cassandra-content/strategies/premodern/premodern_madness_threshold/1/guide.md

Strategy Specifications

Deck Name And Archetype

Madness Threshold is a Premodern green-white tempo-midrange graveyard deck built around cheap pressure, discard outlets, madness threats, Survival of the Fittest selection, and efficient white interaction. The registered list validates as 60 main-deck cards and 15 sideboard cards. Main deck composition is 24 lands and 36 nonlands: 4 Brushland, 5 Forest, 6 Plains, 4 Treetop Village, 1 Wasteland, 4 Windswept Heath; 4 Arrogant Wurm, 4 Basking Rootwalla, 1 Glory, 1 Monk Realist, 4 Patrol Hound, 4 Savannah Lions, 1 Squee, Goblin Nabob, 1 Uktabi Orangutan, 4 Wild Mongrel, 3 Call of the Herd, 1 Disenchant, 4 Swords to Plowshares, and 4 Survival of the Fittest. Sideboard composition validates as 15 cards: 2 Armadillo Cloak, 1 Caller of the Claw, 2 Compost, 2 Disenchant, 1 Genesis, 1 Glowrider, 2 Ray of Revelation, 3 Tormod's Crypt, and 1 Warmth.

• Format validation: Treat the deck as Premodern unless a tournament-specific card legality list says otherwise. Veles must rely on rules-engine legal actions at runtime and must not assume a spell, activated ability, madness line, flashback line, manland activation, or graveyard ability is legal unless Forge exposes it as a legal action.
• Archetype validation: Classify this as hybrid rather than pure stock. It borrows the pressure-discard-madness core of Madness decks, adds Survival of the Fittest as a repeatable selection engine, uses white for Savannah Lions, Patrol Hound, Swords to Plowshares, Disenchant, and Glory, and omits the conventional blue tempo package. Runtime plans should therefore avoid assuming countermagic, card draw, or blue threshold tools.
• Tag validation: Use tags tempo, midrange, graveyard. The repeated supplied tags collapse to those three roles. The deck can open as a tempo deck with Savannah Lions, Basking Rootwalla, Wild Mongrel, and Arrogant Wurm, but it often becomes a midrange resource deck once Survival of the Fittest, Squee, Goblin Nabob, Call of the Herd, Glory, and Treetop Village matter.
• Mana validation: Mana is mostly green-white with painlands, fetchlands, basics, Treetop Village, and one Wasteland. The agent should value early green highly because Wild Mongrel, Basking Rootwalla, Survival of the Fittest, Call of the Herd, Arrogant Wurm madness payment, Uktabi Orangutan, and sideboard Genesis all lean green. The agent should value early white when the hand depends on Savannah Lions, Patrol Hound, Swords to Plowshares, Disenchant, Monk Realist, Glory activation, Armadillo Cloak, Ray of Revelation, Glowrider, or Warmth.
• Role concern: The deck is proactive but not all-in. The default identity is to establish early creatures, use discard outlets to convert hand texture into board pressure, let Survival of the Fittest turn excess creatures into specific threats or utility, and use Swords to Plowshares or Disenchant effects to clear blockers, engines, or lock pieces. Against faster decks, the agent may need to become removal-first and life-total-aware rather than racing blindly.
• Graveyard concern: The graveyard is a resource, not a guarantee. Call of the Herd, Glory, Squee, Goblin Nabob, Genesis after sideboard, Ray of Revelation after sideboard, and threshold-like pressure patterns reward graveyard use, but the agent must respect visible graveyard hate, replacement effects, exile effects, and rules-engine restrictions.
• Opponent information status: No opponent deck is supplied for this guide batch. Matchup decisions must therefore start from visible board state, public game log, known revealed cards, legal action labels, and only broad archetype cues when Veles provides them. The agent must not infer hidden removal, sweepers, blockers, graveyard hate, or counterplay unless revealed, logged, or represented by legal actions and public information.

Thesis

Madness Threshold assembles early creature pressure, discard outlets, madness threats, Survival of the Fittest selection, and white removal into a proactive green-white tempo-midrange plan. Prioritize a fast board with Savannah Lions, Basking Rootwalla, Wild Mongrel, Patrol Hound, Call of the Herd, and Treetop Village, then use Survival of the Fittest, Squee, Goblin Nabob, Glory, and utility creatures to keep the pressure coherent after the first exchange.

Win by converting small early advantages into repeated attacks, not by waiting for a single inevitability engine. Wild Mongrel and Patrol Hound let the deck turn excess cards into combat sizing, madness timing, graveyard setup, and pressure bursts with Arrogant Wurm or Basking Rootwalla when the rules engine exposes legal actions. Survival of the Fittest upgrades creature cards into the threat, utility card, or graveyard card that best matches the visible position.

Do not play this as a pure combo deck, a draw-go control deck, or a graveyard deck that can ignore board tempo. The deck has no registered countermagic, no large raw card-draw engine, and only one main-deck Disenchant effect beyond Uktabi Orangutan and Monk Realist. Respect opposing clocks, visible blockers, graveyard hate, mana denial, and removal; the default plan is to attack while preserving enough resources to rebuild.

Prioritize early green mana, a discard outlet, and a pressure source over speculative late-game value. A hand with Survival of the Fittest but no creature density, no green mana, or no early board may fail to pressure. A hand with creatures but no white mana can still function, but Swords to Plowshares, Patrol Hound, Savannah Lions, Disenchant, Monk Realist, Glory activation, and several sideboard cards make white access strategically important.

Role Package

• Threats: Savannah Lions, Basking Rootwalla, Wild Mongrel, Patrol Hound, Arrogant Wurm, Call of the Herd, and Treetop Village are the main pressure package. Lead with cheap threats when legal, curve into discard-enabled Arrogant Wurm or Call of the Herd pressure, and treat Treetop Village as a durable attacker once mana development and combat safety allow.

• Payoffs: Arrogant Wurm is the primary madness tempo payoff when a legal discard outlet and payment window exist. Basking Rootwalla is both an early body and a discard payoff. Glory is a graveyard-based combat and protection payoff when its ability is legal and the required mana is available. Call of the Herd is a sticky board-presence payoff that uses graveyard access without depending on Survival of the Fittest.

• Engines: Survival of the Fittest is the defining selection engine. Use it to turn spare creatures into Arrogant Wurm, Basking Rootwalla, Glory, Squee, Goblin Nabob, Monk Realist, Uktabi Orangutan, or another needed creature only when the legal action, mana, discard cost, and visible timing support the exchange. Squee, Goblin Nabob is the preferred repeatable Survival of the Fittest fuel when it is available through legal actions and public zone state.

• Velocity: Windswept Heath fixes mana and thins land draws only as allowed by the engine. Survival of the Fittest supplies card-quality velocity rather than raw cards. Wild Mongrel and Patrol Hound create tactical velocity by turning cards in hand into immediate board pressure or madness windows, but do not discard strategically relevant cards without a visible reason.

• Interaction: Swords to Plowshares is the clean main-deck creature answer and should be saved for blockers, lethal attackers, must-answer utility creatures, or tempo-positive attacks when the visible board supports it. Disenchant, Monk Realist, and Uktabi Orangutan answer artifacts or enchantments according to legal targets; do not assume a target is valid unless exposed by the rules engine.

• Protection: Patrol Hound can protect itself through its legal discard ability when the protected body matters more than the discarded card. Glory can protect attackers, blockers, or key creatures from colors if its graveyard ability is legal. Sideboard Armadillo Cloak can shift races around a protected creature, and Caller of the Claw can punish visible mass-removal aftermath when legally timed.

• Recursion: Squee, Goblin Nabob supports repeated Survival of the Fittest activations when its return pattern is represented by the engine. Call of the Herd supplies flashback pressure. Sideboard Genesis extends creature recursion in slower matchups when the graveyard is safe and mana is available. Ray of Revelation provides enchantment interaction from the graveyard only when legal.

• Mana: Brushland, Forest, Plains, Treetop Village, Wasteland, and Windswept Heath form a mostly green-white base. Value green for Survival of the Fittest, Wild Mongrel, Basking Rootwalla, Call of the Herd, Arrogant Wurm, Uktabi Orangutan, and Genesis; value white for Savannah Lions, Patrol Hound, Swords to Plowshares, Disenchant, Monk Realist, Glory, Armadillo Cloak, Ray of Revelation, Glowrider, and Warmth.

• Sideboard modules: Armadillo Cloak is a race and lifegain modifier. Caller of the Claw is anti-sweeper recovery. Compost is black matchup card advantage. Disenchant and Ray of Revelation expand artifact/enchantment coverage. Genesis is slower recursion. Glowrider taxes spell-heavy opponents. Tormod's Crypt attacks graveyard decks. Warmth is red matchup lifegain pressure relief.

Primary Win Conditions

• Pressure curve into discard tempo: Build the main win path with Savannah Lions, Basking Rootwalla, Wild Mongrel, Patrol Hound, Arrogant Wurm, and Call of the Herd. Setup requires early green-white mana, at least one creature that attacks profitably, and preferably Wild Mongrel or Patrol Hound to convert hand resources into combat size or madness timing. Execute by presenting damage early, then using legal discard windows to cast Basking Rootwalla or Arrogant Wurm when the rules engine offers the madness action. Prioritize this path when the opponent is developing slowly, shields are down, or visible blockers can be beaten by size, trample, Swords to Plowshares, or Glory.

• Survival of the Fittest pressure chain: Use Survival of the Fittest as a creature-quality engine that turns spare creatures into the exact pressure or utility card required by the visible board. Setup requires Survival of the Fittest, green mana, creature cards to discard, and enough life or board stability that spending mana on selection does not concede tempo. Execute by finding Arrogant Wurm or Basking Rootwalla for pressure, Squee, Goblin Nabob for repeatable fuel, Glory for protection from the graveyard, or Monk Realist and Uktabi Orangutan for visible artifact/enchantment problems. Prioritize this path when the game is expected to last multiple turns, when a single tutor target changes combat, or when Squee, Goblin Nabob can make repeated activations legal and sustainable.

• Protected combat with Glory: Convert a stalled board into lethal or near-lethal attacks by putting Glory into the graveyard and activating its protection ability only when legal and tactically decisive. Setup requires Glory in the graveyard, white mana available, creatures that can attack or block meaningfully, and a color choice tied to visible blockers, removal, or combat damage. Execute by choosing the color that lets current attackers bypass blockers, survive combat, or protect key threats from known legal interaction. Prioritize this line when ordinary attacks trade down, when Wild Mongrel, Arrogant Wurm, Treetop Village, or Call of the Herd tokens can end the game through protection, or when survival requires protected blockers.

• Creature-land finish: Use Treetop Village as a resilient win condition after removal-heavy exchanges or sweepers. Setup requires enough mana to animate while still respecting available Swords to Plowshares, Survival of the Fittest, Glory, or other legal actions. Execute by attacking with Treetop Village when visible blockers, removal, and life totals make the attack favorable or necessary. Prioritize this path when hand pressure has been depleted, when the opponent is low on life, or when noncreature lands are safer than committing another card into visible removal.

Secondary Win Conditions

• Call of the Herd attrition: Use Call of the Herd as the default backup pressure plan when discard outlets are absent or Survival of the Fittest is not available. Cast the front half to stabilize or attack, then use flashback only when the mana commitment does not prevent essential interaction. This line is strongest against one-for-one removal and weakest when graveyard access is shut off or tempo demands immediate Swords to Plowshares.

• Wild Mongrel combat compression: Let Wild Mongrel turn excess lands, redundant creatures, Squee, Goblin Nabob, Glory, Basking Rootwalla, or Arrogant Wurm into burst pressure only when the discard is legal and the resulting combat math matters. Do not discard unique answers such as Swords to Plowshares, Disenchant, Monk Realist, or Uktabi Orangutan unless the visible position demands immediate damage, survival, or a madness cast.

• Patrol Hound race control: Use Patrol Hound as an attacker, blocker, and discard outlet whose first-strike ability can change trades when legal. Discard to Patrol Hound when preserving the Hound, enabling madness, or winning combat is worth the specific card being discarded. Avoid using it as a casual discard outlet when hand size and card quality are already strained.

• Removal-enabled attacks: Use Swords to Plowshares to clear a blocker, answer a lethal attacker, or remove a visible creature whose ability invalidates the pressure plan. The opponent gaining life can matter, so prefer Swords to Plowshares when the removed creature changes the race, unlocks multiple attacks, or prevents a worse outcome than the life gain.

• Utility-creature tempo: Use Monk Realist, Uktabi Orangutan, and Disenchant as win-condition support by removing visible artifacts or enchantments that stop attacks, graveyard use, or combat protection. Card text check required for exact target restrictions at runtime; choose only legal targets shown by the engine.

Emergency Lines

• Behind on life: Shift from maximum damage to stabilization with Swords to Plowshares, Call of the Herd bodies, Basking Rootwalla blocks, Patrol Hound first-strike combat, Arrogant Wurm size, and Glory protection if legal. Preserve creatures that block profitably, and race only when visible life totals and attacks show that blocking cannot buy enough time.

• Behind on board: Use Swords to Plowshares on the creature that most changes combat, then rebuild with Call of the Herd, Treetop Village, and Survival of the Fittest for the best visible creature target. Do not spend a turn on slow Survival of the Fittest loops if the current board requires an immediate blocker or removal spell.

• Behind on cards: Value Survival of the Fittest plus Squee, Goblin Nabob when that loop is legal, and prefer flashback Call of the Herd over committing fragile extra cards into known removal. Treat every discard activation as a real cost unless it creates madness value, Glory access, or a decisive combat result.

• Behind on mana: Prioritize making land drops, using Windswept Heath only through legal search actions, and deploying low-cost threats over holding expensive lines. Treetop Village entering tapped and animation costs can slow recovery, so do not rely on creature-land attacks when immediate mana is needed for Swords to Plowshares or Survival of the Fittest.

• Engine removed or graveyard shut off: Win with ordinary creatures, Treetop Village, Swords to Plowshares tempo, and front-side Call of the Herd rather than chasing unavailable recursion. If Survival of the Fittest, Glory, Squee, Goblin Nabob, or flashback lines are disabled by public information, stop valuing discard solely as setup.

• Opponent combo or lock pressure: Apply the fastest legal clock with Savannah Lions, Wild Mongrel, Basking Rootwalla, Arrogant Wurm, Call of the Herd, and Treetop Village while saving Disenchant, Monk Realist, Uktabi Orangutan, Wasteland, or Swords to Plowshares for visible permanents that actually block the win or enable the opposing kill. Do not assume hidden combo pieces; respond to public information and legal action prompts only.

Resource Model

• Life converts into tempo through Brushland and Swords to Plowshares decisions. Spend life from Brushland when the color unlocks Savannah Lions, Wild Mongrel, Survival of the Fittest, Swords to Plowshares, Disenchant, or a madness line that changes the current turn; preserve life when racing, facing burn, or when Forest, Plains, Windswept Heath, or Treetop Village already provide the needed mana.

• Hand cards convert into board and graveyard pressure through Wild Mongrel, Patrol Hound, and Survival of the Fittest. Discard Basking Rootwalla, Arrogant Wurm, Squee, Goblin Nabob, Glory, excess lands, or redundant creatures before unique answers, and treat every discard prompt as a real card-cost unless madness, repeatable Squee, Goblin Nabob fuel, Glory access, or decisive combat math is visible.

• Mana converts into threat density more efficiently than raw card count in this deck. One and two mana should usually create pressure or an engine, three mana should produce Call of the Herd, Arrogant Wurm via madness, Uktabi Orangutan, or Survival of the Fittest plus activation when legal, and four or more mana should support flashback, Treetop Village animation, Glory activation, or double-spell turns.

• Board presence is the default currency against combo and control. Savannah Lions, Basking Rootwalla, Wild Mongrel, Patrol Hound, Call of the Herd tokens, Arrogant Wurm, and Treetop Village must pressure life totals while preserving enough blockers against creature races; do not trade away the only discard outlet when the hand contains madness cards or Survival of the Fittest needs creature fuel.

• Graveyard cards are active resources, not spent cards. Call of the Herd flashback, Glory in the graveyard, Squee, Goblin Nabob recursion, Genesis from the sideboard, and Ray of Revelation from the sideboard can matter only when public rules-engine state says those objects and actions are available; reduce graveyard reliance when Tormod's Crypt-like effects or other public hate threaten the line.

• Exile is usually a loss of future value for this deck. Track exiled Call of the Herd, Glory, Squee, Goblin Nabob, Genesis, Ray of Revelation, and key threats because exile can shut off flashback, recursion, protection, or Survival of the Fittest fuel; do not assume replacement access unless the engine exposes it.

• Lands are both mana and threats. Treetop Village is a tapped green source and later attacker, Wasteland is interaction that can cost colored development, Windswept Heath fixes Forest or Plains access, and Brushland supplies both colors at life cost; sequence lands so early color needs are met before utility value.

• Sacrifice fodder is limited and contextual. This main deck does not naturally want to sacrifice creatures, so treat expendable bodies mostly as combat resources; Caller of the Claw from the sideboard rewards surviving sweepers, not voluntary sacrifice unless legal actions and visible incentives make that line explicit.

• Information converts into better Survival of the Fittest, Swords to Plowshares, Disenchant, and sideboard-bullet timing. Use only visible board state, revealed cards, legal actions, graveyards, exile, stack, and logged public information; do not hold answers for imagined hidden cards when a public threat or lethal clock must be answered.

• Sideboard bullets convert narrow mana into high-impact answers. Armadillo Cloak supports racing, Caller of the Claw punishes mass creature death, Compost pressures black attrition, Disenchant and Ray of Revelation answer artifacts/enchantments, Genesis improves long games, Glowrider taxes spell-heavy opponents, Tormod's Crypt attacks graveyards, and Warmth supports red damage races.

Mana Guide

• Prioritize green and white together in opening hands. Green casts Wild Mongrel, Basking Rootwalla, Survival of the Fittest, Call of the Herd, Arrogant Wurm lines, Uktabi Orangutan, Treetop Village activation, Compost, Genesis, Caller of the Claw, and flashback Ray of Revelation; white casts Savannah Lions, Patrol Hound, Swords to Plowshares, Disenchant, Monk Realist, Glory, Armadillo Cloak, Glowrider, Warmth, and front-side Ray of Revelation.

• Keep hands that produce early action and both colors by turn two or three. A strong keep usually has two or three lands, at least one green source, a white source or Windswept Heath/Brushland path to white, and a threat or Survival of the Fittest; mulligan land-light hands that cannot cast their visible spells, Treetop Village-heavy hands with no untapped early source, or Wasteland hands that rely on Wasteland as colored mana.

• Sequence Windswept Heath for the missing basic color unless life total, shuffle timing, or visible land pressure changes the need. Fetch Forest when Survival of the Fittest, Wild Mongrel, Basking Rootwalla, Call of the Herd, or Arrogant Wurm lines are constrained; fetch Plains when Savannah Lions, Patrol Hound, Swords to Plowshares, Disenchant, or Glory activation is the bottleneck.

• Lead with untapped colored sources when the hand has one-mana or two-mana plays. Treetop Village entering tapped is acceptable when no turn-one spell is available or when the hand already has the colors for the next turn; avoid opening on Treetop Village when Savannah Lions, Basking Rootwalla, Swords to Plowshares, or a turn-two Wild Mongrel/Survival of the Fittest curve would be delayed.

• Treat Wasteland as a spell before treating it as a land drop. Play Wasteland early only when colored mana is already stable, when the opponent has a visible land that must be answered, or when no colored spell can be cast; do not keep a hand whose functional second land is Wasteland unless the rest of the hand is still castable.

• Spend Brushland damage for decisive tempo. Use Brushland pain to cast early threats, Swords to Plowshares, Survival of the Fittest, Disenchant, or sideboard bullets on curve; choose painless sources when passing, activating colorless costs, or when life total is already the limiting resource.

• Play lands before draw or selection when the extra mana is immediately needed for known legal actions. Hold an unneeded land until after Survival of the Fittest, combat, or draw-like decisions only when the hand may need discard fuel, bluff value matters, or the rules engine exposes a choice where new information should influence the land drop.

• Preserve mana for interaction when the opponent can change the game on the current turn. Leave white for Swords to Plowshares or Disenchant when visible attackers, stack objects, artifacts, enchantments, or lethal lines demand it; spend out for pressure when the opponent is under a faster clock and no relevant legal interaction is exposed.

• Count Treetop Village animation as a real mana commitment. Do not animate into a turn where Survival of the Fittest activation, Glory activation, Swords to Plowshares, Disenchant, or flashback Call of the Herd is more important, and do animate when the creature-land attack is the cleanest pressure through removal or attrition.

Mulligan Guide

• Strong keep: Keep two or three lands with both colors or Windswept Heath/Brushland fixing plus Wild Mongrel or Survival of the Fittest and at least one pressure card such as Basking Rootwalla, Savannah Lions, Call of the Herd, or Arrogant Wurm. This hand develops before the opponent can force awkward discards and gives the rules engine real follow-up choices.

• Strong keep: Keep Forest, Plains or Brushland, Wild Mongrel, Basking Rootwalla, Arrogant Wurm, and any additional threat when the lands cast the first two turns. Wild Mongrel makes Basking Rootwalla and Arrogant Wurm tactical resources, but only use madness lines when legal actions expose them.

• Strong keep: Keep Survival of the Fittest, two green-capable lands, one creature to discard, and a castable early creature. Survival of the Fittest is strongest when it starts converting excess creatures into Squee, Goblin Nabob, Glory, Arrogant Wurm, or matchup bullets without skipping board development.

• Medium keep: Keep Savannah Lions plus Patrol Hound or Call of the Herd with two colored lands and Swords to Plowshares when the hand lacks Survival of the Fittest. This hand is honest tempo; it should attack, trade selectively, and use Swords to Plowshares for a visible blocker, engine creature, or lethal attacker.

• Medium keep: Keep Treetop Village, untapped green source, white source, and two-drops when the first turn is not critical. Treetop Village is acceptable as a future threat, but do not let multiple tapped lands delay Wild Mongrel, Patrol Hound, Survival of the Fittest, or Swords to Plowshares.

• Risky keep: Keep one-land Windswept Heath only with multiple one-mana plays and a clear second-land path from the draw step being acceptable. Ship most one-land hands because this deck needs green and white by turn two or three and cannot rely on hidden future draws.

• Risky keep: Keep Wasteland as a land only when two other colored sources are present or the hand functions on one colored land for several turns. Wasteland plus Treetop Village hands often look interactive but fail to cast Wild Mongrel, Survival of the Fittest, Patrol Hound, and Swords to Plowshares on time.

• Automatic ship: Mulligan zero-land, one-land non-Windswept Heath, five-plus-land with no Survival of the Fittest or Treetop Village plan, and hands that cannot cast any visible spell before turn three. Also ship hands with only Wasteland as functional mana.

• Automatic ship: Mulligan hands full of late resources with no engine or early pressure, such as Arrogant Wurm, Glory, Squee, Goblin Nabob, Uktabi Orangutan, Disenchant, and slow lands without Wild Mongrel, Survival of the Fittest, Patrol Hound, Savannah Lions, or Call of the Herd.

• Matchup-dependent keep: Keep Swords to Plowshares-heavy hands against creature decks when mana and at least one threat are present, but do not keep pure removal with no clock against combo or control. Keep Disenchant, Monk Realist, or Uktabi Orangutan only when the matchup or visible post-board information makes artifacts/enchantments central.

• Play/draw adjustment: On the play, value Savannah Lions, Basking Rootwalla, Wild Mongrel, and Survival of the Fittest curves higher because tempo snowballs. On the draw, require sturdier mana and interaction because delayed Treetop Village or Wasteland starts can fall behind creature pressure.

• Trap hand: Do not keep Survival of the Fittest with no green source, no creatures to discard, or no early board action just because Survival of the Fittest is powerful. Do not keep Basking Rootwalla plus Arrogant Wurm without Wild Mongrel, Patrol Hound, or Survival of the Fittest unless the hand is otherwise castable.

Turn Arc

• Turn 1: Prefer untapped green or white that casts Savannah Lions, Basking Rootwalla, or holds Swords to Plowshares when interaction matters. Play Windswept Heath for the missing color, avoid Treetop Village when it delays a one-drop, and play Wasteland only when colored development is already safe or the opponent presents a visible land that must be answered.

• Turn 1 deviation: Lead Treetop Village when the hand has no one-mana play and already supports turn-two Wild Mongrel, Patrol Hound, or Survival of the Fittest. Lead with a fetchable basic over Brushland when life total is likely to matter and the same legal plays remain available.

• Turn 2: Prefer Wild Mongrel or Survival of the Fittest when the hand can exploit discard and still respect the opponent’s visible pressure. Patrol Hound is a fine tempo play when white is available, especially with Basking Rootwalla or Arrogant Wurm in hand, but do not discard for value unless the engine offers a legal madness or useful graveyard line.

• Turn 2 deviation: Hold up Swords to Plowshares instead of tapping out when a visible creature threatens a major tempo swing, lethal setup, or an engine that must not untap. Cast Survival of the Fittest over a creature when the matchup is attrition-heavy and the board is not punishing immediate tempo loss.

• Turn 3: Prefer Call of the Herd, Survival of the Fittest activation plus a castable follow-up, or a legal Arrogant Wurm madness line from Wild Mongrel or Patrol Hound. If no engine line is active, add the largest board presence while preserving Swords to Plowshares for visible blockers or attackers that change combat math.

• Turn 3 deviation: Use Disenchant, Monk Realist, or Uktabi Orangutan only on a visible artifact or enchantment whose impact beats adding pressure. Use Wasteland when it constrains the opponent more than your own fourth mana, especially if Treetop Village, Call of the Herd flashback, Glory activation, or double-spell turns are not immediately needed.

• Turns 4-5: Convert resources into pressure without emptying tactical options. Flash back Call of the Herd when board size matters, animate Treetop Village when mana is otherwise unused, use Survival of the Fittest to set up Squee, Goblin Nabob or Glory, and deploy Arrogant Wurm when it creates a clock or stabilizes combat.

• Turns 4-5 deviation: Leave mana open when legal Swords to Plowshares, Disenchant, Glory activation, or Survival of the Fittest activation changes the opponent’s current line. Do not animate Treetop Village into exposed removal or combat if the same mana is needed for interaction, flashback, or protection.

• Late game: Treat Survival of the Fittest plus Squee, Goblin Nabob as the long-game engine if both are available in legal zones. Search for Glory when creature combat or removal protection matters, Arrogant Wurm when a large threat is needed, Uktabi Orangutan or Monk Realist when a visible permanent must be answered, and keep attacking with Treetop Village when it is the safest pressure.

• Late-game emergency: When behind on board, prioritize Swords to Plowshares, Glory protection, Call of the Herd bodies, and defensive Treetop Village lines over speculative Survival of the Fittest value. When ahead, force the opponent to answer recurring threats and avoid giving up the only discard outlet or only white mana source without a visible reason.

Card Roles

• Wild Mongrel: Treat Wild Mongrel as the deck's best fair-game accelerator because it attacks, blocks, enables madness, fills the graveyard, and threatens combat math from one card. Cast Wild Mongrel early when green mana is stable unless holding Swords to Plowshares is necessary against a visible must-answer creature. Use discard only for a legal tactical reason: madness on Arrogant Wurm or Basking Rootwalla, setting up Glory, converting Squee, Goblin Nabob into repeatable Survival of the Fittest fuel, saving damage in combat, or pushing lethal. Do not discard real cards into open mana or unclear board states just because Wild Mongrel allows it.

• Survival of the Fittest: Treat Survival of the Fittest as the highest-ceiling engine and the best way to turn redundant creatures into the exact creature role needed. Cast it when the board is not punishing a noncreature turn, when a creature is available to discard, or when a known attrition matchup makes long-game inevitability important. Activate Survival of the Fittest with a concrete destination: Squee, Goblin Nabob for repeatable fuel, Glory for protection, Arrogant Wurm for pressure, Uktabi Orangutan for a visible artifact, Monk Realist for a visible enchantment, or more threats when racing. Do not spend the whole turn tutoring if attacking, casting Call of the Herd, or holding interaction better affects the visible board.

• Basking Rootwalla: Use Basking Rootwalla as early pressure, free madness material, and cheap board texture for combat races. Cast it normally on turn one when the hand lacks Savannah Lions or when green development is already planned. Prefer discarding it to Wild Mongrel, Patrol Hound, or Survival of the Fittest when a legal madness action turns discard into tempo instead of card loss. Pump only when the damage, trade, survival, or lethal math is visible; avoid spending mana on a minor pump if the same mana is needed for Swords to Plowshares, Survival of the Fittest, Call of the Herd flashback, Glory activation, or Treetop Village.

• Arrogant Wurm: Use Arrogant Wurm as the main burst-tempo payoff for discard outlets and as the cleanest way to turn pressure into a fast clock. Prioritize legal madness casting from Wild Mongrel, Patrol Hound, or Survival of the Fittest when the resulting 4/4 body changes race math, blocks profitably, or punishes an opponent for tapping low. Hard-cast Arrogant Wurm only when five mana is available without giving up a better engine, interaction, or flashback line. Do not discard Arrogant Wurm unless the rules engine offers the madness action or the game plan specifically wants it in the graveyard, which is rare.

• Patrol Hound: Treat Patrol Hound as a white discard outlet with real creature sizing, not merely a support card. Cast it early when Wild Mongrel is unavailable, when the hand has Basking Rootwalla or Arrogant Wurm, or when a 2/2 body pressures planes of combat better than holding mana. Use its discard ability only when the legal action supports a meaningful combat outcome, madness spell, or graveyard setup. Card text check required before relying on any exact combat keyword or pump mode beyond its role as a discard outlet; let the rules engine's legal action text define the available ability at runtime.

• Savannah Lions: Use Savannah Lions as the clean turn-one clock that lets the deck punish slow starts and makes later Survival of the Fittest value matter sooner. Cast it on turn one when white mana is available unless holding up Swords to Plowshares is immediately required by visible board context. Attack aggressively into nonlethal boards, but do not trade it away for a low-impact creature if the opponent is under pressure and your hand has larger follow-up threats. In attrition matchups, Savannah Lions is often the first threat to reduce in importance after sideboarding, but in game one it is still the simplest way to make opponents react.

• Call of the Herd: Use Call of the Herd as sticky midgame pressure and recovery from removal-heavy exchanges. Cast it when the deck needs a reliable body and no discard outlet line produces a better tempo swing. Flash it back when board presence matters more than holding up interaction, especially after the opponent has answered the first wave. Do not discard or tutor around Call of the Herd as if it were a creature card; it does not fuel Survival of the Fittest and should be valued as a two-installment threat that survives normal one-for-one pacing.

• Swords to Plowshares: Use Swords to Plowshares for visible creatures that block the clock, threaten lethal, enable an opposing engine, or invalidate combat. Hold it when the opponent's current creature is low impact and your attacks remain good. Fire it proactively when removing one blocker opens a major attack or when waiting risks losing the chance to answer a creature through protection, sacrifice, or countermagic. Respect the life gain; do not remove a harmless creature if the opponent gaining life materially extends the clock and your board can attack through it.

• Glory: Treat Glory as a graveyard-based combat and protection tool, not as a normal creature plan unless forced. Prefer putting Glory into the graveyard through Survival of the Fittest, Wild Mongrel, or Patrol Hound when protection from a color will change attacks, blocks, or removal exposure. Keep white mana available when the opponent can interact and Glory activation would protect a lethal attack, preserve the only discard outlet, or win combat. Card text check required for exact activation cost and restriction; follow the legal actions shown by Forge and do not assume protection is available from hand, exile, or the battlefield unless the rules engine offers it.

• Squee, Goblin Nabob: Use Squee, Goblin Nabob as the repeatable discard engine that makes Survival of the Fittest win long games. Search for or discard Squee, Goblin Nabob when the game is expected to revolve around attrition, repeated tutoring, or discard outlet fuel. Do not spend a Survival of the Fittest activation on Squee, Goblin Nabob when the visible board demands an immediate answer such as Uktabi Orangutan, Monk Realist, Arrogant Wurm, or a creature that stabilizes combat. Card text check required for exact return timing; use it only when the rules engine shows it available in hand.

• Monk Realist: Use Monk Realist as the main-deck enchantment answer that can be found by Survival of the Fittest while adding a body. Search for it when a visible enchantment is actively constraining attacks, enabling the opponent's engine, or threatening a decisive swing. Do not cast it into a board with no legal or meaningful enchantment target unless the body itself is urgently needed and the rules engine permits the action. Because the deck has only one copy, preserve access to it in matchups where enchantments are central unless a stronger immediate play is required.

• Uktabi Orangutan: Use Uktabi Orangutan as the main-deck artifact answer and a tutorable body. Search for it when a visible artifact is producing mana, locking combat, threatening combo, or blanking your pressure. Cast it as a creature only when the body matters and there is no likely artifact target to preserve for later; in artifact-heavy matchups, keeping it available through Survival of the Fittest is often stronger than spending it early. Do not destroy a low-impact artifact if a more important artifact is likely and the current board can be handled by pressure or Swords to Plowshares.

• Disenchant: Use Disenchant as flexible insurance against artifacts and enchantments that the creature tutor package cannot answer fast enough. Hold it when the opponent has not committed a meaningful target, because using it on a minor permanent may leave the deck cold to the real lock piece. Cast it at the latest safe point when destroying the permanent before combat, before a triggered/activated use, or before a combo turn changes the outcome. Do not keep opening hands because of Disenchant alone unless the matchup or revealed post-board context makes a target highly likely.

• Treetop Village: Treat Treetop Village as both a land and a late threat, with the tapped-entry cost as the main risk. Play it early only when it does not prevent turn-one pressure or turn-two Wild Mongrel, Patrol Hound, or Survival of the Fittest. Animate it when mana is otherwise unused, when it pressures through removal-light boards, or when it blocks profitably. Do not animate into obvious combat loss or removal when the same mana is needed for Swords to Plowshares, Glory, Survival of the Fittest, Call of the Herd flashback, or a second spell.

• Wasteland: Use Wasteland as disruption only after colored mana development is safe or when the opposing land visibly enables a stronger plan than your next spell. Prioritize keeping green and white access over speculative land destruction because this deck needs both colors to cast threats, Survival of the Fittest, Swords to Plowshares, and Glory activations. Fire Wasteland when it cuts off a key color, removes a powerful utility land, or keeps the opponent from stabilizing before your pressure connects. Do not count Wasteland as a colored keep condition.

• Brushland, Forest, Plains, and Windswept Heath: Use these lands to make green and white on time before optimizing life total. Fetch or play the missing color first when the hand contains Wild Mongrel, Survival of the Fittest, Patrol Hound, Savannah Lions, and Swords to Plowshares across both colors. Prefer basics when Brushland pain matters and the same legal curve remains intact. Use Windswept Heath to fix the color that the current hand lacks; do not crack it blindly if waiting could preserve information and no immediate spell needs the mana.

Card Hover Notes

Brushland

• Deck role: main deck, 4 copies, mana resource.
• Role type: mana/fixing/ramp.
• Deck-specific job: Supplies both green for Wild Mongrel, Survival of the Fittest, Call of the Herd, Basking Rootwalla, and Arrogant Wurm madness, and white for Savannah Lions, Patrol Hound, Swords to Plowshares, Disenchant, and Glory activation.
• Timing: Use the pain mode early when it keeps a one- or two-mana curve intact; prefer {C} or another land when life total is already the race bottleneck.
• Inputs / outputs: Produces {C} painlessly or {G}/{W} while dealing 1 damage to you.
• Partners / packages: Enables turn-two Wild Mongrel, Patrol Hound, Survival of the Fittest, and Swords to Plowshares while keeping Windswept Heath free to fetch the missing basic.
• Role peers: Closest role overlap is Windswept Heath for color fixing; Forest and Plains provide painless single-color mana.
• Failure modes: Repeated pain loses burn and creature races; do not spend life when Forest, Plains, or Treetop Village already pays the same relevant cost.
• Matchup / visibility hooks: Against red spell pressure or fast attacks, count each Brushland activation as a real damage source before choosing a painful payment.

Forest

• Deck role: main deck, 5 copies, basic mana resource.
• Role type: mana/fixing/ramp.
• Deck-specific job: Provides painless green for the deck’s core engine and tempo cards: Wild Mongrel, Survival of the Fittest, Basking Rootwalla, Call of the Herd, Arrogant Wurm madness, Uktabi Orangutan, Treetop Village activation support, Compost, Genesis, and Ray of Revelation flashback.
• Timing: Fetch or play Forest first when green is the bottleneck for turn-two Wild Mongrel or Survival of the Fittest; delay only when white interaction is immediately required.
• Inputs / outputs: Taps for {G}; enters untapped and costs no life.
• Partners / packages: Windswept Heath can search for Forest; Brushland can cover white while Forest handles green.
• Role peers: Closest role overlap is Brushland as a green source with pain and Treetop Village as a tapped green source with attacker upside.
• Failure modes: Forest does not cast Savannah Lions, Patrol Hound, Swords to Plowshares, Disenchant, Monk Realist, Warmth, Glowrider, or front-side Ray of Revelation by itself.
• Matchup / visibility hooks: Fetch Forest against Wasteland pressure when green development matters more than optional white cards from the sideboard such as Disenchant, Monk Realist, Glowrider, Armadillo Cloak, Warmth, and front-side Ray of Revelation.

Plains

• Deck role: main deck, 6 copies, basic mana resource.
• Role type: mana/fixing/ramp.
• Deck-specific job: Provides painless white for Savannah Lions, Patrol Hound, Swords to Plowshares, Disenchant, Monk Realist, Glory activation, Armadillo Cloak, Glowrider, Warmth, and front-side Ray of Revelation.
• Timing: Fetch or play Plains first when Swords to Plowshares must answer a visible creature or when Savannah Lions/Patrol Hound is the curve.
• Inputs / outputs: Taps for {W}; enters untapped and costs no life.
• Partners / packages: Windswept Heath can search for Plains; Brushland can cover green while Plains protects white interaction.
• Role peers: Closest role overlap is Brushland as a white source with pain.
• Failure modes: Plains does not cast Wild Mongrel, Survival of the Fittest, Basking Rootwalla, Call of the Herd, Uktabi Orangutan, Genesis, Compost, or Arrogant Wurm madness by itself.
• Matchup / visibility hooks: Prioritize Plains when visible creature pressure makes Swords to Plowshares more important than a faster green engine.

Treetop Village

• Deck role: main deck, 4 copies, mana resource and resilient threat.
• Role type: mana/fixing/ramp; threat/clock; role glue.
• Deck-specific job: Gives the deck a green source that later becomes a 3/3 green Ape creature with trample, letting the strategy keep pressure after removal or sweepers without spending another hand card.
• Timing: Play it early only when entering tapped does not delay Savannah Lions, Basking Rootwalla, Wild Mongrel, Patrol Hound, Survival of the Fittest, or Swords to Plowshares; animate when the attack shortens the clock or blocks profitably.
• Inputs / outputs: Enters tapped, taps for {G}, and consumes {1}{G} to become a 3/3 trampler until end of turn while still a land.
• Mode map: Mana mode pays green costs; creature mode is a temporary attacker/blocker and should be skipped when {1}{G} is needed for Survival of the Fittest activation, Glory activation, Call of the Herd flashback, or Swords to Plowshares plus another play.
• Partners / packages: Works with Glory protection, Armadillo Cloak lifegain pressure, Swords to Plowshares blocker clearing, and Call of the Herd attrition.
• Role peers: Closest role overlap is Call of the Herd as resilient pressure and Arrogant Wurm as a larger trampling body.
• Failure modes: Tapped entry can cost a full tempo turn; animation into visible removal or bad blocks wastes mana and may remove a land.
• Matchup / visibility hooks: Best against removal-heavy control and sweepers; weaker when the opponent has instant-speed creature removal ready and you need the land for mana.

Wasteland

• Deck role: main deck, 1 copy, utility mana resource and land interaction.
• Role type: interaction-removal; mana/fixing/ramp.
• Deck-specific job: Disrupts a visible nonbasic land while otherwise producing {C}; it is a spell-like land, not a green-white keep condition.
• Timing: Use after green and white development is stable, or earlier when destroying target nonbasic land prevents the opponent’s next decisive play.
• Inputs / outputs: Taps for {C}, or taps and sacrifices itself to destroy target nonbasic land.
• Mode map: Mana mode pays generic costs such as Treetop Village activation or Survival of the Fittest activation support; sacrifice mode trades Wasteland for target nonbasic land and should be saved for mana denial or dangerous utility lands.
• Partners / packages: Protects pressure from Savannah Lions, Wild Mongrel, Arrogant Wurm, Call of the Herd, and Treetop Village by slowing opposing mana.
• Role peers: No direct peer; closest role overlap is Disenchant against nonland artifacts/enchantments and Swords to Plowshares against creature-based stabilization.
• Failure modes: Sacrificing it too early can strand Swords to Plowshares, Patrol Hound, Disenchant, Survival of the Fittest, or Call of the Herd flashback.
• Matchup / visibility hooks: Strongest against mana-light opponents, utility nonbasics, and big-mana starts; low value when the opponent’s nonbasic does not affect the current turn cycle.

Windswept Heath

• Deck role: main deck, 4 copies, mana fixing resource.
• Role type: tutor/search; mana/fixing/ramp.
• Deck-specific job: Finds Forest or Plains to make green-white sequencing reliable for Wild Mongrel/Survival of the Fittest and Savannah Lions/Swords to Plowshares starts.
• Timing: Crack before casting a spell that needs the fetched color; wait when no immediate mana is needed and preserving life or information matters.
• Inputs / outputs: Taps, pays 1 life, and sacrifices itself to search your library for a Forest or Plains card, put it onto the battlefield, then shuffle.
• Mode map: Forest search gets Forest; Plains search gets Plains. This list has no registered dual Forest/Plains card, so Windswept Heath only maps to those basic targets here.
• Partners / packages: Fixes for Brushland-light hands, supports early Wild Mongrel, Patrol Hound, Survival of the Fittest, Swords to Plowshares, and sideboard Ray of Revelation.
• Role peers: Closest role overlap is Brushland for both-color access; Forest and Plains are the actual registered search targets.
• Failure modes: Paying life at the wrong time loses races; fetching the wrong basic can lock out either green engine cards or white interaction.
• Matchup / visibility hooks: Against Wasteland-style pressure, fetching a basic can protect color access; against burn, avoid unnecessary life payment until the mana is needed.

Arrogant Wurm

• Deck role: main deck, 4 copies, core madness threat.
• Role type: mechanic payoff; threat/clock.
• Deck-specific job: Turns discard from Wild Mongrel, Patrol Hound, or Survival of the Fittest into a 4/4 trampler for {2}{G}, giving this deck its biggest tempo swing.
• Timing: Prefer madness when the 4/4 changes combat, punishes tapped mana, or creates a fast clock; hard-cast for {3}{G}{G} only when five mana is available without losing a better interaction or engine window.
• Inputs / outputs: Consumes a discard event plus {2}{G} for madness, or five mana normally; outputs a 4/4 trampling creature.
• Mode map: Normal cast is expensive board presence; madness casts from exile after discard for {2}{G}; putting it into graveyard instead of casting is usually wrong unless a specific graveyard plan is visible.
• Partners / packages: Wild Mongrel, Patrol Hound, and Survival of the Fittest enable madness; Glory can push it through same-color blockers; Armadillo Cloak turns trample damage into a major life swing.
• Role peers: Closest role overlap is Call of the Herd for three-mana pressure and Treetop Village for trampling pressure.
• Failure modes: Discarding without a legal madness cast strands the deck’s best large body; hard-casting too early may prevent Swords to Plowshares or Survival of the Fittest activation.
• Matchup / visibility hooks: Excellent against fair creature decks and control tap-outs; hold back when it is the only blocker preventing lethal.

Basking Rootwalla

• Deck role: main deck, 4 copies, core cheap threat and madness payoff.
• Role type: mechanic payoff; threat/clock; engine fuel/material.
• Deck-specific job: Provides a one-mana body that becomes free board material when discarded to Wild Mongrel, Patrol Hound, or Survival of the Fittest.
• Timing: Cast on turn one when it advances pressure; discard for madness {0} when the discard outlet already has a tactical purpose or Survival of the Fittest turns it into another creature.
• Inputs / outputs: Costs {G} normally, madness {0} after discard, and can consume {1}{G} once each turn for +2/+2 until end of turn.
• Mode map: Normal cast is early board; madness is free tempo after discard; pump mode is for lethal, profitable trades, or survival, not for incidental damage when mana must stay open.
• Partners / packages: Wild Mongrel, Patrol Hound, Survival of the Fittest, Glory, and Armadillo Cloak all improve its combat relevance.
• Role peers: Closest role overlap is Savannah Lions as a one-mana attacker and Call of the Herd token as a pump-free 3/3 body.
• Failure modes: Pumping at low value can consume mana needed for Swords to Plowshares, Disenchant, Survival of the Fittest, Treetop Village, or Glory.
• Matchup / visibility hooks: Strong against tempo and aggro starts; less important than larger threats when board stalls require Arrogant Wurm, Glory, or Treetop Village.

Glory

• Deck role: main deck, 1 copy, graveyard protection and combat payoff.
• Role type: protection/evasion; mechanic payoff.
• Deck-specific job: Once in the graveyard, spends {2}{W} to choose a color and give creatures you control protection from that color until end of turn, turning stalled attacks or dangerous blocks into favorable combat.
• Timing: Put it in the graveyard with Survival of the Fittest, Wild Mongrel, or Patrol Hound when protection will matter soon; activate only when a color choice changes lethal, survival, blocking, or removal exposure.
• Inputs / outputs: Consumes graveyard access and {2}{W}; outputs teamwide protection from the chosen color until end of turn.
• Mode map: Battlefield mode is a costly 3/3 flyer; graveyard activated mode is the real plan and works only if Glory is in your graveyard.
• Partners / packages: Protects Wild Mongrel, Patrol Hound, Arrogant Wurm, Call of the Herd Elephant tokens, Treetop Village, and Armadillo Cloak attacks.
• Role peers: Closest role overlap is Armadillo Cloak for combat dominance, but Glory protects multiple creatures instead of enhancing one.
• Failure modes: Graveyard exile blanks the ability; choosing a color that does not match blockers, removal, or lethal damage wastes mana.
• Matchup / visibility hooks: High value in creature stalls, against color-specific removal, and when a protected alpha attack ends the game.

Monk Realist

• Deck role: main deck, 1 copy, tutorable enchantment answer.
• Role type: interaction-removal; sideboard bullet; role glue.
• Deck-specific job: Gives Survival of the Fittest access to a creature that destroys target enchantment when it enters, while leaving a 1/1 body behind.
• Timing: Search or cast when a visible enchantment stops attacks, enables an opposing engine, protects a threat, or shuts off graveyard/Survival plans.
• Inputs / outputs: Costs {1}{W}; consumes a creature slot or Survival search; outputs destruction of target enchantment plus a 1/1 creature.
• Partners / packages: Survival of the Fittest searches it; Disenchant and Ray of Revelation provide noncreature enchantment removal; Genesis can rebuy it post-board.
• Role peers: Disenchant answers target artifact or enchantment at instant speed; Ray of Revelation answers target enchantment and has flashback {G}.
• Failure modes: Casting into no meaningful enchantment target wastes the singleton; a mandatory target prompt can become awkward if only your own enchantment is legal.
• Matchup / visibility hooks: Preserve it against enchantment prison, opposing Survival of the Fittest, aura plans, and enchantment-based removal.

Patrol Hound

• Deck role: main deck, 4 copies, core discard outlet and combat role player.
• Role type: discard outlet; mechanic enabler; threat/clock; protection/evasion.
• Deck-specific job: Converts hand cards into first strike for itself, enabling madness for Arrogant Wurm and Basking Rootwalla while letting a 2/2 attack or block through combat math.
• Timing: Cast early when Wild Mongrel is absent or white mana is the clean curve; discard only when first strike changes combat, enables a legal madness cast, or places Glory/Squee, Goblin Nabob where they matter.
• Inputs / outputs: Costs {1}{W}; discard ability consumes one card and gives Patrol Hound first strike until end of turn.
• Partners / packages: Enables Arrogant Wurm, Basking Rootwalla, Glory, Squee, Goblin Nabob, and Survival of the Fittest-adjacent discard planning.
• Role peers: Wild Mongrel is the closest discard outlet; Survival of the Fittest also discards creatures but searches instead of changing combat.
• Failure modes: Discarding unique Swords to Plowshares, Disenchant, Monk Realist, or Uktabi Orangutan for a low-value first strike turn weakens later decisions.
• Matchup / visibility hooks: Strong in creature combat; weaker when the opponent ignores first strike with removal, evasion, or sweepers.

Savannah Lions

• Deck role: main deck, 4 copies, core one-mana pressure slot.
• Role type: threat/clock.
• Deck-specific job: Provides the fastest white clock, making Survival of the Fittest and Call of the Herd follow-ups more punishing because the opponent starts reacting earlier.
• Timing: Cast on turn one when white is available unless Swords to Plowshares must be held for a visible immediate creature threat.
• Inputs / outputs: Costs {W}; outputs a 2/1 creature body for early attacks and trades.
• Partners / packages: Pressure pairs with Swords to Plowshares clearing blockers, Glory protecting attacks, and Armadillo Cloak when a small body must become a race tool.
• Role peers: Basking Rootwalla is the closest one-mana peer; Wild Mongrel and Patrol Hound are stronger two-mana bodies with discard utility.
• Failure modes: Card Reference has missing Oracle metadata, so text-sensitive claims beyond its listed 2/1 creature characteristics should remain conditional on runtime legal actions; do not assume an ability from the reference.
• Matchup / visibility hooks: Best against slow starts and combo; often lower value against clogged midrange boards or post-board games centered on artifacts, enchantments, or graveyards.

Squee, Goblin Nabob

• Deck role: main deck, 1 copy, singleton repeatable engine fuel.
• Role type: engine fuel/material; recursion; role glue.
• Deck-specific job: Returns from graveyard to hand at the beginning of your upkeep if you choose to return it, giving Survival of the Fittest a repeatable discard card for long games.
• Timing: Search or discard Squee, Goblin Nabob when the board is stable enough for repeated Survival of the Fittest activations; skip when immediate Arrogant Wurm, Monk Realist, Uktabi Orangutan, or blocker pressure is needed.
• Inputs / outputs: Costs {2}{R} to cast, but this deck has no registered red mana source; from graveyard, upkeep trigger may return it to hand.
• Partners / packages: Survival of the Fittest is the primary partner; Wild Mongrel and Patrol Hound can discard it when repeatable hand refill matters.
• Role peers: Genesis is the sideboard long-game recursion peer; Call of the Herd provides two-use pressure rather than repeatable discard material.
• Failure modes: Do not plan to cast it without a real red source; graveyard exile stops the return loop.
• Matchup / visibility hooks: Strong against control and black attrition; too slow against fast combo or lethal board pressure.

Uktabi Orangutan

• Deck role: main deck, 1 copy, tutorable artifact answer.
• Role type: interaction-removal; sideboard bullet; role glue.
• Deck-specific job: Gives Survival of the Fittest access to a creature that destroys target artifact when it enters while leaving a 2/2 attacker or blocker.
• Timing: Search or cast when a visible artifact generates mana, locks combat, threatens combo, or blanks your pressure; avoid spending it on trivial artifacts unless tempo requires it.
• Inputs / outputs: Costs {2}{G}; outputs destruction of target artifact and a 2/2 creature.
• Partners / packages: Survival of the Fittest searches it; Disenchant also answers artifacts; Genesis can rebuy it post-board.
• Role peers: Disenchant is the closest artifact-answer peer; Monk Realist and Ray of Revelation cover enchantments instead.
• Failure modes: Casting without a meaningful artifact target can waste the singleton, and a mandatory target prompt may force a bad target if only your artifact is legal.
• Matchup / visibility hooks: Preserve against artifact mana, artifact prison, artifact creatures that stabilize combat, and graveyard hate artifacts.

Wild Mongrel

• Deck role: main deck, 4 copies, core discard outlet and pressure engine.
• Role type: discard outlet; mechanic enabler; threat/clock; role glue.
• Deck-specific job: Turns cards in hand into +1/+1 and a color change until end of turn, enabling Arrogant Wurm and Basking Rootwalla madness while threatening combat math from a two-mana body.
• Timing: Cast early off green; discard only when it enables madness, sets up Glory or Squee, Goblin Nabob, wins combat, saves Wild Mongrel, or creates lethal pressure.
• Inputs / outputs: Costs {1}{G}; each discard consumes a card and gives Wild Mongrel +1/+1 plus your chosen color until end of turn.
• Partners / packages: Arrogant Wurm, Basking Rootwalla, Glory, Squee, Goblin Nabob, Armadillo Cloak, and Swords to Plowshares all convert its pressure into better attacks.
• Role peers: Patrol Hound is the closest discard outlet; Survival of the Fittest discards creature cards for search instead of combat size.
• Failure modes: Discarding real answers or the only follow-up threat into open interaction can collapse the hand; color choice matters only when it changes protection, damage, or blockers.
• Matchup / visibility hooks: High value in fair combat and madness turns; protect it when the hand contains Arrogant Wurm or Basking Rootwalla.

Call of the Herd

• Deck role: main deck, 3 copies, sticky midgame threat.
• Role type: threat/clock; recursion; engine fuel/material.
• Deck-specific job: Creates a 3/3 green Elephant token now and another through flashback later, giving the deck pressure that survives one-for-one removal pacing without needing Survival of the Fittest.
• Timing: Cast front side when a reliable body is better than holding up Swords to Plowshares or Disenchant; flash back for {3}{G} when board presence matters more than leaving mana for interaction.
• Inputs / outputs: Costs {2}{G} from hand; flashback costs {3}{G} from graveyard and exiles the spell after it resolves.
• Mode map: Hand cast creates the first 3/3; flashback casts from graveyard for a second 3/3 and then exiles Call of the Herd.
• Partners / packages: Glory can protect Elephant tokens; Armadillo Cloak can turn a token into a race swing; Treetop Village joins the attrition pressure plan.
• Role peers: Arrogant Wurm is the larger burst threat; Treetop Village is repeatable land-based pressure.
• Failure modes: It is not a creature card for Survival of the Fittest; graveyard hate can remove flashback access before use.
• Matchup / visibility hooks: Strong against removal-heavy decks; slower against combo where immediate clock plus disruption matters more.

Disenchant

• Deck role: main deck, 1 copy; sideboard, 2 copies; flexible artifact/enchantment answer.
• Role type: interaction-removal; sideboard bullet.
• Deck-specific job: Destroys target artifact or enchantment at instant speed, covering permanent types that Swords to Plowshares cannot touch and answering targets before they generate decisive value.
• Timing: Hold until the target changes combat, graveyard access, mana development, lock status, or combo timing; cast at the latest safe window if instant timing denies activation or combat value.
• Inputs / outputs: Costs {1}{W}; consumes one card to destroy target artifact or enchantment.
• Partners / packages: Monk Realist handles enchantments through Survival of the Fittest; Uktabi Orangutan handles artifacts through Survival of the Fittest; Ray of Revelation adds enchantment-only flashback.
• Role peers: Monk Realist, Uktabi Orangutan, and Ray of Revelation overlap by target class but differ in speed, body, and flashback.
• Failure modes: Using it on a low-impact target may leave no answer for a lock piece, artifact graveyard hate, opposing Survival of the Fittest, or decisive Aura.
• Matchup / visibility hooks: Bring extra copies against artifact-centric control, enchantment prison, aura plans, and visible graveyard hate artifacts/enchantments.

Swords to Plowshares

• Deck role: main deck, 4 copies, core creature interaction.
• Role type: interaction-removal; lifegain/stabilization.
• Deck-specific job: Exiles target creature for {W}, answering blockers, lethal attackers, engine creatures, or creatures that invalidate Wild Mongrel, Arrogant Wurm, Call of the Herd, and Treetop Village attacks.
• Timing: Hold for a creature that changes the race or board; fire proactively when one blocker unlocks a major attack or when waiting risks protection, sacrifice, or lethal damage.
• Inputs / outputs: Costs {W}; exiles target creature; that creature’s controller gains life equal to its power.
• Partners / packages: Savannah Lions, Basking Rootwalla, Wild Mongrel, Arrogant Wurm, Call of the Herd, and Treetop Village all benefit when Swords to Plowshares clears the right blocker.
• Role peers: No direct peer; closest role overlap is Glory changing combat without removing the creature and Disenchant answering noncreature permanents.
• Failure modes: Giving the opponent life can add a turn to your clock; do not spend it on a creature current combat already handles.
• Matchup / visibility hooks: Prioritize evasive clocks, lethal attackers, large stabilizing blockers, and creature-based engines.

Survival of the Fittest

• Deck role: main deck, 4 copies, core selection engine.
• Role type: engine piece; tutor/search; discard outlet; mechanic enabler.
• Deck-specific job: Converts green mana and creature cards into the exact creature needed: Arrogant Wurm or Basking Rootwalla for pressure, Squee, Goblin Nabob for repeat fuel, Glory for graveyard protection, Monk Realist for target enchantment, Uktabi Orangutan for target artifact, or Genesis post-board for recursion.
• Timing: Cast when the board can afford a noncreature turn; activate when the searched creature solves the current turn or sets up a clearly valuable next turn.
• Inputs / outputs: Costs {1}{G}; activation costs {G} and discards a creature card to search for a creature card, reveal it, put it into hand, then shuffle.
• Mode map: Discard/search mode can also create madness prompts for Arrogant Wurm or Basking Rootwalla; use that only when mana and timing make the madness cast useful.
• Partners / packages: Exact targets include Arrogant Wurm, Basking Rootwalla, Glory, Monk Realist, Patrol Hound, Savannah Lions, Squee, Goblin Nabob, Uktabi Orangutan, Wild Mongrel, Caller of the Claw, Genesis, and Glowrider.
• Role peers: No direct peer; Wild Mongrel and Patrol Hound discard without tutoring.
• Failure modes: Activating while behind on board can spend a turn without adding a body; creature-light hands make it weak.
• Matchup / visibility hooks: Strong in attrition, silver-bullet, and combat-stall games; weaker against fast combo or immediate lethal pressure.

Armadillo Cloak

• Deck role: sideboard, 2 copies, race-swing Aura bullet.
• Role type: lifegain/stabilization; protection/evasion; sideboard bullet.
• Deck-specific job: Enchants a creature to give +2/+2, trample, and a damage-triggered life gain for you, turning one safe attacker into a huge race swing.
• Timing: Cast before combat when the enchanted creature is likely to connect or stabilize blocking; avoid when visible instant-speed removal or bounce makes the Aura a high-risk two-for-one unless life gain is urgent.
• Inputs / outputs: Costs {1}{G}{W}; consumes one Aura card and a legal creature target; outputs size, trample, and life equal to damage dealt by enchanted creature.
• Partners / packages: Best on Arrogant Wurm, Wild Mongrel, Treetop Village, Call of the Herd Elephant tokens, and sometimes Patrol Hound when first strike matters.
• Role peers: Glory also improves combat, but Armadillo Cloak adds life gain and trample to one creature instead of protecting the team.
• Failure modes: Enchant creature means opposing removal in response or after resolution can trade up; it does not protect from exile, bounce, sacrifice, or enchantment removal.
• Matchup / visibility hooks: Bring against burn, red aggro, creature mirrors, and midrange races where one creature can safely attack or block.

Caller of the Claw

• Deck role: sideboard, 1 copy, anti-sweeper recovery creature.
• Role type: recursion; sideboard bullet; threat/clock.
• Deck-specific job: With flash, rebuilds after nontoken creatures die by creating a 2/2 green Bear token for each nontoken creature put into your graveyard from the battlefield this turn.
• Timing: Hold through the opponent’s mass removal or a combat turn where multiple nontoken creatures die; casting as a normal 2/2 is only for urgent board presence.
• Inputs / outputs: Costs {2}{G}; consumes flash timing and produces a 2/2 body plus Bear tokens tied to this turn’s nontoken creature deaths.
• Partners / packages: Recovers after losses of Savannah Lions, Basking Rootwalla, Wild Mongrel, Patrol Hound, Arrogant Wurm, Monk Realist, Uktabi Orangutan, and Glowrider.
• Role peers: Genesis recovers individual creature cards over several upkeeps; Call of the Herd rebuilds with tokens through flashback.
• Failure modes: It counts nontoken creatures put into your graveyard from battlefield this turn, so Treetop Village dying while animated and Elephant/Bear tokens have different practical implications; graveyard replacement/exile effects can reduce payoff.
• Matchup / visibility hooks: Bring against sweepers, mass burn, and removal-heavy decks that create one big death turn.

Compost

• Deck role: sideboard, 2 copies, black-matchup card advantage enchantment.
• Role type: hate piece; engine payoff; sideboard bullet.
• Deck-specific job: Rewards black cards going to an opponent’s graveyard from anywhere by letting you draw cards, punishing black removal, discard, sacrifice, and creature trades.
• Timing: Cast early against black attrition when it is likely to draw at least two cards; skip against fast pressure if spending turn two on an enchantment loses the board.
• Inputs / outputs: Costs {1}{G}; outputs optional card draw whenever a black card is put into an opponent’s graveyard from anywhere.
• Partners / packages: Works with Swords to Plowshares forcing black creature exchanges only if the black card actually goes to graveyard first; pairs with Genesis and Survival of the Fittest in long games.
• Role peers: Genesis is the other grind sideboard card; Squee, Goblin Nabob fuels Survival without drawing cards.
• Failure modes: Does nothing against nonblack decks and may be too slow if the opponent wins before black cards start entering graveyard.
• Matchup / visibility hooks: Bring against black midrange, black control, black discard, and black sacrifice strategies.

Genesis

• Deck role: sideboard, 1 copy, graveyard recursion engine.
• Role type: recursion; engine piece; sideboard bullet.
• Deck-specific job: From the graveyard, lets you pay {2}{G} at the beginning of upkeep to return target creature card from your graveyard to your hand, making Survival of the Fittest and trades scale into the late game.
• Timing: Search or discard it when the game is slow enough to use upkeep mana; hard-cast the 4/4 only when body size matters more than graveyard recursion setup.
• Inputs / outputs: Costs {4}{G} as a creature; from graveyard, consumes {2}{G} at upkeep and returns target creature card from your graveyard to hand.
• Mode map: Battlefield mode is a 4/4 creature; graveyard upkeep mode is the main recursion engine and requires Genesis in your graveyard.
• Partners / packages: Recurs Wild Mongrel, Patrol Hound, Arrogant Wurm, Monk Realist, Uktabi Orangutan, Caller of the Claw, Glowrider, and Glory if they are creature cards in your graveyard.
• Role peers: Squee, Goblin Nabob returns itself; Genesis returns target creature cards.
• Failure modes: Graveyard hate blanks it; spending {2}{G} on upkeep can delay Call of the Herd flashback, Survival activation, or Treetop Village.
• Matchup / visibility hooks: Bring against removal-heavy control, black attrition, and grindy midrange; cut or avoid against fast combo and graveyard hate.

Glowrider

• Deck role: sideboard, 1 copy, spell-tax creature bullet.
• Role type: hate piece; threat/clock; sideboard bullet.
• Deck-specific job: Makes noncreature spells cost {1} more, taxing spell-heavy combo/control while leaving your creature pressure comparatively functional.
• Timing: Deploy before the opponent’s key noncreature turn; delay only when your own Swords to Plowshares, Survival of the Fittest, Disenchant, Call of the Herd, Armadillo Cloak, Compost, Ray of Revelation, Tormod's Crypt, or Warmth must be cast first.
• Inputs / outputs: Costs {2}{W}; outputs a 2/1 body and a symmetrical noncreature spell tax.
• Partners / packages: Pairs with Savannah Lions, Basking Rootwalla, Wild Mongrel, Patrol Hound, Arrogant Wurm, and Call of the Herd pressure to shorten the taxed window.
• Role peers: Wasteland is the closest disruption peer against mana; Tormod's Crypt is the graveyard-specific hate peer.
• Failure modes: The tax also hits your own noncreature spells, including Survival of the Fittest and Swords to Plowshares.
• Matchup / visibility hooks: Bring against spell combo, control, cantrip/tutor-heavy decks, and expensive noncreature engines.

Ray of Revelation

• Deck role: sideboard, 2 copies, enchantment interaction with flashback.
• Role type: interaction-removal; recursion; sideboard bullet.
• Deck-specific job: Destroys target enchantment once from hand for {1}{W} and again from graveyard for flashback {G}, giving this deck repeated enchantment answers through its green-white mana base.
• Timing: Use the front side on a meaningful enchantment; save flashback for a second target or when the opponent commits the enchantment that actually matters.
• Inputs / outputs: Costs {1}{W} from hand; flashback costs {G} from graveyard and exiles the spell after it resolves.
• Mode map: Hand mode is white instant-speed enchantment removal; flashback mode is green instant-speed graveyard access and then exile.
• Partners / packages: Complements Monk Realist, Disenchant, Survival of the Fittest into Monk Realist, and Genesis attrition plans.
• Role peers: Disenchant also hits artifacts; Monk Realist adds a creature body but lacks flashback.
• Failure modes: Cannot target artifacts; graveyard hate can exile it before flashback; using the first copy on a low-impact enchantment may leave no answer to a lock piece.
• Matchup / visibility hooks: Bring against opposing Survival of the Fittest, enchantment prison, aura strategies, and recurring enchantment engines.

Tormod's Crypt

• Deck role: sideboard, 3 copies, graveyard hate artifact.
• Role type: hate piece; sideboard bullet.
• Deck-specific job: Exiles target player’s graveyard for zero mana, letting this creature deck pressure while holding up a hate activation against reanimation, flashback, threshold, Genesis, Squee, Goblin Nabob, or similar graveyard engines.
• Timing: Cast early when sudden graveyard lines are possible; activate when the target graveyard contains the cards that enable an imminent payoff, not merely because cards are present.
• Inputs / outputs: Costs {0}; taps and sacrifices itself to exile target player’s graveyard.
• Partners / packages: Pairs with fast pressure from Savannah Lions, Wild Mongrel, Basking Rootwalla, Arrogant Wurm, Call of the Herd, and Treetop Village.
• Role peers: Glowrider taxes spell-based graveyard decks; Wasteland disrupts land-based setup but does not touch graveyards.
• Failure modes: Exiling after flashback, delve-like costs, or recursion costs are already paid usually does not undo that spell or ability; avoid self-targeting unless a rules-visible reason exists.
• Matchup / visibility hooks: Bring against reanimator, threshold, flashback-heavy decks, Genesis recursion, and Squee, Goblin Nabob loops.

Warmth

• Deck role: sideboard, 1 copy, red-spell lifegain hate enchantment.
• Role type: lifegain/stabilization; hate piece; sideboard bullet.
• Deck-specific job: Gains 2 life whenever an opponent casts a red spell, buffering burn and red tempo while your creatures keep attacking.
• Timing: Cast early against red spell decks when the expected triggers offset the tempo of spending {1}{W}; skip if the opponent’s pressure is mostly nonred creatures and board development is urgent.
• Inputs / outputs: Costs {1}{W}; outputs 2 life per opponent red spell cast.
• Partners / packages: Works with Armadillo Cloak to swing races and with Swords to Plowshares when creature removal matters more than racing damage.
• Role peers: Armadillo Cloak is the closest lifegain peer; Brushland discipline prevents self-inflicted damage rather than gaining life.
• Failure modes: Does not stop damage directly and does little against nonred spells, colorless sources, or creature combat that is not backed by red spell casting.
• Matchup / visibility hooks: Bring against burn, red removal-heavy aggro, and red tempo decks where multiple red spells are likely to be cast.

Interaction Priorities

• Remove clock-breakers first: Use Swords to Plowshares on visible creatures that stop attacks, threaten lethal, carry a must-answer engine, or make combat impossible for Wild Mongrel, Arrogant Wurm, Call of the Herd, Treetop Village, or Savannah Lions. Do not spend Swords to Plowshares on a creature the current board can ignore, race, or trade with cleanly, because the opponent's life gain can buy a full extra turn.

• Answer engines before accessories: Use Disenchant, Monk Realist, or Uktabi Orangutan on artifacts or enchantments that generate mana, lock combat, enable combo, blank graveyard plans, or make Survival of the Fittest too slow. Ignore low-impact artifacts and enchantments when pressure plus creature combat is already winning and the answer may be needed for a visible or likely higher-impact permanent.

• Preserve tutorable answers: Search Monk Realist for enchantments and Uktabi Orangutan for artifacts when Survival of the Fittest is active and the permanent matters now. Prefer the creature answer over Disenchant when adding a body improves the board, but use Disenchant when the answer must happen at instant speed or Survival activation tempo is too slow.

• Bait with replaceable threats: Lead Savannah Lions, Basking Rootwalla, and Call of the Herd into opposing removal or counters before committing Survival of the Fittest, Wild Mongrel, Patrol Hound, Glory, or Squee, Goblin Nabob engine lines. Do not deliberately bait when the legal play would waste the only pressure source or delay a needed Swords to Plowshares turn.

• Respect no-counter/no-discard/no-bounce limits: The registered main deck has no counterspell, hand-discard spell, or bounce spell. If the rules engine offers a counter, discard, or bounce action from another effect, choose only from the legal action text and do not assume the deck normally has that interaction.

• Use graveyard exile only after sideboarding: Use Tormod's Crypt on visible graveyard resources that are about to be used, that enable a lethal or locking turn, or that would outscale the Madness Threshold board. Do not fire Tormod's Crypt just because the opponent has cards in graveyard if no visible graveyard payoff or threshold-like pressure is present.

• Change priority by archetype: Against creature aggro, prioritize Swords to Plowshares on the largest damage source or evasive attacker and trade creatures aggressively once Survival of the Fittest is established. Against combo, prioritize speed, Wasteland windows, and Disenchant/Uktabi Orangutan/Monk Realist targets that produce the combo turn. Against control, protect recurring pressure from Call of the Herd, Treetop Village, Squee, Goblin Nabob, and Survival of the Fittest rather than answering every small permanent.

Combat And Trading Rules

• Attack as the default when ahead: Pressure life totals with Savannah Lions, Wild Mongrel, Arrogant Wurm, Basking Rootwalla, Call of the Herd tokens, and Treetop Village when attacks either deal meaningful damage or force trades that leave Survival of the Fittest and graveyard recursion stronger. Hold back only when the opponent's crack-back, a visible trick, or a key blocker role matters more than damage.

• Protect discard outlets first: Preserve Wild Mongrel and Patrol Hound when they are enabling Basking Rootwalla, Arrogant Wurm, Glory, Squee, Goblin Nabob, or Survival of the Fittest chains. Trade them only when the trade prevents lethal, removes a more important opposing threat, or the hand no longer needs a discard outlet.

• Use Wild Mongrel as a combat threat, not free loot: Discard to Wild Mongrel only when the legal action improves combat, enables madness, places Glory or Squee, Goblin Nabob where they matter, or saves Wild Mongrel from damage/removal. Do not discard real spells just to add damage when the opponent can still answer the creature and the extra point is not decisive.

• Use Patrol Hound tactically: Activate Patrol Hound only when first strike changes a combat result, enables a safe attack, protects a creature in a trade, or discards a card that wants the graveyard or madness timing. Do not expose a key hand to discard merely to push low-impact damage.

• Treat Arrogant Wurm as the primary size check: Attack with Arrogant Wurm into smaller boards and force the opponent to produce an answer. Keep it back when it is the only creature that prevents lethal or when protection from Glory can create a better attack next turn.

• Trade small creatures for time against aggro: Trade Savannah Lions, Basking Rootwalla, and Call of the Herd bodies for opposing attackers when life total is under pressure and Survival of the Fittest or larger creatures can win later. Preserve them against control when repeated small attacks are the best way to punish tapped-out turns.

• Use Glory only from legal runtime offers: Activate Glory when protection from a color would make an attack lethal, save Survival of the Fittest's key creature chain, blank removal, or win a decisive block. Card text check required for exact activation details; never assume protection is available unless Forge exposes the legal action.

• Animate Treetop Village with spare mana only: Attack or block with Treetop Village when the mana is not needed for Swords to Plowshares, Disenchant, Survival of the Fittest, Call of the Herd flashback, or Glory. Do not animate into visible removal or a bad block unless forcing that exchange protects a more important permanent or prevents lethal.

• Set life-total thresholds by role: Above a stable life total, race with pressure and use Swords to Plowshares to clear blockers. Near lethal range, prioritize blockers, Swords to Plowshares on attackers, Glory protection, and trades over maximizing damage. Against control, life total is a resource; against fast creature decks, every unnecessary Brushland pain and failed attack can matter.

Selection And Tutor Rules

• Use Survival of the Fittest as the deck's true selector: Activate Survival of the Fittest when the discarded creature either has immediate madness value, wants the graveyard, or can be replaced by a creature that solves the current board. Do not turn a functional creature hand into a speculative chain when the board needs mana, attacks, or Swords to Plowshares held up.

• Find the missing role, not the flashiest card: Search Wild Mongrel or Patrol Hound when the hand needs a discard outlet, Arrogant Wurm when the board needs a large threat, Basking Rootwalla when mana is constrained, Glory when protection will matter from graveyard later, Squee, Goblin Nabob when Survival of the Fittest can convert repeatable discard into material, Monk Realist for enchantments, and Uktabi Orangutan for artifacts.

• Set up Squee, Goblin Nabob only when time exists: Use Survival of the Fittest to establish Squee, Goblin Nabob loops against control, midrange stalls, or removal-heavy games where repeated tutoring beats one large creature. Against fast pressure or combo, search for immediate bodies, Swords to Plowshares support, or artifact/enchantment answers instead of spending a turn on long-game value.

• Treat Glory as a planned graveyard resource: Put Glory into the graveyard through Survival of the Fittest, Wild Mongrel, or Patrol Hound when protection could force lethal, blank removal, or let creatures attack through a board stall. Card text check required for exact activation constraints; choose Glory lines only when Forge exposes legal Glory actions or when discarding it has independent Survival value.

• Use madness selection at the discard moment: Discard Arrogant Wurm or Basking Rootwalla to Wild Mongrel, Patrol Hound, or Survival of the Fittest when Forge offers the madness cast and the mana/tempo fit the turn. Do not discard Arrogant Wurm merely to pump Wild Mongrel if the legal madness payment cannot be made and the body is needed later.

• Sequence fetchlands around information and mana: Use Windswept Heath before mana decisions that require exact Forest or Plains access, after attacks when preserving life and information matters, and before Survival chains if the land drop determines whether a searched creature can be cast. Avoid cracking Windswept Heath into unnecessary Brushland pain when basic Forest or Plains already supports the turn.

• Use Call of the Herd as pseudo-card advantage: Cast Call of the Herd when a durable body is better than holding up instant interaction, and use flashback when mana would otherwise be unused or when attrition matters. Do not spend a whole turn on flashback if Survival of the Fittest activation, Swords to Plowshares, Disenchant, or a decisive creature deployment is more urgent.

• Respect the deck's limited filtering: The main deck has no cantrip, scry spell, or raw draw spell. Make selection decisions through opening hands, Survival of the Fittest, Windswept Heath, discard outlets, graveyard recursion, and visible legal flashback or activation prompts rather than assuming access to hidden library manipulation.

Priority And Stack Rules

• Hold priority for real instant-speed leverage: Use Swords to Plowshares or Disenchant in response to a spell, ability, equipment-like commitment, aura-like commitment, combat pump, graveyard action, or lethal attack only when the visible stack or board makes the answer better now than after resolution. Pass when the spell can resolve without changing combat, lethal math, Survival of the Fittest access, or a protected permanent.

• Activate Survival of the Fittest at the lowest-risk window: Prefer Survival of the Fittest during the opponent's end step when mana is available and no immediate battlefield action is needed, so the searched creature is available for the next turn. Activate main phase when the searched creature must be cast now, when madness timing is part of the play, or when mana must be used before combat.

• Use discard outlets before damage or removal resolves when legal: Activate Wild Mongrel or Patrol Hound in response to damage, removal, or combat damage only when the discard changes survival, creates a legal madness spell, places Glory or Squee, Goblin Nabob where they matter, or changes blocker math. Do not discard protected resources into open interaction for a marginal pump.

• Let low-impact spells resolve: Pass priority on opposing spells that do not affect current attacks, blockers, mana, Survival of the Fittest, graveyard resources, or lethal timing. Preserve Swords to Plowshares, Disenchant, Monk Realist, and Uktabi Orangutan for threats and engines rather than using answers because priority is available.

• Use Swords to Plowshares before combat damage when it changes survival: Cast Swords to Plowshares on an attacker or blocker before damage if it prevents lethal, saves an important creature, clears a decisive attack, or stops a triggered/combat payoff visible to the engine. If a creature is already losing combat and no trigger or damage assignment matters, consider letting combat resolve.

• Use Disenchant at instant speed for timing-sensitive permanents: Cast Disenchant before an artifact or enchantment can generate value, lock combat, protect a key creature, or enable a combo turn. When the permanent is not immediately active, consider using Survival of the Fittest into Monk Realist or Uktabi Orangutan instead, because those answers add a creature body.

• Choose optional payments only when they advance the turn: Pay Basking Rootwalla pump, Glory activation costs, Treetop Village activation, Call of the Herd flashback, and madness costs when the legal action changes combat, pressure, survival, or resource conversion. Decline optional payments that consume mana needed for Swords to Plowshares, Disenchant, Survival of the Fittest, or a stronger follow-up.

• Respect graveyard timing and public information: Use graveyard-based actions only from visible legal prompts, including Call of the Herd flashback, Glory, Squee, Goblin Nabob recursion, and sideboard Genesis if present. Card text check required for any exact upkeep, activation, or trigger condition not exposed by Forge; never assume a graveyard card is usable unless the engine offers it.

• Keep combat trick windows active: After attackers, after blockers, before combat damage, and after visible pump or removal, reconsider Wild Mongrel, Patrol Hound, Basking Rootwalla, Glory, Swords to Plowshares, Disenchant, and Treetop Village actions. Pass only when no legal action changes lethal math, trades, protection, or post-combat board quality.

Sideboard Map

• Use sideboarding to sharpen the role, not to dilute creature pressure: Keep the deck's core of Wild Mongrel, Basking Rootwalla, Arrogant Wurm, Survival of the Fittest, Call of the Herd, and Swords to Plowshares intact unless the matchup specifically punishes creatures or demands narrow hate. The main deck wins by presenting fast bodies, converting discard into tempo, and using Survival of the Fittest to find singletons; sideboard cards should either protect that plan or answer a known opposing axis.

• Bring Armadillo Cloak for racing and creature mirrors: Add Armadillo Cloak against red damage decks, green creature decks, white creature decks, and midrange boards where one protected or evasive attacker can dominate combat. It is strongest on Arrogant Wurm, Wild Mongrel, Treetop Village, or a creature that can attack safely after Swords to Plowshares support. It is bad against heavy bounce, instant removal, sacrifice effects, or decks that can punish an aura with a clean two-for-one.

• Bring Caller of the Claw against sweepers and mass removal: Add Caller of the Claw when the opponent shows Wrath-like effects, Pernicious Deed-style mass removal, red sweepers, or repeated creature removal that creates a turn where several nontoken creatures die. Card text check required for exact token condition and timing; use it only from legal Forge prompts and prefer holding it when the visible opponent can clear the board in one action.

• Bring Compost against black attrition and black graveyard flow: Add Compost against black removal, discard, sacrifice, and graveyard-heavy decks where black cards visibly move to the opponent's graveyard over a normal game. It is strongest when the opponent trades resources rather than races immediately. It is bad against nonblack decks, fast combo that ignores attrition, and black decks that win before an enchantment can generate multiple cards. Card text check required for exact draw trigger details.

• Bring Disenchant for artifacts, enchantments, and lock pieces: Add sideboard Disenchant when the opponent presents artifact mana, artifact creatures that dodge Swords to Plowshares priorities, enchantment engines, prison permanents, opposing auras, or graveyard hate that blocks Survival of the Fittest, Call of the Herd, Glory, Squee, Goblin Nabob, or Genesis lines. It is weaker when the opponent has few visible targets and creature tempo matters more than answer density.

• Bring Genesis for slow removal games: Add Genesis against control, black midrange, grindy creature mirrors, and any matchup where repeated creature recursion can overpower one-for-one answers. Card text check required for exact graveyard trigger, mana cost, and timing; treat Genesis as a long-game Survival of the Fittest target rather than an early creature plan unless the engine offers a clearly useful cast. It is bad against fast combo, graveyard hate, and matchups where spending mana on recursion loses tempo.

• Bring Glowrider against spell-heavy combo and control: Add Glowrider against decks built around many noncreature spells, cantrips, tutors, rituals, removal chains, sweepers, or expensive control turns. It is strongest when deployed before the opponent's key turn while your own creature-heavy plan can still attack. It is bad when your own Swords to Plowshares, Survival of the Fittest, Disenchant, Call of the Herd flashback, or sideboard enchantments must be cast on a tight mana curve.

• Bring Ray of Revelation for enchantment-heavy opponents: Add Ray of Revelation against Survival mirrors, enchantment prison, Oath-style engines, white removal enchantments, recurring enchantments, and aura plans. Card text check required for exact flashback cost; value it higher when the graveyard flashback mode is relevant and lower when the opponent can exile graveyards or has mostly artifacts.

• Bring Tormod's Crypt against graveyard engines: Add Tormod's Crypt against reanimation, threshold, flashback, Genesis, Squee, Goblin Nabob loops, Life from the Loam-style plans, Psychatog-like graveyard scaling, or any deck whose visible graveyard becomes a resource. It is bad against fair creature decks with incidental graveyard cards only. Use it patiently when the opponent needs a stocked graveyard, but fire it earlier if the engine shows a legal action that prevents an immediate lethal or combo turn.

• Bring Warmth against red spell pressure: Add Warmth against burn, red tempo, red removal-heavy creature decks, and aggressive decks where red spells are expected to reduce life total quickly. Card text check required for exact trigger wording; treat Warmth as a stabilizing enchantment, not a win condition. It is bad against red-light decks, creature-only pressure, and matchups where enchantment answers are more important than life buffering.

Red Burn / Red Aggro Side in: 2 Armadillo Cloak; 1 Warmth; 1 Caller of the Claw Cut: 1 Monk Realist; 1 Uktabi Orangutan; 1 Disenchant; 1 Squee, Goblin Nabob

• Plan rule: Add Armadillo Cloak and Warmth to race red damage while preserving the fast creature core. Reduce main-deck emphasis on slow Survival of the Fittest value and narrow artifact/enchantment creatures unless the opponent has shown specific targets. Caller of the Claw is insurance against sweepers or mass burn; if the opponent shows only one-for-one burn, it can remain a lower-priority role card in future games.

Black Attrition / Black Midrange Side in: 2 Compost; 1 Genesis; 1 Caller of the Claw Cut: 1 Monk Realist; 1 Uktabi Orangutan; 1 Disenchant; 1 Savannah Lions

• Plan rule: Add Compost and Genesis to win long exchanges against discard, removal, and sacrifice. Reduce main-deck emphasis on narrow artifact/enchantment answers when no target class is visible. Keep Swords to Plowshares for high-impact creatures and keep Survival of the Fittest because it turns excess creatures into Squee, Goblin Nabob, Glory, Genesis, or threat chains.

Graveyard Combo / Reanimator / Threshold Engine Side in: 3 Tormod's Crypt; 1 Glowrider; 1 Genesis Cut: 1 Monk Realist; 1 Uktabi Orangutan; 1 Disenchant; 1 Glory; 1 Call of the Herd

• Plan rule: Add Tormod's Crypt as the primary hate card and Glowrider when the opposing engine depends on spell density. Genesis is a backup grind card only when the matchup also involves removal or attrition; against pure speed combo, prioritize hate deployment and pressure over recursion. Reduce main-deck emphasis on slower graveyard plans if opposing hate or combo speed makes Glory and Call of the Herd less reliable.

Enchantments / Prison / Survival Mirror Side in: 2 Ray of Revelation; 2 Disenchant; 1 Genesis Cut: 4 Savannah Lions; 1 Call of the Herd

• Plan rule: Add Ray of Revelation and Disenchant when the opposing permanent type is central to the game. Reduce main-deck emphasis on Savannah Lions when games revolve around engines and answers rather than raw one-drop pressure. Genesis helps recover creatures after long answer exchanges, but Tormod's Crypt can take its place when the opposing Survival of the Fittest plan relies heavily on graveyard recursion.

Artifact-Centric Control / Artifact Aggro Side in: 2 Disenchant; 1 Genesis Cut: 1 Monk Realist; 1 Glory; 1 Savannah Lions

• Plan rule: Add Disenchant for high-impact artifacts while keeping Uktabi Orangutan as a Survival of the Fittest target. Reduce main-deck emphasis on Monk Realist when enchantments are not present. Genesis is for attrition versions; against fast artifact aggro, consider Armadillo Cloak as a racing role card instead of slow recursion if visible pressure is the main problem.

Spell Combo / Heavy Control Side in: 1 Glowrider; 2 Compost; 1 Genesis Cut: 1 Monk Realist; 1 Uktabi Orangutan; 1 Disenchant; 1 Swords to Plowshares

• Plan rule: Add Glowrider to tax noncreature sequencing and add Compost only when the opponent is black or visibly uses black cards. Add Genesis against removal-heavy control, not against pure combo speed. Reduce main-deck emphasis on creature removal when the opponent has few creatures, but keep enough Swords to Plowshares if creature finishers or utility creatures are visible.

• Adaptive sideboarding rule: Add role cards based on revealed game-one evidence, not archetype labels alone. If the opponent showed no artifacts, enchantments, graveyard dependency, red spell pressure, black attrition, or sweepers, preserve the proactive main deck rather than filling the deck with narrow answers.

• Post-board play rule: Expect opponents to bring graveyard hate, enchantment removal, and creature removal after seeing Survival of the Fittest, Call of the Herd, Glory, and Squee, Goblin Nabob. Sideboard plans should keep enough normal creature pressure that the deck can win through Tormod's Crypt or enchantment removal without relying on a single permanent.

Matchup Guidance

• Aggro: Race from the board before trying to build a long Survival of the Fittest engine. Prioritize Savannah Lions, Basking Rootwalla, Wild Mongrel, Patrol Hound, and Call of the Herd as early bodies, then use Swords to Plowshares only on creatures that change combat math, carry an aura, enable haste pressure, or threaten lethal. Add role cards: Armadillo Cloak against creature damage races, Warmth against red spell pressure, Caller of the Claw against sweepers, and Genesis only if the opponent is trading rather than ending the game quickly. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Monk Realist, Uktabi Orangutan, Disenchant, Squee, Goblin Nabob, and slow Survival of the Fittest value when no target permanent or grind window is visible.

• Control: Force the control deck to answer multiple independent threat types instead of leaning everything on Survival of the Fittest. Lead with cheap creatures when the hand has pressure, hold Survival of the Fittest until it can immediately convert a creature into Squee, Goblin Nabob, Glory, Arrogant Wurm, or Genesis if the opponent has open removal or enchantment answers, and use Treetop Village as a post-sweeper attacker when mana permits. Add role cards: Glowrider against spell-heavy control, Compost against black control, Genesis against removal-heavy control, Caller of the Claw against mass creature destruction, and Disenchant or Ray of Revelation only when a permanent engine or lock piece is visible. Reduce main-deck emphasis: excess Swords to Plowshares against creature-light lists and narrow artifact/enchantment creatures when no legal targets are likely.

• Combo: Present the fastest clock that still leaves key disruption available. Mulligan slow hands that neither attack quickly nor contain Survival of the Fittest, Glowrider, Tormod's Crypt, or relevant removal, because this deck is not built to goldfish faster than dedicated combo. Add role cards: Glowrider against spell-chain combo, Tormod's Crypt against graveyard combo, Disenchant against permanent-based combo, Ray of Revelation against enchantment combo, and Warmth only when red spells are the actual kill mechanism. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Glory, Genesis, Squee, Goblin Nabob, and late Call of the Herd flashback plans when the game is decided before recursion matters.

• Tempo: Protect mana development and avoid letting a single bounce, removal spell, or tapped land cost the whole turn cycle. Fetch basics when Wasteland pressure is visible, sequence Brushland pain carefully against racing pressure, and prefer threats that leave mana flexible when the opponent can punish taps with a counterspell or combat trick. Add role cards: Armadillo Cloak when a stable creature can race, Compost against black tempo, Warmth against red tempo, and Tormod's Crypt against threshold or graveyard-scaling tempo. Reduce main-deck emphasis: slow Survival of the Fittest activation chains if the opponent can remove the chosen threat before the madness or recursion line matters.

• Midrange: Make every exchange improve graveyard, board, or Survival of the Fittest positioning. Wild Mongrel and Patrol Hound turn creature-heavy hands into pressure and discard outlets, Basking Rootwalla and Arrogant Wurm punish normal removal-speed sequencing when legal madness actions appear, and Call of the Herd keeps pressure after trades. Add role cards: Genesis for long creature exchanges, Compost against black midrange, Armadillo Cloak when racing medium creatures, Disenchant for high-impact artifacts or enchantments, and Caller of the Claw when sweepers are shown. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Savannah Lions on clogged boards and narrow answer creatures with no visible target class.

• Big mana: Kill the setup player before expensive spells dominate, while saving Swords to Plowshares for the first creature that actually stabilizes the board. Wasteland should pressure a visible high-value nonbasic land when it materially slows the opponent and does not prevent casting your own threats. Add role cards: Glowrider against spell-heavy ramp, Disenchant against mana artifacts or lock permanents, Uktabi Orangutan already matters as a searchable artifact answer, and Ray of Revelation only when enchantments are central. Reduce main-deck emphasis: small ground attackers once the opponent has large blockers unless Glory, Armadillo Cloak, or removal can reopen combat.

• Graveyard: Treat opposing graveyards as live resources once threshold, flashback, recursion, reanimation, or Genesis-style engines are visible. Deploy Tormod's Crypt early when the opponent can force discard or combo suddenly, but hold activation until the graveyard contains the card cluster that enables the immediate legal action or lethal setup. Add role cards: Tormod's Crypt, Glowrider against spell-based graveyard engines, Genesis for fair graveyard mirrors, and Ray of Revelation if enchantments support the engine. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Glory and Squee, Goblin Nabob reliance when opposing graveyard hate is visible; keep ordinary creature pressure so Tormod's Crypt does not strand the deck.

• Artifact/enchantment: Use Survival of the Fittest to turn creature density into exact permanent answers when time allows. Uktabi Orangutan answers artifacts, Monk Realist answers enchantments, Disenchant covers either type, and Ray of Revelation is preferred against repeated or central enchantments. Add role cards: Disenchant, Ray of Revelation, Genesis for attrition artifact/enchantment control, and Tormod's Crypt only if the permanent engine also uses the graveyard. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Savannah Lions and slow flashback pressure when the matchup is decided by answering a permanent engine rather than racing.

• Go-wide: Keep the board from falling behind before investing in Survival of the Fittest. Savannah Lions and Basking Rootwalla can trade early, Wild Mongrel can threaten larger blocks, and Swords to Plowshares should hit lords, token engines, or attackers that make blocking collapse. Add role cards: Armadillo Cloak for racing and stabilizing one large creature, Caller of the Claw against sweepers in creature mirrors, and Warmth if red spells support the swarm. Reduce main-deck emphasis: one-for-one Disenchant effects unless the visible go-wide engine is a permanent they can answer.

• Single-threat: Save Swords to Plowshares for the creature that actually matters unless a smaller creature enables lethal or protection. Pressure life total enough that one large threat cannot buy infinite time, and use Glory from the graveyard only when legal actions and visible mana make protection relevant to attacking or blocking. Add role cards: Armadillo Cloak for racing, Disenchant or Ray of Revelation for aura-based threats, and Tormod's Crypt if the threat comes from the graveyard. Reduce main-deck emphasis: low-impact attackers after the board is dominated unless they enable Survival of the Fittest or Caller of the Claw recovery.

• Burn: Preserve life total as a resource without giving up tempo. Avoid unnecessary Brushland damage, prefer creature deployment over slow engine turns, and make Swords to Plowshares decisions with life gain consequences in mind because giving the opponent life can matter in a race. Add role cards: Warmth, Armadillo Cloak, Caller of the Claw against mass burn, and Compost only if the burn deck is also black. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Monk Realist, Uktabi Orangutan, Disenchant, Genesis, and Squee, Goblin Nabob when they do not affect the damage race.

• Removal-heavy decks: Diversify threats and make removal awkward. Lead with creatures that still leave follow-up pressure, use Call of the Herd to tax one-for-one answers, keep Treetop Village available after sweepers, and turn extra creatures into Survival of the Fittest chains only when the opponent cannot easily remove the enchantment for no value. Add role cards: Genesis, Compost against black removal, Caller of the Claw against sweepers, and Armadillo Cloak only when the opponent cannot easily answer the enchanted creature at mana advantage. Reduce main-deck emphasis: all-in aura lines and single-creature commitments when open mana and public history show instant-speed removal.

Specific Matchup Notes

• General note: Treat these notes as archetype-only unless a named opponent deck is loaded by the match context. Revealed cards, public zones, legal actions, and rules-engine prompts override assumptions; never spend Swords to Plowshares, Disenchant, Tormod's Crypt, or Survival of the Fittest activations on a guessed target when a visible higher-impact target or legal timing issue is present.

• Against tempo pressure: Prioritize stable early board over slow Survival of the Fittest loops. Savannah Lions, Basking Rootwalla, Wild Mongrel, and Patrol Hound should contest the first turns, while Arrogant Wurm is the swing threat when a legal madness line appears. Likely sideboard roles are Armadillo Cloak for racing, Compost against black tempo, Warmth against red tempo, and Tormod's Crypt against threshold or graveyard tempo. Priority targets are evasive clocks, threshold enablers, and creatures that make blocking impossible.

• Against removal-heavy midrange: Make every removal spell answer less than a full card when possible. Call of the Herd, Treetop Village, Squee, Goblin Nabob, Genesis, and Survival of the Fittest are the attrition structure, but only lean on graveyard recursion when opposing graveyard hate is not visible. Likely sideboard roles are Genesis, Compost against black decks, Caller of the Claw against sweepers, and Armadillo Cloak only when the enchanted creature is unlikely to be answered immediately. Priority targets are engines, large stabilizing blockers, and cards that exile or invalidate the graveyard.

• Against big mana or control: Attack before expensive cards dominate, and use Wasteland only when the visible nonbasic land matters more than your own mana development. Glowrider can pressure spell-heavy hands, Disenchant and Uktabi Orangutan answer mana artifacts or lock pieces, and Treetop Village keeps pressure after sweepers. Priority targets are mana engines, sweepers' support permanents when answerable, and the first finisher that actually stabilizes the board.

• Against graveyard decks: Put Tormod's Crypt on the table early when sudden graveyard turns are possible, but activate it only when the visible graveyard enables an immediate legal line or a major threshold/recursion payoff. Do not over-rely on Glory, Genesis, or Squee, Goblin Nabob if opposing Tormod's Crypt-style hate is visible. Priority targets are reanimation cards, flashback clusters, threshold payoffs, and recursion engines.

• Against artifact or enchantment engines: Use the answer mix according to visible permanent type. Uktabi Orangutan and Disenchant cover artifacts, Monk Realist and Ray of Revelation cover enchantments, and Survival of the Fittest can find the creature answer if there is time. Priority targets are permanents that generate repeated cards, mana, combat lockouts, or graveyard access; single low-impact artifacts or enchantments should not distract from lethal pressure.

• Against burn or red aggro: Reduce self-inflicted damage and make the opponent answer creatures on board. Brushland pain, slow Survival of the Fittest activations, and unnecessary fetch timing can lose races; Warmth and Armadillo Cloak are the main stabilizing sideboard roles. Priority targets are creatures that represent repeated damage, not one-shot burn spells that cannot be targeted by the available legal actions.

Risk Summary

• Mana risk: The deck needs green early for Wild Mongrel, Basking Rootwalla, Call of the Herd, Survival of the Fittest, and Arrogant Wurm lines, while white must support Savannah Lions, Patrol Hound, Swords to Plowshares, Disenchant, Monk Realist, and Glory activation lines. Avoid Wasteland or Treetop Village sequencing that blocks required colored mana unless the visible payoff is immediate.

• Matchup risk: Fast evasion, sweepers, graveyard hate, and permanent engines attack different parts of the deck at once. Do not follow a pregame archetype plan after revealed cards show the opponent is actually winning through another axis.

• Draw risk: Creature-light hands can make Survival of the Fittest weak, and Survival-light hands can become ordinary creature curves with limited card selection. Mulligan and early sequencing should preserve at least one credible pressure plan or one credible engine plan.

• Over-sideboarding risk: Do not dilute the creature count so Survival of the Fittest, Wild Mongrel, Patrol Hound, Basking Rootwalla, Arrogant Wurm, Genesis, and Caller of the Claw stop functioning together. Sideboard cards must answer visible problems or improve a specific race, not merely match the opponent's colors.

• Graveyard risk: Glory, Genesis, Squee, Goblin Nabob, Call of the Herd, and madness sequencing all improve when the graveyard is usable. If opposing graveyard exile is visible, keep enough normal battlefield pressure that a single activation does not collapse the plan.

• Sweeper and removal risk: Armadillo Cloak and all-in single-creature lines are vulnerable to instant removal, bounce, and sweepers. Prefer Call of the Herd, Treetop Village, and staggered creature deployment when the opponent is representing mass removal.

• Closer risk: Small attackers can stall against larger boards. Identify when the closer must be Arrogant Wurm, Treetop Village, Armadillo Cloak, Glory-enabled combat, or repeated Call of the Herd pressure instead of continuing low-impact attacks.

• Interaction risk: Swords to Plowshares, Disenchant, Monk Realist, Uktabi Orangutan, Ray of Revelation, and Tormod's Crypt are limited answer slots. Spend them on visible cards that change the game state materially, not on minor permanents or creatures that current combat can already contain.

• Sequencing risk: Discard outlets, madness actions, Survival of the Fittest searches, and graveyard recursion create many legal follow-up prompts. Choose the commitment only after checking visible mana, open opposing interaction, current clock, and whether waiting preserves a stronger line.

Test Feedback Checklist

• Deciding factor: Record whether the game was decided by early creature velocity, Survival of the Fittest engine access, Arrogant Wurm pressure, Call of the Herd attrition, Treetop Village reach, Swords to Plowshares timing, sideboard cards, mana friction, or opponent inevitability. Tie the answer to visible game states rather than guessed hidden cards.

• Mulligans: Ask whether the opening hand had a real plan: Savannah Lions or Basking Rootwalla pressure, Wild Mongrel or Patrol Hound discard outlet, Survival of the Fittest engine, enough green and white mana, or interaction with Swords to Plowshares. Flag hands that kept lands and spells but lacked either pressure or engine access.

• Mana: Check whether Brushland pain, Windswept Heath timing, Wasteland activation, Treetop Village tapped-entry timing, or missing colored mana changed the race. Note whether green was available early for Wild Mongrel, Basking Rootwalla, Survival of the Fittest, Call of the Herd, and Arrogant Wurm, and whether white was available for Savannah Lions, Patrol Hound, Swords to Plowshares, Disenchant, and sideboard answers.

• Velocity: Ask whether the deck deployed enough battlefield pressure before the opponent stabilized. If Survival of the Fittest was activated repeatedly, record whether those activations improved the board or consumed turns that should have attacked, cast Call of the Herd, or held Swords to Plowshares.

• Engine use: Review every Survival of the Fittest activation for purpose: madness pressure, Squee, Goblin Nabob loop, Glory setup, silver-bullet creature search, or attrition. Mark any activation that discarded a high-impact creature without a clear visible payoff.

• Removal use: Review every Swords to Plowshares, Disenchant, Monk Realist, Uktabi Orangutan, Ray of Revelation, and Tormod's Crypt decision. Ask whether the target was the visible card most likely to change the game, or whether combat, racing, or waiting would have handled it.

• Sideboard impact: Record which sideboard cards were drawn, cast, activated, or stranded: Armadillo Cloak, Caller of the Claw, Compost, Disenchant, Genesis, Glowrider, Ray of Revelation, Tormod's Crypt, and Warmth. Separate cards that lacked targets from cards that were included for the wrong matchup role.

• Closing: Ask how the deck tried to win after the first board stall. Identify whether Arrogant Wurm, Treetop Village, Armadillo Cloak, Glory, Call of the Herd, or repeated small-creature attacks was the correct visible closer.

• Role accuracy: Record whether the pilot correctly became beatdown, stabilizing midrange, attrition engine, or answer deck. Mark games where the pilot kept attacking into bad trades, held back while ahead, or spent engine turns while under a short clock.

• Mistakes and stranded cards: List legal actions that looked suspicious in context, including unnecessary Brushland pain, premature Wasteland, low-impact Survival of the Fittest activation, missed Treetop Village attack, delayed Swords to Plowshares, or sideboard card held without a visible target.

• Overperformers and underperformers: Track which cards won games, bought turns, or sat weakly in hand. Pay special attention to Arrogant Wurm, Basking Rootwalla, Patrol Hound, Savannah Lions, Wild Mongrel, Call of the Herd, Survival of the Fittest, Swords to Plowshares, Glory, Squee, Goblin Nabob, and the one-of creature answers.

First Tuning Questions

• Creature quantities: If early pressure was inconsistent, should Savannah Lions, Basking Rootwalla, Patrol Hound, Wild Mongrel, or Call of the Herd counts change, or was the issue mulligan discipline and sequencing?

• Madness density: If Arrogant Wurm was stranded or underused, did the deck lack discard outlets, green mana, or safe windows, or did the pilot fail to preserve Wild Mongrel and Patrol Hound as enablers?

• Survival package: If Survival of the Fittest dominated wins but failed in losses, should the one-of package around Glory, Squee, Goblin Nabob, Monk Realist, and Uktabi Orangutan change, or should the guide tighten when to activate versus attack?

• Mana base: If color problems or pain damage decided games, should Brushland, Forest, Plains, Treetop Village, Wasteland, or Windswept Heath counts be revisited, especially when sideboard cards increase white requirements?

• Aggro plan: If fast decks won races, does the sideboard need more Warmth or Armadillo Cloak-style stabilization, or did the pilot spend too many turns on Survival of the Fittest instead of blocking and racing?

• Control plan: If sweepers or removal-heavy decks beat the deck, should Caller of the Claw, Genesis, Compost, Treetop Village, and Call of the Herd receive more emphasis, or did the pilot overcommit creatures into visible danger?

• Closer quality: If games stalled with small creatures, should the deck rely more on Arrogant Wurm, Glory, Armadillo Cloak, Treetop Village, or Call of the Herd, or is another finisher slot needed?

• Interaction mix: If artifacts, enchantments, graveyards, or large creatures repeatedly decided games, ask whether Disenchant, Monk Realist, Uktabi Orangutan, Ray of Revelation, Tormod's Crypt, and Swords to Plowshares are present in the right quantities.

• Sideboard slots: If Compost, Glowrider, Tormod's Crypt, Warmth, Ray of Revelation, or Armadillo Cloak lacked matchups where they mattered, identify whether the local field needs different role cards rather than broader reactive overlap.

• Role conflict: If the deck drew too many answers and not enough pressure, or too much pressure and no answers, tune the guide first around role assignment before changing card counts. The deck can be tempo, midrange, or graveyard engine, but it should not spend a game half-committed to all three.

Veles Tactical Policy

Policy: Opening Hand Keep Gate

Priority: High Decision families: mulligan Cards: Savannah Lions; Basking Rootwalla; Wild Mongrel; Patrol Hound; Survival of the Fittest; Swords to Plowshares; Call of the Herd Phase windows: pregame Runtime cues: opening hand; mulligan choice Use when: deciding keep or mulligan with visible opening hand and matchup context. Avoid when: engine reports no mulligan decision. Instructions: Keep hands with two or more lands, at least one green source, and either early pressure, Wild Mongrel or Patrol Hound, Survival of the Fittest, or Swords to Plowshares against fast creature pressure. Mulligan hands with no functional first-three-turn plan, one land without Windswept Heath support, or spells split across missing colors. Pilot skill floor: light-model No-API allowed: no Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: First Threat Setup

Priority: Medium Decision families: priority; mana Cards: Savannah Lions; Basking Rootwalla; Wild Mongrel; Patrol Hound; Call of the Herd; Treetop Village Phase windows: turns 1-3 main phases Runtime cues: legal cast creature; legal play land Use when: choosing the first permanent or pressure spell. Avoid when: removal or graveyard hate must answer an immediate visible threat. Instructions: Lead with untapped colored mana that enables the next two turns. Prefer Savannah Lions or Basking Rootwalla for immediate pressure, Wild Mongrel when madness or combat control matters, and Survival of the Fittest when the hand can use it without falling behind on board. Pilot skill floor: light-model No-API allowed: no Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Survival Commitment Gate

Priority: High Decision families: priority; selection Cards: Survival of the Fittest; Squee, Goblin Nabob; Arrogant Wurm; Glory; Monk Realist; Uktabi Orangutan; Genesis Phase windows: main phases; end steps with legal activation Runtime cues: action:activate Survival of the Fittest Use when: Survival of the Fittest activation is legal and the pilot must choose whether to start or continue the engine. Avoid when: attacking, casting a threat, or holding mana for Swords to Plowshares is visibly more urgent. Instructions: Activate Survival of the Fittest when it converts a creature card into immediate pressure, Squee, Goblin Nabob recursion, Glory setup, or a visible silver-bullet answer. Do not spend tempo activating if the board needs bodies now or the discard would remove the only meaningful threat. Pilot skill floor: light-model No-API allowed: no Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Survival Squee Execution

Priority: Low Decision families: selection Cards: Survival of the Fittest; Squee, Goblin Nabob Phase windows: main phases; end steps Runtime cues: action:discard Squee, Goblin Nabob Use when: a legal Survival of the Fittest activation explicitly offers discarding Squee, Goblin Nabob and the search line has already been selected. Avoid when: the current decision is whether to activate Survival of the Fittest at all. Instructions: Choose the legal discard action naming Squee, Goblin Nabob after the engine line is already committed, preserving other creature cards for board development or madness turns. Pilot skill floor: no-api No-API allowed: yes Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Madness Pressure Gate

Priority: High Decision families: priority; mana; combat Cards: Arrogant Wurm; Basking Rootwalla; Wild Mongrel; Patrol Hound Phase windows: combat; opponent end step; main phases with discard outlet Runtime cues: action:discard; action:madness; action:cast Arrogant Wurm; action:cast Basking Rootwalla Use when: a discard outlet and madness creature are both legal or pending. Avoid when: spending the discard outlet exposes the only blocker to lethal damage or loses Swords to Plowshares mana. Instructions: Use Wild Mongrel or Patrol Hound to convert cards into Arrogant Wurm or Basking Rootwalla when it adds pressure, wins combat, or uses mana efficiently. Preserve discard outlets when the opponent can punish an empty hand or when waiting creates a safer end-step threat. Pilot skill floor: light-model No-API allowed: no Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Mandatory Madness Cast Execution

Priority: Medium Decision families: priority Cards: Arrogant Wurm; Basking Rootwalla Phase windows: any prompt after discard Runtime cues: action:cast Arrogant Wurm; action:cast Basking Rootwalla Use when: a legal action explicitly casts Arrogant Wurm or Basking Rootwalla from a current madness prompt after the discard line was already chosen. Avoid when: the legal action requires mana that must remain available for a visible survival action before passing priority. Instructions: Cast the madness card when the prior committed line was to deploy it. Let light-model decide if the payment competes with survival-critical interaction. Pilot skill floor: no-api No-API allowed: yes Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Mana And Pain Discipline

Priority: Medium Decision families: mana Cards: Brushland; Forest; Plains; Treetop Village; Wasteland; Windswept Heath Phase windows: land play; mana payment prompts Runtime cues: action:play land; action:tap; action:pay mana Use when: selecting land drops or mana sources. Avoid when: engine exposes only one legal payment. Instructions: Prioritize green early for Wild Mongrel, Survival of the Fittest, Call of the Herd, Arrogant Wurm, and Basking Rootwalla. Preserve white for Savannah Lions, Patrol Hound, Swords to Plowshares, and Disenchant. Minimize Brushland pain in races, and play Treetop Village early when tempo loss is smallest. Pilot skill floor: light-model No-API allowed: no Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Wasteland Timing Gate

Priority: Medium Decision families: mana; priority Cards: Wasteland Phase windows: main phases; opponent upkeep; priority windows Runtime cues: action:activate Wasteland Use when: Wasteland activation is legal against a visible nonbasic land. Avoid when: losing Wasteland mana prevents casting current threats or interaction. Instructions: Use Wasteland to cut a critical color, remove a utility land, or punish a mana-light opponent. Delay it when the deck needs the land to curve out or when the target does not change the next turn cycle. Pilot skill floor: light-model No-API allowed: no Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Swords Removal Gate

Priority: High Decision families: interaction; priority; combat Cards: Swords to Plowshares Phase windows: combat; end step; upkeep; stack response Runtime cues: action:cast Swords to Plowshares; action:target Use when: Swords to Plowshares can answer a visible creature. Avoid when: combat trades handle the threat without losing tempo or life-total math makes the life gain unacceptable. Instructions: Spend Swords to Plowshares on creatures that threaten lethal, dominate combat, invalidate attacks, or enable an opposing engine. Hold it against small creatures when racing with Arrogant Wurm, Call of the Herd, Treetop Village, or Glory is better. Pilot skill floor: light-model No-API allowed: no Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Artifact And Enchantment Answer Gate

Priority: Medium Decision families: interaction; selection Cards: Disenchant; Monk Realist; Uktabi Orangutan; Ray of Revelation Phase windows: main phases; instant-speed response windows where legal Runtime cues: action:cast Disenchant; action:cast Monk Realist; action:cast Uktabi Orangutan; action:cast Ray of Revelation; action:target Use when: a visible artifact or enchantment is a legal target. Avoid when: the target is low impact and the answer body or card should be saved for a lock piece, hate card, or lethal blocker. Instructions: Remove cards that stop combat, graveyard recursion, Survival of the Fittest, or mana development. Prefer creature answers when adding a body matters and instant Disenchant effects when timing can disrupt the opponent. Pilot skill floor: light-model No-API allowed: no Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Combat Attack Gate

Priority: Medium Decision families: combat Cards: Savannah Lions; Basking Rootwalla; Wild Mongrel; Patrol Hound; Arrogant Wurm; Call of the Herd; Treetop Village; Glory; Armadillo Cloak Phase windows: declare attackers Runtime cues: action:attack Use when: declaring attackers with visible blockers and life totals. Avoid when: exactly one legal attack action exists and engine has already selected combat continuation. Instructions: Attack when pressure advances a two-turn or three-turn clock without sacrificing essential discard outlets. Hold back bodies when racing requires blockers, when Wild Mongrel protects madness lines, or when Glory in graveyard changes combat math. Pilot skill floor: light-model No-API allowed: no Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Combat Block And Pump Gate

Priority: High Decision families: combat; priority Cards: Basking Rootwalla; Wild Mongrel; Patrol Hound; Glory; Armadillo Cloak Phase windows: declare blockers; combat damage priority windows Runtime cues: action:block; action:activate; action:discard Use when: blocking, pump, protection, or discard-pump choices affect survival or trades. Avoid when: no attacker threatens meaningful damage and preserving resources is correct. Instructions: Block to preserve life against short clocks, protect Survival of the Fittest turns, and trade small creatures for larger tempo threats. Use Wild Mongrel or Patrol Hound pumps only when they save a key creature, force a decisive trade, or enable madness pressure. Pilot skill floor: light-model No-API allowed: no Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Treetop Village Closing Gate

Priority: Medium Decision families: mana; combat Cards: Treetop Village Phase windows: main phase before combat; declare attackers Runtime cues: action:activate Treetop Village; action:attack with Treetop Village Use when: Treetop Village activation and attack are legal. Avoid when: activation consumes mana needed for Swords to Plowshares, Survival of the Fittest, Disenchant, or a stronger spell. Instructions: Use Treetop Village as reach after sweepers, in board stalls, and when it shortens the clock without exposing essential colored mana. Do not animate into visible removal or bad blocks unless the race requires it. Pilot skill floor: light-model No-API allowed: no Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Graveyard Engine And Hate Gate

Priority: Medium Decision families: interaction; priority; selection Cards: Glory; Genesis; Tormod's Crypt; Compost Phase windows: main phases; upkeep; priority windows Runtime cues: action:activate Tormod's Crypt; action:target opponent; action:trigger Use when: graveyards, recursion, or graveyard hate are visible decision points. Avoid when: graveyard action does not change the board, clock, or opposing engine. Instructions: Preserve own graveyard resources when Glory or Genesis matter. Use Tormod's Crypt against visible opposing graveyard dependency or imminent recursion, not merely because cards are present. Treat Compost triggers according to visible legal actions and card text. Pilot skill floor: light-model No-API allowed: no Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Tormod's Crypt Target Execution

Priority: Low Decision families: interaction Cards: Tormod's Crypt Phase windows: target selection after activation Runtime cues: action:target opponent Tormod's Crypt Use when: a legal target action explicitly names opponent for Tormod's Crypt after the decision to activate it has already been made. Avoid when: the current prompt is deciding whether to activate Tormod's Crypt. Instructions: Choose the opponent-target action after the hate activation is committed. Do not retarget self unless a separate rules-engine-visible reason exists. Pilot skill floor: no-api No-API allowed: yes Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Sideboard Role Selection

Priority: High Decision families: sideboard Cards: Armadillo Cloak; Caller of the Claw; Compost; Disenchant; Genesis; Glowrider; Ray of Revelation; Tormod's Crypt; Warmth; Savannah Lions; Basking Rootwalla; Patrol Hound; Call of the Herd; Swords to Plowshares; Disenchant; Monk Realist; Uktabi Orangutan Phase windows: between games Runtime cues: sideboard options; matchup label; previous-game public log Use when: choosing a legal sideboard plan. Avoid when: no sideboard decision is pending. Instructions: Add Armadillo Cloak and Warmth against fast damage races, Caller of the Claw and Genesis against removal or sweepers, Compost against black attrition, Glowrider against spell-heavy combo or control, Ray of Revelation and Disenchant against enchantments or artifacts, and Tormod's Crypt against graveyard engines. Keep enough creatures, green sources, and pressure for Survival of the Fittest and madness lines. Pilot skill floor: light-model No-API allowed: no Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Armadillo Cloak Target Gate

Priority: Medium Decision families: selection; combat Cards: Armadillo Cloak; Arrogant Wurm; Wild Mongrel; Patrol Hound; Treetop Village; Call of the Herd Phase windows: main phases before combat Runtime cues: action:cast Armadillo Cloak; action:target Use when: choosing whether and where to cast Armadillo Cloak. Avoid when: visible instant-speed removal or bounce makes committing the Aura too risky without needing life gain. Instructions: Cast Armadillo Cloak when the life swing changes the race or makes a resilient attacker dominate combat. Favor creatures that can attack safely, already pressure life totals, or are difficult for the opponent to profitably block. Pilot skill floor: light-model No-API allowed: no Light-model allowed: yes