veles-content/strategies/commander/commander_vivi_ornitier/1/guide.md

Strategy Specifications

Deck Name And Archetype

Vivi Ornitier is a Commander deck with a validated submitted main deck count of 100 cards and a submitted sideboard count of 0 cards. The registered commander is Vivi Ornitier, and the deck is built as an Izzet-color combo/control shell using blue-red mana, cheap selection, stack interaction, spell-copy or storm-style payoffs, and a commander-centric engine plan.

• Format: Commander.
• Strategy name: Vivi Ornitier.
• Commander: Vivi Ornitier.
• Submitted main deck: 100 cards, including Vivi Ornitier.
• Submitted sideboard: 0 cards.
• Current tags: combo; control.
• Status: hybrid rogue build rather than stock archetype, because the list combines Commander-specific singletons, new or uncommon card names, and a spell-chain payoff suite instead of matching a known solved shell.
• Opponent info status: no opponent deck, commander, colors, speed, interaction profile, or metagame target is supplied, so matchup policy must use visible board state, public information, and runtime legal actions before making archetype assumptions.

The mana and role identity should be treated as blue-red unless a card text or legality validator proves otherwise. Command Tower, Exotic Orchard, Shivan Reef, Stormcarved Coast, Training Center, Fiery Islet, Thriving Bluff, Thriving Isle, Path of Ancestry, Spectacle Summit, Airship Engine Room, Fountainport, Scalding Tarn, Island, and Mountain support an Izzet spell deck, while Sol Ring, Arcane Signet, Izzet Signet, and Thought Vessel support acceleration into protected engine turns.

The primary role concern is that the deck must not spend its cheap spells as generic cantrips or removal when they are needed to build a decisive Vivi Ornitier, Storm-Kiln Artist, Veyran, Voice of Duality, Thousand-Year Storm, Underworld Breach, Grapeshot, Crackle with Power, or Overpowering Attack turn. The control role exists to buy time and force through a payoff, not to answer every opposing permanent by default.

The legality concern is unresolved without a current Commander legality check for every exact card name. Treat cards with unfamiliar or newly printed names such as Airship Engine Room, Flashback, Lady Octopus, Inspired Inventor, Cool but Rude, Emeritus of Conflict, Flow State, Long River's Pull, Red Mage's Rapier, Wan Shi Tong, Librarian, Irma, Part-Time Mutant, Sink into Stupor, Will of the Jeskai, Overpowering Attack, and Prismari, the Inspiration as Card text check required before relying on precise mode, timing, color identity, or combo function.

The deck should be piloted as a spell-density engine deck with selective control posture. Early turns should establish mana, sculpt with Brainstorm, Consider, Faithless Looting, Opt, Ponder, and Preordain, and avoid exposing fragile engines without protection. Middle turns should choose between defending Vivi Ornitier, developing value engines such as Rhystic Study, Stormchaser's Talent, Wan Shi Tong, Librarian, Haughty Djinn, Storm-Kiln Artist, Ral, Crackling Wit, or Thousand-Year Storm, and holding stack interaction such as Spell Pierce, Swan Song, Arcane Denial, Counterspell, Narset's Reversal, Deflecting Swat, and Fierce Guardianship.

Runtime policy must respect legal actions first. If Veles does not expose a cast, target, payment, copy, attack, block, commander, or graveyard action, the pilot must not assume it is available from deck intent alone. Hidden cards in opponents' hands, libraries, face-down zones, and unrevealed choices must remain unknown unless the rules engine exposes them as public or player-visible information.

Thesis

Prioritize assembling a protected spell-chain engine around Vivi Ornitier, cheap selection, mana acceleration, and one decisive payoff rather than trading resources one-for-one until the table outscales the deck. The deck wins by converting low-cost spells, copied triggers, reduced costs, or generated mana into a lethal or near-lethal sequence with Grapeshot, Crackle with Power, Overpowering Attack, a large Haughty Djinn, commander damage or combat conversion through equipped threats, or repeated value from Underworld Breach, Thousand-Year Storm, Storm-Kiln Artist, Veyran, Voice of Duality, and Ral, Crackling Wit.

Protect the commitment turn before maximizing style points. Use Sol Ring, Arcane Signet, Izzet Signet, Thought Vessel, cost reducers, and cantrips to reach a turn where Vivi Ornitier or another engine can be cast with interaction available. Do not expose Storm-Kiln Artist, Veyran, Voice of Duality, Thousand-Year Storm, Underworld Breach, or a copied payoff into obvious open interaction unless waiting risks losing to board pressure, losing the engine window, or wasting a visible lethal line.

Do not pilot this deck as creature-curve tempo or full tap-out control. Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer, Faerie Mastermind, Haughty Djinn, Prismari, the Inspiration, and equipment can pressure life totals, but the main tactical job is to create time, cards, mana, and stack safety for a spell-dense turn. Removal and counters should defend survival, stop opposing wins, or clear the commitment path; they should not be spent merely because a legal target exists.

Treat unfamiliar or newer card names as conditional until Veles or the rules engine exposes exact legal actions. Vivi Ornitier, Airship Engine Room, Flashback, Lady Octopus, Inspired Inventor, Cool but Rude, Emeritus of Conflict, Flow State, Long River's Pull, Red Mage's Rapier, Wan Shi Tong, Librarian, Irma, Part-Time Mutant, Sink into Stupor, Will of the Jeskai, Overpowering Attack, and Prismari, the Inspiration all require card text checks before the pilot relies on precise targeting, mode choice, timing, triggered ability, or combo math.

Role Package

• Threats: Use Vivi Ornitier as the central command-zone threat when legal, and use Haughty Djinn, Storm-Kiln Artist, Veyran, Voice of Duality, Prismari, the Inspiration, Spark Double, Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer, and Faerie Mastermind as pressure or must-answer permanents. Lady Octopus, Inspired Inventor, Emeritus of Conflict, Wan Shi Tong, Librarian, and Irma, Part-Time Mutant are threat or engine candidates only after card text is confirmed.

• Payoffs: Save Grapeshot, Crackle with Power, Overpowering Attack, and Blasphemous Act for decisive damage, board reset, or conversion turns rather than low-impact exchanges. Thousand-Year Storm, Underworld Breach, Veyran, Voice of Duality, Harmonic Prodigy, and Storm-Kiln Artist turn ordinary spells into payoff infrastructure when their exact legal triggers or mana production are visible.

• Engines: Develop Rhystic Study, Stormchaser's Talent, Ral, Crackling Wit, Thousand-Year Storm, Underworld Breach, Storm-Kiln Artist, Veyran, Voice of Duality, Harmonic Prodigy, Goblin Electromancer, and Haughty Djinn when the expected untap or same-turn value beats holding mana. Airship Engine Room, Flow State, Will of the Jeskai, and Prismari, the Inspiration need card text checks before being treated as specific engine pieces.

• Velocity: Use Brainstorm, Consider, Faithless Looting, Opt, Ponder, Preordain, Frantic Search, Windfall, Big Score, and Gamble to fix land drops, find protection, fill the graveyard for Underworld Breach or Snapcaster Mage, and build spell count. Avoid firing premium selection after the pilot already knows the turn requires leaving up Counterspell, Arcane Denial, Swan Song, Spell Pierce, or protection.

• Interaction: Use Lightning Bolt, Lightning Strike, Pongify, Into the Flood Maw, Vandalblast, Chaos Warp, Cyclonic Rift, Sink into Stupor, Abandon Attachments, Cool but Rude, Arcane Denial, Counterspell, Spell Pierce, Swan Song, Long River's Pull, and Narset's Reversal to prevent losses, stop opposing engines, or force through a winning turn. Do not counter low-impact spells when a visible opponent can still present a commander, combo, or lethal combat step.

• Protection: Reserve Deflecting Swat, Fierce Guardianship, Narset's Reversal, Swan Song, Spell Pierce, Counterspell, Arcane Denial, Essence Flux, Splash Portal, Commander's Plate, Conqueror's Flail, Red Mage's Rapier, and Sword of Feast and Famine for commander safety, payoff safety, or combat/mana conversion when legal actions confirm the line. Equipment plans are secondary unless they protect Vivi Ornitier or create a clear attack trigger advantage.

• Recursion: Use Underworld Breach, Snapcaster Mage, and possibly Flashback only after checking graveyard contents, mana, exile costs, timing, and legal targets. Recursion is strongest when it reuses selection plus interaction before a payoff, not when it merely repeats a small burn spell without advancing the engine.

• Mana: Build around Command Tower, Exotic Orchard, Fiery Islet, Fountainport, Island, Mountain, Path of Ancestry, Reliquary Tower, Scalding Tarn, Secret Tunnel, Shivan Reef, Spectacle Summit, Stormcarved Coast, Thriving Bluff, Thriving Isle, Training Center, Sol Ring, Arcane Signet, Izzet Signet, Thought Vessel, Goblin Electromancer, Haughty Djinn, Storm-Kiln Artist, Big Score, and Frantic Search. Prioritize blue early for selection and counters, then red for payoffs and removal.

• Sideboard modules: No sideboard cards are registered, so do not invent post-board plans or sideboard-only answers.

Primary Win Conditions

• Spell-chain payoff: Prioritize Vivi Ornitier plus cheap spells when the hand contains mana, velocity, and at least one payoff or recursion line. Setup with Sol Ring, Arcane Signet, Izzet Signet, Thought Vessel, Goblin Electromancer, Storm-Kiln Artist, Haughty Djinn, Veyran, Voice of Duality, Harmonic Prodigy, Ral, Crackling Wit, or Thousand-Year Storm; execute by chaining Brainstorm, Consider, Opt, Ponder, Preordain, Faithless Looting, Frantic Search, Big Score, and interaction into Grapeshot or Crackle with Power. Disruption to respect: open mana, visible stack interaction, graveyard hate before Underworld Breach, removal aimed at Storm-Kiln Artist or Vivi Ornitier, and effects that tax noncreature spells. Prioritize this line when the table clock is faster than the control plan, when protection is available, or when waiting exposes the engine to discard, removal, or combat damage.

• Underworld Breach recursion kill: Treat Underworld Breach as a commitment card, not a casual value spell, unless the graveyard and legal actions show a specific high-impact reuse. Setup by filling the graveyard with cantrips, Faithless Looting, Frantic Search, fetchland use from Scalding Tarn, spent interaction, and earlier selection; execute by replaying low-cost spells to rebuild storm count, find protection, and finish with Grapeshot, Crackle with Power, or repeated interaction. Disruption to respect: graveyard exile, low available mana, insufficient escape fodder, and losing priority after casting the enchantment. Prioritize it when a single turn can convert graveyard cards into lethal, a protected near-lethal board reset, or enough cards/mana to take control.

• Big-spell conversion: Use Crackle with Power, Overpowering Attack, Prismari, the Inspiration, and Thousand-Year Storm as decisive conversion pieces only after the rules engine confirms costs, targets, and copy or damage math. Setup with mana rocks, Storm-Kiln Artist, Big Score, Frantic Search, cost reduction from Goblin Electromancer or Haughty Djinn, and protection from Fierce Guardianship, Deflecting Swat, Counterspell, Swan Song, Spell Pierce, Arcane Denial, or Narset's Reversal. Disruption to respect: target removal, prevention, counterspells, and visible life totals that make partial damage nonlethal. Prioritize this line when it ends the game or removes the player most able to stop the next combo turn.

• Protected commander or creature pressure: Use combat as a real win path only when Vivi Ornitier, Haughty Djinn, Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer, Faerie Mastermind, Spark Double, Veyran, Voice of Duality, or Prismari, the Inspiration can attack without sacrificing the engine turn. Setup with Commander's Plate, Conqueror's Flail, Red Mage's Rapier, Sword of Feast and Famine, Secret Tunnel, and bounce/protection such as Essence Flux or Splash Portal; execute by attacking the opponent whose life total, shields, or interaction posture makes pressure strategically meaningful. Card text check required for Vivi Ornitier, Red Mage's Rapier, Overpowering Attack, and Prismari, the Inspiration before relying on exact combat conversion.

Secondary Win Conditions

• Control-to-engine: Win by trading only for threats that beat the deck's future combo turn, then resolving one durable engine after opponents are low on cards or shields. Rhystic Study, Ral, Crackling Wit, Stormchaser's Talent, Faerie Mastermind, Wan Shi Tong, Librarian, and Lady Octopus, Inspired Inventor can supply cards or pressure if their legal actions confirm the role; Card text check required for unfamiliar engines before assuming draw triggers or activated abilities.

• Incremental burn and tempo: Use Lightning Bolt, Lightning Strike, Grapeshot, and copied or recurred spells to close games when opponents are already damaged by combat, fetches, or table pressure. Do not spend burn on life totals early unless it removes a player, enables a commander-damage race, or protects a later lethal calculation.

• Equipment fallback: Use Sword of Feast and Famine, Commander's Plate, Conqueror's Flail, and Red Mage's Rapier to turn a surviving creature into pressure when spell engines are locked out or graveyards are inaccessible. Prefer equipping evasive or protected threats and keep interaction available if the equipped creature is the only meaningful clock.

• Board-reset recovery: Use Blasphemous Act, Cyclonic Rift, Into the Flood Maw, Pongify, Chaos Warp, Vandalblast, Sink into Stupor, and Propaganda to buy the turn cycle needed to rebuild. A reset is a win condition only when it creates a safe window for Vivi Ornitier, Underworld Breach, Thousand-Year Storm, or a protected threat on the following turn.

Emergency Lines

• Behind on life: Preserve life before style, using Propaganda, cheap removal, bounce, and blockers to stop lethal pressure. Avoid pain from Shivan Reef or Fiery Islet unless the mana or card is required to survive or win this turn.

• Behind on board: Prioritize Blasphemous Act, Cyclonic Rift, Pongify, Chaos Warp, Into the Flood Maw, Vandalblast, or Sink into Stupor over slow engine deployment when attackers can kill before the engine untaps. Do not expose Storm-Kiln Artist or Veyran, Voice of Duality as a blocker unless losing the permanent is better than losing the game.

• Behind on cards: Use Rhystic Study, Faerie Mastermind, Brainstorm, Ponder, Preordain, Faithless Looting, Frantic Search, Windfall, Big Score, Ral, Crackling Wit, or legal graveyard recursion to recover velocity. Avoid Windfall if visible opponent hand size or known revealed cards make it more likely to reload opponents than fix the pilot's hand.

• Behind on mana: Sequence lands, rocks, and cost reducers before speculative interaction, and use cantrips to find untapped blue or red sources. Keep one-mana interaction only when a visible opponent can win or remove the only path back.

• Engine removed or graveyard denied: Pivot to equipment pressure, Haughty Djinn, commander recasts, Thousand-Year Storm, or direct Crackle with Power math instead of forcing a dead Underworld Breach plan. If Grapeshot or Crackle with Power is unavailable, conserve remaining threats and use control tools to create a combat or copied-spell finish.

• Combo window blocked: Pass with protection up when waiting improves the next attempt, but commit when the board clock, commander tax, or opponent shields make delay worse. Use only legal actions from Veles, and require confirmed targets, costs, and stack state before choosing a deterministic payoff line.

Resource Model

• Life is a setup resource until the table presents a visible lethal clock. Spend life from Fiery Islet or Shivan Reef only when the mana or card selection advances a protected engine turn, prevents a loss, or converts immediately into a decisive Underworld Breach, Thousand-Year Storm, Crackle with Power, or Grapeshot line.

• Hand size is the deck's main strategic buffer. Preserve a mix of mana, velocity, and interaction rather than firing every cantrip; Brainstorm, Ponder, Preordain, Consider, Opt, Faithless Looting, Frantic Search, Big Score, Windfall, Rhystic Study, and Faerie Mastermind should either find missing land, find protection, stock the graveyard, or assemble a specific payoff window.

• Mana converts directly into storm count, protection, and lethal math. Treat Sol Ring, Arcane Signet, Izzet Signet, Thought Vessel, Goblin Electromancer, Haughty Djinn, Storm-Kiln Artist, Frantic Search, and Big Score as combo-turn infrastructure, not just acceleration; protect or sequence them when they turn a one-spell turn into a multi-spell turn.

• Board presence is mostly an engine platform, not a combat-only plan. Vivi Ornitier, Storm-Kiln Artist, Veyran, Voice of Duality, Harmonic Prodigy, Goblin Electromancer, Haughty Djinn, Spark Double, Prismari, the Inspiration, Lady Octopus, Inspired Inventor, and Wan Shi Tong, Librarian should be valued by their confirmed legal text and current ability to multiply spells, reduce costs, generate mana, draw cards, copy effects, or pressure safely. Card text check required for unfamiliar permanents before assuming exact triggered abilities.

• Graveyard is a second hand only after enough fuel exists. Underworld Breach, Snapcaster Mage, Faithless Looting, Frantic Search, fetch use from Scalding Tarn, spent cantrips, and traded interaction make the graveyard valuable; do not exile or discard key payoff pieces casually unless the current legal line already replaces or wins with them.

• Exile is usually a constraint, not a planned resource, unless a visible legal action says a card can be played from exile. Respect opponent graveyard hate and exile effects by pivoting toward Thousand-Year Storm, equipment pressure, Ral, Crackling Wit, Crackle with Power, or commander recasts when the graveyard plan is no longer reliable.

• Lands are both colored sources and utility commitments. Prioritize stable blue-red access first, then leverage Reliquary Tower, Secret Tunnel, Fountainport, Airship Engine Room, and Fiery Islet only when their visible legal actions matter more than holding untapped colored mana. Card text check required before relying on exact utility from Airship Engine Room, Fountainport, Secret Tunnel, or Spectacle Summit.

• Sacrifice fodder is scarce and must be purpose-driven. Only sacrifice Treasures, tokens, creatures, or utility permanents to legal effects when the payoff is immediate mana, cards, protection, lethal setup, or survival; avoid sacrificing Storm-Kiln Artist, Veyran, Voice of Duality, Goblin Electromancer, or Vivi Ornitier unless the alternative loses the game or unlocks a confirmed winning line.

• Tempo is gained by passing with credible interaction or by forcing opponents to answer a must-stop engine. Spell Pierce, Swan Song, Counterspell, Arcane Denial, Fierce Guardianship, Deflecting Swat, Narset's Reversal, bounce, and removal should buy the exact turn cycle needed for a protected payoff rather than answer low-impact objects by default.

• Information is a real resource in multiplayer Commander. Use visible mana, revealed cards, commander access, stack contents, graveyard contents, hand counts, and previous decisions to choose whether to commit; never infer hidden counterspells, removal, or blockers as certainty without public evidence.

• Sideboard bullets do not exist for this registered list. Because the sideboard count is 0, all adaptation must come from mulligans, threat pacing, interaction timing, target choice, and whether the deck pivots between graveyard combo, spell-copy engines, burn, equipment pressure, and control.

Mana Guide

• Keep hands that cast early blue selection and develop at least two mana sources. A strong opener usually has two or more lands or one land plus Sol Ring or a cheap cantrip, access to blue for Brainstorm, Ponder, Preordain, Consider, Opt, or interaction, and a path to red before burn, Faithless Looting, Vandalblast, Storm-Kiln Artist, Big Score, or Blasphemous Act matters.

• Mulligan hands that cannot produce blue by turn two unless they contain a confirmed acceleration line and a clear red-heavy plan. Hands with only colorless acceleration, only tapped lands, or only expensive payoffs should be treated as risky because the deck needs early selection to find protection, lands, and combo density.

• Prioritize untapped blue-red access before utility. Command Tower, Exotic Orchard, Training Center, Shivan Reef, Stormcarved Coast, Spirebluff-style access if represented by visible legal text, Path of Ancestry, Thriving Bluff, Thriving Isle, Fiery Islet, Island, and Mountain should be sequenced to keep one-mana blue or red interaction available when opponents can act before the next turn.

• Sequence tapped or conditional lands when the turn has no one-mana action or when a cantrip cannot change the land decision. Path of Ancestry, Thriving Bluff, Thriving Isle, Spectacle Summit, and any land entering tapped by visible rules text should be played early if it preserves later untapped mana for Counterspell, Cyclonic Rift, Underworld Breach, or a multi-spell turn.

• Play lands after cantrips when the cantrip can decide the land drop. Use Ponder, Preordain, Brainstorm, Consider, or Opt before the land only if the current hand has multiple plausible lands, needs a missing color, can find Scalding Tarn, or must decide between a utility land and an untapped colored source.

• Play lands before draw spells when mana availability changes the current turn's legal line. Make the land drop first if it enables Spell Pierce, Swan Song, Lightning Bolt, Pongify, Arcane Denial, Counterspell, Izzet Signet, Arcane Signet, Thought Vessel, Goblin Electromancer, or a protected commander play this turn.

• Use colorless rocks to accelerate, but do not let them disguise color failure. Sol Ring is excellent with Arcane Signet, Izzet Signet, Thought Vessel, equipment, Rhystic Study, Propaganda, or expensive engines, but a hand still needs blue-red sources to cast the interactive and selection core.

• Preserve red mana for explosive turns and blue mana for protection. On combo turns, sequence cost reducers and mana engines before expendable cantrips, hold blue for Swan Song, Spell Pierce, Counterspell, Arcane Denial, Fierce Guardianship, Deflecting Swat, or Narset's Reversal when visible opposition can interact, and use red for Faithless Looting, burn, Underworld Breach, Storm-Kiln Artist, and payoff damage.

• Treat Scalding Tarn as fixing plus graveyard fuel. Crack it when the shuffle, color, landfall-independent graveyard count, or Brainstorm cleanup matters; delay it when holding it improves Brainstorm quality or conceals the exact basic needed.

• Use utility lands only after confirming the opportunity cost. Reliquary Tower supports large-hand engines, Fiery Islet can cash in when mana is abundant, and Secret Tunnel, Fountainport, or Airship Engine Room may support pressure or engine text, but exact use remains conditional on visible legal actions and card text checks.

Mulligan Guide

• Strong keep: Keep two or three lands with blue-red access, one early velocity card, and one development axis. Examples include Command Tower, Island, Ponder, Sol Ring, Arcane Signet, Counterspell, and Rhystic Study, or Training Center, Mountain, Preordain, Goblin Electromancer, Swan Song, Storm-Kiln Artist, and Frantic Search.

• Strong keep: Keep hands that cast Vivi Ornitier ahead of curve while preserving follow-up spells. Sol Ring plus Arcane Signet, Izzet Signet, or Thought Vessel is excellent when a blue source also casts Brainstorm, Consider, Opt, Ponder, or Preordain; do not treat colorless ramp as functional if it strands all blue interaction.

• Medium keep: Keep slower three-land hands with Rhystic Study, Propaganda, Faerie Mastermind, Goblin Electromancer, Harmonic Prodigy, or Veyran, Voice of Duality only when the colors are stable and at least one cheap spell or counter prevents falling behind. These hands need a real turn-two or turn-three action, not just future Thousand-Year Storm dreams.

• Risky keep: Keep one-land hands only with Sol Ring or multiple one-mana selection spells and a land that casts them. Island, Sol Ring, Thought Vessel, Ponder, Preordain, Spell Pierce, and Storm-Kiln Artist is plausible on the draw; Mountain, Sol Ring, Crackle with Power, Thousand-Year Storm, Blasphemous Act, Overpowering Attack, and Prismari, the Inspiration is not.

• Automatic ship: Mulligan zero-land hands, one-land hands with no castable cantrip or ramp, hands with no blue access by turn two, and hands that cannot cast any spell before turn three. Also ship five-plus-land hands unless they include Sol Ring or Arcane Signet plus Rhystic Study, Windfall, Big Score, or a clear commander curve.

• Matchup-dependent keep: Keep Lightning Bolt, Pongify, Into the Flood Maw, Cyclonic Rift, Propaganda, or Blasphemous Act against visible fast creature pressure. Keep Spell Pierce, Swan Song, Counterspell, Arcane Denial, Fierce Guardianship, Deflecting Swat, or Narset's Reversal against faster spell-combo or control tables, but avoid hands that only answer and never develop Vivi Ornitier or a payoff.

• Play/draw adjustment: On the play, prefer acceleration into Vivi Ornitier, Rhystic Study, or a protected cost reducer. On the draw, accept more reactive hands with Brainstorm, Opt, Consider, Spell Pierce, or Swan Song because the extra card improves land finding and stack coverage.

• Trap hand: Do not keep because the hand contains Grapeshot, Underworld Breach, Thousand-Year Storm, or Crackle with Power if it lacks mana, cheap spells, and protection. Do not keep equipment-heavy hands with Commander's Plate, Conqueror's Flail, Red Mage's Rapier, and Sword of Feast and Famine unless the mana and creature plan are already functional; Card text check required for exact Red Mage's Rapier timing.

Turn Arc

• Turn 1: Prioritize untapped blue or blue-red mana, then cast Sol Ring, Ponder, Preordain, Brainstorm, Consider, or Opt to fix the first three turns. Lead Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer only when combat access is realistic and it does not cost a needed cantrip or interaction window.

• Turn 1 deviation: Hold up Spell Pierce or Swan Song instead of cantripping when an opponent can present a visible fast mana, tutor, or combo piece before your next turn. Cast Gamble this early only when the hand can tolerate the discard or the searched card solves an immediate mana failure.

• Turn 2: Develop mana or the first engine support piece. Preferred plays are Arcane Signet, Izzet Signet, Thought Vessel, Goblin Electromancer, Harmonic Prodigy, Stormchaser's Talent, or Faerie Mastermind, with Lightning Bolt, Pongify, Spell Pierce, or Swan Song held up when the table is faster.

• Turn 2 deviation: Cast Vivi Ornitier early off acceleration only when legal mana supports it and the next spell can exploit or protect it. Card text check required for exact Vivi Ornitier trigger math, so do not assume a deterministic combo from commander plus one spell unless the engine exposes it.

• Turn 3: Aim to establish Vivi Ornitier, Rhystic Study, Propaganda, Veyran, Voice of Duality, Haughty Djinn, or a protected setup creature while leaving interaction if the stack is dangerous. Snapcaster Mage should usually wait until the graveyard contains a meaningful target rather than entering as a low-impact body.

• Turn 3 deviation: Pass with Counterspell, Arcane Denial, Narset's Reversal, Fierce Guardianship, or Deflecting Swat when the opponent's visible mana and public board threaten a decisive spell. Do not fire Grapeshot, Crackle with Power, Windfall, or Underworld Breach for small value unless survival or hand repair demands it.

• Turns 4-5: Convert setup into a protected engine turn with Storm-Kiln Artist, Will of the Jeskai, Ral, Crackling Wit, Spark Double, Big Score, Frantic Search, Windfall, Underworld Breach, or Thousand-Year Storm. Commit only after checking visible open mana, known interaction, graveyards, stack objects, and whether Swan Song, Counterspell, Fierce Guardianship, or Deflecting Swat can defend the line.

• Turns 4-5 deviation: Stabilize first with Cyclonic Rift, Chaos Warp, Vandalblast, Pongify, Into the Flood Maw, Long River's Pull, or Blasphemous Act when the board clock is faster than the combo clock. Card text check required for Long River's Pull, Cool but Rude, Abandon Attachments, Overpowering Attack, and Prismari, the Inspiration; use them only according to visible legal modes and targets.

• Late game: Win through exact legal payoff math, not vibes. Count mana, storm, copies, targets, and protection before choosing Grapeshot, Crackle with Power, Thousand-Year Storm, Underworld Breach, Snapcaster Mage, Overpowering Attack, or commander damage/equipment lines with Commander's Plate, Conqueror's Flail, Red Mage's Rapier, and Sword of Feast and Famine.

• Late game deviation: Rebuild instead of forcing a failed kill when key engines are answered. Recast Vivi Ornitier, use Reliquary Tower or Thought Vessel to preserve a large hand, cash in Fiery Islet only when mana is abundant, and use Secret Tunnel, Fountainport, Airship Engine Room, or Spectacle Summit only when their engine-exposed legal actions outperform colored mana; Card text check required for those utility lands.

Card Roles

• Commander engine: Vivi Ornitier is the deck's central spell-combo and mana-scaling permanent, so cast it when the next sequence can either gain value immediately or leave protection available. Card text check required for exact trigger math, counters, mana duration, and lethal conversion; never assume a combo line unless Veles exposes the legal mana and spell actions.

• One-mana selection: Brainstorm, Ponder, Preordain, Consider, and Opt are early land-finders, storm-count builders, graveyard setup, and cheap commander/trigger fuel. Use them before land drops when they can change the land choice, hold one for a Vivi Ornitier, Storm-Kiln Artist, Thousand-Year Storm, or Underworld Breach turn when mana is already stable, and avoid spending the last blue cantrip into open stack pressure if it strands Spell Pierce, Swan Song, or Counterspell.

• Looting and hand reset: Faithless Looting, Frantic Search, Big Score, and Windfall convert clunky payoffs into velocity and fill the graveyard for Underworld Breach, Snapcaster Mage, and Haughty Djinn. Fire them early only to fix mana or avoid falling behind; hold them when the hand already has land drops, protection, and a future turn where extra spell count or treasure production matters more. Treat Windfall as table-sensitive because it can refill opponents.

• Mana rocks: Sol Ring, Arcane Signet, Izzet Signet, and Thought Vessel are priority development when they let the deck cast Vivi Ornitier, hold counters, or accelerate into four-plus-mana engines. Do not keep a hand that has only colorless acceleration and no blue access, and do not expose Thought Vessel as just a two-mana rock when maximum hand size is already relevant after Rhystic Study, Windfall, or repeated cantrips.

• Cost reducers and spell amplifiers: Goblin Electromancer, Harmonic Prodigy, Veyran, Voice of Duality, Storm-Kiln Artist, Thousand-Year Storm, and Ral, Crackling Wit are the primary engine package. Cast the cheap pieces before a planned multi-spell turn, but avoid tapping out for Thousand-Year Storm or Ral, Crackling Wit into obvious removal or combo pressure unless waiting is worse. Card text check required for exact Ral, Crackling Wit loyalty and trigger lines.

• Graveyard engines: Underworld Breach is a commitment card, not a casual value enchantment, unless the graveyard and mana already produce multiple legal recasts. Snapcaster Mage should target high-impact interaction, selection, or payoff spells rather than entering as a flash body; hold it until the graveyard contains a target that changes the current turn. Flashback has Card text check required; use only according to visible legal modes and do not infer it duplicates Snapcaster Mage.

• Finishers: Grapeshot, Crackle with Power, and Overpowering Attack end games only after exact math confirms targets, copies, damage, and mana. Grapeshot rewards waiting until cheap spells, copied spells, or Underworld Breach have built count; Crackle with Power is a mana sink for Vivi Ornitier or treasure turns; Overpowering Attack has Card text check required and should be selected only when its legal action text and visible combat/damage state support the kill.

• Creature pressure and value: Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer, Faerie Mastermind, Haughty Djinn, Lady Octopus, Inspired Inventor, Emeritus of Conflict, Irma, Part-Time Mutant, Wan Shi Tong, Librarian, and Prismari, the Inspiration provide bodies, cards, or secondary pressure. Deploy Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer early only when attacks are likely to connect; use Faerie Mastermind around opponent draw events; treat Haughty Djinn as both cost pressure and finisher. Card text check required for the other listed creatures before relying on exact triggers.

• Copy and clone effects: Spark Double is strongest when copying Vivi Ornitier, Storm-Kiln Artist, Veyran, Voice of Duality, or another visible engine that survives legend rules as applicable. Do not spend it on a low-impact body unless survival requires a blocker. Narset's Reversal is both interaction and combo leverage; copy a decisive instant or sorcery when the returned spell and copied spell improve the stack state more than a normal counter.

• Equipment plan: Commander's Plate, Conqueror's Flail, Red Mage's Rapier, and Sword of Feast and Famine make a backup commander-damage or protected-combo route. Equip only when the target can attack, protect a commitment turn, or survive relevant removal; do not clog early turns with equipment before mana and spell velocity are online. Card text check required for exact Red Mage's Rapier role. Conqueror's Flail is especially important before a sorcery-speed combo turn if its restriction is legally active.

• Cheap removal: Lightning Bolt, Lightning Strike, Pongify, Into the Flood Maw, Vandalblast, and Chaos Warp answer early commanders, hate pieces, mana engines, and lethal attackers. Spend Lightning Bolt and Lightning Strike on creatures or planeswalkers that alter the clock or block combo, not incidental face damage unless lethal is confirmed. Use Pongify or Chaos Warp for must-answer permanents. Card text check required for exact Into the Flood Maw timing and target rules.

• Sweepers and reset buttons: Cyclonic Rift, Blasphemous Act, and Sink into Stupor are stabilization cards that can also clear the way for a win. Use Cyclonic Rift defensively when a board kills you or proactively when bouncing blockers/hate pieces creates a protected lethal line. Blasphemous Act should preserve your engine if possible but is correct when life total demands it. Card text check required for exact Sink into Stupor front/back usage.

• Countermagic and stack protection: Spell Pierce, Swan Song, Arcane Denial, Counterspell, Long River's Pull, Fierce Guardianship, Deflecting Swat, and Narset's Reversal protect engines and stop opposing wins. Use Spell Pierce and Swan Song early while taxes matter; save Counterspell, Fierce Guardianship, and Deflecting Swat for removal aimed at Vivi Ornitier, a decisive engine, or an opponent's win attempt. Card text check required for Long River's Pull.

• Protection and blink: Essence Flux and Splash Portal are tactical shields or enter/leave-value tools, not automatic early plays. Hold them for removal, combat blowouts, or a visible target whose re-entry matters. Card text check required for Splash Portal exact choice structure and for whether Essence Flux has extra creature-type relevance in the current board state.

• Table-tax permanents: Rhystic Study and Propaganda buy time for a slower combo-control posture. Cast Rhystic Study early when it is likely to generate cards before opponents can ignore the tax; cast Propaganda when creature pressure or commander damage is the visible threat. Do not treat either as protection from spell-combo decks.

• Unverified utility spells: Gamble, Stormchaser's Talent, Abandon Attachments, Bulk Up, Cool but Rude, Flow State, and Will of the Jeskai require exact legal text at runtime. Gamble should search for a card only when the random discard risk is acceptable or the hand/graveyard plan can absorb the loss. For the others, follow Veles legal modes and target lists; do not infer they are removal, pump, draw, or protection without card text confirmation.

• Lands and utility mana: Command Tower, Exotic Orchard, Shivan Reef, Stormcarved Coast, Training Center, Path of Ancestry, Thriving Bluff, Thriving Isle, Fiery Islet, Scalding Tarn, Island, and Mountain are the color base, with blue prioritized early. Reliquary Tower supports large draw turns, Fountainport, Secret Tunnel, Airship Engine Room, and Spectacle Summit are utility lands with Card text check required, and Fiery Islet should be sacrificed only when colored mana is no longer needed this turn.

Interaction Priorities

• Stop wins before value: hold Counterspell, Fierce Guardianship, Deflecting Swat, Swan Song, Spell Pierce, Arcane Denial, Narset's Reversal, and Long River's Pull for opponent actions that win, remove Vivi Ornitier, shut off spellcasting, or break a committed engine turn. Card text check required for Long River's Pull; use it only according to visible legal action text.

• Protect the engine first: counter or redirect removal aimed at Vivi Ornitier, Storm-Kiln Artist, Veyran, Voice of Duality, Harmonic Prodigy, Thousand-Year Storm, or an equipped protected attacker when that permanent is needed for the current or next-turn kill. Let removal resolve against low-impact bodies when saving protection keeps a decisive spell or combo window alive.

• Remove hate before pressure: use Lightning Bolt, Lightning Strike, Pongify, Chaos Warp, Cyclonic Rift, Into the Flood Maw, Vandalblast, Blasphemous Act, or Sink into Stupor on permanents that stop spells, tax the combo turn, prevent graveyard use, invalidate targets, or present lethal pressure. Card text check required for Into the Flood Maw and Sink into Stupor; do not assume their exact target types beyond legal actions shown.

• Bounce temporary blockers and prison pieces: use Cyclonic Rift or legal bounce modes to clear a turn where Grapeshot, Crackle with Power, commander damage, or a large attack can finish the table. Prefer permanent answers such as Chaos Warp, Pongify, or Vandalblast when the bounced card will simply replay and the game will continue.

• Spend burn on board before face: point Lightning Bolt and Lightning Strike at creatures, planeswalkers, or commanders that shorten your clock, threaten an engine, or block a key attacker. Send burn to opponents only when exact visible damage plus storm/copy output proves a kill or removes a player before they untap.

• Treat Vandalblast as artifact discipline: use it early on an artifact that accelerates an opponent into a faster win or blocks your engine, and save broader legal modes when multiple artifacts create a lock, lethal board, or major mana gap. Do not fire it at incidental artifacts when your hand needs interaction for spell threats.

• Use Narset's Reversal for swing stacks: copy and return an opponent spell when the copy meaningfully advances your plan, denies their payoff, or protects your own spell from a counter exchange. Do not use it as a cute value spell if a hard counter is required to stop a win.

• Bait with replaceable velocity: cast Opt, Consider, Ponder, Preordain, Faithless Looting, or Brainstorm first when you need to test shields before committing Underworld Breach, Thousand-Year Storm, Ral, Crackling Wit, or Crackle with Power. Do not bait with Vivi Ornitier or Storm-Kiln Artist when losing that card collapses the turn.

• Ignore low-impact damage when racing combo: allow small attacks, token pressure, or nonlethal value triggers if spending interaction would expose a decisive engine or leave no answer to a known stack threat. Shift to removal-first control when life drops into a two-turn clock or commander damage makes one more clean hit dangerous.

Combat And Trading Rules

• Attack only when combat improves the spell plan: send Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer, Haughty Djinn, equipped creatures, or a protected Vivi Ornitier when the attack creates mana, cards, lethal pressure, or untap leverage from Sword of Feast and Famine. Hold back when the creature is a required engine, blocker, or post-combat spell enabler.

• Preserve Vivi Ornitier over chip damage: do not expose the commander to profitable blocks, open removal, or combat tricks unless the attack is protected by visible legal interaction, equipment such as Commander's Plate or Conqueror's Flail, or exact lethal math. Card text check required for exact Vivi Ornitier combat and mana implications.

• Trade expendable creatures before engines: block with Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer, Faerie Mastermind, or a nonessential clone only when the trade preserves life from a real clock or protects a stronger permanent. Avoid trading Goblin Electromancer, Storm-Kiln Artist, Veyran, Voice of Duality, Harmonic Prodigy, Haughty Djinn, or Snapcaster Mage when their static, trigger, cost, or graveyard roles matter.

• Use blink as protection, not flourish: hold Essence Flux and Splash Portal for removal, combat blowouts, or a legal target whose re-entry is clearly beneficial. Card text check required for Splash Portal; do not select a blink target merely because it is available.

• Block by clock math: take small noncommander hits when preserving a creature enables a stronger next turn, but block aggressively when the visible board threatens lethal, a two-turn clock, or commander-damage inevitability. Propaganda changes this math by taxing wide combat, so reassess whether opponents can pay before sacrificing blockers.

• Equip for either protection or conversion: attach Commander's Plate, Conqueror's Flail, Red Mage's Rapier, or Sword of Feast and Famine only when the equipped creature can attack safely, force through damage, protect a post-combat spell turn, or survive interaction. Card text check required for exact Red Mage's Rapier output.

• Shift archetype posture by opponent: against creature-heavy decks, value Propaganda, Blasphemous Act, bounce, and conservative blocks until a reset opens a combo turn. Against spell-combo or control, reduce blocking concern, protect mana and hand quality, and hold counters for stack fights. Against artifact engines, prioritize Vandalblast timing over small combat gains.

Selection And Tutor Rules

• Use cantrips to fix action quality before commitment: cast Ponder, Preordain, Consider, and Opt early when the hand lacks a land, interaction, or a protected engine, and hold them during combo turns when each cheap spell increases storm, trigger, copy, graveyard, or mana-conversion value.

• Sequence land decisions around selection: cast Ponder or Preordain before the land drop when the choice between blue, red, untapped, utility, or fetch land changes the turn. Play the land first when the spell cannot change the mana requirement or when leaving up Spell Pierce, Swan Song, Counterspell, Arcane Denial, Fierce Guardianship, or Deflecting Swat matters more than optimization.

• Pair Brainstorm with shuffle or discard outlets: prefer Brainstorm when Scalding Tarn, Faithless Looting, Frantic Search, Big Score, or Windfall can clear unwanted cards. Avoid locking weak cards on top unless the top card is needed for a known draw trigger or the game state forces immediate digging.

• Rank selection targets by missing piece: find mana first when constrained, protection second when committing Vivi Ornitier, Storm-Kiln Artist, Veyran, Voice of Duality, Harmonic Prodigy, Underworld Breach, or Thousand-Year Storm, and payoff last when the engine is already protected. Favor Grapeshot, Crackle with Power, or a decisive interaction spell only when visible resources can support the line.

• Use Gamble only with a reason to accept discard risk: tutor for Underworld Breach, Thousand-Year Storm, Storm-Kiln Artist, Grapeshot, Crackle with Power, protection, or a needed land when the hand can survive a random discard or the game is slipping without the tutor. Do not Gamble for a single irreplaceable card while holding a fragile but already functional plan unless waiting is worse.

• Treat graveyard access as selection, not free material: use Snapcaster Mage, Underworld Breach, and legal flashback-style actions to rebuy the spell that answers the current problem or completes the current turn. Preserve premium graveyard spells when a cheaper cantrip, removal spell, or counter handles the same visible threat.

• Convert draw-sevens deliberately: cast Windfall when your hand is weak, opponents have larger hands, or Underworld Breach and graveyard density make the reset favorable. Avoid refilling opponents before a protected combo turn unless the new hand is required to avoid losing.

• Bottom low-impact cards under pressure: with Preordain, scry away redundant lands, slow equipment, excess payoff, or narrow interaction when behind on board. Keep interaction over velocity when an opponent has visible mana, commander access, or a stack-based threat that can beat the combo.

• Check uncertain selection cards against legal text: Airship Engine Room, Fountainport, Spectacle Summit, Stormchaser's Talent, Cool but Rude, Flow State, Emeritus of Conflict, Wan Shi Tong, Librarian, Irma, Part-Time Mutant, Will of the Jeskai, Prismari, the Inspiration, and Flashback require Card text check required; use their draw, filter, tutor, or recursion modes only as shown by the rules engine.

Priority And Stack Rules

• Hold priority discipline for commitment turns: before casting Underworld Breach, Thousand-Year Storm, Ral, Crackling Wit, Storm-Kiln Artist, Veyran, Voice of Duality, or a lethal Crackle with Power, check visible untapped mana, known interaction, protection in hand, and whether waiting gives opponents a better window.

• Respond to lethal and engine-breaking spells first: use Counterspell, Fierce Guardianship, Deflecting Swat, Swan Song, Spell Pierce, Arcane Denial, Narset's Reversal, or Long River's Pull on spells that win, counter your payoff, remove the only engine, exile the graveyard before Underworld Breach, or stop spellcasting. Card text check required for Long River's Pull.

• Let low-impact spells resolve when protection is scarce: do not spend premium interaction on ordinary draw, small creatures, or nonlethal value if an opponent can still present a combo, board wipe, graveyard hate, or commander-removal spell. Spend the answer only when the visible permanent or spell changes the next decisive turn.

• Use copy and redirect effects for stack leverage: cast Narset's Reversal when copying the spell is useful and returning it changes the exchange; cast Deflecting Swat when a legal redirect protects your key permanent, saves a payoff spell, or turns an opponent spell against a better target. Do not assume a redirect target is legal until the engine lists it.

• Keep instant-speed cantrips for information windows: cast Opt, Consider, Brainstorm, or legal instant-speed draw before your own critical turn, in response to discard, or at the last opponent end step when holding up interaction was necessary. Do not tap below required counter mana for a marginal cantrip.

• Manage optional payments by turn role: pay optional costs or trigger payments only when they advance lethal math, protect the engine, or leave required mana for visible stack taxes and interaction. Decline optional value when it consumes mana needed for Counterspell, Spell Pierce, Swan Song, Cyclonic Rift, Pongify, Lightning Bolt, Lightning Strike, or Chaos Warp.

• Use combat priority windows to preserve engines: after attackers, after blockers, and before damage, use Essence Flux, Splash Portal, Lightning Bolt, Lightning Strike, Pongify, Into the Flood Maw, Cyclonic Rift, or Chaos Warp only when the legal action saves a key creature, removes a lethal attacker, or opens a decisive attack. Card text check required for Splash Portal and Into the Flood Maw.

• Sequence graveyard turns with stack awareness: when using Underworld Breach, Snapcaster Mage, Faithless Looting, or Flashback, cast the most constrained or protection-critical spell first if opponents can interrupt. Preserve enough mana and graveyard material for the payoff rather than spending it on ornamental copies.

• Treat activated abilities as mana and timing commitments: use Sol Ring, Arcane Signet, Izzet Signet, Thought Vessel, lands, and any legal Airship Engine Room, Fountainport, Fiery Islet, or Spectacle Summit abilities before a spell only when the mana or draw is needed now. Delay utility activations when they would reveal a plan, consume interaction mana, or reduce storm-turn flexibility.

Sideboard Map

• Sideboard status: this registered list has Sideboard (0), so Veles must not request any between-game card movement. There are no legal Side in: or Cut: lines for this deck, and any generated sideboard request that changes the 100-card main deck should be rejected as illegal by the sideboard validator.

• Matchups in: no sideboard cards exist for any matchup. Adapt after Game 1 through mulligan discipline, sequencing, priority discipline, and role reassignment inside the maindeck rather than through deck construction changes.

• Sideboard card coverage: no sideboard card names are present in the registered decklist. This means there are no sideboard roles, no sideboard-specific bad matchups, and no sideboard role changes to apply at runtime.

• Between-game rule: keep the commander package centered on Vivi Ornitier and preserve every maindeck singleton. If the API asks for a sideboard plan, submit an empty legal plan with no card movement and a reason such as “registered sideboard is empty.”

• Role change versus fast creature pressure: shift toward survival without modifying the list. Emphasize early interaction from Lightning Bolt, Lightning Strike, Pongify, Into the Flood Maw, Cyclonic Rift, Chaos Warp, and Blasphemous Act; preserve life total over speculative engine setup; use Propaganda as a stabilizing permanent when legal and tactically safe. Card text check required for Into the Flood Maw.

• Role change versus stack combo or spell-heavy control: shift toward protected combo-control without modifying the list. Prioritize hands and lines that keep Spell Pierce, Swan Song, Counterspell, Arcane Denial, Narset's Reversal, Fierce Guardianship, Deflecting Swat, or Long River's Pull available for decisive stack exchanges. Card text check required for Long River's Pull.

• Role change versus graveyard pressure or graveyard hate: treat Underworld Breach, Snapcaster Mage, Faithless Looting, Flashback, and Frantic Search as conditional resources, not guaranteed engines. Commit graveyard lines only when the engine exposes legal actions and visible interaction risk is acceptable; otherwise lean on live hand velocity, board engines, and non-graveyard payoffs.

• Role change versus artifact or enchantment pressure: use maindeck answers deliberately because there is no sideboard reinforcement. Vandalblast, Cyclonic Rift, Chaos Warp, and Abandon Attachments should answer permanents that constrain combo turns, remove key engines, lock combat, or create a near-term loss. Card text check required for Abandon Attachments.

• Role change versus board wipes and removal-heavy tables: treat Vivi Ornitier, Storm-Kiln Artist, Veyran, Voice of Duality, Harmonic Prodigy, Goblin Electromancer, Haughty Djinn, and Spark Double as commitment pieces that need timing discipline. Do not expose multiple fragile engines into obvious sweepers unless the current turn can convert them into decisive mana, damage, cards, or protection.

• Role change versus resource denial or discard: value redundant velocity over single-card perfection. Brainstorm, Ponder, Preordain, Opt, Consider, Faithless Looting, Frantic Search, Big Score, Windfall, Rhystic Study, and Faerie Mastermind become more important than narrow reactive cards when the opponent is trying to trade one-for-one and empty hands.

• Archetype rule for aggro matchups: no sideboard cards can enter, so early turns must lower damage intake. Keep hands with colored mana and cheap plays; spend removal before life total collapses; avoid tapping out for slow equipment such as Commander's Plate, Conqueror's Flail, Red Mage's Rapier, or Sword of Feast and Famine unless the board state already permits that tempo investment.

• Archetype rule for control matchups: no sideboard cards can enter, so the plan is to fight on timing and overload answer windows. Use cantrips to assemble mana plus protection; force action near end steps when legal; avoid committing Underworld Breach, Thousand-Year Storm, Ral, Crackling Wit, Storm-Kiln Artist, or Crackle with Power into open mana without protection or a visible reason waiting is worse.

• Archetype rule for combo matchups: no sideboard cards can enter, so interaction must be reserved for decisive spells and enabling permanents. Do not spend Counterspell, Fierce Guardianship, Swan Song, Spell Pierce, Arcane Denial, Narset's Reversal, or Deflecting Swat on low-impact setup if the opponent can still present a win or protected engine.

• Archetype rule for midrange matchups: no sideboard cards can enter, so win by converting mana efficiency into a protected burst. Trade removal for commanders or value engines only when they affect the next turn cycle; otherwise build toward Storm-Kiln Artist, Veyran, Voice of Duality, Thousand-Year Storm, Underworld Breach, Grapeshot, or Crackle with Power.

• Archetype rule for multiplayer commander pacing: no sideboard cards can enter, so table role is determined by visible threat level. Avoid becoming the obvious archenemy with premature Thousand-Year Storm, oversized Crackle with Power, or exposed engine stacks unless the turn can win or leave robust protection.

• Empty-plan verification: after every between-game sideboarding prompt, confirm the submitted plan preserves exactly the registered 100-card maindeck and 0-card sideboard. If a decision provider proposes adding unregistered cards or moving maindeck cards to a nonexistent sideboard, reject the response and retry with an explicit empty-plan instruction.

Matchup Guidance

• Aggro: keep hands that interact before turn three and do not rely on a naked engine surviving. Prioritize Lightning Bolt, Lightning Strike, Pongify, Into the Flood Maw, Cyclonic Rift, Propaganda, and Blasphemous Act as life-preserving tools before spending mana on slow equipment or speculative value. Card text check required for Into the Flood Maw; use it only when legal action text confirms it answers the current attacker, blocker, or tempo threat.

• Aggro: stabilize first, then combo from a higher life buffer. Vivi Ornitier, Goblin Electromancer, Storm-Kiln Artist, Veyran, Voice of Duality, and Thousand-Year Storm are powerful but fragile commitments; cast them into pressure only when the same turn can create mana, cards, blockers, removal, or protection. Use Blasphemous Act as the reset when the board is wider than spot removal can handle.

• Control: fight over timing, not every spell. Use Brainstorm, Ponder, Preordain, Opt, Consider, Faithless Looting, Frantic Search, Big Score, and Rhystic Study to build a hand with mana plus protection, then force the issue with Underworld Breach, Thousand-Year Storm, Ral, Crackling Wit, Storm-Kiln Artist, Grapeshot, or Crackle with Power. Protect decisive turns with Counterspell, Swan Song, Spell Pierce, Arcane Denial, Narset's Reversal, Fierce Guardianship, and Deflecting Swat instead of spending them on low-impact cantrips.

• Combo: preserve stack interaction for the action that wins, enables the win, or protects the win. Do not counter harmless filtering when the opponent can still present a deterministic engine; hold Counterspell, Swan Song, Spell Pierce, Arcane Denial, Narset's Reversal, Fierce Guardianship, Deflecting Swat, and Long River's Pull for visible payoff spells, commander-centric combo pieces, or protection windows. Card text check required for Long River's Pull.

• Tempo: value mana efficiency and avoid falling behind while sculpting. Cheap selection plus cheap answers is the preferred shape: Opt, Consider, Ponder, Preordain, Lightning Bolt, Spell Pierce, Swan Song, and Into the Flood Maw help trade on mana while keeping combo resources intact. Delay expensive engines unless the opponent has spent pressure, tapped low, or exposed a window where one protected permanent can take over.

• Midrange: trade only for cards that affect the next turn cycle or threaten the engine. Use Chaos Warp, Pongify, Cyclonic Rift, Lightning Bolt, and Lightning Strike on commanders, snowball permanents, hate pieces, or lethal pressure rather than generic bodies. Build toward a protected burst with Storm-Kiln Artist, Veyran, Voice of Duality, Harmonic Prodigy, Underworld Breach, Thousand-Year Storm, Grapeshot, or Crackle with Power once one-for-one trades have slowed the table.

• Big mana: pressure their setup without wasting premium answers on replaceable ramp unless the table clock demands it. Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer, Faerie Mastermind, Rhystic Study, and early commander pressure can punish slow starts, while Vandalblast, Cyclonic Rift, and Chaos Warp should be saved for mana engines or payoff permanents that change the game immediately. If the opponent is about to outscale spot interaction, shift to a faster storm or Crackle with Power kill rather than playing pure control.

• Graveyard decks: treat the matchup as a race plus stack-control problem because this list has no dedicated sideboard hate. Use Counterspell, Swan Song, Spell Pierce, Arcane Denial, Narset's Reversal, and Deflecting Swat on graveyard payoff spells, recursion engines, or enablers that immediately convert the graveyard into a win. Keep your own Underworld Breach, Snapcaster Mage, Faithless Looting, Flashback, and Frantic Search lines conditional on visible graveyard access and legal engine prompts.

• Artifact/enchantment decks: spend the few maindeck answers on lock pieces, mana engines, or permanents that stop the combo. Vandalblast, Cyclonic Rift, Chaos Warp, and Abandon Attachments are the relevant tools; do not fire them at marginal value artifacts if a visible prison piece, commander support piece, or lethal engine is still unresolved. Card text check required for Abandon Attachments; choose it only when legal action text confirms the target and effect matter.

• Go-wide decks: prioritize sweepers, taxation, and bounce over single-target trades. Propaganda buys time when legal and safe, Blasphemous Act resets creature swarms, and Cyclonic Rift can create either survival tempo or a pre-combo opening. Use Lightning Bolt, Lightning Strike, and Pongify on anthem effects, sacrifice outlets, or must-remove utility creatures rather than spending every answer on interchangeable attackers.

• Single-threat decks: answer the actual threat cleanly and do not overcommit. Pongify, Chaos Warp, Cyclonic Rift, Into the Flood Maw, and counterspells are better held for the commander, protected Voltron threat, or one-card engine than for minor setup. If the threat has equipment or aura support, evaluate Abandon Attachments, Vandalblast, and bounce lines before using damage-based removal that may not solve the permanent package. Card text check required for Abandon Attachments.

• Burn: protect life total as a combo resource and avoid unnecessary pain. Favor untapped colored sources only when the spell matters now; do not spend Fiery Islet or Shivan Reef life casually if the burn opponent can shorten the clock. Use Counterspell, Swan Song, Spell Pierce, Arcane Denial, Deflecting Swat, and Narset's Reversal on lethal burn, damage-doubling effects, or spells that remove the only stabilizer.

• Removal-heavy decks: sequence engines so one answer does not collapse the turn. Prefer cantrip setup, mana rocks, and protected windows before exposing Vivi Ornitier, Storm-Kiln Artist, Veyran, Voice of Duality, Harmonic Prodigy, Goblin Electromancer, Haughty Djinn, or Spark Double. If removal is abundant, treat Underworld Breach, Snapcaster Mage, Thousand-Year Storm, and Crackle with Power as ways to win from hand or graveyard without needing a large creature board.

• Creature-light control or combo: use chip pressure only when it does not compromise stack posture. Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer, Faerie Mastermind, Haughty Djinn, commander damage, and equipment can pressure life totals, but keep mana available for Counterspell, Swan Song, Spell Pierce, Arcane Denial, or Narset's Reversal when the opponent can act decisively. Conqueror's Flail, Commander's Plate, Red Mage's Rapier, and Sword of Feast and Famine require card text and board-state validation before being treated as protection or pressure tools.

• Unknown pods: default to conservative combo-control until a visible threat demands a role change. Develop mana with Sol Ring, Arcane Signet, Izzet Signet, Thought Vessel, and lands; sculpt with cheap selection; avoid advertising a full storm turn before protection exists; and save broad answers for the first opponent who demonstrates a near-term win, lock, or lethal board.

Specific Matchup Notes

• General/archetype-only: exact opponents are absent, so revealed cards override assumptions and all priorities must yield to legal actions, visible stack objects, public zones, and current commander status. No sideboard exists; likely sideboarding is none, and matchup adaptation must come from maindeck role shifts rather than registered swaps.

• Fast creature pressure: prioritize survival tools before slow engines. Propaganda, Blasphemous Act, Cyclonic Rift, Pongify, Into the Flood Maw, Lightning Bolt, and Lightning Strike are the key stabilizers; protect life total until Vivi Ornitier, Storm-Kiln Artist, Veyran, Voice of Duality, Thousand-Year Storm, Grapeshot, or Crackle with Power can convert a protected turn into a win.

• Control and permission: fight over the turn that matters, not every value spell. Hold Counterspell, Swan Song, Spell Pierce, Arcane Denial, Fierce Guardianship, Deflecting Swat, and Narset's Reversal for opposing win attempts, removal aimed at the active combo piece, or stack fights around Underworld Breach, Thousand-Year Storm, Crackle with Power, or a decisive commander turn.

• Graveyard strategies: race while countering recursion payoffs because the list has no dedicated graveyard hate. Treat Underworld Breach, Snapcaster Mage, Faithless Looting, Frantic Search, Flashback, and Haughty Djinn as your own graveyard-sensitive resources, but do not rely on graveyard access when visible exile effects, replacement effects, or public hate permanents are present.

• Artifact or enchantment engines: save scarce permanent answers for lock pieces, mana engines, and combo enablers. Vandalblast, Cyclonic Rift, Chaos Warp, and Abandon Attachments should answer cards that stop spell chaining, shut off commanders, accelerate lethal turns, or make combat damage unavoidable; Card text check required for Abandon Attachments before assuming the affected permanent types.

• Big mana and battlecruiser decks: pressure early but pivot to a protected kill before they outscale interaction. Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer, Faerie Mastermind, Rhystic Study, and cheap cantrips help keep pace, while Cyclonic Rift, Chaos Warp, Counterspell, and Swan Song should be reserved for payoff turns rather than routine setup.

• Removal-heavy midrange: expose engines in layers, not all at once. Lead with mana rocks, selection, and one threat; keep Vivi Ornitier, Storm-Kiln Artist, Harmonic Prodigy, Veyran, Voice of Duality, Spark Double, and Prismari, the Inspiration from walking into visible open removal unless the turn also has protection or immediate payoff.

Risk Summary

• Mana risk: the deck needs early blue and red while also supporting explosive turns. Hands with only colorless acceleration from Sol Ring, Thought Vessel, or awkward lands must still prove access to Brainstorm, Ponder, Preordain, Opt, Consider, interaction, or commander deployment.

• Matchup risk: unknown pods can punish the wrong role assignment. Do not assume combo race, control posture, or creature defense until revealed cards identify pressure, permission, graveyard reliance, artifact engines, or commander-centric threats.

• Draw risk: cantrips can hide low-resource hands. Brainstorm, Ponder, Preordain, Opt, Consider, Faithless Looting, Frantic Search, and Windfall should improve a concrete plan, not justify keeping a hand without mana, interaction, or a path to a payoff.

• Over-sideboarding risk: there is no sideboard, so runtime should never plan registered swaps. All adaptation must use maindeck cards, and any instruction implying Side in: or Cut: is invalid for this registered list.

• Graveyard risk: Underworld Breach, Snapcaster Mage, Faithless Looting, Flashback, Frantic Search, and Haughty Djinn lose value when graveyards are empty, exiled, or locked. Check public graveyards and visible replacement effects before committing to graveyard-dependent lines.

• Sweeper and removal risk: creature engines are fragile if deployed into open mana without payoff. Vivi Ornitier, Goblin Electromancer, Storm-Kiln Artist, Veyran, Voice of Duality, Harmonic Prodigy, Haughty Djinn, Spark Double, and Prismari, the Inspiration should be sequenced with protection, redundancy, or immediate value.

• Closer risk: Grapeshot, Crackle with Power, Thousand-Year Storm, and Underworld Breach can be stranded without mana, storm count, graveyard fuel, or protection. Verify visible resources and legal follow-up actions before committing the decisive turn.

• Interaction risk: using Counterspell, Swan Song, Spell Pierce, Arcane Denial, Fierce Guardianship, Deflecting Swat, or Narset's Reversal on low-impact spells can leave the deck defenseless against the actual win attempt. Spend premium interaction only when the visible stack or board state justifies it.

• Sequencing risk: spell order matters more than raw card quantity. Prefer land decisions before irreversible wheels, use selection before committing narrow answers when the information matters, and avoid tapping out for Rhystic Study, Ral, Crackling Wit, Will of the Jeskai, or Thousand-Year Storm when a protected opponent turn is visibly more dangerous.

Test Feedback Checklist

• Deciding factor: record whether the game turned on commander access, a protected combo turn, early pressure, a stack fight, a board wipe, or a failed attempt to close with Grapeshot, Crackle with Power, Thousand-Year Storm, or Underworld Breach.
• Mulligans: note whether each keep had early blue, early red, a castable setup spell, and a credible path to Vivi Ornitier, Rhystic Study, Storm-Kiln Artist, Veyran, Voice of Duality, or another engine before the table became threatening.
• Mana: identify hands or turns where Sol Ring, Arcane Signet, Izzet Signet, Thought Vessel, lands, or treasure-like resources failed to produce the colors needed for interaction, commander deployment, or the finishing spell chain.
• Velocity: ask whether Brainstorm, Ponder, Preordain, Opt, Consider, Faithless Looting, Frantic Search, Windfall, Big Score, and Rhystic Study found action or merely cycled through low-impact cards.
• Engines: record which of Vivi Ornitier, Storm-Kiln Artist, Veyran, Voice of Duality, Harmonic Prodigy, Goblin Electromancer, Thousand-Year Storm, Ral, Crackling Wit, Will of the Jeskai, and Underworld Breach actually survived long enough to matter.
• Removal: check whether Lightning Bolt, Lightning Strike, Pongify, Into the Flood Maw, Chaos Warp, Cyclonic Rift, Vandalblast, Blasphemous Act, and Abandon Attachments answered decisive threats or were spent too early.
• Stack decisions: flag any use of Counterspell, Swan Song, Spell Pierce, Arcane Denial, Fierce Guardianship, Deflecting Swat, or Narset's Reversal on a spell that did not threaten a win, lock, commander, engine, or lethal combat step.
• Closing: identify whether the deck had enough mana, storm count, graveyard fuel, copy effects, and protection when it attempted Grapeshot, Crackle with Power, Underworld Breach, or Thousand-Year Storm.
• Role assignment: record whether the pilot correctly shifted between control, setup, pressure, and combo based on visible board state rather than defaulting to the same role every game.
• Mistakes: list missed land drops, premature wheels, unprotected engine deployment, pass decisions with live interaction, combat attacks that exposed needed blockers, and target choices that failed to advance the visible plan.
• Stranded cards: name any cards repeatedly stuck in hand, especially Crackle with Power, Overpowering Attack, Prismari, the Inspiration, Thousand-Year Storm, equipment, or narrow interaction.
• Overperformers and underperformers: record which exact cards produced wins, stabilized losses, drew removal profitably, or failed despite being cast.
• Sideboard: confirm that Sideboard (0) caused no illegal sideboard action and note whether repeated matchup failures imply a future registered sideboard or maindeck adjustment rather than runtime swaps.

First Tuning Questions

• Mana base: does the deck need a different balance of blue, red, untapped, and colorless-producing lands if opening hands with Island, Mountain, Fiery Islet, Shivan Reef, Stormcarved Coast, Training Center, Thriving Bluff, or Thriving Isle repeatedly miss early interaction or commander timing?
• Acceleration package: are Sol Ring, Arcane Signet, Izzet Signet, Thought Vessel, Goblin Electromancer, Storm-Kiln Artist, and Big Score enough to support Crackle with Power, Thousand-Year Storm, and multi-spell turns without leaving the deck dependent on a single fragile engine?
• Velocity package: do the cheap selection spells plus Faithless Looting, Frantic Search, Windfall, Rhystic Study, and Faerie Mastermind generate enough cards, or does the deck stall after the first protected interaction exchange?
• Aggro plan: if fast creature pressure wins before setup, should more maindeck emphasis move toward Propaganda, Blasphemous Act, Cyclonic Rift, Pongify, Into the Flood Maw, Lightning Bolt, and Lightning Strike style stabilization effects?
• Control plan: if control opponents stop the decisive turn, are the current protection tools Counterspell, Swan Song, Spell Pierce, Arcane Denial, Fierce Guardianship, Deflecting Swat, Narset's Reversal, Conqueror's Flail, and equipment enough, or are too many slots devoted to slower engines?
• Closer mix: if Grapeshot, Crackle with Power, Thousand-Year Storm, and Underworld Breach are stranded, determine whether the issue is mana, storm density, graveyard access, protection, or too many competing payoff cards.
• Creature engine density: if Vivi Ornitier, Storm-Kiln Artist, Harmonic Prodigy, Veyran, Voice of Duality, Spark Double, and Prismari, the Inspiration die before payoff, ask whether the list needs fewer fragile bodies, better timing rules, or more protection from already registered cards.
• Equipment plan: if Commander's Plate, Conqueror's Flail, Red Mage's Rapier, and Sword of Feast and Famine consume turns without enabling wins, test whether equipment conflicts with spell-chain velocity and commander-protection priorities.
• Graveyard reliance: if Underworld Breach, Snapcaster Mage, Faithless Looting, Flashback, Frantic Search, or Haughty Djinn underperform into visible graveyard hate, reduce reliance on graveyard lines during play and evaluate whether the card mix needs less graveyard exposure.
• Sideboard slots: because Sideboard (0) is registered, decide whether future testing should remain commander-pure with no sideboard or add a legal sideboard only if the event structure supports it.
• Role conflict: if games are lost while holding both slow value engines and reactive spells, decide whether Vivi Ornitier should tune harder toward protected combo, draw-go control, or tempo pressure rather than splitting resources evenly.

Veles Tactical Policy

Policy: Opening Keep Gate

Priority: High Decision families: mulligan Cards: Vivi Ornitier; Sol Ring; Arcane Signet; Izzet Signet; Brainstorm; Ponder; Preordain; Rhystic Study; Storm-Kiln Artist Phase windows: pregame mulligan Runtime cues: prompt:mulligan; action:keep; action:mulligan Use when: opening hand, commander access, lands, cheap selection, acceleration, and early interaction are visible. Avoid when: hand cannot cast blue or red spells, has no early action, or contains only expensive payoffs. Instructions: Keep hands with two or more functional mana sources and either cheap selection, acceleration, interaction, or a credible route to Vivi Ornitier or Rhystic Study. Ship hands that need multiple unseen draws before casting anything relevant. Treat one-land hands as keepable only with Sol Ring or multiple one-mana selection spells plus correct color access. Pilot skill floor: medium No-API allowed: no Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Early Mana And Color Setup

Priority: Medium Decision families: mana Cards: Command Tower; Exotic Orchard; Fiery Islet; Path of Ancestry; Shivan Reef; Stormcarved Coast; Training Center; Thriving Bluff; Thriving Isle; Arcane Signet; Izzet Signet; Thought Vessel Phase windows: turns 1-3 main phases Runtime cues: action:play; action:cast Use when: multiple land or mana-rock actions are legal before the first major spell. Avoid when: a visible threat requires immediate interaction before development. Instructions: Establish both blue and red before prioritizing colorless utility. Prefer untapped colored sources when holding Spell Pierce, Swan Song, Lightning Bolt, Consider, Opt, or Counterspell. Cast mana rocks early when they enable commander timing, double-spell turns, or protected engines; delay Thought Vessel only when interaction must remain up. Pilot skill floor: medium No-API allowed: no Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: First Engine Commitment

Priority: High Decision families: priority; mana Cards: Vivi Ornitier; Rhystic Study; Storm-Kiln Artist; Veyran, Voice of Duality; Harmonic Prodigy; Goblin Electromancer; Thousand-Year Storm Phase windows: own main phases, protected post-combat windows Runtime cues: action:cast Vivi Ornitier; action:cast Rhystic Study; action:cast Storm-Kiln Artist; action:cast Thousand-Year Storm Use when: an engine, commander, or cost reducer can be deployed and visible mana/stack state determines whether it survives or immediately pays off. Avoid when: opponents have open interaction, the board threatens lethal, or casting the engine prevents holding needed protection. Instructions: Commit cheap engines early when they do not expose the pilot to a decisive counterattack. Delay fragile engines when protection is available next turn or when the current board requires removal first. Treat Thousand-Year Storm as a commitment spell, not a casual value play. Pilot skill floor: high No-API allowed: no Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Cantrip Sequencing

Priority: Medium Decision families: selection; mana Cards: Brainstorm; Ponder; Preordain; Opt; Consider; Faithless Looting; Frantic Search Phase windows: main phases, opponent end steps, response windows Runtime cues: action:cast Brainstorm; action:cast Ponder; action:cast Preordain; action:cast Opt; action:cast Consider Use when: legal selection spells can find land, interaction, protection, or combo material. Avoid when: spending mana removes the only available answer to a visible stack spell or lethal attack. Instructions: Use sorcery-speed selection before land drops when it can change the land choice. Hold instant-speed selection for opponent end step when interaction may be needed. Brainstorm improves when a shuffle from Scalding Tarn or other visible shuffle action is available; otherwise avoid locking weak cards on top unless urgent. Pilot skill floor: medium No-API allowed: no Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Deterministic Self Flicker Target

Priority: Low Decision families: interaction; selection Cards: Essence Flux; Splash Portal; Vivi Ornitier Phase windows: priority windows with legal targets Runtime cues: action:target self Vivi Ornitier Use when: legal action text offers targeting self Vivi Ornitier with Essence Flux or Splash Portal and the selected line is to protect or reuse that exact commander object. Avoid when: the visible legal target is not Vivi Ornitier or the current line has not selected a self-protection/flicker action. Instructions: Choose the self Vivi Ornitier target only when that exact legal target appears. Card text check required for Vivi Ornitier, Essence Flux, and Splash Portal before assuming extra triggered value beyond protection or zone movement. Pilot skill floor: low No-API allowed: yes Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Permission Spend Gate

Priority: High Decision families: interaction; priority Cards: Counterspell; Swan Song; Spell Pierce; Arcane Denial; Fierce Guardianship; Deflecting Swat; Narset's Reversal Phase windows: any stack window Runtime cues: action:cast Counterspell; action:cast Swan Song; action:cast Spell Pierce; action:cast Arcane Denial; action:cast Fierce Guardianship Use when: an opponent spell or ability is on the stack and countering, redirecting, or copying it is legal. Avoid when: the stack object is low impact, the pilot needs protection for a near-term win, or the spell is already beaten by board state. Instructions: Spend permission on win attempts, lock pieces, commander removal, engine removal, lethal setup, and stack interaction that stops the deck's decisive turn. Do not counter routine ramp or value unless the visible game state shows that the routine spell converts into immediate danger. Pilot skill floor: high No-API allowed: no Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Removal Target Gate

Priority: Medium Decision families: interaction Cards: Lightning Bolt; Lightning Strike; Pongify; Into the Flood Maw; Chaos Warp; Cyclonic Rift; Vandalblast; Blasphemous Act; Abandon Attachments Phase windows: main phases, combat, end steps, stack windows if legal Runtime cues: action:cast Lightning Bolt; action:cast Pongify; action:cast Chaos Warp; action:cast Cyclonic Rift Use when: a legal removal spell can answer a visible permanent, attacker, combo piece, stax effect, or lethal enabler. Avoid when: the target is replaceable pressure and a more dangerous visible permanent or stack threat exists. Instructions: Kill pieces that stop spell chaining, threaten lethal, shut off graveyard or artifact resources, or remove Vivi Ornitier and key engines. Use Blasphemous Act as a reset when creature boards outscale spot removal. Use Vandalblast and Abandon Attachments only into visible artifact/equipment problems or when overload-style text is legal and strategically selected. Pilot skill floor: medium No-API allowed: no Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Combo Turn Commitment

Priority: High Decision families: priority; mana; selection Cards: Underworld Breach; Grapeshot; Crackle with Power; Thousand-Year Storm; Storm-Kiln Artist; Veyran, Voice of Duality; Ral, Crackling Wit; Will of the Jeskai Phase windows: own main phase, protected stack windows Runtime cues: action:cast Underworld Breach; action:cast Grapeshot; action:cast Crackle with Power; action:cast Thousand-Year Storm Use when: a visible payoff line can start and the model must compare mana, storm count, graveyard fuel, protection, and opposing open mana. Avoid when: the line lacks mana, lacks a payoff target, loses to visible interaction, or waiting preserves more protection without dying. Instructions: Start the decisive turn only with a plausible finish or overwhelming resource swing. Count available mana, cost reduction, treasures or token resources if visible, graveyard escape fuel for Underworld Breach, and protection before committing. Prefer protected partial wins over unprotected all-in lines only when the board demands action. Pilot skill floor: high No-API allowed: no Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Deterministic Grapeshot Opponent Target

Priority: Medium Decision families: interaction Cards: Grapeshot Phase windows: combo resolution target prompts Runtime cues: action:target opponent Grapeshot Use when: legal action text offers targeting an opponent with Grapeshot and the committed line is to assign Grapeshot damage to that opponent. Avoid when: multiple visible targets must be divided for survival, removal, or exact lethal math. Instructions: Choose the opponent target only for the exact Grapeshot copy or spell action named in the legal action. Use light-model reasoning for multi-target storm distribution, creature removal choices, or uncertain lethal totals. Pilot skill floor: low No-API allowed: yes Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Crackle Lethal And Allocation Gate

Priority: High Decision families: mana; interaction Cards: Crackle with Power Phase windows: own main phase, payoff target prompts Runtime cues: action:cast Crackle with Power; action:target opponent Crackle with Power Use when: Crackle with Power is castable and visible mana/targets determine whether it is lethal, stabilizing removal, or premature. Avoid when: available mana produces low-impact damage and the pilot can instead develop, protect, or remove a decisive threat. Instructions: Treat Crackle with Power as a finisher first and emergency removal second. Verify X, target count, damage, open protection, and opposing life totals from legal action text and visible state. Do not assume unshown mana or cost reductions. Pilot skill floor: high No-API allowed: no Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Underworld Breach Escape Selection

Priority: High Decision families: selection; priority Cards: Underworld Breach; Brainstorm; Ponder; Preordain; Faithless Looting; Frantic Search; Grapeshot; Lightning Bolt Phase windows: own main phase while Underworld Breach is active Runtime cues: action:escape; action:cast Underworld Breach Use when: graveyard casting choices are legal after Underworld Breach resolves. Avoid when: exiling graveyard cards removes the only path to finish or leaves no protection against visible interaction. Instructions: Escape cheap spells that increase mana, cards, storm, or direct damage before expensive or low-impact spells. Preserve payoff cards and required protection unless the current escape action creates a deterministic finish. Card text check required for any unfamiliar registered spell before using it as a loop piece. Pilot skill floor: high No-API allowed: no Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Windfall And Wheel Gate

Priority: Medium Decision families: selection; priority Cards: Windfall; Faithless Looting; Frantic Search; Big Score Phase windows: own main phase, occasionally opponent end step if legal Runtime cues: action:cast Windfall; action:cast Big Score; action:cast Frantic Search Use when: a draw/discard spell changes hand size, graveyard fuel, or combo access. Avoid when: opponents visibly benefit more, the pilot holds critical protection, or discarding breaks the current plan. Instructions: Use Windfall when the pilot is behind on cards, has graveyard payoff, or needs a new hand before a protected combo turn. Use Big Score and Frantic Search to convert excess cards into mana or velocity only after checking discard cost and open interaction needs. Pilot skill floor: medium No-API allowed: no Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Combat Pressure And Protection

Priority: Low Decision families: combat Cards: Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer; Faerie Mastermind; Haughty Djinn; Storm-Kiln Artist; Vivi Ornitier; Commander's Plate; Red Mage's Rapier; Sword of Feast and Famine; Conqueror's Flail Phase windows: combat, equip windows, precombat main Runtime cues: action:attack; action:equip; action:block Use when: legal attacks, blocks, or equipment actions affect clock, commander safety, or engine survival. Avoid when: attacking exposes a needed blocker or engine to a visible trade that undermines the combo plan. Instructions: Attack with expendable or evasive threats when it does not compromise protection. Keep Storm-Kiln Artist, Goblin Electromancer, Harmonic Prodigy, Veyran, Voice of Duality, and Vivi Ornitier out of combat unless damage or equipment advances a decisive plan. Use equipment when it protects a key body or enables a meaningful clock. Pilot skill floor: medium No-API allowed: no Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Free Protection Timing

Priority: High Decision families: interaction; priority Cards: Deflecting Swat; Fierce Guardianship; Commander's Plate; Conqueror's Flail Phase windows: stack windows, pre-combo setup, equip windows Runtime cues: action:cast Deflecting Swat; action:cast Fierce Guardianship; action:equip Conqueror's Flail Use when: commander presence or equipment timing changes whether a key spell or permanent is protected. Avoid when: protection is being spent on a replaceable resource and a decisive turn is near. Instructions: Hold free interaction for stack fights over win attempts, commander survival, and engine survival. Equip Conqueror's Flail before a decisive turn when the action is legal and tempo loss is acceptable. Do not assume free spells are castable unless Veles lists them as legal. Pilot skill floor: high No-API allowed: no Light-model allowed: yes

Policy: Empty Sideboard Lock

Priority: Low Decision families: sideboard Cards: none Phase windows: between games, sideboard prompt Runtime cues: action:lock sideboard plan Use when: registered sideboard count is 0 and legal action text offers locking or submitting an empty sideboard plan. Avoid when: legal action text shows any non-empty swap or the event rules expose a different registered sideboard. Instructions: Submit no card changes because Sideboard (0) contains no cards. Do not create swaps, wish targets, or companion-style changes from outside the registered list. Pilot skill floor: low No-API allowed: yes Light-model allowed: yes