# Strategy Specifications
## Deck Name And Archetype
Glarb, Calamity's Augur is a Sultai Duel Commander combo-control deck built around command-zone access to Glarb, Calamity's Augur, dense one-mana interaction, compact win packages, and singleton card selection. The registered strategy name is `Glarb, Calamity's Augur`; the active format is Duel Commander; the current archetype tags are combo and control, with combo as the decisive endgame role and control as the default survival shell.

- Validation: The registered main deck contains 100 cards and the registered sideboard contains 10 cards, matching the active Veles Duel Commander validation contract supplied for this guide.
- Singleton status: The main deck is singleton outside basic lands; Forest, Island, and Swamp are the only basic-land names present, and no nonbasic or spell name is repeated.
- Command-zone status: Glarb, Calamity's Augur is the commander identity anchor for this guide, so runtime choices should account for commander access, commander tax, and commander recasting only when the rules engine exposes those legal actions.
- Sideboard status: The sideboard is registered for Veles policy use and contains exactly Veil of Summer, Endurance, Force of Vigor, Hydroblast, Blue Elemental Blast, Nihil Spellbomb, Grafdigger's Cage, Pithing Needle, Dauthi Voidwalker, and Culling Ritual.
- Legality status: The supplied format-aware validation result passes; this guide should not raise 60-card deck-size concerns, commander-format sideboard mismatch concerns, or duplicate-card concerns unless a later runtime deck export contradicts the registered inventory.
- Color identity status: The deck is Sultai by card inventory and commander plan, with black, blue, and green requirements across Demonic Consultation, Tainted Pact, Doomsday, Thought Lash, Jace, Wielder of Mysteries, Counterspell, Force of Negation, Abrupt Decay, Deathrite Shaman, Oko, Thief of Crowns, and Toxic Deluge.
- Mana concern: The manabase is powerful but decision-sensitive because early blue interaction, early black discard or combo setup, and green utility compete for untapped sources; keep and sequencing decisions must value lands that cast Ponder, Preordain, Brainstorm, Thoughtseize, Inquisition of Kozilek, Duress, Deathrite Shaman, Force Spike, Spell Pierce, Fatal Push, Cut Down, and Abrupt Decay on time.
- Role concern: The deck should not be piloted as a generic midrange pile when a protected deterministic win is available, and it should not force a fragile combo line when the visible board, opponent mana, known hand information, or stack pressure says waiting is safer.
- Stock/rogue/hybrid status: Treat this as a hybrid list: the Consultation, Pact, Doomsday, Thought Lash, and Jace, Wielder of Mysteries endgame resembles established combo-control structures, while Glarb, Calamity's Augur and the exact 100-card singleton mix make the tactical guide deck-specific rather than stock.
- Information status: Opponent archetype, commander, decklist, hand, and sideboard plan are not supplied in this batch; matchup and sideboard advice must therefore remain conditional on visible permanents, revealed cards, public graveyards, known stack objects, and legal actions exposed by Veles.
- Runtime rule: The pilot must choose only legal action IDs offered by Veles, must treat hidden zones as unknown unless revealed, and must avoid assuming that cards such as Demonic Tutor, Intuition, Mystical Dispute, Sink into Stupor, Waterlogged Teachings, Stock Up, Consult the Star Charts, Requiting Hex, Flow State, or Rakshasa's Bargain have a specific mode or text until the engine presents the legal choices.
- Quality gate: Every later section should preserve exact registered names, prioritize Glarb, Calamity's Augur control-combo decisions over generic Commander heuristics, and mark uncertain card-text-dependent guidance as conditional rather than invented.

## Thesis
Glarb, Calamity's Augur assembles a protected Sultai combo-control endgame by using cheap discard, countermagic, removal, tutors, and selection to reach a decisive library-manipulation win. The cleanest wins revolve around Jace, Wielder of Mysteries paired with Demonic Consultation, Tainted Pact, Thought Lash, or a Doomsday line, but the pilot must only commit when Veles exposes legal actions and the visible stack, mana, hand information, graveyard state, and clock make the attempt defensible.

- Prioritize protected inevitability over early pressure: spend Force Spike, Spell Pierce, Spell Snare, Mental Misstep, Mana Leak, Lose Focus, Remand, Memory Lapse, Counterspell, Daze, Force of Negation, Subtlety, Wash Away, Mystical Dispute, and Cryptic Command to prevent the opponent from establishing a faster kill, disabling the combo, or forcing the pilot to go off before ready.
- Prioritize information before commitment: use Thoughtseize, Inquisition of Kozilek, Duress, Gitaxian Probe, Vendilion Clique, and visible public information to decide whether a combo attempt is safe; do not assume unknown cards are absent because the opponent passed priority.
- Prioritize card selection that fixes the current bottleneck: Ponder, Preordain, Brainstorm, Gush, Stock Up, Lorien Revealed, Waterlogged Teachings, Consult the Star Charts, and Flow State should be evaluated by whether the deck needs land, protection, a payoff, or a specific enabler. Card text check required for Consult the Star Charts and Flow State; follow only legal choices shown by the engine.
- Prioritize commander access as a repeatable plan enabler only when recasting Glarb, Calamity's Augur is legal and mana-efficient; do not overpay commander tax into open interaction if the same turn can hold up countermagic or advance a protected tutor line.
- Avoid playing as a fair creature deck unless forced: Psychic Frog, Barrowgoyf, Abhorrent Oculus, Orcish Bowmasters, Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student, Snapcaster Mage, Deathrite Shaman, Vendilion Clique, Oko, Thief of Crowns, and Glarb, Calamity's Augur can win games through pressure, but they are backup clocks and resource engines unless the combo is inaccessible or too risky.
- Avoid speculative all-in lines: Demonic Consultation, Tainted Pact, Thought Lash, Doomsday, and Jace, Wielder of Mysteries can convert immediately, but they also expose the pilot to losing if the required follow-up is countered, removed, or unavailable; commit only after checking visible protection, opponent mana, known hand contents, and whether waiting is worse.

## Role Package
- Threats: Glarb, Calamity's Augur, Psychic Frog, Barrowgoyf, Abhorrent Oculus, Orcish Bowmasters, Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student, Vendilion Clique, Deathrite Shaman, Snapcaster Mage, and Oko, Thief of Crowns provide pressure, blockers, planeswalker pressure, or recurring value; use them to stabilize first, then shorten the game once protection is assembled.
- Payoffs: Jace, Wielder of Mysteries is the primary deterministic payoff with Demonic Consultation, Tainted Pact, Thought Lash, and Doomsday; treat any line involving these cards as a commitment gate rather than routine value unless the engine reveals a forced or clearly legal deterministic action.
- Engines: Glarb, Calamity's Augur, Thought Lash, Doomsday, Oko, Thief of Crowns, Deathrite Shaman, Psychic Frog, Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student, and Mystic Sanctuary are the recurring-resource or structural pieces; Card text check required for exact Glarb, Calamity's Augur, Psychic Frog, Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student, and Abhorrent Oculus decisions.
- Velocity: Ponder, Preordain, Brainstorm, Gitaxian Probe, Gush, Lorien Revealed, Stock Up, Waterlogged Teachings, Consult the Star Charts, Flow State, Demonic Tutor, Profane Tutor, Intuition, Tainted Pact, Demonic Consultation, and Doomsday find lands, protection, payoff pieces, or compact wins; Card text check required for Stock Up, Waterlogged Teachings, Consult the Star Charts, and Flow State.
- Interaction: Fatal Push, Cut Down, Long Goodbye, Abrupt Decay, Tear Asunder, Murderous Cut, Toxic Deluge, Requiting Hex, Legolas's Quick Reflexes, Otawara, Soaring City, Sink into Stupor, Orcish Bowmasters, Subtlety, Vendilion Clique, and the counterspell suite answer board, stack, and tempo problems; Card text check required for Requiting Hex, Long Goodbye, Legolas's Quick Reflexes, and Sink into Stupor targeting or mode choices.
- Protection: Thoughtseize, Inquisition of Kozilek, Duress, Gitaxian Probe, Veil of Summer, Force of Negation, Daze, Spell Pierce, Counterspell, Mana Leak, Mental Misstep, Force Spike, Lose Focus, Mystical Dispute, Cryptic Command, Remand, Memory Lapse, Stern Scolding, Spell Snare, Wash Away, and Subtlety protect the combo or prevent lethal pressure.
- Recursion: Snapcaster Mage, Noxious Revival, Unearth, Mystic Sanctuary, Cling to Dust, Deathrite Shaman, and Rakshasa's Bargain recover spent cards, rebuy interaction, or convert graveyard resources; Card text check required for Rakshasa's Bargain.
- Mana: Command Tower, Underground Sea, Tropical Island, Bayou, Watery Grave, Overgrown Tomb, Breeding Pool, fetch lands, filter/check/verge lands, Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth, Reflecting Pool, Horizon of Progress, Mistrise Village, Multiversal Passage, Otawara, Soaring City, and Mystic Sanctuary support Sultai color density while still demanding careful untapped-source sequencing.
- Sideboard modules: Veil of Summer fights green or blue interaction and discard; Endurance, Nihil Spellbomb, Grafdigger's Cage, and Dauthi Voidwalker pressure graveyard plans; Force of Vigor and Culling Ritual answer artifact/enchantment or small-permanent clusters; Hydroblast and Blue Elemental Blast fight red pressure or red stack threats; Pithing Needle targets visible activated abilities only when the named card is known or strategically forced.

## Primary Win Conditions
- Protected Jace win: prioritize Jace, Wielder of Mysteries plus Demonic Consultation, Tainted Pact, Thought Lash, or Doomsday when the hand or board contains enough mana, protection, and information to survive the commitment turn. Set up with discard or Gitaxian Probe first when available, hold Force of Negation, Daze, Counterspell, Spell Pierce, Mana Leak, Mental Misstep, or similar interaction for the decisive exchange, and do not begin a library-exile line if Jace, Wielder of Mysteries can be answered before the draw or replacement effect resolves.
- Thought Lash conversion: use Thought Lash as a win-path engine only when the legal action text and visible state show how it connects to Jace, Wielder of Mysteries or another safe library-empty payoff. Prioritize this path in slower games where the pilot can defend a permanent, but delay it against visible pressure if spending mana on Thought Lash leaves no answer to lethal combat or stack interaction.
- Consultation or Pact conversion: treat Demonic Consultation and Tainted Pact as decisive combo tools, not generic card selection, unless the engine exposes a legal low-risk use that does not endanger the library plan. Prioritize these cards when Jace, Wielder of Mysteries is already protected or immediately castable, and avoid firing them into unknown open mana unless discard, Vendilion Clique, Gitaxian Probe, or public information has reduced the relevant risk.
- Doomsday conversion: cast Doomsday only after checking life total, mana, draw access, known interaction, and whether the pile can be executed through visible constraints. Prioritize Doomsday when the opponent clock forces a compact win or when tutors and selection can finish the line; postpone it when a normal control turn improves protection without giving the opponent a lethal window.
- Tutor assembly: use Demonic Tutor, Profane Tutor, Intuition, Waterlogged Teachings, and selection spells to find the missing category: payoff, enabler, protection, land, or emergency interaction. Card text check required for Waterlogged Teachings; choose only from legal engine candidates and visible revealed information.

## Secondary Win Conditions
- Creature pressure closes disrupted games: pivot to Glarb, Calamity's Augur, Psychic Frog, Barrowgoyf, Abhorrent Oculus, Orcish Bowmasters, Vendilion Clique, Snapcaster Mage, Deathrite Shaman, Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student, and Oko, Thief of Crowns when combo pieces are exiled, countered, or too dangerous to expose. Card text check required for exact Glarb, Calamity's Augur, Psychic Frog, Barrowgoyf, Abhorrent Oculus, and Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student combat or transformation implications.
- Oko pressure stabilizes while winning: use Oko, Thief of Crowns as a board-control and long-game threat when a fair game is safer than forcing combo. Prioritize Oko, Thief of Crowns if it neutralizes a visible attacker, protects life, or creates a clock while leaving cheap interaction available.
- Graveyard value sustains the fallback plan: use Snapcaster Mage, Noxious Revival, Mystic Sanctuary, Unearth, Cling to Dust, Murderous Cut, Deathrite Shaman, and Rakshasa's Bargain to rebuy interaction, recover a threat, or convert stocked graveyards into tempo. Card text check required for Rakshasa's Bargain; do not consume graveyard resources needed for Murderous Cut, Deathrite Shaman, Cling to Dust, Mystic Sanctuary, or Snapcaster Mage without comparing the next-turn use.
- Incremental damage matters when combo is locked out: chip with safe attackers and Deathrite Shaman only when this does not expose a key blocker or lose a planeswalker defense. Prefer pressure that keeps mana open over all-in attacks unless the visible clock shows a faster kill than the combo route.

## Emergency Lines
- Behind on life: spend removal and sweepers before sculpting, using Fatal Push, Cut Down, Long Goodbye, Abrupt Decay, Tear Asunder, Murderous Cut, Requiting Hex, Legolas's Quick Reflexes, Subtlety, Otawara, Soaring City, Sink into Stupor, Cryptic Command, or Toxic Deluge according to legal targets and visible urgency. Card text check required for Long Goodbye, Requiting Hex, Legolas's Quick Reflexes, and Sink into Stupor.
- Behind on board: stabilize first with Toxic Deluge, Oko, Thief of Crowns, cheap removal, Subtlety, Cryptic Command, or blockers, then resume tutor or Jace planning after the opponent no longer threatens lethal. Do not keep a slow combo hand on board if the current visible attack step or next turn forces survival decisions.
- Behind on cards: use Ponder, Preordain, Brainstorm, Gush, Stock Up, Lorien Revealed, Consult the Star Charts, Flow State, Cling to Dust, or commander-driven selection to rebuild, but choose interaction over velocity when a single opposing permanent or spell will end the game. Card text check required for Stock Up, Consult the Star Charts, and Flow State.
- Behind on mana: fetch and sequence untapped blue and black sources first, because countermagic, discard, tutors, and Jace lines are mana-color sensitive. Use Lorien Revealed, Waterlogged Teachings, Ponder, Preordain, Brainstorm, and land choices to fix the bottleneck, and avoid commander tax or expensive plays that prevent holding up interaction.
- Engine disrupted: if Thought Lash, Doomsday, Demonic Consultation, Tainted Pact, or Jace, Wielder of Mysteries is gone or unsafe, transition to fair control with creatures, Oko, Thief of Crowns, Snapcaster Mage, Mystic Sanctuary, and countermagic. If graveyard recursion is shut off, value hand-based selection and hard-cast threats over lines that require Snapcaster Mage, Unearth, or Mystic Sanctuary.

## Resource Model
- Life is a combo resource until the opponent presents a visible lethal or two-turn clock. Spend life for Thoughtseize, Gitaxian Probe, Watery Grave, Overgrown Tomb, Breeding Pool, Toxic Deluge, and similar legal costs when the exchange buys information, removes a decisive card, enables Jace, Wielder of Mysteries setup, or keeps mana untapped for protection; conserve life when the fair plan already controls the stack and board.
- Hand size is protection plus assembly, not raw volume. Keep at least one category of payoff, enabler, tutor, discard, counterspell, removal, or selection unless a legal cantrip or tutor action can immediately repair the missing role; avoid cashing Brainstorm, Ponder, Preordain, Stock Up, Consult the Star Charts, or Flow State into a low-impact line while a combo gate or removal gate is unresolved. Card text check required for Stock Up, Consult the Star Charts, and Flow State.
- Mana converts into timing advantage. Cheap interaction such as Force Spike, Mental Misstep, Spell Snare, Spell Pierce, Daze, Mana Leak, Counterspell, Remand, Memory Lapse, Lose Focus, Wash Away, Stern Scolding, Mystical Dispute, Force of Negation, and Subtlety lets the deck sculpt while staying alive, so do not tap out for a slow permanent unless the visible board and known hand information make the shields-down turn acceptable.
- Board presence is a stabilizer before it is a clock. Use Deathrite Shaman, Orcish Bowmasters, Snapcaster Mage, Vendilion Clique, Psychic Frog, Barrowgoyf, Abhorrent Oculus, Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student, Glarb, Calamity's Augur, and Oko, Thief of Crowns to absorb pressure, pressure planeswalkers, or shorten the game after disruption; do not trade away the only blocker protecting Jace, Wielder of Mysteries unless the trade prevents a larger loss.
- Graveyard cards are shared fuel. Preserve the graveyard when Murderous Cut, Cling to Dust, Deathrite Shaman, Snapcaster Mage, Unearth, Mystic Sanctuary, Noxious Revival, Rakshasa's Bargain, or Gush lines need specific cards or thresholds; spend it aggressively only when survival, a protected combo turn, or a decisive tempo swing is visible.
- Exile is a cost and a warning zone. Demonic Consultation, Tainted Pact, Thought Lash, Doomsday, Force of Negation, Subtlety, and Murderous Cut can convert exile into a win or emergency answer, but exiling Jace, Wielder of Mysteries, a needed draw spell, or the only remaining protection may collapse the plan; verify legal action text and visible libraries before committing.
- Lands are both mana and spell access. Fetchlands, Mystic Sanctuary, Otawara, Soaring City, Sink into Stupor, Waterlogged Teachings, Lorien Revealed, Mistrise Village, Horizon of Progress, and Multiversal Passage should be evaluated as utility slots as well as sources; card text check required for Sink into Stupor, Waterlogged Teachings, Mistrise Village, Horizon of Progress, and Multiversal Passage.
- Sacrifice fodder is scarce. Do not spend expendable creatures or tokens casually if a visible line needs a body for blocking, Oko, Thief of Crowns pressure, Rakshasa's Bargain, or future edict insulation; card text check required for Rakshasa's Bargain.
- Information is worth mana when it changes commitment. Use Duress, Inquisition of Kozilek, Thoughtseize, Gitaxian Probe, Vendilion Clique, and legal reveal windows to decide whether to force Jace, Wielder of Mysteries, Doomsday, Demonic Consultation, Tainted Pact, or Thought Lash now or wait.
- Sideboard bullets convert narrow cards into matchup leverage. Veil of Summer protects green/black-blue fights, Endurance and Nihil Spellbomb pressure graveyards, Grafdigger's Cage and Dauthi Voidwalker disrupt graveyard or library-cast plans, Force of Vigor and Culling Ritual answer artifact/enchantment or small-permanent clusters, Hydroblast and Blue Elemental Blast answer red pressure, and Pithing Needle names only a known or clearly exposed activated-ability card.

## Mana Guide
- Keep hands that produce early blue and black, then green. Blue supports cantrips and counters, black supports discard, tutors, removal, and Jace, Wielder of Mysteries setup, while green supports Abrupt Decay, Tear Asunder, Oko, Thief of Crowns, Deathrite Shaman, and sideboard cards such as Veil of Summer, Endurance, Force of Vigor, and Culling Ritual.
- Mulligan mana that cannot cast a turn-one or turn-two play. A hand with only colorless or slow conditional access is suspect unless it has Ponder, Preordain, Brainstorm, Lorien Revealed, Waterlogged Teachings, or another legal fixing action plus enough time against the visible matchup. Card text check required for Waterlogged Teachings.
- Fetch for untapped interaction first when under pressure. Polluted Delta, Misty Rainforest, Verdant Catacombs, Marsh Flats, Scalding Tarn, Flooded Strand, Bloodstained Mire, Windswept Heath, Wooded Foothills, and Prismatic Vista should normally secure Underground Sea, Tropical Island, Bayou, Watery Grave, Breeding Pool, Overgrown Tomb, Island, Swamp, or Forest according to the hand's immediate spells, with blue-black prioritized for discard plus counterplay.
- Sequence tapped or conditional lands around the turn's legal spell. Drowned Catacomb, Shipwreck Marsh, Deathcap Glade, Gloomlake Verge, Willowrush Verge, Hedge Maze, Underground Mortuary, Undercity Sewers, Clearwater Pathway, Reflecting Pool, Sunken Ruins, Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth, Command Tower, and utility lands require runtime color checks; do not strand Counterspell, Abrupt Decay, or Jace, Wielder of Mysteries by choosing the wrong early source.
- Play land before draw when mana is already known and needed this turn. If the hand requires holding up Spell Pierce, Fatal Push, Cut Down, Stern Scolding, Mental Misstep, or Daze, make the land drop that enables the legal interaction before passing priority unless a selection spell can materially improve the land choice.
- Draw before land when the land choice is uncertain. Cast Ponder, Preordain, Brainstorm, Gitaxian Probe, Stock Up, Consult the Star Charts, Flow State, or commander-enabled top-library selection before the land drop if the result may choose between untapped blue, black discard, green removal, Mystic Sanctuary setup, or utility-channel timing.
- Preserve Mystic Sanctuary deliberately. Fetch an Island type and track graveyard spell quality before relying on Mystic Sanctuary, because rebuying Demonic Consultation, Tainted Pact, Counterspell, Abrupt Decay, Toxic Deluge, or a tutor can decide the game only if the land enters with its condition satisfied and the recast timing is legal.
- Treat Otawara, Soaring City, Sink into Stupor, Lorien Revealed, and Waterlogged Teachings as modal resources. Use them as lands when color or curve is the bottleneck, and hold them as spells only when the hand already has stable mana and their legal text answers a visible problem or advances a protected combo line.
- Do not overcommit green early at the expense of blue-black. Green is important for Abrupt Decay, Tear Asunder, Oko, Thief of Crowns, Deathrite Shaman, and sideboard cards, but most protected wins require blue for Jace, Wielder of Mysteries or counters and black for tutors, discard, Demonic Consultation, Tainted Pact, and removal.

## Mulligan Guide
- Strong keep: keep two to three lands with early blue-black access plus one selection spell and one disruption piece, such as Polluted Delta plus Underground Sea, Ponder, Thoughtseize, Counterspell, Fatal Push, and Demonic Consultation. This hand can sculpt, trade, and threaten the Jace, Wielder of Mysteries or Consultation/Pact axis once protection appears.
- Strong keep: keep one-land hands only when the land casts a one-mana cantrip and the hand has redundant looks, such as Island, Ponder, Preordain, Brainstorm, Force Spike, Fatal Push, and Duress. Ship the same shell on the draw against fast pressure if missing black or a second mana source after the first selection action.
- Medium keep: keep two-color hands with interaction but no engine, such as Watery Grave, Deathcap Glade, Inquisition of Kozilek, Mana Leak, Abrupt Decay, Snapcaster Mage, and Oko, Thief of Crowns. This hand is a fair-control opener and should prioritize hitting land drops over forcing an early combo search.
- Medium keep: keep Glarb, Calamity's Augur plus stable mana and cheap plays when the hand already functions without commander text. Card text check required for commander-specific top-library lines, so do not keep a weak hand only because Glarb might fix it.
- Risky keep: keep Demonic Tutor or Profane Tutor hands without protection only when the rest of the hand interacts early. A hand of three lands, Demonic Tutor, Jace, Wielder of Mysteries, Doomsday, and no discard or counter is powerful but fragile, and should wait for information before committing.
- Risky keep: keep Thought Lash plus Jace, Wielder of Mysteries only with enough mana development or protection to survive the setup. Do not assume Thought Lash wins alone, and do not expose Jace into known pressure or open interaction unless waiting is worse.
- Automatic ship: ship zero-land, six-plus-land, or single slow-land hands with no Ponder, Preordain, Brainstorm, Lorien Revealed, Waterlogged Teachings, Gitaxian Probe, or cheap interaction. Card text check required for Waterlogged Teachings, so it cannot rescue an otherwise uncastable hand unless the legal action confirms it.
- Automatic ship: ship hands that cannot cast any spell before turn three against an unknown opponent. This list is built to trade early with Duress, Inquisition of Kozilek, Thoughtseize, Fatal Push, Cut Down, Stern Scolding, Spell Pierce, Spell Snare, Mental Misstep, Daze, or Force Spike.
- Matchup-dependent keep: keep removal-heavy hands with Fatal Push, Cut Down, Long Goodbye, Abrupt Decay, Orcish Bowmasters, or Toxic Deluge against visible creature decks, but downgrade them against spell-combo unless discard or permission is also present.
- Matchup-dependent keep: keep permission-heavy hands with Counterspell, Mana Leak, Remand, Memory Lapse, Mystical Dispute, Force of Negation, or Subtlety against stack-centric decks, but require a blocker, removal, or faster selection against aggressive boards.
- Play/draw adjustment: on the play, value Force Spike, Daze, Spell Pierce, Duress, Thoughtseize, and Inquisition of Kozilek more highly because they can seize tempo before the opponent develops. On the draw, value Fatal Push, Cut Down, Mental Misstep, Stern Scolding, and cheap cantrips more because they recover lost tempo.
- Trap hand: do not keep multiple expensive or setup cards with no bridge, such as Cryptic Command, Intuition, Jace, Wielder of Mysteries, Thought Lash, Toxic Deluge, and only two awkward lands. The hand has names that matter but no early legal way to avoid dying or being disrupted.
- Trap hand: do not keep Demonic Consultation or Tainted Pact as a blind early play without Jace, Wielder of Mysteries, Thought Lash, a tutor target, or a protected reason. These cards can be decisive, but unscaffolded exile can remove the deck's own win resources.

## Turn Arc
- Turn 1: lead with untapped blue-black access when possible and cast the spell that changes the next decision most. Prefer Duress, Inquisition of Kozilek, Thoughtseize, Gitaxian Probe, Ponder, Preordain, Brainstorm, Deathrite Shaman, Fatal Push, Cut Down, Mental Misstep, or Spell Pierce according to legal actions and visible matchup pressure.
- Turn 1 deviation: hold Brainstorm when a fetchland is already available and there is no urgent land or answer to find. Cast it immediately only to fix a failing hand, protect a card from discard if rules output supports the line, or find a one-mana answer before passing.
- Turn 1 deviation: keep Daze, Force Spike, Spell Pierce, Stern Scolding, or Fatal Push available when the opponent's first meaningful play is more important than improving your own hand. Do not tap out for a cantrip if the visible threat window is likely to punish it.
- Turn 2: either keep interaction open or deploy a resilient setup piece. Preferred plays include Counterspell, Mana Leak, Memory Lapse, Remand, Abrupt Decay, Orcish Bowmasters, Psychic Frog, Barrowgoyf, Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student, Snapcaster Mage only with a useful legal target, or a second selection spell plus held one-mana interaction.
- Turn 2 deviation: use Demonic Tutor, Profane Tutor, or Intuition only when the hand already has safety, mana, or a clear missing piece. The default tutor search should complete a protected Jace, Wielder of Mysteries line, find interaction that prevents losing, or assemble a control bridge into Glarb, Calamity's Augur.
- Turn 3: choose between commander development, planeswalker pressure, and protected combo setup. Cast Glarb, Calamity's Augur, Oko, Thief of Crowns, Vendilion Clique, Stock Up, Consult the Star Charts, or Abhorrent Oculus only when the battlefield and stack allow the tempo loss; card text check required for Consult the Star Charts and Abhorrent Oculus.
- Turn 3 deviation: prioritize Toxic Deluge, Murderous Cut, Long Goodbye, Tear Asunder, Abrupt Decay, Subtlety, or Force of Negation over engine setup when the opponent's board or stack threatens to invalidate the next turn. Survival beats sculpting when a short clock is visible.
- Turns 4-5: start asking whether the game is about winning now, locking control, or stabilizing. Protected commitment lines include Jace, Wielder of Mysteries plus Demonic Consultation or Tainted Pact, Doomsday with enough follow-up, Thought Lash with a confirmed payoff, or Mystic Sanctuary/Noxious Revival loops for a known high-impact card.
- Turns 4-5 deviation: tap out for Jace, Wielder of Mysteries, Doomsday, Thought Lash, Cryptic Command, Gush, or Rakshasa's Bargain only after checking known interaction, opponent mana, current pressure, and follow-up protection. Card text check required for Rakshasa's Bargain.
- Late game: convert every draw step into either a protected win attempt or a hard control exchange. Reuse Snapcaster Mage, Mystic Sanctuary, Noxious Revival, Cling to Dust, Deathrite Shaman, Gush, Lorien Revealed, Waterlogged Teachings, and Otawara, Soaring City as legal text permits, but preserve win conditions from exile or graveyard costs.
- Late game deviation: stop trading one-for-one when the opponent has inevitability or repeated commander access. Shift to a commitment gate by using discard or probe effects first, then force the cleanest legal win attempt with counter backup rather than waiting for a perfect hand.

## Card Roles
- Commander: treat Glarb, Calamity's Augur as a control-combo engine, not an automatic curve play. Cast it when legal text and visible board state make its information or card-flow role matter, and hold it when commander tax, removal exposure, or tapping down shields would make the next combo gate weaker. Card text check required before relying on any specific top-library permission or selection mode.
- Fast information: Gitaxian Probe, Duress, Inquisition of Kozilek, Thoughtseize, and Vendilion Clique decide whether to sculpt, defend, or commit. Use them before Demonic Tutor, Doomsday, Jace, Wielder of Mysteries, Thought Lash, Demonic Consultation, or Tainted Pact whenever the choice can reveal counterplay; do not spend discard on a low-impact card while a visible combo, commander, or pressure card will decide the next turn.
- Cheap selection: Ponder, Preordain, Brainstorm, Stock Up, Consult the Star Charts, Lorien Revealed, Waterlogged Teachings, Flow State, and Gush are the hand-shaping layer. Use Ponder and Preordain early to hit land and interaction, hold Brainstorm for fetchland or discard-pressure spots when possible, and treat Stock Up, Consult the Star Charts, Waterlogged Teachings, and Flow State as card text check required until the rules engine exposes exact legal modes. Do not cantrip past a required answer when visible lethal or a stack threat is already present.
- Tutors and combo assembly: Demonic Tutor, Profane Tutor, Intuition, Doomsday, Demonic Consultation, Tainted Pact, Noxious Revival, Mystic Sanctuary, and Snapcaster Mage are precision tools. Search or select the missing piece only after checking whether the current hand needs Jace, Wielder of Mysteries, Thought Lash, protection, mana, or removal more; do not fire Demonic Consultation or Tainted Pact blindly when exiling unknown resources can remove the intended payoff. Use Noxious Revival, Mystic Sanctuary, and Snapcaster Mage to rebuy a known high-impact spell, protect a deterministic pile, or force a second exchange after the opponent spends interaction.
- Win payoffs: Jace, Wielder of Mysteries, Thought Lash, Doomsday, Demonic Consultation, and Tainted Pact form the highest-risk winning package. Commit only through a visible safety gate: enough mana, known opponent hand or constrained opponent mana, protection available, and a reason waiting is worse. Do not expose Jace, Wielder of Mysteries as a fair planeswalker against pressure unless its static or activated role is immediately relevant and legal text confirms the line.
- Permission suite: Force Spike, Daze, Spell Pierce, Spell Snare, Mental Misstep, Stern Scolding, Wash Away, Lose Focus, Mana Leak, Counterspell, Remand, Memory Lapse, Mystical Dispute, Force of Negation, Subtlety, and Cryptic Command protect tempo, stop opposing commanders, and clear combo turns. Prioritize cheap permission early when it trades up on mana, preserve hard counters for cards that beat the win attempt, and remember that Remand and Memory Lapse are delay spells rather than permanent answers. Card text check required for Lose Focus and Stern Scolding targeting constraints at runtime.
- Removal suite: Fatal Push, Cut Down, Long Goodbye, Abrupt Decay, Tear Asunder, Murderous Cut, Toxic Deluge, Requiting Hex, Otawara, Soaring City, and Legolas's Quick Reflexes answer board states that permission missed. Spend one-mana removal on snowballing attackers or must-answer utility creatures, hold Abrupt Decay and Tear Asunder for permanents that counterspells cannot cleanly solve, and use Toxic Deluge as the reset button when life loss leaves a survivable path. Card text check required for Requiting Hex and Legolas's Quick Reflexes before assuming protection, fight, or removal behavior.
- Creature threats: Deathrite Shaman, Orcish Bowmasters, Psychic Frog, Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student, Barrowgoyf, Abhorrent Oculus, Vendilion Clique, Snapcaster Mage, and Subtlety bridge control into pressure. Deploy them when they either defend life total, tax opposing card draw, pressure planeswalkers, or force the opponent to act before a combo turn; avoid attacking with a necessary blocker under a short clock. Card text check required for Psychic Frog, Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student, Barrowgoyf, and Abhorrent Oculus whenever the line depends on exact counters, transform conditions, graveyard sizing, or evasion.
- Graveyard tools: Deathrite Shaman, Cling to Dust, Murderous Cut, Abhorrent Oculus, Barrowgoyf, Snapcaster Mage, Noxious Revival, Mystic Sanctuary, Unearth, and Rakshasa's Bargain all care about graveyards or recursion. Sequence them so delve, escape-like costs, exile costs, or card draw do not consume the spell needed for Snapcaster Mage, Mystic Sanctuary, or a future tutor line. Card text check required for Rakshasa's Bargain and Abhorrent Oculus before spending graveyard resources.
- Fair engines and stabilizers: Oko, Thief of Crowns, Psychic Frog, Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student, Barrowgoyf, Orcish Bowmasters, Glarb, Calamity's Augur, and Deathrite Shaman are the non-combo way to win. Use them when the opponent is constrained or when the board demands a permanent answer, but do not let fair value distract from a protected Jace, Wielder of Mysteries line if the combo window is open.
- Mana acceleration and land-flow cards: Exploration, Deathrite Shaman, Lorien Revealed, Gush, Brainstorm, Ponder, Preordain, and fetchlands smooth awkward singleton mana. Exploration is strongest with extra lands or Gush-style refills; do not cast it as a do-nothing into pressure if holding interaction matters more. Use Lorien Revealed as mana fixing when land development is failing, and as a spell only when legal text and tempo permit.
- Land roles: Command Tower, Underground Sea, Tropical Island, Bayou, Watery Grave, Overgrown Tomb, Breeding Pool, Darkslick Shores, Drowned Catacomb, Shipwreck Marsh, Deathcap Glade, Gloomlake Verge, Willowrush Verge, Clearwater Pathway, Sunken Ruins, Reflecting Pool, Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth, Hedge Maze, Underground Mortuary, Undercity Sewers, Horizon of Progress, Mistrise Village, Multiversal Passage, Forest, Island, and Swamp set up blue-black first with green as support. Fetchlands Bloodstained Mire, Flooded Strand, Marsh Flats, Misty Rainforest, Polluted Delta, Prismatic Vista, Scalding Tarn, Verdant Catacombs, Windswept Heath, and Wooded Foothills should preserve Brainstorm, Mystic Sanctuary, color fixing, and life total according to matchup pressure. Card text check required for Horizon of Progress, Mistrise Village, and Multiversal Passage before treating them as utility beyond mana.
- Modal spell-lands and channel lands: Sink into Stupor, Waterlogged Teachings, Otawara, Soaring City, and Mystic Sanctuary are lands when mana is the bottleneck and spells when the game is about a specific stack or board exchange. Do not spend them early as spells if the hand cannot still cast Counterspell, Jace, Wielder of Mysteries, or the chosen tutor line on curve.

## Interaction Priorities
- Priority: counter or discard cards that stop the protected win turn before cards that merely trade resources. When preparing Jace, Wielder of Mysteries plus Thought Lash, Demonic Consultation, Tainted Pact, or Doomsday, use Thoughtseize, Duress, Inquisition of Kozilek, Gitaxian Probe, and Vendilion Clique to identify cheap permission, instant-speed planeswalker removal, graveyard hate that changes the line, and opposing combo pieces; do not take a medium creature over a visible answer to the actual win condition.
- Priority: spend Force Spike, Daze, Spell Pierce, Mana Leak, Lose Focus, Remand, Memory Lapse, Mystical Dispute, Force of Negation, Counterspell, and Cryptic Command according to whether the opposing spell matters after this turn. Use soft counters early against commanders, mana engines, tutors, and snowballing card advantage; save Counterspell, Force of Negation, and Cryptic Command for must-answer spells when the opponent has enough mana to ignore tax effects. Card text check required for Lose Focus target and payment details.
- Priority: use Mental Misstep, Spell Snare, Stern Scolding, Wash Away, and Subtlety only when the legal target class matches a high-impact threat. In tempo or commander-centric matchups, these are premium on early commanders, one-mana discard, cheap removal aimed at Jace, Wielder of Mysteries, and efficient pressure; against slow control, avoid firing narrow counters at cantrips unless the hand cannot answer the resolved card later. Card text check required for Stern Scolding and Wash Away constraints.
- Removal: kill snowballing creatures, mana creatures, hate creatures, and attackers that collapse the life-total buffer before removing replaceable bodies. Fatal Push, Cut Down, Long Goodbye, Abrupt Decay, Murderous Cut, Tear Asunder, Toxic Deluge, Otawara, Soaring City, Requiting Hex, and Legolas's Quick Reflexes should protect life, clear hate, or open a combo window; do not spend Abrupt Decay or Tear Asunder on a low-impact permanent when an enchantment, artifact, or uncounterable-style threat may be the real obstacle. Card text check required for Requiting Hex and Legolas's Quick Reflexes.
- Bounce and delay: use Remand, Memory Lapse, Cryptic Command, Subtlety, and Otawara, Soaring City to buy the exact turn needed for a tutor, commander recast, or protected win. Prefer delay over permanent removal when the opponent's next recast is too slow or mana-taxed; prefer real removal when the same threat will immediately return and keep attacking.
- Graveyard interaction: exile the card that enables the next legal opposing action, not the most famous card in the graveyard. Deathrite Shaman and Cling to Dust should tag recursive threats, flashback-style spells, reanimation targets, escape-like fuel, or a card needed for opponent delirium/threshold sizing when visible; preserve your own graveyard when Snapcaster Mage, Mystic Sanctuary, Noxious Revival, Murderous Cut, Barrowgoyf, Abhorrent Oculus, Unearth, or Rakshasa's Bargain matters.
- Bait: lead with fair engines or medium pressure when the opponent is representing permission and the hand has a second route. Oko, Thief of Crowns, Glarb, Calamity's Augur, Psychic Frog, Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student, Barrowgoyf, Abhorrent Oculus, Orcish Bowmasters, Stock Up, and Consult the Star Charts can draw answers before the real Jace, Wielder of Mysteries turn, but do not bait with the only card that beats the current board.
- Ignore: let low-impact creatures, redundant cantrips, and slow value permanents resolve when life is stable and the hand is assembling a protected deterministic line. Against aggro, change posture and answer pressure first; against combo, prioritize discard and counters over creature removal; against control, fight over tutors, hand information, and end-step threats rather than every card-selection spell.

## Combat And Trading Rules
- Priority: treat life total as combo setup time, not a decorative resource. Above roughly 14 life, take small attacks if preserving removal, counters, or a key creature improves the next two turns; between 8 and 13, start trading creatures and spending spot removal on repeat damage; at 7 or less, block conservatively and value survival over card advantage unless a protected win is immediately legal.
- Attacks: attack only when the creature is not required as a blocker, mana source, graveyard engine, or combo shield. Deathrite Shaman should usually stay available when its mana or exile action matters; Snapcaster Mage and Vendilion Clique can pressure planeswalkers or chip in after their spell role is spent; Orcish Bowmasters, Psychic Frog, Barrowgoyf, Abhorrent Oculus, and Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student need card text and board-state checks before assuming evasion, counters, transformation, or combat sizing.
- Blocks: trade down on cards when the trade protects the window to resolve Demonic Tutor, Doomsday, Jace, Wielder of Mysteries, Thought Lash, Demonic Consultation, or Tainted Pact. A creature that already generated value, such as Snapcaster Mage or Vendilion Clique, can block aggressively; a creature still anchoring mana, card flow, or graveyard pressure should be preserved unless the damage creates lethal risk.
- Toxic Deluge: use the sweeper when one-for-one removal cannot catch up and the life payment leaves a realistic recovery path. Do not choose a life total that loses to visible attackers, burn-like pressure, commander damage risk, or a follow-up creature already known from revealed information.
- Protection: keep mana and cards available for Counterspell, Spell Pierce, Force of Negation, Daze, Abrupt Decay, Fatal Push, Cut Down, Long Goodbye, or Otawara, Soaring City when attacking would expose Jace, Wielder of Mysteries, Oko, Thief of Crowns, Glarb, Calamity's Augur, or the last blocker. Legolas's Quick Reflexes is card text check required before using it as protection or combat interaction.
- Archetype changes: race combo only when discard or counters already slowed the opponent and your pressure is meaningful; otherwise hold up interaction. Against creature decks, block earlier and convert removal into life-total preservation. Against control, attack planeswalkers and life total with flash or cheap threats while avoiding combat lines that tap out before the opponent's decisive end-step or main-phase spell.

## Selection And Tutor Rules
- Sequence information first when it changes the whole turn. Gitaxian Probe and discard-revealed hands should guide whether Ponder, Preordain, Brainstorm, Demonic Tutor, Profane Tutor, Intuition, Doomsday, Demonic Consultation, or Tainted Pact searches for a combo piece, protection, land, or removal.
- Protect the land drop before sculpting a fragile combo line. Use Ponder and Preordain early to find missing colors or untapped mana; delay Brainstorm until a fetch land such as Polluted Delta, Misty Rainforest, Verdant Catacombs, Marsh Flats, Flooded Strand, Scalding Tarn, Windswept Heath, Wooded Foothills, Bloodstained Mire, or Prismatic Vista can clear unwanted cards.
- Use Brainstorm as a hand-fixing spell before the combo turn and as protection against discard when a key card can be hidden on top. Do not Brainstorm without a shuffle or top-card payoff unless the hand must immediately find interaction, land, or a lethal piece.
- Use Glarb, Calamity's Augur top-card information to choose whether to draw, shuffle, or preserve the top card. Card text check required; only cast or play from the top when the rules engine presents that action as legal.
- Use Demonic Tutor for the missing axis, not automatically for the flashiest card. Find Jace, Wielder of Mysteries, Thought Lash, Demonic Consultation, Tainted Pact, or Doomsday when protected win conditions are close; find Counterspell, Force of Negation, Abrupt Decay, Toxic Deluge, or a land when survival or protection is the bottleneck.
- Use Profane Tutor as a delayed commitment signal. Suspend or otherwise use it early when the game is slow enough to protect the future turn; avoid relying on it as the only route when the opponent can win before it resolves. Card text check required for exact timing.
- Treat Demonic Consultation and Tainted Pact as win-condition cards, emergency selection, or last-resort disruption only after checking exile risk. With Jace, Wielder of Mysteries on board or another legal deterministic win presented, name or select according to the chosen line; without payoff, do not fire them casually into an unknown library unless losing otherwise.
- Treat Doomsday as a commitment gate. Cast it only when life total, mana, draw access, and stack protection can support the pile; after it resolves, every draw/filter spell should serve the exact visible pile plan instead of general value.
- Use Intuition as an end-step setup spell when the opponent's choice cannot break the plan. Build piles around redundancy, recursion with Snapcaster Mage, Noxious Revival, Mystic Sanctuary, Unearth, or graveyard pressure only when those follow-up actions are legal or likely reachable. Card text check required for exact pile restrictions.
- Use Mystic Sanctuary and Noxious Revival to rebuy the exact card the next turn needs. Prioritize Demonic Tutor, Counterspell, Force of Negation, Toxic Deluge, Doomsday, or a lethal enabler; do not place a medium cantrip over immediate survival or combo protection.
- Use Lorien Revealed, Sink into Stupor, Waterlogged Teachings, Stock Up, Consult the Star Charts, Rakshasa's Bargain, Flow State, and Requiting Hex only according to legal actions and verified text. Card text check required; if the visible action is land access, removal, card selection, or card advantage, choose the mode that fixes the current bottleneck.
- Bottom redundant lands after the third or fourth mana only when colors, commander tax, Cryptic Command, Toxic Deluge recovery, and protected combo mana are already covered. Keep interaction-heavy hands supplied with blue mana, and keep black mana available for discard, tutors, and removal.

## Priority And Stack Rules
- Fight over cards that change the next two turns. Use Force Spike, Daze, Spell Pierce, Mana Leak, Lose Focus, Remand, Memory Lapse, Mystical Dispute, Counterspell, Force of Negation, and Cryptic Command on commanders, tutors, protected engines, lethal threats, planeswalkers, and hate that blocks Jace, Wielder of Mysteries or graveyard/top-library lines.
- Spend soft counters early while they are live. Force Spike, Daze, Spell Pierce, Mana Leak, Lose Focus, and Remand lose value as mana grows, so use them to preserve tempo or stop a key setup spell rather than saving them for a late stack fight they cannot win.
- Save hard or flexible answers for protected turns. Counterspell, Force of Negation, Cryptic Command, Abrupt Decay, Tear Asunder, Otawara, Soaring City, and Subtlety should cover the turn you cast Jace, Wielder of Mysteries, Doomsday, Thought Lash, Demonic Consultation, or Tainted Pact when visible interaction would otherwise beat you.
- Let low-impact spells resolve when answering them exposes the combo. Do not counter replaceable cantrips, small creatures, or medium value spells if the opponent's hand, board, or commander indicates a more decisive spell is coming and life total is stable.
- Use narrow counters only on legal high-impact targets. Mental Misstep, Spell Snare, Stern Scolding, Wash Away, Mystical Dispute, and Subtlety require target checks; deploy them against cheap discard, efficient removal aimed at a key permanent, early commanders, or compact combo pieces when the rules engine confirms legality. Card text check required for Stern Scolding and Wash Away.
- Use instant-speed discard and flash threats in the opponent's draw step or end step when timing matters. Vendilion Clique can disrupt a newly drawn or protected card; Snapcaster Mage should usually wait until the target spell and mana plan are clear; Orcish Bowmasters timing is card text check required but should punish draw or protect life only through legal prompts.
- Use removal at the last safe moment unless waiting risks damage, mana, or protection. Fatal Push, Cut Down, Long Goodbye, Abrupt Decay, Murderous Cut, Tear Asunder, Toxic Deluge, Otawara, Soaring City, and Legolas's Quick Reflexes should answer hate, lethal pressure, or must-kill engines before combat damage or before the opponent untaps. Card text check required for Legolas's Quick Reflexes.
- Use graveyard actions with stack awareness. Cling to Dust, Deathrite Shaman, Noxious Revival, Snapcaster Mage, Mystic Sanctuary, Murderous Cut, Unearth, Barrowgoyf, and Abhorrent Oculus all care about graveyard contents; exile opposing recursion or combo fuel only after checking whether your own graveyard resources are more important.
- Hold priority around Jace, Wielder of Mysteries plus Demonic Consultation, Tainted Pact, Thought Lash, or Doomsday lines when the engine offers legal follow-up actions. Do not pass through a winning stack window if the payoff, protection, and target/action text are already visible and legal.
- Decline optional payments or value triggers that consume protection mana before a decisive stack fight. Accept optional costs only when they do not prevent Counterspell, Spell Pierce, Daze, Force of Negation, Abrupt Decay, or the exact mana required for the committed combo line.

## Sideboard Map
- Version note: Policy-Compiled Guide 2026-06-17.

- Sideboard only for a verified matchup stage. Use the rules-engine game number, opponent archetype notes, visible cards, commander identity, and prior-game public information before choosing a plan; do not import every narrow card just because it is powerful. The deck remains a Glarb, Calamity's Augur Sultai interaction-combo deck first, with Jace, Wielder of Mysteries plus Demonic Consultation, Tainted Pact, Doomsday, or Thought Lash as the highest-leverage finish when protected.

- Veil of Summer: bring in against blue or black interaction decks where counterspells, discard, targeted removal, or stack fights decide the Jace, Wielder of Mysteries, Doomsday, Thought Lash, Demonic Consultation, or Tainted Pact turn. Its role is protection for a commitment turn first and value second. It is bad against creature-pressure decks with little blue or black text, artifact engines, and board states where green mana cannot be held without weakening Counterspell, Spell Pierce, Daze, or Abrupt Decay. Its role changes from defensive shield to proactive combo cover when the opponent has already shown discard or permission.

- Endurance: bring in against graveyard engines, self-mill, recursion, delve pressure, reanimation, and decks where library size or graveyard identity matters. Its role is instant-speed disruption that also leaves a body for blocking or pressure. It is bad when the opponent is not graveyard-reliant and your own graveyard resources from Snapcaster Mage, Noxious Revival, Mystic Sanctuary, Cling to Dust, Murderous Cut, Barrowgoyf, Abhorrent Oculus, or Unearth are more important. Its role changes to self-protection if your own library is under pressure from Thought Lash, Demonic Consultation, Tainted Pact, or Doomsday lines, but only use that mode when legal actions and visible text support it.

- Force of Vigor: bring in against artifact or enchantment decks, prison pieces, hate permanents, equipment-heavy pressure, and permanent-based combo. Its role is zero- or low-tempo answer that protects combo access and keeps the battlefield from locking Jace, Wielder of Mysteries lines. It is bad against creature-only aggro, spell-heavy control, and opponents with too few legal targets. Its role changes from reactive answer to pre-combo clearing spell when the opponent has visible permanents that stop drawing, targeting, casting, graveyard use, or library manipulation.

- Hydroblast: bring in against red aggro, burn, red commanders, red combo engines, and red removal that threatens Glarb, Calamity's Augur, Jace, Wielder of Mysteries, Psychic Frog, Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student, or early life total. Its role is cheap stack or permanent interaction that buys time for selection and combo assembly. It is bad against non-red decks, multicolor decks with only incidental red cards, and positions where a red target is unlikely before the game is decided. Its role changes from removal to protection if a red spell is aimed at the decisive permanent or a lethal stack exchange.

- Blue Elemental Blast: bring in under the same red-pressure rules as Hydroblast, with the same need for a verified red spell or red permanent axis. Its role is redundancy for one-mana red interaction in games where one cheap answer changes the clock. It is bad against non-red decks or when the opponent's red splash is too thin to justify a card that may sit idle. Its role changes to stack protection when a red answer is the most likely way the opponent can stop Jace, Wielder of Mysteries or a stabilizing removal spell.

- Nihil Spellbomb: bring in against graveyard recursion, flashback, reanimation, delve, escape-style engines, and opposing graveyard threats. Its role is low-cost graveyard pressure that can preserve mana for counters while threatening a full graveyard reset. It is bad when the opponent does not use the graveyard and when exiling graveyards would weaken your own Snapcaster Mage, Mystic Sanctuary, Noxious Revival, Cling to Dust, Murderous Cut, Barrowgoyf, Abhorrent Oculus, or Unearth more than it harms the opponent. Its role changes to cantrip or tempo bridge only if the rules engine presents a legal draw action and graveyard pressure is no longer relevant.

- Grafdigger's Cage: bring in against library-cast, graveyard-cast, reanimation, and creature-cheat strategies when its text is verified to stop the opponent more than you. Card text check required. It is bad when it blocks your own Snapcaster Mage, Unearth, graveyard recursion, or any legal top/library line you need more than it restricts the opponent. Its role changes from hate card to liability against fair control, so only include it when the opponent's engine is structurally exposed to the exact restriction.

- Pithing Needle: bring in against commanders, planeswalkers, lands, artifacts, or combo permanents with activated abilities that have already appeared or are strongly indicated by matchup notes. Its role is cheap answer to one named engine while preserving countermagic for the stack. It is bad when the opponent wins through spells, static abilities, combat stats, or unknown hidden cards that cannot be named responsibly. Its role changes from proactive lock piece to emergency answer after the opponent reveals a specific activated permanent; do not guess a name if public information is thin.

- Dauthi Voidwalker: bring in against graveyard decks, slow control, spell-combo, and decks where a disruptive threat can pressure while denying graveyard resources. Its role is both hate and clock, which matters when the combo plan needs time but cannot sit passively. It is bad against removal-heavy creature decks where a two-mana creature dies without affecting the stack, and against matchups where your own graveyard recursion is central. Its role changes to win-condition support if it creates a legal play-from-exile action, but use only rules-engine actions and verified card text.

- Culling Ritual: bring in against low-cost permanent swarms, artifact/enchantment clusters, token boards, and decks relying on many cheap nonland permanents. Its role is catch-up sweeper and mana swing. It is bad against large threats, spell-heavy control, and board states where it removes your Deathrite Shaman, Exploration, Nihil Spellbomb, Grafdigger's Cage, Pithing Needle, Dauthi Voidwalker, or other useful permanents more than opposing material. Its role changes from stabilizer to combo-enabler only when the mana burst and cleared battlefield are visible and legal; card text check required for exact mana and destruction conditions.

Balanced plan versus blue-black control or discard-permission combo
Side in: Veil of Summer; Dauthi Voidwalker; Nihil Spellbomb
Cut: Cut Down; Fatal Push; Toxic Deluge

- Plan rule: increase stack resilience and graveyard pressure while reducing creature-only answers when the opponent's visible plan is discard, counters, graveyard recursion, or slow combo. Keep Abrupt Decay, Tear Asunder, Counterspell, Force of Negation, Spell Pierce, Daze, and cheap discard because they fight the same decisive turns.

Balanced plan versus red aggro or red burn
Side in: Hydroblast; Blue Elemental Blast; Culling Ritual
Cut: Profane Tutor; Thought Lash; Gush

- Plan rule: lower slow or life-risky setup and add cheap red interaction plus a catch-up effect when the opponent is pressuring life through red creatures, red spells, or many cheap permanents. Keep Fatal Push, Cut Down, Long Goodbye, Abrupt Decay, Toxic Deluge, Orcish Bowmasters, Deathrite Shaman, and cheap counters because survival is the first gate.

Balanced plan versus red spell-combo or red tempo with blue or black interaction
Side in: Hydroblast; Blue Elemental Blast; Veil of Summer
Cut: Cut Down; Profane Tutor; Gush

- Plan rule: protect the stack from red interaction while respecting blue or black disruption. Keep Mental Misstep, Spell Pierce, Daze, Force Spike, Mana Leak, Counterspell, Force of Negation, and discard because the game is likely decided before expensive engines dominate.

Balanced plan versus artifact/enchantment prison or cheap permanent swarm
Side in: Force of Vigor; Culling Ritual; Pithing Needle
Cut: Stern Scolding; Force Spike; Memory Lapse

- Plan rule: prioritize permanent answers over soft permission when the opponent's board can invalidate hand interaction. Keep Tear Asunder, Abrupt Decay, Otawara, Soaring City, Toxic Deluge, and Demonic Tutor because they answer locks or find answers.

Balanced plan versus graveyard-centric creature or combo deck
Side in: Endurance; Nihil Spellbomb; Grafdigger's Cage; Dauthi Voidwalker
Cut: Profane Tutor; Gush; Flow State; Requiting Hex

- Plan rule: add overlapping graveyard hate only when the opponent's public plan depends on graveyard access. Re-evaluate Grafdigger's Cage carefully if your legal line needs Snapcaster Mage, Unearth, Mystic Sanctuary, or graveyard-cast actions.

Balanced plan versus activated commander or planeswalker engine
Side in: Pithing Needle; Veil of Summer; Force of Vigor
Cut: Cut Down; Stern Scolding; Requiting Hex

- Plan rule: answer the revealed activated engine while protecting the combo turn from discard, counters, or targeted interaction. Keep Abrupt Decay, Tear Asunder, Otawara, Soaring City, and counterspells because Pithing Needle alone may not cover static abilities, triggered abilities, or removal pointed at Jace, Wielder of Mysteries.

- Archetype rule versus fast creature decks: add role cards only when the axis is verified: Hydroblast and Blue Elemental Blast for red, Culling Ritual for cheap permanent swarms, Endurance for graveyard-linked pressure. Reduce main-deck emphasis on slow delayed tutors, fragile library-risk engines, and expensive card draw that does not affect the board before combat.

- Archetype rule versus control mirrors: add role cards such as Veil of Summer, Dauthi Voidwalker, Pithing Needle, and Nihil Spellbomb when graveyards, planeswalkers, commanders, or activated engines matter. Reduce main-deck emphasis on narrow creature removal and sweepers with few targets.

- Archetype rule versus permanent-based combo: add Force of Vigor, Pithing Needle, Culling Ritual, or Grafdigger's Cage when their exact restrictions line up with revealed cards. Reduce main-deck emphasis on soft counters that are already taxed by extra mana and removal that cannot touch the engine.

- Archetype rule versus graveyard combo: add Endurance, Nihil Spellbomb, Grafdigger's Cage, and Dauthi Voidwalker according to how much graveyard access the opponent needs. Preserve enough blue interaction to stop the spell that converts the graveyard action into a win.

- Sideboard discipline: never add a hate card that blocks your own chosen win route more than the opponent's route. Check whether Jace, Wielder of Mysteries plus Demonic Consultation, Tainted Pact, Thought Lash, or Doomsday is still the best plan after sideboarding, then choose sideboard cards that protect or clear that route rather than diluting it.

## Matchup Guidance
- Aggro: prioritize survival before combo speed. Keep hands with cheap interaction, stable blue-black mana, and at least one early play such as Fatal Push, Cut Down, Long Goodbye, Stern Scolding, Force Spike, Mental Misstep, Deathrite Shaman, Orcish Bowmasters, or Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student. Use Thoughtseize, Duress, and Inquisition of Kozilek to take the fastest damage source or the spell that protects the board. Commit Jace, Wielder of Mysteries, Thought Lash, Doomsday, Demonic Consultation, or Tainted Pact only after the battlefield is contained or the combo is immediately legal and protected. Role cards are Hydroblast, Blue Elemental Blast, Culling Ritual, and sometimes Endurance when red damage, many cheap permanents, or graveyard pressure are confirmed. Do not dilute the deck with narrow hate if the opponent is simply attacking.

- Control: treat the game as an information and permission fight. Lead with Gitaxian Probe, Thoughtseize, Duress, Inquisition of Kozilek, Vendilion Clique, Ponder, Preordain, Brainstorm, Stock Up, Consult the Star Charts, Waterlogged Teachings, and Lorien Revealed to sculpt a protected window. Preserve Counterspell, Mana Leak, Spell Pierce, Daze, Remand, Memory Lapse, Force of Negation, Mystical Dispute, Lose Focus, Wash Away, Cryptic Command, and Subtlety for cards that stop the combo, resolve a superior engine, or force a dangerous tap-low turn. Glarb, Calamity's Augur should be treated as a card-flow engine only when legal actions and card text make that role visible. Role cards are Veil of Summer, Dauthi Voidwalker, Nihil Spellbomb, and Pithing Needle when the opponent has graveyard value, planeswalkers, activated engines, discard, or permission. Reduce narrow creature removal only after targets are visibly sparse.

- Combo: become the lower-curve disruption deck unless your own deterministic line is already assembled. Use discard before countermagic when possible, because public hand information improves every later priority decision. Demonic Tutor, Profane Tutor, Intuition, Mystical Dispute, Force of Negation, Counterspell, Spell Pierce, Daze, Mana Leak, Thoughtseize, Duress, Inquisition of Kozilek, Vendilion Clique, and Snapcaster Mage are the key cards for forcing one decisive turn. Do not cast Demonic Consultation, Tainted Pact, Doomsday, or Thought Lash merely for velocity unless the legal action text, visible library context, and Jace, Wielder of Mysteries plan support it. Role cards are Veil of Summer, Dauthi Voidwalker, Grafdigger's Cage, Pithing Needle, Nihil Spellbomb, Endurance, and Force of Vigor only when their exact restrictions match the opposing engine.

- Tempo: defend mana efficiency and avoid exposing expensive engines into open pressure. Hands with one-land cantrips are keepable only when Ponder, Preordain, Brainstorm, Gitaxian Probe, or Lorien Revealed can legally find mana and the opponent is not presenting a fast clock. Fight early threats with Fatal Push, Cut Down, Long Goodbye, Stern Scolding, Abrupt Decay, Orcish Bowmasters, Deathrite Shaman, and Subtlety, then protect a swing turn with Daze, Force Spike, Spell Pierce, Mental Misstep, Mana Leak, Remand, and Memory Lapse. Veil of Summer, Hydroblast, and Blue Elemental Blast are role cards only when the opposing colors make them live. Avoid trimming too many cheap plays; Commander-family tempo games punish clunky hands.

- Midrange: trade resources early, then convert selection into a protected combo or planeswalker-quality endgame. Oko, Thief of Crowns, Psychic Frog, Barrowgoyf, Abhorrent Oculus, Snapcaster Mage, Orcish Bowmasters, Deathrite Shaman, and Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student are the pressure-and-value cards, but card text check required for the newer threats before relying on exact combat or graveyard assumptions. Use Abrupt Decay, Tear Asunder, Fatal Push, Murderous Cut, Long Goodbye, Cut Down, Toxic Deluge, and Requiting Hex to stop permanents that pressure life or lock the combo. Endurance, Dauthi Voidwalker, Nihil Spellbomb, Pithing Needle, and Veil of Summer are role cards depending on graveyard, activated ability, discard, and removal visibility.

- Big mana: pressure their setup with discard and punish payoff turns with hard permission. Thoughtseize, Duress, Inquisition of Kozilek, Vendilion Clique, Force Spike, Spell Pierce, Daze, Mana Leak, Counterspell, Force of Negation, Cryptic Command, Memory Lapse, Remand, and Lose Focus should be aimed at ramp payoffs, mass card advantage, or any spell that invalidates Jace, Wielder of Mysteries. Use Demonic Tutor to find the fastest protected combo piece rather than incremental answers once the opponent's mana advantage is visible. Pithing Needle, Force of Vigor, and Veil of Summer are role cards if activated engines, noncreature permanents, discard, or counter fights are confirmed.

- Graveyard: define whose graveyard matters before firing hate. Cling to Dust, Deathrite Shaman, Noxious Revival, Murderous Cut, Snapcaster Mage, Mystic Sanctuary, Unearth, Barrowgoyf, Abhorrent Oculus, Endurance, Nihil Spellbomb, Grafdigger's Cage, and Dauthi Voidwalker can conflict with one another, so choose the graveyard plan from visible state. Use hate before the opponent reaches a decisive graveyard action, but keep countermagic for the spell that converts the graveyard into a win. Endurance, Nihil Spellbomb, Grafdigger's Cage, and Dauthi Voidwalker are strong role cards, but do not bring all of them when one or two pieces plus pressure is enough.

- Artifact/enchantment: preserve Abrupt Decay, Tear Asunder, Otawara, Soaring City, Force of Vigor, Culling Ritual, and Pithing Needle for permanents that constrain actions, mana, or combo execution. Do not spend Demonic Tutor on a combo piece if a revealed permanent already prevents the combo from functioning. Toxic Deluge is a creature answer, not a default answer to noncreature locks. Force of Vigor, Pithing Needle, and Culling Ritual are role cards; Grafdigger's Cage is only for exact library or graveyard restrictions that punish the opponent more than this deck.

- Go-wide: value sweepers and scalable answers above one-for-one tempo. Toxic Deluge and Culling Ritual are the stabilizing cards, while Fatal Push, Cut Down, Long Goodbye, Abrupt Decay, Orcish Bowmasters, and Deathrite Shaman should buy time until the wider reset is legal. Avoid needless attacks with Psychic Frog, Barrowgoyf, Abhorrent Oculus, Snapcaster Mage, or Glarb, Calamity's Augur if they are needed as blockers or as engine material. Hydroblast and Blue Elemental Blast matter against red swarms; Endurance matters only when the swarm is graveyard-linked.

- Single-threat: answer the threat cleanly or race with protected combo, rather than trading inefficiently into protection. Fatal Push, Cut Down, Long Goodbye, Abrupt Decay, Tear Asunder, Murderous Cut, Subtlety, Cryptic Command, Otawara, Soaring City, and Requiting Hex are the key answer names, but Requiting Hex needs card text confirmation before exact targeting assumptions. Use discard to clear protection, then resolve the answer in the safest priority window. Pithing Needle is a role card when the commander or threat relies on an activated ability; Veil of Summer matters when discard or targeted interaction is central.

- Burn: treat life as the primary resource and delay life-costly card draw unless it wins or stabilizes immediately. Fetch and shock decisions must respect visible damage pace; prefer lands and pathways that keep Counterspell, Fatal Push, Cut Down, Hydroblast, Blue Elemental Blast, Spell Pierce, Daze, Force Spike, and Deathrite Shaman active. Thoughtseize is still playable when it removes more damage than it costs, but do not fire it automatically. Hydroblast and Blue Elemental Blast are the cleanest role cards; Veil of Summer is only for black or blue disruption paired with the burn plan.

- Removal-heavy: force the opponent to answer the wrong axis. Do not rely on Deathrite Shaman, Snapcaster Mage, Orcish Bowmasters, Psychic Frog, Barrowgoyf, Abhorrent Oculus, Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student, Vendilion Clique, or Glarb, Calamity's Augur as the only plan if the opponent is trading efficiently with creatures. Use them to draw removal, pressure planeswalkers, or bridge into Jace, Wielder of Mysteries plus Demonic Consultation, Tainted Pact, Doomsday, or Thought Lash. Veil of Summer, Dauthi Voidwalker, and Nihil Spellbomb are role cards when removal is paired with discard, recursion, or graveyard value.

## Specific Matchup Notes

- General/archetype-only: use these notes as matchup priors, and let revealed cards, legal actions, commander identity, and public board state override assumptions. Prioritize survival and information before committing to Jace, Wielder of Mysteries with Demonic Consultation, Tainted Pact, Doomsday, or Thought Lash. Sideboard cards should sharpen the existing plan, not turn the deck into a pile of narrow answers.

- Fast red or burn: protect life total first, because fetch-shock sequencing, Thoughtseize, Toxic Deluge, Gitaxian Probe, Gush, and Rakshasa's Bargain can make the opponent's clock shorter than the combo clock. Hydroblast and Blue Elemental Blast are primary role cards; Culling Ritual matters if the red deck also presents many cheap permanents; Veil of Summer is only for black or blue disruption paired with the red plan. Priority targets: direct damage that changes the lethal turn, aggressive one-drops, and stack fights over Jace, Wielder of Mysteries.

- Blue tempo or permission: trade cheap interaction early, but avoid walking Demonic Consultation, Tainted Pact, or Doomsday into open mana without discard, a counter backup, or a forced response window. Veil of Summer is the cleanest role card; Hydroblast and Blue Elemental Blast matter only when red is a real part of the deck. Priority targets: opposing counters, flash threats, and tempo plays that strand Glarb, Calamity's Augur or Jace, Wielder of Mysteries.

- Black discard or removal control: protect the commitment turn and avoid relying on a single creature engine. Veil of Summer is a role card when green mana can be preserved; Dauthi Voidwalker and Nihil Spellbomb matter when removal is paired with graveyard value. Priority targets: discard that breaks the combo, removal aimed at Jace, Wielder of Mysteries support turns, and recursive threats that outlast one-for-one interaction.

- Creature pressure: stabilize with Fatal Push, Cut Down, Long Goodbye, Abrupt Decay, Murderous Cut, Subtlety, Toxic Deluge, and Requiting Hex before spending turns on slow selection. Culling Ritual is a role card against multiple cheap permanents, Endurance if pressure is graveyard-linked, and Pithing Needle if an activated commander or permanent is driving damage. Priority targets: lethal attackers, snowballing commanders, and permanents that make Toxic Deluge insufficient.

- Graveyard decks: decide whether your graveyard or the opponent's graveyard matters more before using Cling to Dust, Deathrite Shaman, Noxious Revival, Murderous Cut, Mystic Sanctuary, Snapcaster Mage, Unearth, Endurance, Nihil Spellbomb, Grafdigger's Cage, or Dauthi Voidwalker. Endurance, Nihil Spellbomb, Grafdigger's Cage, and Dauthi Voidwalker are role cards, but choose the mix carefully so your own recursion and combo protection remain functional. Priority targets: reanimation spells, graveyard payoffs, escape-style resource engines, and effects that beat a single hate piece.

- Permanent engines: answer the engine before tutoring for a fragile combo if the visible permanent limits casting, targeting, graveyard access, activated abilities, or library manipulation. Force of Vigor, Pithing Needle, and Culling Ritual are role cards; Grafdigger's Cage applies only when its exact restriction is verified. Priority targets: hate permanents, planeswalkers that invalidate one-for-one interaction, mana engines, and activated abilities that stop Jace, Wielder of Mysteries from winning.

- Spell combo: fight on information, mana, and stack timing. Thoughtseize, Duress, Inquisition of Kozilek, Vendilion Clique, Spell Pierce, Daze, Mana Leak, Counterspell, Force of Negation, Mystical Dispute, Lose Focus, and Cryptic Command should line up against the spell that actually wins. Veil of Summer, Dauthi Voidwalker, Nihil Spellbomb, Grafdigger's Cage, Pithing Needle, and Force of Vigor are role cards only when they attack the verified engine rather than merely looking generically powerful.

- Big mana and ramp commanders: use discard and soft permission early, then shift into hard permission or a protected combo before their mana invalidates one-for-one exchanges. Pithing Needle is a role card for activated ramp engines or commanders, Force of Vigor for noncreature mana or lock permanents, and Veil of Summer for discard/counter fights. Priority targets: payoff spells, mana engines that jump turns, and permanents that blank Jace, Wielder of Mysteries.

- Go-wide or token decks: value Toxic Deluge and Culling Ritual above narrow tempo trades. Fatal Push, Cut Down, Long Goodbye, Abrupt Decay, Orcish Bowmasters, and Deathrite Shaman should buy time until the reset is legal. Hydroblast and Blue Elemental Blast matter when the wide board is red; Endurance matters when the board is powered by graveyard recursion. Priority targets: anthem effects, token engines, lethal attack math, and cards that rebuild immediately after a sweeper.

- Single-threat or Voltron-style decks: answer the threat cleanly, stop the protection spell, or race with a protected combo. Fatal Push, Cut Down, Long Goodbye, Abrupt Decay, Tear Asunder, Murderous Cut, Subtlety, Cryptic Command, Otawara, Soaring City, and Requiting Hex are the main answers. Pithing Needle matters when the commander or equipment engine uses activated abilities; Force of Vigor matters against equipment or aura engines; Veil of Summer matters against targeted protection and discard in the right colors. Priority targets: the threat itself, protection that beats your answer, and activated abilities that turn a fair creature into lethal pressure.

## Risk Summary

- Mana risk: the deck needs early blue and black while still supporting green for Abrupt Decay, Oko, Thief of Crowns, Deathrite Shaman, Tear Asunder, Legolas's Quick Reflexes, and sideboard cards. Do not keep hands that cast cantrips but cannot interact, and do not fetch shock lands casually when burn or combat pressure is visible.

- Matchup risk: the list can misidentify its role because it contains combo, control, and creature-pressure tools. Choose the role from the visible clock: race with combo when waiting gets worse, control the board when life is under pressure, and use Glarb, Calamity's Augur or selection only when the turn cycle is not already lethal.

- Draw risk: Ponder, Preordain, Brainstorm, Stock Up, Consult the Star Charts, Flow State, Lorien Revealed, Waterlogged Teachings, Gush, and Gitaxian Probe can spend mana or life without changing the board. Under pressure, select toward exact interaction or a protected win, not generic card quantity.

- Over-sideboarding risk: adding too many narrow role cards can dilute the Jace, Wielder of Mysteries plus library-exile plan and reduce cheap interaction density. Add role cards only when revealed colors, commanders, permanents, or graveyard use make Veil of Summer, Endurance, Force of Vigor, Hydroblast, Blue Elemental Blast, Nihil Spellbomb, Grafdigger's Cage, Pithing Needle, Dauthi Voidwalker, or Culling Ritual live.

- Graveyard risk: your own Cling to Dust, Deathrite Shaman, Murderous Cut, Endurance, Nihil Spellbomb, Grafdigger's Cage, and Dauthi Voidwalker can weaken Snapcaster Mage, Mystic Sanctuary, Unearth, Barrowgoyf, Abhorrent Oculus, or Noxious Revival lines. Check visible graveyard dependencies before activating hate or paying delve.

- Sweeper/removal risk: Toxic Deluge can solve combat but may put life below burn range, while Fatal Push, Cut Down, Long Goodbye, Abrupt Decay, Tear Asunder, Murderous Cut, Subtlety, and Requiting Hex are finite. Spend one-for-one answers on threats that change the clock, lock the combo, or demand immediate stack protection.

- Closer risk: Jace, Wielder of Mysteries is the cleanest deterministic finish but dies to removal, counters, and timing errors. Commit with Demonic Consultation, Tainted Pact, Doomsday, or Thought Lash only after checking legal interaction, available mana, known disruption, and whether passing gives the opponent a better answer window.

- Interaction risk: soft counters lose value as mana grows, so Force Spike, Spell Pierce, Daze, Mana Leak, Lose Focus, Memory Lapse, Remand, Wash Away, Mystical Dispute, Spell Snare, and Stern Scolding need careful timing. Preserve Counterspell, Force of Negation, Cryptic Command, Subtlety, and discard for decisive stack fights when possible.

- Sequencing risk: Brainstorm, fetch lands, Mystic Sanctuary, Noxious Revival, Gush, Exploration, Glarb, Calamity's Augur, and top-library effects can conflict if used in the wrong order. Resolve information first when it changes a land, tutor, or combo commitment, then use shuffle or top-card manipulation only when it improves the current legal line.

## Test Feedback Checklist

- Deciding factor: identify whether the game was decided by protected combo execution, early creature pressure, mana denial, a counter war, a planeswalker/permanent engine, graveyard access, or failure to close after stabilization.

- Mulligans: record whether the opening hand had early blue and black, one cheap interaction piece, and either selection or a path to Glarb, Calamity's Augur, Demonic Tutor, Profane Tutor, Doomsday, Tainted Pact, Demonic Consultation, Thought Lash, or Jace, Wielder of Mysteries.

- Mana: note every loss where Watery Grave, Overgrown Tomb, Breeding Pool, Bayou, Tropical Island, Underground Sea, Command Tower, Reflecting Pool, Sunken Ruins, Clearwater Pathway, Gloomlake Verge, Willowrush Verge, or fetch land sequencing prevented holding up interaction.

- Life total: flag games where Thoughtseize, Gitaxian Probe, Gush, Toxic Deluge, fetch-shock choices, or Rakshasa's Bargain shortened the opponent's clock enough to change the correct role.

- Velocity: ask whether Ponder, Preordain, Brainstorm, Stock Up, Consult the Star Charts, Flow State, Lorien Revealed, Waterlogged Teachings, Gush, or Gitaxian Probe found a needed resource or merely spent time while pressure grew.

- Engine use: record whether Glarb, Calamity's Augur, Deathrite Shaman, Oko, Thief of Crowns, Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student, Psychic Frog, Barrowgoyf, Abhorrent Oculus, or Mystic Sanctuary generated meaningful advantage before the game ended.

- Removal: check whether Fatal Push, Cut Down, Long Goodbye, Abrupt Decay, Tear Asunder, Murderous Cut, Subtlety, Requiting Hex, Legolas's Quick Reflexes, and Toxic Deluge were spent on threats that changed the clock or protected the combo.

- Stack discipline: review every pass with Force Spike, Mental Misstep, Spell Snare, Spell Pierce, Daze, Mana Leak, Lose Focus, Memory Lapse, Remand, Counterspell, Force of Negation, Mystical Dispute, Wash Away, Cryptic Command, or Subtlety available.

- Combo closing: verify whether Jace, Wielder of Mysteries was protected before Demonic Consultation, Tainted Pact, Doomsday, or Thought Lash committed the library-exile line.

- Sideboard performance: record which of Veil of Summer, Endurance, Force of Vigor, Hydroblast, Blue Elemental Blast, Nihil Spellbomb, Grafdigger's Cage, Pithing Needle, Dauthi Voidwalker, and Culling Ritual was live, stranded, or too late.

- Role accuracy: mark whether the pilot correctly chose control, combo-race, or tap-out engine mode based on visible clock, known disruption, and legal action output.

- Mistakes: capture missequenced Brainstorm/fetch decisions, Mystic Sanctuary or Noxious Revival timing errors, unnecessary graveyard exile, missed commander windows, and counterspells spent before a decisive fight.

- Stranded cards: list cards that remained unusable because of color, mana value, opposing permanent type, graveyard state, or timing restriction.

- Overperformers and underperformers: name the exact cards that won games, stabilized losing boards, failed in hand, or conflicted with the combo-control plan.

## First Tuning Questions

- Mana base: does the deck need more reliable early blue and black access, or were losses mainly caused by sequencing lands such as Mystic Sanctuary, Mistrise Village, Horizon of Progress, Multiversal Passage, and tapped duals incorrectly?

- Life management: are Thoughtseize, Gitaxian Probe, Gush, Toxic Deluge, and shock-land lines too costly against fast red or creature pressure, or did they still buy enough information and tempo to justify the life payments?

- Combo density: does the Jace, Wielder of Mysteries package with Demonic Consultation, Tainted Pact, Doomsday, and Thought Lash close often enough, or does the list need more protection and fewer slow advantage cards?

- Commander role: is Glarb, Calamity's Augur functioning as a real setup engine, or is commander deployment too slow against the tested aggro, tempo, and control fields?

- Interaction mix: are Force Spike, Spell Pierce, Daze, Mana Leak, Lose Focus, Memory Lapse, Remand, Mystical Dispute, Wash Away, Spell Snare, and Stern Scolding expiring too quickly, or are they essential to forcing early protected windows?

- Removal mix: are Fatal Push, Cut Down, Long Goodbye, Abrupt Decay, Tear Asunder, Murderous Cut, Requiting Hex, Subtlety, and Toxic Deluge enough against commanders and creature engines, or is the plan too dependent on drawing the exact answer?

- Graveyard conflict: are Cling to Dust, Deathrite Shaman, Murderous Cut, Nihil Spellbomb, Grafdigger's Cage, Dauthi Voidwalker, and Endurance undermining Snapcaster Mage, Mystic Sanctuary, Unearth, Barrowgoyf, Abhorrent Oculus, or Noxious Revival too often?

- Sideboard allocation: should the sideboard lean harder toward red interaction with Hydroblast and Blue Elemental Blast, graveyard pressure with Endurance, Nihil Spellbomb, Grafdigger's Cage, and Dauthi Voidwalker, or permanent cleanup with Force of Vigor, Pithing Needle, and Culling Ritual?

- Aggro plan: does the deck stabilize consistently with cheap removal plus Toxic Deluge, or should the post-board plan reduce main-deck emphasis on slow selection when facing visible fast clocks?

- Control plan: does Veil of Summer plus discard and counters produce enough protected combo turns, or do games stall because closers are too fragile or too mana-intensive?

- Role conflict: are Oko, Thief of Crowns, Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student, Psychic Frog, Vendilion Clique, Orcish Bowmasters, Barrowgoyf, and Abhorrent Oculus winning fair games, or are they distracting from a faster protected Jace, Wielder of Mysteries finish?

## Veles Tactical Policy

### Policy: Opening Hand Role Gate
Priority: High
Decision families: mulligan; pregame
Cards: Glarb, Calamity's Augur; Demonic Tutor; Profane Tutor; Doomsday; Tainted Pact; Demonic Consultation; Thought Lash; Jace, Wielder of Mysteries; Ponder; Preordain; Brainstorm; Force Spike; Spell Pierce; Fatal Push; Thoughtseize; Inquisition of Kozilek; Duress
Phase windows: opening hand; mulligan decisions
Runtime cues: prompt:mulligan; action:keep; action:mulligan
Use when: deciding whether a hand can play an early interactive game or assemble a protected combo route.
Avoid when: the hand lacks colored mana actions or the rules engine shows an unkeepable hand state.
Instructions: Keep hands with early blue or black, at least two mana sources or one source plus strong selection, and either cheap interaction or a tutor/combo path. Ship hands that cannot cast early spells, have only reactive cards with no mana, or rely on naked Jace, Wielder of Mysteries plus library-exile effects without protection.
Pilot skill floor: medium
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: First Engine Permanent Setup
Priority: Medium
Decision families: mana; priority; selection
Cards: Glarb, Calamity's Augur; Deathrite Shaman; Exploration; Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student; Psychic Frog; Oko, Thief of Crowns
Phase windows: early main phases; post-selection main phase
Runtime cues: action:cast Glarb, Calamity's Augur; action:cast Deathrite Shaman; action:cast Exploration; action:cast Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student; action:cast Psychic Frog; action:cast Oko, Thief of Crowns
Use when: choosing whether to commit the first permanent that improves mana, cards, board, or top-library access.
Avoid when: visible pressure requires immediate removal, or tapping low shields exposes an unprotected combo card to known interaction.
Instructions: Prefer Deathrite Shaman or Exploration when they accelerate holding up interaction; prefer Glarb, Calamity's Augur when top-library access matters and the board is not forcing a defensive spell; deploy Oko, Thief of Crowns or Psychic Frog when a fair-game pivot is better than waiting.
Pilot skill floor: medium
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Early Color And Fetch Sequencing
Priority: Medium
Decision families: mana; selection
Cards: Watery Grave; Overgrown Tomb; Breeding Pool; Bayou; Tropical Island; Underground Sea; Command Tower; Reflecting Pool; Sunken Ruins; Clearwater Pathway; Gloomlake Verge; Willowrush Verge; Marsh Flats; Verdant Catacombs; Bloodstained Mire; Windswept Heath; Scalding Tarn; Prismatic Vista; Misty Rainforest; Wooded Foothills; Flooded Strand; Polluted Delta
Phase windows: precombat main; end step before untap
Runtime cues: action:play; action:activate
Use when: selecting land drops or fetch targets before casting selection, discard, removal, or counters.
Avoid when: a known top card, Mystic Sanctuary line, or life-total constraint changes the land decision.
Instructions: Prioritize blue-black access first, add green when Abrupt Decay, Oko, Thief of Crowns, Deathrite Shaman, Tear Asunder, Legolas's Quick Reflexes, or sideboard green cards are relevant, and preserve fetch lands for Brainstorm, Mystic Sanctuary, or top-card fixes when immediate color needs are already met.
Pilot skill floor: medium
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Deterministic Cast Free Information
Priority: Low
Decision families: selection; priority
Cards: Gitaxian Probe
Phase windows: precombat main; before combo commitment
Runtime cues: action:cast Gitaxian Probe
Use when: Gitaxian Probe is a legal action, the life payment or mana payment is legal, and the next decision depends on opponent hand information.
Avoid when: life total is visibly low enough that paying life changes a lethal clock and mana payment is available or the spell is not legal.
Instructions: Use Gitaxian Probe before discard, tutor, or combo commitment so later actions are based on revealed information; do not assume unrevealed cards after the probe resolves.
Pilot skill floor: low
No-API allowed: yes
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Protected Library-Exile Combo Gate
Priority: High
Decision families: priority; interaction; selection
Cards: Jace, Wielder of Mysteries; Demonic Consultation; Tainted Pact; Doomsday; Thought Lash; Force of Negation; Daze; Counterspell; Spell Pierce; Force Spike; Mana Leak; Lose Focus; Memory Lapse; Remand; Veil of Summer
Phase windows: main phase with priority; opponent end step setup; stack fight
Runtime cues: action:cast Jace, Wielder of Mysteries; action:cast Demonic Consultation; action:cast Tainted Pact; action:cast Doomsday; action:activate Thought Lash
Use when: deciding whether to start a line that can empty or reorder the library toward Jace, Wielder of Mysteries.
Avoid when: Jace, Wielder of Mysteries is absent from battlefield or hand route, protection is insufficient against known interaction, or a visible lethal attack must be answered first.
Instructions: Commit only when the legal action set shows the payoff and enabler route, mana supports the sequence, and available protection can fight the known or likely disruption. Treat naked Demonic Consultation, Tainted Pact, Thought Lash, or Doomsday as a loss-risk commitment unless the engine confirms the payoff condition is already secured.
Pilot skill floor: high
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Deterministic Target Self For Library Combo
Priority: Medium
Decision families: selection
Cards: Demonic Consultation; Tainted Pact; Thought Lash; Jace, Wielder of Mysteries
Phase windows: combo execution prompts
Runtime cues: action:target self Demonic Consultation; action:target self Tainted Pact; action:target self Thought Lash
Use when: the combo commitment has already been selected, Jace, Wielder of Mysteries is visible as the payoff, and the legal action text offers only self as the combo-relevant player target.
Avoid when: target choices include multiple strategic player or object options not already determined by the selected line.
Instructions: Choose the self-targeting action for the library-exile route after the prior policy has authorized the commitment.
Pilot skill floor: low
No-API allowed: yes
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Doomsday Pile Commitment
Priority: High
Decision families: selection; priority
Cards: Doomsday; Jace, Wielder of Mysteries; Brainstorm; Ponder; Preordain; Gush; Gitaxian Probe; Thought Lash; Demonic Consultation; Tainted Pact
Phase windows: main phase; post-discard protected turn
Runtime cues: action:cast Doomsday; prompt:choose cards; prompt:order cards
Use when: the rules engine asks whether to cast Doomsday or choose/order cards for its resolution.
Avoid when: life total cannot absorb the line, visible pressure kills before the payoff, or required draw/access cards are unavailable.
Instructions: Treat Doomsday as a commitment gate, not routine selection. Build only from visible legal candidates and known zones; if exact pile text or card availability is unclear, require light-model reasoning and mark Card text check required for unfamiliar new cards in candidate choices.
Pilot skill floor: high
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Tutor Choice Gate
Priority: Medium
Decision families: selection
Cards: Demonic Tutor; Profane Tutor; Intuition; Waterlogged Teachings; Lorien Revealed; Mystical Dispute
Phase windows: main phase tutor windows; end step instant tutor windows
Runtime cues: action:cast Demonic Tutor; action:cast Profane Tutor; action:cast Intuition; action:cast Waterlogged Teachings; action:cast Lorien Revealed
Use when: choosing a card, pile, mode, or search result from library or revealed candidates.
Avoid when: the target is not visible in legal choices or the engine presents an unfamiliar card text needed to evaluate the line.
Instructions: Prioritize missing combo payoff or protection when close to winning, early land or color access when constrained, and removal or sweeper when the visible board clock is decisive. Intuition piles require light-model reasoning because the opponent's choice changes the result.
Pilot skill floor: high
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Cantrip And Top-Deck Discipline
Priority: Medium
Decision families: selection; mana
Cards: Ponder; Preordain; Brainstorm; Stock Up; Consult the Star Charts; Flow State; Gush; Mystic Sanctuary; Noxious Revival; Glarb, Calamity's Augur
Phase windows: early main phase; end step; combo setup turn
Runtime cues: action:cast Ponder; action:cast Preordain; action:cast Brainstorm; action:cast Stock Up; action:cast Consult the Star Charts; action:cast Flow State; action:cast Gush
Use when: ordering draw, top-library manipulation, or graveyard-to-top effects.
Avoid when: the action spends mana needed for live permission or removal in the same window.
Instructions: Use selection before land drops when it can find mana; use Brainstorm with shuffle or known top-card plans; use Mystic Sanctuary and Noxious Revival only when the returned card is immediately useful or protected. Card text check required for Consult the Star Charts and Flow State.
Pilot skill floor: medium
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Permission Spending Gate
Priority: High
Decision families: interaction; priority
Cards: Force Spike; Mental Misstep; Spell Snare; Spell Pierce; Daze; Mana Leak; Lose Focus; Memory Lapse; Remand; Counterspell; Force of Negation; Mystical Dispute; Wash Away; Cryptic Command; Subtlety; Veil of Summer
Phase windows: opponent spell on stack; combo protection stack fight; end step
Runtime cues: action:cast Force Spike; action:cast Spell Pierce; action:cast Counterspell; action:cast Force of Negation; action:cast Cryptic Command; action:cast Veil of Summer
Use when: deciding whether to counter, bounce, protect, or pass against a stack object.
Avoid when: the spell is low impact, the counter is likely to expire only later if unused but a bigger known threat is pending, or the legal action text does not identify the stack object.
Instructions: Spend soft counters early on mana development, commanders, hate, or pressure that changes the clock; reserve hard counters and Veil of Summer for combo fights, must-answer permanents, and discard/counter wars. Do not counter a spell only because mana is available.
Pilot skill floor: high
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Removal And Sweeper Triage
Priority: High
Decision families: interaction; combat; priority
Cards: Fatal Push; Cut Down; Long Goodbye; Abrupt Decay; Tear Asunder; Murderous Cut; Requiting Hex; Legolas's Quick Reflexes; Toxic Deluge; Subtlety; Oko, Thief of Crowns
Phase windows: opponent combat; opponent end step; own main phase before combo
Runtime cues: action:cast Fatal Push; action:cast Cut Down; action:cast Abrupt Decay; action:cast Toxic Deluge; action:cast Murderous Cut; action:cast Legolas's Quick Reflexes
Use when: a visible creature, permanent, commander, or hate piece changes survival, combo legality, or the next combat clock.
Avoid when: the target is merely inconvenient and a more decisive visible threat or hate permanent is present.
Instructions: Kill hate that stops Jace, Wielder of Mysteries or library-exile lines before committing; kill creatures that create lethal or two-turn clocks; use Toxic Deluge when single-target removal cannot stabilize and life payment still leaves survival. Card text check required for Requiting Hex.
Pilot skill floor: high
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Discard Timing And Target Choice
Priority: Medium
Decision families: interaction; selection
Cards: Thoughtseize; Inquisition of Kozilek; Duress; Vendilion Clique; Orcish Bowmasters
Phase windows: early main phase; pre-combo main phase; opponent draw step when legal
Runtime cues: action:cast Thoughtseize; action:cast Inquisition of Kozilek; action:cast Duress; action:target opponent Vendilion Clique
Use when: hand information or discard can clear a path, protect a combo, or remove a threat that beats current interaction.
Avoid when: life loss from Thoughtseize changes visible lethal math or the opponent hand is already known to contain no legal impactful target.
Instructions: Take the card that stops the current plan first, then the fastest threat, then the highest-leverage card advantage piece. Use Vendilion Clique as disruption before a protected turn or as pressure only when interaction is already covered.
Pilot skill floor: medium
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Graveyard Resource Conflict
Priority: Medium
Decision families: interaction; selection; mana
Cards: Deathrite Shaman; Cling to Dust; Murderous Cut; Snapcaster Mage; Mystic Sanctuary; Unearth; Noxious Revival; Barrowgoyf; Abhorrent Oculus; Endurance; Nihil Spellbomb; Grafdigger's Cage; Dauthi Voidwalker
Phase windows: main phase; end step; opposing graveyard action on stack
Runtime cues: action:activate Deathrite Shaman; action:cast Cling to Dust; action:cast Murderous Cut; action:cast Snapcaster Mage; action:cast Endurance; action:activate Nihil Spellbomb
Use when: graveyard cards are costs, threats, recursion targets, or opposing resources.
Avoid when: exiling your own graveyard turns off a visible Snapcaster Mage, Mystic Sanctuary, Unearth, Barrowgoyf, or Abhorrent Oculus line without stopping an opposing payoff.
Instructions: Treat graveyard exile as interaction, not free value. Preserve your own high-leverage spells for Snapcaster Mage, Mystic Sanctuary, or Noxious Revival unless the exile action prevents a larger opposing play or enables immediate survival.
Pilot skill floor: medium
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Fair Combat Pivot
Priority: Medium
Decision families: combat; interaction
Cards: Psychic Frog; Orcish Bowmasters; Vendilion Clique; Barrowgoyf; Abhorrent Oculus; Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student; Deathrite Shaman; Oko, Thief of Crowns; Subtlety
Phase windows: declare attackers; declare blockers; precombat main; end step flash windows
Runtime cues: prompt:declare attackers; prompt:declare blockers; action:attack; action:block
Use when: the deck is winning or stabilizing through creatures and planeswalker pressure rather than immediate combo.
Avoid when: attacking exposes needed blockers under a short clock or when holding creatures back protects Jace, Wielder of Mysteries setup.
Instructions: Attack when damage advances a real clock and does not sacrifice defensive necessity; block to preserve life against fast commanders and creature decks; prefer keeping Deathrite Shaman untapped when mana or graveyard interaction is more important than combat damage.
Pilot skill floor: medium
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Emergency Stabilization
Priority: High
Decision families: combat; interaction; mana
Cards: Toxic Deluge; Fatal Push; Cut Down; Long Goodbye; Abrupt Decay; Murderous Cut; Requiting Hex; Subtlety; Cryptic Command; Oko, Thief of Crowns
Phase windows: opponent combat; own main before passing; lethal stack windows
Runtime cues: prompt:declare blockers; action:cast Toxic Deluge; action:cast Fatal Push; action:cast Cryptic Command; action:cast Subtlety
Use when: visible attackers, board power, or stack damage threatens lethal or a forced two-turn loss.
Avoid when: a protected combo line wins before the opponent's next relevant damage step.
Instructions: Spend premium interaction to survive before pursuing selection. Choose life payment for Toxic Deluge from visible lethal math, not from generic board cleanup; bounce, tap, or counter with Cryptic Command only if the selected mode changes survival or combo access.
Pilot skill floor: high
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Deterministic Opponent Target For Disruption
Priority: Low
Decision families: selection; interaction
Cards: Thoughtseize; Inquisition of Kozilek; Duress; Vendilion Clique; Gitaxian Probe
Phase windows: discard and reveal target prompts
Runtime cues: action:target opponent Thoughtseize; action:target opponent Inquisition of Kozilek; action:target opponent Duress; action:target opponent Vendilion Clique; action:target opponent Gitaxian Probe
Use when: the legal action text offers player targets for one of these spells and the intended spell effect is to inspect or disrupt the opposing hand.
Avoid when: multiple opponent-controlled objects or unusual target types are offered in the same prompt.
Instructions: Choose the opponent player target for hand-information and discard effects, then route the revealed-card choice through light-model reasoning.
Pilot skill floor: low
No-API allowed: yes
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Sideboard Plan Selection
Priority: High
Decision families: sideboard
Cards: Veil of Summer; Endurance; Force of Vigor; Hydroblast; Blue Elemental Blast; Nihil Spellbomb; Grafdigger's Cage; Pithing Needle; Dauthi Voidwalker; Culling Ritual
Phase windows: between games; sideboard lock prompt
Runtime cues: prompt:sideboard; action:submit sideboard
Use when: choosing a registered 10-card sideboard plan after Game 1 or Game 2.
Avoid when: the proposed plan violates registered sideboard counts, uses a non-sideboard entry, removes a non-main-deck entry, or relies on unverified matchup assumptions.
Instructions: Choose the smallest legal update that answers the opponent's verified axis. Add Veil of Summer for discard and permission fights; Hydroblast and Blue Elemental Blast for red pressure or red stack interaction; Endurance, Nihil Spellbomb, Grafdigger's Cage, and Dauthi Voidwalker for graveyard engines; Force of Vigor, Pithing Needle, and Culling Ritual for artifact, enchantment, activated-ability, or cheap-permanent boards. Preserve combo density and blue interaction unless survival requires a more controlling posture.
Pilot skill floor: high
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Deterministic Sideboard Lock Submission
Priority: Low
Decision families: sideboard
Cards: Veil of Summer; Endurance; Force of Vigor; Hydroblast; Blue Elemental Blast; Nihil Spellbomb; Grafdigger's Cage; Pithing Needle; Dauthi Voidwalker; Culling Ritual
Phase windows: sideboard confirmation
Runtime cues: action:submit sideboard
Use when: the sideboard update has already been validated, registered counts match, and the only legal action is submitting the selected configuration.
Avoid when: any card count mismatch, invalid sideboard-entry card, invalid main-deck removal, unresolved matchup choice, or visible contradiction remains.
Instructions: Submit the already selected legal configuration without changing spellings or counts. Do not improvise extra swaps at confirmation time.
Pilot skill floor: low
No-API allowed: yes
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Narrow Hate Deployment
Priority: Medium
Decision families: sideboard; priority; activated ability; spell casting
Cards: Endurance; Force of Vigor; Nihil Spellbomb; Grafdigger's Cage; Pithing Needle; Dauthi Voidwalker; Culling Ritual
Phase windows: precombat main; opponent end step; priority before combo turn; response to graveyard or permanent-engine action
Runtime cues: action:cast; action:activate; prompt:choose name; prompt:choose target
Use when: a sideboard card is already in the game and the opponent's visible action, graveyard, commander, permanent, or stack pattern makes its text live.
Avoid when: deploying the hate piece blocks Jace, Wielder of Mysteries, Snapcaster Mage, Unearth, Mystic Sanctuary, Noxious Revival, Cling to Dust, Murderous Cut, Barrowgoyf, Abhorrent Oculus, or the protected combo route more than it harms the opponent.
Instructions: Hold graveyard interaction until it stops a meaningful conversion point unless tempo or mana efficiency demands earlier use. Name activated permanents with Pithing Needle only from public information. Use Force of Vigor and Culling Ritual to clear permanents that constrain casting, targeting, graveyard access, mana, or the decisive draw-win turn.
Pilot skill floor: high
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Anti-Red Protection And Stabilization
Priority: Medium
Decision families: sideboard; priority; removal; counterspell
Cards: Hydroblast; Blue Elemental Blast; Veil of Summer; Culling Ritual
Phase windows: opponent combat; opponent end step; precombat main; response to burn or red permanent action
Runtime cues: action:cast; prompt:target spell; prompt:target permanent
Use when: red spells, red permanents, or a red commander create the current clock, and the post-board hand contains one-mana red interaction or a verified green protection spell.
Avoid when: the opponent's red component is incidental, there is no legal red object to answer, or holding up the answer prevents a stronger stabilizing play already visible.
Instructions: Prioritize countering lethal burn, removing the fastest red permanent, or protecting Glarb, Calamity's Augur, Jace, Wielder of Mysteries, Psychic Frog, Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student, or a stabilizing spell. Use Veil of Summer only when black or blue interaction is part of the same fight.
Pilot skill floor: medium
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes
