# Strategy Specifications
## Deck Name And Archetype

Aang, Swift Savior is a Duel Commander strategy registered as a 100-card singleton main deck plus a 10-card Veles policy sideboard. The active validation contract passes for this command-zone format: the main deck contains exactly 100 cards, all non-basic main-deck entries are singleton, Snow-Covered Island appears as 6 copies, Snow-Covered Plains appears as 6 copies, and the sideboard contains exactly 10 cards. Do not apply 60-card constructed deck-size checks to this list.

Aang, Swift Savior is the commander, named strategy anchor, and default identity card for runtime role selection. Card text check required before treating Aang, Swift Savior as a deterministic combo engine, protection piece, blink payoff, combat payoff, cost reducer, or guaranteed commander-access plan. Until Veles legal actions and Forge-visible card text prove a narrower function, pilot the deck as a white-blue tempo-combo hybrid that wins by pairing protected pressure, disruptive permanents, cheap stack interaction, and selective tap-out engines.

The supplied archetype and mechanic tags are combo and combo, but the registered cards read as a rogue or hybrid shell rather than a stock linear combo deck. The list contains tempo counters and permission in Daze, Force Spike, Mana Tithe, Mana Leak, Memory Lapse, Mental Misstep, Spell Snare, Stern Scolding, Lose Focus, No More Lies, Remand, Reprieve, Tale's End, Wash Away, Change the Equation, Subtlety, Aven Interrupter, and Tishana's Tidebinder. It also contains disruptive permanents in Drannith Magistrate, Meddling Mage, Aven Mindcensor, Harbinger of the Seas, Voice of Victory, Cathar Commando, and Teferi, Time Raveler, so runtime role assignment should ask whether the visible game rewards tempo, control, prison pressure, or a protected commander/engine commitment.

The removal and stabilization suite is broad but context-sensitive, so the pilot should not spend it as generic attrition unless the visible threat matters. Swords to Plowshares, Path to Exile, March of Otherworldly Light, On Thin Ice, Portable Hole, Skyclave Apparition, Solitude, Swift Reconfiguration, Parallax Wave, The Wandering Emperor, Razorgrass Ambush, Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire, Otawara, Soaring City, Sink into Stupor, Snap, Erode, and Witch Enchanter give the deck many legal-answer families, but each answer has a different timing, target, cost, or tempo profile that Veles must respect from the current action list.

The mana base is white-blue with heavy early-color demands and several lands that can influence sequencing. Adarkar Wastes, Command Tower, Deserted Beach, Floodfarm Verge, Glacial Fortress, Hallowed Fountain, Hengegate Pathway, Meticulous Archive, Mystic Gate, Prairie Stream, Reflecting Pool, Restless Anchorage, Seachrome Coast, Tundra, Snow-Covered Island, and Snow-Covered Plains provide the core colors, while Arid Mesa, Flooded Strand, Marsh Flats, Polluted Delta, and Scalding Tarn affect Brainstorm quality and untapped access. Mana decisions should preserve blue for one-mana permission and white for Swords to Plowshares, Path to Exile, Mana Tithe, On Thin Ice, and commander or protection sequences when legal.

The role package includes several cards whose exact tactical labels require verification before the pilot assigns deterministic lines. Card text check required for Spectacular Spider-Man, Agna Qel'a, Appa, Steadfast Guardian, Enduring Curiosity, Guide of Souls, Malcolm, Alluring Scoundrel, Ocelot Pride, Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd, Quantum Riddler, Skycoach Conductor, Sygg, Wanderwine Wisdom, Wan Shi Tong, Librarian, and any other unfamiliar runtime text before marking them as combo pieces, draw engines, protection engines, or no-API execution targets. Use legal action text, visible board state, and revealed/public information as authoritative.

The sideboard is a Veles policy sideboard of exactly 10 cards: Rest in Peace, Dovin's Veto, Grafdigger's Cage, Pithing Needle, Stony Silence, Disenchant, Hydroblast, Blue Elemental Blast, Containment Priest, and Supreme Verdict. These cards should be treated as matchup-role tools rather than automatic upgrades; they require visible or matchup-supported targets and must not be referenced as exact sideboard actions outside the Sideboard Map section.

Opponent information is unknown at guide assembly time, so the guide must not assume an opposing commander, colors, hidden hand, library contents, sideboard cards, or exact combo turn unless Veles exposes that information. Runtime decisions must obey legal actions first, visible board state second, public and revealed information third, and deck strategy only after those constraints are satisfied.

## Thesis

Aang, Swift Savior assembles a protected white-blue tempo-combo board where cheap interaction buys the turns needed for a commander, disruptive creature, or tap-out engine to become decisive. The deck should win by forcing the opponent to play through narrow windows while Aang, Swift Savior, True-Name Nemesis, Shorikai, Genesis Engine, The Wandering Emperor, Palace Jailer, Restless Anchorage, Vendilion Clique, Enduring Curiosity, Faerie Mastermind, or another verified engine converts that window into damage, cards, or inevitability.

The deck is not trying to be a pure draw-go control deck that answers every permanent forever. The registered interaction is excellent at trading on timing and mana, but many pieces are conditional: Daze, Force Spike, Mana Tithe, Spell Snare, Stern Scolding, Mental Misstep, Change the Equation, Wash Away, Tale's End, Lose Focus, Mana Leak, Memory Lapse, Remand, Reprieve, No More Lies, and Subtlety all punish specific costs, turns, or spell classes rather than guaranteeing late-game coverage.

The deck is not trying to be a blind all-in combo deck unless Veles exposes a deterministic legal line involving Aang, Swift Savior or another exact card. Card text check required for Aang, Swift Savior, Spectacular Spider-Man, Agna Qel'a, Appa, Steadfast Guardian, Guide of Souls, Ocelot Pride, Malcolm, Alluring Scoundrel, Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd, Quantum Riddler, Skycoach Conductor, Sygg, Wanderwine Wisdom, and Wan Shi Tong, Librarian before assigning them fixed combo, engine, or payoff roles.

Prioritize mana preservation before clever sequencing. Keep blue available for cheap permission when the opponent can resolve a decisive spell, keep white available for Swords to Plowshares, Path to Exile, On Thin Ice, Portable Hole, March of Otherworldly Light, Solitude, or Mana Tithe when the visible board demands it, and avoid tapping out for a medium body when the opponent's public resources suggest a stack-critical turn.

Prioritize protected pressure once the opponent is constrained. Deploy Mother of Runes, Voice of Victory, Teferi, Time Raveler, Drannith Magistrate, Meddling Mage, Aven Mindcensor, Aven Interrupter, Harbinger of the Seas, Tishana's Tidebinder, or Cathar Commando when their visible text or known matchup role blocks the opponent's next meaningful action; do not deploy them as interchangeable creatures if holding interaction is the higher-leverage legal line.

## Role Package

- Threats: Aang, Swift Savior is the command-zone threat and default plan anchor, but exact use depends on card text and legal action prompts. True-Name Nemesis, Vendilion Clique, Palace Jailer, The Wandering Emperor, Shorikai, Genesis Engine, Restless Anchorage, Faerie Mastermind, Enduring Curiosity, Malcolm, Alluring Scoundrel, Ocelot Pride, Spectacular Spider-Man, Appa, Steadfast Guardian, Skycoach Conductor, Sygg, Wanderwine Wisdom, Quantum Riddler, and Wan Shi Tong, Librarian can function as pressure or advantage pieces only to the extent their verified text and visible board state support that role.

- Payoffs: The main payoff is turning one defended tempo lead into a board state where the opponent cannot efficiently resolve, attack, or recover. Aang, Swift Savior, Shorikai, Genesis Engine, Palace Jailer, The Wandering Emperor, True-Name Nemesis, Restless Anchorage, Enduring Curiosity, Faerie Mastermind, and Vendilion Clique are the most likely closers or snowball cards from the registered names, while unfamiliar cards require card text verification before being promoted to deterministic payoff status.

- Engines: Ephemerate, Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd, Shorikai, Genesis Engine, Palace Jailer, Enduring Curiosity, Faerie Mastermind, Guide of Souls, Ocelot Pride, Malcolm, Alluring Scoundrel, Wan Shi Tong, Librarian, and Aang, Swift Savior are the likely repeat-value module. Use these as engines only when their legal actions produce repeatable cards, protection, blink, tokens, damage, or commander-specific value in the visible rules output.

- Velocity: Brainstorm and Gitaxian Probe are the cleanest cheap velocity cards, with Novice Inspector, Thraben Inspector, Faerie Mastermind, Enduring Curiosity, Shorikai, Genesis Engine, Palace Jailer, Vendilion Clique, and Wan Shi Tong, Librarian as possible information or card-flow support. Sequence Brainstorm with Arid Mesa, Flooded Strand, Marsh Flats, Polluted Delta, or Scalding Tarn when possible, but do not delay needed interaction just to improve a later shuffle.

- Interaction: The stack package is Daze, Force Spike, Mana Tithe, Mana Leak, Memory Lapse, Mental Misstep, Spell Snare, Stern Scolding, Lose Focus, No More Lies, Remand, Reprieve, Tale's End, Wash Away, Change the Equation, Subtlety, Aven Interrupter, and Tishana's Tidebinder. The board package is Swords to Plowshares, Path to Exile, March of Otherworldly Light, On Thin Ice, Portable Hole, Skyclave Apparition, Solitude, Swift Reconfiguration, Parallax Wave, Snap, Erode, Razorgrass Ambush, Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire, Otawara, Soaring City, Sink into Stupor, The Wandering Emperor, Witch Enchanter, Cathar Commando, and Harbinger of the Seas.

- Protection: Mother of Runes, Ephemerate, Teferi, Time Raveler, Voice of Victory, Eiganjo Castle, Reprieve, Remand, Memory Lapse, Daze, Mana Tithe, Force Spike, and cheap removal protect the lead by denying the opponent's clean exchange. Use protection to preserve Aang, Swift Savior or a closing threat when losing it would reset the plan, not merely to save any creature.

- Recursion and reuse: Ephemerate and Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd are the closest reuse tools, but they are blink or temporary-object engines rather than graveyard recursion unless Forge-visible text says otherwise. Do not assume the deck can recover spent counters or dead creatures from the graveyard.

- Mana: The mana module is built to cast early white and blue spells through Adarkar Wastes, Command Tower, Deserted Beach, Floodfarm Verge, Glacial Fortress, Hallowed Fountain, Hengegate Pathway, Meticulous Archive, Mystic Gate, Prairie Stream, Reflecting Pool, Seachrome Coast, Tundra, Snow-Covered Island, Snow-Covered Plains, and fetchlands. Restless Anchorage, Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire, Otawara, Soaring City, Sink into Stupor, Razorgrass Ambush, and Talon Gates of Madara add spell-like or utility pressure but should not compromise early color access.

- Sideboard modules: Rest in Peace and Grafdigger's Cage attack graveyard or library-cast dependency; Pithing Needle and Stony Silence attack activated permanent engines; Disenchant answers artifacts and enchantments; Hydroblast and Blue Elemental Blast answer red pressure or red stack threats; Dovin's Veto reinforces noncreature stack fights; Containment Priest punishes noncast creature entry; Supreme Verdict resets creature boards when tempo defense is no longer enough.

## Primary Win Conditions

- Commander tempo lock: use Aang, Swift Savior as the central win path only after Veles exposes legal actions that confirm how Aang affects combat, protection, blink, spell timing, or damage. Set up with two-color mana, one cheap interactive spell held open, and at least one support piece such as Mother of Runes, Voice of Victory, Teferi, Time Raveler, Ephemerate, Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd, or Eiganjo Castle. Execute by committing Aang when the opponent is constrained by tapped mana, a known hand from Gitaxian Probe or Vendilion Clique, or a board where cheap removal and permission can cover the first exchange. Expect disruption through creature removal, sweepers, commander-tax pressure, and stack fights; prioritize this line when commander access converts current tempo into repeated advantage or a fast protected clock. Card text check required before treating Aang, Swift Savior as a deterministic combo piece.

- Protected threat pressure: win with True-Name Nemesis, Vendilion Clique, Faerie Mastermind, Enduring Curiosity, Malcolm, Alluring Scoundrel, Ocelot Pride, Spectacular Spider-Man, Appa, Steadfast Guardian, Skycoach Conductor, Sygg, Wanderwine Wisdom, Quantum Riddler, or Wan Shi Tong, Librarian when the visible board rewards pressure more than holding up every answer. Set up by trading early with Swords to Plowshares, Path to Exile, Portable Hole, On Thin Ice, March of Otherworldly Light, Stern Scolding, Spell Snare, Force Spike, Mana Tithe, or Daze. Execute by attacking while preserving the specific answer that stops the opponent's best public route back into the game. Prioritize this line against slower hands, planeswalkers, or combo decks that must spend mana developing before they can win. Card text check required for unfamiliar pressure cards before assigning exact combat or engine value.

- Advantage engine closure: win by making every exchange asymmetrical through Shorikai, Genesis Engine, Palace Jailer, The Wandering Emperor, Teferi, Time Raveler, Enduring Curiosity, Faerie Mastermind, Brainstorm, Gitaxian Probe, Novice Inspector, Thraben Inspector, Ephemerate, and Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd. Set up with stable mana and a board that can survive one turn cycle. Execute by drawing or generating material while using permission and exile removal only on threats that break the engine. Expect disruption from artifact hate, creature combat, direct planeswalker pressure, and opposing card-advantage engines; prioritize this line when racing is unsafe but the opponent cannot immediately punish a tap-out permanent.

- Disruptive permanent squeeze: win by combining Drannith Magistrate, Meddling Mage, Aven Mindcensor, Aven Interrupter, Harbinger of the Seas, Tishana's Tidebinder, Cathar Commando, Witch Enchanter, Voice of Victory, and Teferi, Time Raveler with a modest clock. Set up by identifying the opponent's visible dependency: commander casting, searching, activated abilities, noncreature stack turns, artifacts, enchantments, or greedy mana. Execute by deploying the relevant hate piece before the opponent's key turn, then protect it only if it is still blocking a live route. Prioritize this line when a single permanent changes the opponent's available legal actions.

## Secondary Win Conditions

- Creature-land finish: use Restless Anchorage as a closing line after interaction has reduced the opponent to low resources. Protect colored mana first, and activate only when the legal action does not expose the deck to lethal counterattack or force a critical counterspell shields-down.

- Planeswalker and token pressure: use The Wandering Emperor, Shorikai, Genesis Engine, Palace Jailer, and possibly Guide of Souls or Ocelot Pride to stabilize first and win second. Card text check required for Guide of Souls and Ocelot Pride before assuming token, energy, lifegain, or combat snowball details.

- Bounce and tempo recycle: use Remand, Reprieve, Memory Lapse, Subtlety, Snap, Otawara, Soaring City, Sink into Stupor, and Aven Interrupter to steal turns rather than permanently answer every spell. This line wins when the opponent spends repeated turns recasting while True-Name Nemesis, Aang, Swift Savior, Vendilion Clique, or small creatures keep attacking.

- Removal exhaustion: use Parallax Wave, Skyclave Apparition, Solitude, Swift Reconfiguration, March of Otherworldly Light, Swords to Plowshares, Path to Exile, On Thin Ice, Portable Hole, Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire, and Razorgrass Ambush to clear enough combat steps for a small clock. This is a fallback, not a pure control inevitability plan, because spent one-for-one answers may not be recoverable.

## Emergency Lines

- Behind on life: prioritize survival over engine elegance. Spend Swords to Plowshares, Path to Exile, Solitude, March of Otherworldly Light, Parallax Wave, Swift Reconfiguration, The Wandering Emperor, Snap, or Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire on the threat that changes the next combat math, and avoid attacks that remove a needed blocker.

- Behind on board: stop developing low-impact creatures unless they block, remove, tax, or draw immediately. Supreme Verdict is only sideboarded, so game-one recovery depends on exact removal, tempo bounce, Palace Jailer stabilizing, The Wandering Emperor, Parallax Wave, and legal blocks.

- Behind on cards: seek action through Brainstorm, Shorikai, Genesis Engine, Palace Jailer, Faerie Mastermind, Enduring Curiosity, Novice Inspector, Thraben Inspector, Vendilion Clique, and Wan Shi Tong, Librarian if legal text supports it. Do not fire Brainstorm without a plan when the hand already lacks mana or interaction.

- Behind on mana: preserve untapped blue or white for one-mana interaction and use Daze, Force Spike, Mana Tithe, Mental Misstep, Stern Scolding, Spell Snare, or Swords to Plowshares to trade up on mana. Delay expensive engines unless the opponent is also constrained.

- Losing engine access or commander access: pivot to True-Name Nemesis, Restless Anchorage, The Wandering Emperor, Palace Jailer, Vendilion Clique, or disruptive-creature pressure. Do not keep recasting Aang, Swift Savior through commander tax when the same mana can answer a lethal board or establish a protected alternate clock.

- Facing graveyard recursion or combo: in game one, lean on Drannith Magistrate, Aven Mindcensor, Meddling Mage, Tishana's Tidebinder, Tale's End, Wash Away, No More Lies, Change the Equation, Daze, and fast pressure. Post-board, prioritize Rest in Peace, Grafdigger's Cage, Containment Priest, Pithing Needle, Stony Silence, Dovin's Veto, Disenchant, Hydroblast, Blue Elemental Blast, or Supreme Verdict only when the visible matchup and legal actions make their targets relevant.

## Resource Model

- Life: spend life only when it preserves a higher-value turn cycle. Untapped Hallowed Fountain, Adarkar Wastes activations, and Gitaxian Probe are acceptable when they enable Swords to Plowshares, Path to Exile, Stern Scolding, Spell Snare, Mental Misstep, Daze, Force Spike, Mana Tithe, or commander deployment with protection; conserve life when the opponent's visible board makes the next combat decisive.

- Hand: treat cards in hand as a mix of pressure, permission, and emergency exile fuel. Brainstorm, Faerie Mastermind, Enduring Curiosity, Shorikai, Genesis Engine, Palace Jailer, Novice Inspector, Thraben Inspector, Vendilion Clique, and Wan Shi Tong, Librarian can restore velocity, but card text check required before assigning exact draw or library roles to Wan Shi Tong, Librarian. Avoid spending the last interactive card on a low-impact spell if the opponent has a public route to a decisive stack or combat turn.

- Mana: convert mana into tempo by trading one and two mana for larger spells. Daze, Force Spike, Mana Tithe, Mental Misstep, Spell Snare, Stern Scolding, Swords to Plowshares, Portable Hole, On Thin Ice, and Path to Exile are strongest when they let a small board keep attacking or let Aang, Swift Savior resolve before the opponent stabilizes.

- Board: value permanents by the legal actions they change, not just by size. Drannith Magistrate, Meddling Mage, Aven Mindcensor, Aven Interrupter, Harbinger of the Seas, Tishana's Tidebinder, Cathar Commando, Witch Enchanter, Voice of Victory, Teferi, Time Raveler, and True-Name Nemesis should be protected when they are actively constraining the opponent's visible plan.

- Graveyard and exile: use the graveyard mostly as a history and recursion-risk signal unless legal actions show a specific graveyard use. Ephemerate, Solitude, Subtlety, March of Otherworldly Light, and any exile-based costs should be paid with awareness that singleton cards rarely come back. Post-board Rest in Peace and Grafdigger's Cage convert graveyard access into denial, but deploy them only when they restrict a visible matchup axis or known commander plan.

- Lands: treat lands as both color production and tactical spells. Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire, Otawara, Soaring City, Sink into Stupor, Razorgrass Ambush, Talon Gates of Madara, Restless Anchorage, and Eiganjo Castle have utility value; play them as mana early only when missing land drops or color access matters more than the later spell-like mode. Card text check required for Talon Gates of Madara before relying on its exact tactical mode.

- Sacrifice fodder: spend small bodies and clue-style material only when the legal action advances survival, pressure, or card flow. Novice Inspector and Thraben Inspector can create disposable material if their text is available, while Shorikai, Genesis Engine, Ocelot Pride, Guide of Souls, and Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd may create or reuse resources; card text check required before assuming token, energy, blink, or sacrifice loops.

- Information: convert Gitaxian Probe, Vendilion Clique, Meddling Mage, Aven Mindcensor, and public action history into sharper timing decisions. Do not name, counter, or hold up interaction for hidden cards unless the rules engine has revealed them or matchup logic makes the category more important than the current board.

- Sideboard bullets: convert narrow sideboard cards into denied legal actions, not abstract value. Rest in Peace, Grafdigger's Cage, Pithing Needle, Stony Silence, Containment Priest, Dovin's Veto, Disenchant, Hydroblast, Blue Elemental Blast, and Supreme Verdict should change the opponent's visible route to winning; avoid lowering pressure for a bullet with no target.

## Mana Guide

- Keep standard: keep hands with both blue and white access, at least two mana sources, and one early legal action. A one-land hand needs a visible reason such as Gitaxian Probe plus Brainstorm or multiple one-mana interactions, and it should still be treated as risky without a fetchland or second land already known.

- Color priority: preserve untapped blue for permission and untapped white for removal. Snow-Covered Island, Tundra, Hallowed Fountain, Command Tower, Seachrome Coast, Adarkar Wastes, Hengegate Pathway, Mystic Gate, Reflecting Pool, and Floodfarm Verge should be sequenced to keep Daze, Force Spike, Spell Snare, Stern Scolding, Mental Misstep, Mana Leak, Lose Focus, No More Lies, Swords to Plowshares, Path to Exile, On Thin Ice, Portable Hole, and Mana Tithe live when relevant.

- Fetch sequencing: use Flooded Strand, Arid Mesa, Marsh Flats, Polluted Delta, and Scalding Tarn to fix the missing color before casting Brainstorm unless the hand needs the fetch as a shuffle after Brainstorm. Fetch basic Snow-Covered Island or Snow-Covered Plains when life or nonbasic disruption matters; fetch Tundra or Hallowed Fountain when two-color interaction is needed immediately.

- Tapped-land sequencing: play Deserted Beach, Glacial Fortress, Prairie Stream, Meticulous Archive, Restless Anchorage, and other potentially slow lands on turns where the deck has no necessary one-mana response or already has an untapped answer covered. Do not strand Swords to Plowshares, Spell Snare, Stern Scolding, Mental Misstep, Force Spike, or Mana Tithe to gain marginal tapped-land efficiency.

- Utility-land discipline: delay Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire, Otawara, Soaring City, Sink into Stupor, Razorgrass Ambush, Restless Anchorage, and Talon Gates of Madara when their spell mode is likely to matter and the hand already has enough lands. Commit them as lands when missing the next land drop would stop Aang, Swift Savior, Teferi, Time Raveler, The Wandering Emperor, Palace Jailer, Shorikai, Genesis Engine, Solitude hard-cast lines, or two-spell turns.

- Play-land timing: play a land before drawing when the current turn requires known mana for a legal action, a landfall-free spell, or protection. Delay the land until after Brainstorm, Gitaxian Probe, Novice Inspector, Thraben Inspector, Shorikai, Genesis Engine, Faerie Mastermind, or Enduring Curiosity when the extra information can choose between fetchland, untapped source, utility land, or color path without losing a required response window.

- Two-spell turns: prioritize land choices that enable one threat plus one answer. The deck often wins by casting Aang, Swift Savior, True-Name Nemesis, Drannith Magistrate, Meddling Mage, Faerie Mastermind, or Teferi, Time Raveler while still representing Swords to Plowshares, Spell Snare, Stern Scolding, Daze, Force Spike, Mana Tithe, Reprieve, Remand, or No More Lies.

## Mulligan Guide

- Strong keep: keep two- or three-land hands with both blue and white access, one early legal action, and either pressure or protection. Example: Flooded Strand, Snow-Covered Island, Brainstorm, Swords to Plowshares, Spell Snare, Faerie Mastermind, and Aang, Swift Savior is strong because the fetchland fixes color or shuffles after Brainstorm while the hand interacts before committing Aang, Swift Savior.

- Strong keep: keep hands that curve cheap permanent disruption into protected pressure. Example: Tundra, Seachrome Coast, Mother of Runes, Drannith Magistrate, Daze, Path to Exile, and True-Name Nemesis can defend the early board, tax the opponent's development, and present a closer without relying on unknown draws.

- Medium keep: keep one-color-heavy hands only when the missing color is not needed immediately and the hand has multiple castable actions. Example: Snow-Covered Island, Snow-Covered Island, Gitaxian Probe, Mental Misstep, Remand, Vendilion Clique, and Shorikai, Genesis Engine is acceptable on the draw but weaker on the play if white removal is needed against a creature start.

- Risky keep: treat one-land hands as risky unless they contain a fetchland, Gitaxian Probe or Brainstorm, and at least two legal one-mana interactions. Example: Arid Mesa, Brainstorm, Force Spike, Mana Tithe, Portable Hole, Aven Mindcensor, and Solitude is still fragile because missing the second land strands the disruptive creatures and may force reactive cards into poor windows.

- Automatic ship: mulligan hands with no land, one slow land and no cantrip, or no early legal action before turn three. Example: Restless Anchorage, Palace Jailer, The Wandering Emperor, Shorikai, Genesis Engine, Parallax Wave, Subtlety, and Appa, Steadfast Guardian should be shipped unless runtime rules reveal an unusual free-action line; card text check required for Appa, Steadfast Guardian before treating it as early stabilization.

- Matchup-dependent keep: keep narrow interaction only when opponent identity, revealed commander, or Game 1 history makes the target class relevant. Mental Misstep, Spell Snare, Stern Scolding, Change the Equation, Tale's End, Wash Away, Aven Mindcensor, Meddling Mage, and Harbinger of the Seas are excellent against the right visible plan but can become dead tempo against larger board decks.

- Play/draw adjustment: on the play, prefer untapped mana plus proactive disruption such as Mother of Runes, Ocelot Pride, Guide of Souls, Drannith Magistrate, Meddling Mage, or Aang, Swift Savior. On the draw, require more respect for immediate answers such as Swords to Plowshares, Path to Exile, Portable Hole, On Thin Ice, Daze, Force Spike, Mana Tithe, or Mental Misstep.

- Trap hand: do not keep a hand just because it contains Brainstorm, a commander, or several counters. Brainstorm without a fetchland or enough lands, Aang, Swift Savior without colors or protection, and Mana Leak plus Remand plus Reprieve without pressure can lose to board damage while the pilot preserves cards for a stack fight that never matters.

## Turn Arc

- Turn 1: prioritize untapped color access and one-mana interaction over cosmetic land efficiency. Preferred starts are fetchland into the missing color, Snow-Covered Island for Brainstorm, Gitaxian Probe, Mental Misstep, Spell Snare, Stern Scolding, or Force Spike, or Snow-Covered Plains / Tundra / Hallowed Fountain for Swords to Plowshares, Path to Exile, Portable Hole, On Thin Ice, Mana Tithe, Mother of Runes, Guide of Souls, Ocelot Pride, Novice Inspector, or Thraben Inspector.

- Turn 1 deviation: hold Brainstorm when a fetchland can be preserved and no immediate decision depends on new cards. Fire Gitaxian Probe early when the information changes Meddling Mage naming, counter timing, or whether to tap out for Aang, Swift Savior; do not assume hidden cards beyond the revealed information.

- Turn 2: establish the first constraint or protected threat when the opponent is not presenting a must-answer permanent. Drannith Magistrate, Meddling Mage, Faerie Mastermind, Aven Mindcensor, Voice of Victory, Cathar Commando, Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd, or Aang, Swift Savior can be correct if mana still supports Daze, Force Spike, Mana Tithe, Mental Misstep, Swords to Plowshares, or Path to Exile where relevant.

- Turn 2 deviation: stay reactive when the opponent's next legal action is more dangerous than your creature. Hold up Mana Leak, Lose Focus, No More Lies, Remand, Reprieve, Memory Lapse, Change the Equation, or Stern Scolding if the visible commander, mana, graveyard, or revealed hand points to a decisive turn-two or turn-three play.

- Turn 3: convert early tempo into a real clock or a stronger lock. Preferred plays include Aang, Swift Savior with protection, True-Name Nemesis, Vendilion Clique on a key draw step or end step, Teferi, Time Raveler into a protected board, Skyclave Apparition on a visible permanent, or Aven Interrupter when its legal action meaningfully disrupts the stack; card text check required for unfamiliar cards before relying on exact timing text.

- Turns 4-5: choose between tap-out advantage and permission posture by board pressure. Use The Wandering Emperor, Palace Jailer, Parallax Wave, Shorikai, Genesis Engine, Solitude, Subtlety, or Teferi, Time Raveler when stabilizing or pulling ahead is worth exposing mana; otherwise keep interaction open and attack with small protected threats.

- Late game: win by protecting the best active permanent rather than casting every card. Restless Anchorage, True-Name Nemesis, Shorikai, Genesis Engine, Palace Jailer, The Wandering Emperor, Aang, Swift Savior, Enduring Curiosity, Faerie Mastermind, and Vendilion Clique can close if the pilot preserves removal for lethal threats and counters for sweepers, commander recasts, or stack-based comeback attempts.

## Card Roles

- Aang, Swift Savior: treat Aang, Swift Savior as the command-zone anchor, but do not assume exact combo text without runtime card text. Commit Aang, Swift Savior when mana can still protect the turn cycle or when waiting lets the opponent convert a stronger board; avoid casting into visible open interaction if the hand can instead trade on tempo with counters or removal.

- Mother of Runes, Guide of Souls, Ocelot Pride, Novice Inspector, and Thraben Inspector: use these as early board material that converts idle mana into pressure, protection, or resources. Mother of Runes is a protection engine for Aang, Swift Savior, True-Name Nemesis, Meddling Mage, or hate creatures; do not attack with it when its activation is the reason your best permanent survives. Guide of Souls and Ocelot Pride need card text check required before assigning exact energy/token roles, but they are still early permanents that reward creature sequencing. Novice Inspector and Thraben Inspector are low-risk bodies that improve mulligans, enable pressure, and give resource insulation against removal.

- Brainstorm and Gitaxian Probe: use Brainstorm as selection plus hand repair, not as a random turn-one reflex when a fetchland can improve it later. Use Gitaxian Probe when revealed information changes a Meddling Mage name, a tap-out decision, a counter window, or whether Aang, Swift Savior can safely enter; never treat the opponent’s unrevealed cards as known after Probe resolves.

- Faerie Mastermind, Enduring Curiosity, Malcolm, Alluring Scoundrel, Sygg, Wanderwine Wisdom, Quantum Riddler, and Wan Shi Tong, Librarian: use these as velocity or evasive-pressure candidates, but separate confirmed card text from role assumptions. Faerie Mastermind can pressure while punishing opposing draw timing; Enduring Curiosity, Malcolm, Alluring Scoundrel, Sygg, Wanderwine Wisdom, Quantum Riddler, and Wan Shi Tong, Librarian require card text check required before exact triggers or combat incentives are trusted. When legal actions show a draw or loot trigger, prefer lines that keep interaction available unless the engine will immediately outpace visible pressure.

- Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd, Ephemerate, Skyclave Apparition, Palace Jailer, Solitude, Subtlety, Parallax Wave, and The Wandering Emperor: treat these as the blink/value and swing-turn package. Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd and Ephemerate become stronger with Skyclave Apparition, Palace Jailer, Solitude, Subtlety, Novice Inspector, Thraben Inspector, Vendilion Clique, or Aven Interrupter, but target choices must follow visible legal actions and current card text. Do not spend Ephemerate just for minor value if it is the only way to protect a decisive creature or reuse removal. Palace Jailer and The Wandering Emperor are tap-out stabilizers; cast them when becoming the monarch or making a token/removal play will not immediately lose to a stack or combat punish.

- True-Name Nemesis, Vendilion Clique, Restless Anchorage, Shorikai, Genesis Engine, and The Wandering Emperor: use these as closers after the opponent has been slowed. True-Name Nemesis is the clean pressure plan when racing or removal resistance matters. Vendilion Clique is best at draw step or end step when the opponent has a visible key-card window; avoid firing it into irrelevant hidden-card guessing. Shorikai, Genesis Engine is a longer-game engine that should be deployed when tapping out is safer than continuing to trade one-for-one. Restless Anchorage is a land-based closer; preserve it against sweepers and use it when creature pressure has stalled.

- Drannith Magistrate, Meddling Mage, Aven Mindcensor, Aven Interrupter, Voice of Victory, Harbinger of the Seas, Cathar Commando, and Witch Enchanter: use these as disruptive permanents that turn permission into a clock. Drannith Magistrate is highest priority against command-zone, graveyard, exile, or alternate-cast plans when legal text confirms relevance. Meddling Mage must name from revealed information, commander identity, or public game history, not speculation. Aven Mindcensor punishes searches and fetch-heavy turns; prefer holding flash-speed deployment when the opponent is about to search. Aven Interrupter, Voice of Victory, and Witch Enchanter require card text check required for exact timing and static effects. Harbinger of the Seas is a mana-disruption play; use it only when your own white-blue requirements remain functional. Cathar Commando is pressure plus artifact/enchantment interaction; do not cash it in early unless the target changes the game.

- Swords to Plowshares, Path to Exile, March of Otherworldly Light, On Thin Ice, Portable Hole, Skyclave Apparition, Swift Reconfiguration, Solitude, Parallax Wave, The Wandering Emperor, Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire, Razorgrass Ambush, Sink into Stupor, Snap, Erode, Otawara, Soaring City, and Tishana's Tidebinder: treat removal as tempo first and card economy second. Spend cheap exile removal on commanders, combo creatures, and threats that invalidate combat, not on every early body. March of Otherworldly Light rewards careful pitch and mana math; avoid exiling important blue/white cards unless survival or a decisive tempo window demands it. On Thin Ice depends on Snow-Covered Plains access; do not keep removal-light hands that cannot turn it on. Tishana's Tidebinder is interaction for triggered or activated abilities when legal actions expose the target; card text check required if the exact ability class is unclear. Razorgrass Ambush, Sink into Stupor, Erode, and Talon Gates of Madara need card text check required before exact modality or combat timing is assumed.

- Daze, Force Spike, Mana Tithe, Mental Misstep, Spell Snare, Stern Scolding, Change the Equation, Lose Focus, Mana Leak, Memory Lapse, No More Lies, Remand, Reprieve, Tale's End, Wash Away, and Subtlety: use permission to preserve tempo, not to answer every spell. One-mana counters are best while developing pressure or defending Aang, Swift Savior; they become weaker once the opponent can pay, so prioritize early commander, removal, and engine windows. Mental Misstep and Spell Snare are narrow; hold them only when a legal target class is likely or visible. Remand and Reprieve are time buys, strongest when the extra turn of pressure matters or when delaying a commander recast creates a lethal race. Memory Lapse is best when the opponent cannot easily redraw and recast through the tempo loss. Tale's End and Wash Away are commander-sensitive; use them on command-zone or triggered/activated windows only when legal actions confirm the target.

- Teferi, Time Raveler: deploy Teferi, Time Raveler when it converts stack control into a protected main-phase plan, bounces a relevant permanent, or forces through Aang, Swift Savior, Palace Jailer, Shorikai, Genesis Engine, or True-Name Nemesis. Do not tap out for Teferi, Time Raveler if the opponent already has lethal board pressure that a bounce does not solve.

- Spectacular Spider-Man, Agna Qel'a, Appa, Steadfast Guardian, Skycoach Conductor, and Talon Gates of Madara: require card text check required before they are treated as engines, protection, combat tricks, mana pieces, or deterministic combo cards. When legal actions expose these cards, use them only according to visible text and prefer low-risk lines until their tactical function is proven by the rules engine.

- Arid Mesa, Flooded Strand, Marsh Flats, Polluted Delta, Scalding Tarn, Hallowed Fountain, Tundra, Meticulous Archive, Snow-Covered Island, Snow-Covered Plains, Command Tower, Adarkar Wastes, Deserted Beach, Floodfarm Verge, Glacial Fortress, Hengegate Pathway, Mystic Gate, Prairie Stream, Reflecting Pool, Seachrome Coast, Eiganjo Castle, Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire, Otawara, Soaring City, Restless Anchorage, and Multiversal Passage: sequence lands to preserve untapped blue and white before optimizing late value. Fetches should fix missing colors and enable Brainstorm cleanup; Snow-Covered Plains matters for On Thin Ice; Eiganjo Castle, Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire, Otawara, Soaring City, Restless Anchorage, Sink into Stupor, Razorgrass Ambush, and Witch Enchanter may have spell-like roles, so check legal land-versus-spell choices before spending them as ordinary mana.

## Interaction Priorities
- Priority: spend interaction first on cards that invalidate the current plan, not on the first legal target. Remove or counter opposing commanders, combo enablers, must-answer engines, haste/lethal pressure, prison pieces that stop casting, and sweepers that erase a protected Aang, Swift Savior, True-Name Nemesis, Shorikai, Genesis Engine, Palace Jailer, or The Wandering Emperor line.

- Removal: use Swords to Plowshares, Path to Exile, Solitude, March of Otherworldly Light, On Thin Ice, Portable Hole, Skyclave Apparition, Swift Reconfiguration, Parallax Wave, The Wandering Emperor, Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire, Razorgrass Ambush, Sink into Stupor, Snap, Erode, and Otawara, Soaring City on threats that change combat math, enable combo, or threaten a planeswalker/monarch swing. Prefer exile-style answers for recursive, commander, or graveyard-linked threats; prefer bounce or tempo answers when one turn unlocks lethal pressure or a counter window.

- Countermagic: use Daze, Force Spike, Mana Tithe, Mental Misstep, Spell Snare, Stern Scolding, Change the Equation, Lose Focus, Mana Leak, Memory Lapse, No More Lies, Remand, Reprieve, Tale's End, Wash Away, and Subtlety to protect tempo and commitment turns. Counter the card that beats the board you already have; do not counter a medium creature if the opponent still represents a sweeper, commander recast, combo payoff, or removal spell that breaks your protected threat.

- Bounce and delay: choose Remand, Reprieve, Memory Lapse, Snap, Sink into Stupor, Otawara, Soaring City, Subtlety, and Aven Interrupter when time matters more than permanent resolution. These are strongest with existing pressure, monarch advantage, Restless Anchorage pressure, or a follow-up Teferi, Time Raveler turn; they are weaker when the opponent can immediately recast through unused mana.

- Hand and name interaction: use Gitaxian Probe and Vendilion Clique to convert hidden risk into exact decisions. Meddling Mage should name from revealed cards, commander identity, or repeated public game actions, not from unsupported guesses. Vendilion Clique should take the card that beats your next two turns, such as a sweeper, combo payoff, removal spell for Aang, Swift Savior, or the spell your current counter cannot answer.

- Baiting: lead with lower-commitment threats when the opponent has open mana and you can still hold interaction. Novice Inspector, Thraben Inspector, Faerie Mastermind, Ocelot Pride, Guide of Souls, Cathar Commando, or True-Name Nemesis can test removal depending on board context; do not bait with Aang, Swift Savior, Shorikai, Genesis Engine, Teferi, Time Raveler, Palace Jailer, or The Wandering Emperor unless losing that card is acceptable.

- Ignore: decline to answer low-impact creatures, redundant mana pieces, or slow value permanents when your clock is faster or your current hand answers the true payoff. Against aggressive decks, small attackers stop being ignorable once life falls near a two-turn clock; against control, a minor body is often less important than saving permission for engines, sweepers, and planeswalkers.

- Archetype shift: against combo, become permission plus hatebears and protect Drannith Magistrate, Meddling Mage, Aven Mindcensor, Aven Interrupter, Voice of Victory, Tale's End, Wash Away, and cheap counters. Against aggro, trade cards for time and prioritize Swords to Plowshares, Path to Exile, Portable Hole, On Thin Ice, Solitude, Parallax Wave, and The Wandering Emperor. Against control, pressure first, then fight only the stack windows that decide commander access, engines, monarch, or sweepers.

## Combat And Trading Rules
- Attack to convert disruption into a clock, not to deal incidental damage at the cost of engine safety. True-Name Nemesis, Restless Anchorage, Vendilion Clique, Faerie Mastermind, Enduring Curiosity, Palace Jailer tokens or advantage, Shorikai, Genesis Engine tokens if available, and The Wandering Emperor pressure should attack when the crack-back does not force bad blocks or expose a key planeswalker.

- Preserve engine creatures unless a trade prevents lethal, protects monarch, or buys the turn needed for a decisive play. Aang, Swift Savior, Mother of Runes, Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd, Faerie Mastermind, Enduring Curiosity, Ocelot Pride, Guide of Souls, Malcolm, Alluring Scoundrel, Skycoach Conductor, Sygg, Wanderwine Wisdom, Quantum Riddler, Wan Shi Tong, Librarian, Spectacular Spider-Man, Agna Qel'a, and Appa, Steadfast Guardian require card text check required before exact combat roles are assumed; treat them as higher-value permanents until visible text proves they are expendable.

- Block aggressively only when life total or role demands it. Above a comfortable life buffer, keep Mother of Runes, Aven Mindcensor, Meddling Mage, Drannith Magistrate, Voice of Victory, and other disruptive bodies alive if their static or flash role is constraining the opponent. Near a two-turn or one-turn clock, trade those bodies for time unless their survival is the only visible way to stop the opponent's next decisive action.

- Use protection for the permanent that carries the current plan. Mother of Runes, Ephemerate, Eiganjo Castle, Parallax Wave, Teferi, Time Raveler timing, and counter backup should defend Aang, Swift Savior, True-Name Nemesis, Palace Jailer, Shorikai, Genesis Engine, The Wandering Emperor, or a hatebear locking the opponent out. Do not spend protection on a replaceable attacker if the opponent can then answer the real engine.

- Trade down when tempo is the win condition. Trading Novice Inspector, Thraben Inspector, Cathar Commando, or a token for a larger attacker is correct when it keeps Force Spike, Mana Tithe, Daze, or Mana Leak live for one more turn cycle. Trading a disruptive permanent is correct only if the opponent's combat clock matters more than the tax, name, search restriction, or command-zone restriction it provides.

- Hold back blockers against creature decks once the opponent can kill quickly through removal. A deck with cheap interaction can win from a low life total, but not if every draw step must answer lethal. Prioritize stable blocks plus instant-speed removal over maximum damage when the opponent has visible attackers and you lack The Wandering Emperor, Solitude, Swords to Plowshares, Path to Exile, or Parallax Wave.

- Pressure control and combo even with small creatures. Faerie Mastermind, Vendilion Clique, Aven Mindcensor, Aven Interrupter, Cathar Commando, Meddling Mage, Drannith Magistrate, and Voice of Victory should attack when their disruptive value remains active or the opponent is unlikely to punish combat. Make the opponent spend mana on your turn before committing Aang, Swift Savior or a tap-out engine.

- Avoid attacks that expose needed blockers or monarch defense. Palace Jailer changes combat priorities: protect monarch if the extra cards are winning, but attack if the opponent cannot profitably reclaim it. The Wandering Emperor and Restless Anchorage reward holding up mana; animate or attack only when removal, blockers, and crack-back math are visible and acceptable.

## Selection And Tutor Rules
- Brainstorm requires a plan before it is cast. Prefer Brainstorm with Arid Mesa, Flooded Strand, Marsh Flats, Polluted Delta, or Scalding Tarn available to clear unwanted cards; without a shuffle, cast it only to hit an immediate land drop, find one-mana interaction, protect a key card from discard, or convert dead cards into a playable next turn.

- Gitaxian Probe is a sequencing tool, not just velocity. Cast it before choosing whether to commit Aang, Swift Savior, True-Name Nemesis, Shorikai, Genesis Engine, Palace Jailer, Teferi, Time Raveler, or The Wandering Emperor; use the revealed hand to decide whether to hold up Daze, Force Spike, Mana Tithe, Spell Snare, Stern Scolding, Mental Misstep, No More Lies, Mana Leak, Lose Focus, Change the Equation, or Wash Away.

- Fetchlands should preserve both colors before optimizing Brainstorm. If the opener has only one functional color, use Arid Mesa, Flooded Strand, Marsh Flats, Polluted Delta, or Scalding Tarn to secure the missing color first; delay the fetch only when current legal actions show no need for untapped mana and Brainstorm is already in hand or likely relevant.

- Land drops should be made after selection when the choice matters. With Brainstorm, Gitaxian Probe, Novice Inspector, Thraben Inspector, or a known draw trigger available, wait on the land drop if the hand contains multiple lands with different timing roles, especially Hallowed Fountain, Tundra, Meticulous Archive, Hengegate Pathway, Seachrome Coast, Mystic Gate, Restless Anchorage, Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire, Otawara, Soaring City, Sink into Stupor, Razorgrass Ambush, or Talon Gates of Madara.

- The deck has pseudo-selection rather than reliable tutoring. Do not assume access to a missing combo piece or silver bullet; make decisions from visible hand, command-zone access, public board, and legal action text. Card text check required before treating Aang, Swift Savior, Spectacular Spider-Man, Agna Qel'a, Appa, Steadfast Guardian, Quantum Riddler, Skycoach Conductor, Sygg, Wanderwine Wisdom, Wan Shi Tong, Librarian, or Witch Enchanter as a tutor, filter, or deterministic engine.

- Clue and draw engines should be activated when mana would otherwise go unused or when a specific answer is required this turn. Novice Inspector and Thraben Inspector resources are strongest on end steps and weak board stalls; Faerie Mastermind, Enduring Curiosity, Shorikai, Genesis Engine, Palace Jailer, and The Wandering Emperor should generate cards only when doing so does not forfeit a live counter, removal spell, or combat trick window.

- Vendilion Clique selection should remove the card that beats the next commitment. Take the visible sweeper, combo payoff, removal spell, counterspell, or commander-enabling card that invalidates the current plan; do not cycle a marginal card from the opponent's hand if the known hand already lacks a decisive answer.

- Bottoming, discarding, or tucking decisions should preserve mana and interaction density. Keep one cheap answer plus a path to pressure; bottom extra taplands, redundant expensive engines, or context-locked counters when the visible matchup demands early board control. Keep lands over spells if the hand cannot cast both white removal and blue permission on curve.

## Priority And Stack Rules
- Hold priority discipline around commitment turns. Before casting Aang, Swift Savior, Shorikai, Genesis Engine, Palace Jailer, Teferi, Time Raveler, The Wandering Emperor, or True-Name Nemesis into open mana, check visible hand information, opponent mana, public graveyards, known commander access, and your available protection; if the opponent can answer the commitment and you cannot fight, prefer pressure plus held interaction unless waiting loses the game.

- Spend soft counters while they are still live. Daze, Force Spike, Mana Tithe, Spell Snare, Stern Scolding, Mental Misstep, Mana Leak, Lose Focus, No More Lies, Change the Equation, Memory Lapse, Remand, Reprieve, Tale's End, Wash Away, and Subtlety should answer the first spell or ability that materially changes the game; do not save a tax counter past the turn cycle where the opponent can pay for it.

- Let low-impact spells resolve when the stack fight is not decisive. Preserve counters for sweepers, commander recasts, combo payoffs, planeswalkers, removal pointed at the protected threat, or effects that break Drannith Magistrate, Meddling Mage, Aven Mindcensor, Voice of Victory, or another active lock piece.

- Use flash threats and disruption at the last responsible moment. Aven Interrupter, Aven Mindcensor, Faerie Mastermind, Vendilion Clique, Solitude, Subtlety, Tishana's Tidebinder, Cathar Commando, Otawara, Soaring City, Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire, Sink into Stupor, Razorgrass Ambush, Snap, Swords to Plowshares, Path to Exile, March of Otherworldly Light, and The Wandering Emperor gain value when the opponent has committed mana, attacks, targets, searches, or stack objects first.

- Respond to search, command-zone, activated, or triggered windows only when the text matters. Aven Mindcensor is for visible search actions; Tale's End and Tishana's Tidebinder are for impactful abilities or commander-linked triggers; Stifle-style timing should not be spent on a minor trigger if a later ability can decide the game.

- Protect the engine that is currently winning. Use Ephemerate, Mother of Runes, Eiganjo Castle, counterspells, Parallax Wave, Solitude, Subtlety, and removal sequencing to keep Aang, Swift Savior, True-Name Nemesis, Shorikai, Genesis Engine, Palace Jailer, Teferi, Time Raveler, The Wandering Emperor, Drannith Magistrate, Meddling Mage, or Voice of Victory alive when that permanent is constraining the opponent or closing the game.

- Use combat windows before damage when the exchange changes survival or tempo. Cast Swords to Plowshares, Path to Exile, March of Otherworldly Light, Snap, Solitude, Subtlety, The Wandering Emperor, Parallax Wave, Otawara, Soaring City, Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire, Sink into Stupor, or Razorgrass Ambush after attackers or blockers are declared if that produces a visible block, prevents lethal, protects monarch, or wins a race.

- Treat optional triggers, alternate costs, and pitch spells as resource trades. Daze, Solitude, Subtlety, March of Otherworldly Light, Force Spike-style taxes, and any optional Aang, Swift Savior or unfamiliar-card trigger require legal action text and visible resource checks; Card text check required before assuming optional triggers from Guide of Souls, Ocelot Pride, Malcolm, Alluring Scoundrel, Spectacular Spider-Man, Agna Qel'a, Appa, Steadfast Guardian, Skycoach Conductor, Sygg, Wanderwine Wisdom, Quantum Riddler, or Wan Shi Tong, Librarian.

- Post-board stack timing should match the hate card. Dovin's Veto fights noncreature haymakers, Hydroblast and Blue Elemental Blast answer red threats or stack objects when legal, Disenchant answers visible artifacts or enchantments, Containment Priest is held for creature-entry timing, and Rest in Peace, Grafdigger's Cage, Pithing Needle, Stony Silence, or Supreme Verdict should be deployed only when their legal text and visible matchup role justify tapping mana on your turn.

## Sideboard Map
- Use sideboard cards as role cards, not as generic upgrades. The main deck already has pressure, flash interaction, and exile removal, so post-board changes should answer a visible opposing axis while preserving enough cheap legal actions for Aang, Swift Savior tempo turns.

- Rest in Peace is for graveyard engines, recursion loops, escape-style pressure, reanimation, delve-like resource conversion, and graveyard-count payoffs. It is bad when the opponent only incidentally uses the graveyard or when spending turn-two mana does not change their legal actions; role changes from hate permanent to tempo liability if the game is about board damage and your hand already has Swords to Plowshares, Path to Exile, Portable Hole, On Thin Ice, or Skyclave Apparition.

- Grafdigger's Cage is for library-to-battlefield, graveyard-cast, graveyard-entry, and creature-cheat patterns when its exact Oracle text applies. It is bad against fair creature decks and artifact removal-heavy decks where it neither blocks a visible line nor attacks; role changes from lock piece to narrow insurance when Rest in Peace already covers the graveyard axis better.

- Containment Priest is for creature-entry timing, reanimation, blink, cheat, and commander plans that put creatures onto the battlefield without being cast. It is bad when the opponent wins through normal casting, removal, or planeswalkers; role changes from hate card to flash ambush only if its body can trade and the legal text does not hurt your own Ephemerate, Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd, or similar lines. Card text check required before allowing it beside your own blink or exile-return actions.

- Dovin's Veto is for noncreature haymakers, stack-combo turns, sweepers, planeswalkers, prison permanents, and removal pointed at the card that is winning the game. It is bad against creature-heavy pressure where one more answer to a spell does not stabilize; role changes from hard permission to protection once Aang, Swift Savior, True-Name Nemesis, Shorikai, Genesis Engine, Palace Jailer, Teferi, Time Raveler, or The Wandering Emperor is already established.

- Hydroblast is for red commanders, red removal, red burn races, red stack-combo pieces, and red permanents that must be answered on mana parity. It is bad when red is only a splash or when no red object is visible in the relevant game; role changes from stack answer to board answer only when Veles exposes a legal target.

- Blue Elemental Blast follows the same red-specific role as Hydroblast, increasing density when the matchup is actually about red objects. It is bad in nonred matchups and should not be added merely because the opponent is aggressive; role changes from protection to tempo answer when it can counter or destroy the exact red object threatening the current plan.

- Disenchant is for artifacts and enchantments that lock combat, mana, graveyards, activated abilities, or commander access. It is bad against creature-only pressure or when Cathar Commando, Skyclave Apparition, Portable Hole, March of Otherworldly Light, Erode, or Witch Enchanter already covers the visible permanent type; role changes from answer to insurance if the opponent has only one known target.

- Pithing Needle is for commanders, planeswalkers, lands, artifacts, or repeatable activated abilities whose names are known from public information. It is bad when the opposing threat profile is mostly triggered abilities, static abilities, combat, or spells; role changes from proactive lock to reactive name selection after Gitaxian Probe, Vendilion Clique, battlefield visibility, commander identity, or previous-game logs reveal the exact permanent name.

- Stony Silence is for artifact mana, artifact engines, equipment-like engines, activated artifact combos, and artifact decks where shutting abilities changes multiple legal actions. It is bad when the opponent uses artifacts as creatures without activated abilities or when Shorikai, Genesis Engine is central to your own plan; role changes from prison card to symmetrical risk if your hand needs Shorikai, Genesis Engine for cards, crew pressure, or stabilization. Card text check required if unfamiliar artifacts appear before assuming Stony Silence stops them.

- Supreme Verdict is for creature boards that are too wide or too resilient for one-for-one removal and tempo blocks. It is bad when you are ahead with Aang, Swift Savior, True-Name Nemesis, Mother of Runes, Palace Jailer, or a protected pressure chain; role changes from reset button to emergency survival spell when the opponent’s visible attack threatens lethal or monarch loss cannot be defended otherwise.

Graveyard recursion or reanimation pressure
Side in: Rest in Peace; Grafdigger's Cage; Containment Priest
Cut: Stern Scolding; Quantum Riddler; On Thin Ice

- Add role cards: Rest in Peace first when graveyard text is broad, Grafdigger's Cage when the opposing line uses graveyard or library entry restrictions, and Containment Priest when the decisive creature enters without being cast. Reduce main-deck emphasis: narrow small-creature permission, text-uncertain engine bodies, and sorcery-speed creature-only removal when the opponent’s decisive zone is graveyard or library rather than battlefield.

Red burn, red tempo, or red commander pressure
Side in: Hydroblast; Blue Elemental Blast; Dovin's Veto
Cut: Aven Mindcensor; Quantum Riddler; Palace Jailer

- Add role cards: Hydroblast and Blue Elemental Blast when red stack objects, red permanents, or red combat threats are visible; Dovin's Veto when the red deck has noncreature finishers or sweepers. Reduce main-deck emphasis: slow monarch plans, search-hate creatures without targets, and text-uncertain engines that cannot block or gain tempo before the burn clock matters.

Artifact engine or activated-artifact prison
Side in: Stony Silence; Disenchant; Pithing Needle
Cut: On Thin Ice; Stern Scolding; Palace Jailer

- Add role cards: Stony Silence against artifact abilities that define the opponent’s mana or engine, Disenchant against singular artifact or enchantment lock pieces, and Pithing Needle when one named activated ability is the engine. Reduce main-deck emphasis: creature-only removal and slow value cards when the first priority is stopping artifact-generated legal actions. Keep Shorikai, Genesis Engine only when its role is still stronger than the Stony Silence conflict.

Creature flood or board-dominant aggro
Side in: Supreme Verdict; Blue Elemental Blast; Hydroblast
Cut: Aven Mindcensor; Meddling Mage; Palace Jailer

- Add role cards: Supreme Verdict when one-for-one removal cannot keep pace, and the blast pair only when red objects are actually present. Reduce main-deck emphasis: fragile name-based disruption, search hate, and monarch plays that invite attacks when the immediate problem is board volume.

Noncreature control, combo, or planeswalker-heavy play
Side in: Dovin's Veto; Pithing Needle; Disenchant
Cut: On Thin Ice; Portable Hole; Razorgrass Ambush

- Add role cards: Dovin's Veto for decisive stack fights, Pithing Needle for known activated permanents, and Disenchant for visible artifact or enchantment locks. Reduce main-deck emphasis: narrow creature removal and combat-only interaction when the opponent presents few creatures and wins through the stack or permanents.

- Post-board role discipline matters more than card count. After adding hate, keep enough pressure to close: Aang, Swift Savior, True-Name Nemesis, Restless Anchorage, Vendilion Clique, Faerie Mastermind, Enduring Curiosity, Shorikai, Genesis Engine, The Wandering Emperor, or Palace Jailer must still convert the disruption into a win.

- Do not deploy a sideboard permanent without a visible role. Rest in Peace, Grafdigger's Cage, Pithing Needle, Stony Silence, and Containment Priest are strongest when they remove legal lines from the opponent; if the opponent’s public plan does not use that axis, prioritize mana, pressure, and live interaction instead.

## Matchup Guidance

- Aggro: stabilize before maximizing value. Keep openers with both colors, untapped early interaction, and at least one cheap play such as Swords to Plowshares, Path to Exile, Portable Hole, On Thin Ice, Stern Scolding, Force Spike, Mana Tithe, Mother of Runes, Novice Inspector, Thraben Inspector, Guide of Souls, or Ocelot Pride. Add role cards: Supreme Verdict against wide boards, Hydroblast and Blue Elemental Blast only when red objects are central. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Aven Mindcensor, Meddling Mage, slow Palace Jailer lines, and text-uncertain engines when they do not block or trade in time. Do not expose Palace Jailer until the visible board can protect the monarch.

- Control: force them to answer pressure while you preserve stack leverage. Favor Aang, Swift Savior, True-Name Nemesis, Vendilion Clique, Faerie Mastermind, Enduring Curiosity, Shorikai, Genesis Engine, Teferi, Time Raveler, The Wandering Emperor, and Restless Anchorage as threats that either pressure at instant speed, resist removal, or convert stalled turns. Add role cards: Dovin's Veto, Pithing Needle for known activated permanents, and Disenchant for visible artifacts or enchantments. Reduce main-deck emphasis: On Thin Ice, Portable Hole, Razorgrass Ambush, and narrow small-creature answers when the opponent presents few creature targets. Use Gitaxian Probe and Vendilion Clique information to decide whether to tap out; do not spend Daze, Force Spike, Mana Tithe, Mana Leak, No More Lies, Tale's End, or Wash Away on low-impact spells if a decisive window is likely.

- Combo: prioritize disruption density over incremental creature value. Keep hands that combine pressure with at least one relevant permission or hate creature, especially Drannith Magistrate, Meddling Mage, Aven Interrupter, Aven Mindcensor, Voice of Victory, Change the Equation, Lose Focus, Mana Leak, Memory Lapse, Remand, Reprieve, Tale's End, Tishana's Tidebinder, Subtlety, or Wash Away. Add role cards: Dovin's Veto, Grafdigger's Cage, Rest in Peace, Containment Priest, Pithing Needle, Disenchant, or Stony Silence only when the opponent’s public line uses that axis. Reduce main-deck emphasis: sorcery-speed creature removal and combat-only cards. Name or select with Meddling Mage and Pithing Needle only from public information, revealed cards, commander identity, battlefield objects, or previous-game evidence.

- Tempo: fight over mana efficiency, not raw card count. Land sequencing should preserve one-mana interaction while enabling two-spell turns with Brainstorm, Gitaxian Probe, Faerie Mastermind, Swords to Plowshares, Path to Exile, Mental Misstep, Spell Snare, Stern Scolding, Daze, Force Spike, and Mana Tithe. Protect Aang, Swift Savior or True-Name Nemesis only when that threat changes the race; otherwise use interaction to prevent the opponent from snowballing first. Add role cards: Hydroblast and Blue Elemental Blast against red tempo, Dovin's Veto against noncreature swing turns. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Palace Jailer and Shorikai, Genesis Engine when tapping out lets the opponent seize tempo.

- Midrange: trade early, then win with engines that survive removal. Preserve exile removal for threats that invalidate combat or commander access, using Skyclave Apparition, Solitude, March of Otherworldly Light, Parallax Wave, The Wandering Emperor, Swift Reconfiguration, Swords to Plowshares, and Path to Exile on the cards that actually change the visible race. True-Name Nemesis, Palace Jailer, Shorikai, Genesis Engine, The Wandering Emperor, Enduring Curiosity, Faerie Mastermind, and Restless Anchorage are preferred closers after the first exchange. Add role cards: Supreme Verdict if they go wider than one-for-one removal can handle, Pithing Needle for known activated engines, Disenchant for durable noncreature permanents. Reduce main-deck emphasis: narrow permission when the opponent’s decisive threats are already on board.

- Big mana: disrupt development and close before expensive spells dominate. Aven Mindcensor, Aven Interrupter, Daze, Force Spike, Mana Tithe, Mana Leak, Memory Lapse, Remand, Reprieve, Change the Equation, No More Lies, and Wash Away should be spent to break the turn where the opponent converts mana into a decisive permanent or spell. Use Meddling Mage only with known names from public information. Add role cards: Dovin's Veto for noncreature payoff turns, Pithing Needle for known activated lands or engines, Stony Silence only when artifacts drive mana or abilities. Reduce main-deck emphasis: small-creature removal unless it stops mana creatures or a commander that enables the big-mana turn.

- Graveyard decks: identify whether the graveyard is a resource, a combo zone, or incidental value before spending hate. Add role cards: Rest in Peace for broad graveyard reliance, Grafdigger's Cage for graveyard or library entry lines, Containment Priest for creatures entering without being cast, and Dovin's Veto for noncreature enablers. Reduce main-deck emphasis: On Thin Ice, Stern Scolding, Quantum Riddler, or other low-impact cards when they do not stop the graveyard axis. Do not deploy Rest in Peace into your own low-pressure hand unless it removes visible or known opposing legal lines; hate without pressure can still lose to hard-cast threats.

- Artifact/enchantment decks: answer the engine, not the first object. Add role cards: Stony Silence when activated artifact abilities define the opponent’s mana or combo, Disenchant for singular artifacts or enchantments, Pithing Needle for a known activated ability, and Dovin's Veto for stack-based noncreature engines. Reduce main-deck emphasis: creature-only removal when the battlefield threat is a noncreature permanent. Keep the Shorikai, Genesis Engine versus Stony Silence tension explicit: if Shorikai, Genesis Engine is your best stabilization or closing plan, do not assume Stony Silence is free.

- Go-wide decks: preserve life total and blockers until Supreme Verdict or Parallax Wave can reset the board. Use Portable Hole, On Thin Ice, Skyclave Apparition, Swords to Plowshares, Path to Exile, Solitude, Snap, and The Wandering Emperor to reduce attack size, not merely to trade with the first legal target. Add role cards: Supreme Verdict, plus Hydroblast and Blue Elemental Blast only for red boards. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Meddling Mage, Aven Mindcensor, and Palace Jailer when they cannot safely block or defend the monarch. Avoid attacks with needed blockers under a short clock unless the attack creates a lethal or protected swing.

- Single-threat decks: concentrate protection and removal on the one object that matters. Swords to Plowshares, Path to Exile, Solitude, March of Otherworldly Light, Swift Reconfiguration, On Thin Ice, Skyclave Apparition, Subtlety, Tale's End, Tishana's Tidebinder, and The Wandering Emperor should be held for the commander, creature, planeswalker, or activated engine that defines the matchup when public information supports that read. Add role cards: Pithing Needle for known activated threats, Dovin's Veto for noncreature protection or payoff, Disenchant for artifact or enchantment threats. Reduce main-deck emphasis: sweepers and low-impact blockers when the opponent is not presenting width.

- Burn: treat life total as a resource with a low ceiling. Fetch and shock sequencing must avoid unnecessary life loss; Hallowed Fountain and Tundra are strong when they preserve interaction, but Snow-Covered Island, Snow-Covered Plains, Seachrome Coast, Glacial Fortress, Deserted Beach, Adarkar Wastes, Command Tower, and Mystic Gate should be sequenced to keep spells live without avoidable damage where possible. Add role cards: Hydroblast, Blue Elemental Blast, and Dovin's Veto when red spells or red permanents are decisive. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Palace Jailer, slow text-uncertain engines, and expensive tap-out plays unless they immediately stabilize or close.

- Removal-heavy decks: diversify threat types and make removal awkward. Lead with low-commitment threats when possible, protect the threat that matters with Mother of Runes, Ephemerate, Teferi, Time Raveler, countermagic, or timing discipline, and avoid exposing Aang, Swift Savior into open mana unless commander access, redundancy, or pressure justifies the risk. True-Name Nemesis, Restless Anchorage, Shorikai, Genesis Engine, The Wandering Emperor, Palace Jailer, Enduring Curiosity, and Faerie Mastermind help punish one-for-one removal. Add role cards: Dovin's Veto for sweepers and noncreature removal, Pithing Needle for known planeswalkers, Disenchant for removal-like enchantments or artifacts. Reduce main-deck emphasis: fragile bodies that do not generate value before dying.

## Specific Matchup Notes

- General scope: exact opponents are absent, so these notes are archetype-only; revealed cards, commander text, public deck actions, and Veles legal actions override every assumption here. Use Gitaxian Probe, Vendilion Clique, Meddling Mage, visible graveyards, and revealed permanents to convert broad role reads into exact targets before spending narrow interaction.

- Red tempo or burn: protect life total first, then race with resilient pressure. Add role cards: Hydroblast; Blue Elemental Blast; Dovin's Veto. Priority targets are red spells or permanents that decide the current race, not incidental damage when Aang, Swift Savior, True-Name Nemesis, Restless Anchorage, or The Wandering Emperor can close quickly. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Palace Jailer; Shorikai, Genesis Engine; slower text-uncertain engines when tapping out exposes lethal pressure.

- Graveyard or creature-entry combo: deploy hate only when it changes visible or strongly inferred legal lines. Add role cards: Rest in Peace; Grafdigger's Cage; Containment Priest; Dovin's Veto. Priority targets are graveyard access, library-to-battlefield access, and noncreature enablers; do not spend Swords to Plowshares, Path to Exile, or Solitude on a low-impact body if the decisive engine is still pending.

- Artifact or enchantment engine: stop the permanent that creates repeatable advantage or mana, not the first legal target. Add role cards: Stony Silence; Disenchant; Pithing Needle; Dovin's Veto. Priority targets are activated artifacts, known named abilities, and durable noncreature engines. Keep the Shorikai, Genesis Engine tension explicit before using Stony Silence as a broad answer.

- Control or removal-heavy midrange: force them to answer varied threats while holding stack interaction for sweepers and finishers. Add role cards: Dovin's Veto; Pithing Needle; Disenchant where public permanents justify them. Priority targets are sweepers, planeswalkers, noncreature engines, and removal windows that strand Aang, Swift Savior or True-Name Nemesis. Protect one decisive threat with Mother of Runes, Ephemerate, Teferi, Time Raveler, Daze, Force Spike, Mana Leak, Mana Tithe, Memory Lapse, Reprieve, or No More Lies when legal.

- Creature go-wide: preserve blockers and removal until Supreme Verdict, Parallax Wave, or The Wandering Emperor can reset combat. Add role cards: Supreme Verdict; Hydroblast; Blue Elemental Blast against red boards. Priority targets are creatures that increase attack damage, invalidate blocking, or punish tap-out turns. Do not attack with Mother of Runes, Guide of Souls, Ocelot Pride, or other needed blockers under a short clock unless the visible line advances lethal or prevents worse damage.

- Big mana or tap-out spell decks: use early pressure plus soft permission before their mana invalidates Daze, Force Spike, Mana Tithe, Spell Snare, Stern Scolding, and Mental Misstep. Add role cards: Dovin's Veto; Pithing Needle; Stony Silence when visible artifacts or abilities matter. Priority targets are the conversion turn, not setup that can be punished by Aven Mindcensor, Aven Interrupter, Remand, Reprieve, Memory Lapse, or Wash Away later.

## Risk Summary

- Mana risk: the deck loses games when fetch and dual sequencing strands one-mana interaction. Prioritize untapped blue and white access for Brainstorm, Gitaxian Probe follow-up turns, Swords to Plowshares, Path to Exile, Mental Misstep, Spell Snare, Stern Scolding, Force Spike, Mana Tithe, Daze, and Aang, Swift Savior deployment windows.

- Matchup risk: broad archetype reads can mislead a singleton tempo-combo shell. Treat revealed commander text, public card names, and legal action text as stronger evidence than labels such as combo, control, aggro, or prison.

- Draw risk: Brainstorm without a shuffle, expensive engines without protection, or removal without pressure can create hands that interact but do not win. Track whether Enduring Curiosity, Faerie Mastermind, Palace Jailer, Shorikai, Genesis Engine, Wan Shi Tong, Librarian, and Restless Anchorage actually convert stability into cards or damage. Card text check required for Wan Shi Tong, Librarian before assigning exact engine failure.

- Over-sideboarding risk: too many Rest in Peace, Grafdigger's Cage, Pithing Needle, Stony Silence, Disenchant, Containment Priest, or Supreme Verdict effects can reduce pressure below a winning threshold. Add role cards only when they have visible targets or strongly inferred legal relevance.

- Graveyard risk: Rest in Peace and Grafdigger's Cage can be correct but insufficient without pressure. Deploy hate with a clock from Aang, Swift Savior, True-Name Nemesis, Vendilion Clique, Enduring Curiosity, Faerie Mastermind, The Wandering Emperor, or Restless Anchorage whenever possible.

- Sweeper and removal risk: Aang, Swift Savior, Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd, Mother of Runes, Ocelot Pride, Malcolm, Alluring Scoundrel, Spectacular Spider-Man, and other bodies can overcommit into removal. Card text check required for unfamiliar cards before relying on them as protection, recursion, or engines.

- Closer risk: stabilizing without a finisher gives opponents time to topdeck out. Prefer protected pressure from True-Name Nemesis, Aang, Swift Savior, Shorikai, Genesis Engine, Palace Jailer, The Wandering Emperor, Restless Anchorage, or Vendilion Clique once the immediate threat is contained.

- Interaction risk: soft counters expire quickly. Spend Daze, Force Spike, Mana Tithe, Mana Leak, Lose Focus, No More Lies, Remand, Reprieve, and Memory Lapse on the turn they preserve tempo or prevent a decisive permanent; avoid holding them until the opponent can pay.

- Sequencing risk: tap-out engines are powerful but punishable. Commit Teferi, Time Raveler, Palace Jailer, Shorikai, Genesis Engine, The Wandering Emperor, or Aang, Swift Savior only when visible board pressure, open mana, protection, and follow-up interaction make the window acceptable.

## Test Feedback Checklist

- Deciding factor: name the exact card or window that turned the game, then classify the result as tempo, mana, commander access, protected pressure, counter timing, sweeper timing, sideboard permanent, closing-power, or matchup pressure. Track Aang, Swift Savior, True-Name Nemesis, Shorikai, Genesis Engine, The Wandering Emperor, Rest in Peace, Grafdigger's Cage, Pithing Needle, Stony Silence, Supreme Verdict, and any revealed opponent card that actually decided legal actions.

- Mulligans: record whether the opener had both blue and white access, at least one early legal action, and a plausible plan for pressure or interaction. Flag keeps relying on one color source, slow tapped sequencing, Brainstorm without enough lands or a shuffle, or a hand where Daze, Force Spike, Mana Tithe, Spell Snare, Stern Scolding, Mental Misstep, Swords to Plowshares, or Path to Exile was stranded by mana rather than legality.

- Mana: check whether fetch and land sequencing preserved one-mana interaction and two-spell turns. Name the relevant lands when sequencing mattered: Arid Mesa, Flooded Strand, Marsh Flats, Polluted Delta, Scalding Tarn, Hallowed Fountain, Tundra, Meticulous Archive, Snow-Covered Island, Snow-Covered Plains, Seachrome Coast, Mystic Gate, Restless Anchorage, Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire, Otawara, Soaring City, and Sink into Stupor.

- Velocity: ask whether Brainstorm, Gitaxian Probe, Faerie Mastermind, Enduring Curiosity, Shorikai, Genesis Engine, Palace Jailer, and Wan Shi Tong, Librarian produced actionable cards before the opponent’s clock or engine became decisive. Card text check required for Wan Shi Tong, Librarian before assigning exact success or failure.

- Engines: record whether Aang, Swift Savior, Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd, Ephemerate, Mother of Runes, Guide of Souls, Ocelot Pride, Malcolm, Alluring Scoundrel, Spectacular Spider-Man, Agna Qel'a, Appa, Steadfast Guardian, Skycoach Conductor, Sygg, Wanderwine Wisdom, and Quantum Riddler were engines, protection, pressure, or just bodies in the actual game. Card text check required for unfamiliar cards before locking labels.

- Removal: identify whether Swords to Plowshares, Path to Exile, March of Otherworldly Light, On Thin Ice, Portable Hole, Skyclave Apparition, Solitude, Swift Reconfiguration, Parallax Wave, The Wandering Emperor, Razorgrass Ambush, Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire, Otawara, Soaring City, Sink into Stupor, Snap, or Erode answered the threat that changed the game. Mark removal spent too early, held too long, or aimed at a low-impact target while the decisive permanent remained.

- Sideboard: after post-board games, record which of Rest in Peace, Dovin's Veto, Grafdigger's Cage, Pithing Needle, Stony Silence, Disenchant, Hydroblast, Blue Elemental Blast, Containment Priest, and Supreme Verdict had a visible target or changed opponent legal actions. Mark sideboard cards that sat stranded or reduced pressure without stopping the opponent’s plan.

- Closing: ask whether the deck stabilized but failed to win, then name the missing closer from visible options. Track whether True-Name Nemesis, Restless Anchorage, Palace Jailer, The Wandering Emperor, Shorikai, Genesis Engine, Aang, Swift Savior, Vendilion Clique, Enduring Curiosity, or Faerie Mastermind could have closed faster with different protection, combat, or priority choices.

- Role and mistakes: record whether the pilot correctly chose tempo, control, prison, or tap-out pressure for the board state. Flag passes with unused mana and relevant legal actions, attacks that exposed needed blockers, missed Aang, Swift Savior deployment windows, sideboard permanents cast without visible targets, and permission held while losing to board damage.

- Stranded and performance cards: list exact cards stranded in hand, traded down, bought time, or won the game. Separate card weakness from pilot sequencing, mana failure, matchup mismatch, sideboard mismatch, and card text uncertainty.

## First Tuning Questions

- Card quantities: if losses repeatedly come from no early action, should the list add more cheap pressure or interaction effects in the roles currently occupied by slow or text-uncertain cards? Compare failures involving Agna Qel'a, Appa, Steadfast Guardian, Quantum Riddler, Skycoach Conductor, Sygg, Wanderwine Wisdom, Spectacular Spider-Man, and Wan Shi Tong, Librarian only after card text checks.

- Mana: if Daze, Force Spike, Mana Tithe, Spell Snare, Stern Scolding, Mental Misstep, Swords to Plowshares, Path to Exile, or Aang, Swift Savior is repeatedly stranded, is the issue land sequencing, land mix, tapped-land density, or color requirements? Track whether Restless Anchorage, Meticulous Archive, Prairie Stream, Deserted Beach, Floodfarm Verge, and utility lands cost too much tempo.

- Aggro plan: if creature decks win before stabilization, does the deck need more early blockers, more sweep access, tighter removal timing, or stronger priority rules around preserving life total? Review Supreme Verdict, Parallax Wave, The Wandering Emperor, Solitude, Portable Hole, On Thin Ice, and Snap performance before changing threats.

- Control plan: if control decks beat single threats, does the pilot need better protection sequencing or does the list need more resilient closers? Review Aang, Swift Savior, True-Name Nemesis, Restless Anchorage, Vendilion Clique, Shorikai, Genesis Engine, Palace Jailer, Teferi, Time Raveler, Dovin's Veto, and Reprieve.

- Combo plan: if combo opponents win through interaction, were the losses from wrong counter windows, insufficient hate, or lack of pressure after hate? Review Drannith Magistrate, Meddling Mage, Aven Mindcensor, Aven Interrupter, Tale's End, Wash Away, Rest in Peace, Grafdigger's Cage, Containment Priest, and Pithing Needle.

- Closer package: if the deck stabilizes but cannot end games, should more slots support evasive or durable pressure instead of situational engines? Use game logs to compare True-Name Nemesis, Restless Anchorage, The Wandering Emperor, Shorikai, Genesis Engine, Palace Jailer, Enduring Curiosity, Faerie Mastermind, and Aang, Swift Savior.

- Sideboard slots: if Rest in Peace, Grafdigger's Cage, Stony Silence, Pithing Needle, Disenchant, Hydroblast, Blue Elemental Blast, Containment Priest, Dovin's Veto, or Supreme Verdict is regularly stranded, is the sideboard too narrow for observed matchups or did the pilot deploy hate without visible relevance?

- Role conflicts: if games are lost by holding permission while dying or tapping out while facing a decisive stack turn, should the guide sharpen role gates for Aang, Swift Savior, Teferi, Time Raveler, Palace Jailer, Shorikai, Genesis Engine, The Wandering Emperor, and True-Name Nemesis?

## Veles Tactical Policy

### Policy: Opening Keep Gate
Priority: High
Decision families: mulligan; mana; pregame
Cards: Aang, Swift Savior; Brainstorm; Gitaxian Probe; Swords to Plowshares; Path to Exile; Force Spike; Mana Tithe; Mental Misstep; Spell Snare; Stern Scolding
Phase windows: opening hand and mulligan decisions
Runtime cues: legal keep/take-a-mulligan action; visible opener; command-zone access
Use when: deciding whether the opener can make blue and white mana, take an early legal action, and either protect tempo or deploy pressure.
Avoid when: the hand has one color only, no early play, or Brainstorm as the only plan without enough lands or shuffle access.
Instructions: Keep hands with two functional mana sources, at least one early interactive or proactive spell, and a path to Aang, Swift Savior or protected pressure. Mulligan hands that cannot interact before turn two unless they contain a clearly legal fast pressure curve.
Pilot skill floor: medium
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Early Land Setup
Priority: Medium
Decision families: mana; priority
Cards: Arid Mesa; Flooded Strand; Marsh Flats; Polluted Delta; Scalding Tarn; Hallowed Fountain; Tundra; Meticulous Archive; Snow-Covered Island; Snow-Covered Plains; Seachrome Coast; Mystic Gate; Restless Anchorage
Phase windows: turns one through three, main phases, fetch decisions
Runtime cues: legal land play or fetch action; visible hand contains one-mana interaction
Use when: choosing lands before holding up Daze, Force Spike, Mana Tithe, Mental Misstep, Spell Snare, Stern Scolding, Swords to Plowshares, or Path to Exile.
Avoid when: a tapped or utility land causes the current turn to lose a legal relevant spell.
Instructions: Prioritize untapped blue-white access over long-game utility. Fetch basics when life, Snow-Covered Plains for On Thin Ice, or opponent mana denial matters; fetch dual access when two-spell turns or mixed interaction are visible.
Pilot skill floor: medium
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: First Engine Or Pressure Permanent
Priority: Medium
Decision families: priority; mana; combat
Cards: Aang, Swift Savior; Mother of Runes; Guide of Souls; Ocelot Pride; Faerie Mastermind; Enduring Curiosity; True-Name Nemesis; Shorikai, Genesis Engine
Phase windows: early main phases and end-step flash windows
Runtime cues: legal cast action for a proactive permanent; opponent shields and battlefield visible
Use when: the board is not demanding immediate removal and the hand needs a clock, protection, or card flow.
Avoid when: tapping out lets a visible or strongly represented decisive stack action resolve, or a legal removal spell must answer current lethal pressure.
Instructions: Deploy the cheapest permanent that improves future decisions before expensive engines. Treat Aang, Swift Savior as a commitment until card text and board state prove the turn is safe.
Pilot skill floor: medium
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Aang Commitment Gate
Priority: High
Decision families: priority; mana; interaction
Cards: Aang, Swift Savior; Daze; Force Spike; Mana Tithe; Reprieve; Remand; No More Lies; Mother of Runes; Teferi, Time Raveler
Phase windows: main phases with commander-cast legal actions
Runtime cues: legal cast action for Aang, Swift Savior; visible opponent mana; known stack interaction; current clock
Use when: deciding whether to commit the commander now, delay with interaction, or develop another threat first.
Avoid when: the opponent has visible mana and known interaction, the current board requires removal, or the command tax risk outweighs tempo gained.
Instructions: Cast Aang, Swift Savior when it changes the race, unlocks protected sequencing, or forces the opponent to spend a key turn answering it. Delay when protection is absent and a lower-risk line maintains tempo.
Pilot skill floor: high
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Permission Spending Gate
Priority: High
Decision families: interaction; priority
Cards: Daze; Force Spike; Mana Tithe; Mana Leak; Lose Focus; Memory Lapse; No More Lies; Remand; Reprieve; Tale's End; Wash Away; Change the Equation; Dovin's Veto
Phase windows: opponent spell casts, commander casts, stack fights
Runtime cues: legal counter or delay action; stack object visible
Use when: a spell changes the game more than the card or mana being spent, especially commander access, sweepers, combo pieces, or removal aimed at the active engine.
Avoid when: the spell is low-impact, the opponent can pay a tax shown by visible mana, or a later known threat requires the answer.
Instructions: Spend soft permission early while it is live. Prefer hard or specialized answers for decisive spells, commander recasts, and protected combo turns.
Pilot skill floor: high
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: One-Mana Interaction Preservation
Priority: Medium
Decision families: mana; interaction; priority
Cards: Mental Misstep; Spell Snare; Stern Scolding; Swords to Plowshares; Path to Exile; Force Spike; Mana Tithe
Phase windows: first three turns and opponent development turns
Runtime cues: legal pass action with untapped mana; visible one-mana or two-mana interaction in hand
Use when: passing with mana can answer the opponent’s next visible or likely critical play.
Avoid when: the opponent has no relevant window and the pilot can advance a durable clock without exposing the game.
Instructions: Preserve the color that leaves the most live cheap actions. Do not spend the turn on low-impact card flow if an unanswered creature, commander, or engine is already threatening tempo.
Pilot skill floor: medium
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Removal Target Gate
Priority: High
Decision families: interaction; priority; combat
Cards: Swords to Plowshares; Path to Exile; March of Otherworldly Light; On Thin Ice; Portable Hole; Skyclave Apparition; Solitude; Swift Reconfiguration; Parallax Wave; The Wandering Emperor; Snap; Erode
Phase windows: combat, end step, main phases, stack responses to equip/target/combo actions
Runtime cues: legal removal action; visible target list
Use when: a visible permanent is enabling lethal pressure, commander snowballing, combo execution, or preventing Aang, Swift Savior and the tempo plan from functioning.
Avoid when: the target is replaceable and a more decisive visible threat remains unanswered.
Instructions: Use exile effects on recursion or commander-centric threats when legal. Use bounce or temporary answers to win tempo only when the follow-up clock or counter shield is visible.
Pilot skill floor: high
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Brainstorm And Probe Discipline
Priority: Medium
Decision families: selection; priority; mana
Cards: Brainstorm; Gitaxian Probe; Arid Mesa; Flooded Strand; Marsh Flats; Polluted Delta; Scalding Tarn
Phase windows: main phase before land drop, end step, pre-combat planning
Runtime cues: legal cast action for Brainstorm or Gitaxian Probe; fetch action visible
Use when: information or card selection changes the current turn’s land, protection, or interaction plan.
Avoid when: Brainstorm has no shuffle support and the current hand already has an executable interaction curve.
Instructions: Use Gitaxian Probe before commitment gates when legal information matters. Pair Brainstorm with a shuffle when possible; otherwise cast it to find immediate mana, protection, or survival actions.
Pilot skill floor: medium
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Blink And Protection Targeting
Priority: Medium
Decision families: interaction; priority; selection
Cards: Ephemerate; Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd; Mother of Runes; Skyclave Apparition; Palace Jailer; Solitude; Aven Interrupter; Vendilion Clique
Phase windows: removal responses, end steps, combat, enter-the-battlefield sequencing
Runtime cues: legal target action for Ephemerate, Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd, or Mother of Runes
Use when: choosing a target can protect a key permanent, reuse a visible enter-the-battlefield effect, or alter combat math.
Avoid when: target choice requires unknown card text, unknown rules outcome, or exposes the protected card to a visible follow-up.
Instructions: Route blink, flicker, and protection targets through light-model reasoning. Choose exact targets only from legal action text and visible board impact; card text check required for unfamiliar target interactions.
Pilot skill floor: medium
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Deterministic Self-Protection Click
Priority: Low
Decision families: interaction; priority
Cards: Mother of Runes
Phase windows: response to a visible targeted spell or ability
Runtime cues: action:target self Mother of Runes
Use when: exactly one legal action targets Mother of Runes’s controller or own permanent named in the legal action text, and the visible stack contains a targeted removal action against that same permanent.
Avoid when: more than one protected permanent is named, color choice is ambiguous, or combat damage prevention is the relevant issue.
Instructions: Submit the matching legal target action only when the visible action text names the threatened own permanent.
Pilot skill floor: low
No-API allowed: yes
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Combat Attack Gate
Priority: Medium
Decision families: combat; priority
Cards: True-Name Nemesis; Restless Anchorage; Vendilion Clique; Faerie Mastermind; Enduring Curiosity; Aang, Swift Savior; The Wandering Emperor
Phase windows: declare attackers and pre-combat main phase
Runtime cues: legal attack actions; visible blockers; life totals; crack-back power
Use when: deciding whether pressure advances the clock without losing needed defense or exposing an engine.
Avoid when: attacking removes the only blocker against a short visible clock or walks a key creature into an unfavorable legal block.
Instructions: Attack with evasive or protected threats when the race improves. Hold bodies back when survival, Palace Jailer monarchy, or counter-shield mana matters more than damage.
Pilot skill floor: medium
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Combat Survival Block Gate
Priority: High
Decision families: combat; interaction
Cards: Solitude; Snap; The Wandering Emperor; Parallax Wave; Swords to Plowshares; Path to Exile
Phase windows: declare blockers, before damage, end of combat
Runtime cues: legal block or removal action; visible lethal or near-lethal attackers
Use when: the opponent’s current combat step can decide the game or force loss of a key engine.
Avoid when: preserving a creature creates a stronger legal survival line through instant-speed removal or bounce.
Instructions: Favor survival over future value. Use removal before blocks when it reduces damage or breaks a combat trick; block when legal removal is absent or must be saved for a more decisive attacker.
Pilot skill floor: high
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Hatebear Deployment Gate
Priority: Medium
Decision families: priority; interaction; mana
Cards: Drannith Magistrate; Meddling Mage; Aven Mindcensor; Aven Interrupter; Harbinger of the Seas; Voice of Victory
Phase windows: early main phases and opponent setup turns
Runtime cues: legal cast action for disruptive creature; revealed or public opponent plan
Use when: the disruptive permanent constrains visible opponent legal actions, commander access, search, mana, or stack timing.
Avoid when: the card text has no visible relevance and casting it sacrifices needed interaction mana.
Instructions: Deploy hatebears before the opponent’s enabled turn when they are likely to matter. Card text check required for unfamiliar effects before assigning exact lock value.
Pilot skill floor: medium
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Tap-Out Engine Gate
Priority: High
Decision families: priority; mana; selection
Cards: Shorikai, Genesis Engine; Palace Jailer; Teferi, Time Raveler; The Wandering Emperor; Parallax Wave; Wan Shi Tong, Librarian
Phase windows: main phases, end steps for flash-speed planeswalker actions where legal
Runtime cues: legal cast or activate action for expensive engine; opponent clock and mana visible
Use when: an engine must take over because one-for-one interaction is no longer enough or the opponent is shields-down.
Avoid when: tapping out loses to a visible stack turn, combat lethal, or known answer that cheap permission could stop.
Instructions: Commit expensive engines when they stabilize immediately, draw into action, or close the game behind protection. Card text check required for Wan Shi Tong, Librarian before relying on exact output.
Pilot skill floor: high
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Exact Commander Tax Counter
Priority: Low
Decision families: interaction; priority
Cards: Wash Away
Phase windows: opponent casts commander or spell not from hand, if legal action text exposes that condition
Runtime cues: action:counter target spell Wash Away
Use when: the legal action text names Wash Away countering a visible commander or non-hand spell on the stack and there is exactly one Wash Away legal action.
Avoid when: multiple stack targets are legal or the visible stack object is not identified in action text.
Instructions: Submit the single matching Wash Away action when the legal text identifies the commander or non-hand spell.
Pilot skill floor: low
No-API allowed: yes
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Free Interaction Pitch Gate
Priority: Medium
Decision families: interaction; selection; priority
Cards: Solitude; Subtlety; March of Otherworldly Light
Phase windows: emergency responses and tapped-out turns
Runtime cues: legal alternative-cost or exile-a-card payment choice
Use when: the game requires a free answer to stop lethal, a decisive commander, or a protected combo action.
Avoid when: hard-casting or normal payment is available this turn without losing the decisive window.
Instructions: Treat pitch choices as resource commitments. Exile the lowest-impact card only after confirming the target or stack object is worth the card disadvantage.
Pilot skill floor: medium
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Sideboard Selection Gate
Priority: High
Decision families: sideboard; pregame
Cards: Rest in Peace; Dovin's Veto; Grafdigger's Cage; Pithing Needle; Stony Silence; Disenchant; Hydroblast; Blue Elemental Blast; Containment Priest; Supreme Verdict
Phase windows: post-game sideboarding
Runtime cues: legal sideboard plan candidates; opponent strategy known from prior game
Use when: selecting a post-board plan for graveyard, artifact, activated-ability, red, creature-swarm, control, or combo pressure.
Avoid when: a sideboard card has no visible or inferred matchup role and reduces pressure or interaction density.
Instructions: Add hate only when it changes the opponent’s legal actions or answers the axis that decided the prior game. Keep enough threats and cheap interaction to avoid becoming passive.
Pilot skill floor: high
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Sideboard Hate Deployment
Priority: Medium
Decision families: priority; sideboard; interaction
Cards: Rest in Peace; Grafdigger's Cage; Pithing Needle; Stony Silence; Disenchant; Containment Priest; Supreme Verdict; Hydroblast; Blue Elemental Blast; Dovin's Veto
Phase windows: early main phases, opponent combo windows, sweeper turns
Runtime cues: legal cast action for sideboard card; visible opponent graveyard, artifacts, activated ability, red spell, creature board, or noncreature stack object
Use when: the sideboard card has a visible target, prevents an enabled public line, or answers the permanent/spell type that is deciding the game.
Avoid when: casting the hate card consumes mana needed for a current legal answer or the battlefield gives it no observable function.
Instructions: Deploy permanent hate before the opponent’s enabled turn. Hold reactive cards for the stack or board state they are registered to answer.
Pilot skill floor: medium
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes
