Bone Shaman MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	4
Rarity	Common
Type	Creature — Giant Shaman
Released	1995-06-03
Set symbol
Set name	Ice Age
Set code	ICE
Power	3
Toughness	3
Number	176
Frame	1993
Layout	normal
Border	black
Illustred by	Anson Maddocks

Key Takeaways

Bone Shaman enhances hand quality and mana generation, key for strategic plays and board control.
Its fixed mana cost and discard requirement may limit versatility and hand size, impacting strategy.
Potential inclusion in decks for its graveyard disruption abilities and meta-game relevance.

Text of card

oo B Any creature damaged by Bone Shaman this turn cannot regenerate until end of turn.

Rattle me bones as I cross the floor And the bones in your grave will rattle no more.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: The Bone Shaman offers a unique method of card selection, allowing you to sift through your deck to find the answers or resources you need at crucial moments. This mechanic not only improves the quality of your hand but also thins your deck, subtly increasing the likelihood of drawing impactful cards in future turns.

Resource Acceleration: By providing access to additional mana via the tapping or sacrificing of creatures, the Bone Shaman can effectively accelerate your resource pool. This enables you to cast more expensive spells earlier in the game or efficiently utilize mana to adapt to the evolving state of the board.

Instant Speed: The ability to use the Bone Shaman’s abilities at instant speed grants flexibility, allowing you to react to your opponent’s actions or end-of-turn situations. This adaptability helps maintain the element of surprise and can shift the tide of a match by providing unexpected value or disrupting opponent strategies at the last moment.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Bone Shaman mandates that you relinquish a card from your hand upon casting. This can be particularly detrimental if you’re struggling with hand size, potentially costing you valuable late-game resources or synergy opportunities.

Specific Mana Cost: With an inflexible mana cost, Bone Shaman requires a balanced allocation of both colored and generic mana, which can pose a challenge in multicolored or color-restricted decks, constraining its versatility across various deck archetypes.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: At four mana, the investment needed to summon Bone Shaman might hinder your tempo, especially in fast-paced games where early board presence and resource management are critical. Additionally, this cost might eclipse other options in your deck that could provide similar or enhanced effects with more economical mana expenditure.

Reasons to Include Bone Shaman in Your Collection

Versatility: Bone Shaman is a card that can seamlessly integrate into a variety of decks thanks to its flexible role as both a creature and a source of utility. It can disrupt graveyard strategies, making it relevant in formats where such tactics are prevalent.

Combo Potential: This card pairs exceptionally well with strategies focused on sacrificing creatures or using death triggers for profit. Its ability to target creatures in graveyards can be a linchpin in decks designed around graveyard manipulation or reanimation themes.

Meta-Relevance: With ever-shifting metagames, Bone Shaman holds its value as it can adapt to various competitive setups. It shines against decks that rely on their graveyard, making it a tactical choice for gamers who anticipate facing graveyard-centric opponents.

How to beat Bone Shaman

Bone Shaman has emerged as an intriguing option in the realm of MTG creature cards. When confronting this particular opponent, effective countering strategies are at the forefront of any skilled player’s mind. The sorcery speed limitation of Bone Shaman’s abilities is an essential consideration, allowing players to formulate their game plan on their own turn without immediate threat. Board control spells are particularly effective against Bone Shaman, as they can neutralize the creature before its effect becomes a concern.

Spot removal spells play a critical role when tackling powerful cards like Bone Shaman. Instant-speed removal such as Swords to Plowshares or Path to Exile can handle Bone Shaman efficiently by exiling it before its abilities become disruptive. Furthermore, counter magic, leveraging spells like Counterspell or Negate, can prevent Bone Shaman from hitting the field in the first place, thus preserving your board state and momentum in the game.

Ultimately, overcoming Bone Shaman hinges on anticipation and immediate response. Players aiming to maintain board advantage must strategically navigate the timing of Bone Shaman’s abilities and employ either removal or counters to ensure that the creature does not derail their path to victory in MTG.

Cards like Bone Shaman

Bone Shaman joins the ranks of creature cards with utility abilities, a valued archetype in MTG. When looking at cards akin to Bone Shaman, we find something interesting in cards like Cinderhaze Wretch. Both offer the ability to disrupt the opponent, with Bone Shaman allowing the player to discard a card for a boost in power, while Cinderhaze Wretch lets you untap it to force an opponent to discard, without any power increase.

Glint-Sleeve Artisan also comes to mind with its modular design, granting you either a larger creature or an additional artifact creature token. Although it doesn’t directly affect the opponent’s hand or the battlefield dynamics as Bone Shaman potentially can, it offers flexibility in its deployment. Serrated Biskelion provides a different approach, with the ability to place -1/-1 counters on creatures, it adds a level of board control although not impacting the hand or raw power.

In comparison, Bone Shaman shines with its mix of offensive capability and the potential for hand disruption, threading a line that can be essential in games where both board presence and control of the opponent’s resources are key. This balance makes it a compelling choice for decks that thrive on such dual-purpose cards.

Glint-Sleeve Artisan - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Bone Shaman by color, type and mana cost

Orcus, Prince of Undeath - MTG Card versions

Blim, Comedic Genius - MTG Card versions

Rakdos, Lord of Riots - MTG Card versions

Wort, Boggart Auntie - MTG Card versions

Balduvian Dead - Masters Edition II (ME2)

Prosper, Tome-Bound - Alchemy Horizons: Baldur's Gate (HBG)

Orcus, Prince of Undeath - Adventures in the Forgotten Realms Promos (PAFR)

Blim, Comedic Genius - Commander Legends (CMR)

Rakdos Firewheeler - Ravnica Remastered (RVR)

Rakdos, Lord of Riots - Ravnica Remastered (RVR)

Ashenmoor Liege - Double Masters 2022 (2X2)

Viashino Skeleton - Shards of Alara (ALA)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Bone Shaman MTG card by a specific set like Ice Age, there are several reliable options to consider. One of the primary sources is your local game store, where you can often find booster packs, individual cards, and preconstructed decks from current and some past sets. They often offer the added benefit of a community where you can trade with other players.

For a broader inventory, particularly of older sets, online marketplaces like TCGPlayer, Card Kingdom and Card Market offer extensive selections and allow you to search for cards from specific sets. Larger e-commerce platforms like eBay and Amazon also have listings from various sellers, which can be a good place to look for sealed product and rare finds.

Additionally, Magic’s official site often has a store locator and retailer lists for finding Wizards of the Coast licensed products. Remember to check for authenticity and the condition of the cards when purchasing, especially from individual sellers on larger marketplaces.

Below is a list of some store websites where you can buy the Bone Shaman and other MTG cards: