Standard Bearer

Redirection as a static object rather than a one-shot spell. The Flagbearer rule forces opponents to point at this 1/1 whenever they choose targets, which converts every removal spell, every burn spell, every targeted bounce into a reflex tax: they either spend a card killing a worthless body or build around it, and either choice buys time. The wrinkle is that the redirection only fires when the opponent is choosing targets and is able to choose a Flagbearer, so it does nothing against board wipes, edicts, or anything that doesn't target; it is precise about its protection, not a blanket shield. That precision is what makes the design honest rather than oppressive. It also stacks awkwardly with itself: two Flagbearers in play and the opponent must choose at least one of them, so a spell that only picks one target won't be forced onto both. Apocalypse leaned hard into multicolor and trickery, and this card sits in the same lineage as effects that meddle with the opponent's decisions rather than the board directly: a lightning rod printed as a creature, drawing fire away from the things that actually win. The mechanic never got the support to become a real archetype, but the structural idea (a permanent that hijacks targeting) is clean enough that it has resurfaced whenever a set wants a designed-in misdirection piece.