A sligh overload?

an article by BullRun

Note from the funk. THis is the first page that was written by someone else. I do not nessisarily agree with this one but hey, i will not be an opressive site-runner-guy but rather i encourage outside opinion. ENJOY!

As I continue to read message post upon message post, I begin to notice a large amount of flames regarding Sligh decks and the "no skill" theory that lies behind them. Personally, I'm not a big fan of Sligh decks, but I don't agree with the arguement that they take no skill to play. In case you've been sleeping out of Magic for the past two years, Sligh decks (named so for Paul Sligh) are deck which live upon small fast creatures and multiple sources of direct damage. They are commonly red, but blue and black variations are not uncommon.

How can a deck which slaps creatures as fast as possible and incinerate anything that hits the board require skill? It's not as simple as it sounds. First of all, you have to know when to put a creature down and what to put down first. There are also times when its best to not put down a creature at all and wait with direct damage to kill a creature your opponent might put down. A bit of knowledge about card advantage is also needed when playing. New players given a Sligh type deck might put down all their creatures in three turns only to see their opponent Wrath them all away. When this happens, the Sligh is pretty much screwed since it has no way to gain significant card advantage again.

A good sligh deck will be able to continually put pressure on the opponent while keeping a few cards in hand in case mass destruction might happen to hit the board. The common sligh deck casts at least one spell each turn for the first four to five turns. What does this mean overall? It means that the sligh deck doesnt leave much room for forgiveness. One mana screw or a bad turn can leave you getting hit for eight points every turn by a Sligh deck. And a good player will be able to capitalize on an opponent's downfall by playing a bit more than would be considered safe. This also takes a bit of insight on the player's part, knowing when to go all out and when to play in moderation.

One of the strongest parts of a sligh deck is the ability to Sideboard in key cards. Knowing what to sideboard in and what to take out isn't an easy matter for any deck but especially so for Sligh decks. The Sligh players must consider all possible scenarios for the opposing players deck and how to counteract them.

Perhaps Sligh decks aren't the most complicated decks in the world of Type 2 Magic, but they do require some bit of skill. I don't think Paul Sligh nearly won the championship by slapping creatures down and throwing direct damage like a mad man. And granted, they might not be as fun to play against as one would hope, but they are Type 2 valid decks and they will continue to be as long as they win. Just sideboard against them and play your best.