Galakrond Rogue is one of the strongest decks in Hearthstone at the moment. Its ability to draw several cards and make them free causes insane swing turns and allows the Rogue to get back into a difficult game at any time or find even twenty points of burst damage out of nowhere.
Galakrond Rogue has many tools at its disposal: Edwin VanCleef for a huge early-game threat, Leeroy Jenkins and Shadowstep for sudden burst, Flik Skyshiv for hard removal and Sap to get rid of buffs, and Heistbaron Togwaggle for tempo or value.
With such an extensive toolkit, Rogue is powerful in just about any matchup.
Galakrond Rogue decklist
Deck code: AAECAaIHCrICzQOvBJcGoIADkpcDwa4D47QDw7YDy8ADCrQB7QKIB4+XA/WnA7muA/6uA6qvA86vA4KxAwA=
I played this list to Legend in early March 2020. The list is a fairly regular Galakrond Rogue deck that is slightly teched for the mirror and against Rogue’s weakest matchup, Druid.
Boompistol Bully is an anti-Rogue tech card that has become useful in a heavy Rogue meta. If Rogue numbers were to go down, it should be replaced with something appropriate for the meta, but right now some people even include it in their decks in two copies. I have opted to go with one.
Questing Adventurer is an anti-Druid tech card. It can punish slow decks that do not act on the first turns and snowball out of control. Edwin VanCleef can do the same in a slightly different fashion, as Edwin is buffed when played, whereas Questing Adventurer is buffed over time. These cards are important in slow matchups, where a burst finisher is inefficient, because they allow you to end the games early. If you do not meet many Druids, you can replace the Questing Adventurer with something else, such as SN1P-SN4P. Edwin is the better card and should always be part of the deck.
Galakrond Rogue mulligan
Against aggressive decks, you want to hold onto Pharaoh Cat to get on the board immediately and Backstab and Seal Fate for some early removal. If you’re on the Coin, you should also keep Edwin VanCleef to potentially challenge the opponent with a big minion early in the game. EVIL Miscreant can also be useful when on the Coin.
Against slow decks, you still want Pharaoh Cat because getting on the board and getting some additional resources early is good in every matchup. In slower games, you want to have some more power as early as possible, so you should also keep Edwin VanCleef and Heistbaron Togwaggle: Edwin for a major threat early, even without the Coin, and Heistbaron to get a bunch of free cards in the mid-game.
Galakrond Rogue tips and tricks
Edwin is a major win condition. Coin, Lackeys, Backstab, and Shadowstepping your Lackeys are some of the ways to grow it early in the game. A big Edwin early wins games. It is more effective when you’re on the Coin, but in slower matchups it can be great when you’re going first as well.
Shadowstep is a flexible tool that can do more than just bring Leeroy Jenkins back to your hand for another go. It can be used to buff up your Edwin, and also to ensure that you have an activator for your future combos or a Faceless Corruptor: a zero-cost Lackey with Faceless Corruptor on turn five can be a great tool to swing the game.
In slow matchups, like against Mage, you can consider Seal Fate on your own face, if you need the Invoke effect and the Lackey. In such games, your health is insignificant, the opponent will not pressure you anyway. It is more important to be aggressive and win before they stabilize.
Sap has many uses. It can return a minion to hand to remove any buffs on it, which is especially useful against Mech Paladin, but it can also be used for tempo: sometimes you can even let the opponent use a Battlecry minion again just to delay them. I have even sapped Rotnest Drakes successfully, usually in combination with some Lackeys on the board to minimize the usefulness of its Battlecry effect.
The main treasure you’re looking for from Heistbaron Togwaggle is Wondrous Wand for three zero-cost cards. You have so many good tools in the deck that it is almost always the correct choice.
Galakrond Rogue gameplay video
Finally, here is a video recap of the guide and some gameplay from my Legend climb with the deck.