Magic 2015 has been out on MTGO for more than a week. Let’s give ourselves the best chance of winning these early drafts by identifying the pertinent cards in each color. This time, we’ll be taking a quick look at the common and uncommon removal and tricks in white. Not only is it helpful to know what is available when drafting a particular color, but it helps you know what to play around when facing off against opposing decks.

Removal

 The only uncommon removal spell for white in M15 is Devouring Light. Although the mana cost is more color intensive than Divine Verdict, it costs one less total mana and the convoke option makes it significantly better than the Theros common. Always be aware of when your opponent can play this. You can give yourself a huge advantage in games where you identify that you need to play around it.

Pillar of Light is narrow and occasionally uncastable, but being an instant for only two mana [edit: oops, it's three  mana, which makes it worse, but still serviceable.] means it's pretty powerful. We'll have to see how the format evolves to know if this is something you want in your main deck, but at the very least, it will be a fantastic sideboard card against green drafters.

Oppressive Rays is pretty darn good in an aggressive deck, but becomes basically useless in games that go long. Build your deck accordingly. Raise the Alarm is not technically a removal spell, but as an instant, it can act that way if an opponent makes the right attack. If not, you can always play it at the end of their turn and beat down. This flexibility makes it a very reasonable spell to have in your deck.

Combat Tricks

White has a lot of token support in M15. If you're playing a this type of deck, you're going to want at least one copy of Sanctified Charge in it. Yes, the mana cost is high, but this is the kind of card that can win games out of nowhere. It's also reasonable on defense, essentially acting as a one-sided wrath if you have enough blockers to throw out there.

Ephemeral Shield is pretty borderline as far as tricks go. It can save your creature from removal or help you win a combat that would have otherwise been a trade, but not pumping a creature's power is a pretty major drawback.

Recap

Nothing in white is particularly crazy good this set. Sometimes white has some great removal (like Oblivion Ring or Pacifism), but in this set, the best we have is Devouring Light. Neither trick is a high pick, either. These cards will be the roleplayers in your white decks, not the all-stars.