This matchup is a pure race where their Kessig Flamebreather and Guttersnipe punish slow starts, so we prioritize lifegain and cheap sweepers over our top-end. Weather the Storm gains 3 life (more with storm count) to buy turns against Fiery Temper and Lightning Bolt. Fiery Cannonade deals 2 damage to each non-Pirate creature, sweeping Voldaren Epicure and Guttersnipe. Trim the clunkiest top-end since they don't interact with our board and we need to survive to deploy threats.

Dimir Control leans on cheap removal like Snuff Out and Cast Down alongside a wall of small blue tempo creatures like Spellstutter Sprite and Faerie Seer, so we want resilient threats and a way to answer their token swarm. Nylea's Disciple provides a solid body and lifegain off our devotion to blunt their Ninjutsu and Ninja damage plan. Breath Weapon deals 2 damage to each non-Dragon creature, sweeping their 1-toughness Faeries and Faerie Seer. Rancor is a poor investment into a deck full of cheap removal that can two-for-one us.

Affinity floods the board with cheap creatures like Refurbished Familiar and Kor Skyfisher, so we bring in Suplex to exile problem threats like Utrom Monitor or Glint Hawk permanently. Deglamer answers a key artifact land like Drossforge Bridge or a troublesome Cryogen Relic by shuffling it away, while Suplex can exile those indestructible lands directly with its artifact mode (and its damage mode still works as removal on creatures). Rancor is less valuable against a deck full of 2-3 toughness blockers and removal like Dispatch, so we trim it for more precise interaction.