Profane Command

One number does four jobs here, and the trick is that all four scale off the same X you already paid for. That single variable drains a life total, fixes the mana value you can reanimate, sizes the -X/-X you point at a blocker, and counts the attackers you can hand fear. Where most modal spells force a hard choice between cheap effects, this one folds two modes together and pegs both to the same number, so a single resolution can clear a path and end the game in the same breath. The reanimation clause is bounded by mana value, but that ceiling moves with X rather than against it: a large X threatens a heavy drain while also clearing the cost of a bigger creature you want back, so the two modes pull in the same direction the larger you go. The combination that wins games is the first mode beside the last: drain a chunk off the opponent's total, then give your board fear so the swing connects against anything but black or artifact blockers. It reads as a value spell and plays as a finisher. The pieces sharpen each other rather than competing for one slot, which is why it has stayed in black's removal-and-reach conversation across every reprint since it first appeared: no two casts of it look quite alike.