RADEH’S RENO ROGUE [Xaril, Cairne, Hogger, Sylvanas, Reno, Anu’barak, Emperor, N’Zoth]

This Reno rogue is loosely based on this one: http://www.hearthstonetopdecks.com/decks/goyugiohpros-top-50-legend-reno-nzoth-rogue-june-2016-season-27/

The general guide of that deck still stands and doesn’t really change all that much.

Things I’ve changed and why:

1) Added Gang Up and Shadowcaster. Basically, the former allows you to dump 3 extra N’Zoth’s into your deck which is pretty sick. The latter allows you to create a cheap 1 mana copy of N’Zoth. Not counting any spell boni from Azure Drake and taking into consideration Shadowstep, you can spam N’Zoth like a maniac.

2) Added Defias Ringleader because it’s not a bad card to switch temp during early “card trading”. Allows me to keep a board presence even after it dies. 

3) Added Anub'arak for board presence reasons (that 4/4 really helps, and you can keep on spamming Anu’barak if you’re out of other cards) and Hogger. The latter is pretty amazing. 4 health isn’t great but that taunting 2/2 it spawns really helps. In fact, it has saved me tons of times and allows me to take over board control quite a bit.

4) Added Assassinate. Thanks to Reno Jackson and N'Zoth, The Corruptor, health and damage is covered…but it’s nice to be able to completely take out a key card like C’Thun. It’s the quickest way to remove a strong card without trading and is great for C’Thun if you survive the blast. Of course you also have Sap and Sylvanas Windrunner to remove big stuff like C'Thun.

Stuff I dropped:

1) Bloodmage Thalnos mostly because I don’t have that many spells and he rarely survives more than a turn anyway. The 1 extra card doesn’t seem worth losing so much damage or removal power.

2) Huge Toad because the 1 damage rarely gives me board control if he dies and Defias Ringleader does.

3) Earthen Ring Farseer because 3 health really isn’t that much and I can generally spam Reno Jackson to make up for that tiny loss. 

4) Harrison Jones because I don’t have him. Also, really only beneficial against weapon users so quite situational. 

5) Emperor Thaurissan but I’m still not 100% sure if I want him in or out. Still testing a bit.

6) Gadgetzan Auctioneer because by the time I get to play him, I’m often already through a ton of my spells. Generally, I also don’t have that many issues with card draw but I’ll reassess after more testing.

Stuff I’m tempted to add:

1) Edwin VanCleef because getting a 6/6+ for 3 mana rocks…but I don’t have him, so there’s that. 

2) Doomsayer because while I normally don’t like 0 attack minions destroying my temp, this is a pretty cool board clearer. I just don’t know what to get rid off to add it 😉

General Strategy

Basically, it’s a really versatile deck with pretty stellar damage and healing power. The 5 mana plus cards all work well together with 4 of them being deathrattle cards that get triggered by N’Zoth. Try to have board control by turn 4/5 and you should be ok.

If I don’t have full (“safe”) board control by turn 4/5, I often try to play either Hogger or Cairne Bloodhoof because they provide a bit of breathing room. Abomination is a great card too, just don’t spam him when you have a lot of your own minions on the board. 

For mulligans I like to focus on stuff that lets me win the early game allowing me to get board control for turn 4/5. I often try to play supper aggro and keep the board clear as much as possible early on. So 2 and 3 drops and removals are key. I also hold on to Reno 99% of the time, same with Gang Up.

The original deck this is based on made it to legend and I don’t really think I’ve made it works. Having said that, still testing the deck 😉  

EDIT 24/06: 

I’ve removed Gang Up because it doesn’t play all that well in this deck. If you use it before drawing Reno, you lower your odds of drawing him. In fact, every time you use that card you increase the odds of drawing the chosen card at the expense of all others. I like the “flow” of the deck and don’t really need it…so it’s out.

I’ve added Mogu'shan Warden. On the surface, not a great card…but it’s there for a very specific reason. A lot of my strong hitters are 6 mana cards, so ideally, I want to have board control after turn 5 because else the opponent can just snipe stuff. Mogu'shan Warden provides a cushion often allowing me to properly set up my heavy hitters. 

I’ve also added Mind Control Tech which is super handy when you’re outnumbered on the board. Try to buff it with Brann Bronzebeard. 

Preparation is gone because frankly I’ve never really used it all that much in this deck.

Struggling the most against Warlocks for some reason, but that’s maybe because I’m new 😉