I made a decktag for you. Please use them in the future, since it makes it easier to look up the cards, which makes it easier to respond to the thread.
A few points on your Slivers:
Magma Sliver is pure win-more. I really thing you should drop him.
Shifting Sliver looks powerful, but it's only a card you'll want one of. I think you should considering taking it's numbers down.
Ghostflame Sliver is largely useless. I think he should be dropped to make room.
Crystalline Sliver is one of the most powerful Slivers, ever. You could really use him in here.
Heart Sliver makes your new Sliver tokens via the combo produce colored mana, thanks to Gemhide. It's something to consider.
Your combo can produce infinite mana, right? Necrotic Sliver seems like a good way to utilize that mana.
Finally, Homing Sliver needs to be a 4-of. He can fetch part of the combo, or any Sliver you need for any situation.
As far as New Frontiers is concerned, what about Gaea's Balance, instead. It can get you all five colors by turn 4, without Gemhide, and without helping the opponent.
First thing's first. Thank you for the advice and thank you for the deck tag. I've begun to get the hang of the idea of how to use the site over the course of the day, I'll edit my initial post to make life easier for all. Appreciate the help. Now on to the important part.
I agree with Magma, and that is potentially the first card to go from the deck. Shifting is another borderline creature. It's kind of a backup plan should something go wrong with the Queen/Echoes combo. However, I agree that only one would be a good move.
Funny that you should mention the Sinew Sliver, I just ordered 4 of them online for cheap. Now, should I take out all 4 Plated Slivers for them, or two Plated and two Virulent? Plated's can be good for early defense, but that's about it.
The Ghostflame was a pure trial and it hasn't worked out the way I would have liked. I'm in the works to try and get a pair of Crystalline Slivers to take their place, but their expensive and hard to find.
Heart Sliver was another potential pick up, however, haste is not a big concern of mine. With the Queen's ability, I can do it before the end of my opponent's turn, giving my creatures the ability to attack in the next step. I also have very little red in the deck, but with Gemhide and Prismatic Omen, it still may be an idea.
Necrotic is a great idea. It was out of my range at first with the idea that I wouldn't be using much black, but again, I have plenty of ways of getting it and should look into it.
Homing Sliver was another outside looking in with the color issue. Could those be a potential card to put in place of a Defense of the Heart type card?
And finally the Gaea's Balance vs. New Frontiers is a good question. However, I feel that if I have five land in play, I'm probably going to be all set with mana either way. New Frontiers would be used with X costing probably less than 3, more than likely one or two. It would just be there to help if I needed to get an extra land or two.
I should probably also note that I have two Root Slivers as a sideboard should I face a counter type deck. I'll have to look over these suggestions, rebuild and I'll post up a new idea in the next few days.
Opal Destroyer1WG
Instant
Destroy target artifact or enchantment
Gain 3 life.
Not So Fast 2UU
Instant
Counter target instant or sorcery. Clash with an opponent, if you win, return Not So Fast to your hand, if you lose, remove Not So Fast from the game [The spell is still countered].
Just looking through my cards also had me thinking, what about Vile Consumption in there as well? Then you might not be as dependent on your Megrims...
The Hissing Miasma will help against creatures that actually come after you, but isn't as big of a deal in a return deck. The Rack will help with damage as you make them discard frequently. Waking Nightmare and Raven's Crime are both good discard cards, but Raven's Crime can be nice by letting you play the card from your graveyard by discarding a land. Personally, I think you need to have 4 Mind Twists. Discard X cards, with a Rack and Megrim in play, you could really hammer an opponent. Hymn to Tourach is another good card, even though in a 2 color deck, might not be the best. 2 mana for 2 cards at random.
Up the count of Sliver Queen and Mana Echos to 4 each if they're the focal point of the deck. Sure, the Queen is a Legend, but you'll just be that more likely to have another in hand if your played one is destroyed.
I'd love to, but, as I said before, this is a casual thing, and at $15-20 a card, I don't think I can afford 4 Queens. I may get a second if I find a good deal for one [Been watching eBay for a while] and see how everything pans out. I have a third Mana Echoes that's just not in the deck yet, I'm tempted to switch out the Cryptic Gateway for it.
EDIT: Just looking around the site at the vast amount of knowledge and a stumbled upon a card. What about putting New Frontiers in for the 2 Explosive Vegetation's and Kodama's Reach. That would leave me with 3 Lay of the Lands and 3 New Frontiers. Granted my opponents would get land as well, but all I really need in the deck is one of each color, and if I have 3 land in play, I can do that for two, and pretty much be set.
Hey guys, first time on a Magic forum, so bear with me. Just looking for advice on a couple of decks I've built for casual play. Hoping to have some fun on here and learn a few things.
Okay, so before I start, let me say that this is my first post in this forum, and most certainly won't be my last. I've been playing Magic for quite some time now, since the days of Urza's Legacy/Saga. I've most recently worked on building a Sliver deck in which I'm curious as to where I should go next. Right now it's fairly big at 73 cards, there are some cards I'd like to add, but I'd also like to find a way to cut the deck back to the 65-68 card range. Thanks in advance for all the advice, I'll give you a list then a rough idea of my thought process behind how the deck works. I'm sure most of you know what a number of my cards do, but with most I'll give a quick description.
So there's the deck. The basic idea is to work to a Sliver Queen and Mana Echoes. With that setup, I can pretty much supply myself with an infinite number of Slivers. That combined with the Legion, makes me some massive creatures.
However, I feel that I need to drop some cards somewhere, as well as look to add. I'd like to put a second of each the Overlord, Queen, and Legion in to better help my odds, and even possibly a third Overlord to help my chances of searching for Slivers. I'm tempted to look into two more Defense of the Hearts as well. The cards that are on my potential cutting block include the two Essence Slivers as well as the Magma Sliver. The Essence doesn't seem to be a huge concern with gaining life as I would, for the most part, look at one huge attack to finish off an opponent. The Magma is nice, but with a second Legion in the deck, I don't see the need for it. So, all in all, just looking for some opinions and answers to a couple of quick questions. Just so you know, I don't play in tournaments at all, this is just a casual game with a few friends.
1. What cards could I drop to make this a smaller deck without worrying about getting anything else?
2. Regarding my thoughts on new cards [Overlord, Queen, Legions], do you think I'm on the right track?
3. Are there any other cards. Sliver or non-sliver, that you recommend I look into?
Man, -spooky- I always enjoy your articles and use them as a baseline to build new decks. Never like to use exact deck lists because it's always nice to have your own idea, but it's always an enjoyment to read. Budget decks that are solid and fun are what keep me playing MTG after 15+ years. If I can spend $20 on a deck that will hold its own against my friends' $100 decks, I'm have a great time. Keep it up, can't wait for the next article.
First thing's first. Thank you for the advice and thank you for the deck tag. I've begun to get the hang of the idea of how to use the site over the course of the day, I'll edit my initial post to make life easier for all. Appreciate the help. Now on to the important part.
I agree with Magma, and that is potentially the first card to go from the deck. Shifting is another borderline creature. It's kind of a backup plan should something go wrong with the Queen/Echoes combo. However, I agree that only one would be a good move.
Funny that you should mention the Sinew Sliver, I just ordered 4 of them online for cheap. Now, should I take out all 4 Plated Slivers for them, or two Plated and two Virulent? Plated's can be good for early defense, but that's about it.
The Ghostflame was a pure trial and it hasn't worked out the way I would have liked. I'm in the works to try and get a pair of Crystalline Slivers to take their place, but their expensive and hard to find.
Heart Sliver was another potential pick up, however, haste is not a big concern of mine. With the Queen's ability, I can do it before the end of my opponent's turn, giving my creatures the ability to attack in the next step. I also have very little red in the deck, but with Gemhide and Prismatic Omen, it still may be an idea.
Necrotic is a great idea. It was out of my range at first with the idea that I wouldn't be using much black, but again, I have plenty of ways of getting it and should look into it.
Homing Sliver was another outside looking in with the color issue. Could those be a potential card to put in place of a Defense of the Heart type card?
And finally the Gaea's Balance vs. New Frontiers is a good question. However, I feel that if I have five land in play, I'm probably going to be all set with mana either way. New Frontiers would be used with X costing probably less than 3, more than likely one or two. It would just be there to help if I needed to get an extra land or two.
I should probably also note that I have two Root Slivers as a sideboard should I face a counter type deck. I'll have to look over these suggestions, rebuild and I'll post up a new idea in the next few days.
Not So Fast
2UU
Instant
Counter target instant or sorcery. Clash with an opponent, if you win, return Not So Fast to your hand, if you lose, remove Not So Fast from the game [The spell is still countered].
I'll try my hand at this.
Save Your Soul
3GG
Instant
Choose a color. Return all permanents of the chosen color from your graveyard to play. Remove Save Your Soul from the game.
Hey, I really appreciate the cookie, I was getting hungry. Oh yeah, and thanks for the welcome
Hissing Miasma
The Rack
Waking Nightmare
Raven's Crime
Mind Twist
Hymn to Tourach
The Hissing Miasma will help against creatures that actually come after you, but isn't as big of a deal in a return deck. The Rack will help with damage as you make them discard frequently. Waking Nightmare and Raven's Crime are both good discard cards, but Raven's Crime can be nice by letting you play the card from your graveyard by discarding a land. Personally, I think you need to have 4 Mind Twists. Discard X cards, with a Rack and Megrim in play, you could really hammer an opponent. Hymn to Tourach is another good card, even though in a 2 color deck, might not be the best. 2 mana for 2 cards at random.
Just my two cents.
I'd love to, but, as I said before, this is a casual thing, and at $15-20 a card, I don't think I can afford 4 Queens. I may get a second if I find a good deal for one [Been watching eBay for a while] and see how everything pans out. I have a third Mana Echoes that's just not in the deck yet, I'm tempted to switch out the Cryptic Gateway for it.
EDIT: Just looking around the site at the vast amount of knowledge and a stumbled upon a card. What about putting New Frontiers in for the 2 Explosive Vegetation's and Kodama's Reach. That would leave me with 3 Lay of the Lands and 3 New Frontiers. Granted my opponents would get land as well, but all I really need in the deck is one of each color, and if I have 3 land in play, I can do that for two, and pretty much be set.
4x Prismatic Omen
2x Defense of the Heart
2x Mana Echoes
1x Cryptic Gateway
Instants/Sorceries
3x Lay of the Land
1x Kodama's Reach
2x Explosive Vegetation
Creatures
2x Virulent Sliver
4x Plated Sliver
4x Muscle Sliver
4x Gemhide Sliver
2x Ghostflame Sliver
2x Winged Sliver
2x Talon Sliver
2x Quick Sliver
2x Essence Sliver
2x Shifting Sliver
1x Magma Sliver
2x Ward Sliver
2x Pulmonic Sliver
1x Sliver Overlord
1x Sliver Legion
1x Sliver Queen
2x Terramorphic Expanse
1x Godless Shrine
1x Selesnya Sanctuary
1x Flagstones of Trokair
1x Swamp
3x Mountain
4x Plains
4x Island
7x Forest
So there's the deck. The basic idea is to work to a Sliver Queen and Mana Echoes. With that setup, I can pretty much supply myself with an infinite number of Slivers. That combined with the Legion, makes me some massive creatures.
However, I feel that I need to drop some cards somewhere, as well as look to add. I'd like to put a second of each the Overlord, Queen, and Legion in to better help my odds, and even possibly a third Overlord to help my chances of searching for Slivers. I'm tempted to look into two more Defense of the Hearts as well. The cards that are on my potential cutting block include the two Essence Slivers as well as the Magma Sliver. The Essence doesn't seem to be a huge concern with gaining life as I would, for the most part, look at one huge attack to finish off an opponent. The Magma is nice, but with a second Legion in the deck, I don't see the need for it. So, all in all, just looking for some opinions and answers to a couple of quick questions. Just so you know, I don't play in tournaments at all, this is just a casual game with a few friends.
1. What cards could I drop to make this a smaller deck without worrying about getting anything else?
2. Regarding my thoughts on new cards [Overlord, Queen, Legions], do you think I'm on the right track?
3. Are there any other cards. Sliver or non-sliver, that you recommend I look into?
Thanks again.