648 lines
97 KiB
Markdown
648 lines
97 KiB
Markdown
# Strategy Specifications
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## Deck Name And Archetype
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**Deck name:** Dimir Terror. **Format:** Pauper. **Submitted counts:** Main deck 60 cards and sideboard 15 cards are internally balanced from the supplied list; the main deck contains 18 lands and 42 nonlands, with no count above four copies. Use these counts as the registered configuration unless the Veles match manifest or rules-engine deck import reports a different legal list.
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**Archetype tags:** Treat the supplied tags `tempo`, `control`, `graveyard`, and `spells` as accurate but incomplete. The operational identity is a blue-black Faeries tempo-control deck using **Faerie Seer**, **Spellstutter Sprite**, **Augur of Bolas**, **Ninja of the Deep Hours**, **Brainstorm**, **Counterspell**, **Snuff Out**, **Cast Down**, and **Lórien Revealed** to trade efficiently, protect draw engines, and win through repeated small advantages. The graveyard tag matters for **Bojuka Bog** and sideboard **Relic of Progenitus**, but this exact registered list contains no visible **Tolarian Terror** or **Gurmag Angler**, so do not assume a stock Dimir Terror large-creature plan unless a runtime card, deck update, or public zone proves it.
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**Stock status:** Classify this as a hybrid or rogue Dimir Faeries / tempo-control build rather than a fully stock Dimir Terror list. The deck has conventional Faeries pressure and permission, black removal, monarch value from **Thorn of the Black Rose**, and single-copy alternate threats in **Mukotai Ambusher** and **Murmuring Mystic**. The sideboard reinforces matchup roles with red interaction through **Blue Elemental Blast** and **Hydroblast**, sweepers through **Arms of Hadar**, graveyard pressure through **Relic of Progenitus**, extra stack interaction through **Dispel**, role removal through **Extract a Confession**, hand-pressure threats through **Okiba-Gang Shinobi**, and additional copies of **Mukotai Ambusher** and **Murmuring Mystic**.
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**Legality status:** Defer all legality, timing, target, alternate-cost, monarch, and replacement-effect certainty to the rules engine. Choose only legal Veles actions produced at runtime, and never infer that a card can be cast, landcycled, targeted, ninjutsued, or used at instant speed unless that exact action is present. Card text check required for **Mukotai Ambusher**, **Murmuring Mystic**, **Extract a Confession**, **Arms of Hadar**, and any non-obvious modal, alternate-cost, or triggered behavior if Veles does not expose enough visible text.
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**Mana concerns:** Prioritize early untapped blue because the deck’s best starts require **Faerie Seer**, **Brainstorm**, **Spellstutter Sprite**, **Counterspell**, **Spell Pierce**, or **Lórien Revealed** decisions on curve. Black mana is still essential for **Cast Down**, hard-cast **Snuff Out** lines, **Suffocating Fumes**, **Thorn of the Black Rose**, **Bojuka Bog** timing, and several sideboard cards. **Contaminated Aquifer**, **Bojuka Bog**, and **Contaminated Landscape** can create tempo loss, so sequence tapped or utility lands when the opponent is least able to punish the lost mana.
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**Role concerns:** Default to tempo-control, not pure draw-go. Develop cheap bodies when they enable **Spellstutter Sprite** or **Ninja of the Deep Hours**, preserve life with **Snuff Out** and **Cast Down** against fast starts, and convert stabilized boards into card advantage with **Ninja of the Deep Hours**, **Thorn of the Black Rose**, **Lórien Revealed**, or **Murmuring Mystic**. Against removal-heavy or grindy opponents, value each creature as a resource engine rather than just chip damage; against linear aggro or combo, treat the same creatures as clocks that shorten the window for the opponent to recover.
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**Opponent information status:** Use only public zones, revealed cards, known matchup labels, logged game history, and current legal actions when assigning the opponent’s archetype or likely threats. Do not assume hidden cards from the opponent’s hand, library, or sideboard. It is acceptable to respect likely Pauper patterns, such as red decks having burn or graveyard decks caring about **Relic of Progenitus**, but the decision reason should state that this is archetype inference rather than known information.
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## Thesis
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**Assemble evasive pressure plus permission before shifting into draw-backed control.** This exact **Dimir Terror** list is best treated as a Dimir Faeries tempo-control deck that starts with **Faerie Seer**, **Spellstutter Sprite**, **Augur of Bolas**, and **Ninja of the Deep Hours**, then uses **Counterspell**, **Snuff Out**, **Cast Down**, **Brainstorm**, and **Lórien Revealed** to keep the opponent’s best plays from mattering while small creatures generate repeated value.
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**Win by converting tiny board presence into protected resource advantage.** A single early flier can become a **Ninja of the Deep Hours** trigger, extra Faeries can make **Spellstutter Sprite** more relevant, and a stabilized board can turn **Thorn of the Black Rose**, **Murmuring Mystic**, or repeated draw/filter spells into a long-game lock. The deck rarely needs one decisive haymaker; it wants the opponent to spend real cards answering one-mana and two-mana plays while you trade up on mana and cards.
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**Do not pilot this as stock graveyard Terror unless runtime information changes the list.** The submitted main deck contains no visible **Tolarian Terror** or **Gurmag Angler**, so graveyard size is not itself a primary payoff. Graveyards matter as public information, as spell-density context for **Augur of Bolas**, and as a target for **Bojuka Bog** or sideboard **Relic of Progenitus**, but do not spend decisions merely to fill your own graveyard.
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**Prioritize untapped blue, early board contact, and interaction timing.** The deck’s best turns keep open **Spellstutter Sprite**, **Counterspell**, **Spell Pierce**, **Dispel**, **Snuff Out**, or **Cast Down** while still adding pressure when legal. Against fast starts, preserve life and avoid speculative value plays that leave lethal pressure unchecked. Against slow decks, force them to answer cheap threats while protecting **Ninja of the Deep Hours**, **Thorn of the Black Rose**, or **Murmuring Mystic** from the highest-impact removal or counter windows.
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**Respect the rules engine over archetype assumptions.** Choose only visible legal actions, and treat alternate costs, ninjutsu, monarch, landcycling-like actions, and triggered abilities as available only when Veles exposes them. Card text check required for **Mukotai Ambusher**, **Murmuring Mystic**, **Extract a Confession**, and **Arms of Hadar** when the runtime prompt does not show enough exact behavior.
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## Role Package
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- **Threats:** Use **Faerie Seer**, **Spellstutter Sprite**, **Augur of Bolas**, and **Ninja of the Deep Hours** as the primary pressure package. **Faerie Seer** is the preferred early evasive body because it supports ninjutsu and improves draw quality. **Spellstutter Sprite** is both a threat and interaction piece, so value it more highly when the opponent is likely to present cheap spells. **Augur of Bolas** blocks, digs, and buys time rather than racing alone.
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- **Payoffs:** Treat **Ninja of the Deep Hours**, **Thorn of the Black Rose**, and **Murmuring Mystic** as the main ways to pull ahead after trading resources. Protect **Ninja of the Deep Hours** when it can draw repeatedly; protect **Thorn of the Black Rose** when monarch can be defended; protect **Murmuring Mystic** when spells in hand can immediately create material. **Mukotai Ambusher** is a conditional tempo or combat payoff only when its legal runtime action and text support that role.
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- **Engines:** Build around small repeatable advantages instead of one combo. **Brainstorm** plus shuffle or selection effects, **Lórien Revealed** as legal card access or mana development, **Augur of Bolas** finding spells, **Ninja of the Deep Hours** drawing cards, and **Thorn of the Black Rose** monarch all count as engines. Do not overcommit engines into obvious sweepers or removal when one protected source is enough.
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- **Velocity:** Use **Brainstorm**, **Faerie Seer**, **Augur of Bolas**, and **Lórien Revealed** to find lands, interaction, or pressure according to the current role. When under pressure, velocity should locate **Snuff Out**, **Cast Down**, **Suffocating Fumes**, or blockers. When stable, velocity should find **Counterspell**, threats, or card-advantage payoffs.
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- **Interaction:** Use **Counterspell**, **Spellstutter Sprite**, **Spell Pierce**, **Dispel**, **Snuff Out**, **Cast Down**, and **Suffocating Fumes** to trade at the most important window, not merely the first legal window. **Snuff Out** is the emergency tempo removal spell when life loss is acceptable. **Suffocating Fumes** is a board-shaping tool against small creatures and go-wide pressure, with exact cycling or modal behavior dependent on legal actions.
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- **Protection:** Protect card-advantage permanents and race-critical life totals with **Counterspell**, **Dispel**, **Spell Pierce**, **Spellstutter Sprite**, and instant-speed removal. Prefer protecting **Ninja of the Deep Hours**, **Thorn of the Black Rose**, or **Murmuring Mystic** when they will generate multiple future cards or stabilize the board.
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- **Recursion:** Assume no true recursion module in the registered main deck unless the rules engine reveals otherwise. Do not plan to rebuy creatures or spells from the graveyard as a core strategy. Sideboard **Relic of Progenitus** and main-deck **Bojuka Bog** are graveyard-control tools, not recursion.
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- **Mana:** Treat **Island** as the core early resource, with **Contaminated Aquifer**, **Bojuka Bog**, **Swamp**, and **Contaminated Landscape** providing black access and utility. Sequence tapped lands when the opponent is least able to punish a shields-down turn, and avoid losing access to double blue for **Counterspell** without a concrete payoff.
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- **Sideboard modules:** **Blue Elemental Blast** and **Hydroblast** form the anti-red package. **Arms of Hadar** supports anti-wide creature plans, pending card text check required. **Relic of Progenitus** attacks graveyard decks while preserving information discipline. Extra **Dispel** improves stack fights. **Extract a Confession** is role removal pending card text check required. **Okiba-Gang Shinobi** adds hand pressure for slower matchups. Extra **Mukotai Ambusher** and **Murmuring Mystic** adjust the threat mix when combat or spell-engine roles matter.
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## Primary Win Conditions
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- **Protected Ninja card-advantage tempo:** Set up **Faerie Seer**, **Spellstutter Sprite**, or another evasive/safe attacker, then use a legal **Ninja of the Deep Hours** line only when the attack is likely to connect or the tempo loss is acceptable. Execute by drawing extra cards, replaying the bounced creature for value, and using **Counterspell**, **Spellstutter Sprite**, **Snuff Out**, **Cast Down**, **Dispel**, or **Spell Pierce** to stop the opponent’s best recovery play. Prioritize this path against slower decks, stumble openings, or hands where one extra card turns on a chain of interaction. Disruption to watch for is instant-speed removal on the attacker, removal on **Ninja of the Deep Hours**, surprise blockers, or a board state where returning your only blocker loses the race.
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- **Faeries pressure plus permission:** Build early board contact with **Faerie Seer** and **Spellstutter Sprite**, then turn the small clock into a soft lock by countering the opponent’s cheap plays and holding **Counterspell** for the first spell that actually changes the game. Execute by attacking in small increments while leaving blue mana or flash interaction available whenever possible. Prioritize this path when the opponent relies on one- and two-mana setup spells, removal, cantrips, or tempo plays. Disruption to watch for is removal that shrinks **Spellstutter Sprite** coverage, sweepers, and tapped-land sequencing that forces you to choose between development and interaction.
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- **Stabilize into monarch:** Cast **Thorn of the Black Rose** when the board is stable enough to defend monarch for at least the opponent’s next combat. Execute by protecting the crown with **Snuff Out**, **Cast Down**, **Suffocating Fumes**, **Counterspell**, and profitable blocks from **Augur of Bolas** or spare creatures. Prioritize this path when both players are trading resources and you can prevent an immediate monarch steal. Do not prioritize it into a wide opposing board, evasive attackers you cannot answer, or a life total where spending the turn on monarch invites lethal.
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- **Spell-engine board growth:** Use **Murmuring Mystic** as a late-game engine only when the legal runtime text supports token or material generation from your spell density. Execute by landing it with protection or follow-up spells, then convert **Brainstorm**, **Lórien Revealed**, **Counterspell**, removal, and other instants or sorceries into board control. Prioritize this path against removal-light or attrition-heavy opponents where a single permanent can dominate. Card text check required if Veles does not expose the relevant trigger or generated objects.
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## Secondary Win Conditions
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- **Backup creature beatdown:** Win with repeated attacks from **Faerie Seer**, **Spellstutter Sprite**, **Augur of Bolas**, **Mukotai Ambusher**, **Thorn of the Black Rose**, or tokens from **Murmuring Mystic** when the opponent is resource-constrained. Use this line when card-advantage engines are unavailable but removal and counters can keep blockers off the table. **Mukotai Ambusher** is conditional; card text check required, and treat it as a combat or tempo threat only when its legal action text confirms the role.
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- **Removal-backed race:** Turn **Snuff Out** and **Cast Down** into tempo by killing blockers or high-pressure attackers while continuing to attack. Use **Snuff Out** aggressively only when life payment or alternate-cost consequences are acceptable from the visible race math. Use **Suffocating Fumes** to shrink or clear small boards when the rules engine exposes a legal profitable line; if the prompt suggests cycling or another mode, choose based on whether board impact or card flow matters more.
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- **Card-flow inevitability:** Use **Brainstorm**, **Lórien Revealed**, **Augur of Bolas**, and **Ninja of the Deep Hours** to outdraw decks that cannot punish the time spent filtering. This is a win condition when interaction density lets you trade one-for-one while your selection finds more action. Avoid spending a key turn on card flow if the opponent’s visible board threatens lethal or a permanent engine that must be answered immediately.
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- **Graveyard suppression as support, not finish:** Use **Bojuka Bog** to disrupt opposing graveyard plans when the timing is visible and legal, but do not treat graveyard hate as your own payoff. The submitted list has no visible **Tolarian Terror** or **Gurmag Angler**, so winning normally still requires creatures, monarch, or spell-engine advantage.
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## Emergency Lines
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- **Behind on life:** Preserve life before value by blocking with **Augur of Bolas** or expendable creatures, using **Snuff Out** only if the life cost does not worsen the lethal clock, and prioritizing **Cast Down**, **Suffocating Fumes**, or legal counters on damage sources. Pass with mana open when the best line is surviving the opponent’s next attack rather than adding a marginal threat.
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- **Behind on board:** Stop the highest-impact attacker or engine first, then rebuild with **Augur of Bolas**, **Thorn of the Black Rose**, or **Murmuring Mystic** only after the immediate combat math is controlled. Do not use **Ninja of the Deep Hours** if bouncing a blocker exposes lethal or gives up the only stabilizing body.
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- **Behind on cards:** Seek a protected draw source rather than firing interaction at low-impact spells. Prioritize **Ninja of the Deep Hours**, **Thorn of the Black Rose**, **Lórien Revealed**, **Brainstorm** with meaningful improvement, or **Augur of Bolas** when the board allows time.
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- **Behind on mana:** Use legal **Lórien Revealed** mana-development actions or land sequencing to restore colors, especially double blue for **Counterspell** and black for **Cast Down** or hard-cast black spells. Keep hands and lines functional before maximizing spell volume.
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- **Win conditions removed:** Shift to incremental attacks plus denial. Protect any remaining creature, use counters on sweepers or card-advantage engines, and let **Bojuka Bog** or removal buy time only when they materially reduce the opponent’s path to winning.
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## Resource Model
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- **Life:** Spend life as a tempo resource only when **Snuff Out** changes the next combat or protects a winning pressure line. Free removal is strongest when it preserves mana for **Counterspell**, **Spellstutter Sprite**, **Dispel**, or **Spell Pierce**; it is weakest when the life payment turns a stable race into a two-attack clock.
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- **Hand:** Treat cards in hand as the deck’s main long-game fuel, not as permission to answer everything. **Brainstorm**, **Augur of Bolas**, **Lórien Revealed**, **Ninja of the Deep Hours**, **Thorn of the Black Rose**, and conditional **Murmuring Mystic** lines all reward trading interaction for only the opponent’s meaningful threats, then pulling ahead when the board is no longer urgent.
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- **Mana:** Convert mana into flexibility by leaving blue open whenever a pass with **Counterspell**, **Spellstutter Sprite**, **Dispel**, or **Spell Pierce** is better than tapping out. Black mana is for board correction through **Cast Down**, **Suffocating Fumes**, **Snuff Out** hard-cast lines, **Thorn of the Black Rose**, and sideboard cards; do not strand black spells by sequencing only **Island** unless double blue is the immediate constraint.
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- **Board:** Use small creatures as pressure, blockers, and spell enablers rather than expendable damage only. **Faerie Seer** enables **Spellstutter Sprite** coverage and **Ninja of the Deep Hours**; **Augur of Bolas** blocks and finds spells; **Thorn of the Black Rose** asks for a defendable board before taking monarch; **Murmuring Mystic** requires card text check and protection before being treated as an engine.
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- **Graveyard:** Use graveyards primarily as public information and as opposing resources to deny. **Bojuka Bog** and **Relic of Progenitus** should hit relevant graveyard plans at high-impact windows; the submitted main deck does not show **Tolarian Terror** or **Gurmag Angler**, so do not protect your own graveyard as a core payoff unless runtime state reveals a specific reason.
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- **Exile:** Track exile as permanent information for cards removed by **Bojuka Bog**, **Relic of Progenitus**, counters, removal, and legal effects. Exiled opposing threats reduce what you must keep answering; exiled own cards are lost resources unless the rules engine exposes a legal way to use them.
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- **Lands:** Treat lands as both mana and timing tools. **Bojuka Bog**, **Contaminated Aquifer**, and possibly **Contaminated Landscape** can improve colors or utility, but tapped or activation constraints can cost interaction windows; card text check required for exact **Contaminated Landscape** use.
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- **Sacrifice fodder:** Do not assume a sacrifice engine from the submitted main deck. Small creatures may be traded or bounced for value, but preserve bodies when they defend monarch, enable **Spellstutter Sprite**, carry **Ninja of the Deep Hours**, or block lethal damage.
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- **Tempo:** Convert tempo by answering a spell or creature while still advancing damage or cards. The best tempo turns usually combine **Snuff Out**, flash **Spellstutter Sprite**, cheap permission, or **Cast Down** with attacks or draw triggers; avoid low-impact filtering when a visible threat demands an answer.
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- **Information:** Use **Faerie Seer** scry, **Brainstorm**, public graveyards, revealed cards, and previous logged game actions to plan, but never infer hidden exact cards as certainty. If a pass depends on playing around a likely instant, state the risk rather than treating it as known.
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- **Sideboard bullets:** Convert sideboard cards into narrow role upgrades after identifying the matchup. **Blue Elemental Blast** and **Hydroblast** answer red pressure, **Arms of Hadar** answers small boards if legal text supports it, **Relic of Progenitus** fights graveyards, **Dispel** fights stack interaction, **Okiba-Gang Shinobi** pressures hands, **Extract a Confession** requires card text check, and extra **Mukotai Ambusher** or **Murmuring Mystic** support creature or engine plans when appropriate.
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## Mana Guide
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- **Keep mana by function, not count alone.** A keep usually needs early blue for **Faerie Seer**, **Brainstorm**, **Spellstutter Sprite**, **Counterspell**, or **Augur of Bolas**, plus a credible path to black for **Cast Down**, **Suffocating Fumes**, **Thorn of the Black Rose**, and hard-cast black interaction. Mulligan hands with no early blue, no second land path, or only tapped lands when the opponent is likely fast.
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- **Prioritize double blue when holding **Counterspell**.** If the hand already has black access, sequence toward two blue sources before turn two when countering matters. If the hand lacks black and contains **Cast Down** or **Suffocating Fumes**, choose a line that reaches black before the first expected combat emergency.
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- **Sequence tapped lands when the turn has no critical one-mana action.** Lead **Contaminated Aquifer** or **Bojuka Bog** when entering tapped does not forfeit **Brainstorm**, **Spell Pierce**, **Dispel**, or a needed blocker. Delay **Bojuka Bog** if the opponent’s graveyard is likely to become a better target soon and the mana is not required now.
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- **Use **Lórien Revealed** as mana development only when the legal action text confirms the mode and the hand needs land more than a draw spell.** Early fixing or land count can be worth more than saving it for cards, especially when missing double blue or black would strand interaction. If already stable on mana, preserve it as a late card-flow spell when legal.
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- **Play land before draw when you need immediate mana, a legal landfall-like constraint, or to hold up interaction after the draw.** Play land after **Brainstorm**, **Faerie Seer** scry, **Augur of Bolas**, or **Lórien Revealed** when selection could change which land is best, unless delaying the land makes a legal spell or counter window unavailable.
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- **Avoid tapping out before the opponent’s key turn unless the board demands it.** Casting **Thorn of the Black Rose**, **Murmuring Mystic**, or a main-phase **Ninja of the Deep Hours** line is strongest when you can still protect the position or when waiting is worse. Against open mana and unknown interaction, prefer passing with blue up if your current board is already advancing.
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- **Use black mana carefully with alternate-cost **Snuff Out** decisions.** If paying life is safe, free **Snuff Out** preserves mana for counters; if life is pressured, plan for hard-cast removal or **Cast Down** instead. Do not spend the only black source on a low-impact action when a larger creature threat is likely next.
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- **Treat **Contaminated Landscape** as utility until rules text is visible.** Card text check required; if it fixes colors or searches lands, use it to repair mana when the turn can spare tempo, not when activating it would drop shields against a decisive spell.
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## Mulligan Guide
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- **Strong keep:** Keep two or three lands with early blue, a one- or two-mana play, and at least one interaction spell. Examples include **Island**, **Contaminated Aquifer**, **Faerie Seer**, **Spellstutter Sprite**, **Counterspell**, **Snuff Out**, and **Augur of Bolas**; this hand develops a Faerie count, blocks, and preserves stack control.
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- **Strong keep:** Keep hands that can cast **Augur of Bolas** on turn two while holding or finding interaction. **Island**, **Island**, **Brainstorm**, **Augur of Bolas**, **Counterspell**, **Cast Down**, and **Lórien Revealed** is strong if the rules engine exposes a land-development mode for **Lórien Revealed** or the hand already has enough lands.
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- **Medium keep:** Keep slower two-land hands with **Brainstorm**, **Counterspell**, and removal when the matchup is not pressuring life immediately. **Island**, **Contaminated Aquifer**, **Brainstorm**, **Counterspell**, **Cast Down**, **Thorn of the Black Rose**, and **Lórien Revealed** can be fine, but it needs early draw or land sequencing to avoid falling behind.
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- **Risky keep:** Keep one-land hands only with clear rules-engine-supported land access and a cheap way to smooth. **Island**, **Brainstorm**, **Faerie Seer**, **Spellstutter Sprite**, **Snuff Out**, **Counterspell**, and **Lórien Revealed** is risky unless **Lórien Revealed** legally finds mana or selection makes the second land likely enough for the matchup speed.
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- **Automatic ship:** Mulligan hands with no land, one land without **Brainstorm** or legal **Lórien Revealed** mana access, no blue source, or only tapped lands plus no turn-two stabilizer against fast decks. Also ship hands that cannot affect the game before turn three unless the opponent is known to be very slow.
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- **Trap hand:** Do not keep a hand because it has many powerful spells if it cannot cast them on time. **Bojuka Bog**, **Swamp**, **Cast Down**, **Suffocating Fumes**, **Thorn of the Black Rose**, **Counterspell**, and **Murmuring Mystic** lacks early blue and should usually ship despite interaction density.
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- **Matchup-dependent keep:** Keep removal-heavy hands against creature decks and permission-heavy hands against spell decks. **Snuff Out**, **Cast Down**, and **Suffocating Fumes** matter more against small-creature pressure, while **Counterspell**, **Spell Pierce**, **Dispel**, and **Spellstutter Sprite** matter more against stack-based threats.
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- **Play/draw adjustment:** On the play, value **Faerie Seer** into **Spellstutter Sprite** or turn-two **Counterspell** more highly because tempo compounds. On the draw, value **Snuff Out**, **Cast Down**, **Suffocating Fumes**, and an early blocker more highly because the opponent can establish pressure first.
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- **Postboard mulligan cue:** After sideboarding, keep narrow hate only when it matches the revealed matchup. **Blue Elemental Blast** and **Hydroblast** are keep-improving against red cards, **Relic of Progenitus** is keep-improving against graveyard plans, and **Arms of Hadar** is keep-improving only when its legal text and the opposing board plan support it.
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## Turn Arc
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- **Turn 1:** Prefer **Faerie Seer** when legal because it sets up draws, enables **Spellstutter Sprite**, and creates **Ninja of the Deep Hours** pressure. If the hand needs colors more than board presence, lead **Contaminated Aquifer** or **Bojuka Bog** when entering tapped does not forfeit a needed **Spell Pierce**, **Dispel**, or **Brainstorm** window.
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- **Turn 1 deviation:** Hold **Brainstorm** unless you need to find land, protect against discard, or set up an immediate known shuffle or selection sequence. Use **Lórien Revealed** for mana only if the legal action text confirms that mode and missing land would otherwise break the hand.
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- **Turn 2:** Prefer **Augur of Bolas**, **Counterspell**, or **Spellstutter Sprite** based on pressure. Cast **Augur of Bolas** when you need a blocker or more spells, hold **Counterspell** when the opponent’s next play is likely decisive, and use **Spellstutter Sprite** when its current Faerie count can answer a meaningful legal spell.
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- **Turn 2 deviation:** Use **Snuff Out** or **Cast Down** before developing if a creature threatens too much damage, a snowballing engine, or a clean **Ninja of the Deep Hours** punish. Preserve life on **Snuff Out** if your life total is already under heavy pressure.
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- **Turn 3:** Convert a safe evasive hit into **Ninja of the Deep Hours** when the attack is legal, the bounced creature retains value, and you are not abandoning a required blocker. Prefer holding interaction over ninjutsu when the opponent can punish the tap-out with a larger threat or removal-heavy tempo swing.
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- **Turn 3 deviation:** Cast **Suffocating Fumes** only when the visible board makes the effect materially better than one-for-one removal; card text check required for exact cycling or board impact. Deploy **Mukotai Ambusher** only when its legal text and timing make the body or interaction relevant.
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- **Turns 4-5:** Take over with protected value, not unsupported haymakers. **Thorn of the Black Rose** is best when you can defend monarch with blockers and removal; **Murmuring Mystic** requires card text check and should be played when you can protect it or immediately profit from spells.
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- **Turns 4-5 deviation:** Keep mana open when the opponent’s likely turn is stronger than your tap-out play. A pass with **Counterspell**, **Spellstutter Sprite**, **Dispel**, **Spell Pierce**, **Cast Down**, or **Snuff Out** can be the correct proactive line if your board already pressures or monarch is protected.
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- **Late game:** Win by chaining cards and denying high-impact plays. Use **Brainstorm**, **Lórien Revealed**, **Ninja of the Deep Hours**, **Thorn of the Black Rose**, and possibly **Murmuring Mystic** to pull ahead while spending **Counterspell**, **Cast Down**, **Snuff Out**, and **Suffocating Fumes** only on threats that change the race, monarch, or lethal math.
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- **Late-game deviation:** Treat **Bojuka Bog** as a timing resource when the opponent’s graveyard matters. Play it for mana if you must, but delay it when the visible graveyard is likely to become a higher-value target and delaying does not cost a decisive spell window.
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## Card Roles
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||
- **Faerie Seer:** Use **Faerie Seer** as the deck’s best turn-one setup permanent because it fixes the next draws, raises **Spellstutter Sprite** range, carries **Ninja of the Deep Hours**, and blocks small fliers when racing. Keep it alive when Faerie count matters for a near-term counter window, but do not protect it like a win condition unless the hand needs a ninjutsu enabler or monarch defender. Avoid bouncing the only Faerie with **Ninja of the Deep Hours** if that shrink makes **Spellstutter Sprite** unable to counter the opponent’s next likely spell.
|
||
|
||
- **Spellstutter Sprite:** Treat **Spellstutter Sprite** as interaction first and an evasive body second. Hold it when the opponent is likely to cast a spell within current Faerie-count range, especially one-mana removal, cantrips, sacrifice setup, burn, or small threats; cast it proactively only when a flying body is needed for **Ninja of the Deep Hours**, monarch defense, or pressure and the stack window is low value. Count only visible Faeries and legal action text at runtime; do not assume **Spellstutter Sprite** can counter a spell unless the rules engine exposes the legal counter action.
|
||
|
||
- **Augur of Bolas:** Cast **Augur of Bolas** when you need a blocker, spell selection, or a board object that can be bounced later after combat value. Its main job is to bridge early turns into **Counterspell**, **Cast Down**, **Snuff Out**, **Brainstorm**, **Lórien Revealed**, **Suffocating Fumes**, **Dispel**, or **Spell Pierce** while absorbing ground damage. Do not run **Augur of Bolas** into a turn where holding up **Counterspell** answers a much stronger play unless the board pressure already demands a blocker.
|
||
|
||
- **Ninja of the Deep Hours:** Use **Ninja of the Deep Hours** only when the combat hit is likely to connect and the bounced creature gives repeat value or protects a threatened permanent. Best returns are bouncing **Faerie Seer** for another scry or **Spellstutter Sprite** after it already countered something; bouncing **Augur of Bolas** is strong when recasting is affordable and you still need instants or sorceries. Do not ninjutsu away a necessary blocker, monarch defender, or only Faerie-count enabler unless the card draw and tempo clearly matter more before the next opponent turn.
|
||
|
||
- **Thorn of the Black Rose:** Deploy **Thorn of the Black Rose** when you can defend monarch with blockers, removal, or stack interaction. The card is a stabilizing value pivot, not a blind turn-four tap-out against a wide board. Its deathtouch body makes large single attackers awkward, but monarch can backfire if the opponent has multiple evasive attackers or a haste/burn line. Against slow decks, prioritize resolving and protecting **Thorn of the Black Rose**; against fast decks, cast it only after life total and combat math are stable.
|
||
|
||
- **Brainstorm:** Use **Brainstorm** as a tactical smoothing spell, not as automatic mana spending. Cast it early when you need land, black mana, interaction, or a keepable line; hold it when your hand is functional and future shuffle or selection from **Lórien Revealed**, **Contaminated Landscape**, or other legal effects may improve it. In response to discard or after opponent information changes, **Brainstorm** can hide key cards or find instant-speed answers, but never assume a shuffle exists unless the rules engine presents it. Avoid locking two bad cards on top when under immediate pressure unless the alternative loses now.
|
||
|
||
- **Counterspell:** Reserve **Counterspell** for plays that beat your current board, break your value engine, or force a bad race. It is strongest when your battlefield already pressures with fliers, **Ninja of the Deep Hours**, monarch, or a protected threat, because passing with two blue mana then advances tempo. Do not spend **Counterspell** on a low-impact spell if **Cast Down**, **Snuff Out**, **Suffocating Fumes**, or combat can answer the permanent later. Against combo, ramp, monarch, and high-impact engines, counter the enabling spell or payoff according to visible risk rather than mana efficiency alone.
|
||
|
||
- **Lórien Revealed:** Use **Lórien Revealed** as land access early when the legal action text confirms its mana-development mode and missing a land would damage the hand. Use it as a draw spell later when you can afford the mana and need to refuel for a long control exchange. Do not spend the early land-search mode casually if your mana is already stable and the matchup is about card volume; do not hold it as a five-mana draw spell if failing to hit land prevents **Counterspell**, **Thorn of the Black Rose**, or double-spell turns.
|
||
|
||
- **Cast Down:** Aim **Cast Down** at creatures that create ongoing damage, value, or combat inevitability. Its role is clean creature removal when **Snuff Out** costs too much life, cannot legally target, or should be saved for tempo. Card text and target legality must come from runtime actions; if the rules engine does not expose a target, do not infer that **Cast Down** can kill it. Against small decks, use it to protect life and monarch; against larger decks, save it for threats that cannot be profitably blocked by **Thorn of the Black Rose** or stalled by fliers.
|
||
|
||
- **Snuff Out:** Use **Snuff Out** as a tempo swing when paying life is safer than spending mana or when tapping out would lose stack control. It is excellent for clearing a blocker before **Ninja of the Deep Hours**, stopping a snowballing attacker while leaving up **Counterspell**, or defending monarch without sacrificing a turn. Treat the life payment as real damage: avoid free-casting it at low life, against burn, or when a normal **Cast Down** line preserves enough mana. Card text check required for exact alternate-cost and targeting restrictions at runtime; choose only exposed legal actions.
|
||
|
||
- **Suffocating Fumes:** Use **Suffocating Fumes** when the visible board makes a mass shrink or sweeper-like effect materially better than one-for-one removal. It is most valuable against token boards, one-toughness creatures, Faerie mirrors, go-wide attackers, and combat steps where shrinking changes multiple trades. Card text check required for exact effect and any cycling mode; if a card-selection action is exposed and the board impact is low, cycling or holding may beat casting. Avoid firing it before the opponent commits more bodies unless current damage, monarch, or ninjutsu pressure requires immediate action.
|
||
|
||
- **Dispel:** Treat main-deck **Dispel** as narrow protection and stack interaction. Hold it for opposing instants that kill **Ninja of the Deep Hours**, break a monarch defense, force through a key spell, win a counter war, or represent burn/lethal. Do not keep mana stranded for **Dispel** when the opponent’s visible plan is creature-permanent pressure and you need to develop board or cast removal. Runtime legality determines whether a spell is counterable by **Dispel**; do not assume card type from memory when the engine does not expose the action.
|
||
|
||
- **Spell Pierce:** Use **Spell Pierce** early while opponents are mana-constrained or while protecting a tempo-positive threat. It is best on turns one through three against noncreature engines, removal, draw spells, ramp, sacrifice setup, and combo pieces; it loses value as the opponent gains spare mana. Do not overhold it in the late game when casting **Augur of Bolas**, **Thorn of the Black Rose**, or **Lórien Revealed** would create a stronger resource advantage.
|
||
|
||
- **Mukotai Ambusher:** Treat **Mukotai Ambusher** as conditional interaction or tempo body until exact text is confirmed. Card text check required. Use it only when the rules engine exposes a legal action whose visible effect advances combat, removal, ninjutsu, or surprise-blocking math; otherwise evaluate it as a creature that must justify its mana against holding **Counterspell** or removal. Because it is a singleton, do not build a plan that requires drawing it.
|
||
|
||
- **Murmuring Mystic:** Treat **Murmuring Mystic** as a fragile alternate engine pending exact card text confirmation. Card text check required. Cast it when you can protect it, immediately benefit from following instants or sorceries, or need a board engine that goes wider than single-threat plans. Avoid tapping out for it into obvious removal, combo, or lethal pressure unless waiting is worse. In long games it can convert **Brainstorm**, **Counterspell**, **Cast Down**, **Snuff Out**, **Lórien Revealed**, and sideboard interaction into board control if its text is confirmed.
|
||
|
||
- **Bojuka Bog:** Use **Bojuka Bog** as both black mana and graveyard interaction, with timing based on visible graveyard value. Play it early only when color access matters or entering tapped will not cost a high-value stack window. Hold it when the opponent is likely to expose a stronger graveyard target soon and your mana can function without it. Do not target graveyards based on hidden-library assumptions; use public graveyard contents, known archetype, and legal trigger/target output.
|
||
|
||
- **Contaminated Aquifer:** Sequence **Contaminated Aquifer** to satisfy black access without losing critical early blue windows. It is a good early tapped land when the hand already has a turn-one play plan or does not need **Spell Pierce**, **Brainstorm**, or **Faerie Seer** immediately. If the rules engine exposes land-type interactions with **Lórien Revealed** or other effects, use only visible legal actions rather than assumed types.
|
||
|
||
- **Island:** Prioritize **Island** because early double-blue enables **Counterspell** and makes **Spellstutter Sprite**, **Brainstorm**, **Faerie Seer**, and **Lórien Revealed** lines smoother. Lead **Island** over tapped black sources when the hand needs immediate blue interaction or can find black later. Do not sacrifice double-blue reliability for speculative black mana unless **Cast Down**, **Snuff Out** hard-cast lines, **Suffocating Fumes**, or **Thorn of the Black Rose** are already required by the visible board.
|
||
|
||
- **Swamp:** Use **Swamp** to unlock black spells and possible **Snuff Out** alternate-cost conditions when legal text supports that requirement. It is valuable but awkward because it does not cast blue one-drops or **Counterspell**. Keep hands relying on **Swamp** only when another blue source or legal land access is present.
|
||
|
||
- **Contaminated Landscape:** Treat **Contaminated Landscape** as fixing and possible shuffle utility if the rules engine exposes those actions. Card text check required for exact abilities. Use it to correct colors, improve **Brainstorm** aftermath, or support longer games, but avoid spending mana on it when holding up **Counterspell**, **Spellstutter Sprite**, or removal is the decisive line.
|
||
|
||
## Interaction Priorities
|
||
|
||
- **Removal priority:** Kill the permanent or creature that changes the next turn cycle first, not the largest visible object by default. Use **Snuff Out** or **Cast Down** on attackers that threaten lethal, creatures enabling repeated value, blockers preventing **Ninja of the Deep Hours**, and threats that will steal or protect monarch from **Thorn of the Black Rose**. Preserve removal against harmless bodies when your life total is high, your fliers are already attacking, or **Suffocating Fumes** could answer multiple small creatures later.
|
||
|
||
- **Counter priority:** Use **Counterspell** on spells that either beat your current board, create an engine you cannot remove cleanly, or force you into a bad race. Counter haymakers, sweepers, card-advantage engines, graveyard payoffs, monarch threats, and removal aimed at a protected **Ninja of the Deep Hours**, **Thorn of the Black Rose**, or confirmed **Murmuring Mystic** engine. Do not spend **Counterspell** on low-impact cantrips or replaceable creatures when the opponent’s next visible mana turn represents a stronger threat.
|
||
|
||
- **Cheap permission priority:** Use **Spell Pierce** early against noncreature setup, draw, removal, and combo pieces while the opponent cannot easily pay. Use **Dispel** for instant-speed fights that decide a protected attack, lethal prevention, counter war, removal exchange, or burn race. Use sideboard **Blue Elemental Blast** and **Hydroblast** first against red spells or red permanents when legal and decisive, especially if that lets **Counterspell** remain available for nonred threats.
|
||
|
||
- **Spellstutter Sprite priority:** Cast **Spellstutter Sprite** when the legal counter action trades for a relevant spell and leaves a body that improves future faerie count, attacks, blocks, or ninjutsu. Do not fire **Spellstutter Sprite** as a random flash creature if holding it could counter the opponent’s next cheap spell, unless board pressure or monarch defense requires a body now.
|
||
|
||
- **Mass-effect priority:** Save **Suffocating Fumes** and sideboard **Arms of Hadar** for boards where one action improves multiple combats or clears several creatures. Use them earlier when your life total is under immediate pressure, a go-wide board blocks ninjutsu, or delaying risks losing monarch. Card text check required for exact effects, modes, and timing; if the engine exposes only a low-impact cast and a legal selection/cycling-style action, prefer preserving the card unless current damage demands action.
|
||
|
||
- **Graveyard interaction priority:** Use **Bojuka Bog** and **Relic of Progenitus** only from visible graveyard information, known public reveals, and legal actions. Exile graveyards before flashback, reanimation, delve-like, threshold-like, or recursion payoff windows when the opponent has mana or a pending stack line to exploit them. Do not spend graveyard hate against incidental graveyards while under creature pressure if removal, blockers, or counters are needed to survive.
|
||
|
||
- **Discard and bounce discipline:** This list has no main-deck discard or bounce plan by exact card name, so do not invent those roles. Sideboard **Okiba-Gang Shinobi** is hand-pressure through combat if its legal action appears; use it when connecting is realistic and the discard matters more than keeping the current attacker. If a bounce-like or discard-like runtime action appears from a card with unclear text, treat it as Card text check required and choose it only when the visible effect is clearly valuable.
|
||
|
||
- **Bait discipline:** Bait opposing counters or removal with lower-commitment plays like **Faerie Seer**, **Augur of Bolas**, or a noncritical **Brainstorm** before committing **Thorn of the Black Rose** or **Murmuring Mystic** when waiting does not lose tempo. Do not bait when the opponent is tapped low, when you must answer a threat now, or when the bait spell is itself needed to hit land drops or stabilize.
|
||
|
||
## Combat And Trading Rules
|
||
|
||
- **Attack priority:** Attack when damage, ninjutsu access, monarch pressure, or forcing awkward blocks is worth the risk to your board. **Faerie Seer** is the cleanest early attacker because it enables **Ninja of the Deep Hours** and pressures planes of play without risking a key counter body. Do not attack with a needed blocker into visible crack-back lethal, monarch loss, or a profitable opponent race unless the legal line creates a stronger immediate advantage.
|
||
|
||
- **Ninja discipline:** Use **Ninja of the Deep Hours** when the returned creature is low-cost, reusable, or already delivered value, especially **Faerie Seer**, **Spellstutter Sprite**, or **Augur of Bolas**. Avoid ninjutsu if returning the creature breaks a necessary blocker, removes faerie count needed for **Spellstutter Sprite**, or taps mana that must remain available for **Counterspell**, **Dispel**, **Spell Pierce**, **Snuff Out**, or **Cast Down**.
|
||
|
||
- **Block priority:** Block to preserve life, protect monarch, stop snowballing combat triggers, or convert a creature that has already generated value into a trade. Trade **Faerie Seer** or **Augur of Bolas** when the exchange buys a full turn or blanks a larger attack; preserve **Spellstutter Sprite** when faerie count or flash-counter pressure matters more than two or three life. Use **Mukotai Ambusher** only as combat interaction when runtime text and legal actions make the exchange favorable; Card text check required.
|
||
|
||
- **Engine preservation:** Protect **Ninja of the Deep Hours**, **Thorn of the Black Rose**, and confirmed **Murmuring Mystic** when they are actively generating cards, monarch, or board material. Let them trade when survival, lethal prevention, or keeping monarch is more important than future value. Do not spend premium stack interaction protecting a creature that is no longer central to the current role.
|
||
|
||
- **Life thresholds:** Treat life as spendable for **Snuff Out** only while the remaining total survives the opponent’s visible board plus plausible archetype reach. Against burn or red tempo, be conservative below high single digits and prefer mana-paid answers or **Blue Elemental Blast**/**Hydroblast** when boarded. Against slow control or combo, paying life is often correct if it preserves mana for counters and keeps your clock active.
|
||
|
||
- **Archetype shifts:** Against aggro, trade early, shrink wide boards, and defend life before drawing extra cards. Against control, preserve threats, attack with evasive bodies, and fight over engines rather than every removal spell. Against graveyard decks, combine pressure with **Bojuka Bog** or **Relic of Progenitus** timing. Against combo, damage matters only if it shortens the clock while leaving mana for decisive interaction.
|
||
|
||
## Selection And Tutor Rules
|
||
|
||
- **Selection discipline:** Treat this list as a pseudo-selection deck, not a true tutor deck. **Brainstorm**, **Faerie Seer**, **Augur of Bolas**, **Lórien Revealed**, **Ninja of the Deep Hours**, and possible land-search actions from **Contaminated Landscape** improve card access, but none should be assumed to find an exact card unless the rules engine exposes that legal choice.
|
||
|
||
- **Brainstorm timing:** Cast **Brainstorm** when it fixes a real decision: finding land, hiding cards from discard if known, finding interaction before a stack fight, or converting excess lands into live draws. Prefer waiting when you have no shuffle, surveil, scry, cycling, or land-search effect to clear bad cards, unless missing a land drop or dying requires immediate digging.
|
||
|
||
- **Brainstorm put-back policy:** Put back redundant lands after reaching stable mana, expensive threats when under pressure, dead removal against creature-light opponents, or extra permission when the board already demands removal. Preserve **Counterspell**, **Snuff Out**, **Cast Down**, and red-hate after sideboard when the visible matchup makes those cards time-sensitive.
|
||
|
||
- **Faerie Seer scry policy:** Use **Faerie Seer** to set up land drops, enable **Spellstutter Sprite**, and prepare **Ninja of the Deep Hours**. Keep interaction or lands that support the next two turns; bottom slow monarch or engine cards when you must survive early creature pressure, and bottom narrow permission when the opponent is presenting battlefield pressure rather than stack pressure.
|
||
|
||
- **Augur of Bolas selection:** Choose the instant or sorcery that solves the next turn cycle, not automatically the most powerful card. Prioritize **Snuff Out** or **Cast Down** against lethal or snowballing creatures, **Counterspell** against haymakers or combo, **Brainstorm** only when hand quality and land drops need help, and **Suffocating Fumes** when multiple small creatures or combat math make a mass effect valuable. If Augur reveals no legal spell choice, accept the miss and use the body defensively.
|
||
|
||
- **Lórien Revealed use:** Use **Lórien Revealed** as mana development when land drops or blue sources are the bottleneck, and as a late card-advantage spell only when tapping mana does not expose you to a decisive opposing turn. Card text check required for exact available actions; if the engine offers an Island-search or cycling-like line, prefer it early over keeping a clunky hand functional only in theory.
|
||
|
||
- **Land-drop timing:** Play untapped blue sources before tapped utility lands when **Counterspell**, **Spellstutter Sprite**, **Spell Pierce**, or **Dispel** must be represented. Play **Bojuka Bog** when the graveyard exile matters or when a tapped black source is otherwise acceptable; avoid burning **Bojuka Bog** into an empty or low-value graveyard if another land drop is available. Use **Contaminated Aquifer** and **Contaminated Landscape** to secure black mana before hands with **Cast Down**, **Suffocating Fumes**, **Thorn of the Black Rose**, or sideboard black cards fall behind.
|
||
|
||
- **Card-flow engines:** Use **Ninja of the Deep Hours** only when the draw trigger is likely and the returned creature remains useful later. Use **Thorn of the Black Rose** when monarch can be defended or immediately recaptured; do not choose a slow card-flow line over removal when the opponent can take monarch back for free.
|
||
|
||
## Priority And Stack Rules
|
||
|
||
- **Default priority rule:** Pass with mana open when the opponent’s next action is more important than your optional play. This deck wins many games by representing **Counterspell**, **Spellstutter Sprite**, **Dispel**, **Spell Pierce**, **Snuff Out**, or **Cast Down**, so spending mana at the first legal window is often worse than forcing the opponent to act into open interaction.
|
||
|
||
- **Counterspell commitment gate:** Spend **Counterspell** on spells that change the game: protected threats, card-advantage engines, lethal burn, graveyard payoffs, sweepers, monarch breakers, or combo pieces. Let low-impact setup resolve when your hand has removal for the resulting creature, your clock is active, or a stronger opposing spell is likely from visible mana and matchup context.
|
||
|
||
- **Spellstutter Sprite timing:** Use **Spellstutter Sprite** when the engine shows a legal counter that matters and the resulting body contributes to pressure, blocking, or future faerie count. Avoid flashing it in merely as a creature unless a blocker, ninjutsu setup, or end-step pressure is worth losing the counter window.
|
||
|
||
- **Cheap permission timing:** Use **Spell Pierce** before the opponent can easily pay, especially against noncreature setup, removal, planes of card advantage, and combo pieces. Use **Dispel** for instant-speed fights over removal, counters, burn, combat tricks, or protected draw. After sideboard, use **Blue Elemental Blast** and **Hydroblast** on red spells or red permanents when legal, saving broader permission for nonred threats.
|
||
|
||
- **Removal timing:** Use **Snuff Out** when preserving mana is worth the life payment and the target is worth a premium answer. Use **Cast Down** when paying mana is safer than paying life or when black mana is otherwise unused. Let small creatures resolve if **Suffocating Fumes** or **Arms of Hadar** can clean up multiple bodies later, unless delaying creates lethal pressure or loses monarch.
|
||
|
||
- **Combat windows:** Reassess priority after attackers, blockers, and before damage when legal actions appear. Cast removal before damage to prevent lethal, protect monarch, enable a profitable block, or clear a ninjutsu path; wait until after blocks when the opponent may commit more material or when removal changes combat most efficiently. Use **Mukotai Ambusher** only when visible legal text makes the combat exchange favorable; Card text check required.
|
||
|
||
- **Graveyard timing:** Use **Bojuka Bog** and **Relic of Progenitus** before the opponent can convert graveyard resources into flashback, recursion, delve-like, threshold-like, or reanimation value. Do not crack or deploy graveyard hate for incidental value while a stack threat, lethal board, or protected engine requires mana and attention.
|
||
|
||
- **Optional triggers and payments:** Accept optional value only when it advances the current role without compromising interaction. If **Murmuring Mystic** or another card exposes an optional trigger, Card text check required; choose the value line when legal and low-risk, but keep mana and stack control for the threats that actually decide the turn.
|
||
|
||
## Sideboard Map
|
||
|
||
- **Sideboard philosophy:** Sideboarding should change the deck’s interaction mix without abandoning the Faeries tempo-control core. Preserve enough blue cards, cheap plays, and instant-speed decisions to support **Faerie Seer**, **Spellstutter Sprite**, **Ninja of the Deep Hours**, **Brainstorm**, **Counterspell**, and **Augur of Bolas**; adjust narrow permission, slow threats, and matchup-poor removal according to visible opposing pressure and known archetype.
|
||
|
||
- **Balanced red aggro / Burn plan:** This plan prioritizes cheap red interaction, life preservation, and avoiding slow monarch exposure.
|
||
Side in: 4 Blue Elemental Blast, 1 Hydroblast, 1 Dispel
|
||
Cut: 2 Thorn of the Black Rose, 2 Suffocating Fumes, 1 Murmuring Mystic, 1 Mukotai Ambusher
|
||
|
||
- **Blue Elemental Blast role:** Add **Blue Elemental Blast** against red decks, red removal-heavy decks, Kiln Fiend-style pressure, burn, red monarch threats, and red artifact-aggro payoffs when the engine offers legal red spell or red permanent interaction. It becomes a premium one-mana answer that protects life total, wins stack fights, and keeps mana open for **Counterspell** or **Spellstutter Sprite**. It is poor against nonred creature decks, black removal decks, blue control mirrors with few red cards, and graveyard combo unless visible red cards matter.
|
||
|
||
- **Hydroblast role:** Add **Hydroblast** in the same red matchups as **Blue Elemental Blast**, but respect the rules engine for exact target legality and resolution text. Treat it as the fifth red-hate effect when the opponent can win through burn reach, red threats, or red removal breaking your tempo. It is weak when the opponent’s red cards are incidental and your bottleneck is answering nonred creatures, graveyards, or card-advantage engines.
|
||
|
||
- **Arms of Hadar role:** Add **Arms of Hadar** against creature-wide decks, token boards, Faeries mirrors with many small creatures, Elves-style battlefields, go-wide artifact creature starts, and low-toughness aggressive decks. Card text check required for exact timing and affected creatures; use it when the engine shows a legal sweeper-like action that converts one card into multiple opposing bodies or breaks a stalled board. It is poor against creature-light control, large single-threat decks, combo, and matchups where sorcery-speed black mana exposure prevents holding up **Counterspell**.
|
||
|
||
- **Relic of Progenitus role:** Add **Relic of Progenitus** against graveyard recursion, delve-like threats, flashback plans, reanimation, Tortured Existence-style engines, **Mystical Teachings** loops, and decks where graveyard count visibly matters. Use it as early friction when graveyard growth is central, but preserve activation timing when the opponent may respond by converting the graveyard first. It is poor against pure Burn, creature decks with no graveyard payoffs, and matchups where spending mana or a card on graveyard control delays removal, blockers, or pressure.
|
||
|
||
- **Dispel role:** Add the sideboard **Dispel** against blue mirrors, Burn, instant-heavy removal decks, counter wars, combat-trick decks, and combo shells that rely on instants. Use it to protect **Ninja of the Deep Hours**, defend **Thorn of the Black Rose**, win fights over **Counterspell**, or stop instant-speed lethal. It is poor against sorcery-speed creature decks, artifact battlefield engines, and opponents whose key spells are creatures, enchantments, or lands rather than instants.
|
||
|
||
- **Extract a Confession role:** Add **Extract a Confession** against large creature decks, hexproof-like or protection-heavy threat decks, black-resistant removal targets, and battlefield states where edict or sacrifice-style pressure is valuable. Card text check required; only choose lines the engine presents as legal, and do not assume it answers a specific hidden or protected threat unless the rules output confirms the available target or sacrifice action. It is weak against token-heavy boards, small creature floods, and decks where **Cast Down**, **Snuff Out**, or sweepers already answer the relevant threats more efficiently.
|
||
|
||
- **Okiba-Gang Shinobi role:** Add **Okiba-Gang Shinobi** against slow control, combo, Tron-style big mana, draw-heavy mirrors, and opponents who keep key cards in hand while interacting lightly on board. Use **Faerie Seer**, **Spellstutter Sprite**, or **Augur of Bolas** as enablers only when combat damage is likely and returning the creature does not lose a critical blocker. It is poor against removal-dense red decks, fast go-wide decks, and board states where tapping mana for ninjutsu pressure exposes lethal or monarch loss.
|
||
|
||
- **Mukotai Ambusher role:** Add the sideboard **Mukotai Ambusher** when combat is central, surprise lifelink or ambush-style exchanges are likely to matter, or the matchup rewards extra flash-speed creature interaction. Card text check required for exact keywords, timing, and combat legality. It is poor against noncombat combo, hard control with sweepers, and matchups where a single creature body does less than permission, graveyard hate, or sweepers.
|
||
|
||
- **Murmuring Mystic role:** Add the sideboard **Murmuring Mystic** against removal-light control, midrange mirrors, and slow decks where repeated instant and sorcery casting can build a board while holding interaction. Card text check required for exact trigger behavior; prefer it when you can untap or protect it with **Counterspell**, **Dispel**, **Spell Pierce**, or red hate. It is poor against fast Burn, edict-heavy decks, sweepers, and matchups where four mana sorcery-speed development gives the opponent a decisive window.
|
||
|
||
- **Against red aggro and Burn:** Add role cards: **Blue Elemental Blast**, **Hydroblast**, **Dispel**, and sometimes **Mukotai Ambusher** if lifegain or flash combat text is legally relevant. Reduce main-deck emphasis: **Thorn of the Black Rose**, **Murmuring Mystic**, slow card-flow lines, and removal that does not answer the opponent’s visible red threats or burn plan. Keep **Snuff Out** only when the target is worth the life payment; life is a hard resource in this matchup.
|
||
|
||
- **Against go-wide creature decks:** Add role cards: **Arms of Hadar**, **Extract a Confession** when large or protected threats matter, and **Mukotai Ambusher** if combat text helps stabilize. Reduce main-deck emphasis: narrow permission such as **Dispel** or **Spell Pierce** when the opponent is mostly committing creatures to board, and slow monarch lines that cannot be defended. Preserve **Suffocating Fumes** when it lines up with the opponent’s toughness profile.
|
||
|
||
- **Against graveyard decks:** Add role cards: **Relic of Progenitus**, sometimes **Extract a Confession** for large graveyard payoff creatures, and extra permission if the opponent’s payoff is spell-based. Reduce main-deck emphasis: creature removal that misses the actual payoff, slow threats that do not pressure the graveyard clock, and speculative **Brainstorm** lines that delay hate deployment. Sequence **Bojuka Bog** and **Relic of Progenitus** so the opponent cannot easily rebuild before the next decisive window.
|
||
|
||
- **Against blue control and tempo mirrors:** Add role cards: **Dispel**, **Okiba-Gang Shinobi**, **Murmuring Mystic**, and red hate only if the opponent has meaningful red cards. Reduce main-deck emphasis: dead black removal when the opponent has few creatures, excess sweepers when boards are sparse, and slow tapped-land sequencing that prevents double-spell turns. Protect a resolved card-advantage threat, but do not jam **Thorn of the Black Rose** or **Murmuring Mystic** into obvious open permission unless waiting is worse.
|
||
|
||
- **Against combo and big mana:** Add role cards: **Dispel** for instant fights, **Okiba-Gang Shinobi** for hand pressure, **Relic of Progenitus** when graveyard resources matter, and **Blue Elemental Blast**/**Hydroblast** only for visible red payoff cards. Reduce main-deck emphasis: creature sweepers, removal without targets, and combat-only cards. Prioritize clock plus permission; a hand that only answers creatures is not functional if the opponent’s win condition is stack-based or engine-based.
|
||
|
||
- **Against black midrange and monarch decks:** Add role cards: **Okiba-Gang Shinobi** for hand pressure, **Murmuring Mystic** for resilient board growth when protected, **Extract a Confession** for hard-to-answer threats, and **Relic of Progenitus** if recursion is visible. Reduce main-deck emphasis: narrow counters that fail against resolved permanents and sweepers that do not answer the actual board. Fight over monarch only when you can defend or immediately reclaim it.
|
||
|
||
## Matchup Guidance
|
||
|
||
- **Against aggro:** Stabilize before generating card advantage, because this list wins many creature races by trading time for cards and then turning the corner with evasive damage, monarch, or token pressure. Prioritize **Snuff Out** and **Cast Down** on creatures that increase the opponent's next attack step, preserve **Suffocating Fumes** for boards where the toughness profile is favorable, and use **Spellstutter Sprite** as interaction only when the counter is live from visible Faerie count and the spell matters. Add role cards: **Arms of Hadar**, **Mukotai Ambusher**, **Blue Elemental Blast**, **Hydroblast**, and **Extract a Confession** when their legal text lines up with the opposing threats. Reduce main-deck emphasis: slow **Thorn of the Black Rose** and **Murmuring Mystic** lines unless the board is already stable.
|
||
|
||
- **Against Burn:** Treat life total as the primary resource and do not pay life for **Snuff Out** unless the removed creature or permanent damage source will cost more life than the payment. Add role cards: **Blue Elemental Blast**, **Hydroblast**, **Dispel**, and sometimes **Mukotai Ambusher** if runtime text confirms lifegain or a relevant flash combat role. Reduce main-deck emphasis: monarch setup, tap-out four-mana plays, and speculative **Brainstorm** lines that do not find interaction or lands. **Spell Pierce**, **Counterspell**, **Dispel**, **Blue Elemental Blast**, and **Hydroblast** should be saved for damage spells or decisive red threats rather than low-impact setup.
|
||
|
||
- **Against go-wide decks:** Preserve sweepers and avoid trading one-for-one unless the single target meaningfully changes combat math. **Suffocating Fumes** is strongest when it shrinks or clears multiple attackers, while **Arms of Hadar** is the sideboard card to prioritize when the opponent's board grows beyond point removal. Add role cards: **Arms of Hadar**, **Extract a Confession** for protected or oversized threats, and **Mukotai Ambusher** if its legal text creates profitable combat exchanges. Reduce main-deck emphasis: narrow permission that misses creature development and slow card engines that cannot survive the next attack.
|
||
|
||
- **Against single-threat decks:** Focus interaction on the threat that actually ends the game, not on support cards that can be beaten by tempo or blockers. Hold **Cast Down**, **Snuff Out**, **Counterspell**, and **Spell Pierce** for the first creature, aura, equipment carrier, or payoff that dominates visible combat. Add role cards: **Extract a Confession** when edict or confession-style text is confirmed useful, **Dispel** when protection spells are instant-speed, and **Relic of Progenitus** when the threat depends on graveyard size or recursion. Reduce main-deck emphasis: sweepers that do not answer the single large object.
|
||
|
||
- **Against control:** Become the patient tempo deck and force the opponent to answer cheap threats while you fight over the few cards that matter. **Faerie Seer**, **Spellstutter Sprite**, **Ninja of the Deep Hours**, and **Brainstorm** should build incremental advantage without walking key cards into open mana unnecessarily. Add role cards: **Dispel**, **Okiba-Gang Shinobi**, **Murmuring Mystic**, and sometimes **Relic of Progenitus** if recursion, flashback, or graveyard engines are visible. Reduce main-deck emphasis: excess creature removal, **Suffocating Fumes** on sparse boards, and early **Snuff Out** life payments against threats that can be countered or ignored.
|
||
|
||
- **Against tempo mirrors:** Protect mana efficiency and board position because every tapped land, missed attack, or low-value spell can decide the race. **Spellstutter Sprite** should counter meaningful cheap spells when Faerie count supports it, while **Ninja of the Deep Hours** should be deployed only when the returned creature remains useful and the attack is likely to connect. Add role cards: **Dispel**, **Okiba-Gang Shinobi**, **Mukotai Ambusher**, and **Murmuring Mystic** when games slow after early exchanges. Reduce main-deck emphasis: clunky monarch plays that cannot be defended and removal that misses the opponent's actual threat base.
|
||
|
||
- **Against midrange:** Trade early, then win through repeatable advantage or an unanswered high-value permanent. **Thorn of the Black Rose** is powerful only when you can take or defend monarch, and **Murmuring Mystic** is strong only when you can untap or immediately convert spells into board presence. Add role cards: **Okiba-Gang Shinobi**, **Murmuring Mystic**, **Extract a Confession**, and **Relic of Progenitus** if graveyard recursion is visible. Reduce main-deck emphasis: narrow counters after the opponent has resolved their board and sweepers that do not improve combat.
|
||
|
||
- **Against big mana:** Present a clock while holding permission, because waiting with only removal lets the opponent reach oversized spells. Prioritize **Faerie Seer** into **Ninja of the Deep Hours**, protected **Spellstutter Sprite** pressure, and counterspells for mana payoffs rather than minor ramp pieces unless the ramp action is the only path to a decisive visible spell. Add role cards: **Okiba-Gang Shinobi**, **Dispel** when the payoff or protection is instant-speed, **Relic of Progenitus** when graveyard loops matter, and **Blue Elemental Blast** or **Hydroblast** only for red payoffs. Reduce main-deck emphasis: **Suffocating Fumes** and creature removal without targets.
|
||
|
||
- **Against combo:** Identify whether the combo is stack-based, graveyard-based, battlefield-based, or combat-based before spending interaction. Use **Counterspell**, **Spell Pierce**, **Dispel**, **Spellstutter Sprite**, **Blue Elemental Blast**, and **Hydroblast** only on legal targets that stop the engine, payoff, or protection window. Add role cards: **Dispel**, **Okiba-Gang Shinobi**, **Relic of Progenitus**, and red hate when visible card colors justify it. Reduce main-deck emphasis: creature sweepers, slow monarch engines, and removal that does not interact with the actual combo axis.
|
||
|
||
- **Against graveyard decks:** Use graveyard hate at a window that denies the next payoff, not merely when the opponent has any cards in graveyard. **Bojuka Bog** should be sequenced to preserve mana development when possible, but it is worth delaying a tapped land if the visible graveyard is about to enable a decisive spell or creature. Add role cards: **Relic of Progenitus**, **Extract a Confession** for large graveyard threats, and **Dispel** when the graveyard payoff or protection is instant-speed. Reduce main-deck emphasis: low-impact removal and slow card selection that gives the opponent time to rebuild.
|
||
|
||
- **Against artifact decks:** Preserve removal and counters for payoffs rather than every artifact enabler, because this deck has limited clean answers to resolved noncreature artifacts. **Cast Down** and **Snuff Out** should target creatures that carry the artifact engine, while **Counterspell** and **Spell Pierce** should stop the card that converts artifacts into lethal pressure or card advantage. Add role cards: **Arms of Hadar** against artifact creature boards, **Extract a Confession** against single large artifact creatures if legal text supports it, and **Blue Elemental Blast** or **Hydroblast** only if red artifact payoffs are visible. Reduce main-deck emphasis: **Dispel** unless key interaction is instant-speed.
|
||
|
||
- **Against enchantment decks:** Counter the enchantment payoff or the creature that makes enchantments lethal, because the registered list does not show broad enchantment removal by exact name. Use **Spell Pierce** early when the opponent is constrained, hold **Counterspell** for the card that creates an engine or unbeatable board, and use **Cast Down** or **Snuff Out** if the enchantment plan depends on a creature. Add role cards: **Extract a Confession** for protected creature threats if runtime text confirms relevance and **Dispel** only when protection or interaction is instant-speed. Reduce main-deck emphasis: sweepers against noncreature enchantment engines.
|
||
|
||
- **Against removal-heavy decks:** Do not overcommit creatures into obvious removal unless the extra body changes pressure, enables **Spellstutter Sprite**, or makes **Ninja of the Deep Hours** likely to connect. Sequence cheap threats to tax answers, then protect the card-advantage threat that will matter most. Add role cards: **Dispel**, **Okiba-Gang Shinobi**, **Murmuring Mystic**, and sometimes **Relic of Progenitus** against recursion. Reduce main-deck emphasis: creature removal if the opponent wins through answers and card draw rather than battlefield pressure.
|
||
|
||
## Specific Matchup Notes
|
||
|
||
- **General / archetype-only note:** Treat these notes as matchup assumptions until revealed cards confirm them; visible cards, public graveyards, legal actions, and engine prompts override archetype labels. Use **Brainstorm**, **Faerie Seer**, and **Augur of Bolas** to find the right interaction axis, then reserve **Counterspell**, **Spellstutter Sprite**, **Dispel**, **Spell Pierce**, **Cast Down**, **Snuff Out**, and **Suffocating Fumes** for the cards that actually matter.
|
||
|
||
- **Against red aggro or red tempo:** Protect life total first because **Snuff Out** can become dangerous when the opponent pressures damage quickly. Add role cards: **Blue Elemental Blast**, **Hydroblast**, **Dispel**, and **Arms of Hadar** when the board goes wide. Reduce main-deck emphasis: slow **Thorn of the Black Rose** lines that cannot defend monarch and speculative **Brainstorm** turns that leave no interaction.
|
||
|
||
- **Against small creature swarms:** Prioritize stabilizing battlefield size before setting up **Ninja of the Deep Hours**. **Suffocating Fumes** and **Arms of Hadar** are premium when they remove multiple visible creatures, while **Cast Down** and **Snuff Out** should answer the creature that invalidates blocking or creates the fastest clock. Add role cards: **Arms of Hadar**, **Mukotai Ambusher**, and sometimes **Murmuring Mystic** if the game is likely to slow after the first sweep.
|
||
|
||
- **Against black midrange or monarch mirrors:** Fight over engines, not every body. **Thorn of the Black Rose** is a commitment card; cast it when you can take monarch and defend it with blockers, removal, or permission. Add role cards: **Okiba-Gang Shinobi**, **Murmuring Mystic**, **Dispel**, and **Extract a Confession** if runtime card text makes it relevant to the visible threat profile. Reduce main-deck emphasis: **Suffocating Fumes** when the opponent presents few one-toughness creatures.
|
||
|
||
- **Against graveyard-reliant decks:** Time **Bojuka Bog** and **Relic of Progenitus** to interrupt a payoff window rather than to chase small graveyard counts. Add role cards: **Relic of Progenitus**, **Extract a Confession** against large threats if legal text supports it, and **Dispel** when the opponent protects the graveyard payoff with instants. Preserve **Counterspell** for the payoff if graveyard hate is absent or too slow.
|
||
|
||
- **Against blue control or tempo:** Establish a cheap threat, then make the opponent act first when possible. **Faerie Seer** enables pressure and **Spellstutter Sprite**, **Ninja of the Deep Hours** punishes shields-down turns, and **Okiba-Gang Shinobi** can pressure hand resources if the attack is likely to connect. Add role cards: **Dispel**, **Okiba-Gang Shinobi**, **Mukotai Ambusher**, and **Murmuring Mystic**. Reduce main-deck emphasis: excess **Snuff Out** life payments and dead sweepers.
|
||
|
||
- **Against combo or big mana:** Clock plus permission is the plan; pure draw-go without pressure gives the opponent time to sculpt. **Counterspell** should usually cover the payoff, **Spell Pierce** should punish early setup when mana is tight, and **Dispel** should fight protection or instant-speed combo pieces. Add role cards: **Dispel**, **Okiba-Gang Shinobi**, **Relic of Progenitus** for graveyard combo, and **Blue Elemental Blast** or **Hydroblast** only when red cards are visible.
|
||
|
||
## Risk Summary
|
||
|
||
- **Mana risk:** The deck needs early blue for **Faerie Seer**, **Brainstorm**, **Spellstutter Sprite**, **Counterspell**, and **Lórien Revealed**, while black cards ask for timely black access. Do not keep hands that rely on tapped black lands to cast every early spell unless the matchup is slow and the hand has selection.
|
||
|
||
- **Matchup risk:** The deck can mis-role itself by playing control against inevitability decks or tempo against faster creature decks. Reassess role every turn cycle using visible clock, monarch status, legal interaction, and whether **Ninja of the Deep Hours**, **Thorn of the Black Rose**, or **Murmuring Mystic** can realistically survive.
|
||
|
||
- **Draw risk:** **Brainstorm** is powerful but can trap weak cards if no shuffle, landcycling, or selection action is legal. Use **Faerie Seer**, **Augur of Bolas**, and **Lórien Revealed** to smooth draws, but avoid spending the whole turn filtering when the opponent has a lethal or engine window.
|
||
|
||
- **Over-sideboarding risk:** Too many reactive sideboard cards can remove the deck's pressure and make **Ninja of the Deep Hours** or **Spellstutter Sprite** worse. Keep enough cheap creatures and blue spells to maintain tempo identity unless the matchup is purely attrition.
|
||
|
||
- **Graveyard risk:** **Bojuka Bog** enters timing-sensitive mana development, and **Relic of Progenitus** may affect your own graveyard if card text requires it. Use graveyard hate when the visible payoff window matters, not as automatic early housekeeping.
|
||
|
||
- **Sweeper/removal risk:** **Suffocating Fumes** and **Arms of Hadar** lose value against tall threats, while **Snuff Out** life payments are costly under pressure. Match removal to threat shape before spending premium answers.
|
||
|
||
- **Closer risk:** The submitted list has no exact-name **Tolarian Terror**, so closing often requires small-creature pressure, monarch, ninjutsu, or **Murmuring Mystic**. Do not assume inevitability without a protected engine.
|
||
|
||
- **Interaction risk:** Passing with **Counterspell**, **Dispel**, or **Spell Pierce** is correct only when the likely target matters more than current development. If the opponent is empty-boarded or constrained, advancing pressure may beat holding narrow permission.
|
||
|
||
- **Sequencing risk:** Returning a creature for **Ninja of the Deep Hours** or ninjutsu-style actions can weaken **Spellstutter Sprite** counts or blocker density. Use the line only when card draw and tempo gained exceed the lost battlefield role.
|
||
|
||
## Test Feedback Checklist
|
||
|
||
- **Deciding factor:** After each game, record whether the win or loss was decided by tempo pressure, permission timing, removal efficiency, monarch defense, graveyard interaction, mana stumble, or failure to close after stabilizing.
|
||
|
||
- **Mulligans:** Note whether opening hands had early blue mana, a castable cheap creature, enough interaction for the matchup, and a credible plan for **Brainstorm**, **Augur of Bolas**, or **Lórien Revealed**. Flag keeps that had power but no realistic first-three-turn sequence.
|
||
|
||
- **Mana:** Track whether **Bojuka Bog**, **Contaminated Aquifer**, **Contaminated Landscape**, **Swamp**, and **Island** sequencing let the deck hold up **Spellstutter Sprite**, **Counterspell**, **Dispel**, or **Spell Pierce** while still casting black removal. Record any game where tapped lands delayed the first relevant answer.
|
||
|
||
- **Velocity:** Check whether **Faerie Seer**, **Brainstorm**, **Augur of Bolas**, and **Lórien Revealed** found action on time or merely spent mana without affecting the opponent's next meaningful turn. Flag **Brainstorm** decisions that lacked a legal shuffle, land-search, or selection follow-up.
|
||
|
||
- **Engine performance:** Record whether **Ninja of the Deep Hours**, **Thorn of the Black Rose**, or **Murmuring Mystic** actually generated cards or board advantage before being answered. Note whether the pilot protected the engine with permission or exposed it into visible removal pressure.
|
||
|
||
- **Removal use:** Review whether **Cast Down**, **Snuff Out**, and **Suffocating Fumes** answered the correct threat shape. Flag life-loss from **Snuff Out** that enabled a race loss, and flag sweepers held too long against small-creature pressure.
|
||
|
||
- **Permission use:** Audit each major **Counterspell**, **Spellstutter Sprite**, **Dispel**, and **Spell Pierce** decision for target quality. A pass was good only if the held interaction stopped something more important than the development being declined.
|
||
|
||
- **Sideboard impact:** Record which sideboard cards were drawn, cast, stranded, or decisive: **Blue Elemental Blast**, **Hydroblast**, **Arms of Hadar**, **Relic of Progenitus**, **Dispel**, **Extract a Confession**, **Okiba-Gang Shinobi**, **Mukotai Ambusher**, and **Murmuring Mystic**. For **Extract a Confession**, keep judgments conditional if exact card text was not verified.
|
||
|
||
- **Closing:** Ask whether the deck converted stabilization into lethal pressure quickly enough through **Faerie Seer**, **Spellstutter Sprite**, **Ninja of the Deep Hours**, **Thorn of the Black Rose**, **Mukotai Ambusher**, or **Murmuring Mystic**. Flag games where the opponent recovered because the pilot stayed purely reactive.
|
||
|
||
- **Role accuracy:** Record whether the pilot correctly shifted between tempo, control, and emergency stabilization. The key review question is whether each turn's legal action advanced the role demanded by visible clock, board, hand size, and stack context.
|
||
|
||
- **Mistakes and stranded cards:** List cards that remained unusable because of mana, timing, target availability, or poor role fit. Separate true deck-construction problems from runtime decisions where the pilot should have sequenced differently.
|
||
|
||
- **Overperformers and underperformers:** Identify cards that repeatedly changed outcomes, not just cards that felt strong. Tie each judgment to visible game states, legal action windows, and whether the card solved the matchup's actual problem.
|
||
|
||
## First Tuning Questions
|
||
|
||
- **Card quantities:** Is **Thorn of the Black Rose** strong enough at three copies, or does the list need fewer monarch commitments when defending monarch is unreliable? If monarch wins grindy games but loses races, tune by matchup role rather than by average impression.
|
||
|
||
- **Threat density:** Does the deck close often enough without exact-name **Tolarian Terror** or another large graveyard threat? If stabilized games still drift away, consider whether **Murmuring Mystic**, **Mukotai Ambusher**, **Ninja of the Deep Hours**, or another closer package needs more space.
|
||
|
||
- **One-mana interaction:** Is one main-deck **Dispel** plus one **Spell Pierce** the right mix, or are there matchups where narrow permission strands while board pressure kills you? Compare losses from uncountered noncreature spells against losses from dead permission.
|
||
|
||
- **Removal balance:** Are three **Cast Down**, four **Snuff Out**, and two **Suffocating Fumes** correctly shaped for the expected field? If tall creatures beat you, increase reliable spot answers; if wide boards beat you, test more sweep effects such as **Arms of Hadar**.
|
||
|
||
- **Mana base:** Do **Bojuka Bog**, **Contaminated Aquifer**, and **Contaminated Landscape** create too many tapped-land turns for a tempo-control deck? If early **Counterspell** or **Spellstutter Sprite** windows are missed, test whether black access, utility lands, or tapland count is the bottleneck.
|
||
|
||
- **Selection package:** Are four **Brainstorm**, four **Augur of Bolas**, and four **Lórien Revealed** producing enough velocity without making turns too passive? If filtering replaces interaction under pressure, the deck may need lower-friction plays or clearer sequencing rules.
|
||
|
||
- **Aggro plan:** Are **Blue Elemental Blast**, **Hydroblast**, **Arms of Hadar**, **Mukotai Ambusher**, and main-deck **Suffocating Fumes** enough against fast red or swarm decks? If not, decide whether the failure is life total, blocker density, sweeper count, or tapped mana.
|
||
|
||
- **Control plan:** Do **Okiba-Gang Shinobi**, extra **Dispel**, **Murmuring Mystic**, and protected **Ninja of the Deep Hours** give enough pressure against blue or black attrition decks? If games stall, test whether more resilient threats matter more than additional answers.
|
||
|
||
- **Graveyard plan:** Are two **Relic of Progenitus** plus **Bojuka Bog** enough against graveyard decks without hurting your own velocity? If graveyard hate is drawn too late or used ineffectively, decide whether the issue is quantity, timing policy, or matchup identification.
|
||
|
||
- **Role conflict:** Does the list ask the pilot to be tempo, control, monarch, and graveyard-hate deck at the same time too often? If losses cluster around confused sequencing, tune toward the role that wins the highest-value matchups.
|
||
|
||
## Veles Tactical Policy
|
||
|
||
### Policy: Opening Hand Role Gate
|
||
Priority: Keep hands with early blue mana, a castable cheap creature or interaction, and a believable first-three-turn plan.
|
||
Decision families: mulligan, pregame
|
||
Cards: Faerie Seer, Spellstutter Sprite, Augur of Bolas, Brainstorm, Counterspell, Cast Down, Snuff Out, Island, Contaminated Aquifer, Swamp, Bojuka Bog, Lórien Revealed
|
||
Phase windows: opening hand and mulligan decisions.
|
||
Runtime cues: opening hand, play/draw, matchup role, visible sideboard stage.
|
||
Use when: the hand has blue access, action before turn three, and either pressure plus protection or removal plus card selection.
|
||
Avoid when: the hand has no early blue, only tapped lands under pressure, black cards without black access, or Brainstorm with no clear follow-up.
|
||
Instructions: Prefer functional six-card hands over speculative sevens; keep slow hands mainly against control when they contain lands, Counterspell, and a draw engine.
|
||
Pilot skill floor: medium.
|
||
No-API allowed: no
|
||
Light-model allowed: yes
|
||
|
||
### Policy: Early Faerie Setup
|
||
Priority: Deploy the first cheap evasive creature early when it enables Spellstutter Sprite, Ninja of the Deep Hours, or pressure without exposing survival.
|
||
Decision families: mana, priority
|
||
Cards: Faerie Seer, Spellstutter Sprite, Ninja of the Deep Hours, Brainstorm, Augur of Bolas
|
||
Phase windows: turns one through three, main phases, early priority windows.
|
||
Runtime cues: legal cast Faerie Seer, legal cast Augur of Bolas, available blue mana, visible opposing pressure.
|
||
Use when: Faerie Seer improves draw quality, turns on Spellstutter Sprite, or creates a safe Ninja of the Deep Hours line.
|
||
Avoid when: holding up Counterspell or removal is clearly required to prevent a high-impact opposing play.
|
||
Instructions: Use Faerie Seer as setup glue, not as meaningless damage; choose Augur of Bolas first when a ground blocker and spell selection are both urgent.
|
||
Pilot skill floor: low.
|
||
No-API allowed: no
|
||
Light-model allowed: yes
|
||
|
||
### Policy: Deterministic Opening Creature Cast
|
||
Priority: Cast Faerie Seer when it is the only meaningful legal proactive turn-one play and mana would otherwise be unused.
|
||
Decision families: priority, mana
|
||
Cards: Faerie Seer
|
||
Phase windows: first main phase, turn one or equivalent low-information setup.
|
||
Runtime cues: action:cast Faerie Seer
|
||
Use when: legal action text shows exactly one Faerie Seer cast, no opposing stack item exists, and no stronger interaction decision is pending.
|
||
Avoid when: a legal answer is needed for a visible stack threat or the only blue source must be preserved for an immediate higher-value action.
|
||
Instructions: Select the Faerie Seer cast action; let the rules engine handle scry prompts afterward.
|
||
Pilot skill floor: low.
|
||
No-API allowed: yes
|
||
Light-model allowed: yes
|
||
|
||
### Policy: Land Sequencing For Blue Interaction
|
||
Priority: Sequence lands to preserve early blue availability before maximizing black utility.
|
||
Decision families: mana
|
||
Cards: Island, Contaminated Aquifer, Contaminated Landscape, Bojuka Bog, Swamp, Counterspell, Spellstutter Sprite, Spell Pierce, Dispel, Cast Down, Snuff Out
|
||
Phase windows: land-play choices, early main phases, turns one through four.
|
||
Runtime cues: legal land plays, available mana next turn, hand contains blue permission or black removal.
|
||
Use when: choosing between untapped Island, tapped dual land, utility land, or black source changes next-turn interaction.
|
||
Avoid when: immediate black mana is required for a visible creature threat that Snuff Out cannot safely answer.
|
||
Instructions: Default to untapped Island for Counterspell and Spellstutter Sprite; play Bojuka Bog for value only when graveyard timing matters or tempo loss is acceptable.
|
||
Pilot skill floor: medium.
|
||
No-API allowed: no
|
||
Light-model allowed: yes
|
||
|
||
### Policy: Lórien Revealed Mana Development Gate
|
||
Priority: Treat Lórien Revealed as mana smoothing when the legal action text supports it and missing land drops would constrain interaction.
|
||
Decision families: mana, selection
|
||
Cards: Lórien Revealed, Island, Contaminated Aquifer, Contaminated Landscape, Bojuka Bog, Swamp, Counterspell, Cast Down
|
||
Phase windows: early turns, main phase, search or cycling-style windows if exposed by Forge.
|
||
Runtime cues: legal action involving Lórien Revealed land search or cycling, low land count, missing blue or black source.
|
||
Use when: developing mana unlocks Counterspell plus black removal or prevents a missed land drop.
|
||
Avoid when: the full spell mode is legal, safe, and needed as a card-advantage swing; Card text check required if runtime text is unclear.
|
||
Instructions: Prioritize stable mana over greed; do not assume exact Lórien Revealed modes beyond legal actions shown.
|
||
Pilot skill floor: medium.
|
||
No-API allowed: no
|
||
Light-model allowed: yes
|
||
|
||
### Policy: Brainstorm Discipline
|
||
Priority: Cast Brainstorm for protection, land recovery, or high-value selection, not merely because one blue mana is idle.
|
||
Decision families: selection, priority
|
||
Cards: Brainstorm, Faerie Seer, Augur of Bolas, Lórien Revealed, Contaminated Landscape
|
||
Phase windows: main phase, opponent end step, response windows.
|
||
Runtime cues: legal cast Brainstorm, hand quality problem, shuffle or selection follow-up visible.
|
||
Use when: Brainstorm finds a land, hides key cards from discard, sets up a shuffle, or digs for immediate interaction.
|
||
Avoid when: the hand will be locked with weak cards on top and no shuffle, scry, or urgent reason exists.
|
||
Instructions: Prefer end-step Brainstorm against control unless main-phase action is needed; under pressure, dig only when it changes the next opposing turn.
|
||
Pilot skill floor: high.
|
||
No-API allowed: no
|
||
Light-model allowed: yes
|
||
|
||
### Policy: Permission Commitment Gate
|
||
Priority: Spend Counterspell, Spellstutter Sprite, Dispel, or Spell Pierce only on spells that materially change the race, engine, or survival plan.
|
||
Decision families: interaction, priority
|
||
Cards: Counterspell, Spellstutter Sprite, Dispel, Spell Pierce, Faerie Seer
|
||
Phase windows: stack windows, opponent main phases, combat trick windows, end steps.
|
||
Runtime cues: opponent spell on stack, legal counter action, available mana, Faerie count for Spellstutter Sprite.
|
||
Use when: the target beats your current plan, invalidates monarch or Ninja, kills a key threat, or creates unrecoverable tempo.
|
||
Avoid when: the spell is low impact, your removal answers it cleanly, or a more dangerous known/public card is likely soon.
|
||
Instructions: Counter noncreature haymakers with Dispel or Spell Pierce when possible; preserve Counterspell for threats that narrow counters cannot cover.
|
||
Pilot skill floor: high.
|
||
No-API allowed: no
|
||
Light-model allowed: yes
|
||
|
||
### Policy: Deterministic Stack Counter After Selection
|
||
Priority: Execute the selected counterspell action when the legal text exactly names the chosen stack target.
|
||
Decision families: interaction, priority
|
||
Cards: Counterspell, Dispel, Spell Pierce, Spellstutter Sprite
|
||
Phase windows: stack response windows.
|
||
Runtime cues: action:counter target spell
|
||
Use when: one legal action matches the already selected counter line and the stack target text is visible.
|
||
Avoid when: multiple counter targets or payment/tax choices remain, or the strategic value of countering is still unresolved.
|
||
Instructions: Choose the matching counter action only after the commitment gate has selected this target.
|
||
Pilot skill floor: low.
|
||
No-API allowed: yes
|
||
Light-model allowed: yes
|
||
|
||
### Policy: Removal Target Priority
|
||
Priority: Use Cast Down, Snuff Out, Suffocating Fumes, Arms of Hadar, or Extract a Confession on threats that affect survival or engine access.
|
||
Decision families: interaction, priority
|
||
Cards: Cast Down, Snuff Out, Suffocating Fumes, Arms of Hadar, Extract a Confession, Thorn of the Black Rose, Ninja of the Deep Hours
|
||
Phase windows: main phases, combat, end step, sweeper windows.
|
||
Runtime cues: legal removal, visible attackers, lethal clock, protected engine at risk.
|
||
Use when: the target attacks profitably, blocks Ninja damage, threatens monarch, or will snowball before counters matter.
|
||
Avoid when: the threat is low impact, a sweeper will answer multiple bodies, or Snuff Out life loss worsens a race.
|
||
Instructions: Prefer Snuff Out for tempo when life is safe; prefer Cast Down when life total matters; verify Extract a Confession text before relying on it.
|
||
Pilot skill floor: medium.
|
||
No-API allowed: no
|
||
Light-model allowed: yes
|
||
|
||
### Policy: Deterministic Snuff Out Emergency Target
|
||
Priority: Use Snuff Out on a single lethal or engine-stopping creature when the action text has exactly one relevant target.
|
||
Decision families: interaction
|
||
Cards: Snuff Out
|
||
Phase windows: combat, stack response, opponent end step.
|
||
Runtime cues: action:cast Snuff Out target
|
||
Use when: exactly one visible legal target is causing lethal damage this turn or stopping a selected Ninja of the Deep Hours connection.
|
||
Avoid when: life payment is optional/unclear, multiple targets require judgment, or the visible clock is not urgent.
|
||
Instructions: Choose the exact Snuff Out target action only for the already selected emergency removal line.
|
||
Pilot skill floor: low.
|
||
No-API allowed: yes
|
||
Light-model allowed: yes
|
||
|
||
### Policy: Ninja Commitment Gate
|
||
Priority: Commit Ninja of the Deep Hours only when the attacker is likely to connect and the tempo loss is acceptable.
|
||
Decision families: combat, priority
|
||
Cards: Ninja of the Deep Hours, Faerie Seer, Spellstutter Sprite, Mukotai Ambusher, Counterspell, Dispel
|
||
Phase windows: declare blockers through combat damage, ninjutsu-style action windows if exposed.
|
||
Runtime cues: unblocked attacker, legal Ninja of the Deep Hours action, opponent open mana, available protection.
|
||
Use when: drawing a card and redeploying the returned creature advances control of the game.
|
||
Avoid when: the opponent can visibly punish the line, the bounced creature is needed as a blocker, or mana must stay open.
|
||
Instructions: Favor Faerie Seer as the return creature; protect repeated Ninja hits when they are the main card-advantage plan.
|
||
Pilot skill floor: high.
|
||
No-API allowed: no
|
||
Light-model allowed: yes
|
||
|
||
### Policy: Monarch Commitment Gate
|
||
Priority: Cast Thorn of the Black Rose when you can defend monarch or when card advantage is worth the immediate risk.
|
||
Decision families: priority, combat, interaction
|
||
Cards: Thorn of the Black Rose, Cast Down, Snuff Out, Suffocating Fumes, Counterspell, Spellstutter Sprite
|
||
Phase windows: main phase, post-combat, stabilized midgame.
|
||
Runtime cues: legal cast Thorn of the Black Rose, visible opposing attackers, removal or blockers available.
|
||
Use when: the board is stable, opposing attacks can be contained, and monarch cards will win the long game.
|
||
Avoid when: the opponent can immediately steal monarch through visible evasive or wide pressure.
|
||
Instructions: Remove or counter the best monarch-stealing threat before committing Thorn when possible.
|
||
Pilot skill floor: high.
|
||
No-API allowed: no
|
||
Light-model allowed: yes
|
||
|
||
### Policy: Murmuring Mystic Engine Gate
|
||
Priority: Commit Murmuring Mystic when follow-up spells or protection can convert it into board control.
|
||
Decision families: priority, interaction
|
||
Cards: Murmuring Mystic, Brainstorm, Counterspell, Dispel, Spell Pierce, Cast Down, Snuff Out, Lórien Revealed
|
||
Phase windows: main phase, stabilized midgame, post-sideboard control mirrors.
|
||
Runtime cues: legal cast Murmuring Mystic, hand has spells, opponent removal pressure visible.
|
||
Use when: token generation stabilizes the board or gives a durable win condition.
|
||
Avoid when: tapping out exposes you to lethal, a decisive stack threat, or known removal without protection.
|
||
Instructions: Treat Murmuring Mystic as a fragile engine; sequence it with cheap spells only when legal actions and mana support the follow-up.
|
||
Pilot skill floor: medium.
|
||
No-API allowed: no
|
||
Light-model allowed: yes
|
||
|
||
### Policy: Combat Pressure And Blocks
|
||
Priority: Attack when damage or card-advantage setup matters more than preserving blockers; block when survival or monarch defense demands it.
|
||
Decision families: combat
|
||
Cards: Faerie Seer, Spellstutter Sprite, Augur of Bolas, Ninja of the Deep Hours, Thorn of the Black Rose, Mukotai Ambusher, Murmuring Mystic
|
||
Phase windows: declare attackers, declare blockers, combat trick windows.
|
||
Runtime cues: legal attack or block actions, visible clock, monarch status, Ninja opportunity.
|
||
Use when: evasive damage enables Ninja, pressure shortens the opponent's window, or blocks preserve life and engines.
|
||
Avoid when: attacking loses needed blockers under a short clock or blocking sacrifices an engine for low-value damage prevention.
|
||
Instructions: Value Faerie Seer and Spellstutter Sprite as evasive pressure, but protect Augur of Bolas and tokens when they are holding the ground.
|
||
Pilot skill floor: medium.
|
||
No-API allowed: no
|
||
Light-model allowed: yes
|
||
|
||
### Policy: Graveyard Hate Timing
|
||
Priority: Use Bojuka Bog or Relic of Progenitus when graveyard resources are visibly enabling the opponent's next meaningful play.
|
||
Decision families: interaction, mana
|
||
Cards: Bojuka Bog, Relic of Progenitus
|
||
Phase windows: land play, priority windows, opponent setup turns, response windows if legal.
|
||
Runtime cues: opponent graveyard count, named graveyard cards visible, legal Bojuka Bog or Relic of Progenitus action.
|
||
Use when: graveyard exile disrupts a payoff, shrinks a known resource, or prevents recursion before it matters.
|
||
Avoid when: hate is low impact under battlefield pressure or would consume tempo needed for removal or counters.
|
||
Instructions: Do not fire Relic blindly if waiting catches a larger visible payoff; do not delay Bojuka Bog if the land drop is also needed for mana.
|
||
Pilot skill floor: medium.
|
||
No-API allowed: no
|
||
Light-model allowed: yes
|
||
|
||
### Policy: Red Matchup Sideboard Role
|
||
Priority: After sideboarding against red pressure or burn, value Blue Elemental Blast, Hydroblast, life-preserving removal, and lower-risk blockers.
|
||
Decision families: sideboard, interaction, mulligan
|
||
Cards: Blue Elemental Blast, Hydroblast, Arms of Hadar, Mukotai Ambusher, Dispel, Snuff Out, Suffocating Fumes, Thorn of the Black Rose
|
||
Phase windows: sideboard, opening hand, red spell stack windows.
|
||
Runtime cues: sideboard stage, opponent red cards seen, legal blast action, visible burn or creature pressure.
|
||
Use when: red damage output is the main route to losing.
|
||
Avoid when: opponent's red cards are only incidental and the real threat is graveyard, combo, or card advantage.
|
||
Instructions: Preserve life total more aggressively; avoid unnecessary Snuff Out life payment when Blue Elemental Blast or Hydroblast can answer the threat.
|
||
Pilot skill floor: medium.
|
||
No-API allowed: no
|
||
Light-model allowed: yes
|
||
|
||
### Policy: Attrition Sideboard Role
|
||
Priority: Against control or grindy decks, increase resilient card-advantage threats and protect them.
|
||
Decision families: sideboard, priority, interaction
|
||
Cards: Okiba-Gang Shinobi, Murmuring Mystic, Dispel, Mukotai Ambusher, Ninja of the Deep Hours, Thorn of the Black Rose, Counterspell
|
||
Phase windows: sideboard, midgame, stack windows, combat damage setup.
|
||
Runtime cues: opponent low pressure, many removal or counter exchanges, legal ninjutsu or engine cast action.
|
||
Use when: the matchup is decided by hand size, protected engines, or repeated evasive hits.
|
||
Avoid when: the opponent is racing on board and extra engines are too slow.
|
||
Instructions: Make the opponent answer different threat axes; do not expose Okiba-Gang Shinobi or Murmuring Mystic without a reasoned protection or timing plan.
|
||
Pilot skill floor: high.
|
||
No-API allowed: no
|
||
Light-model allowed: yes
|