Hearthpwn

Hey guys, just decided to post this Miracle Rogue decklist I've been using now that all of Karazhan has hit and the meta has had time to settle. It's mostly the same, a lot of the staple cards remain as does the win condition, but a few cards have been slotted in. A couple cards can be taken out for tech cards which I will go into more depth later on.

Staples:

Backstab - Pretty self explanatory. Backstab is an incredibly powerful card, it allows you to remove 2/2s, or 3/2s while developing your own minions allowing you to lose no tempo, and if you combine it with spellpower or your dagger it can remove minions with upwards of 6 health. Also, given how it costs nothing it has additional synergies with Gadgetzan Auctioneer

Preparation - Another incredibly powerful staple that will likely see play in all Rogue decks until the end of time (with the exception of straight aggro lists). Same concept as Backstab, except this card lets you tempo out bigger spells like Shadow Strike, Eviscerate, and Fan of Knives. The downside of course being that you are sacrificing hand advantage for board advantage, but when combined with an Auctioneer, you negate this downside.

Deadly Poison - Another powerful Rogue staple. This is usually the first one to go, however, in most modern decks that cut it to only one. With the removal nerfs to Blade Flurry and Tinker's Sharpsword Oil moving to Wild, weapons are no longer as powerful as they were before at controlling the board. Even so, 1 mana for 4 damage is solid and this gives you an easy way to 2 for 1 on board during the opening turns. In the later stages of the game, even though its usefulness has waned, it can still cycle with your Auctioneers and discount your Giants.

Conceal - This is typically your main win condition. Building a big board and stealthing it for lethal next turn is how you will win 50% of your games. Also combines nicely with your Auctioneer on turn 7 or turn 6 with the coin to set up a big draw turn. This is another card slot that can get cut to one if you want to fit in some tech cards.

Eviscerate - Standard 2 mana removal spell. Druid has Wrath, Mage has Frostbolt, Warlock has Darkbomb, Warrior has Slam, Priest has Shadow Word: Pain, Shaman has Lightning Bolt, etc. The true strength of this card comes from utilizing it fully with Combo, otherwise it's just an expensive Backstab. Combo allows Rogue to sacrifice card advantage for extra burn or reach, which can be further amplified with spellpower. Most often you will use this for removal, but in the lategame these can be thrown at face as pseudo Kill Commands to push for lethal.

Sap - Often referred to as "Tempo Exodia" This card can single-handedly win some matchups and allow you to clinch lethal from normally unfeasible positions. Along with the aforementioned Auctioneer and Giants synergies, this card specializes at cheaply removing big taunt and deathrattle minions. Sometimes you may have lethal on board, but your opponent has a Tirion Fordring, or a Chillmaw that would absorb too much damage. Sap lets you get around those minions and forces your opponent to waste another whole turn and spend the bulk of their mana to re-use it. Against certain cards like Ragnaros the Firelord it is mostly useless, but using Sap against Savanna Highmanes is one of the few ways to win your Hunter matchup.

Fan of Knives - Standard Rogue AoE board clear. Combines nicely with spellpower and Prep to cheaply and effectively crush Zoo or Shaman wide boardstates. While not as powerful as the Blade Flurry of old, it has a nice cantrip cycle effect which means it isn't completely useless in a control matchup where your opponent won't play multiple low health minions.

SI:7 Agent - One of the best 3 drops in the game. This card alone can easily 2 for 1 or sometimes 3 for 1 and net you card advantage which you can then spend to out-tempo your opponent. Coin this bad boy out on turn 2 while simultaneously clearing out their turn 2 play. Play him alongside Backstab on turn 3 to remove their turn 3 play. The possibilities are endless. This card is a must have in Rogue lists.

Tomb Pillager - What can I say. This card is nuts. It may seem rather bland at first, a vanilla Lost Tallstrider, but when you account for this card giving you a coin, it's essentially 1 mana less in the long run. In addition, the synergies Rogue has with cheap spells thanks to your Auctioneer and Giants make this card an auto-include.

Gadgetzan Auctioneer - The final staple card in this list, the core card of the Miracle deck is the Auctioneer. What can I say. This card is nuts. It will win you more than 50% of your games. If you are playing against a slower midrange class it is often correct to keep this card in your opening mulligan because it ensures you can snowball and draw your deck around turn 7 or 8. It's a mega value engine that lets you generate massive amounts of tempo with your cheap spells without dumping your hand and losing card advantage, all the while drawing into your win conditions. This is a must have if you want to play Miracle.

Card Choices:

Bloodmage Thalnos - Often considered a staple in Rogue decks because of the utility of spellpower, Bloodmage gives the deck everything it wants. Cheap cycle and spellpower. Backstab deals 3, Eviscerate deals 5. Nuff said. If you are running on a budget consider replacing him with a Kobold Geomancer or Shiv.

Cold Blood - This is one of the win conditions of the deck. Same general rule applies to cheap spells with regards to Auctioneers and Giants. The most common use of this card is in conjunction with Leeroy to deal 14 damage from hand in a single turn. However, don't hold onto this card forever. It's better to use it to get a value trade, or squeeze in extra damage rather than wait forever to pull the trigger and be too late. Some greedier control variants of this deck will swap out the Cold Bloods with Gang Up to duplicate your Arcane Giants. Considering how much more expensive, slower and less flexible Gang Up is, I would opt to use Cold Bloods 100% of the time, but the choice is up to you.

Edwin VanCleef - Edwin is the classic set Rogue legendary. And boy is he awesome. This card takes combo to a whole other level by augmenting his stats for each card you play during the turn. Some people don't like running Edwin, but given how well he synergizes with a big Auctioneer turn, as well as in the lategame with Giant + Giant + Edwin or even in the early game if you get a good opening hand with Preps and Backstabs he provides a unique win condition your opponent has to deal with immediately. If you don't want to run him consider an Earthen Ring Farseer instead.

Shadow Strike - More removal! More spells! This card can be run as 2 copies if you don't want to run Edwin, but I think that's a bit clunky and can clog up your hand with unplayable reactive junk. One copy is good enough to give you that extra removal option. It's not as flexible as Eviscerate, but it deals better with 6 mana 5/5s like Emperor Thaurissan, Sylvanas Windrunner, Menagerie Warden, to name a few.

Azure Drake - Included for the same reason as Bloodmage. Decent statline, cycle effect and spellpower. All incredibly useful for Rogue. This card is somewhat flexible. You can take them out for Violet Teachers, Dark Iron Skulkers, whatever.

Leeroy Jenkins - The decks primary win condition. Draw into this guy, buff him up and smack face. He's the best staline for a charge minion at his cost. If you don't have him consider replacing with a Reckless Rocketeer although the cost difference is pretty noticeable. Some greedier control lists also replace him with Yogg-Saron, Hope's End, but I dislike the card and prefer the reliability of Leeroy.

Arcane Giant - These are the main additions from Karazhan. Dropping these guys for nearly free after a big Auctioneer draw turn and then stealthing them often leads to a win. They provide massive tempo swings when you can play them for cheap, but often sit dead in your hand. They are probably the most flexible card in the deck. If you want to tech against aggro or midrange.

Strategy:

Curve out with your early game and trade for board. Play a Gadgetzan and stealth him. Draw your deck, play Giants or Edwin then stealth them again. Swing face with all your minions plus Leeroy and extra burn spells for lethal.

Mulligan:

Against Shaman 40/60 - Shaman is an unfavored matchup because they pack so much burn and Rogue lacks any reliable healing. If you manage to control the board early and transition into a strong midgame you can pull out the win but often the Shaman's opener can decide the game, and even clearing with your weapon can lead to losing too much health because of the power of his early minions. You want to mulligan for Backstab > SI:7 Agent > Deadly Poison > Tomb Pillager > Eviscerate > Preparation

Against Midrange Warriors 50/50 - Warrior is an even matcup. Rogues ability to cheaply and efficiently remove Warriors minions and Warriors inability to flood the board with high health minions in the same way Shaman gives Rogue more time on the clock before she's aggro'd down. Mulligan for Backstab > SI:7 Agent > Deadly Poison > Tomb Pillager > Eviscerate > Preparation

Against Control Warrior 60/40 - Rogue deals better against Control decks because they take longer to kill you and often times you can draw into your win condition before they have time to draw into their removal. Watch out for big Brawls messing up your stealthed board. Mulligan for SI:7 Agent > Deadly Poison > Tomb Pillager > Gadgetzan Auctioneer > Backstab >Conceal

Against Zoo Warlock 50/50 - Zoo is a similar matchup to Aggro Shaman, but Zoo boards often have less health and aim to trade up to maintain board state and lack the burn that Shaman has with Lava Burst, Doomhammer + Rockbiter Weapon, etc. Spellpower Fan can often be the deciding factor in these games and gives Rogue a bit more of an edge. Mulligan for Backstab > SI:7 Agent > Deadly Poison > Fan of Knives > Tomb Pillager > Eviscerate

Against Token Druid 60/40 - Given Rogues ability to deal easily with 1/1 tokens and how much slower Druid is than the other top tier decks, Rogue is favored in this matchup. I've only really lost to big Fandral Staghelm or Yogg turns. Use the same mulligan for Warrior SI:7 Agent > Deadly Poison > Tomb Pillager > Gadgetzan Auctioneer > Backstab >Conceal

Against Anyfin Paladin 60/40 - Rogue is only slightly favored in this matcup. Paladins Truesilver Champion deals easily with all of your 4 health minions and Equality + Consecration can kill your stealthed board. You only have the edge because of your burst and your draw consistency with Auctioneer which lets you draw your burn before they draw their Anyfin. Same control mulligan SI:7 Agent > Deadly Poison > Tomb Pillager > Gadgetzan Auctioneer > Backstab >Conceal

Against Hunter 30/70 - Rogue's worst matchup. Hunter's hero power naturally preys on classes that lack healing and big boards made by fair and balanced cards like Call of the Wild are nearly impossible for Rogue to deal with. You need to squeeze out the win before the game goes to late or you'll just get worn down by all of Hunter's damage. Big Auctioneer turns and Saps are key to victory. Mulligan for Backstab > SI:7 Agent > Deadly Poison > Tomb Pillager > Eviscerate > Preparation

Against every other Tempo/Midrange or Control Deck 60/40 - Rogue's natural ability to deal with the board due to her hero power and cheap removal allow Rogue to out-tempo many opponents with ease. Her finishers with Leeroy burst or stealthed Edwin/Giants are nearly impossible for slower midrange and control decks to deal with. On ladder it is very easy to farm these decks and climb to legend, you just have to dodge Hunters (which is very difficult given their current prominence in the meta).

Thanks for reading my guide and good luck out there!