When I build decks there are a few things I really look to do. First of all, I like to have as much consistency as possible. There's been a recent trend of putting a lot of miser's singleton cards into a deck and it just doesn't make much sense to me. Typically there are few ways to actually tutor up the card and you're just hoping to draw a one-outer. Now in EDH of course, we can still build in some measure of consistency with multiple cards all achieving the same effect. You will find that to be a frequent occurrence when I build my decks.

Additionally, I've never really been a proponent of a linear strategy. Generally, linear strategies can be easy to disrupt, which is a good thing to be concerned about. In order to combat the things that would stop our linear strategy we need to incorporate a few more creative elements. It's never a bad idea to have a plan B and I definitely love to plan ahead. Depending on the type of deck this can take many different forms and today we'll see how we can build several into one deck!

A while ago Trick suggested that I build a sliver EDH deck and I agree. Since there's a great base in the premium deck series we figured that would be an excellent place to start. So, what we're going to do is start with the premium deck and then improve into what is hopefully a powerhouse. This is of course going to mean including some cards that can't be foiled, but such is life! Let's look at what we have to start with:

[cardlist]

[Slivers]

1 Acidic Sliver

1 Amoeboid Changeling

1 Armor Sliver

1 Barbed Sliver

1 Brood Sliver

1 Clot Sliver

1 Crystalline Sliver

1 Frenzy Sliver

1 Fungus Sliver

1 Fury Sliver

2 Gemhide Sliver

1 Heart Sliver

1 Hibernation Sliver

1 Homing Sliver

2 Metallic Sliver

1 Might Sliver

2 Muscle Sliver

1 Necrotic Sliver

1 Quick Sliver

1 Sliver Overlord

2 Spectral Sliver

1 Spined Sliver

1 Victual Sliver

2 Virulent Sliver

1 Winged Sliver

[/Slivers]

[Lands]

2 Ancient Ziggurat

5 Forest

2 Island

3 Mountain

2 Plains

1 Rootbound Crag

2 Rupture Spire

2 Swamp

2 Terramorphic Expanse

2 Vivid Creek

2 Vivid Grove

[/Lands]

[Spells]

1 Aphetto Dredging

1 Coat of Arms

1 Distant Melody

1 Heartstone

1 Wild Pair

[/Spells]

[/cardlist]

There are a few things that jump out at me. First, the sliver selection is fairly helter-skelter. There are some amazing choices that were left out for one reason or another that we're going to put right back in. Also, as it stands right now we need to make some cuts to the nonbasics and the few multiple copies of cards that are included. Finally, we need to fix the mana base. The one provided is fun for a casual deck but we're going to add some money and consistency all at once!

There are twenty-five lands in the current list, which gives us thirty five other cards as a base. Five of those cards are second copies, which means we really have thirty cards with which to build from. Before things are said and done we'll be cutting a few of those cards too I suspect. For now the biggest offender is Victual Sliver. It turns out that gaining life at a cost of sacrificing a creature and paying mana just isn't as good as it once might have been, particularly when it's a mere four life. The rest of the team can make the cut, at least for now. We can always revisit the situation if space gets tight later on.

I feel like thirty-eight lands will be a sufficient number. Coupled with the twenty-nine cards already in place this means we have a grand total of thirty-three spots to fill, though one of those needs to go to the general. This gives us quite a bit of wiggle room as far as open slots, though not quite as many as I had originally suspected.

Before we dive into the rest of the deck I think discussion of the general is in order. There's simply no way we're going to dip into one of the other five color creatures when we have three in creature options. Sliver Queen is the sentimental favorite, and Sliver Overlord is also a popular choice, but I like to go a little different in my selection. As awesome as the other two are I feel like Sliver Legion gives us the most lethal choice. The ability to cast a Coat of Arms essentially whenever you'd like is just too good to pass up. One down, thirty-two to go!

I'd like to look at a few of the non-sliver cards that we need to include. Patriarch's Bidding, Twilight's Call, Living Death, and Living End all give us the ability to alpha strike with a single topdeck, while simultaneously eliminating more problematic board positions. Tunnel Vision lets us have a combo kill with a few cards which will be named shortly. Aluren also combos with another card or two on the horizon. Steely Resolve, Shared Triumph and Cover of Darkness all play up the slivers theme while providing added benefits. Clone and Eternal Witness both provide excellent utility, one getting back a saucy card and the other becoming the most useful threat on the field. Demonic Tutor, Vampiric Tutor, and Diabolic Intent provide some of the glue to dig up these silver bullets while Survival of the Fittest lets literally every card sliver cycle!

Whew, that's quite a list and it leaves us with only seventeen slots to fill. First of all I think Basal Sliver needs to make our list. The ability to pump out sliver and generate mounds of mana is fantastic. He also puts creatures in the grave so we can living death them back into play (he even pays for the Living Death!) Another card that needs to be in the deck is Battering Sliver. The ability to let your team trample over is absolutely absurd, especially when they all come charging back into play. Blade Sliver is also a welcome addition, costing little and still letting us do some battling more effectively. Bonesplitter Sliver has a similar effect though again just pumping on the front end, which is fine since we're going to be living in the red zone. Frenetic Sliver serves a similar purpose for us, letting our unblocked slivers deal all the more damage. Sedge Sliver and Sinew Sliver round out our team of pumpers.

Let's talk about how our slivers will be getting in the red zone. Reflex sliver gives our team the ability to bash the turn it enters play, ideally getting through virtually untouched with the help of Shadow Sliver. Root Sliver ensures that our team will not be getting countered, with Dormant Sliver and Cautery Sliver giving us more advantage for each card that enters the battlefield. Darkheart Sliver and Essence Sliver both let us gain some life to help in the aggro matches with Darkheart also filling the graveyard for those reanimation effects we mentioned earlier. Harmonic Sliver gives us outs to tricky artifacts and enchantments, particularly for each and every sliver that enters the battlefield. Of course we end things with our combo piece Mesmeric Sliver. Mesmeric sliver combos as a two card kill with Tunnel Vision. Yet another of those effects that helps us avoid being boxed into a linear strategy. We finish things off with the queen of it all, Sliver Queen herself.

Let's take a look at our final hundred:

"Slivers EDH"

• General (1)
• 1 Sliver Legion

• Creatures (42)
• 1 Acidic Sliver
• 1 Amoeboid Changeling
• 1 Armor Sliver
• 1 Barbed Sliver
• 1 Basal Sliver
• 1 Battering Sliver
• 1 Blade Sliver
• 1 Bonesplitter Sliver
• 1 Brood Sliver
• 1 Cautery Sliver
• 1 Clot Sliver
• 1 Crystalline Sliver
• 1 Darkheart Sliver
• 1 Dormant Sliver
• 1 Frenetic Sliver
• 1 Frenzy Sliver
• 1 Fungus Sliver
• 1 Fury Sliver
• 1 Gemhide Sliver
• 1 Harmonic Sliver
• 1 Heart Sliver
• 1 Hibernation Sliver
• 1 Homing Sliver
• 1 Mesmeric Sliver
• 1 Metallic Sliver
• 1 Might Sliver
• 1 Muscle Sliver
• 1 Necrotic Sliver
• 1 Quick Sliver
• 1 Reflex Sliver
• 1 Root Sliver
• 1 Sedge Sliver
• 1 Shadow Sliver
• 1 Sinew Sliver
• 1 Sliver Overlord
• 1 Sliver Queen
• 1 Spectral Sliver
• 1 Spined Sliver
• 1 Virulent Sliver
• 1 Winged Sliver
• 1 Clone
• 1 Silversmith

• Spells (19)
• 1 Tunnel Vision
• 1 Patriarch's Bidding
• 1 Twilight's Call
• 1 Living Death
• 1 Living End
• 1 Cover of Darkness
• 1 Shared Triumph
• 1 Steely Resolve
• 1 Aluren
• 1 Eternal Witness
• 1 Demonic Tutor
• 1 Vampiric Tutor
• 1 Diabolic Intent
• 1 Survival of the Fittest
• 1 Aphetto Dredging
• 1 Coat of Arms
• 1 Distant Melody
• 1 Heartstone
• 1 Wild Pair

• Lands (38)
• 1 Misty Rainforest
• 1 Scalding Tarn
• 1 Marsh Flats
• 1 Arid Mesa
• 1 Verdant Catacombs
• 1 Windswept Heath
• 1 Polluted Delta
• 1 Flooded Strand
• 1 Wooded foothills
• 1 Bloodstained Mire
• 1 Krosan Verge
• 1 Tropical Island
• 1 Underground Sea
• 1 Scrubland
• 1 Badlands
• 1 Savannah
• 1 Bayou
• 1 Taiga
• 1 Volcanic Island
• 1 Tundra
• 1 Plateau
• 1 Temple Garden
• 1 Godless Shrine
• 1 Breeding Pool
• 1 Hallowed Fountain
• 1 Sacred Foundry
• 1 Blood Crypt
• 1 Steam Vents
• 1 Overgrown Tomb
• 1 Watery Grave
• 1 Stomping Ground
• 1 Mountain
• 1 Island
• 1 Forest
• 1 Plains
• 1 Swamp
• 1 Vesuva
• 1 Reflecting Pool

Buy This Deck Export text format

I believe that we have quite a rough deck here. The ability to win from seemingly lost conditions is excellent. Next week I will be going through some of the subtle interactions the deck offers and the finer rules nuances associated with the list. Until then, this is Benjamin McDole giving you a hundred reasons to play magic!