So nothing really groundbreaking or awesome... just an idea I had floating around to abuse Necrotic Sliver and was looking to see if anyone had any ideas.
The best "combo" in here is Necrotic Sliver + Pulmonic Sliver, but the deck just usually plays beatdown, kill creatures when needed with the spells, or start Vindicating if needed.
Sideboard will have at least Disenchant, dunno what else yet...
The known problem I have is lack of card draw, I'll just run out of steam.
Don't worry too much about the card draw situation; there's nothing in this block outside of green and blue. Everything else is incremental stuff.
Pulmonic Sliver is probably your most important Sliver, since it helps you dodge Damnation and removal in general.
Extirpate is terrible, a sideboard card at best; don't give it maindeck slots, at least. (This is hatred for the card speaking, not anything personal. It's just bad, but the public has led people to believe it's good.)
You could probably squeeze in a couple of Slivers in its place.
Disenchant isn't really needed in the sideboard, and this is a common misconception about sideboards. Sometimes there just isn't anything relevant to shoot with them. In this deck, you'll have to worry about Teferi's Moat I guess, but you've got Necrotic Slivers so it's not like you can't just toss a Sidewinder Sliver at those things.
And Return to Dust seems more versatile anyway - if you need artifact hate for Mishra decks, or enchantment hate for Enchantress decks, using one Return to nail two cards is better than saving some mana for the Disenchant.
Plus, Triskelavus in the RFG zone can't be targeted by Academy Ruins.
Another thing: Why doesn't the deck tag seem to work right for me? Just idle wondering there...
So -2 Extirpate and +1 Pulmonic and Mindlash Sliver to keep the pressure on early? Or maybe more removal? Though I think seven kill spells, Necrotic and Quilled Sliver are generally enough to keep creatures in check...
Also, the Imp's Mischief's seem to be hit or mess a lot. They're good when they hit, but there are a lot of times when they just sit there and do nothing (Avalanche Riders, Bust//Boom), but there's nothing analogous to them in the format.
So -2 Extirpate and +1 Pulmonic and Mindlash Sliver to keep the pressure on early? Or maybe more removal? Though I think seven kill spells, Necrotic and Quilled Sliver are generally enough to keep creatures in check...
Yeah, you shouldn't need more removal.
You may also be able to splash red in for Sedge Sliver, he'd give you some more Anthem effects and he's pretty effective by himself.
Also, the Imp's Mischief's seem to be hit or mess a lot. They're good when they hit, but there are a lot of times when they just sit there and do nothing (Avalanche Riders, Bust//Boom), but there's nothing analogous to them in the format.
They're your main way of jacking card advantage, I guess, although that stuff doesn't target in this format.
Maybe those could become Sedge Slivers? I dunno. It's up to you.
Also, I'm not entirely sure that four Flagstones of Trokair is the right number for this deck. We don't have any shocklands available in block, and many times they'll just slow your tempo if you play two of them, as the new Plains will come into play tapped.
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Sorry for the double post, but it's been a bit and I'm back with some results from testing on MWS. It's actually been fairly representative of the field, though theres been a lack of Teferi and MGA.
Here are my match results, though the reports aren't like super-detailed; people get snarky if you take too long. :/
Match 1: Pickles
Game one: Sinew + Sidewinder go all the way from turn 1, Imp's Mischief was a counter, Cautery Sliver was backup for Damnation
Game Two: Triple Sinew on the draw, he can only delay the inevitable. Mana-screwed hard otherwise.
2-0, 1-0
Match 2: ... Type 1 Reanimator
Game One: He doesn't do a whole lot, I drop slivers, he drops a Necromancy on Phantom Nishoba, Lightning Greaves it, I swing back and Cautery Sliver for the win. He disconnects.
4-0, 2-0
Match 3: U/W/R... Angel/Land Denial
Game One: Land D is bad. Frown bloody face. Numot and Lightning Angel are bad.
Game Two: Fast start with double Sinew Sliver, but land D and Gemstone Mine give me no land to work with. Lightning Angel gives him the game with a grip full of white and no plains in sight.
2-4, 2-1
Match 4: Blink Riders
Game One: Mana-screwed out of white for the first ten turns or so, Riders is Blinked to kill a Gemstone Mine, Plains and Molten Slagheap before Urborg Corrupts it for 4, he runs out of gas until he drops a Bogardan Hellkite, triple Momentary Blink on Hellkite wraths the board and kills me
Game Two: Sudden Death kills Lightning Angel and little Slivers go the distance, not a whole lot of burn or bounce to be found on his end
Game Three: Plays some burn but the Slivers keep on coming. Sedge and Sinew Slivers come in and beat down, leaving regeneration the entire time in case of burn. He drops a Desolation Giant, but it dies to Quilled Sliver pinging
4-5, 3-1
Match 5: U/R Magus of the Bazaar/Reanimation
Game One: Quick slow beats, blocks a flanking Sliver with a morphed Akroma, Necrotic and Pulmonic do some tricks before he Dread Returns Akroma, Angel of Fury, swings once and then Wraths the board away. Boddy Double comes down as an Akroma. Stupid pro-white.
Game Two: Risky hand with only a Gemstone Mine and a Molten Slagheap, but a Plains and another Slagheap come in short order. Mindlash, Sinew, and then Sidewinder come down and start beating down to 10... And then he disconnects after a Damnation.
6-6, 4-1
Match 6: Red-White Riders
Game One: He drops two Riders and proceeds to kill all my lands. Akroma comes down to seal it.
Game Two: Lots of creatures die early. I drop a Sedge and Necrotic Sliver, but he Word of Seizings the Sedge to kill my Necrotic. He suspends a Greater Gargadon, but I draw a Tendrils of Corruption and wait for him to get it out so I can nuke it. He Disintegrates for 18 (I'm still at 20), but I respond by Tendrilsing my own Sinew Sliver to stay alive, chump the Gargadon for a turn, and use Essence Sliver to stall, then double Sudden Death the Gargadon, make more Slivers and go for the throat and the win.
Game Three: He drops turn 1 suspended Gargadon, I drop a weenie and start swinging. He kills it and a Sedge Sliver, does some silly Gargadon tricks and kills me with Disintegrate.
7-8, 4-2
Match 7: Red/White Akroma Burn
Game One: Solid hand with creatures and a Necrotic, but double Nodes and a Desolation Giant with kicker keeps my side of the board clear as he beats down. Akroma comes down to seal it anyway. I then have to leave to do some work.
7-9, 4-3
Match 8: Blink Riders
Game One: Yup, all lands die. Lightning Angel comes down to seal it.
Game Two: I have enoguh creature kill to deal with his stuff, he has no tricks, and a slow but steady build-up of Slivers takes him down.
Game Three: A very tight game, this one. He had an early Boom, but I kept making land drops. He killed early Sliver, but I took out his Riders. Double Sidewinder Sliver allows me to use a combination of Essence Sliver and Sudden Death to clear out his creatures, and the Slivers grind in for the win.
9-10, 5-3
Match 9: B/U Madness
Game One: He has multiple Nightshade Assassins off of Looter il-Kor to kill anything I drop and keeps on swinging. He discards and reanimates Akroma, Angel of Wrath for overkill. He then disconnects before the second game.
11-11, 5-4
Match 10: G/W/U Blink
Game One: I get early pressure with a Sidewinder and Essence Sliver while he accelerates into mana, then Mystic Snakes a Sinew Sliver and then Momentary Blinks it to counter a Sedge Sliver. He Blinks to keep playing tricks on defense beforew dropping a Scryb Ranger to gang-block and kill the Essence sliver. A countered Pulmonic sliver later, the second one sticks. Shenaginans ensue again with snake and Blink, but I keep beating down and trading blows. I draw Imp's Mischief and Necrotic Sliver, so when he tries to Blink the Snake, I Mischief the Blink to my own creature, then do stupid Necrotic tricks.
Game Two: He suspends a Search for Tomorrow, I respond with a Sidewinder Sliver, then proceed to drop a Sinew Sliver and begin the beats. He drops a turn 4 Spectral Force, which is indeed a frown face. He plays a Call of the Herd, beats face, and off to the races indeed. I cast Stonecloaker to rescue my Sinew Sliver with damage on the stack, replay my hand. I beat down some more, but he Draining Whelks a winning Sedge Sliver, Temporal Isolations my Stonecloaker and swings for my life total.
Game Three: Double Sedge Sliver seems good, but he predictably has the Snake for it. A Gemstone Mine tries to give me an Essence Sliver, but there's a Momentary Blink to counter it... and then a *second* Blink to counter the second Essence Sliver. I draw nothing of consequence and lose to angry Elephants.
12-13, 5-5
Match 11: G/W/U Blink
Game One: Double Sinew Sliver is slowed by Blink and Snake and ow ow ow, counterwall.
Game Two: He draws no blue mana and it's wonderful what Slivers can do when not countered left and right.
Game Three: Mana-screwed out of blue, and when he does draw it, Necrotic Sliver and friends are already there to kill it dead and swing for the win.
14-14, 6-5
The last game was a rematch after he helped me tweak the deck and fix the mana.
Here's the current deck as it stands, incorporating several ideas I've received; it's gone back to Necrotic + Pulmonic tricks a lot and cut out Tendrils and all the red except Sedge.
I've played a few more one-game matches, and its mana is a lot smoother, especially since I added the overlooked Prismatic Lenses. Stonecloaker is huge in most circumstances, making some very good trades and ruining Blink tricks at times.
My worst match up by far is R/W/U Blink, as I need my mana to work. I don't know what to do for a sideboard, but it'd probably be dedicated around dealing with that match up I think.
3 Gemstone Mine
6 Plains
8 Swamp
3 Terramorphic Expanse
4 Flagstones of Trokair
3 Mindlash Sliver
3 Quilled Sliver
4 Sidewinder Sliver
3 Essence Sliver
2 Pulmonic Sliver
4 Sinew Sliver
4 Sudden Death
3 Tendrils of Corruption
2 Imp's Mischief
The best "combo" in here is Necrotic Sliver + Pulmonic Sliver, but the deck just usually plays beatdown, kill creatures when needed with the spells, or start Vindicating if needed.
Sideboard will have at least Disenchant, dunno what else yet...
The known problem I have is lack of card draw, I'll just run out of steam.
Pulmonic Sliver is probably your most important Sliver, since it helps you dodge Damnation and removal in general.
Extirpate is terrible, a sideboard card at best; don't give it maindeck slots, at least. (This is hatred for the card speaking, not anything personal. It's just bad, but the public has led people to believe it's good.)
You could probably squeeze in a couple of Slivers in its place.
Disenchant isn't really needed in the sideboard, and this is a common misconception about sideboards. Sometimes there just isn't anything relevant to shoot with them. In this deck, you'll have to worry about Teferi's Moat I guess, but you've got Necrotic Slivers so it's not like you can't just toss a Sidewinder Sliver at those things.
And Return to Dust seems more versatile anyway - if you need artifact hate for Mishra decks, or enchantment hate for Enchantress decks, using one Return to nail two cards is better than saving some mana for the Disenchant.
Plus, Triskelavus in the RFG zone can't be targeted by Academy Ruins.
So -2 Extirpate and +1 Pulmonic and Mindlash Sliver to keep the pressure on early? Or maybe more removal? Though I think seven kill spells, Necrotic and Quilled Sliver are generally enough to keep creatures in check...
Also, the Imp's Mischief's seem to be hit or mess a lot. They're good when they hit, but there are a lot of times when they just sit there and do nothing (Avalanche Riders, Bust//Boom), but there's nothing analogous to them in the format.
I fixed it for you. You had spaces on each line before each card, which broke the tags.
Yeah, you shouldn't need more removal.
You may also be able to splash red in for Sedge Sliver, he'd give you some more Anthem effects and he's pretty effective by himself.
They're your main way of jacking card advantage, I guess, although that stuff doesn't target in this format.
Maybe those could become Sedge Slivers? I dunno. It's up to you.
Also, I'm not entirely sure that four Flagstones of Trokair is the right number for this deck. We don't have any shocklands available in block, and many times they'll just slow your tempo if you play two of them, as the new Plains will come into play tapped.
Here are my match results, though the reports aren't like super-detailed; people get snarky if you take too long. :/
Game one: Sinew + Sidewinder go all the way from turn 1, Imp's Mischief was a counter, Cautery Sliver was backup for Damnation
Game Two: Triple Sinew on the draw, he can only delay the inevitable. Mana-screwed hard otherwise.
2-0, 1-0
Match 2: ... Type 1 Reanimator
Game One: He doesn't do a whole lot, I drop slivers, he drops a Necromancy on Phantom Nishoba, Lightning Greaves it, I swing back and Cautery Sliver for the win. He disconnects.
4-0, 2-0
Match 3: U/W/R... Angel/Land Denial
Game One: Land D is bad. Frown bloody face. Numot and Lightning Angel are bad.
Game Two: Fast start with double Sinew Sliver, but land D and Gemstone Mine give me no land to work with. Lightning Angel gives him the game with a grip full of white and no plains in sight.
2-4, 2-1
Match 4: Blink Riders
Game One: Mana-screwed out of white for the first ten turns or so, Riders is Blinked to kill a Gemstone Mine, Plains and Molten Slagheap before Urborg Corrupts it for 4, he runs out of gas until he drops a Bogardan Hellkite, triple Momentary Blink on Hellkite wraths the board and kills me
Game Two: Sudden Death kills Lightning Angel and little Slivers go the distance, not a whole lot of burn or bounce to be found on his end
Game Three: Plays some burn but the Slivers keep on coming. Sedge and Sinew Slivers come in and beat down, leaving regeneration the entire time in case of burn. He drops a Desolation Giant, but it dies to Quilled Sliver pinging
4-5, 3-1
Match 5: U/R Magus of the Bazaar/Reanimation
Game One: Quick slow beats, blocks a flanking Sliver with a morphed Akroma, Necrotic and Pulmonic do some tricks before he Dread Returns Akroma, Angel of Fury, swings once and then Wraths the board away. Boddy Double comes down as an Akroma. Stupid pro-white.
Game Two: Risky hand with only a Gemstone Mine and a Molten Slagheap, but a Plains and another Slagheap come in short order. Mindlash, Sinew, and then Sidewinder come down and start beating down to 10... And then he disconnects after a Damnation.
6-6, 4-1
Match 6: Red-White Riders
Game One: He drops two Riders and proceeds to kill all my lands. Akroma comes down to seal it.
Game Two: Lots of creatures die early. I drop a Sedge and Necrotic Sliver, but he Word of Seizings the Sedge to kill my Necrotic. He suspends a Greater Gargadon, but I draw a Tendrils of Corruption and wait for him to get it out so I can nuke it. He Disintegrates for 18 (I'm still at 20), but I respond by Tendrilsing my own Sinew Sliver to stay alive, chump the Gargadon for a turn, and use Essence Sliver to stall, then double Sudden Death the Gargadon, make more Slivers and go for the throat and the win.
Game Three: He drops turn 1 suspended Gargadon, I drop a weenie and start swinging. He kills it and a Sedge Sliver, does some silly Gargadon tricks and kills me with Disintegrate.
7-8, 4-2
Match 7: Red/White Akroma Burn
Game One: Solid hand with creatures and a Necrotic, but double Nodes and a Desolation Giant with kicker keeps my side of the board clear as he beats down. Akroma comes down to seal it anyway. I then have to leave to do some work.
7-9, 4-3
Match 8: Blink Riders
Game One: Yup, all lands die. Lightning Angel comes down to seal it.
Game Two: I have enoguh creature kill to deal with his stuff, he has no tricks, and a slow but steady build-up of Slivers takes him down.
Game Three: A very tight game, this one. He had an early Boom, but I kept making land drops. He killed early Sliver, but I took out his Riders. Double Sidewinder Sliver allows me to use a combination of Essence Sliver and Sudden Death to clear out his creatures, and the Slivers grind in for the win.
9-10, 5-3
Match 9: B/U Madness
Game One: He has multiple Nightshade Assassins off of Looter il-Kor to kill anything I drop and keeps on swinging. He discards and reanimates Akroma, Angel of Wrath for overkill. He then disconnects before the second game.
11-11, 5-4
Match 10: G/W/U Blink
Game One: I get early pressure with a Sidewinder and Essence Sliver while he accelerates into mana, then Mystic Snakes a Sinew Sliver and then Momentary Blinks it to counter a Sedge Sliver. He Blinks to keep playing tricks on defense beforew dropping a Scryb Ranger to gang-block and kill the Essence sliver. A countered Pulmonic sliver later, the second one sticks. Shenaginans ensue again with snake and Blink, but I keep beating down and trading blows. I draw Imp's Mischief and Necrotic Sliver, so when he tries to Blink the Snake, I Mischief the Blink to my own creature, then do stupid Necrotic tricks.
Game Two: He suspends a Search for Tomorrow, I respond with a Sidewinder Sliver, then proceed to drop a Sinew Sliver and begin the beats. He drops a turn 4 Spectral Force, which is indeed a frown face. He plays a Call of the Herd, beats face, and off to the races indeed. I cast Stonecloaker to rescue my Sinew Sliver with damage on the stack, replay my hand. I beat down some more, but he Draining Whelks a winning Sedge Sliver, Temporal Isolations my Stonecloaker and swings for my life total.
Game Three: Double Sedge Sliver seems good, but he predictably has the Snake for it. A Gemstone Mine tries to give me an Essence Sliver, but there's a Momentary Blink to counter it... and then a *second* Blink to counter the second Essence Sliver. I draw nothing of consequence and lose to angry Elephants.
12-13, 5-5
Match 11: G/W/U Blink
Game One: Double Sinew Sliver is slowed by Blink and Snake and ow ow ow, counterwall.
Game Two: He draws no blue mana and it's wonderful what Slivers can do when not countered left and right.
Game Three: Mana-screwed out of blue, and when he does draw it, Necrotic Sliver and friends are already there to kill it dead and swing for the win.
14-14, 6-5
The last game was a rematch after he helped me tweak the deck and fix the mana.
Here's the current deck as it stands, incorporating several ideas I've received; it's gone back to Necrotic + Pulmonic tricks a lot and cut out Tendrils and all the red except Sedge.
3 Gemstone Mine
6 Plains
5 Swamp
3 Terramorphic Expanse
2 Flagstones of Trokair
3 Mountain
2 Quilled Sliver
4 Sidewinder Sliver
3 Essence Sliver
3 Pulmonic Sliver
4 Sinew Sliver
4 Sedge Sliver
2 Stonecloaker
3 Imp's Mischief
4 Prismatic Lens
My worst match up by far is R/W/U Blink, as I need my mana to work. I don't know what to do for a sideboard, but it'd probably be dedicated around dealing with that match up I think.