[K&C Theorycraft] Ambush Rogue

Introduction

Sorry, yet another Theorycrafting deck. I know, I know, I said the last one was probably the last… Buuuut I had this idea ever since Fal’dorei Strider was announced, and since The Darkness came up as well, I thought how fun it would be to mess with Razakus Priest even more. Sooo here you go 😀

Core Mechanics

Essentially the deck is built around the gimmick of ambushes. What may those be? Well, tokens from Beneath the Grounds and Fal’dorei Strider, of course! But that’s not all; double up with Mimic Pod and Brann, as well as some Valeera DK fun, and you’ve got a fun minion-oriented mill deck! 

Win Conditions

Most wins will be off the back of your limitless 4/4’s. You mostly want to double up on your Fal’dorei Striders as much as you can, as well as attempt to Mimic Pod a Beneath the Grounds or two. Bonus points if you manage to hit The Darkness in the process! The deck generally doesn’t win through Fatigue, but it has tools to help achieve that. Kingsbane allows you to go infinite, and Gang Up allows you to outlast your opponent in Fatigue and triple up on minion value.

Be careful when trying to Mill them to death with Fatigue; with Ambushes and Candles in their deck, it’ll be detrimental if you burn either of those. Generally you want to win with minion face-damage, but if worst comes to worse, Fatigue can be utilized.

Mulligans

Generally you’re looking for Fal’dorei Strider and Beneath the Grounds; after all, what’s an ambush deck without ambushes? Mimic Pod would also be nice, as you’ll be able to double up on value that can be used later on.

Aggro – Try for spells and Deathlords. They’ll allow you to outlast your opponent and can make for some funny moments in which they are unable to get through your Deathlords for lethal, while The Darkness looms over their heads. It’s great. Also, Ganging Up Deathlords instead of, say, Coldlight Oracle or Fal’dorei Strider would be recommended, as you’re simply giving them tools to kill you with Coldlights (unless you feel like testing your luck on Candles and Ambushes). Fal’dorei isn’t as bad, but if you’re sustaining excess face damage, getting an extra 24 health over the course of the game can be extremely valuable.

Control – Try to get Coldlights, Fal’dorei Striders, and Saps. Beneath the Grounds is nice since they’re likely to be drawing a decent amount, but it’s not as consistent as they’ll most likely have a fuller hand, and playing Coldlight risks burning said Ambushes. 

Combo – This is most likely your best matchup. Be careful of burning your Ambushes (it may be wise to save Ambushes and Candles until after you’ve burned a few combo-pieces and other cards), but you want to Mill as many cards as possible. Nothing feels better than burning an Antonidas or Shadowreaper Anduin when your opponent has the rest of his combo up and ready, and prepare for a couple insta-concedes when that situation arises 😀

Card Replacements

Kingsbane, although nice in the Fatigue game, isn’t the entire point of the deck; thus, it can be replaced. You should probably also swap out Deadly Poisons and Leeching Poison as a result, and putting in a couple Shivs, a second Evis, and a Bloodmage Thalnos would be nice.

Valeera the Hollow is a nice addition to a Mill deck (especially a minion-oriented deck that relies on a ton of extra value off of investments), but can be replaced if you so choose. It’ll be harder to win without her, but entirely possible. Go ahead and grab a second Evis or more board clear in exchange.

Brann Bronzebeard has generally the same purpose as Valeera the Hollow, and cutting him from the deck would entail the same consequences as cutting Valeera. So same response as above, but be wary of consequences.

The Darkness simply adds flavor to the deck, giving it more meaning than a simple Mill deck. It also serves as an alternate win-con if the opponent has plenty of wide board clears but lacks single-target for whatever reason. But if you choose to replace him, go ahead and put in board clears.

Conclusion

Hope you enjoyed my interpretation of (kinda) an actual Mill deck for K&C. It’s always fun theorycrafting (especially since the expansion is only a few days away), and I’m definitely going to try this deck out in Wild.