If you like creatures that share a hive mind and share their abilities to continuously evolve and grow stronger, then Sliver Tribal is the right deck for you. Let’s see how to complete the ultimate evolution: to conquer death.
I love tribal decks because they combine synergy and flavor and of course power. On top of that you can find many unique cards that support a tribe and can be great budget options as those cards work only on a specific tribal deck and are bad to unplayable to any other deck. That’s why I will try building and presenting a series of decks for all those who share the love for tribal decks.
Slivers are creatures that share a hive mind, which allows them to share their abilities with other nearby slivers. Cards with the creature type Sliver have an ability or characteristic that they share with other slivers. Early slivers share with all slivers in play, while later slivers only affect the player’s side of the board. (source: MtG Wiki)
There are six 5-colored (
) Slivers that can lead the tribe, each with its own strength and you can’t go wrong with any of them, but for the current Sliver Tribal we will try to build the deck around Sliver Gravemother which is a fresh addition and offers Slivers some unique playstyle and consistency without compromising their evolving power but only amplifying it. In fact, Sliver Gravemother finally completed the ultimate evolution: to conquer death. She gives all Slivers in our graveyard Encore
, where X is their mana value, making our deck a graveyard recursion evolution miracle, without adding any graveyard recursion cards! In addition, she has “The legend rule doesn’t apply to Slivers you control” so we can make mulliple copies even from our best Legendary Slivers and that can create some explosive plays! Even if you think that the deck is too dependant on her, she has Encore
making her easy to return after death, avoiding command tax (and if you read further this article, we have even ways to avoid sacrificing her and her copies).
The Commander Masters Commander Deck Sliver Swarm, is a great starting point for building Sliver Tribal since it features a 5-color Sliver Tribal preconstructed Commander deck. Of course, there is plenty of space for upgrades. Although you can call this article a precon upgrade, you can start from zero and buy singles. The optimal building option depends on the price and availability of the cards.
P.S. : For now Sliver Queen is the only Sliver completely out of reach (for budget reasons), so it is left out of our build. Hope one day she will find a way in our deck.
Synergy Diagram
I always like to make a simple synergy diagram in order to deeply comprehend the potential and the strategy areas that are supported by the commander when I choose top-down building. But in some cases, I do a mix of top-down and bottom-up building.
In our Sliver Tribal build there is a mechanic that is spread through Sliver Gravemother to all the tribe. That mechanic is Encore. In our case we can build a subtheme on our deck giving it more depth, without sacrificing its tribal focus.
Let’s analyze the main goals of the deck:
- Add the best Slivers. Our priority is to add the ones with powerful abilities (card draw, ramp, removal, etc.) and abilities that have Encore synergy.
- Add Sliver Tribal support. The majority of Slivers support other Slivers, they are the pinnacle of Tribal support.
- Add Encore synergy cards. Since Sliver Gravemother gives all our Slivers Encore, cards that synergize with Encore are very strong in our build.
- Add cards that synergize with our strategies. To make the best out of our strategies, we can further amplify them by adding cards that support many of our strategies.
For the sake of flavor some of the choices are not optimal, but are (usually budget friendly) alternatives that greatly fit the Sliver Tribal theme.
The deck:
Sliver Tribal
Comparative Analysis
Let’s see how the deck compares to the general ratios of my deckbuilding guide.
37 Lands
15 Ramp: Gemhide Sliver , Manaweft Sliver , Arcane Signet , Sol Ring , The First Sliver , Inga and Esika , Cultivate , Chromatic Lantern , Farseek , Rampant Growth , Patchwork Banner, Pillar of Origins, Mana Echoes, Herald’s Horn , Basal Sliver, Tarnation Vista
4 Target Removal: Harmonic Sliver , Necrotic Sliver , Thorncaster Sliver , Constricting Sliver
2 Board Wipes: Crippling Fear , Harsh Mercy
2 Graveyard Recursion: Sliver Gravemother , Patriarch’s Bidding
1 Graveyard Hate: Bojuka Bog
2 Tutors: Homing Sliver , Sliver Overlord
9 Protection: Crypt Sliver , Crystalline Sliver , Diffusion Sliver , Hibernation Sliver , Sedge Sliver , Sliver Hivelord, Obeka, Brute Chronologist, Sundial of the Infinite, Teferi’s Veil
11 Card Draw: Hollowhead Sliver , Realmwalker (kinda), Capricious Sliver , Regal Sliver , Synapse Sliver , The First Sliver (card advantage), Distant Melody , Inga and Esika , Herald’s Horn (kinda), Vanquisher’s Banner , Scattered Groves (1/2), Sheltered Thicket (1/2)
3 Finishers/ Surprise /Alternate win conditions: Shifting Sliver , Bonescythe Sliver , Sliver Legion
As we see from the comparative analysis, the rates per category are good except from target removal category where we see a big shortage of target removal options. That is the only score below the optimal low average while four categories are above the optimal max average. We see a great spike: Protection at 9, which is important since Sliver Tribal is a combat oriented deck.
Sliver Tribal is actually a deck that doesn’t focus on trying to remove the enemy threats but tries to be aggressive and kill the opponent players instead. Nevertheless, we should monitor the new sets for printing any new slivers that may help us reinforce our target removal.
Deck Highlights, synergy and flavor options:
Ramp
Manaweft Sliver and Gemhide Sliver are called the mana bombs of Sliver Tribal for a good reason. They turn all our Slivers into mana producers of any color and that help us quickly ramp ahead, supporting our aggressive strategy.
Chromatic Lantern is a great color fixing mana rock that is optimal in 5-colored decks such as our Sliver Tribal.
Inga and Esika give our creatures vigilance and turns them into mana producers for creature spells. Moreover, it also provides us with card draw as long as three or more mana from creatures was spent to cast it. It works greatly in creature tribal decks and has even bigger gravity in multicolored decks. Great synergy with our Sliver Tribal build.
The First Sliver is an amazing Legendrary Sliver that has Cascade and gives all Slivers Cascade. Cascade is a form of card advantage combined with ramp and randomness. Mass cascade makes Silver Tribal an unstoppable engine. One of the best Sliver cards available.
Mana Echoes is a powerful card that works wonders in any red creature tribal deck. In our Siver Tribal it has amazing synergy since we run many creatures and it greatly synergizes with Encore letting us gain an absurd amount of mana. Insane value for our build.
Herald’s Horn is great for every creature tribal deck. It works both as ramp and a kind of card draw, so it is very valuable.
Basal Sliver has amazing synergy with Encore since it offers us a way to gain 
from each of our temporary tokens before they get exiled, providing us with an amazing ramp source. Of course it works with our non-token Slivers providing us great ramp too, but also is a sacrifice outlet, offering us a way to get our Slivers into graveyard and return them with Encore for some explosive plays!
Tarnation Vista has great synergy with our Sliver Tribal as it works wonders in 5-color decks that have multiple monocolored creatures, providing a great mana boost.
Patchwork Banner is one of the best cards for Tribal builds as it combines ramp and tribal support. Being both a mana rock and a Tribal Anthem gives us amazing value for its mana cost. Of course it is a top pick for our Sliver Tribal!
Target Removal
Harmonic Sliver gives all our Slivers destroy artifact or enchantment on ETB, which is a very powerful ability. A must-have for Sliver Tribal.
Necrotic Sliver gives all our Slivers “
, Sacrifice this permanent: Destroy target permanent”. Another must-have for Sliver Tribal since it turns all our Slivers into target permanent removal. It also turns all our Slivers into sacrifice outlets and it has great synergy with Encore.
Thorncaster Sliver gives our Slivers ping damage (to target creature or player) on attack trigger. Free removal is always welcome and it also works great with Encore. With a big number of Slivers, dealing direct damage to player can also be a finisher move.
Constricting Sliver gives our Slivers “When this creature enters the battlefield, you may exile target creature an opponent controls until this creature leaves the battlefield”. Although not a permanent removal, it can give us the momentum and turn the tide to our favor. It also works with Encore, letting us make explosive swings.
Board Wipes
Crippling Fear is a great budget mass removal for tribal decks as it can clear the board of our opponents while leaving ours intact.
Harsh Mercy works greatly against non-Tribal decks as it almost becomes a one-sided board wipe, while it has almost no effect against creature Tribal decks.
Graveyard Recursion
Sliver Gravemother gives all Slivers Encore, making our Sliver Tribal a grave recursion deck without any need for grave recursion spells. Combined with the negation of the “legend rule” for our Slivers and with cards that either synergize with Encore (for example multiplying buffs/removal/ramp) or with cards that let us exploit it to the maximum (like cards that let us keep the tokens and avoid sacrificing them), it can give us explosive plays and unexpected advantage. With Sliver Gravemother, the hive has really evolved to conquer death!
Patriarch’s Bidding is one of the best graveyard recursion spells for tribal decks and a great backup plan for our Sliver Tribal.
Tutors
Homing Sliver is amazing for Sliver Tribal since it makes all our Slivers tutors by giving them Slivercycling. Discard also works as a quick way to fill our graveyard with the Slivers we need, only to recur them multiplied with Encore. One of the best cards for our deck!
Sliver Overlord is considered one of the best Slivers for leading the tribe for a good reason. It is a great Sliver tutor, as it can repeatedly tutor any Sliver from our library into our hand by paying . Its second ability is less relevant, but may prove useful in some cases, gaining control of target Sliver for . A must-have for Sliver Tribal.
Protection
Crypt Sliver gives all Slivers “
: Regenerate target Sliver” making it harder for our opponents to remove them. A nice protection for our Sliver Tribal.
Crystalline Sliver gives all Slivers shroud making it ideal for our Sliver Tribal as it offers total protection from target removal.
Diffusion Sliver protects our Slivers with an ability similar to providing Ward
to all Slivers: “Whenever a Sliver creature you control becomes the target of a spell or ability an opponent controls, counter that spell or ability unless its controller pays “. A nice protection ability for Sliver Tribal.
Hibernation Sliver gives all slivers the option of paying 2 life to return at instant speed to their owner’s hand. A small cost to pay for protecting our Slivers.
Sedge Sliver is a great pick for Sliver tribal since it both buffs all Slivers with +1/+1 as long as we control a swamp and offers protection by granting them “: Regenerate this creature”. Moreover it has great synergy with Encore (as long as we control a swamp) as with three copies, our creatures get +3/+3.
Sliver Hivelord is amazing for our Sliver Tribal since it makes Slivers we control indestructible. One of the best options for protection that greatly fits our combat oriented build.
Obeka, Brute Chronologist and Sundial of the Infinite are cards that have exciting synergy with our Sliver Tribal build. They synergize with Encore (and with Sliver Gravemother all our Slivers have Encore) in a most profitable way for us. We can end the turn before the beginning of our next end step keeping all the tokens for good. Combined with the “legend rule” negation for our Slivers with our commander on board, we can get insane value. Moreover, they can act as great protection options as they can end our turn in response to spells and abilities in the stack, negating them and granting us powerful utility. Some of my favorite additions for our deck.
Teferi’s Veil is another card that let us keep the tokens from Encore, but it has different utility. Unlike Obeka, Brute Chronologist and Sundial of the Infinite that protect our Slivers during our turn, it protects Slivers on our opponent’s turn, as after attacking they phase out at end of combat (that is before the beginning of our next end step, thus we are keeping all the tokens). Another one of my favorite picks for our Sliver Tribal.
Card Draw
Synapse Sliver and Capricious Sliver are great card draw engines for our combat oriented Sliver Tribal deck, since they let us gain card advantage whenever a Sliver deals combat damage to a player. Synapse Sliver let us draw a card while Capricious Sliver offers impulse draw.
Hollowhead Sliver works wonders in our Sliver Tribal build since it turns all our Slivers into card draw engines, while at the same time they feed our graveyard, creating fertile ground for explosive plays with Encore.
Regal Sliver introduces the monarch mechanic to Sliver Tribal and we can get great value by keep being the monarch, by the form of a temporary +1/+1 buff on Sliver ETB and help with card draw.
Realmwalker and Herald’s Horn are great in any kind of creature tribal decks and of course in Sliver tribal they can shine because of the creature-heavy theme, giving us great card advantage.
As we have already analized, The First Sliver give us tremendous card advantage and is one of the top cards for Sliver Tribal.
Distant Melody is great in any creature tribal deck with blue color as all of them run a respectable number of creatures, thus providing us with a high number of cards drawn.
Vanquisher’s Banner is an exceptional card draw source for tribal decks and on top of that it buffs our Slivers with +1/+1.
Finishers/ Surprise /Alternate win conditions
Sliver Legion is one of the most powerful Slivers as it greatly buffs all Slivers to the point where any swing can prove fatal. In our build it get even scarier, as if we recur it with Encore with the abilities granted by Sliver Gravemother, we can have three copies and a most explosive situation, as our Slivers will get buffed with (X-1)x3 where X is the number of Slivers we control and X≥4 (Sliver Gravemother and three Sliver Legion copy tokens). Astounding interaction with Encore on our Sliver Tribal build.
Shifting Sliver makes our Slivers unblockable (except by Slivers) and that is very strong in a combat oriented creature tribal deck like our Sliver Tribal.
Bonescythe Sliver gives our Slivers double strike which is also powerful in a combat oriented creature tribal deck like our Sliver Tribal.
Other synergy pieces
Great Slivers
There are many Slivers with useful and powerful keyword abilities, but we can’t include all Slivers in a 100 card deck, so we must choose only the best ones (that give us the best value per mana spent). Those keyword abilities are shared among Slivers, making them ideal for building a Sliver Tribal deck.
Virulent Sliver deserves a special mention since it gives all Sliver poisonous 1. It has great synergy with Encore as we get three instances of Poisonous 1 (equal to Poisonous 3), meaning we can easily oneshot opponents out of nowhere. It is the hidden finisher of our Sliver Tribal.
Hatchery Sliver is a Sliver Tribal multiplier as long as we have enough mana to spend. It gives our Slivers Replicate
and can greatly help us go wide. A great choice for our build.
Muscle Sliver, Predatory Sliver, Sinew Sliver and Megantic Sliver help buffing our Slivers but also have great synergy with Encore as their passive effects are adding up (giving us tripled the buff for our Slivers), making them explosive and potential finishers. Top picks for our Sliver Tribal build.
Lazotep Sliver gives our Slivers afflict 2 which is a great way of draining our opponents in Sliver Tribal. In addition it has “Whenever a nontoken Sliver you control dies, amass Slivers 2”, which is a nice way to get some value from our fallen Slivers.
Taunting Sliver gives our Slivers the ability to goad target creature an opponents controls on ETB, which is a quite strong ability in Sliver Tribal as it may work as an alternate way of target “removal” (it does not remove the threat but redirects it toward other opponents instead).
Brood Sliver is a great option for Sliver Tribal as it greatly help us multiply our Slivers by giving us the option to create a 1/1 colorless Sliver creature token whenever a Sliver deals combat damage to a player (which is very often in a combat oriented build).
Encore Cost Reducers : 2 cards
Embalmer’s Tools and Convergence of Dominion reduce the cost of Encore, letting us kinda ramp from the grave! Convergence of Dominion can even refill our grave with Milling three cards by paying ,. Must-have cards for our build as they give us amazing value!
Color Fixer Lands : 4 cards
Unclaimed Territory, Secluded Courtyard, Path of Ancestry and Sliver Hive are important color fixers for our 5-color identity. Sliver Hive can also create 1/1 colorless Sliver tokens by paying , and although the cost is overpriced, having a mana dumper that creates Slivers is a always important for our Sliver Tribal.
Let’s see some more statistics about our deck. Some important info to care about is the mana curve and the card type distribution, as it can help us understand better our deck and may indicate where there is space for improving it.
Mana Curve
The mana curve seems somewhat unbalanced and that is the result of many low mana cost Slivers. There is a great spike at position 2 and a smaller one at position 5 but also an absence of 7+ mana drops.
Card Type Distribution
The Sliver Tribal Card Type Distribution shows the dominant tribal creature-heavy theme with 45 creatures. All other categories have a smaller presence with Artifacts at 10, Sorceries at 6 and Enchantments at 2. No Instants, Planeswalkers or Battles are present for the time.
Of course statistics and comparative analysis are great tools but they don’t always tell the whole truth, since many factors like synergy and combo pieces are hard to be measured numerically. For example in this deck, with many of our strategies build around Sliver Gravemother , the Encore strategy is much more powerful and consistent than the statistics numbers shown.
Update v1 (Outlaws of Thunder Junction – The Big Score)
Update v2 (Bloomburrow)
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If you liked the deck, don’t forget to revisit the article after every major new release as I will try to keep my decks updated and examine any potential upgrades. If you want to keep being updated, you can follow mtgbudgetcommander.com on social media (facebook, twitter, instagram, pinterest, linkedin, reddit, tumblr, medium).
If you like my tribal series, you can check my other tribal decks.
