Crystalline Sliver

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Mortlocke on The Queen's Egg

2 weeks ago

Flodes,

Hibernation Sliver is a deterrent. It boasts to my opponents that their removal is useless as a targeted "problem sliver" will simply show up again. The truth is i've never found myself wanting to use this ability simply because there are better alternatives in the deck in the form of Crystalline Sliver or a simple Counterspell. Additionally, I've owned Deadly Rollick since it was released because I absolutely love the art. It's evocative of the earlier days in magic when the art was dark, sinister, and seductive. Speaking of seductive - Judith is hot. The art absolutely speaks to me - and what it says I'm sure I can't say in public.

Side Rant - I took this deck to a tournament over the weekend. It was advertised as a Commander tournament with prizes and no restrictions outside of the standard Commander banlist. Additionally, once you used a deck you had to stick with it throughout the whole tournament. Unbeknownst to me, a herd of cEDH players showed up and were crushing tables on turns 2 to 3 with regular consistency - they assumed it was a cEDH tournament, according to on of my opponents. After having one very exciting game I realized that while this deck is decidedly not one of the archetypes, it could at least leave an impact on a cEDH game. So I think I want to squeeze in some more interaction just to ensure that this deck could at least consistently hang at a cEDH table. So, that's the other reason why I wanted to slot in Deadly Rollick. Also i'm trying to slot in a copy of Flusterstorm. It's a great spell and just got the foil old border treatment in MH3 as a buy a box promo. I'm trying to decide on what to slot it in for, but i'm having a tough time deciding on what to cut. Do you have any ideas Flodes?

That's the end of my long rant, thanks again for commenting.

Edit: Made a few changes due to bad grammar/spelling

Mortlocke on The Queen's Egg

2 weeks ago

Flodes,

Hibernation Sliver is a deterrent. It boasts to my opponents that their removal is useless as a targeted "problem sliver" will simply show up again. But, I've never used once while owning the deck. I've never found myself wanting to use this ability simply because there are already better alternatives in the deck in the form of Crystalline Sliver or a simple Counterspell. Additionally, I've owned Deadly Rollick since it was released because I absolutely love the art. It's evocative of the earlier days in magic when the art was dark, sinister, and seductive. Speaking of seductive - Judith is hot. The art absolutely speaks to me - and what it says I'm sure I can't say in public.

Side Rant - I took this deck to a tournament over the weekend. It was advertised as a Commander tournament with prizes and no restrictions outside of the standard Commander banlist. Additionally, once you used a deck you had to stick with it throughout the whole tournament. Unbeknownst to me, a herd of cEDH players showed up and were crushing tables on turns 2 to 3 with regular consistency - they assumed it was a cEDH tournament, according to on of my opponents. After having one very exciting game I realized that while this deck is decidedly not one of the archetypes, it could at least leave an impact on a cEDH game. So I think I want to squeeze in some more interaction just to ensure that this deck could at least consistently hang at a cEDH table. So, that's the other reason why I wanted to slot in Deadly Rollick. Also i'm trying to slot in a copy of Flusterstorm. That spell is pretty cool, and in MH3 a foil old border copy was printed. I'm trying to decide on what to slot it in for, but i'm having a tough time deciding on what to cut. Do you have any ideas Flodes? That's the end of my long rant, thanks again for commenting.

Mortlocke on The Queen's Egg

2 weeks ago

Flodes,

Long story so buckle up - I took this deck to a tournament over the weekend. It was advertised as a Commander tournament with prizes and no restrictions outside of the normal banlist. Also, once you used a deck you had to stick with it throughout the whole tournament. Unbeknownst to me, a herd of cEDH players showed up and were crushing tables on turns 2 to 3 with regular consistency. This almost happened to me, but between me and the rest of the table we had enough interaction to stop it. Then I realized - while this deck is decidedly not a cEDH archetype, it could at least hang at the table and leave an impact on the game - but I need more interaction.

Hibernation Sliver is a deterrent. It boasts to my opponents that their removal is useless as said sliver will simply show up again. This ability I've never used once while owning this deck. I've never used it as a go-to because there are simply better options in the form of Crystalline Sliver or just a good ol' fashioned Counterspell. Besides, i've had full art foil Deadly Rollick (featuring Judith), and am trying to find a nice deck for it to call home. It's evocative of the earlier days in magic where the art was more evocative of something dark, sinister, and forbidden. Also, Judith is hot.

tl;dr - I need more interaction and I found Hibernation Sliver to not be as useful as I thought.

Additionally, MH3 introduced a gorgeous buy a box promo - a foil old border Flusterstorm. I got a copy and am definitely going to try and make a spot for it in the deck. Unfortunately, I have no idea what to cut. Maybe Swords to Plowshares?

Longer discussion note - I think that cEDH is a wonderful deck building meta, but it is something completely separate from your standard Commander or EDH meta. It was unfortunate that I and a portion of other players were very much caught off guard by the cEDH crowd and have to say that the planners need to make things clear when deciding on what the meta for the tournament will be. My personal thoughts are create a cEDH meta (which strictly uses cEDH deck archetypes) and a Commander meta (which explicitly does not use cEDH deck archetypes, and has games that are expected to end from turn 5 and beyond). I very much dislike weird and arbitrary bans on things like infinite combos or certain cards. Random rant, but I had those thoughts on my mind. Thanks for commenting again Flodes!

Goyfs-R-Us on Sliver Overlord

6 months ago

GeminiSpartanX There are many ways for Slivers to go infinite in mana, creatures or damage. I will start by listing 3 of the most common ones you will generally see to get you started. The rest I will leave for you to discover through play.

1. Sliver Queen+Mana Echoes: The classic, will generate infinite mana and Sliver tokens, combine with a haste sliver for an infinite attack or use Lavabelly Sliver for infinite target damage and life.

2. Basal Sliver+Sliver Queen+Lavabelly Sliver: Infinite target damage and life gain.

3. Intruder Alarm+The First Sliver: Not truly an infinite combo on it's own but can be with the right setup or hit's off cascade triggers. Intruder Alarm combos with a ham sandwich so not hard to make infinite with mana/haste slivers and Hibernation Sliver and Darkheart Sliver.

Bonus: The most important cards to consider for combos. Sliver Queen, Basal Sliver, Lavabelly Sliver, Hibernation Sliver, The First Sliver, Gemhide Sliver, Manaweft Sliver, Heart Sliver, Cloudshredder Sliver, Firewake Sliver, Darkheart Sliver, Cautery Sliver, Sliver Overlord, Homing Sliver, Mana Echoes, Intruder Alarm, Faces of the Past.

Support Cards: The most important cards to protect your combos. Crystalline Sliver, Root Sliver, Sliver Hivelord, Quick Sliver, Ward Sliver, Force of Will, Patriarch's Bidding.

NV_1980 on Slivers or Fragmentados

10 months ago

I'd really recommend Crystalline Sliver as it grants protection against targeted spells to all your slivers (including your commander). Amoeboid Changeling is also great fun to include, as it allows you to steal opposing creatures with Overlord.

Mortlocke on The Queen's Egg

10 months ago

Daevied,

I think that the latest batch of Slivers aren't overtly power crept, but with the right deck can be an absolute menace. I feel the same way about the new art as well, I was never a fan of the Shandalar Sliver variants. The humanoid form just makes slivers seem like a fairly generic monster - the original form that debuted on Rath is iconic as it's so alien but oddly cute.

When I find that my playgroup loves to run interaction I simply adjust my decks to fit the local meta. My opponents love to counter Slivers? Then Root Sliver would love to have a word with them. Opponents love to run spot removal? I proceed to laugh as Crystalline Sliver shows up. So on and so forth. There's always a Sliver for the job when it comes to a problem, but running your own interaction and work-arounds is key. Try running counter magic as form of protection and see where that takes you.

Mortlocke on The Queen's Egg

1 year ago

Profet93,

Thank you for the nice words, this is my signature deck of signature decks and have put the most most time (and money...so much money) into building it into what it is today. This deck is forever a work in progress, for as tuned as it is there is always room for improvement - so I always appreciate any and all criticism and suggestions. Speaking of which - Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth and Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth are indeed powerful lands - but only within context. The pros don't outweigh the cons with those suggestions in my opinion - I don't run any Beacon of Creation or Cabal Coffers effects so I don't have any way to really "cash in" on these lands past having them fix my manabase. But like you said fixing the manabase of my opponents is the last thing I'd ever want to do, so i'll have to take a pass on those suggestions.

Delay is absolutely wonderful counter magic. Most often i'd end up delaying a turn 2 or 3 Najeela, the Blade-Blossom - which would then be dealt with when it hits the battlefield. Another great play I managed to pull off with Delay was "countering" a Swords to Plowshares that was aimed at my Commander. On my next turn I simply tutored for and cast a Crystalline Sliver. No one managed to cast a board wipe so when the time counters were all removed the Swords to Plowshares simply failed to find. Honestly, I've never been disappointed by Delay and is definitely one of my all time favorites - it always gives me just enough time to dig for an answer.

Toxic Deluge is just an old hold over from my previous meta. Alot of creatures were lower to the ground as most of my friends played combo decks that relied on some key creatures or played with creatures that had reliable methods of gaining protection or indestructible. I used to run Damnation, but I also have a full art foil Damn that i'm considering trying out as well. The verdict is still out on what I should run in that card slot to be honest, but i'm more than interested in your thoughts on what would be the most efficient option available for mass removal.

Once I managed to use Deflecting Swat to target a Expropriate. Obviously this was a late game play, but I knew that the Yennett, Cryptic Sovereign player had something up their sleeve and properly baited out the big spell by tapping out. It also helped that I had a Fierce Guardianship in hand as well in case someone wanted to thwart my plans. Everyone scooped after the swat resolved.

Thanks for commenting on the deck, i'll think more on your suggestions. Happy New Year to you, by the way. Do you have any acquisitions or decks your want to build in 2023?

Doombeard1984 on

1 year ago

So I would probably suggest changing Crypt Sliver for Sedge Sliver. Reason for this is because Crystalline Sliver and Crypt Sliver are a NonBo as you cant target the slivers with the ability.

I would also probably change Shadow Sliver for Shifting Sliver. Gives you the ability to block others, but you can't be blocked. Shadow Sliver is a double edged sword, as you also can't block.

You have the option of another mana Sliver in the form of Gemhide Sliver. Trust me, Mana is your most required asset. I would drop Virulent Sliver as, to be honest, I would not genuinely expect to win with poison counters. And if this was a win con I would be going hard on it, not just a 1 chance.

As the aim of your deck is to go wide, I would be tempted to go with Shared Animosity to pump your attack power.

You have Spiteful Sliver in there, why not include Blasphemous Act? with enough creatures, this in itself can kill off your opponents.

Heart Sliver replacing Reflex Sliver is a strict upgrade. Cheaper and still gives haste.

I would question the value of Spinneret Sliver when you already have 2 slivers giving you flying.

If you are going wide Horned Sliver could be an option, however may not be needed. I would be more inclined to go with a Synapse Sliver. Need to keep that grip full of more Slivers to power the Hive.

Now... onto the mana base...

I would strongly suggest getting more dual color lands which can come into play UNTAPPED. We are in a very intensive deck, and getting to that is super important. Chromatic Lantern could be super useful, and you may also wish to replace something with Morophon, the Boundless.

Whilst ABUR duals are super expesive, and to an extent Fetchlands too, Shocklands (Godless Shrine etc.) and Bondlands (Morphic Pool etc.) may be more accessible. You could look at the Filter lands too, or checks. I just think this could essentially speed up the deck exponentially

I will have another think about some other bits as well and will get back to you :)