The New Standard: Tempo Elemental Rogue

Introduction

Greeting from Greenland! While you’re reading this I am at the top of the world. However, at the time of writing this, I am still in sunny California thinking of more interesting ways to move up the ladder. As is tradition on The New Standard, this week I wanted to break down something really out there. And boy are we going to. We are going to look at a Tempo Elemental Rogue list that uses efficient removal minions to pace the board and keep its opponent under constant pressure. While Miracle is still the most popular version of the class, there is no doubt this build has some real potential. It has been used to great success by quite a few people, and it takes advantage of the fact that nobody removes bodies better than Rogue’s minions.

Key Cards

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

Prince Keleseth

Nope, no Eviscerates here. This deck only runs two spells (seriously, check that out), rather favoring minions that serve as spells instead. For that reason, Prince Keleseth gets a lot of value. An extra 1/1 may not seem like much, but the more you play with the buff, the more you realize just how good it is. Not only can you push through more damage and pressure decks like Druid or Priest, but you also get better trades, which then further helps your tempo. The two drop is not the most exciting card in the world, but the draw back in Rogue is largely minimal. While many may worry about not having something to do on turn two when you don’t draw the prince, you have the dagger. Not only that, but so many of your minions serve as removal spells that it typically won’t matter. Something like a 4/4 SI:7 Agent or a 7/7 Blazecaller may not sound on paper, but in practice it is extremely powerful. A big thing to remember about the prince is that he also makes Patches the Pirate a 2/2. That small buff may not seem like much in here, but it really helps you push damage or control the board, whichever one you need.

Plague Scientist

While I was initially very skeptical of Plague Scientist, the more I have played with the three drop the more I have enjoyed it. The 2/3 may not seem like much, but it is very strong in a tempo build like this one. As I will mention many times, you are a deck that is predicated on the idea that you are going to have minions on the board. That means you are going to have targets for this card. In that way, this card is a worse Vilespine Slayer, but, as I mentioned on the video, it is ok to play a worse Vilespine Slayer. There have been many games where I have used this to trade a one or two drop into something huge, and when you pull that off it is incredibly strong. The three drop also acts as another answer to big taunts, which can be a problem for this deck.

You always want to plan ahead with Plague Scientist and make sure that it hits your lowest-impact minions. Getting your mid-game minions to trade in is typically going to be fine, but if you can set up this trigger on a Patches the Pirate or Fire Fly, even better. A turn four scientist/patches combo helps shut down a lot of problematic boards. Something that happens as you build up is that your opponents tend to ignore your smaller threats. That is great here and something you should definitely use to your advantage. Just remember that the 2/3’s ability comes from a combo and not a battlecry. Don’t leave yourself open because you ran it out thinking it was going to do something it wasn’t.

Shadowcaster

Shadowcaster has always been a strong card, but the options it has in this deck take it through the roof and into the stratosphere. This entire deck is about removing your opponent’s threats while playing your own. That means a lot of strong battlecries, which play extremely well with the five mana 4/4. Let’s make a quick list: Vilespine Slayer, Blazecaller, SI:7 Agent, Swashburglar, Fire Plume Phoenix, Plague Scientist…the list goes on and on and on. What makes the 4/4 so good in this build is that, not only can you double up on battlecries, you can double up on some insanely swingy battlecries. Getting to kill a minion or do five damage for one mana is just not fair. Oh yeah, and you get an extra body to boot. If there is something you really want to copy, try hard to protect it for a turn.

Chances are you are going to have many opportunities to play Shadowcaster, and you want to be sure to take the minion that is going to best help you. Making the wrong card again typically won’t hurt you too much (there are simply too many good targets) but you do want to be careful. I find that one of the best interactions this card has is with Blazecaller for five finishing damage. That comes up quite a bit, and it will catch people completely off guard. Know when you need to get a defensive card, when you want to get removal for a coming big taunt, and when it is best to just go as aggro as you possibly can. If there is a card you really want two of you should hold it until you can get it down the same turn as the faerie.

Bonemare

There are many good things you can do in tempo decks these days, but none are as strong as giving your minion +4/+4 and taunt. Bonemare is slowly making itself into decks all across the meta, and it has proven that it packs quite the punch. As mentioned, this is a deck that is entirely predicated on the idea of keeping minions on the board. Once upon a time that would have been laughable, but it is much more realistic in the current Hearthstone. For that reason, like Plague Scientist, the horse can get crazy value. Your entire gameplan is predicated on the idea of trading, and this is one of the best tempo swings in the game. There is no real extra value you need to get with the seven drop. If you have a target, you typically want to play it.

Unless you are specifically looking for a good trade, you should always look to use this buff on your smallest minion. Bonemare not only gives you a nice bonus, it also helps diversify your threats. A deck like this one never wants to go all-in on one big minion. Rather, you want to have a few big midrange threats that your opponent cannot answer. This helps you push from multiple fronts and plays well into your style. Another important note about the 5/5 is that it is the only real way you have to combat aggro. If your life is running low through the middle game you should work hard to protect your minions. One Bonemare target can be the way you close things out, but if your opponent makes sure you don’t have a board things are going to get dicey. Mare is also a good reason to save a one drop in your hand as you move to turn eight.

Blazecaller

Strong as ever, Blazecaller is another powerful swing play in this deck that helps justify running the elemental package. Not only do the fiery creatures give you reason to play an early anti-aggro suite, but they also allow you to do five damage on a 6/6. This card has always been a Firelands Portal on steroids, and it just gets even better in the tempo shell.  While Blazecaller is not as strong as Vilespine Slayer in terms of controlling the board, five damage goes a long way against the current minions (just ask Ultimate Infestation). Any time you are able to drop this and also get ahead on board you should. Even if the target is underwhelming stat-wise, clearing matters and it will help pace the game in a way that is necessary.

Also note that the 6/6’s damage can go face. There have been countless situations where I have a triggered Blazecaller and then spent the rest of my turn wondering if I should remove a threat or hit my 14 life Rogue opponent in the head. This is a situation that is going to change from game to game, but it is key to make a smart read based on the rest of your hand as well as the board. If you have other ways to push pressure you should take them. However, if you don’t have much, the board is always going to be the answer. The final rule here is to remember that the 6/6 comes with a situational ability. If you want to trigger it on seven (there are going to be a fair amount of games where you actually don’t want too) you need to play that key elemental on turn six. You have different options for that, but Flame Elemental is going to be the best because of how easily it slots into the curve. I will almost always save the 1/2 for that purpose.

Matchups

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

Jade Druid

Still number one, Jade Druid just has so many tools at their disposal. They have ramp, and strong minions, and healing, and powerful spells. However, they do have one big weakness, and that is tempo decks. Though this matchup is far from easy, you do have the slight advantage here. You need to start this one off as quickly as possible and then push with as much damage as you can. Druid has not only gotten better finishers, but they also run even more ways to ramp to them. If you sit and twiddle your thumbs while your opponent ramps, you are going to promptly die. Rather, you need to make them think about all of their slow cards and see if they will try to control the board. Your curve naturally grows as the game goes on, which means every turn Druid spends not playing Jade Golems is going to be a win for you.

Get your opponent into a position where they rely on one big body to save them. This is a hard state to create, but Druid has no good way to deal with an entire board of threats. The sooner you go wide, the better. In addition, you want to try to save your removal minions for the later stage of the game. Cards like Vilespine Slayer, The Black Knight, and Plague Scientist can blow Malfurion out of the water when you’re pushing through a lot of threats. Getting locked out by one or two taunts is one of the best ways to lose this matchup. You need to have pressure and you need to get as much stuff onto the board. While I would never recommend giving up those all-important kill spell minions, it is fine to just Blazecaller your opponent’s face on an empty board.

Murloc Paladin

KFT brought many new and fresh things to the meta, but it also brought a lot of board-centric cards that served to make Paladin much, much better. Murloc Paladin is the same as ever, only with better top-end tools like Bonemare. Though they brand differently than this build, they are another type of tempo deck that wants to control the game on turns one and two. This is a matchup of two snowbally decks, but you have more ways to clear early on than your opponent. That is important because all it takes it one body to turn everything in your favor. Like Druid, you should work to make Uther depend on a single card to save them. They have some big top-end cards they need to stabilize, and if you take them out with a simple 3/4 you should be able to close this one.

The other rule is that you have to watch out for and be aware of Paladin’s buffs. This has always been true, but they now have access to Bonemare, and some have started to play one or two Blessing of Kings. Do not let your opponent do things in this game. Every body is a threat, especially murlocs. Paladin truly depends on their minions to operate in the way they want to and you need to limit that in any way you can. This is so important that you don’t want to start thinking about face damage until your opponent runs out of cards or has a dead turn. You are a strong board deck, but you do not do a great job of burst damage. You are going to take the slow burn route, and as soon as you ignore Paladin’s threats you are going to get locked out by something like Murloc Warleader or Sunkeeper Tarim.

Exodia Mage

This is a deck I have seen a lot over the past week, and I am not sure if that is going to slow down. Exodia Mage can be a pain to deal with, but it is a reliable way to beat Druid, Warlock and Priest. For that reason, I find players will gravitate towards it in the next month or two. As you can imagine, this game is going to be all about the damage. Mage wants to play solitaire and it is our job to take them out of their mode at all costs. You want to throw bodies out onto the board and figure out how to push damage. Your abilities are completely irrelevant here. You should simply seek to do as much damage as possible. Use your dagger on face as much as you can and force your opponent to trade into you. The only exception to this rule is you should always try to keep an elemental in your hand to turn on Blazecaller (a great way to get burst damage through freeze) and you should hold onto either Plague Scientist or Vilespine Slayer to deal with Doomsayer. As noted, you are not a fast deck and if the 0/7 goes off the game is largely going to be over.

Kazakus Priest

The singleton deck seems to be the strongest Priest build out there right now. Not only does it have one of the best finishing combos around, but it also comes with a string of powerful spells and tech choices that don’t dilute it all that much. Your goal in this one is going to try and play around Priest’s spells as best as you can. I find it helps to always assume they are always going to have the perfect answer, be it Shadow Word: Pain, Shadow Word: Death, or Dragonfire Potion. This will help you sculpt your hand and let you know which cards you want to play before others. You just need to bait your opponent into using a key card, and once they do you can hit them with your real power minion.

While Priest is a control deck in title, they are much more of a combo deck in practice. Every Kazakus deck is built around stalling long enough to reach the Raza the Chained/Shadowreaper Anduin dream. Once Priest gets that, the game is largely going to be over. Not only can they control the board every turn, but when they get done tearing through your minions they will be able to repeatedly shoot you in the face. The only way you can power through the Death Knight is by having Priest so low on health that by the time they switch heroes you can push them when they lose their healing. Damage is not going to be easy to amass in that situation, but something like Blazecaller or a timely Bonemare can give you the final push you need before Priest takes over.

Mulligan Guide

A great thing about this deck is how many good mulligan options you have. Decks that can keep a lot of different cards always tend to be better than ones with situational plays, and this is no exception. Backstab, Swashburglar, Fire Fly, Southsea Deckhand, Prince Keleseth are your must keeps. You should always keep SI:7 Agent and Tar Creeper with the coin or a curve. Plague Scientist is also solid on curve, but you shouldn’t keep it on its own since its ability it too situational. Finally, Edwin Vancleef should always be kept with the coin, Fire Plume Phoenix is great with a good curve before it, and you only ever want to keep Tol’vir Stoneshaper if you have a strong curve along with a turn three elemental.

Conclusion

What an awesome deck. Though I still think Tempo Warrior or Keleseth Aggro Paladin (more on that one coming soon) are the two best decks I’ve played in the new set, this one slots in at a close third. There is just so much going on, and there are so many cards here I haven’t played (or seen played) in a long time. The elemental part of the deck works quite well, and the tempo is a fantastic against slower decks. Five stars on this one for me, and I strongly recommend that you try it out. Until next time, may you always kill minions.

---