Hiveheart ShamanHow it works & interactions with other cards

Diverse Land Searching

Whenever Hiveheart Shaman attacks, you have the opportunity to search your library for a basic land card. The restriction is that you must choose a land type—Forest, Island, Mountain, Plains, or Swamp—that you do not currently control. This allows you to rapidly achieve 'Domain' and thin your deck of basic lands.

Step-by-Step Resolution

When Hiveheart Shaman is declared as an attacker, its first ability triggers and goes on the stack. Upon resolution, you check which basic land types are present among lands you control. You may then search for a basic land with a missing type, put it onto the battlefield untapped, and shuffle. Later, during your main phase, you can pay six mana to create a 1/1 Insect token. You then count your basic land types and place that many +1/+1 counters on the token.

Common Pitfalls

A frequent mistake is forgetting that the token-creation ability can only be activated as a sorcery, meaning you cannot use it during combat or on an opponent's turn. Additionally, remember that if you already control all five basic land types, the attack trigger will not allow you to put a new land onto the battlefield, though you still shuffle your library if you choose to search.

Strategic Implementation

This card excels in multicolored decks that need to fix their mana while maintaining offensive pressure. The token ability scales significantly as the game progresses, turning extra mana into massive blockers or attackers that benefit from the lands you've fetched earlier in the game.

Interaction examples

Rapid Mana Expansion

Hiveheart ShamanSolemn Simulacrum

If you use Solemn Simulacrum to fetch a basic Plains early on, you can then attack with Hiveheart Shaman to fetch a Mountain or Island. This synergy ensures you are never stuck on a single color of mana while building a board of creatures.

Late Game Value Loop

Hiveheart ShamanEternal Witness

If your Hiveheart Shaman is destroyed after fetching several lands, you can use Eternal Witness to return it to your hand. Once re-cast, your land count will be high enough that the Shaman's activated ability can immediately create a 6/6 or larger Insect token.

Creating the Swarm

Hiveheart ShamanInsect

With a Forest, Plains, and Swamp in play, you activate the Shaman's ability for {5}{G}. You create a 1/1 Insect token, then put three +1/+1 counters on it because you control three basic land types, resulting in a 4/4 creature.