Welcome Back!

This week, I wanted to share with you a brew with which I have been practicing for some time now. It is a tribal aggro deck that is capable of amazingly aggressive starts coupled with plenty of disruption to keep the opponent on their toes. However, this tribal crew doesn’t get nearly as many hugs as the Elves or Goblins do… But then again, the Rogues could care less! That’s right, this week’s deck is tribal Rogue aggro. It is amazing at dumping a bunch of annoying evasive weenies that swarm the field while playing lords like [c]Oona’s Blackguard[/c] that turn the dorks into pseudo-[c]Abyssal Specter[/c]s. Before I go any further, let me show you a couple of lists:

[d title=”Legacy Rogues Version 1 – Budget”]

Rogues

3 Frogtosser Banneret

3 Inkfathom Infiltrator

4 Nightshade Stinger

4 Oona’s Blackguard

4 Oona’s Prowler

4 Prickly Boggart

4 Stinkdrinker Bandit

Spells

1 Go for the Throat

4 Inquisition of Kozilek

3 Spell Pierce

2 Snuff Out

2 Smother

Lands

4 Darkslick Shores

4 Island

10 Swamp

4 Underground River

Sideboard

3 Duress

4 Mana Leak

3 Cold-Eyed Selkie

2 Earwig Squad

1 Go for the Throat

2 Faerie Macabre

[/d]

[d title=”Legacy Rogues Version 2 – Monetized”]

Rogues

4 Nightshade Stinger

4 Oona’s Blackguard

4 Oona’s Prowler

4 Prickly Boggart

4 Stinkdrinker Bandit

3 True-Name Nemesis

Spells

3 Bitterblossom

2 Flusterstorm

2 Smother

3 Inquisition of Kozilek

2 Snuff Out

3 Thoughtseize

Lands

4 Underground Sea

4 Island

7 Swamp

4 Polluted Delta

3 Mutavault

Sideboard

2 Duress

2 Mana Leak

3 Cold-Eyed Selkie

4 Faerie Macabre

2 Spell Pierce

2 Flusterstorm

[/d]

The Basics

In general, the rogues operate like any other tribal decks. Play the dudes, play some lords, employ some signature, tribe-dependent form of interaction, then win. Both of the lords for the rogues are only cmc 2, which means that the beats come very quickly with a bunch of cheap evasive rogues. [c]Frogtosser Banneret[/c] is truly amazing when he hits play; the ability to play multiple creatures per turn sans [c]AEther Vial[/c] and maintain a 22-land curve is quite impressive. He also makes it easier to leave up removal and counterspell mana.

[c]Oona’s Prowler[/c] is the best beater in the deck. It will often deny the opponent any form of card advantage, and it goes quite nicely with [c]Oona’s Blackguard[/c] to quickly strip the opponent of cards or risk dying at a ridiculous pace. [c]Stinkdrinker Bandit[/c] is the other lord. Technically, he is not cmc 2, but prowling him into play is incredibly easy. Any turn 1 creature will be evasive, and will almost certainly allow for a turn 2 prowl of this monster. The gain of +2/+1 if a rogue is unblocked is overpowered in a deck where almost every creature is evasive in some way. Don’t leave home without these two!

[c]Prickly Boggart[/c], [c]Nightshade Stinger[/c], and [c]Inkfathom Infiltrator[/c] are the only rogues not mentioned above. They are the creatures that end up poking the opponent to death. All three are simply efficient evasive creatures that couple well with lords to provide the damage push that tribal decks need. For the monetized version, more efficient rogues are used. For example, the ineffable [c]True-Name Nemesis[/c] usurps [c]Inkfathom Infiltrator[/c], and the Banneret bites the dust in favor of [c]Bitterblossom[/c]. The powerful enchantment makes Rogues that fly for a mere 1 life per turn. See the section on differences between the two decks below for more information.

Other than these, the primary difference between rogues and other tribal decks is the amount of usable disruption available. Goblins, Elves, and Humans have basically no serious disruption that they can use due to color differences and a total devotion to the creature plan. Merfolk have countermagic, being mono-blue, but the amazing {U}{B} Rogues can abuse all kinds of lovely disruption spells. I prefer a decent mix of countermagic, discard, and creature removal. [c]Snuff Out[/c] will catch many opponents by surprise, and can swing games in your favor when played correctly. [c]Spell Pierce[/c] is easy to hold up mana for, and [c]Smother[/c] will deal with almost anything threatening or just annoying. [c]Inquisiton of Kozilek[/c] is a great discard spell that is fairly easy to get online.

Differences Between the Standard Version and the Monetized One

The monetized version of the deck employs other creatures and disruption cards that are potentially more powerful. However, the basic premise of the deck is the same. Money cards like fetches, duals, [c]True-Name Nemesis[/c], etc. definitely add something that gives the deck an edge. Does the monetized version win more? Absolutely. Is the win percentage much greater? No. I would not consider the monetized version “better;” it simply has more money cards that add an edge to the deck that cannot be had with cheaper cards. Even so, the “Budget” rogues deck is fun and powerful that will pick up many wins. Try it out and have fun!

That’s all for this week. I hope you have fun beating opponents over the head with the rogues! Too bad [c]Noggin Whack[/c] isn’t more playable or else this would be its deck…

See you next time!

/Peyton