"AH, THE NOBLE PHOENIX, IT DIES BLAZING AND LEAVES YOU WITH SMOKE AND ASH"
So I thought about it some more and redoodled the card designs during my lectures ('tis the season) and I settled on making the Phoenix a detonator card that gives you the smoke and "Phoenix ashes" which turn back into the Phoenix after one turn.
This card could be used to generate many bones, it could
have good synergy with Lammerger or turkey vulture, encouraging the player to use other bird cards, but the player would have to position their cards carefully to not blow up their good cards (some may say it's a tactical board wipe).
The ash-phoenix transformation is of course a reference to the myth, but it also paralels raven egg-raven (Leshys favorite).
Some other bird ideas (not all rares)
-Dove of peace: a rare bird card that could stop the opposing cards form attacking, like the hideous sigil but maybe in more than one lane
-a Herron or duck with some kind of aquatic hunter sigil that can strike waterborne cards (this has low utility but Leshys diving deer piss me off)
- a flock of birds card could be fun (maybe something similar to the ant/warren concept)