Hearthpwn

Here is a fun little gem I brainstormed in between of getting punched to death with a few of my other brews from this expansion.  It looks like a pile of garbage on paper. However, it plays like a combination of Backspace aggro combined with Malygos.  With so many value and gimmick decks running around, it will astonish your opponent just how fast you can push face damage and close the game.  In longer games that turn against you, you can still go for a hail-mary by sculpting your hand and setting up enough spell damage for one last big burst and/or Leeroy.

Yes... you read that right.  This is Aggro-Rogue...  with Spell Damage...  Seriously.

 

 Synopsis:

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This is a grinder deck.  Games are meant to be quick and brutal.  That isn't to say that we are playing without chicanery... in fact this is one of the "smartest" and interesting aggro decks I have picked up in some time.  However, it does mean that blatant mistakes and certain board states mean: Game over, pack up, move on to the next.  The beauty is, there's no skin off our nose to lose a well played game (or lucksack) from our opponent.  We have much faster games than most other decks in the field right now, allowing us to leverage time rather than Grinding out 30 minute games trying to preserve a winstreak.

This deck will beat almost every deck in the format at the moment, if you get a strong start.  Weaker starts sometimes require us to plan ahead to stretch the last few points to lethal, but are perfectly playable.  This isn't bragging about being the perfect deck: it is merely a hallmark of tight consistent aggro play -- we go off before they do and since we are Rogue, we have the best tempo tools to tip close games in our favor.

 

 

Card Discussion

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Class Cards:

• Backstab -- Classic Rogue tempo removal.
• Shadowstep -- Most often to preserve a spell Damage card in hand if it looks like you might lose the effect when it might be needed (especially if you think you will need to stack Ancient mage late.  Secondary uses with Spellbook Binder and Leeroy.
• Sinister Strike --  Surprising reach to close games, especially with Spell Damage
• Cold Blood -- Turns positive-tempo boards into massive lifetotal swings.  Secondary use in removing big obstacles  so  you can keep going face.  Particularly amusing to use on a Mana Resevoir they want to try to ignore.
• Eviscerate -- Classic combo removal/reach
• Sap -- one turn removal for tall threats and taunts
• Shiv -- Cantrip that enjoys friendly benefits with all your spell damage stuff.  Usually used to remove small dudes that look like they want to trade, but can also be used face for reach.
• Fan of Knives -- AoE that is good for its cantrip.  Can also clear surprisingly big boards with enough spell damage stacked.
• Headcrack -- One Rogue's worst classics gets a lot better with a spell damage build.  Recurring face damage that scales with spell damage and makes your opponent squirm when they see go back to your hand.  This is one of your key cards versus Warrior (or any class that tries to wall up to preserve health).

Neutrals:

• Bloodmage Thalnos -- Longtime friend of rogue, known for his one-time boon to a single spell before drawing you a card and eating a hit.
• Mana Reservoir -- very durable at 0/6.  forces your opponent to commit resources to dropping it, or letting you get turn after turn of active spell damage.
• Spellbook Binder -- Draws you a card if you have spell damage active.  Helps keep our hand from depleting while providing nice aggressive stats.
• Spellshifter -- The flip flop can make this guy an awkward but useful tool at our disposal. as a 1/4 he can be hard to remove early, and as a 4/1 he demands a response.
• Spellzerker -- Good stats for a 2-drop,  Can sometimes activate his spell damage for some explosive plays.
• Arcane Watcher --  Amazing body for 3.  With enough Spell Damage minions  it isn't too hard to get a swing or 2 in with him, which is all we really need. Curves well with Ancient mage to guarantee active.
• Acolyte of Pain -- A body that can hold Cold Blood (if he survives)  replaces himself most times. Getting more than one card off him is pure value.
• Archmage Vargoth -- Play it again Sam.  Lets you pull another card with shiv, or double your hits with Headcrack and Sinister Strike.  Targeted spells are more RNG... but sometimes you take that risk if you feel you need to.
• Ancient Mage -- Sticky 2/5 that curves with Arcane Watcher so that he activates himself.  Occasionally helps you late by stacking large amounts of spell damage for removal or burst.
• Leeroy Jenkins -- Classic end-game for aggro.

 

Gameplay Video

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Gameplay Tips and Matchups

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On the coin:  Pay close attention to turn 1 coin plays.  In a vacuum, Spellzerker turn 1 is a very strong tempo, especially if you can follow up with some kind of card draw.  Any time you have Spellbook Binder going second, try to play any of your non-conditional spell damage guys (Except Bloodmage) to try and follow up with the 3/2 cantrip.

Pay close attention to your spell damage.  Backstab and Shiv do amazing work if you start piling up the bonus damage.  Many people will not anticipate the raw power and tempo of your removal.  Conversely, be studious of your Spellzerker.  His Spell damage will give you a nice little burst, if you can get him active, but he almost always dies before you get more than 1 turn of him active.

On the face side of things, Sinister Strike and Headcrack pack a punch.  Sinister is raw power, and any time you can drop it for 5+ damage, it might be worthwhile to just get it out of your hand.  This is especially true if you can get the double tap with Archmage Vargoth.  Headcrack is more grindy  You don't have to prioritize Spell damage with Headcrack in order to stretch out your endgame, and instead rely on the repeatability.  And on the techy side of things, Vargoth copying Headcrack will put 2 copies back to your hand.

Versus:

Warlock --  Play a grind game and try to bait out a few hero power taps.  Big Burst should be for extreme opportunities and lethal.  Chip damage and grind for the first half of the game, and then big burst when you feel ready to sprint to the finish. These games are usually pretty easy as long as you prioritize removal on key cards.

Warrior (bombs or otherwise) -- Their access to armor means that you will grind for longer to win, but you are still aggressive enough to threaten them early.  Using a little burst early to drop their armor total can save you from a nasty Shield Slam.  They will often have issues dealing with our higher health minions shy of an execute; so Cold Blood on Mana Resevior and Arcane Watcher tend to be our pack mules.  Warrior always finds a way to stabilize however, so prioritize card draw enough that you aren't blowing your whole hand for anything shy of a lethal burst.  These games tend to end more by Leeroy and Sinister Strike more than raw board aggro.  Headcrack really helps with the grind towards the final burst too.

Token Druid -- They will be able to build more board faster than you, and then if you leave it unattended it will magnify to outrace you.  This matchup is a balancing act of trades and chip, with the "race leader" fluctuating more than a few times in the match.  When deciding if you need to trade to thwart lethal, always assume they can give +2 to everything and trade appropriately.  This is an eternal grind and chip fest.  Burst only for lethal and prioritize saving Cold Blood for Mana Resevior so that you don't have a creature on board that is inactive for trading.

Lucentbark Druid -- Similar to Warrior you will need to grind more and time your final burst.  Headcrack is one of your best tools to burn em down, but if the game goes too long, you will get out healed.  If they get to the point of spamming copies of Lucent, your last out is to set up a big spell damage burst to close.  Sometimes you have the resources left over and sometimes you don't -- but most games you should be within reach by the time the broken stuff starts happening.

Lackey Rogue -- Similar to Token druid in that you have to prioritize trading with your higher health minions.  However, since they don't buff board, the threshold that allows you to play burst and tempo opens up more.  They don't trade well body for body and instead rely on battlecry effects to augment their combat, so you can emphasize trading small, and let your larger guys sponge cards out of hand.  In a sense, we are the better aggro deck, but it is still a mirror match.  Win tempo, win the game.

Hunter --  Rogue's natural nemesis in terms of tempo and board presence.  Similar to the Mirror with Rogue, prioritize tempo.  Whoever snowballs first usually wins.  Try to put yourself JUST enough ahead that you can ignore their board and race.  Force them to trade, and you will win through card attrition and/or raw burst.

Mage --  The worst thing you have to worry about with mage is the stupid summon spam they can pull off if unchecked.  If they try to sneak in a Khadgar early, kill it with prejudice.  Otherwise, be mindful of the occasional secret crap, and be very careful what you play into a potential Mirror Entity.  Giving them a random spell damage follower is OK, but giving them an Arcane Watcher or Vargos is not.  This matchup tends to skew on the aggro=easy side but they can lucksack occasionally with their RNG summons.

Shaman --This is one of the hardest classes to face.  Murlocs can snowball faster than you, and taunt-spam from Feral Spirit and Rain of Toads is obnoxious.  Fan of knives is your best out, but relies on having enough spell damage developed to matter.

Paladin --  This is a mostly easy matchup save that perpetually spamming secrets and buffs may catch you in a bad place.  If they highroll, so be it.  Otherwise, play around secrets, just enough to keep your creatures going face (usually using dagger to clear the road first) and just keep them off tempo enough to win the race.

Priest -- Some kind of wall Priest could give us big problems, but I haven't seen much of that.  Most times the only thing you have to play around is the "surprise"  Inner Fire/Topsy Turvy play.  You can Plan-A vs Priest 90% of the time and not bat an eye.