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It is sometimes fun to watch people evaluate a card when the see it for the first time and realize just how much the format of a card can effect the evaluation of it. If a card is written one way it is very good, but the same card written in a different way is considered considerably less valuable even though everything about the card is the same or better the way it is written. The most recent example of this that I saw was in a good friends reaction to Shriekmaw, and while to his credit he quickly reversed his opinion his first reaction was simply that it was to expensive.

Shriekmaw is an uncommon elemental from the Lorwyn expansion set of magic the gathering. A 3/2 creature with fear it costs one black and four colorless. What puts this card over the top though is its come into play effect which is basically terror, allowing you to kill a non black non artifact creature. The only difference in ability is that terror stops regeneration.

More impressively and what makes the card truly useful is the evoke cost of one black and one colorless which basically allows you to play this card as a sorcery. This is the same cost as terror.

This leads to the point of perception. If this were a black sorcery for one black and one colorless that destroyed a non black non artifact creature with a kicker of three that allowed you to put a 3/2 token with fear into play no one would ever say it was to expensive, but by putting the cost on the top of the card it becomes more expensive even though it is the same cost. In addition to this there is a considerable value to this not being a token so the card is actually better. Which leads into the power of Shriekmaw.

There are a considerable number of black and red sorceries which allow you to play creatures from the graveyard. These are generally more expensive than they have been in the past or the creature dies at the end of the turn. But with Shrikeman these are generally unimportant since the effect gives you a value even if it does nothing else. In addition to this it doesn't matter how you put the card into the graveyard so you can use the evoke cost then play a spell that returns a creature to your hand and use it again turning every reanimation spell into creature removal.

Learn more about this author, Elton Gahr.
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