veles-content/strategies/explorer/explorer_selesnya_company/1/guide.md

Strategy Specifications

Deck Name And Archetype

Selesnya Company is a 60-card Explorer Selesnya creature-company deck with a 15-card sideboard, validated by the active deck contract as format-legal for the current run. Treat the registered list as authoritative at runtime: 60 main-deck cards, 15 sideboard cards, no companion, and no Commander-style assumptions. The deck is tagged aggro and midrange, and the practical role is tempo-midrange with mana-creature acceleration, disruptive creatures, efficient battlefield pressure, and instant-speed selection from Collected Company.

• Count validation: The main deck is exactly 60 cards and the sideboard is exactly 15 cards, satisfying the supplied Explorer validation contract. Legal Cut: names are limited to the registered main deck, and legal Side in: names are limited to Aven Interrupter, Rest in Peace, Seam Rip, Get Lost, Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines, High Noon, and Beza, the Bounding Spring.

• Format validation: The active format is Explorer and the supplied format-aware validation result passes. Do not override the rules engine if it withholds an action involving a registered card, because legality, timing, cost payment, and target availability must come from Veles and the underlying rules engine rather than from strategy text.

• Stock status: Classify this as a hybrid Selesnya Company build rather than a fully stock list. The shell uses recognizable green-white pressure, mana creatures, disruptive three-drops, and Collected Company, but the registered configuration is deck-specific because it includes Badgermole Cub, Enduring Innocence, Ouroboroid, Elspeth, Storm Slayer, The Wandering Emperor, Starting Town, and Abandoned Air Temple alongside Archon of Emeria, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Skyclave Apparition, Llanowar Elves, and Elvish Mystic.

• Mana identity: The deck is primarily green-white, with heavy pressure on early green for Llanowar Elves and Elvish Mystic and early white for Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Archon of Emeria, Skyclave Apparition, and Enduring Innocence. The land base has Razorverge Thicket, Temple Garden, Brushland, Branchloft Pathway, Plains, Boseiju, Who Endures, Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire, Starting Town, and Abandoned Air Temple; decisions should respect visible source availability and should not assume untapped colors beyond legal mana actions.

• Structural concern: Collected Company asks the pilot to preserve a high creature density and value instant-speed windows, while Thalia, Guardian of Thraben and Archon of Emeria can tax or constrain noncreature sequencing. Do not fire Collected Company simply because it is legal; compare visible clock, open mana, current pressure, and whether holding it creates a stronger end-step or combat-window play.

• Role concern: The default plan is to accelerate into disruptive creatures and compound pressure, not to play pure control. Elspeth, Storm Slayer and The Wandering Emperor provide planeswalker resilience and combat leverage, but the deck usually wins by turning creature tempo and tax effects into damage before the opponent can fully stabilize.

• Sideboard identity: The sideboard expands disruption and recovery rather than changing into a different deck. Aven Interrupter and High Noon support stack and spell-volume pressure, Rest in Peace attacks graveyard reliance, Seam Rip and Get Lost answer problematic permanents, Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines rewards permanent-trigger matchups when legal and relevant, and Beza, the Bounding Spring supports recovery against pressure.

• Opponent information status: No specific opponent deck, metagame target, play/draw status, or matchup label was supplied for this batch. Runtime decisions should infer the opponent only from public information such as revealed cards, battlefield, graveyard, exile, companion status if any, lands, and legal actions; do not invent hidden cards or assume a matchup before the game log exposes evidence.

Thesis

Selesnya Company assembles early green mana, disruptive white creatures, and instant-speed creature selection into a tempo-midrange battlefield that wins by making the opponent's normal game actions awkward while attacking through the opening. Prioritize hands that can produce a turn-one Llanowar Elves or Elvish Mystic, curve into Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Archon of Emeria, Skyclave Apparition, Enduring Innocence, Badgermole Cub, or Ouroboroid, and keep Collected Company available as a pressure rebuild, end-step threat burst, or combat-speed pivot when the rules engine offers the window.

This deck wins by converting mana advantage into board advantage before the opponent can ignore the taxes. Thalia, Guardian of Thraben and Archon of Emeria are not cosmetic disruption; they are the clock multipliers that make ordinary removal, sweepers, card draw, and combo turns slower. Skyclave Apparition, Aven Interrupter, Boseiju, Who Endures, Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire, Elspeth, Storm Slayer, and The Wandering Emperor give the deck enough interaction to keep attacking without becoming a pure control deck.

This deck is not trying to hoard resources until a single unbeatable finish. Do not passively preserve Collected Company, planeswalkers, or channel lands if the visible game is about tempo, but do not spend them into low-impact board states when current creatures already pressure the opponent and the next opposing turn is the real danger. The strongest decisions usually ask: does this action add a clock, protect a clock, break a blocker, or deny the opponent's catch-up turn?

This deck is also not a blind all-in aggro deck. Respect visible removal mana, sweep timing, graveyard engines, and stack pressure, especially when sideboard cards such as Rest in Peace, High Noon, Aven Interrupter, Seam Rip, Get Lost, Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines, and Beza, the Bounding Spring change which resource matters most. When a card's exact text is not confirmed by runtime data, treat tactical use as conditional; Card text check required for Badgermole Cub, Ouroboroid, Elspeth, Storm Slayer, Starting Town, Abandoned Air Temple, and Seam Rip before relying on exact triggered, activated, or replacement effects.

Role Package

• Threats: Badgermole Cub, Archon of Emeria, Enduring Innocence, Ouroboroid, Skyclave Apparition, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Aven Interrupter, Elspeth, Storm Slayer, and The Wandering Emperor are the pressure package. Lead with the threat that best constrains the visible opponent: tax noncreature-heavy starts with Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, limit spell-volume turns with Archon of Emeria, remove a blocker or engine permanent with Skyclave Apparition, and deploy planeswalkers when the battlefield can defend them or when their legal actions immediately alter combat.

• Payoffs: Collected Company is the main payoff for maintaining creature density and passing with four mana when the visible board makes instant-speed selection valuable. Treat Collected Company as a way to add two relevant bodies, recover after removal, find disruption at end step, or create combat pressure, not as a guaranteed tutor. Enduring Innocence and Ouroboroid may be additional payoff-style cards, but Card text check required before valuing them for specific card-flow, recursion, or scaling lines.

• Engines: Llanowar Elves and Elvish Mystic are the early engine because they turn two-mana and three-mana plays into ahead-of-curve threats. Collected Company is the midgame engine because it converts mana into board without spending main-phase commitment when passing is strategically valuable. If Enduring Innocence, Badgermole Cub, Ouroboroid, Starting Town, or Abandoned Air Temple expose repeatable runtime abilities, evaluate those only from visible legal actions and known text.

• Velocity: Collected Company provides selection velocity by looking for creatures at instant speed, while the mana creatures provide tempo velocity by accelerating the curve. Do not describe the deck as a cantrip or draw engine unless the rules engine exposes confirmed draw or selection actions from Enduring Innocence, Ouroboroid, Badgermole Cub, Elspeth, Storm Slayer, Starting Town, or Abandoned Air Temple.

• Interaction: Skyclave Apparition is the main-deck permanent answer, Aven Interrupter is the main-deck stack or timing disruption, Boseiju, Who Endures and Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire are land-slot interaction when legal, and The Wandering Emperor plus Elspeth, Storm Slayer may provide combat or removal actions when the engine exposes them. Sideboard interaction expands through Seam Rip, Get Lost, Aven Interrupter, Rest in Peace, High Noon, and Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines.

• Protection: The primary protection is tempo denial, not shield effects. Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Archon of Emeria, Aven Interrupter, High Noon, and sometimes Collected Company protect wins by making the opponent's answer sequence worse or by rebuilding after an answer. Do not assume commander-protection or equipment effects because none are registered.

• Recursion: The registered list has no confirmed dedicated recursion module in the provided data. If Enduring Innocence or another exact card exposes graveyard, return, or replacement text at runtime, treat it as Card text check required and choose only legal actions that match visible strategic needs.

• Mana: Llanowar Elves, Elvish Mystic, Razorverge Thicket, Temple Garden, Brushland, Branchloft Pathway, Plains, Boseiju, Who Endures, Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire, Starting Town, and Abandoned Air Temple form the mana module. Prioritize early green for mana creatures and enough white for Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Archon of Emeria, Skyclave Apparition, Enduring Innocence, and sideboard white cards; never assume a land is untapped or color-capable unless the current legal mana actions prove it.

• Sideboard modules: Rest in Peace is the graveyard-pressure module, High Noon and Aven Interrupter are spell-volume and stack-pressure modules, Seam Rip and Get Lost are permanent-answer modules, Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines is a permanent-trigger or enter-the-battlefield-pressure module when its text is relevant, and Beza, the Bounding Spring is the recovery and stabilization module. Exact post-board plans belong in Sideboard Map, not in this role summary.

Primary Win Conditions

• Mana-creature tempo snowball is the cleanest win path when the opener contains green mana, Llanowar Elves or Elvish Mystic, and a meaningful two- or three-mana follow-up. Set up by casting the mana creature early, then convert the extra mana into Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Archon of Emeria, Enduring Innocence, Skyclave Apparition, Badgermole Cub, or Ouroboroid before the opponent stabilizes. Execute by attacking every turn that does not expose a decisive crack-back, using Skyclave Apparition to remove the visible permanent that blocks, races, or unlocks the opponent's catch-up turn. Prioritize this path against slow starts, spell-heavy opponents, and hands where Collected Company can rebuild if the first wave is answered.

• Tax-backed creature pressure wins by making ordinary answers arrive late or in the wrong order. Set up Thalia, Guardian of Thraben against noncreature-heavy turns and Archon of Emeria against opponents trying to chain spells, then add Badgermole Cub, Enduring Innocence, Ouroboroid, Skyclave Apparition, or Aven Interrupter as the clock. Execute by preserving the tax piece when it is constraining the visible opponent more than an extra attacker would, but trade it off when damage racing is the only route to victory. Disruption comes from creature removal, sweepers, larger blockers, and board states where the tax also makes Collected Company or planeswalker turns harder; prioritize this path when the opponent needs multiple spells in one turn or cannot efficiently remove both the tax creature and the attacker.

• Collected Company pressure burst wins games where passing with four mana threatens both interaction timing and board growth. Set up with enough creatures remaining in library and a board state where instant-speed deployment matters, then cast Collected Company at the end step, in combat, or after the opponent commits resources if the legal window supports it. Execute by selecting the most relevant visible pair among Archon of Emeria, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Skyclave Apparition, Enduring Innocence, Aven Interrupter, Badgermole Cub, Ouroboroid, Llanowar Elves, and Elvish Mystic; do not treat it as a guaranteed tutor. Prioritize this path when the current battlefield already applies pressure, when main-phase commitment walks into a visible answer, or when the opponent must respect a possible flash-speed disruptive creature.

• Planeswalker-supported combat wins when Elspeth, Storm Slayer or The Wandering Emperor is legal and the battlefield can protect the planeswalker or immediately convert its action into damage, removal, or stabilization. Card text check required for Elspeth, Storm Slayer before relying on exact abilities. Execute planeswalker lines after establishing creatures, after clearing a blocker with Skyclave Apparition, or when a combat-speed The Wandering Emperor action changes attacks or blocks. Prioritize this path when creature combat is stalled but the opponent cannot freely attack the planeswalker down.

Secondary Win Conditions

• Backup combat pressure wins through ordinary creature damage when the main tax plan is absent. Curve Llanowar Elves or Elvish Mystic into any legal threat, use Skyclave Apparition or Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire to shift combat when legal, and keep attacking with creatures that do not need to stay back for survival. Card text check required for Badgermole Cub and Ouroboroid before assuming scaling, evasion, or special combat text; if the rules engine exposes only normal creature combat, evaluate them as visible bodies first.

• Value rebuild lines win after removal by sequencing Collected Company, Enduring Innocence, planeswalkers, and remaining creatures so the opponent must answer multiple waves. Card text check required for Enduring Innocence before relying on exact card-flow or replacement text. Prioritize a rebuild when the opponent has spent visible removal and the current hand can add two threats across one or two turns; avoid overcommitting if a single existing creature plus a tax effect already forces action.

• Land-slot interaction creates secondary wins by converting mana bases into answers without lowering threat density. Use Boseiju, Who Endures or Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire only when the legal action text and visible target make the exchange worth the tempo cost, especially when the alternative is losing to a permanent, a combat step, or a protected planeswalker. Branchloft Pathway, Razorverge Thicket, Brushland, Temple Garden, Plains, Starting Town, and Abandoned Air Temple primarily support casting spells; Card text check required before valuing Starting Town or Abandoned Air Temple for any additional tactical function.

• Sideboard lock or stabilization wins can become secondary paths after boarding. High Noon and Aven Interrupter can reinforce spell-volume denial, Rest in Peace can shut off graveyard-dependent pressure, Seam Rip and Get Lost can answer problem permanents, Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines can matter if its exact text lines up with visible triggered or enter-the-battlefield play, and Beza, the Bounding Spring can recover games where life, cards, or board are under pressure.

Emergency Lines

• When behind on life, stop treating every creature as an attacker and identify the minimum blockers needed to survive the next visible combat. Use Skyclave Apparition, The Wandering Emperor, Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire, Elspeth, Storm Slayer, or Beza, the Bounding Spring when legal to change the race, but do not assume exact removal or lifegain text unless the engine exposes it. Collected Company can be held for combat if two surprise bodies or a disruptive hit is more valuable than main-phase pressure.

• When behind on board, prioritize removing the permanent that makes attacks impossible or lethal rather than adding a low-impact attacker. Skyclave Apparition is the main-deck reset tool for visible nonland permanents it can legally answer, while Boseiju, Who Endures, Seam Rip, and Get Lost are post-board or land-slot ways to address permanents if their legal target text matches the threat. If no clean answer is legal, build a double-block or planeswalker stabilization line from visible combat math.

• When behind on cards, protect high-impact mana sinks and avoid trading Collected Company for marginal board presence. Enduring Innocence, Ouroboroid, Elspeth, Storm Slayer, and Badgermole Cub may provide additional staying power, but Card text check required before choosing them over confirmed pressure or interaction. Prefer lines that add two bodies, answer a permanent while leaving a creature, or force the opponent to spend a full turn under Thalia, Guardian of Thraben or Archon of Emeria.

• When behind on mana, keep Llanowar Elves and Elvish Mystic alive unless blocking is required to survive. Sequence lands to preserve both green and white access, and do not channel Boseiju, Who Endures or Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire if doing so prevents the next necessary Collected Company, Skyclave Apparition, Archon of Emeria, or sideboard spell. If a mana creature is removed, shift from snowballing to efficient two- and three-mana pressure.

• When behind to engines, graveyard recursion, combo, or removed win conditions, choose disruption over cosmetic damage. Use Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Archon of Emeria, Aven Interrupter, High Noon, Rest in Peace, Skyclave Apparition, Boseiju, Who Endures, Seam Rip, or Get Lost according to visible legality and the specific engine being presented. If the first wave of win conditions is gone, rebuild through Collected Company and planeswalkers while keeping enough interaction to stop the opponent's next decisive turn.

Resource Model

• Mana is the deck's main converter because Llanowar Elves and Elvish Mystic turn one green source into a turn-two Archon of Emeria, Skyclave Apparition, Enduring Innocence, Ouroboroid, Badgermole Cub, or faster Collected Company. Protect the first mana creature when it enables a three- or four-mana play next turn, but trade it in combat when survival or planeswalker protection is more important than acceleration.

• Board presence is the primary resource because the deck wins by stacking creatures, tax effects, and combat pressure. Treat Archon of Emeria and Thalia, Guardian of Thraben as pressure plus time-buying resources, not just disruption; they are strongest when they make the opponent spend awkward mana while your battlefield keeps attacking.

• Hand size matters most as future board density for Collected Company and recovery after removal. Do not empty the hand into an already-winning board unless the opponent's visible line punishes waiting; keep Collected Company, The Wandering Emperor, or Elspeth, Storm Slayer available when the current creatures already force action. Card text check required for Elspeth, Storm Slayer before valuing exact loyalty modes.

• Life is a spendable resource when Brushland or Temple Garden damage enables a materially faster curve. Pay life for untapped mana when it casts Llanowar Elves, Elvish Mystic, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Archon of Emeria, Skyclave Apparition, or Collected Company on schedule; conserve life when racing, when Beza, the Bounding Spring is needed post-board, or when the same turn can be played with painless mana.

• Tempo is converted through tax permanents and instant-speed threats. Use Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Archon of Emeria, Aven Interrupter, High Noon, and Collected Company to make the opponent act first or inefficiently; avoid spending a full turn on a low-impact action if the opponent has a visible board that will outscale ordinary attacks.

• Lands are both casting resources and occasional interaction. Boseiju, Who Endures and Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire should stay as lands until the rules engine exposes a legal high-impact channel or utility action that is worth losing future mana. Starting Town and Abandoned Air Temple require card text check before treating them as anything beyond lands with possible sequencing constraints.

• Graveyard and exile are not core engines in the main deck, so do not spend decisions trying to build them. After sideboarding, Rest in Peace is a bullet against visible graveyard plans, but it may also constrain any friendly graveyard text if present; Card text check required before assuming none of Enduring Innocence, Ouroboroid, or Badgermole Cub cares about the graveyard or exile.

• Sacrifice fodder is not a planned resource unless the rules engine exposes a legal effect that asks for it. Do not trade away mana creatures or small bodies for speculative value; use them as attackers, blockers, planeswalker shields, or Collected Company density unless a legal sacrifice prompt clearly demands a choice.

• Information is a timing resource because Collected Company, Aven Interrupter, The Wandering Emperor, Boseiju, Who Endures, and Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire can change decisions at instant speed when legal. Prefer waiting through the opponent's commitment step when holding instant-speed actions, but act main phase when mana constraints, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben taxes, or Archon of Emeria limits make waiting reduce legal options.

• Sideboard bullets convert narrow cards into matchup-specific resources. Rest in Peace attacks graveyards, Seam Rip and Get Lost answer exposed permanents, High Noon reinforces spell-volume denial, Aven Interrupter adds stack pressure, Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines targets visible trigger or enter-the-battlefield dependency if its text applies, and Beza, the Bounding Spring stabilizes when the engine exposes relevant recovery text.

Mana Guide

• Keep hands that cast a turn-one Llanowar Elves or Elvish Mystic from green mana and have a credible follow-up. A one-land hand is acceptable only with an untapped green source, a mana creature, and enough two- or three-mana plays to justify risk; mulligan hands that cannot produce early green or that rely on drawing both colors before casting spells.

• Prioritize green on turn one and stable green-white by turn two or three. Green casts Llanowar Elves, Elvish Mystic, Collected Company, and likely creature threats; white casts Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Archon of Emeria, Skyclave Apparition, The Wandering Emperor, and key sideboard cards. Avoid land sequences that leave Skyclave Apparition or Archon of Emeria stranded after using a green-only start.

• Sequence untapped lands to preserve curve before preserving life. Razorverge Thicket, Temple Garden, Brushland, Branchloft Pathway, Plains, Boseiju, Who Endures, Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire, Starting Town, and Abandoned Air Temple should be played according to visible legal mana needs; Card text check required for Starting Town and Abandoned Air Temple before assuming untapped status or color production.

• Choose Branchloft Pathway's side based on the hand's missing color and future curve. Select green when it enables turn-one Llanowar Elves or Elvish Mystic or future Collected Company; select white when the hand already has green and needs Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Archon of Emeria, Skyclave Apparition, or post-board white interaction on time.

• Play lands before drawing only when the legal action or known top-card information makes the mana immediately necessary. Hold the land until after Collected Company is not involved and after any draw or selection effect if a visible choice could change which land is best; otherwise play the land before committing spells when the turn requires exact colors, untapped mana, or playing around tax effects.

• Spend utility lands as spells only after checking the next turn's mana. Channel or utility actions from Boseiju, Who Endures or Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire are strongest when they answer a visible threat or swing combat, but they are costly if they delay Collected Company, Elspeth, Storm Slayer, The Wandering Emperor, Beza, the Bounding Spring, or a double-spell turn under your own constraints.

• Respect your own taxes when planning mana. Thalia, Guardian of Thraben can increase noncreature costs, Archon of Emeria and High Noon can limit spell volume, and Collected Company may become the one spell that matters in a turn; plan land drops and mana creatures so the selected legal spell still resolves inside those constraints.

• Post-board mana should be planned from the sideboard card actually drawn. Rest in Peace, High Noon, Get Lost, Seam Rip, Beza, the Bounding Spring, Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines, and extra Aven Interrupter may shift the needed color or curve point; do not keep a hand whose only plan is a sideboard bullet it cannot cast on schedule.

Mulligan Guide

• Strong keep: keep two or three lands, one Llanowar Elves or Elvish Mystic, and a curve into Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Archon of Emeria, Skyclave Apparition, Enduring Innocence, or Collected Company. This deck is strongest when turn-one acceleration makes a turn-two tax creature or disruptive body and leaves Collected Company as the reload or flash-speed pressure.

• Strong keep: keep hands with green turn one, white by turn two, and at least two relevant plays before Collected Company. Razorverge Thicket, Temple Garden, Brushland, Branchloft Pathway, Boseiju, Who Endures, Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire, Plains, Starting Town, and Abandoned Air Temple must be evaluated by actual legal mana output; Card text check required for Starting Town and Abandoned Air Temple.

• Medium keep: keep a no-mana-creature hand only when it has stable lands plus Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Archon of Emeria, Skyclave Apparition, or Badgermole Cub into Collected Company. This hand is acceptable on the play against spell-heavy opponents if the first disruptive permanent is timely, but it is weaker on the draw against fast creature pressure.

• Risky keep: keep one-land Llanowar Elves or Elvish Mystic hands only with untapped green, at least one castable follow-up, and no requirement to draw white immediately. Ship if the hand needs the mana creature to survive and has no second land, no second one-mana accelerator, or only expensive cards such as Collected Company, Elspeth, Storm Slayer, and The Wandering Emperor.

• Automatic ship: ship hands with no green source, no early play, or only lands plus four-mana cards. Ship hands that cannot cast any spell before turn three, hands with Collected Company but too few creatures to stabilize before it, and hands whose only interaction is Boseiju, Who Endures or Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire without enough mana to support the rest of the curve.

• Matchup-dependent keep: keep Rest in Peace, High Noon, Aven Interrupter, Seam Rip, Get Lost, Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines, or Beza, the Bounding Spring hands post-board only when the opponent's revealed archetype makes that card materially relevant and the mana casts it on time. Do not keep a sideboard-card hand that delays the main plan without a visible matchup reason.

• Play/draw adjustment: on the play, prioritize Llanowar Elves or Elvish Mystic into Thalia, Guardian of Thraben or Archon of Emeria to seize initiative. On the draw, require more interaction or board presence, especially Skyclave Apparition, Aven Interrupter, The Wandering Emperor, Beza, the Bounding Spring, or a fast Collected Company line.

• Trap hand: avoid hands with multiple Collected Company, Elspeth, Storm Slayer, and The Wandering Emperor but no accelerator or third land. Avoid hands that look powerful but contain mostly unknown-text creatures such as Ouroboroid, Badgermole Cub, or Enduring Innocence without confirmed curve function; Card text check required before relying on exact tactical roles.

Turn Arc

• Turn 1: cast Llanowar Elves or Elvish Mystic whenever legal from an untapped green source. Deviation: play the land that preserves turn-two white if no mana creature is available; do not spend Boseiju, Who Endures or Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire as utility unless the rules engine exposes a decisive legal action.

• Turn 2: deploy the most punishing permanent for the matchup. Prefer Thalia, Guardian of Thraben against noncreature spell density, Archon of Emeria when acceleration enables it and the opponent wants multiple spells, Skyclave Apparition only when a visible permanent must be answered, and Badgermole Cub, Enduring Innocence, or Ouroboroid when they are legal curve pressure and their card text has been checked.

• Turn 2 deviation: play a second mana creature when the hand needs Collected Company, Elspeth, Storm Slayer, The Wandering Emperor, or double-spell pressure quickly. Do not overcommit extra Llanowar Elves or Elvish Mystic into visible sweepers or one-for-many punishments when one accelerator already enables the next turn.

• Turn 3: cast Archon of Emeria, Skyclave Apparition, or Collected Company setup pressure according to board state. If Collected Company is available next turn, prefer adding a creature that attacks, taxes, or answers a permanent over spending the turn on a low-impact line.

• Turn 3 deviation: hold up Aven Interrupter or Collected Company when passing with mana creates a better response window than tapping out. Use this line against visible stack-dependent, combo, control, or sweeper-risk opponents; tap out against board pressure when Skyclave Apparition or a creature body is needed immediately.

• Turns 4-5: use Collected Company as the main swing card when it is legal and the deck still has meaningful creature hits. Cast it after the opponent commits when instant timing matters, but main-phase it if mana, Archon of Emeria, High Noon, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, or combat math makes waiting reduce legal options.

• Turns 4-5 deviation: commit Elspeth, Storm Slayer or The Wandering Emperor when a planeswalker stabilizes combat, produces pressure, or punishes attacks better than another creature. Card text check required for Elspeth, Storm Slayer before selecting exact loyalty modes; follow only legal rules-engine choices for The Wandering Emperor.

• Late game: convert spare bodies into attacks, blocks, planeswalker protection, and Collected Company rebuilds. Preserve utility lands when mana is still scarce, but use Boseiju, Who Endures, Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire, Seam Rip, or Get Lost post-board when the visible permanent or combat swing is worth losing future flexibility.

• Late-game deviation: shift from racing to containment when life totals or visible attackers show a short clock. Prioritize Skyclave Apparition on the highest-impact legal target, Beza, the Bounding Spring when recovery text is relevant, and The Wandering Emperor or Elspeth, Storm Slayer when a planeswalker line changes combat more than another attacker.

Card Roles

• Llanowar Elves and Elvish Mystic are the deck's highest-leverage turn-one plays because they turn two-mana and three-mana disruption into same-turn pressure. Cast one immediately when legal unless the visible board or matchup makes a one-toughness creature especially unsafe and the hand already has a strong two-land curve. Preserve at least one accelerator when it enables Collected Company, Elspeth, Storm Slayer, The Wandering Emperor, or double-spell turns through Thalia, Guardian of Thraben. Do not trade them in combat unless life total pressure, planeswalker protection, or a lethal race makes the body worth more than future mana.

• Thalia, Guardian of Thraben is the early spell-tax card and should be prioritized against opponents whose first turns reveal mostly noncreature spells, cheap interaction, setup pieces, or sweepers. Cast Thalia, Guardian of Thraben before Collected Company only when the tax will slow the opponent more than it slows your own next turns. Avoid sequencing mistakes where Thalia, Guardian of Thraben makes your own Collected Company, Elspeth, Storm Slayer, The Wandering Emperor, Rest in Peace, High Noon, Seam Rip, or Get Lost awkward without meaningfully constraining the opponent.

• Archon of Emeria is the stronger lock piece when the opponent needs multiple spells per turn, spell chains, or fast mana development. Accelerate into Archon of Emeria whenever the hand can still keep attacking or answering the board afterward. Remember that Archon of Emeria also constrains your own turns, so avoid casting it before a planned double-spell turn unless the opponent's visible plan is more punished than yours. Treat Archon of Emeria as both disruption and an evasive clock; protect its attacks when racing matters.

• Collected Company is the main instant-speed reload and should usually be cast after the opponent commits mana, attacks, or presents a stack window. Use Collected Company to rebuild after removal, add surprise blockers, find Skyclave Apparition for a visible permanent when legal, or add Archon of Emeria and Thalia, Guardian of Thraben at the most punishing time. Do not fire Collected Company into low-impact boards if waiting preserves surprise and the opponent cannot punish the pass. Do not forget that Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Archon of Emeria, and High Noon can change whether holding or main-phasing Collected Company is practical.

• Skyclave Apparition is the primary main-deck answer to visible nonland permanents and should be saved for permanents that block the attack plan, enable a combo or engine, dominate combat, or threaten planeswalkers. Cast Skyclave Apparition on curve only when a legal target is materially important; otherwise deploy pressure first and keep it as a clean answer. Consider the resulting token or replacement body before choosing the target, especially when removing a small permanent would improve the opponent's combat board. Skyclave Apparition is also a premium Collected Company hit, so account for its remaining copies before spending other interaction.

• Enduring Innocence is a core creature-engine card, but exact tactical use requires confirmed rules text. Card text check required. If its visible legal text rewards small creatures entering, prioritize pairing it with Llanowar Elves, Elvish Mystic, Badgermole Cub, Ouroboroid, Skyclave Apparition, Aven Interrupter, and Collected Company turns. If its visible legal text provides lifelink, recursion, or enchantment persistence, use it to stabilize races and punish one-for-one removal. Do not rely on drawing, recursion, or lifegain unless the rules engine exposes that text or the card has been verified.

• Badgermole Cub is a four-copy pressure or engine body whose exact role needs text confirmation. Card text check required. Treat it as an early creature to curve out only when legal text shows it contributes to combat, mana, counters, card flow, or another visible payoff. Pair it with Collected Company if it is an eligible hit and its board impact is stronger at instant speed. Avoid making keep, attack, or block decisions based on assumed growth, lifegain, or triggered value until the rules engine exposes the relevant ability.

• Ouroboroid is a three-copy mid-curve creature whose precise tactical value is not safe to assume. Card text check required. Use it as a curve play when the hand needs board presence and the legal text confirms meaningful stats or a relevant ability. If it has graveyard, recursion, sacrifice, or counter text, evaluate it against Rest in Peace plans and avoid self-hosing post-board. If it is a Collected Company hit, count it as pressure only after visible stats and abilities are known.

• Aven Interrupter is the main-deck flash disruption slot and becomes more important post-board with three extra copies. Hold Aven Interrupter when the opponent is likely to cast a high-impact spell into open mana, when protecting a lock piece matters, or when passing also represents Collected Company. Cast it proactively only when the body and tempo are better than waiting. Card text check required for exact exile, delay, or tax details; choose only legal stack targets exposed by the rules engine.

• Elspeth, Storm Slayer is a planeswalker top-end that should be committed when its visible mode stabilizes combat, creates pressure, or turns a stalled board into an attack. Card text check required for exact loyalty abilities. Do not tap out for Elspeth, Storm Slayer into a board that can immediately remove it unless the chosen legal mode changes that exchange. It is not a Collected Company hit, so mulligan and sequencing should not overload on Elspeth, Storm Slayer plus Collected Company without acceleration.

• The Wandering Emperor is the flexible planeswalker interaction slot and should be held when flash timing can punish attacks or protect life total. Use it when a legal mode changes combat, removes or neutralizes an attacker, creates a blocker, or stabilizes a planeswalker race. Do not cast it merely because four mana is available if Collected Company or Aven Interrupter creates a stronger response window. Follow only the exact legal modes presented at runtime.

• Boseiju, Who Endures and Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire are lands first and utility spells second. Play them as mana sources when the curve requires it, especially to cast early green or white spells on time. Hold them only when other lands already satisfy the curve and their channel or utility text can answer a visible permanent or combat problem. Card text check required for any Explorer-specific digital implementation nuance.

• Razorverge Thicket, Temple Garden, Brushland, Branchloft Pathway, and Plains are the reliable core mana pieces. Prioritize untapped green on turn one for Llanowar Elves or Elvish Mystic, then white by turn two for Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Skyclave Apparition, Archon of Emeria, Enduring Innocence, and Aven Interrupter. Sequence Branchloft Pathway according to missing color, not habit. Spend life from Temple Garden or Brushland when the tempo gained protects more life than it costs.

• Starting Town and Abandoned Air Temple require text verification before being treated as reliable colored sources or tactical permanents. Card text check required. Use them as lands only according to visible legal mana output, and do not keep hands that depend on unverified color, untap, creature, or utility text. If runtime exposes special abilities, evaluate them after satisfying the deck's first rule: green on turn one and white on turn two whenever possible.

Interaction Priorities

• Remove engine permanents before ordinary attackers when Skyclave Apparition or Boseiju, Who Endures has a legal target that changes the opponent's next turn. Prioritize visible combo pieces, mana engines, sacrifice engines, graveyard engines before Rest in Peace, hard-to-race planeswalkers, and blockers that blank Archon of Emeria, Enduring Innocence, Badgermole Cub, or Ouroboroid. Avoid using Skyclave Apparition on a low-impact permanent if the resulting body would improve the opponent's combat board.

• Exile graveyards only when Rest in Peace attacks the opponent's active plan more than your own visible resources. Bring Rest in Peace pressure to graveyard combo, recursion midrange, delve, escape, reanimation, and sacrifice loops; do not treat it as free value against fair creature decks unless the opponent has revealed graveyard dependence. If Ouroboroid or another visible card in your board or hand uses graveyard text, reassess before locking yourself under Rest in Peace. Card text check required for Ouroboroid.

• Delay or tax stack threats with Aven Interrupter when the opponent commits a high-impact spell into your open mana. Use Aven Interrupter ahead of routine creatures, cheap cantrips, or removal that does not break your current board. Prefer holding it when Collected Company is also available, because the same pass can represent either disruption or a board reload. Card text check required for exact Aven Interrupter timing and effect details; choose only legal stack targets shown by Veles.

• Answer removal-resistant or large permanents with Get Lost, Seam Rip, Boseiju, Who Endures, or Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire according to visible legal targets. Use Get Lost when exile-by-Skyclave is unavailable or when the permanent's impact outweighs any replacement resources. Use Seam Rip primarily for artifacts or enchantments if its legal text confirms that role. Card text check required for Seam Rip and any digital implementation nuance.

• Tax noncreature-heavy decks before spending spot interaction when Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Archon of Emeria, or High Noon materially slows the opponent. Against control, combo, spells, and sweepers, deploy the tax piece first if it will constrain the opponent's next turn and still leave you with pressure. Against creature mirrors, value Skyclave Apparition and The Wandering Emperor higher than redundant tax effects.

• Bait removal with redundant accelerants or medium threats before committing Collected Company, Elspeth, Storm Slayer, or The Wandering Emperor. Let Llanowar Elves, Elvish Mystic, Badgermole Cub, or an extra Thalia, Guardian of Thraben draw cheap interaction when the hand contains a stronger follow-up. Do not bait if the opponent's visible clock forces immediate stabilization.

• Ignore low-impact permanents that do not affect racing, mana, combo, lock pieces, or planeswalker pressure. This deck wins by compounding board presence; spending Skyclave Apparition or utility-land interaction on irrelevant material can leave you cold to the permanent that actually stops attacks or enables the opponent's kill.

• Do not invent discard, counterspell, or bounce lines for this registered deck. The deck can tax, exile or remove some permanents, delay stack plays with Aven Interrupter if legal, and use combat-speed planeswalker modes; it does not contain a traditional discard spell, hard counterspell, or bounce spell.

Combat And Trading Rules

• Attack when the board advances a two-turn or three-turn clock without exposing the only engine piece. Archon of Emeria is an evasive clock and should attack often unless it must stay back for survival. Badgermole Cub, Enduring Innocence, and Ouroboroid need visible text confirmation before assuming growth, lifegain, or recursion; attack with them based on current stats and legal abilities, not guessed card text.

• Preserve Llanowar Elves and Elvish Mystic early when their mana enables Collected Company, Skyclave Apparition plus another spell, or planeswalker turns. Trade an accelerant only when blocking prevents a major life swing, protects Elspeth, Storm Slayer or The Wandering Emperor, or the extra mana is no longer relevant. Against removal-heavy decks, accept that a mana creature may absorb removal if it clears the way for a stronger creature.

• Trade creatures aggressively against faster aggro when life falls near 10 or the opponent's visible next attack threatens lethal within two turns. Trade Badgermole Cub, Ouroboroid, Aven Interrupter, or spare legendary copies for attackers that preserve enough life to cast Collected Company or stabilize with The Wandering Emperor. Avoid trading Archon of Emeria or Thalia, Guardian of Thraben if their tax effect is visibly constraining multiple opponent cards.

• Block to protect planeswalkers only when the planeswalker has a legal follow-up that changes the game. The Wandering Emperor and Elspeth, Storm Slayer are worth shielding if they can remove a creature, create a blocker, increase pressure, or force awkward attacks. Do not sacrifice board pressure to defend a planeswalker that will not survive the next visible combat anyway.

• Use Collected Company as a combat trick when surprise blockers, flash pressure, or Skyclave Apparition hits change attacks or blocks. Passing with four mana is strongest when the opponent must respect both Collected Company and Aven Interrupter. If Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Archon of Emeria, or High Noon makes casting timing awkward, follow the exact legal action window rather than assuming the instant can be used later.

• Value evasive and tax creatures higher against combo and control than against creature decks. Against combo or spells, keep Archon of Emeria and Thalia, Guardian of Thraben alive even if that means taking moderate damage. Against creature mirrors, trade taxes for tempo when the tax text is weak and the body can prevent a race loss.

• Avoid attacks that leave no blocker when the opponent can crack back for lethal or remove the only blocker with a visible on-board ability. At 8 life or lower, count visible attackers, known pump or removal on board, and legal stack actions before sending utility creatures. At 5 life or lower, prioritize survival unless the attack presents lethal this turn or forces a block that stabilizes the board.

• Protect engines by sequencing pressure across multiple bodies instead of all-in attacks. Enduring Innocence, Badgermole Cub, and Ouroboroid may be engine or payoff creatures, but card text check required; if runtime text confirms ongoing value, avoid exposing the only copy to a bad trade unless losing life is worse. If a second copy or Collected Company reload is available, trading becomes more acceptable.

Selection And Tutor Rules

• Treat Collected Company as the deck's primary selection spell, not as a blind value cast. Prefer casting it when the top-six choice can find pressure plus disruption, such as Archon of Emeria, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Aven Interrupter, Skyclave Apparition, Enduring Innocence, Badgermole Cub, Ouroboroid, Llanowar Elves, or Elvish Mystic. Card text check required for Enduring Innocence, Badgermole Cub, and Ouroboroid before ranking them above known disruptive bodies.

• Choose Collected Company hits by board need first. If the opponent has a must-answer permanent with a legal Skyclave Apparition target, take Skyclave Apparition over generic pressure. If the opponent is constrained by one-spell-per-turn or noncreature tax effects, take Archon of Emeria or Thalia, Guardian of Thraben before a larger body. If the board is empty and no immediate interaction target matters, take the pair that produces the fastest credible clock.

• Avoid taking redundant legendary or tax pieces from Collected Company unless the first copy is absent, vulnerable, or tactically expendable. A second Thalia, Guardian of Thraben usually has lower battlefield value than a distinct body unless the current copy is likely to die or legend-rule replacement is strategically useful. A second Archon of Emeria may be redundant if the rule text does not stack; use exact visible card text and legal actions.

• Recognize that the registered list has no true library tutor. Do not invent search lines for missing cards, silver bullets, or specific lands. Boseiju, Who Endures and Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire are utility lands with possible channel-style interaction, not search effects. Card text check required for Starting Town and Abandoned Air Temple before treating either as selection, fixing, or utility.

• Make land choices before committing spells that reveal your mana plan. With Branchloft Pathway, choose the side that supports the next two turns of visible hand costs, especially green for Llanowar Elves, Elvish Mystic, and Collected Company or white for Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Skyclave Apparition, Archon of Emeria, Elspeth, Storm Slayer, and The Wandering Emperor. Delay modal-land commitment only when another land drop covers all current legal plays.

• Sequence land drops to preserve untapped green early and untapped white for interaction turns. Razorverge Thicket and Temple Garden are high-priority early untapped sources when they let a mana creature enter on turn one or Collected Company become live on turn three. Brushland can cover both colors but may cost life; prefer painless sources when racing and prefer exact untapped colors when tempo matters more than life.

• Treat scry, surveil, or card-filter prompts as conditional because this deck does not advertise built-in scry in the registered names. If Veles shows a legal top/bottom or keep/bottom choice from a card text or opponent effect, keep lands only when they unlock an immediate high-impact play, keep Collected Company when four mana is reachable, and bottom redundant mana creatures once mana is already sufficient.

Priority And Stack Rules

• Pass with four open mana when Collected Company or Aven Interrupter represents a stronger line than tapping out. This pass is especially valuable when the opponent must act first into your open mana, when surprise blockers matter, or when the opponent is likely to cast a spell that Aven Interrupter can legally affect. Card text check required for exact Aven Interrupter timing, target class, and delayed effect.

• Cast Collected Company at the latest useful window unless mana, tax effects, or survival pressure force an earlier cast. End step is preferred when you are not under lethal pressure and do not need blockers. Combat is preferred when surprise creatures can change attacks or blocks. Main phase is acceptable when you must hit Skyclave Apparition before attacking, add lethal pressure, or play around your own Archon of Emeria, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, or High Noon constraints.

• Respect your own tax and one-spell limits before choosing priority actions. Thalia, Guardian of Thraben may increase noncreature spell costs, and Archon of Emeria or High Noon may restrict spell volume; verify the legal action list before assuming Collected Company, Get Lost, Seam Rip, Elspeth, Storm Slayer, or The Wandering Emperor can be cast after another spell. If only one spell can be cast this turn, choose the spell that changes the current board or stack most.

• Use Aven Interrupter on high-impact stack objects, not on routine low-impact spells. Hold it for a spell that threatens your board, breaks your tax lock, wins a race, or enables a combo turn. If Veles exposes only a legal flash creature action without a relevant stack target, evaluate it as a body or Collected Company hit rather than pretending it counters anything.

• Let removal resolve when the threatened permanent has already delivered its main value or when saving mana produces a stronger reload. Losing Llanowar Elves or Elvish Mystic is acceptable if Collected Company, Skyclave Apparition, Elspeth, Storm Slayer, or The Wandering Emperor remains live. Fight harder over Archon of Emeria, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, or a unique engine creature when that text is visibly constraining the opponent.

• Use Boseiju, Who Endures, Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire, Get Lost, and Seam Rip only on legal visible targets with meaningful board or stack impact. Prefer using land-channel or instant-speed interaction before damage, before a planeswalker is lost, or before a permanent enables a decisive opponent turn. Card text check required for Seam Rip and for any digital-only timing on Abandoned Air Temple or Starting Town.

• Confirm optional triggers and payments only when the immediate exchange advances the board, clock, or survival plan. If Enduring Innocence, Badgermole Cub, Ouroboroid, Elspeth, Storm Slayer, or The Wandering Emperor presents optional modes, use visible text and board state rather than assumed synergies. Decline optional payments that consume mana needed for Collected Company, Aven Interrupter, Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire, Boseiju, Who Endures, or survival interaction.

• Keep combat priority open when the opponent can be punished by flash pressure or instant-speed removal. Before attackers, consider whether The Wandering Emperor or Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire can alter combat. After blockers, use Collected Company or interaction only if the resulting bodies, exile effect, or removal changes damage, protects a key permanent, or creates lethal pressure on the crack-back.

Sideboard Map

• Sideboard by role first and card text second. Keep the deck's core identity as green-white creature pressure with Collected Company, taxing creatures, and exile-style board control. Do not overload on noncreature sideboard spells when Collected Company density and turn-three company windows are central to the matchup.

• Use Aven Interrupter as stack interaction plus flash pressure against spell-heavy opponents. Add copies when the opponent relies on a key noncreature spell, a sweeper, a large tempo play, or a combo-enabling spell that is exposed on the stack. Aven Interrupter is weaker when the opponent wins mostly through cheap permanents already on the battlefield or when three-mana flash bodies do not trade profitably.

• Use Rest in Peace only when graveyards are a real engine, not as generic disruption. Add it against graveyard recursion, escape-style value, reanimation, delve, sacrifice loops, or decks where visible graveyard text is central. Rest in Peace is bad when it does not change the opponent's legal actions and when your better plan is to add pressure, tax effects, or board interaction.

• Use Seam Rip as artifact/enchantment or permanent-hate only after text confirmation. Card text check required. Add it when legal targets are central to the opponent's plan, especially artifacts, enchantments, or other visible permanents if the rules engine confirms those targets. Seam Rip is bad when the opponent has few legal targets, when holding it strands mana under Thalia, Guardian of Thraben or High Noon, or when Skyclave Apparition already covers the relevant permanent class.

• Use Get Lost as flexible emergency removal when one answer to a creature, enchantment, or planeswalker matters more than opponent compensation. Card text check required for exact legal targets and opponent resource granted. Add it against must-answer permanents, oversized threats that dodge Skyclave Apparition, and planeswalker-centric boards. Get Lost is weaker against go-wide low-value boards where giving the opponent extra material matters.

• Use Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines as a high-impact value and suppression card only in slower matchups. Add it when enter-the-battlefield triggers, Skyclave Apparition-style exile bodies, Beza, the Bounding Spring, or opponent trigger engines define the game. Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines is bad when five mana is too slow, when the opponent pressures life total before turn five, or when the board must be stabilized with cheaper interaction.

• Use High Noon as a stronger one-spell constraint against combo, cascade-like turns, spell chains, and decks trying to double-spell through Thalia, Guardian of Thraben or Archon of Emeria. Card text check required for exact timing and activated ability. High Noon is bad when you need to cast multiple spells in a turn to recover, when Collected Company sequencing is already constrained by Archon of Emeria, or when the opponent plays mostly one permanent per turn.

• Use Beza, the Bounding Spring as a stabilizer against aggression and attrition. Add it when behind on life, material, or board presence and when a four-mana creature can regain tempo. Card text check required for exact trigger modes. Beza, the Bounding Spring is weaker when you are ahead and need to preserve pressure, when graveyard hate or stack interaction matters more, or when four mana is unreliable through disruption.

Fast Aggro Stabilization Side in: 2 Beza, the Bounding Spring; 1 Get Lost Cut: 1 Aven Interrupter; 1 The Wandering Emperor; 1 Ouroboroid

• Add role cards: Beza, the Bounding Spring for life/material recovery, Get Lost for the largest visible threat, and possibly Seam Rip only when the aggressive deck uses a confirmed artifact or enchantment engine. Reduce main-deck emphasis: slower flash interaction, expensive planeswalker timing, and extra recursive or engine bodies when they do not block well. Keep Llanowar Elves and Elvish Mystic when they enable turn-two Skyclave Apparition, Archon of Emeria, or Enduring Innocence, but be wary of hands that fold to early removal plus no second land.

Graveyard Engine Side in: 3 Rest in Peace; 1 Get Lost Cut: 1 The Wandering Emperor; 1 Aven Interrupter; 1 Ouroboroid; 1 Badgermole Cub

• Add role cards: Rest in Peace as the main hate piece, Get Lost for graveyard payoff permanents that still resolve, and Aven Interrupter only if the opponent's graveyard setup depends on a stack-based key spell. Reduce main-deck emphasis: slow planeswalker value and creature bodies that do not pressure quickly or disrupt graveyard use. Do not keep Rest in Peace hands that lack pressure unless the opponent's visible plan cannot function through it.

Spell Combo Or Big-Spell Control Side in: 3 Aven Interrupter; 2 High Noon Cut: 2 Elspeth, Storm Slayer; 1 The Wandering Emperor; 1 Enduring Innocence; 1 Skyclave Apparition

• Add role cards: Aven Interrupter for stack pressure, High Noon for one-spell turns, and Rest in Peace only if the opponent's engine uses the graveyard. Reduce main-deck emphasis: sorcery-speed planeswalkers and removal bodies with no legal targets. Keep Archon of Emeria and Thalia, Guardian of Thraben at high priority because the sideboard plan compounds their tax role. Collected Company stays important because it adds pressure while finding tax bodies at instant speed.

Artifacts Or Enchantments Side in: 3 Seam Rip; 1 Get Lost Cut: 1 Aven Interrupter; 1 Ouroboroid; 1 Enduring Innocence; 1 Elspeth, Storm Slayer

• Add role cards: Seam Rip for confirmed legal artifact/enchantment targets, Get Lost for flexible permanent removal, and Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines only if the opponent's permanent engine relies on triggered abilities and the game is slow enough. Reduce main-deck emphasis: stack interaction against permanent-heavy boards and slower value threats that do not answer the engine. Keep Skyclave Apparition because it overlaps with this plan while remaining a Collected Company hit.

Slow Midrange Value Side in: 1 Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines; 2 Beza, the Bounding Spring; 1 Get Lost Cut: 1 Aven Interrupter; 1 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben; 1 Llanowar Elves; 1 Elvish Mystic

• Add role cards: Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines for trigger dominance, Beza, the Bounding Spring for stabilizing material, and Get Lost for a single high-value permanent. Reduce main-deck emphasis: excess mana creatures on the draw, redundant tax bodies when spell-volume limits are not decisive, and flash interaction with few stack targets. Preserve enough early acceleration to cast Collected Company and five-mana threats before attrition takes over.

• Keep sideboard plans balanced against Collected Company math. Aven Interrupter, Beza, the Bounding Spring, and Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines are creatures; Rest in Peace, Seam Rip, Get Lost, and High Noon are noncreatures. When adding several noncreatures, avoid weakening Collected Company so much that the deck becomes a fair pile with low hit quality.

• Reassess on the play versus draw by mana pressure and tax timing. On the play, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Archon of Emeria, and High Noon are stronger because they land before opposing setup. On the draw, prioritize Get Lost, Skyclave Apparition, Beza, the Bounding Spring, and Seam Rip when the opponent can establish the first important permanent.

• Do not board by card fame or archetype labels alone. Use visible deck information, game log evidence, and legal action pressure. If the opponent has shown graveyard cards, artifact/enchantment engines, sweeper reliance, or spell-chain turns, choose the matching sideboard role. If the opponent has not shown the target class, keep the proactive creature-tax plan intact.

Matchup Guidance

• Aggro: Stabilize first, then turn the corner with larger bodies and instant-speed deployment. Prioritize hands with Llanowar Elves or Elvish Mystic plus a second land, Skyclave Apparition, Enduring Innocence, Badgermole Cub, or Collected Company. Add role cards: Beza, the Bounding Spring for recovery and Get Lost for the largest threat when Skyclave Apparition is not enough. Reduce main-deck emphasis: slow planeswalker timing from Elspeth, Storm Slayer and The Wandering Emperor, plus Aven Interrupter when the opponent is mostly committing creatures before stack interaction matters. Do not race blindly if a visible attack forces chump blocks next turn; choose plays that leave blockers while developing pressure.

• Burn: Preserve life total as a resource only until the opponent can convert every card into damage. Prioritize untapped green for Llanowar Elves and Elvish Mystic early, but avoid unnecessary Brushland or Temple Garden pain once you can cast the current legal actions. Add role cards: Beza, the Bounding Spring as the clean stabilizer and High Noon only if the opponent is visibly chaining multiple spells per turn. Reduce main-deck emphasis: expensive planeswalkers and fragile pressure that cannot block or gain time. Thalia, Guardian of Thraben and Archon of Emeria are high-value if they slow multiple burn spells, but do not keep a tax-only hand with no clock or stabilization.

• Go-wide creature decks: Make board containment more important than single-threat tempo. Prioritize Skyclave Apparition for anthem, token-engine, or key utility permanents when legal, and use Collected Company at the last safe priority window to add blockers or find disruption. Add role cards: Beza, the Bounding Spring if behind on board or life, Get Lost only for a permanent that is clearly worth the opponent compensation, and Seam Rip only for confirmed artifact or enchantment engines. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Aven Interrupter if there are few meaningful stack targets and isolated large-threat answers when the opponent wins by quantity. Combat choices should protect creatures that enable profitable double-blocks next turn.

• Single-threat decks: Answer the threat rather than overbuilding a board that still loses to one permanent. Prioritize Skyclave Apparition, Get Lost, Boseiju, Who Endures, Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire, and The Wandering Emperor according to legal targets and visible timing. Add role cards: Get Lost for oversized or noncreature permanents, Aven Interrupter for stack-based threats, and Seam Rip when the threat is an artifact or enchantment. Reduce main-deck emphasis: low-impact creature pressure when it cannot race the visible threat. Do not spend Skyclave Apparition on a minor permanent if the opponent’s deck has already shown a must-answer target class.

• Tempo: Protect mana development and force them to answer threats under tax pressure. Prioritize one-mana accelerants only when the hand still functions after removal; a two-land hand with Llanowar Elves, Elvish Mystic, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, and Collected Company is stronger than a one-land hand that collapses if the mana creature dies. Add role cards: Aven Interrupter for contested stack turns and High Noon if the opponent relies on double-spell tempo swings. Reduce main-deck emphasis: slow planeswalkers when leaving mana open for Collected Company or flash threats matters more. Cast Collected Company on the opponent’s end step unless a current priority window demands blockers or stack pressure.

• Control: Lead with pressure that taxes answers, then avoid overcommitting into visible sweeper incentives. Prioritize Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Archon of Emeria, Aven Interrupter, and Collected Company because they compress the opponent’s timing. Add role cards: Aven Interrupter and High Noon against spell-heavy control, Get Lost for planeswalker or finisher permanents, and Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines only when the game is slow enough for five mana and trigger value matters. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Skyclave Apparition if the opponent shows few legal targets, and excess mana creatures on the draw if attrition is the real axis. Hold Collected Company when your board already presents lethal pressure and the opponent is incentivized to sweep.

• Removal-heavy decks: Make every threat either replace itself, demand awkward removal, or arrive at instant speed. Prioritize Enduring Innocence, Collected Company, Ouroboroid if its visible text supports recursion or resilience, and planeswalkers when the opponent has exhausted pressure. Card text check required for Ouroboroid and Enduring Innocence details; use them conditionally based on visible legal text. Add role cards: Beza, the Bounding Spring for material recovery, Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines for slower trigger games, and Get Lost for opposing must-answer permanents. Reduce main-deck emphasis: redundant one-mana accelerants after the early turns and tax bodies if the opponent is trading one-for-one with permanents instead of casting multiple spells.

• Midrange: Win by being the deck with the better constrained battlefield and the better instant-speed reload. Prioritize Skyclave Apparition for their best permanent, Collected Company for end-step material, and The Wandering Emperor or Elspeth, Storm Slayer when a planeswalker can survive the next visible attack. Add role cards: Beza, the Bounding Spring for catch-up, Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines for enter-the-battlefield and trigger mirrors, and Get Lost for threats outside Skyclave Apparition range. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Aven Interrupter if the opponent’s important actions are mostly permanents already on board, and extra Thalia, Guardian of Thraben when taxes do not affect their curve enough.

• Big mana: Treat the matchup as a clock plus disruption puzzle, not a pure race. Prioritize early Llanowar Elves or Elvish Mystic into Archon of Emeria, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Aven Interrupter, or Collected Company. Add role cards: Aven Interrupter for payoff turns, High Noon for multiple-spell turns, Get Lost for resolved payoff permanents, and Seam Rip only when the ramp engine uses artifacts or enchantments. Reduce main-deck emphasis: narrow creature removal when no legal target is important and slow planeswalker value that does not shorten the clock. Use Boseiju, Who Endures on a visible high-impact nonbasic, artifact, or enchantment only when the tempo gained exceeds the opponent’s compensation.

• Combo: Commit to disruption before pressure if the opponent’s visible plan can win before combat damage matters. Prioritize Archon of Emeria, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Aven Interrupter, High Noon, and Collected Company finding those creatures. Add role cards: Aven Interrupter, High Noon, Rest in Peace if the combo uses the graveyard, Seam Rip if the combo uses artifact or enchantment permanents, and Get Lost for a resolved engine piece. Reduce main-deck emphasis: creature removal without targets, planeswalkers, and value creatures that do not disrupt. Do not fire Aven Interrupter at the first legal spell if a later visible stack item is the actual payoff and passing remains legal.

• Graveyard decks: Establish hate plus a clock; hate without pressure can give the opponent time to answer it. Prioritize Rest in Peace when the opponent has shown graveyard dependence, then deploy Archon of Emeria or Thalia, Guardian of Thraben to restrict recovery turns. Add role cards: Rest in Peace, Get Lost for resolved graveyard payoff permanents, and Aven Interrupter when the key graveyard action uses the stack. Reduce main-deck emphasis: slow planeswalker value and creatures that neither attack quickly nor disrupt. Do not assume Rest in Peace wins alone; still choose legal attacks and Collected Company timing that close the game.

• Artifact/enchantment decks: Identify whether the permanent is the engine, the payoff, or just support before spending answers. Prioritize Skyclave Apparition for cheap legal targets, Seam Rip for confirmed artifact or enchantment targets, Boseiju, Who Endures for high-impact legal targets, and Get Lost for permanents outside the normal answer band. Add role cards: Seam Rip, Get Lost, and Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines only when triggered abilities define the opponent’s engine and five mana is realistic. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Aven Interrupter against board-based engines and slow threats that do not answer the permanent. Preserve Collected Company hit density when adding several noncreature role cards.

Specific Matchup Notes

• General/archetype-only: Use these notes as matchup assumptions until the opponent reveals cards; revealed cards, visible board state, legal actions, and rules-engine prompts override archetype labels. Prioritize exact legal actions over this guide when the engine exposes a specific target, cost, trigger, or combat assignment.

• Red aggressive decks: Stabilize first, then turn the corner with larger bodies, planeswalkers, or Collected Company. Prioritize early Llanowar Elves or Elvish Mystic only when losing it does not strand the hand; otherwise keep hands that can cast Badgermole Cub, Skyclave Apparition, or Archon of Emeria naturally. Add role cards: Beza, the Bounding Spring and Get Lost. Reduce main-deck emphasis: slow tax-only draws that do not block or remove a visible attacker. Priority targets are haste creatures, burn-enabling permanents, and any visible threat that makes blocks impossible.

• Spell-heavy tempo or control: Force them to answer threats under Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Archon of Emeria, Aven Interrupter, and High Noon. Add role cards: Aven Interrupter, High Noon, and Get Lost when planeswalkers or finishers appear. Reduce main-deck emphasis: excess Skyclave Apparition when there are few legal targets. Hold Collected Company for end step unless the current stack or combat window requires blockers, disruption, or recovery from removal.

• Creature midrange: Win through board quality, not pure speed. Prioritize Skyclave Apparition for the most important legal permanent, Collected Company for instant-speed rebuilding, and The Wandering Emperor or Elspeth, Storm Slayer when the planeswalker can survive visible attacks. Add role cards: Beza, the Bounding Spring, Get Lost, and Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines in slow trigger-centered games. Card text check required for Elspeth, Storm Slayer and Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines interaction details; choose based on visible legal text.

• Graveyard decks: Bring Rest in Peace only when graveyard use is visible or strongly implied by revealed cards; do not dilute the deck for graveyard hate without evidence. Add role cards: Rest in Peace, Aven Interrupter for stack-based graveyard actions, and Get Lost for resolved graveyard payoffs. Reduce main-deck emphasis: slow planeswalker value and low-pressure bodies. Priority targets are graveyard engines, reanimation payoffs, and permanents that make Rest in Peace insufficient alone.

• Artifact or enchantment engines: Treat the first answer as a tempo resource, not a reflex. Add role cards: Seam Rip and Get Lost, with Boseiju, Who Endures reserved for high-impact legal targets when the compensation is acceptable. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Aven Interrupter if the matchup is mostly board-based. Priority targets are the permanent that produces repeated advantage, the payoff that ends the game, or the lock piece that prevents normal attacking or casting.

• Combo and big mana: Apply a clock while restricting explosive turns. Prioritize Archon of Emeria, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Aven Interrupter, High Noon, and Collected Company into disruptive creatures. Add role cards: Aven Interrupter, High Noon, Get Lost, and narrow hate such as Rest in Peace or Seam Rip only when revealed cards justify it. Do not use Aven Interrupter on a low-impact spell if a visible payoff is likely to follow and passing remains legal.

Risk Summary

• Mana risk: The deck can keep functional two-land accelerator hands, but one-land hands with Llanowar Elves or Elvish Mystic collapse when the mana creature dies. Prioritize colored-source stability for Archon of Emeria, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Skyclave Apparition, Collected Company, and sideboard cards before choosing greedy lines with Boseiju, Who Endures, Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire, Abandoned Air Temple, or Starting Town. Card text check required for Abandoned Air Temple and Starting Town.

• Draw risk: Hands with only taxes and no clock can give control or combo time to recover, while hands with only mana creatures and Collected Company can fold to early removal. Mulligan decisions should verify early pressure, colored mana, and at least one disruptive or stabilizing play.

• Over-sideboarding risk: Adding Rest in Peace, Seam Rip, High Noon, Get Lost, Beza, the Bounding Spring, and Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines can lower Collected Company hit density or slow the curve. Preserve enough creatures and early plays unless the revealed matchup demands noncreature answers.

• Graveyard risk: Rest in Peace may weaken any own-card graveyard synergies if visible card text says so. Card text check required for Ouroboroid and Enduring Innocence before assuming they ignore graveyard replacement effects.

• Sweeper/removal risk: Overcommitting mana creatures and small threats into visible sweeper incentives wastes Collected Company. Hold Collected Company or a planeswalker when current pressure is already enough.

• Closer risk: Tax creatures slow the opponent but may not end the game quickly. Convert disruption into attacks, planeswalker pressure, or Collected Company reloads before the opponent reaches a larger endgame.

• Interaction risk: Skyclave Apparition, Aven Interrupter, Boseiju, Who Endures, Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire, Get Lost, and Seam Rip are context-sensitive. Spend them on visible high-impact targets, not the first legal target.

• Sequencing risk: Casting Thalia, Guardian of Thraben before Collected Company can tax your own noncreature spell. Sequence acceleration, taxes, and instant-speed plays around current mana, expected priority windows, and the specific legal actions shown by Veles.

Test Feedback Checklist

• Result driver: Record whether the match was decided by early pressure, tax effects, Collected Company, planeswalker closing, sideboard hate, mana failure, or opponent inevitability. Tie the answer to the visible battlefield and legal actions, not to assumed hidden cards.

• Mulligans: For every keep, ask whether the opener had colored mana, a castable Llanowar Elves or Elvish Mystic line, a follow-up threat, and either disruption or removal. Flag one-land accelerator keeps that lost to removal and slow hands that had Archon of Emeria or Thalia, Guardian of Thraben without a meaningful clock.

• Mana: Track whether Razorverge Thicket, Temple Garden, Brushland, Branchloft Pathway, Plains, Boseiju, Who Endures, Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire, Abandoned Air Temple, and Starting Town enabled the first three turns cleanly. Card text check required for Abandoned Air Temple and Starting Town before drawing conclusions about exact sequencing failures.

• Velocity: Ask whether the deck deployed enough power before the opponent escaped Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Archon of Emeria, Aven Interrupter, or High Noon. Mark games where the deck slowed the opponent but failed to convert that delay into attacks, Elspeth, Storm Slayer, The Wandering Emperor, or Collected Company pressure.

• Engines: Record whether Collected Company found relevant creatures, missed due to low hit density after sideboarding, or was stranded by Thalia, Guardian of Thraben taxation. Record whether Enduring Innocence, Badgermole Cub, and Ouroboroid affected card flow, combat, or board presence; Card text check required before assigning precise engine responsibility.

• Removal and interaction: For each Skyclave Apparition, Aven Interrupter, Boseiju, Who Endures, Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire, Get Lost, and Seam Rip decision, ask whether the chosen target was the highest visible-impact legal target. Note whether holding interaction for a later visible payoff would have been better, especially against combo, big mana, artifacts, enchantments, or planeswalkers.

• Sideboard: After each post-board game, ask whether Rest in Peace, Seam Rip, High Noon, Aven Interrupter, Get Lost, Beza, the Bounding Spring, and Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines matched revealed opponent cards. Flag over-sideboarding when Collected Company hit quality, curve density, or early pressure fell below the matchup need.

• Closing: Ask whether lethal or near-lethal attacks were missed because the agent overvalued taxes, held Collected Company too long, or protected planeswalkers instead of ending the game. Also record when patient play was correct because visible blockers, removal, or counterplay made attacking unsafe.

• Role accuracy: Compare the chosen role with the game texture. Mark mistakes where the deck played control against a larger endgame, raced while behind on board, or added narrow hate while the opponent’s visible plan required pressure.

• Stranded cards and mistakes: List cards stuck in hand because of mana, timing, taxes, target absence, or rules prompts. Highlight repeated pass choices under pressure, low-impact graveyard hate, premature Aven Interrupter use, and Skyclave Apparition targets that left a more dangerous permanent unchecked.

• Overperformers and underperformers: Identify which exact cards materially won or lost games, especially Archon of Emeria, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Collected Company, Skyclave Apparition, Enduring Innocence, Badgermole Cub, Ouroboroid, Elspeth, Storm Slayer, The Wandering Emperor, and all sideboard cards.

First Tuning Questions

• Card quantities: If opening hands lack pressure, should the deck increase reliable early threats or lower the count of slower noncreature finishers? If hands lack disruption, should the fourth Thalia, Guardian of Thraben or more Aven Interrupter-style effects be tested?

• Mana base: If early turns stumble, are Boseiju, Who Endures, Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire, Abandoned Air Temple, Starting Town, Branchloft Pathway, or Brushland creating too many awkward source patterns? If life loss matters against red decks, should painland exposure from Brushland be reduced only after confirming colored-source needs.

• Accelerator plan: If Llanowar Elves and Elvish Mystic die too often, should mulligan rules become stricter for one-land accelerator hands? If accelerators survive, are they producing enough turn-two Archon of Emeria, Skyclave Apparition, or Collected Company acceleration to justify the full eight copies?

• Collected Company density: If sideboard games show frequent weak hits or misses, should noncreature sideboard plans be narrower? If Collected Company is often stranded by Thalia, Guardian of Thraben or mana pressure, should sequencing policy change before changing card counts?

• Aggro plan: If red or low-curve creature decks race successfully, should Beza, the Bounding Spring, Get Lost, or additional maindeck stabilizers gain space? If stabilization happens but closing fails, should Elspeth, Storm Slayer, The Wandering Emperor, or creature threat density be adjusted.

• Control and combo plan: If spell-heavy decks beat the tax package, should High Noon, Aven Interrupter, or Archon of Emeria density increase post-board? If taxes are strong but the clock is weak, should the deck favor faster creatures over extra reactive sideboard slots.

• Removal suite: If Skyclave Apparition lacks legal targets or leaves poor board states, should Get Lost or Seam Rip cover more matchups? If artifacts and enchantments are common, is three Seam Rip correct, or are those slots too narrow against the observed field.

• Graveyard plan: If Rest in Peace wins games on sight, are three copies enough? If it appears in low-impact spots or conflicts with Ouroboroid or Enduring Innocence after card-text verification, should graveyard hate become more targeted.

• Role conflicts: If sideboarding creates hands with High Noon, Rest in Peace, Seam Rip, and too few attackers, should plans preserve more main-deck pressure. If grindy games expose weak late-game staying power, should Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines or Beza, the Bounding Spring get more structured use.

• Card text verification: Confirm exact Oracle text and Explorer legality interactions for Enduring Innocence, Ouroboroid, Badgermole Cub, Elspeth, Storm Slayer, Abandoned Air Temple, Starting Town, and Seam Rip before final tuning conclusions rely on their tactical roles.

Veles Tactical Policy

Policy: Opening Keep Gate

• Priority: High
• Decision families: mulligan
• Cards: Llanowar Elves; Elvish Mystic; Razorverge Thicket; Temple Garden; Brushland; Branchloft Pathway; Archon of Emeria; Thalia, Guardian of Thraben; Collected Company; Skyclave Apparition
• Phase windows: opening hand, mulligan decisions
• Runtime cues: prompt:mulligan; visible:opening hand
• Use when: evaluating keep, mulligan, and London bottom choices.
• Avoid when: engine output has already advanced past mulligans.
• Instructions: Keep hands with two usable lands plus an accelerator or two-drop disruption most often. Treat one-land accelerator hands as risky unless the land casts the accelerator and the hand has a clear turn-two payoff. Ship hands with no early play, no green source, or only slow legendary/channel lands unless card text and mana output make them functional.
• Pilot skill floor: medium
• No-API allowed: no
• Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: First Green Creature Setup

• Priority: Medium
• Decision families: mana; priority
• Cards: Llanowar Elves; Elvish Mystic
• Phase windows: turn one main phase, early main phases
• Runtime cues: action:cast Llanowar Elves; action:cast Elvish Mystic
• Use when: a legal one-mana accelerator is visible in hand and green mana is available.
• Avoid when: a visible effect prevents casting it or the only available line sacrifices a critical later color without need.
• Instructions: Cast the first accelerator before holding up speculative interaction because this deck converts extra mana into Archon of Emeria, Skyclave Apparition, Collected Company, and planeswalkers. Prefer the accelerator that preserves later exact mana if both are legal.
• Pilot skill floor: low
• No-API allowed: no
• Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Tax Creature Commitment

• Priority: High
• Decision families: priority; mana
• Cards: Archon of Emeria; Thalia, Guardian of Thraben; Aven Interrupter; High Noon
• Phase windows: early main phase, post-board setup turns
• Runtime cues: action:cast Archon of Emeria; action:cast Thalia, Guardian of Thraben; action:cast High Noon
• Use when: deciding whether to commit a spell-limit or tax piece before developing pressure or holding interaction.
• Avoid when: the opponent is already winning through creatures on board and the tax piece does not affect the visible race.
• Instructions: Commit the tax piece when the opponent’s visible or known plan depends on multiple spells, noncreature sequencing, graveyard setup, or stack interaction. Do not delay pressure only to stack redundant taxes if a lethal clock is available.
• Pilot skill floor: medium
• No-API allowed: no
• Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Collected Company Commitment

• Priority: High
• Decision families: priority; selection; interaction
• Cards: Collected Company; Thalia, Guardian of Thraben; Archon of Emeria; Skyclave Apparition; Enduring Innocence; Badgermole Cub; Ouroboroid; Aven Interrupter
• Phase windows: opponent end step, combat trick windows, own main phase under pressure
• Runtime cues: action:cast Collected Company
• Use when: four mana is available and Collected Company is legal.
• Avoid when: visible Thalia, Guardian of Thraben taxation, spell-limit effects, or mana restrictions make a later protected window materially better.
• Instructions: Prefer casting Collected Company at opponent end step when not under immediate lethal pressure. Cast earlier if the board needs instant blockers, a Skyclave Apparition hit can answer a visible permanent, or waiting gives the opponent a decisive turn.
• Pilot skill floor: high
• No-API allowed: no
• Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Collected Company Hit Selection

• Priority: Medium
• Decision families: selection
• Cards: Collected Company; Archon of Emeria; Thalia, Guardian of Thraben; Skyclave Apparition; Enduring Innocence; Badgermole Cub; Ouroboroid; Aven Interrupter; Llanowar Elves; Elvish Mystic
• Phase windows: Collected Company resolution
• Runtime cues: prompt:choose cards; source:Collected Company
• Use when: Forge exposes legal creature candidates from Collected Company.
• Avoid when: fewer than one legal candidate is exposed.
• Instructions: Select disruptive creatures when the opponent is constrained by taxes, select Skyclave Apparition when a visible permanent must be answered, and select the highest board-impact pair when racing. Do not select extra mana creatures over real pressure unless mana is the current bottleneck.
• Pilot skill floor: medium
• No-API allowed: no
• Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Skyclave Apparition Target Gate

• Priority: High
• Decision families: interaction; selection
• Cards: Skyclave Apparition
• Phase windows: main phase, Collected Company resolution, enter-the-battlefield trigger
• Runtime cues: action:target Skyclave Apparition
• Use when: Skyclave Apparition requires a legal target choice.
• Avoid when: only low-impact targets are visible and using the trigger would create worse board texture; follow engine legality.
• Instructions: Target the permanent that most directly blocks attacks, enables combo, dominates combat, or invalidates tax pressure. Respect mana value and legal target restrictions from Forge; do not assume hidden permanents or future targets.
• Pilot skill floor: medium
• No-API allowed: no
• Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Aven Interrupter Timing

• Priority: Medium
• Decision families: interaction; priority
• Cards: Aven Interrupter
• Phase windows: opponent spell on stack, combat-adjacent priority, post-board tax windows
• Runtime cues: action:cast Aven Interrupter; stack:spell
• Use when: Aven Interrupter is legal and an opposing stack object or timing window is visible.
• Avoid when: using it on a low-impact spell leaves a visible payoff, sweeper, combo piece, or planeswalker unchecked.
• Instructions: Spend Aven Interrupter on spells that break the tax lock, remove the main threat, or swing tempo. Treat it as pressure plus disruption, not as an automatic flash creature.
• Pilot skill floor: medium
• No-API allowed: no
• Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Land And Pain Management

• Priority: Medium
• Decision families: mana
• Cards: Razorverge Thicket; Temple Garden; Brushland; Branchloft Pathway; Plains; Boseiju, Who Endures; Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire; Abandoned Air Temple; Starting Town
• Phase windows: land play, mana payment, early turns
• Runtime cues: prompt:play land; prompt:pay mana
• Use when: choosing land drops or mana sources.
• Avoid when: a legal action requires a specific source and Forge exposes only one payment.
• Instructions: Prioritize untapped green on turn one and white-green access by turn two. Minimize Brushland pain against aggressive boards when another source pays the same cost. Card text check required for Abandoned Air Temple and Starting Town before special sequencing.
• Pilot skill floor: medium
• No-API allowed: no
• Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Exact Mana Execution

• Priority: Low
• Decision families: mana
• Cards: Llanowar Elves; Elvish Mystic
• Phase windows: mana payment prompts
• Runtime cues: action:tap Llanowar Elves; action:tap Elvish Mystic
• Use when: the only visible legal mana action text taps Llanowar Elves or Elvish Mystic to pay for the already selected spell or ability.
• Avoid when: multiple distinct payment sets are legal or a later visible action requires preserving that creature untapped.
• Instructions: Submit the visible tap action that pays the pending cost. Do not infer alternate costs or future sequencing beyond the current legal prompt.
• Pilot skill floor: low
• No-API allowed: yes
• Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Planeswalker Commitment

• Priority: Medium
• Decision families: priority; combat
• Cards: Elspeth, Storm Slayer; The Wandering Emperor
• Phase windows: main phase, combat priority, opponent attack step
• Runtime cues: action:cast Elspeth, Storm Slayer; action:cast The Wandering Emperor; prompt:activate loyalty
• Use when: a planeswalker is legal or a loyalty choice is pending.
• Avoid when: tapping out exposes lethal damage or leaves a required interaction window unused.
• Instructions: Commit planeswalkers when they stabilize combat, create a faster clock, or convert a taxed board into inevitability. Card text check required for Elspeth, Storm Slayer before exact mode priority.
• Pilot skill floor: medium
• No-API allowed: no
• Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Combat Pressure Gate

• Priority: High
• Decision families: combat
• Cards: Archon of Emeria; Thalia, Guardian of Thraben; Skyclave Apparition; Enduring Innocence; Badgermole Cub; Ouroboroid; Llanowar Elves; Elvish Mystic
• Phase windows: declare attackers, declare blockers, combat tricks
• Runtime cues: prompt:declare attackers; prompt:declare blockers
• Use when: choosing attacks or blocks with multiple legal creature configurations.
• Avoid when: exactly one legal no-attack or no-block action is exposed and no lethal/survival issue exists.
• Instructions: Attack when tax pressure plus board presence shortens the opponent’s recovery window. Hold back creatures that are needed to survive crackback, protect planeswalkers, or keep mana available unless damage meaningfully changes the race.
• Pilot skill floor: medium
• No-API allowed: no
• Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Channel And Removal Discipline

• Priority: Medium
• Decision families: interaction; mana; selection
• Cards: Boseiju, Who Endures; Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire; Get Lost; Seam Rip
• Phase windows: opponent main phase, combat, end step, post-board interaction windows
• Runtime cues: action:activate Boseiju, Who Endures; action:activate Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire; action:cast Get Lost; action:cast Seam Rip
• Use when: a legal removal or channel action is visible.
• Avoid when: the target is not currently relevant and holding interaction preserves an answer to a visible higher-impact class.
• Instructions: Use these cards to answer permanents that beat the creature-tax plan: blockers that halt lethal, engines that ignore taxes, artifacts/enchantments that define the matchup, and combat threats that force bad blocks. Card text check required for Seam Rip before exact target assumptions.
• Pilot skill floor: medium
• No-API allowed: no
• Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Graveyard Hate Commitment

• Priority: Medium
• Decision families: sideboard; priority
• Cards: Rest in Peace
• Phase windows: early main phase, post-board games, before graveyard payoff turns
• Runtime cues: action:cast Rest in Peace
• Use when: Rest in Peace is legal and the opponent has visible graveyard reliance or matchup guidance identifies graveyard dependence.
• Avoid when: the opponent’s visible plan is board pressure and Rest in Peace does not affect current combat or near-term survival.
• Instructions: Cast Rest in Peace before the opponent converts graveyard resources. Do not dilute the creature clock for graveyard hate against decks that have not shown graveyard payoffs.
• Pilot skill floor: medium
• No-API allowed: no
• Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Post-Board Hate Balance

• Priority: High
• Decision families: sideboard
• Cards: Aven Interrupter; Rest in Peace; Seam Rip; Get Lost; Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines; High Noon; Beza, the Bounding Spring; Collected Company
• Phase windows: sideboard submission, post-board opening hand review
• Runtime cues: prompt:sideboard; match_stage:postboard
• Use when: selecting or validating a sideboard plan.
• Avoid when: engine has already locked sideboards for the current game.
• Instructions: Add narrow hate only when it attacks the opponent’s revealed plan. Preserve enough creatures for Collected Company and enough early plays to punish slowed opponents. Use Beza, the Bounding Spring and Get Lost for creature races, High Noon and Aven Interrupter for spell chains, Seam Rip for artifact/enchantment reliance, Rest in Peace for graveyard reliance, and Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines for enter-trigger battles after card text verification.
• Pilot skill floor: high
• No-API allowed: no
• Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Deterministic Pass With No Action

• Priority: Low
• Decision families: priority
• Cards: none
• Phase windows: priority prompts, empty stack
• Runtime cues: action:pass priority
• Use when: the only visible legal action text is pass priority.
• Avoid when: any non-pass legal action is visible.
• Instructions: Submit the visible pass action. Do not create an action or infer a hidden response.
• Pilot skill floor: low
• No-API allowed: yes
• Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Unknown Card Text Guardrail

• Priority: Medium
• Decision families: priority; selection; combat; interaction
• Cards: Enduring Innocence; Ouroboroid; Badgermole Cub; Elspeth, Storm Slayer; Abandoned Air Temple; Starting Town; Seam Rip
• Phase windows: any prompt involving these cards
• Runtime cues: card:Enduring Innocence; card:Ouroboroid; card:Badgermole Cub; card:Elspeth, Storm Slayer; card:Abandoned Air Temple; card:Starting Town; card:Seam Rip
• Use when: legal action text depends on an unverified card’s exact rules text.
• Avoid when: Forge exposes a deterministic legal action with no strategic branch.
• Instructions: Card text check required. Follow Forge legality and visible action labels, and prefer choices that preserve the deck’s pressure-plus-tax plan without assuming unverified triggers, stats, costs, or replacement effects.
• Pilot skill floor: medium
• No-API allowed: no
• Light-model allowed: yes