veles-content/strategies/alchemy/alchemy_izzet_lessons/1/guide.md

# Strategy Specifications
## Deck Name And Archetype

- Name: Izzet Lessons is a 60-card Alchemy Izzet tempo-control spells deck with a 15-card sideboard. Runtime policy should treat the deck as proactive tempo first when it has an early engine or threat, and controlling only when visible pressure, stack interaction, or sideboard configuration makes trading resources the safer line.

- Format and validation: Active format is Alchemy, the registered main deck is 60 cards, and the registered sideboard is 15 cards. The provided format-aware validation result passes under the stated contract of at least 60 main-deck cards and at most 15 sideboard cards.

- Tags: Current archetype and mechanic tags are tempo, control, and spells. The repeated tag set should be normalized for indexing as `tempo`, `control`, and `spells`, with `spells` used as the main synergy tag and `tempo-control` used as the play-pattern label.

- Stock status: Treat Izzet Lessons as rogue or hybrid rather than a stock archetype unless future testing supplies a metagame-defined list. Do not import generic Izzet, prowess, Phoenix, or control assumptions unless the registered cards and visible game state support them.

- Main-deck identity: The maindeck is built around spell density and permanent payoffs, with 4 Gran-Gran, 4 A-Cori-Steel Cutter, 4 Firebending Lesson, 4 Abandon Attachments, 4 Accumulate Wisdom, 4 Combustion Technique, 4 Boomerang Basics, 3 Illuminating Lash, 4 Stormchaser's Talent, 2 Quantum Riddler, 1 Preponderant Pearl, and 1 Iroh's Demonstration. Card text check required for exact tactical roles before claiming specific triggers, modes, counters, tokens, or damage outcomes.

- Mana base: The registered lands are 4 Island, 4 Steam Vents, 3 Sulfur Falls, 4 Riverpyre Verge, 2 Starting Town, and 4 Multiversal Passage. The deck should prioritize stable blue-red access early, but exact tapland, color-choice, and passage-style decisions must follow the rules engine's legal actions and visible mana annotations at runtime.

- Sideboard identity: The sideboard contains 1 Annul, 2 Soul-Guide Lantern, 2 Spell Pierce, 3 Unable to Scream, 2 Abrade, 1 Negate, 2 Pyroclasm, 1 Ral, Crackling Wit, and 1 Quantum Riddler. Sideboard use should be matchup-driven, with graveyard pressure, artifact/enchantment pressure, cheap stack fights, creature swarms, and slower attrition mirrors handled by exact executable plans in the Sideboard Map.

- Legality concern: The deck is currently validated as legal for the active Alchemy contract, but runtime agents must not infer paper legality, Historic legality, Standard legality, or Best-of-One legality from this guide. If Veles exposes a legal-action list that omits an expected spell, activation, target, sideboard card, or mana option, the legal-action list is authoritative.

- Role concern: The deck can misplay if it treats every hand as pure aggression or pure draw-go control. Pilot decisions should identify whether the current hand is engine-led, removal-led, counter-led, or threat-light before spending interaction, committing A-Cori-Steel Cutter, resolving Stormchaser's Talent, or using card-selection spells.

- Opponent information status: No specific opponent deck, matchup, known hand, graveyard plan, or metagame target was supplied for this batch. Opponent cards should be referenced only when visible in-game, revealed by public information, supplied by matchup metadata, or explicitly prefixed as metagame examples outside registered `Cards:` fields in later policy sections.

## Thesis

- Core plan: Izzet Lessons assembles stable blue-red mana, one early permanent payoff or engine, and a dense chain of cheap spells to convert legal action windows into tempo, card flow, and damage. Card text check required for exact triggers, modes, counters, tokens, damage, and lesson mechanics, so the runtime pilot must follow Veles legal actions and visible board output before assuming any card performs a familiar role.

- Winning pattern: Win by sticking a threat or payoff such as Gran-Gran, A-Cori-Steel Cutter, Stormchaser's Talent, Quantum Riddler, Preponderant Pearl, or Iroh's Demonstration, then using Firebending Lesson, Abandon Attachments, Accumulate Wisdom, Combustion Technique, Boomerang Basics, and Illuminating Lash to keep the opponent off balance while the permanent advantage accumulates. Prioritize lines that both affect the current turn and preserve enough spell density for follow-up turns.

- Control pattern: Play control only when the hand or matchup makes interaction more valuable than early pressure, especially when visible opposing pressure must be answered before committing a fragile payoff. Do not spend all cheap spells for minor chip damage if the current board requires Boomerang Basics, Combustion Technique, Illuminating Lash, or Abandon Attachments to protect life total, punish a key permanent, or preserve a later engine turn.

- Tempo pattern: Play tempo when a legal early threat plus interaction exists, because this deck is not trying to be a long-game hard-control deck with endless inevitability. Protect early pressure by sequencing mana to represent legal blue-red interaction, then convert each opponent stumble into attacks, spell-triggered value, or a larger follow-up permanent.

- What not to do: Do not mulligan or sequence as if the deck is pure burn, pure draw-go, or a deterministic combo deck. The deck needs a mix of mana, action, and either pressure or selection; hands with only reactive cards can fall behind, and hands with only payoffs can fail if the first payoff is removed.

- Runtime priority: Trust legal actions first, visible state second, and this guide third. If Veles does not expose a cast, target, attack, block, payment, mode, or sideboard action, the pilot must not infer that the action is available from deck theory.

## Role Package

- Threats: Gran-Gran, A-Cori-Steel Cutter, Stormchaser's Talent, Quantum Riddler, Preponderant Pearl, and Iroh's Demonstration are the main cards to convert spell volume into pressure or durable advantage. Card text check required, but in play these should be treated as the cards most likely to justify proactive sequencing, protection decisions, and threat-light mulligan concerns.

- Payoffs: A-Cori-Steel Cutter and Stormchaser's Talent are the likely spell-density payoffs because the deck registers four copies of each and surrounds them with many noncreature spells. Prioritize keeping one payoff alive or extracting value immediately from it over deploying a second copy into obvious visible removal unless the first is insufficient for the current clock.

- Engines: Accumulate Wisdom, Firebending Lesson, Quantum Riddler, Preponderant Pearl, Iroh's Demonstration, and Stormchaser's Talent are the cards most likely to generate continued resources or card-quality advantages. Card text check required; when Veles shows selection, draw, lesson, copy, or persistent-effect actions, value those actions higher in stalled boards and lower when the opponent's visible board demands immediate interaction.

- Velocity: Accumulate Wisdom, Firebending Lesson, Boomerang Basics, Combustion Technique, Abandon Attachments, and Illuminating Lash form the spell chain that lets the deck double-spell and keep triggering payoffs. Prefer sequencing velocity after a payoff when mana and safety allow, but cast it before a payoff when the hand lacks land, color access, or an answer to visible pressure.

- Interaction: Boomerang Basics, Combustion Technique, Illuminating Lash, Abandon Attachments, Firebending Lesson, and sideboard cards Abrade, Annul, Negate, Spell Pierce, Pyroclasm, Unable to Scream, and Soul-Guide Lantern cover the broad interactive module. Card text check required for each exact answer type; use legal-action text and target lists to distinguish bounce, damage, counter, graveyard, artifact, enchantment, sweep, and shrink/lock roles.

- Protection: Spell Pierce and Negate are explicit sideboard protection or stack-fight tools when Veles exposes counter-style legal actions, while maindeck protection is likely tempo-based rather than dedicated shielding. Protect a resolved payoff by holding up legal interaction only when the opponent has visible mana, known relevant cards, or a board state where losing the payoff collapses the plan.

- Recursion: The registered list has no clear dedicated graveyard-recursion package by name. Card text check required for Stormchaser's Talent, Accumulate Wisdom, Iroh's Demonstration, and Soul-Guide Lantern before treating any graveyard, rebuy, flashback, or resource-loop line as available.

- Mana: Island, Steam Vents, Sulfur Falls, Riverpyre Verge, Starting Town, and Multiversal Passage must support early blue-red access and later double-spell turns. Sequence lands to cast an early payoff plus a cheap spell, and avoid spending flexible mana in ways that prevent a visible legal interaction spell from answering the opponent's next decisive action.

- Sideboard modules: Annul handles visible artifact or enchantment pressure if legal text confirms; Soul-Guide Lantern handles graveyard pressure; Spell Pierce and Negate improve stack fights; Unable to Scream and Abrade add creature or permanent interaction if legal text confirms; Pyroclasm addresses wide creature boards; Ral, Crackling Wit and the sideboard Quantum Riddler strengthen slower games. Exact sideboard swaps belong in Sideboard Map, not this role summary.

## Primary Win Conditions

- A-Cori-Steel Cutter spell-pressure is the default win path when a legal early A-Cori-Steel Cutter action appears with enough blue-red mana and cheap follow-up spells. Set it up by sequencing Island, Steam Vents, Sulfur Falls, Riverpyre Verge, Starting Town, or Multiversal Passage to enable A-Cori-Steel Cutter plus Firebending Lesson, Abandon Attachments, Accumulate Wisdom, Combustion Technique, Boomerang Basics, or Illuminating Lash on the next turn; execute by casting spells that also answer blockers, clear tempo, or maintain cards. Card text check required for exact triggers and combat math, so prioritize this path when Veles shows the Cutter converting spells into visible damage, bodies, counters, or advantage.

- Gran-Gran pressure is the preferred creature-based plan when the hand needs an early battlefield anchor and the opponent is not already presenting a must-answer board. Set up by casting Gran-Gran before spending all cheap spells, then execute by using Boomerang Basics, Combustion Technique, Illuminating Lash, and Abandon Attachments to remove, bounce, shrink, or disrupt visible blockers and threats according to legal targets. Prioritize this path against slow starts, planeswalker-style pressure, or hands with multiple interaction spells but only one durable threat.

- Stormchaser's Talent engine turns are the best win path when the game is about resource snowballing rather than immediate damage. Set it up before a multi-spell turn if the opponent cannot punish the tempo loss, then execute by chaining Accumulate Wisdom and Firebending Lesson for velocity while holding Boomerang Basics, Combustion Technique, Illuminating Lash, or Abandon Attachments for relevant visible threats. Card text check required for level, token, spell, or recursion details; prioritize this path when the first resolved engine is likely to survive or generate value immediately.

- Quantum Riddler, Preponderant Pearl, and Iroh's Demonstration are higher-commitment win paths when the game has slowed, the hand has enough lands, or the opponent has traded through the cheap threats. Set them up by preserving life total and cards with early interaction, then execute only when Veles shows legal mana and the opponent's visible board or open mana does not make waiting clearly better. Prioritize these cards when A-Cori-Steel Cutter or Gran-Gran has been answered, when the battlefield is stalled, or when the deck needs a larger payoff than one-for-one tempo.

## Secondary Win Conditions

- Backup combat wins come from turning any surviving Gran-Gran, A-Cori-Steel Cutter output, Stormchaser's Talent object, Quantum Riddler, Preponderant Pearl, or Iroh's Demonstration into repeated attacks. Do not attack into visible trades that collapse the only clock unless the legal follow-up spell preserves pressure, forces damage through, or prevents a worse crack-back.

- Burn or spell-finish lines are conditional on legal action text from Combustion Technique, Illuminating Lash, Firebending Lesson, or Abandon Attachments. Card text check required; if Veles exposes opponent-targeting damage or loss-of-life actions, count visible lethal carefully and prefer exact lethal over extra card selection, but do not aim interaction at the opponent when a visible creature, engine, or blocker must be answered to survive.

- Value wins happen when Accumulate Wisdom, Firebending Lesson, Stormchaser's Talent, Quantum Riddler, Preponderant Pearl, or Iroh's Demonstration produces enough cards, selection, or repeated spell value to bury the opponent. Prioritize value when life total is stable, the opponent is low on cards, and legal interaction can cover the next decisive permanent or attack.

- Soft-lock or tempo-lock wins happen when Boomerang Basics, Abandon Attachments, Combustion Technique, and Illuminating Lash repeatedly deny the opponent a relevant board state while small threats attack. Card text check required for exact denial type; use this plan when the opponent has one high-impact permanent or one key combat step rather than many redundant threats.

- Recursion wins are not assumed because the registered deck has no clear graveyard-recursion card by name. If Stormchaser's Talent, Accumulate Wisdom, Iroh's Demonstration, or another visible legal action offers a graveyard or rebuy effect, use it only from engine output and public zones, and do not plan around it before Veles exposes the action.

- Creature-land or land-pressure wins are not assumed from Island, Steam Vents, Sulfur Falls, Riverpyre Verge, Starting Town, or Multiversal Passage. Card text check required for any land activation; if Veles exposes a land attack or damage action, treat it as a backup clock that must not compromise colored mana for the next interaction window.

## Emergency Lines

- Behind on life: Shift from engine greed to board survival, using Combustion Technique, Illuminating Lash, Boomerang Basics, Abandon Attachments, or Firebending Lesson on visible threats before spending mana on slow value. Stabilize first, then rebuild with Accumulate Wisdom, Stormchaser's Talent, Quantum Riddler, Preponderant Pearl, or Iroh's Demonstration once the next attack is survivable.

- Behind on board: Answer the permanent or combat step that changes the clock fastest, even if that delays A-Cori-Steel Cutter or Stormchaser's Talent. Prefer legal actions that both disrupt the board and preserve a threat, but accept a one-for-one if failing to act makes later spell chains irrelevant.

- Behind on cards: Preserve engines and selection over minor chip damage, especially Accumulate Wisdom, Firebending Lesson, Stormchaser's Talent, Quantum Riddler, Preponderant Pearl, and Iroh's Demonstration. Avoid emptying the hand for low-impact pressure unless it creates visible lethal or prevents the opponent from using a stronger late game.

- Behind on mana: Use Accumulate Wisdom or Firebending Lesson for land access only if legal text supports selection or draw, and sequence lands to restore blue-red access before optional tempo plays. Do not keep mana-light pressure going if the result is being unable to cast visible interaction or the next payoff.

- Behind on engines or removed win conditions: Convert into a tempo deck with any remaining Gran-Gran, A-Cori-Steel Cutter, Quantum Riddler, Preponderant Pearl, or Iroh's Demonstration, and make each cheap spell trade for time, damage, or a real card. If all major threats are gone, prioritize card flow and opponent mistakes over speculative burn.

- Behind to graveyard recursion or combo: Interact with the visible enabler, payoff, or stack action rather than assuming hidden pieces. In sideboarded games, Soul-Guide Lantern, Spell Pierce, Negate, Annul, Abrade, Unable to Scream, Pyroclasm, Ral, Crackling Wit, and the extra Quantum Riddler may change the emergency plan only when those cards are actually drawn, legal, and relevant.

## Resource Model

- Life total is a tempo buffer, not a payment plan. Spend life from Steam Vents or combat races only when it unlocks a decisive A-Cori-Steel Cutter, Gran-Gran, Stormchaser's Talent, or interaction turn; stabilize first when the opponent's visible attack threatens to compress the game below two draw steps.

- Hand size is the deck's main long-game resource. Convert Accumulate Wisdom, Firebending Lesson, Quantum Riddler, Preponderant Pearl, Iroh's Demonstration, and Stormchaser's Talent into card flow or selection when legal text supports it, but do not spend a whole turn drawing if Combustion Technique, Boomerang Basics, Illuminating Lash, or Abandon Attachments must answer a visible threat.

- Mana is the limiting resource on most turns because the deck wants to pair threats with cheap spells. Prefer lines that use all available mana while preserving blue-red access for Boomerang Basics, Accumulate Wisdom, Firebending Lesson, Combustion Technique, and Illuminating Lash; avoid tapping out for a payoff when a visible stack or combat window requires interaction.

- Board presence converts spells into pressure. A-Cori-Steel Cutter, Gran-Gran, Stormchaser's Talent, Quantum Riddler, Preponderant Pearl, and Iroh's Demonstration are the objects that make each later spell matter, so protect at least one active pressure source before spending interaction on low-impact targets.

- Graveyard value is conditional and must come from visible legal actions. Do not assume recursion from Accumulate Wisdom, Firebending Lesson, Stormchaser's Talent, Iroh's Demonstration, or any other card; Card text check required before valuing graveyard stock beyond spell-count, public information, or sideboarded Soul-Guide Lantern decisions.

- Exile is a public-information zone unless Veles exposes play permission. Treat exiled cards as unavailable by default, but if a visible legal action from Firebending Lesson, Accumulate Wisdom, Iroh's Demonstration, or another resolved effect permits casting from exile, prioritize land-drop and mana sequencing around the expiration timing shown by the engine.

- Lands are both color access and tempo costs. Island, Steam Vents, Sulfur Falls, Riverpyre Verge, Starting Town, and Multiversal Passage should be sequenced to guarantee early blue and red; Card text check required for Riverpyre Verge, Starting Town, and Multiversal Passage utility, so use Veles legal actions rather than assuming fetch, filter, or tapped behavior.

- Sacrifice fodder is not a core resource in the registered main deck. Do not sacrifice A-Cori-Steel Cutter output, Stormchaser's Talent objects, Gran-Gran, Quantum Riddler, Preponderant Pearl, or Iroh's Demonstration unless a visible legal action makes the exchange mandatory, lethal, or survival-critical.

- Information converts into timing discipline. Known opponent hand cards, revealed cards, stack objects, graveyards, exile, and visible mana should decide whether to commit Quantum Riddler, Preponderant Pearl, Iroh's Demonstration, Ral, Crackling Wit, or a multi-spell A-Cori-Steel Cutter turn now or wait behind Spell Pierce, Negate, Annul, Abrade, Unable to Scream, Pyroclasm, or Soul-Guide Lantern.

- Sideboard bullets are narrow resources. Annul, Spell Pierce, Negate, Abrade, Unable to Scream, Pyroclasm, Soul-Guide Lantern, Ral, Crackling Wit, and the extra Quantum Riddler should be spent on the permanent type, stack window, graveyard window, sweeper window, or attrition role they were brought to answer, not on the first legal target if a more decisive visible target is expected.

## Mana Guide

- Keep hands that produce both blue and red by turn two or have a clear Veles-visible path to them. Island plus red source, Steam Vents plus any land, Sulfur Falls with a supporting land, or Riverpyre Verge/Starting Town/Multiversal Passage with legal color access can support the deck; one-color hands need Accumulate Wisdom, Firebending Lesson, or cheap interaction only if they are castable and buy time.

- Mulligan hands that cannot cast early spells. A hand with A-Cori-Steel Cutter, Gran-Gran, Stormchaser's Talent, Boomerang Basics, or Combustion Technique but no matching mana should not be kept unless Veles-visible land text or selection makes the color reliable before the opponent's first meaningful threat.

- Sequence lands to unlock two-spell turns before luxury utility. Play the land that gives the missing color first, then the land that enters untapped or fixes future turns; delay uncertain utility from Riverpyre Verge, Starting Town, or Multiversal Passage until blue-red access is already secured.

- Play Steam Vents untapped only when the life payment changes the turn. Paying life is correct for turn-one or turn-two A-Cori-Steel Cutter, Gran-Gran, Stormchaser's Talent, Boomerang Basics, Spell Pierce, Annul, or other immediate interaction; take the tapped line when the extra mana does not affect legal actions this turn.

- Use Sulfur Falls after establishing an enabling land when possible. Card text check required for current Alchemy legality text, but if Veles shows conditional untapped behavior, sequence Island or Steam Vents first so Sulfur Falls supports the next interaction turn.

- Play land before draw when the current hand already has the needed spell sequence and landfall or hidden selection is irrelevant. This lets Veles expose full legal actions for A-Cori-Steel Cutter, Gran-Gran, Stormchaser's Talent, Boomerang Basics, Combustion Technique, Illuminating Lash, and Abandon Attachments before committing to priority or targets.

- Delay the land drop before Accumulate Wisdom or Firebending Lesson when the draw or selection could change which land matters. If the spell may find a missing color, an untapped source, or a utility land with visible relevance, cast the selection first unless holding up interaction is more important.

- Preserve interaction mana in opponent turns. When holding Boomerang Basics, Combustion Technique, Illuminating Lash, Abandon Attachments, Spell Pierce, Negate, Annul, Abrade, or Unable to Scream, do not spend the last relevant blue or red mana on low-pressure value unless the visible board is safe or the chosen spell advances lethal.

- Plan payoff turns around colored leftovers. Quantum Riddler, Preponderant Pearl, Iroh's Demonstration, Ral, Crackling Wit, and Stormchaser's Talent can justify tapping out only when the opponent's visible board, stack, and mana do not require immediate response; otherwise cast the cheaper threat and keep interaction available.

## Mulligan Guide

- Strong keeps have two to three lands, both blue and red access by turn two, and one early pressure source plus one cheap spell. Keep hands such as Island, Steam Vents, A-Cori-Steel Cutter, Accumulate Wisdom, Boomerang Basics, Combustion Technique, and Firebending Lesson because they can develop pressure, hit colors, and still interact.

- Strong keeps against unknown opponents need a castable one- or two-mana start. A hand with Steam Vents, Riverpyre Verge, Gran-Gran, Stormchaser's Talent, Abandon Attachments, Accumulate Wisdom, and Combustion Technique is acceptable if Veles shows the lands make both colors on time; Card text check required for Riverpyre Verge utility or tapped behavior.

- Medium keeps have mana and spells but only one of pressure, selection, or interaction. Keep Island, Sulfur Falls, Multiversal Passage, Accumulate Wisdom, Firebending Lesson, Boomerang Basics, and Quantum Riddler on the draw if Veles shows castable early blue-red actions; on the play, ship more often if the first pressure spell cannot arrive before turn three.

- Risky keeps rely on one land plus Accumulate Wisdom or Firebending Lesson. Keep only on the draw, only with an untapped source that casts the selection spell, and only when the rest of the hand contains cheap legal actions rather than multiple Quantum Riddler, Preponderant Pearl, or Iroh's Demonstration.

- Automatic ships lack functional early mana. Ship hands with no lands, one land without castable Accumulate Wisdom or Firebending Lesson, five or more lands without A-Cori-Steel Cutter or Stormchaser's Talent, or hands that cannot produce both blue and red before the first relevant Boomerang Basics, Combustion Technique, Illuminating Lash, or Abandon Attachments window.

- Automatic ships are hands that are all payoff and no bridge. Quantum Riddler, Preponderant Pearl, Iroh's Demonstration, three lands, and two expensive or conditional spells is too slow unless Veles-visible card text makes one payoff an immediate stabilizer; Card text check required before keeping for assumed defense.

- Matchup-dependent keeps change around threat density. Against fast creature pressure, prioritize Gran-Gran, A-Cori-Steel Cutter, Combustion Technique, Illuminating Lash, Abandon Attachments, and Boomerang Basics over speculative Accumulate Wisdom chains; against slower control, prioritize Stormchaser's Talent, Quantum Riddler, Accumulate Wisdom, Firebending Lesson, and enough mana to double-spell.

- Play/draw discipline should tighten slow hands on the play and accept more selection on the draw. On the play, keep early board presence over pure answer hands; on the draw, keep answer-heavy hands when Boomerang Basics, Combustion Technique, Illuminating Lash, or Abandon Attachments can stop the opponent's first visible threat.

- Trap hands look busy but fail to affect the battlefield. Do not keep four lands, Accumulate Wisdom, Firebending Lesson, and Iroh's Demonstration unless at least one early spell is guaranteed to trade, block, remove, or pressure; do not keep A-Cori-Steel Cutter without enough cheap follow-up spells to make the body or trigger matter.

## Turn Arc

- Turn 1 should establish untapped color access or the first engine permanent. Prefer the land that enables both turn-two colors, then cast A-Cori-Steel Cutter, Gran-Gran, or Stormchaser's Talent if Veles shows the action is legal and no immediate interaction must be held.

- Turn 1 deviations should preserve interaction when the opponent's visible start demands it. Hold up Boomerang Basics, Spell Pierce after sideboarding, Annul after sideboarding, or another legal cheap response if tapping out for Gran-Gran or Stormchaser's Talent would let a decisive stack or permanent resolve.

- Turn 2 should pair pressure with a spell or answer the opponent's first real play. Preferred lines are A-Cori-Steel Cutter plus Accumulate Wisdom, Stormchaser's Talent plus cheap interaction, or Gran-Gran plus Boomerang Basics/Combustion Technique when the opponent has a visible threat.

- Turn 2 deviations should fix mana before spending value spells. If the hand lacks red for Combustion Technique or Illuminating Lash, use Accumulate Wisdom or Firebending Lesson only when legal and likely to find a land or relevant spell before the next combat or stack window.

- Turn 3 is the main tempo pivot. Deploy Quantum Riddler, Preponderant Pearl, or a second pressure source only when the opponent's board and open mana do not require Boomerang Basics, Combustion Technique, Illuminating Lash, or Abandon Attachments; otherwise answer first and keep the pressure source already in play alive.

- Turn 3 multi-spell turns are preferred over a single uncertain payoff. Cast A-Cori-Steel Cutter or Stormchaser's Talent with Accumulate Wisdom, Firebending Lesson, or interaction when legal, because the deck wins by turning cheap spells into board advantage and damage.

- Turns 4-5 should convert accumulated tempo into a protected clock. Use Quantum Riddler, Preponderant Pearl, Iroh's Demonstration, or repeated Stormchaser's Talent pressure when the opponent is behind; keep mana open when one visible removal, sweeper, counter, or combat trick would undo the board.

- Turns 4-5 against creature decks should prioritize stabilization before card flow. Spend Combustion Technique, Illuminating Lash, Abandon Attachments, Boomerang Basics, Abrade, Unable to Scream, or Pyroclasm after sideboarding on threats that change combat math, then rebuild with A-Cori-Steel Cutter, Gran-Gran, or Stormchaser's Talent.

- Late game should shift from tempo to inevitability only with visible support. Lean on Accumulate Wisdom, Firebending Lesson, Quantum Riddler, Preponderant Pearl, Iroh's Demonstration, Ral, Crackling Wit after sideboarding, and repeated legal spell actions, but do not tap out if a single opponent stack action or attack can decide the game.

- Late-game deviations should preserve exact lethal and survival windows. If A-Cori-Steel Cutter, Gran-Gran, Stormchaser's Talent, or creature tokens can present lethal, prioritize legal attacks and burn/removal sequencing; if survival is at risk, trade damage for interaction and blocks rather than drawing extra cards.

## Card Roles

- Gran-Gran is an early pressure and spell-tempo bridge, not a card to hold for perfect value. Cast it early when Veles shows legal mana and the opponent has no visible must-answer stack or battlefield threat; hold it only when preserving Boomerang Basics, Combustion Technique, Illuminating Lash, or Abandon Attachments prevents a much larger swing. Card text check required for exact stats and triggered abilities, so do not assume it wins combat without visible rules-engine confirmation.

- Gran-Gran should be protected when it converts every cheap spell into damage, selection, or board pressure. Sequence Accumulate Wisdom, Firebending Lesson, Boomerang Basics, and Combustion Technique after Gran-Gran when the legal line creates tempo and leaves the opponent behind; do not spend a spell only to trigger a minor effect if the opponent's next attack or resolved permanent is more dangerous.

- A-Cori-Steel Cutter is a defining engine and clock piece for cheap-spell turns. Deploy it before casting routine cantrips or lessons when the board is stable enough to use follow-up spells immediately; hold it against visible artifact removal or when tapping out means losing to an imminent creature, planeswalker, or stack threat. Card text check required for exact Alchemy wording, attachment behavior, token creation, or trigger count.

- A-Cori-Steel Cutter rewards planning a full turn, not firing spells one at a time. Before committing, check whether the hand and lands support two relevant spells in the same turn, whether the first spell should be selection or interaction, and whether the resulting creature or equipped attacker can survive profitable blocks. Avoid casting it into an empty follow-up turn unless it is the only legal way to build pressure.

- Stormchaser's Talent is the other main setup permanent and should come down before low-impact spells in slower games. Cast it early against control, midrange, and removal-light starts if Veles shows no urgent response window; delay it against fast attackers when Combustion Technique, Illuminating Lash, Abandon Attachments, Boomerang Basics, or Pyroclasm after sideboarding is needed to survive. Card text check required for level, token, or spell-copy details.

- Stormchaser's Talent becomes a mana sink or value engine only after survival and pressure are established. Use legal upgrade, activation, or later-stage actions when leaving mana unused would waste a turn, when the opponent cannot punish a tap-out, or when the deck needs inevitability; do not choose a slow value mode over a visible answer to lethal pressure.

- Accumulate Wisdom is the primary card-flow spell and should smooth mana, find interaction, or fuel engine turns. Cast it early when a hand needs its second color, a third land, or a cheap follow-up for A-Cori-Steel Cutter and Gran-Gran; hold it when the opponent is clearly representing a stack action and the better use of mana is Boomerang Basics, Spell Pierce after sideboarding, Negate after sideboarding, or another legal response. Card text check required for exact draw/selection scaling.

- Accumulate Wisdom is better after a setup permanent when the board allows it. If A-Cori-Steel Cutter, Stormchaser's Talent, or Gran-Gran is already active, prefer using Accumulate Wisdom as the first or second spell of a tempo turn; if the opponent has a must-answer permanent, answer first and draw later.

- Firebending Lesson is a flexible lesson or spell-density card whose tactical role depends on visible legal modes. Use it to bridge early turns, trigger spell payoffs, or find/produce the next resource only when Veles exposes the exact legal action; Card text check required before assuming it removes a creature, learns, generates mana, or draws cards. Do not spend it purely for velocity if holding it keeps interaction live.

- Firebending Lesson is strongest when it completes a planned sequence. Cast it after the first engine permanent when the line also enables A-Cori-Steel Cutter, Gran-Gran, Stormchaser's Talent, or a follow-up answer; avoid casting it into open mana if the opponent can punish a sorcery-speed tap-out and the hand already has adequate lands and spells.

- Boomerang Basics is tempo interaction, so its best targets are permanents or spells whose timing matters more than their long-term card count. Use it on a creature about to deal lethal or force bad blocks, an aura/equipment-style commitment, a costly permanent cast off curve, or a token/permanent that loses value when returned; Card text check required for exact target restrictions and zone behavior.

- Boomerang Basics should not be wasted on a permanent the opponent can replay for free while ahead. Prefer saving it for the turn where bouncing a blocker opens lethal, bouncing an attacker prevents a large damage swing, or bouncing a mana/engine permanent strands the opponent's turn. Against control, hold it for expensive finishers or windows that protect your own A-Cori-Steel Cutter, Quantum Riddler, Preponderant Pearl, or Ral, Crackling Wit after sideboarding.

- Combustion Technique is damage-based interaction or reach only if Veles confirms legal targets and effects. Spend it on creatures that block the main clock, enable the opponent's engine, or threaten lethal; hold it as reach when the opponent's life total is low and the current board already contains pressure. Card text check required for exact damage amount, target class, and any additional mode or cost.

- Combustion Technique should be sequenced after combat only when information improves the line. If attackers may force blocks or expose a better target, attack first when safe; if an opposing creature changes blocks or threatens a combat trick, cast Combustion Technique before combat. Do not aim it at the opponent merely to use mana unless lethal math or clock pressure justifies the resource.

- Abandon Attachments is a key answer to attached, modified, artifact, enchantment, or otherwise supported threats only if its legal action text confirms those targets. Prioritize it against visible cards whose power comes from an attachment, static bonus, or permanent-based engine; Card text check required for exact target restrictions. Do not board-state-blind cast it into a low-impact object when Boomerang Basics or Combustion Technique can answer the real threat.

- Abandon Attachments is also a tempo spell for protecting attacks. Use it before combat when removing an attachment or support piece changes blocking math, and use it at instant speed only when Veles exposes a legal priority window that gains more from waiting. Against decks with few valid targets, treat it as a lower-value spell unless sideboarding has not yet replaced it.

- Illuminating Lash is premium interaction because the main deck plays three copies and needs clean answers to stabilize. Use it on threats that dominate combat, must die before an attack step, or make the opponent's next spell sequence too strong; Card text check required for exact damage, exile, tapping, or conditional clauses. Avoid spending it on a small creature if a visible larger threat or planeswalker-style engine is likely to require the same answer.

- Illuminating Lash can become reach only when survival is secure. If the legal target can be the opponent or a planeswalker, check lethal math and future blockers before choosing face damage; otherwise keep it as removal for creatures that stop A-Cori-Steel Cutter, Gran-Gran, or Stormchaser's Talent pressure.

- Quantum Riddler is a midgame threat, value creature, or decision-intensive payoff that should not be jammed into every turn-three window. Cast it when the board is stable, when the opponent is low on visible pressure, or when holding interaction is less important than presenting a harder threat; Card text check required for exact stats, trigger, selection, or combat text. Against control, it is a must-respect threat; against aggro, it is acceptable only if it blocks or immediately stabilizes according to visible rules output.

- Quantum Riddler should be sideboarded or sequenced as a resilient value card against attrition. The sideboard copy supports matchups where games slow down and one more threat matters; do not bring or keep all copies against decks where the first three turns are about cheap removal, Pyroclasm, Unable to Scream, or Abrade.

- Preponderant Pearl is a one-copy payoff, so treat it as a situational stabilizer or finisher rather than a core early plan. Cast it when the game has reached a board state where its visible legal text matters immediately; Card text check required before relying on ramp, card advantage, protection, or combat impact. Do not keep weak opening hands because Preponderant Pearl is present.

- Iroh's Demonstration is a singleton high-impact spell whose timing should be deliberate. Use it when the legal mode or effect will swing combat, generate a decisive spell turn, or close the game; Card text check required for exact modes, targets, and duration. Do not spend it as a generic spell-count enabler unless A-Cori-Steel Cutter or Stormchaser's Talent turns that cast into a decisive tempo gain.

- Island is the clean blue source for Accumulate Wisdom, Boomerang Basics, Quantum Riddler, and blue-heavy response turns. Play Island early when the hand already has red access or when untapped blue matters for legal interaction; avoid over-prioritizing it if the hand needs red for Combustion Technique, Illuminating Lash, A-Cori-Steel Cutter, Gran-Gran, or Firebending Lesson.

- Steam Vents is the best dual-color stabilizer when life total and tapped/untapped choices are visible. Use it to unlock both colors on the first two turns, but respect life loss if the opponent's board presents a short clock; Card text check required only for Alchemy client presentation, not for its familiar dual-land role.

- Sulfur Falls is strong when prior lands make it untapped and awkward when it delays the first spell. Sequence it after Island or Steam Vents when possible; if it enters tapped according to Veles, prioritize whether that delay breaks Boomerang Basics, Combustion Technique, or A-Cori-Steel Cutter timing.

- Riverpyre Verge, Starting Town, and Multiversal Passage are mana-fixing or utility lands whose exact operation must come from the rules engine. Use them to secure both colors, support double-spell turns, and enable late-game utility only when Veles confirms available mana and legal actions; Card text check required for tapped status, color access, activation costs, and any search or transformation behavior. Do not assume they cast every early spell unless the visible mana summary says so.

## Interaction Priorities

- Remove engine permanents before ordinary attackers. Use Boomerang Basics, Abandon Attachments, Combustion Technique, Illuminating Lash, Abrade, Unable to Scream, or Pyroclasm on the visible card that turns the opponent's next turn from normal development into snowballing advantage; Card text check required for exact target restrictions on the Alchemy-specific cards. If the opponent has only one threat and your clock is active, answer the threat that blocks A-Cori-Steel Cutter, Gran-Gran, Quantum Riddler, or token pressure first.

- Bounce high-investment permanents before low-cost creatures. Boomerang Basics is strongest against expensive threats, attached or modified creatures, temporary buffs, tapped blockers before lethal attacks, or permanents whose replay consumes the opponent's next turn. Do not spend it on a creature the opponent can replay while still advancing board unless that bounce prevents lethal, protects a key permanent, or forces through decisive damage.

- Kill blockers before killing small utility bodies when tempo is ahead. Combustion Technique and Illuminating Lash should clear the creature that most changes combat math, especially a blocker that stops A-Cori-Steel Cutter pressure or a creature that threatens a lethal crackback. If the opponent is the aggressor, reverse this rule and kill the attacker or engine that shortens the clock fastest.

- Counter payoffs instead of setup when sideboard counters are present. Spell Pierce should tag early noncreature payoffs, expensive interaction, sweepers, planeswalkers, or combo setup while the opponent cannot pay; Negate should be saved for the highest-impact noncreature spell once the game slows; Annul should hit artifact or enchantment engines rather than incidental low-impact objects. If Veles shows the opponent can pay for Spell Pierce, do not choose it unless the tax still changes the turn decisively.

- Exile graveyards only when the graveyard is a real resource. Soul-Guide Lantern should answer visible recursive threats, escape-style pressure, reanimation setup, delirium-like thresholds, or graveyard combo pieces; do not fire it just to cycle unless the hand needs velocity and the opponent's graveyard has no relevant public cards. If a single graveyard card is the current problem, prioritize the line that removes that card while preserving broader coverage when legal.

- Use Pyroclasm as a reset, not as a spell-count ornament. After sideboarding, cast Pyroclasm when it clears multiple opposing creatures, resets a go-wide board, or prevents a near-term lethal attack; avoid it when it only trades for one small creature and your own Gran-Gran, Quantum Riddler, tokens, or other permanents would be lost without strategic compensation. Card text check required for exact damage and affected creature set.

- Bait interaction with redundant spells before committing scarce threats. When facing open mana from control or tempo, lead with Accumulate Wisdom, Firebending Lesson, Abandon Attachments with a modest target, or a lower-impact removal spell before committing Quantum Riddler, Preponderant Pearl, Iroh's Demonstration, or Ral, Crackling Wit. If the board demands immediate stabilization, ignore bait sequencing and use the legal answer now.

- Ignore low-impact creatures when the race is favorable. Do not remove a small attacker that does not change the clock if the same mana can add A-Cori-Steel Cutter pressure, protect Stormchaser's Talent development, draw with Accumulate Wisdom, or hold a counter for a payoff. Against aggro, life-total pressure makes the same small creature relevant once it contributes to a two-turn or three-turn lethal clock.

- Do not plan around discard unless Veles exposes a legal discard action. Izzet Lessons has no registered dedicated discard card, so discard choices should be treated as card-text-dependent exceptions from Quantum Riddler, Preponderant Pearl, Iroh's Demonstration, or another visible legal effect; Card text check required before assigning discard priority.

## Combat And Trading Rules

- Attack when pressure plus interaction wins the next exchange. A-Cori-Steel Cutter, Gran-Gran, Quantum Riddler, Stormchaser's Talent outputs, and any visible tokens should attack when blockers are removed, bounced, tapped, or too small to profitably trade; do not attack a key engine creature into an obvious losing block unless damage, spell triggers, or a postcombat answer makes the exchange favorable according to Veles.

- Preserve the engine over marginal damage. Keep A-Cori-Steel Cutter and Stormchaser's Talent-associated board pieces alive when they are generating repeated pressure or spell-turn value; two damage is usually less important than keeping the source that turns Accumulate Wisdom, Firebending Lesson, Abandon Attachments, Boomerang Basics, Combustion Technique, and Illuminating Lash into tempo. Trade them only to prevent lethal, kill a more important opposing threat, or unlock a decisive follow-up.

- Trade down only when the opponent's clock is the problem. Against aggro, block early if the visible board creates a short clock and your hand contains Accumulate Wisdom, Firebending Lesson, Quantum Riddler, Preponderant Pearl, or sideboard cards that need time. Against control or slow midrange, avoid trading real threats for replaceable blockers unless the trade protects Ral, Crackling Wit or clears a path for repeated attacks.

- Use removal before combat when it changes declared blocks. If Combustion Technique, Illuminating Lash, Abandon Attachments, Abrade, Unable to Scream, or Boomerang Basics removes the only profitable blocker, cast before attackers when Veles offers the window. Wait until after blocks only when the opponent may expose a better target, commit a combat trick, or make a block that your instant-speed answer punishes.

- Block for survival below key life thresholds. At 8 or less life against aggressive boards, prioritize preventing damage over preserving medium-value creatures unless a crackback is lethal. At 5 or less life, treat every unblocked attacker as dangerous and choose blocks that survive visible pump, burn, or haste only when Veles shows enough public information to justify that assumption.

- Protect Quantum Riddler and Preponderant Pearl if they stabilize. If either card is visibly holding the board, drawing cards, blocking profitably, or representing a finishing clock, use Boomerang Basics, Combustion Technique, Illuminating Lash, Unable to Scream, Spell Pierce, or Negate to preserve it from a decisive opposing play. Card text check required for the exact stabilizing role of each card.

- Race control, contain aggro, and disrupt combo. Against control, attack aggressively with every threat that does not walk into a bad visible block and hold counters for sweepers or finishers. Against aggro, block more often, value Pyroclasm and cheap removal, and spend life cautiously on lands. Against combo or engine decks, ignore chip damage when an interaction spell can stop the public engine piece or payoff.

- Avoid overextending into visible sweepers or mass damage. If the opponent has telegraphed a sweeper through public information or repeated pass-with-mana patterns, commit enough pressure to demand an answer but keep Quantum Riddler, Preponderant Pearl, Ral, Crackling Wit, or another threat in reserve when the current board already forces action.

## Selection And Tutor Rules

- Use legal selection text before strategic preference. When Accumulate Wisdom, Firebending Lesson, Quantum Riddler, Preponderant Pearl, Iroh's Demonstration, Stormchaser's Talent, Starting Town, Multiversal Passage, or any visible effect asks for a card choice, follow the exact candidate set Veles exposes; Card text check required for every non-obvious draw, filter, discover, learn, or selection mode.

- Treat this list as pseudo-selection, not true tutoring. Izzet Lessons has no registered card that should be assumed to search for any card in the deck, so never plan around finding a named card unless the rules engine presents that named card as a legal candidate. If a legal action searches or reveals from library, pick from visible candidates using current need: land if missing land drops, cheap interaction if under pressure, A-Cori-Steel Cutter or Stormchaser's Talent if lacking pressure, Accumulate Wisdom if stable and short on material.

- Sequence land drops after selection when a same-turn selection spell can reveal better mana information. If Veles offers Accumulate Wisdom, Firebending Lesson, or another cheap legal draw/filter before the land drop and mana still supports the intended turn, cast/select first so Island, Steam Vents, Sulfur Falls, Riverpyre Verge, Starting Town, or Multiversal Passage choices can respond to the drawn card. Make the land drop first only when the spell requires that mana now or when holding the land would block the legal action.

- Keep early selection pointed at mana until the hand can function. In one- or two-land hands, prioritize a land, a cheap cantrip-like action, or a source that unlocks both blue and red over speculative threats. Once three functional mana is available, pivot selection toward pressure plus interaction: A-Cori-Steel Cutter, Stormchaser's Talent, Gran-Gran, Combustion Technique, Boomerang Basics, or sideboard interaction according to the board.

- Bottom or decline redundant expensive cards when tempo is under threat. If a scry, surveil, rummage, or filter choice appears and the opponent has a short clock, prefer cheap removal, bounce, Pyroclasm, Unable to Scream, Abrade, or mana over extra copies of Quantum Riddler, Preponderant Pearl, Iroh's Demonstration, Ral, Crackling Wit, or slow card-advantage pieces. Card text check required for exact keep/bottom zones.

- Keep redundant spell density when A-Cori-Steel Cutter or Stormchaser's Talent rewards casting spells. If the board is stable and an engine permanent is active or likely next turn, select cheap spells over marginal lands after land three or four. Prioritize Accumulate Wisdom and Firebending Lesson as fuel, then Abandon Attachments, Boomerang Basics, Combustion Technique, and Illuminating Lash as interaction that also advances spell-count turns.

- Select sideboard cards only for live public problems. Soul-Guide Lantern is high priority only when a graveyard card or graveyard count matters visibly; Annul is high priority only against artifact or enchantment engines; Spell Pierce and Negate are high priority when a noncreature spell is expected to matter before the opponent can pay or after the game slows; Abrade, Unable to Scream, and Pyroclasm are selected when the battlefield makes their interaction mode relevant.

## Priority And Stack Rules

- Respect Veles legal actions before all timing heuristics. Cast, respond, activate, pay optional costs, or pass only from the current action list, and do not infer hidden tricks, exact opponent hand contents, or alternate card text that the engine has not exposed.

- Hold priority interaction for spells that change the game. Use Spell Pierce, Negate, Annul, Abrade, Boomerang Basics, Combustion Technique, Illuminating Lash, Abandon Attachments, or Unable to Scream on stack or battlefield objects that stop your clock, create a faster opposing clock, remove A-Cori-Steel Cutter or Stormchaser's Talent, answer Quantum Riddler or Preponderant Pearl, or enable a visible combo/engine. Let low-impact spells resolve when answering them would leave no protection for the real payoff.

- Pass priority aggressively when the stack is empty and no legal action improves the turn. Izzet Lessons is not trying to cast every spell at first opportunity; preserve instant-speed interaction when the opponent must act into open mana. Break this rule when unused mana would be wasted and Accumulate Wisdom, Firebending Lesson, Stormchaser's Talent development, A-Cori-Steel Cutter pressure, or a removal spell materially advances the board.

- Respond before resolution when the target or permanent will become harder to answer. If an opposing aura, equipment-like effect, sacrifice payoff, graveyard recursion spell, planeswalker, sweeper, or combat trick is on the stack and Veles shows a relevant answer, answer before it resolves unless waiting exposes a better target with no added risk. Card text check required for exact stack target legality of each registered spell.

- Use combat priority windows to convert tempo into damage or survival. Before attackers, remove or bounce blockers when that opens a meaningful attack; after attackers, remove the attacker that defines the clock; after blockers, use instant-speed damage, bounce, or shrink effects only when it changes trades, saves a key permanent, or prevents lethal. Do not spend interaction after combat damage on a creature that already dealt the damage unless it remains the next-turn problem.

- Treat optional payments and triggers as board-state decisions. Pay optional costs from Firebending Lesson, Stormchaser's Talent, A-Cori-Steel Cutter, Quantum Riddler, Preponderant Pearl, Iroh's Demonstration, or visible sideboard cards only when Veles shows the payment and the remaining mana still supports required interaction or development. Decline optional value when holding up Spell Pierce, Negate, removal, or a needed land/tax payment matters more.

- Time graveyard actions around the opponent's commitment. Activate or cast Soul-Guide Lantern when the opponent targets, counts, or depends on graveyard cards, or when exiling now prevents a visible next action. If no graveyard action is pending and the opponent's graveyard is low-impact, keep Soul-Guide Lantern available rather than cycling into unknowns unless the hand is stalled.

- Commit expensive threats through a stack gate. Cast Quantum Riddler, Preponderant Pearl, Iroh's Demonstration, or Ral, Crackling Wit into open mana only when the opponent is tapped low, a counterfight is favorable, the current board requires a stabilizer, or waiting gives the opponent a better clock. Lead with lower-impact spells first when baiting interaction is legal and does not forfeit the turn.

## Sideboard Map

- Default sideboarding should protect the Izzet spell-tempo core before adding narrow answers. Keep enough cheap spells to trigger A-Cori-Steel Cutter and Stormchaser's Talent, keep enough blue/red mana for double-spell turns, and avoid converting into a slow pile of answers without pressure.

- Annul is for artifact or enchantment engines that must be stopped for one mana. Add it against artifact aggro, artifact combo, aura/enchantment shells, artifact mana engines, and decks where a single noncreature permanent outscales Boomerang Basics or Combustion Technique. It is bad against creature-heavy decks with few artifact/enchantment targets, and its role changes from protection to hard stop when the opponent's key card type is public.

- Soul-Guide Lantern is for graveyard decks, recursive threats, escape/flashback-style value, reanimation, and graveyard-count payoffs. Add it when the opponent has visible graveyard reliance or matchup knowledge says graveyard timing matters. It is bad when the opponent uses the graveyard only incidentally; in those games, it should not displace pressure unless a cantrip mode is needed to smooth a weak hand. Card text check required for exact activation/cantrip timing.

- Spell Pierce is for early noncreature stack fights. Add it against control, combo, planeswalkers, sweepers, expensive draw spells, artifact/enchantment engines, and decks that tap low to resolve a decisive spell. It is bad late against mana-rich opponents and weak against creature-only pressure; its role changes from proactive shield on turns two to four into tempo denial when you already have A-Cori-Steel Cutter, Stormchaser's Talent, Gran-Gran, or Quantum Riddler applying pressure.

- Unable to Scream is for creature-centric matchups where a single threat must be neutralized cheaply. Add it against large blockers, snowballing creatures, lifelink pressure, recursive creatures that are awkward to damage, or creatures that must stay on the battlefield but lose combat relevance. It is bad against noncreature combo and control. Card text check required for whether it removes abilities, changes power/toughness, affects attacks/blocks, or leaves graveyard synergies intact.

- Abrade is the flexible answer for artifact permanents and medium creatures. Add it when both modes are likely live, especially artifact aggro, equipment-like board states, creature decks with important artifacts, or midrange decks with must-answer bodies. It is bad against spell-heavy control with few creatures or artifacts. Its role changes from removal against aggro to insurance against artifacts in slower games.

- Negate is for decisive noncreature spells that Spell Pierce may not answer later. Add it against control, combo, sweepers, planeswalkers, big card draw, and removal-heavy decks where protecting a threat matters. It is bad against creature swarms and decks that force repeated board interaction. Use it as a commitment gate for Quantum Riddler, Preponderant Pearl, Iroh's Demonstration, Ral, Crackling Wit, or a protected A-Cori-Steel Cutter turn.

- Pyroclasm is for small-creature battlefields where a sweeper resets pressure while your plan rebuilds with spells. Add it against go-wide aggro, token decks, small creature tempo, and creature-combo setups with many low-toughness bodies. It is bad when your own battlefield is the only pressure and the opponent has few sweepable creatures. Card text check required for exact damage amount and whether it hits each creature only.

- Ral, Crackling Wit is the sideboard slow-game threat. Add it against removal-heavy control, midrange, and decks where repeated spell value is stronger than narrow removal. It is bad against fast aggro when tapping out does not stabilize. Card text check required for exact loyalty abilities; treat it as a high-resource engine only when Veles shows enough mana and the battlefield is not demanding immediate removal.

- Quantum Riddler is the additional sideboard threat for matchups where more resilient or high-impact threats are needed. Add it against control, midrange, and opponents that overload on creature removal for Gran-Gran or answer early spell engines. It is bad when the matchup is decided before expensive threats matter. Card text check required for exact body, trigger, and defensive utility.

Creature Swarm / Go-Wide Aggro Balanced Plan
Side in: 2 Pyroclasm; 3 Unable to Scream; 2 Abrade
Cut: 1 Preponderant Pearl; 1 Iroh's Demonstration; 2 Quantum Riddler; 3 Illuminating Lash

- Against creature swarm decks, prioritize survival and battlefield reset over slow card advantage. Pyroclasm is the highest-impact role card when it answers multiple visible creatures; Unable to Scream covers the threat that survives or invalidates combat; Abrade handles a creature or artifact that dodges the sweeper plan. Reduce main-deck emphasis on expensive finishers and slower interaction that does not reliably change early combat.

Artifact Or Enchantment Engine Balanced Plan
Side in: 1 Annul; 2 Abrade; 2 Spell Pierce; 1 Negate
Cut: 3 Illuminating Lash; 1 Iroh's Demonstration; 1 Preponderant Pearl; 1 Quantum Riddler

- Against artifact or enchantment engines, stop the engine before maximizing damage. Annul and Abrade answer permanent types, while Spell Pierce and Negate contest setup spells and payoffs on the stack. Reduce main-deck emphasis on slower top-end and narrow creature interaction unless the opponent is also attacking quickly.

Graveyard Strategy Balanced Plan
Side in: 2 Soul-Guide Lantern; 2 Spell Pierce; 1 Negate
Cut: 3 Illuminating Lash; 1 Preponderant Pearl; 1 Iroh's Demonstration

- Against graveyard strategies, hold Soul-Guide Lantern until the opponent commits a target, threshold, recursion spell, or payoff unless waiting risks losing the window. Spell Pierce and Negate should cover the enabler or payoff that Soul-Guide Lantern cannot answer cleanly. Reduce main-deck emphasis on slow finishers and interaction that does not touch the graveyard plan.

Control / Big Noncreature Spells Balanced Plan
Side in: 2 Spell Pierce; 1 Negate; 1 Ral, Crackling Wit; 1 Quantum Riddler
Cut: 2 Combustion Technique; 2 Illuminating Lash; 1 Abandon Attachments

- Against control, increase threat density and stack interaction while preserving enough cheap spells for pressure turns. Spell Pierce protects early engines or punishes tap-out turns, Negate remains live later, Ral, Crackling Wit adds a durable value axis, and Quantum Riddler raises the must-answer count. Reduce main-deck emphasis on creature removal that lacks targets.

Midrange Balanced Plan
Side in: 2 Abrade; 1 Negate; 1 Ral, Crackling Wit; 1 Quantum Riddler
Cut: 2 Illuminating Lash; 1 Iroh's Demonstration; 1 Firebending Lesson; 1 Boomerang Basics

- Against midrange, trade early without emptying the hand, then win through a protected engine or larger threat. Abrade handles creatures or artifacts, Negate protects against planeswalkers, sweepers, or haymakers, and the extra Quantum Riddler plus Ral, Crackling Wit improve late-game staying power. Reduce main-deck emphasis on the least effective tempo spells only after preserving enough cheap action for A-Cori-Steel Cutter and Stormchaser's Talent.

- For unknown opponents, make the smallest role correction after game one rather than loading narrow cards. Add role cards only when public game-one evidence showed the axis: Soul-Guide Lantern for graveyard reliance, Annul or Abrade for artifacts/enchantments, Pyroclasm or Unable to Scream for creature pressure, Spell Pierce or Negate for noncreature stack fights, and Ral, Crackling Wit or Quantum Riddler for attrition. Reduce main-deck emphasis on the cards that were visibly stranded, overcosted, or pointed at the wrong permanent type.

## Matchup Guidance

- Aggro: Stabilize first, then convert one protected threat into a clock. Keep hands that interact by turn two and cast multiple cheap spells by turn three; slow hands built around Preponderant Pearl, Iroh's Demonstration, or Quantum Riddler need visible early interaction from Gran-Gran, Abandon Attachments, Combustion Technique, Boomerang Basics, Firebending Lesson, A-Cori-Steel Cutter, or Stormchaser's Talent before they are keepable. Add role cards: Pyroclasm, Unable to Scream, Abrade. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Illuminating Lash, Preponderant Pearl, Iroh's Demonstration, and slow Quantum Riddler copies when the opponent's pressure is already proven fast. Card text check required for exact stabilizing mode on each Alchemy-specific spell; do not assume a removal spell kills a creature unless Veles exposes the legal target and action label.

- Go-wide: Prioritize multi-creature reset turns over one-for-one tempo. Hold Pyroclasm when the visible board is still manageable and the opponent is likely to add another small creature, but fire it before life total pressure forces awkward chump attacks or exposes A-Cori-Steel Cutter tokens and Gran-Gran to bad trades. Add role cards: Pyroclasm, Unable to Scream, Abrade. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Illuminating Lash and expensive threats that do not immediately block or clear multiple bodies. When Pyroclasm is legal, check your own battlefield first; do not spend it into a board where it removes your only winning pressure unless the life-total race demands it.

- Single-threat decks: Trade tempo for time only when the answer actually changes combat or protects a key permanent. Use Unable to Scream, Abandon Attachments, Combustion Technique, Boomerang Basics, and Abrade according to the target type and visible legality, then use Stormchaser's Talent, A-Cori-Steel Cutter, Gran-Gran, or Quantum Riddler to punish the opponent for investing in one body. Add role cards: Unable to Scream, Abrade, Negate when the threat is backed by noncreature protection or planeswalker-style pressure. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Pyroclasm unless the opponent also deploys small support creatures. Card text check required for Unable to Scream and Boomerang Basics; treat them as conditional answers until the action text confirms what target or zone movement is legal.

- Burn: Preserve life total and avoid paying unnecessary costs when the board does not require it. Mulligan hands that are slow, painful, or threat-light unless they contain early interaction plus a fast A-Cori-Steel Cutter, Stormchaser's Talent, or Gran-Gran start. Add role cards: Spell Pierce, Negate, Unable to Scream if creatures carry much of the damage, and Abrade only when creature or artifact targets are common. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Preponderant Pearl, Iroh's Demonstration, and Quantum Riddler when they delay stabilization. Spend Firebending Lesson, Combustion Technique, and Abandon Attachments defensively if they prevent more damage than an aggressive line creates.

- Tempo: Fight over mana efficiency, not raw card count. Make land drops, avoid tapping out into a clear counter or bounce window when holding a decisive threat, and prefer sequences where A-Cori-Steel Cutter or Stormchaser's Talent is deployed with a same-turn cheap spell or protection available. Add role cards: Spell Pierce, Abrade, Unable to Scream, and Negate if the opponent shows many noncreature answers. Reduce main-deck emphasis: the slowest top-end card or the least live removal mode after game-one evidence. Do not assume you are the beatdown just because the deck has cheap spells; if the opponent has the first threat and open mana, stabilize before forcing Quantum Riddler or Preponderant Pearl.

- Control: Present must-answer permanents on staggered turns and protect the one that matters. Lead with threat density from Gran-Gran, Stormchaser's Talent, A-Cori-Steel Cutter, Quantum Riddler, Preponderant Pearl, Iroh's Demonstration, and post-board Ral, Crackling Wit, but avoid placing all high-value resources into one sweeper or stack fight. Add role cards: Spell Pierce, Negate, Ral, Crackling Wit, Quantum Riddler. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Combustion Technique, Illuminating Lash, or Abandon Attachments when visible targets are scarce. Use Accumulate Wisdom on windows where holding up Spell Pierce or Negate is not required, and pass with mana when a protected threat is already winning.

- Removal-heavy decks: Diversify threat types and make the opponent answer engine value, not just creatures. Favor A-Cori-Steel Cutter and Stormchaser's Talent when they generate value from repeated spells, then force removal on Gran-Gran or Quantum Riddler only when you can follow with another permanent or hold stack interaction. Add role cards: Negate, Spell Pierce, Ral, Crackling Wit, Quantum Riddler. Reduce main-deck emphasis: creature-only removal or low-impact burn when the opponent's board is light. Do not overprotect a replaceable body; save Negate or Spell Pierce for removal that stops your only engine, a sweeper, or a planeswalker-like permanent.

- Midrange: Win the exchange war by sequencing two-spell turns that answer a threat and advance a permanent. Use Firebending Lesson, Combustion Technique, Abandon Attachments, Boomerang Basics, and Abrade to prevent early snowballing, then turn the corner with A-Cori-Steel Cutter, Stormchaser's Talent, Quantum Riddler, or Ral, Crackling Wit. Add role cards: Abrade, Negate, Ral, Crackling Wit, Quantum Riddler. Reduce main-deck emphasis: the least effective tempo spell after seeing whether their threats are creatures, artifacts, enchantments, or stack-based payoffs. Preserve Accumulate Wisdom for refilling after trades unless immediate action prevents a critical attack.

- Big mana: Pressure early while reserving counters for the payoff, not the harmless setup, unless the setup is the only visible route to a decisive next turn. Keep hands with A-Cori-Steel Cutter, Stormchaser's Talent, Gran-Gran, or Quantum Riddler plus enough cheap action to shorten the clock. Add role cards: Spell Pierce, Negate, Ral, Crackling Wit, Quantum Riddler, and Abrade only if artifacts are part of the acceleration or payoff. Reduce main-deck emphasis: creature removal that cannot target the primary threat type. Use Boomerang Basics tactically when bouncing a large permanent or mana source buys a full turn; Card text check required for exact target permissions.

- Combo: Identify the visible choke point, then hold interaction for that point even if a small amount of damage is available. Spell Pierce and Negate should contest the enabler, payoff, or protection spell that actually wins the game; Soul-Guide Lantern matters only if the graveyard is part of the combo. Add role cards: Spell Pierce, Negate, Soul-Guide Lantern when graveyard-dependent, Annul or Abrade when artifacts/enchantments are engines, and Unable to Scream only when a creature permanent is the combo piece. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Pyroclasm and creature removal unless the combo exposes creature targets. Do not invent a combo window from archetype expectations; use public zones, stack actions, and Veles legal prompts.

- Graveyard decks: Delay Soul-Guide Lantern until the graveyard action matters unless waiting risks losing the activation window. Use it against a committed recursion target, threshold payoff, flashback-style line, or graveyard-count dependency shown by public information. Add role cards: Soul-Guide Lantern, Spell Pierce, Negate, and sometimes Unable to Scream for recursive creature pressure. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Illuminating Lash, Preponderant Pearl, and Iroh's Demonstration when the matchup is decided before slow value resolves. If the opponent can rebuild the graveyard quickly, pair Soul-Guide Lantern with a clock from A-Cori-Steel Cutter, Stormchaser's Talent, Gran-Gran, or Quantum Riddler rather than treating one activation as a win.

- Artifact or enchantment decks: Answer the permanent type that creates repeated advantage before spending removal on incidental creatures. Annul and Abrade are priority role cards, Spell Pierce and Negate protect against setup or payoff spells, and Boomerang Basics can buy tempo when the target is legal and a recast window is costly. Add role cards: Annul, Abrade, Spell Pierce, Negate. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Illuminating Lash, Iroh's Demonstration, Preponderant Pearl, or Quantum Riddler only when tempo matters more than late pressure. Do not name an artifact or enchantment answer unless Veles shows the legal target type; Card text check required for Annul and Abrade mode coverage.

- Unknown decks: Keep the game-one plan broad and avoid narrow role cards until public information identifies the axis. Default to a balanced tempo-control hand with lands, cheap spells, and at least one pressure engine from A-Cori-Steel Cutter, Stormchaser's Talent, Gran-Gran, or Quantum Riddler. Add role cards after evidence: Pyroclasm for go-wide pressure, Unable to Scream for creature-centric single threats, Abrade or Annul for artifacts/enchantments, Soul-Guide Lantern for graveyard reliance, Spell Pierce or Negate for noncreature stack fights, and Ral, Crackling Wit or Quantum Riddler for attrition. Reduce main-deck emphasis only from cards that were visibly stranded, too slow, or pointed at the wrong permanent type.

## Specific Matchup Notes

- General/archetype-only notes apply because exact opponents are absent; revealed cards, public zones, stack contents, and Veles legal actions override all archetype assumptions. Use these notes to rank likely sideboard roles and priority targets, not to infer hidden cards or guaranteed lines.

- Aggro: Stabilize first, then win with the first engine that survives. Priority targets are early creatures that increase damage output, creatures carrying visible modifiers, and board states where Pyroclasm is legal and materially changes the race. Add role cards: Pyroclasm, Unable to Scream, Abrade when artifacts matter, and Spell Pierce only if the opponent shows noncreature burst or protection. Reduce main-deck emphasis: slower closers such as Preponderant Pearl, Iroh's Demonstration, or the least timely Quantum Riddler when the game is decided before late value matters.

- Control: Force the opponent to answer staggered threats instead of one overloaded turn. Priority targets are opposing card-advantage permanents, sweepers or removal on the stack that would answer A-Cori-Steel Cutter or Stormchaser's Talent, and windows where Ral, Crackling Wit can resolve with protection. Add role cards: Spell Pierce, Negate, Ral, Crackling Wit, Quantum Riddler. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Combustion Technique, Illuminating Lash, or Abandon Attachments when visible creature targets are scarce or low value.

- Midrange: Trade resources while preserving a way to pull ahead after both players exchange removal. Priority targets are creatures that dominate combat, artifact or enchantment engines when Abrade or Annul is legal, and planeswalker-like threats if Veles exposes legal interaction. Add role cards: Abrade, Negate, Ral, Crackling Wit, Quantum Riddler, and Unable to Scream for creature-centric boards. Reduce main-deck emphasis: the least aligned tempo or removal card after seeing whether the opponent wins through creatures, artifacts, enchantments, or stack-based advantage.

- Big mana or combo: Apply pressure early and hold stack interaction for the visible payoff, not every setup action. Priority targets are the spell or permanent that converts mana into a decisive position, graveyard-dependent combo pieces when Soul-Guide Lantern is live, and artifact or enchantment engines when Annul or Abrade is legal. Add role cards: Spell Pierce, Negate, Soul-Guide Lantern when graveyard-reliant, Annul when artifacts or enchantments matter, and Abrade when artifact targets appear. Reduce main-deck emphasis: creature removal that lacks visible targets or slow value that gives the opponent an uncontested payoff turn.

- Graveyard decks: Treat Soul-Guide Lantern as a timing tool, not a generic early play. Priority targets are committed recursion targets, threshold-style public graveyard counts, flashback-style prompts, or visible graveyard engines. Add role cards: Soul-Guide Lantern, Spell Pierce, Negate, and Unable to Scream if recurring creatures create pressure. Reduce main-deck emphasis: slow closers when the game hinges on one graveyard window. Do not fire graveyard hate without a public reason unless delaying would miss the legal activation window.

## Risk Summary

- Mana risk: The deck needs both blue and red access early, so hands with only one color and multiple color-demanding spells are risky even with enough lands. Multiversal Passage, Riverpyre Verge, Steam Vents, Sulfur Falls, Starting Town, and Island sequencing should follow visible legal costs, and Card text check required for exact land conditions or color-production constraints.

- Matchup risk: The deck can misidentify its role because it has both pressure and answers. Against faster starts, prioritize Firebending Lesson, Combustion Technique, Abandon Attachments, Boomerang Basics, Illuminating Lash, Pyroclasm, Unable to Scream, and Abrade according to legal targets; against slower decks, preserve A-Cori-Steel Cutter, Stormchaser's Talent, Quantum Riddler, Preponderant Pearl, Iroh's Demonstration, and Ral, Crackling Wit as real closers.

- Draw risk: Accumulate Wisdom and other value actions can be too slow when the board is already dangerous. Use draw or lesson-style actions only when the life total, blockers, and stack state allow the turn cycle; Card text check required for exact Firebending Lesson and Accumulate Wisdom outcomes.

- Over-sideboarding risk: Adding too many narrow role cards can dilute the spell-tempo core. Keep enough proactive cards from Gran-Gran, A-Cori-Steel Cutter, Stormchaser's Talent, Quantum Riddler, and the cheap spell suite to close before the opponent recovers.

- Graveyard risk: Soul-Guide Lantern is low impact against decks that do not use the graveyard publicly. Add it only after evidence or matchup knowledge, and avoid spending mana on it while under short-clock creature pressure unless the graveyard action is the immediate threat.

- Sweeper and removal risk: Pyroclasm may conflict with the deck's own battlefield, and opposing sweepers punish overcommitting Gran-Gran, Quantum Riddler, and token or creature outputs from engines. Let Veles board state decide whether the sweeper is favorable before casting it.

- Closer risk: Preponderant Pearl, Iroh's Demonstration, Quantum Riddler, and Ral, Crackling Wit are poor if cast into open interaction without pressure or protection. Commit them when the opponent is constrained, after baiting removal, or when waiting is worse.

- Interaction and sequencing risk: Spell Pierce, Negate, Annul, Abrade, Unable to Scream, Boomerang Basics, and removal-like main-deck spells require exact legal targets and timing. Do not assume modes, target types, or damage numbers; follow Veles prompts and mark uncertain text as conditional.

## Test Feedback Checklist

- Deciding factor: Record whether the game was won or lost by early pressure, answer density, mana access, engine survival, sideboard card impact, or a single stack/combat window. Name the exact cards that decided the result, especially A-Cori-Steel Cutter, Stormchaser's Talent, Gran-Gran, Quantum Riddler, Preponderant Pearl, Iroh's Demonstration, Ral, Crackling Wit, Pyroclasm, Soul-Guide Lantern, Spell Pierce, Negate, Annul, Abrade, or Unable to Scream.

- Mulligans: Ask whether the kept hand had enough lands, both required colors, and at least one early action that matched the matchup role. Flag hands with Accumulate Wisdom but no board answer against pressure, hands with only reactive cards against control, or hands where A-Cori-Steel Cutter or Stormchaser's Talent lacked enough follow-up spells.

- Mana: Check whether Island, Steam Vents, Sulfur Falls, Riverpyre Verge, Starting Town, and Multiversal Passage produced the right colors at the right turns according to Veles legal costs. Card text check required for exact land constraints; record every game where a spell was stranded despite having enough total lands.

- Velocity: Ask whether Accumulate Wisdom, Firebending Lesson, and other spell-chain turns increased options quickly enough or consumed turns while the opponent advanced. Treat repeated priority passes with castable spells as possible velocity failures unless life total, open interaction, or stack context justified waiting.

- Engines: Track whether A-Cori-Steel Cutter and Stormchaser's Talent were deployed early enough, protected when possible, and converted into material pressure or value. Record whether Gran-Gran enabled the plan or became a low-impact body under pressure.

- Removal and tempo: Review every Abandon Attachments, Combustion Technique, Boomerang Basics, Illuminating Lash, Unable to Scream, Abrade, and Pyroclasm decision for target quality and timing. Do not judge by assumed card text; judge by Veles legal targets, before/after state, damage prevented, clock changed, and whether the action preserved a future engine turn.

- Sideboard: After each post-board game, ask which sideboard cards were drawn, cast, stranded, or missing. Record whether Spell Pierce, Negate, Annul, Abrade, Soul-Guide Lantern, Pyroclasm, Unable to Scream, Ral, Crackling Wit, and the sideboard Quantum Riddler aligned with the opponent's revealed plan.

- Closing: Ask whether the deck closed promptly after stabilizing. Flag games where Quantum Riddler, Preponderant Pearl, Iroh's Demonstration, Ral, Crackling Wit, A-Cori-Steel Cutter, or Stormchaser's Talent were available but the pilot kept spending turns on low-impact interaction or draw.

- Role: Identify whether the pilot was supposed to be tempo, control, or attrition after the first three turns. Mark role mistakes where the pilot held pressure too long against a slow deck, tapped low for a fragile closer against open interaction, or spent removal on minor threats while a larger visible threat decided the race.

- Mistakes: Record any illegal-action rejection, stale-action rejection, suspicious pass, low-impact graveyard hate activation, missed lethal, missed stabilizing play, or sideboard plan that diluted the spell-tempo core. Tie each issue to public information visible at the decision frame.

- Stranded cards: List cards stuck in hand and why: color issue, target issue, timing issue, matchup mismatch, or pilot conservatism. Pay special attention to Preponderant Pearl, Iroh's Demonstration, Illuminating Lash, Combustion Technique, Abandon Attachments, Annul, Negate, Spell Pierce, Soul-Guide Lantern, and Pyroclasm.

- Overperformers and underperformers: For every match, name the cards that directly changed the game and the cards that failed to matter. Separate actual logged performance from theory; do not infer hidden opponent cards or unobserved card text.

## First Tuning Questions

- Card quantity: Is 4 Gran-Gran correct, or did repeated copies fail to stabilize, pressure, or enable spell turns? If extra copies were frequently stranded, test whether the slot should become another resilient closer, more interaction, or more mana consistency.

- Engine density: Are 4 A-Cori-Steel Cutter and 4 Stormchaser's Talent enough to make the deck proactive, or did games depend too heavily on drawing exactly one engine early? If engines died immediately, ask whether the deck needs more protection from Spell Pierce or Negate post-board rather than more expensive threats.

- Draw mix: Did 4 Accumulate Wisdom improve decision quality, or did it create slow hands against aggro? If draw actions were strongest only after stabilization, consider whether the main deck needs more early interaction or whether sideboard Pyroclasm and Unable to Scream already solve that pressure.

- Removal mix: Did Abandon Attachments, Combustion Technique, Boomerang Basics, and Illuminating Lash cover the threats Veles actually exposed? If one card repeatedly lacked legal targets, ask whether its quantity should move toward Abrade, Unable to Scream, Spell Pierce, or Negate depending on the failing matchup type.

- Mana base: Did 21 lands plus Multiversal Passage, Riverpyre Verge, Steam Vents, Sulfur Falls, Starting Town, and Island support early blue and red without too many tapped or constrained starts? Card text check required for exact land function; tune only from logged color failures, not theoretical discomfort.

- Closer package: Did 2 Quantum Riddler, 1 Preponderant Pearl, and 1 Iroh's Demonstration close stabilized games, or were they too slow or too exposed? If control mirrors went long, test the sideboard Quantum Riddler and Ral, Crackling Wit plan before changing the main deck.

- Aggro plan: Did post-board Pyroclasm, Unable to Scream, Abrade, and cheap main-deck interaction reliably buy time? If losses happened before turn four, ask whether slow cards should lose emphasis post-board and whether the main deck needs another cheap stabilizer.

- Control plan: Did Spell Pierce, Negate, Ral, Crackling Wit, and Quantum Riddler create enough pressure through answers? If the deck flooded on removal against control, question the main-deck balance of Combustion Technique, Illuminating Lash, and Abandon Attachments.

- Graveyard plan: Did Soul-Guide Lantern matter when brought in, or did it consume mana while the real threat was battlefield pressure? Keep it only where public graveyard actions or matchup knowledge justify the slot.

- Role conflict: Did the pilot lose by mixing tempo and control plans in the same game? If so, tune matchup guides first: define when Gran-Gran, A-Cori-Steel Cutter, and Stormchaser's Talent are pressure cards, and when Abandon Attachments, Boomerang Basics, Pyroclasm, Spell Pierce, or Negate must protect a longer game.

## Veles Tactical Policy

### Policy: Opening Hand Role Gate
Priority: Medium
Decision families: mulligan; pregame
Cards: Gran-Gran; A-Cori-Steel Cutter; Stormchaser's Talent; Firebending Lesson; Accumulate Wisdom
Phase windows: Opening hand and mulligan prompts.
Runtime cues: mulligan decision; opening hand visible.
Use when: The hand must decide whether it can cast early blue/red spells and produce either pressure, interaction, or card flow by turn three.
Avoid when: Veles shows no legal keep/take-mulligan choice or the hand already has a forced tournament decision.
Instructions: Keep hands with functional mana plus one early engine or velocity spell; send back hands that only contain late payoff cards, mismatched colors, or interaction with no early plan. Card text check required for exact spell timing.
Pilot skill floor: Light-model.
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Early Engine Deployment
Priority: Medium
Decision families: priority; mana
Cards: A-Cori-Steel Cutter; Stormchaser's Talent; Gran-Gran
Phase windows: Main phases turns one through three.
Runtime cues: legal cast action for A-Cori-Steel Cutter, Stormchaser's Talent, or Gran-Gran.
Use when: A first enabling permanent or creature is legal and the hand contains follow-up spells that can exploit it.
Avoid when: Opponent has a visible threat that must be answered immediately or Veles shows a high-risk stack/priority window.
Instructions: Prefer establishing one engine before trading cards one-for-one unless survival or a visible opposing engine demands interaction first.
Pilot skill floor: Light-model.
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Mana Color Preservation
Priority: Medium
Decision families: mana
Cards: Island; Steam Vents; Sulfur Falls; Riverpyre Verge; Starting Town; Multiversal Passage
Phase windows: Land play prompts and payment prompts.
Runtime cues: mana payment choice; land play action.
Use when: Multiple lands or payment sources are legal and future hand costs require both blue and red access.
Avoid when: Veles exposes only one legal payment or a spell must be paid exactly.
Instructions: Preserve the color most constrained by hand and stack demands; do not spend flexible sources before single-color sources unless the legal payment text forces it. Card text check required for exact land restrictions.
Pilot skill floor: Light-model.
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Exact Forced Mana Payment
Priority: Low
Decision families: mana
Cards: none
Phase windows: Any cost payment prompt.
Runtime cues: action:pay exact mana
Use when: Veles legal actions show exactly one payment action for the spell or ability currently being resolved.
Avoid when: More than one legal payment action is listed.
Instructions: Submit the single visible exact payment action and do not reinterpret future color needs.
Pilot skill floor: No-API.
No-API allowed: yes
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Spell-Chain Turn Commitment
Priority: High
Decision families: priority; mana; selection
Cards: Firebending Lesson; Accumulate Wisdom; A-Cori-Steel Cutter; Stormchaser's Talent
Phase windows: Main phases with priority and castable spells.
Runtime cues: legal cast actions for multiple cheap spells or card-flow spells.
Use when: The deck can convert current mana into multiple spell actions, engine triggers, or enough cards to continue pressure.
Avoid when: Waiting preserves visible interaction against a lethal or near-lethal opponent line.
Instructions: Commit to a spell-chain turn only after checking visible stack, opponent mana, life race, and whether the first spell unlocks better legal actions.
Pilot skill floor: Light-model.
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Tap-Out Payoff Gate
Priority: High
Decision families: priority; mana
Cards: Quantum Riddler; Preponderant Pearl; Iroh's Demonstration; Ral, Crackling Wit
Phase windows: Main phases and post-board planeswalker/payoff windows.
Runtime cues: legal cast action for Quantum Riddler, Preponderant Pearl, Iroh's Demonstration, or Ral, Crackling Wit.
Use when: A payoff can be cast and the pilot must decide whether spending shields down advances the game more than holding interaction.
Avoid when: Veles shows a required response to a stack object or a visible lethal attack next turn.
Instructions: Cast the payoff when the board is stable, the opponent is low on visible pressure, or waiting risks losing the window; hold it when open interaction or battlefield pressure makes cheaper actions necessary.
Pilot skill floor: Light-model.
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Priority Pass Discipline
Priority: Medium
Decision families: priority; interaction
Cards: Spell Pierce; Negate; Annul; Abrade; Abandon Attachments; Combustion Technique; Boomerang Basics; Illuminating Lash
Phase windows: Opponent main phases, combat steps, and stack response windows.
Runtime cues: pass priority action with other legal interaction actions.
Use when: Veles offers pass and at least one interactive legal action.
Avoid when: Veles shows no alternative legal action.
Instructions: Pass only after checking whether the current stack object, attacker, blocker, or permanent threatens the engine, life total, or payoff window more than the card being saved.
Pilot skill floor: Light-model.
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Counterspell Spending Gate
Priority: High
Decision families: interaction; priority
Cards: Spell Pierce; Negate; Annul
Phase windows: Stack response windows.
Runtime cues: legal cast action for Spell Pierce, Negate, or Annul targeting a stack object.
Use when: A counterspell effect is legal and the stack object may alter board control, stop a payoff, or invalidate the current turn.
Avoid when: The spell is low impact from visible state or the counter target type is uncertain. Card text check required for exact counter restrictions.
Instructions: Spend permission on cards that answer engines, sweepers, payoffs, or lethal setups; save it against expendable spells unless the tempo swing is decisive.
Pilot skill floor: Light-model.
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Removal Target Gate
Priority: High
Decision families: interaction; priority
Cards: Abandon Attachments; Combustion Technique; Boomerang Basics; Illuminating Lash; Abrade; Unable to Scream
Phase windows: Main phases, combat, end step, and stack response windows when legal.
Runtime cues: legal target action for an interaction spell or ability.
Use when: Veles offers multiple legal targets for a removal, bounce, damage, aura, or disabling effect.
Avoid when: Only one legal target exists and a separate exact-target policy matches.
Instructions: Target the permanent or spell that most changes the next combat, protects an engine, stops an opposing engine, or prevents lethal; do not assume hidden tricks.
Pilot skill floor: Light-model.
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Single Visible Target Execution
Priority: Low
Decision families: interaction
Cards: Abandon Attachments; Combustion Technique; Boomerang Basics; Illuminating Lash; Abrade; Unable to Scream
Phase windows: Target selection prompts.
Runtime cues: action:target
Use when: The current prompt lists exactly one legal target action for the spell or ability being resolved.
Avoid when: Two or more target actions are visible.
Instructions: Submit the single visible target action without adding strategic assumptions.
Pilot skill floor: No-API.
No-API allowed: yes
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Combat Pressure Choice
Priority: Medium
Decision families: combat
Cards: Gran-Gran; A-Cori-Steel Cutter; Quantum Riddler
Phase windows: Declare attackers and declare blockers.
Runtime cues: attack or block decision with multiple legal creature choices.
Use when: The pilot must decide whether to race, hold blockers, or protect a creature-based engine.
Avoid when: Veles shows exactly one legal no-choice combat action.
Instructions: Attack when pressure shortens the clock without exposing the only engine; block when life total or a visible opposing clock will outpace spell-chain recovery.
Pilot skill floor: Light-model.
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Forced Combat Action
Priority: Low
Decision families: combat
Cards: none
Phase windows: Combat prompts.
Runtime cues: action:no attackers; action:no blocks
Use when: Veles shows exactly one legal combat action and it is a no-attack or no-block action.
Avoid when: Any alternate attack or block action is legal.
Instructions: Submit the single legal combat action.
Pilot skill floor: No-API.
No-API allowed: yes
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Card Selection And Lesson Velocity
Priority: Medium
Decision families: selection; priority
Cards: Firebending Lesson; Accumulate Wisdom; Quantum Riddler; Preponderant Pearl; Iroh's Demonstration
Phase windows: Draw, selection, modal, and resolution prompts.
Runtime cues: selection prompt; modal choice; legal action text naming a visible card or mode.
Use when: Veles asks the pilot to select cards, modes, or resolution branches from visible candidates.
Avoid when: The prompt is deterministic with only one visible legal choice.
Instructions: Choose cards or modes that solve the current bottleneck first: mana access, survival, engine deployment, interaction, then payoff. Card text check required for exact lesson and selection effects.
Pilot skill floor: Light-model.
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Graveyard Hate Activation Gate
Priority: Medium
Decision families: interaction; priority
Cards: Soul-Guide Lantern
Phase windows: Post-board priority windows and graveyard-related prompts.
Runtime cues: legal action for Soul-Guide Lantern.
Use when: Opponent graveyard contents are public and the legal action can affect a visible graveyard resource.
Avoid when: The opponent's battlefield clock requires mana for removal or the graveyard contains no relevant public card.
Instructions: Use Soul-Guide Lantern only when the graveyard matters to the visible line or matchup plan; do not spend it as a low-impact cantrip under pressure unless no stabilizing action exists.
Pilot skill floor: Light-model.
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Sweeper Survival Gate
Priority: High
Decision families: interaction; priority
Cards: Pyroclasm
Phase windows: Main phases and legal sweeper windows.
Runtime cues: legal cast action for Pyroclasm.
Use when: Multiple opposing creatures are visible or life total is under a short clock.
Avoid when: Own engine creatures are essential and the visible opposing board is not pressuring life or resources.
Instructions: Cast Pyroclasm to reset pressure, preserve life, or open a payoff turn; hold it when it mainly clears minor creatures and sacrifices the deck's only pressure.
Pilot skill floor: Light-model.
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Sideboard Plan Selection
Priority: High
Decision families: sideboard
Cards: Annul; Soul-Guide Lantern; Spell Pierce; Unable to Scream; Abrade; Negate; Pyroclasm; Ral, Crackling Wit; Quantum Riddler
Phase windows: Between games sideboard prompt.
Runtime cues: sideboard decision; match stage post-board.
Use when: Veles requests a sideboard plan after a completed game.
Avoid when: The sideboard is locked or no sideboard action is legal.
Instructions: Add cards that answer revealed opponent threats and reduce main-deck cards with poor legal targets; maintain the spell-tempo core and do not exceed registered quantities.
Pilot skill floor: Light-model.
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Post-Board Control Mirror Shift
Priority: Medium
Decision families: sideboard; priority
Cards: Spell Pierce; Negate; Annul; Ral, Crackling Wit; Quantum Riddler
Phase windows: Sideboard and post-board main/stack windows.
Runtime cues: opponent shows low creature pressure, stack-based interaction, artifacts/enchantments, or long-game play patterns.
Use when: Public information suggests the match will be decided by payoffs and stack exchanges.
Avoid when: Opponent pressure is creature-heavy or graveyard-based from visible evidence.
Instructions: Value permission, resilient payoffs, and timing discipline; avoid spending answers on low-impact spells that do not affect engines, closers, or card advantage.
Pilot skill floor: Light-model.
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

### Policy: Post-Board Aggro Stabilization Shift
Priority: Medium
Decision families: sideboard; combat; interaction
Cards: Pyroclasm; Unable to Scream; Abrade; Abandon Attachments; Combustion Technique; Boomerang Basics; Illuminating Lash
Phase windows: Sideboard, early turns, and combat windows.
Runtime cues: opponent shows multiple cheap creatures, fast attacks, or low life-total pressure.
Use when: Public battlefield and game-one evidence indicate survival is the first constraint.
Avoid when: Opponent is slow and interaction lacks legal targets.
Instructions: Prioritize cheap stabilizers and sweepers, keep blockers back more often, and cast engines only when they do not concede the next combat step.
Pilot skill floor: Light-model.
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes