[I remember back then I went crazy with the Wild Growth mana exploit and won on like Turn 4 thanks to Emrakul
Loxodon Warhammer isnt quite Shadowspear but, to evoke the same refrain, nothing quite is
During Pegasus' tournament, Saruwatari is in charge of taking the eliminated players to the boat leaving Pegasus' island
Willow Geist, Stonebound Mentor, Fuming Effigy, Quintorius, Field Historian, Tormod, the Desecrator, and Defiled Crypt all care about cards that leave your graveyard, and turn them into strong value engines
viking metal has been a thriving subgenre since about 1990 and it makes it easier for WotC to take some license in adapting the norse mythos
However, it's not that the effect itself is weak, it's just that it's less useful than the above two, and basically it's mainly used as the 4th one