Grotesque Hybrid

Deathtouch before deathtouch had a name. Years before the keyword existed, Torment built a 3/3 that turns every block or attack into a guaranteed kill: damage to a creature destroys it, no regeneration allowed. The combat-damage trigger does the work that the deathtouch ability word would later codify, and the "can't be regenerated" rider closes the loophole that mattered in an era when regeneration was a live concern. What makes the design interesting is the second clause, the discard-fueled evasion: each card you pitch buys flying and protection from green and from white for a turn, which both lets the body connect through ground stalls and protects it from the colors most likely to have the combat tricks and removal that would otherwise trade up on it. The two halves reinforce each other. The kill-on-contact ability is worthless if the creature can't get through or keeps dying to blockers, so the protection mode exists to deliver the lethal touch where it matters. The friction is the hand cost: this is a creature that eats your resources to stay relevant, which is squarely on theme for a set built around madness and the graveyard. It reads as a transitional artifact, a black creature reaching for the role deathtouch and protection-keyword design would later fill cleanly with a single word.