Image courtesy of Scryfall.com

Data Dive: Anaba Shaman Art Reprint Frequency in MTG

For red lovers, Anaba Shaman is a compact snapshot of how MTG has treated artifact-like aggro miniatures across decades. The card’s sturdy presence—3 mana, a 2/2 body, and a spicy activated ability that taps to deal 1 damage to any target—speaks to a design ethos that mixes aggression with a touch of risk. But beyond the gameplay, the question that often fires up collectors and theory-crafters alike is: how often does this particular art get reprinted? The data tucked into Scryfall’s oracle history gives us a window into reprint frequency for Anaba Shaman and, by extension, a broader narrative about art reuse in red-era cards. 🧙‍♂️🔥🎲

A quick snapshot of the card at a glance

• Name: Anaba Shaman
• Mana cost: 3 colorless and 1 red ({3}{R})
• Type: Creature — Minotaur Shaman
• Power/Toughness: 2 / 2
• Colors: Red
• Set: Ninth Edition (9ed)
• Rarity: Common
• Artist: Simon Bisley
• Oracle text: {R}, {T}: This creature deals 1 damage to any target.
• Flavor text: “Just try taking this bull by the horns.”
• Legalities: Modern and Legacy legal; booster-friendly in some formats; not a standout in Vintage but remains a beloved curb-stopper in casual play.
• Price snapshot: USD ~0.36; EUR ~0.04 for non-foil copies

What stands out here is the combination of a lively creature design and a piece of artwork that the card’s printing history has kept in circulation. The Ninth Edition print—an early-2000s core-set reprint—carried forward a classic Bisley bull image that fans later debated and celebrated in casual conversations and deck-building lore. The card’s non-foil finish, its brevity in rules text, and its status as a reprint all contribute to a pattern we see across the red spectrum: artwork that resonates enough to be reused in subsequent prints, while the card itself remains accessible to budget-conscious players. 💎

Art and reprint history: what the data tells us

According to Scryfall’s data, Anaba Shaman has a dedicated oracle_id grouping that tracks every print of the card across the years. The official “reprint” flag on the card’s data confirms that this particular print is not the card’s debut in MTG but a subsequent iteration. In practical terms, that usually means the art has a reasonable chance of echoing through later reprint cycles—especially for well-loved, red-tinged creatures with straightforward abilities—and Ninth Edition’s era is notorious for setting the stage for many future reprints. The Bisley artwork, in particular, has a certain nostalgic durability in collector circles, making it a recognizable spearhead of early-2000s MTG art. 🧙‍♂️🎨

From a collector’s vantage, reprint frequency for a common card with a strong aesthetic hook tends to be modest but durable. The data set shows Anaba Shaman as a frequent-minded, accessible piece rather than a skyrocketing chase card. Its price stability—in the sub-dollar range for non-foil copies—reflects that balance: enough familiarity to keep it in circulation, but not so scarce that it inflates into a marquee collectible. For players, the practical impact is that you can find a Ninth Edition reprint with familiar art in budget-friendly bundles, while casual fans can still appreciate the piece as part of a retro-rotation experience. 🔥⚔️

Gameplay angles: leveraging Anaba Shaman in red decks

Strategically, Anaba Shaman slots into the archetype of fast, aggressive red decks that want to push early damage tempo. The cost is steep enough to tempo-dunk on slower opponents, yet the activated ability’s flexibility—spitting 1 damage to any target—means you can pick off blockers, ping planeswalkers, or nudge a life total toward the finish line. In a format where tempo and reach matter, the card functions like a small, reliable burn engine that rewards timing and careful taps. When you’re racing to zero against aggro or trying to clear a pesky blocker like a Wall of Text or a stubborn deathtoucher, that single point of damage can be the margin you need. 🧙‍♂️💥

In terms deck-building philosophy, a single-target ping on a 2/2 body invites synergies with tap effects, bounce spells, and other activated abilities that rely on tapping for value. It’s not a mythic bomb, but it is a disciplined, repeatable unit that thrives in a well-constructed red deck’s curve. And in formats where reach is king, Anaba Shaman’s straightforward mechanics keep the game lively without overcomplicating the stack or the combat math.

Design notes: what the card teaches about early 2000s MTG

Designers in the Ninth Edition era were balancing nostalgia with practicality. Anaba Shaman embodies that with a clean 4-mana total (inclusive of red mana) commitment and a nimble power of 2/2 that can threaten damage while demanding care with timing. The flavor text—short, punchy, and bull-in-a-china-shop in spirit—matches the Minotaur Shaman’s archetype: stubborn, straightforward, and a little reckless. From a collector’s perspective, the art by Simon Bisley remains a focal point. It’s a case study in how a single illustration can anchor a card’s identity across reprints, even when the card’s raw power on the battlefield isn’t the stuff of legend. 🎨🧩

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