3 Key Areas to improve your Rhinar Win Rate by 30%

Rhinar is a powerhouse hero, but he’s tough to master—think 5/5 difficulty. Nail his playstyle, though, and you’ll see win rates soar. Here are three critical areas to focus on when playing Rhinar, to maximize your success.

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1. Master the Art of Going First (+10% Win Rate Potential)

Going first with Rhinar is a double-edged sword. No other hero can hit as hard on turn one, but if you whiff, you’re handing your opponent a huge advantage. Your goal is to deal significant damage (6+ without arsenal, 3+ with arsenal) to set the tempo. If your deck can’t consistently deliver, you might consider going second more, but that means missing out on Rhinar’s biggest strength.

Here’s a sample damage distribution for a well-built Rhinar deck going first (based on my experience, for illustration):

- 38% chance of 9+ damage (85% perceived win rate):

This comes from Bloodrush Bellow (3 copies, ~18%) or fetching it with Sand Sketched Plan (3 copies, ~13%).

You can tweak your deck to boost this percentage, but beware of making it clunky.

- 20% chance of 6–9 damage

(70% perceived win rate):

- 7% chance of 3–6 damage

(60% perceived win rate): Weaker but still respectable turns.

- 11% chance of 0–3 damage (40% perceived win rate): Suboptimal, but recoverable.

- 25% chance of 0 damage (35% win rate): A near-guaranteed loss of tempo.

These numbers shift depending on the matchup, but the principle holds: aim for big damage early.

Think of going first like the car-smash bonus stage in Street Fighter—if you don’t smash hard in the first 10 seconds (your first turn), winning gets exponentially harder.

A little practical tip:

You can practice by yourself, putting 15 piles of 4 cards, to test the damage consistency and sequencing to hit these benchmarks.

Mastering this requires a very deep understanding of your deck structure and I will cover more in the members posts.

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2. Optimize Your Pitch Curve and Sideboard Strategy (5–10% Win Rate Boost)

Rhinar’s pitch curve is critical to avoid clunky hands, which are a real issue for Brutes. I recommend starting with a pitch curve 21 red, 18 yellow, 21 blue for beginners. This minimizes awkward hands like quad red, quad blue, or 3+ non-attack cards. Based on my testing, here’s what you might expect from a four-card draw:

- 1.2% quad red:

Too aggressive, hard to play.

- 1.2% quad blue:

Too defensive, no threat.

- 4-8% awkward hands:

Examples include:

1 Blue Card with 3 non-go again attacks

2 Blue Cards with 2 no go again

3 Blue Cards with 2 non-attack action (non-brb)

You can’t eliminate clunky hands entirely, but a balanced pitch curve keeps them to a minimum. Track your reds and blues, 6 and non-6 during a match (like card counting in blackjack) to make informed pitching decisions. Adding more 6+ attack cards can help, but there’s a floor to minimize clunkiness—accept it and plan how to handle it (e.g., arsenaling a key card or pitching strategically).

Your sideboard strategy is equally crucial, as Rhinar has multiple “forms” (deck configurations) tailored to specific matchups. Each hero requires a different approach, and the strategy for going first versus second can vary dramatically.

Choosing the right form for each matchup is high-skill and error-prone, like playing Diablo on hardcore hell mode—Rhinar’s power comes with little room for mistakes. Study your matchups, test your sideboard, and ensure your deck is tuned to maximize damage while maintaining flexibility.

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3. Choose Your Line Carefully (5–10% Win Rate Impact)

Rhinar demands precise decision-making. Every turn, you’re balancing aggression with resource management. Key cards like Scabskin Leathers (for action points) or Sand Sketched Plan (to fetch various cards at different situation, such as Bloodrush Bellow) can define your success. Sometimes, doing nothing leads straight to failure; other times, over gambling is a trap.

As Aereon said in Chronicles of Riddick, “If we are to survive, a new balance must be found.” In tough matchups, you need to fight smart, not just hard.

Learn to read the game state and your opponent’s tendencies. Against aggro, trade damage efficiently; against control, chip away early to prevent stabilization. Every choice matters with Rhinar—there’s no autopilot.

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Rhinar is a beast, but he’s unforgiving. Mastering him when going first means building a deck that hits hard (6+ damage), optimizing your pitch curve to avoid clunky hands, and making razor-sharp decisions every turn. It’s like playing a high-stakes game where every move counts, but the payoff is crushing your opponent with overwhelming force. Keep practicing, refine your deck, and embrace the true power of the Reckless Rampage.