a 
Illus.  Terese Nelson 
©1998 Wizards of the Coast, Inc. 
 
4 Mogg Fanatic
4 Mogg Conscripts
4 Jackel Pup
4 Fireslingers
4 Mogg Maniac
4 Ball Lightning

4 Shock
4 Incinerate
4 Kindle
4 Fireblast

4 Cursed Scroll

16 Mountains

SIDEBOARD

3 Pyroblast
2 Havoc
2 Earthquake
2 Nev's Disk
3 Scalding Tongs
3 Wildfire Emissary

 

 

Sligh has been & will be a dominate deck on the Type II circuit for a long time to come.  Red's speed and DD ability makes this deck hard to beat.  While certain decks (like Cataclysm, Control, Big Blue, & CounterHammer) have good records against Sligh, Sligh is still a common winner at Pro Tour Events.  Sligh does need some help to
remain as dominate as it has, but it is still one of the Top 10 deck types played.

How to Build it:

This is one of the cheaper decks to build.  Most of this cards are commons (except Ball Lightning & Cursed Scroll).  Even if you don't have those cards, building Sligh is still easy.  Creature selection is a vital part of the deck building.  Sligh works on what is know as a Mana Curve.  This is where you have a lot of 1CC creatures, many 2CC, and a few 3CC.  In my example, I have 12 1CC, 8 2CC, and 4 3CC creatures.  Notice also that I only have 16 lands in my deck.  Sligh needs only around 16-18 lands to run.  Now, lets look at the creatures:

Raging Goblin - The only 1/1 for R that has celerity
Mogg Fanatic - Staple card
Mogg Conscripts - Staple card.  A 2/2 for R.
Goblin Vandel - Destroys artifacts
Jackel Pup - Staple card.  A 2/1 for R.
Mogg Maniac - He is the bomb (literally)
Mogg Flunkies - Not bad.  A 3/3 for 1R.
Fireslinger - Staple card.  Weenie Killer
Ironclaw Orcs - A 2/2 for 1R.  Can't block anything > 1/1
Ball Lightning - Staple card.  Don't leave home without it. >=)
Viashino Sandstalker - Another great card.  A reuseble 4/2?
Reckless Orge - He is ok.  His CC is rather high for a 3/2.
Lava Hounds - Awesome.  He does hurt, though.
Sandstone Warrior - First Strike & Firebreathing? Ow.
Lightning Elementals - Not bad, but a 4/1 & no trample? 
Rathi Dragon - AWESOMELY EVIL >=)

Spells for this deck should not exceed 3CC either.  Here are a few suggestions:

Shock - Staple
Incinerate - Staple
Kindle - Staple
Sonic Burst - Still being tested, proably no more than 2 in a deck
Fireblast - Staple
Seismic Assault - Probably use if you ran more lands than 16

Cursed Scroll - Staple
Scalding Tongs - Staple
Nev's Disk - To rid thyself of annoying enchantments, among other things

How to play it:

Playing Sligh is not real hard.  You should be able to kill your opponent by turn 5.  If you can't, you are probably in troble.  Don't let your opponent get started.  If you do, it may already be to late.  If you have as much life or more than your opponent, use the Scrolls & Tongs for the finish.

Sideboarding:

Again, this really depends on where you live, but here are a few suggestions:

Thunderbolt
Wildfire Emissary
Havoc
Boil
Pyroblast
Nev's Disk
Phyrexian Furnace
Anhk of Misura
Earthquake

Pay attention to every aspect of the game:  What cards are in my deck?, What cards are in opponents' deck?, What cards work in my deck?, & What cards don't work in opponents' deck?