Sligh Theory and the Mana Curve
I have noticed that there is a bit of confusion
on Sligh theory, so I will try to clear it up here. Sligh theory
is considered the creation of Paul Sligh. Paul Sligh created a
Type II Red weenie deck that looked rather weak. However, in
practice it beat some Necrodecks that looked much stronger on
paper. Sligh's deck used "weak" cards like Goblin
Balloon Brigades, Orcish Cannoneers, and Ironclaw Orcs. The
theory behind his deck has often been simplified to "Use
every turn as efficiently as possible." The theory behind
the deck was actually a little bit more complex than that. While
the Sligh decks didn't appear to have any obvious means of card
advantage, they used the Cannoneers and their cousins (Artillery)
to provide creature elimination, often removing two or more
Pump-Knights before an exasperated Necro player Drained them.
Since Contagion didn't kill them, the Cannoneers proved to be one
of the Sligh deck's best weapons against Necro. The Cannoneers
also were excellent weapons against Erhnams, as they merely
needed to be combined with a Lightning Bolt or Incinerate, and we
had a dead Erhnam.
The Mana Curve is what made Sligh decks famous. They were the
model of consistency, pressing the attack from the first turn.
However, some people have misinterpreted the Mana Curve to
include all spells of the respective casting cost (I.E. Counting
Giant Growth in the 1 mana slot). This is false. The Mana Curve
only includes cards that you would reasonably expect to cast as
soon as possible. That is why a Dwarven Miner or Fire Diamond can
be counted in the 2 mana slot, while Blood Lust or Incinerate can
not. Let me present a deck that I am playtesting that uses Sligh
theory not as a tool by which one can create the deck, but rather
as a tool that is used to analyze the deck:
4 Llanowar Elves
4 Mtenda Lions
4 Elvish Archers
4 River Boa's
4 Whirling Dervishes
4 Sut'Aqa Lancers
4 Yavimaya Ants
4 Giant Growths
4 Incinerates
2 Fireballs
4 Karplusan Forests
4 Cities of Brass
4 Quicksands
8 Forests
2 Mountains
This deck's mana curve looks like this (1-8, 2-12, 3-4, 4-4). It
can reasonably assume it will be summoning a creature on turn 1,
and nearly certain that it will be summoning a creature on turn
2. By turn 3 it can have 3 or 4 creatures attacking the opponent.
However, this deck does not have any obvious means of achieving
card advantage, with the possible exception of Fireball. That is
actually quite misleading. If this deck goes an an all out blitz
from turn 1 and does 12 damage with three creatures by the end of
turn 4 (very possible), and then loses the creatures to an
Earthquake, or Wrath of God, has card economy been lost? I don't
think so. Three cards have been lost to one, but 12 points of
damage have been dealt. We are at -2 in cards, but +12 in life.
Using simple mathematics we can see that each card lost averaged
six life. With Swords to Plowshares and Lightning Bolt gone, this
is not an unrealistic situation, and in my opinion, card
advantage has been gained. Each card averaged 2 Lightning Bolts.
Furthermore Yavimaya Ants and Giant Growth have the capacity to
provide card advantage all by themselves, if the situation
presents itself. If the Ants come out, attack, and run over a
Fallen Askari, cards have been traded at a 1-1 exchange, but we
are up +3 in life. Please note that the lands and direct damage
spells are off the curve since they are cast strategically, not
immediately, as are the Giant Growths.
The above R/G Blitz deck (formerly known as Picnic before I was
reminded that the term Picnic had been reserved for B/G decks
with Carrion Ants and Killer Bee's. Doh!) uses life as a
measuring stick of Card Efficiency. Card advantage has proven to
be an incomplete tool in examining decks (or at least this deck),
so card efficiency must replace it. Paul Sligh's original deck
was much the same way. With the Cannoneers and Artillery, life
was a precious resource. Barring Swords to Plowshares or Zuran
Orb, you only got to use the Orcs six times, possibly less if
your opponent had the nerve to damage you. Ball Lightnings,
Dragon Whelps, and Dwarven Miners were consistently useful in
proving excellent card efficiency (second to the Cannoneers and
Artillery of course). The Ball Lightnings were particularly
useful since they were often plowed, providing 1-1 card exchange,
but a gain of six life. An unblocked Ball Lightning was usually
enough to ruin a Necro players day, considering the swarm that
was behind it. Dragon Whelps were largely effective when the
opponent had spent all of his/her creature elimination spells on
other creatures. The Whelps occasionally did 20 points of damage
all by themselves in a span of four turns. Dwarven Miners
provided conventional card advantage, although most players tried
to kill them as a matter of survival. A Necro player might
contagion them in order to protect a necessary Lake of the Dead.
Although they are much less useful now, Gorilla Shamans were also
supreme pests since they killed Zuran Orb's, Black Vises' and
Ivory Tower's with ease, as well as Mishra's (now that it is a
zero casting cost artifact...). However, after game one, the
Sligh decks had to turn to their often overlooked sideboard.
Anarchy was the most obvious and most necessary card, but Sligh
often had a nice mix of land destruction, artifact elimination,
and creature kill, sometimes with Cannoneers, Miners, or Shaman
in the sideboard. Also, Wildfire Emissary's proved ruthless
against White Weenies.
Some people think that Sligh is still alive and well in mono-Red
form. I am not one of those people. In my opinion, traditional
Sligh suffered a terrible loss when Anarchy was removed. No
longer could Red kill a COP without artifact support. Disks are
much less effective in Sligh than in Canadian (or traditional)
Necro, since Sligh has no Hand Destruction to protect it. Since
the color packing the COP's (and Greater Realm's of
Preservation), White, also packs strong artifact elimination,
mono-Red Sligh is somewhat vulnerable. However, there are two
ways to get around this difficulty, one which I consider
absolutely beautiful.
The first obvious method is to add another color to the main
deck, usually Green since it provides a strong supply of
creatures that only require 1 Green mana, and adds effective
enchantment elimination in the sideboard. The Blitz deck doesn't
really do that, since Green is clearly the main color in the
deck. With Karplusan Forests, River Boa's, Elvish Archers, and
Nettletooth Djinns are all now possible considerations for their
mana slots, as are Mtenda Lions and Llanowar Elves, although both
to a much lesser extent. The second method is much more complex,
and sneaky. Both Thawing Glaciers and Fellwar Stones can be
sneaked into a Sligh deck without too much suspicion. The
Glaciers thin the deck, and provide the mana for a late game
burn. The Fellwars add speed, and are faster than Fire Diamonds.
If you are playing against White, add 2 Plains, and some
Disenchants, and bingo, you have 8 sources of White mana (usually
2 Thawings, 2 Plains, and 4 Fellwars) at your disposal. The look
on your opponent's face is often priceless when you use a
Fellwar's and a Mountain to provide mana for a Disenchant to kill
a COP Red.
As I wrote previously, I don't think Sligh is
alive. I do think Sligh theory is alive and well as an analyzing
and deckbuilding tool, but people shouldn't assume that the mana
curve was the key to the Sligh deck's success. It was important,
but Paul Sligh built a very complex deck based around card and
turn efficiency, and built his deck accordingly. Sligh theory was
applied to this deck:
4 Vaporous Djinns
4 Man-o-Wars
4 Waterspout Djinns
4 Azimaet Drakes
4 Hazerider Drakes
4 Impulses
4 Power Sinks
2 Disenchants
4 Afterlifes
4 Flood Plains
5 Plains
13 Islands
4 Quicksands
This deck, not built by Paul Sligh, uses the mana curve in a
rather unusual fashion. The Flood Plains are actually considered
part of the 1 mana slot since they take up the first turn.
Impulse and Powersink were considered part of the 2 mana slot,
since the Power Sinks were often used against other decks
practicing Sligh theory (and hence tapping out on turns 2 and 3),
while the Impulses were used to fish for cards at the end of the
opponents turn after your second turn. The Azimaets and the
Man-o-Wars are the main turn 3 slot fillers, although Power Sink
will suffice. The Man-O-Wars are excellent at disrupting the
opponent's plan. This deck actually has 12 creatures in the 4
mana slot, an assumed no-no for Sligh decks, but actually use
these to pound down the opponent. The Hazeriders just ruin a
mono-Red player's day, while the Waterspouts and the Vaporous are
just plain big. This deck is obviously a MiVi (Mirage/Visions)
deck, yet the lesson of turn efficiency was considered very
carefully in this deck's design.
Sligh decks are now considered mono-Red or mostly Red weenie
decks. However, Sligh theory can be applied to analyze any deck
and should be used as a means of analyzing your decks. Sligh
theory dictates that we make our turns as efficient as possible,
such that we maximize the potential of our early turns, and
provide a consistent attack throughout the game. Although they
are not necessarily attributable to Sligh theory, card efficiency
and card advantage should also be considered when building and
analyzing any deck (with the possible exception of sealed where
the main focus should be on Roads to Victory, mainly through
creature advantage or a hard to block creature). The most
important thing to learn from Sligh decks is turn efficiency in
the early game. The lessons of card efficiency, card advantage,
and roads to victory are much too complex for just one article
(hint, hint). If you have any questions or comments (even ad
hominum attacks), feel free to e-mail me at
{sburn@cmcvax.mckenna.edu}. To paraphrase from Billy Madison: I
hope we are not "all dumber for having read this."
Later..
Seth Burn