# Strategy Specifications
## Deck Name And Archetype

Azorius Spirits is an Explorer tempo-aggro tribal deck built around cheap evasive Spirits, flash-speed interaction, and battlefield pressure that grows from Supreme Phantom while the pilot keeps mana open for No More Lies, Spell Queller, Rattlechains, Mausoleum Wanderer, Spell Snare, Seam Rip, and instant-speed sideboard cards. The deck should be treated as a tempo deck first and a tribal beatdown deck second: win by presenting a fast clock, forcing the opponent to spend mana inefficiently, and converting each protected or disruptive attack step into damage before larger opposing engines stabilize.

- Validation: The registered configuration is 60 main-deck cards and 15 sideboard cards, matching the active Explorer deck-validation contract of at least 60 main cards and at most 15 sideboard cards.
- Format status: The active format is Explorer, and the supplied format-aware validation result passes; runtime decisions should still obey only legal actions exposed by Veles and the rules engine.
- Tags: The effective archetype tags are tempo, aggro, and tribal; duplicate supplied tags collapse to those three roles for policy indexing.
- Stock/rogue/hybrid status: This is best classified as hybrid stock-plus-specialized Azorius Spirits, because the core shell uses familiar Spirit-tempo roles around Mausoleum Wanderer, Rattlechains, Supreme Phantom, Spell Queller, and Skyclave Apparition, while Aang, Swift Savior, Enduring Curiosity, Sheltered by Ghosts, and Seam Rip make the exact decision texture deck-specific rather than generic.
- Main strategic identity: The deck wants early evasive pressure, open mana, and stack-or-battlefield disruption; it should avoid tapping out into exposed turns unless the added pressure or permanent answer materially changes the race.
- Mana identity: The mana base is Azorius with 4 Seachrome Coast, 4 Hallowed Fountain, 4 Hengegate Pathway, 4 Adarkar Wastes, 3 Mutavault, 2 Plains, 1 Island, 1 Otawara, Soaring City, and 1 Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire; the tactical concern is balancing untapped blue-white access against life loss, colorless Mutavault pressure, and keeping mana available for flash or interaction.
- Role concern: Mutavault is both a land and a threat, so the pilot must not treat every land drop as neutral; activating Mutavault can increase clock pressure but can also remove mana needed for No More Lies, Rattlechains, Spell Queller, Seam Rip, Sheltered by Ghosts, or sideboard interaction.
- Legality concern: Aang, Swift Savior and all less familiar card-specific lines require exact rules-engine legality at runtime; if a suggested tactical use is not surfaced as a legal action, the agent must ignore the plan and choose among visible legal actions only.
- Card-text caution: Card text check required for Aang, Swift Savior, Enduring Curiosity, Sheltered by Ghosts, Seam Rip, High Noon, Elspeth, Storm Slayer, and any card whose current Oracle text or Explorer legality could affect timing, targeting, or trigger choices.
- Sideboard identity: The sideboard is structured for tempo mirrors, creature battlefields, graveyard pressure, stack interaction, and slower midrange/control games through 1 Seam Rip, 2 High Noon, 1 Tishana's Tidebinder, 1 Get Lost, 2 The Wandering Emperor, 1 Lofty Denial, 1 Soul-Guide Lantern, 2 Elspeth, Storm Slayer, 2 Settle the Wreckage, and 2 Rest in Peace.
- Opponent information status: No specific opponent deck, matchup, public metagame list, or known hidden information is supplied for this batch; matchup decisions must rely on visible board state, public game history, legal action text, and later matchup-specific guidance rather than assuming exact opposing cards.
- Runtime discipline: This guide is advisory only; Veles must prefer legal actions, visible state, known public information, and rules-engine output over any strategic heuristic in this specification.

## Thesis

Azorius Spirits assembles cheap evasive pressure plus flash-speed disruption, then converts small battlefield leads into a lethal race before the opponent can resolve higher-impact plays. The core pattern is to land Mausoleum Wanderer, Rattlechains, Supreme Phantom, Mutavault, Skyclave Apparition, Spell Queller, or Enduring Curiosity pressure, then hold up No More Lies, Spell Snare, Seam Rip, Rattlechains, Spell Queller, Mausoleum Wanderer, Otawara, Soaring City, Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire, or sideboard interaction instead of spending every turn at sorcery speed.

Azorius Spirits wins by making the opponent's mana inefficient while its own threats keep attacking. Supreme Phantom turns individual Spirits into a fast clock, Spell Queller and No More Lies punish tap-out turns, Skyclave Apparition and Sheltered by Ghosts answer permanents without surrendering tempo, and Enduring Curiosity can turn evasive combat into sustained material if its legal text supports the visible line. Card text check required for Enduring Curiosity and Sheltered by Ghosts; use them only according to legal actions and rules-engine targeting.

Prioritize board presence that also preserves interaction. A one-threat hand with Spell Queller, No More Lies, or Rattlechains can be stronger than a hand that deploys multiple threats but gives the opponent an uncontested key turn; a hand with only reactive spells and no fast clock is risky because the deck is not built to win by pure attrition.

Do not pilot this deck as tap-out midrange, hard control, or a value pile. The deck is not trying to answer everything, draw indefinitely, or trade one-for-one until both players are empty; it is trying to protect a clock, deny the opponent's best window, and make combat plus stack pressure decide the game. Do not spend premium interaction on low-impact plays when the visible race is already favorable, but do spend it when the opposing play breaks the clock, blanks attacks, sweeps the board, or creates an engine this deck cannot easily beat later.

Respect runtime information over theory. If Veles exposes only one legal action, choose within that legal set; if an interaction line is not legal, do not infer that the card should work differently. Hidden cards, exact opponent plans, and uncertain card text must not be assumed.

## Role Package

- Threats: Mausoleum Wanderer, Rattlechains, Supreme Phantom, Spell Queller, Skyclave Apparition, Mutavault, Aang, Swift Savior, and Enduring Curiosity are the primary sources of pressure. Lead with early evasive creatures when the hand can support them, but value flash threats more highly when the opponent is representing sorcery-speed punishment or when holding mana makes No More Lies, Spell Queller, or Rattlechains credible.

- Payoffs: Supreme Phantom is the clean tribal payoff because it turns every Spirit and often Mutavault-supported combat step into a shorter clock. Spell Queller is both payoff and disruption because a creature on the battlefield also attacks; protect it when the exiled spell is high-impact or when its body materially changes lethal math. Enduring Curiosity is a potential combat-card-advantage payoff; Card text check required, and use only when legal actions confirm how it attaches, triggers, or otherwise generates value.

- Engines: The deck's real engine is not a loop but the repeated pressure-plus-open-mana pattern. Rattlechains, Spell Queller, No More Lies, Spell Snare, Seam Rip, and Mausoleum Wanderer make each untapped blue-white turn expensive for the opponent, while evasive attackers force them to act into that pressure.

- Velocity: Enduring Curiosity is the main registered card that may increase card flow, with Card text check required before relying on its exact trigger or attachment behavior. The deck otherwise creates virtual velocity by spending less mana than the opponent through Spell Snare, No More Lies, Spell Queller, Seam Rip, Mausoleum Wanderer, Skyclave Apparition, and Sheltered by Ghosts.

- Interaction: No More Lies, Spell Snare, Spell Queller, Seam Rip, Skyclave Apparition, Sheltered by Ghosts, Otawara, Soaring City, Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire, and Mausoleum Wanderer form the main interactive package. Use stack interaction on spells that beat the current battlefield, use permanent interaction on resolved blockers or engines that stop attacks, and avoid firing interaction merely because mana is available.

- Protection: Rattlechains and Mausoleum Wanderer are the main protective cards, with Spell Queller sometimes protecting the game plan by stopping the answer before it resolves. Sheltered by Ghosts may also protect or remove depending on exact text; Card text check required, and treat its tactical role as conditional until the legal action text is visible.

- Recursion: The registered main deck has no dedicated recursion plan. Do not preserve resources for a graveyard loop that is not present; after a creature dies, rebuild with remaining threats, Mutavault, flash pressure, and sideboard planeswalkers when configured.

- Mana: Seachrome Coast, Hallowed Fountain, Hengegate Pathway, Adarkar Wastes, Plains, Island, Otawara, Soaring City, Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire, and Mutavault must support early blue-white availability without wasting damage or color. Treat Mutavault as a threat only when activation will not strand No More Lies, Spell Queller, Rattlechains, Seam Rip, Sheltered by Ghosts, or relevant sideboard cards.

- Sideboard modules: High Noon is the anti-spell-chain or pacing module; Rest in Peace and Soul-Guide Lantern are graveyard modules; Get Lost, Seam Rip, Tishana's Tidebinder, Settle the Wreckage, and The Wandering Emperor expand interaction; Lofty Denial expands permission; Elspeth, Storm Slayer and The Wandering Emperor give slower-game threats. Card text check required for High Noon, Tishana's Tidebinder, Elspeth, Storm Slayer, and any sideboard card whose exact timing or target range is not shown by legal actions.

## Primary Win Conditions

- Supreme Phantom clock: Build the primary lethal path around Mausoleum Wanderer, Rattlechains, Spell Queller, Skyclave Apparition, Aang, Swift Savior, Mutavault, and Supreme Phantom attacking through the air or from a creature-land slot. Setup requires at least one early threat plus blue-white mana; execution is to add Supreme Phantom when it increases the clock without exposing the whole hand to a visible sweeper, then attack while holding No More Lies, Spell Snare, Rattlechains, Spell Queller, Seam Rip, Otawara, Soaring City, or Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire for the opponent's best stabilizing play. Prioritize this path when ahead on board, when the opponent is spending mana at sorcery speed, or when delaying gives larger decks time to resolve threats that outsize individual Spirits.

- Flash-tempo squeeze: Win many games by presenting a modest clock, passing with mana open, and forcing the opponent to act into No More Lies, Spell Snare, Spell Queller, Mausoleum Wanderer, Rattlechains, and Seam Rip. Setup is one or two attackers plus untapped interaction; execution is to counter or delay only spells that break the race, answer the board, create a must-answer engine, or prevent attacks. Prioritize this path against slower decks, combo-leaning decks, and hands with Spell Queller plus protection, because every passed turn with damage already flowing makes the opponent's next spell worse.

- Spell Queller pressure: Use Spell Queller as both disruption and a win condition when the exiled spell is high-impact or when the 2-power flying body changes the clock. Setup requires holding open mana and letting the opponent commit a legal spell Spell Queller can interact with; execution is to protect Spell Queller with Rattlechains, Mausoleum Wanderer, No More Lies, or follow-up pressure when the captured spell would swing the game if returned. Prioritize this line over tap-out development when the opponent's visible mana and archetype imply a single key spell matters more than adding another small attacker.

- Enduring Curiosity value-clock: Convert evasive combat into card advantage with Enduring Curiosity only when legal action text confirms its exact mode, attachment, trigger, and target behavior. Setup is an evasive creature or creature-land that can connect; execution is to deploy Enduring Curiosity when the opponent is unlikely to remove the carrier immediately or when drawing even one card offsets the risk. Prioritize it when both players are trading resources, when the battlefield already attacks safely, or when the hand needs extra material to keep interaction flowing. Card text check required.

## Secondary Win Conditions

- Mutavault fallback pressure: Use Mutavault as a secondary attacker when creature removal, sweepers, or attrition have reduced the Spirit count. Setup is spare mana after preserving required colored sources; execution is to activate Mutavault only when doing so does not strand No More Lies, Spell Queller, Rattlechains, Seam Rip, Sheltered by Ghosts, Skyclave Apparition, or relevant channel actions. Prioritize Mutavault when the opponent is low on life, tapped out, or relying on sorcery-speed removal, and deprioritize it when colored mana is needed for stack interaction.

- Permanent-answer tempo: Turn Skyclave Apparition and Sheltered by Ghosts into a win path by removing the blocker, engine, or resolved threat that stops attacks while continuing pressure. Setup is a battlefield where one permanent is the main obstacle; execution is to answer that permanent, attack immediately if legal, and keep stack interaction for the follow-up answer. Sheltered by Ghosts needs a card text check; use it only according to visible legal targets and rules-engine output.

- Sideboard planeswalker pressure: In post-board games, The Wandering Emperor and Elspeth, Storm Slayer can become secondary threats when creature combat is stalled or removal is heavy. Setup is surviving to a stable mana position; execution is to deploy them when they create immediate board impact or demand an answer while Spirits and Mutavault continue attacking. Card text check required for Elspeth, Storm Slayer; do not assume exact loyalty abilities unless legal actions show them.

- No burn or recursion shortcut: The registered deck has no direct burn finish and no graveyard recursion engine. When the opponent stabilizes at low life, finish with evasive attackers, Mutavault, protected Spell Queller pressure, or sideboard planeswalkers rather than saving resources for absent reach.

## Emergency Lines

- Behind on life: Preserve blockers and interaction before racing unless visible lethal pressure is already available. Use Skyclave Apparition, Sheltered by Ghosts, Seam Rip, Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire, Otawara, Soaring City, Settle the Wreckage, or The Wandering Emperor when legal to reduce incoming damage, and attack only when the remaining defense survives the opponent's next visible combat step.

- Behind on board: Stop adding small creatures into a losing battlefield unless Supreme Phantom, Skyclave Apparition, Sheltered by Ghosts, Settle the Wreckage, The Wandering Emperor, or Elspeth, Storm Slayer changes combat math. Prioritize removing the single permanent that enables attacks against you, then rebuild with flash threats and Mutavault after the opponent commits mana.

- Behind on cards: Make Enduring Curiosity the recovery path only if its legal text and current board make a connection plausible. Otherwise, trade interaction for the opponent's highest-impact spell, avoid spending No More Lies or Spell Snare on low-impact bait, and use Spell Queller as a body plus answer rather than as a purely defensive counter when possible.

- Behind on mana: Keep land sequencing conservative and preserve colored sources before activating Mutavault or channeling Otawara, Soaring City or Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire. Favor cheap plays like Mausoleum Wanderer, Rattlechains, Spell Snare, Seam Rip, and No More Lies over expensive recovery turns that leave no interaction.

- Opponent engine, graveyard recursion, or combo is ahead: Shift from clock maximization to disruption density. Use Spell Queller, No More Lies, Spell Snare, Mausoleum Wanderer, Tishana's Tidebinder, Lofty Denial, High Noon, Rest in Peace, Soul-Guide Lantern, Get Lost, or Seam Rip only when legal and pointed at the engine piece or payoff that actually changes the game. Card text check required for High Noon and Tishana's Tidebinder.

- Primary threats removed: Rebuild through Mutavault, remaining flash creatures, Skyclave Apparition pressure, and post-board planeswalkers instead of overvaluing a single replacement threat. If Supreme Phantom is gone, attack in smaller chunks while keeping mana open; if Spell Queller is gone, rely more on No More Lies, Spell Snare, Mausoleum Wanderer, and permanent interaction to protect the remaining clock.

## Resource Model

- Life is a tempo buffer, not a resource to spend blindly. Use Hallowed Fountain and Adarkar Wastes aggressively when the hand curves Mausoleum Wanderer, Rattlechains, Supreme Phantom, No More Lies, Spell Snare, or Spell Queller into immediate pressure, but preserve life against fast creature decks once the battlefield no longer favors racing.

- Hand size is the deck's permission reserve. Keep enough cards to represent No More Lies, Spell Snare, Spell Queller, Rattlechains, Seam Rip, or Mausoleum Wanderer, and avoid emptying the hand into a board where one resolved sweeper, removal chain, or larger attacker would undo the clock. Enduring Curiosity is the main refuel plan when legal text confirms it can turn evasive damage into cards; card text check required.

- Mana converts into ambiguity. Passing with two to three untapped mana can mean flash pressure, counterplay, bounce or removal, or a Mutavault activation on a later turn, so prefer open-mana turns once one or two evasive attackers are established. Tap out only when Skyclave Apparition, Supreme Phantom, Sheltered by Ghosts, Enduring Curiosity, or a sideboard planeswalker changes the race more than holding interaction.

- Board presence is both clock and leverage. Mausoleum Wanderer, Rattlechains, Supreme Phantom, Spell Queller, Skyclave Apparition, Aang, Swift Savior, and Mutavault should pressure life totals while making the opponent cast spells into poor windows. Do not trade evasive creatures for low-impact ground combat unless survival, lethal denial, or a high-value Spell Queller protection line requires it. Card text check required for Aang, Swift Savior.

- Graveyard and exile are mostly opponent-facing resources. The main deck does not use its graveyard as an engine, so post-board Rest in Peace, Soul-Guide Lantern, or exile-based pressure is acceptable when it disrupts the opponent more than it weakens your own plan. Spell Queller creates a fragile exile dependency; protect it when the exiled spell is more dangerous than the body is valuable.

- Lands are spell slots after the first few turns. Mutavault is pressure, Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire and Otawara, Soaring City are interaction when legal, and Hengegate Pathway fixes one chosen color. Treat utility land activation or channel use as a mana commitment that may turn off No More Lies, Spell Queller, Seam Rip, Rattlechains, Sheltered by Ghosts, or Skyclave Apparition.

- Sacrifice fodder is not a planned resource. Do not volunteer creatures as disposable material unless the rules engine presents a legal sacrifice or replacement choice and the visible board makes the loss necessary for survival or lethal pressure.

- Information is gained by forcing action. Attack first or pass with mana when that makes the opponent reveal whether they respect Spell Queller, No More Lies, Spell Snare, Mausoleum Wanderer, Rattlechains, or Seam Rip, but obey visible legal actions and never assume hidden cards.

- Sideboard bullets convert matchup pressure into specialized axes. High Noon, Rest in Peace, Soul-Guide Lantern, Tishana's Tidebinder, Lofty Denial, Get Lost, The Wandering Emperor, Elspeth, Storm Slayer, Settle the Wreckage, and the fourth Seam Rip should be used to shore up the exact public problem: spell velocity, graveyard use, stack or ability dependency, wide combat, resolved permanents, or attrition. Card text check required for High Noon, Tishana's Tidebinder, and Elspeth, Storm Slayer.

## Mana Guide

- Keep hands that cast an early threat and hold interaction. A strong keep usually has two lands with at least one blue source and a plan for Mausoleum Wanderer, Rattlechains, Spell Snare, No More Lies, Supreme Phantom, or Spell Queller. One-land hands need multiple one-mana or two-mana legal plays plus a clear draw-step plan; colorless-heavy hands with Mutavault and no reliable blue should be treated as high risk.

- Prioritize blue-white access before utility. Seachrome Coast, Hallowed Fountain, Hengegate Pathway, Adarkar Wastes, Island, and Plains should be sequenced to support blue interaction and white permanent answers; Mutavault should not be the second land if it prevents No More Lies, Rattlechains, Spell Queller, Skyclave Apparition, Sheltered by Ghosts, or Seam Rip from being cast on curve.

- Use Hengegate Pathway as the missing color, not as a default. Choose the side that turns on the current hand's bottleneck after considering known lands, likely next turns, and whether Mutavault, Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire, or Otawara, Soaring City will reduce colored availability.

- Sequence Seachrome Coast early when possible. Its value is highest in the first turns, especially when the hand wants Mausoleum Wanderer into Supreme Phantom, Rattlechains plus Spell Snare, or No More Lies. Later lands can be Hallowed Fountain, Adarkar Wastes, basics, or utility lands depending on life pressure and open-mana needs.

- Pay life only for tempo or interaction. Shock Hallowed Fountain or use Adarkar Wastes pain when it enables a same-turn threat, counter, flash creature, Skyclave Apparition, Sheltered by Ghosts, or protected Spell Queller line; choose tapped or painless sequencing when the opponent's visible pressure is low and no legal action depends on immediate colored mana.

- Play lands before combat when a legal post-combat action needs exact mana. Hold lands until after draw or combat only when bluff value, Enduring Curiosity draw sequencing, or opponent information matters and no current legal action requires the land. If a decision point offers No More Lies, Spell Queller, Rattlechains, Seam Rip, Mutavault activation, or channel actions, count mana before choosing the land timing.

- Preserve mana for the role of the turn. On defense, leave up Spell Snare, No More Lies, Spell Queller, Rattlechains, Seam Rip, Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire, Otawara, Soaring City, Settle the Wreckage, or The Wandering Emperor when those are legal and relevant. On offense, spend mana on Supreme Phantom, Enduring Curiosity, Skyclave Apparition, Sheltered by Ghosts, Elspeth, Storm Slayer, or Mutavault only when the added pressure outweighs losing interaction.

- Treat sideboard cards as heavier mana commitments. The Wandering Emperor, Elspeth, Storm Slayer, Settle the Wreckage, High Noon, Rest in Peace, Get Lost, Tishana's Tidebinder, Lofty Denial, Soul-Guide Lantern, and the extra Seam Rip should be sequenced so they do not strand core Spirit interaction unless their matchup role is the immediate priority.

## Mulligan Guide

- Strong keep: Keep two or three lands with blue-white access plus Mausoleum Wanderer, Rattlechains or Supreme Phantom, and at least one interactive card such as Spell Snare, No More Lies, Spell Queller, Seam Rip, Sheltered by Ghosts, or Skyclave Apparition. This hand pressures early while preserving the tempo identity.

- Strong keep: Keep Seachrome Coast or Hallowed Fountain plus another colored land, Mausoleum Wanderer, Supreme Phantom, and Spell Queller or No More Lies unless the matchup visibly demands a specific removal answer. The first threat makes later open mana meaningful.

- Medium keep: Keep two lands, Rattlechains, Spell Queller, No More Lies, and Skyclave Apparition without Mausoleum Wanderer when the hand has both colors and can pass with interaction on turn two. This hand is slower, but it punishes opponents who walk into counters or flash blockers.

- Medium keep: Keep three lands including Mutavault when the other lands cast blue-white spells and the hand contains Supreme Phantom, Spell Queller, or Enduring Curiosity. Mutavault becomes a clock only after colored requirements are safe.

- Risky keep: Treat one-land Seachrome Coast or Hallowed Fountain hands as keepable only with Mausoleum Wanderer plus multiple cheap legal plays such as Spell Snare, Rattlechains, or No More Lies and a matchup where stumbling is less punishing. Ship one-land hands that need Hengegate Pathway color guesses plus off-curve three-drops.

- Risky keep: Treat Mutavault plus one colored land as dangerous when the hand contains Skyclave Apparition, Sheltered by Ghosts, Spell Queller, No More Lies, or Supreme Phantom. The hand may look spell-dense but fail to cast its tempo cards on time.

- Automatic ship: Ship zero-land, five-plus-land, no-blue-source, or all-utility-land hands. Also ship hands whose first meaningful action is turn three with no Spell Snare or No More Lies, unless a known slow matchup makes that legal and defensible.

- Automatic ship: Ship hands that contain only reactive cards and no pressure, such as multiple No More Lies or Spell Snare with no Mausoleum Wanderer, Rattlechains, Supreme Phantom, Mutavault pressure, or Spell Queller body. This deck cannot win by answering every spell indefinitely.

- Matchup-dependent keep: Keep removal-heavy hands with Skyclave Apparition, Sheltered by Ghosts, Seam Rip, or Spell Snare against creature or permanent pressure when mana supports them. Card text check required for Seam Rip and Sheltered by Ghosts; use them only when legal action text confirms the relevant target.

- Matchup-dependent keep: Keep High Noon, Rest in Peace, Soul-Guide Lantern, Lofty Denial, Get Lost, Tishana's Tidebinder, Settle the Wreckage, The Wandering Emperor, Elspeth, Storm Slayer, or the fourth Seam Rip post-board only when the matchup role is visible from pairing context or public game history. Do not keep a sideboard bullet that replaces the need for early pressure unless it attacks the opponent's core axis.

- Play/draw rule: On the play, value Mausoleum Wanderer into Supreme Phantom or Rattlechains more highly because the deck can get under the opponent. On the draw, value Spell Snare, No More Lies, Seam Rip, Sheltered by Ghosts, and Skyclave Apparition more highly because catching up matters.

- Trap hand: Do not keep land-light hands because they contain Spell Queller and Enduring Curiosity if the first two turns do not affect the game. Do not keep Aang, Swift Savior as a reason by itself; card text check required, and the keep must still cast early pressure or interaction.

## Turn Arc

- Turn 1: Prefer Seachrome Coast, Hallowed Fountain, Hengegate Pathway, Island, or Adarkar Wastes into Mausoleum Wanderer when legal. If Mausoleum Wanderer is absent, sequence the land that preserves turn-two Rattlechains, Spell Snare, No More Lies, or Supreme Phantom; avoid Mutavault first unless no colored one-mana action exists and future colors remain intact.

- Turn 1 deviation: Hold up Spell Snare only when the opponent is likely to present a critical two-mana spell and no Mausoleum Wanderer pressure is available or necessary. Against unknown decks, presenting a threat is usually better than passing with narrow interaction.

- Turn 2: Prefer Supreme Phantom after Mausoleum Wanderer when it creates a fast evasive clock and does not expose the hand to an obvious punish. Prefer passing with Rattlechains, Spell Snare, No More Lies, or Seam Rip when the opponent's turn-two or turn-three play is the pivot point.

- Turn 2 deviation: Cast Rattlechains proactively only when the extra body or protection timing is better than representing interaction. If the opponent has a visible removal or combat setup, keep Rattlechains available for the legal flash or protection line the engine presents.

- Turn 3: Prefer Spell Queller mana when the opponent is entering a high-impact turn and a legal spell can be caught. Prefer Skyclave Apparition, Sheltered by Ghosts, or Seam Rip when a resolved permanent is already beating the clock and the rules engine offers a legal target.

- Turn 3 pressure line: Use Supreme Phantom, Enduring Curiosity, or Mutavault activation to increase damage only when the opponent's next action is less dangerous than losing open mana. Card text check required for Enduring Curiosity; use it as a refuel plan only when legal text and visible board support connecting with creatures.

- Turns 4-5: Shift from setup to squeeze mode. Keep two to four mana open when ahead so No More Lies, Spell Queller, Rattlechains, Seam Rip, Otawara, Soaring City, Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire, or Mutavault activation can punish the opponent's attempt to stabilize.

- Turns 4-5 deviation: Tap out for Skyclave Apparition, Sheltered by Ghosts, Enduring Curiosity, Aang, Swift Savior, The Wandering Emperor, Elspeth, Storm Slayer, High Noon, Rest in Peace, or Settle the Wreckage only when that permanent or effect answers the public problem better than holding interaction. Card text check required for Aang, Swift Savior; High Noon; Elspeth, Storm Slayer.

- Late game: Convert lands into pressure and interaction. Mutavault attacks through stalled hands, Otawara, Soaring City and Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire become spell-like actions when legal, and extra open mana makes No More Lies or Spell Queller less vulnerable to payment windows.

- Late game survival: Preserve life total over chip damage when behind. Hold creatures back to block, keep Settle the Wreckage or The Wandering Emperor mana available post-board, and avoid attacking with a needed blocker unless the attack creates lethal or prevents a worse crack-back.

- Late game closing: Protect the highest-leverage threat, not always the largest one. A Spell Queller holding an exiled spell, a Supreme Phantom enabling lethal, a Mutavault representing recurring damage, or an Enduring Curiosity engine can be worth more than an expendable evasive attacker.

## Card Roles

- **Mausoleum Wanderer:** Use Mausoleum Wanderer as the preferred turn-one pressure piece and as the deck's cheapest stack tax. Its sacrifice ability is strongest after Supreme Phantom or another Spirit trigger increases its power, so do not spend it on a low-impact instant or sorcery when a larger counter window is likely. Protect it less than Spell Queller or Enduring Curiosity unless the tax is currently stopping a sweeper, combo piece, or removal spell that would break the board. Avoid attacking it into free trades when its visible sacrifice text is holding the opponent off a key action.

- **Rattlechains:** Use Rattlechains as both flash pressure and protection for important Spirits. Hold it when the opponent can remove Supreme Phantom, Spell Queller, or a critical Mausoleum Wanderer, because the target-Spirit hexproof line can convert their mana into a failed turn. Cast it proactively when the deck needs a second attacker, when Supreme Phantom makes the extra body urgent, or when giving future Spirit spells flash lets the deck keep No More Lies and Spell Queller mana open. Do not burn Rattlechains just to spend mana if passing with credible interaction is already strong.

- **Supreme Phantom:** Treat Supreme Phantom as the main damage amplifier and the cleanest way to turn small flyers into a real clock. Cast it early when the opponent is under pressure and cannot punish a tap-out, especially after Mausoleum Wanderer. Hold it when open mana is more important than extra damage, or when the opponent's visible plan makes a removal spell likely and Rattlechains is available to protect it later. Remember that Mutavault is a Spirit only when animated if the rules engine presents that interaction, so Supreme Phantom can make Mutavault attacks and blocks matter.

- **Spell Queller:** Treat Spell Queller as the defining tempo card, not just a three-mana creature. Prioritize holding it for spells that stabilize the opponent, remove the board, start a combo, or generate a large material swing. Do not fire it at the first legal target when No More Lies, Spell Snare, Mausoleum Wanderer, or a removal action can answer the same spell with less risk. Protect Spell Queller aggressively after it has exiled a high-impact spell, because losing it may let the opponent recast that spell. Against removal-heavy decks, prefer sequences where Rattlechains, No More Lies, or Mausoleum Wanderer can cover Spell Queller.

- **No More Lies:** Use No More Lies as broad permission that buys tempo while the flying clock closes. Keep two mana open when ahead if the opponent's next spell is likely to matter more than adding another body. It gets worse when the opponent has excess mana, so spend it earlier on important spells rather than saving it until the tax becomes irrelevant. Do not keep hands that rely on multiple No More Lies without pressure; the card is best when a clock makes the opponent act into it.

- **Spell Snare:** Use Spell Snare as a narrow but efficient answer to pivotal two-mana spells. On the draw, it can recover tempo that a creature-only hand cannot. On the play, do not hold it over a strong Mausoleum Wanderer start unless matchup or public information points to a critical two-drop. Because it cannot answer everything, pair it with pressure and avoid treating it as a catch-all permission spell.

- **Skyclave Apparition:** Use Skyclave Apparition as the main clean answer to resolved nonland permanents when the rules engine shows a legal target. Prioritize permanents that stop attacks, threaten to snowball, or invalidate Spell Queller and No More Lies. Be cautious when removing a small permanent if the resulting Illusion body would block profitably or race well after Skyclave Apparition leaves. Its double-white cost makes mana sequencing important; avoid early Mutavault-heavy keeps that cannot cast it on time.

- **Sheltered by Ghosts:** Card text check required for Sheltered by Ghosts; use it only according to legal target text from the engine. Treat it as a removal or protection-style tempo tool only when the visible action clearly improves the race or protects a critical threat. Avoid committing it into open interaction if losing the enchanted or targeted object would create a large tempo loss. In creature matchups, prefer using it on permanents that are already pressuring life total or blocking flyers, not on marginal targets that do not change the clock.

- **Seam Rip:** Card text check required for Seam Rip; treat it as conditional interaction until the engine exposes exact legal actions. Use it when the visible target and timing answer the public problem better than holding counterspells. If it is removal, prioritize creatures or permanents that race, block, or enable the opponent's engine. If it is tempo interaction, prefer spots where bouncing, tapping, or otherwise disrupting a target converts directly into damage or protects a key attack. Do not assume it answers a target unless the rules engine lists that action.

- **Enduring Curiosity:** Card text check required for Enduring Curiosity; treat it as a card-advantage engine that needs the visible board to support it. Deploy it when evasive creatures can connect, when the opponent is low on removal, or when the hand needs refuel more than another counterspell window. Avoid tapping out for it while behind on board unless its legal text immediately stabilizes or the opponent's next play is low impact. It is strongest with Mausoleum Wanderer, Rattlechains, Supreme Phantom, Spell Queller, and Mutavault pressure already forcing the opponent to answer multiple angles.

- **Aang, Swift Savior:** Card text check required for Aang, Swift Savior; do not keep or sequence a hand around it unless the runtime text and legal actions confirm its role. Treat the single copy as a situational tactical card, not a core plan. Cast it when its visible legal text protects the clock, creates a tempo swing, or stabilizes a race better than holding up No More Lies or Spell Queller. Avoid exposing it into obvious removal if it is the only payoff in hand.

- **Mutavault:** Use Mutavault as pressure once colored mana is secure. It is valuable in long games because it turns land drops into repeatable damage and can pressure planeswalkers or opponents without spending cards. Do not prioritize early Mutavault activation over casting Supreme Phantom, Rattlechains, No More Lies, Spell Queller, Skyclave Apparition, or Enduring Curiosity when colored mana matters. Animate it defensively when a block preserves life total or when Supreme Phantom makes the combat math favorable.

- **Otawara, Soaring City:** Use Otawara, Soaring City as a blue source first when mana development needs it, and as a spell-like channel action later when the engine offers a legal target. Preserve it in hand only when other lands already cast the hand and a bounce effect is likely to swing tempo. Do not assume it can answer every permanent; follow visible legal actions.

- **Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire:** Use Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire as a white source first when Skyclave Apparition, Spell Queller, Sheltered by Ghosts, or sideboard cards require white. Preserve it as interaction later only when white mana is already stable and the public board makes the channel action likely to matter. Let the engine determine legal attack or block targets.

- **Seachrome Coast, Hallowed Fountain, Hengegate Pathway, Adarkar Wastes, Plains, and Island:** Sequence colored lands to cast early blue threats and double-white interaction on time. Seachrome Coast is best early before it enters tapped; Hallowed Fountain and Adarkar Wastes preserve both colors at a life cost; Hengegate Pathway should be set to the color the hand actually needs over the next two turns. Plains and Island are important for painless mana but can strand off-color spells, so plan around visible hand requirements rather than generic color balance.

## Interaction Priorities
- **Counter the spell that changes the race first.** Spend Spell Queller, No More Lies, Spell Snare, or Mausoleum Wanderer on sweepers, planeswalkers, combo engines, high-impact removal, and creatures that can dominate combat or block flyers efficiently. Do not counter low-impact cantrips or setup spells when the opponent is under a short clock unless public information shows that spell unlocks their decisive turn.

- **Use Spell Snare only when the two-mana spell is worth the narrow answer.** Prioritize opposing two-drops that remove Supreme Phantom, Rattlechains, Spell Queller, or Enduring Curiosity; block repeated flying attacks; accelerate a combo; or generate durable card advantage. Ignore replaceable small creatures if your flyers already race them, especially when No More Lies or Skyclave Apparition can cover the next stronger play.

- **Use No More Lies before the tax expires.** Counter the opponent's first important noncreature or stabilizing spell while they are constrained on mana, especially on turns two through five. Once the opponent has spare mana, prefer committing pressure or using No More Lies only on spells they cannot pay for. The exile clause matters against graveyard or recursion plans, but do not hold it for that alone if the current spell would swing the board.

- **Use Spell Queller as the premium tempo catch-all.** Save Spell Queller for spells that cost three or four, spells that dodge Spell Snare, or spells that must be answered while still adding a flying body. Protect it with Rattlechains, Mausoleum Wanderer, or No More Lies when it has exiled a decisive spell. Bait removal with Mausoleum Wanderer, Supreme Phantom, Mutavault, or Skyclave Apparition before exposing Spell Queller if the hand can still keep pressure.

- **Use Skyclave Apparition on resolved permanents that block, race, or lock you out.** Prioritize creatures with reach or large flying bodies, cheap engines that snowball, planeswalkers, and permanents that make attacks bad. Avoid using it on a minor permanent if the future Illusion token would stabilize the opponent better than the original card was hurting you. Against removal-heavy decks, consider whether losing Skyclave Apparition immediately gives the opponent a body that changes combat.

- **Use Sheltered by Ghosts and Seam Rip only from visible legal text.** Card text check required for Sheltered by Ghosts and Seam Rip. If the engine presents them as removal, target the permanent most responsible for stopping attacks or winning the race. If the engine presents a bounce, protection, or tempo mode, use it when the action converts into immediate damage, saves Spell Queller or Supreme Phantom, or prevents a lethal attack. Do not assume a target is legal or a mode exists unless Veles lists it.

- **Ignore cards that do not beat the clock.** Let small ground creatures, tapped utility permanents, low-impact card selection, or late ramp resolve when your flyers can end the game first. Change this rule against combo, graveyard, or control decks: counter the enabling engine even if it does not affect combat yet, because the race may be decided by a future noncombat turn.

- **Treat discard as an absent plan.** Azorius Spirits has no registered discard effects, so do not search for discard lines. If an opponent reveals a hand through their own effect or another legal public event, use that information only to rank counterspell, Skyclave Apparition, Otawara, Soaring City, Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire, Sheltered by Ghosts, and Seam Rip actions.

## Combat And Trading Rules
- **Attack as the default when the board supports a flying clock.** Mausoleum Wanderer, Rattlechains, Supreme Phantom, Spell Queller, Enduring Curiosity, and Mutavault usually win by repeated evasive damage backed by permission. Keep attacking when the opponent cannot present lethal on the backswing and your open mana makes their stabilizing play awkward.

- **Preserve Supreme Phantom when it changes multiple combats.** Do not trade Supreme Phantom for a single opposing creature unless the trade prevents lethal, removes a key blocker, or protects a stronger engine such as Enduring Curiosity. When Supreme Phantom pumps Mausoleum Wanderer or Mutavault into favorable combat, evaluate the entire board rather than the single attacker.

- **Preserve Rattlechains as protection when open mana matters.** If Rattlechains can protect a key Spirit from visible targeted interaction, avoid using it as a disposable attacker into obvious bad blocks. If the opponent is tapped out or racing, attack with it and force them to answer the clock later.

- **Use Mausoleum Wanderer as both damage and insurance.** Attack early when its damage matters, but do not sacrifice it into a spell unless the spell is worth losing a body and the counter condition is actually live. With Supreme Phantom, reassess Mausoleum Wanderer as a larger threat and stronger tax piece.

- **Animate Mutavault after colored commitments are covered.** Attack with Mutavault when it adds a meaningful clock, pressures planeswalkers, or benefits from Supreme Phantom. Do not spend mana on Mutavault if doing so prevents No More Lies, Spell Queller, Rattlechains, Skyclave Apparition, Enduring Curiosity, Sheltered by Ghosts, or Seam Rip from being used in a higher-impact window.

- **Block only when the life exchange demands it.** Avoid trading evasive attackers for ground creatures while above a stable life threshold and ahead in the air. Start blocking when the opponent threatens lethal within one or two attacks, when a protected block lets Rattlechains or another action punish removal, or when preserving life enables a counterspell turn that wins the race.

- **Race creature decks by removing blockers and preventing burst damage.** Against wide aggro, value Supreme Phantom pumps, Mutavault blocks, Sheltered by Ghosts or Seam Rip legal removal, and sideboard sweep effects after boarding. Against large midrange creatures, keep flying damage flowing and use Skyclave Apparition or tempo interaction on the one permanent that invalidates attacks.

- **Pressure control and combo instead of trading resources evenly.** Commit enough bodies to force action, then hold permission for sweepers, engines, and payoff spells. Do not overextend into a likely sweeper if two or three threats already create a fast clock, especially when Spell Queller or No More Lies can punish their recovery turn.

## Selection And Tutor Rules
- **Treat Azorius Spirits as a no-tutor deck.** There is no registered main-deck card that should be assumed to search the library, so do not spend decisions looking for a specific card unless Veles exposes a legal search, channel, selection, or reveal action from runtime text. When no selection action exists, improve future draws by preserving tempo, mana flexibility, and the highest-value threat already visible.

- **Use pseudo-selection by sequencing threats before answers when the hand lacks pressure.** Lead with Mausoleum Wanderer, Rattlechains, Supreme Phantom, or Mutavault pressure before holding up too many reactive cards, because No More Lies, Spell Snare, and Spell Queller are strongest when the opponent is forced to act into them. If the hand already has a fast clock, stop adding redundant bodies and let open mana select the best counter, flash creature, or channel line from the opponent's next play.

- **Use Enduring Curiosity as a card-flow engine only when the attack pattern supports it.** Card text check required. If Veles shows Enduring Curiosity creating draw or card-advantage actions tied to combat damage, prioritize evasive attackers and protection before committing it. Do not tap out for it into visible removal or a likely sweeper unless the current hand otherwise runs out of pressure or answers.

- **Make land-drop choices preserve double-role turns.** Prefer untapped blue-white access early so No More Lies, Spell Snare, Rattlechains, Supreme Phantom, Skyclave Apparition, and Spell Queller remain castable on curve. Use Hengegate Pathway according to the color the current hand is missing, keep Mutavault as a spell-like land when colored requirements are already covered, and avoid using Otawara, Soaring City or Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire as a land if Veles shows their channel text as an important late interaction line and the hand can still function.

- **Select removal targets by clock impact, not abstract value.** Skyclave Apparition, Sheltered by Ghosts, Seam Rip, Otawara, Soaring City, and Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire should answer the permanent that blocks flyers, threatens lethal, invalidates counters, or makes Enduring Curiosity attacks unsafe. Card text check required for Sheltered by Ghosts and Seam Rip; use only the modes and targets Veles exposes.

- **Bottom or decline optional low-impact selection if the engine exposes it.** If a runtime action from Aang, Swift Savior, Sheltered by Ghosts, Seam Rip, Enduring Curiosity, or a sideboard card offers a choice whose text is unclear, choose the option that preserves the board, mana, or known clock rather than assuming hidden upside. Card text check required for Aang, Swift Savior and Elspeth, Storm Slayer.

## Priority And Stack Rules
- **Pass priority when the opponent is not presenting a meaningful spell or combat swing.** Azorius Spirits wins by making the opponent act first, so keep mana open for No More Lies, Spell Snare, Spell Queller, Rattlechains, Mausoleum Wanderer, and channel abilities. Do not fire interaction into low-impact spells just because mana is available.

- **Use stack interaction in a layered order.** Use Spell Snare on important two-mana spells while legal, use No More Lies when the tax and exile clause matter, use Spell Queller for decisive three- or four-mana spells or spells that need a body attached to the answer, and sacrifice Mausoleum Wanderer only when its visible counter condition stops a spell worth losing the attacker. Preserve Spell Queller when it is already holding a decisive spell.

- **Respect flash windows as decision points.** Cast Rattlechains or Spell Queller on the opponent's turn when doing so protects a creature, counters a key spell, adds surprise pressure before your attack, or uses mana that would otherwise go unused. Avoid flashing in a creature just to spend mana if holding No More Lies, Spell Snare, Otawara, Soaring City, Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire, or Mutavault activation creates a stronger next decision.

- **Let spells resolve when the flying clock already beats them.** Do not counter small blockers that cannot block flyers, minor card filtering, tapped utility permanents, or removal aimed at expendable creatures if saving interaction protects Supreme Phantom, Enduring Curiosity, Spell Queller, or lethal damage. Reverse this against combo, graveyard, or control engines where the unresolved spell changes the next turn more than the current battlefield shows.

- **Use activated and channel abilities at the last useful legal window.** Animate Mutavault after attacks are declared when that preserves counter mana beforehand, and use Otawara, Soaring City or Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire only when the target and timing are visible through Veles. If the opponent moves to combat with lethal pressure, treat channel interaction as survival interaction rather than optional value.

- **Sequence optional triggers and payments around mana protection.** If Enduring Curiosity, Sheltered by Ghosts, Aang, Swift Savior, or sideboard cards expose optional triggers or payments, accept them only when the visible effect advances damage, protects a key Spirit, or converts into cards without sacrificing a higher-priority counterspell window. Do not consume mana that is needed for No More Lies, Spell Queller, Rattlechains, Settle the Wreckage, The Wandering Emperor, Get Lost, Lofty Denial, or Tishana's Tidebinder after sideboarding.

- **Time graveyard interaction only against visible graveyard reliance.** Rest in Peace, Soul-Guide Lantern, and No More Lies exile text matter most before the opponent can reuse graveyard cards or while a graveyard spell or trigger is on the stack. Do not spend Soul-Guide Lantern into an empty or low-value graveyard unless Veles shows a draw or replacement action that is clearly better than holding it.

- **Use combat-step priority to preserve the tempo plan.** After attackers, after blockers, and before damage, check whether Rattlechains, Seam Rip, Sheltered by Ghosts, Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire, Otawara, Soaring City, Settle the Wreckage, or The Wandering Emperor has a legal action that changes lethal, saves a key creature, or removes a blocker. If no such legal action exists, pass and keep the clock moving.

## Sideboard Map
- **Sideboard by role first, then exact matchup label.** Azorius Spirits should keep its flash-evasive tempo core intact unless the opponent invalidates counters, races on the ground, or uses the graveyard as a resource. Preserve Mausoleum Wanderer, Rattlechains, Spell Queller, Supreme Phantom, and enough untapped blue sources in most plans, because boarding too many tap-out cards turns the deck into a weaker midrange shell.

- **Use Seam Rip as extra clean interaction when the opponent presents important creatures, artifacts, enchantments, or combat permanents that must be answered on board.** Card text check required. Add the fourth Seam Rip against creature decks, aura-style decks, artifact engines, and permanent-based combo where more stack interaction is not enough. Seam Rip is bad when the opponent's key cards are instants, sorceries, planeswalkers, or low-impact permanents that do not block flyers or threaten the race.

- **Use High Noon against spell-chain combo, cheap-cantrip velocity, and decks that depend on taking many game actions in one turn.** Card text check required. Add High Noon when slowing both players still favors a flying board, especially if Mausoleum Wanderer, Spell Queller, No More Lies, and Spell Snare can protect an already-deployed clock. High Noon is bad when Azorius Spirits is behind on board, needs to double-spell to catch up, or must hold up interaction while also adding pressure every turn.

- **Use Tishana's Tidebinder as a flash answer to activated or triggered abilities that beat normal counters.** Card text check required. Add Tishana's Tidebinder against planeswalker abilities, creature-combo triggers, graveyard engines, channel-like abilities, and permanents that generate value without casting more spells. It is bad when the opponent is mostly attacking with vanilla-sized creatures or casting ordinary removal where No More Lies, Spell Queller, or Lofty Denial already cover the stack.

- **Use Get Lost as a broad answer when a resolved permanent matters more than tempo leakage.** Card text check required. Add Get Lost against planeswalkers, large creatures, enchantments, or permanent engines that Skyclave Apparition, Sheltered by Ghosts, Seam Rip, or channel lands cannot reliably answer. It is bad against very low-curve aggressive decks if the drawback gives the opponent resources that immediately convert into pressure.

- **Use The Wandering Emperor as a flash stabilizer and threat against removal-heavy midrange, control, and creature races where leaving four mana open is natural.** Card text check required. Add The Wandering Emperor when games slow down, when exile-speed removal matters, or when repeated token/counter pressure beats one-for-one removal. It is bad against spell-chain combo, graveyard combo, and decks where tapping four mana on the opponent's turn prevents holding up the decisive counter.

- **Use Lofty Denial as the extra permission spell when the flying battlefield is reliable.** Add Lofty Denial against control, combo, ramp, and midrange decks where stopping a key noncreature spell is worth a card and Mausoleum Wanderer, Rattlechains, Supreme Phantom, Spell Queller, or Mutavault pressure keeps the opponent under the tax. It is bad when the opponent empties their hand with cheap creatures or when the board is often empty after sweepers.

- **Use Soul-Guide Lantern as light graveyard pressure when graveyard interaction is useful but Rest in Peace is too costly or too narrow.** Add Soul-Guide Lantern against decks with individual graveyard payoffs, recursion bursts, escape-style threats, or reanimation lines where a single timed exile can buy a turn. It is bad when the opponent does not visibly depend on the graveyard or when High Noon, counterspells, and clock pressure answer the same axis better.

- **Use Rest in Peace as the hard graveyard plan when graveyard cards are central to the opponent's engine.** Add Rest in Peace against graveyard combo, recursive creature engines, sacrifice recursion, delve-style cost reduction, and decks where No More Lies exile text is not enough. Rest in Peace is bad when it does not affect the opponent's main route to victory or when spending turn two on a noncreature lets a faster battlefield kill through the hate.

- **Use Elspeth, Storm Slayer as a high-end pressure or stabilizing card only when the game is expected to become resource-heavy.** Card text check required. Add Elspeth, Storm Slayer against control, removal-heavy midrange, and slow creature decks if Veles shows its legal actions producing durable pressure, combat swings, or board recovery. It is bad against combo, low-curve aggro, and games where five or more mana is unlikely before Azorius Spirits must decide the game.

- **Use Settle the Wreckage as a punish card against wide attacks, large ground pressure, and opponents forced to attack through flyers.** Add Settle the Wreckage when the opponent must commit creatures to combat to win and when holding four mana can be disguised as Spell Queller, Rattlechains, The Wandering Emperor, or channel interaction. It is bad against control, combo, single-threat decks, and opponents who can pressure without attacking into open mana.

Graveyard engine or reanimation
Side in: 2 Rest in Peace; 1 Soul-Guide Lantern; 1 Tishana's Tidebinder; 1 Lofty Denial
Cut: 3 Sheltered by Ghosts; 1 Aang, Swift Savior; 1 Seam Rip

- **Plan rule:** Lead with pressure, then deploy Rest in Peace or Soul-Guide Lantern before the opponent can use the graveyard. Keep No More Lies and Spell Queller for enablers or payoffs that still matter through graveyard hate. Reduce main-deck emphasis: creature-only removal when the opponent's graveyard is the real battlefield.

Wide creature aggro
Side in: 2 Settle the Wreckage; 2 The Wandering Emperor; 1 Get Lost; 1 Seam Rip
Cut: 2 Spell Snare; 2 No More Lies; 1 Enduring Curiosity; 1 Aang, Swift Savior

- **Plan rule:** Become a flash-stabilizing flyer deck rather than a pure permission deck. Keep early Spirits to block, trade, and turn on Supreme Phantom, then use Settle the Wreckage or The Wandering Emperor at the combat window that changes lethal or removes the largest attacker. Reduce main-deck emphasis: narrow permission when the opponent's pressure is already on board.

Control or slow midrange
Side in: 2 Elspeth, Storm Slayer; 2 The Wandering Emperor; 1 Lofty Denial; 1 Tishana's Tidebinder
Cut: 3 Seam Rip; 2 Sheltered by Ghosts; 1 Skyclave Apparition

- **Plan rule:** Keep a small evasive clock and make the opponent answer at instant speed. Add role cards: planeswalker threats, extra permission, and ability interaction. Reduce main-deck emphasis: removal that lacks a target or only answers low-impact permanents. Do not overcommit into visible sweeper pressure; Spell Queller and flash threats are strongest when the opponent has to move first.

Spell-chain combo or big-mana noncreature engine
Side in: 2 High Noon; 1 Lofty Denial; 1 Tishana's Tidebinder; 1 Get Lost
Cut: 3 Sheltered by Ghosts; 1 Seam Rip; 1 Skyclave Apparition

- **Plan rule:** Present the fastest protected flying clock and make each opposing payoff pass through multiple taxes. High Noon is strongest after Azorius Spirits already has pressure, so avoid spending turn two on it if the hand has no creature and no immediate follow-up. Add role cards: High Noon, extra permission, and permanent answers for engines that resolve.

Artifact, enchantment, or permanent-based battlefield engine
Side in: 1 Seam Rip; 1 Get Lost; 1 Tishana's Tidebinder; 2 The Wandering Emperor
Cut: 2 Spell Snare; 1 Aang, Swift Savior; 1 Enduring Curiosity; 1 No More Lies

- **Plan rule:** Answer the permanent that changes combat or invalidates tempo before chasing small value pieces. Skyclave Apparition, Seam Rip, Get Lost, Otawara, Soaring City, Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire, and The Wandering Emperor should be aimed at the engine card, the best blocker, or the threat that shortens the clock. Add role cards: broad permanent interaction and flash stabilizers.

- **Archetype fallback:** Against unknown opponents, change the least. Add role cards only after Veles has public evidence: graveyard cards for graveyard dependence, High Noon for multi-spell turns, Settle the Wreckage for attack-heavy boards, and planeswalkers for slow removal battles. Reduce main-deck emphasis only when the visible game plan makes a card's targets scarce or its timing too slow.

## Matchup Guidance

- **Aggro:** Preserve life total first, then convert any stabilized turn into an evasive race. Keep hands with Mausoleum Wanderer, Rattlechains, Supreme Phantom, or Skyclave Apparition before hands that only hold No More Lies and Spell Queller, because fast creature decks can place threats on board before permission matters. Use Sheltered by Ghosts only when Veles shows a legal target that changes the damage race; Card text check required, so treat its lifegain or protection implications as conditional on rules-engine output. Add Settle the Wreckage, The Wandering Emperor, Get Lost, and the extra Seam Rip when the opponent wins through combat. Reduce main-deck emphasis on Spell Snare and some No More Lies if visible threats are already resolved creatures rather than stack-dependent plays.

- **Go-wide decks:** Hold flash creatures and removal for the combat step that changes lethal math. Supreme Phantom makes small Spirits trade up, but do not attack with a needed blocker when the opponent can present a lethal crack-back. Settle the Wreckage is the sideboard card that can reverse an overcommitted attack, so avoid tapping four mana on your own turn unless the board state demands immediate Skyclave Apparition or Sheltered by Ghosts. The Wandering Emperor can matter if its legal actions remove an attacker or build a blocker; Card text check required for exact modes.

- **Burn and low-curve red pressure:** Race only after the board is contained. Prioritize Seachrome Coast, Hallowed Fountain, Hengegate Pathway, and Adarkar Wastes sequencing to minimize unnecessary damage while still holding up interaction. Mausoleum Wanderer and Spell Queller are strongest when they counter burn aimed at ending the game or protect a clock from removal. Sheltered by Ghosts is valuable only if the legal action output confirms a stabilizing target and the attached creature is not likely to be removed for an immediate tempo loss. Cut expensive or slow cards cautiously; Elspeth, Storm Slayer is usually too slow unless the game has visibly stalled. Card text check required.

- **Control:** Commit one or two evasive threats, then force the opponent to act into flash pressure. Mausoleum Wanderer, Rattlechains, Spell Queller, Mutavault, and Enduring Curiosity punish opponents who pass with mana open, but do not empty the hand into visible sweeper pressure. Add Lofty Denial, Tishana's Tidebinder, The Wandering Emperor, and Elspeth, Storm Slayer for longer stack battles and noncreature threat diversity. High Noon can be useful only when the opponent relies on multi-spell recovery turns and Azorius Spirits already has pressure; it is not a substitute for a clock.

- **Removal-heavy midrange:** Make every threat awkward to answer rather than maximizing early damage. Rattlechains should often be held when the opponent represents instant-speed removal and a stronger Spirit is already on board. Mutavault is important because it attacks through sorcery-speed removal and lets Supreme Phantom keep combat pressure high. Add The Wandering Emperor, Elspeth, Storm Slayer, Lofty Denial, and Tishana's Tidebinder when games become one-for-one exchanges. Keep Skyclave Apparition for must-answer permanents and use Spell Queller only when the captured spell is worth exposing it to removal.

- **Tempo mirrors:** Fight over mana efficiency, board presence, and who is forced to move first. Spell Snare is high value when the opponent's key play costs two, while No More Lies and Spell Queller are strongest when protecting an existing flyer advantage. Avoid tapping out for Enduring Curiosity or Sheltered by Ghosts if the opponent can punish with a better flash turn. Tishana's Tidebinder and Lofty Denial are reasonable sideboard additions when the mirror involves activated or triggered abilities plus stack fights. Seam Rip is acceptable if the opponent presents important small creatures or tempo permanents; Card text check required.

- **Combo:** Present a fast Spirit clock and reserve permission for enablers or payoffs that actually advance the combo. Do not spend No More Lies on replaceable setup if Veles shows a later decisive spell is likely from public sequencing, but also do not pass forever if the opponent can win next turn. Add High Noon, Lofty Denial, Tishana's Tidebinder, and sometimes Get Lost if the combo uses a permanent. Rest in Peace and Soul-Guide Lantern come in only when graveyard use is public or strongly implied by revealed cards and game actions.

- **Big mana:** Make them answer early flyers before they reach payoff mana. Prioritize hands with a one- or two-mana Spirit plus No More Lies, Spell Queller, or Lofty Denial after sideboard. High Noon matters against spell-chain big-mana turns but is weaker against single huge threats; use Get Lost, Skyclave Apparition, Otawara, Soaring City, and Spell Queller according to the legal target or spell shown. Do not overvalue Sheltered by Ghosts when the opposing engine is mana and cards rather than a removable battlefield permanent.

- **Graveyard decks:** Deploy pressure before hate unless the opponent can use the graveyard immediately. Rest in Peace is the hard lock piece when graveyard access is central, while Soul-Guide Lantern is better when a single graveyard event must be timed without slowing the whole clock. No More Lies is still valuable because exiling a countered spell can matter, but do not assume it replaces graveyard hate. Cut creature-only removal if the graveyard engine is more important than the battlefield.

- **Artifact or enchantment engines:** Identify the permanent that changes the game, then spend broad answers on that permanent rather than on minor value. Skyclave Apparition, Seam Rip, Get Lost, Otawara, Soaring City, and Tishana's Tidebinder are the main tools, with The Wandering Emperor added only if combat also matters. Spell Queller and No More Lies should protect the window before the engine resolves; after resolution, prioritize legal permanent-answer actions over holding dead permission.

- **Single-threat decks:** Answer the one threat cleanly and avoid trading multiple cards unless lethal pressure demands it. Skyclave Apparition, Sheltered by Ghosts, Get Lost, The Wandering Emperor, Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire, and Otawara, Soaring City can each matter depending on card type, timing, and legal targets. Spell Queller is strong against the threat on the stack but fragile if removal can free it at a bad time. If the single threat is too large for normal combat, race with flyers only when removal or bounce is available before the next attack.

- **Midrange:** Shift roles every turn based on visible pressure. Attack when Supreme Phantom or Mutavault creates a fast clock, but hold up Spell Queller or Rattlechains when the opponent's mana suggests a key swing spell or removal turn. Enduring Curiosity is strongest after a flyer can safely connect; Card text check required, so rely on engine-confirmed actions and visible damage prospects. Sideboard toward The Wandering Emperor, Elspeth, Storm Slayer, Tishana's Tidebinder, and Lofty Denial when the opponent is slow, and toward Get Lost or Seam Rip when permanents decide the battlefield.

## Specific Matchup Notes

- **General note:** Treat these notes as archetype-only because no exact opponent decklists are supplied here; revealed cards, public zones, legal actions, and Forge prompts override every matchup assumption. Prioritize tactical confirmation from visible mana, revealed card types, graveyard use, combat size, and stack behavior before applying any archetype shortcut.

- **Creature aggro:** Stabilize first, then race with flyers. Priority targets are creatures that make attacks lethal, shut off blocking, or punish single blockers; use Skyclave Apparition, Sheltered by Ghosts, Seam Rip, Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire, and Settle the Wreckage only when legal targets or attack declarations justify them. Add role cards: Settle the Wreckage, The Wandering Emperor, Get Lost, Seam Rip. Reduce main-deck emphasis: slow Enduring Curiosity lines and fragile tap-out protection when the board is already behind.

- **Burn and low-curve pressure:** Preserve life while keeping a clock. Favor untapped blue-white sources that avoid unnecessary Hallowed Fountain or Adarkar Wastes damage when legal sequencing permits. Priority targets are lethal burn spells, prowess-style payoff creatures, and removal pointed at Supreme Phantom or Spell Queller. Add role cards: Lofty Denial, Get Lost, The Wandering Emperor, Settle the Wreckage if attacks go wide. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Elspeth, Storm Slayer unless the game visibly slows. Card text check required for Elspeth, Storm Slayer.

- **Control and sweepers:** Present one or two threats and make the opponent spend mana into flash interaction. Priority targets are sweepers, card-advantage engines, planeswalkers, and removal that unlocks a Spell Queller card at a bad time. Mutavault is important after removal because it rebuilds pressure without committing another spell. Add role cards: Lofty Denial, Tishana's Tidebinder, The Wandering Emperor, Elspeth, Storm Slayer, High Noon when the opponent needs multi-spell turns. Reduce main-deck emphasis: creature-only removal when no targets are visible.

- **Midrange removal piles:** Make every exchange protect tempo, not just card count. Hold Rattlechains when a stronger Spirit is exposed to instant-speed removal, and avoid Spell Queller on low-impact spells if visible removal can free the exiled card. Priority targets are must-answer permanents, removal that breaks a combat turn, and threats that race flyers. Add role cards: The Wandering Emperor, Elspeth, Storm Slayer, Tishana's Tidebinder, Lofty Denial, Get Lost. Reduce main-deck emphasis: narrow Spell Snare if public spells do not line up at two mana.

- **Combo and spell-chain engines:** Clock them before they assemble, then spend permission on enablers or payoffs that visibly advance the kill. No More Lies, Spell Queller, Mausoleum Wanderer, Spell Snare, Lofty Denial, High Noon, and Tishana's Tidebinder are the core tools, but do not assume a hidden payoff. Add role cards: High Noon, Lofty Denial, Tishana's Tidebinder, Rest in Peace or Soul-Guide Lantern only when graveyard use is public or strongly implied. Reduce main-deck emphasis: battlefield removal with no visible target class.

- **Graveyard decks:** Deploy pressure unless the opponent can use the graveyard immediately. Rest in Peace is strongest when ongoing graveyard access is central; Soul-Guide Lantern is stronger when timing one graveyard event matters. No More Lies exiling countered spells is useful but not a replacement for hate. Add role cards: Rest in Peace, Soul-Guide Lantern, Lofty Denial, Tishana's Tidebinder. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Seam Rip and Sheltered by Ghosts if the graveyard engine matters more than creatures or enchantments.

## Risk Summary

- **Mana risk:** The deck needs early blue-white access while often holding up interaction, so hands with Mutavault plus colorless pressure but no reliable blue source can strand Rattlechains, No More Lies, Spell Queller, or Supreme Phantom. Hallowed Fountain and Adarkar Wastes can also convert close races into losses if Veles chooses untapped or pain-producing lines without checking life pressure.

- **Matchup risk:** Azorius Spirits is punished when it misidentifies its role. Racing creature aggro before stabilizing, playing draw-go against inevitability, or treating combo setup as harmless can all waste the deck's tempo window.

- **Draw risk:** Threat-light hands with only counters can fall behind if the opponent plays permanents before permission is online. Interaction-light hands with only creatures can lose to one sweeper, one large blocker, or one resolved engine.

- **Over-sideboarding risk:** Too many non-Spirit sideboard cards reduce Supreme Phantom pressure, Mausoleum Wanderer tax strength, Rattlechains protection density, and Spell Queller tempo. Add hate only when it answers visible or likely axes, not just because the card is powerful.

- **Graveyard risk:** Rest in Peace can be correct but slow if cast before pressure, while Soul-Guide Lantern can be mistimed if used before the decisive graveyard action. Public graveyards and revealed cards should drive hate timing.

- **Sweeper and removal risk:** Tapping out for Enduring Curiosity, Sheltered by Ghosts, or extra creatures into represented sweepers or instant removal can erase the tempo lead. Rattlechains and counterspells should protect the threat that actually ends the game.

- **Closer risk:** The deck sometimes fails to end games if Supreme Phantom is removed and Mutavault cannot attack safely. Preserve evasive damage sources, and treat The Wandering Emperor or Elspeth, Storm Slayer as conditional closers only after card text and legal actions are confirmed.

- **Interaction and sequencing risk:** Spell Queller, No More Lies, Spell Snare, Mausoleum Wanderer, and Lofty Denial are strongest when matched to the opponent's decisive turn. Spending them on low-impact spells can leave Skyclave Apparition or Get Lost as the only answer after the real threat resolves.

## Test Feedback Checklist

- **Deciding factor:** Record whether the game was won by early evasive pressure, Supreme Phantom scaling, Mutavault damage after removal, Spell Queller tempo, Enduring Curiosity advantage, sideboard planeswalker pressure, or an opponent stumble. Record losses by the first tactical break point: missed threat, missed land, removal overload, sweeper, faster creature race, graveyard engine, combo turn, or stranded interaction.

- **Mulligans:** Check whether opening hands had a one- or two-mana creature, blue mana, white mana, and an interactive plan. Flag keeps with Mutavault plus no blue source, hands with only counters and no pressure, and hands with pressure but no way to answer a faster board.

- **Mana:** Track every game where Hallowed Fountain or Adarkar Wastes life loss mattered. Track whether Seachrome Coast, Hengegate Pathway, Plains, Island, Otawara, Soaring City, Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire, and Mutavault sequencing let the pilot hold up No More Lies, Spell Snare, Rattlechains, or Spell Queller on the key turn.

- **Velocity:** Record whether the deck spent turns adding damage or merely passing with interaction. A pass is successful only if the held action protected pressure, countered a decisive spell, enabled flash development, or preserved life in a visible race.

- **Engines:** Note whether Enduring Curiosity created actual card advantage before the game was decided. Card text check required if Forge prompts do not make the attachment, damage, or draw condition explicit.

- **Removal:** Grade Skyclave Apparition, Sheltered by Ghosts, Seam Rip, Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire, Get Lost, Settle the Wreckage, and The Wandering Emperor by target quality, timing, and whether using removal opened a safer attack or prevented lethal pressure.

- **Permission:** Grade No More Lies, Spell Queller, Spell Snare, Mausoleum Wanderer, Lofty Denial, High Noon, and Tishana's Tidebinder by whether they stopped the opponent's decisive turn instead of a low-impact spell. Record when Spell Queller was exposed to visible removal that returned the exiled spell at a bad time.

- **Sideboard:** Record which sideboard cards changed the game: Seam Rip, High Noon, Tishana's Tidebinder, Get Lost, The Wandering Emperor, Lofty Denial, Soul-Guide Lantern, Elspeth, Storm Slayer, Settle the Wreckage, and Rest in Peace. Card text check required for Elspeth, Storm Slayer if the engine output does not clarify the relevant ability.

- **Closing:** Track whether Supreme Phantom, Mausoleum Wanderer, Rattlechains, Spell Queller, Aang, Swift Savior, Skyclave Apparition, Mutavault, The Wandering Emperor, or Elspeth, Storm Slayer delivered the final damage. Flag games where the pilot stabilized but failed to close before the opponent recovered.

- **Role and mistakes:** Identify whether the pilot should have been beatdown, flash-tempo, stabilizing control, or hate-card defender. Flag attacks that lost needed blockers, blocks that traded away the clock unnecessarily, and tap-out plays that ignored visible stack or mana pressure.

- **Stranded cards:** Record every card left unusable because of mana, timing, target absence, or role conflict. Pay special attention to Spell Snare, Sheltered by Ghosts, Seam Rip, Enduring Curiosity, Settle the Wreckage, Rest in Peace, Soul-Guide Lantern, High Noon, and planeswalkers.

- **Overperformers and underperformers:** List exact cards that repeatedly produced wins, rescued losing positions, or sat idle. Separate main-deck performance from sideboard performance so tuning does not overreact to one matchup.

## First Tuning Questions

- **Threat count:** Does the deck need the current single Aang, Swift Savior, or did games show that another early Spirit, another Enduring Curiosity, or another interactive slot would better support the flash-tempo plan? Card text check required before changing Aang, Swift Savior assumptions.

- **Interaction mix:** Are 4 No More Lies, 4 Spell Queller, 2 Spell Snare, 4 Mausoleum Wanderer, and 1 Lofty Denial after sideboard enough against combo and control, or are too many permission cards stranded against creature decks?

- **Removal mix:** Are 3 Seam Rip, 3 Sheltered by Ghosts, 4 Skyclave Apparition, and sideboard Get Lost plus Settle the Wreckage correctly balanced, or do losses cluster around permanents that one removal type cannot answer cleanly?

- **Card advantage:** Is 3 Enduring Curiosity the right quantity, or does it underperform when the deck is behind, facing removal, or forced to hold up mana? Track whether it is a closer, a recovery tool, or a win-more card.

- **Mana base:** Are 3 Mutavault and 4 Adarkar Wastes costing too much consistency or life, or are they essential for post-removal pressure and untapped interaction? Track games where colorless lands stranded No More Lies, Spell Queller, Rattlechains, or Supreme Phantom.

- **Aggro plan:** Does the sideboard need the full 2 Settle the Wreckage and 2 The Wandering Emperor, or are creature matchups decided before four-mana cards matter? Track whether Get Lost and the extra Seam Rip solve the same problem faster.

- **Control plan:** Do High Noon, Tishana's Tidebinder, Lofty Denial, The Wandering Emperor, and Elspeth, Storm Slayer create enough post-board pressure without diluting Spirits synergies? Card text check required for Elspeth, Storm Slayer before assigning it a firm closer role.

- **Graveyard plan:** Are 2 Rest in Peace plus 1 Soul-Guide Lantern enough, too many, or wrongly timed? Track whether graveyard hate won games, arrived after the decisive graveyard action, or reduced pressure without affecting the opponent.

- **Role conflict:** Are sideboard noncreature cards reducing Supreme Phantom damage, Mausoleum Wanderer tax strength, and Rattlechains protection density too often? Tune only after separating true hate-card wins from games where pressure would have ended faster.

- **Closer package:** Does the deck close quickly enough without overcommitting into sweepers, or should tuning prioritize more resilient pressure, more Mutavault support, or more planeswalker threats from The Wandering Emperor and Elspeth, Storm Slayer?

## Veles Tactical Policy

### Policy: Opening Threat Requirement
- Priority: High
- Decision families: mulligan
- Cards: Mausoleum Wanderer; Rattlechains; Supreme Phantom; Aang, Swift Savior; Spell Queller; Skyclave Apparition
- Phase windows: pregame; opening hand; mulligan decisions
- Runtime cues: prompt:mulligan; visible opening hand; land count; blue source count; early creature count
- Use when: deciding keep or mulligan before game start.
- Avoid when: engine reports no mulligan choice or hand contents are unavailable.
- Instructions: Keep hands that deploy an early creature and can interact by turn two or three; mulligan hands with no pressure unless they contain a clear matchup-specific hate or removal plan. Treat Mutavault as pressure, not as colored mana.
- Pilot skill floor: basic
- No-API allowed: no
- Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: First Creature Setup
- Priority: Medium
- Decision families: mana; priority
- Cards: Mausoleum Wanderer; Rattlechains; Supreme Phantom; Mutavault
- Phase windows: turns 1-2 main phases; opponent end step
- Runtime cues: action:cast; action:play land; visible hand; available mana
- Use when: the deck has no battlefield pressure and at least one legal early creature or creature-land setup exists.
- Avoid when: holding up Spell Snare or No More Lies is required by visible lethal, combo, or decisive stack pressure.
- Instructions: Establish an evasive or flash threat before playing pure draw-go. Prefer Mausoleum Wanderer when legal on turn one; prefer Rattlechains at instant speed when the opponent gives a safe end-step window.
- Pilot skill floor: basic
- No-API allowed: no
- Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Colored Land Sequencing
- Priority: Medium
- Decision families: mana
- Cards: Seachrome Coast; Hengegate Pathway; Hallowed Fountain; Adarkar Wastes; Plains; Island; Mutavault; Otawara, Soaring City; Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire
- Phase windows: land play decisions; early turns; pre-combat main phase
- Runtime cues: action:play; visible hand; available land plays; required colors for legal actions
- Use when: choosing a land drop or color face with multiple legal land actions visible.
- Avoid when: only one legal land action exists.
- Instructions: Preserve blue early for Mausoleum Wanderer, Rattlechains, Spell Snare, No More Lies, and Spell Queller; preserve white for Skyclave Apparition, Sheltered by Ghosts, Seam Rip, and sideboard removal. Do not count Mutavault as colored mana when planning double-spell turns.
- Pilot skill floor: intermediate
- No-API allowed: no
- Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Untapped Life Payment Gate
- Priority: Medium
- Decision families: mana
- Cards: Hallowed Fountain; Adarkar Wastes; Seachrome Coast
- Phase windows: land entry choices; spell payment choices
- Runtime cues: action:pay life; action:enter untapped; life total; legal interaction this turn
- Use when: a visible land or mana payment asks whether to spend life for untapped colored mana.
- Avoid when: life loss would place the pilot dead to visible attackers or visible stack damage.
- Instructions: Pay life when it enables immediate pressure, No More Lies, Spell Snare, Rattlechains, Spell Queller, or removal needed this turn. Decline life payment when the same relevant action remains legal without it or when racing math makes life the limiting resource.
- Pilot skill floor: intermediate
- No-API allowed: no
- Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Permission Commitment Gate
- Priority: High
- Decision families: priority; interaction
- Cards: No More Lies; Spell Snare; Spell Queller; Mausoleum Wanderer; Lofty Denial; Tishana's Tidebinder
- Phase windows: opponent casting windows; stack decisions; combat trick windows
- Runtime cues: action:counter; action:cast Spell Queller; action:sacrifice Mausoleum Wanderer; visible stack
- Use when: the opponent has a spell or ability on the stack and a counter, tax, or stifle-style action is legal.
- Avoid when: the stack object is low impact and saving interaction protects lethal pressure, prevents a sweeper, or stops a stronger visible follow-up.
- Instructions: Spend permission on spells that remove the clock, resolve a decisive engine, create lethal pressure, or break through current defenses. Prefer the cheapest answer that preserves future flash pressure and avoid exposing Spell Queller if visible removal can immediately punish it.
- Pilot skill floor: advanced
- No-API allowed: no
- Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Spell Queller Target Gate
- Priority: High
- Decision families: interaction; priority
- Cards: Spell Queller
- Phase windows: opponent stack windows; own flash windows
- Runtime cues: action:cast Spell Queller; action:target spell; visible stack object
- Use when: Spell Queller is legal and the engine presents one or more stack targets.
- Avoid when: the target spell is not worth risking Spell Queller or visible mana/board suggests the opponent can remove Spell Queller before the tempo gain matters.
- Instructions: Use Spell Queller as a tempo counter for decisive spells, not as a routine creature. If multiple targets exist, choose the spell whose resolution most threatens the clock, survival, or the current lock on tempo.
- Pilot skill floor: advanced
- No-API allowed: no
- Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Mausoleum Wanderer Tax Use
- Priority: High
- Decision families: interaction; priority
- Cards: Mausoleum Wanderer; Supreme Phantom
- Phase windows: stack decisions; opponent main phase; combat interaction windows
- Runtime cues: action:sacrifice Mausoleum Wanderer; action:counter target; visible stack; opponent available mana
- Use when: Mausoleum Wanderer can tax a visible instant or sorcery on the stack.
- Avoid when: the opponent can visibly pay and the sacrifice does not still force a meaningful mana loss or protect lethal damage.
- Instructions: Sacrifice only when the tax counters the spell or when forcing payment changes the turn by denying a visible follow-up. Account for Supreme Phantom increasing Wanderer's power if the engine exposes the tax amount.
- Pilot skill floor: intermediate
- No-API allowed: no
- Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Flash Development Window
- Priority: Medium
- Decision families: priority; mana
- Cards: Rattlechains; Spell Queller; Enduring Curiosity
- Phase windows: opponent end step; own end step; priority after opponent passes
- Runtime cues: action:cast Rattlechains; action:cast Spell Queller; action:cast Enduring Curiosity; empty stack
- Use when: the opponent passes with no stack object and the pilot has unused mana plus flash-speed development.
- Avoid when: holding mana through the next action protects against a known or visible threat.
- Instructions: Add pressure on opponent end step when interaction was not needed. Prefer threats that improve next-turn damage while leaving the next turn's mana flexible.
- Pilot skill floor: intermediate
- No-API allowed: no
- Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Enduring Curiosity Commitment Gate
- Priority: High
- Decision families: priority; combat; mana
- Cards: Enduring Curiosity; Rattlechains; Mausoleum Wanderer; Supreme Phantom; Spell Queller
- Phase windows: pre-combat main phase; combat damage setup; opponent end step
- Runtime cues: action:cast Enduring Curiosity; visible attackers; opponent untapped mana; removal risk
- Use when: Enduring Curiosity is legal and the pilot can plausibly connect with evasive damage or needs card advantage.
- Avoid when: casting it taps out into visible removal, sweeper pressure, or a race where immediate board interaction is required.
- Instructions: Commit Enduring Curiosity when it is likely to generate cards before the opponent stabilizes. Card text check required if the engine does not expose attachment, damage, or draw conditions.
- Pilot skill floor: advanced
- No-API allowed: no
- Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Removal Target Gate
- Priority: High
- Decision families: interaction; selection
- Cards: Skyclave Apparition; Sheltered by Ghosts; Seam Rip; Get Lost; Settle the Wreckage; The Wandering Emperor; Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire; Otawara, Soaring City
- Phase windows: own main phase; opponent combat; stack and priority windows
- Runtime cues: action:target; action:exile; action:destroy; action:return; visible permanents
- Use when: a removal, bounce, channel, or exile action asks for a target.
- Avoid when: the target does not change damage, unlock attacks, stop a combo piece, or prevent a decisive permanent from taking over.
- Instructions: Target the permanent that most affects the next full turn cycle: lethal attacker, key blocker, engine piece, planeswalker, or hate piece. Prefer temporary answers only when the tempo gain closes the game or prevents immediate loss.
- Pilot skill floor: advanced
- No-API allowed: no
- Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Combat Clock Discipline
- Priority: Medium
- Decision families: combat
- Cards: Mausoleum Wanderer; Rattlechains; Supreme Phantom; Spell Queller; Skyclave Apparition; Aang, Swift Savior; Mutavault
- Phase windows: declare attackers; declare blockers; combat damage setup
- Runtime cues: action:attack; action:block; visible battlefield; life totals
- Use when: choosing attacks or blocks with more than one legal combat action.
- Avoid when: exactly one legal combat action exists and it is forced by the engine.
- Instructions: Attack when damage advances a two- or three-turn clock without losing the only needed blocker. Keep creatures back when racing math, crack-back damage, or a protected planeswalker makes blocking more valuable than chip damage.
- Pilot skill floor: intermediate
- No-API allowed: no
- Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Supreme Phantom Leverage
- Priority: Medium
- Decision families: combat; priority
- Cards: Supreme Phantom; Mausoleum Wanderer; Rattlechains; Spell Queller; Aang, Swift Savior
- Phase windows: pre-combat main phase; declare attackers; opponent end step
- Runtime cues: action:cast Supreme Phantom; visible Spirit attackers; combat damage preview
- Use when: Supreme Phantom is legal and the battlefield contains Spirits or the hand can create Spirits soon.
- Avoid when: committing it into visible sweeper or removal pressure is worse than holding interaction.
- Instructions: Use Supreme Phantom to turn evasive creatures into a fast clock and to improve Mausoleum Wanderer tax pressure. Sequence it before attacks when the damage increase matters this turn.
- Pilot skill floor: intermediate
- No-API allowed: no
- Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Mutavault Activation Gate
- Priority: Medium
- Decision families: mana; combat
- Cards: Mutavault; Supreme Phantom
- Phase windows: declare attackers; declare blockers; end step pressure
- Runtime cues: action:activate Mutavault; action:attack with Mutavault; available mana
- Use when: Mutavault activation is legal and colored mana use for interaction is also visible or inferable from legal actions.
- Avoid when: activating Mutavault prevents No More Lies, Spell Snare, Rattlechains, Spell Queller, or needed removal from staying legal.
- Instructions: Activate Mutavault when it adds meaningful damage, blocks profitably, or pressures after removal. Preserve colored mana when the current turn is about protecting the board rather than adding one attacker.
- Pilot skill floor: intermediate
- No-API allowed: no
- Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Exact Mandatory Mana Action
- Priority: Low
- Decision families: mana
- Cards: none
- Phase windows: spell payment prompts; ability payment prompts
- Runtime cues: action:pay
- Use when: exactly one legal action contains a visible `pay` instruction and no alternative payment action is listed by the engine.
- Avoid when: two or more payment actions are legal or payment consumes a named source that affects another legal action.
- Instructions: Submit the sole visible payment action because the strategic decision has already been made and the engine exposes no branch.
- Pilot skill floor: basic
- No-API allowed: yes
- Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Graveyard Hate Commitment
- Priority: High
- Decision families: sideboard; priority; interaction
- Cards: Rest in Peace; Soul-Guide Lantern
- Phase windows: early main phase; opponent graveyard setup; response windows
- Runtime cues: action:cast Rest in Peace; action:cast Soul-Guide Lantern; action:activate Soul-Guide Lantern; visible graveyards
- Use when: graveyard hate is legal and graveyard contents or matchup role make graveyard access decisive.
- Avoid when: hate does not affect visible resources and casting it sacrifices pressure or interaction needed against the current board.
- Instructions: Deploy Rest in Peace before the opponent converts graveyard setup into material advantage. Use Soul-Guide Lantern timing to deny the critical graveyard card or preserve pressure when full lock pieces are too slow.
- Pilot skill floor: intermediate
- No-API allowed: no
- Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Sideboard Role Selection
- Priority: High
- Decision families: sideboard; pregame
- Cards: Seam Rip; High Noon; Tishana's Tidebinder; Get Lost; The Wandering Emperor; Lofty Denial; Soul-Guide Lantern; Elspeth, Storm Slayer; Settle the Wreckage; Rest in Peace
- Phase windows: sideboard submission after game 1; sideboard submission after game 2
- Runtime cues: prompt:sideboard; matchup label; previous game public summary
- Use when: choosing or validating a sideboard plan.
- Avoid when: the engine is already in-game or sideboard choices are locked.
- Instructions: Add cards that answer the opponent's proven axis while preserving enough cheap Spirits to maintain tempo. Do not overload on expensive cards unless the matchup slows down after sideboard.
- Pilot skill floor: advanced
- No-API allowed: no
- Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Hate And Planeswalker Tap-Out Gate
- Priority: High
- Decision families: priority; sideboard; mana
- Cards: High Noon; The Wandering Emperor; Elspeth, Storm Slayer; Settle the Wreckage
- Phase windows: own main phase; opponent combat; end step flash window
- Runtime cues: action:cast High Noon; action:cast The Wandering Emperor; action:cast Elspeth, Storm Slayer; action:cast Settle the Wreckage
- Use when: a sideboard haymaker or four-mana stabilizer is legal and casting it changes available interaction.
- Avoid when: tapping out exposes the pilot to visible lethal, a decisive stack play, or losing the established tempo clock.
- Instructions: Commit these cards when they stabilize a losing board, lock a spell-chain matchup, or create a superior threat that the opponent must answer. Card text check required for Elspeth, Storm Slayer if the engine output does not clarify the chosen ability.
- Pilot skill floor: advanced
- No-API allowed: no
- Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Single Forced Pass
- Priority: Low
- Decision families: priority
- Cards: none
- Phase windows: any priority window
- Runtime cues: action:pass
- Use when: exactly one legal action is visible and its action text is `pass` or equivalent priority pass text.
- Avoid when: any non-pass legal action is visible.
- Instructions: Submit the sole pass action because the engine exposes no strategic branch.
- Pilot skill floor: basic
- No-API allowed: yes
- Light-model allowed: yes
