I feel more draws are required to fix the consistency issues with the deck, beyond playing dormant sliver I dont see many ways to get more draws in the deck so I plan to test out a Canyon Slough and a Fetid Pools in place of the Watery Grave and Blood Crypt in my list and run an Urborg, tomb of yawgmoth in place of another land to be determined. This is simply for testing purposes and likely will not stick as permanent change but who knows maybe its exactly what we need.
RPTQ Independence MO 12/9/18
Finished 2-4. 40th place.
62 players, 6 rounds of swiss.
Round 1 - izzet Phoenix 2-1. I originally thought this was jeskai since he started with steam vents untapped. My turn 2 diffusion kept him from doing anything to my board in game 1. Game 2 he found a turn 3 anger of the gods and also flipped a thing in the ice. Game 3 I warping wailed a thing in turn 3 and dismembered a drake and put 3 lords out quickly to get out of anger range.
Round 2 - dredge 1-2. Game 1 I faltered it the gate and couldn't put much pressure up. Game 2 got to counter a conflagrate with diffusion sliver and got a syphon sliver to gain up to 35 life. Game 3, misplayed by not blocking one time and ended up getting conflagrated for 9 the turn before I could drop my second coco.
Round 3 - jeskai control 1-2. Game 1, he 1 for 1'd me to death with bolt, bolt, helix, path, bolt, snap, bolt... too much removal. Game 2 I canned it strong fast with 2 diffusion slivers he couldn't kill anything. Game 3 kept an unfortunate 6 card hand, the cards simply never came together.
Round 4 - hardened scales 0-2. Game 1 was close but I kept drawing lands and eventually got ballista'd. Game 2 was unfortunate, mulled to 5 to find 2 lands and never drew another land but did draw 2 vials late.
Round 5 - mardu burn 2-0. This was a bad version of burn with bump in the night. I had vials both games and worked around eidolon triggers both games. I never took a single eidolon trigger thanks to vial.
Round 6 - infect 0-2. Neither game did I see the right stuff. Game 1 I was slow out the gate and didn't see dismember. Game 2 i found warping wail and dismember but he found spellskite and was able to get around both my attempts to kill things.
Biggest disappointment: striking sliver, I only saw it twice and neither time was it relevant.
Biggest surprise: diffusion sliver, this card keeps proving over and over that it's one of the best of not the absolute best cards in the deck.
Going forward: I think we're in a tough spot meta wise, the meta is increasingly hostile to creature decks at the moment and we don't have many good cheap answers. I feel we are at a point where we simply must have new slivers in the format to compete at any higher levels.
I think I've finalized my list for the RPTQ next weekend. The link below is updated. I am going back to having Sentinel main, moving the Darkheart to side. I've removed both Relic's from side; thinking I can beat dredge on the battlefield with Sedge and Diffusion. I've brought back the Telekinetic into the side to help tron match ups.
I really like the way the deck runs with Sentinel in the deck, sure its only a 1 of but once in play it allows the use of both main phases to cast more creatures and allow combat tricks with CoCo on opponents turns without losing the attack the turn before. With Telekinetic in the 75 its best to be able to attack without tapping as well.
Bonesplitter was an all-star for me in Pauper slivers, I ran RG Slivers for the short while pauper was a thing around my local shop. I dont think I'd ever use it in modern though. I'd much prefer Bonescythe in modern.
So after much debate, I am making the following changes to side board for upcoming testing: -2 relic of progenitus, +1 Damping sphere (up to 3), +1 Telekinetic Sliver.
I am expecting a lot of tier decks at the RPTQ, so I believe I should play a little more towards seeing Tron, KCI, spells decks (storm, phoenix). I also believe I can fight dredge on the battlefield more effectively instead of removing the graveyard. I did give thought to taking out hivelord but came to the conclusion that jund is still a real deck and I would miss it if matched with jund.
I think the best way to solve your building issues would be to first define what kind of deck you are trying to play. There are 2 proven sliver lists, super aggro (fast slivers) and midrange aggro (traditional/bowman list). Your list seems to be in a way trying to be both. You'll need to focus your strategy more to be successful going forward.
Another of those combo decks we should be wary of is KCI. Had my first run in with it in paper last night. It wasnt a good experience even though I almost won the race in game 1. I needed 1 more turn to get there in game 1, but fell a little short. Game 2 was not a game, mulled to 6 keeping a 1 lander with vial and damping sphere manaweft diffusion and sedge, never drew land 2. If I had drawn a second land I might have been able to actually get there but one will never know.
The rest of the night was good. 2-0 vs amulet titan and 2-1 vs bw planeswalkers.
Starting to get ready for the RPTQ next month... I'm seeing a lot more graveyard decks around my area, thinking about hedging a bit for those strategies for the event. I'm cutting Sentinel for Striking in the main, should help with both dredge and humans. Worried about cutting too much for other matchups by making changes, Tron and Control are still out there in copious amounts, tron not so much around here...
With the decline of artifact decks (affinity, kci, lantern) I am giving some thought to cutting back to just 2 Harmonic in the side in order to bring back a copy of Telekinetic.
I came to a similar conclusion after much inner debate. I think I am going to drop the Sentinel from main and go with a second Darkheart. I really like the Sentinel but its always the flex slot. I think moving a necrotic to side and bringing in a Striking may also be correct, however it does weaken game 1 vs tron.
Played the SCG open and modern classics this weekend. 3-4 records in both events.
Open
R1 Bant Spirits 2-1 W. So I drove 6 hours to be matched up against someone from my local store in round 1... funny how that works out. I started each game with turn 1 vial, so good starts each game. Game 1 was back and forth for a little bit until I hit a CoCo and found double lord for a lethal attack. Game 2 was not so good, I could not deal with a turn 2 geist. Game 3 was similar to game 1, in response to his CoCo I cast mine. My CoCo was better than his, a galerider and lord vs the noble hierarch he found.
R2 Knowledge Pool Combo 2-0 W. So my opponent starts out playing a bunch of basic lands islands and plains and this immediately confuses me. He was casting thirst for knowledge often and eventually discarded a couple knowledge pools to it, I still had no idea what he was doing because I didnt take the time to read the pool. I stomped him pretty quick in game 1. Seeing the pools I brought in harmonics for game 2. I mulled to 5 cards in game 2, however was not impeded playing anything until after I dropped sedge sliver with a board full of my shock lands. Opponent managed to drop a pool and cast teferi, mage of zhalfir to get the combo in place, however the only removal he had at hand or under the pool were board wipes that allow regen. He didnt read sedge so he cast a wipe into the pool to cast the wipe under it and I regened and thanked him for killing his own Teferi.
R3 Storm 0-2 L. I was able to respond to the first spell he cast with a baral in play with dismember, however he had plenty of mana to continue without it, comboed out turn 4. I made a mistake in game 2 and it cost me a chance to get to game 3. The board was as follows, Me: Darkheart, 4 other slivers, damping sphere, relic, with 12 life; Opponent: Thing in the Ice w/ 4 counters, lots of cards in hand. Opponent played thru the sphere, he had enough gas to cast 4 spells to flip the Thing and Grapeshot for 5 in the same turn. My mistake, not realizing the grapeshot was lethal and not sacing a sliver with darkheart to live, He was at 1 life and I had a blur in hand all I had to do was live to the next turn.
R4 Dredge 2-0 W. Opponnt kept an unfortunate hand in game 1 and basically took 3 draws and died. Game 2 was much more fun. We traded blows back and forth, he managed to self mill all 4 Creeping Chills on me, but since I brought in 2 syphon and the extra darkheart from side along with relic I gained much more life. Game 2 ended with me at 42 and him at 0.
R5 Jund 1-2 L. Game 1 Jund did Jund things because I didnt find a sedge or diffusion. Game 2 he managed to hang around because a scooze kept gaining him back life but it was not enough. Game 3 I am still kicking myself over.... Late in the game I'm at 5 life and just trying to hang on til I draw something, but I missed a diffusion trigger on an assassins trophy that allowed him to cast an additional spell he should not have had.
R6 RG Eldritch Evolution 1-2 L. I had no idea what to call this brew. He looked a lot like mono green devotion except for rg filter lands and a freakin magus of the moon. He dropped magus each game 1 and 2, locked me out of spells in game 2 with it, was able to function game 1 thru a vial. Game 3 he found Cragganwick Creamator and then found another... while I flooeded out with 10 lands in play.
R7 GW Tron 1-2 L. Turn 4 Ugin ended game 1 rather abruptly. I managed to destroy several tron lands in game 2 with necrotic and got there. Game 3 I got stuck on 2 lands with 4 cards in hand costing 3-4 mana each. A little tilted after the mana screw I dropped after round 7.
Classic
R1 burn 2-1 W. Managed to get there in game 1 on the draw even, Didnt see the 1 darkheart that was main but didnt need it as I put immense prssure on him early and often. Game 2 was revenge for him I was dead by turn 5. Game 3 I saw a darkheart and a syphon, he only got me down to 10 before syphon hit and turned me back up to 16.
R2 humans 0-2 L. Guy had nutty draws both games. I had vial galerider and triple lord in game 2 and it still was not enough.
R3 humans 1-2 L. This guy was a jerk. I out played him in game 1 and he palyed so angry the rest of the match. I didnt get him lower than 15 in either game 2 or 3 due to mulligans and bad draws.
R4 bomat red 1-2 L. Had now answer for flame of keld in any game, that card single handedly took games 1 and 3 from me. I failed to see life gain in any of the 3 games.
R5 jund 2-0 W. This one felt good. I didnt go lower than 15 life in either game and swung for 36 to finish game 2. Opponent had no idea how to battle slivers.
R6 humans 1-2 L. Mulled to 5 in game 1 and died without dealing damage. Turned the tables in game 2 and won without much trouble. Game 3 I was in complete control I had established the trio (sedge, manaweft, sentinel) and was sitting pretty until opponent cast a hostage taker that she brought in out of the board, took the sedge and ended my game.
R7 BR hollow one 2-1 W. I got game 1 without taking much damage, had a burning inquiry draw me 3 sinew slivers on turn 2. Lost game 2 in a very one sided affair. Game 3 swung back to me, Galerider into lord into sedge into sedge.
I didnt play either event very well, I was not well rested either day. I will in the future take the Friday before off in order to travel, the 6 hour drive was awful especially when arriving after midnight the day of the event.
Finished 2-4. 40th place.
62 players, 6 rounds of swiss.
Round 1 - izzet Phoenix 2-1. I originally thought this was jeskai since he started with steam vents untapped. My turn 2 diffusion kept him from doing anything to my board in game 1. Game 2 he found a turn 3 anger of the gods and also flipped a thing in the ice. Game 3 I warping wailed a thing in turn 3 and dismembered a drake and put 3 lords out quickly to get out of anger range.
Round 2 - dredge 1-2. Game 1 I faltered it the gate and couldn't put much pressure up. Game 2 got to counter a conflagrate with diffusion sliver and got a syphon sliver to gain up to 35 life. Game 3, misplayed by not blocking one time and ended up getting conflagrated for 9 the turn before I could drop my second coco.
Round 3 - jeskai control 1-2. Game 1, he 1 for 1'd me to death with bolt, bolt, helix, path, bolt, snap, bolt... too much removal. Game 2 I canned it strong fast with 2 diffusion slivers he couldn't kill anything. Game 3 kept an unfortunate 6 card hand, the cards simply never came together.
Round 4 - hardened scales 0-2. Game 1 was close but I kept drawing lands and eventually got ballista'd. Game 2 was unfortunate, mulled to 5 to find 2 lands and never drew another land but did draw 2 vials late.
Round 5 - mardu burn 2-0. This was a bad version of burn with bump in the night. I had vials both games and worked around eidolon triggers both games. I never took a single eidolon trigger thanks to vial.
Round 6 - infect 0-2. Neither game did I see the right stuff. Game 1 I was slow out the gate and didn't see dismember. Game 2 i found warping wail and dismember but he found spellskite and was able to get around both my attempts to kill things.
Biggest disappointment: striking sliver, I only saw it twice and neither time was it relevant.
Biggest surprise: diffusion sliver, this card keeps proving over and over that it's one of the best of not the absolute best cards in the deck.
Going forward: I think we're in a tough spot meta wise, the meta is increasingly hostile to creature decks at the moment and we don't have many good cheap answers. I feel we are at a point where we simply must have new slivers in the format to compete at any higher levels.
I really like the way the deck runs with Sentinel in the deck, sure its only a 1 of but once in play it allows the use of both main phases to cast more creatures and allow combat tricks with CoCo on opponents turns without losing the attack the turn before. With Telekinetic in the 75 its best to be able to attack without tapping as well.
I am expecting a lot of tier decks at the RPTQ, so I believe I should play a little more towards seeing Tron, KCI, spells decks (storm, phoenix). I also believe I can fight dredge on the battlefield more effectively instead of removing the graveyard. I did give thought to taking out hivelord but came to the conclusion that jund is still a real deck and I would miss it if matched with jund.
The rest of the night was good. 2-0 vs amulet titan and 2-1 vs bw planeswalkers.
Open
R1 Bant Spirits 2-1 W. So I drove 6 hours to be matched up against someone from my local store in round 1... funny how that works out. I started each game with turn 1 vial, so good starts each game. Game 1 was back and forth for a little bit until I hit a CoCo and found double lord for a lethal attack. Game 2 was not so good, I could not deal with a turn 2 geist. Game 3 was similar to game 1, in response to his CoCo I cast mine. My CoCo was better than his, a galerider and lord vs the noble hierarch he found.
R2 Knowledge Pool Combo 2-0 W. So my opponent starts out playing a bunch of basic lands islands and plains and this immediately confuses me. He was casting thirst for knowledge often and eventually discarded a couple knowledge pools to it, I still had no idea what he was doing because I didnt take the time to read the pool. I stomped him pretty quick in game 1. Seeing the pools I brought in harmonics for game 2. I mulled to 5 cards in game 2, however was not impeded playing anything until after I dropped sedge sliver with a board full of my shock lands. Opponent managed to drop a pool and cast teferi, mage of zhalfir to get the combo in place, however the only removal he had at hand or under the pool were board wipes that allow regen. He didnt read sedge so he cast a wipe into the pool to cast the wipe under it and I regened and thanked him for killing his own Teferi.
R3 Storm 0-2 L. I was able to respond to the first spell he cast with a baral in play with dismember, however he had plenty of mana to continue without it, comboed out turn 4. I made a mistake in game 2 and it cost me a chance to get to game 3. The board was as follows, Me: Darkheart, 4 other slivers, damping sphere, relic, with 12 life; Opponent: Thing in the Ice w/ 4 counters, lots of cards in hand. Opponent played thru the sphere, he had enough gas to cast 4 spells to flip the Thing and Grapeshot for 5 in the same turn. My mistake, not realizing the grapeshot was lethal and not sacing a sliver with darkheart to live, He was at 1 life and I had a blur in hand all I had to do was live to the next turn.
R4 Dredge 2-0 W. Opponnt kept an unfortunate hand in game 1 and basically took 3 draws and died. Game 2 was much more fun. We traded blows back and forth, he managed to self mill all 4 Creeping Chills on me, but since I brought in 2 syphon and the extra darkheart from side along with relic I gained much more life. Game 2 ended with me at 42 and him at 0.
R5 Jund 1-2 L. Game 1 Jund did Jund things because I didnt find a sedge or diffusion. Game 2 he managed to hang around because a scooze kept gaining him back life but it was not enough. Game 3 I am still kicking myself over.... Late in the game I'm at 5 life and just trying to hang on til I draw something, but I missed a diffusion trigger on an assassins trophy that allowed him to cast an additional spell he should not have had.
R6 RG Eldritch Evolution 1-2 L. I had no idea what to call this brew. He looked a lot like mono green devotion except for rg filter lands and a freakin magus of the moon. He dropped magus each game 1 and 2, locked me out of spells in game 2 with it, was able to function game 1 thru a vial. Game 3 he found Cragganwick Creamator and then found another... while I flooeded out with 10 lands in play.
R7 GW Tron 1-2 L. Turn 4 Ugin ended game 1 rather abruptly. I managed to destroy several tron lands in game 2 with necrotic and got there. Game 3 I got stuck on 2 lands with 4 cards in hand costing 3-4 mana each. A little tilted after the mana screw I dropped after round 7.
Classic
R1 burn 2-1 W. Managed to get there in game 1 on the draw even, Didnt see the 1 darkheart that was main but didnt need it as I put immense prssure on him early and often. Game 2 was revenge for him I was dead by turn 5. Game 3 I saw a darkheart and a syphon, he only got me down to 10 before syphon hit and turned me back up to 16.
R2 humans 0-2 L. Guy had nutty draws both games. I had vial galerider and triple lord in game 2 and it still was not enough.
R3 humans 1-2 L. This guy was a jerk. I out played him in game 1 and he palyed so angry the rest of the match. I didnt get him lower than 15 in either game 2 or 3 due to mulligans and bad draws.
R4 bomat red 1-2 L. Had now answer for flame of keld in any game, that card single handedly took games 1 and 3 from me. I failed to see life gain in any of the 3 games.
R5 jund 2-0 W. This one felt good. I didnt go lower than 15 life in either game and swung for 36 to finish game 2. Opponent had no idea how to battle slivers.
R6 humans 1-2 L. Mulled to 5 in game 1 and died without dealing damage. Turned the tables in game 2 and won without much trouble. Game 3 I was in complete control I had established the trio (sedge, manaweft, sentinel) and was sitting pretty until opponent cast a hostage taker that she brought in out of the board, took the sedge and ended my game.
R7 BR hollow one 2-1 W. I got game 1 without taking much damage, had a burning inquiry draw me 3 sinew slivers on turn 2. Lost game 2 in a very one sided affair. Game 3 swung back to me, Galerider into lord into sedge into sedge.
I didnt play either event very well, I was not well rested either day. I will in the future take the Friday before off in order to travel, the 6 hour drive was awful especially when arriving after midnight the day of the event.