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

Strategy Specifications

Deck Name And Archetype

• Deck identity: Rakdos Sacrifice is a Historic Rakdos midrange-sacrifice deck built to convert recursive creatures, disposable bodies, and sacrifice outlets into repeated damage, battlefield control, and attrition pressure. The registered list is not a generic Rakdos midrange shell; decisions should prioritize the specific engines present here: Forsaken Miner, Bloodghast, Warren Soultrader, Seasoned Pyromancer, Mayhem Devil, Chthonian Nightmare, and Goblin Bombardment.

• Validation status: The active format is Historic, and the supplied validation contract reports the deck as passing with 60 main-deck cards and 15 sideboard cards. Runtime decisions must still obey Veles legal actions and rules-engine output; this guide must not override legality, mana availability, priority windows, target restrictions, replacement effects, or hidden information boundaries.

• Registered counts: The main deck is 60 cards with 39 nonlands and 21 lands. The sideboard is 15 cards: 4 Disruptor Flute, 4 Molten Impact, 3 Kolaghan's Command, and 4 Ob Nixilis, the Adversary. Exact executable sideboard rows later in this guide may bring in only those registered sideboard names and may remove only cards registered in the main deck.

• Archetype tags: The normalized tags are midrange and sacrifice. The duplicate supplied tag string midrange,sacrifice should be treated as the same two-role identity, not as a separate archetype label. The deck should be piloted as a pressure-control attrition deck rather than as a pure aggro deck, pure control deck, or deterministic combo deck.

• Stock/rogue/hybrid status: Treat this as a hybrid stock-plus-deck-specific build. The broad plan is recognizable Rakdos sacrifice, but the exact Historic configuration matters: Chthonian Nightmare and Warren Soultrader change recursion and mana-conversion incentives, while Seasoned Pyromancer, Bloodghast, Forsaken Miner, Artillery Enthusiast, and Voldaren Epicure define the disposable-resource package. Do not import assumptions from unregistered sacrifice staples or absent utility cards.

• Mana identity: The deck is black-red with a low curve, sacrifice outlets, recursive black creatures, and red damage engines. The land base includes Blightstep Pathway, Blackcleave Cliffs, Blood Crypt, Phyrexian Tower, Takenuma, Abandoned Mire, Barbarian Ring, Den of the Bugbear, Hive of the Eye Tyrant, Mountain, and Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance. Runtime mana policy should respect visible land faces, tapped status, life-payment choices, color availability, and whether creature sacrifice for mana is legal and worth the material cost.

• Role concern: The deck must decide each game whether it is the beatdown, the attrition deck, or the stabilizing removal deck. Mayhem Devil and Goblin Bombardment reward keeping material flowing; Fatal Push and sideboard Molten Impact support stabilization; Ob Nixilis, the Adversary and Kolaghan's Command support grind plans; Disruptor Flute is for specific opposing card or engine pressure only when matchup knowledge justifies it.

• Legality concern: Card text must be verified by the engine at runtime whenever the exact rules text matters. This guide can name tactical roles for registered cards, but it must not assume that a sacrificed creature returns, a land ability is available, a target is legal, or a trigger resolves unless the rules engine exposes that action, trigger, or resulting visible state.

• Opponent information status: No opponent decklist, matchup label, sideboard plan, or metagame target was supplied for this batch. Until later matchup sections provide explicit context, the pilot should reason from public information only: revealed cards, companion or deck-registration data if exposed, battlefield, graveyard, exile, stack, life totals, hand counts, mana, and Veles decision history. Hidden cards should be inferred only at archetype level, never named as certainty.

Thesis

• Assemble a sacrifice loop, not a single named combo: Rakdos Sacrifice wants disposable bodies from Forsaken Miner, Artillery Enthusiast, Voldaren Epicure, Bloodghast, and Seasoned Pyromancer; a sacrifice outlet from Goblin Bombardment, Warren Soultrader, or Phyrexian Tower; and a payoff or reset engine from Mayhem Devil or Chthonian Nightmare. The strongest games turn every creature, token, and recursive card into damage, mana, discard-pressure, or repeated battlefield presence.

• Win through compounding attrition before the opponent can ignore small exchanges. Mayhem Devil and Goblin Bombardment turn sacrifice volume into removal and life-total pressure; Bloodghast and Forsaken Miner punish one-for-one removal; Seasoned Pyromancer refills material; Chthonian Nightmare can convert spent creatures into a new board when legal targets and energy support it. The deck wins many games by making normal combat math and removal trades bad for the opponent.

• Prioritize engine density over raw card size. A hand with outlet plus recursive creature plus payoff is often better than a hand with isolated creatures and no conversion point. Preserve Mayhem Devil and Goblin Bombardment when they are the only way to turn small bodies into reach, but spend creatures freely when the resulting damage, mana, or recursion changes the board now.

• Do not pilot this as pure aggro. Early attacks matter, especially from Forsaken Miner, Artillery Enthusiast bodies, Voldaren Epicure, Bloodghast, and tokens, but the deck is not trying to empty its hand into sweepers without a recovery engine. If the opponent is slower, pressure them while holding a rebuild line; if the opponent is faster, use Fatal Push, Mayhem Devil triggers, Goblin Bombardment, and disposable blockers to stabilize first.

• Do not pilot this as hard control. Fatal Push and sideboard Molten Impact are for buying time and breaking key threats, not for answering every creature on sight. When a sacrifice engine can handle small bodies through Mayhem Devil or Goblin Bombardment, conserve clean interaction for threats that race, block profitably, shut off recursion, or threaten a decisive engine turn.

• Respect runtime legality over strategic desire. Chthonian Nightmare, Warren Soultrader, Phyrexian Tower, channel lands, creature lands, Bloodghast recursion, and sideboard modal spells all depend on visible legal actions, available mana, targets, zones, and timing. The pilot should never assume a sacrifice, recursion, target, damage assignment, or land activation exists unless Veles exposes it.

Role Package

• Threats: Forsaken Miner, Artillery Enthusiast, Voldaren Epicure, Bloodghast, Seasoned Pyromancer, Den of the Bugbear, and Hive of the Eye Tyrant provide pressure that stays relevant after removal. Treat small attackers as chip damage plus future sacrifice resources; treat creature lands as late pressure when using mana does not prevent a more important engine action.

• Payoffs: Mayhem Devil and Goblin Bombardment are the primary damage converters. Mayhem Devil rewards every sacrifice event and can shift the deck from trading to dominating small boards; Goblin Bombardment converts creatures into deterministic reach and removal when legal targets exist. Ob Nixilis, the Adversary is a sideboard grind payoff that can punish opponents who rely on sorcery-speed removal or struggle to pressure planeswalkers.

• Engines: Chthonian Nightmare, Warren Soultrader, Goblin Bombardment, Mayhem Devil, Seasoned Pyromancer, Bloodghast, and Forsaken Miner form the core resource machine. Warren Soultrader is a commitment card because sacrificing material for mana or treasure-like conversion can accelerate a decisive turn but can also expose the pilot if the payoff is removed; Card text check required for exact generated resource and timing details.

• Velocity: Seasoned Pyromancer is the main hand-smoothing and material-generation card. Voldaren Epicure and Artillery Enthusiast add cheap board presence and sacrifice-ready artifacts or creatures when their text supports it; Card text check required for exact token, damage, and ability details. Takenuma, Abandoned Mire and Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance can become spell-like lands when the engine has enough mana and the channel action is legal.

• Interaction: Fatal Push is the clean main-deck removal spell, while Mayhem Devil and Goblin Bombardment supply repeatable damage interaction through sacrifice. Molten Impact and Kolaghan's Command are sideboard interaction modules; use them when the matchup demands extra removal, artifact pressure, recursion, discard, or reach, subject to exact mode legality and visible targets.

• Protection: The deck protects itself through redundancy, recursion, and diversified permanent types rather than through dedicated protection spells. Bloodghast, Forsaken Miner, Chthonian Nightmare, Seasoned Pyromancer, Den of the Bugbear, Hive of the Eye Tyrant, Takenuma, Abandoned Mire, and Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance help rebuild after removal or sweepers when the rules engine exposes the relevant actions.

• Recursion: Bloodghast, Forsaken Miner, Chthonian Nightmare, Takenuma, Abandoned Mire, and Kolaghan's Command are the recursion or recovery package. Favor lines that leave a recursive creature available for future sacrifice if the current exchange is not urgent; spend recursion aggressively only when it creates lethal pressure, removes a key permanent through sacrifice damage, or prevents falling behind.

• Mana: Blightstep Pathway, Blackcleave Cliffs, Blood Crypt, Mountain, Barbarian Ring, Phyrexian Tower, Den of the Bugbear, Hive of the Eye Tyrant, Takenuma, Abandoned Mire, and Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance provide colors, utility, and late-game spell density. Prioritize untapped black-red access early for Fatal Push, Forsaken Miner, Bloodghast, Warren Soultrader, Mayhem Devil, Chthonian Nightmare, and Goblin Bombardment sequencing.

• Sideboard modules: Disruptor Flute is a targeted disruption module for matchups where one named opposing card, activated ability, or engine piece matters; Molten Impact is the extra removal module; Kolaghan's Command is the flexible attrition and artifact-interaction module; Ob Nixilis, the Adversary is the grind-pressure module for slower games where sacrificing material into a planeswalker plan is worth the tempo.

Primary Win Conditions

• Engine damage is the main kill: assemble Mayhem Devil or Goblin Bombardment with disposable material from Bloodghast, Forsaken Miner, Seasoned Pyromancer tokens, Voldaren Epicure, Artillery Enthusiast, Chthonian Nightmare, Warren Soultrader, or land-based creature production. Execute by converting every legal sacrifice into damage that either clears blockers, removes planeswalkers, or shortens the opponent's clock; prioritize this path when the opponent is interacting one-for-one, the board is clogged, or the opponent is near burn range. Protect the engine by not spending the last recursive body unless the damage changes the current turn or creates a lethal follow-up.

• Recursion attrition wins long games: Bloodghast, Forsaken Miner, Chthonian Nightmare, Takenuma, Abandoned Mire, and Seasoned Pyromancer let the deck rebuild through removal and turn discard or trades into future pressure. Execute by trading early creatures, then reusing them as sacrifice fuel or attackers after legal recursion appears. Prioritize this path when the opponent has removal but limited exile, when both players are low on cards, or when Mayhem Devil and Goblin Bombardment can make every returned body matter.

• Combat pressure closes games when the opponent cannot stabilize: Forsaken Miner, Bloodghast, Artillery Enthusiast, Voldaren Epicure, Seasoned Pyromancer bodies, Den of the Bugbear, and Hive of the Eye Tyrant can win without a full engine. Execute by attacking before sacrificing creatures if combat damage plus postcombat Goblin Bombardment or Mayhem Devil triggers improves the clock. Prioritize this path against slow setup decks, after the opponent taps low, or when graveyard recursion is blocked and ordinary damage is the cleanest visible route.

• Value-overload wins through Seasoned Pyromancer and Chthonian Nightmare: use Seasoned Pyromancer to convert weak hand texture into cards and bodies, then use Chthonian Nightmare only when legal targets, energy, sacrifice costs, and timing make the exchange materially improve the board. Prioritize this path when the first engine piece died, when the hand contains redundant lands or recursive cards, or when returning a creature creates a fresh Mayhem Devil, Warren Soultrader, Seasoned Pyromancer, or pressure body. Card text check required for exact Chthonian Nightmare and Artillery Enthusiast details.

Secondary Win Conditions

• Creature lands are the safest late-game pressure when spells are exhausted: Den of the Bugbear and Hive of the Eye Tyrant should attack when activation does not block a higher-impact engine, removal, or recursion action. Use them to pressure planeswalkers, punish tapped-out opponents, and close after sweepers. Do not expose them into obvious profitable blocks unless the attack creates lethal, forces a key trade, or unlocks follow-up sacrifice damage.

• Direct reach finishes games after chip damage: Goblin Bombardment, Mayhem Devil triggers, Barbarian Ring, and sideboard Kolaghan's Command or Molten Impact can end games without winning combat. Treat each visible damage action as part of a turn-cycle count, not an isolated ping. Prioritize face damage only when removal targets no longer matter, the opponent is inside deterministic lethal range, or the opponent's next turn is likely stronger than waiting.

• Warren Soultrader can enable burst turns, but treat it as a commitment engine rather than a default mana source. Use it when the visible line turns creatures into a decisive Mayhem Devil, Goblin Bombardment, Chthonian Nightmare, Seasoned Pyromancer, Ob Nixilis, the Adversary, or lethal sequence. Card text check required for exact resource generation, cost, and timing; never assume a sacrifice-for-mana line unless Veles exposes it.

• Sideboard planeswalker pressure wins fair matchups: Ob Nixilis, the Adversary is a post-board threat that benefits from disposable creatures and punishes opponents who cannot attack it cleanly. Prioritize it when sacrificing a creature does not collapse defense, when the opponent is heavy on removal, or when a duplicated or sacrifice-enhanced planeswalker line is visible and legal. Avoid tapping out for it if a faster board requires Fatal Push, Molten Impact, Mayhem Devil damage, or Goblin Bombardment defense first.

Emergency Lines

• When behind on life, stabilize before maximizing damage. Use Fatal Push, Mayhem Devil triggers, Goblin Bombardment, Molten Impact, and disposable blockers to reduce incoming power; sacrifice blocked creatures only after blocks are legal and only if damage or recursion improves survival. Do not race with Bloodghast or Forsaken Miner if the visible board requires removal or blockers first.

• When behind on board, convert small material into board control. Prioritize Mayhem Devil plus any legal sacrifice source, Goblin Bombardment with recursive bodies, and Fatal Push on threats that invalidate blocking or outsize the engine. If the opponent has multiple creatures, avoid spending all damage on the opponent unless lethal is visible.

• When behind on cards, preserve repeatable engines over one-shot pressure. Seasoned Pyromancer, Chthonian Nightmare, Takenuma, Abandoned Mire, Kolaghan's Command, Bloodghast, and Forsaken Miner are recovery tools; use discard or sacrifice costs to turn dead cards and expendable creatures into new material. Do not over-sacrifice if the resulting board leaves no future action.

• When behind on mana, use cheap interaction and land drops to keep playing. Favor untapped black-red sources for Fatal Push, Forsaken Miner, Bloodghast, Chthonian Nightmare, Warren Soultrader, Mayhem Devil, and Goblin Bombardment. Delay Den of the Bugbear or Hive of the Eye Tyrant activation if spending the turn on a spell, recursion action, or removal spell better preserves tempo.

• When graveyard recursion is disrupted, shift to battlefield and hand-based pressure. Attack with available creatures, use Seasoned Pyromancer bodies, lean on Goblin Bombardment and Mayhem Devil from current material, and use creature lands as finishers. Do not assume Bloodghast, Forsaken Miner, Chthonian Nightmare, or Takenuma, Abandoned Mire will function through visible graveyard hate.

• When key win conditions are removed, win by redundancy instead of waiting for the exact replacement. A removed Mayhem Devil makes Goblin Bombardment and creature lands more important; a removed Goblin Bombardment makes Mayhem Devil and combat more important; lost recursion makes Seasoned Pyromancer, Ob Nixilis, the Adversary, and land threats more important. Choose the line that Veles shows as legal now.

Resource Model

• Life is a spendable buffer only when it buys a stronger engine turn. Blood Crypt, untapped Pathway choices, Phyrexian Tower timing, attacks taken instead of chump blocks, and sideboard Ob Nixilis, the Adversary pressure all ask whether the life paid or risked converts into Mayhem Devil, Goblin Bombardment, Chthonian Nightmare, Seasoned Pyromancer, or immediate lethal pressure. Stop spending life aggressively when the visible opposing board can force a two-turn clock.

• Hand cards are fuel, not trophies. Seasoned Pyromancer can turn redundant lands, extra recursion pieces, or situational cards into fresh cards and bodies; Chthonian Nightmare and Takenuma, Abandoned Mire reward creatures reaching the graveyard; Bloodghast and Forsaken Miner are better discard or sacrifice material than normal threats when their return is legally available. Do not discard the last clean interaction spell if the board requires Fatal Push, Molten Impact, or Kolaghan's Command.

• Mana is the limiting resource for double-spelling and engine assembly. One black source enables Fatal Push, Forsaken Miner, Bloodghast, Chthonian Nightmare, Warren Soultrader, and Hive of the Eye Tyrant; one red source enables Voldaren Epicure, Artillery Enthusiast, Goblin Bombardment, Mayhem Devil, Seasoned Pyromancer, Den of the Bugbear, Molten Impact, Kolaghan's Command, and Ob Nixilis, the Adversary. Prioritize untapped black-red access over utility-land greed until the first engine and interaction window are covered.

• Board material converts into damage and selection through sacrifice outlets. Goblin Bombardment and Mayhem Devil make every expendable creature, artifact token, or doomed blocker matter; Warren Soultrader may turn creatures into burst resources when Veles exposes the legal action; Chthonian Nightmare can turn a sacrifice cost into future board presence when a valid graveyard target is visible. Card text check required for exact Warren Soultrader, Chthonian Nightmare, Artillery Enthusiast, and Molten Impact details.

• Graveyard cards are a second hand when recursion is online. Bloodghast, Forsaken Miner, Chthonian Nightmare, Takenuma, Abandoned Mire, Seasoned Pyromancer, and Kolaghan's Command create value from trades, discard, and sacrifice. Treat visible exile effects, graveyard hate, and replacement effects as resource denial; shift toward combat, creature lands, and planeswalker pressure when recursion is blocked.

• Exile is usually a warning zone, not a bank. Do not assume cards exiled by opponent effects or costs can return unless Veles exposes a legal action. If Hive of the Eye Tyrant can exile an opposing graveyard card while attacking, weigh graveyard disruption against preserving the land and mana for a higher-impact spell.

• Lands become spells in long games. Den of the Bugbear and Hive of the Eye Tyrant convert flood into pressure; Barbarian Ring can become reach if its legal damage condition is exposed; Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance and Takenuma, Abandoned Mire convert land slots into action. Preserve enough lands to cast Seasoned Pyromancer and activate creature lands before discarding or channeling utility lands.

• Information is a tempo resource. Use public actions, revealed cards, graveyards, mana left open, and known sideboard cards to decide whether to commit Mayhem Devil, Goblin Bombardment, Chthonian Nightmare, or Ob Nixilis, the Adversary. Do not infer exact hidden removal or sweepers beyond revealed information.

• Sideboard bullets trade flexibility for targeted pressure. Disruptor Flute is for named-card or activated-plan disruption when the opponent's key card is known or strongly indicated; Molten Impact and Kolaghan's Command add interaction and reach; Ob Nixilis, the Adversary adds sticky threat pressure against fair decks. Do not board into bullets that dilute sacrifice density without a matchup reason.

Mana Guide

• Keep hands that cast early spells and reach both colors. A strong opener normally has two lands, access to black and red by turn two, and at least one cheap play among Forsaken Miner, Voldaren Epicure, Artillery Enthusiast, Fatal Push, Goblin Bombardment, Chthonian Nightmare, or Warren Soultrader. Mulligan one-land hands unless they contain multiple one-mana plays, the land enters untapped, and the draw context makes missing land two acceptable.

• Sequence untapped colored lands before utility lands. Blackcleave Cliffs and Blood Crypt are premium early sources; Blightstep Pathway should choose the color that lets the current hand cast its next two turns, not the color that looks balanced in isolation. Play Mountain only when red is already the bottleneck solved or black is covered elsewhere.

• Use utility lands after spell deployment is stable. Phyrexian Tower is strongest when a disposable creature is already present and the sacrifice produces a legal high-impact follow-up; Den of the Bugbear and Hive of the Eye Tyrant should usually wait until colored spell access is secure; Barbarian Ring, Takenuma, Abandoned Mire, and Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance should be preserved as lands unless the channel/damage action is clearly better than future mana.

• Play land before draw when landfall-style recursion or immediate mana matters. If Bloodghast is in the graveyard and a land drop legally returns it, make the land drop before sacrifice-combat sequencing that needs the body. If Seasoned Pyromancer or another draw/filter effect may change which land to play, delay the land only when no visible Bloodghast return, mana-payment requirement, or creature-land activation depends on the land now.

• Play land after draw when choosing between utility lands is the decision. With Seasoned Pyromancer or other visible card-selection actions, wait on the land drop if the current turn does not need immediate mana and the drawn cards can determine whether Blightstep Pathway, Blood Crypt, Den of the Bugbear, Hive of the Eye Tyrant, Takenuma, Abandoned Mire, Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance, or Barbarian Ring is best.

• Pay life for Blood Crypt only when tempo requires it. Shock it in to cast Fatal Push, a one-drop, Goblin Bombardment, Chthonian Nightmare, Warren Soultrader, Mayhem Devil, or Seasoned Pyromancer on curve, or to hold interaction. Let it enter tapped when the turn has no mana use, the life total is pressured, or another untapped source already covers the legal action.

• Preserve red-red-adjacent development for engine turns. Mayhem Devil, Goblin Bombardment, Seasoned Pyromancer, Den of the Bugbear, Kolaghan's Command, Molten Impact, and Ob Nixilis, the Adversary all reward reliable red access. Preserve black for Fatal Push, recursion, Hive of the Eye Tyrant, Takenuma, Abandoned Mire, and sacrifice engines. If Veles exposes exact payment choices, choose sources that keep the next visible spell or activation castable.

Mulligan Guide

• Strong keeps have two or three lands, both colors by turn two, and either an engine pair or interaction plus pressure. Keep hands like Blackcleave Cliffs, Blood Crypt, Forsaken Miner, Goblin Bombardment, Mayhem Devil, Fatal Push, Bloodghast because they curve, interact, and convert sacrifice material into damage.

• Medium keeps have mana plus one clear plan but need draws to become powerful. Keep two-land hands with Voldaren Epicure or Artillery Enthusiast, Warren Soultrader, Chthonian Nightmare, and Seasoned Pyromancer when colors work; Card text check required for exact Artillery Enthusiast, Warren Soultrader, and Chthonian Nightmare sequencing, so follow only legal actions exposed by Veles.

• Risky keeps need matchup or play/draw help. A one-land Blackcleave Cliffs hand with Forsaken Miner, Voldaren Epicure, Fatal Push, Goblin Bombardment, Bloodghast, and Mayhem Devil is acceptable on the draw against slower decks, but poor on the play if missing land two strands multiple spells.

• Automatic ships lack early mana or legal early plays. Ship zero-land hands, one-land utility-land hands with only Hive of the Eye Tyrant, Den of the Bugbear, Barbarian Ring, Takenuma, Abandoned Mire, or Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance, and hands that cannot cast any spell before turn three.

• Matchup-dependent keeps adjust for speed and interaction. Against fast creature starts, keep Fatal Push plus a cheap creature even without a sacrifice engine; against grindy visible strategies, keep Goblin Bombardment, Chthonian Nightmare, Seasoned Pyromancer, Bloodghast, or creature-land pressure even if Fatal Push is absent.

• Play/draw changes the value of taplands and filtering. On the play, prefer Blackcleave Cliffs, Blood Crypt, or correct Blightstep Pathway access into a turn-one or turn-two spell; on the draw, a slower two-land hand with Seasoned Pyromancer and recursion is more defensible if it still casts Fatal Push or a cheap permanent.

• Trap hands look powerful but do not function soon enough. Ship hands with Mayhem Devil, Seasoned Pyromancer, Goblin Bombardment, Chthonian Nightmare, and only one land; ship hands full of Bloodghast and utility lands if no black-red development or sacrifice outlet is available.

• Mulligan to five for mana plus agency, not for perfect engines. A five-card hand with two lands, Fatal Push, Forsaken Miner, and Goblin Bombardment is better than a seven-card hand that needs multiple draws before acting.

Turn Arc

• Turn 1: deploy untapped colored mana and the best cheap legal play. Prefer Forsaken Miner, Voldaren Epicure, Artillery Enthusiast, or Fatal Push when the opponent presents a must-kill creature; if no one-mana action exists, choose the land that casts turn-two Goblin Bombardment, Warren Soultrader, Chthonian Nightmare, or Bloodghast.

• Turn 1 deviation: hold Fatal Push only when killing now is lower value than answering a visible higher-impact threat next turn. Do not pass with unused mana against a fast board if Veles exposes a legal Fatal Push target that materially reduces damage.

• Turn 2: establish the first engine piece or recursive body. Prefer Goblin Bombardment when a disposable creature is present or Bloodghast is likely to recur; prefer Warren Soultrader or Chthonian Nightmare when Veles shows a legal line that turns a creature into mana, board presence, or recursion; cast Bloodghast when land drops can later return it.

• Turn 2 deviation: spend the turn on Fatal Push plus a cheap creature when pressure is high. Removing a creature and preserving life can matter more than deploying Goblin Bombardment into a board with no sacrifice material.

• Turn 3: convert setup into pressure or stabilize with Mayhem Devil. Prefer Mayhem Devil when sacrifice actions are already legal through Goblin Bombardment, Warren Soultrader, Bloodghast recursion, Voldaren Epicure material, or Chthonian Nightmare; prefer Seasoned Pyromancer when the hand is clunky, low on material, or needs graveyard fuel.

• Turn 3 deviation: delay Mayhem Devil when it would die before any sacrifice value and another legal play develops redundancy. Use Fatal Push, Goblin Bombardment, or Seasoned Pyromancer instead if visible mana and board state suggest Mayhem Devil cannot safely generate immediate damage.

• Turns 4-5: double-spell and force attrition loops. Combine Fatal Push with engine deployment, sacrifice Bloodghast or expendable tokens to Goblin Bombardment, recur threats through Chthonian Nightmare when legal, and use Seasoned Pyromancer to turn excess lands or redundant pieces into bodies and action.

• Turns 4-5 deviation: attack with creature lands only when mana is not needed for higher-impact spells. Den of the Bugbear and Hive of the Eye Tyrant are strong pressure, but activating them over Mayhem Devil, Seasoned Pyromancer, Kolaghan's Command, Molten Impact, or Ob Nixilis, the Adversary should require clear visible benefit.

• Late game: treat every land, graveyard creature, and sacrifice outlet as reach. Use Den of the Bugbear, Hive of the Eye Tyrant, Barbarian Ring, Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance, Takenuma, Abandoned Mire, Seasoned Pyromancer, Goblin Bombardment, Mayhem Devil, and Bloodghast to convert stalled boards into damage.

• Late-game deviation: shift away from graveyard reliance when public information shows exile pressure or graveyard hate. In those games, prioritize creature lands, hard-cast threats, Ob Nixilis, the Adversary after sideboard, and direct interaction over recursive lines that Veles does not expose as legal.

Card Roles

• Forsaken Miner is the preferred cheap black body when the hand needs sacrifice material, early pressure, or graveyard recursion. Cast it early when black mana is available and a future Goblin Bombardment, Warren Soultrader, Mayhem Devil, or Chthonian Nightmare line is likely; do not overvalue it as a blocker unless Veles shows it can legally block. Its best role is repeatable material, so sacrificing it is correct when the legal action advances damage, mana, recursion, or Mayhem Devil triggers and a later return is visible or likely.

• Artillery Enthusiast is early sacrifice material and pressure, but Card text check required for exact generated object, trigger, and timing details. Cast it early when it supplies a body or artifact/token resource that can feed Goblin Bombardment, Warren Soultrader, Mayhem Devil, Chthonian Nightmare, or revolt for Fatal Push. Avoid holding it for abstract value if the current hand lacks board presence; this deck needs permanents in play before its engines become dangerous.

• Voldaren Epicure is a one-mana setup card that supplies early damage, a body, and sacrifice-adjacent material. Lead on Voldaren Epicure when the hand has Goblin Bombardment or Mayhem Devil and needs expendable permanents; it is also useful for enabling revolt-style Fatal Push turns when a legal sacrifice action exists. Do not spend Voldaren Epicure resources casually if Mayhem Devil is about to turn them into targeted damage.

• Bloodghast is the deck's highest-volume recursive sacrifice creature and should be treated as future damage rather than a normal creature. Cast Bloodghast when land drops can recur it, discard it to Seasoned Pyromancer when that improves a clunky hand, and sacrifice it aggressively to Goblin Bombardment or Warren Soultrader when a land drop or visible recursion can bring it back. Avoid trading Bloodghast in combat if sacrificing it creates guaranteed damage, mana, or Mayhem Devil triggers.

• Warren Soultrader is a commitment engine that converts extra creatures into mana or resources, but Card text check required for exact cost and output. Deploy Warren Soultrader when at least one expendable creature is already present or the hand can immediately create material; prioritize it before expensive double-spell turns when visible legal actions show it can accelerate Mayhem Devil, Seasoned Pyromancer, Chthonian Nightmare, or Goblin Bombardment turns. Do not sacrifice essential pressure into Warren Soultrader when life total, removal risk, or missing payoff makes the exchange merely decorative.

• Seasoned Pyromancer is the main hand-smoothing threat and one of the best midgame stabilizers. Cast it when the hand contains excess lands, redundant Goblin Bombardment, extra Chthonian Nightmare, dead Fatal Push, or Bloodghast that benefits from the graveyard; hold it when every card in hand has a near-term role and another legal play uses mana more efficiently. Its bodies are real resources for Goblin Bombardment, Warren Soultrader, Mayhem Devil, Chthonian Nightmare, and post-board Ob Nixilis, the Adversary casualty-style pressure if Veles exposes that legal line.

• Mayhem Devil is the defining payoff and should often be protected until a sacrifice action can happen immediately or soon. Cast Mayhem Devil on turn three when Goblin Bombardment, Warren Soultrader, Voldaren Epicure material, Bloodghast recursion, Chthonian Nightmare, Phyrexian Tower, or other visible sacrifices can generate damage. Aim Mayhem Devil triggers at creatures when removing blockers, mana creatures, or lethal attackers matters; aim them at the opponent when the board is stable or a lethal chain is visible. Do not tap out for Mayhem Devil into an empty sacrifice board when another play develops material first.

• Fatal Push is efficient interaction and should buy the time needed for engines to dominate. Use Fatal Push early against visible threats that increase the damage clock, stop attacks, or threaten engine pieces; hold it when the only target is low-impact and a higher-value target is likely by public board context. Revolt or sacrifice-enabling lines matter, but do not force a sacrifice solely to enlarge Fatal Push unless the target's mana value and board impact justify the exchange.

• Chthonian Nightmare is a recursion engine and sacrifice outlet, but Card text check required for exact energy, target, activation speed, and mana-value constraints. Commit Chthonian Nightmare when the graveyard already contains a meaningful creature or the board contains expendable material; it is strongest with Bloodghast, Forsaken Miner, Seasoned Pyromancer, Mayhem Devil, and cheap bodies that can be recycled. Do not activate it into graveyard hate, empty graveyards, or a target set that Veles shows is low impact unless the alternative is losing tempo or wasting mana.

• Goblin Bombardment is the cleanest sacrifice outlet and the card that converts stalled boards into reach. Cast Goblin Bombardment before committing Bloodghast, Forsaken Miner, Voldaren Epicure, Artillery Enthusiast, or Seasoned Pyromancer tokens when it will make future creatures threatening; hold it only when immediate removal, Mayhem Devil, or Seasoned Pyromancer is more urgent. Use Goblin Bombardment damage to finish creatures before combat, remove planeswalkers when relevant, or point upstairs when lethal or inevitability is visible.

• Phyrexian Tower is a high-leverage land because it turns creatures into burst black mana and sacrifice triggers. Use it to accelerate a meaningful play, enable Mayhem Devil, fuel Chthonian Nightmare lines, or sacrifice a creature that would die anyway; avoid sacrificing the only pressure source when the extra mana has no legal payoff. Treat Phyrexian Tower as an engine piece, not just a land.

• Den of the Bugbear and Hive of the Eye Tyrant are late-game threats that dodge sorcery-speed creature removal until activated. Activate them when mana is not needed for engine spells, interaction, or multiple sacrifice actions; prefer Den of the Bugbear for pressure and board expansion, and prefer Hive of the Eye Tyrant when graveyard pressure or evasive damage is relevant. Do not expose creature lands into obvious unfavorable blocks unless the attack advances lethal, planeswalker pressure, or a sacrifice follow-up.

• Takenuma, Abandoned Mire and Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance are lands with spell-like late-game utility. Use Takenuma, Abandoned Mire when returning a key creature or engine creature is stronger than making another land drop, especially Mayhem Devil, Seasoned Pyromancer, Warren Soultrader, Bloodghast, or Forsaken Miner if legal. Use Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance when bodies matter for Goblin Bombardment, Warren Soultrader, Mayhem Devil, Chthonian Nightmare, or surprise combat pressure. Keep them as lands when early colored mana is the bottleneck.

• Barbarian Ring is a late-game reach card, but Card text check required for exact threshold and activation constraints in the current rules engine. Use it as a red source early when needed; consider its damage mode only when the graveyard, life totals, and legal activation text make the exchange clearly useful. Do not rely on Barbarian Ring for lethal unless Veles exposes the activation as legal and damage assignment is certain.

• Blackcleave Cliffs, Blood Crypt, and Blightstep Pathway are the core color-fixing lands and should be sequenced to cast early black and red spells on time. Lead on untapped black for Forsaken Miner, Fatal Push, Chthonian Nightmare, or Bloodghast when the hand needs black development; lead on red when Voldaren Epicure, Artillery Enthusiast, Goblin Bombardment, or later Mayhem Devil sequencing is the bottleneck. Choose Blood Crypt life payment according to the visible damage race, not by habit.

• Mountain is the basic red source and mostly supports painless red development. Play it when black requirements are already covered or when the hand needs red for Goblin Bombardment, Mayhem Devil, Seasoned Pyromancer, Den of the Bugbear, Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance, Molten Impact, or Kolaghan's Command after sideboard. Avoid keeping Mountain-heavy hands that cannot cast black one- and two-mana cards.

Interaction Priorities

• Priority: remove creatures that shorten the clock before they force defensive sacrifices. Use Fatal Push, Goblin Bombardment, Mayhem Devil triggers, Barbarian Ring if legal, and post-board Molten Impact only on visible threats whose damage, evasion, lifelink, engine text, or planeswalker pressure changes the next turn cycle; ignore small attackers when Bloodghast, Forsaken Miner, Seasoned Pyromancer tokens, or Den of the Bugbear pressure can race them.

• Priority: protect the sacrifice engine by killing hate pieces before value creatures. If the opponent presents a visible permanent that stops graveyard recursion, prevents sacrifice triggers, shuts off activated abilities, or invalidates Goblin Bombardment, make it the first removal target unless lethal pressure requires a different answer. Card text check required for exact Molten Impact and Disruptor Flute use, so choose those actions only from exposed legal text.

• Priority: spend Fatal Push early against snowball threats and save sacrifice damage for flexible boards. Fatal Push is best when it answers a creature before combat or before the opponent untaps; Goblin Bombardment and Mayhem Devil are better when multiple one-damage packets can finish a damaged creature, clear blockers, or split damage across creature and opponent. Do not sacrifice multiple bodies into a single low-impact target unless Mayhem Devil triggers create a larger swing.

• Priority: aim Mayhem Devil triggers at creatures when board control unlocks attacks, and aim them at the opponent when the race or lethal chain is visible. With Goblin Bombardment, Warren Soultrader, Phyrexian Tower, Chthonian Nightmare, Bloodghast recursion, Voldaren Epicure material, or Seasoned Pyromancer tokens, count every sacrifice as both removal and reach. Do not waste Mayhem Devil damage on creatures already dying from combat unless the engine exposes an exact reason.

• Priority: use Goblin Bombardment as interaction when creatures would be removed, blocked unfavorably, or blanked by exile effects. Sacrifice Bloodghast, Forsaken Miner, Artillery Enthusiast material, Voldaren Epicure material, or Seasoned Pyromancer tokens before they are lost for no value when legal priority exists. Preserve Mayhem Devil and Warren Soultrader unless sacrificing them wins the game, prevents lethal, or enables a decisive Chthonian Nightmare line.

• Priority: bait removal with redundant engines before committing the only payoff. Against control or removal-heavy midrange, a second Goblin Bombardment, Forsaken Miner, Bloodghast, or Seasoned Pyromancer can draw interaction before Mayhem Devil or Warren Soultrader enters. Against fast creature decks, do not over-bait; deploy the removal or blocker that affects combat immediately.

• Priority: counter, discard, exile, and bounce are not main-deck interaction modes here. Do not choose nonexistent counterspell, discard, exile, or bounce lines unless Veles exposes a legal action from a registered card such as Kolaghan's Command, Hive of the Eye Tyrant, Takenuma, Abandoned Mire, or another visible object. When Kolaghan's Command is legal, Card text check required for exact modes; prefer modes that answer an artifact, force a discard, rebuy Mayhem Devil, or deal lethal only when the legal text confirms the choice.

Combat And Trading Rules

• Priority: attack when damage converts into a sacrifice finish, and hold back when the engine needs bodies. Bloodghast, Forsaken Miner, Artillery Enthusiast material, Voldaren Epicure material, and Seasoned Pyromancer tokens are expendable attackers if Goblin Bombardment, Mayhem Devil, Warren Soultrader, Phyrexian Tower, or Chthonian Nightmare can use them after blocks. Do not attack with the only creature needed to pay a visible sacrifice cost unless the attack changes lethal math.

• Priority: preserve Mayhem Devil in combat unless trading it prevents lethal or unlocks immediate lethal damage. Mayhem Devil is usually worth more as a trigger engine than as a 3-power attacker; attack with it when the opponent cannot profitably block, when removal pressure is low, or when one combat step plus sacrifice triggers sets up lethal. Block with it only under survival pressure or when recursion/legal follow-up makes the exchange favorable.

• Priority: trade recursive creatures before unique engine creatures. Bloodghast and Forsaken Miner can be offered in attacks or blocks when legal recursion is visible or likely from land drops and sacrifice triggers; Warren Soultrader, Mayhem Devil, and Seasoned Pyromancer should not be traded into ordinary creatures without a payoff. Card text check required for exact Forsaken Miner recursion constraints, so do not assume it returns unless Veles shows the legal action or the known condition is satisfied.

• Priority: block aggressively once life total falls into burn or alpha-strike range. At 10 life or lower against aggressive decks, value a body that prevents three or more damage above speculative future sacrifice value unless the body plus Goblin Bombardment or Mayhem Devil creates a better exchange. At 5 life or lower, prioritize survival, lethal prevention, and removing evasive attackers over preserving engines.

• Priority: race control and combo with sticky pressure instead of defensive trades. Against opponents with few creatures, attack with Bloodghast, Forsaken Miner, Den of the Bugbear, Hive of the Eye Tyrant, and Seasoned Pyromancer bodies while keeping Goblin Bombardment mana and sacrifice material available. Do not hold recursive attackers back for blocks that are unlikely to matter.

• Priority: use Den of the Bugbear and Hive of the Eye Tyrant as late pressure when blocks are favorable or sacrifice backup exists. Activate Den of the Bugbear when it increases board material or pressures a planeswalker without losing needed mana; activate Hive of the Eye Tyrant when evasive damage or graveyard pressure matters. Avoid animating creature lands into open removal or larger blockers when ordinary creatures can attack instead.

• Priority: sacrifice blocked creatures before combat damage only when the damage would not matter or when triggers matter more. If a blocked Bloodghast or token will not kill its blocker, sacrificing it to Goblin Bombardment, Warren Soultrader, Phyrexian Tower, or Chthonian Nightmare can convert a bad combat into damage, mana, or recursion. If combat damage kills an important blocker, let damage happen before using sacrifice actions unless Veles shows lethal or survival requires immediate sacrifice.

• Priority: shift archetype posture by matchup speed. Against creature aggro, trade early, protect life, and use sacrifice damage as removal. Against midrange, preserve engines, punish removal with sacrifice responses, and grind with Chthonian Nightmare and Seasoned Pyromancer. Against control or combo, commit recurring threats, pressure life total, and save interaction for hate pieces, blockers, or the turn that decides the race.

Selection And Tutor Rules

• Selection: treat this list as a pseudo-selection deck, not a tutor deck. There is no main-deck action that should be assumed to find any card from the library on demand; choose lines from visible legal actions, current hand, graveyard, land drops, Blood tokens, Seasoned Pyromancer filtering, Takenuma, Abandoned Mire, Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance, and Chthonian Nightmare recursion.

• Filtering: use Seasoned Pyromancer to convert weak or redundant cards into pressure when the hand has excess lands, duplicate engines, or dead removal. Discard Bloodghast and expendable creatures before unique engines when recursion is visible or likely; preserve Mayhem Devil, Goblin Bombardment, Warren Soultrader, and Chthonian Nightmare unless the current hand already has redundancy or the matchup demands immediate velocity.

• Blood tokens: cash Voldaren Epicure Blood tokens when the hand lacks land drops, lacks a sacrifice payoff, or contains matchup-dead cards. Delay Blood token filtering when Mayhem Devil is present or expected soon, because the sacrificed Blood can become a damage trigger; do not delay if missing the next land drop would strand Bloodghast recursion, Seasoned Pyromancer, Chthonian Nightmare, or multiple two/three-mana spells.

• Land drops: sequence lands to maximize both spell casting and recursive pressure. Hold an extra land for Bloodghast only when current mana already supports the turn and the extra land will create immediate attack, sacrifice, or Chthonian Nightmare value. Make the land drop immediately when missing a color, missing the third mana for Mayhem Devil or Seasoned Pyromancer, or needing Den of the Bugbear, Hive of the Eye Tyrant, Phyrexian Tower, Takenuma, Abandoned Mire, Barbarian Ring, or Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance utility later.

• Graveyard selection: choose Chthonian Nightmare targets for board impact over generic value. Rebuy Mayhem Devil when sacrifice material is available, Warren Soultrader when mana or sacrifice conversion is the bottleneck, Seasoned Pyromancer when hand filtering or token material is needed, and Bloodghast or Forsaken Miner only when the engine needs cheap bodies. Card text check required for exact Chthonian Nightmare and Forsaken Miner constraints; follow only targets and payments Veles exposes as legal.

• Channel and graveyard utility: use Takenuma, Abandoned Mire as selection when mana is available and returning a visible creature matters more than preserving an untapped black source. Use Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance when extra bodies create lethal, protect an engine through sacrifice responses, or rebuild after removal. Use Hive of the Eye Tyrant graveyard exile selection only when the attack is already legal and the named graveyard card matters to the race or opposing recursion.

• Bottoming and scry: if an external effect creates scry, surveil, or similar selection, keep lands only when they enable the next spell, Bloodghast return, creature-land activation, or missing color. Keep engines in the order Goblin Bombardment or Mayhem Devil with bodies, Warren Soultrader with bodies, then Chthonian Nightmare with graveyard targets. Bottom redundant legendary lands, excess tapped lands, and Fatal Push when the opponent has no visible creature pressure unless revolt or a target is already relevant.

Priority And Stack Rules

• Priority: act at instant speed only when a legal action changes damage, mana, sacrifice value, or a key permanent’s survival. Passing is correct when the stack is harmless, mana must be preserved, or firing Goblin Bombardment, Fatal Push, Warren Soultrader, Phyrexian Tower, or a Blood token would reduce future Mayhem Devil or Chthonian Nightmare value.

• Removal windows: cast Fatal Push before combat when killing an attacker or blocker changes combat, and hold it when revolt from a sacrifice will upgrade the legal target set. Create revolt through Goblin Bombardment, Warren Soultrader, Phyrexian Tower, Blood tokens, or expendable creatures only if Veles confirms the sacrifice action and Fatal Push target are both legal.

• Sacrifice responses: respond to opposing removal by sacrificing the threatened creature if the sacrifice produces damage, mana, recursion, or denies exile value. Prioritize sacrificing Bloodghast, Forsaken Miner, Voldaren Epicure material, Artillery Enthusiast material, and Seasoned Pyromancer tokens; sacrifice Mayhem Devil, Warren Soultrader, or Seasoned Pyromancer only for lethal, survival, or a decisive Chthonian Nightmare line.

• Trigger ordering: aim Mayhem Devil triggers according to the current board, not habit. Target creatures when clearing blockers, killing attackers, or finishing damaged permanents changes combat; target the opponent when a visible chain of sacrifices can set up lethal. Let individual triggers resolve before committing more sacrifices if target survival, prevention, or stack responses may change the next target.

• Goblin Bombardment timing: use Goblin Bombardment before damage when a blocked creature would not deal useful combat damage, after damage when combat already killed something important, and in response to exile or bounce when losing the creature for no value is likely. Count every sacrifice with Mayhem Devil as two separate damage decisions when both permanents are visible.

• Chthonian Nightmare timing: start Chthonian Nightmare lines when the target, sacrifice, and payment are all legal and the board benefit is immediate. Do not expose the only important graveyard target into open interaction without a reason from visible state; do use it to rebuy Mayhem Devil or Seasoned Pyromancer when that creates multiple bodies, damage triggers, or a stabilized board.

• Optional payments and abilities: pay optional costs only when they advance the current turn’s plan. With Warren Soultrader, Phyrexian Tower, Barbarian Ring, creature lands, Blood tokens, Seasoned Pyromancer graveyard actions, Takenuma, Abandoned Mire, or Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance, verify the legal action text and current mana before spending the resource. Card text check required for exact Warren Soultrader, Artillery Enthusiast, Disruptor Flute, Molten Impact, Kolaghan's Command, and Ob Nixilis, the Adversary choices; treat those as conditional on Veles-exposed legal modes.

Sideboard Map

• Sideboarding rule: preserve the sacrifice engine unless the matchup forces a narrow role change. Keep enough cheap creatures, recursive bodies, sacrifice outlets, and payoff permanents for Goblin Bombardment, Mayhem Devil, Warren Soultrader, Chthonian Nightmare, Bloodghast, and Forsaken Miner to function after sideboarding. Do not overload on expensive or reactive cards if the opening turns still require battlefield material.

• Disruptor Flute role: add Disruptor Flute against combo, control, and single-card engine decks where naming or taxing a visible or strongly signaled card can buy the sacrifice deck a full turn cycle. Card text check required for exact Disruptor Flute timing and naming restrictions; choose only names, modes, or payments exposed by Veles as legal. Disruptor Flute is bad when the opponent wins by redundant creature combat, when the key card is unknown, or when spending mana on a noncreature artifact would leave no pressure and no sacrifice material.

• Molten Impact role: add Molten Impact against creature decks where extra removal changes combat, clears blockers for Bloodghast or Den of the Bugbear, or protects Mayhem Devil from being overrun by small attackers. Card text check required for exact Molten Impact modes and damage rules; treat it as conditional removal until Veles shows legal targets. Molten Impact is bad against low-creature control, graveyard-light combo, or boards where Fatal Push plus Mayhem Devil already answer every relevant creature.

• Kolaghan's Command role: add Kolaghan's Command against artifact decks, attrition mirrors, discard-sensitive control, and midrange decks where a recursive creature plus a flexible spell can create a two-for-one. Card text check required for exact Arena/Historic implementation and legal modes; select modes only from Veles output. Kolaghan's Command is bad when the opponent is too fast for three-mana interaction, when there are no artifacts or creatures to target, or when discard is low impact because the opponent is empty-handed or operating from the battlefield.

• Ob Nixilis, the Adversary role: add Ob Nixilis, the Adversary against control, midrange, and removal-heavy decks that answer creatures one-for-one but struggle against planeswalker pressure and casualty-style sacrifice conversion. Card text check required for exact Ob Nixilis, the Adversary loyalty, casualty, and token/copy behavior; use only legal Veles actions. Ob Nixilis, the Adversary is bad against wide creature aggression when the deck cannot defend it, against fast combo when tapping mana does not disrupt, and when sacrificing the available creature would collapse Goblin Bombardment, Mayhem Devil, or Chthonian Nightmare support.

Creature Aggro Balanced Plan Side in: 4 Molten Impact Cut: 3 Voldaren Epicure; 1 Seasoned Pyromancer

• Creature aggro plan: prioritize survival, battlefield trades, and clean removal over slow filtering. Molten Impact increases the density of interaction while keeping Fatal Push, Mayhem Devil, Goblin Bombardment, Bloodghast, Forsaken Miner, Warren Soultrader, and Chthonian Nightmare intact. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Voldaren Epicure when the Blood token is too slow, and one Seasoned Pyromancer when three-mana filtering risks falling behind. Keep enough Seasoned Pyromancer copies to rebuild after trades and to make bodies for sacrifice engines.

Artifact Or Value Permanent Plan Side in: 3 Kolaghan's Command; 2 Molten Impact Cut: 3 Voldaren Epicure; 2 Artillery Enthusiast

• Artifact/value plan: use Kolaghan's Command as flexible interaction when artifact targets or attrition exchanges are visible, and use Molten Impact when creatures still matter. Reduce main-deck emphasis: the weakest one-mana material when the opponent punishes low-impact bodies or when early damage matters less than answering permanents. Keep recursive creatures over expendable nonrecursive bodies because Bloodghast and Forsaken Miner let Kolaghan's Command and Chthonian Nightmare turn long games into repeated material advantages.

Control And Removal-Heavy Midrange Plan Side in: 4 Disruptor Flute; 3 Kolaghan's Command Cut: 4 Fatal Push; 3 Voldaren Epicure

• Control plan: change role from pure creature pressure into resilient threat layering. Ob Nixilis, the Adversary pressures life total and resources through removal, while Kolaghan's Command can punish artifacts, recover creatures, or attack hand size when legal. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Fatal Push when the opponent presents few creature targets, and Voldaren Epicure when a single body plus Blood token does not pressure enough. Keep Goblin Bombardment and Chthonian Nightmare because they make removal awkward and convert every creature into a resource.

Combo Or Spell Engine Plan Side in: 4 Disruptor Flute; 3 Kolaghan's Command Cut: 4 Fatal Push; 2 Voldaren Epicure; 1 Seasoned Pyromancer

• Combo plan: add disruption and a faster noncombat clock while reducing cards that do not interact with the opponent's actual axis. Disruptor Flute is the main sideboard tool when Veles exposes a legal name or the matchup guide identifies a likely engine card; Ob Nixilis, the Adversary converts expendable creatures into pressure that survives creature removal. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Fatal Push when no creature target matters, Voldaren Epicure when Blood filtering is slower than disruption, and one Seasoned Pyromancer when three-mana setup competes with holding up or deploying Disruptor Flute.

Sacrifice Or Graveyard Attrition Mirror Plan Side in: 3 Kolaghan's Command; 4 Molten Impact Cut: 3 Voldaren Epicure; 2 Artillery Enthusiast; 2 Fatal Push

• Attrition mirror plan: fight on recursive value, planeswalker pressure, and flexible interaction rather than one-shot small bodies. Kolaghan's Command is strongest when it can return Mayhem Devil, Warren Soultrader, Seasoned Pyromancer, Bloodghast, or Forsaken Miner while also affecting the opponent's hand, artifact, or creature. Ob Nixilis, the Adversary is strongest when sacrificing a recursive or expendable creature creates pressure without weakening immediate defense. Keep some Fatal Push if opposing creature engines matter, but reduce main-deck emphasis when Mayhem Devil and Goblin Bombardment already dominate small-board exchanges.

• Archetype rule for fast decks: Add role cards: Molten Impact first, then Kolaghan's Command only if artifacts or grindy creature exchanges are visible. Reduce main-deck emphasis: slow filtering and low-impact one-mana bodies before reducing recursive threats or sacrifice payoffs. Do not add Ob Nixilis, the Adversary unless the board can defend it or the opponent's removal makes creatures unreliable.

• Archetype rule for slow decks: Add role cards: Ob Nixilis, the Adversary and Kolaghan's Command first, then Disruptor Flute if a named card or narrow engine matters. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Fatal Push and small disposable creatures that do not pressure through sweepers. Keep Chthonian Nightmare, Goblin Bombardment, Seasoned Pyromancer, Bloodghast, and Forsaken Miner because repeated material is the deck's best way to beat one-for-one removal.

• Archetype rule for combo decks: Add role cards: Disruptor Flute and Ob Nixilis, the Adversary before extra removal unless the combo requires creatures to function. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Fatal Push when targets are absent, and creature-only value cards when disruption plus clock is required. Do not name a card with Disruptor Flute from hidden information; use matchup context only as a hypothesis and obey the legal name or selection action Veles provides.

• Archetype rule for artifact decks: Add role cards: Kolaghan's Command whenever artifact interaction is legal and meaningful, with Molten Impact added if creatures also pressure life total or planeswalkers. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Voldaren Epicure and Artillery Enthusiast when early bodies do not trade profitably. Preserve Mayhem Devil because artifact sacrifice, Treasure-like resources, Food-like resources, Blood tokens, and creature trades can all make sacrifice triggers tactically important when visible.

• Post-sideboard role check: after any plan, count the engine pieces left in the submitted 60 before accepting the configuration. The deck should still contain a functional mix of cheap bodies, sacrifice outlets, payoffs, and recursion; a reactive hand with sideboard cards but no engine may still be a mulligan.

Matchup Guidance

• Aggro: stabilize first, then convert recursive creatures into a locked battlefield. Keep hands that produce early black or red mana, at least one cheap play, and either Fatal Push, Goblin Bombardment, Mayhem Devil, or a fast Chthonian Nightmare loop. Bloodghast and Forsaken Miner pressure well but are poor emergency blockers, so do not treat a hand of recursive attackers as defensive unless Goblin Bombardment, Mayhem Devil, Warren Soultrader, or Fatal Push is already online. Add role cards: Molten Impact when opposing creatures determine the first four turns. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Voldaren Epicure and slower Seasoned Pyromancer lines when the Blood token or three-mana filtering does not affect combat quickly enough.

• Go-wide decks: protect Mayhem Devil and Goblin Bombardment as the highest-impact battlefield cards. The best games usually turn every sacrifice into removal, damage, or forced bad attacks, so prioritize lines that create multiple expendable objects before committing to attacks. Chthonian Nightmare is strongest when it rebuy loops Artillery Enthusiast, Voldaren Epicure, Seasoned Pyromancer tokens, Bloodghast, or Forsaken Miner while Mayhem Devil punishes each exchange. Add role cards: Molten Impact first, and Kolaghan's Command if artifact bodies, grindy exchanges, or recursion targets are visible. Reduce main-deck emphasis: low-impact one-shot bodies before reducing engine payoffs.

• Burn: preserve life total without abandoning pressure. Fetch or shock decisions must respect visible red mana, known damage on stack, and the life cost of Blood Crypt; use Blackcleave Cliffs, Blightstep Pathway, Mountain, and untapped nonpain options when the color need is satisfied. Fatal Push should answer creatures that represent repeated damage before minor chip attackers. Ob Nixilis, the Adversary is only attractive when the casualty creature is expendable and the planeswalker can create immediate pressure or life-resource tension; do not expose it into a board that can remove it for free. Add role cards: Molten Impact for creature-heavy burn, and Kolaghan's Command when discard, artifact interaction, or creature recursion is relevant. Reduce main-deck emphasis: slow filtering that spends mana without changing the damage race.

• Tempo: force the opponent to answer recursive threats at inefficient moments. Bloodghast, Forsaken Miner, Den of the Bugbear, Hive of the Eye Tyrant, Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance, and Takenuma, Abandoned Mire give the deck threats that do not all collapse to one counterspell or removal spell. Cast Goblin Bombardment or Chthonian Nightmare when the opponent is tapped low or when waiting gives them a better window; otherwise pressure with creatures and lands until a protected engine turn appears. Add role cards: Molten Impact for creature tempo, Disruptor Flute for a clearly identified engine or interaction bottleneck, and Ob Nixilis, the Adversary when creature removal is heavy. Reduce main-deck emphasis: expensive setup that walks into open interaction without advancing the board.

• Control: layer threats across zones and avoid overcommitting into sweepers. Bloodghast, Forsaken Miner, Chthonian Nightmare, Seasoned Pyromancer, Den of the Bugbear, Hive of the Eye Tyrant, Takenuma, Abandoned Mire, and Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance are the resource spine because they keep pressure available after one-for-one removal. Goblin Bombardment should be treated as reach and sweeper insurance; sacrifice creatures in response to exile or bounce effects only when the resulting damage or Chthonian Nightmare positioning is better than preserving the creature. Add role cards: Ob Nixilis, the Adversary and Kolaghan's Command, with Disruptor Flute when a specific card or narrow engine is known from public matchup context or legal selection text. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Fatal Push when creature targets are sparse, and low-pressure disposable bodies when they do not stress life total or planeswalkers.

• Combo: create a clock while naming or disrupting only from legal, visible, or matchup-sanctioned information. Disruptor Flute is the key role card when the runtime exposes a valid name choice or the matchup guide identifies the opponent's engine; never infer hidden hand contents beyond public information. Ob Nixilis, the Adversary is valuable because it turns expendable creatures into noncombat pressure, but committing it must be weighed against holding mana for Disruptor Flute or developing Goblin Bombardment plus Mayhem Devil. Add role cards: Disruptor Flute and Ob Nixilis, the Adversary before extra creature removal unless the combo uses creatures that Fatal Push or Molten Impact can legally stop. Reduce main-deck emphasis: removal without targets and slow Blood-token filtering.

• Midrange: win by making every removal exchange leave behind a resource. Prioritize Chthonian Nightmare, Goblin Bombardment, Mayhem Devil, Seasoned Pyromancer, Bloodghast, and Forsaken Miner because they punish one-for-one play and make sacrifice costs productive. Fatal Push should target creatures that break parity, attack planeswalkers, or block recursive pressure; do not spend it on a creature that Mayhem Devil triggers or Goblin Bombardment can handle without losing tempo. Add role cards: Kolaghan's Command for recursion and flexible interaction, Ob Nixilis, the Adversary for pressure through removal, and Molten Impact when creature sizing requires more direct answers. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Voldaren Epicure or Artillery Enthusiast when they are merely small bodies rather than engine material.

• Removal-heavy decks: do not rely on a single Mayhem Devil, Warren Soultrader, or Goblin Bombardment surviving. Sequence so each engine either produces value immediately, is backed by recursive creatures, or is followed by another threat from hand or land. Chthonian Nightmare can make removal awkward, but only if there are legal graveyard targets and expendable battlefield creatures; check the engine state before sacrificing a creature that was needed for pressure. Add role cards: Ob Nixilis, the Adversary and Kolaghan's Command. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Fatal Push when opposing threats are few, and single-use creatures that do not recur or produce meaningful material.

• Big mana: shorten the clock and disrupt the payoff window rather than trading down on small setup pieces. Early Bloodghast, Forsaken Miner, Artillery Enthusiast, Voldaren Epicure, and Seasoned Pyromancer pressure matters most when it is backed by Goblin Bombardment, Mayhem Devil, or Ob Nixilis, the Adversary. Disruptor Flute should be aimed only through legal name choices and public matchup context; if the available choice is uncertain, prefer a name tied to the visible engine or payoff rather than a speculative hidden card. Add role cards: Disruptor Flute, Ob Nixilis, the Adversary, and Kolaghan's Command when artifacts or hand pressure matter. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Fatal Push unless visible creatures must be answered.

• Graveyard decks: race while disrupting the specific graveyard action that is actually visible or legally nameable. Hive of the Eye Tyrant can matter when its attack trigger or activation text legally interacts with a graveyard card; do not assume it can answer hidden or non-targetable resources. Mayhem Devil and Goblin Bombardment are strong when the opponent uses creature material or sacrifice exchanges, but they are not graveyard hate by themselves. Add role cards: Disruptor Flute if a graveyard engine name is known or selectable, Kolaghan's Command for attrition and recursion, and Ob Nixilis, the Adversary when pressure is more important than creature removal. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Fatal Push only when opposing creatures are not the engine.

• Artifact/enchantment decks: separate artifact problems from enchantment problems before spending sideboard slots. Kolaghan's Command is the clean role card for visible artifacts, while enchantments often require racing, Disruptor Flute naming, or pressure from Ob Nixilis, the Adversary because this registered sideboard does not provide broad enchantment removal. Goblin Bombardment, Mayhem Devil, and Chthonian Nightmare should be preserved when the opponent creates artifact creatures, tokens, or sacrifice exchanges. Add role cards: Kolaghan's Command for artifacts, Disruptor Flute for named enchantment engines, Molten Impact for creature boards, and Ob Nixilis, the Adversary for slower permanent-based decks. Reduce main-deck emphasis: small bodies that neither trade nor pressure.

• Single-threat decks: answer the threat if it is winning the game, otherwise attack the support structure. Fatal Push and Molten Impact are strongest when the visible threat is legal to remove and the opponent cannot immediately rebuild. Goblin Bombardment plus recursive bodies can pressure planeswalkers or finish through blockers, while Mayhem Devil punishes protection built around sacrifice or token material. Add role cards: Molten Impact for creature threats, Disruptor Flute for a known single-card dependency, and Kolaghan's Command if artifacts or recursion matter. Reduce main-deck emphasis: slow value lines when the threat must be answered this turn.

Specific Matchup Notes

• General/archetype-only: revealed cards and rules-engine legal actions override these assumptions. Use these notes as matchup priors, then pivot when public information shows a different plan, a different permanent type to answer, or a legal action that changes the clock.

• General/archetype-only, fast creature decks: preserve life total until Goblin Bombardment, Mayhem Devil, Chthonian Nightmare, or Seasoned Pyromancer can turn small creatures into repeated trades. Priority targets are creatures that enable damage bursts, grow beyond Fatal Push range, attack planeswalkers, or make blocking impossible. Add role cards: Molten Impact and Ob Nixilis, the Adversary when board stalls or planeswalker pressure matter. Reduce main-deck emphasis: slow Blood-token filtering and engine pieces that do not affect combat before the next attack.

• General/archetype-only, control and removal-heavy decks: lead with recursive pressure and avoid making one exposed permanent carry the whole game. Bloodghast, Forsaken Miner, Den of the Bugbear, Hive of the Eye Tyrant, Seasoned Pyromancer, and Chthonian Nightmare are the pressure package because they keep presenting threats after removal. Priority targets are planeswalkers, graveyard exile permanents, sweepers only when legally nameable by Disruptor Flute, and creatures that stabilize the battlefield. Add role cards: Ob Nixilis, the Adversary and Kolaghan's Command. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Fatal Push when legal targets are scarce.

• General/archetype-only, combo decks: apply a clock before spending turns on narrow disruption. Disruptor Flute is strongest when public information, matchup context, or legal name-selection text identifies the opponent's engine card; do not guess hidden hand contents. Priority targets are the visible engine piece, payoff permanent, mana creature, or card named by public game actions. Add role cards: Disruptor Flute and Ob Nixilis, the Adversary, with Molten Impact only when creatures are actual combo material. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Fatal Push when it has no visible or matchup-supported target class.

• General/archetype-only, graveyard decks: race first, then disrupt the graveyard action the engine exposes. Hive of the Eye Tyrant can become important when its legal attack or activation text interacts with a visible graveyard card, but do not hold up the whole turn for speculative graveyard value. Priority targets are graveyard enablers, sacrifice payoffs, recursion engines, and blockers that stop Bloodghast or Forsaken Miner pressure. Add role cards: Disruptor Flute, Kolaghan's Command, and Ob Nixilis, the Adversary. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Fatal Push only when opposing creatures are not the engine.

• General/archetype-only, artifact decks: distinguish artifact permanents from creatures before committing interaction. Kolaghan's Command should answer visible artifacts when that mode is legal and material, while Mayhem Devil and Goblin Bombardment punish artifact creature boards that rely on sacrifice or token exchanges. Priority targets are artifacts that generate mana, cards, protection, or lethal pressure. Add role cards: Kolaghan's Command, Molten Impact, and Disruptor Flute for named engines. Reduce main-deck emphasis: low-impact one-drops when the game is about permanent quality.

Risk Summary

• Mana risk: the deck has many black-red sources but several lands enter or function conditionally, so check whether Blightstep Pathway, Blood Crypt, Blackcleave Cliffs, Phyrexian Tower, Takenuma, Abandoned Mire, Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance, Barbarian Ring, Den of the Bugbear, or Hive of the Eye Tyrant actually casts the current hand. Do not keep hands that need both early Fatal Push and red engine deployment without a credible color path.

• Draw risk: hands with only disposable bodies and no Goblin Bombardment, Mayhem Devil, Chthonian Nightmare, Seasoned Pyromancer, or pressure land can run out of impact. Treat Artillery Enthusiast, Voldaren Epicure, Bloodghast, and Forsaken Miner as material, not a full plan by themselves.

• Over-sideboarding risk: adding too many Disruptor Flute, Molten Impact, Kolaghan's Command, or Ob Nixilis, the Adversary can dilute the sacrifice shell. Preserve enough creatures for Goblin Bombardment, Warren Soultrader, Chthonian Nightmare, Mayhem Devil, and casualty or sacrifice costs to function.

• Graveyard risk: Bloodghast, Forsaken Miner, Chthonian Nightmare, Takenuma, Abandoned Mire, and Kolaghan's Command lose value when graveyards are constrained. Shift toward Goblin Bombardment reach, Ob Nixilis, the Adversary pressure, creature combat, and creature-land closers when graveyard access is visibly poor.

• Sweeper and removal risk: committing every engine into open removal can leave only small creatures behind. Sequence so at least one of Goblin Bombardment, Chthonian Nightmare, Seasoned Pyromancer, Den of the Bugbear, or Hive of the Eye Tyrant can rebuild after a battlefield reset.

• Closer risk: the deck can dominate resources without ending the game if Mayhem Devil or Goblin Bombardment is absent. Convert stable boards into damage with creature-land attacks, Ob Nixilis, the Adversary pressure, Seasoned Pyromancer bodies, and sacrifice damage when legal.

• Interaction risk: Fatal Push and Molten Impact must answer threats that matter, not the first legal target. Save removal for blockers, engines, lethal attackers, or planeswalkers unless passing creates a worse visible board.

• Sequencing risk: sacrificing creatures before landfall, Chthonian Nightmare targets, Mayhem Devil triggers, or Goblin Bombardment math are checked can waste damage and recursion. Re-evaluate visible triggers, graveyard targets, and lethal totals before choosing any sacrifice action.

Test Feedback Checklist

• Deciding factor: record whether the match was won by recursive pressure, sacrifice reach, removal tempo, planeswalker pressure, creature-land damage, or opponent stumble. Name the cards that actually converted advantage, especially Bloodghast, Forsaken Miner, Goblin Bombardment, Mayhem Devil, Chthonian Nightmare, Seasoned Pyromancer, Ob Nixilis, the Adversary, Den of the Bugbear, and Hive of the Eye Tyrant.

• Mulligans: note whether each keep had early colors, at least one proactive play, and either an engine card or interaction. Flag hands that kept Artillery Enthusiast, Voldaren Epicure, Bloodghast, or Forsaken Miner without Goblin Bombardment, Mayhem Devil, Chthonian Nightmare, Seasoned Pyromancer, Fatal Push, or a clear pressure-land plan.

• Mana: track every game where Blightstep Pathway, Blood Crypt, Blackcleave Cliffs, Phyrexian Tower, Takenuma, Abandoned Mire, Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance, Barbarian Ring, Den of the Bugbear, Hive of the Eye Tyrant, or Mountain constrained a line. Record whether tapped timing, color choice, pain from Blood Crypt, or sacrificing to Phyrexian Tower changed the turn.

• Velocity: ask whether the deck spent the first three turns affecting the board or only setting up material. Flag games where Blood-token filtering, Seasoned Pyromancer, or Chthonian Nightmare arrived too late to prevent falling behind.

• Engines: identify the first engine that mattered and whether it survived long enough to change decisions. Separate Goblin Bombardment reach, Mayhem Devil trigger pressure, Chthonian Nightmare recursion, Warren Soultrader sacrifice mana, and Seasoned Pyromancer refuel instead of grouping them as generic value.

• Removal: review every Fatal Push, Molten Impact, and Kolaghan's Command decision for target quality. Mark whether removal answered a lethal attacker, blocker, engine, artifact, planeswalker, or merely spent mana on a low-impact legal target.

• Sideboard: record which sideboard cards were drawn, cast, stranded, or actively wanted. Track Disruptor Flute name quality, Molten Impact target density, Kolaghan's Command mode relevance, and Ob Nixilis, the Adversary pressure against the opponent's actual plan.

• Closing: note whether stable boards became wins quickly. Flag games where the deck had material but lacked Mayhem Devil, Goblin Bombardment, Ob Nixilis, the Adversary, Seasoned Pyromancer bodies, Den of the Bugbear, or Hive of the Eye Tyrant to finish.

• Role: decide after the match whether the pilot correctly played beatdown, attrition, control, or race. Mark role errors such as overprotecting life while ahead, sacrificing blockers under pressure, overcommitting engines into visible removal, or passing with a legal closing line.

• Mistakes: capture visible missed sequencing involving landfall for Bloodghast, graveyard targets for Chthonian Nightmare, sacrifice timing for Mayhem Devil or Goblin Bombardment, and mana timing with Phyrexian Tower. Do not assume hidden-card mistakes without public evidence.

• Stranded cards: list cards held for multiple turns because of mana, missing targets, board texture, or legal-action absence. Pay special attention to Chthonian Nightmare, Warren Soultrader, Kolaghan's Command, Disruptor Flute, Ob Nixilis, the Adversary, and creature lands.

• Overperformers and underperformers: identify cards that changed win probability, not cards that merely appeared. Compare each card's result to its expected role in that matchup and stage.

First Tuning Questions

• Card quantities: does Warren Soultrader create enough decisive mana or sacrifice texture to justify four copies, or do games show too many hands with sacrifice pieces but not enough payoffs? Keep this tied to visible games where Warren Soultrader changed available legal actions.

• Card quantities: does Chthonian Nightmare function as a core recursion engine in Historic matchups, or is it frequently stranded by missing energy, graveyard pressure, or poor target texture? Card text check required for exact runtime constraints before changing strategic weight.

• Card quantities: are Artillery Enthusiast and Voldaren Epicure providing enough material, damage, and filtering for engine starts, or are they the most common low-impact draws when behind? Card text check required for Artillery Enthusiast before assigning exact tactical value.

• Mana: does the land mix support early Fatal Push plus red engine deployment often enough, or are Blightstep Pathway choices and colorless/utility lands causing avoidable delays? Track whether Phyrexian Tower, Barbarian Ring, Den of the Bugbear, Hive of the Eye Tyrant, Takenuma, Abandoned Mire, and Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance win more games than they cost.

• Aggro plan: does the deck need more early removal density after sideboarding, or do Molten Impact and Fatal Push already cover the creature matchups when sequenced correctly? Separate losses to fast starts from losses to poor engine timing.

• Control plan: does Ob Nixilis, the Adversary provide enough resilient pressure, or are Bloodghast, Forsaken Miner, creature lands, and Seasoned Pyromancer already sufficient? Check whether planeswalker pressure closes before the opponent stabilizes.

• Closers: does the deck lose too many games after stabilizing because Mayhem Devil or Goblin Bombardment is absent? If so, test whether the issue is payoff quantity, sequencing, or preserving sacrifice material.

• Sideboard slots: are four Disruptor Flute necessary, or do match logs show only one or two matchups where naming a card from public information is decisive? Evaluate name accuracy before judging the card.

• Sideboard slots: are three Kolaghan's Command enough against artifact and attrition decks, or is the card stranded too often when artifacts are absent? Judge by legal modes used, not by theoretical flexibility.

• Role conflicts: does sideboarding into Ob Nixilis, the Adversary and Kolaghan's Command dilute the creature count needed for Goblin Bombardment, Mayhem Devil, Chthonian Nightmare, and Warren Soultrader? Preserve the sacrifice shell unless logs prove a matchup is about individual card quality.

Veles Tactical Policy

Policy: Opening Hand Engine Gate

Priority: High Decision families: mulligan Cards: Goblin Bombardment; Mayhem Devil; Chthonian Nightmare; Seasoned Pyromancer; Fatal Push; Forsaken Miner; Bloodghast Phase windows: pregame, mulligan decisions Runtime cues: prompt:mulligan; visible hand; known play/draw seat Use when: deciding keep versus mulligan before the first turn. Avoid when: hand visibility is incomplete or legality output lacks mulligan actions. Instructions: Keep hands with black/red access, at least one early creature or Fatal Push, and either Goblin Bombardment, Mayhem Devil, Chthonian Nightmare, or Seasoned Pyromancer. Mulligan hands that only present recursive creatures without payoff, interaction, or a clear creature-land pressure plan. Pilot skill floor: light-model No-API allowed: no Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: First Permanent Setup

Priority: Medium Decision families: priority; mana Cards: Forsaken Miner; Artillery Enthusiast; Voldaren Epicure; Bloodghast; Goblin Bombardment Phase windows: turns 1-2 main phases Runtime cues: legal cast actions; visible lands; visible hand Use when: choosing the first proactive spell. Avoid when: Fatal Push must answer a visible lethal or snowballing threat this turn. Instructions: Establish cheap material before engines when possible, but cast Goblin Bombardment early when the hand already contains recursive bodies. Prefer creatures that leave material or recur over spending early turns on low-impact pass lines. Pilot skill floor: light-model No-API allowed: no Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Pathway And Shockland Color Choice

Priority: Medium Decision families: mana Cards: Blightstep Pathway; Blood Crypt; Blackcleave Cliffs; Mountain; Phyrexian Tower Phase windows: land play, spell payment Runtime cues: legal land actions; mana payment prompts; visible hand colors Use when: choosing land face, tapped timing, or payment source. Avoid when: rules engine presents only one legal mana payment. Instructions: Prioritize black for Forsaken Miner, Bloodghast, Fatal Push, Chthonian Nightmare, Warren Soultrader, and Hive of the Eye Tyrant lines; prioritize red when Goblin Bombardment, Mayhem Devil, Seasoned Pyromancer, Molten Impact, or Ob Nixilis, the Adversary requires immediate deployment. Pilot skill floor: light-model No-API allowed: no Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Mandatory Single Mana Payment

Priority: Low Decision families: mana Cards: none Phase windows: mana payment prompts Runtime cues: action:pay Use when: exactly one legal action pays the remaining cost and no alternative source choice is displayed. Avoid when: more than one legal payment action is visible or a sacrifice source such as Phyrexian Tower is among the options. Instructions: Submit the only visible legal payment action. Pilot skill floor: no-api No-API allowed: yes Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Sacrifice Engine Commitment

Priority: High Decision families: priority; interaction Cards: Goblin Bombardment; Mayhem Devil; Warren Soultrader; Chthonian Nightmare; Forsaken Miner; Bloodghast Phase windows: main phases, opponent end step, combat priority Runtime cues: legal sacrifice, cast, activate, or recursion actions Use when: deciding whether to begin converting creatures into damage, mana, or recursion. Avoid when: the board state, targets, or graveyard contents are not visible. Instructions: Commit when sacrifice triggers produce lethal, remove key permanents, protect material from exile/bounce, or force a race the opponent cannot visibly win. Wait when sacrificing would remove needed blockers under pressure without immediate payoff. Pilot skill floor: light-model No-API allowed: no Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Goblin Bombardment Closing Fire

Priority: High Decision families: interaction; priority Cards: Goblin Bombardment; Bloodghast; Forsaken Miner; Mayhem Devil Phase windows: any priority with activation available Runtime cues: action:activate Goblin Bombardment Use when: visible Goblin Bombardment activations plus visible Mayhem Devil triggers or direct damage can reduce the opponent to zero this turn. Avoid when: lethal math depends on hidden cards, uncertain replacement effects, or sacrificing required blockers before opponent combat. Instructions: Use all visible deterministic damage toward the opponent only after verifying each sacrifice source, trigger, and legal target shown by the engine. Pilot skill floor: light-model No-API allowed: no Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Mayhem Devil Targeting

Priority: Medium Decision families: interaction; priority Cards: Mayhem Devil Phase windows: triggered ability target prompts Runtime cues: action:target Use when: Mayhem Devil trigger targets are offered. Avoid when: multiple strategic targets exist and combat, planeswalker, or lethal context matters. Instructions: Send triggers to lethal opponent damage first, then to creatures or planeswalkers that materially change combat or engine function. Do not target low-impact objects while a visible must-kill threat or lethal opponent line exists. Pilot skill floor: light-model No-API allowed: no Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Fatal Push Removal Gate

Priority: High Decision families: interaction; priority Cards: Fatal Push Phase windows: opponent combat, end step, own main phase Runtime cues: legal cast Fatal Push actions; target prompts Use when: choosing whether to cast Fatal Push or select a target. Avoid when: no legal target is shown by the rules engine. Instructions: Spend Fatal Push on creatures that threaten lethal, disable the sacrifice engine, prevent attacks from connecting, or block a closing attack. Preserve it against low-pressure creatures when your engine is already advantaging the board. Pilot skill floor: light-model No-API allowed: no Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Chthonian Nightmare Recursion Gate

Priority: Medium Decision families: priority; selection Cards: Chthonian Nightmare; Forsaken Miner; Bloodghast; Seasoned Pyromancer; Mayhem Devil; Warren Soultrader Phase windows: main phases, recursion prompts Runtime cues: legal Chthonian Nightmare action; graveyard creature candidates Use when: deciding whether to activate or choose a graveyard target. Avoid when: card text, energy requirement, or legal target restrictions are unclear in the engine output. Instructions: Card text check required; use only legal engine candidates. Prefer recursion that restores Mayhem Devil, Warren Soultrader, or Seasoned Pyromancer when it changes current pressure, mana, or card flow; use recursive one-drops when the plan is sacrifice density. Pilot skill floor: light-model No-API allowed: no Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Seasoned Pyromancer Discard Selection

Priority: Medium Decision families: selection Cards: Seasoned Pyromancer; Bloodghast; Forsaken Miner; Chthonian Nightmare Phase windows: cast resolution, discard prompts Runtime cues: discard prompt; visible hand Use when: Seasoned Pyromancer asks for cards to discard or produces replacement material. Avoid when: required discard count or card text is not shown. Instructions: Discard excess lands, Bloodghast, Forsaken Miner, or redundant engines when the graveyard plan is active; keep Fatal Push against creature pressure and keep the only Goblin Bombardment or Mayhem Devil unless immediate survival demands otherwise. Pilot skill floor: light-model No-API allowed: no Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Bloodghast Landfall Timing

Priority: Medium Decision families: mana; priority Cards: Bloodghast; Blightstep Pathway; Blood Crypt; Blackcleave Cliffs; Den of the Bugbear; Hive of the Eye Tyrant Phase windows: precombat main, postcombat main, land play Runtime cues: Bloodghast in graveyard; legal land play action Use when: a land play can return Bloodghast or create sacrifice material. Avoid when: holding land enables a higher-value visible next-turn line and no sacrifice payoff is present. Instructions: Play land before sacrifice or attack sequencing when Bloodghast material matters immediately. Delay only if the engine output shows no recursion benefit and land concealment or postcombat mana is tactically superior. Pilot skill floor: light-model No-API allowed: no Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Creature-Land Pressure

Priority: Low Decision families: combat; mana Cards: Den of the Bugbear; Hive of the Eye Tyrant Phase windows: midgame combat, late game priority Runtime cues: legal activate Den of the Bugbear; legal activate Hive of the Eye Tyrant Use when: deciding whether to spend mana animating a creature land. Avoid when: activation prevents casting Fatal Push, Mayhem Devil, Goblin Bombardment, Seasoned Pyromancer, or sideboard interaction needed this turn. Instructions: Animate to close games after stabilization, attack planeswalkers, or pressure control. Keep mana back when opponent combat or stack interaction is more important than incremental damage. Pilot skill floor: light-model No-API allowed: no Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Combat With Recursive Bodies

Priority: Medium Decision families: combat Cards: Bloodghast; Forsaken Miner; Artillery Enthusiast; Voldaren Epicure; Seasoned Pyromancer Phase windows: declare attackers, declare blockers Runtime cues: attack/block prompt; visible creatures Use when: choosing attacks or blocks with expendable creatures. Avoid when: combat tricks, first strike, lifelink, or prevention effects are visible and unresolved. Instructions: Attack when recursive or token material can trade up, enable damage pressure, or feed postcombat sacrifice. Block aggressively when life total is under a short clock, but preserve Mayhem Devil and Warren Soultrader unless their death produces immediate visible advantage. Pilot skill floor: light-model No-API allowed: no Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Disruptor Flute Naming Gate

Priority: High Decision families: sideboard; interaction; priority Cards: Disruptor Flute Phase windows: sideboard games, cast resolution, naming prompts Runtime cues: legal cast Disruptor Flute; name selection prompt Use when: opponent deck identity or public revealed cards identify a specific card to constrain. Avoid when: no opponent card name is known from public information or matchup guide. Instructions: Name only cards supported by public information or matchup guidance; do not invent hidden hand contents. Prefer names that stop the opponent’s highest-impact visible engine, combo, sweeper, or removal bottleneck. Pilot skill floor: light-model No-API allowed: no Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Sideboard Removal Package

Priority: Medium Decision families: sideboard; interaction Cards: Molten Impact; Kolaghan's Command; Fatal Push Phase windows: sideboarding, post-board priority Runtime cues: sideboard plan prompt; legal cast Molten Impact; legal cast Kolaghan's Command Use when: opponent presents creatures, artifacts, or planeswalkers that must be answered. Avoid when: opponent is low-permanent combo or control and removal has few legal targets. Instructions: Add role cards through exact Sideboard Map plans only. In play, use Molten Impact and Kolaghan's Command on targets that change survival, engine denial, or closing speed, not merely because mana is available. Pilot skill floor: light-model No-API allowed: no Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Ob Nixilis Pressure Commitment

Priority: Medium Decision families: sideboard; priority; combat Cards: Ob Nixilis, the Adversary; Bloodghast; Forsaken Miner; Goblin Bombardment Phase windows: post-board main phases Runtime cues: legal cast Ob Nixilis, the Adversary; casualty or sacrifice prompt if shown Use when: deciding whether to deploy Ob Nixilis, the Adversary or commit sacrifice material to it. Avoid when: tapping out loses to a visible board or removes the only blockers under lethal pressure. Instructions: Use Ob Nixilis, the Adversary as resilient pressure against slower decks and as a stabilizing diversion when protected. Do not sacrifice essential engine pieces unless the resulting planeswalker pressure materially improves the turn. Pilot skill floor: light-model No-API allowed: no Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Exact Pass On Empty Stack

Priority: Low Decision families: priority Cards: none Phase windows: priority windows with empty stack Runtime cues: action:pass priority Use when: pass priority is the only legal non-mana action and the stack is empty. Avoid when: any legal cast, activate, attack, block, target, or selection action is visible. Instructions: Submit the visible pass action when no other non-mana legal action exists. Pilot skill floor: no-api No-API allowed: yes Light-model allowed: yes