Gruul the Dragonkiller

Gruul the Dragonkiller is a boss encounter found in the Trial by Felfire challenges. It is the second boss of The Big and the Bad and the second boss of the challenges.

Decks
The below classes are listed purely for reference, and have no effect on the boss' use of the cards during the battle.

Strategy
True to his title, Gruul the Dragonkiller is a Slayer of the Mighty. You'd want to think twice before playing any Dragons, as it might prove counter-intuitive. Don't be too alarmed by his Hero Power, you can proceed to build your board as per normal; though you'd want to stay wary of his options (eg. Execute, Slam, Sleep with the Fishes, Bonechewer Raider, etc.). A general rule of thumb here is to stay passive in the early game, as Gruul would have the upper hand. Below are some recommended decks to use against Gruul, feel free to use as you see fit.

No Minion Spell Mage

Much like the previous boss, the same principle follows: Having little to no minions limits the number of targets Gruul can have for removal, but it leaves you wide open as a prime target. Be sure to use any removal at your disposal to maintain board control at all times. Freeze spells such as Frost Nova and Blizzard are invaluable for stalling for time.

Damage Warrior

Another viable strategy is to abuse the damage from Gruul's Hero Power into a strength that can be used against him. Some key cards for such decks include Armorsmith, Frothing Berserker and Bomb Wrangler. The trick is to use cards that directly benefit from the damage dealt by Gruul's Hero Power, board control is essential at all times as you slowly build your board. Set up an OTK, build a wide board; it's all fair game.

Dialogue
Before match
 * Gruul the Dragonkiller
 * ''Gruul smell flesh!

Introduction
 * ''Beg for life!

Emote Response
 * ''Ha-hrm. DISAGREE.

Hero Power
 * ''No escape.
 * ''Unworthy!
 * ''Away from here.
 * ''Leave Gruul alone.

Idle
 * ''Just want to be left alone…
 * ''Make a gronn angry, get crushed.
 * ''Wish I was there to kill the big, BIG dragon.

Boss cards
 * Attacking
 * ''No more.
 * Slayer of the Mighty
 * ''Fall…
 * All dragons must suffer! (targeting a dragon)
 * Execute
 * ''Slay!

Player's cards
 * Deathwing / Deathwing, Mad Aspect
 * ''You! Deathwing! Ready to fight again?!
 * Any other dragon minion
 * ''Dragons did not learn their lesson?!
 * Khadgar
 * ''Magic man is back?
 * Gruul
 * ''Purple Gruul… not Gruul! I am Gruul!

Death
 * ''(yells)
 * No.. I lost... (killed by a dragon)

Lore

 *  is the father of the seven lords of the ogres, and the most powerful of them. Although he seems to be nothing but a cruel brute, he possesses intelligence. In the events unfolded in the novel Beyond the Dark Portal — shortly after Deathwing invaded his home — Gruul was met by the lost heroes of the Second War: Khadgar, Turalyon, and Alleria Windrunner. They were after the Skull of Gul'dan which Deathwing possessed. After that, Gruul and his ogre minions, along with the heroes, challenged Deathwing from his perch in Blade's Edge Mountains — killing his eggs and impaling his lesser black drakes on the mountain spikes. Infuriated by this act, Deathwing landed on top of them and attacked Gruul. Although clearly no match for the mad 's power, Gruul was saved by Khadgar's miraculuous spell when he disassembled some of the adamantium plates that were holding Deathwing's unstable body together resulting in Deathwing's retreat. This led to a clear devastation for the black dragonflight in Outland. The results can still be seen as impaled black dragon corpses all over Blade's Edge Mountains.

In Warlords of Draenor
In the alternate timeline of , Gruul was instead enslaved by Garrosh Hellscream's, and is used to haul fuel to the furnaces of.

From the Dungeon Journal:
 * Garrosh knew that the surest path to breaking the gronn lay in subjugating their great father, Gruul. Known in another time as the Dragonkiller, here Gruul has been reduced to the role of menial laborer. In a cruel mockery of the ’s warrior tradition, his hand has been replaced with a hook to enable him to more easily haul pallets of fuel to the furnace.

Patch changes

 * Fixed a bug where the fight could lock the game.
 * Added.