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Pojo's Magic The Gathering Card of the Day

Magic: The Gathering
Image from Wizards.com

Shriekmaw
Lorwyn


Reviewed December 11, 2007

Constructed: 3.75
Casual: 3.95
Limited: 4.65

Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale
1 being the worst.  3 ... average.  
5 is the highest rating

Click here to see all our 
Card of the Day Reviews 

BMoor

Shriekmaw

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.

Constructed: 3
Casual: 3.5
Limited: 4.5
 

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