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View Full Version : [Deck] Goblin Rogues v1.4



Aethan
09-23-2008, 04:26 AM
Here's a deck I put together that I've been having a lot of fun playing. It's a mono-black horde deck that uses goblin rogues (with a few key additions), abuses prowl and rogue synergies. Thought I would share it. Any comments or suggestions are welcome.

Jon's Rogue Deck v1.4

18 Swamp

4 B Nightshade Stinger - Cheap Prowl / Token enabler
4 B Prickly Boggart - Cheap Prowl / Token enabler
4 B1 Frogtosser Banneret - Efficiency and haste.
4 B1 Oona's Blackguard - Pumps all following rogues and adds disruption
4 B1 Stinkdrinker Bandit (B3) - Pumps unblocked attackers
3 B1 Skeletal Changeling - Blocks fatties, counts as goblin and rogue
3 B2 Earwig Squad (BB3) - Bigger critter and more disruption
3 B3 Boggart Mob - Token generation, double synergy with Oona's

4 B Dark Ritual - Acceleration
4 B Fatal Blow - Removal (can't think of a better option except perhaps Death Stroke or Eyeblight's Ending)
3 2 Cloak and Dagger - Protect and pump vital critters
2 B2 Footbottom Feast - Reload key critters or recover from board wipe.

//Mana Curve
1 - 16
2 - 18
3 - 5
4 - 3

Card choices:

The Nightshade Stinger and Prickly Boggart are in as 1 drops and prowl enablers. The Boggart can become very nasty on his own when an Oona's, Stinkdrinker, and/or Cloak and Dagger are in play - this little guy has really come through in some otherwise difficult situations.

The Frogtosser Banneret is an excellent card. He reduces many prowl costs to a single B, he reduces hardcasting costs on most other cards in the deck, can attack as quickly as the 1 drops in the deck since he has haste and, with two in play, can make cloak and dagger free.

Oona's Blackguard - one of the MVP's of the deck. A flying critter that will often enable prowl, pumps all following rogues by 1/1, and gives pumped creatures a discard effect (very painful).

Stinkdrinker Bandit - often turns a swing of 5 per turn into a swing of 11 per turn, brutal when combined with fliers and Boggarts.

Skeletal Changeling - Counts as both a rogue and a goblin and can chump large, non-flying opposing creatures indefinitely.

Earwig Squad - Nasty when played for prowl, as it nearly always should be. Grabs key components out of the opponent's library. Can be very devastating against some decks. Indirectly lets you know what is in your opponent's hand.

Boggart Mob - If this guy doesn't get answered quickly it's often GG. Every time your Goblins hit your opponent you get another goblin, which can then hit your opponent next turn for another goblin, etc. With an Oona's in play these tokens come into play as 2/2's and cause your opponent to discard. With a Stinkdrinker in play they can frequently swing for 3. With both an Oona's and Stinkdrinker...

Fatal Blow - Removal that works on any critter without shroud or pro-black that my critters can block. Works on anything that Dark banishing would probably work on and some things that it won't (neither work on an Enforcer or Mongoose, but Fatal Blow will stop a Negator or Specter). Still not sure about this one.

Cloak and Dagger - +2/+0 and shroud for key creatures all for the low cost of 2 (or less with Frogtosser).

Footbottom Feast - Handy for those times you come up against a Wrath, Deed, Pyroclasm or other board wipe. Also good for reloading a key critter like an Oona's.

kicks_422
09-23-2008, 09:03 AM
There has to be better Rogues than all those T2 cards. Maybe a quick search could show some interesting options.

Mirrislegend
09-23-2008, 10:05 AM
4x Smother
4x Hymn to Tourach
4x Thoughtseize

All seem like auto-adds. Same goes for Vial.

Zork
09-23-2008, 10:37 AM
Rogues to consider:

Cold-eye Selkie
Dunerider Outlaw
Nezumi Shortfang
Rootwater Thief
Sygg

Honestly, there isn't much else to work with.

Aethan
09-23-2008, 04:40 PM
There has to be better Rogues than all those T2 cards. Maybe a quick search could show some interesting options.

Well I searched for every rogue printed and there aren't many to choose from. I built this deck after watching a friend play the Going Rogue theme deck and seeing the potential of rogue abilities - primarily prowl. Rogues work on a cheap casting cost per power of creature mechanic like threshold. Unlike thresh the mechanic is based off doing damage, not off the gy.



4x Smother
4x Hymn to Tourach
4x Thoughtseize

All seem like auto-adds. Same goes for Vial.

I considered Smother but this deck has trouble with large creatures - those with power/toughness greater than 5/5. I also considered Dark Banishing but there are plenty of black creatures that can give this deck trouble. Diabolic Edict is very nice except it lets the opponent choose between his 1/1 and his 6/6. I may try Edict eventually since I can block the 1/1's till only the 6/6 is left then hit it with the Edict... more testing to come.

Hymn to Tourach - Great card but this is a horde deck with some built in disruption not a disruption deck with some creatures in it. Same thing goes for Thoughtseize.

Vial - Ahh, now that's got some potential. More speed, confounds control, etc. I'll have to try that one. :)


Rogues to consider:

Cold-eye Selkie
Dunerider Outlaw
Nezumi Shortfang
Rootwater Thief
Sygg

Cold-Eyed Selkie - This would be an auto-add if I were playing UB. Combine this with Cloak and Dagger and it would be nasty indeed.

Dunerider Outlaw - Doesn't add any synergy to the deck. Doesn't do something that I need that isn't filled by another slot. Isn't a goblin.

Nezumi Shortfang - Interesting but, again, this is a horde deck with some disruption rather than a disruption deck with some critters. Isn't a goblin, adds no synergy.

Rootwater Thief - Would be brutal in a merfolk deck. Unfortunately it's blue, it's not a rogue, and it's not a goblin. The disruption effect is cool but it has too much anti-synergy with the rest of the deck.

Sygg, River Cutthroat - Nice card. It's black, it's a rogue and has a card draw effect that this deck could use. Opponents are generally going to take 3 or more for a few turns, once that happens the draw would keep them taking 3 or more. Worth experimenting with.

kicks_422
09-23-2008, 06:19 PM
You do know that by focusing on being a "horde" deck, you are very, very, very vunerable to mass removal, right? Unlike Goblins, which have ways to reload, and Sligh-ish decks, which have burn for reach, this deck can only win by attacking, and that alone. You need some sort of recursion or reach. Maybe... Oversold Cemetery?... Patriach's Bidding?...

Also, your combo matchup relies on Earwig Squad. I agree that you need some sort of discard here, to help against combo and also against control.

Aethan
09-23-2008, 07:09 PM
You do know that by focusing on being a "horde" deck, you are very, very, very vunerable to mass removal, right? Unlike Goblins, which have ways to reload, and Sligh-ish decks, which have burn for reach, this deck can only win by attacking, and that alone. You need some sort of recursion or reach. Maybe... Oversold Cemetery?... Patriach's Bidding?...

Also, your combo matchup relies on Earwig Squad. I agree that you need some sort of discard here, to help against combo and also against control.

Yes, that's why I have Footbottom Feast... but after playing with that card I realize that it's only good for reloading key creatures since I can only draw one card per turn. (If I lose 5 critters it will take me 4 turns to get them back out with a FBF including the cantrip) This isn't a very satisfying solution. I completely forgot about Patriarch's Bidding. I use it in my elf and sliver decks and it works wonders. That's a natural solution to a board wipe. Shoulda thought of that one. Thanks. :)

I don't come up against combo very much in my meta so I'm not even considering the need to have extra answers to combo. In the meta I'm playing the earwig is mostly a cheap 5 power beater with the added benefit of removing dangerous cards. Thoughtsneeze would be a good sideboard/mainboard card if I were to play elsewhere.

Aethan
09-23-2008, 11:28 PM
ok, some modifications.

Jon's Rogue Deck v1.5

18 Swamp

4 B Nightshade Stinger - Cheap Prowl / Token enabler
4 B Prickly Boggart - Cheap Prowl / Token enabler
4 B1 Frogtosser Banneret - Efficiency and haste.
4 B1 Oona's Blackguard - Pumps all following rogues and adds disruption
4 B1 Stinkdrinker Bandit (B3) - Pumps unblocked attackers
3 B1 Skeletal Changeling - Blocks fatties, counts as goblin and rogue
3 BB Sygg, River Cutthroat - Draw
3 B2 Earwig Squad (BB3) - Bigger critter and more disruption

4 1 Aether Vial - Acceleration
4 B Fatal Blow - Removal
3 2 Cloak and Dagger - Protect and pump vital critters, synergy with Sygg
2 BB3 Patriarch's Bidding - Wipe recovery

//Mana Curve
1 - 16
2 - 21
3 - 3
5 - 2