In-Depth Analysis : Modern Sligh
by Alex Murison, MadEntity on IRC
Sligh's original incarnation was a deck to beat Necro. Now thanks to Sligh
(ed.- Jay Schneider) every good player understands the term Mana Curve and
how to use it to improve their deck, and everyone knows about Bolt, Bolt,
Bolt, Fireblast, Fireblast, Game... I am not going to detail Sligh's Mana
Curve, far too much has been written on that topic already, rather I am going
to anaylse the play and construction of the Modern Sligh decks.
Threat Overload
There are two ways of viewing Sligh, and these have lead to it's two main
forms (Deadguy and Traditional). The first, most common is as an agressive
deck with control overtones - Deadguy, the other is as a Control deck with
a powerful offence - Traditional. Either way it uses 1 for 1 burn for creature
exchanges to clear the way then stomp over the opponent.
A Sligh deck operating with a reasonable draw, and up against a good opponent
with a reasonable draw will go through several phases of play. Understanding
how these phases work is in my opinion the best way to understand how a modern
Sligh deck should be designed to operate and how a deck should be designed
to beat Sligh.
Phase 1
In this phase the Sligh deck can swarm its opponents with threats, while
removing threats simultaneously. The opponent takes several points of damage
during this phase. Usually this phase lasts for just 3 to 4 turns, but if
the opponent manascrews it can last much longer and if the opponent kills
off the cretaures as they come it can never occur.
Phase 2
In this phase the opponent and the Sligh deck are evenly matched. The advantage
can swing eitherway, and the possibility for creature kill is still high.
If the Sligh deck gains the advantage it can return to phase 1 or go to phase
4, however if the opponent gains control it can go on to phase 3
Phase 3
The Sligh deck is probably at it's weakest at this point. it's creatures
are generally at this stage weaker than it's opponents and it's larger creatures,
such as Lava Hounds are being taken out after by either Larger Creatures
or removal. Either way in this phase the Sligh deck is not going to win with
creatures in all likelihood and it now has to start ammassing burn.
Phase 4
This is where the Burn reaches critical mass and Sligh reaches it's flashpoint
and unloads everything at it's opponent. Fireblast, Fireblast, Fireblast,
bolt, bolt, bolt etc...
In order to win, a Sligh deck must aim to lengthen Phase 1, the longer phase
1 lasts the less time it will take to reach phase 4 due to the amount of
damage the initial rush causes, also it must try to gain an advantage during
phase 2, as it may be possible to return to phase 1 with enough of an advantage.
It is often possible for a Sligh deck to get a good enough draw or a manascrewed
opponent and completely eliminate phase 3.
With an understanding of How Modern Sligh Works and Plays you can then begin
to anaylse what cards will beat Sligh best. In order to be a good anti-Sligh
card, a card has to do one of the following :
End Phase 1
Gain advantage during phase 2
Lengthen Phase 3
or Prevent Phase 4 from occuring.
Here's some examples of why certain cards are good vs.
Sligh
Chill - Since all the Sligh deck's cards suddenly cost it 2 more it
sends the Sligh deck into phase 2 or . Even if it then gets Pyroblasted it
has delayed the Sligh deck by a turn and suddenly The Sligh deck's creatures
are being overpowered (as generally by 3 mana a blue deck can really get
rolling), and if it doesn't get Pyroblasted, well.......
Gerrard's Wisdom - Gerrard's Wisdom nullifies the damage of phases
1 and 2, making it harder to reach phase 4. However unless the Sligh deck's
creatures have been taken care of it is of little use.
Maro - He's big and he's cheap, He hits the table and suddenly all
the Sligh deck's creatures are overpowered, unless the Sligh deck kills him
they'll be stuck in Phase 2 for a while, and even if they do kill him they
will need to use a fireblast or a lot of bolts, this completely disrupts
the Sligh deck's Mana and can delay Phase 4. However, if they don't kill
Maro it will accelerate Phase 4 as now the main way to win is via burn...
Fireblast
More than any other card Fireblast has affected Modern Sligh, without Fireblast
in the environment the Sligh decks creatures could easily be crushed then
control decks could gain the advantage with Counterspells and wraths, leading
to an easy victory. Then Fireblast introduced itself... fireblast really
is the card that makes Flashpoint so reachable. Without Fireblast an inordinate
amount of pressure is levelled on your creatures, they "Have" to deal at
least 12 damage to realistically get your opponent within burn range. This
let lock decks like Squandered Stasis get their lock in play, combo decks
like Cad Bloom (although CadBloom was not played until visions and hence
fireblast entered the environment, I just used it as an example) go off in
your face and other decks such as U/W control could easily take control of
the board and storm you. With Fireblast things changed.
Fireblast firstly changes the rules of burn. As Force of Will changed the
rules of Countermagic. I heard many people lamenting over Force of Will's
presence while Alliances was in, yet Fireblast changes the rules just as
horrendously. If you have to tap out to burn the opponent away then the opponent
can accurately predict whether he or she will live or not. Fireblast forces
an opponent to rethink their position. I'm on 4 life, can I afford to let
than Incinerate through and try to counter everything else, or counter it
and pray he doesn't have a fireblast.... Sound's similar to "he's tapped
out, God I hope he doesn't have a force, God I hope he doesn't have a Force"
doesn't it? Any card that changes the rules changes the way you must play
and fireblast is the card that makes the modern Deadguy Sligh styles of deck
so sickeningly effective.
DEADGUY vs. TRADITIONAL
Deadguy Sligh is the epitome of the Modern Sligh deck, it can be attributed
to team Deadguy (ed.- Dave Price) and since its creation has been winning
tournaments worldwide. Deadguy Sligh has a very Powerful Phase 1 offense,
once that has been depleted it turns to Lava Hounds or Viashino Sandstalkers
to get in some more damage during phase 2. during Phase 3 it is weak, and
all it can do it try to reach phase 4 rapidly. 4 Fireblasts, however ensure
that Phase 4 doesn't take too long to reach.
The original, more Traditional sligh decks are very different. Their Phase
1 offense it less, as they use "shrapnel" creatures such as fireslingers
and Orcish Artilleries to control the board, at the cost of some speed. The
Traditional Sligh deck functions more like a control deck, using it's Shrapnel
dudes to maintain control during phase 2. It has a larger creature base then
a deadguy Sligh and can therefore achieve creature dominance especially with
creature kill being provided by the Shrapnel creatures. It is often harder
to reach Phase 4 in a Traditional Sligh deck due to the decreased presence
of Celerity, however, sometimes the presence of the Artillery can make it
easier (if you burn the opponent with them).
So which one is the better choice? Deadguy has certainly been having more
sucess, but that is in part because Traditional Sligh decks lost a lot of
popularity when the Black Summer ended. My personal choice would be a compromise.
A Deadguy Sligh with Fireslingers in one of the 2cc slots... However either
variation of Sligh deck is a deadly weapon in the right hands...
The Right Curve
Everyone understands the Mana Curve, so what I'm just going to do here is
detail what I think are the best creatures for a Sligh deck to use
1cc - Mogg fanatic, Jackal Pup, Goblin Vandal
2cc - Ironclaw Orcs, Fireslinger, Canyon Wildcat
3cc - Orcish Artillery, Viashino Sandstalker, Ball Lightning
4cc - Lava Hounds
Mono vs. Splash
The other main argument for modern Sligh decks is whether to go Mono-Red
or to go for a Splash colour. This is in truth the main defining factor of
a modern Sligh deck. The main reason why this consideration is important
is Circle of Protection : Red, which we all know hoses Mono Red. Previously
the Mono red deck had Anarchy to deal with the threat (ed.- and the pre-5th
rules Mana Barbs). Without Anarchy, Mono Red's main options are Hand to Hand,
Nev's Disk and Winter Orb, Hand to Hand only lets creatures damage the opponent,
Disk wipes out your creatures which means you'll have to start from the beginning
again, Winter Orb disrupts your mana curve and all are vulnerable to Disenchant.
This has caused many pleyers to splash another colour in their
sideboard.
So which colour do you Splash. With the opposing Pain Lands from Tempest
splashing White has become a major possibility, Disenchant is probably the
strongest of the Anti-CoP cards for sheer versatility. Blue offers Sleight
of Mind, which is also very nice against Chill and a Sleight Knight deck.
Green offers Tranquil domain or Emerald Charm, as well as several other nice
options such as Giant Growth, Crumble and very potent Blue-hosers.Finally
black offers Forsaken Wastes, which is superior against Gerrard's Wisdom
and acts as an off-colour source of damage. While initially it may seem like
a nice idea to add more than 1 slash colour, you will then need to use Gemstone
Mines and Undiscovered Paradises, both of which disrupt your mana curve,
and can cause you lose =).
The other solution for a mono-red Sligh is to use an artifact source of damage,
the most potent probably being Cursed Scroll, (Gee Isn't Rod of Ruin good
enough... :P).
Sligh made it's mark right from the very start, proving that it is possible
to make a good deck with Dwarven Traders in it. Now it has evolved, gone
from strength to strength and has taken down deck after deck. It may not
be a particularly complex deck, but for sheer power let none doubt the
capabilities of the Modern Sligh deck.
By Alex Murison, MadEntity on IRC
Thanks go to Roy Williams, SykikPurj on IRC (Who plays more Sligh than
Alex)
Members of Team Quad Damage