# Strategy Specifications
## Deck Name And Archetype
Belcher is a Modern land-light combo deck registered as 60 main-deck cards plus 15 sideboard cards, with current tags `combo`, `artifact`, and `spells`. The main deck count validates exactly: 4 Orim's Chant, 1 Razorgrass Ambush, 4 Witch Enchanter, 4 Pinnacle Monk, 4 Sundering Eruption, 4 Legion Leadership, 4 Stormscale Scion, 4 Desperate Ritual, 4 Pyretic Ritual, 4 Manamorphose, 4 Goblin Charbelcher, 4 Talisman of Conviction, 4 Irencrag Feat, 4 Shatterskull Smashing, 4 Strike It Rich, and 3 March of Reckless Joy. The sideboard count validates exactly: 2 Static Prison, 1 Mountain, 2 Redirect Lightning, 3 Blood Moon, 2 Shattering Spree, 2 Silence, and 3 Wear // Tear.

The archetype identity is Modern Belcher: assemble mana, resolve Goblin Charbelcher, and activate it in a deck configured to make that activation lethal or close to deterministic when the library contains no visible conventional land obstacle. The registered main deck contains no basic or ordinary land-name cards; its mana base is carried by modal land faces, Talisman of Conviction, Strike It Rich, Desperate Ritual, Pyretic Ritual, Manamorphose, and Irencrag Feat. Veles must therefore treat land-play choices, modal-face choices, and mana-source sequencing as strategic decisions rather than generic land-drop housekeeping.

The stock status is hybrid: this is recognizably an established Modern Belcher shell, but the exact 75 is a current metagame branch using red-white protection and modal spell-land density rather than a generic historical list. Do not import off-list assumptions about protection, tutoring, ramp, backup threats, or utility cards. Strategy guidance may compare broad opponent archetypes in prose, but policy `Cards:` fields in later sections should name only registered cards from this list unless an opposing card is explicitly prefixed as `opponent:`.

The legality checkpoint is provisionally clean for Modern deck construction: main deck is 60, sideboard is 15, nonbasic/non-basic-land card copies do not exceed four by exact registered name, and none of the registered exact names appears on the Wizards Modern banned list checked on June 16, 2026 ([Wizards Banned & Restricted List](https://magic.wizards.com/en/banned-restricted-list)). This guide is not a tournament legality oracle; if Veles card data, Gatherer/Scryfall legality, or the rules engine reports a different legality result at runtime, obey the engine and mark the mismatch for review.

The primary role concern is that this deck wins by timing, not by incremental card advantage. A hand can contain many spells and still be nonfunctional if it lacks a legal path to red mana, a durable mana bridge, Goblin Charbelcher, or enough velocity to find and activate Goblin Charbelcher before the opponent's clock or disruption matters. A hand can also look slow but be keepable if it already has protected setup with Talisman of Conviction, Orim's Chant, Silence after sideboard, or enough visible mana to convert March of Reckless Joy into a deterministic next-turn line.

The mana concern is unusually high because several registered cards can be mana, spells, or payoff support depending on legal mode and timing. Veles should not assume Shatterskull Smashing, Sundering Eruption, Pinnacle Monk, Witch Enchanter, Razorgrass Ambush, or Legion Leadership must be played one way without reading the legal action text. When the engine offers a choice between deploying a modal card as mana and spending it as a spell, the guide should evaluate current combo timing, available red and white sources, protection needs, and whether Goblin Charbelcher activation remains reachable.

The opponent information status is incomplete: no specific opponent decklist, matchup label, metagame share, play/draw assignment, or known opposing sideboard plan was supplied with this request. Runtime decisions must therefore prioritize legal actions, visible board state, public zones, revealed cards, stack contents, life totals, clock pressure, and decision history before applying broad Modern assumptions. Hidden hand contents, exact countermagic, artifact hate, land hate, or removal should never be invented.

## Thesis
Belcher assembles one decisive artifact activation: resolve Goblin Charbelcher, generate enough mana to activate it, and use the deck's land-light construction so the activation reveals a lethal or near-lethal library. The deck is not trying to trade resources evenly, win combat, or grind normal card advantage; it is trying to convert modal spell-land density, rituals, and temporary mana into a protected combo window before the opponent can establish lethal pressure or reliable disruption.

Prioritize functional mana plus access to Goblin Charbelcher over raw spell count. Hands and lines should be judged by whether they produce red mana, bridge into four mana for Goblin Charbelcher, reach three mana for activation after it resolves, and optionally protect the turn with Orim's Chant or post-board Silence. A slower hand with Talisman of Conviction and protection can be better than a flashy hand that cannot legally cast, find, or activate Goblin Charbelcher.

Treat modal cards as strategic resources, not automatic lands. Shatterskull Smashing, Sundering Eruption, Pinnacle Monk, Witch Enchanter, Razorgrass Ambush, and Legion Leadership may be mana infrastructure or spells depending on the engine's legal actions and current need. When a modal choice appears, prefer the face that preserves the fastest protected Goblin Charbelcher line unless the visible game state demands interaction, a blocker, or a non-combo emergency use.

Protect the commitment turn when protection is available and relevant. Orim's Chant is the main-deck shield for a combo turn, and Silence becomes an additional sideboard shield. Use protection before committing Goblin Charbelcher or a lethal activation when the opponent has open mana, visible interaction context, or enough tempo that passing the turn after a failed attempt is likely fatal. Do not spend protection casually if it is the only answer to a counterspell, removal on an enabling permanent, or a critical opponent turn.

## Role Package
- Threats: Goblin Charbelcher is the primary threat and must be treated as the deck's central permanent. Stormscale Scion and creature faces such as Witch Enchanter, Pinnacle Monk, and Legion Leadership are secondary pressure or stabilization tools only when the engine offers them and the combo path is delayed; Card text check required for exact combat and spell-face details before relying on them as primary win conditions.

- Payoffs: Goblin Charbelcher is the deterministic payoff when the library contains no conventional land card visible to the rules engine. Shatterskull Smashing can function as removal or damage when legally cast, but it is normally secondary to Belcher math because spending mana on it may delay the artifact activation. Irencrag Feat is a payoff-enabler rather than a payoff: use it to produce the burst mana that makes Goblin Charbelcher cast-plus-activation turns possible.

- Engines: Talisman of Conviction is the durable setup engine because it survives across turns, fixes into white protection, and helps convert ritual-heavy hands into stable combo turns. Strike It Rich is a setup engine when it creates future mana or fixes sequencing; evaluate whether the delayed resource is faster than using a modal card as mana. March of Reckless Joy is the main velocity engine for finding missing combo pieces, but it should be used with awareness that exiled cards and timing restrictions can force immediate sequencing decisions.

- Velocity: Manamorphose fixes colors and replaces itself, so it is often the cleanest bridge between red ritual mana and white protection or Goblin Charbelcher lines. Desperate Ritual and Pyretic Ritual are the core acceleration package and should usually be conserved for turns that materially advance Goblin Charbelcher, March of Reckless Joy, Irencrag Feat, or activation math. March of Reckless Joy digs for missing pieces when the hand has mana but lacks action.

- Interaction: Orim's Chant is proactive stack and turn control, not generic removal. Witch Enchanter, Sundering Eruption, Legion Leadership, Razorgrass Ambush, Shatterskull Smashing, Static Prison, Redirect Lightning, Shattering Spree, and Wear // Tear may provide interaction depending on legal action text; Card text check required for any exact target class or timing if the engine prompt is ambiguous.

- Protection: Orim's Chant protects main-deck combo turns and can also buy a turn against visible lethal pressure. Silence is the sideboard protection supplement for matchups where the opponent's interaction matters more than racing. Protection decisions should preserve enough mana to complete Goblin Charbelcher deployment or activation after the protection spell resolves.

- Recursion: This registered list has no clear dedicated recursion module. Do not assume destroyed Goblin Charbelcher, spent rituals, or exiled March of Reckless Joy cards can be recovered unless the rules engine presents a legal action that explicitly does so.

- Mana: Desperate Ritual, Pyretic Ritual, Manamorphose, Strike It Rich, Irencrag Feat, Talisman of Conviction, and modal land faces form the main mana system. The sideboard Mountain is a special configuration card that may improve sideboard mana or Blood Moon play patterns but can reduce Goblin Charbelcher certainty if it remains in the library.

- Sideboard modules: Blood Moon is the disruptive mana-denial module. Static Prison, Redirect Lightning, Shattering Spree, and Wear // Tear are interaction modules for specific permanent or damage-pressure contexts. Silence is the anti-interaction combo-protection module. Mountain is the sideboard mana-configuration module and should be boarded only when its benefits outweigh Belcher-library risk.

## Primary Win Conditions
- Goblin Charbelcher activation is the main win path: assemble Goblin Charbelcher, produce four mana to cast it, produce three mana and a tap window to activate it, then target the opponent when the legal action text offers that target. Prioritize this path whenever the visible line can resolve and activate before lethal pressure or known disruption invalidates waiting.

- Protected Belcher is the preferred execution pattern: cast Orim's Chant before the commitment turn when the opponent has open mana, visible stack interaction, or a clock that makes a failed attempt unacceptable. Protection is strongest when the hand already has Goblin Charbelcher plus activation mana; do not spend Orim's Chant merely to feel safe if doing so prevents the actual cast or activation.

- Burst-mana Belcher is the fastest unprotected pattern: chain Desperate Ritual, Pyretic Ritual, Manamorphose, Strike It Rich, Talisman of Conviction mana, and Irencrag Feat into Goblin Charbelcher plus activation. Irencrag Feat can enable a decisive turn because casting only one more spell still allows activating Goblin Charbelcher after it resolves; verify the engine's legal actions before relying on any exact sequencing restriction.

- Delayed permanent setup is the default when the hand has mana but not enough burst: use Talisman of Conviction and modal land faces to build toward a later protected cast-plus-activate turn. This route is better than firing rituals into a stranded Goblin Charbelcher when the artifact cannot be activated before the opponent untaps with meaningful answers.

- March of Reckless Joy finds the missing piece when mana exists but the hand lacks Goblin Charbelcher, protection, or final acceleration. Use it before committing rituals that cannot be recovered, and respect the engine's exiled-card timing; do not assume every exiled card remains available beyond the legal window shown by Veles.

## Secondary Win Conditions
- Stormscale Scion pressure is a backup plan when Goblin Charbelcher is absent, removed, or too slow against visible pressure. Card text check required for exact combat role and cost details, but if the engine presents a legal cast and the combo is not imminent, Stormscale Scion can turn excess ritual mana into a threat that forces the opponent to answer something other than Goblin Charbelcher.

- Creature-face pressure from Witch Enchanter, Pinnacle Monk, and Legion Leadership is emergency pressure, not the baseline plan. Card text check required for exact creature stats and spell-face effects; cast these as creatures only when the legal board state shows that blocking, attacking, or presenting a clock is more valuable than preserving their modal mana or interaction role.

- Shatterskull Smashing can become a damage or removal path when the opponent is low enough or when removing creatures buys the turn needed for Goblin Charbelcher. Treat it as secondary because spending large mana on Shatterskull Smashing often competes with casting or activating Goblin Charbelcher.

- Sundering Eruption, Razorgrass Ambush, Witch Enchanter, Pinnacle Monk, and Legion Leadership may provide interactive spell faces that clear blockers, answer permanents, or stabilize tempo. Card text check required before assigning exact target classes; use only legal engine prompts and visible targets, and prefer interaction that immediately reopens the Goblin Charbelcher line.

- Post-board Blood Moon can be a lock-style secondary plan when the opponent's visible mana base is vulnerable and Belcher cannot safely race. This plan still needs a win condition afterward, so do not over-prioritize Blood Moon if the hand lacks Goblin Charbelcher, Stormscale Scion, or a way to convert the lock into pressure.

## Emergency Lines
- When behind on life, buy exactly the turn that enables Goblin Charbelcher rather than trying to become a control deck. Orim's Chant can stop a critical combat or spell turn, Shatterskull Smashing can remove visible attackers, and creature faces can block when legal; choose the line that preserves the highest chance to untap and activate.

- When behind on board, spend interaction only on threats that shorten the clock below the combo timeline. Do not use Witch Enchanter, Sundering Eruption, Razorgrass Ambush, Legion Leadership, Shatterskull Smashing, Static Prison, Redirect Lightning, Wear // Tear, or Shattering Spree on low-impact objects unless the engine state shows that object prevents Goblin Charbelcher from resolving, activating, or surviving.

- When behind on cards, stop trading one-for-one unless the trade protects a known combo window. March of Reckless Joy and Manamorphose are the main rebuild tools, while Talisman of Conviction turns future topdecks into live combo pieces.

- When short on mana, prioritize durable or delayed mana over speculative velocity. Talisman of Conviction, Strike It Rich, and modal land faces are safer than spending Desperate Ritual or Pyretic Ritual into a turn that still cannot cast and activate Goblin Charbelcher.

- When Goblin Charbelcher is removed, shift to survival plus redraw instead of assuming recursion. The registered main deck has no clear recursion, so use March of Reckless Joy, draw-replacement from Manamorphose, and backup threats only if the rules engine presents legal actions.

- When sideboard Mountain is in the configuration, account for reduced Belcher certainty. A Goblin Charbelcher activation may stop at Mountain rather than reveal the whole library, so target and timing decisions should respect visible library size, known Mountain location if public, opponent life total, and whether a nonlethal activation still advances the game.

## Resource Model
- Mana is the primary resource: Belcher converts temporary red mana, Talisman of Conviction, Strike It Rich, modal land faces, and Manamorphose fixing into a single Goblin Charbelcher cast-and-activate window. Count mana in two thresholds: four to cast Goblin Charbelcher, then three plus an untapped Goblin Charbelcher to activate; lines that reach only the first threshold are setup unless the opponent cannot punish the pass.

- Hand size is combo density: keep cards that collectively produce mana, Goblin Charbelcher access, protection, or redraw, and treat redundant modal land faces as both mana stability and spell opportunity cost. Spend Desperate Ritual and Pyretic Ritual only when they convert this turn into Goblin Charbelcher, Stormscale Scion pressure, decisive March of Reckless Joy velocity, or necessary interaction.

- Life total is a spendable clock buffer: Talisman of Conviction damage and modal land costs are acceptable when they accelerate the combo turn, but stop paying life freely once visible attackers or burn-like pressure can force a one-turn-short race. Against pressure, preserve enough life to survive the opponent's next visible combat plus plausible public stack actions, then use the saved turn to activate Goblin Charbelcher.

- Board presence is mostly infrastructure: Talisman of Conviction and Treasure from Strike It Rich matter more than creature combat until the combo is delayed. Cast Witch Enchanter, Pinnacle Monk, Legion Leadership, or Stormscale Scion as board pieces only when the legal action improves survival, pressure, or post-interaction recovery more than keeping the card as mana, spell-face utility, or combo material.

- Graveyard value is limited and conditional: spent rituals, Manamorphose, and Strike It Rich generally represent used resources unless the engine presents a legal graveyard action. Do not plan around recursion that the registered list does not clearly provide.

- Exile is a live but timing-sensitive resource when March of Reckless Joy is involved. Treat exiled cards as usable only while Veles shows legal actions for them, and prefer March of Reckless Joy before committing rituals if the current hand lacks Goblin Charbelcher, protection, or the final mana link.

- Lands are a hidden cost to Belcher math: modal land faces enable casting spells but reduce the purity of Goblin Charbelcher's activation if they remain in the library or if sideboard Mountain is registered in the game. Play the minimum land faces needed to execute, and when Mountain is boarded in, evaluate Goblin Charbelcher damage from visible library and public information instead of assuming lethal.

- Sacrifice fodder is not a core resource: Treasure from Strike It Rich is primarily mana, not material to preserve for sacrifice synergies. Spend Treasure when it unlocks Goblin Charbelcher, protection, Blood Moon, or required sideboard interaction.

- Tempo is the deck's defensive currency: Orim's Chant can buy a turn or protect a commitment, while Shatterskull Smashing, Razorgrass Ambush, Witch Enchanter, Sundering Eruption, Legion Leadership, Static Prison, Redirect Lightning, Wear // Tear, Shattering Spree, and Blood Moon should trade tempo only for threats or permanents that change the combo clock.

- Information changes commitment quality: known open interaction, revealed discard, visible hate permanents, and public stack objects should push toward protected lines with Orim's Chant or Silence. Unknown hands do not justify inventing answers; use visible mana, archetype context, and legal actions as risk signals.

- Sideboard bullets are narrow resources: Blood Moon attacks mana, Wear // Tear and Shattering Spree answer artifacts/enchantments, Static Prison and Redirect Lightning manage pressure or specific permanents, Silence adds protection, and Mountain changes mana stability at the cost of Goblin Charbelcher reliability.

## Mana Guide
- Prioritize red mana first because Desperate Ritual, Pyretic Ritual, Strike It Rich, Irencrag Feat, March of Reckless Joy, Shatterskull Smashing, Sundering Eruption, Pinnacle Monk, Legion Leadership, Stormscale Scion, and many sideboard cards depend on red access. Prioritize white mana second for Orim's Chant, Witch Enchanter, Talisman of Conviction output, Silence, Static Prison, and Wear // Tear when those cards are live.

- Keep hands with a credible first mana source plus acceleration, not hands that merely contain powerful spells. A functional keep usually has a modal land face or Strike It Rich/Talisman of Conviction access, red-producing acceleration, and either Goblin Charbelcher, March of Reckless Joy, or enough setup to draw into action; mulligan hands that cannot cast their first relevant spell.

- Sequence durable mana before disposable mana when the combo is not happening immediately. Talisman of Conviction before rituals turns later draws into live casts, while Desperate Ritual and Pyretic Ritual should be saved for turns where the extra mana produces a concrete legal follow-up.

- Use Manamorphose as fixing when color is the bottleneck and as velocity when mana is already sufficient. Choose colors from the legal prompt based on the next visible spell sequence: red for rituals and Irencrag Feat, white for Orim's Chant or Silence, and mixed colors when Wear // Tear or Witch Enchanter is the immediate requirement.

- Treat Irencrag Feat as a commitment card because its restriction can strand additional spells. Prefer lines where Goblin Charbelcher is the next spell after Irencrag Feat and activation follows from mana already available or produced by the resolved spell; verify legal actions because Veles, not the guide, determines the exact allowed sequence.

- Play a modal land before drawing only when the current turn already needs mana to cast Manamorphose, March of Reckless Joy, Talisman of Conviction, protection, or interaction. Delay the land play when a draw or March of Reckless Joy could reveal a better modal land choice, a sideboard Mountain decision matters, or the hand can operate without exposing another land to Belcher math.

- Use tapped or life-paid modal land choices according to clock pressure. Enter tapped when passing is acceptable and mana this turn is not needed; pay life only when the untapped mana changes the turn's legal line or prevents falling behind a visible clock.

- Spend Strike It Rich early when it creates the first stable red source or stores mana for the Belcher turn. Save it when the current red source is already sufficient and Treasure is needed to bridge Goblin Charbelcher activation, Orim's Chant plus combo, or sideboard interaction plus development.

- Respect Mountain after sideboarding as both stability and liability. Fetching or playing Mountain can make Blood Moon and red interaction easier, but any Mountain left in the library can cap Goblin Charbelcher damage, so reassess whether the activation is lethal before choosing the target opponent line.

## Mulligan Guide
- Strong keep: a hand with a modal land face, Goblin Charbelcher, Talisman of Conviction or Strike It Rich, and red acceleration such as Desperate Ritual, Pyretic Ritual, Manamorphose, or Irencrag Feat is a keep unless visible matchup context demands protection first. Prioritize hands that can either cast Goblin Charbelcher by turn two or three or assemble protection plus Goblin Charbelcher by turn three.

- Strong protected keep: a hand with Orim's Chant, Goblin Charbelcher, a first mana source, and enough acceleration to threaten a near-term combo is premium against blue mana, discard-heavy archetypes, or unknown opponents on the draw. Keep even if it is slightly slower, because Orim's Chant can convert a vulnerable commitment into a winning one.

- Medium keep: a hand with no Goblin Charbelcher but with March of Reckless Joy, Manamorphose, Talisman of Conviction, and two or more mana pieces is acceptable when it has a clear first two turns. Keep these more often on six or five cards, but prefer a mulligan on seven if the hand has no pressure, no selection, and no protected path.

- Risky keep: a hand relying on Irencrag Feat without Goblin Charbelcher is risky because Irencrag Feat is strongest as the final spell before Belcher deployment. Keep only when March of Reckless Joy or Manamorphose can find the payoff quickly and the hand already casts those spells.

- Automatic ship: a hand with no castable first mana source is a mulligan, even if it contains Goblin Charbelcher and multiple rituals. Ship hands that cannot cast Strike It Rich, Talisman of Conviction, Manamorphose, or a relevant modal land line before the opponent has meaningful pressure.

- Automatic ship: a hand with only interaction or spell-face modal cards and no acceleration should be shipped unless postboard the visible matchup is slow and the hand has Blood Moon plus mana. Belcher wins by compressed mana, not by trading one-for-one for many turns.

- Matchup-dependent keep: hands with Orim's Chant but slower mana are better against counterspell or discard decks and worse against fast creature pressure. Hands with Shatterskull Smashing, Razorgrass Ambush, Legion Leadership, or Witch Enchanter as interaction are better against visible creature or permanent pressure, but still need a Belcher or March of Reckless Joy path.

- Play/draw adjustment: on the play, keep faster unprotected Goblin Charbelcher hands more often because the opponent has fewer draw steps and fewer untapped mana windows. On the draw, value Orim's Chant, Silence after sideboarding, and extra mana redundancy because discard, counterspells, or pressure can punish a single-fragile line.

- Trap hand: multiple Goblin Charbelcher with no acceleration is not a functional combo hand. A second Goblin Charbelcher is redundancy only after the hand can cast the first one or recover from interaction.

- Trap hand: many rituals plus no payoff is weaker than it looks. Desperate Ritual, Pyretic Ritual, Irencrag Feat, and Manamorphose should be kept together only when the hand has Goblin Charbelcher, March of Reckless Joy, or a durable mana piece that keeps future draws live.

## Turn Arc
- Turn 1 priority: establish the first mana source without spending combo resources unless that action unlocks a turn-two or turn-three Goblin Charbelcher. Prefer a modal land face into Strike It Rich or Talisman of Conviction when legal; preserve Desperate Ritual and Pyretic Ritual for a turn with a concrete follow-up.

- Turn 1 deviation: cast Orim's Chant only if the legal timing and visible matchup make it a true time-buying play, such as stopping a decisive opponent turn or protecting a same-turn commitment. Do not spend Orim's Chant as generic nuisance interaction when the hand still needs it for the Belcher turn.

- Turn 2 priority: cast Talisman of Conviction or convert Strike It Rich and Manamorphose into the mana colors needed for Goblin Charbelcher, March of Reckless Joy, or Irencrag Feat. If Goblin Charbelcher can be deployed safely, favor deploying it over speculative card movement.

- Turn 2 deviation: use March of Reckless Joy before committing rituals when the hand lacks Goblin Charbelcher or the final mana link. Treat exiled cards as usable only when Veles shows legal actions for them, and avoid assuming future access after the allowed window closes.

- Turn 3 priority: attempt the protected combo when mana, Goblin Charbelcher, and Orim's Chant or Silence are available. Sequence protection before the commitment when legal and tactically necessary, then use Desperate Ritual, Pyretic Ritual, Manamorphose, Irencrag Feat, Strike It Rich Treasure, and Talisman of Conviction to cast and activate Goblin Charbelcher.

- Turn 3 deviation: if protection is missing and the opponent represents visible interaction, decide whether waiting is worse than committing. Commit into risk against lethal pressure or when redundancy exists; wait when March of Reckless Joy, another mana source, or Orim's Chant can materially improve the next turn.

- Turns 4-5 priority: stop treating setup as free and convert resources into a win attempt or survival line. Use Shatterskull Smashing, Razorgrass Ambush, Witch Enchanter, Sundering Eruption, Legion Leadership, Stormscale Scion, Static Prison, Redirect Lightning, Wear // Tear, or Shattering Spree only when Veles shows a legal action that changes the immediate clock, removes hate, or opens the Belcher turn.

- Turns 4-5 deviation: when sideboard Blood Moon is available, cast it if it visibly constrains the opponent more than it delays Goblin Charbelcher. Do not cast Blood Moon just because it is legal if the current hand can already win through a faster Belcher line.

- Late-game priority: rebuild around durable mana and fresh payoff access rather than hoarding rituals. Talisman of Conviction, Treasure from Strike It Rich, March of Reckless Joy, and any live Goblin Charbelcher draw are the recovery axis after discard, removal, or counterplay.

- Late-game deviation: reassess Goblin Charbelcher damage before activation when Mountain has been sideboarded in or any actual land could remain in library. Target opponent only when visible library and legal action context support a lethal or strategically necessary activation.

## Card Roles
- Goblin Charbelcher: Goblin Charbelcher is the primary payoff and should be treated as the card that converts all early sequencing into a win attempt. Cast it when the hand can either activate soon, protect it with Orim's Chant or postboard Silence, or survive if the opponent removes or counters the first copy. Do not keep extra Goblin Charbelcher copies in hand as "action" unless the first copy is likely to be answered; redundant copies matter most against discard, counterspells, or artifact removal. Before activation, check whether sideboard Mountain or any modal land face has changed library composition; do not assume a lethal reveal if Veles exposes uncertainty about cards remaining in library.

- Orim's Chant: Orim's Chant is the main protection spell and the most important non-mana card on a combo turn. Use it before committing Goblin Charbelcher when the opponent has visible untapped interaction mana, known counterplay from revealed information, or a board state that makes waiting too costly. Hold Orim's Chant rather than firing it as generic delay unless it prevents a decisive opponent turn, because the deck often needs one protected window more than one extra draw step. Against creature pressure, Orim's Chant can buy a turn, but that use is weaker than forcing through Goblin Charbelcher unless the current turn is otherwise losing.

- Talisman of Conviction: Talisman of Conviction is the durable setup piece that turns fragile ritual hands into repeatable mana. Prioritize casting it on turn one or turn two when the hand cannot immediately win, especially if it enables Orim's Chant, Manamorphose, March of Reckless Joy, or a later Goblin Charbelcher activation. Do not tap it for painful colored mana unless the color matters to a legal action; preserve life against aggressive starts when colorless mana is sufficient. In slower games, Talisman of Conviction is the rebuild card after discard or a failed first attempt.

- Strike It Rich: Strike It Rich is a flexible early accelerant because Treasure can bridge colors and can be saved for the actual commitment turn. Cast it early when it creates a stable route to Goblin Charbelcher, Irencrag Feat, March of Reckless Joy, or protected mana, but avoid spending the Treasure on low-impact actions that do not improve the combo timeline. Flashback or graveyard use should be chosen only when Veles presents the legal action and the mana exchange advances the current plan. Treasure is especially valuable for casting Orim's Chant or converting red ritual chains into white protection.

- Desperate Ritual: Desperate Ritual is a burst-mana piece for the turn that casts Goblin Charbelcher, activates Goblin Charbelcher, or bridges into Irencrag Feat. Preserve it when the hand lacks a payoff, because spending a ritual into no durable permanent often leaves the deck empty-handed. Use splice or special alternative text only if Veles presents the exact legal action; do not assume a hidden mode or shortcut. Against discard or counters, Desperate Ritual is often safer when used in the same protected turn rather than exposed as partial setup.

- Pyretic Ritual: Pyretic Ritual fills the same burst role as Desperate Ritual but has fewer special sequencing implications. Use it to reach four mana for Goblin Charbelcher, seven total mana for cast-plus-activation turns, or the red requirement for Irencrag Feat. Do not cast Pyretic Ritual before Manamorphose unless the available colors and legal follow-up are already clear. When both rituals are available, choose the order that preserves the most color flexibility for Orim's Chant, March of Reckless Joy, or sideboard answers.

- Manamorphose: Manamorphose is a color-fixing cantrip, not a payoff by itself. Cast it when the hand needs white for Orim's Chant, red for rituals or Irencrag Feat, or a fresh draw to complete a near-term Belcher line. Avoid using Manamorphose just to cycle on a stable hand if waiting lets it fix a more important future turn. After Manamorphose resolves, re-evaluate legal actions from Veles rather than continuing a preplanned ritual chain that may have changed.

- Irencrag Feat: Irencrag Feat is the explosive bridge from ritual mana into Goblin Charbelcher deployment or activation. Treat it as a commitment card because its restrictions can constrain later spells; cast it only when the visible legal sequence after resolution is sufficient or when waiting is worse. The cleanest use is to turn early red mana into Goblin Charbelcher plus enough remaining resources to threaten activation. Do not keep Irencrag Feat-heavy hands without Goblin Charbelcher, March of Reckless Joy, or reliable setup, because it does not solve the missing-payoff problem.

- March of Reckless Joy: March of Reckless Joy is the main card-access spell and the best way to recover from payoff-light hands. Use it before spending critical rituals when the missing piece is Goblin Charbelcher, protection, or a final mana source. Because exiled-card timing can be restrictive, choose lines only from visible legal actions and do not assume every exiled card remains playable later. Pitching extra red cards can be correct when the current turn must find a payoff, but preserve Goblin Charbelcher, Orim's Chant, and unique mana links unless the game is forcing an immediate dig.

- Shatterskull Smashing: Shatterskull Smashing is primarily a modal mana source in game one and an emergency removal spell when creature pressure or hate creatures matter. Use the land face when the hand needs stable mana and no immediate removal target is decisive. Use the spell face only when Veles shows a legal target pattern that meaningfully changes survival, clears a blocker for a rare creature line, or removes a permanent that blocks the combo plan. Card text check required for exact damage scaling and target limits before relying on a specific kill.

- Sundering Eruption: Sundering Eruption is primarily a modal mana source, with the spell face reserved for battlefield states where its exact text changes the combo window. Card text check required before treating it as land interaction, removal, or tempo. In normal Belcher sequencing, play the land face early if it unlocks Talisman of Conviction, Strike It Rich, Manamorphose, or rituals. Do not hold it as a speculative spell when the hand's actual failure mode is missing mana.

- Witch Enchanter: Witch Enchanter is a modal mana source with a potentially relevant spell face against artifacts, enchantments, or other permanent-based hate. Card text check required for exact target types and body details. Use the land face when the combo hand needs mana now; use the spell face only when a visible permanent is preventing Goblin Charbelcher, protection, or mana from functioning. Postboard, Witch Enchanter overlaps with Wear // Tear and Shattering Spree, so avoid spending premium sideboard answers if Witch Enchanter already answers the exposed permanent legally.

- Pinnacle Monk: Pinnacle Monk is mainly a modal mana source and possible emergency creature or spell-role card depending on legal text. Card text check required for exact front-face effect. Treat it as setup mana by default, especially in opening hands where the deck needs a first source. Do not choose a speculative creature line over a near-term Goblin Charbelcher line unless Veles shows that the combo is unavailable and the body or front-face action affects survival.

- Legion Leadership: Legion Leadership is mainly a modal mana source, with the spell face likely relevant only in rare combat or creature-board situations. Card text check required for exact effect before using it as pump, token support, or protection. Because Belcher is not built to win normal creature combat, choose the land face in most early-game decisions. Consider the spell face only when Stormscale Scion, Witch Enchanter, Pinnacle Monk, or another visible creature line is already legal and the action changes lethal pressure or survival.

- Stormscale Scion: Stormscale Scion is a modal mana source or backup threat, but its exact front-face text needs verification before tactical assumptions. Card text check required for cost, stats, keywords, and any reduction or triggered text. In most hands, use its mana role to support Goblin Charbelcher rather than trying to become a fair creature deck. The creature face becomes more attractive after disruption has exhausted the first Belcher plan, against opponents overloaded on artifact interaction, or when Veles shows a legal cast that stabilizes the board without delaying an imminent combo.

- Razorgrass Ambush: Razorgrass Ambush is a one-copy modal card and should be treated as a flexible mana source first. Card text check required for exact spell-face timing and target restrictions. Because there is only one copy, do not build a game plan around drawing it; when visible, choose the land face if the hand needs initial mana, and choose the spell face only if it answers an immediate attacker, blocker, or hate creature in a way that preserves or opens the Goblin Charbelcher turn.

## Interaction Priorities

- Protection first: Use Orim's Chant as the default shield before committing Desperate Ritual, Pyretic Ritual, Irencrag Feat, or Goblin Charbelcher when the opponent has open mana, known interaction, or a deck identity that can answer the combo on the stack or battlefield. Do not spend Orim's Chant merely to force a low-impact March of Reckless Joy unless the hand cannot wait and the dig is the only visible route to a payoff.

- Silence redundancy postboard: Treat Silence as extra Orim's Chant, not as a replacement for planning. Cast Silence or Orim's Chant on the combo turn before the first irreversible mana burst when possible; if both are legal, prefer the one that best preserves color access and leaves future protection for the next turn if the first attempt does not end the game.

- Remove hate before racing it: Prioritize Witch Enchanter, Wear // Tear, Shattering Spree, Static Prison, Redirect Lightning, Shatterskull Smashing, or Razorgrass Ambush only when Veles shows a legal target and that target blocks mana, Goblin Charbelcher, card access, or survival. Card text check required for Witch Enchanter, Static Prison, Redirect Lightning, Razorgrass Ambush, and exact Shatterskull Smashing damage math before assuming a specific permanent or creature can be answered.

- Artifact and enchantment pressure changes sideboarding posture: Against visible artifact hate, enchantment hate, or lock pieces, preserve Wear // Tear and Witch Enchanter for the permanent that actually stops the combo instead of spending them on incidental value. Against artifact-heavy opponents, Shattering Spree can become a proactive clearing spell, but do not delay a protected Goblin Charbelcher kill to destroy nonblocking artifacts.

- Blood Moon changes the opponent, not this deck's core: Postboard Blood Moon is a disruption plan against greedy mana, but Belcher still wins by resolving and activating Goblin Charbelcher. Cast Blood Moon when it visibly constrains the opponent and the hand can still produce the colors needed for Orim's Chant, rituals, Manamorphose, and activation; do not strand your own white protection without a reason.

- Bait with replaceable setup: Talisman of Conviction, Strike It Rich, and sometimes March of Reckless Joy are acceptable bait when the hand contains a second route to Goblin Charbelcher or another card-access path. Do not bait with Goblin Charbelcher, Irencrag Feat, or the only protection spell unless the alternative is losing the window entirely.

- Ignore low-impact permanents: Ignore creatures, artifacts, enchantments, and planeswalkers that do not shorten the clock enough, stop spellcasting, tax mana, remove Goblin Charbelcher, or prevent activation. Belcher has limited interactive slots; every answer spent on a nonblocking threat makes the eventual combo turn easier to disrupt.

- Counter, discard, and bounce posture: This deck does not play maindeck counterspells, discard, or bounce, so do not search for those lines in legal actions. If Veles exposes a spell-like modal action from Pinnacle Monk, Sundering Eruption, Stormscale Scion, Legion Leadership, or Razorgrass Ambush, use it only according to visible text and current legality, with card text check required where the exact effect is uncertain.

- Archetype changes: Against fast aggro, interaction is survival first and combo protection second if life total is under immediate pressure. Against control, interaction is protection first, with Orim's Chant and Silence saved for the decisive turn. Against graveyard or creature-light combo, race aggressively unless a visible hate piece or stack interaction must be answered.

## Combat And Trading Rules

- Avoid fair combat by default: Belcher is not trying to win through normal attacks, so choose land faces and mana development over creature deployment unless Veles shows that the creature line preserves life, pressures a disrupted opponent, or does not delay Goblin Charbelcher. Stormscale Scion, Witch Enchanter, Pinnacle Monk, and Legion Leadership need card text verification before treating their combat roles as reliable.

- Preserve engine resources over chip damage: Do not attack with a creature that is needed as a mana source, defensive body, or future spell role when the attack only deals small damage and Goblin Charbelcher remains the primary kill. If the opponent is representing lethal or a short clock, blocking to buy one full turn is usually better than preserving a marginal attacker.

- Trade to reach the combo turn: Block and trade when the exchange prevents lethal, keeps life above the next visible attack, or buys the turn needed to cast and activate Goblin Charbelcher. Decline trades when life is stable and the creature's visible role matters for a near-term line, especially if the hand already has protection plus mana.

- Life total thresholds drive urgency: Above roughly 10 life against non-burn creature decks, favor setup, protection, and card access over emergency removal. At 6-10 life, prioritize actions that either win this turn, create a protected next-turn Goblin Charbelcher line, or remove the largest visible clock. At 5 or less, treat every attack step as potentially decisive and use Shatterskull Smashing, Razorgrass Ambush, Static Prison, or Redirect Lightning only when Veles confirms a legal survival-changing action.

- Protection can include preventing attacks: Orim's Chant may matter defensively when its visible legal text prevents an attack step or stops a lethal spell turn; card legality and kicker/payment details must come from Veles. Do not use Orim's Chant defensively if the same card is needed to force a guaranteed combo turn and the current combat is survivable.

- Aggro matchup combat posture: Against wide or fast creature starts, accept defensive creature lines sooner and value Shatterskull Smashing or Razorgrass Ambush as survival tools when legal. Still avoid becoming a removal deck; the best combat result is often surviving one more turn with enough resources to combo.

- Control matchup combat posture: Against low-pressure control boards, ignore combat almost entirely and focus on building a protected commitment turn. If Stormscale Scion or another creature face becomes a legal backup threat after repeated disruption, attack only when it does not expose the combo plan or walk into obvious visible removal incentives.

- Combo matchup combat posture: Against opposing combo, blockers and attacks rarely matter unless a visible creature threatens lethal before Belcher can act. Race with Goblin Charbelcher, preserve Orim's Chant and Silence for the decisive stack window, and use combat interaction only if Veles shows that it changes the clock by a full turn.

## Selection And Tutor Rules

- Treat selection as resource assembly, not card quality hunting: Belcher has no true maindeck tutor for Goblin Charbelcher, so decisions should prioritize reaching a hand/state that contains Goblin Charbelcher, enough mana to cast and activate it, and protection from Orim's Chant or postboard Silence. Do not spend selection effects looking for fair-game upgrades when the current hand already has a legal protected kill line.

- Use Manamorphose as color fixing first and redraw second: Cast Manamorphose when it converts ritual mana into the colors required for Orim's Chant, Goblin Charbelcher, Irencrag Feat, Talisman of Conviction, or a visible sideboard answer. If colors are already solved, sequence Manamorphose before final commitment only when the replacement card can materially change the turn, such as finding Goblin Charbelcher, another ritual, protection, or an answer to a visible hate permanent.

- Use March of Reckless Joy as a commitment-filter card, not a casual cantrip: Fire March of Reckless Joy when the hand is missing a specific class of piece and the mana available this turn can still use the cards it exposes. Do not exile important redundant resources to March of Reckless Joy unless Veles shows that the current line otherwise fails; card text check required for exact exile, X, and timing constraints.

- Count modal double-faced cards as spell/land decisions from visible legality: Witch Enchanter, Pinnacle Monk, Sundering Eruption, Legion Leadership, Stormscale Scion, Shatterskull Smashing, and Razorgrass Ambush are deck slots that preserve Goblin Charbelcher math while often serving as mana access. Play the land face when the combo turn needs stable mana, but keep the spell face when Veles shows a near-term use that removes a blocker, answers hate, protects life total, or advances the kill.

- Delay irreversible land-face choices when mana is already sufficient: If Talisman of Conviction, Strike It Rich, Desperate Ritual, Pyretic Ritual, Manamorphose, and Irencrag Feat already create the required mana, preserve flexible MDFC cards in hand until the turn demands a land drop or spell effect. Make the land drop earlier when missing the land would prevent casting Goblin Charbelcher or a protection spell on schedule.

- Treat Strike It Rich as delayed mana selection: Casting Strike It Rich early can bank a Treasure for a later protected combo turn, while flashback or graveyard use should be chosen only when Veles confirms the legal action and the mana advances Goblin Charbelcher casting, activation, Orim's Chant, Silence, or a required answer. Do not spend Treasure on low-impact spells if it leaves the deck one mana short of activation.

- Bottom or decline cards that do not solve the current bottleneck: In any scry, exile-choice, reveal-choice, or other selection prompt, prefer Goblin Charbelcher when absent, then sufficient mana, then protection, then hate removal, then backup card access. Put away extra protection without mana, extra mana without Goblin Charbelcher, and creature combat plans unless the visible board says survival requires them.

## Priority And Stack Rules

- Commit on the stack only when the whole sequence is credible: Before casting Goblin Charbelcher, Irencrag Feat, or a chain of Desperate Ritual and Pyretic Ritual, verify from Veles state that mana, colors, protection, and known opposing interaction make the line better than waiting. This is a judgment-heavy gate; do not assume hidden opponent cards, but respect visible untapped mana, revealed hand information, and public stack objects.

- Cast Orim's Chant at the decisive protection window: Use Orim's Chant before exposing Goblin Charbelcher or the final mana spell when the opponent can legally respond and the line depends on preventing interaction. Do not spend Orim's Chant on a low-value turn unless it prevents lethal, stops a visible opposing combo turn, or protects a next-turn kill that cannot wait.

- Use Silence like extra Orim's Chant after sideboarding: Cast Silence to force through Goblin Charbelcher or stop an opponent's decisive spell turn, using Veles legal timing rather than assuming it can cover every phase. Preserve Silence when the opponent is not presenting interaction and the current turn is still only setup.

- Let harmless spells resolve quickly: Pass priority on opposing spells and abilities that do not change the clock, disrupt mana, remove Goblin Charbelcher, stop activation, or invalidate protection. Hold responses for stack objects that counter, discard, tax, destroy, exile, name, prevent activation, or produce lethal pressure.

- Activate Goblin Charbelcher only at the kill or forced-survival point: Once Goblin Charbelcher is on board and activation mana is available, target the opponent when Veles shows a legal target and the deck contains no registered lands in the library. If sideboard Mountain has been added or played, re-evaluate damage certainty from visible library/known-zone information instead of assuming a full-deck reveal kill.

- Sequence rituals around interaction and color needs: Use Desperate Ritual and Pyretic Ritual to build red mana, then Manamorphose to fix into white or required sideboard colors when needed. Avoid casting Irencrag Feat until the remaining legal actions still support the intended Goblin Charbelcher line; card text check required for exact post-cast restrictions.

- Answer hate on the stack or battlefield only when it blocks the plan: Use Witch Enchanter, Wear // Tear, Shattering Spree, Static Prison, Redirect Lightning, Shatterskull Smashing, or Razorgrass Ambush only when Veles confirms a legal action and the target changes combo access, survival, or protection. Card text check required for Witch Enchanter, Static Prison, Redirect Lightning, Razorgrass Ambush, and exact Shatterskull Smashing targeting or damage.

- Respect optional payments and graveyard timing: Choose optional costs only when they advance mana, protection, or the kill; decline them when they consume mana needed for Goblin Charbelcher activation or Orim's Chant. Use graveyard actions such as Strike It Rich only from visible legal prompts, and do not rely on graveyard resources through visible hate unless Veles still exposes the action.

## Sideboard Map

- Sideboard with the combo clock as the baseline: Add cards only when they remove a specific opposing axis that beats Goblin Charbelcher, protects the kill, or buys the one turn needed to assemble mana. Reduce main-deck emphasis on the least relevant MDFC spell faces, excess March of Reckless Joy, or redundant protection only when the matchup demands interaction; do not dilute the deck into a fair midrange plan.

- Silence is the cleanest protection upgrade: Bring in Silence against blue permission, instant-speed artifact removal, cascade or storm-style spell turns, and interactive decks where Orim's Chant effects are the difference between a resolved Goblin Charbelcher and a failed combo turn. Silence is bad when the opponent mostly presents battlefield hate already in play, static artifacts/enchantments, or creature pressure that must be answered rather than prevented for one turn.

- Blood Moon is a prison-plan supplement, not the main kill: Bring in Blood Moon against greedy mana, Amulet-style land engines, Tron-style big mana, multi-color control, and decks whose visible plan depends on nonbasic lands more than cheap spells. Blood Moon is bad when the opponent is mono-red, basic-heavy, already ahead on board, or when spending three mana delays a protected Goblin Charbelcher kill that Veles shows is available.

- Mountain changes Goblin Charbelcher math: Bring in Mountain only when actual land functionality matters more than maximum activation certainty, usually with Blood Moon plans, long games, or matchups where recurring mana after disruption is important. When Mountain is registered postboard, do not assume Goblin Charbelcher always reveals the whole library; use visible known-zone information and rules-engine output before treating activation as lethal.

- Wear // Tear is the broad hate-permanent answer: Bring in Wear // Tear against artifacts and enchantments that stop casting, activating, targeting, drawing, searching, graveyard use, or artifact permanence. Wear // Tear is bad when the opponent has no visible or expected artifact/enchantment hate and when the matchup is decided by speed or stack interaction instead of battlefield permanents.

- Shattering Spree is the artifact-sweeper answer: Bring in Shattering Spree against decks with multiple relevant artifacts, artifact mana, artifact creatures, prison artifacts, or hate artifacts that make one-for-one answers too fragile. Shattering Spree is bad against low-artifact decks, enchantment hate, creature-only pressure, and matchups where red mana must be conserved for Desperate Ritual, Pyretic Ritual, Irencrag Feat, and Goblin Charbelcher activation.

- Static Prison is temporary interaction for must-answer permanents: Bring in Static Prison when a single creature, planeswalker, artifact, enchantment, or other nonland permanent is expected to stop the combo or kill first, but card text check required for exact target restriction, duration, and upkeep/resource constraints. Static Prison is bad when the opponent can easily remove it, when the answer must be permanent, or when the mana spent would delay a kill turn without changing survival.

- Redirect Lightning is a conditional red interaction slot: Bring in Redirect Lightning only when card text check required confirms it answers the opponent's relevant threat, stack object, redirectable damage, or hate pattern better than existing main-deck cards. Redirect Lightning is bad whenever its exact legal targets or damage/redirection mode are uncertain at runtime; in those cases rely on Veles legal actions and prefer confirmed answers such as Wear // Tear, Shattering Spree, Blood Moon, Silence, or Static Prison.

Blue Control / Counterspell-Heavy Interaction
Side in: 2 Silence, 3 Blood Moon
Cut: 3 March of Reckless Joy, 1 Razorgrass Ambush, 1 Legion Leadership

- Against permission, prioritize redundant protection over speculative card access: Silence and Orim's Chant let the deck force one decisive turn, while Blood Moon can pressure mana if the opponent relies on nonbasic lands. Reduce main-deck emphasis on March of Reckless Joy because exiling resources into open permission can make the kill less resilient, and reduce one flexible MDFC spell slot before touching core rituals or Goblin Charbelcher.

Artifact Hate / Artifact-Mana Decks
Side in: 2 Shattering Spree, 3 Wear // Tear
Cut: 3 March of Reckless Joy, 1 Razorgrass Ambush, 1 Legion Leadership

- Against artifact-heavy boards, answer the permanent that actually blocks the kill: Shattering Spree is preferred when multiple artifacts matter, while Wear // Tear is preferred when enchantments or mixed hate cards are likely. Reduce main-deck emphasis on slow card access and lower-impact spell-face MDFCs, but keep enough red rituals and Talisman of Conviction to cast Goblin Charbelcher and activate it through disruption.

Creature Pressure With Key Permanent Hate
Side in: 2 Static Prison, 3 Wear // Tear
Cut: 3 March of Reckless Joy, 1 Pinnacle Monk, 1 Legion Leadership

- Against pressure plus hate, buy only the turn that converts into a kill: Static Prison should answer the visible permanent that prevents survival or combo access, while Wear // Tear handles artifact/enchantment lock pieces. Reduce main-deck emphasis on slower selection and marginal MDFC spell faces, not on the mana engine, because the postboard plan still wins by assembling Goblin Charbelcher rather than by trading resources indefinitely.

Greedy Mana / Big-Mana Lands
Side in: 3 Blood Moon, 1 Mountain, 2 Silence
Cut: 3 March of Reckless Joy, 1 Razorgrass Ambush, 1 Legion Leadership, 1 Pinnacle Monk

- Against land-engine decks, Blood Moon can be a commitment gate: Cast Blood Moon when it materially delays the opponent and the Belcher hand can still assemble red mana afterward, especially with Mountain or artifact mana available. Do not prioritize Blood Moon over a legal protected kill, and remember that adding Mountain reduces deterministic Goblin Charbelcher damage certainty if Mountain remains in the library.

Fast Spell Combo
Side in: 2 Silence, 3 Blood Moon
Cut: 3 March of Reckless Joy, 1 Razorgrass Ambush, 1 Legion Leadership

- Against fast spell combo, use Silence defensively or offensively depending on turn order: Cast it to stop the opponent's decisive turn when Veles shows the window, or to protect the Belcher kill when the current turn can finish. Blood Moon belongs only when the opponent's combo visibly or archetypically depends on nonbasic mana; otherwise Add role cards: Silence and Reduce main-deck emphasis: slow selection.

Burn / Low-Curve Aggro
Side in: 2 Static Prison, 2 Redirect Lightning
Cut: 3 March of Reckless Joy, 1 Pinnacle Monk

- Against low-curve pressure, preserve speed while adding only survival cards: Static Prison can remove the fastest relevant attacker or hate permanent if legal, and Redirect Lightning is included only if card text check required confirms it interacts favorably with creatures, damage, or lethal races. Do not over-board into reactive cards; the best defensive play is often a one-turn faster Goblin Charbelcher kill.

Graveyard Hate Or Search Hate
Side in: 3 Wear // Tear, 2 Static Prison
Cut: 3 March of Reckless Joy, 1 Razorgrass Ambush, 1 Legion Leadership

- Against hate permanents, identify the exact bottleneck before answering: Wear // Tear should remove artifact or enchantment hate that stops Strike It Rich, searching, casting, activating, or protection; Static Prison should cover nonland permanents that Wear // Tear cannot answer if card text check required confirms legality. Reduce main-deck emphasis on resource-exiling selection because postboard games often hinge on a specific answer plus a compact kill line.

- Use broad archetype rules when no exact plan is loaded: Add role cards: Silence against stack interaction and opposing spell-combo turns. Add role cards: Blood Moon and Mountain against nonbasic-land engines. Add role cards: Wear // Tear against artifact or enchantment hate. Add role cards: Shattering Spree against multiple artifacts. Add role cards: Static Prison against a single must-answer permanent. Add role cards: Redirect Lightning only after card text check required confirms the matchup role.

- Preserve core engine counts in every plan: Keep 4 Goblin Charbelcher, 4 Desperate Ritual, 4 Pyretic Ritual, 4 Manamorphose, 4 Irencrag Feat, and enough Talisman of Conviction unless Veles shows a very specific postboard constraint. The sideboard exists to make the combo resolve, not to move away from the combo.

## Matchup Guidance

- Aggro: Race first and interact only when the interaction buys a real combo turn. Keep hands that produce fast Goblin Charbelcher mana through Desperate Ritual, Pyretic Ritual, Manamorphose, Strike It Rich, Talisman of Conviction, or Irencrag Feat, because creature decks usually punish hands that spend several turns sculpting with March of Reckless Joy. Add role cards: Static Prison when one attacker or hate permanent is the bottleneck, Redirect Lightning only after card text check required confirms it can change the race, and Wear // Tear only for visible artifact or enchantment hate. Reduce main-deck emphasis: March of Reckless Joy and the least relevant spell-face MDFC when pressure is already high.

- Burn: Treat life total as a hard clock and use Orim's Chant or Silence as a time-buying spell only when the legal action prevents the opponent's next lethal spell turn or protects an immediate Goblin Charbelcher kill. Do not spend a turn on Blood Moon unless the opponent's mana is visibly vulnerable and the Belcher hand still wins quickly afterward. Static Prison can matter against a single large damage source if legal, but the default plan is still fast artifact deployment, ritual chaining, and activation. Redirect Lightning is conditional; card text check required before treating it as damage prevention, removal, or redirection.

- Control: Build one protected commitment turn instead of feeding one spell at a time into open interaction. Orim's Chant and Silence are the best tactical tools because they can force a stack window where Goblin Charbelcher, Irencrag Feat, or the activation matters; cast them before the decisive action when Veles shows priority and legal mana. Blood Moon is a pressure card against nonbasic-heavy control, but it should not delay a legal protected kill. March of Reckless Joy is weaker into open permission when exiled cards may strand, so use it mainly when the current hand lacks a kill and the opponent cannot immediately punish the mana spend.

- Tempo: Prioritize mana density, protection, and exact sequencing through tax effects or soft counters shown by public information. Talisman of Conviction is valuable when it survives because it converts early turns into a later protected kill, but do not tap out for it if the opponent's visible clock makes a faster ritual line necessary. Orim's Chant is often better as protection than as a fog unless the opponent's combat step is lethal or creates a forced one-turn window. Blood Moon can be strong against greedy tempo mana, but only if the hand has red access after it resolves.

- Combo: Identify whether Veles shows you as faster, slower, or equal on the current turn cycle. Use Orim's Chant and Silence defensively when the opponent is about to execute a known spell-combo turn, and use them offensively when Goblin Charbelcher plus activation or a lethal setup is available now. Blood Moon belongs against mana-dependent combo, not against combo that can operate through basic mana or artifacts without delay. Do not overvalue Static Prison, Shattering Spree, or Wear // Tear unless a visible permanent is actually the opponent's engine or hate piece.

- Midrange: Expect discard, removal for Talisman of Conviction, and permanent hate rather than a pure speed race. Mulligan toward hands with redundant mana pieces, Goblin Charbelcher access, and either protection or enough topdeck velocity to recover. March of Reckless Joy is better here than against burn because recovering from one-for-one disruption matters, but do not exile key resources unless the resulting legal actions can be used before the expiry window. Wear // Tear answers artifact or enchantment hate, Static Prison can bridge a single threat, and Silence or Orim's Chant protects the final turn from instant-speed disruption.

- Removal-heavy decks: Treat creature interaction as mostly irrelevant unless it hits Witch Enchanter, Pinnacle Monk, Stormscale Scion, Legion Leadership, or sideboard permanents in a way that changes mana or pressure. The core plan is artifact and spell based, so ordinary creature removal should not scare Veles away from a Goblin Charbelcher line. Preserve Talisman of Conviction when possible because it dodges many creature-only answers and supports hard-cast or activation turns. Add role cards: Silence for stack interaction, Wear // Tear for hate permanents, and Blood Moon only when mana denial is a real second axis.

- Big mana: Pressure their setup with Blood Moon when it meaningfully slows visible or archetypal nonbasic-land development and your own hand can still produce red mana afterward. Mountain can support postboard Blood Moon mana but lowers Goblin Charbelcher certainty while in the library, so do not add it casually in runtime plans. Prefer a legal immediate kill over a delayed Blood Moon line, especially when Goblin Charbelcher plus Irencrag Feat or rituals already wins. Wear // Tear and Shattering Spree are secondary if the big-mana deck uses artifact or enchantment engines that Veles can identify.

- Graveyard decks: Remember that Belcher is not primarily a graveyard deck, but Strike It Rich flashback and any graveyard-recursion value still matter when legal. Against graveyard strategies, race unless a visible permanent or stack pattern makes interaction necessary. Wear // Tear is for artifact or enchantment hate or engines, Static Prison is for a single creature or permanent if legal, and Silence can stop a decisive spell turn. Do not dilute the combo to fight the graveyard abstractly; answer only the visible bottleneck that changes the next turn cycle.

- Artifact/enchantment decks: Use Shattering Spree when multiple artifacts matter and Wear // Tear when the key problem is an artifact, enchantment, or mixed permanent package. Prioritize hate that stops Goblin Charbelcher from resolving, activating, or dealing lethal over generic value permanents. If the opponent is also fast, spend interaction only when it preserves a near-term kill; a slow answer hand without Goblin Charbelcher or mana acceleration is usually worse than a fast hand. Static Prison covers non-artifact, non-enchantment permanents only if card text check required confirms the legal target and duration.

- Go-wide decks: Do not try to trade permanently with a wide battlefield unless Veles shows a legal line that prevents lethal and keeps the combo turn intact. Orim's Chant with kicker can matter if card text and legal action confirm the attack-prevention mode, but it is usually a bridge to a kill rather than a control plan. Static Prison is weaker against many small attackers unless one anthem, hate piece, or largest attacker controls the race. Legion Leadership and Stormscale Scion combat modes are secondary; use creature pressure only when the combo is unavailable and the board state makes attacking or blocking clearly relevant.

- Single-threat decks: Static Prison is at its best when one visible permanent represents the clock, lock, or combo bottleneck and the temporary answer creates a Goblin Charbelcher turn. Orim's Chant can also buy a turn if the single threat wins through combat and the legal mode prevents attacks. Do not fire Wear // Tear or Shattering Spree at incidental permanents when the true issue is a creature, planeswalker, or non-artifact engine they cannot answer. If the threat is slow, spend the turn advancing Talisman of Conviction, Goblin Charbelcher, or March of Reckless Joy instead.

- Creature-combo and permanent-combo decks: Separate the engine from the payoff before interacting. Wear // Tear and Shattering Spree should hit the permanent that makes the combo legal or lethal, not the most expensive permanent by default. Static Prison can interrupt one visible nonland permanent if legal, while Orim's Chant and Silence can stop a spell-chain turn or protect your own kill. When both players threaten a kill, choose the line that wins this turn or prevents their deterministic next turn; do not hold protection for a future turn if the current window is decisive.

- Unknown opponent: Keep the main-deck identity intact until public information proves a sideboard role is needed. Default to speed, mana density, and Goblin Charbelcher access, then adapt when Veles reveals stack interaction, artifact/enchantment hate, nonbasic dependence, a single must-answer permanent, or a faster combo. Add role cards: Silence for stack fights, Blood Moon for mana engines, Wear // Tear for artifact/enchantment hate, Shattering Spree for artifact clusters, Static Prison for one permanent bottleneck, Redirect Lightning only after card text check required confirms its matchup function, and Mountain only when Blood Moon mana stability outweighs Goblin Charbelcher land risk.

## Specific Matchup Notes

- General/archetype-only note: Exact opponents are absent, so revealed cards, legal actions, and public game state override these assumptions at runtime. Default to executing Goblin Charbelcher quickly, then adjust only when the opponent reveals stack interaction, artifact/enchantment hate, a faster clock, or mana dependence.

- Fast spell combo: Prioritize the earliest protected Goblin Charbelcher turn over incremental setup. Likely sideboarding emphasizes Silence and sometimes Blood Moon if their mana base is visibly vulnerable; reduce main-deck emphasis on slow March of Reckless Joy lines when the race is turn-critical. Priority targets are their decisive stack turn with Orim's Chant or Silence, and their mana engine only when Blood Moon is already legal and does not strand your own red mana.

- Counterspell or instant-interaction decks: Make protection part of the kill math before committing Goblin Charbelcher, Irencrag Feat, or a ritual chain. Likely sideboarding emphasizes Silence and Wear // Tear if they show artifact or enchantment hate; Blood Moon is secondary unless it attacks their mana while your hand can still operate. Priority targets are end-step windows, tapped-low turns, and protection-first sequencing with Orim's Chant before the lethal spell or activation.

- Creature pressure decks: Race first, buy exactly one turn only when the legal action preserves a near-term kill. Likely sideboarding can include Static Prison for one decisive attacker or hate permanent, Wear // Tear for artifact/enchantment hate, and possibly Silence when their key turn depends on spells. Priority targets are the permanent that changes the damage clock or blocks Goblin Charbelcher execution, not incidental creatures.

- Artifact or enchantment hate decks: Preserve answers for hate that prevents Goblin Charbelcher from resolving, activating, or dealing lethal. Likely sideboarding emphasizes Wear // Tear and Shattering Spree; Static Prison is a fallback for a single nonland permanent if card text and legal targeting confirm it matters. Priority targets are permanent-based lock pieces, artifact mana clusters when they enable the opponent's clock, and hate exposed before the Belcher turn.

- Mana-dependent midrange or big-mana decks: Use Blood Moon only when it materially changes the opponent's next turn and your own hand can still cast rituals, Talisman of Conviction, or Goblin Charbelcher. Likely sideboarding may include Blood Moon and sometimes Mountain, but Mountain increases Goblin Charbelcher land risk while it remains in the library. Priority targets are nonbasic-reliant development, discard recovery with March of Reckless Joy, and protected Belcher turns before they assemble disruption plus pressure.

- Graveyard-centric decks: Do not dilute Belcher for graveyard interaction this sideboard does not contain. Likely sideboarding stays focused on speed, Silence for spell-chain turns, Static Prison for a single visible permanent bottleneck, and Wear // Tear if their engine is artifact or enchantment based. Priority targets are their next deterministic turn, while Strike It Rich flashback remains a useful resource but not a reason to play a graveyard game.

## Risk Summary

- Mana risk: The deck converts temporary red mana into a narrow artifact kill, so spending Desperate Ritual, Pyretic Ritual, Manamorphose, Irencrag Feat, or Strike It Rich without a clear follow-up can leave Goblin Charbelcher stranded. Treat Talisman of Conviction as durable setup when the hand is one turn short, but do not let a safe Talisman line replace a legal immediate kill.

- Draw risk: March of Reckless Joy can find missing pieces but can also exile resources that expire before they can be used. Use it when the current hand lacks Goblin Charbelcher, mana, or protection and the available mana can convert hits into action; avoid speculative large exiles under lethal pressure unless no better line exists.

- Matchup risk: Belcher loses equity when it misidentifies the opponent as slower than revealed actions show. Re-evaluate after each public spell, permanent, and combat step, especially when the opponent shows stack interaction, a hate permanent, or a clock that shortens the safe setup window.

- Over-sideboarding risk: Every sideboard card that is not mana, protection, or a direct answer can lower the density of Goblin Charbelcher kills. Add Blood Moon, Static Prison, Shattering Spree, Wear // Tear, Silence, Redirect Lightning, or Mountain only for a concrete role, and remember that Mountain changes Belcher certainty while present in the library.

- Graveyard risk: Strike It Rich flashback gives value from the graveyard, but the deck should not depend on graveyard access to function. If the opponent attacks graveyards, keep the main plan on hand, battlefield mana, and Goblin Charbelcher rather than fighting over graveyard value.

- Sweeper/removal risk: Creature removal is less important than artifact hate, discard, counterspells, and permanent locks, but removal can still matter when Witch Enchanter, Pinnacle Monk, Stormscale Scion, Legion Leadership, or Razorgrass Ambush is serving as the current bridge. Do not protect creature pressure over Goblin Charbelcher unless the visible board shows combat is the only available route.

- Closer risk: Goblin Charbelcher is the primary closer, so exposing it into open interaction without Orim's Chant, Silence, a tapped-out opponent, or a must-go-now clock can lose the best card. Conversely, waiting too long against a lethal board is also a closer failure; commit when delay gives the opponent a clearer win than the current risk.

- Sequencing risk: Irencrag Feat, rituals, Manamorphose, and Goblin Charbelcher lines require exact mana and action ordering from the rules engine. Let legal actions drive execution, choose protection before commitment when available, and avoid floating mana through unnecessary intermediate spells that could change priority or expose the line.

## Test Feedback Checklist

- Deciding factor: Did the game hinge on resolving Goblin Charbelcher, activating Goblin Charbelcher, protecting the combo turn with Orim's Chant or Silence, or surviving long enough to assemble mana?

- Mulligans: Did kept hands contain a real path to Goblin Charbelcher plus mana, or did the pilot keep hands that only had rituals, Talisman of Conviction, March of Reckless Joy, or protection without a closer?

- Mana: Did Desperate Ritual, Pyretic Ritual, Manamorphose, Strike It Rich, Irencrag Feat, Talisman of Conviction, Shatterskull Smashing, Sundering Eruption, Pinnacle Monk, Witch Enchanter, Legion Leadership, Razorgrass Ambush, or Mountain create the exact colors and totals required by legal actions?

- Velocity: Did March of Reckless Joy convert spare mana into a missing combo piece, or did it exile cards that could not be used before the turn ended?

- Engine assembly: Did the pilot sequence durable mana before temporary mana when the kill was not available, and temporary mana before Goblin Charbelcher only when the rules engine showed a complete line?

- Protection: Did Orim's Chant or Silence get used before the decisive spell or activation when the opponent represented interaction, or were they stranded while Goblin Charbelcher was countered, removed, or raced?

- Removal and answers: Did Static Prison, Redirect Lightning, Shattering Spree, and Wear // Tear answer a visible blocker, hate permanent, artifact cluster, or enchantment problem that actually changed the Belcher turn?

- Sideboard: Did Blood Moon, Mountain, Silence, Static Prison, Redirect Lightning, Shattering Spree, and Wear // Tear improve the matchup plan, or did the sideboard dilute the deck's ability to produce fast Goblin Charbelcher wins?

- Closing: Did the pilot fire Goblin Charbelcher at the first legal lethal window, or wait for protection when waiting gave the opponent more draw steps, damage, or mana?

- Role: Did the pilot correctly identify whether it was the faster combo deck, the protected combo deck, the Blood Moon deck, or the temporary control deck after public information appeared?

- Mistakes: Did any decision spend Irencrag Feat, Desperate Ritual, Pyretic Ritual, Manamorphose, or Strike It Rich before the legal follow-up was confirmed by Veles actions?

- Stranded cards: Which cards sat in hand for multiple turns: Goblin Charbelcher without mana, Orim's Chant without a threat, March of Reckless Joy without spare mana, Blood Moon without a safe red source, or answers without targets?

- Overperformers: Which cards directly produced wins, bought decisive turns, fixed colors, or recovered failed starts: Goblin Charbelcher, Talisman of Conviction, Manamorphose, Irencrag Feat, March of Reckless Joy, Orim's Chant, or Silence?

- Underperformers: Which cards failed because of timing, legality, matchup texture, or mana strain: Stormscale Scion, Legion Leadership, Witch Enchanter, Pinnacle Monk, Sundering Eruption, Razorgrass Ambush, Redirect Lightning, Static Prison, or Blood Moon?

## First Tuning Questions

- Goblin Charbelcher access: Are four Goblin Charbelcher enough when March of Reckless Joy is the only main-deck velocity card named here, or do losses show that the deck needs more effective ways to find the closer within legal Modern deckbuilding constraints?

- Protection quantity: Are four Orim's Chant plus two sideboard Silence enough against counterspell and instant-interaction decks, or do protected combo turns remain too rare after mulligans and public pressure?

- Mana density: Do Desperate Ritual, Pyretic Ritual, Manamorphose, Strike It Rich, Irencrag Feat, Talisman of Conviction, Shatterskull Smashing, Sundering Eruption, Pinnacle Monk, Witch Enchanter, Legion Leadership, and Razorgrass Ambush produce reliable early kills, or are too many cards functioning as awkward mana only under specific board states?

- Durable setup: Does Talisman of Conviction win games by bridging one-turn-short hands, or does spending turn tempo on it lose too often against fast pressure?

- March quantity: Is three March of Reckless Joy the correct amount, or do logs show it is either essential recovery after disruption or too risky because exiled cards expire before the combo can use them?

- Sideboard slots: Are Blood Moon and Mountain worth the role conflict where Mountain can change Goblin Charbelcher certainty while it remains in the library, or should anti-mana plans use fewer slots?

- Aggro plan: Do Static Prison and Redirect Lightning buy enough time against creature pressure, or should the deck emphasize faster combo density instead of temporary board control?

- Artifact/enchantment plan: Are Shattering Spree and Wear // Tear both needed, or do logs show one answer package consistently covers the visible hate that matters for Goblin Charbelcher?

- Alternate closers: Do Stormscale Scion, Legion Leadership, Witch Enchanter, Pinnacle Monk, Sundering Eruption, Shatterskull Smashing, and Razorgrass Ambush ever close games when Goblin Charbelcher is unavailable, or are they mostly mana infrastructure and emergency pressure?

- Role conflict: After sideboarding, does the deck still behave like a fast Belcher deck, or does adding Blood Moon, Static Prison, Redirect Lightning, Shattering Spree, Wear // Tear, Silence, and Mountain create hands that interact without closing?

## Veles Tactical Policy

### Policy: Mulligan For A Real Belcher Path
Priority: High
Decision families: mulligan
Cards: Goblin Charbelcher; Desperate Ritual; Pyretic Ritual; Manamorphose; Irencrag Feat; Strike It Rich; Talisman of Conviction; March of Reckless Joy; Orim's Chant; Silence
Phase windows: opening hand, mulligan, post-sideboard opening hand
Runtime cues: prompt:mulligan; action:keep; action:mulligan
Use when: Veles shows an opening hand decision with complete visible hand contents.
Avoid when: hand evaluation depends on unknown card text, missing legality data, or sideboard configuration not present in the request.
Instructions: Keep hands with Goblin Charbelcher plus a visible mana path, or a protection-plus-velocity hand that can realistically reach Goblin Charbelcher before pressure wins. Mulligan hands that contain only rituals without a payoff, only protection without pressure, or only modal land/spell infrastructure without March of Reckless Joy or Goblin Charbelcher access.
Pilot skill floor: high
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Default To Play When Offered
Priority: Medium
Decision families: pregame
Cards: none
Phase windows: pregame
Runtime cues: action:choose play
Use when: the only strategic pregame choice is choosing play or draw and `choose play` is a legal action.
Avoid when: tournament structure, sideboard guide, or engine output explicitly fixes play/draw another way.
Instructions: Choose play to reduce opponent draw steps and improve the chance that Goblin Charbelcher resolves or activates before opposing pressure and interaction develop.
Pilot skill floor: low
No-API allowed: yes
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Early Durable Setup
Priority: Medium
Decision families: mana, priority
Cards: Talisman of Conviction; Strike It Rich; Manamorphose; Shatterskull Smashing; Sundering Eruption; Pinnacle Monk; Witch Enchanter; Legion Leadership; Razorgrass Ambush
Phase windows: main phase, early turns
Runtime cues: action:cast Talisman of Conviction; action:play; action:cast Strike It Rich
Use when: no same-turn Goblin Charbelcher kill is visible and Veles offers setup actions.
Avoid when: casting setup consumes mana needed for a visible protected Goblin Charbelcher line this turn.
Instructions: Prefer durable mana first when the kill is not available, especially Talisman of Conviction and legal land-face plays from modal cards. Use Strike It Rich when it advances a specific future mana count or enables red mana for rituals.
Pilot skill floor: medium
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Combo Commitment Gate
Priority: High
Decision families: priority, mana, interaction
Cards: Goblin Charbelcher; Orim's Chant; Silence; Desperate Ritual; Pyretic Ritual; Manamorphose; Irencrag Feat; Strike It Rich; Talisman of Conviction
Phase windows: main phase, priority before combo spell, priority before activation
Runtime cues: action:cast Goblin Charbelcher; action:activate Goblin Charbelcher; action:cast Irencrag Feat
Use when: Veles shows a legal path toward casting or activating Goblin Charbelcher.
Avoid when: the line is not fully visible, mana cannot be confirmed from legal actions, or protection is available but not yet considered against open interaction.
Instructions: Commit when the visible line can either kill, force a decisive Goblin Charbelcher activation, or delay is more dangerous than available interaction. Cast Orim's Chant or Silence before the key spell or activation when the opponent has open mana or known interaction and the protection spell is legal.
Pilot skill floor: high
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Protected Combo Shield
Priority: High
Decision families: interaction, priority
Cards: Orim's Chant; Silence; Goblin Charbelcher
Phase windows: upkeep, main phase, opponent priority window, combo turn
Runtime cues: action:cast Orim's Chant; action:cast Silence
Use when: a decisive Goblin Charbelcher spell or activation is planned and Orim's Chant or Silence is legal before that commitment.
Avoid when: the opponent is tapped out, the rules engine shows no relevant response window, or casting protection prevents the combo line from being paid for.
Instructions: Use protection as a shield before exposing Goblin Charbelcher when the opponent can plausibly interact. Do not spend protection as a generic tempo play unless it prevents lethal pressure or preserves a must-win next turn.
Pilot skill floor: high
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Activate Belcher At Deterministic Lethal
Priority: High
Decision families: priority, interaction
Cards: Goblin Charbelcher
Phase windows: main phase, end step, any legal activation window
Runtime cues: action:activate Goblin Charbelcher
Use when: `activate Goblin Charbelcher` is legal and visible life totals plus known library state show that the activation is lethal if it resolves.
Avoid when: lethal is not confirmable from public state, a land remains in library after sideboarding and damage certainty is unknown, or protection sequencing has not been considered.
Instructions: Fire the activation at the first legal lethal window after the commitment gate has been passed. Target the opponent only when Veles lists the opponent as a legal target.
Pilot skill floor: medium
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Target Opponent With Belcher
Priority: Medium
Decision families: interaction
Cards: Goblin Charbelcher
Phase windows: Goblin Charbelcher target prompt
Runtime cues: action:target opponent Goblin Charbelcher
Use when: the selected line is a Goblin Charbelcher activation and Veles shows exactly one legal action whose text targets the opponent with Goblin Charbelcher.
Avoid when: Veles lists multiple opponent-like targets, damage redirection, prevention, or target-changing effects in the current prompt.
Instructions: Choose the visible opponent target for Goblin Charbelcher after the activation line has already been selected.
Pilot skill floor: low
No-API allowed: yes
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Ritual Chain Execution
Priority: Medium
Decision families: mana, priority
Cards: Desperate Ritual; Pyretic Ritual; Manamorphose; Irencrag Feat; Strike It Rich; Goblin Charbelcher
Phase windows: main phase, combo turn
Runtime cues: action:cast Desperate Ritual; action:cast Pyretic Ritual; action:cast Manamorphose; action:cast Irencrag Feat
Use when: the combo gate has been passed and legal actions show ritual spells that produce the mana needed for Goblin Charbelcher.
Avoid when: casting a ritual before Goblin Charbelcher exposes mana without a visible follow-up, or Irencrag Feat restrictions would block the needed later action.
Instructions: Sequence temporary mana only when the next legal steps are visible. Use Manamorphose to fix colors or convert surplus red when the target color and follow-up action are known.
Pilot skill floor: high
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Manamorphose Color Choice
Priority: Medium
Decision families: mana, selection
Cards: Manamorphose; Orim's Chant; Silence; Talisman of Conviction; Goblin Charbelcher
Phase windows: Manamorphose resolution, combo turn
Runtime cues: action:choose color; action:add mana
Use when: Manamorphose asks for colors and the pending legal line requires specific colored mana.
Avoid when: the next spell or activation cannot be inferred from visible legal actions and floating mana.
Instructions: Make the colors that pay the next required legal action, prioritizing white for Orim's Chant or Silence when protection is part of the line and red for ritual continuation when protection is not needed.
Pilot skill floor: medium
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Irencrag Feat Restriction Check
Priority: High
Decision families: mana, priority
Cards: Irencrag Feat; Goblin Charbelcher
Phase windows: main phase, combo turn
Runtime cues: action:cast Irencrag Feat
Use when: Irencrag Feat is legal and could fund Goblin Charbelcher or its activation.
Avoid when: the intended follow-up requires casting multiple later spells and the rules engine has not shown that this remains legal.
Instructions: Treat Irencrag Feat as a commitment card, not generic ramp. Cast it only when Veles-visible follow-up actions still allow the decisive Goblin Charbelcher play or activation.
Pilot skill floor: high
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: March Recovery Gate
Priority: Medium
Decision families: selection, mana, priority
Cards: March of Reckless Joy; Goblin Charbelcher; Desperate Ritual; Pyretic Ritual; Manamorphose; Irencrag Feat
Phase windows: main phase, end step only if legal and purposeful
Runtime cues: action:cast March of Reckless Joy
Use when: the hand lacks Goblin Charbelcher or exact mana and March of Reckless Joy is a legal way to convert spare mana into same-turn or next-turn action.
Avoid when: exiled cards cannot be used in the relevant window, or casting March consumes mana needed for a visible protected Goblin Charbelcher line.
Instructions: Use March of Reckless Joy as recovery or dig, not as decorative velocity. Size the spell around usable mana and the current missing piece.
Pilot skill floor: medium
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Modal Land Face Discipline
Priority: Medium
Decision families: mana, selection
Cards: Shatterskull Smashing; Sundering Eruption; Pinnacle Monk; Witch Enchanter; Legion Leadership; Razorgrass Ambush
Phase windows: land play, early main phase, mana development
Runtime cues: action:play Shatterskull Smashing; action:play Sundering Eruption; action:play Pinnacle Monk; action:play Witch Enchanter; action:play Legion Leadership; action:play Razorgrass Ambush
Use when: Veles offers a modal card as a land or mana-development action.
Avoid when: the spell face is the only visible answer or win path and mana is already sufficient.
Instructions: Prioritize making land drops that unlock rituals, Talisman of Conviction, protection, or Goblin Charbelcher. Preserve spell faces only when their legal text solves a visible problem that mana cannot solve.
Pilot skill floor: medium
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Emergency Interaction Choices
Priority: Medium
Decision families: interaction, priority
Cards: Static Prison; Redirect Lightning; Shattering Spree; Wear // Tear; Shatterskull Smashing; Witch Enchanter; Sundering Eruption
Phase windows: main phase, combat, opponent threat window
Runtime cues: action:cast Static Prison; action:cast Redirect Lightning; action:cast Shattering Spree; action:cast Wear // Tear; action:cast Shatterskull Smashing
Use when: a visible permanent, attack, artifact, enchantment, or creature clock prevents the next Belcher turn.
Avoid when: interaction does not change the clock, stop hate, or protect a near-term Goblin Charbelcher line.
Instructions: Spend answers only on visible problems that stop the combo, kill before the combo turn, or remove hate affecting Goblin Charbelcher and mana. Card text check required for any unfamiliar mode or target restriction.
Pilot skill floor: medium
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Combat Is Secondary
Priority: Low
Decision families: combat
Cards: Stormscale Scion; Legion Leadership; Witch Enchanter; Pinnacle Monk; Razorgrass Ambush
Phase windows: declare attackers, declare blockers, combat tricks
Runtime cues: action:attack; action:block
Use when: Veles offers combat choices involving visible creatures from this deck.
Avoid when: attacking or blocking risks mana, a required combo permanent, or a next-turn lethal Goblin Charbelcher line.
Instructions: Use combat to preserve life or apply backup pressure, but do not trade away a card that is needed as a land, mana source, or spell for the combo unless survival requires it.
Pilot skill floor: medium
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Sideboard Preserve Combo Density
Priority: High
Decision families: sideboard
Cards: Blood Moon; Mountain; Silence; Static Prison; Redirect Lightning; Shattering Spree; Wear // Tear; Goblin Charbelcher; March of Reckless Joy; Orim's Chant
Phase windows: sideboarding after game one, sideboarding after game two
Runtime cues: prompt:sideboard; action:submit sideboard
Use when: sideboarding is requested and matchup guidance provides legal candidate plans.
Avoid when: proposed changes exceed registered counts or remove too much Goblin Charbelcher access and mana density.
Instructions: Add sideboard cards only for visible matchup roles: Silence for interaction, Blood Moon plus Mountain for mana punishment, Static Prison or Redirect Lightning for pressure, and Shattering Spree or Wear // Tear for artifacts/enchantments. Preserve a fast Goblin Charbelcher plan.
Pilot skill floor: high
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Blood Moon Commitment Gate
Priority: Medium
Decision families: priority, mana, sideboard
Cards: Blood Moon; Mountain; Goblin Charbelcher
Phase windows: post-sideboard main phase
Runtime cues: action:cast Blood Moon; action:play Mountain
Use when: Blood Moon is legal and opponent mana development is a major visible or matchup-based constraint.
Avoid when: Blood Moon delays a ready Goblin Charbelcher kill or Mountain in library makes Goblin Charbelcher damage uncertain without a plan.
Instructions: Cast Blood Moon when it buys multiple turns or blocks interaction long enough to assemble Belcher. Account for Mountain changing land count and mana sequencing after sideboarding.
Pilot skill floor: high
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Artifact And Enchantment Hate Execution
Priority: Medium
Decision families: interaction, sideboard
Cards: Shattering Spree; Wear // Tear
Phase windows: main phase, opponent hate window, pre-combo turn
Runtime cues: action:cast Shattering Spree; action:cast Wear // Tear
Use when: Veles shows a legal target that is an artifact or enchantment interfering with mana, protection, Goblin Charbelcher, or survival.
Avoid when: the target is irrelevant to the combo turn or removing it consumes mana needed for a current lethal line.
Instructions: Clear hate before committing Goblin Charbelcher when the hate changes legality, damage, mana, or protection. Use the mode and target shown legal by Veles; Card text check required for split-card mode details.
Pilot skill floor: medium
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Pass Only With A Reason
Priority: Medium
Decision families: priority
Cards: Goblin Charbelcher; Orim's Chant; Silence; March of Reckless Joy
Phase windows: any priority window
Runtime cues: action:pass
Use when: Veles offers pass alongside spells, activations, or protection.
Avoid when: a protected lethal Goblin Charbelcher activation is legal, or passing gives a visible lethal attack to the opponent.
Instructions: Pass when mana is incomplete, protection timing is premature, or holding resources improves the next visible combo window. Do not pass through a decisive activation window without checking lethal, protection, and opponent clock.
Pilot skill floor: medium
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes
