2.87 - Serena - Superthief

[Preybird]

Hi all,

I promised myself that if I made it into the top 100 (rating) with this deck I'd post it, and I've just scraped in () so here it is:

Serena

4 x Nightshade
2 x Skilled Ironmonger
3 x Aldon the Brave
4 x Night Owl
3 x Sword Thief
2 x Oliver Fagin

2 x Assassinate
3 x Black Garb
3 x Stop Thief!
4 x Ill Gotten Gains
4 x Backstab

2 x Anklebreaker
4 x Thoughtripper's Cutlass

40 cards + hero

The Gameplan

This thing is designed to misdirect and disrupt your opponent's playstyle. Almost every card in this deck works toward that goal. Your early game is all about stealthed allies and establishing IGG, though it doesn't rely on IGG as much as Rogue decks have in the past. Once you get IGG out then this deck starts to really take control with steal and draw. Ultimately you will find most games are won with a full hand while your opponent struggles to get any draw at all. Half of your hand usually once belonged to your opponent as well

Draw

You actually have a huge amount of draw in this deck in addition to the 4 IGG. In fact you can run without IGG at all, and I have used it as Item destruction bait in the past to ensure my Cutlass survives (which really is the core of the deck). Anyways, in addition to IGG you have 4 Backstab and 4 Night Owl, as well as the aforementioned Cutlass. With all that draw it's very difficult for you to be left running dry, because that really does kill this deck.

Serena's Namesake

As I have stated earlier, Thoughtripper's Cutlass really does take this deck to a new level. Hitting the opponent's hero with a charged Cutlass nets you a +2 Card Advantage, and really disrupts them. I would recommend only hitting allies with Cutlass if you have an IGG out for a 2 card draw, as it will not help drain your opponent's hand. It does take some practice to get it right, because without a buff the Cutlass doesn't do that much. However with Garb it will instakill anything, which is something I do alot (attack HUGE ally with Garb, watch as they die from retaliation ). Anklebreaker doesn't allow this to happen due to it's disable, which can be problematic with protectors and other allies you actually want dead.

Ollie

Oliver Fagin is the late game nail in the coffin. He's used primarily when your opponent tries to make a bit of a comeback. With IGG and Cutlass fueling him his attack can get massive, and his ally steal can dash your opponent's hopes of return. However you need to be really careful when you play him, because he's a massive investment and you want him to survive.

Conclusion

This deck really highlights Serena's new found power, but it's not always the quickest off the block and you will find yourself playing catchup a bit. That being said it plays catchup exceptionally well, and what looked like a losing battle ends with you holding a full hand of threats and your opponent with nothing.

[samu313]

Awesome! I have been trying for a long time to set up a only-rogue deck (damn aldon!)
Must try this asap

[kentuequi]

Thanks for sharing, gonna try it later, and tell yah how it works for me, .

[Yvan Antoine]

It's a nice deck, for extra defence late game to allow you to come back do you think spell eater bands and/or brax could help.

[okokokok1]

Thx for sharing great deck although I hate being stolen

[Ross013]

no way man, I kid you not I made a deck almost identical to this like last week (the only difference is the card count for one or two cards) and I just couldn't it to work D:

Is there something about 2.87 that makes it work better or was I just not playing it right?

[Preybird]

It's a nice deck, for extra defence late game to allow you to come back do you think spell eater bands and/or brax could help.

Both were on my shortlist for a long time but i found i was stealing burn from mages and Black Garb was discouraging hasters (coupled with the stealth allies it also really limits their targets).

[Preybird]

no way man, I kid you not I made a deck almost identical to this like last week (the only difference is the card count for one or two cards) and I just couldn't it to work D:

Is there something about 2.87 that makes it work better or was I just not playing it right?

Its a tricky deck to master, it took me many games to get it right. Youve got to lock your opponent out of the game, draw engines are absolute priority. Steal cards and remove their options.

[bobrossw]

Cool deck Preybird, I'll have to give it a shot soon.

And to Ross013, Serena is an unforgiving mistress. There really is little room for error. I also find that all of the rogues are very much affected by the meta, since they have tools that are uniquely tailored for certain situations. If other situations become prevalent, the balance of tools needs to change. For example lots of pure burn decks = need spelleater bands (or tools to steal cards), lots of weenie rush = maybe Black Garb / maybe platinum chainmail - maybe needs some allies or cheap weapons to take out the Kris's. Lots of ping damage = no nightshade / night owl - or pair with midnight sentinel, etc. Lots of moonstalker = more nightshade / nightowl, more sword thief, more layarian diplomat and bouncing. Lots of fatties = more assassination / anklebreaker / fatties.

[tman507]

I've been playing a bunch of Serena lately as well, and enjoying it so far (fun when you steal 3 Mind Controls from a Zal, lol). My deck isn't exactly like this, although I might actually try and find a way to put Oliver in it since I do find that I do find myself with pretty full hands quite often (and because he doesn't look so ugly now with that old art, lol).