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Mark Slack First, a decklist of Millikin Sligh, a deck that made top 4 in Cipolletti, Argentina. It was piloted by Manuel Abou Adal. http://www.brainburst.com/db/deck.asp?deck_id=585 Everyone that ever opened a Millikin in a draft or otherwise, with the exception of Nate Heiss, took one look at the card and relegated it to the 'don't use' box. It seems like a horrible creature on the surface: an 0/1 for 2 that taps for mana and dumps cards in your graveyard. While this might have its uses in Limited, in construted it's generally viewed as utter crap. There are two big problems in current Sligh decks: the desire to play four copies of both Skizzik and Flametongue Kavu, and the conflict of interest between Grim Lavamancer and Barbarian Ring. Its ability to solve both these problems at the same time makes it a creative and interesting addition to current Sligh decks. Manuel went looking for a way to fix these problems, and amazingly the Millikin fit the bill. First, it fixes the Flametongue/Skizzik problem by making both playable on turn 3. Instead of running a less-than-amazing Balduvian Barbarians in the 3-slot, Manuel's deck can jump the curve a bit and drop, say, a Flametongue instead. The boost in speed is well worth the sacrifice of powered 2- and 3-drops. When you're dropping FTKs and Skizziks in rapid succession you don't need things like Goblin Raider. Secondly, Millikin is adept at dumping cards into your graveyard for use with either Grim Lavamancer or to fuel threshold for Barbarian Ring. The non-drawback of millling yourself for one each time you use Millikin is just as important as the mana he provides, giving you all the cards you need to fully abuse Grim Lavamancer and still have threshold so that you can activate your Barbarian Ring when you need it. The rest is pretty much standard Sligh fare. Grim Lavamancer and Mogg Sentry are red's two best one-drops (though a case may be made for Raging Goblin), and Volcanic Hammer, Urza's Rage and Firebolt are all standard burn spells. The Fiery Temper/Violent Eruption burn engine has also been shown to be very successful. However, I would make a few changes to the deck. First, the complete lack of Reckless Charge seems wrong to me. Most Sligh decks run 9-10 one-drops along with at least 5 two-drops. With the deck built the way it is to accomodate Millikin, turn two plays seem rather short. The only two-mana spells in the deck are Millikin and Volcanic Hammer, and the Hammer rarely has a good target until turn 3 or later. Reckless Charge would provide a great turn-2 play on either Lavamancer or Mogg Sentry and still leave a mana open to burn a potential blocker out of the way with Firebolt. Reckless Charge also has the potential to get played out of the grave after it is put there by Millikin. Flashback spells seem to have a better home in this deck than most Sligh decks due to Millikin's ability and this deck can use Charge just as well as any other Sligh deck, so I think it is a natural inclusion. Also, while the Madness burn spells certainly work well, they tend to be a bit unwieldy without their Madness cost, and as you can see there are no cards that let you discard in Manuel's build. You certainly can't count on your opponent making you discard, so the Madness spells should be considered without the Madness cost. Volcanic Eruption is powerful enough to warrant inclusion in the deck, especially since Millikin can help you play it early, but Fiery Temper is just a bad Urza's Rage and needs to go. Twelve spells that can deal 3 damage to something is four too many. Coincidentally, taking out Fiery Temper leaves just enough space to add four Reckless Charge. One more minor change: Everyone seems to run one Keldon Necropolis in decks that can use it, because you never want to draw more than one. However, this deck is a bit different than most RG builds that use Necropolis. When you play a Legendary permanent and there's already one in play, what happens? It ends up in the graveyard, of course. I fail to see how this is a bad thing. Instead of just another Mountain, you have a card in your graveyard to abuse as you will. This change is not so important in a deck with Millikin, but that extra land in the graveyard can make the difference between gaining threshold for your Barbarian Ring and having your sixth Mountain in play with nothing to cast. I can't comment on the sideboard because I haven't tested it, but aside from the Epicenter it looks strong. Epicenter may be a great surprise card, but only one copy means it will almost never show its face and win you games. Try another burn spell instead, something that will help you deal with bad matchups like Fat Crank; Fire/Ice is probably the best bet if you're unwilling to mess with the sideboard. Also, Tectonic Instability is just as good as Price of Glory, and costs the same; if you expect Enforcer, I consider Instability to be the stronger choice. Here is the deck with my minor modifications:
Millikin is a creative and inspired card to add to Sligh, and its addition opens many avenues for a Sligh deck that were previously closed due to mana curve considerations. Give the deck a shot; it's certainly different, and Millikin adds a whole new dimension to the deck. Who says you can't put a 0-power creature into Sligh? Mark Slack WarWolf on BDominia and MTGnews No portion of this web site may be used in any way without expressed written consent. All rights reserved. Magic the Gathering and it's respective properties are copyright Wizards of the Coast. Privacy Policy |
  
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