Has Tourist access to: Warlock
Cards can be played by: Paladin
Oh, Manager!
This is a powerful spell for both Rogue and Paladin. In Rogue, it serves as a coin generator that may help the class establish a viable Wishing Well deck. Wishing Rogue isn’t terrible but lacks strong coin generators due to the underwhelming Bounty Wrangler. ‘Oh, Manager!’ fills a gap that also helps us activate Greedy Partner more consistently.
In Paladin, it works extremely well with Lynessa, dealing 4 damage and generating two coins, each providing 2 extra mana while Lynessa’s in play. If Lynessa pans out as a powerful win condition, this spell will most certainly be involved.
Score: 3
Petty Theft
This can be considered an easy upgrade on Thistle Tea Set in Cutlass Rogue, as Petty Theft is guaranteed to generate two cheap durability extenders for Spectral Cutlass. The average power of a random 1-mana spell is less important here.
Another potential use for this card is in a deck that tries to leverage Snatch and Grab, as it provides us with a relatively cheap way to discount it twice. We don’t think this card fits into Excavate Rogue particularly well, as it already has enough ways to activate Velarok and doesn’t need the extra value, but if the deck opts to run Snatch and Grab and looks to discount it more consistently, it might be an option.
Paladin can potentially repeat Petty Theft with Lynessa in play, setting up a very Thief Rogue-esque turn where we can repeat multiple 1-mana spells and chain miracle a big swing. If we run Snatch and Grab, then it becomes rapidly discounted by this play.
A very versatile spell. It will land somewhere.
Score: 3
Sea Shill
Sea Shill’s wording is very important. Its discount can carry over to future turns, and it can discount any non-Rogue class card. This means that Paladin can discount any of its own class cards with Sea Shill. A 3-mana Lynessa is entirely possible thanks to Sea Shill, making a Lynessa combo turn much more dangerous.
For Rogue, Sea Shill has a dual role. It can discount class cards we generate through thieving means, but it can also discount Warlock cards we’ve put into our deck thanks to Maestra. It can even discount whatever hero card we generate from her.
One of the most powerful set ups for Sea Shill in theory is to cheat out Party Planner Vona on turn 4. The only issue is that we’re not too likely to trigger Vona’s condition within the first three turns of the game, so we’re not too hyped over this utilization.
Bound to see play considering its versatility.
Score: 3
Knickknack Shack
Knickknack Shack offers Rogue (and Paladin) an incredible draw engine that can continuously chain itself. Drawing 4 cards for 3 mana is fantastic, so it’s all about how quickly we can get the cards.
The major requirement is to have a cheap curve, so that it is likely that we’ll be able to play the cards we draw from Shack on the turn we trigger it. We play Shack on turn 3, trigger it on turn 4 and try to activate it multiple times. We can also trigger it on turn 3 to increase our chances of finding a play on turn 4, before going off on turn 5.
For Rogue, this does require some deckbuilding effort, but the class is already inclined to run a cheap curve, so Shack fits perfectly with its playstyle. For Paladin, this might require a greater effort to fit in, but a Lynessa Paladin deck can be built with a cheap curve in mind, except for a Sea Shanty top end.
We expect this card to be extremely popular in Rogue, warping deckbuilding of multiple archetypes.
Score: 4
Metal Detector
This weapon might be able to generate two coins in its best-case scenario, but this is rarely going to happen. Historically, 3 mana 2/2 weapons do not make it to constructed play since they do not reliably kill early game minions, many of them boasting 3 health. A 2-attack weapon often costs initiative, only making up for it if its benefit is extremely powerful in terms of swinging back, such as Painter’s Virtue or Aldrachi Warblades.
We don’t believe this is a great coin generator in Wishing Rogue for that reason, as the deck is more likely to rely on higher quality ones to fuel Wishing Well. It might fill one of the very last slots.
But the one thing that makes us second guess ourselves about Metal Detector’s viability is Lynessa. Lynessa is so powerful with coins that even a mediocre generator could be good enough to include in Paladin for the sake of gaining tons of mana on the Lynessa turn, which could be the difference between winning or losing a game.
Score: 2
Conniving Conman
As a 4 mana 4/4, it’s quite unlikely that Conman will be able to replay a card that’s impactful enough to make up for its terrible body in the early game. We would have to generate a card and play it before turn 4. So, for Conman to be strong, it needs to be played in the late game.
But that also presents a problem. Rogue does not reliably generate high impact cards that Conman can repeat for great value. Excavate Rogue takes whatever it can get from Scorpion, but Conman seems like a card that would only shine when the game state was already in a good spot. We had time to play a discounted spell from Scorpion with high mana value. We had time to play a 4 mana 4/4 to follow. Excavate Rogue is a deck that does not need to be overly greedy. Its late game takes care of itself through its unending value generation. It mostly needs to survive. This card doesn’t help with that.
There is a way to reliably leverage Conman, which is by playing Warlock cards through Maestra. But repeating Vona, which is the most enticing possibility here, might be a very optimistic game plan. Conman just seems too greedy.
Score: 1
Swarthy Swordshiner
This is an interesting 3-drop that can turn a Rogue’s turn 2 dagger into a decent setup for turn 3. Rogue normally doesn’t want to dagger on 2 these days, as there are too many good plays available to make on turn 2. However, Swordshiner turns this little dagger into a 3/3 weapon, which can help us control enemy minions or push face damage.
If we’re looking at the overall cost of the package, the play does seem reasonable, but not overly powerful. We’re paying 5 total mana for a 3/3 weapon a 3/3 minion, as well as a dagger ping on turn 2.
One weapon that is incredible with Swordshiner is Quick Pick, which becomes a very strong draw engine. This could be a generically strong card in Rogue decks, if they’re not centered on a scaling weapon, such as Spectral Cutlass. For Paladin, this card is an awkward fit, as all their weapons cost 3 mana or more.
Score: 2
Snatch and Grab
A powerful removal spell in the late game that is dependent on your ability to generate and/or play cards from other classes. The obvious synergy is in Thief Rogue archetypes, such as Excavate or Cutlass Rogue. Alternatively, we could play this in Paladin with a bunch of Rogue cards, or we play this in Rogue and run Maestra with Warlock cards.
The key is the deck’s ability to discount Snatch and Grab quickly. Considering that Antique Flinger is a borderline card in Excavate Rogue, we’re not too quick to get on board with Snatch and Grab in this archetype. The deck can be a bit slow at discounting it before it finds Scorpion, but we do recognize that the card has a very high ceiling in the late game, where it could just end up costing nothing. That could well be worth it.
Cutlass Rogue should be interested too, as it naturally wants to play cheap cards to extend the durability on its weapon. The deck does tend to struggle dealing with big threats, so some removal could boost its ability to survive at the later stages of the game, or deal with taunts that get in the way.
Hybrid decks may find it to be a more difficult fit, but Lynessa can turn Snatch and Grab into a one-sided Twisting Nether for little mana. We think the card will find a competitive home somewhere.
Score: 3
Treasure Hunter Eudora
It is not known by the wording but completing Eudora’s side quest rewards you with the ability to discover two Duels treasures, that you might remember from Kazakusan.
Eudora is remarkably slow. Playing a 6 mana 4/5 with no immediate impact is painful, especially in Rogue. On top of it, we need to spend mana on three cards from other classes to complete the quest. Only then, do we get to find powerful cards that may help us swing the game. However, we’re not getting a full deck of Kazakusan treasures, just a couple of cards.
In a deck that’s naturally Thief flavored, it might seem like a low hanging fruit. Excavate Rogue should complete the side quest as a byproduct of its game plan, as will Cutlass Rogue, so the only cost is playing a 6 mana 4/5. If we can do this unpunished with any consistency, then Eudora should be worthwhile.
But this card is a bit greedy and might rely on the format to be slow as well. In the current meta, we think Eudora would be strong. In the upcoming one, it might be difficult to play.
Score: 2
Maestra, Mask Merchant
Maestra is one of the slowest Tourists in the set. As a 6 mana 6/5 body, she’s almost as weak as Eudora and not a comfortable play for any Rogue deck. However, Maestra discovers a card from what might be the strongest pool of cards available: hero cards.
It’s true that some hero cards rely on synergies and may not be great finds from Maestra, but the discover option makes it likely that Rogue can find a strong, standalone hero card it can utilize well. Furthermore, the availability of Sea Shill may help us cheat out the hero card earlier.
Maestra is a big value card, but we find her existence peculiar. She has nothing to do with the Warlock set that Rogue is supposed to utilize with her. She doesn’t speak to these cards at all, so there’s little incentive for Rogue to delve into that card pool with her inclusion.
A case can be made to run Maestra in a Thief Rogue archetype, but if we want to be greedy, we might be better off leaning into Eudora, especially when nothing in the Warlock set promotes a Thief strategy.
Maestra could be okay as a late game standalone card. Her flavor is great as a callback to her first design. But we don’t understand why she’s the Warlock Tourist. If Rogue ends up tapping into the Warlock set, Maestra will represent its biggest drawback.
Score: 1
Final Thoughts
Perils in Paradise Set Rank: 8th
Tourist Synergy Score: D
Overall Power Ranking: 5th
As Valeera looks on at Lynessa’s new moves, having taught her in the ways of the Rogue, a bitter smile emerges as she looks on at Gul’dan, confused by his teachings, suspicious of his motives. “Stab yourself” he says. “Feel the pain”.
In an ironic twist, Rogue may find itself facing a combo-centric, high lethality format, without participating in the electrifying battles ahead. Rogue has stagnated into a thieving class that is more about grinding opponents through value generation, more akin to a Control Priest.
The upcoming set further supports that game plan. Excavate Rogue, Wishing Rogue, as well as Cutlass Rogue, can all find cards in this set that they can successfully utilize and fit their game plans. Our issue is that if the late game clock dramatically shortens, a grindy game plan may fail to compete on the same level. Excavate Rogue might seem like a resilient deck that can adapt to any situation, but it’s reliant on a relatively slow format to be successful.
On a positive note, Rogue does have the potential to adapt in other ways. Gaslight Rogue has recently been revived with a new burst combo centered on Freebird. The archetype has traditionally matched up well against combo decks, especially with the potential to incorporate Speaker Stompers more effectively than other decks. This might be Rogue’s answer to a haywire format.
But our tip for Rogue’s strongest and most dangerous strategy may have little to do with the Rogue set itself. An Elemental Rogue running Lamplighter can kill opponents as early as turn 7, reminiscent of Shockspitter. If Rogue wants to participate in the damage flinging contest, this junk looking deck might be its best opportunity. But if this strategy is successful, it might be quickly put on the chopping block.
Which is why we’re disappointed by the Warlock collaboration. It’s possible that a Vona Rogue deck can be successful, but Maestra has absolutely nothing to do with anything that can be accomplished in the Warlock set. It is an active liability, the worst standalone Tourist in the game. Rogue deserved better for making Paladin look so good.
