Legend 74% Win Rate Tess Rogue

Hey dudes thanks for checking the deck out! Guide is below. Feel free to leave questions, comments, or suggestions below. Leave an upvote if you like the deck, and thanks again.

OVERVIEW:

Alright, the first thing is to define what this deck is trying to do. This deck aims to strike a balanced approach between high tempo and high value in order to beat opponents of both types. Against aggressive decks such as token druid and murloc shaman cards such as Backstab, SI:7 Agent, Fan of Knives, etc. will help you dominate the board and keep you there. Against slow, control decks such as control warrior or big shaman your goal is to build up to an infinite Tess Greymane with Togwaggle's Scheme kind of like the old Shudderwock shaman. 

One of this deck's strength is its adaptability, but that also means that it's a deck with lots of decision making every game. As such, the learning curve might be slightly higher than other more straight-forward decks so be aware. However, because each game is different thanks to cards such as Blink Fox and Hench-Clan Burglar every game feels different and it's pretty fun to play. 

MATCH UPS:

From rank 5-Legend, this deck went Druid 4-0, Hunter 5-3, Mage 1-1, Paladin 5-0, Priest 2-1, Rogue 3-6, Shaman 14-0, Warlock 1-1, and Warrior 5-2. 

So as you can see, this deck does do very well against fast, aggressive decks (especially Muroc shaman) as well as slow decks like control warrior. Now a quick disclaimer: I'm currently playing in high legend where the meta has shifted to be mostly bomb warrior and giant mage. While this deck does great against control warriors, bomb warrior and giant mage are difficult match ups, so read your pocket meta and adjust decks accordingly. 

DRUID:

Alright, most druids you'll run into are the token variant, and I didn't run into a single heal druid the entire climb. The key card in this match up is Fan of Knives to answer their [Hearthstone Card (Whispering Woods) Not Found]. Other cards to look for in the mulligan are Backstab, SI:7 Agent, and your other anti-aggro tools to fend off their early board. Once you take the board trade smart so they can't fulfill their game plan of buffing a swarm of tokens, and start hitting face. 

HUNTER: There are two current variants of hunter: bomb hunter and beast hunter.

                 For bomb hunter look for your standard early game cards to take the board. If you leave a mech on the field keep in mind that they may magnetize it the next turn so plan accordingly. You want to strike a balance between keeping their board low so they can't magnetize a big threat, but you also don't want to over trade. You need to turn the tide and become the aggressor. In this match up Sap is your friend, and if you can Sap a magnetized threat you're going to be doing good. Now keep in mind that going into the later game you need to play around and have a plan for the Missile Launcher/Venomizer combo. Also, a lot of mech hunters still play Unleash the Hounds so you may not want to go crazy on filling the board full of lackeys. 

             For beast hunter the main thing to keep in mind is that you have to beat Zul'jin. There are two ways to do this: the first is to beat hunter before he is able to play it, and the second is to amass a Tess that can counter the massive swing Zul'jin brings. I've found that Heistbaron Togwaggle is extremely valuable in this match up, particularly if you are going the first route and trying to defeat the hunter before turn ten. A few other things of note: if they play a secret it's often Rat Trap, and when leaving a beast on the field consider whether they might be able to Dire Frenzy or Headhunter's Hatchet next turn. 

MAGE:

Mage is a difficult match up. The first obstacle to overcome is their turn 4/5 Mountain Giant. Generally for this match up I'm mulliganing for cards such as Blink Fox, Hench-Clan Burglar, and Vendetta in order to build up a board before their first giant and to search for answers. When discovering cards off of Ethereal Lackey look for large removal or Vanish to deal with the massive boards they can create. It's very important in this matchup to calculate the costs of Mountain Giant Sea Giant and Rabble Bouncer especially when combined with Conjurer's Calling. There's a newer variant of mage popping up that uses Luna's Pocket Galaxy, and this deck is pretty hard to beat. 

PALADIN:

There are two variants of paladin: mech paladin and [Hearthstone Card (Shirvalah, the Tiger) Not Found]/Holy Wrath paladin. Both are fun to play against.

For mech paladin you are looking to dilute their rez pool for Kangor's Endless Army. In order to do this you want cards that can quickly dispatch an early Galvanizer or similar card before it can be magnatized. The key cards in this match up are your Saps. If you can bait them into creating a giant mech and then you Sap their big boi they'll often concede on the spot. 

Combating the OTK paladin is a fun challenge.  In order to win this matchup you can either kill them before the pull it off or you have to build a Tess that can neutralize their game plan. In order to do this you'll want to maximize value from Blink Fox and Hench-Clan Burglar so use them with Shadowstep, Spirit of the Shark, and Barista Lynchen accordingly. The good news is that when you steal from paladin with Blink Fox paladin very often supplies the very answer's you need in the form of [Hearthstone Card (Time Out) Not Found], Rebuke, or even Nozari. Togwaggle's Scheme a Tess Greymane with answers such as these and you'll be immune from their combo. From Hench-Clan Burglar you are looking for heal and armor cards as well as the occasional Demonic Project. While the match up is somewhat luck based, I've won more than I've lost and if you maximize value from your steal cards you can greatly improve the odds. 

PRIEST:

There aren't many priests right now, but there are two variants you might run into. 

The first is Nomi Priest, so if you can't rush them down you are looking for AOE's to beat Chef Nomi or to build an infinite Tess that can counter it with cards such as Frost Nova, Blizzard, Shrink Ray, etc.

The other type of Priest I've been seeing is a weird mech/ Inner Fire priest. Just Sap their big bois and it should be an easy win.

Rogue:

Rogue was the only negative match up I faced on the way to legend. Our particular rogue archetype is at a disadvantage against other rogues because cards from Blink Fox won't power up our [Hearthstone Card (Vendettas) Not Found] or Underbelly Fence. Most rogue match ups seem to go to whoever can throw more lackeys onto the board first or whoever can Heistbaron Togwaggle first. So when mulliganing I generally look for [Hearthstone Card (E.V.I.L. Miscreant) Not Found] or Heistbaron Togwaggle along with your usual early game. The pirate version of rogue with Captain Hooktusk is probably the hardest version to face as the swing provided by her is hard to deal with, but the pogo version of rogue I've beaten a bit more than I've lost to. 

SHAMAN:

The predominant deck in the meta at the time of climbing was murloc shaman which this deck absolutely preys upon. 14-0 is a pretty good record. We have lots of early game tools to take the board, and Fan of Knives easily deals with swarms as well as Soul of the Murloc. The first obstacle you want to be prepared for is dealing with an early Underbelly Angler, so look for Backstab or even coin plus Blink Fox plus Vendetta. Once you take the board this match up is fairly easy. If you can Sap a Murloc Tastyfin not only do you gain a huge tempo lead but you can also cut off their gas and stall them for a turn. 

There's a newer version of shaman going around that is much more overload/burst focused, and it plays Doomhammer and other aggressive cards such as Lava Burst. I think this version of shaman is stronger than the murloc kind, but I still find beating it not too difficult. The first obstacle to prepare for is Thunderhead and you want to take it out ASAP. You also want to destroy their Spirit of the Frog so they can't draw too much from it. The main thing in this matchup is that you want to be the aggressor so that they are forced to use burst as removal on your minions.

Big shaman isn't seen often, but it's slow and not much of a threat. It gives you plenty of time to create an infinite Tess and so you should win easily. 

WARLOCK:

Zoolock has fallen out of favor, but just like with token druid we don't have a problem with them. Cards like Fan of Knives and Underbelly Fence easily get us ahead on board, and if they play a Sea Giant we just Sap it. Even if they [Hearthstone Card (Arch-Villian Raafam) Not Found] it's nothing to worry about.

WARRIOR: 

Warrior can be really easy or pretty hard depending on what variant you play against. Regardless, you are mulliganing for Togwaggle's Scheme in order to win by building an infinite Tess. Most of the warriors I faced from rank 5-legend were control warrior which give you plenty of time to build up your Tess. But when I reached legend all the warriors became bomb warriors which this deck struggles against. In order to win you are looking for armor or heal cards in order to heal up all the damage you'll take from the bombs. Bomb warrior can be pretty frustrating so good luck. 

CARD REPLACEMENTS:

So when trying to replace a card there are a number of things to consider:

1. What direct role does the card in question play in the deck, i.e. value, tempo, or tech, etc.?

2. Is there a direct replacement for the card's role? i.e. subbing in an Acidic Swamp Ooze because you don't have Harrison Jones

3. Should you try to replace the direct role of the card with another card that fulfills the same role, should you just fill the gap with a tech card of your choosing, or should you just sub in a card that's all-around good like Zilliax or SN1P-SN4P? These are all things to consider when subbing in cards, and while I included suggestions below there may be other good options to consider if you follow these general guidelines. 

Common sub questions: 

Bloodmage Thalnos : sub in Novice Engineer

Edwin VanCleef Edwin is a win condition on his own and he's not directly replaceable. However, I'd probably first try SN1P-SN4P which is a fantastic card that has synergy with Zilliax

Heistbaron Togwaggle King Togwaggle has no replacement and is an important source of power and card draw. The power of this deck will significantly decrease without him. If you like rogue he'll be around for a while, they're going to release new lackeys, so he's well worth the craft.

Barista Lynchen Barista is a great value card and often returns multiple lackeys to your hand to be used again. Because her primary role is value, I'd probably first experiment with either Novice Engineer or EVIL Cable Rat to keep you hand full.

FAQs:

Q: Is there enough steal cards for Tess? I'm only seeing Blink Fox and Hench-Clan Burglar.

A: Yes, there are enough. Those four direct cards are enough to activate both Underbelly Fence and Vendetta consistently. In faster match ups we win through tempo and controlling the board which this deck excels at. Building a giant Tess is not the goal of those match ups. Against slower control decks like control warrior we utilize our Shadowsteps, Spirit of the Sharks, and Barista Lynchen in order to pump up Tess even further. I've experimented with other cards steal cards and found them unnecessary. 

Q: What should you use Togwaggle's Scheme on?

A: Against slow control decks you want to use it on Tess Greymane so you can spam her turn after turn very much like the old Shudderwock shaman. Sometimes you can use it on Heistbaron Togwaggle and chain him with Wondrous Wand for even more fantastic treasures. Against aggressive decks like bomb hunter or burn shaman shuffling multiple Zilliax will often win you the game.