Highlander Magic

MagicPlayer Highlander => Deck Lists => Topic started by: cagain on 12-01-2012, 12:09:10 PM

Title: 5c Sliver Control
Post by: cagain on 12-01-2012, 12:09:10 PM
Cheers!

I've tried to make a new highlander deck besides the ordinary decklists. It should be tribal and Slivers were my favorites. So I was clear about the conditions. But I didn't want to make a "brain of – Sliver on".dec. It should have some kind of a new sense.

I decided to make a 5c Sliver-Control type, which allows me to use the permanent abilities of that tribe. So I put together some good tutors to have the right Sliver at the right time. Positive is that Slivers abilities last longer than a normal EtB-effect. In that case I have a little army over time and go beating my opponent. Furthermore, I wanted to use the graveyard as an additional Option.

Anyways, here is the deck:

Lands (35)
1x Taiga
1x Marsh Flats
1x Dragonskull Summit
1x Badlands
1x Arid Mesa
1x Tropical Island
1x Verdant Catacombs
1x Underground Sea
1x Volrath's Stronghold
1x Volcanic Island
1x City of Brass
1x Bayou
1x Forest
1x Plateau
1x Plains
1x Scrubland
1x Swamp
1x Savannah
1x Mountain
1x Bloodstained Mire
1x Island
1x Wooded Foothills
1x Woodland Cemetery
1x Flooded Strand
1x Hinterland Harbor
1x Windswept Heath
1x Maze of Ith
1x Polluted Delta
1x Sunpetal Grove
1x Dryad Arbor
1x Wasteland
1x Scalding Tarn
1x Drowned Catacomb
1x Tundra
1x Misty Rainforest

Creatures (31)
1x Rootbound Crag
1x Brood Sliver
1x Crypt Sliver
1x Shifting Sliver
1x Ward Sliver
1x Root Sliver
1x Winged Sliver
1x Opaline Sliver
1x Talon Sliver
1x Noble Hierarch
1x Quick Sliver
1x Toxin Sliver
1x Mnemonic Sliver
1x Synapse Sliver
1x Necrotic Sliver
1x Sliver Queen
1x Mindwhip Sliver
1x Birds of Paradise
1x Magma Sliver
1x Sliver Legion
1x Horned Sliver
1x Hibernation Sliver
1x Harmonic Sliver
1x Fauna Shaman
1x Heart Sliver
1x Pulmonic Sliver
1x Essence Sliver
1x Gemhide Sliver
1x Lotus Cobra
1x Homing Sliver
1x Acidic Sliver
1x Crystalline Sliver

Artifact (2)
1x Birthing Pod
1x Sensei's Divining Top

Enchantment (4)
1x Recurring Nightmare
1x Necromancy
1x Oversold Cemetery
1x Animate Dead

Instant (12)
1x Lightning Bolt
1x Brainstorm
1x Force of Will
1x Sudden Shock
1x Fire/Ice
1x Mana Drain
1x Path to Exile
1x Fact or Fiction
1x Swords to Plowshares
1x Eladamri's Call
1x Lightning Helix
1x Remand
1x Worldly Tutor

Sorceries (10)
1x Victimize
1x Chain Lightning
1x Green Sun's Zenith
1x Ancestral Vision
1x Demonic Tutor
1x Maelstrom Pulse
1x Tribal Flames
1x Vindicate
1x Duress
1x Thoughtseize

Planeswalker (4)
1x Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1x Garruk Wildspeaker
1x Ajani Vengeant
1x Elspeth, Knight-Errant


I'm not sure about some card choices. In first line Sudden Shock and Horned Sliver. Sudden Shock allows me to make two damage, but in a 5c deck it is not that necessary. Horned Sliver gives my creatures "only" trample, which is not that good, because my Slivers have less strength.

I think about to put in these cards as well:
- Aether Vial
- Sliversmith
- Mana Echoes (which is insane with Sliver Queen)
- Patriarchs Bidding
- Eternal Witness
- Regrowth
- Other Counterspells

My next question: Did I miss some good lands? Maybe one, which support me in my Sliver plan?

Bottom line: I have 12 targets for Isochron. Should I play it?

I thank you in advance and I hope, some people around here have some ideas and good cards to put in. :)
Title: Re: 5c Sliver Control
Post by: Fish on 13-01-2012, 03:23:26 PM
Hello there !
Some time back I thought about building Sliver deck but I never found out how the deck could work. The problem is that 5cc goodstuff or 5cc zoo will almost always be better than 5cc sliver deck. Why ? Because every card of that deck makes something on its own and is better than almost any creature in your deck. Slivers are dangerous in numbers but they dont have enough protection mechanisms to get things going. They have Crystalline Sliver that you need badly to protect your slivers from spot removal but there is no way you always have him when you need him (that is why I own 12 of them). Then Wrath effects completly ruin your day and it is very difficult for you to get back to the game. I see you have some kind of reanimation element in your deck but I don't see it working when you really need it.
Also the problem about sliver deck is that slivers don't have exact strategy and they are just too random. They can't be used as aggro deck cause they dont work for that plan. You mentioned that you want sliver control deck. Well, for me there is no way these two words work together. Slivers can't control your oponent in any way. Sliver deck is kind of swarm deck but it works only in legacy formats where you have 4 of each sliver you need, all of them are cc 2 so you can use your vial every time and you have counterspell backup. In highlander it is damn hard to build a deck like this especially for the reason why highlander is unique – there can be only one.

For better understanding I give you an example for what I mean. Compare following cards on their own:
Winged Sliver – Cloud of Fearies, Augury Owl, Floodbringer, Spellstutter Sprite
Muscle Sliver – Wild Mongrel, Kavu Predator, Nest Invader, Scavening Ooze
When you have both of them in play you have 2x 2/2 creature with flying.
When someone is playing red, for 3 mana, he plays Fire Imp and kills your Muscle Sliver and has 2 power on the ground against your  power in the air. Respectivelly he can kill your flyer and still have 2/1 ground unit able to block your muscle man.
I could give you similar example for each color probably.

I give you another example:
Your first 4 turns look like this:
Round 1: Plated Sliver (2/3, trample, lifelink)
Round 2: Muscle Sliver (2/3, trample, lifelink)
Round 3: Horned Sliver (3/4, trample, lifelink)
Round 4: Essence Sliver (4/5, trample, lifelink)
When your opponent does nothing till his round 5 (say he went first so he is not completly crippled) you did 2+4+7 (gained 7 life in the process) = 13 damage
Now lets say your oponent plays Shriekmaw. Suddenly you dont have your 4/5 beater. You have 7 damage worth of creatures and your oponent can still block your Muscle Sliver to humiliate your army even more and he is still not dying because your 7 damage are exactly necessary to kill him.
In red color your oponent can play Flametongue Kavu. He cant kill your lifelink hero and instead he kills your Muscle Sliver. Next Round you can do 6 damage which is not even enough to kill your oponent and he can block your Essence Sliver and you will have 1/2 trample and 2/3 trample retards.
I especially dont mention non-creature spells because in that case you would be screwed without a way of going back.

Everything I want to say is that slivers are only good in numbers and they suck big time on their own. When your oponent plays at least competetive highlander deck, you usually have very little chance of winning with creature spells.

I am not saying you shouldn't play sliver deck. I am just saying why I consider it very hard to build consistently and effectively.

I wish someone will give you good advice how to build sliver deck cause I am curious myself  if this deck really might work.

I also have to mention that Birthing Pod is really great card. But how great it is, that much it sucks in Sliver deck. Guess why. If you can't I tell you it is because it kills your man and gives you NO advantage since you terribly need that man who is , sadly, in your graveyard now.
And by the way, you are missing one of the best slivers in the deck – Chameleon Colossus.