How to Counter Quest Rogue in Hearthstone

I, along with many other Hearthstone players, cannot believe just how good the Rogue Quest card has turned out to be. A card which many rated as unplayable or just too slow has proceeded to dominate the early Journey to Un’Goro meta and has become a threat across all ranks on the Hearthstone ladder.

But we can sit here all day and lament on how strong The Caverns Below has become or, we can start to figure out ways to counter it. After some theory crafting and testing on the ladder, we have come up with a few decks that can, if played correctly, take on these Quest Rogue decks:

Aggro Pirate Warrior

Who’s in charge now! The once despised aggressive Warrior deck has now become the saviour against the Rogue decks.

Simply put, the amount of damage that this deck can output in the early game is so huge that

it forces the Rogue player to start to try and respond to the threats that you will be pumping out on the board instead of focusing on completing their quest.

If played correctly, you can delay their quests completion into turn 6 onward whereby then you should win the game. It’s not the most elegant answer to the Rogue problem but as the old saying goes, sometimes you have to fight fire with fire.

Basic Strategy:
Go face as fast and as heavy as possible and only trade if the Rogue leaves a high-value target on the board. You should win before they complete the quest or the turn they complete it.

Cost: Low-Medium

Must keep against Rogue:

Southsea Deckhand,
N’Zoth’s First Mate, (with the coin)
Fiery War Axe.

Mid-Range Quest Murloc

This deck is the middle ground of all the decks we will be talking about today. The Murloc deck can push out a sizable amount of damage like the Pirate Warrior deck but, unlike that deck, it can hold its own against a lot of the other decks currently in the meta. The difficulty in playing this deck is initial stages of play, you must work out exactly what your opponent is playing and

The difficulty in playing this deck is initial stages of play, you must work out exactly what your opponent is playing and mulligan for cards which can either deal with or counter those plays.

If you can’t or get a bad hand, the chances of you winning are reduced, but thanks to the Murloc Quest reward, Megafin, you can gain a lot of advantage to make up for this.

Basic Strategy:
Trade in your Murloc efficiently in order to maintain a board presence and then beat them down with Megafin, Murloc Warleader buffed cards and your damaging spells. Aim to win just before or just after they complete the quest and play the quest spell.

Cost: Low-Medium

Must keeps against Rogue:

Primalfin Totem,
Murloc Tidehunter,
Murloc Tidecaller, (with the coin)
Rockpool Hunter,
Call in the Finishers.

Control Water Paladin

This deck has been tailor made to take on Rogue decks and beat them in the mid to late game. This deck makes one big assumption; the Rogue is going to complete their quest and there is little you can do to stop it. It then tries to win after this, which is possible if you have set up your board state correctly.

The Murloc package is here to give you a solid board presence in the early game, allowing you to rack up damage while keeping card advantage via Hydrologist and Primalfin Lookout. In the mid game, about when the Rogue should be completing the quest, swam the board with as many cards as you can with your hero power, Finja or Vinecleaver.

After you have done this, play a copy of Sunkeeper Tarim or the Equality-Consecrate combo to clear the board and give you a massive advantage. Thanks to Stonehill Defender, you are more than likely to discover another Sunkeeper, Tiron or Wickerflame so don’t be afraid to drop these cards when you need them in order to survive and heal.

By the time you reach the late game, you should be able to push ahead for a win or, if you set up correctly, proceed to deliver the final few blows.

Basic Strategy:
Swam and deal damage in the early game, maintain your board in the mid game and force them to the late game to win. Should win around turn 10 if all goes to plan.

Cost: High

Must keeps against Rogue: