【Poor Things】

Welcome to the Hearthstone Meta Update,Poor Things where you’ll find a review of one of the most powerful or exciting decks in competitive play. Today, we’re looking at Peddler Rogue. Learn how to build and play this deck, and be a little more prepared to climb the ladder.

To thieve or not to thieve? If you’re excited by one of Rogue’s coolest new Karazhan cards, then there’s no question: you’ll be thieving. This deck emerged around the Ethereal Peddler, matching several newer tools with one of the oldest Rogue tricks in the book. It may not be the most consistent option in today’s metagame, but it is never boring.

Why it’s good

As you might expect for a deck designed around stealing your opponent’s powers, Peddler Rogue is about value. It brings an impressive amount of options to the table and requires a quick-thinking player to take full advantage of the high degree of randomness.

But most importantly, this build is fun. Its moments of glory are all the sweeter for being so unexpected. Playing as Valeera and taking down your opponent with a Pyroblast or a Swipe is very satisfying.

Build the deck

First, you’ll need to acquire the stealing cards. Burgle, Swashburgle and Undercity Huckster are the Rogue-specific tools for the job. They pair well with Ethereal Peddler, the deck’s namesake, which cuts the mana cost of any cards from other classes in your hand by two.

Outside of those resources, the Peddler Rogue is usually built on much the same skeleton as Miracle Rogue. The goal of a Miracle deck is to cycle through a large swath of your 30 cards and pull together a massive burst damage combo. Gadgetzan Auctioneer is at the center of that party, and the deck should accompany it with lots of Rogue’s more powerful low-mana spells. Resources such as Backstab, Preparation, Deadly Poison, Eviscerate, Sap, Shiv, Fan of Knives and Shadow Strike all fit the bill. Not only can they cycle when matched with a Gadgetzan Auctioneer, but they dispatch enemy minions to stave off your opponent’s pressure while you amass your resources for the win.

Next you’ll need some mid-game minions. The most common inclusions are familiar to any Rogue fan. SI:7 Agent, Edwin VanCleef, Bloodmage Thalnos and Azure Drake are good choices. But this is also where you can start to put a personal stamp on the build. If you’re finding lots of aggression in your part of the ladder, a Dark Iron Skulker can give some much-needed protection against small minions.

Many combo decks like the mana discount offered by Emperor Thaurissan. Get a health boost from the Earthen Ring Farseer. Interrupt control decks with a Sylvanas. Tomb Pillager puts another Coin into your hand, which is a great combo-enabler.

The final piece of the Peddler Rogue puzzle is a closer. Most builds run one or two massive, high-mana threats to help end the game. Some versions lean on N’Zoth, since there are a notable number of deathrattle minions. Given all the cycle spells, Yogg-Saron is another valid choice. Or you can double down on the theft concept and run a Nefarian.

Tips for playing it

Success with any deck requires sticking to your win conditions. The core cards in Peddler Rogue offer a few outs depending on what you face. Against aggro, you’ll probably use a lot of spells for removal, which takes away the option for a spell damage burst combo. Against mid-range, a N’Zoth turn that re-summons three or four minions can create an insurmountable lead.

But your win conditions can also change from game to game based on what you get from steals. Expect more on-the-fly adaptation that with most decks and make the best judgment call you can about what you steal. Be open-minded in reviewing what you’ve pulled from the opposing class. Some pulls, even ones that normally seem mediocre, can turn out to be useful when paired with your Rogue resources. And likewise, a card that’s great in most Warrior or Warlock decks can be dead in your hand. Make the quickest decisions you can about whether your stolen cards are worth incorporating into your strategy or not, and re-evaluate your plans as the game progresses. Derailing your initial plan just to make a zany play is great for the YouTube highlights, but not necessarily for victory.

How to counter it

Randomness is both this deck’s great strength and great weakness. It makes the deck inconsistent and a Rogue player may find themselves without resources to stage a comeback if they fall behind. That means any match-up, even one where the Rogue should be favored, can go south if the Burgles and Hucksters whiff.

For a more targeted choice, the steady pressure from an Aggro Shaman has proven to be a more regular threat. It can pick away a scary chunk of health before the Rogue gets to play a big Gadgetzan turn.