Discussion Questions About Rogue Decks

[LoneWolf2113]

Hi guys! So I've been doing lots of thinking lately about rogue decks. For example, "What defines a rogue deck?" "What makes a good rogue deck?", "Are rogue decks exclusively anti-meta?" So I'm creating this 'Beach thread to help me and possibly other confused players understand what exactly a defines a rogue deck. In my opinion a rogue deck is just something that comes almost entirely out of left field and somewhat dominates an event. Take Exeggutor for example. google Cawthon got Top 8 at Winter Regionals last season with a deck that nobody had even considered taking to such a large event. (Props to google by the way.) So what do you guys think defines a rogue deck?

Thanks!

 

[NintendoAlian]

A rouge deck is, to put it simply, a deck that isn't used a lot and never really was. The reason I say this is because I don't think playing Exeggutor at nats 2015 would be considered rouge. Rouge decks don't always do well at events. I don't care how many times you try to play a Greninja-EX deck you won't do well because it's and EX that takes a lot of energy, doesn't do a lot of damage, and has a grass weakness. And no, not all rouge decks are anit-meta. I mean yes you could run Pyroar/Landorus-EX/Mewtwo-EX but you could just as easily run Ninjask/Bunnelby.

I have a question. Can a deck that builds off a popular deck but uses a rouge strategy be considered rouge? For example, Seismitoad/Magcargo AT.

 

[Slowbro]

A rogue deck is, to put it simply, a deck that isn't used a lot and never really was. The reason I say this is because I don't think playing Exeggutor at nats 2015 would be considered rogue. rogue decks don't always do well at events. I don't care how many times you try to play a Greninja-EX deck you won't do well because it's and EX that takes a lot of energy, doesn't do a lot of damage, and has a grass weakness. And no, not all rogue decks are anit-meta. I mean yes you could run Pyroar/Landorus-EX/Mewtwo-EX but you could just as easily run Ninjask/Bunnelby.

I have a question. Can a deck that builds off a popular deck but uses a rogue strategy be considered rogue? For example, Seismitoad/Magcargo AT.

Rogue decks aren't just underplayed decks, those are simply underplayed decks. Rogue decks are original strategies that are usually anti-meta, but stuff no one has come up with. Sometimes they enter the meta after becoming popular, but a true rogue deck isn't underplayed, it's not played at all.

 

[redsky22]

What make a good rouge deck is people are not prepared for it so they don't know how to play against it. A example of a good rouge deck was wailord people didn't know how to handle that deck and that's why it did so good as to make second at nats.

 

[Draaka]

I think a rogue deck needs to really come out of the blue, it needs to be the kind of deck that when you flip over your starter your opponent thinks "Ok, this guy hasn't got a clue, easy win" and then proceed to pull off an unusual but devastating strategy using weird or unheard of cards that people aren't prepared for.

From what I remember they were called rogue decks because the sneak up on your then mutilate you, like a rogue in warcraft or D&D or other fantasy games. The element of surprise.

 

[CruelBear]

I almost exclusively run Rogue decks. My latest, was Empoleon/Greninja at States this year. It took a lot of people by surprise, and I was able to win 3 of my first 4 rounds before I was late coming back from lunch (Woops). Its only really bad matchup was Toad... But unfortunately, there were a lot of Toads at that event. My favorite play of the day was OHKOing a Genesect with Empoleon, plus a water shuriken, plus Iris.

So yes. A rogue deck is a deck that either, effectively uses cards no one else does, or uses a combination of cards that people don't use together. In this case, no one was using Iris, but it had some real utility in this deck. And very few people were using Greninja. Together, I don't think anyone had been using Greninja with Empoleon as long as I had, and no one used the deck like I did.

 

[Yo-yos]

A rogue deck by definition is a deck that has the ability to win a tournament but is not defined by tier. 2 years ago, I think, I watched ryan sablehaus pilot victini/dragonite/garbodor to winning a winter regionals, it was not expected yes, but by no means is it a tier level deck or list.

Decks like big basic's, eggs, etc, those are meta calls, sometimes rouge lists do well by making appropriate meta calls but this just seems to be the confusion of a meta call and what a rogue list is by definition.