Dire Mimic

A Treasure that refuses to stay disposable. The genre's whole premise is a single beat: tap, sacrifice, add a mana, gone. This one keeps a second life in reserve. Leave it uncracked and pay three, and the artifact you cast for two stands up as a 5/5 Shapeshifter that swings for the turn, then reverts to an inert Treasure. Flash is what stitches the modes together: hold it up as an instant-speed mana source that reacts to what your opponents commit to, or ambush a combat step by flashing it in and animating it the same turn, without ever telegraphing the body in advance. A ramp piece wants to be spent early; a combat threat wants to be held for the right window, and most cards force you to pick one at deckbuilding time. This slot stays undeclared until you decide. The two modes are not free to run in a single motion, and that is the discipline hidden behind the flexibility: the mana ability needs the artifact untapped, so once the 5/5 attacks it is tapped and cannot then be sacrificed for color. Animating and swinging closes the mana door for the turn. The choice is genuine, not sequential: attack now, or hold the Treasure as an instant-speed color source later. A small effect wearing a Treasure's clothes, valuable because the card in the slot is not decided until you have seen what the turn asks for.