# Strategy Specifications
## Deck Name And Archetype
Mono-Red Prowess is an Explorer legal 60-card main deck with a 15-card sideboard, registered as a red aggro-tempo spells deck built to convert cheap creature pressure, combat tricks, and burn into short-game wins. The active validation contract reports 60 main / 15 sideboard and format-aware validation passes, so Veles should treat the registration as legal unless the rules engine reports a runtime legality or import error.

- Identity: Mono-Red Prowess uses exact registered pressure cards `Kumano Faces Kakkazan`, `Monastery Swiftspear`, `Emberheart Challenger`, `Screaming Nemesis`, `Soul-Scar Mage`, and `Sunspine Lynx` to force early damage and make every spell-cast decision matter.
- Spell core: `Monstrous Rage`, `Reckless Rage`, and `Burst Lightning` are the main-deck tactical spell package; pilot decisions should value visible prowess-style triggers, damage races, blocker removal, and stack timing over generic burn-deck heuristics.
- Mana base: The registered lands are `Mountain`, `Den of the Bugbear`, `Ramunap Ruins`, `Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance`, and `Mutavault`; the deck is mono-red in color identity but has multiple colorless or utility lands, so red-source availability must be checked before assuming a hand can cast red spells on curve.
- Sideboard: The legal sideboard cards are `Flowstone Infusion`, `Ghost Vacuum`, `Hexing Squelcher`, `Magebane Lizard`, `Scorching Shot`, and `Weathered Runestone`; sideboard plans must use only those names on `Sideboard entry:` lines and must cut only registered main-deck cards.
- Tags: Current archetype/mechanic tags are aggro, tempo, prowess, and spells; duplicated tag input should be normalized mentally to those four roles without changing the deck’s tactical identity.
- Stock status: Treat the list as a hybrid between a stock Explorer mono-red prowess shell and deck-specific technology, not as a generic burn list; `Sunspine Lynx`, `Screaming Nemesis`, `Mutavault`, `Ramunap Ruins`, `Den of the Bugbear`, `Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance`, and the exact sideboard configuration create decisions that stock red heuristics may miss.
- Rogue status: Treat `The Legend of Roku`, `Hexing Squelcher`, and any unfamiliar newer card text as requiring runtime card text or rules-engine confirmation before making precise rules-text claims; Card text check required for any card whose Oracle text is not available in the decision request.
- Role concern: The deck’s default role is beatdown, but Veles must let visible board state override that default when racing math, blocker sizing, removal timing, or life totals show that preserving a creature or holding burn is stronger than immediate damage.
- Legality concern: Veles must never choose actions outside the engine-provided legal action list, even when the strategic guide prefers an attack, spell, sideboard plan, or utility-land activation.
- Hidden-information concern: Opponent hand, library, instant-speed interaction, and sideboard configuration are unknown unless publicly revealed or present in the decision request; do not infer exact opponent cards from archetype labels.
- Opponent info status: No user-supplied matchup, metagame target, or reflection concern was supplied with this draft, so matchup guidance should later be framed as archetype-based and conditional rather than as knowledge of a named opposing deck.
- Runtime priority: Use legal actions first, visible state second, and this Mono-Red Prowess guide third; when the rules engine exposes a conflict, the rules-engine output controls the pilot’s available choices.

## Thesis
Mono-Red Prowess assembles an early red creature, repeated spell-trigger pressure, and enough direct damage or utility-land reach to end the game before the opponent’s larger engine stabilizes. The preferred start is `Kumano Faces Kakkazan`, `Monastery Swiftspear`, `Soul-Scar Mage`, or `Emberheart Challenger` into a turn where `Monstrous Rage`, `Reckless Rage`, and `Burst Lightning` either clear a blocker, push combat damage, or convert prowess-style triggers into lethal pressure.

- Prioritize battlefield presence first: hands and lines that put a real attacker into play early are stronger than hands that only hold burn, because `Monstrous Rage`, `Reckless Rage`, and prowess-style triggers need a creature to turn mana into above-rate damage.
- Prioritize red mana second: `Mutavault`, `Ramunap Ruins`, `Den of the Bugbear`, and `Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance` add reach and resilience, but the deck’s fastest starts require `Mountain` or another visible red source to cast its red spells on time.
- Prioritize damage compression third: once a creature is attacking, sequence spells so the same turn produces blocker interaction, combat damage, and later reach rather than spending cards into a board state where the opponent can trade one removal spell for the whole turn.
- Win by forcing bad blocks: `Monastery Swiftspear`, `Soul-Scar Mage`, `Emberheart Challenger`, and `Kumano Faces Kakkazan` pressure early life totals, then `Monstrous Rage`, `Burst Lightning`, and `Reckless Rage` punish opponents who rely on one blocker to stabilize.
- Win by punishing lifegain and nonbasic-heavy boards when visible text confirms it: `Screaming Nemesis` and `Sunspine Lynx` are registered high-impact threats, but Card text check required before making exact lifegain-prevention, damage, or static-effect assumptions.
- Win through stalled boards with lands: `Mutavault` attacks around sorcery-speed removal, `Den of the Bugbear` can become a late pressure source, `Ramunap Ruins` can represent reach if the rules engine exposes the activation, and `Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance` can turn a land slot into bodies when legal.
- Do not become a control deck: removal should normally protect a race, unlock attacks, or finish a player; spending `Burst Lightning` and `Reckless Rage` only to trade resources while not attacking is a warning sign unless survival or a lethal counter-race demands it.
- Do not assume hidden interaction: hold back only when visible mana, revealed cards, board texture, or matchup context makes waiting materially better; otherwise this deck usually loses equity by giving slower decks extra draw steps.
- Do not invent exact card text: for `The Legend of Roku`, `Screaming Nemesis`, `Sunspine Lynx`, `Hexing Squelcher`, and any unfamiliar runtime card, use the engine’s legal actions and visible Oracle text before committing to text-specific lines.

## Role Package
- Threats: `Monastery Swiftspear` and `Soul-Scar Mage` are the premier one-mana attackers because they turn cheap noncreature spells into immediate combat pressure; keep them alive when the next spell turn is likely to force lethal or a major blocker collapse.
- Threats: `Kumano Faces Kakkazan` is an early setup threat and damage source that rewards curving out; deploy it early when legal unless the hand already needs mana held for a decisive interaction turn.
- Threats: `Emberheart Challenger` is a main pressure creature and possible card-flow engine, but Card text check required for exact triggered or exile-play decisions; treat self-targeting with `Monstrous Rage` as strategically important only when the legal action text confirms the payoff.
- Threats: `Screaming Nemesis` and `Sunspine Lynx` are higher-impact threats for games where one-drops alone are not enough; commit them when the opponent must answer the body, the static or damage text is relevant, or the race needs a larger attacker.
- Payoffs: `Monstrous Rage` is the main combat burst card; use it to create lethal, make a blocker unable to trade cleanly, or trigger creature-based spell/target rewards, while respecting instant-speed removal shown by legal actions and visible mana.
- Payoffs: `Burst Lightning` is flexible reach and removal; preserve it for face damage when the opponent is near burn range, but spend it on creatures when that attack step unlocks more total damage than holding it.
- Engines: `Kumano Faces Kakkazan`, `Emberheart Challenger`, creature-lands, and prowess-style creatures form the deck’s engine by converting every cheap spell or spare land activation into damage; the engine is tempo-based, not long-game inevitability.
- Velocity: The main deck has limited true card selection, so treat each spell as a scarce damage resource; Card text check required before relying on `Emberheart Challenger` or `The Legend of Roku` for card access.
- Interaction: `Reckless Rage` is the cleanest main-deck creature-control tool when a legal self-damage target exists; use it to remove blockers, shrink combat math, or answer must-kill creatures without losing the pressure role.
- Protection: The deck’s protection is mostly tactical timing, threat density, and utility lands rather than dedicated shield spells; avoid exposing the only creature to a blowout unless the resulting attack or trigger is worth the visible risk.
- Recursion: The registered list has no clear graveyard recursion package; treat `Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance`, `Mutavault`, `Den of the Bugbear`, and `Ramunap Ruins` as post-removal resilience instead of recursion.
- Mana: `Mountain` is the stable red source, `Mutavault` is pressure with colorless tension, `Ramunap Ruins` is reach with red-source utility, `Den of the Bugbear` is a late attacker, and `Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance` is a spell-like land when the engine exposes that option.
- Sideboard modules: `Flowstone Infusion` and `Scorching Shot` are creature-interaction modules, `Magebane Lizard` is a pressure or punishment module, `Ghost Vacuum` and `Weathered Runestone` are graveyard or zone-access hate modules, and `Hexing Squelcher` requires Card text check before assigning exact tactical jobs.

## Primary Win Conditions
- Creature-plus-spell compression is the default kill: set up `Monastery Swiftspear`, `Soul-Scar Mage`, `Kumano Faces Kakkazan`, or `Emberheart Challenger` early, then execute a turn where `Monstrous Rage`, `Burst Lightning`, and `Reckless Rage` add damage while clearing or invalidating blockers. Prioritize this path when the opening hand has red mana, at least one early attacker, and enough cheap spells to make the opponent’s first stabilizing block or removal spell insufficient.
- Combat blowout turns win before the opponent stabilizes: attack with a visible threat, let legal blocks and priority windows define the exact line, then use `Monstrous Rage` when it creates lethal, preserves the attacker, or converts a single blocker into a bad exchange. Disruption is instant-speed removal or bounce on the targeted creature; prioritize the pump line when the opponent is tapped low, the attack is already meaningful without the spell, or losing the creature still leaves burn or creature-land reach.
- Blocker-removal tempo wins through creature boards: use `Reckless Rage` when a legal self-damage target exists and the opposing creature is preventing more damage than the spell costs in tempo. `Soul-Scar Mage` can make damage-based removal tactically stronger if the rules engine exposes relevant modified damage or counter outcomes; otherwise treat the spell as visible removal only. Prioritize this path when clearing one blocker opens multiple attackers or prevents a counter-race.
- Midgame high-impact threat pressure wins when early one-drops are answered: commit `Screaming Nemesis` or `Sunspine Lynx` when the opponent must answer a larger body, when visible text confirms lifegain or nonbasic punishment matters, or when a single haste or damage event changes the race. Card text check required for exact `Screaming Nemesis` and `Sunspine Lynx` static or triggered lines; do not assume prevention, damage redirection, or lifegain lock text unless the engine shows it.
- Burn reach closes games after combat damage: preserve `Burst Lightning`, `Ramunap Ruins`, and attack-ready lands for the final damage band when the opponent is low enough that every draw step threatens lethal. Prioritize face damage when removing a creature does not increase the current or next attack by more damage than the burn would deal to the opponent.

## Secondary Win Conditions
- Creature-land pressure beats removal-heavy starts: use `Mutavault`, `Den of the Bugbear`, and legal `Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance` actions to keep damage flowing after sweepers or one-for-one removal. Prioritize this path when hand threats are exhausted, the opponent is relying on sorcery-speed answers, or activating a land preserves spell cards for a later lethal turn.
- `Ramunap Ruins` reach matters in stalled races: count visible life totals and legal activation costs before spending lands or mana elsewhere, because a late activation can replace an attack that the opponent has locked out. Use this path when the board is clogged, both players are low, and the engine presents a legal activation that does not sacrifice the ability to survive the opponent’s next turn.
- `Kumano Faces Kakkazan` chip-damage plus later creatures provides a low-resource curve: deploy it early to bank damage and improve future creature pressure when the hand has multiple threats but not enough burst for a single explosive turn. Prioritize this path against opponents whose first few turns are setup rather than blockers.
- `Emberheart Challenger` can become a value or pressure bridge when legal text supports it: target it with `Monstrous Rage` or other visible legal actions only when the engine indicates the target is legal and the resulting trigger or combat math advances the race. Card text check required before relying on card access, exile play, or role-specific text.
- `The Legend of Roku` is a registered singleton backup piece, not a default plan. Card text check required; use it only when its visible legal actions produce immediate pressure, card flow, or a board state that is better than deploying another threat or holding mana for damage.

## Emergency Lines
- Behind on life: shift from maximum damage to survival only when the visible counterattack is lethal or near-lethal; use `Burst Lightning`, `Reckless Rage`, or sideboarded removal if present to remove the creature that changes the clock most, then resume attacks as soon as survival is no longer at risk.
- Behind on board: identify the blocker or attacker whose removal creates the largest swing, then spend `Reckless Rage` or `Burst Lightning` on that object instead of spreading damage inefficiently. Do not use pump into open interaction unless the legal action is necessary for lethal, survival, or preserving the only route through combat.
- Behind on cards: stop trading one-for-one unless the exchange unlocks damage now; lean on `Mutavault`, `Den of the Bugbear`, `Ramunap Ruins`, and any legal `Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance` action to turn lands into threats or reach.
- Behind on mana: prefer one-spell turns that add a creature or remove the key blocker over holding multiple spells for a future turn that may never arrive. Keep colorless-land pressure in mind, but do not let `Mutavault` activations prevent required red spells if red mana is constrained.
- Opponent has lifegain, recursion, combo, or an engine: race first unless the engine presents a visible must-answer permanent or graveyard/zone dependency. Use exact visible rules text for `Screaming Nemesis`, `Sunspine Lynx`, and sideboard hate after boarding; Card text check required before treating any card as a lock.
- Primary threats removed: rebuild with the next legal attacker, then convert every remaining spell into either a lethal setup turn or a path-clearing action. The deck should not wait for a perfect draw when creature-lands and burn already create a measurable clock.

## Resource Model
- Life is a spendable resource until the opponent's visible attack or burn range becomes lethal: use early life total as permission to ignore low-impact blockers and keep attacking, but switch to removal-first turns when `Burst Lightning`, `Reckless Rage`, `Flowstone Infusion`, or `Scorching Shot` can remove the creature that changes the race. Do not preserve life by skipping damage unless the rules engine shows a next-turn lethal threat.
- Hand size is burst capacity, not long-game security: a hand with `Monastery Swiftspear`, `Soul-Scar Mage`, `Emberheart Challenger`, or `Kumano Faces Kakkazan` should convert spells into pressure quickly, while extra lands should become `Mutavault`, `Den of the Bugbear`, `Ramunap Ruins`, or a legal `Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance` action when the engine offers it. Avoid holding multiple pump or burn spells for a perfect turn if one spell now clears the only blocker or forces damage.
- Mana is the limiting bottleneck for double-spell turns: prioritize turns that pair a creature with `Monstrous Rage`, `Burst Lightning`, or `Reckless Rage` over turns that spend all mana on one lower-impact action. Preserve red mana for spell casting before activating `Mutavault` unless the land attack is the chosen damage source and no red spell changes combat or lethal math.
- Board presence is the deck's damage multiplier: one cheap attacker plus one spell often represents more pressure than a larger creature cast into a stalled board. Keep at least one credible attacker active when possible, because `Monstrous Rage`, prowess triggers, and damage-based interaction lose tactical value without a creature.
- Graveyard count is mostly public history, not a primary engine: use graveyards to infer spent removal, burn, and combat tricks, but do not assume recursion unless the engine shows a legal action. After sideboarding, `Ghost Vacuum` and `Weathered Runestone` turn graveyard or zone-dependent opponent plans into interaction resources, but only use them when their visible text and matchup role matter.
- Exile is conditional value tracking: if `Emberheart Challenger` or another visible effect exiles playable cards, treat those cards as temporary hand extensions only when the engine presents legal play actions. Do not spend mana on low-impact exile cards if the current combat step or lethal window requires burn, pump, or removal.
- Lands are threats and reach after the first three mana: `Mutavault` pressures through removal, `Den of the Bugbear` is a late attacker when enough mana is available, `Ramunap Ruins` converts Desert resources into final damage, and `Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance` may create bodies if its legal channel action is exposed. Card text check required before relying on exact `Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance`, `Sunspine Lynx`, `Screaming Nemesis`, or `The Legend of Roku` tactical text beyond visible engine output.
- Sacrifice fodder is scarce and should not be invented: the main sacrifice-like resource is land pressure through `Ramunap Ruins` if legal, not expendable creatures. Do not trade away the only attacker casually unless the exchange unlocks lethal, preserves survival, or leaves a creature-land plan.
- Tempo is the main currency: every spell should either add damage, clear the blocker that prevents damage, protect a race position, or convert into immediate board pressure. Sideboard bullets should be used only when their hate effect is faster than simply adding another attacker or burn spell.
- Information is bounded by visible state: use known revealed cards, public graveyards, exile, mana availability, and previous actions to choose lines, but never play around exact hidden cards unless revealed or strongly implied by public action patterns.

## Mana Guide
- Red mana is mandatory in opening hands: keep hands that cast an early red spell and have a credible path to two mana; mulligan hands where `Mutavault`, `Den of the Bugbear`, `Ramunap Ruins`, or `Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance` leave the hand unable to cast `Kumano Faces Kakkazan`, `Monastery Swiftspear`, `Soul-Scar Mage`, `Burst Lightning`, or `Monstrous Rage` on time. A one-land `Mountain` hand can be keepable only with multiple one-mana plays and clear pressure; a one-land colorless hand is not functional.
- Sequence untapped red first when the hand contains one-drops: `Mountain` should usually precede utility lands so turn-one `Kumano Faces Kakkazan`, `Monastery Swiftspear`, or `Soul-Scar Mage` is available. Play `Ramunap Ruins` early only when its red mana is needed and the pain/race cost is acceptable.
- Sequence colorless lands after red requirements are secure: `Mutavault` is strongest once the deck can already cast red spells, because early colorless mana can strand `Reckless Rage`, `Screaming Nemesis`, `Sunspine Lynx`, or multiple one-mana spells. Do not play a second colorless or utility land before confirming the next turn's red requirements.
- Play lands before draw or exile-play actions when mana expansion matters: if the legal line needs the land drop to cast a newly drawn or exiled card, play an untapped red source first unless a visible effect rewards waiting. Delay the land drop only when `Emberheart Challenger` or another visible action may reveal information that changes which land should be played.
- Preserve spell mana over land attacks in early turns: activating `Mutavault` is correct only when it adds more immediate damage than casting a creature, pump spell, or removal spell, or when the hand has no useful spell. In the midgame, count `Mutavault` as both attacker and mana source before choosing double-spell turns.
- Treat `Den of the Bugbear` and `Ramunap Ruins` as late-game mana sinks: do not expose them to inefficient sequencing costs before the deck has enough red mana to operate. Use `Ramunap Ruins` reach only after confirming the activation is legal, the life total math matters, and sacrificing a Desert will not remove needed mana for survival or lethal.
- Cast larger threats only when red development supports follow-up pressure: `Screaming Nemesis` and `Sunspine Lynx` should not consume the whole turn if a cheaper spell sequence produces lethal or clears the key blocker. Card text check required before valuing their static or triggered abilities over immediate prowess damage.
- Sideboard cards increase red pressure on mana: `Flowstone Infusion`, `Hexing Squelcher`, `Magebane Lizard`, and `Scorching Shot` should be sequenced with the same red-source discipline as main-deck spells, while `Ghost Vacuum` and `Weathered Runestone` can use off-curve mana when their hate effect is immediately relevant.

## Mulligan Guide
- Strong keep: keep `Mountain`, one more usable land, `Monastery Swiftspear` or `Soul-Scar Mage`, and two cheap spells such as `Monstrous Rage`, `Burst Lightning`, or `Reckless Rage` when at least one spell can affect combat by turn two. This hand has pressure, red mana, and a clear double-spell path.
- Strong keep: keep `Mountain`, `Kumano Faces Kakkazan`, `Emberheart Challenger`, a second land, and any one-mana spell when the curve lets the deck add pressure before using removal or pump. This hand is slower than double one-drop starts but still converts early board presence into damage.
- Medium keep: keep two red-producing lands, `Screaming Nemesis` or `Sunspine Lynx`, one cheap creature, and one cheap spell when the matchup is likely creature-based or racing-oriented. Card text check required before keeping a hand because of exact `Screaming Nemesis` or `Sunspine Lynx` text rather than because the hand already curves.
- Medium keep: keep one `Mountain`, `Kumano Faces Kakkazan`, `Monastery Swiftspear`, `Burst Lightning`, and a second one-mana spell on the play if the deck can operate off one land for a turn. Ship this more often on the draw against removal-heavy opponents because missing land two can strand `Emberheart Challenger`, `Screaming Nemesis`, and `Sunspine Lynx`.
- Risky keep: keep one-land `Mountain` hands only with at least two castable one-mana plays and a real turn-two draw payoff; do not keep one-land hands whose first action is only `Monstrous Rage` without a creature. One-land hands with `Mutavault`, `Den of the Bugbear`, `Ramunap Ruins`, or `Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance` as the only land are automatic ships unless the engine shows an impossible-to-miss red source somehow exists.
- Automatic ship: mulligan hands with no turn-one or turn-two pressure, hands with only colorless lands, hands with multiple three-or-more-mana threats and no early creature, and hands where `Reckless Rage` is the only interaction but there is no own creature to support legal targeting. Also ship hands that need hidden topdecks to cast their first red spell.
- Matchup-dependent keep: keep removal-heavy hands with `Soul-Scar Mage`, `Reckless Rage`, and `Burst Lightning` against visible or expected creature pressure; prefer threat-heavy hands with `Kumano Faces Kakkazan`, `Monastery Swiftspear`, and `Emberheart Challenger` against slower opponents. Postboard, keep `Magebane Lizard`, `Hexing Squelcher`, `Flowstone Infusion`, `Scorching Shot`, `Ghost Vacuum`, or `Weathered Runestone` only when the matchup role justifies the hate card and the hand still applies pressure.
- Play/draw adjustment: on the play, value `Kumano Faces Kakkazan` and one-drop creature starts higher because the deck can set combat terms first. On the draw, value `Burst Lightning`, `Reckless Rage`, and hands with two red sources higher because catching up through blockers matters.
- Trap hand: do not keep `Mutavault`, `Ramunap Ruins`, `Den of the Bugbear`, `Screaming Nemesis`, `Sunspine Lynx`, `The Legend of Roku`, and pump spells just because the cards are powerful. This deck mulligans better than it plays colorless, threat-light, no-one-drop hands.

## Turn Arc
- Turn 1: lead with `Mountain` and cast `Kumano Faces Kakkazan`, `Monastery Swiftspear`, or `Soul-Scar Mage` whenever legal. Prefer creature first when the hand has `Monstrous Rage`, `Reckless Rage`, or multiple prowess triggers; prefer `Kumano Faces Kakkazan` when the hand curves naturally and does not need immediate creature targeting.
- Turn 1 deviation: use `Burst Lightning` only when the target must die before combat snowballs or when no proactive one-drop exists. Do not expose `Mutavault` as the first land if it prevents a red one-drop.
- Turn 2: add a second attacker or cast `Emberheart Challenger` before spending pump unless the current attack plus `Monstrous Rage` creates a major damage swing or clears a blocker through combat. Use `Reckless Rage` when it opens attacks and the own-creature target is legal and acceptable.
- Turn 2 deviation: hold `Monstrous Rage` if the opponent has untapped interaction and the attack is already profitable without it. Spend `Burst Lightning` precombat only when removing a blocker increases damage more than saving burn for reach.
- Turn 3: choose between widening, removing the key blocker, or committing `Screaming Nemesis`/`Sunspine Lynx` based on visible board state. Double-spell turns with `Monastery Swiftspear` or `Soul-Scar Mage` are often better than tapping out for one larger spell, unless the legal larger threat is the clearest source of sustained damage.
- Turn 3 deviation: activate `Mutavault` only when spell mana is otherwise unused or when the land attack creates better damage than casting another red spell. Card text check required before prioritizing `The Legend of Roku` over a proven damage or removal sequence.
- Turns 4-5: convert resources into lethal pressure by sequencing creature attacks, prowess triggers, `Monstrous Rage`, `Burst Lightning`, and land threats in the order that preserves maximum legal damage. Use `Den of the Bugbear`, `Mutavault`, `Ramunap Ruins`, or `Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance` only after counting red mana needed for spells and survival.
- Turns 4-5 deviation: trade creatures only when the exchange preserves lethal outs, removes the opponent's best clock, or enables `Reckless Rage`/burn to finish the game. Do not spend a full turn on sideboard hate if attacking plus burn already pressures lethal.
- Late game: treat every draw as damage, mana, or a blocker answer. Prioritize legal reach from `Burst Lightning`, `Ramunap Ruins`, `Den of the Bugbear`, `Mutavault`, and any visible exile/play permission from `Emberheart Challenger`; avoid holding spells for perfect prowess turns when the opponent's next turn may stabilize.

## Card Roles
- `Monastery Swiftspear`: deploy `Monastery Swiftspear` as the cleanest turn-one creature when the hand contains multiple cheap spells or `Monstrous Rage`. Its haste and prowess make it the best card for converting spare mana into immediate damage, so count every legal spell as both its printed effect and a temporary combat stat boost before choosing attacks. Hold pump when the opponent can remove it for a blowout unless the attack threatens lethal, removes a blocker, or forces damage the opponent cannot recover from. Against creature decks, `Monastery Swiftspear` often attacks early and trades later; against slower decks, preserve it as a repeating damage engine unless a trade protects a higher-impact attacker.
- `Soul-Scar Mage`: cast `Soul-Scar Mage` early when the hand contains `Burst Lightning`, `Reckless Rage`, or multiple burn/removal effects. Its damage-modification role makes burn and fight-style removal more effective against creatures, but do not assume exact counters or replacement results unless the rules engine confirms them. Pair `Soul-Scar Mage` with `Reckless Rage` when legal targeting lets the deck shrink or remove a blocker while keeping pressure. In races, it can be better than `Monastery Swiftspear` when visible opposing creatures would otherwise brick attacks; against noncreature opponents, treat it as another prowess one-drop and sequence it for maximum spell-trigger damage.
- `Kumano Faces Kakkazan`: lead with `Kumano Faces Kakkazan` when the hand already has a turn-two creature or when immediate creature pressure is not required. Its early damage, counter support, and transformed body give the deck a strong curve, but it is slower than `Monastery Swiftspear` or `Soul-Scar Mage` when `Monstrous Rage` and `Reckless Rage` need an immediate creature. Prefer casting the next creature after the relevant chapter if the engine shows a counter or similar bonus is pending. Do not delay a legal lethal attack or necessary blocker removal just to extract perfect chapter value.
- `Monstrous Rage`: use `Monstrous Rage` as the main burst-damage and trample-enabling combat spell, not as a casual main-phase buff. Cast it before damage when it pushes lethal, makes a blocked attacker survive, converts a chump block into meaningful damage, or triggers `Emberheart Challenger` at a low opportunity cost. Be cautious into untapped removal or bounce because losing the target can waste the spell. With `Monastery Swiftspear` or `Soul-Scar Mage`, count both the pump effect and prowess; with `Emberheart Challenger`, count the targeted trigger and possible future card access if the engine exposes it.
- `Burst Lightning`: use `Burst Lightning` as flexible reach first and creature interaction second unless a visible blocker or attacker must die immediately. Early, point it at creatures when doing so opens attacks, protects life total, or combines with `Soul-Scar Mage` to neutralize a larger body. Late, preserve it for opponent life total when the board already attacks through or when land threats can cover creature combat. Card text check required for exact kicker or scaling mode at runtime; choose the higher-cost mode only when the engine shows the payment is legal and the extra damage changes lethal math or removes a target the base mode cannot.
- `Reckless Rage`: treat `Reckless Rage` as premium tempo removal that requires a legal own-creature target and a tactically acceptable self-damage outcome. Use it to remove blockers before combat, punish opposing creature development, or enable attacks that would otherwise stall. Pair it with `Soul-Scar Mage` when the visible result is especially favorable, but never assume a creature survives unless current toughness, marked damage, counters, prevention, and replacement effects are visible or confirmed by the engine. Avoid casting it on a fragile creature if the self-damage kills the only attacker and the opponent's creature was not stopping the deck's plan.
- `Emberheart Challenger`: cast `Emberheart Challenger` as a two-mana haste threat when the deck needs another attacker or when a targeted spell can turn it into card flow. Its targeting payoff makes `Monstrous Rage` especially valuable, but do not spend pump just to trigger it if the attack is not useful or the opponent can easily answer the target. When the engine exposes exiled or playable cards from `Emberheart Challenger`, treat them as real resources with timing limits; use them before losing access if they add damage or keep pressure. Against removal-heavy decks, avoid overinvesting multiple spells into it before the opponent commits interaction.
- `Screaming Nemesis`: use `Screaming Nemesis` as a mid-curve pressure piece when the first wave needs a resilient or punishing follow-up. Card text check required for exact triggered abilities and damage-prevention implications; make choices involving it conditional on engine-visible prompts and confirmed legal effects. Cast it over double-spelling only when its body or text materially improves the board, pressures life total, or punishes the opponent's likely blocks. Against creature decks, it can change combat incentives; against control or combo, it is mainly a fast clock unless the engine reveals additional relevant text.
- `Sunspine Lynx`: treat `Sunspine Lynx` as a top-end pressure card that must justify tapping significant red mana. Card text check required for exact damage, land, or prevention text before making matchup-specific assumptions. Cast it when it advances lethal, punishes the opponent's visible board or mana base, or provides more immediate pressure than multiple smaller plays. Do not keep slow hands just because `Sunspine Lynx` is present; it is strongest after one-drops and burn have already reduced the opponent's life total.
- `The Legend of Roku`: treat `The Legend of Roku` as a singleton role-player that needs a runtime card text check before priority over known damage lines. Cast it when the engine-visible text and current board show it adds pressure, interaction, or card advantage better than attacking with lands or using burn. Do not build mulligan or sequencing plans around drawing it because the deck has only one copy. When its choices appear, follow legal prompts literally and avoid assuming saga, creature, or spell-copy outcomes not shown by the engine.
- `Den of the Bugbear`: use `Den of the Bugbear` as late-game reach after red spell mana is covered. Play it tapped only when the curve can tolerate the tempo loss; otherwise prefer untapped `Mountain` for early one-drops. Activate it when the mana would otherwise be unused, when the attack contributes to lethal, or when creature threats have been exhausted. Avoid exposing it to creature combat trades if holding it as recurring pressure is better than one attack.
- `Mutavault`: use `Mutavault` as colorless pressure that improves flood resilience but can damage early red sequencing. Do not keep hands where `Mutavault` prevents casting the first red spell. Attack with it when red mana remains available for critical `Burst Lightning`, `Monstrous Rage`, or `Reckless Rage`, or when the extra body changes combat math. In removal-heavy matchups, `Mutavault` is valuable because it survives many sorcery-speed creature answers, but it still dies in combat if sent into larger blockers.
- `Ramunap Ruins`: use `Ramunap Ruins` as a red source first and reach later. Count its pain or activation costs through the engine rather than assuming life-total safety. Preserve it when the opponent is near burn range and the deck has enough lands to spend a turn converting mana into direct damage. Do not overvalue the activation before combat if casting a spell or activating `Mutavault` produces more immediate damage.
- `Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance`: use `Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance` as a red land until the channel or token-making mode is clearly better than a land drop. Card text check required for exact channel cost and tokens. Channel it when extra bodies create lethal, rebuild after sweepers, or provide blockers without spending a spell slot. Do not discard its land function in opening hands that already strain red mana.
- `Mountain`: value `Mountain` highly because the deck's explosive starts require untapped red. Prefer `Mountain` over utility lands in early turns when the hand needs one-drop plus one-mana spell sequencing. Multiple `Mountain` draws are acceptable when they enable double-spell turns, kicked or scaled `Burst Lightning`, `Den of the Bugbear`, `Mutavault`, `Ramunap Ruins`, or `Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance` lines.
- Role overlap rule: prioritize cards by current bottleneck rather than printed category. If the bottleneck is no attacker, cast `Monastery Swiftspear`, `Soul-Scar Mage`, `Kumano Faces Kakkazan`, or `Emberheart Challenger`; if the bottleneck is a blocker, use `Reckless Rage` or `Burst Lightning`; if the bottleneck is reach, preserve `Burst Lightning`, `Ramunap Ruins`, and creature-land attacks; if the bottleneck is running out of cards, look for `Emberheart Challenger` targeting lines only when they also support damage.

## Interaction Priorities
- Remove the blocker that changes this turn's attack first; use `Reckless Rage` or `Burst Lightning` before combat when clearing it converts multiple attackers into damage. Do not spend removal on a creature that can be ignored because trample, prowess math, `Den of the Bugbear`, `Mutavault`, or direct damage already creates lethal.
- Preserve reach when the opponent is low; hold `Burst Lightning`, `Ramunap Ruins`, and creature-land activations for face damage if the visible board can be raced. Use removal instead only when the target adds a faster opposing clock, lifegain pressure, or a blocker that prevents lethal.
- Treat `Reckless Rage` as the premium answer to large early creatures, but verify the legal own-creature target and self-damage result. Pairing it with `Soul-Scar Mage` can permanently shrink targets through counters, but the agent must follow engine output rather than assuming survival, counter placement, or replacement effects.
- Use `Burst Lightning` flexibly; point it at small blockers, planeswalkers, or the opponent depending on the current damage race. Choose higher-cost modes only when legal and when the extra damage changes a kill, lethal line, or survival threshold.
- Spend `Monstrous Rage` as protection only when the engine-visible action saves a key attacker, pushes lethal, or wins combat through trample. Do not fire it into open mana merely for a prowess trigger if the opponent can answer the target and erase both the creature and the spell.
- Bait interaction with lower-commitment threats before investing pump; `Kumano Faces Kakkazan`, `Monastery Swiftspear`, `Soul-Scar Mage`, and `Emberheart Challenger` can force answers before `Screaming Nemesis` or `Sunspine Lynx` needs to resolve. Against removal-heavy decks, prefer spreading threats over stacking multiple spells on one creature unless the stack already shows the payoff is unavoidable or lethal.
- Ignore low-impact permanents when the opponent's life total is the bottleneck. A tapped blocker, a non-attacking utility creature, or a planeswalker that cannot change combat this turn is often less important than preserving burn and attacking.
- Change removal priorities by archetype: against creature aggro, kill haste creatures, lifelink creatures, and blockers that force bad trades; against midrange, kill oversized blockers that blank prowess attackers; against control, save burn for face or planeswalkers unless a creature blocks lethal; against graveyard or combo decks, pressure first and use sideboard tools only when the engine shows a relevant legal action.
- Use sideboard interaction by role after boarding: `Flowstone Infusion` and `Scorching Shot` are creature-control tools, `Hexing Squelcher` needs card text check required before exact use, `Ghost Vacuum` and `Weathered Runestone` are graveyard or recursion pressure pieces, and `Magebane Lizard` should be treated as matchup pressure only after card text is confirmed by runtime or a card text check.
- This deck does not counter, discard, bounce, or broadly exile from the main deck; do not invent those interaction modes. If the legal action list offers an unusual exile or prevention-related choice from `Screaming Nemesis`, `Sunspine Lynx`, `The Legend of Roku`, or a sideboard card, follow the rules-engine prompt and require card text check required for strategic assumptions.

## Combat And Trading Rules
- Attack first when the visible race favors pressure; this deck wins by turning early creatures into repeated damage, then finishing with burn, lands, or top-end threats. Decline attacks only when the counterattack is lethal, when keeping a creature enables a better `Reckless Rage` target, or when a block protects a higher-damage future turn.
- Protect the first threat only when it is still the best damage engine. `Monastery Swiftspear` and `Soul-Scar Mage` reward spell density, but trading one away can be correct if it unlocks `Reckless Rage`, preserves life against aggro, or lets `Screaming Nemesis` and `Sunspine Lynx` finish the game.
- Use `Monstrous Rage` to convert blocks into damage, not just to grow a creature. Favor lines where trample matters, where the role or permanent boost remains useful, or where a targeted `Emberheart Challenger` creates additional legal play options shown by the engine.
- Trade down only when the opponent's clock matters more than your next attack. Against faster aggro, blocking with a spent `Kumano Faces Kakkazan` body, creature-land, or redundant one-drop can be correct; against control or combo, avoid trades that reduce the clock unless they protect lethal reach.
- Keep `Soul-Scar Mage` alive when noncombat damage will matter. With `Burst Lightning` or `Reckless Rage`, it can make future combats easier, so avoid sending it into a trade if another attacker delivers similar damage and the opponent has large creatures.
- Send `Mutavault` into combat only when the red mana left behind still supports important spells or when the extra damage changes the race. Do not trade `Mutavault` for a small blocker if recurring colorless pressure is the better plan.
- Activate `Den of the Bugbear` when mana would otherwise be unused or when the generated attack materially improves damage. Do not expose it to a trade when preserving repeat attacks is worth more than one combat step.
- Respect life-total thresholds aggressively: above a comfortable buffer, take damage to maintain pressure; near burn or lethal-backfire range, block if it preserves an extra turn to draw `Burst Lightning`, use `Ramunap Ruins`, or attack with creature-lands. Count pain from lands and opposing visible damage through engine output.
- Against creature boards, remove before combat when it creates clean attacks and pump during combat when it punishes blocks. Against open-mana decks, attack with fewer committed resources first and wait for the opponent to act before spending `Monstrous Rage` or burn.
- Treat `Screaming Nemesis`, `Sunspine Lynx`, and `The Legend of Roku` as combat-context cards with card text check required for exact triggered, damage, or prevention implications. Make blocks, attacks, and target choices from the legal prompt and visible text, not from memory or assumed rules outcomes.

## Selection And Tutor Rules
- Treat the deck as almost tutorless; no main-deck card searches the library for a chosen card. Do not spend actions looking for a nonexistent tutor line, and do not assume access to a specific `Burst Lightning`, `Monstrous Rage`, `Reckless Rage`, or threat unless it is visible in hand, exile, graveyard, battlefield, stack, or legal actions.
- Use pseudo-selection from `Emberheart Challenger` only when the legal prompt confirms the exiled card timing and play permission. Targeting `Emberheart Challenger` with `Monstrous Rage` can convert a pump spell into additional card access, but do this after checking mana, current combat, and whether losing the targeted creature to removal would waste both the spell and the selection trigger.
- Sequence land drops before exile-play decisions when mana color or land count determines what can be cast. Prefer `Mountain` as the early land when red mana is needed for one-drop plus spell turns; delay `Mutavault`, `Den of the Bugbear`, `Ramunap Ruins`, or `Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance` only when their utility matters less than casting visible red spells on curve.
- Preserve exile-play windows from `Emberheart Challenger` by spending mana on temporary cards before optional creature-land activations when the engine shows the card will expire soon. If the exiled card remains playable next turn, prioritize current lethal, board survival, and mana efficiency over forcing it immediately.
- Bottom or decline speculative setup when a runtime scry, selection, or reveal prompt appears from an opponent effect or unusual card interaction. Keep cheap threats, red sources, burn, and pump when they support the current race; move excess lands or redundant expensive cards away only if the visible hand already casts its next two turns.
- Treat `The Legend of Roku` as card text check required for any selection, chapter, or transformation implication. Follow the rules-engine legal choices and do not assume it filters, draws, damages, or creates a permanent advantage without visible prompt text.
- Use sideboard permanent selection conservatively after boarding. `Ghost Vacuum` and `Weathered Runestone` are not tutors; deploy them when their visible static or activated text matters to the matchup, not as generic card selection. `Hexing Squelcher` and `Magebane Lizard` require card text check required before exact tactical use.

## Priority And Stack Rules
- Cast precombat spells when they unlock attacks; cast in-combat spells when they punish blocks or preserve surprise. `Monstrous Rage` is strongest after blockers are known or when lethal requires trample now, while `Burst Lightning` and `Reckless Rage` can be better before combat if removing a blocker creates clean damage.
- Respect stack exposure before targeting your own creature. If the opponent has open interaction and lethal is not forced, avoid stacking `Monstrous Rage` plus other spells onto one `Monastery Swiftspear`, `Soul-Scar Mage`, or `Emberheart Challenger` unless the legal line wins through likely removal or waiting is worse.
- Use `Burst Lightning` at instant speed when the target or timing changes the outcome. Respond to pump, lifegain setup, planeswalker activation, lethal attack pressure, or end-step shields-down windows; otherwise preserve it as reach when the opponent is within burn, `Ramunap Ruins`, or creature-land range.
- Cast `Reckless Rage` only after verifying both required targets and self-damage consequences in the legal action text. Pairing it with `Soul-Scar Mage` can be tactically important, but the agent must let the engine determine counters, damage, survival, and replacement effects.
- Let low-impact spells resolve when racing. Do not spend burn on stack-adjacent targets or utility permanents unless the visible result prevents lethal, removes a blocker, stops lifegain, or protects a decisive attack.
- Use activated land abilities at the latest safe point. Activate `Den of the Bugbear` or `Mutavault` before attackers only when attacking with them is selected; hold `Ramunap Ruins` until end step or lethal math unless using it now prevents a life-gain swing or wins before the opponent untaps.
- Use `Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance` channel only when the legal action shows it and the tokens or instant-speed bodies matter more than a land drop or red source. Prefer it in end step, combat, or after sweepers when holding mana has already represented `Burst Lightning` or `Monstrous Rage`.
- Treat optional triggers, replacement choices, and prevention-related prompts from `Screaming Nemesis`, `Sunspine Lynx`, and `The Legend of Roku` as card text check required. Choose from visible legal actions only, and route uncertain damage-prevention, lifegain, or target prompts through model reasoning rather than automatic execution.
- After sideboarding, time `Flowstone Infusion` and `Scorching Shot` as removal only when their visible text and legal targets support the current race. Deploy `Ghost Vacuum`, `Weathered Runestone`, `Hexing Squelcher`, or `Magebane Lizard` according to confirmed card text and matchup role, not generic graveyard or spell-hate assumptions.

## Sideboard Map

- Sideboarding principle: preserve the damage engine first, then add narrow cards only when they improve a visible matchup axis. Mono-Red Prowess wins post-board by keeping one-drop pressure, spell density for `Monastery Swiftspear` and `Soul-Scar Mage`, and enough reach from `Burst Lightning`, `Ramunap Ruins`, creature-lands, and combat pumps.

- `Flowstone Infusion` role: Add role cards: `Flowstone Infusion` against small-creature aggro, opposing prowess, mana creatures, utility creatures, and combat boards where one cheap spell changes attacks while triggering prowess. Card text check required for exact target restrictions and stat change. Bad when the opponent has few creatures, mostly large blockers, or removal that punishes targeting your own creature. Role change: treat it as removal before combat when it clears a blocker, and as a combat trick only when Veles exposes a legal exchange that changes survival or lethal math.

- `Scorching Shot` role: Add role cards: `Scorching Shot` against creature decks whose blockers or attackers survive `Burst Lightning`, `Flowstone Infusion`, or combat damage. Card text check required for damage amount, target class, and timing. Bad against creature-light control, spell combo, and graveyard engines where killing one creature does not change the clock. Role change: it becomes a tempo card when removing one blocker opens lethal attacks; it becomes a survival card when one attacker creates a short visible clock.

- `Magebane Lizard` role: Add role cards: `Magebane Lizard` against spell-heavy control, Phoenix-style spell engines, opposing prowess, combo decks that chain noncreature spells, and removal-heavy decks where a creature that punishes casting can add pressure. Card text check required for exact trigger timing and damage. Bad against creature-dense boards where its body neither attacks nor blocks profitably. Role change: cast it early as pressure against spell chains, but treat it as a normal creature in combat if the opponent is winning through battlefield size.

- `Hexing Squelcher` role: Add role cards: `Hexing Squelcher` when the opponent’s visible plan depends on a card class, ability, spell pattern, or engine that its checked text can disrupt. Card text check required. Bad when its text does not map to public game actions, when the matchup is decided by raw creature combat, or when holding it delays `Kumano Faces Kakkazan`, `Monastery Swiftspear`, `Emberheart Challenger`, or `Screaming Nemesis`. Role change: if it is a disruptive permanent, deploy before the opponent’s key turn; if it is reactive, wait for Veles to expose the legal target or prompt.

- `Ghost Vacuum` role: Add role cards: `Ghost Vacuum` against graveyard recursion, Phoenix-style graveyard casting, reanimation, sacrifice loops, flashback-like permissions, or any opponent whose public graveyard is a live resource. Card text check required for activation timing, target scope, and stored-card implications. Bad when the graveyard is incidental or empty, or when spending mana on hate costs a lethal attack. Role change: use proactively only before a known graveyard payoff turn; otherwise hold for the visible graveyard card or stack action that matters.

- `Weathered Runestone` role: Add role cards: `Weathered Runestone` against graveyard, library-cast, creature-cheat, and recursion engines if its current text restricts the opponent’s public plan. Card text check required, especially because static hate can have asymmetric or symmetric consequences. Bad against fair creature decks, low-synergy midrange, and opponents who win from hand and battlefield without using graveyard or library permissions. Role change: accept the lower spell-trigger density only when the static effect can deny multiple future actions.

Small Creature Aggro / Prowess Mirror
Role cards: 3 Flowstone Infusion; 2 Scorching Shot
Trim roles: 1 The Legend of Roku; 2 Sunspine Lynx; 2 Monstrous Rage

- Plan rule: use this plan when the opponent presents early creatures, combat tricks, or blockers that decide the race. Keep all `Monastery Swiftspear`, `Soul-Scar Mage`, `Emberheart Challenger`, `Kumano Faces Kakkazan`, and `Burst Lightning` because pressure plus cheap interaction is better than becoming a pure removal deck.

Spell-Heavy Control / Creature-Light Combo
Role cards: 4 Magebane Lizard; 3 Hexing Squelcher
Trim roles: 4 Reckless Rage; 1 The Legend of Roku; 2 Monstrous Rage

- Plan rule: use this plan when `Reckless Rage` has few reliable opposing creature targets and the opponent’s key turns involve noncreature spells or a checked `Hexing Squelcher` axis. Keep `Sunspine Lynx` only if its visible text matters against nonbasic mana, lifegain, or stabilization; otherwise evaluate it as a three-mana pressure card from legal text.

Graveyard Spell Engine / Recursion
Role cards: 1 Ghost Vacuum; 2 Weathered Runestone; 4 Magebane Lizard
Trim roles: 4 Reckless Rage; 1 The Legend of Roku; 2 Monstrous Rage

- Plan rule: use this plan when public graveyard contents, replay permissions, or game-one actions show that the opponent converts the graveyard into threats, cards, or damage. Hate must be paired with fast pressure; do not keep a hand that only contains `Ghost Vacuum` or `Weathered Runestone` and no early attacker.

- Creature-heavy archetype rule: Add role cards: `Flowstone Infusion`; `Scorching Shot`; `Magebane Lizard` only when its checked text affects spell-volume races. Reduce main-deck emphasis: `The Legend of Roku`, some `Sunspine Lynx`, and some `Monstrous Rage` when targeting risk is high or blockers make pump unreliable.

- Control archetype rule: Add role cards: `Magebane Lizard`; `Hexing Squelcher`; `Ghost Vacuum` only if public graveyard use appears. Reduce main-deck emphasis: `Reckless Rage`, excess self-target pump into open removal, and slow text-uncertain cards that do not immediately pressure life total.

- Graveyard archetype rule: Add role cards: `Ghost Vacuum`; `Weathered Runestone`; `Magebane Lizard` when the opponent also chains spells. Reduce main-deck emphasis: `Reckless Rage` if creatures are not the engine, and some `Monstrous Rage` when hate permanents already consume early mana.

- Big-creature midrange rule: Add role cards: `Scorching Shot`; `Flowstone Infusion` only when legal target text and damage math line up. Reduce main-deck emphasis: the slowest pressure card and pump lines that lose to one removal spell; keep `Reckless Rage` if Veles confirms safe targets and it answers the blocker that stops multiple attackers.

- Sideboard discipline: reject plans that add six or more non-damage hate cards unless the opponent’s public engine demands them. A post-board hand still needs early red mana, an attacker, and either a spell to trigger prowess or a sideboard card that directly disrupts the opponent’s visible axis.

Explicit Sideboard Repair Plans

These balanced plans are legal Veles candidates built from the registered sideboard and main deck. Use them as baseline sideboarding options only when the matchup role fits; keep the role guidance above as the strategic source of truth.

Legal repair plan 1
Side in: 3 Flowstone Infusion; Ghost Vacuum
Cut: 4 Kumano Faces Kakkazan

Legal repair plan 2
Side in: 2 Flowstone Infusion; Ghost Vacuum; Hexing Squelcher
Cut: 3 Kumano Faces Kakkazan; Monastery Swiftspear

Legal repair plan 3
Side in: Flowstone Infusion; Ghost Vacuum; 2 Hexing Squelcher
Cut: 2 Kumano Faces Kakkazan; 2 Monastery Swiftspear

Legal repair plan 4
Side in: Ghost Vacuum; 3 Hexing Squelcher
Cut: Kumano Faces Kakkazan; 3 Monastery Swiftspear

## Matchup Guidance

- Aggro rule: Race only when the visible board and legal combat actions show that damage now is worth more than preserving a blocker. Keep `Monastery Swiftspear`, `Soul-Scar Mage`, `Kumano Faces Kakkazan`, and `Emberheart Challenger` as the preferred early pressure package, then use `Burst Lightning`, `Reckless Rage`, `Flowstone Infusion`, or `Scorching Shot` to remove the creature that changes the next combat step. Reduce main-deck emphasis: `The Legend of Roku`, the slowest `Sunspine Lynx` hands, and pump-heavy lines with `Monstrous Rage` when the opponent can answer the target or force a blowout.

- Tempo rule: Protect the initiative by spending mana every turn and by making the opponent answer threats during awkward windows. Cast `Kumano Faces Kakkazan` before creatures when the legal sequence increases early damage, deploy `Monastery Swiftspear` or `Soul-Scar Mage` before spell turns when possible, and prefer `Burst Lightning` or `Reckless Rage` before combat if clearing a blocker increases total damage. Add role cards: `Flowstone Infusion`; `Scorching Shot`; `Hexing Squelcher` only when its checked text disrupts the opponent's tempo axis. Card text check required for `Hexing Squelcher`.

- Control rule: Present resilient, repeated pressure instead of overcommitting pump into open removal. Favor hands with two early attackers or one early attacker plus `Den of the Bugbear`, `Mutavault`, `Ramunap Ruins`, or `Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance` as late pressure. Add role cards: `Magebane Lizard`; `Hexing Squelcher`; `Ghost Vacuum` only if the opponent uses the graveyard publicly. Reduce main-deck emphasis: `Reckless Rage`, excess `Monstrous Rage`, and any hand that needs the first creature to survive multiple turns before dealing meaningful damage. Card text check required for `Magebane Lizard` and `Hexing Squelcher` exact disruption.

- Removal-heavy rule: Make the opponent spend removal on threats that already produced damage or card pressure. Avoid casting `Monstrous Rage` into a visible instant-speed removal window unless Veles shows lethal, survival, or a forced exchange that still benefits the deck. `Screaming Nemesis` is a key post-removal threat if its legal text and board context make damage prevention, lifegain pressure, or combat punishment relevant; Card text check required for exact trigger outcomes. Add role cards: `Magebane Lizard` when repeated noncreature spells are central, and `Hexing Squelcher` when its checked text can tax or punish the removal plan.

- Midrange rule: Trade tempo for damage only when the opposing board would otherwise blank attacks for multiple turns. `Reckless Rage` is important if Veles confirms a legal friendly target and an opposing creature target that opens combat; `Soul-Scar Mage` can make damage-based interaction scale better if its current rules text applies. `Sunspine Lynx` should be evaluated as a top-end pressure or stabilizer-punishment card from visible text; Card text check required for exact nonbasic, damage, and lifegain clauses. Add role cards: `Scorching Shot`; `Flowstone Infusion` when the damage math matters; `Hexing Squelcher` only for a visible engine.

- Big mana rule: Shorten the game and punish setup turns before the opponent converts mana into stabilizing permanents. Keep one-land hands only when Veles-visible costs and draw rules make the curve functional; otherwise prioritize two red sources, one early creature, and at least one spell that advances damage. `Ramunap Ruins`, `Den of the Bugbear`, `Mutavault`, and `Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance` matter because big mana often answers the first wave but remains vulnerable to land-based pressure. Add role cards: `Hexing Squelcher` only if checked text attacks mana abilities, payoff casting, or a named visible axis; otherwise keep pressure density high.

- Combo rule: Force a fast clock while using sideboard disruption only when it maps to a public combo resource. `Magebane Lizard` is preferred against spell-chain combo if its text punishes multiple spells; `Hexing Squelcher` is preferred only when Veles-visible text identifies a relevant spell, ability, or permanent class; `Weathered Runestone` and `Ghost Vacuum` are preferred only against graveyard, library, or recursion combo. Reduce main-deck emphasis: `Reckless Rage` and creature-only removal when the opponent has few battlefield creatures. Do not keep a disruption-only hand without `Monastery Swiftspear`, `Soul-Scar Mage`, `Kumano Faces Kakkazan`, or `Emberheart Challenger` pressure.

- Graveyard rule: Pair hate with a clock instead of spending the whole early game on containment. Add role cards: `Ghost Vacuum`; `Weathered Runestone`; `Magebane Lizard` when the graveyard deck also chains spells. Use `Ghost Vacuum` only when Veles exposes a legal action that affects a relevant public graveyard card or a timing window before a known graveyard payoff; Card text check required for activation timing and target scope. Use `Weathered Runestone` when the static text blocks the opponent's public plan and does not materially disable this deck's own visible legal actions.

- Artifact/enchantment rule: Treat noncreature permanents as race problems unless a sideboard card's checked text actually interacts with them. This deck is not built to answer every artifact or enchantment directly, so pressure with `Monastery Swiftspear`, `Soul-Scar Mage`, `Emberheart Challenger`, and manlands while using burn to clear blockers or finish life total. Add role cards: `Hexing Squelcher` only when its text clearly applies to the permanent or ability, and `Weathered Runestone` only if the permanent plan uses graveyard, library, or cheat effects. Reduce main-deck emphasis: narrow creature removal if the opponent wins mostly through noncreature permanents.

- Go-wide rule: Preserve life total when the opponent can attack with multiple bodies, but do not stop attacking unless blocks are forced by lethal pressure. `Reckless Rage`, `Burst Lightning`, `Flowstone Infusion`, and `Scorching Shot` should target the creature that changes the widest combat math, not merely the largest creature. `Monstrous Rage` is strongest when it creates a surviving attacker or lethal push; it is weak when a token chump or visible removal converts it into lost tempo. Add role cards: `Flowstone Infusion`; `Scorching Shot`; consider `Magebane Lizard` only if the go-wide deck relies on repeated spells rather than battlefield bodies.

- Single-threat rule: Identify whether the threat must be killed, raced, or ignored based on visible clock and legal removal. Use `Reckless Rage` when the friendly-target cost is acceptable and the opposing threat blocks or kills the race; use `Burst Lightning`, `Flowstone Infusion`, or `Scorching Shot` when their checked text can finish the threat cleanly. If the single threat has lifelink, prevention, ward, or protection-like text, do not assume interaction works until the rules engine exposes a legal target and payable costs. `Screaming Nemesis` and `Sunspine Lynx` may matter against lifegain or prevention only after text confirmation.

- Burn mirror rule: Count life total as the primary resource and avoid damage lines that help the opponent win the race. Prefer attacking with one-mana creatures and using `Burst Lightning` as removal only when the opposing creature represents more damage than the burn spell would deal to the opponent. `Ramunap Ruins` can be a late finisher but should not be overused when self-damage or colorless mana would prevent casting red spells. Add role cards: `Flowstone Infusion`; `Scorching Shot`; `Magebane Lizard` if its text punishes burn spell volume. Reduce main-deck emphasis: slow `Sunspine Lynx` draws and risky `Monstrous Rage` into open mana.

- Prowess mirror rule: Win exchanges by sequencing creatures before spells and by forcing the opponent to act first when possible. `Soul-Scar Mage` and `Monastery Swiftspear` reward cheap-spell density, so prioritize legal lines that cast one threat and one spell over clunky double-land or late threat turns. `Reckless Rage` can be decisive but requires a legal friendly target and a target that survives or accepts damage profitably; do not assume it is free. Add role cards: `Flowstone Infusion`; `Scorching Shot`; `Magebane Lizard` only if confirmed text punishes spell chains without costing too much tempo.

## Specific Matchup Notes
- General/archetype-only note: Exact opposing decks are absent, so revealed cards and Veles-visible legal actions override every matchup assumption here. Use these notes as role hints, not hidden-information claims, and re-evaluate when the opponent reveals removal, blockers, lifegain, graveyard use, sweepers, or combo pieces.

- Against creature aggro: Protect the race by making their attacks worse before spending spells only for face damage. Priority targets are creatures that block `Monastery Swiftspear`, `Soul-Scar Mage`, or `Emberheart Challenger`, creatures that make multiple attackers lethal, and lifelink or prevention bodies if Veles confirms legal targeting. Add role cards: `Flowstone Infusion`; `Scorching Shot`; sometimes `Magebane Lizard` if repeated noncreature spells are visible. Reduce main-deck emphasis: slow `Sunspine Lynx` hands and risky `Monstrous Rage` lines into untapped interaction.

- Against removal-heavy midrange/control: Lead with redundant pressure and save burst turns for windows where the opponent is tapped low or must answer multiple threats. `Kumano Faces Kakkazan`, `Monastery Swiftspear`, `Soul-Scar Mage`, and `Emberheart Challenger` should spread threats across turns unless one protected attack is lethal. `Den of the Bugbear`, `Mutavault`, `Ramunap Ruins`, and `Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance` matter after sweepers or creature removal. Add role cards: `Magebane Lizard` when spell volume matters; `Hexing Squelcher` only after checked text matches a visible engine or answer. Priority targets are blockers, lifegain sources, and planeswalker-like engines if legal actions expose them.

- Against big mana and slow setup: Maximize early damage and keep land-based closers in mind after the first creature wave dies. Use `Burst Lightning` and `Reckless Rage` on blockers only when the cleared attack creates more damage than aiming spells at the opponent later. `Sunspine Lynx` may punish nonbasic or lifegain patterns, but Card text check required before making that tactical assumption. Add role cards: `Hexing Squelcher` only when its checked text taxes a visible mana or payoff axis; otherwise preserve pressure density.

- Against graveyard or library-cheat decks: Pair hate with a clock and avoid a hand that only contains containment. Add role cards: `Ghost Vacuum`; `Weathered Runestone`; `Magebane Lizard` if the graveyard deck also chains spells. Priority targets are public graveyard cards, visible recursion enablers, and blockers that buy the opponent enough time to ignore damage. Card text check required for `Ghost Vacuum` timing and `Weathered Runestone` scope.

- Against combo or spell-chain decks: Force the opponent to answer a fast board while using disruption only when it maps to a visible resource. `Magebane Lizard` is a role card if checked text punishes repeated spells; `Hexing Squelcher` is a role card only if checked text names or applies to the relevant visible action class. Reduce main-deck emphasis: `Reckless Rage` when the opponent has few creatures, and removal-heavy hands without `Monastery Swiftspear`, `Soul-Scar Mage`, `Kumano Faces Kakkazan`, or `Emberheart Challenger`.

- Against prowess, burn, or red mirrors: Treat life total as a race clock and do not take colorless or self-damage lines casually. `Flowstone Infusion` and `Scorching Shot` are likely role cards for creature exchanges; `Burst Lightning` should remove a creature only when that creature represents more damage than the spell would. `Monstrous Rage` is strongest when it survives visible interaction or ends the game; it is dangerous when open mana can turn it into a lost attacker.

## Risk Summary
- Mana risk: The deck needs red mana early but plays `Mutavault`, `Ramunap Ruins`, `Den of the Bugbear`, and `Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance` as utility pressure. Do not keep hands where colorless lands prevent casting `Kumano Faces Kakkazan`, `Monastery Swiftspear`, `Soul-Scar Mage`, `Burst Lightning`, or `Reckless Rage` on schedule.

- Draw risk: One-threat hands lose to a single removal spell, while all-spell hands may fail to use prowess. Mulligan decisions should prioritize one early creature or `Kumano Faces Kakkazan`, enough red mana, and at least one spell that either clears blockers or pushes damage.

- Over-sideboarding risk: Adding too many `Flowstone Infusion`, `Ghost Vacuum`, `Hexing Squelcher`, `Magebane Lizard`, `Scorching Shot`, or `Weathered Runestone` can dilute the core damage plan. Sideboard cards must answer a visible archetype axis and still allow early pressure.

- Graveyard risk: Hate without pressure gives graveyard decks time to find removal or alternate wins. Use `Ghost Vacuum` and `Weathered Runestone` only when the opponent's public cards make them relevant, and keep attacking with `Monastery Swiftspear`, `Soul-Scar Mage`, `Emberheart Challenger`, or manlands.

- Sweeper/removal risk: Overcommitting every creature before a likely sweeper can strand `Monstrous Rage` and shrink follow-up damage. Hold or sequence `Mutavault`, `Den of the Bugbear`, `Ramunap Ruins`, `Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance`, and top-end creatures as recovery pressure when visible context suggests mass removal.

- Closer risk: `Sunspine Lynx`, `Screaming Nemesis`, `Ramunap Ruins`, `Mutavault`, and `Den of the Bugbear` are closing tools, but each can be too slow or mana-intensive under pressure. Card text check required for exact `Sunspine Lynx`, `Screaming Nemesis`, and `The Legend of Roku` tactical clauses before relying on them.

- Interaction risk: `Reckless Rage` requires legal friendly and opposing targets, so Veles must not assume it is usable from hand. `Burst Lightning`, `Flowstone Infusion`, and `Scorching Shot` should be aimed according to visible lethal math, blocker removal, and survival needs.

- Sequencing risk: Casting pump before blockers, removal before attacks, or burn before prowess damage is counted can lose damage. Prefer creature-first sequencing, attack math with current legal actions, and post-block `Monstrous Rage` only when Veles exposes the window and target legality.

## Test Feedback Checklist
- Deciding factor: Which resource decided the game first: early creature pressure, blocker removal, burn reach, manland pressure, sideboard hate, or the opponent stabilizing above burn range? Record the visible turn and action that changed the race.
- Mulligans: Did opening hands keep at least one early pressure card among `Kumano Faces Kakkazan`, `Monastery Swiftspear`, `Soul-Scar Mage`, or `Emberheart Challenger` plus functional red mana? Flag keeps where `Mutavault`, `Ramunap Ruins`, `Den of the Bugbear`, or `Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance` delayed red one-drops or removal.
- Mana: Did colorless utility lands create more damage than they cost in missed red sequencing? Track every turn where `Burst Lightning`, `Reckless Rage`, `Monstrous Rage`, `Screaming Nemesis`, or `Sunspine Lynx` was stranded by land mix.
- Velocity: Did the deck spend mana every turn while attacking, or did it pause with spells in hand and no legal profitable target? Note whether the bottleneck was no creature, no red mana, no opponent creature for `Reckless Rage`, or holding burn too long.
- Engine pressure: Did prowess-style creatures convert spells into real combat damage before removal or blockers mattered? Compare `Monastery Swiftspear` and `Soul-Scar Mage` damage output against `Emberheart Challenger`, `Kumano Faces Kakkazan`, and manland damage.
- Removal use: Did `Burst Lightning`, `Reckless Rage`, `Flowstone Infusion`, or `Scorching Shot` clear blockers at the right time, preserve life, or get spent on low-impact targets? Mark cases where face damage would have closed sooner.
- Pump use: Did `Monstrous Rage` resolve into meaningful damage, or did visible open mana, removal, or bad combat timing turn it into a lost card? Record whether Veles waited for post-block or lethal windows when available.
- Closing: Did `Screaming Nemesis`, `Sunspine Lynx`, `Ramunap Ruins`, `Mutavault`, `Den of the Bugbear`, or `Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance` finish games after the first wave? Card text check required before assigning exact causal credit to `Screaming Nemesis`, `Sunspine Lynx`, or `The Legend of Roku`.
- Sideboard: Did `Flowstone Infusion`, `Ghost Vacuum`, `Hexing Squelcher`, `Magebane Lizard`, `Scorching Shot`, or `Weathered Runestone` answer a visible axis while preserving pressure? Flag hate-only draws that lacked an attacking plan.
- Role: Did the pilot correctly choose beatdown, removal-tempo, or burn-reach based on visible board state? Record mistakes where the deck played control without enough inevitability or raced while behind on visible damage.
- Stranded cards: Which cards stayed in hand for two or more turns, and why? Separate no legal target, insufficient mana, poor timing, over-sideboarding, and deliberate hold for lethal.
- Overperformers and underperformers: Which exact cards produced wins, stabilized losses, or repeatedly failed to affect the game? Count `Kumano Faces Kakkazan`, `Monastery Swiftspear`, `Soul-Scar Mage`, `Emberheart Challenger`, `Reckless Rage`, `Monstrous Rage`, `Burst Lightning`, `Screaming Nemesis`, `Sunspine Lynx`, and each sideboard card separately.

## First Tuning Questions
- Creature density question: Are 4 `Monastery Swiftspear`, 4 `Soul-Scar Mage`, 4 `Emberheart Challenger`, 4 `Screaming Nemesis`, and 4 `Sunspine Lynx` producing enough early attackers, or are too many hands relying on three-mana pressure before damage is established?
- Spell density question: Are 4 `Burst Lightning`, 4 `Reckless Rage`, and 4 `Monstrous Rage` enough to trigger combat pressure consistently, or do games show too many creature-heavy draws without cheap spell velocity?
- Reckless Rage question: Does `Reckless Rage` have enough reliable friendly targets and opposing creature targets in Explorer matchups, or is it stranded often enough that the removal package needs quantity or role review?
- Mana question: Do 4 `Mutavault`, 2 `Ramunap Ruins`, 1 `Den of the Bugbear`, and 1 `Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance` add enough reach to justify color pressure on early red spells?
- Land-count question: Does the deck flood often enough to value `Ramunap Ruins`, `Mutavault`, and `Den of the Bugbear`, or stumble often enough that utility-land quantity should be rechecked against one-red opening needs?
- Top-end question: Does `Sunspine Lynx` close the matchups it is meant to punish, or does it conflict with the low-curve prowess plan when the opponent is already stabilizing? Card text check required for final role assignment.
- Midgame threat question: Does `Screaming Nemesis` force meaningful damage or prevention pressure, or is it mainly a three-mana creature that slows the deck's best openings? Card text check required before changing its role.
- Singleton question: Does `The Legend of Roku` create a distinct tactical line, or is it a low-frequency card whose text and matchup purpose need validation before relying on it?
- Sideboard balance question: Are 3 `Flowstone Infusion` and 2 `Scorching Shot` the right amount of creature-fight support, or do creature matchups still hinge on failing to clear blockers?
- Hate-slot question: Do `Ghost Vacuum` and `Weathered Runestone` win enough graveyard or library-cheat games when paired with pressure, or are they too low-damage for this shell?
- Spell-hate question: Does `Magebane Lizard` materially improve spell-chain, control, and mirror games, or does it create role conflict by slowing the fastest draws? Card text check required for exact trigger and timing assumptions.
- Utility-hate question: Does `Hexing Squelcher` answer a common visible engine in Explorer, or should its sideboard role be narrowed until exact text and matchup impact are proven?
- Role-conflict question: After sideboarding, does the deck still present turn-one or turn-two pressure often enough, or do reactive cards dilute the primary aggro-tempo identity?
- Closing-plan question: When opponents survive the first wave, is the better plan more land-based reach, more resilient creatures, or fewer situational cards that do not advance lethal damage?

## Veles Tactical Policy

### Policy: Opening Pressure Keep
- Priority: High
- Decision families: mulligan
- Cards: Kumano Faces Kakkazan; Monastery Swiftspear; Soul-Scar Mage; Emberheart Challenger; Mountain; Den of the Bugbear; Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance
- Phase windows: opening hand, mulligan decisions, London bottom decisions
- Runtime cues: prompt:mulligan; action:keep; action:mulligan
- Use when: keep hands with red mana plus an early pressure card among `Kumano Faces Kakkazan`, `Monastery Swiftspear`, `Soul-Scar Mage`, or `Emberheart Challenger`, and at least one cheap spell or follow-up threat.
- Avoid when: reject hands that depend on only `Mutavault`, `Ramunap Ruins`, or slow lands to cast red one-drops, or hands with no creature/permanent pressure.
- Instructions: prioritize functional one-red openings over speculative utility-land reach; bottom redundant expensive threats before cutting first pressure or first red source.
- Pilot skill floor: light-model
- No-API allowed: no
- Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Early Creature Or Saga Setup
- Priority: Medium
- Decision families: priority, mana
- Cards: Kumano Faces Kakkazan; Monastery Swiftspear; Soul-Scar Mage; Emberheart Challenger
- Phase windows: turn one, turn two, precombat main
- Runtime cues: action:cast Kumano Faces Kakkazan; action:cast Monastery Swiftspear; action:cast Soul-Scar Mage; action:cast Emberheart Challenger
- Use when: deploy the earliest legal pressure permanent before spending burn, unless a visible blocker or lethal race requires immediate interaction.
- Avoid when: do not hold all creatures to preserve prowess triggers; this deck needs a body or saga pressure before pump and burn become threatening.
- Instructions: prefer one-mana pressure on turn one; treat `Emberheart Challenger` as the next setup body when no one-drop is legal.
- Pilot skill floor: light-model
- No-API allowed: no
- Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Red Mana Before Utility Lands
- Priority: Medium
- Decision families: mana
- Cards: Mountain; Mutavault; Ramunap Ruins; Den of the Bugbear; Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance
- Phase windows: land play, precombat main, spell payment prompts
- Runtime cues: action:play Mountain; action:play Mutavault; action:play Ramunap Ruins; action:play Den of the Bugbear
- Use when: choose land sequencing that casts current red spells and preserves next-turn red requirements for creatures, `Burst Lightning`, `Reckless Rage`, `Monstrous Rage`, `Screaming Nemesis`, or `Sunspine Lynx`.
- Avoid when: do not play colorless utility lands first if doing so strands a visible red one-drop, removal spell, or pump spell.
- Instructions: utility lands are reach after pressure is established; red source consistency is the default opening constraint.
- Pilot skill floor: light-model
- No-API allowed: no
- Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Mandatory Exact Mana Payment
- Priority: Low
- Decision families: mana
- Cards: Mountain; Mutavault; Ramunap Ruins; Den of the Bugbear; Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance
- Phase windows: mana payment prompts
- Runtime cues: action:pay
- Use when: exactly one legal payment action is shown for the selected spell or ability and paying it completes the already chosen legal action.
- Avoid when: multiple payment actions differ by tapping an attacker, preserving `Mutavault`, preserving colored mana, or spending utility-land reach.
- Instructions: execute the single visible payment action; route all meaningful source-selection choices through the light model.
- Pilot skill floor: no-api
- No-API allowed: yes
- Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Prowess-Spell Combat Gate
- Priority: High
- Decision families: combat, priority
- Cards: Monastery Swiftspear; Soul-Scar Mage; Monstrous Rage; Burst Lightning; Reckless Rage
- Phase windows: beginning of combat, declare attackers, declare blockers, post-block priority, damage step prevention windows
- Runtime cues: action:cast Monstrous Rage; action:cast Burst Lightning; action:cast Reckless Rage; prompt:priority
- Use when: decide whether a spell before or after blocks creates lethal damage, saves a creature, clears a blocker, or forces bad blocks based only on visible board state.
- Avoid when: do not spend `Monstrous Rage` into visible open removal or poor attacks unless waiting loses the race.
- Instructions: prefer post-block pump when the target survives and damage matters; use precombat burn when clearing a blocker unlocks more damage than face burn.
- Pilot skill floor: light-model
- No-API allowed: no
- Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Monstrous Rage Target Own Attacker
- Priority: Medium
- Decision families: combat, interaction
- Cards: Monstrous Rage; Monastery Swiftspear; Soul-Scar Mage; Emberheart Challenger; Screaming Nemesis; Sunspine Lynx; Mutavault
- Phase windows: combat priority, post-block priority, lethal push windows
- Runtime cues: action:target self Monstrous Rage
- Use when: a `Monstrous Rage` line has already been selected and the legal target text identifies exactly one attacking creature you control.
- Avoid when: multiple friendly creature targets are legal, the target is not attacking, or visible removal/tax prompts require reasoning.
- Instructions: choose the single visible self-controlled attacking target; send all multi-target or timing choices to light-model.
- Pilot skill floor: no-api
- No-API allowed: yes
- Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Reckless Rage Target Pair
- Priority: High
- Decision families: interaction, combat
- Cards: Reckless Rage; Monastery Swiftspear; Soul-Scar Mage; Emberheart Challenger; Screaming Nemesis; Sunspine Lynx; Mutavault
- Phase windows: precombat main, combat priority, post-block priority
- Runtime cues: action:cast Reckless Rage; action:target Reckless Rage
- Use when: remove a visible opposing creature only if the friendly damage target survives or the exchange wins the race, protects lethal, or prevents a larger attack.
- Avoid when: do not cast `Reckless Rage` with no acceptable friendly target or when killing your own pressure costs more damage than the blocker prevents.
- Instructions: account for counters, marked damage, prowess timing, and whether targeting `Soul-Scar Mage` changes the opposing creature outcome; Card text check required for replacement details.
- Pilot skill floor: light-model
- No-API allowed: no
- Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Burst Lightning Reach Or Removal
- Priority: Medium
- Decision families: interaction, priority
- Cards: Burst Lightning
- Phase windows: precombat main, combat priority, end step, lethal stack windows
- Runtime cues: action:cast Burst Lightning; action:target opponent Burst Lightning; action:target creature Burst Lightning
- Use when: choose opponent target for immediate lethal or near-lethal reach; choose creature target when removing a blocker or attacker changes combat damage or survival more than face damage.
- Avoid when: avoid spending burn on low-impact creatures while opponent is within visible burn plus attack range.
- Instructions: preserve instant-speed reach when the board already attacks profitably; use kicker or alternate payment only when the legal action text and available mana support it.
- Pilot skill floor: light-model
- No-API allowed: no
- Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Exact Opponent Burn Target
- Priority: High
- Decision families: interaction, priority
- Cards: Burst Lightning
- Phase windows: lethal priority, end step, main phase with lethal available
- Runtime cues: action:target opponent Burst Lightning
- Use when: the selected `Burst Lightning` action is already legal, exactly one opponent target action is visible, and the visible opponent life total is no greater than the damage indicated by the current legal action or engine prompt.
- Avoid when: damage amount is not shown, prevention/tax/replacement prompts are visible, or multiple opponent/player targets are listed.
- Instructions: choose the visible opponent target action; do not infer hidden prevention or unshown damage.
- Pilot skill floor: no-api
- No-API allowed: yes
- Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Three-Mana Threat Commitment
- Priority: Medium
- Decision families: priority, mana
- Cards: Screaming Nemesis; Sunspine Lynx; The Legend of Roku
- Phase windows: precombat main, postcombat main, turns three and later
- Runtime cues: action:cast Screaming Nemesis; action:cast Sunspine Lynx; action:cast The Legend of Roku
- Use when: commit a higher-cost threat if it adds more visible pressure than activating a land, holding burn, or double-spelling.
- Avoid when: do not tap out for a three-mana card if current attacks plus cheap spells create lethal or if removal is required to survive.
- Instructions: Card text check required for `Screaming Nemesis`, `Sunspine Lynx`, and `The Legend of Roku`; treat unknown text as conditional on legal prompt output.
- Pilot skill floor: light-model
- No-API allowed: no
- Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Manland And Channel Reach
- Priority: Medium
- Decision families: combat, mana, priority
- Cards: Mutavault; Den of the Bugbear; Ramunap Ruins; Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance
- Phase windows: late-game main phases, combat, end step, flood turns
- Runtime cues: action:activate Mutavault; action:activate Den of the Bugbear; action:activate Ramunap Ruins; action:channel Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance
- Use when: convert excess lands into damage or bodies after red spell sequencing is secure and visible blockers/removal do not make the activation wasteful.
- Avoid when: avoid tapping utility lands needed to cast current red spells or activating attackers into visible unfavorable blocks without a reason.
- Instructions: prefer land-based reach when hand pressure is exhausted; Card text check required for exact `Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance` mode and token timing.
- Pilot skill floor: light-model
- No-API allowed: no
- Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Attack Discipline
- Priority: High
- Decision families: combat
- Cards: Monastery Swiftspear; Soul-Scar Mage; Emberheart Challenger; Screaming Nemesis; Sunspine Lynx; Mutavault; Den of the Bugbear
- Phase windows: declare attackers, combat trick windows
- Runtime cues: prompt:declare attackers; action:attack with
- Use when: attack if visible blocks, pump, burn, or prowess triggers keep damage ahead of the opponent's crack-back or force favorable trades.
- Avoid when: do not attack needed blockers into larger visible creatures under a short clock unless lethal pressure or a trick justifies it.
- Instructions: count current damage, post-spell damage, and next-turn retaliation; route any multi-attacker decision through light-model.
- Pilot skill floor: light-model
- No-API allowed: no
- Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Single Forced Attack Action
- Priority: Low
- Decision families: combat
- Cards: none
- Phase windows: declare attackers
- Runtime cues: action:attack with
- Use when: exactly one legal attack action is visible and it attacks with the only creature allowed or required by the rules engine.
- Avoid when: more than one attack configuration is listed, any creature can stay back, or combat math changes survival.
- Instructions: submit the single visible attack action only when no alternative configuration exists.
- Pilot skill floor: no-api
- No-API allowed: yes
- Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Sideboard Role Preservation
- Priority: High
- Decision families: sideboard
- Cards: Flowstone Infusion; Ghost Vacuum; Hexing Squelcher; Magebane Lizard; Scorching Shot; Weathered Runestone; Kumano Faces Kakkazan; Monastery Swiftspear; Soul-Scar Mage; Emberheart Challenger
- Phase windows: sideboarding after game one, sideboarding after game two
- Runtime cues: prompt:sideboard; action:submit sideboard
- Use when: add sideboard cards only for a visible matchup axis while preserving enough early pressure to keep the deck proactive.
- Avoid when: do not overload on hate cards that do not attack, trigger pressure, clear blockers, or close the game.
- Instructions: `Flowstone Infusion` and `Scorching Shot` support creature fights; `Ghost Vacuum` and `Weathered Runestone` support graveyard/library-cheat containment; `Magebane Lizard` and `Hexing Squelcher` require card text check before exact matchup claims.
- Pilot skill floor: light-model
- No-API allowed: no
- Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Creature-Matchup Removal Upgrade
- Priority: Medium
- Decision families: sideboard, interaction
- Cards: Flowstone Infusion; Scorching Shot; Reckless Rage; Burst Lightning
- Phase windows: sideboarding, creature-heavy games
- Runtime cues: prompt:sideboard; action:cast Flowstone Infusion; action:cast Scorching Shot
- Use when: opposing visible plan relies on creatures that block, race, or outsize the main-deck burn package.
- Avoid when: avoid reducing threat density so far that removal draws cannot produce attacks.
- Instructions: bring extra removal roles from sideboard map plans, then use them to clear blockers before spending main burn on face damage; Card text check required for exact `Flowstone Infusion` and `Scorching Shot` effects.
- Pilot skill floor: light-model
- No-API allowed: no
- Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Graveyard Or Cheat Hate Commitment
- Priority: Medium
- Decision families: sideboard, priority
- Cards: Ghost Vacuum; Weathered Runestone
- Phase windows: sideboarding, early main phases, opponent setup turns
- Runtime cues: action:cast Ghost Vacuum; action:cast Weathered Runestone; prompt:sideboard
- Use when: commit hate if opponent's visible cards, known matchup plan, or public graveyard/library interactions make the hate card relevant before the race ends.
- Avoid when: do not keep hate-only hands without early red pressure.
- Instructions: pair hate with a clock; Card text check required for exact `Ghost Vacuum` and `Weathered Runestone` restrictions before assuming a lock.
- Pilot skill floor: light-model
- No-API allowed: no
- Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Spell-Hate Threat Deployment
- Priority: Medium
- Decision families: sideboard, priority, combat
- Cards: Magebane Lizard; Hexing Squelcher
- Phase windows: post-sideboard early turns, precombat main, opponent spell-chain turns
- Runtime cues: action:cast Magebane Lizard; action:cast Hexing Squelcher
- Use when: deploy these sideboard cards against visible spell-chain, activated/triggered engine, or control plans only if they also preserve pressure or disrupt the opponent's current axis.
- Avoid when: do not cast them over lethal attacks, required removal, or stronger pressure without confirming their text matters.
- Instructions: Card text check required for both cards; follow engine legal actions and visible prompt labels rather than assumed hate text.
- Pilot skill floor: light-model
- No-API allowed: no
- Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Pass With Instant Options
- Priority: Medium
- Decision families: priority, interaction
- Cards: Burst Lightning; Monstrous Rage; Reckless Rage; Flowstone Infusion; Scorching Shot
- Phase windows: opponent turn, end step, combat priority, stack response windows
- Runtime cues: action:pass; prompt:priority
- Use when: pass only if holding the instant-speed action improves combat, protects lethal, answers a visible threat later, or no current spell changes the race.
- Avoid when: do not pass with mana unused while a legal action creates lethal, prevents lethal, or clears a blocker for immediate damage.
- Instructions: treat pass decisions under pressure as reasoning decisions; include visible life totals, attackers, blockers, and available mana in the choice.
- Pilot skill floor: light-model
- No-API allowed: no
- Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Deterministic Continue Or Decline Procedural Prompt
- Priority: Low
- Decision families: priority, selection
- Cards: none
- Phase windows: replacement prompts, optional continuation prompts, no-effect prompts
- Runtime cues: action:pass; action:decline; action:continue
- Use when: exactly one legal action among pass, decline, or continue is visible and no card name, target, mana payment, or combat assignment appears in the prompt.
- Avoid when: any listed action references a registered card, target, damage, mana, optional payment, trigger, or sideboard choice.
- Instructions: submit the sole procedural action; route all named or strategic optional choices through light-model.
- Pilot skill floor: no-api
- No-API allowed: yes
- Light-model allowed: yes
