Personally I prefer a more control-oriented version of this deck, and Jhoira's build seems more like a middle-of-the-road build than a tempo build to me. For instance, in a tempo build, you'd probably see Scions in place of the Snipes as well as a few less land/Commands/etc. to make room for Nightshades and Spellstutters. If it were up to me, I'd take out the Prowlers and replace them with things like Wydwen, Dread, and/or Guile.
It's kinda odd that you don't see 'Snipes in more MakeMan builds out there. His interaction with MakeMan (turn 3 bounce, turn 4 MakeMan & bounce again) is just as juicy (tempo-wise) as 'Drifter's (CA-wise).
Now sliver decks are giving me headaches. I want to hold back counterspells for Wild Pair, but the Frenetic + Dormant sliver combo is just too powerful to combat if it hits the table.
I've been running a Ubw Control deck eerily similar to the one Mr. Karsten posted last week with great success...until recently. Unless I get exceptional draws, fast aggro decks (mostly White Weenie or WGr Predator decks, though a good Red Deck Wins build and even a Sliver deck have had me on the ropes once or twice) are almost an auto-loss before I sideboard, and even afterwards are pretty difficult.
My guess is, since I'm not as good at constructed as I could be (I spend most of my playtime drafting), it's more likely that I'm making sub-optimal plays than the build is grossly out of whack. I'd probably be better served by learning better gameplay decision-making & tactics than by the latest innovative builds or sideboard cards.
So, if any good control players can give me tips on how to make better plays vs. aggro decks, I'm all ears.
Mystical Teachings really needs to be an auto include 4-of. It tutors any of your counters or good critters and any non-flashing critters can be made so by Teferi.
Funny story: Played a match against a Teachings deck and the guy played 2 Teachings right into my Whelks. I'm sure I was more ammused than he was. I would disagree about Teachings being a 4-of. I could see running 1-2 of them as an extra copy of spells you want to draw more often but don't have room for, but 4 copies of a 4-6 mana tutor seems a bit much. Now, if you didn't have to spend 4 mana and then*reveal* the card to my opponent I would probably do a 180, but I hardly ever like giving my opponent a heads-up if I can avoid it. I suppose I could test it out, but I've been having good success with my Teachings-less deck that I suspect the amount it would slow me down wouldn't be worth it.
How does Careful Consideration perform? Do you see yourself playing it as an instant more than a sorcery? I don't really feel as though it's as great as it appears.
I've come across several UR decks that run Ancestral Vision instead. I think that card's pretty bad because A) Your opponent sees it coming a mile away and can prepare a counterspell if he wants to, B) speaking of counterspells...Spell Burst stops this for U, and C) Teferi shuts it down. On the other hand, CC works just fine under Teferi to draw an answer for you and it really shines against non-Blue decks. Statistically, I probably have a 60/40 split between casting it as an Instant vs. Sorcery game 1...and I usually side 1 or both out game 2 since I'm replacing them with cards I'd rather draw in their place anyhow. If I was running Teachings I'd probably skip CC altogether.
I've been playtesting a build without Cloudskates just to see how it works. It's always seemed like the most expendable card in the deck, but I'm usually happy to see one. The problem I've noticed with Cloudskate is that on the second turn you usually want to cast Think Twice or Prismatic Lens. There usually isn't a good oppurtunity to suspend the Cloudskate.
I just played a batch of "mirror" matches against a Cloudskate-less UR control deck and I won a lot more than I lost, for whatever that's worth. As far as the turn 2 play, I Suspend 'skates vs. aggro and drop lens vs. control. Drawing cards early is pretty low-priority compared to gaining tempo or setting up my manabase, imo.
Been tweaking my deck a lot since the OP. I'll post a new decklist after the weekend.
Thanks for the input guys, and a special thanks to Mattreis32 for posting his MTGO Premier Event-winning decklist! (Okay, they split top 2, but close enough.)
I added black for Strangling Soot to improve the matchup against WW, which used to be pretty bad game one. It's obviously much better game two when you can bring in Fortune Thief and Serrated Arrows. It's also great against the U/G morph deck, although that was already an easy matchup.
Yep, the WW matchup is a concern, though I'm not positive Soot is the answer. Basically, we need to keep the board under control while we get set up for a S.Blast or Hellkite to wipe out their team. Soot's Flashback is pretty much overkill since by that time we should have fliers to block griffins and angels. Personally, I like Disintegrate's ability to kill off Nimbus for just 3 mana as well as being a win condition if you draw it late. However, I can see how in a Teachings deck Soot is seachable, so it probably gets the nod in that respect. At the end of the day, I might side Soot in, but I would rather have Disintegrates maindeck.
Also, I think you should run 4 Dreadship Reef maindeck rather than 2 Reef and 2 Slagheap. You want your storage lands to produce blue mana so you can tap your other lands and still have mana open for counters.
You're probably correct here. I've seen people running both, so I gave them a try. I might still run 3:1 rather than all Reefs since I still want to have a little more red. I've had a lot of sucess with 4 storage lands to power out early Hellkites or big Disintegrates without hurting my early colored mana, so I'll probably stick with that number.
...??? vs discard(dodecapod?)
why 2 reef sideboard?
isn't it better to go with dessert and vesuva than the black splash? against aggro and put normal land in sb
how about a lone disintegrate in the deck as alternate win
psi blast sb for mirror(to win teferi war)
Not sure how I'd side vs. discard. Guess it depends if it's control- or aggro-oriented.
I'm thinking he'd bring in Reefs vs. control decks, since that tends to turn into a mana war.
I had Desert in my build at one point, but siding in Arrows for the matches you need them is better than screwing up your mana in matches where it's useless.
I think I covered the Disintegrate angle. IMO, putting 1 in is silly since I can't "Tutor" for it with Teachings, and if I don't run Teachings then I want more than 1 anyhow.
I dont think Cloudskate has a place here. Rather than use a suspend creature with a high casting cost to bounce permanents, I would simply stick with Snapback and maybe boarded Wipe Aways.
I must humbly disagree with you here.
1. Without Riftwing Cloudskate, this deck has no threats costing less than 6 mana.
2. I really don't think Wind Drake + Eye of Nowhere in one card for UU3 is overpriced.
3. The card advantage and tempo gained casting this turn two (especially since we don't have a 2-mana counterspell in this set) should not be overlooked.
That being said, when the next set comes out, I wouldn't be surprised to switch the Cloudskates for Split Second bounce if cheaper counterspells or efficient threats are introduced for blue.
If you are going to go U/R ( which has usually been counter burn), then I think you should be running Sudden Shock maindeck as well...and put Psionic Blast maindecked 4 of's. Strangling Soot and Lightning Axe do not belong here in my opinion, but you could use Sudden Death ( even though it does have BB in the casting cost, it is still a good card and gets rid of a large number of targetable creatures). Of course, to do that, you would need to actually be playing swamps ( but honestly, trying to only play a card like Soot from the grave doesnt seem too good).
I'm running Disintegrate due to its versatility. Soots, S.Death, and L.Axe are all dead cards when there are no creatures on the board (a situation this deck is build around providing). That leaves us with S.Shock, P.Blast, and Disintegrate as spells that can be aimed at the head. P.Blast gets the thumbs down in any situation where you are running S.Blasts to handle aggro since you'll just be taking too much self-inflicted damage (I could see siding out S.Blasts for P.Blasts vs. control, however). S.Shock often gets the job done, but Disintegrate has those handy little "can't be regenerated" and "remove it from the game" clauses that are critical sometimes.
...up the count of your Spell Bursts to 3 as it seems to be a more solid number
In my experience, you only want more than 2 S.Bursts vs. control. Otherwise, you just keep using Buyback, so if you had 2 in hand, one would be a dead card.
Sulfurous Blast may not be too good maindeck, as i dont see the field currently flooded with assanine amounts of aggro. Control should be what you are most likely going to be up against, and Blast isnt going to help you much with that. So maybe they are a sideboard only card.
I have S.Blast main because I see a lot more aggro & morph decks than anything else atm. If that changes I'd shift them to the SB, obviously.
I believe that Teferi should be a 3 of at least maindeck, and hellkite at most a 2 of maindeck. Keep the other 2 in the board for situations where you believe you will need them most.
From UR Control games I've watched, aside from keeping the board clear, getting Hellkites out early and often seemed to be the biggest factor in winning the game. 4 might be too many, but I wouldn't consider running less than 3 unless I ran Teachings main.
Willbender is one of my favorite cards, so it should probably find a couple spots in the board ( or if not Willbender, try Voidmage Husher ( a very techy card) if you notice an abundance of activated abilities in your meta).
I've seen Willbended played, so he was on my mind, but he dies to S.Blast and I can't really think of matchups where he'd be critical. Interesting point about Voidmage Husher. Another Flash critter to tempt me to go the Mystical Teachings + Flash/Instant toolbox route. If only Teachings was a bit cheaper. =/
There are a few cards that didn't make the deck that hold a lot of potential: Mystical Teachings can fetch a good number of useful cards (Sulfurous Blast and Snapback possibly being the most likely targets). Willbender can be handy vs. other control or burn decks. Brine Elemental opens up a combo, though I personally haven't had much luck getting a lock. Psionic Blast, Strangling Soot, or Ligthning Axe if more targetted removal is needed.
Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir, Draining Whelk, and Vesuvan Shapeshifter are a troublesome trio. I'd like to run a few copies of all of them in the main deck, but I feel I'm 1 or 2 short on land as it is. Which matchups do you feel each of these guys really shine in, and which matchups will I not miss them? (For instance, VS really shines against Force decks or other decks running Hellkites, but not so much in other matchups.)
I think the main problem here is that you're assuming that slivers is just going to be a natural aggro strategy. In other words, you're devaluing the slivers that don't contribute to that strategy, and overvaluing others that do.
Mono-White Rebels is a "natural aggro strategy" because they are all cheap, efficient beaters, many with build-in evasion and gas for the long game. The only problem with Rebels is that everyone drafts them given the chance. Slivers don't have the same kind of love. Sure, they are weaker, but not so much that you can't take advantage of their synergy.
Slivers isn't a "natural aggro strategy," but that's the only sensible one. Like you say, Slivers can easily get outclassed if the game goes long. Thus, it's in the Sliver-mage's best interest to make sure that never happens. There may be a viable board-control/mill long-game Sliver strategy, but I don't see that working out too often.
...the better slivers tend to get drafted as just "good creatures" for other people's decks.
Which is why you have to draft your Slivers aggressively. While everyone else is thinning the packs of their burn and birds you're taking the universally playable Slivers. Then, when they don't see Slivers coming late, they're even less tempted to pick them over other playables later.
...you're assuming that 1) you can keep that many slivers out, and 2) your opponent won't be able to deal with a 1/1 shadow creature at instant speed.
1) If you can't keep that many Slivers out you might as well scoop. If you're running less than 15 Slivers, you're not running a powerful enough Sliver deck. 2) It's just silly to play him when you don't something to buff your team's P/T, so he won't hit the board as a 1/1. Regardless, instant speed removal is a liability and it was good to mention it. Personally, I have yet to be desperate enough to run a Shadow Sliver in my decks, so I might have given him too much credit based on lack of experience.
Bonesplitter Sliver is mediocre at best, because it doesn't make your Slivers harder to deal with. ...etc.
When you play out which Sliver has a lot to do with how the board looks. I end up winning a lot of games by taking my team of 1/1s and 2/2s, Hasting out a Bonesplitter with a Firewake in play. In that case, either half your trades are saved or you're hitting your opponent even harder with the sac-buffs.
Oh, I should also mention, Momentary Blink and Thrill of the Hunt are exceptional combat tricks and much better than removal in this kind of deck.
The slivers that actually will be pulling the weight in the ideal sliver deck are good in their colors on their own. Watcher, Bonesplitter, Spinneret, and the near-essential-for-a-sliver-deck Gemhide are all drafted by non-sliver players. You can never count on Rares, and only slightly can you rely on a good uncommon to come around. Anyone drafting green will pick up a Might Sliver, since he picked up a couple gemhides and/or spinnerets last pack.
While I disagree with the ability to draft a quality sliver deck, you definitly put forth a great deal of effort in figuring the logistics behind making such a deck, which is a respectable act.
Although, I will admit that once I got steamrolled by successive sidewinder, two-headed, sidewinder, bonesplitter, might sliver attack.
Huh. Those Slivers that rolled you don't look like rares to me. Funny that. Yeah, you have to consider the prime Slivers gifts if they come your way, but they really aren't as crittical as you may imagine. The trick is drafting LOTS of Slivers and relying on all the little synergies to add up.
In general, I feel a lot of people have "tried Slivers" and it didn't work for them, but if you looked at the deck they drafted, it probably only had 5-6 Slivers in it. In cases like that, certainly, your Slivers die too soon for you to draw into a good-sized team. Let's face it, most Slivers are overcosted and only really worth it if you can take full advantage of their benefits immediately. That means playing a Sliver on turn 1, 2, 3, and so on...not one on turn 4, another on turn 7, and your third one on turn 10.
[I posted this over on the WotC Forums, and I thought you guys might like to see it too.]
Since I haven't seen a lot of posts discussing this, I thought I'd make a humble contribution to at least spark off some discussion. First off, let me just say, if you can't draft a Might Sliver over an Errant Ephemeron, Sacred Mesa, Sudden Death, or Lightning Axe, Slivers drafting probably isn't your thing. A successful Sliver deck needs to be drafted very purposefully. Just picking up whatever Slivers are left over after there's no more removal or evasion critters left in the pack does [I]not[/I] make a winning Sliver deck. Don't get me wrong, you won't be taking lack-luster Slivers over real limited bombs like Firemaw Kavu or...well, okay, maybe you will. (Not really, just making a point.)
You don't need to wait until you crack open a Sedge, Might, or Psionic Sliver in your first pack to be able to draft a powerful Sliver deck. I've won several 8-man MTGO drafts with none of the "bomb" Slivers in my deck. So long as you sit down at the table with a mind to draft Slivers and adjust all of your picks accordingly you should have no problem having a good chance of winning with your deck. I'm not saying that Slivers are the most powerful draft archetype or anything like that, but when drafting the same old cards gets stale or if you get annoyed that *everyone* is drafting your favorite colors all the time, you might be in the mood for something new.
I've rated the Slivers according to where they fit on your mana curve, which I feel is a good place to start since the Sliver game is mainly a tempo game. You gotta hit fast and hard, getting the beats in before your opponent draws enough removal or out-classes your creatures. The good news is, with the right frame of mind when drafting, this usually doesn't pose much of a problem.
+++ Exceptional - Take these over everything but a bomb. ++ Optimal - Take these over removal and extra mana-fixing. + Average - Take these over weaker forms of removal, but not over mana-fixing. = Poor - Take these over solid, but not exceptional, cards.
1-Drops +++Sidewinder Sliver Everything we want in an early drop. Provides a useful [I]offensive[/I] ability that will cripple most deck's defenses. [People have been surprised that I rank this guy as highly as things like Sedge or Psionic, but I'm convinced that he's as crucial for a good Sliver beatdown deck as Savannah Lions is in Boros Deck Wins.] +Screeching Sliver If the game goes long enough for you to need to rely on the milling ability, it's probably not going to end in your favor. Even so, I have lost to this guy before. For all practical purposes, it's just a 1/1 for 1cc. +Mindlash Sliver Yeah, you won't be using this ability. Just a warm body if you need a 1-Drop.
2-Drops +++Gemhide Sliver Yes, you pretty much need this guy. He fixes your mana and provides crazy acceleration. His only drawback is being a 1/1 instead of a bear, but that's forgivable since he saves you from running a Greenseeker or a Search for Tomorrow. +++Spined Sliver This is the guy Two-Headed wishes he was. ++Two-Headed Sliver If only he was a bear. This guy following a Sidewinder pretty much means you won't be blocked for several turns into the game. Best part is, no one will ever draft this guy on purpose, so you can expect to see him *very* late. ++Spinneret Sliver Solid body for the cost and a respectable [I]defensive[/I] ability, if it comes to that. ++Quilled Sliver I almost demote this guy because he's a 1/1 for 2cc who is only helpful on offense if he doesn't attack. Sure, he stops your opponent from swinging to victory, but only if you aren't attacking. That's not exactly what this deck needs, but it's a versitile ability, so I gave it the rank it probably deserves. +Ghostflame Sliver A nice bear if you're in both Red and Black. If either or those are splash colors, he probably comes down too late for his cost-to-power efficiency to matter. =Hivestone If you're drafting correctly, this should not be relevant. If your opponent has one, it might make him hesitate from killing your Slivers, which could certainly work to your advantage.
3-Drops +++Sedge Sliver A few caveats here. 1. You don't play this before you have at least 4-mana and a Black mana source in play. 2. He's only a 3/3 for 3cc *if* you are have a Swamp out. 3. You need to have a lot of Black mana sources to turn your team into a juggernaut. Other than that, this guy can be Good Game. ++Firewake Sliver I'd love to give this guy a higher ranking, but I just can't let a 1/1 for 3cc get away with that. Still, Haste can provide some devastating plays. More than once has my opponent failed to read the Sac to Buff others part of the text. Even if they do read it, sometimes there's not much to do about it. ++Opaline Sliver A Grey Ogre providing some potential card advantage is pretty solid in my book. +Shadow Sliver Although this card, on the face of it, looks like a cheap win condition, there are several things working against it. It's a creature (a *little* creature if you don't have any P/T buffers in play), and as such can be victim to instant-speed removal after you declare attackers. Usually holding him in your hand until you can roll thru for the kill while your opponent is tapped out or cardless is the way to play him. Also, keep in mind that once your Slivers have Shadow, they aren't very good blockers. +Basal Sliver This guy gets a better ranking if you already have a Sedge (thus reading Sac this and Regen 2 other Slivers). Otherwise, he's just a Grey Ogre...which isn't all that bad in Sliverland. =Harmonic Sliver Useful sideboard card, but probably not going to make the cut to the maindeck.
4-Drops +++Essence Sliver Yes please! ++Bonesplitter Sliver Here's where we hit offensive paydirt and those little 1/1's and 2/2's start earning their keep. ++Watcher Sliver Keeps those 1/1's and 2/2's from dying so often.
(Note: If I have to choose between the two, I try to keep an even number of Bonesplitters and Watchers.) +Telekinetic Sliver The only thing keeping this from being ranked higher is the double-Blue in the casting cost. Like Quilled Sliver, this guy cuts down on your tempo if he's doing his job, but he's versitile enough to want in your deck if you've got other reasons to be deep into Blue. +Fungus Sliver There are times when this guy really shines, and then there are times when he's just an expensive bear. +Vampiric Sliver Essentially just a Hill Giant since his ability is seldom relevant. +Mistform Ultimus Ye ol' Hill Giant. Not bad for the cost. =Plague Sliver Yup, he's a big body, but I wouldn't play him unless he was Hasted or I was pretty sure I could win the next turn.
5-Drops +++Might Sliver You can never have too many of these. +++Psionic Sliver Once you have a Might or Watcher, this is Good Game. +++Pulmonic Sliver The best part is that you can *choose* to put your Slivers on top of your library or not. Sometimes it matters. +Venser's Sliver A Hill Giant that could care less about your mana base. Pretty easy to get this to land on turn 3 with a Gemhide and a 1-Drop out. =Dementia Sliver Just a Venser's with picky mana requirements. Discard ability is seldom relevant. Rank higher if you are running both Blue and Black.
6-Drops ++Fury Sliver Double Strike is good. 6cc...not so much. With proper acceleration this guys is still very playable and almost as helpful offensively as a Might Sliver.
If we want a general feel for the colors with the most Sliver potential, let's look at the number of Slivers in the Common and Uncommons slots ranked at either +++ or ++ (Just for fun, Rare and Timeshifted cards at these ranks are in parenthesis):
W 4 (2) U 2 (1) B 0 (1) R 4 (2) G 4 (1)
Obviously, there are powerful Rares that can shift these results if you get the chance to draft them, but this gives you a good view toward what support cards you should consider drafting since :g::r::w: will be your most likely colors. This should also flavor your draft a bit. Knowing that :u: and are generally weak Sliver colors, you might not be as tempted to draft mediocre Slivers in those colors over other cards that are excellent in limited.
Anyhow, I hope some people will find this little guide helpful. Please feel free to comment if you disagree about my rankings and I'll certainly consider modifying them if I feel it's appropriate.
It's kinda odd that you don't see 'Snipes in more MakeMan builds out there. His interaction with MakeMan (turn 3 bounce, turn 4 MakeMan & bounce again) is just as juicy (tempo-wise) as 'Drifter's (CA-wise).
My guess is, since I'm not as good at constructed as I could be (I spend most of my playtime drafting), it's more likely that I'm making sub-optimal plays than the build is grossly out of whack. I'd probably be better served by learning better gameplay decision-making & tactics than by the latest innovative builds or sideboard cards.
So, if any good control players can give me tips on how to make better plays vs. aggro decks, I'm all ears.
I've come across several UR decks that run Ancestral Vision instead. I think that card's pretty bad because A) Your opponent sees it coming a mile away and can prepare a counterspell if he wants to, B) speaking of counterspells...Spell Burst stops this for U, and C) Teferi shuts it down. On the other hand, CC works just fine under Teferi to draw an answer for you and it really shines against non-Blue decks. Statistically, I probably have a 60/40 split between casting it as an Instant vs. Sorcery game 1...and I usually side 1 or both out game 2 since I'm replacing them with cards I'd rather draw in their place anyhow. If I was running Teachings I'd probably skip CC altogether.
Been tweaking my deck a lot since the OP. I'll post a new decklist after the weekend.
Not sure how I'd side vs. discard. Guess it depends if it's control- or aggro-oriented.
I'm thinking he'd bring in Reefs vs. control decks, since that tends to turn into a mana war.
I had Desert in my build at one point, but siding in Arrows for the matches you need them is better than screwing up your mana in matches where it's useless.
I think I covered the Disintegrate angle. IMO, putting 1 in is silly since I can't "Tutor" for it with Teachings, and if I don't run Teachings then I want more than 1 anyhow.
I must humbly disagree with you here.
1. Without Riftwing Cloudskate, this deck has no threats costing less than 6 mana.
2. I really don't think Wind Drake + Eye of Nowhere in one card for UU3 is overpriced.
3. The card advantage and tempo gained casting this turn two (especially since we don't have a 2-mana counterspell in this set) should not be overlooked.
That being said, when the next set comes out, I wouldn't be surprised to switch the Cloudskates for Split Second bounce if cheaper counterspells or efficient threats are introduced for blue.I'm running Disintegrate due to its versatility. Soots, S.Death, and L.Axe are all dead cards when there are no creatures on the board (a situation this deck is build around providing). That leaves us with S.Shock, P.Blast, and Disintegrate as spells that can be aimed at the head. P.Blast gets the thumbs down in any situation where you are running S.Blasts to handle aggro since you'll just be taking too much self-inflicted damage (I could see siding out S.Blasts for P.Blasts vs. control, however). S.Shock often gets the job done, but Disintegrate has those handy little "can't be regenerated" and "remove it from the game" clauses that are critical sometimes.In my experience, you only want more than 2 S.Bursts vs. control. Otherwise, you just keep using Buyback, so if you had 2 in hand, one would be a dead card.I have S.Blast main because I see a lot more aggro & morph decks than anything else atm. If that changes I'd shift them to the SB, obviously.From UR Control games I've watched, aside from keeping the board clear, getting Hellkites out early and often seemed to be the biggest factor in winning the game. 4 might be too many, but I wouldn't consider running less than 3 unless I ran Teachings main.I've seen Willbended played, so he was on my mind, but he dies to S.Blast and I can't really think of matchups where he'd be critical. Interesting point about Voidmage Husher. Another Flash critter to tempt me to go the Mystical Teachings + Flash/Instant toolbox route. If only Teachings was a bit cheaper. =/
4 Riftwing Cloudskate
4 Bogardan Hellkite
2 Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
2 Draining Whelk
Spells(24)
4 Prismatic Lens
4 Think Twice
2 Careful Consideration
2 Disintegrate
2 Sulfurous Blast
4 Cancel
2 Spell Burst
4 Snapback
10 Island
5 Mountain
4 Terramorphic Expanse
2 Dreadship Reef
2 Molten Slagheap
1 Urza's Factory
3 Serrated Arrows
3 Vesuvan Shapeshifter
3 Trickbind
2 Sulfurous Blast
2 Disintegrate
1 Draining Whelk
1 Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
There are a few cards that didn't make the deck that hold a lot of potential:
Mystical Teachings can fetch a good number of useful cards (Sulfurous Blast and Snapback possibly being the most likely targets).
Willbender can be handy vs. other control or burn decks.
Brine Elemental opens up a combo, though I personally haven't had much luck getting a lock.
Psionic Blast, Strangling Soot, or Ligthning Axe if more targetted removal is needed.
Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir, Draining Whelk, and Vesuvan Shapeshifter are a troublesome trio. I'd like to run a few copies of all of them in the main deck, but I feel I'm 1 or 2 short on land as it is. Which matchups do you feel each of these guys really shine in, and which matchups will I not miss them? (For instance, VS really shines against Force decks or other decks running Hellkites, but not so much in other matchups.)
Slivers isn't a "natural aggro strategy," but that's the only sensible one. Like you say, Slivers can easily get outclassed if the game goes long. Thus, it's in the Sliver-mage's best interest to make sure that never happens. There may be a viable board-control/mill long-game Sliver strategy, but I don't see that working out too often.
Which is why you have to draft your Slivers aggressively. While everyone else is thinning the packs of their burn and birds you're taking the universally playable Slivers. Then, when they don't see Slivers coming late, they're even less tempted to pick them over other playables later.
1) If you can't keep that many Slivers out you might as well scoop. If you're running less than 15 Slivers, you're not running a powerful enough Sliver deck. 2) It's just silly to play him when you don't something to buff your team's P/T, so he won't hit the board as a 1/1. Regardless, instant speed removal is a liability and it was good to mention it. Personally, I have yet to be desperate enough to run a Shadow Sliver in my decks, so I might have given him too much credit based on lack of experience.
When you play out which Sliver has a lot to do with how the board looks. I end up winning a lot of games by taking my team of 1/1s and 2/2s, Hasting out a Bonesplitter with a Firewake in play. In that case, either half your trades are saved or you're hitting your opponent even harder with the sac-buffs.
Oh, I should also mention, Momentary Blink and Thrill of the Hunt are exceptional combat tricks and much better than removal in this kind of deck.
Huh. Those Slivers that rolled you don't look like rares to me. Funny that. Yeah, you have to consider the prime Slivers gifts if they come your way, but they really aren't as crittical as you may imagine. The trick is drafting LOTS of Slivers and relying on all the little synergies to add up.
In general, I feel a lot of people have "tried Slivers" and it didn't work for them, but if you looked at the deck they drafted, it probably only had 5-6 Slivers in it. In cases like that, certainly, your Slivers die too soon for you to draw into a good-sized team. Let's face it, most Slivers are overcosted and only really worth it if you can take full advantage of their benefits immediately. That means playing a Sliver on turn 1, 2, 3, and so on...not one on turn 4, another on turn 7, and your third one on turn 10.
Since I haven't seen a lot of posts discussing this, I thought I'd make a humble contribution to at least spark off some discussion. First off, let me just say, if you can't draft a Might Sliver over an Errant Ephemeron, Sacred Mesa, Sudden Death, or Lightning Axe, Slivers drafting probably isn't your thing. A successful Sliver deck needs to be drafted very purposefully. Just picking up whatever Slivers are left over after there's no more removal or evasion critters left in the pack does [I]not[/I] make a winning Sliver deck. Don't get me wrong, you won't be taking lack-luster Slivers over real limited bombs like Firemaw Kavu or...well, okay, maybe you will. (Not really, just making a point.)
You don't need to wait until you crack open a Sedge, Might, or Psionic Sliver in your first pack to be able to draft a powerful Sliver deck. I've won several 8-man MTGO drafts with none of the "bomb" Slivers in my deck. So long as you sit down at the table with a mind to draft Slivers and adjust all of your picks accordingly you should have no problem having a good chance of winning with your deck. I'm not saying that Slivers are the most powerful draft archetype or anything like that, but when drafting the same old cards gets stale or if you get annoyed that *everyone* is drafting your favorite colors all the time, you might be in the mood for something new.
I've rated the Slivers according to where they fit on your mana curve, which I feel is a good place to start since the Sliver game is mainly a tempo game. You gotta hit fast and hard, getting the beats in before your opponent draws enough removal or out-classes your creatures. The good news is, with the right frame of mind when drafting, this usually doesn't pose much of a problem.
+++ Exceptional - Take these over everything but a bomb.
++ Optimal - Take these over removal and extra mana-fixing.
+ Average - Take these over weaker forms of removal, but not over mana-fixing.
= Poor - Take these over solid, but not exceptional, cards.
1-Drops
+++ Sidewinder Sliver Everything we want in an early drop. Provides a useful [I]offensive[/I] ability that will cripple most deck's defenses. [People have been surprised that I rank this guy as highly as things like Sedge or Psionic, but I'm convinced that he's as crucial for a good Sliver beatdown deck as Savannah Lions is in Boros Deck Wins.]
+ Screeching Sliver If the game goes long enough for you to need to rely on the milling ability, it's probably not going to end in your favor. Even so, I have lost to this guy before. For all practical purposes, it's just a 1/1 for 1cc.
+ Mindlash Sliver Yeah, you won't be using this ability. Just a warm body if you need a 1-Drop.
2-Drops
+++ Gemhide Sliver Yes, you pretty much need this guy. He fixes your mana and provides crazy acceleration. His only drawback is being a 1/1 instead of a bear, but that's forgivable since he saves you from running a Greenseeker or a Search for Tomorrow.
+++ Spined Sliver This is the guy Two-Headed wishes he was.
++ Two-Headed Sliver If only he was a bear. This guy following a Sidewinder pretty much means you won't be blocked for several turns into the game. Best part is, no one will ever draft this guy on purpose, so you can expect to see him *very* late.
++ Spinneret Sliver Solid body for the cost and a respectable [I]defensive[/I] ability, if it comes to that.
++ Quilled Sliver I almost demote this guy because he's a 1/1 for 2cc who is only helpful on offense if he doesn't attack. Sure, he stops your opponent from swinging to victory, but only if you aren't attacking. That's not exactly what this deck needs, but it's a versitile ability, so I gave it the rank it probably deserves.
+ Ghostflame Sliver A nice bear if you're in both Red and Black. If either or those are splash colors, he probably comes down too late for his cost-to-power efficiency to matter.
= Hivestone If you're drafting correctly, this should not be relevant. If your opponent has one, it might make him hesitate from killing your Slivers, which could certainly work to your advantage.
3-Drops
+++ Sedge Sliver A few caveats here. 1. You don't play this before you have at least 4-mana and a Black mana source in play. 2. He's only a 3/3 for 3cc *if* you are have a Swamp out. 3. You need to have a lot of Black mana sources to turn your team into a juggernaut. Other than that, this guy can be Good Game.
++ Firewake Sliver I'd love to give this guy a higher ranking, but I just can't let a 1/1 for 3cc get away with that. Still, Haste can provide some devastating plays. More than once has my opponent failed to read the Sac to Buff others part of the text. Even if they do read it, sometimes there's not much to do about it.
++ Opaline Sliver A Grey Ogre providing some potential card advantage is pretty solid in my book.
+ Shadow Sliver Although this card, on the face of it, looks like a cheap win condition, there are several things working against it. It's a creature (a *little* creature if you don't have any P/T buffers in play), and as such can be victim to instant-speed removal after you declare attackers. Usually holding him in your hand until you can roll thru for the kill while your opponent is tapped out or cardless is the way to play him. Also, keep in mind that once your Slivers have Shadow, they aren't very good blockers.
+ Basal Sliver This guy gets a better ranking if you already have a Sedge (thus reading Sac this and Regen 2 other Slivers). Otherwise, he's just a Grey Ogre...which isn't all that bad in Sliverland.
= Harmonic Sliver Useful sideboard card, but probably not going to make the cut to the maindeck.
4-Drops
+++ Essence Sliver Yes please!
++ Bonesplitter Sliver Here's where we hit offensive paydirt and those little 1/1's and 2/2's start earning their keep.
++ Watcher Sliver Keeps those 1/1's and 2/2's from dying so often.
(Note: If I have to choose between the two, I try to keep an even number of Bonesplitters and Watchers.)
+ Telekinetic Sliver The only thing keeping this from being ranked higher is the double-Blue in the casting cost. Like Quilled Sliver, this guy cuts down on your tempo if he's doing his job, but he's versitile enough to want in your deck if you've got other reasons to be deep into Blue.
+ Fungus Sliver There are times when this guy really shines, and then there are times when he's just an expensive bear.
+ Vampiric Sliver Essentially just a Hill Giant since his ability is seldom relevant.
+ Mistform Ultimus Ye ol' Hill Giant. Not bad for the cost.
= Plague Sliver Yup, he's a big body, but I wouldn't play him unless he was Hasted or I was pretty sure I could win the next turn.
5-Drops
+++ Might Sliver You can never have too many of these.
+++ Psionic Sliver Once you have a Might or Watcher, this is Good Game.
+++ Pulmonic Sliver The best part is that you can *choose* to put your Slivers on top of your library or not. Sometimes it matters.
+ Venser's Sliver A Hill Giant that could care less about your mana base. Pretty easy to get this to land on turn 3 with a Gemhide and a 1-Drop out.
= Dementia Sliver Just a Venser's with picky mana requirements. Discard ability is seldom relevant. Rank higher if you are running both Blue and Black.
6-Drops
++ Fury Sliver Double Strike is good. 6cc...not so much. With proper acceleration this guys is still very playable and almost as helpful offensively as a Might Sliver.
If we want a general feel for the colors with the most Sliver potential, let's look at the number of Slivers in the Common and Uncommons slots ranked at either +++ or ++ (Just for fun, Rare and Timeshifted cards at these ranks are in parenthesis):
W 4 (2)
U 2 (1)
B 0 (1)
R 4 (2)
G 4 (1)
Obviously, there are powerful Rares that can shift these results if you get the chance to draft them, but this gives you a good view toward what support cards you should consider drafting since :g::r::w: will be your most likely colors. This should also flavor your draft a bit. Knowing that :u: and
Anyhow, I hope some people will find this little guide helpful. Please feel free to comment if you disagree about my rankings and I'll certainly consider modifying them if I feel it's appropriate.