Control Rogue deck list guide - Hearthstone - Kobolds - January 2018

Control Rogue is a Hearthstone deck that has been dabbled with in the past but has never really caught on as one of the core archetypes in the game. While still remaining strictly off-meta at the moment, a new version of the experiment has been introduced by player Tera, and some players are finding a fair amount of success with it.

For that reason we wanted to highlight the deck on Metabomb, so you can have a play around with it for yourself and see how far it can take you. Although it's not considered one of the most competitive decks in the current meta, it does at least provide something new to do - and in Kobolds that's proving to be a valuable thing indeed.

You'll find this article to be a little thinner than our regular deck guides, but if this one takes off in popularity we'll expand on all of the sections contained within it. For now though we've got a snapshot of the best version of the deck, a little insight into the strategy behind playing it, and a few quick tips on Mulliganing. We've also broken out all of the card combos at the bottom of the page.

Have fun playing this new deck, and don't forget to let us know how you';re getting on with it in the comments!

Control Rogue deck list and strategy

Deck list created by Tera:

Select and copy the long ID string below, then create a deck in Hearthstone to export this deck into your game.

Deck Import ID: AAECAaIHCLQB9gTtBagIhgmpzQKA0wK77wIL+wHLA5sFiAeyrQKprwKxzgLl0QLb4wLq5gLY6QIA

Your aim with this deck is to control the match, draw into your most powerful cards as quickly as possible, and build a devastatingly well-buffed Kingsbane that should ensure you survive even the most painfully long and drawn-out matches. On that subject, note that you can never enter fatigue playing this deck, as Kingsbane returns to your deck pile whenever and however it's removed.

As well as this mighty weapon, you can also weave together some incredible plays with Valeera the Hollow in the late-game. Thanks to Shadow Reflection, you can put Bloodmage Thalnos out on the board and then burst the opponent down with multiple Eviscerates, for example.

There are countless possibilities for achieving victory with this deck. You will need to maintain a cool head as you play and adapt to every match you find yourself in. Just keep drawing into your options, build up your blade, stop the opponent's board getting out of control, and get to the late-game. From there you should be able to out-survive just about any other opponent.

Control Rogue Mulligan guide

The following cards are useful in every match-up: Backstab, Deadly Poison, Kingsbane, Cavern Shinyfinder, Leeching Poison and Plated Beetle.

Control Rogue tips, combos and synergies

Here's a quick breakdown of the most important card synergies you have in this particular version of Control Rogue:

- Bloodmage Thalnos boosts the strength of all your damage-dealing spells by one. In this deck the effect applies to Eviscerate, Fan of Knives and Shadow Strike.

- Kingsbane can be buffed with the following spells and cards: Deadly Poison, Leeching Poison and Southsea Squidface. The unique nature of Kingsbane means that once those buffs have been applied, they remain on the blade even when it's destroyed and returned to your deck pile.

- Thanks to Doomerang you can whack an enemy minion with your buffed Kingsbane without incurring a single point of hero damage (and even gain some back with Leeching Poison). The blade comes back to you once the damage has been issued, and the Durability is refreshed.

- Elven Minstrel will add an extra pair of cards to your hand when played, but only if you played another card earlier on during the same turn.

- Lesser Onyx Spellstone hasn't seen a lot of play in the Kobolds meta, so here's a quick primer on how it works. In its basic form it's a five Mana spell that destroys one random enemy minion. Play three Deathrattle cards (Southsea Squidface, Bloodmage Thalnos, Loot Hoarder or Plated Beetle) and two minions are killed. Play another three Deathrattle cards to achieve the maximum upgrade, which wipes out three random enemy minions.

- When you play Valeera the Hollow you'll gain Stealth until your next turn, meaning you can't be destroyed by the opponent (just make sure you attack first if you're going to). You also gain a new passive Hero Power called Death's Shadow, which adds a Shadow Reflection card to your hand. You can only have one of these cards in your hand at any time and it becomes a copy of the last card you played.