Merciless Javelineer

The discard cost is the part that defines this Minotaur, not the body it sits on. Most repeatable shrink effects ask for mana and nothing else; this one demands a card every time you fire it, which turns what looks like a grindy attrition engine into an outlet that burns through a fat, aggressive hand faster than it grinds a lean one. A permanent -1/-1 counter is removal at the low end (one activation kills a one-toughness blocker outright, two clears most early creatures), and the can't-block rider stapled to it means even when the counter falls short, you've opened a lane for the swing that follows. That pairing is the real design logic: the activation buys interaction and evasion in a single payment, and with no timing restriction on the ability, you can fire it on the opponent's turn to ambush an attacker or shrink a blocker at end step before your own attack. A board stall the 4/2 would otherwise lose gets pried open at whatever moment suits you. The body is the tell about intent: 4/2 hits hard and dies to almost anything, built to push damage early rather than trade late, and the discard clause rewards a hand fat with dead lands and excess gas to feed it. The card cost is also the natural ceiling. Empty your hand and the ability stops, which is precisely what keeps it from bleeding a control deck of blockers indefinitely.