Multiple Choice
Most X-spells scale one effect up: more mana buys bigger burn, more cards, a fatter token. This one instead swaps in a different mode at each rung, and only the top rung buys everything at once. At X of one you scry then draw, a floor that leaves the card playable even when the board is quiet. At X of two you bounce a creature; at X of three you make a 4/4; and only when X reaches four or more do all three resolve together, the reward for actually reaching the ceiling rather than a smooth stacking of small effects underneath big ones. That gap between three and four is the design tension: two, three, and four are not incremental, they are distinct decisions, and the mana you have decides which one the board wants. The bounce clause lets you choose any player, which quietly turns it into a self-serving reset for your own enter-the-battlefield creature or a protective tuck as readily as disruption. What holds the whole thing together is that no rung is dead: the low end is always a passable cantrip, the middle rungs are always relevant answers or threats, and the top is a genuine payoff you have to build enough mana to unlock. It is a menu where the cheapest dish is still worth ordering and the full spread costs real money.
