The consistency of Sligh

[Ocifer]

The Sligh archetype has existed, not in it's current forms but in some form, since the early years of MTG. And because of it's ability to force fast and consistent wins through against almost any deck, even the best control and aggro-control decks, Sligh still exists as a high teir deck in T1.
First, I'll take a look at what is considered the basic standard in Sligh:

       17 Mountain
       4 Wasteland
       1 Strip Mine
       4 Cursed Scroll
       1 Fork
       1 Wheel of Fortune
       4 Fireblast
       4 Incinerate
       4 Lightning Bolt
       4 Chain Lightning
       4 Jackal Pup
       4 Goblin Cadets
       4 Mogg Fanatic (EDIT:PoP is in this slot in many environments)
       4 Gorilla Shaman

This deck is more or less what would be pruned from any basic primer and is far from a perfect Sligh deck since it is lacking any type of Metagaming and includes cards which, in many environments, are considered less desireable to many others.
Now, this is by no means a primer for Sligh, so I'd prefer not to tear down the card's above and all of their alternatives one at a time. Instead I'll look at each of the Sligh card types and touch on some of Sligh's best card options.

Lands:
Sligh traditionally has 3 land options. These are all blatantly obvious and are all in the deck above. There are very few questions in this category, but all of them can be very important and will affect the deck drastically.
How much land do you include in the "optimal" sligh build? This can of course depend on whether or not you choose to include fireblasts in your version, and how heavy land destruction or removal is in your area. For the most part, almost everyone agrees that 5 Strips is the best number for a Sligh deck since aggro decks do enjoy as much disruption as they can get away with (without drifting away from being aggro). Also possible is the inclusion of Mox Ruby and Black Lotus in Sligh decks, though this is usually not done, possibly since Sligh is considered the "cheap" way to get into type 1.
On a secondary note in this category is the option of including Forests and Land Grants in Sligh. This does open up a few maindeck options and sideboard options to the Sligh player, but opens them up to wasteland removal and counterspelling of land grants. Though the latter is a very infrequent occurence.

Burn:
Ahhh, quite possibly the most fun part of the Sligh deck. This element gives Sligh some control over the board and give the deck it's fast wins. The only downside of good ole burn is that it's not a reuseable threat. Burn must balance creatures correctly to get the fastest, most consistent wins.
Most players will agree that Cursed Scroll, Lightning Bolt, Chain Lightning and Incinerate all have a place in every Sligh build. For the most part these cards should be 4-of's but it can be argued that the 4th or even the 3rd Cursed Scroll in a deck can often end up a dead card in an opening hand and can slow Sligh's wins down up to a turn, often the difference between a win and loss.
Differences have come up about whether or not too include Fireblast. I personally like them since they interact well with the Scrolls. (How many games has "Scroll naming Fireblast" won?) Some people don't like Fireblasts interaction with counterspells though.
Other Burn spells have been tested, such as Shock, Seal of Fire, and Firebolt. For the most part, these spells are just not efficient enough for the best Sligh decks.
There is one other spell worthy of mention in this category though, Price of Progress. Though not capable of target creatures for removal, this spell is fabulous against decks with heavy Non-basic land content and can bring wins up to a turn faster. This card is a great choice in the right environment.

Creatures:
These slots are where Sligh builds really begin to differ. Though most people can agree that Jackal Pups are a must have in almost all environments (the only exception being a burn heavy environment), the remaining creature slots differ often. Some of the choices that are often used include Goblin Cadets, Mogg Fanatic, depending on the metagame Gorilla Shaman, Goblin Vandal, Dwarven Miner and possibly even the new creature Grim Lavamancer. These choices are usually made based on the metagame or even personal preference.
Also of note in the creature category is the use of Kird Ape in the Land Grant versions of Sligh since this can be a 2/3 creature for R in the right deck.
Also of note in this category are Ball Lightnings which can sometimes find a slot in Sligh builds but are usually considered sub-optimal in most environments. This creature can be good, but often the high mana cost and devotion to red mana is too much for a truly fast and disruptive Sligh deck.

Utility:
Now these slots are good for their entertainment value at best, but usually just take up slots in a good Sligh build. These are the cards that are most argued over when trying to optimize Sligh. Some choices in this category include Wheel, Fork and Blood Moon. All of these can be placed well in the right environment, but can be dead cards in the wrong place. These choices have been used with mixed results so it's difficult to say whether they are worthy of slots of not.

One further card I wanted to mention in this discussion, but which doesn't fall into any of the above categories, is the new card Reckless Charge. Though still untested, and a possible source of card disadvantage, this card is worthy of mention since it can speed up Sligh's kills by up to an entire turn. This card needs further playtesting in competitve environments but could find a slot in the best Sligh builds.

In the future I want to look over the Sligh sideboard options, in the meantime if you feel I've left out one of your favorite Sligh cards or you just feel like commenting on my, for lack of a better word, article (even to call me an idiot) then by all means. When I have more time I'll include a more optimal Sligh decklist, since the one in this article is rather unspectacular, for reveiw and commentary.\n\n

[Milton]

I would call your article a great start for most sligh players.  

I would also ask why isn't Black Vise included in Sligh?  It seems to be a no brainer.  With the disruption of Wastelands and Gorilla Shaman, wouldn't a Vice be a great choice?  It's colorless damage and it, if played on the first turn against control, can deal 6-8 points of damage very quickly.

Here is another question for your next installment:  Has Fire/Ice made Ball Lightning obsolete?  For that matter, has Fire/Ice made sligh obsolete?

[BigChuck]

I don't think fire/ice really affected sligh all that much. Most non-control decks don't play fire/ice, and even the ones that do, usually only pack 1 copy. Granted it can kill two of slighs creatures, but with only one of them in the deck, its not that effective. If the opponent tutors for it, then it gives you more time to burn them, and wastes a potentially valuable tutor, so it isn't all that beneficial.
As for black vise, I always liked it, but if anything its a sideboard card because of its ineffectiveness against other aggro. When it only deals 2-3 damage, it isn't worth a slot.

[Kerith]

Quote (BigChuck @ June 24 2002,22:05)I don't think fire/ice really affected sligh all that much. Most non-control decks don't play fire/ice, and even the ones that do, usually only pack 1 copy. Granted it can kill two of slighs creatures, but with only one of them in the deck, its not that effective. If the opponent tutors for it, then it gives you more time to burn them, and wastes a potentially valuable tutor, so it isn't all that beneficial.

oh, often tutoring for fire/ice against sligh will save you (as a keeper player). especially when they play 12 creatures you might not want to wait until you reach four mana and can tutor for the abyss. so a fire/ice can net you card advantage (when drawn from the top or with merchant scroll) and kill their permanent damage sources.

[Whistler]

Playing in a Keeper heavy field I will typically remove the fireblasts for PoP.  As a Keeper player in the first game there best 2 options are to grab eith Abyss or Zuran Orb to start turning the game around... with the ideal being that they find both.  I find that I would rather have some permanent dmg (the fanatic) and the PoP... then to have fireblasts.  

Also... and this would be for a field with less Keeper in it, does anyone have some statistics of BrowBeat in one of these slots?  I fear the Misdirection

Whistler

[hippie tourach]

I believe Ball Lightning was obsolete before Fire/Ice.  I know I stopped running them long before Fire/Ice was printed.  Mana Drain is probably a bigger problem that Fire/Ice, especially since Keeper runs 4 of them instead of just 1.  In fact, when Sligh is played well (and without Balls) Fire/Ice barely affects it at all.  When you force the Keeper player to deal with your first threat, and then play your second one, it doesn't allow their mass removal to be mass removal.

[Zherbus]

The number one reason that Ball Lighting isn't good in today's sligh is its casting cost. You want to keep the curve low, and the mana count equally low. You also have to figure in the fact that 5 strip/wastes make the mana base real fragile as it is.

Those who run fireblast will tell you its not often they can hard cast this during a game. They will also tell you that if they sac'd the 2 mountains for it, they will usually not see mountian #4 before the game is decide to do it all over.

Ball lightning simply forces you to run more mountains. With the mana base as it is, you cannot reliably cast it on turn 3 or even 4.

[Clown of Tresserhorn]

I agree with Ocifer. I just played in a 60 person type 1 tourney and placed 9th with a 4-2 record (matches) playing sligh. I played reckless abandons, no shamans, no scrolls, shocks instead of chain lightning, 4 goblin patrol instead of 4 cadets, and 4 more goblin patrols. My deck was very consistent against playing keeper and other 5c control decks. The only question I have is what cards should be in the sideboard. My sideboard looks like this:

4 Price of Progress
4 Juggernaut (extremely good against abyss and cop: red)
4 REB
3 Anarchy

[MarkPharaoh]

Ball Lightning is not played in control enviroment's not because of it's casting cost, but it heps the control player greatly.  Bl is Mana Drain food and the control player has a turn 3-4 Morphling out with mana still open, that's bad, bad new's for Sligh.  Black Vise is a dead card is some games and the mvp in other's.  Play it in a Keeper envioment and throw it out the window in an aggro enviorment because it will be 99% of the time a dead card.  Dave Kaplan's Sligh is just plain amazing against Keeper and other Power10 controlish decks.  I would like to see someone make a better deck for a control metagame then Kaplan's.

And one more thing, the modern Sligh is not based around a mana curve.  It is simply a deck composed of mainly 1cc creatures and spells.  Hope this stuff helps at all, and if not, i'll be upset  

EDIT: Double posts will be merged\n\n

[FeverDog]

I would just like to add something about Fireblast. I think most ppl who play Sligh will agree that it is not a card you want to see more than one of. Drawing multiple Scrolls can slow you down but every Fireblast you draw past the first is usually dead unless you get mana-flooded (which does happen on occasion). All this to say that i think 3 is the right number for the card because you really never want to draw more than one and you dont depend on it to win games, its nice having that 4 dmg for "free" but it is not necessary for winning.

[mrieff]

Has anyone tested Lavamaver already? 1/2 copies might have a place. i tend to favor them over Fanatic #3/4. Especially when you're not running Barbarian Ring (which is a must include when Fireblast is not played, by the way). However, i think Fireblast is too good to cut.
I dont like the balls at al. The same goes for the Land Grant option. Kird Ape isn't that much better than other choices. While he is tougher, his offensive capabilities are equal than other choices. Theoretically he's longer around to do his damage, but in how many occasions does the extra toughness matter?
Not worth the inconsistency IMO.

[FeverDog]

Lavamancer could be better than Fanatic in some metagames but i tend to favor the Mogg because he can attack and still use his sac ability. If the Lavamancer didnt tap to attack then he would be great, but obviously that would be way too strong for T2. Also, you have to realize that you wont be able to use his ability forever and that if he gets killed before he becomes active then he is much worse than the Fanatic.

Also, i wasnt talking about cutting Fireblast completely, just dropping to 3 copies to avoid drawing potentially dead cards.

[BigChuck]

I see two problems with lavamancer:

1. It keeps you from playing barbarian ring.
          I'm a barbarian ring fan, and it obviously doesn't interact well with the lavamancer, so i dont think its worth playing over the fanatic....which brings me to

2. It isn't all that much more effective then the fanatic.
         Picture this scenario:
Turn 1:Mountain, Lavamancer
Turn 2:Attack with lavamancer, mountain, incinerate(so far, lavamancer has done as much as a fanatic.)
Turn 3:Mountain,Bolt, Bolt, Use Lavamancers ability(So far, only one more damage then the fanatic would have, because of the missed lavamancer attack to use the ability. The fanatic could be sacked to counteract the damage, so so far, it really isn't better.)
Turn 4:Attack with lavamancer, Incinerate, Fireblast.(Fanatic could also attack, and then be sacked, therefore dealing equal damage as the Lavamancer.)

Granted, this includes no opponent interaction, but at what point would it have made a difference? Anything that kills Lavamancer kills the fanatic, except the fanatic is better at dying because of his ability. Granted, you could have an untapped lavamancer and use his ability in response, but it would do no more damage then a fanatic which had attacked and been sacrificed.

[MarkPharaoh]

In my metagame I sue both.  Fanatic is better in early game but Grim is much better in mid-late game and a lot of Sligh decks both bother to run the Rings and run either 4-5 Strips or 4 Mishra's.

[kirdape3]

Here's what I'd play in just about any field if I were to choose Sligh.

4x Jackal Pup
4x Goblin Cadet
4x Gorilla Shaman
2x Goblin Vandal

4x Lightning Bolt
4x Chain Lightning
4x Incinerate
4x Fireblast
4x Cursed Scroll
3x Price of Progress
1x Wheel of Fortune

1x Strip Mine
4x Wasteland
17x Mountain

Sideboard to taste.

Ball Lightning doesn't fit in because it isn't sustained pressure; it's like dropping a single Daisy Cutter when you really only need a single load of cluster bombs in the smaller guys.  Sustained pressure is key.

The Goblin Vandals are in there to defeat such things as Powder Keg that would be otherwise impossible for a Shaman to take out.  Otherwise, the deck is damn near capable of smashing anything around.

[MarkPharaoh]

4x Jackal Pup
4x Goblin Cadet
4x Gorilla Shaman
2x Goblin Vandal

Thats not against anykind of field, thats just Keeper hate.  Any kind of aggro deck would just laugh at the creature choices.

[jpmeyer]

Quote (MarkPharaoh @ June 29 2002,04:19)4x Jackal Pup
4x Goblin Cadet
4x Gorilla Shaman
2x Goblin Vandal

Thats not against anykind of field, thats just Keeper hate.  Any kind of aggro deck would just laugh at the creature choices.

Yeah, that's my creature base for NG.  In fact, that entire list (albeit with -1 Mountain and +1 PoP) is my list for NG.

[kirdape3]

You have 16 burn spells to clear out other creatures.

However, Sligh in this format really isn't set up to beat other aggro decks and control at the same time.  If you run Ball Lightnings, you now randomly lose to Mana Drain, and if you run the proper list that JP, Kaplan, or I have to beat control, you now lose to Suicide, Stompy, or most other aggro decks.

[jpmeyer]

I dunno dude, I've never lost to Suicide yet with that Sligh build  

[Often Lost]

Heres a thoguht: has anyone ever tested Straw Golem in sligh, I dont play sligh, so its just a suggestion in a controle heavy enviroment

[Maxx Matt]

i usually play this sligh in a control heavy enviroment:

4 cursed

4 shaman
4 pup
4 cadets
2 vandals

4 bolt
3 chain
4 incinerate
3 fireblast
4 PoP

1 fork
1 wheel

1 ruby
1 black lotus
16 mountain
4 barbarian ring

i begin packing in 4 waste but after a while of playtesting,
i realized using B.Ring over Wasteland  is a little better because they let you to finish your opponent after he tutor/search/draw/manipulateZzzzzZZZzzzand other annoying things to bring in play his frightening Cop:Red or Ivory Mask or other antired stuff

with waste you slow down his mana only for 1 turn... with the ring you can have the opportunity to finish him off the turn after he drop an early abyss or the Cop  too  

the only problem with them can be the bad interaction between B.Ring and PoP... but they usually don't remain a lot in the table to be a real source of damage for me...

but i think that is only a playstyle argumentation more than a metagaming reason ... so don' flame me for being  a bit "out of the choir"  

thanx in advance

Maxx Matt















   

[FeverDog]

I know i will get flamed for this too, but i am also beginning to wonder if Wastelands are right for Sligh. Although i would never cut Strip Mine, i think that often, slowing the control player's mana doesnt help you very much. Of course, if your opponent kept a mana-light hand then you can really screw him, but control decks usually run 28 mana so he will surely draw into some land.

I mentioned on another thread(2 Sligh threads on 2 different T1 Mills, wowie! ) that i am thinking of dumping Fireblast altogether, maybe i will try cutting the Wastes for a set of Mishras and see how that works.\n\n

[FeverDog]

Well, i figured i might as well post a rough draft before i leave for work, that way i can get some feedback by the time i return. Here is a rough sketch of what i want to test, all critiques are welcome but NO FLAMES.

//NAME: Sligh

        1 Fork
        1 Wheel of Fortune
        4 Price of Progress
        4 Incinerate
        4 Lightning Bolt
        4 Chain Lightning
        4 Cursed Scroll

        4 Jackal Pup
        4 Goblin Cadets
        4 Mogg Fanatic
        4 Gorilla Shaman

        1 Strip Mine
        4 Mishra's Factory
        17 Mountain

SB:  3 Pyrokinesis
SB:  4 Red Elemental Blast
SB:  4 Anarchy
SB:  4 Dwarven Miner

Since i dont run any Wastes, i think Miners would be good in the side vs multi-color decks. Also, im not really crazy about the Fork but i just wasnt sure what to put in and i figure it could be useful.

The one really nice thing about this config is that it stands up to CoP: Red and The Abyss, you could even add Barb Rings if you wanted to get really suicidal.

[Rico Suave]

Wasteland would just disappear, but Mishra's Factory requires a Mountain to keep powering it every turn.  It works rather poorly with Cursed Scroll.

Also, Wastelands are crucial.  I think you'll realize that sooner or later.

[MarkPharaoh]

So, Mishra's are very, very good.  it gets around things like The Abyss and COP: Red.  Wastelands don't do much to a Keeper deck, There Moxes  and Lotus can hep just fine if you destroy a land or two.

[FeverDog]

Rico, ive played hundreds of matches with Sligh and i cant remember when i have beaten someone because my Wasteland mana-screwed them. Im not saying it doesnt happen, but in a deck with no other land kill(Shaman doesnt count) its not likely that i can really hurt someone's mana enough to swing the game in my favor. Again though, i havent tested this at all, i will report back after testing.

[TracerBullet]

It happens, and there's no way on earth I'd think about playing Sligh without Wastelands.  They're absolutely necessary in the deck.

[FeverDog]

Tracer, could you tell me WHY you think Wastelands are necessary in Sligh? Could you give me an example where a Waste won you a game you would have otherwise lost?

Dont mistake this for sarcasm, i am really asking.

[TracerBullet]

I can think (off hand) of at least 5 games that Wastelands have won.  They deal with problem lands, help a land screw, help a COLOR screw (probably the most likely), and help with random stuff.  You scoop to Academy first game without them.  They help color screw Keeper, which is huge.  I can think of 3 games right now where I beat Keeper due to them.  More often than not, they'll slow the opponent for that one crucial turn in which they needed to drop The Abyss, cast that tutor, or hold them off that Balance until they've lost.  Not even mentioning problem lands like LoA, Mishra's, or Academy.

[MarkPharaoh]

Wasteland are not needed.  Even against Keeper, they just sack to Zorb in response and gains them 2 life and you lose a land.  Even Barbarian Rings are better since they add red mana but they cannot use COP: Red on it (I believe).  Waste would only be good in LD or Control Sligh.