Apocalypse Limited Review: White

Gary Wise

Ahhhhhhpocalypse. Finally, after all these months of speculation, we know what the fuss was all about. Easily the most powerful set since Urza's Block, the reports of Apocalypse's greatness were almost as favorable as the reality of it. Apocalypse has everything, from incredible creatures to amazing kill to efficient cards of every kind but along with it comes perhaps the most perplexing question to face Magic players in a long time:
HOW DO I DRAFT THIS SET?

It's pretty hard, huh? You take a good blue card, then you see a good blue-white card, so you take that, and then a white-green card and then a white-green-red card, then a blue-red card... all of a sudden, you're up you-know-who's creek without a paddle. Apocalypse offers you everything that is great in draft, all the while laying a thousand traps you can fall into. This is the first installment of the Apocalypse Limited Review, and hopefully, it will help you navigate those pitfalls that the evil beings known as R&D have set up.
WHITE

Like all of the colors in this set, the strongest cards in this color of peace and humanity are linked to the other forces of the Magic world, either in casting cost or in activation cost, but white is not without its positives. Among other things, it boasts the best mono color, unconditional (on other-colored mana) common in the set, Coalition Honor Guard, as well as strong suppressants like Manacles of Decay and the like.

Of the five new creature abilities, White's is by far the most influential on the environment, with the Flagbearers wrecking havoc for every deck out there. Early reports seem to suggest that White is best as a base color with blue, usually splashing red for cards like Flametongue Kavu, Raka Sanctuary and Breath of Darigaaz. Here's a look at the cards; you decide if the reports are right.
Commons

Angelfire Crusader
Take Firescreamer and add a point of toughness, that's the deal with this guy. Never spectacular, that extra point of toughness makes for a solid defensive creature later on in the game. The biggest difference is that while Firescreamer is a Kavu, a denomination that can be detrimental, the Crusader is a soldier, meaning that Enlistment Officer can turn it into card advantage. Don't ever take this thing early, but if it comes late, it's good enough to play. A 6th-8th pick.

Coalition Honor Guard  
Ladies and Gentlemen, introducing the best monocolored common in the set (including kicker costs). Like being a 2/4 for four mana isn't enough (see Prison Barricade), the Honor Guard is easy to cast, slow opponents to a stand still and generally wreaks havoc on every opponent. The simple fact is that everyone plays targeted spells, from Scorching Lava to Armadillo Cloak, and almost all of them are rendered useless by this fatty, who almost single-handedly brings white back to prominence. Obviously your deck will need to find something else to actually win with, but you can be assured that the same win condition will be damn hard to stop for an opponent who has to stare this thing down. A 1st -3rd pick.

Dega Disciple
That's a lot of power to pack into a 1 mana frame. The Disciple, either of whose abilities are definitely useful, can be used to slow the opposition until board control is established or to hit your opponent and hit them hard, also provides you a fast body to either gate or trade with a more important one-toughness creature. A 6th - 8th pick.

Divine Light  
This card is great if you have a deck that goes into late game consistently, has three Tangles and... um... never mind. Remember, it's a sorcery. A 13th-15th pick.

Helionaut  
Is the Helionaut good? No, but it has its uses. I generally refer to this card as a necessary evil, as sometimes you just have to have that mana fixer to help stabilize your deck. It's obviously not much of an offensive weapon and shouldn't be picked early (you'll get one late) but sometimes, you gotta do what you gotta do. An 8th - 10th pick.

Manacles of Decay  
The second best monowhite common, Manacles of Decay serves as either creature kill or creature nullification. For just two mana, the Manacles enters play to serve as either a 'Pacifism' or kill its target in all due time. I've heard a few players look at this enchantment and suggest its only good in black-white, but one red mana per turn isn't a lot to pay for those turns in which you absolutely need to attack. Yes, gating is a detriment to Manacles of Decay, but it should always be good enough for your deck. After all, even if you're color screwed for your red or black, it will buy you the time you need to find your Swamps and Mountains. A 3rd-5th pick.

Orim's Thunder
Now this is a tough one. When Invasion came out, we all saw Dismantling Blow and wondered whether this would be an environment in which enchantment/artifact kill would be viable, and we eventually got our answer: it wasn't. Planeshift didn't help matters much, but now, things may be swinging. With Dodecapod, Emblazoned Golem, Quicksilver Dagger and the like out there, suddenly there are enough potential targets that the Thunder, which is amazingly powerful when there are targets available, becomes marginal in the main deck card, and great in the sideboard. A 6th - 8th pick.

Shield of Duty and Reason  
Not worth playing in the main deck, there are going to be some u-g based decks out there, so the Shield is a viable sideboard option. A 9th -11th pick.

Standard Bearer  
Well, this little fella' is a bit underrated. Not only does the Standard Bearer protect your best creatures from opposing creature kill and your life totals from fast creature enhancement cards like Sinister Strength and Explosive Growth, but it also provides a fast play for what is generally a slow color. The perfect gating target for your third turn Silver Drakes and Fleetfoot Panthers, the Bearer obviously isn't immune to all the kill spells its larger Flagbearing cousin is, but none the less, there should always be room for it in your deck. A 4th - 6th pick.
Uncommons

Coalition Flag  
As good as the Flagbearer ability is, it isn't too often that it will be worth pure card disadvantage. If you have a few creatures in your deck like Tahngarth, Crosis and like who you know will carry you to victory as long as they aren't dealt with, then it may be worth playing the flag if you don't get any Flagbearers, but more often than not, this card will sit in your sideboard. An 11th-13th pick.

Dega Sanctuary  
While not the least powerful, this is probably the worst of the Sanctuaries because of a lack of synergy for the archetype it fits. Black-red is an aggressive attacking deck that hits hard early and focuses its non-creature spells on the elimination of potential blockers, and while the Sanctuary is playable, it doesn't gel with this attitude. If you're playing a lot of white anyways, the enchantment can make your deck, but you really only want to do so when you have multiple Soul Burns or other late finishers that you need to maximize with time. A 7th - 9th pick.

Diversionary Tactics  
At the Toronto Prerelease, I lost hard to this card when it was responsible for the nullification of my double kicked 'Volver and my Spiritmonger, so I overrated it for a while, but then I came to the understanding that the Tactics gives your opponent 3-for-1 card advantage to tap their first creature. Very strong with multiple creature effects like Goblin Trenches or Ordered Migration, that's when you want the Tactics in your deck. A 6th-8th pick.

Enlistment Officer
Okay, first things first. 2/3 first strikers are solid enough that they can find a place in most decks. That said, Enlistment Officer is no mere 2/3 first striker. When this bad boy comes into play and you flip over those cards, your eyes can only light up as you come to the realization that your Goblin Legionnaires and Benalish Trappers are both soldiers, along with a slew of others. Card advantage is a good thing, even if it isn't automatic. A 4th-6th pick.

Haunted Angel  
The strength of the Angel, somewhat obviously, is reliant upon the ability of your deck to deal with a 3/3 flying black creature, or more specifically a token creature. This distinction is important because of cards like Repulse, Recoil and Jilt that are capable of removing a token creature from play on to have it never return. White always wants large flyers, so if you can handle the consequences, this is the card for you. A 6th - 8th pick.
Rares

Degavolver  
As far as 'Volvers go, this one is pretty bad, with the two abilities not complimenting one another very well, the kickerless version a total wuss and the color combo non-synchronous. There is an upside though: this is a 4/4 regenerating first striker for five mana. Now that all the negatives have been pointed out, this is obviously a great creature if you can max it out, and 3/3 regenerators for four aren't too shabby either. Don't tell yourself otherwise. A 3rd - 5th pick.

False Dawn  
In that this is a 2 casting cost cantrip, it can't be all bad. However, its non-cantrip function won't find itself being useful too often since it can't get your protection from white creatures through for those final points of damage (because it doesn't affect your opponent's cards at all). It also won't allow you to circumvent opposing Acolytes for a turn, though -- it doesn't change the color of any card or permanent. An 11th - 13th pick.

Gerrard Capashen
This card can be pretty annoying. His Verdict makes you discard, his Command kills your creatures, and he himself, well, you don't see too many 3/4 white creatures with multiple special abilities. When you're trying to race, Gerrard will almost invariably swing things in your favor, providing a fat body while pumping your life total until you're ready to attack with him, at which point your opponent's best blockers all but disappear. There are better cards for your deck out there, but not too many. A 2nd - 4th pick.

Spectral Lynx  
One upsetting aspect of Apocalypse is the lack of easy to cast bears (that's 2-powered creatures for two mana for the lingo-impaired), but wow is this one good. If there were to be a 2/1 white creature for 1 ManaWhite Mana made, it would be considered very playable, meaning this thing is ridiculous. Granted, it can be a little annoying that you can't target it with spells like Explosive Growth and Armadillo Cloak, but when it stops three two-power creatures from attacking all on its own. Thank R&D for this one, black-white players, you won't get too many like it. A 3rd-5th pick.