Black Bolt, Inhuman King
The Lethal Voice trigger inverts the usual math of interaction. Ordinarily, pointing removal at an opposing threat is pure aggression: you Swords it, you bounce it, you steal it, and you pay only the mana. Here, any spell or ability an opponent aims at the card immediately answers by destroying one of that player's own nonland permanents, so the punishment redirects to whoever broke the silence. It reads like a taunt written into the rules text, and the design is precise about what qualifies: the trigger keys on becoming a target, so removal, tapping, "gain control of target creature," and other targeted interaction all pay the toll before they resolve. Note the seam the drafters left open on purpose: edicts and other player-targeting sacrifice effects sidestep the whole clause, because they never target the creature at all. The +2/+2 growth on noncreature spells belongs to a different plan, rewarding a spellslinging build that stacks instants, sorceries, artifacts, and enchantments to push a 3/3 flier into lethal range across a single turn. The two halves pull against each other, and that is the interesting tension: the retaliation clause wants opponents to leave the card alone, while the deterrent only bites if the body is threatening enough that they feel forced to interact. A flier that only grows when you are casting other spells becomes exactly the kind of clock people want to answer, which walks them straight into the choice it is built to punish.
