Incremental Growth

Counter distribution is the whole job here: one, two, three across three different creatures, six +1/+1 counters delivered for five mana. The asymmetry is the tell. A flat "two counters on each of three creatures" would read cleaner, but the tiered split forces a real targeting decision, because where the three goes matters far more than where the one goes. The card was made for a board that already treats counters as a resource rather than a temporary stat boost: anything that wants persistent counters in play, anything that triggers off counters being placed, anything that wants a wide creature base with a single payoff creature to absorb the heavy stack. As pure combat math, five mana at sorcery speed for a one-shot pump is an expensive rate, and the card only earns its slot if those counters keep doing work past the turn they land. That dependency keeps it out of any deck running creatures purely as damage; counters that just sit there are counters that could have been a cheaper, repeatable buff. But where a counter functions as permanent currency rather than a number that fades at end of turn, distributing six of them in one sorcery, with the freedom to dump three onto the creature that needs to grow most, is a different kind of payoff than a flat anthem ever offers.