Hearthpwn

I would consider myself a casual Hearthstone player. I've only made it to legend twice, a disappointment that I would attribute primarily to having a full-time job. In a normal season I usually end around rank 2-3. As a general rule I prefer Combo/Control Decks such as Freeze Mage, Malygos Rogue, Handlock. I enjoy having a large hand and a lot of choice in my turn. (Although it is fun to hit face every once in a while.)

I've seen Arcane Giant tried in quite a few decks at this point, and the card has a lot of potential as a combo piece. Sadly I don't think that it fits in well enough with any current deck archetype (with the exception of maybe spell druid). I have seen it tried in a few miracle rogue variants, but versions of miracle rogue without it just seem better. That got me thinking, if it doesn't fit in with a current deck why not just go all in of the Arcane Giant strategy.

The basic concept of this deck is that you survive while cycling through your entire deck. The strategy is not to mill your opponent but to cast at least 12 of the 20 spells in this deck and then Gang Up the Arcane Giant. Around turn 10 you should be able to draw into several 0 cost Arcane Giants and play them all on the same turn. Few decks are equipped to easily deal with multiple 8/8s in one turn.  The following turn you can swing with the 8/8s | play more | win the game | etc.

I've tried a variant of this deck with Gadgetzan Auctioneer and Conceal alongside other typical miracle rogue cards but found that the deck was too slow.

I'm not going to justify every card choice (But I might if it is requested). Instead I will argue in favor of the oddball cards.

Card Choices

Novice Engineer

It might not contest the board as well as Loot Hoarder but the immediate draw & the synergy with Brann Bronzebeard and Shadowstep is more important.

Reno Jackson

Now you might be thinking, really? Reno Jackson in a deck with so many duplicates and with Gang Up. But you have a surprising amount of control about the cards in your deck, and when your deck has 0 cards left it also has no duplicates. Additionally, this deck needs some form of massive heal to be able to survive against decks that have a lot of damage from hand.

Only 1 Arcane Giant

In the early stages of playing with this deck I came to the realization that the games I was losing all had one thing in common; My hand consisted of 2 Gang Up and 2 Arcane Giant.  Both Gang Up's are mandatory, but I did cut 1 Arcane Giant for Bloodmage Thalnos, since the difference between 7 Arcane Giants and 8 Arcane Giants is rather small, and the deck can stall out if not presented with card draw.

Replacements

1. Bloodmage Thalnos I'd put in Gnomish Inventor
2. Reno Jackson I'd put in Refreshment Vendor
3. Brann Bronzebeard Almost irreplaceable, but you might be able to get away with Gnomish Inventor or Shiv #2.
4. Preparation Sorry...This card is not replaceable.

 In this deck there are a number of cards that you can always mulligan away regardless of the match-up (Since you will draw your entire deck during the game anyways.)

--- Always throw away ---

1. Gang Up
2. Vanish
3. Azure Drake
4. Arcane Giant
5. Reno Jackson

There are a few cards that I would almost always toss.

--- Almost always throw away ---

1. Preparation Exception: You have Fan of Knives and are up against a zoo-like deck.
2. Shadowstep Exception: You have Coldlight Oracle and are up against a slower deck.
3. Sap Exception: You are playing against Shaman or Druid.
4. Shiv Exception: You are playing against a very slow deck.

Now that we understand what not to keep, what should we keep? Are there any cards we always keep? I don't think so. Here's where mulligans become match-up specific, but the basic concept is against aggressive decks keep removal and against control decks keep draw.

--- Against Aggression Keep ---

1. Backstab
2. Deadly Poison
3. Eviscerate
4. Shadow Strike (But only if the deck is not super aggressive or you have prep).
5. Fan of Knives
6. Bloodmage Thalnos (If you have at least one source of removal).

--- Against Control Keep ---

1. Novice Engineer
2. Coldlight Oracle
3. Brann Bronzebeard (If you have a battlecry draw effect).

These are not hard and fast lists, as always there is a judgment call to be made. As a general rule I like to have both removal and draw in my opening hand.