"Shaman of the Forgotten Ways:The tucked threat"

"Shaman of the Forgotten Ways:The tucked threat"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr. 

Biorhythm. One of those cards that I had the pleasure of owning even before EDH. And one card that I hoped that I could have put to good use before I found out that it was one of those cards that were banned in the EDH format because it proved to be too strong. I mean it could end the game in an instant. People who control the spell just need to make sure that they control at least one creature and then destroy the rest. Wrath of God + Indestructible creature + Biorhythm means that every one's life total because equal to the number of creatures he or she controls. So yes it does not end well for everyone else unless they decide to fling something your way before they die. So they decided to ban this awesome card because it makes game play a bit less exciting to those who die by it.

So imagine my surprise when they printed Biorhythm on a stick.This is in the form of Shaman of the Forgotten ways. I loved the card instantly but there was some concern that it too would get a banning. 

There are several reasons why this would not come to pass.

1.It is a freaking creature! One of the classic questions in Magic is...Can you Doom blade it? If so then no worries.

2. Formidable - Look at the amount of power that you need to amass in order to activate this ability. A prerequisite that may or may not win you the game. Since this will be a green EDH deck expect that the 8 power requirement will be negligible. Still. Can you doom blade it?

The Shaman is already 2 Power and because of the 2 mana that it adds you could be sure that you would be casting Atarka or even Surrak in no time at all.The question is while you have a 

3. 11 mana to activate!.... So let us say that you already have 8 power or more for the Formidable pre requisite. The question now is do you have enough mana to activate the the Shamans ability before someone can doom blade the hell out of it?

Unlike the cheaper costing Biorhythm which could also be cheated into play , Shaman of the forgotten ways will force you to play straight and narrow. 

With these reasons do you think I will dissuaded into not playing the Shaman? No way. I still think that this is a fun way to end the game and people will always be wary of that seemingly innocent 3 to cast mana producer that you have usually tucked in your lands. 

They would be counting lands and they would be counting creatures. Wary if you would be able to pull off a Biorhythm on them. This could prove to be a great diversion if you are actually planning to go all Aggro.Or maybe when they are not watching you could take out that tucked threat and just activate it.