Tutoring is a powerful ability even if it requires a card. Worst case scenario you have a Grizzly Bear with two useful tribes, otherwise you can pull whatever creature you need from your deck. Could be very powerful (like the Elvish Piper) but the requirement to tap will usually mean she will rarely get to do her thing before a Lightning Bolt hits her unless you find a way to protect her.
Survival of the Fittest with legs. Although with Survival of the Fittest, you could do it as many times as you wanted and it couldn't be bolted, still, good card is good.
UNBAN_SHAHRAZAD
★★☆☆☆ (2.5/5.0)(5 votes)
I don't think this is as good as people are thinking it will be. It is worse than Survival because: 1. It's easier to kill, 2. It has summoning sickness, and 3. The game has gotten a lot faster and more powerful since Survival was played. It'll be an okay card, but I don't think it will spawn a Tier-1 deck based on the cards that are out there now.
MDStrawHat
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Lightning bolt fodder for two mana. Nothing to be scoffed at :)
Catmurderer
★★☆☆☆ (2.4/5.0)(5 votes)
This card is fairly insane.
I really like it in decks where it becomes a combo/super efficient engine of destruction. (Primarily now through cards like Vengvine or Bloodghast)
Ex:
Throw away Vengvine and pick up Bloodbraid Elf, cast Bloodbraid and cascade into Putrid Leech, Garuuk's Companion or Bloodghast..., so you get: Vengvine/Bloodbraid/2CmC dude
HUGE amounts of synergy possible with her.
Decks based solely around her tutoring up a wide variety of 1-ofs in a deck, is a bad idea.
Other cards that operate well in the graveyard, Firemane Angel or unearth/dredge mechanics could also look into her.
Exart
★★★☆☆ (3.2/5.0)(3 votes)
Renegade Doppelganger is a way to give her haste, which I will try out for fun if nothing else. She's easy to kill but will do crazy things if she stays alive.
Zulp
★★☆☆☆ (2.5/5.0)(3 votes)
It's a fixed Survival. Which is fine. Survival was broken anyway.
ratchet1215
★★★☆☆ (3.2/5.0)(3 votes)
I seriously can't wait to see the kind of decks that get cranked out with this girl in them.
Wratharrow
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.7/5.0)(8 votes)
the obvious combo with her comes from the same m11 set: Obstinate Baloth
tis powerful considering it's a 4/4 4-drop with lifegain. pretty slick.
HairlessThoctar
★★★★☆ (4.4/5.0)(10 votes)
Yes this is a much more fragile Survival of the Fittest. But you're all forgetting something; this is still a Survival of the Fittest.
This isn't a card they might bolt; this is a card they will NEED to bolt.
Lateralis0ne
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(3 votes)
Not bad. Yes, bolts can kill her. No, that doesn't automatically eliminate her usefulness. Doom Blade owns Baneslayer Angel, as does a Cunning Sparkmage with Basilisk Collar. But that angel's still a 4-of in most appropriate decks. This is the same thing.
And the angel doesn't have haste, either.
Oh, and Wratharrow, Obstinate Baloth needs to be discarded due to an effect an opponent controls. This isn't quite the same, sorry.
SleetFox
★★★★☆ (4.9/5.0)(8 votes)
For only two mana, you get a creature that is never obsolete. Absolutely fantastic. Even if it gets hit with Lightning Bolt, they wasted one mana and one card to waste your two mana and one card. Not much of a loss.
Kryptnyt
★★★☆☆ (3.4/5.0)(7 votes)
Poor bears. Elves will always be better. When we return to Ravnica, and the Izzet and the Simic have gotten together to make Bearelves, the 2 mana 2/2 will have an ability that will have no use whatsoever
Eternal_Blue
★★☆☆☆ (2.5/5.0)(1 vote)
ah powercreep, my old enemy, so we meet again.
Ph1005
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Basicly, one of these in your deck almost gives you another chance to have any other creature in your hand. Love it.
UltimaCenturion
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(7 votes)
As Thoctar said, this is a card that NEEDS to be bolted. And just cause it gets bolted doesn't mean it hasn't helped you.
Yozuk
★★★☆☆ (3.4/5.0)(8 votes)
MADNESS!
cloneffect
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
The brokenest card in m11. Not broken per se, but very, very strong. This is like Lotus Cobra all over again; something you have to mana leak, or bolt, or remove somehow, because otherwise you will lose. This card is the type that, if not dealt with ASAP, can just take games away from you.
Belhammer
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
"This card is worse, they'll just bolt it."
If it makes them waste a bolt, then that's still a bolt they won't have later.
As for the bolts, looks like you are gonna need something along the lines of Vines of Vastwood. If that means you get to pull off the Vengevine combo Catmurderer mentioned, then it will have been worth it.
So:
vs Blue or Black: 4x Autumns veil
vs White or Red: 4x Vines of Vastwood
Mathewson
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
My favorite part about Fauna Shaman is that it can scare your opponent into trying to remove it as soon as possible before you start spitting out creatures from your deck. All the while you use that as a distraction as you construct a game winning move. If the creature lives then I certainly do use her to help me out in the games.
TheSuperbloop
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
They didn't make a stable green card mythic? YAY!
mlanier131
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Wizards way of saying elvish piper is too good. I think this has more combo opportunity.
roqbthepirate
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
If only you could discard Obstinate Baloth with this and still use his ability to jump into play.. DARN
Strawb3rryPanic
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Discard Basking Rootwalla, get big creature and have two creatures, lol?
Divisionbyzer0
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Decks that run this card won't have the room for tricks like vines or autumns veil as you want to run high creature count to enable this card. But it doesn't matter. That's why you run four of her. They won't have removal for each one you play, and presumably you will be running other threats that they want to remove. Four of these GWB junk is pretty fun. Protect it with knight / steppe. Pull their removal with sculler, tutor for grave and sun titans to recur the wall of omens and cobras/heirarch/birds that you pitched to tutor.
apollogod
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Fauna Shaman, plus Bloodghast, unearth, and shenanigans from Jund all mix together for some insane fun.
Yes, of course she is easy to remove. Many creature are. We're not supposed to analyze cards for their ease of being removed. We are supposed to analyze cards for their usefulness when they remain in play. Best case, she stays in play and is an amazing engine. Worst case, she gets removed.
With all of that being said, it is my favorite card in M11, and one of my favorite cards of all time.
reapersaurus
★★★☆☆ (3.7/5.0)(5 votes)
See, it's bad enough to make an easily-recursive abusive creature power - It's a whole other thing to make her as efficient as a Grizzly Bear in P/T! She has NO BUSINESS being a 2/2 - most ability-creatures in the history of magic have been 1/1's (or 0/1's) - where do they get off making her a 2/2 for 2 CMC on top of the plenty-powerful ability?
stevieg91rules
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
isnt as good as survival of the fittest but still good.
Omnei_of_Bant
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(20 votes)
strictly better than grizzly bear
dberry02
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
A Standard version of Survival of the Fittest. Excellent! Also, a lot better in casual since it's also an elf :D
Shaunafaman
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
Most interesting creature printed in a very long time. 5 stars.
The flavortext says: "She wears the talismans of every creature she can evoke." So where are the Shriekaw, Cloudthresher, Mulldrifter, and Reveillark talismans?
Sironos
★★★☆☆ (3.7/5.0)(3 votes)
I know we have powercreep and all, but why have a 2CMC 2/2 with such a game winning ability, clearly undercosted?
Answer: Elf.
ChampionofSquee
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
she works pretty nicely with Squadron Hawk and even nicer with anything with madness like Basking Rootwalla. The hawks thing is pretty cool though. T2 drop the shaman. T3 drop the hawk, tutor for 3 more & use the shaman's ability to get an epic creature T4/5 do the hawk thing again. and if it suits you, you can just play the hawks.
Gelzo
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(4 votes)
Masked Admirers for discard if you want to stick with elves.
GengilOrbios
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
this card reminds me a bit of elvish piper... i think both of the two are great, but the lower mana costs make fauna shaman IMHO a bit more powerful than elvish piper. anyway, this card is a new proof for powercreep, but Im happy i've got one, though. :P
Demonic_Math_Tutor
★★★★☆ (4.6/5.0)(5 votes)
I play this with Necrotic Ooze. It kicks peoples asses most of the time when i discard gigantomancer.
DacenOctavio
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
My buddy put this into his {UBG} Quest for Ula's Temple deck with Wrexial, Simic Sky-Swallower, Inkwell Leviathan, and Stormtide Leviathan. I usually take a lot of damage from 2 creatures with the most broken evasion ability in the game: Islandwalk.
Troutz
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I love how they put Survival's effect on a 2 mana creature that you can only activate once a turn and is affected by summoning sickness, and it's still one of the most powerful cards in two formats (Std and Ext) and very playable in a third (Legacy)
Redaspect
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
The art kicks ass.
Hyroko
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(4 votes)
I love it how everyone mentions lightning bolt as their first choice for "dies to" lines.
I also love how everyone assumes they will ALWAYS play against a red deck XD
I barely play against red decks in my tournaments, and if I do, I actually would drop a fauna shaman first so I know my elvish piper hits the board with less opposition XD. plus, if you want this broad to work fast and not catch aids for all the lightning bold dicks out there, just run the good ol' equipment LIGHTNING GREAVES! if they don't kill her as soon as she hits play they can't touch her and she can use her ability the turn she comes out.
BTW Lightning bolt dies to lightning greaves XD
Garfunculus
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
With this, if I have a creature I want in my graveyard, I get it back in 3 turns by getting discarding something for Emrakul, then discarding Emrakul to et whatever it is back to my library, then I can get my newly un-slain creature back out.
I then openly apologise to Storm Crow for not finding a faster way to put it in my hand.
Bulhakas
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(11 votes)
The art on this card looks like it came straight out of WoW. Damn you, WotC.
Drakethesage
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I know this is a silly question, but if you discarded an Emrakul with her effect could you target the Emrakul or creatures that were in your graveyard since he shuffles into the deck or does that happen after you choose the creature? Still an amazing creature worth 5/5 stars.
snapbee
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
drakethesafe: Yeah, Emrakul will shuffle in when you pay the activation cost of discarding him to the graveyard. When the ability resolves, he and the rest of your graveyard should be in your library ... you insane person. ;-P
Search your library for a combo piece. Use this ability once per turn.
Shredmonster
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This card is exceptionally powerful in EDH, especially with cards like Mimeoplasm or Lord of Extinction. You can fill the graveyard with creatures from your hand, while pumping other creatures you control and giving your commander options. All the while you are filling your hand with creatures you want! Makes Living Death or Grimoire of the Dead both devastating and brutal.
JuggaSiC
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I'm not gonna go on about removal and whatnot. I only post to say, damn this is a cute card....And I'm buying one for my EDH deck. :D
combine this card with madness: you get a creature onto the field AND get to pick one for your hand. that or reassembling skeleton, it's roughly the same
Whales
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
@Omnei_of_Bant If you were here, I would give you candy for being the first person on Gatherer to use the term "Strictly better" in the same sentence as "Grizzly Bear" and actually nail it.
Congratulations.
On topic: Fantastic magnet of hate. And also, if you should manage to slip this into play and use it even once, it'd totally be worth it in my book. 1GG and discard an obsolete (or a creature that works better in a graveyard, like the aforementioned Genesis or maybe even an Evershrike in W/G) to tutor out any creature in your deck is pretty great. And if they bolt it, good on them, wasting a bolt on a 1G creature.
Fauna Shaman, how I love thee... very hard not to include her in any Gx deck with a fair amount of decent creatures, given that she can find you exactly what you want at a given time, and isn't too hard to abuse given that she can search for cards to abuse her with (Squee and Genesis, I'm looking at you!).
It's also pretty boss having her on the battlefield in a UGx deck with Mystic Snakes, and having 5 mana open and cards in hand. Your opponent knows that if they play a spell you really don't want to resolve, as long as you've got *any* creature in hand its getting countered. Such is the power of the Shaman.
Plus, of course, pitching stuff to the graveyard opens all kinds of reanimator shenigans. As if simply tutoring stuff to your hand wasn't powerful enough.
@Emperorerror How? Loxodon Smiter says "If a spell or ability an opponent controls causes you to discard Loxodon Smiter, put it onto the battlefield instead of putting it into your graveyard." If you discard your own Smiter with Fauna Shaman, it'll just go to the graveyard.
Blasphemale
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@Demonic_math_tutor I do the same thing hehe. Combined with training grounds, feral animist and pack rat. People hate me! A lot.
TheWrathofShane
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
To be on same level as survival of the fittest, would need haste and not have to tap to use its ability.
Comments (74)
I really like it in decks where it becomes a combo/super efficient engine of destruction. (Primarily now through cards like Vengvine or Bloodghast)
Ex:
Throw away Vengvine and pick up Bloodbraid Elf,
cast Bloodbraid and cascade into Putrid Leech, Garuuk's Companion or Bloodghast..., so you get:
Vengvine/Bloodbraid/2CmC dude
HUGE amounts of synergy possible with her.
Decks based solely around her tutoring up a wide variety of 1-ofs in a deck, is a bad idea.
Other cards that operate well in the graveyard, Firemane Angel or unearth/dredge mechanics could also look into her.
She's easy to kill but will do crazy things if she stays alive.
tis powerful considering it's a 4/4 4-drop with lifegain. pretty slick.
But you're all forgetting something; this is still a Survival of the Fittest.
This isn't a card they might bolt; this is a card they will NEED to bolt.
And the angel doesn't have haste, either.
Oh, and Wratharrow, Obstinate Baloth needs to be discarded due to an effect an opponent controls. This isn't quite the same, sorry.
When we return to Ravnica, and the Izzet and the Simic have gotten together to make Bearelves, the 2 mana 2/2 will have an ability that will have no use whatsoever
If it makes them waste a bolt, then that's still a bolt they won't have later.
As for the bolts, looks like you are gonna need something along the lines of Vines of Vastwood. If that means you get to pull off the Vengevine combo Catmurderer mentioned, then it will have been worth it.
So:
vs Blue or Black: 4x Autumns veil
vs White or Red: 4x Vines of Vastwood
Yes, of course she is easy to remove. Many creature are. We're not supposed to analyze cards for their ease of being removed. We are supposed to analyze cards for their usefulness when they remain in play. Best case, she stays in play and is an amazing engine. Worst case, she gets removed.
With all of that being said, it is my favorite card in M11, and one of my favorite cards of all time.
It's a whole other thing to make her as efficient as a Grizzly Bear in P/T!
She has NO BUSINESS being a 2/2 - most ability-creatures in the history of magic have been 1/1's (or 0/1's) - where do they get off making her a 2/2 for 2 CMC on top of the plenty-powerful ability?
Answer: Elf.
I also love how everyone assumes they will ALWAYS play against a red deck XD
I barely play against red decks in my tournaments, and if I do, I actually would drop a fauna shaman first so I know my elvish piper hits the board with less opposition XD. plus, if you want this broad to work fast and not catch aids for all the lightning bold dicks out there, just run the good ol' equipment LIGHTNING GREAVES! if they don't kill her as soon as she hits play they can't touch her and she can use her ability the turn she comes out.
BTW Lightning bolt dies to lightning greaves XD
I then openly apologise to Storm Crow for not finding a faster way to put it in my hand.
Still an amazing creature worth 5/5 stars.
If you were here, I would give you candy for being the first person on Gatherer to use the term "Strictly better" in the same sentence as "Grizzly Bear" and actually nail it.
Congratulations.
On topic: Fantastic magnet of hate. And also, if you should manage to slip this into play and use it even once, it'd totally be worth it in my book. 1GG and discard an obsolete (or a creature that works better in a graveyard, like the aforementioned Genesis or maybe even an Evershrike in W/G) to tutor out any creature in your deck is pretty great. And if they bolt it, good on them, wasting a bolt on a 1G creature.
4.5/5
It's also pretty boss having her on the battlefield in a UGx deck with Mystic Snakes, and having 5 mana open and cards in hand. Your opponent knows that if they play a spell you really don't want to resolve, as long as you've got *any* creature in hand its getting countered. Such is the power of the Shaman.
Plus, of course, pitching stuff to the graveyard opens all kinds of reanimator shenigans. As if simply tutoring stuff to your hand wasn't powerful enough.
How? Loxodon Smiter says "If a spell or ability an opponent controls causes you to discard Loxodon Smiter, put it onto the battlefield instead of putting it into your graveyard." If you discard your own Smiter with Fauna Shaman, it'll just go to the graveyard.
City of Brass =>> Birds of Paradise
Dramatic Entrance =>> Elvish Piper
Survival of the Fittest =>> Fauna Shaman
Explosive Vegetation =>> Primeval Titan (who should name 'Forests', not 'lands'. Fetching Shocks is fine, fetching Maze of Ith and Valakut the Molten Pinnacle is not)