# Strategy Specifications
## Deck Name And Archetype
- Strategy identity: Y'shtola, Night's Blessed is registered as a Commander deck with combo, graveyard, and tribal tags, and Veles should treat it as an Esper-style hybrid combo-control shell until live Oracle text confirms the commander-specific incentives. The deck is not a clean stock archetype from the submitted data; it is a rogue or hybrid commander build that combines compact alternate-win packages, life-drain loops, graveyard access, protection, fast mana, and taxing/card-advantage permanents.

- Count validation: Main (100) and Sideboard (0) match normal Commander registration expectations when Y'shtola, Night's Blessed is the commander inside the 100-card deck. The submitted list contains no visible duplicate nonbasic card names, and the only basic lands are one Island, one Plains, and one Swamp, so the singleton construction check passes from deck text alone.

- Legality validation: Veles must defer final legality to the card database and rules engine because several submitted names require live card-text confirmation before strategic assumptions are safe. Card text check required for Y'shtola, Night's Blessed, Hope Estheim, Erode, Morningtide's Light, Emeritus of Woe, High Fae Trickster, Decorum Dissertation, Bleachbone Verge, and Floodfarm Verge before the guide should rely on type lines, color identity, triggered abilities, or commander-zone synergies.

- Color identity concern: The visible spell suite is concentrated in white, blue, black, and colorless names, with no obvious red or green main-deck spells from the submitted list. Full commander legality still depends on Y'shtola, Night's Blessed having a color identity that permits cards such as An Offer You Can't Refuse, Angel's Grace, Bolas's Citadel, Cabal Ritual, Cyclonic Rift, Deadly Rollick, Demonic Consultation, Demonic Tutor, Enlightened Tutor, Fierce Guardianship, Flusterstorm, Laboratory Maniac, Mindbreak Trap, Path to Exile, Rhystic Study, Sanguine Bond, Swan Song, Swords to Plowshares, Teferi's Protection, Thassa's Oracle, Toxic Deluge, Vampiric Tutor, Vindicate, Void Rend, Windfall, Fabricate, Elesh Norn, Akroma's Will, and Fractured Identity.

- Mana-base concern: The deck asks for reliable early white, blue, and black while also using explosive colorless or artifact acceleration through Ancient Tomb, Sol Ring, Arcane Signet, Fellwar Stone, Talisman of Dominance, Talisman of Hierarchy, Talisman of Progress, Monologue Tax, Smothering Tithe, and The One Ring. Hands with fast mana but no colored access should be evaluated as risky unless the legal opening line already casts a tutor, protection piece, or card-advantage permanent that fixes the next decision point.

- Role classification: The primary strategic posture is protected combo-control, not creature combat. The list signals multiple overlapping win structures through Thassa's Oracle, Laboratory Maniac, Demonic Consultation, Bloodchief Ascension, Mindcrank, Exquisite Blood, Sanguine Bond, Bloodthirsty Conqueror, Heliod, Sun-Crowned, Walking Ballista, Bolas's Citadel, and Reanimate, while interaction and protection are supplied by An Offer You Can't Refuse, Angel's Grace, Cyclonic Rift, Deadly Rollick, Fierce Guardianship, Flusterstorm, Mindbreak Trap, Path to Exile, Spellskite, Swan Song, Swords to Plowshares, Teferi's Protection, Toxic Deluge, Vindicate, Void Rend, Lightning Greaves, Swiftfoot Boots, and Mithril Coat.

- Runtime opponent status: No opponent deck, commander, pod speed, metagame profile, or known hate package was supplied, so matchup assumptions must remain generic and visible-state driven. Veles should not infer hidden counterspells, graveyard hate, removal, or commander protection from archetype stereotypes unless a revealed card, public permanent, stack object, or legal action from the rules engine supports that inference.

## Thesis
Y'shtola, Night's Blessed is a protected Esper combo-control deck that assembles compact wins while using taxes, cheap interaction, and defensive permanents to survive until a deterministic window opens. The deck should prioritize mana development, protected card access, and holding interaction over early combat pressure, because the main wins come from Thassa's Oracle with Demonic Consultation, Laboratory Maniac with a verified draw-after-empty-library line, Bloodchief Ascension with Mindcrank after Bloodchief Ascension is active, Exquisite Blood with Sanguine Bond or Bloodthirsty Conqueror, and Heliod, Sun-Crowned with Walking Ballista when the rules engine exposes the required legal counters, lifegain, damage, and activation sequence.

The deck wins by converting tutors and velocity into a protected two-card or near-two-card endpoint, not by spending resources on fair attrition unless that attrition buys the combo turn. Demonic Tutor, Vampiric Tutor, Enlightened Tutor, Mystical Tutor, Fabricate, Entomb, Brainstorm, Frantic Search, Windfall, The One Ring, Rhystic Study, Esper Sentinel, Smothering Tithe, Monologue Tax, and Bolas's Citadel should be treated as the access and engine layer that finds or sustains the kill, while Cabal Ritual, Dark Ritual, Sol Ring, Arcane Signet, Fellwar Stone, the three Talismans, Ancient Tomb, and treasure/tax mana effects compress the setup turn.

The deck is not trying to be a normal creature-curve deck, a commander-damage deck, or a graveyard-only deck. Y'shtola, Night's Blessed, Hope Estheim, Emeritus of Woe, High Fae Trickster, Decorum Dissertation, Morningtide's Light, and Erode all require card text checks before Veles should rely on them for tribal, graveyard, or commander-specific tactical claims, so runtime play should follow legal actions and visible text rather than assumed synergy.

Prioritize the line that preserves a protected win over the line that spends the fewest cards. Hold An Offer You Can't Refuse, Fierce Guardianship, Flusterstorm, Mindbreak Trap, Swan Song, Angel's Grace, Teferi's Protection, Spellskite, Lightning Greaves, Swiftfoot Boots, Mithril Coat, Deadly Rollick, Path to Exile, Swords to Plowshares, Cyclonic Rift, Toxic Deluge, Vindicate, Void Rend, Farewell, and Fractured Identity according to visible pressure: defend the combo from stack interaction and removal first, stop immediate losses second, and answer value permanents only when they materially block the kill or survival.

## Role Package
- Threats: Y'shtola, Night's Blessed, Bloodthirsty Conqueror, Laboratory Maniac, Thassa's Oracle, Orcish Bowmasters, Walking Ballista, Elesh Norn, Kambal, Consul of Allocation, Esper Sentinel, Hope Estheim, High Fae Trickster, Emeritus of Woe, and Delney, Streetwise Lookout are the creature-facing pressure or endpoint cards. Use them for board presence only when the legal board state supports it; treat Thassa's Oracle, Laboratory Maniac, Bloodthirsty Conqueror, and Walking Ballista as combo pieces before attackers.

- Payoffs: Thassa's Oracle, Laboratory Maniac, Bloodchief Ascension, Mindcrank, Exquisite Blood, Sanguine Bond, Bloodthirsty Conqueror, Heliod, Sun-Crowned, Walking Ballista, Bolas's Citadel, Painful Quandary, Akroma's Will, and Fractured Identity are the cards most likely to end or lock the game. Commit them when protection is available, opponents are tapped low, a tutor line has already selected the missing piece, or waiting exposes the deck to a faster visible clock.

- Engines: Rhystic Study, Mystic-like assumptions must not be invented, so the actual engine list is Rhystic Study, The One Ring, Smothering Tithe, Monologue Tax, Bolas's Citadel, Bloodchief Ascension, Mindcrank, Kambal, Consul of Allocation, Esper Sentinel, Orcish Bowmasters, Painful Quandary, and Decorum Dissertation with card text check required for Decorum Dissertation. Prefer engines that either draw cards, produce mana, punish spell chains, or pressure life totals without consuming the combo pieces.

- Velocity: Demonic Tutor, Vampiric Tutor, Enlightened Tutor, Mystical Tutor, Fabricate, Entomb, Brainstorm, Frantic Search, Windfall, Reanimate, Demonic Consultation, Dark Ritual, Cabal Ritual, and Bolas's Citadel convert a neutral hand into a live win attempt. Use Demonic Consultation as a win-line card with Thassa's Oracle or a verified Laboratory Maniac setup, not as a casual tutor unless survival or a legal deterministic line demands it.

- Interaction: An Offer You Can't Refuse, Cyclonic Rift, Deadly Rollick, Fierce Guardianship, Flusterstorm, Mindbreak Trap, Path to Exile, Swan Song, Swords to Plowshares, Toxic Deluge, Vindicate, Void Rend, Farewell, Fractured Identity, Erode, and Orcish Bowmasters form the answer suite. Card text check required for Erode before choosing it over known removal or permission.

- Protection: Angel's Grace, Teferi's Protection, Lightning Greaves, Swiftfoot Boots, Mithril Coat, Spellskite, Fierce Guardianship, Flusterstorm, Swan Song, An Offer You Can't Refuse, Mindbreak Trap, Deadly Rollick, Glacial Chasm, and Akroma's Will protect life total, board position, or a combo turn. Use protection before value when the visible stack or combat step threatens the active win attempt.

- Recursion: Reanimate and Entomb are the explicit graveyard module, with Frantic Search and Windfall able to place cards into the graveyard through normal legal choices. Reanimate should target a visible graveyard creature only after checking life total, opposing graveyard options, and whether the target advances a win, protects the combo, or stabilizes the board.

- Mana: Sol Ring, Arcane Signet, Fellwar Stone, Talisman of Dominance, Talisman of Hierarchy, Talisman of Progress, Dark Ritual, Cabal Ritual, Ancient Tomb, Command Tower, Reflecting Pool, Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth, the pain lands, the filter lands, the typed duals, and the Verge lands are the acceleration and fixing layer. Card text check required for Bleachbone Verge and Floodfarm Verge before assuming exact color production.

- Sideboard modules: There is no registered sideboard, so Veles must not propose sideboard swaps, wish targets, or outside-card plans. Matchup adaptation must come from mulligans, tutor targets, sequencing, interaction discipline, and visible runtime information.

## Primary Win Conditions
- Protected Oracle kill: Assemble Thassa's Oracle plus Demonic Consultation when the deck can either win immediately or defend the trigger with visible permission. Setup requires blue mana, black mana, enough life to survive current pressure, and preferably An Offer You Can't Refuse, Fierce Guardianship, Flusterstorm, Mindbreak Trap, Swan Song, Angel's Grace, or Teferi's Protection available for the stack war. Execute only through legal engine prompts: cast Thassa's Oracle, hold priority or respond as exposed by Forge, then use Demonic Consultation to empty the library before the Thassa's Oracle trigger resolves when that line is legal. Disruption to respect includes counterspells, trigger interaction, removal that changes devotion assumptions, and forced draw before resolution. Prioritize this line when opponents are tapped low, a tutor already found either piece, or waiting gives a visible faster clock.

- Laboratory Maniac library kill: Use Laboratory Maniac as the backup empty-library payoff only with a verified draw-after-empty-library action available. Setup requires Laboratory Maniac on board or ready to cast, Demonic Consultation or another legal library-emptying route, and a draw source such as Brainstorm, Frantic Search, The One Ring, Rhystic Study, Esper Sentinel, or Windfall only when Forge exposes the exact draw sequence. Execute by protecting Laboratory Maniac first, emptying the library second, and drawing third; do not assume triggered draws will happen on demand. Disruption to respect includes creature removal, counterspells, replacement effects, and any stack item that can make the draw happen before Laboratory Maniac is protected. Prioritize this line when Thassa's Oracle is unavailable, exiled, countered, or unsafe.

- Bloodchief loop: Use Bloodchief Ascension plus Mindcrank when Bloodchief Ascension is active and a legal opponent life-loss or graveyard event can start the loop. Setup requires both permanents, enough time to place counters on Bloodchief Ascension, and protection from removal or graveyard replacement effects. Execute by choosing the legal action that starts opponent life loss or card movement into a graveyard, then let Forge determine whether the loop continues. Disruption to respect includes artifact/enchantment removal, life-gain prevention, graveyard replacement, and opponents who can remove a piece while the first trigger is on the stack. Prioritize this line in slower pods, under Rhystic Study or Smothering Tithe cover, or when tutors find enchantments/artifacts more cleanly than creature payoffs.

- Lifegain drain loop: Use Exquisite Blood with Sanguine Bond or Bloodthirsty Conqueror when a legal life-loss or life-gain event can begin a deterministic drain chain. Setup requires the enchantment plus one drain payoff, sufficient mana to deploy both, and enough protection to survive a removal response. Execute by creating the first legal opponent life-loss or your life-gain event and let the rules engine resolve triggers. Disruption to respect includes instant-speed removal, counterspells, Stifle-like effects from opponents if visible, and life-total pressure that makes tapping out unsafe. Prioritize this line when Enlightened Tutor, Vampiric Tutor, Demonic Tutor, or Bolas's Citadel can assemble it while opponents lack open mana.

- Heliod Ballista line: Use Heliod, Sun-Crowned plus Walking Ballista only when Forge exposes the required counters, lifegain, damage, and activation sequence as legal actions. Setup requires Walking Ballista to survive with the relevant counter resources and Heliod, Sun-Crowned to legally enable the loop. Disruption to respect includes creature removal, damage prevention, counter removal, and mana/counter insufficiency. Prioritize this line when artifact or creature tutors find Walking Ballista and the board state already supports repeated legal activations.

## Secondary Win Conditions
- Stax-pressure finish: Let Painful Quandary, Kambal, Consul of Allocation, Rhystic Study, Smothering Tithe, Monologue Tax, Esper Sentinel, Orcish Bowmasters, and Bloodchief Ascension convert opponents' normal play into life loss, cards, or mana. This is a bridge to combo, not a reason to ignore a protected kill, so keep interaction for threats that stop the eventual endpoint.

- Reanimation pivot: Use Entomb and Reanimate as a tactical shortcut only when the visible graveyard target advances survival or a win attempt. Reanimate can recover Bloodthirsty Conqueror, Laboratory Maniac, Elesh Norn, Orcish Bowmasters, or an opponent creature if legal and useful, but the life payment must be checked against current combat and burn pressure.

- Board-reset into engine: Use Cyclonic Rift, Toxic Deluge, Farewell, Void Rend, Vindicate, Fractured Identity, Path to Exile, Swords to Plowshares, and Deadly Rollick to clear the permanent that prevents a combo turn or lethal survival. After the reset, rebuild with The One Ring, Bolas's Citadel, Smothering Tithe, Rhystic Study, or tutors rather than drifting into low-impact attacks.

- Combat fallback: Attack with Y'shtola, Night's Blessed, Bloodthirsty Conqueror, Elesh Norn, Hope Estheim, High Fae Trickster, Emeritus of Woe, Delney, Streetwise Lookout, Orcish Bowmasters, Walking Ballista, and utility creatures only when combat does not expose a needed combo piece. Card text check required for Y'shtola, Night's Blessed, Hope Estheim, High Fae Trickster, Emeritus of Woe, Decorum Dissertation, Morningtide's Light, and Erode before assigning special synergy roles.

## Emergency Lines
- Behind on life: Prioritize Angel's Grace, Teferi's Protection, Glacial Chasm, Toxic Deluge, Cyclonic Rift, Swords to Plowshares, Path to Exile, Deadly Rollick, and Void Rend before slow engines. Spend life on Ancient Tomb, pain lands, The One Ring, Bolas's Citadel, Toxic Deluge, Reanimate, or Talismans only when the legal line prevents a larger loss or wins immediately.

- Behind on board: Treat sweepers and bounce as combo protection, not only removal. Use Toxic Deluge for creature density, Cyclonic Rift for tempo and end-step openings, Farewell for broad permanent or graveyard emergencies, and Fractured Identity only when giving opponents copies does not worsen the visible board beyond recovery.

- Behind on cards: Prefer The One Ring, Rhystic Study, Esper Sentinel, Brainstorm, Frantic Search, Windfall, Bolas's Citadel, and tutor-to-engine lines over speculative combo commitment. Do not cast Demonic Consultation as desperation selection unless the named-card risk is acceptable or the line wins through Thassa's Oracle or Laboratory Maniac.

- Behind on mana: Sequence Sol Ring, Arcane Signet, Fellwar Stone, Talisman of Dominance, Talisman of Hierarchy, Talisman of Progress, Dark Ritual, Cabal Ritual, Ancient Tomb, Smothering Tithe, and Monologue Tax toward one decisive turn. Avoid tapping out for Painful Quandary, Bolas's Citadel, or a naked combo permanent when visible opponents can punish the window.

- Engine removed: Rebuild with tutors instead of chasing the same destroyed plan blindly. If Bloodchief Ascension or Mindcrank is gone, pivot to Thassa's Oracle or Exquisite Blood lines; if Thassa's Oracle is gone, evaluate Laboratory Maniac; if graveyards are constrained, rely on hand-based tutors and artifact/enchantment combos.

- Win conditions removed: Preserve remaining unique endpoints and stop spending them as fair resources. If multiple payoffs are exiled or countered, shift to Painful Quandary, Kambal, Consul of Allocation, Orcish Bowmasters, Elesh Norn, Akroma's Will, protected Walking Ballista damage, or commander-supported pressure only when legal board state makes that fallback credible.

## Resource Model
- Life: Treat life as both a shield and a spendable combo resource, but preserve enough life to survive the next visible combat step before using Ancient Tomb, Adarkar Wastes, Caves of Koilos, Underground River, Talisman of Dominance, Talisman of Hierarchy, Talisman of Progress, Toxic Deluge, Reanimate, The One Ring, or Bolas's Citadel. Spend life aggressively only when the legal line wins, locks a player under a drain loop, protects a win attempt, or prevents a larger visible loss.

- Hand: Convert cards in hand into either protected combo access or durable tax pressure. Keep tutors such as Demonic Tutor, Vampiric Tutor, Enlightened Tutor, Mystical Tutor, Entomb, and Fabricate pointed at the missing piece that the current board can actually support, not the most abstractly powerful card. Use Brainstorm, Frantic Search, Windfall, Rhystic Study, Esper Sentinel, The One Ring, and Bolas's Citadel to rebuild after interaction, but avoid refilling opponents with Windfall when you already have a protected deterministic line.

- Mana: Convert temporary mana from Sol Ring, Arcane Signet, Fellwar Stone, the Talismans, Dark Ritual, Cabal Ritual, Ancient Tomb, Smothering Tithe, and Monologue Tax into one decisive turn rather than scattered medium plays. Prioritize mana that leaves interaction up for An Offer You Can't Refuse, Fierce Guardianship, Flusterstorm, Mindbreak Trap, Swan Song, Angel's Grace, Teferi's Protection, Deadly Rollick, Path to Exile, Swords to Plowshares, Cyclonic Rift, Void Rend, or Erode when committing a fragile combo permanent.

- Board: Convert board presence into time, taxes, and protected kills rather than routine combat. Y'shtola, Night's Blessed, Kambal, Consul of Allocation, Esper Sentinel, Rhystic Study, Smothering Tithe, Monologue Tax, Orcish Bowmasters, Painful Quandary, Bloodchief Ascension, Mindcrank, Exquisite Blood, Sanguine Bond, Bloodthirsty Conqueror, Heliod, Sun-Crowned, and Walking Ballista are resources to defend unless the legal action wins now or preserves survival.

- Graveyard: Use the graveyard as a targeted extension of hand, not a general value pile. Entomb plus Reanimate should select a visible graveyard card that advances a win, stabilizes the board, or recovers a removed payoff; do not pay Reanimate life into a lethal counterattack unless Angel's Grace, Teferi's Protection, Glacial Chasm, or removal covers the next danger.

- Exile: Treat exile as a commitment ledger because Demonic Consultation, Farewell, Mindbreak Trap, and opposing effects can remove unique win pieces permanently. Before naming or exiling cards for a decisive line, check whether Thassa's Oracle, Laboratory Maniac, Bloodchief Ascension, Mindcrank, Exquisite Blood, Sanguine Bond, Bloodthirsty Conqueror, Heliod, Sun-Crowned, or Walking Ballista is already gone.

- Lands: Treat land drops as color fixing first, utility second, and life management third. Glacial Chasm buys survival but can slow pressure and mana development; Reliquary Tower supports large-hand engines; Fabled Passage and Marsh Flats fix colors and improve Brainstorm timing; Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth can turn awkward lands into black sources for Dark Ritual, Cabal Ritual, Demonic Tutor, Necro-adjacent black costs, and drain pieces.

- Sacrifice fodder: Do not assume expendable fodder exists. Card text check required for Y'shtola, Night's Blessed, Hope Estheim, Emeritus of Woe, High Fae Trickster, Decorum Dissertation, Morningtide's Light, and Erode before assigning sacrifice, tribal, or graveyard-engine roles.

- Tempo and information: Convert tempo into protected windows by forcing opponents to spend mana under Rhystic Study, Esper Sentinel, Smothering Tithe, Monologue Tax, Kambal, Consul of Allocation, and Painful Quandary. Convert information from revealed hands, public graveyards, stack actions, and mana availability into go/no-go decisions for Demonic Consultation, Thassa's Oracle, Bolas's Citadel, or any two-card enchantment loop.

- Sideboard bullets: No registered sideboard exists, so do not plan post-board conversions or sideboard tutor targets. All adaptation must come from main-deck bullets and commander-game sequencing.

## Mana Guide
- Color priority: Keep hands that can produce early blue or black plus a path to white. Blue supports Brainstorm, An Offer You Can't Refuse, Flusterstorm, Swan Song, Cyclonic Rift, Thassa's Oracle, Rhystic Study, Frantic Search, Windfall, Fabricate, and Fierce Guardianship; black supports Dark Ritual, Cabal Ritual, Demonic Tutor, Vampiric Tutor, Entomb, Reanimate, Toxic Deluge, Deadly Rollick, Bloodchief Ascension, Bloodthirsty Conqueror, Painful Quandary, Sanguine Bond, and Bolas's Citadel; white supports Esper Sentinel, Enlightened Tutor, Angel's Grace, Path to Exile, Swords to Plowshares, Smothering Tithe, Teferi's Protection, Farewell, Heliod, Sun-Crowned, Akroma's Will, and Hope Estheim.

- Keep rule: Keep two-to-three-land hands with at least two colors, an early mana rock, or a one-mana selection/tutor spell. Mulligan hands with only colorless acceleration, only tapped lands, or no route to black and blue unless the hand already has Sol Ring plus fixing or a legal early engine that compensates.

- Fast mana sequencing: Lead Sol Ring, Arcane Signet, Fellwar Stone, Talisman of Dominance, Talisman of Hierarchy, or Talisman of Progress before slow value permanents when the extra mana creates a protected turn-three or turn-four engine. Use Dark Ritual and Cabal Ritual for a decisive tutor, Bolas's Citadel, Painful Quandary, combo deployment, or protected recovery turn, not for an exposed permanent into open interaction.

- Land sequencing: Play untapped colored lands before tapped duals when holding one-mana interaction or tutors. Sequence Command Tower, Hallowed Fountain, Underground River, Adarkar Wastes, Caves of Koilos, Darkslick Shores, Vault of Champions, Reflecting Pool, and filter lands to keep blue and black open; play Prairie Stream, Sunken Hollow, Irrigated Farmland, Meticulous Archive, Shadowy Backstreet, Undercity Sewers, or other tapped/conditional lands when the turn has no urgent instant-speed choice.

- Utility timing: Crack Fabled Passage or Marsh Flats before Brainstorm only when you need the color immediately; after Brainstorm, use them to clear unwanted top cards when legal. Play Reliquary Tower before a large draw turn if hand size will matter. Play Glacial Chasm only when survival is more important than normal combat and mana development.

- Draw-before-land rule: Cast Brainstorm, Frantic Search, or a tutor before land drop when the result can determine which color source, fetch land, tapped land, or utility land to play. Play land first when the spell needs that mana now, when holding up protection is mandatory, or when a tapped land would otherwise cost the turn.

- Commitment mana rule: Before casting Thassa's Oracle, Laboratory Maniac support, Exquisite Blood, Sanguine Bond, Bloodthirsty Conqueror, Mindcrank, Bloodchief Ascension, Heliod, Sun-Crowned, Walking Ballista, or Bolas's Citadel, count whether mana remains for protection, removal, or the next required legal activation. If protection cannot be held and waiting does not lose the game, prefer setup over exposure.

## Mulligan Guide
- Strong keep: Keep two-to-three lands with blue and black access, one accelerator, and either a protected combo route or a taxing draw engine. Examples include Command Tower plus Underground River plus Sol Ring plus Rhystic Study; Hallowed Fountain plus Darkslick Shores plus Arcane Signet plus Demonic Tutor; or Vault of Champions plus Island plus Talisman of Dominance plus Esper Sentinel plus Swan Song.

- Strong keep: Keep fast deterministic pressure when the hand has a win piece, a tutor, and protection mana. Thassa's Oracle plus Demonic Consultation is a keep only if the mana supports both pieces and the hand can respect visible interaction with An Offer You Can't Refuse, Fierce Guardianship, Flusterstorm, Swan Song, Angel's Grace, or another protective line.

- Medium keep: Keep slower value hands with three lands and one of Esper Sentinel, Rhystic Study, Smothering Tithe, Monologue Tax, Bloodchief Ascension, Mindcrank, or The One Ring when at least one interaction spell covers the table's fastest visible start. These hands should plan to tax first and combo after opponents spend resources.

- Risky keep: Keep one-land hands only with Sol Ring or a one-mana selection spell plus a clear second-mana route. Brainstorm without a shuffle effect is not enough by itself; Brainstorm plus Marsh Flats or Fabled Passage is materially better because it can fix both card quality and colors.

- Matchup-dependent keep: Keep Angel's Grace, Teferi's Protection, Cyclonic Rift, Toxic Deluge, Farewell, Path to Exile, Swords to Plowshares, Deadly Rollick, Void Rend, or Erode higher against visible fast combat, commander-damage, graveyard, or permanent-engine pressure. Card text check required for Erode before relying on it for a specific permanent class.

- Play/draw adjustment: On the play, favor Sol Ring, Arcane Signet, Esper Sentinel, Rhystic Study, Bloodchief Ascension, and early tutor hands that establish pressure before opponents hold up mana. On the draw, favor cheap interaction, Brainstorm, tutors, and hands that can answer an opposing turn-one engine before committing your own exposed payoff.

- Automatic ship: Ship no-land, one-land without acceleration or selection, five-plus-land without draw or tutor, colorless-only acceleration without colored follow-up, and hands that cannot produce blue or black before turn three. Also ship hands that contain only expensive payoffs such as Bolas's Citadel, Painful Quandary, Exquisite Blood, Sanguine Bond, Bloodthirsty Conqueror, Farewell, and Fractured Identity without mana acceleration or interaction.

- Trap hand: Do not keep a hand because it contains multiple combo pieces if it cannot cast them or protect them. Exquisite Blood plus Sanguine Bond with tapped lands and no acceleration is worse than a functional mana hand with Demonic Tutor, Vampiric Tutor, Enlightened Tutor, Mystical Tutor, or Fabricate.

- Commander caveat: Do not keep a hand solely because it can cast Y'shtola, Night's Blessed, Hope Estheim, Emeritus of Woe, High Fae Trickster, Decorum Dissertation, or Morningtide's Light unless the runtime card text confirms the role in the current rules engine. Card text check required for these cards before treating them as engines.

## Turn Arc
- Turn 1: Prefer untapped mana into Sol Ring, Esper Sentinel, Bloodchief Ascension, Brainstorm with shuffle support, Vampiric Tutor, Enlightened Tutor, Mystical Tutor, Entomb, or held-up Swan Song, Flusterstorm, An Offer You Can't Refuse, Path to Exile, or Swords to Plowshares. Deviate into a tapped land only when no one-mana action is legal or when color fixing for turn two is more important than bluffing interaction.

- Turn 1 tutor: Use Vampiric Tutor, Enlightened Tutor, Mystical Tutor, Entomb, or Demonic Consultation only with a specific next-turn purpose. Prefer mana, Rhystic Study, Smothering Tithe, The One Ring, Bolas's Citadel, Thassa's Oracle, Demonic Tutor, or a missing combo half based on visible pressure; do not blind-search for an unsupported payoff.

- Turn 2: Prefer Arcane Signet, Fellwar Stone, Talisman of Dominance, Talisman of Hierarchy, Talisman of Progress, Rhystic Study, Esper Sentinel plus interaction, Bloodchief Ascension plus held-up protection, or Demonic Tutor for the bottleneck card. Hold up removal or stack interaction instead when an opponent has presented a faster engine or lethal setup.

- Turn 3: Prefer a protected engine or a constrained combo setup: Rhystic Study, Smothering Tithe, The One Ring, Fabricate for a needed artifact, Windfall when it improves your hand more than opponents' known resources, or Thassa's Oracle only when the full win line is legal and protected. Avoid casting Mindcrank, Exquisite Blood, Sanguine Bond, Bloodthirsty Conqueror, Laboratory Maniac, Heliod, Sun-Crowned, or Walking Ballista into open removal unless the follow-up wins now or protection is available.

- Turns 4-5: Convert resource advantage into a defended kill, a board reset, or a lock-like tax turn. Sequence Demonic Tutor, Vampiric Tutor, Enlightened Tutor, Mystical Tutor, Fabricate, Frantic Search, Windfall, Rhystic Study, Smothering Tithe, Monologue Tax, Painful Quandary, and Bolas's Citadel so mana remains for Fierce Guardianship, Mindbreak Trap, Flusterstorm, Swan Song, An Offer You Can't Refuse, Angel's Grace, Teferi's Protection, Deadly Rollick, or Cyclonic Rift.

- Turns 4-5 deviation: If combat pressure is already threatening survival, spend Toxic Deluge, Farewell, Cyclonic Rift, Swords to Plowshares, Path to Exile, Deadly Rollick, Vindicate, Void Rend, Fractured Identity, Glacial Chasm, Angel's Grace, or Teferi's Protection before advancing a slow combo. Life is a combo resource only while it remains above the visible danger line.

- Late game: Prioritize closed, protected win attempts over accumulating more value. Check exile and graveyard first, then assemble Thassa's Oracle plus Demonic Consultation, Laboratory Maniac support, Bloodchief Ascension plus Mindcrank, Exquisite Blood plus Sanguine Bond, Exquisite Blood plus Bloodthirsty Conqueror, or Heliod, Sun-Crowned plus Walking Ballista only when legal actions and visible mana make the line executable.

- Late-game fallback: When unique win pieces are gone, pivot to taxing permanents, protected commander pressure, Bolas's Citadel, The One Ring, Painful Quandary, Orcish Bowmasters, Kambal, Consul of Allocation, Akroma's Will, and removal-backed combat. Card text check required before relying on Y'shtola, Night's Blessed as a damage, drain, tribal, or graveyard payoff.

## Card Roles
- Commander and unknown-text anchors: Treat Y'shtola, Night's Blessed as the named commander and strategic identity card, but do not keep, tutor, or expose a line solely around it until runtime confirms exact text. Card text check required for Y'shtola, Night's Blessed, Decorum Dissertation, Emeritus of Woe, High Fae Trickster, Morningtide's Light, Hope Estheim, and Erode; use these cards only according to visible legal actions and confirmed card text rather than assumed Final Fantasy synergies.

- Oracle win package: Thassa's Oracle is the cleanest deterministic win card when paired with Demonic Consultation, and it should be cast only when the Oracle trigger line is legal, the library plan is understood, and protection is available or waiting is worse. Demonic Consultation is a win enabler, emergency tutor, and high-risk exile effect; avoid using it for fair card access unless losing without the named card. Laboratory Maniac is the backup empty-library payoff, but it is more fragile because it must survive until the draw event; protect it with Fierce Guardianship, Swan Song, Flusterstorm, An Offer You Can't Refuse, Angel's Grace, Teferi's Protection, Lightning Greaves, Swiftfoot Boots, Mithril Coat, or Spellskite when legal.

- Drain combo package: Bloodchief Ascension plus Mindcrank is a primary kill pattern once counters and a damage/loss trigger are available, so prioritize it when opponents are already losing life or graveyards are naturally filling. Exquisite Blood pairs with Sanguine Bond or Bloodthirsty Conqueror as another deterministic life-swing engine, but these pieces are expensive and removal-prone; do not tap out for a half-combo unless the table is slow, protected, or already forced to answer something else. Heliod, Sun-Crowned plus Walking Ballista is a backup creature/artifact kill; verify devotion, counters, lifelink access, and activation legality before committing mana.

- Tutor suite: Demonic Tutor finds the current bottleneck rather than the flashiest payoff, usually protection, mana, Thassa's Oracle, Demonic Consultation, Exquisite Blood, Sanguine Bond, Mindcrank, The One Ring, Bolas's Citadel, or a board answer. Vampiric Tutor, Enlightened Tutor, and Mystical Tutor are best at end step before your turn unless immediate stack interaction or survival requires them now. Entomb supports Reanimate and graveyard lines, but do not assume a reanimation target is correct without visible timing and target legality. Fabricate should normally find Sol Ring, The One Ring, Bolas's Citadel if artifact-legal, Lightning Greaves, Swiftfoot Boots, Mithril Coat, Mindcrank, Walking Ballista, Arcane Signet, or a Talisman based on mana and pressure.

- Card selection and hand reset: Brainstorm is strongest with Marsh Flats, Fabled Passage, Demonic Tutor, Vampiric Tutor, Enlightened Tutor, Mystical Tutor, or another shuffle effect; avoid locking two dead cards on top when no shuffle or draw follow-up exists. Frantic Search is a mana-neutral filter when lands can untap profitably and a graveyard setup card when Reanimate or recursion text is relevant. Windfall is a resource swing, not automatic velocity; cast it when your hand is worse than opponents' known or implied hand size, when Orcish Bowmasters punishes draws, or when Smothering Tithe converts the wheel into mana.

- Mana acceleration: Sol Ring, Arcane Signet, Fellwar Stone, Talisman of Dominance, Talisman of Hierarchy, Talisman of Progress, and Ancient Tomb accelerate engines and protected combo turns, but colored requirements matter more than raw mana once Oracle, consultation, counterspells, and removal are involved. Dark Ritual and Cabal Ritual should power a same-turn decisive spell, protected tutor chain, Bolas's Citadel, or emergency interaction rather than a casual permanent into open removal. Smothering Tithe and Monologue Tax are midgame mana engines; deploy them before combo turns when opponents still need to cast spells or draw cards.

- Tax and draw permanents: Esper Sentinel and Rhystic Study are early pressure on opponents' mana and card economy; play them before holding up soft interaction unless an opponent's visible start demands a counterspell. Kambal, Consul of Allocation drains noncreature-heavy tables and helps turn Bloodchief Ascension on, but it is less urgent against creature-combat boards. Painful Quandary is a late tax finisher that pressures hands and life totals; cast it when you can survive the tempo loss or when opponents are already constrained. The One Ring is protection plus cards, but track burden counters and life pressure carefully with Ancient Tomb, pain lands, Toxic Deluge, Bolas's Citadel, and fetch/shock decisions.

- Protection package: Fierce Guardianship, Flusterstorm, Swan Song, An Offer You Can't Refuse, Mindbreak Trap, and Angel's Grace protect decisive turns or stop faster wins; do not spend them on low-impact value unless that value is the only way to prevent a snowball. Teferi's Protection and Angel's Grace are emergency survival and combo-protection tools, with Angel's Grace especially relevant around empty-library and lethal-stack situations. Lightning Greaves, Swiftfoot Boots, Mithril Coat, and Spellskite protect fragile creatures such as Laboratory Maniac, Thassa's Oracle after cast if relevant, Walking Ballista, Esper Sentinel, Orcish Bowmasters, and commander lines; do not equip away targeting options if Spellskite or protection timing matters.

- Removal and sweepers: Swords to Plowshares and Path to Exile answer must-kill creatures, commanders, hatebears, or combo creatures at efficient timing; avoid using them on ordinary attackers unless life total demands it. Deadly Rollick is premium when the commander is available or controlled, but verify free-cast legality before relying on it. Cyclonic Rift resets boards or clears a protected win turn, and overloaded timing should respect opponents' mana and follow-up turns. Toxic Deluge is the flexible creature reset but spends life, so choose X from visible toughness and survival math. Farewell is the exile reset for boards, graveyards, artifacts, and enchantments; use it when it hurts opponents more than your own combo pieces. Vindicate, Void Rend, Fractured Identity, and Erode are broad permanent answers; Card text check required for Erode before assigning a target class.

- Creature pressure and utility: Orcish Bowmasters punishes card draw, makes wheels dangerous, and pressures planeswalkers or small creatures; pair it with Windfall only when legal and tactically justified. Delney, Streetwise Lookout may amplify small-creature triggers, but Card text check required for exact interaction with Esper Sentinel, Orcish Bowmasters, Kambal, Consul of Allocation, or other creatures. Bloodthirsty Conqueror is primarily a combo payoff with Exquisite Blood and secondarily a lifegain/drain body if text confirms; avoid exposing it without a plan. Elesh Norn is a high-impact creature slot, but exact version text must be confirmed from runtime because the name alone can imply different tactical roles.

- Lands and color roles: Command Tower, Reflecting Pool, Hallowed Fountain, Watery/Esper-adjacent duals represented by Meticulous Archive, Shadowy Backstreet, Undercity Sewers, Prairie Stream, Sunken Hollow, Glacial Fortress, Isolated Chapel, Drowned Catacomb, Shattered Sanctum, Choked Estuary, Darkslick Shores, Vault of Champions, Adarkar Wastes, Caves of Koilos, Underground River, Fetid Heath, Sunken Ruins, Bleachbone Verge, Floodfarm Verge, Shineshadow Snarl, Marsh Flats, Fabled Passage, Island, Plains, Swamp, and Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth should be sequenced for early blue-black-white access before colorless speed. Reliquary Tower is strongest after Rhystic Study, The One Ring, Windfall, or repeated draw; do not prioritize it over colored sources early. Glacial Chasm is an emergency combat shield that can buy combo turns, but its costs and restrictions must be respected before choosing it as a land drop.

- High-variance engines: Bolas's Citadel is a major payoff for ritual and fast-mana turns, but life total, top-card visibility, and interaction determine whether it is safe. Reanimate can recover your own combo creature or steal a public graveyard target, but life payment and target legality must be checked. Akroma's Will is a combat finisher or protection burst when creature count and commander condition make it legal and impactful; otherwise hold it rather than treating it as generic protection.

## Interaction Priorities
- Counter first: use Fierce Guardianship, Flusterstorm, Swan Song, An Offer You Can't Refuse, Mindbreak Trap, or Angel's Grace to stop a visible win attempt, a spell that removes Thassa's Oracle or Laboratory Maniac during a commitment turn, or a lock piece that prevents casting, drawing, tutoring, or graveyard access. Spend soft counters early only when the opposing play changes the game before this deck can assemble a protected combo.

- Protect combo before protecting value: hold interaction for Demonic Consultation plus Thassa's Oracle, Laboratory Maniac draw lines, Bloodchief Ascension plus Mindcrank, Exquisite Blood plus Sanguine Bond or Bloodthirsty Conqueror, and Bolas's Citadel chains. Let opponents answer Rhystic Study, Esper Sentinel, Monologue Tax, or Smothering Tithe if keeping a counter is the difference between winning now and passing exposed.

- Remove hate before threats when the hate blocks the line: Swords to Plowshares, Path to Exile, Deadly Rollick, Void Rend, Vindicate, Fractured Identity, Toxic Deluge, Farewell, and Cyclonic Rift should prioritize rule-setting creatures, graveyard blockers, anti-tutor effects, anti-draw effects, activated-ability shutdown, and permanents that stop life gain, life loss, or spell casting. Ordinary attackers are lower priority unless they create lethal pressure before the next protected attempt.

- Exile graveyards with Farewell only when graveyards matter more to opponents than to Reanimate, Entomb, Frantic Search, and any Y'shtola, Night's Blessed recursion or graveyard text. Card text check required for Y'shtola, Night's Blessed before treating the graveyard as commander-critical, but do not choose the graveyard mode casually while your own graveyard is part of the visible plan.

- Bounce with Cyclonic Rift as a timing spell, not a panic button: cast it overloaded to open a protected combo turn, clear multiple hate pieces, or survive a lethal combat step when mana supports a follow-up. Single-target Cyclonic Rift is acceptable on a must-answer permanent if permanent removal is absent and waiting gives the opponent another decisive turn.

- Bait interaction with replaceable engines before committing irreplaceable payoff: lead with Esper Sentinel, Rhystic Study, Monologue Tax, Smothering Tithe, The One Ring, or Painful Quandary when the table is representing answers and the hand already contains a compact win. Do not bait with Thassa's Oracle, Laboratory Maniac, Bloodthirsty Conqueror, Bloodchief Ascension, Mindcrank, Exquisite Blood, Sanguine Bond, or Bolas's Citadel unless the same turn can protect or complete the line.

- Ignore low-impact permanents when a combo race is active: small attackers, fair mana rocks, and value creatures that do not stop your line should not draw premium answers while a faster deck can still win. Against creature-heavy archetypes, change priority once life plus The One Ring burden counters, Ancient Tomb, pain lands, Toxic Deluge costs, or Bolas's Citadel life payments make combat damage the limiting resource.

- Treat Erode, Morningtide's Light, Hope Estheim, Decorum Dissertation, Emeritus of Woe, High Fae Trickster, and Elesh Norn as text-sensitive until visible Oracle/runtime text confirms exact roles. Card text check required before assigning them as removal, protection, graveyard control, tribal payoff, or combo support.

## Combat And Trading Rules
- Preserve life as combo fuel: take nonlethal damage when life total remains high enough for Ancient Tomb, Adarkar Wastes, Caves of Koilos, Underground River, The One Ring burden counters, Toxic Deluge, Bolas's Citadel, Reanimate, and fetch-shock sequencing. Start blocking or spending removal aggressively when visible attacks threaten to cut off those payments before the next protected attempt.

- Protect engine creatures over incidental damage: keep Laboratory Maniac, Thassa's Oracle before resolution, Bloodthirsty Conqueror, Walking Ballista, Orcish Bowmasters, Esper Sentinel, Kambal, Consul of Allocation, Spellskite, Delney, Streetwise Lookout, and Y'shtola, Night's Blessed out of trades unless the trade prevents lethal damage or preserves a deterministic win. Equip Lightning Greaves, Swiftfoot Boots, or Mithril Coat before passing into obvious removal when legal and mana-efficient.

- Attack only when damage advances a named plan: chip damage matters for Bloodchief Ascension, Kambal, Consul of Allocation drain pressure, Orcish Bowmasters pressure, Akroma's Will finishing turns, and closing after a failed combo. Do not attack with blockers needed to protect life total, planeswalker-like value if any is visible, or creatures that must survive for trigger/combo text.

- Block to buy a full turn cycle, not to trade down: use expendable tokens from Orcish Bowmasters, small utility creatures whose role is exhausted, or protected bodies to absorb pressure when the extra turn enables tutors, sweepers, or combo. Avoid trading Spellskite, Esper Sentinel, Kambal, Consul of Allocation, or Orcish Bowmasters into ordinary attackers if their static or trigger pressure is still constraining opponents.

- Use sweepers as combat resets when spot trades are poor: Toxic Deluge should set X from visible toughness and your post-payment survival, while Farewell should be reserved for boards where exile modes solve more than creature combat. Cyclonic Rift can replace blocking when bouncing the board lets you untap and win or redeploy engines first.

- Respect archetype shifts: against fast creature decks, removal and blockers protect life first and combo second; against control, preserve threat density and avoid exposing one payoff at a time; against graveyard or spell-combo decks, combat is secondary unless damage forces them to act into your counters. Against artifact or enchantment engines, combat pressure is useful only if it shortens the clock faster than holding mana for Void Rend, Vindicate, Fractured Identity, Farewell, or Cyclonic Rift.

- Commit Akroma's Will only when the visible creature board makes it lethal, prevents a lethal swing back, or protects a decisive attack under confirmed text and legality. Card text check required for commander-dependent modes before relying on it as protection or evasion.

## Selection And Tutor Rules
- Tutor for the shortest protected win, not the flashiest card: Demonic Tutor can find any missing combo, protection spell, mana source, or sweeper, so choose based on the current legal window and known table pressure. Prefer Thassa's Oracle plus Demonic Consultation when protection and timing are available; prefer Bloodchief Ascension plus Mindcrank or Exquisite Blood plus Sanguine Bond/Bloodthirsty Conqueror when the board already supports enchantment permanence and life-loss triggers.

- Use Vampiric Tutor and Mystical Tutor with draw timing in mind: place the card only when a draw step, Brainstorm, Frantic Search, The One Ring, Rhystic Study, Esper Sentinel, Windfall, or Bolas's Citadel can access it before opponents get a full turn to answer. End-step Vampiric Tutor is strongest when untapping into a protected attempt; upkeep tutoring is risky unless Angel's Grace, Fierce Guardianship, Swan Song, Flusterstorm, An Offer You Can't Refuse, or Mindbreak Trap covers the line.

- Use Enlightened Tutor and Fabricate as engine selectors: find Sol Ring, Arcane Signet, The One Ring, Bolas's Citadel, Lightning Greaves, Swiftfoot Boots, Mithril Coat, Spellskite, Mindcrank, Exquisite Blood, Bloodchief Ascension, Sanguine Bond, or Smothering Tithe according to the visible bottleneck. Fetch protection equipment before a commander or creature-combo line; fetch Mindcrank only when Bloodchief Ascension is active or activation is realistically imminent.

- Treat Demonic Consultation as a commitment spell: cast it with Thassa's Oracle or Laboratory Maniac only when the legal stack and available protection support the win or when waiting is worse than exposing the attempt. Do not use Demonic Consultation for ordinary card selection unless the game is otherwise lost and the named card is the only visible route back.

- Use Entomb as a conditional tactical tutor, not a generic value button: find Reanimate targets only when the graveyard is not visibly shut off and the target's text is confirmed useful. Card text check required before using Entomb for Y'shtola, Night's Blessed, Emeritus of Woe, High Fae Trickster, Hope Estheim, Elesh Norn, or other text-sensitive graveyard plans.

- Resolve Brainstorm after seeing whether a land drop or tutor changes the hand: with fetch lands such as Marsh Flats and Fabled Passage, Brainstorm can hide dead cards or stack tutor targets before shuffling. Without a shuffle or immediate draw effect, keep Brainstorm for protection from discard, setting up Bolas's Citadel, or finding interaction at instant speed.

- Sequence Frantic Search and Windfall around mana and card quality: Frantic Search is strongest when untapping mana sources enables protection or a same-turn combo, while Windfall is strongest when your hand is stalled and opponents have larger hands. Avoid Windfall when it reloads faster combo opponents or discards a protected line without graveyard recovery.

- Make land drops after selection when the choice can change: cast Brainstorm, The One Ring draw, or legal tutor-plus-draw before playing a land if the land decision affects colors, fetch timing, or Ancient Tomb/pain-land life loss. Play the land first when mana is required to hold up interaction or pay for the chosen tutor line.

## Priority And Stack Rules
- Hold priority discipline around combo attempts: when casting Thassa's Oracle, Laboratory Maniac support spells, Bloodchief Ascension/Mindcrank pieces, Exquisite Blood/Sanguine Bond pieces, Bloodthirsty Conqueror, Walking Ballista, or Bolas's Citadel, keep mana and free interaction mapped before starting. If protection is absent, wait unless visible pressure or known disruption makes this the last credible window.

- Counter effects that stop the win before countering value: Fierce Guardianship, Swan Song, Flusterstorm, An Offer You Can't Refuse, Mindbreak Trap, and Angel's Grace should answer removal, counterspells, stax effects, lethal combo spells, or stack interaction that beats the current line. Let ordinary draw, ramp, and medium threats resolve when spending a counter leaves the combo undefended.

- Use Angel's Grace as a stack and survival pivot: hold it for lethal damage, lethal life-loss, or a Demonic Consultation/Laboratory Maniac style turn when the legal text supports survival. Do not fire it merely to preserve a modest life total if the same mana protects a deterministic win next turn.

- Use Teferi's Protection and Akroma's Will only at decisive windows: protect from lethal combat, mass removal, or a swing-back that would undo a winning attack. Card text check required for Akroma's Will commander-dependent modes before relying on it as stack protection or evasion.

- Let value triggers resolve unless they expose a decisive risk: Rhystic Study, Esper Sentinel, Monologue Tax, Smothering Tithe, Kambal, Consul of Allocation, Orcish Bowmasters, Bloodchief Ascension, and The One Ring triggers should be accepted when legal unless an optional payment consumes mana needed for protection, tax payments, or a same-turn combo. Decline optional payments that prevent holding up Swan Song, Flusterstorm, Path to Exile, Swords to Plowshares, or Deadly Rollick.

- Respond to graveyard hate before it resolves when the graveyard line matters: use Reanimate, Entomb, Cyclonic Rift, Void Rend, Vindicate, Fractured Identity, or counters if the visible hate would shut off the selected route. If the current hand wins without the graveyard, preserve interaction for stack fights instead.

- Cast removal at instant speed when waiting gains information: Swords to Plowshares, Path to Exile, Deadly Rollick, Void Rend, Cyclonic Rift, and Fractured Identity should usually wait until the opponent commits mana, targets a key permanent, attacks lethally, or exposes a must-answer permanent. Sorcery-speed sweepers such as Toxic Deluge and Farewell should be timed after opponents extend or before a protected winning turn.

- Use Bolas's Citadel as a priority-sensitive engine: continue casting from the top only while life, colors, and visible interaction allow meaningful progress, then stop before life total becomes the easiest way for opponents to kill you. Pair with Angel's Grace or lifegain combo pieces only when the rules engine exposes legal actions supporting that line.

## Sideboard Map
- Registered sideboard status: this list has `Sideboard (0)`, so Veles must not submit any between-game card changes. Treat every legal sideboard operation as a no-change lock unless the rules engine exposes a commander-format companion, lesson, attraction, sticker, or event-specific sideboard object that is not present in this decklist; none is registered here.

- Sideboard card coverage: there are no sideboard cards to cover. No exact executable `Side in:` or `Cut:` plan is legal for this deck, because every card listed starts in the main deck and zero cards start in the sideboard.

- Runtime legality rule: if Veles is asked to sideboard with this registration, submit the empty change set and preserve the full 100-card configuration. Do not move Y'shtola, Night's Blessed, Thassa's Oracle, Demonic Consultation, Bloodchief Ascension, Mindcrank, Exquisite Blood, Sanguine Bond, Bloodthirsty Conqueror, Bolas's Citadel, Walking Ballista, Heliod, Sun-Crowned, Reanimate, Entomb, or any protection card between zones as a strategic adjustment.

- Commander-role rule: keep Y'shtola, Night's Blessed available under the commander rules exposed by the engine, and do not treat the commander as a sideboardable card. Card text check required before using the commander as a reason to change the valuation of Decorum Dissertation, Emeritus of Woe, High Fae Trickster, Morningtide's Light, Hope Estheim, or Elesh Norn in between-game planning.

- No-sideboard adaptation rule: adapt through mulligans, tutor targets, sequencing, and protection allocation rather than card substitution. Against faster combo, emphasize hands with Demonic Tutor, Vampiric Tutor, Mystical Tutor, Enlightened Tutor, Thassa's Oracle, Demonic Consultation, Fierce Guardianship, Swan Song, Flusterstorm, Mindbreak Trap, Angel's Grace, or fast mana from Sol Ring, Mana-check signets, Dark Ritual, Cabal Ritual, and Ancient Tomb.

- Versus fast combo: Add role cards: none from sideboard. Reduce main-deck emphasis: slow table-tax and life-drain engines when the opening hand lacks fast mana or protection, especially Painful Quandary, Decorum Dissertation, and expensive enchantment-combo pieces that cannot be protected yet. Keep interaction density high by valuing Fierce Guardianship, Swan Song, Flusterstorm, An Offer You Can't Refuse, Mindbreak Trap, Angel's Grace, and Teferi's Protection as survival tools rather than value plays.

- Versus counter-heavy control: Add role cards: none from sideboard. Reduce main-deck emphasis: exposed single-spell combo attempts without backup. Prefer patient sequencing with Rhystic Study, Esper Sentinel, The One Ring, Smothering Tithe, Monologue Tax, and protected tutors before committing Thassa's Oracle plus Demonic Consultation or Exquisite Blood plus Sanguine Bond/Bloodthirsty Conqueror. Force opponents to spend interaction on Bloodchief Ascension, Mindcrank, Bolas's Citadel, or The One Ring before presenting the final line when time and life total allow it.

- Versus graveyard hate: Add role cards: none from sideboard. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Reanimate and Entomb lines when visible hate is already active or the stack suggests it will resolve. Shift tutor priorities toward Thassa's Oracle plus Demonic Consultation, Bloodchief Ascension plus Mindcrank, Exquisite Blood plus Sanguine Bond, Bolas's Citadel, or protected Walking Ballista plus Heliod, Sun-Crowned if the legal text and board state support the line.

- Versus creature pressure: Add role cards: none from sideboard. Reduce main-deck emphasis: slow setup that spends life without stabilizing, especially Ancient Tomb, pain lands, Toxic Deluge life payment, The One Ring timing, Bolas's Citadel top-card casting, and fetch-shock sequencing with Hallowed Fountain or surveil lands when life is under immediate threat. Prioritize Swords to Plowshares, Path to Exile, Deadly Rollick, Toxic Deluge, Farewell, Cyclonic Rift, Void Rend, Vindicate, Fractured Identity, Glacial Chasm, Teferi's Protection, Akroma's Will, and Angel's Grace according to legal timing.

- Versus artifact/enchantment engines: Add role cards: none from sideboard. Reduce main-deck emphasis: racing through obvious permanent-based lock pieces without an answer in hand. Use Enlightened Tutor, Mystical Tutor, Demonic Tutor, Vampiric Tutor, or Fabricate to find Void Rend, Vindicate, Farewell, Cyclonic Rift, Fractured Identity, The One Ring, Bolas's Citadel, or combo pieces depending on whether the visible permanent prevents winning or merely creates value.

- Versus stax and tax effects: Add role cards: none from sideboard. Reduce main-deck emphasis: mana-tight lines that need multiple colored spells in one turn. Preserve Sol Ring, Arcane Signet, Fellwar Stone, Talisman of Dominance, Talisman of Hierarchy, Talisman of Progress, Smothering Tithe, Monologue Tax, and land sequencing to pay visible costs. Do not commit Demonic Consultation, Thassa's Oracle, Laboratory Maniac, Bolas's Citadel, or Walking Ballista lines into a visible tax effect unless the rules engine shows enough mana and protection.

- Versus graveyard decks: Add role cards: none from sideboard. Reduce main-deck emphasis: slow value engines if an opponent is close to a graveyard win. Use interaction on the graveyard enabler or payoff when legal, and use tutor access to find Farewell, Cyclonic Rift, Void Rend, Vindicate, Fractured Identity, Swords to Plowshares, Path to Exile, Deadly Rollick, or Mindbreak Trap according to the card type and stack state. Do not assume this deck has dedicated graveyard hate beyond registered cards.

- Versus board wipes and removal-heavy tables: Add role cards: none from sideboard. Reduce main-deck emphasis: overcommitting creature protection targets without an immediate payoff. Lightning Greaves, Swiftfoot Boots, Mithril Coat, and Spellskite should protect Y'shtola, Night's Blessed, Laboratory Maniac, Bloodthirsty Conqueror, Walking Ballista, Heliod, Sun-Crowned, Esper Sentinel, Orcish Bowmasters, or other visible high-leverage permanents only when the equipped or protected card matters to the selected route.

- Between-game reflection rule: after Game 1, update priorities without changing the 100 cards. If opponents revealed counterspells, elevate protected stack lines; if opponents revealed graveyard hate, de-emphasize Entomb plus Reanimate; if opponents revealed fast creature pressure, elevate early removal and life preservation; if opponents revealed artifact/enchantment prison, elevate universal answers and mana rocks.

- Illegal-plan rejection rule: reject any generated sideboard plan that names a `Side in:` card, because the registered sideboard contains no cards. Reject any generated plan that removes main-deck cards from the registration, because Commander games in this configuration must keep the same 100-card deck between games unless an external event rule not present in this specification changes that legality.

## Matchup Guidance

- Aggro: keep hands that make early colored mana, one cheap stabilizer, and a credible path to recover cards or life before the table can convert combat into lethal pressure. Prioritize Swords to Plowshares, Path to Exile, Deadly Rollick, Toxic Deluge, Cyclonic Rift, Void Rend, Vindicate, Glacial Chasm, Angel's Grace, Teferi's Protection, and The One Ring as survival tools, and treat Ancient Tomb, pain lands, Bolas's Citadel, and large Toxic Deluge payments as dangerous unless they immediately stop more damage than they cost. Use Esper Sentinel, Orcish Bowmasters, Spellskite, and protected Y'shtola, Night's Blessed only as blockers when the engine shows that trading or absorbing damage preserves a combo route.

- Control: build an information and mana advantage before presenting a compact win, because a single exposed combo spell is the easiest line for control to answer. Lead with Rhystic Study, Esper Sentinel, The One Ring, Smothering Tithe, Monologue Tax, Bloodchief Ascension, Mindcrank, or protected tutor setup when legal, then commit Thassa's Oracle plus Demonic Consultation, Laboratory Maniac plus draw, Exquisite Blood plus Sanguine Bond/Bloodthirsty Conqueror, or Heliod, Sun-Crowned plus Walking Ballista only when backup from Fierce Guardianship, Swan Song, Flusterstorm, An Offer You Can't Refuse, Mindbreak Trap, Teferi's Protection, Angel's Grace, or enough mana is visible. Do not burn Demonic Tutor, Vampiric Tutor, Mystical Tutor, Enlightened Tutor, or Fabricate on a payoff unless the next turn cycle can realistically protect it.

- Combo: race only when the opening hand already has acceleration, a tutor, or a two-card finish; otherwise hold interaction for the opponent's actual commitment point. Value Sol Ring, Arcane Signet, Fellwar Stone, Talisman of Dominance, Talisman of Hierarchy, Talisman of Progress, Dark Ritual, Cabal Ritual, Ancient Tomb, Demonic Tutor, Vampiric Tutor, Mystical Tutor, Demonic Consultation, Thassa's Oracle, Angel's Grace, Fierce Guardianship, Swan Song, Flusterstorm, An Offer You Can't Refuse, and Mindbreak Trap over slow engines. Use Deadly Rollick, Swords to Plowshares, Path to Exile, Void Rend, Vindicate, Cyclonic Rift, or Farewell on visible combo permanents only when the engine shows the target is legal and the opponent is near converting it into a win.

- Tempo: respect pressure plus permission by lowering the curve of the chosen line and forcing the tempo deck to answer must-kill permanents before the final combo. Use cheap mana and one-mana interaction to avoid falling behind, and prefer Rhystic Study, Esper Sentinel, Orcish Bowmasters, Bloodchief Ascension, Mindcrank, The One Ring, and protected Y'shtola, Night's Blessed over expensive sorcery-speed setup when shields are down. Do not walk Bolas's Citadel, Painful Quandary, Farewell, Fractured Identity, or Exquisite Blood into a likely counter window unless the legal action set also includes protection or the tempo player is tapped low.

- Midrange: trade resources early, then win by assembling a higher-ceiling engine that outscales one-for-one removal. Save Void Rend, Vindicate, Fractured Identity, Cyclonic Rift, Farewell, Toxic Deluge, Deadly Rollick, Swords to Plowshares, and Path to Exile for permanents that either threaten lethal, shut off combo execution, or generate repeated advantage. Use The One Ring, Rhystic Study, Smothering Tithe, Monologue Tax, Bolas's Citadel, Bloodchief Ascension, Mindcrank, Exquisite Blood, Sanguine Bond, and Y'shtola, Night's Blessed as pressure points that demand answers, then pivot to Thassa's Oracle plus Demonic Consultation or Heliod, Sun-Crowned plus Walking Ballista when removal density has been taxed.

- Big mana: identify whether the opponent is building toward one overwhelming permanent, a spell chain, or repeated activated abilities, then tutor for the answer that matches the visible threat type. Use Demonic Tutor, Vampiric Tutor, Mystical Tutor, Enlightened Tutor, and Fabricate proactively for either speed or disruption, not generic value. Prioritize Mindbreak Trap, Flusterstorm, Swan Song, Fierce Guardianship, An Offer You Can't Refuse, Cyclonic Rift, Void Rend, Vindicate, Fractured Identity, Farewell, and Teferi's Protection when the opponent can jump from setup to lethal. Avoid slow drain engines if the big-mana opponent is already one untap away from a decisive spell.

- Graveyard: treat opposing graveyards as active resources, but do not pretend this list has dedicated graveyard hate beyond registered cards. Interact with the enabler, payoff, or stack object using Mindbreak Trap, Swan Song, Flusterstorm, An Offer You Can't Refuse, Fierce Guardianship, Deadly Rollick, Swords to Plowshares, Path to Exile, Void Rend, Vindicate, Cyclonic Rift, Fractured Identity, Toxic Deluge, or Farewell according to legal type and timing. De-emphasize Entomb plus Reanimate when visible graveyard hate is active, and shift tutors toward Thassa's Oracle plus Demonic Consultation, Bloodchief Ascension plus Mindcrank, Exquisite Blood plus Sanguine Bond/Bloodthirsty Conqueror, or Bolas's Citadel if the graveyard route is contested.

- Artifact/enchantment: answer the permanent that blocks winning before answering the permanent that merely creates value. Use Enlightened Tutor, Mystical Tutor, Demonic Tutor, Vampiric Tutor, and Fabricate to find Void Rend, Vindicate, Farewell, Cyclonic Rift, Fractured Identity, The One Ring, Bolas's Citadel, or the missing combo piece based on whether the opponent's board is a lock, a clock, or a value engine. Preserve mana rocks when opposing tax or mana denial is visible, and do not spend Fractured Identity on a symmetrical upgrade unless giving opponents copies cannot immediately worsen the board state.

- Go-wide: stabilize with sweepers and prevention before trying to race, because incidental life loss from lands and engines makes wide attacks scale quickly. Prioritize Toxic Deluge, Farewell, Cyclonic Rift, Teferi's Protection, Angel's Grace, Glacial Chasm, Akroma's Will, Orcish Bowmasters, Swords to Plowshares, Path to Exile, Deadly Rollick, Void Rend, and Vindicate based on the board and stack. Keep enough life to survive your own Toxic Deluge payment, and do not rely on one protected blocker unless the engine shows the opponent has only one meaningful attacker or no profitable attack.

- Single-threat: remove or neutralize the threat at the cheapest safe window, then use the tempo gained to assemble a protected win. Swords to Plowshares, Path to Exile, Deadly Rollick, Void Rend, Vindicate, Fractured Identity, Cyclonic Rift, Toxic Deluge, Farewell, Spellskite, Lightning Greaves, Swiftfoot Boots, Mithril Coat, Teferi's Protection, Angel's Grace, and Glacial Chasm are the main tools. Do not spend a broad answer like Farewell or Cyclonic Rift when a one-for-one answer is legal and the rest of the board is manageable, unless the single threat is protected in a way that makes cheaper answers fail according to the engine.

- Burn: protect life total as a finite combo resource, not just as a score. Prefer early untapped colored sources that do not cost life when possible, reduce Ancient Tomb and pain-land activations unless they buy immediate protection, and delay Bolas's Citadel or The One Ring if the life or protection math is poor. Angel's Grace, Teferi's Protection, The One Ring, Glacial Chasm, Swords to Plowshares on your own legal creature only if the engine exposes it and survival requires life, Exquisite Blood, Bloodthirsty Conqueror, Sanguine Bond, and Heliod, Sun-Crowned can all matter, but Card text check required for any unfamiliar life-gain trigger before assuming a deterministic loop.

- Removal-heavy: force opponents to answer redundant engines rather than exposing the only payoff creature first. Protect Laboratory Maniac, Thassa's Oracle, Walking Ballista, Bloodthirsty Conqueror, Heliod, Sun-Crowned, Y'shtola, Night's Blessed, Esper Sentinel, Orcish Bowmasters, and Spellskite with Lightning Greaves, Swiftfoot Boots, Mithril Coat, Spellskite, Fierce Guardianship, Swan Song, Flusterstorm, An Offer You Can't Refuse, Mindbreak Trap, Teferi's Protection, and Akroma's Will only when the protected permanent is central to the selected line. Prefer enchantment and artifact engines such as Bloodchief Ascension, Mindcrank, Exquisite Blood, Sanguine Bond, Rhystic Study, Smothering Tithe, Monologue Tax, The One Ring, and Bolas's Citadel when creature removal is the visible pressure.

- Unknown pods: choose a balanced opening plan that can either interact or pivot into a fast combo without needing hidden assumptions. Keep functional mana plus one acceleration or selection piece, one interaction or protection spell, and one route card such as Demonic Tutor, Vampiric Tutor, Mystical Tutor, Enlightened Tutor, Fabricate, Thassa's Oracle, Demonic Consultation, Bloodchief Ascension, Mindcrank, Exquisite Blood, Sanguine Bond, Bloodthirsty Conqueror, Bolas's Citadel, Heliod, Sun-Crowned, or Walking Ballista. Treat Y'shtola, Night's Blessed, Decorum Dissertation, Emeritus of Woe, High Fae Trickster, Morningtide's Light, Hope Estheim, Erode, and Elesh Norn as Card text check required for matchup-specific assumptions unless the runtime card text is visible.

## Specific Matchup Notes

- General/archetype-only: revealed cards override these assumptions, because no exact opposing decklists were supplied. This 100-card commander list has no sideboard, so likely sideboarding is none and every between-game adjustment is a priority adjustment, mulligan adjustment, or tutor-target adjustment rather than a card swap.

- Fast combo pods: prioritize hands with early mana plus stack interaction or a tutor, not slow value-only hands. Hold Fierce Guardianship, Flusterstorm, Swan Song, An Offer You Can't Refuse, Mindbreak Trap, Angel's Grace, and Teferi's Protection for visible win attempts, forced draw-loss windows, or lethal stack sequences. Use Demonic Tutor, Vampiric Tutor, Mystical Tutor, Enlightened Tutor, and Fabricate to assemble Thassa's Oracle plus Demonic Consultation, Bloodchief Ascension plus Mindcrank, Exquisite Blood plus Sanguine Bond/Bloodthirsty Conqueror, or Heliod, Sun-Crowned plus Walking Ballista only when the stack and mana context show the line can resolve or waiting is riskier.

- Creature-pressure pods: stabilize before paying life aggressively, because Ancient Tomb, pain lands, Toxic Deluge, The One Ring, Bolas's Citadel, and Glacial Chasm can make the deck's own resources lethal. Priority targets are the visible permanent that increases combat damage, shuts off life gain, prevents blocking, or forces commander damage clocks. Spend Swords to Plowshares, Path to Exile, Deadly Rollick, Void Rend, Vindicate, Cyclonic Rift, Toxic Deluge, Farewell, Teferi's Protection, Angel's Grace, and Akroma's Will according to the current attack math rather than saving every answer for a future combo turn.

- Graveyard pods: assume opposing graveyards may become resources, but do not pretend the deck has dedicated graveyard hate outside registered card functionality. Use Farewell when the engine exposes a graveyard-exile mode that is worth the cost; otherwise interact with the enabler, payoff, or stack object using Mindbreak Trap, Swan Song, Flusterstorm, An Offer You Can't Refuse, Fierce Guardianship, Deadly Rollick, Path to Exile, Swords to Plowshares, Void Rend, Vindicate, Cyclonic Rift, or Fractured Identity. Devalue Entomb plus Reanimate when visible hate is active or the opposing graveyard plan is faster.

- Stax, tax, and prison pods: target the permanent that blocks casting, drawing, tutoring, or winning before targeting a generic value engine. Use Void Rend, Vindicate, Cyclonic Rift, Farewell, and Fractured Identity conservatively, and tutor for removal when a lock piece visibly blocks Thassa's Oracle, Demonic Consultation, Bolas's Citadel, The One Ring, or mana development. Protect mana rocks such as Sol Ring, Arcane Signet, Fellwar Stone, Talisman of Dominance, Talisman of Hierarchy, Talisman of Progress, Monologue Tax, and Smothering Tithe when mana denial is visible.

- Control-heavy pods: present redundant engines before exposing the only creature payoff. Lead with Rhystic Study, The One Ring, Smothering Tithe, Monologue Tax, Bloodchief Ascension, Mindcrank, Exquisite Blood, Sanguine Bond, or Bolas's Citadel when that forces answers without risking Laboratory Maniac, Thassa's Oracle, Walking Ballista, Heliod, Sun-Crowned, or Bloodthirsty Conqueror. Commit the final combo only after visible shields, opponent mana, and recent interaction make the risk acceptable.

- Unknown commanders or unfamiliar cards: treat Y'shtola, Night's Blessed, Decorum Dissertation, Emeritus of Woe, High Fae Trickster, Morningtide's Light, Hope Estheim, Erode, and Elesh Norn as Card text check required for matchup-specific assumptions unless runtime text or legal actions confirm their role. Do not infer tribal, graveyard, or combo text from names alone.

## Risk Summary

- Mana risk: the deck needs Esper colors early while also using colorless or painful acceleration from Ancient Tomb, Sol Ring, Arcane Signet, Fellwar Stone, Talismans, and pain lands. Mulligan hands that cannot cast early interaction, selection, or tutors, and avoid taking avoidable damage when Angel's Grace or Teferi's Protection is the only survival buffer.

- Matchup risk: fast combo and prison decks can punish slow value openings. A hand with Rhystic Study or The One Ring but no interaction may be too slow against visible combo, while a hand full of counters and no mana development may lose to creature pressure.

- Draw risk: Brainstorm, Frantic Search, Windfall, The One Ring, Rhystic Study, Bolas's Citadel, and tutors can overfill decisions with options. Choose the line that advances the current win route or survival need, not the line that merely sees more cards.

- Over-sideboarding risk: there is no sideboard, so no swaps are legal. Do not invent post-game card changes; adapt only mulligans, tutor priorities, answer timing, and combo commitment thresholds.

- Graveyard risk: Entomb and Reanimate are powerful only when the target, graveyard, life total, and visible hate make the line safe. Shift away from graveyard reliance when opponents show graveyard exile, replacement effects, or faster graveyard combo pressure.

- Sweeper/removal risk: Toxic Deluge, Farewell, Cyclonic Rift, Fractured Identity, Vindicate, Void Rend, Deadly Rollick, Swords to Plowshares, and Path to Exile are finite. Do not spend broad answers on medium threats when a combo-stopping permanent or lethal board is likely next.

- Closer risk: Laboratory Maniac, Thassa's Oracle, Bloodthirsty Conqueror, Heliod, Sun-Crowned, and Walking Ballista expose creature-based win routes to removal. Use Lightning Greaves, Swiftfoot Boots, Mithril Coat, Spellskite, Fierce Guardianship, Flusterstorm, Swan Song, and Teferi's Protection when the selected closer must survive.

- Sequencing risk: casting tutors, draw spells, protection, and combo pieces in the wrong order can reveal the plan before protection is available. Sequence mana first when legal, tutor with a clear target, then commit only when the rules engine shows the required actions, mana, and stack windows are actually available.

## Test Feedback Checklist

- Deciding factor: record the card, action, or missed window that most directly decided the game, such as resolving Thassa's Oracle plus Demonic Consultation, assembling Bloodchief Ascension plus Mindcrank, converting Exquisite Blood plus Sanguine Bond or Bloodthirsty Conqueror, or surviving with Angel's Grace, Teferi's Protection, Cyclonic Rift, Toxic Deluge, or Farewell.
- Mulligans: note whether the opener had castable Esper mana, acceleration, and a real plan, and flag hands that kept Sol Ring, Ancient Tomb, Arcane Signet, Fellwar Stone, or Talismans without enough colored sources for interaction or tutors.
- Mana: track turns where Adarkar Wastes, Caves of Koilos, Underground River, Ancient Tomb, or Glacial Chasm damage changed the line, and note any games where Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth, Reflecting Pool, filter lands, or tapped lands fixed or delayed a key turn.
- Velocity: identify whether Brainstorm, Frantic Search, Windfall, Rhystic Study, The One Ring, Bolas's Citadel, Demonic Tutor, Vampiric Tutor, Mystical Tutor, Enlightened Tutor, or Fabricate found a win, found protection, or only consumed tempo.
- Engines: record whether Bloodchief Ascension, Mindcrank, Exquisite Blood, Sanguine Bond, Heliod, Sun-Crowned, Walking Ballista, Bolas's Citadel, Smothering Tithe, Monologue Tax, Rhystic Study, and The One Ring were decisive, bait, stranded, or win-more.
- Removal: mark every use of Swords to Plowshares, Path to Exile, Deadly Rollick, Void Rend, Vindicate, Fractured Identity, Cyclonic Rift, Toxic Deluge, and Farewell as survival, combo protection, tempo, or mistake.
- Protection: record whether Fierce Guardianship, Flusterstorm, Swan Song, An Offer You Can't Refuse, Mindbreak Trap, Spellskite, Lightning Greaves, Swiftfoot Boots, Mithril Coat, Angel's Grace, Teferi's Protection, and Akroma's Will protected the chosen plan or sat unused.
- Sideboard: confirm no sideboard actions were attempted, because the registered sideboard is 0; between-game adaptation should be described as mulligan, tutor, role, or priority changes only.
- Closing: note whether the game ended through a deterministic combo, commander or creature combat, opponent concession, failed opponent win attempt, or resource lock, and identify the last decision where waiting became worse than committing.
- Role: record whether the deck correctly played as combo, control, value engine, or emergency stabilizer, and flag turns where it shifted roles too late.
- Mistakes: identify any legal action chosen against visible state, especially passing with protection needed, tutoring without a target plan, firing removal into low-impact permanents, or using Windfall when it helped opponents more.
- Stranded cards: list any hand cards that stayed uncast because of color, timing, commander dependency, graveyard hate, protection needs, or unclear text; use Card text check required for Y'shtola, Night's Blessed, Decorum Dissertation, Emeritus of Woe, High Fae Trickster, Morningtide's Light, Hope Estheim, Erode, and Elesh Norn until verified.
- Overperformers and underperformers: compare each standout card to the actual game state, not to reputation, and ask whether it advanced a win, stopped a loss, or merely looked powerful.

## First Tuning Questions

- Mana base: are there enough untapped white, blue, and black sources to cast early tutors, counters, and removal without overusing Ancient Tomb, Adarkar Wastes, Caves of Koilos, and Underground River?
- Acceleration package: does Sol Ring, Arcane Signet, Fellwar Stone, Talisman of Dominance, Talisman of Hierarchy, Talisman of Progress, Monologue Tax, Smothering Tithe, Dark Ritual, and Cabal Ritual produce wins faster, or does it create hands with mana but no protected plan?
- Aggro plan: if creature pressure decides losses, should the deck increase early board presence, life stabilization, or cheap removal density around Esper Sentinel, Orcish Bowmasters, Kambal, Consul of Allocation, Toxic Deluge, Swords to Plowshares, Path to Exile, and Deadly Rollick?
- Control plan: if counter wars decide losses, is the current protection suite of Fierce Guardianship, Flusterstorm, Swan Song, An Offer You Can't Refuse, Mindbreak Trap, Angel's Grace, and Teferi's Protection enough, or are too many slots reactive without advancing a win?
- Closer mix: which win route actually closes most safely: Thassa's Oracle plus Demonic Consultation, Laboratory Maniac support, Bloodchief Ascension plus Mindcrank, Exquisite Blood plus Sanguine Bond/Bloodthirsty Conqueror, or Heliod, Sun-Crowned plus Walking Ballista?
- Graveyard package: does Entomb plus Reanimate produce meaningful wins or recovery, or does visible graveyard hate make those cards weaker than additional selection, protection, or direct combo redundancy?
- Engine tension: do Bolas's Citadel, The One Ring, Rhystic Study, Smothering Tithe, Monologue Tax, Bloodchief Ascension, and Mindcrank complement the combo plan, or do they create too many slow permanents competing for protected windows?
- Protection equipment: did Lightning Greaves, Swiftfoot Boots, Mithril Coat, and Spellskite protect the actual closer, or were they stranded because the main wins happened on the stack or through enchantments?
- Commander dependence: did Y'shtola, Night's Blessed matter to wins and stabilization after card text verification, or is the deck effectively piloting from the 99 with commander text rarely relevant?
- Sideboard legality: if a commander pod, league, or future Veles mode permits sideboard slots, what exact legal sideboard size and card access rules apply before adding any sideboard plan?
- Role conflict: is the list trying to be combo, graveyard, tribal, prison-control, and value engine at once, and which package underperformed when games demanded one clear plan?

## Veles Tactical Policy

### Policy: Pregame commander text verification
- Priority: Medium
- Decision families: pregame
- Cards: Y'shtola, Night's Blessed; Decorum Dissertation; Emeritus of Woe; High Fae Trickster; Morningtide's Light; Hope Estheim; Erode; Elesh Norn
- Phase windows: before match start, before first decision request
- Runtime cues: deck registration, commander selection, visible hand containing named card
- Use when: a decision depends on unverified printed text or command-zone functionality.
- Avoid when: Forge exposes exact legal action text that already determines the only legal action.
- Instructions: Card text check required; do not infer tribal, trigger, protection, or combo text from card names.
- Pilot skill floor: low
- No-API allowed: no
- Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Mulligan for castable plan
- Priority: High
- Decision families: mulligan
- Cards: Sol Ring; Arcane Signet; Fellwar Stone; Talisman of Dominance; Talisman of Hierarchy; Talisman of Progress; Demonic Tutor; Vampiric Tutor; Enlightened Tutor; Mystical Tutor; Thassa's Oracle; Demonic Consultation
- Phase windows: opening hand, London mulligan bottoms
- Runtime cues: mulligan prompt, visible opening hand, legal keep/mulligan actions
- Use when: deciding whether the opener can cast early mana, selection, interaction, or a protected combo setup.
- Avoid when: the hand has acceleration but no colored source for its first meaningful spell.
- Instructions: Keep hands with two or more usable mana sources and either acceleration plus selection, interaction plus tutor, or a compact win setup; bottom redundant expensive engines before colored mana, protection, or a single clear plan.
- Pilot skill floor: medium
- No-API allowed: no
- Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Early enabling permanent setup
- Priority: Medium
- Decision families: mana; priority
- Cards: Sol Ring; Arcane Signet; Fellwar Stone; Talisman of Dominance; Talisman of Hierarchy; Talisman of Progress; Esper Sentinel; Bloodchief Ascension; Mindcrank; Rhystic Study; Monologue Tax; Smothering Tithe
- Phase windows: main phase with stack empty
- Runtime cues: legal cast actions for named setup cards
- Use when: the deck is not under immediate lethal pressure and has no protected same-turn win.
- Avoid when: casting the setup card taps out of visible protection needed for a known opposing threat or combo attempt.
- Instructions: Develop mana rocks before slow engines when colors are constrained; deploy Esper Sentinel, Rhystic Study, Monologue Tax, or Smothering Tithe when they increase future protected turns; treat Bloodchief Ascension and Mindcrank as combo pieces, not random value.
- Pilot skill floor: medium
- No-API allowed: no
- Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Color and life-sensitive mana
- Priority: Medium
- Decision families: mana
- Cards: Ancient Tomb; Adarkar Wastes; Caves of Koilos; Underground River; Glacial Chasm; Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth; Reflecting Pool; Fetid Heath; Sunken Ruins
- Phase windows: land play, mana payment, upkeep costs
- Runtime cues: legal mana-source choices, pain-land payment text, Glacial Chasm cumulative upkeep text
- Use when: multiple visible mana payments can cast the same chosen spell.
- Avoid when: only one payment is legal.
- Instructions: Preserve blue and white interaction mana before spending colorless from Ancient Tomb; use pain lands only when the life loss does not expose visible lethal; maintain Glacial Chasm only if its prevention effect is needed more than the life and land cost.
- Pilot skill floor: medium
- No-API allowed: no
- Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Thassa's Oracle commitment gate
- Priority: High
- Decision families: priority; selection; interaction
- Cards: Thassa's Oracle; Demonic Consultation; Laboratory Maniac; Angel's Grace; Fierce Guardianship; Flusterstorm; Swan Song; An Offer You Can't Refuse; Mindbreak Trap
- Phase windows: own main phase with priority, opponent end step into own turn if legal
- Runtime cues: legal cast actions for Thassa's Oracle and Demonic Consultation
- Use when: deciding whether to start the Oracle/Consultation line under visible mana, stack, protection, and known disruption.
- Avoid when: the stack, revealed cards, or open opposing resources make waiting clearly safer and not slower than the visible clock.
- Instructions: Start only when the line is legal, protection or necessity supports it, and losing the stack fight is less risky than passing; use Laboratory Maniac as a backup only with confirmed draw or empty-library legality.
- Pilot skill floor: high
- No-API allowed: no
- Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Deterministic Oracle consult execution
- Priority: Medium
- Decision families: selection; priority
- Cards: Thassa's Oracle; Demonic Consultation
- Phase windows: combo resolution prompts
- Runtime cues: action:cast Demonic Consultation, action:choose name Demonic Consultation
- Use when: Thassa's Oracle is already on the stack or has a pending trigger and the selected plan is to resolve Demonic Consultation before the Oracle win check.
- Avoid when: the legal action text does not identify Demonic Consultation or the prompt asks a different card-selection decision.
- Instructions: Execute the selected Oracle/Consultation line according to Forge legal prompts; choose the Consultation name only from the legal action list and do not infer hidden library contents.
- Pilot skill floor: medium
- No-API allowed: yes
- Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Bloodchief Mindcrank commitment gate
- Priority: High
- Decision families: priority; interaction
- Cards: Bloodchief Ascension; Mindcrank
- Phase windows: main phase, end step triggers, opponent life-loss windows
- Runtime cues: legal cast or activate actions involving Bloodchief Ascension or Mindcrank, visible counters on Bloodchief Ascension
- Use when: deciding whether to expose or complete the Bloodchief Ascension plus Mindcrank engine.
- Avoid when: the missing piece is not present, Ascension status is insufficient by visible counters, or opponents can remove the engine before any payoff trigger.
- Instructions: Commit when the second piece plus a visible life-loss or graveyard event can plausibly force the loop; otherwise use pieces as bait only if it advances a protected later win.
- Pilot skill floor: high
- No-API allowed: no
- Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Life-drain combo commitment gate
- Priority: High
- Decision families: priority; interaction
- Cards: Exquisite Blood; Sanguine Bond; Bloodthirsty Conqueror
- Phase windows: own main phase, life-gain or life-loss trigger windows
- Runtime cues: legal cast actions for Exquisite Blood, Sanguine Bond, or Bloodthirsty Conqueror
- Use when: deciding whether to tap out for a life-drain combo piece or complete the pair.
- Avoid when: no visible life-change trigger can occur soon and the table can remove the exposed permanent before it matters.
- Instructions: Prefer completing the pair with protection available or when the visible clock forces action; do not spend tutors on this line over Oracle unless it is safer under current interaction.
- Pilot skill floor: high
- No-API allowed: no
- Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Heliod Ballista commitment gate
- Priority: High
- Decision families: priority; interaction; combat
- Cards: Heliod, Sun-Crowned; Walking Ballista
- Phase windows: own main phase, activated ability windows, combat damage windows
- Runtime cues: legal cast or activate actions for Heliod, Sun-Crowned or Walking Ballista
- Use when: deciding whether to assemble or activate the Ballista line from visible mana and permanents.
- Avoid when: Walking Ballista lacks required counters by visible state or removal can break the line before any decisive activation.
- Instructions: Verify exact legal abilities and counters from Forge; commit when Ballista can legally become the payoff and protection or urgency justifies exposure.
- Pilot skill floor: high
- No-API allowed: no
- Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Bolas's Citadel commitment gate
- Priority: Medium
- Decision families: priority; mana; selection
- Cards: Bolas's Citadel; The One Ring; Angel's Grace
- Phase windows: own main phase with priority
- Runtime cues: legal cast action for Bolas's Citadel, visible life total, visible top-card permission from Forge
- Use when: deciding whether to cast Bolas's Citadel or continue paying life through it.
- Avoid when: life total is under visible attack pressure or the top-card line cannot be evaluated from Forge output.
- Instructions: Card text check required for any absent payoff assumptions; use Citadel as a high-risk velocity engine, and stop paying life when visible lethal or forced pass risk exceeds the next legal spell.
- Pilot skill floor: high
- No-API allowed: no
- Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Tutor target selection
- Priority: High
- Decision families: selection
- Cards: Demonic Tutor; Vampiric Tutor; Mystical Tutor; Enlightened Tutor; Fabricate; Entomb
- Phase windows: tutor resolution, end step setup, own main phase
- Runtime cues: legal tutor choice prompt, visible library-search candidates
- Use when: a tutor or search effect asks for a card choice.
- Avoid when: the decision can be deferred and current public information may change before the tutor resolves.
- Instructions: Select the missing protected win piece first, then protection, then survival interaction, then mana; Entomb and Reanimate targets require light-model reasoning from visible graveyards and known hate.
- Pilot skill floor: high
- No-API allowed: no
- Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Reanimate target selection
- Priority: Medium
- Decision families: selection; priority
- Cards: Reanimate; Entomb; Bloodthirsty Conqueror; Laboratory Maniac; Orcish Bowmasters; Elesh Norn
- Phase windows: main phase, graveyard target prompt
- Runtime cues: legal target prompt for Reanimate
- Use when: Reanimate asks for a visible graveyard creature target.
- Avoid when: graveyard hate, life loss, or a low-impact target makes the line weaker than preserving Reanimate.
- Instructions: Choose a target only after comparing immediate combo relevance, stabilization, and life payment risk; Card text check required for Elesh Norn before treating it as a stabilizer.
- Pilot skill floor: medium
- No-API allowed: no
- Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Permission spending gate
- Priority: High
- Decision families: interaction; priority
- Cards: Fierce Guardianship; Flusterstorm; Swan Song; An Offer You Can't Refuse; Mindbreak Trap; Angel's Grace; Teferi's Protection
- Phase windows: opponent stack actions, own combo stack, lethal prevention windows
- Runtime cues: legal counterspell or protection action, visible stack item
- Use when: deciding whether to spend stack interaction or emergency protection.
- Avoid when: the visible spell is low impact and saving protection materially improves a pending win attempt.
- Instructions: Counter spells that stop the selected combo, create immediate lethal, or remove the only protected engine; hold interaction through bait when the win attempt can wait.
- Pilot skill floor: high
- No-API allowed: no
- Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Removal and sweeper triage
- Priority: Medium
- Decision families: interaction
- Cards: Swords to Plowshares; Path to Exile; Deadly Rollick; Void Rend; Vindicate; Fractured Identity; Cyclonic Rift; Toxic Deluge; Farewell
- Phase windows: priority windows, own main phase sweepers, combat emergency
- Runtime cues: legal removal or sweeper action, visible opposing permanent or lethal board
- Use when: selecting whether and what to remove.
- Avoid when: removal does not change the visible clock, stop disruption, or protect a current combo line.
- Instructions: Save single-target exile for hate pieces, lethal attackers, or combo blockers; use Toxic Deluge, Cyclonic Rift, or Farewell when the board reset buys a real combo turn.
- Pilot skill floor: medium
- No-API allowed: no
- Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Protection equipment attachment
- Priority: Medium
- Decision families: selection; priority
- Cards: Lightning Greaves; Swiftfoot Boots; Mithril Coat; Spellskite; Y'shtola, Night's Blessed; Laboratory Maniac; Bloodthirsty Conqueror; Walking Ballista
- Phase windows: main phase equip, instant-speed protection prompts
- Runtime cues: legal equip, attach, redirect, or protection action
- Use when: a visible permanent needs protection to execute or survive the selected plan.
- Avoid when: attaching prevents a required target action or shields a nonessential body over a combo piece.
- Instructions: Protect the current win-enabling creature before value creatures; check Forge target legality before equipping shroud-like effects.
- Pilot skill floor: medium
- No-API allowed: no
- Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Card draw and wheel timing
- Priority: Medium
- Decision families: selection; priority
- Cards: Brainstorm; Frantic Search; Windfall; Rhystic Study; The One Ring; Esper Sentinel; Orcish Bowmasters
- Phase windows: draw step, main phase, opponent draw triggers
- Runtime cues: legal draw, discard, wheel, or trigger action
- Use when: choosing velocity actions or resolving card-selection prompts.
- Avoid when: Windfall refills opponents more than it advances a protected line or discards needed protection.
- Instructions: Use Brainstorm and Frantic Search to fix combo/protection density before committing; treat Windfall as a reset or combo-dig tool, not automatic card draw.
- Pilot skill floor: medium
- No-API allowed: no
- Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Combat restraint and emergency attacks
- Priority: Low
- Decision families: combat
- Cards: Y'shtola, Night's Blessed; Kambal, Consul of Allocation; Orcish Bowmasters; Delney, Streetwise Lookout; Esper Sentinel; Bloodthirsty Conqueror
- Phase windows: declare attackers, declare blockers, combat trick windows
- Runtime cues: legal attack or block actions with named creatures
- Use when: deciding combat with no immediate combo action selected.
- Avoid when: attacking exposes a combo creature, taxes protection mana, or removes a needed blocker under visible pressure.
- Instructions: Attack only when damage advances a life-drain trigger, planeswalker pressure, or safe clock; block to preserve life when combo timing depends on surviving the next turn.
- Pilot skill floor: medium
- No-API allowed: no
- Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Emergency survival gate
- Priority: High
- Decision families: priority; interaction; combat
- Cards: Angel's Grace; Teferi's Protection; Cyclonic Rift; Toxic Deluge; Farewell; Glacial Chasm; Akroma's Will
- Phase windows: lethal stack, combat before damage, own main phase reset, upkeep
- Runtime cues: visible lethal attack, legal prevention/protection/sweeper action
- Use when: the visible board or stack threatens immediate loss before the next meaningful turn.
- Avoid when: the threat is not lethal and spending the effect prevents a protected win next turn.
- Instructions: Choose survival over setup when the next turn is otherwise unreachable; verify exact prevention and protection text from Forge, especially for Akroma's Will and commander-dependent modes.
- Pilot skill floor: high
- No-API allowed: no
- Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Sideboard disabled
- Priority: Low
- Decision families: sideboard
- Cards: none
- Phase windows: between games, sideboard prompt
- Runtime cues: sideboard size 0, no registered sideboard cards
- Use when: Veles asks for sideboard planning for this registered list.
- Avoid when: a future event supplies a legal sideboard not present in this registration.
- Instructions: Submit no card changes; adapt only through mulligan standards, tutor targets, protection timing, and role assignment.
- Pilot skill floor: low
- No-API allowed: no
- Light-model allowed: yes
