The New Standard: Aggro Rogue

While Scalise’s Sessions will no doubt be back here and there in the coming months, it is a new season (and a new year). As a result, I wanted to reach out and look into some more fun brews that I am going to be working for the upcoming seasons. Though the meta has largely settled, that does not mean you can’t still have fun. There are plenty of interesting archetypes to explore, and this week we are going to dive into one that has been on my mind a lot recently in Aggro Rogue.

In the past few weeks I have been facing a lot of Miracle on ladder. And, the more I played against it, the more I began to think about it in an aggressive light. Aggro Rogue has always popped up here and there over the years, and the new Pirate package can stack up a lot of damage very, very quickly. As a result, I went to the drawing board and tried to brew the best style of tempo-aggro Rogue I could find. Though my first attempts were not great, I quickly shifted to a much hyper aggressive version that seeks to take advantage of both slow opponent’s and one of the best abilities in the game: combo.

The Deck

One drops. One drops, one drops, one drops. This deck is an aggressive Rogue list, and that means you need to be able to kill people in a hurry. You do not have time to miss turns or open with a weak curve, and because of that you need to begin right out of the gates. Unlike other aggro decks, Aggro Rogue has no real catch up mechanism, they only have more damage. As a result, the best way to go about this is by being hyper-aggressive and using your low curve to get in as much early pressure as possible.

Not to mention, Valeera also has some of the best one drops in the game. You get the Pirates package (which can just do massive amounts of damage on its own) in addition to very powerful tempo plays like Buccaneer and Bladed Cultist. Having an extra power here or there wasn’t that big of a deal when Midrange Shaman ruled the ladder, but most decks these days are Aggro or Rogue. As a result, having some hefty, hard-to-deal-with bodies is very important. Not to mention that controlling the early board is key in a Small-Time Buccaneer meta.

I think one of the hardest parts of playing a deck with such a heavy forward slant is figuring out how the upper parts of the curve are going to fit together. Damage is a given, but there are many different ways to do damage it. Eviscerate and Cold Blood are easy choices, but I also chose to include Leeroy Jenkins and Argent Horserider to back up that potential. You want to get as many live minions as you can. As a result, while you could stack up with large early threats, having a whole slew of charge minions is very important.

Finally, I am not sure if you want Loot Hoarder or Undercity Huckster at the two spot. Both of these cards have a lot of merit, but they both have their weaknesses as well. The way I see it is that if you’re seeing a lot of Pirate Warrior, Rogue and Druid (which all hit one health hard) you should run Huckster. However, if you’re playing against things like Shaman, Priest and Renolock you want to go with Loot Hoarder because the card draw is going to be better. Alternatively, you can cut Counterfeit Coin to run both.

Key Cards

This section will explain certain key cards to the list as a whole.

Combo

By far (and I mean, by far) the most important part of this deck is understanding how to make use of combo. You will notice that the deck runs double Counterfeit Coin. That may seem very odd in a hyper-fast list like this one, but it is a very powerful tool that both works like an Innervate and triggers your early combo plays. Being able to put down a one drop alongside a Bladed Cultist on turn one or being able to coin out Defias Ringleader on the play are incredibly fast openings that make the deck unfair. Combo is always going to be present, and you need as many ways to trigger it as you can. Work hard to squeeze it into your curve and do not be afraid to hold something back (such as SI:7 Agent) to get more value out of it the following turn.

When playing to your various tools you want to weigh the combo value of a card against just having something on the board. This is not going to be easy, but it is important to analyze your hand and then see just how badly you need a play. It is almost always better to get a minion down than to do nothing, and the only exception should be when you absolutely need a combo trigger to stay in the game. In that same vein, always try and play your worse combos first. For instance, when playing Shaman it is usually better to run out Bladed Cultist over Defias Ringleader because the two minions are going to be more valuable later on than an early 2/3.

Buccaneer

Aggression is always going to come first in this deck, but tempo is right behind it. In fact, they often go hand-in-hand. As a result, Buccaneer is one of the best tools at your disposal. Not only is the 2/1 a decent aggressive play for its cost, but it also comes with a very powerful ability that can pace some current lists right out of the game. With the inclusion of Small-Time Buccaneer and Patches the Pirate into most popular decks, the early board has become key. This card allows you an easy way to kill off Small-Time Buccaneer with minimal effort and also allows you to tempo your opponent’s next play. Two damage on a stick is a lot better than one, especially when that extra damage also gives you a one drop that can get in some hits. Work hard to trigger this ability, and do not be afraid to hold a turn one coin in order to play Buccaneer into your hero power on turn two. Also note that the one drop’s ability can be reused, making it an instant target. As such, you can use it to eat removal when setting up another threat.

Defias Ringleader

Defias Ringleader is perhaps the most important card in the deck because it both gives you a way to overwhelm your opponent and helps you respond to any clears you might see. Two bodies for the price of one is extremely good and, similar to Buccaneer, helps you set up large tempo plays or early aggression. This is the combo ability you want to work to the most, and you should always think about the various ways you can set it up. The ringleader is a fantastic on-curve minion alongside a one drop on turn three, or a two drop on turn four. A 2/2 and a 2/1 together is not the most value in the world, but it is enough pressure where your opponent will be forced to react to it in some way.

When understanding how to use Defias Ringleader you typically want to make a read on how the game is going to go. If you think you can simply overwhelm your opponent with early damage and quick burst then you just want to play it as soon as you can. However, if the game is going to go long or if you don’t have a smooth curve then it works better to try and use the two drop more carefully. This distinction is important because if you manage to bait out AOE, Defias helps you instantly refill the board and stay in the game. On the other hand, getting an extra four attack and two bodies will often be too much for your opponent if they have a slow curve. Also, unless your opponent has a turn one N’zoth’s First Mate (which answers this card quite well) you always want to take the opportunity to coin this out on turn one.

Cold Blood

While most Rogue lists use Cold Blood only when they need to push for lethal, here you can freely use it to get in early hits. There are so many tempo plays and board-controlling interactions in this deck that it can be easy to forget you are aggressive. However, never forget that is always going to be your first priority. As you have so many one drops, this card is almost always going to be live. The games you win quickly are going to be the ones where you play a one drop on turn one, and then a one drop and Cold Blood on two. Argent Squire is going to be your best target, but almost anything will work. Just note that you don’t want to prioritize this over minions. Board presence comes first.

The other reason this card is good is because it can turn anything you have into a threat, which then demands removal and takes the pressure off of the rest of your board. For example, putting this onto a Swashburglar means your opponent is going to use their removal spell on your one drop instead of your Undercity Huckster or SI:7 Agent. And, if they want to ignore your one drop you are just going to bash their face in each turn. Forcing your opponent’s hand in that way is a very strong tempo move that will allow you to really stack up pressure. That type of aggression can also be used to gain instant priority when facing another aggro deck because it instantly puts you ahead in the life race.

Defender of Argus

Never underestimate the power of taunt in an aggro deck. Ever. As aggressive as this list is (and my is it aggressive), you also need a way to battle Pirate and Shaman. There are several options for this, but Defender of Argus is, in my opinion, the best. This deck is chock full of small minions that all can easily be buffed up. The fact that you have so many one drops often means you will be able to keep at least something (no matter how small) on the board. That then gives you a way to stack up your threats and protect your face. When going up against aggro you want to work hard to set this up on two minions. That will almost always end the game because you get to continue your aggression while also stopping your opponent in their tracks.

The other reason Defender of Argus is so good for this type of build is because it protects your cards from AOE and easy clears. Many of your early minions have one health, which leaves them vulnerable to things like Swipe and Maelstrom Portal. However, if you manage to use defender the turn before such AOE comes down it instantly invalidates those type of plays. In that same vein, this can also be used as a way to make good trades. That is only going to be relevant against aggressive decks, but in today’s ladder getting the board is typically all you need. Especially if your minions also have taunt.

Matchups

Some of the most common matchups I see while playing ladder.

Miracle Rogue

Started from the bottom, now we here. Rogue has steadily climbed its way up the ladder and is now the most popular list around. In fact, it is so popular that I would say Valeera is one of the main reasons to play aggro. Miracle Rogue (even with the Pirate Package) is not well equipped to deal with fast decks. Not only do they lack taunts, but they have no healing to speak of. This is a game where you want to turn on the damage valve as soon as you can and never look back. To do this, be prepared to take down your opponent’s Pirates and then push with everything you have. A one drop alongside Patches can be problematic for you, so it is best to control the early trades. Never give your opponent a chance to both kill your early plays and keep their pirates.

The only card you really need to watch out for is Fan of Knives. If you make it into turn four (where Rogue typically starts to play a single non-taunt minion each turn) you should be able to quickly end the game. However, if Rogue is able to leverage some board presence and then combine that with a cheap clear you will often not be able to come back. You want to always have board in this game and do your best to get in damage wherever you can find it. Yes, Wicked Knife is going to be able to clear a lot of your minions, but each time Valeera takes something out with her face it is going to cost her life. That is more than fine.

Aggro Shaman

Ever-present and ever-ready, Aggro Shaman is an interesting matchup that is often going to come down to how well your opponent can deal with your early push. Today’s Shaman is built on the precipice of starting out with a couple of over-statted minions and then building into gigantic threats like Flamewreathed Faceless. That is a very good plan, but it does very little against you because you have enough threats and damage sources that you can ignore those type of plays. The way you win this is by out-tempoing your opponent for the first two or three turns and then using that advantage to stack up quick damage. Always take the time to kill your opponent’s early threats if you can. Shaman needs the board to operate in the way that they want, and if you take that away they are going to fall into a bad spot.

Watch out for Feral Spirit. Just like how Defender of Argus is going to be your best card in this match, the wolves will shut you down. Two 2/3 taunts is not going to be easy to get through (especially because everything in your deck has two attack), and you need to keep them in mind going into turn three. This is so important that it is often worth putting a few extra ticks of damage down before turn three (or when you expect the spirits). Maelstrom Portal, while not as popular as it once was, falls into this category as well. Never get caught off guard by running out too many one-health minions, and try to use Defender of Argus to prevent the two mana spell from blowing you out.

Pirate Warrior

Though it took a big drop off over the past two weeks, there is no doubt that Pirate Warrior is doing its best to hang on. While Garrosh has some very strong tools and powerful interactions, this is a matchup that is going to fall into your favor. The early board will often go back-and-forth, but you have a better string of constant threats. Where Warrior starts to go big with their damage, you just keep flooding. Take advantage of the fact that Pirate runs no AOE and just keep playing threats. Not only is your damage faster (especially once they start ignoring the board around turn four) but you also Defender of Argus. Though the 2/3 will always be good, using it on turn four to stop a turn five Arcanite Reaper is the best use.

It is also important to note how strong your hero power is in this game. Not only does it deal with one drops like N’zoth’s First Mate and Patches the Pirate, but it helps you take down higher health minions in combination with your own board. This is perhaps the only matchup where making a turn two dagger is sometimes better than playing a minion. Stopping a turn three Bloodsail Cultist is very important, so do not be afraid to kill a 1/1. It is also important to not just run minions out into a Rusty Hook. The 1/3 weapon does a lot of work against you, and sometimes it is right to hold back on a turn to limit its value.

Renolock

Still breathing somehow, Renolock is a deck that you should absolutely crush barring an insane draw. This is because they are just too slow to be able to keep up with hyper-aggression. In order to be able to deal with the more popular midrange and Reno decks running around the ladder, the Control Warlock build has had to incorporate more mid-game threats. That has upped their curve and made them much more dependant on weak early healing and Reno Jackson to make it through faster games. You just have too many tools and ways to pour on pressure for that to work against you. Just play to your curve and hit them as hard as possible. Ignore their threats as well. While a 4/9 Twilight Drake is scary, it also doesn’t have taunt.

Pace this game and don’t be afraid to hold something back. You want to end this one before turn six, but how you do that is going to differ from game to game. AOE can really hurt you if you aren’t careful, so you should spend one turn testing for it. That is to say, if you think your opponent might have it you should run out only one threat to see how they react. In addition, never play too many threats early on if you cannot answer a Doomsayer. This is only really going to be an issue on turn two, but if you flood the board with less than seven attack you’re going to be in a bad spot. You simply cannot afford to lose that extra turn and your board in one play.

Mulligan Guide

This is a very straightforward mulligan where you just want to look for your one drops and then build your curve from there. Argent Squire, Small-Time Bucaneer, Southsea Deckhand, Swashburglar, Bladed Cultist and Buccaneer are your must keeps, but Undercity Huckster and Defias Ringleader  should always be kept with a one drop coming before them. SI:7 Agent and Argent Horserider should both be kept with the coin or a curve, and Defender of Argus is a great keep against aggro when you have the coin and a curve.

Never keep Patches the Pirate, and you only want Cold Blood against slow decks where you have an aggressive hand that can push early. Counterfeit Coin should be kept as a one-of prior that you have some minions to go along with (especially if they have combo). Only keep Eviscerate when going up against other aggro decks if you also have a good opening.

Conclusion

The reason I love Aggro Paladin is because I have always enjoyed playing a bunch of small minions that work to out-tempo an opponent. This deck fits that bill perfectly and creates a very fun experience. I am not the most experienced Rogue player, but I know aggro and this one works well. I am not sure if it is quite in its final iteration, but it’s close and there are a lot of cool cards that could slot into this. Try other options to see what works. Until next time, may you always drop one.

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