What if they're not evolving into human-like creatures but Eldrazi??? LOL
I was just talking about this to my roommate, a theory i've always joked about was that Eldrazi were just the top evolution of the sliver...then I found out that slivers were originally supposed to be what allies became in zendikar....and now the new artwork....
but then again, this is just tin hat and I didn't want to be the first to say it because I know it is probably wrong, just made sense to me.
EDIT: Due to the post below...now all I can think of with these are fursuit slivers....don't know if I should be scared, or not....
anthropomorphic slivers? this is pretty intriguing. I hope it'll be explained where the new brood came from since everything kinda got wrecked back in TSP block.
by the way, if there's proper support soon then that first strike guy will be kinda nuts.
Take your monoblack deck, then set aside 14 swamps. Add 4 Creeping Tar Pits, 4 Darkslick Shores, 4 Drowned Catacombs, and 2 Jwar isle Refuge and add 4 Jace, the Mindsculptors. Your monoblack deck is instantly better. Better yet, drop those refuges, throw in some islands and some mana leaks, and lo and behold, you're now playing a real deck. Congratulations. Welcome to the world of competitive M:TG.
Has anyone considered the possibility that, for the first time, slivers may not be evenly spread through all five colors? Note that there have been three red slivers spoiled (including two commons, a first) and no blue or black ones. None of the names from the list seem especially blue or black to me, either. I think that the slivers in M14 may be limited to white, red, green, and colorless.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Commander DecksUB Sygg - Stream of Answers UBGWU Phelddagrif - Hugs and Handshakes GWURW Gisela - Firebender RWB Endrek - Correct! 6,000 Thrulls BBU Wrexial - Wrist Deep In Your Graveyard BUGW Trostani - My Wife's Deck GWBR Lyzolda - Chaos Hug BR
WUBRG Reaper King - The Trouble With Tribals WUBRG
Has anyone considered the possibility that, for the first time, slivers may not be evenly spread through all five colors? Note that there have been three red slivers spoiled (including two commons, a first) and no blue or black ones. None of the names from the list seem especially blue or black to me, either. I think that the slivers in M14 may be limited to white, red, green, and colorless.
If that is the case, I will be very sad. I want another 5 color legendary sliver!
"I swear, WotC could put $100 bills in packs and people would complain how they are folded."
Except this is more like wizards putting ancient aztec or indian trade money in the pack.
Were being told its money.
It kinda resembles money.
But it isnt the money were used to.
If old school slivers are $100 bills, These slivers are Farmville coins.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
I fear I won't have much time to play Magic these days.
I get to watch worlds develop around me.
I get to watch great leaders, terrible oppressors, and trend setters rise and fall.
Limited, Standard, Modern, everything is a different playing field I feel I can observe, but will not actually touch.
I look forward to the stories I will hear.
And more so to the ones I will watch unfold first hand.
Isn't the unknown exciting?
I hated the new look. Slivers had a very defined shape, now they look very generic.
I don't like the lack of symmetry (using slivers to counter slivers were part of the whole sliver thing) but i can see why they did that in a core set were they avoid cards that might benefit your opponent.
Still this is looking to be the most underwhelming of the "sliver seasons". The art is bad, the lack of symmetry is "meh" and they are over costed and too obviously limited oriented. I hope the token maker spell and the rare slivers are exciting enough to compensate all this.
If you want to consider them "modernized", then think about how weird it is Sentinel Sliver doesn't say, "vigilance Other Slivers you control have vigilance."
Has anyone considered the possibility that, for the first time, slivers may not be evenly spread through all five colors? Note that there have been three red slivers spoiled (including two commons, a first) and no blue or black ones. None of the names from the list seem especially blue or black to me, either. I think that the slivers in M14 may be limited to white, red, green, and colorless.
Although I personally think that affecting all slivers (both yours and your opponents') is what defines slivers, Aaron Forsythe said on twitter:
Quote from mtgaaron (twitter) »
@sportzboytjw @markdash12 They helped each other/are five colors is what defines them. Helping opponents wasn't unique to them. Distant 3rd.
I can't imagine they would confine slivers to only 3 colors if that's representative of what design/development thinks.
I'd be very, very surprised if they didn't put Slivers in all colours
They messed up the flavour of some of the Guild Champions from Dragon's Maze to make sure they were all rares to make sure all Guilds are treated the same
If they don't give Slivers to all the colours consider me offended because that flies against the concept of Slivers much more than their new visual design
If you want to consider them "modernized", then think about how weird it is Sentinel Sliver doesn't say, "vigilance Other Slivers you control have vigilance."
All slivers are like that. It also gives itself vigilance (as long as it's a sliver).
Sooooo.... Everything that we didn't understand is from Shandalar. Leshrac, Lim-Dül & co sure did a bad job scooting that place in the years they were there.
I get the mechanic redesign, but they have no justification for their new look. These things have nothing that made the old slivers unigue. You put these arts on an Eldrazi, Slith or Phyrexian and people would believe you they were Eldrazi, Slith and Phyexians.
There is nothing that links them visually to The slivers of old.
Even if these are evolved slivers, or the base forms Volrath took to Rath, there should be something linking them.
I don't think they'll reprint the old ones since all the new slivers seems to have the effect 'all Sliver YOU CONTROL' They did release the flavor text of the old ones, but since Blur Sliver gives haste while the flavor text of Heart Sliver was release, so I think they'll reprint new Slivers with the abilities of the old one which flavor text were release (aka as hibernation sliver and crystalline sliver (probably Higher mana cost and Hexproof instead of shroud on crystalline remake).
Well I just hope we'll be able to see a good sliver deck in Modern since the deck is dead in legacy....
Those images are pretty much how I feel Seamless. Before, you could break out a sliver deck and they were all these weird legless scythy monsters. Now you have this crappy generic art. I get the idea behind them evolving to something new if that's what they are going for. Fine. Still a bad move considering the love a lot of people have for old slivers, but fine. But making them cyborgs? Did you guys have too much left over art from Mirrodin/Phyrexians?
I don't care if they look different, and they had ways to differentiate between the slivers (heart sliver was over the furnace of rath (or maybe some random lava pit, not really sure), that's cool- just stick a sliver in some new area that they adapted to- it worked). All I want is a bunch of the same gross critters that lord each other. I won't rage about this or even care that much when they come out... But it does seem stupid and wrong.
They also cut themselves off from reprints with the change. Or maybe that was the point. Hey here are new slivers... they're the old slivers, but new! So to use 'em you gotta get new copies (oh, and their mechanic is technically better, so..).
The old slivers had a standardized design with a distinctive shape. As soon as you see that shape, you recognize a sliver. The only thing that differed in the art was the physical adaptation; Blade Sliver has blades, Spectral Sliver is a ghost, Virulent Sliver has a big scorpion stinger, Synapse Sliver is sucking a man's brains, etc. By distinguishing the slivers only by their adaptations, it made the adaptations more noticeable.
The new slivers no longer play with the same basic body plan, nor is their new body plan very distinctive. When you see one in art, you don't think, "That's the sliver that gives trample," you think, "That's a big gorilla-looking creature. I wonder what it does. Oh, the text says it's the sliver that gives trample." Battering Sliver is a thick, armored sliver that looks almost like a battering ram, and so you immediately grok that it tramples over foes right after you notice that it's a sliver (Horned Sliver was an example of how NOT to do this, since horns don't really relate to trample).
I applaud the creative team for the amount of effort put into the new design, because it is very cool. However, it lacks the intuitive nature of the old art. I don't think the old Sliver design would really have been unattractive to new players; Legions brought in a ton of new players who all loved the Sliver design. I have a pair of younger brothers who bought the sliver premium decks, and they adore the design.
As a perfect example of what you're talking about, look at the new Plated Sliver variant, Steelform Sliver. Nothing about it suggests that it grants heavy armor to its fellows. In fact, it looks particularly scrawny.
It just looks like a really scrawny Phyrexian. wtf?
As a perfect example of what you're talking about, look at the new Plated Sliver variant, Steelform Sliver. Nothing about it suggests that it grants heavy armor to its fellows. In fact, it looks particularly scrawny.
It just looks like a really scrawny Phyrexian. wtf?
Yeah, it's the smallest frailest looking creature... but it's the one that increases all of their toughness.
I don't think a Hexproof Sliver is going to be possible, because when it hits the board they'll all be impossible to remove, and there will be other ways to boost their power and toughness in the core set.
Hexproof is really an overpowered ability. You make it so that they'll only die to lethal damage, when few non-Sliver creatures will be able to deal with a Trampling, Flying, Deathtouch +1/+2 that Regenerates.
Considering you had a sliver with hexproof on the board...
I can think of a dozen more ways to deal with a swarm of hexproof bugs. Really, the ONLY keyword ability that is a big NO-NO with slivers is 'indestructible', because then your hosers would be down to cards replicating Cyclonic Rift or Hallowed Burial.
They want to have it both ways. They want to excite people based on "oh man, Slivers! I loved those old Slivers!" and they also want to say "hey, **** those old Slivers... lets make these new Slivers really 'badass' and 'extreme'!!! Also, our focus group says teenage kids love Predator..."
I don't know, i read the article explaining the change, but i still don't really like it. Also, for me, at least, the fact that the slivers didn't care who controlled them was a major part of what made slivers slivers (flavor wise). Yes, you could summon them, but overall they don't care about the squabbles of planes walkers, they only care about each other. I feel it showed their hivemindedness better.
The more and more I look at the art for these new "slivers", the less and less I like them. I went and pulled out my old sliver EDH deck last night, and it pretty much just confirmed how little I like these.
This might be the kick in the ass that I needed to start learning to do my own alters. You better believe these new cards are gonna get some proper sliver art when I get a hold of them.
Second, these new slivers were going to appear in the core set. The core set is of course meant for everyone, but it’s the set that we especially like to put in front of newer players. It was felt that slivers’ appeal would be greater for a wider audience if they could be given more of a personality than the eyeless, beaked creatures could support. We wanted them to be able to look you in the eye like other fantasy races, to be capable of a greater range of body language and even, sometimes, to generate facial expressions.
Perfectly encapsulates how the flavor team has been flailing about lately and why Doug Beyer doesn't understand his own job.
The entire point of Slivers as a tribe was that they were not like other fantasy races, did not look you in the eye, were not Merfolk/Elves/Goblins/Avens/Cat-People/Elephant-People/Rhino-People/Hobbits/Faeries/Egghead-Aliens/[XYZ race].
- They will be across all 5 colors.
- The common cycle will grant the basic, evergreen abilities (U will probably be flying, and B will probably be deathtouch).
- The uncommon cycle will be a stat-boosting ability (as seen from the G and W ones).
- The rare cycle, if there is one, will be the typical 'game ender' ability.
- In the case of a mythic, it'll either be a new 5c legend, or something that will allow Slivers to be st00pid good.
In the same way you can tell someone is from the XVIII century because he is arroused by ankles, you can tell someone is from USA because he feels nipples disturbing.
They mention that it was difficult to make new sliver art or something, right? Look at the names of these slivers. Take a sliver, make it look like it's guarding something. Take a sliver, give it bulky metal armor. Take a sliver, show it fighting something. Take a sliver, show it moving as a blur. Striking sliver is sort've a crappy name, might as well call it First Striking Sliver, but.. take a sliver, show it attacking something. Maybe caught unawares.
The slivers may not look vastly different. Who cares? The art is different and they all obviously related. Unlike what they did.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
I was just talking about this to my roommate, a theory i've always joked about was that Eldrazi were just the top evolution of the sliver...then I found out that slivers were originally supposed to be what allies became in zendikar....and now the new artwork....
but then again, this is just tin hat and I didn't want to be the first to say it because I know it is probably wrong, just made sense to me.
EDIT: Due to the post below...now all I can think of with these are fursuit slivers....don't know if I should be scared, or not....
by the way, if there's proper support soon then that first strike guy will be kinda nuts.
If that is the case, I will be very sad. I want another 5 color legendary sliver!
Except this is more like wizards putting ancient aztec or indian trade money in the pack.
Were being told its money.
It kinda resembles money.
But it isnt the money were used to.
If old school slivers are $100 bills, These slivers are Farmville coins.
I get to watch great leaders, terrible oppressors, and trend setters rise and fall.
Limited, Standard, Modern, everything is a different playing field I feel I can observe, but will not actually touch.
I look forward to the stories I will hear.
And more so to the ones I will watch unfold first hand.
Isn't the unknown exciting?
I don't like the lack of symmetry (using slivers to counter slivers were part of the whole sliver thing) but i can see why they did that in a core set were they avoid cards that might benefit your opponent.
Still this is looking to be the most underwhelming of the "sliver seasons". The art is bad, the lack of symmetry is "meh" and they are over costed and too obviously limited oriented. I hope the token maker spell and the rare slivers are exciting enough to compensate all this.
BGU Control
R Aggro
Standard - For Fun
BG Auras
New cards spoiled:
Jinxed Idol (reprint)
Hive Stirrings - A sorcery that creates Sliver tokens
Sliver Construct
Predatory Sliver
Groundshaker Sliver
Megantic Sliver
Blur Sliver
Striking Sliver
Thorncaster Sliver
Battle Sliver
Sentinel Sliver
Bonescythe Sliver
Although I personally think that affecting all slivers (both yours and your opponents') is what defines slivers, Aaron Forsythe said on twitter:
I can't imagine they would confine slivers to only 3 colors if that's representative of what design/development thinks.
They messed up the flavour of some of the Guild Champions from Dragon's Maze to make sure they were all rares to make sure all Guilds are treated the same
If they don't give Slivers to all the colours consider me offended because that flies against the concept of Slivers much more than their new visual design
All slivers are like that. It also gives itself vigilance (as long as it's a sliver).
Circle of Predation, Part 1
Circle of Predation, Part 2
Well I just hope we'll be able to see a good sliver deck in Modern since the deck is dead in legacy....
I don't care if they look different, and they had ways to differentiate between the slivers (heart sliver was over the furnace of rath (or maybe some random lava pit, not really sure), that's cool- just stick a sliver in some new area that they adapted to- it worked). All I want is a bunch of the same gross critters that lord each other. I won't rage about this or even care that much when they come out... But it does seem stupid and wrong.
They also cut themselves off from reprints with the change. Or maybe that was the point. Hey here are new slivers... they're the old slivers, but new! So to use 'em you gotta get new copies (oh, and their mechanic is technically better, so..).
Instead they bastardized it. Predators are not slivers.
Of course we'll get no explaination, like the scars of mirrodin goblins.
B Lover Since '09 ~
Standard:
meh.
Modern:
Urzatron GR
Vintage:
Contol-Slaver UBR
EDH:
Drana B
Jhoira UR
Savra BG
Turned into:
Adun Oakenshield BGR
Sharuum BUW
Turned into:
Memnarch U
KiKi-Jiki R
Turned into:
Godo R
Turned into:
Aurelia RW
The Mimeoplasm UBG
Rasputin Dreamweaver UW
Turned into:
Geist of Saint Traft -French 1v1 UW
Nekusar UBR
This is another brilliant post.
As a perfect example of what you're talking about, look at the new Plated Sliver variant, Steelform Sliver. Nothing about it suggests that it grants heavy armor to its fellows. In fact, it looks particularly scrawny.
It just looks like a really scrawny Phyrexian. wtf?
0 Karn
W Darien
U Arcanis
B Geth
R Norin
G Yeva
UW Hanna
RB Olivia
WB Obzedat
UR Melek
BG Glissa
WR Aurelia
GU Kraj
BRU Nicol Bolas
RGB Prossh
BGW Ghave
GUB Mimeoplasm
WUBRG Sliver Overlord
GWU Treva, the Renewer
EDH Spike:
U Azami, Lady of Scrolls
Trades
Yeah, it's the smallest frailest looking creature... but it's the one that increases all of their toughness.
So silly and lazy.
Considering you had a sliver with hexproof on the board...
Day of Judgement > slivers.
Damnation > slivers.
Hallowed Burial > slivers.
I can think of a dozen more ways to deal with a swarm of hexproof bugs. Really, the ONLY keyword ability that is a big NO-NO with slivers is 'indestructible', because then your hosers would be down to cards replicating Cyclonic Rift or Hallowed Burial.
[Horde] Phyrexia ascendant - The Virus
WUBRG - [Primer] Sliver Overlord - The Swarm - WUBRG
QFT so, so much.
Circle of Predation, Part 1
Circle of Predation, Part 2
This might be the kick in the ass that I needed to start learning to do my own alters. You better believe these new cards are gonna get some proper sliver art when I get a hold of them.
Second, these new slivers were going to appear in the core set. The core set is of course meant for everyone, but it’s the set that we especially like to put in front of newer players. It was felt that slivers’ appeal would be greater for a wider audience if they could be given more of a personality than the eyeless, beaked creatures could support. We wanted them to be able to look you in the eye like other fantasy races, to be capable of a greater range of body language and even, sometimes, to generate facial expressions.
Perfectly encapsulates how the flavor team has been flailing about lately and why Doug Beyer doesn't understand his own job.
The entire point of Slivers as a tribe was that they were not like other fantasy races, did not look you in the eye, were not Merfolk/Elves/Goblins/Avens/Cat-People/Elephant-People/Rhino-People/Hobbits/Faeries/Egghead-Aliens/[XYZ race].
0 Karn
W Darien
U Arcanis
B Geth
R Norin
G Yeva
UW Hanna
RB Olivia
WB Obzedat
UR Melek
BG Glissa
WR Aurelia
GU Kraj
BRU Nicol Bolas
RGB Prossh
BGW Ghave
GUB Mimeoplasm
WUBRG Sliver Overlord
GWU Treva, the Renewer
EDH Spike:
U Azami, Lady of Scrolls
Trades
- They will be across all 5 colors.
- The common cycle will grant the basic, evergreen abilities (U will probably be flying, and B will probably be deathtouch).
- The uncommon cycle will be a stat-boosting ability (as seen from the G and W ones).
- The rare cycle, if there is one, will be the typical 'game ender' ability.
- In the case of a mythic, it'll either be a new 5c legend, or something that will allow Slivers to be st00pid good.
The slivers may not look vastly different. Who cares? The art is different and they all obviously related. Unlike what they did.