Okay, for my next big project, I'm looking at one of my all time favorites: Slivers. Now, I have played against Slivers and talked with several different people and found them highly appealing. This has given me certain impressions about them, but I need clarification before I really start to invest them. As such, I'm not even going to attempt any sort of deck list until, I've wrapped my head around this enough.
1). Play Style: Slivers can be played aggro, combo or control to my knowledge. I have very little to no interest in control. So that leaves aggro or combo. Combo is combo and while devastating, it really means playing the same thing over and over again, IIRC. Aggro is a more unpredictable but as such could be a little more fun. I need to know if or how aggro can be used effectively or if there's even a point. So really, aggro or combo; which is more effective.
2). Commander Impressions:
Sliver Overlord- The go-to face of Sliver EDH. He's regarded as the overall best command for a Sliver deck for his ability to tutor any Sliver you might need and if the conditions are right even take over another player's field. However, he isn't considered to be the fastest and could backfire on you if played at the wrong time.
Sliver Legion- Considered to be a Sliver essential and win-con/finisher unto itself. Once talked to some in my playgroup of using this as an alternative commander. It has all five colors, it's effect is immediate when it hits the field. Direct and straightforward, the ultimate aggro enabler.
Sliver Queen- The combo enabler, token generator and one of the most powerful Slivers ever made. Not too interested in her, personally, and as such I don't know too many of the combos. Powerful card, just not high on my priority list until I get the actual deck itself up and running.
3). Regular Slivers: This is a big one. There are a LOT of Slivers and as they confer all their abilities to other Slivers, hypothetically, every Sliver as value. This makes it hard to sort what is really good and what is more niche. I just need to know what Slivers just are not worth it.
4). Land Base: I'm going to be working with WUBRG as my color range. As such I need what I need and how much and what I don't need. EX: It might sound like a good idea to have all the Check lands like Woodland Cemetery or Glacial Fortress, having a bunch of mana that comes in tapped is not a good thing. The Shock Lands make sense but should I include all of them, some of them? Same thing with the Check lands. Should I look into the Filters?
Okay, for my next big project, I'm looking at one of my all time favorites: Slivers. Now, I have played against Slivers and talked with several different people and found them highly appealing. This has given me certain impressions about them, but I need clarification before I really start to invest them. As such, I'm not even going to attempt any sort of deck list until, I've wrapped my head around this enough.
1). Play Style: Slivers can be played aggro, combo or control to my knowledge. I have very little to no interest in control. So that leaves aggro or combo. Combo is combo and while devastating, it really means playing the same thing over and over again, IIRC. Aggro is a more unpredictable but as such could be a little more fun. I need to know if or how aggro can be used effectively or if there's even a point. So really, aggro or combo; which is more effective.
2). Commander Impressions:
Sliver Overlord- The go-to face of Sliver EDH. He's regarded as the overall best command for a Sliver deck for his ability to tutor any Sliver you might need and if the conditions are right even take over another player's field. However, he isn't considered to be the fastest and could backfire on you if played at the wrong time.
Sliver Legion- Considered to be a Sliver essential and win-con/finisher unto itself. Once talked to some in my playgroup of using this as an alternative commander. It has all five colors, it's effect is immediate when it hits the field. Direct and straightforward, the ultimate aggro enabler.
Sliver Queen- The combo enabler, token generator and one of the most powerful Slivers ever made. Not too interested in her, personally, and as such I don't know too many of the combos. Powerful card, just not high on my priority list until I get the actual deck itself up and running.
From my experience, Sliver Legion is the more Aggro general, Sliver Overlord more control, and Sliver Queen more combo-oriented, but to be honest Slivers plays out like Aggro-Combo most of the time. If you've ever played Elves or Goblins, sometimes the synergy elements start to feel very combo-ish so the line gets very blurred. There are ways to make it so that you can't go infinite, but the heavy Sliver synergies are going to be able to win out of nowhere if done "right".
One example of this is poison kills; with Virulent Sliver it is possible to kill via poison and do so in one shot. Would you consider this a combo-kill? So would, some do not. With Screeching Sliver, you can mill someone out (especially in conjunction with things like Intruder Alarm). If you've generated a ton of Sliver tokens with Sliver Queen or Brood Sliver, tapped them for mana with Gemhide Sliver and Manaweft Sliver (with Haste due to Heart Sliver), then used the mana and tokens to kill most of your opponent's permanents with Necrotic Sliver, is that a combo? The essence of this is that Slivers can pretty much do whatever you want; you just have to decide what you want to do and make your creature choices appropriately.
3). Regular Slivers: This is a big one. There are a LOT of Slivers and as they confer all their abilities to other Slivers, hypothetically, every Sliver as value. This makes it hard to sort what is really good and what is more niche. I just need to know what Slivers just are not worth it.
It generally depends on what you are really trying to do, but the thing to NOT do is just fill the deck up with 50 Slivers, 40 mana sources, and a few counterspells and just expect the Sliver synergy to carry the deck. I think you are going about this the right way; have a plan before you start.
Slivers not generally worth it: Slivers that pump toughness, grant abilities like Vigilance or Regeneration, and a few that seem like a good idea but really aren't like Shadow Sliver, Psionic Sliver, and Ward Sliver.
4). Land Base: I'm going to be working with WUBRG as my color range. As such I need what I need and how much and what I don't need. EX: It might sound like a good idea to have all the Check lands like Overgrown Tomb or Glacial Fortress, having a bunch of mana that comes in tapped is not a good thing. The Shock Lands make sense but should I include all of them, some of them? Same thing with the Check lands. Should I look into the Filters?
From my experience, Sliver Legion is the more Aggro general, Sliver Overlord more control, and Sliver Queen more combo-oriented, but to be honest Slivers plays out like Aggro-Combo most of the time. If you've ever played Elves or Goblins, sometimes the synergy elements start to feel very combo-ish so the line gets very blurred. There are ways to make it so that you can't go infinite, but the heavy Sliver synergies are going to be able to win out of nowhere if done "right".
One example of this is poison kills; with Virulent Sliver it is possible to kill via poison and do so in one shot. Would you consider this a combo-kill? So would, some do not. With Screeching Sliver, you can mill someone out (especially in conjunction with things like Intruder Alarm). If you've generated a ton of Sliver tokens with Sliver Queen or Brood Sliver, tapped them for mana with Gemhide Sliver and Manaweft Sliver (with Haste due to Heart Sliver), then used the mana and tokens to kill most of your opponent's permanents with Necrotic Sliver, is that a combo? The essence of this is that Slivers can pretty much do whatever you want; you just have to decide what you want to do and make your creature choices appropriately.
See, this is what I was really trying to define: was there any true line between Sliver strategies? From your explanation, I can see that there are different focuses but there will always be overlap. I just need to gear the Slivers towards what I'm trying to do. As I'm going with a more aggro-combo build, should I include things like Virulent Sliver and Synapse Sliver which do take advantage of the combat step?
As for the commander, I'm thinking that'll get both Sliver Overlord and Sliver Legion and try them both out in the commander zone to see which I prefer to be my commander with the other in the deck. Sliver Queen will added to the deck once I get more money.
Aggro: Choose a few Evasion-granting Slivers (Galerider Sliver, Shifting Sliver), combat-oriented abilities (Bonescythe Sliver, Heart Sliver, Horned Sliver), and Slivers that pump power (Muscle Sliver, Bonesplitter Sliver, Predatory Sliver, etc.) then go to town in the attack step. A few Changelings are also playable (specifically Mirror Entity and Chameleon Colossus). I would also definitely run Crystalline Sliver.
This seems to be around the lines I was thinking.
Fetches, ABU Duals or Ravnica Duals, and Checklands are your best bet. I love Filter lands, but you can't have too many of them because they don't generate colored mana on their own. There are a few 5-color lands that you'll want in Command Tower, Cavern of Souls, Sliver Hive, Reflecting Pool, Thran Quarry, Exotic Orchard, and Ancient Ziggurat. I would also run Crystal Quarry.
As I've established that I'm going for a more aggro approach with a bit of combo, any artifacts, enchantments or other spell I should really be looking into? I mean Chromatic Lantern, Coat of Arms, Mirari's Wake, and Urza's Incubator seem almost obvious. But what about instant or sorcery cards? Would something like Training Grounds be worth it?
Also, thank you for the response. It helped a lot!
Some more five-colored lands I would add. Exotic Orchard , Forbidden Orchard, In my sliver deck I run all 10 Shock + fetches + 5 basics(1 of each) + some pain lands, the best is to go untapped, if you can afford the original Duals, its better.
Want to go Aggro? Sliver Legion really, I can't see why to choose Overlord when you want to Aggro out, Sliver Legion hits easily the table at turn 4, he can hit as a double striker + haste + static buffs, Sliver Overlord is too slow to build an aggro deck, I use Sliver Overlord, but I am much more a Combo player than an Aggro Player, so it usually plays a more Combo/Control deck.
A suggestion for a Sliver Legion deck, is put a bunch of draw cards, usually the attack + draw style like, Bident of Thassa for example, this gives you fuel to swarm the table, and since you have access to all colors, you can have the best draw engines to not need a tutor commander.
Some more five-colored lands I would add. Exotic Orchard , Forbidden Orchard, In my sliver deck I run all 10 Shock + fetches + 5 basics(1 of each) + some pain lands, the best is to go untapped, if you can afford the original Duals, its better.
Want to go Aggro? Sliver Legion really, I can't see why to choose Overlord when you want to Aggro out, Sliver Legion hits easily the table at turn 4, he can hit as a double striker + haste + static buffs, Sliver Overlord is too slow to build an aggro deck, I use Sliver Overlord, but I am much more a Combo player than an Aggro Player, so it usually plays a more Combo/Control deck.
A suggestion for a Sliver Legion deck, is put a bunch of draw cards, usually the attack + draw style like, Bident of Thassa for example, this gives you fuel to swarm the table, and since you have access to all colors, you can have the best draw engines to not need a tutor commander.
Thank you very much for the response.
In the land department, I was thinking of not even bothering with the the Check lands as they would be a tad too slow. My budget for the deck already included the Shock lands. As for the original dual lands, I'm probably going to put those off until I get some REAL cash. The Fetches are something I'll also do a in stage, 1 or 2 at a time, so I don't kill my wallet.
As I'm going aggro, and thus Sliver Legion is going to be my general, should I even include Sliver Overlord in the deck? I think he'd still be useful but if not, it would save my wallet some.
The draw is something I'll look out for. Should I also include things like Rhystic Study, low cost but after played I don't even have to really do anything? Any tutors?
Overlord is absolutely the strongest sliver tribal general, since he lets you tutor for almost all of the most important cards in your deck. Queen is really only useful in the command zone if you're making a non-sliver combo deck around her.
Although you probably shouldn't forget about the possibility of Sliver Hivelord in the command zone. Making all of your creatures indestructible just by sticking your commander is nothing to sneeze at. (Of course, if you run Overlord as commander, you can just tutor up Hivelord whenever you want, as well as Crystalline Sliver, and then your boardstate is only vulnerable to sweepers which bounce, exile, or apply -X/-X.)
As I've established that I'm going for a more aggro approach with a bit of combo, any artifacts, enchantments or other spell I should really be looking into? I mean Chromatic Lantern, Coat of Arms, Mirari's Wake, and Urza's Incubator seem almost obvious. But what about instant or sorcery cards? Would something like Training Grounds be worth it?
Overlord is absolutely the strongest sliver tribal general, since he lets you tutor for almost all of the most important cards in your deck. Queen is really only useful in the command zone if you're making a non-sliver combo deck around her.
Although you probably shouldn't forget about the possibility of Sliver Hivelord in the command zone. Making all of your creatures indestructible just by sticking your commander is nothing to sneeze at. (Of course, if you run Overlord as commander, you can just tutor up Hivelord whenever you want, as well as Crystalline Sliver, and then your boardstate is only vulnerable to sweepers which bounce, exile, or apply -X/-X.)
From what I understand, Sliver Overlord is more combo oriented and if you're going for aggro, he'll slow you down. I'm not saying he's not good, I'm simply saying he may not fit my needs.
Sliver Hivelord...I might try him out as the commander but he's definitely going to be in the deck.
As I've established that I'm going for a more aggro approach with a bit of combo, any artifacts, enchantments or other spell I should really be looking into? I mean Chromatic Lantern, Coat of Arms, Mirari's Wake, and Urza's Incubator seem almost obvious. But what about instant or sorcery cards? Would something like Training Grounds be worth it?
From what I understand, Sliver Overlord is more combo oriented and if you're going for aggro, he'll slow you down. I'm not saying he's not good, I'm simply saying he may not fit my needs.
This has been my experience with Sliver Overlord as well. Great for combo, but I personally prefer Sliver Legion if I just want to turn sideways. I've had a lot of fun using him in 1 vs 1.
Wild Pair is great with Slivers and you could also use Maze's End as an alternative win condition. I use Sliver Hivelord as my general and he does fine for me I don't own any of the other big slivers anyways lol also another fun move with slivers would be to Tunnel Vision yourself naming Living Death and get back a truck load of slivers all at once and kill a whole table lol
From what I understand, Sliver Overlord is more combo oriented and if you're going for aggro, he'll slow you down. I'm not saying he's not good, I'm simply saying he may not fit my needs.
This has been my experience with Sliver Overlord as well. Great for combo, but I personally prefer Sliver Legion if I just want to turn sideways. I've had a lot of fun using him in 1 vs 1.
See, I'm also debating whether or not this deck is going to 1 vs. 1 or multiplayer. With Sliver Legion at the helm for aggro, I'm thinking more along the lines of 1 vs 1. Besides, I do need a dual commander deck. Animar, Soul of Elements can pull it off easily but my play group is a little tired of seeing him all the time.
OK, I need to settle this thing with Sliver Overlord: He's not going to be the general but should still be included in the deck?
Pros/Cons as I see are:
Pros
He's a 7/7. A huge body.
He has tutor capability which would allow me to get exactly what I need.
Cons
His ability costs mana. That can be mitigated through things like Training Grounds. But should I really be dealing with that?
He could backfire on me if someone cloned him or took control of him. There's are ways to deal with that but, again, why should I be worrying about this in the first place?
Everything he does, I could do with things like Worldly Tutor and Demonic Tutor for less mana and the latter can actually get me more things.
He's expensive $$$-wise. The foundations of the deck are already going to cost me plenty. If he's not needed, it would save me money.
There may be more than what I'm seeing, but he kinda doesn't seem worth it for what I'm doing.
Overlord is absolutely the strongest sliver tribal general, since he lets you tutor for almost all of the most important cards in your deck. Queen is really only useful in the command zone if you're making a non-sliver combo deck around her.
Although you probably shouldn't forget about the possibility of Sliver Hivelord in the command zone. Making all of your creatures indestructible just by sticking your commander is nothing to sneeze at. (Of course, if you run Overlord as commander, you can just tutor up Hivelord whenever you want, as well as Crystalline Sliver, and then your boardstate is only vulnerable to sweepers which bounce, exile, or apply -X/-X.)
From what I understand, Sliver Overlord is more combo oriented and if you're going for aggro, he'll slow you down.
Nah. I mean, he can be good for combo, but what aggro deck would object to being able to tutor any of its creatures repeatedly?
OK, I need to settle this thing with Sliver Overlord: He's not going to be the general but should still be included in the deck?
Pros/Cons as I see are:
Pros
He's a 7/7. A huge body.
He has tutor capability which would allow me to get exactly what I need.
Cons
His ability costs mana. That can be mitigated through things like Training Grounds. But should I really be dealing with that?
He could backfire on me if someone cloned him or took control of him. There's are ways to deal with that but, again, why should I be worrying about this in the first place?
Everything he does, I could do with things like Worldly Tutor and Demonic Tutor for less mana and the latter can actually get me more things.
He's expensive $$$-wise. The foundations of the deck are already going to cost me plenty. If he's not needed, it would save me money.
There may be more than what I'm seeing, but he kinda doesn't seem worth it for what I'm doing.
Anyone else's thoughts?
Sliver Overlord is incredible, and any sliver deck without him, in my opinion, is worse than it could be with him. In terms of the cons, 3 mana is not much of an investment to pay for finding the exact sliver you need for any situation. And although you could use tutors to get his effect, those are 1-shot spells, whereas the overlord is a repeatable ability. Finally, the price is a bit steep, but in terms of bang for your buck, I do not think you'll find another sliver more powerful than overlord.
The only legitimate criticism is the fact that he's a beating if he's stolen, but the same could be said for a lot of creatures and most commanders.
OK, I need to settle this thing with Sliver Overlord: He's not going to be the general but should still be included in the deck?
Pros/Cons as I see are:
Pros
He's a 7/7. A huge body.
He has tutor capability which would allow me to get exactly what I need.
Cons
His ability costs mana. That can be mitigated through things like Training Grounds. But should I really be dealing with that?
He could backfire on me if someone cloned him or took control of him. There's are ways to deal with that but, again, why should I be worrying about this in the first place?
Everything he does, I could do with things like Worldly Tutor and Demonic Tutor for less mana and the latter can actually get me more things.
He's expensive $$$-wise. The foundations of the deck are already going to cost me plenty. If he's not needed, it would save me money.
There may be more than what I'm seeing, but he kinda doesn't seem worth it for what I'm doing.
Anyone else's thoughts?
Sliver Overlord is incredible, and any sliver deck without him, in my opinion, is worse than it could be with him. In terms of the cons, 3 mana is not much of an investment to pay for finding the exact sliver you need for any situation. And although you could use tutors to get his effect, those are 1-shot spells, whereas the overlord is a repeatable ability. Finally, the price is a bit steep, but in terms of bang for your buck, I do not think you'll find another sliver more powerful than overlord.
The only legitimate criticism is the fact that he's a beating if he's stolen, but the same could be said for a lot of creatures and most commanders.
Valid points. Also, I thought about it for a second. Any of my Slivers, if stolen could do some damage in the right situation as Slivers confer their abilities to ALL Slivers, not just the ones I control. I could include things like Homeward Path to deal with that. Also, I guess that I just have to read the board situation before I play him and simply wait until he's needed or I have significant protection for him. As for the price, I could just go for the version of him from Scourge to save a little money.
Any of my Slivers, if stolen could do some damage in the right situation as Slivers confer their abilities to ALL Slivers, not just the ones I control.
The newest slivers only apply to your side of the battlefield.
Well, I'm going to buy what I need most for the deck tomorrow. If there's any last minute suggestions or recommendations, I'll hear them out. Until I purchase everything, nothing's set in stone.
Thank you everyone, who has contributed up to this point.
I love the interaction that Telekinetic Sliver has with Seedborn Muse and Prophet of Kruphix, you can shut down all players in their upkeep, eventually winning, this of course is better suited in Sliver Overlord, because of his tutoring is very synergistic with muse/prophet. I would rather go for Legion in aggro, you don't have to commit any mana to tutor an army, sure you might assemble it with overlord, but it will demand you a lot of mana and time. Sliver Queen on the other hand depends much less on other slivers, she can easily be build in a variety of goodstuff decks. She excels in enchantress. Also a deck shouldn't tutor the answers it need for every threat, it must be built to be a threat itself.
Sliver Overlord is well worth it. He is pure card advantage, often drawing you 2-3 additional cards per turn and allowing you to reload your hand in the mid-late game. Plus, you can fetch exactly what you want/need. And you shouldn't have to worry about getting him stolen; cards like Necrotic Sliver, Acidic Sliver, Mnemonic Sliver, Mindwhip Sliver, etc. all act as potential sac outlets in a pinch, not to mention Crystalline Sliver and Frenetic Sliver can go a long way toward making sure they aren't targeted in the first place. From my experience, Slivers don't really ever get stolen unless it's from something like Insurrection.
1). Play Style: Slivers can be played aggro, combo or control to my knowledge. I have very little to no interest in control. So that leaves aggro or combo. Combo is combo and while devastating, it really means playing the same thing over and over again, IIRC. Aggro is a more unpredictable but as such could be a little more fun. I need to know if or how aggro can be used effectively or if there's even a point. So really, aggro or combo; which is more effective.
2). Commander Impressions:
3). Regular Slivers: This is a big one. There are a LOT of Slivers and as they confer all their abilities to other Slivers, hypothetically, every Sliver as value. This makes it hard to sort what is really good and what is more niche. I just need to know what Slivers just are not worth it.
4). Land Base: I'm going to be working with WUBRG as my color range. As such I need what I need and how much and what I don't need. EX: It might sound like a good idea to have all the Check lands like Woodland Cemetery or Glacial Fortress, having a bunch of mana that comes in tapped is not a good thing. The Shock Lands make sense but should I include all of them, some of them? Same thing with the Check lands. Should I look into the Filters?
As you can see, there's quite a bit to consider. Right now, I've some stuff priced at Star City Games at around $230. http://sales.starcitygames.com/showwishlist.php?wishlist=422079_239534
EDIT: I meant Woodland Cemetery not Overgrown Tomb.
From my experience, Sliver Legion is the more Aggro general, Sliver Overlord more control, and Sliver Queen more combo-oriented, but to be honest Slivers plays out like Aggro-Combo most of the time. If you've ever played Elves or Goblins, sometimes the synergy elements start to feel very combo-ish so the line gets very blurred. There are ways to make it so that you can't go infinite, but the heavy Sliver synergies are going to be able to win out of nowhere if done "right".
One example of this is poison kills; with Virulent Sliver it is possible to kill via poison and do so in one shot. Would you consider this a combo-kill? So would, some do not. With Screeching Sliver, you can mill someone out (especially in conjunction with things like Intruder Alarm). If you've generated a ton of Sliver tokens with Sliver Queen or Brood Sliver, tapped them for mana with Gemhide Sliver and Manaweft Sliver (with Haste due to Heart Sliver), then used the mana and tokens to kill most of your opponent's permanents with Necrotic Sliver, is that a combo? The essence of this is that Slivers can pretty much do whatever you want; you just have to decide what you want to do and make your creature choices appropriately.
It generally depends on what you are really trying to do, but the thing to NOT do is just fill the deck up with 50 Slivers, 40 mana sources, and a few counterspells and just expect the Sliver synergy to carry the deck. I think you are going about this the right way; have a plan before you start.
Control: For almost all builds, there are a few Slivers you are always going to want to play; Necrotic Sliver, Harmonic Sliver, the 3 Sliver Legends, and the mana generators (Gemhide Sliver, Manaweft Sliver. You need to check your control synergies, but sometimes Crystalline Sliver can conflict with what you are trying to do. Overall, you are looking to choose slivers that cover all your removal needs and surround them with control/support cards to keep your opponents in check and the way clear for you to get in damage. Cards like Constricting Sliver, Dementia Sliver, Frenetic Sliver, Mesmeric Sliver, Mindlash Sliver, Quick Sliver, Telekinetic Sliver etc. all shine in that kind of deck.
Aggro: Choose a few Evasion-granting Slivers (Galerider Sliver, Shifting Sliver), combat-oriented abilities (Bonescythe Sliver, Heart Sliver, Horned Sliver), and Slivers that pump power (Muscle Sliver, Bonesplitter Sliver, Predatory Sliver, etc.) then go to town in the attack step. A few Changelings are also playable (specifically Mirror Entity and Chameleon Colossus). I would also definitely run Crystalline Sliver.
Combo: Cards like Intruder Alarm, Earthcraft, Aluren, Glimpse of Nature, etc. all have tons of synergy with mass quantities of Slivers and certain Sliver abilities. Going down this route, the power of your Slivers means a lot less than the abilities. Your focus is on cards like Acidic Sliver, Dormant Sliver, Homing Sliver, Mnemonic Sliver, Root Sliver, etc. along with ways to generate tokens and fuel you kill of choice.
Slivers not generally worth it: Slivers that pump toughness, grant abilities like Vigilance or Regeneration, and a few that seem like a good idea but really aren't like Shadow Sliver, Psionic Sliver, and Ward Sliver.
Fetches, ABU Duals or Ravnica Duals, and Checklands are your best bet. I love Filter lands, but you can't have too many of them because they don't generate colored mana on their own. There are a few 5-color lands that you'll want in Command Tower, Cavern of Souls, Sliver Hive, Reflecting Pool, Thran Quarry, Exotic Orchard, and Ancient Ziggurat. I would also run Crystal Quarry.
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See, this is what I was really trying to define: was there any true line between Sliver strategies? From your explanation, I can see that there are different focuses but there will always be overlap. I just need to gear the Slivers towards what I'm trying to do. As I'm going with a more aggro-combo build, should I include things like Virulent Sliver and Synapse Sliver which do take advantage of the combat step?
As for the commander, I'm thinking that'll get both Sliver Overlord and Sliver Legion and try them both out in the commander zone to see which I prefer to be my commander with the other in the deck. Sliver Queen will added to the deck once I get more money.
This seems to be around the lines I was thinking.
A lot of those lands I knew about but not Crystal Quarry or Thran Quarry.
As I've established that I'm going for a more aggro approach with a bit of combo, any artifacts, enchantments or other spell I should really be looking into? I mean Chromatic Lantern, Coat of Arms, Mirari's Wake, and Urza's Incubator seem almost obvious. But what about instant or sorcery cards? Would something like Training Grounds be worth it?
Also, thank you for the response. It helped a lot!
Exotic Orchard , Forbidden Orchard, In my sliver deck I run all 10 Shock + fetches + 5 basics(1 of each) + some pain lands, the best is to go untapped, if you can afford the original Duals, its better.
Want to go Aggro?
Sliver Legion really, I can't see why to choose Overlord when you want to Aggro out, Sliver Legion hits easily the table at turn 4, he can hit as a double striker + haste + static buffs, Sliver Overlord is too slow to build an aggro deck, I use Sliver Overlord, but I am much more a Combo player than an Aggro Player, so it usually plays a more Combo/Control deck.
A suggestion for a Sliver Legion deck, is put a bunch of draw cards, usually the attack + draw style like, Bident of Thassa for example, this gives you fuel to swarm the table, and since you have access to all colors, you can have the best draw engines to not need a tutor commander.
Thank you very much for the response.
In the land department, I was thinking of not even bothering with the the Check lands as they would be a tad too slow. My budget for the deck already included the Shock lands. As for the original dual lands, I'm probably going to put those off until I get some REAL cash. The Fetches are something I'll also do a in stage, 1 or 2 at a time, so I don't kill my wallet.
As I'm going aggro, and thus Sliver Legion is going to be my general, should I even include Sliver Overlord in the deck? I think he'd still be useful but if not, it would save my wallet some.
The draw is something I'll look out for. Should I also include things like Rhystic Study, low cost but after played I don't even have to really do anything? Any tutors?
BTW, should I be worried about any recovery?
Although you probably shouldn't forget about the possibility of Sliver Hivelord in the command zone. Making all of your creatures indestructible just by sticking your commander is nothing to sneeze at. (Of course, if you run Overlord as commander, you can just tutor up Hivelord whenever you want, as well as Crystalline Sliver, and then your boardstate is only vulnerable to sweepers which bounce, exile, or apply -X/-X.)
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There are some tribal oriented cards that I have seen put to good use in Sliver decks. Cards like Door of Destinies, Shared Animosity, Descendants' Path work very well in agro strategies. If you are looking at more combo-oriented cards that still have applications in an agro deck, Earthcraft, Mana Echoes, Intruder Alarm, and Glimpse of Nature will probably all work, with things like Aluren, Recycle/Null Profusion, and Rings of Brighthearth work well in addition to Training Grounds. Cards like Lurking Predators and Wild Pair can also be worthwhile.
Someone else mentioned Patriarch's Bidding as an anti-Wrath effect, but I would also look at Living Death and Grave Sifter.
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From what I understand, Sliver Overlord is more combo oriented and if you're going for aggro, he'll slow you down. I'm not saying he's not good, I'm simply saying he may not fit my needs.
Sliver Hivelord...I might try him out as the commander but he's definitely going to be in the deck.
So, I should be looking to cheat my Slivers? I can understand that.
This has been my experience with Sliver Overlord as well. Great for combo, but I personally prefer Sliver Legion if I just want to turn sideways. I've had a lot of fun using him in 1 vs 1.
See, I'm also debating whether or not this deck is going to 1 vs. 1 or multiplayer. With Sliver Legion at the helm for aggro, I'm thinking more along the lines of 1 vs 1. Besides, I do need a dual commander deck. Animar, Soul of Elements can pull it off easily but my play group is a little tired of seeing him all the time.
Pros/Cons as I see are:
Pros
Cons
Anyone else's thoughts?
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Sliver Overlord is incredible, and any sliver deck without him, in my opinion, is worse than it could be with him. In terms of the cons, 3 mana is not much of an investment to pay for finding the exact sliver you need for any situation. And although you could use tutors to get his effect, those are 1-shot spells, whereas the overlord is a repeatable ability. Finally, the price is a bit steep, but in terms of bang for your buck, I do not think you'll find another sliver more powerful than overlord.
The only legitimate criticism is the fact that he's a beating if he's stolen, but the same could be said for a lot of creatures and most commanders.
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Melira PodRIP 1/19/15GWHatebearsValid points. Also, I thought about it for a second. Any of my Slivers, if stolen could do some damage in the right situation as Slivers confer their abilities to ALL Slivers, not just the ones I control. I could include things like Homeward Path to deal with that. Also, I guess that I just have to read the board situation before I play him and simply wait until he's needed or I have significant protection for him. As for the price, I could just go for the version of him from Scourge to save a little money.
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Thank you everyone, who has contributed up to this point.
Might not be good enough to make the cut, but definitely worth consideration.
Jalira, Master Polymorphist | Endrek Sahr, Master Breeder | Bosh, Iron Golem | Ezuri, Renegade Leader
Brago, King Eternal | Oona, Queen of the Fae | Wort, Boggart Auntie | Wort, the Raidmother
Captain Sisay | Rhys, the Redeemed | Trostani, Selesnya's Voice | Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord
Gisela, Blade of Goldnight | Obzedat, Ghost Council | Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind | Vorel of the Hull Clade
Uril, the Miststalker | Prossh, Skyraider of Kher | Nicol Bolas | Progenitus
Ghave, Guru of Spores | Zedruu the Greathearted | Damia, Sage of Stone | Riku of Two Reflections