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C'Thun Priest (Standard) deck list and guide - July 2016

The latest deck list and gameplay guide for C'Thun Priest this July (Season 28).

C'Thun Priest is a deck that, like many of its C'Thun-flavoured counterparts, seeks to control the shape of the board as much as possible, while simultaneously brewing up a monstrous C'Thun in the background. In our C'Thun Priest guide, we'll walk you through the basics of playing this interesting new archetype.

The new expansion has brought with it two Priest-specific cards that have helped the Hero get ahead in this race to build a bigger monster: Forbidden Shaping and Twilight Darkmender. Apart from these you have the now-familiar roster of C'Thun supporting cards like Beckoner of Evil, Disciple of C'Thun and C'Thun's Chosen to play with.

Not only does this deck perform reasonably well against the aggressive decks dominating the metagame, it also gives its Druid and Warrior counterparts a run for their money. In our deck guide, we'll outline the latest C'Thun Priest deck list, give you an overview of the fundamental strategy involved in playing this archetype, explain how to Mulligan, and finally wrap up with a look at all of the crucial combos involved.

Editor's note - July update: There have been quite a few changes made to this deck as the metagame has evolved. The fundamental principles of playing it have remained the same, however, and so we've simply updated the relevant aspects of our guide this month. It's not a top-tier deck anymoer, alas, but you may find some success with it on the early stages of the ladder.

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C'Thun Priest (Standard) deck list and strategy - July 2016

This is the C'Thun Priest deck list we currently feel does the best job at climbing the ladder. Let us know in the comments if you come across any particularly effective variations.

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PriestNeutral
2 x Circle of Healing2 x Beckoner of Evil
2 x Forbidden Shaping2 x Wild Pyromancer
1 x Flash Heal2 x Disciple of C'Thun
2 x Power Word: Shield2 x C'Thun's Chosen
2 x Northshire Cleric1 x Sylvanas Windrunner
2 x Shadow Word: Pain1 x Twin Emperor Vek'lor
2 x Shadow Word: Death1 x C'Thun
2 x Auchenai Soulpriest
1 x Excavated Evil
2 x Twilight Darkmender
1 x Cabal Shadow Priest

Your priority in the early stages of a game are to get your C'Thun fed up to at least 10 Attack as quickly as possible, so you can start gaining the benefits of cards that react to C'Thun's stats (Twilight Darkmender, Twin Emperor Vek'lor) as you transition towards the late-game.

Do this by fielding your C'Thun related cards onto the board, making value trades wherever possible. Forbidden Shaping is particularly useful for filling any gaps in your Mana curve, while you should try to achieve at least one draw off Northshire Cleric. Wild Pyromancer combined with a spell or two can help you deal with early aggro threats.

You've various removal spells and combos at your disposal to help you through to the final stages of a match, where you'll be looking to gain an extra copy of Twin Emperor Vek'lor from a well-fed C'Thun, before delivering the monster himself onto the board for - hopefully - a riotous finish.

More great Priest guides:

C'Thun Priest (Standard) Mulligan guide - July 2016

The metagame has settled down enough now that a picture of Mulliganing this deck has started to emerge. Consider the following picks when sorting through your opening hand.

OpponentKeeps
DruidBeckoner of Evil, Northshire Cleric, Power Word: Shield, Wild Pyromancer, Shadow Word: Pain
HunterBeckoner of Evil, Northshire Cleric, Power Word: Shield, Wild Pyromancer, Shadow Word: Pain
MageBeckoner of Evil, Northshire Cleric, Power Word: Shield, Wild Pyromancer, Shadow Word: Pain
PaladinBeckoner of Evil, Northshire Cleric, Power Word: Shield, Wild Pyromancer, Shadow Word: Pain
PriestC'Thun's Chosen, Disciple of C'Thun, Northshire Cleric, Power Word: Shield
RogueBeckoner of Evil, Northshire Cleric, Power Word: Shield, Wild Pyromancer, Shadow Word: Pain
ShamanBeckoner of Evil, Northshire Cleric, Power Word: Shield, Wild Pyromancer, Shadow Word: Pain
WarlockBeckoner of Evil, Northshire Cleric, Power Word: Shield, Wild Pyromancer, Shadow Word: Pain
WarriorBeckoner of Evil, C'Thun's Chosen, Northshire Cleric, Power Word: Shield, Shadow Word: Pain

C'Thun Priest (Standard) combos and synergies - July 2016

This is a relatively new archetype for Hearthstone, and so there are quite a few new synergies to think about while you're playing through a match. Here's a breakdown of the most important combos involved with this month's version of C'Thun Priest:

- Auchenai Soulpriest combined with Circle of Healing is your classic board-clear move, but note that your own minions will be damaged in the process!

- If Auchenai Soulpriest is out on the board, Flash Heal will - along with your Hero Power - provide you with a source of targeted damage rather than healing.

- If Wild Pyromancer is out on the board, any spells you cast will cause a point of damage to be applied to all active minions. Note that the effect of the spell will play out before the damage is inflicted.

- You can get a lot of card draw out of Northshire Cleric and Circle of Healing if the board is busy and you can do a little light minion battling before firing up the combo.

- The following cards will all increase the stats of your C'Thun: Beckoner of Evil, Disciple of C'Thun and C'Thun's Chosen.

- On the flip-side of things, Twilight Darkmender and Twin Emperor Vek'lor both benefit in one way or another from you having a larger C'Thun.

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John Bedford avatar

John Bedford

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John is Metabomb's Editor in Chief and looks after the day to day running of the site when he's not writing about Hearthstone.

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