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

Miracle Rogue is a Hearthstone deck archetype that will be very familiar to those of you have have played the game since its very earliest days. The way this deck works is pretty simple on paper: control the early game by using minions and spells to efficiently clear the board, and get some ridiculous card draw combos off to give yourself more resources.

From here, it's all about outvaluing your enemy. Since Leeroy Jenkins' departure from the Standard format this deck has struggled somewhat with burst damage, so it's more of a board-control, mid-range type of Miracle Rogue this time around. No more Edwin VanCleef either, so don't expect those massive ol' unkillable monsters. Nope. Just value - and it can work out great if you play it properly!

In this guide, we've got a very solid-looking Barrens deck list for you, along with an overview of the strategy involved in playing it. After that we've got some important Mulligan tips, before we wrap things up with a look at all the combos you can play around with.

UPDATE - FORGED IN THE BARRENS

Here's a Forged in the Barrens deck list for Miracle Rogue. We'll update the guide if it makes a splash in the current meta, but for the moment, this is the deck list you'll want to play with this archetype.

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

Deck Import ID: AAECAaIHBp/NA9nRA8PhA/zoA+fwA7CKBAzMuQPOuQPQuQOqywPHzgOk0QPn3QPz3QOo6wOq6wOr6wP2nwQA

Once this deck has settled down we’ll be updating the rest of our guide with Mulligan, strategy and combo advice specific to that list.

For now, the rest of this article refers to an earlier version of the list.

Miracle Rogue deck list and strategy

This is the version of Miracle Rogue that's currently finding most success on the Standard ladder since our last update. We'll keep updating this recommended list as the Rastakhan meta develops over time.

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

Deck Import ID: AAECAaIHCLIC7QKvBL0ElwakB+f6AqCAAwu0Ac0DmwWIB90IhgmBwgLrwgLc0QLb4wKm7wIA

General strategy

Miracle Rogue is all about pulling off seemingly impossible feats of card draw and card combos by cycling through your deck in large chunks to wildly outvalue your opponent. Cards like Fal'dorei Strider go a long way towards helping you generate that incredible value.

By playing so many cards and taking so many actions you can often set up a ludicrously large Edwin VanCleef, or simply do so much damage per turn that your opponent cannot do enough to keep up. They’re forced to watch as you play card after card and finish them off with Leeroy Jenkins or a board of Spiders.

Early game: Your early turns won’t be all that exciting. Play like a control deck where you can to thin out your opponent’s minions using Backstab, Eviscerate, Fan of Knives and weapon attacks. You’re mostly just biding your time and drawing cards at this stage, but if an opportunity does come up to build a significantly sized Edwin VanCleef you should go for it.

Mid game: While it’s not massively important to establish your own board presence, you should continue removing your opponent’s minions so you don’t lose control of the game. Play Fal’dorei Strider to fill your deck with Ambush cards – these will be very useful later once your card draw chain has begun.

Late game: Here’s where the fun begins. As you slowly start to field a wider board of Spider minions, you also have some devastating finishing power in the form of Leeroy Jenkins. This should provide you with the extra oomph to get over the finishing line, and leave your opponent reeling.

Aggro Opponents

Some tips to keep in mind when up against aggro decks:

• Backstab and Fan of Knives are all vital in the early game to stop them getting too far ahead.
• Look for Fire Fly to give you an early foothold on the board and give your opponent something to attack that isn’t your life total.
• You can also go for an earlier, if slightly weaker, Edwin VanCleef should you need a creature on the board.
• Every life point you have is precious so be careful how often you use your hero power to clear minions and try to avoid unnecessary damage.

Control opponents

Some words of advice for facing control opponents:

• You’ll want to set up an especially big finish against control decks to prevent them from recovering from a large attack.
• Use Sap to send their big minions straight back to their hand, freeing up the board for you to continue piling on pressure.
• Some very quiet turns using your hero power or attacking with your weapon are fine in the early game.
• You can use cards like Fan of Knives for their draw effects instead of worrying about dealing damage.

Miracle Rogue Mulligan guide

Miracle Rogue only has a couple of clear mulligan choices because of the deck’s unique playstyle, but these are the cards to look for:

• 1. Hench-Clan Thug: A potentially mighty threat if you can get a couple of swings with your weapon in.
• 2. Firefly: Decent turn one drop to get yourself on the board.
• 3. Fal’dorei Strider: A lesser consideration, but it's no bad thing to get those Spiders tucked away as you draw through your deck.
• 4. Backstab: Quick clean removal that can also be used to empower other cards.

Miracle Rogue tips, card combos and synergies

Here are the most important combos to be found in this Rastakhan version of Miracle Rogue:

- Edwin VanCleef grows in strength for each card you played ahead of him on the same turn. Be wary of over-committing strength to this one minion in an uncertain metagame.

- In a similar fashion, Questing Adventurer gains an extra +1 / +1 of stats for each card you play once he's active on the board.

- Once you've played Preparation (for free), the next spell you cast on the same turn will cost three Mana less than usual. Myra's Unstable Element is a core combo card here, and in the late-game you'll likely have Mana left over to make use of the draws.

- The following cards require an initial play on the same turn if you want to realise their combo effects: Eviscerate, Elven Minstrel, SI:7 Agent and Vilespine Slayer.

- When Fal'dorei Strider is put onto the board, this minion will shuffle three 4 / 4 spiders into your deck. When you draw into one of them, it'll automatically be fielded out onto the board.

- With Hench-Clan Thug out on the board, each attack you make with your weapon will cause the minion to gain an extra +1 / +1 of stats.

- When Gadgetzan Auctioneer is out in play, every card you play while cause another card to be added to your hand. Look to your cheap spells for fuel in this regard.

- Watch your Myra's Unstable Element play. It'll fill your hand with cards from your deck, and once your hand is full any remaining cards will evaporate! The smaller your hand size the better when you make this play, in other words.

Miracle Rogue card choices and substitutions

There are a handful of absolutely essential cards to Miracle Rogue that we’ve covered below, as well as some suggestions for replacements where possible:

• Backstab: It has so many uses: free removal, combo activator and free card draw with Gadgetzan Auctioneer.
• Preparation: Can be vital for keeping your miracle draws going by discounting a spell in your hand or luckily pulling one off the top of your deck. A must-have.
• Cold Blood: Big finisher card when buffing a minion such as Leeroy Jenkins and also cheap enough to keep your draws going with Gadgetzan Auctioneer.
• Bloodmage Thalnos: Can be a nice bonus if you use Fan of Knives or Eviscerate alongside it, but works just as well as card draw.
• Eviscerate: A good way to keep minions under control or go for face damage in the late game.
• Edwin VanCleef: With the sheer number of cards you can draw and play on a single turn there’s so much opportunity to build up a massive Edwin VanCleef that it remains an essential part of the deck. Questing Adventurer is an acceptable replacement.
• Fal’dorei Strider: Can help give you a bigger board presence with the Ambush cards it shuffles into your deck.
• Leeroy Jenkins: Offers another big finisher and Shadowstep means you can play it multiple times a turn in the late game. Consider running Reckless Rocketeer or Southsea Deckhand as alternatives.
• Vilespine Slayer: Minion removal and an extra creature on the board is a big tempo swing. Assassinate can take its place but offers far less value.
• Gadgetzan Auctioneer: This is the key card that makes the deck work. Do not play it too freely and always look for ways to protect it.