Sliver Banner by perv90210
Welcome to the sliver primer, now we are one !!!
The slivers is a particular tribe with the ability to share your powers with all your brothers, this is the great advantage of that tribe: more slivers in play, more stronger the army. The firsts slivers decks shows the true nature of the slivers, they are the predators, the others are the prey. In that topic we will discuss all the faces of that tribe. Enjoy !!
One-Side Bonus: Constricting Sliver: Slow and Bad sliver. Bonescythe Sliver: A better version from of fury, a nice finisher for mono W sliver deck. Sentinel Sliver: A cool two drop sliver, vigilance creatures need to be build around to work nice, the sad part was, the best slivers are at two cmc, hard to find spot for vigilance. Steelform Sliver: bad sliver, go away from him. All-In Bonus: Essence Sliver: Since he doesn't use Lifelink keyword he can got a spot. For mono white or WX Slivers deck he can shine, may be in a (W/B). Pulmonic Sliver: Despite its high cmc, he's basically evasion plus removal insurance, still a option for mono white. Sidewinder Sliver: While nice in mono white decks, it's useless as soon as you add another color. Sinew Sliver: A must-in if you play white. It's that good. Talon Sliver: A combat supporting Sliver for mono white decks. Ward Sliver: Despite its high cmc a great card. Protection from the color of your choice for your whole team is bomby. Note that there are Sliver abilities that target themselves and might be shut off with this. Plated Sliver: Is okay and can see play in most Sliver decks. Armor Sliver: Too much mana for defensive options, not a good choice. Lymph Sliver: Same as Armor Sliver. Poultice Sliver: Not a good choice, still an option for mono white decks. Quilled Sliver: Same as Poultice Sliver. Watched Sliver: Same as Armor Sliver.
One-Side Bonus: Venom Sliver: A good fast and offensive sliver for green, hard to find a slot for him. Groundshaker Sliver: so much mana, trample in green its easy to get with other options or low mana. Manaweft Sliver: bye bye gemhide, our new friend fix helping only our hive !! Megantic Sliver: we don't need him, so much mana, slivers need to be fast and we have better options at low mana. Predatory Sliver: The new muscle sliver, very nice, pumps only our side. Must-in for G. All-In Bonus: Muscle Sliver: A must-in if you play green. Like Sinew Sliver for white, it's that good. Gemhide Sliver: Helps to fix unstable land bases in multicolored variants and able to produce explosive plays, a must in for casual decks. Brood Sliver: A cool choice, fun with evasion and ramp. Horned Sliver: Only good for mono green, works nice with Brood Sliver. Might Sliver: The new star for green, putting Brood Sliver out of competition. [too expensive & overkill] Fungus Sliver: Poor Sliver... I think he has more fun in Fungus.dec with Hivestone. Root Sliver: It's expensive, and unless counters are a problem in your meta, at best a sideboard option. Spinneret Sliver: May be sideboarded. Virulent Sliver: Fun alternate wincon. Sick if you can have evasion. Quick Sliver: Usually no main deck material, it may appeal to a personal play style and really shine. Reflex Sliver: Too much expensive and a weak ability, not a good choice.
One-Side Bonus: Diffusion Sliver: Cheap and fast defensive sliver, can help in some builds. Galerider Sliver: Best blue for aggro, winged lost your place for the new one. All-In Bonus: Mesmeric Sliver: Too much mana for bad ability. Mistform Sliver: Boring waste of cardboard. Mnemonic Sliver: Blue has better draw in spell form. Psionic Sliver: Might have a place in combo decks, but his high cmc makes him a bad choice for most other variants. Screeching Sliver: Only sees play in combo based sliver decks (Intruder Alarm and Splinter Twin decks). Shadow Sliver: You can't be blocked, but you can't either, very risky. Shifting Sliver: Best evasion ability, yet cmc makes him inferior to Winged. Synapse Sliver: Same as Mnemonic Sliver. Synchronous Sliver: Same as Mesmeric Sliver. Telekinetic Sliver: A build-around-me Sliver, too expensive for other variants. Winged Sliver: A must-in if you play blue, the best way to give your team evasion. Like Sinew Sliver for white, it's that good.
One-Side Bonus: Belligerent Sliver: New Two-Headed version, more slow than old one. Battle Sliver: Bad sliver, soo much mana, even for a one side bonus. Blur Sliver: Too much mana, even for one side haste. Striking Sliver: A better version of Talon Sliver, if you are playing R, RX or a (R/W) deck that guy should be used. Thorncaster Sliver: fiver mana for that, serious ?? All-In Bonus: Barbed Sliver: Inefficient compared to other Slivers. Battering Sliver: Way too expensive. Blade Sliver: Inefficient compared to other Slivers, less than Barbed, still no good choice. Bonesplitter Sliver: Inefficient compared to other Slivers. Fury Sliver: Way too expensive. Heart Sliver: For two mana there are a lot of better Slivers. Good for Combo/Reanimate builds. Homing Sliver: Better Tutors exist, but if you want to build a pure casual Sliver deck, this is the Tutor to go for. Hunter Sliver: A cool sliver for board control in red, not topnotch material, but fun in red and black based decks. Magma Sliver: A bomb in red, it's a good finisher. A must-in for mono R. Note that Crystalline and maybe Ward Sliver make it useless. Sedge Sliver: Only nice in (R/B) slivers deck. Two-Headed Sliver: For two mana there are a lot of better Slivers.
One-Side Bonus: Leeching Sliver: Cheap and fast aggro slivers for B aggro builds. Syphon Sliver: Lifelink is nerfed, but still good. This can get a spot in mono black or BX Slivers. Can also be fun in (B/W) with Essense sliver since you can stack both bonus. All-In Bonus: Basal Sliver: Can replace Mana Echoes or Ashnod's Altar in Sliver Queen combo builds. Clot Sliver: An option for regeneration. Crypt Sliver: The other option or regeneration. Again note that Crystalline and maybe Ward Sliver make it useless. Frenzy Sliver: Outside black based decks, it's a weak choice. Mindlash Sliver: Black has better discard in spell form. Mindwhip Sliver: Same as Mindlash Sliver. Spectral Sliver: Fun in black based decks with lots of mana. Spitting Sliver: Too expensive, Talon Sliver isn't too good, for three mana more it's not better. Toxin Sliver: A monster, working best in mono black or red-black decks. Vampiric Sliver: Fungus Sliver has the type Fungus, why no Vampire type for this one? Anyway. Generally a lame ability, fun with Toxin Sliver. Plague Sliver: The black sheep of the tribe, it's Sliver hate. Never play him in a Sliver deck.
Adaptive Automaton: Generic lord for all tribes, very good in sliver decks running 3 or less colors. Metallic Sliver: Filler, because he grant's no bonus nothing you should go for. Venser's Sliver: Like Metallic but more expensive, you shouldn't play this. Sliver Construct:Like Metallic but more expensive, you shouldn't play this.
Acidic Sliver: Nerfed by the new combat rules, it's still a fun choice for some token/combo sliver decks as a alternate finisher. Cautery Sliver: Same as Acidic Sliver. Crystalline Sliver: The core-creature of any competitive Sliver deck. It's probably the best Sliver, as it makes all spot removal useless. This out-weights its drawbacks of not being able to play f.e. Equipments or some other Slivers along it. If a card is in conflict with Crystalline Sliver it's not playable in a good (the Spike-y 'good') Sliver deck. Darkheart Sliver: Nerfed by the new combat rules. It's an option against burn. Dementia Sliver: Needs to be built around, to get some casual play. Dormant Sliver: Slivers' card-advantage engine. Control Slivers run him. If you need to win by combat, make sure you can get rid of him. Firewake Sliver: Too much mana for a fragile body. Frenetic Sliver: I've never seen a fun deck with him, if anyone has one, share it with us. Ghostflame Sliver: I've never seen a nice deck with him, maybe with the new All Is Dust =) Harmonic Sliver: Nice "removal", but be careful, if you have a lot of artifacts/enchants yourself, the effect is mandatory. Hibernation Sliver: Nerfed by the new combat rules, some decks run him to protect the most important Slivers. Necrotic Sliver: An army of Vindicates is always fun. A good sliver, despite being also nerfed by the new combat rules. Opaline Sliver: A bad substitution for Crystalline. Spined Sliver: A filler for aggro decks. Victual Sliver: Darkheart Sliver is better. Sliver Legion: Coat of Arms on legs and talons, the 5 color slivers runs him for flavor and pump, also a 7/7 for five its fun. Sliver Overlord: A "permanent" tutor for five mana, only has a spot in non-aggro decks. Needs to be built around, may be with Amoeboid Changeling. Sliver Hivelord: The new lord has arrived, besides for me he is more defensive than offensive, still a very nice wincon. Sliver Queen: Once a queen, today is just for flavor in decks. Still a very potent wincon. Producing 1/1s is strong enough, if they come with bonuses, it becomes absurd really fast. There are also combos with her, that mostly end with infinite tokens.
THE CARDS
Since most of the slivers decks are multicolored and most of time fast decks we work here with good splash cards.
Lands
Sliver Hive: Our land, our nest, our Home !! Must in for slivers. Ancient Ziggurat: If you go for three or more colors and focus on creature spells, this is a good and chreap option. Gemstone Mine: If your deck doesn't mind the loss of a land in mid-game, then this is a option. Thran Quarry: In creature-heavy decks, a nice, but risky option. City of Brass: Cheap option for decks with more than two colors. Now there are a better version, Mana Confluence. Reflecting Pool: All that played during Lorwyn know how absurd this card is with the right land base. Flagstones of Trokair: Cheap land for decks with focus on white. Help to fetch plains type like dual lands. Gaea's Cradle: An expensive option, that explains itself. Volrath's Stronghold: Recursion on a land is nothing for a agro deck, but decks that aim for a longer game or multiplayer should think about this. Yavimaya Hollow: A fun card for decks that don't have problem with running a land that produces only colorless. Arena: cheap fun control land for casual decks with heavy creature, nice synergy with ward sliver. Alchemist's Refuge: nice card for a ramp/control (U/G) deck. Kessig Wolf Run: You want to be aggro, that is your land, ramp/aggro (R/G) love it, pump plus evasion for a mid game its all you need. Slayers' Stronghold: Boros land ? yes !! for (R/W) decks, the pump and abilities are perfect !! a aggro/burn deck will love !! Vault of the Archangel: ok, that land calls for a more slow deck, works cool for some control decks, the abilities are nice, but need a lot of mana. Mutavault: Strong and costly option for decks that don't have problem with running a land that produces only colorless. Cavern of Souls: Now we have another gold one !! cast our slivers and they cant be countered !! for sure !! give me more !!
Beast Within: best "creature" removal in green, if you deck runs heavy on creatures the token will be easy to deal. Triumph of the Hordes: alternate win con, good synergy with virulent sliver for surprise combat ending game. Green Sun's Zenith: good tutor for fast GX decks. Natural Order: perfect card to cheat the 5c sliver legends into play. Worldly Tutor: for 1cc you can tutor a creature and put at the top of your library, nice card for some mid/control decks. Survival of the Fittest: Cool card for some kind of control/combo decks, or mid range decks, works nice with Anger/Wonder team. Naturalize: the green version of Disenchant. Krosan Grip: Destroy artifact and enchantment, cant be counter and easy splash, what more you want ? Concordant Crossroads: if your deck is fast and aggro, that card make your deck insane, haste for all creatures in play. Steely Resolve: Shroud for all slivers, cheap Crystalline Sliver, just careful, don't run if your deck works with effects like Magma Sliver. Sylvan Library: "Brainstorm" in Green, not cheap $$ but if you have, run that. Mirri's Guile: "Sylvan Library" for G, yes, give to me. Descendants' Path: very nice card for creature heavy decks !! Harrow: Mana Fix, also you can run Farseek/Nature's Lore (target dual lands), Search for Tomorrow, Cultivate, Rampant Growth, Abundant Growth, Caravan Vigil. Rancor: For a aggro/stompy deck, that is the card, make evasion and pump, and has CA. Changeling Titan: Fun finisher if used in slivers decks that has pump, come into play effects or evasion.
Lightning Bolt: 3 damage for 1cc, aggro decks love that card, works like removal or hit the opponents life points, if you run a lot of burn, two Thunderous Wrath can run okay in the deck. Ancient Grudge: destroy artifact at instant, not good like Disenchant or Naturalize, but can do CA by flashback G, if you don't run artifacts, Echoing Ruin can have a spot too. Mana Echoes: Another option to combo with Queen. Pandemonium: Fun card in an aggro variant, works good with combo decks. Splinter Twin: Cool card to abuse with "enter in the battlefield" slivers, works perfect with Intruder Alarm for combo decks, has no synergy with Crystalline Sliver. Dangerous Wager: best cheat draw on red to fuel your hand at mid game !! Bonfire of the Damned: cool removal to run at least 2 in R or (R/G) sliver decks.
Swords to Plowshares: Removal at 1cc, StP is the best creature removal, don't be sad if its out of your $$, meat the little brother Path to Exile, also you can find some cheap versions like Smite or Condemn. Shared Triumph: Ok, you can have Coat of Arms, but ST is easy to splash, only 2cc, and +1/+1 pump of 2cc is good for aggro, believe !! Disenchant: Instant and 2cc, you could easy run versus Artifact/Enchant heavy decks. Ray of Revelation: destroy enchant at instant, not good like Disenchant or Naturalize, but can do CA by flashback G. Workship: nice card for heavy creature decks, if you like to play more combo or control its a nice card to add to your deck. Oblivion Ring: Very useful removal, can target walkers too, the new strong version Council's Judgment. Mirror Entity: Fun finisher if used with a pump + evasion sliver deck. Blind Obedience: its hard to make a control (W/B) or W sliver deck, but that card helps a lot if you want that path. Hive Stirrings: 3 cmc for sorc and 2 tokens, that card is bad.
Ancestral Vision: free nice draw, ok 4 turns is slow, but works fine in mid and control decks. Brainstorm: if you run blue, take hands at that card, instant draw is always good, be happy do that, Ponder can be used in place, but isn't at same speed. Counterspell: Its classic, 2cc and counter, need to say more ? Also you can run Spell Pierce, Mana Leak, Daze or Cancel, for true power search for Force of Will. Counterbalance: good for control, sinergy with SDtop, brainstorm and fetchs lands. Boomerang: Classic bounce, target any permanent, but you can run Echoing Truth if you looking for easy splash. You can run Devastation Tide for mass bounce, since miracle is cheap and normal cost its okay for mid game. Hatching Plans: Cool card if you run Harmonic Sliver in your deck. Stifle(/Trickbind): A legacy favorite, in sideboards if nothing else. Stifle some fetches, watch your opponent cry. Stifle abilities, make your opponent cry. StandStill: For combo/control decks, works greater with Vials. Intruder Alarm: Good card with token generation, key for some casual sliver combos decks. Amoeboid Changeling: Fun/Combo with Sliver Overlord, Unnatural Selection can be used, its cool because you can target more than one creature, but you cant tutor with homing sliver. Training Grounds: Can be used in place of Heartstone for combos builds. Phantasmal Image: Very good card with Crystalline Sliver in a Bant Sliver deck. Cyclonic Rift: that card was nice, early control, very nice for multiplayer games or commander tables. Hands of Binding: the ability cipher lacks strong spells, but could be fun, since to encode you don't need to target, you can use with Crystalline Sliver, and some of the low cmc spells has nice powers. Hidden Strings: See Hands of Binding.
Duress: It's a good and cheap control card, it can't hit creatures like Thoughtseize, 1cc make the splash more easy, Thoughtseize is better, but isn't cheap. Doom Blade: a nice removal for fast decks, easy splash, don't target black, but you can run Smother or Terror if you like. The new best black removal now are: Go for the Throat and Dismember. Patriarch's Bidding: Very powerful card for tribal decks that run black. Diabolic Tutor: Tutor for any card in your deck, also you can run a non budget version Demonic Tutor. Killing Wave: Very cool damage/mass removal in mid late games !!
Adaptive Automaton: Generic lord for all tribes, very good in sliver decks running 3 or less colors. Sensei's Divining Top: cheap at cc but not cheap at $$, for 1 you can choose what you draw, very nice. Umezawa's Jitte: heavy $$, versatile equipment, works as life gain, pump or creature removal, need to say more? Pro Sword Cycle: the swords born in mirrodin are (with jitte) the top equips for our creatures, a deck based in some support equips should run 2 to 4 of theses, the equip slots must be shared with Jitte too. Aether Vial: the key card for any creature deck, instant summon of your creatures ? EOT put your creature into play and you can use in your next turn, man that is the card. Competitive decks should go for Vial/mana fix in place of mana ramp. Ashnod's Altar: A key for the infinite token with Sliver Queen. Heartstone: Part of the infinite token combo with Altar, it's also fun with Slivers that grant bonuses needing maa to activate. Cloudstone Curio: Crazy and fun card to work in casual for any tribal deck. Hivestone: Fun in a mixed deck. Chromatic Lantern: Five colors deck ? problems solved !!
Garruk Wildspeaker: Mono G ramp and pump, also can be used in GX decks since he helps at mana fix/ramp. Jace Beleren: poor jace 1.0, since now he is budget you could run it in place of jace 2.0, works as draw engine and alternate wincon for UX decks. Jace, the Mind Sculptor: the jace 2.0 is a finisher in any UX deck, control decks love him, if you have, run it. Koth of the Hammer: mono R get a bomb for ramp, also that ultimate works as alternate wincon. Liliana Vess: that walker give control/tutor and a alternate wincon by reanimate for a mono B ramp deck. Liliana of the Veil: very nice walker, for control B decks, low cmc makes she a good alternate win. Sarkhan Vol: Works nice in a (R/G) Aggro deck, the first ability give haste and pump, and the ultimate gives a help to win. Elspeth, Knight-Errant/Elspeth Tirel: a fun walker to make a mono W or WX decks with hivestone. Ajani Goldmane: sliver is a creature focused deck, +1/+1 and vigilance is great for a mono W sliver deck. Ajani, Caller of the Pride: very nice pump and evasion for mono W or WX fast decks. Ajani Vengeant: boros/zoo body deck have a good slot for that walker, good control ability's to use. Sorin, Lord of Innistrad: ok, for me he is only a shared triumph for 4 that cant be destroyed, but if he survive, can be a problem for your op.
Multicolor Options
Guttural Response: Blue hate, only run if your meta have a lot of counter/blue decks. Safewright Quest: Tutor for plains and forest, at 1cc could help some decks.
Terminate: i think that is the best 2cc gold removal. Castigate: works like Thoughtseize but with 2cc. Lightning Helix: nice for two color deck, a Boros Style deck should run that. Eladamri's Call: Not a cheap tutor, but put the creature in your hand, just remember Homing Sliver works at colorless but with one more mana. Hunting Grounds: Cool card with a threshold deck. Batwing Brume: Fog effect for (B/W), dont see too much play, but its a option. Glittering Wish: cool tutor to find the Queen, Overlord or Legion, works nice to tutor other support spells from SB. Hull Breach: A nice (R/G) removal option, can hit up to two targets for 2 cc. Manamorphose: Filler card, give some help at instant mana fix. Necrogenesis: Fun card in (B/G) build with Hivestone. Grisly Salvage: very nice card for filter in a (B/G) deck, with most creatures. Abrupt Decay: best removal for a (B/G) fast deck. Far (Far/Away): nice and cheap support card, good at early, nice at mid, and not a lost in the long run. Simic Charm and others Guild Charms: for me, the best charm for slivers is the simic one, you can save your sliver or pump him if Crystalline isn't in the field, or bounce a enemy creature if you has Crystalline on the field.
Congregation at Dawn: 3 worldly tutor in one. Mortify: creature and enchantment removal for 3cc, works nice in two color decks. Putrefy: creature and artifact removal for 3cc, works nice in two color decks. Aether Rift: cool card to build around with a heavy based creature deck, nice with FoY. Fires of Yavimaya: have some place in (R/G) Aggro, has sinergy with the card above. Vindicate: Runs in most competive in place of the flavour Necrotic Sliver. Maelstrom Pulse: Vindicate's new brother. Unmake: Alternative Removal. Detention Sphere: New Oblivion Ring version ? yes !! to be a true replace for Oring, depends from your meta.
all the new golden charms are versatile, if your deck fits the colors you can find a spot for then:
Mirrorweave: Serious, that card is the nuts Slivers, leads to some really silly plays.
THE HIVE MIND
After you meet our family, you need to choose what path you want to go, there are different ways to play slivers, the most common is the aggro version, but you can find some different and fun paths.
THE DECKS
Most of the deck lists are $$ but, like said in fun cards section, in the other color primes you can find budget replaces for any cards, example, you can replace Jittes for Rancor or other buffs in an aggro deck.
THE AGGRO
This section is made with the intention to inform about the Aggro Slivers. This includes all decks that include a lot of Slivers and their primary win condition involves the attack phase.
QUEEN COMBO
The Queen combo isnt the best combo sliver deck, but still fun, u can kill with the Screeching or Acidic by Tokens, or if necessary by Winged in combat.
THE CONTROL
The control decks for slivers works different, they are basic an Aggro deck with board control, in this section you can see a sample deck made with the Zoo Structure, and samples for the old CounterSlivers decks from the past.
ZOO SLIVER
Legacy Zoo Thread
Zoo wants to win early using efficient creatures and ZOO SLIVER use that structure to do the same job. Your burn spells are more for clearing the board and then for some late game you can use the burn to hit the enemy life points. The link is from the ZOO thread, and the deck list uses the same sample list with the most efficient slivers. In fact its a Aggro Sliver with board control.
Legacy Countersliver Thread
Any good Countersliver deck starts with blue and white, as these colors provide some of the best disruptive spells available in Legacy. Force of Will, Daze, and Swords to Plowshares form the core of your disruption/removal suite. Counterspell can be added for some additional stopping power. Brainstorm is an auto-include, and Ponder can provide some extra digging power if you want it. Significantly, WU just happens to be the casting cost of Crystalline Sliver, the backbone of any good sliver deck. You could build a reasonable “budget” Countersliver deck with just blue and white. However, if you want your deck to really pack a punch, you need to play 3 or 4 colors. Below, I have provided some sample deck lists:
*In Test* Astral Slide is a fun card with many tricks for you to abuse to mess up your opponent's plans. You can kill token creatures, save your creatures cheaply in a bad combat, dodge creature removal (including your own), fog a creature for a turn, untap a creature for your opponent's turn, and reuse "comes into play" and "leaves play" effects.
Just set the engine up and see the deck going to infinite. Remember, you need cyclers to go with them. For that deck Victual/Darkheart and Firewake Slivers are here to help to remove dormant for a final blow. Firewake can be used to pump and haste.
Lightning Rift is just powerful for another astral taken: One extra mana on cycling to do two damage to a creature or player is a good deal, and your opponent's in real trouble when you have out more than one. But today we wasn't focus on him.
REMARKS
First, thanks for all support that MTG Salvation give to me, i hope that primer help the new players, and i ask for the old players to help me make that topic better. Also, sorry for my poor english, i'm learning, and of course, that is a nice pratice for me.
LAST TIPS
If you play slivers in casual, after every greater move you shout:
FOR THE HIVE !!!
hahaha i stole that from Halted Asylum Zombie "tip"...
It looks like a good start, although I'm not entirely sure that a comprehensive Sliver primer can be had due to the sheer variety and nuances that each individual list can hold, especially in casual and especially with Archenemy on the horizon. A UWGRB tribe whereby each creature acts as a "lord" of sorts by sharing abilities whereby each colour brings its best strengths to the table is nearly impossible to nail down in one primer due to the infinite variation in potential lists. This isn't meant to tear you down, but I do feel the need to point out a few things which I feel that you can elaborate on and change up if you're really looking to make a sliver primer in the casual forums.
The cards you've outlined make for rather vague blanket statements about what you could do but throw out ideas without fleshing them out. Flagstones of Trokair opens the door to mono-W, maybe a build with Armageddon and Gemhide Sliver, but doesn't expand on the ways in which such a build would work (ex. mixing in Swords to Plowshares). Basically, what can a mono-W list look like? What can a mono-B list look like? etc.
Returning to the point, because slivers are so varied it makes it difficult to establish absolutes about which slivers are playable. The only thing you can really offer for support is that assuming Legacy rules CounterSliver/MeatHooks is the only Sliver build (or at least the only one I know of) able to put up results largely due to its efficiency and ability to play offensivly while still maintaining the ability to control the board through counters/removal.
With that being said I've had the pleasure of playing 5-colour casual aggro slivers and I've recently converted over into a straight Legacy countersliver build (albeit I'm not sure you could truly call Slivers "competitive" in Legacy anymore). Between the two builds the most important difference I've found wasn't so much in the slivers used, for all intents and purposes they're similar in terms of CC/effects outside of the 5CMC Lords, but the difference is in the number and types of sorceries, instants and artifacts played.
Despite not wanting to write about card advantage/library manipulation/mana ratios/etc. I feel that you really need to otherwise it's not so much a primer as much as it is a listing of cards that could maybe, sort of, kind of, work together in some builds. These concepts, however, are what give a deck (and by extension a primer) focus and direction and essentially prevent it from becoming a pile of cards. So, from the Legacy perspective at least, here are the usual suspects in Countersliver:
Aether Vial: As you yourself have outlined, even casually, most of your good slivers will be 2-drops. Set it to two, be able to drop uncounterable Slivers all game. Obviously allows for combat tricks with cards like Muscle Sliver and Sinew Sliver. It bypasses messy mana requirements making it great for mana bases without duals. It pretty much does everything. It's an all-star.
Daze: Lets you be offensive while still being defensive. If you can support a deck with an average costing cost of under 2 then returning an island to your hand is rarely a big deal. Great early game, but obviously gets worse the longer the game goes.
Spell Pierce: A newcomer. I've seen it in some lists. It follows the theme of being cheap, U and liable to counter major game/tempo changing spells.
Standstill: Great card advantage for you. Drop some slivers, drop a Mutavault, beat face and force them to (try to) play something allowing you to draw three.
Ponder/Brainstorm: Similar cards with slightly different functions. Both allow you to manipulate your library and improve upon your card quality.
Force of Will: Again, it lets you be offensive while still being able to counter threats. You can tap out, drop everything, attackattackattack and have no fear of Wrath of God and its ilk.
Swords to Plowshares: A quality removal card. Perhaps the best in the game. It gets rid of your opponents Tarmogoyf or whatever ails you for next to no mana.
Stifle(/Trickbind): A legacy favorite, in sideboards if nothing else. Stifle some fetches, watch your opponent cry. Stifle abilities, make your opponent cry. Etc. etc.
With those mentioned I'd also like the point out the massive importance of fetch-lands, particularly Flooded Strand and Misty Rainforest. They combo with Brainstorm. They fetch you lands. They thin your deck. Most decks (or that I've seen) run 6-8 fetchlands.
Overall, I also feel that although you went through all of the slivers, some of them didn't quite get the emphasis needed to justify their inclusion in builds.
"Crystalline Sliver: the power nine of the slivers, slivers decks must run him." I'd really hammer home this point. Note that this critter voids any type of single target removal that your opponent may have making your creatures particularly hard to kill if you're playing counters/removal alongside your slivers. It's also overly important to emphasize that Crystalline Sliver cannot (or at least usually is not) run alongside equipment. The benefits of Crystalline Sliver outweigh the costs of giving up Umezawa's Jitte - there is no statement more bold and profound than this for the inclusion of Crystalline Sliver in decklists.
Additionally, two small criticisms with the current content in your primer:
1. The Legacy Sliver lists you posted are largely outdated now. Hibernation Sliver is largely dead since the combat changes butchered damage on the stack. Consequently, the mana base changed from a 4 colour base to a 3 colour base. I've seen a few alterations in place of Hibernation Sliver with some lists preferring Spell Pierce, some lists enjoy the tremendous benefits of Standstill and still some prefer Sinew Sliver.
2. "Necrotic Sliver: an army of vindicates is always fun, its a good sliver." The problem with Necrotic Sliver is that you need to invest BW4 and sacrafice a creature to destroy a permanent. Vindicate, on the other hand, works because it's elegant in the sense that you don't need to pay more, delay the time it takes to go off, sacrafice anything, etc. Even if you argue that Necrotic Sliver is 3 mana to cast and then you can pay 3 mana on your next turn that still makes it overly slow - it becomes pay 3 mana, wait a turn, pay 3 mana sacrafice a sliver, potentially tap out for two turns, maybe blow up one thing. You've used two turns, 1 creature and 3 mana to destroy one target. Throughout all of that you can still be hit by Stifle, Trickbind, Swords to Plowshares, etc. Yes, it's casual and Necrotic Sliver can maybe be fun in infinite builds, but aside from those builds you also have access to Swords to Plowshares, Krosan Grip, Counterspell, Vindicate, Burning Wish, Cunning Wish and a whole host of other options to get rid of things.
Again, I'm not trying to be harsh, it's a good start, but just trying to give you some legitimate thoughts on the angle that you could write the primer from and some things that I really do feel need to be included to expand on the current primer and make it more helpful.
Opaline sliver is a very budget version of Crystalline Sliver, at least netting you card advantage if they burn your critters away.
IMHO, you shouldn't build Slivers if you aren't going to be running a full set of Crystalline at some point. It may cost a little money, but it's about the only money card in the deck, so you should really invest in them. You can even just get a playset slowly.
Nice, Slivers really demands a Primer since there are tons of topics about it all the time. Congratz ZeroMD!
I agree with Matchbox20 on some points, like stretching a little on each sliver card; more different sample builds since we have a huge array of possible color mixing, usual support cards (budget and not budget ones: removal, counter, shroud, artifact/enchantment removal, CA...), and some tricky interactions that might lead into different slivers decks (Harmonic Sliver + Hatching Plans, and so on..)
I only disagree with him about to base the primer into Countersliver deck, since there is already a Primer about it on Legacy Forum, and a casual Primer is a little different from a competitive one since results is not the only factor involved, not to mention a huge different meta that these decks will gonna play.
I'll share 3 lists that maybe can fit the Primer, 1 aggro, 1 control and my take on Queen Combo (mana base is up to the player, i'll share a budget one so more players can enjoy the deck, hardcore players can put in the usual set of fetch, dual, manlands...):
Control stuff and pump defense 'til it's able to unleash Psionic direct damage. Some add green just to Gemhide Sliver to pump, but i found out a slowdown, the control can happen just with W/U.
The pure sliver version is alot better than the Mana Echoes version, for 2 reasons: 1) You can tutor your combo pieces with Homing/Overlord; 2) Heart sliver gives haste so you can finish the job right away, no next turn on Screeching case.
Support can run removal, counter, bouncer, tutor, ramp...that's a meta call.
For those that can't figure out the combo:
Gemhide + Basal + Heart + Queen = infinite token & mana.
+ Darkheart = infinite life
+ Acidic = infinite damage
@Bonedoc: I disagree with you on that. Magic has a wide cardpool and many forms to deal with removal, you can play slivers without Crystalline with no extra concern. A nice subs to Meteorainer use is Steely Resolve.
Simple corrections:
- Sidewing Sliver --> Sidewinder Sliver
- I disagree on your description of Pulmonic Sliver, but that's maybe something to talk about. He's basicaly evasion plus removal insurance. Note the 'may', it's important.
-
Quote from example »
if u run W, its a must in, aggro pump.
-> if you run W, it's a must in, aggro pump.
Actually almost all of your "its" should be "it's". Same for "u".
-
Armor Sliver: not a good choice, too much mana for a defensive one.
-> [...] too much mana for nothing but defensive options.
-
Watched Sliver: crap one, too much mana for a defensive pump.
@Bonedoc: I disagree with you on that. Magic has a wide cardpool and many forms to deal with removal, you can play slivers without Crystalline with no extra concern. A nice subs to Meteorainer use is Steely Resolve.
Well, that's just my personal opinion I guess. I just feel like he's your best card, so you should invest in them. Besides, like I said, most of the other Slivers are cheap as hell to get.
IMO Crystalline is the best sliver out there, and Bant Slivers is the best color combination to run. Bant needs to be in the primer, and it really should be the starting point.
Obviously if I had a little more money I'd rework the manabase and remove the Citadels to add more original duals, and my online version actually runs reflecting pools which combo well with the Ziggurats, but I rarely have trouble casting the spells I want to cast.
A few notes: In my very aggressive version, I find the Sliver Legion to be the best Legendary Sliver. Your mileage may vary, but I found that with 4 Eladamri's Calls, I didn't really need the Overlord, and the Queen, while great, still takes a few turns before she ends the game. The Legion can end the game the turn he is played, before he ever attacks.
I like the toolbox variant, with strong aggro components dedicated to fast big flying Slivers, and then Eladamri's Calling up your Harmonics, Horned, Essence, Talon, or Legion as necessary.
Most of the Slivers in this build cost 2CMC, so AEther Vial works well with them. I've considered pulling the Horned and Essence for additional 2 drop slivers, but as one-of's they're worth the slots.
Between Gemhide, Ziggurat, and (in some builds) Reflecting Pool, I have absolutely no trouble casting the Legion. I can tutor him up with Eladamri's Call pretty easily once I have the mana to cast him.
If you can't afford Eladamri's Call, just grab Homing Sliver, he's basically the same thing for {1} more.
I do run 2 Harmonics because if your first one gets killed you're not removing another artifact or enchantment for the rest of the game. HOWEVER: be careful the way you run them. They WILL destroy your AEther Vials eventually, as it's not an optional ability. Usually by the time this becomes an issue, it's not a problem, but it can happen. In other news: don't run Harmonic and Oblivion Ring in the same deck.
One final note: The ONLY reason I don't run a single Ward Sliver is that my casual playgroup features a lot of monocolor decks, and he just makes games not fun. If you don't have that issue, I'd highly recommend slotting in a single Ward Sliver.
- I disagree on your description of Pulmonic Sliver, but that's maybe something to talk about. He's basicaly evasion plus removal insurance. Note the 'may', it's important.
I just wanna point out about this one. I completely agree with you here Blutsau, it's an underrated card, specially in ramp based, or just mana heavy slivers.
It's a kind of card that can help Slivers to hold off combos, ensuring the removed piece to be your next draw. It just don't work around exile effects, anyway, far from crap.
@Bonedoc: Countersliver IS the best sliver, it's just not possible to say "you shouldn't build Slivers if you aren't going to be running a full set of Crystalline", that part is not true, as you can see on decklists, tons of slivers decks are viable without it, specially that it's not a wincon, just a permanent protector.
Thanks for all the feedback, i will wait the Blutsau changes, and after that if necessary i will help to work at the topic these week, i'm checking for the non-sliver cards for the prime, like board control and CA.
@Halted: thanks again with good tips and decks to the primer.
@Matchbox: thanks to help with the points i miss, but about Hibernation, i see some play with him, i know he is nerfed by the new combat rules, but still a board trick in casual
I haven't had much time to test this deck well enough but one problem is its mana base, I don't seem to get the right land at the right time and get really mana screwed.
One of my friends that I casually play against has a pretty nasty sliver deck that can get dangerous if you don't kill it's gemhide slivers. He can virtually power out sliver overlords and sliver queens if you let them go which many have but even then he can still make them all unblockable and still swing for a bunch. It seemed to be weak against control decks but me and him usually have an all out duel when I play my zombie deck against it.
Although, I definitely think he should play some city of brass just in case people kill his gemhides.
I opened one last year, got two crap worldwake packs and 8x scathe zombies, which I promptly hid around my sister's apartment for her roommates to find. But, yeah, it was a piece of crap.
You, sir, have just won the internet. Congratulations.
Looking for some input on my Sliver deck. It's a bit of a strange juxtaposition in that it has the strongest mana pool of all my decks, but is, as noted, just for casual play. The goal is to be able to put down enough Slivers to be a threat in a multiplayer (3-6) environment without having to overextend so terribly that I get wiped and stomped easily.
The lack of artifacts and enchantments is obviously so that I'm never left in a position where I risk having to destroy something of my own while using Harmonic Sliver(s) as a method of clearing out both from other players. I'm aware of the lack of a mass wipe, and while I ponder adding Wraths of some sort, I find it rare that this deck gets in over its head enough that it's necessary. If things are that bad, someone else usually does it for me anyway.
The deck is a mix of consistency (the 4 of's) to attempt to keep pace with the pack, with the 1 of's a either silver bullets against specific decks my friends play (the Virulent Sliver, for example, in case a friend's elf deck gets out of hand and starts generating hundreds of life per turn). Some recursion would be nice, and I ponder finding space for mass recursion like Patriarch's Bidding and at least one Heart Sliver to let me use it and hopefully kill at least one opponent in the same turn.
The deck has a higher average casting cost than I'd like in one that strives to be fairly aggressive, but on average our games tend to go a little longer as people all try to stabilize their position without getting a clear enough advantage that they obviously need to be dealt with immediately.
i will give my points trying to stay casual and flavour:
if you have more reflecting pool, drop exotic orchard and use reflecting, or a basic land, if you playgroup are more competitive and run wasteland or strip mines, you should drop some non-basic lands for some basic, dont drop the fetch lands
i think you can drop 1 overlord, 1 harmonic and 1 ward for 3 homing sliver or some tutor spells, since you can tutor some of the one ofs slivers.
synapse is too high costed for draw, you shoudl run draw spells in place of that sliver.
shifting is cool for flavour, but you could drop him and put one more winged.
with homing in your deck i also drop talon and other ward sliver for one heart sliver and patriarch bidding for alternate win con and recursion.
if you want a more fast deck, you should focus in 3 colors and get 2cc slivers.
During the Time Spiral block, I created a flanking Sliver deck. Then last year for a Legacy tournament, I resurrected it with a few new editions from Zendikar. The deck did pretty well in the tournie because no one expected to encounter something like it, I guess. Since I have the convention coming up again, I want to see if there's any suggestions. Since there's no Legacy this year, I wish to make it a casual deck for matches between events.
The idea of the deck is to send out my Slivers to grant Flanking, +1/+1, and pings. Then, follow with Flanking Knights, who would be transformed into slivers via Hivestone or Shields of Velis Vel. The overall deck is aggressive, especially against other creature decks. If they blocked my flankers, they would most likely be killed before damage. Since I'd be on the assault just about every turn, I'd prevent damage with Dawn Charm (or do it's other effects) and Boros Fury-Shield. Scout's Warning was there for card draw, especially in situations where I had no hand but the deck is creature heavy so I could possibly draw into one then play it. The sideboard handled artifact/enchantment hate, exiling annoying creatures, swapping out slivers if I needed fatties or sacrificial pingers, and if combat got sticky, Master Warcraft to handle things in my favor.
Looking over the deck, it seemed a bit odd now (mainly the one Bonesplitter Sliver), but surprisingly, it did well and was fun to play. Since not many of the creatures can change, since it's Slivers and Flankers, I wonder what spells I could replace and other options could be included.
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Sliver Banner by perv90210
Welcome to the sliver primer, now we are one !!!
The slivers is a particular tribe with the ability to share your powers with all your brothers, this is the great advantage of that tribe: more slivers in play, more stronger the army. The firsts slivers decks shows the true nature of the slivers, they are the predators, the others are the prey. In that topic we will discuss all the faces of that tribe. Enjoy !!
Here you will find all of our family:
Sliver List on Magic Info
One-Side Bonus:
Constricting Sliver: Slow and Bad sliver.
Bonescythe Sliver: A better version from of fury, a nice finisher for mono W sliver deck.
Sentinel Sliver: A cool two drop sliver, vigilance creatures need to be build around to work nice, the sad part was, the best slivers are at two cmc, hard to find spot for vigilance.
Steelform Sliver: bad sliver, go away from him.
All-In Bonus:
Essence Sliver: Since he doesn't use Lifelink keyword he can got a spot. For mono white or WX Slivers deck he can shine, may be in a (W/B).
Pulmonic Sliver: Despite its high cmc, he's basically evasion plus removal insurance, still a option for mono white.
Sidewinder Sliver: While nice in mono white decks, it's useless as soon as you add another color.
Sinew Sliver: A must-in if you play white. It's that good.
Talon Sliver: A combat supporting Sliver for mono white decks.
Ward Sliver: Despite its high cmc a great card. Protection from the color of your choice for your whole team is bomby. Note that there are Sliver abilities that target themselves and might be shut off with this.
Plated Sliver: Is okay and can see play in most Sliver decks.
Armor Sliver: Too much mana for defensive options, not a good choice.
Lymph Sliver: Same as Armor Sliver.
Poultice Sliver: Not a good choice, still an option for mono white decks.
Quilled Sliver: Same as Poultice Sliver.
Watched Sliver: Same as Armor Sliver.
One-Side Bonus:
Venom Sliver: A good fast and offensive sliver for green, hard to find a slot for him.
Groundshaker Sliver: so much mana, trample in green its easy to get with other options or low mana.
Manaweft Sliver: bye bye gemhide, our new friend fix helping only our hive !!
Megantic Sliver: we don't need him, so much mana, slivers need to be fast and we have better options at low mana.
Predatory Sliver: The new muscle sliver, very nice, pumps only our side. Must-in for G.
All-In Bonus:
Muscle Sliver: A must-in if you play green. Like Sinew Sliver for white, it's that good.
Gemhide Sliver: Helps to fix unstable land bases in multicolored variants and able to produce explosive plays, a must in for casual decks.
Brood Sliver: A cool choice, fun with evasion and ramp.
Horned Sliver: Only good for mono green, works nice with Brood Sliver.
Might Sliver: The new star for green, putting Brood Sliver out of competition. [too expensive & overkill]
Fungus Sliver: Poor Sliver... I think he has more fun in Fungus.dec with Hivestone.
Root Sliver: It's expensive, and unless counters are a problem in your meta, at best a sideboard option.
Spinneret Sliver: May be sideboarded.
Virulent Sliver: Fun alternate wincon. Sick if you can have evasion.
Quick Sliver: Usually no main deck material, it may appeal to a personal play style and really shine.
Reflex Sliver: Too much expensive and a weak ability, not a good choice.
One-Side Bonus:
Diffusion Sliver: Cheap and fast defensive sliver, can help in some builds.
Galerider Sliver: Best blue for aggro, winged lost your place for the new one.
All-In Bonus:
Mesmeric Sliver: Too much mana for bad ability.
Mistform Sliver: Boring waste of cardboard.
Mnemonic Sliver: Blue has better draw in spell form.
Psionic Sliver: Might have a place in combo decks, but his high cmc makes him a bad choice for most other variants.
Screeching Sliver: Only sees play in combo based sliver decks (Intruder Alarm and Splinter Twin decks).
Shadow Sliver: You can't be blocked, but you can't either, very risky.
Shifting Sliver: Best evasion ability, yet cmc makes him inferior to Winged.
Synapse Sliver: Same as Mnemonic Sliver.
Synchronous Sliver: Same as Mesmeric Sliver.
Telekinetic Sliver: A build-around-me Sliver, too expensive for other variants.
Winged Sliver: A must-in if you play blue, the best way to give your team evasion. Like Sinew Sliver for white, it's that good.
One-Side Bonus:
Belligerent Sliver: New Two-Headed version, more slow than old one.
Battle Sliver: Bad sliver, soo much mana, even for a one side bonus.
Blur Sliver: Too much mana, even for one side haste.
Striking Sliver: A better version of Talon Sliver, if you are playing R, RX or a (R/W) deck that guy should be used.
Thorncaster Sliver: fiver mana for that, serious ??
All-In Bonus:
Barbed Sliver: Inefficient compared to other Slivers.
Battering Sliver: Way too expensive.
Blade Sliver: Inefficient compared to other Slivers, less than Barbed, still no good choice.
Bonesplitter Sliver: Inefficient compared to other Slivers.
Fury Sliver: Way too expensive.
Heart Sliver: For two mana there are a lot of better Slivers. Good for Combo/Reanimate builds.
Homing Sliver: Better Tutors exist, but if you want to build a pure casual Sliver deck, this is the Tutor to go for.
Hunter Sliver: A cool sliver for board control in red, not topnotch material, but fun in red and black based decks.
Magma Sliver: A bomb in red, it's a good finisher. A must-in for mono R. Note that Crystalline and maybe Ward Sliver make it useless.
Sedge Sliver: Only nice in (R/B) slivers deck.
Two-Headed Sliver: For two mana there are a lot of better Slivers.
One-Side Bonus:
Leeching Sliver: Cheap and fast aggro slivers for B aggro builds.
Syphon Sliver: Lifelink is nerfed, but still good. This can get a spot in mono black or BX Slivers. Can also be fun in (B/W) with Essense sliver since you can stack both bonus.
All-In Bonus:
Basal Sliver: Can replace Mana Echoes or Ashnod's Altar in Sliver Queen combo builds.
Clot Sliver: An option for regeneration.
Crypt Sliver: The other option or regeneration. Again note that Crystalline and maybe Ward Sliver make it useless.
Frenzy Sliver: Outside black based decks, it's a weak choice.
Mindlash Sliver: Black has better discard in spell form.
Mindwhip Sliver: Same as Mindlash Sliver.
Spectral Sliver: Fun in black based decks with lots of mana.
Spitting Sliver: Too expensive, Talon Sliver isn't too good, for three mana more it's not better.
Toxin Sliver: A monster, working best in mono black or red-black decks.
Vampiric Sliver: Fungus Sliver has the type Fungus, why no Vampire type for this one? Anyway. Generally a lame ability, fun with Toxin Sliver.
Plague Sliver: The black sheep of the tribe, it's Sliver hate. Never play him in a Sliver deck.
Adaptive Automaton: Generic lord for all tribes, very good in sliver decks running 3 or less colors.
Metallic Sliver: Filler, because he grant's no bonus nothing you should go for.
Venser's Sliver: Like Metallic but more expensive, you shouldn't play this.
Sliver Construct:Like Metallic but more expensive, you shouldn't play this.
Acidic Sliver: Nerfed by the new combat rules, it's still a fun choice for some token/combo sliver decks as a alternate finisher.
Cautery Sliver: Same as Acidic Sliver.
Crystalline Sliver: The core-creature of any competitive Sliver deck. It's probably the best Sliver, as it makes all spot removal useless. This out-weights its drawbacks of not being able to play f.e. Equipments or some other Slivers along it. If a card is in conflict with Crystalline Sliver it's not playable in a good (the Spike-y 'good') Sliver deck.
Darkheart Sliver: Nerfed by the new combat rules. It's an option against burn.
Dementia Sliver: Needs to be built around, to get some casual play.
Dormant Sliver: Slivers' card-advantage engine. Control Slivers run him. If you need to win by combat, make sure you can get rid of him.
Firewake Sliver: Too much mana for a fragile body.
Frenetic Sliver: I've never seen a fun deck with him, if anyone has one, share it with us.
Ghostflame Sliver: I've never seen a nice deck with him, maybe with the new All Is Dust =)
Harmonic Sliver: Nice "removal", but be careful, if you have a lot of artifacts/enchants yourself, the effect is mandatory.
Hibernation Sliver: Nerfed by the new combat rules, some decks run him to protect the most important Slivers.
Necrotic Sliver: An army of Vindicates is always fun. A good sliver, despite being also nerfed by the new combat rules.
Opaline Sliver: A bad substitution for Crystalline.
Spined Sliver: A filler for aggro decks.
Victual Sliver: Darkheart Sliver is better.
Sliver Legion: Coat of Arms on legs and talons, the 5 color slivers runs him for flavor and pump, also a 7/7 for five its fun.
Sliver Overlord: A "permanent" tutor for five mana, only has a spot in non-aggro decks. Needs to be built around, may be with Amoeboid Changeling.
Sliver Hivelord: The new lord has arrived, besides for me he is more defensive than offensive, still a very nice wincon.
Sliver Queen: Once a queen, today is just for flavor in decks. Still a very potent wincon. Producing 1/1s is strong enough, if they come with bonuses, it becomes absurd really fast. There are also combos with her, that mostly end with infinite tokens.
Sliver Hive: Our land, our nest, our Home !! Must in for slivers.
Ancient Ziggurat: If you go for three or more colors and focus on creature spells, this is a good and chreap option.
Gemstone Mine: If your deck doesn't mind the loss of a land in mid-game, then this is a option.
Thran Quarry: In creature-heavy decks, a nice, but risky option.
City of Brass: Cheap option for decks with more than two colors. Now there are a better version, Mana Confluence.
Reflecting Pool: All that played during Lorwyn know how absurd this card is with the right land base.
Flagstones of Trokair: Cheap land for decks with focus on white. Help to fetch plains type like dual lands.
Gaea's Cradle: An expensive option, that explains itself.
Volrath's Stronghold: Recursion on a land is nothing for a agro deck, but decks that aim for a longer game or multiplayer should think about this.
Yavimaya Hollow: A fun card for decks that don't have problem with running a land that produces only colorless.
Arena: cheap fun control land for casual decks with heavy creature, nice synergy with ward sliver.
Alchemist's Refuge: nice card for a ramp/control (U/G) deck.
Kessig Wolf Run: You want to be aggro, that is your land, ramp/aggro (R/G) love it, pump plus evasion for a mid game its all you need.
Slayers' Stronghold: Boros land ? yes !! for (R/W) decks, the pump and abilities are perfect !! a aggro/burn deck will love !!
Vault of the Archangel: ok, that land calls for a more slow deck, works cool for some control decks, the abilities are nice, but need a lot of mana.
Mutavault: Strong and costly option for decks that don't have problem with running a land that produces only colorless.
Cavern of Souls: Now we have another gold one !! cast our slivers and they cant be countered !! for sure !! give me more !!
Cheap Fix Lands: provides the mana fix at budget !!
Gate Lands the Pauper "dual" Lands !!
Cheap Fetch Lands (its nice because they can fetch shocks and duals)
Pauper Fetch Lands
Vivid Lands
Bounce Lands
Shard Tri Lands
Check Lands
Mid Fix Lands: provides fix like the others but with more $$ from your pocket.
Fast Lands
Pain Lands
Filter Lands
Non-Budget Fix Lands: Everyone knows the non-budget.
Shock Lands
Fetch Lands
Dual Lands
Beast Within: best "creature" removal in green, if you deck runs heavy on creatures the token will be easy to deal.
Triumph of the Hordes: alternate win con, good synergy with virulent sliver for surprise combat ending game.
Green Sun's Zenith: good tutor for fast GX decks.
Natural Order: perfect card to cheat the 5c sliver legends into play.
Worldly Tutor: for 1cc you can tutor a creature and put at the top of your library, nice card for some mid/control decks.
Survival of the Fittest: Cool card for some kind of control/combo decks, or mid range decks, works nice with Anger/Wonder team.
Naturalize: the green version of Disenchant.
Krosan Grip: Destroy artifact and enchantment, cant be counter and easy splash, what more you want ?
Concordant Crossroads: if your deck is fast and aggro, that card make your deck insane, haste for all creatures in play.
Steely Resolve: Shroud for all slivers, cheap Crystalline Sliver, just careful, don't run if your deck works with effects like Magma Sliver.
Sylvan Library: "Brainstorm" in Green, not cheap $$ but if you have, run that.
Mirri's Guile: "Sylvan Library" for G, yes, give to me.
Descendants' Path: very nice card for creature heavy decks !!
Harrow: Mana Fix, also you can run Farseek/Nature's Lore (target dual lands), Search for Tomorrow, Cultivate, Rampant Growth, Abundant Growth, Caravan Vigil.
Rancor: For a aggro/stompy deck, that is the card, make evasion and pump, and has CA.
Changeling Titan: Fun finisher if used in slivers decks that has pump, come into play effects or evasion.
Lightning Bolt: 3 damage for 1cc, aggro decks love that card, works like removal or hit the opponents life points, if you run a lot of burn, two Thunderous Wrath can run okay in the deck.
Ancient Grudge: destroy artifact at instant, not good like Disenchant or Naturalize, but can do CA by flashback G, if you don't run artifacts, Echoing Ruin can have a spot too.
Mana Echoes: Another option to combo with Queen.
Pandemonium: Fun card in an aggro variant, works good with combo decks.
Splinter Twin: Cool card to abuse with "enter in the battlefield" slivers, works perfect with Intruder Alarm for combo decks, has no synergy with Crystalline Sliver.
Dangerous Wager: best cheat draw on red to fuel your hand at mid game !!
Bonfire of the Damned: cool removal to run at least 2 in R or (R/G) sliver decks.
Swords to Plowshares: Removal at 1cc, StP is the best creature removal, don't be sad if its out of your $$, meat the little brother Path to Exile, also you can find some cheap versions like Smite or Condemn.
Shared Triumph: Ok, you can have Coat of Arms, but ST is easy to splash, only 2cc, and +1/+1 pump of 2cc is good for aggro, believe !!
Disenchant: Instant and 2cc, you could easy run versus Artifact/Enchant heavy decks.
Ray of Revelation: destroy enchant at instant, not good like Disenchant or Naturalize, but can do CA by flashback G.
Workship: nice card for heavy creature decks, if you like to play more combo or control its a nice card to add to your deck.
Oblivion Ring: Very useful removal, can target walkers too, the new strong version Council's Judgment.
Mirror Entity: Fun finisher if used with a pump + evasion sliver deck.
Blind Obedience: its hard to make a control (W/B) or W sliver deck, but that card helps a lot if you want that path.
Hive Stirrings: 3 cmc for sorc and 2 tokens, that card is bad.
Ancestral Vision: free nice draw, ok 4 turns is slow, but works fine in mid and control decks.
Brainstorm: if you run blue, take hands at that card, instant draw is always good, be happy do that, Ponder can be used in place, but isn't at same speed.
Counterspell: Its classic, 2cc and counter, need to say more ? Also you can run Spell Pierce, Mana Leak, Daze or Cancel, for true power search for Force of Will.
Counterbalance: good for control, sinergy with SDtop, brainstorm and fetchs lands.
Boomerang: Classic bounce, target any permanent, but you can run Echoing Truth if you looking for easy splash. You can run Devastation Tide for mass bounce, since miracle is cheap and normal cost its okay for mid game.
Hatching Plans: Cool card if you run Harmonic Sliver in your deck.
Stifle(/Trickbind): A legacy favorite, in sideboards if nothing else. Stifle some fetches, watch your opponent cry. Stifle abilities, make your opponent cry.
StandStill: For combo/control decks, works greater with Vials.
Intruder Alarm: Good card with token generation, key for some casual sliver combos decks.
Amoeboid Changeling: Fun/Combo with Sliver Overlord, Unnatural Selection can be used, its cool because you can target more than one creature, but you cant tutor with homing sliver.
Training Grounds: Can be used in place of Heartstone for combos builds.
Phantasmal Image: Very good card with Crystalline Sliver in a Bant Sliver deck.
Cyclonic Rift: that card was nice, early control, very nice for multiplayer games or commander tables.
Hands of Binding: the ability cipher lacks strong spells, but could be fun, since to encode you don't need to target, you can use with Crystalline Sliver, and some of the low cmc spells has nice powers.
Hidden Strings: See Hands of Binding.
Duress: It's a good and cheap control card, it can't hit creatures like Thoughtseize, 1cc make the splash more easy, Thoughtseize is better, but isn't cheap.
Doom Blade: a nice removal for fast decks, easy splash, don't target black, but you can run Smother or Terror if you like. The new best black removal now are: Go for the Throat and Dismember.
Patriarch's Bidding: Very powerful card for tribal decks that run black.
Diabolic Tutor: Tutor for any card in your deck, also you can run a non budget version Demonic Tutor.
Killing Wave: Very cool damage/mass removal in mid late games !!
Adaptive Automaton: Generic lord for all tribes, very good in sliver decks running 3 or less colors.
Sensei's Divining Top: cheap at cc but not cheap at $$, for 1 you can choose what you draw, very nice.
Umezawa's Jitte: heavy $$, versatile equipment, works as life gain, pump or creature removal, need to say more?
Pro Sword Cycle: the swords born in mirrodin are (with jitte) the top equips for our creatures, a deck based in some support equips should run 2 to 4 of theses, the equip slots must be shared with Jitte too.
Aether Vial: the key card for any creature deck, instant summon of your creatures ? EOT put your creature into play and you can use in your next turn, man that is the card. Competitive decks should go for Vial/mana fix in place of mana ramp.
Ashnod's Altar: A key for the infinite token with Sliver Queen.
Heartstone: Part of the infinite token combo with Altar, it's also fun with Slivers that grant bonuses needing maa to activate.
Cloudstone Curio: Crazy and fun card to work in casual for any tribal deck.
Hivestone: Fun in a mixed deck.
Chromatic Lantern: Five colors deck ? problems solved !!
Garruk Wildspeaker: Mono G ramp and pump, also can be used in GX decks since he helps at mana fix/ramp.
Jace Beleren: poor jace 1.0, since now he is budget you could run it in place of jace 2.0, works as draw engine and alternate wincon for UX decks.
Jace, the Mind Sculptor: the jace 2.0 is a finisher in any UX deck, control decks love him, if you have, run it.
Koth of the Hammer: mono R get a bomb for ramp, also that ultimate works as alternate wincon.
Liliana Vess: that walker give control/tutor and a alternate wincon by reanimate for a mono B ramp deck.
Liliana of the Veil: very nice walker, for control B decks, low cmc makes she a good alternate win.
Sarkhan Vol: Works nice in a (R/G) Aggro deck, the first ability give haste and pump, and the ultimate gives a help to win.
Elspeth, Knight-Errant/Elspeth Tirel: a fun walker to make a mono W or WX decks with hivestone.
Ajani Goldmane: sliver is a creature focused deck, +1/+1 and vigilance is great for a mono W sliver deck.
Ajani, Caller of the Pride: very nice pump and evasion for mono W or WX fast decks.
Ajani Vengeant: boros/zoo body deck have a good slot for that walker, good control ability's to use.
Sorin, Lord of Innistrad: ok, for me he is only a shared triumph for 4 that cant be destroyed, but if he survive, can be a problem for your op.
Guttural Response: Blue hate, only run if your meta have a lot of counter/blue decks.
Safewright Quest: Tutor for plains and forest, at 1cc could help some decks.
Terminate: i think that is the best 2cc gold removal.
Castigate: works like Thoughtseize but with 2cc.
Lightning Helix: nice for two color deck, a Boros Style deck should run that.
Eladamri's Call: Not a cheap tutor, but put the creature in your hand, just remember Homing Sliver works at colorless but with one more mana.
Hunting Grounds: Cool card with a threshold deck.
Batwing Brume: Fog effect for (B/W), dont see too much play, but its a option.
Glittering Wish: cool tutor to find the Queen, Overlord or Legion, works nice to tutor other support spells from SB.
Hull Breach: A nice (R/G) removal option, can hit up to two targets for 2 cc.
Manamorphose: Filler card, give some help at instant mana fix.
Necrogenesis: Fun card in (B/G) build with Hivestone.
Grisly Salvage: very nice card for filter in a (B/G) deck, with most creatures.
Abrupt Decay: best removal for a (B/G) fast deck.
Far (Far/Away): nice and cheap support card, good at early, nice at mid, and not a lost in the long run.
Simic Charm and others Guild Charms: for me, the best charm for slivers is the simic one, you can save your sliver or pump him if Crystalline isn't in the field, or bounce a enemy creature if you has Crystalline on the field.
Congregation at Dawn: 3 worldly tutor in one.
Mortify: creature and enchantment removal for 3cc, works nice in two color decks.
Putrefy: creature and artifact removal for 3cc, works nice in two color decks.
Aether Rift: cool card to build around with a heavy based creature deck, nice with FoY.
Fires of Yavimaya: have some place in (R/G) Aggro, has sinergy with the card above.
Vindicate: Runs in most competive in place of the flavour Necrotic Sliver.
Maelstrom Pulse: Vindicate's new brother.
Unmake: Alternative Removal.
Detention Sphere: New Oblivion Ring version ? yes !! to be a true replace for Oring, depends from your meta.
all the new golden charms are versatile, if your deck fits the colors you can find a spot for then:
but these two old ones still have they merits:
Mirrorweave: Serious, that card is the nuts Slivers, leads to some really silly plays.
THE DECKS
Most of the deck lists are $$ but, like said in fun cards section, in the other color primes you can find budget replaces for any cards, example, you can replace Jittes for Rancor or other buffs in an aggro deck.
Premium Series: Slivers - Deck List
Premium Series: Slivers - Card Choice
THE AGGRO
This section is made with the intention to inform about the Aggro Slivers. This includes all decks that include a lot of Slivers and their primary win condition involves the attack phase.
AGGRO SLIVER
1 Yavimaya Hollow
1 Oran-Rief, the Vastwood
3 Mutavault
10 Forest
Creatures [18]
4 Gemhide Sliver
4 Muscle Sliver
4 Virulent Sliver
2 Spinneret Sliver
2 Horned Sliver
2 Might Sliver
4 Rancor
4 Moldervine Cloak
4 Land Grant
3 Sylvan Library
3 Garruk Wildspeaker
Artifact [9]
2 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
3 Aether Vial
2 Thorn of Amethyst
2 Root Sliver
2 Lignify
1 Umezawa's Jitte
3 Krosan Grip
2 Thorn of Amethyst
3 Tormod's Crypt
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
BUDGET AGGRO SLIVER
2 Oran-Rief, the Vastwood
13 Forest
Creatures [18]
4 Gemhide Sliver
4 Muscle Sliver
4 Virulent Sliver
2 Spinneret Sliver
2 Horned Sliver
2 Might Sliver
4 Rancor
4 Giant Growth
4 Vines of Vastwood
3 Moldervine Cloak
2 Predator's Strike
2 Harmonize
4 Land Grant
2 Nature's Lore
2 Thorn of Amethyst
2 Root Sliver
4 Lignify
4 Krosan Grip
2 Thorn of Amethyst
3 Tormod's Crypt
THE COMBO
The combos decks works around a group of cards that make you win when they hit the board.
SPLINTER SLIVER COMBO
The classic splinter twin combo comes to sliver world, search your deck for the combo pieces, protected the key cards and win !!
2 Homing Sliver
4 Screeching Sliver
Spells [32]
4 Splinter Twin
4 Intruder Alarm
3 Mana Leak
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Brainstorm
3 Into the Roil
4 Counterspell
2 Evacuation
2 Swiftfoot Boots
2 Elixir of Immortality
5 Island
5 Mountain
4 Cascade Bluffs
4 Scalding Tarn
4 Halimar Depths
QUEEN COMBO
The Queen combo isnt the best combo sliver deck, but still fun, u can kill with the Screeching or Acidic by Tokens, or if necessary by Winged in combat.
4 Gemhide Sliver
4 Muscle Sliver
3 Screeching Sliver
3 Winged Sliver
2 Acidic Sliver
2 Sliver Queen
Instant [10]
3 Brainstorm
3 Counterspell
2 Doom Blade
2 Terminate
Sorcery [3]
3 Ponder
3 Aether Vial
Enchantment [4]
3 Steely Resolve
3 Mana Echoes
Land [20]
3 Mutavault
4 Misty Rainforest
3 Scalding Tarn
3 Tropical Island
2 Volcanic Island
2 Underground Sea
2 Taiga
1 Tundra
2 Hibernation Sliver
2 Root Sliver
4 Krosan Grip
3 Red Elemental Blast
1 Brainstorm
1 Doom Blade
1 Terminate
SLIVER FLASH - VINTAGE
The Sliver Flash kills with flash hulk + poison counters, here you can see the Vintage build and a casual build.
1 Elvish Spirit Guide
1 Heart Sliver
4 Protean Hulk
4 Virulent Sliver
Instant [25]
1 Ancestral Recall
4 Brainstorm
1 Chain of Vapor
1 Echoing Truth
4 Flash
4 Force of Will
1 Misdirection
1 Mystical Tutor
4 Pact of Negation
3 Summoner's Pact
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Demonic Tutor
4 Merchant Scroll
Artifact [8]
1 Black Lotus
1 Lotus Petal
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
Land [12]
3 Flooded Strand
1 Island
4 Polluted Delta
2 Tropical Island
2 Underground Sea
1 Sylvan Safekeeper
1 Echoing Truth
2 Hurkyl's Recall
1 Smother
3 Duress
3 Reverent Silence
4 Leyline of the Void
SLIVER FLASH - CASUAL
The "budget" version, just replace the $$ lands for budget ones, drop the tutors for some brainstorms.
4 Breeding Pool
4 Misty Rainforest
1 Forest
1 Island
Creatures [22]
4 Protean Hulk
4 Virulent Sliver
2 Heart Sliver
4 Elvish Spirit Guide
4 Simian Spirit guide
4 Street Wraith
4 Summoner's Pact
4 Pact of Negation
4 Flash
4 Manamorphose
4 Mystical Tutor
4 Land Grant
4 Serum Powder
THE CONTROL
The control decks for slivers works different, they are basic an Aggro deck with board control, in this section you can see a sample deck made with the Zoo Structure, and samples for the old CounterSlivers decks from the past.
ZOO SLIVER
Legacy Zoo Thread
Zoo wants to win early using efficient creatures and ZOO SLIVER use that structure to do the same job. Your burn spells are more for clearing the board and then for some late game you can use the burn to hit the enemy life points. The link is from the ZOO thread, and the deck list uses the same sample list with the most efficient slivers. In fact its a Aggro Sliver with board control.
4 Plated Sliver
4 Muscle Sliver
4 Sinew Sliver
4 Cautery Sliver
2 Harmonic Sliver
2 Magma Sliver
Spells/Artifacts [17]
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Path to Exile
2 Price of Progress
2 Sylvan Library
3 Lightning Helix
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Umezawa's Jitte
4 Wooded Foothills
4 Windswept Heath
1 Arid Mesa
3 Taiga
3 Savannah
2 Plateau
3 Horizon Canopy
1 Mountain
1 Forest
1 Plains
3 Krosan Grip
2 Aether Vial
2 Choke
2 Red Elemental Blast
2 Volcanic Fallout
2 Sulfuric Vortex
2 Orim's Chant
COUNTERSLIVER
Legacy Countersliver Thread
Any good Countersliver deck starts with blue and white, as these colors provide some of the best disruptive spells available in Legacy. Force of Will, Daze, and Swords to Plowshares form the core of your disruption/removal suite. Counterspell can be added for some additional stopping power. Brainstorm is an auto-include, and Ponder can provide some extra digging power if you want it. Significantly, WU just happens to be the casting cost of Crystalline Sliver, the backbone of any good sliver deck. You could build a reasonable “budget” Countersliver deck with just blue and white. However, if you want your deck to really pack a punch, you need to play 3 or 4 colors. Below, I have provided some sample deck lists:
4 Polluted Delta
4 Flooded Strand
4 Tundra
2 Tropical Island
2 Underground Sea
4 Mutavault
4 AEther Vial
Creature (19)
4 Sinew Sliver
4 Muscle Sliver
4 Crystalline Sliver
3 Hibernation Sliver
1 Winged Sliver
3 Phantasmal image
4 Brainstorm
2 Daze
4 Force of Will
3 Mental misstep
4 Swords to Plowshares
4 Wasteland
4 Flooded Strand
2 Polluted Delta
1 Windswept Heath
3 Tundra
2 Tropical Island
1 Island
1 Plains
Artifacts & Enchantments [4]
4 Aether Vial
4 Crystalline Sliver
4 Sinew Sliver
4 Muscle Sliver
3 Winged Sliver
Instants & Sorceries [23]
4 Swords to Plowshares
4 Brainstorm
4 Force of Will
4 Daze
4 Spell Pierce
3 Ponder
3 Krosan Grip
3 Orim's Chant
3 Tormod's Crypt
2 Threads of Disloyalty
2 Chalice of the Void
2 Pithing Needle
4 Flooded Strand
3 Polluted Delta
3 Tundra
2 Tropical Island
1 Scrubland
1 Underground Sea
1 Island
3 Mutavault
Artifacts & Enchantments [4]
4 Aether Vial
4 Crystalline Sliver
4 Hibernation Sliver
4 Sinew Sliver
4 Muscle Sliver
3 Winged Sliver
Instants & Sorceries [19]
4 Swords to Plowshares
4 Brainstorm
3 Ponder
4 Force of Will
4 Daze
3 Krosan Grip
2 Pithing Needle
2 Relic of Progenitus
2 Null Rod
2 Path to Exile
2 Harmonic Sliver
3 Chill
ASTRAL SLIVER
*In Test*
Astral Slide is a fun card with many tricks for you to abuse to mess up your opponent's plans. You can kill token creatures, save your creatures cheaply in a bad combat, dodge creature removal (including your own), fog a creature for a turn, untap a creature for your opponent's turn, and reuse "comes into play" and "leaves play" effects.
Just set the engine up and see the deck going to infinite. Remember, you need cyclers to go with them. For that deck Victual/Darkheart and Firewake Slivers are here to help to remove dormant for a final blow. Firewake can be used to pump and haste.
Lightning Rift is just powerful for another astral taken: One extra mana on cycling to do two damage to a creature or player is a good deal, and your opponent's in real trouble when you have out more than one. But today we wasn't focus on him.
6 Plains
6 Forest
4 Secluded Steppe
4 Tranquil Thicket
1 Drifting Meadow
1 Slippery Karst
1 Remote Isle
1 Smoldering Crater
1 Polluted Mire
1 Evolving Wilds
Spells 18
4 Astral Slide
4 Fluctuator
2 Life from the Loam
2 Akroma's Vengeance
2 Green Sun's Zenith
1 Concordant Crossroads
1 Triumph of the Hordes
4 Eternal Witness
4 Dormant Sliver
2 Muscle Sliver
2 Sinew Sliver
2 Gemhide Sliver
1 Harmonic Sliver
1 Victual Sliver
1 Darkheart Sliver
1 Firewake Sliver
4 Swords to Plowshares
3 Leyline of Sanctity
3 Firespout
2 Wrath of God
2 Krosan Grip
1 Bojuka Bog
Five Color Multiplayer Sliver Deck (you can change the tribes, has sliver section)
Pauper Sample Decks
4 Virulent Sliver
4 Sidewinder Sliver
4 Plated Sliver
4 Sinew Sliver
4 Muscle Sliver
3 Spinneret Sliver
SPELLS [14]
3 Thrill of the Hunt
3 Oblivion Ring
2 Vines of Vastwood
2 Prismatic Strands
2 Rancor
2 Search for Tomorrow
10 Forest
10 Plains
2 Secluded Steppe
1 Tranquil Thicket
2 Vines of Vastwood
3 Quick Sliver
2 Armadillo Cloak
3 Holy Light
3 Disenchant
2 Prismatic Strands
4 Plated Sliver
4 Sidewinder Sliver
4 Sinew Sliver
3 Bonesplitter Sliver
3 Poultice Sliver
3 Two-Headed Sliver
3 Watcher Sliver
Spells [18]
4 Firebolt
3 Fortify
3 Prismatic Strands
3 Yamabushi's Storm
2 Kaervek's Torch
10 Plains
7 Mountain
2 Boros Garrison
2 Terramorphic Expanse
1 Prismatic Strands
1 Yamabushi's Storm
3 Veteran Armorer
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Journey to Nowhere
2 Bonesplitter
REMARKS
First, thanks for all support that MTG Salvation give to me, i hope that primer help the new players, and i ask for the old players to help me make that topic better. Also, sorry for my poor english, i'm learning, and of course, that is a nice pratice for me.
LAST TIPS
If you play slivers in casual, after every greater move you shout:
Deck Building Primer - Casual
Sliver Primer - Casual Share your tips with us !!
Want To Buy List Please Check !!
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Bout time we had one of these
Deck Building Primer - Casual
Sliver Primer - Casual Share your tips with us !!
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Now Playing:
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4 Crystalline Sliver
4 Gemhide Sliver
4 Muscle Sliver
4 Sinew Sliver
4 Plated Sliver
2 Winged Sliver
2 Brood Sliver
4 Counterspell
4 Harrow
4 Swords to Plowshares
Land: 24
5 Forest
5 Island
5 Plains
4 Seaside Citadel
4 Ancient Ziggurat
1 Filler
CG
The cards you've outlined make for rather vague blanket statements about what you could do but throw out ideas without fleshing them out. Flagstones of Trokair opens the door to mono-W, maybe a build with Armageddon and Gemhide Sliver, but doesn't expand on the ways in which such a build would work (ex. mixing in Swords to Plowshares). Basically, what can a mono-W list look like? What can a mono-B list look like? etc.
Returning to the point, because slivers are so varied it makes it difficult to establish absolutes about which slivers are playable. The only thing you can really offer for support is that assuming Legacy rules CounterSliver/MeatHooks is the only Sliver build (or at least the only one I know of) able to put up results largely due to its efficiency and ability to play offensivly while still maintaining the ability to control the board through counters/removal.
With that being said I've had the pleasure of playing 5-colour casual aggro slivers and I've recently converted over into a straight Legacy countersliver build (albeit I'm not sure you could truly call Slivers "competitive" in Legacy anymore). Between the two builds the most important difference I've found wasn't so much in the slivers used, for all intents and purposes they're similar in terms of CC/effects outside of the 5CMC Lords, but the difference is in the number and types of sorceries, instants and artifacts played.
Despite not wanting to write about card advantage/library manipulation/mana ratios/etc. I feel that you really need to otherwise it's not so much a primer as much as it is a listing of cards that could maybe, sort of, kind of, work together in some builds. These concepts, however, are what give a deck (and by extension a primer) focus and direction and essentially prevent it from becoming a pile of cards. So, from the Legacy perspective at least, here are the usual suspects in Countersliver:
Aether Vial: As you yourself have outlined, even casually, most of your good slivers will be 2-drops. Set it to two, be able to drop uncounterable Slivers all game. Obviously allows for combat tricks with cards like Muscle Sliver and Sinew Sliver. It bypasses messy mana requirements making it great for mana bases without duals. It pretty much does everything. It's an all-star.
Daze: Lets you be offensive while still being defensive. If you can support a deck with an average costing cost of under 2 then returning an island to your hand is rarely a big deal. Great early game, but obviously gets worse the longer the game goes.
Spell Pierce: A newcomer. I've seen it in some lists. It follows the theme of being cheap, U and liable to counter major game/tempo changing spells.
Standstill: Great card advantage for you. Drop some slivers, drop a Mutavault, beat face and force them to (try to) play something allowing you to draw three.
Ponder/Brainstorm: Similar cards with slightly different functions. Both allow you to manipulate your library and improve upon your card quality.
Force of Will: Again, it lets you be offensive while still being able to counter threats. You can tap out, drop everything, attackattackattack and have no fear of Wrath of God and its ilk.
Swords to Plowshares: A quality removal card. Perhaps the best in the game. It gets rid of your opponents Tarmogoyf or whatever ails you for next to no mana.
Stifle(/Trickbind): A legacy favorite, in sideboards if nothing else. Stifle some fetches, watch your opponent cry. Stifle abilities, make your opponent cry. Etc. etc.
With those mentioned I'd also like the point out the massive importance of fetch-lands, particularly Flooded Strand and Misty Rainforest. They combo with Brainstorm. They fetch you lands. They thin your deck. Most decks (or that I've seen) run 6-8 fetchlands.
Of course for casual you can cover some of the other choices that are common ways of generating card advantage/fixing/etc. including, but not limited to,:
Necropotence
Ad Nauseam
Sylvan Library
Demonic Consultation
Demonic Tutor
Ancestral Vision
Wheel of Fortune
Balance
etc.
Overall, I also feel that although you went through all of the slivers, some of them didn't quite get the emphasis needed to justify their inclusion in builds.
"Crystalline Sliver: the power nine of the slivers, slivers decks must run him." I'd really hammer home this point. Note that this critter voids any type of single target removal that your opponent may have making your creatures particularly hard to kill if you're playing counters/removal alongside your slivers. It's also overly important to emphasize that Crystalline Sliver cannot (or at least usually is not) run alongside equipment. The benefits of Crystalline Sliver outweigh the costs of giving up Umezawa's Jitte - there is no statement more bold and profound than this for the inclusion of Crystalline Sliver in decklists.
Additionally, two small criticisms with the current content in your primer:
1. The Legacy Sliver lists you posted are largely outdated now. Hibernation Sliver is largely dead since the combat changes butchered damage on the stack. Consequently, the mana base changed from a 4 colour base to a 3 colour base. I've seen a few alterations in place of Hibernation Sliver with some lists preferring Spell Pierce, some lists enjoy the tremendous benefits of Standstill and still some prefer Sinew Sliver.
2. "Necrotic Sliver: an army of vindicates is always fun, its a good sliver." The problem with Necrotic Sliver is that you need to invest BW4 and sacrafice a creature to destroy a permanent. Vindicate, on the other hand, works because it's elegant in the sense that you don't need to pay more, delay the time it takes to go off, sacrafice anything, etc. Even if you argue that Necrotic Sliver is 3 mana to cast and then you can pay 3 mana on your next turn that still makes it overly slow - it becomes pay 3 mana, wait a turn, pay 3 mana sacrafice a sliver, potentially tap out for two turns, maybe blow up one thing. You've used two turns, 1 creature and 3 mana to destroy one target. Throughout all of that you can still be hit by Stifle, Trickbind, Swords to Plowshares, etc. Yes, it's casual and Necrotic Sliver can maybe be fun in infinite builds, but aside from those builds you also have access to Swords to Plowshares, Krosan Grip, Counterspell, Vindicate, Burning Wish, Cunning Wish and a whole host of other options to get rid of things.
Again, I'm not trying to be harsh, it's a good start, but just trying to give you some legitimate thoughts on the angle that you could write the primer from and some things that I really do feel need to be included to expand on the current primer and make it more helpful.
Legacy:
WGMaverickWG
UMerfolkU
WStaxW
XRaffinityX
BRGoblins RB
RBUTESRBU
UGW Countersliver UGW
UB Dredge UB
U W CounterThopter U W
"Casual:"
BVampiresB
WMWCW
GElfdraziG
WWhite WeenieW
BWClericsBW
UGMadnessUG
UBPsychatogUB
GWAstral SlideGW
4 Plated Sliver
4 Sidewinder Sliver
4 Virulent Sliver
4 Sinew Sliver
4 Muscle Sliver
4 Gemhide Sliver
3 Opaline Sliver
3 Winged Sliver
4 Oblivion Ring
4 Mana Leak
Land (22)
4 Ancient Ziggurat
4 Terramorphic Expanse
2 Island
6 Forest
6 Plains
Obviously terramorphic slows the deck down sometimes, but budget decks usually have a shakey mana base.
Opaline sliver is a very budget version of Crystalline Sliver, at least netting you card advantage if they burn your critters away.
Currently Playing:
IMHO, you shouldn't build Slivers if you aren't going to be running a full set of Crystalline at some point. It may cost a little money, but it's about the only money card in the deck, so you should really invest in them. You can even just get a playset slowly.
I agree with Matchbox20 on some points, like stretching a little on each sliver card; more different sample builds since we have a huge array of possible color mixing, usual support cards (budget and not budget ones: removal, counter, shroud, artifact/enchantment removal, CA...), and some tricky interactions that might lead into different slivers decks (Harmonic Sliver + Hatching Plans, and so on..)
I only disagree with him about to base the primer into Countersliver deck, since there is already a Primer about it on Legacy Forum, and a casual Primer is a little different from a competitive one since results is not the only factor involved, not to mention a huge different meta that these decks will gonna play.
I'll share 3 lists that maybe can fit the Primer, 1 aggro, 1 control and my take on Queen Combo (mana base is up to the player, i'll share a budget one so more players can enjoy the deck, hardcore players can put in the usual set of fetch, dual, manlands...):
04 Jungle Shrine
06 Plains
05 Forest
05 Mountain
// CREATURES (24)
04 Virulent Sliver
04 Sidewinder Sliver
04 Muscle Sliver
04 Sinew Sliver
03 Two-Headed Sliver
03 Heart Sliver
02 Quick Sliver
04 Steely Resolve
04 Mana Tithe
04 Lightning Bolt
04 Harmonize
Aggro with an alternate wincon through poison. Haste and evasion are present on Two-Headed and Heart.
04 Coastal Tower
04 Terramorphic Expanse
07 Plains
09 Island
04 Plated Sliver
04 Sinew Sliver
04 Quilled Sliver
03 Lymph Sliver
03 Psionic Sliver
02 Essence Sliver
04 Mana Leak
04 Force Spike
04 Brainstorm
04 Echoing Truth
Control stuff and pump defense 'til it's able to unleash Psionic direct damage. Some add green just to Gemhide Sliver to pump, but i found out a slowdown, the control can happen just with W/U.
06 Forest
04 Ancient Ziggurat
04 Terramorphic Expanse
02 Swamp
02 Plains
02 Island
02 Mountain
04 Gemhide Sliver
04 Homing Sliver
03 Heart Sliver
03 Basal Sliver
03 Quick Sliver
03 Sliver Queen
02 Acidic Sliver
01 Sliver Overlord
01 Darkheart Sliver
01 Harmonic Sliver
01 Winged Sliver
04 Steely Resolve
04 Rune Snag
04 Dawn Charm
The pure sliver version is alot better than the Mana Echoes version, for 2 reasons: 1) You can tutor your combo pieces with Homing/Overlord; 2) Heart sliver gives haste so you can finish the job right away, no next turn on Screeching case.
Instead of Resolve, the deck can run Crystalline Sliver/Hibernation Sliver on it's place to protect combo pieces.
Support can run removal, counter, bouncer, tutor, ramp...that's a meta call.
For those that can't figure out the combo:
Gemhide + Basal + Heart + Queen = infinite token & mana.
+ Darkheart = infinite life
+ Acidic = infinite damage
@Bonedoc: I disagree with you on that. Magic has a wide cardpool and many forms to deal with removal, you can play slivers without Crystalline with no extra concern. A nice subs to Meteorainer use is Steely Resolve.
- Sidewing Sliver --> Sidewinder Sliver
- I disagree on your description of Pulmonic Sliver, but that's maybe something to talk about. He's basicaly evasion plus removal insurance. Note the 'may', it's important.
- -> if you run W, it's a must in, aggro pump.
Actually almost all of your "its" should be "it's". Same for "u".
- -> [...] too much mana for nothing but defensive options.
- -> Watcher Sliver: too much mana for a defensive pump.
Actually I'll just edit the thing myself. I'll then edit more stuff in here that's not just formalities.
Matchbox20 makes really good points.
Well, that's just my personal opinion I guess. I just feel like he's your best card, so you should invest in them. Besides, like I said, most of the other Slivers are cheap as hell to get.
Other cards that REALLY should be addressed in the first post: Æther Vial, Mutavault, and Ancient Ziggurat.
My build
4x Muscle Sliver
4x Gemhide Sliver
4x Might Sliver
4x Crystalline Sliver
4x Sinew Sliver
3x Winged Sliver
2x Harmonic Sliver
1x Talon Sliver
1x Sliver Legion
1x Horned Sliver
1x Essence Sliver
4x Eladamri's Call
4x Swords to Plowshares
2x AEther Vial
Land (21)
4x Seaside Citadel
4x Ancient Ziggurat
3x Mutavault
1x Savannah
3x Plains
3x Forest
3x Island
Obviously if I had a little more money I'd rework the manabase and remove the Citadels to add more original duals, and my online version actually runs reflecting pools which combo well with the Ziggurats, but I rarely have trouble casting the spells I want to cast.
A few notes: In my very aggressive version, I find the Sliver Legion to be the best Legendary Sliver. Your mileage may vary, but I found that with 4 Eladamri's Calls, I didn't really need the Overlord, and the Queen, while great, still takes a few turns before she ends the game. The Legion can end the game the turn he is played, before he ever attacks.
I like the toolbox variant, with strong aggro components dedicated to fast big flying Slivers, and then Eladamri's Calling up your Harmonics, Horned, Essence, Talon, or Legion as necessary.
Most of the Slivers in this build cost 2CMC, so AEther Vial works well with them. I've considered pulling the Horned and Essence for additional 2 drop slivers, but as one-of's they're worth the slots.
Between Gemhide, Ziggurat, and (in some builds) Reflecting Pool, I have absolutely no trouble casting the Legion. I can tutor him up with Eladamri's Call pretty easily once I have the mana to cast him.
If you can't afford Eladamri's Call, just grab Homing Sliver, he's basically the same thing for {1} more.
I do run 2 Harmonics because if your first one gets killed you're not removing another artifact or enchantment for the rest of the game. HOWEVER: be careful the way you run them. They WILL destroy your AEther Vials eventually, as it's not an optional ability. Usually by the time this becomes an issue, it's not a problem, but it can happen. In other news: don't run Harmonic and Oblivion Ring in the same deck.
One final note: The ONLY reason I don't run a single Ward Sliver is that my casual playgroup features a lot of monocolor decks, and he just makes games not fun. If you don't have that issue, I'd highly recommend slotting in a single Ward Sliver.
J
My MTGSalvation Cube Page (not always up to date, but sweet pics of my alters)
I just wanna point out about this one. I completely agree with you here Blutsau, it's an underrated card, specially in ramp based, or just mana heavy slivers.
It's a kind of card that can help Slivers to hold off combos, ensuring the removed piece to be your next draw. It just don't work around exile effects, anyway, far from crap.
@Bonedoc: Countersliver IS the best sliver, it's just not possible to say "you shouldn't build Slivers if you aren't going to be running a full set of Crystalline", that part is not true, as you can see on decklists, tons of slivers decks are viable without it, specially that it's not a wincon, just a permanent protector.
@Halted: thanks again with good tips and decks to the primer.
@Matchbox: thanks to help with the points i miss, but about Hibernation, i see some play with him, i know he is nerfed by the new combat rules, but still a board trick in casual
Deck Building Primer - Casual
Sliver Primer - Casual Share your tips with us !!
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Now Playing:
Excaliboros R(R/W)W / Maverick G(G/W)W
Bant Pro Excalibur (G/U)W(G/U) / Merfolk (W/U)U(U/B)
1 Toxin Sliver
1 Vampiric Sliver
2 Magma Sliver
2 Blade Sliver
2 Bone Splitter Sliver
1 Two-Headed Sliver
4 Quick Sliver
2 Root Sliver
1 Brood SLiver
1 Gemhide Sliver
1 Darkheart Sliver
1 Obelisk Of Alara
1 Natures Will
3 Kodama's Reach
2 Dark Ritual
2 Duress
2 Shock
2 Flames Of The Blood Hand
4 Lightning Bolt
6 Forest
6 swamp
5 Mountian
4 Teramorphic Expanse
1 Tainted Peak
Currently Playing
1994 Magic The Rack
Type 1: B/W Zombies
Modern: Kuldotha Red
Legacy: Pox, Oath
Vintag: 10 Proxy Merfolk
Pauper: Pestilence, UG Threshold
EDH: Karn, Roon, Sliver Queen, Xiahou Dun, Arcanus
5x Forest
2x Plains
2x Island
2x Swamp
3x Mountian
2x Vivid Grove
2x Vivid Creek
2x Ancient Ziggurat
2x Terramorphic Expanse
Creatures: 34
1x Sliver Overlord
1x Sliver Queen
1x Sliver Legion
2x Gemhide Sliver
2x Muscle Sliver
2x Quick Sliver
1x Fungus Sliver
2x Root Sliver
1x Might Sliver
2x Brood Sliver
1x Talon Sliver
2x Essence Sliver
1x Winged Sliver
2x Shifting Sliver
2x Clot Sliver
1x Toxin Sliver
2x Heart Sliver
1x Magma Sliver
1x Fury Sliver
1x Crystalline Sliver
1x Necrotic Sliver
1x Acidic Sliver
1x Amoeboid Changeling
1x Experiment Kraj
1x Aphetto Dredging
1x Mana Echoes
1x Riptide Relpicator
1x Soul Foundry
1x Heartstone
I haven't had much time to test this deck well enough but one problem is its mana base, I don't seem to get the right land at the right time and get really mana screwed.
I know Patriarchs Biddings is better but I just have Aphetto Dredging right now.
I do think you should include cards with Changelings ability (they do help many sliver builds)
In his Second 100 days - Yawgmoth's Bargain is unrestricted in Vintage.
What is going to happen in the Next 100 days!!!
-2 Vivid Grove
-2 Vivid Creek
+2 Ancient Ziggurat
+2 Terramorphic Expanse/Evolving Wilds
Vivds EPT anyway, and you are running mostly creatures.
Although, I definitely think he should play some city of brass just in case people kill his gemhides.
10x Revised Dual lands
10x Ravnica Shock lands
10x Fetch lands
1x Krosan Verge
1x City of Brass
1x Reflecting Pool
1x Mountain
1x Swamp
Creatures
1x Sidewinder Sliver
1x Root Sliver
1x Sedge Sliver
1x Necrotic Sliver
1x Shifting Sliver
1x Quilled Sliver
1x Ward Sliver
1x Mindlash Sliver
1x Darkheart Sliver
1x Telekinetic Sliver
1x Sliver Queen
1x Crypt Sliver
1x Brood Sliver
1x Sinew Sliver
1x Heart Sliver
1x Two-Headed Sliver
1x Homing Sliver
1x Quick Sliver
1x Taurean Mauler
1x Synchronous Sliver
1x Hunter Sliver
1x Might Sliver
1x Sliver Legion
1x Toxin Sliver
1x Gemhide Sliver
1x Talon Sliver
1x Harmonic Sliver
1x Muscle Sliver
1x Pulmonic Sliver
1x Hibernation Sliver
1x Essence Sliver
1x Crystaline Sliver
1x Chameleon Colossus
1x Winged Sliver
1x Frenetic Sliver
1x Amoeboid Changeling
1x Magma Sliver
1x Virulent Sliver
1x Path to Exile
1x Maelstrom Pulse
1x Skyshroud Claim
1x Damnation
1x Putrefy
1x Patriarchs Bidding
1x Wrath of God
1x Enlightened Tutor
1x Distant Melody
1x Natures Lore
1x Swords to Plowshare
1x Worldly Tutor
1x Mortify
1x Harsh Mercy
1x Vindicate
Enchantments
1x Wild Pair
1x Steely Resolve
Artifacts
1x Lotus Petal
1x Golgari Signet
1x Eldrazi Monument
1x Sol Ring
1x Izzet Signet
1x Urzas Incubator
1x Chrome Mox
1x Mox Diamond
1x Sensei's Divining Top
Host of the July CCL '10, Host of the March CCL '11
4x Dormant Sliver
4x Gemhide Sliver
4x Reflex Sliver
"Cantrips":
4x Mindlash Sliver
4x Screeching Sliver
4x Sidewinder Sliver
4x Virulent Sliver
4x Homing Sliver
Tech:
3x To Arms!
3x Ghostway
Land:
4x Seaside Citadel
4x Terramorphic Expanse
14x (Basics, etc)
This deck is a lot less aggro-ish than your standard sliver deck, usually you'll just want to attack once or twice after you've combo-ed out.
The idea is to use the combo of dormant sliver, reflex sliver, and gemhide sliver to pump out cantripping, hasty, pseudo-birds of paradise. If you get lucky draws, you should keep drawing into more and more slivers until you've basically drawn your deck. After you feel you have enough slivers, you can either mill with screeching sliver or sacrifice the dormant slivers to mindlash sliver and beat for the (possibly poison) win. Ghostway is tech because it draws a card for each sliver if you blink a dormant sliver with a bunch of others, netting you tons of cards. To Arms! resets all you tapped mana slivers and enables you to cast more of them.
If you suggest a card to add to a deck, suggest one to take out as well.
Slivers:
Virulent Sliver
Gemhide Sliver x 4
Winged Sliver x 3
Muscle Sliver x 4
Crystalline Sliver x 4
Sinew Sliver x 4
Talon Sliver
Sedge Sliver
Harmonic Sliver x 4
Essence Sliver
Shifting Sliver
Synapse Sliver
Ward Sliver x 4
Sliver Overlord x 2
Sliver Legion
Sliver Queen
Land:
Exotic Orchard
Reflecting Pool
Ancient Ziggurat x 4
Scalding Tarn
Polluted Delta
Bloodstained Mire
Flooded Strand
Wooded Foothills
Windswept Heath
+10 dual lands (1 of each)
The lack of artifacts and enchantments is obviously so that I'm never left in a position where I risk having to destroy something of my own while using Harmonic Sliver(s) as a method of clearing out both from other players. I'm aware of the lack of a mass wipe, and while I ponder adding Wraths of some sort, I find it rare that this deck gets in over its head enough that it's necessary. If things are that bad, someone else usually does it for me anyway.
The deck is a mix of consistency (the 4 of's) to attempt to keep pace with the pack, with the 1 of's a either silver bullets against specific decks my friends play (the Virulent Sliver, for example, in case a friend's elf deck gets out of hand and starts generating hundreds of life per turn). Some recursion would be nice, and I ponder finding space for mass recursion like Patriarch's Bidding and at least one Heart Sliver to let me use it and hopefully kill at least one opponent in the same turn.
The deck has a higher average casting cost than I'd like in one that strives to be fairly aggressive, but on average our games tend to go a little longer as people all try to stabilize their position without getting a clear enough advantage that they obviously need to be dealt with immediately.
WCommander EeshaBDrana, Kalastria BloodchiefBGGlissa, the TraitorBWVish Kal, Blood ArbiterRUNin, the Pain Artist
UGEdric, Spymaster of TrestWRBasandra, Battle SeraphBGWDoran, the Siege TowerBGWGhave, Guru of Spores
RGWUril, the MiststalkerGUBThe MimeoplasmUWGRafiq of the ManyWUBRGSliver Overlord
if you have more reflecting pool, drop exotic orchard and use reflecting, or a basic land, if you playgroup are more competitive and run wasteland or strip mines, you should drop some non-basic lands for some basic, dont drop the fetch lands
i think you can drop 1 overlord, 1 harmonic and 1 ward for 3 homing sliver or some tutor spells, since you can tutor some of the one ofs slivers.
synapse is too high costed for draw, you shoudl run draw spells in place of that sliver.
shifting is cool for flavour, but you could drop him and put one more winged.
with homing in your deck i also drop talon and other ward sliver for one heart sliver and patriarch bidding for alternate win con and recursion.
if you want a more fast deck, you should focus in 3 colors and get 2cc slivers.
Deck Building Primer - Casual
Sliver Primer - Casual Share your tips with us !!
Want To Buy List Please Check !!
Now Playing:
Excaliboros R(R/W)W / Maverick G(G/W)W
Bant Pro Excalibur (G/U)W(G/U) / Merfolk (W/U)U(U/B)
4x Sidewinder Sliver
4x Sinew Sliver
2x Quilled Sliver
2x Homing Sliver
1x Bonesplitter Sliver
4x Cavalry Master
3x Knight of the Holy Nimbus
3x Outrider en-Kor
4x Scout's Warning
3x Shields of Velis Vel
3x Dawn Charm
2x Boros Fury-Shield
Artifacts
3x Hivestone
Lands
2x Boros Garrison
11x Plains
9x Mountain
3x Cautery Sliver
1x Lymph Sliver
1x Pulmonic Sliver
1x Fury Sliver
3x Return to Dust
2x Master Warcraft
4x Journey to Nowhere
The idea of the deck is to send out my Slivers to grant Flanking, +1/+1, and pings. Then, follow with Flanking Knights, who would be transformed into slivers via Hivestone or Shields of Velis Vel. The overall deck is aggressive, especially against other creature decks. If they blocked my flankers, they would most likely be killed before damage. Since I'd be on the assault just about every turn, I'd prevent damage with Dawn Charm (or do it's other effects) and Boros Fury-Shield. Scout's Warning was there for card draw, especially in situations where I had no hand but the deck is creature heavy so I could possibly draw into one then play it. The sideboard handled artifact/enchantment hate, exiling annoying creatures, swapping out slivers if I needed fatties or sacrificial pingers, and if combat got sticky, Master Warcraft to handle things in my favor.
Looking over the deck, it seemed a bit odd now (mainly the one Bonesplitter Sliver), but surprisingly, it did well and was fun to play. Since not many of the creatures can change, since it's Slivers and Flankers, I wonder what spells I could replace and other options could be included.