Standard has had Rogues like Thieves' Guild Enforcer sneak their way into the format back in M21, but had no support to make a proper deck. Thankfully, Zendikar Rising brought plenty of Rogues and this tribe was the talking point of the community during spoiler season. Evasive threats and milling are what the Rogues of Standard are all about and can they can steal powerful bombs from the opponent's graveyard. They have quickly risen in the ranks to the heights of the meta and look to be a long term threat. Today we'll be looking at an early take on this new archetype and how it lines up against the new meta.
Core Pieces
Thieves' Guild Enforcer and Soaring Thought-Thief are what makes the deck work. Enforcer is our best way to mill the opponent to fuel Soaring Thought-Thief and becomes a 3/2 deathtouch flash threat. Thought-Thief is our Rogue Lord once our opponent has eight or more cards in the graveyard and it mills whenever we attack. With these two cards, it is possible to mill the opponent out of the game over time for the win. Milling the opponent also makes Drown in the Loch our best piece of interaction and gives us more options for Zareth San, the Trickster.
Interaction
Drown in the Loch is our best piece of interaction by far. It isn't difficult to quickly get eight cards in the opponent's graveyard, which makes this card able to destroy or counter anything for two mana. Brazen Borrower has been a staple in Standard for the past year and happens to be a Rogue. Lofty Denial works well with Brazen Borrower and the other fliers in the deck by making it a solid Counterspell. Since most of our threats have flash already it is easy to hold up Lofty Denial on a critical turn or just play a threat if the opponent has nothing important. Eliminate is a fantastic answer to the threats like Bonecrusher Giant and Kazandu Mammoth coming out of green and red aggro decks. Hagra Mauling is easily slotted into the deck as a land and is here for extra assurance. I don't feel that a four mana removal spell is what the deck wants but I really don't want to get smacked by a Terror of the Peaks in the Omnath decks and it is easier to play than Eat to Extinction.
Value Cards
For a tempo aggro deck, Rogues have a lot of midrange value. Zareth San, the Trickster is a monster by stealing gigantic threats that we mill from the opponent. Getting an Omnath, Locus of Creation or even something like Bonecrusher Gaint is back-breaking for decks trying to trade one for one or slow the game down to play high-value cards. Agadeem's Awakening is the powerhouse of the deck. It helps us bounce back when we're behind and pulls us ahead when the game stalls by bringing up to three different creatures from one to three mana back to the battlefield. The ability to put back into play a Thieves' Guild Enforcer, Soaring Thought-Thief, and a Nighthawk Scavenger onto an empty board after a board wipe is insanely powerful. Dimir Rogues is the best Agadeem's Awakening deck in the format and it really helps the deck fight through the value of the four-color Omnath decks.
Rest of the Curve
Merfolk Windrobber is a solid one drop for the deck. It mills, has flying to turn on Lofty Denial, and works well with Thought-Thief. It can also sacrifice itself to draw a card, which can work well on a turn you want to play Agadeem's Awakening but you don't have a one drop in the yard. Ghostly Pilferer is a card I thought didn't do much but as I looked around the meta I saw a lot of cards this interacts with. It draws a card if an opponent casts a card from anywhere other than their hand. The ability hits adventure and escape cards which are a lot of the meta. It also triggers off of cards like Escape to the Wilds, Robber of the Rich, and Valakut Exploration. Nighthawk Scavenger really benefits from the milling and gets massive and is our strongest standalone threat. It blocks and gains life against aggro and attacks hard against the value and ramp decks. Lastly, we have Rankle, Master of Pranks which happens to be a rogue and has proven its worth in the Mono Black Aggro decks of the past. The discard and card draw abilities are useful but I enjoy the sacrifice ability since we have Agadeem's Awakening to break the symmetry.
The beginning of Zendikar Rising Standard is being dominated by Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath, and Omnath, Locus of Creation decks. Temur Adventures is right behind it with Mono Red Aggro and Dimir Rogues being the fastest things to stop them. Dimir Rogues has plenty of interaction to play with and I think will do a good job at adapting as the meta develops. With the exception of something like Garruk's Harbinger, there isn't a lot this deck can't handle. Let us know what you think of Dimir Rogues in Standard, or what other decks you are interested in playing. Make sure to follow us on social media to get notified when new articles drop, and so you can join the Fellowship.
Comments