Is 5L!ppy the Real Deal?

As Day 1 of Pro Tour: London wraps up, perhaps no hero has made a bigger impression than Arakni, 5L!p3d 7hRu 7h3 cR4X. We got our first taste of his potential in the meta breakdown, where  'Slippy' (I just can't 1337 speak that title throughout the entire article) made line 2 with 13 entries - ahead of buzzy heroes like Dash I/O, Cindra, Verdance, and Jarl. In the second round, Michael Hamilton showed why he'd cast his lot in with Slippy during an incredible feature match against Pudding Tam's Aurora; in Round 4, another Slippy - piloted by Xavier McLean - brought Pablo Pintor's Enigma to her knees.

The highest ranked Slippy player - Aaron Shantz - ended the day at 3rd place with a 7-1 record, after having gone 2-1 in 3 rounds of The Hunted sealed. That means he didn't drop a single game with Arakni. And Xavier claimed a 4-1 record with Slippy, though he fell out of the top 20 with his sealed performance. Going into Day 2, Arakni might just be the breakout star of this year's World Tour.

If this all feels like it came out of left field, it may be by design. A glow-up from Outsiders' Solitary Confinement variant, 5L!p3d 7hRu 7h3 cR4X was always supposed to feel like a glitch, a bit of code left in the system not meant to be a feature. The only version of Slippy available in boosters is the full-art marvel in The Hunted; otherwise, they've been distributed primarily as a promo. Slippy doesn't appear in the Heroes of Rathe index as a Hunted hero; and while you can find them in the card carousel for Arakni's Solitary Confinement article, the header image remains the young version seen in Outsiders.

As for Slippy's meta share? 3 decklists on fabtcg.com. Notably, a Slippy claimed 3rd at Battle Hardened: Milwaukee as part of a team of 3; another took 3rd at Calling: Christchurch. The sole event win recorded on LSS' website comes from a Road to Nationals in Kentucky. Beyond that, the AGE series - well known for producing competitive innovation from major names in the game - was recently won by Chris Iaali on Slippy. With no Pro Tour decklists available at this moment, we'll lean on that build as we attempt to analyze Slippy's recent rise in prestige. But before we get into that, I'd like to pause briefly to discuss the role of Assassins in this game.

To date, LSS has provided us with 5 Assassin heroes for Classic Constructed:

• Arakni, Huntsman
• Uzuri, Switchblade
• Nuu, Alluring Desire
• Arakni, Marionette
• Arakni, 5L!p3d 7HrU 7h3 cR4X

Huntsman aside, each has found eras of success, but also suffered through stretches of irrelevance. Most notable among these is Nuu, whose meta relevance aligned with the extended reign of her fellow Mistveil heroes - but even Nuu, once thought to be an overpowered menace, is taking a back seat in the meta created by The Hunted.

Assassins look to prey on the meta, and each is designed to counter specific strategies. To find success with an Assassin, you have to find the cracks and exploit them. Nuu played well into a field of aggressive decks that blocked poorly and crumbled under the weight of disruption. But today's Flesh and Blood decks are much more comfortable blocking, with a heavy presence of defense reactions. They're also far less blue, disarming a highly specific element of Nuu's design. 

This is where Slippy comes in. By providing go again to their first stealth attack each turn, Slippy gives up no information about their intention for the turn. Is the first attack the one to block, or the second? Will Slippy react now or later? Do I have to worry about daggers too?

The built-in 'liability' of Slippy can hardly be called that. In a slight modification from the young Solitary Confinement, Slippy grants go again to the first stealth attack each turn - which can assist opposing Assassins too. That said, Slippy isn't the sort of deck that Nuu performs well against. There hasn't been much interest in Uzuri. And the original Huntsman has never been a cause for concern.

This leaves only one Assassin to truly concern yourself with: Arakni, Marionette. "Mario" looked promising out of the gate, and has continued to find respectable levels of success as lists are refined. When Slippy faces Marionette, that reciprocal effect can prove a liability, as Slippy simply hands Mario the go again they're marking to acquire. If Marionette numbers increase, that may push Slippy back out of the meta.

Using Chris Iaali's AGE-winning list as reference, let's talk about what Slippy is doing. This is a Flick Knives deck, but a reserved one: daggers are thrown only to mark the opponent for the sake of card effects. This is the same trick Marionette is using, but the need for it is greatly reduced, as marked is only relevant when your hand calls for it. In this list, that's only 10 cards: Mark of the Black Widow, Mark of the Funnel Web, and Take Up the Mantle.

Throwing a dagger also frees up a slot to equip a Graphene Chelicera via Orb-Weaver Spinneret. As a 1-cost weapon with stealth and synergy with marked, this ties well into your central strategies, and would probably be a weapon we'd main if we were allowed to start the game with it equipped. In particular, this deck is focuses on the stealth keyword, opening Graphene up as a target for reactions.

Built around 3s, the deck relies on making blocks uncertain rather than difficult. The on-hits are punishing, and reactions make it harder to avoid them. Then there's the possibility the second attack will be worse than the first. Taken together, the play pattern masks the stakes at hand during the first stealth attack.

Unlike Nuu, Slippy has no particular affinity toward blues, and is free to run the better red versions of stealth attacks. And unlike Marionette, Slippy doesn't rely on the daggers, making our resource base less of a concern. The deck only runs those blue stealth attacks that are too good to pass up, especially when you consider them as targets for Take Up the Mantle. (Of course, side these out against Nuu.)

As with all Assassins, Slippy is currently exploiting a vulnerability in the meta. While aggro decks require greater defensive posturing to stave them off, Slippy is uniquely capable of answering both by punishing decks that don't block well while adding uncertainty to those that do. While polarization on the aggressive/defensive scale remains outsized, Slippy should be well positioned.

But before you get too excited about this exploit, consider the cautionary tale of Nuu. Assassins look incredibly powerful when the conditions are right; but even a single new competitive deck can change how everyone is built, and suddenly your Assassin is no longer the right one for the job.

This is not to say that Slippy is a flash in the pan - rather, that Assassins are opportunists, and find success by choosing their moment. Slippy is showing that they deserve a spot on the roster, but real wisdom will be knowing when to take them off the bench.