Dreadful as the Storm

Setting base power and toughness rather than adding to it is a blunter instrument than a plain pump, and the effect points in two directions at once. Aimed at your own creature, it functions as a combat trick that ignores whatever the base line was: a small body becomes a 5/5 regardless of where it started, and any counters or buffs already sitting on it still stack on top of the new base. Aimed at an opponent's creature, it works as a downgrade, shrinking anything with a base larger than 5/5 back down to that line for the turn. The reset applies only to the layer where base stats live, so it does not sweep away counters or other bonuses; a heavily buffed threat is trimmed at its foundation but keeps whatever was piled above it. That partial nature is what keeps the removal application honest. The Ring tempts you is the more interesting half of the design. A one-shot base-stat rewrite is a modest instant on its own, but coupling it to a Ring temptation pushes a color that rarely commits to combat toward naming a Ring-bearer and swinging with it. The reward advances a longer plan every time you cast the spell, turning what would be a narrow role-player into a card that pays you for engaging the board.