Introduction

Hello everyone, I am Sounder and today I want to present to you my version of Control Rogue!

As Blackrock Mountain got released, I saw some great potential in a few cards to be added to my previous Rogue Control deck and finally, after some playtesting, I came up with this version. Due to the meta moving away from aggro into combo decks because of the new card Emperor Thaurissan, this deck gets better and better. It also gained Dark Iron Skulker, a new tool to deal with aggro.

"Where's my cut?"

Deck Breakdown

The decks works in a board controlling manner most of the time. It contains solutions for most situations on the board and has some very efficient answers to strengths of different popular decks. 

Removal

One of your main goals in this deck is it to remove threats from the enemy board efficiently. This can be achieved with the following cards.

• Backstab is a very valuable card, especially in the early stages of the game or when activating combos. It can be combined with SI:7 Agent to deal a total of 4 damage. Remember to always use it first when removing minions, as it can not be used on damaged minions

• Eviscerate is your main single target spell. Use it carefully, as you only have 2 of them. Making use of its combo is vital, as you don't have any real executes in this deck.

• Sap acts as an allrounder removal tool. It can be used to remove highly buffed minions, which resets their stats completely. This, for example, could be a Void Terror or any card with increased stats making it a more advanced silence. It can also be used to remove big threats from the board which you don't have a direct answer for. Handlock, for example is known for dropping Mountain Giants in turn 3. Using Sap, will slow down the opponent and possibly make him overdraw, while you gain more time to draw cards. Another good use for Sap would be to remove big taunts, so that you can apply lethal damage to the opponent.

• Blade Flurry is your major board clear. Your hero power, combined with Deadly Poison or Tinker's Sharpsword Oil make it a board clear being as high as you need it to be in certain situations. The spell power cards in this deck also add one damage to it.

• Fan of Knives is another semi-board clear that can be powered up by spell damage and, in addition, giving you card draw. It can be used with Preparation in the early game to slow down aggro decks or with Bloodmage Thalnos for a 2 damage board clear with card draw. 

• Dark Iron Skulker is your go-to tool against aggro. By adding this card to the game, Rogue finally gained better potential to deal with any aggro deck. Using it will end up in a board clear most of the time, if the enemy minions are undamaged. Next to Sludge Belcher this is another tool to deal with aggro in turn 5, being more efficient against decks containing silence.

• Big Game Hunter, these days, is an auto-include in every control deck, due to his unique executing effect. Dr. Balanced Hunter is another single target removing option against big minions in the late game. 

Board Control

As you clear the enemy's board, you want to build up your own threats on your side of the board.

• Violet Teacher synergizes perfectly with the mainly spell based removal in this deck. You will often find yourself beginning a major board clear with summoning a Violet Teacher and end up having 2-4 Violet Apprentice with the enemy board being empty. 

• Dr. Boom or Dr. Board Control himself is one of the stars of this deck. He is just too good in any midrange - lategame deck to be left out. The 7/7 body forces your opponent to answer and even if he does, the Boom Bots are still of very high value. I have seen players using silences just to remove the awesome deathrattle effect from those little bombs. Dr. Boom is best used to retain board control or just in any given situation if there is no better use of other cards.

• SI:7 Agent is a 3/3 body with a 2 damage removal which fits the deck great as it gives you a 3/3 body on your board + removal for the enemy board. This serves the 2 main purposes of the deck and also helps you during the early game. The combo can easily be activated with low cost cards like Backstab or Deadly Poison.

• Sludge Belcher is one of my favorite cards in the game. Not only due to his effect which provides maximum stickyness and forces the opponent to deal with, it also helps slowing down any aggro deck, even if they contain silence. It can be dropped if the board is empty or with full board to protect your minions.

Supporters

Having many spells in your deck and being fairly vulnerable against aggro, these cards support the decks strengths, help against weaknesses add more options to your hand with card draw.

• Bloodmage Thalnos fits the deck almost perfectly. His low cost and spell power make him a great initiator for quick combo plays a rogue is known for. In addition, he provides card draw. Use him to power up certain spells, for example Eviscerate or Fan of Knives.

• Azure Drake also provides card draw and spell power during the mid and later stages of the game. 

• Antique Healbot gives you some healing backup to recover from weaknesses during the early turns. It can save your life!

• Sprint refills your hand after you used many cards for certain combos. Can be combined with Preparation to draw many cards very early, so that you have a lot of options on your hand. This can be particularly useful if you got a bad mulligan.

• Deadly Poison serves many uses in this deck. Firstly, it powers up your hero power giving you removal in the early game. Secondly, due to its low mana cost, it helps to activate combos such as SI:7 Agent. Thirdly, it is your main tool to power up Blade Flurry which enables you to achieve very efficient board clearing. 

• Tinker's Sharpsword Oil is one way to buff up your weapon on the board to add a total 6 damage. It works like a more advanced Deadly Poison which can sometimes even be used to finish the game with. 

• Preparation helps you to initiate combos, reduces the cost of your spells and makes your overall spell engine more efficient. It enables you to pull off some awesome trades without using too much mana. Determining the perfect moment to use it requires a bit of skill: You shouldn't end up with Preparation being a dead card in your hand because the "perfect moment" hasn't come yet. The fact that you have 2 of them allows you to use it whenever it gives you an advantage, even if it is just a minor one. Use it for example to reduce the cost of Sprint, Fan of Knives or Tinker's Sharpsword Oil or to activate the combo of Eviscerate. 

The Stars

These are the cards that make the deck unique and fun to play. I have been trying many things here and, on my opinion, these are the best and most fun cards for the deck.

• Trade Prince Gallywix acts like a more advanced Loatheb. It makes your opponent think twice before using spells, knowing that you will have access to them as well. The card is best used when you can get the most value out of it, which means when your opponent is, more or less, forced to remove it with spells. So summoning it when you just cleaned the board is generally a good idea. This way, you are likely to get good removal spells like a Shadow Word: Death or a Fireball.

• Chromaggus recently got released and im still playtesting his value for the deck. So far I got some really good results and he also improves the late game of the deck in comparison to the older version. His unique effect can be very valuable in the deck as it synergises well with the card draw options such as Azure Drake. Having the option to use certain tools of the deck more than once or twice puts you in a very good spot or even wins you the game. He also is out of Big Game Hunter range making him more sticky.

• Emperor Thaurissan is a great new card that came with Blackrock Mountain and helps to make all your combos cheaper. Playing him only for one turn is already worth it as he reduces the cost of ALL the cards on your hand by 1. In most cases this is already pretty awesome and gives a lot of tembo that can make combos incredible for their mana cost. Also, it somewhat synergises with Preparation and makes it more effective.

 

Mulligan

Mulligan for cards that help you survive the early game

•  Backstab is a good card that helps you to easily take out good early game minions like Knife Juggler or Whirling Zap-o-matic.

• SI:7 Agent to combo with Backstab

• Deadly Poison

• Bloodmage Thalnos

Situational Keep:

• Fan of Knives, Blade Flurry and Dark Iron Skulker against aggro

• Sap against Handlock

 

Card Swaps

If you don't own certain legendaries, take a look at these suggestions:

• Trade Prince Gallywix ---> Loatheb

• Bloodmage Thalnos ---> Kobold Geomancer

Closing

I am really happy with the deck and the combos it can pull off. It is consistent in most match ups and maybe even worth trying on ladder. A few individual cards and the combo engine make it really fun to play.

Thats it for my first hearthpwn guide! I hope you have fun trying the deck out!

Thanks to http://www.hearthpwn.com/members/Sparkaz who's guide layout I used for my guide.

If you have any suggestions on cards, card swaps or questions about the playstyle of the deck please comment below.

Don't forget to leave a thumbs up if you like the deck! =)