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    R/u/x Blue Sligh

    Current list, as of 9/9/2020

    R/u Sligh

    Lands (18)
    3 Scalding Tarn
    3 Arid Mesa
    3 Wooded Foothills
    3 Bloodstained Mire
    2 Volcanic Island
    2 Mountain
    2 Barbarian Ring

    Creatures (16)
    4 Delver of Secrets
    4 Akoum Hellhound
    4 Monastery Swiftspear
    4 Goblin Guide

    Spells (26)
    4 Brainstorm
    2 Light Up the Stage
    4 Daze
    4 Lightning Bolt
    4 Chain Lightning
    4 Rift Bolt
    2 Forked Bolt
    2 Fireblast

    Sideboard (15)
    4 Force of Will
    4 Force of Negation
    4 Smash to Smithereens
    2 Surgical Extraction
    1 Pithing Needle


    Old list, as of 7/2/2018

    R/u Sligh

    Lands (18)
    3 Scalding Tarn
    3 Wooded Foothills
    2 Bloodstained Mire
    2 Arid Mesa
    4 Volcanic Island
    2 Mountain
    2 Barbarian Ring

    Creatures (14)
    4 Delver of Secrets
    4 Monastery Swiftspear
    4 Goblin Guide
    2 Grim Lavamancer

    Spells (28)
    4 Brainstorm
    4 Daze
    4 Lightning Bolt
    4 Chain Lightning
    4 Rift Bolt
    4 Forked Bolt
    2 Price of Progress
    2 Fireblast

    Sideboard (15)
    4 Smash to Smithereens
    4 Force of Will
    2 Spell Pierce
    2 Seal of Removal
    2 Surgical Extraction
    1 Pithing Needle

    Old list from 3/26/2012:

    R/U/w Blue Sligh
    Quickdraw, the Six Shooter

    // Lands (18)
    4 [ZEN] Scalding Tarn
    4 [ZEN] Arid Mesa
    2 [ON] Wooded Foothills
    2 [ON] Flooded Strand
    3 [U] Volcanic Island
    1 [U] Plateau
    1 [U] Tundra
    1 [UNH] Mountain

    // Creatures (16)
    4 [ZEN] Goblin Guide
    2 [TO] Grim Lavamancer
    2 [M12] Phantasmal Bear
    4 [ISD] Delver of Secrets/Insectile Aberration
    4 [ZEN] Steppe Lynx

    // Spells (26)
    4 [NE] Daze
    4 [IA] Brainstorm
    3 [FD] Magma Jet
    4 [R] Lightning Bolt
    4 [LG] Chain Lightning
    4 [TSP] Rift Bolt
    3 [VI] Fireblast

    // Sideboard (15)
    SB: 4 [ZEN] Spell Pierce
    SB: 2 [EX] Price of Progress
    SB: 2 [SC] Sulfuric Vortex
    SB: 2 [GP] Shattering Spree
    SB: 2 [TE] Disenchant
    SB: 3 [TSB] Tormod's Crypt

    Original Post:

    Intro

    I know there's a million and one U/R/x threads all over The Source, with all sorts of variations. I mean, you've got one for Snapcaster Control, one for U/R Delver (pretty generic), one for Blue Zoo... the list goes on. I felt that there wasn't a thread specifically dedicated to this approach for the deck, so I decided to make a thread.

    For me personally, this idea started in the Blue Zoo thread after the spoiling of Mental Misstep. At that time, I was trying to make a 4c Blue Zoo deck work. It had some strong matchups, but fell flat on its face against decks like The Rock, Maverick, and Big Zoo. The problem was, I was too much of an aggro/control deck, and not enough of a Zoo deck. Force of Will does not belong in that deck, at least maindeck, period.

    So why split this up from Blue Zoo? Well, there's always been a fundamental difference between Sligh and Zoo. Zoo tends to play a much larger creature density, with burn being used primarily as removal. In fact, most traditional Zoo lists only run 7 burn spells (and 3-4 Path to Exile). Sligh, on the other hand, has a much smaller creature density, and a much larger burn density. Fundamentally, Sligh is a deck that wants to drop creatures on turns 1-3 and swing as aggressively as possible, and then switch over to being a burn deck, pointing all of the rest of the burn it has or draws at the opponent's face to end the game as fast as possible.

    Why split this up from U/R Delver? Well, while there are some lists in that thread that are very close to this idea, there are also alot of lists that are drastically different. This deck is not an aggro/control deck. Snapcaster Mage, Vendilion Clique, Stifle, Spell Snare, Spell Pierce, and Force of Will do not belong in the maindeck. This deck is primarily red based as opposed to primarily blue based.

    Here is the core, that all Blue Sligh lists should contain:

    4 Goblin Guide
    4 Delver of Secrets
    4 Brainstorm
    4 Lightning Bolt
    4 Chain Lightning

    Some may question the inclusion and validity of Brainstorm as a core card, citing examples of it being bad for tempo or some such nonsense. Let's get the facts straight; Brainstorm accelerates the tempo far more than it loses it, by going through 3 draw steps worth of cards, flitering out the chaff. You don't play Brainstorm on turn 1, unless you absolutely have to. You don't play Brainstorm on turn 2 unless you have a Delver, or you absolutely have to. Brainstorm is meant to be utilized once you've run out of spells to curve out with; Brainstorm is meant to dig 3 deep to set up the kill and get rid of excess lands and unecessary creatures. Ever play Burn? Ever been in a position where you're 1 burn spell away from killing the opponent, only to topdeck 2 lands and a Grim Lavamancer, and die before you can activate him? Say hello to Brainstorm.

    Past the rest of the core cards, which I should hope need no explanation, there is a fairly sizable list of other playable spells. Also, as the title suggests, a splash is very feasible, and likely better than straight R/u.

    I'll be more than happy to update this list as more suggestions are given. For now, I'll just list the remaining cards that I am running, along with a few other valuable options:

    Grim Lavamancer
    Phantasmal Bear
    Wild Nacatl
    Steppe Lynx
    Kird Ape
    Kiln Fiend
    Tarmogoyf
    Daze
    Ponder
    Magma Jet
    Fire/Ice
    Rift Bolt
    Fireblast
    Searing Blaze
    Forked Bolt
    Price of Progress
    Tribal Flames
    Lightning Helix
    Cursed Scroll

    Anyway, let me start off with my current list to get things started:

    R/u/w Blue Sligh

    // Lands (18)
    4 [ZEN] Scalding Tarn
    4 [ZEN] Arid Mesa
    2 [ON] Wooded Foothills
    2 [ON] Flooded Strand
    3 [U] Volcanic Island
    1 [U] Plateau
    1 [U] Tundra
    1 [UNH] Mountain

    // Creatures (15)
    4 [ZEN] Goblin Guide
    3 [TO] Grim Lavamancer
    4 [ISD] Delver of Secrets/Insectile Aberration
    4 [ZEN] Steppe Lynx

    // Spells (27)
    4 [NE] Daze
    4 [IA] Brainstorm
    4 [FD] Magma Jet
    4 [R] Lightning Bolt
    4 [LG] Chain Lightning
    4 [TSP] Rift Bolt
    3 [VI] Fireblast

    // Sideboard (15)
    SB: 4 [ZEN] Spell Pierce
    SB: 3 [EX] Price of Progress
    SB: 2 [4E] Red Elemental Blast
    SB: 2 [GP] Shattering Spree
    SB: 2 [TE] Disenchant
    SB: 2 [NE] Submerge

    Explanation:

    This deck is pure aggression. Everything in the deck is designed to maximize early game damage output. Delver changed the dynamics of aggressive decks in the format. On all accounts, this is simply a Sligh deck with the most aggressive 1 drops in the format.

    For my particular build, I've decided that the white splash offered me the most bang for my buck. The heavy fetchland manabase synergizes well with Grim Lavamancer, and obviously for Steppe Lynx. For this deck, Steppe Lynx is a Tarmogoyf for 1 mana. The deck cares little about its creatures past turn 4; Lynx being a dead draw in the midgame isn't very relevant. Swinging as a 4/5 on turns 2 and 3 is about as nut high as it gets. This deck is about as best a shell as any deck is going to be for Steppe Lynx in the format, and I'm even running Daze to enable it as a Loam Lion should that be necessary.

    Grim Lavamancer is somewhat conflicting with the general aggressive nature of the deck, since it's a bit slow and a bit inefficient at doing damage (for the cost). However, it's still a body to increase my potential "Zoo-rush" during the early game (overloading the opponent's removal with 1 drops), it's in my primary color, and it gives the deck lasting strength should it need the extra reach in the midgame. The fact that 2 targetable damage is so relevant in the metagame right now, makes it worth the space.

    Daze is such a powerful card for this deck. This deck functions off of 1 mana, and never needs more than 3 lands in play. Daze is a free Counterspell on turns 1-2 almost always, and is still very effective on turns 3-4. Turns 1-4 are the most important turns of the game for this deck, so Daze does exactly what this deck wants it to do. Being set back a land drop is irrelevant, and in fact, can actually be a good thing for prolonging Steppe Lynx's damage capabilities. The fact is, Daze is an extremely aggressive card. The ability to drop a guy on turn 1 and protect him maximizes the decks damage output. If Daze counters a turn 1 Swords to Plowshares on Steppe Lynx, who turns around and puts out 8 damage, Daze effectively becomes worth 8 damage for 0 mana.

    Magma Jet is a great card in this deck. I've heard the argument before of Ponder being better, since Ponder can essentially be 3 damage for 2 mana (digging into a Bolt). The thing is, this deck only runs 19 burn spells (if you don't count Guide or Lavamancer), which is roughly 1/3 of the deck. If the Jets were replaced with Ponder's, the deck would drop down to 15 burn spells, or 1/4 of the deck. At 1/4, Ponder is not guaranteed to draw into a burn spell. Magma Jet is always 2 damage for 2 mana; the increased burn density is a beautiful thing. As I mentioned earlier, 2 targetable damage is extremely relevant in the format right now, making Magma Jet a fantastic burn spell.

    Rift Bolt is another 1cc 3 damage burn spell that dodges Daze, Spell Snare, and Counterbalance. It also targets creatures. Shouldn't need any additional explanation.

    Fireblast is this decks finisher, able to speed up the goldfish by an entire turn in many cases. It also has great synergy with Price of Progress out of the sideboard, tapping and sac'ing nonbasic red sources for Fireblast prior to casting Price of Progress, resulting in decreased self-inflicted damage. I run 3 copies because I definitely want to see one, and I run enough manipulation with 4 Brainstorm and 4 Magma Jet to avoid drawing multiple copies. Even in the event of drawing two, sometimes the deck (and gamestate) will get to 4 red sources, making the second copy castable.

    As with all sideboards, they are changeable and adaptable to the metagame. For right now, I'm packing Spell Pierce to address combo, Price of Progress and Red Elemental Blast to address control (REB can also address combo), Shattering Spree and Disenchant to answer problematic artifacts/enchantments (though Smash to Smithereens is a great replacement for Spree if you're not expecting Chalice), and Submerge for anything with Forests and aggro.

    Thanks for reading.
    Last edited by Hanni; 09-09-2020 at 05:37 PM.
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