Ob Nixilis, the Fallen
Most early payoffs built around lands entering nibbled at the board: a token here, a counter there, value that accrued across a long game. This one points the trigger straight at a life total, converting each land drop into three life lost by a player of your choice while piling three +1/+1 counters onto its own body in the same beat. Because the effect causes life loss rather than dealing damage, no fog or damage-prevention spell interferes; the trigger names a target, though, so a player with protection from black (Ob Nixilis is a black source) simply cannot be chosen, and the same is true of any hexproof or shroud in the way. The life loss can point at any player, so the card doubles as reach and as a clock that grows while it threatens: two extra land drops can leave a 20-life opponent at fourteen with a 9/9 staring across the table. The optionality is a valve, not a courtesy. Each trigger is a "may," so when no opponent can be legally targeted you are never forced to drain yourself. What pays for all of it is the lack of evasion and the price on a 3/3 with no immediate impact; the math turns terrifying only if it survives, and an unprotected body that size rarely does. The design names the question every landfall card negotiates: how much should a land be allowed to pay out when it enters? Here the answer is a burn spell's worth each, and the card has worn that aggression ever since.
