Stab

A single black mana buys a -2/-2 shrink, which sounds like removal until you read the ceiling into it: this kills anything with two or fewer toughness and merely bruises everything above. That range is the entire point. Against the fragile creatures that carry aggressive openings (mana dorks, one-drop threats, x/1 and x/2 utility bodies) it answers cleanly and cheaply; against anything larger it stops being removal and becomes a combat trick, ganging up on a blocker or pushing an attacker below lethal. The narrow target buys back its cost through instant timing. Held up during an opponent's turn, it punishes a committed fragile creature; thrown into combat, it flips a bad block into a good one and trades up. Black has bolted riders onto this template again and again (a life payment, a discard, a downside on your own board), but the unadorned version keeps earning its slot precisely because it carries none of them. It does exactly one thing at the floor price a black instant can charge, which is why the -2/-2 line resurfaces so reliably while gaudier removal cycles in and out of fashion.