Rogue was a force to be reckoned with at this past World Championship, in both Constructed and Draft. Through the Dark Portal and Fires of Outland were very kind to Rogue, giving them cost-efficient abilities and equipment that were very effective at working together. Rogue didn¡¯t receive as many great weapons in March of the Legion, receiving only Whispering Blade of Slaying and Hungering Bone Cudgel. Is there a pattern? In Heroes of Azeroth, Rogues were among the weakest classes overall, but they gradually gained strength with successive sets in the block. The same may be happening with the Burning Crusade block. Rogue has potential in March of the Legion, and it may grow stronger with the release of Servants of the Betrayer. The class should never be counted out¡ªthey¡¯re sneaky, them Rogues!
Commons

Head Trauma

Destroying resources is a fairly new concept. Destroying opposing resources can give you a distinct advantage by making sure you keep placing bigger allies than your opponent can in the next few turns. By turn 7 or 8, though, the number of resources you have won¡¯t make too great of an impact on the game. Head Trauma works better when you go first in the game. It¡¯d be good as a side deck card in Limited, since if you lose game 1 or 2, you know you¡¯ll be going first in the next game.

On the Brink

This is a great ally-removal ability that costs just 1 resource to play. It basically shuts down whatever ally you attach it to. The attached ally can¡¯t attack without being destroyed. And if it has protector, it can protect against one attack but then it¡¯ll die before dealing damage. You¡¯ll want to have as many copies of On the Brink as possible in your Draft deck.

Hide and Stab

This card is most useful on the last turn of the game. Use this ability to get in a key attack with your hero, as its new stealth power lets it sneak past potentially lethal protectors. Then, since you¡¯ve used the stealth power and done some damage, destroy Hide and Stab, exhaust a protector, and proceed to attack with your ally. You can also use the second power on its own to get past a pesky protector. Since you don¡¯t want to draw a Hide and Stab early in the game, drafting one copy is sufficient.

Obfuscate

This 1-cost Rogue ability will help your smaller allies deal with opposing bigger allies. You can also use it to get an ally through a protector late in the game to deal 2 more damage to the opposing hero.

Uncommons

Rogue Training

You¡¯ll want to make certain that the ally on which you play Rogue Training deals damage to the opposing hero immediately after attaching it. You¡¯ll want to make sure that you don¡¯t lose card advantage if your opponent is able to kill your ally on the next turn. Rogue Training can lead to a lot of card advantage and can help you in the late game. Also, taking the last card out of your opponent¡¯s hand will save you from having to deal with it in other ways. Overall, Rogue Training is very playable, and it will probably fit into any Rogue Draft deck. However, you¡¯ll most likely get the most use out of it in a drafted Alliance Rogue deck where you can play it on an elusive ally.

Sprint

In Draft, Sprint will most likely be used for its second effect. Readying your hero doesn¡¯t do much good in Limited since you can¡¯t really do anything with that. Sprint¡¯s second effect allows your hero to run away from at least one attack a turn and not take any damage. It¡¯ll become very annoying very fast for your opponents, as you¡¯ll be able to stop the biggest ally they have from dealing any damage to your hero. Sprint is a very useful card to have in any Draft deck.

Wound Poison

Rogue heroes don¡¯t have many options with regard to dealing damage to opposing heroes in the March of the Legion set, which makes Poison cards a lot less useful. Wound Poison has great potential in Constructed, as it doesn¡¯t allow those annoying Paladins to heal any of the damage you¡¯ve dealt to them. Every damage you inflict upon them counts, and they won¡¯t be able to get that health back. If you manage to get a couple of Whispering Blade of Slayings, Wound Poison is certainly playable as a great damage over time ability.

Rares

Blind

If you don¡¯t have something to play on your turn or if you¡¯re unable to use all of your resources and only have a 3-cost ally out on turn 6, then Blind makes sure your opponent can¡¯t play an ally for another turn, which gives you a chance to deal more damage and end the game faster.

Adrenaline Rush

If you¡¯re looking for a specific ally in your deck, then Adrenaline Rush will certainly help you find it. I haven¡¯t seen many games go on for very long in the March of the Legion format, so running out of cards in your deck is not an issue like it might have been in the Heroes of Azeroth block.

Cheat Death

This card is useful in getting rid of annoying abilities like Serpent Sting and Siphon Life attached to your hero. Cheat Death can also keep you from losing the game, and it gives you another turn to try to pull out a win in a tight race.

Thick as Thieves & Unfair Advantage

Both of these Rogue rares are made for Constructed. Unfair Advantage can be a game ender for your opponent, making him or her discard an entire hand, but for this to work, you need a great deal of Combo cards in your deck, which is not always possible in Draft. The same goes for Thick as Thieves. In order to make Thick as Thieves as powerful as possible and make your allies invincible, you need to build a deck around this card, using only allies with stealth. Rare draft Thick as Thieves and Unfair Advantage for their powers in Constructed if you¡¯re interested, but steer clear of them when it comes time to build your Limited deck.

Strategy

Rogue is among the weaker classes to draft in March of the Legion simply because it does not have as many quality cards as the other classes do. This means that the chances are much higher that the Rogue cards you¡¯re looking for won¡¯t show up in packs in any given draft. If you still want to draft Rogue, you¡¯ll want to focus more on your ally base and make sure that your allies are good sizes for their costs. The key Rogue ability you¡¯ll want to focus on getting is On the Brink¡ªtry to get as many copies of that as possible. On the Brink will be your key ally-removal ability, and at only 1resource point, you¡¯ll still be able to play a good enough ally to stay on curve. You want a good curve of allies, so stock up on 3- and 4-cost allies. Five 3-cost ones and four 4-cost ones may be enough to ensure you draw those allies on their respective turns. Your quest count can be around six or seven, and you don¡¯t have to worry that much about which ones; just make sure they net you a card.

One last thing about Rogue in March of the Legion is that it does have the best hero flip powers in the set. Dralor gets rid of potential problem allies like Groundshaker Earnheart or Weeble, preventing your opponent from getting the card advantage off either 6-cost ally. Zag¡¯zil can destroy any weapon, being the first hero to be given such a power. A one-time ¡°Chipper¡± Ironbane effect, Zag¡¯zil can destroy any Runesong Dagger. This power alone means that Rogues are viable in Draft, though not all Drafts. You¡¯ll just have to pay attention and see how the table is shaping up.

Next week, I will be going over the new toys that Mage has to work with.