The Rogue is one of the truly central "fantasy character class" archetypes. It's also one that covers a really broad spectrum of classic characters. They can be the morally-ambiguous assassins, spies, or thieves, but they can also be swashbuckling heroes (Robin Hood being the classic "heroic thief").
Mechanically, there are some complaints to be made about the Rogue class as a whole - a class one would expect to really put out among the highest damage often lags behind in at least theoretical builds. WotC instead orients them to being the best class at skill checks, with lots of expertise, tons of skill proficiencies, and the incredibly powerful Reliable Talent.
But setting aside those concerns, subclasses tend to revolve around new ways to either get or enhance the Rogue's primary damage mechanic, the Sneak Attack.
One of the really interesting new mechanics added in the 2024 PHB is Cunning Strikes, which gives us the option to deal less damage with Sneak Attack (spending d6s we'd be rolling as part of it) to get other effects, and some subclasses grant the Rogue new options for this mechanic. While it's a little painful to spend some of our potential damage on these, given that, despite the hefty damage boost Sneak Attack provides, it's still generally not enough to overcome the fact that we can only make one attack per turn (though dual-wielding is a very viable option for Rogues, especially thanks to the Nick weapon mastery).
The point is, a lot of these subclasses could potentially use their own bespoke Cunning Strike options, which would necessitate some kind of revision. I don't think that's enough to justify just reprinting all of them, and in fairness, not all of the PHB subclasses even have a special Cunning Strike.
Another factor in Rogue subclasses is that, of all classes, they have to wait by far the longest to get their second set of subclass features. Artificers get their third set of subclass features at level 9, while Rogues get their second. That means that, especially in a world in which many campaigns only get to around level 10, Rogues really care far more about the subclass features they get right at level 3 than anyone else.
While the Swashbuckler was initially intended as the PHB 2024 fourth subclass, they swapped it instead with the Soulknife, tying a subtle psionic theme into the PHB options. Personally I think this was probably a mistake (even though the Rogue I've played is a Soulknife) because the Swashbuckler is one of the most classic, iconic Rogue archetypes. But we'll talk about it when we get into our list:
We'll be looking at the Mastermind, the Swashbuckler, the Inquisitive, the Scout, and the Phantom.
Mastermind: No
This is going to be rough, because I honestly think nearly all of these could potentially benefit from a revision. And the concept here - of being a Rogue whose primary weapon is their allies - is pretty cool. But I also think that this is a subclass that feels more like a general personality. I think there's space for a Rogue who truly works more like a Draw Steel Tactician. If so, I think you could call it a Mastermind, but you'd want almost totally different mechanics.
Swashbuckler: Yes
They've printed this twice already (SCAG and Xanathar's, if memory serves, same as the Mastermind) but I truly think that this subclass is such a profoundly core part of the Rogue fantasy that it really feels like it needs to be given a mechanically-sound update. Could you argue that a Rogue/Fighter multiclass kind of gives you the Swashbuckler anyway? Yeah, probably. But if we're going to have Pirates in the Monster Manual who more or less represent the NPC equivalent of this, surely we can make a good subclass that does it.
Inquisitive: No
Another heartbreaker. This was clearly meant to replicate the portrayal of Sherlock Holmes from the 2009 Guy Richie/Robert Downey Junior version of Sherlock Holmes (the way that time slows down for him as he fights and he evaluates the precise way in which he can maximize his impact on his opponents). I also love a good detective character, and Rogues, in their truly expansive class fantasy, can very much fit the Noir-ish, hardboiled pulp detective character, which this subclass embodies. Boy, I might be talking myself into a yes. But I guess it might be time to move on from this.
Scout: No
The Scout is actually not a terrible subclass, but it's basically "hey, do you really not want to play a Ranger?" It's always been the dullest Rogue subclass, and one I never see anyone take (though to be fair, I don't see a ton of Rogues in the first place).
Phantom: No
Genuinely one of the cooler Rogue subclass ideas, and one that feels supernatural without having explicit spellcasting (something I think we can have more of in D&D). I think this one's just far enough out there that we don't necessarily need to revisit it. It's also probably ok as is.
Overall, I feel kind of bad about being so negative here (I also wonder if I've gotten more negative as this series goes on). A lot of these are genuinely cool ideas, and part of me wants to see them all match their potential. In particular, I have a lot of affection for the Inquisitive, and I do feel like there's some potential in the Mastermind that was never really achieved. The Phantom is the closest among these to being "fine as is," but I'll admit that I wouldn't be too sad to see it get another coat of polish.
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