He was literally the biggest, scariest creature in the game in 1993, and with both Animate Dead and Dark Ritual in the first set, he could hit the battlefield well before turn seven, so he was a very in-demand card
Sure it is hard to get multiple opponents down from 40 to 13 life, but with help from cards like Massacre Girl, Known Killer, Thraximundar, and Ramses, Assassin Lord you save a lot by freerunning and have a much easier time cutting opponents down
If we then combine this with Ayara, First of Locthwain, Castle Locthwain, Witchs Cottage, and Nightmare Shepherd, we get multiple uses from our Gray Merchant of Asphodel
As an attack trigger, it makes me think of Sphinx of Forgotten Lore as more of an aggressive card for playing with combat tricks
the player receives will be determined by the receiving player's region
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