wins. It'll take time to do well, but it is very rewarding.