Hearthpwn

Whizbang's Workshop    Pirate Rogue

How long can you hold your breath?

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INTRO

Hello! GamerPanda here, long time Rogue main with many high legend finishes.  I've been playing nothing but Pirate Rogue since the expansion dropped. Initially, the results were awful, but I continued to work on the deck and have been playing in Legend.  Rogue has a very low win rate right now, but I've been having some more success with this version of the deck (57%), though there's always room for improvement and I would love your suggestions. 

Most Recent Changes:  -1 Sap, -1 Leeroy Jenkins  +2 Deafen to counter Saddle Up!, Messenger Buzzard, Handbuffed minions, and get through taunts with Sonya synergy. Also improves Dig for Treasure. I'm still enjoying playing the list despite its challenges. May be more powerful post-nerfs this week + with new changes to the list.

Made it to +10, so I added a mulligan section and card breakdown section. Glad to see there's interest in Rogue despite it not being "the best" right now. I'll add newer replays and a matchup guide at +25.

VIDEO BY KDK

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DECK DESCIPTION/WIN CONS

This deck has insane draw potential and is trickier to pilot than you might think. Given that we're a midrange/tempo style deck that wants things to be over around Turn 7-9, a misplay on one of the previous turns can cost you the game.

We typically win by whittling down the opponent with minion pressure along with weapon strikes. followed by burst damage from multiple sources. Your new queen is Sonya Waterdancer, an essential enabler of that burst damage.

WIN CON 1: Sonya Waterdancer + Valeera's Gift x2 yields 8 Deadly Poisons for 16 additional damage to your weapon.  I found running actual Deadly Poison cards to be unnecessary and cut them and it really helped. Valeera's gift is more flexible as well and sometimes you need it for the Fan of Knives.  This is an 8-mana combo with the Sandbox Scoundrel mini.

WIN CON 2: Sonya Waterdancer + Treasure Distributor + Southsea Deckhand + Shadowstep for multiple 4-attack Deckhands with a weapon equipped, potentially more damage each if you have the board space (up to 6-attack with a board of Sonya - 4x Treasure Distributor - 2x Deckhand).  You could consider trying Joymancer Jepetto as he will give back your Distributors and Deckhands if they were used before.  

WIN CON 3: General board flood/minion pressure against decks that need board to win.  If you can get the upper hand, they usually concede.  Most of the time you will win using Sonya in one way or another.  Don't lose her!

Most of the deck revolves around draw - getting value out of Toy Boat is really important to get all the pieces you need for your next pop-off turn.  Use Preparations for Mic Drop (also Sonya synergy) and Raiding Party to conserve mana.

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MULLIGAN

Always Keep:  Dig for Treasure, Raiding Party (especially on Coin), Preparation (only with Raiding Party), Bargain Bin Buccaneer (only on Coin)

Sometimes Keep:  Treasure Distributor, Valeera's Gift against board flood decks (for Fan of Knives access).  100% required against R.C. Rampage and Awakening Tremors.

The Crystal Cove if you're sure you'll have Watercannon on 4 and can afford to play slower.  

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CARD BREAKDOWN/DETAILS  

Drawn & Quartered

Heavy draw is key to victory, which involves assembling a powerful Sonya combo in the midgame, all the while maintaining board pressure and as much face damage as possible.  The best hit off Dig for Treasure on 1 is Bargain Bin Buccaneer so it can be played on 2, but getting an additional coin and a draw is always helpful.  10/13 minions are pirates, so you have a 77% chance of hitting one, less if you have pirates in hand, more if you have Sonya or a Boat already.

Mic Drop works best after we equip Watercannon or, if necessary, after daggering on 2.  In a tight spot, treat it like Arcane Intellect and just use it for draw.  It's the weakest when used like that, but sometimes that's all you have.  See Sonya synergy section for more.

Raiding Party is really what we're after early, ideally with Preparation. Draw 3 and guarantees your Watercannon.

While the above 3 all give good draw, the star of the show is Toy Boat.  Toy Boat reminds me of Field Contact from Miracle and Garotte Rogue.  Your opponent should be scared of this thing, and you should be getting major draw off of this card on a pop-off turn.  It pairs best with Bargain Bin Buccaneer for 2 draws, and Watercannon is an 1 more from Waterslider. Aim to draw at least 3 cards off of each Boat.

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Sonya's Synergistic Syndicate

 

Almost all of these pirates have Sonya synergy:

Distributor + Southsea Deckhand is a win condition.  Dread Corsair costs 1 after Watercannon is equipped.  Buccaneer costs 1 if Shadowstepped, and while the Scoundrel mini is important to enable 1-mana Sonya, you could also play Sonya first, then the Mini to get a second 0-cost Mini to discount something else by 3. I often use the first mini to get a 1-mana Watercannon if I'm not ready for the Sonya kill turn.

If nothing else these work together with Toy Boat to enable more draw and give you your next board.  Don't expect minions to stay alive too long- get in face damage while it's safe to do so, and judge when trading is the better choice.

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Weapon & Other Sonya Synergies

Raiding Party should allow more consistent weapon draw.  This weapon procs Toy Boat and on a clear board the Waterslider will attack face as a 1/1, but, even better, as a 4/4 with The Crystal Cove.  Cove also combos very well with Bargain Bin Buccaneer for 2 4/4 Rush pirates.

Sonya should either be played for a pop-off turn, then Shadowstepped back to hand, or to kill the opponent unless you're in desperate need of the pressure/have nothing else to do except go on a Sonya turn without guarantee of getting her back.

Prep > Mic Drop can give +4 attack and 4-card draw

Prep > Raiding Party draws you likely the rest of your pirates

2x Deafen to clear away minions and remove troublesome taunts/buffed minions

Win Condition 1 - 2x Valeera's Gift > 8 Deadly Poison (+16 Damage)

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