The idea of reviewing the class decks has been bouncing around in my head for awhile since it's pretty clear that some decks are better than others. I haven't seen any discussions of specific class deck contents, so here are my thoughts.
I'm not going to evaluate or rate the characters in the class deck themselves since I think each character has their own theme and flavor. I really enjoy the fact that there are noticeable differences in the overall strength between characters and believe those differences add to the richness of the game.
Instead, the primary crux of my evaluation is how the cards in the deck support the characters in the class deck. I'll be breaking the ratings down by card type and grade the selection of cards on an A-F scale. I'll also be giving an overall rating of the deck as a whole.
One thing of note is that I use a tier system to categorize direct attack spells based on how much damage they do and if there are other mitigating factors. Here's how I group them:
Tier 1 - Spells that can add 24 or more damage, most commonly via 4d6, 3d8, or 2d12.
Tier 1.5 - I put spells in this tier if they do damage equivalent to tier 1 spells but are generally weaker due to other factors, mostly their traits. For example I consider poison blast and vengeful storm tier 1.5 spells due to the large amount of creatures immune to them.
Tier 2 - Spells that can add 18-21 damage, most commonly as +3d6.
Tier 3 - Spells that can add 12-16 damage, the most common being the +2d6 spells.
Tier 4 - This tier is comprised of the basic attack spells that either add +2d4 or +1d6.
Here's my rogue deck review:
Weapons:
The characters in the rogue deck are split 50/50 between ranged and melee characters like the ranger deck, but the weapon selection is done much better. With six basic weapons each character will be able to start with a full complement of weapons matching their combat skill, with the exception of Lesath who has to start with a ranged weapon. It’s not that bad though, since all the rogues use dexterity for their combat stat so Lesath will still get to roll a d10, which isn’t a huge hindrance. Unfortunately there are only seven finesse weapons – compared to fourteen ranged – which limits Lesath and Wu Shen. On the other hand the selection of ranged weapons is very good, with many good choices that don’t require weapon proficiency as both Merisiel and Olenjack require a power feat to gain proficiency. The overall selection of ranged weapons is good up and down the lineup, with solid choices at most AD levels. If only they would’ve included one or two fewer ranged weapons in favor of finesse weapons. Grade B-
Spells:
There are only six spells in the deck, which is understandable considering rogues aren’t spellcasters (though Lesath can get the divine skill if he spends a couple of power feats once he gets his role card). The selection is very nice and what the ranger deck should’ve done, with useful utility spells making up the majority of the selection. Of particular note is the invoke spell (at AD5, no less), which by itself almost makes it worth Lesath spending the two power feats to get the divine skill. I always like it when they put cure in a deck as a basic AD0; it makes spending a card feat on a spell worthwhile for any character – banishing it is no different than burying an ally like Father Zanthis for a heal. Grade: A-
Armor:
Ophidian armor is the star here, even though you have to wait until AD6 until you can get it. The bolstering armor in AD5 is nice too. Everything else is serviceable enough. Grade: C+
Items:
The rogue deck has a large selection of items, and there are nice choices at every AD level. There’s the amulet of life, thieves’ tools, and sage’s journal to start with, with the emerald of dexterity and masterwork tools also available in AD0. There are four poison items spread across AD’s 1, 2, 3, and 5 for Olenjack and Wu Shen, but even if you have no interest in poisons there’s still the spyglass, belt of incredible dexterity, and boots of teleportation available in those ADs. AD 4 has the magic spyglass, and AD6 has both the belt of physical might and ring of energy resistance. The only weakness is the lack of a staff of minor healing and the marginally useful non-poison items in AD2. Grade: A-
Allies:
I find the selection of allies available a disappointing. There are four archers, which is nice for Merisiel and Olenjack, but nearly useless for the other two. (The black arrow ranger can be used for dexterity checks, not just ranged combat checks.) The biggest omission is a surgeon, whose absence is very noticeable considering there’s no staff of minor healing in the deck. There’s an old salt in AD0 which is nice, and the aforementioned black arrow ranger is an excellent ally for any of the rogues. Grade: D+
Blessings:
The blessing selection is alright. There are three blessings of Erastil, which is great, but AD’s 2-5 each only have one blessing type per AD, which is a bit boring. Curiously, you can get a blessing of Milani in AD0 but the other two are in AD4. A bit more variety would’ve been nice. Grade: C
Summary:
Overall the rogue class deck is one of the better of the original seven class decks, with a decent selection of weapons supported by an excellent selection of items. The spell selection – meager as it is – is nice as well. The only real flaws are the lack of finesse weapons and mediocre ally selections, but all in all the rogue deck is one of the better of the original seven decks.
Overall Grade: B-
Thanks for the review.
While not directly related to the composition of cards, it should be noted that the Rogue CD supports the most characters of any CD by a large margin if you consider all possible unlocks. You can play up to 10 characters with this deck, 4 being the rogues contained, 3 being rogues from RotR, SnS and MM, 2 being regular card guild unlocks and 1 being a convention boon. There are several CDs that support 7 characters, but nothing inbetween.
It's one of the better choices of the original 7 class decks not only because of composition but also because it opens up the most options.
RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16
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Doppleschwert makes a great point here. I'd say overall, the Rogue class deck is the most verstile of any of the "old" class decks, and for this reason if you only want to spend your money on a single deck for organized play, it's not a bad option (though I would suggest going with one of the newer decks if you have the choice).