White Political Cards

[Cyberium]

While white's ramp/draw is traditionally lackluster in EDH (where it needs it most), there are exceptions where, if abided white's color identity, would allow white to go beyond # wise, such as Secret Rendezvous and Cut a Deal. Under that mentality, I figured white would also excel in politics where the color gains benefit via good deeds and trades, therefore the cards I thought of here.

----------

Divine Rescue
W
Instant

Choose target nontoken permanent controls by another player. Until end of turn, the next time that permanent is destroyed, return it to the battlefield under its owner's control and you draw two cards.

(I specifically uses the term "destroyed" so the "rescue" part would better suit white's identity.)

----------

Squid Game
1WW
Sorcery

Destroy target nonland permanent of an opponent's choice. If you controlled and/or owned that permanent, draw two cards.

(Similarly, you make a trade with an opponent, and with a "drawback" where your opponent would be encouraged to destroyed other people's stuff.)

----------

Protection Racket
2WW
Instant

[Council's dilemma] — Starting with you, each player votes for protection or propriety. For each opponent or a teammate other than you who voted protection, you draw a card, and until their next turn their life total can't change and they gain protection from everything, and all permanents they control phase out. For each propriety vote other than your team's, you draw a card and create a treasure token.

Exile Protection Racket.

(The wording intentionally keeps your vote from affecting the result, to prevent you from drawing cards on your own. You can use PR to protect opponents or shut them down for a turn-cycle. If they don't want it, you gain extra benefits.)

----------

Wondra, Noble Philanthropist
WW
Legendary Creature - Human Noble
1/3

Whenever a permanent enters the battlefield under an opponent's control, if it wasn't played or cast, search your library for a permanent of same type with mana value 2 or less and put it onto the battlefield.

2WW, tap: Put a permanent in an opponent's graveyard onto the battlefield under their control.

(Another card relies entirely on opponents' decks and actions. Becomes more powerful if your table likes fetching and cheating.)

[spacemonaut]

Divine Rescue
W
Instant

Choose target nontoken permanent controls by an opponent or a teammate other than you. Until end of turn, the next time that permanent is destroyed, return it to the battlefield under its owner's control and you draw two cards.

(I specifically uses the term "destroyed" so the "rescue" part would better suit white's identity.)

Divine Rescue is real neat. We can tighten the template a bit with "Choose target nontoken permanent another player controls." You might want to account for Cruel Edict or Strangling Spores, either of which will kill something without destroying it, by simply responding to that permanent being put into a graveyard. Don't worry, the rescue will come across just fine.

"Choose target nontoken permanent another player controls. The next time it's put into a graveyard from the battlefield this turn, return it to the battlefield under its owner's control and you draw two cards."

Squid Game
1WW
Sorcery

Destroy target nonland permanent of an opponent's choice. If you controlled and/or owned that permanent, draw two cards.

(Similarly, you make a trade with an opponent, and with a "drawback" where your opponent would be encouraged to destroyed other people's stuff.)

I'm skeptical of this one. It's not a break per se (Vanish into Eternity does exist), it's a removal that's discounted by a drawback where you get less control.

Whenever I evaluate an opponent chooses card, it helps to consider the worst case scenario: the opponent who picks the minimum possible benefit for us. In 1v1, they just destroy their 0/1 plant token that we've now paid 3 mana to destroy; in multiplayer they pick something that never threatened us. Magic is a zero-sum game, so if the opponent can merely guarantee we've wasted 3 mana and a card, they directly benefit.

That makes me want to make this a card that can guarantee some usefulness, making a C14 offering with some language inspired by the C17 curses:

"You choose a nonland permanent you don't control, then an opponent chooses a nonland permanent they don't control. Destroy each permanent chosen this way. If a permanent you controlled was destroyed this way, draw two cards."

Protection Racket
2WW
Instant

[Council's dilemma] — Starting with you, each player votes for protection or propriety. For each opponent or a teammate player other than you who voted protection, you draw a card, and until their next turn their life total can't change and they gain protection from everything, and all permanents they control phase out. For each propriety vote other than your team's, you draw a card and create a treasure token.

Exile Protection Racket.

(The wording intentionally keeps your vote from affecting the result, to prevent you from drawing cards on your own. You can use PR to protect opponents or shut them down for a turn-cycle. If they don't want it, you gain extra benefits.)

The wording is kinda deceptive, because I get to vote, but my vote doesn't do anything. This is a lot of moving parts that grants Teferi's Protection to some players, and draws me a card per opponent, and maybe give me some treasure tokens. We might as well make that shorter: I draw a card for each opponent, then each opponent Teferi's Protection or creates a treasure token for me. It's sort of an extra turn card for me that way? I dunno, it might be fine, but it doesn't fully add up mechanically. How about they choose Teferi's Protection (and thus give me an extra turn) or I draw a card and create a treasure token? I like the protection racket flavor though.

Wondra, Noble Philanthropist
WW
Legendary Creature - Human Noble
1/3

Whenever a permanent enters the battlefield under an opponent's control, if it wasn't played or cast, search your library for a permanent of same type with mana value 2 or less and put it onto the battlefield.

2WW, tap: Put a permanent in an opponent's graveyard onto the battlefield under their control.

(Another card relies entirely on opponents' decks and actions. Becomes more powerful if your table likes fetching and cheating.)

In the spirit of Balance, we could say "search your library for a permanent that shares a type with it and has equal or lesser mana value". Cause like, is it really balance if you get to summon your Zacama, Primal Calamity and I only get to search for an Alpine Watchdog? I like the bargain in this though. Alongside this suggestion, I might revise it to be more like Tasigur, the Golden Fang and let the opponent choose something to bring back, knowing that we'll also bring back an answer. It maintains the card's power but makes it slightly more fair.

[SecretInfiltrator]

an opponent or a teammate other than you.

"another player"?

[Cyberium]

an opponent or a teammate other than you.

"another player"?

Hm, very true! I was being too specific.