Makeshift Battalion

Battalion was the go-wide keyword's clearest statement of intent: reward the player who commits three creatures to the red zone, and reward them at the moment of the swing rather than through a static buff. This is the mechanic distilled to its plainest form, on a body priced for a curve that wants bodies. The 3/2 is the whole point. It attacks into a two-drop's range early, but once the board fills out, each subsequent alpha strike stacks another counter, so a creature that starts as trade fodder becomes a genuine threat by the third or fourth attack. The reward is engineered to compound: the counters are permanent and the trigger repeats, so unlike a one-shot pump this snowballs across a game the aggressor is already winning, which is exactly when a wide board wants to close. Notice the timing that protects the reward: the trigger fires on the declaration of attackers, before blockers are chosen, so the counter lands whether or not the swing connects, and even a chump block cannot deny it. The honest read on why this stays a common-rarity effect is that the ability generates nothing when you are behind. A stalled board that cannot muster three attackers leaves the trigger idle, and the 3/2 chassis folds to almost any removal before the snowball starts. It rewards momentum without creating it, the correct assignment for a soldier meant to fill out an aggressive shell rather than anchor one.