# Strategy Specifications
## Deck Name And Archetype
Doomsday is a Vintage blue-black combo deck built around resolving `Doomsday` and ending the game with `Thassa's Oracle`, backed by free permission, discard, fast mana, and compact card selection. Active format is Vintage, registered main deck count is 60, registered sideboard count is 15, and the provided format-aware validation result passes the active contract of at least 60 main-deck cards and at most 15 sideboard cards.

- Identity: The strategy is a proactive spell-combo deck, not a fair blue control deck; every decision should measure whether it accelerates, protects, or cleanly executes a `Doomsday` or `Thassa's Oracle` win.
- Tags: The current archetype tags are `combo` and `spells`; duplicate tag text is normalized as the same role signal rather than a separate plan.
- Stock status: Treat this as a hybrid Vintage Doomsday configuration with a recognizable `Doomsday` plus `Thassa's Oracle` core and deck-specific card choices such as `Flow State`, `Street Wraith`, `Consider`, and `Necropotence`.
- Rogue status: Do not assume stock-pile templates or stock sideboard plans from memory; runtime choices should use legal action text, visible resources, and this registered 75 before applying generic Vintage Doomsday heuristics.
- Main-deck validation: The registered main deck includes 4 `Doomsday`, 2 `Thassa's Oracle`, 1 `Demonic Consultation`, 1 `Necropotence`, 4 `Force of Will`, 2 `Flusterstorm`, 1 `Misdirection`, 4 `Dark Ritual`, 1 `Black Lotus`, 1 `Mox Sapphire`, 1 `Mox Jet`, cantrips, draw spells, discard, tutors, and 14 lands.
- Sideboard validation: The registered sideboard contains exactly 15 cards: 4 `Leyline of the Void`, 1 `Consign to Memory`, 1 `Force of Negation`, 1 `Long Goodbye`, 1 `Thoughtseize`, 1 `Steel Sabotage`, 1 `Hurkyl's Recall`, 2 `Unable to Scream`, 1 `Mindbreak Trap`, 1 `Snap`, and 1 `Null Rod`.
- Mana concern: The deck is low on lands and heavily dependent on blue and black access, so hands must be judged by actual visible mana production from `Underground Sea`, `Undercity Sewers`, fetch lands, `Island`, `Mox Sapphire`, `Mox Jet`, `Black Lotus`, and `Dark Ritual` rather than by spell quality alone.
- Color concern: `Doomsday`, `Dark Ritual`, `Necropotence`, `Thoughtseize`, `Duress`, `Demonic Tutor`, and `Demonic Consultation` pressure black mana, while `Thassa's Oracle`, `Ponder`, `Brainstorm`, `Ancestral Recall`, `Force of Will`, `Flusterstorm`, `Consider`, `Flow State`, `Gush`, `Dig Through Time`, `Treasure Cruise`, `Mental Misstep`, `Misdirection`, and `Time Walk` pressure blue mana.
- Role concern: The pilot should prefer becoming the protected combo deck whenever a protected `Doomsday` line is visible, but should temporarily play a permission-discard role when the opponent presents faster combo pressure, graveyard acceleration, artifact mana bursts, or disruptive permanents.
- Legality concern: This guide gives strategy, not rules authority; Veles must obey the current legal action list and rules-engine outputs for target legality, timing, mana payments, hidden-zone access, and whether a spell or ability can be used.
- Card-text concern: `Flow State`, `Consign to Memory`, `Long Goodbye`, `Unable to Scream`, and any card whose exact Oracle text is unavailable at runtime require card text confirmation before assigning precise mode, timing, or target policy beyond visible legal action text.
- Opponent information status: No specific opponent decklist or matchup is supplied in this batch, so opponent modeling should stay broad and public-information based until visible cards, companion information, revealed hands, graveyards, permanents, or match metadata identify an archetype.
- Runtime information rule: Do not infer hidden cards from format familiarity; use `Gitaxian Probe`, `Thoughtseize`, `Duress`, public zones, stack history, and revealed information to update the opponent model only when Veles exposes that information legally.
- Pilot objective: Maximize the number of game states where `Doomsday` resolves with enough life, mana, library access, and protection to convert, while avoiding unnecessary exposure to opposing interaction when waiting preserves a stronger protected line.

## Thesis
Doomsday assembles a compact protected win by resolving `Doomsday`, reducing the library to a deterministic pile, then using draw, cycling, cantrips, or direct library manipulation to enable `Thassa's Oracle` or a `Demonic Consultation` plus `Thassa's Oracle` finish. Prioritize hands and lines that combine black acceleration, blue selection, and at least one protection or information effect before committing the namesake spell.

- Win rule: Treat `Doomsday` as the central commitment, `Thassa's Oracle` as the primary payoff, and `Demonic Consultation` as both a compact alternate kill piece and a dangerous card that should only be used when the legal action, library state, and visible stack make the win or search objective explicit.
- Protection rule: Prefer protected combo turns over fast but naked combo turns when the opponent has open mana, revealed interaction, known graveyard or artifact pressure, or enough clock that passing gives them a new draw step without improving the combo.
- Information rule: Use `Gitaxian Probe`, `Thoughtseize`, `Duress`, visible stack history, and public zones to decide whether to force through the combo now; do not assume hidden interaction from format memory when Veles has not exposed it.
- Setup rule: Use `Ponder`, `Brainstorm`, `Consider`, `Flow State`, `Street Wraith`, `Ancestral Recall`, `Gush`, `Dig Through Time`, and `Treasure Cruise` to find the missing category: mana, `Doomsday`, `Thassa's Oracle`, protection, or a post-`Doomsday` draw step.
- Mana rule: Prioritize black sources and burst black mana for `Doomsday`, `Dark Ritual`, `Demonic Tutor`, `Necropotence`, `Thoughtseize`, `Duress`, and `Demonic Consultation`, while preserving blue mana for `Thassa's Oracle`, selection, and stack fights.
- Non-plan rule: This deck is not trying to win fair combat games, grind with creatures, lock the table indefinitely, or answer every permanent; every defensive action should buy time for a protected spell-combo turn.
- Text-safety rule: `Flow State` requires Card text check required before assigning exact tactical timing beyond visible legal action text; if the rules engine presents it as selection, draw, or interaction, treat the exposed legal action literally.

## Role Package
- Threats: `Doomsday` is the main threat because it converts a stable resource position into a near-immediate kill; `Necropotence` is a secondary engine-threat when life total, black mana, and turn structure allow a reload without dying before the cards matter; `Time Walk` is a tempo-threat when it creates the protected next turn needed to win.
- Payoffs: `Thassa's Oracle` is the main win payoff and should be protected as a scarce resource because only two copies are registered; `Demonic Consultation` is a payoff partner with `Thassa's Oracle` when the legal line empties or functionally empties the library, but it is not a casual selection spell unless the rules-engine line and game state justify the risk.
- Engines: `Doomsday` is the defining engine; `Necropotence` is the high-risk card-flow engine; `Dark Ritual`, `Black Lotus`, `Mox Jet`, and `Mox Sapphire` form the explosive engine that turns small hands into immediate combo turns.
- Velocity: `Ponder`, `Brainstorm`, `Consider`, `Flow State`, `Street Wraith`, `Gitaxian Probe`, `Ancestral Recall`, `Gush`, `Dig Through Time`, and `Treasure Cruise` are the card-access module; use them to identify the missing combo category rather than to accumulate generic card advantage. `Street Wraith` is especially important after `Doomsday` because cycling can access pile cards without spending mana if the legal action is available and life total permits.
- Interaction: `Thoughtseize` and `Duress` clear known disruption before commitment and update the opponent model legally; `Mental Misstep`, `Flusterstorm`, `Force of Will`, `Misdirection`, and sideboard counters fight opposing stack pressure. Use discard before committing when the opponent's hand is unknown and mana allows it, but avoid spending the only black source if it prevents `Doomsday`.
- Protection: `Force of Will`, `Flusterstorm`, `Mental Misstep`, `Misdirection`, `Force of Negation`, `Mindbreak Trap`, and `Consign to Memory` are the protection shell, with exact timing based on visible stack objects and legal targets. `Consign to Memory` requires Card text check required before exact target policy.
- Recursion: The registered 75 has no dedicated recursion plan; `Dig Through Time` and `Treasure Cruise` use graveyard resources for card access, but they should not be treated as recovering destroyed combo pieces unless the rules engine exposes a legal line that actually does so.
- Mana: `Underground Sea`, `Undercity Sewers`, `Polluted Delta`, `Flooded Strand`, `Misty Rainforest`, `Scalding Tarn`, `Island`, `Mox Sapphire`, `Mox Jet`, `Black Lotus`, and `Dark Ritual` define keepability. Fetch lands should usually secure the color that converts the current hand, with black access weighted heavily when `Doomsday`, `Dark Ritual`, or discard is present.
- Sideboard modules: `Leyline of the Void` attacks graveyard engines; `Null Rod`, `Steel Sabotage`, and `Hurkyl's Recall` address artifact-heavy pressure; `Long Goodbye`, `Snap`, and `Unable to Scream` are creature or permanent interaction pending card text confirmation where needed; `Thoughtseize` adds hand disruption; `Force of Negation`, `Mindbreak Trap`, and `Consign to Memory` add stack coverage against fast combo or specific noncreature threats.

## Primary Win Conditions
- `Doomsday` into `Thassa's Oracle` is the default kill: resolve `Doomsday` with enough life to survive the immediate turn cycle, enough mana or pending draw access to reach the pile, and enough protection to force through `Thassa's Oracle`. Prioritize this path when the hand already contains `Doomsday` plus a pile access card such as `Street Wraith`, `Ponder`, `Brainstorm`, `Consider`, `Ancestral Recall`, `Gush`, or a natural draw step protected by `Time Walk`.
- Execute the `Doomsday` path only after checking visible mana, life, stack pressure, and revealed interaction. Use `Thoughtseize`, `Duress`, and `Gitaxian Probe` before commitment when legal and affordable; use `Force of Will`, `Flusterstorm`, `Mental Misstep`, and `Misdirection` to defend the resolving `Doomsday`, the pile-access spell, or `Thassa's Oracle`, not low-impact setup spells unless losing that spell strands the combo.
- `Doomsday` pile execution should conserve the scarce payoff. Do not expose `Thassa's Oracle` before the library state makes it a winning or necessary action, and do not cycle `Street Wraith` after `Doomsday` if the life loss creates an immediate loss to visible pressure unless the cycle is part of a forced win this turn.
- `Thassa's Oracle` plus `Demonic Consultation` is the compact alternate kill: use it when both pieces are present or when `Demonic Tutor` can find the missing piece and the legal line can be protected. Prioritize this path over `Doomsday` when life is too low for `Doomsday`, when the opponent can punish a reduced library on a pass, or when the hand has enough blue and black mana to win immediately through known interaction.
- `Demonic Consultation` must be treated as a commitment spell, not a generic cantrip. Cast it with `Thassa's Oracle` on the stack or in a rules-engine state where naming the required card is clearly part of a winning line; avoid using it to find ordinary resources unless the alternative is functionally losing and the visible game state leaves no safer route.
- `Demonic Tutor` is a win-path bridge: tutor for `Doomsday` when the hand has mana, pile access, and protection; tutor for `Thassa's Oracle` or `Demonic Consultation` when the other half is already available; tutor for `Black Lotus`, `Dark Ritual`, or protection only when the missing category is mana or stack defense and the payoff is otherwise secured.

## Secondary Win Conditions
- `Necropotence` is the main secondary engine when the immediate combo is missing but black mana and life total are available. Use it to reload toward `Doomsday`, `Thassa's Oracle`, `Demonic Consultation`, and protection, but avoid paying life so aggressively that `Street Wraith`, `Thoughtseize`, fetch lands, or visible attackers make the next turn unsafe.
- `Time Walk` is a secondary conversion tool rather than a fair tempo card. Cast it when the extra turn creates a protected draw step into a `Doomsday` pile, unlocks mana after a setup turn, or lets `Necropotence` cards become usable before the opponent receives another meaningful attack or disruption window.
- `Ancestral Recall`, `Dig Through Time`, `Treasure Cruise`, `Gush`, `Ponder`, `Brainstorm`, `Consider`, and `Flow State` are secondary win enablers by finding missing categories. `Flow State` requires Card text check required; follow only the legal action text Veles exposes, and treat it as selection or card access only when the rules engine presents that function.
- `Dark Ritual`, `Black Lotus`, `Mox Jet`, and `Mox Sapphire` create secondary wins by compressing the combo turn. Use burst mana to cast discard plus `Doomsday`, `Demonic Tutor` plus payoff, or protected `Thassa's Oracle` lines; do not spend the last black mana on setup if it prevents the actual `Doomsday` or `Demonic Consultation` turn.
- Fair combat is not a planned win condition. `Thassa's Oracle` may block or attack only when the combo plan is already unavailable, redundant copies exist, or survival requires the body; otherwise preserve it as a payoff.

## Emergency Lines
- When behind on life, prefer immediate `Thassa's Oracle` plus `Demonic Consultation` over `Doomsday` if both are legal and protectable, because `Doomsday`, `Street Wraith`, `Thoughtseize`, fetch lands, and `Necropotence` can make life the binding constraint. If no immediate kill exists, use interaction to buy exactly the turn needed rather than trying to stabilize indefinitely.
- When behind on board, ignore nonlethal pressure only if the current line wins before combat matters. Use `Time Walk` as a survival bridge, preserve `Force of Will` for stack objects that stop the win or create lethal pressure, and treat `Thassa's Oracle` as a blocker only after checking whether losing it removes the last payoff.
- When behind on cards, use `Necropotence`, `Ancestral Recall`, `Dig Through Time`, `Treasure Cruise`, `Gush`, `Ponder`, `Brainstorm`, `Consider`, and visible `Flow State` actions to find a missing category rather than trading resources randomly. If graveyard size is low, do not assume `Dig Through Time` or `Treasure Cruise` is castable until Veles exposes the legal action.
- When behind on mana, prioritize lines that convert `Dark Ritual`, `Black Lotus`, `Mox Jet`, `Mox Sapphire`, and fetchable blue-black lands into a single protected turn. Fetch for black when `Doomsday`, `Dark Ritual`, discard, `Demonic Tutor`, or `Demonic Consultation` is the bottleneck; fetch for blue when `Thassa's Oracle`, protection, or cantrip access is the bottleneck.
- When combo pieces are removed, shift to the remaining deterministic package. If one `Thassa's Oracle` is gone, protect the second copy heavily; if `Demonic Consultation` is unavailable, bias toward `Doomsday`; if `Doomsday` is unavailable, bias toward `Thassa's Oracle` plus card-selection lines only when Veles exposes a real library-emptying or winning route.

## Resource Model
- Life is a spendable combo resource until `Doomsday`, `Street Wraith`, `Thoughtseize`, fetch lands, `Gitaxian Probe`, and `Necropotence` make it the bottleneck. Treat every life payment as part of one clock calculation: current life, visible attackers, known burn or drain on stack, post-`Doomsday` life total, and whether the line wins before the opponent attacks again.
- Hand size converts directly into protection density and missing combo categories. Preserve cards that represent distinct roles: payoff (`Thassa's Oracle`), commitment (`Doomsday` or `Demonic Consultation`), access (`Ponder`, `Brainstorm`, `Consider`, `Ancestral Recall`, `Gush`, `Dig Through Time`, `Treasure Cruise`, `Street Wraith`, `Flow State` with Card text check required), mana (`Dark Ritual`, `Black Lotus`, `Mox Jet`, `Mox Sapphire`), and stack defense (`Force of Will`, `Flusterstorm`, `Mental Misstep`, `Misdirection`).
- Mana is the deck's main timing constraint because winning often requires black setup plus blue payoff in the same turn. Plan turns around producing black for `Dark Ritual`, `Doomsday`, `Demonic Tutor`, `Demonic Consultation`, `Thoughtseize`, `Duress`, or `Necropotence`, while still leaving blue for `Thassa's Oracle`, `Ponder`, `Brainstorm`, `Consider`, `Ancestral Recall`, `Time Walk`, `Flusterstorm`, `Force of Will`, or `Misdirection`.
- Board presence is mostly irrelevant except as a survival clock. `Thassa's Oracle` is not a normal creature resource unless it is redundant, the combo line is unavailable, or blocking preserves a forced win; do not trade away the only payoff for small tempo.
- Graveyard size is fuel for `Dig Through Time` and `Treasure Cruise`, but graveyard reliance is conditional on legal actions. Fetch lands, `Gitaxian Probe`, cantrips, discard, counter wars, and cycled `Street Wraith` all increase delve access; do not assume delve spells are castable until Veles exposes them.
- Exile is a real cost zone, not only a bookkeeping zone. `Force of Will`, `Misdirection`, `Dig Through Time`, `Treasure Cruise`, `Demonic Consultation`, and post-board `Force of Negation` or `Mindbreak Trap` can consume cards or move key cards away from future lines, so check whether exiling a blue card or library card removes the last payoff, access piece, or protection layer.
- Lands are both color fixing and life-cost decisions. Fetch lands should find `Underground Sea` when both colors are needed, `Island` when blue is enough and preserving black exposure is unnecessary, and `Undercity Sewers` only when its tapped timing or utility is acceptable under the visible clock.
- Sacrifice fodder is not a planned resource in the registered main deck. Do not treat `Thassa's Oracle`, `Mox Jet`, `Mox Sapphire`, `Black Lotus`, or lands as expendable unless the rules engine presents a legal sacrifice/payment choice and the selected line is immediately winning or prevents immediate loss.
- Tempo is valuable only when it creates a safer combo window. `Time Walk` buys a draw step, untap, or `Necropotence` conversion turn; `Force of Will`, `Flusterstorm`, `Mental Misstep`, and `Misdirection` spend cards for tempo only when the opposed spell disrupts the win, wins the game, or creates a clock that makes waiting impossible.
- Information is a combo resource. Use `Gitaxian Probe`, `Thoughtseize`, and `Duress` before a commitment when legal and affordable, because revealed interaction determines whether to cast `Doomsday`, hold protection, choose `Thassa's Oracle` plus `Demonic Consultation`, or wait.
- Sideboard bullets convert narrow matchups into protected windows rather than a different deck. `Leyline of the Void`, `Consign to Memory`, `Force of Negation`, `Long Goodbye`, `Thoughtseize`, `Steel Sabotage`, `Hurkyl's Recall`, `Unable to Scream`, `Mindbreak Trap`, `Snap`, and `Null Rod` should be valued by whether they stop the opponent's fastest visible axis while preserving enough blue, black, and card velocity to execute the combo.

## Mana Guide
- Utility-land sequencing: explicitly track `Flooded Strand` as the deck's named nonbasic or utility-land decisions. Use these lands to satisfy the next visible color or utility requirement before taking speculative lines: play or fetch colored sources before cantrips and discard that need exact mana, keep utility lands when their activated or disruptive text is part of the current plan, and delay utility-land sacrifices until the follow-up spell or ability is already legal. When choosing between a stable colored source and a utility land, choose the source that casts the current hand under visible pressure, then use the utility land once the required colors are secure.

- Keep opening hands that can produce black quickly and blue reliably with a real path to a payoff or selection. A strong keep usually has one or more lands or zero-mana sources, at least one black source for `Dark Ritual`, `Doomsday`, `Demonic Tutor`, `Demonic Consultation`, discard, or `Necropotence`, and either a combo piece, `Demonic Tutor`, or enough selection to find one.
- Mulligan hands that cannot produce black, cannot produce blue, or need multiple unprotected draw steps to function. Hands with only `Mox Sapphire` and blue cantrips may be keepable only if they also have fetch access or strong selection; hands with only black mana and no access spell risk failing to convert.
- Sequence fetch lands around known color bottlenecks. Fetch `Underground Sea` first when the hand contains both black commitment and blue payoff/protection; fetch `Island` when opposing nonbasic pressure is visible or black is already covered by `Mox Jet`, `Black Lotus`, or another `Underground Sea`; delay cracking fetch lands when `Brainstorm` or `Ponder` can use the shuffle.
- Play `Undercity Sewers` only when the tapped turn does not cost a protected combo attempt. If Veles exposes utility text or surveil-like selection, treat it as conditional card access; Card text check required for exact tactical assumptions.
- Deploy `Mox Jet`, `Mox Sapphire`, and `Black Lotus` when they enable immediate discard, protected selection, `Doomsday`, `Necropotence`, `Time Walk`, or a winning `Thassa's Oracle` turn. Hold zero-mana artifacts when visible opposing artifact punishment or post-board `Null Rod` timing makes exposing them costly, unless the current turn requires the mana.
- Use `Dark Ritual` as commitment mana more often than setup mana. Spend it on `Doomsday`, `Necropotence`, or `Demonic Tutor` only when the follow-up plan is clear; avoid ritualing into a cantrip chain that leaves no black for the actual kill.
- Preserve blue cards for `Force of Will` and `Misdirection` when entering a protected turn. Do not pitch the only `Thassa's Oracle`, the only cantrip that accesses a `Doomsday` pile, or the only blue card left unless the opposed spell beats the chosen line.
- Play lands before draw spells when the spell requires mana this turn, when `Flusterstorm` protection needs extra mana after resolution, or when a visible tax effect must be paid. Wait on land drops before `Brainstorm`, `Ponder`, `Consider`, `Ancestral Recall`, `Gitaxian Probe`, `Street Wraith`, or `Gush` when the next card may change which land to play or whether a fetch shuffle is needed.
- Float or sequence mana before `Gush` only when the legal action text and visible lands make the line clear. Returning lands can protect a draw engine or create storm-like sequencing, but it can also remove the black or blue needed after drawing.
- Post-board mana must include bullet costs without losing combo colors. `Consign to Memory`, `Force of Negation`, `Steel Sabotage`, `Hurkyl's Recall`, `Unable to Scream`, `Snap`, `Long Goodbye`, `Thoughtseize`, `Mindbreak Trap`, `Leyline of the Void`, and `Null Rod` each change what early mana matters; keep hands that cast the relevant bullet and still reach black-blue combo mana.

## Mulligan Guide
- Strong keep: keep hands with fast black mana, a payoff, and protection or information. `Underground Sea`, `Dark Ritual`, `Doomsday`, `Thassa's Oracle`, `Force of Will`, any blue card, and `Ponder` is a premium hand because it can threaten an early protected commitment while still sculpting.
- Strong keep: keep `Thassa's Oracle` plus `Demonic Consultation` with blue mana and at least one disruption layer. A hand like `Underground Sea`, `Mox Sapphire`, `Thassa's Oracle`, `Demonic Consultation`, `Force of Will`, `Flusterstorm`, and any blue card can win without exposing `Doomsday` to life-total pressure.
- Medium keep: keep one-land cantrip hands when they already make blue and have multiple looks. `Polluted Delta`, `Ponder`, `Brainstorm`, `Consider`, `Street Wraith`, `Force of Will`, and a blue pitch card is acceptable on the play only if black access is realistically findable before the opponent's clock matters.
- Medium keep: keep `Necropotence` hands when black mana is immediate and life total is not under visible pressure. `Dark Ritual` into `Necropotence` is a plan, but it becomes risky without blue follow-up, discard, or a clear next-turn conversion into `Doomsday` or `Thassa's Oracle` plus `Demonic Consultation`.
- Risky keep: keep `Doomsday` without `Thassa's Oracle` only when draw access is dense. `Doomsday`, `Dark Ritual`, `Ponder`, `Street Wraith`, `Gitaxian Probe`, and a fetch land is functional, but do not assume a clean pile if Veles has not exposed the needed draw action.
- Automatic ship: mulligan hands with no land, no `Black Lotus`, no `Mox Jet`, no `Mox Sapphire`, and no immediate legal mana path. This deck cannot keep a purely spell-heavy opener just because it contains `Doomsday` or `Force of Will`.
- Automatic ship: mulligan hands that contain only protection and no selection, tutor, payoff, or black access. Multiple `Force of Will`, `Flusterstorm`, or `Misdirection` cards do not win by themselves and can strand the deck under any real clock.
- Matchup-dependent keep: keep `Leyline of the Void` openers post-board against graveyard-centric opponents if the rest of the hand has at least one blue or black plan. Do not keep a hand that is only `Leyline of the Void` plus air unless the opponent's public plan is almost entirely graveyard-dependent.
- Matchup-dependent keep: keep post-board disruption-heavy hands with `Thoughtseize`, `Duress`, `Force of Negation`, `Mindbreak Trap`, `Steel Sabotage`, `Hurkyl's Recall`, `Long Goodbye`, `Snap`, `Unable to Scream`, `Consign to Memory`, or `Null Rod` only when the named card answers a visible or expected axis and the hand still has a path to combo.
- Play/draw rule: keep slightly faster, less protected hands on the play when `Gitaxian Probe`, `Thoughtseize`, or `Duress` can clear the way before committing. On the draw, prefer `Force of Will`, `Mental Misstep`, `Flusterstorm`, `Misdirection`, or sideboard free interaction because the opponent gets the first explosive window.
- Trap hand: ship hands that look powerful but cannot assemble colors. `Mox Sapphire`, `Ponder`, `Force of Will`, `Ancestral Recall`, `Time Walk`, `Gush`, and `Thassa's Oracle` may still fail if no black source or tutor appears before the opponent can act.
- Trap hand: avoid keeping `Black Lotus`, `Doomsday`, and no draw or payoff unless the remaining cards include exact legal access. A fast `Doomsday` that passes the turn with no protected draw can lose to pressure, discard, graveyard disruption, or simple failure to execute.
- Card text check required: evaluate `Flow State` only by runtime legal actions and revealed text. Do not keep a hand because `Flow State` is assumed to be selection, protection, or payoff unless Veles exposes that function.

## Turn Arc
- Turn 1: prioritize information, mana development, and a protected kill over blind sculpting. Lead with `Gitaxian Probe`, `Thoughtseize`, or `Duress` before `Doomsday`, `Necropotence`, or `Thassa's Oracle` plus `Demonic Consultation` when legal and affordable.
- Turn 1: cast `Ponder`, `Brainstorm`, `Consider`, `Ancestral Recall`, or `Flow State` when the hand lacks a complete line. Preserve fetch lands for `Brainstorm` or `Ponder` shuffles unless immediate black-blue access is required.
- Turn 1: commit `Dark Ritual` into `Doomsday` only with a visible draw route, sufficient life, and protection or verified low resistance. Commit `Dark Ritual` into `Necropotence` when the extra cards are more reliable than a fragile immediate pile.
- Turn 1 deviation: use `Mental Misstep`, `Force of Will`, `Flusterstorm`, or `Misdirection` on opposing disruption, lethal acceleration, or a spell that prevents the selected combo window. Do not spend protection on low-impact spells when the hand can win soon.
- Turn 2: convert selection into a named route. Preferred lines are protected `Doomsday`, `Demonic Tutor` for the missing combo piece, `Thassa's Oracle` plus `Demonic Consultation`, or `Time Walk` when it safely creates the untap needed for a protected win.
- Turn 2: use `Street Wraith`, `Gitaxian Probe`, `Ponder`, `Brainstorm`, `Consider`, `Ancestral Recall`, `Dig Through Time`, or `Treasure Cruise` as access only when the mana and graveyard costs are legal. Do not exile the last payoff, tutor, or protection card to delve unless the new line is clearly stronger.
- Turn 3: force the issue if the opponent's visible clock or resource engine is growing. A protected `Doomsday` or `Thassa's Oracle` line is usually better than another pass once discard has expired or the opponent can present more interaction.
- Turn 3 deviation: wait when revealed information shows hard disruption and the hand can add a protection layer. Use `Demonic Tutor`, `Ponder`, `Brainstorm`, `Dig Through Time`, or `Treasure Cruise` to find `Force of Will`, `Flusterstorm`, `Misdirection`, discard, or the missing payoff.
- Turns 4-5: treat the game as shrinking. Life paid to `Doomsday`, fetch lands, `Gitaxian Probe`, `Street Wraith`, and `Necropotence` matters more, so do not start a line that leaves the opponent with a visible lethal attack unless the current stack or draw action wins first.
- Turns 4-5: use sideboard interaction to buy exactly one winning window. `Hurkyl's Recall`, `Steel Sabotage`, `Long Goodbye`, `Snap`, `Unable to Scream`, `Consign to Memory`, `Mindbreak Trap`, `Force of Negation`, `Leyline of the Void`, and `Null Rod` should support a combo turn rather than become a long control plan.
- Late game: prioritize deterministic access over maximum card quantity. `Demonic Tutor`, `Dig Through Time`, `Treasure Cruise`, `Ancestral Recall`, and `Necropotence` are strongest when they find a protected two-card kill or the final `Doomsday` enabler, not when they simply extend the game.
- Late game deviation: protect the only payoff more aggressively. Do not pitch the last `Thassa's Oracle` to `Force of Will` or `Misdirection` unless the opposed spell causes immediate loss or prevents an already-selected win.

## Card Roles
- `Doomsday`: treat `Doomsday` as the defining commitment card, not as a generic setup spell. Cast it only when Veles exposes a legal draw path, payoff access, enough life after the life-total reduction, and either protection or reliable information that the opponent cannot stop the line. The common mistake is resolving `Doomsday` because black mana is available, then discovering that `Street Wraith`, `Gitaxian Probe`, `Ponder`, `Brainstorm`, `Consider`, `Ancestral Recall`, `Gush`, `Dig Through Time`, `Treasure Cruise`, or `Flow State` cannot legally access the pile on the required timing.
- `Thassa's Oracle`: use `Thassa's Oracle` as the primary payoff and preserve at least one copy unless the current stack or board state demands otherwise. Cast it before `Demonic Consultation` only when the legal line requires the trigger and library manipulation can make the trigger lethal or safe; do not expose `Thassa's Oracle` into open interaction if a protected `Doomsday` line can wait. Avoid pitching the final `Thassa's Oracle` to `Force of Will` or `Misdirection` unless the opposed spell causes immediate loss or prevents an already-selected win.
- `Demonic Consultation`: use `Demonic Consultation` as a kill piece with `Thassa's Oracle`, not as casual selection. Name choices must follow the exact legal line and visible action text; do not use it to search speculatively unless the game is otherwise lost or the named card is the only route. When paired with `Thassa's Oracle`, respect trigger order and stack interaction: the deck wants the opponent unable to remove the payoff, counter the relevant spell, or exploit the library loss before the trigger resolves.
- `Dark Ritual`: treat `Dark Ritual` as the main black burst that converts one black source into `Doomsday`, `Necropotence`, `Demonic Tutor`, or protected discard-plus-combo turns. Spend it aggressively when it creates a same-turn protected win or a high-yield `Necropotence`; hold it when it only makes mana without a payoff. Do not fire `Dark Ritual` before `Thoughtseize`, `Duress`, `Gitaxian Probe`, or selection if those actions can reveal whether the burst turn is safe.
- `Black Lotus`, `Mox Jet`, and `Mox Sapphire`: use the zero-mana artifacts to compress the combo turn and preserve colored requirements. `Black Lotus` is strongest when it funds `Doomsday`, `Thassa's Oracle`, `Demonic Tutor`, or multiple protection layers in one turn; avoid spending it for low-impact selection unless the hand otherwise cannot function. `Mox Jet` supports black commitment and `Mox Sapphire` supports blue cantrips, payoff, and protection; sequence them around `Null Rod` post-board if `Null Rod` is in the plan.
- `Force of Will`: reserve `Force of Will` for opposing interaction that stops the kill, opposing fast wins, or permanent hate that makes the selected line fail. Pitch cards according to redundancy: extra blue selection is easier to pitch than the last `Thassa's Oracle`, `Doomsday`, `Demonic Consultation`, or only draw action after `Doomsday`. The common mistake is countering a medium spell and then having no protection for the combo turn.
- `Flusterstorm`, `Mental Misstep`, and `Misdirection`: use `Flusterstorm` to fight stack battles over the combo, especially when multiple spells have already been cast. Use `Mental Misstep` only on one-mana spells that materially affect the current route; do not spend it just because a legal target exists. Use `Misdirection` as a narrow protection piece when the opposing spell has a legal retarget that preserves the line; do not assume every counterspell, discard spell, or removal spell can be redirected profitably.
- `Thoughtseize`, `Duress`, and `Gitaxian Probe`: lead with information when a commitment is close. `Gitaxian Probe` is also a draw trigger for post-`Doomsday` piles, so do not spend it early if the hand already knows enough and needs a free post-pile draw. `Thoughtseize` can take creatures or other noncreature cards according to legal choices, while `Duress` is restricted by its legal target set; follow Veles candidate options rather than assuming a preferred card is selectable.
- `Ponder`: use `Ponder` as the most flexible pre-combo sculpting card and as a possible post-`Doomsday` access card. Preserve fetch lands such as `Flooded Strand`, `Misty Rainforest`, `Polluted Delta`, and `Scalding Tarn` when a shuffle decision matters. Do not shuffle away a functional pile or top-card setup unless Veles exposes that the kept cards cannot complete the line.
- `Brainstorm`: use `Brainstorm` to protect critical cards from discard, repair clunky hands, and access post-`Doomsday` cards with fetch-land cleanup. Pair it with `Flooded Strand`, `Misty Rainforest`, `Polluted Delta`, or `Scalding Tarn` when bad cards must leave the hand. Avoid casting it with no shuffle and no immediate purpose if the hand can instead commit or gather information.
- `Consider`, `Street Wraith`, `Gush`, `Ancestral Recall`, `Dig Through Time`, and `Treasure Cruise`: classify these as access engines with different costs. `Street Wraith` is valuable because it can draw without mana, but the life payment matters after fetch lands, `Gitaxian Probe`, `Thoughtseize`, `Necropotence`, and `Doomsday`. `Consider` is cheap selection and graveyard fuel; choose graveyard or keep-top based on the visible line. `Gush` can be a free draw burst but returning lands can break black access, protection mana, or future land drops. `Ancestral Recall` is premium card quantity and can target self for resources; do not point it elsewhere unless the legal line explicitly requires that outcome. `Dig Through Time` and `Treasure Cruise` reward a full graveyard, but delve decisions must not exile the last route, payoff, or protection if an alternate cost prompt exposes specific cards.
- `Flow State`: Card text check required. Use `Flow State` only according to runtime legal actions and revealed card text, and do not assume it is draw, selection, protection, or combo payoff until Veles exposes its function. If it provides card access, evaluate it against `Ponder`, `Consider`, `Brainstorm`, `Ancestral Recall`, `Dig Through Time`, and `Treasure Cruise`; if it provides interaction or another effect, follow the visible prompt and preserve combo essentials.
- `Necropotence`: use `Necropotence` as a powerful alternative engine when an immediate kill is unsafe or incomplete. It is best after `Dark Ritual` or fast artifact mana when life is high and the opponent's visible pressure is low. Do not overpay life when `Doomsday`, fetch lands, `Street Wraith`, `Gitaxian Probe`, and `Thoughtseize` may also reduce the life cushion.
- `Demonic Tutor`: use `Demonic Tutor` to find the missing exact piece, not the most generically powerful card. Typical roles are `Doomsday`, `Thassa's Oracle`, `Demonic Consultation`, `Dark Ritual`, `Black Lotus`, protection, or a draw spell needed to execute an already viable pile. If the opponent is pressuring the stack, tutoring for protection can be stronger than tutoring for speed.
- `Time Walk`: use `Time Walk` as a protected setup extension or a way to untap after sculpting, not as a decorative extra turn. It is strongest when the extra turn converts known top cards, mana, or a protected hand into a win. Do not spend it if passing the current turn gives the opponent a visible lethal or decisive interaction window that the extra turn does not prevent.
- `Underground Sea`, `Undercity Sewers`, `Island`, and fetch lands: prioritize black-blue access before luxury sequencing. `Underground Sea` is the core land because it supports `Dark Ritual`, discard, `Doomsday`, blue selection, and blue protection. Fetch lands should find the color pair needed by the current line while preserving shuffle utility for `Brainstorm` and `Ponder`; `Island` protects blue functionality when black is already covered. Card text check required for `Undercity Sewers` if Veles exposes non-basic land text or enters-tapped behavior that affects timing.

## Interaction Priorities
- Protect the combo turn before protecting card quantity. Spend `Force of Will`, `Flusterstorm`, `Mental Misstep`, or `Misdirection` first on opposing stack actions that stop `Doomsday`, counter `Thassa's Oracle`, exile the graveyard during a graveyard-reliant line, strip the only payoff, or create a faster lethal win; let medium card-draw, routine mana, and nonlethal setup resolve when the hand can still win through it.
- Use discard as a commitment scanner, not as a reflex. `Thoughtseize` and `Duress` should remove the visible card that beats the current line: hard permission if the kill is ready, discard if the hand is fragile, graveyard interaction if using `Dig Through Time`, `Treasure Cruise`, or `Demonic Consultation`, and permanent hate if it blocks `Black Lotus`, `Mox Jet`, `Mox Sapphire`, `Dark Ritual`, or the post-`Doomsday` draw chain.
- Counter fast wins ahead of fair value. Against combo mirrors, reserve `Force of Will`, `Flusterstorm`, `Mental Misstep`, `Mindbreak Trap`, and `Force of Negation` for the opponent's decisive spell sequence or protection fight; do not trade protection for a cantrip unless Veles shows that cantrip is the opponent's last visible route to winning now.
- Fight graveyard pressure according to the active route. When the line uses `Demonic Consultation` plus `Thassa's Oracle`, graveyard size is less important than stack protection and payoff resolution; when the line depends on `Dig Through Time`, `Treasure Cruise`, or threshold-like delve volume, preserve graveyard cards and counter or discard visible graveyard hate more aggressively.
- Prioritize hate permanents that constrain execution. `Steel Sabotage`, `Hurkyl's Recall`, `Snap`, `Long Goodbye`, `Unable to Scream`, `Consign to Memory`, and `Null Rod` are tactical tools only when their legal targets materially change the combo turn; avoid spending them on low-impact permanents if the opponent still has stack interaction or a faster clock.
- Treat `Black Lotus`, `Dark Ritual`, `Demonic Tutor`, `Doomsday`, `Thassa's Oracle`, and `Demonic Consultation` as bait only with a clear fallback. A protected opponent may counter the first must-answer spell; bait with `Ponder`, `Consider`, `Brainstorm`, `Ancestral Recall`, `Time Walk`, or `Necropotence` when losing that spell still leaves a functional route and may expose `Force of Will`, `Flusterstorm`, or other visible permission.
- Ignore pressure that does not change the turn count. Small attacks, value permanents, and nonlethal card advantage should not pull interaction away from a ready kill; reassess only when life payments from `Street Wraith`, `Gitaxian Probe`, `Thoughtseize`, fetch lands, `Necropotence`, and `Doomsday` make the opposing battlefield a real clock.
- Adjust targets by archetype. Against artifact-heavy decks, favor `Steel Sabotage`, `Hurkyl's Recall`, and `Null Rod` only when they buy a turn or clear a lock; against graveyard decks, `Leyline of the Void` is a pregame or opening-hand priority; against creature pressure, `Long Goodbye`, `Snap`, and `Unable to Scream` protect life total long enough to assemble; against blue decks, every interaction choice should be measured against the final stack fight over `Doomsday`, `Thassa's Oracle`, or `Demonic Consultation`.

## Combat And Trading Rules
- Avoid combat as a plan. This deck normally wins through `Doomsday`, `Thassa's Oracle`, and `Demonic Consultation`, so attacks are incidental and should not expose resources, tap mana unnecessarily, or distract from sculpting a protected combo turn.
- Protect life total as a combo resource. Life pays for `Street Wraith`, `Gitaxian Probe`, `Thoughtseize`, fetch lands, `Necropotence`, and the post-`Doomsday` cushion; block or remove creatures when the visible clock would make those payments unsafe before the next realistic kill turn.
- Do not trade away strategic permanents for cosmetic damage. `Mox Jet`, `Mox Sapphire`, `Black Lotus`, lands, and any engine permanent matter more than chip attacks; if Veles exposes an attack or block involving a temporary creature or transformed object, take it only when it cannot reduce mana, card access, or protection.
- Block only to preserve a necessary life threshold or prevent lethal. Because the main deck has almost no creature-board plan beyond `Thassa's Oracle`, a block with `Thassa's Oracle` is acceptable only after its trigger has resolved or when survival requires it; do not risk the last payoff body before the combo is complete.
- Use bounce and removal as time-buying tools. `Snap`, `Long Goodbye`, and `Unable to Scream` should answer the creature that shortens the clock below the combo setup window, attacks a key resource, or represents a visible disruptive ability; ignore creatures that leave enough life and time for a protected kill.
- Preserve protection through combat steps. If the opponent passes into combat with open mana, keep `Force of Will`, `Flusterstorm`, `Mental Misstep`, `Misdirection`, `Force of Negation`, or `Mindbreak Trap` for the spell that matters; do not spend stack interaction on a combat trick unless it creates lethal, prevents your next-turn win, or removes the only combo piece.
- Respect archetype speed. Against creature decks, value `Necropotence` less when life is low and prefer lines that win sooner or use `Snap`, `Long Goodbye`, or `Unable to Scream`; against slower blue decks, life total can be spent more freely to gain information and cards; against combo decks, combat is usually irrelevant unless it creates a one-turn clock that changes commitment timing.

## Selection And Tutor Rules
- Prioritize information before irreversible commitment. Use `Gitaxian Probe`, `Thoughtseize`, and `Duress` before `Doomsday`, `Demonic Tutor`, `Necropotence`, or a protected `Thassa's Oracle` line when mana and life allow, because the selected line depends on whether the opponent can stop the key spell, remove the payoff, or win first.
- Treat `Demonic Tutor` as the cleanest missing-piece finder. Find `Doomsday` when the hand has mana, a draw step or cantrip, and protection; find `Thassa's Oracle` when `Doomsday` or `Demonic Consultation` is already available; find `Force of Will`, `Flusterstorm`, `Mental Misstep`, or `Misdirection` only when the current hand can win but cannot survive the visible stack fight.
- Use `Demonic Consultation` as a win-route card, not a casual tutor. The default deterministic role is pairing it with `Thassa's Oracle`; do not cast it early for a replaceable setup card unless Veles shows that waiting loses and the named card is the only legal route.
- Sequence cantrips to preserve shuffle value. Cast `Ponder` before cracking `Flooded Strand`, `Misty Rainforest`, `Polluted Delta`, or `Scalding Tarn` when the top three are bad and a shuffle is needed; cast `Brainstorm` before a fetch when the hand has excess `Street Wraith`, duplicate payoff pieces, extra lands, or cards that are weak before the combo turn.
- Use `Consider` and `Street Wraith` as precise pile and velocity tools. Before `Doomsday`, they dig for missing mana, protection, or payoff; after `Doomsday`, they should be spent only when their visible draw timing advances the planned pile without consuming life needed to survive.
- Use `Ancestral Recall`, `Treasure Cruise`, `Dig Through Time`, `Gush`, and `Necropotence` according to commitment risk. Draw before committing when you need protection or land drops; avoid graveyard-consuming delve if the active line needs graveyard volume later; use `Necropotence` only when life total and end-step timing still leave a realistic protected kill.
- Use `Gush` as a resource conversion spell only when returning lands does not strand `Dark Ritual`, `Doomsday`, `Thassa's Oracle`, or protection. Prefer it when land replay, free mana, or a post-`Doomsday` draw need is visible; avoid it if bouncing `Underground Sea`, `Undercity Sewers`, or `Island` cuts off black or blue for the current turn.
- Bottom or shuffle away redundant pieces by role. Extra `Doomsday` is weak once one is protected and castable; extra `Thassa's Oracle` matters only against discard or removal; extra `Dark Ritual` is excellent before `Doomsday` but weaker after enough black mana is secured; spare lands are lower priority once blue, black, and shuffle needs are covered.
- Delay land-drop decisions until selection clarifies colors. Fetch after seeing `Ponder`, `Brainstorm`, `Consider`, or `Gitaxian Probe` information when possible; commit `Underground Sea` for black-heavy `Dark Ritual` plus `Doomsday` turns, and commit `Island` when blue protection matters and black is already available.
- Card text check required for `Flow State`. Use it only after Veles exposes legal action text or known rules output; if it is a selection spell, apply the same rule as other cantrips: use it to find missing combo, mana, or protection before commitment and to execute only visible post-`Doomsday` draw requirements after commitment.

## Priority And Stack Rules
- Commit to `Doomsday` only when the stack fight is acceptable. Check visible mana, known hand information, available `Force of Will`, `Flusterstorm`, `Mental Misstep`, `Misdirection`, `Duress`, `Thoughtseize`, and backup draw before tapping low; if the opponent can win first or the hand cannot rebuild, waiting is worse and commitment can be correct.
- Protect the final Oracle action above all setup value. When `Thassa's Oracle` is on the stack or its triggered ability is pending, spend interaction on counters, removal, exile effects, or stack actions that stop the win; let low-impact card draw, mana, or threats resolve if they do not affect the current deterministic kill.
- Cast `Demonic Consultation` at the Oracle window only when the legal action and stack state support it. The usual line is `Thassa's Oracle` entering, its trigger pending, and `Demonic Consultation` resolving before the trigger checks the library; do not assume this window exists unless Veles shows priority and the legal action.
- Use discard before the decisive stack turn when priority allows. `Thoughtseize` and `Duress` are strongest before `Doomsday`, `Demonic Tutor`, `Necropotence`, or `Thassa's Oracle`; during an active stack fight, they are usually too late unless the rules engine exposes a legal line that removes a newly relevant instant-speed card.
- Let opposing spells resolve when they do not change the kill window. Do not spend `Force of Will`, `Flusterstorm`, `Mental Misstep`, or `Misdirection` on routine threats, card filtering, or mana if your next priority sequence can win and the spell does not produce immediate disruption, lethal damage, or a faster combo.
- Fight on the stack with role discipline. `Mental Misstep` should answer one-mana disruption or opposing acceleration only when it changes the race; `Flusterstorm` is best in counter wars and spell-heavy combo turns; `Misdirection` is for targeted interaction that can be legally redirected; `Force of Will` is the broad emergency shield.
- Manage optional payments and alternate costs as combo resources. Exiling a blue card to `Force of Will`, spending life for `Gitaxian Probe` or `Street Wraith`, and using `Black Lotus`, `Mox Jet`, `Mox Sapphire`, or `Dark Ritual` should be evaluated against whether the current turn still casts the protected payoff.
- Use `Time Walk` when it converts safety into a kill turn. Cast it before committing if the extra turn gives a land drop, draw step, or discard window; protect it only when the extra turn is the clear route to winning or surviving, not when it is merely extra value.
- Respect graveyard timing for delve and hate. Cast `Dig Through Time` or `Treasure Cruise` before graveyard pressure resolves when they are needed for selection; preserve stack interaction for graveyard hate only if it blocks the chosen line or turns off the next protected kill.
- Pass priority intentionally after setup spells. After `Ponder`, `Brainstorm`, `Consider`, `Ancestral Recall`, `Flow State`, or `Gush`, reassess visible mana, land drops, hand size, and protection before continuing; do not auto-chain into `Doomsday` if the new state reveals a safer discard, tutor, or protection-first line.

## Sideboard Map
- Graveyard-combo and graveyard-engine rule: bring `Leyline of the Void` when the opponent visibly relies on graveyard casting, dredge-style recursion, escape, delve volume, reanimation, Bazaar-fueled engines, or graveyard-count payoffs. Bad when the opponent is a fair blue deck where opening-hand Leyline pressure costs too much velocity. Role change: a Leyline opener can justify keeping a slower protected `Doomsday` hand, but it should not replace the need for a real win route.
- Stack-combo rule: bring `Mindbreak Trap`, `Force of Negation`, `Consign to Memory`, and the sideboard `Thoughtseize` when the opponent wins through a high-spell turn, stack-based combo, or a small number of decisive noncreature spells. Bad when the opponent attacks with permanents and asks for board answers instead. Role change: these cards let the deck spend the early turns trading permission before resolving `Doomsday` or `Thassa's Oracle`.
- Artifact-pressure rule: bring `Hurkyl's Recall`, `Steel Sabotage`, and `Null Rod` against fast artifact mana, artifact prison pieces, artifact creatures, or artifact-based combo. Bad when `Null Rod` disables too much of your own visible mana from `Black Lotus`, `Mox Jet`, and `Mox Sapphire` without slowing the opponent enough. Role change: `Hurkyl's Recall` is a temporary window card for a same-turn win; `Null Rod` is a slowing permanent for hands with lands and `Dark Ritual`.
- Creature-disruption rule: bring `Long Goodbye`, `Snap`, and `Unable to Scream` against creature engines, hate creatures, tempo threats, or creatures that attack the combo through abilities. Bad when the opponent presents few creatures or when bounce/removal does not clear the exact visible obstacle. Card text check required for `Unable to Scream`; use only when Veles confirms legal text and target class.
- Broad disruption rule: bring the sideboard `Thoughtseize` when knowing and removing one key card matters more than raw speed. Bad when life total is under visible pressure or when the opponent empties their hand quickly. Role change: extra discard increases pre-combo certainty and improves hands that can win after one protected information spell.

Dredge / Bazaar Graveyard Engine
Side in: 4 Leyline of the Void; 1 Mindbreak Trap; 1 Force of Negation; 1 Thoughtseize
Cut: 1 Necropotence; 1 Gush; 1 Treasure Cruise; 1 Dig Through Time; 1 Flow State; 1 Misdirection; 1 Mental Misstep

- Add role cards: `Leyline of the Void` is the primary plan, with `Mindbreak Trap` and `Force of Negation` covering explosive spell turns or anti-hate sequences. `Thoughtseize` is for checking whether the opponent can answer Leyline or race before the combo turn.
- Reduce main-deck emphasis: slow draw engines and graveyard-consuming delve spells are weaker when graveyard resources are contested and life total matters. `Misdirection` is lower value when targeted stack interaction is not the main fight.

Paradoxical / Fast Artifact Combo
Side in: 1 Null Rod; 1 Hurkyl's Recall; 1 Steel Sabotage; 1 Mindbreak Trap; 1 Force of Negation; 1 Consign to Memory
Cut: 1 Necropotence; 1 Gush; 1 Treasure Cruise; 1 Flow State; 1 Misdirection; 1 Consider

- Add role cards: `Null Rod` slows artifact-mana starts when your hand has land and `Dark Ritual` access; `Hurkyl's Recall` creates a temporary opening for the kill; `Steel Sabotage` answers a key artifact or protects the combo from artifact prison. `Mindbreak Trap`, `Force of Negation`, and `Consign to Memory` increase stack density against explosive turns.
- Reduce main-deck emphasis: expensive or delayed draw is less important than preventing the opponent's first decisive burst. Keep `Black Lotus`, `Mox Jet`, and `Mox Sapphire` functionality in mind before choosing a `Null Rod` line; if Veles shows your mana depends on Moxen, prefer bounce or stack interaction.

Blue Mirror / Counterspell Combo
Side in: 1 Force of Negation; 1 Thoughtseize; 1 Consign to Memory; 1 Mindbreak Trap
Cut: 1 Gush; 1 Flow State; 1 Consider; 1 Misdirection

- Add role cards: `Force of Negation` and `Mindbreak Trap` strengthen the final stack fight, while `Thoughtseize` improves the pre-combo commitment gate. `Consign to Memory` is useful only when its legal text matches a visible opposing spell, permanent, or triggered ability; Card text check required at runtime if the action text is unclear.
- Reduce main-deck emphasis: shave slower velocity rather than core combo density. Keep all `Doomsday`, both `Thassa's Oracle`, `Demonic Consultation`, and enough blue cards to support `Force of Will`.

Shops / Artifact Prison
Side in: 1 Hurkyl's Recall; 1 Steel Sabotage; 1 Null Rod; 1 Force of Negation; 1 Consign to Memory; 1 Long Goodbye
Cut: 1 Necropotence; 1 Treasure Cruise; 1 Dig Through Time; 1 Gush; 1 Flow State; 1 Duress

- Add role cards: `Hurkyl's Recall` and `Steel Sabotage` are the cleanest ways to create a spell-casting window through artifacts. `Null Rod` is strongest when it turns off more opposing mana than your own visible mana. `Long Goodbye` handles creature pressure or hate creatures only if Veles shows a legal target.
- Reduce main-deck emphasis: discard is weaker when the opponent's disruption is already on the battlefield, and graveyard-heavy draw is fragile under prison pressure. Prioritize land-heavy hands, `Dark Ritual`, and direct combo access.

Creature Tempo / Hatebears
Side in: 1 Long Goodbye; 1 Snap; 2 Unable to Scream; 1 Thoughtseize; 1 Force of Negation
Cut: 1 Necropotence; 1 Treasure Cruise; 1 Dig Through Time; 1 Gush; 1 Flow State; 1 Misdirection

- Add role cards: `Long Goodbye`, `Snap`, and `Unable to Scream` are for visible hate creatures, fast clocks, or creature abilities that stop the combo. `Thoughtseize` clears protection or a second disruptive permanent before commitment. `Force of Negation` helps when the opponent mixes creature pressure with noncreature disruption.
- Reduce main-deck emphasis: life-intensive and delayed card advantage becomes risky under creature pressure. Keep `Street Wraith` use conditional on life total; cycling is still good when it finds the immediate combo, but bad when it moves the deck into lethal attack range.

Slow Control With Few Artifacts
Side in: 1 Force of Negation; 1 Thoughtseize; 1 Consign to Memory; 1 Mindbreak Trap
Cut: 1 Gush; 1 Flow State; 1 Consider; 1 Mental Misstep

- Add role cards: extra discard and free permission support a patient protected combo. `Mindbreak Trap` is best when the control deck chains multiple spells in counter wars; avoid overvaluing it when the opponent plays one threat per turn.
- Reduce main-deck emphasis: marginal cantrip density is less important than winning the information and stack fight. Keep `Ancestral Recall`, `Brainstorm`, `Ponder`, `Demonic Tutor`, `Doomsday`, and `Thassa's Oracle` as the main path to inevitability.

- Reboarding rule: after Game 2, adjust by observed card classes rather than archetype name alone. If Veles logs graveyard dependency, raise `Leyline of the Void`; if it logs artifact mana or prison, raise `Hurkyl's Recall`, `Steel Sabotage`, and possibly `Null Rod`; if it logs creature hate, raise `Long Goodbye`, `Snap`, and `Unable to Scream`; if it logs stack-only fights, raise `Force of Negation`, `Mindbreak Trap`, `Consign to Memory`, and `Thoughtseize`.
- Leyline mulligan rule: keep a Leyline hand only when it also has mana, selection, or a plausible combo path. Do not keep an otherwise empty hand because `Leyline of the Void` is present unless the matchup is overwhelmingly graveyard-dependent and the rules engine shows no better legal pregame choice.
- Null Rod rule: choose `Null Rod` only when the visible or expected artifact suppression is worth weakening `Black Lotus`, `Mox Jet`, and `Mox Sapphire`. Hands with `Underground Sea`, fetchlands, `Dark Ritual`, and cantrips carry `Null Rod` better than hands relying on Mox mana.
- Bounce-window rule: treat `Hurkyl's Recall` and `Snap` as temporary access cards. Use the turn they create to resolve `Doomsday`, `Thassa's Oracle`, `Demonic Consultation`, or a decisive tutor line whenever legal and protected enough.
- Removal-target rule: spend `Long Goodbye`, `Snap`, or `Unable to Scream` only on a visible creature that blocks the combo, creates a short clock, or removes the ability to cast spells safely. Do not spend them on low-impact creatures when the hand can win through the board.
- Sideboard discipline rule: do not dilute the core kill. Preserve `Doomsday`, `Thassa's Oracle`, `Demonic Consultation`, `Demonic Tutor`, enough blue cards for `Force of Will`, and enough black sources for `Dark Ritual` plus `Doomsday` unless a specific matchup plan above names a legal change.

## Matchup Guidance

- Aggro: race first and conserve life unless a life payment directly advances a near-term kill. `Street Wraith`, `Thoughtseize`, `Duress`, `Necropotence`, and fetchland decisions all carry real cost when the opponent presents fast visible damage, so prefer `Ponder`, `Consider`, `Brainstorm`, `Gitaxian Probe`, `Black Lotus`, `Mox Jet`, `Mox Sapphire`, and `Dark Ritual` lines that find or cast `Doomsday` without spending extra turns. Bring creature-answer roles into the plan with `Long Goodbye`, `Snap`, and `Unable to Scream` when the opponent's battlefield shows hate creatures or lethal pressure. After `Doomsday`, count the opponent's visible next attack before choosing any pile or cantrip action; a pile that wins one turn later is unacceptable if the visible board kills first.

- Control: treat information and stack protection as the matchup, not raw speed. Use `Gitaxian Probe`, `Thoughtseize`, and `Duress` to identify whether `Doomsday`, `Thassa's Oracle`, `Demonic Consultation`, or `Demonic Tutor` can resolve through visible and known interaction. Hold `Force of Will`, `Flusterstorm`, `Mental Misstep`, `Misdirection`, and post-board `Force of Negation` or `Mindbreak Trap` for the decisive stack exchange rather than low-impact setup spells unless Veles shows the setup spell is needed to avoid missing land or mana. `Ancestral Recall`, `Ponder`, `Brainstorm`, `Dig Through Time`, and `Treasure Cruise` are strongest when they improve a protected kill, but graveyard-consuming spells should not weaken the ability to interact later if the game is still about counter density.

- Combo: decide whether you are the faster protected combo or the disruption deck before spending cantrips. Against faster combo, prioritize hands with `Force of Will`, `Flusterstorm`, `Mental Misstep`, `Thoughtseize`, `Duress`, `Gitaxian Probe`, fast mana, and one clean path to `Doomsday` or `Thassa's Oracle` plus `Demonic Consultation`. Post-board, raise `Mindbreak Trap`, `Force of Negation`, `Thoughtseize`, and sometimes `Consign to Memory` when legal action text confirms a relevant target or trigger. Do not tap out for `Necropotence` or slow delve setup if the opponent can win before the next meaningful turn cycle.

- Tempo: protect mana development and avoid exposing the combo into an obvious soft-lock window. Fetch `Underground Sea`, `Undercity Sewers`, or `Island` according to the visible need for black combo mana versus blue protection, and use `Black Lotus`, `Mox Jet`, `Mox Sapphire`, and `Dark Ritual` before the opponent's pressure makes life payments unsafe. `Long Goodbye`, `Snap`, and `Unable to Scream` are for visible creatures that shorten the clock, tax spell casting, or stop the combo; do not spend them on harmless attackers if a protected `Doomsday` turn is available. `Misdirection` is valuable only when the opposing interaction is targeted and Veles shows a legal redirect line.

- Midrange: exploit slower clocks but respect discard, removal on `Thassa's Oracle`, and permanent-based disruption. Use `Ponder`, `Consider`, `Brainstorm`, `Flow State`, `Ancestral Recall`, and `Demonic Tutor` to assemble a protected line before the opponent's incremental threats create a lethal clock. Card text check required for `Flow State`; use it conditionally as a selection or velocity spell only when the legal action text shows it improves the hand or graveyard without delaying a better kill. `Thoughtseize` and `Duress` should clear the specific known card class that stops the committed line, not simply the highest-cost card.

- Big mana: keep pressure on the kill turn and do not let expensive opposing permanents become the axis of the game. Hands with fast mana, `Doomsday`, `Demonic Tutor`, strong cantrips, or `Thassa's Oracle` plus `Demonic Consultation` are preferred over reactive hands that answer only one large play. `Force of Will`, `Flusterstorm`, `Mindbreak Trap`, `Force of Negation`, and `Consign to Memory` should be saved for spells or abilities that either end the game, lock casting, or remove the combo window. If the opponent's mana is artifact-heavy, `Null Rod`, `Steel Sabotage`, and `Hurkyl's Recall` become role cards, but choose `Null Rod` only when your visible mana does not depend heavily on `Black Lotus`, `Mox Jet`, or `Mox Sapphire`.

- Graveyard: identify whether the opponent needs the graveyard more than this deck needs delve and graveyard velocity. `Leyline of the Void` is the strongest pregame role card only when the opener still has mana, selection, or a plausible route to `Doomsday`; do not keep a nonfunctional hand solely because it contains `Leyline of the Void`. Reduce reliance on `Dig Through Time` and `Treasure Cruise` if graveyards are being contested or if `Leyline of the Void` changes resource flow. The main kill with `Doomsday`, `Thassa's Oracle`, and `Demonic Consultation` remains functional without stocking the graveyard, so favor clean combo assembly over attrition.

- Artifact/enchantment: separate mana artifacts, lock artifacts, and hate permanents before choosing an answer. `Hurkyl's Recall` creates a temporary spell-casting window, `Steel Sabotage` answers a key artifact or protects a turn when legal, and `Null Rod` is a strategic commitment that can also weaken your own `Black Lotus`, `Mox Jet`, and `Mox Sapphire`. `Consign to Memory` requires a legal text check when Veles offers it; use it only when the shown action actually addresses the relevant opposing object or trigger. For enchantment-heavy disruption, rely more on discard, stack interaction, and speed unless Veles presents a registered sideboard action that clearly interacts.

- Go-wide: ignore low-value bodies until they create lethal timing pressure or make post-`Doomsday` life math impossible. This deck is not trying to trade creature resources, so `Long Goodbye`, `Snap`, and `Unable to Scream` should answer only the creature that changes the race, blocks a required line, or carries disruptive text. `Time Walk` can function as a kill accelerator or emergency fog-like tempo play when legal, but do not take a low-impact extra turn without a clear plan to cantrip, tutor, or combo. When the board is wide, a same-turn `Thassa's Oracle` line is much safer than a delayed `Doomsday` pile that passes back.

- Single-threat: treat one large or disruptive threat as a clock plus a rules problem. If the threat is only damage, calculate whether `Doomsday` can win before the next attack; if the threat stops casting, targeting, drawing, or library manipulation, prioritize `Long Goodbye`, `Snap`, `Unable to Scream`, `Steel Sabotage`, `Hurkyl's Recall`, or discard according to the visible permanent type and legal actions. Do not waste `Force of Will` on a threat that is slower than the combo unless it blocks the combo or creates immediate lethal pressure.

- Burn: life total is a combo resource with a hard ceiling. Be conservative with `Street Wraith`, `Thoughtseize`, `Gitaxian Probe` life payment modes, fetch sequencing, and especially `Necropotence`; use them only when they materially increase the chance of winning before the opponent's next visible damage window. `Force of Will` and `Misdirection` can cost or preserve life depending on the legal action, so let Veles action text decide. Prefer fast `Dark Ritual` and artifact-mana kills over slow card-advantage lines.

- Removal-heavy: remember that `Thassa's Oracle` can be vulnerable while its trigger and library state matter. Favor lines that have stack protection, discard first, or win with the cleanest legal timing after `Doomsday` or `Demonic Consultation`. Do not cast `Thassa's Oracle` as a casual blocker or value creature unless survival requires it and no combo line is available. `Misdirection`, `Force of Will`, `Flusterstorm`, `Mental Misstep`, and post-board `Force of Negation` should defend the decisive creature or consultation window when Veles shows opposing interaction on the stack.

## Specific Matchup Notes

- Scope: These notes are general/archetype-only because no exact opposing decklists are supplied; revealed cards, public zones, and Veles legal actions override all assumptions. Use `Gitaxian Probe`, `Thoughtseize`, `Duress`, and visible stack behavior to classify the opponent before committing `Doomsday`, `Necropotence`, or a protected `Thassa's Oracle` plus `Demonic Consultation` line.

- Blue combo mirrors: Prioritize the stack fight over raw speed when the opponent represents a same-turn win. Add role cards: `Mindbreak Trap`, `Force of Negation`, `Thoughtseize`, and sometimes `Consign to Memory`; reduce main-deck emphasis on slower draw or graveyard setup if the hand already has `Doomsday`, `Thassa's Oracle`, `Demonic Consultation`, or `Demonic Tutor`. Priority targets are opposing win spells, protection that beats your protection, and discard that would take the only combo piece.

- Artifact prison or workshop-style pressure: Protect black mana and do not assume `Black Lotus`, `Mox Jet`, or `Mox Sapphire` will stay functional. Add role cards: `Hurkyl's Recall`, `Steel Sabotage`, `Null Rod`, `Force of Negation`, `Consign to Memory`, and `Long Goodbye` only when visible creatures or artifacts matter. Priority targets are lock artifacts, tax permanents, artifact mana bursts that enable a lock turn, and creatures that make post-`Doomsday` life totals unsafe.

- Graveyard combo: Treat `Leyline of the Void` as a pregame hate piece, not a replacement for a functioning hand. Add role cards: `Leyline of the Void`, `Mindbreak Trap`, `Force of Negation`, `Thoughtseize`, and `Consign to Memory`; reduce main-deck emphasis on `Dig Through Time` and `Treasure Cruise` if graveyards are suppressed. Priority targets are the spell or ability that converts the graveyard into a win, not incidental setup unless stopping setup is the only legal way to survive.

- Creature tempo: Do not spend premium permission on ordinary damage unless it shortens the clock below the combo timeline. Add role cards: `Long Goodbye`, `Snap`, `Unable to Scream`, `Thoughtseize`, and `Force of Negation`; reduce main-deck emphasis on slow `Necropotence` turns when life is under pressure. Priority targets are disruptive creatures, lethal attackers, and effects that stop `Thassa's Oracle`, `Doomsday`, cantrips, or mana.

- Black discard or midrange: Preserve redundancy and hide the decisive card when possible. `Brainstorm` can protect key cards from known discard, while `Ponder`, `Consider`, `Flow State`, `Ancestral Recall`, and `Demonic Tutor` rebuild after disruption; card text check required for `Flow State`. Priority targets for `Thoughtseize` and `Duress` are the known card that stops the committed line, especially permission, discard, or removal aimed at `Thassa's Oracle`.

- Aggro and burn: Count life as a constrained combo resource before cycling `Street Wraith`, paying life for `Gitaxian Probe`, fetching, casting `Thoughtseize`, or relying on `Necropotence`. Add role cards: `Long Goodbye`, `Snap`, `Unable to Scream`, and sometimes `Force of Negation`; priority targets are visible damage sources that create a one-turn clock or make `Doomsday` life math fail.

## Risk Summary

- Mana risk: The deck needs black for `Dark Ritual`, `Doomsday`, `Demonic Tutor`, `Thoughtseize`, and `Duress`, while also needing blue for `Force of Will`, `Flusterstorm`, `Ponder`, `Brainstorm`, `Consider`, `Ancestral Recall`, and `Thassa's Oracle`. Fetch `Underground Sea`, `Undercity Sewers`, or `Island` from visible needs, and avoid `Null Rod` when your own artifact mana is the only route to a same-turn win.

- Matchup risk: The wrong role loses games because this deck can be either faster combo or protected combo. Against faster engines, waiting for perfect protection can be fatal; against heavy interaction, jamming `Doomsday` without discard or counter backup can strand a tiny library.

- Draw risk: `Necropotence`, `Street Wraith`, `Gitaxian Probe`, fetch lands, and `Force of Will` all spend life or cards in ways that matter after `Doomsday`. Do not convert resources into extra looks unless the legal line improves a near-term win or prevents a visible loss.

- Over-sideboarding risk: Too many reactive cards dilute the compact kill. Keep enough `Doomsday`, `Thassa's Oracle`, `Demonic Consultation`, cantrips, tutors, fast mana, and blue cards for `Force of Will`; role cards must answer the opponent's revealed axis rather than every possible axis.

- Graveyard risk: `Dig Through Time` and `Treasure Cruise` can be weakened by `Leyline of the Void`, opposing graveyard hate, or low-spell games. Do not depend on delve as the only recovery plan when the main kill can ignore the graveyard.

- Sweeper/removal risk: Creature removal matters only when it disrupts `Thassa's Oracle` timing or forces a failed consultation line. Protect the decisive Oracle window with discard, `Force of Will`, `Flusterstorm`, `Mental Misstep`, `Misdirection`, or `Force of Negation` when Veles shows legal interaction.

- Closer risk: `Doomsday` without a clear draw-through or Oracle finish can become a self-inflicted lock. Before committing, confirm visible mana, draw actions, library size implications, and whether `Thassa's Oracle` or `Demonic Consultation` is available now or predictably next.

- Interaction risk: Countering the first scary spell can leave no answer for the spell that actually beats the combo. Save `Force of Will`, `Flusterstorm`, `Misdirection`, `Mental Misstep`, `Mindbreak Trap`, and `Force of Negation` for a win, a lock, a lethal clock, or disruption of the committed line.

- Sequencing risk: Casting cantrips, fetches, `Dark Ritual`, `Black Lotus`, and discard in the wrong order can reveal less information or waste mana. Lead with information when it changes the turn, use discard before commitment when possible, and hold priority-sensitive mana until Veles confirms the legal action window.

## Test Feedback Checklist

- Deciding factor: Record whether the game was won or lost by speed, protection, mana, life total, a resolved hate piece, a failed stack fight, or a stranded combo hand. Tie the answer to the decisive visible action involving `Doomsday`, `Thassa's Oracle`, `Demonic Consultation`, `Demonic Tutor`, `Necropotence`, or opposing disruption.

- Mulligans: Ask whether the opener had a credible path to black mana, blue interaction, and a near-term kill. Flag keeps that had cantrips but no black source, protection but no engine, `Doomsday` without draw-through, or `Thassa's Oracle` plus `Demonic Consultation` without enough mana or protection for the matchup.

- Mana: Check whether `Underground Sea`, `Undercity Sewers`, `Island`, fetch lands, `Black Lotus`, `Mox Jet`, `Mox Sapphire`, and `Dark Ritual` produced the colors and timing the chosen line required. Note games where fetching, artifact timing, or `Null Rod` tension changed the outcome.

- Velocity: Track whether `Ponder`, `Brainstorm`, `Consider`, `Gitaxian Probe`, `Street Wraith`, `Ancestral Recall`, `Gush`, `Dig Through Time`, `Treasure Cruise`, and `Flow State` found action or spent resources without improving the next decision. Card text check required for `Flow State`; evaluate it only from observed legal actions and resolved effects.

- Engines: Ask whether `Necropotence` was deployed at a life total and board state where the delayed cards mattered before lethal pressure or opposing combo. Record whether `Doomsday` piles were entered only after a visible draw path, mana path, and protected finish existed.

- Interaction: Identify the exact spell or ability answered by `Force of Will`, `Flusterstorm`, `Mental Misstep`, `Misdirection`, `Duress`, `Thoughtseize`, `Force of Negation`, `Mindbreak Trap`, `Consign to Memory`, or `Steel Sabotage`. Mark any case where interaction was spent on setup while the real threat resolved later.

- Removal and bounce: Record whether `Long Goodbye`, `Snap`, `Unable to Scream`, `Hurkyl's Recall`, or `Steel Sabotage` answered a disruptive permanent, lethal clock, stack-relevant artifact, or only delayed a low-impact threat. Note whether the tempo gained converted into a protected combo turn.

- Sideboard: Ask whether each role card matched a revealed opposing axis: `Leyline of the Void` for graveyard engines, `Null Rod` for artifact reliance, `Hurkyl's Recall` and `Steel Sabotage` for artifact pressure, `Long Goodbye`, `Snap`, and `Unable to Scream` for creatures, and extra stack cards for combo or control.

- Closing: Verify whether wins used a clean `Thassa's Oracle` finish, a `Demonic Consultation` line, a `Doomsday` pile, or a tutor-assisted line. For losses, identify whether the closer was absent, unprotected, mana-blocked, life-blocked, or stopped by a visible resolved permanent.

- Role and mistakes: Compare the chosen role to the opponent's revealed plan. Flag mistakes where the pilot played pure speed against heavy interaction, waited too long against faster combo, cycled `Street Wraith` under lethal pressure, or used discard after committing instead of before.

- Stranded and standout cards: List cards stranded in hand at game end and explain why they could not be cast or did not matter. Separately record overperformers and underperformers among `Doomsday`, `Thassa's Oracle`, `Dark Ritual`, `Force of Will`, `Flusterstorm`, `Necropotence`, `Dig Through Time`, `Treasure Cruise`, and sideboard role cards.

## First Tuning Questions

- Combo density: Is four `Doomsday` still correct, or did too many games lose because the hand had engine cards without the cantrip, mana, or protection needed to convert? If `Doomsday` was often stranded, test whether the issue is pile construction, life pressure, or the supporting card mix before changing quantities.

- Oracle package: Did two `Thassa's Oracle` plus one `Demonic Consultation` close reliably, or did removal, discard, exile, or forced early use make the finish fragile? If Oracle was stranded, ask whether the deck needed more protection, better timing, or less dependence on non-Oracle Doomsday piles.

- Mana base: Did the current fetch and dual configuration provide black early enough for `Dark Ritual`, `Doomsday`, `Demonic Tutor`, `Thoughtseize`, and `Duress` while preserving blue for cantrips and permission? Revisit `Undercity Sewers`, `Island`, and fetch counts if tapped mana, color imbalance, or life pressure repeatedly decided games.

- Fast mana: Did `Black Lotus`, `Mox Jet`, `Mox Sapphire`, and `Dark Ritual` enable protected wins, or did artifact hate and `Null Rod` plans create role conflict? If post-board games slow down, confirm whether artifact mana remains necessary for racing or becomes a liability against prison.

- Cantrip and delve mix: Did `Ponder`, `Brainstorm`, `Consider`, `Street Wraith`, `Ancestral Recall`, `Gush`, `Dig Through Time`, and `Treasure Cruise` create enough controlled selection? If graveyard hate or low-resource games weakened delve, consider whether graveyard-dependent draw is too exposed after `Leyline of the Void` plans.

- Protection suite: Did `Force of Will`, `Flusterstorm`, `Mental Misstep`, and `Misdirection` answer the actual cards that mattered? If losses came from stack fights, ask whether `Force of Negation`, `Mindbreak Trap`, `Consign to Memory`, or the sideboard `Thoughtseize` deserve more post-board emphasis.

- Creature pressure plan: Did `Long Goodbye`, `Snap`, and `Unable to Scream` buy enough time against disruptive or lethal creatures? If combat damage repeatedly made `Doomsday`, `Necropotence`, `Gitaxian Probe`, `Thoughtseize`, or `Street Wraith` unsafe, reassess the creature-interaction slots.

- Artifact plan: Did `Hurkyl's Recall`, `Steel Sabotage`, `Consign to Memory`, and `Null Rod` solve artifact prison without diluting the kill? If `Null Rod` hurt our own mana more than the opponent, restrict it to matchups where visible artifacts justify the role conflict.

- Sideboard breadth: Are fifteen sideboard slots spread across too many axes, or did each card appear in games where it had a clear target? If some of `Leyline of the Void`, `Consign to Memory`, `Force of Negation`, `Mindbreak Trap`, `Long Goodbye`, `Steel Sabotage`, `Hurkyl's Recall`, `Unable to Scream`, `Snap`, `Null Rod`, or extra `Thoughtseize` lacked targets, consolidate toward the most common failure mode.

- Pilot policy: Did Veles route enough decisions to light-model reasoning for commitment gates, stack fights, and sideboard role choices? If mistakes were mainly sequencing or premature commitment, improve tactical policy before changing the registered 75.

## Veles Tactical Policy

### Policy: Mulligan For A Real Combo Hand
Priority: High
Decision families: mulligan
Cards: Doomsday; Thassa's Oracle; Demonic Consultation; Demonic Tutor; Dark Ritual; Black Lotus; Mox Jet; Underground Sea; Force of Will; Flusterstorm; Duress; Thoughtseize
Phase windows: opening hand; mulligan decisions
Runtime cues: prompt:mulligan; visible:opening hand; visible:sideboard stage
Use when: a keep/take-mulligan decision is legal and the hand must be evaluated from visible cards only.
Avoid when: the rules engine has already moved to London mulligan bottom selection.
Instructions: Keep hands that can plausibly assemble mana plus `Doomsday` or `Thassa's Oracle` plus `Demonic Consultation`, especially with protection or discard. Mulligan hands that only cantrip without black mana, only protect without a clock, or cannot cast any meaningful spell before the opponent's likely first critical turn.
Pilot skill floor: light-model
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: London Mulligan Bottoms Preserve The Fastest Complete Line
Priority: Medium
Decision families: mulligan; selection
Cards: Doomsday; Thassa's Oracle; Demonic Consultation; Dark Ritual; Force of Will; Street Wraith; Ponder; Brainstorm; Consider
Phase windows: pregame; mulligan bottom prompt
Runtime cues: prompt:bottom cards; visible:kept hand
Use when: bottoming one or more visible cards after keeping a hand.
Avoid when: bottom choices include cards whose text or current legal role is unknown.
Instructions: Bottom redundant finishers before cutting required mana, one-card combo pieces, or the only protection spell. Keep enough blue cards for `Force of Will` only when interaction matters before the kill turn.
Pilot skill floor: light-model
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Early Setup Finds Black Mana Plus A Cantrip Path
Priority: Medium
Decision families: mana; selection; priority
Cards: Underground Sea; Undercity Sewers; Island; Flooded Strand; Misty Rainforest; Polluted Delta; Scalding Tarn; Ponder; Brainstorm; Consider; Gitaxian Probe; Street Wraith
Phase windows: turns 1-2 main phases; upkeep draw setup
Runtime cues: visible:lands; visible:hand; action:cast Ponder; action:cast Brainstorm; action:cast Consider; action:cycle Street Wraith
Use when: no immediate protected kill is selected and setup actions are legal.
Avoid when: life total makes `Street Wraith` or `Gitaxian Probe` unsafe, or a visible stack threat must be answered.
Instructions: Develop black access for `Dark Ritual`, `Doomsday`, discard, and tutors while preserving blue for cantrips and permission. Use selection to turn a partial hand into mana, protection, and a deterministic finish rather than spending cards for information only.
Pilot skill floor: light-model
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Doomsday Commitment Gate
Priority: High
Decision families: priority; mana; selection; interaction
Cards: Doomsday; Thassa's Oracle; Street Wraith; Ponder; Brainstorm; Consider; Gush; Gitaxian Probe; Dark Ritual; Black Lotus; Force of Will; Flusterstorm; Duress; Thoughtseize
Phase windows: main phase with priority; post-discard window; protected combo turn
Runtime cues: action:cast Doomsday; visible:hand; visible:mana; visible:life total; visible:opponent open mana; visible:known hand
Use when: casting `Doomsday` is legal and the pilot must decide whether to commit.
Avoid when: the pile cannot be drawn through from visible resources, life is too low for known costs, or visible opponent interaction makes waiting materially safer.
Instructions: Cast `Doomsday` only when a visible draw path, mana path, and finish path exist, or when waiting gives the opponent a clearer kill. Prefer discard before commitment when it can expose or remove interaction without losing the combo window.
Pilot skill floor: light-model
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Oracle Consultation Commitment Gate
Priority: High
Decision families: priority; interaction; mana
Cards: Thassa's Oracle; Demonic Consultation; Force of Will; Flusterstorm; Mental Misstep; Misdirection; Duress; Thoughtseize; Black Lotus; Mox Sapphire; Mox Jet; Underground Sea
Phase windows: main phase; protected combo turn; post-stack-fight window
Runtime cues: action:cast Thassa's Oracle; action:cast Demonic Consultation; visible:library count; visible:hand; visible:opponent open mana
Use when: the `Thassa's Oracle` plus `Demonic Consultation` finish is legally available or one card away.
Avoid when: `Thassa's Oracle` can be removed or countered through available protection, or `Demonic Consultation` would be cast without a resolved/controlled Oracle line.
Instructions: Treat this as a decisive kill gate, not a value line. Establish whether Oracle trigger timing, library size, mana, and protection are all visible enough before committing.
Pilot skill floor: light-model
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Deterministic Consultation Name After Oracle Line
Priority: High
Decision families: selection; priority
Cards: Demonic Consultation; Thassa's Oracle
Phase windows: Oracle finish; consultation naming prompt
Runtime cues: action:choose name Thassa's Oracle
Use when: a legal action explicitly chooses the card name `Thassa's Oracle` for `Demonic Consultation` during an already committed Oracle finish.
Avoid when: `Thassa's Oracle` is not the exact legal choice text, the finish has not been committed, or another visible named-card requirement is present.
Instructions: Choose `Thassa's Oracle` only for the committed Oracle-Consultation execution line where exiling the library is the intended deterministic payoff.
Pilot skill floor: no-api
No-API allowed: yes
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Gitaxian Probe Targets Opponent For Information
Priority: Low
Decision families: selection; priority
Cards: Gitaxian Probe
Phase windows: setup main phase; pre-combo main phase
Runtime cues: action:target opponent Gitaxian Probe
Use when: a legal action explicitly targets the opponent with `Gitaxian Probe` and no other target instruction is pending.
Avoid when: the only legal target is self, life payment decisions are unresolved, or a different spell's target prompt is active.
Instructions: Target opponent to reveal hidden interaction before committing to `Doomsday`, `Thassa's Oracle`, discard, or a stack fight.
Pilot skill floor: no-api
No-API allowed: yes
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Ritual And Artifact Mana Commitment
Priority: Medium
Decision families: mana; priority
Cards: Dark Ritual; Black Lotus; Mox Jet; Mox Sapphire; Null Rod
Phase windows: combo main phase; setup main phase; sideboarded games
Runtime cues: action:cast Dark Ritual; action:activate Black Lotus; action:play Mox Jet; action:play Mox Sapphire; visible:Null Rod
Use when: fast mana is legal and the pilot must decide whether to spend or deploy it.
Avoid when: spending fast mana exposes the hand to passing priority without a payoff, or `Null Rod` is part of the visible plan and conflicts with artifact mana.
Instructions: Use `Dark Ritual` and `Black Lotus` to compress a protected kill turn, not to create floating mana that forces a weak action. Deploy Moxen early when they enable protected setup, but account for artifact-hate sideboard plans.
Pilot skill floor: light-model
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Fetch And Dual Sequencing Protects Both Colors
Priority: Medium
Decision families: mana; selection
Cards: Underground Sea; Undercity Sewers; Island; Flooded Strand; Misty Rainforest; Polluted Delta; Scalding Tarn
Phase windows: land play; fetch activation; end step setup
Runtime cues: action:play land; action:activate Flooded Strand; action:activate Misty Rainforest; action:activate Polluted Delta; action:activate Scalding Tarn
Use when: choosing a land play, fetch activation, or fetched land affects current or next-turn colored mana.
Avoid when: the legal action text identifies only one land and there is no color choice.
Instructions: Prioritize untapped black-blue access for combo and interaction. Fetch `Island` only when preserving life, avoiding nonbasic pressure, or casting blue spells matters more than black combo access.
Pilot skill floor: light-model
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Cantrip Ordering Before Commitment
Priority: Medium
Decision families: selection; priority
Cards: Ponder; Brainstorm; Consider; Ancestral Recall; Gush; Dig Through Time; Treasure Cruise; Flow State; Street Wraith
Phase windows: setup turns; pre-combo main phase; end step with instant-speed selection
Runtime cues: action:cast Ponder; action:cast Brainstorm; action:cast Consider; action:cast Ancestral Recall; action:cast Gush; action:cast Dig Through Time; action:cast Treasure Cruise; action:cast Flow State
Use when: selection spells are legal and no deterministic kill execution policy applies.
Avoid when: life loss, graveyard cost, or returning lands would break a visible combo path.
Instructions: Use cheap selection first when it improves land drops and protects future tutors. Preserve `Brainstorm` with fetch lands when possible. Card text check required for `Flow State`; follow only visible legal effects and resolved output.
Pilot skill floor: light-model
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Tutor Selection Is A Commitment Decision
Priority: High
Decision families: selection; priority; mana
Cards: Demonic Tutor; Doomsday; Thassa's Oracle; Demonic Consultation; Force of Will; Dark Ritual; Black Lotus; Ancestral Recall
Phase windows: main phase tutor resolution; combo setup
Runtime cues: action:cast Demonic Tutor; prompt:search library; visible:hand; visible:mana
Use when: `Demonic Tutor` or a tutor search prompt is legal.
Avoid when: a no-API target policy is trying to execute an already selected exact action.
Instructions: Tutor for the missing piece of the current fastest protected line: engine, finisher, mana, protection, or draw-through. Do not tutor generically; choose based on visible hand, mana, stack risk, and known opponent cards.
Pilot skill floor: light-model
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Discard Clears The Kill Window
Priority: Medium
Decision families: interaction; priority; selection
Cards: Duress; Thoughtseize
Phase windows: pre-combo main phase; early setup; sideboarded interactive games
Runtime cues: action:cast Duress; action:cast Thoughtseize; prompt:choose card from opponent hand
Use when: discard is legal and the opponent hand is visible from the resolving effect.
Avoid when: life total makes `Thoughtseize` unsafe or the opponent hand contains no legal disruptive card.
Instructions: Take the visible card that stops the selected line first, then the card that presents the fastest opposing kill. Use discard before `Doomsday` or Oracle commitment when mana allows.
Pilot skill floor: light-model
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Permission Is For Stack Losses, Not Convenience
Priority: High
Decision families: interaction; priority
Cards: Force of Will; Flusterstorm; Mental Misstep; Misdirection; Force of Negation; Mindbreak Trap; Consign to Memory
Phase windows: opponent combo turn; stack fights; protected own combo turn
Runtime cues: action:cast Force of Will; action:cast Flusterstorm; action:cast Mental Misstep; action:cast Misdirection; action:cast Force of Negation; action:cast Mindbreak Trap; action:cast Consign to Memory; visible:stack
Use when: a spell or ability on the stack can stop our kill, win the game for the opponent, or lock us out.
Avoid when: the stack object is replaceable setup and preserving permission protects a higher-risk future window.
Instructions: Spend permission on decisive threats, counter-wars over the kill, and lock pieces that invalidate the hand. Account for pitch costs and blue-card count before choosing free interaction.
Pilot skill floor: light-model
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Necropotence Is A Fragile Engine Gate
Priority: Medium
Decision families: priority; mana; selection
Cards: Necropotence; Dark Ritual; Black Lotus; Force of Will; Flusterstorm
Phase windows: main phase; post-discard setup; low-resource games
Runtime cues: action:cast Necropotence; visible:life total; visible:opponent pressure; visible:hand
Use when: casting or activating `Necropotence` is legal.
Avoid when: visible pressure or known opposing combo can end the game before delayed cards matter.
Instructions: Commit `Necropotence` when life, protection, and time convert cards into a protected kill. Do not spend the turn on it when an immediate combo line is visible and protected.
Pilot skill floor: light-model
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Combat Is A Survival Clock, Not A Damage Plan
Priority: Low
Decision families: combat
Cards: Street Wraith; Thassa's Oracle
Phase windows: declare attackers; declare blockers; combat damage; end combat
Runtime cues: prompt:declare attackers; prompt:declare blockers; visible:creatures
Use when: combat choices are legal.
Avoid when: exactly one forced combat action is legal and the rules engine requires procedural confirmation.
Instructions: Preserve life total for `Doomsday`, `Gitaxian Probe`, `Street Wraith`, fetch lands, and `Thoughtseize`. Attack only when it does not expose a combo creature needed for the finish or change a survival race negatively.
Pilot skill floor: light-model
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Sideboard Role Selection Matches Revealed Axis
Priority: Medium
Decision families: sideboard
Cards: Leyline of the Void; Consign to Memory; Force of Negation; Long Goodbye; Thoughtseize; Steel Sabotage; Hurkyl's Recall; Unable to Scream; Mindbreak Trap; Snap; Null Rod
Phase windows: sideboarding after game 1; revised sideboarding after game 2
Runtime cues: prompt:sideboard; visible:matchup label; visible:revealed cards; visible:game result
Use when: sideboarding choices are legal.
Avoid when: the exact registered 75 preservation check would fail.
Instructions: Add graveyard hate for graveyard engines, stack interaction for combo/control, bounce or removal for disruptive creatures, artifact answers for artifact pressure or prison, and `Null Rod` only when opposing artifact reliance outweighs conflict with our own artifact mana.
Pilot skill floor: light-model
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Leyline Pregame Execution
Priority: Medium
Decision families: pregame; sideboard
Cards: Leyline of the Void
Phase windows: opening hand pregame; post-sideboard game start
Runtime cues: action:begin game with Leyline of the Void
Use when: a legal pregame action explicitly puts `Leyline of the Void` onto the battlefield from opening hand.
Avoid when: the action text names any card other than `Leyline of the Void` or the sideboard plan did not include graveyard hate.
Instructions: Put `Leyline of the Void` onto the battlefield when the legal pregame action is offered for a hand containing it.
Pilot skill floor: no-api
No-API allowed: yes
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Bounce And Removal Buy A Combo Turn
Priority: Medium
Decision families: interaction; priority
Cards: Long Goodbye; Snap; Unable to Scream; Steel Sabotage; Hurkyl's Recall; Consign to Memory
Phase windows: opponent end step; pre-combo main phase; combat pressure; prison answer window
Runtime cues: action:cast Long Goodbye; action:cast Snap; action:cast Unable to Scream; action:cast Steel Sabotage; action:cast Hurkyl's Recall; visible:permanents
Use when: a visible permanent threatens the combo, mana, life total, or stack access.
Avoid when: removing the permanent does not change the current kill, survival, or lock state.
Instructions: Use bounce/removal to clear hate, reduce lethal pressure, or open a protected kill turn. Prefer timing that minimizes the opponent's chance to redeploy before our combo turn.
Pilot skill floor: light-model
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes
