Premodern Sligh Deck Guide (2026)

Premodern Sligh is the format's mono-red burn deck: Jackal Pup, Mogg Fanatic and Grim Lavamancer attack early, and Lightning Bolt and Fireblast finish. MTGDecks files it as Burn. It was the second most played deck at about 9 percent of the MTGDecks metagame in the 60 days to mid-September 2026 (384 decks), with a 48 percent win rate over 2,863 recorded matches between March 18 and September 14, 2026. In the three months to mid-October it was the most common deck in paper events on MTGTop8, just ahead of Stiflenought. The reference list is the one evans played to a top-four finish (7-1-1) at the 125-player Buckeye Brawl II on September 12, 2026: one-mana creatures, Ball Lightning, Seal of Fire, two Sulfuric Vortex and a fetchland mana base. This Jackal Pup build is still the most common. Before the Parallax Tide ban in January more than nine in ten Sligh lists played Ball Lightning, but since mid-July only about half have. About a quarter of the lists now follow a second build with only eight creatures, built on Black Vise, Pyrostatic Pillar and Mishra's Factory; MTGTop8 files most of these lists as Burn. Nick Moran won the 64-player BCDL Open 5 in Columbus with this build on August 23, 2026. A third of the Jackal Pup lists also leave out Ball Lightning for Goblin Vandal, Wasteland, Mishra's Factory or a main-deck Earthquake, as in the list Neal Sacks took to first place at the 109-player Sacred Torch Showdown in New York on July 25, 2026.

How the deck wins

Start the clock on turn one. Jackal Pup, Mogg Fanatic and Grim Lavamancer cost one mana, as do Goblin Vandal or Goblin Patrol in some lists, and Seal of Fire sits on the table as 2 damage you can point at a blocker or the opponent at any time. Ball Lightning, in about half the lists, costs three mana for a 6/1 with trample and haste that is sacrificed at the beginning of the end step.
Lightning Bolt and Incinerate deal 3 for one and two mana, to a blocker early and to the player late. Fireblast deals 4 for two Mountains instead of its mana cost, so two Fireblasts deal 8 damage for four Mountains without spending mana.
When blockers or removal stop your attacks, the deck keeps dealing damage. Grim Lavamancer turns cracked fetchlands, used burn and traded creatures into 2 damage at a time. Cursed Scroll deals 2 whenever the card it reveals matches the name you chose, which is certain with one card in hand. Barbarian Ring can be sacrificed for 2 damage once you have seven cards in your graveyard, and Sulfuric Vortex deals 2 to each player in their upkeep and stops all lifegain.
The Black Vise build has only eight creatures, Mogg Fanatic and Grim Lavamancer, and usually four Mishra's Factory, which attack as 2/2s and survive Wrath of God because they are only creatures while animated. Much of its damage comes from Black Vise, which deals damage in each of the opponent's upkeeps equal to the number of cards in their hand minus four, from Pyrostatic Pillar, which deals 2 damage to any player who casts a spell with mana value 3 or less, you included, and in most lists from Flame Rift, 4 damage to each player for two mana. Fireblast has mana value 6, so casting it doesn't trigger Pillar.

Core cards

Key cards

Grim Lavamancer: A one-mana 1/1 that deals 2 damage to any target for {R}, a tap and two cards exiled from your graveyard. Fetchlands, spent burn and traded creatures fill the graveyard, so in the mid game it is repeatable removal and reach. It competes with Barbarian Ring for graveyard cards, so count before you activate.
Fireblast: Sacrifice two Mountains instead of paying {4}{R}{R} and deal 4 damage to any target. It costs no mana, so it can follow a full turn of spells, though Chill still adds {2} to it and Sphere of Resistance {1}. The two Mountains are gone afterward, so cast it for the kill or when you no longer need the lands. Barbarian Ring is not a Mountain, and fetchlands only count once they have found one.
Seal of Fire: A one-mana enchantment you sacrifice to deal 2 damage to any target. Cast it early and keep it until you need it. It kills Goblin Lackey, mana elves and Mother of Runes before she can protect herself, or adds 2 to a lethal turn. The damage comes from an ability, so once Seal is on the table only Stifle can counter it, though Circle of Protection: Red can still prevent the damage.
Cursed Scroll: Pay {3} and tap: name a card, reveal a card at random from your hand, and deal 2 damage to any target if it matches. With one card in hand it always hits, with two different cards half the time. With an empty hand there is nothing to reveal and it does nothing, so keep one card, a spare land if necessary.
Sulfuric Vortex: Three mana: 2 damage to each player in their upkeep, and no player can gain life. It is a clock against control and switches off the lifegain from Exalted Angel, Ravenous Baloth, Phantom Nishoba, Warmth, Spinning Darkness, Drain Life and the Spike Feeder and Soul Warden loops of Aluren, but it hits you too, so cast it when you are ahead in the race or when their lifegain would decide it. About two thirds of main decks play it, most often three copies.
Ball Lightning: {R}{R}{R} for a 6/1 with trample and haste that is sacrificed at the beginning of the end step: 6 damage the turn it comes down, and a 1/1 chump blocker still lets 5 through. Lists that play it usually run four.
Jackal Pup: A 2/1 for one mana. Whenever it is dealt damage, it deals that much damage to you, so a 3/3 blocker or a burn spell on the Pup costs you life as well.
Barbarian Ring: A land that taps for {R} and deals 1 damage to you. With seven or more cards in your graveyard, pay {R}, tap and sacrifice it to deal 2 damage to any target, so it adds reach without taking a spell slot.
Price of Progress: Two mana: each player takes 2 damage for each nonbasic land they control. Against Full English Breakfast (22 nonbasic lands), MUD (21) or Terrageddon (21) it is a finisher, and your own uncracked fetchlands, Barbarian Ring, Mishra's Factory and Wasteland count too. It is in about a third of main decks and in most sideboards.
Black Vise: One mana: at the beginning of the chosen opponent's upkeep it deals damage equal to the number of cards in their hand minus four. It punishes decks that hold their cards, such as Stiflenought, Landstill, Psychatog and Stasis, and does little against creature decks that empty their hand. It is colorless, so Hydroblast, Blue Elemental Blast and Circle of Protection: Red can't stop it, though artifact removal can. The Black Vise build nearly always plays four; Jackal Pup lists almost never play it.
Mishra's Factory: A land that taps for colorless mana and for {1} becomes a 2/2 artifact creature until end of turn, so it still attacks after a Wrath of God. Circle of Protection: Red doesn't prevent its damage. It is not a Mountain, so it doesn't pay for Fireblast, and it counts for your own Price of Progress. Nearly every Black Vise list plays four, and some Jackal Pup lists play it too.
Goblin Vandal: A one-mana 1/1. When it attacks and isn't blocked, you may pay {R} to destroy an artifact the defending player controls, and it then deals no combat damage that turn. Common targets in autumn 2026 are Powder Keg in Stiflenought and Landstill, Cursed Scroll in Mono Black and the mirror, Mox Diamond in Terrageddon and Oath of Druids, and Black Vise in Stasis. Since mid-July about a third of the Jackal Pup lists play it, usually three or four copies.

Mulligan guide

Keep

Two lands with two or three one-mana creatures or burn spells: the deck curves out at one mana and needs few lands.
Three lands with Grim Lavamancer or Cursed Scroll and burn: a slower hand that still grinds through removal-heavy decks.
Against control and combo, any hand with a fast clock; against creature decks, Seal of Fire, Mogg Fanatic and burn for their early creatures.

Ship

Hands with no land, and one-land hands whose spells need a second land.
Five or more lands, or no creature, Seal of Fire or Sulfuric Vortex against a deck that gains life.

Keep hands that start dealing damage in the first two turns. With 20 to 22 lands and a curve built on one-mana cards, two lands are usually enough, and extra lands later become Fireblast fuel or the card you hold for Cursed Scroll.

Play tips and sequencing

Spend the first turns on Jackal Pup, Mogg Fanatic and Grim Lavamancer, and keep Lightning Bolt and Incinerate for blockers that matter or the final points.
Count to lethal every turn: add the damage on board, the burn in hand, Seal of Fire and the Fireblasts you have Mountains for, and once it adds up, stop trading and aim everything at the player.
Crack fetchlands early. They put a card into your graveyard for Grim Lavamancer and Barbarian Ring's threshold, and the basic Mountain they find can pay for Fireblast and does not count for Price of Progress.
Once on the table, Mogg Fanatic, Seal of Fire, Grim Lavamancer, Barbarian Ring and Cursed Scroll deal damage with abilities: Counterspell can't stop it (only Stifle can), and activating them doesn't trigger Pyrostatic Pillar or break Standstill, though casting them does.
Grim Lavamancer exiles two cards each time and Barbarian Ring needs seven in the graveyard, so with seven or eight cards there, sacrifice the Ring before Lavamancer exiles two.
Against decks that gain life, such as The Rock, White Weenie or decks with Exalted Angel, cast Sulfuric Vortex early to turn the lifegain off; otherwise wait until you are ahead in the race, since it damages you too.
Cast Black Vise early. On turn one or two the opponent still holds six or seven cards; later it deals damage only while they start their turn with five or more.
Hold Fireblast for the kill, since the two Mountains it costs can strand the rest of your hand.

Matchups

Stiflenought (unfavorable): Burn does not kill a 12/12 Phyrexian Dreadnought, and Price of Progress and Wasteland do nothing against their Islands. Powder Keg, in most of their lists, sweeps your one-drops, Cursed Scroll and Black Vise, though on one counter it also destroys their own Dreadnought unless they phase it out with Vision Charm. After boarding they bring Hydroblast and Blue Elemental Blast for your burn and red permanents, and Essence Flare, which kills a one-toughness creature in your next upkeep. You bring Overload, which destroys a resolved Dreadnought or Powder Keg for one mana, and Pyroblast and Red Elemental Blast, which counter Stifle and Vision Charm. Goblin Vandal can destroy Powder Keg, or a Dreadnought that attacked on their turn and is still tapped, whenever Vandal attacks unblocked, though Stifle can counter that trigger and Vision Charm can phase out the target. In the Black Vise build, Pyrostatic Pillar deals 2 damage to them for Stifle, Vision Charm, Daze, Counterspell, Portent, Opt, Impulse and Dreadnought itself, but not for Gush, Foil, Thwart or a Flash of Insight with X of 2 or more, whose mana value is 4 or more. Race before Dreadnought lands. MTGDecks (Burn): 30 percent over 325 matches.
Goblins (even): Goblin Lackey, Goblin Warchief and Goblin Piledriver have to die on sight: Grim Lavamancer and Seal of Fire kill all three cheaply and Mogg Fanatic kills Lackey, unless Goblin King, in about two in five lists since September, is out: it makes them bigger and gives them mountainwalk, so your creatures can't block them. Goblin Sharpshooter, in almost every list, shoots your one-toughness creatures and untaps whenever a creature dies, so kill it early too. Goblin Ringleader refills their hand once your burn runs out, so don't spend burn on Goblins that don't matter. Naturalize, main deck in more than half their lists, destroys Sulfuric Vortex, Cursed Scroll or Black Vise. After boarding, Earthquake sweeps their board, and they bring Pyrokinesis, which deals 4 damage divided among your creatures without costing them mana. MTGDecks: 50 percent over 210 matches.
Enchantress (slightly unfavorable): Solitary Confinement prevents all damage to them and gives them shroud, and your removal has almost no targets, so win before it lands. After boarding Anarchy destroys every white permanent, including Confinement, Parallax Wave, Seal of Cleansing and Sterling Grove. Flaring Pain stops Confinement's prevention for a turn, but they keep shroud, so only attackers and untargeted damage such as Earthquake, Sulfuric Vortex or Price of Progress get through; Earthquake also kills Argothian Enchantress. Elephant Grass, in about half their lists since September, makes you pay {2} for each creature that attacks them. Since September about a third of their sideboards have Warmth, whose lifegain Sulfuric Vortex stops, and some have Sphere of Law. MTGDecks: 45 percent over 196 matches.
Mono Black (favorable): Their removal has few good targets against one-mana creatures and burn, and Graveborn Muse or Phyrexian Arena costs them life every turn. Kill Hypnotic Specter on sight and point the rest at their face. Spinning Darkness and Drain Life gain life after boarding; Sulfuric Vortex turns that off. Most of their lists play Cursed Scroll, which Goblin Vandal can destroy when it attacks unblocked. MTGDecks: 60 percent over 187 matches.
Landstill (even): Once Mogg Fanatic, Seal of Fire and Grim Lavamancer are on the table, their damage can't be countered and doesn't break Standstill, and Price of Progress hits Adarkar Wastes and Mishra's Factory. Their answers are Swords to Plowshares, Wrath of God, Powder Keg, Disenchant for Sulfuric Vortex or Cursed Scroll, and Factory blocks. About half their lists play Humility, which turns your creatures into 1/1s without abilities, and about half Exalted Angel, mostly not the same lists; Sulfuric Vortex stops the Angel's lifegain. After boarding they add Circle of Protection: Red, Hydroblast, Blue Elemental Blast and often Exalted Angel. Don't overextend into Wrath. Bring Pyroblast and Red Elemental Blast for their counterspells and Blasts, and Anarchy, which also destroys Humility and Exalted Angel, or Flaring Pain for CoP: Red. MTGDecks: 52 percent over 142 matches.
Terrageddon (slightly unfavorable): Terravore and Call of the Herd wall Jackal Pup and Grim Lavamancer, Mongoose ignores targeted burn, and Armageddon turns off Fireblast's free mode and Cursed Scroll. Attack their life instead: fetchlands, painlands and Sylvan Library all cost them life, and with around 21 nonbasic lands Price of Progress hits hard. Swords to Plowshares and Wasteland, in every list, answer your best creature and your Barbarian Ring or Mishra's Factory, and after boarding they bring Pyroclasm, in almost every sideboard, which kills all your creatures, Aura of Silence, which makes your artifacts and enchantments cost {2} more and can destroy one, and Zuran Orb, which gains them 2 life for each land they sacrifice unless Sulfuric Vortex is out. MTGDecks: 43 percent over 118 matches.
Replenish (slightly favorable): Pressure them before Replenish returns Opalescence and Parallax Wave. Seal of Cleansing, in almost every list, destroys Sulfuric Vortex, Cursed Scroll or Black Vise, and their Ancient Tombs cost them 2 life each time they tap and count for Price of Progress. After boarding they bring Exalted Angel, Hydroblast and Meddling Mage, which can name Fireblast, and in some lists Blue Elemental Blast and Sphere of Law. Anarchy destroys Opalescence, Parallax Wave, Sphere of Law, Exalted Angel and Meddling Mage, but the enchantments go to their graveyard, where the next Replenish returns them, so cast it right after a Replenish has resolved. Pyroblast counters Intuition, Frantic Search or Attunement as they are cast; a resolved Attunement just returns to hand in response. MTGDecks: 55 percent over 138 matches.
Oath of Druids (slightly unfavorable): Oath of Druids gives them a free creature at the beginning of their upkeep if you control more creatures than they do, so once Oath is out, keep your creature count at or below theirs and win with burn. Sphere of Resistance taxes every burn spell, Fireblast included, Terravore outgrows your burn, and Zuran Orb, Sphere of Law, Warmth and Cursed Totem, which turns off Grim Lavamancer and Mogg Fanatic, come in after boarding. Sulfuric Vortex stops the lifegain from Zuran Orb and Warmth, and Overload destroys the Totem. Price of Progress punishes Treetop Village, Mishra's Factory, Rishadan Port and Wasteland. MTGDecks (Oath Ponza): 45 percent over 106 matches.
Psychatog (even): Psychatog grows big enough to block anything, so burn goes to the face. Your threats cost one mana while their counterspells cost two, and Foil costs them two cards. Smother, in most lists, kills any of your creatures, Duress takes a burn spell, and Sickening Dreams, in most lists since September, kills your one-toughness creatures. Expect Hydroblast and Blue Elemental Blast after boarding, in a few lists also Ivory Tower, whose lifegain Sulfuric Vortex stops; Pyroblast and Red Elemental Blast counter Counterspell and Accumulated Knowledge or destroy Psychatog, and Overload destroys Ivory Tower. MTGDecks: 54 percent over 61 matches.
The Rock (unfavorable): Their deck is built to survive burn, since Wall of Blossoms blocks and draws a card, Pernicious Deed sweeps your one-drops, Smother kills Grim Lavamancer, and Ravenous Baloth comes in to gain life. Keep burn for the face, let Sulfuric Vortex turn off Baloth's lifegain, and Price of Progress punishes their Treetop Villages, Llanowar Wastes and Dust Bowls. MTGDecks: 37 percent over 57 matches.
Elves (unfavorable): Mogg Fanatic, Seal of Fire, Grim Lavamancer and Earthquake kill their one-toughness mana elves, but Gaea's Cradle and Deranged Hermit rebuild faster than one-for-one burn, Masticore picks off your creatures, and in some lists Ravenous Baloth comes in after boarding to gain life unless Sulfuric Vortex is out. Kill Priest of Titania first. MTGDecks: 40 percent over 40 matches.
Full English Breakfast (even): Every burn spell kills Hermit Druid, so they lean on Survival of the Fittest instead. Their painlands and City of Brass walk them into Fireblast range, and Price of Progress punishes 22 nonbasic lands. Keep the pressure on before a Survival chain assembles; after boarding they bring Pyroclasm and Ghitu Slinger for your creatures. MTGDecks: 52 percent over 44 matches.
UG Madness (slightly unfavorable): Wild Mongrel pumps out of burn range by discarding, Arrogant Wurm is a 4/4 that Lightning Bolt doesn't kill, and Circular Logic and Daze counter your spells. After boarding Chill, Hydroblast and Blue Elemental Blast tax or counter your red spells, and Chill makes even Fireblast cost two mana; Pyroblast and Red Elemental Blast counter Circular Logic. MTGDecks (Madness): 43 percent over 49 matches.
Reanimator (unfavorable): Akroma, Angel of Wrath has protection from red, so none of your burn or creatures can touch it once it is reanimated, though Anarchy, in about half your sideboards, destroys it, since it doesn't target, and destroys Phantom Nishoba too, which is green and white. Otherwise Nishoba gains life unless Sulfuric Vortex is out, and each burn spell removes only one of its counters. Both go back to their graveyard, where they can be reanimated again. Win before the turn they reanimate: Reanimate costs them life equal to the creature's mana value, and Tormod's Crypt, in about two in five sideboards, exiles their graveyard after boarding. MTGDecks: 34 percent over 29 matches, limited data.
Aluren (even, highly draw-dependent): A pure race the draw decides, with one catch: the Spike Feeder or Soul Warden loop gains unlimited life and ends the matchup on the spot, unless Sulfuric Vortex is already on the battlefield when Aluren resolves, which stops all lifegain; cast later, it comes too late, because they can run the loop in response. Lists with Rishadan Cutpurse can still loop it with Cavern Harpy, at 1 life per loop for them, until you run out of other permanents to sacrifice and have to give up Vortex. Pyrostatic Pillar in the Black Vise build does the same job if it is already out: it deals 2 damage to them for every creature they cast under Aluren, free or not, so their loops gain life only with at least two Soul Wardens on the battlefield. Burn kills Soul Warden or Spike Feeder before Aluren resolves and works best afterward while a Cavern Harpy spell is on the stack, though Spike Feeder still gains up to 4 life in response. At any other moment they can save the target: Harpy, returned to hand for 1 life and recast, returns Man-o'-War to their hand before the burn resolves, and a recast Man-o'-War returns any other creature. After boarding, Pyroblast or Red Elemental Blast on the Harpy spell itself is the cleaner answer. Their City of Brass and painlands cost them life, Havenwood Battleground enters tapped, and Price of Progress punishes all of these nonbasic lands. Expect Hydroblast and Blue Elemental Blast. MTGDecks: 50 percent over 22 matches, limited data.
Deadguy Ale (favorable before boarding, closer afterward): Caves of Koilos costs them life whenever it taps for white or black, and Phyrexian Arena every turn, while you burn them. Exalted Angel gains them life whenever it deals damage unless Sulfuric Vortex is out; burn it while it is a face-down 2/2 and they don't have {2}{W}{W} open to turn it face up in response. After boarding Circle of Protection: Red and Warmth can flip the matchup; Anarchy destroys both, Sulfuric Vortex stops Warmth's lifegain, and Flaring Pain gets damage through CoP: Red for a turn. MTGDecks: 50 percent over 14 matches, very limited data.
Zombies (slightly favorable): Their deck pays life for its own cards: Carnophage's upkeep, Sarcomancy without a Zombie and Shepherd of Rot all count against them. Burn the lords first, because Lord of the Undead turns their 2/2s into blockers that eat your 2/1s, and expect Bottle Gnomes after board, in some lists Zombie Master. No match data.
MUD (even): Their 21 nonbasic lands meet Price of Progress, and cheap burn blunts Winter Orb. But Sphere of Resistance taxes every burn spell and Triskelion kills Grim Lavamancer. Ensnaring Bridge stops Ball Lightning, and Jackal Pup once their hand is down to one card. After boarding Crumbling Sanctuary turns burn to the face into cards exiled from the library; Overload destroys Winter Orb and Sphere of Resistance (two mana while a Sphere is out), and Ensnaring Bridge and Crumbling Sanctuary when kicked. Goblin Vandal can destroy an artifact each time it attacks unblocked, and with power 1 it can still attack through Ensnaring Bridge while they hold a card. MTGDecks (Tinker Welder): 40 percent over 15 matches, limited data.
Stasis (even to slightly favorable): Burn needs little untapped mana: a one-mana spell with each land drop, Fireblast for free and Price of Progress against Forsaken City and Shivan Reef. Pyrostatic Pillar punishes each of their spells with mana value 3 or less, Stasis, Daze and Chain of Vapor included, though not Gush or Thwart, and Pyroblast and Red Elemental Blast destroy Stasis. Their Chill makes Fireblast cost two. MTGDecks (Burn): 54 percent over 56 matches.
Clerics (slightly favorable): Their creatures are small, so Grim Lavamancer, Mogg Fanatic and Seal of Fire trade well, but Rotlung Reanimator replaces every Cleric that dies with a 2/2 Zombie and Cabal Archon drains 2 life for each sacrificed Cleric. Burn Rotlung first and let Graveborn Muse's life loss work for you. MTGDecks: 71 percent over 17 matches, limited data.
The Solution (even): Exalted Angel gains them life whenever it deals damage unless Sulfuric Vortex is out, Lightning Angel is a 3/4 flier that survives Lightning Bolt, Mother of Runes protects their creatures from red, and Meddling Mage can name Fireblast. Swords to Plowshares, Fire // Ice and Lightning Bolt handle your one-drops. Kill Mother of Runes before she can use her ability. After boarding expect Circle of Protection: Red and Warmth; Anarchy destroys both and most of their creatures, since Exalted Angel, Lightning Angel, Meddling Mage and Mother of Runes are all white, and Pyroblast or Red Elemental Blast destroys Lightning Angel or Meddling Mage, which are also blue. Limited data: 40 percent over 10 matches.
Tron (even): Tron has almost no creatures, so every burn spell goes to the face, but Circle of Protection: Red, Hydroblast and Exalted Angel come in after boarding, and Wrath of God and Swords to Plowshares handle your creatures. Get them low before the Urza lands are online. Price of Progress deals 2 damage to them for each Urza land and other nonbasic land they control, and Anarchy destroys Circle of Protection: Red and Exalted Angel. No meaningful match data.
Dromar Control (favorable): Their mana base costs life with Adarkar Wastes, Caves of Koilos and fetchlands, and Meddling Mage and Shadowmage Infiltrator die to Lightning Bolt or Incinerate. Swords to Plowshares, Vindicate and Exalted Angel's lifegain are their answers, though Sulfuric Vortex stops the lifegain, and after boarding they bring Hydroblast, Circle of Protection: Red and Warmth. Very limited data: 67 percent over 6 matches.
White Weenie (slightly unfavorable): Silver Knight and Soltari Priest have protection from red, so your burn cannot touch them and your red creatures cannot block them, though an animated Mishra's Factory can block Silver Knight, and Exalted Angel's life gain outraces Fireblast. Sulfuric Vortex stops their life gain and hits every turn, Grim Lavamancer handles the rest, and Anarchy, in about half your sideboards, destroys every white permanent, the protection-from-red creatures included; Price of Progress punishes their Wastelands. After boarding expect Warmth, Circle of Protection: Red, Absolute Law and Worship, which together with a protection-from-red creature locks out your red burn; Cursed Scroll and Barbarian Ring are colorless and still kill that creature. MTGDecks: 45 percent over 20 matches.
BW Control (slightly favorable): They hold Wrath of God and Swords to Plowshares for your creatures, so count on burn to the face: their Caves of Koilos, Dust Bowl and cycling lands make Price of Progress strong, and Sulfuric Vortex stops both Exalted Angel's life gain and the 3 life Gerrard's Verdict gains for each discarded land. After boarding expect Circle of Protection: Red and Warmth; Anarchy destroys both, and Flaring Pain gets a turn of damage past CoP: Red. MTGDecks (Burn): 56 percent over 45 matches.
Gro-a-Tog (favorable): Their mana works for you: City of Brass pings them every time it taps, Flooded Strand costs life, and Price of Progress deals two damage for each of their nonbasic lands, often six or more. Burn Quirion Dryad while it is small and Meddling Mage to free the card it named. In game one Psychatog can grow big enough to block any of your attackers, though their sideboard plan takes it out against you. After boarding they bring Hydroblast, Blue Elemental Blast and Pyroclasm. MTGDecks (Burn): 60 percent over 57 matches.
Pit Rack (even): You empty your hand fast, which turns on their The Rack for full damage, and their Duress takes Fireblast or Sulfuric Vortex. Bolt and Grim Lavamancer handle Hypnotic Specter and Ravenous Rats; race before Cursed Scroll and Mishra's Factory take over. Bottomless Pit, in most of their lists, makes you discard a card at random in each of your upkeeps, which makes it hard to hold Fireblast or a card for Cursed Scroll. After boarding expect Spinning Darkness, whose lifegain Sulfuric Vortex stops, and in some lists Plague Spitter, which deals 1 damage to each creature and player in each of their upkeeps and so kills your one-toughness creatures. MTGDecks (Burn): 47 percent over 43 matches.
Rebels (slightly favorable): Their chain needs time, and burn takes it apart: Lightning Bolt or Incinerate kills Lin Sivvi, and Mogg Fanatic, Seal of Fire and Grim Lavamancer kill a Ramosian Sergeant before it taps. Thermal Glider and Jhovall Queen stop your creatures, so point the burn at their face once the board stalls. After boarding expect Circle of Protection: Red, Absolute Law, Hydroblast and Blue Elemental Blast. Anarchy, in about half your sideboards, destroys their Rebels, the Circle and Absolute Law at once, since all of them are white. No match data.
Contamination (favorable): You are faster than their lock, and some of your cards ignore it: Fireblast costs two Mountains, and the {3} for Cursed Scroll and the {1} for Black Vise or Mishra's Factory can be paid with black mana. Once Contamination is out, Lightning Bolt, Incinerate and Grim Lavamancer stop, so spend your burn before turn three and keep Fireblast for the end. MTGDecks (Burn): 67 percent over 12 matches, limited data.
Turbo Lands (even): Glacial Chasm prevents all damage that would be dealt to them, and unless your list plays Wasteland, nothing in your deck destroys a land, so game one is the race before it lands: burn them out by turn four or five, and cast your last Fireblast when they are tapped out, since Crop Rotation can put Chasm onto the battlefield at instant speed. Price of Progress deals 2 damage for each of their nonbasic lands, almost all of their lands, so cast it before Chasm lands; after boarding, Flaring Pain makes damage unpreventable for a turn, Chasm included. Their Seismic Assault kills a creature for every spare land, and Circle of Protection: Red comes in after boarding. No match data.
Fluctuator (even): They can kill on turn three or four, and nothing you play stops a cycle, so it is a race. Price of Progress deals them two damage for each land they control, since all of their lands are nonbasic, and Gilded Light cannot stop it because it does not target. Pyroblast and Red Elemental Blast cannot hit a colorless Fluctuator, but Overload destroys it for one mana, and Tormod's Crypt in response to Songs of the Damned leaves them without mana for the kill. No match data.
RG Zoo (unfavorable): Zoo plays your one-mana creatures and burn and adds bigger green threats: Call of the Herd makes two 3/3 Elephants from one card, Treetop Village attacks as a 3/3, and Quirion Dryad grows with every red spell they cast. Kill the Dryad before it outgrows Lightning Bolt, and race with reach: Fireblast, Cursed Scroll and Sulfuric Vortex, which also stops the life their sideboard Ravenous Baloth gains. Sylvan Library and Karplusan Forest cost them life, and Price of Progress hits their Karplusan Forests, Treetop Villages and uncracked fetchlands. MTGDecks (Burn): 36 percent over 66 matches.

Sideboard guide

vs Goblins, Elves, Zombies and Clerics: Earthquake, Lava Dart. These plans use evans' 75, which plays two Goblin Patrol and a Reckless Abandon next to the core cards; those three go out first wherever they do little. Against Goblins and Elves, in: both Earthquake and both Lava Dart; out: both Goblin Patrol and both Sulfuric Vortex, which gains nothing against decks that don't gain life and which Goblins' main-deck Naturalize destroys. Against Zombies and Clerics, in: both Earthquake; out: both Goblin Patrol. Earthquake deals X damage to each creature without flying and each player: X of 1 kills mana elves, Goblin Lackey, Goblin Matron, Goblin Sharpshooter and Goblin tokens, X of 2 most Zombies without a Lord and most Clerics, though Rotlung Reanimator replaces each Cleric that dies with a 2/2 Zombie. It kills your own one-toughness creatures too, so sacrifice Mogg Fanatic and use Grim Lavamancer first, and cast it when you are ahead on life. Lava Dart kills a one-toughness creature and flashes back by sacrificing a Mountain.
vs RG Zoo and White Weenie: Lava Dart, Cursed Scroll, Anarchy, Flaring Pain. Against RG Zoo, in: both Lava Dart and the third Cursed Scroll; out: both Goblin Patrol and Reckless Abandon. Lava Dart kills Grim Lavamancer, Mogg Fanatic, Jackal Pup and a Quirion Dryad without counters, and Sulfuric Vortex stays for their sideboard Ravenous Baloth. Against White Weenie, in: Anarchy, the third Cursed Scroll and Flaring Pain; out: the same three cards. Anarchy destroys every white permanent, Silver Knight, Soltari Priest, Absolute Law and Circle of Protection: Red included, Cursed Scroll is colorless and still kills a protection-from-red creature, and Flaring Pain gets your damage through the Circle for a turn. Earthquake stays in the sideboard: it is red, so it doesn't damage their protection-from-red creatures.
vs Stiflenought: Overload, Mogg Salvage, Pyroblast, Red Elemental Blast, Pyrostatic Pillar. In: all three Overload, Mogg Salvage, Pyroblast, Red Elemental Blast and Pyrostatic Pillar. Out: all four Ball Lightning, both Goblin Patrol and Reckless Abandon. Ball Lightning does nothing into a Dreadnought, which blocks it and takes all six damage. Overload destroys a resolved Dreadnought or Powder Keg for one mana, and Mogg Salvage does the same for free while they control an Island and you a Mountain. The Blasts counter Stifle, Vision Charm and the Hydroblasts aimed at your burn. Pillar deals 2 damage to them for almost every spell they keep after boarding; Gush and Foil, at mana value 5 and 4, don't trigger it.
vs Landstill, Psychatog and Stasis: Pyroblast, Red Elemental Blast, Pyrostatic Pillar, Anarchy, Flaring Pain, Cursed Scroll, Overload, Mogg Salvage. Against all three, in: Pyroblast, Red Elemental Blast and Pyrostatic Pillar. Against Landstill also Anarchy, Flaring Pain and the third Cursed Scroll; out: both Goblin Patrol, three Jackal Pup and Reckless Abandon, since Wrath of God punishes extra creatures, while Ball Lightning is never on the battlefield when they cast it. Against Psychatog also an Overload for Powder Keg or Ivory Tower; out: both Goblin Patrol, Reckless Abandon and a Jackal Pup. Against Stasis also two Overload and Mogg Salvage for Black Vise and Cursed Totem; out: both Goblin Patrol, three Ball Lightning and Reckless Abandon, since {R}{R}{R} is hard to find under the lock. Pillar deals 2 damage to them for Counterspell, Mana Leak, Standstill, Stasis, Daze and their cantrips, but not for Gush, Foil or Thwart, and your own burn triggers it too, so cast it when your damage is already on the board. Don't aim a Blast at a resolved Standstill, because casting any spell gives them three cards first. Anarchy destroys Circle of Protection: Red, Humility and Exalted Angel, and Flaring Pain gets damage through the Circle for a turn.
vs UG Madness, Replenish, Gro-a-Tog and Aluren: Pyroblast, Red Elemental Blast, Cursed Scroll, Anarchy, Pyrostatic Pillar, Price of Progress. Against all four, in: Pyroblast and Red Elemental Blast; out: both Goblin Patrol. Against UG Madness also the third Cursed Scroll for Reckless Abandon; the Blasts counter Circular Logic and destroy Aquamoeba and Wonder. Against Replenish also Anarchy and Pyrostatic Pillar for Reckless Abandon and a Jackal Pup: Pillar punishes Intuition, Frantic Search, Attunement and Seal of Cleansing, and a Blast aimed at a resolved Attunement misses, since it returns to hand in response. Against Gro-a-Tog also Price of Progress for Reckless Abandon. Against Aluren also Pyrostatic Pillar for Reckless Abandon: it deals 2 damage to them for every creature they cast under Aluren, and the Blasts answer Cavern Harpy as it is cast.
vs The Solution, Dromar Control and Tron: Anarchy, Pyroblast, Red Elemental Blast, Lava Dart, Price of Progress, Flaring Pain. Against all three, in: Anarchy, Pyroblast and Red Elemental Blast; out: both Goblin Patrol and Reckless Abandon. Against The Solution also both Lava Dart for two Jackal Pup: Lava Dart kills Mother of Runes before she can protect herself. Against Dromar Control also Price of Progress for a Jackal Pup. Against Tron also Price of Progress and Flaring Pain for two Jackal Pup, since Wrath of God and Swords to Plowshares wait for your creatures. Anarchy destroys Circle of Protection: Red, Warmth, Exalted Angel, Meddling Mage and Mother of Runes, and the Blasts counter their counterspells and Hydroblasts or destroy Lightning Angel and Meddling Mage.
vs Enchantress: Anarchy, Flaring Pain, Earthquake. In: Anarchy, Flaring Pain and both Earthquake. Out: both Goblin Patrol and two Seal of Fire, which need a target and rarely find one: Argothian Enchantress has shroud, and Solitary Confinement gives the player shroud too. Anarchy destroys every white permanent, Confinement, Parallax Wave, Seal of Cleansing and Sterling Grove included. Flaring Pain stops Confinement from preventing damage for a turn, and in that turn Earthquake hits them as well as Argothian Enchantress, whose shroud doesn't stop it.
vs Deadguy Ale, BW Control and Rebels: Anarchy, Flaring Pain, Price of Progress, Lava Dart. Against Deadguy Ale, in: Anarchy and Flaring Pain; out: both Goblin Patrol. Against BW Control, in: the same two cards and Price of Progress; out: both Goblin Patrol and Reckless Abandon. Anarchy destroys Circle of Protection: Red, Warmth and Exalted Angel, Flaring Pain gets damage through the Circle for a turn, and Price of Progress punishes BW Control's Caves of Koilos, Dust Bowl and cycling lands. Against Rebels, in: Anarchy and both Lava Dart; out: both Goblin Patrol and Reckless Abandon. Anarchy destroys all their Rebels at once, and Lava Dart kills Ramosian Sergeant and Defiant Falcon before they can tap.
vs Mono Black, Pit Rack and The Rock: Overload, Cursed Scroll, Price of Progress. Against Mono Black, in: two Overload and the third Cursed Scroll; out: both Goblin Patrol and Reckless Abandon. Overload destroys their Cursed Scroll for one mana, and your own Scroll keeps dealing damage in the late game. Against Pit Rack, in: all three Overload; out: the same three cards, since Overload destroys The Rack and Cursed Scroll. Against The Rock, in: the third Cursed Scroll and Price of Progress; out: both Goblin Patrol. Price of Progress punishes Treetop Village, Llanowar Wastes and Dust Bowl, and Sulfuric Vortex stays for Ravenous Baloth.
vs Reanimator and Full English Breakfast: Anarchy, Lava Dart, Price of Progress, Tormod's Crypt. Against Reanimator, in: Anarchy and both Lava Dart; out: both Goblin Patrol and Reckless Abandon. Anarchy destroys a reanimated Akroma or Phantom Nishoba, and Lava Dart kills Putrid Imp, their discard outlet. Against Full English Breakfast, in: both Lava Dart and Price of Progress; out: the same three cards. Lava Dart kills Hermit Druid and Birds of Paradise, and Price of Progress punishes 22 nonbasic lands. Tormod's Crypt, in about two in five sideboards but not in evans' 15, is the usual extra card against both: exile their graveyard in response to Reanimate or Exhume, or after a Hermit Druid activation.
vs Oath of Druids, Terrageddon, MUD and Fluctuator: Overload, Mogg Salvage, Price of Progress. Against Oath of Druids, Terrageddon and Fluctuator, in: two Overload and Price of Progress; out: both Goblin Patrol and Reckless Abandon. Overload destroys Mox Diamond, Sphere of Resistance, Cursed Totem, Zuran Orb and Fluctuator, Price of Progress punishes 21 to 25 nonbasic lands, and against Oath two fewer creatures make it easier to keep their Oath from triggering. Against MUD, in: all three Overload, Mogg Salvage and Price of Progress; out: all four Ball Lightning and Reckless Abandon, since Ensnaring Bridge stops Ball Lightning. Overload destroys an artifact with mana value 2 or less for one mana, or 5 or less when kicked: Winter Orb, Sphere of Resistance (two mana while a Sphere is out), Ensnaring Bridge and Crumbling Sanctuary. Crack your own fetchlands before you cast Price of Progress.
vs Contamination and Turbo Lands: Cursed Scroll, Flaring Pain, Price of Progress. Against Contamination, in: the third Cursed Scroll; out: Reckless Abandon. Cursed Scroll keeps working under the lock, since its {3} can be paid with black mana. Against Turbo Lands, in: Flaring Pain and Price of Progress; out: both Goblin Patrol, which die to Seismic Assault. Flaring Pain stops Glacial Chasm and Circle of Protection: Red from preventing damage for a turn, and Price of Progress punishes almost all of their lands.
vs The Black Vise build: Pyroblast, Overload, Earthquake, Price of Progress, Anarchy. Nick Moran's 15 from the BCDL Open 5: four Pyroblast, four Overload, three Earthquake, two Price of Progress and two Anarchy. Against Landstill, Psychatog, Stasis, Replenish, Dromar Control and The Solution, in: all four Pyroblast; out: all four Seal of Fire. Against Landstill also both Anarchy for two Mogg Fanatic, against The Solution both Anarchy for both Price of Progress, and against Stasis two Overload for Black Vise and Cursed Totem, with both Cursed Scroll going out, since paying {3} each turn is hard under the lock. Against Stiflenought, in: all four Pyroblast and all four Overload; out: all four Seal of Fire, both Price of Progress, which does nothing against Islands, and both Cursed Scroll. Against UG Madness, Gro-a-Tog and Aluren, in: all four Pyroblast; out: all four Black Vise, which does little against decks that empty their hand. Against Goblins, Elves, Zombies, Clerics, RG Zoo and Full English Breakfast, in: all three Earthquake; out: three Black Vise. Earthquake leaves your Mishra's Factories alone unless they are animated. Against Rebels also both Anarchy for the fourth Black Vise and a Pyrostatic Pillar. Against White Weenie and Reanimator, in: both Anarchy; out: two Black Vise. Against Enchantress, Deadguy Ale, BW Control and Tron, in: both Anarchy; out: two Seal of Fire. Against MUD, in: all four Overload; out: all four Black Vise. Against Oath of Druids, Terrageddon and Fluctuator, in: two Overload and both Price of Progress; out: two Black Vise and two Seal of Fire. Against Mono Black and Pit Rack, in: two Overload; out: two Black Vise. Against The Rock, Contamination and Turbo Lands the main deck stays.

Budget and upgrades

Typical cost: $225–$1,320. The reference 75 costs about $1,320 at the Premodern-era printings tracked here, and the eight fetchlands are about $820 of that: four Wooded Foothills at about $482 and four Bloodstained Mire at about $338. The three Cursed Scroll (two main deck, one sideboard) cost about $275 and four Grim Lavamancer about $82; everything else costs a few dollars a copy.

Replace the eight fetchlands with Mountains: the 75 costs about $500. You lose some graveyard fuel for Grim Lavamancer and Barbarian Ring; the rest of the deck plays the same.
Then replace the two main-deck Cursed Scroll with two more one-mana creatures such as Goblin Patrol and cut the sideboard copy: the 75 costs about $225 and keeps every other core card.
The Black Vise build is a cheaper way in: two thirds of its lists play no fetchlands, only Mountains next to Mishra's Factory, and a typical 75 of that kind costs about $250.
The core is cheap: Lightning Bolt, Incinerate, Fireblast, Seal of Fire, Mogg Fanatic, Jackal Pup and Ball Lightning all cost a few dollars.
Upgrade in this order: Cursed Scroll first, then the fetchlands.

Every deck that costs under $500 with reprints is on our budget decks page, priced from a real tournament list.

Sligh is one of five decks in our guide to your first Premodern deck.

Premodern Sligh Deck Guide (2026)

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