# Strategy Specifications
## Deck Name And Archetype
Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd is a Duel Commander 100-card singleton white midrange deck with tribal and blink-tax elements, using Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd as the named command-zone plan. The active validation contract reports 100 main-deck cards and 10 sideboard cards, which passes this format-aware Veles policy model; do not apply 60-card constructed sizing checks to this deck.

- Format: Duel Commander.
- Commander: Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd.
- Main count: 100 cards, with singleton nonbasic/nonland and nonland entries plus 33 Plains as the only repeated card.
- Sideboard count: 10 cards, matching the Veles policy sideboard rule for this command-zone configuration.
- Tags: midrange; tribal.
- Stock status: hybrid-rogue unless later matchup data proves a known stock shell. The card mix points to a white creature-based disruption deck with blink, taxing, exile-removal, protection, and board-pressure packages rather than a fully stock published archetype.
- Opponent information status: no specific opponent deck, commander, archetype, colors, or matchup label is supplied for this batch. Runtime decisions must treat opponent identity as unknown until public game actions, revealed cards, companion/commander information, or sideboard context gives legal evidence.

Legality validation is currently clean under the supplied contract, but runtime must still respect the rules engine for command-zone casting, commander tax, sideboard availability, and action legality. Veles must never assume Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd can be cast, activated, blinked, protected, or used in combat unless the legal action list exposes that option.

Mana validation is broadly coherent for a mono-white shell: the deck contains 33 Plains plus Idyllic Grange, Mishra's Factory, Scavenger Grounds, Shefet Dunes, Cave of the Frost Dragon, Castle Ardenvale, and Kabira Takedown. The mana base supports many white spells, but colorless or utility lands can still create sequencing risk for early white interaction such as Mana Tithe, March of Otherworldly Light, Swords to Plowshares, On Thin Ice, Portable Hole, Static Prison, Brave the Elements, and Cloudshift.

Role validation identifies a proactive-disruptive midrange plan rather than pure aggro or pure control. Early creatures and permanents such as Benevolent Bodyguard, Kytheon, Hero of Akros, Thraben Inspector, Novice Inspector, Guide of Souls, Curse of Silence, Portable Hole, On Thin Ice, and Static Prison help build tempo while narrowing the opponent's early lines. Midgame cards such as Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd, Charming Prince, Flickerwisp, Extraction Specialist, Blade Splicer, Elite Spellbinder, Anointed Peacekeeper, Skyclave Apparition, Palace Jailer, Ranger of Eos, Wedding Announcement, and Gideon, Ally of Zendikar convert small-board advantages into repeated pressure or material.

The deck should be piloted as a threat-plus-disruption strategy that wins by making the opponent's best turns awkward while attacking through protected or evasive pressure. It should not default to holding every answer indefinitely; it should also not spend premium interaction on low-impact permanents when the visible board suggests a more dangerous commander, engine, or lethal setup is likely.

Card-text confidence is mixed for newer or unusual names. Card text check required for Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd, Curious Farm Animals, Guide of Souls, Overlord of the Mistmoors, Starfield Shepherd, Tax Collector, Seam Rip, Pre-War Formalwear, Sunpearl Kirin, Leonardo, Big Brother, Hopeful Vigil, Toby, Beastie Befriender, Static Prison, and Parting Gust before any deterministic no-API policy relies on exact wording. Until checked by the rules engine, treat these cards through legal action text, visible choices, and conservative tactical categories only.

Sideboard identity is broad hate and flexible removal: Rest in Peace, Stony Silence, Deafening Silence, Burrenton Forge-Tender, Hushbringer, Council's Judgment, Celestial Purge, Gideon's Intervention, Loran of the Third Path, and Solitude. Exact sideboard plans must appear only in Sideboard Map; this section records that all sideboard cards are legal policy-sideboard names and must be mapped later by matchup role, not used as generic staples outside registered-card context.

## Thesis
Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd assembles a mono-white pressure-and-disruption board where cheap creatures, taxing effects, exile removal, protection, and blink-adjacent value make the opponent spend mana inefficiently while your attackers keep closing life totals. The deck wins by sticking an early body, constraining the opponent's best card or best turn, then compounding small battlefield advantages through Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd, Charming Prince, Flickerwisp, Extraction Specialist, Blade Splicer, Skyclave Apparition, Palace Jailer, Wedding Announcement, Gideon, Ally of Zendikar, Steel Seraph, or creature-land pressure.

The primary priority is tempo with board relevance: develop mana, cast a meaningful early permanent, answer the visible card that invalidates combat or snowballs faster than your board, and protect the threat or hate piece that is currently doing the most work. Do not hoard interaction for theoretical future cards when Swords to Plowshares, March of Otherworldly Light, Portable Hole, On Thin Ice, Ossification, Static Prison, Skyclave Apparition, Giant Killer, Parting Gust, or Council's Judgment after sideboard can preserve an attack step, commander pressure, or a decisive tax window.

The deck is not trying to be pure draw-go control, a hard prison deck, a fast combo deck, or a generic white good-stuff pile with interchangeable plays. It should avoid lines that spend early turns doing nothing, overcommit protection before a threat exists, or chase low-impact blink value while the opponent has a visible engine, commander, or lethal clock that must be answered.

Phelia-centric lines should be treated as conditional until the rules engine exposes exact legal actions. Card text check required for Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd; when legal blink, exile, or attack-trigger choices appear, prioritize targets that preserve tempo, reset your own enters-battlefield cards, remove an opposing blocker for the current combat, or protect a key permanent only if the visible action text supports that outcome.

## Role Package
- Threats: Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd; Kytheon, Hero of Akros; Adeline, Resplendent Cathar; Guardian of New Benalia; Blade Splicer; Flickerwisp; Skyclave Apparition; Steel Seraph; Overlord of the Mistmoors; Palace Jailer; Gideon, Ally of Zendikar; Mishra's Factory; Cave of the Frost Dragon; Castle Ardenvale; Shefet Dunes. Use these cards to turn disruption into a clock rather than letting the game reset into the opponent's larger plan.

- Payoffs: Blade Splicer, Staff of the Storyteller, Wedding Announcement, Maul of the Skyclaves, Gideon, Ally of Zendikar, Steel Seraph, Palace Jailer, Overlord of the Mistmoors, Toby, Beastie Befriender, Starfield Shepherd, and Shefet Dunes are the cards that convert bodies, tokens, or board presence into damage, cards, or inevitability. Card text check required for Staff of the Storyteller, Overlord of the Mistmoors, Toby, Beastie Befriender, and Starfield Shepherd before relying on exact triggers.

- Engines: Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd, Charming Prince, Flickerwisp, Extraction Specialist, Ranger of Eos, Moon-Blessed Cleric, Wedding Announcement, Staff of the Storyteller, and Palace Jailer form the recursive/value core. Prefer engine lines when the battlefield is stable or when the engine also removes a blocker, finds a critical piece, or reuses a disruptive permanent.

- Velocity: Thraben Inspector, Novice Inspector, Ranger of Eos, Moon-Blessed Cleric, Wedding Announcement, Staff of the Storyteller, Curious Farm Animals, and Palace Jailer help find material or keep cards flowing. Card text check required for Curious Farm Animals; use it only according to exposed legal actions and visible card movement.

- Interaction: Swords to Plowshares, March of Otherworldly Light, Portable Hole, On Thin Ice, Ossification, Static Prison, Skyclave Apparition, Touch the Spirit Realm, Giant Killer, Kabira Takedown, Parting Gust, Seam Rip, Cathar Commando, Phyrexian Revoker, Disruptor Flute, Curse of Silence, Runed Halo, Anointed Peacekeeper, Elite Spellbinder, Aven Mindcensor, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Tithe Taker, Tax Collector, Sanctifier en-Vec, Remorseful Cleric, Containment Priest, and Spirit of the Labyrinth are the disruption suite. Card text check required for Static Prison, Parting Gust, Seam Rip, and Tax Collector before exact-mode assumptions.

- Protection: Benevolent Bodyguard, Brave the Elements, Cloudshift, Selfless Spirit, Guardian of New Benalia, Mana Tithe, Touch the Spirit Realm, and combat-aware use of Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd protect the board or punish removal. Spend protection on the permanent that is winning the current exchange, not automatically on the first target.

- Recursion: Extraction Specialist and Pre-War Formalwear are the main recovery cards, with Charming Prince, Flickerwisp, and Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd potentially reusing battlefield value if legal actions expose those lines. Card text check required for Pre-War Formalwear before selecting exact graveyard targets.

- Mana: 33 Plains are the reliable white source base; Idyllic Grange, Mishra's Factory, Scavenger Grounds, Shefet Dunes, Cave of the Frost Dragon, Castle Ardenvale, and Kabira Takedown add utility but can affect early white sequencing. Prioritize untapped white mana when holding Mana Tithe, Swords to Plowshares, Brave the Elements, Cloudshift, Portable Hole, On Thin Ice, or Static Prison.

- Sideboard modules: Rest in Peace and Remorseful Cleric-style graveyard pressure attack graveyard decks; Stony Silence, Loran of the Third Path, Cathar Commando, and Seam Rip-style effects attack artifacts or enchantments; Deafening Silence and Thalia, Guardian of Thraben-style effects constrain spell chains; Burrenton Forge-Tender, Celestial Purge, Gideon's Intervention, Hushbringer, Council's Judgment, and Solitude adjust protection, removal, and hate roles by matchup. Exact sideboarding belongs in Sideboard Map.

## Primary Win Conditions
- Phelia tempo-value pressure: Set up Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd with an early creature or hate permanent, then turn legal attack-trigger or blink-style actions into damage plus tempo. Card text check required for exact Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd timing; when the rules engine exposes a legal target, prefer lines that remove a visible blocker for the attack, reuse Blade Splicer, Charming Prince, Flickerwisp, Skyclave Apparition, Elite Spellbinder, Palace Jailer, Extraction Specialist, Ranger of Eos, Moon-Blessed Cleric, or Thraben Inspector/Novice Inspector value, or protect a key permanent from visible removal. Prioritize this path when the opponent is trying to win through one large blocker, one commander, one engine permanent, or spot removal rather than a fast wide board.

- Disruptive creature clock: Lead with Kytheon, Hero of Akros, Thraben Inspector, Novice Inspector, Guardian of New Benalia, Benevolent Bodyguard, Guide of Souls, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Tithe Taker, Spirit of the Labyrinth, Aven Mindcensor, Anointed Peacekeeper, Elite Spellbinder, Phyrexian Revoker, Tax Collector, or Containment Priest to make the opponent's next turn inefficient while attacks start immediately. Execute by adding one threat per turn, using Swords to Plowshares, March of Otherworldly Light, Portable Hole, On Thin Ice, Ossification, Static Prison, Skyclave Apparition, Giant Killer, Parting Gust, or Touch the Spirit Realm only on cards that stop the clock or outscale the board. Protect the best disruptive permanent with Benevolent Bodyguard, Selfless Spirit, Brave the Elements, Cloudshift, Mana Tithe, or Guardian of New Benalia when that permanent is buying the damage window.

- Board-wide token and anthem pressure: Build a board with Adeline, Resplendent Cathar, Blade Splicer, Wedding Announcement, Staff of the Storyteller, Gideon, Ally of Zendikar, Toby, Beastie Befriender, Castle Ardenvale, and Overlord of the Mistmoors, then convert the extra bodies into lethal pressure with Maul of the Skyclaves, Steel Seraph, Shefet Dunes, Gideon, Ally of Zendikar, or clean attacks. Card text check required for Staff of the Storyteller, Toby, Beastie Befriender, Steel Seraph, and Overlord of the Mistmoors before relying on exact trigger or mode behavior. Prioritize this path against one-for-one removal, slow control, or decks that cannot punish multiple small bodies.

- Monarch or planeswalker snowball: Resolve Palace Jailer or Gideon, Ally of Zendikar when the board can defend it, then trade removal and blockers to preserve the ongoing advantage. Execute Palace Jailer only when you can either keep attacking pressure high or prevent the opponent from safely taking back the resource; execute Gideon, Ally of Zendikar when a token, emblem, or attack line will matter before the opponent can remove it. Prioritize this path when life totals are stable and cards are the limiting resource.

## Secondary Win Conditions
- Equipment and evasive conversion: Use Maul of the Skyclaves, Steel Seraph, Brave the Elements, and Cave of the Frost Dragon to turn any surviving body into a short clock after the opponent answers the first wave. Prefer this line when the opponent has stabilized on the ground but lacks visible instant-speed interaction or flying blockers.

- Creature-land cleanup: Use Mishra's Factory, Cave of the Frost Dragon, Castle Ardenvale, and Shefet Dunes as post-sweeper or flood insurance. Activate creature lands only after checking visible removal, available mana, and whether keeping mana open for Swords to Plowshares, Mana Tithe, Cloudshift, Brave the Elements, Castle Ardenvale, Scavenger Grounds, or sideboard interaction is more important.

- Recursion and rebuild pressure: Use Extraction Specialist and Pre-War Formalwear to recover a fallen cheap threat, hate creature, or value body, then resume the disruptive-clock plan. Card text check required for Pre-War Formalwear; choose graveyard targets only from legal actions and prefer cards that immediately block, attack, tax, or create another battlefield object.

- Hate-permanent lock pressure: Use Curse of Silence, Runed Halo, Disruptor Flute, Phyrexian Revoker, Sanctifier en-Vec, Remorseful Cleric, Scavenger Grounds, Spirit of the Labyrinth, Containment Priest, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, and Aven Mindcensor to narrow the opponent's legal profitable lines while small attackers finish the game. This is a win condition only when paired with pressure; do not spend turns layering low-impact hate while behind to visible creatures.

## Emergency Lines
- Behind on life: Stabilize before value by prioritizing Swords to Plowshares, March of Otherworldly Light, On Thin Ice, Ossification, Static Prison, Skyclave Apparition, Giant Killer, Parting Gust, Brave the Elements, Selfless Spirit, Benevolent Bodyguard, Blade Splicer, Steel Seraph, or Palace Jailer lines that remove attackers, create blockers, or prevent lethal. Do not attack with a needed blocker unless the attack creates lethal, forces a decisive race swing, or the legal action clearly preserves defense.

- Behind on board: Trade down in card economy to regain combat agency; Portable Hole on a cheap attacker, Swords to Plowshares on a large threat, or Skyclave Apparition on an engine is correct when it unlocks safe blocks or attacks. Prefer Blade Splicer, Adeline, Resplendent Cathar, Wedding Announcement, Gideon, Ally of Zendikar, Castle Ardenvale, and Overlord of the Mistmoors as rebuild cards after the first emergency removal spell.

- Behind on cards: Prioritize Thraben Inspector, Novice Inspector, Staff of the Storyteller, Wedding Announcement, Palace Jailer, Ranger of Eos, Moon-Blessed Cleric, Charming Prince, Flickerwisp, Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd, and Extraction Specialist lines that produce more than one relevant object or reuse an enters-battlefield effect. Do not cash in Brave the Elements, Cloudshift, or Selfless Spirit for marginal tempo when they are the only protection against a visible sweeper or lethal exchange.

- Behind on mana: Make land drops and cheap interaction the whole plan until functional; cast one-mana plays before holding up speculative Mana Tithe if missing development would strand multiple spells. Use Knight of the White Orchid only according to visible land counts and legal action text, and avoid activating Mishra's Factory, Cave of the Frost Dragon, Castle Ardenvale, Scavenger Grounds, or Shefet Dunes if that prevents casting needed spells.

- Engines removed or commander taxed: Shift into singleton white midrange by combining any cheap body with removal, hate permanents, and creature lands. Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd is strong but not required to win; do not recast into obvious visible punishment if Gideon, Ally of Zendikar, Adeline, Resplendent Cathar, Palace Jailer, Wedding Announcement, Steel Seraph, or a protected creature-land line is safer.

## Resource Model
- Life is a tempo resource, not a cushion: accept early damage when it lets Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Anointed Peacekeeper, Elite Spellbinder, Adeline, Resplendent Cathar, or Palace Jailer establish a clock, but switch immediately to preservation when visible attacks threaten a two-turn kill. Spend Swords to Plowshares, March of Otherworldly Light, Parting Gust, Giant Killer, On Thin Ice, Ossification, Portable Hole, Static Prison, Skyclave Apparition, or Touch the Spirit Realm on the card that changes combat math fastest, not automatically on the highest mana value permanent.

- Hand size converts into layered pressure: keep at least one threat, one interaction piece, and one development line when possible, because this singleton list wins by forcing the opponent to answer different permanent types. Cash Thraben Inspector, Novice Inspector, Wedding Announcement, Staff of the Storyteller, Ranger of Eos, Moon-Blessed Cleric, Palace Jailer, Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd, Flickerwisp, Charming Prince, Extraction Specialist, and Pre-War Formalwear into cards or reused bodies when the board is stable; Card text check required for Staff of the Storyteller and Pre-War Formalwear before assuming exact trigger timing.

- Mana converts into initiative: use one- and two-mana plays to make the opponent spend turns awkwardly, then use three- and four-mana cards to widen the battlefield or lock a key permanent. Do not hold up Mana Tithe, Cloudshift, Brave the Elements, Cathar Commando, Remorseful Cleric, or Castle Ardenvale if doing so strands the only board-advancing legal action while behind.

- Board material converts into leverage: small creatures are attackers, blockers, protection carriers, Staff of the Storyteller or Wedding Announcement enablers, Shefet Dunes beneficiaries, and sacrifice or exile-payment material only when legal action text offers that cost. Preserve Benevolent Bodyguard, Selfless Spirit, Guardian of New Benalia, Brave the Elements, and Cloudshift for turns where they protect a disruptive permanent, save lethal pressure, or blank a visible removal line.

- Graveyard access is selective: Extraction Specialist and Pre-War Formalwear can rebuild with a cheap creature or value body, while Remorseful Cleric, Scavenger Grounds, Sanctifier en-Vec, Sungold Sentinel, and Rest in Peace pressure graveyard decks. Do not spend Scavenger Grounds or Remorseful Cleric merely because they are legal; use them when visible graveyards, known revealed information, or matchup context indicate an imminent graveyard payoff.

- Exile is both answer space and risk space: Portable Hole, On Thin Ice, Ossification, Static Prison, Skyclave Apparition, Touch the Spirit Realm, Parting Gust, March of Otherworldly Light, and Swords to Plowshares convert threats into temporary or permanent removal according to their actual rules text. Card text check required for Static Prison, Parting Gust, and Touch the Spirit Realm before assuming whether the opponent can recover the exiled card or whether a blink line is favorable.

- Lands are late-game material: Mishra's Factory and Cave of the Frost Dragon become threats, Castle Ardenvale becomes board presence, Scavenger Grounds becomes hate, Shefet Dunes becomes a damage burst, Kabira Takedown becomes interaction when drawn as a spell, and Idyllic Grange is conditional board value. Treat each activation as spending a spell slot for the turn if it consumes mana needed for interaction or commander recast.

- Information converts into named disruption: Curse of Silence, Runed Halo, Anointed Peacekeeper, Elite Spellbinder, Phyrexian Revoker, Disruptor Flute, Aven Mindcensor, Spirit of the Labyrinth, Containment Priest, Tax Collector, and sideboard bullets reward choosing from visible cards, revealed hands, commander identity, public graveyards, and legal-action context. If the runtime has not revealed a target name or activated ability, prefer high-confidence public information over guessing.

- Sideboard bullets convert matchup pressure into narrow wins: Rest in Peace, Stony Silence, Deafening Silence, Burrenton Forge-Tender, Hushbringer, Council's Judgment, Celestial Purge, Gideon's Intervention, Loran of the Third Path, and Solitude should raise the density of answers to the opponent's proven axis without diluting the deck below a functional creature-and-pressure shell.

## Mana Guide
- Keep mana because the deck is mono-white but curve-sensitive: a keepable opening hand usually needs two lands or one land plus multiple one-mana legal plays and a clear draw-step plan. Prioritize hands with Plains or untapped white sources plus early action; mulligan hands that rely on Mishra's Factory, Scavenger Grounds, Cave of the Frost Dragon, Castle Ardenvale, Shefet Dunes, or Kabira Takedown alone to cast white spells unless runtime legality shows sufficient white mana.

- Sequence white sources before utility when development matters: play Plains early to cast Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd, Benevolent Bodyguard, Kytheon, Hero of Akros, Thraben Inspector, Novice Inspector, Guide of Souls, Mana Tithe, Swords to Plowshares, March of Otherworldly Light, Portable Hole, On Thin Ice, Hopeful Vigil, or other cheap white actions. Hold Mishra's Factory, Scavenger Grounds, Castle Ardenvale, Cave of the Frost Dragon, Shefet Dunes, and Idyllic Grange for later when their utility beats immediate color access.

- Respect land-entry conditions from legal actions: Idyllic Grange and Cave of the Frost Dragon have battlefield timing or activation constraints that must be checked in engine output before planning around them. Card text check required for any uncertain land mode; never assume a tapped or untapped status not shown in visible state.

- Play land before spending mana when the turn requires a known cast: make the land drop first if it unlocks Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Tithe Taker, Cathar Commando, Charming Prince, Blade Splicer, Skyclave Apparition, Adeline, Resplendent Cathar, Wedding Announcement, Gideon, Ally of Zendikar, Palace Jailer, or removal plus protection. Delay the land only when Thraben Inspector, Novice Inspector, Staff of the Storyteller, Ranger of Eos, Moon-Blessed Cleric, or another legal selection/draw action can materially change which land should be played.

- Spend utility-land mana carefully: activating Mishra's Factory, Cave of the Frost Dragon, Castle Ardenvale, Scavenger Grounds, or Shefet Dunes is correct when the effect changes lethal, blocks, graveyard timing, or post-sweeper pressure. Do not activate them if holding up Swords to Plowshares, Mana Tithe, Cloudshift, Brave the Elements, Cathar Commando, Remorseful Cleric, Burrenton Forge-Tender, Solitude, Celestial Purge, Council's Judgment, or Loran of the Third Path is visibly more important.

- Plan around commander tax: recasting Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd is strong only if the remaining mana still supports protection, removal, or a follow-up body. If tax makes Phelia consume the whole turn into visible interaction, use Gideon, Ally of Zendikar, Wedding Announcement, Adeline, Resplendent Cathar, Castle Ardenvale, Mishra's Factory, Cave of the Frost Dragon, or a hate permanent to keep pressure without overpaying.

## Mulligan Guide
- Strong keeps start with two or three white-producing lands plus a one- or two-mana play: Plains with Thraben Inspector, Novice Inspector, Benevolent Bodyguard, Guide of Souls, Kytheon, Hero of Akros, Portable Hole, On Thin Ice, Mana Tithe, or Swords to Plowshares is functional. A strong hand also has a turn-two pressure or tax card such as Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Tithe Taker, Containment Priest, Charming Prince, or Cathar Commando.

- Medium keeps need a clear first two turns: two lands with only three-mana cards can be kept on the draw if the hand contains Skyclave Apparition, Blade Splicer, Elite Spellbinder, Anointed Peacekeeper, Wedding Announcement, or Staff of the Storyteller and the matchup rewards a stable midgame. One cheap interaction spell plus one cheap creature upgrades otherwise slow hands.

- Risky keeps are one-land hands with several one-mana cards: keep only on the draw or with multiple legal early actions such as Thraben Inspector plus Novice Inspector plus Portable Hole, and prefer Plains over utility lands. Ship one-land hands where the only land is Mishra's Factory, Scavenger Grounds, Castle Ardenvale, Cave of the Frost Dragon, Shefet Dunes, Idyllic Grange, or Kabira Takedown unless engine output proves the hand casts its spells.

- Automatic ships lack early mana or early action: no-land hands, one-land hands with only three-plus-mana spells, hands with several utility lands and no Plains, or hands that cannot affect the battlefield before turn three should mulligan. Also ship hands that require exact card text assumptions for Static Prison, Seam Rip, Starfield Shepherd, Sunpearl Kirin, Leonardo, Big Brother, Curious Farm Animals, Toby, Beastie Befriender, or Overlord of the Mistmoors before the engine confirms legal actions.

- Matchup-dependent keeps lean on the hate piece only when the opposing axis is known: keep Sanctifier en-Vec, Remorseful Cleric, Spirit of the Labyrinth, Aven Mindcensor, Phyrexian Revoker, Disruptor Flute, Curse of Silence, Runed Halo, or Containment Priest when commander identity, revealed cards, or public game history makes the text relevant. Do not keep a narrow hate hand with no clock unless the matchup is visibly vulnerable to that card.

- Play/draw changes risk tolerance: on the play, prefer Kytheon, Hero of Akros, Thraben Inspector, Novice Inspector, Guide of Souls, Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, or Tithe Taker to seize tempo. On the draw, value Swords to Plowshares, March of Otherworldly Light, Portable Hole, On Thin Ice, Giant Killer, Mana Tithe, and early blockers more highly because the opponent can present the first threat.

- Trap hands look powerful but miss the curve: Palace Jailer, Gideon, Ally of Zendikar, Overlord of the Mistmoors, Steel Seraph, Ranger of Eos, Maul of the Skyclaves, and Touch the Spirit Realm are not keeps by themselves. Keep these hands only when the first two turns already develop mana, interaction, or board presence.

## Turn Arc
- Turn 1 should establish mana or cheap board presence: play Plains when possible, then cast Thraben Inspector, Novice Inspector, Benevolent Bodyguard, Guide of Souls, Kytheon, Hero of Akros, Portable Hole, On Thin Ice, Hopeful Vigil, or hold Swords to Plowshares/Mana Tithe when the opponent's visible line makes passing valuable. Avoid leading utility lands if they delay white spells.

- Turn 2 should deploy the commander or a disruptive body: prioritize Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd when she can attack next turn and the opponent has no obvious punishment, otherwise choose Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Tithe Taker, Containment Priest, Cathar Commando, Charming Prince, Spirit of the Labyrinth, Guardian of New Benalia, or removal. Use Curse of Silence, Runed Halo, Phyrexian Revoker, or Disruptor Flute only with a named threat or activated ability supported by public information.

- Turn 3 should convert tempo into advantage: prefer Skyclave Apparition, Blade Splicer, Elite Spellbinder, Anointed Peacekeeper, Adeline, Resplendent Cathar, Wedding Announcement, Staff of the Storyteller, Maul of the Skyclaves, or Phelia attack targets when legal action text offers them. Use Flickerwisp, Cloudshift, Parting Gust, or Touch the Spirit Realm only when the visible target and timing justify the blink, removal, or reset line; Card text check required for uncertain blink/removal outcomes.

- Turns 4-5 should lock the game around pressure plus protection: use Gideon, Ally of Zendikar, Palace Jailer, Ranger of Eos, Steel Seraph, Overlord of the Mistmoors, Extraction Specialist, Pre-War Formalwear, or Moon-Blessed Cleric to rebuild or widen. Hold Brave the Elements, Benevolent Bodyguard, Selfless Spirit, Cloudshift, or Swords to Plowshares when protecting a decisive board is better than adding another creature.

- Late game should turn lands and engines into inevitability: activate Castle Ardenvale, Mishra's Factory, Cave of the Frost Dragon, Scavenger Grounds, or Shefet Dunes when the activation advances lethal, blocks profitably, or stops a graveyard line. Recast Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd through commander tax only if the remaining turn still supports protection, interaction, or a meaningful attack next turn.

## Card Roles
- Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd is the central pressure-and-reset engine: deploy her early when she can attack through visible blockers or protected interaction, and use her legal blink targets to reuse enters-the-battlefield creatures, reset opposing permanents, or save your own material only when the engine exposes that action. Avoid blinking your own hate permanent if it releases an opponent line during the return window.

- Thraben Inspector, Novice Inspector, Hopeful Vigil, Staff of the Storyteller, and Wedding Announcement are the deck's low-risk card-flow package: cast them before expensive threats when the hand needs velocity, and pair the Clue/token bodies with Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd, Guide of Souls, Adeline, Resplendent Cathar, Steel Seraph, Maul of the Skyclaves, or Gideon, Ally of Zendikar to turn small material into pressure. Do not spend mana cracking Clues or activating Staff of the Storyteller while a high-value Swords to Plowshares, Mana Tithe, Brave the Elements, Cloudshift, Cathar Commando, or Remorseful Cleric window is visibly available.

- Benevolent Bodyguard, Selfless Spirit, Brave the Elements, Cloudshift, Parting Gust, and Touch the Spirit Realm are protection or rescue tools first, value tools second: hold them when Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd, Palace Jailer, Adeline, Resplendent Cathar, Gideon, Ally of Zendikar, or a key hate creature is likely to decide the game. Use Cloudshift or Touch the Spirit Realm for value only when the legal target is explicitly beneficial, such as resetting Blade Splicer, Skyclave Apparition, Elite Spellbinder, Palace Jailer, Ranger of Eos, Charming Prince, or Extraction Specialist; Card text check required for Parting Gust and uncertain blink/removal outcomes before assuming a permanent returns favorably.

- Swords to Plowshares, March of Otherworldly Light, Portable Hole, On Thin Ice, Ossification, Static Prison, Skyclave Apparition, Giant Killer, Kabira Takedown, and Council-style exile effects in the main deck are tempo removal: spend the cheapest clean answer on the threat that blocks lethal, races your board, enables a combo, or invalidates Phelia attacks. Prefer creature-based removal with Skyclave Apparition when Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd, Flickerwisp, Cloudshift, or Charming Prince can reuse it, but do not delay Swords to Plowshares when a commander, engine creature, or lethal attacker must be removed now. Card text check required for Static Prison if energy/payment restrictions or duration matter.

- Mana Tithe, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Tithe Taker, Tax Collector, Curse of Silence, Elite Spellbinder, Anointed Peacekeeper, Spirit of the Labyrinth, Aven Mindcensor, Containment Priest, Phyrexian Revoker, Disruptor Flute, Runed Halo, Sanctifier en-Vec, Remorseful Cleric, and Sungold Sentinel are the disruptive spine: play them when public information identifies the opponent's bottleneck, not merely because mana is available. Name or choose with Curse of Silence, Anointed Peacekeeper, Phyrexian Revoker, Disruptor Flute, and Runed Halo only from visible commander identity, revealed hand, stack history, graveyard, or repeated public actions; do not invent hidden cards. Hold Remorseful Cleric or Scavenger Grounds mana when graveyard timing matters more than adding one body.

- Guide of Souls, Kytheon, Hero of Akros, Guardian of New Benalia, Charming Prince, Cathar Commando, Knight of the White Orchid, and Benevolent Bodyguard are early board stabilizers with late utility: cast them on curve to enable attacks, convoke-like pressure, or protection shields, then reassess whether their activated or sacrifice abilities should be held. Knight of the White Orchid is strongest when the opponent has more lands or the engine shows a legal land-search trigger; do not cast it into a board where losing the search timing is the only relevant value.

- Blade Splicer, Flickerwisp, Extraction Specialist, Ranger of Eos, Palace Jailer, and Moon-Blessed Cleric are Phelia-friendly value creatures: prioritize them when the game rewards repeated enters-the-battlefield triggers, tutoring, monarchy pressure, or rebuilding after removal. Ranger of Eos should find cheap creatures that match the board need, such as Benevolent Bodyguard for protection, Thraben Inspector or Novice Inspector for cards, Giant Killer for removal utility, Guide of Souls for pressure, or Kytheon, Hero of Akros for aggression. Palace Jailer should be delayed if becoming or keeping the monarch is unrealistic against visible evasive attackers.

- Adeline, Resplendent Cathar, Toby, Beastie Befriender, Curious Farm Animals, Starfield Shepherd, Sunpearl Kirin, Leonardo, Big Brother, Overlord of the Mistmoors, and Steel Seraph are pressure or scaling threats whose exact tactical use depends on engine text: cast them when legal actions show they add durable board presence, evasion, tokens, or stabilizing stats. Card text check required for Curious Farm Animals, Starfield Shepherd, Sunpearl Kirin, Leonardo, Big Brother, Toby, Beastie Befriender, and Overlord of the Mistmoors before relying on specific triggers, creature types, or token production.

- Gideon, Ally of Zendikar, Maul of the Skyclaves, Pre-War Formalwear, and Steel Seraph convert a modest board into a closing clock: deploy them when the opponent is under pressure or has already spent clean removal, and prefer them over more small creatures when sweepers or stalled boards are the main risk. Do not put Maul of the Skyclaves or Pre-War Formalwear onto a creature that must stay back to block unless racing math clearly favors that line.

- Cathar Commando, Seam Rip, March of Otherworldly Light, Portable Hole, Skyclave Apparition, Touch the Spirit Realm, and Moon-Blessed Cleric help answer or locate answers to artifacts, enchantments, and problem permanents. Card text check required for Seam Rip before assuming exact timing, target class, or bonus text; use Cathar Commando at instant speed only when destroying the visible permanent is worth sacrificing a body and potentially weakening attacks.

- Sanctifier en-Vec, Containment Priest, Spirit of the Labyrinth, Aven Mindcensor, Remorseful Cleric, Sungold Sentinel, Phyrexian Revoker, Runed Halo, Curse of Silence, Disruptor Flute, and Anointed Peacekeeper are matchup cards maindecked for singleton pressure: keep or deploy them when the opponent's commander, revealed cards, graveyard, search effects, activated abilities, or card-draw engine make the text live. Avoid spending Phelia blink triggers on them unless blinking preserves the lock or reselects a now-more-important name legally.

- Plains, Idyllic Grange, Mishra's Factory, Castle Ardenvale, Cave of the Frost Dragon, Shefet Dunes, Scavenger Grounds, and Kabira Takedown are strategic resources, not just mana: prioritize untapped white sources early, then use utility lands only after the deck can cast double-white spells and hold interaction. Activate Mishra's Factory, Castle Ardenvale, Cave of the Frost Dragon, or Shefet Dunes when they create lethal, pressure a planeswalker, or produce a blocker; use Scavenger Grounds only when the graveyard exchange is worth losing future graveyard leverage from Extraction Specialist, Pre-War Formalwear, or other visible recursion.

## Interaction Priorities
- Priority: spend Swords to Plowshares, March of Otherworldly Light, On Thin Ice, Ossification, Portable Hole, Static Prison, Skyclave Apparition, Giant Killer, Kabira Takedown, and Touch the Spirit Realm on the permanent that currently beats your board, enables a combo, or stops Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd from attacking. Do not conserve premium removal for theoretical hidden cards when the visible threat represents lethal, commander snowballing, or a protected engine.

- Priority: use Mana Tithe as a tempo counter when the opponent taps low for a commander, sweeper, planeswalker, combo piece, or removal spell aimed at Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd, Palace Jailer, Adeline, Resplendent Cathar, Gideon, Ally of Zendikar, Staff of the Storyteller, or a decisive hate permanent. Let low-impact cantrips, redundant blockers, or spells that do not change combat pass unless countering them preserves monarch, lethal pressure, or a lock piece.

- Priority: use Anointed Peacekeeper, Elite Spellbinder, Curse of Silence, Disruptor Flute, Phyrexian Revoker, and Runed Halo on cards identified by commander identity, revealed hand, stack history, activated ability use, graveyard, or visible battlefield. Do not name hidden format staples from memory; if no exact public card is known, choose the visible commander or the public permanent/action that is already constraining the game.

- Priority: treat Skyclave Apparition, Palace Jailer, Portable Hole, On Thin Ice, Ossification, and Static Prison as containment effects that can be undone by removal or blink. Prefer Swords to Plowshares or March of Otherworldly Light for threats that must not return, and prefer Skyclave Apparition when Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd, Flickerwisp, Cloudshift, or Charming Prince can reuse the effect without exposing lethal risk. Card text check required for Static Prison before relying on duration or payment details.

- Priority: preserve Containment Priest, Aven Mindcensor, Spirit of the Labyrinth, Sanctifier en-Vec, Remorseful Cleric, Sungold Sentinel, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Tithe Taker, and Tax Collector when their text attacks the opponent's visible plan. Against graveyard or recursion decks, hold Remorseful Cleric or Scavenger Grounds until the opponent commits the graveyard resource; against search or spell-chain decks, value Aven Mindcensor, Spirit of the Labyrinth, Deafening Silence, and Thalia, Guardian of Thraben above marginal attackers.

- Priority: ignore small creatures that cannot profitably attack through Blade Splicer tokens, Curious Farm Animals bodies, Adeline, Resplendent Cathar pressure, Steel Seraph lifelink/evasion lines, Gideon, Ally of Zendikar tokens, Castle Ardenvale tokens, or Mishra's Factory blocks. Remove enablers, lords, equipment carriers, sacrifice outlets, planeswalkers, and evasive attackers before spending removal on ground creatures that are already contained.

- Priority: bait removal with Thraben Inspector, Novice Inspector, Guardian of New Benalia, Knight of the White Orchid, Wedding Announcement, Hopeful Vigil, or token bodies before committing Maul of the Skyclaves, Pre-War Formalwear, Palace Jailer, Overlord of the Mistmoors, Steel Seraph, or Gideon, Ally of Zendikar. Card text check required for Curious Farm Animals, Starfield Shepherd, Sunpearl Kirin, Leonardo, Big Brother, Toby, Beastie Befriender, and Overlord of the Mistmoors before treating them as specific engines.

## Combat And Trading Rules
- Attack: make Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd attacks when the legal attack is safe enough to blink a high-impact target or when commander damage/tempo matters more than keeping Phelia back. Decline attacks into visible profitable blocks, first-strike blowouts, or open removal unless Brave the Elements, Benevolent Bodyguard, Selfless Spirit, Cloudshift, Touch the Spirit Realm, or a favorable trade protects the plan.

- Attack: pressure planeswalkers and monarch access before life total when the opponent can convert an unchecked permanent into more cards than your board can absorb. Palace Jailer should attack or be defended only when keeping monarch is plausible; if the opponent has evasive attackers or wide pressure, delay Palace Jailer or pair it with removal and blockers.

- Attack: use Adeline, Resplendent Cathar, Gideon, Ally of Zendikar, Wedding Announcement, Staff of the Storyteller, Blade Splicer, Toby, Beastie Befriender, Castle Ardenvale, Mishra's Factory, Cave of the Frost Dragon, and Shefet Dunes to widen pressure when the opponent is answering one card at a time. Do not animate Mishra's Factory or Cave of the Frost Dragon into open removal when losing the land would cut off double-white spells or commander tax payments.

- Block: trade expendable bodies from Blade Splicer, Thraben Inspector, Novice Inspector, Hopeful Vigil, Wedding Announcement, Gideon, Ally of Zendikar, Castle Ardenvale, or Staff of the Storyteller before trading Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd, Containment Priest, Aven Mindcensor, Spirit of the Labyrinth, Sanctifier en-Vec, or other live hate creatures. Preserve creatures that unlock Phelia blink value or shut off the opponent's current resource engine.

- Block: protect life total aggressively once visible attacks put you below roughly eight life, or below a two-turn clock from known attackers and creature lands. Trade down if needed against aggro; against control, accept more damage to preserve pressure; against combo, block only when life is the limiting resource and keep disruptive creatures alive when their text is the real defense.

- Protection: use Brave the Elements, Benevolent Bodyguard, Selfless Spirit, Cloudshift, and Touch the Spirit Realm to save a creature only when the protected permanent is decisive or the same spell also wins combat. Do not spend protection on a low-impact creature if the opponent still has visible lethal pressure or a more important removal target pending.

- Equipment: attach Maul of the Skyclaves or Pre-War Formalwear to a creature that can attack immediately, survive common visible blocks, or force a race the opponent cannot ignore. Avoid suiting up the only necessary blocker unless lifelink, evasion, or lethal pressure changes the race; Card text check required for Pre-War Formalwear before relying on recursion or stat details.

- Trades: take even trades when ahead on cards or monarch, and avoid even trades when Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd can blink the creature for repeat value. Against creature decks, prioritize stabilizing trades; against removal-heavy decks, keep redundant bodies for post-sweeper pressure; against combo, trade combat value for clock only after disruption is deployed.

## Selection And Tutor Rules
- Sequence: make the land-drop decision after all available visible selection that can change the land choice, unless delaying the land would prevent casting the selection spell or expose a required land to discard. Use Charming Prince scry, Thraben Inspector or Novice Inspector Clue cracking, Staff of the Storyteller draws, Wedding Announcement draws, and any legal clue/card-draw action before choosing between Plains, Castle Ardenvale, Cave of the Frost Dragon, Mishra's Factory, Scavenger Grounds, Shefet Dunes, Idyllic Grange, or Kabira Takedown when mana and timing permit.

- Tutor: use Ranger of Eos to find one-mana creatures that match the current problem, not generic value. Prioritize Benevolent Bodyguard or Selfless Spirit-style protection when a key permanent is carrying the game, Giant Killer when a large creature is the visible blocker or attacker, Kytheon, Hero of Akros when the board can attack, Thraben Inspector or Novice Inspector when cards are scarce, and Guide of Souls only when its visible text and available mana support the current line. Card text check required for Guide of Souls before treating it as an engine.

- Tutor: use Moon-Blessed Cleric to place the enchantment that fixes the next turn cycle. Find On Thin Ice, Ossification, Static Prison, or Touch the Spirit Realm when a visible threat must be answered; find Wedding Announcement, Hopeful Vigil, Staff of the Storyteller, or Runed Halo when the matchup is about endurance, board growth, or a known named threat. Card text check required for Static Prison and Hopeful Vigil before relying on exact duration, cost, or token details.

- Search: use Knight of the White Orchid only when the visible land-count condition is legal and the extra Plains improves the current turn or commander-tax future. If the hand already curves out and the opponent is under pressure, do not delay a stronger board play just to enable the search.

- Bottom: bottom extra lands once a stable four to five mana plus command-zone access is present, unless Castle Ardenvale, Cave of the Frost Dragon, Scavenger Grounds, or Shefet Dunes is needed for the known matchup texture. Bottom redundant small creatures when the board already has pressure and a payoff is needed; keep cheap bodies when Adeline, Resplendent Cathar, Staff of the Storyteller, Wedding Announcement, Gideon, Ally of Zendikar, or Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd needs material.

- Blink selection: choose Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd, Flickerwisp, Cloudshift, Charming Prince, and Touch the Spirit Realm targets based on the legal target list and the visible payoff. Reuse Skyclave Apparition, Elite Spellbinder, Palace Jailer, Blade Splicer, Ranger of Eos, Moon-Blessed Cleric, Thraben Inspector, Novice Inspector, Knight of the White Orchid, or Extraction Specialist when the repeated trigger matters more than preserving a blocker. Card text check required for Extraction Specialist before relying on exact recursion restrictions.

## Priority And Stack Rules
- Priority: spend instant-speed removal only on threats that matter before the next legal answer window. Use Swords to Plowshares, March of Otherworldly Light, Parting Gust, Kabira Takedown, Portable Hole timing if legal, On Thin Ice timing if legal, and Giant Killer adventure or ability according to the rules-engine action text; do not fire them into low-value creatures already contained by blockers.

- Stack: use Mana Tithe when the opponent is tapped low and the spell meaningfully changes the game, such as a sweeper, planeswalker, combo piece, commander, or answer to Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd, Palace Jailer, Gideon, Ally of Zendikar, Staff of the Storyteller, or a hate permanent. Let replaceable creatures, small cantrips, and nonlethal setup resolve when Mana Tithe is unlikely to matter later only if the rules engine still offers a stronger line.

- Protection: respond with Benevolent Bodyguard, Brave the Elements, Selfless Spirit, Cloudshift, Touch the Spirit Realm, or Flickerwisp only when the protected permanent is strategically decisive or the same response creates a tempo swing. Preserve protection for Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd, Containment Priest, Aven Mindcensor, Spirit of the Labyrinth, Palace Jailer, Adeline, Resplendent Cathar, Maul of the Skyclaves carrier, or a lethal attacker over expendable tokens.

- Optional payments: accept optional payments only when the mana cannot be used for higher-impact actions in the same turn cycle. Decline optional value if it prevents holding Swords to Plowshares, March of Otherworldly Light, Mana Tithe, Brave the Elements, Cloudshift, Cathar Commando, Remorseful Cleric, Scavenger Grounds, Castle Ardenvale, Cave of the Frost Dragon, or commander recast mana.

- Activated abilities: hold Cathar Commando, Remorseful Cleric, Scavenger Grounds, Phyrexian Revoker, Disruptor Flute, Giant Killer, Castle Ardenvale, Mishra's Factory, Cave of the Frost Dragon, and Shefet Dunes until the visible timing creates value. Use graveyard exile in response to a target, recursion spell, flashback-like action, or lethal graveyard setup; do not cash it in against an empty or irrelevant graveyard.

- Hate timing: deploy or activate Containment Priest, Aven Mindcensor, Spirit of the Labyrinth, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Tithe Taker, Tax Collector, Sanctifier en-Vec, Sungold Sentinel, Runed Halo, Curse of Silence, Anointed Peacekeeper, Disruptor Flute, and Phyrexian Revoker based on public information. Name or lock the visible commander, revealed card, stack card, activated ability source, or repeated public card pattern rather than hidden assumptions.

- Combat windows: after attackers and blockers, re-check legal actions before passing. Cast Brave the Elements, Cloudshift, Swords to Plowshares, March of Otherworldly Light, Parting Gust, Kabira Takedown, Giant Killer, or Touch the Spirit Realm when the action saves a key creature, breaks a double block, preserves monarch, prevents lethal damage, or converts an otherwise losing combat into a winning exchange.

## Sideboard Map

- Rule: treat sideboarding as a role correction, not a generic power upgrade. This singleton Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd deck wins by combining pressure, disruptive permanents, blink value, and efficient removal, so every sideboard card should either answer a matchup axis the main deck cannot reliably contain or sharpen an existing hate package without hollowing out the creature count.

- Rest in Peace: bring this against graveyard recursion, delve, reanimation, escape-like engines, flashback-heavy control, graveyard-count threats, and decks where public graveyard size is a core resource. It is bad when the opponent's graveyard is incidental and your own Extraction Specialist, Sungold Sentinel, Remorseful Cleric, Scavenger Grounds, or Pre-War Formalwear value matters more than a static hate piece. Role change: after adding Rest in Peace, treat Remorseful Cleric and Scavenger Grounds as backup pressure or land utility rather than the primary graveyard plan.

- Stony Silence: bring this against artifact mana, artifact combo, equipment engines, activated artifact value, and decks where artifact permanents provide most of the opponent's velocity. It is bad when it disables more of your own tactical texture than it stops, especially Staff of the Storyteller, Pre-War Formalwear, Clue usage from Thraben Inspector or Novice Inspector, and other artifact activations. Role change: when Stony Silence enters, lean harder on creature pressure, enchantment removal, and Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd tempo rather than artifact-based card flow.

- Deafening Silence: bring this against spell-chain combo, storm-like turns, cascade-style chains if legal text applies, and control decks that rely on multiple noncreature spells in one turn. It is bad against creature-heavy boards where the opponent can develop through creatures while your own On Thin Ice, Ossification, Static Prison, Touch the Spirit Realm, Wedding Announcement, Maul of the Skyclaves, Staff of the Storyteller, and Gideon, Ally of Zendikar turns become harder to sequence. Role change: after adding Deafening Silence, prioritize one high-impact noncreature spell per turn and spend creatures as the main development channel.

- Burrenton Forge-Tender: bring this against red removal, red sweepers, red combat damage, and commanders or threats that visibly present red damage. It is bad when the opponent's removal is exile, black edict, bounce, white exile, or nonred combat where the prevention ability has no legal target or low impact. Role change: with Burrenton Forge-Tender available, protect Palace Jailer, Adeline, Resplendent Cathar, Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd, or a Maul of the Skyclaves carrier from red blowouts before using it as a small attacker.

- Hushbringer: bring this against opposing enter-the-battlefield or death-trigger engines when those triggers are more important than your own. It is bad in value mirrors where your Blade Splicer, Elite Spellbinder, Extraction Specialist, Flickerwisp, Palace Jailer, Ranger of Eos, Skyclave Apparition, Charming Prince, Moon-Blessed Cleric, Thraben Inspector, Novice Inspector, Knight of the White Orchid, and Loran of the Third Path need their triggers. Role change: when Hushbringer is included, become a leaner hate-bear attacker and avoid hands that rely on repeated blink triggers for traction.

- Council's Judgment: bring this against resilient permanents, protection-like shields, hexproof-like problems if legal text permits, planeswalkers, large creatures, and noncreature permanents that dodge narrower removal. It is bad when the matchup is low to the ground and spending three mana at sorcery speed fails to stabilize. Role change: use Council's Judgment as the universal answer that lets Swords to Plowshares, March of Otherworldly Light, On Thin Ice, Ossification, and Static Prison aim at cheaper or more urgent threats.

- Celestial Purge: bring this against black or red commanders, planeswalkers, enchantments, creatures, and sticky permanents where exile matters. It is bad against white, blue, green, artifact, or colorless cores unless the rules engine presents a legal black or red target that changes the game. Role change: when Celestial Purge is live, preserve flexible removal for off-color threats and spend Celestial Purge on the color-locked permanent before it compounds value.

- Gideon's Intervention: bring this against single-card dependency, commander-centric plans, known combo payoff names, repeated burn names, and visible cards that the opponent must resolve to win. It is bad against wide threat diversity, fast creature swarms, or hands that cannot survive to cast a four-mana naming effect. Role change: use Gideon's Intervention as a proactive lock only after public information identifies the correct name; otherwise prefer Runed Halo, Anointed Peacekeeper, Curse of Silence, Disruptor Flute, or Phyrexian Revoker for cheaper pressure plus disruption.

- Loran of the Third Path: bring this against artifact or enchantment engines where a body plus removal is valuable and the optional draw text will not help the opponent more than you. It is bad when there are no meaningful targets or when symmetrical card access gives a slower opponent exactly the resources they need. Role change: blink and protect Loran of the Third Path only when the rules engine confirms a legal permanent target and repeated removal is better than your other Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd targets.

- Solitude: bring this against creature decks, commander damage pressure, large attackers, must-answer combo creatures, and matchups where instant-speed exile is worth card disadvantage. It is bad against low-creature control, artifact or enchantment prison, and boards where your existing removal is already abundant while card count is the bottleneck. Role change: after adding Solitude, keep more hands with white cards and interaction, but do not pitch a decisive hate permanent unless the creature being exiled would otherwise decide the game.

Graveyard Recursion Or Reanimator
Side in: Rest in Peace; Solitude
Cut: Extraction Specialist; Curious Farm Animals

Artifact Engine Or Equipment Deck
Side in: Stony Silence; Loran of the Third Path
Cut: Staff of the Storyteller; Pre-War Formalwear

Spell-Chain Combo Or Heavy Noncreature Control
Side in: Deafening Silence; Gideon's Intervention
Cut: Seam Rip; Curious Farm Animals

Red Aggro Or Red Removal Midrange
Side in: Burrenton Forge-Tender; Celestial Purge; Solitude
Cut: Tax Collector; Curious Farm Animals; Seam Rip

Creature Midrange With Sticky Permanents
Side in: Council's Judgment; Solitude; Loran of the Third Path
Cut: Mana Tithe; Curious Farm Animals; Seam Rip

Triggered Creature Engine Or Aristocrats
Side in: Hushbringer; Rest in Peace
Cut: Extraction Specialist; Pre-War Formalwear

Commander-Centric Single Threat
Side in: Gideon's Intervention; Council's Judgment; Solitude
Cut: Curious Farm Animals; Seam Rip; Mana Tithe

- Against graveyard decks, prefer Rest in Peace first, then Solitude when creature-based recursion or graveyard-enabled attackers are present. Reduce slow equipment, graveyard recursion, and uncertain text that does not answer the graveyard axis.

- Against artifact engines, prefer Stony Silence when activated abilities are central and Loran of the Third Path when a single artifact or enchantment must be removed while keeping pressure. Reassess Staff of the Storyteller and Pre-War Formalwear because Stony Silence can weaken your own artifact texture.

- Against creature-heavy aggro, prefer Solitude, Burrenton Forge-Tender against red damage, Celestial Purge against red or black permanents, and Council's Judgment for the threat that normal removal cannot answer cleanly. Reduce Mana Tithe on the draw when the opponent can curve under it, slow card engines, and narrow tax permanents that do not affect combat.

- Against commander-centric decks, prefer Gideon's Intervention, Celestial Purge if color-legal, Solitude for creature commanders, Council's Judgment for resilient permanents, and Loran of the Third Path for artifact or enchantment commanders or support pieces. Keep enough cheap pressure to punish commander tax rather than becoming a reactive pile.

- Against opposing blink, aristocrats, or death-trigger value, consider Hushbringer only when the opposing triggers visibly outweigh your own trigger package. Reduce blink-dependent value if Hushbringer is part of the post-board plan, and avoid keeping hands that need Blade Splicer, Palace Jailer, Ranger of Eos, or Skyclave Apparition triggers to function.

- Against control, use Deafening Silence, Gideon's Intervention, Council's Judgment, and Loran of the Third Path according to the public permanent mix. Reduce creature removal with no legal targets, combat-only tricks when sweepers or planeswalkers matter more, and fragile slow artifacts if the opponent is likely to answer them efficiently.

## Matchup Guidance

- Aggro: stabilize first, then let Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd and efficient bodies turn the corner after the first attack wave is contained. Keep hands with Plains plus one- or two-mana plays such as Benevolent Bodyguard, Guide of Souls, Kytheon, Hero of Akros, Giant Killer, Thraben Inspector, Novice Inspector, Portable Hole, On Thin Ice, Swords to Plowshares, or March of Otherworldly Light. Role cards are Solitude, Burrenton Forge-Tender against red damage, Celestial Purge against red or black permanents, and Council's Judgment for threats that ignore smaller removal. Do not over-board into expensive answers if the matchup is about surviving turns one through three.

- Control: pressure early while forcing the opponent to spend mana inefficiently, because this deck wins control matchups by layering small threats, taxes, and sticky noncreature value rather than by holding every card. Lead with resilient or low-commitment threats such as Kytheon, Hero of Akros, Guardian of New Benalia, Mishra's Factory, Castle Ardenvale, Cave of the Frost Dragon, Wedding Announcement, Staff of the Storyteller, and Gideon, Ally of Zendikar when legal. Use Elite Spellbinder, Anointed Peacekeeper, Curse of Silence, Disruptor Flute, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Tithe Taker, and Mana Tithe to create decision friction before committing Palace Jailer or Overlord of the Mistmoors. Role cards are Deafening Silence against spell density, Gideon's Intervention after public information identifies the relevant name, Council's Judgment for resolved permanents, and Loran of the Third Path only when artifacts or enchantments matter.

- Combo: identify whether the combo uses spells, graveyard, artifacts, creatures, triggers, or one named payoff, then choose the disruptive permanent that attacks that axis before advancing damage. Prioritize hands with Containment Priest, Aven Mindcensor, Spirit of the Labyrinth, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Anointed Peacekeeper, Curse of Silence, Disruptor Flute, Phyrexian Revoker, Elite Spellbinder, Mana Tithe, or quick pressure. Role cards are Deafening Silence for spell-chain turns, Rest in Peace for graveyard reliance, Stony Silence for activated artifact engines, Gideon's Intervention for a known single-card payoff, Hushbringer only when opposing triggers matter more than your own, and Solitude for creature-based combo.

- Tempo: trade mana efficiency before card quantity, because falling behind on board lets tempo decks turn every protection spell or bounce effect into damage. Keep cheaper removal and bodies over slow value, and avoid tapping out into obvious punishment unless the legal action creates a durable board or removes the attacker. Swords to Plowshares, Portable Hole, On Thin Ice, Static Prison, Skyclave Apparition, March of Otherworldly Light, Parting Gust, and Giant Killer should answer the threat carrying the clock rather than a marginal creature. Brave the Elements, Benevolent Bodyguard, Selfless Spirit, Cloudshift, and Touch the Spirit Realm are strongest when they counter visible removal or unlock a lethal swing. Role cards are Solitude and Council's Judgment when threats are larger or protected, with Celestial Purge only for legal red or black permanents.

- Midrange: become the deck with the more reusable battlefield, not the deck with the flashiest single spell. Use Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd to rebuy Blade Splicer, Charming Prince, Elite Spellbinder, Extraction Specialist, Flickerwisp, Palace Jailer, Ranger of Eos, Skyclave Apparition, Thraben Inspector, Novice Inspector, Knight of the White Orchid, and Loran of the Third Path when the relevant trigger is legal and beneficial. Protect snowballing permanents with Benevolent Bodyguard, Selfless Spirit, Brave the Elements, Cloudshift, and Touch the Spirit Realm. Role cards are Council's Judgment, Solitude, Celestial Purge where color-legal, and Loran of the Third Path against artifacts or enchantments. Avoid Hushbringer unless the opponent's trigger engine is clearly more important than your own.

- Big mana: use early taxes and naming effects to delay the payoff turn, then close before the opponent's top end blanks small attackers. Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Elite Spellbinder, Anointed Peacekeeper, Curse of Silence, Disruptor Flute, Aven Mindcensor, Phyrexian Revoker, and Mana Tithe matter most before the opponent has excess mana. Pressure with Adeline, Resplendent Cathar, Gideon, Ally of Zendikar, Maul of the Skyclaves, Steel Seraph, Mishra's Factory, Cave of the Frost Dragon, and Castle Ardenvale rather than extending into an overcommitted board. Role cards are Stony Silence if the acceleration is artifact-activated, Council's Judgment for resolved payoff permanents, Gideon's Intervention when public information identifies the payoff name, and Loran of the Third Path for artifact or enchantment engines.

- Graveyard: attack the graveyard before extracting creature value, because your own recursion is less important than preventing the opponent from using the graveyard as a second hand. Main-deck tools include Scavenger Grounds, Remorseful Cleric, Sanctifier en-Vec, Containment Priest, Sungold Sentinel, and incidental exile from Swords to Plowshares, March of Otherworldly Light, Skyclave Apparition, Static Prison, and Touch the Spirit Realm. Role cards are Rest in Peace first, Solitude for creature recursion or graveyard-enabled attackers, and Hushbringer only if enter-or-die triggers are the active engine and your own trigger loss is acceptable. Reduce reliance on Extraction Specialist and Pre-War Formalwear when Rest in Peace is active.

- Artifact/enchantment: answer the engine piece rather than the replaceable attacker, and preserve flexible exile for permanents that Portable Hole, On Thin Ice, Ossification, or Static Prison cannot handle. Main-deck pressure plus Cathar Commando, Skyclave Apparition, Touch the Spirit Realm, March of Otherworldly Light, Disruptor Flute, Phyrexian Revoker, Seam Rip, and Loran of the Third Path if added should keep the opponent from assembling a static advantage. Role cards are Stony Silence for activated artifact engines, Loran of the Third Path for a key artifact or enchantment, Council's Judgment for hard-to-answer permanents, and Gideon's Intervention when one named permanent or spell defines the matchup. Watch your own Staff of the Storyteller, Pre-War Formalwear, Portable Hole, Thraben Inspector, and Novice Inspector texture before committing Stony Silence.

- Go-wide: preserve life total and board density before chasing individual card advantage, because one-for-one removal does not beat many bodies without a blocker plan. Blade Splicer, Adeline, Resplendent Cathar, Wedding Announcement, Castle Ardenvale, Gideon, Ally of Zendikar, Steel Seraph, Maul of the Skyclaves, Shefet Dunes, and Brave the Elements help convert a clogged board into favorable attacks. Use Portable Hole, On Thin Ice, Swords to Plowshares, Static Prison, and Skyclave Apparition on lords, anthem sources, evasive threats, or the attacker that makes blocks fail. Role cards are Solitude, Burrenton Forge-Tender against red sweep or burn pressure, and Council's Judgment for the permanent that scales the whole board.

- Single-threat: concentrate removal, protection, and naming effects on the one object that matters, then avoid losing to commander tax or repeated recasts. Swords to Plowshares, Solitude, Council's Judgment, Celestial Purge if legal, Giant Killer, Skyclave Apparition, March of Otherworldly Light, On Thin Ice, Ossification, Static Prison, Parting Gust, Runed Halo, Gideon's Intervention, Anointed Peacekeeper, and Palace Jailer are all role players depending on legal text and public board state. Role cards are Gideon's Intervention, Solitude, Council's Judgment, and Celestial Purge when color-legal, but keep enough pressure that the opponent cannot simply rebuild around the named object.

- Burn: treat life total as the primary resource and avoid self-inflicted tempo loss unless the play removes a damage source or creates a short clock. Prioritize cheap blockers, Guide of Souls if its legal text provides life or racing value, Sanctifier en-Vec, Benevolent Bodyguard, Selfless Spirit, Brave the Elements, Swords to Plowshares on your own creature only if the rules engine presents that legal line and survival requires life, and fast pressure from Kytheon, Hero of Akros or Adeline, Resplendent Cathar. Role cards are Burrenton Forge-Tender, Celestial Purge against red permanents, Solitude for large attackers, and Gideon's Intervention only when a public repeated burn name is the actual route to losing.

- Removal-heavy decks: diversify threat types and sequence protection before the creature that must live. Lead with expendable creatures, creature-lands, Wedding Announcement, Staff of the Storyteller, Gideon, Ally of Zendikar, Castle Ardenvale, Mishra's Factory, and Cave of the Frost Dragon to punish one-for-one removal. Save Benevolent Bodyguard, Selfless Spirit, Brave the Elements, Cloudshift, and Touch the Spirit Realm for Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd, Adeline, Resplendent Cathar, Palace Jailer, Steel Seraph, or a lethal attacker when the rules engine confirms a legal protective action. Role cards are Celestial Purge against red or black removal permanents, Council's Judgment for planeswalkers or sticky engines, and Gideon's Intervention only after public information makes the named card clear.

## Specific Matchup Notes

- General/archetype-only note: exact opponents are not supplied for this batch, so revealed cards, commander identity, public zones, and rules-engine legal actions override every archetype assumption. Treat these notes as runtime defaults for common Duel Commander seats, not as certainty about hidden cards.

- Creature pressure: preserve board parity first, then turn the corner with protected attackers. Priority targets are lords, evasive attackers, anthem permanents, and creatures that make blocks fail; use Swords to Plowshares, Portable Hole, On Thin Ice, Ossification, Static Prison, Skyclave Apparition, Giant Killer, Parting Gust, and March of Otherworldly Light according to legal target text. Role cards are Solitude, Council's Judgment, Burrenton Forge-Tender against red pressure, and Celestial Purge when the opposing threat is legally red or black. Reduce slow monarch or draw engines when Palace Jailer or Staff of the Storyteller cannot be defended.

- Control/removal-heavy: force answers across different permanent types and keep pressure coming without exposing every closer. Priority targets are planeswalkers, repeatable card-advantage permanents, sweep-enabling setup, and removal shields; tax them with Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Mana Tithe, Elite Spellbinder, Curse of Silence, Anointed Peacekeeper, Disruptor Flute, and Tithe Taker before committing Gideon, Ally of Zendikar, Wedding Announcement, Castle Ardenvale, Cave of the Frost Dragon, or Mishra's Factory. Role cards are Gideon's Intervention after public information identifies the key name, Council's Judgment for hard permanents, Loran of the Third Path for artifact or enchantment engines, Deafening Silence against heavy noncreature sequencing, and Celestial Purge when color-legal. Reduce narrow creature removal when the opponent is winning through noncreature permanents.

- Graveyard/combo: disrupt before developing slow value, because Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd blink lines are secondary to stopping the opponent's engine. Priority targets are graveyard enablers, recursion payoffs, sacrifice engines, and search pieces; use Scavenger Grounds, Remorseful Cleric, Sanctifier en-Vec, Containment Priest, Sungold Sentinel, Aven Mindcensor, Phyrexian Revoker, and Disruptor Flute at the first tactically meaningful window. Role cards are Rest in Peace, Hushbringer when triggers are the engine, Solitude for creature-based payoffs, and Deafening Silence against spell chains. Reduce Extraction Specialist, Pre-War Formalwear, and graveyard-dependent value if Rest in Peace is active.

- Artifact/enchantment engine: answer the source of repeated advantage before spending removal on replaceable bodies. Priority targets are activated artifact engines, lock pieces, equipment that changes combat math, and enchantments that blank your attackers; use Cathar Commando, Seam Rip, Skyclave Apparition, Touch the Spirit Realm, March of Otherworldly Light, Phyrexian Revoker, Disruptor Flute, and Static Prison when legal. Role cards are Stony Silence, Loran of the Third Path, Council's Judgment, and Gideon's Intervention for a known key name. Reduce Staff of the Storyteller and Pre-War Formalwear when artifact hate weakens your own artifacts or tempo matters more than value.

- Burn or low-to-the-ground red: treat life total as a hard constraint and choose stabilization over extra card economy. Priority targets are repeatable damage permanents and creatures that threaten immediate damage; value Sanctifier en-Vec, Burrenton Forge-Tender, Benevolent Bodyguard, Selfless Spirit, Guide of Souls if its legal text supports life or racing, and fast pressure from Kytheon, Hero of Akros, Adeline, Resplendent Cathar, and Maul of the Skyclaves. Role cards are Burrenton Forge-Tender, Celestial Purge, Solitude, and Gideon's Intervention only when a public repeated damage name is clear. Reduce Palace Jailer, slow equipment, and expensive blink value when monarch defense or tempo is poor.

- Go-wide creature boards: identify whether the problem is raw body count, an anthem, evasion, or a commander that turns small creatures into lethal attacks. Priority targets are anthem permanents, evasive payoffs, lords, and the attacker that breaks blocks; build around Blade Splicer, Wedding Announcement, Adeline, Resplendent Cathar, Steel Seraph, Castle Ardenvale, Gideon, Ally of Zendikar, Brave the Elements, and Shefet Dunes. Role cards are Solitude for the largest threat, Council's Judgment for the scaling permanent, and Burrenton Forge-Tender if red damage or sweepers are part of the pressure. Do not dilute too many creatures for narrow hate because Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd still needs bodies to race and block.

- Single commander or single permanent dependency: make the opponent pay commander tax or rebuild around the named object while continuing to attack. Priority tools are Runed Halo, Anointed Peacekeeper, Curse of Silence, Disruptor Flute, Phyrexian Revoker, Swords to Plowshares, Giant Killer, Skyclave Apparition, Palace Jailer, and Parting Gust when legal. Role cards are Gideon's Intervention, Council's Judgment, Solitude, and Celestial Purge if the commander or permanent is legally black or red. Avoid naming from guesswork when public information has not identified the actual dependency.

- Trigger-value mirrors: count whose triggers matter more before using Hushbringer. If the opponent's commander or engine repeatedly converts enter-the-battlefield or death triggers into cards, mana, drain, or removal, Hushbringer can shift the game into a fair creature race. If your own hand relies on Blade Splicer, Charming Prince, Elite Spellbinder, Flickerwisp, Palace Jailer, Ranger of Eos, Skyclave Apparition, Thraben Inspector, Novice Inspector, Knight of the White Orchid, or Loran of the Third Path, prefer normal removal or pressure unless the opposing trigger engine is already winning.

- Post-board uncertainty: default to the smallest correction that answers proven public information. A Commander-family singleton deck loses equity when it becomes a pile of answers with no pressure, so every added Rest in Peace, Stony Silence, Deafening Silence, Hushbringer, or Gideon's Intervention should be tied to a visible axis or a reliable commander-level inference. When in doubt, preserve curve, creature count, and Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd blink value.

## Risk Summary
- Mana risk: one-color mana is stable, but colorless or utility lands can still punish double-white curves. Sequence Plains, Idyllic Grange, Castle Ardenvale, Cave of the Frost Dragon, Mishra's Factory, Scavenger Grounds, and Shefet Dunes so Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Adeline, Resplendent Cathar, Gideon, Ally of Zendikar, and Overlord of the Mistmoors remain castable under commander tax and taxes.

- Matchup risk: singleton answers are powerful but inconsistent, so do not assume the right hate piece is coming. Mulligan and sideboard toward the visible matchup role rather than hoping to draw Rest in Peace, Stony Silence, Deafening Silence, Hushbringer, or Gideon's Intervention later.

- Draw risk: Staff of the Storyteller, Wedding Announcement, Thraben Inspector, Novice Inspector, Palace Jailer, Ranger of Eos, and Moon-Blessed Cleric are value tools, not permission to ignore tempo. Choose board-stabilizing legal actions over slow selection when the opponent's clock is already short.

- Over-sideboarding risk: adding too many hate cards can dilute the creature count and Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd pressure plan. Keep enough early creatures, protection, removal, and closers so the deck still wins after disrupting the opponent.

- Graveyard risk: Rest in Peace, Scavenger Grounds, and Remorseful Cleric can weaken Extraction Specialist, Pre-War Formalwear, and recursion-adjacent value. Fire graveyard hate when it stops the opponent's stronger line, not merely because a graveyard exists.

- Sweeper/removal risk: committing every creature into an unknown reset can strand protection or make Palace Jailer unsafe. Stagger threats across Adeline, Resplendent Cathar, Wedding Announcement, Gideon, Ally of Zendikar, Castle Ardenvale, Mishra's Factory, and Cave of the Frost Dragon.

- Closer risk: small creatures can stall if the opponent stabilizes. Prioritize Gideon, Ally of Zendikar, Steel Seraph, Maul of the Skyclaves, Overlord of the Mistmoors, Shefet Dunes, Brave the Elements, and creature-lands when the board needs a decisive clock.

- Interaction risk: Mana Tithe, Brave the Elements, Cloudshift, Benevolent Bodyguard, Selfless Spirit, and Tithe Taker are timing-sensitive. Hold them for legal windows that protect a key permanent, stop lethal damage, or force through lethal pressure rather than spending them for minor tempo.

- Sequencing risk: Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd, Flickerwisp, Charming Prince, Touch the Spirit Realm, Parting Gust, and Cloudshift can reset or save objects, but target legality and return timing come from the engine. Never assume a blink line works until the visible legal action text confirms the source, target, and resulting zone change.

## Test Feedback Checklist
- Deciding factors: Did wins come from early pressure plus disruption, protected Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd value, Gideon, Ally of Zendikar or creature-land closing, or a specific hate card such as Rest in Peace, Stony Silence, Deafening Silence, Hushbringer, or Sanctifier en-Vec?
- Loss diagnosis: Did losses come from mana bottlenecks, failing to answer a key permanent, losing monarch after Palace Jailer, overcommitting into removal, or drawing protection when the board needed Swords to Plowshares, March of Otherworldly Light, Skyclave Apparition, Static Prison, Council's Judgment, Celestial Purge, or Solitude?
- Mulligans: Did kept hands have Plains or enough white mana for double-white spells, a relevant one- or two-mana play, and a realistic turn-three plan, or did the pilot keep slow hands because the individual cards looked powerful?
- Mana: Did utility lands such as Mishra's Factory, Scavenger Grounds, Shefet Dunes, Cave of the Frost Dragon, Castle Ardenvale, Kabira Takedown, and Idyllic Grange ever block casting Adeline, Resplendent Cathar, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Gideon, Ally of Zendikar, or Overlord of the Mistmoors on time?
- Velocity: Did Thraben Inspector, Novice Inspector, Staff of the Storyteller, Wedding Announcement, Palace Jailer, Ranger of Eos, Moon-Blessed Cleric, and clue or token engines produce enough material before the opponent stabilized?
- Engine use: Did Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd, Flickerwisp, Charming Prince, Cloudshift, Touch the Spirit Realm, Parting Gust, Extraction Specialist, and Pre-War Formalwear generate legal value, save key permanents, or create tempo, or were they stranded without good visible targets?
- Removal use: Did Portable Hole, On Thin Ice, Ossification, Static Prison, March of Otherworldly Light, Giant Killer, Swords to Plowshares, Skyclave Apparition, and Touch the Spirit Realm hit the opponent's decisive threat, or were they spent on replaceable attackers?
- Protection use: Did Benevolent Bodyguard, Selfless Spirit, Brave the Elements, Mana Tithe, Cloudshift, Tithe Taker, and Guardian of New Benalia change a combat, removal, or lethal turn, or did the pilot fire them for low-impact tempo?
- Sideboard impact: Did each chosen role card justify its slot, especially Rest in Peace versus graveyards, Stony Silence versus artifacts, Deafening Silence versus spell chains, Burrenton Forge-Tender versus red pressure, Hushbringer versus triggered engines, Gideon's Intervention versus known names, Loran of the Third Path versus artifacts/enchantments, and Solitude versus creature pressure?
- Closing: Did the pilot convert stable boards into lethal pressure with Maul of the Skyclaves, Steel Seraph, Adeline, Resplendent Cathar, Gideon, Ally of Zendikar, Overlord of the Mistmoors, Shefet Dunes, Brave the Elements, Mishra's Factory, or Cave of the Frost Dragon?
- Role accuracy: Did the pilot correctly choose beatdown, disruption, prison-hate, or attrition roles after seeing the opponent's public cards, or did it pursue slow Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd value while the matchup demanded immediate pressure?
- Mistakes: Did any decision ignore visible legal actions, known public information, commander tax, current phase, stack contents, combat damage risk, or a revealed hand from Elite Spellbinder or similar effects?
- Stranded cards: Which cards stayed in hand without legal or tactically useful windows: Mana Tithe, Brave the Elements, Disruptor Flute, Runed Halo, Curse of Silence, Phyrexian Revoker, Seam Rip, Maul of the Skyclaves, or Palace Jailer?
- Card text checks: Did Curious Farm Animals, Starfield Shepherd, Sunpearl Kirin, Tax Collector, Toby, Beastie Befriender, Leonardo, Big Brother, Hopeful Vigil, and Guide of Souls require exact Oracle text validation before trusting the pilot's tactical assumptions?
- Overperformers and underperformers: Which singletons repeatedly won or lost tempo, cards, or life, and were those outcomes matchup-specific or broadly repeated across games?

## First Tuning Questions
- Card quantities: Should the 33 Plains count change after tracking opening hands, missed land drops, double-white pressure, and the number of games where utility lands delayed critical spells?
- Mana structure: Are Mishra's Factory, Scavenger Grounds, Shefet Dunes, Cave of the Frost Dragon, Castle Ardenvale, Kabira Takedown, and Idyllic Grange providing enough closing or utility to justify any tempo loss in a double-white midrange shell?
- Aggro plan: Does the deck need more early stabilizers if Kytheon, Hero of Akros, Benevolent Bodyguard, Thraben Inspector, Novice Inspector, Giant Killer, Guide of Souls, and Portable Hole are not enough against fast creature starts?
- Control plan: Does the deck need more resilient closers or taxing pressure if Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Elite Spellbinder, Anointed Peacekeeper, Curse of Silence, Disruptor Flute, Tithe Taker, and Gideon, Ally of Zendikar fail to keep control opponents under pressure?
- Closing power: Are Maul of the Skyclaves, Steel Seraph, Adeline, Resplendent Cathar, Gideon, Ally of Zendikar, Overlord of the Mistmoors, Shefet Dunes, Mishra's Factory, and Cave of the Frost Dragon enough to end games after disruption, or is the list spending too many slots on small value bodies?
- Blink density: Are Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd, Flickerwisp, Charming Prince, Cloudshift, Touch the Spirit Realm, Parting Gust, Extraction Specialist, and Pre-War Formalwear creating meaningful advantage often enough, or are there too many target-dependent pieces?
- Removal mix: Is the balance between exile effects, temporary containment, artifact/enchantment answers, and combat interaction correct after reviewing how often On Thin Ice, Ossification, Static Prison, Portable Hole, Skyclave Apparition, March of Otherworldly Light, and Council's Judgment solved the actual problem?
- Graveyard plan: Does Rest in Peace conflict too often with Extraction Specialist, Pre-War Formalwear, and other recursion-adjacent lines, or is the opponent's graveyard plan usually dangerous enough to accept that tension?
- Sideboard slots: Which sideboard card had the fewest high-impact matchups: Burrenton Forge-Tender, Celestial Purge, Council's Judgment, Deafening Silence, Gideon's Intervention, Hushbringer, Loran of the Third Path, Rest in Peace, Solitude, or Stony Silence?
- Role conflicts: Is the deck trying to be creature-curve pressure, blink value, hatebear disruption, and prison-style naming all at once, or do match results show one package should receive more slots while another becomes matchup-only support?
- Commander reliance: Did games without early Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd still present coherent pressure and interaction, or does the list need more standalone engines like Wedding Announcement, Staff of the Storyteller, Palace Jailer, Ranger of Eos, and Gideon, Ally of Zendikar?

## Veles Tactical Policy

### Policy: Opening Hand Role Gate
- Priority: High
- Decision families: mulligan
- Cards: Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd; Thraben Inspector; Novice Inspector; Kytheon, Hero of Akros; Benevolent Bodyguard; Thalia, Guardian of Thraben; Portable Hole; Swords to Plowshares; On Thin Ice
- Phase windows: pregame mulligan and keep decisions.
- Runtime cues: prompt:mulligan; action:keep; action:mulligan
- Use when: opening hand and visible commander availability are shown.
- Avoid when: runtime has already forced a keep or bottoming prompt.
- Instructions: Keep functional hands with two or three mana sources, at least one early creature or removal spell, and a path to either pressure or Phelia value. Mulligan hands with no early board presence, one land without cheap play, or utility-land heavy mana that cannot cast white spells on curve.
- Pilot skill floor: medium
- No-API allowed: no
- Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Early White Mana Setup
- Priority: Medium
- Decision families: mana
- Cards: Plains; Idyllic Grange; Mishra's Factory; Scavenger Grounds; Shefet Dunes; Cave of the Frost Dragon; Castle Ardenvale; Kabira Takedown
- Phase windows: first three turns, precombat main phase, land-drop prompts.
- Runtime cues: action:play Plains; action:play Idyllic Grange; action:play Mishra's Factory; action:play Scavenger Grounds; action:play Shefet Dunes; action:play Cave of the Frost Dragon; action:play Castle Ardenvale; action:play Kabira Takedown
- Use when: multiple legal land plays are available.
- Avoid when: only one land play is legal.
- Instructions: Prioritize untapped white sources that unlock double-white pressure, removal, or commander deployment. Delay colorless utility lands when they would block Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Adeline, Resplendent Cathar, Gideon, Ally of Zendikar, or Overlord of the Mistmoors.
- Pilot skill floor: low
- No-API allowed: no
- Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: First Permanent Setup
- Priority: Medium
- Decision families: priority
- Cards: Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd; Thraben Inspector; Novice Inspector; Guide of Souls; Benevolent Bodyguard; Kytheon, Hero of Akros; Thalia, Guardian of Thraben; Tithe Taker
- Phase windows: turns one through three, main phases with empty or low-pressure board.
- Runtime cues: action:cast Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd; action:cast Thraben Inspector; action:cast Novice Inspector; action:cast Guide of Souls; action:cast Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
- Use when: choosing the first creature or enabling permanent.
- Avoid when: opponent presents a threat that must be removed immediately.
- Instructions: Lead with pressure against slow opponents, protection before a key commander or engine against removal-heavy opponents, and tax effects before noncreature-heavy opponents. Treat exact text of Guide of Souls as conditional if runtime does not expose its legal outputs.
- Pilot skill floor: medium
- No-API allowed: no
- Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Phelia Blink Commitment Gate
- Priority: High
- Decision families: combat, selection
- Cards: Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd; Blade Splicer; Elite Spellbinder; Flickerwisp; Skyclave Apparition; Palace Jailer; Ranger of Eos; Charming Prince; Extraction Specialist
- Phase windows: declare attackers, attack-trigger target prompts, end-step return context.
- Runtime cues: action:attack with Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd; action:target Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd
- Use when: attacking or choosing a Phelia-related blink target is legal.
- Avoid when: combat math shows Phelia dies for low impact or the only targets are strategically harmful.
- Instructions: Attack with Phelia when the trigger can safely rebuy a known enter-the-battlefield effect, reset opposing pressure, or force tempo without losing a crucial board piece. Route target selection through reasoning because blink targets can be friendly, opposing, or dangerous depending on visible state.
- Pilot skill floor: high
- No-API allowed: no
- Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Exact Self-Blink Save
- Priority: Medium
- Decision families: interaction, selection
- Cards: Cloudshift
- Phase windows: stack response, combat damage setup, removal response.
- Runtime cues: action:target self Cloudshift
- Use when: one legal Cloudshift target is controlled by self and an opponent-controlled spell or ability on stack targets that same permanent.
- Avoid when: more than one self target is legal or the stack does not target the same permanent.
- Instructions: Choose the visible self permanent named in both the opponent's stack object and the single legal Cloudshift target action.
- Pilot skill floor: low
- No-API allowed: yes
- Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Protection Commitment Gate
- Priority: High
- Decision families: interaction, combat
- Cards: Benevolent Bodyguard; Selfless Spirit; Brave the Elements; Guardian of New Benalia; Cloudshift; Mana Tithe
- Phase windows: removal on stack, lethal combat, sweeper or damage prevention windows.
- Runtime cues: action:activate Benevolent Bodyguard; action:activate Selfless Spirit; action:cast Brave the Elements; action:cast Cloudshift; action:cast Mana Tithe
- Use when: a protection action is legal and visible state shows targeted removal, sweeper pressure, lethal attack, or decisive combat.
- Avoid when: protection only preserves replaceable material and costs the next decisive play.
- Instructions: Spend protection for commander access, monarch or engine retention, lethal push, or survival. Do not fire protection merely to save a low-impact creature if the opponent's stronger follow-up remains unanswered.
- Pilot skill floor: high
- No-API allowed: no
- Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Removal Triage Gate
- Priority: High
- Decision families: interaction
- Cards: Swords to Plowshares; March of Otherworldly Light; Portable Hole; On Thin Ice; Ossification; Static Prison; Skyclave Apparition; Giant Killer; Touch the Spirit Realm; Parting Gust; Kabira Takedown; Council's Judgment; Celestial Purge; Solitude
- Phase windows: main phases, combat, stack response when legal.
- Runtime cues: action:cast Swords to Plowshares; action:cast Portable Hole; action:cast On Thin Ice; action:cast Ossification; action:cast Skyclave Apparition; action:cast Solitude
- Use when: removal target selection or spell commitment is legal.
- Avoid when: the target is not currently relevant and a larger visible threat or known card is pending.
- Instructions: Remove threats that decide the next combat, shut off Phelia attacks, invalidate the tax plan, or threaten immediate engine snowballing. Preserve flexible exile effects when cheap containment already handles the visible permanent type.
- Pilot skill floor: high
- No-API allowed: no
- Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Mana Tithe Permission Gate
- Priority: High
- Decision families: interaction, priority
- Cards: Mana Tithe
- Phase windows: opponent spell on stack while white mana is available.
- Runtime cues: action:cast Mana Tithe
- Use when: Mana Tithe is legal against a visible stack spell.
- Avoid when: opponent can visibly pay or the spell is low-impact compared to known future threats.
- Instructions: Counter spells that break the board, remove a key engine, establish an opposing engine, or decide lethal tempo. Passing is acceptable when the opponent has visible excess mana and the spell does not matter.
- Pilot skill floor: high
- No-API allowed: no
- Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Combat Pressure And Trading
- Priority: Medium
- Decision families: combat
- Cards: Adeline, Resplendent Cathar; Maul of the Skyclaves; Steel Seraph; Gideon, Ally of Zendikar; Mishra's Factory; Cave of the Frost Dragon; Shefet Dunes; Brave the Elements
- Phase windows: beginning of combat, attackers, blockers, combat trick windows.
- Runtime cues: action:attack; action:block; action:activate Mishra's Factory; action:activate Cave of the Frost Dragon; action:activate Shefet Dunes
- Use when: multiple attacks, blocks, or pump/animation choices are legal.
- Avoid when: exactly one forced combat action is legal.
- Instructions: Attack when pressure advances lethal, monarch defense, planeswalker pressure, or tax tempo without exposing needed blockers. Hold creatures back when the opponent's crack-back is larger or a key engine must survive.
- Pilot skill floor: medium
- No-API allowed: no
- Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Exact Lethal Alpha Support
- Priority: High
- Decision families: combat, interaction
- Cards: Brave the Elements; Shefet Dunes; Maul of the Skyclaves
- Phase windows: declare attackers through combat damage.
- Runtime cues: action:cast Brave the Elements; action:activate Shefet Dunes
- Use when: visible attackers plus one legal Brave the Elements or Shefet Dunes action produce lethal damage through currently declared blockers by rules-engine output.
- Avoid when: lethal is not confirmed by visible combat math or multiple color/protection choices are legal.
- Instructions: Execute the single legal pump or protection action only when runtime combat totals already show lethal after that action.
- Pilot skill floor: medium
- No-API allowed: yes
- Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Card Advantage Engine Commitment
- Priority: Medium
- Decision families: priority
- Cards: Staff of the Storyteller; Wedding Announcement; Palace Jailer; Ranger of Eos; Gideon, Ally of Zendikar; Overlord of the Mistmoors; Steel Seraph
- Phase windows: main phases after land sequencing and before combat only when relevant.
- Runtime cues: action:cast Staff of the Storyteller; action:cast Wedding Announcement; action:cast Palace Jailer; action:cast Ranger of Eos; action:cast Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
- Use when: choosing between engine deployment, removal, or pressure.
- Avoid when: tapping out lets a visible threat or stack action decide the game.
- Instructions: Commit engines when life total and board can absorb the tempo loss, or when the engine immediately stabilizes. Prefer removal or blockers first under short-clock pressure.
- Pilot skill floor: medium
- No-API allowed: no
- Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Tutor And Selection Routing
- Priority: Medium
- Decision families: selection
- Cards: Ranger of Eos; Moon-Blessed Cleric; Charming Prince
- Phase windows: search, reveal, scry, and selection prompts.
- Runtime cues: action:search; action:choose card; action:scry
- Use when: a legal search or selection prompt is active.
- Avoid when: runtime prompt is deterministic with one legal candidate.
- Instructions: Select cards that solve the current role: cheap bodies and protection for pressure, enchantment answers or engines for attrition, and hate pieces for known opposing plans. Card text check required for any candidate whose exact legal effect is not exposed by runtime.
- Pilot skill floor: medium
- No-API allowed: no
- Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Graveyard And Artifact Hate Timing
- Priority: Medium
- Decision families: interaction, priority
- Cards: Scavenger Grounds; Remorseful Cleric; Sanctifier en-Vec; Sungold Sentinel; Rest in Peace; Stony Silence; Loran of the Third Path; Cathar Commando; Seam Rip
- Phase windows: main phases, opponent graveyard setup windows, artifact or enchantment engine windows.
- Runtime cues: action:activate Scavenger Grounds; action:activate Remorseful Cleric; action:cast Rest in Peace; action:cast Stony Silence; action:activate Cathar Commando; action:cast Loran of the Third Path
- Use when: hate or removal for graveyard, artifact, or enchantment resources is legal.
- Avoid when: own recursion or board development matters more and opponent has not exposed the resource.
- Instructions: Fire hate before the opponent converts graveyard or artifact resources, not after the payoff resolves. Respect tension with Extraction Specialist and Pre-War Formalwear when Rest in Peace is involved.
- Pilot skill floor: medium
- No-API allowed: no
- Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Rule-Text Uncertainty Brake
- Priority: Low
- Decision families: priority, selection
- Cards: Curious Farm Animals; Starfield Shepherd; Sunpearl Kirin; Tax Collector; Toby, Beastie Befriender; Leonardo, Big Brother; Hopeful Vigil; Guide of Souls
- Phase windows: any prompt involving these cards.
- Runtime cues: action:cast Curious Farm Animals; action:cast Starfield Shepherd; action:cast Sunpearl Kirin; action:cast Tax Collector; action:cast Toby, Beastie Befriender; action:cast Leonardo, Big Brother; action:cast Hopeful Vigil; action:cast Guide of Souls
- Use when: the legal action text does not expose the card's relevant effect.
- Avoid when: runtime shows exact targets, costs, triggers, and outcomes.
- Instructions: Treat tactical assumptions about these cards as conditional until rules output confirms their legal effect. Prefer stable pressure, removal, or known engines when uncertainty would risk a decisive turn.
- Pilot skill floor: medium
- No-API allowed: no
- Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Sideboard Plan Selection
- Priority: High
- Decision families: sideboard
- Cards: Rest in Peace; Stony Silence; Deafening Silence; Burrenton Forge-Tender; Hushbringer; Council's Judgment; Celestial Purge; Gideon's Intervention; Loran of the Third Path; Solitude
- Phase windows: between games, sideboard planning prompt.
- Runtime cues: prompt:sideboard; action:choose sideboard plan; action:generate sideboard swaps
- Use when: sideboarding is requested and opponent archetype, commander identity, revealed cards, public zones, or prior-game logs identify a clear axis.
- Avoid when: the opponent's axis is unknown and the proposed swaps would reduce pressure, mana consistency, or the core Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd blink-disruption plan without solving a concrete problem.
- Instructions: Choose the smallest exact swap set that answers the proven axis. Rest in Peace answers graveyards, Stony Silence answers activated artifact engines, Deafening Silence answers spell density, Burrenton Forge-Tender answers red damage, Hushbringer answers opposing trigger engines only when your own triggers are less important, Council's Judgment answers hard permanents, Celestial Purge answers legal black or red permanents, Gideon's Intervention answers known single-card dependency, Loran of the Third Path answers artifacts or enchantments while adding a body, and Solitude answers creature pressure. Preserve a functional curve and enough creatures for Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd.
- Pilot skill floor: high
- No-API allowed: no
- Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Sideboard Lock Validation
- Priority: High
- Decision families: sideboard, validation
- Cards: Rest in Peace; Stony Silence; Deafening Silence; Burrenton Forge-Tender; Hushbringer; Council's Judgment; Celestial Purge; Gideon's Intervention; Loran of the Third Path; Solitude
- Phase windows: sideboard lock prompt, post-plan validation, pre-game submission.
- Runtime cues: prompt:sideboard lock; action:submit sideboard; validation:registered-110; validation:main-100; validation:sideboard-10
- Use when: a final sideboard configuration is about to be submitted.
- Avoid when: any added name is absent from the registered 10-card sideboard, any removed name is absent from the registered main deck, the resulting main deck is not exactly 100 cards, or the sideboard is not exactly 10 cards.
- Instructions: Submit only exact registered names. If validation fails, return to the nearest legal concrete plan from the Sideboard Map or keep the current configuration. Never invent replacement names, generic placeholders, or partial swaps. Treat validation failure as a strategic stop, not as permission to improvise.
- Pilot skill floor: medium
- No-API allowed: no
- Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Narrow Hate Deployment
- Priority: Medium
- Decision families: sideboard, interaction, sequencing
- Cards: Rest in Peace; Stony Silence; Deafening Silence; Burrenton Forge-Tender; Hushbringer; Celestial Purge; Gideon's Intervention
- Phase windows: opening hand evaluation, main phases, priority windows after public information, post-board games.
- Runtime cues: action:cast Rest in Peace; action:cast Stony Silence; action:cast Deafening Silence; action:cast Burrenton Forge-Tender; action:cast Hushbringer; action:cast Celestial Purge; action:cast Gideon's Intervention; action:name
- Use when: the hate card attacks a visible or strongly inferred axis and casting it now changes the opponent's next meaningful turn.
- Avoid when: the hate card mostly damages your own plan, lacks legal targets, or arrives too late to matter compared with pressure or removal.
- Instructions: Deploy narrow hate before value when it blocks the opponent's engine, but keep pressure flowing. Rest in Peace should precede graveyard recursion turns; Stony Silence should precede artifact activation chains; Deafening Silence should enter before spell-chain turns; Burrenton Forge-Tender should protect decisive permanents from red damage; Hushbringer should be held back unless opposing triggers are clearly superior; Celestial Purge should answer the legal black or red permanent that compounds value; Gideon's Intervention should name a public, revealed, or commander-zone object that actually decides the game.
- Pilot skill floor: high
- No-API allowed: no
- Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Universal Answer Allocation
- Priority: Medium
- Decision families: sideboard, removal, targeting
- Cards: Council's Judgment; Loran of the Third Path; Solitude
- Phase windows: main phases, combat interaction windows, end-step interaction windows, post-board games.
- Runtime cues: action:cast Council's Judgment; action:cast Loran of the Third Path; action:cast Solitude; prompt:choose target; prompt:evoke
- Use when: the opponent presents a permanent or creature that narrower maindeck interaction cannot answer cleanly, or when instant-speed exile prevents a decisive attack, combo turn, or commander damage line.
- Avoid when: the threat can be handled by cheaper removal without losing card count or tempo, when Loran of the Third Path has no meaningful artifact or enchantment target, or when pitching a white card to Solitude would discard the hate permanent needed for the matchup.
- Instructions: Spend Council's Judgment on resilient permanents and planeswalkers, not replaceable creatures. Use Loran of the Third Path when destroying an artifact or enchantment while adding a body is better than preserving blink value elsewhere. Use Solitude for creature commanders, lethal attackers, large threats, and must-answer combo creatures; evoke only when the game would swing immediately or survival requires it.
- Pilot skill floor: high
- No-API allowed: no
- Light-model allowed: yes
