# Strategy Specifications
## Deck Name And Archetype

- Deck identity: Mono-U Terror is a Pauper mono-blue tempo-control deck using cheap cantrips, self-mill, permission, and graveyard-cost threats to convert early spell velocity into undercosted attackers.

- Registered format: Pauper. Runtime legality must still be enforced by the active rules engine, event configuration, and current ban-list source; this guide does not override legality output, card availability, or action legality supplied by Veles or Forge.

- Main deck validation: 60 cards registered. The main deck is 15 Island, 4 Lórien Revealed, 4 Cryptic Serpent, 4 Brainstorm, 4 Tolarian Terror, 4 Thought Scour, 4 Mental Note, 4 Ponder, 2 Sleep of the Dead, 2 Deem Inferior, 4 Counterspell, 4 Delver of Secrets, 4 Spell Pierce, and 1 Deep Analysis.

- Sideboard validation: 15 cards registered. The sideboard is 4 Hydroblast, 1 Blue Elemental Blast, 2 Annul, 3 Gut Shot, 2 Steel Sabotage, 2 Envelop, and 1 Dispel.

- Archetype tags: tempo, control, graveyard, spells. Treat duplicate supplied tags as emphasis rather than separate roles: the deck is primarily a tempo deck that can become a permission-control deck when the opponent’s threats or combo windows matter more than fast damage.

- Stock status: stock-archetype core with a specific registered configuration. Delver of Secrets, Counterspell, Spell Pierce, cantrip density, Thought Scour, Mental Note, Cryptic Serpent, and Tolarian Terror are recognizable Mono-U Terror pieces; the exact split with 2 Sleep of the Dead, 2 Deem Inferior, 1 Deep Analysis, and a blast-heavy sideboard should be treated as this build’s tactical identity, not a generic list.

- Mana status: mono-blue main deck with 15 Island and 4 Lórien Revealed as the registered mana base. Veles should treat blue mana availability, land count, land-cycling or land-finding actions, and double-blue Counterspell timing as strategic constraints, while relying on the rules engine for exact costs and legal payment actions.

- Graveyard status: Cryptic Serpent and Tolarian Terror make the graveyard a cost-reduction resource, while Thought Scour, Mental Note, Brainstorm, Ponder, Lórien Revealed, and Deep Analysis shape how quickly that resource is built. Do not assume graveyard size creates a legal cast unless the engine offers the cast action.

- Role concern: this deck must identify whether the current game is about establishing Delver of Secrets pressure, landing a reduced Cryptic Serpent or Tolarian Terror, holding Counterspell or Spell Pierce, or using Sleep of the Dead and Deem Inferior to buy exact combat turns.

- Legality concern: exact card names must remain unchanged, especially Lórien Revealed with accent and Sleep of the Dead, because deck parsing, card image lookup, and action-policy matching depend on registered names. If runtime card text or legality differs from this guide, obey the rules-engine output and mark any strategy assumption as conditional.

- Opponent information status: opponent guidance is archetype- and public-information-based unless Veles provides a selected matchup guide, revealed cards, public zones, prior-game logs, or explicit known decklist context. The decision agent must not infer exact hidden cards from this specification alone.

## Thesis

- Core plan: Mono-U Terror assembles blue mana, a stocked graveyard, cheap card selection, and permission so it can deploy Delver of Secrets early or cast reduced Cryptic Serpent and Tolarian Terror ahead of schedule, then protect that threat long enough for combat damage to end the game.

- Winning pattern: pressure first, trade on mana second. The deck wins when Brainstorm, Ponder, Thought Scour, Mental Note, and Lórien Revealed turn the opening turns into land consistency and graveyard count, while Counterspell, Spell Pierce, Deem Inferior, and Sleep of the Dead keep the opponent from converting their mana into a better board.

- Control pivot: become a permission deck when the opponent’s next spell matters more than adding damage. A hand with Counterspell or Spell Pierce plus an existing Delver of Secrets, Cryptic Serpent, or Tolarian Terror should often pass with mana open instead of spending a cantrip into a window where the opponent can resolve a key threat.

- Tempo priority: spend mana on the play that changes the next combat or stack fight, not automatically on the card that draws the most cards. A legal Sleep of the Dead or Deem Inferior action can be better than more selection when it preserves a race, opens an attack, or prevents a lethal crack-back.

- Graveyard priority: fill the graveyard as a resource, but do not mill blindly when the current hand already has a legal reduced threat and needs protection mana. Thought Scour and Mental Note are strongest when they both replace themselves and move Cryptic Serpent or Tolarian Terror from future plan to current legal pressure.

- What not to do: do not play like a tap-out midrange deck. This list has few permanent threats, no broad removal suite, and no reliable way to recover from wasting Counterspell or Spell Pierce on low-impact spells while the opponent resolves the real payoff.

- What not to assume: do not assume Delver of Secrets transforms, graveyard cost reduction applies, flashback or escape is legal, or a counter can target a spell unless Veles supplies that legal action. Use this guide to rank offered actions, never to create missing ones.

## Role Package

- Threats: Delver of Secrets is the early pressure threat that rewards keeping interaction open after it is deployed; Cryptic Serpent and Tolarian Terror are the large graveyard-cost threats that convert spell density into a fast clock. Prioritize protecting a live threat over adding a second threat when sweepers, edicts, bounce, or race math make the first threat enough.

- Payoffs: Cryptic Serpent and Tolarian Terror are the main payoffs for filling the graveyard with spells. Treat each legal cast as a commitment gate: ask whether the threat can attack soon, whether protection mana remains available, and whether waiting one turn makes the threat cheaper without exposing the pilot to a worse opposing board.

- Engines: Brainstorm, Ponder, Thought Scour, Mental Note, Lórien Revealed, and Deep Analysis are the card-flow engine. Use Ponder and Brainstorm to repair mana and arrange threat/protection sequencing; use Thought Scour and Mental Note to accelerate graveyard thresholds; use Lórien Revealed as mana development or late card volume depending on legal actions and land count; use Deep Analysis as delayed card advantage when life, mana, and tempo allow.

- Velocity: Ponder is the cleanest early sculpting spell, Brainstorm is strongest when the hand needs concealment or a shuffle-like effect from a legal action, Thought Scour is preferred when the graveyard count immediately changes Cryptic Serpent or Tolarian Terror timing, and Mental Note is preferred when raw graveyard velocity matters more than choosing the milled cards.

- Interaction: Counterspell is the hard-stop answer for spells that beat the current board or invalidate the race; Spell Pierce is the cheap protection and tempo counter that is best while the opponent is mana-constrained; Deem Inferior is tempo interaction when the engine offers a legal spell or permanent target, but Card text check required for exact targeting and placement details; Sleep of the Dead is combat-tempo interaction when the engine offers a legal creature target, but Card text check required for exact duration and graveyard-use timing.

- Protection: Counterspell and Spell Pierce protect Delver of Secrets, Cryptic Serpent, and Tolarian Terror from removal, sweepers, edicts on the stack when applicable, and opposing haymakers. Do not spend protection on a spell that leaves the opponent’s best visible line intact unless the tempo swing is immediate and measurable.

- Recursion: Deep Analysis is the primary registered card-advantage recursion piece if Veles offers graveyard casting or flashback actions. Sleep of the Dead may function as repeatable graveyard tempo if Veles offers that legal action; Card text check required before treating that line as available.

- Mana: Island is the stable blue source base, and Lórien Revealed supports mana development when the opening hand needs land access. Preserve double-blue availability for Counterspell when the opponent’s next turn can contain a decisive spell.

- Sideboard modules: Hydroblast and Blue Elemental Blast are red-matchup interaction; Annul answers artifacts or enchantments when legal; Gut Shot covers small-creature tempo and cheap interaction; Steel Sabotage is artifact-specific interaction; Envelop fights sorcery-centered decks; Dispel fights instant-speed stack battles. These cards change priority after sideboarding, but Veles must still obey exact legal targets and current visible action text.

## Primary Win Conditions

- Delver tempo is the fastest clean win when Delver of Secrets is available early and the hand can protect it. Setup with Island plus Delver of Secrets, then use Ponder, Brainstorm, Thought Scour, Mental Note, or Lórien Revealed to keep land drops and interaction flowing; execution is attack pressure while leaving Counterspell or Spell Pierce available for removal, sweepers, opposing engines, or race-breaking threats. Prioritize this line when the opponent is slow, mana-constrained, or relying on sorcery-speed setup, and deprioritize extra cantrips if passing with protection preserves a lethal or near-lethal clock.

- Terror/Serpent tempo is the default midgame kill when the graveyard is stocked and Cryptic Serpent or Tolarian Terror becomes cheap enough to cast while holding interaction. Setup by converting Ponder, Brainstorm, Thought Scour, Mental Note, Lórien Revealed, Sleep of the Dead, Deem Inferior, Counterspell, and Spell Pierce into graveyard count without wasting interaction; execution is one large threat, protected attacks, and selective stack fights. Prioritize this line when the legal cast leaves enough mana for Counterspell or Spell Pierce, when the opponent’s board cannot race a 5-power threat, or when waiting one turn would expose you to discard, graveyard hate, or lethal pressure.

- Protected single-threat control is the best win path when one Delver of Secrets, Cryptic Serpent, or Tolarian Terror is already enough. Setup by identifying the opponent’s highest-impact visible or likely next spell, then preserve Counterspell, Spell Pierce, Deem Inferior, or Sleep of the Dead for that exchange. Execute by attacking every safe combat step, declining low-impact card flow when shields must stay up, and forcing the opponent to spend more mana answering your threat than you spend defending it.

- Tempo removal-by-delay wins races when Sleep of the Dead or Deem Inferior changes combat math immediately. Use Sleep of the Dead on a legal creature target when tapping or freezing that attacker/blocker preserves life, opens lethal damage, or buys the exact turn needed for Cryptic Serpent or Tolarian Terror; use Deem Inferior only when Veles exposes a legal target and the visible result is worth the mana, with Card text check required for exact placement and targeting details. Prioritize these spells over extra selection when board tempo, not card volume, decides the next turn cycle.

## Secondary Win Conditions

- Cantrip reload becomes the win condition when the first threat is answered but the deck still has mana and time. Use Ponder and Brainstorm to find the next Delver of Secrets, Cryptic Serpent, Tolarian Terror, Counterspell, or Spell Pierce; use Thought Scour and Mental Note to keep graveyard pressure live; use Lórien Revealed as land access early or card volume late when Veles offers the relevant legal action. Execute by rebuilding to one protected threat rather than flooding the battlefield into sweepers or edicts.

- Deep Analysis is the value fallback when the game slows and life, mana, and tempo permit it. Cast or flash back Deep Analysis only through legal Veles actions, and treat the life payment or mana use as a real cost when behind on board. Prioritize it when both players are trading one-for-one, your hand lacks pressure, and the opponent is not presenting a short clock that demands Counterspell, Sleep of the Dead, or Deem Inferior mana.

- Backup combat pressure matters when Delver of Secrets has not transformed or large threats are delayed. Attack with available creatures when the damage advances a race and the crack-back is acceptable; hold back when blocking is needed to survive until Cryptic Serpent, Tolarian Terror, Sleep of the Dead, or Deem Inferior can swing tempo. Do not assume Delver of Secrets transforms unless the rules engine shows the transformed object or legal trigger outcome.

- Permission attrition can win without immediate pressure when the opponent’s deck is built around a small number of decisive spells. Use Counterspell for threats, engines, combo pieces, or removal that invalidates your current path; use Spell Pierce most aggressively while the opponent cannot pay. This line needs a follow-up threat, so selection should eventually pivot from pure answers toward finding Delver of Secrets, Cryptic Serpent, or Tolarian Terror.

## Emergency Lines

- Behind on life, prioritize survival over graveyard speed. Use Sleep of the Dead, Deem Inferior, Counterspell, and legal blocks to prevent the next large damage burst, then deploy Cryptic Serpent or Tolarian Terror as a stabilizer only when it can affect combat before lethal damage arrives.

- Behind on board, trade tempo for time instead of drawing blindly. Counter the spell that widens the board most, delay the creature that represents the shortest clock, and use cantrips to find a threat or interaction only when the current board does not demand an immediate legal answer.

- Behind on cards, protect high-impact resources and lean on Deep Analysis, Ponder, Brainstorm, and Lórien Revealed to rebuild. Do not spend Spell Pierce or Counterspell on low-impact bait unless the visible tempo swing prevents lethal damage or preserves the only winning threat.

- Behind on mana, use Lórien Revealed and cheap selection to hit Island drops before committing expensive lines. Prefer one-mana Ponder, Brainstorm, Thought Scour, or Mental Note actions that unlock future Counterspell plus threat turns, and avoid tapping out for a threat that cannot be protected against an obvious public answer.

- Against graveyard hate or removed win conditions, shift from maximum graveyard acceleration to protected Delver of Secrets and honest card selection. If Cryptic Serpent or Tolarian Terror costs stay high or become unavailable, win through smaller attacks, permission, and repeated filtering rather than milling resources into a disabled plan.

- Against recursion, engines, combo, or lock pressure, spend interaction on the enabling spell or permanent before it converts into inevitability. Counterspell is the emergency stop for decisive stack actions, Spell Pierce is the tempo stop while payment is constrained, and Deem Inferior or Sleep of the Dead should be reserved for legal targets that buy a full turn or open lethal pressure.

## Resource Model

- Life is a tempo buffer, not a renewable engine. Spend life only when a legal Deep Analysis line or an unblocked attack exchange creates enough cards, pressure, or survival time to matter before the next turn cycle; do not flash back Deep Analysis while facing a short visible clock unless the drawn cards are needed to find Counterspell, Sleep of the Dead, Deem Inferior, Cryptic Serpent, or Tolarian Terror immediately.

- Hand size is strongest when it contains one threat plus protection. Convert excess cantrips into graveyard count and card quality, but preserve Counterspell and Spell Pierce when a single Delver of Secrets, Cryptic Serpent, or Tolarian Terror is already applying pressure and the opponent’s best comeback is likely to be a spell on the stack.

- Mana converts into time when it lets the deck act and hold up interaction in the same turn. A cheap Cryptic Serpent or Tolarian Terror is much stronger when it leaves Island mana for Spell Pierce or Counterspell; a tapped-out large threat is weaker when the opponent can answer it and recover tempo before it attacks.

- Board presence is intentionally narrow and high-impact. Treat Delver of Secrets as early pressure, Cryptic Serpent and Tolarian Terror as stabilizers or finishers, and avoid adding redundant creatures into public sweepers, edicts, or removal when one protected body already forces the opponent to respond.

- Graveyard count is a strategic resource for Cryptic Serpent and Tolarian Terror. Thought Scour, Mental Note, Ponder, Brainstorm, Lórien Revealed, Sleep of the Dead, Deem Inferior, Counterspell, Spell Pierce, and Deep Analysis all help turn large threats into cheap threats, but do not mill or trade away interaction merely to reduce a cost by one if the next opposing spell is decisive.

- Exile is mostly a constraint zone for flashback, escape-like, and opposing hate interactions. Use Sleep of the Dead from graveyard only through legal Veles actions and only when exiling cards does not materially delay Cryptic Serpent or Tolarian Terror; if the exact escape or exile requirement is unclear in the prompt, Card text check required and prefer visible legal cost information over memory.

- Lands are both mana and future permission windows. Island drops are critical through the first four turns because the deck often wants to cast a cantrip, deploy a threat, and still represent Spell Pierce or Counterspell across consecutive turns.

- Sacrifice fodder is not a normal resource in this list. Do not treat Delver of Secrets, Cryptic Serpent, or Tolarian Terror as expendable unless the rules engine presents a mandatory sacrifice, an unavoidable lethal combat exchange, or a block that clearly preserves survival.

- Tempo is the deck’s main exchange rate. Counter a spell, tap or delay a creature with Sleep of the Dead, or answer a stack action with Spell Pierce when that exchange lets existing damage continue or buys the turn needed for Cryptic Serpent or Tolarian Terror to dominate combat.

- Information is gained through legal reveals, public zones, and card selection outcomes. Use Ponder and Brainstorm decisions from visible cards only, infer opponent priorities from public mana and previous actions, and never assume hidden hand contents unless Veles marks them revealed.

- Sideboard bullets convert narrow mana into decisive exchanges. Hydroblast and Blue Elemental Blast punish red spells or permanents, Annul and Steel Sabotage address artifacts or enchantments when legal, Gut Shot changes small-creature tempo, Envelop fights sorceries, and Dispel protects stack fights over instants; keep mana available for the bullet that matches the opponent’s public axis.

## Mana Guide

- Prioritize blue availability because every maindeck spell depends on Island access. A keepable hand normally needs Island, Lórien Revealed with a legal land-finding action, or enough cheap selection to find Island without skipping the first meaningful turn.

- Keep one-land hands only when the legal opening sequence has a credible path to the second Island. Ponder, Brainstorm, Thought Scour, Mental Note, and Lórien Revealed can support a one-land keep, but a hand with no Island action and no early selection should be treated as a mulligan risk.

- Sequence Lórien Revealed by role, not habit. Use its land-access mode early when missing land drops or when Counterspell mana is otherwise delayed; cast it for cards late only when spending the mana does not abandon a necessary interaction window.

- Play Island before drawing when the current hand already contains the spell you intend to cast and no Brainstorm or Ponder decision benefits from waiting. This maximizes available mana for Thought Scour, Mental Note, Spell Pierce, or a post-draw legal action.

- Delay the land drop until after Ponder or Brainstorm when the choice may change which card must be hidden, kept, or drawn. With Brainstorm, consider whether putting back excess lands or expensive spells matters before making the land play; with Ponder, wait if the shuffle/keep decision affects the land for turn.

- Preserve double-blue for Counterspell once the opponent can present a decisive spell. Casting cantrips into a tapped-out position is weaker than passing with Counterspell when the current board is stable and the opponent’s next action could invalidate Delver of Secrets, Cryptic Serpent, or Tolarian Terror.

- Use Spell Pierce mana aggressively in early turns. One untapped Island can represent a major tempo exchange while the opponent is constrained, so avoid spending the last blue mana on low-impact Thought Scour or Mental Note if the opponent’s next noncreature spell is likely to matter.

- Cast Cryptic Serpent or Tolarian Terror when the reduced cost leaves a useful follow-up. The ideal large-threat turn either keeps Spell Pierce or Counterspell available, adds a cantrip afterward, or forces the opponent to answer while behind on mana.

- Treat sideboard mana as narrow but urgent. Against red decks, keep Island open for Hydroblast or Blue Elemental Blast when a red spell or permanent can swing the race; against artifact or enchantment decks, plan Annul or Steel Sabotage turns before tapping out for card draw.

- Avoid imaginary utility-land decisions because the registered manabase is Island plus Lórien Revealed access. If Veles shows only Island choices, choose the payment that preserves the most untapped blue for known legal instants and do not invent nonbasic sequencing concerns.

## Mulligan Guide

- Strong keep: Keep Island plus Delver of Secrets plus at least one of Ponder, Brainstorm, Thought Scour, or Mental Note and at least one of Spell Pierce or Counterspell. This hand pressures early, improves Delver of Secrets reveal odds, fills the graveyard, and protects the first threat without needing a speculative draw.

- Strong keep: Keep two Island, Ponder or Brainstorm, one graveyard enabler from Thought Scour or Mental Note, and one payoff from Cryptic Serpent or Tolarian Terror. This hand has stable mana, selection, and a clear turn-three or turn-four large-threat plan.

- Strong keep: Keep Island, Lórien Revealed, cheap selection, and interaction when the legal Lórien Revealed line can secure the second Island. This hand is slower than Delver of Secrets starts but acceptable because it turns mana development into eventual Cryptic Serpent or Tolarian Terror pressure.

- Medium keep: Keep two Island with Counterspell, Deem Inferior, Ponder, and no creature when the opponent is likely proactive or spell-heavy. This hand must use selection to find Delver of Secrets, Cryptic Serpent, or Tolarian Terror quickly, but it can survive long enough to do so.

- Medium keep: Keep one Island with Ponder plus Thought Scour or Mental Note only when the hand has an immediate draw-fixing action and at least one cheap payoff or interaction spell. Do not keep this on confidence alone; the second mana source must be a realistic first priority.

- Risky keep: Treat Island plus Brainstorm as weaker than Island plus Ponder unless Lórien Revealed, excess lands, or a known shuffle-like legal action is available. Brainstorm can trap bad cards on top, so the hand needs a concrete plan after the draw choice.

- Automatic ship: Mulligan hands with no Island, no Lórien Revealed land-development line, and no legal first-turn selection. Mulligan hands with only expensive creatures such as multiple Cryptic Serpent or Tolarian Terror plus no Thought Scour, Mental Note, Ponder, Brainstorm, or early interaction.

- Trap hand: Be suspicious of Island, Island, Cryptic Serpent, Cryptic Serpent, Tolarian Terror, Deep Analysis, and Counterspell against fast pressure. It has mana and power but no early graveyard velocity, no Delver of Secrets, and may spend turns holding cards that cannot yet stabilize.

- Trap hand: Be suspicious of one Island, multiple Spell Pierce, and no Ponder, Brainstorm, Thought Scour, Mental Note, or Lórien Revealed. Spell Pierce is excellent when paired with pressure or mana development, but it does not solve missing lands or missing threats by itself.

- Matchup-dependent keep: Keep interaction-heavy hands with Counterspell, Spell Pierce, Deem Inferior, or sideboard cards when the opponent’s public archetype is combo, control, red spells, artifacts, enchantments, or sorcery-reliant. Keep creature-heavy hands more readily when the opponent is slow and has limited visible early removal.

- Play/draw rule: On the play, prefer Delver of Secrets plus Spell Pierce or Ponder because the first threat can punish tapped-out starts. On the draw, value Counterspell, Deem Inferior, Sleep of the Dead, and stable two-Island hands more because the opponent may act before Delver of Secrets matters.

## Turn Arc

- Turn 1 preferred play: Cast Delver of Secrets when legal and the hand already has enough mana or selection to function. If no Delver of Secrets is available, cast Ponder when looking for Island, Delver of Secrets, or a graveyard enabler; use Brainstorm only when the hand can tolerate the top-card lock or has a known way to clear unwanted cards.

- Turn 1 deviation: Hold up Spell Pierce instead of casting Thought Scour or Mental Note when the opponent can make a decisive noncreature play and your hand already has a turn-two plan. Cast Thought Scour or Mental Note proactively when graveyard count is the bottleneck for Cryptic Serpent or Tolarian Terror and no important stack fight is expected.

- Turn 2 preferred play: Protect the developing position with Spell Pierce or Counterspell mana when Delver of Secrets is in play or the opponent’s next spell is likely to matter. If the opponent does not present a threat, use Ponder, Brainstorm, Thought Scour, or Mental Note to set up cheap Cryptic Serpent or Tolarian Terror.

- Turn 2 deviation: Use Deem Inferior or Sleep of the Dead only when a visible creature or permanent meaningfully changes the race or blocks the future large threat plan. If Card text check required appears in the runtime prompt for Sleep of the Dead, choose based on visible legal action labels and current tempo need rather than assumed escape details.

- Turn 3 preferred play: Deploy Cryptic Serpent or Tolarian Terror when cost reduction makes the creature legal while preserving Spell Pierce, Counterspell, or a follow-up cantrip if possible. If the creature is still expensive, continue filling the graveyard and keep interaction up rather than tapping out for low-impact card flow.

- Turn 3 deviation: Pass with Counterspell when the opponent’s likely turn-three or turn-four spell can beat an unprotected Cryptic Serpent or Tolarian Terror. Casting the large creature into open removal is correct only when waiting is worse, the opponent is under pressure, or the next turn cycle demands a blocker.

- Turns 4-5 preferred play: Shift from setup to protected pressure. Attack with Delver of Secrets, Cryptic Serpent, and Tolarian Terror when combat is favorable, add only the minimum extra threat needed, and spend Counterspell, Spell Pierce, Deem Inferior, or Sleep of the Dead on plays that break the race.

- Turns 4-5 deviation: Cast Lórien Revealed or Deep Analysis for cards only when the board is stable or when refilling is better than holding interaction. If the opponent is threatening lethal or a decisive engine, mana should usually stay available for Counterspell, Spell Pierce, sideboard interaction, or tempo answers.

- Late-game plan: Win by chaining large threats with permission rather than by drawing cards for its own sake. Prioritize Cryptic Serpent and Tolarian Terror that can attack or block immediately with protection nearby, and use Brainstorm, Ponder, Thought Scour, Mental Note, Lórien Revealed, and Deep Analysis to find the next decisive interaction or threat.

- Late-game deviation: Preserve one protected attacker over flooding the board into public sweepers, edicts, or known answers. When both players are low on resources, a single Tolarian Terror or Cryptic Serpent plus Counterspell can be stronger than tapping out for extra spells that leave the stack unguarded.

## Card Roles

- Lórien Revealed: Treat Lórien Revealed as the deck’s flexible mana-development and late-game card-flow card, not as a spell that must always be cast. Early, use the legal land-search line when the hand needs Island count for Counterspell, multiple blue spells, or a future protected Cryptic Serpent or Tolarian Terror. Late, cast Lórien Revealed only when the opponent is not presenting a decisive stack or combat window, because spending a full turn on cards can lose the tempo advantage this deck is built to protect. It naturally fuels the graveyard for Cryptic Serpent and Tolarian Terror after cycling/searching or resolving, and it improves Brainstorm by reducing mana stress. The common mistake is holding a one-land hand as if Lórien Revealed were guaranteed to be a normal spell; when mana is missing, it is first a land plan. Against control, it is a reload tool after trades; against aggro, it is usually Island access before card advantage.

- Cryptic Serpent: Use Cryptic Serpent as a large stabilizer or fast clock once Thought Scour, Mental Note, Ponder, Brainstorm, Lórien Revealed, Counterspell, Spell Pierce, Deem Inferior, and Sleep of the Dead have lowered its cost. Cast it when the body changes combat immediately or when you can still protect it with Spell Pierce or Counterspell. Holding Cryptic Serpent is correct when tapping out lets the opponent resolve a game-breaking spell or when a protected Tolarian Terror is the better threat. The common mistake is casting cantrips only to make Cryptic Serpent cheaper while ignoring the opponent’s current board; a cheap creature still needs the right turn cycle. Against red removal or edicts, prefer sequencing that leaves interaction available or creates multiple threats across turns.

- Tolarian Terror: Use Tolarian Terror as the preferred resilient finisher when its ward text matters and the opponent’s removal is mana-constrained. Cast it earlier than Cryptic Serpent when legal cost reduction plus protection makes it difficult to answer, but do not assume ward makes it untouchable; public mana, edicts, sweepers, sacrifice effects, and combat math still matter. Tolarian Terror pairs especially well with Spell Pierce and Counterspell because the opponent often must spend extra mana answering it. The common mistake is exposing it to a window where the opponent can pay for interaction and then untap into pressure. Against creature decks, it is often both wall and finisher; against spell decks, it is the clock that makes soft permission lethal.

- Brainstorm: Cast Brainstorm when it fixes a specific problem, protects important cards from known discard, supports Delver of Secrets setup, or pairs with a way to clear unwanted top cards such as a legal Lórien Revealed land-search line, Thought Scour, or Mental Note. Hold Brainstorm when the hand is functional and the main value is future information. The common mistake is firing Brainstorm on turn one with no shuffle or mill outlet, then locking two weak cards on top. Brainstorm synergizes with Delver of Secrets by arranging an instant or sorcery on top, with graveyard enablers by clearing bad cards, and with cheap threats by finding interaction after a creature resolves. Against discard, it can hide key cards; against fast aggro, use it to find concrete mana, blocker, or tempo action rather than abstract value.

- Thought Scour: Use Thought Scour as instant-speed graveyard acceleration, top-card disruption for your own Brainstorm setup, and a way to keep mana open before deciding whether to act. Cast it on yourself when reducing Cryptic Serpent or Tolarian Terror is a priority or when clearing known weak top cards. Targeting the opponent should require a visible reason from legal action text, public top-card knowledge, or matchup context; do not mill the opponent blindly when their graveyard may help them. The common mistake is spending Thought Scour during the main phase before seeing whether Counterspell or Spell Pierce is needed. Against graveyard decks, be cautious with opponent-targeting lines; against control, end-step Thought Scour preserves permission posture.

- Mental Note: Use Mental Note as the most direct self-mill enabler for cheap Cryptic Serpent and Tolarian Terror. It is best when the hand already has mana and needs graveyard count more than card selection quality. Cast it early when a fast serpent/terror line is the plan, but hold it when Spell Pierce or Counterspell may need to answer a decisive spell. Mental Note is weaker than Ponder for finding missing land and weaker than Brainstorm when you need card selection, so choose it for graveyard velocity. The common mistake is milling without a payoff in hand while a legal Ponder could find mana or interaction. Against pressure, Mental Note is good if it enables a blocker; against attrition, it is acceptable fuel but not a substitute for card advantage.

- Ponder: Prioritize Ponder as the cleanest turn-one setup spell when the hand needs Island, Delver of Secrets, Counterspell, or a graveyard enabler. Use it before Brainstorm when you need to decide whether the hand has enough mana or pressure. Keep stacked cards only when the next turns are concretely mapped; shuffle or equivalent legal action decisions should follow visible quality, not optimism. Ponder supports Delver of Secrets, finds cheap interaction, and assembles the graveyard-threat sequence. The common mistake is using Ponder to chase perfect value while ignoring that the deck needs a threat plus protection. Against combo or control, find pressure and permission; against aggro, find mana, blocker, Deem Inferior, Sleep of the Dead, or relevant sideboard cards.

- Sleep of the Dead: Use Sleep of the Dead as a tempo card when tapping a visible creature changes the race, opens an attack, protects life total, or buys the turn needed for Cryptic Serpent or Tolarian Terror. Card text check required for exact current Oracle details and escape handling; make runtime decisions from legal action labels and visible costs. It synergizes with self-mill because graveyard resources may make later legal recasts possible, but do not spend graveyard cards if doing so prevents a critical cheap threat unless the board demands it. The common mistake is using it on a low-impact creature before the opponent commits the creature that actually matters. Against go-wide decks it is limited; against single large blockers or attackers it can swing the tempo exchange.

- Deem Inferior: Use Deem Inferior as conditional tempo interaction only when the legal action text shows it can answer a relevant spell or permanent and the resulting tempo is worth the card. Card text check required for exact current Oracle details, including timing, target class, and destination. Treat it as part of the interaction suite that protects a Delver of Secrets, Cryptic Serpent, or Tolarian Terror attack plan, not as generic removal to spend immediately. The common mistake is selecting it because it is legal without checking whether Counterspell, Spell Pierce, or waiting covers a more important window. Against creature tempo, it may reset or delay a blocker or attacker; against combo/control, use only if the legal target is strategically central.

- Counterspell: Preserve Counterspell for spells that beat your current role: removal on a protected threat, a payoff that outraces you, a sweeper, a combo piece, or an engine the deck cannot easily race. Cast Counterspell over Spell Pierce when the opponent has enough mana to pay for Spell Pierce or when the target must not resolve. Holding up two Island can be better than adding a second threat if one creature already wins the race. The common mistake is countering the first legal spell instead of the spell that matters. Against aggro, counter high-impact threats or burn that changes lethal math; against control/combo, save it for card advantage, win conditions, or protected turns.

- Delver of Secrets: Deploy Delver of Secrets early when legal and when the hand can support it with selection or protection. Delver of Secrets is the deck’s cheapest way to force the opponent to act, making Spell Pierce and Counterspell better. Brainstorm and Ponder can improve transformation chances, but do not overcommit selection solely for Delver if mana or survival is at risk. The common mistake is playing Delver into a board where it cannot attack or where protecting it costs the entire development plan. Against slow decks, turn-one Delver is premium pressure; against fast creature decks, it may become a blocker or bait while Cryptic Serpent and Tolarian Terror stabilize.

- Spell Pierce: Use Spell Pierce to punish early noncreature spells, protect threats during mana-tight windows, and force through the tempo plan before the opponent can pay. It is strongest with Delver of Secrets pressure or a newly cast Cryptic Serpent or Tolarian Terror. Hold Spell Pierce when the opponent is about to tap low; spend it before it becomes dead if the target meaningfully affects the game. The common mistake is keeping a reactive hand where Spell Pierce has no pressure behind it. Against combo, control, burn, and artifact/enchantment setup, it can trade up; against creature-heavy decks, sideboarding or de-emphasizing it may be correct.

- Deep Analysis: Treat Deep Analysis as the one-card attrition valve, not an automatic early play. Cast it when the board is stable, when both players have traded resources, or when self-mill places it in the graveyard and the legal flashback line is worth the life and mana. Card text check required for exact current Oracle details if life payment or flashback options appear in runtime labels. The common mistake is tapping out for Deep Analysis while the opponent is threatening lethal, a decisive engine, or a removal window on your only threat. Against control, it is a strong way to recover; against aggro and burn, life cost and tempo loss must be justified.

- Island: Sequence Island to preserve double-blue interaction and multiple-spell turns. The deck appears simple because it is mono-blue, but the real mana pressure is timing: Counterspell requires two untapped Island, while cantrip plus Spell Pierce or threat plus protection often determines whether the turn is safe. Do not spend all Islands on main-phase card flow when the opponent’s next spell is more important than graveyard velocity. Against red and combo decks, untapped Island often represents survival; against slower decks, extra Islands let Lórien Revealed and Deep Analysis convert into a protected late game.

### Card Hover Notes

#### Lórien Revealed
- Deck role: Main deck 4-of core piece for Island access, shuffle support, and late reloads.
- Role type: tutor/search; card selection; mana/fixing/ramp; engine fuel/material; modal utility.
- Deck-specific job: Early it fixes missing `Island` access so `Counterspell`, double-spell turns, and reduced `Cryptic Serpent` or `Tolarian Terror` turns happen on time; late it becomes a five-mana sorcery reload.
- Timing: Islandcycle when the hand has fewer than two blue sources, needs the next land drop, or needs to clear `Brainstorm` put-backs. Hard-cast only when shields can drop or the opponent’s next spell is not decisive.
- Inputs / outputs: Islandcycling costs `{1}` plus discarding `Lórien Revealed`; hard-cast costs `{3}{U}{U}` and draws three cards, then the sorcery later fuels graveyard discounts.
- Mode map: Hard-cast mode draws three cards. Islandcycling mode is `{1}, discard Lórien Revealed: search your library for an `Island` card, reveal it, put it into your hand, then shuffle`; the only registered target is `Island`.
- Partners / packages: `Brainstorm` uses the shuffle; `Cryptic Serpent` and `Tolarian Terror` use the graveyard spell count; `Counterspell` rewards the Island access.
- Role peers: Closest role overlap is `Ponder` for land finding and `Deep Analysis` for late card volume.
- Failure modes: Treating Islandcycling as card draw is wrong; it searches, reveals, puts `Island` into hand, and shuffles. Hard-casting into a needed `Counterspell`, `Spell Pierce`, `Hydroblast`, or `Dispel` window can lose the tempo plan.
- Matchup / visibility hooks: Against slow control, hard-cast after trades. Against aggro or burn, prioritize Island access and holding interaction over five-mana draw.

#### Cryptic Serpent
- Deck role: Main deck 4-of core payoff threat and stabilizing body.
- Role type: mechanic payoff; threat/clock; lifegain/stabilization.
- Deck-specific job: Converts cheap instant and sorcery density into a 6/5 that stabilizes combat or closes quickly once the graveyard has enough `Brainstorm`, `Ponder`, `Thought Scour`, `Mental Note`, `Counterspell`, `Spell Pierce`, `Sleep of the Dead`, `Deem Inferior`, `Lórien Revealed`, or `Deep Analysis`.
- Timing: Cast when the discount leaves protection mana, when the body blocks profitably this turn cycle, or when waiting exposes you to discard, graveyard hate, or lethal pressure. Delay if one more cheap spell turns it from tap-out into protected threat.
- Inputs / outputs: Base cost is `{5}{U}{U}`, reduced by `{1}` for each instant and sorcery card in your graveyard; output is a large non-evasive body.
- Partners / packages: `Thought Scour` and `Mental Note` accelerate the discount; `Counterspell`, `Spell Pierce`, and `Dispel` protect stack fights; `Sleep of the Dead` and `Deem Inferior` clear blockers or attackers.
- Role peers: Direct peer is `Tolarian Terror`; closest early-pressure peer is `Delver of Secrets`.
- Failure modes: A cheap 6/5 still fails if tapped out into removal, bounce, edict, or a race-breaking spell. It lacks `Tolarian Terror`’s ward, so do not treat it as equally resilient.
- Matchup / visibility hooks: Premium stabilizer against creature decks; against control, it should usually arrive with `Spell Pierce`, `Counterspell`, or `Dispel` backup.

#### Brainstorm
- Deck role: Main deck 4-of core piece for selection, Delver setup, and graveyard density.
- Role type: card selection; engine piece; role glue.
- Deck-specific job: Repairs awkward hands, sets up `Delver of Secrets` by placing an instant or sorcery on top, hides key cards from known discard, and turns excess or weak cards into better draws when paired with a shuffle or mill effect.
- Timing: Strong when followed by `Lórien Revealed` Islandcycling, `Thought Scour`, or `Mental Note`; weaker as a blind turn-one play when the hand has no way to move unwanted cards off the top.
- Inputs / outputs: Costs `{U}` at instant speed; draws three cards, then puts two cards from hand on top of the library in any order. It adds one instant to graveyard after resolution.
- Partners / packages: `Lórien Revealed` clears put-backs by searching `Island`; `Thought Scour` can target you to mill two known top cards and draw; `Mental Note` mills your top two and draws; `Delver of Secrets` benefits from a known instant or sorcery on top.
- Role peers: `Ponder` is the cleaner early selection peer; `Thought Scour` and `Mental Note` are graveyard-velocity peers rather than true hand sculpting.
- Failure modes: Brainstorm-locking two bad cards without `Lórien Revealed`, `Thought Scour`, or `Mental Note` can waste turns. Do not spend the last untapped `Island` if `Spell Pierce` or `Counterspell` is needed.
- Matchup / visibility hooks: Against discard, protect `Counterspell`, `Tolarian Terror`, or `Cryptic Serpent`; against fast pressure, dig for exact `Island`, blocker, or tempo interaction.

#### Tolarian Terror
- Deck role: Main deck 4-of core payoff threat and resilient closer.
- Role type: mechanic payoff; threat/clock; protection/evasion; lifegain/stabilization.
- Deck-specific job: Main resilient finisher: a discounted 5/5 whose ward `{2}` taxes opposing targeted spells and abilities while `Counterspell` and `Spell Pierce` cover the spells ward cannot stop.
- Timing: Cast when the graveyard discount lets you keep relevant interaction or when a 5/5 blocker prevents a short clock. It can be better than `Cryptic Serpent` when the opponent is relying on mana-tight targeted removal.
- Inputs / outputs: Base cost is `{6}{U}`, reduced by `{1}` for each instant and sorcery card in your graveyard; output is a 5/5 with ward `{2}`.
- Partners / packages: `Thought Scour`, `Mental Note`, `Ponder`, `Brainstorm`, `Lórien Revealed`, `Counterspell`, `Spell Pierce`, `Sleep of the Dead`, `Deem Inferior`, and `Deep Analysis` all contribute instant/sorcery graveyard count. `Counterspell`, `Spell Pierce`, and `Dispel` protect against non-targeted or paid-through answers.
- Role peers: Direct peer is `Cryptic Serpent`; closest early-pressure peer is `Delver of Secrets`.
- Failure modes: Ward does not stop edicts, sweepers, combat damage, or a spell or ability whose controller pays `{2}`. Casting it tapped out into visible spare mana can still fail.
- Matchup / visibility hooks: Strong against removal-light aggro and mana-constrained removal; against control, preserve stack protection for sweepers, edicts on the stack, or counter fights.

#### Thought Scour
- Deck role: Main deck 4-of core piece for instant-speed self-mill and card flow.
- Role type: mechanic enabler; card selection; engine fuel/material.
- Deck-specific job: Instant-speed self-mill plus replacement draw that turns top-card manipulation and spare mana into cheaper `Cryptic Serpent` and `Tolarian Terror`.
- Timing: Prefer opponent end step when holding `Counterspell` or `Spell Pierce` matters. Main-phase it when the draw or graveyard count changes the current turn, such as enabling a discounted threat or finding an `Island`.
- Inputs / outputs: Costs `{U}`; target player mills two cards, then you draw a card. When targeting yourself, it can put instant or sorcery cards into graveyard and replaces itself.
- Partners / packages: `Brainstorm` can place unwanted cards on top before `Thought Scour` mills them; `Deep Analysis` is useful if milled; `Cryptic Serpent`, `Tolarian Terror`, and `Sleep of the Dead` care about graveyard resources.
- Role peers: `Mental Note` is the self-only closest peer; `Ponder` and `Brainstorm` are selection peers with less direct graveyard acceleration.
- Failure modes: Targeting the opponent can help graveyard, flashback, delve, escape, or recursion decks. Do not cast it into a stack window where `Counterspell`, `Spell Pierce`, `Hydroblast`, `Blue Elemental Blast`, or `Dispel` must stay available.
- Matchup / visibility hooks: Against control, end-step self-targeting keeps permission posture. Against graveyard decks, target yourself unless public top-card information or legal context makes opponent-mill clearly valuable.

#### Mental Note
- Deck role: Main deck 4-of core engine enabler for self-mill velocity.
- Role type: mechanic enabler; engine fuel/material; role glue.
- Deck-specific job: The most direct self-mill cantrip for making `Cryptic Serpent` and `Tolarian Terror` cheap while keeping the hand moving.
- Timing: Cast early when graveyard count is the bottleneck and mana is otherwise stable. Hold when `Ponder` is needed to find land or when one untapped `Island` must represent `Spell Pierce`.
- Inputs / outputs: Costs `{U}`; mills two cards from your library, then draws a card. It has no target choice, so it is safer than `Thought Scour` when opponent-mill would be bad.
- Partners / packages: Fuels `Cryptic Serpent`, `Tolarian Terror`, `Sleep of the Dead` escape, and graveyard `Deep Analysis`; pairs with `Brainstorm` only when milling the two put-back cards is acceptable.
- Role peers: `Thought Scour` is the closest peer and has target-player flexibility; `Ponder` is better for finding exact cards; `Brainstorm` is better for hand sculpting.
- Failure modes: Milling before resolving a needed `Ponder` can erase known top-card quality. Milling without a payoff while shields should stay up can convert mana into little immediate tempo.
- Matchup / visibility hooks: Against aggro, use it when it enables a fast large blocker. Against attrition, it is fuel for threats and `Deep Analysis`, not a full card-advantage plan by itself.

#### Island
- Deck role: Main deck 15-card core mana base and the only Lórien Revealed target.
- Role type: mana/fixing/ramp; engine fuel/material.
- Deck-specific job: The sole registered mana source and the only target for `Lórien Revealed` Islandcycling; it supports every spell in the deck and especially double-blue `Counterspell`.
- Timing: Prioritize the first two `Island` drops for `Counterspell`, multiple one-mana spells, and protected `Cryptic Serpent` or `Tolarian Terror` turns. Delay a land drop only when `Ponder` or `Brainstorm` decisions materially change what must be kept or hidden.
- Inputs / outputs: Taps for `{U}`. Multiple untapped Islands represent `Counterspell`, `Spell Pierce`, `Hydroblast`, `Blue Elemental Blast`, `Annul`, `Steel Sabotage`, `Envelop`, or `Dispel` after sideboarding.
- Partners / packages: `Lórien Revealed` searches exactly `Island`; `Counterspell` needs `{U}{U}`; `Gut Shot` can be cast without Island by paying 2 life, preserving blue mana.
- Role peers: No direct peer; closest role overlap is `Lórien Revealed` as an Island finder.
- Failure modes: Spending all Islands main phase on `Brainstorm`, `Thought Scour`, `Mental Note`, `Deep Analysis`, or hard-cast `Lórien Revealed` can expose the key stack window.
- Matchup / visibility hooks: Untapped Island is most important against red damage decks, combo, artifact/enchantment engines, and blue mirrors where `Hydroblast`, `Blue Elemental Blast`, `Annul`, `Steel Sabotage`, `Envelop`, or `Dispel` can trade up.

#### Ponder
- Deck role: Main deck 4-of core piece for early sculpting and exact-role finding.
- Role type: card selection; role glue; mechanic enabler.
- Deck-specific job: Cleanest early sculpting spell for finding `Island`, `Delver of Secrets`, `Counterspell`, `Spell Pierce`, `Thought Scour`, `Mental Note`, `Cryptic Serpent`, or `Tolarian Terror`.
- Timing: Cast before land drop when looking for land. Cast before `Brainstorm` when the hand needs broad planning rather than emergency redraw. Keep top cards only when the next one to three draws map to real turns.
- Inputs / outputs: Costs `{U}` at sorcery speed; look at the top three cards of your library, put them back in any order, you may shuffle, then draw a card. After resolution it adds one sorcery to graveyard for cost reduction.
- Partners / packages: `Delver of Secrets` benefits from arranging an instant or sorcery on top; `Cryptic Serpent` and `Tolarian Terror` use the graveyard count; `Counterspell` and `Spell Pierce` are high-priority finds.
- Role peers: `Brainstorm` is the instant-speed sculpting peer; `Thought Scour` and `Mental Note` are graveyard acceleration peers.
- Failure modes: Keeping a mediocre pile because it contains “some action” can strand the deck without pressure plus protection. Sorcery speed means it cannot answer a spell on the stack.
- Matchup / visibility hooks: Against combo/control, find one of `Delver of Secrets`, `Cryptic Serpent`, or `Tolarian Terror` plus one of `Counterspell`, `Spell Pierce`, `Envelop`, or `Dispel`. Against aggro, find `Island`, `Cryptic Serpent`, `Tolarian Terror`, `Sleep of the Dead`, `Deem Inferior`, or post-board `Gut Shot`.

#### Sleep of the Dead
- Deck role: Main deck 2-of role player/flex tempo spell with graveyard reuse.
- Role type: interaction-removal; mechanic enabler; modal utility.
- Deck-specific job: Temporary combat answer that taps a key creature, keeps it tapped for the controller’s next untap step, and can be recast from graveyard when the tempo swing is worth graveyard cards.
- Timing: Cast precombat to remove a blocker, before opponent combat to stop a major attacker, or from graveyard only when the escape cost does not strand `Cryptic Serpent` or `Tolarian Terror` from being cheap enough.
- Inputs / outputs: Front side costs `{U}` and targets a creature. Escape costs `{2}{U}` and exiles three other cards from your graveyard; after resolving from escape, the spell follows normal escape rules and is exiled.
- Mode map: Normal cast taps target creature and prevents it from untapping during its controller’s next untap step. Escape lets you cast the same spell from your graveyard for `{2}{U}` plus exiling three other graveyard cards.
- Partners / packages: `Thought Scour` and `Mental Note` fuel escape; `Delver of Secrets`, `Cryptic Serpent`, and `Tolarian Terror` exploit opened attacks.
- Role peers: Closest role overlap is `Deem Inferior` as sorcery-speed tempo interaction.
- Failure modes: Spending escape fuel can raise `Cryptic Serpent` or `Tolarian Terror` costs. It does not destroy, shrink, or permanently remove the creature.
- Matchup / visibility hooks: Best against one large attacker or blocker; weaker against go-wide boards unless one creature controls lethal math.

#### Deem Inferior
- Deck role: Main deck 2-of role player/flex tempo answer for resolved permanents.
- Role type: interaction-removal; card selection; role glue.
- Deck-specific job: Sorcery-speed tempo answer to a nonland permanent that delays the opponent’s best battlefield piece while your threat attacks or stabilizes.
- Timing: Use before combat to clear a blocker, before passing when a permanent threatens lethal or an engine turn, or after drawing cards if the cost reduction matters. Because it is a sorcery, it cannot be held up like `Counterspell` or `Spell Pierce`.
- Inputs / outputs: Costs `{3}{U}`, reduced by `{1}` for each card you’ve drawn this turn. The owner of target nonland permanent puts it into their library second from the top or on the bottom.
- Partners / packages: `Brainstorm`, `Ponder`, `Thought Scour`, `Mental Note`, `Deep Analysis`, and hard-cast `Lórien Revealed` can increase cards drawn this turn for cost reduction; `Delver of Secrets`, `Cryptic Serpent`, and `Tolarian Terror` benefit from blocker removal.
- Role peers: `Sleep of the Dead` is the closest tempo peer; `Counterspell` prevents spells before they become permanents.
- Failure modes: The owner chooses second from the top or bottom, so do not assume you control the destination. It cannot target lands and cannot answer a spell on the stack.
- Matchup / visibility hooks: Strong against suited-up creatures, expensive permanents, or blockers that enable a race; weak when the opponent can immediately redeploy or when stack interaction is the real fight.

#### Counterspell
- Deck role: Main deck 4-of core piece for hard permission and threat protection.
- Role type: interaction-stack; protection/evasion.
- Deck-specific job: Hard-stop permission for the spell on the stack that beats your current plan, whether that is removal for `Delver of Secrets`, `Cryptic Serpent`, or `Tolarian Terror`, a sweeper, a payoff, or a combo piece.
- Timing: Hold when one protected threat already wins. Cast over `Spell Pierce` when the opponent can pay `{2}` or when the spell must not resolve.
- Inputs / outputs: Costs `{U}{U}` and counters target spell on the stack. Requires preserving two untapped `Island`.
- Partners / packages: Protects `Delver of Secrets`, `Cryptic Serpent`, and `Tolarian Terror`; works beside `Spell Pierce`, `Hydroblast`, `Blue Elemental Blast`, `Annul`, `Steel Sabotage`, `Envelop`, and `Dispel` after sideboarding.
- Role peers: `Spell Pierce` is cheaper but only hits noncreature spells and can be paid through; `Dispel`, `Envelop`, `Annul`, and `Steel Sabotage` are narrower sideboard peers.
- Failure modes: Countering the first legal spell can leave no answer for the decisive next spell. It does not answer a resolved permanent.
- Matchup / visibility hooks: Against aggro, stop the threat or burn spell that changes lethal math. Against control/combo, save it for payoff, protection fight, or card-advantage spell that invalidates your clock.

#### Delver of Secrets
- Deck role: Main deck 4-of core piece as the early evasive clock.
- Role type: threat/clock; mechanic payoff; role glue.
- Deck-specific job: One-mana pressure that turns early `Spell Pierce` and `Counterspell` into tempo wins, especially when `Brainstorm` or `Ponder` can place an instant or sorcery on top.
- Timing: Best on turn one when the hand has Island access and either selection or protection. Later, deploy when it can pressure planeswalkers/life totals or bait removal before `Cryptic Serpent` or `Tolarian Terror`.
- Inputs / outputs: Front face is a `{U}` 1/1 Human Wizard. At upkeep, supplied face data says you look at the top card and may reveal it; if an instant or sorcery is revealed this way, transform into `Insectile Aberration`, a 3/2 flying Human Insect.
- Mode map: Front face is `Delver of Secrets` for setup and pressure; transformed face is `Insectile Aberration`, the flying damage mode enabled by an instant or sorcery reveal.
- Partners / packages: `Brainstorm` and `Ponder` set up reveal quality; `Counterspell`, `Spell Pierce`, and `Dispel` protect it; `Sleep of the Dead` and `Deem Inferior` clear blockers for attacks.
- Role peers: `Cryptic Serpent` and `Tolarian Terror` are larger threat peers, but they need graveyard setup.
- Failure modes: Card Reference says combined Oracle metadata is missing, so rely on the supplied face records and engine-visible transform prompt. Do not reveal unless the visible top card is an instant or sorcery.
- Matchup / visibility hooks: Premium against slow decks and combo; against fast creatures, it may need to block or simply buy time for a discounted large threat.

#### Spell Pierce
- Deck role: Main deck 4-of core piece for cheap noncreature permission.
- Role type: interaction-stack; protection/evasion.
- Deck-specific job: One-mana tempo permission that protects early `Delver of Secrets`, a newly cast `Cryptic Serpent` or `Tolarian Terror`, and early turns where the opponent cannot spare `{2}`.
- Timing: Spend while the opponent is mana-constrained or tapped low. It loses value as extra mana accumulates, so do not hold it past the window where it counters the relevant noncreature spell.
- Inputs / outputs: Costs `{U}`; counters target noncreature spell unless its controller pays `{2}`. It only interacts with a spell on the stack.
- Partners / packages: Protects `Delver of Secrets`, `Cryptic Serpent`, and `Tolarian Terror`; complements `Counterspell` by covering cheap early fights while preserving mana.
- Role peers: `Counterspell` is broader and unconditional; `Dispel`, `Envelop`, `Annul`, and `Steel Sabotage` are narrower post-board stack peers.
- Failure modes: Cannot target creature spells and can be paid through. Holding it while the opponent reaches spare mana can turn a live card into a blank.
- Matchup / visibility hooks: Strong against combo, control, burn, removal, and artifact/enchantment setup spells while mana is tight; weaker against creature-heavy decks that empty their hand with creature spells.

#### Deep Analysis
- Deck role: Main deck 1-of singleton/flex slot for attrition reloads and self-mill value.
- Role type: card selection; recursion; engine fuel/material.
- Deck-specific job: One-of attrition valve that reloads after trades or when self-mill puts it into the graveyard, letting the deck rebuild toward a protected `Cryptic Serpent`, `Tolarian Terror`, or permission chain.
- Timing: Cast or flash back when life total, board state, and mana allow a slower draw-two turn. Avoid while facing a short clock or a decisive stack window that needs `Counterspell`, `Spell Pierce`, `Dispel`, `Hydroblast`, or `Blue Elemental Blast`.
- Inputs / outputs: Normal cast costs `{3}{U}` and target player draws two cards. Flashback costs `{1}{U}` and paying 3 life; you may cast it from your graveyard for that cost, then exile it.
- Mode map: Normal cast is four-mana sorcery draw two for target player. Flashback is graveyard access for `{1}{U}` plus 3 life, then exiles after being cast from graveyard.
- Partners / packages: `Thought Scour` and `Mental Note` can mill it; `Cryptic Serpent` and `Tolarian Terror` benefit from the sorcery in graveyard before flashback exiles it.
- Role peers: `Lórien Revealed` is the larger late draw peer; `Brainstorm` and `Ponder` are cheaper selection peers.
- Failure modes: The life payment is real against burn or aggro. Targeting is `target player`, so avoid accidental opponent draw.
- Matchup / visibility hooks: Excellent against control and removal-heavy attrition; board out or deprioritize against fast red pressure unless drawing two immediately finds survival.

#### Hydroblast
- Deck role: Sideboard 4-of bullet for red stacks, red permanents, and burn matchups.
- Role type: interaction-stack; interaction-removal; sideboard bullet; modal utility.
- Deck-specific job: Primary red-matchup answer that either counters a red spell on the stack or destroys a red permanent already on the battlefield.
- Timing: Hold for red burn that changes lethal math, red removal aimed at `Delver of Secrets`, `Cryptic Serpent`, or `Tolarian Terror`, or a red permanent that threatens the race. Lower-value use is correct when life total is low or tempo loss is immediate.
- Inputs / outputs: Costs `{U}` and trades one mana for a red stack spell or red permanent.
- Mode map: Choose one: counter target spell if it’s red; or destroy target permanent if it’s red. The counter mode checks that the target spell is red; the destroy mode checks that the target permanent is red.
- Partners / packages: `Counterspell` covers nonred spells; `Blue Elemental Blast` is the closest extra red answer; `Gut Shot` handles one-toughness creatures without tapping `Island` if paid with life.
- Role peers: Direct peer is `Blue Elemental Blast`; broader peer is `Counterspell` for spells only.
- Failure modes: Dead against nonred cards. Do not use destroy mode on a nonred artifact or enchantment; use `Annul` or `Steel Sabotage` for eligible artifact/enchantment stack or artifact battlefield cases.
- Matchup / visibility hooks: Bring against Burn, Kuldotha Red, red removal shells, and red payoffs in artifact decks when red cards are central.

#### Blue Elemental Blast
- Deck role: Sideboard 1-of singleton/flex bullet as the fifth anti-red answer.
- Role type: interaction-stack; interaction-removal; sideboard bullet; modal utility.
- Deck-specific job: Fifth anti-red blast that reinforces `Hydroblast` when a red spell on the stack or a red permanent on the battlefield is the opponent’s main way to race or answer your threats.
- Timing: Save for a red spell or red permanent that changes lethal, removes a key threat, or creates a board state `Cryptic Serpent` and `Tolarian Terror` cannot stabilize.
- Inputs / outputs: Costs `{U}`; either counters target red spell or destroys target red permanent, depending on the chosen mode.
- Mode map: Choose one: counter target red spell; or destroy target red permanent. Unlike `Hydroblast`’s “if it’s red” wording, this requires a red target at selection.
- Partners / packages: `Hydroblast` provides four more red answers; `Counterspell` covers nonred must-stop spells; `Gut Shot` can remove one-toughness attackers, one-toughness blockers, or damaged creatures while leaving blue mana up.
- Role peers: Direct peer is `Hydroblast`; closest broader peer is `Counterspell` for spells on the stack.
- Failure modes: Cannot touch nonred spells or permanents. Holding it against a deck with only incidental red can strand a sideboard card.
- Matchup / visibility hooks: Best when public red cards are the opponent’s life-total damage, creature removal, or battlefield pressure; avoid bringing it when the opponent’s visible axis is artifact, enchantment, or nonred creature pressure.

#### Annul
- Deck role: Sideboard 2-of bullet against artifact, enchantment, and graveyard-hate spells.
- Role type: interaction-stack; hate piece; sideboard bullet.
- Deck-specific job: One-mana answer to artifact or enchantment spells before they resolve into engines, oversized threats, auras, or graveyard hate that taxes the Terror plan.
- Timing: Hold for the artifact or enchantment spell on the stack that creates mana, cards, lethal pressure, or a lock. Lower-value use is correct if the permanent will immediately blank your attack or graveyard plan.
- Inputs / outputs: Costs `{U}`; counters target artifact or enchantment spell on the stack. It does not answer resolved permanents.
- Partners / packages: `Steel Sabotage` overlaps on artifact spells but can also bounce resolved artifacts; `Counterspell` and `Spell Pierce` cover other spell classes.
- Role peers: `Steel Sabotage` is the artifact-specific peer; `Spell Pierce` can hit noncreature artifact/enchantment spells if the opponent cannot pay `{2}`.
- Failure modes: Cannot target creatures unless the spell is an artifact or enchantment spell. Drawing it after the key permanent has resolved may be too late.
- Matchup / visibility hooks: Bring against Affinity, Bogles, aura plans, artifact-combo shells, and enchantment engines where the decisive card is cast as an artifact or enchantment spell.

#### Gut Shot
- Deck role: Sideboard 3-of bullet for one-toughness blockers, utility creatures, and tempo races.
- Role type: interaction-removal; sideboard bullet; reach/finisher.
- Deck-specific job: Tempo removal for one-toughness creatures and a rare final point of reach while preserving `Island` for `Counterspell`, `Spell Pierce`, `Annul`, `Hydroblast`, or `Dispel`.
- Timing: Use early when killing a creature prevents multiple damage, protects `Delver of Secrets`, opens an attack, or keeps blue mana up for the real stack fight. Pay life only when the tempo swing beats the race cost.
- Inputs / outputs: Costs `{R/P}`, payable with red mana or 2 life; this deck has no registered red mana source, so practical casting usually spends 2 life. Deals 1 damage to any target.
- Mode map: Red-mana mode pays `{R}`; Phyrexian mode pays 2 life, which is this deck's normal access path unless an outside effect provides red.
- Partners / packages: `Delver of Secrets` benefits when opposing one-toughness blockers or attackers die; `Cryptic Serpent` and `Tolarian Terror` appreciate early life-total preservation before they stabilize.
- Role peers: Closest role overlap is `Sleep of the Dead` for creature tempo, but `Gut Shot` deals damage and can target any target.
- Failure modes: Paying 2 life against burn or racing boards can be worse than the damage prevented. One damage does not shrink; it only damages and kills if damage marked meets or exceeds toughness.
- Matchup / visibility hooks: Bring against Faeries, Delver mirrors, Kuldotha Red, Elves-style one-toughness boards, and small utility creatures; avoid against large-creature or low-target control decks.

#### Steel Sabotage
- Deck role: Sideboard 2-of bullet for artifact stack fights and artifact tempo bounce.
- Role type: interaction-stack; interaction-removal; sideboard bullet; modal utility.
- Deck-specific job: Artifact-specific tempo card that either prevents a key artifact spell from resolving or bounces a resolved artifact to reopen attacks, break tempo, or force a recast.
- Timing: Counter mode is best before the artifact produces mana, cards, bodies, or lethal pressure. Bounce mode is best when returning a visible artifact changes combat, denies a crucial turn, or enables lethal.
- Inputs / outputs: Costs `{U}`; trades one mana for a target artifact spell on the stack or target artifact permanent on the battlefield.
- Mode map: Choose one: counter target artifact spell; or return target artifact to its owner’s hand.
- Partners / packages: `Annul` also counters artifact spells and additionally hits enchantment spells; `Counterspell` covers nonartifact payoffs; `Spell Pierce` can cover noncreature artifact spells if payment is constrained.
- Role peers: Direct artifact-stack peer is `Annul`; broader stack peer is `Counterspell`.
- Failure modes: Cannot target enchantments unless they are also artifacts, and cannot bounce nonartifact permanents. Bounce mode is temporary, so do not spend it unless the tempo matters now.
- Matchup / visibility hooks: Bring against Affinity, artifact lands plus payoff decks, Blood Fountain-style artifact recursion, and artifact combo; avoid when artifacts are incidental.

#### Envelop
- Deck role: Sideboard 2-of bullet for sorcery-centric sweepers, setup, and payoffs.
- Role type: interaction-stack; sideboard bullet; hate piece.
- Deck-specific job: One-mana answer to sorcery spells that would pull the opponent ahead, sweep your threat, tutor/setup a combo, or generate enough cards to beat your tempo.
- Timing: Hold for the sorcery spell on the stack that actually decides the game; do not fire on a low-impact cantrip if a payoff sorcery is likely and your clock can absorb the small spell.
- Inputs / outputs: Costs `{U}`; counters target sorcery spell on the stack.
- Partners / packages: `Counterspell` covers any spell when mana allows; `Spell Pierce` can hit sorceries early if the opponent cannot pay `{2}`; `Dispel` covers instant-speed fights around the same window.
- Role peers: `Dispel` is the instant-specific peer; `Annul` and `Steel Sabotage` are permanent-type stack peers.
- Failure modes: Dead against creatures, artifacts that are not sorceries, instants, and resolved permanents. It cannot be held for “the permanent”; hold it for the sorcery spell on the stack.
- Matchup / visibility hooks: Bring against big-mana sorcery control, combo sorceries, sweepers, discard or edict sorceries, and blue mirrors with sorcery-speed card advantage.

#### Dispel
- Deck role: Sideboard 1-of singleton/flex bullet for instant-speed fights and removal.
- Role type: interaction-stack; protection/evasion; sideboard bullet.
- Deck-specific job: Narrow but efficient answer for instant-speed removal, counter wars, burn, and tempo spells that decide whether `Delver of Secrets`, `Cryptic Serpent`, or `Tolarian Terror` survives or resolves.
- Timing: Best when a threat is already in play or the stack fight is over a meaningful spell. Avoid spending it on a low-impact instant if the opponent’s removal, counterspell, or lethal burn is likely next.
- Inputs / outputs: Costs `{U}`; counters target instant spell on the stack.
- Partners / packages: Protects `Delver of Secrets`, `Cryptic Serpent`, and `Tolarian Terror`; complements `Counterspell` by winning cheap instant fights; pairs with `Envelop` when the matchup is divided between instant interaction and sorcery payoffs.
- Role peers: `Envelop` is the sorcery-specific peer; `Counterspell` is the broad peer; `Spell Pierce` overlaps on noncreature instants but can be paid through.
- Failure modes: Cannot target sorceries, creatures, artifacts, enchantments, or resolved permanents. Keeping it without a threat or relevant instant fight can slow the proactive plan.
- Matchup / visibility hooks: Bring against blue mirrors, removal-heavy instant decks, burn with instant-speed damage, and counterspell fights; avoid against permanent-heavy or sorcery-dominant opponents unless instant protection is visible.

## Interaction Priorities

- Counter decisive spells first with Counterspell when the opposing spell changes the race, removes your only protected threat, creates a board you cannot block, resolves a combo engine, or produces card advantage that invalidates your tempo. Counterspell is the hard-stop card, so prefer it over Spell Pierce when the opponent has spare mana or when letting the spell resolve would force multiple future answers.

- Spend Spell Pierce early on noncreature spells that matter before the opponent can pay. Prioritize opposing removal aimed at Delver of Secrets, Cryptic Serpent, or Tolarian Terror; early draw or tutor engines; artifact/enchantment setup spells after sideboard when Annul or Steel Sabotage is not available; and burn or pump spells that change combat or lethal math. Ignore low-impact setup if you already have a faster protected clock and the opponent is not constrained on mana.

- Use Deem Inferior only on legal targets whose delay changes the next combat step, stack fight, or lethal race. Card text check required for exact target class and destination. Bounce or reset the creature, spell, or permanent that blocks Cryptic Serpent or Tolarian Terror, threatens immediate lethal, or protects an opposing engine; do not spend it on a small creature that your large threat can brick-wall.

- Use Sleep of the Dead as tempo interaction, not removal. Card text check required for exact current Oracle details and escape handling. Tap the creature that prevents a lethal or race-changing attack, buys one turn against the largest attacker, or lets Delver of Secrets, Cryptic Serpent, or Tolarian Terror keep attacking. Ignore creatures that are not attacking, blocking, or enabling a decisive ability this turn.

- Use sideboard interaction by matchup role, not by availability. Hydroblast and Blue Elemental Blast should answer red removal, burn, or red threats that swing lethal or protect a clock. Annul should cover artifacts and enchantments that are engines or hate pieces. Steel Sabotage should prioritize artifact threats, mana engines, or a tempo bounce that opens a lethal attack. Envelop should answer sorcery-speed payoffs, sweepers, discard, or combo setup. Dispel should protect threats and win counter wars over instants. Gut Shot should remove one-toughness creatures when the life payment or mana cost is worth the tempo.

- Bait with redundant card flow or secondary threats when the hand contains a better follow-up. A Delver of Secrets can bait removal if Cryptic Serpent or Tolarian Terror is near ready; a Ponder, Mental Note, or Thought Scour can bait permission when the real goal is resolving a threat or holding Counterspell. Do not bait with the only threat, only Counterspell, or only graveyard enabler unless the visible state demands immediate action.

- Discard and exile actions are not part of the registered main-deck interaction package. If a temporary or opponent-created legal action offers discard or exile choices, choose only from the rules-engine action text and visible information; do not assume hidden cards or off-plan effects.

## Combat And Trading Rules

- Attack when the creature advances a protected clock or forces the opponent to answer on your terms. Delver of Secrets should pressure slow decks early, while Cryptic Serpent and Tolarian Terror should attack once they either survive blocks, trade for a major threat, or are backed by Counterspell, Spell Pierce, Deem Inferior, Sleep of the Dead, Hydroblast, Blue Elemental Blast, or Dispel as applicable.

- Preserve Cryptic Serpent and Tolarian Terror unless the trade prevents lethal, kills a more important opposing threat, or wins the race immediately. These creatures are the deck’s main stabilizers and finishers, so do not trade one for a small attacker if you can absorb damage, tap it with Sleep of the Dead, bounce it with Deem Inferior, or race through the air with Delver of Secrets.

- Block aggressively once life total makes burn, haste, pump, or a second attacker dangerous. Against red or go-wide pressure, treat single-digit life as a warning zone and 5 or less as a survival check unless visible information proves otherwise. Against low-burn control, you can take more damage to keep a fast clock alive, especially when Counterspell protects the next turn cycle.

- Use Delver of Secrets as pressure first and as a blocker only when the race has flipped. Against slow decks, attacking is usually the reason to keep Delver of Secrets alive. Against fast creature decks, blocking a key one-toughness or evasive attacker can be correct if Cryptic Serpent or Tolarian Terror will take over afterward.

- Protect the first large threat more highly than the second small tempo gain. Holding up Counterspell, Spell Pierce, Hydroblast, Blue Elemental Blast, or Dispel can be stronger than casting another cantrip if the opponent’s visible mana and archetype suggest removal, bounce, edict, or a race-changing spell. When you already have two large threats, shift protection toward stopping lethal, sweepers, or effects that answer both.

- Avoid attacks that expose the only blocker against a faster board. If Cryptic Serpent or Tolarian Terror is holding back multiple attackers, attack only when Sleep of the Dead, Deem Inferior, Gut Shot, or a counterspell covers the crack-back, or when the attack creates lethal pressure before the opponent can punish you.

- Change combat posture by archetype. Against aggro and red decks, stabilize first, then turn the corner with one protected large attacker. Against control and combo, pressure early with Delver of Secrets and force action while holding Spell Pierce or Counterspell. Against graveyard or artifact decks, keep attacking while reserving interaction for the engine card that beats your clock rather than for every creature.

## Selection And Tutor Rules

- Use Ponder as the cleanest selection spell before committing to a land-light or threat-light line. Keep a pile when it supplies the next missing resource, such as Island, Delver of Secrets, Counterspell, Cryptic Serpent, Tolarian Terror, or the exact cheap spell count needed to reduce a large threat; shuffle when the visible top cards do not improve the next two turns.

- Use Brainstorm best when there is a follow-up shuffle, mill, or known top-card need. Lórien Revealed islandcycling can clear bad Brainstorm cards, while Thought Scour and Mental Note can turn weak put-backs into graveyard fuel. Without a way to change the top of the library, Brainstorm is still legal card flow but should be saved when the current hand already has land drops and a plan.

- Use Lórien Revealed islandcycling when mana development is the bottleneck. Find Island when the hand lacks stable blue mana, needs Counterspell on turn two, needs to cast multiple one-mana spells, or must hit the next land to hold interaction while deploying Cryptic Serpent or Tolarian Terror later. Cast Lórien Revealed for cards only when mana is already secure and the game is slowing.

- Use Thought Scour and Mental Note to convert library cards into graveyard count and a replacement card. Target self with Thought Scour when the plan needs instant or sorcery cards in the graveyard for Cryptic Serpent or Tolarian Terror, when Brainstorm placed expendable cards on top, or when Deep Analysis in the graveyard is useful. Target opponent with Thought Scour only when legal action text and visible information make milling the opponent tactically relevant; do not assume hidden top cards.

- Use Mental Note as a self-mill enabler first and a cantrip second. It is strongest when it makes Cryptic Serpent or Tolarian Terror cheaper this turn or next turn, fuels Sleep of the Dead escape if legal, or puts Deep Analysis into the graveyard. Avoid firing it before a critical Ponder decision if you need to preserve known top-card selection.

- Use Deep Analysis as a reload, not an early tempo play. Cast or flash it back when life total, mana, and board pressure allow a slower draw-two line; delay it when holding up Counterspell or Spell Pierce is more important than raw cards. Card text check required for exact flashback cost and life payment if the rules engine exposes multiple payment choices.

- Bottom, shuffle, or mill cards by role, not by name alone. Early hands want Island, Delver of Secrets, Ponder, Brainstorm with a reset, Mental Note, Thought Scour, and cheap interaction. Midgame piles want Cryptic Serpent, Tolarian Terror, Counterspell, and tempo answers. Late games value Lórien Revealed and Deep Analysis more when life and board are stable.

- Time land drops after selection when legal sequencing allows it. Cast Ponder before playing Island when the land drop is uncertain; cycle Lórien Revealed before land drop when Island is needed; preserve an untapped Island when Spell Pierce, Counterspell, Hydroblast, Blue Elemental Blast, Dispel, or Gut Shot timing matters.

## Priority And Stack Rules

- Hold priority resources for the opponent’s decisive window rather than spending every legal instant. Counterspell and Spell Pierce are strongest when they stop removal on Delver of Secrets, Cryptic Serpent, or Tolarian Terror, counter a payoff, or protect a combat step that determines the race.

- Let low-impact spells resolve when the opponent is baiting permission or when their spell does not change the next turn cycle. Passing is correct when Counterspell must cover a larger threat, when Spell Pierce will become ineffective only after the opponent has already spent mana, or when the visible board favors your clock.

- Use Brainstorm, Thought Scour, and Mental Note at instant speed when timing improves information or mana use. End-step cantrips are preferred when holding Counterspell or Spell Pierce matters during the opponent’s turn. Main-phase cantrips are preferred when you need to find Island, Delver of Secrets, Cryptic Serpent, Tolarian Terror, or a specific answer before making a land drop or attack.

- Respond to removal with protection only when the threatened creature matters to the current plan. Counter or pierce removal pointed at the first active Cryptic Serpent, Tolarian Terror, or transformed Delver of Secrets when that creature is your clock or stabilizer. Let removal resolve on redundant or low-impact creatures if saving interaction stops lethal, a sweeper, or a stronger payoff.

- Use Sleep of the Dead before combat when tapping a blocker creates damage or lethal pressure, and use it before the opponent’s combat when tapping an attacker prevents a race-changing hit. Card text check required for exact timing, target restriction, untap clause, and escape handling. Do not spend it during a stack fight unless the legal target and resulting combat state are visible.

- Use Deem Inferior as stack or battlefield tempo only when the rules engine exposes a legal target that changes the next exchange. Card text check required for exact target classes and destination. Prioritize targets that answer a spell about to resolve, remove a blocker for a lethal attack, reset a high-investment permanent, or stop immediate lethal pressure.

- Respect graveyard timing before casting Cryptic Serpent or Tolarian Terror. If a cheap instant or sorcery can legally resolve first and reduce the cost without exposing you to a worse counter-window, cast the enabler first. If the opponent has open interaction and your threat is already affordable, consider deploying while holding Spell Pierce, Counterspell, Hydroblast, Blue Elemental Blast, or Dispel.

- Treat optional payments and alternate costs as tactical commitments. Pay Deep Analysis flashback life only when survival math permits it. Pay Sleep of the Dead escape costs only when exiling graveyard cards does not strand Cryptic Serpent or Tolarian Terror from being cast on schedule. If Forge exposes optional costs, choose from visible legal outcomes only.

## Sideboard Map

- Hydroblast is the primary anti-red role card against Burn, Kuldotha Red, Red Rally, red removal shells, and red combo-adjacent decks. Bring it in when the opponent’s red spells either race your life total, kill Delver of Secrets, Cryptic Serpent, or Tolarian Terror, or create a wide board before your large creatures stabilize. It is weakest when the opponent shows only a light red splash, when the visible threats are artifacts or nonred creatures, or when holding one blue mana does not answer the spell that matters. Its role changes from protection in threat-led games to hard interaction in survival games.

- Blue Elemental Blast is the fifth anti-red effect and should follow Hydroblast in matchups where red cards are central. Treat it as a narrow but high-impact answer to a red spell or red permanent when the legal action text supports that use. It is bad against nonred decks, artifact-heavy Affinity hands that do not rely on red payoffs, and slow blue mirrors where Dispel, Envelop, or Annul cover more relevant stack fights.

- Gut Shot is for one-toughness creatures, early tempo, and mana-light interaction. Add it against Faeries, Elves, Kuldotha Red, aggressive token openings, small utility creatures, and Delver mirrors where killing a creature without tapping Island preserves Counterspell, Spell Pierce, Ponder, or Brainstorm sequencing. It is bad against large-creature decks, removal-light control mirrors, and board states where paying life changes the race more than the one damage changes combat. Card text check required for exact alternate payment and target legality if Forge exposes multiple payment actions.

- Annul is the enchantment and artifact-spell answer for Affinity, Bogles, Gates lists with enchantment engines, and artifact-combo shells. It is strongest on the stack before the permanent generates value, especially when the opponent’s plan depends on one artifact, enchantment, or payoff. It is bad after the opponent has already resolved the key permanent, against creature-heavy decks with few noncreature permanents, and against sorcery-based combo where Envelop is the cleaner answer.

- Steel Sabotage is the flexible artifact role card against Affinity, artifact lands plus payoff decks, Blood Fountain-style recursion decks, and artifact combo. Use the counter mode when the artifact spell is about to resolve and matters immediately; use the bounce mode only when tempo, lethal pressure, or a stack-protection window makes returning a visible artifact better than saving interaction. It is bad against decks with only incidental artifacts or when bouncing an artifact does not change the next combat or spell window. Card text check required for exact mode text and target restrictions.

- Envelop is for sorcery-heavy decks, cascade-like payoff turns when legal text shows a sorcery, graveyard combo spells, and control mirrors where decisive card-advantage sorceries matter. It is strongest when the opponent must resolve one sorcery to pull ahead or win. It is bad against creature swarms, instant-heavy mirrors, artifact starts, and red decks where Hydroblast and Blue Elemental Blast interact across more action types.

- Dispel is the narrow stack-fight card for blue mirrors, removal-heavy black decks with instant removal, protection fights, and opposing counterspell windows. It is best when your threat is already on the battlefield or about to resolve and the opponent’s most relevant interaction is instant-speed. It is bad against sorcery threats, permanent-heavy decks, and early games where you still need cards that develop graveyard count or board presence.

Red Aggro / Burn / Kuldotha Red
Side in: 4 Hydroblast, 1 Blue Elemental Blast, 3 Gut Shot
Cut: 1 Deep Analysis, 2 Sleep of the Dead, 2 Deem Inferior, 3 Spell Pierce

- Role after sideboarding: become a survival-tempo deck that wins after one large creature stabilizes. Hydroblast and Blue Elemental Blast protect life total and creatures; Gut Shot buys early turns without spending Island. Reduce main-deck emphasis on slow reloads and narrow tempo cards when the opponent’s first three turns decide the game.

Affinity / Artifact-Centric Midrange
Side in: 2 Annul, 2 Steel Sabotage, 1 Dispel
Cut: 2 Sleep of the Dead, 2 Spell Pierce, 1 Deep Analysis

- Role after sideboarding: stop the artifact payoff that invalidates racing, then pressure with Cryptic Serpent or Tolarian Terror. Annul and Steel Sabotage should be saved for artifacts or enchantments that change combat, mana, cards, or lethal math. Dispel enters when the opponent also presents instant-speed removal or stack fights; reduce main-deck emphasis on Sleep of the Dead if tapping one creature does not answer artifact value.

Faeries / Delver / Small-Creature Blue Tempo
Side in: 3 Gut Shot, 1 Dispel, 2 Envelop
Cut: 2 Sleep of the Dead, 2 Deem Inferior, 1 Deep Analysis, 1 Lórien Revealed

- Role after sideboarding: contest the early board while preserving cheap stack interaction. Gut Shot is the cleanest tempo bridge when it kills a visible one-toughness creature; Dispel protects your threat or wins a counter fight; Envelop matters when the opponent shows sorcery-speed draw, monarch setup, or other pivotal sorceries. Reduce main-deck emphasis on expensive reloads when the game is about early mana and threat protection.

Bogles / Auras / Enchantment-Centric Decks
Side in: 2 Annul, 1 Dispel
Cut: 2 Spell Pierce, 1 Deep Analysis

- Role after sideboarding: answer the aura or protection spell on the stack before the creature becomes too large for tempo. Annul is the key card when the opponent’s permanent spell is visible and legal to counter. Dispel is for instant protection or interaction windows. Reduce main-deck emphasis on slow draw when the opponent’s single threat can outgrow racing quickly.

Sorcery Combo / Graveyard Combo / Big-Mana Sorcery Control
Side in: 2 Envelop, 1 Dispel
Cut: 2 Sleep of the Dead, 1 Deem Inferior

- Role after sideboarding: keep pressure while holding the one-mana answer to the payoff. Envelop is for visible sorcery payoffs, tutors, sweepers, or card-advantage spells that decide the game. Dispel supports fights around instants. Reduce main-deck emphasis on creature-tap tempo when the opponent’s decisive action is not combat.

Blue Control / Counterspell Mirrors
Side in: 1 Dispel, 2 Envelop
Cut: 2 Sleep of the Dead, 1 Deem Inferior

- Role after sideboarding: protect a resolved Delver of Secrets, Cryptic Serpent, or Tolarian Terror and avoid losing to a single large draw or reset sorcery. Dispel should be held for interaction over a meaningful threat or card-flow spell, not spent on a low-impact instant. Envelop covers sorcery-speed engines and sweepers. Add role cards only when the opponent’s revealed cards confirm those stack fights matter.

- Archetype rule: add Hydroblast and Blue Elemental Blast only when red cards are central enough that drawing the blast changes the game. Do not dilute the graveyard engine against decks where red cards are incidental.

- Archetype rule: add Annul and Steel Sabotage when artifacts or enchantments are must-answer spells, not merely present. Mono-U Terror still needs enough Brainstorm, Ponder, Thought Scour, Mental Note, Lórien Revealed, Cryptic Serpent, and Tolarian Terror density to function.

- Archetype rule: add Gut Shot when one damage trades for a card, a mana advantage, a protected attack, or a preserved Counterspell window. Avoid it when the life payment or card slot only produces minor damage without changing combat.

- Archetype rule: add Envelop and Dispel for stack-defined matchups, then play more patiently. These cards reward passing with mana open after establishing a clock and punish tapping out for Deep Analysis or unnecessary cantrips into obvious interaction.

## Matchup Guidance

- Aggro: Become the deck that survives the first wave, then turns the corner with Cryptic Serpent or Tolarian Terror. Prioritize Delver of Secrets only when it blocks, races, or forces the opponent to spend damage away from life total; otherwise prioritize Island development, Thought Scour, Mental Note, Ponder, and cheap interaction that makes a fast large creature legal. Add role cards: Hydroblast, Blue Elemental Blast, and Gut Shot against red or one-toughness pressure. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Deep Analysis, slow Sleep of the Dead lines, and Spell Pierce when the opponent empties its hand before Pierce stays live.

- Burn: Treat life total as the main resource and mana efficiency as the second resource. Counterspell should answer the spell that changes lethal math, not the first legal spell automatically; Spell Pierce is strongest while the opponent is constrained on mana and weakest after they can pay. Hydroblast and Blue Elemental Blast should be conserved for red spells that threaten life total, remove a key creature, or win a stack fight. Avoid Deep Analysis unless life total and board state show enough time to convert cards into a win.

- Go-wide decks: Preserve blockers until a large creature can halt multiple attacks or threaten a two-turn race. Gut Shot is valuable when it removes an early attacker, protects Delver of Secrets from combat math, or keeps Counterspell mana open. Sleep of the Dead is a tempo tool for one key combat step, not a permanent solution to several bodies; use it when tapping a visible creature changes lethal, stabilizes a race, or opens a decisive attack. Deem Inferior is best when returning one large or suited-up attacker breaks the opponent’s combat plan.

- Single-threat decks: Focus interaction on the threat or the spell that makes the threat unbeatable. Against Auras, Bogles, reanimation, or tall creature decks, Annul, Counterspell, Spell Pierce, Deem Inferior, and Sleep of the Dead should be judged by whether they prevent one visible permanent from dominating combat. Do not spend Gut Shot unless one damage meaningfully changes the target creature, support creature, or race. When the opponent has one major creature and little pressure elsewhere, racing with Tolarian Terror may be better than spending a card on temporary tap effects.

- Tempo mirrors: Fight for mana advantage and threat protection, not raw card count. Delver of Secrets is important when it starts pressure before Counterspell shields are up; Cryptic Serpent and Tolarian Terror are important when the graveyard is stocked and the opponent cannot answer them cleanly. Dispel matters in stack fights around removal, counters, and protection; Envelop matters only when the opponent’s revealed plan includes decisive sorceries. Gut Shot should answer visible one-toughness creatures when doing so wins tempo without forcing a tapped-out turn.

- Control decks: Establish one threat, then make the opponent act into open mana. Brainstorm, Ponder, Thought Scour, Mental Note, and Lórien Revealed should be sequenced to hit land drops and fill the graveyard without wasting Counterspell windows. Deep Analysis becomes stronger when life total is safe and the opponent is trying to trade one-for-one. Dispel and Envelop are high-value role cards when the opponent relies on instant interaction or sorcery-speed card advantage. Avoid committing every Cryptic Serpent and Tolarian Terror into visible sweepers or edict pressure unless waiting lets the opponent take over.

- Removal-heavy decks: Force removal to answer threats under pressure while preserving a reload path. Delver of Secrets is acceptable bait when the hand contains cantrips and a later Cryptic Serpent or Tolarian Terror; a large creature is worth protecting when it represents a fast clock or stabilizes combat. Dispel should be saved for instant-speed removal or counter fights that decide whether a threat stays on board. Deep Analysis is a recovery card when the opponent trades removal for creatures, but it should not be prioritized over survival against fast starts.

- Midrange decks: Trade time for graveyard density, then pressure before their card quality overtakes yours. Counterspell should answer cards that create multiple bodies, recurring value, or removal plus pressure, while Spell Pierce should be used early before the opponent has spare mana. Deem Inferior is strongest when returning a costly permanent undoes a full turn. Sleep of the Dead is strongest when one blocker or attacker is the obstacle to a profitable race. Keep enough cantrip density that Cryptic Serpent and Tolarian Terror become cheap before midrange stabilizes.

- Big mana decks: Deploy a clock before holding answers, because pure permission without pressure gives them too many draw steps. Counterspell and Spell Pierce should target ramp payoff, sweepers, and card-advantage spells that invalidate one large creature. Envelop is important when the decisive spell is a visible sorcery; Annul or Steel Sabotage only matter when the big-mana engine uses artifacts or enchantments that the legal action text can answer. Lórien Revealed is good for land development, but cycling or tapping out must be weighed against the next payoff window.

- Combo decks: Identify whether the combo is spell-based, graveyard-based, artifact-based, or creature-based before spending interaction. Against spell combo, prioritize a fast clock plus Counterspell, Spell Pierce, Envelop, and Dispel for the decisive stack window. Against creature combo, Deem Inferior and Sleep of the Dead matter only if the visible creature is part of the actual kill or setup. Against artifact combo, Annul and Steel Sabotage become role cards. Do not assume hidden combo pieces; choose from legal actions using visible mana, public graveyards, known revealed cards, and matchup context.

- Graveyard decks: Race while countering the payoff rather than spending cards on low-impact setup. This registered sideboard has no dedicated graveyard hate, so the practical plan is pressure, Counterspell, Spell Pierce, Envelop for sorcery payoffs, Dispel for instant fights, and Deem Inferior or Sleep of the Dead against visible creature payoffs. Thought Scour and Mental Note should still advance your own Cryptic Serpent and Tolarian Terror plan, but avoid targeting the opponent with self-mill effects unless the legal text and visible context clearly make that correct. Card text check required for any line relying on exact graveyard timing from an opposing card.

- Artifact decks: Stop the artifact that produces mana, cards, lethal pressure, or recursion, then attack before the board snowballs. Annul is for artifact or enchantment spells on the stack; Steel Sabotage is for artifact stack or bounce windows when legal text offers the relevant mode. Counterspell remains the universal answer to nonartifact payoffs, and Spell Pierce is best early. Do not use Steel Sabotage bounce on a permanent merely because it is legal; choose it when the returned artifact changes combat, lethal math, mana availability, or a critical stack sequence.

- Enchantment decks: Counter the enchantment before it creates a board state that tempo cannot undo. Annul is the clean role card when a visible enchantment spell matters; Spell Pierce can cover early expensive enchantments while the opponent is tapped down. Deem Inferior and Sleep of the Dead do not answer most enchantment engines directly, so preserve them for the creature or combat state those enchantments create. If the opponent’s enchantments are incidental, avoid diluting the main graveyard-threat engine too heavily.

- Red creature decks: Use Hydroblast, Blue Elemental Blast, Gut Shot, Counterspell, and cheap cantrips to reach the first stabilizing large creature. Gut Shot should remove a visible one-toughness creature when that prevents damage, protects a Delver of Secrets, or preserves mana for Counterspell. Hydroblast and Blue Elemental Blast should answer the red spell or permanent that most affects survival or threat protection. Reduce main-deck emphasis on slow card draw and temporary tap effects when red pressure is wide and immediate.

- Unknown opponents: Keep the first game plan honest and information-rich. Prioritize Island, Ponder, Brainstorm with a shuffle or mill plan when available, Thought Scour, Mental Note, and an early threat path over narrow reactive guesses. Spell Pierce is a good early hedge when the opponent’s mana is constrained; Counterspell should be reserved for the first clearly important spell if your life total permits. After public information reveals the opponent’s axis, shift into the matching plan above rather than following generic tempo habits.

## Specific Matchup Notes

- General/archetype-only: Treat all matchup notes as assumptions until public cards, revealed cards, graveyards, and legal action text identify the opponent’s real axis. Revealed cards override archetype labels, and Veles must choose only supplied legal actions.

- Red aggro or burn: Prioritize survival until Cryptic Serpent or Tolarian Terror can stabilize combat or end the race. Likely sideboarding emphasizes Hydroblast, Blue Elemental Blast, and Gut Shot; priority targets are red spells or permanents that threaten lethal, remove a protected closer, or create a damage burst before Counterspell is online. Reduce reliance on Deep Analysis and slow Sleep of the Dead lines when life is under immediate pressure.

- Blue tempo, Faeries, or Terror mirrors: Win the counter window around a cheap closer rather than spending every cantrip immediately. Likely sideboarding emphasizes Dispel, Envelop if key sorceries are visible, and Gut Shot against one-toughness creatures; priority targets are opposing Tolarian Terror, Cryptic Serpent, Ninja-style card advantage if visible, and counterspells that decide a threat fight. Do not target the opponent with Thought Scour or Mental Note unless legal text and visible state make that line explicitly beneficial.

- Artifact pressure or Affinity-style decks: Stop the card that converts artifacts into mana, cards, lethal damage, or recursion. Likely sideboarding emphasizes Annul, Steel Sabotage, Hydroblast or Blue Elemental Blast when red artifact payoffs are visible, and sometimes Gut Shot for one-toughness support creatures; priority targets are artifact engines, large threats that outsize Delver of Secrets, and spells that make multiple bodies. Preserve Counterspell for nonartifact payoffs that Annul or Steel Sabotage cannot answer.

- Big mana or Tron-style decks: Present a fast Delver of Secrets, Cryptic Serpent, or Tolarian Terror clock before becoming purely reactive. Likely sideboarding emphasizes Envelop for decisive sorceries, Annul or Steel Sabotage only when artifacts or enchantments are visible, and Dispel for instant-speed fights; priority targets are payoff spells, sweepers, lock pieces, and card-advantage engines. Lórien Revealed should fix land drops, but do not tap out for card flow if the next visible window requires Counterspell.

- Creature midrange or sacrifice decks: Protect one meaningful closer and counter the engine card, not every body. Likely sideboarding can include Gut Shot for one-toughness creatures, Dispel for instant removal, Envelop for sorcery edicts or card advantage, and Hydroblast only if red cards are central. Priority targets are repeatable value engines, edicts when only one closer is present, and removal that breaks a lethal or stabilizing attack.

- Combo or graveyard decks: Race while holding interaction for the payoff window. Likely sideboarding emphasizes Envelop, Dispel, Annul, or Steel Sabotage according to the visible combo type; this sideboard has no dedicated graveyard hate, so priority targets are payoff spells, enablers that are clearly required by public information, and protection spells on the stack. Card text check required for any opposing combo line whose exact timing is uncertain.

## Risk Summary

- Mana risk: One-land hands can look functional because Brainstorm, Ponder, Thought Scour, Mental Note, and Lórien Revealed see cards, but missing the second Island delays Counterspell and cheap closers. Mulligan or sequence cantrips toward land stability before sculpting luxury hands.

- Matchup risk: Mono-U Terror can mis-role by acting like pure control against decks that go over the top or like pure aggro against decks with faster damage. Reassess role whenever a public card reveals burn reach, artifact scaling, graveyard payoff, sweepers, or a faster clock.

- Draw risk: Brainstorm without a shuffle, mill, or land-cycling plan can trap weak cards. Use Ponder, Thought Scour, Mental Note, and Lórien Revealed to turn selection into actual card quality when legal sequencing allows it.

- Over-sideboarding risk: Removing too much cantrip density or too many threats makes Cryptic Serpent and Tolarian Terror slower and leaves Counterspell without pressure. Bring in Hydroblast, Blue Elemental Blast, Annul, Gut Shot, Steel Sabotage, Envelop, and Dispel only when their targets are likely or visible.

- Graveyard risk: The deck needs its own graveyard for Cryptic Serpent and Tolarian Terror, so self-mill is a resource, not filler. Opposing graveyard hate, exile effects, or bounce on a discounted closer can reset tempo; avoid assuming the graveyard discount will remain available.

- Sweeper/removal risk: A single large creature is efficient but exposes the pilot to edicts, bounce, exile, or sweepers. Protect a decisive threat with Counterspell, Spell Pierce, or Dispel when it represents the clock, and avoid overcommitting multiple closers into visible mass answers.

- Closer risk: Delver of Secrets may apply early pressure but may also become low-impact if unsupported. Cryptic Serpent and Tolarian Terror are the main closers; do not spend Deem Inferior or Sleep of the Dead on minor tempo if saving them opens lethal attacks or prevents a lethal swing.

- Interaction risk: Spell Pierce loses value as opponents develop spare mana, while Counterspell remains broad but mana-intensive. Use Spell Pierce early on noncreature spells that matter, and preserve Counterspell for high-impact threats, sweepers, combo payoffs, or removal that decides a race.

- Sequencing risk: Tapping out for Deep Analysis, Lórien Revealed, or multiple cantrips can concede the only important stack window. Before every priority pass or main-phase action, check visible mana, opponent role, graveyards, life totals, and whether holding up Counterspell, Spell Pierce, Hydroblast, Blue Elemental Blast, Dispel, Annul, Steel Sabotage, or Envelop changes the next turn cycle.

## Test Feedback Checklist

- Deciding factor: Identify the turn cycle that most changed win probability, then tie it to a concrete visible event such as Delver of Secrets connecting, Cryptic Serpent or Tolarian Terror resolving, Counterspell stopping a payoff, Spell Pierce losing relevance, or a tap-out window for Deep Analysis.

- Mulligans: Record whether the opening hand had Island access, a second-land path through Lórien Revealed, Ponder, Brainstorm, Thought Scour, or Mental Note, and an actual plan for the first two turns. Flag keeps where cantrips found cards but did not create velocity toward mana, pressure, or interaction.

- Mana: Check whether the pilot missed Counterspell mana, spent blue mana before a critical stack window, or used Lórien Revealed correctly as land development rather than slow card flow. Note any game where one Island plus cantrips was functionally worse than a mulligan.

- Velocity: Compare the number of early graveyard-filling spells cast to the turn when Cryptic Serpent or Tolarian Terror became castable. Flag games where Brainstorm, Ponder, Thought Scour, or Mental Note were sequenced for card volume but failed to enable a cheap closer or protection.

- Engine pressure: Record whether Delver of Secrets mattered as an early clock or became a low-impact body. Track whether the deck won by protecting one closer, chaining multiple closers, or using Sleep of the Dead and Deem Inferior to force final attacks.

- Interaction: List every Counterspell, Spell Pierce, Deem Inferior, Sleep of the Dead, Hydroblast, Blue Elemental Blast, Annul, Gut Shot, Steel Sabotage, Envelop, and Dispel use, then judge whether the target changed the next turn cycle. Mark interaction spent on low-impact cards when a known or likely payoff followed.

- Sideboard impact: Record whether the post-board configuration increased the number of live legal actions in the matchup. Note any Hydroblast, Blue Elemental Blast, Annul, Gut Shot, Steel Sabotage, Envelop, or Dispel stranded in hand because the opponent’s visible cards did not match the expected axis.

- Closing: Ask whether the pilot converted a stable board into lethal quickly enough. Flag turns where attacking with Cryptic Serpent, Tolarian Terror, or Delver of Secrets was delayed without a visible defensive reason, and turns where Sleep of the Dead or Deem Inferior could have opened a lethal or near-lethal attack.

- Role: Decide whether the deck correctly played tempo, control, or race in the actual game state. Mark role mistakes where the pilot held interaction without pressure against a bigger deck, tapped low against a fast deck, or overprotected a threat that was not the current win condition.

- Mistakes: Identify any legal action chosen from habit rather than visible board state. Pay special attention to passing with relevant interaction available, using Spell Pierce after the opponent could pay, casting Brainstorm without a way to clear weak cards, or self-milling when graveyard discount no longer mattered.

- Stranded cards: Track cards repeatedly stuck in hand, including Deep Analysis against pressure, extra Cryptic Serpent or Tolarian Terror without graveyard count, Spell Pierce in long games, and narrow sideboard cards without targets. A stranded card is a tuning signal only if the game state gave enough time or mana to use it.

- Overperformers and underperformers: Name the exact cards that decided wins and losses, not only packages. Separate cards that were tactically weak from cards that were strong but unsupported by mana, graveyard count, or protection.

## First Tuning Questions

- Card quantities: Should Deep Analysis remain a one-of if life pressure and tap-out risk repeatedly make it uncastable, or does it win enough slow games to justify the slot? Should Sleep of the Dead or Deem Inferior change quantity if closing attacks are failing or creature-heavy boards are common?

- Mana: Are 15 Island plus 4 Lórien Revealed enough for consistent Counterspell and early cantrip sequencing, or are one-land keeps producing too many lost games? Does Lórien Revealed function more often as land development, late card flow, or a stranded expensive spell?

- Aggro plan: Are Hydroblast, Blue Elemental Blast, and Gut Shot enough against red pressure and one-toughness starts, or does the deck still fall behind before Cryptic Serpent and Tolarian Terror stabilize? Does Deep Analysis become a liability often enough that post-board plans should reduce main-deck emphasis on slow card advantage in fast matchups?

- Control plan: Are Spell Pierce and Counterspell enough to protect a single closer through removal, sweepers, and opposing permission, or does the list need more resilient card advantage or stack interaction? Is Dispel too narrow as a single sideboard slot, or does it decide enough counter and removal fights?

- Closer density: Do 4 Cryptic Serpent, 4 Tolarian Terror, and 4 Delver of Secrets provide the right pressure mix, or are games lost because threats arrive late, die alone, or conflict with holding interaction? Are self-mill cards enabling closers quickly enough without sacrificing card quality?

- Sideboard slots: Are Annul and Steel Sabotage both needed for artifact and enchantment pressure, or is one effect consistently stronger in real logs? Are Envelop targets common enough, or should those slots answer broader stack or creature problems?

- Role conflicts: Does the deck lose more by tapping out for velocity or by holding up interaction and failing to advance? Tune toward the failure pattern shown by logs, especially whether Brainstorm, Ponder, Thought Scour, Mental Note, and Lórien Revealed are enabling tempo wins or encouraging low-impact turns.

## Veles Tactical Policy

### Policy: Opening Keep Gate
Priority: High
Decision families: mulligan
Cards: Island, Lórien Revealed, Delver of Secrets, Ponder, Brainstorm, Thought Scour, Mental Note, Counterspell, Spell Pierce, Cryptic Serpent, Tolarian Terror
Phase windows: opening hand, London mulligan, pregame
Runtime cues: opening-hand, mulligan-choice, keep-choice
Use when: deciding whether a hand has blue mana access, a first-two-turn action, and a route to pressure or interaction.
Avoid when: the hand cannot cast spells before turn two or depends on drawing an unknown Island without Ponder, Brainstorm, or Lórien Revealed.
Instructions: Keep hands with Island plus Delver of Secrets or cantrip velocity, or Lórien Revealed as a second-land plan with early blue access. Mulligan hands that only contain expensive closers without graveyard setup or interaction.
Pilot skill floor: medium
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Early Setup Threat
Priority: Medium
Decision families: mana, priority
Cards: Delver of Secrets, Ponder, Brainstorm, Thought Scour, Mental Note, Lórien Revealed
Phase windows: turns 1-2 main phase, early upkeep
Runtime cues: action:cast Delver of Secrets, action:cast Ponder, action:cast Brainstorm, action:cycle Lórien Revealed
Use when: choosing the first proactive spell while mana and graveyard are still undeveloped.
Avoid when: holding Spell Pierce or Counterspell is required against a visible high-impact stack window.
Instructions: Lead on Delver of Secrets when it creates immediate pressure and does not strand mana development. Use Ponder or Lórien Revealed first when the hand needs land stability; use Thought Scour or Mental Note when graveyard discount is the missing resource.
Pilot skill floor: medium
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Lórien Revealed Land Development
Priority: Medium
Decision families: mana, selection
Cards: Lórien Revealed, Island, Counterspell, Cryptic Serpent, Tolarian Terror
Phase windows: early main phase, end step when legal
Runtime cues: action:cycle Lórien Revealed
Use when: the visible hand needs Island access or an additional blue source to cast Counterspell or deploy a discounted closer.
Avoid when: current mana already supports the next two turns and casting a spell now changes the board or stack more than land fixing.
Instructions: Treat Lórien Revealed primarily as mana development until blue sources are stable. Preserve later hard-cast card flow only in slower games where missing land drops is not the bottleneck.
Pilot skill floor: low
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Self-Mill Execution
Priority: Low
Decision families: selection
Cards: Thought Scour
Phase windows: main phase, opponent end step, response windows with no urgent stack target
Runtime cues: action:target self Thought Scour
Use when: a legal Thought Scour target action names self and the selected line is to fill your graveyard and draw a card.
Avoid when: the current commitment requires targeting opponent from visible legal text or when a higher-priority stack decision is pending.
Instructions: Choose the self-target action for Thought Scour after the pilot has selected self-mill as the line. This policy executes the target only; it does not decide whether casting Thought Scour is correct.
Pilot skill floor: low
No-API allowed: yes
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Graveyard Discount Gate
Priority: High
Decision families: mana, priority
Cards: Cryptic Serpent, Tolarian Terror, Thought Scour, Mental Note, Ponder, Brainstorm, Lórien Revealed
Phase windows: main phase before deploying threats
Runtime cues: action:cast Cryptic Serpent, action:cast Tolarian Terror, graveyard-count, available-mana
Use when: deciding whether to commit the first large threat or spend a turn increasing graveyard count and card quality.
Avoid when: opponent has visible pressure that requires interaction before a threat race can matter.
Instructions: Cast Cryptic Serpent or Tolarian Terror when the cost is low enough to leave relevant protection or when waiting risks losing tempo. Delay when one cantrip converts the threat into a protected next-turn play.
Pilot skill floor: medium
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Permission Spending Gate
Priority: High
Decision families: priority, interaction
Cards: Counterspell, Spell Pierce, Hydroblast, Blue Elemental Blast, Envelop, Dispel, Annul, Steel Sabotage
Phase windows: any stack window
Runtime cues: action:cast Counterspell, action:cast Spell Pierce, action:cast Hydroblast, action:cast Blue Elemental Blast, action:cast Envelop, action:cast Dispel, action:cast Annul, action:cast Steel Sabotage
Use when: an opposing spell or ability is on the stack and a legal counter or blast action is available.
Avoid when: the target is low impact, can be answered on board, or paying for Spell Pierce is visible from available mana.
Instructions: Spend permission on cards that break your clock, invalidate a closer, create lethal pressure, or resolve a decisive engine. Prefer Counterspell for must-stop spells and Spell Pierce for early windows before the opponent can pay.
Pilot skill floor: high
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Tap-Out Commitment Gate
Priority: High
Decision families: mana, priority
Cards: Deep Analysis, Cryptic Serpent, Tolarian Terror, Lórien Revealed
Phase windows: main phase, flashback windows when legal
Runtime cues: action:cast Deep Analysis, action:flashback Deep Analysis, action:cast Cryptic Serpent, action:cast Tolarian Terror, action:cast Lórien Revealed
Use when: a legal action spends most or all blue mana and may leave no Counterspell, Spell Pierce, Dispel, Hydroblast, Blue Elemental Blast, Annul, Steel Sabotage, or Envelop window.
Avoid when: opponent has a visible or strongly signaled payoff and passing with interaction changes the next turn cycle.
Instructions: Tap out only when the board needs a closer, cards are exhausted, or waiting gives the opponent a better window. Prefer holding mana when your current clock already pressures them.
Pilot skill floor: high
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Cantrip Selection Discipline
Priority: Medium
Decision families: selection, mana
Cards: Ponder, Brainstorm, Thought Scour, Mental Note, Lórien Revealed, Delver of Secrets
Phase windows: upkeep, main phase, end step
Runtime cues: action:cast Ponder, action:cast Brainstorm, action:cast Thought Scour, action:cast Mental Note
Use when: choosing among legal card-flow actions or resolving visible selection choices.
Avoid when: immediate interaction or combat survival has priority over card quality.
Instructions: Use Ponder to find missing land, threat, or protection. Use Brainstorm when it improves hand quality now or pairs with a shuffle/mill effect. Sequence self-mill after top-card manipulation only when milling those cards is acceptable.
Pilot skill floor: medium
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Delver Upkeep Reveal
Priority: Low
Decision families: selection
Cards: Delver of Secrets
Phase windows: upkeep trigger
Runtime cues: action:reveal, Delver of Secrets, upkeep
Use when: a legal Delver of Secrets trigger asks whether to reveal a visible instant or sorcery card from the top of the library.
Avoid when: the visible top card is not an instant or sorcery according to the rules engine prompt.
Instructions: Reveal only when the legal prompt indicates the card can transform Delver of Secrets. Do not infer unknown top cards; rely on Forge-visible trigger text.
Pilot skill floor: low
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Tempo Bounce And Tap Choice
Priority: Medium
Decision families: interaction, combat, priority
Cards: Sleep of the Dead, Deem Inferior
Phase windows: precombat main, declare attackers, declare blockers, end step, stack windows
Runtime cues: action:cast Sleep of the Dead, action:cast Deem Inferior, action:target
Use when: choosing whether to remove a blocker, delay an attacker, answer a stack spell, or clear a permanent for a damage push.
Avoid when: the target does not affect combat, lethal survival, or a protected closer race.
Instructions: Use Sleep of the Dead to open attacks or prevent meaningful damage. Use Deem Inferior on spells or nonland permanents whose temporary removal changes the next turn cycle, especially when countering is unavailable or less efficient.
Pilot skill floor: medium
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Attack Commitment
Priority: Medium
Decision families: combat
Cards: Delver of Secrets, Cryptic Serpent, Tolarian Terror, Sleep of the Dead, Deem Inferior
Phase windows: declare attackers, precombat main
Runtime cues: action:attack, legal-attackers, visible-blockers
Use when: deciding attacks with one or more legal attackers and visible blockers.
Avoid when: attacking exposes the only stabilizing blocker to a bad trade or gives up survival against a visible crackback.
Instructions: Attack when damage advances a clock, forces unfavorable blocks, or pairs with Sleep of the Dead or Deem Inferior. Keep Cryptic Serpent or Tolarian Terror back when life total and opposing attackers make blocking the current job.
Pilot skill floor: medium
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Blocking Survival Gate
Priority: High
Decision families: combat
Cards: Delver of Secrets, Cryptic Serpent, Tolarian Terror
Phase windows: declare blockers, combat damage setup
Runtime cues: action:block, lethal-damage-visible, short-clock
Use when: opponent attacks and blocks are legal.
Avoid when: blocking sacrifices a needed closer without improving survival or the race.
Instructions: Block to prevent lethal, preserve a two-turn clock, or trade a stalled creature for a larger tempo gain. Do not chump with Delver of Secrets unless the visible damage race requires it.
Pilot skill floor: high
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Red Interaction Sideboard Use
Priority: Medium
Decision families: interaction, sideboard
Cards: Hydroblast, Blue Elemental Blast, Gut Shot
Phase windows: stack windows, main phase, combat, sideboard
Runtime cues: action:cast Hydroblast, action:cast Blue Elemental Blast, action:cast Gut Shot, sideboard-red-matchup
Use when: red spells, red permanents, or one-toughness creatures are visible or matchup context identifies red pressure.
Avoid when: no red target or one-toughness target is visible in the legal action text.
Instructions: Prioritize Hydroblast and Blue Elemental Blast for red threats or burn that changes the race. Use Gut Shot on visible one-toughness creatures when killing them protects life, Delver of Secrets, or the next attack.
Pilot skill floor: medium
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Artifact And Enchantment Sideboard Use
Priority: Medium
Decision families: interaction, sideboard
Cards: Annul, Steel Sabotage
Phase windows: stack windows, main phase, sideboard
Runtime cues: action:cast Annul, action:cast Steel Sabotage, sideboard-artifact, sideboard-enchantment
Use when: artifact or enchantment cards are visible on stack or battlefield, or matchup context indicates that axis.
Avoid when: the legal target is incidental and holding the answer covers a more decisive visible artifact or enchantment line.
Instructions: Use Annul on artifacts or enchantments that create engines, locks, or lethal pressure. Use Steel Sabotage when countering or bouncing an artifact changes tempo more than holding generic permission.
Pilot skill floor: medium
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Narrow Stack Sideboard Use
Priority: Medium
Decision families: interaction, sideboard
Cards: Envelop, Dispel, Counterspell, Spell Pierce
Phase windows: stack windows, sideboard
Runtime cues: action:cast Envelop, action:cast Dispel, action:cast Counterspell, action:cast Spell Pierce
Use when: visible spell type and legal action text identify a valid instant or sorcery fight.
Avoid when: the opposing spell is low impact or the narrow answer should be preserved for removal, counterwars, or payoff spells shown by public information.
Instructions: Use Envelop on sorcery-speed payoff or card-advantage spells. Use Dispel in fights over removal, permission, or instant-speed tempo swings. Backstop with Counterspell when the narrow card cannot answer the spell.
Pilot skill floor: medium
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Sideboard Plan Selection
Priority: High
Decision families: sideboard, pregame
Cards: Hydroblast, Blue Elemental Blast, Annul, Gut Shot, Steel Sabotage, Envelop, Dispel, Deep Analysis, Spell Pierce, Sleep of the Dead, Deem Inferior
Phase windows: between games
Runtime cues: sideboard-choice, matchup-label, revealed-cards
Use when: selecting a legal post-board configuration from available plans or generated validated swaps.
Avoid when: requested sideboard action violates the registered 75 or adds a card not in the sideboard.
Instructions: Add narrow answers only when opponent archetype or revealed cards make them live. Reduce main-deck emphasis on slow card advantage, soft permission, or creature tempo according to matchup speed and target availability.
Pilot skill floor: high
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes
