Home Strategy Dimir Rogues’ Gallery deck guide: Stealing away wins

Since we at T3 had first dibs on revealing the newest Duels of the Planeswalkers 2013 DLC, it only makes sense that we’d get our deck guides for Rogues’ Gallery and Mana Mastery out early. After all, what good are new options if you have no idea how to effectively wield them on the battlefield?

To that end, I’ve put together my thoughts on the Dimir Rogues’ Gallery deck, including my analysis of the general value of every maindeck and unlockable card. Got a different opinion? Let me know in the comments or start a topic on the Top Tier Tactics Forums!

Rogues’ Gallery general strategy

This section is currently pending in-depth playtesting – check back soon!

Rogues’ Gallery deck list

60 Cards. 24 Lands (12B, 9U; 3 other).

  • 3x Terramorphic Expanse

2 cost

  •   2x Dimir Guildmage
  •   2x Inkfathom Infiltrator
  •   1x Invisible Stalker
  •   4x Agony Warp
  •   1x Mask of Riddles

3 cost

  •   2x Dimir Cutpurse
  •   2x Phantom Warrior
  •   1x Royal Assassin
  •   1x Scroll Thief
  •   1x Soul Manipulation

4 cost

  •   2x Moroii
  •   1x Sangromancer
  •   2x Barrin’s Spite
  •   3x Flight of Fancy
  •   3x Helm of the Ghastlord
  •   1x Memory Plunder

5 cost

  •   1x Ghastlord of Fugue
  •   1x Nemesis of Reason
  •   2x Ribbons of Night

6 cost

  •   1x Harvester of Souls
  •   1x Laquatus’s Champion
  •   1x Wrexial, the Risen Deep

Rogues’ Gallery card-by-card analysis

Abyssal Specter: 3.5
While not exactly a powerhouse, Abyssal Specter is nonetheless a “deal with me or lose” kind of creature. Its flying evasion, coupled with every-turn discard, means that the longer it takes to kill it, the fewer ways your opponent will have to do so! Of course, that’s not super useful if their hand is already empty, and Abyssal Specter already has to fight for attention at the deck’s most crowded mana drop (four). Still, this is a winner against slower decks with few flying defenders.

Agony Warp: 4.0
Don’t be fooled: this is an A+ combat trick. The most important thing to note about Agony Warp is that it can target two separate creatures, or punish a single nuisance with a full -3/-3 slap to the face. For two mana, that’s an incredible bargain, and will often generate card advantage during combat. You can grant the -3/-0 nerf to something that would normally trade with your own creature (theirs will now be the only one that dies) and outright kill most other critters with the -0/-3 effect.

Ashling, the Extinguisher: 4.0
Ashling sure is daunting, and his/her/its power is only amplified by the number of evasive tricks present in Rogues’ Gallery. Getting this 4/4 through for direct damage won’t be hard, and its effect is a self-fueled feedback loop. The more defending creatures you kill, the less chance there will be anything left to block Ashling the following turn! It also helps that you get a decent beater/blocker at the low cost of four mana. Be aware that the BB in its casting cost may trip you up occasionally.

Barony Vampire: 2.0
A flavorful filler card, there’s no reason you should be running Barony Vampire once you’ve unlocked more of the deck. A 3/2 creature isn’t bad, but you have far better options available for the same mana cost.

Barrin’s Spite: 4.5
Nothing says LOL to your enemy’s defenses better than Barrin’s Spite. For four mana, you can severely cripple your foe’s tempo, forcing two of her creatures off the board. Sure, you don’t get to pick which one gets sacrificed and which one gets bounced, but your opponent is probably screwed either way. If you can follow up Barrin’s Spite with an attack from something like Abyssal Specter, you might even force your enemy to discard the bounced creature, too. Only downside? It does require two targets.

Crafty Pathmage: 2.5
Giving you the ability to sneak any tiny creature through combat, Crafty Pathmage sounds like a good deal. Unfortunately, she doesn’t play nice with your own deck’s tempo. Assuming you play her on turn 3, she isn’t able to boost your 2-power creatures until turn 4 at the earliest. On top of that, most of your smaller creatures are already unblockable – it’s really the big creatures in Rogues’ Gallery you’d want to cheat past blockers. As such, this mage just isn’t crafty enough to cut it.

Dimir Cutpurse: 5.0
Say hello to your opponent’s worst nightmare. Coming out fairly early on turn 3, this mummified mugger delivers a +2 card advantage every time he connects with your enemy’s life total. Sure, you’ll have to find a way to get him to slip by, but with several sources of evasion and block-busters like Barrin’s Spite, that shouldn’t be too hard. If not stopped early in the game, Dimir Cutpurse will pay for itself tenfold very, very quickly. Do not hesitate to run both in your deck.

Dimir Guildmage: 4.5
Finally, a guildmage in Duels 2013 that doesn’t absolutely suck. Not only is the resident Dimir sorcerer a badass from an artistic point of view, his abilities are single-handedly game changing. Being able to restock on cards or force your opponents to ditch theirs is great, and it only gets more impressive the later the game drags on. Yes, his effects are expensive at four mana and at sorcery speed, but anything less would have been absolutely broken.

Dire Undercurrents: 3.5
Powerful, but somewhat overcosted. For five mana, you gain the ability to even out your card count whenever you play a creature, and gain card advantage whenever it’s both blue and black. Like the dual-color effects of other recent decks, it’s certainly a victory enabler, but the fact that it only applies to summons (and not all spells) is a drawback.  That said, it makes your topdecked lategame creatures, even the tiny ones, more valuable. In most circumstances, this will be a strong play.

Extract: 3.0
In constructed play, Extract’s value depends greatly on the metagame, since ripping a singleton copy of a key combo card is invaluable. In Duels 2013, I could go either way. Several decks, like Crosswinds, Ancient Wilds, and Obedient Dead have a handful of game-winning bombs they rely on. Extracting them from your enemy’s deck on turn 1 can be absolutely brutal. But against other opponents with more redundant decklists, Extract will have little value. Don’t keep this in unless you’re primarily facing control.

Flight of Fancy: 4.5
Need a way to finagle your fighters past the enemy line? Flight of Fancy gives your creatures wings, not to mention two free cards. That’s right, for the same cost of Inspiration, you get both the card draw and some permanent evasion for your card advantage-generating beaters. Flight of Fancy, like Rancor, laughed at the traditional mantra that “auras suck,” and its power is even more obvious in Rogues’ Gallery. Drop this on a Dimir Cutpurse and get an instant four card lead over your enemy!

Followed Footsteps: 4.0
Though certainly slow, Followed Footsteps gives your opponent a very unsavory proposition: eliminate this creature or you’ll be overrun in a matter of a few turns. Even more painful, your enemy will have to sacrifice his own buddy if you’ve enchanted one of his creatures instead of one of yours. Obviously, choosing a target depends on the situation, but things can get nasty when you pick something with an automatically triggered effect. How does a Laquatus’s Champion every turn sound?

Ghastlord of Fugue: 5.0
As with all hybrid-costed cards, the Ghastlord is imminently castable and ridiculously rewarding once in play. He can’t be stopped by “defending creatures” so when he “attacks,” your opponent will have to discard “something she didn’t want to discard.” The fact that the effect is nearly unstoppable is cake, as is the bonus that you’ll know exactly what your opponent’s gameplan is every turn you can get through (which will be most of them).

Glen Elendra Liege: 4.5
Boosting the rest of your spy network by as much as +2/+2, this morale-generating fairy simply cannot be passed up. All of a sudden, your unblockable weenies are a significant damage threat, and everything that’s not Glen Elendra Liege is now harder to kill off. Nonetheless, she does get a half point deduction for two reasons. First, she makes Crafty Pathmage useless. And second, the Liege is just painfully boring. Is this seriously the best Wizards could do with Glen Elendra lore?

Glimpse the Unthinkable: 2.5
Now wait; before you get upset about my rating, hear me out! I know that Glimpse the Unthinkable is a great card, and I’d easily give it a 5.0 (or hell, a 5.5!) if it were in something like Dream Puppets. For two mana, milling ten cards is an insane deal. But placed as a singleton in Rogues’ Gallery, Glimpse feels lost. There simply aren’t enough other mill effects to threaten a victory by insanity, so 90% of the time, this card won’t influence the game. Against certain reanimation decks, it could even help them!

Grimgrin, Corpse-born: 3.5
Wonky? Yes? Fun to play? Very yes. Grimgrin may seem a bit slow, but his incredible size and creature-killing power are unmatched. In order to use him, you’ll need to feed him fresh bodies every turn, but so will your opponent. And with each swing, Corpse-born gets considerably larger. You may have problems securing enough creatures to sac, but by then, the game is probably over. As a general rule, keep Grimgrin tapped at EOT, opting to untap him in response to removal or to make him a surprise blocker.

Harvester of Souls: 4.0
This demonic, gigantic bloodsucker adds insult to injury by giving you a card whenever something else bites the dust. Think of him as a geeked-out recycling bin! Being a 5/5 for six mana isn’t bad, though his deathtouch ability is kind of wasted, given his enormous body. The card-drawing effect is definitely a big bonus, but you won’t see big gains from it since Rogues’ Gallery has very little direct removal. In other words, if your opponent doesn’t feel like throwing corpses at you, don’t expect to draw many cards.

Hellcarver Demon: 4.0
Previously a junk card in Obedient Dead, Hellcarver Demon is a significant consideration in Rogues’ Gallery. Unlike the mono-black deck, the Dimir pile isn’t full of conditional cards you might want to save for later. A successful swing with Hellcarver is a big risk, but is likely to land you three to four creatures, enchantments, or spells every turn thereafter. And with six power, you don’t need him to swing too many times. And, at the very worst, he’s a gigantic, flying blocker for just six mana.

Helm of the Ghastlord: 4.5
The perfect combination with unblockable creatures, including (surprise, surprise) the Ghastlord of Fugue himself. Much like Flight of Fancy, this aura pays for itself the turn it comes into play, but unlike FOF, it continues to reap rewards with every attack. Your creatures will hit harder while draining your opponent of cards. In essence, if you can get even a single draw out of Helm of the Ghastlord, you’re already ahead of the count. A definite inclusion in any Dimir Duels deck.

Infiltrate: 3.0
Significantly worse and more boring than Distortion Strike, Infiltrate gets one of your creatures through combat unscathed once. Whether that’s worth a card spot is hard to say, though with most Rogues’ Gallery creatures, you’ll make up for the inherent disadvantage via their triggered abilities. For instance, using this on Dimir Cutpurse will pay for itself in duplicate. It’s also an instant, which isn’t super useful, but has certain applications. Obscure example: use it on Taunting Elf to ignore its effect!

Inkfathom Infiltrator: 4.5
Remember the Shadow mechanic? Of course you don’t! But Inkfathom Infiltrator does, and she’s a big fan. So, in exchange for not being able to block, she’s also totally unblockable. And with two power at the super-easy cost of two blue/black hybrid, she’s easy to get into play. Throw a Helm of the Ghastlord or Mask of Riddles on her, and you’ve got a nearly unstoppable (short of removal) engine for card advantage.

Invisible Stalker: 4.5
Following in the invisible footsteps of Inkfathom Infiltrator, the Invisible Stalker trades power and cost versatility for the ability to block and, oh yeah, hexproof. As such, he won’t be swinging as hard as his mermaid counterpart, but he also won’t be dispatched as easily, at least without board-sweeping effects like Mutilate. Plus, he’s useful late game, since he can hang back to chump block. Do bear in mind that doing only one power is a pretty big drawback; don’t expect to win with his puny damage often.

Laquatus’s Champion: 5.0
Now this is a 6-drop I can get behind. Drop this “nightmare horror” squidman into play and watch your vertebrate opponents squirm. As if his 6/3 body and one mana regeneration weren’t terrifying enough, he also slashes an enemy’s life total by six when he hits the battlefield. Sure, they’ll get it back if/when the Champion dies, but his cheap regen makes that highly unlikely. Even if they do recover their life, they’re just back where they started! This is a game-ending prize of a card.

Mask of Riddles: 4.0
Flying solo as the only equipment in Rogues’ Gallery, Mask of Riddles at least pulls its own weight. By dropping it on a creature, you’ll make it hard (but not impossible) to block, plus all of its attacks will come with inherent card advantage. This two-for-one bonus helps fill in a lot of this deck’s weaknesses, since most creatures are either unblockable (with no abilities) or ability-driven (but easily blocked). The fact that Mask of Riddles is so cheap to play and equip is just another reason to like it.

Memory Plunder: 4.0
By no means hot stuff outside of Duels of the Planeswalkers, Memory Plunder is exceedingly strong in this format. Almost every Duels deck has a handful of game-changing spells, and the option to use one (especially after it’s been milled out, discarded, or countered) against its owner has the potential to be devastating. You’ll often find that, when forced to discard, players will ditch cost-prohibitive spells first. Follow up by stealing their Prophetic Bolt, Flame Wave, or Beacon of Immortality for four mana!

Mephidross Vampire: 3.5
Expensive, but effective, this double vampire (points to whoever figures it out) instantly makes your other creatures a slightly bigger threat. I say slightly because in order for Mephidross’ ability to trigger, your little guys are going to have to actually survive combat. That’s not an easy proposition, since most of them are low on toughness, but Agony Warp can certainly help get the job done. Barring that, he’s a decent flyer who can help deliver the deck’s many discard effects.

Mindleech Mass: 3.5
Yes, it’s intimidating. Yes, it’s a 6/6 trample. Yes, it’s ability will pretty much guarantee your victory. But even given all that, this hulking horror is still eight mana. At that price, you’re going to be pretty pissed when someone Murders it or sends it Into the Roil. Besides, its ability is just screaming “win more.” If you can get your six power creature through on turn nine (or higher), you probably had this match in the bag anyway. That said, I certainly wouldn’t be happy to see him come into play against me!

Moroii: 4.0
I don’t know how to pronounce this card, but I’m pretty sure it’s something like “Eat this!” Moroii’s life-draining drawback kind of sucks, but you get so much for the cost. A four power flyer on turn 4 is basically unheard of, not to mention its synergy with something like Helm of the Ghastlord. Either way, your opponent is screwed if they don’t kill Moroii fast, and if they do… hey, at least you’ll stop losing life, right? Worst case scenario: someone throws Pillory of the Sleepless on this. Ouch.

Necromantic Thirst: 2.5
In most situations, this aura simply won’t help you win the game. If played early (on say, an Inkfathom Infiltrator), it’s unlikely you’ll have any creatures in your graveyard to resurrect. If cast late in the game, you’d probably prefer evasion or a power/toughness boost to help you ram through defenders. Necromantic Thirst would’ve been cool if this deck had more sacrificial effects in it, but as-is, you’ll rarely get your mana’s worth.

Nemesis of Reason: 5.0
Words describing it fail. Pages relating it shrivel. Tales recounting it end. Opponents facing it lose.”

Neurok Invisimancer: 3.0
Much like Crafty Pathmage, the Invisimancer has a hard time fitting into this deck. If played turn 2, it’s unlikely he’ll have a good target for his disappearing act, other than perhaps Dimir Guildmage. Of course, unlike Crafty Pathmage, this Neurok magician is also useful as an attacker himself, and can easily push through things like Mask of Riddles. He’s also decent as a lategame play, letting you unleash Laquatus’s Champion, then helping to bust through defenses himself.

Painful Quandary: 4.0
A little too slow for constructed play, Painful Quandary is a lot more welcome in Duels of the Planeswalkers. Dropping it on turn 5 (or even later), it will set the stage for your opponent’s demise no matter which effect they choose. It’s similar to Followed Footsteps in that it won’t win you the match instantly, but it gets out of control, fast. Best of all, they can’t actually opt to discard a card if their hand’s empty, meaning whenever they play the last spell in their hand, they’re losing five life!

Phantom Warrior: 4.0

While some people would be willing to pay three mana for a 2/2 creature with flying, the fact is that even flyers can still be blocked. Phantom Warriors don’t give a damn about flying, terrain, or solid walls… they bypass it all! While certainly an easy way to sneak a Helm of the Ghastlord through to your enemy, I feel Phantom Warriors are overcosted compared to the cheaper Inkfathom Infiltrator and Invisible Stalker. That said, he’s still a solid beater that won’t be easily removed via combat.

Ribbons of Night: 4.0
Outside of Duels (and especially outside of Rogues’ Gallery), I’d probably give this expensive removal option a 3.0 or lower. It’s a sorcery that doesn’t guarantee a kill and doesn’t guarantee a card draw. For effect, compare to Prophetic Bolt, an instant that always sifts through your four next options to find something tasty. That said, Ribbons of Night is one of this deck’s only removal option, and the life gain will help make up for its lackluster speed. It could even be used on your own creature, if necessary.

Royal Assassin: 4.5
“Nice creature you got there. It would be a shame if it attacked and, uh, fell on a knife.” Royal Assassin has been synonymous with mean spirited removal since the dawn of Magic, and now it’s back to mock your opponent’s would-be attackers. This cold-hearted killer fits in well with all the Dimir unblockables, since you’ll frequently be pressing the attack, only to eat more damage in return. With Royal Assassin out, that’s no longer a concern. He also ices activated abilities that require tapping!

Sangromancer: 4.5
Getting a sexy flying vampire for four mana is already a steal, but adding on free life gain whenever very common stuff occurs? Delightful. Sangromancer is a great turn 4 play, since she can immediately hold off smaller creatures while threatening evasive damage as revenge. With just a little bit of dying and discarding, you can easily regain the life you lost to faster decks early on, helping you regain control just in time for your Grimgrin, Corpse-born or Nemesis of Rea

Scroll Thief: 2.5
With no evasion whatsoever and a mediocre 1/3 body, you won’t be getting Scroll Thief’s ability to trigger particularly often. Sure, you could pay to make him unblockable, but… why? You’re better off using more powerful turn 3 drops instead! I guess Scroll Thief can be a decent blocker, but most of the time he’ll die a card-drawing virgin.

Shoreline Salvager: 1.0
As a professional journalist, I told myself I had to give at least one card a terrible rating. This is that card. Don’t use it.

Soul Manipulation: 4.0
Soul Manipulation is this deck’s only countermagic, so treasure it. Sure, it can only undo creature spells, but the bonus option to get one of your own creatures back is well worth the lack of countering credentials. You can also technically use this instant solely for its disentombing properties, but unless it’s a necromantic emergency, you’re better off waiting for the kill-1-get-1-free sale. Of course, don’t be afraid to cast this early game if your foe attempts to play a St. Augustin, either!

Terramorphic Expanse: 4.0
As with all the other recent two-colored decks, Terramorphic Expanse is basically necessary to your mana base. Your best bet is to just run two or three, as four tend to flood your hand, while taking one basically can’t be counted on.

Unliving Pscyhopath: 3.0
Wouldn’t you love to pay four mana for the right to pay even more mana just to attack? I sure wouldn’t. And, as a combat creature, Unliving Psychopath kind of sucks. Pumping it is expensive and dangerous, so you’ll mostly just use this morbid murderer to block. It does have the nifty ability to kill small creatures, but that, too, is expensive, and it’s not likely you’ll be able to afford the ability frequently in the early game. But if enemies hold back their creatures, you can always force a discard.

Walking Corpse: 3.0
A boring Grizzly Bear card, this is actually worse than other Grizzly Bears in Duels 2013. Why’s that? Since half his mana cost is black, you aren’t guaranteed to drop him by turn 2. And a 2/2 on turn 3 or 4 just isn’t impressive without some kind of secondary ability. I wouldn’t use these unless you face a lot of aggro, or if you simply need to smooth out your mana curve with more second turn inclusions.

Wrexial, the Risen Deep: 4.0
Getting a 5/8 behemoth for just six mana is a wonderful deal. Getting that same creature and making him unblockable against a third of the decks in the game? Even better? But receiving a Champion of the Spires effect every single turn? Now that’s unheard of! Wrexial absolutely wrecks your opponents’ plans, especially when they revolve around “blocking creatures” or “casting my own spells and not targeting myself.” This monster synergizes perfectly with both discard and mill effects, too!

 

43 replies to this post
  1. Can you explain why Nemesis of Reason gets a 5.0? You argue that Glimpse the Unthinkable is not a worthwhile investment and both cards do mostly the same thing.

    And even just in practice if you getting the 5ish hits needed to mill a player with Nemesis chances are the player would be dead before that anyways…

    • Glimpse as a 1-of cannot mill the opponent. Nemesis of Reason can. Nemesis of Reason doesn’t actually need to “hit” either… its ability triggers on attack, and with seven toughness, it is very likely it can survive most attacks solo or with help from this deck’s various combat tricks. Finally, it is a great defender for its cost, and can hold back many large threats. All of this is in contrast to Glimpse, which is a single-us spell that won’t affect the game 90% of the time.

    • No, if an” effect creature” has an effect that causes other “target” creatures to add a type or subtype to their creature type that is the same as the target creatures original type or subtype then their type or subtype remains the same. In other words if dat foo Mephidross try changin a vampire into a vampire dat vampire be all like “Hey sucka, you best back up of my grits son!!! I’ve done been a vampire since the day I was bownt!!!”

  2. “Best of all, they can’t actually opt to discard a card if they’re hand’s empty”
    Typo!

    Yeah, sorry. Wrexial is just one sexy deep, as he’s actually unblockable by no less than 14 out of the 21 decks DotP is soon going to offer (assuming Mana Mastery drops a Swamp or Island by turn 6, which is very likely). Two thirds unblockability and a ‘kill/block me or die’ creature even if it can be blocked? Sweet!

    This deck just absolutely feels like it wants to be paired up with Dream Puppets. Sure, having a few Howling Mines out will help your opponents deal with the discard, but on the other hand, the discard will nullify any advantage that they’d get from it. Now imagine having out enough discard that they will actually only get to keep whatever they draw until your creatures untap and punch them in the face.Wonderful.

    There’s also not a lot of graveyard funsies in Rogues’ Gallery, but enough, and remember, Dream Puppets is a deck built around controlling the board as you wish and keeping everything in control as your plans unfurl. That’s how I play it, anyhow. Direct mill? Anything sorcery speed? Things that don’t let you twist your mustache and cackle when you play them? Pff, who needs that.

    Thinking about it, playing Mill/draw + discard/advantage in 2HG does sound like one of the dumbest things to do. Thus, it really sounds like the thing cut out for me. Anybody up to make this work?

      • I think this combos best with golgari – it benefits from the discard, it speeds up mana draw and it has lots of tough blockers. But I’ll even take the red direct damage deck over dream puppets to pair with rogues – remove the enemy’s offense, defense and hand.

        But I do wish sword of body and mind was in rogues gallery.:D

  3. Rogue seems to be surprisingly fragile. It only has two removal cards and one creature which forces sac on dmg. Overall, while you maybe getting a card advantage from turn 4 onwards, it can’t deal with fatties that’s already on the board. A green-ramp deck will steam roll Rogue before the card advantage kicks in.

    • Yeah, the deck is just like dream puppets and mindstorms: a lot of fun in theory but very challenging to win with in practice. It’s one of the weakest decks in the early game even with agony warp because it doesn’t have a lot of means to protect its creatures. Setting up combos is hard because you’re either forced to sacrifice your creatures to block or the enemy is removing or immobilizing your creatures.

      I guess aura servants spoiled me with its hexproof creatures, because I always find myself unable to keep my enchanted/equipped creatures for long, especially against the mono decks, not just the green ones. I would gladly trade any of its big creatures for three more invisible stalkers, at least that way I can enjoy its discard and draw quicker. Besides, in the late game its discarding powers are not that crucial anymore (unless your enemy got mana screwed).

      That said this card at least makes opponents think hard about which of your creatures to destroy or immobilize because nearly all of them are dangerous. And being able to poke through with a helmed dimir cutpurse is so awesome. In theory. :D

      • Rogue does seem to suffer from the same problem as Dream Puppet – milling/card trick is fun but without some decent creatures or control cards to slow things down, the opponent will usually overrun you first.

        By comparison, a virgin Mana Mastery deck can win PvPs off the bat while I’m having trouble beating revenge campaign using Rogue. =P Anyone else figure out a good strategy for this deck?

  4. Yeah focus on the main theme of this deck. This was one of the few guides on this site I disagreed with strongly. Look at the big picture instead of at cards individually. I may or may not post my build, but I’ve seen great success.

    • I think given what appears to be universal disdain for this deck, if you’ve been having great success with your build, the entire DOTP community would appreciate you posting it.

  5. sure wish the deck had 2 or 3 Go for the Throat, pongify, etc…having a hard time killing off insanely large creatures. The deck can deal with them indirectly by providing enough card advantage where you can drop that extra chump blocker, but what happens when that 32/32 Lord of Extinction gets Rancor straped to it? We only have one royal assassin, and there is plenty of creature removal out there to deal with him.

    • On top of having nothing to deal with fatties, Rogue is awfully bad against sweepers too. This deck is so reliant on a few creatures and enchants, you are unlikely to recover after a nuke. It’s even worse than Collective Might; at least that deck can pump out chump blockers quickly after.

      I really wonder how several decks managed to sneak pass quality control considering how weak they are compared to other decks.

  6. I hear what your saying dh50, but let me be clear. My beliefs about sharing deck builds especially in DOTP have changed. I believe that part of being a good player comes with the deck you bring to the table. Tips are one thing, but outright telling people what to use is another.

    I will however say this. Focus on speed and synergy, then go from there.

    • I do win with Rogue now and again but it really needs a good draw in the first 3 turns. If you don’t have some unblockables/millers out early, the deck just can’t catch up to most decks in 2013.

      The lack of consistency against another decent player is the reason why Collective Might & Art of War are so rarely seen even if you do win on occasions.

  7. I feel like I need to point this out.
    This deck is amazing in Two-headed giant. It pretty much locks down the person across from you.
    I know we’re all talking about 1v1. I’m just saiyan.

  8. This deck looks weak when you first look at it but I am interested in run this deck with the “snapcasting from your opponent” aspect of this deck. It could make up for the lack of removal problem this deck has.

  9. 4 Terramorphic Expanse
    2 Extract
    4 Agony Warp
    2 Dimir Guildmage
    1 Glimpse The Unthinkable
    1 Mask of Riddles
    2 Walking Corpse
    2 Barony Vampire
    2 Dimir Cutpurse
    2 Neurok Invisimancer
    1 Royal Assasin
    1 Soul Manipulation
    1 Ashling, The Extinguisher
    2 Barrin’s Spite
    1 Glen Elendra Liege
    1 Memory Plunder
    1 Sangromancer
    1 Shoreline Salvager
    2 Followed Footsteps
    1 Grimgrin, Corpse-Born
    1 Nemesis of Reason
    2 Ribbons of Night
    1 Laquatus’s Champion
    1 Wrexial, The Risen Deep

    I never would’ve thought it’d be possible to make a bad UB deck. Rogue’s Gallery blows that theory right out of the water. The fact that Shoreline Salvager makes the final cut (lol) and Crafty Pathmage almost did is certain proof.

    I don’t see why we need to revert back to removal like Ribbons of Night after Sepulchral Strength introduced such an excellent removal set.. 1x Upheaval, a playset of Chainer’s Edict, Faceless Butcher or some Counterspell’s may go some way to fixing it.

    The DotP meta is more powerful in 2013, Rogue’s Gallery is mid-tier 2012. It’s baffling when fully unlocked Mana Mastery can go 50:50 against most decks, but this one struggles against Campaign Garruk.

    • Pretty much my build too which is about the only way you can go for this deck as far as I can see.

      Win/Lose ratio is just below average for 2HG but I’m weary of taking this deck to 1v1s since I too still have a hard time with Revenge Garruk. =P

    • Interesting, it seems you can combo Glimpse the Unthinkable / Nemesis of Reason to get extra options for Memory Plunder, making it an often reliable removal spell… I just can’t ever see this deck winning by milling, though, so i leave those cards out…

      • I agree you can’t win via mill, but I keep Nemesis of Reason because 1) it’s a huge blocker for 5 mana 2) he COULD single-handedly mill the opponent in just 3-5 attacks, depending how late in the game it is

  10. Don’t have that much issues with this deck, just builded it around unblockables, removal(yes those few cards) and cards working combo (draw/discard) I’m crushing a lot of other DPW2013 decks 60win/40lose, of course not the best deck, but not that weak. Much better for me, that for example Gruul, which I don’t like.

  11. Hi Wing & anyone else that reads this, i know its nothing to do with this topic but i was wondering if anyone knew if WOTC would be releasing promo cards for all the newest decks?? i have them all but compared to the other decks that got the promo codes i think the new cards are at a 10 card disadvantage…. or am i wrong?? anyway if anyone had any info on this id really appreciate it :D

    • This topic has been mentioned many MANY times already. The answers is that, sadly, WOTC will NOT be releasing any promo cards for the deck pack decks.

      It’s on their official forum somewhere but I’m too lazy to find the link. =)

  12. I have found reasonable success with Rogues’ Gallery by playing it like Goblin Gangland: play a lot of early creatures, be aggressive, and use removal when necessary to maintain board control. If you use the right creatures and focus on getting them through, card advantage will happen naturally…

    MVPs of my build:
    Neurok Invisimancer
    Barony Vampire
    Ashling
    Grimgrin
    Scroll Thief
    Abyssal Specter

    Some cards I exclude:
    Inkfathom Infiltrator
    Phantom Warrior
    Helm of the Ghastlord

    This deck’s biggest weakness is an opponent who can match your creature output but with larger creatures (ie. Garruk), but it can destroy most other aggressive and control decks…

  13. Let me say, helm of the Ghastlord is a card that works quite well. I leave both of them in, and they work great on any dual or even my monocolored creatures, and if you play 2HG you can even enchant to help a teammate draw or lock down their target as well. Also, unblockables are still unblockable, whether they’re hexproof or not. That being said, you can sneak the helm or mask of riddles through quite easily. An abyssal spectre does double duty with the helm, and with a mask it’s as good as a cutpurse, etc, etc, etc.

  14. Hey Wing big fan you rock!!!so basically I took 1 agony warp 1 flight of fancy out and put in x2 Neurok Invisimancer and I play with my deck at 61 on xbox so I have x1 Ashling in the mix just makes me feel more capable round 3 -ashling more chance of a monster to play or later you get a bigger monster out and pop one of Neuroks next round won me some games and hey just for a long shot are you gonna do guides for dlc pack 1 and Sepul Strength would love to see your thoughts on builds from you on thosethose 1’s

  15. Ik the deck pack 1 is alright not the greatest of the new decks but I feel like when the promos come out they’ll hopefully gain a good arsenal like some of the decks before the first set of promo’s came out

  16. Hopeless. Absolutely hopeless at 1vs1. Espescially against decks with a lot of removal or neutralization. Too “just me give that one card” dependent. Unless you can get that defining draw mechanic going, which is way harder in practice than it is in theory, YOU WILL NEVER GET THAT CARD.

    I always just end up reverting back to Exalted anyway.

  17. I honestly enjoyed your assessment, and not just because I agree with 95% of your analogies. And the ones I disagree on aren’t worth arguing about.

    I’ve been trying to get this deck to it’s absolute best, doing whatever I can, but it’s honestly the worst deck of them all in 2013. Why?

    1) It lacks reliable removal. It’s got ‘some’ but nowhere near enough. and for a deck with B, it’s silly
    2) It lacks control, and for a deck with U..that’s kind of silly.
    3)With a deck with a lot of weenies who are worthless in blocking, it lacks counterspells to keep that trampling behemoth from getting on the field and running you over.. 1 counterspell(soul manipulation) doesn’t cut it.

    However, I’m enjoying playing it. Why? I’m a masochist..j/k, but I do enjoy a challenge and making this deck anywhere near challenging is a huge one. It’s so far behind the next worst deck though that it’s hard to get others to play it.

    I would enjoy hearing your take on the other 2013 decks though, if they exist. If so, please send me links for it because looking for anything particular on the net nowadays should be accompanied by mission impossible music.

    • Rogue is surprisingly fun and powerful to play in 2v2 as long as you partner up with a control heavy deck like SS or CW etc. Nowadays I use rogue as much as I can and it’s brilliant.

      On the flip side, there’s no way to make this deck decent in 1v1 – although I would still rate this above Collective Might. =)

      • Oh, the fun factor is always there for me for any deck, whether I’m playing against it or with it. I even play the modded up version of the old 1995 Microprose Magic game for the fun of it.(It has been made to look more modern and does have ways to access every card ever made). For that matter, I have just spent over 2 years playing Magic: The Gathering Tactics.

        It seems to do well with my partners in 2hg if they use removal heavy decks. They clear the path, I reap the rewards.

        Collective might can be difficult to play but not in 2hg. There, load up on every antiair spell it has(except for pollenbright wings)and flood your side of the board with tokens.

        Perhaps you should do a deck by deck analogy of the DoTP 2013 decks and how they play in 2hg as that seems to be getting more and more popular. I’d certainly read it. You could show how certain decks are great together and which ones just aren’t. One good example is Grinning Malice/Act of War or Grim Procession/Sepulchral Strength.

  18. I have a fairly high rate of success with rouge gallery around 70/30. Who doesn’t love UB? Is it legacy or vintage quality like what a UB deck could be? (I’m looking at you yawgmoth’s will) No but it is always fun to teach someone using a removal heavy deck like Mana Mastery or Obedient Dead the power of card advantage. Or at the very least, remind them.

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