Definitely wouldn't use Striking and Talon together. I meant replacing Striking with Talon when using Æther Vial since you would most likely keep 2 counters on it.
Yeah, Ghostflame is "meh" really; being a 2/2 for 2 is the only reason I consider it... Splashing W might not be a bad idea since the only white sliver in the Legacy deck is Sinew, leaving me with plenty of options. I'll definitely look more into the leftover W slivers as well.
Syphon does mesh well with Magma and Acidic, but no benefit with Fling or Rite. Could even use Acidic + Skullclamp depending on how much you want people to hate you...lol.
My "Don't Have" List for Counter Sliver
Which of these would be the best buy while trying to keep the deck performance per $? Aether Vial looks to be a good choice for the money, then Standstill could be a good combo with it. Just brainstorming here (no pun intended :p). Opinions?
My Thoughts on Non-Staple Possibly Useful Cards Daze: Good, early, free counter. However, is it worth using since I don't own fetch lands or dual/shock lands?
Plated Sliver: One-drop that makes the slivers survive multiple spells. Talon Sliver: Would help slivers survive combat. Not too good if opponent doesn't block since it'll be a 1/1 for 1W. Harmonic Sliver: Could be good to have, especially since I don't have any Aether Vials. Dormant Sliver: Card drawing engine, but it may be too slow and cost too much at 2UG. Plus it needs a sac or bounce sliver. Hibernation Sliver: Helps save key creatures when needed and provides a way to get Dormant off the table. Sidewinder Sliver: Not as good as Muscle/Sinew, but it's a one-drop that can put a hurting on opponent's creatures since multiple flanking instances trigger separately. Probably better than Talon since it's a one-drop. Virulent Sliver: One-drop, and multiple instances of poison trigger separately.
Ponder: Brainstorm-like Counterspell: Great 2cc counter as long as the UU isn't an issue. Mana Leak: Almost better than Counterspell since it's 1U and having 3 free after casting a spell worth countering is rare. Worship: Stall/lock that goes well with Crystalline Sliver, but only one copy. Eladamri's Call: Creature tutor, but only one copy Land Tax: Land fetcher, but only one copy. Bequeathal: Skullclamp-like enchant creature, could be good for drawing. Only have one, but they're cheap.
Thanks for the replies! I don't plan on playing in big tournaments, at least not yet, and the typical player count at the local store is usually around 12 +- a few. So, I doubt there are a ton of highly competitive legacy decks, but that's just a guess.
No Lion's Eye Diamonds here. I have some goblins, but only a couple of the ones listed in the Established Goblins thread since most of the ones used were released after the Masquerade Cycle.
I have a single Wasteland, but no Force of Wills or Aether Vials. I put a couple cards, Show and Tell and City of Traitors, up for sell on ebay, so I should have a little cash to spend (probably on Vials since they are cheaper than FoW). Cavern of Souls would at least give me the un-counterable advantage of Vial, but I'd still have to spend the mana to cast the creature rather than just tapping the Vial. So, I'm not sure if having Cavern of Souls makes it worth skipping buying the Vials for now and saving the money for Force of Wills.
I'm assuming the suggestion of zen fetches and dual/shock lands is on the basis of deck thinning plus being able to search for basic land that can tap for multiple colors. Is the deck thinning that much more of an advantage than having all your lands being able to tap for any color you need? Also, the zen fetches and dual/shock lands would be quite expensive since I don't own any of them already; like the goblins, they were released after Masquerade block...
After peaking at the Counter Sliver thread, it looks like that's the type of deck I could make while using mostly cards I already have to minimize cost. Looks like what I'm lacking are the Force of Wills, Vials, and fetch + dual/shock lands. Which of those should I focus on getting first? Are there any cheap alternatives to use while I work on getting those staples?
I've recently picked Magic back up for the first time in ~12 years, so I'm looking for a Legacy deck to hopefully make out of my existing cards or mostly my existing cards. My collection ranges from Revised to the Masquerade Cycle. I have a playset of all the slivers except Queen/Legion/Overlord and I kept playsets of the following lands in case I ever made a sliver deck again:
I looked through the Established sub-forum, but it doesn't look like I have enough of those cards to make complete decks without spending a fortune. I do have playsets of Swords to Plowshares, Brainstorm, Daze, Counterspell, and Mana Leak that I saw in the Control desk lists in Established.
I'm not sure if there's a type of sliver deck that's competitive in Legacy. If not, then what are some decent budget options that can take advantage of an older card base? Thanks!
Hey guys! I'm Matt which should be pretty obvious from the username
I played from 1995-2000 in a casual environment since I was only 11-16 yrs old, so my collection consists mostly of cards from Revised through the Masquerade Cycle. I played the most during the Rath Cycle, Artifacts Cycle, and 5th Edition so a large chunk of my collection is from that era.
My favorite Magic colors are probably Blue and Red due to control and burn, but I also like any Tribal theme.
Playing so much back in the Rath Cycle gave me a love for Slivers that I still have today. They were so unique and flavorful, I couldn't resist but to collect playsets of them. Since around 2000-ish whenever a new expansion or core set is released I sift through the spoilers hoping to find new slivers or good lands for the slivers' multicolor nature. I was glad to see the creature type make a reappearance in the Onslaught and Time Spiral Cycles. On release, I've picked up playsets of all the new slivers outside of the Overlord/Legion (just one of each) and playsets of the of the following newer lands: Mutavault, Cavern of Souls, and Ancient Ziggurat. Those lands plus the playsets of Gemstone Mine, Reflecting Pool, Thran Quarry, and City of Brass that I already had make for a pretty good land base for any multicolor sliver deck. So, most of my post year 2000 cards consist of slivers or land that would work well with sliver decks.
Another deck I enjoyed playing back then was a Blue/Black Pinger deck that focused on control, stalling combat, and dealing damage outside of combat. Death Pits of Rath, Statecraft, and Mundungu were a few of my favorite cards in that deck. I think I enjoyed it so much because it was different and not some cookie cutter deck.
I always enjoyed making decks, possibly more so than actually playing those decks I created.
Well, that's pretty much my Magic background and I was thinking about taking it back up after my ~12 year hiatus. Of course, I'd have to play casual or Legacy with my collection. Not sure if I could make any decent decks to compete in play today since I haven't kept up with the game that much. So, I'll definitely need help with that from the active players.
Yeah, Ghostflame is "meh" really; being a 2/2 for 2 is the only reason I consider it... Splashing W might not be a bad idea since the only white sliver in the Legacy deck is Sinew, leaving me with plenty of options. I'll definitely look more into the leftover W slivers as well.
Syphon does mesh well with Magma and Acidic, but no benefit with Fling or Rite. Could even use Acidic + Skullclamp depending on how much you want people to hate you...lol.
Combo #1
Striking Sliver/Crypt Sliver (Might want to run Talon Sliver for First Strike if you plan on using Æther Vial)
Hunter Sliver
Toxin Sliver
Combo #2
Magma Sliver
Fling/Rite of Consumption
Draw
Sign in Blood
Wild Guess
Possible Filler Creatures
Acidic Sliver
Syphon Sliver
Ghostflame Sliver
Frenzy Sliver
Sedge Sliver
Heart Sliver
My "Have" List for Counter Sliver
What other kinds of cards should I look for in my collection?
Possibly Useful Slivers (I have playsets of all Slivers except the legends)
Possibly Useful Spells
Which of these would be the best buy while trying to keep the deck performance per $? Aether Vial looks to be a good choice for the money, then Standstill could be a good combo with it. Just brainstorming here (no pun intended :p). Opinions?
Onslaught/Zendikar Fetch Lands
Alpha/Beta/Revised Dual Lands
Ravnica Shock Lands
Do Not Have (Cheap)
Daze: Good, early, free counter. However, is it worth using since I don't own fetch lands or dual/shock lands?
Plated Sliver: One-drop that makes the slivers survive multiple spells.
Talon Sliver: Would help slivers survive combat. Not too good if opponent doesn't block since it'll be a 1/1 for 1W.
Harmonic Sliver: Could be good to have, especially since I don't have any Aether Vials.
Dormant Sliver: Card drawing engine, but it may be too slow and cost too much at 2UG. Plus it needs a sac or bounce sliver.
Hibernation Sliver: Helps save key creatures when needed and provides a way to get Dormant off the table.
Sidewinder Sliver: Not as good as Muscle/Sinew, but it's a one-drop that can put a hurting on opponent's creatures since multiple flanking instances trigger separately. Probably better than Talon since it's a one-drop.
Virulent Sliver: One-drop, and multiple instances of poison trigger separately.
Ponder: Brainstorm-like
Counterspell: Great 2cc counter as long as the UU isn't an issue.
Mana Leak: Almost better than Counterspell since it's 1U and having 3 free after casting a spell worth countering is rare.
Worship: Stall/lock that goes well with Crystalline Sliver, but only one copy.
Eladamri's Call: Creature tutor, but only one copy
Land Tax: Land fetcher, but only one copy.
Bequeathal: Skullclamp-like enchant creature, could be good for drawing. Only have one, but they're cheap.
No Lion's Eye Diamonds here. I have some goblins, but only a couple of the ones listed in the Established Goblins thread since most of the ones used were released after the Masquerade Cycle.
I have a single Wasteland, but no Force of Wills or Aether Vials. I put a couple cards, Show and Tell and City of Traitors, up for sell on ebay, so I should have a little cash to spend (probably on Vials since they are cheaper than FoW). Cavern of Souls would at least give me the un-counterable advantage of Vial, but I'd still have to spend the mana to cast the creature rather than just tapping the Vial. So, I'm not sure if having Cavern of Souls makes it worth skipping buying the Vials for now and saving the money for Force of Wills.
I'm assuming the suggestion of zen fetches and dual/shock lands is on the basis of deck thinning plus being able to search for basic land that can tap for multiple colors. Is the deck thinning that much more of an advantage than having all your lands being able to tap for any color you need? Also, the zen fetches and dual/shock lands would be quite expensive since I don't own any of them already; like the goblins, they were released after Masquerade block...
After peaking at the Counter Sliver thread, it looks like that's the type of deck I could make while using mostly cards I already have to minimize cost. Looks like what I'm lacking are the Force of Wills, Vials, and fetch + dual/shock lands. Which of those should I focus on getting first? Are there any cheap alternatives to use while I work on getting those staples?
Thanks again!
I looked through the Established sub-forum, but it doesn't look like I have enough of those cards to make complete decks without spending a fortune. I do have playsets of Swords to Plowshares, Brainstorm, Daze, Counterspell, and Mana Leak that I saw in the Control desk lists in Established.
I'm not sure if there's a type of sliver deck that's competitive in Legacy. If not, then what are some decent budget options that can take advantage of an older card base? Thanks!
Good point about drafting! I'll have to call up the store to see if they do drafting, didn't see it listed on their calendar of events.
I played from 1995-2000 in a casual environment since I was only 11-16 yrs old, so my collection consists mostly of cards from Revised through the Masquerade Cycle. I played the most during the Rath Cycle, Artifacts Cycle, and 5th Edition so a large chunk of my collection is from that era.
My favorite Magic colors are probably Blue and Red due to control and burn, but I also like any Tribal theme.
Playing so much back in the Rath Cycle gave me a love for Slivers that I still have today. They were so unique and flavorful, I couldn't resist but to collect playsets of them. Since around 2000-ish whenever a new expansion or core set is released I sift through the spoilers hoping to find new slivers or good lands for the slivers' multicolor nature. I was glad to see the creature type make a reappearance in the Onslaught and Time Spiral Cycles. On release, I've picked up playsets of all the new slivers outside of the Overlord/Legion (just one of each) and playsets of the of the following newer lands: Mutavault, Cavern of Souls, and Ancient Ziggurat. Those lands plus the playsets of Gemstone Mine, Reflecting Pool, Thran Quarry, and City of Brass that I already had make for a pretty good land base for any multicolor sliver deck. So, most of my post year 2000 cards consist of slivers or land that would work well with sliver decks.
Another deck I enjoyed playing back then was a Blue/Black Pinger deck that focused on control, stalling combat, and dealing damage outside of combat. Death Pits of Rath, Statecraft, and Mundungu were a few of my favorite cards in that deck. I think I enjoyed it so much because it was different and not some cookie cutter deck.
I always enjoyed making decks, possibly more so than actually playing those decks I created.
Well, that's pretty much my Magic background and I was thinking about taking it back up after my ~12 year hiatus. Of course, I'd have to play casual or Legacy with my collection. Not sure if I could make any decent decks to compete in play today since I haven't kept up with the game that much. So, I'll definitely need help with that from the active players.
Hope to see you around the forums!