veles-content/strategies/explorer/explorer_jund_sacrifice/1/guide.md

Strategy Specifications

Deck Name And Archetype

Jund Sacrifice is a 60-card Explorer sacrifice midrange-combo deck with a 15-card sideboard. The active deck validation contract reports the list as format-aware legal for Explorer, with 60 main-deck cards and 15 sideboard cards, satisfying the stated main/sideboard size rules. Runtime decisions should still respect the rules engine over this guide whenever legality, timing, targeting, replacement effects, or card-text details differ from strategic expectation.

• Format: Explorer.
• Strategy name: Jund Sacrifice.
• Registered main deck: 60 cards.
• Registered sideboard: 15 cards.
• Normalized tags: midrange, combo, sacrifice, artifact, food.
• Validation status: passes under the supplied active format/deck validation contract.
• Opponent info status: no opponent decklist, metagame target, or testing concern was supplied, so matchup guidance must begin from visible board state, public zones, revealed cards, and legal action text rather than assumed hidden cards.

The list is a hybrid of a recognizable Jund sacrifice shell and a more speculative sideboard package. The core maindeck engine uses Cauldron Familiar, Witch's Oven, Mayhem Devil, Deadly Dispute, Bloodtithe Harvester, Fable of the Mirror-Breaker, Scavenger's Talent, and Ygra, Eater of All to convert small permanents into damage, cards, Food, and recursive pressure. The sideboard includes familiar disruptive graveyard and hand-attack roles through Thoughtseize and Unlicensed Hearse, but several registered sideboard names need card-text confirmation before tactical use is treated as deterministic: The Legend of Roku, Ozai's Cruelty, Decorum Dissertation, Abandon Attachments, Origin of Metalbending, Firebending Lesson, Ruinous Waterbending, and Pest Summoning. Card text check required for those cards before making precise runtime choices from this guide.

The primary role concern is that the deck must avoid playing like ordinary removal midrange when an engine line is visible. Bloodtithe Harvester and Fatal Push answer early threats, but the deck's highest leverage usually comes from assembling sacrifice material with Witch's Oven, Cauldron Familiar, Deadly Dispute, Scavenger's Talent, and Mayhem Devil. The decision agent should value repeatable engines, token or Food conversion, and life-total pressure over one-for-one trades unless the visible board demands survival.

The mana base is heavily black-red with a lighter green requirement. Blackcleave Cliffs, Blazemire Verge, Blightstep Pathway, Blood Crypt, Overgrown Tomb, Swamp, Den of the Bugbear, and Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance must support early black for Cauldron Familiar, Eyetwitch, Fatal Push, Deadly Dispute, and Thoughtseize after sideboarding; red for Bloodtithe Harvester, Mayhem Devil, Fable of the Mirror-Breaker, and Den of the Bugbear pressure; and green for Scavenger's Talent and Ygra, Eater of All. Mana decisions should preserve early untapped black-red access while avoiding unnecessary life loss when the opponent's visible clock is low.

The legality and card-identity concern is that the sideboard contains several newer or less established Explorer names whose exact text should not be inferred. When Veles sees a legal action involving The Legend of Roku, Ozai's Cruelty, Decorum Dissertation, Abandon Attachments, Origin of Metalbending, Firebending Lesson, Ruinous Waterbending, or Pest Summoning, the agent may use the legal action label and visible text supplied by the engine, but it must not assume missing modes, card types, damage amounts, tokens, lessons, or target restrictions.

The strategic baseline is proactive attrition with combo pressure rather than all-in combo. The deck should pressure creature decks by turning expendable permanents into Mayhem Devil damage and Fatal Push efficiency, pressure control by forcing awkward answers to sticky engines and Fable of the Mirror-Breaker, and pressure graveyard or artifact decks post-board with Thoughtseize and Unlicensed Hearse when those cards are legally available. Against unknown opponents, the default plan is to keep hands that deploy an early permanent, enable sacrifice value, and either interact or build toward a Mayhem Devil or Scavenger's Talent turn.

Thesis

Jund Sacrifice assembles a repeatable sacrifice engine that turns small permanents into damage, cards, Food, and recursive pressure. The core board is Cauldron Familiar plus Witch's Oven for a recurring sacrifice loop, Mayhem Devil to convert sacrifices into damage, Deadly Dispute to cash in expendable permanents, Scavenger's Talent to deepen the Food/sacrifice engine, and Fable of the Mirror-Breaker to add pressure, filtering, and a must-answer value permanent. Ygra, Eater of All is the high-impact top-end engine threat when the game is about permanent conversion and sacrifice scaling, but runtime choices must follow visible legal text rather than assuming an outcome not exposed by the rules engine.

Jund Sacrifice wins by compounding small advantages until every exchange favors it. Prioritize a battlefield where opposing removal is awkward, expendable bodies and artifacts keep replacing themselves, and Mayhem Devil turns normal game actions into life-total pressure or creature control. Cauldron Familiar drains stabilize races, Witch's Oven blanks some creature removal or combat damage lines when legally available, Bloodtithe Harvester and Fatal Push buy time, and Den of the Bugbear or Fable of the Mirror-Breaker can close games when the opponent answers the graveyard loop.

Jund Sacrifice is not trying to become pure draw-go control, pure aggro, or an all-in combo deck. Do not spend early turns only trading one-for-one if an engine permanent can be deployed safely, and do not sacrifice key permanents merely because a sacrifice action exists. The deck wants decisions that preserve an engine, create future sacrifice material, force the opponent to answer multiple permanent types, and convert visible windows into damage or cards without walking into avoidable tempo loss.

Prioritize engine density over isolated card quality when the visible board is stable. A hand or line with Witch's Oven, Cauldron Familiar, Mayhem Devil, Deadly Dispute, Scavenger's Talent, Bloodtithe Harvester, Eyetwitch, or Fable of the Mirror-Breaker usually has a coherent plan if the mana works. A line that only casts removal and passes may be necessary under pressure, but it should be treated as a survival route rather than the deck's preferred identity.

Role Package

• Threats: Mayhem Devil is the most important damage engine and should be protected from low-value exposure when a sacrifice chain is not ready. Fable of the Mirror-Breaker is a resilient value threat that pressures life totals, improves hand quality, and can demand removal before larger engine cards resolve. Bloodtithe Harvester is both an early body and later interaction source when legal actions expose its sacrifice ability. Ygra, Eater of All is a top-end engine threat that can dominate sacrifice-heavy boards, but card text check required before treating any specific conversion, counter, or lethal line as deterministic. Den of the Bugbear and Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance are mana-slot threats when flooding or playing through sweepers.

• Payoffs: Mayhem Devil is the primary sacrifice payoff because every visible sacrifice can become damage to creatures, planeswalkers if legal, or the opponent. Cauldron Familiar is the recurring drain payoff when Food is available and the engine can loop without losing critical board material. Scavenger's Talent is an engine payoff whose exact level or trigger use should follow rules-engine legal actions; card text check required for any non-obvious mode, cost, or trigger sequencing. Ygra, Eater of All is a payoff for artifact/Food and creature-death density when the visible board supports it.

• Engines: Witch's Oven plus Cauldron Familiar is the signature repeatable engine and should be assembled early when mana and board pressure allow. Deadly Dispute turns Eyetwitch, Food, Blood tokens if present from Bloodtithe Harvester, Cauldron Familiar, or other expendable permanents into velocity while triggering Mayhem Devil when relevant. Fable of the Mirror-Breaker supports the engine by creating material, filtering redundant cards, and threatening later value. Scavenger's Talent belongs in the engine module because it rewards the deck for playing sacrifice permanents and Food-centric games.

• Velocity: Deadly Dispute is the cleanest burst of cards and should usually use expendable permanents rather than engine payoffs. Fable of the Mirror-Breaker filters clunky duplicates, excess lands, or situational interaction into action. Eyetwitch can be cashed in for value when the rules engine exposes a legal death or learn-like choice, but card text and available sideboard choices must be respected at runtime.

• Interaction: Fatal Push is the default cheap removal and should be held for creatures that pressure life total, stop attacks, or threaten engine permanents. Bloodtithe Harvester can function as removal when its legal action appears and the sacrifice cost does not dismantle the better engine. Mayhem Devil damage can act as distributed interaction when sacrifice triggers are available. Thoughtseize and Unlicensed Hearse are sideboard interaction modules against hands, graveyards, and slower engines when boarded in.

• Protection: The deck protects itself by forcing awkward exchanges rather than by using dedicated protection spells. Witch's Oven can protect a creature from some removal or combat outcomes when a legal sacrifice action exists, Cauldron Familiar can return through Food-based actions, and Fable of the Mirror-Breaker diversifies threats across card types. Abandon Attachments may be a protection or answer card only if legal action text confirms that role; card text check required.

• Recursion: Cauldron Familiar is the main recursive card and should be preserved when Food generation is visible. Witch's Oven, Scavenger's Talent, Deadly Dispute, and Ygra, Eater of All can support recurring pressure if their legal actions create or exploit Food. Do not assume graveyard access through any sideboard card unless the engine exposes it.

• Mana: Blackcleave Cliffs, Blightstep Pathway, Blood Crypt, Blazemire Verge, Overgrown Tomb, Swamp, Den of the Bugbear, and Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance must support early black-red actions and later green engine cards. Preserve untapped black for Cauldron Familiar, Eyetwitch, Fatal Push, Deadly Dispute, and post-board Thoughtseize; preserve red for Bloodtithe Harvester, Mayhem Devil, Fable of the Mirror-Breaker, and creature-land pressure; preserve green for Scavenger's Talent and Ygra, Eater of All.

• Sideboard modules: Thoughtseize is the clear hand-disruption module, and Unlicensed Hearse is the clear graveyard-pressure module. The Legend of Roku, Ozai's Cruelty, Decorum Dissertation, Abandon Attachments, Origin of Metalbending, Firebending Lesson, Ruinous Waterbending, and Pest Summoning need card text check required before exact tactical roles are assigned; use only visible legal action text and public information when they appear.

Primary Win Conditions

• Prioritize Mayhem Devil sacrifice damage when a stable sacrifice source is visible. Setup is Mayhem Devil plus Witch's Oven, Cauldron Familiar, Food, Bloodtithe Harvester material, Eyetwitch, Deadly Dispute, or Scavenger's Talent-generated fodder if legal actions confirm it. Execute by sequencing sacrifice actions so Mayhem Devil triggers remove blockers, finish weakened creatures, pressure planeswalkers if legal, or target the opponent when board control is already secured. Disruption points are instant removal on Mayhem Devil, graveyard hate against Cauldron Familiar, and exile effects that stop recursive material; avoid exposing Mayhem Devil into open mana if the turn cannot produce value or protect tempo.

• Build the Witch's Oven plus Cauldron Familiar loop when the game is about life total, attrition, or incremental inevitability. Setup requires Cauldron Familiar, Witch's Oven, and enough Food access to recur Cauldron Familiar through rules-engine legal actions. Execute by using the loop to drain, blank some combat or removal outcomes, create sacrifice triggers for Mayhem Devil, and keep a low-resource game moving in your favor. Prioritize this path against creature decks, removal-heavy decks, and board stalls; deprioritize it when graveyard interaction is visible or when spending mana on Fable of the Mirror-Breaker or Mayhem Devil creates a faster clock.

• Use Fable of the Mirror-Breaker as the resilient midrange win path when the opponent is trading one-for-one. Setup is early survival with Fatal Push, Bloodtithe Harvester, Eyetwitch, or Cauldron Familiar, then resolving Fable of the Mirror-Breaker while retaining enough mana to continue developing. Execute by converting its generated material and filtering into more engine pieces, removal, or lands, then pressure with the permanent advantage it creates. Prioritize this path when the hand has mixed resources but no complete Witch's Oven engine, or when Mayhem Devil would be too fragile without immediate sacrifice value.

• Treat Ygra, Eater of All as the top-end engine-finisher only when the visible board and legal actions support commitment. Card text check required before assuming any exact Food conversion, counter growth, ward, or lethal interaction. Setup should include sacrifice density, expendable permanents, and enough mana to deploy Ygra, Eater of All without dying on the crack-back. Execute only through legal rules-engine actions and visible triggers; prioritize it when smaller engines are answered, the board is cluttered, or a single large threat changes combat math.

Secondary Win Conditions

• Pressure with Bloodtithe Harvester and Eyetwitch when the opponent spends early turns disrupting engines. Bloodtithe Harvester is both a body and a later removal-like resource if its legal sacrifice action appears, so do not cash it in unless the target matters or the attack clock is no longer useful. Eyetwitch can chip in, trade, or become sacrifice material for Deadly Dispute; any learn-style or sideboard selection must follow the exact legal options shown by the engine.

• Convert Deadly Dispute into a win by turning spare permanents into cards and sacrifice triggers. Setup is an expendable creature, Food, Blood token if present, Cauldron Familiar that can return, or another low-value permanent. Execute at windows where drawing cards is worth the mana and sacrifice, especially with Mayhem Devil on board or when digging for Witch's Oven, Fatal Push, Fable of the Mirror-Breaker, or lands. Avoid sacrificing the only engine payoff unless survival or a decisive reload requires it.

• Close stalled games with Den of the Bugbear or Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance when spells are exhausted. Use Den of the Bugbear as a mana-slot threat after sweepers, discard, or removal trades have reduced both players' boards. Use Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance only through visible legal channel or activation text and only when token pressure, sacrifice material, or surprise attackers matter more than keeping it as a land. These lines are strongest when the opponent has answered Mayhem Devil and Cauldron Familiar but still must respect battlefield damage.

• Let Scavenger's Talent become an engine route only under confirmed rules text. Card text check required for exact level, trigger, token, graveyard, or Food interactions. Prioritize it when legal actions show it creating or exploiting sacrifice material and when the hand needs a durable permanent engine rather than another creature exposed to removal.

Emergency Lines

• When behind on life, spend resources to stop damage before assembling a perfect engine. Fatal Push should answer the creature most responsible for the visible clock, Bloodtithe Harvester can be converted into interaction when legal and necessary, and Witch's Oven can turn a doomed creature into Food or deny combat damage only if the engine offers that legal action. Cauldron Familiar drain matters more in races than speculative card draw.

• When behind on board, stabilize before aiming Mayhem Devil triggers at the opponent. Use sacrifice damage, Fatal Push, Bloodtithe Harvester actions, and combat trades to reduce attackers first, then pivot to face damage once the next attack is survivable. Do not attack with a needed blocker merely to add small pressure under a short clock.

• When behind on cards, protect Deadly Dispute and Fable of the Mirror-Breaker as recovery tools. Sacrifice Eyetwitch, expendable Food, Blood material, or a recursive Cauldron Familiar before sacrificing Mayhem Devil, Ygra, Eater of All, or the only Witch's Oven unless the board state makes that exchange mandatory.

• When recursion is blocked or Cauldron Familiar is removed, shift to Fable of the Mirror-Breaker, Mayhem Devil with non-recursive sacrifices, Bloodtithe Harvester pressure, and Den of the Bugbear. Do not keep spending decisions on a graveyard loop that visible public information shows is unavailable.

• When win conditions are removed, play for layered threats instead of one big replacement. Rebuild with Scavenger's Talent if legal text supports it, force trades with creature-lands and tokens, use Deadly Dispute to find remaining Mayhem Devil or Ygra, Eater of All, and preserve life total long enough for incremental drains or attacks to matter.

Resource Model

• Life is a spendable buffer, but this deck wins many races by preserving small life edges. Cauldron Familiar plus Witch's Oven can convert expendable creatures and Food into drain, so use life as a resource when developing Mayhem Devil, Fable of the Mirror-Breaker, or Scavenger's Talent, but switch to defensive sacrifice loops when the opponent's visible attack power creates a short clock. Blood Crypt and Overgrown Tomb shock decisions must be justified by a current-turn play or a clear next-turn curve need.

• Cards in hand are most valuable when they assemble a sacrifice chain rather than when they trade one-for-one. Deadly Dispute converts expendable permanents into cards, so sacrifice Eyetwitch, Cauldron Familiar with recursion available, spare Food, Blood material, or low-impact tokens before sacrificing Mayhem Devil, Witch's Oven, Fable of the Mirror-Breaker, or Ygra, Eater of All. Use Fable of the Mirror-Breaker filtering to turn extra lands, duplicate legends, or low-impact late Fatal Push into engine density.

• Mana is the deck's main bottleneck in the first three turns. One-mana plays are Cauldron Familiar, Witch's Oven, Fatal Push, and Eyetwitch; two-mana plays are Bloodtithe Harvester, Deadly Dispute, and Scavenger's Talent; three-mana plays are Mayhem Devil and Fable of the Mirror-Breaker. Prioritize mana lines that let you double-spell with a one-mana sacrifice piece plus interaction before lines that merely cast the largest card.

• Board material is both pressure and fuel. Cauldron Familiar, Eyetwitch, Bloodtithe Harvester, Food, Blood, and tokens can become sacrifice fodder, Mayhem Devil damage, Deadly Dispute cards, or defensive blockers. Do not spend the last creature casually if Witch's Oven, Deadly Dispute, or a visible opponent attack makes that body tactically relevant.

• Graveyard access matters most for Cauldron Familiar and any visible Scavenger's Talent or Ygra, Eater of All actions. Treat public graveyard hate, exile replacement effects, and opponent: graveyard removal as real constraints; if recursion is blocked, convert the deck into Fable of the Mirror-Breaker, Mayhem Devil plus ordinary sacrifice, Bloodtithe Harvester, and creature-land pressure. Card text check required before assuming exact Ygra, Eater of All or Scavenger's Talent graveyard outcomes.

• Exile is usually a loss of recursive material, so do not expose Cauldron Familiar to exile when Witch's Oven can legally preserve value or when the cat is needed for future loops. Use exile-zone information only as public history unless a legal action explicitly permits playing or selecting from exile.

• Lands are resources after mana is stable. Den of the Bugbear becomes a late threat, Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance can become material only through visible legal channel or activation text, and extra lands can be discarded to Fable of the Mirror-Breaker when action text supports filtering. Keep enough lands to cast Ygra, Eater of All or double-spell before discarding utility lands.

• Sideboard bullets convert matchup pressure into specialized resources. Thoughtseize converts life and a card into information and disruption, Unlicensed Hearse converts graveyards into a controllable public resource, and Pest Summoning can convert learn access into board material if Eyetwitch presents that legal option. Card text check required for The Legend of Roku, Ozai's Cruelty, Decorum Dissertation, Abandon Attachments, Origin of Metalbending, Firebending Lesson, and Ruinous Waterbending before assigning exact tactical roles.

Mana Guide

• Keep hands that produce black on turn one and at least two usable mana by turn two. Cauldron Familiar, Witch's Oven, Eyetwitch, Fatal Push, Bloodtithe Harvester, Deadly Dispute, and Scavenger's Talent all require early black or black-adjacent sequencing pressure, while Mayhem Devil and Fable of the Mirror-Breaker require reliable red by turn three. Mulligan or treat as risky any hand that cannot cast a turn-one or turn-two spell despite having engines.

• Sequence untapped black and red sources before utility or tapped-risk lands. Blackcleave Cliffs, Blood Crypt, Blightstep Pathway, Overgrown Tomb, Blazemire Verge, and Swamp should be chosen to cast the current hand, not to preserve theoretical perfect colors. Card text check required for exact Blazemire Verge and Blightstep Pathway faces; use the rules-engine legal land choices and visible mana output instead of assuming both colors are always available.

• Shock Blood Crypt or Overgrown Tomb only when the life payment unlocks a meaningful play. Pay life to cast Fatal Push on a threatening creature, deploy Witch's Oven plus Cauldron Familiar on curve, cast Bloodtithe Harvester or Deadly Dispute, or preserve a turn-three Mayhem Devil/Fable of the Mirror-Breaker. Let the land enter tapped when the current hand has no legal one-mana play, the opponent's clock is visible and fast, or the same curve remains intact next turn.

• Choose Blightstep Pathway orientation from the next two turns, not only the current spell. Favor black when the hand contains Cauldron Familiar, Eyetwitch, Fatal Push, Deadly Dispute, Scavenger's Talent, or Ygra, Eater of All pressure; favor red when Mayhem Devil, Fable of the Mirror-Breaker, Bloodtithe Harvester, Den of the Bugbear activation planning, or sideboard red cards are the bottleneck. Do not lock into a face that strands a double-spell line unless the current play is necessary for survival.

• Play lands before drawing when the action requires mana immediately or when landfall/threshold uncertainty is irrelevant. Cast Fatal Push, Witch's Oven, Cauldron Familiar, Bloodtithe Harvester, Scavenger's Talent, and Mayhem Devil with the mana source already established if the legal action window could close. Delay the land until after Deadly Dispute or Fable of the Mirror-Breaker filtering when you have not yet chosen the turn's land and the drawn card could change whether Den of the Bugbear, Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance, a shock land, or a basic Swamp is the correct land.

• Preserve Den of the Bugbear and Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance when ordinary mana already casts the hand. Use Den of the Bugbear as a red source early only if the curve needs it; otherwise protect its late threat role. Use Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance as a land when mana is short, but consider holding it once mana is stable and legal channel text would create sacrifice material or surprise pressure.

• Plan green mana mainly around Ygra, Eater of All and any legal Scavenger's Talent requirements shown by the engine. Overgrown Tomb and Blazemire Verge are the likely green access points, but do not over-prioritize green before black-red functionality is secured. A hand that casts the sacrifice core on time is usually stronger than a hand that holds green for Ygra, Eater of All while missing early black or red.

Mulligan Guide

• Strong keeps start with usable black mana, a one-mana engine piece, and a turn-two or turn-three payoff. Keep hands like Blackcleave Cliffs, Blood Crypt, Cauldron Familiar, Witch's Oven, Mayhem Devil, Deadly Dispute, Fatal Push because they assemble recursion, interaction, and a damage payoff without needing speculative draws.

• Strong keeps can also be interaction-first when the curve is real. Keep hands with Fatal Push plus Bloodtithe Harvester or Eyetwitch plus Deadly Dispute when they have two lands and access to red by turn three for Mayhem Devil or Fable of the Mirror-Breaker.

• Medium keeps need one missing engine half but must still act early. A hand with Cauldron Familiar, Deadly Dispute, Bloodtithe Harvester, Fable of the Mirror-Breaker, and three lands is acceptable because Blood and Fable filtering can find Witch's Oven, but it is slower against visible aggressive pressure.

• Risky keeps are land-heavy hands that rely on Fable of the Mirror-Breaker to fix quality. Four lands, Fatal Push, Fable of the Mirror-Breaker, and Mayhem Devil can keep on the draw against midrange, but it is weak if the opponent punishes a turn without Cauldron Familiar, Witch's Oven, Eyetwitch, or Bloodtithe Harvester.

• Automatic ships lack early legal plays or colors. Ship hands with no black source, one land without a one-mana play, three-plus mana cards with only tapped or uncertain mana, or hands that cannot cast any spell before turn three.

• Matchup-dependent keeps change after sideboarding. Keep Thoughtseize plus two lands plus any engine piece against combo or control; keep Unlicensed Hearse plus pressure against graveyard-reliant opponents; do not keep a hand only because it contains The Legend of Roku, Ozai's Cruelty, Decorum Dissertation, Abandon Attachments, Origin of Metalbending, Firebending Lesson, or Ruinous Waterbending without a card text check and a visible matchup reason.

• Play/draw changes the minimum interaction requirement. On the play, prioritize proactive Cauldron Familiar, Witch's Oven, Bloodtithe Harvester, Scavenger's Talent, or Fable of the Mirror-Breaker starts; on the draw, value Fatal Push and Thoughtseize higher because the opponent may present a must-answer permanent or combo piece first.

• Trap hands show names but not function. Do not keep Cauldron Familiar without sacrifice access, Mayhem Devil without fodder, Deadly Dispute without a disposable artifact or creature, or Ygra, Eater of All without green access and a stable early game unless the rest of the hand already plays real Magic.

Turn Arc

• Turn 1 prioritizes establishing the cheapest durable engine piece. Play Cauldron Familiar when Witch's Oven or Deadly Dispute is already present, play Witch's Oven when Cauldron Familiar is present or expected to matter, play Eyetwitch when blocking, learning, or sacrifice material is needed, and hold Fatal Push only when the opponent can present a higher-priority threat before your next main phase.

• Turn 1 deviations should protect curve and life total. Shock Blood Crypt or Overgrown Tomb only to cast a real spell or preserve Fatal Push timing; otherwise conserve life when the same turn-two line remains legal. If the only action is Fatal Push with no target, deploy a land that preserves both black and red turn-two options.

• Turn 2 builds material before payoff. Prefer Bloodtithe Harvester when a body, Blood token, and future removal line matter; prefer Scavenger's Talent when its visible legal text advances the sacrifice plan; prefer Deadly Dispute when sacrificing Eyetwitch, Food, Blood, or an expendable creature converts a low-value object into cards and mana without exposing the only engine body.

• Turn 2 deviations answer snowball threats before engine greed. Use Fatal Push or Bloodtithe Harvester removal when the visible opposing permanent will dominate combat, mana, or combo timing; do not spend removal on a low-impact creature if Mayhem Devil plus sacrifice triggers can control it later.

• Turn 3 is the main commitment turn. Cast Mayhem Devil when you can sacrifice immediately or expect multiple sacrifice events before the opponent untaps; cast Fable of the Mirror-Breaker when the hand needs filtering, mana pressure, or a resilient midrange plan; cast Bloodtithe Harvester plus one-mana spell when double-spelling beats a single three-drop.

• Turn 3 deviations respect open interaction and board pressure. If Mayhem Devil is the only payoff and the opponent visibly represents removal, consider Fable of the Mirror-Breaker or a lower-commitment double-spell line; if life total is under pressure, stabilize with Fatal Push, Bloodtithe Harvester, Eyetwitch, or Cauldron Familiar loops before taking a slow filtering turn.

• Turns 4-5 convert stored material into advantage. Chain Witch's Oven, Cauldron Familiar, Deadly Dispute, Bloodtithe Harvester, Food, Blood, and Mayhem Devil triggers to remove creatures, pressure planeswalkers or life totals, and keep cards flowing. Cast Ygra, Eater of All only when green mana and visible legal text make the commitment better than continuing smaller engine plays; card text check required before assuming exact Ygra, Eater of All outcomes.

• Late game shifts from assembly to inevitability and reach. Use Den of the Bugbear, Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance, Fable of the Mirror-Breaker filtering, recursive Cauldron Familiar actions, Mayhem Devil damage, and any legal Scavenger's Talent upgrades or selections to turn extra lands and small permanents into pressure. Preserve sacrifice fodder when it represents lethal triggers, a defensive life buffer, or protection from exile-based removal.

Card Roles

• Cauldron Familiar is the safest early engine creature when sacrifice access is present. Cast it on turn one when Witch's Oven, Deadly Dispute, or Scavenger's Talent can convert it into repeatable material; hold it less often than other creatures because its graveyard text makes normal creature removal awkward for the opponent. Do not spend Food casually when Cauldron Familiar is in the graveyard unless the life gain, mana curve, or a visible survival line matters more than bringing it back.

• Witch's Oven is the highest-priority artifact engine piece in creature-heavy and removal-heavy games. Play it early when it pairs with Cauldron Familiar, Eyetwitch, Bloodtithe Harvester, or a creature about to die; hold it only when deploying a threat or interaction first prevents a visible snowball. Use Witch's Oven before exile removal resolves if the engine exposes that timing, and remember that sacrificing a creature with Mayhem Devil on the battlefield turns the Oven activation into damage plus Food plus possible Cauldron Familiar recursion.

• Mayhem Devil is the deck's main battlefield-control payoff and reach engine. Cast it when at least one sacrifice can happen immediately or before the opponent untaps, especially with Witch's Oven, Deadly Dispute, Blood token, Food, Treasure, Eyetwitch, or opposing sacrifice effects visible. Avoid running Mayhem Devil into obvious removal when it is the only payoff and no sacrifice trigger is available; the best Mayhem Devil turns often start after material is already on board, not before.

• Mayhem Devil target selection should preserve lethal and stabilize before chasing chip damage. Assign triggers to kill one-toughness creatures, finish damaged creatures, pressure planeswalkers, or create lethal life-total math; send damage to the opponent when the board is stable, the target would not change combat, or multiple future sacrifices are already available. Do not split triggers into low-impact targets when a single protected threat, engine creature, or planeswalker must die.

• Deadly Dispute is both card advantage and sacrifice timing control. Cast it when sacrificing Eyetwitch, a Food, Blood, Treasure, Cauldron Familiar, an expendable token, or a creature targeted by removal creates more value than keeping that object. Avoid sacrificing the only creature needed for Witch's Oven, the only Bloodtithe Harvester that can remove a visible threat, or Cauldron Familiar when no Food can return it unless drawing two and making Treasure is required.

• Eyetwitch is early glue, defensive material, and a low-cost sacrifice body. Cast it early against pressure because flying blocks and death value make attacks awkward; pair it with Deadly Dispute or Witch's Oven when learning or rummaging from the engine-provided legal options improves the hand. Do not assume a specific Lesson is available unless the rules engine presents it; choose from visible legal Learn choices according to the current role, matchup, and mana.

• Bloodtithe Harvester is the best two-drop when the deck needs board presence plus a future sacrifice object. Cast it on curve to create a Blood token for filtering, Deadly Dispute material, Mayhem Devil triggers, and its own sorcery-speed removal ability. Preserve Blood tokens when Bloodtithe Harvester's removal mode may need a larger minus effect; spend Blood for filtering when the hand has missing engine pieces, excess lands, or redundant legendary/high-cost cards.

• Bloodtithe Harvester removal is strongest when timed as a planned main-phase answer. Use it on a creature whose toughness is within the visible Blood count calculation, especially if Fatal Push cannot answer it or revolt is unavailable. Do not sacrifice Bloodtithe Harvester merely because a target exists; a 3/2 body plus Blood token may pressure better than a low-impact removal exchange.

• Fatal Push is the cleanest tempo interaction and should answer threats that disrupt the engine or race it. Use it early on mana creatures, snowball attackers, key combo creatures, and permanents that make Cauldron Familiar or Mayhem Devil too slow. Preserve it when a larger or more important target is likely and revolt can be enabled by Witch's Oven, Deadly Dispute, Blood, Food, Treasure, or another sacrifice; do not assume revolt is active unless the engine shows the legal action.

• Fable of the Mirror-Breaker is the main midrange bridge from setup to pressure. Cast it when the board can afford a slower three-mana play, when the hand needs filtering, or when the Goblin Shaman can pressure, trade, or create Treasure for double-spell turns. Do not discard core engine pairs too freely to chapter two; keep Cauldron Familiar plus Witch's Oven together, keep Mayhem Devil when sacrifice density is high, and discard excess lands or redundant slow cards first.

• Reflection of Kiki-Jiki lines from Fable of the Mirror-Breaker require visible legal targets and current-board reasoning. Copy Bloodtithe Harvester for Blood and pressure when removal sizing or damage matters, copy Eyetwitch when sacrifice value is needed, and copy Mayhem Devil only if the engine presents a legal line and the extra trigger output matters before the opponent can respond. Card text check required before assuming any copied token's exact timing, sacrifice, or end-step behavior beyond legal actions shown by the engine.

• Scavenger's Talent is an engine and selection card whose exact tactical value depends on visible rules-engine text. Cast it early when its legal text rewards sacrifice, graveyard use, Food, or creature recursion in the current game; delay it when the board needs Fatal Push, Bloodtithe Harvester, Mayhem Devil, or Fable of the Mirror-Breaker first. Card text check required before assuming level costs, triggers, token creation, or recursion details; follow only legal activated abilities and trigger choices shown at runtime.

• Ygra, Eater of All is a high-commitment top-end engine threat, not a hand-keep excuse. Cast it only when green mana is available, the board is stable enough to spend the turn, and the visible legal text makes it better than chaining smaller sacrifice actions. Card text check required before assuming exact Food, death, growth, or combo interactions; treat it as a powerful but fragile commitment that should be protected by timing, board presence, or redundancy.

• Blackcleave Cliffs, Blightstep Pathway, Blood Crypt, and Blazemire Verge are the core early-color lands. Sequence them to cast black one-drops and Fatal Push first, red for Bloodtithe Harvester, Mayhem Devil, and Fable of the Mirror-Breaker second, and green for Ygra, Eater of All only after the early black-red engine is functional. Avoid taking shock damage from Blood Crypt or Overgrown Tomb unless it enables a real spell, preserves interaction, or prevents a later color bottleneck.

• Overgrown Tomb provides green access while still supporting black spells. Prioritize it when Ygra, Eater of All is in hand or when the legal line requires green, but do not let green access delay Cauldron Familiar, Witch's Oven, Fatal Push, Bloodtithe Harvester, or Deadly Dispute in the first two turns. Treat hands with only green-black mana and red three-drops as slower unless Blightstep Pathway, Blood Crypt, Blackcleave Cliffs, or Blazemire Verge can fix the curve.

• Swamp is the low-pain stabilizing land for black starts. Play it when life total matters and red is already covered, but avoid sequencing Swamp in a way that prevents Bloodtithe Harvester, Mayhem Devil, or Fable of the Mirror-Breaker on curve. A Swamp-heavy draw should lean harder on Fatal Push, Cauldron Familiar, Eyetwitch, Deadly Dispute, and Witch's Oven while looking for red.

• Den of the Bugbear is a late-game pressure land, not an early-color foundation unless no better land is available. Use it to punish stalled boards, pressure planeswalkers, or finish opponents after Mayhem Devil and Cauldron Familiar have reduced life totals. Avoid activating it into obvious profitable blocks or open removal when holding spells would develop the engine better.

• Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance is a land first and a late-game material source second. Play it untapped when red mana is needed on curve; channel or use any engine-presented special action only when extra creatures, sacrifice material, or surprise pressure is worth more than the land. Do not hold it indefinitely if missing land drops would delay Mayhem Devil, Fable of the Mirror-Breaker, or Ygra, Eater of All.

Interaction Priorities

• Priority: Kill engine blockers and race accelerants before spending removal on ordinary attackers. Fatal Push should first answer creatures that shorten the clock, produce repeated mana/material, stop Cauldron Familiar recursion from mattering, or threaten Mayhem Devil before it can convert sacrifices into damage.

• Priority: Use Bloodtithe Harvester removal when the visible Blood count makes it answer a target Fatal Push cannot cleanly cover. Treat the Blood token as both removal sizing and engine material; do not spend it on filtering if a likely target would otherwise survive.

• Priority: Use Mayhem Devil triggers as precision interaction, not only face damage. Point triggers at one-toughness creatures, damaged blockers, planeswalkers near loyalty thresholds, and targets that make combat or sacrifice math collapse for the opponent; send triggers upstairs when no visible board target matters or lethal/race math demands it.

• Priority: Preserve Witch's Oven plus Cauldron Familiar against removal-heavy decks unless sacrificing now creates a decisive Mayhem Devil trigger, Deadly Dispute draw, or survival block. If the opponent uses removal on Cauldron Familiar, check for legal Food recursion before accepting the exchange; if the opponent targets Witch's Oven, convert a creature to Food when the engine offers it and the material is worth more than the body.

• Priority: Use Deadly Dispute in response to removal, exile threats, or combat damage only when the sacrificed permanent was already losing value or the cards/Treasure change the next turn. Eyetwitch, Food-adjacent material, Blood, and doomed creatures are preferred payment objects; do not sacrifice Mayhem Devil or Bloodtithe Harvester unless the resulting triggers, cards, or Treasure are immediately decisive.

• Priority: Thoughtseize, when boarded in, should take the card that breaks the current engine plan rather than the highest mana value card. Favor visible sweepers, exile-based interaction, combo pieces, planeswalkers or engines that outscale sacrifice damage, and removal that cleanly answers Mayhem Devil or Ygra, Eater of All before they generate value.

• Priority: Unlicensed Hearse is graveyard interaction, pressure support, and a hedge against recursion or delve-like graveyard payoff decks. Use its exile action on cards the opponent visibly needs for recursion, escape-style costs, reanimation, threshold-like scaling, or future flashback-style actions; avoid spending activations on irrelevant cards when the graveyard threat is not online.

• Priority: Sideboard interaction with The Legend of Roku, Ozai's Cruelty, Decorum Dissertation, Abandon Attachments, Origin of Metalbending, Firebending Lesson, Ruinous Waterbending, and Pest Summoning must follow visible card text. Card text check required; choose them only when the legal action clearly advances removal, disruption, material, or lesson-style selection for the current matchup.

• Bait: Lead with expendable pressure or redundant engine pieces before committing Ygra, Eater of All into open interaction. Bloodtithe Harvester, Eyetwitch, Scavenger's Talent, or Fable of the Mirror-Breaker can draw answers while still producing material; cast Ygra when the opponent is constrained, tapped down, or forced to answer a wider board.

• Ignore: Do not spend Fatal Push or Bloodtithe Harvester on small creatures that are already blanked by Cauldron Familiar, Food loops, Eyetwitch, or profitable blocks. Against low-pressure boards, develop Witch's Oven, Scavenger's Talent, Fable of the Mirror-Breaker, and Mayhem Devil before trading removal for replaceable bodies.

• Archetype shift: Against aggro, removal and life-total preservation outrank slow engine greed. Against control, protect recursive sources and diversify threats rather than overcommitting into one answer. Against combo, Thoughtseize and fast Mayhem Devil clocks matter more than small creature trades. Against graveyard decks, Unlicensed Hearse and sacrifice pressure should work together instead of replacing all board development.

Combat And Trading Rules

• Attack: Send Cauldron Familiar and Eyetwitch into combat when a trade, death trigger, Food recursion, Learn choice, Deadly Dispute line, or Mayhem Devil trigger makes the body better in the graveyard than idle on board. Do not attack them into exile, bounce, first-strike-like, or lifelink-like visible punishment unless the legal follow-up still benefits the engine.

• Attack: Bloodtithe Harvester should pressure early when its 3/2 body changes the race, but it should stay back when its future removal ability or Blood token is more valuable than two or three damage. If the opponent can block with a creature Fatal Push or Mayhem Devil can finish, consider combat plus sacrifice triggers as a single sequence.

• Attack: Mayhem Devil is an engine piece first and attacker second. Attack with it when blocks are poor, damage advances lethal, or another Mayhem Devil/redundant engine covers the risk; hold it back when the opponent can trade a low-value creature for the deck's best sacrifice payoff.

• Block: Use Eyetwitch and Cauldron Familiar as first-line blockers against pressure because they can convert dying into material. Use Bloodtithe Harvester as a blocker only when preserving life or killing a key attacker matters more than future Blood-based removal.

• Block: Treat Witch's Oven as protection for combat math. If a blocked creature would die anyway, sacrifice it before damage when legal to create Food and trigger Mayhem Devil; if damage assignment or lifelink-like text would make sacrificing worse, follow the rules-engine options and preserve the better visible outcome.

• Trade: Trade expendable creatures aggressively once Mayhem Devil is in play, because every sacrifice and death can become damage. Without Mayhem Devil or Scavenger's Talent value online, avoid trades that leave only lands and clunky top-end unless life total demands it.

• Protection: Preserve life above danger thresholds by blocking earlier than a normal midrange deck would. At 10 or less against creature pressure, prioritize removal, Food access, and chump blocks over slow Fable of the Mirror-Breaker value; at 5 or less, every attack and sacrifice should be checked against visible lethal backswing.

• Pressure: Den of the Bugbear and Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance are late pressure tools when mana is spare and the board is stalled. Activate or channel only when the legal line adds damage/material without exposing the deck to a better opponent attack or delaying more important spells.

• Finisher: Ygra, Eater of All should attack only when the visible board makes blocks favorable or lethal pressure is needed. Card text check required before assuming exact combat, Food, death, or growth interactions; respect only the power/toughness, keywords, and legal actions shown by Veles.

• Archetype shift: Against aggro, block for time and let recursive material win later. Against control, attack with small recursive threats to tax answers while holding back key engines from unnecessary combat. Against combo, shorten the clock even if trades are imperfect. Against creature midrange, engineer blocks where Mayhem Devil triggers, Fatal Push, Bloodtithe Harvester, and Witch's Oven turn ordinary trades into two-for-one exchanges.

Selection And Tutor Rules

• Selection: Treat this deck as a pseudo-selection deck, not a true tutor deck. Bloodtithe Harvester, Deadly Dispute, Fable of the Mirror-Breaker, Blood tokens, Eyetwitch, and Scavenger's Talent improve card flow, but none should be assumed to find a specific card unless Veles shows a legal selection action.

• Learn: Use Eyetwitch death triggers to find the sideboard card whose visible text and current matchup role matters most, or discard and draw when no Lesson-style option is relevant. Pest Summoning is the default material option when a board body matters; Firebending Lesson, Ruinous Waterbending, Ozai's Cruelty, Decorum Dissertation, Abandon Attachments, Origin of Metalbending, and The Legend of Roku require card text checks before choosing them for a tactical effect.

• Discard filtering: Use Fable of the Mirror-Breaker chapter two to discard excess lands, redundant legends, dead removal, or extra engine pieces that are worse than finding action. Keep lands when the next turn needs double-spell mana, Den of the Bugbear activation, Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance channel, or a safe Ygra, Eater of All window.

• Blood tokens: Use Blood from Bloodtithe Harvester as delayed selection unless the token is needed for sacrifice count, Mayhem Devil damage, Deadly Dispute payment, or Bloodtithe Harvester's removal ability. Discard the card with the lowest near-term legal use, not the card that is abstractly weakest.

• Deadly Dispute: Cast Deadly Dispute as card flow when the sacrificed artifact or creature is already replaceable, already targeted, about to die, or produces extra value through Eyetwitch, Cauldron Familiar, Witch's Oven, Food, Blood, Treasure, Scavenger's Talent, or Mayhem Devil. Avoid spending it just to cycle when the board needs Fatal Push, Witch's Oven, or Mayhem Devil first.

• Land timing: Make land drops before rummage or Blood activation when the current hand needs untapped mana this turn, and delay land drops when Fable of the Mirror-Breaker or Blood can convert a likely excess land into action. Do not discard the only untapped black or red source if Fatal Push, Cauldron Familiar, Witch's Oven, Mayhem Devil, or Deadly Dispute is part of the visible turn.

• Bottoming and discard priority: Put or discard redundant lands after the fourth source, extra Witch's Oven without Cauldron Familiar or sacrifice payoffs, removal without targets, and slow top-end under fast pressure. Keep Mayhem Devil, Witch's Oven plus Cauldron Familiar, Scavenger's Talent with sacrifice material, and Fatal Push when visible opposing pressure is already present.

• Ygra caution: Do not use selection to force Ygra, Eater of All into open mana or a board where it is the only engine. Card text check required for exact Ygra interactions; treat it as a high-impact threat whose timing depends on visible removal pressure, sacrifice material, and whether waiting loses the race.

Priority And Stack Rules

• Priority: Pass priority freely only when the stack is empty, no favorable sacrifice action is legal, no visible attack or lethal window exists, and holding resources is better than cycling. When Mayhem Devil is on board, every Food, Blood, Treasure, creature sacrifice, Deadly Dispute, Witch's Oven activation, Bloodtithe Harvester activation, and opposing sacrifice can change damage assignment.

• Witch's Oven: Activate Witch's Oven in response to removal, exile-risk combat, damage that would kill a creature, or when Cauldron Familiar recursion creates a clear life swing or Mayhem Devil trigger. Do not sacrifice a creature before blockers or damage if keeping it produces a better legal block, attack, or Bloodtithe Harvester removal line.

• Cauldron Familiar: Return Cauldron Familiar at the last useful instant-speed window when the Food is not needed for another sacrifice, Deadly Dispute payment, or life preservation. Prefer returning it before attacks if the extra body attacks, blocks, or enables Scavenger's Talent; prefer waiting if Mayhem Devil triggers or opponent interaction timing matters.

• Fatal Push: Hold Fatal Push for creatures that change the race, shut down the engine, or threaten immediate snowballing. Enable revolt through Witch's Oven, Deadly Dispute, Food/Blood/Treasure sacrifice, Eyetwitch death, Cauldron Familiar loops, or combat trades when Veles shows the larger target is legal.

• Bloodtithe Harvester: Use Bloodtithe Harvester's activated removal only when the target is worth losing the body and Blood token, or when Mayhem Devil and sacrifice triggers turn the exchange into a decisive swing. If the visible board can be managed with Fatal Push or combat, keep Bloodtithe Harvester as pressure and selection.

• Deadly Dispute response window: Respond to targeted removal or board damage with Deadly Dispute when the sacrifice denies the opponent value and the cards/Treasure matter. If the spell on the stack would exile, bounce, steal, or neutralize the permanent, prioritize converting it unless sacrificing creates immediate lethal exposure.

• Optional triggers and payments: Accept optional sacrifice-engine triggers when they produce material, damage, life, or selection without consuming a resource needed for a higher-priority stack action. Decline optional actions whose only effect is to spend scarce Food, Blood, Treasure, or mana before a known required payment.

• Fable pressure: Resolve Fable of the Mirror-Breaker when the opponent cannot punish the tempo loss or when its token/rummage is the best route to stabilize. If the stack or battlefield shows immediate lethal pressure, prioritize Fatal Push, Witch's Oven lines, Deadly Dispute, or blocking material over slow chapter value.

• Graveyard timing: Use Unlicensed Hearse, when boarded in, at the latest safe window before the opponent can use the relevant graveyard card. Exile cards with visible recursion, reanimation, flashback-like, escape-like, or cost-reduction relevance; avoid tapping it on low-impact cards if a more important graveyard action may appear before the next untap.

• Stack discipline: Let opposing spells resolve when they do not alter the current engine, race, or lethal math, because this deck often gains more from spending mana on board and sacrifice loops. Respond immediately when the spell targets Mayhem Devil, Witch's Oven, Cauldron Familiar, Scavenger's Talent, Ygra, Eater of All, or a permanent already committed to a stack plan.

Sideboard Map

• Sideboard rule: Treat the sideboard as two systems at once: normal post-game configuration cards and an Eyetwitch-accessible Lesson package. Thoughtseize and Unlicensed Hearse are normal sideboard cards for match configuration; Pest Summoning, Firebending Lesson, Ruinous Waterbending, Ozai's Cruelty, Decorum Dissertation, Abandon Attachments, Origin of Metalbending, and The Legend of Roku are also potential learn targets when Eyetwitch dies. Card text check required for The Legend of Roku, Ozai's Cruelty, Decorum Dissertation, Abandon Attachments, Origin of Metalbending, Firebending Lesson, and Ruinous Waterbending before choosing them for a specific effect.

• Thoughtseize role: Add Thoughtseize against combo, control, sweepers, graveyard engines, and decks where one known nonland card matters more than battlefield tempo. Thoughtseize is strongest on turns one and two before committing Mayhem Devil, Fable of the Mirror-Breaker, Scavenger's Talent, or Ygra, Eater of All into open interaction. Thoughtseize is weaker against low-curve creature decks when life total is under pressure and Fatal Push plus sacrifice blockers already answer visible threats.

• Unlicensed Hearse role: Add Unlicensed Hearse against graveyard recursion, delve-like cost reduction, reanimation, flashback-like play patterns, escape-like threats, and decks whose public graveyard grows into a resource. Use it as a pressure card only after graveyard control is no longer urgent. Unlicensed Hearse is weaker against decks with few graveyard payoffs, artifact removal pointed at engine pieces, or games where tapping two mana slows Witch's Oven, Scavenger's Talent, and Mayhem Devil development.

• Pest Summoning role: Keep Pest Summoning as the default Eyetwitch Lesson when the board needs bodies, sacrifice material, life-buffering material, or Scavenger's Talent fuel. Pest Summoning is less important when the opponent is ignoring combat, when sweepers punish small bodies, or when another Lesson has a checked text box that answers the visible problem immediately.

• Firebending Lesson role: Use Firebending Lesson only after card text check confirms the visible effect answers a creature, planeswalker, player, or board state better than Pest Summoning or discard-and-draw from learn. It is most likely to matter against creature decks, planeswalker pressure, or reach scenarios. It is bad when the confirmed text is inefficient for the visible target or when mana must stay open for Fatal Push, Deadly Dispute, Witch's Oven, or Cauldron Familiar.

• Ruinous Waterbending role: Use Ruinous Waterbending only after card text check confirms the tactical mode and legal target class. Treat it as conditional interaction for large permanents, tempo problems, or board states that normal Jund sacrifice play cannot answer cleanly. It is bad when the checked text does not affect the current permanent type, when spending the turn loses the engine race, or when the legal target list does not include the actual threat.

• Ozai's Cruelty role: Use Ozai's Cruelty only after card text check confirms whether it is discard, removal, sacrifice pressure, life swing, or another effect. It is most attractive against hands or boards where one visible or revealed resource is decisive. It is bad when the opponent is empty-handed, when the effect does not affect the battlefield, or when a Lesson body from Pest Summoning is needed to survive.

• Decorum Dissertation role: Use Decorum Dissertation only after card text check confirms the effect, timing, and target restrictions. Treat it as a specialized Lesson for board stalls, combat manipulation, or tempo if the checked text supports that role. It is bad when the current game is about graveyard control, direct removal, or engine development and the text does not immediately change legal combat or survival math.

• Abandon Attachments role: Use Abandon Attachments only after card text check confirms that it can answer the visible attachment, Aura, Equipment, counter, or attached-permanent problem. It is strongest when the opponent's board is built around a single enhanced permanent that Fatal Push or sacrifice combat cannot handle. It is bad when the opponent has no relevant attached objects or when spending a learn choice on a narrow answer delays Pest Summoning material.

• Origin of Metalbending role: Use Origin of Metalbending only after card text check confirms whether it creates, removes, animates, or manipulates artifacts. It is potentially relevant in artifact mirrors, against artifact engines, or when artifact count matters for sacrifice lines. It is bad when the checked text has no legal artifact target, when artifact hate would also harm Witch's Oven, Food, Blood, Treasure, or Unlicensed Hearse plans, or when the board needs bodies instead.

• The Legend of Roku role: Use The Legend of Roku only after card text check confirms its chapter effects, timing, and whether the current matchup rewards a slower Lesson. It is more plausible against control or midrange when there is time to gain staged value. It is bad under fast pressure, when the next chapter does not solve the current board, or when a one-shot Lesson or Pest Summoning provides immediate survival.

Balanced anti-combo or control plan Role cards: 4 Thoughtseize; 2 Unlicensed Hearse Trim roles: 4 Fatal Push; 2 Ygra, Eater of All

• Plan notes: Use this plan when the opponent presents few creature targets, meaningful hand-based disruption windows, and graveyard or spell-chain reliance. Fatal Push loses value when there are no early creatures that matter, and Ygra, Eater of All becomes risky when the game is decided by permission, discard, graveyard access, or a combo turn before a large threat stabilizes.

Balanced creature-pressure plan Role cards: 1 Firebending Lesson; 1 Ruinous Waterbending; 1 Pest Summoning Trim roles: 1 Ygra, Eater of All; 1 Fable of the Mirror-Breaker; 1 Deadly Dispute

• Plan notes: Use this plan only after card text check confirms Firebending Lesson and Ruinous Waterbending are relevant to visible creature or tempo problems in the matchup. Keep Fatal Push, Bloodtithe Harvester, Witch's Oven, Cauldron Familiar, Mayhem Devil, and Scavenger's Talent central because creature matchups are won by trading, recurring material, and turning sacrifices into damage.

Balanced artifacts/attachments plan Role cards: 1 Abandon Attachments; 1 Origin of Metalbending; 2 Thoughtseize Trim roles: 2 Fatal Push; 1 Ygra, Eater of All; 1 Deadly Dispute

• Plan notes: Use this plan only when card text check confirms Abandon Attachments and Origin of Metalbending interact with the opponent's public artifact or attachment plan. Thoughtseize protects the narrow answer by taking the card that overloads the board, while the reduced main-deck emphasis falls on removal or top-end that does not answer the named permanent type.

• Against fast aggro: Add role cards: Pest Summoning as learn material, Firebending Lesson if checked as removal, Ruinous Waterbending if checked as tempo or removal. Reduce main-deck emphasis: slow Ygra, Eater of All deployment, speculative Deadly Dispute, and Fable of the Mirror-Breaker when the board already requires immediate blocking. Keep Fatal Push and Bloodtithe Harvester high priority.

• Against midrange mirrors: Add role cards: Thoughtseize for engines and removal timing, Unlicensed Hearse if graveyards matter, The Legend of Roku if checked as durable value, and Pest Summoning when board material is decisive. Reduce main-deck emphasis: redundant Witch's Oven without Cauldron Familiar, extra slow threats into known removal, and low-impact learn targets.

• Against control: Add role cards: Thoughtseize, The Legend of Roku if checked as resilient value, Unlicensed Hearse only when graveyard recursion or flashback-like value is present. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Fatal Push when few creature targets are visible, Bloodtithe Harvester removal use when its body and Blood token are better, and early Ygra, Eater of All into open answers.

• Against graveyard decks: Add role cards: 2 Unlicensed Hearse and Thoughtseize for enablers or payoff cards. Reduce main-deck emphasis: slow Fable of the Mirror-Breaker turns when the opponent can exploit the graveyard first, and removal pointed at low-impact creatures while the public graveyard contains the real threat. Activate Unlicensed Hearse at the latest safe window before the opponent can use the graveyard card.

• Against artifact or attachment decks: Add role cards: Abandon Attachments and Origin of Metalbending only after card text check, plus Thoughtseize when a key artifact, Aura, Equipment, or payoff must be stopped before resolution. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Fatal Push if threats are noncreature permanents, and Deadly Dispute when mana must stay available for checked sideboard interaction.

• Against combo: Add role cards: 4 Thoughtseize, Unlicensed Hearse when the graveyard is part of the combo, and the checked Lesson that disrupts the visible axis. Reduce main-deck emphasis: creature removal without targets, slow Ygra, Eater of All lines, and value-only Deadly Dispute if tapping mana allows the opponent's decisive turn.

• Learn rule: When Eyetwitch dies, choose Pest Summoning by default if no checked Lesson directly solves the public problem. Choose a specific checked Lesson only when its legal text, target class, mana cost, and timing are confirmed by Veles-visible options and it improves the current board more than adding sacrifice material.

Explicit Sideboard Repair Plans

These balanced plans are legal Veles candidates built from the registered sideboard and main deck. Use them as baseline sideboarding options only when the matchup role fits; keep the role guidance above as the strategic source of truth.

Legal repair plan 1 Side in: 2 The Legend of Roku; Ozai's Cruelty; Decorum Dissertation Cut: 4 Bloodtithe Harvester

Legal repair plan 2 Side in: The Legend of Roku; Ozai's Cruelty; Decorum Dissertation; Abandon Attachments Cut: 3 Bloodtithe Harvester; Cauldron Familiar

Legal repair plan 3 Side in: Ozai's Cruelty; Decorum Dissertation; Abandon Attachments; Origin of Metalbending Cut: 2 Bloodtithe Harvester; 2 Cauldron Familiar

Legal repair plan 4 Side in: Decorum Dissertation; Abandon Attachments; Origin of Metalbending; Unlicensed Hearse Cut: Bloodtithe Harvester; 3 Cauldron Familiar

Matchup Guidance

• Aggro: Prioritize survival actions that trade early and preserve recurring material over speculative card draw. Keep Fatal Push, Bloodtithe Harvester, Cauldron Familiar, Witch's Oven, Eyetwitch, and Mayhem Devil central because the matchup is won by turning early exchanges into life-buffering Food loops, sacrifice triggers, and board shrinkage. Add role cards: Pest Summoning for extra bodies, Firebending Lesson only after Card text check required confirms removal or stabilizing damage, and Ruinous Waterbending only after Card text check required confirms a relevant tempo or removal function. Reduce main-deck emphasis: slow Ygra, Eater of All commitment, Fable of the Mirror-Breaker when the board cannot absorb a setup turn, and Deadly Dispute that sacrifices the only blocker before damage is handled.

• Control: Lead with sticky engines and discard rather than exposing one expensive threat into open mana. Thoughtseize is the key role card because it can clear a path for Witch's Oven plus Cauldron Familiar, Scavenger's Talent, Fable of the Mirror-Breaker, or Mayhem Devil. Add role cards: Thoughtseize, The Legend of Roku only after Card text check required confirms resilient staged value, and Unlicensed Hearse only when the control deck visibly uses its graveyard. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Fatal Push when there are few creature targets, Bloodtithe Harvester activation when the body and Blood token matter more, and Ygra, Eater of All into obvious answer windows without redundancy.

• Combo: Disrupt the hand or graveyard before building slow value unless the visible board already creates lethal pressure. Thoughtseize should take the enabler, payoff, or protection piece that makes the opponent's next turn decisive; Unlicensed Hearse should answer graveyard dependency at the latest safe priority before the opponent can use the card. Add role cards: Thoughtseize, Unlicensed Hearse when graveyards matter, Ozai's Cruelty only after Card text check required confirms relevant disruption, and Decorum Dissertation only after Card text check required confirms it interrupts the combo axis. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Fatal Push without targets, value-only Deadly Dispute that taps mana before the opponent's decisive window, and slow Ygra, Eater of All lines.

• Tempo: Force the opponent to answer cheap permanents repeatedly, and avoid spending a whole turn on a spell that does not affect board or hand. Cauldron Familiar plus Witch's Oven is strong because it dodges some one-for-one pressure and makes racing awkward; Eyetwitch and Bloodtithe Harvester are useful because they trade while leaving material or filtering. Add role cards: Thoughtseize for interaction timing, Pest Summoning for bodies, and Ruinous Waterbending only after Card text check required confirms it can punish a tapped-out or attack-step tempo play. Reduce main-deck emphasis: oversized Ygra, Eater of All into bounce or removal, and Fable of the Mirror-Breaker when the opponent can convert the setup turn into lethal pressure.

• Midrange: Treat every exchange as a resource conversion, not as a pure removal fight. Scavenger's Talent, Deadly Dispute, Blood tokens from Bloodtithe Harvester, and Fable of the Mirror-Breaker help beat one-for-one trades; Mayhem Devil turns Witch's Oven, Food, Blood, Treasure, Eyetwitch, and sacrifice costs into pressure. Add role cards: Thoughtseize for engines and top-end, Unlicensed Hearse if public graveyards matter, The Legend of Roku only after Card text check required confirms durable value, and Pest Summoning when board material is decisive. Reduce main-deck emphasis: redundant Witch's Oven without Cauldron Familiar, removal pointed at disposable bodies, and Ygra, Eater of All when the opponent is holding visible or strongly implied answers.

• Big mana: Apply pressure while using discard to disrupt the payoff turn, because normal sacrifice value can be too slow. Fable of the Mirror-Breaker is good when the token survives and accelerates a meaningful follow-up; Mayhem Devil plus sacrifice material should be aimed at shortening the clock rather than farming marginal damage. Add role cards: Thoughtseize, The Legend of Roku only after Card text check required confirms it is fast enough or disruptive enough, and Decorum Dissertation only after Card text check required confirms it affects the opponent's large-mana plan. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Fatal Push if the opponent has few early creatures, small value loops that do not pressure life total, and Ygra, Eater of All if committing it still leaves the opponent's next payoff unchecked.

• Graveyard: Preserve interaction for the card or window that actually uses the graveyard, not the first card that enters it. Unlicensed Hearse should eat the highest-leverage public card while respecting priority and mana; Thoughtseize should take the enabler or payoff if the graveyard is not yet loaded. Add role cards: Unlicensed Hearse, Thoughtseize, and Ozai's Cruelty only after Card text check required confirms graveyard or hand disruption. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Fatal Push on low-impact creatures while the graveyard is the engine, and Fable of the Mirror-Breaker if the opponent can win before the value matters.

• Artifact/enchantment: Identify whether the opponent's problem permanent is a creature, an artifact, an enchantment, an attachment, or a broader engine before spending narrow interaction. Abandon Attachments and Origin of Metalbending require Card text check required before use; choose them only when Veles-visible legal text confirms they interact with the public permanent type. Add role cards: Abandon Attachments, Origin of Metalbending, Thoughtseize, and Unlicensed Hearse only if artifacts or graveyards overlap. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Fatal Push against noncreature engines, and Deadly Dispute when mana must stay open for checked interaction.

• Go-wide: Convert every sacrifice into damage, blockers, or life stabilization before trying to win with a single large threat. Mayhem Devil is the premium card because each Food, Blood, Treasure, Witch's Oven activation, Deadly Dispute cost, and opposing sacrifice can pick off small creatures or finish planeswalker-like pressure if legal targets exist. Add role cards: Pest Summoning, Firebending Lesson only after Card text check required confirms sweep or removal relevance, and Ruinous Waterbending only after Card text check required confirms it affects combat or tempo. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Ygra, Eater of All without a stabilized board and Fable of the Mirror-Breaker when blocking is immediately required.

• Single-threat: Answer or blank the key permanent instead of spending removal on support pieces. Fatal Push and Bloodtithe Harvester should be saved for the threat if it is a legal target; Witch's Oven can convert a doomed creature into Food and deny combat value when a block is legal. Add role cards: Thoughtseize for the threat or protection, Abandon Attachments only after Card text check required confirms it answers the enhancement, and Ruinous Waterbending only after Card text check required confirms it can neutralize the threat. Reduce main-deck emphasis: scattered Mayhem Devil pings that do not change the threat math, and Deadly Dispute before preserving a blocker.

• Burn: Preserve life total and avoid unnecessary shock-land damage unless the mana unlocks a survival play. Cauldron Familiar plus Witch's Oven is the best stabilizing engine, Eyetwitch is acceptable material because it trades and can learn, and Bloodtithe Harvester blocks while smoothing draws. Add role cards: Pest Summoning for bodies and any checked Lesson that gains life, removes a creature, or prevents damage. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Thoughtseize when life payment is unsafe, slow Ygra, Eater of All, and greedily using Blood Crypt or Overgrown Tomb untapped without a same-turn reason.

• Removal-heavy: Make the opponent spend removal on replaceable creatures while engines accumulate value. Cauldron Familiar, Eyetwitch, Bloodtithe Harvester, Fable of the Mirror-Breaker, Scavenger's Talent, and Deadly Dispute all punish one-for-one removal when sequenced with sacrifice mana available. Add role cards: Thoughtseize to clear the best answer, The Legend of Roku only after Card text check required confirms resilient value, and Unlicensed Hearse only when graveyards matter. Reduce main-deck emphasis: committing Ygra, Eater of All without protection by redundancy, and sacrificing too many bodies before the opponent is forced to answer them.

Specific Matchup Notes

• General/archetype-only: Treat these notes as assumptions until public game actions, revealed cards, companion information, or deck-registration metadata prove otherwise. Revealed cards override archetype labels; Veles should prefer legal actions, visible board state, and known graveyard/hand information over any matchup shortcut here.

• Fast creature decks: Stabilize before maximizing engine value, because Cauldron Familiar plus Witch's Oven and Eyetwitch blockers buy the turns that Mayhem Devil and Scavenger's Talent need. Priority targets are haste threats, creatures carrying combat snowball text, and any public permanent that makes blocks impossible. Add role cards: Pest Summoning, Firebending Lesson after Card text check required confirms removal or board-stabilization relevance, and Ruinous Waterbending after Card text check required confirms combat or tempo relevance. Reduce main-deck emphasis: slow Ygra, Eater of All and Fable of the Mirror-Breaker when the third chapter is unlikely to matter before lethal.

• Removal-heavy midrange: Trade resources while leaving material behind, because Deadly Dispute, Blood tokens from Bloodtithe Harvester, Cauldron Familiar recursion, Scavenger's Talent, and Fable of the Mirror-Breaker all punish one-for-one exchanges. Priority targets are opposing engines, exile-based answers to Cauldron Familiar, and threats that ignore Mayhem Devil pings. Add role cards: Thoughtseize, The Legend of Roku after Card text check required confirms durable value, and Unlicensed Hearse only when public graveyards matter.

• Control and sweepers: Commit engines in layers rather than exposing every creature to one answer. Witch's Oven, Scavenger's Talent, and Fable of the Mirror-Breaker are better early commitments than overextending Cauldron Familiar, Bloodtithe Harvester, Eyetwitch, and Mayhem Devil into a visible sweeper window. Priority targets for Thoughtseize are sweepers, exile removal, counterplay that stops the first engine, and finishers that end the game before sacrifice loops matter. Add role cards: Thoughtseize, Decorum Dissertation after Card text check required confirms disruption relevance, and The Legend of Roku after Card text check required confirms pressure or card advantage.

• Big mana and combo: Shorten the clock while attacking the payoff turn, because slow sacrifice value may not beat a single resolved payoff. Fable of the Mirror-Breaker is strongest when the token accelerates Mayhem Devil, Ygra, Eater of All, or multiple spells; Deadly Dispute should convert expendable material into action rather than chase marginal value. Priority targets for Thoughtseize are the payoff, the enabler that makes the payoff immediate, or the protection spell if the payoff is already answerable on board. Add role cards: Thoughtseize, Decorum Dissertation after Card text check required, and The Legend of Roku only if checked text supports the pressure plan.

• Graveyard decks: Use Unlicensed Hearse on the card that enables the next graveyard action, not the first public card that looks important. Priority targets are recursion payoffs, flashback-style spells, graveyard-count enablers, and cards that make Cauldron Familiar or Eyetwitch irrelevant. Add role cards: Unlicensed Hearse, Thoughtseize, and Ozai's Cruelty after Card text check required confirms graveyard or hand-disruption relevance. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Fatal Push when the opponent's battlefield creatures are incidental.

• Artifact, enchantment, and attachment decks: Verify permanent types before using narrow sideboard cards. Abandon Attachments and Origin of Metalbending need Card text check required; choose them only when legal action text confirms they interact with the public object that matters. Priority targets are permanents that stop sacrifice recursion, grow beyond Fatal Push and Mayhem Devil damage, or invalidate blocking.

Risk Summary

• Mana risk: Blackcleave Cliffs, Blood Crypt, Blightstep Pathway, Overgrown Tomb, Blazemire Verge, Swamp, Den of the Bugbear, and Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance can create awkward color timing for Mayhem Devil, Deadly Dispute, Fatal Push, and Ygra, Eater of All. Avoid untapped shock-land damage unless the same turn needs the mana for survival, discard, or an engine commitment.

• Draw risk: Hands with only Witch's Oven, sacrifice payoffs, and no Cauldron Familiar, Eyetwitch, Bloodtithe Harvester, or Deadly Dispute can spin without material. Mulligan or sequence toward a creature plus sacrifice outlet before keeping slow value hands against pressure.

• Over-sideboarding risk: Do not dilute the creature-and-sacrifice core by adding too many checked Lessons or narrow answers. Cauldron Familiar, Witch's Oven, Mayhem Devil, Deadly Dispute, Scavenger's Talent, and Bloodtithe Harvester are the deck's functional spine.

• Graveyard risk: Cauldron Familiar recursion and Unlicensed Hearse both care about graveyards, so public graveyard state matters for both players. Do not exile low-impact cards with Unlicensed Hearse if an imminent opposing graveyard payoff is visible or strongly telegraphed by legal actions.

• Sweeper/removal risk: Mayhem Devil and Ygra, Eater of All are high-value removal targets. Commit them when they produce immediate damage, force action, or are backed by redundant pressure rather than as naked curve plays into open interaction.

• Closer risk: The deck can generate value without ending the game. Convert Mayhem Devil triggers, Den of the Bugbear attacks, Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance channel lines, Fable of the Mirror-Breaker pressure, and Ygra, Eater of All attacks into a clock once stabilized.

• Interaction risk: Fatal Push and Bloodtithe Harvester are finite clean answers. Save them for threats that race the sacrifice engine, block Mayhem Devil profitably, or break Cauldron Familiar loops unless the visible board demands immediate removal.

• Sequencing risk: Sacrifice timing changes outcomes. Hold Deadly Dispute, Witch's Oven activations, Blood tokens, Food, Treasure, and Eyetwitch sacrifices when Mayhem Devil triggers, Scavenger's Talent triggers, or opposing removal windows can turn the same material into extra damage, cards, life, or a Lesson.

Test Feedback Checklist

• Deciding factor: Identify whether the game turned on engine assembly, removal timing, mana, mulligan quality, sideboard cards, or failure to close after stabilizing. Record the exact public board state and legal action family that made the swing visible.

• Mulligans: Check whether kept hands had a working sacrifice material source plus payoff or velocity, such as Cauldron Familiar with Witch's Oven, Eyetwitch with Deadly Dispute, Bloodtithe Harvester with Blood token utility, or Fable of the Mirror-Breaker with enough mana to matter. Flag hands that kept only payoffs like Mayhem Devil, Scavenger's Talent, or Ygra, Eater of All without early material.

• Mana: Record every turn where Blackcleave Cliffs, Blightstep Pathway, Blood Crypt, Overgrown Tomb, Blazemire Verge, Swamp, Den of the Bugbear, or Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance prevented casting the best legal spell. Separate color failure from tapland timing, shock-land life cost, and sequencing decisions.

• Velocity: Check whether Deadly Dispute, Blood tokens from Bloodtithe Harvester, Fable of the Mirror-Breaker chapter two, and Scavenger's Talent actually converted spare material into relevant cards. Mark games where the deck had sacrifice actions but no payoff, or payoffs but no disposable object.

• Engine quality: Track when Cauldron Familiar plus Witch's Oven was assembled, when Mayhem Devil turned sacrifices into removal or lethal pressure, and when Scavenger's Talent mattered before the game was effectively decided. Note whether Ygra, Eater of All changed combat, sacrifice math, or closing speed.

• Removal use: Review each Fatal Push and Bloodtithe Harvester removal activation against visible threats. Mark whether removal answered the card that would race the engine, protected Mayhem Devil, cleared blockers for Den of the Bugbear or Fable of the Mirror-Breaker pressure, or was spent on a low-impact target.

• Sideboard impact: For post-board games, record whether Thoughtseize, Unlicensed Hearse, The Legend of Roku, Ozai's Cruelty, Decorum Dissertation, Abandon Attachments, Origin of Metalbending, Firebending Lesson, Ruinous Waterbending, or Pest Summoning had legal text and visible targets that justified their inclusion. Use Card text check required for unchecked cards before drawing strategic conclusions.

• Closing: Identify turns where stabilized boards failed to become a clock. Check whether Mayhem Devil triggers, Den of the Bugbear attacks, Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance channel actions, Fable of the Mirror-Breaker pressure, or Ygra, Eater of All attacks were available and legally missed.

• Role: Label whether Jund Sacrifice was supposed to be the stabilizer, attrition deck, or beatdown in the game state. Flag role errors such as overvaluing Cauldron Familiar loops while behind on board, or trading away engine pieces when the opponent was already resource-constrained.

• Mistakes: Record any legal action where the pilot passed with relevant mana, sacrificed before a visible trigger payoff, exposed Mayhem Devil or Ygra, Eater of All without immediate gain, or used Deadly Dispute before checking whether a different sacrifice object was better.

• Stranded cards: List cards stuck in hand for two or more turns and why: mana, missing sacrifice material, no legal target, timing restriction, or low board impact. Pay special attention to Ygra, Eater of All, Fable of the Mirror-Breaker, Deadly Dispute, Fatal Push, and sideboard cards.

• Overperformers and underperformers: Compare card impact in wins and losses, not just cards drawn. Track whether Bloodtithe Harvester, Eyetwitch, Scavenger's Talent, Mayhem Devil, and Witch's Oven produced decisions that changed the game or merely accumulated small value.

First Tuning Questions

• Quantity question: Does Ygra, Eater of All close enough games to justify two copies, or is it stranded often enough that the deck needs more early material, interaction, or velocity instead?

• Engine density question: Are four Cauldron Familiar, four Witch's Oven, four Scavenger's Talent, and four Mayhem Devil producing reliable engines, or are hands overloaded on pieces that need different partners?

• Mana question: Does the land mix support early black for Fatal Push, Cauldron Familiar, Eyetwitch, Deadly Dispute, and Thoughtseize while still casting Mayhem Devil and Fable of the Mirror-Breaker on time? Track whether Den of the Bugbear and Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance are worth any color-timing failures.

• Aggro plan question: Against fast boards, does the main deck have enough cheap stabilizers beyond Fatal Push, Cauldron Familiar, Witch's Oven, Eyetwitch, and Bloodtithe Harvester? If not, test whether Pest Summoning, Firebending Lesson, or Ruinous Waterbending after Card text check required should occupy more post-board space.

• Control plan question: Against sweepers and spot removal, is Thoughtseize enough disruption, or does the deck need sideboard cards that protect engines, diversify threats, or punish tap-out turns? Verify The Legend of Roku and Decorum Dissertation text before assigning that role.

• Graveyard plan question: Is Unlicensed Hearse strong enough at two copies when graveyard pressure appears, or does it conflict with Cauldron Familiar recursion and sacrifice tempo too often?

• Artifact/enchantment question: Are Abandon Attachments and Origin of Metalbending actually answering the permanent types that beat this deck? Card text check required before changing quantities.

• Closer question: Does the deck lose games after reaching parity because Mayhem Devil, Fable of the Mirror-Breaker, Den of the Bugbear, Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance, and Ygra, Eater of All are too slow or too fragile?

• Role-conflict question: Are post-board configurations preserving the sacrifice spine, or are narrow answers making Deadly Dispute, Scavenger's Talent, Mayhem Devil, and Witch's Oven worse by lowering creature and artifact density?

Veles Tactical Policy

Policy: Keep Functional Engine Hands

Priority: High
Decision families: mulligan
Cards: Cauldron Familiar; Witch's Oven; Bloodtithe Harvester; Deadly Dispute; Eyetwitch; Fable of the Mirror-Breaker; Fatal Push
Phase windows: pregame mulligan decisions
Runtime cues: prompt:mulligan; action:keep; action:mulligan
Use when: keep hands with early black mana plus a material source and either engine, removal, or velocity.
Avoid when: hand has only payoffs such as Mayhem Devil, Scavenger's Talent, or Ygra, Eater of All without early plays.
Instructions: Prefer seven or six-card hands that can affect turns one and two; value Cauldron Familiar plus Witch's Oven highest, then Eyetwitch or Bloodtithe Harvester with Deadly Dispute, then removal-backed Fable of the Mirror-Breaker.
Pilot skill floor: light-model
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Bottom Redundant Expensive Payoffs

Priority: Medium
Decision families: mulligan, selection
Cards: Mayhem Devil; Ygra, Eater of All; Fable of the Mirror-Breaker; Scavenger's Talent
Phase windows: London mulligan bottom prompts
Runtime cues: action:bottom
Use when: bottom decisions show multiple late payoffs and too few early lands or sacrifice objects.
Avoid when: the visible hand already has Cauldron Familiar plus Witch's Oven and enough lands.
Instructions: Preserve mana, one early material card, and one payoff before keeping duplicate Mayhem Devil or Ygra, Eater of All.
Pilot skill floor: light-model
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: First Engine Permanent Setup

Priority: Medium
Decision families: mana, priority
Cards: Cauldron Familiar; Witch's Oven; Eyetwitch; Bloodtithe Harvester; Scavenger's Talent
Phase windows: turns one through three main phases
Runtime cues: action:cast Cauldron Familiar; action:cast Witch's Oven; action:cast Eyetwitch; action:cast Bloodtithe Harvester; action:cast Scavenger's Talent
Use when: early legal actions include a creature or enabling permanent and mana is available.
Avoid when: visible opposing pressure requires Fatal Push before engine setup.
Instructions: Lead with Cauldron Familiar or Eyetwitch when Witch's Oven or Deadly Dispute is already available; lead Witch's Oven when Cauldron Familiar is present and the opponent cannot punish the tempo loss visibly.
Pilot skill floor: light-model
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Deterministic Cat Oven Loop

Priority: Medium
Decision families: priority, selection
Cards: Cauldron Familiar; Witch's Oven
Phase windows: any priority window with legal activated abilities
Runtime cues: action:activate Witch's Oven; action:target Cauldron Familiar; action:return Cauldron Familiar
Use when: legal action text explicitly sacrifices Cauldron Familiar to Witch's Oven or returns Cauldron Familiar by sacrificing a Food.
Avoid when: Cauldron Familiar is needed as the only visible blocker before combat damage.
Instructions: Execute the loop when it preserves material, drains life, creates Food, or triggers Mayhem Devil; delay if the cat must block this combat.
Pilot skill floor: light-model
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: No-API Cat Return

Priority: Low
Decision families: priority
Cards: Cauldron Familiar
Phase windows: end step, postcombat main, or upkeep with legal recursion action
Runtime cues: action:return Cauldron Familiar
Use when: the only legal action fragment returns Cauldron Familiar by sacrificing one visible Food and no combat declaration is pending.
Avoid when: multiple sacrifice-payment choices are visible.
Instructions: Choose the legal Cauldron Familiar return action when it is the only matching recursion action.
Pilot skill floor: no-api
No-API allowed: yes
Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Mayhem Devil Sacrifice Commitment

Priority: High
Decision families: priority, interaction
Cards: Mayhem Devil; Witch's Oven; Deadly Dispute; Bloodtithe Harvester; Cauldron Familiar; Scavenger's Talent
Phase windows: combat, removal windows, end steps, and stack response windows
Runtime cues: action:activate; action:cast Deadly Dispute; trigger:Mayhem Devil
Use when: Mayhem Devil is visible and sacrifices can convert into lethal damage, creature removal, planeswalker pressure, or protection from losing the board.
Avoid when: sacrifices consume the only blocker or only future engine object without a clear visible payoff.
Instructions: Count every visible sacrifice trigger before acting; prioritize lethal, killing attackers/blockers, and punishing opponent sacrifice effects over small face damage.
Pilot skill floor: light-model
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Mayhem Devil Targeting

Priority: Medium
Decision families: interaction, selection
Cards: Mayhem Devil
Phase windows: triggered ability target prompts
Runtime cues: action:target Mayhem Devil
Use when: a Mayhem Devil damage trigger requires a target.
Avoid when: multiple targets change combat survival or lethal math.
Instructions: Route target choice through board reasoning; choose lethal to opponent only when visible damage is enough, otherwise kill or shrink the creature that most changes this turn's race.
Pilot skill floor: light-model
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Fatal Push Timing

Priority: High
Decision families: interaction, priority
Cards: Fatal Push; Bloodtithe Harvester; Witch's Oven; Deadly Dispute
Phase windows: opponent combat, end step, stack response, own main phase
Runtime cues: action:cast Fatal Push
Use when: a visible creature threatens lethal, blocks a decisive attack, or invalidates the sacrifice engine.
Avoid when: the target is low impact and Mayhem Devil triggers or Bloodtithe Harvester can answer it later.
Instructions: Prefer revolt-enabled Fatal Push on larger legal targets after a sacrifice has occurred; spend removal before combat damage when survival or blocker removal matters.
Pilot skill floor: light-model
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Deadly Dispute Sacrifice Selection

Priority: Medium
Decision families: selection, priority
Cards: Deadly Dispute; Eyetwitch; Cauldron Familiar; Witch's Oven; Bloodtithe Harvester; Scavenger's Talent
Phase windows: main phase, response windows, end step
Runtime cues: action:cast Deadly Dispute; action:sacrifice
Use when: Deadly Dispute is legal and a sacrifice object is visible.
Avoid when: the only sacrifice object is a key Mayhem Devil, Ygra, Eater of All, or needed blocker.
Instructions: Sacrifice Eyetwitch, expendable Food, Blood token, or Cauldron Familiar before sacrificing unique payoffs; consider stack timing if the Treasure or cards unlock a same-turn play.
Pilot skill floor: light-model
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Bloodtithe Harvester Use

Priority: Medium
Decision families: interaction, selection
Cards: Bloodtithe Harvester
Phase windows: main phase and creature interaction windows
Runtime cues: action:activate Bloodtithe Harvester; action:discard
Use when: Bloodtithe Harvester can remove a visible creature or Blood token filtering improves a stranded hand.
Avoid when: keeping Bloodtithe Harvester as sacrifice material, attacker, or blocker is more important than the target shown.
Instructions: Use the removal ability for threats that race or disrupt the engine; use Blood token filtering to fix excess lands or expensive duplicates after confirming no better sacrifice line is available.
Pilot skill floor: light-model
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Fable Chapter Decisions

Priority: Medium
Decision families: selection, mana, combat
Cards: Fable of the Mirror-Breaker
Phase windows: main phases, chapter triggers, combat attack steps
Runtime cues: action:cast Fable of the Mirror-Breaker; action:discard; action:attack
Use when: Fable of the Mirror-Breaker is legal or chapter two selection is pending.
Avoid when: tapping out exposes lethal or leaves a must-kill creature unanswered.
Instructions: Cast Fable when it advances mana or pressure; discard excess lands, redundant payoffs, or dead removal before engine pieces; attack with the token when Treasure matters and combat is not throwing away the only blocker.
Pilot skill floor: light-model
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Ygra Commitment Gate

Priority: High
Decision families: mana, priority, combat
Cards: Ygra, Eater of All; Cauldron Familiar; Witch's Oven; Mayhem Devil; Scavenger's Talent
Phase windows: midgame main phases and combat setup
Runtime cues: action:cast Ygra, Eater of All
Use when: legal casting Ygra, Eater of All changes visible sacrifice, combat, or closing math and waiting risks losing tempo.
Avoid when: opponent has visible mana and known interaction from revealed information, or casting Ygra prevents necessary removal this turn.
Instructions: Treat Ygra as a commitment, not a routine curve play; prefer it when sacrifice material is already present and the game needs a large closing threat.
Pilot skill floor: light-model
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Scavenger's Talent Development

Priority: Medium
Decision families: mana, priority, selection
Cards: Scavenger's Talent; Cauldron Familiar; Witch's Oven; Deadly Dispute; Eyetwitch
Phase windows: early main phases and level-up prompts
Runtime cues: action:cast Scavenger's Talent; action:level
Use when: Scavenger's Talent is legal and the board can produce deaths or use its visible level abilities.
Avoid when: spending mana on it delays Fatal Push, Mayhem Devil, or Fable of the Mirror-Breaker against pressure.
Instructions: Deploy before planned creature deaths when tempo permits; level only when the visible legal text advances the current board more than adding another engine piece. Card text check required for exact level-mode valuation.
Pilot skill floor: light-model
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Mana Before Sacrifice Chains

Priority: High
Decision families: mana, priority
Cards: Blood Crypt; Overgrown Tomb; Blackcleave Cliffs; Blightstep Pathway; Blazemire Verge; Swamp; Den of the Bugbear; Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance
Phase windows: land play, payment, and pre-combat main phases
Runtime cues: action:play; action:pay; action:add mana
Use when: legal actions include land choice, shock payment, pathway face, or mana-source selection.
Avoid when: no same-turn spell or activated ability depends on the choice.
Instructions: Preserve black early, red for Mayhem Devil and Fable of the Mirror-Breaker, and green only when Ygra, Eater of All or sideboard cards require it; take shock damage only when the extra untapped mana changes this turn.
Pilot skill floor: light-model
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Combat Role Check

Priority: Medium
Decision families: combat
Cards: Cauldron Familiar; Eyetwitch; Bloodtithe Harvester; Mayhem Devil; Ygra, Eater of All; Den of the Bugbear; Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance
Phase windows: declare attackers, declare blockers, combat trick windows
Runtime cues: action:attack; action:block; action:activate Den of the Bugbear; action:channel Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance
Use when: combat actions are legal and visible life totals or board pressure make attacking or blocking material.
Avoid when: the only attack sacrifices a required blocker under a short clock.
Instructions: Block to preserve life until the engine dominates; attack when Mayhem Devil triggers, Ygra pressure, creature-land pressure, or Fable tokens shorten the clock without exposing lethal.
Pilot skill floor: light-model
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Eyetwitch Lesson Selection

Priority: Medium
Decision families: selection
Cards: Eyetwitch; Pest Summoning; Firebending Lesson; Ruinous Waterbending; Ozai's Cruelty; Decorum Dissertation; Abandon Attachments; Origin of Metalbending; The Legend of Roku
Phase windows: death triggers and learn-like selection prompts
Runtime cues: action:select; action:learn; trigger:Eyetwitch
Use when: Eyetwitch death creates a sideboard selection prompt.
Avoid when: card text for the offered Lesson or sideboard card is unavailable in the runtime state.
Instructions: Choose the offered card that solves the visible problem: board material, removal, artifact/enchantment answer, or disruption. Card text check required for Avatar sideboard cards before exact tactical ranking.
Pilot skill floor: light-model
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Thoughtseize Sideboard Timing

Priority: High
Decision families: sideboard, interaction, selection
Cards: Thoughtseize
Phase windows: post-board pregame and early main phases
Runtime cues: action:cast Thoughtseize; action:choose card
Use when: Thoughtseize is boarded in and a legal hand-reveal decision occurs.
Avoid when: life total is under immediate visible creature pressure and removal or board development is required first.
Instructions: Take the card that breaks the engine, answers Mayhem Devil or Ygra, Eater of All, sweeps the board, or enables the opponent's fastest win; do not infer hidden cards beyond the revealed hand.
Pilot skill floor: light-model
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Unlicensed Hearse Activation

Priority: Medium
Decision families: interaction, selection
Cards: Unlicensed Hearse
Phase windows: graveyard interaction windows and combat setup
Runtime cues: action:activate Unlicensed Hearse; action:target
Use when: Unlicensed Hearse is visible and graveyard targets are public.
Avoid when: exiling own Cauldron Familiar or other recursive material weakens a current engine line without stopping an opposing graveyard plan.
Instructions: Exile opponent graveyard cards that enable recursion, delve, flashback, reanimation, or lethal scaling; crew or attack only when it does not consume needed blockers or sacrifice material.
Pilot skill floor: light-model
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Sideboard Card Text Gate

Priority: Medium
Decision families: sideboard, selection, interaction
Cards: The Legend of Roku; Ozai's Cruelty; Decorum Dissertation; Abandon Attachments; Origin of Metalbending; Firebending Lesson; Ruinous Waterbending; Pest Summoning
Phase windows: sideboard choice, learn selection, casting, target prompts
Runtime cues: action:cast; action:target; action:select
Use when: an Avatar sideboard card is legal and its exact runtime text is visible.
Avoid when: the guide lacks verified card text and the runtime state does not expose enough legal text to identify purpose.
Instructions: Use only the rules-engine legal actions and visible oracle-like text; if text is not exposed, mark Card text check required and choose a safer known line.
Pilot skill floor: light-model
No-API allowed: no
Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: No-API Empty-Stack Pass

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