If Mulldrifter is the best common in Lorwyn,
then this is by far the best uncommon. Yes, it's
one more mana than Nekrataal, but it's also
bigger. And instead of first strike, it has
fear, meaning that instead of being able to kill
2/2's, it can attack for three and not get
blocked. This is probably the reason so many
people are playing black nowadays- so they can
play this. Or at least so their creatures can't
be hit by its kill effect, and can block it.
Constructed- 4
Casual- 4
Limited- 4.6
Aethereal
Tuesday -
Shriekmaw
An even better card than yesterday's card for
the Mannequin deck, because it kills their big
creature and has fear. It has found a home in
many black decks in Standard, due to the
versatility it offers and the body you can get
to go with your Terror. There's not a whole lot
to say about him that already hasn't been said;
if you're playing black, you'd better have a
good excuse not to be playing at least a couple
of these in your main deck. He works well in
casual too, with all the green fat running
around there.
In limited he's one of the best cards in the
set. Don't ever pass on him unless you can't
support a black splash or there's a bomb rare in
the pack.
Constructed - 4
Casual - 4
Limited - 4.5
David Fanany
Player since
1995
Shriekmaw
When I first saw this card, I contended that it
was better than Tenth Edition's Nekrataal. Where
Nekrataal is equipped to win combat, Shriekmaw
is equipped to avoid it altogether, helping you
to win a race outright. On top of that, the
evoke cost means that it does the same powerful,
silly tricks as Mulldrifter from yesterday.
Shriekmaw is a high pick in any format.
Constructed: 4/5
Casual: 4/5
Limited: 5/5
Arcane
Shriekmaw
Cosntructed: Funny that despite how similar in
idea this card is to yesterday’s COTD that I
would advocate it in an entirely different way.
I am much more in favor of this creature as he
does what I believe Mulldrifter from yesterday
doesn’t do; actually provide an answer. While
Mulldrifter is fine to help look for an answer I
feel that the Maw does a better job by
destroying huge numbers of creatures (including
everyone’s poster child, Tarmogoyf) while still
providing a larger body with a better form of
evasion than Mr. Drifter. Hard not to like him
when most of the popular creatures in standard
aren’t black or artifact, but he may lose
popularity if more creatures immune to his
ability start appearing in more decks.
Casual/Multi: Removal = check. Evasion = check.
Alternate cost = check. If Mulldrifter was good
in casual this card is just ridiculous. Often
the late game in a multiplayer game can come
down to the last few players struggling to find
a strong threat or a piece of removal to their
opponents’ threat and this creature will do both
providing you with a means of hitting face and
saving you from a dragon or angel. Not much else
to say about him that you don’t already know. I
love the versatility that the evoke brings to
the table as it lets you keep an answer in your
hand for cheap, even if it costs you the ability
to play the Terror effect at instant speed.
Obviously combos with Momentary blink, but don’t
forget the other white RFG until EOT cards, like
Ghostway, Astral Slide or Otherworldly Journey.
Limited: Easily a first pick. If you get passed
this card then there was probably a foil one in
the pack as well. Great removal is at such a
premium in all colors that when you see it you
should grab it. Some of the best pros in the
game while drafting at Worlds this weekend held
a firm stance: removal is the key. Forget
drafting the archetypes of kithkin or treefolk,
etc, those will fall into place as picks come to
you; but it’s the removal that will be harder
and harder to get as the draft goes on, making
it more of a premium than others. And when you
can combine good removal with an evasive, easy
to splash creature then it’s not hard to see why
no one really ever passes this card.
