Shang-Chi and the Ten Rings
A payoff card that turns card advantage into a counter clock, then cashes the clock in for a burst of both. The engine here is deceptively linear: every draw builds toward a threshold, and the tenth counter fires a five-card refill plus lifegain that promptly re-arms the very engine that got you there. The design trusts you to be drawing extra cards in the first place, which is why the shell is blue-white rather than a color that would rather be dealing damage. The reward stays a payoff instead of a loop because the threshold ability is one-shot as written: it triggers when the tenth counter arrives, not on every counter past ten, so hitting it is a single detonation you have to build toward deliberately rather than a recurring dividend. The first strike on a growing 2/2 is the quiet part, letting the accumulated counters translate into a body that trades up in combat while the draw engine hums in the background. It is a hero card whose heroics are bookkeeping: count your draws, hit ten, and the card hands you a fresh grip and a life cushion to keep going.
