History of the Magic Term "Sligh"

Every Magic the Gathering player is familiar with “Sligh” as the term pertaining to Red decks with two main purpose, fast aggro with cheap to cast creatures and quick burn. Ever wonder where the term came from? Here are some quick facts.

The term “Sligh” was named after Paul Sligh. However, he wasn't the one who made the deck. It was actually built by Jay Schneider way back in the summer of 1994 because he needed a deck that can beat the mono blue deck created by Paul. It was when Paul piloted the deck to a Pro Tour Qualifier in Atlanta and finished second that it became famous. Here's the list of the deck.

Maindeck
2 Dragon Whelp
2 Brothers of Fire
2 Orcish Artillery
2 Orcish Cannoneers
4 Ironclaw Orcs
3 Dwarven Lieutenant
2 Orcish Librarian
4 Brass Man
2 Dwarven Trader
2 Goblin of the Flarg

1 Black Vise
1 Shatter
1 Detonate
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Incinerate
1 Fireball
1 Immolation

4 Strip Mine
4 Mishra's Factory
2 Dwarven Ruins
13 Mountain

Sideboard
1 Shatter
1 Detonate
1 Fireball
1 Meekstone
1 Zuran Orb
3 Active Volcano
2 Serrated Arrows
1 An-Zerrin Ruins
4 Manabarbs

You maybe wondering why there are sub-optimal cards in the list such as Dwarven Trader. Its because the ruling that time was "five cards from each expansion" which means you had to have a minimum of five cards from each Standard-legal expansion in play at that time (which includes Fallen Empires, Chronicles and Homelands).

The mana curve breakdown of the original Sligh deck were as follows:
1 mana slot: 9-13
2 mana slot: 6-8
3 mana slot: 3-5
4 mana slot: 1-3
X spell: 2-3
Removal/Burn: 8-10

If you aren't following the breakdown above when creating a red decklist, then you won't call the deck Sligh. Based on the breakdown and comparing that with the current Demigod Deck Wins list, I have to say that the deck is a Sligh archetype. I think the mana curve breakdown is a good basis if you want the deck to be fast and efficient.

So there goes some history lessons on Magic: The Gathering for you. Till next post....