Dauntless Bodyguard
A bodyguard pays for itself the moment it dies, and that is the whole bargain here: a 2/1 that walks in already promising to throw itself in front of something better. The sacrifice is the point, not a fallback. Most one-mana white aggressive creatures sell their stats; this one sells an instant-speed insurance policy stapled to a body you were happy to play anyway. The chosen creature is locked in as it enters, so the protection isn't flexible coverage you can redirect once the board develops; you commit to the target up front and bank the indestructibility for the turn a sweeper or a removal spell finally comes. That timing window is the real value. Holding the ability lets you bluff a wrath into a dead spot or save your best threat from a block, all without spending mana on the turn it matters. Indestructible does not stop exile, bounce, or sacrifice effects, so the protection is loud but narrow, which is the restriction that keeps a one-drop with this much upside from being oppressive. What it represents is a tidy bit of white aggro design: a curve-filler that is never a dead draw because the floor is a 2/1 attacker and the ceiling is a free counterspell against the opponent's removal, with the only cost being the creature you were going to lose anyway.
