Watch Post Rogue deck list guide - Forged in the Barrens - Hearthstone (April 2021)

The Forged in the Barrens expansion for Hearthstone has added some absolute bombs when it comes to the Rogue class, as well as the meta as a whole. The addition of Watch Post cards, which can’t attack but are extremely irritating for your opponent to deal with, has led to entire decks being built around them.

Watch Post Rogue is one of the best versions of this, using the disruptive nature of the Watch Post minions whilst pulling off a strong tempo/aggro strategy. Here’s how it works.

Watch Post Rogue deck list and strategy

Here’s the most popular way Watch Post Rogue is played in the current Hearthstone meta - give it a go if you have the cards!

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

Deck Import ID: AAECAaIHBNnRA/roA/zoA+fwAw3evgOqywOfzQPHzgOk0QPn3QPz3QP36AP56AOo6wOq6wOr6wP2nwQA

General strategy

This deck is all about getting your Watch Posts out early and disrupting your opponent enough to get your powerful cards out on board, all the while chipping away at their face and putting yourself in range for lethal. Burst damage is surprisingly strong in this deck, particularly with Pen Flinger offering that extra bit in between spell casts, so always keep your potential for ending the game in mind.

Early Game: Your early game isn’t perfect - you should actually get rid of most of your 1-cost cards in the mulligan stage of the game. If you can though, get Efficient Octo-bot out onto the board, as its Frenzy ability opens you up to some ludicrously high-tempo plays early on. Discounting a couple of Mor'shan Watch Posts can completely stall your opponent from playing any minions at all, letting you further develop and deal damage early.

You have card draw available too, with Swindle available to keep your hand as full as possible. Don’t be afraid to use Wicked Stab on enemy minions either - if your board needs to get past a Taunt or Lifesteal minion to avoid the enemy trading your value away, that direct damage (as well as Brain Freeze) is super useful.

Mid Game: You should look to keep your card draw strong in this area. Field Contact is a fantastic card draw engine, especially if you have discounted cards by Efficient Octo-bot. All your Battlecry and Combo cards will then draw you another card, including but not limited to Pen Flinger, Guardian Augmerchant, and Wand Thief (all cheap in their own right).

Late Game: Thankfully, if your constant pressure and irritation from all your Far Watch Posts and card draw aren’t enough, you still have some tricks to pull. If Mankrik was played previously, you might be able to get a free 3/10 and a bit of face damage just from the cast when drawn effect.

A great play for when you’re against other midrange/aggro decks who may well be running out of steam is to pile on the pressure with Kargal Battlescar. He’s a 7 mana 5/5, but for every Watch Post you’ve played this game you get a 5/5 alongside your minion. This is super strong as a way to threaten lethal, but if you reckon your opponent can take them all out, Shadowstep Kargal back to your hand before ending your turn. This’ll give you a second chance to play the same effect. This is a great game-ender, forcing your enemy to deal with multiple scary boards.

Watch Post Rogue Mulligan Guide

Keep your eye out for these cards early on:

1. Far Watch Post is the highest win-rate card in this deck, and it’s easy to see why. Your enemy won’t enjoy having to deal four damage to a minion that only cost you two mana, but the tempo damage this can do if your opponent can’t stop it can be game-winning.

2. Efficient Octo-bot can be a great early-game monster too. It offers the opportunity for early plays of your big cards, as well as the chance to play loads and loads of your small ones in a single turn.

3. Jandice Barov. This is a serious suggestion. Sure, she costs five mana, but what’s five mana for a huge board-swinging play? Absolute pennies, that’s what. You can even make her cheaper with the Octo-bot.

Watch Post Rogue tips, combos and synergies

Here’s some stuff to watch out for when playing Watch Post Rogue:

- If you draw your Pen Flinger with Secret Passage, play it, and use the Spellburst effect to get it back into your hand, it’ll stay there when your turn ends rather than being shuffled back into your deck.

- If you draw Mankrik’s Wife with Secret Passage, it won’t trigger unfortunately. It is still playable though - you’ll need to spend mana to do it.

- Shadowstep is best used to repeat your strong Battlecries. As mentioned before, Kargal Battlescar is a solid use of it, but Jandice Barov is a similarly strong power play, and if needed to take out large minions, Prize Plunderer can be Shadowstepped for big minion damage.

- Don’t undervalue chucking Watch Posts onto the board. They’re incredibly strong and great ways to force your enemy to take action, whilst simultaneously hindering that action. Stacking up two Far Watch Posts on a single board can delay your enemy’s answer by up to two turns, giving you more time to search for lethal.

- If you draw Swindle with Secret Passage, play it and the extra cards drawn won’t be shuffled back into your deck.

- Jandice Barov becomes more powerful against certain enemy decks. When you’re up against a Mage, they can easily use their Hero Power on your illusion minion and take it down. However, when ping damage isn’t available to your opponent, both 5-drops summoned by Barov can be used to their fullest damage potential.

- Efficient Octo-bot is best used when your hand is big, so if it is, feel free to damage it yourself with Guardian Augmerchant, Pen Flinger, or even Brain Freeze if you have to.

That’s all for our Watch Post Rogue guide! For more Hearthstone goodness, check out our Battlegrounds hero tier list, as well as the overall Hearthstone deck tier list!