Hearthpwn

-latest update: 4/7/17- 

⫷Fire Fly Caverns⫸

Bringing to you a rendition of the crystal core rogue, this is a deck that boasts a sticky early game, and late game burst. The deck is played similarly to zoo, making appropriate trades early on, while quickly accelerating later. Your win condition is either a stacked board of 5/5s, or some nifty pirate charging/returning combos.

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Strong match-ups:  Good against slower rogue decks, ramp druids/priest, surprisingly good at racing hunter. 

Weak match-ups: No incredibly weak matchups. Coin flip against aggro decks, especially against aggressive warrior or murloc decks. Is prone to being weak against handlock, especially if they are running strong board clear and taunts.

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Mulligan: You will always play The Caverns Below on turn 1. Rarely is there a time to save it, even with an aggressive start from your opponent. Mill for: Fire Fly, Novice Engineer, Igneous Elemental, shadow step. If you suspect an aggro matchup, keeping Backstab is fine. Do not keep low cost removal or combo cards: blood mage thalnos, Fan of Knives, return cards. There are only a few occasions where you'll ever play a Gadgetzan Ferryman or Youthful Brewmaster as tempo. 

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General Play: Getting the quest for your minions is a must. Rarely will you win without it. To do this, you'll want the fire elementals, but novice engineer will work just fine. Be aware that if you return a card, you may want to hold it, in-case you can return again. Even if you have mana to re-play it that turn, holding it for next turn is a viable strategy. There are instances where you can get brewmaster/ferryman, returning each other for your quest.

Preserve your board. It doesn't matter that much what your minions health are. Having two 1/1s can outweigh having only a 1/2 on board. 

Do not be afraid of taunts and big minions, e.g. Twilight Drake, Bloodhoof Brave. Don't trade into them if it costs you your board, just pass. Make your opponent trade into you, and don't worry too much about aoe. 

Shadow step is amazing MVP. Utilize it. Not only does it trigger your quest faster, but can be combo'd with a charge minion for a whomping 10 damage.

Preserve cards. There are times where you will be low on cards, and thats okay. Do not expend cards just because there is mana. A brewmaster is better in your hand than on the field. If your 3/4 on your quest and theres potential to top-deck your quest, do it, play to win not just to survive. Equally, play cards if it benefits your upcoming turns. As much as saving Shadow step for Violet Teacher and charge, is tempting, if it gets your quest done faster, use it. 

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Advanced Play: Do not always play for board. Against aggro decks, making appropriate trades are good. However, versus late game decks, it is sometimes better to flood board and simply pass, especially if there are taunts. Playing into aoe is okay, because forcing your opponent to expend a turn is good, since you can easily re-flood the board. 

Aggression is key. Lets say you had fire fly on turn 2. If your on turn 4 and you can kill your own Igneous Elemental withPreparationEviscerate, and get 4/4 on your quest that same turn. It is worth considering for your caverns, 5 mana next turn. 

Once you have your quest done, everything is on the table. There are no taunts, heals, or reversals. Play for board dominance or burst your opponent. If there is Violet Teacher with only Preparation in hand, that preparation is essentially a 5/5 minion. Play it. A board of 5/5s is incredibly hard to remove, so play to win as quickly as possible. 

Current Ranking: Day 1 of expansion rank 18- rank 7 with this deck.