Šspw is the Great Sphinx of Giza, the statue with the body of a lion and the head of a pharaoh. This iconic and mysterious structure resides in the shadow of the great pyramids.
Card Text
(5) Šspw
Egyptian • Special • Location
Tst: Before you make an attack roll, choose "odd" or "even." If your attack roll matches your choice and the defense roll does not, this and your next attack deal +1 damage. You cannot use this ability again this round.
One of ancient Egypt's most mysterious artifacts, the most popular current theory holds that the Sphinx was built by the fourth-dynasty king, Khafre (2558-2532 BC).
Illus.: David Ho • Set 4 • P24/100
Tournament Promo
Šspw was the tournament winner card in February 2006.
It was also a participation card in the 2007 Winter Gauntlet.
From the FAQ
Sspw
Before you make an attack roll, choose "odd" or "even". If your attack roll matches your choice and the defense roll does not, this and your next attack roll deal +1 damage. You cannot use this ability again this round.
•During editing, the wording on Sspw was cleaned up to avoid a run-on sentance. However, this correction may mislead players as to the operation of the effect of this card.
•In this case, treat the last sentance as conditional on the first. If you use the ability of Sspw and do not recieve a damage bonus from it, it may be used again that round. Only once you recieve a damage bonus from the card does the restriction come into effect.
History in Brief
The Riddle of the Sphinx
Who is the pharaoh depicted by the Sphinx's head? Who commissioned the Sphinx? What happened to that nose? What did it originally look like?
As the card's flavor text relates, the current popular theory is that the head displays the visage of Khafre. This is the pharaoh who gives his name to the second-biggest pyramid at Giza. It may not have been built by Kahfre, though. There is speculation that Djedefre, a pharaoh from the same period as Khafre and Khufu (the man with the biggest pyramid), may have ordered its construction. Maybe.
When it comes to the nose... Nobody really knows. Popular fiction has one of Napoleon's cannon shooting it off. Sketches from before Napolean's brith, however, prove the story as fiction. Another tale describes a Sufi fanatic defacing the Sphinx, in response to the Egyptians who still gave offerings to the statue in hope of a better harvest. This one's a little harder to prove or disprove.
The nose isn't the only original part of the Sphinx missing. The beard was added somewhen after it was carved. Pharaoh Thutmose IV unearthed its paws and placed a stela in between them. Ramses II may have done some restoration. Finally, in 1925, the Great Sphinx at Giza was completely unearthed and partially restored.
Trivia
- The Great Sphinx is the largest single-stone statue in the world.
- Šspw became associated with Horemakhet ("Horus at the Horizon"); a pharaoh of the New Kingdom would be identified as the "living image" of this aspect of Horus.
- You can hear how to pronounce Šspw by listening to the song "Nyarlathotep," by the Darkest of the Hillside Thickets, as the lyrics are in Middle Egyptian (i.e.: "B3k n nṯrj šspw nn ḥr.f")
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