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

Strategy Specifications

Deck Name And Archetype

Izzet Phoenix is a Historic tempo graveyard spells deck with 60 registered main-deck cards and 15 registered sideboard cards. The active validation contract reports the list as passing Historic deck-count validation, with the main deck meeting the at-least-60 requirement and the sideboard staying within the 15-card limit. Runtime pilots must still obey the rules engine's legal actions and visible game state; this guide does not assert that any line is legal unless Veles exposes it as a current action.

• Identity: The deck is a hybrid of stock Izzet Phoenix structure and digital/Alchemy-specific card choices, centered on recurring Arclight Phoenix, reducing or leveraging A-Demilich, filling the graveyard with Consider, Thought Scour, Faithless Looting, Ponder, Manamorphose, and Treasure Cruise, and using cheap tempo interaction to convert spell volume into combat pressure.
• Archetype tags: tempo, graveyard, spells. The repeated tag set should be treated as intentional emphasis: the pilot wins by chaining low-cost spells, managing graveyard access, and turning temporary mana and card-flow advantages into attack steps, not by playing a long pure-control game by default.
• Stock/rogue/hybrid status: Treat this as hybrid Phoenix. Arclight Phoenix, Faithless Looting, Consider, Thought Scour, Manamorphose, Ponder, and Treasure Cruise support a familiar spell-chain shell, while A-Demilich, Deem Inferior, Swiftspear's Teachings, and the singleton interaction package make exact sequencing more deck-specific than generic Izzet advice.
• Main role concern: The deck must balance graveyard setup against hand velocity. Arclight Phoenix and A-Demilich reward spell density, but hands that only churn without pressure can fail to stabilize; hands that only contain threats without Consider, Thought Scour, Faithless Looting, Ponder, Manamorphose, or Treasure Cruise can stall before the engine turns on.
• Mana concern: The registered mana base is light and spell-focused: 4 Prismatic Vista, 4 Spirebluff Canal, 4 Steam Vents, 3 Island, 1 Mountain, and 1 Otawara, Soaring City. Prioritize access to blue early for Consider, Thought Scour, Ponder, Deem Inferior, Spell Snare, Force of Negation, Brazen Borrower, A-Demilich, and Treasure Cruise, while preserving red access for Faithless Looting, Chain Lightning, Lightning Axe, Manamorphose lines, and sideboard red interaction.
• Legality concern: A-Demilich, Deem Inferior, and Swiftspear's Teachings are digital-specific names; the provided Historic validation says the current list passes, but the pilot should not infer paper card text or paper-format legality from this guide. If Veles or the rules engine exposes unexpected text or modes, follow the visible rules-engine output over any strategic assumption here.
• Threat profile: Primary pressure comes from recurring Arclight Phoenix, reduced A-Demilich, and post-sideboard Crackling Drake when selected. Brazen Borrower and Otawara, Soaring City provide tempo relief rather than a primary clock unless the visible board makes chip damage decisive.
• Interaction profile: The main deck is selectively interactive with Force of Negation, Lightning Axe, Spell Snare, Deem Inferior, Chain Lightning, Brazen Borrower, and Otawara, Soaring City. The sideboard expands this with Force of Negation, Annul, Meltdown, Abrade, Cindercone Smite, Pyroclasm, Rending Volley, Surgical Extraction, Brazen Borrower, and Crackling Drake, so post-board plans can shift toward protection, artifact pressure, creature control, graveyard disruption, or alternative threats.
• Opponent info status: No opponent decklist, matchup label, known public reveals, or metagame target is supplied for this guide batch. Matchup guidance later must use visible board state, public information, and sideboard role mapping rather than assuming hidden cards or naming absent format staples.

Thesis

Izzet Phoenix assembles a spell-volume graveyard tempo engine that turns cheap cantrips, looting, and self-mill into recurring Arclight Phoenix pressure, discounted or enabled A-Demilich pressure, and large Treasure Cruise reloads. Prioritize hands and lines that produce early blue access, multiple cheap spells, graveyard growth, and a credible clock; the deck wins by making the opponent answer repeated threats while falling behind on mana and cards.

The primary kill pattern is to chain three or more spells in a turn, return one or more Arclight Phoenix, and attack before the opponent can rebuild. A-Demilich is the second main pressure axis, but its exact digital text should be checked at runtime; treat it as a spell-density payoff only when Veles exposes legal casting or ability actions. Treasure Cruise is the stabilizing reload that converts spent Consider, Thought Scour, Faithless Looting, Ponder, Manamorphose, interaction, and fetch lands into another spell chain.

The deck is not trying to become a slow draw-go control deck. Force of Negation, Spell Snare, Deem Inferior, Brazen Borrower, Lightning Axe, Chain Lightning, and Otawara, Soaring City should usually protect tempo, break up a key opposing turn, clear a blocker, or buy the attack step that matters; do not spend them only to trade resources if the resulting game lacks pressure or a reload.

The deck is also not an all-in graveyard combo deck. Arclight Phoenix recursion is central, but visible graveyard hate, exile pressure, or slow graveyard access can make hard-cast Arclight Phoenix, A-Demilich, Brazen Borrower, Treasure Cruise, and post-board Crackling Drake the practical path. Respect public information: if the rules engine shows graveyard cards are unavailable, exiled, or locked by an effect, choose lines based on the visible legal actions rather than assuming recursion.

Prioritize sequencing that preserves both velocity and payoff timing. Cast selection spells before discard when looking for a missing land, threat, or third spell; cast discard before excess draw when Arclight Phoenix is stuck in hand and a return turn is plausible; use Manamorphose to bridge color or spell-count turns rather than as automatic early cycling when mana is already constrained.

Role Package

• Threats: Arclight Phoenix is the defining recursive attacker and should be moved toward the graveyard when a same-turn or near-term three-spell line is realistic. A-Demilich is a main-deck spell payoff with digital text uncertainty; Card text check required, and the pilot should follow Veles-exposed legal actions for casting, cost reduction, attacks, or triggered choices. Brazen Borrower is a flexible tempo threat, not a primary plan unless the board is clear or chip damage closes the race. Crackling Drake is the sideboard threat for games where graveyard recursion is contested or a larger standalone body is needed.

• Payoffs: Treasure Cruise is the main card-advantage payoff and should usually be set up by spending cheap spells and fetch lands before casting it. Arclight Phoenix is both payoff and threat because it rewards three-spell turns with immediate combat pressure. A-Demilich may convert spell volume into pressure or recursion depending on actual rules text; keep its use conditional on visible legal text. Swiftspear's Teachings is a registered two-copy spell payoff or support card with uncertain digital text; Card text check required, and tactical use should follow exposed modes and costs.

• Engines: Faithless Looting, Consider, Thought Scour, Ponder, Manamorphose, and Treasure Cruise form the main engine. Faithless Looting turns excess lands, redundant interaction, and Arclight Phoenix in hand into graveyard and velocity. Thought Scour can target self when graveyard growth, Treasure Cruise fuel, or Arclight Phoenix setup matters. Consider and Ponder shape land drops, spell-count turns, and payoff access. Manamorphose fixes color while increasing spell count, making it strongest on commitment turns.

• Velocity: Consider, Thought Scour, Faithless Looting, Ponder, Manamorphose, and Treasure Cruise should be valued above medium-impact interaction in openers unless the visible matchup or public board demands immediate answers. Noxious Revival is recursion and stack/top-deck manipulation, not raw velocity; use it when a specific known card matters more than a random draw.

• Interaction: Deem Inferior is a three-copy tempo interaction piece with uncertain digital text; Card text check required, and the pilot should use it only according to visible legal targets and outcome text. Chain Lightning and Lightning Axe handle creatures or damage races when legal. Spell Snare and Force of Negation protect key turns against exposed opposing spells. Brazen Borrower and Otawara, Soaring City are tempo resets that can clear blockers or delay permanents.

• Protection: Force of Negation is the main protection card, with three more in the sideboard for matchups where a single decisive opposing noncreature spell or anti-graveyard piece must be stopped. Spell Snare protects early tempo when the opposing spell is actually legal for it. Annul adds narrow post-board protection against artifacts or enchantments when the rules engine exposes valid targets.

• Recursion: Arclight Phoenix recursion is the main repeatable pressure loop. Noxious Revival can rebuy a key spell, threat, or interaction piece when the top-card timing is worth a card disadvantage risk. Faithless Looting flashback, if exposed as legal, gives late-game recursion of velocity rather than a threat.

• Mana: Prismatic Vista, Spirebluff Canal, Steam Vents, Island, Mountain, and Otawara, Soaring City support a low-land spell deck. Preserve early blue, secure red before Faithless Looting or Chain Lightning turns, and treat Otawara, Soaring City as both land and tempo spell when Veles exposes channel or land actions.

• Sideboard modules: Force of Negation and Annul protect against key noncreature or artifact/enchantment plans. Meltdown, Abrade, Cindercone Smite, Pyroclasm, Rending Volley, and the sideboard Brazen Borrower expand removal and tempo coverage by permanent type and creature profile. Surgical Extraction attacks graveyards or known copies only when public graveyard information makes the target meaningful. Crackling Drake supplies a non-Phoenix threat for grindy or graveyard-hostile games.

Primary Win Conditions

• Arclight Phoenix recursion is the cleanest kill and should be prioritized when at least one Arclight Phoenix is in the graveyard, three castable spells are visible or easily assembled, and the opponent is not presenting an immediate lethal board. Set up by using Faithless Looting to discard Arclight Phoenix, Thought Scour to target self when graveyard growth matters, and Consider, Ponder, and Manamorphose to find the third spell or the required color. Execute by casting the lowest-risk spell chain first, saving Manamorphose for color fixing or spell-count bridging, then attack with returned Arclight Phoenix before spending damage spells elsewhere. Disruption to respect includes visible graveyard exile, stack interaction, instant-speed removal before combat, and effects that prevent attacking; if the engine output shows Arclight Phoenix cannot return, switch to hard-cast threats or Treasure Cruise reload instead of assuming recursion.

• A-Demilich is the second main pressure path when spell volume is high but Arclight Phoenix access is slow, exiled, or stuck in hand without a discard outlet. Card text check required: use A-Demilich only according to Veles-exposed legal casting, cost, attack, and triggered-action text. Set up by preserving cheap spells, filling the graveyard with Consider, Thought Scour, Faithless Looting, Ponder, Manamorphose, and used interaction, and keeping enough mana to continue after resolving it. Execute when A-Demilich can either enter efficiently or convert an attack step into additional spell value. Prioritize this path when the opponent has spent removal on Arclight Phoenix, when graveyard recursion is contested but graveyard quantity still matters, or when a single resilient body plus continued cantrips races better than waiting.

• Treasure Cruise is the reload win path and should be treated as a way to produce another Arclight Phoenix or A-Demilich turn, not as a detached value spell. Set up by spending fetch lands, cantrips, discard, and interaction before delving, while avoiding delving away cards that the current visible line needs for Arclight Phoenix, Noxious Revival, or A-Demilich text if relevant. Execute Treasure Cruise when the hand is low, the board is stable enough to spend mana on cards, or the next turn needs multiple spells. Prioritize it over narrow interaction when the opponent is not threatening a decisive spell or lethal attack; delay it when holding up Force of Negation, Spell Snare, Deem Inferior, Brazen Borrower, or Lightning Axe is visibly necessary to survive.

Secondary Win Conditions

• Hard-cast Arclight Phoenix wins games where recursion is blocked or too slow. Use this line when the graveyard is under pressure, when four mana is available, or when the opponent must answer a flying attacker rather than a spell chain. Do not discard every Arclight Phoenix automatically if the visible game is moving toward hard-cast pressure.

• Brazen Borrower provides tempo damage after answering a blocker or permanent. Use the bounce side only when the rules engine exposes a legal target and the tempo gained advances an attack, protects life total, or disrupts a key permanent; deploy the creature side when evasive chip damage matters and holding interaction is not more valuable. The sideboard Brazen Borrower increases this plan in matchups where tempo resets are better than graveyard dependence.

• Chain Lightning and Lightning Axe can become reach or blocker removal, depending on legal targets. Use Chain Lightning toward the opponent only when the damage meaningfully shortens the clock or closes the game; use it on creatures when clearing an Arclight Phoenix or A-Demilich attack is worth more than face damage. Lightning Axe should be strongest when the discard cost enables Arclight Phoenix or converts a stranded card into a large tempo swing.

• Swiftspear's Teachings is a two-copy support or payoff card with uncertain digital text. Card text check required: treat it as a secondary win contributor only when Veles exposes legal modes, targets, or effects that clearly advance pressure, spell count, or combat damage.

• Post-board Crackling Drake is the main standalone backup threat. Use it when opponents pressure the graveyard, overload small removal, or force the deck to win through a larger body and card-flow payoff rather than repeated Arclight Phoenix returns.

Emergency Lines

• When behind on life, spend interaction to survive the next combat before preserving perfect spell-chain value. Chain Lightning, Lightning Axe, Deem Inferior, Brazen Borrower, Otawara, Soaring City, Pyroclasm, Abrade, Rending Volley, Cindercone Smite, or Meltdown should be used only as their visible legal targets allow, but survival beats speculative graveyard setup when the opponent has a short clock.

• When behind on board, convert spells into tempo before reloads. Clear or bounce the blocker or attacker that changes combat math, then rebuild with Treasure Cruise after stabilizing. If a returned Arclight Phoenix must block to prevent lethal, block; recursion value does not matter after losing.

• When behind on cards, Treasure Cruise and Faithless Looting flashback, if legal, are the recovery tools. Avoid firing off Noxious Revival for low-impact value because it costs a card; reserve it for a known top-deck, a key interaction spell, a threat, or a spell that completes a visible three-spell Arclight Phoenix turn.

• When behind on mana, prioritize land-finding with Ponder, Consider, Thought Scour, Faithless Looting, and Manamorphose rather than forcing a low-quality attack turn. Use Prismatic Vista, Steam Vents, Spirebluff Canal, Island, Mountain, and Otawara, Soaring City actions according to exposed legality, with early blue and red access valued over saving a marginal utility mode.

• When graveyard recursion is removed, stop building lines around unavailable Arclight Phoenix returns. Shift to hard-cast Arclight Phoenix, A-Demilich if legal and useful, Brazen Borrower pressure, Crackling Drake after sideboard, and Treasure Cruise reloads that find actual castable threats.

• When win conditions are removed, play to repeated small advantages rather than conceding tempo. Protect remaining threats with Force of Negation or Spell Snare only against visible legal spells that matter, use Deem Inferior and bounce effects to buy attack steps, and keep selection spells aimed at finding the next real threat instead of maximizing graveyard size alone.

Resource Model

• Life is a tempo buffer, not a resource to spend casually. Take pain from Steam Vents only when the current turn needs untapped blue or red for Consider, Thought Scour, Ponder, Faithless Looting, Chain Lightning, Spell Snare, Lightning Axe, Deem Inferior, or a three-spell Arclight Phoenix turn; preserve life when the hand already has the right color and the opponent is presenting visible combat pressure.

• Hand size is fuel for velocity and discard quality. Faithless Looting and Lightning Axe improve when they discard Arclight Phoenix or redundant lands, but they become risky when the hand contains only one threat, one interaction spell, or the last card needed for spell count. Treasure Cruise is the main way to rebuild after spending cards, so do not protect raw hand size over a line that creates board pressure and fills the graveyard.

• Mana converts cheap spells into threat turns. One and two mana often matter more than total land count because Arclight Phoenix needs multiple spells before combat and A-Demilich may reward dense spell sequencing. Preserve Manamorphose when it fixes a missing color, bridges spell count, or lets a Treasure Cruise turn continue.

• Board presence is usually created in bursts. A single returned Arclight Phoenix changes racing math; multiple returned Arclight Phoenix copies often justify spending Chain Lightning, Lightning Axe, Deem Inferior, or Brazen Borrower to clear one blocker. Hard-cast Arclight Phoenix, Brazen Borrower, and post-board Crackling Drake are the fallback board resources when graveyard recursion is contained.

• Graveyard quantity is a managed asset. Consider, Thought Scour, Faithless Looting, Ponder, Prismatic Vista, interaction, and spent Manamorphose feed Treasure Cruise, A-Demilich, and Arclight Phoenix setup, but delving too aggressively can weaken Noxious Revival lines or any visible A-Demilich text that uses the graveyard. Count the graveyard before choosing Treasure Cruise payments.

• Exile is both a cost zone and a warning zone. Treasure Cruise permanently spends graveyard cards, so prefer exiling redundant cantrips, fetch lands, and already-used interaction over currently relevant threats or known Noxious Revival targets. If opposing graveyard exile is visible or already resolved, shift resource planning toward hard-cast threats and post-board Crackling Drake.

• Lands are color access first and utility second. Prismatic Vista fixes basics and fuels the graveyard; Otawara, Soaring City is a land until the channel action is both legal and tactically important. Do not hold a land for theoretical value if missing a land drop prevents a multi-spell turn, Force of Negation backup, or Treasure Cruise reload.

• Sacrifice fodder is effectively absent outside land sacrifice from Prismatic Vista. Do not plan to sacrifice Arclight Phoenix, A-Demilich, Brazen Borrower, or Crackling Drake for value unless Veles exposes a legal action and the visible result is required for survival or a deterministic line.

• Information comes from selection spells and public zones. Use Ponder, Consider, Thought Scour, Faithless Looting, and Noxious Revival to make decisions from visible cards and known graveyards, not guessed hidden hands. When a choice depends on unknown interaction, choose the line that remains functional if the first threat is answered.

• Sideboard bullets convert narrow mana into matchup-specific tempo. Force of Negation and Annul protect against decisive noncreature spells, Meltdown and Abrade pressure artifacts, Pyroclasm and Cindercone Smite answer creature boards if legal, Rending Volley is narrow removal, Surgical Extraction contests graveyard or combo resources, Brazen Borrower adds bounce pressure, and Crackling Drake turns graveyard/exile volume into a standalone threat.

Mana Guide

• Prioritize early blue and red together. Blue enables Consider, Thought Scour, Ponder, Spell Snare, Deem Inferior, Brazen Borrower, Treasure Cruise, Force of Negation, and Annul after sideboard; red enables Faithless Looting, Chain Lightning, Lightning Axe, Manamorphose, Swiftspear's Teachings, Meltdown, Abrade, Cindercone Smite, Pyroclasm, and Rending Volley. A keep with only one color needs immediate selection or Manamorphose help.

• Keep hands that can cast two early spells and find the second color. Spirebluff Canal plus any one-mana cantrip is strong; Steam Vents plus a cheap spell is flexible if life permits; Prismatic Vista is strongest when the hand knows whether Island or Mountain unlocks more spells. Mulligan pressure rises when the hand has Arclight Phoenix but no Faithless Looting, Lightning Axe, Consider, Thought Scour, or Ponder to create velocity.

• Sequence lands to preserve untapped spell windows. Play Spirebluff Canal early while it is untapped; fetch Island with Prismatic Vista when blue cantrips and interaction dominate the hand; fetch Mountain when Faithless Looting, Chain Lightning, or Lightning Axe is the only functional opener. Use Steam Vents untapped only when the immediate spell or held interaction matters more than the life.

• Delay Prismatic Vista only when top-card information makes the shuffle valuable. If Ponder exposes unwanted cards and the rules engine offers a shuffle line, Prismatic Vista can reset the top of library; otherwise, crack it when the color is needed, when graveyard count matters, or before Treasure Cruise cost math rewards the extra card.

• Play lands before draw spells when the land drop is required for known legal actions this turn. If the hand already contains the needed land and the plan is Manamorphose into multiple spells, make the land drop first to avoid wasting a draw-step decision on mana uncertainty.

• Cast selection before land drops when the correct land is unknown and no immediate spell is locked. Ponder, Consider, Thought Scour, and Faithless Looting can reveal whether Island, Mountain, Steam Vents, or Otawara, Soaring City should be played, but do not skip a land drop waiting for perfect information.

• Treat Otawara, Soaring City as a blue source unless its channel action is visible, legal, and worth the mana. The utility mode should answer a high-impact permanent, clear a blocker for lethal or a strong attack, or protect survival; otherwise the deck needs blue mana more than a speculative bounce option.

• Spend Manamorphose as the pivot spell, not the first spell by habit. Use it after seeing whether the turn needs red, blue, spell count, or post-Treasure Cruise continuation. When a three-spell Arclight Phoenix turn is possible, Manamorphose often belongs in the middle so it fixes the remaining sequence and replaces itself before the final spell.

Mulligan Guide

• Strong keep: keep two-land hands with both colors and at least two cheap spells, especially Spirebluff Canal or Steam Vents plus Ponder, Consider, Thought Scour, Faithless Looting, or Manamorphose. These hands can sculpt, fill the graveyard, and set up a turn-three Arclight Phoenix or Treasure Cruise without relying on hidden draws.

• Strong threat keep: keep Arclight Phoenix plus Faithless Looting or Lightning Axe when the hand also has blue selection and two mana sources. The plan is to put Arclight Phoenix into the graveyard only through legal discard or mill actions, then build a three-spell turn from visible resources.

• Medium keep: keep one-land Spirebluff Canal or Steam Vents hands with Ponder plus at least one of Consider, Thought Scour, Faithless Looting, or Manamorphose. On the draw this is acceptable more often; on the play, mulligan if missing the second color, lacking velocity, or facing a likely fast creature start.

• Medium keep: keep two lands, A-Demilich, two cheap cantrips, and one interactive spell when the hand can cast spells every turn. Card text check required for exact A-Demilich discount and graveyard use, so do not keep a hand that only works if an unverified discount applies.

• Risky keep: keep Arclight Phoenix-heavy hands only if Faithless Looting, Thought Scour, Lightning Axe, or multiple cantrips provide a visible route to graveyard setup. Ship hands with multiple Arclight Phoenix and no way to move them or cast enough spells.

• Risky keep: keep Treasure Cruise only when the hand already has cheap spells and lands to stock the graveyard. Do not keep Treasure Cruise as the only payoff in a slow hand that cannot interact or produce graveyard count before the opponent pressures life total.

• Automatic ship: mulligan zero-land, one-color no-selection, all-threat no-spell, or five-plus-land hands. Also ship hands where Otawara, Soaring City is the only land and no legal early spell sequence exists.

• Automatic ship: mulligan hands built around Force of Negation, Spell Snare, Deem Inferior, Brazen Borrower, or Noxious Revival without proactive velocity. This deck cannot win by holding narrow answers while missing cantrips, discard outlets, or graveyard development.

• Matchup-dependent keep: keep Force of Negation or Spell Snare hands against visible or known noncreature-combo, control, or low-curve spell decks only when the rest of the hand still casts selection. Against creature pressure, prefer Chain Lightning, Lightning Axe, Deem Inferior, or a fast Arclight Phoenix setup.

• Matchup-dependent keep: keep Chain Lightning or Lightning Axe openers higher against small-creature starts and lower against slow decks where selection and graveyard speed matter more. Lightning Axe improves when Arclight Phoenix or excess lands provide acceptable discard.

• Play/draw rule: on the play, value untapped mana and proactive cantrips over reactive permission. On the draw, tolerate one extra reactive card if the hand still has a turn-one spell and a clear turn-two sequence.

• Trap hand: do not keep multiple Manamorphose plus threats if the hand lacks a real first spell or stable mana. Manamorphose is a bridge after a plan exists, not a substitute for lands, selection, or interaction.

• Trap hand: do not keep Faithless Looting plus no payoff, no second land, and no blue selection merely because it sees cards. Faithless Looting is strongest when it enables Arclight Phoenix, fixes excess cards, or supports a known Treasure Cruise path.

Turn Arc

• Turn 1: lead with the land that casts the most visible spells this turn and next turn. Prefer Spirebluff Canal early, Steam Vents untapped when the spell matters, and Prismatic Vista for the missing basic when color access is known.

• Turn 1: cast Ponder when land quality or sequencing is uncertain, cast Consider when holding up options matters, and cast Faithless Looting when Arclight Phoenix, excess lands, or dead interaction make discard productive. Cast Thought Scour when graveyard count is the priority or when targeting yourself is legal and advances Arclight Phoenix, Treasure Cruise, or A-Demilich setup.

• Turn 1 deviation: hold Spell Snare or Force of Negation only when the matchup and visible context make the opposing turn more dangerous than your own setup. Do not pass with no action against unknown pressure if a legal cantrip improves the hand.

• Turn 2: build toward a turn-three burst by combining selection, discard, and interaction. Use Chain Lightning or Lightning Axe to protect life total or clear a blocker, but prefer cantrip plus setup when the opponent is not presenting a meaningful clock.

• Turn 2: use Manamorphose when it fixes a missing color, becomes the second spell toward Arclight Phoenix pressure, or unlocks a legal follow-up spell. Avoid spending it into no follow-up unless the replacement card is needed immediately.

• Turn 2 deviation: cast Brazen Borrower, Deem Inferior, or Otawara, Soaring City utility only when Veles exposes the legal action and the target is materially blocking your plan or threatening survival. Card text check required for exact Deem Inferior and Brazen Borrower mode details, so treat target choice as board-state dependent.

• Turn 3: prioritize three-spell turns that return Arclight Phoenix before combat when the graveyard contains Arclight Phoenix and legal spells are available. Count Manamorphose as the bridge spell when it enables both mana and spell count.

• Turn 3: cast Treasure Cruise after cheap spells have stocked the graveyard and before committing low-impact filler if the draw can change the rest of the turn. Preserve relevant graveyard cards when Noxious Revival, A-Demilich, or future Arclight Phoenix lines visibly depend on them.

• Turn 3 deviation: hard-cast Arclight Phoenix, A-Demilich, or Brazen Borrower when graveyard recursion is unavailable and the board demands a threat. Do not tap out for a fragile threat if visible opposing mana and known interaction make Force of Negation the only way to stop a decisive play.

• Turns 4-5: convert accumulated graveyard and hand selection into pressure plus protection. The ideal pattern is Arclight Phoenix recursion or A-Demilich pressure backed by Deem Inferior, Chain Lightning, Lightning Axe, Spell Snare, Force of Negation, or Noxious Revival where legal.

• Turns 4-5: use Treasure Cruise as the reload after spending spells, not before choosing obvious legal attacks or required removal. If multiple Arclight Phoenix copies can attack, clear the blocker that changes the damage race most.

• Late game: shift from pure velocity to threat density and exact damage. Hard-cast Arclight Phoenix, protect A-Demilich lines if card text supports them, use Brazen Borrower or Otawara, Soaring City to remove a key blocker, and preserve Chain Lightning for lethal or survival when possible.

• Late game deviation: respect graveyard hate, exile pressure, and empty-library risk from repeated draw. When recursion is contained, win through hard-cast threats, Treasure Cruise card volume, and post-board threats rather than forcing a graveyard line the visible rules engine no longer supports.

Card Roles

• A-Demilich is the main non-Phoenix spell payoff, so commit it when the turn already contains cheap spells or when the rules engine exposes a legal reduced-cost cast. Card text check required for the exact Historic A- version, especially cost reduction and any attack/cast-from-graveyard text, so do not assume a discount, recursion trigger, or graveyard-casting line unless Veles shows the legal action. Treat A-Demilich as a pressure source that rewards sequencing Ponder, Consider, Thought Scour, Faithless Looting, Manamorphose, Chain Lightning, and Deem Inferior before combat; avoid stranding it in hand by spending all cheap spells too early with no payoff window.

• Arclight Phoenix is the primary clock and the clearest graveyard payoff, so prioritize moving it from hand to graveyard with Faithless Looting, Lightning Axe, or self-mill before assembling a three-spell turn. Cast or sequence spells before combat when Arclight Phoenix is in the graveyard and Veles exposes legal spell actions that can satisfy its return condition. Do not hard-cast Arclight Phoenix early unless recursion is unavailable, pressure is needed immediately, or graveyard hate makes waiting worse. Multiple Arclight Phoenix copies reward cheap-spell density more than individual card quality, so a Manamorphose that bridges mana and spell count can be stronger than a more powerful standalone play.

• Faithless Looting is the best enabler for bad-card conversion, Arclight Phoenix discard, and graveyard volume, so cast it early when at least one discard is productive. Discard Arclight Phoenix first when a return turn is plausible, then excess lands, redundant threats, narrow interaction, or expensive cards that do not fit the current turn. Do not cast Faithless Looting into forced discard of essential mana, the only payoff, or the only relevant answer unless the visible board demands digging. Treat flashback or graveyard recast legality as rules-engine output, not assumed text.

• Thought Scour is a graveyard accelerator first and a cantrip second, so target yourself when the visible plan needs Arclight Phoenix, Treasure Cruise, A-Demilich, or Noxious Revival fuel. Target the opponent only when Veles exposes that target, the opponent’s library or top-card context makes it tactically justified, or a matchup-specific public effect rewards it. Avoid self-milling blindly when library size is low, graveyard hate is active, or the graveyard already has enough fuel and the hand needs card selection instead of raw volume.

• Consider is the flexible one-mana smoothing spell, so use it when keeping mana open, checking for a missing land, or adding one more spell toward Arclight Phoenix. Put cards into the graveyard when they are redundant, fuel Treasure Cruise, enable A-Demilich, or place Arclight Phoenix where it belongs; keep cards on top when they solve mana, interaction, or payoff needs. Prefer Consider over sorcery-speed selection when the opponent may present a target for Deem Inferior, Spell Snare, Force of Negation, Brazen Borrower, or Lightning Axe.

• Ponder is the highest-quality early selection spell, so use it to find missing lands, the third spell for an Arclight Phoenix turn, a discard outlet, or the exact interaction needed for the matchup. Preserve a strong top-card stack when the next two turns are already mapped; shuffle or bottom-equivalent choices should be favored only when the visible cards fail the immediate mana, payoff, or survival test. Do not spend Ponder after locking into a low-quality line if casting it first could reveal a better spell-count route.

• Manamorphose is a spell-count and color-bridge card, so cast it when it unlocks a follow-up spell, fixes blue/red requirements, or becomes the second or third spell for Arclight Phoenix. Avoid using Manamorphose as meaningless velocity when the turn has no follow-up, when holding it would make a future A-Demilich or Arclight Phoenix turn stronger, or when open mana must represent interaction. When Veles asks for colors, choose the colors that cast the visible follow-up actions, not abstract deck preferences.

• Treasure Cruise is the reload payoff, so cast it after cheap spells and self-mill have filled the graveyard and before making decisions that new cards can improve. Preserve graveyard resources when Arclight Phoenix recursion, A-Demilich legality, Noxious Revival, or known future lines need specific cards. Do not exile carelessly just because Treasure Cruise is legal; a smaller immediate hand may be worse than losing the graveyard structure that powers the deck’s next turn.

• Deem Inferior is interactive tempo glue, but card text check required for exact legality, timing, and target restrictions. Use it when Veles exposes a legal target that blocks Phoenix damage, threatens a decisive attack, protects an opposing engine, or creates a tempo window for a three-spell turn. Do not fire Deem Inferior at a low-impact permanent merely to spend mana if the same turn can develop graveyard pressure or hold relevant interaction.

• Chain Lightning is cheap removal and reach, so point it at creatures when damage prevention, blocker removal, or life-total protection matters more than saving burn. Preserve Chain Lightning for lethal or near-lethal races when the opponent is stable and your threats already attack. Card text check required for any copy-back or unusual Historic implementation details; follow Veles legality and stack prompts rather than assuming paper-only play patterns.

• Swiftspear's Teachings is a proactive pressure card or spell payoff slot, but card text check required before relying on exact token, buff, or spell-recursion behavior. Cast it when the visible turn benefits from adding board pressure while increasing spell count, especially if Arclight Phoenix or A-Demilich sequencing can also improve. Do not prioritize it over required removal, mana setup, or a guaranteed Phoenix-return turn unless the generated pressure is clearly the better clock from visible board state.

• Lightning Axe is the cleanest main-deck discard outlet tied to removal, so use it when discarding Arclight Phoenix, excess lands, or dead interaction turns the cost into upside. Aim it at creatures that race, block Phoenix profitably, or threaten a snowball; avoid spending it on minor creatures if the discard cost would break the next turn’s spell-count plan. If no acceptable discard exists, treat Lightning Axe as conditional rather than automatic interaction.

• Force of Negation is a narrow safety valve, so hold it for noncreature spells that decide the game, stop your graveyard engine, or invalidate your current pressure. Do not pitch critical velocity or the only payoff to counter a low-impact spell. Against creature pressure, value proactive cantrips and removal higher unless the visible stack action is clearly more dangerous than the board.

• Spell Snare is a matchup-sensitive tempo answer, so keep mana open only when the opponent’s visible or known deck makes two-mana spells important and your own setup is not falling behind. Do not let Spell Snare freeze a hand that needs to cast Ponder, Consider, Thought Scour, or Faithless Looting to function.

• Brazen Borrower is a flexible tempo singleton, but card text check required for exact Adventure/creature mode behavior and target restrictions. Use its bounce role when a blocker, hate permanent, or large threat blocks a decisive tempo turn; use its body when the deck needs pressure after graveyard plans are contained. Do not spend it on temporary nuisance targets if the opponent can immediately replay them and your own threats are not ready.

• Noxious Revival is tactical recursion, disruption, or spell-count support, so use it when putting a specific visible graveyard card on top changes the current or next turn. Rebuy Arclight Phoenix enablers, Treasure Cruise setup pieces, interaction, or a threat only when the draw step and tempo cost are acceptable. Target opposing graveyards only when a specific public card must be denied or delayed; do not use it as generic graveyard hate.

• Prismatic Vista, Spirebluff Canal, Steam Vents, Island, Mountain, and Otawara, Soaring City define whether the hand can execute cheap multi-spell turns. Lead on untapped blue or red according to the visible first two spells, fetch basics when life total or color stability matters, and preserve Steam Vents shock decisions for turns where the extra mana changes legal actions. Card text check required for Otawara, Soaring City channel details; use it as a land first unless Veles exposes a tactically meaningful utility action.

Interaction Priorities

• Priority: Remove creatures that invalidate tempo before creatures that merely trade damage. Use Chain Lightning or Lightning Axe first on a creature that blocks Arclight Phoenix, races A-Demilich, enables a snowballing engine, or forces you to spend multiple future spells defensively. Ignore low-power creatures when your visible line returns Arclight Phoenix, casts Treasure Cruise, or creates a faster clock unless life total is already under pressure.

• Priority: Counter noncreature spells that shut off the graveyard, answer multiple threats, or swing the race. Force of Negation should be saved for stack actions that stop Arclight Phoenix recursion, exile the graveyard, sweep the battlefield, resolve a decisive engine, or break up a protected combo turn. Spell Snare is for high-impact two-mana spells; do not hold up Spell Snare over casting Ponder, Consider, Thought Scour, or Faithless Looting unless the opponent's deck has already shown two-mana plays worth respecting.

• Priority: Bounce permanents only when the temporary reset creates a real turn. Brazen Borrower should target a blocker, hate permanent, oversized threat, or tempo-critical permanent when bouncing it opens an attack, protects a Treasure Cruise turn, or buys the exact turn needed for Arclight Phoenix. Deem Inferior is also tempo interaction, but card text check required for exact target restrictions and outcome; use it only when Veles exposes a legal target whose delay matters.

• Priority: Use Lightning Axe as removal plus discard outlet, not as unconditional kill-anything removal. Discard Arclight Phoenix when the same or next turn can realistically cast three spells, discard excess lands when mana is already functional, and discard dead interaction only when the target is worth the card. Avoid Lightning Axe on small attackers if losing the discard card weakens A-Demilich, Treasure Cruise, or a future Phoenix turn more than the creature matters.

• Priority: Treat Noxious Revival as a specific-card tool. Put your own Consider, Thought Scour, Faithless Looting, Manamorphose, Treasure Cruise, Arclight Phoenix, A-Demilich, or interaction back only when drawing that exact card improves a visible line. Target an opposing graveyard card only when the public card is about to be reused, reanimated, escaped, flashed back, or counted by a visible effect; do not spend Noxious Revival as generic graveyard interference.

• Bait: Lead with lower-commitment spells before exposing the payoff when the opponent represents interaction. Cast Consider, Thought Scour, Faithless Looting, Ponder, or Manamorphose to test responses and build spell count before committing A-Demilich or Treasure Cruise, unless the payoff must resolve immediately to survive. When holding Force of Negation, avoid pitching the only payoff unless the opposing spell is more decisive than your lost threat.

• Archetype shift: Against fast creature decks, removal and life total protection outrank perfect graveyard setup. Against control, preserve threats, force action with recurring Arclight Phoenix, and hold Force of Negation for sweepers or graveyard hate. Against artifact decks, post-board interaction such as Annul, Abrade, Meltdown, and Cindercone Smite changes priority toward engines and lock pieces. Against graveyard mirrors or combo graveyard decks, Surgical Extraction makes public graveyard targets tactically important, but only act on cards Veles shows.

Combat And Trading Rules

• Attack: Convert every returned Arclight Phoenix into pressure unless attacking loses it to a blocker that matters more than the damage. Phoenix is best when it forces the opponent to answer recurring damage while you continue casting spells; do not hold it back as a blocker unless life total, lethal risk, or a specific visible crack-back demands defense.

• Attack: Use A-Demilich as a pressure engine when its attack or cast patterns are legal and profitable from visible actions. Card text check required for exact A-Demilich behavior in this Historic build, so follow Veles prompts rather than assuming paper Demilich text. Preserve A-Demilich when it is your only durable threat against removal-heavy decks, but race with it when the opponent's battlefield cannot punish the attack.

• Trade: Trade creatures only when the exchange protects a stronger spell-based plan. Arclight Phoenix can be traded more aggressively than A-Demilich if recursion is realistic; avoid trades when the graveyard is empty, three-spell turns are unlikely, or the opponent's creature is not actually pressuring you. Brazen Borrower as a body should trade only to stop lethal, protect Treasure Cruise time, or remove a key flier from combat.

• Block: Preserve life aggressively once opposing visible power threatens a two-turn clock. Use Brazen Borrower or a nonessential Arclight Phoenix as a blocker when the alternative makes Chain Lightning or Lightning Axe insufficient next turn. Do not chump-block with a payoff creature merely to save small amounts of life if the crack-back plus spell count presents lethal or near lethal.

• Protection: Protect engine turns before protecting incidental damage. If the opponent threatens instant-speed removal or graveyard hate, sequence cantrips so that Arclight Phoenix returns after interaction is taxed or baited. Hold Force of Negation for the spell that breaks the turn, not for the first answer pointed at a replaceable threat.

• Thresholds: At high life, spend life and tempo to maximize card flow through Steam Vents, Prismatic Vista, Ponder, Consider, Thought Scour, Faithless Looting, Manamorphose, and Treasure Cruise. At low life, stop treating cantrips as free; prioritize Chain Lightning, Lightning Axe, Brazen Borrower, Deem Inferior, or sideboard sweepers such as Pyroclasm and Meltdown when legal and relevant.

• Archetype shift: Against blockers and creature boards, clear one decisive blocker rather than spreading interaction across minor creatures. Against control, keep attacking with recurring threats and avoid overcommitting Crackling Drake or A-Demilich into obvious sweepers. Against combo, damage matters because it shortens their setup window, but do not tap out for low-impact attacks if Force of Negation, Spell Snare, Annul, or Surgical Extraction is needed for a visible stack or graveyard fight.

Selection And Tutor Rules

• Selection: Treat this deck as pseudo-tutor Phoenix tempo, not a true tutor deck. Ponder, Consider, Thought Scour, Faithless Looting, Manamorphose, Treasure Cruise, and Noxious Revival choose velocity, graveyard shape, and exact next draws; they do not justify assuming any hidden card or guaranteed sequence.

• Setup: Use Ponder early to find the missing category for the current hand. Keep land plus cheap spells when mana is short, keep Arclight Phoenix or Faithless Looting when recursion is missing, keep interaction when the opponent's visible plan can punish a tap-out turn, and shuffle with Prismatic Vista when the visible top cards do not support the next two turns.

• Graveyard: Use Consider, Thought Scour, and Faithless Looting to stock the graveyard only when the milled or discarded cards materially help Arclight Phoenix, A-Demilich, or Treasure Cruise. Do not mill blindly over a hand that already has enough spells but lacks mana, interaction, or a payoff.

• Discard: Use Faithless Looting to convert excess lands, redundant payoffs, and graveyard-desired cards into action. Discard Arclight Phoenix aggressively when the same turn or next turn can reach three spell casts; discard A-Demilich only when Veles shows the graveyard plan remains functional and the battlefield does not need a durable threat.

• Looting flashback: Treat Faithless Looting from the graveyard as a real card-spending decision. Cast it when digging for the third Phoenix spell, a land drop, Force of Negation, removal, or Treasure Cruise matters more than preserving mana for interaction.

• Cruise: Cast Treasure Cruise when delve does not exile the exact graveyard resources needed for Arclight Phoenix recursion, A-Demilich access, or Noxious Revival setup. Preserve Arclight Phoenix in the graveyard unless the cards drawn are needed to survive or win immediately.

• Revival: Use Noxious Revival only for a named visible card whose next draw or denial matters. Put back Treasure Cruise, Force of Negation, Lightning Axe, Chain Lightning, Manamorphose, Faithless Looting, or Arclight Phoenix when that specific card completes a legal line; target an opponent graveyard card only when Veles shows it is about to be reused.

• Manamorphose: Use Manamorphose to bridge colors, increase spell count, and replace itself before committing the payoff spell. Do not spend it before knowing whether red or blue mana is needed unless the current legal sequence already requires a spell count increase.

• Alchemy cards: Card text check required for Deem Inferior, Swiftspear's Teachings, and A-Demilich exact selection or permission details. Follow Veles legal actions, and use these cards conditionally as tempo, pressure, or spell-density tools only when the exposed action text confirms the intended mode.

Priority And Stack Rules

• Priority: Cast cheap selection before the payoff when the stack is empty and the opponent is not presenting lethal or a must-answer permanent. Consider, Thought Scour, Ponder, Faithless Looting, and Manamorphose should build spell count before Arclight Phoenix recursion, Treasure Cruise, or A-Demilich commitment unless waiting exposes the line to visible disruption.

• Stack: Save Force of Negation for noncreature spells that stop the graveyard plan, remove multiple threats, win the game, or invalidate the turn. Do not pitch the only payoff or only recursion enabler unless the opposing spell is more decisive than the lost card.

• Stack: Use Spell Snare only when the visible two-mana spell is worth the mana and card. Passing with Spell Snare is worse than advancing Ponder, Consider, Thought Scour, or Faithless Looting when the opponent has not shown a high-impact two-mana target.

• Removal timing: Cast Lightning Axe, Chain Lightning, Deem Inferior, Brazen Borrower, or Otawara, Soaring City at the latest safe point that preserves mana and information. Act earlier when a creature's attack, trigger, static ability, or blocker role changes the current turn.

• Phoenix turn: Start the three-spell Arclight Phoenix turn only when mana, spell count, and graveyard contents are visible enough to complete it. If the opponent represents stack interaction or graveyard interaction, lead with lower-impact spells and force them to act before the final recursion-enabling spell.

• Combat windows: Respect priority after attackers, after blockers, and before damage. Use Brazen Borrower, Lightning Axe, Chain Lightning, Force of Negation, or sideboard interaction in these windows when the action changes lethal math, saves a key threat, clears a decisive blocker, or prevents a blowout.

• Optional payments: Treat optional costs and optional spell choices as tactical commitments, not defaults. Pay or choose optional actions only when Veles shows the legal payment and the result advances spell count, pressure, survival, or stack protection more than holding mana.

• Graveyard timing: Respond to visible graveyard hate or recursion with Noxious Revival, Force of Negation, Annul, or Surgical Extraction only when the target and timing are public. Do not assume hidden hate, hidden recursion, or hidden interaction beyond what matchup role and open mana make strategically plausible.

• Tap-out gate: Tap out for Treasure Cruise, Crackling Drake, A-Demilich, Swiftspear's Teachings, or a large Phoenix setup only when the resulting cards or pressure outweigh the exposed stack window. Against combo or control, keep Force of Negation, Spell Snare, Annul, or Surgical Extraction available when the opponent's next action is visibly more dangerous than your incremental development.

Sideboard Map

• Sideboard principle: Add narrow cards only when the opponent's visible archetype makes their text live often enough to beat main-deck velocity. Izzet Phoenix wins by spell density, graveyard pressure, and tempo; sideboarding should not remove so many cheap spells that Arclight Phoenix, A-Demilich, and Treasure Cruise stop functioning.

• Force of Negation: Bring additional Force of Negation against combo, control, sweepers, planeswalker-heavy noncreature turns, graveyard hate that appears as noncreature spells, and artifact/enchantment engines only when countering the key spell matters more than preserving card count. Force of Negation is weak against creature-dense aggro, low-curve battlefield decks, and opponents whose important cards are already permanents before it can interact.

• Annul: Add Annul against artifact decks, enchantment decks, graveyard-hate permanents, prison pieces, aura shells, and engines where a one-mana answer protects tempo while preserving spell count. Annul is poor against creature-only pressure, spell combo without artifact or enchantment anchors, and control lists whose decisive cards are instants, sorceries, or planeswalkers.

• Crackling Drake: Add Crackling Drake against graveyard hate, attrition, removal-light control, and games where Arclight Phoenix recursion may be unreliable but instant and sorcery volume remains high. Crackling Drake is slow against fast aggro, risky against open removal when tapping four mana fails to stabilize, and less attractive when the opponent can exile the graveyard before damage is assigned.

• Meltdown: Add Meltdown against artifact-board decks where one spell can reset multiple permanents and create a Phoenix recovery window. Meltdown is bad against nonartifact creature decks, single large artifact threats that require Abrade-style precision, and games where your mana cannot support a scalable sorcery without falling behind on pressure.

• Abrade: Add Abrade when the opponent presents both creature pressure and relevant artifacts, or when Veles shows an artifact permanent that must be answered without waiting for Meltdown. Abrade is less useful against spell combo, control with few artifacts, and threats outside the exposed damage or artifact-destruction modes.

• Brazen Borrower: Add the sideboard Brazen Borrower against large blockers, tokens carrying auras, temporary hate permanents, expensive threats, and battlefield positions where bounce opens a lethal or Phoenix-recursion attack. Brazen Borrower is weaker against cheap recastable creatures, enter-the-battlefield value threats, and opponents who punish tempo-only answers with immediate redeployment.

• Cindercone Smite: Card text check required for exact Cindercone Smite rules text. Add Cindercone Smite only when Veles exposes legal action text that clearly functions as efficient removal, reach, or tempo interaction for the visible matchup; avoid relying on unverified damage, exile, cost, or targeting assumptions.

• Pyroclasm: Add Pyroclasm against small-creature aggro, token decks, mana-creature starts, and wide boards where two damage materially improves survival before Phoenix pressure turns the corner. Pyroclasm is poor when it misses the opponent's main threats, kills your relevant board without a tempo gain, or cannot be cast before the attack step that matters.

• Rending Volley: Add Rending Volley against white or blue creature decks where a one-mana answer can remove a key threat, blocker, or hate creature through stack interaction. Rending Volley is nearly dead when the opponent's visible threats are not white or blue creatures, so do not add it for generic removal density.

• Surgical Extraction: Add Surgical Extraction against graveyard combo, recursive threats, single-card engines, and opponents whose public graveyard contains a card that must not be reused. Surgical Extraction is weak as a blind disruption spell; use it after the target card is public and the loss of a card is justified by denying future copies or breaking a graveyard loop.

Artifact Aggro / Affinity-Style Pressure Side in: 2 Meltdown; 1 Abrade; 2 Annul Cut: 1 Force of Negation; 1 Spell Snare; 1 Noxious Revival; 2 Swiftspear's Teachings

• Plan rule: Against artifact pressure, prioritize Meltdown and Abrade because they convert one card into a battlefield reset or decisive tempo answer. Keep cheap cantrips and Faithless Looting high because recovering after a sweep still requires Arclight Phoenix or Treasure Cruise velocity.

• Role change: Force of Negation becomes selective rather than central because many artifact games are decided by permanents already on board. Annul stays excellent when the opponent's key artifact or enchantment is on the stack, but Veles should not hold up Annul while dying to creatures if removal or Meltdown is legal.

Small-Creature Aggro / Tokens Side in: 1 Pyroclasm; 1 Abrade; 1 Cindercone Smite; 1 Brazen Borrower Cut: 1 Force of Negation; 1 Noxious Revival; 1 Treasure Cruise; 1 Swiftspear's Teachings

• Plan rule: Against fast creature decks, reduce slow card-advantage emphasis and add interaction that changes combat before life total becomes the bottleneck. Preserve Chain Lightning, Lightning Axe, and Deem Inferior because early battlefield control buys the turn needed for Arclight Phoenix recursion.

• Role change: Crackling Drake is usually too slow here unless the opponent slows down after sideboarding or removal lines clearly stabilize. Surgical Extraction is not a pressure answer unless a recursive graveyard creature is already public and repeated copies are the reason you are losing.

Control / Sweepers / Stack-Heavy Midrange Side in: 3 Force of Negation; 2 Crackling Drake; 1 Brazen Borrower Cut: 2 Chain Lightning; 1 Lightning Axe; 1 Spell Snare; 1 Deem Inferior; 1 Swiftspear's Teachings

• Plan rule: Against control, protect the graveyard-tempo engine while adding Crackling Drake as a threat that rewards normal spell volume even through graveyard hate. Do not overcommit A-Demilich, Arclight Phoenix, and Crackling Drake into obvious sweepers when one threat already pressures life total.

• Role change: Force of Negation becomes a commitment gate for sweepers, graveyard hate, and haymakers, not a default answer to every spell. Brazen Borrower gains value as a temporary answer to resolved hate or a planeswalker-adjacent tempo line only when Veles exposes a legal bounce target.

Graveyard Combo / Recursive Engine Side in: 1 Surgical Extraction; 3 Force of Negation; 2 Annul Cut: 2 Chain Lightning; 1 Lightning Axe; 1 Brazen Borrower; 1 Swiftspear's Teachings; 1 Deem Inferior

• Plan rule: Against graveyard engines, combine stack interaction with Surgical Extraction only after the relevant card is public. Force of Negation and Annul should stop enablers or hate permanents when the stack text is visible; Surgical Extraction should target a card in a public graveyard that the opponent's plan demonstrably uses.

• Role change: Noxious Revival remains tactical because it can protect your own graveyard card from opposing extraction or deny an opponent's graveyard card at instant speed when legal. Do not remove too much removal if the graveyard deck also attacks with creatures.

White Or Blue Creature Tempo Side in: 1 Rending Volley; 1 Abrade; 1 Brazen Borrower; 1 Cindercone Smite Cut: 1 Noxious Revival; 1 Treasure Cruise; 1 Swiftspear's Teachings; 1 Force of Negation

• Plan rule: Against white or blue creature tempo, favor cheap answers that clear blockers, remove hate creatures, and keep mana open for cantrips. Rending Volley is a matchup card only when Veles shows white or blue creature targets are likely to matter.

• Role change: Treasure Cruise remains powerful but can be reduced in emphasis when the opponent's pressure and disruption make three-mana delve turns unsafe. Crackling Drake is optional in slower creature mirrors, but avoid adding it when the battlefield requires one- and two-mana answers.

Broad archetype rules:

• Add role cards: Use Force of Negation, Annul, and Surgical Extraction against combo or engines where the stack and graveyard decide the game. Reduce main-deck emphasis: creature-only removal and bounce that do not touch the opponent's decisive public resource.

• Add role cards: Use Pyroclasm, Abrade, Cindercone Smite, and Brazen Borrower against battlefield pressure where survival beats extra card draw. Reduce main-deck emphasis: slow Swiftspear's Teachings lines, fragile Noxious Revival setups, and expensive Treasure Cruise turns when they do not affect combat soon enough.

• Add role cards: Use Crackling Drake and Force of Negation against attrition and control where Phoenix recursion is contested. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Chain Lightning and Lightning Axe when the opponent has few creatures and life-total pressure is not the immediate axis.

Matchup Guidance

• Aggro: Stabilize first, then turn the corner with Arclight Phoenix recursion or a cheap A-Demilich sequence. Keep hands that can cast Consider, Thought Scour, Faithless Looting, Ponder, Chain Lightning, Lightning Axe, or Deem Inferior on the first two turns; hands that only promise Treasure Cruise later are too slow unless the visible matchup has already shown a slow start. Add role cards: Pyroclasm, Abrade, Cindercone Smite, Brazen Borrower. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Noxious Revival, Swiftspear's Teachings, and Treasure Cruise when the game is about surviving the next combat. Use Manamorphose to chain spell count for Arclight Phoenix only when mana remains for removal or the attack is not lethal against you.

• Control: Pressure with recurring threats and force the opponent to answer on awkward turns. Prioritize Faithless Looting, Consider, Thought Scour, and Ponder to stock the graveyard while finding Force of Negation or a threat; avoid spending every spell before a turn where Arclight Phoenix can return. Add role cards: Force of Negation, Crackling Drake, Brazen Borrower. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Chain Lightning, Lightning Axe, and Deem Inferior when there are few visible creature targets. Treat Crackling Drake as a separate threat axis when graveyard hate threatens Arclight Phoenix and A-Demilich, but do not cast it into open mana when holding Force of Negation would protect a more important future turn.

• Combo: Race only when the combo has not presented a visible must-answer stack or graveyard object; otherwise hold interaction. Force of Negation is the highest-value sideboard card against noncreature combo, with Annul for artifact or enchantment engines and Surgical Extraction only after a key card is public in a graveyard. Add role cards: Force of Negation, Annul, Surgical Extraction, Brazen Borrower when a resolved permanent must be bounced. Reduce main-deck emphasis: creature removal that does not interact with the shown combo line. Use Faithless Looting and Ponder to find interaction before committing a full Phoenix turn if the opponent can win first.

• Tempo: Win the mana-efficiency fight by answering threats while advancing graveyard count. Preserve one-mana interaction and cantrips, and avoid spending Faithless Looting flashback or Treasure Cruise into windows where the opponent can punish a tapped-out turn. Add role cards: Rending Volley against white or blue creature tempo, Abrade for artifact creatures or utility permanents, Cindercone Smite if its verified text answers the visible threat, and Brazen Borrower for tempo resets. Reduce main-deck emphasis: slow Swiftspear's Teachings lines and Noxious Revival unless they protect a key graveyard card or set up exact recursion.

• Midrange: Trade resources early, then use graveyard velocity to overpower one-for-one removal. Arclight Phoenix is strongest when returned after the opponent has spent removal; A-Demilich is strongest when cheap spells make it mana-efficient without exposing the whole turn to a single answer. Add role cards: Crackling Drake against removal-heavy midrange, Force of Negation against expensive noncreature haymakers, Abrade when artifacts or creatures matter, and Brazen Borrower for temporary answers to large permanents. Reduce main-deck emphasis: narrow removal when the visible threats are larger than Chain Lightning or not valid targets.

• Big mana: Kill quickly while countering the first payoff that matters. Use Ponder, Consider, Thought Scour, Faithless Looting, Manamorphose, and Treasure Cruise to assemble a high-spell-count pressure turn rather than playing a long attrition game. Add role cards: Force of Negation, Annul when the ramp or payoff is artifact or enchantment based, Crackling Drake as a faster independent clock, and Brazen Borrower for a resolved large permanent if the bounce target is legal. Reduce main-deck emphasis: creature-only removal unless the opponent's acceleration or payoff is actually creature based. Do not hold Chain Lightning for face damage if a mana creature or early threat is the visible route to losing.

• Graveyard decks: Identify whose graveyard matters more before spending hate or self-mill. Surgical Extraction should target a public graveyard card that visibly enables recursion, combo, or repeated value; do not use it blind from archetype assumptions. Add role cards: Surgical Extraction, Force of Negation, Annul for graveyard hate or engine permanents, and Brazen Borrower for resolved hate. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Chain Lightning and Lightning Axe only if the opposing graveyard plan is not creature-pressure based. Noxious Revival can protect your own Arclight Phoenix, Treasure Cruise fuel, or key spell from graveyard interaction when the legal target and timing are visible.

• Artifact/enchantment decks: Prioritize permanent interaction over raw velocity when the board or stack shows a decisive artifact or enchantment. Meltdown is the highest-upside card against artifact boards, while Abrade handles a single artifact or creature and Annul handles a key artifact or enchantment before it resolves. Add role cards: Meltdown, Abrade, Annul, Force of Negation against noncreature payoffs. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Spell Snare and narrow creature removal when they do not answer the visible engine. If an artifact deck is also fast creature aggro, survival and Meltdown timing outrank holding up counterspells for future spells.

• Go-wide decks: Stop the first lethal combat step before chasing card advantage. Pyroclasm is the cleanest role card when its damage is verified to clear the visible board, and Meltdown can serve the same role against artifact creatures or tokens if legal. Add role cards: Pyroclasm, Meltdown, Abrade, Cindercone Smite if verified, Brazen Borrower for a key blocker or anthem-style permanent only when bounce changes the combat math. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Treasure Cruise and Swiftspear's Teachings when spending the turn not affecting the board risks lethal damage. Keep Arclight Phoenix back on defense only when blocking prevents more damage than attacking creates.

• Single-threat decks: Answer the one threat cleanly and then punish the opponent for low battlefield density. Deem Inferior, Brazen Borrower, Lightning Axe, Chain Lightning, Abrade, Rending Volley, and Cindercone Smite all require target legality from Veles; choose among them by mana, threat size, color, and whether temporary bounce is enough. Add role cards: Rending Volley for white or blue creatures, Abrade for artifact creatures, Brazen Borrower for tempo, Force of Negation for noncreature protect-the-threat shells. Reduce main-deck emphasis: sweepers and Meltdown unless the threat or support cards are artifacts.

• Burn: Protect life total while maintaining a fast clock. Shockland and fetch sequencing matters: avoid unnecessary Steam Vents untapped or Prismatic Vista life loss when the same turn can operate on basics or Spirebluff Canal. Add role cards: Force of Negation for burn spells or noncreature haymakers, Annul only if the burn deck uses visible artifact or enchantment damage engines, Crackling Drake only when the game will not be decided before it blocks or attacks. Reduce main-deck emphasis: slow Treasure Cruise turns and Noxious Revival if the life loss or tempo cost is unsafe. Do not assume Force of Negation can answer creature abilities or resolved permanents.

• Removal-heavy decks: Diversify threats and make removal line up poorly. Arclight Phoenix pressures removal by returning from the graveyard, A-Demilich taxes spot removal when cast cheaply, and Crackling Drake gives a sideboard threat that scales with spell count. Add role cards: Crackling Drake, Force of Negation for sweepers or exile-based answers, Brazen Borrower for resolved hate. Reduce main-deck emphasis: small burn when the opponent has few targets. Use Faithless Looting deliberately: discarding Arclight Phoenix is a plan, but discarding redundant threats into known graveyard hate is a liability unless the follow-up is immediate.

Specific Matchup Notes

• General/archetype-only: Treat these notes as assumptions until the opponent reveals cards; visible game objects, public graveyards, stack contents, and Veles legal actions override archetype labels. Do not spend interaction or sideboard cards on a guessed plan when the current board shows a different route to losing.

• Fast creature pressure: Stabilize before maximizing graveyard velocity. Prioritize Chain Lightning, Lightning Axe, Deem Inferior, Brazen Borrower, Pyroclasm, Abrade, Cindercone Smite, or Rending Volley only when the legal target and damage or bounce result are visible. Add role cards: Pyroclasm, Abrade, Rending Volley, Cindercone Smite, Brazen Borrower. Reduce main-deck emphasis: slow Treasure Cruise, Swiftspear's Teachings, and Noxious Revival lines that do not affect combat before the next attack. Priority targets are creatures that create the shortest clock, prevent Arclight Phoenix blocks, or punish tapped-out cantrip turns.

• Artifact or enchantment engines: Answer the permanent that converts the opponent's future turns, not the most replaceable card on board. Add role cards: Annul, Meltdown, Abrade, Force of Negation, Brazen Borrower. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Spell Snare, Chain Lightning, and Lightning Axe when they do not interact with the visible engine. Priority targets are artifact mana, artifact creatures threatening lethal, enchantments that shut off graveyard recursion, and stack-based noncreature payoff spells Force of Negation can legally counter.

• Graveyard mirrors or graveyard combo: Protect your own graveyard while attacking the opponent's public graveyard only when the target matters now. Add role cards: Surgical Extraction, Force of Negation, Annul for visible hate, Brazen Borrower for resolved hate. Reduce main-deck emphasis: burn-only interaction unless creatures are the clock. Priority targets for Surgical Extraction are public cards that visibly enable the opponent's recursion, combo, or repeated payoff; do not use it on a familiar name without public-zone evidence.

• Removal-heavy midrange or control: Force the opponent to answer different threat axes. Lean on Arclight Phoenix recursion, cheaper A-Demilich turns, Treasure Cruise reloads, and post-board Crackling Drake as the independent closer. Add role cards: Crackling Drake, Force of Negation, Brazen Borrower, Annul when hate permanents are visible. Reduce main-deck emphasis: creature removal with no legal targets. Priority targets are exile-based graveyard hate, sweepers or noncreature finishers on the stack, and permanents that prevent Phoenix recursion or spell chaining.

• Big mana and tap-out payoff decks: Race while preserving interaction for the first decisive payoff. Add role cards: Force of Negation, Annul if visible artifacts or enchantments matter, Crackling Drake, Brazen Borrower. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Lightning Axe, Chain Lightning, Pyroclasm, and Rending Volley unless they answer visible acceleration or a real clock. Priority targets are payoff spells, engine permanents, and blockers that buy the opponent multiple turns.

• Burn and direct-damage decks: Spend life like a finite resource, not a free velocity cost. Fetch basics with Prismatic Vista when possible, avoid unnecessary Steam Vents untapped, and prefer Spirebluff Canal sequencing when it preserves life and colored mana. Add role cards: Force of Negation, Crackling Drake only when it can matter before lethal, Annul only against visible artifact or enchantment damage engines. Reduce main-deck emphasis: Noxious Revival and slow Treasure Cruise turns when life loss or tempo loss exposes lethal.

Risk Summary

• Mana risk: The deck can lose to its own colored-mana sequencing when Prismatic Vista, Steam Vents, Spirebluff Canal, Island, Mountain, and Otawara, Soaring City are chosen without regard to the current spell chain. Preserve blue for Consider, Thought Scour, Ponder, Deem Inferior, Spell Snare, Force of Negation, and Treasure Cruise, while keeping red available for Faithless Looting, Chain Lightning, Lightning Axe, Manamorphose, Swiftspear's Teachings, and post-board red interaction.

• Matchup risk: The deck's default plan can be too slow against fast boards and too fragile against hate-heavy engines. Use sideboard role cards only when the opponent's revealed plan justifies them, and let visible cards override pregame archetype assumptions.

• Draw risk: Cantrips can create the illusion of action while the board deteriorates. Ponder, Consider, Thought Scour, Faithless Looting, Manamorphose, and Treasure Cruise should move toward a concrete next turn: Arclight Phoenix recursion, A-Demilich pressure, interaction, mana fixing, or Crackling Drake stabilization.

• Over-sideboarding risk: Removing too much velocity makes Arclight Phoenix and A-Demilich worse. Add role cards for specific threats, but keep enough cheap spells that Manamorphose, Thought Scour, Consider, Ponder, Faithless Looting, and Treasure Cruise still support explosive turns.

• Graveyard risk: Arclight Phoenix, A-Demilich, Treasure Cruise, Faithless Looting flashback, Noxious Revival, and Crackling Drake all care about graveyard texture in different ways. Do not mill, discard, exile, or revive cards automatically when visible graveyard hate or a needed future delve count changes the value of the graveyard.

• Sweeper/removal risk: Pyroclasm, Meltdown, Chain Lightning, Lightning Axe, Deem Inferior, Abrade, Cindercone Smite, Rending Volley, and Brazen Borrower are not interchangeable. Check target legality, toughness, color, artifact status, timing, and whether bounce only delays an unavoidable lethal attack.

• Closer risk: Arclight Phoenix damage may be insufficient if the opponent stabilizes, while A-Demilich and Crackling Drake can be punished by open interaction. Commit a closer when the opponent's visible clock, available mana, known answers, and your backup threats make waiting worse than acting.

• Interaction risk: Force of Negation, Spell Snare, Annul, and Surgical Extraction are narrow in different ways. Hold them for legal high-impact targets, and do not pass a battlefield survival action merely to preserve a counter for an unknown future spell.

• Sequencing risk: The deck's strongest turns require spell order discipline. Plan discard before draw when pitching Arclight Phoenix is intentional, cast Manamorphose when color conversion matters, use Noxious Revival only when the target and draw step are worth the card disadvantage, and avoid Treasure Cruise before checking whether delve removes cards needed for recursion or future payoffs.

Test Feedback Checklist

• Deciding factor: Record whether the game was decided by Arclight Phoenix recursion, A-Demilich pressure, Treasure Cruise reloads, Crackling Drake post-board closing, interaction timing, mana pain, or an opposing permanent that stayed on board too long.

• Mulligans: Check whether kept hands had blue mana, red access, at least one velocity spell among Consider, Thought Scour, Ponder, Faithless Looting, or Manamorphose, and a realistic path to either pressure or interaction by turn two.

• Mana: Identify every turn where Prismatic Vista, Steam Vents, Spirebluff Canal, Island, Mountain, or Otawara, Soaring City caused a spell to be delayed, life to be spent unnecessarily, or Manamorphose to become mandatory fixing instead of velocity.

• Velocity: Ask whether Consider, Thought Scour, Ponder, Faithless Looting, and Manamorphose were used to assemble a concrete turn, or whether they were spent without improving Arclight Phoenix recursion, A-Demilich deployment, Treasure Cruise, interaction, or land sequencing.

• Graveyard engine: Track whether Arclight Phoenix, A-Demilich, Treasure Cruise, Faithless Looting, Noxious Revival, and post-board Crackling Drake competed for the same graveyard cards, and whether delve or discard choices weakened the next payoff.

• Removal and bounce: Review every Chain Lightning, Lightning Axe, Deem Inferior, Brazen Borrower, Abrade, Cindercone Smite, Pyroclasm, Meltdown, and Rending Volley decision for target legality, timing, and whether it changed the visible clock.

• Stack interaction: Record whether Force of Negation, Spell Snare, Annul, and Surgical Extraction were held for high-impact legal targets or stranded while battlefield pressure demanded action.

• Sideboard impact: After each post-board game, note which added role cards were drawn, cast, stranded, or unnecessary, especially Force of Negation, Annul, Crackling Drake, Meltdown, Abrade, Brazen Borrower, Cindercone Smite, Pyroclasm, Rending Volley, and Surgical Extraction.

• Closing: Check whether the pilot converted early damage into a win, or whether passes, excess cantrips, conservative attacks, or delayed A-Demilich, Arclight Phoenix, and Crackling Drake commitments let the opponent stabilize.

• Role accuracy: Ask whether the pilot correctly played as tempo, control, race, or reload deck after visible information changed, rather than following the pregame plan after the board demanded a different role.

• Mistakes: Flag every decision where a legal action was chosen despite not using available mana, not affecting lethal math, discarding the wrong resource, exiling needed graveyard material, or passing with relevant interaction and no clear reason.

• Stranded cards: Log cards that repeatedly remained in hand, including Treasure Cruise, Lightning Axe, Force of Negation, Spell Snare, Swiftspear's Teachings, Crackling Drake, Annul, Meltdown, and Surgical Extraction, and identify whether the cause was mana, target absence, timing, or matchup mismatch.

• Overperformers and underperformers: Compare card mentions in winning lines and losing hands, with special attention to whether Swiftspear's Teachings, Deem Inferior, Noxious Revival, Brazen Borrower, and sideboard one-ofs materially advanced the game plan.

First Tuning Questions

• Card quantities: Is 4 A-Demilich plus 4 Arclight Phoenix creating enough threat density, or are games lost because the deck sees threats but lacks enough cheap spells to enable them on time?

• Card quantities: Are 3 Treasure Cruise correct, or do graveyard conflicts with A-Demilich, Arclight Phoenix, Faithless Looting, Noxious Revival, and Crackling Drake make the third copy too slow in pressure matchups?

• Mana base: Does 4 Prismatic Vista, 4 Steam Vents, 4 Spirebluff Canal, 3 Island, 1 Mountain, and 1 Otawara, Soaring City reliably cast early blue spells while preserving red for Faithless Looting, Chain Lightning, Lightning Axe, Manamorphose, and Swiftspear's Teachings?

• Aggro plan: Are 2 Chain Lightning, 1 Lightning Axe, 3 Deem Inferior, and sideboard Pyroclasm, Abrade, Rending Volley, Cindercone Smite, and Brazen Borrower enough to survive fast creature starts without diluting spell velocity?

• Control plan: Does the deck need the full sideboard 3 Force of Negation plus 2 Annul and 2 Crackling Drake in slow matchups, or does that configuration reduce Phoenix turns too much?

• Closer mix: Is Crackling Drake the right post-board independent threat, or do games show that A-Demilich and Arclight Phoenix already close when the deck protects velocity and interaction correctly?

• Sideboard slots: Are Meltdown, Abrade, and Annul covering distinct visible permanent problems, or are too many sideboard slots pointed at artifacts and enchantments compared with creature pressure and graveyard mirrors?

• Graveyard hate slot: Is 1 Surgical Extraction enough when graveyard opponents appear, or is it too narrow because the deck also needs its graveyard for Arclight Phoenix, A-Demilich, Treasure Cruise, Faithless Looting, and Crackling Drake?

• Role conflict: Is Swiftspear's Teachings advancing the tempo plan, or is it repeatedly worse than another cheap spell, threat, or interaction piece when the deck needs to chain actions in one turn?

• Flex slots: Should Brazen Borrower, Noxious Revival, Spell Snare, Lightning Axe, Force of Negation, and Otawara, Soaring City remain as one-of tactical tools, or are losses showing that one specific effect needs additional copies?

Veles Tactical Policy

Policy: Opening Hand Keep Gate

Priority: High Decision families: mulligan Cards: Consider; Thought Scour; Ponder; Faithless Looting; Manamorphose; Arclight Phoenix; A-Demilich; Treasure Cruise Phase windows: Pregame mulligan decisions. Runtime cues: prompt:mulligan; opening hand; visible hand; legal keep or mulligan actions. Use when: Choose whether the hand has blue access, red access or Manamorphose fixing, at least one cheap velocity spell, and a turn-two plan involving pressure, interaction, or graveyard setup. Avoid when: Do not keep land-light hands that need multiple draw steps before casting any spell, or hands where Treasure Cruise and threats are stranded without enablers. Instructions: Keep hands that can cast early blue selection and put cards into graveyard while preserving a route to Arclight Phoenix recursion or A-Demilich. Mulligan hands with no one-mana spell, no functional mana, or only delayed payoff cards. Pilot skill floor: Light model. No-API allowed: no Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: First Velocity Setup

Priority: Medium Decision families: selection; mana; priority Cards: Consider; Thought Scour; Ponder; Faithless Looting; Manamorphose Phase windows: Turns 1-2 main phases and end steps. Runtime cues: action:cast Consider; action:cast Thought Scour; action:cast Ponder; action:cast Faithless Looting; action:cast Manamorphose. Use when: Sequence the first cheap spell to fix land drops, fill the graveyard, or set up a future three-spell Arclight Phoenix turn. Avoid when: Do not spend Manamorphose before knowing which colors are needed unless the legal turn depends on it. Instructions: Prefer Ponder or Consider when land quality matters, Thought Scour when graveyard count matters, Faithless Looting when Arclight Phoenix or excess payoff cards can be discarded, and Manamorphose when color conversion unlocks the turn. Pilot skill floor: Light model. No-API allowed: no Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Arclight Phoenix Recursion Commitment

Priority: High Decision families: priority; selection; mana Cards: Arclight Phoenix; Consider; Thought Scour; Ponder; Faithless Looting; Manamorphose; Chain Lightning; Deem Inferior; Swiftspear's Teachings Phase windows: Precombat main phase and second main phase when spell count matters. Runtime cues: graveyard contains Arclight Phoenix; legal cheap spells; current turn spell count visible. Use when: Decide whether to commit resources to reaching the third instant or sorcery this turn. Avoid when: Do not force the third spell if it consumes interaction needed to survive the opponent's next visible attack or stack threat. Instructions: Go now when Phoenix attacks change the clock, mana supports all required spells, and the line does not discard or exile the only next-turn payoff. Wait when a single missing spell, color, or exposed battlefield makes the line collapse. Pilot skill floor: Light model. No-API allowed: no Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Target Self With Thought Scour

Priority: Low Decision families: selection Cards: Thought Scour Phase windows: Opponent end step, own main phase, or spell-chain turns. Runtime cues: action:target self Thought Scour Use when: The legal action text offers targeting self with Thought Scour and the current plan is graveyard filling for Arclight Phoenix, A-Demilich, Treasure Cruise, or Faithless Looting. Avoid when: Do not use this policy if a visible effect requires targeting opponent or another target is explicitly selected by the model. Instructions: Choose the target-self action when the active line has already selected self-mill as the execution step. Pilot skill floor: No API. No-API allowed: yes Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: A-Demilich Commitment Gate

Priority: High Decision families: mana; priority; interaction Cards: A-Demilich; Consider; Thought Scour; Ponder; Faithless Looting; Manamorphose Phase windows: Main phases after spell-cost reductions are visible. Runtime cues: action:cast A-Demilich; visible graveyard spells; open opposing mana; known removal or bounce on stack. Use when: Decide whether to deploy A-Demilich into the current board and stack context. Avoid when: Do not tap out for A-Demilich if visible lethal pressure requires removal or if holding mana for Force of Negation, Spell Snare, Annul, or Deem Inferior is decisive. Instructions: Cast A-Demilich when spell velocity reduced the cost and it pressures through the visible board. Delay when the opponent can answer it while the pilot lacks follow-up or when Phoenix recursion is the cleaner clock. Pilot skill floor: Light model. No-API allowed: no Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Treasure Cruise Delve Gate

Priority: Medium Decision families: selection; mana; priority Cards: Treasure Cruise; Arclight Phoenix; A-Demilich; Faithless Looting; Noxious Revival; Crackling Drake Phase windows: Main phases when delve payment choices are legal. Runtime cues: action:cast Treasure Cruise; action:pay delve; visible graveyard. Use when: Choose whether drawing three cards outweighs exiling graveyard material needed for threats, recursion, or later spell turns. Avoid when: Do not exile Arclight Phoenix lines, A-Demilich fuel, or a Noxious Revival target without a clear immediate payoff. Instructions: Cruise when the hand is emptying, the next spell chain needs cards, and enough graveyard remains for the active threat plan. Preserve graveyard when pressure already exists and interaction is needed more than raw cards. Pilot skill floor: Light model. No-API allowed: no Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Faithless Looting Discard Choice

Priority: Medium Decision families: selection Cards: Faithless Looting; Arclight Phoenix; Treasure Cruise; A-Demilich; Noxious Revival; Force of Negation; Spell Snare Phase windows: Looting resolution and flashback-like discard prompts if exposed by engine. Runtime cues: prompt:discard; source:Faithless Looting; visible hand. Use when: Choose discard cards after drawing with Faithless Looting. Avoid when: Do not discard the only land needed for next-turn color access or the only interaction for a visible stack or battlefield threat. Instructions: Discard Arclight Phoenix when recursion is realistic, excess lands when mana is stable, redundant expensive payoffs when under pressure, and dead narrow interaction when no legal target class is visible. Pilot skill floor: Light model. No-API allowed: no Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Exact Manamorphose Color Execution

Priority: Low Decision families: mana Cards: Manamorphose Phase windows: Main phases and spell-chain turns. Runtime cues: action:choose colors Manamorphose; action:add blue red Manamorphose Use when: The legal action text offers the exact color pair already selected by the current line. Avoid when: Do not use this policy before the model has determined which remaining spells require which colors. Instructions: Select the color action that matches the preselected spell sequence, prioritizing blue for Consider, Thought Scour, Ponder, Deem Inferior, Treasure Cruise, A-Demilich, and interaction, and red for Faithless Looting, Chain Lightning, Lightning Axe, and Swiftspear's Teachings. Pilot skill floor: No API. No-API allowed: yes Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Removal And Bounce Target Gate

Priority: Medium Decision families: interaction; priority Cards: Chain Lightning; Lightning Axe; Deem Inferior; Brazen Borrower; Abrade; Cindercone Smite; Pyroclasm; Rending Volley; Meltdown Phase windows: Main phases, combat, end step, and stack windows when legal. Runtime cues: legal removal or bounce action; visible creature, artifact, or permanent targets. Use when: Decide whether a legal interaction spell changes the visible clock, protects a threat, or answers a permanent that blocks the deck's plan. Avoid when: Do not fire interaction at a low-impact target while a larger visible threat, lethal attack, or must-answer permanent remains. Instructions: Prioritize survival, then clearing blockers for Arclight Phoenix, A-Demilich, or Crackling Drake, then tempoing expensive permanents. Use mass effects only when the board impact exceeds the damage to the pilot's own pressure. Pilot skill floor: Light model. No-API allowed: no Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Stack Interaction Commitment

Priority: High Decision families: interaction; priority Cards: Force of Negation; Spell Snare; Annul; Surgical Extraction Phase windows: Opponent spell windows and triggered response prompts. Runtime cues: stack contains opponent spell; legal counterspell or extraction action. Use when: Decide whether spending permission or graveyard interaction is worth the card, mana, and tempo cost. Avoid when: Do not counter replaceable low-impact spells while a visible battlefield threat is already losing the game unless the counter preserves lethal or prevents immediate collapse. Instructions: Spend Force of Negation, Spell Snare, or Annul on spells that stop the Phoenix engine, produce a decisive permanent, win the race, or invalidate the current hand. Use Surgical Extraction only when the named graveyard card and public context make the effect materially disruptive. Pilot skill floor: Light model. No-API allowed: no Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Noxious Revival Target Gate

Priority: Low Decision families: selection; priority Cards: Noxious Revival; Arclight Phoenix; Treasure Cruise; A-Demilich; Force of Negation; Chain Lightning Phase windows: End step, upkeep, draw-step setup, and response windows. Runtime cues: action:cast Noxious Revival; prompt:target card in graveyard. Use when: Choose whether putting a card on top creates a stronger next draw or disrupts an opposing graveyard card. Avoid when: Do not spend life or a card to rebuy a spell that does not affect the next turn cycle. Instructions: Target the card that the next draw step or immediate selection spell can convert into pressure, interaction, or recursion. Consider opponent graveyard targets only when public information shows a specific card about to matter. Pilot skill floor: Light model. No-API allowed: no Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Combat Pressure Gate

Priority: Medium Decision families: combat Cards: Arclight Phoenix; A-Demilich; Crackling Drake; Brazen Borrower Phase windows: Declare attackers, declare blockers, and post-combat main phase. Runtime cues: legal attack or block actions; visible life totals; visible blockers; known tapped creatures. Use when: Decide attacks and blocks for tempo pressure or survival. Avoid when: Do not attack a needed blocker into a visible losing race unless the attack creates lethal or forces a decisive exchange. Instructions: Attack when evasive or recursive threats shorten the clock without exposing lethal. Hold creatures back when blocking preserves enough life to unlock Treasure Cruise, removal, or Phoenix recursion next turn. Pilot skill floor: Light model. No-API allowed: no Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Crackling Drake Post-Board Finisher Gate

Priority: Medium Decision families: mana; priority; combat Cards: Crackling Drake; Treasure Cruise; Arclight Phoenix; A-Demilich Phase windows: Main phases after sideboarding and combat planning. Runtime cues: action:cast Crackling Drake; visible graveyard and exile counts; open opposing mana. Use when: Decide whether to tap out for Crackling Drake as an independent threat and reload card. Avoid when: Do not cast it into a visible tempo loss if holding interaction prevents lethal or protects an existing clock. Instructions: Deploy Crackling Drake when the game is about resilience against graveyard hate, removal density, or stalled boards. Preserve mana when stack interaction or removal is more urgent. Pilot skill floor: Light model. No-API allowed: no Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Sideboard Role Selection

Priority: Medium Decision families: sideboard Cards: Force of Negation; Annul; Crackling Drake; Meltdown; Abrade; Brazen Borrower; Cindercone Smite; Pyroclasm; Rending Volley; Surgical Extraction Phase windows: Between games only. Runtime cues: prompt:sideboard; matchup label; revealed opponent cards; game number. Use when: Select a legal submitted sideboard plan from available candidates or generated swaps. Avoid when: Do not add narrow answers without visible or matchup-supported target classes, and do not remove too many cheap spells from the Phoenix engine. Instructions: Add Force of Negation and Annul for stack or permanent-based fights, Crackling Drake for grindy games, Meltdown and Abrade for artifacts, Pyroclasm and Rending Volley for creature pressure, Brazen Borrower and Cindercone Smite for flexible tempo, and Surgical Extraction for graveyard or key-card dependency. Pilot skill floor: Light model. No-API allowed: no Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Otawara Channel Timing

Priority: Low Decision families: interaction; mana Cards: Otawara, Soaring City; Brazen Borrower; Deem Inferior Phase windows: Opponent end step, combat, and emergency main-phase interaction. Runtime cues: action:channel Otawara, Soaring City; visible nonland permanent target. Use when: Decide whether land utility is worth losing a mana source. Avoid when: Do not channel Otawara, Soaring City if the next turn requires that land for casting multiple spells and the target is not changing the game. Instructions: Use channel as interaction when bounce preserves life, clears lethal, or unlocks an attack. Prefer spell-based bounce when land count is still developing. Pilot skill floor: Light model. No-API allowed: no Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Swiftspear's Teachings Tempo Choice

Priority: Low Decision families: priority; combat; mana Cards: Swiftspear's Teachings; Arclight Phoenix; A-Demilich; Manamorphose Phase windows: Main phase and combat-adjacent spell windows when legal. Runtime cues: action:cast Swiftspear's Teachings; visible attackers; current spell count. Use when: Decide whether the spell advances immediate pressure, spell count, or combat math. Avoid when: Do not cast it only to spend mana if interaction, selection, or Treasure Cruise would better affect the next turn cycle. Instructions: Treat Swiftspear's Teachings as a tempo spell that must contribute to pressure or spell sequencing. Favor it when it helps a Phoenix turn or changes combat; defer it when the board asks for removal or card selection. Pilot skill floor: Light model. No-API allowed: no Light-model allowed: yes