Card Breakdown: Shriek of Vengeance

 

SoV

Shriek of Vengeance
Shadow Ability
1cc
Target enemy item or support ability with a cost of 4 or less is destroyed, and one of your resources is removed from play.

Shriek of Vengeance is one of the game’s oldest  cards, and in my opinion,  one of the best. For a very small cost of 1 resource permanently, you can do away with any opposing cost 4 or lower item or support. Although this is card has generally fallen out of favor, but I feel that including this card again in a diverse Quick Match environment can be warranted.

The first reason is the fair abundance of Zaladar. Getting that Antimatter out for Zaladar is a big deal as it gives him a constant flow of cards he wants and a way to trigger his nuisances known as Brimstone Devourer and Dagger of Fate. My experience puts Antimatter as his main discard ability to meet the conditions for Dagger of Fate. Without it, it becomes a flimsy 1 attack 3 dura weapon that does not make any kind of an impact. The loss of Antimatter will also reduce their discard outlets for Brimstone Devourer. So Brimstone Devourers they unfortunately draw during their normal draw at the start of the turn that could of been drawn with this, now have to sit around waiting for Living Armor or Falseblood Cultist to be triggered, or just be Summoned as a last resort.

Additionally, it will also get rid of nuisances for some of this other variants as well. It can destroy this Infinity Core that is both healing him and recycling his allies, most often seen in Stalldar and occasionally his Haste Rush variants. This also destroys his Shard of Power giving that whopping +2 attack to all his allies in the aforementioned Haste Rush variant. However, I would most likely try to focus on surviving their Rush as much as possible, do not put too much focus on destroying Shard of Power, and just try to keep as many of his allies down as possible, though. All Rush Decks have a limited amount of firepower and will eventually fall off once the game reaches a certain point.

A second reason is the abundance of Undead Decks. The most powerful support card they have is Grave Resistance. Making every Undead Ally into Infernal Gargoyles for 3 turns can change the tide ever so dramatically. Having to deal with a massive hoard of allies is rough, but having to make them harder to kill makes it even rougher. That single point of damage could be the difference of an ally’s survival and maintaining your board presence. This is even more crucial for the Undead player in matchups against the likes of Zaladar and Banebow (The latter in particular) where you just weakened their ability to take back control of the board for 3 turns. Being able to go back and take out allies at full force again can change the tide of the battle. Just as how this card making your allies even tougher to kill will do if it sticks around.

This is also a way to deal with their draw engine, Tombstone Beacon. Tombstone Beacon is the best of the Tribal-based Artifact draw engines, in my opinion. Reason being as getting the draw requires no tempo loss as it only requires the Summon of an Undead ally, which is something you would be doing in the first place. Although Twilight Eidolon also has a free draw if you control two or more Twilight monsters, it is easily destroyed and the secondary effect is also easy to play around too. What I find that sets this card apart is the fact it also renews 1 resource, a rare commodity in the game. Access to consistent resource renewal/acceleration will allow for certain plays to be done a bit sooner, and some become much stronger when done so. Being able to do plays like double Death Collector T5 compared to T6 allows you to get a slight board advantage and apply more pressure over the opponent. Plays like that are something you want to try to keep to a minimum from your opponent.

FMoonA third reason is Millstalker. In my personal Quick Match experience, I been matched up vs a fair number of Millstalkers. Millstalker is no dubt one of the most annoying Decks to play against in Shadow Era and also the most time consuming one to do so as well. This card can destroy Moonstalker’s most annoying toys, Full Moon and Rain Delay. The opponent would more than likely not bring up their Stealth after playing them, so they probably would not be prepared for an onslaught from your allies once they have been destroyed prematurely. This huge damage swing could win you the game if you wore his HP down enough from the little bits of damage you could. This card can also deal with cards such as Arthyle’s Crypt and Evil Ascendant which also are common cards found in Millstalker, as well as other Stall Decks. Both of which can becomes a nuisance if left unchecked, especially when Arthyle’s Crypt is looping Furrion Terrors as Evil Ascendant eats away your allies slowly.

Those are just three reasons why I feel this card is great overall right now. Aside from these aforementioned cards, it also has a very strong practical use of ridding most this card can deal with almost any draw engine card your opponent throws at you. This is in fact, the reason #1 why I like including this card whenever possible in the past. Not only does it hit the aforementioned Tombstone Beacon and Antimatter, it also affects cards like Wizent’s Staff, Ill-Gotten Gains, Blood Moon, and Wrath of the Forest to name a few.  That steady extra income of cards can add up fast if not kept down or you cannot keep up. Being able to constantly apply and keep the pressure on the opponent is a key to victory as you will eventually overwhelm them with all the cards you have and the little that they do. Being able to stop their draw engine before they can yield that much of an advantage can be crucial. I have numerous won games by destroying the opposing draw engine and then overwhelming them with the advantage I am getting from my own. This just goes to show you how crucial this can be.

Although this use is a little more situational, this also can disarm Hunter Traps by destroying them before they can do anything. This however gets a little more tricky as you do not know exactly which Traps they played more often than not. However, the Traps can be anticipated or assumed based upon their current board position and the casting cost of that Trap, if you pay close enough attention to that. I rarely have ever destroyed a Trap with Shriek, but when I did, it generally is to deal with a Snare Trap that I do not have bait for or a anticipated Decoy or Ricochet Trap.

Aside from all of that, this card will allow you to remove other miscellaneous power or nuisance cards such as Portal, Jeweler’s Dream, What Big Teeth, War Banner, Abomination Factory, and Black Garb. Some of those cards on their own are not too strong of a threat on their own, but when combined with the right set of cards and in the right way, they can end up being big trouble.

A final note on this card to remember. Never overlook the permanent loss of 1 resource. This is not a card to cast really early in the game. Although you can, it is discouraged to do so. Having to sacrifice more cards than necessary to get to a desired resource threshold, especially in the early game, will just put you even more behind. This card needs to be timed correctly in order for it to be effective. You want to use it where you anticipate that the card will be used with some kind of a combo the following turn or the card is proving them with too much of an advantage.

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3 Comments

  1. Nice write up detailed too the tee +1

  2. I totally agree, this card still is excellent. I think there’s a good target for it in 80% of decks. It is funny how many players don’t use it at all.

  3. Great write up! Might convince me to start using it again.

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