The Evolution of AnkhSligh

[MolotDET]

***For a quick note, This Thread is About Ankh of Mishra in Sligh.  It is not about Goblin Sligh, or Ball Lightnings.  So, Leave Your Comments About Those Decks Where They Belong.   In Some Other Thread***


                                                                               The Evolution of AnkhSligh: Part I

In my first “Evolution of Sligh” post I said,

      “As everyone knows, Sligh has been going through a regrouping period.  If you take a look around the boards, you will notice that Sligh decks seem to have a bit more variations in them than ever before.  Most of the decks you will see have one or two cards that most other decks are not running.  Sideboards also seem to be reflecting these changes as well.
     With the changes in the global metagame it seems that many decks are not able to run as much Sligh hate as before.  Couple this with Sligh’s near disappearance from most local metagames and the emergence of strong aggro decks like TnT and Mask and you set the stage for evolution in Sligh.  The simple fact that Sligh, as it was, was not able to handle those new aggro decks with any consistency was mainly due to it’s drop off.  After the changes in Keeper became apparent, Sligh players were better able to gauge what is now needed.
     Just as with most other decks Odyssey Block and Onslaught have given Sligh players new card choices.  And of course some old, overlooked tech has surfaced.  This, and the evolving metagame, has opened new doors for Sligh technology.”

Weeks ago, when I said that, I didn’t realize how right I was.

     I realize now, that Sligh is an even less static thing than I thought.  It should evolve more as its metagame changes.  Unlike decks that will change a few cards here and there for this purpose, Sligh will have the most radical changes.  While there is no deigning that it is a strong deck, it is also the most easily hosed.  Cards that are useful against it are good against many other decks and so, are often sitting in sideboards waiting to be used.
     After the events of the last few weeks I have felt even more right about that.  When looking at the evolution you will notice that Sligh decks are going in two separate directions.  Some decks are going for the all out aggro approach of “Goblin,” while others are going in the direction of the more control type Ankh Sligh.

     When attempting to rebuild Sligh into Ankh Sligh, I think it is important to understand the recent history.

      Sometime early in 2002, this is what Sligh would look like.

DKaps Sligh 2002

1 Mox Ruby
16 Mountain
1 Strip Mine
4 Wasteland
4 Goblin Cadets
4 Gorilla Shaman
4 Jackal Pup
1 Black Vise
4 Chain Lightning
4 Cursed Scroll
3 Fireblast
1 Fork
4 Incinerate
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Price of Progress
1 Wheel of Fortune
SB: 4 Chimeric Idol
SB: 4 Dwarven Miner
SB: 3 Pyroblast
SB: 4 Red Elemental


     This deck was quite successful at the time.  Many a Sligh player would use this frame, tweaking it slightly for metagame considerations.  When faced with a good Sligh deck, you were pretty sure what was in the deck you were playing against.  But as mentioned above, metagame changes forced this build into the shadows.  While the frame of the maindeck is strong, the changing times have shown its weaknesses.  Also, the time when this single-minded sideboard can be used, has long since passed.
     Examining the cards in this build is of paramount importance, when trying to gain the knowledge of what is now needed.

The Bad:
     Goblin Cadets  - These are the second weakest link in the deck.  While it is the second best Red 2/1 creature for 1 mana, its weakness is much worse than Jackal Pup’s.  The drawback makes Cadet a liability when playing against another aggro deck.  In a predominately Keeper environment Cadets would be great but they are not so good against everything else.  I believe the time may have come to say goodbye to Cadets as your secondary creature.  Control Sligh can no longer afford for them to be such an intergal part of the deck.  Sligh’s creature complement should remain at 12 to 14 though.
     Price of Progress – PoP is one of the most potent spells in your deck but it is one of the most situational.  It is not useful against certain decks and there by adds a weakness to yours.  Removing PoP from the deck is not even an option, but playing 4 maindeck may not help you win in a random fully-powered metagame.
     Fireblast – This is a card that’s time may be passed.  The use of 4 maindeck Fireblast has slipped from favor and most decks on longer run a single copy.  Personally I never liked Fireblast but it had its uses.  The fact that it was four damage when you are tapped out kept it in contention for it’s 3+ spots but, as I said, it may not be viable any longer.
     Cursed Scroll – While Scroll is a staple in Sligh, now that there is an alternative to colorless damage, there is really no need for four Scrolls.  This is not a card that you really want to see in your opening draw.  You only want a Scroll when you can afford to use it, and unless it has been destroyed you really don’t want a second.
     Fork – It is not that Fork is not a great card, but in a deck that is as aggro as Sligh, Fork tends to be the only reactive card in the deck.  While it can be used to copy one of your damage spells, it is more often held for some great purpose.  This makes the card likely to garner too much importance in a deck that should have no card that is more important than any other.

The Good:
     Gorilla Shaman – This utility creature is amongst the reasons that Sligh was so successful in a control heavy field.  While it produces a small amount of damage, it never really needs to attack for its effects to be felt.  Munching on low casting cost artifacts the second it hits the table is all the threat that it needs to pose.  Shaman also lends to the Idea that Sligh is a control deck.
     Jackal Pup – This is the second best 2/1 for one mana in the game.  Pup even with its drawback has never been questioned as the best creature to play in a Sligh deck
     Chain Lightning, Incinerate and Lightning Bolt – The burn spells that cannot be replaced.  Until such time as better spells are printed these three spells will always be present in a Sligh deck packing over 8 burn spells.
     Black Vise – Around the time that the decklist above was the prevailing build, Vise was a new addition.  Though it added some inconsistency to Sligh its abilities were undenighable.  It quickly took the spot of the vastly more inconsistent fourth Fireblast.  Vise is also one of the cards that gives Sligh a control feel.
     Wheel of Fortune – While there are decks that this is not the right play against, Wheel was a prefect fit for sligh because you will often find yourself with an empty hand.  While it did exactly what Sligh needed it also became a spell that should be countered by control decks and thereby casting it gave Sligh a control type effect.

The Mana:
     Mox Ruby – While Sligh is considered low-tech, it like most other decks gains something with the addition of on color moxen.
     Stripmine and Wastelands – Mana denial is one of the main themes of Sligh.  This is one of the aspects that makes people think of Sligh as a control type deck.
     Mountain – While a good, steady, consistent mana base is a cornerstone of Sligh, this large count of slow, non-damage dealing permanents is its biggest weakness.  The fact that drawing a mountain gains you nothing other than mana is problematic when you are looking for that last bit of damage.  Also, the fact that they can only be played one a turn keeps your pace slow.

The Sideboard:
     Chimeric Idol – While at the time this seemed like a good idea, Idol ended up having bad synergy with most of the deck.  It didn’t allow you to continue to play your game while using it, and was disowned by its supporters shortly after.
        Dwarven Miner – While Miner is a good card and plays along with Sligh’s mana denial engine, his ability is far too slow.  He also has the weakness of being a creature in a deck that, creature hate will be sideboarded in against.  Also his ability at three mana, is costly and will slow down your winning.  Though in theory he will slow down your opponent as well, he is only really good against a very few decks.  So, while Miner is viable, he may be too slow for the new metagame.  Also, having him in your sideboard harkens back to the fact that it may no longer viable to run cards that are good against a very few decks.
     Red Elemental Blast and Pyroblast – While the plan of 8 Blasts is sound against blue based control decks, it leaves you with more than half you sideboard full with cards that are useful against a very few decks.  At the time, this was not a really bad idea but the changing metagame and the rise of the newer aggro decks have made this plan less than possible.  Reducing the number of Blasts below six, which is what is now needed, makes this plan much less consistent and in many opinions, no longer viable.


     I have seen it stated that Sligh is a Tier 1 deck.  I will go on record as saying that, “I don’t think this was ever true.”  Sligh has always been a good deck, but Tier 1, don’t be silly.  In the grand scheme of things Sligh has ever been a deck that is as close as it could be to the top, without ever reaching it.  Recently however, Sligh has been in a downward spiral.  Decks like TnT, Grow, Grow-Atog and Mask have been pushing the Aggro envelope and not leaving much room for it’s poorer cousins.  Sligh, while it was fighting at 50/50 against most control and Aggro decks, was overrun by new faster Aggro.
     The main contributing factor to this was that Sligh’s sideboard was overrun with anti-control cards (8 Blasts, 4 Miner, 2+ PoP) and was giving up all pretext of readying itself to battle aggro after sideboard.  This was fine in the days before the fat aggro decks, but no longer can be maintained.  When listing the decks that Sligh has had problems with historically you will see decks like Oath, random aggro, monoU and Combo on the top of the list.
     MonoU used an overwhelming number of counters and board sweepers like Powder Keg to slow Sligh down enough to gain control and, use it’s card advantage to get out a Morphling and win.  With BeB and other sideboard bombs like Chill, monoU was still able to pull out wins in games 2 and 3.  MonoU has since all but disappeared from most local metagames and came back as the stronger, more versatile U/r build, which is much more able to deal with Sligh’s creature complement.  It can now save its counters for burn spells and deal with it’s creatures two at a time with Fire/Ice as well as sweep the board with Kegs.
     Combo has long been the bane of many an aggro deck, for obvious reasons.  The ability to just win faster than the twentieth point of damage is dealt completely undermines an aggro approach.  As most combo decks win with a Blue card, the 8 blast SB was again reaffirmed.
     Oath was always a special problem for Sligh.  It might be said that there could not have been a better designed Anti-sligh deck.  Again, Sligh’s sideboard had very little to offer against this deck.
     Just like the new Fat Artifact aggro decks, junky random aggro has always been a problem for Sligh.  While these decks are often piloted by children and are not well built, they cause problems for Sligh because of their randomness.


     So once again this leads us to the point where Sligh needs to evolve.  Just like some period in human evolution, there is more than one path a Sligh player can take, but in this Thread we are focusing on the AnkhSligh option.  

     Flash forward to about 7 months ago.  At my local store, several of the Sligh players were having a problem against Combo decks.  As I am discussing this with Disrupting sPECtor, who is one of the local Sligh players, he comes up with Ankh of Mishra.  We start testing it and find that it is quite a good card to have in the sideboard against combo.  It is not the BEST card against many combos but it is good none the less.
     I go ahead, and build the skeleton of a deck that used Ankh maindeck.  Basically using Kaplan's (Diavonzo's) Sligh and dropping the Ankh's in for 2 PoP and 2 Fireblast.  Right off the bat, I am amazed at the synergy that Ankh gave the deck.  Ankh and PoP worked together to make playing land/non-basic land dangerous.  I also realized the Ankh/Vise combo.  It made Wastelands, Stripmine and Gorilla Shaman more powerful as well.  It complemented all the Burn spells in the deck.  And gave you varied cc to your permanents.

     Decks like; TnT, Mask, Dragon and Grow have begun to be played more widely.  These decks all cause problems for Sligh.  Almost none of which it or its SB are ready to handle.  On the good hand, these decks caused all established Arch-types to rethink sideboarding and maindeck choices.  The problem with this is that, many of the newer sideboard choices are still good against Sligh and it hasn’t enough players to champion it and delve into the cardpool and reveal its new tech.  So we sit here today, trying to enable Sligh to better deal with this massive shift in metagame.

     TnT has been at the forefront of Sligh’s problems since it became more widely played.  Many people would have you believe that keeping Goblin Welder off the table is the best way for Sligh to deal with it.  While killing Welder will make the TnT player have to play another, it does not solve your problem.
     When Welder hits the board it will be hastened, so that even if you kill it, it will still be able to use its ability.  Anyone who has had experience playing against TnT will tell you that they will quickly go into turbo-Triskillion mode.  Once hitting the table a welder will be tapped for a Trike.  The Trike will attack, if able, and than throw its three counters at you.  This will continue for successive turns until you or they are dead (remember that Genesis in the grave, means limitless Welders).  Wasting burn against the Welders will only get you killed in the long run.
     So theoretically, what Sligh needs against TnT is not a way to deal with the Welders and Fat creatures, which it already has, but a way to remove it’s recursion engine from the game.

     Mask has also been a thorn in Sligh’s side.  Sligh’s inability to deal with Mask’s uber potent Dreadnought is it’s main failing against this deck.  This has been emphasized by Sligh’s inability to deal with creatures of great toughness, and Artifact creatures in general, but Sligh only needs a way to destroy this creature and stay within it’s casting cost range.

     Dragon, like any other combo deck, will give Sligh a hard time.  But unlike most other combos, Dragon can be dealt with by including a minimal amount of graveyard hate.  And so in theory, cards in the sideboard that are good against TnT should also be good against Dragon.

     Grow presents special problems.  The creatures in a Sligh deck are not at all good against Grow.  Also Grow plays more copies of the dreaded Misdirection than any other deck.  So, Sligh’s 12+, targeted Instants and Sorceries are bad tools against Grow.  Eventually your burn will get through, but can you survive long enough?
     REB are not of any use against Grow because spells simply need to be cast to garner a desired effect.  And, Grow’s creatures can quickly get beyond your ability to handle them.  PoP is of limited use against a deck running so few non-basics.  And, Dwarven Miner is in the same boat.
     What do you need against Grow?  Simply put, you need your deck to start acting like it is supposed to.  You need your permanent damage sources to deal damage.  You also need your spells to hit their targets.  This can be done by changing some of the damage dealing permanents to ones harder for Grow to deal with and, by making more of your spells must counters for Grow.


     Before I move on I think it is important to mention Keeper, as it is always one of the decks to beat.
     Keeper has always been about a 50/50 match-up for Sligh.  In game one Sligh has a bit of an advantage on Keeper as it is not designed to be an all out aggro hating deck.  After sideboard however, Keeper is often armed with more spells capable of handling Sligh’s creature complement and Circle of Protection: Red.  Sligh on the other hand, will be armed with even more mana disruption and the 8 or so REB to deal with Keepers counterspells and blue power cards.
     Sligh players that find themselves unable to successfully deal with Keepers mana will have a hard time trying to overload the COP.  This will be due partially to it’s now impotent creatures and partially because much of its direct damage complement was sided out to bring in all those blasts.
     So again, Sligh needs to further diversify it’s damage dealing permanents and increase it’s amount of must counters, in addition to having more ways to get around COP:Red.


     With all this in mind, we get to late October 2002 and the release of Fetchlands.  At first the advent of fetchlands seems to help only a little, as only a few decks start sporting them from the beginning.  In the weeks that follow, just about every deck is now running Fetches and many are running them in a 1 to 1 ratio with mana producing lands.  At this point, in my mind there is no longer a better card for Sligh to begin running.


     And so we get to AnkhSligh.


     If you are thinking of Sligh as a control deck and are planning to use Ankh of Mishra, which is what this thread is about, than there are things you should consider.
     First and most importantly is that, putting Ankhs into a Sligh deck will radically alter the way it plays.  While you could just drop Ankhs into the Sligh deck designed by Matt Diavonzo and see how they make the deck better in today’s metagame, I think you will be missing out on the diversity that using Ankh allows.  Since you are changing the threat basis and playing more “in play” damage producers, you are going to be able to gain more leeway in the way you deal with certain decks and their strategies.
     When using Ankh against a control deck, you have upped the amount of “must counters” you are playing.  Before, you had nothing that truly must be countered.  Only the last few damage dealers, Wheel of Fortune or a well timed Price of Progress where ever considered to be must counters.  Now an early game Ankh is added to that list.  Even a mid game Ankh becomes a must counter if the control deck is still building its mana-base.  By this rational, Gorilla Shaman also can be added to the considered must counter list, because of its interaction with your mana denial and the Ankhs.  Realizing this, it now seems the deck has a more synergistic mix, just by adding the Ankhs.
     Another thing to consider is that now that several cards in your deck are working well together, there is room for more change.  You can increase the efficiency of some of your spells by diverting from some of the tried and true standards.  By further diversifying your threats, you make the deck harder to shut down with standard hosers.
     Circle of Protection: Red seems to be the card most often pointed too, when people think of cards that completely hose Sligh.  Ankhs have gone a long way towards negating this hoser because of the colorless damage they deal, and also because the mana intensiveness of COP is directly opposed by the presence of Ankh.  Unfortunately, Ankh alone cannot win the game in the face of an early COP.  More colorless damage sources or single things that put up less damage than should realistically be prevented should be added.
     Powder Keg is another thing that is often brought up when talking of things that often hose Sligh’s strategy.  Ankh once again is a perfect answer to Keg.  Diversifying your permanents casting cost makes your opponent choose between your 1 and 2 cc ones.  While the Ankh is just as dangerous, there are more 1drops in your deck, and so the Ankh will more often survive the Kegs wrath.  Still, this can use expanding.  Either spreading your casting costs further and/or using things that are not vulnerable to, or have an answer for keg will lessen its effects on Sligh.
     Moat is another problem for a Sligh deck.  While this only shuts down only half of your deck effectively.  It should slow you down long enough for a control player to stabilize.  Ankh again gets around this hoser, but Moat’s effect is not lessened by it.  So for this, Sligh needs either more non-creature damage dealers, or creatures that can get over on Moat.
     Ivory Mask shuts down more than half the deck.  While creatures remain potent, a deck running this card will more than likely be running something else to stop them.  Thankfully this card is run by few decks and they are slow enough decks to beat before both the hosers hit play.
     Misdirection just as any other counter is a problem for Sligh.  Slowing Sligh’s game is one of the most efficient ways of beating it.  But Misdirection makes it dangerous to cast many of your spells, and so slows your tempo more so than any other counter.  While Price of Progress comes to mind as a non-targeted damage source, it still has the Liability of being a red card and being counterable.  Now, while Ankh is not red it is still counterable.  So what you need here is untargeted damage that is neither red nor counterable.
     Multiple or Mass creature removal spells also seem to cause a lot of problems for Sligh.  Thankfully, as of late most of these potent cards have fallen out of favor.  Things like Pyroclasm are no longer viable in most decks.  Though some more damaging spells have seen some play because many of the creatures that need to be killed are much larger.  Psionic Blast and Fire/Ice are also fairly commonly played cards that need to be worried about.  Now while Psiblast is not truly a problem, Fire/Ice has the ability to take out two of your Dorks.  While Keg and Moat could have been mentioned here, they have been given their own entries because, in the case of Keg, act on other things as well or in Moats case, don’t have quite as big an impact as Pyroclasm.  So again, more non-creature damage dealers are needed and again Ankh starts to fill this void.


      So we start with a deck resembling DKaps Sligh.  As I don’t often play at NG:NY I build it for a much more random metagame than that Keeper flooded one.

D.E.Sligh (Genesis version)

1 Mox Ruby
15 Mountain
2 Barbarian Ring
1 Strip Mine
4 Wasteland
4 Goblin Cadets
4 Jackal Pup
4 Mogg Fanatic
4 Cursed Scroll
1 Black Vice
2 Fireblast
4 Chain Lightning
4 Incinerate
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Ankh of Mishra
1 Wheel of Fortune
1 Fork

SB: 4 Gorilla Shaman
SB: 3 Pyrokinesis
SB: 4 Price of Progress
SB: 4 REB

     The deck resembles most other Sligh builds but has a few things going for it that most Sligh doesn’t.  Also unfortunately, it is not as good as I intended it to be.  It became too weak against control to win game1 with any regularity and was not quite as good against TnT or Mask as intended.  Also the inclusion of several extra 2casting cost cards (the Ankhs) slowed the deck down far too much.  

     “But sometimes a major setback is what is needed to take a huge leap forward.” (Christopher Knight, Real Genius)

Analysis of the new maindeck cards and sideboard:

     Barbarian Ring – Ah, what can one say about colorless, uncounterable damage that produces mana and makes your mana base more useful?  The only think I could think of is… I should be running three of these and perhaps I need to reach Threshold faster.
     Oddly enough, I realize that Rings have a type of weird synergy with Ankh.  While they are Wasteland targets in a deck with no others, under Ankh they become 2 damage either way.  If they use a Waste against it, than they will be more likely to have to drop another land.
     Mogg Fanatic – While this creature is good for what I am intending it to do, I find that I want the Gorilla Shaman maindeck.  I am loath to remove the Fanatics, though something from the above creature base must go.  Of course this is not a new idea but I have intended it for a specific purpose.
     Ankh of Mishra – The Ankhs performed better than expected.  I find new reasons that they are good.  At this point, the Ankh/Vise combo is realized.

SB: Gorilla Shaman – While this was good for the back games against control decks and the surprise factor of siding them in was helpful, I found that I would rather have them in the maindeck.  And even though the surprise was a good idea, when decks are siding in more creature hate, monkeys didn’t stay on the board long.
SB: Pyrokinesis – These were great against small creature decks but not so great against the Fat that I intended them for.  
SB: Price of Progress – After the testing I realized I wanted a couple maindeck, even in a random metagame.  So what to cut becomes an issue.
SB: REB – The realization that running less than 6 blasts in the board might as well be none, set in.  What to use to replace them, and what would be as strong as 8 blasts against the decks you side them in, were still questions to be answered.

     Around the middle of November 2002, I cut the three Sideboard Pyrokinesis and started testing three Browbeat in their place  Also at this time, I decide to drop four mountains for; one Barbarian Ring, the Black Lotus, Mox Diamond and Lotus Petal for reasons that I will explain below.


     So, that it the build I end up bringing to the “New England Weekend of Magic.”  I play D.E.Sligh in the Saturday tournament at Your Move Games.  There is a heavy aggro element at YMG and I find that quite a few things are wrong with the deck for a random metagame.  I do quite a bit of testing before the tournament and play against TnT in rounds 2 and 3.  While I find that Ankh is great against TnT and Browbeat is very good as well, Sligh still needs something else against it in the sideboard.  Both of those rounds end up being 1/2 losses even though each game was decided by only a few points of life.
     The next day I test against quite a few different decks before the tourney.  I get the chance to test against TnT again and I finally get a few non-virtual games against Mask.  I manage to beat the a TnT deck but lose miserably to Mask.  I had planned to play Trix in this tourney, so that’s as far as the testing goes.
     After that weekend I felt settled on the changes that I had made and the remaining changes that needed to be made.


     While this has been quite long, I have been working on it quite some time.  This is the first half of a longer work which should be ready to post in a few days.

[j_orlove]

Nice essay, but you can't just leave us hanging like that, man!  

Edit: Grrr...this got moved after I posted. I wouldn't usually post something like this in the EVF.

Uh, has anyone tested hearth charm in the SB, or would that work better in more aggressive versions?

[dandan]

The first part looks like you are setting yourself up to admit that Mishra's Factories go in control Sligh.  

I particularly like the parts about basic Mountains being a weakness in that they can't deal damage and that Rings have synergy because they can 'eat' Wastelands. Good to see someone else realising that the mana slots could be used for additional colourless damage and that an opponent using a Wasteland on your land is a good thing.

Where I think we disagree is where you replace land with one-off mana which helps you cast early Ankh but drastically cuts the effectiveness of your Cursed Scrolls. Tog and Dryads are Scroll's bitches and the more controllish you become the more you should value your reusable sources of damage.

I am also amazed that you overlook Goblin Vandal as another reusable utility creature, and one of the few ways Sligh has of handling fat artifacts (albeit not so hot against Triskelions) and Powder Kegs.

In order to add Mishras and use maindeck Vandals I have had to cut Wheel, 2 Mountains and some Incinerates. Wheel can be great but control Sligh is slower than a lot of decks out there and something has to give. The Incinerates are the slowest of the burn, although it pains me to cut such good burn from Sligh. What you have left is a deck that throws reusable threats at you, while attacking your mana base from several directions.

I'm very curious just how much part 2 will move your version of Sligh in my direction

[MarkPharaoh]

A very nice article, took forever to read but was very nice .  As dandan said, I really like the use of Barb Rings, but could you bump it up to 3?  Your only running 2 Fireblast so 14 mountains should be fine.

I don't however like the artifact mana.  Seems like your trying too hard to get Ankh out on first turn but at what cost?  Your putting in a Lotus, Diamond and Petal.  The Lotus is great in the opening hand but a couple turns later it's crap if you draw it, and with the Diamond and Petal they can be eaten by Mox Monkeys.  Is going 1st turn Ankh that much better then going 1st turn Jackal Pup, 2nd turn Ankh?  I rarely see people drop a turn1 fetchland unless it's Red Stompy.

[MoreFling]

Molot : Great article.

However, since I recently have been piloting Ankh Sligh with some success, I have a few (minor?) points I'd like to adress.
However, I want to point out, I am in no way an expert on Sligh. I have little practical experience with it, I have only been playing, and taken a broader interest in, the Archetype since this month when I wanted to take it to Castricum.

About the combo-matchup in general. I think, that apart from playing a 2nd turn Ankh, you can do very little to put anything in their way. If there is a lot of combo present in your metagame, don't play Sligh. Trying to tweak it to still beat that matchup will only result in weakening your game dramatically against your other matchups, and therefore you will be known as "that kid that can't get past sligh."
Luckily, in my own metagame, Combo is only rarely piloted. (as in 1 or 2 players with a good combo deck like academy)

Cadets: You just need a 2nd 2/1 1-drop creature next to Pup, since basicly, otherwise your theaths in the creature-base are too minimal. You can burn your way through the defences of your opponent IF you go for the maindeck fanatics, which gives you the edge against weenie strategies, and on the same hand providing a nice way to deal the 4th damage to Su-Chi and it's buddies.

Your artifact mana: The 1st turn Ankh isn't as crucial as you would like to think. In my opinion, 1st turn pup, 2nd turn Ankh is a lot better, since you apply some pressure regardless, and the opponent will certainly have to start building the manabase to deal either with the Ankh or the Pup. Either way, you get some good damage in, which will set you up to be able to beat it with burn and fanatics.

your sideboard theory:
I generally dislike blasts. They will keep you waiting and stalling, which is exactly what the control player wants! Therefore, I've "fallen in love" with the Scalds I saw in Legend's build. They provide a permanent threath to anything with blue in it, while allowing you to continue at making a run for it's throath.

As for the Mask/TnT matchup, the best you CAN do is hope you manage to squeeze a Rack and Ruin through.
I still feel TnT is a good matchup, you just have to be able to get a good draw, and hope for the better. After sideboarding, the Rack's will cause you to be able to burn the player, and rack the artifact fat threads that they have.
If Mask goes ritual Mask, Dread, well, then you have a problem that will always be tough to deal with in Sligh, and I've come to peace with it.
Luckily, in my own metagame, Mask is a non-issue.
About TnT however, I noticed that it's definately a 50/50 matchup, I just had problems dealing that tiny bit of damage (I couldn't draw a Pop or Ankh, and still did extremely well).

Wheel of fortune: You can never convince me to play this. It's offering my opponent 7 new cards to deal with me. I'd rather depend on my ability to draw the last burn spell, instead of wheeling for it. Also, when you cast this for 3 mana, how many mana do you have left to finish the burning rightaway? Not enough.

Fork : This card WILL be in my deck, simply for when I'm done playing my creatures, and swinging with them, and are waiting for his eot to start burning, you have the mana available as well to fork a FoF, or ancestral, or even Will!
I will not hold back when holding a Fork "just" to copy a good spell my opponent is playing, but when reaching the point where you are holding burn spells + fork, it's a very good card, that could just win you the game. As a nice bonus, you can just fork your own burn spell if your opponent isn't playing the cards you would like him to play.

I think powder Keg will always be a boom for 1, since that eliminates your most important threaths, namely creatures and scrolls. As much as I would like to replace the Cadet with a 2cc
likewise effecient red creature, that creature has yet to be printed. A man can dream, but I doubt it will ever happen.

Moat and Mask present problems, although you can most certainly burn past the Moat. The Mask however shut down your gameplan, but decks still piloting it are generally slow enough to still allow you some chance.

I don't like fireblast and never will. If it doesn't go through, you lost precious resource and will stall you amazingly. In the worst case it gets mana drained, and your opponent will draw a shitload of cards. Pop is way better as a 2-off in the maindeck game 1, since it cannot be misdirected, and is just good damage. If you can't use it, too bad, scroll with it.

Pyrokenesis is Insane card-disadvantage, and therefore I do not like it. Against TnT, I'd rather go for the burn through + fanatic game, and add some Rack and Ruins after sideboarding.

I like your suggestion about the Barbarian Rings. It's just what you need, some usefull manadraw midgame. I think 3 is the right number, you don't want to damage yourself too much. Drawing wastelands with Ankh in play is always a good thing, and this way, you can keep Wasting your opponents other non-basics.

It's probably enough babbling for now, and I'll be eagerly awaiting part 2.
For reference however, I will post my most current decklist, which was constructed after the latest Castricum tournament.

You can check out the listing byclinking here.

A few more detailed explenations;

Only 3 Cadets/Gorillas. With the Fanatics maindeck, you can cut down on some less effecient creatures, like the Monkey in more random metagames, and the Cadets for the reasons Molot also has already pointed out. However, I think I just need a 2/1 1st turn drop as much as possible, and playing 7 2-1 1-drops allows this.
2 Pop. It's too good not to have against decks with non-basics, it's too dead to have 4 when facing a deck that doesn't rely on non-basics (around here, 50% of the time).
Therefore, the 2/2 ratio between the maindeck and the sideboard is very good.

Flaring Pain. This card is SUCH a bomb against Cop:Red, it renders a lot of sideboards around here rather useless. It's flashback ability gives it the edge that you only need to draw one. Maybe I can cut back, but at some point, you need to draw it, and that's why I am running 3.

Ensnaring Bridge. Great vs any creature strategy. Getting this out means a blow against TnT/Mask/Other aggro, since you can usually be stuck with 1 card in hand to use scroll. In my report I mention a match against WW where I sat back with 1 card in hand, behind a wall of 1 scroll/1 Bridge. It's also good against Black/Grow.
The only problem with is that if you want to side it in, Ankhs have to come out. Against TnT and Grow, this is somewhat a small dilemma for me.

13 mountain/3 rings: I just put the rings in after reading this thread. As I mentioned, I needed something like this. People at the tournament suggested 4 fetchlands, so that you can fetch turn 1 to play a dude, and go for the Ankh turn2. Although I will test this, for the moment I'm going with the 3 Rings. I really wanted to keep 14 mountains+Mox Ruby, but I just haven't found the place, unless I go back to 61 cards again (I'm hungup on this, most of my decks contain 61 cards... old habits I guess).
I'm also not sure wether I like to cut the 4th Cadet, but I need to cut something, since I want the fanatics maindeck. They've proven their worth to me.
**Edit: To futher elaborate, the choice was between Cadet#4 and Incinerate#4, but I think the incinerate, even though it's higher mana cost, is more effecient at getting the damage in you need.**

Now this is certainly enough babble, but maybe we can move this to extreme vintage? I'd love to keep the discussion on here of high standards.\n\n

[MolotDET]

@j_orlove - I really didn't think that this would be moved myself, had I thought that I wouldn't have posted it until the last few pages were done.
     As for Hearth Charm, I have been testing it for the past month or so.  It is good, but as others have said against Mask you may want to be able to take out the mask and you might want to be able to destroy two artifacts against TnT.  Though you get some nice utility abilities with the Charm.
     I think this would be a meta-game call as far as which of these spells you might use.  Depending on what you are expecting: Overload, Hearth Charm or Rack and Ruin, one of these will be better than the others and when you have the wrong one the other two will always seem better.

@Pharoah - The deck posted is actually the FIRST version of AnkhSligh that I ever created.  With that known, if you look back it doesn't have the Artifact mana that you are talking about.  Part 2 will most asuredly have the deck with the things you are talking about.  As for the Barbarian Rings this version was testing them for the first time and so I went with two.

@Dandan - The Vandals were something that I tested for a while.  They really didn't belong in the maindeck because they didn't have the damage potential of the other creatures.  While I could have put them into the sideboard, I thought that it was folly because of the fact that most decks will be siding in creature hate against you.
     Mishra's Factories were also very good but they only give colorless mana.  The deck needs red mana to continue to keep presure, and you cannot often attack with them and keep scrolling active.

@Morefling - many of your comments were not about the deck posted.  While I can understand your exuberance to getting to the more advanced deck ideas, unfortunately I have not finnished that section just yet.  The deck you are refering to will be the first one posted in part two, but it is no longer the version I am playing.  That version will be presented near the end of part two.
     As for your other comments I will get back to them, later tonight when I have the time to be concise.

[Dave Kaplan]

Goblin Vandal + Gorilla Shaman + Scald = A much better solution to COP:Red (and Keeper as a whole) than Flaring Pain. My current list is as follows:

16 Mountain
1 Mox Ruby
1 Strip Mine
4 Wasteland
4 Goblin Cadets
4 Gorilla Shaman
4 Jackal Pup
4 Ankh of Mishra
1 Black Vise
4 Chain Lightning
4 Cursed Scroll
1 Fork
4 Incinerate
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Price of Progress
SB: 3 Goblin Vandal (Was Rack and Ruin but no TnT in NY)
SB: 4 Mogg Fanatic
SB: 4 Pyrokinesis
SB: 4 Scald

[MoreFling]

@MolotDET: I tried to point out how I feel about the deck, and why I think my version is better, at least for my metagame. I think I mentioned what I dislike about the deck, and all the other stuff, I do like I guess  

@Dave and the others: What's the fascination with Pyrokenesis? It's insane card-disadvantage, and not a very versatile spell, since it only targets creatures? I just can't come to liking it, and while I might not have too (duh:p) I can't stop but wonder about it.
It just hasn't proven any use in my testing.

[FeverDog]

@Morefling
Pyrokenesis is usually not card-disadvantage because you are taking out two creatures with it, sometimes 3. Versus TNT, you can get a Welder and a Juggy which is extremely nice, and in the mirror its absolutely deadly. If you test enough i think you will come to see its merits, however nothing is set in stone and we all know how much metagame dictates sideboards.

[MolotDET]

@Feverdog - first, it's nice to hear from you.  Second, Fling is right Nesis is card disadvantage.  Even if you hit two creatures with it, it is still only a one for one trade.  This does not make them bad though, as they are perhaps the best of your options.

@Kaplan - nice to see that you have warmed to AnkhSligh, your oppinion of it seems to have changed in the last few months.
     A few questions:  Do you find that siding in creatures against decks that are siding in creature hate still works?  Against what are you siding in the Fanatics?  And what comes out?  Vinny Pow isn't playing TnT anymore?

     Also I would like to point out how Dave's SB differs from many other peoples SB.  His is built for NGNY, which will be a different Meta, than what just about anyone plays in.  The Sb choices reflect the fact that there is nearly no; Grow. TnT, Mask, Tog or combo present.

@MoreFling -

Quote If there is a lot of combo present in your metagame, don't play Sligh

     Let me start here by saying that I do not often play Sligh.  I pioneered the AnkhSligh but, I have found that I am not really good at playing Aggro of any sort, as I have been a control or combo player since 93.

     While I heartedly agree with this statement, you must understand that many of the people that play sligh do so becuse they lack the funds to do otherwise or they like playing Sligh and always do.  Therefore they need options for their SB to be able to battle these decks.
     When walking into a random metagame it is never good to not have the option of contending with combo.  Not that Sligh can really insure the win against it but it can take measures against it.
     True, an early Ankh is a good mesure against many a combo deck.  But this is all we can offer it?

     The Cadets are truely a nessasary Evil.  While I was dead set against them they have somehow weasled there way back into my deck as well.

     The Artifact mana is a wierd thing.  I understand everyones distaste for it and have been testing the deck without it lately.  I would explain more about it here but I don't want to jump ahead to part 2 just yet.

     You might recall that when Legend first posted his AnkhSligh, he was running Blasts and Miners.  At the same time (which would be the end of December), my version was running 4 SB Scalds.  They are in the deck but as this is part one I have not gotten to that just yet.

     Rack and Ruin is the SB card that many people contest the most.  While I have been testing with it, I have also split my testing between it and Overload and Hearth Charm.  I cannot truely say that anyone of them is any better than another.  They each have their strenghts and weeknesses, and you can only tell which is better when you have the wrong one.  I would say that the jury is still out on this one.

     Fork is another good card that has found it's way back into my deck.  I wanted it but I could find nothing to cut for it.  When I reassesed my manabase, because it was causing manaflooding I droped a piece for it.

     Wheel of fortune will be covered in part 2.

     As for Fireblast, as I noted above it's day may have come and gone.

     By the way I was not taking issue with you.  I appreciate your comments.  It is just you are jumping ahead of where I am right now and I don't want to reply with something that will be covered in part 2.

EDIT: Damn I didn't notice this was post #300.  It wasn't that great, I guess I will have to make up for this with post #400. :END EDIT...\n\n

[Dave Kaplan]

Fanatics come in vs. almost anything, especially: TnT (when ocassionaly played, the Mirror, Mono Black, Survival, etc..)

The Vandals are a great supplement to Shamans vs. keeper, and seem to be decent vs. anything with artifacts, but they haven't been played in real tourneys that much. I find that keeper has a much weaker game against Sligh now that it has the Cunning Wish board, and they really don't side that much in, since they usually wish for it.

I've seen Vinny a few times recently at NG and he's usually playing LOTR or Keeper, so donno bout the TnT.

[FeverDog]

@Dave Kaplan
I know this is off-topic, but what the heck is LOTR?

@Molot
Dont sweat it, my 400th post really wasnt anything special, but then again i dont care about my post count.

[MarkPharaoh]

@Molot- I should of worded my post better, I know that that decklist was your first and the artifact mana isn't in it, I was assuming you were still running 2 Barbarian Rings in your most recent decklist.  So just curious, are you running Barb Rings in your current version, if not can you explain why?

[dandan]

On the subject of Mishras and Cursed Scroll, Mishras help you scroll effectively as:
1. You need to up your mana count to run Mishras (up to 24) or you run into colour screw. 24 mana sources power Scrolls a lot better than 22 mana sources.
2. You can always drop a Mishras onto the table, to reduce your hand size. Sometimes spells 'stick' in your hand, reducing your scrolling effectiveness (note that 'sticking' in your hand often doesn't mean you can't cast them, just shouldn't - think Incinerate against Monoblue when you have a Jackal Pup out)

It seems that playing a land that draws opponent's strips is no longer seen as a bad thing, with a few players pointing out that it is usually a good thing (note that it isn't so hot if you are running 4 PoP).

The rapidly increasing artifact content of Sligh means the colourless nature of Mishra mana is less of a problem than ever before. It is still a problem but everything bar Fork needs only R and you have 9 artifacts to use colourless mana on.

Mishras give you a chance against some of your worst enemies as they can fight Juggs, Kird Apes, Mongeese, Knights and even Togs lose a few cards and a turn before they get to you (barring Berserk). They dodge The Abyss and Oath which otherwise destroy Sligh if cast early enough. CoP Red is a joke when you are running 13 colourless sources of damage and 13 mana restrictors. The diversify your threats against Kegs (now you have threats at 0,1 and 2 mana)

[MoreFling]

@Molot: Although I think I have enough to say, you're probably right it's better to wait for your part 2, since otherwise, it'll all be double-work, which is unneeded I guess.
So I'll be eagerly awaiting it  

[Dave Kaplan]

@Dandan: All your responces seem great in theory, but the truth is Factories don't belong in AnkhSligh. I tested them, and was very unimpressed. They are easily dealt with all the decks they pose a threat against (The mirror has 8 bolts and 4 wastelands(that but be dead anyway) Keeper has it's Wastelands, and it doesn't pose enough of a threat. If wasteland wasn't an issue it would be in consideration, it has poor synergy with the deck, and is just too easily dealt with. It also lacks the speed of the rest of Sligh's creatures, being unable to attack effectively until turn 3/4.

Your other topic was needing more mana to scroll effectively. I have NEVER encountered a situation in which I had missed too many land drops to scroll when I needed to, and this is in over 200 sanctioned games, and at least another 100 unsanctioned.

[dandan]

@Dave Kaplan
I was mainly referring to MolotDET's earlier post about Mishras not having synergy with Scrolling. A mana count of 22 with 5 strips and 4 Mishras would indeed be a very bad idea with colour screw and poorer scrolling (from opponents using wastes against you). However with 24 mana you should have enough coloured mana (you do get the odd hand you need to mulligan) and have enough mana to scroll well. I was partially referring to a few suggestions of adding one-off artifact mana in place of Mountains (which would affect your scrolling ability) and partially tossing an alternative to Barbarian Rings in for discussion.

To concentrate on the last point:
Rings need threshold and 1 mana to activate to do 2 points of colourless damage to an opponent once.
Mishras need 1 point of colourless mana to attack with a good chance of doing 2 points of colourless damage to an opponent (as it will normally be after your initial creature rush so creature kill will probably already have been used, and there are lots of alternative targets for artifact kill)

Pros for Ring:
1. They give red mana
2. The damage is direct and doesn't require an attack phase

Pros for Mishras:
1. Reusable damage
2. Can be used before Threshold
3. Add blocking capability
4. Increase creature density
5. Mishras don't damage you when used for mana

I've ignored common advantages and disadvantages like interaction with PoP and Wasteland.

There seems to be a general trend to looking at lands as a further source of damage. I totally agree. Given a number of 'aggro' lands in the deck, what are the advantages of Rings over Mishras?
I think it should be clear that their main advantage is the generation of red mana. However we are discussing Ankh Sligh with its increased number of artifact threats and so the need for early RR in diminished (it is still clearly important). Against this clear advantage for Rings, most people would rather have a 2/2 creature than a Shock (both being usable later in the game). The Rings do their thing and go, Mishras require your opponent to deal with them or take 2 again next round.

Regarding the speed of Mishras, yes they are slower than Goblins but are they slower than Rings? When do you get Threshold? Rings need 2 land to do 2 damage, so do Mishras.
Mishras are vulnerable to Wastelands but so are Rings. Mishras can get destroyed when used in attack, Rings are always destroyed (let's not get pedantic about terms).

Specifically regarding their usefulness in particular matchups I am unclear how soaking up a bolt (rather him than a Pup or you) or trading for an opponents land (plus any damage you get in before the trade) is a bad thing in the mirror. Compared to a Ring, both get nailed by a Wasteland or you trade 2 damage from the Ring against 3 damage from the bolt that takes out the Mishras. Against Keeper, it has been pointed out that Rings soaking up a Wasteland is usually in Sligh's favour, so why isn't Mishra soaking up a Wasteland so bad?

And if you are not comparing Mishras with Rings do you think a basic Mountain would serve you better in either of the above scenarios?

I think to a very large extent it depends on your playstyle. Dave Kaplan is an aggro Sligh player (this is not meant in any way as an insult), I am probably right at the other extreme (Sligh is an aggro-control deck, isn't it?). There is a lot of middle ground.

[Moxlotus]

Factories require a mana every turn to attack.
To make the effective, there also needs to be no blockers, or else it is essentially 2 mana(the 1 to activate and the tapping of Factory to attack) to kill 1 creature and probably your own factory.

2 mana for 2 damage isn't that good. Granted that Scroll is 3 mana, scroll directly damages the opponent, isn't a creature, and can be done at the end of your opponents turn.

Sure, if you can afford all of that, Factory is reusable damage. But Ring is used to finish an opponent. By the time you are about to kill them, you should already have enough creatures on the board. What is needed is a few extra burn spells for the kill.

Just my opinion. I dont even use Rings, but I would never suggest anybody plays Factories.

[BigChuck]

I think the fact that factory doesn't produce red mana is a huge strike against it. A lot of your spells cost one red, but if you dropped a second turn factory, then I think it would limit your ability to come storming out of the gate. You would only be able to play two spells with R in the cost, as opposed to three which could be huge. Third turn, if you wanted the factory to work, you'd need to use another mana, again leaving you with just one red to spend on other spells. You could choose not to use the factory, but then, what would be the point of it? It would take until turn four to make the factory effective AND allow you to play two cards with R in the cost. I think the red mana that ring gives you provides more agression then the factory could.

[dandan]

Sigh  

I accept that the fact that Factories don't produce red mana is a big disadvantage.
I accept the fact that Factories are not usually activated early.
I accept the fact that a Ring is pretty much guaranteed to be able to do 2 points of damage if left unmolested while there is a significant chance that a Factory will not deliver its first 2 points of damage.

I believe I mentioned all of these points in my previous posts.

However the colourless mana producing ability of Factories is more useful in Ankh Sligh than in any previous version of Sligh except possibly hardcore control Sligh (Miners maindeck - too slow in practice). A number of your artifacts (Vise and Ankh) need to be cast early so an early Factory is not often a problem. Even the burn (Incinerate, PoP) requires colourless so having a Factory out doesn't stop you casting stuff as much as you might think (it can be a problem, don't think I'm delusional, it just isn't a problem that often).

Regarding activating Factories early, compare them to Mountains (never used aggressively), Rings (only after Threshold) and Incinerate/PoP (usually as finishers, occasional earlier use) rather than to your one-drops which are geared towards early pressure. Factories are no slower than Scrolls yet few dispute the staying power that Scrolls give to Sligh.
Obviously Goblin Sligh exists if you want to forsake slower controllish cards in Sligh for speed.

I think I covered why I feel that Factories are fairly likely to be able to deal combat damage in my previous post. I also covered destruction of Factories/Rings by strips.

@Moxlotus
I'm glad you agree that Factories can be effective if the opponent has no blockers. Note that this is a common situation in Type I anyway and is made more common by your burn spells and Scrolls.
Where I disagree is your implication that it is somehow bad when your opponent has a creature out and you kill it with a Factory, possibly losing the Factory in the process.
Assuming you have other creatures out, would it be better if the creature blocked a Pup, Cadet or Shamen?
Assuming no other creatures out, would it be better if you had a Mountain or a Ring in play instead of a Factory?
Surely in the above scenarios the Factory is better most of the time.

I am sorry if I cannot present you with a card which will automatically win you the game. I am sorry if I cannot replace standard cards in Sligh without there being some disadvantages which may or may not be greater than the advantages I offer. I fully accept that there may be metagames where Factories are not good but I am amazed that they are overlooked time and time again as an option.

Ankh Sligh is far more suitable for Factories than previous incarnations of Sligh due to its higher artifact content (partially negating the downside of not producing red mana) and the way it punishes opponents for using Wastelands. It is also more vulnerable to other aggro decks and rogue (or scrub) decks due to 'wasted' slots on Ankh. MolotDET has presented a strong case that the mana base of Sligh is the last untapped resource that could be used to damage the opponent. So far he has only suggested Rings in that slot. I merely present another option.

[MolotDET]

@Kaplan - Vandal is a great card against Keeper, and if I were in a position to not have to worry about TnT or Mask I might be playing it too.
      And Vinny doesn't play TnT anymore?  I am wondering why, guess I am going to have to ask Vinny.

@Feverdog - LotR is the Lord of the Rings.  Another Trading Card game.  It was actually a good game before they ruined it.
     Also I am not worried about my post count, I just like to make sure that every 50th post is quite special.  As I like to go for Quality over Quantity.

@Pharoah - Yes, I am presently running 3 Rings in my maindeck.  Though most people say that 2 is the correct number, and most claim that they don't belong.

@Dandan, Bigchuck, MoxLotus - Factories are something I have been playing around with for a while.  I am not sure one way or the other if they belong or not.  I some instances they are good and in the next they are not.  I think this has something to do with the direction that you are taking with AnkhSligh.  As I have been noting lately that there as several ways you can go.

@Fling - I am working as fast as I can, but this thing just seems to keep getting longer.  I am toying with posting a second and third part right now because the ending seems to be going in a seperate direction from where it begins.
     Also the reason that I posted the first part alone was because as the piece grew in lenght I found my-self constently rewriting the beginning.  So I posted it alone to help it retain it's true meaning.  After doing that it has become easier to continue with the remainder.  But as I said it is evolving into something more.
     I should have the wrest or at least the second part done by the weekend.  And I look forward to a more complete discussion about AnkhSligh.

[MarkPharaoh]

Quote @Pharoah - Yes, I am presently running 3 Rings in my maindeck.  Though most people say that 2 is the correct number, and most claim that they don't belong.

It's Pharaoh .  I think they do belong, maybe it's just me but a lot of times when I am playing against Keeper, they establish control and hold me off when I finally get them down to 1, in which case top decking Barb Ring is very good.  It's a great finisher, gets around things like Conversion, Samite Manstration, CoP:Red, Wastelands and more.

[MolotDET]

Part 2 is up so I felt this should be locked...

Tom