veles-content/strategies/alchemy/alchemy_rakdos_demons/1/reflection.md

Reflection Template For Rakdos Demons

For each loss, name one primary cause and one secondary cause. For each win, name the card, package, or tactical policy that most contributed to the win. Classify each result as a card quantity problem, card selection problem, mana problem, tempo problem, matchup problem, sideboard problem, pilot sequencing problem, or closing-power problem. Report mana performance, sideboard impact, stranded cards, overperforming cards, underperforming cards, and whether the Deck Strategy or Tactical Policy guidance was followed.

• Deciding factor: Record whether the game was decided by early stabilization, hand disruption, an unanswered engine, a mana stumble, a failed close, or a sideboard card. Name the card or zone that mattered most, such as Cruelclaw's Heist clearing a key card, Unholy Annex // Ritual Chamber staying active, Soulstone Sanctuary ending a stall, or Scorching Dragonfire failing to answer the visible threat.

• Mulligans: Ask whether each keep had a castable first play, both colors when needed, and a realistic plan against the opponent's revealed speed. Flag hands with Fear of Missing Out but no follow-up, Cruelclaw's Heist without pressure, removal without targets, or expensive engines without enough life-buffer.

• Mana: Track whether Blazemire Verge, Dragonskull Summit, Desert Cenote, Multiversal Passage, Starting Town, Swamp, Mountain, and Soulstone Sanctuary supported the required curve. Note every turn where a legal action was missed because black or red mana was unavailable, a land entered at the wrong time, or Soulstone Sanctuary activation competed with casting interaction.

• Velocity: Check whether the deck spent turns affecting the board before relying on Nibelheim Aflame, The Terminus of Return, or Unholy Annex // Ritual Chamber. Mark losses where the first meaningful permanent was too late, and wins where early Fear of Missing Out, Qarsi Revenant, Demon Wall, Elegy Acolyte, or Unstoppable Slasher bought enough time.

• Engines: Evaluate whether Unholy Annex // Ritual Chamber was cast when the board could support it, whether Nibelheim Aflame generated enough pressure or value for its timing, and whether The Terminus of Return was a closer rather than a stranded card. Card text check required before assigning exact engine failure modes to Alchemy-specific text.

• Removal: Record whether Scorching Dragonfire, Feed the Swarm, Nowhere to Run, Fire Magic, and Villainous Wrath answered the cards that actually mattered. Separate losses caused by no legal target, wrong target priority, insufficient damage/range, and holding removal too long.

• Sideboard: For each post-board game, ask whether Ghost Vacuum, Intimidation Tactics, Screaming Nemesis, Egrix the Bile Bulwark, Fire Magic, or Villainous Wrath changed the matchup role. Card text check required before claiming a sideboard card should have solved a board state not proven by legal action text.

• Closing: Ask whether stabilized games were converted quickly enough by Unstoppable Slasher, Screaming Nemesis, Soulstone Sanctuary, The Terminus of Return, or repeated engine value. Flag games where Rakdos Demons traded resources successfully but gave the opponent too many draw steps.

• Role: Record the moment the deck should have changed from defensive to proactive, or from attrition to racing. Note whether Cruelclaw's Heist was used before committing a key permanent when public information suggested open interaction.

• Mistakes: Identify any pass, attack, block, target, or mana payment that conflicted with visible legal actions and the public board. Do not mark a play wrong only because of hidden information revealed later.

• Stranded cards: List cards stuck in hand for two or more turns and the visible reason: mana, no legal target, wrong matchup, tempo pressure, or better competing action. Pay special attention to Feed the Swarm, Nibelheim Aflame, The Terminus of Return, Unholy Annex // Ritual Chamber, and sideboard cards.

• Overperformers and underperformers: Tie every card grade to repeated game states, not impressions. A card overperformed if it changed combat math, removed the decisive threat, protected life total, forced action, or closed; it underperformed if it was uncastable, low-impact, redundant, or mismatched to the opponent's public plan.

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