Arcane Hierophant help

[Thrice Dead Cat]

Its worth noting that AH doesn't grant Wildshape, it mearly advances it if you have it. Thus, you need at least 5 levels of Druid if you plan on having it.

I vaguely recall there being a minor debate about that, due to how the wording goes. Some say that Druid3/Wizard X/Arcane Heirophant 2 nets you Wildshape, others go with the interpretation you stated. Either way, I'd ask the DM about it.

For the build itself, I'd go Wizard 3/Druid 3/Mystic Theurge 2/Arcane Heirophant 10/ Mystic Theurge +2. Grab yourself some sort of bear, Natural Bond feat, and pick a focus on either buffing, debuffing, or battlefield control. Quicken spell might also prove useful, if you can either apply Easy Metamagic and/or Practical Metamagic to it somehow.

EDIT: Going with an early entry trick sounds like a good idea. I'm personally a fan of Sanctum Spell over Precious Apprentice, due to potential use later on, after qualification.