Firestorm Hellkite

The cumulative upkeep dragons of the mid-90s were Wizards' first serious attempt at a self-balancing fatty: a body priced like a bargain, leased rather than bought, with rent that compounds until you can't make payroll. A 6/6 flyer with trample for six mana was an aggressive rate for its era, and the upkeep is the meter running against it. The first turn after it lands costs one age counter's worth. The next costs two. The mechanic guarantees the clock outpaces your mana eventually, so the design isn't a long-game threat at all: it's a burst window. You cash in two or three swings while the body is in front of you, then let it go to the graveyard before the upkeep cost buries you. That inversion is the interesting part. Most large creatures reward patience; this one punishes it, because every turn you keep paying is a turn you've spent mana you could have spent killing the opponent. The honest play pattern is to deploy it when you already have the board to close, treat the flying and trample as the means to end the game on a short fuse, and never plan past the third or fourth upkeep. Cumulative upkeep aged out of mainline design for good reason: it asks the player to manage a liability rather than wield an asset. But as an artifact of how Wizards once tried to make undercosted dragons fair, this one is a clean specimen.