veles-content/strategies/historic/historic_mardu_sacrifice/1/guide.md

Strategy Specifications

Deck Name And Archetype

Mardu Sacrifice is the registered strategy name for a Historic 60-card main deck with a 15-card sideboard. Active validation reports the list as format-legal under the supplied Historic contract, with 60 main-deck cards and 15 sideboard cards. The current tags are midrange and sacrifice; treat the duplicate tag string midrange,sacrifice as the same two-role identity rather than an additional archetype branch.

The deck is a hybrid stock-and-custom sacrifice midrange shell, not a generic pile of format staples. The stock identity is the Mardu battlefield engine of cheap creatures, removal, sacrifice outlets, and recursive pressure; the deck-specific identity comes from 4 A-Guide of Souls, 4 Stadium Headliner, 4 Ajani, Nacatl Pariah, 4 Amped Raptor, 4 Marionette Apprentice, 4 Voice of Victory, 4 Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER, 4 A-Galvanic Discharge, 4 Static Prison, and 4 Goblin Bombardment. Runtime decisions should prioritize this registered package over assumptions from other Historic sacrifice builds.

The main deck is built to play as proactive midrange with sacrifice reach. It has thirty-six nonland spells and twenty-four registered lands or mana-producing lands: 1 Plains, 1 Phyrexian Tower, 1 Blood Crypt, 1 Godless Shrine, 4 Sacred Foundry, 3 Blackcleave Cliffs, 2 Aether Hub, 3 Concealed Courtyard, and 4 Inspiring Vantage. The color base is primarily red-white with black access for sacrifice payoffs and sideboard disruption, so keep opening-hand evaluations sensitive to whether early red-white action and later black functionality are both plausible from visible lands.

The primary role concern is that the deck must sequence threats and outlets together rather than treating either half as interchangeable. Hands with creatures but no payoff can still pressure and transform into attrition if Goblin Bombardment, Marionette Apprentice, Ajani, Nacatl Pariah, or Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER appears later. Hands with payoff but too few expendable bodies can stall, so the pilot should value early permanents that create material to sacrifice before holding up narrow interaction.

The legality concern for Veles is runtime obedience, not deck construction. The agent must choose only legal action IDs exposed by the rules engine, must not infer that sacrifice, targeting, transformation, energy, or triggered abilities are available unless Forge exposes the legal action or visible game state clearly supports the prompt, and must not assume any card text certainty beyond the engine output. Card text check required for Arena-adjusted names beginning with A- when a tactical line depends on exact modified wording.

The mana concern is real but manageable. The deck asks for early red and white often, while black matters for Phyrexian Tower, Blood Crypt, Godless Shrine, Concealed Courtyard, sideboard Thoughtseize, Surgical Extraction, and sacrifice-heavy lines involving black payoff pressure. Do not keep hands that appear unable to cast early spells on time unless they have a clear visible reason, such as multiple cheap legal plays already supported by the first two lands.

The opponent information status is unknown at guide load unless a matchup label or opposing deck brief is provided by Veles. The pilot should treat opponent hidden cards as unknown, use only public information and revealed zones, and apply matchup guidance only when the runtime match context names the opponent archetype or the visible cards strongly establish it. Opponent examples must not be promoted into exact-card assumptions unless they are revealed or otherwise public.

Thesis

Mardu Sacrifice assembles cheap battlefield material, sacrifice outlets, and punishing death or attrition payoffs into a proactive midrange engine. The deck wants early creatures from A-Guide of Souls, Stadium Headliner, Ajani, Nacatl Pariah, Amped Raptor, Marionette Apprentice, Voice of Victory, or Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER, then turns those permanents into damage, pressure, and removal leverage with Goblin Bombardment, A-Galvanic Discharge, Static Prison, Marionette Apprentice, and Phyrexian Tower.

Prioritize board presence before fancy sequencing. The deck wins most cleanly when it has at least one expendable permanent, one way to convert that permanent into damage or mana, and enough interaction to stop the opponent from ignoring the battlefield. A hand that casts multiple early permanents is usually more functional than a hand full of payoff cards with no bodies to spend.

Win by forcing bad exchanges and ending games through accumulated pressure. Ajani, Nacatl Pariah, Stadium Headliner, Voice of Victory, Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER, and Amped Raptor pressure life totals while Goblin Bombardment and Marionette Apprentice make removal and combat trades painful. When the opponent stabilizes the board, preserve sacrifice reach and use every legal death trigger or sacrifice action to convert otherwise outclassed creatures into progress.

Do not pilot this as a pure aggro deck, pure control deck, or deterministic combo deck. Avoid spending all creatures into open sweepers without a visible payoff, avoid holding threats forever to represent interaction, and avoid sacrificing core pressure just because a sacrifice action is available. The default question is whether the action improves board, damage, resource exchange, or survival this turn cycle.

Respect exact runtime legality over remembered card text. Card text check required for Arena-adjusted A-Guide of Souls and A-Galvanic Discharge, and for any line involving exact Stadium Headliner, Voice of Victory, Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER, or Static Prison wording. If Forge exposes a legal action, evaluate it from the visible prompt; if Forge does not expose it, do not assume the deck can target, transform, sacrifice, pay energy, trigger, or recur.

Role Package

• Threats: A-Guide of Souls, Stadium Headliner, Ajani, Nacatl Pariah, Amped Raptor, Marionette Apprentice, Voice of Victory, and Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER are the main pressure package. Lead on threats that spend mana efficiently and leave future sacrifice material, but prefer the threat that fits current colors and curve over speculative synergy.

• Payoffs: Goblin Bombardment is the cleanest sacrifice payoff because it turns creatures into direct damage or tactical removal when legal targets exist. Marionette Apprentice is a battlefield payoff for creatures or artifacts leaving or dying only if the engine output confirms the relevant trigger or legal action. Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER should be treated as a high-value payoff threat whose exact tactical commitments require visible legal text or card text confirmation.

• Engines: Goblin Bombardment plus expendable creatures is the deck's most important repeatable engine. Ajani, Nacatl Pariah, A-Guide of Souls, Stadium Headliner, Voice of Victory, Amped Raptor, and Marionette Apprentice are engine participants when they create bodies, energy, value, or death pressure, but each exact interaction is conditional on visible engine output.

• Velocity: Amped Raptor is the primary velocity card because it can turn a cast or trigger into additional material when Forge exposes the resulting legal play. Do not assume which spell will be available from Amped Raptor; choose only among the actual legal actions shown. A-Guide of Souls and Aether Hub can also support energy-linked sequencing if the visible state shows energy or payment choices.

• Interaction: A-Galvanic Discharge and Static Prison are the main-deck answers, with Goblin Bombardment doubling as removal when sacrificing a creature to damage a legal target is exposed. Spend A-Galvanic Discharge or Static Prison on threats that race, block profitably, shut off sacrifice pressure, or represent a faster engine than yours.

• Protection: Voice of Victory is the registered main-deck card most likely to affect opponent interaction timing, but card text check required before relying on exact protection or restriction text. Protect engines by sequencing redundant bodies before committing Goblin Bombardment into unknown removal only when losing the outlet would collapse the hand.

• Recursion: The registered main deck does not contain a broad conventional recursion module by name. Treat any graveyard return, transformation, or repeat-use line involving Ajani, Nacatl Pariah or Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER as conditional on visible rules-engine prompts, not as guaranteed inevitability.

• Mana: Plains, Sacred Foundry, Inspiring Vantage, Concealed Courtyard, Blackcleave Cliffs, Blood Crypt, Godless Shrine, Aether Hub, and Phyrexian Tower support an aggressive Mardu curve. Prioritize red-white access for early spells, black access for Phyrexian Tower and sideboard Thoughtseize/Surgical Extraction lines, and sacrifice-mana timing only when sacrificing the permanent is worth the lost board material.

• Sideboard modules: Thoughtseize is proactive disruption, Containment Priest is anti-cheat or anti-graveyard deployment interaction, Damping Sphere is anti-chain-spell or anti-big-mana pressure, Pithing Needle and Disruptor Flute are named-card disruption, Surgical Extraction is graveyard or combo follow-up, Wrath of the Skies is a reset button, and Wear // Tear answers artifacts or enchantments. Use sideboard cards to sharpen a matchup, not to dilute the creature-plus-sacrifice core without a reason.

Primary Win Conditions

• Engine reach: Goblin Bombardment plus Marionette Apprentice and expendable creatures is the cleanest noncombat kill. Set up by developing A-Guide of Souls, Stadium Headliner, Ajani, Nacatl Pariah, Amped Raptor, Voice of Victory, or Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER before spending bodies; execute by using legal Goblin Bombardment sacrifices to remove blockers, finish planeswalkers if exposed by the rules engine, or aim at the opponent when damage closes the game. Prioritize this path when combat is stalled, the opponent is low enough that each creature represents reach, or removal would otherwise trade with your board for no value. Disruption risk is highest when Goblin Bombardment or Marionette Apprentice is removed before you get priority, so preserve redundant material and do not sacrifice core pressure unless the visible legal action produces lethal, survival, or a decisive exchange.

• Board-pressure curve: Early A-Guide of Souls, Stadium Headliner, Ajani, Nacatl Pariah, Amped Raptor, Marionette Apprentice, and Voice of Victory can win through ordinary attacks before the sacrifice engine is fully assembled. Set up by casting multiple early permanents on curve with red-white access; execute by clearing blockers with A-Galvanic Discharge, Static Prison, or Goblin Bombardment and attacking with the widest profitable board. Prioritize this path against slow starts, stumble hands, or opponents using life total as a resource. Disruption risk is sweepers or large blockers, so hold back one follow-up threat when already ahead unless a lethal or near-lethal attack is visible.

• Midrange snowball: Amped Raptor, Ajani, Nacatl Pariah, Voice of Victory, and Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER are the main cards for turning a normal creature game into a resource lead. Set up by spending mana every turn and keeping sacrifice outlets or removal available for the turn the opponent tries to stabilize; execute by accepting trades that leave death triggers, tokens, energy, extra cards, or legal follow-up plays visible in the engine. Prioritize this path when neither player can safely race and when your battlefield has more replaceable material than the opponent's. Disruption risk is overcommitting into a reset or assuming card text not shown; card text check required for exact Arena-adjusted or Universes Beyond wording.

Secondary Win Conditions

• Burn finish: A-Galvanic Discharge and Goblin Bombardment can convert a nearly won board into lethal without needing another attack. Count only visible legal damage actions and visible energy or payment choices; do not assume A-Galvanic Discharge can scale unless the rules engine exposes that payment or damage amount. Use this line when the opponent is at a low life total, when blockers make combat unreliable, or when sacrificing creatures now prevents losing them to exile, bounce, or a sweeper.

• Removal-lock pressure: Static Prison and A-Galvanic Discharge can create a temporary soft lock by answering the one permanent that lets the opponent race or block. Use Static Prison on the threat whose absence makes current attacks favorable or stops the opponent's engine; card text check required for exact duration, costs, or escape clauses. This is a win path only when paired with pressure from Ajani, Nacatl Pariah, Stadium Headliner, Voice of Victory, Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER, or a wide creature board.

• Sacrifice-mana burst: Phyrexian Tower can turn a creature into mana for a decisive double-spell or high-impact follow-up. Use this line only when the sacrificed creature is expendable, has already generated value, or must die for a visible payoff; do not trade away the only attacker or only Goblin Bombardment fuel for speculative mana. Prioritize it when the extra mana immediately casts Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER, Goblin Bombardment plus another spell, or interaction that changes the current turn.

• Standalone threat finish: Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER, Ajani, Nacatl Pariah, Stadium Headliner, and Voice of Victory can win without Goblin Bombardment if the opponent lacks clean answers. Keep attacking when the visible board favors racing, but shift back to attrition if the opponent presents larger creatures, lifegain, or a faster engine. Card text check required before relying on exact transformation, trigger, protection, or evasion text.

Emergency Lines

• Behind on life: Stabilize before maximizing damage. Use A-Galvanic Discharge, Static Prison, and Goblin Bombardment on attackers or lifetotal-critical threats when the visible clock is shorter than your own, and block with expendable creatures if Marionette Apprentice or Goblin Bombardment makes the trade productive. Do not sacrifice blockers for face damage unless it wins this turn or prevents a worse attack.

• Behind on board: Reset the exchange by removing the largest blocker or attacker and rebuilding with multiple cheap permanents. Favor Amped Raptor or any legal value-generating threat when it adds material, but choose immediate removal over value if the next combat is lethal or nearly lethal against you.

• Behind on cards: Convert board pieces into guaranteed value instead of chasing perfect synergy. Preserve Goblin Bombardment, Marionette Apprentice, and higher-impact threats; spend redundant small creatures as sacrifice fodder only when the action produces damage, removal, mana, or a visible trigger. Avoid one-for-one removal on low-impact targets unless it unlocks attacks or prevents a snowball.

• Behind on mana: Prioritize untapped colored sources and cheap plays over expensive sequencing. Use Aether Hub energy and Phyrexian Tower only from visible legal prompts, and treat sacrificed creatures as real costs. If stuck on colors, cast the spell that develops the board now rather than holding for an ideal Mardu curve.

• Engine removed: Win through ordinary attacks and removal tempo. If Goblin Bombardment or Marionette Apprentice is gone, stop valuing creatures as automatic sacrifice material and make combat trades only when they improve the board or protect life total. If Ajani, Nacatl Pariah or Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER is removed, shift pressure to width plus burn reach.

• Opponent combo or recursion ahead: Race while using disruption only on the visible piece that changes the clock. Main deck graveyard control is limited by registered card names, so do not assume a graveyard answer exists before sideboarding. Force the opponent to answer pressure, hold interaction for public combo pieces, and use Goblin Bombardment reach to shorten the number of turns they receive.

Resource Model

• Life is a spendable setup resource only while the visible race is favorable. Pay life for Blood Crypt, Godless Shrine, or Sacred Foundry when untapped mana creates a real curve, removal window, or double-spell turn; stop paying life when opposing attacks or burn make the next combat lethal or near-lethal.

• Hand size matters less than board conversion once Goblin Bombardment, Marionette Apprentice, or Phyrexian Tower is active. Trade cards for permanents early, then turn expendable creatures from A-Guide of Souls, Stadium Headliner, Ajani, Nacatl Pariah, Amped Raptor, Marionette Apprentice, Voice of Victory, and Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER into damage, mana, or death-trigger pressure only through visible legal actions.

• Mana is the deck’s tightest early resource because most opening lines need white or red immediately and black later. Prioritize hands that cast a one- or two-mana threat plus A-Galvanic Discharge, Static Prison, Goblin Bombardment, or Amped Raptor on schedule; do not keep speculative hands that require Aether Hub energy or Phyrexian Tower sacrifice mana before the engine has exposed those choices.

• Board presence is the main currency for pressure and sacrifice leverage. Preserve at least one creature when Goblin Bombardment, Marionette Apprentice, Phyrexian Tower, or Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER can convert a death into value, but do not sacrifice the only blocker or only attacker unless the visible result is lethal, survival, or a decisive swing.

• Graveyard value is mostly incidental unless Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER or a sideboard card creates a visible graveyard action. Treat creature deaths as board-to-damage or board-to-trigger conversion, not as guaranteed recursion; Card text check required before relying on exact graveyard, transformation, or death-trigger outcomes.

• Exile is a temporary value zone when Amped Raptor or an opposing effect exposes playable cards. Cast the exiled card only if the legal action advances the current plan or prevents wasted value; do not distort mana sequencing around exile unless the engine shows timing pressure.

• Lands are both color sources and costs. Phyrexian Tower can create a sacrifice-mana burst, Aether Hub can solve short-term color needs if energy is visible, and fast lands reward early deployment; protect land drops that keep black-white-red access over greedy sequencing.

• Tempo is gained by forcing awkward blocks and removing the permanent that blocks, races, or enables the opponent’s engine. A-Galvanic Discharge and Static Prison should answer the card that changes combat or clock math now, while Goblin Bombardment turns stalled boards into reach.

• Information is a sideboard resource after Game 1. Thoughtseize trades life and a card for hand knowledge and disruption, Pithing Needle and Disruptor Flute require naming discipline from public information, Surgical Extraction needs a legal graveyard target, Containment Priest and Damping Sphere punish specific engines, Wrath of the Skies changes battlefield sizing, and Wear // Tear answers exposed artifact or enchantment problems.

Mana Guide

• Prioritize white-red access in most openers. A-Guide of Souls, Stadium Headliner, Ajani, Nacatl Pariah, Amped Raptor, Voice of Victory, A-Galvanic Discharge, Static Prison, and Goblin Bombardment make early white or red the default requirement, while black is still important for Marionette Apprentice, Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER, Blood Crypt, Godless Shrine, Blackcleave Cliffs, Concealed Courtyard, Phyrexian Tower, Thoughtseize, and Surgical Extraction lines.

• Keep two-land hands when they produce early action in at least two relevant colors. A strong keep usually has an untapped white or red source, a second land that casts another spell, and at least one early play; mulligan hands with only Plains plus colorless utility, only Phyrexian Tower without fodder, or Aether Hub as the only bridge to multiple colors unless the visible opener already functions.

• Sequence fast lands before the fourth land when possible. Blackcleave Cliffs, Concealed Courtyard, and Inspiring Vantage are best early because delayed entry can cost a turn; lead with the fast land that casts the current spell while preserving the missing color for the next turn.

• Use shock lands when the mana unlocks a real play. Blood Crypt, Godless Shrine, and Sacred Foundry should enter untapped for a curve threat, A-Galvanic Discharge, Static Prison, Goblin Bombardment, or sideboard Thoughtseize when tempo matters; let them enter tapped when your turn has no meaningful spell or your life total is under immediate pressure.

• Spend Aether Hub energy only for color bottlenecks that affect this turn or the next confirmed turn. Do not consume visible energy for convenience if A-Galvanic Discharge, A-Guide of Souls, Amped Raptor, Static Prison, or Wrath of the Skies may need energy through exposed legal prompts; Card text check required for exact Alchemy energy wording.

• Treat Phyrexian Tower as a spell-like resource, not a normal colored land. Use it for black mana only when sacrificing a creature is already acceptable or converts into a visible payoff; do not turn a necessary blocker, pressure piece, or only sacrifice fodder into mana for a low-impact play.

• Play land before drawing or revealing when current mana is required to cast the spell you already intend to cast. Delay the land when you have enough mana for current legal actions and a draw, reveal, or exile action may change which color or land drop matters, especially around Amped Raptor or post-sideboard information plays.

• Build double-spell turns before committing sacrifice material. If a land choice lets you cast Goblin Bombardment plus a creature, removal plus a threat, or Thoughtseize plus pressure, choose that line over holding perfect colors, unless the visible board demands immediate removal or survival mana.

Mulligan Guide

• Strong keep: keep two or three lands with untapped white-red access plus A-Guide of Souls, Ajani, Nacatl Pariah, Amped Raptor, Voice of Victory, A-Galvanic Discharge, Static Prison, or Goblin Bombardment. This hand deploys pressure, has interaction, and can convert later creatures into sacrifice or damage leverage.

• Strong keep: keep one early creature plus Goblin Bombardment and either Marionette Apprentice or multiple cheap creatures when the mana casts both colors on time. This hand is engine-heavy but acceptable because each later creature can become reach through visible sacrifice actions.

• Medium keep: keep two lands plus Stadium Headliner, Amped Raptor, or Voice of Victory when at least one removal spell or Static Prison covers the opponent's first threat. Card text check required for exact Stadium Headliner and Amped Raptor outputs, but the keep is sound when the legal curve produces board presence.

• Medium keep: keep three lands, Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER, Goblin Bombardment, and two cheap spells only on the play or against slower visible matchup profiles. This hand needs time, so ship it against fast creature decks if it lacks A-Galvanic Discharge or Static Prison.

• Risky keep: keep one-land hands only with Inspiring Vantage, Concealed Courtyard, Blackcleave Cliffs, Sacred Foundry, or Aether Hub plus multiple one-mana or two-mana legal plays. Ship one-land Phyrexian Tower, Plains-only hands without white follow-up density, and Aether Hub hands that need the same energy for multiple colors.

• Automatic ship: ship hands with four or more lands and no early creature or removal, hands with Phyrexian Tower as the only black source and no expendable creature, hands that cannot cast a spell before turn three, and hands that depend on drawing a specific color to function.

• Matchup-dependent keep: keep Thoughtseize, Pithing Needle, Surgical Extraction, Containment Priest, Damping Sphere, Disruptor Flute, Wrath of the Skies, or Wear // Tear post-board only when the visible matchup label or public Game 1 information makes the card live. Do not keep a sideboard hate card as a blank tempo loss.

• Play/draw adjustment: on the play, favor A-Guide of Souls, Ajani, Nacatl Pariah, Voice of Victory, and Amped Raptor curves that force the opponent to answer first. On the draw, value A-Galvanic Discharge, Static Prison, and Wrath of the Skies higher because falling behind on board is the easiest way to lose sacrifice leverage.

• Trap hand: do not keep Goblin Bombardment plus removal plus lands with no creature unless the matchup is very slow and the rest of the hand produces action. Goblin Bombardment needs bodies before it is pressure.

• Trap hand: do not keep Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER plus Marionette Apprentice plus no early red or white source just because the cards are powerful. The deck wins by curving into engines, not by waiting for a late black payoff while under pressure.

Turn Arc

• Turn 1: lead with an untapped source that casts A-Guide of Souls, Ajani, Nacatl Pariah, Thoughtseize post-board, or A-Galvanic Discharge if interaction is required. Prefer establishing a creature against unknown or slow opponents; prefer removal or Thoughtseize only when the opponent has presented a faster threat, combo clue, or must-answer permanent.

• Turn 1 deviation: play a tapped shock land only when no legal spell matters this turn and life total is likely contested. Do not expose Phyrexian Tower early as the only black plan unless the hand already has disposable creatures and a clear turn-two or turn-three payoff.

• Turn 2: deploy the strongest board piece that preserves turn-three mana. Ajani, Nacatl Pariah, Amped Raptor, Voice of Victory, Stadium Headliner, Static Prison, and Goblin Bombardment are all acceptable, but removal takes priority when an opposing permanent changes the race or threatens an engine.

• Turn 2 deviation: cast Goblin Bombardment before extra creatures when the hand already has bodies or expects removal to make sacrifice timing valuable. Cast Marionette Apprentice before Goblin Bombardment when you need a body and the battlefield is empty; Card text check required for exact Marionette Apprentice trigger math.

• Turn 3: assemble pressure plus conversion. The preferred turn is double-spell creature plus A-Galvanic Discharge, Goblin Bombardment plus a cheap creature, Static Prison plus a threat, or Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER when the legal board supports its role.

• Turn 3 deviation: hold back from tapping out when the opponent can present a known sweeper, combo turn, or lethal attack and your hand contains A-Galvanic Discharge, Static Prison, Thoughtseize, Disruptor Flute, or Wear // Tear post-board. Spend mana proactively only when waiting gives the opponent a better window.

• Turns 4-5: convert excess bodies into damage, mana, or removal pressure only when the engine action is visible and the result improves the clock or survival. Phyrexian Tower sacrifices should fund decisive double-spell turns, not low-impact plays that shrink the board.

• Turns 4-5 deviation: preserve a creature instead of sacrificing when it is your only blocker, your only attacker, or your only way to pressure planeswalkers or life totals next combat. Sacrifice becomes correct when Goblin Bombardment, Marionette Apprentice, Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER, or lethal math makes the body worth more dead than alive.

• Late game: prioritize every draw and legal action by reach first, board stabilization second, and card economy third. Goblin Bombardment turns stalled boards into damage, Static Prison and A-Galvanic Discharge clear the permanent that blocks or kills you, and repeat cheap creatures rebuild sacrifice density.

• Late game deviation: stop paying life for untapped Blood Crypt, Godless Shrine, or Sacred Foundry unless the spell cast this turn prevents lethal, creates lethal, or removes the opponent's decisive permanent. Low-life games are won by exact visible action math, not by speculative tempo.

Card Roles

• A-Guide of Souls is the best turn-one creature when the hand wants pressure, energy, and later evasive damage. Card text check required for the exact A-version, but its tactical role is early battlefield glue: deploy it before other creatures when the curve lets it accumulate resources, attack with it only when trading does not break a stronger Ajani, Nacatl Pariah, Marionette Apprentice, Goblin Bombardment, or Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER line, and spend its activated or triggered payoff only when the legal action improves the clock or saves a key attacker. Against removal-heavy decks, A-Guide of Souls is acceptable bait; against creature decks, preserve it when its future counters, flying, energy, or life-buffer mode matters more than one attack.

• Stadium Headliner is an early pressure card that should be cast on curve when the hand needs another body for sacrifice density or combat tempo. Card text check required before relying on exact token, counter, or damage output, so the runtime agent should use visible legal actions rather than assumed text. Treat Stadium Headliner as a proactive creature first, an engine piece only when the rules engine exposes relevant follow-up actions, and a lower-priority sacrifice than expendable tokens or creatures that already generated value. Against sweepers, avoid overcommitting Stadium Headliner plus multiple other threats unless Goblin Bombardment, Marionette Apprentice, or lethal pressure rewards the board size.

• Ajani, Nacatl Pariah is a premium early threat and a high-leverage card in sacrifice games because the deck can sometimes control death timing. Card text check required for exact transformation and backside abilities, but Ajani, Nacatl Pariah should generally enter before disposable bodies when it creates or rewards a relevant board object. Do not sacrifice creatures into Ajani, Nacatl Pariah synergies blindly; make the sacrifice only when visible legal actions show a transformation, damage, removal, lethal, or stabilizing outcome that beats keeping the creature. In creature mirrors, Ajani, Nacatl Pariah often asks for disciplined blocks and sacrifice timing; in control matchups, it is a must-answer threat that pressures without needing the whole hand committed.

• Amped Raptor is a tempo-and-card-flow play, not just a creature, so cast it when the deck can use whatever legal spell or resource the engine reveals. Card text check required for the exact A/Historic behavior, especially energy and exile-cast timing. Prefer Amped Raptor on turn two or three when mana can support the revealed follow-up or when missing still leaves a body for Goblin Bombardment. Avoid casting Amped Raptor into a state where the only likely useful hit cannot be paid for, where using energy would deny A-Guide of Souls or A-Galvanic Discharge a better line, or where a revealed removal spell must be spent into a low-impact target. Against interaction-light decks, Amped Raptor helps snowball; against fast aggro, it is acceptable only if the body or revealed action affects combat soon.

• Marionette Apprentice is a sacrifice payoff and material generator that turns small permanents into reach, but exact trigger text needs a card text check. Cast Marionette Apprentice before sacrifice turns when Goblin Bombardment, Phyrexian Tower, combat trades, or disposable creatures are already visible. Do not expose it as a low-impact two-drop when the opponent can remove it before any trigger and the hand has a stronger pressure play. With Goblin Bombardment, prioritize lines where sacrificing a creature produces both Bombardment damage and Marionette Apprentice value; with Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER, check whether the same death event advances both engines before choosing the sacrifice order. Against graveyard-light control, Marionette Apprentice is a reach engine; against fast creature decks, it must also help block or race.

• Voice of Victory is a pressure and anti-interaction role card whose exact tactical ceiling requires a card text check. Cast Voice of Victory early when the opponent is likely to play at instant speed, when protecting a future Goblin Bombardment or Ajani, Nacatl Pariah turn matters, or when the body improves combat. Do not hold Voice of Victory forever trying to maximize its text; this deck needs creatures in play to convert sacrifice, combat, and pressure. Against control and flash-speed decks, prioritize Voice of Victory above routine threats if it constrains the opponent's turn. Against board-centric aggro, treat it as a body unless the rules engine exposes a specific protective or token-making action.

• Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER is the largest named payoff in the main deck and should be committed when the board can either protect it, immediately exploit sacrifice/death synergies, or force the opponent into bad combat. Card text check required for exact abilities, transformation, counters, drain, or sacrifice rewards. Do not cast Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER merely because four mana is available if the opponent can untap and win while you ignored removal. Do cast it when the battlefield already contains disposable creatures, Goblin Bombardment, Marionette Apprentice, or Ajani, Nacatl Pariah pressure that makes every death matter. In attrition mirrors it is a finisher; against combo it is often too slow unless paired with Thoughtseize post-board or a fast clock.

• A-Galvanic Discharge is the deck's cheap removal and should be spent on threats that change combat, enable lethal, protect a key permanent, or stop an engine. Card text check required for exact A-version energy and target restrictions. Do not fire A-Galvanic Discharge at the first legal creature if Static Prison, blocking, or Goblin Bombardment can solve the same problem more efficiently. Preserve it when the opponent's deck presents must-kill creatures, planeswalkers, or combo enablers, and spend it aggressively when removing one blocker converts multiple attackers or sacrifice triggers into lethal. Energy conflicts matter: if A-Guide of Souls, Amped Raptor, or other visible actions use the same resource, choose the line with the clearest immediate board impact.

• Static Prison is the clean answer to permanents that A-Galvanic Discharge cannot efficiently remove, but exact text and duration need a card text check. Use Static Prison on the permanent that beats your current board: the largest attacker when behind, the blocker that prevents lethal when ahead, or the engine piece that will outscale sacrifice damage. Avoid using Static Prison as a tempo play on a minor creature when the opponent has a known higher-impact permanent type coming. If Static Prison has energy, ward, escape, sacrifice, or leaves-the-battlefield implications in the rules output, follow the visible legal actions and do not assume permanence. Against decks with enchantment removal, count on Static Prison as a delay unless the game can be closed quickly.

• Goblin Bombardment is the defining engine and reach card, so deploy it when at least one creature is present, expected, or already expendable. The first mistake is casting Goblin Bombardment into an empty board while under pressure; the second mistake is sacrificing creatures too early when they are still needed to attack, block, convoke-like costs if any are visible, or pressure planeswalkers. Use Goblin Bombardment to punish removal by sacrificing targeted creatures when the legal action preserves value, to finish low-life opponents, to trigger Marionette Apprentice and Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER lines, and to convert stalled boards into damage. Against graveyard hate or exile removal, Goblin Bombardment can protect death triggers if legal sacrifice actions appear before the creature leaves.

• Phyrexian Tower is a burst-mana and sacrifice outlet land, not a normal color source. Use Phyrexian Tower when sacrificing a creature funds a decisive Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER, double-spell, Static Prison plus threat, or post-board interaction turn. Do not keep hands where Phyrexian Tower is the only functional colored source without expendable creatures. In play, avoid sacrificing the only blocker or the only pressure creature unless the mana produces a visible superior action.

• Aether Hub is flexible fixing with resource tension, so spend its colored mana only for a spell that matters this turn. Preserve Aether Hub resources when future black or white access is otherwise uncertain, especially with Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER, Static Prison, Ajani, Nacatl Pariah, or sideboard Thoughtseize. If the hand already has stable colors, Aether Hub can smooth curve sequencing; if not, treat each activation as a real cost.

• Sacred Foundry, Inspiring Vantage, Concealed Courtyard, Blackcleave Cliffs, Blood Crypt, Godless Shrine, and Plains define whether the hand is aggressive or constrained. Prioritize untapped white and red early for A-Guide of Souls, Ajani, Nacatl Pariah, Amped Raptor, A-Galvanic Discharge, Static Prison, Voice of Victory, Stadium Headliner, and Goblin Bombardment. Fetch no assumptions from the mana base: choose shock-land untapped mode only when the spell cast this turn changes pressure, prevents damage, or preserves the curve. Plains is safe for white starts but risky for black-red hands; Blood Crypt and Godless Shrine support black payoffs but should not replace early red-white deployment unless the hand requires Thoughtseize post-board or Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER timing.

Interaction Priorities

• Remove the permanent that invalidates your current board first, not the permanent with the highest abstract power. Use A-Galvanic Discharge on creatures that stop attacks, enable lethal against you, or protect an opponent engine; use Static Prison on larger threats, hard-to-damage creatures, planeswalkers, or noncreature permanents when the rules engine exposes a legal target. Card text check required for exact A-Galvanic Discharge and Static Prison limits.

• Preserve A-Galvanic Discharge when combat plus Goblin Bombardment can answer the same creature. This deck wins by converting bodies into damage, so a creature that can be blocked, raced, or finished with Bombardment does not always deserve the clean removal spell. Spend A-Galvanic Discharge early against fast creature starts when the life swing protects a future Goblin Bombardment, Ajani, Nacatl Pariah, or Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER turn.

• Exile or lock the engine piece first when Static Prison can stop a card that will outscale sacrifice damage. Against combo or synergy decks, prioritize mana engines, card-advantage permanents, graveyard enablers, and protection pieces over medium attackers. Against aggro, prioritize the largest immediate damage source unless removing a smaller lord or pump engine clearly reduces more damage.

• Discard post-board with Thoughtseize before committing the fragile engine when the opponent represents sweepers, combo, or cheap interaction. Take the card that either stops Goblin Bombardment, answers Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER, wins before your pressure matters, or prevents your next two turns from functioning. Do not use Thoughtseize as a generic curve play if life total pressure makes the two life matter and the hand already has a superior board action.

• Name or tax only visible strategic bottlenecks with Pithing Needle, Disruptor Flute, and Damping Sphere. Card text check required for exact legal names, costs, and affected actions. Use these cards against activated abilities, spell-chain turns, or single-card combo pressure; avoid spending them on replaceable creatures when A-Galvanic Discharge, Static Prison, or combat already covers the threat.

• Use Wear // Tear and Wrath of the Skies as role-specific interaction, not routine value buttons. Wear // Tear should answer artifacts or enchantments that stop sacrifice damage, protect the opponent, or generate an engine; Wrath of the Skies should reset boards where your individual bodies are losing and Goblin Bombardment cannot convert them into enough damage first. Card text check required for exact energy/payment and destroy ranges.

• Bait removal with replaceable pressure before exposing the permanent that makes every creature matter. Stadium Headliner, Amped Raptor, Marionette Apprentice, A-Guide of Souls, and Voice of Victory can pressure or trade before Goblin Bombardment or Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER enters. When the opponent is holding open mana, prefer forcing them to act on a creature unless Goblin Bombardment immediately converts removal into damage.

• Ignore low-impact creatures when your engine is already winning the race. If the opponent's creature neither blocks profitably, threatens lethal, disables sacrifice, nor attacks a vulnerable life total, keep mana for development, double-spelling, or protecting a better action. Do not over-clean the board while the opponent's life total is within Goblin Bombardment plus attack range.

Combat And Trading Rules

• Attack to convert bodies into forced damage, then sacrifice only after blocks, removal, or lethal math make the body expendable. Creatures are both pressure and fuel, so do not cash them in before they have attacked, blocked, enabled Ajani, Nacatl Pariah pressure, or supported Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER unless the legal sacrifice action produces immediate survival or lethal.

• Preserve the first engine body when Goblin Bombardment or Marionette Apprentice is active and the opponent has removal. A creature targeted by removal should usually be sacrificed if the legal action is available and the board does not need that creature to survive combat. If the same creature can block a lethal attacker, survival overrides value-sacrifice.

• Trade aggressively against faster creature decks when the trade protects life total and leaves a sacrifice payoff behind. A-Galvanic Discharge, Static Prison, and Goblin Bombardment let the deck turn small combat exchanges into reach, so blocking is correct when it buys the turn needed for Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER, Ajani, Nacatl Pariah, or repeated Bombardment damage. Avoid unnecessary attacks with the only good blocker when below roughly 8 life against a wide board.

• Attack aggressively against control and combo when the opponent's visible board does not punish combat. Stadium Headliner, Voice of Victory, Amped Raptor, A-Guide of Souls, Marionette Apprentice, and Ajani, Nacatl Pariah should shorten the clock so Thoughtseize, Static Prison, or Pithing Needle effects only need to buy one or two turns. Do not hold creatures back for imaginary sweepers unless the rules output or revealed information shows a real reason.

• Trade down when the death trigger, sacrifice trigger, or post-combat Bombardment damage changes the exchange. A small creature can trade with a larger combat step if Goblin Bombardment finishes the creature, Marionette Apprentice adds value, or Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER rewards deaths. Card text check required for exact death, transform, counter, or drain outcomes.

• Protect Ajani, Nacatl Pariah and Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER when they are the active route to winning. Do not expose them to attacks or blocks that merely save a few life if another creature, Static Prison, or A-Galvanic Discharge can handle the same pressure. Commit them to combat when the opponent must block badly, lethal is threatened, or the engine rewards the death event enough to justify the risk.

• Use Goblin Bombardment as reach after combat math is known. If attacks put the opponent into sacrifice range, choose attacks first, then sacrifice blocked or dying creatures as legal actions appear. If the opponent can gain life, remove the Bombardment, or win next turn, prioritize immediate damage over preserving future fuel.

• Respect life-total thresholds by switching roles early. Above roughly 14 life, favor development and pressure; between roughly 8 and 13, remove or block the highest damage source before taking speculative value lines; below roughly 8, treat every attack, shock-land choice, Thoughtseize, and Phyrexian Tower sacrifice as survival-critical. These thresholds are guidance only; runtime visible lethal and legal actions override them.

Selection And Tutor Rules

• Treat this deck as low-selection and high-commitment because the registered main deck has no true tutor, repeatable draw engine, or broad card filtering. Mulligan and early sequencing carry extra weight: keep hands that already contain lands, pressure, and either Goblin Bombardment, A-Galvanic Discharge, Static Prison, or a high-impact threat rather than hands that need to find a missing role later.

• Use Amped Raptor as pseudo-selection only after deciding what the current turn needs from visible legal actions. Card text check required for exact energy and cast restrictions. When Amped Raptor can produce a free or discounted follow-up, prefer casting it before other optional main-phase plays if the deck can still use the revealed spell this turn; delay it when an already-known A-Galvanic Discharge, Static Prison, Goblin Bombardment, Ajani, Nacatl Pariah, or Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER line must happen before unknown information matters.

• Sequence land drops before pseudo-selection when the legal action set needs a third color, untapped mana, or enough mana to cast an Amped Raptor hit. Hold a land only when all current legal plays are already castable and the opponent has no visible pressure that punishes waiting. Do not delay a needed red source when Goblin Bombardment, A-Galvanic Discharge, Amped Raptor, or Wear // Tear post-board may define the turn.

• Choose colors from Aether Hub and other flexible sources according to the legal action that matters this turn, not according to theoretical future curves. Red is often the immediate bottleneck for A-Galvanic Discharge and Goblin Bombardment, white supports A-Guide of Souls, Voice of Victory, Static Prison, Ajani, Nacatl Pariah, and Wrath of the Skies post-board, and black matters for Marionette Apprentice, Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER, Thoughtseize, Surgical Extraction, and Phyrexian Tower lines.

• Use post-board Thoughtseize as information selection before committing a fragile permanent. The card chosen should be the visible hand card that stops the next Goblin Bombardment, Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER, Ajani, Nacatl Pariah, or pressure-plus-removal curve from functioning, or the card that lets the opponent win before sacrifice damage matters. Do not take a low-impact card because it is expensive if a cheaper answer or combo enabler changes the next turn.

• Use Surgical Extraction only when a legal graveyard target is strategically tied to the opponent's plan or to a known card from Thoughtseize, combat, removal, or public zones. Card text check required for exact targeting and information shown. Avoid spending it on a random card when the opponent's visible board is the problem and A-Galvanic Discharge, Static Prison, Wrath of the Skies, or combat would affect the game more.

• Use Pithing Needle and Disruptor Flute as narrow selection only after identifying the visible bottleneck. Card text check required for exact name, timing, and restriction rules. Name or choose the card that the current legal and public information shows as necessary to the opponent's next winning line; do not speculate on hidden cards unless Thoughtseize, revealed information, or repeated public actions make the risk concrete.

• Bottom or decline optional low-impact selection when survival or lethal is already determined by visible board state. If a rules prompt offers a choice from A-Guide of Souls, Stadium Headliner, Ajani, Nacatl Pariah, Marionette Apprentice, Voice of Victory, Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER, or Static Prison and the exact card text is not certain, choose only after checking whether the legal option preserves mana, bodies, or damage for the current turn. Card text check required for exact optional triggers and counters.

Priority And Stack Rules

• Pass priority when no legal action improves the current combat, stack, mana, or lethal math. This deck can waste resources by acting early, so let harmless spells resolve when they do not remove Goblin Bombardment, answer Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER, stop Ajani, Nacatl Pariah pressure, create lethal pressure, or disable sacrifice damage.

• Hold A-Galvanic Discharge until the target and timing are visible unless immediate removal prevents major damage or unlocks an attack. Use it before combat to remove a blocker that changes attacks, during combat to punish a trick or preserve life, or end step when mana would otherwise be wasted. Do not fire it into open information that suggests the target is replaceable and Static Prison or combat handles the same creature.

• Use Static Prison at sorcery-speed commitment points when the permanent must be answered for the deck to keep attacking or surviving. Card text check required for exact energy/payment duration. Prioritize permanents that stop Goblin Bombardment damage, threaten lethal, generate repeated advantage, or block Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER and Ajani, Nacatl Pariah lines; avoid locking a small attacker if a larger engine is visible.

• Activate Goblin Bombardment after the opponent commits removal, blocks, or lethal prevention windows. Sacrifice a creature targeted by removal when the creature would die anyway and the damage matters. Sacrifice before damage only when killing a blocker, killing an attacker, triggering a known payoff, or producing lethal is better than combat damage from that body.

• Preserve instant-speed sacrifice access while the opponent has removal or exile effects. If Goblin Bombardment is on the battlefield, avoid tapping all red mana or sacrificing the only disposable body unless the legal action immediately wins, prevents lethal, or answers a must-answer permanent. Phyrexian Tower can be a mana source and sacrifice outlet, but use it only when the mana converts into a stronger legal play or the sacrificed creature's death is actively valuable.

• Resolve optional payments and triggers only when they advance the current role. Card text check required for A-Guide of Souls, Stadium Headliner, Ajani, Nacatl Pariah, Marionette Apprentice, Voice of Victory, Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER, Amped Raptor, Static Prison, and Wrath of the Skies exact trigger/payment text. Pay or accept optional effects that create immediate pressure, removal, survival, or sacrifice value; decline effects that spend mana or bodies needed for A-Galvanic Discharge, Goblin Bombardment, Thoughtseize, Wear // Tear, or a critical blocker.

• Respond to stack interaction by protecting the engine through sacrifice value, not by assuming the spell will resolve. If the opponent targets Goblin Bombardment, Ajani, Nacatl Pariah, Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER, or a key creature and a legal sacrifice action exists, compare immediate damage and death triggers against keeping the permanent. Let removal resolve when preserving fuel or mana is more important than one damage.

• Use Wear // Tear post-board at the last safe window before the opposing artifact or enchantment generates value, blocks damage, or prevents a planned attack. Card text check required for exact split-card and fuse rules. Do not spend it into a stack where the target's effect has already happened unless removing the permanent still changes the next legal decision.

• Use Wrath of the Skies post-board only after checking whether Goblin Bombardment can convert your board first. Card text check required for exact energy and destroy limits. If a wipe is legal and favorable, sacrifice creatures that would die anyway when damage, death triggers, or Marionette Apprentice and Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER synergies matter; do not sacrifice bodies that the wipe will not affect unless lethal or survival requires it.

• Treat graveyard timing as public-information dependent. Surgical Extraction, Containment Priest, and Damping Sphere are sideboard tools for specific windows, but their exact text requires checking. Use them when the opponent's visible action, graveyard, or stack shows that waiting gives up the chance to stop the line; otherwise keep mana for pressure or removal.

Sideboard Map

• Sideboard by role, not by generic matchup name. This deck wins by keeping cheap bodies, sacrifice reach, and efficient interaction aligned, so sideboarding should preserve enough creature density for Goblin Bombardment, Marionette Apprentice, Ajani, Nacatl Pariah, Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER, and Stadium Headliner to matter. Avoid overloading on narrow hate when the opponent is still mostly losing to pressure plus A-Galvanic Discharge and Static Prison.

• Thoughtseize is the broad disruption plan against combo, control, sweepers, and decks whose key spell matters more than board stats. Bring it in when the opponent can beat a normal creature curve with a single payoff, sweeper, planeswalker, lock piece, or high-impact answer. It is weaker against very fast creature decks when paying life and spending turn-one mana not affecting the board makes racing worse.

• Containment Priest is for creature-cheat, graveyard-creature, and library-to-battlefield plans where the opponent must put creatures onto the battlefield without normal casting. Card text check required for exact Historic wording and replacement timing. It is poor when the opponent casts creatures normally or when your better plan is killing creatures already on board with A-Galvanic Discharge, Static Prison, or Wrath of the Skies.

• Damping Sphere is for spell-chain, storm-like, big-mana, and multiple-spell turns where one artifact changes the opponent's entire turn structure. Card text check required for exact Historic legality and mana-tax text. It is bad when the opponent plays fair one-spell turns or when your own curve needs to double-spell with creatures plus Goblin Bombardment to win before their late game.

• Pithing Needle is for a known activated-ability bottleneck. Card text check required for exact name and ability restrictions. Bring it in when public information, repeated game actions, or Thoughtseize reveals a specific permanent whose activation beats your pressure; avoid bringing it in as a blind answer when Wear // Tear, A-Galvanic Discharge, Static Prison, or Thoughtseize answers the visible problem more cleanly.

• Disruptor Flute is for named-card disruption when timing and identity matter. Card text check required for exact flash, name, cost-increase, and activated-ability text. Use it against decks where one revealed or strongly telegraphed card controls the next turn cycle, especially if Thoughtseize has shown the hand; avoid it against broad-board aggro where a named tax is worse than removal or a sweeper.

• Surgical Extraction is for graveyard dependency and known-card denial, not random value. Card text check required for exact target, cost, and hidden-information access. Bring it in when a public graveyard card is central to the opponent's recursion, combo, or redundant threat plan, or when Thoughtseize/removal has put the key card into the graveyard. It is weak when the opponent's battlefield is already the immediate danger.

• Wrath of the Skies is the catch-up reset for creature swarms, artifact/enchantment boards, and games where the opponent goes wider than Goblin Bombardment can control. Card text check required for exact energy payment, mana value limits, and permanent types. It is worse when you are the beatdown with multiple cheap threats and the opponent is playing single large threats, removal, or sweepers of their own.

• Wear // Tear is the clean artifact/enchantment answer. Card text check required for exact split-card and fuse rules in Historic. Bring it in against prison pieces, graveyard hate permanents, artifact engines, enchantment removal shields, and cards that stop attacking or sacrificing. It is bad when the opponent has few targets and your main-deck Static Prison plus pressure already answers their board.

Creature Aggro / Wide Board Side in: 2 Wrath of the Skies; 2 Containment Priest Cut: 4 Voice of Victory

• Plan note: Use this exact plan only when Containment Priest has visible or expected text relevance against the opponent's creature deployment; otherwise keep Containment Priest in the sideboard and use broader role guidance. Wrath of the Skies is the real anchor because it lets the deck recover from being behind, while Goblin Bombardment can convert creatures before a favorable wipe.

Artifact Or Enchantment Engine Side in: 2 Wear // Tear; 1 Pithing Needle; 1 Disruptor Flute Cut: 4 Voice of Victory

• Plan note: Use this exact plan when the opponent has multiple public or expected artifacts/enchantments plus a named activated or castable engine card. Wear // Tear answers board pieces, Pithing Needle covers activated abilities, and Disruptor Flute pressures a known choke card. Keep creature density high enough that hate cards do not replace the deck's actual clock.

Spell Combo / Big Mana Side in: 4 Thoughtseize; 2 Damping Sphere; 1 Disruptor Flute Cut: 4 Static Prison; 3 A-Galvanic Discharge

• Plan note: Use this exact plan when creature removal is low value and the opponent's key turn depends on a spell chain, large mana burst, or single named payoff. Thoughtseize should take the card that beats the current clock, not merely the most expensive card. Damping Sphere is strongest when deployed before the opponent's first explosive turn.

Graveyard Combo Or Graveyard Recursion Side in: 4 Thoughtseize; 1 Surgical Extraction; 2 Containment Priest Cut: 4 Voice of Victory; 3 Static Prison

• Plan note: Use this exact plan when the opponent's graveyard plan is central and creatures entering from non-cast zones may matter. Thoughtseize creates known graveyard targets for Surgical Extraction, while Containment Priest can pressure non-cast creature lines if its text applies. Keep A-Galvanic Discharge when killing enablers matters more than answering resolved permanents.

Control / Sweepers / Expensive Answers Side in: 4 Thoughtseize; 1 Disruptor Flute; 1 Pithing Needle Cut: 4 A-Galvanic Discharge; 2 Static Prison

• Plan note: Use this exact plan when the opponent has few creatures and wins through sweepers, planeswalkers, activated engines, or expensive stabilizers. Thoughtseize should clear the answer that stops Goblin Bombardment or the current pressure curve. Pithing Needle is only correct when a named activated permanent is known or highly likely from public information.

• Add role cards: Thoughtseize against hidden high-impact cards, Damping Sphere against multi-spell or big-mana turns, Wear // Tear against artifacts/enchantments, Wrath of the Skies against wide boards, Containment Priest against non-cast creature entry, Surgical Extraction against public graveyard dependency, Pithing Needle against activated bottlenecks, and Disruptor Flute against a known named choke card.

• Reduce main-deck emphasis: Static Prison against spell-heavy decks with few permanents, A-Galvanic Discharge against creature-light control or combo, Voice of Victory when its text does not disrupt the opponent's actual interaction pattern, and slower legendary or board-dependent pressure only when the matchup demands maximum cheap disruption. Card text check required before deprioritizing any A-card or Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER for exact ability relevance.

Matchup Guidance

• Aggro: Prioritize survival through the first combat cycle before building sacrifice inevitability. Keep hands that cast A-Guide of Souls, Marionette Apprentice, Amped Raptor, A-Galvanic Discharge, Static Prison, or Goblin Bombardment early; hands that only deploy slow pressure without interaction should be treated skeptically. Use A-Galvanic Discharge on creatures that change combat math now, not on a low-impact target merely because mana is available. Add role cards: Wrath of the Skies when the opponent creates a wider board than spot removal can manage, and Containment Priest only when its exact text applies to the opponent's creature-entry pattern. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Voice of Victory when the opponent is mostly attacking and casting threats on its own turn rather than interacting at instant speed.

• Go-wide decks: Preserve Goblin Bombardment and expendable creatures so a future Wrath of the Skies or bad combat step can still convert your board into damage or material. Static Prison should answer the permanent that makes the wide board lethal, evasive, or resilient, rather than the smallest attacker. Ajani, Nacatl Pariah and Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER need card text checks for exact transformation, life, token, or sacrifice incentives, so commit them based on visible board pressure and legal follow-up actions rather than assumed inevitability. Add role cards: Wrath of the Skies and sometimes Wear // Tear if the swarm depends on artifact or enchantment infrastructure.

• Burn: Treat life total as a resource with a hard floor, and favor lines that gain life, remove attackers, or shorten the clock without requiring painful mana. A-Guide of Souls is a priority early play if its visible text or runtime state confirms life or energy value; do not pay optional costs that expose you to lethal unless the engine state shows the payment is necessary to win or survive. Thoughtseize is not automatically correct because life loss may matter; add it only when the opponent has high-impact noncreature cards that must be taken before they resolve. Reduce main-deck emphasis: slow cards that do not block, gain life, remove a creature, or accelerate lethal pressure.

• Control: Deploy threats in layers and keep Goblin Bombardment as the card that punishes sweepers, removal, and stalled boards. Voice of Victory is valuable when its exact text restricts opposing interaction or protects your turn; card text check required before assuming that role. Thoughtseize should clear the answer that breaks the current plan, especially sweepers, hard removal for Goblin Bombardment, or a stabilizing finisher. Add role cards: Thoughtseize, Disruptor Flute for a known named card, Pithing Needle for a known activated permanent, and Wear // Tear for public artifact or enchantment answers. Reduce main-deck emphasis: A-Galvanic Discharge and Static Prison when the opponent presents few creatures or permanents.

• Removal-heavy midrange: Avoid committing every creature into one removal sequence unless Goblin Bombardment makes each death valuable. Marionette Apprentice and Goblin Bombardment are the pressure engine because they make removal and sacrifice trades costly; protect sequencing that leaves mana and sacrifice outlets available when the opponent can answer creatures at instant speed. Ajani, Nacatl Pariah and Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER should be committed when they either demand an answer immediately or convert existing material into advantage; card text check required for exact payoff timing. Add role cards: Thoughtseize to clear the removal spell or planeswalker-equivalent permanent that dominates the next turn cycle.

• Tempo: Respect mana efficiency over raw card advantage, because falling behind while holding expensive or conditional cards gives tempo decks time to convert soft disruption into lethal attacks. Sequence untapped lands to double-spell when possible, and use A-Galvanic Discharge or Static Prison before combat if it prevents a damage burst or protects a key attacker. Do not sacrifice a board for marginal damage if the opponent can untap and win the race with one threat. Add role cards: Thoughtseize when it can remove the interaction protecting the tempo threat, and Wear // Tear if their tempo plan uses public artifact or enchantment permanents.

• Combo: Race with early creatures while using disruption for the turn that matters, not for generic card-quality reduction. Thoughtseize should take the card that enables the earliest deterministic win or the card that beats your current clock; if the choice is unclear, prefer the card that is both castable soon and uniquely required. Damping Sphere is for spell-chain or big-mana combo turns where its card text materially changes the opponent's next turn. Disruptor Flute is strongest after Thoughtseize or public information identifies the named choke card. Reduce main-deck emphasis: A-Galvanic Discharge and Static Prison when there are few creature or permanent targets.

• Big mana: Present a fast clock and disrupt the mana burst or payoff, because a long fair game usually favors the deck spending more mana per turn. Amped Raptor and cheap creatures matter because they pressure before the opponent's expensive stabilizer. Damping Sphere should be deployed before the explosive turn if legal; do not delay it to add small damage unless the visible clock proves the opponent dies first. Thoughtseize should take the payoff if their mana is already assembled, or the enabler if the payoff is not yet castable. Pithing Needle is only for a known activated bottleneck from public information.

• Graveyard decks: Attack the graveyard plan only when it is central to how the opponent wins or stabilizes. Surgical Extraction needs a public graveyard target and card text check for exact timing and information; prefer using it after Thoughtseize, A-Galvanic Discharge, Static Prison, combat, or sacrifice pressure has put the key card where Surgical Extraction can legally target it. Containment Priest is a role card only when the opponent's creatures enter without being cast and its exact text applies. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Static Prison when the graveyard engine ignores resolved permanents, but keep removal for visible enablers.

• Artifact and enchantment decks: Identify whether the permanent is an engine, shield, prison piece, or payoff before spending removal. Wear // Tear should answer the permanent that blocks sacrifice damage, stops combat, generates repeated material, or enables the opponent's next decisive turn. Static Prison can cover a creature or permanent temporarily, but do not rely on it as the only answer if the opponent can remove it or ignore it. Pithing Needle belongs on a known activated ability, not as a blind hedge. Disruptor Flute belongs on a named card that controls the next turn cycle.

• Single-threat decks: Use Static Prison and A-Galvanic Discharge to manage the threat while preserving pressure, and avoid over-sideboarding into answers that leave no clock. If the single threat has protection, ward, recursion, or an activated ability, choose the answer based on visible legal text and public information; Pithing Needle is only for activated abilities, Wear // Tear only for artifact/enchantment dependencies, and Thoughtseize only before the card resolves. Goblin Bombardment can finish games through a stalled single blocker, so keep creature density high enough to feed it.

• Sacrifice mirrors or attrition boards: Value timing over raw sacrifice count. Goblin Bombardment should be used when damage changes combat, removes a key creature, denies exile or bounce value, or creates lethal; avoid spending creatures merely because sacrifice is legal. Marionette Apprentice is central when its visible text rewards artifacts or creatures dying; card text check required for exact trigger conditions. Wrath of the Skies can be asymmetrical only if your sacrificed material is converted first and the engine state confirms the wipe leaves you ahead.

Specific Matchup Notes

• General/archetype-only note: Exact opponents are not supplied, so visible cards, revealed hand contents, graveyards, stack objects, and rules-engine legal actions override every archetype assumption. Treat these notes as matchup priors for Mardu Sacrifice, then re-rank decisions from public information before choosing any action.

• Aggro and go-wide creatures: Stabilize first with A-Galvanic Discharge, Static Prison, and combat trades that keep a Goblin Bombardment or Marionette Apprentice engine alive. Priority targets are haste threats, anthem-style permanents, creatures that make blocking impossible, and anything that turns a small board into immediate lethal. Add role cards: Wrath of the Skies when the opponent commits multiple cheap permanents, Thoughtseize on the play when it takes the card that beats your first stabilizing turn, and Wear // Tear only if public artifact or enchantment pressure matters. Reduce main-deck emphasis: slow copies of Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER or extra engines when survival requires cheap interaction.

• Control and sweepers: Commit threats in layers and use Goblin Bombardment to convert creatures into damage before a public or likely sweeper resolves. Voice of Victory may matter against interaction timing, but card text check required before assuming protection. Priority targets are sweepers, exile removal for Goblin Bombardment, and planeswalker-equivalent stabilizers. Add role cards: Thoughtseize, Disruptor Flute for a known named card, Pithing Needle for a known activated permanent, and Wear // Tear for public artifact or enchantment answers. Reduce main-deck emphasis: A-Galvanic Discharge and Static Prison when they lack targets.

• Midrange mirrors: Preserve material until sacrifice changes combat, removal exchanges, or lethal math. Ajani, Nacatl Pariah, Stadium Headliner, Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER, Marionette Apprentice, and Goblin Bombardment are the cards most likely to turn trades into advantage, but exact transformation or trigger timing needs rules-engine confirmation. Priority targets are opposing engines, removal that answers Goblin Bombardment, and larger blockers that blank attacks. Add role cards: Thoughtseize and Wrath of the Skies when the opponent goes wider than you.

• Combo and big mana: Race with A-Guide of Souls, Amped Raptor, Stadium Headliner, and Ajani, Nacatl Pariah while disruption buys the decisive turn. Priority targets are the enabler if the payoff is not castable, or the payoff if mana is already assembled. Add role cards: Thoughtseize, Damping Sphere for spell-chain or burst-mana turns, Disruptor Flute after public information identifies the choke card, and Pithing Needle only for a known activated bottleneck. Reduce main-deck emphasis: A-Galvanic Discharge and Static Prison when the opponent does not rely on creatures or targetable permanents.

• Graveyard or cheat-into-play decks: Pressure life total while holding graveyard hate for a legal, public target or a rules-relevant entry event. Surgical Extraction requires a public graveyard card and card text check for exact timing. Containment Priest is only high priority when the opponent's creatures enter without being cast and its visible text applies. Add role cards: Surgical Extraction, Containment Priest, Thoughtseize, and sometimes Damping Sphere if the graveyard deck also chains spells.

Risk Summary

• Mana risk: The deck is low-land and color-demanding, so hands with only Phyrexian Tower, Plains, Aether Hub without support, or awkward Blackcleave Cliffs plus white one-drops can fail to cast spells on curve. Favor hands that cast A-Guide of Souls, Voice of Victory, Amped Raptor, or A-Galvanic Discharge early while still enabling black cards after sideboard.

• Matchup risk: The deck can overperform against creature boards and underperform against noncreature combo or control if it draws A-Galvanic Discharge and Static Prison without targets. Sideboard toward disruption, but keep enough creature density for Goblin Bombardment and sacrifice pressure.

• Draw risk: Multiple Goblin Bombardment, Static Prison, or expensive legends without early creatures can leave the deck with engines and no fuel. Mulligan or sequence toward a battlefield before taking speculative value lines.

• Over-sideboarding risk: Cutting too many cheap creatures weakens Marionette Apprentice, Goblin Bombardment, Phyrexian Tower, and combat pressure. Add role cards only when their text attacks the opponent's visible plan.

• Graveyard risk: Surgical Extraction is narrow without a public graveyard target, and Containment Priest can be irrelevant if the opponent casts creatures normally. Do not hold up hate while dying to visible battlefield pressure unless the next graveyard action is clearly decisive.

• Sweeper/removal risk: Wrath of the Skies can clear your own board, and opposing sweepers can punish overcommitment. Convert material through Goblin Bombardment before a wipe when legal, and rebuild with Amped Raptor or layered threats afterward.

• Closer risk: Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER and Ajani, Nacatl Pariah may be powerful closers, but exact text and timing must come from the engine. Do not sacrifice stability to force a flashy line unless legal actions and visible state show it wins or prevents losing.

• Interaction risk: Static Prison, A-Galvanic Discharge, Pithing Needle, Disruptor Flute, and Wear // Tear answer different problem types. Match the answer to the public permanent, spell, or named card instead of spending the first legal interaction automatically.

• Sequencing risk: Sacrificing creatures too early can shrink attacks, weaken blocks, and reduce future Goblin Bombardment reach. Spend creatures when damage, death triggers, mana from Phyrexian Tower, or denial of opposing value changes the current turn cycle.

Test Feedback Checklist

• Deciding factor: Record whether the game turned on early pressure, sacrifice reach, removal timing, mana access, a sideboard card, or the opponent failing to answer Goblin Bombardment. Note the exact turn where the game shifted and the visible board state that made the shift clear.

• Mulligans: Ask whether the opener cast a meaningful spell by turn one or turn two, whether it had the colors for A-Guide of Souls, Voice of Victory, Amped Raptor, A-Galvanic Discharge, or Static Prison, and whether speculative hands with Phyrexian Tower, Aether Hub, or one land actually converted into pressure.

• Mana: Track missed color requirements, tapped-land delays, Aether Hub energy constraints, and Phyrexian Tower decisions. Flag games where black sideboard cards such as Thoughtseize or Surgical Extraction were drawn but not castable when they mattered.

• Velocity: Measure whether Amped Raptor and cheap creatures kept material flowing or whether the deck stalled with multiple Goblin Bombardment, Static Prison, Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER, or removal spells and too few expendable bodies.

• Engines: Record whether Marionette Apprentice plus Goblin Bombardment, creature deaths, Phyrexian Tower, or combat trades generated real damage or material advantage. If Ajani, Nacatl Pariah, Stadium Headliner, Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER, or Voice of Victory affected the engine, rely on rules-engine output and mark any unclear text as Card text check required.

• Removal: Ask whether A-Galvanic Discharge and Static Prison hit the highest-impact public threats or were spent on replaceable creatures. Note when holding interaction would have prevented lethal, protected an engine, or stopped a combo turn.

• Combat: Check whether attacks preserved enough blockers against visible pressure, whether sacrifice outlets converted blocked or dying creatures, and whether the pilot missed damage from Goblin Bombardment after blockers or before a sweeper.

• Closing: Record whether the deck closed through combat, Goblin Bombardment reach, Marionette Apprentice drain-style pressure if confirmed by engine text, or a larger legend. Flag games where the pilot stabilized but failed to pivot into lethal pressure.

• Sideboard: Ask which of Thoughtseize, Containment Priest, Damping Sphere, Disruptor Flute, Pithing Needle, Surgical Extraction, Wrath of the Skies, and Wear // Tear had a legal target or meaningful timing window. Mark sideboard cards stranded by lack of targets separately from cards stranded by mana.

• Role: Decide after each game whether Mardu Sacrifice should have been the aggressor, stabilizing midrange deck, disruption deck, or attrition engine deck. Record any turn where the pilot played the wrong role based on visible battlefield, life totals, and known cards.

• Mistakes: List illegal assumptions avoided by the engine, legal actions the pilot ignored, and any pass that occurred while a relevant A-Galvanic Discharge, Static Prison, Goblin Bombardment activation, Thoughtseize, Wear // Tear, or Wrath of the Skies line was available.

• Overperformers and underperformers: Name exact cards that won exchanges or sat dead. Separate matchup problems from quantity problems, especially for Stadium Headliner, Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER, Static Prison, Goblin Bombardment, and sideboard one-ofs.

First Tuning Questions

• Land count: If mulligans, missed second land drops, or awkward Aether Hub and Phyrexian Tower hands recur, should the deck increase mana sources or adjust the color mix around Sacred Foundry, Blackcleave Cliffs, Concealed Courtyard, Inspiring Vantage, Blood Crypt, Godless Shrine, Plains, and Aether Hub?

• White density: If A-Guide of Souls, Voice of Victory, Ajani, Nacatl Pariah, or Static Prison are frequently delayed, is the red-black splash pressure from A-Galvanic Discharge, Goblin Bombardment, Marionette Apprentice, Thoughtseize, and sideboard cards stretching the mana too far?

• Creature density: If Goblin Bombardment, Marionette Apprentice, Phyrexian Tower, and sacrifice lines lack fuel, should the main deck reduce noncreature emphasis or avoid sideboarding patterns that lower creature count too aggressively?

• Removal mix: If creature decks overwhelm the pilot before engines matter, are four A-Galvanic Discharge and four Static Prison enough, or does the sideboard need more scalable removal beyond Wrath of the Skies?

• Noncreature matchups: If combo or control opponents ignore A-Galvanic Discharge and Static Prison, should more discard or lock pieces be prioritized, or should the main deck keep maximum pressure and use Thoughtseize, Damping Sphere, Disruptor Flute, Pithing Needle, and Surgical Extraction only when their targets are clear?

• Closer package: If Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER or Stadium Headliner are stranded, slow, legendary-clunky, or text-dependent, should their quantities change after engine-confirmed performance data? Card text check required before treating either card as a guaranteed closer.

• Ajani pressure: If Ajani, Nacatl Pariah wins creature mirrors or punishes removal, should it remain a full playset; if it often fails to transform or matter, what battlefield conditions made it weak?

• Sideboard one-ofs: If Pithing Needle, Surgical Extraction, or Disruptor Flute are drawn without a legal or known target, are they still worth slots as narrow high-impact tools, or should those slots become broader interaction?

• Anti-wide plan: If Wrath of the Skies clears too much of the Mardu board, should the deck lean harder on targeted removal and sacrifice conversion, or is the sweeper still necessary against go-wide starts?

• Artifact/enchantment pressure: If Wear // Tear is decisive, should the sideboard increase that effect; if it is idle, are artifact and enchantment matchups already covered by pressure plus Thoughtseize?

• Role conflict: If the deck loses by half-racing and half-controlling, should tuning favor lower-curve aggression with A-Guide of Souls, Amped Raptor, and Stadium Headliner, or slower attrition around Goblin Bombardment, Marionette Apprentice, Static Prison, and discard?

Veles Tactical Policy

Policy: Opening Hand Functional Mana Gate

Priority: High Decision families: mulligan; mana Cards: A-Guide of Souls; Voice of Victory; Ajani, Nacatl Pariah; Amped Raptor; A-Galvanic Discharge; Static Prison Phase windows: pregame; opening hand; mulligan decisions Runtime cues: hand cards; land count; color availability; first two turns Use when: deciding keep or mulligan before any game action. Avoid when: engine has already advanced past mulligans. Instructions: Keep hands that produce early white or red pressure plus at least two castable spells; reject hands that cannot cast a spell by turn two unless the visible hand has multiple lands and a matchup-specific sideboard card with immediate text relevance. Treat Phyrexian Tower and Aether Hub as conditional sources, not guaranteed fixing, when the hand lacks expendable creatures or energy. Pilot skill floor: medium No-API allowed: no Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: First Permanent Setup

Priority: Medium Decision families: mana; priority Cards: A-Guide of Souls; Voice of Victory; Marionette Apprentice; Amped Raptor; Ajani, Nacatl Pariah; Stadium Headliner Phase windows: turns 1-3 main phases Runtime cues: legal cast actions; available mana; visible opposing pressure Use when: choosing the first creature or enabling permanent to commit. Avoid when: a removal spell must answer lethal or a sideboard hate card has a time-critical target. Instructions: Lead with the cheapest castable threat that preserves next-turn colors, then favor bodies that make Goblin Bombardment, Phyrexian Tower, and sacrifice payoffs live. Card text check required for A-Guide of Souls, Stadium Headliner, Ajani, Nacatl Pariah, Voice of Victory, and Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER before treating any trigger as guaranteed. Pilot skill floor: low No-API allowed: no Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Shockland And Fastland Sequencing

Priority: Medium Decision families: mana Cards: Sacred Foundry; Blood Crypt; Godless Shrine; Blackcleave Cliffs; Concealed Courtyard; Inspiring Vantage; Plains; Aether Hub; Phyrexian Tower Phase windows: land plays; early turns; precombat main Runtime cues: legal land actions; hand colors; life total; Aether Hub energy Use when: selecting land play for the turn. Avoid when: only one legal land action exists. Instructions: Prioritize untapped access to white and red for the main deck, add black when Thoughtseize, Marionette Apprentice, Goblin Bombardment, Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER, or sideboard cards are in hand, and preserve Aether Hub for turns where its energy actually changes a castable line. Do not take shock damage unless the extra untapped mana affects the current or next visible turn cycle. Pilot skill floor: medium No-API allowed: no Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Phyrexian Tower Conversion Gate

Priority: Medium Decision families: mana; priority Cards: Phyrexian Tower; Marionette Apprentice; Goblin Bombardment; Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER; Ajani, Nacatl Pariah Phase windows: main phases; priority with sacrifice mana action Runtime cues: legal mana action; visible creature count; pending spell costs Use when: Phyrexian Tower can sacrifice a creature for mana. Avoid when: the sacrificed creature is needed as the only blocker against lethal visible attackers or the mana does not enable a legal spell or ability. Instructions: Use Phyrexian Tower as a conversion engine only when the extra mana casts a meaningful threat, interaction, or sideboard card this turn, or when death triggers and sacrifice synergies are confirmed by engine output. Do not spend a creature merely to float unused mana. Pilot skill floor: medium No-API allowed: no Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Goblin Bombardment Commitment Gate

Priority: High Decision families: priority; interaction; combat Cards: Goblin Bombardment; Marionette Apprentice; Voice of Victory; A-Guide of Souls; Ajani, Nacatl Pariah; Stadium Headliner; Amped Raptor Phase windows: main phases; combat; opponent end step; response windows Runtime cues: legal cast or activate actions; sacrifice candidates; opponent life; visible stack Use when: deciding whether to cast Goblin Bombardment or start sacrificing material. Avoid when: no expendable permanent exists and the board needs blockers more than reach. Instructions: Commit Goblin Bombardment when it converts future creatures into damage, protects value from removal or sweepers, or creates a near-term lethal line; delay if tapping out leaves a higher-impact threat unanswered. Sacrifice blocked, dying, stolen, or redundant creatures before damage or removal resolves only when the engine shows legal priority. Pilot skill floor: high No-API allowed: no Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Deterministic Bombardment Face Damage

Priority: High Decision families: priority; interaction Cards: Goblin Bombardment Phase windows: any priority window with legal activation Runtime cues: action:target opponent Goblin Bombardment Use when: the selected Goblin Bombardment activation is already legal and the visible opponent life total is no greater than the engine-displayed damage remaining from available selected activations. Avoid when: the legal action text targets a creature, planeswalker, or non-opponent object. Instructions: Choose the opponent as target for the lethal Goblin Bombardment activation after the sacrifice line has already been selected and validated by legal actions. Do not infer hidden prevention or replacement effects beyond visible engine output. Pilot skill floor: low No-API allowed: yes Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Removal Target Gate

Priority: High Decision families: interaction; priority Cards: A-Galvanic Discharge; Static Prison; Wrath of the Skies; Wear // Tear Phase windows: main phases; combat; stack response windows Runtime cues: legal cast actions; legal target actions; visible attackers; visible permanents Use when: choosing whether to spend removal or which visible target to answer. Avoid when: the target is low-impact and no clock, combo piece, engine piece, or lethal threat is visible. Instructions: Spend A-Galvanic Discharge and Static Prison on creatures or permanents that determine the next combat, enable combo, or threaten the sacrifice engine; reserve Wrath of the Skies for boards where the exchange stabilizes or resets a losing battlefield. Use Wear // Tear only on visible artifacts or enchantments whose text or board role matters now. Pilot skill floor: high No-API allowed: no Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Amped Raptor Cast Timing

Priority: Medium Decision families: priority; selection; mana Cards: Amped Raptor Phase windows: precombat main; postcombat main Runtime cues: action:cast Amped Raptor; available mana; visible hand Use when: Amped Raptor is a legal cast action and no immediate removal target must be answered first. Avoid when: casting it before combat would prevent a necessary A-Galvanic Discharge, Static Prison, or sideboard spell this turn. Instructions: Cast Amped Raptor early to add material and pressure, but sequence land drops and one-mana plays first when they improve color access or let the engine reveal resolve with more informed mana. Card text check required for exact digital text and energy/cast restrictions. Pilot skill floor: medium No-API allowed: no Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Ajani And Legendary Threat Commitment

Priority: Medium Decision families: priority; combat Cards: Ajani, Nacatl Pariah; Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER; Stadium Headliner Phase windows: main phases; precombat setup; postcombat recovery Runtime cues: legal cast actions; visible removal pressure; battlefield count Use when: deciding whether to tap out for a higher-impact creature or legend. Avoid when: holding mana for interaction prevents visible lethal or stops a known opposing engine. Instructions: Commit Ajani, Nacatl Pariah, Stadium Headliner, or Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER when the board can pressure, defend, or exploit sacrifice triggers after resolution; delay if the play exposes the only threat to known open interaction without adding immediate board leverage. Card text check required before assuming transform, damage, token, or death-trigger outcomes. Pilot skill floor: medium No-API allowed: no Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Combat Pressure Versus Sacrifice Material

Priority: Medium Decision families: combat; priority Cards: Goblin Bombardment; Marionette Apprentice; Voice of Victory; A-Guide of Souls; Ajani, Nacatl Pariah; Stadium Headliner; Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER Phase windows: declare attackers; declare blockers; post-block priority; before damage Runtime cues: legal attack actions; legal block actions; legal sacrifice actions; life totals Use when: choosing attacks, blocks, or sacrifice timing around combat. Avoid when: exactly one legal no-attack or no-block action exists and no sacrifice action is legal. Instructions: Attack when the resulting race plus possible Goblin Bombardment reach improves the visible clock, and hold blockers when the opponent can present lethal or force bad trades. Convert creatures that are already dying, blanked, or no longer needed for blocking into sacrifice value only after Forge exposes the priority window. Pilot skill floor: high No-API allowed: no Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Sideboard Role Selection

Priority: High Decision families: sideboard; pregame Cards: Thoughtseize; Containment Priest; Damping Sphere; Disruptor Flute; Pithing Needle; Surgical Extraction; Wrath of the Skies; Wear // Tear; A-Galvanic Discharge; Static Prison; Stadium Headliner; Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER; Goblin Bombardment Phase windows: between games; sideboard lock Runtime cues: matchup label; revealed opponent cards; previous game log; legal sideboard plan Use when: choosing a sideboard plan or generated swaps. Avoid when: no validated 60-card post-board configuration is available. Instructions: Add Thoughtseize and hate pieces against combo, control, graveyard, activated-ability, artifact, enchantment, or spell-chain plans only when the opponent's public cards or matchup label supports them. Reduce removal against low-creature decks, reduce slow threats against fast decks, and preserve enough cheap creatures for Goblin Bombardment, Marionette Apprentice, and Phyrexian Tower. Pilot skill floor: high No-API allowed: no Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Hate Permanent Timing

Priority: Medium Decision families: interaction; priority Cards: Pithing Needle; Containment Priest; Damping Sphere; Disruptor Flute; Surgical Extraction; Thoughtseize; Wear // Tear Phase windows: precombat main; opponent setup turns; response windows when legal Runtime cues: legal cast action; named-card prompt; graveyard target prompt; visible artifact or enchantment Use when: deploying or aiming sideboard interaction. Avoid when: the required target name, graveyard card, activated ability, artifact, enchantment, or spell class is not visible or known from public information. Instructions: Use Thoughtseize before committing fragile engines when disruption matters more than tempo, name only public or matchup-confirmed cards with Pithing Needle or Disruptor Flute, and use Surgical Extraction only on a visible graveyard card with strategic relevance. Cast Damping Sphere or Containment Priest before the opponent's enabling turn when their text applies; Card text check required for exact hate effects. Pilot skill floor: high No-API allowed: no Light-model allowed: yes