So, last post here was in October, meaning I'm rather sure that this won't count as Thread Necromancy... not sure how many people are going to be still paying attention to this thread at all, but I want to put this down, anyway.

Tasha's Cauldron of Everything has brought a lot of new content from the UA right to our doorstep, including several new spells. One of Which I wish to speak about today:

SPIRIT SHROUD
3rd-level necromancy
Casting Time: 1 bonus action
Range: Self
Components: V, S
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute
You call forth spirits of the dead, which flit around you for the spell's duration. The spirits are intangible and invulnerable.

Until the spell ends, any attack you make deals 1d8 extra damage when you hit a creature within 10 feet of you. This damage is radiant, necrotic, or cold (your choice when you cast the spell). Any creature that takes this damage can't regain hit points until the start of your next turn.

In addition, any creature of your choice that you can see that starts its turn within 10 feet of you has its speed reduced by 10 feet until the start of your next turn.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 4th level or higher, the damage increases by 1d8 for every two slot levels above 3rd
Available to Clerics, Paladins, Wizards, and Warlocks (and 100% should be allowed to Sorcerer's as well), I think this spell can compete with Haste and Spirit Guardians as the Sorcardin's 3rd Level Buff stat. It might not have the defence and mobility of Haste, nor does it have the same AoE and lockdown potential of Spirit Guardians, it can easily match both of them in terms of raw damage, especially if you are playing a build that is packing Polearm Master in order to gain a 3rd attack each turn. 3 attacks each doing 1d8 extra damage is equal to the Spirit Guardians damage to a single target, and doesn't have the same issue as them getting a saving throw to reduce the damage. As long as you hit, you deal the extra damage.

That being said, however. The real power of this spell comes from its damage types. Specifically, the fact that it allows us to deal cold damage with the spell. Triggering Elemental Affinity. This is a tremendous boon of damage, as it means even if you aren't getting a third attack, you're doing 2d8+2x Charisma damage with each attack, which is likely more than the 3d8 damage of Spirit Guardians. Gaining a 3rd attack by other means would just further make the damage even higher... and, I'm pretty sure that, as this is extra damage on attack, the damage is multiplied by a critical hit as well. Further increasing the Sorcadin's almighty nova damage whenever we get that lucky crit. Or if an ally uses Hold Person/Hold Monster on them for us to burst down. Combined with the fact that it still has some of the Spirit Guardians slow-field, and it is a potent spell for sure.

What do people think?