Immortal Phoenix

A Phoenix that never really dies is the oldest trick in the tribe, and this one runs the return clause at its plainest: die, and the bird bounces back to hand for you to recast. That looping is the whole flavor of the creature type, but the design here is set at a casual power level rather than a competitive one. Six mana for a 5/3 flier is a steep asking price, and paying it again every time the body trades or eats a removal spell means the recursion is more a resilience tax than an engine. There is no discount on the return, no cheaper recast, none of the graveyard-to-battlefield speed that makes the fast Phoenixes dangerous; you simply get your card back and start over at full cost. What that buys is a threat that opponents cannot trade down permanently: chump-blocking it or spot-killing it only delays the next casting, so removal-heavy decks grind against it rather than answering it cleanly. The fragile 3 toughness keeps the loop honest, since combat and even minor burn can send it home, but home is exactly where it wants to be. It is built for the player who likes a beater that keeps coming back, not for the player squeezing value out of the death trigger.