The lesser lights outshone the heat leaders as the Fen Tigers battled back from 8 points down after eight heats to force a last heat decider against the Hitmen.
Mark Thompson was the unexpected hero, finishing in the top two in his opening five races to lead the way with 12 points.
An under-achiever last season, Thompson has invested in better equipment and quickly got his reward with a display which suggests he will not linger long in the reserve positions.
And he got some exciting support from the new Mildenhall youngsters, Andrew Moore and Phil Ambrose, who was much better than his four-point haul.
Unfortunately for the Suffolk side, the Hitmen also had a lethal reserve in Boy Wonder James Mann, their match winner in only his second speedway meeting. The 15-year-old Mancunian dropped only one point in six phenomenal rides before getting a vital third place behind Neil Painter and Gary Sweet in the Heat 15 showdown.
Sweet was the only Mildenhall heat leader to produce the required form, looking back to his best at times, especially in Heat 12 when he battled to beat Mann in the fastest time of the day. But he did not get the support he needed from Phil Knowles, on spluttering equipment; Gavin Hedge, experimenting with tyres, or new skipper Dean Garrod, who was unhappy with the tack in the early part of the match.
The Hitmen just got on with it, building up a 28-20 lead before seeing it clawed back as Mildenhall went ahead after Heat 12. But in Painter, who lost points when he fell, and the remarkable Mann, they had a bit too much strength for the Tigers, especially with two meetings under their belts against a slightly rusty-looking home team.