Shaman Zoo [WITH PRIMER!!!] (Modern)

Shaman Zoo is a budget, small zoo tribal deck. Dump your hand by turn 3 and swing for lethal on turn 4 or 5. Enjoy your opponent's bewilderment as they learn that Shaman tribal is a deck in modern.

Card Choices

1 Mana

4 Elvish Mystic: Not a shaman. Still necessary for explosive early turns. Provides a body for Atarka's Command later in the game. Triggers kinship for Wolf-Skull Shaman since they're both elves.

4 Flamekin Harbinger: This card is unique. I'm pretty sure we're the only tribal deck in modern that can 'tutor' for a lord in Rage Forger. This card's ability is even better if you have a Wolf-Skull Shaman in play, since it guarantees a wolf token the next turn.

2 Firedrinker Satyr: Dangerous as fuck. He provides a cheap, aggressive body and his ability can be used as a mana sink later in the game. Unfortunately, he turns your opponent's Lightning Bolt into a 1-mana Searing Blaze. I wouldn't play any of these if you have a lot of burn or other aggro in your local meta. I would play 4 if you have a bunch of uninteractive decks in your local meta.

4 Lightning Bolt: We're a red aggro deck. I hope no further explaination is required.

2 Mana

4 Metallic Mimic: A 2-mana lord that has made this deck (and other tier 5 tribal decks) more viable in Modern. Thanks Wizards! Play it as early as possible to get full value. This card makes Rage Forger better as Forger will enter with a +1/+1 counter and trigger it's own ability when it attacks.

4 Elvish Visionary: Our deck's shitty version of Silvergill Adept. Synergizes with the entire deck and keeps the gas flowing.

4 Burning-Tree Emissary: This 'free' bear is great in other Modern zoo decks. It also happens to be a Shaman. An explosive card that helps dump your hand early.

4 Bosk Banneret: Makes a bunch of our cards cheaper to cast (reminder: it does not reduce the cost of Metallic Mimic). A nicely sized body that is hard for opponents to deal with once it gets 1 or more +1/+1 counters on it.

4 Wolf-Skull Shaman: The slowest card in our deck. It WILL take over the game if left alone, since half of our deck triggers Kinship. As stated earlier, the card works well with Flamekin Harbinger. Expect this card to eat a removal spell.

4 Atarka's Command: A staple in any RG aggro deck. Often represents 6+ damage for 2 mana. Wow!

3 Mana

4 Rage Forger: Possibly the best 3-mana lord in Modern and the reason to play Shamans. It effectively gives our Shamans +2/+1 with the flexibility to ping and kill Planeswalkers. This card is insane in multiples. Since we're playing an effective 8 copies of the card due to Flamekin Harbinger, finding multiples is easier than you'd think.

Lands

Not much to explain. Remember to activate Mutavault before you play Rage Forger! Don't fetch after tutoring with Flamekin!

Sideboard

1 Electrickery: With the printing of Fatal Push, I'm expecting an uptick in decks playing Lingering Souls and/or Bitterblossom. This card is a blowout against tokens and mana dorks.

1 Forked Bolt: See above. Can also be used to remove an annoying creature with 2 toughness.

2 Grafdigger's Cage: Never play a deck in Modern without some graveyard hate in the 75. I chose Cage over Relic of Progenitus since CoCo/Chord decks seem well positioned at the moment.

3 Essence Warden: Bring these in against any aggro strategy. I usually take out 2 Firedrinker Satyr and 1 Wolf-Skull Shaman to make room.

2 Destructive Revelry: A nice catchall against artifacts and enchantments that helps further our aggro gameplan.

2 Heroic Intervention: This deck is awful against sweepers. Of course, that means your opponents will often bring them in for games 2 and 3. This card can be used to protect your board against those sweepers, or you can use it to protect your Shamans on the attack.

1 Reclamation Sage: Artifact/enchantment hate that leaves behind a synergystic body. Why not.

3 Fulminator Mage: I HATE TRON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So, I have three of these bad boys in the sideboard. You can use Flamekin Harbinger's ability to tutor for them.

Possible Changes/Upgrades

Like most low-tier Modern decks, Shaman Zoo is by no means a 'solved' deck. There may be better configurations of the deck out there. Here are some ideas:
-Replace Elvish Mystic with a playset of Aether Vial.
-Add Cavern of Souls to the manabase.
-Replace Firedrinker Satyr with Experiment One or Narnam Renegade. Would need to add more fetchlands to make Narnam Renegade playable.

• Lambholt Pacifist somewhere in the 75?
• Stigma Lasher is a tutor-able option against annoying lifegain effects.