Sphinx of New Prahv

A four-mana flier with vigilance already blocks and attacks in the same turn, but the tax clause is what shifts it from a fair midrange body into a tempo problem. The Azorius design instinct runs through the whole thing: not a hard protection, but a soft one that makes removing it a losing exchange. Anyone who wants to answer it pays two extra mana, which frequently means eating a turn's worth of tempo just to trade down. Notice how broad "target this creature" actually is: it catches spot removal, but it also catches burn (a Lightning Bolt aimed at it costs instead of ), bounce, and pump spells alike. The burden lands on the opponent's curve rather than the caster's, letting a control or tempo deck advance its plan while the threat quietly asks the table to overpay for interaction. The tax is narrow in a different way, though: it keys off targeting, so a wrath or an edict slides right past it, and any burn spell that deals 3 or more still clears the 3 toughness once the surcharge is paid. Within its lane it does exactly the job this color pair has always asked of its evasive threats: land it, hold up counterplay, and make the answers cost more than they should. A bureaucratic sphinx levying a fee on anything aimed its way is the rare case where the mechanic and the guild's whole identity are the same joke.