Sometimes, to try and keep things fresh, Wizards would introduce a new system as an option for players to tack onto their game. Rather than simply having every splatbook just be new feats, new prestige classes, new spells and new items, they would try to coax players via a whole new subsystem. You've got your psionics, your invocations, your weaboo fighting magic. In subsequent years, said systems would get varying degrees of support.... seemingly at random. But the crack team at Wizards would be canny enough to recognize that at any given time, many enfranchised players were elbows-deep in some big campaign, and they're not going to simply fire up a brand new character to accommodate this whole new concept being presented! Thus, there would often be a compromise for those who came late: a feat that lets a character dip their toe in the new subsystem and at least sample one of the many new flavours on offer. Psionics have Wild Talent, maneuvers have Martial Study, and incarnum - perhaps the most opaque system of them all - can be sampled via the Shape Soulmeld feat.
Magic of Incarnum is rather notorious for being difficult to understand (Vecna knows I didn't grasp it on my first or second reading.) This is owing both to the complex nuances of the mechanic as well as... regrettably poor editing. Having said that, you of course need not understand every aspect of the system if you're just dipping your toe in via Shape Soulmeld! This article will be written with the assumption that you are not piloting a dedicated meldshaper, but rather have a more standard character build that's just window shopping with a single feat slot to spare. Having said that, the possibilities available from the Shape Soulmeld feat mean it's very much worth considering on any build with the slot to spare. Thought Planar Touchstone was versatile? Shape Soulmeld probably has it beaten handily!
