Drudge Reavers

Black regenerators trace back to the earliest skeletons in the game: a body that costs a single black mana to shrug off lethal damage and turns combat into a grinding stalemate. The pattern usually lived on cheap creatures, which is what makes this one's price the wrinkle. At four mana for a 2/1, the body is overcosted by any straightforward measure, and the design pays for that with flash. Held mana lets it sit in hand like a counterspell, deciding at the last instant whether to ambush an attacker, develop end of turn, or arrive on the opponent's combat step as a blocker that survives the trade. The regeneration cost is trivial on purpose: keep one black source open and every combat tips in your favor, since the 2/1 frame dies to almost anything but the shield converts it into something burn and bigger blockers cannot answer. Exile, sacrifice effects, toughness-shrinking spells, bounce, and cards that forbid regeneration still remove it, and so does any lethal hit when you have no mana to spare. The clauses cohere around one job: attrition packaged as a creature, an obstacle that refuses to commit to the board until the moment forces it, then refuses to leave. The steep rate is the tax for never having to declare your hand early.