Hello everyone. Its' been quite some time since I last posted on this blog. Recently, I have been getting into Hearthstone, a CCG created by Blizzard Entertainment released early this year. It has all the elements of a typical trading card game: except that unlike conventional card games like Cardfight Vanguard!, this game is based entirely ONLINE. Much like Devpro for YuGiOh and Magic:2015 for MTG, cards can be bought online packs or earned by buying them using ingame gold, which can be gotten through daily quests and unlocking certain achievements, and winning packs in the Arena, a drafting system where you pay a set amount of ingame gold to create a temporary deck from scratch and pit it against other similar people, a Triple Elimination format.
However, the deck which I am writing about today is arguably NOT based from any Arena deck in Hearthstone, rather it is a meta deck which has been circulating around for quite a while now, and pioneered by Kolento and popularized by Forzen and some other tournament players. As a deck, it is fun to play due to the versatility of the deck which focuses on a few possible 'win conditions', much like the winning image in Cardfight Vanguard!. Without further ado, I shall post the decklist below and explain how to play it and how I usually like to play it.
Miracle Rogue:
Spells: 19
Shadowstep x2
Preparation x2
Backstab x2
Cold Blood x1
Deadly Poison x2
Conceal x1
Blade Flurry x1
Shiv x2
Sap x2
Eviscerate x2
Fan of Knives x1
Monsters: 12
Bloodmage Thalnos x1
Si:7 Agent x2
Gadgetzan Auctioneer x2
Edwin VanCleef x1
Earthern Ring Farseer x2
Azure Drake x1
Sludge Belcher x1
Gnomish Inventor x1
Leeroy Jenkins x1
With that, you can already see that this deck is heavy on spells, with almost 2/3 of the deck being spell-based. This deck mainly focuses on drawing out your whole deck (most of the time) to burst the opponent down in 1-2 turns while whittling down their health and board in the early-mid game. This deck however does not do well against heavy control decks in the lategame as it has little to no effective removal, with the main removal being Eviscerate and Backstab, or a board clear with Deadly Poison on Dagger + Blade Flurry for 3 damage across the board for 5 mana. The star which makes this deck so great is arguably Gadgetzan Auctioneer, whose effect is to draw a card whenever a spell is cast. So the combo is to play low-cost spells in order to activate this card's cycling effect to get the main meat of your deck, which is the Leeroy-Shadowstep combo which can deal a potential 26 damage for 8 mana in one turn when used in conjuction with a combo-ed Cold Blood and two Shadowsteps. Ideally you would be looking to establish some form of board control by utilizing your removal and tempo disrupting cards like Sap to return annoying or high-cost monsters to your opponent's hand. Eviscerate can be used to the face, similar to Si:7 Agent in order to bring your opponent down to the 20s and even mid 10s to make a Leeroy combo (or the psychological effect which it has on opponents), which may make them play to trade inefficiently in order to stay alive. This deck has card draw such as Azure Drake, Gnomish Inventor and Bloodmage Thalnos, as well as the +Spell Damage which arguably helps make spells like Backstab and Fan of Knives more effective in keeping the board clear. Earthern Ring Farseer's clutch 3 hp heal and Sludge Belcher's Taunt ability help drag the mid game long enough for you to stall out in hopes of pulling off a miracle. Edwin Van Cleef is the most optional card in here, I choose it because it acts as a bait which draws out removal from the enemy like Polymorph, Siphon Soul or any silence, or if left undealt with can deal tons of damage to your opponent if played in conjunction with many low-costing spells. Preparation works wonders when comboed with Gadgetzan to get a zero-cost fan of knives or cheap Eviscerate (insert any spell here).
However, do be careful when playing this deck as there are cases when you do not draw into the Leeroy combo or Gadgetzan early enough, which may be a problem. On the other hand, do be careful of overdrawing as a result of Gadgetzan's effect.
Also, do note that spells like Shiv, Eviscerate and Si7 Agent are all able to go for the face, which is useful when there is a need to rush down your opponent before he gains too much momentum and board control (Like lategame Druid, Warrior etc).
Matchups:
Against Priest- Usually when pit up against Priest it should be a free win, although not always necessary. Do watch out for possible board clear like the Auchenai + Circle of Healing combo which wipes out your Gadgetzan and Drake, plus anything below 4 health. Other than that, usually the 4 attack of most of your key cards like Gadgetzan does well against avoiding hard removel like Shadow Word Death. Do be careful to know when to Cold Blood your Azure Drakes or Gadgetzans, as it brings them into Shadow Word Death range. Other than that, play slow and get your combo.
Against Warrior (Control)- Try not to leave out key minions like Auctioneer unless concealed, as a simple Brawl, Shield Slam or Execute could easily remove your minions for cheap. Do take note of Death's Bite, the new Naxx weapon which at 4 attack can kill off your Gadgetzan if left unprotected on the field. Try to burst him down before he starts to build up tons of armor. Usually big minions like Ysera and Ragnaros can be Sapped to waste your opponent's turn and it disrupts the tempo of his game.
Against Warlock Zoo (or any Zooish deck)- You want to prioritize early game removal, Fan of Knives, Backstab, Si:7 Agent with a Coin works wonders to disrupt his early drops like Knife Juggler or Flame Imp. Against possible Shockadin (Paladin Rush) you want to mulligan for fan of knives as most of his cards will be 1 health. Earthern Ring Farseer is clutch in these types of games. Sludge Belcher is also equally useful. Also, a comboed up Edwin VanCleef can put a wrench in your opponent's plans especailly if they do not have spells (pure Zoo decks). You are generally favoured to win this matchup unless you get really unlucky, Zoo tends to lose alot of steam after turn 6 or so. Look out for stuff like Leeroy, Doomguard or the like. Keeping your health high is the way to go here.
Against any deck using Echoing Ooze- Just let him buff the oozes up, use a backstab + Si7 combo or a Sap if things get too hairy. Blade Flurry with Deadly Poison works wonders to kill off the ooze and the copy of the ooze. Mulligan for Gadgetzan and cheap spells like Backstab or si7. But this matchup is generally quite annoying especially if he divine shields and buffs the ooze up. But its' not impossible
Against Hunter- You generally want to play around his Explosive and Freezing Traps, it can be annoying if your Leeroy into one of these traps. Try to force inefficent trades like hunters mark + unleash to kill a Gadgetzan once you have fully utilized it. Try not to overcommit to the board and be wary of Savannah Highmane, it can be irritating to deal with it lategame especailly if Houndmaster-ed due to lack of solid removal. Again, Sap would be your best bet here. But mulligan for a Gadgetzan here, the game usually drags on long enough to pull off a miracle. This is a favoured matchup for you in general. Misdirection is also another annoying secret to look out for. Also, look out for your health, a double kill command with a beast on the field for 6 mana hits you for a painful 10 damage.
Against a Mirror Match: Good Luck and have fun. Honestly the one with Gadgetzan and cheap spells first will usually win. Don't be afraid to go for face and use Eviscerates on him, as most likely his bigh threats can be Sapped or even ignored if you plan ahead 2 turns or so.
Against Control decks like Druid/late game Paladin: Try to focus on bursting him down as soon as possible before the big taunts hit the floor like Ancient of War or Tirion Fordring, those can pose a threat if you do not use your removal efficiently. Go for a mulligan for Gadgetzan and try to established dominance early-mid game as you will lose out late game.
Against Handlock Warlock: I'd say use your spells wisely, you are better off trying to burst him down rather than try to gain total board control. As long as he doesn't taunt up his Giants and other big minions then you're fine. Not the optimal matchup, and usually you might end up losing unless you pull off a miracle. Then again, this is why you play Miracle Rogue right?
Against Freeze Mage (do people even play this anymore?)- Prioritize timing your burst damage, you don't want to Leeroy when you think he has played an Ice Block. Look out for your health, Earthern Ring Farseer can help stall out to get your combo and push you out of lethal range. Try not to swing into opponent minions unless absolutely needed. You can go for a to-the-face method, as Freeze Mages tend to not play any health gaining minions other than Ice Block or Ice Barrier secrets. Try not to drag it too long, you tend to lose momentum especially once the Ice Blocks are up.
Against Secret Mage: Take note of the Secrets that were already triggered, try to send less important minions to trigger the possible Vaporize. Duplicate is generally annoying. KILL his undertakers no matter what as they can snowball to become quite annoying. Other minions should not pose a huge problem.
I will add matchups and how to play against them as I go along and play against more types of decks in Constructed. In closing, Miracle Rogue is fun to play as it challenges the mind to think ahead 1-2 turns before making a move, and considering the mana curve and using mana efficiently every turn (as there can be dead turns if you do not use your cards properly.). Also, because in the current Hunter/Warrior Control meta Miracle Rogue does quite well against them. Taunts are a bitch to play against though sometimes.
Possible Replacements
Edwin Vancleef - Azure Drake, I wouldn't put in Questing Adventurer because it requires setup on turn 3/2 if used with coin, and VanCleef's effect is superior as it can be comboed with coin on turn 3 to make a trusty 4/4, one of the best 3 drops if you ask me. Mana Addict could be a replacement, but I would go for Questing over addict because Rogues lack the 3 drop to smoothen the curve.
Leeroy Jenkins - you shouldnt be trying to find a substitute for this, but Arcane Golem can do a similar, albiet inefficient job. Argent Commander can be a good replacement, but sometimes the 2 damage short can cost you a game. And it costs 6 mana to Leeroy's 4.
Bloodmage Thalnos - Azure Drake, Novice Engineer for card draw. Basically you want this guy in your deck as it is a novie engineer on spellpower steroids. But don't fret if you don't have it. Works wonders with fan of knives, backstab and all the other low cost spells.
Gadgetzan Auctioneer - DONT THINK ABOUT IT. DONT. If you don't have this card, then don't make a miracle rogue deck.
Preparation - This is a understated but key card, but if you really cant find dust for at least 1, you could add in an extra Cold Blood or even a Sinister Strike. But try not to, at least have 1 copy.
Other cards should not be hard to craft/pull from packs.
Future Considerations:
Loatheb (Disrupts other miracle rogues and fills up the midgame drop with a solid 5-5 body).
Sinister Strike (A cheap spell to trigger Gadgetzan. Works well when spell power + for 4 or even 5 damage.)
Hope you enjoyed this deck check and until next time,
EndBlade
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