veles-content/strategies/pioneer/pioneer_dimir_aggro/1/guide.md

Strategy Specifications

Deck Name And Archetype

Dimir Aggro is a Pioneer blue-black aggro-tempo deck registered as 60 main-deck cards and 15 sideboard cards, with the active format-aware validation result marked as passing under the supplied contract. The normalized tags are aggro and tempo; the duplicate supplied tag string does not change runtime role classification.

• Count validation: The main deck is legal at 60 cards, and the sideboard is legal at 15 cards. Exact registered main-deck names must be used for all Cut: instructions, and exact registered sideboard names must be used for all Side in: instructions.
• Format validation: The active format is Pioneer. Veles should still trust the rules engine for action legality at runtime and should not infer legality from the guide when legal actions disagree.
• Stock status: Treat this as a hybrid rogue-to-established Dimir tempo shell, not a fully stock Pioneer archetype. The guide should privilege registered-card texture over generic Dimir staples because this list is built around Faerie Miscreant, Mockingbird, Moon-Circuit Hacker, Floodpits Drowner, Kaito, Bane of Nightmares, Mutavault, Thoughtseize, Fatal Push, Go for the Throat, Nowhere to Run, Sheoldred, the Apocalypse, Brazen Borrower, and Enduring Curiosity rather than a generic control or midrange package.
• Role identity: The default role is early evasive or resilient pressure plus discard/removal to keep combat profitable and protect snowballing card advantage. The deck should not play like pure control unless the visible game state forces a defensive pivot.
• Mana profile: The mana base is 24 lands with Darkslick Shores, Gloomlake Verge, Watery Grave, Multiversal Passage, Mutavault, Otawara, Soaring City, Takenuma, Abandoned Mire, Island, and Swamp. Runtime decisions must respect that Mutavault is both pressure and colorless mana, so activating or tapping it can conflict with blue-black spell sequencing.
• Role concern: The deck can flood on reactive cards if it fails to establish pressure, and it can stumble if early colored sources do not support Thoughtseize, Fatal Push, Faerie Miscreant, Mockingbird, Moon-Circuit Hacker, or Floodpits Drowner on curve. Mulligan and sequencing policies should value hands that pair an early creature with at least one disruption or interaction line.
• Card-text confidence: Card text check required for Floodpits Drowner, Multiversal Passage, Gloomlake Verge, Kaito, Bane of Nightmares, Mockingbird, Enduring Curiosity, and Nowhere to Run before making deterministic claims about exact abilities. Tactical use of those cards must remain conditional on visible legal actions and rules-engine prompts.
• Opponent information status: No specific opponent or metagame target is supplied. Matchup and sideboard guidance should use broad Pioneer archetype classes only, and runtime choices must update from revealed cards, public zones, legal actions, life totals, combat state, stack contents, and logged opponent behavior instead of assuming hidden cards.
• Sideboard identity: The sideboard contains Languish, Anoint with Affliction, Graveyard Trespasser, Duress, Leyline of the Void, Disdainful Stroke, Spell Pierce, and Path of Peril. It supports pivots against graveyard decks, creature swarms, large-spell decks, and spell-heavy interaction decks while preserving the main deck's pressure-plus-disruption core.

Thesis

Dimir Aggro assembles a cheap evasive or resilient threat, then uses discard, removal, planeswalker pressure, and manland damage to keep the opponent from stabilizing before Sheoldred, the Apocalypse or accumulated card advantage closes the game. The default plan is not to answer everything; it is to make the opponent's early turns awkward while Faerie Miscreant, Mockingbird, Moon-Circuit Hacker, Floodpits Drowner, Mutavault, Kaito, Bane of Nightmares, Brazen Borrower, Enduring Curiosity, or Sheoldred, the Apocalypse converts that tempo into a lethal clock.

Prioritize pressure plus disruption over reactive perfection. A hand or line that deploys an early creature and backs it with Thoughtseize, Fatal Push, Go for the Throat, Nowhere to Run, or a post-board permission/discard spell is usually more aligned than a hand that waits with only answers and no clock.

Preserve the deck's snowball tools when they are already producing cards or forcing bad blocks. Moon-Circuit Hacker, Kaito, Bane of Nightmares, Enduring Curiosity, Faerie Miscreant, and Sheoldred, the Apocalypse are payoff cards only when the visible board and legal actions let them matter; do not expose them into avoidable punishment just because they are individually powerful.

Do not pilot this deck as hard control, combo, or pure midrange unless runtime state demands it. It lacks a large permission suite in the main deck, has limited sweepers only after sideboarding, and wins most cleanly when the opponent must answer multiple small threats while operating under hand pressure and efficient removal.

Respect rules-engine output over guide assumptions. Card text check required for Floodpits Drowner, Multiversal Passage, Gloomlake Verge, Kaito, Bane of Nightmares, Mockingbird, Enduring Curiosity, and Nowhere to Run; choose lines involving those cards only when legal actions and visible prompts confirm the relevant mode, target, cost, or timing.

Role Package

• Threats: Faerie Miscreant, Floodpits Drowner, Mockingbird, Moon-Circuit Hacker, Mutavault, Brazen Borrower, Enduring Curiosity, Kaito, Bane of Nightmares, and Sheoldred, the Apocalypse are the damage sources. Lead on the cheapest legal threat that creates immediate pressure or enables follow-up card flow, but preserve Mutavault mana when colored spells are more important than two extra damage.

• Payoffs: Moon-Circuit Hacker, Kaito, Bane of Nightmares, Enduring Curiosity, and Sheoldred, the Apocalypse are the main ways early chip damage becomes a won game. Favor lines that connect with evasive creatures, protect an active planeswalker, or make each draw step and life-total swing compound the opponent's disadvantage.

• Engines: Faerie Miscreant, Moon-Circuit Hacker, Kaito, Bane of Nightmares, Enduring Curiosity, and Sheoldred, the Apocalypse are the repeat-value package, conditional on actual card text and legal prompts. Once one engine is active, spend interaction to keep the board state favorable rather than chasing a second engine that opens a tempo window.

• Velocity: Thoughtseize supplies information velocity, Faerie Miscreant and Moon-Circuit Hacker can supply card velocity when their legal text supports it, and Kaito, Bane of Nightmares or Enduring Curiosity can extend pressure into longer games. Use early information to choose whether the next turns are race, removal, or resource denial.

• Interaction: Thoughtseize handles unknown or uncast threats before they reach the stack, Fatal Push and Nowhere to Run handle early board pressure when legal targets exist, Go for the Throat covers larger creatures when legal, and Brazen Borrower can function as tempo interaction when the rules engine exposes that mode. Sequence discard before removal when the hidden hand matters more than board tempo; sequence removal first when life total, combat, or planeswalker survival is under immediate pressure.

• Protection: The deck protects threats by stripping answers with Thoughtseize, clearing blockers with Fatal Push, Go for the Throat, and Nowhere to Run, using Brazen Borrower tempo when legal, and adding Duress, Spell Pierce, or Disdainful Stroke after sideboarding. Protection is proactive and contextual, not a blanket shield.

• Recursion: Takenuma, Abandoned Mire is the registered recursion-adjacent land, and any graveyard return line must be chosen only from visible legal actions. Treat recursion as a late-game recovery tool for Sheoldred, the Apocalypse, Kaito, Bane of Nightmares, or a pressure creature, not as a primary plan.

• Mana: Darkslick Shores, Gloomlake Verge, Watery Grave, Multiversal Passage, Island, Swamp, Otawara, Soaring City, Takenuma, Abandoned Mire, and Mutavault form a 24-land base. Prioritize untapped blue-black access for early creatures, Thoughtseize, Fatal Push, and two-mana interaction; treat Mutavault activation as a spell-like use of mana that can conflict with holding up removal or post-board permission.

• Sideboard modules: Leyline of the Void and Graveyard Trespasser attack graveyard reliance; Path of Peril and Languish reset creature-heavy boards; Anoint with Affliction adds exile-style creature interaction when legal; Duress, Spell Pierce, and Disdainful Stroke improve spell-stack and big-spell fights. Sideboard without hollowing out the threat count unless the matchup visibly demands a defensive pivot.

Primary Win Conditions

• Evasive pressure plus disruption is the default win path. Set up Faerie Miscreant, Mockingbird, Floodpits Drowner, Moon-Circuit Hacker, or Mutavault early, then use Thoughtseize to remove the opponent's most relevant answer or stabilizer and use Fatal Push, Go for the Throat, Nowhere to Run, or Brazen Borrower to clear the blocker or tempo obstacle that matters this turn. Prioritize this path when the opening hand has one or two cheap threats, at least one black source, and either discard or removal.

• Moon-Circuit Hacker turns a small attacker into a resource engine when the rules engine exposes a legal connection or ninjutsu-style action. Set up by attacking with Faerie Miscreant, Mockingbird, Floodpits Drowner, or Mutavault when the attack is likely to connect or when the legal action itself confirms the exchange. Execute by converting the hit into card flow, then spend interaction to keep future attacks clean. Prioritize this path against slower hands, opponents light on blockers, or board states where one extra card is worth more than preserving every point of life.

• Kaito, Bane of Nightmares is the pressure-and-value win path when early creatures can protect a planeswalker or when Kaito's legal actions create immediate board or card advantage. Set up with Thoughtseize before committing Kaito into open interaction when possible, and keep Fatal Push, Go for the Throat, Nowhere to Run, or Brazen Borrower available to prevent opposing attacks from collapsing the planeswalker turn. Prioritize Kaito when the opponent has spent removal on early creatures, when a creature can still pressure life totals, or when the game is becoming about repeated decisions rather than one burst of damage. Card text check required for exact Kaito modes.

• Sheoldred, the Apocalypse is the stabilizing finisher when the game reaches four mana and life totals, card draw, or creature combat make a large must-answer threat decisive. Set up by trading early resources, stripping the clean answer with Thoughtseize when visible information supports it, and avoiding unnecessary Mutavault activations that delay the fourth mana. Execute by casting Sheoldred, the Apocalypse when it either stabilizes the board, punishes opposing draw steps, or forces the opponent to answer it instead of developing. Prioritize this path against attrition decks, races where life gain matters, and games where smaller creatures have already drawn removal.

• Mutavault closes games that stall after early disruption. Set up by preserving enough lands to activate Mutavault while still representing Fatal Push, Go for the Throat, Nowhere to Run, or post-board permission when relevant. Execute by attacking when the rules engine shows the creature-land can pressure safely or when forcing a trade opens attacks for Faerie Miscreant, Mockingbird, Floodpits Drowner, or Moon-Circuit Hacker. Prioritize this path against sweepers, planeswalker pressure races, and opponents relying on sorcery-speed answers.

Secondary Win Conditions

• Faerie Miscreant plus Mockingbird can become a low-cost swarm or copy-pressure plan when legal actions confirm Mockingbird's relevant copy mode. Use this line when mana is constrained, when Thoughtseize has cleared early interaction, or when multiple cheap bodies make Moon-Circuit Hacker, Kaito, Bane of Nightmares, and Mutavault attacks more reliable. Card text check required for Mockingbird choices.

• Enduring Curiosity is a backup value finisher when combat is still possible but raw cards are needed to beat removal or blockers. Commit it only when legal actions and visible board state show a credible attacker or payoff sequence, and protect the turn with discard or removal if the opponent can punish a tap-out. Card text check required for exact trigger and timing rules.

• Brazen Borrower creates tempo wins when bouncing or casting the relevant half is legal and the opponent's current permanent is the main barrier to lethal pressure. Use it to reopen attacks, protect Kaito, Bane of Nightmares, or delay a large threat long enough for Mutavault and flyers to finish. Do not treat it as permanent removal unless the rules-engine result actually removes the problem for long enough.

• Takenuma, Abandoned Mire and Otawara, Soaring City are late-game utility lands when the rules engine exposes legal channel or utility actions. Use Takenuma, Abandoned Mire to recover a removed Sheoldred, the Apocalypse, Kaito, Bane of Nightmares, or pressure creature only when the graveyard and mana support the action. Use Otawara, Soaring City as a tempo reset only when returning the visible permanent advances combat, protects a key permanent, or prevents an imminent loss. Card text check required for exact costs and legal targets.

• Post-board role wins come from changing the texture, not abandoning pressure. Graveyard Trespasser can become a threat plus graveyard-pressure plan, Leyline of the Void can deny graveyard engines from turn zero when present in the opener, Duress, Spell Pierce, and Disdainful Stroke protect threats against spell-heavy opponents, and Path of Peril, Languish, or Anoint with Affliction can buy time against creature decks. Prioritize these secondary wins only when the sideboarded cards answer the visible matchup axis.

Emergency Lines

• When behind on life, stabilize before maximizing card advantage. Use Fatal Push, Go for the Throat, Nowhere to Run, Brazen Borrower, Path of Peril, Languish, or Anoint with Affliction on the attacker or permanent that changes the next combat, then turn the corner with Sheoldred, the Apocalypse, Kaito, Bane of Nightmares, Mutavault, or any surviving evasive creature.

• When behind on board, trade tempo for survival and preserve the threat that can win after the board is smaller. Do not force Moon-Circuit Hacker or Enduring Curiosity lines through bad attacks if blocking, removal, or a sweeper creates a better next turn.

• When behind on cards, convert damage sources into repeat value instead of emptying the hand blindly. Favor legal Moon-Circuit Hacker, Kaito, Bane of Nightmares, Enduring Curiosity, Takenuma, Abandoned Mire, or Graveyard Trespasser lines that restore material while still affecting life totals or graveyards.

• When behind on mana, keep plays cheap and avoid activating Mutavault if it prevents casting Thoughtseize, Fatal Push, Go for the Throat, Nowhere to Run, Moon-Circuit Hacker, or a needed sideboard answer. Use Darkslick Shores, Gloomlake Verge, Watery Grave, Island, Swamp, Multiversal Passage, Otawara, Soaring City, and Takenuma, Abandoned Mire according to legal untapped access rather than cosmetic sequencing.

• When the main engine is removed, shift to redundant pressure rather than waiting for the same card. Replace a lost Kaito, Bane of Nightmares with Mutavault pressure, a lost Sheoldred, the Apocalypse with cheap threats plus discard, and a failed Moon-Circuit Hacker turn with removal-backed combat.

• When facing visible graveyard recursion or graveyard combo, prioritize Leyline of the Void, Graveyard Trespasser, and Anoint with Affliction when sideboarded and legal. Use Thoughtseize, Duress, Spell Pierce, or Disdainful Stroke on the enabling spell when the graveyard answer is absent or too late.

• When facing combo or an engine that will outscale combat, shorten the clock and spend disruption on the card that changes the next decisive turn. Thoughtseize and Duress should take the enabler, payoff, or protection piece revealed by runtime information; Spell Pierce and Disdainful Stroke should be held only when the visible mana and stack timing make them live.

• When win conditions are exhausted, win with whatever legal damage source remains. Mutavault, Faerie Miscreant, Mockingbird, Floodpits Drowner, Brazen Borrower, Graveyard Trespasser, and chip attacks can still close if removal keeps blockers off balance and discard prevents a clean reset.

Resource Model

• Life is a spendable resource only when it protects tempo or information. Pay life for Watery Grave or Thoughtseize when the payoff is an untapped turn-one play, a cleared path for Faerie Miscreant, Floodpits Drowner, Mockingbird, Moon-Circuit Hacker, or Kaito, Bane of Nightmares, or removal of a card that will decide the next two turns. Preserve life against visible creature pressure because Sheoldred, the Apocalypse is the main recovery card, not a license to ignore early damage.

• Hand size converts into pressure plus disruption, not pure attrition. Keep hands that pair one cheap threat with Thoughtseize, Fatal Push, Go for the Throat, or Nowhere to Run more highly than hands full of expensive follow-up. Spend cards quickly only when the board is advancing; if the first wave is answered, pivot to Kaito, Bane of Nightmares, Moon-Circuit Hacker, Enduring Curiosity, Takenuma, Abandoned Mire, or Graveyard Trespasser after sideboard to rebuild.

• Mana is the deck's tightest operational resource because many turns need threat plus interaction. Prioritize lines that use one mana efficiently on turns one and two, then protect the fourth land for Kaito, Bane of Nightmares or Sheoldred, the Apocalypse. Avoid activating Mutavault when it prevents casting Fatal Push, Thoughtseize, Go for the Throat, Nowhere to Run, Moon-Circuit Hacker, or post-board Spell Pierce, Duress, Anoint with Affliction, Disdainful Stroke, Path of Peril, or Languish.

• Board presence is valuable because it unlocks attacks, planeswalker pressure, and draw engines. Faerie Miscreant, Mockingbird, Floodpits Drowner, Moon-Circuit Hacker, Mutavault, Brazen Borrower, Enduring Curiosity, Graveyard Trespasser, and Sheoldred, the Apocalypse should be treated as pressure pieces first; trade them only when the exchange protects Kaito, Bane of Nightmares, preserves life against a faster board, or clears the way for a stronger next attack. Card text check required for exact Floodpits Drowner, Mockingbird, and Enduring Curiosity modes.

• Graveyard value is secondary but real. Takenuma, Abandoned Mire can turn a late land into a recovered threat when legal actions and the graveyard expose a worthwhile return; Graveyard Trespasser and Leyline of the Void shift post-board graveyards from resource to pressure point. Do not spend graveyard interaction blindly if the opponent's visible plan is not graveyard-dependent.

• Exile is mostly a sideboard denial zone. Leyline of the Void, Anoint with Affliction, and Graveyard Trespasser can make opposing recursion worse, while this deck normally does not rely on its own exile zone for value. Treat exile-based disruption as high priority only when public information shows graveyard dependence or a threat that must not return.

• Lands are both mana and threats, so count future turns before using utility. Mutavault is a win condition, Otawara, Soaring City is a tempo tool when legal, Takenuma, Abandoned Mire is late recovery, and Multiversal Passage may require exact card-text verification before sequencing around its special use. Card text check required for Multiversal Passage.

• Sacrifice fodder is not a primary resource in this registered list. Do not preserve small creatures for imaginary sacrifice lines; preserve them for attacks, blocking, Moon-Circuit Hacker enablement, Kaito, Bane of Nightmares pressure, Enduring Curiosity value, and Mutavault race math.

• Tempo and information are the deck's exchange rate. Thoughtseize and Duress should convert unknown risk into a safe attack, protected Kaito, Bane of Nightmares, or defended Sheoldred, the Apocalypse; removal should convert one opposing blocker or attacker into a full turn of pressure. Sideboard bullets convert matchups by axis: Path of Peril and Languish reset creature boards, Anoint with Affliction answers resilient creatures, Leyline of the Void and Graveyard Trespasser attack graveyards, and Spell Pierce plus Disdainful Stroke protect pressure against large or noncreature swings.

Mana Guide

• Keep hands with reliable early blue and black access. The ideal opener casts a one-mana or two-mana threat and has black for Thoughtseize, Fatal Push, Go for the Throat, or Nowhere to Run by the turn those cards matter. Mulligan hands that cannot cast any early play, hands relying only on Mutavault plus utility lands, or hands that cannot plausibly reach four mana for Kaito, Bane of Nightmares or Sheoldred, the Apocalypse when they are the payoff.

• Sequence untapped colored sources before utility unless the rules engine shows no immediate spell need. Darkslick Shores, Gloomlake Verge, Watery Grave, Island, Swamp, and Multiversal Passage should be ordered to cover the current hand, not to maximize theoretical late-game value. Use Watery Grave untapped when the current turn requires it; use it tapped when the hand already has the needed play and life is under pressure.

• Play Mutavault as a land when mana development matters, but treat it as colorless in keep decisions. A hand with Mutavault and one colored source is acceptable only if the colored source casts the early spell suite and the next draw can fix the curve. A hand with multiple Mutavault and no stable colored sequencing should usually be rejected unless the legal mulligan context is already severe.

• Preserve fourth mana for Kaito, Bane of Nightmares and Sheoldred, the Apocalypse. If the hand contains either card, avoid lines that spend turn-three or turn-four mana on Mutavault activation, channel actions, or double-spell turns unless they prevent immediate loss or create a clearly stronger board from visible information.

• Hold Otawara, Soaring City and Takenuma, Abandoned Mire as lands first when missing land drops. Convert them into utility only when legal actions show the channel or special action, the current mana still supports the rest of the turn, and the target advances combat, recovery, or survival. Card text check required for exact channel costs and legality.

• Play lands before drawing when the current legal action requires mana now or when a landfall-like distinction is irrelevant to the visible line. Delay the land until after Moon-Circuit Hacker, Kaito, Bane of Nightmares, or Enduring Curiosity draw/value actions only when the deck can still make the correct land drop afterward and hidden draw information could change which land to play.

• Sideboard mana must respect interaction timing. Leave black open for Fatal Push, Go for the Throat, Nowhere to Run, Anoint with Affliction, and Duress lines; leave blue open for Spell Pierce and Disdainful Stroke when the opponent's visible mana and stack timing make them live. Do not spend the last relevant mana on optional pressure if it turns off the only legal answer to the opponent's next decisive spell or attack.

Mulligan Guide

• Strong keeps start with two or three lands, both colors, and an early pressure plus disruption sequence. Keep hands like Darkslick Shores, Watery Grave, Faerie Miscreant, Thoughtseize, Fatal Push, Moon-Circuit Hacker, Kaito, Bane of Nightmares because they affect the hand, board, and future draw before the four-mana payoff.

• Strong keeps also include evasive pressure plus a clear second-turn engine. Faerie Miscreant or Mockingbird into Moon-Circuit Hacker is a premium opener when blue and black are available and at least one interaction spell protects the attack or clears a blocker. Card text check required for exact Mockingbird copy constraints.

• Medium keeps have mana plus interaction but need the first draw step to become aggressive. Keep two-land hands with Thoughtseize, Fatal Push, Floodpits Drowner, Go for the Throat, and Kaito, Bane of Nightmares more often on the draw than on the play, especially against creature decks where removal buys time.

• Risky keeps contain Mutavault as a major mana source. A hand with Mutavault, one colored land, Faerie Miscreant, Moon-Circuit Hacker, Fatal Push, Thoughtseize, and Sheoldred, the Apocalypse is keepable only if the colored land casts the turn-one play and the matchup rewards early interaction over perfect curve certainty.

• Automatic ships lack a castable turn-one or turn-two plan. Ship hands with only Mutavault, Otawara, Soaring City, Takenuma, Abandoned Mire, Kaito, Bane of Nightmares, Sheoldred, the Apocalypse, Go for the Throat, and Nowhere to Run because they cannot reliably develop pressure or interact on time.

• Automatic ships also include color-failed hands. Do not keep hands that cannot cast Thoughtseize, Fatal Push, Faerie Miscreant, Mockingbird, Floodpits Drowner, or Moon-Circuit Hacker by turn two unless already below six cards and the rules-engine mulligan context makes any functional mana hand necessary.

• Matchup-dependent keeps shift by speed and removal density. Against fast creature pressure, keep Fatal Push, Nowhere to Run, Go for the Throat, Path of Peril, or Languish post-board hands even with slower threats; against control or combo, prioritize Thoughtseize, Duress, Spell Pierce, Disdainful Stroke, cheap pressure, and lands over creature removal.

• Play/draw changes the land-risk threshold. On the play, favor one-drop plus two-drop hands and reject slow four-mana-heavy hands; on the draw, accept a medium interaction hand with two lands if it has Thoughtseize or Fatal Push and a plausible route to Kaito, Bane of Nightmares or Sheoldred, the Apocalypse.

• Trap hands look powerful but do nothing early. Do not keep hands overloaded with Kaito, Bane of Nightmares, Sheoldred, the Apocalypse, Enduring Curiosity, Brazen Borrower, Otawara, Soaring City, and Takenuma, Abandoned Mire unless the remaining cards produce early board contact and both colors. Card text check required for exact Enduring Curiosity timing.

Turn Arc

• Turn 1 prioritizes information or board contact. Cast Thoughtseize when the opponent's plan is unknown, when protecting a turn-two Moon-Circuit Hacker line matters, or when a visible matchup suggests a single key card; deploy Faerie Miscreant or Mockingbird when immediate pressure is more valuable than discard.

• Turn 1 land sequencing should preserve turn-two double options. Lead Darkslick Shores, Gloomlake Verge, or Watery Grave when they unlock both Thoughtseize/Fatal Push and blue threats; use Mutavault only when the hand already has colored coverage or no colored one-mana action.

• Turn 2 should convert the opener into tempo. Prefer Moon-Circuit Hacker when an evasive or safe attacker exists, Floodpits Drowner when it is the best pressure or interaction body shown by legal actions, and removal when a blocker or attacker would break the next turn. Card text check required for exact Floodpits Drowner abilities.

• Turn 2 deviations should protect the future attack. Use Fatal Push, Nowhere to Run, Go for the Throat, or Brazen Borrower only when the target changes combat, prevents major damage, or clears a path for Moon-Circuit Hacker, Kaito, Bane of Nightmares pressure, or Mutavault attacks. Card text check required for exact Brazen Borrower adventure timing if the engine exposes it.

• Turn 3 should either double-spell or set the four-mana turn. Combine cheap threat plus Thoughtseize, removal plus Mutavault pressure, or Moon-Circuit Hacker plus Fatal Push when legal; avoid spending mana on Mutavault if it prevents reaching Kaito, Bane of Nightmares or Sheoldred, the Apocalypse on turn four.

• Turn 3 against open interaction should check before committing. If Thoughtseize or Duress is legal and the next turn depends on Kaito, Bane of Nightmares, Sheoldred, the Apocalypse, or Enduring Curiosity, take information before exposing the payoff unless board pressure demands immediate action.

• Turns 4-5 are the payoff window. Cast Kaito, Bane of Nightmares when the board can pressure or defend it, cast Sheoldred, the Apocalypse when life totals and removal risk make a stabilizing threat valuable, and use Enduring Curiosity when legal attacks can immediately convert damage into cards. Card text check required for exact Kaito, Bane of Nightmares and Enduring Curiosity modes.

• Turns 4-5 deviations should keep interaction live. If the opponent can punish a tap-out turn, prefer threat plus Fatal Push, Thoughtseize plus removal, or hold Spell Pierce/Disdainful Stroke post-board over a speculative payoff.

• Late game shifts Mutavault and utility lands into action. Activate Mutavault to pressure planeswalkers or life totals when colored mana is no longer needed that turn, use Takenuma, Abandoned Mire only for a visible worthwhile recovery line, and use Otawara, Soaring City only when the bounce line changes combat, a stack-adjacent exchange, or lethal timing.

• Late game resource loops should not replace winning attacks. Keep attacking with evasive creatures, Mutavault, Graveyard Trespasser post-board, or Sheoldred, the Apocalypse when legal; spend cards defensively only when the visible board threatens lethal, a race loss, or a decisive engine from the opponent.

Card Roles

• Faerie Miscreant is the cleanest one-mana evasive enabler. Cast it early when Moon-Circuit Hacker, Kaito, Bane of Nightmares, Enduring Curiosity, or Mutavault pressure wants a cheap attacker; hold extras only when the engine shows a legal draw trigger from controlling another Faerie Miscreant or when sweeping removal is visibly likely.

• Faerie Miscreant should be protected as a connection tool, not as a premium threat. Do not trade it into reach, flash blockers, or removal bait unless the exchange unlocks Moon-Circuit Hacker, clears a planeswalker, or prevents lethal pressure; its small body matters because the deck converts early damage into cards and tempo.

• Mockingbird is a flexible early creature and copy-scaling threat. Card text check required for exact copy constraints, mana scaling, and whether a visible target can be copied; cast it cheaply when the deck needs pressure, but treat any copy decision as board-dependent if multiple legal targets exist.

• Mockingbird mistakes usually come from copying for size instead of function. Prefer a visible evasive, card-advantage, disruptive, or race-changing target over a merely larger body when both are legal; avoid exposing Mockingbird before the copied object matters if opponent removal is likely and another one-drop keeps pressure moving.

• Floodpits Drowner is the deck's two-mana tempo body and interaction bridge. Card text check required for exact abilities, but in play it should be prioritized when the current board needs a creature that both attacks and interferes with opposing combat or development.

• Floodpits Drowner should come down before pure removal when its body changes the next attack step. Cast Fatal Push or Go for the Throat first only if a visible creature blocks Moon-Circuit Hacker profitably, threatens immediate lethal, or invalidates the Drowner line.

• Moon-Circuit Hacker is the main pressure-to-cards converter. Use legal ninjutsu or cast lines when an evasive creature or safe attacker can connect; preserve the returning creature if it creates a repeat trigger, saves it from removal, or resets Faerie Miscreant value.

• Moon-Circuit Hacker should not be forced through bad combat. If the only attack trades away the enabler or lets the opponent punish the post-combat board, cast another threat, use removal, or wait; the card is strongest when it turns a low-risk hit into a lasting resource edge.

• Kaito, Bane of Nightmares is the central four-mana payoff and must be committed through a board-state gate. Card text check required for exact modes and combat relevance; cast it when the deck can pressure, defend it, or immediately extract value, and delay it when tapping out lets the opponent resolve a decisive board or combo action.

• Kaito, Bane of Nightmares is not a panic button for empty boards. If the visible board will immediately attack it down, prioritize Fatal Push, Go for the Throat, Nowhere to Run, Brazen Borrower, or a stabilizing creature first; if the opponent is light on pressure, Kaito can become the reason to stop trading resources too aggressively.

• Fatal Push is the premium cheap removal and should be spent to preserve tempo. Use it on creatures that block evasive pressure, enable fast damage, protect planeswalkers, or force bad races; avoid using it on low-impact creatures when Thoughtseize or board development can answer the real threat.

• Fatal Push sequencing should respect revolt or other engine-exposed conditions only when legal output confirms them. Do not assume a larger target is killable unless the rules engine presents the action; if a fetch, casualty, sacrifice, bounce, or death event visibly changes legality, then use the newly legal Fatal Push line before the window closes.

• Thoughtseize is the proactive safety valve. Cast it early against unknown opponents, before committing Kaito, Bane of Nightmares or Sheoldred, the Apocalypse, or when a single opposing card can break the tempo line; avoid firing it late into an empty or low-impact hand unless life total and information still matter.

• Thoughtseize choices should protect the next two turns. Take the card that stops the current pressure plan, answers the payoff about to be cast, or creates the fastest visible loss; against removal-heavy hands, value the threat that is hardest to rebuild from, and against combo or control, take the action that bypasses creature combat.

• Go for the Throat is the larger-creature answer. Use it on threats Fatal Push cannot legally answer or when killing one creature unlocks a critical attack; do not spend it on a small target if Fatal Push or Nowhere to Run can handle the same problem and a bigger creature is likely from public matchup context.

• Nowhere to Run is a compact removal or containment slot. Card text check required for exact effect and attachment/status implications; use it when legal text shows it answers a creature Fatal Push cannot efficiently answer, keeps a blocker from trading, or supports a double-spell turn.

• Sheoldred, the Apocalypse is the stabilizing top-end threat. Cast it when the race is about life totals, when both players are drawing extra cards, or when the opponent has spent visible removal; delay it when Thoughtseize, Duress post-board, or Spell Pierce post-board can first clear the way.

• Sheoldred, the Apocalypse should not distract from lethal tempo. If evasive creatures and Mutavault can finish the game while holding removal, keep attacking rather than tapping out for a four-drop that gives the opponent another draw step; use Sheoldred when it changes the race or forces immediate action.

• Brazen Borrower is the flexible tempo reset. Card text check required for exact adventure and creature timing; use the bounce half when it clears a lethal attack, removes a blocker for a key hit, resets a large token or aura-like investment, or buys the turn needed for Kaito, Bane of Nightmares or Sheoldred, the Apocalypse.

• Brazen Borrower as a creature is a pressure tool, not only a spell. Deploy it when flash/evasion creates a safe clock, pressures planeswalkers, or lets the deck hold interaction before deciding; avoid bouncing low-impact permanents just because mana is available.

• Enduring Curiosity is a card-flow payoff for connecting creatures. Card text check required for exact timing and trigger conditions; commit it when legal attacks are already likely to hit or when the opponent is low on removal, and avoid casting it into a board where no creature can safely connect.

• Multiversal Passage is a card whose role depends on exact Oracle text. Card text check required; sequence it according to rules-engine legal output, and do not assume it fixes mana, produces card advantage, enables combat, or changes zones unless Veles exposes that action.

• Mutavault is both mana and a threat. Use it early as a land when colored requirements are covered, then turn it into pressure when doing so does not block Thoughtseize, Fatal Push, Moon-Circuit Hacker, or Kaito, Bane of Nightmares; attack planeswalkers with it when the opponent has spent removal or cannot profitably block.

• Mutavault activation should be weighed against instant-speed interaction. Do not animate into open removal or bad blocks unless the damage, planeswalker pressure, or Moon-Circuit Hacker setup is worth the land-risk; avoid spending Mutavault mana on attacks when a post-combat removal spell is needed.

• Darkslick Shores and Gloomlake Verge are preferred early colored sources. Lead them when they unlock both black interaction and blue creatures; avoid sequencing Mutavault first unless the hand has no one-mana colored play or the second land clearly fixes both colors. Card text check required for exact Gloomlake Verge conditions.

• Watery Grave is the flexible shock land and life-total decision point. Pay life when it enables turn-one Thoughtseize, Fatal Push, Faerie Miscreant, or Mockingbird, or turn-two Moon-Circuit Hacker/Floodpits Drowner; play it tapped when the hand already uses all available mana safely and the matchup punishes self-damage.

• Island and Swamp are stability lands. Fetch or play them when visible effects punish nonbasics, when life total matters, or when a basic still casts the current hand; do not overvalue basics if the hand needs both colors by turn two.

• Otawara, Soaring City is a land first and a late tempo spell second. Card text check required for exact channel cost and targets; keep it as a land when the hand needs blue mana, and use the spell mode only when bouncing a visible permanent changes lethal, protects a payoff, or breaks a major tempo exchange.

• Takenuma, Abandoned Mire is a land first and recovery option second. Card text check required for exact channel effect; use it as mana until the graveyard contains a visible creature or planeswalker worth recovering and the game has slowed enough that spending the land-slot action is better than developing pressure.

Interaction Priorities

• Priority: Use Thoughtseize and post-board Duress to clear the card that beats the next two turns, not the card with the highest abstract power. Take sweepers before committing multiple Faerie Miscreant, Mockingbird, Moon-Circuit Hacker, or Kaito, Bane of Nightmares; take cheap removal before relying on a single Kaito, Bane of Nightmares or Sheoldred, the Apocalypse; take combo pieces or payoff spells when the opponent can win without fighting on the battlefield.

• Priority: Spend Fatal Push on creatures that stop damage, enable the opponent's fastest clock, or protect a planeswalker from attacks. Hold Fatal Push if the only visible target is a low-impact creature and the hand already attacks through it with Faerie Miscreant, Mockingbird, Brazen Borrower, Mutavault, or a ninjutsu-style Moon-Circuit Hacker line.

• Priority: Save Go for the Throat for creatures Fatal Push cannot legally answer or for one blocker whose death creates a decisive attack. Do not downgrade Go for the Throat into a routine tempo play when Fatal Push, Nowhere to Run, Brazen Borrower, or combat can solve the same board.

• Priority: Treat Nowhere to Run as conditional removal or containment until exact text is confirmed. Card text check required; use it when Veles shows it legally answers a creature, removes a blocker, or prevents a threat from undoing the race, but do not assume it answers hexproof, ward, indestructible, death triggers, or noncreature permanents unless the engine exposes that line.

• Priority: Use Brazen Borrower and Otawara, Soaring City as tempo answers when bounce converts directly into damage, planeswalker survival, or a full turn bought against a large permanent. Avoid bouncing a permanent that immediately re-enters profitably unless the current attack, Kaito, Bane of Nightmares trigger, or lethal clock justifies the exchange.

• Priority: Post-board Disdainful Stroke should answer expensive stabilizers, sweepers, planeswalkers, and large threats that invalidate creature pressure. Spell Pierce should protect a key early Kaito, Bane of Nightmares, Sheoldred, the Apocalypse, Enduring Curiosity, or lethal attack from noncreature interaction; do not hold Spell Pierce too long after the opponent has surplus mana.

• Priority: Post-board Anoint with Affliction should exile recursive or death-trigger-relevant creatures when legal. Card text check required for exact restriction; prefer it over Fatal Push when exile matters, but do not spend it on a creature that ordinary combat or Fatal Push handles if a graveyard-centered threat is expected.

• Priority: Leyline of the Void changes the interaction plan by letting the deck ignore many graveyard loops and focus removal on battlefield pressure. Do not over-sideboard into graveyard hate if the opponent is winning through creatures, planeswalkers, or sweepers instead of the graveyard.

• Bait: Lead with redundant one-drops such as Faerie Miscreant, Mockingbird, or Mutavault pressure when the opponent is representing cheap removal and the real payoff is Kaito, Bane of Nightmares, Enduring Curiosity, or Sheoldred, the Apocalypse. Do not bait with Moon-Circuit Hacker if the hand needs that exact card to keep cards flowing.

• Ignore: Decline to answer creatures that cannot block, cannot race, and do not enable a visible engine. Against slow decks, ignore small life-total pressure when Thoughtseize, Kaito, Bane of Nightmares, and evasive attacks are advancing a faster clock; against aggro, stop ignoring small creatures once life falls into burn, haste, or alpha-strike range.

Combat And Trading Rules

• Attack: Prioritize safe evasive damage because Dimir Aggro wins by pairing pressure with disruption. Attack with Faerie Miscreant, Mockingbird, Brazen Borrower, creature-mode Mutavault, and enabled Moon-Circuit Hacker lines when the board shows no profitable block or when removal can clear the only relevant blocker.

• Preserve: Protect Kaito, Bane of Nightmares by attacking planeswalkers, removing attackers, and avoiding trades that leave Kaito exposed. If Kaito is generating cards or threats, a lower-damage attack that keeps blockers back can be better than pushing one extra point.

• Enable: Use early creatures to turn on Moon-Circuit Hacker or Enduring Curiosity only when the attack is likely to connect or the exchange still leaves pressure. Do not sacrifice the only evasive body into a bad block just to use mana efficiently.

• Trade: Trade small creatures for blockers when the trade opens repeated Mutavault, Brazen Borrower, Sheoldred, the Apocalypse, or Kaito, Bane of Nightmares pressure. Decline trades when the creature is the only carrier for card-flow effects, the opponent's creature is low-impact, or a removal spell can create a cleaner attack later.

• Block: Block aggressively against fast creature decks once life total is under pressure, especially when Sheoldred, the Apocalypse is not already stabilizing. Preserve life over marginal card advantage if the opponent can present lethal with visible attackers plus plausible public-context follow-up.

• Race: Race control and combo by attacking every turn while using Thoughtseize, Duress, Spell Pierce, and Disdainful Stroke to stop the card that resets the game. Do not hold back blockers against decks that are not trying to win through combat unless a planeswalker or life-total threshold demands it.

• Stabilize: Against aggro and go-wide boards, value Sheoldred, the Apocalypse, Path of Peril, Languish, Fatal Push, Go for the Throat, and Anoint with Affliction over small chip damage. If a sweeper is legal and favorable, avoid animating Mutavault or adding extra creatures first unless lethal or a planeswalker kill is available.

• Mutavault: Animate Mutavault to attack when colored mana is no longer needed for the current turn's interaction or when its damage changes the clock. Do not animate Mutavault into open removal, obvious profitable blocks, or post-combat mana shortage unless the attack is decisive.

• Sheoldred: Attack with Sheoldred, the Apocalypse when the opponent cannot profitably double-block or when forcing blocks protects life total. Hold Sheoldred back when blocking is what wins the race, especially against large visible attacks or when the opponent must answer Sheoldred to continue drawing cards safely.

• Archetype shift: Become the control deck against faster creature swarms, using removal and blockers before card-flow greed. Become the beatdown against slower, graveyard, combo, and control decks, using discard/counters to force through evasive pressure and ending the game before larger engines matter.

Selection And Tutor Rules

• No true tutor: Treat this list as an information-and-card-flow deck, not a search deck. There is no main-deck card that should be assumed to find any card from the library, so do not wait for a nonexistent tutor line before deploying pressure, removal, or Kaito, Bane of Nightmares.

• Pseudo-selection: Use Thoughtseize and post-board Duress to shape the opponent's hand before committing Kaito, Bane of Nightmares, Sheoldred, the Apocalypse, Enduring Curiosity, or a wide creature attack. Take the card that beats the current plan, not the objectively strongest card in isolation.

• Draw sequencing: Attack before spending second-main mana when Moon-Circuit Hacker, Enduring Curiosity, Faerie Miscreant, Kaito, Bane of Nightmares, or another visible engine can change the cards available after combat. If a combat trigger or planeswalker choice may reveal a land, removal spell, or discard spell, preserve flexible mana until the new information is known.

• Faerie Miscreant: Cast Faerie Miscreant early when it enables evasive damage, Moon-Circuit Hacker, Mockingbird sizing/copy plans, or future copies. If Veles exposes a draw trigger from a later Faerie Miscreant, sequence it before committing a lower-impact spell so the fresh card can affect land drop, removal, or one-drop deployment.

• Moon-Circuit Hacker: Use Moon-Circuit Hacker as card-flow only when the attack, ninjutsu-style exchange, or combat-damage line is legal and tactically worth the tempo. Do not pick a line that returns the only useful blocker or breaks a better Kaito, Bane of Nightmares pressure turn unless the extra card is needed to hit land, removal, or interaction.

• Kaito, Bane of Nightmares: Use Kaito, Bane of Nightmares choices according to visible legal text and board pressure. Card text check required; if Veles offers card selection or card advantage, prefer it when Kaito is protected or when the hand lacks pressure, and prefer board-impact modes when Kaito would otherwise die or the opponent is racing.

• Enduring Curiosity: Treat Enduring Curiosity as a high-upside draw engine only after legal text confirms the trigger and timing. Card text check required; if it rewards combat damage, prioritize evasive bodies and Mutavault attacks, but do not expose the whole turn to removal when Thoughtseize, Spell Pierce, or a safer threat line is available.

• Land-drop timing: Delay the land drop until after Thoughtseize/Duress, combat-draw triggers, or visible Kaito, Bane of Nightmares selection when the choice between Darkslick Shores, Gloomlake Verge, Watery Grave, Island, Swamp, Mutavault, Otawara, Soaring City, Takenuma, Abandoned Mire, and Multiversal Passage matters. Make the land drop first only when mana must be available to cast the current spell or represent interaction.

• Utility lands: Treat Otawara, Soaring City and Takenuma, Abandoned Mire as spell-like lands when Veles exposes their activated abilities. Card text check required for exact costs and targets; use them as selection or recursion only when the land slot is not more valuable as immediate colored mana or Mutavault support.

Priority And Stack Rules

• Default priority: Pass priority when the stack is empty, no profitable attack/block window exists, and the available instant-speed action does not change the current turn's damage, planeswalker survival, or opponent commitment. Do not burn Fatal Push, Go for the Throat, Brazen Borrower, Otawara, Soaring City, Spell Pierce, or Disdainful Stroke just because mana is open.

• Commit gate: Thoughtseize or Duress before tapping out for Kaito, Bane of Nightmares, Sheoldred, the Apocalypse, or Enduring Curiosity when the opponent has unknown cards and mana that could answer the threat. If discard is not available, commit only when waiting loses more tempo than the likely interaction, or when existing pressure already forces the opponent to answer multiple threats.

• Removal timing: Cast Fatal Push, Go for the Throat, Nowhere to Run, Anoint with Affliction, Brazen Borrower, or Otawara, Soaring City at the latest safe point unless using it precombat creates a materially better attack. Keep removal open through combat when the opponent can animate, pump, crew, equip, protect, or add a blocker at instant speed.

• Counter timing: Use Spell Pierce and Disdainful Stroke only on the spell that breaks the pressure plan, resolves a sweeper, lands a superior engine, protects a key blocker, or wins the race. Let low-impact setup spells resolve when the current battlefield already creates a short clock and the counter is needed for a larger stabilizer.

• Stack discipline: Do not respond to every draw spell, cantrip, or small creature by default. Respond when the spell threatens Kaito, Bane of Nightmares, invalidates Sheoldred, the Apocalypse, clears multiple attackers, enables a combo turn, or changes combat math before damage.

• Combat windows: Hold instant-speed removal or bounce until after attackers or blockers are declared when that timing can punish a block, remove a combat trick target, or preserve information. Cast precombat only when a blocker must be gone before attacks are legal or when the opponent could otherwise tap, sacrifice, or protect it.

• Optional payments and triggers: Accept optional value triggers only when they advance pressure, card flow, or stabilization without consuming mana needed for Spell Pierce, Fatal Push, Mutavault, Brazen Borrower, or post-board interaction. Decline optional payments that weaken the current protection or tax-payment plan.

• Graveyard timing: With Leyline of the Void, let graveyard-dependent spells resolve only if the visible replacement/exile effect actually prevents the dangerous part. Without Leyline of the Void, prioritize Anoint with Affliction, Graveyard Trespasser, discard, or counters around the moment the opponent tries to convert graveyard resources into battlefield or hand advantage.

Sideboard Map

• Sideboard rule: Keep Dimir Aggro as a pressure deck after sideboarding unless the matchup visibly demands a control posture. Add cards that protect an evasive clock, break a graveyard/combo engine, or answer a creature battlefield that Fatal Push, Go for the Throat, and Nowhere to Run cannot manage alone.

• Languish: Add Languish against creature decks that deploy multiple bodies larger than Faerie Miscreant, Moon-Circuit Hacker, Mockingbird, or Floodpits Drowner can profitably attack through. Its role is a reset that lets Kaito, Bane of Nightmares, Sheoldred, the Apocalypse, Mutavault, or a surviving larger creature take over after the battlefield is cleared. It is bad when the opponent presents few creatures, mostly planeswalkers, mostly spells, or a faster combo axis where spending four mana sorcery-speed does not protect life total or advance lethal pressure. Role change: after adding Languish, avoid overextending low-toughness creatures into your own reset unless the extra damage changes the clock or forces a key block.

• Path of Peril: Add Path of Peril against low-curve creature decks, token-style battlefields, mana-creature starts, and aggressive decks where early life total matters more than preserving every Faerie Miscreant or Moon-Circuit Hacker. Its role is early compression: trade one card and a turn for multiple opposing permanents, then rebuild with Kaito, Bane of Nightmares, Mutavault, Sheoldred, the Apocalypse, or card-flow creatures. It is bad against large creatures, planeswalker-heavy decks, spell combo, and midrange boards where the opposing threats naturally dodge the visible legal mode. Card text check required for any alternative cost or mode Veles exposes.

• Anoint with Affliction: Add Anoint with Affliction against cheap creature decks, recursive threats, graveyard-reliant creatures, and targets where exile matters more than raw destruction. Its role is tempo removal that supplements Fatal Push, Go for the Throat, and Nowhere to Run while reducing the opponent's ability to reuse the same threat. It is bad against creature-light control, noncreature combo, and expensive threats that are not legal targets under the exposed action text. Role change: when Anoint with Affliction is present, preserve it for creatures that would otherwise recur, trigger death value, or resist Go for the Throat, while using Fatal Push on ordinary early attackers.

• Graveyard Trespasser: Add Graveyard Trespasser against graveyard engines, midrange attrition, aggressive decks where a blocking body plus incidental life pressure matters, and opponents relying on a small number of graveyard cards. Its role is pressure plus graveyard interaction, not a pure hate piece. It is bad when three mana is too slow, when the opponent ignores the graveyard, or when a creature body is likely to be blanked by exile removal, sweepers, or larger battlefield presence. Role change: after adding Graveyard Trespasser, sequence discard first when possible so the creature can pressure known resources and so removal/counter decisions are informed by the opponent's hand.

• Duress: Add Duress against control, combo, ramp, sweepers, planeswalkers, and noncreature engines where Thoughtseize is already important and life total matters. Its role is cheap information and commitment protection before Kaito, Bane of Nightmares, Sheoldred, the Apocalypse, Enduring Curiosity, Disdainful Stroke, or Spell Pierce decisions. It is bad against creature-dense aggro when the likely hand contains too few legal hits or when spending mana on Duress fails to affect the battlefield before damage. Role change: post-board with Duress, use discard to decide whether to race, hold Spell Pierce, hold Disdainful Stroke, or tap low for pressure.

• Leyline of the Void: Add Leyline of the Void against graveyard-combo, recursive creature engines, graveyard-based card advantage, and decks where preventing graveyard accumulation is stronger than answering a single permanent later. Its role is pregame axis denial that lets Dimir Aggro spend later turns attacking and protecting a clock. It is bad against decks whose graveyard is incidental, creature combat is the real axis, or the opening hand becomes too low on lands, pressure, or interaction by keeping a nonfunctional hate card. Role change: with Leyline of the Void on the battlefield, prioritize pressure and protection; do not spend additional graveyard interaction unless the visible board shows a non-graveyard threat.

• Disdainful Stroke: Add Disdainful Stroke against ramp, control finishers, expensive sweepers, large creatures, big planeswalkers, and combo payoffs with mana value in range. Its role is protecting a short clock from the high-impact spell that stabilizes the opponent. It is bad against low-curve aggro, cheap tempo mirrors, and hands where holding two mana prevents meaningful pressure while the opponent can win with smaller spells. Role change: after adding Disdainful Stroke, plan turns so Mutavault attacks, cheap creatures, and discard still apply pressure while blue mana remains available on the opponent's key turn.

• Spell Pierce: Add Spell Pierce against control, combo, early planeswalkers, sweepers, and tempo mirrors where one mana can protect Kaito, Bane of Nightmares or force through a threat. Its role is early shield and tempo denial. It is bad in long games where the opponent naturally pays, against creature-dense aggro, and when holding one blue mana repeatedly prevents casting the threats that make the tax matter. Role change: use Spell Pierce aggressively in the first turns to protect a clock, then devalue it as the opponent reaches spare mana unless Veles shows a tapped-low window.

Creature Aggro / Go-Wide Pressure Side in: 1 Languish; 2 Path of Peril; 2 Anoint with Affliction Cut: 4 Thoughtseize; 1 Enduring Curiosity

• Plan use: Apply this plan when the opponent's primary pressure is many small or medium creatures and life total is the most constrained resource. Fatal Push, Go for the Throat, Nowhere to Run, Anoint with Affliction, Path of Peril, and Languish become the stabilizing shell; Faerie Miscreant, Mockingbird, Floodpits Drowner, Kaito, Bane of Nightmares, Mutavault, and Sheoldred, the Apocalypse finish after the board is slowed. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Thoughtseize when the damage matters more than perfect information; Enduring Curiosity when a slow card-flow engine is unlikely to survive combat.

Graveyard Engine / Recursive Threats Side in: 3 Leyline of the Void; 2 Graveyard Trespasser; 2 Anoint with Affliction Cut: 2 Nowhere to Run; 1 Brazen Borrower; 1 Enduring Curiosity; 1 Moon-Circuit Hacker; 2 Go for the Throat

• Plan use: Apply this plan when the opponent's graveyard is a central resource and exile effects materially change their legal lines. Leyline of the Void handles the broad axis, Graveyard Trespasser adds pressure and spot graveyard pressure, and Anoint with Affliction answers creatures that must not move through the graveyard normally. Reduce main-deck emphasis: slower bounce, fragile card-flow, and removal that fails against the most important recursive or non-artifact creature patterns shown by the matchup and Veles legal targets.

Control / Ramp / Big Noncreature Spells Side in: 2 Duress; 2 Disdainful Stroke; 1 Spell Pierce Cut: 2 Nowhere to Run; 2 Fatal Push; 1 Go for the Throat

• Plan use: Apply this plan when the opponent wins by resolving expensive spells, sweepers, planeswalkers, or noncreature engines rather than by attacking early. Duress and Thoughtseize clear the way, Spell Pierce covers early turns, and Disdainful Stroke protects the clock from the larger stabilizer. Reduce main-deck emphasis: creature-only or aura-style removal when Veles shows few legal targets and the opponent's decisive cards are on the stack or in hand.

Midrange Attrition / Removal Mirrors Side in: 2 Duress; 2 Graveyard Trespasser; 1 Spell Pierce Cut: 2 Nowhere to Run; 1 Faerie Miscreant; 1 Moon-Circuit Hacker; 1 Fatal Push

• Plan use: Apply this plan when both players trade resources and the game turns on planeswalkers, removal density, discard, and durable threats. Graveyard Trespasser pressures while taxing graveyard value, Duress protects Kaito, Bane of Nightmares and Sheoldred, the Apocalypse, and Spell Pierce can punish tapped-low removal or planeswalker turns. Reduce main-deck emphasis: the lowest-impact small creature or narrow removal when it does not line up with the visible opposing threat mix.

Tempo / Cheap Interaction Mirror Side in: 2 Duress; 1 Spell Pierce; 2 Anoint with Affliction Cut: 2 Nowhere to Run; 1 Enduring Curiosity; 1 Sheoldred, the Apocalypse; 1 Go for the Throat

• Plan use: Apply this plan when the opponent is also playing cheap threats, permission, bounce, or removal and the game is decided by mana efficiency. Duress and Spell Pierce fight over key turns, while Anoint with Affliction adds cheap interaction that can exile relevant small threats. Reduce main-deck emphasis: slow engines and expensive threats when tapping four mana exposes the turn to a cheap answer.

• Adaptive check: Change any exact plan only when Veles or matchup notes show the opponent's real axis differs from the label. Keep counts balanced, keep at least one credible pressure package, and do not remove so much one-mana interaction that Kaito, Bane of Nightmares and Mutavault lose the tempo shell that makes them dangerous.

Matchup Guidance

• Aggro: Prioritize life-total preservation before card advantage when the opponent presents multiple early attackers. Keep hands with early black interaction, at least one cheap creature, and enough untapped mana to cast Fatal Push, Go for the Throat, or Thoughtseize only when the discard spell will remove a creature or burn spell that matters more than the two life. Add role cards: Path of Peril, Languish, Anoint with Affliction. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Thoughtseize, Enduring Curiosity, and slow tap-low lines with Sheoldred, the Apocalypse when Veles shows that reaching four mana safely is unlikely.

• Go-wide: Preserve sweepers until they change the combat math, not merely to answer the first small creature. Path of Peril is the key early reset when the visible board is mostly small creatures; Languish is the later stabilizer when the opponent has extended enough pressure that one-for-one removal will not catch up. Fatal Push and Nowhere to Run should contain the fastest damage source while Faerie Miscreant, Mockingbird, Floodpits Drowner, Mutavault, and Kaito, Bane of Nightmares rebuild pressure after the reset. Add role cards: Path of Peril, Languish, Anoint with Affliction. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Thoughtseize and fragile card-flow threats when the opponent already has board advantage.

• Burn: Treat life as the bottleneck and avoid Watery Grave shock decisions unless the untapped mana prevents more damage than it costs. Thoughtseize is strongest only when it takes a high-impact spell and the current board is not already demanding removal; otherwise lean on Fatal Push, Go for the Throat, Nowhere to Run, and cheap pressure to shorten the game. Sheoldred, the Apocalypse can be a stabilizing finisher if Veles shows a safe deployment window, but do not tap out for it while a lethal attack or spell sequence is visible. Add role cards: Duress, Spell Pierce, Anoint with Affliction if opposing creatures are central. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Enduring Curiosity and excess Thoughtseize when two life is strategically expensive.

• Control: Build a cheap clock first, then spend discard and permission to protect the turn that matters. Faerie Miscreant, Mockingbird, Moon-Circuit Hacker, Floodpits Drowner, Mutavault, and Kaito, Bane of Nightmares pressure planeswalkers and life totals while Thoughtseize checks the path for sweepers or finishers. Duress is excellent when Veles shows the opponent's hand or legal discard targets include noncreature answers; Spell Pierce is best before the opponent has spare mana; Disdainful Stroke is for the expensive stabilizer. Add role cards: Duress, Disdainful Stroke, Spell Pierce. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Fatal Push, Go for the Throat, Nowhere to Run when legal targets are scarce.

• Big mana: Race while holding interaction for the payoff, because trading one-for-one with setup pieces may not matter if the large spell resolves. Thoughtseize and Duress should take the card that converts mana into inevitability, not the lowest-cost enabler unless that enabler is the only visible way they reach the payoff turn. Disdainful Stroke should be preserved for the expensive spell unless Veles shows a must-counter intermediate permanent. Mutavault helps keep pressure active while leaving mana available. Add role cards: Disdainful Stroke, Duress, Spell Pierce. Reduce main-deck emphasis: creature removal that lacks legal high-impact targets.

• Combo: Identify whether the combo uses hand, graveyard, stack, battlefield, or a single creature, then attack that axis with the cheapest available tool. Thoughtseize and Duress are early information and disruption; Spell Pierce punishes tapped-low setup turns; Disdainful Stroke covers expensive payoff spells; Leyline of the Void is only for graveyard-centric engines. Keep a fast threat because discard without a clock gives the opponent too many draw steps. Add role cards: Duress, Spell Pierce, Disdainful Stroke, Leyline of the Void when the graveyard is central. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Nowhere to Run and creature removal unless Veles shows creature-based combo pieces.

• Graveyard: Start with Leyline of the Void when the opening hand remains functional, then shift immediately into pressure. Graveyard Trespasser adds a body plus graveyard pressure, and Anoint with Affliction is preferred when exile matters more than destroying a creature. Do not over-invest in graveyard hate once Leyline of the Void is already applying the relevant lock; use later mana for Kaito, Bane of Nightmares, Mutavault attacks, Sheoldred, the Apocalypse, or interaction for non-graveyard threats. Add role cards: Leyline of the Void, Graveyard Trespasser, Anoint with Affliction. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Brazen Borrower, Enduring Curiosity, Nowhere to Run, and removal that fails against the visible recursive pattern.

• Midrange: Trade resources early, then make the last threat hard to answer. Thoughtseize is for planeswalkers, removal that would break up Kaito, Bane of Nightmares, and threats that outclass small attackers; Fatal Push and Go for the Throat handle creature pressure; Mutavault is valuable after both hands shrink. Sheoldred, the Apocalypse should enter when the opponent is low on visible answers or when life totals make immediate pressure necessary. Add role cards: Duress, Graveyard Trespasser, Spell Pierce. Reduce main-deck emphasis: the lowest-impact small creature, Nowhere to Run, or narrow removal according to visible targets.

• Removal-heavy decks: Diversify threats instead of committing every creature into the same answer. Mutavault is important because it attacks from the land slot; Kaito, Bane of Nightmares pressures through normal creature exchanges if it can be protected; Graveyard Trespasser increases threat density after sideboarding. Thoughtseize and Duress should clear the removal spell that stops the current threat, not a future card that does not affect the next two turns. Add role cards: Duress, Graveyard Trespasser, Spell Pierce. Reduce main-deck emphasis: fragile card-flow creatures when they cannot connect through the visible board.

• Tempo mirrors: Fight over mana, not total card count. Cheap threats plus efficient answers matter more than expensive stabilizers, so avoid tap-low turns that let the opponent answer Sheoldred, the Apocalypse or Kaito, Bane of Nightmares at a mana advantage. Spell Pierce and Duress are strongest around the first key stack fight; Anoint with Affliction is useful when the opposing threats are cheap creatures that must be exiled or answered cleanly. Brazen Borrower can punish a large temporary commitment when Veles shows a legal bounce line. Add role cards: Duress, Spell Pierce, Anoint with Affliction. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Enduring Curiosity and excess four-mana threats.

• Single-threat decks: Save clean removal for the threat that actually ends the game and use discard to remove protection before committing the answer. Fatal Push, Go for the Throat, Nowhere to Run, Anoint with Affliction, and Brazen Borrower each matter differently depending on Veles legal targets, so choose the answer that matches the permanent type and current combat step. Do not spend Thoughtseize on a low-impact card if the opponent's visible plan requires one protected threat. Add role cards: Anoint with Affliction, Duress, Spell Pierce, Disdainful Stroke when the threat is expensive. Reduce main-deck emphasis: sweepers unless the single-threat deck also produces a wide board.

• Artifact/enchantment decks: Separate permanent engines from creature pressure before choosing the plan. Dimir Aggro has limited direct artifact or enchantment removal, so discard, permission, bounce from Brazen Borrower, fast pressure, and creature removal must carry the matchup. Thoughtseize and Duress should take the noncreature engine if it is the card your removal cannot answer; Spell Pierce can cover early engine turns; Disdainful Stroke applies only to expensive payoffs. Add role cards: Duress, Spell Pierce, Disdainful Stroke, Anoint with Affliction if the creature threats line up. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Fatal Push, Go for the Throat, and Nowhere to Run only when Veles shows few creature targets.

• Artifact-creature pressure: Keep creature removal high when the artifact deck wins through bodies rather than noncreature engines. Fatal Push and Go for the Throat depend on Veles target legality, so verify target text instead of assuming every artifact creature can be destroyed by every removal spell. Path of Peril and Languish can reset wide artifact-creature boards if the mana and timing are legal. Add role cards: Path of Peril, Languish, Anoint with Affliction. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Duress-style effects unless the hand information shows noncreature payoffs.

• Enchantment creature or aura pressure: Prioritize interaction before combat damage when the opponent can stack resources on one attacker. Fatal Push, Go for the Throat, Nowhere to Run, Anoint with Affliction, and Brazen Borrower should answer the creature or disrupt the attachment line when Veles presents a legal target. Thoughtseize is strongest before the permanent resolves; afterward, use discard only if it prevents the next pump, protection, or replacement threat. Add role cards: Anoint with Affliction, Spell Pierce, Duress. Reduce main-deck emphasis: slow card advantage and expensive threats when the opponent is presenting lethal combat quickly.

• Adaptive rule: Reclassify the matchup from visible play, not from deck label alone. If the opponent labeled control shows early creature pressure, shift toward aggro rules; if an aggro deck reveals a graveyard engine, value Leyline of the Void and Graveyard Trespasser higher; if a midrange deck presents one must-answer permanent, follow single-threat rules. Keep at least one credible pressure package in every post-board configuration, because Dimir Aggro wins most disrupted games by converting small tempo advantages into damage before the opponent rebuilds.

Specific Matchup Notes

• General/archetype-only notes: Treat every matchup label as a starting hypothesis, and let revealed cards, Veles legal targets, battlefield texture, and known hand information override assumptions. Sideboarding guidance here is role-based; exact executable plans belong in Sideboard Map, and runtime decisions must not assume card text beyond what the rules engine exposes.

• Fast creature aggro: Preserve life total first, then turn the corner with Kaito, Bane of Nightmares, Mutavault, Graveyard Trespasser, or Sheoldred, the Apocalypse. Priority targets are the creature creating the shortest clock, the creature carrying combat modifiers, and any permanent Veles shows as enabling multiple attackers. Add role cards: Path of Peril, Languish, Anoint with Affliction, Graveyard Trespasser. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Thoughtseize on low life totals, Enduring Curiosity when it cannot safely convert damage, and slow hands with too many four-mana plays.

• Control and big-spell decks: Lead with pressure plus discard, then protect the threat that is already winning. Priority targets for Thoughtseize, Duress, Spell Pierce, and Disdainful Stroke are sweepers, planeswalkers, expensive stabilizers, and the first answer to Kaito, Bane of Nightmares or Sheoldred, the Apocalypse. Add role cards: Duress, Disdainful Stroke, Spell Pierce. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Fatal Push, Go for the Throat, Nowhere to Run, Path of Peril, and Languish unless Veles reveals enough creature targets.

• Graveyard decks: Use Leyline of the Void only as a functional opener or post-board axis, then keep applying pressure. Priority targets are discard outlets, recursive payoffs, and graveyard payoff spells; Graveyard Trespasser and Anoint with Affliction support the plan without replacing the need to close. Add role cards: Leyline of the Void, Graveyard Trespasser, Anoint with Affliction, Duress if noncreature enablers are revealed. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Nowhere to Run, Brazen Borrower, and removal that misses the visible engine.

• Midrange and removal-heavy decks: Trade one-for-one early and save a threat that survives the last exchange. Priority targets are removal that breaks up Moon-Circuit Hacker or Kaito, Bane of Nightmares, large creatures that blank small attackers, and card-advantage engines. Add role cards: Duress, Graveyard Trespasser, Spell Pierce, Anoint with Affliction when exile matters. Reduce main-deck emphasis: the weakest evasive creature on clogged boards and extra removal when the opponent is light on creatures.

• Creature-combo or single-threat decks: Hold clean interaction for the action that wins or creates an irreversible board, not the first legal target. Priority targets are the named combo creature, protection, tutor-like setup, and stack action Veles identifies as decisive. Add role cards: Anoint with Affliction, Duress, Spell Pierce, Disdainful Stroke when the payoff costs enough for it. Reduce main-deck emphasis: sweepers unless the combo also floods the board.

• Artifact, enchantment, or unusual permanent engines: Attack the hand and stack because Dimir Aggro has limited direct answers to noncreature permanents. Priority targets are the noncreature engine, the expensive payoff, or the creature that turns the engine into lethal pressure. Add role cards: Duress, Spell Pierce, Disdainful Stroke, Anoint with Affliction if Veles shows legal creature targets. Reduce main-deck emphasis: creature-only removal when the opponent’s visible plan is not creature-based.

Risk Summary

• Mana risk: Keep hands that cast early black interaction and blue threats on time, because Darkslick Shores, Gloomlake Verge, Watery Grave, Multiversal Passage, Mutavault, Island, Swamp, Otawara, Soaring City, and Takenuma, Abandoned Mire can create awkward color sequencing. Card text check required for Gloomlake Verge and Multiversal Passage before assuming exact color access or timing.

• Draw risk: Avoid hands that contain only reactive cards and no pressure, because Dimir Aggro wins disrupted games by converting Thoughtseize, Fatal Push, Go for the Throat, Nowhere to Run, and bounce pressure from Brazen Borrower into damage. Hands with only Faerie Miscreant, Mockingbird, or Moon-Circuit Hacker need a credible follow-up before being treated as keepable.

• Over-sideboarding risk: Do not dilute the threat base so far that discard and removal only prolong the game. Keep enough Faerie Miscreant, Floodpits Drowner, Mockingbird, Moon-Circuit Hacker, Kaito, Bane of Nightmares, Mutavault, Graveyard Trespasser, or Sheoldred, the Apocalypse to end the game after disruption.

• Graveyard risk: Leyline of the Void is powerful only when the matchup rewards it and the remaining hand functions. Do not keep a no-pressure hand merely because Leyline of the Void is present unless Veles-visible context says the opponent depends heavily on graveyard access.

• Sweeper/removal risk: Path of Peril and Languish can catch your own board, so cast them only when the reset improves the next two turns. Against opposing sweepers, avoid overcommitting Faerie Miscreant, Mockingbird, Moon-Circuit Hacker, and Floodpits Drowner when Mutavault or Kaito, Bane of Nightmares can maintain pressure.

• Closer risk: Sheoldred, the Apocalypse and Kaito, Bane of Nightmares are strong but vulnerable to tap-out punishment. Commit them when discard, permission, visible mana, or opponent hand texture makes the window acceptable, or when waiting creates a worse clock.

• Interaction risk: Fatal Push, Go for the Throat, Anoint with Affliction, Spell Pierce, and Disdainful Stroke are target- and timing-dependent, so follow Veles legality exactly. Never assume an answer works on a permanent type, mana value, or stack object unless the legal action is shown.

• Sequencing risk: Use Thoughtseize and Duress before committing fragile engines when the opponent can answer them, but use mana on board first when life total or combat pressure makes waiting fatal. Mutavault activation, Moon-Circuit Hacker timing, and Kaito, Bane of Nightmares commitment are the common points where one mana spent incorrectly can lose tempo.

Test Feedback Checklist

• Deciding factor: After each game, identify whether the win or loss came from early pressure, discard timing, removal efficiency, mana development, sideboard card impact, or failure to close after stabilizing.

• Mulligans: Record whether the opening hand had a one- or two-mana play, functional black and blue access, and a credible damage plan with Faerie Miscreant, Floodpits Drowner, Mockingbird, Moon-Circuit Hacker, Mutavault, Kaito, Bane of Nightmares, or Sheoldred, the Apocalypse.

• Mana: Note every game where Darkslick Shores, Gloomlake Verge, Watery Grave, Multiversal Passage, Mutavault, Island, Swamp, Otawara, Soaring City, or Takenuma, Abandoned Mire caused a missed Thoughtseize, Fatal Push, Moon-Circuit Hacker, Kaito, Bane of Nightmares, or Sheoldred, the Apocalypse window. Card text check required for Gloomlake Verge and Multiversal Passage when diagnosing exact color failures.

• Velocity: Track whether Moon-Circuit Hacker, Faerie Miscreant, Enduring Curiosity, and Kaito, Bane of Nightmares converted early attacks into extra cards or whether the deck spent too many turns answering threats without adding pressure.

• Engine pressure: Ask whether Kaito, Bane of Nightmares entered on a board that could defend or attack productively, and whether Sheoldred, the Apocalypse was cast into a real stabilizing or closing role rather than as a desperation play.

• Removal use: Review each Fatal Push, Go for the Throat, Nowhere to Run, Brazen Borrower, Anoint with Affliction, Path of Peril, and Languish decision for whether it answered the shortest clock, protected a damage engine, or was spent on a low-impact visible threat.

• Disruption use: Review each Thoughtseize, Duress, Spell Pierce, and Disdainful Stroke for whether it took or stopped the card that beat the current board, not merely the highest-cost or most familiar card.

• Sideboard impact: Record which sideboard cards were drawn, cast, stranded, or unnecessary: Leyline of the Void, Graveyard Trespasser, Duress, Disdainful Stroke, Spell Pierce, Anoint with Affliction, Path of Peril, and Languish.

• Closing: Mark games where the deck stabilized but failed to end quickly with Mutavault, evasive creatures, Kaito, Bane of Nightmares, Graveyard Trespasser, or Sheoldred, the Apocalypse.

• Role mistakes: Identify turns where the pilot played control while ahead on tempo, raced while behind on board, overcommitted into a visible sweeper line, or held interaction while a legal pressure play was needed.

• Stranded cards: List every card stuck in hand for two or more turns and classify the cause as mana, wrong matchup, missing target, bad sequencing, or opponent pressure.

• Overperformers and underperformers: Separate card performance by matchup and game stage, especially for Floodpits Drowner, Mockingbird, Moon-Circuit Hacker, Kaito, Bane of Nightmares, Sheoldred, the Apocalypse, Nowhere to Run, and each sideboard card.

First Tuning Questions

• Threat density: Does the deck lose because it draws too much Thoughtseize, Fatal Push, Go for the Throat, and Nowhere to Run without enough Faerie Miscreant, Floodpits Drowner, Mockingbird, Moon-Circuit Hacker, Mutavault, Kaito, Bane of Nightmares, or Sheoldred, the Apocalypse pressure?

• One-drop quality: Are Faerie Miscreant and Mockingbird reliably enabling Moon-Circuit Hacker and early damage, or are too many openers functionally low-impact without a specific follow-up?

• Tempo package: Is Floodpits Drowner advancing the aggro-tempo plan often enough to justify four copies, or does it become a weak draw when the opponent is not fighting through combat?

• Card-advantage mix: Is the single Enduring Curiosity worth its slot compared with more threats, removal, or permission, and does it actually produce cards before the opponent stabilizes?

• Four-mana pressure: Are four Kaito, Bane of Nightmares plus two Sheoldred, the Apocalypse creating too many expensive hands, or are they necessary to beat removal-heavy and midrange opponents?

• Mana base: Are four Mutavault and multiple utility or special lands causing enough colored-mana misses to change land counts, or is the creature-land pressure worth the cost?

• Removal split: Should the mix of Fatal Push, Go for the Throat, Nowhere to Run, Brazen Borrower, Anoint with Affliction, Path of Peril, and Languish shift based on whether losses come from small creatures, large creatures, recursive threats, or wide boards?

• Discard and permission: Does the deck need more Duress, Spell Pierce, or Disdainful Stroke after sideboard, or are those cards creating too many reactive hands that fail to close?

• Graveyard package: Is Leyline of the Void winning enough graveyard matchups to justify three sideboard slots, or would Graveyard Trespasser and Anoint with Affliction cover the same matchups while preserving pressure?

• Aggro-control conflict: Are sideboard games becoming too controlling after adding Path of Peril, Languish, Duress, Disdainful Stroke, and Spell Pierce, and should the plan preserve more Moon-Circuit Hacker, Mutavault, and Kaito, Bane of Nightmares pressure?

• Closer configuration: If games stall after early disruption, should the deck emphasize Sheoldred, the Apocalypse, Kaito, Bane of Nightmares, Mutavault, Graveyard Trespasser, or additional evasive pressure rather than extra answers?

• Role clarity: Which matchups require Dimir Aggro to be the beatdown from turn one, and which require a discard-removal-control posture before committing Kaito, Bane of Nightmares or Sheoldred, the Apocalypse?

Veles Tactical Policy

Policy: Opening Hand Role Gate

• Priority: High
• Decision families: mulligan
• Cards: Faerie Miscreant; Floodpits Drowner; Mockingbird; Moon-Circuit Hacker; Thoughtseize; Fatal Push; Darkslick Shores; Gloomlake Verge; Watery Grave; Island; Swamp; Mutavault
• Phase windows: Opening hand, London mulligan, post-mulligan bottoming.
• Runtime cues: prompt:mulligan; prompt:bottom
• Use when: The engine asks whether to keep, mulligan, or bottom cards.
• Avoid when: Keep decisions cannot see enough card identity data; fall back to engine-visible counts only.
• Instructions: Keep hands with functional blue-black mana, a one- or two-mana creature, and either Thoughtseize, Fatal Push, or Moon-Circuit Hacker follow-up. Ship hands with no early play, one-land hands without visible cheap action, colorless-heavy hands that cannot cast black disruption or blue pressure, and expensive hands built only around Kaito, Bane of Nightmares or Sheoldred, the Apocalypse.
• Pilot skill floor: Intermediate.
• No-API allowed: no
• Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Early Pressure Setup

• Priority: Medium
• Decision families: priority; mana
• Cards: Faerie Miscreant; Floodpits Drowner; Mockingbird; Moon-Circuit Hacker; Mutavault
• Phase windows: Turns one through three, precombat main phase.
• Runtime cues: action:cast; action:activate Mutavault
• Use when: Legal actions include cheap threats and the board has no urgent survival requirement.
• Avoid when: Visible opposing pressure requires immediate Fatal Push, Go for the Throat, Nowhere to Run, or sideboard sweeper use.
• Instructions: Put a creature on board before holding up reactive mana unless the visible opponent line punishes tapping out. Prioritize enabling attacks for Moon-Circuit Hacker and Kaito, Bane of Nightmares over leaving mana unused.
• Pilot skill floor: Basic.
• No-API allowed: no
• Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Mana Color Discipline

• Priority: Medium
• Decision families: mana
• Cards: Darkslick Shores; Gloomlake Verge; Watery Grave; Multiversal Passage; Mutavault; Otawara, Soaring City; Takenuma, Abandoned Mire; Island; Swamp
• Phase windows: Land play, spell payment, activated ability payment.
• Runtime cues: action:play; action:pay; action:add mana
• Use when: Multiple land plays or mana payments are legal.
• Avoid when: The payment is a forced single-source payment.
• Instructions: Preserve black access for Thoughtseize, Fatal Push, Go for the Throat, Nowhere to Run, and Sheoldred, the Apocalypse while preserving blue access for Faerie Miscreant, Floodpits Drowner, Moon-Circuit Hacker, Mockingbird, Brazen Borrower, Enduring Curiosity, and Kaito, Bane of Nightmares. Card text check required for Gloomlake Verge and Multiversal Passage; treat exact color output as engine-authoritative.
• Pilot skill floor: Intermediate.
• No-API allowed: no
• Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Exact Forced Mana Payment

• Priority: Low
• Decision families: mana
• Cards: none
• Phase windows: Any payment prompt.
• Runtime cues: action:pay
• Use when: Exactly one legal action contains a visible pay action text fragment and no alternate payment action is listed.
• Avoid when: More than one payment action is visible, floating mana choices differ, or optional costs are listed.
• Instructions: Submit the only visible payment action without strategic delay.
• Pilot skill floor: Basic.
• No-API allowed: yes
• Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Thoughtseize Disruption Target

• Priority: High
• Decision families: interaction; selection
• Cards: Thoughtseize
• Phase windows: Early main phase, pre-combat setup, pre-commitment turns.
• Runtime cues: action:cast Thoughtseize; prompt:choose card
• Use when: Opponent hand is revealed by a legal Thoughtseize resolution.
• Avoid when: Life total is under visible lethal pressure and the legal action would not affect survival this turn.
• Instructions: Take the card that most directly beats the current plan: cheap removal before committing Kaito, Bane of Nightmares, sweepers before widening, combo pieces before racing, and high-impact blockers or stabilizers before attacking. Do not infer hidden follow-up cards beyond revealed hand and public information.
• Pilot skill floor: Advanced.
• No-API allowed: no
• Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Removal Allocation Gate

• Priority: High
• Decision families: interaction; priority
• Cards: Fatal Push; Go for the Throat; Nowhere to Run; Brazen Borrower; Anoint with Affliction
• Phase windows: Opponent combat, end step, own main phase before attacks, stack windows.
• Runtime cues: action:cast Fatal Push; action:cast Go for the Throat; action:cast Nowhere to Run; action:cast Brazen Borrower; action:cast Anoint with Affliction
• Use when: Legal removal actions can target visible permanents or stack objects.
• Avoid when: The target set is hidden, illegal, protected by engine rules, or the only visible target is low impact while holding pressure is stronger.
• Instructions: Spend removal on the shortest clock, the blocker preventing damage engines, or the permanent that invalidates Kaito, Bane of Nightmares, Sheoldred, the Apocalypse, Moon-Circuit Hacker, or Mutavault pressure. Card text check required for Nowhere to Run.
• Pilot skill floor: Advanced.
• No-API allowed: no
• Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Moon-Circuit Hacker Connection Gate

• Priority: Medium
• Decision families: combat; priority; mana
• Cards: Moon-Circuit Hacker; Faerie Miscreant; Mockingbird; Floodpits Drowner; Mutavault
• Phase windows: Declare attackers, combat damage, post-combat main, ninjutsu-like prompts if exposed.
• Runtime cues: action:attack; action:Moon-Circuit Hacker
• Use when: Legal actions include attacking with evasive or small creatures, or deploying Moon-Circuit Hacker through an engine prompt.
• Avoid when: Attacking sacrifices the only blocker needed to survive visible lethal damage.
• Instructions: Convert early creatures into card flow when the attack is engine-supported by legal actions. Prefer connecting with low-cost threats before committing expensive threats if the opponent is constrained by Thoughtseize or removal.
• Pilot skill floor: Intermediate.
• No-API allowed: no
• Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Combat Attack Discipline

• Priority: Medium
• Decision families: combat
• Cards: Faerie Miscreant; Floodpits Drowner; Mockingbird; Moon-Circuit Hacker; Mutavault; Graveyard Trespasser; Sheoldred, the Apocalypse
• Phase windows: Beginning of combat, declare attackers.
• Runtime cues: action:attack with
• Use when: Multiple attackers or no-attack choices are legal.
• Avoid when: Combat math depends on hidden tricks or unresolved stack objects not represented in visible state.
• Instructions: Attack to preserve tempo when blockers are absent, tapped, or removable by legal actions. Hold back the creature that prevents a visible lethal crack-back, especially when Sheoldred, the Apocalypse or Graveyard Trespasser can win without exposing all attackers.
• Pilot skill floor: Intermediate.
• No-API allowed: no
• Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Single Legal Attack Execution

• Priority: Low
• Decision families: combat
• Cards: none
• Phase windows: Declare attackers.
• Runtime cues: action:attack with
• Use when: Exactly one legal action contains attack with and all other legal actions are pass/no-attack variants.
• Avoid when: The single attack action taps the only visible blocker against opponent lethal next turn.
• Instructions: Submit the visible attack action if the state is not a survival block requirement.
• Pilot skill floor: Basic.
• No-API allowed: yes
• Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Kaito Commitment Gate

• Priority: High
• Decision families: priority; combat
• Cards: Kaito, Bane of Nightmares; Thoughtseize; Faerie Miscreant; Mockingbird; Moon-Circuit Hacker; Mutavault
• Phase windows: Main phase before or after combat.
• Runtime cues: action:cast Kaito, Bane of Nightmares
• Use when: Kaito, Bane of Nightmares is a legal cast and the choice competes with pressure, discard, removal, or holding mana.
• Avoid when: Opponent board can immediately remove or ignore Kaito by visible attacks and no defense or pressure is available.
• Instructions: Commit Kaito after discard or removal clears the path, or when an evasive/creature-land attack can immediately pressure the opponent. Do not tap out for Kaito if a visible threat requires removal this turn.
• Pilot skill floor: Advanced.
• No-API allowed: no
• Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Sheoldred Stabilize Or Close Gate

• Priority: High
• Decision families: priority; mana
• Cards: Sheoldred, the Apocalypse; Thoughtseize; Fatal Push; Go for the Throat; Nowhere to Run
• Phase windows: Main phase, post-disruption turn, stabilization turn.
• Runtime cues: action:cast Sheoldred, the Apocalypse
• Use when: Sheoldred, the Apocalypse is legal and competes with interaction or multiple cheaper plays.
• Avoid when: The opponent has a visible answer from revealed hand or a board that kills before Sheoldred changes combat.
• Instructions: Cast Sheoldred when it stabilizes visible attacks, pressures life totals, or punishes draw-heavy lines. Prefer clearing removal with Thoughtseize or answering immediate attackers first when the legal choices allow it.
• Pilot skill floor: Advanced.
• No-API allowed: no
• Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Permission Sideboard Gate

• Priority: Medium
• Decision families: interaction; priority
• Cards: Duress; Disdainful Stroke; Spell Pierce
• Phase windows: Early main phase, opponent stack windows, pre-finisher turns.
• Runtime cues: action:cast Duress; action:cast Disdainful Stroke; action:cast Spell Pierce
• Use when: Sideboard disruption is legal and the opponent is presenting noncreature, expensive, or stack-based pressure.
• Avoid when: The current board requires adding creatures or removing a visible attacker instead.
• Instructions: Use Duress before committing fragile threats, hold Disdainful Stroke for expensive visible stack threats, and use Spell Pierce when the opponent is mana-constrained. Let the rules engine determine legal targets and payment windows.
• Pilot skill floor: Advanced.
• No-API allowed: no
• Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Graveyard Hate Deployment

• Priority: Medium
• Decision families: pregame; priority; sideboard
• Cards: Leyline of the Void; Graveyard Trespasser; Anoint with Affliction
• Phase windows: Opening hand pregame, early turns, graveyard-dependent opponent turns.
• Runtime cues: action:Leyline of the Void; action:cast Graveyard Trespasser; action:cast Anoint with Affliction
• Use when: Sideboarded graveyard cards are legal and the opponent strategy or public graveyard makes graveyard resources material.
• Avoid when: The graveyard is empty, opponent pressure is lethal, and the hate action does not affect board survival.
• Instructions: Deploy Leyline of the Void at the legal pregame window when it is in the opening hand and the matchup plan calls for it. Use Graveyard Trespasser as pressure plus graveyard control; use Anoint with Affliction when exile/removal text is relevant by engine legality.
• Pilot skill floor: Intermediate.
• No-API allowed: no
• Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Sweeper Survival Gate

• Priority: High
• Decision families: interaction; sideboard
• Cards: Path of Peril; Languish
• Phase windows: Own main phase before combat, emergency stabilization turns.
• Runtime cues: action:cast Path of Peril; action:cast Languish
• Use when: Legal sweeper actions are available against a visible wide board or lethal creature pressure.
• Avoid when: Sweeper use destroys the only pressure and does not prevent the opponent's next visible attack from remaining lethal.
• Instructions: Cast Path of Peril or Languish when the visible board demands reset over tempo. Preserve a threat only if survival is already covered by legal removal, blocking, or life total cushion.
• Pilot skill floor: Advanced.
• No-API allowed: no
• Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Sideboard Plan Selection

• Priority: High
• Decision families: sideboard
• Cards: Anoint with Affliction; Disdainful Stroke; Duress; Graveyard Trespasser; Languish; Leyline of the Void; Path of Peril; Spell Pierce; Fatal Push; Go for the Throat; Nowhere to Run; Thoughtseize; Moon-Circuit Hacker; Faerie Miscreant; Mockingbird; Floodpits Drowner; Kaito, Bane of Nightmares; Sheoldred, the Apocalypse; Enduring Curiosity; Brazen Borrower
• Phase windows: Between games, sideboard lock.
• Runtime cues: prompt:sideboard; action:submit sideboard
• Use when: Veles asks for sideboarding after game one or game two.
• Avoid when: Requested swaps violate registered 60 plus 15 inventory or exceed available copies.
• Instructions: Add graveyard cards against graveyard reliance, permission and discard against noncreature engines or sweepers, Anoint with Affliction against exile-relevant creatures, and sweepers against wide boards. Reduce the least effective pressure or removal package only after preserving a credible clock.
• Pilot skill floor: Advanced.
• No-API allowed: no
• Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Exact Pass On Empty Stack

• Priority: Low
• Decision families: priority
• Cards: none
• Phase windows: Any priority window.
• Runtime cues: action:pass priority
• Use when: The stack is empty, no legal non-pass action is listed except mana abilities, and the visible phase offers no attack, block, cast, activate, or sideboard action.
• Avoid when: Any legal action includes casting, activating Mutavault, attacking, blocking, targeting, or submitting a choice.
• Instructions: Submit the visible pass-priority action.
• Pilot skill floor: Basic.
• No-API allowed: yes
• Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Utility Land Activation Gate

• Priority: Medium
• Decision families: priority; mana; selection
• Cards: Mutavault; Otawara, Soaring City; Takenuma, Abandoned Mire
• Phase windows: Combat, end step, main phase, channel or activation prompts.
• Runtime cues: action:activate Mutavault; action:Otawara, Soaring City; action:Takenuma, Abandoned Mire
• Use when: Utility land actions are legal and compete with spell casting or holding interaction.
• Avoid when: Colored mana from the land is needed for a higher-priority legal spell this turn.
• Instructions: Activate Mutavault to add pressure or block when colored mana is not being sacrificed. Use Otawara, Soaring City or Takenuma, Abandoned Mire only through legal engine prompts; card text check required for exact channel timing and target classes.
• Pilot skill floor: Intermediate.
• No-API allowed: no
• Light-model allowed: yes