MIRAGE SLIGH, PAUL FERKER, QUARTERFINALIST, PRO TOUR PARIS, 1997

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The Mirage block tournaments proved that Sligh is not a collection of cards, it is an elegant deck structure that functions as long as even mediocre cards fit the bill. Sligh has been a block constructed archtype ever since.

As the Mirage block expansions were released, however, the nature of red changed. Creatures such as Viashino Sandstalker and Suq�Ata Lancer were built for the attack, unlike the older utility creatures such as Orcish Artillery and Orcish Librarian. In Type II, Lightning Bolt left the pool, and one of its replacements eventually changed the face of Sligh: Fireblast.

As Alex Murison aka MadEntity wrote on the Dojo in late 1997: �Fireblast changes the rules of burn as Force of Will changed the rules of Countermagic. I heard many people lamenting Force of Will's presence while Alliances was in, yet Fireblast changes the rules just as horrendously. If you have to tap out to burn the opponent away then the opponent can accurately predict whether he or she will live or not. Fireblast forces an opponent to rethink their position. �I'm at 4 life, can I afford to let that Incinerate through and try to counter everything else, or counter it and pray he doesn't have a Fireblast....� Sound's similar to �he's tapped out, God I hope he doesn't have a force, God I hope he doesn't have a Force� doesn't it? Any card that changes the rules changes the way you must play, and Fireblast is the card that makes the modern Deadguy Sligh styles of deck so sickeningly effective.�

Fireblast characterized the new approach that became associated with David �King of Beatdown� Price. A Computer Science and English major who played with Chris Pikula, Tony Tsai and David Bartholow in Cornell, David played Sligh when he won Pro Tour LA and in other World and US National Championship finishes. He insisted on calling the new mono red style �Deadguy Red� and Kim Eikefet quoted him on the Dojo, �"All Paul Sligh did was to qualify for the Pro Tour with the deck and post it on the Net. It bothers me, it boggles my mind why this guy is so famous� I think people having their names on the deck is a bit silly. It isn't a big deal that I don't get any credit for the deck - as long as Sligh doesn't either."