Thorn Lieutenant

The whole point is that you cannot interact with it cleanly. Spot removal answers most two-drops at no cost to the caster, but pointing anything at this Elf hands the opponent a 1/1 token first, so the trade is never quite even: you spent a card and a turn to kill a 2/3, and they replaced part of it for free. That token clause turns a modest body into a tax on removal, the kind of friction that makes an aggressive green creature outvalue its stat line without ever needing to attack profitably. The design rewards being a threat the opponent has to deal with rather than a threat that wins on its own, since the consideration only triggers on opposing targeting. The +4/+4 pump is the late-game release valve, an expensive mana sink that lets a glut of lands swing a stalled board or push the last points of damage, so the card never goes fully dead once the early curve has played out. Built as a clean two-mana floor with a deterrent stapled on, it stands as a tidy example of how a small punisher ability reshapes the math of every removal decision aimed at it.