# Strategy Specifications
## Deck Name And Archetype

5c Scapeshift is a Pioneer five-color land-combo ramp deck built around converting land count, land entry effects, and engine permanents into a decisive Scapeshift turn. The registered list is validated at 60 main-deck cards and 15 sideboard cards, with combo and ramp as the active mechanic tags; repeated tags collapse to the same functional identity rather than indicating separate subthemes.

- Format status: Active format is Pioneer, and the provided validation contract says the registered main deck and sideboard pass the current deck construction checks. Runtime decisions should still obey the rules engine first, because legality can depend on visible battlefield state, replacement effects, mana restrictions, and available actions rather than deck intent.

- Archetype status: Treat the deck as a rogue or hybrid combo-ramp shell, not a stock Pioneer archetype with assumed default lines. Scapeshift, Lotus Field, Spelunking, Lumra, Bellow of the Woods, The Wandering Minstrel, Formidable Speaker, Aftermath Analyst, Arboreal Grazer, and the unusually dense land package are the strategic core; do not import expectations from unrelated Scapeshift, Amulet, Field, or graveyard decks unless the exact registered cards and visible actions support the line.

- Color and mana identity: The deck is labeled five-color because the registered mana base includes Underground Mortuary, Hedge Maze, Port of Karfell, Starting Town, Crumbling Vestige, Lotus Field, Arid Archway, Castle Garenbrig, Forest, Boseiju, Who Endures, and Otawara, Soaring City, plus sideboard cards across multiple colors. Runtime play should prioritize producing legal colors for the currently offered action instead of assuming all colors are always available.

- Role identity: The default game role is proactive setup into a land-combo finish, with combat and spot interaction serving the combo clock rather than replacing it. Arboreal Grazer and Spelunking are early acceleration or land-entry enablers when their legal actions are available; Scapeshift is the named commitment spell; Lumra, Bellow of the Woods, Terror of the Peaks, Morlun, Devourer of Spiders, The Wandering Minstrel, Formidable Speaker, Aftermath Analyst, and Glasspool Mimic require card text awareness before deterministic policy can claim exact outcomes.

- Card text caution: Card text check required for The Wandering Minstrel, Formidable Speaker, Lumra, Bellow of the Woods, Morlun, Devourer of Spiders, Starting Town, Port of Karfell, Summon: Leviathan, Clarion Conqueror, and any special runtime behavior not exposed clearly by Veles action text. Use visible legal actions and engine prompts to choose among them; do not infer hidden triggers, alternate costs, or combo kills from name alone.

- Sideboard posture: The sideboard gives the deck interaction and alternate pressure through Abrupt Decay, Boseiju, Who Endures, Culling Ritual, Pest Control, Kaervek, the Spiteful, Clarion Conqueror, Emrakul, the Promised End, and Summon: Leviathan. Exact sideboarding must be handled only in the Sideboard Map section; this section only identifies that the deck can pivot toward disruption, sweeper effects, permanent answers, or large finishers when the matchup demands it.

- Opponent information status: No specific opponent deck is supplied for this guide batch, so opponent modeling should remain archetype-level and public-information only. Do not name or play around a specific opposing card unless it is visible, logged as revealed, supplied by matchup metadata, or prefixed as an opponent example outside executable policy fields.

- Legality concern: The pilot must never treat Scapeshift as an automatic win from the deck name alone. The agent should confirm the legal action exists, count visible lands and available mana through Veles state, account for current priority and stack state, and commit only when the tactical section or runtime reasoning says waiting is worse or execution is forced.

## Thesis

5c Scapeshift assembles a high-land-count battlefield, acceleration that increases land deployment, and a decisive Scapeshift or land-recursion turn. The default plan is to use Arboreal Grazer, Spelunking, Lotus Field, bounce or utility lands, and a dense land package to reach a board state where Scapeshift, Lumra, Bellow of the Woods, or another large payoff converts lands into lethal pressure or an overwhelming resource swing.

Prioritize land development over ordinary combat unless combat directly protects the combo clock or finishes a game already stabilized by the engine. Early decisions should favor keeping hands with lands plus acceleration, deploying Spelunking when it unlocks additional land drops or safer Lotus Field sequencing, and preserving Scapeshift until the visible board makes it a meaningful commitment rather than a speculative shuffle.

Win by turning lands into a payoff, not by pretending to be a fair midrange pile. Terror of the Peaks and Lumra, Bellow of the Woods are the clearest registered top-end threats by name and deck placement, while Scapeshift is the named conversion spell; Card text check required for The Wandering Minstrel, Formidable Speaker, Morlun, Devourer of Spiders, and any non-obvious trigger or payoff line before the agent treats them as deterministic combo pieces.

Avoid using interaction as the main plan unless sideboarded disruption is necessary to survive. Abrupt Decay, Boseiju, Who Endures, Culling Ritual, Pest Control, Kaervek, the Spiteful, and Clarion Conqueror are tools for specific pressure points; they should buy time, clear hate, or punish opposing boards while the deck still moves toward land density and a payoff.

Respect runtime legality before all strategic claims. If Veles exposes a legal Scapeshift action, count visible lands, current mana, likely follow-up prompts, stack pressure, and known opposing disruption before committing; if Veles exposes only setup actions, advance lands and engines without inventing a kill.

## Role Package

- Threats: Lumra, Bellow of the Woods is the primary main-deck body to treat as a land-scaling finisher when legal actions and visible text support that role. Terror of the Peaks and Morlun, Devourer of Spiders are singleton high-impact threats; Card text check required before assigning exact lethal math, trigger sequencing, or target policy to either card.

- Payoffs: Scapeshift is the main commitment payoff because it converts an established land count into a new land configuration. Lumra, Bellow of the Woods may also function as a payoff for land quantity or graveyard land density, but the agent must follow Veles prompts for milling, returning lands, trigger ordering, or target choices rather than assuming a fixed outcome.

- Engines: Spelunking is the core permanent engine because it supports additional land development and improves land-entry sequencing when the rules engine offers those lines. Aftermath Analyst is a graveyard-land recursion engine by deck role, but exact activation timing, cost, and returned lands must be verified through visible legal actions.

- Velocity: Arboreal Grazer is early acceleration when the hand contains extra lands to deploy and the legal action is available. The Wandering Minstrel and Formidable Speaker are four-copy velocity or setup cards by registered quantity, but Card text check required; choose their actions according to visible prompts, matchup role, and whether they advance land count, card access, or payoff timing.

- Interaction: Boseiju, Who Endures and Otawara, Soaring City are main-deck utility interaction lands that should be preserved when their channel or land utility matters more than a routine land drop. Sideboard interaction expands through Abrupt Decay, Culling Ritual, Pest Control, Kaervek, the Spiteful, Clarion Conqueror, and the extra Boseiju, Who Endures.

- Protection: Protection is mostly structural, not spell-based. Prioritize sequencing that keeps Scapeshift from being stranded, uses redundant lands and engines to recover after disruption, and avoids exposing the only payoff into visible open interaction unless waiting gives the opponent a faster clock or a clearer answer.

- Recursion: Aftermath Analyst, Lumra, Bellow of the Woods, Port of Karfell, and Glasspool Mimic may create recursion or copy lines depending on visible text and legal actions. Card text check required for Port of Karfell interactions in this shell; do not target or activate recursion based only on card-name intuition.

- Mana: Lotus Field, Crumbling Vestige, Starting Town, Hedge Maze, Underground Mortuary, Port of Karfell, Arid Archway, Castle Garenbrig, Forest, Boseiju, Who Endures, and Otawara, Soaring City form the mana engine. Prioritize legal colors for the current action, untapped access for payoff turns, and land count for Scapeshift over cosmetic five-color completeness.

- Sideboard modules: Emrakul, the Promised End and Summon: Leviathan are alternate top-end threats; Abrupt Decay and Boseiju, Who Endures answer problem permanents; Culling Ritual and Pest Control punish small permanent boards; Kaervek, the Spiteful pressures small creatures; Clarion Conqueror is a disruptive creature or hate module with Card text check required.

## Primary Win Conditions

- Scapeshift conversion turn: Prioritize Scapeshift when the battlefield already contains enough lands that sacrificing them will create a decisive land configuration, mana reset, or payoff setup rather than a speculative rearrangement. Setup requires visible land density, access to the required mana, and a reason to commit now, such as lethal pressure, a protected follow-up Lumra, Bellow of the Woods, or a board state where extra Lotus Field / utility lands materially change the game. Execution must follow Veles prompts for the number of lands sacrificed and lands found; do not assume the spell wins unless the legal action text and visible follow-up state prove the payoff.

- Lumra land-scaling finish: Treat Lumra, Bellow of the Woods as the main creature payoff when land count, graveyard lands, or battlefield texture make a large body and land recursion valuable. Setup usually means building lands with Arboreal Grazer and Spelunking, preserving enough mana to cast Lumra, Bellow of the Woods, and using Scapeshift or normal land development to make the resulting battlefield overwhelming. Disruption to respect includes graveyard hate, bounce, exile removal, and counterplay visible in public zones; if Lumra, Bellow of the Woods is the only payoff, avoid committing it into obvious failure unless waiting loses the game.

- Terror of the Peaks payoff turn: Use Terror of the Peaks as a high-impact finisher only after confirming the exact legal trigger or damage choices Veles exposes. Card text check required for exact damage math in this guide batch, but the tactical role is clear: pair Terror of the Peaks with large creature entries such as Lumra, Bellow of the Woods or copied threats from Glasspool Mimic when visible legal actions show a damage line. Prioritize this path when the opponent can beat a single large attacker but cannot survive immediate triggered damage or stacked pressure.

- Aftermath Analyst recovery-to-kill line: Use Aftermath Analyst as a delayed engine when the graveyard contains meaningful land volume and the battlefield can survive the tempo cost. Setup is strongest after normal self-mill, Scapeshift sacrifices, trades, or removal have stocked lands; execution requires Veles to expose the activation and any cost payment. Prioritize it when returning lands creates a Lumra, Bellow of the Woods finish, enables an oversized Scapeshift turn, or stabilizes mana after disruption.

## Secondary Win Conditions

- Large-creature combat: Win fair games by attacking with Lumra, Bellow of the Woods, Morlun, Devourer of Spiders, Terror of the Peaks, and copied bodies from Glasspool Mimic when combo conversion is delayed. Card text check required for Morlun, Devourer of Spiders and Glasspool Mimic details; use combat only when visible blockers, life totals, and crack-back math make attacking better than holding defense.

- Incremental land-engine pressure: Use Arboreal Grazer, Spelunking, The Wandering Minstrel, Formidable Speaker, and normal land drops to keep developing until a payoff appears. Card text check required for The Wandering Minstrel and Formidable Speaker, so route their choices through visible prompts; prioritize lines that add lands, improve card access, or keep mana available over low-impact attacks.

- Utility-land interaction into inevitability: Use Boseiju, Who Endures and Otawara, Soaring City as emergency interaction when a visible permanent blocks the combo, threatens lethal, or makes a payoff unsafe. Do not spend these lands casually if the deck still needs colored access or land count; their best secondary role is clearing the path for Scapeshift, Lumra, Bellow of the Woods, or a combat finish.

- Port of Karfell or Castle Garenbrig pressure: Treat Port of Karfell and Castle Garenbrig as named utility lands whose exact activation rules require visible legal-action confirmation. Use them as secondary engines only when Veles exposes a useful action and the opportunity cost of tapping lands does not delay a higher-impact Scapeshift or Lumra, Bellow of the Woods turn.

## Emergency Lines

- Behind on life: Stabilize before maximizing combo greed. Prefer legal actions that add blockers, clear a lethal permanent with Boseiju, Who Endures or Otawara, Soaring City, or produce an immediate large Lumra, Bellow of the Woods over slow setup that leaves lethal damage on board.

- Behind on board: Convert lands into a stabilizing payoff rather than waiting for the perfect Scapeshift. If a legal Lumra, Bellow of the Woods or Aftermath Analyst line creates blockers, life-saving mana, or multiple land entries, it may outrank holding resources for a later kill.

- Behind on cards: Preserve engines and high-impact payoffs. Spelunking and any legal card-access mode from The Wandering Minstrel or Formidable Speaker should be used to rebuild only if their visible action text advances toward lands or payoffs; do not trade Scapeshift for a minor shuffle without a clear payoff.

- Behind on mana: Prioritize Arboreal Grazer, Spelunking, safe land drops, and untapped color access. Do not sacrifice lands to Scapeshift if the resulting configuration strands the next action or leaves no path to cast Lumra, Bellow of the Woods, Aftermath Analyst activation, or interaction.

- Graveyard disrupted: Shift toward battlefield land count, hard-cast threats, and Scapeshift configuration. Do not assume Aftermath Analyst or Lumra, Bellow of the Woods will recover lands if the graveyard is empty, exiled, or under visible hate.

- Win conditions removed: Use remaining singleton and copy pressure carefully. If Terror of the Peaks or Morlun, Devourer of Spiders is gone, lean harder on Lumra, Bellow of the Woods and Scapeshift; if Lumra, Bellow of the Woods is gone, preserve Scapeshift for utility-land advantage and any confirmed Terror of the Peaks or Glasspool Mimic line.

## Resource Model

- Life is a spendable setup buffer only while the visible board cannot punish the delay. Use early life to make land drops, cast Spelunking, and assemble Scapeshift or Lumra, Bellow of the Woods, but pivot to blockers, Boseiju, Who Endures, Otawara, Soaring City, or immediate payoff casting when attacks threaten a short clock.

- Hand value is concentrated in engines and payoff density. Protect Scapeshift, Lumra, Bellow of the Woods, Aftermath Analyst, and Spelunking from low-impact sequencing; do not spend a unique payoff into visible disruption unless the legal board state shows waiting is worse.

- Mana is the primary resource because the deck converts land count into spell scale, utility-land access, and combo turns. Arboreal Grazer and Spelunking should usually accelerate land deployment before expensive threats; Castle Garenbrig, Lotus Field, Crumbling Vestige, Starting Town, Port of Karfell, Hedge Maze, Underground Mortuary, and utility lands must be evaluated as both mana and future Scapeshift material.

- Board presence is mostly defensive until a payoff turns lands into a kill. Arboreal Grazer, Formidable Speaker, The Wandering Minstrel, and Aftermath Analyst can buy time or enable development, but avoid trading away engine creatures if their visible future activation or body matters more than a small combat exchange. Card text check required for Formidable Speaker and The Wandering Minstrel.

- Graveyard lands are a delayed mana and threat resource. Scapeshift sacrifices, normal trades, milling, or discard can make Aftermath Analyst and Lumra, Bellow of the Woods stronger, but graveyard hate in public zones should downgrade graveyard-dependent lines and raise the value of hard-cast threats and battlefield land count.

- Exile is mostly a warning zone for lost resources. If Scapeshift, Lumra, Bellow of the Woods, Aftermath Analyst, or Terror of the Peaks is exiled, update the win plan immediately; do not assume recursion unless Veles exposes a legal Port of Karfell or other registered-card action that actually reaches the relevant card.

- Lands are both fuel and payoff, so sacrificing them must create a better position immediately or unlock a named follow-up. Scapeshift should not be treated as automatic value; count post-resolution mana, land entries, utility access, graveyard implications, and whether the new battlefield casts the next spell.

- Sacrifice fodder is scarce because the deck is not built around disposable permanents. Treat Arboreal Grazer or excess small creatures as expendable only when the visible exchange protects life, enables a larger engine, or Veles shows a mandatory cost; do not assume there is free fodder for Culling Ritual or other effects without legal prompts.

- Tempo is won by making extra lands matter before the opponent converts pressure into lethal damage. Prioritize quick setup against slow boards, but against fast visible pressure choose the line that stabilizes this turn over the line that is largest next turn.

- Information should come from public zones, legal action text, and revealed cards only. Use known opponent shields, graveyard hate, counter windows, and removal mana to decide whether to commit Scapeshift or Lumra, Bellow of the Woods; never infer exact hidden cards from archetype alone.

- Sideboard bullets are narrow resources, not generic upgrades. Add role cards such as Abrupt Decay, Boseiju, Who Endures, Culling Ritual, Pest Control, Kaervek, the Spiteful, Clarion Conqueror, Emrakul, the Promised End, or Summon: Leviathan only when the matchup and visible plans make their role concrete; Card text check required for Clarion Conqueror and Summon: Leviathan.

## Mana Guide

- Keepable mana must cast early development and reach green-heavy payoffs. Prefer openers with green access plus lands to deploy, especially Arboreal Grazer or Spelunking; hands with Scapeshift but no route to four mana, no green setup, or only awkward tapped lands should be treated skeptically in mulligan decisions.

- Color sequencing should preserve green first and utility second. Forest, Hedge Maze, Underground Mortuary, Crumbling Vestige, Starting Town, and other lands should be sequenced to cast Arboreal Grazer, Spelunking, Aftermath Analyst, Scapeshift, and Lumra, Bellow of the Woods on time; use Veles mana prompts rather than assuming any land produces a needed color.

- Lotus Field is powerful but must be timed around its sacrifice cost and the next spell. Do not play or fetch Lotus Field when losing lands strands the hand, prevents the current turn’s stabilizing action, or makes a later Scapeshift worse; prioritize it when the post-sacrifice mana clearly accelerates a payoff.

- Utility lands carry opportunity cost. Boseiju, Who Endures and Otawara, Soaring City are interaction first when a visible permanent or spell blocks survival or combo, but they are still land drops and Scapeshift resources when interaction is unnecessary. Castle Garenbrig and Port of Karfell require visible legal-action confirmation before treating them as engines.

- Tapped and special lands should be front-loaded when the turn has no urgent spell. If the hand already has an early play, choose the land sequence that keeps that play legal; if the next action depends on untapped colored mana, avoid spending the turn on a tapped or conditional land unless Veles shows no better legal path.

- Play lands before draw or selection when the land drop enables a known legal action this turn. Delay the land drop when Spelunking, The Wandering Minstrel, Formidable Speaker, or another visible selection/action could reveal information that changes which land is best; Card text check required for exact nonland selection modes.

- Scapeshift mana planning must count the turn after resolution as well as the spell turn. Before casting Scapeshift, verify that the chosen sacrifice count and fetched lands leave enough mana, colors, and utility to cast Lumra, Bellow of the Woods, activate Aftermath Analyst if legal, interact with Boseiju, Who Endures or Otawara, Soaring City if needed, or survive the opponent’s next attack.

- Sideboard mana changes should be explicit. Abrupt Decay and Culling Ritual increase the need for black-green access, Pest Control and Kaervek, the Spiteful require their exact costs to be checked at runtime, and Emrakul, the Promised End or Summon: Leviathan should not distort early land sequencing unless Veles shows they are castable or strategically relevant soon.

## Mulligan Guide

- Strong keeps start with green access, three or more lands, and an accelerator. A hand with Forest or Hedge Maze, Arboreal Grazer, Spelunking, two additional lands, and either Scapeshift or Lumra, Bellow of the Woods is the cleanest keep because it develops mana while preserving a payoff.

- Strong keeps may keep one payoff if the land engine is already present. Spelunking plus four lands and Scapeshift is better than Lumra, Bellow of the Woods plus clumsy mana, because the deck must first make land count and colors real.

- Medium keeps need a clear turn-two or turn-three correction. Aftermath Analyst with three lands and Scapeshift is keepable against slower starts, but downgrade it against fast pressure if there is no Arboreal Grazer, Spelunking, or early blocker line.

- Risky keeps are payoff-heavy hands that need the first draw step to cooperate. Scapeshift, Lumra, Bellow of the Woods, Terror of the Peaks, and only two functional lands should usually mulligan unless both lands cast early setup and the matchup is visibly slow.

- Automatic ships have no functional green path or cannot deploy lands. Ship one-land Arboreal Grazer hands, Lotus Field-heavy hands that cannot survive the sacrifice triggers, no-land hands, seven-card hands with only payoffs, and hands whose first legal spell is likely Scapeshift with no ramp or board buffer.

- Matchup-dependent keeps change with the opponent's visible speed. Against creature pressure, prioritize Arboreal Grazer, early land density, and a line to Lumra, Bellow of the Woods or Aftermath Analyst; against slow interaction, prioritize redundancy with Spelunking plus Scapeshift rather than a single fragile payoff.

- Play/draw decisions should value tempo on the play and resources on the draw. On the play, keep lower-card-count hands that curve Arboreal Grazer into Spelunking; on the draw, accept a slower Aftermath Analyst hand more often if it has enough lands and a payoff.

- Trap hands look powerful but do nothing before turn four. Multiple Scapeshift, Lumra, Bellow of the Woods, Terror of the Peaks, Morlun, Devourer of Spiders, or Port of Karfell without early mana should be treated as a mulligan, and Card text check required before keeping Formidable Speaker or The Wandering Minstrel as the only early plan.

## Turn Arc

- Turn 1: Lead with a land that enables green and preserves turn-two development. Cast Arboreal Grazer when it puts an extra land onto the battlefield without ruining the next turn; do not put Lotus Field onto the battlefield early unless Veles shows the sacrifice outcome and the remaining mana plan is acceptable.

- Turn 1 deviation: If no Arboreal Grazer is available, play the land that makes Spelunking, Aftermath Analyst, Formidable Speaker, or The Wandering Minstrel legal next. Use Boseiju, Who Endures or Otawara, Soaring City as lands unless a visible opposing permanent or spell makes their utility action urgent.

- Turn 2: Prefer Spelunking when legal because it converts future land drops into the deck's main resource. If Spelunking is absent, use Aftermath Analyst for body plus graveyard setup when legal; use Formidable Speaker or The Wandering Minstrel only according to visible legal actions, with Card text check required for exact tactical mode.

- Turn 3: Build toward a decisive turn rather than casting Scapeshift automatically. If Spelunking is active, maximize legal land deployment; if pressure is high, choose the line that blocks or stabilizes before the line that only increases future land count.

- Turn 3 deviation: Cast Scapeshift only when the sacrifice count, fetched lands, and post-resolution battlefield clearly advance a named payoff or survival plan. Do not spend Scapeshift as deck thinning when Lumra, Bellow of the Woods, Aftermath Analyst, or enough follow-up mana is not visible.

- Turns 4-5: Commit to the engine when the board demands action or the payoff is protected by redundancy. Preferred lines are Scapeshift into a land configuration that enables Lumra, Bellow of the Woods, casting Lumra, Bellow of the Woods after lands are stocked in the graveyard, or activating a legal Aftermath Analyst line if Veles exposes it.

- Turns 4-5 deviation: Against lethal or near-lethal pressure, spend Boseiju, Who Endures, Otawara, Soaring City, blockers, or a defensive payoff before taking a larger combo setup turn. Terror of the Peaks is a commitment card; cast it when follow-up creatures or land-recursion payoffs are visible, not as an unsupported expensive threat.

- Late game: Treat every land as a live resource and every payoff as a scarce finisher. Use Port of Karfell only through legal Veles actions and only when the target creature meaningfully changes the game; recycle toward Lumra, Bellow of the Woods, Terror of the Peaks, Morlun, Devourer of Spiders, or Aftermath Analyst according to visible graveyard contents and legal targets.

## Card Roles

- Arboreal Grazer: Use Arboreal Grazer as the preferred turn-one accelerator and early blocker, not as a creature-combat plan. Cast it when the extra land from hand materially advances Scapeshift, Spelunking, Aftermath Analyst, or Lumra, Bellow of the Woods; hold it only when Veles shows no land to place or the only land would create a worse Lotus Field sacrifice pattern. Its body matters against fast attackers, so avoid attacking unless the opponent has no relevant blocker and the damage does not risk losing a stabilizing blocker.

- Spelunking: Treat Spelunking as the main setup enchantment because it turns awkward land-heavy draws into functional combo turns. Cast it before extra land deployment when legal, especially before sequences involving Lotus Field, Arid Archway, Crumbling Vestige, Hedge Maze, Underground Mortuary, Port of Karfell, or Starting Town. Do not cast it into a turn where survival requires a blocker, Boseiju, Who Endures, Otawara, Soaring City, or an immediate stabilizing payoff unless Veles shows the setup line is still safe.

- Scapeshift: Treat Scapeshift as a commitment spell, not a generic ramp spell. Cast it when the sacrifice count and fetched lands create a visible payoff path: powering Lumra, Bellow of the Woods, stocking the graveyard for Aftermath Analyst, enabling Lotus Field-heavy mana, setting up Port of Karfell, or producing a decisive land-state swing. Avoid firing Scapeshift just because it is legal if the post-resolution board lacks mana, payoff, or survival against the opponent's next attack.

- Aftermath Analyst: Use Aftermath Analyst as the deck's land-recursion bridge and as a small stabilizing body. Cast it early when milling lands improves Scapeshift or Lumra, Bellow of the Woods lines, but value the activated ability only when Veles shows legal mana, sacrifice, and graveyard contents. Do not expose Aftermath Analyst as the only route to a payoff if waiting one turn lets Spelunking, Scapeshift, or additional lands make the recursion turn much stronger.

- Lumra, Bellow of the Woods: Treat Lumra, Bellow of the Woods as a primary payoff and stabilizer whose value depends on the graveyard and land count. Cast it when the visible battlefield needs a large creature, when lands in graveyard make its payoff meaningful, or when it converts a Scapeshift turn into immediate pressure. Do not cast Lumra, Bellow of the Woods as an unsupported expensive creature into obvious interaction if a setup turn creates redundancy, unless the opponent's clock makes waiting worse.

- The Wandering Minstrel: Use The Wandering Minstrel only according to visible legal text and current role needs; Card text check required for exact modes and triggers. If it functions as ramp, selection, land support, or engine glue, prioritize it in slower games before Scapeshift; if it functions as board presence, deploy it earlier against pressure. Do not assume it fixes mana, finds lands, or protects a combo line unless Veles exposes those actions.

- Formidable Speaker: Use Formidable Speaker as an early development card only when its legal action text advances mana, selection, pressure, or survival; Card text check required. Prioritize it over slower payoff cards when it improves the next land or spell decision, but do not keep weak hands that rely on Formidable Speaker as the only functional engine piece. In creature matchups, value any body or defensive utility it legally provides; in slower matchups, value any visible card-flow or setup mode.

- Terror of the Peaks: Treat Terror of the Peaks as a finisher that needs follow-up creatures or a land-recursion payoff, not as the default first expensive spell. Cast it when Lumra, Bellow of the Woods, Morlun, Devourer of Spiders, Glasspool Mimic, Aftermath Analyst, or another legal creature sequence can convert it into damage or a fast clock. Avoid tapping out for Terror of the Peaks when the opponent can race or remove it and the hand has no follow-up pressure.

- Glasspool Mimic: Use Glasspool Mimic flexibly as either a land-like resource or a copied creature, with the choice driven by current mana pressure. As a spell, copy the visible creature that advances the selected plan, usually Lumra, Bellow of the Woods for payoff pressure, Aftermath Analyst for land recursion support if legal and useful, or Terror of the Peaks for a damage finish when the board already supports it. Do not hold Glasspool Mimic for maximum value if the hand needs an early land to function.

- Morlun, Devourer of Spiders: Treat Morlun, Devourer of Spiders as a singleton payoff or specialized threat; Card text check required for exact combat and trigger value. Cast it when Veles shows it stabilizes, pressures planeswalkers or life total, or works with Terror of the Peaks, not merely because the mana is available. Avoid planning sideboard or mulligan decisions around Morlun, Devourer of Spiders unless its text is visible and relevant.

- Lotus Field: Treat Lotus Field as a high-output land with a real sacrifice cost. Use it when the current land count, Spelunking, Scapeshift, or Aftermath Analyst can absorb the cost and convert the mana into a payoff; avoid early Lotus Field lines that leave too few lands to cast spells or survive. When Scapeshift can fetch Lotus Field, verify the resulting battlefield and triggers through Veles before assuming the mana is available.

- Port of Karfell: Treat Port of Karfell as both mana source and late-game recursion access, with Card text check required for exact activation. Sequence it early when it fixes the current hand, but preserve it when its utility mode can return Lumra, Bellow of the Woods, Terror of the Peaks, Morlun, Devourer of Spiders, or Aftermath Analyst from a visible graveyard. Do not spend turns activating it unless the target changes the battlefield more than casting available spells.

- Hedge Maze and Underground Mortuary: Use Hedge Maze and Underground Mortuary as color-fixing lands that also shape top cards if their surveil text is present; Card text check required for exact land text only if Veles differs. Keep payoffs or missing combo pieces on top when the hand has mana; bin lands when Aftermath Analyst, Lumra, Bellow of the Woods, or Scapeshift wants graveyard density. Do not overvalue smoothing if the land enters tapped and the opponent is presenting a short clock.

- Crumbling Vestige and Starting Town: Use Crumbling Vestige and Starting Town as bridge lands for five-color requirements, with Starting Town requiring Card text check. Sequence them before black-green sideboard spells, blue utility lines, or off-color payoffs when they unlock a legal action this turn. Do not assume either land supplies repeatable fixing beyond what Veles shows.

- Castle Garenbrig, Forest, Arid Archway, Boseiju, Who Endures, and Otawara, Soaring City: Use these lands to balance stable green access with utility. Castle Garenbrig and Forest support early green development; Arid Archway can be a powerful land-count and mana tool but needs Card text check before bounce or multi-mana assumptions; Boseiju, Who Endures and Otawara, Soaring City should usually be lands until a visible opposing permanent, spell, or tempo threat makes their channel actions worth the land cost. Do not spend utility lands early if doing so strands Scapeshift, Spelunking, or Lumra, Bellow of the Woods.

## Interaction Priorities
- Priority: Treat interaction as a bridge to the Scapeshift, Lumra, Bellow of the Woods, Aftermath Analyst, or Terror of the Peaks turn, not as a plan to control every permanent. Spend Boseiju, Who Endures, Otawara, Soaring City, Abrupt Decay, Pest Control, Culling Ritual, Kaervek, the Spiteful, or Clarion Conqueror only when the visible target either stops the combo, shortens the clock below the next payoff turn, or invalidates the current mana engine; Card text check required for Clarion Conqueror and Kaervek, the Spiteful exact effects.

- Remove first: Kill or bounce hate pieces that prevent land abilities, graveyard recursion, searching, sacrifice, or casting Scapeshift before using interaction on ordinary attackers. Against creature pressure, remove the permanent that creates the shortest visible clock, especially evasive or wide-board pressure that makes Arboreal Grazer and Aftermath Analyst poor blockers. Against combo or control, prioritize permanents that tax, lock, or blank Scapeshift, Spelunking, Aftermath Analyst, Lumra, Bellow of the Woods, or graveyard access.

- Boseiju, Who Endures: Use Boseiju, Who Endures first on artifacts, enchantments, or nonbasic lands that visibly shut off the land-combo turn, but avoid channeling it when losing a land strand leaves Scapeshift or Lumra, Bellow of the Woods uncastable. If the target is merely annoying and the hand needs land count, play Boseiju, Who Endures as mana.

- Otawara, Soaring City: Use Otawara, Soaring City as tempo interaction when bouncing one visible permanent opens a lethal or stabilizing payoff turn. Bounce hate, a lethal attacker, or a blocker preventing a payoff attack before bouncing low-impact value permanents. Do not spend Otawara, Soaring City just to slow a harmless threat if the blue source or land count matters.

- Abrupt Decay: After sideboarding, aim Abrupt Decay at cheap hate, pressure engines, and must-answer utility permanents before ordinary bodies. Hold Abrupt Decay through bait when the opponent has one known class of card that matters more than damage this turn; fire it immediately when the visible clock makes waiting risk death.

- Culling Ritual and Pest Control: Use Culling Ritual or Pest Control to reset wide low-cost boards when it preserves life total and unlocks a later payoff turn. Do not cast a sweeper into your own essential Arboreal Grazer, Aftermath Analyst, Formidable Speaker, or The Wandering Minstrel unless the trade buys a decisive Scapeshift or Lumra, Bellow of the Woods turn.

- Bait cards: Present Spelunking, The Wandering Minstrel, Formidable Speaker, or a nonessential Aftermath Analyst before Scapeshift or Lumra, Bellow of the Woods when the opponent is representing counter or removal pressure and the hand has time. Against discard, protect Scapeshift, Lumra, Bellow of the Woods, and the only functional mana piece; use redundant lands or a spare payoff as the least damaging discard when legal.

- Ignore first: Ignore small non-evasive creatures when life total and blockers allow a safe setup turn. Ignore value permanents that do not affect mana, graveyard, search, casting, or lethal timing. Against control, ignore creature removal stranded in the opponent plan by sequencing land engines and forcing them to answer Scapeshift or recurring payoffs.

## Combat And Trading Rules
- Priority: Preserve engine creatures unless blocking changes the next turn from losing to alive. Arboreal Grazer, Aftermath Analyst, Formidable Speaker, and The Wandering Minstrel are not interchangeable bodies if their visible text or board role supports land count, graveyard setup, mana, or selection; trade them only when the damage prevented matters more than the future engine function.

- Early defense: Use Arboreal Grazer as the default early blocker because it has usually delivered its main setup value after entering. Trade Arboreal Grazer for a meaningful attacker when the opponent is racing, but keep it back if its body prevents repeated damage and no profitable attack exists. Do not attack with Arboreal Grazer unless Veles shows a rare damage-race reason and blocking is irrelevant.

- Engine preservation: Keep Aftermath Analyst alive when its activated ability or visible graveyard synergies are part of the next Scapeshift or Lumra, Bellow of the Woods line. Block with Aftermath Analyst only when the game is otherwise likely to end before that line matters, or when another copy or Port of Karfell can recover the lost role.

- Payoff combat: Attack with Lumra, Bellow of the Woods, Terror of the Peaks, Morlun, Devourer of Spiders, or a Glasspool Mimic copy when the attack either threatens lethal, forces a losing block for the opponent, or leaves enough defense against the crack-back. Hold a large payoff back when the opponent’s visible attack would kill or when protecting a planeswalker-like role is impossible; Card text check required for Morlun, Devourer of Spiders combat specifics.

- Life thresholds: Above roughly 12 life against fair creature decks, prefer setup unless the visible board shows a two-turn clock. From 7 to 11 life, favor blockers, sweepers, and bounce that preserve the next payoff turn. At 6 or less, treat every attack step as a survival puzzle and choose blocks that keep any legal Scapeshift, Lumra, Bellow of the Woods, or sideboard reset line alive.

- Wide-board matchups: Block conservatively and value Culling Ritual, Pest Control, and Kaervek, the Spiteful after sideboarding if their visible legal text punishes small creatures. Avoid trading away every small creature before a sweeper if those bodies keep life total high enough to cast it.

- Control and combo matchups: Attack more freely with Formidable Speaker, The Wandering Minstrel, Aftermath Analyst, and spare creatures when the opponent is not pressuring life total. Chip damage matters because Terror of the Peaks, Lumra, Bellow of the Woods, Scapeshift, or Emrakul, the Promised End can convert a partially reduced life total into a shorter closing window.

- Protection: Protect Terror of the Peaks and Lumra, Bellow of the Woods by avoiding attacks into obvious lethal blocks unless the exchange wins immediately or enables Port of Karfell recursion. If Glasspool Mimic is copying a key payoff, evaluate the copy as a real win condition, not as expendable material, unless sacrificing it buys survival or lethal setup.

## Selection And Tutor Rules
- Scapeshift is the true tutor effect, so treat every legal Scapeshift as a land-package decision rather than a generic ramp spell. Search choices should first satisfy immediate payoff math, then color access, then resiliency: Lotus Field and Castle Garenbrig for explosive mana, Underground Mortuary and Hedge Maze when typed lands or surveil-like setup matter, Boseiju, Who Endures or Otawara, Soaring City when an interactive channel land is worth exposing publicly, and Forest or Crumbling Vestige only when the visible mana puzzle needs them.

- Spelunking improves land-drop quality, so cast or resolve it before committing extra lands when the legal sequence allows the extra land or untapped-land text to matter. If Spelunking reveals, draws, or enables a land placement, let that information guide whether Scapeshift should happen this turn or wait for a better land count; Card text check required for exact Spelunking replacement timing in the current rules engine output.

- Arboreal Grazer selection is hand-dependent, so put in the land that unlocks the next turn rather than the rarest land by name. Prioritize Lotus Field only when sacrificing two lands will not strand the turn; otherwise choose a tapped dual, Port of Karfell, Hedge Maze, Underground Mortuary, Arid Archway, or Starting Town when it preserves future Scapeshift count and colors. Card text check required for Starting Town and Port of Karfell exact roles.

- Aftermath Analyst rewards graveyard land density, so selection decisions that mill, surveil, discard, or sacrifice lands should value future mass land return when Aftermath Analyst is present or recoverable. Do not spend a selection action to chase a small value card if the visible graveyard already creates a decisive Aftermath Analyst activation or Lumra, Bellow of the Woods turn.

- The Wandering Minstrel and Formidable Speaker require card text checks before treating their prompts as deterministic selection. If Veles exposes a small visible candidate list from either card, choose the card or permanent that either finds Scapeshift, preserves land velocity, fixes mana for Lumra, Bellow of the Woods, or protects the next payoff turn; do not assume hidden-library contents beyond legal revealed choices.

- Glasspool Mimic selection is a battlefield-copy decision, not a tutor. Copy Lumra, Bellow of the Woods, Terror of the Peaks, Morlun, Devourer of Spiders, or a high-impact engine creature only when that visible copy advances lethal, stabilizes the board, or creates redundancy against removal; otherwise play it as mana if the legal action text and board state make the land role more valuable.

- Bottoming and ordering should protect the land-combo skeleton first. Keep hands or top cards that supply land count, Scapeshift, Spelunking, Aftermath Analyst, Lumra, Bellow of the Woods, and enough colored mana; bottom redundant legendary/channel lands, excess payoffs without mana, or interaction that does not answer the visible problem.

## Priority And Stack Rules
- Priority discipline should preserve the combo turn until the opponent forces action. Pass with mana open when no visible action improves the next Scapeshift, Aftermath Analyst, or Lumra, Bellow of the Woods turn; act immediately when a legal spell or ability removes hate, prevents lethal damage, or converts available lands into a decisive board.

- Scapeshift commitment is a major stack decision, so do not cast it into open disruption merely because it is legal. Commit when the visible land count, payoff access, and life total make waiting worse, or when bait spells such as Spelunking, The Wandering Minstrel, Formidable Speaker, Aftermath Analyst, or Lumra, Bellow of the Woods have already drawn interaction.

- Let harmless spells resolve when they do not change the clock, restrict searching, attack the graveyard, disable lands, or threaten the only payoff. Spend Boseiju, Who Endures, Otawara, Soaring City, Abrupt Decay, Culling Ritual, Pest Control, or Kaervek, the Spiteful only on stack or board states that affect survival, mana, graveyard access, or the payoff window; Card text check required for Kaervek, the Spiteful exact timing.

- Channel lands are timing-sensitive interaction. Use Boseiju, Who Endures before the combo turn if the target blocks land abilities, search, or graveyard recursion; hold it if playing it as a land is required for Scapeshift count. Use Otawara, Soaring City at the latest safe point before lethal damage or before a payoff attack, unless bouncing a hate permanent now is required to make the main-phase line legal.

- Optional payments and triggers should serve the payoff turn, not consume mana by habit. Decline optional costs when they prevent Scapeshift, Aftermath Analyst activation, Lumra, Bellow of the Woods, Terror of the Peaks, or sideboard interaction from being cast; accept them only when Veles shows the mana remains available or the payment directly creates lethal or survival.

- Graveyard timing matters because Aftermath Analyst, Port of Karfell, Lumra, Bellow of the Woods, and Emrakul, the Promised End can turn graveyard state into a resource. Respond to visible graveyard hate before it resolves when losing the graveyard breaks the selected line; otherwise let low-impact graveyard interaction resolve if the hand can win through Scapeshift lands or hard-cast threats.

- Combat priority windows are real decision points for this deck. Before blockers or damage, use Otawara, Soaring City, Abrupt Decay, Culling Ritual, Pest Control, or a visible creature ability only if it changes lethal math, saves an engine creature required next turn, or opens a winning attack; otherwise keep mana for the main-phase engine line.

- Terror of the Peaks stack decisions should be lethal-aware and rules-engine-led. If Veles exposes damage triggers or target prompts, point them at the opponent when that produces lethal or near-lethal pressure, and at creatures or planeswalker-like permanents only when removing them preserves survival or clears the path for Lumra, Bellow of the Woods or Morlun, Devourer of Spiders; Card text check required for Morlun, Devourer of Spiders trigger interactions.

## Sideboard Map
- Sideboarding should preserve the land-combo core unless the opponent visibly forces a different role. Keep most copies of Scapeshift, Spelunking, Lumra, Bellow of the Woods, Arboreal Grazer, and the land count intact; make the deck slower only when the added card directly answers pressure, hate, graveyard disruption, or counter-heavy control.

- Abrupt Decay is the default precise answer for low-cost hate and tempo permanents. Add role cards: Abrupt Decay against aggressive creatures, artifact/enchantment hate, cheap lock pieces, and battlefield threats that stop Scapeshift, Aftermath Analyst, Spelunking, or Lumra, Bellow of the Woods from mattering. Reduce main-deck emphasis: slower single-card payoffs such as Terror of the Peaks, Morlun, Devourer of Spiders, or excess setup creatures when removal density matters more than top-end redundancy. Abrupt Decay is bad when the opponent presents mostly expensive threats, sweepers, counterspells, or graveyard plans with few legal targets.

- Boseiju, Who Endures is the extra utility land for hate-heavy and artifact/enchantment-heavy matchups. Add role cards: Boseiju, Who Endures when opposing permanents restrict searching, graveyard use, land abilities, or Scapeshift payoff turns. Reduce main-deck emphasis: a slower color land or a fragile top-end slot only if the mana engine still has enough green and enough total lands. Boseiju, Who Endures is bad when the opponent’s pressure is creature-based and the channel target list is narrow.

- Culling Ritual is the catch-up reset against low-cost permanent decks. Add role cards: Culling Ritual against go-wide aggro, artifact clusters, token boards, cheap enchantments, and decks that commit many mana-value-small permanents before the combo turn. Reduce main-deck emphasis: The Wandering Minstrel, Formidable Speaker, Aftermath Analyst, or a single expensive payoff when the game is about surviving to a large mana turn. Card text check required for exact mana generation and permanent criteria. Culling Ritual is bad against control, large-creature midrange, and decks that pressure mainly through spells.

- Pest Control is a narrow flexible cleaner. Add role cards: Pest Control against token boards, low-cost swarm pressure, and cheap permanent piles when one extra small sweeper effect improves survival. Reduce main-deck emphasis: a fragile creature setup slot if sweep effects conflict with keeping small creatures alive. Card text check required for exact modes and affected mana values. Pest Control is bad when the opponent’s threats are individually large or when your own Arboreal Grazer, Aftermath Analyst, The Wandering Minstrel, and Formidable Speaker are essential to the current plan.

- Kaervek, the Spiteful is a pressure-control card for small-creature boards. Add role cards: Kaervek, the Spiteful against one-toughness swarms, token pressure, and creature decks where shrinking the board buys multiple turns. Reduce main-deck emphasis: slow payoff redundancy or a vulnerable creature package if Kaervek, the Spiteful would also weaken your own board. Card text check required for exact static effect and creature-size implications. Kaervek, the Spiteful is bad when it harms your engine creatures more than the opponent’s board or when the opponent wins through noncreature pressure.

- Clarion Conqueror is a specialized disruption threat. Add role cards: Clarion Conqueror against activated-ability engines, artifact or creature utility permanents, and decks whose hate pieces or combo pieces depend on nonmana abilities. Reduce main-deck emphasis: slow selection creatures or excess top-end when a disruptive body is more important than pure speed. Card text check required before assuming which abilities are affected. Clarion Conqueror is bad against decks with mostly triggered abilities, static hate, removal-heavy control, or large attackers that ignore the disruption.

- Emrakul, the Promised End is the grindy transformation threat. Add role cards: Emrakul, the Promised End against control, discard-heavy midrange, removal-heavy piles, and opponents that can answer the first Scapeshift or Lumra, Bellow of the Woods but struggle with a huge late-game cast. Reduce main-deck emphasis: fragile creature setup or a narrow singleton payoff when the matchup becomes about inevitability. Emrakul, the Promised End is bad against fast aggro, dedicated combo races, and graveyard hate that keeps the cost high while life total is under pressure.

- Summon: Leviathan is a top-end sideboard payoff or stabilizer only when its text is confirmed by the rules engine. Add role cards: Summon: Leviathan against attrition and creature matchups where one large spell can stabilize or force a fast clock. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Terror of the Peaks, Morlun, Devourer of Spiders, or one slower creature if the role is to diversify finishers. Card text check required for exact cost, target, token, and timing. Summon: Leviathan is bad when the opponent punishes expensive spells, when mana is pressured, or when the card does not affect the visible battlefield quickly enough.

Anti-Aggro Low-Curve Permanent Plan
Side in: 3 Abrupt Decay; 3 Culling Ritual; 1 Pest Control; 1 Clarion Conqueror
Cut: 1 Terror of the Peaks; 1 Glasspool Mimic; 1 The Wandering Minstrel; 1 Formidable Speaker; 1 Aftermath Analyst; 1 Port of Karfell; 1 Castle Garenbrig; 1 Arboreal Grazer

Artifact Or Enchantment Hate Plan
Side in: 3 Abrupt Decay; 2 Culling Ritual; 1 Pest Control
Cut: 1 Terror of the Peaks; 1 Glasspool Mimic; 1 The Wandering Minstrel; 1 Formidable Speaker; 1 Port of Karfell; 1 Aftermath Analyst

Control And Heavy Interaction Plan
Side in: 1 Summon: Leviathan; 3 Clarion Conqueror
Cut: 1 Terror of the Peaks; 1 Glasspool Mimic; 1 Arboreal Grazer; 1 Formidable Speaker

Creature-Utility Or Activated-Ability Plan
Side in: 3 Clarion Conqueror; 3 Abrupt Decay; 1 Pest Control
Cut: 1 Terror of the Peaks; 1 Glasspool Mimic; 1 Aftermath Analyst; 1 The Wandering Minstrel; 1 Formidable Speaker; 1 Port of Karfell; 1 Arboreal Grazer

- Against fast creature decks, become a survival-combo deck rather than a pure goldfish deck. Add role cards: Abrupt Decay, Culling Ritual, Pest Control, and Kaervek, the Spiteful according to visible threat size. Reduce main-deck emphasis: expensive singleton finishers and the slowest selection pieces. Keep Arboreal Grazer when blocking and extra land placement both matter.

- Against control, become a resilient threat deck with multiple must-answer endings. Add role cards: Emrakul, the Promised End, Summon: Leviathan, Boseiju, Who Endures, and sometimes Clarion Conqueror if its text affects the opponent’s visible plan. Reduce main-deck emphasis: creature cards that die without generating immediate mana or card velocity. Keep Scapeshift pressure because forcing a response can clear the way for the next payoff.

- Against graveyard hate, diversify away from relying only on Aftermath Analyst or Port of Karfell. Add role cards: Boseiju, Who Endures and Abrupt Decay for permanent hate; Emrakul, the Promised End only if games are slow enough for hard-cast or reduced-cost plans. Reduce main-deck emphasis: graveyard-dependent lines when visible hate is already present. Do not assume the graveyard will remain available once the opponent has shown hate.

- Against combo, sideboard for disruption only if it actually interacts with the opposing engine. Add role cards: Abrupt Decay, Boseiju, Who Endures, Clarion Conqueror, or Culling Ritual based on visible permanent types and costs. Reduce main-deck emphasis: slow finishers that do not change the race. If the sideboard card text is uncertain, prefer maintaining the fastest Scapeshift and Lumra, Bellow of the Woods configuration over adding speculative answers.

## Matchup Guidance

- Aggro: Prioritize survival, land velocity, and the first engine payoff over speculative long-game setup. Keep hands that deploy Arboreal Grazer, Spelunking, or multiple early lands and can reach Scapeshift or Lumra, Bellow of the Woods before combat damage becomes lethal. Add role cards: Abrupt Decay for small must-answer permanents, Culling Ritual for dense cheap boards, Pest Control for swarm or token pressure, and Kaervek, the Spiteful when shrinking small creatures matters. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Terror of the Peaks, Morlun, Devourer of Spiders, Glasspool Mimic, and slow selection bodies when they do not block or accelerate immediately. Do not spend early turns on Port of Karfell value if the visible board demands blockers, removal, or a fast Scapeshift turn.

- Go-wide: Treat board size as the main clock, not the largest creature. Preserve life total with Arboreal Grazer blocks when those blocks do not remove the only path to a required land count. Add role cards: Culling Ritual, Pest Control, and Kaervek, the Spiteful when the opposing battlefield is made of low-cost or low-toughness permanents. Reduce main-deck emphasis: expensive singleton finishers and excess creature copies that do not stabilize. Prefer Scapeshift lines that create an immediate Lumra, Bellow of the Woods or lethal setup over incremental Aftermath Analyst recursion that still leaves lethal attackers on board.

- Burn: Preserve life total and avoid unnecessary shock-style or pain-style decisions if the rules engine exposes equivalent legal mana lines. Keep Arboreal Grazer highly because one early blocker plus extra land can buy the turn needed for Scapeshift. Add role cards: Abrupt Decay only for visible permanents that materially increase damage, and Culling Ritual only when the opponent presents enough cheap permanents for a stabilizing swing. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Emrakul, the Promised End plans and slow Port of Karfell loops because life total usually decides the game before late inevitability. Do not pay optional costs or choose tap patterns that strand interaction when a visible lethal burn window could exist next turn.

- Tempo: Force the opponent to answer mana development, then commit only when waiting is worse than losing to the clock. Value Arboreal Grazer, Spelunking, Crumbling Vestige, Starting Town, and untapped land sequencing because tempo decks punish stumbles more than raw card count. Add role cards: Abrupt Decay for efficient pressure or hate permanents, Boseiju, Who Endures for answerable noncreature permanents, and Clarion Conqueror only when its checked text disables visible activated engines. Reduce main-deck emphasis: fragile high-cost payoff redundancy when the opponent can hold up interaction while attacking. Cast Scapeshift into open mana only when the visible clock, hand texture, or redundancy makes passing worse.

- Control: Become a resilient must-answer deck rather than a single-shot combo deck. Keep land-heavy hands with Spelunking, Scapeshift, or Lumra, Bellow of the Woods because land drops naturally pressure countermagic and sweepers without overcommitting creatures. Add role cards: Emrakul, the Promised End, Summon: Leviathan, Boseiju, Who Endures, and Clarion Conqueror when its text is relevant to visible control permanents. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Arboreal Grazer and low-impact creature setup when the opponent is not pressuring life total. Sequence The Wandering Minstrel, Formidable Speaker, and Aftermath Analyst to diversify threat types, but avoid exposing every creature to a sweeper when Scapeshift can threaten from lands alone.

- Removal-heavy decks: Make removal answer the wrong half of the plan. Keep hands where lands, Spelunking, and Scapeshift can function even if Aftermath Analyst, The Wandering Minstrel, Formidable Speaker, or Arboreal Grazer dies. Add role cards: Emrakul, the Promised End and Summon: Leviathan for late inevitability, plus Boseiju, Who Endures or Abrupt Decay for visible hate permanents. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Glasspool Mimic when copying a creature is unlikely to survive, and expensive singleton creature payoffs when removal is dense. Commit Lumra, Bellow of the Woods when it immediately changes the battlefield or advances lethal; do not rely on it surviving without visible support.

- Midrange: Trade speed for resilience only when the opponent’s discard and removal visibly slow the game. Prioritize hands with redundant engines: Spelunking plus Scapeshift, Scapeshift plus Lumra, Bellow of the Woods, or Aftermath Analyst plus graveyard access. Add role cards: Abrupt Decay for hate or pressure permanents, Emrakul, the Promised End for attrition, and Boseiju, Who Endures for problematic artifacts, enchantments, or lands when legal. Reduce main-deck emphasis: the narrowest singleton payoff when the matchup is about repeated resources. Use Port of Karfell as a long-game land only after mana development and immediate survival are handled.

- Single-threat decks: Answer the threat only if racing through it is slower or unsafe. Add role cards: Abrupt Decay for legal small threats or hate permanents, Boseiju, Who Endures for legal permanent targets, and Summon: Leviathan only when its text is confirmed to stabilize or dominate a large-board race. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Culling Ritual, Pest Control, and Kaervek, the Spiteful when the opponent does not present enough small permanents. If the lone threat lacks immediate lethal pressure, continue toward Scapeshift rather than spending key setup turns on low-impact interaction.

- Combo: Race first, disrupt only with cards that clearly touch the opposing engine. Keep fast Scapeshift hands, Spelunking acceleration, and land-heavy openers with an early payoff. Add role cards: Abrupt Decay, Boseiju, Who Endures, Clarion Conqueror, or Culling Ritual only when the visible opponent plan uses permanents those cards can legally affect. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Terror of the Peaks, Morlun, Devourer of Spiders, Summon: Leviathan, and Emrakul, the Promised End when they do not change the race. Do not dilute the primary land-combo plan for speculative answers when the rules engine shows no relevant target class.

- Big mana: Be the faster deterministic engine unless disruption is visible and decisive. Keep hands that ramp into Scapeshift, Lumra, Bellow of the Woods, or large Castle Garenbrig turns, and avoid slow creature-only starts without Spelunking or strong land count. Add role cards: Boseiju, Who Endures for visible noncreature mana engines or lands where legal, Abrupt Decay for cheap enablers, and Emrakul, the Promised End when games reliably go long. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Culling Ritual, Pest Control, and Kaervek, the Spiteful unless the opponent’s acceleration is made of cheap permanents. Commit Scapeshift before the opponent’s payoff turn when the legal line produces a meaningful board or lethal setup.

- Graveyard decks: Pressure while holding graveyard interaction only if the sideboard card actually affects the visible plan. Add role cards: Culling Ritual for cheap permanent engines, Abrupt Decay and Boseiju, Who Endures for hate or engine permanents, and Clarion Conqueror only if its checked text blocks activated graveyard tools. Reduce main-deck emphasis: slow Port of Karfell or Aftermath Analyst reliance if opponent graveyard hate is already visible, because your own graveyard lines may be weakened. Emrakul, the Promised End is strongest when both graveyards naturally fill and the game slows; it is poor when the opponent’s hate keeps cost high.

- Artifact and enchantment decks: Treat permanent type and mana value as the decision point. Add role cards: Abrupt Decay for legal cheap artifacts or enchantments, Boseiju, Who Endures for higher-impact noncreature permanents when legal, Culling Ritual for clustered cheap permanents, and Clarion Conqueror if activated abilities are central after card text check. Reduce main-deck emphasis: slow singleton finishers and fragile creature setup when the opponent’s permanents stop Scapeshift or land recursion. Do not spend Boseiju, Who Endures on a minor target if a known lock piece or combo permanent is likely and the current board is not lethal.

- Creature-combo and utility-creature decks: Break the engine piece before racing only when the visible board shows the creature is required. Add role cards: Abrupt Decay, Culling Ritual, Kaervek, the Spiteful, Pest Control, and Clarion Conqueror according to threat size, cost, and ability text. Reduce main-deck emphasis: nonblocking slow engines if the opponent’s creatures create immediate lethal or resource snowballing. Keep Arboreal Grazer when it buys time and increases land count; reduce reliance on it only when Kaervek, the Spiteful or Pest Control would also punish your own small creatures.

- Unknown opponent: Mulligan and sequence as a proactive land-combo deck until the opponent reveals a reason to change roles. Prioritize hands with lands, Spelunking, Arboreal Grazer, Scapeshift, or Lumra, Bellow of the Woods, and avoid hands that only cast expensive singleton payoffs. Add role cards after Game 1 based on visible loss mode: removal package for cheap permanents, Emrakul, the Promised End and Summon: Leviathan for attrition, Boseiju, Who Endures for durable noncreature hate, and Clarion Conqueror for confirmed activated-ability reliance. Reduce main-deck emphasis only where the observed matchup makes a card slow, fragile, or textually irrelevant.

## Specific Matchup Notes

- General/archetype-only guidance applies until the opponent reveals exact cards, and revealed cards override assumptions. Treat Game 1 as a proactive 5c Scapeshift ramp-combo game: develop lands, enable Spelunking, protect the Scapeshift or Lumra, Bellow of the Woods turn, and change roles only when public information shows a faster kill, a hate permanent, or pressure that invalidates setup.

- Against fast creature decks, stabilize the first two turns before optimizing combo texture. Keep Arboreal Grazer highly when it blocks and adds a land, value Spelunking hands that accelerate without spending extra creatures, and consider role cards after Game 1: Culling Ritual, Pest Control, Kaervek, the Spiteful, Abrupt Decay, and sometimes Clarion Conqueror after card text check. Priority targets are cheap permanents that increase damage, stop blocking, or create lethal before Scapeshift can matter.

- Against removal-heavy midrange, make lands and enchantments carry the game. Sideboarding should lean toward Emrakul, the Promised End, Summon: Leviathan after card text check, Abrupt Decay for hate permanents, and the sideboard Boseiju, Who Endures when legal targets are common. Priority targets are graveyard hate, land-hate, cheap clock permanents, and any permanent that prevents Scapeshift or Lumra, Bellow of the Woods from converting lands into a win.

- Against control or permission, force the opponent to answer different permanent types instead of walking the only payoff into open mana. Spelunking, The Wandering Minstrel, Formidable Speaker, Aftermath Analyst, Port of Karfell, Scapeshift, and Lumra, Bellow of the Woods should be sequenced to tax removal, counters, and graveyard interaction across turns. Priority targets for Abrupt Decay or Boseiju, Who Endures are visible hate permanents, lock pieces, and mana engines; do not fire interaction at low-impact targets when a Scapeshift turn is close.

- Against opposing combo, race unless a sideboard card directly intersects the revealed engine. Bring in Abrupt Decay, Boseiju, Who Endures, Culling Ritual, or Clarion Conqueror only when public cards prove they hit a necessary permanent or ability. Priority targets are engine permanents, mana permanents, or hate pieces that change the Scapeshift clock; avoid diluting the deck with Kaervek, the Spiteful, Pest Control, Summon: Leviathan, or Emrakul, the Promised End unless the matchup demonstrably slows.

- Against graveyard hate, pivot toward land-count pressure and non-graveyard payoff timing. Aftermath Analyst, Port of Karfell, and some Lumra, Bellow of the Woods lines get worse when the opponent reveals graveyard exile or replacement effects, while Scapeshift plus Spelunking can still operate if the legal land search creates enough mana or board presence. Priority targets are the hate permanents themselves, using Abrupt Decay or Boseiju, Who Endures only when the engine confirms legal targets.

## Risk Summary

- Mana risk: The deck has many lands with entry conditions and color quirks, including Lotus Field, Crumbling Vestige, Port of Karfell, Hedge Maze, Underground Mortuary, Arid Archway, Castle Garenbrig, Otawara, Soaring City, Boseiju, Who Endures, Starting Town, and Forest. Do not assume all lands produce every color or enter untapped; follow the rules engine, and prioritize Spelunking when it legally fixes tempo.

- Matchup risk: The maindeck is powerful but narrow when the opponent attacks before the land engine stabilizes. Arboreal Grazer is often the bridge card; hands without early land acceleration, Spelunking, Scapeshift, or Lumra, Bellow of the Woods need a strong visible reason to keep.

- Draw risk: Hands with Terror of the Peaks, Morlun, Devourer of Spiders, Glasspool Mimic, or multiple expensive payoffs can fail if they lack land volume and acceleration. Treat singleton closers as finishers, not as substitutes for the land engine.

- Over-sideboarding risk: Cutting too many main-deck engine cards lowers the chance that Scapeshift and Lumra, Bellow of the Woods produce a decisive turn. Sideboard cards should answer a revealed problem or improve a proven axis; do not add Abrupt Decay, Culling Ritual, Pest Control, Kaervek, the Spiteful, Clarion Conqueror, Summon: Leviathan, or Emrakul, the Promised End only because they are available.

- Graveyard risk: Aftermath Analyst, Port of Karfell, and Lumra, Bellow of the Woods can be weakened by graveyard interaction, exile effects, or replacement effects. Use public information to decide whether to bait graveyard hate, remove it, or lean on Scapeshift and land development instead.

- Sweeper/removal risk: Creature-heavy setup with Arboreal Grazer, Aftermath Analyst, The Wandering Minstrel, Formidable Speaker, Glasspool Mimic, and Lumra, Bellow of the Woods can fold to removal if the lands do not also advance the plan. Avoid committing extra creatures when Spelunking plus Scapeshift already creates a credible next-turn threat.

- Closer risk: Terror of the Peaks, Morlun, Devourer of Spiders, Summon: Leviathan, and Emrakul, the Promised End require card text check or visible legal-action confirmation before relying on exact damage, stabilization, or inevitability. Do not assume a deterministic kill unless the rules engine presents the legal action and resulting board context supports it.

- Interaction risk: Boseiju, Who Endures, Otawara, Soaring City, Abrupt Decay, Culling Ritual, Pest Control, Kaervek, the Spiteful, and Clarion Conqueror are conditional tools, not universal answers. Confirm target legality, mana, and collateral damage before spending a turn that could otherwise set up Scapeshift.

- Sequencing risk: Lotus Field, Scapeshift, and Spelunking sequencing can decide the game. Do not sacrifice lands, bounce lands, or expose a key land package unless the visible legal actions show enough mana, land count, and follow-up payoff for the chosen line.

## Test Feedback Checklist

- Deciding factor: Identify whether each win or loss was decided by land volume, Spelunking tempo, Scapeshift resolution, Lumra, Bellow of the Woods conversion, early creature pressure, a hate permanent, or a stranded payoff. Record the first turn when the eventual winner became favored by visible board state, not by hidden-card speculation.

- Mulligans: Check whether kept hands had enough early land acceleration, land count, and a real engine path through Arboreal Grazer, Spelunking, Scapeshift, Lumra, Bellow of the Woods, Aftermath Analyst, The Wandering Minstrel, or Formidable Speaker. Flag keeps that relied on Terror of the Peaks, Morlun, Devourer of Spiders, Glasspool Mimic, or expensive sideboard closers without the mana and land texture to support them.

- Mana: Review every game for color or timing failures involving Lotus Field, Crumbling Vestige, Port of Karfell, Hedge Maze, Underground Mortuary, Arid Archway, Castle Garenbrig, Starting Town, Forest, Boseiju, Who Endures, and Otawara, Soaring City. Mark whether Spelunking solved the issue, arrived too late, or was unnecessary.

- Velocity: Measure whether the deck reached a meaningful Scapeshift or Lumra, Bellow of the Woods turn before the opponent presented lethal or a lock. Note games where Arboreal Grazer accelerated safely, where Lotus Field created enough mana, and where too many tapped or conditional lands delayed the critical turn.

- Engine execution: Verify that Scapeshift, Lumra, Bellow of the Woods, Aftermath Analyst, Port of Karfell, The Wandering Minstrel, and Formidable Speaker decisions followed legal-action output and visible public information. Flag any turn where the pilot started an engine line without enough follow-up, open mana, or protection from a revealed hate card.

- Removal and disruption: Ask whether Boseiju, Who Endures, Otawara, Soaring City, Abrupt Decay, Culling Ritual, Pest Control, Kaervek, the Spiteful, or Clarion Conqueror answered a relevant permanent or instead consumed a setup turn for low impact. Card text check required for sideboard cards whose exact tactical role was inferred from name only.

- Sideboard fit: Compare post-board results against the exact sideboard plan used, not against theoretical roles. Record whether Abrupt Decay, Culling Ritual, Pest Control, Kaervek, the Spiteful, Clarion Conqueror, Boseiju, Who Endures, Summon: Leviathan, or Emrakul, the Promised End improved the matchup or diluted Scapeshift density.

- Closing: Determine whether wins ended through Scapeshift, Lumra, Bellow of the Woods, Terror of the Peaks, Morlun, Devourer of Spiders, Emrakul, the Promised End, Summon: Leviathan, or normal combat. Do not credit a closer unless the log shows legal actions and visible board state supporting the finish.

- Role mistakes: Mark games where the pilot should have raced but interacted, stabilized but developed, or waited one turn before a fragile commitment. Tie the mistake to visible pressure, revealed interaction, available legal actions, and the opponent archetype.

- Stranded cards: Track cards stuck in hand for multiple turns, especially Scapeshift, Lumra, Bellow of the Woods, Terror of the Peaks, Morlun, Devourer of Spiders, Glasspool Mimic, Emrakul, the Promised End, Summon: Leviathan, Culling Ritual, Pest Control, and Abrupt Decay. Separate mana-stranding from matchup irrelevance.

- Overperformers and underperformers: Count which maindeck and sideboard cards changed outcomes, stabilized a losing position, or failed to affect the game. Give extra scrutiny to four-copy engines and accelerants: Arboreal Grazer, The Wandering Minstrel, Formidable Speaker, Scapeshift, Lumra, Bellow of the Woods, Spelunking, Starting Town, Hedge Maze, Port of Karfell, Underground Mortuary, Crumbling Vestige, and Lotus Field.

## First Tuning Questions

- Card quantities: Should Aftermath Analyst stay at 2 copies if graveyard lines are strong only in slower games, or does the deck need more reliable non-graveyard velocity from The Wandering Minstrel, Formidable Speaker, Spelunking, and Scapeshift instead?

- Mana structure: Did Lotus Field, Arid Archway, Crumbling Vestige, Port of Karfell, Hedge Maze, Underground Mortuary, Castle Garenbrig, Starting Town, Forest, Boseiju, Who Endures, and Otawara, Soaring City produce enough untapped and colored mana, or did the deck lose more games to sequencing friction than to missing payoffs?

- Aggro plan: Are Arboreal Grazer, Spelunking, Culling Ritual, Pest Control, Kaervek, the Spiteful, Abrupt Decay, and Clarion Conqueror enough against fast creature starts, or does the sideboard need more early stabilization that does not weaken Scapeshift density?

- Control plan: Are Emrakul, the Promised End, Summon: Leviathan, Boseiju, Who Endures, Abrupt Decay, Port of Karfell, and redundant land engines enough to beat permission and hate permanents, or do post-board games still hinge on resolving a single fragile Scapeshift or Lumra, Bellow of the Woods?

- Closer package: Did Terror of the Peaks, Morlun, Devourer of Spiders, Glasspool Mimic, Lumra, Bellow of the Woods, Emrakul, the Promised End, and Summon: Leviathan close games that Scapeshift set up, or were singleton finishers frequently stranded before the engine was active?

- Sideboard slots: Which sideboard cards had confirmed legal targets and changed outcomes: Abrupt Decay, Culling Ritual, Pest Control, Kaervek, the Spiteful, Clarion Conqueror, Boseiju, Who Endures, Summon: Leviathan, or Emrakul, the Promised End? Any slot without a repeated, logged use case should be questioned before increasing narrow answers.

- Role conflicts: Did games improve when the deck stayed proactive with land development, or did interaction-heavy post-board plans create hands that neither stabilized nor killed quickly? Tune toward the role that the logs show most often converts visible resources into wins.

## Veles Tactical Policy

### Policy: Mulligan For Engine Access
Priority: High
Decision families: mulligan
Cards: Arboreal Grazer; Spelunking; Scapeshift; Lumra, Bellow of the Woods; Aftermath Analyst; The Wandering Minstrel; Formidable Speaker; Lotus Field
Phase windows: opening hand, mulligan decisions
Runtime cues: prompt:mulligan; action:keep; action:mulligan
Use when: the opening hand is being evaluated from visible hand, play/draw, matchup role, and legal mulligan actions.
Avoid when: a forced keep or forced mulligan is the only legal action.
Instructions: Keep hands with enough lands plus at least one real accelerator, engine, or payoff path; reject hands that only contain expensive finishers or sideboard cards without land development. Value Arboreal Grazer plus lands highly, but do not keep a hand that cannot progress after the first extra land.
Pilot skill floor: light-model
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: First Engine Setup
Priority: Medium
Decision families: mana, priority, selection
Cards: Arboreal Grazer; Spelunking; Lotus Field; Crumbling Vestige; Starting Town; Hedge Maze; Underground Mortuary; Port of Karfell
Phase windows: turns 1-3 main phases
Runtime cues: phase:precombat main; action:cast Arboreal Grazer; action:cast Spelunking; action:play
Use when: early development choices include lands, Arboreal Grazer, Spelunking, or mana-producing permanents.
Avoid when: visible lethal pressure or a hate permanent requires immediate interaction.
Instructions: Build land count first, then smooth land entry and mana colors; prefer lines that leave the most future legal Scapeshift and Lumra, Bellow of the Woods paths. Card text check required for unfamiliar land abilities before relying on specific color or untap text.
Pilot skill floor: light-model
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Lotus Field Timing
Priority: Medium
Decision families: mana, selection
Cards: Lotus Field; Spelunking; Arboreal Grazer; Scapeshift; Lumra, Bellow of the Woods
Phase windows: main phases, land-play decisions
Runtime cues: action:play Lotus Field; action:put Lotus Field
Use when: Lotus Field is a visible legal land action or can enter through a legal effect.
Avoid when: sacrificing lands would strand the hand, prevent casting the next engine card, or concede tempo to visible pressure.
Instructions: Treat Lotus Field as a burst-mana commitment, not a generic land drop; pair it with enough remaining land volume, Spelunking support, or payoff access to justify the immediate resource change.
Pilot skill floor: light-model
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Scapeshift Commitment Gate
Priority: High
Decision families: priority, mana, selection
Cards: Scapeshift; Lotus Field; Lumra, Bellow of the Woods; Terror of the Peaks; Morlun, Devourer of Spiders; Spelunking
Phase windows: main phases with priority
Runtime cues: action:cast Scapeshift
Use when: Scapeshift is legal to cast and the pilot must decide whether to start the defining combo turn.
Avoid when: visible mana, land count, opponent pressure, known disruption, or follow-up payoffs make waiting clearly safer than committing.
Instructions: Cast Scapeshift only when the visible land count and legal follow-up plan can convert the sacrificed lands into a decisive board, mana, or lethal setup. Do not fire it as a generic ramp spell if it empties resources without a payoff.
Pilot skill floor: light-model
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Scapeshift Land Selection
Priority: High
Decision families: selection, mana
Cards: Scapeshift; Lotus Field; Starting Town; Hedge Maze; Underground Mortuary; Port of Karfell; Crumbling Vestige; Castle Garenbrig; Forest; Boseiju, Who Endures; Otawara, Soaring City; Arid Archway
Phase windows: Scapeshift resolution
Runtime cues: prompt:search; action:select; source:Scapeshift
Use when: Scapeshift is resolving and the legal action list presents land choices.
Avoid when: the target land set is not fully visible in legal actions or card text uncertainty affects the line.
Instructions: Choose lands that satisfy immediate mana, color, and payoff requirements before long-term utility. Preserve Boseiju, Who Endures or Otawara, Soaring City utility only when the engine still functions without the extra mana source.
Pilot skill floor: light-model
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Lumra Commitment Gate
Priority: High
Decision families: priority, mana
Cards: Lumra, Bellow of the Woods; Scapeshift; Aftermath Analyst; Terror of the Peaks; Morlun, Devourer of Spiders
Phase windows: main phases with priority
Runtime cues: action:cast Lumra, Bellow of the Woods
Use when: Lumra, Bellow of the Woods is legal to cast and the graveyard or battlefield context can matter.
Avoid when: casting Lumra, Bellow of the Woods uses the turn without stabilizing, producing mana, or threatening a close.
Instructions: Commit Lumra, Bellow of the Woods when visible lands, graveyard contents, and follow-up legal actions indicate a real conversion turn or stabilizing body. Card text check required before assuming exact recursion or trigger outcomes.
Pilot skill floor: light-model
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Aftermath Analyst Activation Gate
Priority: Medium
Decision families: priority, mana
Cards: Aftermath Analyst; Scapeshift; Lumra, Bellow of the Woods; Lotus Field
Phase windows: main phases, priority windows with activation legal
Runtime cues: action:activate Aftermath Analyst
Use when: Aftermath Analyst has a legal activated ability and graveyard lands are visible.
Avoid when: activation consumes mana needed for a higher-impact legal spell or the graveyard does not support the turn.
Instructions: Activate Aftermath Analyst to rebuild land count, enable a payoff turn, or survive through mana expansion; do not spend the activation merely because it is available.
Pilot skill floor: light-model
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Mandatory Visible Self Target
Priority: Low
Decision families: selection
Cards: Glasspool Mimic; Lumra, Bellow of the Woods; Terror of the Peaks; Morlun, Devourer of Spiders
Phase windows: target-selection prompts
Runtime cues: action:target self Glasspool Mimic
Use when: the legal action text contains exactly one self-target or self-copy option for Glasspool Mimic and no other target action is legal.
Avoid when: multiple target choices exist or the target identity changes strategic output.
Instructions: Select the single legal self target exactly as shown by the rules engine; do not infer a different target or hidden object.
Pilot skill floor: no-api
No-API allowed: yes
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Terror Payoff Target
Priority: Medium
Decision families: interaction, selection
Cards: Terror of the Peaks; Lumra, Bellow of the Woods; Morlun, Devourer of Spiders; Glasspool Mimic
Phase windows: triggered-ability target prompts, main phase combo turns
Runtime cues: action:target Terror of the Peaks
Use when: Terror of the Peaks trigger or related legal target prompts are visible after a creature enters.
Avoid when: multiple lethal, removal, and planeswalker or creature targets require damage allocation judgment.
Instructions: Use visible life totals, blockers, and threats to choose whether the trigger advances lethal or stabilizes the board. Card text check required before assuming exact damage amount or target restrictions.
Pilot skill floor: light-model
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Finishers Require Conversion
Priority: Medium
Decision families: priority, mana, combat
Cards: Terror of the Peaks; Morlun, Devourer of Spiders; Emrakul, the Promised End; Summon: Leviathan; Lumra, Bellow of the Woods
Phase windows: main phases, combat, late-game priority
Runtime cues: action:cast Terror of the Peaks; action:cast Morlun, Devourer of Spiders; action:cast Emrakul, the Promised End; action:cast Summon: Leviathan
Use when: a large closer is legal and the pilot must choose between payoff commitment, further setup, or interaction.
Avoid when: the closer is being cast into visible removal pressure without backup and does not change the clock or board.
Instructions: Cast the closer when it immediately threatens lethal, stabilizes combat, or converts land-engine resources into a game-ending position. Card text check required for Morlun, Devourer of Spiders and Summon: Leviathan before relying on specific abilities.
Pilot skill floor: light-model
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Utility Land Interaction
Priority: Medium
Decision families: interaction, mana
Cards: Boseiju, Who Endures; Otawara, Soaring City; Abrupt Decay
Phase windows: opponent main phases, end steps, own main phase before combo
Runtime cues: action:activate Boseiju, Who Endures; action:activate Otawara, Soaring City; action:cast Abrupt Decay
Use when: a visible permanent interferes with mana development, combo resolution, or survival.
Avoid when: using the interaction prevents a same-turn Scapeshift or Lumra, Bellow of the Woods line that already wins or stabilizes.
Instructions: Spend utility interaction on hate permanents, lethal pressure, or lock pieces before low-impact targets. Preserve land drops and colors unless the visible permanent blocks the engine.
Pilot skill floor: light-model
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Sweeper And Small-Permanent Sideboard Use
Priority: Medium
Decision families: interaction, priority
Cards: Culling Ritual; Pest Control; Kaervek, the Spiteful; Clarion Conqueror
Phase windows: main phases, precombat stabilization turns
Runtime cues: action:cast Culling Ritual; action:cast Pest Control; action:cast Kaervek, the Spiteful; action:cast Clarion Conqueror
Use when: sideboard interaction is legal and visible opposing permanents pressure life total or restrict the combo.
Avoid when: the spell removes or weakens your own necessary engine more than it disrupts the opponent.
Instructions: Use these cards to buy the turn needed for Scapeshift or Lumra, Bellow of the Woods; card text check required for exact affected permanents and static effects before committing.
Pilot skill floor: light-model
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Combat As Stabilization
Priority: Medium
Decision families: combat
Cards: Arboreal Grazer; Aftermath Analyst; Lumra, Bellow of the Woods; Morlun, Devourer of Spiders; Terror of the Peaks
Phase windows: declare attackers, declare blockers, combat tricks
Runtime cues: prompt:attack; prompt:block; action:attack; action:block
Use when: combat choices affect survival, clock, or preserving an engine creature.
Avoid when: exactly one forced combat action exists.
Instructions: Block to preserve life total when the deck needs one more engine turn; avoid trading away Aftermath Analyst or payoff creatures unless the visible clock demands it. Attack only when it does not expose a required combo piece or lose a necessary blocker.
Pilot skill floor: light-model
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Priority Pass Under Pressure
Priority: High
Decision families: priority, interaction
Cards: Abrupt Decay; Boseiju, Who Endures; Otawara, Soaring City; Culling Ritual; Pest Control; Scapeshift; Lumra, Bellow of the Woods
Phase windows: all priority windows, especially opponent end step and precombat
Runtime cues: action:pass; prompt:priority
Use when: passing priority is legal while visible pressure, hate permanents, or combo actions are also legal.
Avoid when: no non-pass legal action can change the visible board, mana, or clock.
Instructions: Do not pass through a window that loses access to interaction, misses a combo turn, or allows lethal combat without evaluating legal alternatives. Passing is acceptable when available actions are low impact and waiting preserves a stronger main-phase line.
Pilot skill floor: light-model
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Exact Mandatory Payment
Priority: Low
Decision families: mana
Cards: none
Phase windows: mana-payment prompts
Runtime cues: action:pay
Use when: exactly one legal payment action is available and the prompt does not expose a choice among sources, colors, or optional costs.
Avoid when: multiple legal payment actions exist or any action text names different mana sources.
Instructions: Submit the only legal payment action exactly as listed by Veles.
Pilot skill floor: no-api
No-API allowed: yes
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Sideboard Role Selection
Priority: High
Decision families: sideboard
Cards: Abrupt Decay; Boseiju, Who Endures; Clarion Conqueror; Culling Ritual; Emrakul, the Promised End; Kaervek, the Spiteful; Pest Control; Summon: Leviathan; Scapeshift; Arboreal Grazer; Spelunking; The Wandering Minstrel; Formidable Speaker
Phase windows: between games, sideboard lock prompts
Runtime cues: prompt:sideboard; action:submit sideboard
Use when: choosing a legal post-board configuration from registered main deck and sideboard.
Avoid when: a generated plan violates registered 60/15 preservation or sides in/cuts unavailable copies.
Instructions: Add interaction against fast permanent pressure, add Abrupt Decay or Boseiju, Who Endures against hate permanents, and add Emrakul, the Promised End or Summon: Leviathan only when the matchup gives time for larger closers. Do not dilute the Scapeshift and land-engine core unless survival requires it.
Pilot skill floor: light-model
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Forced Legal Action Execution
Priority: Low
Decision families: priority, selection, combat, mana
Cards: none
Phase windows: any prompt
Runtime cues: action:only legal action
Use when: Veles presents exactly one legal action and its text does not require choosing among hidden or strategic alternatives.
Avoid when: the prompt contains multiple legal actions, multiple targets, optional costs, or combat declarations.
Instructions: Submit the single visible legal action without inventing alternatives; rely on the rules engine for legality and outcome.
Pilot skill floor: no-api
No-API allowed: yes
Light-model allowed: yes
