Dreamshackle Geist

Every combat step, before you swing, the trigger fires: tap a blocker aside, or keep an already-tapped creature down through its next untap step. That second mode is the one worth chasing. A plain tap buys a single beat; denying the untap keeps the target off its feet for a full turn cycle, which turns a one-shot combat convenience into a slow-burn soft-lock that widens the runway a little more each turn the body survives. And survival is the tension the 3/1 frame builds in on purpose. Three power in the air is a real clock, and a flier that clears the skies every turn compounds fast, but one toughness means almost any spot removal, any chump into deathtouch, any incidental ping shuts the engine off before it ever reaches critical mass. The tempo it manufactures is front-loaded and brittle by construction. The "up to one" clause is the mercy in the wording: with no worthwhile target on the board, the trigger costs you nothing, no forced tap, no throwaway decision. This sits in a long line of blue Spirits that swap durability for evasive pressure, tapping the opposition down to clear a path for aerial beatdown. What separates it from a stock tapper is the untap-denial rider, quietly accumulating value for as long as the opponent lets a fragile flier keep flying.