Discussing Post-Buff Pogo Rogue + refinement

General Discussion
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Hey everyone, average nobody that likes playing Rogue here,

after the buffs that hit us a few days ago, it seems pretty likely that Pogo Rogue is going to be a serious meta contender. It provides inevitability against Control while at the same time having enough tempo to give Midrange decks a run for their money. However, it’s still very early in the refinement stage, and I wanted to talk about it a bit more. Don’t see this post as a promotion for the newest netdeck or anything like that, this is purely theoretical stuff that comes from a guy with a very accurate nickname.

At first I tried out the deck Toast used in his video, and quickly found some serious flaws:

1 - The deck is very weak against Aggro and decks that purely capitalize on going face;

2 - Some cards are either way too situational, or provide no real advantage even though they may sound good on paper.

So I did a few changes. Using Toast’s list as a baseline, I did a few minor changes:

  • 2x Preparation; While I do believe the card is still good, its only synergies in this deck are Vanish and Myra’s, which is in my opinion not worth wasting a deck slot.

  • 2x Daring Escape; For just a little more value you’re wasting an incredible amount of tempo, and I’d rather play cards that are just more useful in general.

  • 1x Togwaggle’s Scheme; The card synergizes quite well with this deck, but having them rot in your hand while you are slowly losing control of the board feels incredibly bad, which is why I think 2 Schemes are a bit overkill.

  • 1x Myra’s Unstable Element; We’re not running any burst in our deck, and we have more than enough draw already.

  • 2x Bronze Gatekeeper; It’s just a way of protecting our precious face from those pesky Hunters, Sunfury Protector could theoretically work as well.

  • 2x Sap; Removal for big minions = Useful for protecting face.

  • 2x Lifedrinker; Synergy with Barista Lynchen and Spirit of the Shark, healing and face damage.

All in all this is the list I’m currently running:

Teeheehee boings away

Class: Rogue

Format: Standard

Year of the Dragon

2x (0) Backstab

2x (0) Shadowstep

2x (1) Pogo-Hopper

1x (1) Togwaggle’s Scheme

2x (2) Lab Recruiter

2x (2) Novice Engineer

2x (2) Sap

2x (3) Bronze Gatekeeper

1x (3) Edwin VanCleef

2x (3) EVIL Miscreant

2x (3) SI:7 Agent

2x (4) Lifedrinker

2x (4) Spirit of the Shark

2x (4) Witchwood Piper

1x (5) Barista Lynchen

1x (5) Zilliax

2x (6) Vanish

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One thing I really want to add in the deck is Magic Carpet, and I probably will do so as soon as I can scrounge up some dust. In the mean time, poke in it, mess around with it, doesn’t matter. Again, I’m no pro player nor do I claim to be one, so if you think there’s something that should be changed, absolutely say so in the comments.

1 Like
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I’d quite like to see pogo-rogue do well, it’s a deck that’s always been on the verge of greatness, but never quite made it. I tried it at the start of the meta but it was still struggling then, not tried it since the changes but am looking for a decent archetype to try. I have some concerns about your changes to some cards though…

Prep is still a worth inclusion in this deck for me. This deck struggles against aggro while it builds its tempo. Prep not only allows the possibility of an emergency early game vanish against a very fast aggro deck, it also cheapens your later game vanishes, allowing you more room for tempo swing. It’s also great for making cheap spells such as sap free in the early game so as not to slow down your tempo when a pesky minion needs moving.

I think this card has value, but more in the late game than the early. Imagine having 2-3 decent level pogo’s out, chucking a prep’d vanish, then throwing out the pogo’s again, daring escape, and re playing them for a huge boost to their, and future pogos’, battlecry. It’s also good if you have to use pogo’s to clear big minions. If they take a fair amount of damage clearing the board, pop this and throw them back out re-buffed and refreshed :slight_smile: It has more value than just these but it’s an example.

I’d worry that you’d struggle to find a scheme early enough to get the proper value from it if you took one out.

Myra’s, in this deck, isn’t really for burst, it’s for clearing out your deck so you can stack pure pogo’s in it for huge late game pressure

I do like these suggestions though.

Just my 2 cents :slight_smile:

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I’d consider trying to squeeze at least 1 wagglepick in there. Solid enough weapon at base and potentially let’s you get a bounce on a pogo hopper without losing tempo.

Doomsayers are always an option in slow decks that run vanish. The best stall in the game on turns 2/3 and it’s a rare way for Rogues to regain the board on turns 8+ by playing vanish into doomsayer.

Not sure if Edwin fits if you’re cutting the Preps. Seems like he’s just a worse pogo hopper most of the time. He’s never gona be bad, but seems cuttable for something that fits better.

Definitely an interesting deck to try and get the balance right for.