As we're about to plow into Kaldheim and there will be notable expectations for angels similar to adarkar valkyrie, I wanted to posit a couple of guesses regarding what type of angel we might get.
Valorous Valkyrie
Snow Creature- Angel Warrior (r)
Flash
Flying
When Valorous Valkyrie enters the battlefield, untap up to one target non-angel creature. When that creature is put into a graveyard from the battlefield this turn, return that card to the battlefield under it's owner's control.
3/4
Or, perhaps a bit more likely...
Valorous Valkyrie
Snow Creature- Angel Warrior (u)
Flash
Flying
When Valorous Valkyrie enters the battefield, you may untap up to one target attacking creature you control and remove it from combat.
3/2
I'm not sure if that particular vein of "reactive reanimation" on the first one is still in white's color pie, or if its Black's toolkit now (Malakir Rebirth)
I think the second is more likely, but it would probably cost 1-2 mana more since 3 for a 3/2 flyer is already an aggressive rate and this has flash and effectively counters a combat trick. Its like a flying Mystic Snake/Frilled Mystic in only one color.
The first one is an ETB Saffi Eriksdotter effect that kinda-sorta homages both adarkar valkyrie and restoration angel so I was kind of hoping that it would be a gentle bend at worst, though I am open to the opinions to the contrary.
The latter one was roughly based on vizier of deferment, getting +1/+0 and flying (presumably at rare instead of uncommon) while losing the ability to remove enemy combatants... or your own blockers... or reuse ETB effects. That seems like the sort of kind-of-exciting white rare that Wizards would print (at least in my own opinion). Would the capacity of this card to serve in tempo strategies make version 2 too strong?
The first one probably is a bend, simply because the effect has been in white but not for a while that I can recall. The biggest thing that make its feel "non-white" to me is that it enables death triggers, which Resto Angel and more recent flicker effects don't.
I think the second is probably an uncommon but at 3W or 2WW. The extra power and evasion over the vizier makes it more effective to use offensively where the vizier is just an overcosted grizzly bear.
The first seems, to me, super close to Faith's Reward, Second Sunrise, and, most specifically, to Brought Back. The timing it slightly different but it seems to be pretty squarely in white's slice of the pie. Based on Brought Back anyway; I realize the others are older.
Valorous Valkyrie
Snow Creature- Angel Warrior (r)
Flash
Flying
When Valorous Valkyrie enters the battlefield, untap up to one target non-angel creature. When that creature is put into a graveyard from the battlefield this turn, return that card to the battlefield under it's owner's control.
3/4
Or, perhaps a bit more likely...
Valorous Valkyrie
Snow Creature- Angel Warrior (u)
Flash
Flying
When Valorous Valkyrie enters the battefield, you may untap up to one target attacking creature you control and remove it from combat.
3/2
I think the second is more likely, but it would probably cost 1-2 mana more since 3 for a 3/2 flyer is already an aggressive rate and this has flash and effectively counters a combat trick. Its like a flying Mystic Snake/Frilled Mystic in only one color.
The latter one was roughly based on vizier of deferment, getting +1/+0 and flying (presumably at rare instead of uncommon) while losing the ability to remove enemy combatants... or your own blockers... or reuse ETB effects. That seems like the sort of kind-of-exciting white rare that Wizards would print (at least in my own opinion). Would the capacity of this card to serve in tempo strategies make version 2 too strong?
I think the second is probably an uncommon but at 3W or 2WW. The extra power and evasion over the vizier makes it more effective to use offensively where the vizier is just an overcosted grizzly bear.
As far as v2, I do concede that cmc of 4 and uncommon might look better as a signpost uncommon for a battalion-esque strategy.