Hearthpwn

Most rogue decks try to mill Lord Slitherspear but with the Gadgetzan expansion rogue finally has the power to out-tempo him. We don't mill, control or contain, we simply kill Slitherspear before his advantage gets out of hand. A safer, quicker and more fun way to dispatch him IMO.

This Pirate Rogue deck is really a Miracle rogue cut short, with some added tricks from Mill rogue. It plays very aggressively, using early board control to grow a monster Edwin VanCleef or Questing Adventurer. We've cut the midgame cards from Miracle, including Gadgetzan Auctioneer, because they're simply too slow. By turn six the game is either lost or won.

The Mill rogue bit is simply Coldlight Oracle plus Shadowstep which helps with card draw (especially in the absence of Gadgetzan Auctioneer) and growing Edwin/QA. Burning his cards is not the point, though, merely a side effect. What's important is that we don't run out of fuel ourselves. The size of Slitherspear's hand is irrelevant because his main strength is the Hungry Nagas and we'll be done long before he runs out of cards.

This means that there are two all important stages in the game:

1) Opening. You need Small-Time Buccaneer in order to grab the board with STB plus Patches the Pirate. Swashburglar might make for a semi-decent substitute but it's definitely second tier. The advantage of Swashburglar is that for some reason he always gets you the coin rather than a true class card. Success is also somewhat dependent on Slitherspear not coining out an Slithering Archer (which clears your board and kills your tempo) on turn one. Turn two is then usually dagger up and clear out the 1/1 Naga and start going face with the pirates.

2) Early midgame. Around turn 3 or 4 you need a combo to go big with Questing Adventurer or Edwin VanCleef. There's a ton of options for this so I won't go into detail. An 8/8 Edwin VanCleef is probably the minimum you should go for whereas you should always get Questing Adventurer out as long as you control the board and can see ways to grow him next turn. A 2/2 Hungry Naga will trade into an unprotected Questing Adventurer in my experience.

Mulligan. Small-Time Buccaneer and whatever cards might aid the combo turn.

If you get early board control with the pirates AND get out a monster your chances are pretty damn good. If you fail with the pirates or you only get fuel but no car to put it in, restart. It is possible to come back from later setbacks, though, if you've done sufficient face damage. In the game pictured in the screenshot Slitherspear finally killed off my 8/8 Edwin after about three turns worth of hitting face. Because he had to sacrifice several minions to do so AND I had a decent sized hand thanks to the oracles I was able to refill the board. Also: Notice how Cursed! is actually useful when you've got a Questing Adventurer on the board.

A word on trading: Don't*. SMOrc. I have had a 5/1 Shadow Rager survive to hit him twice in the face, ensuring lethal,  because Slitherspear didn't trade. You combat his minions by your minions being bigger, thus discouraging trades, and using removal. Betrayal is really good against Ice Rager. Sap should be saved for his Slithering Guard taunt. Don't get too caught up in clearing out, though. It's perfectly alright for Slitherspear to have 3/3s and 4/4s as long as you have 8/8s and 6/6s. For the same reason Eviscerate should often go to face. Look for lethal before you think you have it.

*Except for using Patches the Pirate to clear early board contesters.

Crucial must-haves

• Small-Time Buccaneer
• Patches the Pirate: Very often enables the early board dominance.
• Edwin VanCleef
• Questing Adventurer

Questionable

• Mind Control Tech: Theoretically a catch-up card. In reality, you've probably lost already if you need him. (Note: In the screenshot Buccaneer is being tested as a replacement)
• Shadow Rager: Did win me that one game but may be too slow. Also stealth might be overrated in this match because of the lack of AOE and Slitherspear's reluctance to trade.
• Conceal: As above, why hide your minions if Slitherspear ignores them anyway? Still might make sense if you've used Cold Blood on Patches the Pirate. Also fuel for QA.