Auger Spree

A +N/-N split that only ever points one direction with confidence: at an enemy creature with four or less toughness, where it reads as removal. The other direction is the wrinkle. Cast on your own attacker, the +4 buys you a burst of damage, but the -4 toughness is a genuine liability that lingers until end of turn, leaving the creature dead to a single point of incidental damage once combat resolves and lethal sequencing actually matters. The math is unforgiving on both ends. As removal it whiffs entirely on anything with five toughness, and if the controller responds by boosting toughness past the threshold, you have handed them four extra power on a creature that survives to swing back. The negative-toughness clause is what makes it more than a damage spell: it shrinks a creature to zero toughness regardless of indestructible or a shield counter, which is a real point in its favor against threats that laugh at burn. Instant speed is the binding agent: it folds the modes into one card you can hold up, deciding at the last responsible moment whether you are answering their threat or finishing with yours. The +N/-N template predates this card by years, but pricing the swing at four points each way and asking for two colors commits to the dual identity rather than hedging toward clean removal or a safe combat trick. Lowering toughness to zero is how it kills; the four power is the bill you risk paying when it does not.