Historic Mythic with Shamans: Fun & Jank Episode 46

Welcome back to Fun & Jank, Episode 46! Plum here, and today we’re finally giving one of my favorite decks its day in the sun. Historic might not be the first place you think of for Shamans, but trust me, the tribe’s got some real teeth. It’s been flying under the radar most of its life, but the recent Arena Anthologies gave us the much welcomed (and much needed) Ignoble Hierarch, a major upgrade for the list.

This one’s been a long time coming. We’ve played variations of the list on stream here and there, but we’ve never really given it the spotlight it deserves. I really want to give this deck its time in the sun.

Let’s dive in!

The Core

For this episode, I tried two different spins:

• Jund Shamans – the classic version, with a light splash for Judith, the Scourge Diva.
• Gruul Shamans – a streamlined build featuring Bellowsbreath Ogre and Arena of Glory for maximum face-melting intensity.

At the end of the day, both versions of Shaman tribal share the same explosive core that I believe should be in every variation of the list, from Jund, to Gruul, or even Mono-Red (Fanatic of Mogis is a helluva card).

Harmonic Prodigy – One of the best cards in the deck, and the main “engine” that leads to such explosive turns. Leading with this and following up with any of our other Shamans with an ETB effect is incredible value. It turns Burning-Tree Emissary into a ritual. it makes Rage Forger put two counters on all our creatures and then makes each of them ping for two damage when we swing. Hell, it even makes an entire army of creatures with Seasoned Pyromancer. Can’t leave home without it.

Burning-Tree Emissary – The classic free creature. Obliviously strong when we can play one into something like Goblin Anarchomancer or Elvish Visionary, but it’s even better in multiples. Like I mentioned above, it pairs very well with Prodigy which allows you to chain multiple Rage Forgers or Collected Companies in a single turn.

Rage Forger – Arguably one of the best tribal lords every printed. We want to see this guy every single game. The permanent buff to our board is great, but the real power comes from his ability to make all our shamans ping for one damage when they attack (note you can hit planeswalkers too!). This guy goes absolutely ham with a Harmonic Prodigy out.

No matter the shell, these three cards are essential to the tribe. They’re non-negotiable. Other pieces like Elvish Visionary or Seasoned Pyromancer are often the best choice in terms of “glue” to hold the deck together, and you’ll also see them as part of the core creatures I used in both lists today.

New Hotness

One of the biggest upgrades this deck got from Arena Anthology 2 is Ignoble Hierarch. It’s everything we wanted rolled into one card: a mana dork that’s actually on tribe, fixes our colors for Jund, and sneaks in extra damage off of exalted triggers (which also get double by Harmonic Prodigy).

Before this, we were stuck with Llanowar Elves, which always felt like a bit of a clunker in the shell — fine on turn one, but miserable off Collected Company, and completely dead next to Rage Forger since it didn’t pick up a counter. Ignoble changes that dynamic entirely. Now our early mana accelerant is also a threat multiplier, and that makes a world of difference.

Version #1: Arena of Glory

Now I believe that splashing black results in the best version of the deck, but I was interested in testing out another package in a Gruul variation.

In theory, the idea was sweet: Ogre gives the tribe a burn-like finisher stapled onto a body, and Arena can grant it haste. I’ve seen others try Ogre out in their lists, and I was always keen on its ability to throw damage at creatures or the opponent’s face. It even gets double intensity triggers with Harmonic Prodigy out, give us a very very quick clock and even more reach.

In practice, I found Ogre to be a touch too slow for my liking. He sometimes felt clunky at three mana, and without Arena of Glory while explosive when it worked, it wasn’t always impactful enough by itself. Most of the creatures in this deck provide an immediate ETB effect, and if they don’t, the potential value they provide outweighs the cost. Ogre on the other hand just kind of sits there when Prodigy or Arena aren’t there to give it a boost.

That being said, I did really like the feel of Arena of Gloryin these shells in general. Stapling haste onto Rage Forger, Seasoned Pyromancer, or a top-decked Prodigy was beneficial in the late game to sneak in those last few points of damage.

The Gruul build could absolutely run hot and crush people, but it lacked some of the flexibility and grind power that makes the Jund version shine.

Version #2: Jund Shamans

The Gruul version gave us a streamlined manabase and cute syngeries, but splashing another color is virtually free with Ignoble Hierarch, Cavern of Souls, and Secluded Courtyard thrown into the mix. This archetype gets a big level up by adding black in the form of Judith, the Scourge Diva.

I strongly believe that if you’re not playing Judith, you’re not building the deck right. Next to Rage Forger, Judith is the best anthem effect we can ask for.

• She punishes board wipes by turning every fallen Shaman into direct damage.
• Her ping ability means your creatures trade up in combat.
• She punishes board wipes by turning every dead creature into burn.

It gets better though! Her death trigger also gets doubled by Harmonic Prodigy. This is absolutely filthy against mass creature removal like Supreme Verdict, or even the annhilator trigger from Ulamog as seen in the picture below.

I had 7 creatures on the board, including a Judith and a Prodigy, and Ulamog made me sacrifice all of them, which means I got to ping my opponent 14 times during their combat step and win! Many games end this way, the opponent finally stabilizes with a sweeper, only to realize Judith made it their death sentence.

That combination of aggression and inevitability is what makes the Jund version shine. You still get the fast tribal synergy core of Burning-Tree Emissary, Rage Forger, and Harmonic Prodigy, but now you’ve layered in Judith, which punishes them for interacting with our creatures

Gameplay

(Note: this is not gameplay of my climb to Mythic)

I think a lot of the raw power comes not only from the creatures in this deck, but also its ability to create pseudo-ramp. This is what lets the deck explode onto the board and keep the pressure cranked. There’s essentially three lines that get you to a Collected Company on turn 3 pretty consistently.

• Ignoble Hierarch: fixes your mana, swings with exalted, and crucially enables Collected Company on turn three.
  
• Goblin Anarchomancer: the cost reduction adds up fast, often turning your curve into something absurd like Ignoble Hierarch → Anarchomancer → Prodigy + Company on turn three.
  
• Harmonic Prodigy + Burning-Tree Emissary: a turn two Prodigy lets you generate four mana off of Burning-Tree Emissary the following turn, giving you a turn three Collected Company.

Hitting CoCo on turn three is one of the scary things this deck can do. It gets even crazier when you chain them together.

In this match, I landed a turn three CoCo with a second one in hand. I hit Harmonic Prodigy + Burning-Tree which allowed me to cast the second CoCo, into another Burning-Tree and friends. I felt unstoppable. Note, that if my opponent had a board wipe like Brotherhood's End, Judith would end up dealing 18 damage and we still win. Gross.

Of course Harmonic Prodigy also allows you to do come crazy things combined with Rage Forger. Making all your creatures ping for two damage is insane. And it only gets crazier when you add multiple copies.

Sideboard

These cards are pretty self explanatory:

• Loaming Shaman – Graveyard hate that doubles as a Shaman hit off Company. It’s slower than Relic, but on-tribe means it still synergizes with Rage Forger and Prodigy.
  
• Reclamation Sage – Clean answer to artifacts and enchantments. Just efficient and often a two-for-one when doubled by Prodigy.
  
• Bonecrusher Giant – Versatile removal plus an extra threat. Great to bring in against creature decks or when you just want to beef up your threat density. Also necessary against Solemnity lock or The One Ring
  
• Goblin Ruinblaster – Land hate that punishes greedy mana. Control, Three Color Midrange, and Eldrazi are the usual targets for it.
  
• Klothys, God of Destiny – A grindy powerhouse. Slowly eats yards, pressures life totals, and provides incidental lifegain. Perfect when opponents board into more removal.
  
• Heroic Intervention – The “nope” button against sweepers and removal-heavy decks. Protects your board and lets you overextend with confidence.
  
• Dismember – Cheap, unconditional removal. Lets you trade up against bigger creatures that your red/green burn can’t easily answer.
  
• Relic of Progenitus – Fast, repeatable graveyard hate. Important against Phoenix, Persist Combo, Emperor of Bones, and any deck leaning on recursion.

I went pretty generic with my sideboard choices. This mix gives you tools for every angle: graveyard hate, artifact/enchantment answers, land disruption, and resiliency against removal. It’s tight, but flexible.

Closing Thoughts

This has always been one of my favorite archetypes, so it’s been great to see Shamans finally get some new love with AA2 hitting Arena. Ignoble Hierarch is exactly the upgrade the deck needed, smoothing out the mana while also pushing damage in a way the tribe really appreciates. With that boost, the deck feels fast, consistent, and capable of racing even the top contenders in the format if you line up the right hand.

Hopefully more people pick it up and give it a spin. Shamans deserves its fifteen minutes of fame, and I can’t think of a better time for it to shine.

Thanks for reading.

As always feel free to comment and leave any questions you have below! Make sure to come back next week for even more Fun & Jank!

If you want to see these decks in action, come hang out with me on stream where we test, refine, and have a ton of fun together! (guys plz, im so lonely)

Happy Brewing!