# Strategy Specifications
## Deck Name And Archetype

Izzet Indomitable Creativity is an Explorer combo-control deck built around resolving Indomitable Creativity on expendable tokens or token-producing permanents, then converting the resulting Torrential Gearhulk trigger into a high-impact instant from the graveyard. The registered main deck is 60 cards and the registered sideboard is 15 cards, matching the active Explorer validation contract supplied for Veles.

The deck tags are combo, control, and tokens, with the repeated tag set normalized to `combo, control, tokens` for runtime indexing. The strategy should be treated as a hybrid stock/rogue shell: Indomitable Creativity plus Torrential Gearhulk and Magma Opus is a recognizable combo-control core, while the exact Explorer build uses a bespoke mix of Deduce, Stern Lesson, Prismari Charm, Prismari Command, Divide by Zero, Sublime Epiphany, Fountainport, Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance, and lesson-sideboard tools that must be piloted from the registered list rather than from generic Creativity assumptions.

The maindeck creature inventory is exactly 4 Torrential Gearhulk, so Indomitable Creativity should be evaluated as a controlled hit only when the visible target is not itself a creature and the library still plausibly contains Torrential Gearhulk. Veles must not assume hidden library contents after draws, discard, exile, or prior Creativity resolutions unless the rules engine exposes the relevant public or player-visible information.

The token plan is central because Indomitable Creativity needs a legal artifact or creature target and the deck must avoid exposing Torrential Gearhulk to the battlefield too early without purpose. Deduce, Stern Lesson, Prismari Command, Magma Opus, Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance, and Fountainport are the registered cards most likely to create or support Creativity material, but exact use must follow rules-engine legal actions and visible card text; card text check required for any newer sideboard lesson or specialty card before relying on a specific mode.

The mana base is primarily Izzet with a small number of utility lands, so early sequencing must preserve access to both red and blue while respecting tapped-land timing from Riverglide Pathway, Stormcarved Coast, Steam Vents, Shivan Reef, Thundering Falls, Mountain, Island, Hall of Storm Giants, Otawara, Soaring City, Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance, and Fountainport. Mana concerns are real: Indomitable Creativity asks for red-heavy mana, Torrential Gearhulk asks for blue-heavy mana if hard-cast, and the interaction suite wants untapped red or blue at different points.

The role profile is defensive combo-control, not all-in combo. Fiery Impulse, Abrade, Into the Flood Maw, Prismari Charm, Prismari Command, Divide by Zero, Sublime Epiphany, and sideboard counter/removal tools let the deck spend early turns preventing snowballing pressure while shaping a graveyard for Torrential Gearhulk. The pilot should prefer a stable Creativity window over a fragile rush unless visible pressure, known disruption, or resource exhaustion makes waiting worse.

The current opponent-info status is unknown beyond the active match context Veles will supply at runtime. This guide must reason from visible battlefield, public zones, known revealed cards, deck labels, matchup notes, and legal action lists; it must not infer exact hidden cards from archetype alone. Opponent or metagame examples should stay in prose or be prefixed outside policy `Cards:` fields, and this specification should not name absent staples as if they are registered options.

## Thesis

Izzet Indomitable Creativity assembles a protected artifact-or-creature token, a graveyard stocked with high-impact instants, and a legal Indomitable Creativity window that converts expendable material into Torrential Gearhulk. The preferred win pattern is to resolve Indomitable Creativity for Torrential Gearhulk, use the Gearhulk trigger on Magma Opus, Sublime Epiphany, Prismari Command, Prismari Charm, Divide by Zero, Deduce, Stern Lesson, Abrade, Fiery Impulse, Spikefield Hazard, or Into the Flood Maw when legal, then turn the resulting cards, tempo, damage, and 5/6 body into control of the game.

Prioritize survival, mana development, and token availability before committing Indomitable Creativity. The deck is not trying to win by playing Torrential Gearhulk as the first available six-mana creature in every game, nor by spending Magma Opus merely because it is expensive; it wants the rules engine to show a legal, tactically justified conversion point where Creativity or Gearhulk creates a swing that the opponent cannot easily race.

Protect the library-hit structure by remembering that the registered main deck contains exactly 4 Torrential Gearhulk and no other main-deck creatures. Indomitable Creativity is strongest when it targets a noncreature artifact token or expendable creature token while Torrential Gearhulk remains available in library; if visible zones show too many Torrential Gearhulk already drawn, discarded, exiled, or on the battlefield, treat Creativity as a degraded or unsafe line until legal state proves otherwise.

Use interaction to buy time rather than to empty the hand reflexively. Fiery Impulse, Abrade, Prismari Charm, Prismari Command, Divide by Zero, Into the Flood Maw, Spikefield Hazard, and Sublime Epiphany should answer threats, interrupt tempo, or protect a key window; do not spend them on low-impact targets when the visible board does not demand it and the graveyard needs a better Torrential Gearhulk target.

## Role Package

- **Threats:** Torrential Gearhulk is the main battlefield threat and combo hit, while Hall of Storm Giants is the backup land threat for games where resources trade down. Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance, Fountainport, Deduce, Stern Lesson, Prismari Command, and Magma Opus can produce or support bodies that matter because they become Indomitable Creativity material before they become attackers.

- **Payoffs:** Indomitable Creativity is the defining payoff because it converts expendable artifacts or creatures into Torrential Gearhulk. Magma Opus is the highest-impact graveyard spell for Gearhulk when legal, Sublime Epiphany is a swingy late-game instant when the mode text and stack state support it, and Prismari Command or Prismari Charm can bridge turns by combining interaction, velocity, or token support. Card text check required before relying on any exact mode of newer or less familiar cards.

- **Engines:** Deduce and Stern Lesson are the primary main-deck smoothing engines because they advance cards and can help create artifact material for Creativity. Prismari Command and Prismari Charm are flexible engine pieces when their legal modes improve both the graveyard and the board. Fountainport is a utility engine only when visible mana, board state, and legal actions make its activation better than holding interaction.

- **Velocity:** Deduce, Stern Lesson, Prismari Charm, Prismari Command, Divide by Zero, and Magma Opus help find lands, interaction, tokens, Indomitable Creativity, or Torrential Gearhulk lines. Prioritize velocity that leaves mana for relevant interaction when under pressure; prioritize deeper setup when the opponent is not presenting a short clock.

- **Interaction:** Fiery Impulse and Spikefield Hazard cover small threats when legal, Abrade covers artifact or creature problems when its modes apply, Into the Flood Maw is conditional tempo interaction pending card text verification, Divide by Zero answers stack or permanent pressure when legal, and Prismari Charm, Prismari Command, Sublime Epiphany, and Magma Opus provide larger interactive swings. Match the answer to the threat’s clock and role instead of preserving every premium spell for Torrential Gearhulk.

- **Protection:** Divide by Zero, Sublime Epiphany, Prismari Charm, Prismari Command, and sideboard counterspells can protect the Creativity turn by fighting stack interaction, bouncing pressure, or forcing the opponent to act first. Protection includes patience: pass with mana up when the visible legal actions show a fragile combo window and waiting does not expose lethal or a decisive resource loss.

- **Recursion:** Torrential Gearhulk is the practical recursion module because it reuses an instant from the graveyard when the rules engine offers a legal target. Fill the graveyard intentionally with spells that will matter later; avoid exiling or spending the only meaningful Gearhulk target unless the current board requires it.

- **Mana:** Steam Vents, Stormcarved Coast, Riverglide Pathway, Shivan Reef, Thundering Falls, Island, Mountain, Otawara, Soaring City, Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance, Hall of Storm Giants, and Fountainport must support early red removal, early blue velocity, red-heavy Indomitable Creativity, and blue-heavy Torrential Gearhulk. Sequence lands to preserve untapped red or blue on opponent pressure turns and avoid color-locking Riverglide Pathway without a concrete hand reason.

- **Sideboard modules:** Aether Gust, Mystical Dispute, Negate, Change the Equation, Abrade, Anger of the Gods, and Pyroclasm are role cards for pressure, stack fights, artifacts, or creature swarms when their legal text applies. Boomerang Basics, It'll Quench Ya!, Firebending Lesson, Iroh's Demonstration, Redirect Lightning, Improvisation Capstone, and The Legend of Roku require card text checks before tactical assumptions; treat them as selectable sideboard tools only when Veles exposes legal action text or the matchup guide has verified their function.

## Primary Win Conditions

- **Convert a token into Torrential Gearhulk with Indomitable Creativity when the library still contains a meaningful Gearhulk hit.** Setup requires an expendable artifact or creature token from Deduce, Stern Lesson, Prismari Command, Magma Opus, Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance, or Fountainport, enough red mana for Indomitable Creativity, and a graveyard instant that improves the board or protects the turn. Execution is to target only material the deck can afford to lose, resolve Indomitable Creativity into Torrential Gearhulk when legal, then choose the best legal graveyard instant for the current stack and battlefield. Disruption to respect includes visible counterspells, instant-speed removal on the target before Creativity resolves, graveyard hate that removes the intended instant, and exile effects on Torrential Gearhulk. Prioritize this path when the opponent is nearing a short clock, when Magma Opus or Sublime Epiphany in graveyard creates a decisive swing, or when waiting exposes the token, hand, graveyard, or life total to worse outcomes.

- **Use Torrential Gearhulk plus Magma Opus as the highest-ceiling stabilization-and-kill line.** Setup wants Magma Opus in graveyard, Torrential Gearhulk reachable by Indomitable Creativity or hardcast mana, and opposing permanents or life total that make the legal Magma Opus choices matter. Execution is to resolve Torrential Gearhulk, cast Magma Opus from graveyard when the rules engine offers it, and convert the damage, tapping, token, and card draw only as legal text permits. Disruption to respect includes graveyard removal, stack interaction, and board states where tapping or damage does not change the race. Prioritize this path against creature pressure, planeswalker pressure, or stalled boards where a large swing plus a 5/6 body is better than incremental Deduce or Stern Lesson turns.

- **Win by chained instant value when a single Creativity turn is not enough.** Setup is a stocked graveyard containing Deduce, Stern Lesson, Prismari Charm, Prismari Command, Divide by Zero, Abrade, Fiery Impulse, Spikefield Hazard, Into the Flood Maw, Sublime Epiphany, or Magma Opus, plus enough mana to keep acting after the first swing. Execution is to use Torrential Gearhulk as a flash threat, reuse the instant that answers the current problem, then attack over multiple turns while continuing to trade resources. Disruption to respect includes removal after the Gearhulk trigger, exile-based answers, and opposing threats that ignore a single blocker. Prioritize this path in grindy games where preserving Indomitable Creativity is less important than turning every graveyard instant into another card, counter, bounce, removal, or tempo exchange.

## Secondary Win Conditions

- **Hardcast Torrential Gearhulk when six mana and the graveyard make waiting unnecessary.** This line is correct when Indomitable Creativity is absent, token production is under pressure, or flash timing lets Torrential Gearhulk answer an attack, spell, or end-step window while leaving the opponent with less leverage. Do not hardcast it into obvious open interaction if Indomitable Creativity plus protection will be available soon and the life total is safe.

- **Activate Hall of Storm Giants as the backup closer after resources trade down.** Use Hall of Storm Giants when the battlefield is stable, the opponent’s removal is taxed, and spending mana on a land threat does not forfeit a necessary Divide by Zero, Sublime Epiphany, Prismari Charm, Prismari Command, Abrade, Fiery Impulse, Into the Flood Maw, or Torrential Gearhulk line. Treat Hall of Storm Giants as a late-game win condition, not an early pressure plan.

- **Let Magma Opus and token pressure finish games when the combo is degraded.** Magma Opus can create a battlefield swing and a body when legal, while Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance, Fountainport, Deduce, Stern Lesson, and Prismari Command can leave material that attacks or becomes Creativity fuel. Use this route when Torrential Gearhulk copies are drawn, exiled, or answered and the opponent is low enough that burn, attacks, and tempo matter.

- **Use small damage only as a real clock when removal duty is no longer urgent.** Fiery Impulse, Spikefield Hazard, Prismari Charm, Prismari Command, Abrade, and Magma Opus should normally protect life total or clear blockers, but they can close games if legal action text shows opponent-directed damage and the visible race supports it. Avoid spending the last removal spell for face damage when the opponent can untap into lethal creatures.

## Emergency Lines

- **When behind on life, choose survival interaction over combo purity.** Fiery Impulse, Abrade, Spikefield Hazard, Prismari Charm, Prismari Command, Divide by Zero, Into the Flood Maw, Sublime Epiphany, and Magma Opus should be spent on the threat that changes the immediate clock, even if that leaves a weaker Torrential Gearhulk target later.

- **When behind on board, stabilize before exposing Indomitable Creativity.** Use removal, bounce, sweep-like sideboard cards if present post-board, or Torrential Gearhulk as an ambush blocker before committing a fragile token. If a single Magma Opus from graveyard can tap attackers, remove pressure, or create a blocker when legal, it becomes the preferred recovery line.

- **When behind on cards, protect velocity and Gearhulk targets.** Deduce, Stern Lesson, Prismari Charm, Prismari Command, Magma Opus, and Torrential Gearhulk should rebuild hand size or convert graveyard spells into cards. Do not trade Indomitable Creativity for a low-impact Torrential Gearhulk if the graveyard has no relevant legal instant and the opponent still has multiple resources.

- **When behind on mana, prioritize land drops and cheap interaction.** Use Deduce, Stern Lesson, Prismari Charm, Prismari Command, and Magma Opus only when their legal actions help hit land drops, create mana material, or prevent falling too far behind. Avoid tapping out for setup if the visible board demands Fiery Impulse, Spikefield Hazard, Abrade, or Divide by Zero now.

- **When the graveyard is attacked or empty, treat Torrential Gearhulk as a body first.** A Gearhulk without a strong legal instant target can still block or attack, but it is no longer the main swing. Rebuild with Deduce, Stern Lesson, Prismari Command, Prismari Charm, or Magma Opus before forcing a low-value Creativity line.

- **When Indomitable Creativity or Torrential Gearhulk is removed from the plan, pivot to land and spell pressure.** Win with Hall of Storm Giants, hardcast or remaining Torrential Gearhulk copies, Magma Opus turns, token attacks, and incremental burn only when the rules engine exposes legal actions that advance that race. Preserve interaction for lethal prevention unless the visible opponent life total makes a burn or attack line decisive.

## Resource Model

- **Life total buys the turn needed to turn a token into Torrential Gearhulk.** Spend Fiery Impulse, Abrade, Spikefield Hazard, Prismari Charm, Prismari Command, Divide by Zero, Into the Flood Maw, Sublime Epiphany, or Magma Opus on visible pressure when the opponent's next attacks shorten the clock below a safe Indomitable Creativity window. Do not preserve interaction for theoretical value if the rules engine shows an immediate lethal or near-lethal attack path.

- **Hand size is both combo assembly and permission insulation.** Deduce, Stern Lesson, Prismari Charm, Prismari Command, and Magma Opus should maintain land drops, find Indomitable Creativity, stock the graveyard for Torrential Gearhulk, and keep enough interaction that tapping out is not mandatory too early. Discard extra Torrential Gearhulk, redundant expensive spells, or situational interaction before discarding lands needed for six-mana hardcast lines.

- **Mana is the deck's strictest resource.** The deck wants early red for Fiery Impulse, Abrade, Spikefield Hazard, and Prismari Command, early blue for Deduce, Divide by Zero, Stern Lesson, Into the Flood Maw, and Prismari Charm, and four mana with red access for Indomitable Creativity. Six mana enables hardcast Torrential Gearhulk; eight mana enables hardcast Magma Opus. Prioritize clean land drops over marginal spell efficiency until four mana is secure.

- **Board material is valuable only when it can survive until conversion or stabilize combat.** Clue, Powerstone, Treasure, token, Fountainport output, Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance output, and Magma Opus output can matter as Indomitable Creativity fuel, blockers, attackers, or sacrifice material only if the visible legal actions support that use. Protect one expendable noncreature artifact or creature for Creativity when the opponent has open removal, bounce, or sweep pressure that could strand Indomitable Creativity.

- **Graveyard quality changes Torrential Gearhulk from creature to swing engine.** A graveyard containing Magma Opus, Sublime Epiphany, Divide by Zero, Prismari Command, Prismari Charm, Deduce, Stern Lesson, Abrade, Fiery Impulse, Spikefield Hazard, or Into the Flood Maw determines whether Torrential Gearhulk should be found, flashed in, or delayed. If graveyard value is weak or threatened, use Gearhulk defensively and rebuild the graveyard before forcing a low-impact line.

- **Exile and known revealed zones must be treated as hard public constraints.** If Indomitable Creativity, Torrential Gearhulk, Magma Opus, or key interaction is exiled, do not plan as though it remains available. If the engine reveals opponent information, use only that revealed information and public zones; do not infer exact hidden cards beyond archetype guidance.

- **Sideboard bullets convert narrow mana into matchup-specific survival.** Aether Gust, Mystical Dispute, Negate, Change the Equation, Abrade, Anger of the Gods, Pyroclasm, Boomerang Basics, It'll Quench Ya!, Firebending Lesson, Iroh's Demonstration, Redirect Lightning, Improvisation Capstone, and The Legend of Roku should be valued only when their legal text and matchup role are confirmed. Card text check required for Avatar-sideboard cards before assuming exact mana efficiency or effect class.

## Mana Guide

- **Keep hands that cast early interaction and hit four mana on time.** A functional opener usually has two or more lands, access to blue and red by turn two or three, and at least one of Deduce, Stern Lesson, Prismari Charm, Prismari Command, Fiery Impulse, Abrade, Spikefield Hazard, Divide by Zero, or Into the Flood Maw. Mulligan hands with only colorless or tapped utility development if they cannot answer early pressure or reach Indomitable Creativity mana.

- **Sequence lands to preserve both colors before optimizing utility.** Steam Vents, Riverglide Pathway, Stormcarved Coast, Shivan Reef, Thundering Falls, Island, and Mountain should be played to guarantee blue plus red before leaning on Hall of Storm Giants, Fountainport, Otawara, Soaring City, or Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance. Choose Riverglide Pathway's face according to missing color, not future preference.

- **Use tapped lands when the current turn has no required instant-speed action.** Thundering Falls and any land entering tapped should be deployed on turns where Fiery Impulse, Spikefield Hazard, Abrade, Deduce, or Into the Flood Maw is not needed immediately. Against fast creature starts, favor untapped red or blue even if that delays a utility land.

- **Play lands before draw spells when land drop certainty matters.** If the hand already contains the land needed for the turn, play it before Deduce, Stern Lesson, Prismari Charm, Prismari Command, or Magma Opus discard lines when doing so preserves legal interaction. Delay the land until after drawing only when the current land choice is ambiguous and no immediate spell or damage prevention depends on that mana.

- **Preserve red mana on the Indomitable Creativity turn.** Indomitable Creativity requires red and a legal target; do not spend the only red source on Fiery Impulse, Abrade, Prismari Command, Spikefield Hazard, or sideboard interaction unless survival requires it or Creativity is not the current plan. If the engine offers Treasure or other temporary mana, count it only when visible and legally usable.

- **Spend utility-land actions only after checking spell obligations.** Hall of Storm Giants activation, Fountainport actions, Otawara, Soaring City channel, and Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance channel can be powerful, but they compete with Divide by Zero, Prismari Charm, Prismari Command, Sublime Epiphany, Torrential Gearhulk, Magma Opus, and post-board interaction. Use utility actions when they create a necessary blocker, Creativity target, bounce line, clock, or mana sink without exposing the turn to a known spell or attack.

- **Treat pain and shock decisions as race decisions.** Steam Vents and Shivan Reef can cost life; take the damage when it enables immediate Fiery Impulse, Deduce, Abrade, Divide by Zero, or Indomitable Creativity that changes the board or prevents more damage. Choose slower or painless development when the visible board is stable and no same-turn action is needed.

## Mulligan Guide

- **Strong keeps have land drops, both colors, and a route to either survival or Creativity.** Keep hands with three lands including blue and red, plus Deduce or Stern Lesson, plus one early stabilizer such as Fiery Impulse, Abrade, Spikefield Hazard, Divide by Zero, Into the Flood Maw, Prismari Charm, or Prismari Command. A strong combo-control keep is Steam Vents, Stormcarved Coast, Riverglide Pathway, Fiery Impulse, Deduce, Indomitable Creativity, and Magma Opus because it interacts, hits land drops, and can stock a payoff for Torrential Gearhulk.

- **Medium keeps are acceptable when one missing piece is actively findable.** Keep two-land hands with Deduce, Stern Lesson, Prismari Charm, or Prismari Command if colors are functional and the hand has Fiery Impulse, Abrade, Spikefield Hazard, or Into the Flood Maw against creature pressure. Keep Indomitable Creativity without a target only when Deduce, Stern Lesson, Prismari Command, Magma Opus discard, Fountainport, or Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance can plausibly create material before turn four.

- **Risky keeps need matchup or draw-step support.** A hand with two lands, Indomitable Creativity, Torrential Gearhulk, Magma Opus, Sublime Epiphany, and no Deduce or Stern Lesson is too slow unless the opponent is visibly slow and the hand's lands cast interaction drawn later. A hand with four or five lands is keepable only when it has Deduce, Stern Lesson, Prismari Charm, Prismari Command, Indomitable Creativity, or Torrential Gearhulk to convert mana into pressure.

- **Automatic ships fail color, mana, or agency checks.** Mulligan zero-land, one-land, six-land, and seven-land openers unless the rules engine presents an exceptional free action; mulligan hands with no blue source and multiple blue spells; mulligan hands with no red source and Fiery Impulse or Indomitable Creativity as the only early plan. Ship hands of mostly Torrential Gearhulk, Magma Opus, and Sublime Epiphany when they cannot cast Deduce, Stern Lesson, Prismari Charm, or interaction before turn three.

- **Matchup-dependent keeps shift toward removal or permission.** Against fast creature starts, require Fiery Impulse, Abrade, Spikefield Hazard, Into the Flood Maw, Prismari Charm, Prismari Command, Anger of the Gods, or Pyroclasm after sideboard. Against blue or spell-combo opponents, prioritize lands plus Deduce, Divide by Zero, Prismari Charm, Mystical Dispute, Negate, Change the Equation, or Indomitable Creativity over slow removal-heavy hands.

- **Play/draw changes tolerance for taplands and cantrips.** On the play, keep hands that can interact on turn one or two before spending turn two on Deduce. On the draw, a two-land Deduce or Stern Lesson hand is better, but an opener that takes early damage from Steam Vents or Shivan Reef without answering the first threat is a trap.

- **Trap hands look powerful but do not bridge to the engine.** Do not keep double Indomitable Creativity with no target maker, double Torrential Gearhulk with no graveyard instant, or Magma Opus plus Torrential Gearhulk hands that cannot survive to six mana. Do not keep a hand because Hall of Storm Giants is a win condition if the rest of the hand cannot cast early spells.

## Turn Arc

- **Turn 1: prioritize color setup and immediate damage prevention.** Play Steam Vents, Riverglide Pathway, Shivan Reef, Mountain, Island, or Stormcarved Coast to guarantee access to Fiery Impulse, Spikefield Hazard, Deduce, Into the Flood Maw, or Abrade on schedule. Cast Fiery Impulse or Spikefield Hazard only when the target is legal and delaying risks more damage or a snowballing attacker; otherwise preserve removal and use the turn to set colors.

- **Turn 2: either answer pressure or create velocity.** Cast Deduce when the board is stable, especially if it creates a Clue for future Indomitable Creativity. Hold up Divide by Zero, Into the Flood Maw, Fiery Impulse, or Abrade when the opponent's visible board or mana suggests a must-answer permanent or attack. Discard Magma Opus for Treasure when the extra mana materially advances Indomitable Creativity, Stern Lesson, Prismari Command, or Torrential Gearhulk timing.

- **Turn 3: assemble the bridge turn without tapping out blindly.** Stern Lesson is preferred when it fixes hand quality, discards Magma Opus or excess expensive cards, and creates Powerstone material for later turns. Prismari Charm and Prismari Command should be chosen for the visible mode that stabilizes, creates Treasure, filters toward Indomitable Creativity, or places a strong instant in the graveyard for Torrential Gearhulk. Divide by Zero is favored when bouncing or countering a legal spell protects the next turn's Creativity window.

- **Turns 4-5: commit to Indomitable Creativity only after checking target safety and stack pressure.** If a Clue, Treasure, Powerstone, Fountainport token, Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance token, or other legal target is available and the opponent cannot visibly punish the line, cast Indomitable Creativity for the smallest effective X that finds Torrential Gearhulk. If interaction or pressure makes the combo unsafe, keep mana for Divide by Zero, Prismari Charm, Prismari Command, Abrade, Into the Flood Maw, or Sublime Epiphany and continue drawing with Deduce or Stern Lesson.

- **Turns 4-5: let Torrential Gearhulk be either combo payoff or defensive stabilizer.** Flash or put Torrential Gearhulk onto the battlefield when its legal graveyard target changes the game: Magma Opus for a major swing, Sublime Epiphany for a high-impact stack or board exchange, Divide by Zero for tempo, or Prismari Command, Prismari Charm, Abrade, Fiery Impulse, Spikefield Hazard, Deduce, Stern Lesson, or Into the Flood Maw for the best visible legal effect. Delay Gearhulk when the graveyard offers only low-impact text and the opponent is not forcing action.

- **Late game: convert mana into repeated threats while respecting hidden-information limits.** Hardcast Torrential Gearhulk, hardcast Magma Opus, activate Hall of Storm Giants, use Otawara, Soaring City or Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance when their channel actions are legal, and spend Fountainport only when it advances a target, blocker, card, or clock. Protect life total first, then preserve a Creativity target, then force the opponent to answer Gearhulk-sized threats with permission or bounce still available.

## Card Roles

- **Indomitable Creativity is the deck's decisive conversion spell, not a generic removal spell.** Cast it when a legal artifact or creature target you control can become Torrential Gearhulk and the current board, mana, and stack make that exchange worth committing. Prefer targeting expendable tokens from Deduce, Stern Lesson, Prismari Command, Fountainport, or Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance; avoid targeting opponent permanents unless the visible legal action is needed as emergency removal and you accept that their controller may receive the revealed card.

- **Torrential Gearhulk is the only main-deck hit that makes Indomitable Creativity reliable.** Treat every Torrential Gearhulk in hand as a flash threat and every Torrential Gearhulk left in library as combo density. Do not loot away all useful graveyard instants before a Gearhulk turn; the card is strongest when it recasts Magma Opus, Sublime Epiphany, Divide by Zero, Prismari Command, Prismari Charm, Deduce, Stern Lesson, Fiery Impulse, Abrade, Into the Flood Maw, or Spikefield Hazard for an immediate swing.

- **Magma Opus is the highest-impact spell to pair with Torrential Gearhulk.** Discard it early for Treasure when the mana accelerates Indomitable Creativity, Torrential Gearhulk, or a defensive double-spell turn, especially if the hand already has card flow. Hardcast or flash it back only when the legal targets and tap choices materially stabilize, pressure planeswalkers or life total, or generate enough cards and tempo to justify spending the turn.

- **Deduce is early glue and a clean Indomitable Creativity enabler.** Cast Deduce on stable turns to hit land drops, stock the graveyard for Torrential Gearhulk, and create a Clue that can be targeted later. Avoid sacrificing the Clue too casually when Indomitable Creativity is in hand or likely to be found soon; spend the Clue when missing land drops, lacking interaction, or no Creativity line is visible.

- **Stern Lesson is the best bridge from clunky hands to functional combo-control turns.** Use it to draw into lands, discard Magma Opus or redundant expensive cards, and create a Powerstone that can be targeted by Indomitable Creativity. Because the token has timing and mana limitations, check the rules-engine legal actions instead of assuming it pays for every spell; its strategic value is often as material plus future mana, not just acceleration.

- **Fiery Impulse protects the first three turns and buys time for the engine.** Use it on early creatures that represent repeated damage, snowballing combat, or pressure on a future tap-out Creativity turn. Hold it when the opponent's visible battlefield is low pressure and the graveyard can enable spell mastery later; spend it immediately when delaying creates a worse attack or forces shockland damage plus a later answer.

- **Divide by Zero is tempo interaction for stack and permanent pressure.** Use it to stop or delay a legal spell that would break the combo window, protect life total, or bounce a permanent whose recast will cost the opponent a decisive turn. Do not spend it on low-impact objects just because mana is open; it is one of the deck's few broad answers while setting up Indomitable Creativity or Torrential Gearhulk.

- **Prismari Command is a flexible stabilizer, enabler, and graveyard setup card.** Choose modes from visible needs: make Treasure to accelerate, deal damage to answer pressure, destroy an artifact when that text is legal and relevant, or filter cards to find Indomitable Creativity and stock Magma Opus or instants for Torrential Gearhulk. Avoid mode choices that look tidy but fail the current race, such as looting while a legal damage mode prevents a lethal or near-lethal attack.

- **Prismari Charm is a modal utility card whose exact tactical role depends on rules-engine mode text.** Card text check required. When the engine presents legal modes, prefer the mode that either preserves life, finds Indomitable Creativity, protects a key turn, or creates/uses material for Torrential Gearhulk; do not assume a familiar Prismari Command mode unless the legal action text explicitly shows it.

- **Sublime Epiphany is the expensive blowout that rewards patience.** Hold it for a stack or board state where one legal spell can counter, bounce, copy, draw, or create enough advantage to swing the game; Card text check required for exact mode availability in runtime. It is also a strong Torrential Gearhulk target, so discard or trade it only when survival, mana curve, or hand size demands it.

- **Into the Flood Maw is a one-copy tempo valve.** Use it when bouncing a legal permanent prevents immediate damage, breaks up a lethal setup, clears a blocker for Hall of Storm Giants, or buys the turn needed for Indomitable Creativity. Do not treat it as permanent removal unless the opponent's recast cost or timing makes the bounce functionally decisive.

- **Abrade is flexible spot interaction with high sideboard relevance.** Main-deck Abrade should answer a creature or artifact only when that object is pressuring life, constraining Creativity, or threatening a key permanent or turn. Preserve it over Fiery Impulse when the visible opponent deck is more likely to present artifacts; spend Fiery Impulse first when both kill the same small creature and artifact text may matter later.

- **Spikefield Hazard is both a land-like card and a narrow damage spell.** Use it as a spell when one damage cleanly removes a visible threat, prevents a recursive or death-trigger line according to legal text, or combines with other damage. Play it as mana when the hand needs land drops more than the one-damage effect; do not hold it so long that Indomitable Creativity or Deduce sequencing collapses.

- **Hall of Storm Giants is the late-game backup finisher, not an early plan.** Prioritize using it as a blue source until the deck reaches enough mana to attack while still representing interaction. Activate only when the legal combat line is safe against visible blockers and available opposing mana; losing it can strand expensive spells or reduce double-spell capacity.

- **Fountainport is utility material for long games and can matter as Creativity support.** Use its token or card-related actions only when the rules engine presents legal actions that improve the current plan: creating a target, converting excess material, blocking, or drawing. Do not spend mana into Fountainport when a spell from hand answers the current board more cleanly.

- **Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance is a land first and an emergency token source later.** Channel it when the tokens provide blockers, pressure, or Indomitable Creativity targets and the lost land drop or red source will not damage the next turn cycle. It is especially useful when the hand has Indomitable Creativity but no Clue, Treasure, or Powerstone.

- **Otawara, Soaring City is a land first and a late flexible answer second.** Channel it when returning a legal artifact, creature, enchantment, or planeswalker meaningfully opens a combo turn, prevents lethal, or disrupts a permanent that normal red removal cannot answer. Keep it untapped as blue mana when the hand needs Divide by Zero, Deduce, Stern Lesson, Prismari Charm, Sublime Epiphany, or Torrential Gearhulk timing more than bounce.

- **Steam Vents, Shivan Reef, Stormcarved Coast, Riverglide Pathway, Thundering Falls, Island, and Mountain are the consistency engine.** Sequence lands to cast Fiery Impulse or Spikefield Hazard early, Deduce or Divide by Zero on turn two, and Indomitable Creativity on turn four when possible. Avoid unnecessary Steam Vents and Shivan Reef life loss against aggressive starts; choose Riverglide Pathway sides based on missing color, not aesthetics.

- **Thundering Falls supports late-game selection and stable colors when tempo allows.** Card text check required for exact land text at runtime. Play it tapped only when the hand can still answer the next visible threat or when its selection effect helps find land, interaction, Indomitable Creativity, or Torrential Gearhulk without sacrificing survival.

- **The deck's most common mistake is spending enablers as value before checking Indomitable Creativity.** Before sacrificing Clues, using Treasure, looting away tokens, channeling lands, or firing modal spells, ask whether the same object is needed as material, mana, or graveyard setup for a stronger Gearhulk turn. The second common mistake is assuming Torrential Gearhulk fixes everything; it only swings the game when the graveyard, targets, and current board make the flashed-back spell matter.

## Interaction Priorities

- **Remove battlefield pressure before protecting abstract value.** Use Fiery Impulse, Spikefield Hazard, Abrade, Prismari Command damage modes, Into the Flood Maw, Otawara, Soaring City, or Divide by Zero first on creatures or permanents that will shorten the clock below the time needed to cast Indomitable Creativity or stabilize with Torrential Gearhulk. Ignore small attackers only when visible life total, blockers, and mana show that taking damage preserves a stronger next-turn Creativity or Gearhulk line.

- **Counter or bounce the spell that invalidates the next two turns, not the first legal spell.** Divide by Zero and Sublime Epiphany should prioritize threats that add lethal pressure, remove the only Creativity target, strand mana, stop Torrential Gearhulk from mattering, or create a permanent the red removal suite cannot answer. Let low-impact cantrips, redundant small creatures, and nonlethal setup resolve when spending interaction would leave Indomitable Creativity exposed or leave no answer to the follow-up.

- **Kill creatures by efficiency before flexibility.** Spend Spikefield Hazard on one-toughness targets when it cleanly answers the object and the land mode is not required; spend Fiery Impulse before Abrade when both answer the same creature and artifact text may matter later; spend Abrade first only when the visible matchup makes artifacts more threatening than small creatures. Preserve Prismari Command when its Treasure, draw-discard, or artifact mode can bridge into a stronger turn than a simple damage exchange.

- **Bounce permanents when tempo is better than damage.** Use Into the Flood Maw, Otawara, Soaring City, or Divide by Zero on large creatures, hate permanents, tokens, or expensive threats that Fiery Impulse and Abrade cannot answer profitably. Bounce is strongest when the opponent must spend the next turn recasting, when it clears the path for Hall of Storm Giants, or when it opens a safe Indomitable Creativity turn; bounce is weak when the opponent can immediately replay the same cheap threat while adding pressure.

- **Protect the combo turn by checking mana and material first.** Before firing interaction, verify whether Deduce Clues, Stern Lesson Powerstones, Prismari Command Treasure, Fountainport tokens, Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance tokens, or other legal artifacts and creatures are needed as Indomitable Creativity targets. Do not spend a token or Treasure as generic value if that object is the only visible route to convert Indomitable Creativity into Torrential Gearhulk.

- **Bait permission with replaceable spells when the hand can recover.** Lead with Deduce, Stern Lesson, Prismari Command, Prismari Charm, or Divide by Zero as a pressure test when the opponent is representing stack interaction and Indomitable Creativity is the higher-value spell. Do not bait with the only enabler, the only answer to lethal pressure, or Torrential Gearhulk when the graveyard target is not yet worth flashing back.

- **Handle discard and exile defensively because the deck has no proactive discard or exile package.** If an opponent forces a discard choice, keep the card that preserves the nearest legal plan: Indomitable Creativity plus target, early land plus interaction, or Torrential Gearhulk plus a meaningful instant in graveyard. Discard redundant Magma Opus, extra expensive Torrential Gearhulk, excess lands, or narrow removal only when visible hand, mana, and clock support that choice; never assume hidden replacement copies.

- **Change priorities by archetype pressure.** Against creature aggression, answer power on board and protect life total above card quantity. Against control, preserve Indomitable Creativity, Torrential Gearhulk, Sublime Epiphany, and threat lands while using cheap draw and modal spells to force action. Against artifact decks, raise Abrade and Prismari Command artifact modes. Against graveyard or recursion decks, bounce and tempo decisions should account for whether returning a card merely reloads a better graveyard line.

## Combat And Trading Rules

- **Treat combat as survival until the deck turns the corner.** This deck wins by resolving Indomitable Creativity into Torrential Gearhulk, casting Torrential Gearhulk for a decisive instant, or attacking late with Hall of Storm Giants; early combat is mostly about preserving life and material. Do not attack with tokens that are needed as blockers or Creativity targets unless the legal attack changes a race that is already favorable.

- **Block to preserve the combo window when life is the limiting resource.** Use expendable tokens from Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance or Fountainport as blockers when they prevent a meaningful attack and another artifact or creature target remains available for Indomitable Creativity. Avoid blocking with the only legal Creativity target unless the incoming damage creates lethal or near-lethal pressure before the next available combo turn.

- **Trade Torrential Gearhulk only after extracting spell value.** Flash in Torrential Gearhulk to cast a meaningful Fiery Impulse, Abrade, Prismari Command, Divide by Zero, Stern Lesson, Deduce, Sublime Epiphany, Into the Flood Maw, or other legal instant target before combat math whenever the engine offers it. After the spell resolves, trade Torrential Gearhulk for a larger threat or enough damage prevention when the body is no longer the primary win condition; preserve it when repeated attacks will close the game faster than trading.

- **Use Hall of Storm Giants as a finisher with protection, not a stabilizing blocker by default.** Activate Hall of Storm Giants when visible blockers, open mana, and available interaction make the attack or block acceptable. Do not expose it to a routine trade while the deck still needs blue mana for Divide by Zero, Deduce, Stern Lesson, Prismari Charm, Sublime Epiphany, Torrential Gearhulk, or Otawara, Soaring City.

- **Respect life-total thresholds before spending mana on draw or tokens.** At high life with low opposing pressure, prefer Deduce, Stern Lesson, and modal filtering to assemble Indomitable Creativity and graveyard value. At medium life under multiple attackers, prioritize removal, bounce, and blockers over card selection. At low life or facing a two-turn clock, treat every combat decision as survival first, even if that means sacrificing a token intended for Creativity.

- **Attack only when the damage matters more than holding material.** Torrential Gearhulk attacks when it pressures planeswalkers, shortens the opponent's clock, or forces blocks that clear the way for Hall of Storm Giants or future Gearhulks. Small tokens attack only when they cannot profitably block, are not needed for Indomitable Creativity, and the opponent's visible crack-back does not punish the tap.

- **Preserve engine objects against control and spend bodies against aggression.** Against control, a Clue, Treasure, Powerstone, or token is often more valuable as a future Indomitable Creativity target than as minor combat material. Against aggression, the same object may need to block, enable a removal spell through mana, or be sacrificed to survive; the role changes when the visible clock is faster than the combo setup.

- **Do not overprotect a bad setup piece.** If the only current Creativity target is exposed but the hand can rebuild with Deduce, Stern Lesson, Prismari Command, Fountainport, or Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance, it can be correct to block or spend that object to avoid falling behind. If the hand cannot rebuild and Indomitable Creativity is already available, preserve the target unless the rules engine shows lethal damage or a decisive permanent that must be answered immediately.

## Selection And Tutor Rules

- **Treat this deck as pseudo-selection, not true tutoring.** There is no main-deck card that searches the library for Indomitable Creativity or Torrential Gearhulk, so every Deduce, Stern Lesson, Prismari Charm, Prismari Command, Divide by Zero learn choice, and Magma Opus discard decision should improve the nearest visible plan rather than chase an invented perfect card.

- **Use Deduce when mana can stay reactive or when a Clue is needed.** Deduce is strongest before the combo turn because it replaces itself and leaves an artifact for Indomitable Creativity; avoid sacrificing the Clue immediately if it is the only legal Creativity target or if holding it keeps the opponent uncertain about a future combo turn.

- **Use Stern Lesson to fix hands while preserving combo material.** Prioritize discarding excess lands, redundant expensive Magma Opus, or extra Torrential Gearhulk before discarding Indomitable Creativity, the only enabler, or the only cheap interaction against pressure. Treat the Powerstone as setup material for costs and as a possible Indomitable Creativity target only when the rules engine shows it is legal.

- **Use Prismari Charm as role compression.** Select the draw/discard mode when the hand lacks land, Indomitable Creativity, enablers, or action; select damage or Treasure only when visible pressure, mana, or combo timing makes that mode better than card flow. Do not spend Prismari Charm on filtering if a visible creature or planeswalker must die before the next attack.

- **Use Prismari Command to choose the mode that changes the next turn.** Make Treasure when it enables a protected Indomitable Creativity, Torrential Gearhulk, Sublime Epiphany, or double-spell turn; loot when the hand is clunky; damage small threats when tempo matters; destroy an artifact only when the artifact is materially advancing the opponent.

- **Discard Magma Opus tactically, not automatically.** Discard Magma Opus for a Treasure when the Treasure accelerates Indomitable Creativity or Torrential Gearhulk and the full Magma Opus is not likely to be cast soon. Keep Magma Opus when the game is slow, mana is developing, or Torrential Gearhulk can later cast it from the graveyard if the engine presents that legal target.

- **Resolve Divide by Zero learn choices from visible legal options only.** If the engine offers Boomerang Basics, It'll Quench Ya!, Firebending Lesson, Iroh's Demonstration, Improvisation Capstone, or The Legend of Roku as legal learn cards, choose the one that answers the current bottleneck: survival, interaction, card flow, or closing power. Card text check required for those sideboard Lesson-style cards, so rely on engine labels and visible effects at runtime.

- **Time land drops around selection information.** When holding a modal double-faced or choice land such as Riverglide Pathway, play the side that unlocks current hand requirements after resolving cheap selection when possible. Hold Otawara, Soaring City, Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance, Hall of Storm Giants, or Fountainport only when the hand already has enough colored mana and their activated ability or threat role is likely to matter.

## Priority And Stack Rules

- **Keep priority decisions tied to the current stack, not a scripted curve.** Pass when no legal action improves the visible exchange; act when Fiery Impulse, Abrade, Into the Flood Maw, Divide by Zero, Prismari Charm, Prismari Command, Sublime Epiphany, Magma Opus, Otawara, Soaring City, or Torrential Gearhulk changes a spell, combat step, lethal clock, or combo window.

- **Commit Indomitable Creativity only after checking target, library, and exposure.** Cast Indomitable Creativity when a legal artifact or creature target is available, Torrential Gearhulk remains a likely library hit, and visible opposing mana or board pressure makes going now better than waiting. Do not target an opponent's artifact or creature unless the legal text and board state make that outcome intentional.

- **Use instant-speed removal before damage when survival or value depends on it.** Cast Fiery Impulse, Abrade, Prismari Charm damage, Prismari Command damage, or Into the Flood Maw before combat damage when it removes an attacker, breaks a pump/combat-trick line, or protects a key life threshold. Let small threats resolve when answering them later preserves Divide by Zero, Sublime Epiphany, or Torrential Gearhulk for higher-impact stack fights.

- **Use Divide by Zero as stack tempo before permanent tempo.** Bounce a spell on the stack when it protects the combo, denies a decisive threat, or wins a counter-exchange; bounce a permanent when the opponent must spend a meaningful turn replaying it or when it clears a protected Indomitable Creativity or Hall of Storm Giants turn.

- **Use Torrential Gearhulk at the last profitable window.** Flash in Torrential Gearhulk on the opponent's end step when the priority window is safe and the graveyard contains a high-impact instant; flash it in during combat or stack fights when the body plus copied instant changes combat, counters or bounces a spell, removes a threat, or creates lethal pressure.

- **Choose Torrential Gearhulk targets by immediate swing.** Prioritize Magma Opus, Sublime Epiphany, Divide by Zero, Prismari Command, Prismari Charm, Abrade, Fiery Impulse, Deduce, Stern Lesson, or Into the Flood Maw according to visible need. Do not flash back a low-impact draw spell if an opposing threat, stack object, or combat step demands an answer.

- **Use Sublime Epiphany as a decisive stack tool.** Choose only legal modes that matter: counter a key spell, counter a dangerous activated or triggered ability, bounce a permanent, draw, or copy Torrential Gearhulk when the engine allows it and the copied trigger has a meaningful graveyard target. Avoid spending Sublime Epiphany on a minor exchange unless losing that exchange risks lethal or losing the combo.

- **Sequence optional payments and activated abilities after reserving interaction mana.** Sacrifice Clues, make Fountainport tokens, channel Otawara, Soaring City, channel Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance, or activate Hall of Storm Giants only after confirming the mana left still covers the current priority need. Do not consume the only artifact or creature target unless the resulting card, token, bounce, or attack is more important than Indomitable Creativity this turn.

## Sideboard Map

- **Treat the sideboard as two linked packages: registered match cards and Divide by Zero learn targets.** Bring narrow cards into the main deck only when the matchup repeatedly asks for that effect; otherwise leave Lesson-style cards available for learn choices if the rules engine exposes them. Card text check required for Boomerang Basics, It'll Quench Ya!, Firebending Lesson, Iroh's Demonstration, Redirect Lightning, Improvisation Capstone, and The Legend of Roku, so use their engine action labels and visible effects at runtime rather than assuming exact text.

- **Use Aether Gust against red or green pressure, red burn, green ramp, and red-green midrange.** Its role is tempo-protection for the Indomitable Creativity turn and survival against threats that Fiery Impulse cannot cleanly answer. It is bad against blue-white control, black discard decks with few red or green spells, artifact-heavy shells, and creatureless combo.

- **Use Anger of the Gods when the opponent wins by committing multiple creatures.** Its role is a reset that buys time for Deduce, Stern Lesson, Indomitable Creativity, Torrential Gearhulk, or Magma Opus. It is bad when the opponent presents mostly single large threats, planeswalkers, flash threats, or creature lands; in those matchups prefer stack interaction or spot answers.

- **Use Pyroclasm as the faster sweeper when two mana matters more than exile or size.** Its role is to keep one- and two-toughness boards from forcing premature combo turns. It is bad against larger creature decks, recursive threats that survive or return, and opponents whose pressure is mostly noncreature.

- **Use Mystical Dispute against blue decks and stack fights.** Its role is protecting Indomitable Creativity, fighting opposing counterspells, and improving Torrential Gearhulk end-step lines. It is bad against low-blue aggressive decks where mana must answer creatures, and it loses value when the opponent mostly attacks with resolved permanents.

- **Use Negate against control, combo, planeswalker-heavy midrange, sweepers, and opposing noncreature interaction.** Its role is guarding the combo and stopping high-impact noncreature spells that Divide by Zero only delays. It is bad against creature-dense decks where early battlefield survival decides the game.

- **Use Change the Equation when the opponent's visible colors and costs make it a live cheap answer.** Its role is low-cost stack control for protecting the combo or stopping tempo-positive plays. Card text check required; avoid boarding it when the engine-visible opponent deck is not presenting legal spell types or colors it can answer.

- **Use Abrade when artifacts or small-to-medium creatures are central.** The sideboard Abrade joins the main-deck Abrade against artifact engines, equipment-style pressure, and creature decks where one more instant answer changes combat. It is bad against spell-heavy control and combo decks with few artifact or creature targets.

- **Use Boomerang Basics as a learn-accessible tempo tool unless its card text proves a stronger boarded role.** Card text check required. Its likely role is buying a turn or clearing a permanent for Indomitable Creativity; it is bad when tempo does not matter, when the opponent can replay the permanent cheaply, or when direct removal/countermagic is cleaner.

- **Use It'll Quench Ya! as a learn-accessible interaction card when the engine offers a legal counter or tax effect.** Card text check required. Its role changes from sideboard inventory to selected learn card when Divide by Zero creates a window where one more piece of interaction protects the next turn. It is bad if the opponent can pay through it, if the stack is empty, or if a sweeper/removal learn card is needed instead.

- **Use Firebending Lesson when the engine text shows it removes a creature, pressures a planeswalker, or closes a game.** Card text check required. Its role is learn-accessible reach or removal; it is bad when the visible board requires stack interaction, a sweeper, or a permanent answer.

- **Use Iroh's Demonstration when the engine text shows it creates material, cards, or stabilizing value that fits the turn.** Card text check required. Its role is learn-accessible recovery in slower games; it is bad under lethal pressure unless the visible effect directly changes survival.

- **Use Redirect Lightning only when the visible stack or combat damage pattern makes redirection materially legal and useful.** Card text check required. Its role is punishing targeted damage, targeted interaction, or combat math if the engine presents those actions; it is bad against untargeted sweepers, discard, graveyard plans, and creature boards where no redirection window appears.

- **Use Improvisation Capstone when the engine-visible text makes it a high-impact learn payoff for a long game.** Card text check required. Its role is not early survival; it becomes relevant when mana is abundant and the hand needs a powerful lesson target rather than a narrow answer.

- **Use The Legend of Roku when the engine-visible text makes it the best learn target for board impact, cards, or inevitability.** Card text check required. Its role is slower-game leverage; it is bad when the opponent threatens lethal before the saga or effect can matter.

Creature go-wide aggro
Side in: 1 Anger of the Gods; 1 Pyroclasm; 1 Abrade; 1 Aether Gust
Cut: 1 Sublime Epiphany; 1 Magma Opus; 1 Divide by Zero; 1 Stern Lesson

- **Role after this plan: survive first, then combo with protection only if the board is contained.** Add role cards: sweepers, cheap removal, red or green tempo interaction. Reduce main-deck emphasis: expensive stack plays, slow card flow, and extra copies of effects that do not affect the first three turns. Keep enough Deduce, Prismari Charm, Prismari Command, Stern Lesson, and token lands to supply Indomitable Creativity targets.

Blue control or blue tempo
Side in: 2 Mystical Dispute; 1 Negate; 1 Change the Equation
Cut: 4 Fiery Impulse

- **Role after this plan: become the patient combo-control deck.** Add role cards: cheap counters and anti-blue stack interaction. Reduce main-deck emphasis: creature-only removal that has no reliable target. Preserve Deduce and Stern Lesson because they let the deck play draw-go while leaving artifacts or Powerstones for Indomitable Creativity.

Artifact creature or artifact engine
Side in: 1 Abrade; 1 Negate; 1 Change the Equation
Cut: 1 Into the Flood Maw; 1 Sublime Epiphany; 1 Magma Opus

- **Role after this plan: answer the artifact that changes the clock or engine, not every artifact.** Add role cards: Abrade for visible artifacts or creatures, Negate for noncreature engines, Change the Equation when card text and colors line up. Reduce main-deck emphasis: six-mana interaction and bounce-only tempo if the opponent replays threats efficiently.

Red or green midrange/ramp
Side in: 1 Aether Gust; 1 Negate; 1 Change the Equation; 1 Abrade
Cut: 1 Spikefield Hazard; 1 Into the Flood Maw; 1 Fiery Impulse; 1 Stern Lesson

- **Role after this plan: buy one decisive turn and punish expensive spells.** Add role cards: Aether Gust for red or green threats, Negate for noncreature haymakers, Change the Equation when legal, Abrade when creatures or artifacts matter. Reduce main-deck emphasis: narrow one-damage effects, low-impact bounce, and slow filtering when the opponent's threats are individually large.

Slow nonblue combo or spell-heavy control
Side in: 1 Negate; 1 Change the Equation; 1 Mystical Dispute
Cut: 1 Abrade; 1 Fiery Impulse; 1 Prismari Command

- **Role after this plan: protect Indomitable Creativity while contesting the opponent's decisive spell.** Add role cards: hard stack interaction and cheap conditional counters. Reduce main-deck emphasis: damage-based removal and artifact destruction unless the opponent has shown targets. Mystical Dispute is strongest if the opponent is blue; if no blue cards are visible after game one, keep it as the most flexible remaining counter only when other sideboard cards are weaker.

- **Keep Lesson-style cards in the sideboard when Divide by Zero is central to the matchup.** Add role cards: Boomerang Basics, It'll Quench Ya!, Firebending Lesson, Iroh's Demonstration, Redirect Lightning, Improvisation Capstone, and The Legend of Roku as learn options rather than maindeck cards unless a tested plan proves boarding one is stronger. Reduce main-deck emphasis only through exact executable plans; do not move a Lesson-style card into the main deck just because it looks powerful without confirming its text and runtime role.

## Matchup Guidance

- **Aggro: defend life total before assembling the clean combo turn.** Prioritize Fiery Impulse, Abrade, Spikefield Hazard, Into the Flood Maw, Prismari Charm, and Prismari Command for early board control, and treat Deduce or Stern Lesson as acceptable only when mana remains for a removal spell or the visible clock is slow. Add role cards: Anger of the Gods, Pyroclasm, Abrade, and Aether Gust when the opponent is creature-heavy, especially red or green. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Sublime Epiphany, excess Magma Opus, and slow Divide by Zero lines when the first three turns are about survival. Use Indomitable Creativity as the stabilizing pivot once a Clue, Powerstone, creature token, or other legal target is available and the opponent is not presenting immediate lethal.

- **Go-wide decks: value sweepers over spot removal unless a single lord or payoff changes combat.** Anger of the Gods and Pyroclasm are the cleanest sideboard tools when many small creatures define the board; Fiery Impulse and Prismari Charm should preserve life until a sweeper is legal. Avoid spending Indomitable Creativity targets casually if those artifacts or tokens are the only bridge to Torrential Gearhulk. Magma Opus is usually too slow as a hard-cast plan under pressure, but its token-making mode can create a Creativity target if the engine presents that legal action and the life total can survive the tempo loss.

- **Burn: trade mana for life and do not overpay for card flow.** Keep hands with cheap interaction, untapped red sources, and a fast path to Indomitable Creativity or Torrential Gearhulk pressure. Add role cards: Aether Gust against red threats or spells, Negate for noncreature burn and planeswalker-style pressure, Mystical Dispute only if blue cards are visible, and Redirect Lightning only when its card text and the visible stack make redirection legal. Reduce main-deck emphasis: slow Sublime Epiphany turns and speculative Stern Lesson when passing with removal or counterplay is safer. Be careful with Shivan Reef and Steam Vents damage; choose tapped lands when the turn does not require immediate red or blue interaction.

- **Tempo: respect cheap counters and pressure by sequencing threats across multiple turns.** Do not force Indomitable Creativity into open mana merely because a target exists; first use Deduce, Stern Lesson, Divide by Zero, and Prismari Command to build resources while making the opponent act. Add role cards: Mystical Dispute, Negate, Change the Equation, and Aether Gust when their colors and card text line up. Reduce main-deck emphasis: narrow removal if the opponent has few creatures, but keep Fiery Impulse when the visible clock is creature-based. Torrential Gearhulk is strongest when it can replay a meaningful instant and force the tempo deck to answer at end step or on a protected turn.

- **Control: play draw-go until the opponent must respect multiple threats.** Deduce, Stern Lesson, Prismari Command, Divide by Zero, and Prismari Charm help hit land drops, create legal Indomitable Creativity targets, and contest the stack without overcommitting. Add role cards: Mystical Dispute, Negate, Change the Equation, It'll Quench Ya!, Improvisation Capstone, Iroh's Demonstration, and The Legend of Roku when Divide by Zero can access them and their text is verified. Card text check required for It'll Quench Ya!, Improvisation Capstone, Iroh's Demonstration, and The Legend of Roku. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Fiery Impulse and Abrade unless the opponent has creature lands, artifacts, or small creatures. Sublime Epiphany becomes more important here as a late stack swing, especially after the opponent taps low.

- **Combo: identify the decisive opposing turn and hold stack interaction for that point.** Negate, Change the Equation, Mystical Dispute, Divide by Zero, Sublime Epiphany, Prismari Charm, and Torrential Gearhulk are the key tools when the opponent is spell-based. Do not spend Divide by Zero on a low-impact spell if the opponent’s visible pattern suggests a must-answer follow-up. Indomitable Creativity can race, but only commit when a legal target exists and the opponent’s available mana, known cards, and public information do not make waiting clearly safer. Against noncreature combo, Fiery Impulse and Abrade lose value unless the engine shows creature or artifact pieces.

- **Midrange: answer the threat that changes the clock, then turn the corner with Gearhulk or Creativity.** Fiery Impulse, Abrade, Into the Flood Maw, Prismari Charm, and Prismari Command should be aimed at creatures or artifacts that pressure life total, disrupt combo targets, or demand immediate action. Add role cards: Aether Gust for red or green threats, Negate for noncreature haymakers, Change the Equation when legal, and Abrade when artifacts or creatures matter. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Spikefield Hazard against high-toughness boards and extra slow filtering when the opponent is already attacking for large chunks. Torrential Gearhulk flashing back Deduce, Divide by Zero, Prismari Command, or Prismari Charm is often the bridge from parity to control.

- **Big mana: pressure their setup by countering payoffs, not every accelerant.** Negate, Change the Equation, Divide by Zero, Sublime Epiphany, and Torrential Gearhulk are more valuable than small removal unless the opponent’s ramp is creature-based. Aether Gust matters when red or green payoffs are visible; Boomerang Basics can be a tempo learn target only if its engine text confirms a relevant bounce effect. Card text check required for Boomerang Basics. Use Indomitable Creativity proactively when waiting gives the opponent time to cast a threat that invalidates Torrential Gearhulk pressure. Magma Opus token creation can matter as a target source, but hard-casting Magma Opus should be reserved for games where mana is abundant and the stack is not the immediate fight.

- **Graveyard decks: interact with the engine card when possible and race when hate is absent.** This registered sideboard has no explicit graveyard-hate card by name, so do not invent one. Use Negate, Change the Equation, Mystical Dispute, Divide by Zero, Sublime Epiphany, and Torrential Gearhulk to contest graveyard enablers, payoff spells, or recursion windows shown by the rules engine. Fiery Impulse, Abrade, Prismari Charm, and Prismari Command handle creature-based graveyard pressure, but do not spend them on replaceable bodies if the real danger is a visible graveyard payoff. Indomitable Creativity remains the fastest way to close if the opponent is spending early turns stocking the graveyard.

- **Artifact or enchantment decks: answer the permanent type the deck can actually touch.** Abrade and Prismari Command are the registered direct artifact tools, while Negate, Change the Equation, Divide by Zero, Sublime Epiphany, and Into the Flood Maw can fight artifact or enchantment plans through stack or tempo when legal. Add role cards: Abrade, Negate, Change the Equation, Boomerang Basics, Firebending Lesson, and Redirect Lightning only when their visible text or stack window makes them relevant. Card text check required for Firebending Lesson and Redirect Lightning. Reduce main-deck emphasis: creature-only Fiery Impulse when artifacts or enchantments are the true engine.

- **Single-threat decks: preserve bounce, counterplay, and exact removal for the threat that matters.** Into the Flood Maw, Divide by Zero, Sublime Epiphany, Prismari Charm, Prismari Command, Abrade, and Aether Gust can buy the key turn depending on permanent type, color, and legality. Do not fire Fiery Impulse at a minor creature if the opponent’s plan is one large threat plus protection. Hall of Storm Giants can become a late blocker or finisher, but only activate when the mana use does not expose Indomitable Creativity or stack interaction. Torrential Gearhulk is excellent after the first exchange because it reuses the exact answer while adding a clock.

- **Removal-heavy decks: diversify targets and make dead removal awkward.** Prefer Clues, Powerstones, and land-generated tokens as Indomitable Creativity material when creature tokens are exposed to removal. Deduce and Stern Lesson are important because they leave artifacts behind while progressing cards. Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance and Fountainport can create legal material when their activated abilities are available, but do not rely on a creature token surviving through open removal if a safer artifact target exists. Against heavy instant interaction, force them to answer end-step Torrential Gearhulk or card flow before committing the main Indomitable Creativity turn.

## Specific Matchup Notes

- **General/archetype-only note: revealed cards override assumptions.** Treat these notes as matchup heuristics until the rules engine shows exact opposing cards, colors, zones, and legal actions. If visible play patterns conflict with the archetype label, follow the visible board and public information first.

- **Aggro and go-wide creature decks: survive first, then convert one clean turn into Indomitable Creativity or Torrential Gearhulk.** Priority targets are creatures that increase the immediate clock, punish blockers, or make small removal expire. Add role cards: Anger of the Gods, Pyroclasm, Abrade, Aether Gust when red or green threats are visible, and Firebending Lesson only if its text supports removal or stabilizing pressure; Card text check required for Firebending Lesson. Reduce main-deck emphasis: slow copies of Divide by Zero, Sublime Epiphany, and hard-cast Magma Opus when life total is already under pressure.

- **Tempo and counterspell decks: make land drops and force action at end step.** Deduce, Stern Lesson, Prismari Command, Prismari Charm, and Torrential Gearhulk are the safer pressure points because they ask the opponent to spend mana before the main Indomitable Creativity turn. Add role cards: Mystical Dispute, Negate, Change the Equation, It'll Quench Ya!, Improvisation Capstone, and Iroh's Demonstration when text and legal windows confirm stack relevance; Card text check required for It'll Quench Ya!, Improvisation Capstone, and Iroh's Demonstration. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Fiery Impulse when the opponent presents few creatures.

- **Midrange decks: trade for the threat that changes the race, not the first permanent.** Fiery Impulse, Abrade, Into the Flood Maw, Prismari Charm, Prismari Command, Divide by Zero, and Torrential Gearhulk should preserve parity until Clues, Powerstones, creature tokens, or land abilities enable Indomitable Creativity. Add role cards: Aether Gust for red or green threats, Negate for noncreature haymakers, Change the Equation when legal, Abrade for artifacts or creatures, and The Legend of Roku only after text verification; Card text check required for The Legend of Roku.

- **Control decks: treat Indomitable Creativity as a commitment gate, not a routine four-mana play.** Wait until the opponent is tapped low, a prior exchange has resolved, or Torrential Gearhulk can keep pressure on the next stack fight. Priority targets are opposing card-advantage spells, sweepers that answer tokens before Creativity, and counters aimed at Indomitable Creativity. Add role cards: Mystical Dispute, Negate, Change the Equation, It'll Quench Ya!, Improvisation Capstone, Iroh's Demonstration, and The Legend of Roku when their text supports stack or long-game positioning.

- **Big mana and ramp decks: contest payoffs and close before mana invalidates one-for-one interaction.** Divide by Zero, Negate, Change the Equation, Sublime Epiphany, Prismari Charm, and Torrential Gearhulk matter more than Fiery Impulse unless ramp creatures are visible. Add role cards: Aether Gust against red or green payoff threats, Boomerang Basics if its verified text creates a relevant tempo play, and Mystical Dispute if the opponent is blue; Card text check required for Boomerang Basics.

- **Graveyard decks: race with Indomitable Creativity when no registered hate exists.** The sideboard has no explicit graveyard-hate card by name, so use Negate, Change the Equation, Mystical Dispute, Divide by Zero, Sublime Epiphany, and Torrential Gearhulk to fight enablers, recursion, or payoff spells visible on the stack. Use Fiery Impulse, Abrade, Prismari Charm, and Prismari Command only on creature or artifact pressure that materially changes the clock.

- **Artifact-centric decks: keep Abrade and Prismari Command for the permanent that enables the engine.** Add role cards: Abrade, Negate, Change the Equation, Boomerang Basics, Redirect Lightning, and Firebending Lesson when visible text and legal targets apply; Card text check required for Redirect Lightning and Firebending Lesson. Reduce main-deck emphasis: creature-only Fiery Impulse when artifacts are the real pressure.

## Risk Summary

- **Mana risk:** The deck needs untapped blue and red access while preserving interaction, so hands with Riverglide Pathway, Steam Vents, Shivan Reef, Stormcarved Coast, Thundering Falls, Mountain, Island, Hall of Storm Giants, Otawara, Soaring City, Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance, or Fountainport must be judged by visible turn sequencing, not land count alone.

- **Matchup risk:** Creature decks punish slow filtering, while control and combo punish tapping out for Indomitable Creativity without stack context. Do not use one universal role plan.

- **Draw risk:** Deduce, Stern Lesson, Prismari Command, and Prismari Charm can find action but can also spend mana without affecting lethal pressure. Under a short clock, favor removal or a Creativity setup that changes the board.

- **Over-sideboarding risk:** Too many narrow sideboard cards can reduce token production, card flow, or Creativity density. Preserve enough Deduce, Stern Lesson, Prismari Command, Prismari Charm, Magma Opus, and token lands to create legal targets.

- **Graveyard risk:** Torrential Gearhulk depends on useful instants in the graveyard, but the deck should not assume graveyard access will remain available. If graveyard value is blocked, shift toward fresh Indomitable Creativity lines and hard-cast interaction.

- **Sweeper/removal risk:** Opposing removal can destroy creature tokens before Indomitable Creativity resolves. Prefer artifact tokens from Deduce, Stern Lesson, Prismari Command, or other visible sources when the opponent represents instant-speed removal.

- **Closer risk:** Torrential Gearhulk and Hall of Storm Giants can win fair games, but both consume large mana windows. Activate or cast them only when the resulting shields-down turn is better than waiting.

- **Interaction risk:** Spending Divide by Zero, Negate, Mystical Dispute, Change the Equation, or Sublime Epiphany on low-impact spells can leave no answer for the decisive stack fight.

- **Sequencing risk:** Magma Opus, Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance, Fountainport, Deduce, Stern Lesson, Prismari Command, and Indomitable Creativity all create or consume setup windows. Make the target first, confirm it survives, then commit Creativity when legal actions and public information support it.

## Test Feedback Checklist

- Deciding factor: Record whether the game turned on resolving Indomitable Creativity, surviving long enough to create a legal token target, fighting over a stack exchange, or winning fairly with Torrential Gearhulk or Hall of Storm Giants.

- Mulligans: For each opening hand, ask whether the hand had functional blue and red mana, early interaction, a token path, and either Deduce, Stern Lesson, Prismari Charm, Prismari Command, or Indomitable Creativity. Flag keeps that had lands but no velocity or interaction.

- Mana: Track whether Riverglide Pathway, Steam Vents, Shivan Reef, Stormcarved Coast, Thundering Falls, Island, Mountain, Hall of Storm Giants, Otawara, Soaring City, Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance, and Fountainport entered or tapped in ways that stranded Divide by Zero, Prismari Charm, Prismari Command, or Indomitable Creativity.

- Velocity: Check whether Deduce, Stern Lesson, Prismari Charm, and Prismari Command found lands, interaction, and Creativity targets on time, or whether they consumed turns while the opponent advanced lethal pressure.

- Engine setup: Note whether Clues, Powerstones, creature tokens, or land-generated bodies were available before Indomitable Creativity, and whether the chosen target type was exposed to visible removal before commitment.

- Removal: Review every Fiery Impulse, Abrade, Into the Flood Maw, Spikefield Hazard, Prismari Charm, Prismari Command, and Magma Opus use. Ask whether it answered the threat that changed the clock or merely spent mana on a replaceable permanent.

- Stack discipline: Review every Divide by Zero, Sublime Epiphany, Torrential Gearhulk flashback, Mystical Dispute, Negate, Change the Equation, Aether Gust, and sideboard interaction use. Ask whether the spell protected the decisive turn or was spent before the real fight.

- Sideboard impact: After sideboarding, identify which of Abrade, Aether Gust, Anger of the Gods, Mystical Dispute, Negate, Pyroclasm, Change the Equation, Boomerang Basics, It'll Quench Ya!, Firebending Lesson, Iroh's Demonstration, Redirect Lightning, Improvisation Capstone, and The Legend of Roku was drawn, cast, stranded, or irrelevant. For unverified card text, mark Card text check required before drawing conclusions.

- Closing: Ask whether the pilot converted Torrential Gearhulk, Magma Opus, Hall of Storm Giants, or resolved Indomitable Creativity into a timely win, or whether the game stabilized without a closing plan.

- Role accuracy: Decide whether the pilot correctly became control, combo, tempo-control, or emergency stabilizer based on visible pressure and stack context.

- Mistakes: Flag missed land drops, premature Indomitable Creativity, unnecessary tap-out turns, weak removal targets, passing with relevant legal actions, and token creation that failed to respect the opponent's visible response windows.

- Stranded cards: Record every hand where Magma Opus, Torrential Gearhulk, Sublime Epiphany, Indomitable Creativity, Divide by Zero, or sideboard cards were uncastable because of mana, timing, target availability, or opponent posture.

- Overperformers and underperformers: Name exact cards that repeatedly created wins, prevented losses, clogged hands, failed to answer the matchup, or conflicted with the deck's token-plus-Creativity plan.

## First Tuning Questions

- Card quantities: Is four Indomitable Creativity correct if target creation is reliable, or did multiple copies strand without a token often enough to consider changing support density instead of cutting the namesake card?

- Token density: Did Deduce, Stern Lesson, Prismari Command, Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance, Fountainport, and Magma Opus create enough safe Creativity targets, or did the deck need more resilient target production before committing four Torrential Gearhulk?

- Mana base: Did hands with Hall of Storm Giants, Otawara, Soaring City, Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance, Fountainport, Thundering Falls, or Riverglide Pathway delay untapped interaction too often, or did utility lands win enough games to justify the tension?

- Early aggro plan: Did four Fiery Impulse plus Abrade, Into the Flood Maw, Spikefield Hazard, Prismari Charm, and Prismari Command stabilize creature matchups, or did the sideboard need more weight from Anger of the Gods, Pyroclasm, Aether Gust, or the sideboard Abrade?

- Control plan: Did Divide by Zero, Sublime Epiphany, Mystical Dispute, Negate, Change the Equation, and Torrential Gearhulk give enough stack leverage, or were Creativity turns still too vulnerable to visible open mana?

- Closer balance: Did Torrential Gearhulk and Hall of Storm Giants close games cleanly, or did hard-cast Magma Opus and large end-step plays remain too slow against pressure and too exposed against permission?

- Sideboard slots: Which sideboard cards had verified text and real matchup impact? Prioritize evidence before retaining Boomerang Basics, It'll Quench Ya!, Firebending Lesson, Iroh's Demonstration, Redirect Lightning, Improvisation Capstone, or The Legend of Roku.

- Role conflicts: Did sideboarding dilute the deck by removing too much card flow, token production, or Creativity density while adding interaction, or did the added answers buy enough time to justify slower combo assembly?

- Prismari split: Did Prismari Charm and Prismari Command perform distinct jobs often enough to justify both packages, or did one mode cluster prove more important for removal, looting, artifact interaction, token setup, or stack pressure?

- Big spell load: Did Magma Opus, Sublime Epiphany, and Torrential Gearhulk create powerful late-game pivots, or did too many expensive cards force mulligans and leave early turns reactive without progress?

## Veles Tactical Policy

### Policy: Keep Functional Combo-Control Openers
Priority: High
Decision families: mulligan
Cards: Indomitable Creativity; Deduce; Stern Lesson; Prismari Charm; Prismari Command; Fiery Impulse; Torrential Gearhulk; Magma Opus
Phase windows: opening hand, mulligan, London bottom
Runtime cues: hand, land count, color access, early interaction, token maker, Indomitable Creativity
Use when: evaluate whether the hand can interact early, hit blue and red mana, and produce a Creativity target before committing the namesake spell.
Avoid when: the hand has lands but no velocity, no removal, no token path, or multiple expensive cards without setup.
Instructions: Prefer hands with two or three lands, both colors, one early play, and either Deduce, Stern Lesson, Prismari Charm, Prismari Command, or Indomitable Creativity. Bottom redundant expensive cards before unique setup pieces.
Pilot skill floor: medium
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Establish The First Creativity Target
Priority: Medium
Decision families: priority, selection
Cards: Deduce; Stern Lesson; Prismari Command; Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance; Fountainport; Magma Opus; Indomitable Creativity
Phase windows: early turns, opponent end step, pre-combo turn
Runtime cues: legal token-producing actions, available mana, visible pressure, Indomitable Creativity in hand or graveyard plan
Use when: create a Clue, Powerstone, Treasure, creature token, or other legal target before a future Indomitable Creativity turn.
Avoid when: creating the token taps out through lethal pressure or exposes the only target to visible removal before Creativity can be cast.
Instructions: Make the target on the opponent end step when possible, but use main-phase token creation when mana sequencing requires it. Keep at least one target alive before planning X equals one.
Pilot skill floor: medium
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Commit Indomitable Creativity
Priority: High
Decision families: priority, interaction
Cards: Indomitable Creativity; Torrential Gearhulk; Divide by Zero; Prismari Charm; Prismari Command; Sublime Epiphany
Phase windows: main phase, protected combo turn
Runtime cues: action:cast Indomitable Creativity, visible token target, opponent open mana, stack interaction, life total clock
Use when: decide whether this turn is the combo turn after checking target survival, opposing mana, your protection, and whether waiting loses to board pressure.
Avoid when: the only target is likely to disappear, you cannot pay for visible taxes, or the opponent can present lethal while you spend the turn without stabilizing.
Instructions: Treat Indomitable Creativity as the deck's defining commitment. Cast it when the visible board rewards immediate Torrential Gearhulk access or when delay gives the opponent a better window.
Pilot skill floor: high
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Target Own Token With Indomitable Creativity
Priority: Medium
Decision families: selection
Cards: Indomitable Creativity
Phase windows: Indomitable Creativity target selection
Runtime cues: action:target self Indomitable Creativity
Use when: Indomitable Creativity is already being cast and exactly one legal target action names an artifact or creature token you control.
Avoid when: more than one legal target exists, any legal action targets Torrential Gearhulk, or the target identity is ambiguous in the action text.
Instructions: Choose the visible self-controlled token target only after the cast has already been selected by a reasoning policy. Do not target a real Torrential Gearhulk.
Pilot skill floor: low
No-API allowed: yes
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Protect The Combo Stack
Priority: High
Decision families: interaction, priority
Cards: Divide by Zero; Sublime Epiphany; Prismari Charm; Mystical Dispute; Negate; Change the Equation; Aether Gust
Phase windows: combo turn, opponent response window, stack exchange
Runtime cues: opponent spell or ability on stack, Indomitable Creativity on stack, Torrential Gearhulk trigger on stack
Use when: preserve a resolved Creativity line or stop a spell that counters, removes the target, wins the game, or invalidates the combo turn.
Avoid when: the opposing stack item does not affect the combo, life total, or next-turn survival.
Instructions: Spend permission conservatively before the combo and aggressively once Indomitable Creativity or a decisive Torrential Gearhulk trigger is exposed.
Pilot skill floor: high
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Use Early Removal To Preserve Time
Priority: Medium
Decision families: interaction, priority
Cards: Fiery Impulse; Abrade; Into the Flood Maw; Spikefield Hazard; Prismari Charm; Prismari Command
Phase windows: early turns, combat, opponent end step
Runtime cues: legal damage, bounce, or artifact-destruction actions; visible attacker; lethal clock
Use when: remove or delay the permanent that most changes the visible clock or blocks your ability to spend a future turn on setup.
Avoid when: spending the answer leaves a larger visible threat unchecked or prevents a required token/Creativity setup next turn.
Instructions: Prioritize survival over chip damage. Use Prismari Charm and Prismari Command removal modes only when their other modes are less important than stabilizing.
Pilot skill floor: medium
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Sequence Card Flow Without Losing Board
Priority: Medium
Decision families: priority, selection
Cards: Deduce; Stern Lesson; Prismari Charm; Prismari Command; Magma Opus
Phase windows: main phase, opponent end step, low-pressure turns
Runtime cues: draw, discard, loot, investigate, Treasure, Powerstone, available mana
Use when: choose between digging for lands, finding Indomitable Creativity, creating a target, or holding interaction.
Avoid when: the opponent has visible lethal development and a removal spell or counterspell must be held up.
Instructions: Prefer instant-speed velocity when it preserves interaction. Discard redundant expensive cards before unique lands, removal, or the first Creativity setup piece.
Pilot skill floor: medium
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Manage Exact Mana Before Big Turns
Priority: Medium
Decision families: mana
Cards: Steam Vents; Riverglide Pathway; Stormcarved Coast; Shivan Reef; Thundering Falls; Island; Mountain; Hall of Storm Giants; Otawara, Soaring City; Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance; Fountainport
Phase windows: land play, spell payment, pre-combo turn
Runtime cues: legal land actions, colored source choices, tapped lands, available red and blue
Use when: select land drops and payments that keep red for Indomitable Creativity and blue for interaction or card flow.
Avoid when: a utility land line strands Divide by Zero, Prismari Charm, Prismari Command, Stern Lesson, or Indomitable Creativity.
Instructions: Count future red requirements before using Shivan Reef or pathway choices. Preserve untapped interaction mana when the opponent can add decisive pressure.
Pilot skill floor: medium
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Resolve Torrential Gearhulk Targeting
Priority: Medium
Decision families: selection
Cards: Torrential Gearhulk; Magma Opus; Divide by Zero; Prismari Command; Prismari Charm; Deduce; Stern Lesson; Sublime Epiphany
Phase windows: Torrential Gearhulk trigger resolution
Runtime cues: action:target Magma Opus Torrential Gearhulk
Use when: Torrential Gearhulk trigger is resolving and exactly one legal target action names Magma Opus in your graveyard.
Avoid when: multiple graveyard spell targets are legal or the action text does not clearly identify Magma Opus.
Instructions: Use no-API only for the single visible Magma Opus target case. Route all mixed graveyard target choices through reasoning because the right spell depends on board, stack, and mana.
Pilot skill floor: low
No-API allowed: yes
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Fire Magma Opus As Stabilizer Or Finisher
Priority: Medium
Decision families: interaction, selection, priority
Cards: Magma Opus; Torrential Gearhulk
Phase windows: opponent end step, combat, late game, Gearhulk flashback
Runtime cues: legal Magma Opus modes or targets, visible creatures, tapped permanents, lethal setup
Use when: divide damage, tap permanents, draw cards, or close the game after the engine has reached enough mana or Torrential Gearhulk access.
Avoid when: a cheaper answer stabilizes and Magma Opus must remain graveyard fuel or a late-game swing.
Instructions: Treat hard-cast Magma Opus as a commitment gate, not routine removal. With Torrential Gearhulk, prioritize the mode package that changes survival or lethal timing.
Pilot skill floor: high
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Hall Of Storm Giants Closing Combat
Priority: Medium
Decision families: combat, mana
Cards: Hall of Storm Giants
Phase windows: late main phase, combat, stabilized board
Runtime cues: action:activate Hall of Storm Giants, action:attack Hall of Storm Giants, visible blockers, opponent life
Use when: evaluate whether the land attack shortens the clock without exposing the pilot to lethal return damage or losing required interaction mana.
Avoid when: activation consumes mana needed for protection, removal, or a known stack fight.
Instructions: Use Hall of Storm Giants as a control closer after stabilization. Do not animate into open combat when a token-plus-Creativity line is safer.
Pilot skill floor: medium
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Pass Priority With Interaction Discipline
Priority: Medium
Decision families: priority, interaction
Cards: Fiery Impulse; Abrade; Divide by Zero; Prismari Charm; Prismari Command; Sublime Epiphany; Magma Opus; Torrential Gearhulk
Phase windows: every priority window, opponent end step, combat trick windows
Runtime cues: action:pass, available instant-speed action, stack empty or occupied, visible attacker or threat
Use when: decide whether holding mana beats acting now, especially before combat damage or the opponent end step.
Avoid when: passing allows visible lethal, misses an end-step token or draw window, or wastes mana with a needed setup action available.
Instructions: Pass more often with meaningful interaction up; act before passing when a safe end-step Deduce, Stern Lesson, Prismari Command, or Gearhulk line advances the plan.
Pilot skill floor: medium
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Use Otawara And Sokenzan As Modal Lands
Priority: Low
Decision families: mana, interaction, selection
Cards: Otawara, Soaring City; Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance
Phase windows: land play, channel/action window, opponent end step, pre-combo turn
Runtime cues: legal land play, legal channel action, visible target permanent, token need
Use when: choose between preserving land count and using the utility action for bounce, token production, or setup.
Avoid when: using the utility action causes missed land development or removes mana required for Indomitable Creativity protection.
Instructions: Treat these as lands first until mana is stable. Use Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance to create a Creativity target when the timing is protected.
Pilot skill floor: medium
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Sideboard By Opponent Axis
Priority: High
Decision families: sideboard, pregame
Cards: Abrade; Aether Gust; Anger of the Gods; Mystical Dispute; Negate; Pyroclasm; Change the Equation; Boomerang Basics; It'll Quench Ya!; Firebending Lesson; Iroh's Demonstration; Redirect Lightning; Improvisation Capstone; The Legend of Roku
Phase windows: sideboarding after game one or game two
Runtime cues: opponent archetype label, revealed cards, game result, exact legal sideboard inventory
Use when: adjust interaction density while preserving the Indomitable Creativity, token, and Torrential Gearhulk core.
Avoid when: the plan cuts too much velocity, too many targets, or too many combo pieces for narrow answers.
Instructions: Add sweepers against wide creatures, permission against blue or combo, artifact answers against artifact pressure, and text-verified role cards only after card text check required is satisfied.
Pilot skill floor: high
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Respect Unknown Sideboard Text
Priority: Medium
Decision families: sideboard, selection
Cards: Boomerang Basics; It'll Quench Ya!; Firebending Lesson; Iroh's Demonstration; Redirect Lightning; Improvisation Capstone; The Legend of Roku
Phase windows: sideboarding, hand evaluation, cast decision
Runtime cues: legal action names one of these cards, sideboard plan includes one of these cards
Use when: the runtime card text, oracle text, or engine action text is visible enough to determine timing and effect.
Avoid when: only the card name is known and the legal action text does not reveal the relevant effect.
Instructions: Card text check required. Do not infer removal, counterspell, lesson, saga, or payoff roles from names alone.
Pilot skill floor: medium
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Emergency Stabilize Before Combo
Priority: High
Decision families: interaction, combat, priority
Cards: Fiery Impulse; Abrade; Anger of the Gods; Pyroclasm; Aether Gust; Into the Flood Maw; Prismari Charm; Prismari Command; Magma Opus
Phase windows: combat, precombat main, opponent end step, survival turn
Runtime cues: visible lethal or short clock, legal sweeper/removal action, available mana
Use when: the opponent's board threatens lethal or a two-turn clock and the combo cannot resolve before damage matters.
Avoid when: the opponent is not pressuring life total and the same mana should create or protect the Creativity line.
Instructions: Stabilization overrides setup. Use sweepers and removal to buy the turn cycle needed for Indomitable Creativity, Torrential Gearhulk, or Hall of Storm Giants to win.
Pilot skill floor: high
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes
