Sharp Shipment
This is a sizeable weapon buff for Rogue decks. Adding 2-attack and 2-durability is worth a lot of damage for almost any weapon. Some will draw comparison to Warrior’s ‘Upgrade!’ spell, which makes Sharp Shipment seem expensive, but the context of the class is important. Rogue is not reliant on drawing a weapon, as the dagger from its hero power can already be a consistent target for Sharp Shipment.
The availability of Swarthy Swordshiner makes it even more enticing. Dagger on 2, into Swordshiner/Shipment on turns 3 and 4, respectively, means we have a 5-attack dagger, which can deal a realistic minimum of 24 damage (assuming we’ve swung on turns 2-3). This can kill opponents nearly by itself. Add a few more weapon buffs and Rogue’s dagger becomes a remarkably consistent win condition. We’re into this.
Score: 3
Robocaller
It’s important to note that Robocaller will always be on ‘888’ when drawn or Shadowstep’d. This can be viewed as a 3-mana 3/2 that draws up to three cards, with the caveat that its draw effect is only generically strong after spending a turn in hand. However, if our deck has a lopsided curve, then the draw effect is unlikely to pull us three cards, as the numbers are random each turn and may hit a number we do not have in the deck.
Our immediate thought goes to Gaslight Rogue, since Robocaller can draw us both copies of ‘Everything Must Go’. That can lead to a big blow out turn at a relatively early stage of the game but requires a bit of luck in terms of setup, since we need to play Robocaller off the top.
But without any setup or specific deckbuilding manipulation, Robocaller can still offer us a powerful draw engine for a very good cost. If we can afford to let it sit in hand until it’s guaranteed to find us two or three cards, then it could be valuable. It can also act as an unreliable, soft tutor.
Score: 3
Agency Espionage
Academic Espionage was a terrible card. This one is no different. We have no interest in this kind of effect, as there’s no guarantee that we’ll be able to outpace our opponent in a meaningful time window after spending 4 mana doing nothing. Sky Mother Aviana is playable in Reno Druid as a 5-mana 5/5 that shuffles legendary minions, which are far more likely to be powerful draws at a 1-mana cost.
Score: 1
Final Thoughts: Rogue gets two solid cards to help some of its fringe strategies. Mage will be more interested in the Rogue cards from the main expansion set for its Big-Spell archetype. Hard to see Paladin using any of these.
