# Strategy Specifications
## Deck Name And Archetype

- Strategy identity: Blue Terror is a Pauper mono-blue tempo-control deck built around cheap card selection, permission, graveyard velocity, and under-costed threats. The main plan is to turn Brainstorm, Ponder, Mental Note, Thought Scour, Lorien Revealed, and Deep Analysis into enough card flow and graveyard density that Delver of Secrets applies early pressure while Cryptic Serpent and Tolarian Terror close the game behind Counterspell, Force Spike, Spell Pierce, Deem Inferior, and Sleep of the Dead.

- Deck registration check: the submitted main deck contains 60 cards exactly, with 16 Island as the only land and 44 nonland cards. The submitted sideboard contains 15 cards exactly: 3 Annul, 2 Blue Elemental Blast, 2 Envelop, 3 Gut Shot, 4 Hydroblast, and 1 Murmuring Mystic. The registered list respects normal constructed copy limits by name except Island, which is a basic land.

- Format check: the declared format is Pauper, so Veles should treat this as a common-card constructed deck with Pauper banned-list validation delegated to the active rules engine and current legality data. A live legality pass should still be run before official testing because format legality and bans are time-sensitive; general Pauper construction is common-card based, but current sanctioned legality must come from the engine or an up-to-date source such as Wizards/Scryfall rather than pilot inference.

- Tags check: the useful normalized tags are tempo, control, graveyard, and spells. The duplicated input tags should be collapsed for indexing, but the duplicates do not change strategic interpretation. The deck is not a pure draw-go control deck, not a combo deck, and not a graveyard deck that loses automatically when the graveyard is attacked; graveyard hate is disruptive because it delays Cryptic Serpent, Tolarian Terror, Deep Analysis, Sleep of the Dead, and large-spell timing, but Delver of Secrets plus permission still gives a fair tempo path.

- Stock status: classify this as a stock-to-hybrid Pauper mono-blue Terror shell rather than a rogue concept. The core of Delver of Secrets, Tolarian Terror, Cryptic Serpent, Thought Scour, Mental Note, Brainstorm, Ponder, Lorien Revealed, Counterspell, Spell Pierce, and Force Spike is a recognizable blue tempo-control framework; the exact split with 2 Deem Inferior, 2 Sleep of the Dead, and 2 Deep Analysis should be treated as list-specific and tested rather than assumed optimal.

- Mana identity: the deck is mono-blue and has no splash requirements, so every keep and sequencing decision should ask whether the hand produces enough blue mana early rather than whether colors are available. Sixteen Island plus 4 Lorien Revealed means land-light hands can be functional only when the visible hand has cheap cantrips or Lorien Revealed access; do not assume a hidden land is coming unless card selection or draw probability justifies the risk.

- Role concern: Blue Terror usually starts as the deck that must preserve tempo, not merely accumulate cards. The agent should prefer lines that deploy or protect a clock while denying the opponent's highest-impact spell, because long games can favor decks with broader threats, recursion, monarch, initiative, lifegain, or uncounterable board presence.

- Legality and text discipline: use exact visible rules-engine legal actions at runtime and never infer that a card can be cast, targeted, flashed back, transformed, or reduced unless Forge/Veles exposes that legal action. If any card text or legality is unavailable in the runtime card database, mark that card as Card text check required for tactical execution and make the play conditional on the legal action list.

- Opponent information status: no specific opponent decklist is supplied for this guide batch, so matchup assumptions must remain archetype-based until Veles provides a matchup label, revealed cards, public zones, or prior-game logs. The pilot may play around likely Pauper cards from open mana and archetype context, but must not act as if hidden cards are known.

## Thesis

- Core assembly: Blue Terror assembles early blue mana, graveyard density, cheap card selection, and one or two under-costed threats before shifting into permission-backed pressure. Delver of Secrets is the early clock, while Cryptic Serpent and Tolarian Terror convert Brainstorm, Ponder, Mental Note, Thought Scour, Lorien Revealed, Deep Analysis, Counterspell, Force Spike, Spell Pierce, Deem Inferior, and Sleep of the Dead into discounted finishers.

- Primary win pattern: win by presenting a fast evasive or oversized threat, then trade mana efficiently so the opponent never resolves the spell that catches them up. A protected Delver of Secrets can win alone when Counterspell, Force Spike, Spell Pierce, and Deem Inferior keep the opponent off balance; a resolved Cryptic Serpent or Tolarian Terror usually ends the game quickly if combat remains clear.

- Tactical priority: prioritize the line that produces a clock while preserving the most relevant interaction for the opponent's next high-impact turn. This deck should not spend every turn sculpting unless it lacks a keepable threat, needs land, or must find a specific answer; selection is strongest when it turns into pressure plus protection.

- What this deck is not: do not pilot Blue Terror as pure draw-go control, graveyard combo, tap-out card draw, or a deck trying to answer everything forever. Long games are acceptable only when Deep Analysis, Lorien Revealed, repeated legal Sleep of the Dead lines, and large threats are buying time toward a real kill.

- Graveyard discipline: use Mental Note and Thought Scour as velocity and cost reduction, not as blind self-mill for its own sake. Graveyard count matters for Cryptic Serpent and Tolarian Terror, flashback-style or graveyard-cast legal actions involving Deep Analysis and Sleep of the Dead, and post-board resilience, but the deck must still respect graveyard hate and can win through ordinary Delver of Secrets pressure.

- Runtime discipline: choose only legal actions exposed by Veles and the rules engine, especially for transformation, graveyard casting, cost reduction, targeting, and counter windows. Card text check required for Deem Inferior exact rules text; treat it as a tempo interaction card only when the legal action list shows a valid target and effect timing.

## Role Package

- Threats: Delver of Secrets, Cryptic Serpent, and Tolarian Terror are the registered main-deck threats and should define nearly every plan. Delver of Secrets rewards early deployment when the hand can support it; Cryptic Serpent and Tolarian Terror reward filling the graveyard and then spending one protected turn to create a large clock.

- Payoffs: Cryptic Serpent and Tolarian Terror are the main graveyard-spell payoffs, and Deep Analysis is the main card-advantage payoff when the game slows enough to pay life or mana through legal actions. Sleep of the Dead can function as a tempo payoff when repeated legal graveyard actions convert stocked graveyards into attacks or survival.

- Engines: Brainstorm, Ponder, Mental Note, Thought Scour, Lorien Revealed, and Deep Analysis are the card-flow engine. Use the engine to find lands, threats, and the right counterspell; avoid low-impact digging when the board demands a counter, blocker, tap effect, or immediate threat.

- Velocity: Mental Note and Thought Scour are the fastest graveyard builders and should often be used to reduce Cryptic Serpent and Tolarian Terror while replacing themselves. Brainstorm and Ponder should be sequenced for card quality, land access, and Delver of Secrets support rather than cast automatically at the first legal moment.

- Interaction: Counterspell is the hard permission anchor; Force Spike and Spell Pierce are tempo permission that get worse as opponents develop mana; Deem Inferior is conditional tempo interaction pending card text verification; Sleep of the Dead is board-tempo interaction when legal targets exist. Counter the spell that beats the current clock or invalidates the next attack, not the first spell offered.

- Protection: Counterspell, Spell Pierce, and Force Spike protect Delver of Secrets, Cryptic Serpent, and Tolarian Terror from removal, sweepers, edicts, and race-breaking spells when legal counter windows appear. Protection is most valuable after a real threat is already present or when the next threat is the only path to victory.

- Recursion and graveyard use: Deep Analysis and Sleep of the Dead are the registered cards that may create graveyard-based follow-up value when the rules engine exposes those actions. Treat graveyard access as a resource to sequence around, but do not assume any graveyard spell is available unless Veles lists it as legal.

- Mana: Island is the only land, and Lorien Revealed is the main land-access smoothing tool when legal cycling or search actions appear. Two blue mana is critical for Counterspell; one blue plus cheap spells can function early, but hands without Island access or a credible route to it should be judged harshly.

- Sideboard modules: Annul is the artifact/enchantment pressure valve, Blue Elemental Blast and Hydroblast are anti-red interaction, Envelop is a sorcery-answer package, Gut Shot is the low-mana small-creature answer, and Murmuring Mystic is the grindy alternate threat. Sideboard cards should refine the same pressure-plus-permission plan rather than turn Blue Terror into a passive control deck.

## Primary Win Conditions

- Delver pressure path: prioritize Delver of Secrets when an early Island hand can deploy it without forfeiting the next critical interaction window. Setup is Island plus Delver of Secrets, then Brainstorm or Ponder to improve draw quality and support transformation only through legal rules-engine outcomes; execution is repeated evasive attacks while Counterspell, Force Spike, Spell Pierce, and conditional Deem Inferior protect the clock or stop the opponent's stabilizer.

- Terror/Serpent pressure path: prioritize Tolarian Terror or Cryptic Serpent when Mental Note, Thought Scour, Brainstorm, Ponder, Lorien Revealed, Deep Analysis, and spent interaction have made the graveyard discount real and the board does not demand holding all mana open. Setup is cheap spells plus enough Islands to cast protection; execution is resolving one large threat, attacking every profitable turn, and using Counterspell first on removal, blockers, sweepers, edicts, graveyard hate, or race-breaking threats that undo the large-creature plan.

- Double-threat compression path: prioritize a second Delver of Secrets, Cryptic Serpent, or Tolarian Terror when one threat is likely to be answered and the hand has enough permission or the opponent is constrained on mana. Setup is one existing clock plus graveyard density or a spare Delver; execution is to force the opponent to answer multiple axes while cheap counters trade up, but avoid overcommitting if public information shows sweepers, edicts, or graveyard hate that punish stacking all threats into the same answer.

- Permission-backed tempo path: prioritize holding up Counterspell over tapping out for Deep Analysis or speculative selection when a current Delver of Secrets, Cryptic Serpent, or Tolarian Terror already wins the race. Setup is any credible clock plus two blue mana; execution is passing with interaction, countering only spells that change combat math, remove the clock, invalidate graveyard payoff, or create an opposing faster clock.

- Sleep tempo kill path: prioritize Sleep of the Dead only when the rules engine exposes a legal target and tapping that creature creates immediate damage, preserves lethal pressure, or prevents a race loss. Setup is an attacking Delver of Secrets, Cryptic Serpent, or Tolarian Terror facing a relevant blocker or attacker; execution is to tap the creature at the timing Veles offers, then convert that window into attacks while keeping counters for the opponent's real recovery spell.

## Secondary Win Conditions

- Deep Analysis value path: pivot to Deep Analysis when the first threat was answered, both players are trading resources, and life total or board pressure permits spending mana or life only through legal actions. Use it to reload into Delver of Secrets, Cryptic Serpent, Tolarian Terror, Brainstorm, Ponder, Counterspell, Spell Pierce, Force Spike, or Sleep of the Dead; do not choose a Deep Analysis line if the immediate board state requires blocking, countering, or deploying a lethal clock instead.

- Lorien Revealed attrition path: use Lorien Revealed as land access early when Island count is the bottleneck and as a late card-flow spell only when Veles lists the relevant action and the mana investment will not lose the stack or battlefield. The secondary win is not the card itself; it is turning stable mana into more threats and protection than the opponent can answer.

- Cantrip inevitability path: use Brainstorm, Ponder, Mental Note, and Thought Scour to keep the deck from flooding or stalling after trades. Prefer selection that finds a threat if no clock exists, finds Counterspell or cheap permission if a clock exists, and fills the graveyard when Cryptic Serpent or Tolarian Terror is one spell away from a protected deployment.

- Post-board Mystic path: Murmuring Mystic is a secondary post-board win condition when present and legal, especially against opponents prepared for graveyard threats or one-for-one removal. Prioritize it in slower games where surviving with counters and cheap spells can produce material over several turns; avoid treating it as mandatory if the current hand already supports a faster Delver of Secrets or Tolarian Terror kill.

- Soft-lock pressure path: Blue Terror can approximate a lock when an opponent under pressure must cast one important spell per turn into Counterspell, Spell Pierce, Force Spike, or Card text check required Deem Inferior. Preserve this posture when ahead; breaking it for low-impact Mental Note, Thought Scour, Deep Analysis, or Lorien Revealed is wrong if the opponent's visible mana and board suggest one resolved spell reverses the race.

## Emergency Lines

- Behind on life: switch from sculpting to survival when the opponent's visible attackers threaten a short clock. Use Sleep of the Dead on legal high-impact attackers, deploy Cryptic Serpent or Tolarian Terror as blockers when racing is no longer realistic, and reserve Counterspell for burn, pump, removal on the needed blocker, or the spell that adds lethal pressure.

- Behind on board: answer the permanent or spell that matters most to combat, not the first legal target. If no clean counter window exists, use legal Sleep of the Dead lines to buy attacks or untap steps, and use cheap spells primarily to find Tolarian Terror, Cryptic Serpent, or additional interaction.

- Behind on cards: stabilize before drawing when the battlefield is dangerous, then use Deep Analysis or Lorien Revealed only after passing the immediate lose-the-game window. Brainstorm and Ponder should search for the specific missing class: land, threat, hard counter, tap effect, or graveyard fuel.

- Behind on mana: prioritize Island access through normal draws, Ponder, Brainstorm, and legal Lorien Revealed land actions before expensive plays. Do not keep passing with Counterspell unavailable if a lower-mana legal action can find the second Island or deploy Delver of Secrets as a real clock.

- Graveyard disrupted: pivot to Delver of Secrets pressure and ordinary casting costs instead of assuming Cryptic Serpent or Tolarian Terror will stay cheap. Mental Note and Thought Scour remain useful as card flow, but do not spend a full turn rebuilding graveyard if the visible board requires interaction or a castable threat.

- Win conditions removed: treat every remaining Delver of Secrets, Cryptic Serpent, Tolarian Terror, and post-board Murmuring Mystic as precious. Protect the next threat more aggressively, avoid unnecessary trades in combat, and use Deep Analysis or Lorien Revealed to find redundancy only when the opponent cannot punish the tap-out.

- Combo or engine opponent ahead: abandon low-pressure card flow and force a clock plus permission posture. Counter the engine piece, payoff, tutor, or protection spell that public information identifies as the current bottleneck; if unsure, prefer Counterspell on the spell most likely to win or lock the game rather than on setup that does not change the next turn cycle.

## Resource Model

- Life is a tempo buffer, not a spendable luxury. Spend life only when the legal action clearly advances survival or a winning clock, especially through Deep Analysis flashback if Veles exposes it; decline life-payment lines when visible attackers or burn-like pressure can convert that payment into a lost race.

- Hand size is the deck's flexible answer bank. Keep hands that contain a credible mix of Island access, cheap spell volume, one threat or selection toward one, and interaction; convert extra Brainstorm, Ponder, Mental Note, Thought Scour, and Lorien Revealed into either graveyard density or specific missing classes rather than casting them automatically.

- Mana is the constraint that decides whether Blue Terror is tempo or control. One blue mana starts Delver of Secrets, Brainstorm, Ponder, Mental Note, Thought Scour, Spell Pierce, Force Spike, and Sleep of the Dead; two blue mana unlocks Counterspell, which is often the most important turn-cycle resource once a clock exists.

- Board presence is concentrated in a few threats, so each Delver of Secrets, Cryptic Serpent, Tolarian Terror, and post-board Murmuring Mystic must be valued by matchup and board texture. Commit a threat when it creates a clock or blocker that changes the next turn cycle; protect it when losing it would leave the hand full of air or only expensive redraws.

- Graveyard count is a production resource for Cryptic Serpent and Tolarian Terror. Mental Note and Thought Scour are strongest when they both replace or move a card and reduce future threat costs; Brainstorm and Ponder are stronger when the missing resource is land, permission, or a specific threat rather than raw graveyard size.

- Graveyard contents are also contested by escape, flashback, and hate. Treat Deep Analysis in the graveyard as a delayed card-resource only if life and mana allow it; treat Sleep of the Dead recursion as conditional on Veles exposing a legal action and the exile cost not delaying Cryptic Serpent or Tolarian Terror more than the tap effect gains.

- Exile is mostly spent-resource accounting for this deck. Once Deep Analysis, Sleep of the Dead, or a milled spell is exiled by a legal effect, stop counting it toward graveyard discounts and future recursion; use public exile to reassess whether additional Mental Note or Thought Scour actions are rebuilding a payoff or merely cycling.

- Lands are stability, not flood insurance. With only Island in the registered main deck, every land drop improves Counterspell posture and eventually hard-casts Cryptic Serpent, Tolarian Terror, Deep Analysis, Deem Inferior, and Lorien Revealed; after the fourth or fifth Island, prioritize selection that finds pressure or protection over simply maximizing land count.

- Sacrifice fodder is not a built-in resource. Do not value Delver of Secrets, Cryptic Serpent, Tolarian Terror, or Murmuring Mystic as disposable unless visible combat, an edict, or a legal rules-engine prompt makes a trade unavoidable or clearly favorable.

- Tempo is the deck's main exchange rate. A one-mana Spell Pierce, Force Spike, Sleep of the Dead, Mental Note, or Thought Scour is valuable when it lets a Delver of Secrets, Cryptic Serpent, or Tolarian Terror attack while the opponent spends more mana catching up; low-impact spell casting is poor when it taps mana needed for Counterspell in a decisive window.

- Information is created by selection and public game actions. Use Brainstorm and Ponder to clarify whether the next plan is threat, land, counter, or tap effect; use revealed or public cards from previous decisions only as information Veles legally shows, and do not assume hidden removal, counters, or graveyard hate beyond archetype-level risk.

- Sideboard bullets convert narrow mana into matchup leverage. Annul, Blue Elemental Blast, Envelop, Gut Shot, Hydroblast, and Murmuring Mystic should be valued only when their legal text and matchup role line up with visible threats or likely public archetype pressure; do not keep a narrow bullet over core mana, threat, or Counterspell needs unless the matchup demands it.

## Mana Guide

- Keep mana by blue access first. A hand without Island or a legal Lorien Revealed land-finding action is usually unkeepable; a one-Island hand is keepable only with cheap selection or Delver of Secrets plus cantrips, while a two-Island hand with Counterspell and action is the baseline stable keep.

- Sequence Island drops to preserve two-blue interaction. Play the second Island as early as possible when Counterspell is in hand or likely needed; do not spend the turn on Deep Analysis, Deem Inferior, hard-cast Lorien Revealed, Cryptic Serpent, or Tolarian Terror if holding up Counterspell is what protects a clock or prevents a game-breaking spell.

- Use Lorien Revealed as mana smoothing before treating it as a draw spell. If the legal action text offers Island access and the hand lacks reliable second or third land, take the land line; use the expensive draw mode only when land drops are stable and tapping that much mana does not expose the deck to a losing stack or combat swing.

- Play land before cantrips when the land drop is known and mana is needed this turn. If Island is already in hand and a Brainstorm, Ponder, Mental Note, or Thought Scour line may find a one-mana play or protect against Force Spike-style timing, playing Island first usually maximizes legal follow-ups.

- Delay land before selection when Brainstorm or Ponder can decide which resource is missing. If the hand has multiple possible land lines or Brainstorm needs shuffle support from a legal Lorien Revealed land action, consider selecting first only when Veles shows the actions and the current mana still supports the required follow-up.

- Preserve one blue for cheap interaction when racing. Spell Pierce, Force Spike, Sleep of the Dead, Brainstorm, Mental Note, Thought Scour, and Ponder all compete for the same mana; cast the cantrip only if the opponent's next visible turn is unlikely to punish shields-down play or if finding a land/threat is more urgent than holding the counter.

- Preserve two blue for Counterspell when ahead. With Delver of Secrets, Cryptic Serpent, or Tolarian Terror already pressuring, passing with two Islands untapped is often better than spending mana on speculative Deep Analysis or Lorien Revealed; counter the spell that breaks the race, removes the threat, or establishes a stronger engine.

- Spend mana proactively when behind on board. If visible attackers create a short clock, use legal Sleep of the Dead, deploy a discounted Cryptic Serpent or Tolarian Terror as a blocker, or dig with Ponder and Brainstorm for a stabilizer instead of merely representing Counterspell against unknowns.

- Treat discounted threats as mana advantage, not free spells. Cast Cryptic Serpent or Tolarian Terror when the graveyard discount lets you keep interaction up or double-spell; avoid tapping out for one if the opponent can immediately answer it and you have no replacement threat or protection.

- Sideboard mana stays mono-blue but role pressure changes. Annul, Blue Elemental Blast, Envelop, Gut Shot, Hydroblast, and Murmuring Mystic alter what mana must be held open; prioritize the bullet's required window only when the matchup and visible board make that narrow answer more important than generic Counterspell or threat development.

## Mulligan Guide

- Strong keeps start with Island access, early selection, and a credible plan. Keep two Island plus Delver of Secrets, Counterspell, Mental Note or Thought Scour, and any mix of Brainstorm, Ponder, Spell Pierce, Force Spike, Cryptic Serpent, or Tolarian Terror; this hand develops pressure, fills the graveyard, and protects the first real threat.

- Strong slower keeps use Lorien Revealed as land smoothing. Keep Island, Lorien Revealed, Brainstorm or Ponder, Counterspell, and a payoff threat when Veles exposes the legal land-finding action or the hand already has enough Islands; treat Lorien Revealed as the missing land before treating it as a late draw spell.

- Medium keeps need a clear missing-piece plan. Keep one Island with Delver of Secrets plus Mental Note, Thought Scour, Brainstorm, or Ponder when the hand can function if it finds the second land quickly; keep two Island with Counterspell and Deep Analysis only if the matchup is not immediately punishing a slower start.

- Risky keeps are acceptable only when the matchup rewards speed or permission. A one-Island hand with Delver of Secrets, Brainstorm, Ponder, Mental Note, Thought Scour, and Tolarian Terror can be kept on the play against slow decks, but ship it against fast creature pressure if it lacks Sleep of the Dead, Force Spike, Spell Pierce, or a fast second Island path.

- Automatic ships lack mana or action. Ship zero-Island hands unless Lorien Revealed is legally available as an Island action from the opener; ship hands with only expensive cards such as Cryptic Serpent, Tolarian Terror, Deep Analysis, Deem Inferior, and Lorien Revealed but no cheap selection; ship hands with Islands and counters but no cantrip, Delver of Secrets, or threat against decks that can ignore permission.

- Matchup-dependent keeps value narrow tempo differently. Against fast red or swarm pressure, prioritize Island, cheap interaction, Delver of Secrets, Gut Shot after sideboard, Blue Elemental Blast or Hydroblast after sideboard, and Sleep of the Dead; against control or combo, prioritize Counterspell, Spell Pierce, Force Spike, Envelop after sideboard, Annul when artifacts or enchantments matter, and a protected Cryptic Serpent or Tolarian Terror.

- Play/draw changes counter quality. On the play, Force Spike and Delver of Secrets gain value because the deck can punish tapped-out starts; on the draw, prefer Counterspell, Spell Pierce, Brainstorm, Ponder, and actual land stability because Force Spike loses value faster and missed land drops are harder to recover from.

- Trap hands look busy but do not advance a role. Do not keep Brainstorm-heavy one-land hands without Ponder, Lorien Revealed, Mental Note, Thought Scour, or another way to improve the top cards; do not keep double Deep Analysis hands against pressure unless the rest of the hand already stabilizes; do not keep multiple Cryptic Serpent and Tolarian Terror hands if the graveyard will not fill before turn four.

## Turn Arc

- Turn 1 prefers Island into Delver of Secrets when the hand has follow-up protection or graveyard fuel. If Delver of Secrets is absent, use Ponder when the hand needs a land, threat, or Counterspell; use Mental Note or Thought Scour when the hand already has enough mana and needs to reduce Cryptic Serpent or Tolarian Terror; hold Spell Pierce or Force Spike only when the opponent's likely first turn can produce a high-impact legal spell.

- Turn 1 deviations protect the hand's weakest resource. Use Lorien Revealed for Island access when the opener depends on hitting land two or three; use Brainstorm early only when necessary to find land, preserve a keep, or set up a known next action, because Brainstorm without a way to change bad top cards can trap resources.

- Turn 2 usually establishes Counterspell posture or accelerates the graveyard. If Delver of Secrets is attacking or about to attack, prefer leaving Counterspell, Spell Pierce, or Force Spike available over casting speculative Deep Analysis; if no threat is present, cast Ponder, Brainstorm, Mental Note, or Thought Scour to find Delver of Secrets, Cryptic Serpent, Tolarian Terror, or the next Island.

- Turn 2 deviations answer visible tempo pressure. Cast Sleep of the Dead only when the legal target meaningfully changes a race, buys a turn for Delver of Secrets, or prevents a damaging attack; use Deem Inferior only according to visible legal action text and only when the target is worth delaying over holding Counterspell or developing a threat.

- Turn 3 is the first major commitment gate. Deploy discounted Cryptic Serpent or Tolarian Terror when the graveyard makes the threat cheap enough to keep interaction up, when the opponent is tapped low, or when the deck must block; otherwise pass with Counterspell when already pressuring or when the opponent's next spell is more dangerous than adding a creature.

- Turn 3 Deep Analysis is a stabilizing draw plan, not a default tap-out. Cast Deep Analysis when the board is stable, the hand lacks gas, and shields-down play is acceptable; avoid it when a single opposing spell, removal window, or combat step can punish not holding Counterspell, Spell Pierce, Force Spike, Sleep of the Dead, or Deem Inferior.

- Turns 4-5 should convert stocked graveyards into protected pressure. Prefer sequences such as threat plus one-mana cantrip, threat plus Spell Pierce, or attack plus Counterspell over spending all mana on Lorien Revealed or Deep Analysis unless the game is about raw cards and the visible board is safe.

- Turns 4-5 deviations prioritize survival over elegance. If facing a short clock, cast Cryptic Serpent or Tolarian Terror as blockers, use Sleep of the Dead on the most relevant attacker, and dig with Ponder or Brainstorm for interaction; if ahead, stop feeding low-impact graveyard actions and protect the existing clock.

- Late game treats every action as either lethal setup, protection, or recovery. Hard-cast Lorien Revealed or Deep Analysis when mana is abundant and the opponent cannot punish the tap-out; otherwise keep Counterspell plus cheap interaction available, attack with Cryptic Serpent, Tolarian Terror, and Delver of Secrets, and use Mental Note or Thought Scour only when they find real resources or enable recursion shown by Veles.

- Late game deviations respect public hate and exile. If graveyard discounts are disrupted or key cards are exiled, reassess Cryptic Serpent and Tolarian Terror as expensive threats, value Islands more highly, and win through protected Delver of Secrets attacks, hard-cast threats, Murmuring Mystic after sideboard, or card advantage from Deep Analysis and Lorien Revealed.

## Card Roles

- Brainstorm is an emergency sculpting tool and Delver of Secrets setup card, not a default turn-one cantrip. Cast Brainstorm early when the hand needs an Island, a cheap interaction spell, or a threat before the next decision; otherwise hold it to hide weak cards, set up Delver of Secrets, or combine with Ponder, Mental Note, Thought Scour, or Lorien Revealed to escape bad top cards. Avoid Brainstorm into no shuffle or mill support when the current hand is already functional, because locking two weak draws can lose the tempo game.

- Counterspell is the deck's hard stop for threats that beat the current board or answers that break the clock. Hold up Counterspell when Delver of Secrets, Cryptic Serpent, or Tolarian Terror is already winning and the opponent's next legal spell is more important than adding another cantrip. Spend Counterspell on high-impact creatures, removal aimed at the only clock, graveyard hate that strands multiple threats, and combo or draw spells that invalidate tempo; do not counter low-impact bait when Force Spike or Spell Pierce would handle the same window.

- Cryptic Serpent is a graveyard-discounted finisher and stabilizing blocker. Deploy Cryptic Serpent when instant and sorcery volume makes it cheap enough to keep pressure or interaction available, especially after Mental Note, Thought Scour, Brainstorm, Ponder, Lorien Revealed, and spent counters have stocked the graveyard. Against removal-heavy decks, prefer casting it with protection mana or after the opponent taps low; against creature pressure, cast it earlier as a large blocker even if that sacrifices some permission posture.

- Deem Inferior is a tempo answer for visible creatures when Veles exposes a legal action that meaningfully delays the opponent. Card text check required before relying on exact discount or library-placement details; at runtime, follow the rules-engine action text and treat it as a way to buy a turn, reset an opposing aura/equipment tempo line if legal, or remove a blocker for lethal pressure. Avoid firing Deem Inferior at a creature that can be immediately replayed without costing the opponent a real turn unless the current attack, lethal setup, or survival math requires it.

- Deep Analysis is the reload spell for games where both players trade resources. Cast Deep Analysis when the board is stable, the hand is low on action, and tapping mana or paying life if offered by the engine will not expose you to a short clock. Against aggro, delay Deep Analysis until Sleep of the Dead, Deem Inferior, Cryptic Serpent, Tolarian Terror, or cheap counters have stabilized; against control, prioritize Deep Analysis when the opponent cannot punish the tempo loss and the extra cards will force repeated threats through answers.

- Delver of Secrets is the best early pressure and the card that lets this deck become a true tempo deck. Play Delver of Secrets on turn one when possible unless the hand must hold Force Spike or Spell Pierce for a matchup-defining opener. Use Brainstorm and Ponder to improve transformation chances when that does not damage mana development; use Mental Note and Thought Scour more carefully because they can remove known top cards. Protect a transformed Delver of Secrets when it is the active clock, but do not spend premium Counterspell on removal if Cryptic Serpent or Tolarian Terror will immediately replace the threat.

- Force Spike is strongest as an early punishment card and weakest as a late draw. Hold Force Spike on turns one through three when the opponent is likely to tap out for a key spell; spend it aggressively on curve plays, draw engines, removal for Delver of Secrets, or graveyard hate that would slow Cryptic Serpent and Tolarian Terror. On later turns, treat Force Spike as conditional backup for fights over Counterspell or Spell Pierce, and cash it in if the opponent leaves exactly the vulnerable mana pattern shown by the legal stack action.

- Island is both mana stability and a hidden cost of holding interaction. Prioritize hitting the first two Islands because Counterspell is central to the deck's strongest lines; prioritize the third Island when the hand contains Deep Analysis, Deem Inferior, hard-cast Lorien Revealed, or multiple cheap spells in one turn. Do not overvalue extra Islands after the deck can cast threat plus interaction; use selection to find action unless Lorien Revealed or hard-cast expensive threats require continued land drops.

- Lorien Revealed is primarily land access early and a major card-advantage spell late. Use Lorien Revealed for Island access when the opener needs land two or three, when Counterspell must come online, or when Brainstorm needs a way to clear bad cards. Hard-cast Lorien Revealed only when the game is stable enough to tap significant mana and raw cards matter more than immediate protection; against pressure, cycling for Island is often the correct tactical use because it enables double-spell turns sooner.

- Mental Note is graveyard fuel with card replacement, best when the hand already has mana and wants cheaper threats. Cast Mental Note to accelerate Cryptic Serpent and Tolarian Terror, enable late Deep Analysis lines if the engine exposes them, and maintain velocity while holding one-mana interaction. Avoid Mental Note when the top card is known and important from Ponder or Brainstorm unless milling it is acceptable; against graveyard hate, recognize that Mental Note loses value if the stocked graveyard will not survive.

- Ponder is the cleanest card-quality spell and the safest early setup play. Use Ponder to find missing Islands, Delver of Secrets, Counterspell, or a discounted threat before spending blind mill effects. Keep the top cards when they support the next two turns, especially Delver of Secrets transformation plus land or interaction; shuffle when the pile lacks the missing role. Ponder is better than Brainstorm in uncertain one-land hands because it can escape bad top cards without needing another effect.

- Sleep of the Dead is a race and survival tool, not generic removal. Use Sleep of the Dead on the creature whose attack, block, or combat keyword most changes the next turn cycle; prioritize buying time for Delver of Secrets attacks, forcing through Cryptic Serpent or Tolarian Terror damage, or preventing lethal pressure. If the engine exposes escape, treat graveyard exile as a real cost because it can delay Cryptic Serpent and Tolarian Terror; spend that cost only when the tempo swing matters more than preserving discount resources.

- Spell Pierce is the cheap shield for threats and the efficient answer to noncreature haymakers. Hold Spell Pierce when the opponent can represent removal, draw spells, artifacts, enchantments, or combo pieces that matter more than your next cantrip. Use it proactively in stack fights where protecting Delver of Secrets, Cryptic Serpent, or Tolarian Terror keeps a fast clock intact. Do not leave Spell Pierce stranded forever against creature-heavy boards; if the opponent's visible plan is combat, shift toward Sleep of the Dead, Deem Inferior, large blockers, and card selection.

- Thought Scour is flexible graveyard fuel, self-mill support, and occasional top-card disruption when the target is legal and tactically justified. Target yourself when the main plan is discounting Cryptic Serpent or Tolarian Terror, replacing a card, and moving through the deck. Target the opponent only when visible public information makes their top card valuable or when action text and matchup context justify disruption; do not target opponent by habit if fueling your own graveyard is the stronger plan. Like Mental Note, avoid undoing a good Brainstorm or Ponder top card unless the graveyard payoff is worth it.

- Tolarian Terror is the premier closing threat because graveyard volume turns it from expensive creature into protected tempo payoff. Cast Tolarian Terror when it is cheap enough to apply pressure while preserving Counterspell, Spell Pierce, or Force Spike, or when the deck needs a large blocker immediately. Its protection text must be confirmed by current rules-engine output if relevant; tactically, treat it as more resilient than Cryptic Serpent only when visible legal actions and public effects support that assumption. Do not exile too many graveyard cards to Sleep of the Dead or other costs if doing so strands Tolarian Terror in hand.

- Threat sequencing should balance pressure, protection, and graveyard resources. Lead with Delver of Secrets when early damage matters, then use cheap spells to unlock Cryptic Serpent and Tolarian Terror; when holding multiple large threats, cast the one that leaves the best mana for interaction or blocks the visible board best. Against control, avoid committing every threat into sweepers or edicts if one protected attacker is enough; against aggro, commit large bodies earlier because stabilizing life total can matter more than perfect counter posture.

### Card Hover Notes

#### Brainstorm
- Deck role: Main deck 4-of core piece for selection, Delver setup, and graveyard-spell density.
- Role type: card selection, role glue.
- Deck-specific job: Fixes land/threat/interaction mixes while adding an instant to the graveyard for Cryptic Serpent and Tolarian Terror after resolution.
- Timing: Best when it finds an urgent Island, Counterspell, Delver of Secrets, Cryptic Serpent, Tolarian Terror, or when Lorien Revealed, Mental Note, or Thought Scour can clear weak cards put back.
- Inputs / outputs: Costs {U}; draws three, then puts two cards from hand on top in any order; produces card quality, Delver of Secrets setup, and one instant in graveyard.
- Partners / packages: Lorien Revealed can shuffle after Islandcycling; Mental Note and Thought Scour can mill cards put back; Delver of Secrets can reveal an instant or sorcery set on top.
- Role peers: Ponder is the cleaner pre-land-drop selector; Mental Note and Thought Scour are lower-control graveyard velocity.
- Failure modes: Casting without shuffle or mill support can lock two poor draws; milling after setting up Delver of Secrets can undo the reveal plan.
- Matchup / visibility hooks: Strong against discard-like pressure or mana stumbles; weaker when the board demands holding Counterspell, Force Spike, Spell Pierce, Sleep of the Dead, or Deem Inferior mana.

#### Counterspell
- Deck role: Main deck 4-of core piece for hard permission and threat protection.
- Role type: interaction-stack, protection/evasion.
- Deck-specific job: The hard permission anchor that protects Delver of Secrets, Cryptic Serpent, Tolarian Terror, and post-board Murmuring Mystic from the spell on the stack that beats the current clock.
- Timing: Hold up two Islands when already pressuring or when the opponent’s next spell can remove the only threat, create a faster clock, resolve graveyard hate, or establish a decisive engine.
- Inputs / outputs: Costs {U}{U}; counters target spell on the stack; trades mana for tempo, protects threats, and adds an instant to the graveyard.
- Partners / packages: Protects Delver of Secrets, Cryptic Serpent, Tolarian Terror, and Murmuring Mystic; works beside Force Spike, Spell Pierce, Annul, Envelop, Blue Elemental Blast, and Hydroblast in stack fights.
- Role peers: Force Spike and Spell Pierce are cheaper but conditional; Annul, Envelop, Blue Elemental Blast, and Hydroblast are narrower sideboard stack answers.
- Failure modes: Countering bait can leave no answer for removal, sweepers, graveyard hate, or combo payoffs; tapping out before a critical turn gives up the deck’s best leverage.
- Matchup / visibility hooks: Premium against combo, control, graveyard hate, and removal-heavy decks; against creature swarms, pair with Sleep of the Dead, Deem Inferior, Gut Shot, Cryptic Serpent, or Tolarian Terror for battlefield pressure.

#### Cryptic Serpent
- Deck role: Main deck 4-of core payoff threat and stabilizing body.
- Role type: mechanic payoff, threat/clock, lifegain/stabilization.
- Deck-specific job: Converts Brainstorm, Counterspell, Deem Inferior, Deep Analysis, Lorien Revealed, Mental Note, Ponder, Sleep of the Dead, Spell Pierce, Thought Scour, and post-board Annul, Blue Elemental Blast, Envelop, Gut Shot, or Hydroblast into a discounted 6/5 finisher or blocker.
- Timing: Cast when the graveyard discount leaves enough mana for Counterspell, Spell Pierce, Force Spike, Annul, Envelop, Blue Elemental Blast, Hydroblast, or when a 6/5 body is needed immediately to stabilize.
- Inputs / outputs: Costs {5}{U}{U} minus {1} for each instant and sorcery card in your graveyard; consumes mana and graveyard setup, outputs a large ground clock.
- Partners / packages: Mental Note and Thought Scour are fastest fuel; Brainstorm and Ponder find it; Counterspell, Spell Pierce, and Force Spike protect it.
- Role peers: Tolarian Terror is smaller but has Ward {2}; Delver of Secrets attacks earlier and evasively; Murmuring Mystic is the post-board attrition alternative.
- Failure modes: Graveyard hate, escape from Sleep of the Dead, or exiling cards can make it expensive again; casting into open removal without protection can lose the tempo turn.
- Matchup / visibility hooks: Excellent against creature decks where 6 toughness-adjacent combat matters; against control, wait for protection or opponent shields-down windows.

#### Deem Inferior
- Deck role: Main deck 2-of role player/flex tempo answer for resolved permanents.
- Role type: interaction-removal, card selection, tempo interaction.
- Deck-specific job: Sorcery-speed tempo answer that delays a resolved nonland permanent so Delver of Secrets, Cryptic Serpent, or Tolarian Terror can attack or survive a race.
- Timing: Cast before combat to clear a blocker, during your main phase to delay an attacker or engine permanent, or after drawing cards this turn when the cost reduction makes it efficient; do not hold it as instant-speed interaction.
- Inputs / outputs: Costs {3}{U} reduced by {1} for each card you have drawn this turn; targets a nonland permanent; that permanent’s owner puts it into their library second from the top or on the bottom.
- Partners / packages: Brainstorm, Ponder, Mental Note, Thought Scour, Deep Analysis, and hard-cast Lorien Revealed reduce its cost by drawing cards; Delver of Secrets, Cryptic Serpent, and Tolarian Terror convert the tempo into damage.
- Role peers: Sleep of the Dead handles creatures for tap tempo; Counterspell stops the spell before it resolves; Annul only stops artifact or enchantment spells on the stack.
- Failure modes: The owner chooses second from top or bottom, so do not assume you control their future draw; sorcery timing means it cannot answer a spell on the stack or surprise an attacker mid-combat.
- Matchup / visibility hooks: Best against single high-impact blockers, engines, tokens with buffs, or aura/equipment carriers; weaker when the target costs so little that the opponent can replay it without losing a meaningful turn.

#### Deep Analysis
- Deck role: Main deck 2-of role player/flex attrition refill and self-mill payoff.
- Role type: card selection, recursion, engine fuel/material.
- Deck-specific job: Refuels after trades and gives the deck a graveyard-usable spell that can reload into Delver of Secrets, Cryptic Serpent, Tolarian Terror, Counterspell, or cheap cantrips.
- Timing: Cast or flash back only when the board is stable enough to tap mana and, for flashback, pay 3 life; against fast red or creature pressure, wait until life total is not inside visible lethal range.
- Inputs / outputs: Main cost {3}{U}; target player draws two cards. Flashback costs {1}{U} and pay 3 life from graveyard, then Deep Analysis is exiled after resolution.
- Mode map: Normal cast draws two for target player from hand; flashback casts it from graveyard for {1}{U} plus 3 life, then exiles it.
- Partners / packages: Mental Note and Thought Scour can put Deep Analysis into the graveyard; Brainstorm and Ponder help decide whether raw cards or held Counterspell mana matters more.
- Role peers: Hard-cast Lorien Revealed draws three without life payment but costs {3}{U}{U}; Brainstorm and Ponder are cheaper selection, not card advantage.
- Failure modes: Targeting the opponent is usually wrong unless a rare visible rule object rewards it; flashback can lose races by spending life or by exiling a sorcery that no longer discounts Cryptic Serpent and Tolarian Terror.
- Matchup / visibility hooks: Strong in control and attrition; trim or delay against burn, swarm aggro, and decks punishing tap-out windows.

#### Delver of Secrets
- Deck role: Main deck 4-of core piece as the early evasive clock.
- Role type: threat/clock, mechanic payoff.
- Deck-specific job: Turn-one pressure that rewards the deck’s high instant/sorcery count and makes Force Spike, Spell Pierce, and Counterspell trade up while the opponent is under a flyer clock.
- Timing: Cast early when Island is available and the matchup does not demand holding Force Spike or Spell Pierce for a decisive opener; use upkeep information carefully before cantrips or mills.
- Inputs / outputs: Costs {U}; starts as a 1/1 Human Wizard. At upkeep, look at the top card, you may reveal it, and if it is an instant or sorcery card, transform into Insectile Aberration, a 3/2 flying Human Insect.
- Mode map: Front face is Delver of Secrets for setup and pressure; transformed face is Insectile Aberration, the flying damage mode enabled by an instant or sorcery reveal.
- Partners / packages: Brainstorm and Ponder can set up an instant or sorcery reveal; Counterspell, Spell Pierce, Force Spike, Blue Elemental Blast, Hydroblast, and Gut Shot protect tempo.
- Role peers: Cryptic Serpent and Tolarian Terror are later large threats; Murmuring Mystic is a post-board engine threat.
- Failure modes: Mental Note and Thought Scour can mill away a known good reveal; overprotecting an untransformed Delver can waste Counterspell if a large threat is ready.
- Matchup / visibility hooks: Excellent against combo and control where a fast clock matters; against one-toughness removal or Gut Shot mirrors, protect only when the damage clock is central.

#### Force Spike
- Deck role: Main deck 2-of role player/flex cheap permission for early tempo.
- Role type: interaction-stack, protection/evasion.
- Deck-specific job: Punishes early tap-out spells while protecting Delver of Secrets or buying time to make Cryptic Serpent and Tolarian Terror cheap.
- Timing: Highest value on turns one through three or whenever the opponent has exactly no spare mana for {1}; spend it before it decays if the target changes the race or protects a key threat.
- Inputs / outputs: Costs {U}; counters target spell unless its controller pays {1}; adds an instant to the graveyard when used.
- Partners / packages: Delver of Secrets pressure makes opponents cast into it; Counterspell and Spell Pierce cover later stack windows; Mental Note and Thought Scour make the tempo gained convert into serpent threats.
- Role peers: Spell Pierce taxes noncreature spells by {2}; Counterspell is unconditional for {U}{U}; Envelop, Annul, Blue Elemental Blast, and Hydroblast are sideboard narrower counters.
- Failure modes: Holding it too long lets opponents pay; using it on low-impact bait can leave Counterspell as the only remaining answer to the real spell.
- Matchup / visibility hooks: Better on the play and against curve-out decks, combo setup, early removal, or graveyard hate; weaker against late-game mana abundance and cheap creature swarms.

#### Island
- Deck role: Main deck 16-card core mana base and the only Lorien Revealed target.
- Role type: mana/fixing/ramp.
- Deck-specific job: The only registered land and the source for every blue spell, especially double-blue Counterspell and multi-spell turns with cantrips plus protection.
- Timing: Prioritize the first two Islands for Counterspell, the third and fourth for Deep Analysis, Deem Inferior, Murmuring Mystic, and threat-plus-interaction turns, then value extra Islands mainly when hard-casting Lorien Revealed or expensive serpents.
- Inputs / outputs: Basic Land — Island with “{T}: Add {U}”; produces blue mana and is the exact Island card Lorien Revealed can search for.
- Partners / packages: Lorien Revealed finds Island through Islandcycling; Brainstorm and Ponder dig for Island; Counterspell requires two blue mana.
- Role peers: No direct peer; closest role overlap is Lorien Revealed as Island access rather than a battlefield mana source.
- Failure modes: One-Island hands without Ponder, Brainstorm, Mental Note, Thought Scour, or Lorien Revealed can stall; too many Islands after stabilization reduce threat density.
- Matchup / visibility hooks: Against aggro, missed Islands delay blockers and Sleep of the Dead; against control and combo, missed second Island strands Counterspell.

#### Lorien Revealed
- Deck role: Main deck 4-of core piece for Island access and late-card volume.
- Role type: modal utility, tutor/search, card selection, mana/fixing/ramp.
- Deck-specific job: Early Island access for a 16-Island deck and late draw-three refill once pressure is stable and holding Counterspell is less urgent.
- Timing: Islandcycle when missing land two or three, when Counterspell needs double blue, or when Brainstorm put weak cards back; hard-cast only when five mana is safe and raw cards beat holding interaction.
- Inputs / outputs: Hard-cast costs {3}{U}{U} and draws three cards; Islandcycling costs {1} and discards Lorien Revealed.
- Mode map: Hard-cast sorcery draws three cards. Islandcycling means pay {1}, discard Lorien Revealed, search your library for Island, reveal it, put it into your hand, then shuffle; this searches, not draws.
- Partners / packages: Finds Island; clears Brainstorm top cards by shuffling; drawn cards can include Delver of Secrets, Counterspell, Cryptic Serpent, Tolarian Terror, Annul, Blue Elemental Blast, Envelop, Gut Shot, Hydroblast, or Murmuring Mystic.
- Role peers: Deep Analysis is cheaper across two casts but costs life on flashback; Ponder and Brainstorm are cheaper selection; Island is the actual mana source.
- Failure modes: Treating Islandcycling as card draw miscounts Deem Inferior reduction and Delver planning; tapping five mana into a decisive opposing stack window can lose the game.
- Matchup / visibility hooks: Cycle aggressively against mana pressure and tempo decks; hard-cast more often in control mirrors after a threat or protection plan is established.

#### Mental Note
- Deck role: Main deck 4-of core engine enabler for self-mill velocity.
- Role type: mechanic enabler, engine fuel/material, card selection.
- Deck-specific job: Self-mill velocity that replaces itself while reducing Cryptic Serpent and Tolarian Terror and potentially placing Deep Analysis or Sleep of the Dead in the graveyard.
- Timing: Best at opponent end step or before deploying a discounted threat when the top of library is unknown or expendable; avoid casting after Brainstorm or Ponder if the known top card is needed.
- Inputs / outputs: Costs {U}; mills two cards, then draws a card; produces one instant in graveyard plus two additional milled cards.
- Partners / packages: Fuels Cryptic Serpent, Tolarian Terror, Deep Analysis flashback, and Sleep of the Dead escape; pairs with Brainstorm to clear unwanted top cards.
- Role peers: Thought Scour can target either player and has similar self-mill output; Ponder and Brainstorm offer more control over card quality.
- Failure modes: Milling known Delver of Secrets reveal cards, needed Islands, or key interaction can be costly; graveyard hate can erase the discount gained.
- Matchup / visibility hooks: Strong when racing to cast Cryptic Serpent or Tolarian Terror; slower when the opponent is about to punish shields-down mana or when graveyard hate is visible.

#### Ponder
- Deck role: Main deck 2-of role player/flex selector for land, threat, or answer.
- Role type: card selection, role glue.
- Deck-specific job: The cleanest one-mana setup spell for finding Island, Delver of Secrets, Counterspell, Cryptic Serpent, Tolarian Terror, or the sideboard answer that matches the matchup.
- Timing: Cast before land drop when looking for Island or deciding the next two turns; keep the top three only if they solve mana, pressure, or interaction, otherwise shuffle before drawing.
- Inputs / outputs: Costs {U}; looks at top three, puts them back in any order, may shuffle, then draws a card; adds a sorcery to the graveyard.
- Partners / packages: Sets up Delver of Secrets reveal; finds Brainstorm, Mental Note, Thought Scour, Counterspell, Spell Pierce, Force Spike, Sleep of the Dead, or Deem Inferior.
- Role peers: Brainstorm is instant-speed and stronger with shuffle/mill support; Mental Note and Thought Scour fuel graveyard faster but with less selection.
- Failure modes: Keeping a pretty pile that lacks the missing role can lose tempo; shuffling away a needed known card is bad unless the full pile fails the next turn cycle.
- Matchup / visibility hooks: Premium in one-Island hands, unknown matchups, and post-board games where finding Annul, Envelop, Blue Elemental Blast, Hydroblast, Gut Shot, or Murmuring Mystic matters.

#### Sleep of the Dead
- Deck role: Main deck 2-of role player/flex tempo spell with graveyard reuse.
- Role type: interaction-removal, recursion, modal utility.
- Deck-specific job: Tempo tap spell that buys attacks for Delver of Secrets, Cryptic Serpent, or Tolarian Terror, or prevents the most dangerous opposing creature from attacking for a turn cycle.
- Timing: Cast before combat to remove a blocker, or before the opponent attacks when tapping one creature prevents lethal or a large damage swing; escape only when the tempo swing is worth shrinking the graveyard.
- Inputs / outputs: Normal cost {U}; taps target creature and it does not untap during its controller’s next untap step. Escape costs {2}{U} and exiles three other cards from your graveyard.
- Mode map: Normal cast uses Sleep of the Dead from hand. Escape casts it from graveyard by paying {2}{U} and exiling three other graveyard cards; after the escaped spell resolves, it goes to its normal destination unless another rule changes that.
- Partners / packages: Delver of Secrets, Cryptic Serpent, and Tolarian Terror convert tapped blockers into damage; Mental Note and Thought Scour provide escape fuel.
- Role peers: Deem Inferior delays any target nonland permanent at sorcery speed; Gut Shot kills one-toughness targets; Counterspell stops creature spells before resolution.
- Failure modes: Exiling three cards can strand Cryptic Serpent or Tolarian Terror; tapping a low-impact creature without changing attacks, blocks, or survival wastes tempo.
- Matchup / visibility hooks: Strong against single large attackers or blockers; weaker against go-wide boards where one tapped creature does not change lethal math.

#### Spell Pierce
- Deck role: Main deck 2-of role player/flex noncreature permission.
- Role type: interaction-stack, protection/evasion.
- Deck-specific job: One-mana shield for threats and tempo answer to noncreature spells that would remove a clock, attack the graveyard, draw too many cards, or set up a combo.
- Timing: Hold while the opponent is constrained on mana or when protecting Delver of Secrets, Cryptic Serpent, Tolarian Terror, or Murmuring Mystic is worth more than casting a cantrip.
- Inputs / outputs: Costs {U}; counters target noncreature spell unless its controller pays {2}; adds an instant to the graveyard.
- Partners / packages: Protects Delver of Secrets, Cryptic Serpent, Tolarian Terror, and Murmuring Mystic; complements Counterspell and Force Spike in early stack fights.
- Role peers: Force Spike hits any spell but taxes only {1}; Counterspell hits any spell for {U}{U}; Annul, Envelop, Blue Elemental Blast, and Hydroblast cover narrower post-board targets.
- Failure modes: Cannot counter creature spells; holding it into late turns can let opponents pay {2}; firing it at a low-impact noncreature spell can miss the removal or engine spell that matters.
- Matchup / visibility hooks: Excellent against removal, graveyard hate, card draw, artifacts, enchantments, and combo setup; board it down when the opponent is mostly creature pressure.

#### Thought Scour
- Deck role: Main deck 4-of core piece for instant-speed self-mill and card flow.
- Role type: mechanic enabler, engine fuel/material, card selection.
- Deck-specific job: Flexible instant that usually targets you to fuel Cryptic Serpent and Tolarian Terror while replacing itself, with occasional opponent-target use against known top-library information.
- Timing: Cast at opponent end step when holding interaction was more valuable earlier, or before a main-phase threat if two milled cards make Cryptic Serpent or Tolarian Terror castable.
- Inputs / outputs: Costs {U}; target player mills two cards, then you draw a card; produces an instant in your graveyard and, when targeting yourself, two more graveyard cards.
- Partners / packages: Fuels Cryptic Serpent, Tolarian Terror, Deep Analysis flashback, and Sleep of the Dead escape; can clear weak Brainstorm top cards.
- Role peers: Mental Note always mills you and draws; Brainstorm and Ponder provide stronger card control; Sleep of the Dead consumes graveyard cards later.
- Failure modes: Targeting opponent by habit loses your own discount; targeting yourself after setting up Delver of Secrets or a Ponder pile can mill away a needed known card.
- Matchup / visibility hooks: Target opponent only when public top-card information is valuable to disrupt; prioritize self-targeting when graveyard discount or Deep Analysis access matters.

#### Tolarian Terror
- Deck role: Main deck 4-of core payoff threat and resilient closer.
- Role type: mechanic payoff, threat/clock, protection/evasion, lifegain/stabilization.
- Deck-specific job: Premier discounted finisher whose Ward {2} makes it the most resilient large creature for closing games through removal.
- Timing: Cast when instant and sorcery count makes it cheap enough to keep Counterspell, Spell Pierce, Force Spike, Annul, Envelop, Blue Elemental Blast, Hydroblast, or Gut Shot available, or when a 5/5 blocker is needed now.
- Inputs / outputs: Costs {6}{U} minus {1} for each instant and sorcery card in your graveyard; Ward {2} taxes spells or abilities an opponent controls that target it.
- Partners / packages: Brainstorm, Ponder, Mental Note, Thought Scour, Deep Analysis, Lorien Revealed, Counterspell, Spell Pierce, Force Spike, Sleep of the Dead, and Deem Inferior stock the graveyard.
- Role peers: Cryptic Serpent is a 6/5 without Ward {2}; Delver of Secrets is faster and evasive; Murmuring Mystic is a sideboard engine threat.
- Failure modes: Sleep of the Dead escape and graveyard hate raise its cost; Ward {2} does not stop edicts, sweepers, combat, or non-targeting effects.
- Matchup / visibility hooks: Best against one-for-one removal and creature combat; against edicts or sweepers, protect with Counterspell, Spell Pierce, Force Spike, or Envelop rather than relying on Ward.

#### Annul
- Deck role: Sideboard 3-of bullet against artifact, enchantment, and graveyard-hate spells.
- Role type: sideboard bullet, interaction-stack, hate piece.
- Deck-specific job: Post-board one-mana answer to artifact or enchantment spells that beat the graveyard plan, change combat math, or create engines Blue Terror cannot race.
- Timing: Bring in only when artifact or enchantment spells are likely; hold for the artifact or enchantment spell on the stack that matters, not a low-impact bait object.
- Inputs / outputs: Costs {U}; counters target artifact or enchantment spell; adds an instant to the graveyard.
- Partners / packages: Protects Cryptic Serpent and Tolarian Terror from artifact/enchantment graveyard hate; supports Delver of Secrets pressure by stopping aura or engine spells.
- Role peers: Counterspell is broader; Spell Pierce can hit noncreature artifact or enchantment spells unless the controller pays {2}; Blue Elemental Blast and Hydroblast answer red spells or permanents only.
- Failure modes: Cannot counter resolved permanents, creatures that are not artifact/enchantment spells, instants, sorceries, planeswalkers unless also artifact/enchantment, or abilities.
- Matchup / visibility hooks: Bring against Affinity-style artifact decks, Aura decks, enchantment engines, and artifact/enchantment graveyard hate; avoid against creature-heavy or spell-heavy decks with few legal targets.

#### Blue Elemental Blast
- Deck role: Sideboard 2-of bullet for red spells, red permanents, and red removal fights.
- Role type: sideboard bullet, modal utility, interaction-stack, interaction-removal.
- Deck-specific job: Efficient anti-red card that either counters a red spell on the stack or destroys a red permanent already on the battlefield.
- Timing: Bring in when red spells or permanents are visible or strongly expected; hold for lethal burn, red removal aimed at Delver of Secrets, Cryptic Serpent, or Tolarian Terror, or a red permanent changing the race.
- Inputs / outputs: Costs {U}; trades one mana for a red spell or red permanent and adds an instant to the graveyard.
- Mode map: Choose one: counter target red spell; or destroy target red permanent.
- Partners / packages: Protects Delver of Secrets, Cryptic Serpent, Tolarian Terror, and Murmuring Mystic from red removal; pairs with Hydroblast and Gut Shot in red or small-creature matchups.
- Role peers: Hydroblast can target a spell or permanent and checks whether it is red on resolution; Counterspell is broader on the stack; Gut Shot handles small targets for mana or life.
- Failure modes: Requires a red spell or red permanent as the target; cannot hit nonred threats, nonred graveyard hate, or abilities.
- Matchup / visibility hooks: Premium against Burn, red aggro, red sweepers, red removal, and red artifact payoffs; do not side it in on speculation without public red evidence.

#### Envelop
- Deck role: Sideboard 2-of bullet for sorcery-centric sweepers, setup, and payoffs.
- Role type: sideboard bullet, interaction-stack.
- Deck-specific job: One-mana answer to sorcery spells that would out-resource, sweep, tutor, ramp, or combo through the normal tempo plan.
- Timing: Bring in when the opponent’s game-deciding cards are sorceries; hold for the sorcery spell on the stack that changes the next turn cycle or breaks your protected threat.
- Inputs / outputs: Costs {U}; counters target sorcery spell; adds an instant to the graveyard.
- Partners / packages: Protects Delver of Secrets, Cryptic Serpent, Tolarian Terror, and Murmuring Mystic from sorcery-speed sweepers or removal; lets Counterspell stay available for non-sorcery payoffs.
- Role peers: Counterspell hits any spell; Spell Pierce can hit noncreature sorceries unless {2} is paid; Force Spike can hit sorceries early unless {1} is paid.
- Failure modes: Cannot counter instants, creatures, artifacts, enchantments, abilities, or resolved permanents; dead if the opponent’s key cards are not sorceries.
- Matchup / visibility hooks: Strong versus sorcery-centric combo, control, big-mana setup, sweepers, and attrition; weak against instant-speed tempo and creature-heavy aggro.

#### Gut Shot
- Deck role: Sideboard 3-of bullet for one-toughness blockers, utility creatures, and tempo races.
- Role type: sideboard bullet, interaction-removal, reach/finisher.
- Deck-specific job: Low-mana small-target answer that preserves Island mana for Counterspell, Spell Pierce, Force Spike, Annul, Envelop, Blue Elemental Blast, or Hydroblast.
- Timing: Use when 1 damage kills a one-toughness creature, finishes a damaged creature, clears a Delver of Secrets blocker, disrupts a utility creature, or creates lethal; pay 2 life only when the tempo or survival swing beats the life loss.
- Inputs / outputs: Costs {R/P}, payable with red mana or 2 life; this deck has no registered red mana source, so expect life payment unless an external effect provides red. Deals 1 damage to any target.
- Mode map: Red-mana mode pays {R}; Phyrexian mode pays 2 life, which is this deck's normal access path unless an outside effect provides red.
- Partners / packages: Protects Delver of Secrets pressure; supports Cryptic Serpent and Tolarian Terror races by removing small blockers or attackers; pairs with Blue Elemental Blast and Hydroblast against red small-creature decks.
- Role peers: Sleep of the Dead taps larger creatures; Deem Inferior delays nonland permanents; Counterspell prevents creature spells before resolution.
- Failure modes: Paying life can lose burn races; 1 damage does not kill larger creatures without prior damage; do not spend it on a target that does not change combat, clock, or engine value.
- Matchup / visibility hooks: Bring against Faeries, one-toughness creatures, tokens, and utility creatures; avoid against large-creature control or burn when the life payment is too dangerous.

#### Hydroblast
- Deck role: Sideboard 4-of bullet for red stacks, red permanents, and burn matchups.
- Role type: sideboard bullet, modal utility, interaction-stack, interaction-removal.
- Deck-specific job: Flexible anti-red card that can fight a red spell on the stack or destroy a red permanent, with target legality differing from Blue Elemental Blast.
- Timing: Bring in when a red spell on the stack or a red permanent on the battlefield is central; preserve it for lethal red damage, red removal on Tolarian Terror or Cryptic Serpent, red sweepers, or red permanents that swing combat.
- Inputs / outputs: Costs {U}; uses one mana to counter or destroy if the target is red on resolution; adds an instant to the graveyard.
- Mode map: Choose one: counter target spell if it is red; or destroy target permanent if it is red.
- Partners / packages: Works with Blue Elemental Blast for red-heavy matchups; protects Delver of Secrets, Cryptic Serpent, Tolarian Terror, and Murmuring Mystic.
- Role peers: Blue Elemental Blast targets a red spell or red permanent directly; Counterspell is broader on the stack; Gut Shot handles one-toughness attackers, one-toughness blockers, or damaged creatures regardless of color if 1 damage is enough.
- Failure modes: If the target is not red when Hydroblast resolves, the chosen effect does nothing; cannot answer abilities or nonred objects.
- Matchup / visibility hooks: Premium when public red cards are life-total damage, red aggro creatures, red sweepers, red removal, or red artifact payoffs; board out or avoid when the opponent’s important cards are not red.

#### Murmuring Mystic
- Deck role: Sideboard 1-of singleton/flex bullet for attrition and stalled-board plans.
- Role type: sideboard bullet, engine piece, threat/clock.
- Deck-specific job: Post-board attrition engine that turns Brainstorm, Counterspell, Deem Inferior, Deep Analysis, Lorien Revealed, Mental Note, Ponder, Sleep of the Dead, Spell Pierce, Thought Scour, Annul, Blue Elemental Blast, Envelop, Gut Shot, and Hydroblast into 1/1 flying Bird Illusion tokens.
- Timing: Cast when four mana can be spent without losing a decisive Counterspell window or dying to combat; strongest after the opponent has shown one-for-one removal, edicts, or stalled boards.
- Inputs / outputs: Costs {3}{U}; 1/5 body; whenever you cast an instant or sorcery spell, creates a 1/1 blue Bird Illusion creature token with flying.
- Partners / packages: Cheap spells Brainstorm, Mental Note, Thought Scour, Spell Pierce, Force Spike, Gut Shot, Annul, Envelop, Blue Elemental Blast, and Hydroblast create tokens while still interacting.
- Role peers: Delver of Secrets is cheaper evasive pressure; Cryptic Serpent and Tolarian Terror are faster large threats; Deep Analysis and Lorien Revealed provide cards to keep casting spells.
- Failure modes: Tapping four mana too early can expose you to a decisive spell; tokens arrive only when casting instant or sorcery spells, not from Islandcycling Lorien Revealed.
- Matchup / visibility hooks: Bring against control, edicts, removal-heavy decks, and board stalls; avoid against fast aggro or red removal unless protected by Counterspell, Blue Elemental Blast, or Hydroblast.

## Interaction Priorities

- Priority: Spend Counterspell on spells that beat a protected Delver of Secrets clock, answer Cryptic Serpent or Tolarian Terror cleanly, create an opposing engine, or produce a board state your bounce/tap tools cannot race. Do not counter low-impact creatures just because they are legal if a large serpent can block them and the opponent is representing removal, graveyard hate, card draw, or a combo payoff.

- Priority: Use Spell Pierce on noncreature spells that change the game before the opponent can pay through it, especially removal aimed at Delver of Secrets, hate pieces for the graveyard plan, opposing card-advantage spells, artifact/enchantment engines, and protection for a key opposing threat. Let Spell Pierce go when the opponent is mostly presenting creatures and the available legal target does not alter your clock or survival.

- Priority: Use Force Spike early to punish tapped-out development, not to trade down with expendable bait. Counter turn-one through turn-three threats, draw engines, removal, or graveyard hate when the opponent cannot pay; later, treat Force Spike as stack-fight assistance or a narrow punish for exact visible mana, and avoid planning around it as guaranteed permission.

- Priority: Use Deem Inferior only from legal engine output and visible target text. Card text check required; if the rules engine offers it as interaction for a spell or permanent, prioritize the target that disrupts lethal pressure, removes a blocker for a fast kill, protects a serpent clock, or answers a resolved permanent that Counterspell and Spell Pierce missed.

- Priority: Use Sleep of the Dead on the creature whose next attack, block, or combat ability most changes the race. Tap a lethal attacker, a blocker stopping Delver of Secrets, Cryptic Serpent, or Tolarian Terror, or a creature that makes profitable attacks impossible; do not spend graveyard resources on escape if that strands a discounted Cryptic Serpent or Tolarian Terror unless survival or lethal damage requires it.

- Priority: Ignore bait that does not affect the next two turn cycles. Small creatures that are blanked by Cryptic Serpent or Tolarian Terror, redundant cantrips from slower opponents, and removal aimed at a replaceable Delver of Secrets can be allowed when the important fight is over your graveyard, your large threat, or the opponent's payoff.

- Archetype shift: Against aggro, counter the highest-damage curve plays only when blocking or Sleep of the Dead cannot stabilize; preserve life more than card perfection. Against control, protect one threat and fight card advantage or edicts over random removal. Against combo, counter setup only when it is the bottleneck; otherwise save Counterspell, Spell Pierce, and Force Spike for the payoff shown by legal stack actions. Against graveyard hate, treat the hate piece as a premium target if your hand depends on Cryptic Serpent or Tolarian Terror discounts.

## Combat And Trading Rules

- Attack rule: Attack with Delver of Secrets whenever it advances the clock without exposing a needed blocker or walking into an obvious profitable trade from visible board state. A transformed Delver of Secrets is often the deck's best early win condition, so protect it with Spell Pierce or Counterspell when doing so preserves a fast clock and leaves a realistic plan for the next threat.

- Attack rule: Attack with Cryptic Serpent and Tolarian Terror when the opponent cannot crack back for a better race or force a trade that removes your only stabilizer. Large serpent attacks are strongest when you keep one or two mana available for Counterspell, Spell Pierce, Force Spike, or Sleep of the Dead follow-up, and weakest when tapping out lets the opponent resolve the spell you were supposed to beat.

- Block rule: Block aggressively with Cryptic Serpent or Tolarian Terror when life total is under pressure and the visible trade is favorable or impossible for the opponent without extra resources. Do not chump with Delver of Secrets unless life total, lethal prevention, or a future protected serpent line makes the flyer expendable.

- Trade rule: Trade Delver of Secrets only when the opposing creature threatens more damage than Delver will deal before the next likely answer, or when preserving life unlocks Deep Analysis, Lorien Revealed, or a discounted serpent plan. Preserve Delver against slow decks because repeated evasive damage turns every cheap counter into a Time Walk-like exchange.

- Protection rule: Protect the threat that is currently winning, not the first threat targeted. Counter removal for Delver of Secrets when the opponent is already under a fast clock; protect Cryptic Serpent or Tolarian Terror when they are the only large body, the only lethal attacker, or the only blocker holding back a lethal swing.

- Life threshold: Above roughly 12 life, favor pressure plus held interaction unless the visible board threatens a sudden swing. Between 7 and 11 life, prioritize stabilizing attacks and blocks, and use Sleep of the Dead to prevent the largest damage chunk. At 6 or less, treat every combat prompt as survival-first unless you have visible lethal or a forced two-turn kill.

- Archetype shift: Against go-wide aggro, large blockers matter more than perfect card advantage, so cast Cryptic Serpent or Tolarian Terror earlier if legal and affordable. Against control, avoid trading your lone threat for a low-value creature unless it prevents a planeswalker-like engine or lethal setup. Against combo, combat is a clock; attack when safe, and keep enough interaction to stop the payoff rather than over-blocking minor damage.

## Selection And Tutor Rules

- Selection rule: Use Lorien Revealed as pseudo-tutor first when the hand needs its second or third Island more than raw cards. Islandcycling is strongest before the land drop, before keeping a one-land hand alive, or when holding up Counterspell matters; do not save Lorien Revealed for a five-mana draw spell if missing land drops will strand Counterspell, Cryptic Serpent, Tolarian Terror, or Deep Analysis.

- Selection rule: Cast Ponder before the land drop when the current hand needs a land, a cheap spell for Delver of Secrets, or a specific interaction window. Keep the top stack when it gives the next land plus action, or when it sets a known instant or sorcery for Delver of Secrets; shuffle when the visible top cards do not solve mana, pressure, or interaction needs.

- Selection rule: Use Brainstorm as a tactical fixer, not a casual draw spell, when possible. Prioritize Brainstorm with a shuffle or mill effect available from Lorien Revealed, Mental Note, or Thought Scour so unwanted cards can leave the top of the library; without a reset, cast Brainstorm only when you need a land, a counter, a threat, a Delver of Secrets setup, or instant-speed protection from a discard-like effect shown by legal actions.

- Selection rule: Sequence Brainstorm with Delver of Secrets upkeep only when transforming Delver matters more than deeper selection. If the upkeep trigger or legal timing lets Brainstorm place an instant or sorcery on top, use that line to accelerate the clock; if the opponent is pressuring life total or representing removal, prefer finding Counterspell, Spell Pierce, Force Spike, Sleep of the Dead, or a large threat over cosmetic setup.

- Selection rule: Aim Mental Note and Thought Scour at yourself by default when fueling Cryptic Serpent, Tolarian Terror, Sleep of the Dead escape, or Deep Analysis flashback improves the next two turns. Target the opponent only when the rules engine shows a specific tactical reason, such as disrupting known top-library information, enabling a visible lethal line, or avoiding milling your own needed card after Brainstorm or Ponder.

- Selection rule: Treat self-mill as a resource conversion, not free value. Mill yourself aggressively when Cryptic Serpent or Tolarian Terror becomes castable, when Deep Analysis in the graveyard is useful and life total permits, or when excess cantrips improve velocity; slow down when the graveyard is already sufficient, visible graveyard hate is likely to matter, or Sleep of the Dead escape would compete with serpent discounts.

- Selection rule: Use Deep Analysis when cards matter more than immediate tempo, and flash it back only when life payment and mana use are safe. Against fast boards, a Deep Analysis flashback that drops life into lethal range is usually worse than holding Counterspell, casting Tolarian Terror, or using Sleep of the Dead; against control, extra cards can be worth the life if they protect a threat or reload after trades.

- Selection rule: Cast Lorien Revealed as a draw spell only when mana is abundant and the game is about resources rather than immediate stack pressure. If holding five mana for Lorien Revealed forces you to pass without Counterspell or creature deployment against a threatening opponent, prefer cheaper selection, Islandcycling, or board development.

- Land timing: Delay the land drop until after Ponder, Brainstorm, Mental Note, Thought Scour, or Lorien Revealed when searching for an Island or deciding which card to put back. Make the land drop first only when a legal action requires mana now, when Brainstorm is protecting known top cards for Delver of Secrets, or when passing with interaction is the priority.

## Priority And Stack Rules

- Priority rule: Pass with purpose when the current mana represents Counterspell, Spell Pierce, Force Spike, Brainstorm, Thought Scour, Mental Note, Sleep of the Dead, or Deem Inferior and the opponent must act first. Explain the passed spell or ability being declined; do not pass merely because there are many legal cantrips if spending mana now weakens the next stack fight.

- Stack rule: Fight on the stack over spells that change the race, answer the protected threat, attack the graveyard engine, or create a card-advantage engine. Let low-impact spells resolve when Counterspell, Spell Pierce, or Force Spike is needed for removal, hate, payoff spells, or a decisive combat swing.

- Stack rule: Use Spell Pierce and Force Spike before Counterspell when the opponent cannot pay and the target is worth countering. Save Counterspell for threats that remain dangerous through tax counters, for late-game spells when Force Spike is unreliable, or for protection fights over Cryptic Serpent, Tolarian Terror, and Delver of Secrets.

- Stack rule: Cast instant-speed cantrips at the opponent's end step when no meaningful counter target appears. Prefer waiting with Brainstorm, Mental Note, and Thought Scour if holding mana may deter a key spell; cast them earlier only to hit a land drop, enable a legal discounted Cryptic Serpent or Tolarian Terror, transform Delver of Secrets, or find urgent interaction.

- Stack rule: Use Sleep of the Dead at the last profitable legal window. Tap an attacker before damage if it prevents lethal or preserves a blocker, tap a blocker before declaring attacks if it creates lethal or a major tempo swing, and avoid main-phase use when waiting would reveal more opponent intent without losing value.

- Stack rule: Treat Deem Inferior as conditional interaction only from visible engine prompts. Card text check required; if legal actions show it can answer a spell or permanent, choose it when the target matters now and when saving Counterspell, Spell Pierce, or Force Spike for a higher-value fight improves the turn cycle.

- Graveyard timing: Protect threshold-like graveyard density for Cryptic Serpent and Tolarian Terror before spending escape on Sleep of the Dead. Escape becomes correct when tapping the target prevents lethal, opens lethal, or buys the exact turn needed for a serpent clock; otherwise keep graveyard cards as cost reduction and future flexibility.

- Combat window: After attackers or blockers, reassess whether holding interaction beats adding cards or tapping creatures. Counter removal that breaks a profitable block, use Sleep of the Dead to alter damage when legal, and avoid spending Brainstorm or Thought Scour if the visible stack fight is more important than selection.

- Resolution rule: Let your own draw and mill spells resolve before committing to a threat when the new cards can change sequencing. After Brainstorm, Ponder, Mental Note, Thought Scour, Deep Analysis, or Lorien Revealed resolves, re-evaluate whether to deploy Delver of Secrets, Cryptic Serpent, or Tolarian Terror, hold up Counterspell, or pass with interaction.

- Optional timing: Decline optional or flashback lines when they consume mana, life, or graveyard needed for the current role. Deep Analysis flashback, Sleep of the Dead escape, and extra cantrips are strong only when they do not expose you to lethal, tap you out against a key stack window, or delay a necessary large blocker.

## Sideboard Map

- Sideboard rule: Preserve the low-curve graveyard-tempo core unless the matchup makes a specific sideboard role clearly higher impact. Brainstorm, Mental Note, Thought Scour, Delver of Secrets, Cryptic Serpent, and Tolarian Terror are still the default engine after sideboarding; most changes should reduce slower draw, unreliable taxes, or conditional interaction before weakening the threat-and-fuel shell.

- Annul role: Bring Annul against artifact decks, enchantment engines, artifact lands plus payoff decks, Aura-style strategies, and any opponent whose visible sideboarded plan relies on graveyard hate artifacts or enchantments. Annul is best when it counters a permanent that would either answer Cryptic Serpent and Tolarian Terror, shut off the graveyard, generate repeated value, or make racing impossible. Annul is bad against creature-heavy or spell-heavy decks with few artifact/enchantment targets, because holding it can waste the tempo advantage Blue Terror needs.

- Blue Elemental Blast role: Bring Blue Elemental Blast against red decks where legal action text can target a red spell or permanent. Use it as efficient protection against burn aimed at Delver of Secrets, Cryptic Serpent, or Tolarian Terror, as stack interaction against lethal burn, or as a tempo answer to red battlefield pressure when the rules engine presents a legal target. Blue Elemental Blast is bad against non-red decks and should not be included only because the opponent might splash red unless public information or matchup labeling supports that plan.

- Hydroblast role: Bring Hydroblast in the same red matchups as Blue Elemental Blast, with special priority against fast red aggro, burn, red sweepers, and red artifact shells. Treat Hydroblast as both survival interaction and threat protection; countering the spell that kills the first large creature is often equivalent to adding several attack steps. Hydroblast is bad when the opponent has few red cards or when holding reactive red-only interaction delays development against non-red threats.

- Envelop role: Bring Envelop against sorcery-heavy control, combo, land-search, cascade, sweepers, and attrition decks where important legal stack targets are sorceries. Envelop is strongest when it answers the opponent's high-leverage setup or payoff while preserving Counterspell for later. Envelop is bad against instant-speed decks, creature-heavy aggro, artifact-centric pressure, and opponents whose key cards are not sorceries; do not keep hands relying on Envelop unless the matchup makes sorcery targets likely.

- Gut Shot role: Bring Gut Shot against one-toughness creature decks, Faeries, Elves-like boards, token starts, sacrifice fodder, and small utility creatures where free or low-mana removal changes combat tempo. Gut Shot is especially valuable when it kills a blocker for Delver of Secrets, removes an early attacker while leaving Counterspell open, or stops an engine creature before it snowballs. Gut Shot is bad against large-creature decks, removal-light control with no small targets, and matchups where paying life makes burn math or creature races worse.

- Murmuring Mystic role: Bring Murmuring Mystic against grindy control, removal-heavy decks, edict-heavy decks, and opponents that can answer a single Tolarian Terror or Cryptic Serpent but struggle against repeated creature production. Card text check required; use it conditionally as a resilient engine only when legal actions and visible state support spending four mana without dying or losing a crucial stack fight. Murmuring Mystic is bad against very fast aggro, efficient red removal if unprotected, and matchups where tapping four mana before stabilizing exposes you to lethal.

- Exact plan versus fast red aggro or burn when red cards are the opponent's primary pressure:
Side in: 4 Hydroblast, 2 Blue Elemental Blast, 3 Gut Shot
Cut: 2 Deep Analysis, 2 Deem Inferior, 2 Spell Pierce, 2 Force Spike, 1 Lorien Revealed

- Red matchup plan: Use Hydroblast and Blue Elemental Blast as premium interaction, not as spare mana sinks. Prioritize countering lethal burn, removal aimed at a protected Tolarian Terror or Cryptic Serpent, and creatures or red permanents that represent more damage than one attack step from your threat. Gut Shot should answer early one-toughness pressure when doing so preserves life or lets Delver of Secrets keep attacking. Reduce main-deck emphasis: life-costly Deep Analysis lines, slow Lorien Revealed draw-spell turns, and late-game Force Spike patterns after the opponent can pay.

- Exact plan versus artifact-heavy Affinity or artifact-value decks:
Side in: 3 Annul, 4 Hydroblast, 1 Murmuring Mystic
Cut: 2 Force Spike, 2 Deem Inferior, 2 Spell Pierce, 1 Deep Analysis, 1 Ponder

- Artifact matchup plan: Use Annul for artifact engines, artifact threats, and artifact/enchantment hate that would invalidate your graveyard or threats. Hydroblast becomes high priority when the artifact deck's red cards are the payoff, removal, or reach; otherwise use only when the rules engine presents a legal red target worth answering. Murmuring Mystic gives a different threat profile in games where one large creature is too easy to answer. Reduce main-deck emphasis: soft tax counters on later turns and conditional bounce-like interaction when the opponent's permanents generate value immediately.

- Exact plan versus Faeries, small blue tempo, or one-toughness evasive decks:
Side in: 3 Gut Shot, 2 Blue Elemental Blast, 2 Envelop
Cut: 2 Deep Analysis, 2 Deem Inferior, 2 Sleep of the Dead, 1 Lorien Revealed

- Small-creature tempo plan: Use Gut Shot to win early board exchanges without tapping mana, especially when it protects Delver of Secrets pressure or clears a blocker before combat. Envelop is only valuable if the opponent's public configuration includes important sorceries; if the matchup is mostly instant-speed, prefer keeping main-deck counters instead. Blue Elemental Blast applies only when red splash cards or red removal are known or matchup-labeled; otherwise do not add red-only effects. Reduce main-deck emphasis: slow draw turns and tap effects that do not answer the stack or permanently handle evasive pressure.

- Exact plan versus sorcery-centric combo, control, or big-mana setup decks:
Side in: 2 Envelop, 1 Murmuring Mystic
Cut: 2 Sleep of the Dead, 1 Deem Inferior

- Sorcery matchup plan: Use Envelop to stop the opponent's highest-leverage sorcery, especially a setup spell, sweeper, card-advantage burst, or payoff that would overpower a single protected threat. Murmuring Mystic is a secondary win condition when the game slows and the opponent is built to trade one-for-one. Keep Spell Pierce and Force Spike more often on the play or when the opponent is mana-constrained; reduce main-deck emphasis on Sleep of the Dead when creatures are not the main axis.

- Exact plan versus Bogles, Auras, enchantment engines, or artifact/enchantment graveyard hate:
Side in: 3 Annul
Cut: 2 Force Spike, 1 Deep Analysis

- Enchantment plan: Use Annul on the permanent that changes combat math or disables your graveyard plan, not on the first legal target by habit. Against Aura-style decks, counter the aura or hate piece that creates the largest immediate race swing; against slower enchantment engines, counter the permanent that creates repeated advantage. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Force Spike when the opponent can sequence around it and Deep Analysis when life or tempo is under pressure.

- Exact plan versus removal-heavy black control, edicts, and attrition:
Side in: 1 Murmuring Mystic, 2 Envelop
Cut: 2 Sleep of the Dead, 1 Deem Inferior

- Attrition plan: Use Murmuring Mystic to diversify threats when the opponent is overloaded on single-target removal or edicts. Protect the first resolved engine or large creature with Counterspell, Spell Pierce, and Force Spike according to visible mana; do not tap out for Murmuring Mystic into a known decisive sorcery unless Envelop or Counterspell can still matter later. Add role cards: Envelop for sorcery-speed removal, discard-like sorceries, sweepers, or card advantage. Reduce main-deck emphasis: creature-tap effects when the opponent is not racing through combat.

- Broad graveyard-hate rule: Add role cards: Annul against artifact or enchantment hate, and preserve Counterspell for hate spells when the graveyard discount is central to casting Cryptic Serpent and Tolarian Terror. Reduce main-deck emphasis: extra escape use of Sleep of the Dead if graveyard resources are contested. Do not assume hate exists in hidden zones; react to matchup context, revealed cards, public permanents, and legal stack targets.

- Broad creature-race rule: Add role cards: Gut Shot against small creatures, Hydroblast and Blue Elemental Blast against red creatures or burn, and Annul only if the pressure comes from artifacts or enchantments. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Deep Analysis flashback and Lorien Revealed draw-spell turns when they cost the turn needed to stabilize.

- Broad control-mirror rule: Add role cards: Murmuring Mystic and Envelop when the opponent's important cards are sorceries or one-for-one answers. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Sleep of the Dead and other creature-only tempo effects when combat is secondary. Keep enough cheap selection to maintain land drops, fill the graveyard, and find protected threats; over-sideboarding away from the cantrip engine makes Cryptic Serpent and Tolarian Terror worse.

## Matchup Guidance

- Aggro: Become a tap-out threat deck only after the first damage wave is contained. Prioritize Delver of Secrets when it can race immediately, but prioritize holding up Counterspell, Force Spike, Spell Pierce, Hydroblast, Blue Elemental Blast, or Gut Shot when the opponent's next legal spell or attack represents more damage than one early Delver hit. Tolarian Terror and Cryptic Serpent stabilize races once cheap spells have filled the graveyard; do not spend Brainstorm, Mental Note, Thought Scour, or Ponder pointlessly if the resulting graveyard count still cannot produce a protected large creature. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Deep Analysis flashback, slow Lorien Revealed draw-spell turns, and speculative Deem Inferior lines before the board is stable.

- Burn: Treat life total as the primary resource and cards as secondary once the opponent is representing red reach. Add role cards: Hydroblast and Blue Elemental Blast for burn spells, red creatures, and red removal pointed at a key threat; Gut Shot only when paying life is clearly better than taking repeated creature damage or losing a tempo-critical Delver of Secrets exchange. Counterspell should usually answer lethal or near-lethal burn rather than low-impact setup. Avoid Deep Analysis flashback unless the life payment cannot put the game inside visible burn range.

- Go-wide decks: Win by compressing the game around one or two cheap blockers plus a fast clock, because Blue Terror has limited true sweeper coverage. Gut Shot should answer one-toughness lords, token makers, or evasive attackers when the visible exchange preserves multiple life points or an attacker. Sleep of the Dead is valuable when tapping the largest attacker changes a race; it is weak when many small attackers still produce lethal pressure. Tolarian Terror is often the best blocker, but attack with it only when the crack-back and public pump effects still leave survival.

- Tempo mirrors: Protect mana efficiency before raw card count. Delver of Secrets on turn one is excellent when backed by Force Spike, Spell Pierce, or Counterspell, but exposing Tolarian Terror or Cryptic Serpent without protection is often worse than waiting one turn. Add role cards: Gut Shot against one-toughness creatures, Envelop only if public cards show important sorceries, and Blue Elemental Blast only when red splash cards are known. Brainstorm should preserve interaction, not just improve card quality, when the opponent can punish tapped mana.

- Control: Shift from racing to threat discipline and card-flow pressure. Resolve one meaningful threat, usually Tolarian Terror, Cryptic Serpent, Delver of Secrets, or Murmuring Mystic, then spend Counterspell, Spell Pierce, Force Spike, and Envelop to protect it or stop a card-advantage swing. Add role cards: Murmuring Mystic when games become one-for-one exchanges, and Envelop for sorcery-speed draw, sweepers, or removal. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Sleep of the Dead and Gut Shot unless visible creatures make them relevant. Deep Analysis is strong when life is safe and the opponent cannot convert the tap-out window into a decisive threat.

- Removal-heavy decks: Diversify threat timing and avoid feeding one-answer turns. Lead with Delver of Secrets when early pressure matters, but hold Tolarian Terror or Cryptic Serpent until either the graveyard discount is strong or protection is available. Add role cards: Murmuring Mystic as a threat that rewards continued instant and sorcery casting, Envelop for sorcery removal or sweepers, and Annul only if the removal package includes artifact or enchantment hate. Counterspell should often protect an already resolved threat instead of fighting every marginal spell.

- Midrange: Trade tempo for board position only when the exchange preserves a future threat. Counterspell should answer the card that invalidates your clock, not every medium creature. Deem Inferior is conditional interaction; Card text check required, so use it only when the rules engine presents a legal target and the visible result meaningfully delays a threat, engine, or blocker. Sleep of the Dead can force through damage against one large blocker, but do not rely on it against value creatures that already generated advantage. Deep Analysis is best after the first big creature is online.

- Big mana: Commit pressure early and counter the payoff, not every ramp piece. Delver of Secrets backed by Force Spike or Spell Pierce is strongest before the opponent has excess mana. Add role cards: Envelop for sorcery payoff or setup spells and Murmuring Mystic if the game is likely to slow. Counterspell should be preserved for the first spell that beats Tolarian Terror or Cryptic Serpent on board. Lorien Revealed is acceptable as mana fixing or a late draw spell when holding up interaction is not required by the visible stack.

- Combo: Identify whether the opponent needs a creature, graveyard, artifact, enchantment, sorcery, or stack-based payoff, then reserve the correct answer. Counterspell is the universal stop; Spell Pierce, Force Spike, Envelop, Annul, Hydroblast, and Blue Elemental Blast are matchup-dependent stops that should be spent only on legal targets that advance or protect the combo. Pressure matters: Tolarian Terror and Cryptic Serpent shorten the window and make soft counters stronger. Do not tap out for Deep Analysis or Murmuring Mystic if the opponent can legally attempt a decisive combo before your next interaction window.

- Graveyard decks: Race while countering the payoff or enabler that matters most from public information. This list does not have broad graveyard exile in the registered sideboard, so Counterspell, Spell Pierce, Force Spike, and Envelop must cover stack-based graveyard actions. Annul only applies when the graveyard plan uses artifact or enchantment permanents or hate against your own graveyard discount. Preserve your own graveyard for Tolarian Terror, Cryptic Serpent, and Sleep of the Dead; avoid unnecessary escape or self-mill sequencing if it makes your threat timing worse.

- Artifact and enchantment decks: Add role cards: Annul as the clean answer to artifacts, enchantments, and artifact/enchantment hate that would constrain your graveyard or threats. Against artifact-heavy red decks, Hydroblast and Blue Elemental Blast also cover red payoffs, red removal, and red reach. Counterspell should answer the permanent or spell that changes the whole game texture, not a minor artifact that does not affect clock, mana, or threat survival. Murmuring Mystic is useful when single large creatures are easy to neutralize.

- Single-threat decks: Make the game about answering or racing the one object that matters. Counterspell is the preferred answer before resolution; Deem Inferior and Sleep of the Dead are conditional after or during legal target windows, with Deem Inferior requiring card text verification from legal action output. If the single threat lacks evasion and cannot race, Tolarian Terror or Cryptic Serpent can hold combat while Delver of Secrets or another large threat attacks. Do not spend Annul, Envelop, Hydroblast, or Blue Elemental Blast unless the legal target actually belongs to their covered card type or color.

- Creature-light control or spell combo: Reduce main-deck emphasis on Sleep of the Dead, Gut Shot, and creature-only tempo effects when they do not interact with the opponent's main axis. Add role cards: Envelop, Murmuring Mystic, and relevant blast effects only when public colors make them legal and meaningful. Brainstorm, Ponder, Mental Note, and Thought Scour should find threats plus protection rather than merely maximize graveyard size. A protected Tolarian Terror is usually better than two unprotected threats into known removal.

- Unknown game one opponents: Default to a balanced tempo-control posture. Keep mana open when the opponent's archetype is not yet identified, lead with Delver of Secrets only when the legal line does not strand critical interaction, and use cheap cantrips to find Island, Counterspell, and a discount threat. Do not assume sideboard cards are relevant until color, card type, or strategy is public. Once the opponent reveals red cards, artifacts, enchantments, sorceries, small creatures, or removal density, reclassify the game using the matching guidance above.

## Specific Matchup Notes

- General/archetype-only: Use these notes as matchup assumptions until the opponent reveals exact cards; revealed cards, public zones, and legal action text override every archetype read. Prioritize a protected Delver of Secrets, Tolarian Terror, or Cryptic Serpent over maximizing graveyard count when the opponent can punish a tapped shield.

- Red aggro and burn: Add role cards: Hydroblast, Blue Elemental Blast, and Gut Shot when red spells or one-toughness creatures are public. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Deep Analysis when life is under pressure and Lorien Revealed as a tap-out draw spell before stabilization. Priority targets are lethal burn, haste threats, damage-based removal aimed at Delver of Secrets or Tolarian Terror, and creatures that invalidate racing math.

- Small-creature tempo: Add role cards: Gut Shot for visible one-toughness threats and Murmuring Mystic when games become attrition battles over the board. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Deep Analysis if the opponent can convert the life payment or tap-out window into a winning attack. Sleep of the Dead is strongest when it converts one blocker or attacker into a decisive tempo turn; use it conditionally from legal action text.

- Control and removal-heavy decks: Add role cards: Murmuring Mystic, Envelop, and relevant blasts only when color or card type makes them live. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Gut Shot and Sleep of the Dead unless public creatures matter. Priority targets are sweepers, clean answers to Tolarian Terror or Cryptic Serpent, card-advantage sorceries, and removal that breaks up the only protected clock.

- Big mana and ramp: Add role cards: Envelop for sorcery payoffs and Murmuring Mystic when the game will slow. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Gut Shot and narrow creature tempo unless the opponent presents small mana creatures. Counterspell should usually wait for the payoff that beats your clock, while Force Spike and Spell Pierce are best before the opponent has excess mana.

- Artifact or enchantment decks: Add role cards: Annul, and add Hydroblast or Blue Elemental Blast only when red cards are public. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Force Spike on the draw if the opponent quickly develops spare mana. Priority targets are engine permanents, artifact creatures that race Tolarian Terror, enchantments that lock combat or graveyards, and hate pieces that make your threats worse.

- Graveyard decks: Add role cards: Envelop when the payoff is sorcery-based and Annul only when artifacts or enchantments matter. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Sleep of the Dead if tapping creatures does not stop the actual engine. This deck has no broad graveyard exile in the sideboard, so Counterspell, Spell Pierce, Force Spike, and pressure must carry the matchup.

- Combo: Add role cards according to the visible combo axis: Annul for artifact or enchantment pieces, Envelop for sorcery payoffs, Hydroblast or Blue Elemental Blast for red combo spells, and Murmuring Mystic only when there is time. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Deep Analysis and slow Lorien Revealed casts when passing with interaction is required. Commit to a threat when it shortens the clock enough to make soft counters live.

## Risk Summary

- Mana risk: The deck is mostly Island-based, but one-land keeps can fail if Brainstorm, Ponder, Mental Note, or Thought Scour do not find another Island or Lorien Revealed landcycling line. Do not keep speculative hands that need multiple cantrips to hit both mana and interaction against fast opponents.

- Matchup risk: Blue Terror can look like control while needing tempo pressure, so identify when the opponent will win a long game. Against big mana, combo, or card-advantage control, a protected Tolarian Terror or Delver of Secrets often matters more than holding every answer.

- Draw risk: Brainstorm is powerful but dangerous without shuffle or hand-clearing support; avoid locking dead cards on top when the next draw step must find Counterspell, Island, or a threat. Ponder should prioritize functional hands over perfect graveyard setup.

- Over-sideboarding risk: Too many narrow answers can dilute the threat-plus-cantrip core that enables Tolarian Terror and Cryptic Serpent. Keep enough Brainstorm, Ponder, Mental Note, Thought Scour, and cheap interaction to produce a clock and defend it.

- Graveyard risk: Mental Note, Thought Scour, Deep Analysis, Sleep of the Dead, Tolarian Terror, and Cryptic Serpent all care about graveyard texture in different ways. Do not spend escape or self-mill lines casually if they delay a discounted threat or expose you to known graveyard hate.

- Sweeper/removal risk: A single protected threat is strong, but one unprotected threat into known removal can lose the initiative. Against removal-heavy decks, sequence Delver of Secrets, Tolarian Terror, Cryptic Serpent, and Murmuring Mystic so Counterspell, Spell Pierce, Force Spike, or Envelop can protect the threat that matters.

- Closer risk: Delver of Secrets may fail to transform quickly, and large serpents can be stalled by tokens or tap effects. Use Sleep of the Dead only when the legal target and board state convert into damage, survival, or a lethal setup.

- Interaction risk: Force Spike and Spell Pierce decay as the opponent gains mana, while Counterspell remains the hard stop. Spend soft counters early on relevant spells, but do not fire them into low-impact targets just because they are legal.

- Sequencing risk: Tapping out for Deep Analysis, Lorien Revealed, or Murmuring Mystic can be losing when the opponent has a visible decisive window. When unsure, preserve blue mana for Counterspell unless the legal proactive play changes the clock or stabilizes the board immediately.

- Card-text risk: Deem Inferior requires card text verification before relying on exact tactical outcomes. Use it only when the rules engine presents a legal action and the visible result clearly advances tempo, defense, or threat protection.

## Test Feedback Checklist

- Deciding factor: After each game, identify whether the result was decided by early pressure, protected interaction, mana development, graveyard velocity, sideboard cards, or one resolved opposing payoff; cite public cards and rules-engine action windows rather than inferred hidden cards.

- Mulligans: Record opening hand size, Island count, threat count, cantrip count, and interaction count. Note whether the keep had Delver of Secrets, Tolarian Terror, Cryptic Serpent, Brainstorm, Ponder, Mental Note, Thought Scour, Counterspell, Force Spike, Spell Pierce, or Lorien Revealed as mana smoothing.

- Mana: Check whether the deck had enough untapped blue mana at the decision points that mattered. Flag games where Counterspell was stranded, Lorien Revealed was forced to be a slow spell instead of land access, or Deep Analysis competed with holding up interaction.

- Velocity: Track whether Brainstorm, Ponder, Mental Note, and Thought Scour turned on Tolarian Terror or Cryptic Serpent before the opponent stabilized. Note whether self-mill helped, missed, or created tension with Sleep of the Dead or Deep Analysis graveyard use.

- Threat deployment: Ask whether the first Delver of Secrets, Tolarian Terror, Cryptic Serpent, or post-board Murmuring Mystic was deployed at the right time. Record whether waiting for Counterspell, Spell Pierce, Force Spike, Annul, Envelop, Hydroblast, Blue Elemental Blast, or Gut Shot would have changed the outcome.

- Interaction quality: For every Counterspell, Force Spike, Spell Pierce, Annul, Envelop, Hydroblast, Blue Elemental Blast, and Gut Shot, record whether it answered a game-relevant spell or was spent on a low-impact target. Flag soft counters that were held until the opponent could pay.

- Removal and tempo: Check whether Sleep of the Dead and Deem Inferior produced real damage, survival, or threat protection. Card text check required for Deem Inferior before assigning detailed tactical blame beyond the legal action and visible result.

- Sideboard impact: Record whether Annul, Blue Elemental Blast, Envelop, Gut Shot, Hydroblast, and Murmuring Mystic were actually legal and relevant in post-board games. Mark sideboard cards as stranded only when they remained unusable despite visible opposing targets or clear matchup expectations.

- Closing: Ask whether the deck converted a large Tolarian Terror, Cryptic Serpent, or transformed Delver of Secrets into lethal quickly enough. Flag games where repeated cantrips, Deep Analysis, or Lorien Revealed delayed a closing attack while the opponent assembled inevitability.

- Role accuracy: Record whether the pilot correctly acted as tempo, control, or racing deck in each turn cycle. A pass with open Counterspell can be correct, but it should be judged against the visible clock, current legal proactive plays, and likely next opposing payoff.

- Mistakes: Identify legal decisions that appear suspicious from public information: attacking with a needed blocker, tapping out before a decisive opposing turn, using Brainstorm without a plan to clear weak cards, or spending Spell Pierce/Force Spike after their window had decayed.

- Stranded cards: List cards that were repeatedly uncastable or low impact, especially Deep Analysis, Lorien Revealed, Sleep of the Dead, Deem Inferior, Murmuring Mystic, Annul, Envelop, Hydroblast, Blue Elemental Blast, and Gut Shot. Separate mana issues, matchup mismatch, and poor sequencing.

- Overperformers and underperformers: Name exact cards that won or lost games through visible actions. Compare Delver of Secrets pressure, Tolarian Terror speed, Cryptic Serpent redundancy, Counterspell protection, and sideboard card relevance across pre-board and post-board games.

## First Tuning Questions

- Threat density: If games are lost without an early clock, should the deck adjust the balance among Delver of Secrets, Tolarian Terror, Cryptic Serpent, and Murmuring Mystic, or is the issue mulligan discipline and sequencing?

- Cantrip mix: If Brainstorm, Ponder, Mental Note, and Thought Scour fail to find both mana and threats, should the cantrip package change, or are current losses caused by keeping hands that need too many cantrips to function?

- Land and Lorien Revealed balance: If one-land keeps fail often or Counterspell is stranded, should Island count or Lorien Revealed usage be revisited? Separate actual mana shortage from games where Lorien Revealed was cast greedily instead of preserving interaction.

- Soft-counter quantity: If Force Spike and Spell Pierce are dead too often after turn three, should their quantities shift toward harder answers, or are they being held past their best window? Track play/draw differences before changing counts.

- Card advantage tension: If Deep Analysis wins attrition games but loses races through life or tap-out pressure, should its role be reduced against fast decks while preserved for slower matchups? Use visible damage races, not generic dislike of the card.

- Tempo interaction: If Sleep of the Dead and Deem Inferior do not convert into attacks, survival, or protected threats, should their slots become cheaper interaction, more selection, or additional sideboard flexibility? Card text check required for Deem Inferior before final conclusions.

- Red matchup plan: If burn or red aggro remains poor despite Hydroblast, Blue Elemental Blast, and Gut Shot, is the problem sideboard slot count, mulligan priorities, or tapping out for Deep Analysis and Lorien Revealed at the wrong time?

- Artifact/enchantment plan: If Annul is often stranded, are artifact and enchantment matchups rare, or is the pilot missing legal targets that should matter? If Annul is excellent, ask whether three copies are enough for the expected field.

- Sorcery/combo plan: If Envelop is high impact only in narrow matchups, should those slots stay dedicated to sorcery payoffs, or should the sideboard broaden? Judge this by actual opposing public spells and game-deciding stack windows.

- Attrition plan: If Murmuring Mystic stabilizes creature boards or removal-heavy games, should the deck value a second copy, or does its mana cost conflict too often with holding Counterspell?

- Role conflict: If losses show the pilot playing control in matchups where the opponent has inevitability, update guidance to deploy Tolarian Terror, Cryptic Serpent, or Delver of Secrets earlier. If losses show reckless tap-outs, tighten commitment gates around Counterspell and sideboard interaction.

- Closing power: If large threats are repeatedly stalled by blockers, tokens, or prevention, ask whether Sleep of the Dead timing, attack discipline, or sideboard configuration needs attention before changing the main threat suite.

## Veles Tactical Policy

### Policy: Opening Hand Gate
Priority: high
Decision families: mulligan
Cards: Delver of Secrets, Tolarian Terror, Cryptic Serpent, Brainstorm, Ponder, Mental Note, Thought Scour, Lorien Revealed, Counterspell
Phase windows: pregame mulligan decisions.
Runtime cues: prompt:mulligan, opening hand, known play/draw.
Use when: Keep hands with Island access, at least one early play, and a plausible route to either Delver of Secrets pressure or graveyard-enabled Tolarian Terror/Cryptic Serpent.
Avoid when: Ship hands with no Island access, no cantrip, no threat, or only expensive spells that require multiple draw steps before functioning.
Instructions: Treat Lorien Revealed as Island access only if cycling is legal and tempo loss is acceptable; value one-land hands more with Brainstorm or Ponder than with only Mental Note or Thought Scour.
Pilot skill floor: medium.
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: First Threat Setup
Priority: high
Decision families: priority
Cards: Delver of Secrets, Tolarian Terror, Cryptic Serpent
Phase windows: early main phases and first priority windows with a castable threat.
Runtime cues: action:cast Delver of Secrets, action:cast Tolarian Terror, action:cast Cryptic Serpent.
Use when: Deploy the first threat early when it starts a clock and does not expose a better hand to a decisive stack window.
Avoid when: Passing with Counterspell or Spell Pierce clearly protects against an imminent high-impact spell, or tapping out prevents interaction against a faster visible board.
Instructions: Prefer Delver of Secrets on turn one; prefer Tolarian Terror or Cryptic Serpent once cheap enough to cast while preserving relevant interaction.
Pilot skill floor: medium.
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Land And Lorien Revealed Access
Priority: high
Decision families: mana, selection
Cards: Island, Lorien Revealed, Counterspell
Phase windows: draw step aftermath, main phases, and end steps when cycling is legal.
Runtime cues: action:cycle Lorien Revealed, action:play Island, available mana summary.
Use when: Use Lorien Revealed for Island access if missing the next land drop or needing double blue for Counterspell matters more than casting Lorien Revealed later.
Avoid when: Already stable on mana and the matchup is slow enough that the spell half may become a real card-advantage play.
Instructions: Make land drops before fancy selection; double Island for Counterspell is a core checkpoint.
Pilot skill floor: low.
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Cantrip Sequencing
Priority: high
Decision families: selection, mana
Cards: Brainstorm, Ponder, Mental Note, Thought Scour, Tolarian Terror, Cryptic Serpent
Phase windows: early main phases, end steps, and setup turns before casting graveyard threats.
Runtime cues: action:cast Brainstorm, action:cast Ponder, action:cast Mental Note, action:cast Thought Scour.
Use when: Cast selection to find mana, threats, or interaction, and cast self-mill to reduce Tolarian Terror/Cryptic Serpent costs when threat deployment is near.
Avoid when: Blindly spending mana would leave no answer to a known decisive spell or waste Brainstorm without a plan for bad cards.
Instructions: Use Ponder/Brainstorm for quality and land finding; use Mental Note/Thought Scour when graveyard count is the bottleneck or end-step mana would otherwise be unused.
Pilot skill floor: medium.
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Brainstorm Discipline
Priority: medium
Decision families: selection
Cards: Brainstorm, Lorien Revealed
Phase windows: main phases, end steps, and response windows.
Runtime cues: action:cast Brainstorm.
Use when: Brainstorm finds land, protects a needed card from discard if relevant, or sets up a stronger next turn with a visible shuffle/cycling route.
Avoid when: It only churns cards with no pressure, no shuffle, and no immediate decision improvement.
Instructions: Put back cards that are slow for the current role; avoid hiding behind Brainstorm while the opponent advances a board you must answer.
Pilot skill floor: medium.
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Hold-Up Counterspell Commitment Gate
Priority: high
Decision families: priority, interaction
Cards: Counterspell, Force Spike, Spell Pierce
Phase windows: opponent main phases, stack windows, and your main phases before tapping out.
Runtime cues: action:cast Counterspell, action:cast Force Spike, action:cast Spell Pierce, action:pass.
Use when: Hold mana if the opponent has a likely game-changing spell, your clock is already present, or the legal proactive play is replaceable.
Avoid when: The opponent is under no pressure and waiting lets them outgrow Force Spike/Spell Pierce or overwhelm a single Counterspell.
Instructions: Spend soft counters early on mana-efficient, relevant spells; reserve Counterspell for threats, removal on your clock, engines, or payoff spells.
Pilot skill floor: high.
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Tap-Out Draw Gate
Priority: medium
Decision families: priority, selection
Cards: Deep Analysis, Lorien Revealed, Counterspell, Spell Pierce, Force Spike
Phase windows: your main phases and late end-step windows.
Runtime cues: action:cast Deep Analysis, action:cast Lorien Revealed.
Use when: Tap out for card advantage if the opponent cannot punish the window severely or you need cards to continue functioning.
Avoid when: The opponent has a visible clock, open mana, or known payoff where holding Counterspell/Spell Pierce/Force Spike is more important.
Instructions: Treat Deep Analysis and Lorien Revealed as stabilizing tools after interaction or pressure, not automatic mana sinks.
Pilot skill floor: high.
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Deterministic Deep Analysis Target
Priority: low
Decision families: selection
Cards: Deep Analysis
Phase windows: target-choice prompt after Deep Analysis is already legally cast.
Runtime cues: action:target self Deep Analysis
Use when: Deep Analysis target selection is prompted and the legal action text offers targeting self for drawing cards.
Avoid when: A replacement effect, prevention-like visible effect, or unusual public rule object makes drawing yourself harmful.
Instructions: Choose target self when the selected line is to draw cards with Deep Analysis.
Pilot skill floor: low.
No-API allowed: yes
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Graveyard Threat Commitment
Priority: high
Decision families: priority, mana
Cards: Tolarian Terror, Cryptic Serpent, Mental Note, Thought Scour, Brainstorm, Ponder
Phase windows: your main phases after graveyard count changes.
Runtime cues: action:cast Tolarian Terror, action:cast Cryptic Serpent.
Use when: Cast a cheap Tolarian Terror or Cryptic Serpent when it creates a fast clock or stabilizes combat while leaving enough protection for likely interaction.
Avoid when: Waiting one turn keeps Counterspell up and the opponent is unlikely to beat that pause.
Instructions: Convert graveyard velocity into board pressure before cantripping past the window to win.
Pilot skill floor: medium.
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Tempo Removal Gate
Priority: medium
Decision families: interaction, combat
Cards: Sleep of the Dead, Deem Inferior
Phase windows: precombat, combat, and opponent attack setup windows.
Runtime cues: action:cast Sleep of the Dead, action:cast Deem Inferior, action:target.
Use when: Use these spells to push lethal damage, buy a full turn against a key attacker, or protect a race.
Avoid when: The target is low impact or the tempo gained does not change attacks, blocks, survival, or a protected threat.
Instructions: Card text check required for Deem Inferior; follow only visible legal targets and engine result previews when available.
Pilot skill floor: medium.
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Attack With A Clock
Priority: high
Decision families: combat
Cards: Delver of Secrets, Tolarian Terror, Cryptic Serpent, Murmuring Mystic
Phase windows: declare attackers.
Runtime cues: action:attack with Delver of Secrets, action:attack with Tolarian Terror, action:attack with Cryptic Serpent.
Use when: Attack if damage advances lethal, forces bad blocks, or the creature is not needed to survive the crack-back.
Avoid when: Holding back is required against lethal or when a key blocker would be lost for low-value damage.
Instructions: This deck wins by converting protected threats into damage; do not over-defend once the race favors you.
Pilot skill floor: medium.
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Blocking And Race Preservation
Priority: medium
Decision families: combat
Cards: Delver of Secrets, Tolarian Terror, Cryptic Serpent, Murmuring Mystic
Phase windows: declare blockers and combat damage assignment prompts.
Runtime cues: action:block, action:assign combat damage.
Use when: Block to preserve life against a short clock, trade a smaller threat for a better opposing attacker, or keep enough time for large threats to win.
Avoid when: Chump-blocking sacrifices your only clock without preventing a near-term loss.
Instructions: Large Tolarian Terror and Cryptic Serpent can stabilize races, but only trade them when survival or a decisive swing requires it.
Pilot skill floor: high.
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Sideboard Color Hate Gate
Priority: high
Decision families: sideboard, interaction
Cards: Hydroblast, Blue Elemental Blast, Annul, Envelop, Gut Shot, Murmuring Mystic
Phase windows: sideboarding and post-board stack windows.
Runtime cues: prompt:sideboard, action:cast Hydroblast, action:cast Blue Elemental Blast, action:cast Annul, action:cast Envelop, action:cast Gut Shot.
Use when: Bring and spend narrow answers only against visible or strongly expected targets they legally answer.
Avoid when: A sideboard card lacks a reliable target in the matchup or spending it misses the actual payoff you must beat.
Instructions: Hydroblast and Blue Elemental Blast are premium versus red; Annul covers artifacts/enchantments; Envelop covers decisive sorceries; Gut Shot answers small creatures; Murmuring Mystic is for attrition and board stalls.
Pilot skill floor: medium.
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Gut Shot Target Discipline
Priority: medium
Decision families: interaction, combat
Cards: Gut Shot
Phase windows: opponent development, combat, and response windows.
Runtime cues: action:cast Gut Shot, action:target Gut Shot.
Use when: Target a visible one-toughness creature, combat-relevant creature, or utility creature whose removal changes the race or protects Delver of Secrets pressure.
Avoid when: Paying life worsens a race and the target is replaceable.
Instructions: Treat Gut Shot as tempo, not generic damage; preserve life against burn-heavy boards.
Pilot skill floor: medium.
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Murmuring Mystic Commitment Gate
Priority: medium
Decision families: priority, sideboard
Cards: Murmuring Mystic, Counterspell, Spell Pierce, Force Spike
Phase windows: post-board main phases.
Runtime cues: action:cast Murmuring Mystic.
Use when: Cast Murmuring Mystic in grindy or creature-heavy games where token generation will stabilize or overpower removal exchanges.
Avoid when: Tapping four mana exposes you to a decisive spell or you need to preserve hard interaction immediately.
Instructions: After Murmuring Mystic resolves, value cheap spells more because each legal instant or sorcery may add board presence if the engine confirms it.
Pilot skill floor: high.
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Pass With Purpose
Priority: high
Decision families: priority
Cards: Counterspell, Force Spike, Spell Pierce, Brainstorm, Thought Scour, Mental Note
Phase windows: all priority prompts.
Runtime cues: action:pass, stack empty, available mana.
Use when: Passing preserves interaction, end-step cantrips, or a stronger response window than acting now.
Avoid when: Passing wastes mana while behind on board and no relevant answer is being represented.
Instructions: Explain what legal action is being declined and why the held mana or future window is worth more.
Pilot skill floor: medium.
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Exact Mandatory Pass After No Legal Impact
Priority: low
Decision families: priority
Cards: none
Phase windows: priority prompts with only pass or no-impact procedural choices.
Runtime cues: action:pass
Use when: The only visible legal action is pass, or every non-pass action is explicitly unavailable or non-castable in the rules-engine action list.
Avoid when: Any legal cast, attack, block, target, or payment choice could change the game state.
Instructions: Choose the visible pass action without strategic embellishment.
Pilot skill floor: low.
No-API allowed: yes
Light-model allowed: yes
