Beetleform Mage

A 2/2 for three that buys its own evasion is a familiar template, but the once-per-turn clamp on the pump is the interesting choice. Most firebreathing-style abilities scale with open mana: dump everything, swing for lethal. This one refuses to spiral. You get exactly one activation per turn, which converts the body into a predictable 4/4 flier on offense and a 4/4 blocker on defense, no more. That ceiling is what lets the rate sit at three mana with a repeatable pump that includes flight: an uncapped version of the same ability would have to cost more or hit for less. The design trades the explosive upside of a true mana sink for a clean, reliable curve-topper that never overcommits its own resources. The result is a creature that plays the same every turn it attacks, which is precisely the point: you always know what buys, and so does your opponent. It is a tempo creature dressed as a mana sink, and the restriction is the whole reason the math works.