The Feast of Souls Begins Now (May 17 – Season 38)

Intro – The Beauty of the Beast

C’thun, once upon a time a force to be reckoned with, has seen no use since the release of Mean Streets of Gadgetzan. AKA the pirate warrior meta. With Journey to Un’Goro, the help of some new cards has made this deck viable – more than viable in fact.

I may be getting ahead of myself….after playing this deck however for a day I sat at a comfortable win rate of 66% but more importanly – having so much fun whilst doing so. The voices and sounds which come with playing offers a truely reminiscent feel.

Many will know how the C’thun mechanic works and there is sure to be a lot of viable changes to this posted list. It’s main win condition is of course buffing C’thun and unleashing his battlecry. If this wasn’t enough – Doomcaller reshuffling him back into your deck while buffing him further is sure to leave your opponents feeling rather helpless. That said, the deck carries enough pressure via its natural curve to chip away at your opponents health. I have won many games without needing to play the Old God himself. 

Mulligan Strategy & Guide

Although I’ve divided the mulligan section into two, both are very similar in cards chosen. Fast decks are generally the Aggro decks (e.g. Pirate Warrior) or high tempo Midrange decks (e.g. Midrange Hunter). Slow decks are slower Midrange and Control decks.

Vs Fast Decks

• Northshire Cleric – Your only 1-drop and a great bodyin Aggro matchups. If they can’t answer it on turn 1, sometimes you can keep it alive to allow card draw.
• Potion of Madness – Fast decks run a lot of of 1-2 attack minions, so Potion of Madness is extremely useful.
• Beckoner of Evil– Great turn 2 drop. Able to contest the early game board and at the very least sets up turn 3 battle cry from Desciple of C’thun to remove early board threats.
• Shadow Word:Pain – Easy removal. Pirate warriors run Frothing Berserker and Hunters with Scavenging Hyena which when left unanswered can really ruin your day.

Vs Slow Decks

• Northshire Cleric – Your only 1-drop and a great target in Aggro matchups. If they can’t answer it on turn 1, sometimes you can keep it alive to allow card draw.
• Beckoner of Evil / Desciple of C’thun – Great turn 2/3 drop. Able to contest the early game board and at the very least sets up turn 3 battle cry from Desciple of C’thun to remove early board threats.
• Twilight Elder – Additional C’thun buffer and almost acts as a Taunt.
• Shadow Word:Pain – Easy removal.

Playing with Death – Strategy

The basic idea behind the deck is to buff C’thun, primarily to 10/10 to activate further battle cries, while maintaining board control. The deck offers a lot of early removal to allow you to monopolise and take control of the board. The longer the game lasts, in general, the higher your chances of winning.

Vs Aggro

It’s one of the only decks where your basic strategy against Aggro isn’t to outlast them. Your strategy is soley based on removing their board. Potion of Madness is by far the key in doing so. The best target for this being Kindly Grandmother which allows you to remove part of the board and keep the 3/2 Big Bad Wolf. Dont be greedy, remove all pirates/murlocs/beats to avoid their buff activations. Aside from finding Reno Jackson on turn 6 against aggro decks, there is little more satisfying than watching your opponent playing a card which has synergy going to waste. Having cards which deal damage through their battle cries or have divine shield allow for additional value in these fast match-ups where removal is essential. The deck contains Twilight Darkmender to stabalise if required and dragonire potions if control of the board is lost. 

Vs Control

Control matchups are generally slower but this doesnt mean we have to be. Play C’thun cards to buff him gaining as much value in the process. Hooded Acolyte has tons of potential when it comes to value. Heal your minions and make those value trades. Play around AOE spells (most minions have above 5 health or divine shield) and make the most of your hero power. If you feel control of the board is being lost, set yourself up for a dragonfire potion. Its not unusual for your C’thun to be in excess of 20/20 in a control matchup.

General Tips for Popular Match-Ups

Aggro Token Druid – Potion of Madness and early game removal + C’thun minions will be enough to see you through to a dragonfire potion. I would keep Shadow Visions or even Dragonfire Potion to enable a board wipe. Remember some run with Bittertide Hydra so a Shadow Word:Death is also worth keeping. 

Jade Druid – Just concede. Ok im kidding….or am I. By far the most difficult match-up. I’ve yet to win a game. Challenge accepted I hear you yell. As with any Jade match-up you cant out-value them. Play a high tempo and hope they either lack early game jade cards or you have a good curve which keeps them busy with spells rather than focusing on Jade Golems. Play C’thun (hopefully well buffed) as early as you can and try get him shuffled back into your deck early once killed. Mass dispel through taunts if lethal is viable or to dispell Gadgetzan Auctioneer / Fandral Stagehlm.

Mid Range Hunter – As previously mentioned – Potion of Madness the best target for this being Kindly Grandmother which allows you to remove part of the board and keep the 3/2 Big Bad Wolf. Early game removal + C’thun minions will be enough to see you through to a dragonfire potion. I would keep Shadow Visions to aid with Scavenging Hyena. Once you hit a Dragonfire Potion the game is easy and straight forward.

Burn Mage – Control the early game and buff C’thun to 10/10 to allow the activation of your Twilight Darkmender. This deck isnt expected on ladder and more often than not the massive healing that comes with the 6/5 body is often forgotten. Use it to your advantage and try wait until Alexstrasza is dropped. With all the removal and healing ability this match-up shouldnt be too difficult. Just remember they may pick up a Polymorph from a Primordial Glyph once they see the C’thun activations coming through so dont expect to be able to reshuffle it back into your deck. If you draw Harrison Jones then be sure to save him for Medivh, the Guardian. Three cards plus the loss of value will swing the game in your favour.

Freeze Mage – Focus on sticking minions to the board and healing them. Dont worry too much about your life points until around 18hp and then keep healing yourself to force them to use  Alexstrasza and then heal out of range with Twilight Darkmender. This deck isnt expected on ladder and more often than not the massive healing that comes with the 6/5 body is often forgotten. Once again just remember they may pick up a Polymorph from a Primordial Glyph once they see the C’thun activations coming through so dont expect to be able to reshuffle it back into your deck. If you draw Harrison Jones then be sure to save him for Medivh, the Guardian. Three cards plus the loss of value will swing the game in your favour.

Aggro Paladin – Potion of Madness and early game removal + C’thun minions will be enough to see you through to a dragonfire potion. I would keep Shadow Visions or even Dragonfire Potion on the coin to enable a board wipe. This match-up can be troublesome with their aggressive start if you have a bad starting hand. Keep their board to a minimum to reduce the value from Murloc buffs and also to stop the Sunkeeper Tarim buff from being so effective. Turn 8 Tirion Fordring? Try turn 8 Shadow Word:Death and Harrison Jones. 

Mid Range Paladin – Potion of Madness and early game removal + C’thun minions will be enough to see you through to a dragonfire potion. I would keep Shadow Visions or even Dragonfire Potion on the coin to enable a board wipe. This match-up is less aggressive but keeping those murlocs off the board is still just as important. Keep their board to a minimum to reduce the value from Murloc buffs and also to stop the Sunkeeper Tarim buff from being so effective. Turn 8 Tirion Fordring? Try turn 8 Shadow Word:Death and Harrison Jones. 

Dragon Priest – With the effects of Dragonfire Potion being rather useless in this match-up it is important to stick minions to the board. Make value trades and get as much value from Hooded Acolyte and Crazed Worshipper as possible. Remember the opponent plays Dragonfire Potion so try play around it with keeping minions at 6hp+. With Entomb rotating out, there is no fear with dropping C’thun. Buff him, drop him, reshuffle. (Insert fist pump here)

Miracle Rogue – Focus on your game of buffing C’thun and keeping board presense while waiting for their big threats. Edwin Van Cleef, Arcane Giant(s) and Sherazin are the key threats here. All in all its not too bad, providing you have answers which is why we love Shadow Visions so much. Shadow Word:Death. Shadow Word:Death. Shadow Word:Death. 

Quest Rogue -Tough match-up. When they draw the nuts there is very little you can do. Times i’ve won against quest rogue has involved up to 4 Dragonfire Potion’s to keep clearing the board.  Shadow Visions or even Dragonfire Potion on the coin are your ways to win here. They will run low on cards, just hope you have the right ones when they load the board.

Elemental Shaman – For value, I found this deck to be the toughest match. The deck runs a fair bit of healing, even more so depending on the choice for Kalimos. The problem here however is the Hex / Devolve. Without being able to shuffle C’thun and a combo of devolving minions they are unable to deal with or to avoid buffing C’thun, removes so much value from this deck. If you get the chance, casting Shadow Word:Death on your C’thun may seem a pretty good deal.

Pirate Warrior – Potion of Madness is fantastic in this match. Removing those pesky pirates is key. Small weapon buffs soon start demolishing the HP here. Drop any minion to ontest/remove board presense and always be prepared to deal with a Frothing Berserker. A combination of early minions and mid-game taunts and heals will make this match painless. Once again, the deck carries so much removal that you should be able to stabalise around turn 6. 

Taunt Warrior – Focus on buffing C’thun and keeping presence on the board while making the most of cheap removals for their more expensive minions. Completing the quest is beneficial as it stops their armour gain. Push with C’thun and get him shuffled back into your deck as soon as possible. If RNG with hero power doesnt go your way, its not meant to be. Keep board presence and play around brawl. Turn 8 is likely to be Primordial Drake so think about minion hp and being able to remove it.

Closing

 A big thank you to Stonekeep – using an old guide of his as a template and borrowing a few words.