Blink
A minion tutor with a combo discount, which means Blink costs a net zero mana when activated. Obviously, this is a good spell to combo with Preparation and makes finding our Protoss pieces in the Rogue class more consistent. While the entire Protoss package may not look like a guaranteed home run, we suspect a Protoss package with Blink could become a low hanging fruit for Miracle style Rogue decks.
Score: 2
Dark Templar
Another hard removal Rogue minion, with a very interesting ability when paired with High Templar. First, we need to consider the upside of the minion by itself.
At what cost is Dark Templar a worthwhile play? Considering that Rogue is already blessed with strong single target removal, we think the card becomes strong when it costs 2 mana. Blink can do some heavy lifting here, as does Warp Gate. If we run a full Protoss package, we can see Dark Templar become a 0-mana card in the late game.
As for Archon, the Protoss package in Rogue does feel a bit weird, as it offers a pseudo win condition that isn’t effective in a large spectrum of matchups, so it likely requires a supportive shell that comes with its own finisher. Dark Templar’s stealth does help in the execution part.
Executing an Archon play seems a bit difficult at an early enough stage of the game to impact faster matchups, while slower matchups should be able to deal with Archon with relative ease.
Score: 2
High Templar
High Templar is a more interesting addition to Rogue, as it offers the class AOE, something it normally does not have in abundance. This AOE further scales with discounts and bounce effects. Much like Dark Templar, we think the minion becomes enticing enough to build around if we can consistently discount it to 2 mana, making its synergy with Shadowstep hit a critical breakpoint.
One thought about where an Archon package could fit is Cycle Rogue, replacing the Asteroid package that will undoubtedly be severely weakened by the nerf to Ethereal Oracle. The Protoss package offers draw, several good targets for Breakdance, as well as a decent amount of damage.
Score: 2
Final Thoughts: Rogue’s Protoss set is one of the more difficult to evaluate, as we think it’s hard to estimate how early we can execute an Archon play. If we can summon Archons within the average game length of aggressive decks, then it might become a genuine win condition for Cycle Rogue in faster matchups.