It's not a "may" effect so you have to blow up something, but it also doesn't count mana rocks, so one will lose their Sol Ring or Arcane Signet
Though it's a powerful flier if you play at night or can consistently keep it nightbound, thats basically all it is since it loses its high power and toughness when it transforms
You could also go the Sanguine Bond, Exquisite Blood, and Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose route if you wanted to be cutesy with your lifegain combos
Tolarian Academy Broken cards with a named part of Magics history
Mana of any type can be spent to cast spells this way
Some highlights include Kessig Naturalist, Geier Reach Bandit, Tovolar's Huntmaster, and memes aside Ulrich of the Krallenhorde