Sliver Hive does not solve all mana problems especially in the spell intensive builds. It's worthless when trying to cast Simic Charm or whatever. That said, I've only had a problem with that in one game--if you keep it to three colors it should be fine. (Manaweft really helps with fixing).
The deck plays less like Zoo and more like Delver. It plays a few, evasive, efficient creatures, then protects them and distrupts the opponent as it gets in damage. Galerider and Diffusion are the evasion, Predatory and Leeching are the power, and Manaweft is there for acceleration and fixing.
A couple of card explanations:
Cyclonic Rift is a total powerhouse here. With Manaweft Sliver on the board, it's very easy to cast and sets up blowout victories against a lot of decks. It can also just be used as a cheap removal spell.
Diffusion Sliver has gotten a lot of criticism here, but I'd say that it's easily one of the most important cards in the deck. Without it, many decks just remove the sliver that you're relying on, usually ending in a loss for the sliver deck.
I built this deck with the legacy Meathooks (Counter-Sliver) deck in mind. Compare:
I've been trying out the new Ross list recently and it seems quite good although it has left me with a couple of questions.
1) Where did Dynacharge go? Last time I played this deck (Innistrad was legal), Dynacharge won me a good 50% of my games--maybe more. We still spam creatures, we still have legion loyalist for trample, it even acts like a pseudo Titan's Strength. I don't understand why it got removed.
2) (Probably a stupid question:) What decks does Eidolon come in against? Small decks that try to race us? Big decks that have to play cheap removal spells?
3) Another where did __________ go question: Burning-Tree Emissary. Does it just not do enough?
Thanks,
Prediction: Manlands. That that lava-dragon thing in the artwork totally reminds me of Lavaclaw Reaches.
Edit: Even if they aren't straight up Zendikar-style manlands, KTK could put a new spin on the idea of lands waking up and becoming creatures.
Maybe a "Land Creature" similar to the "Enchantment Creature" type we've seen in Theros with a similar "as long as _________, this card is not a creature" clause. Pure speculation.
If we're going to be talking about problems with land, I've been testing with this deck a bunch in the past week and most of my mulligans come from drawing a hand with one or two colorless lands and a bunch of green cards. I've actually been considering cutting a cathedral, what do you guys think?
I'm thinking about getting into modern infect, and am wondering whether anyone has thought aboutRunechanter's Pike? With all the pump spells we play, It will get very big very quickly and could give us some later game potential on the back of a nexus. Also, the first strike it gives is very nice on creatures with infect.
Also, could a white splash be useful in this deck?
I also doubt that it would greatly destabilize the manabase. Even without fetches, a deck could run eight white/green sources that would come into play untapped (Razorverge Thicket and Temple Garden).
I tested a bit against merfolk today and had a really hard time. He might've been getting lucky a lot, but he won on turn four almost every game by a fairly significant margin. I was trying to race with the combo, but was usually a turn too slow. Trying to stabilize with finks and angel just seemed silly in the face of like five or six 5/5 merfolk. Any tips on this matchup?
@Ozg-- Affinity is one deck that I've had a lot of experience against with D&T, and I've found that sometimes (especially if your hand looks to be on the slow side) it's worth it to mull once or twice to get one of your sideboard hate-cards.
Also, I've found Stony Silence to be significantly stronger against them than Kataki, mostly because they can't really do anything about it. I eventually switched out my Kataki for another Silence because every time I played it, it would get Galvanic Blasted or Dispatched. After that my friend and I had to go back to testing G1s because it was so hard for him to beat a deck with three copies of Stony Silence in it.
I just came back to manaless dredge, and the new blue version has me a bit confused. Are people playing blue purely for Force of Will? Or is there some reason that Whirlpool Rider and Laboratory Maniac are better than ye olde spy/flayer package?
Also, why is FoW being played here? Is it specifically to counter hate? Deal with opposing combo decks? Is there a better way to do those things than adding a card that gives us card disadvantage and requires (what seems to be) a somewhat awkward blue splash?
I believe Eternal Witness has been talked about before. I think it's just too slow of a card. Your suggest Pod chain with it feels a lot more like Melira Pod, slow and planned over multiple turns where Kiki Pod would rather just win. I don't think it's terrible. There's definitely value Restoing it and getting additional cards, but in that 3 slot, I'd rather have a solid beater as my flex slot.
I'm going to stick up for Eternal Witness a bit. I think it gets a bad rap because it isn't a card that just makes you win, and it doesn't have any specific hate application.
The thing about Witness, is that it's useful in the long game, the game that nobody likes to talk about.
I'm referring to those games in which both you and the opponent are more or less out of cards, graveyards are full, and you have little battlefield presence. The opponent has managed to remove your creatures and/or pods, and you in turn have exhausted their hand and board through combat and combo attempts.
Eternal Witness is key in these scenarios because it lets you get back in the game. It can resurrect a destroyed birthing pod, or like a mini birthing pod, resurrect a creature (or creatureS in the case of restoration angel) of your chocie. It's pure card advantage that you can sculpt to the current game state, which really helps out in the non-christmas land scenario.
It can also give you a second chance at combo if both of your Kikis die, which can come up now and then.
I'm not saying that Witness should be in every pod list, but I just think it shouldn't be discounted because it's less "broken" as our other cards.
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4 Glistener Elf
4 Ichorclaw Myr
Spells:
4 Sylvan Scrying
4 Rancor
4 Mutagenic Growth
4 Giant Growth
4 Groundswell
4 Vines of Vastwood
4 Apostle's Blessing
2 Dismember
5 Forest
1 Pendelhaven
4 Cathedral of War
4 Inkmoth Nexus
4 Razorverge Thicket
2 Temple Garden
2 Verdant Catacombs
2 Tormod's Crypt / Silence
3 Stony Silence
3 Path to Exile
2 Dismember
4 Nature's Claim
1 Spellskite
I haven't gotten to test against against RDW and would really appeciate any advice you guys have on that matchup or the decklist.
Thanks,
Arget
4 Diffusion Sliver
4 Galerider Sliver
4 Manaweft Sliver
4 Leeching Sliver
4 Predatory Sliver
2 Syphon Sliver
1 Sliver Hivelord
3 Chord of Calling
2 Syncopate
4 Simic Charm
4 Cyclonic Rift
2 Doom Blade
Land:
3 Forest
3 Breeding Pool
2 Mana Confluence
3 Mutavault
4 Sliver Hive
2 Island
2 Watery Grave
1 Overgrown Tomb
2 Swamp
The deck plays less like Zoo and more like Delver. It plays a few, evasive, efficient creatures, then protects them and distrupts the opponent as it gets in damage. Galerider and Diffusion are the evasion, Predatory and Leeching are the power, and Manaweft is there for acceleration and fixing.
A couple of card explanations:
Cyclonic Rift is a total powerhouse here. With Manaweft Sliver on the board, it's very easy to cast and sets up blowout victories against a lot of decks. It can also just be used as a cheap removal spell.
Diffusion Sliver has gotten a lot of criticism here, but I'd say that it's easily one of the most important cards in the deck. Without it, many decks just remove the sliver that you're relying on, usually ending in a loss for the sliver deck.
I built this deck with the legacy Meathooks (Counter-Sliver) deck in mind. Compare:
4 Muscle Sliver (Predatory)
4 Winged Sliver (Galerider)
3 Plated Sliver (Leeching)
2 Essence Sliver (Syphon)
1 Eternal Dragon (Hivelord)
4 Force of Will
3 Mana Leak
4 Swords to Plowshares
2 Fact or Fiction
2 AEther Vial
1 Disenchant
1 Naturalize
3 Plains
1 Forest
4 City of Brass
4 Gemstone Mine
2 Tundra
1 Savannah
1 Tropical Island
1 Brushland
1 Adarkar Wastes
1 Yavimaya Coast
1 Windswept Heath
What are people's thoughts on this? It looks objectively a little more powerful to me, but maybe less consistent--still I'd like to give it a spin.
I've been trying out the new Ross list recently and it seems quite good although it has left me with a couple of questions.
1) Where did Dynacharge go? Last time I played this deck (Innistrad was legal), Dynacharge won me a good 50% of my games--maybe more. We still spam creatures, we still have legion loyalist for trample, it even acts like a pseudo Titan's Strength. I don't understand why it got removed.
2) (Probably a stupid question:) What decks does Eidolon come in against? Small decks that try to race us? Big decks that have to play cheap removal spells?
3) Another where did __________ go question: Burning-Tree Emissary. Does it just not do enough?
Thanks,
Arget
Edit: Even if they aren't straight up Zendikar-style manlands, KTK could put a new spin on the idea of lands waking up and becoming creatures.
Maybe a "Land Creature" similar to the "Enchantment Creature" type we've seen in Theros with a similar "as long as _________, this card is not a creature" clause. Pure speculation.
I'm going to try out a GW list that runs no white cards mainboard, but plays some white lands to have better sideboard options.
I'm thinking about getting into modern infect, and am wondering whether anyone has thought aboutRunechanter's Pike? With all the pump spells we play, It will get very big very quickly and could give us some later game potential on the back of a nexus. Also, the first strike it gives is very nice on creatures with infect.
Also, could a white splash be useful in this deck?
It would give us:
1) Slightly better removal (Path to Exile or Oust over Dismember)
2) More protection in Emerge Unscathed or Gods Willing type cards as well as Mark of Asylum.
3) Much better sideboard hate for affinity (Stony Silence and Kataki, War's Wage)
4) Qasali Pridemage
5) Sejiri Steppe in the Sylvan Scrying tutor package
I also doubt that it would greatly destabilize the manabase. Even without fetches, a deck could run eight white/green sources that would come into play untapped (Razorverge Thicket and Temple Garden).
Might not be worth it, just an idea.
Thoughts?
I tested a bit against merfolk today and had a really hard time. He might've been getting lucky a lot, but he won on turn four almost every game by a fairly significant margin. I was trying to race with the combo, but was usually a turn too slow. Trying to stabilize with finks and angel just seemed silly in the face of like five or six 5/5 merfolk. Any tips on this matchup?
Also, I've found Stony Silence to be significantly stronger against them than Kataki, mostly because they can't really do anything about it. I eventually switched out my Kataki for another Silence because every time I played it, it would get Galvanic Blasted or Dispatched. After that my friend and I had to go back to testing G1s because it was so hard for him to beat a deck with three copies of Stony Silence in it.
Also, why is FoW being played here? Is it specifically to counter hate? Deal with opposing combo decks? Is there a better way to do those things than adding a card that gives us card disadvantage and requires (what seems to be) a somewhat awkward blue splash?
Ethersworn Canonist is very bad for them. Also, if it's really prevalent in your area, you can run graveyard hate-bears.
I'm going to stick up for Eternal Witness a bit. I think it gets a bad rap because it isn't a card that just makes you win, and it doesn't have any specific hate application.
The thing about Witness, is that it's useful in the long game, the game that nobody likes to talk about.
I'm referring to those games in which both you and the opponent are more or less out of cards, graveyards are full, and you have little battlefield presence. The opponent has managed to remove your creatures and/or pods, and you in turn have exhausted their hand and board through combat and combo attempts.
Eternal Witness is key in these scenarios because it lets you get back in the game. It can resurrect a destroyed birthing pod, or like a mini birthing pod, resurrect a creature (or creatureS in the case of restoration angel) of your chocie. It's pure card advantage that you can sculpt to the current game state, which really helps out in the non-christmas land scenario.
It can also give you a second chance at combo if both of your Kikis die, which can come up now and then.
I'm not saying that Witness should be in every pod list, but I just think it shouldn't be discounted because it's less "broken" as our other cards.