Hearthpwn

TLDR: Rogue has amazing dual tribals. I harnessed every good card available to them and to my amazement, they all work as a promising tempo-style rogue deck.

UPDATE: AFTER 3 DAYS OF GRINDING TO LEGEND, AMALGAM ROGUE IS NOW LEGEND VIABLE

A lot of my win rate with the deck isn't entirely accurate because I constantly experimented but within the last 44 games the deck went through minor tweaks to adjust it so it's practically the same decklist.

CREDITS:

With the feedback and suggestions from everyone in the comments, this deck's potential continues to grow stronger. Thank you everyone for viewing and participating in the growth of this deck

My brother: Suggested E.T.C., Band Manager

YSS: suggested Smothering Starfish, A good tech choice!

cvltbringer666: Recommended Pozzik, Audio Engineer (really solid disruption tempo play)

Kadakk: Playtested my deck and made a video about it, check out his youtube in the comments!

Reinan23 (data and suggestions in the comments): Contributed both to the playtest and evolution of core elements of the deck. Discoveries such as:

• Rowdy Fan
• Rolling Stone
• Breakdance
• MC Blingtron
• Astalor Bloodsworn

This expansion left me wondering where Rogue would end up in terms of power. Would it be another expansion where Miracle Rogue would be on top? I started to consider other options since I really enjoyed the thief package and was worried Rogue would lose that sort of flexibility I kept coming back to enjoy last year

So what did I do? I tried everything available in the new rotation lmao. Deathrattle and Thief stink now since all the core cards to that package have now rotated, so that's a no. I knew lots of people are trying combo rogue since it's the new playstyle Blizzard is pushing so I passed on that. The only archetype that I felt had potential was pirate rogue, but by itself, the tribal couldn't keep up with what the other classes are coming now with the new rotation. Then I wondered, what works with pirates? What would make them able to keep up with anything that comes their way? Then it hit me... Rogue has minions with Great Tribals. 

Enter Amalgam Rogue, The Frankenstein of the Rogue class family and my greatest creation.

It blew my mind how smoothly this deck plays. If you're looking for a rogue deck that will constantly surprise you AND your enemies, then this is the deck for you

My thought process on tribal card options

Starting off, I never considered how crazy it was that Rogue has access to many GOOD dual-tribal cards such as:

• Jolly Roger (undead pirate)
• Cutlass Courier (undead pirate)
• Mistake (all)
• Invincible (beast undead)
• Click-Clocker (mech beast)
• Amalgam of the deep (all)
• And the king of the amalgam tribal: The One-Amalgam Band

Notice how many premium undead pirates there are? (pirates were missing some sort of attack and health buff to push them off the ground)

Not to mention that Rogue has access to some of the best standard pirates such as:

• Dread Corsair
• Pufferfist
• Southsea captain
• Filletfighter
• And one of my favorite win-con cards: Pirate Admiral Hooktusk

Sprinkle in the very best cards neutral and class cards, and the tribal lineup is monstrous, such as:

• Crabatoa (beast)
• Rolling Stone (Elemental)
• Rowdy Fan (Quilboar)
• Ghoulish Alchemist (undead)
• Beatboxer (mech)
• Potionmaster Putricide (undead)
• Ziliax (mech)
• Party Animal (beast)

Mulligan and strategy:

Now to the meat of this deck, How to play it.

To be honest it's simple. ALWAYS PLAY TO THE SITUATION

The greatest strength of the deck comes from the fact that you can adapt to any playstyle (this deck is more of a midrange deck than tempo, but I NEVER have an issue with having a strong tempo play up until the endgame.)

I would summarize the deck strengths as this

Pros:

• Jack of all trades: It can beat every deck archetype if you understand what you are up against
• High creativity: this deck brings a smile to my face and warms my heart with how different each game feels 
• Easy to pilot: It's a tempo deck at heart, spend your mana well and always keep the pressure and your plays will be easy to make

Cons:

• Jack of all trades: Now keep in mind, This deck cannot be the best in every playstyle and that's a blessing as well as a curse. There will be moments where you will get out-aggroed by a demon hunter or a warlock throw out big stuff on turn 5 and wipe you out. You cannot always be the best at what you are trying to do in each game.
• Poor resource management can cost you games: Use every single tool at your disposal for each game. If you lose your card draw engine early on it may be game set. Fail to maximize weapon swings and buff targets? Yeah, that can Sink the ship. Creativity is key but also keep in mind when to show discipline and hold back when you need to, it may very well come down to the last few cards you have.

Now that we have established the strengths and weaknesses, let's talk about the:

GAME PLANS AND MULLIGAN

As a tempo style-flexible deck, here is the plan for each archetype you face off against as well as what I feel how sided the matchup is:

• Control:
  Key Mulligans: Amalgam of the deep, Cutlass courier, Party Animal
  You have a slight edge despite almost being favored towards them. If you use your resources well and constantly pressure your opponent then you have a fair chance of catching them off guard with your finisher cards like Crabatoa, Pirate Admiral Hooktust, Astalor Bloodsworn, and The One Amalgam Band. If they run out of ways to deal with your board then the game is yours. 

 

• Aggro/burn
  Key Mulligans: BeatBoxer, Jolly Roger, Filletfighter,
  This is a pure coin flip match, you do about as well if not better against most aggro matchups if you use Ziliax to your advantage by buffing/magnetizing it and keeping ahead on board. Clear tokens with Puffer and you can get away with wins.
  
  
• Combo/Midrange
  Key Mulligans: Jolly Roger, Party Animal, Cutlass Courier
  Be prepared to refill when necessary, treat it as another control matchup except it's okay to overextend, Always have something to pressure them, more so than the control matchup. 

And that's about it for covering this deck. I am going to be playing it often and will stand by my baby. I couldn't keep this deck to myself, make some memories with this deck like I am. I look forward to seeing how people perform with this, how they change it up, and if it makes its mark on hearthstone. Thanks for taking the time to read this and I wish you the best of luck with this Amalgam deck!

 I added:

 (UPDATE) I added x2 Cult Neophyte because the amount of cheap spell value from almost all the classes is downright criminal

+1x E.T.C., Band Manager: I love this pick because after talking with my brother about it having a sideboard in a midrange deck can help solve those specific cases where you need the "perfect" card (I miss zephrys). The sideboard cards I added are:

Eviscerate: For those times you wish you had 4 extra damage to face (or to clear a minion but usually that's not a big issue)

Sunfury Clergy: For those times you need to survive against burn

Pirate Admiral Hooktusk:  For those times you need to outlast your opponent (stealing from Control or Value style decks. Keep in mind there's not too many pirates so you can wait until you know for sure you can proc it)