Hearthpwn

Rogue has always been an extremely strong class on the Hearthstone ladder in the past. Using cost-efficient removal, card-cycle and reach Rogue decks have had a consistent presence in the competitive scene.

Throughout the different seasons many different version of Rogue have seen immense success on the Hearthstone ladder.

The Leeroy Rogue

The Combo (South-Sea Deckhand) Rogue

The Malygos Rogue

All these decks have one card in common, Gadgetzan Auctioneer. But the first Hearthstone expansion by Blizzard recently handed out a not-so pleasant present for all of the avid Rogue players, a Gadgetzan Auctioneer nerf.

A lot of knowledgeable Hearthstone players predicted that "Miracle" Rogue would be dead after these changes. Yet 2 weeks into the first GvG season, "Dog" hit rank 2 on NA with a Rogue that was very similar to this deck list.

This control Rogue deck is extremely powerful in the current meta because of it’s efficient way of removing minions, until it can play it’s big legendaries.

This gives the deck a great match-up against the aggro-heavy meta, but also provides solid match-up against the slower decks, because of it’s ability to swam the board with minions and it’s strong end-game minions.

This deck is inspired by Dog's Control Rogue.

 

Spells:

The Control Rogue's goal is to efficiently remove it's opponents early-game minions with it's low-cost spells while at the same time establishing a board presence.

The backbone of control Rogue’s removal package are its single target spells: 

Backstab: 0-mana spell that is extremely cost-efficient and works well as a combo-activator (SI:7 Agent, Eviscerate).

Eviscerate: 2-mana spell that doubles it’s damage if the combo is enabled.

Eviscerate is the best reach that Rogue has and works very well with smaller minions, because it allows the Rogue to put something on the board, while potential removing the enemies minion, VALUE.

 

Deadly Poison: 1-mana spell that transforms the inefficient 1/2 hero-power dagger into a Fiery War Axe.

Shiv: 2-mana spell that deals a damage and draws you a card, this is rarely used for reach, but works very well as a combo starter and for card-cycling.

 

The Rogue doesn't only posses single target spells, but also has Area of Effect removal, card-draw, and a reduction-cost spell.

The Area of Effect removal that the rogue possesses comes with hybrid options, they don't necessarily need to clear the enemy board, but can also be used as a card-draw or as a finisher.

 

Fan of Knives: 3-mana spell that is extremely efficient aggro decks for removal, synergizes very well with Spellpower ([card]Bloodmage Thalnos / [card]Azure Drake)

Fan of Knives will usually see play as an Area of Effect removal, but can against a slow deck be used as card cycle, if your hand is clogged up.

 

Blade Flurry: 2-mana spell that works extremely well with the Deadly Poison for bigger board-wipes, can also be used to finish your opponent if they have taunts present.

Heavy-draw
When Blizzard nerfed the Rogues’ main card draw mechanic; The Gadgetzan Auctioneer, we had to find an alternative, and the choice fell upon a card, that pre-nerf had been unplayable; Sprint. Sprint solves the lack of heavy-card draws in the Rogue. Sprint still doesn’t replace the 4/4 body and heavy-cycling that Auctioneer gave the Miracle Rogue, therefore the Miracle Rogue had to move into a heavier curve, to provide itself with win-conditions- in this case heavy Legendaries and more minions. This control Rogue does however have a lot of card-draw in its minions; and will rarely be completely out of cards in the early and mid-game. 

The last category is strictly reserved to the Rogue Spell; Preparation (The next spell you cast this turn costs (3) less).

Preparation allows the Rogue to burn through multiple cards for a tempo-turn, while enabling combos such as 4-cost Sprint, SI:7 Agent, or simply flooding the board with your Violet Teacher.

Minions:

Early-game: (Turn 1-3)

The Rogue has 2 early game minions that should be considered in the mulligan.

 

SI:7 Agent: Being the only class-specific minion in the deck, the SI:7 Agent is a tempo-card. The SI:7 Agent represents a 3/3 body and it's Combo (deals 2 damage to an opponents minion or face) is one of the best ways to twist the board into your favor in the early game. 

 

Earthern Ring Farseer: The Earthen Ring Farseer is mainly in the deck to increase the win rate against aggro decks, keeping Valeera out of lethal range, but can also be used to restore health to damaged minions for efficient trading / avoiding Execute, while placing a solid 3/3 body on the board.

Mid-game: (Turn 4-6)
The control Rogue has 4 Mid-game minions, these minions are extremely good for containing board control, or fighting towards getting it.

Violet Teacher:  The Violet Teacher is a 3/5 body that has great synergy with the heavy amount of spells in the Rogue deck. The Violet Teacher will usually be the first minion to pose an eminent threat to the enemy.

Sludge Belcher: Being a 3/5 Taunt, with a Deathrattle that summons a 1/2 Taunt the Sludge Belcher is the definition of sticky. The Sludge Belcher forces the opponent to either silence it, or trade into it.

Azure Drake: Being a 5-drop 4/4 body is not extremely efficient, but having a Battlecry that draws a card, and having a +1 Spell-damage effect is strong, especially with the amount of damage spells in the Rogue deck.
The Azure Drake can in the late-game be used as a way to cycle through your deck, but should usually be dropped on curve as a strong body that allows your spell to give you more reach.

Loatheb: Being a 5-drop 5/5 body is great, being a 5-drop 5/5 body that basically stops all spell interaction on the board for a turn is phenomenal. 
Loathebis extremely useful when you’re playing against heavy spell-decks, or decks that relies on spells to finish you off (Druid, Mage, Rogue etc).Loatheb doesn’t only do that, it also almost certainly allows your board to stay untouched from mass- removal. 

Late-game (turn 6+)
Throughout the entire guide we’ve talked about the importance of maintaining the board, but with the late-game engaging we get to the fun part; the win-conditions.

Dr. Boom; Dr. Boom is widely considered as one of the best Neutral legendaries, since it’s release in the GvG expansion. Dr. Boom is a 7/7 minion whose Battlecry summons two 1/1 Boom Bots. The Boom Bots Deathrattle effect deals 1-4 damage to to the opponent’s hero or minions.
The incredible strength of Dr. Boom is that it can single handedly tilt the board in your favor, it’s a great play if your behind, and a great play to seal the game if your ahead.

Ragnaros the Firelord: Ragnaros can, as Dr. Boom be played as a finisher, or as a comeback mechanic, the reason why Ragnaros is valued high is because of it’s ability to interact with the board right away,without taking damage itself. Ragnaros is one of the win-conditions against the mid-game / control deck!

The last Legendary in this control Rogue deck is the 9-cost legendary;Alexstrasza: Alexstraszais one of the strongest come-back mechanics against the faster decks. By allowing you to restore your health to 15 and placing a 8/8 body on the board it helps the Rogue deck match-up against the aggressive decks. It’s also extremely good for setting up the late-game phase in the control match-up.

Off-curve minions: 

Not all minions are supposed to be played around a deck’s mana-curve because of their power situational effects. 
These cards enables super-efficient trades and will get a lot of value compared to its low cost.

Bloodmage Thalnos: Being a 2-cost 1/1 body it doesn’t pose a great threat on the board. However, it’s Spell-power allows the Rogue to make efficient trades with it’s spells. Not only does Thalnos give you spell-power that can be used for efficient trading, but its Deathrattle also draws you a card, with card draw being the Achilles heels of Rogue it helps the deck on multiple levels. 

Big Game Hunter: The Big Game Hunter (BGH) is the most extreme example of an off-curve tempo card, being a 3-cost 4/2 minion with a Battlecry that destroys a 7+ attack minion. BGH is in this deck for control match ups. BGH works as an efficient way to clear big minions while at the same time planting a 4/2 minion on the board, which is an extremely efficient 3-drop play. 

Match-ups: 

The control Rogue has a very similar playstyle when compared to other control decks. Simply put. try to clear the board and then pressure with your bigger minions. The control Rogue deck does however have a lower mana curve than other control decks, this means it has strong match-ups against aggro and mid-range decks. This comes at a cost of having a harder time against heavy control decks (Warrior and Handlock)

Aggro match-up:
It’s very important to fight for the board against aggro decks. Make sure to kill the opponent’s minions efficiently with your hero-power, spells, and minions. Try to get your minions down wherever there’s a room for it. If you manage to keep the board in a reasonable state till turn 5 then you are in a great spot. Trade your minions efficiently and by the mid-game you should be able to out value your opponent, and eventually drop your big legendaries to finish them off. 

Control match-up:
Against the heavier control decks you’re the aggressor. Try to get minions down and protect them with your spells. Try to get extra value from your earthen ring by healing damaged minions.  If the opportunity presents itself, try to draw cards when you’re board is in a good shape. Remember, in this match-up you don't want to get your entire hand destroyed by mass-removal.

You win if the control player doesn’t get too much value out of their removal.  So keeping your creatures alive and focus on getting your opponents  to waste as many cards as possible is your number 1 goal.  

  Upcoming season

With the new season beginning they’ll probably be a lot of aggro decks on the ladder, which will make this deck incredible strong for ladder grinding. If the meta slows down this deck will be less favorable, but should still be able to get a positive win

 

Deck comes from http://tempostorm.com/decks/control-rogue and its author is Siq, i am just posting it here.