Circle of Protection: Red is excellent here since every point of damage from Voldaren Epicure, Guttersnipe, Kessig Flamebreather, Fiery Temper, Lightning Bolt, Lava Dart, and Fireblast can be prevented for a repeatable {1}, buying the time our lifelink and Gates plan needs to stabilize. Tormod's Crypt exiles Sneaky Snacker before it can return from the graveyard on their third draw of a turn, permanently answering their only non-burn threat. Red Elemental Blast and Pyroblast stay in the sideboard since the deck never casts its lone blue card. Writhing Chrysalis and Clockwork Percussionist are the easiest cuts since they do little to stop the burn plan and we want to maximize defensive and disruptive pieces instead.

Dimir Control has no red cards, so Circle of Protection: Red is dead with no red damage to prevent. Dust to Dust only exiles artifacts, and the opponent's only mainboard artifacts are Baleful Strix and Mukotai Ambusher, which aren't worth dedicating slots to. Tormod's Crypt and Relic of Progenitus only exile graveyards, which is too narrow here, with just Plunder the Trollshaws flashback and Extract a Confession to hit. Your Gates and Writhing Chrysalis provide enough card advantage and board presence to grind through their removal and counterspells, while Armadillo Cloak and Thraben Charm give you resilient threats and interaction. Keep the maindeck as-is and focus on sequencing around Counterspell and Snuff Out, playing to the board rather than overextending into Spellstutter Sprite or Arms of Hadar.

Spy Combo relies heavily on its graveyard: Balustrade Spy mills itself, Dread Return reanimates a creature (with a flashback mode that sacrifices three creatures), and Winding Way fills the graveyard with the cards it doesn't take. Tormod's Crypt and the extra Relic of Progenitus let us proactively strip their graveyard before a Dread Return reanimation or repeatedly deny card advantage, and Relic's draw-a-card mode is pure upside once their graveyard is empty. Prismatic Strands is weak here since this opponent isn't attacking with damage-based threats in a way that rewards damage prevention, so it's the first cut; Writhing Chrysalis is a clunky body against their wall-heavy defensive shell. Keep an eye on when to crack the graveyard hate — ideally before they can flashback Dread Return or get a Balustrade Spy reanimation target set up.