Miracle Rogue has always been a great deck to play for punishing slow decks and it’s one of the oldest existing decks in Hearthstone that just managed to live through nerfs and changes to the deck over the years. With Rogue having access to an extremely powerful classic set and Gadgetzan Auctioneer to support the miracle archetype, it’s unlikely the deck is going to die out anytime soon.
Today we will take a look at a list that Eloise used to hit Rank 1 Legend on stream (decklist originally created by cross7224). I used the deck from Rank 20 to Rank 2 on Europe (ended up hitting legend with Tempo/Thief Rogue). Let’s break down the card choices and discuss the deck’s playstyle!
Card Choices
Backstab: One of the most mana efficient early game minion removals in the game, it is a staple card in pretty much every Rogue deck out there and being able to enable combo and other synergies for just 0 mana makes the card an auto-include in Miracle Rogue.
Counterfeit Coin: Counterfeit Coin wasn’t as popular before Un’goro with most people choosing to run only one copy of the card in their decks but with Tomb Pillager having moved out, it makes running 2 copies of the card a reasonable choice especially with Sherazin, Corpse Flower. 0 and 1 mana spells are extremely potent for the class and the card has yet to disappoint during the playtime I’ve had with the deck. One of the drawbacks of running multiple copies of Preparation and Counterfeit Coin is that you might end up drawing them all and have poor opening hands once in a while, which can’t really be helped.
Preparation: It is one of the most powerful spells in the game and being able to cheat out mana and setting up high tempo swings is what Rogue does best. It’s one of the core cards of the class and while not all Rogue decks need to run it based on what list they are playing, Preparation is definitely a top contender for inclusion when deckbuilding. It has great synergy in the deck with Gadgetzan Auctioneer and Sherazin. In clutch situations it can also be used as a Combo activator to get value out of your Combo cards.
Cold Blood: Cold Blood is a great tool for trading into big minions very efficiently by boosting the attack on one of your minions. It can also set up big burst turns as well to close out the game. It is an optional pick in the deck but I definitely like the value it has been getting me when dealing with big taunts or other beefy minions that are annoying to deal with.
Hallucination: Any form of card draw for Rogue is devastating in Rogue and being able to discover cards that your opponent is not prepared to play around can be really effective. It has helped me pull out answers to sticky situations quite often and the unpredictability that it offers it very effective in every matchup.
Swashburglar: Swashburglar a really strong card that makes every game different with the randomness and it also pulls out Patches the Pirate from your deck which is essentially a card draw for free and thins out your deck.
Eviscerate: A flexible removal that is able to deal with any small to mid game minions quite handily for just 2 mana. It can also be used with other spells like Backstab to chain together more damage and deal with big threats as well.
Razorpetal Lasher: A standard 2/2 minion that puts a cheap spell into your hand for cycling is quite appealing and the card has been performing greatly with Gadgetzan, Sherazin and the spell is handy when dealing with tokens on the enemy board.
Sap: A very mana efficient removal that forces your opponent to replay their big threats, with most of the decks in the current meta not choosing to run too many big threats, one copy of Sap is enough. And Vilespin Slayer is also a part of the deck, which makes running one copy of Sap enough in the current metagame since you have 2 extra hard removals to fit in anyway.
Edwin VanCleef: One of the strongest legendaries in the game ever since silence effects were nerfed in the game during the first Standard rotation. He is a powerhouse in the deck with several 0 and 1 cost spells to combo with and you can choose to go all in against specific decks early on and win on the back of the card against aggressive decks that do not run hard removal.
Fan of Knives: The card is mostly included for the cycle and it’s hardly used as a good AoE removal except against specific decks. With Azure Drake being rotated out, this is one of the best options to fill in the role in the deck.
Mimic Pod: Mimic Pod is very similar to Arcane Intellect but it draws specific cards instead of thinning out your deck, and being able to pull out an extra copy of a card can help a lot. Something like an extra Edwin VanCleef or Eviscerate can open up options for you and your opponent will not be able to play around it.
SI:7 Agent: Arguably the strongest 3 drop in the game from the classic set, it is one of the best ways to get early game board control quite easily. It’s very good against aggressive decks and with so many cheap cards in the deck, activating its combo effect is always easy.
Sherazin, Corpse Flower: It is a card a lot of us had undervalued and deemed it to be low but it turns out it’s not the case with the card making it into pretty much every Miracle list popular streamers and pros are coming up with. I have had a maximum of 8 resurrections on the minion in a single game and on an average I easily bring back the minion around 3 times quite often. If you do not have Sherazin in your collection you can consider putting in one of the other Rogue legendaries like Xaril or Shaku in your deck if you have them, or you could even consider adding Elise The Trailblazer. Violet Teacher is also an excellent option to include as well.
Vilespine Slayer: A great minion to use as hard removal and it’s definitely a card a lot of people had undervalued at first sight at launch and people expected Sap to continue dominating the hard removal slot but after trying out the minion first hand, I’ve definitely been loving it so far.
Patches the Pirate: The card that rules the meta itself, Patches the Pirate makes it into the deck to work with Swashburglar and getting him out early on thins out your deck and makes your draws a lot more consistent. A very good minion to include overall in the deck for the added draw and the ping value that it provides.
Bloodmage Thalnos: The skeleton in a dress just seems to fit into every single deck out there that runs a bunch of spells and Rogue has been including the card pretty much since Beta. The card offers quite a bit of value through your cheap spells and the ability to cycle itself makes it a great option to include in the deck.
Gadgetzan Auctioneer: The card that defines Miracle Rogue, being able to cycle through your entire deck very rapidly in the mid to lategame and refilling your hand makes Auctioneer a core card for any Miracle Rogue build.
Arcane Giant: With so many cheap spells in the deck, you’re unlikely to pay anything remotely close to the starting cost of 12. I mostly end up playing him for free or put him out in the mid game coupled with some Counterfeit Coins to add a lot of pressure on board. With several high priority targets in the deck it is likely that you will be able to drain out enemy removal and close out the game quite easily with two copies of Arcane Giants.
Mulligan
High Priority
- Backstab
- SI:7 Agent
- Swashburglar
- Thalnos (with Backstab/Eviscerate)
- Hallucination
Situational picks
- Edwin Vancleef (with cheap spells in hand)
- Any good combination of Preparation and high value spells like Mimic Pod
Playstyle
You want to control the board with cheap spells and early game minions in the initial turns and then cycle through your deck and use removals up until the time you can setup a big Gadgetzan Auctioneer turn. You ideally want to draw at least 2 cards with Auctioneer and you need not be too greedy with your ‘miracle turns’. An early Edwin or Sherazin can be really helpful in applying pressure and you always have your pseudo draws from steal effect cards (Swashburglar and Hallucination) and the giants to back you up when you run out of steam.
Conclusion
Miracle Rogue is in a great spot and I’d definitely encourage people to try the deck out on ladder because of how much success it has been experiencing at top level play. You can go ahead and change things up with things like Questing Adventurer or more pirates thrown into the mix. Or maybe even more steal effects using Undercity Huckser and Ethereal Peddler for a more ‘Miracle + Thief’ playstyle. Hope you guys enjoy the deck and we’ll be back with new decks soon!
