What the Hearthstone pros think of C’Thun

So it seems pretty clear that the new hotness in the next Hearthstone card set, Whispers of the Old Gods, is going to be a Legendary card called C’Thun. This Lovecraftian monstrosity, which all players will get for free at release, gets buffed whenever you play one of 16 possible “cultist” cards, including the Beckoner of Evil which Blizzard is also giving you. It doesn’t even matter whether C’Thun is on the board, in your hand, or deep within your deck—the stat buffs will still be applied. At a reveal event for the new set earlier this week I took the chance to ask some of the game's top players and casters whether they’re excited by the card and what class it’s likely to fit best in...

Andrey “Reynad” Yanyuk

I think C’Thun is a pretty awesome card because it makes use of the whole digital space of Hearthstone and incorporates a mechanic that no other card game can. I look forward to playing with it and seeing what the other Old Gods do. C’Thun looks relatively playable in most classes now because the [cultist] minions just have solid stats to begin with, and I feel like it can legitimately be played in almost anything and feel kind of different depending on the class.

Brian Kibler

I think the C’Thun mechanic is really cool. I like that it seems open-ended, in that it could work in a wide variety of decks. I think it will certainly be strongest in classes that have cards that support a long game, control-type strategy. Perhaps Priest, Mage or Warrior would be the three that I would guess it’s most likely to show up and be strongest in.

Cong “StrifeCro” Shu

The first time I saw C’Thun I immediately thought that it was very similar to Anyfin Can Happen, the Paladin card that summons all the murlocs. It gets stronger as you play other cards in the same way. It’s kind of like a combo card, but you only need that one card in hand, so it’s not like Force of Nature-Savage Roar. I think it’s quite a bit weaker than Anyfin Can Happen actually, from a competitive standpoint. But obviously I haven’t seen all the synergies, only a couple of those cards, but I do feel like it’s going to be quite a bit weaker than Anyfin Can Happen. Not really because it’s a one-of, but I think it’s closer to something like Archmage Antonidas in that it’s the cornerstone of your deck, and a cool card, but not going to win you the game on the spot. I like it though.

Dan “Frodan” Chou

C’Thun is pretty cool. I think the thing to understand is Blizzard is trying to introduce diversity in not only the game itself but how we approach deckbuilding. One of the things that’s really common is to see a new Legendary card and try to squeeze it into existing archetypes. You can’t really do that with C’Thun. It’s not like slapping it into Control Warrior—it’s actually very bad in that scenario. They’re giving us another Reno Jackson situation where we have to really warp how we’re building our decks. Whether or not that increases diversity or limits it—because if it’s the most powerful deck then everyone’s going to play it—we’ll see. As for which classes will play it the most, nothing really stands out because I think Standard is going to shift so dramatically. I want to wait before we make any conclusions but classes which lack a consistent curve of minions could benefit most, if the new minions fill those gaps.

Jason “Amaz” Chan

Just knowing six cards so far it’s kind of hard to tell. It’s definitely very cool. It’s a 10-mana card, deservingly. I talked to StrifeCro and agree that Anyfin Can Happen might be better. In terms of what class it will be good in, my first impression is Warlock. Because you can always draw cards, and you need to draw C’Thun.

Kacem “Noxious” Khilaji

I think C’thun is the best mechanic for the theme that they’ve got, given that the Old Gods are lurking in your deck. I feel like Rogue will be able to use it more effectively than most other classes because they can use it with Brann Bronzebeard, Shadowstep, Conceal—you know, get one Emperor [Thaurissan] tick, Conceal your C’thun, and you’re good to go. You can cycle through your deck very quickly too. With Shadowstep, you don’t even have to use it on C’Thun. You play it on the cultists and that alone is worth it. Or go Brann Bronzebeard, followed by Conceal or Master of Disguise, then you play C’Thun on the following turn. There are so many combinations that lead to crazy C’Thuns that I think Rogue will use it very well.

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