I like your take on FAST SLIVERS. I have been playing Slivers in Pauper and this looks like a pumped version with more lord effects and other sliver spice. A few questions: Have you thought about or tried reducing the pain of Mana Confluence by reducing to 2-of and putting in a couple of Reflecting Pool? Seems with 13 lands that could produce any color, the 2 Pools would usually come in with one of those on board and work immediately. Second, have you thought about Vines of Vastwood instead of Mutagenic Growth? Can offer protection/buff to your creature. Finally, which do you see as best and worst match-ups with this configuration? With a similar deck in pauper (GW Slivers), with the absence of Aether Vial and Collected Company, I find control decks the hardest, especially those playing U.
Oblivion Ring vs. Journey to Nowhere? Almost all Slivers decks I find use Journey to Nowhere, which admittedly is among the greatest removals for white. I am now experimenting with an even split of 2 each of Journey and Oblivion Ring. O-Ring hits creatures plus other permanents like enchantments, including opponents Journey, freeing up your own creature. Downside is the extra mana cost. I was wondering if anyone else has any experiences. WIll report my testing here.
How do you play against Reality Acid? I have really struggled against Reality Acid (Azorius Kitty). Unless I get a very fast start with Lords, at some point they take over. I was thinking about bringing in Standard Bearer to protect lords/other slivers, and now trying SB with Sundering Growth since it is an instant so can kill the Reality Acid while creature to bounce it back to hand is on the stack. Anyone have any other thoughts?
In a straight up green/white version I would recommend testing lower land counts and Fertile Thicket.
I've had some really good success with this in dual color stompy variants, most commonly green/white because of Avacyn's Pilgrim. Normally when doing a 2 color deck you have to up your land count to the low 21-24 to ensure that you are getting all your colors. With Fertile Thicket and basics, I've been able to keep the land count down to 16-18 (similar to monocolor aggro decks). It depends depending on the mana curve and access to creatures with mana fixing within the deck scheme, but, it's certainly possible.
Since you have Gemhide Sliver, and Homing Sliver, you should be able to be a little more flexible in your selection of colors. Not 100% positive if will work for you, but, I believe it will. You have enough redundancy of effect from the Slivers that shuffling some to the bottom should not be an issue. Maybe something to consider. If it's not broke, don't force it, but, if you were looking for a way to sneak a couple extra cards in, this might be a good way to do it.
Hi thanks for idea, and I will give it a try. I am also experimenting with Evolving Wilds and Terramorphic Expanse in my GW build as way of fetching specific basic land color I may be missing. Always a balance....
It was a pleasure seeing him play again. He seems more confident now and makes less mistakes. Yet another good run by him!
Regarding the list he played then I dont agree completely.
- Lands are pretty much spot on as I prefer them.
- 2 maindeck Darkheart Slivers? Personally I would never take them mainboard but as a 1-2 of in sb. Instead a singleton syphon Sliver or 2 if you expect heavy burn. To often Darkhearts would be a mere body with nothing more added to the synergy. Or at least that is how ive experienced them. Against burn post sb though they can mess things up quite a bit Syphon on the other hand is good in alot of matchups.
- 2 Necrotic Slivers mainboard. Well he do get them to work sometimes but same as before - in my experience they are hard to get online and often only a "body".
- I prefer to have some kind of and reliable interaction mainboard like 2 Dismembers. Versus Infect its almost a guaranteed loss game 1.Versus other combo type decks it gets rough also and you simply need to outrace your opponent.
- Sideboard looks solid. Why the Gemhide Sliver? And Screeching Sliver seems odd. Think it was explained before what MU's its good against but please anyone care to elaborate?
Most of the cards he just played are also in that deck, including Screeching Sliver. He has milled opponents with it, but also buried cards that were left on top to defeat opponent's scrying. I personally like the spice of multiple sliver effects; his is a bit more of toolbox set, but his results speak for themselves.
I currently play slivers in modern and commander, but I love slivers and will play them in any format. I am however new to the pauper format. The primer looks awesome.
PLAYING PULSE OF MURASA. I am thinking of trying Pulse of Murasa in the SB. I used to play Lone Missionary, but am missing life gain. I wonder if anyone else may tried?
Exciting news! Alert the Sliver Queen. The small-slivers variant by Timba is 11-4 in my testing against Toolbox Company, the best deck in the format. Those aren't easy results to come by, and my initial testing against other decks suggests the deck is viable broadly. I believe it has a better matchup against ultra-fast decks such as Burn than traditional Slivers, if still unfavored. This is due to a lower curve and taking less damage off its own lands.
...
The Virulent Slivers are better than I anticipated. I wish I could include Phantasmal Image to increase my odds of drawing double Virulent Sliver, but the illusion is a nombo with Diffusion Sliver. If I had more room, they'd likely be the first thing I'd add. I have added two AEther Vial to the originally posted list, as they enable the fastest draws (and bonus trickiness). I'm not certain about the exact number of Vials that'd be ideal, but I believe it's not zero. The sideboard of course could be altered, but I suspect the Gut Shots are essential. Also note that the deck can't cast colored noncreature spells. It is possible this deck could be reconciled with the original, including Sedge Sliver. However, the mana would be less consistent and far more painful. Yes, Ancient Ziggurat is a nombo with various elements of the deck, but I don't believe there's a substitute for its painless ability to deliver 5 colors of mana.
Fundamentally, the deck plays similar to a Zoo deck in that it spits out many 1 cc creatures that soon end up dealing 3 or more damage each. I imagine it is vulnerable to sweepers, Ensnaring Bridge, and ultra-fast decks like Infect. I will continue to test it, and I'd appreciate any insights you may have.
I stopped playing modern a while ago due to the Eldrazi Winter instead having a great time with Pauper Slivers. Timba's deck reminds me a bit of playing pauper. I have found that even at its worst, opponents tend to want to remove Virulent Sliver on site, which means we are effectively protecting our lords. Deck can be very fast, so will give it a try as well. I may consider cutting one Leeching Sliver for an added Vial.
Contents
1. Introduction
2. Deck Color Choices
3. Card Choices
4. Sample Decks, Deck Techs & Results
5. Decks that have Gone 5-0 in MTGO Pauper League
6. Match-ups
1. Introduction
Slivers are a tribal archetype first appearing in 1997 in Tempest, and then again in 2003 (Legions), 2006 (Time Spiral) and further, in Magic2014 & Magic2015. Each Sliver has a particular role to play in The Hive and thus, Slivers create their strength by working together in numbers. Each sliver is a "Lord" or "Pseudo-Lord" in that it adds abilities and power to itself as well as to all other Slivers on the battlefield. Slivers have enjoyed success in Modern, and are well known in both Legacy and Commander. In Pauper, there are 43 Sliver creatures (of the total 96 that have been created) that are legal, providing enough tribal power and spice to be competitive. As of late-April 2016, Slivers had a 2.13% (11th place) of the metagame on MTGGoldfish, and Slivers regularly place 5 or more times per month with 5-0 record in the MTGO Pauper League. Slivers also placed 10th (out of more than 70 decks) in The Pauper Gauntlet Season 03, by MagicGatheringStrat (thanks Brennon for brewing the deck and Dan for piloting it).
Why play Slivers?
Slivers are for pilots who like aggro play by dumping a continuous stream of creatures that overwhelm and out-value the opponent with the abilities of each creature, with just the right amount of spice to thwart many various decks. The flexibility and resilience of slivers can't be matched. Most of all, Slivers are just fun!
How to Play the Deck
Since it is an aggro deck, Slivers demand that the pilot quickly develops and then keeps a steady threat on the board, forcing the opponent to deal with the threat rather than develop his/her own play strategy. Use non-creature spells to pump and/or protect your Slivers (especially your "Lords") or your life total as well as disrupt your opponent.
2. Deck Color Choices
Largely due to the limitations of Lands choices in the pauper format, aggro decks tend to be mono-colored (think Elves or Goblins). Slivers don't have enough creatures in any single color to be able to work their synergistic magic, and so a deck must be at least 2 colors. Going more than 2 colors brings unreliability with mana, negatively impacting the ability to cast creatures on turns 1 and 2, as the aggro deck requires.
As will be seen in Section 4, below, very competitive decks can be built - usually in GW. But there are examples of other 2+ color decks that are fun to play. GW Slivers has been competitive because it has 12 traditional Lords (pumping each Sliver +1/+1) in the deck, along with other Slivers with some very relevant abilities like flanking, extra toughness, reach, poisonous and vigilance. The curve is low with no creature or spell with more than 2cmc. Adding R brings more power and a greater suite of cards for removal. Go U for evasion (flying & shroud), as well as tempo/card advantage and counterspells. Go B for the best removals and regeneration. Simple searches on MTG Salvation or Google bring many decks to light up to 5 colors! Go for power or go for spice....Give them all a try!
Author's Note: Most of the focus in the next sections will be on GW decks, as most of the information and results are with Selesnya Slivers
3. Card Choices
A typical deck will play 20-22 Lands, 28-32 Slivers, and 7-10 other Spells.
LANDS
Decks mostly include Basic Lands as mana sources. Non-basic Lands, which follow, are important to help smooth out the deck. Again, examples are given in GW, while the other color combinations are available for each Land type. It is important to remember that all Pauper-legal Slivers require only 1 colored mana, so colorless or off-color mana is useful.
Non-Basic Lands Usually Seen
Blossoming Sands - This Lifegain tapland is usually a 2-4 of in decks.
Selesnya Guildgate - A Gateland is usually ONLY used when you need more than 4 dual color lands as addition to Blossoming Sands. It otherwise adds no ETB effect, so not as good.
Crumbling Vestige - A useful card that some use instead of dual lands to ensure having a land that can be tapped for mana on turn 1. Useful also in 2+ color decks to handle the color splash.
There are also other 2- and 3- color lands that are legal in Pauper. They tend to be too slow though in practice. There also are specialty lands, especially in B that have great ETB effects, such as Bojuka Bog.
SLIVERS
Generally, most decks play around 30 Slivers main. Have seen as many as 33 and as few as 25. Threat density is critical to Slivers.
Be mindful that earlier edition Slivers provide abilities to ALL Slivers on the battlefield, including those of an opponent, while more recent Slivers affect only Slivers you control. This is important for the mirror match, as well as against opponents who play shapeshifters.
Metallic Sliver - Basic 1/1 Artifact Sliver, useful to protect other ability slivers from edicts and very easy to cast, being colorless
SUPPORT CARDS
A typical deck will have 7-10 (sometimes more) flex spots to either buff or protect your slivers or your life totals, while providing disruption to opponent through removal, counters, etc.
One particular weakness of the Pauper-legal Slivers is no access to a Sliver that gives Lifelink, so this can be addressed in the support cards.
Finally, again the focus will be on GW deck cards, but there are so many options in other colors as well as in GW, so experiment!
These creatures are almost always in Sideboard, as 3- or 4-of. Standard Bearer - Handle decks that try to buff their creatures like Hexproof and Infect. Also helpful to direct removal away from Slivers. Obsidian Acolyte - [mana]W[/mana:]Protection from Black. Crimson Acolyte - W: Protection from Red. Scattershot Archer - Shoot down fliers. Also useful to protect your Slivers from edicts. Gorilla Shaman - Great against artifact-based decks, like Affinity and Cyborgs
Hive Stirrings - For 3 mana, puts two slivers onto the battlefield that gain all abilities of rest of Slivers already there. In almost all decks as 2- to 4-of. Great to provide continual threat density as well as to go wide, or provide fodder for edicts or chump blocking. Sunlance - The WLightning Bolt. Too bad its at sorcery speed, but still can be awesome particularly against Blue Decks. Gleeful Sabotage - great against decks with enchantments or artifacts. Has conspire to get 2 hits in a turn. Can even free up a sliver that has been Journeyed by opponent. Commune with Nature - Useful when you need to draw a Sliver mid to late game (topdecking war). Peach Garden Oath - Lifegain.
Vines of Vastwood - In most decks as 2- to 4-of. Provides protection and pump. Can also be used to stop opponent from pumping own creatures. Thrill of the Hunt - Used effectively to take Slivers out of Bolt range or targeted hits against toughness, like with Chittering Rats, or to pump to kill an opponent's creature in battle. Not as good as Vines, since it doesn't help against straight removal, such as Doom Blade. Hunger of the Howlpack - Buffs creature with +1/+1 counter, or more if a creature died this turn. Mutagenic Growth - Phyrexian mana cost can provide great surprise to opponent as you buff after tapping out. Sigil Blessing - strong pump for target creature and other creatures on battlefield you control Luminescent Rain - Lifegain for each creature of yours on battlefield Prismatic Strands - Prevent damage plus flashback Moment's Peace - Prevent Damage plus flashback Apostle's Blessing - Prevent damage, using phyrexian mana Wrap in Vigor - Regenerate your creatures Gut Shot - use phyrexian mana to shoot down that 1/1 creature. Great against Infect and Delver decks Aerial Volley - another card to shoot down fliers Patrician's Scorn - Great against hexproof or other enchantment-heavy decks Tangle - avoid damage and keep opponent's attacking creatures tapped Sundering Growth - another card to remove artifact or enchantment, PLUS put a copy of a token on the battlefield (great after playing sliver hive) Leave No Trace - enchantment board wipe by color (careful as it could also remove enchantments you control if they share same color)
You can find his Youtube channel here for Tech Deck and some matches, and in comments there are sideboard recommendations for this deck: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkFEU4Vj90w
6. Match-ups
I can honestly say that Slivers is almost always competitive in every match-up. Slivers are best when you can get a fast start and maintain that presence.
As an aggro deck, Slivers can struggle in grindy match-ups, especially against control decks that just start picking off the Slivers leaving you with 1 or 2 only at a time. So, for control, we need to start out fast and get ahead of removal that relies on hitting toughness or in case of black, having creatures to sacrifice to edicts while maintaining stable board. Dimir Control is a very tough match-up, especially with Evincar's Justice
My experience is pretty well against midrangy games, or decks that can start slow, like Tron. I have a positive record as well against Angler Delver. Slivers can handle Hexproof, infect and heroic with its solid Sideboard answers.
Mono-U and Burn can be very troublesome. Mono-U has too many answers in counterspells and creatures. We need to sometimes draw out counters on less important creatures or instants in order to then get them to tap out. For Burn, we need to get enough creatures on the board that opponent starts shifting spells away from your face and towards the creatures, to buy you time to get in for damage.
Elves and Goblins are very fast and matches can go either way. Whoever is on the play has a huge advantage.
I have played only 1 mirror match. Key was avoiding playing Slivers that pump ALL Slivers,in favor of the ones that pump only your own. MY opponent played 2 Sinew Slivers and set me ahead. Usually the player on the play will win the race....
Acknowledgements - I am grateful to MagicGatheringStrat (http://magicgatheringstrat.com/) folks for their commitment to Pauper. Also grateful to JPoJohnson who created the latest Modern Slivers Primer on Slivers for his layout which served as the basis for this one.
Good luck! Would you post your deck list?
Congrats!
4 Blossoming Sands
3 Evolving Wilds
6 Forest
7 Plains
Creatures
4 Muscle Sliver
4 Plated Sliver
4 Predatory Sliver
3 Sentinel Sliver
4 Sidewinder Sliver
4 Sinew Sliver
2 Spinneret Sliver
4 Virulent Sliver
4 Vines of Vastwood
3 Hive Stirrings
4 Journey to Nowhere
1 Circle of Protection: Green
2 Circle of Protection: Red
1 Leave No Trace
4 Scattershot Archer
3 Sundering Growth
2 Sunlance
2 Tangle
Congrats to DrumDevil!
4 Blossoming Sands
7 Forest
1 Tranquil Thicket
7 Plains
1 Secluded Steppe
Creatures
4 Muscle Sliver
4 Plated Sliver
4 Predatory Sliver
3 Sentinel Sliver
4 Sidewinder Sliver
4 Sinew Sliver
1 Spinneret Sliver
4 Virulent Sliver
2 Hive Stirrings
4 Journey to Nowhere
4 Vines of Vastwood
2 Thrill of the Hunt
1 Circle of Protection: Green
2 Circle of Protection: Red
1 Hive Stirrings
1 Leave No Trace
2 Natural State
4 Scattershot Archer
2 Sundering Growth
2 Sunlance
Hi thanks for idea, and I will give it a try. I am also experimenting with Evolving Wilds and Terramorphic Expanse in my GW build as way of fetching specific basic land color I may be missing. Always a balance....
Here is a link to his Deck Tech from beginning of this year: http://www.gatheringmagic.com/insidethedeck-012816-inside-the-deck-modern-slivers-deck-tech/
Most of the cards he just played are also in that deck, including Screeching Sliver. He has milled opponents with it, but also buried cards that were left on top to defeat opponent's scrying. I personally like the spice of multiple sliver effects; his is a bit more of toolbox set, but his results speak for themselves.
3 Blur Sliver
2 Darkheart Sliver
3 Diffusion Sliver
4 Galerider Sliver
4 Manaweft Sliver
2 Necrotic Sliver
4 Predatory Sliver
4 Sedge Sliver
1 Sentinel Sliver
4 Sinew Sliver
1 Swamp
4 Cavern of Souls
1 Godless Shrine
4 Mutavault
1 Overgrown Tomb
4 Sliver Hive
3 Verdant Catacombs
1 Watery Grave
4 Aether Vial
4 Collected Company
1 Spellskite
1 Cautery Sliver
2 Frenetic Sliver
1 Gemhide Sliver
3 Harmonic Sliver
1 Homing Sliver
1 Screeching Sliver
1 Syphon Sliver
1 Telekinetic Sliver
2 Warping Wail
1 Sliver Hivelord
I stopped playing modern a while ago due to the Eldrazi Winter instead having a great time with Pauper Slivers. Timba's deck reminds me a bit of playing pauper. I have found that even at its worst, opponents tend to want to remove Virulent Sliver on site, which means we are effectively protecting our lords. Deck can be very fast, so will give it a try as well. I may consider cutting one Leeching Sliver for an added Vial.
Thanks for the comment.
Regrettably, Galerider Sliver is not Pauper-legal. It's not a Common.
Last updated 11/11/16
Contents
1. Introduction
2. Deck Color Choices
3. Card Choices
4. Sample Decks, Deck Techs & Results
5. Decks that have Gone 5-0 in MTGO Pauper League
6. Match-ups
1. Introduction
Slivers are a tribal archetype first appearing in 1997 in Tempest, and then again in 2003 (Legions), 2006 (Time Spiral) and further, in Magic2014 & Magic2015. Each Sliver has a particular role to play in The Hive and thus, Slivers create their strength by working together in numbers. Each sliver is a "Lord" or "Pseudo-Lord" in that it adds abilities and power to itself as well as to all other Slivers on the battlefield. Slivers have enjoyed success in Modern, and are well known in both Legacy and Commander. In Pauper, there are 43 Sliver creatures (of the total 96 that have been created) that are legal, providing enough tribal power and spice to be competitive. As of late-April 2016, Slivers had a 2.13% (11th place) of the metagame on MTGGoldfish, and Slivers regularly place 5 or more times per month with 5-0 record in the MTGO Pauper League. Slivers also placed 10th (out of more than 70 decks) in The Pauper Gauntlet Season 03, by MagicGatheringStrat (thanks Brennon for brewing the deck and Dan for piloting it).
Why play Slivers?
Slivers are for pilots who like aggro play by dumping a continuous stream of creatures that overwhelm and out-value the opponent with the abilities of each creature, with just the right amount of spice to thwart many various decks. The flexibility and resilience of slivers can't be matched. Most of all, Slivers are just fun!
How to Play the Deck
Since it is an aggro deck, Slivers demand that the pilot quickly develops and then keeps a steady threat on the board, forcing the opponent to deal with the threat rather than develop his/her own play strategy. Use non-creature spells to pump and/or protect your Slivers (especially your "Lords") or your life total as well as disrupt your opponent.
2. Deck Color Choices
Largely due to the limitations of Lands choices in the pauper format, aggro decks tend to be mono-colored (think Elves or Goblins). Slivers don't have enough creatures in any single color to be able to work their synergistic magic, and so a deck must be at least 2 colors. Going more than 2 colors brings unreliability with mana, negatively impacting the ability to cast creatures on turns 1 and 2, as the aggro deck requires.
As will be seen in Section 4, below, very competitive decks can be built - usually in GW. But there are examples of other 2+ color decks that are fun to play. GW Slivers has been competitive because it has 12 traditional Lords (pumping each Sliver +1/+1) in the deck, along with other Slivers with some very relevant abilities like flanking, extra toughness, reach, poisonous and vigilance. The curve is low with no creature or spell with more than 2cmc. Adding R brings more power and a greater suite of cards for removal. Go U for evasion (flying & shroud), as well as tempo/card advantage and counterspells. Go B for the best removals and regeneration. Simple searches on MTG Salvation or Google bring many decks to light up to 5 colors! Go for power or go for spice....Give them all a try!
Author's Note: Most of the focus in the next sections will be on GW decks, as most of the information and results are with Selesnya Slivers
3. Card Choices
A typical deck will play 20-22 Lands, 28-32 Slivers, and 7-10 other Spells.
LANDS
Decks mostly include Basic Lands as mana sources. Non-basic Lands, which follow, are important to help smooth out the deck. Again, examples are given in GW, while the other color combinations are available for each Land type. It is important to remember that all Pauper-legal Slivers require only 1 colored mana, so colorless or off-color mana is useful.
Non-Basic Lands Usually Seen
There are also other 2- and 3- color lands that are legal in Pauper. They tend to be too slow though in practice. There also are specialty lands, especially in B that have great ETB effects, such as Bojuka Bog.
Generally, most decks play around 30 Slivers main. Have seen as many as 33 and as few as 25. Threat density is critical to Slivers.
Be mindful that earlier edition Slivers provide abilities to ALL Slivers on the battlefield, including those of an opponent, while more recent Slivers affect only Slivers you control. This is important for the mirror match, as well as against opponents who play shapeshifters.
Sidewinder Sliver - Flanking
Sinew Sliver - Classic Lord gives +1/+1
Sentinel Sliver - Vigilance
Plated Sliver - +0/+1
Talon Sliver - First Strike
Also look at Poultice Sliver & Watcher Sliver for other abilities.
Virulent Sliver - Virulent 1
Predatory Sliver - +1/+1
Gemhide Sliver - Tap: Add any color mana
Muscle Sliver - Another Lord +1/+1
Spinneret Sliver - Reach
Quick Sliver - All Slivers have flash
Also look at Horned Sliver or Reflex Sliver
Striking Sliver - First Strike
Two-Headed Sliver - Menace.
Heart Sliver - Haste
Hunter Sliver - Provoke, which combos very well with flanking.
Homing Sliver - Slivercyling 3, fetch that key sliver from your library into your hand
Bonesplitter Sliver - +2/0
Winged Slivers - Flying.
Shadow Sliver - Slivers gain shadow
Also look at Screeching Sliver & Mesmeric Sliver
Crypt Sliver - Tap a Sliver to regenerate another.
Clot Sliver - regenerate target Sliver
Also look at Frenzy Sliver & Mindlash Sliver
Metallic Sliver - Basic 1/1 Artifact Sliver, useful to protect other ability slivers from edicts and very easy to cast, being colorless
A typical deck will have 7-10 (sometimes more) flex spots to either buff or protect your slivers or your life totals, while providing disruption to opponent through removal, counters, etc.
One particular weakness of the Pauper-legal Slivers is no access to a Sliver that gives Lifelink, so this can be addressed in the support cards.
Finally, again the focus will be on GW deck cards, but there are so many options in other colors as well as in GW, so experiment!
These creatures are almost always in Sideboard, as 3- or 4-of.
Standard Bearer - Handle decks that try to buff their creatures like Hexproof and Infect. Also helpful to direct removal away from Slivers.
Obsidian Acolyte - [mana]W[/mana:]Protection from Black.
Crimson Acolyte - W: Protection from Red.
Scattershot Archer - Shoot down fliers. Also useful to protect your Slivers from edicts.
Gorilla Shaman - Great against artifact-based decks, like Affinity and Cyborgs
Hive Stirrings - For 3 mana, puts two slivers onto the battlefield that gain all abilities of rest of Slivers already there. In almost all decks as 2- to 4-of. Great to provide continual threat density as well as to go wide, or provide fodder for edicts or chump blocking.
Sunlance - The WLightning Bolt. Too bad its at sorcery speed, but still can be awesome particularly against Blue Decks.
Gleeful Sabotage - great against decks with enchantments or artifacts. Has conspire to get 2 hits in a turn. Can even free up a sliver that has been Journeyed by opponent.
Commune with Nature - Useful when you need to draw a Sliver mid to late game (topdecking war).
Peach Garden Oath - Lifegain.
Vines of Vastwood - In most decks as 2- to 4-of. Provides protection and pump. Can also be used to stop opponent from pumping own creatures.
Thrill of the Hunt - Used effectively to take Slivers out of Bolt range or targeted hits against toughness, like with Chittering Rats, or to pump to kill an opponent's creature in battle. Not as good as Vines, since it doesn't help against straight removal, such as Doom Blade.
Hunger of the Howlpack - Buffs creature with +1/+1 counter, or more if a creature died this turn.
Mutagenic Growth - Phyrexian mana cost can provide great surprise to opponent as you buff after tapping out.
Sigil Blessing - strong pump for target creature and other creatures on battlefield you control
Luminescent Rain - Lifegain for each creature of yours on battlefield
Prismatic Strands - Prevent damage plus flashback
Moment's Peace - Prevent Damage plus flashback
Apostle's Blessing - Prevent damage, using phyrexian mana
Wrap in Vigor - Regenerate your creatures
Gut Shot - use phyrexian mana to shoot down that 1/1 creature. Great against Infect and Delver decks
Aerial Volley - another card to shoot down fliers
Patrician's Scorn - Great against hexproof or other enchantment-heavy decks
Tangle - avoid damage and keep opponent's attacking creatures tapped
Sundering Growth - another card to remove artifact or enchantment, PLUS put a copy of a token on the battlefield (great after playing sliver hive)
Leave No Trace - enchantment board wipe by color (careful as it could also remove enchantments you control if they share same color)
Journey to Nowhere - Best removal. Usually at least 3-of combined between Main and Sideboard.
Rancor - pump that keeps returning for more.
Armadillo Cloak - For pump and all-important Lifelink.
Circle of Protection: Green - For W: Protection from Green
Circle of Protection: Red - For W: Protection from Red
Relic of Progenitus - Great against graveyard decks.
4. Sample Decks, Deck Techs, and Results
GW Decks
This Deck was piloted by Dan of MagicGatheringStrat to 10th place in Season 3 of the Pauper Gauntlet. See deck and Sideboard Guide plus 2 Alternate deck lists: https://deckbox.org/sets/1261139. See videos of matches: http://magicgatheringstrat.com/the-pauper-gauntlet-season-three/
4 Blossoming Sands
9 Forest
9 Plains
Creatures (31)
4 Sidewinder Sliver
4 Plated Sliver
4 Virulent Sliver
4 Sinew Sliver
4 Muscle Sliver
4 Predatory Sliver
4 Sentinel Sliver
3 Spinneret Sliver
4 Hive Stirrings
3 Vines of Vastwood
3 Standard Bearer
3 Prismatic Strands
3 Gleeful Sabotage
3 Moment's Peace
3 Journey to Nowhere
See Deck Tech and Sample games: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5TrhXqlJQY
4 Blossoming Sands
7 Forest
7 Plains
1 Secluded Steppe
1 Tranquil Thicket
Creatures (28)
4 Sidewinder Sliver
4 Plated Sliver
4 Virulent Sliver
4 Sinew Sliver
4 Muscle Sliver
4 Predatory Sliver
4 Sentinel Sliver
3 Hive Stirrings
4 Thrill of the Hunt
1 Sunlance
2 Sigil Blessing
2 Journey to Nowhere
4 Lone Missionary
2 Journey to Nowhere
2 Spinneret Sliver
3 Sunlance
1 Armadillo Cloak
2 Dust to Dust
1 Sundering Growth
This deck is one of several that have gone 5-0 in Pauper League in Spring 2016
2 Secluded Steppe
4 Blossoming Sands
7 Forest
7 Plains
Creatures (30)
3 Sentinel Sliver
3 Spinneret Sliver
4 Muscle Sliver
4 Plated Sliver
4 Predatory Sliver
4 Sidewinder Sliver
4 Sinew Sliver
4 Virulent Sliver
3 Journey to Nowhere
2 Thrill of the Hunt
3 Vines of Vastwood
2 Hive Stirrings
4 Scattershot Archer
2 Prismatic Strands
4 Obsidian Acolyte
4 Gleeful Sabotage
1 Hive Stirrings
You can find his Youtube channel here for Tech Deck and some matches, and in comments there are sideboard recommendations for this deck: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkFEU4Vj90w
4 Blossoming Sands
4 Selesnya Guildgate
4 Crumbling Vestige
3 Forest
1 Plains
Creatures (30)
4 Metallic Sliver
4 Sidewinder Sliver
4 Plated Sliver
4 Virulent Sliver
4 Sinew Sliver
4 Muscle Sliver
4 Predatory Sliver
2 Spinneret Sliver
4 Mutagenic Growth
3 Vines of Vastwood
3 Commune with Nature
4 Journey to Nowhere
3 Peach Garden Oath
3 Aerial Volley
3 Young Wolf
3 Armadillo Cloak
3 Gleeful Sabotage
3 & 5 Color Decks
2x Gemhide Sliver
4x Muscle Sliver
4x Plated Sliver
4x Predatory Sliver
2x Sentinel Sliver
2x Sidewinder Sliver
4x Sinew Sliver
2x Talon Sliver
3x Winged Sliver
2x Azorius Guildgate
4x Forest
5x Island
5x Plains
2x Selesnya Guildgate
2x Simic Guildgate
Instant (4)
4x Dispel
Sorcery (6)
3x Distant Melody
3x Ponder
3x Journey to Nowhere
3x Holy Light
4x Unsummon
4x Intervene
4x Sunlance
OR see another version piloted by Dan of MagicGathering Strat on youtube against Nightsky Mimic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uI1I4OKnzC8
Link: http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/gwr-hunter-slivers/
4x Hunter Sliver
4x Muscle Sliver
4x Plated Sliver
4x Predatory Sliver
1x Sentinel Sliver
4x Sidewinder Sliver
4x Sinew Sliver
1x Spinneret Sliver
3x Striking Sliver
Land (20)
4x Blossoming Sands
4x Forest
4x Mountain
4x Plains
4x Terramorphic Expanse
4x Lightning Bolt
2x Ranger's Guile
2x Sigil Blessing
Sorcery (3)
3x Commune with Nature
2x Circle of Protection: Green
2x Circle of Protection: Red
2x Gorilla Shaman
2x Patrician's Scorn
4x Pyroblast
Maybeboard (8)
1x Ancient Grudge
1x Bonesplitter Sliver
1x Gemhide Sliver
1x Heart Sliver
1x Hive Stirrings
1x Journey to Nowhere
1x Spinneret Sliver
1x Vines of Vastwood
4 Swamp
5 Forest
5 Plains
3 Jungle Hollow
3 Crypt Sliver
2 Frenzy Sliver
3 Gemhide Sliver
4 Muscle Sliver
3 Plated Sliver
4 Predatory Sliver
3 Sentinel Sliver
3 Sidewinder Sliver
4 Sinew Sliver
3 Talon Sliver
4 Virulent Sliver
2 Aphetto Dredging
3 Doom Blade
3 Mana Tithe
3 Sandstorm
3 Spinneret Sliver
3 Temporal Isolation
AEMarling is a successful Modern Slivers pilot giving his take on 5-color deck. Link: http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/24-02-16-5c-slivers/
3x Bonesplitter Sliver
3x Crypt Sliver
4x Gemhide Sliver
2x Heart Sliver
4x Metallic Sliver
4x Muscle Sliver
3x Plated Sliver
4x Predatory Sliver
3x Sentinel Sliver
4x Sinew Sliver
1x Watcher Sliver
3x Winged Sliver
3x Blossoming Sands
4x Crumbling Vestige
6x Forest
4x Holdout Settlement
4x Plains
Instant (1)
1x Thrill of the Hunt
2x Circle of Protection: Green
1x Crypt Sliver
3x Gorilla Shaman
2x Hunter Sliver
3x Journey to Nowhere
2x Sunlance
2x Watcher Sliver
3x Congregate
3x Divine Offering
1x Gleeful Sabotage
1x Quick Sliver
4x Sidewinder Sliver
2x Spreading Seas
5. Decks that have gone 5-0 in MTGO Pauper League
ALSO SEE THREADS BELOW WHERE 5-0 LEAGUE RESULTS ARE POSTED
4 Blossoming Sands
7 Forest
1 Tranquil Thicket
7 Plains
1 Secluded Steppe
Creatures
4 Muscle Sliver
4 Plated Sliver
4 Predatory Sliver
3 Sentinel Sliver
4 Sidewinder Sliver
4 Sinew Sliver
1 Spinneret Sliver
4 Virulent Sliver
2 Hive Stirrings
4 Journey to Nowhere
4 Vines of Vastwood
2 Thrill of the Hunt
1 Circle of Protection: Green
2 Circle of Protection: Red
1 Hive Stirrings
1 Leave No Trace
2 Natural State
4 Scattershot Archer
2 Sundering Growth
2 Sunlance
6. Match-ups
I can honestly say that Slivers is almost always competitive in every match-up. Slivers are best when you can get a fast start and maintain that presence.
As an aggro deck, Slivers can struggle in grindy match-ups, especially against control decks that just start picking off the Slivers leaving you with 1 or 2 only at a time. So, for control, we need to start out fast and get ahead of removal that relies on hitting toughness or in case of black, having creatures to sacrifice to edicts while maintaining stable board. Dimir Control is a very tough match-up, especially with Evincar's Justice
My experience is pretty well against midrangy games, or decks that can start slow, like Tron. I have a positive record as well against Angler Delver. Slivers can handle Hexproof, infect and heroic with its solid Sideboard answers.
Mono-U and Burn can be very troublesome. Mono-U has too many answers in counterspells and creatures. We need to sometimes draw out counters on less important creatures or instants in order to then get them to tap out. For Burn, we need to get enough creatures on the board that opponent starts shifting spells away from your face and towards the creatures, to buy you time to get in for damage.
Elves and Goblins are very fast and matches can go either way. Whoever is on the play has a huge advantage.
I have played only 1 mirror match. Key was avoiding playing Slivers that pump ALL Slivers,in favor of the ones that pump only your own. MY opponent played 2 Sinew Slivers and set me ahead. Usually the player on the play will win the race....
Acknowledgements - I am grateful to MagicGatheringStrat (http://magicgatheringstrat.com/) folks for their commitment to Pauper. Also grateful to JPoJohnson who created the latest Modern Slivers Primer on Slivers for his layout which served as the basis for this one.