By Melissa DeTora
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Melissa is a former Magic pro player and strategy writer who is now working in R&D on the Play Design team.
Just when I thought Modern was solved, Adam Bowman made Top 8 of the SCG Open in Cincinnati with an innovative Slivers deck. Slivers is a mechanic that has reappeared three times since its initial arrival in Tempest block. It was the backbone of a pretty strong deck, Counterslivers, but since then Slivers really hasn't been anything but fringe.
The cards that make the deck are definitely the Sliver lords, Sinew Sliver and Predatory Sliver. Manaweft Sliver also plays an important role, and when it's combined with Sentinel Sliver, you are able to attack while still adding mana and casting spells post-combat. Galerider Sliver ties everything together by giving your team flying, and similar to Merfolk, eventually your creatures will become too big to handle.
This deck is capable of some really cool plays, and it was fun seeing it in action in the coverage last weekend. I remember Adam played a Predatory Sliver on turn two and then passed his turn three without attacking and with three mana up. The commentators were a bit confused and wondered if he missed his attack, but on his opponent's turn, he Æther Vialed in a Manaweft Sliver, tapped his Predatory Sliver for mana, and then cast Collected Company, gaining an overwhelming board presence.
The Slivers deck also has some amazing utility in Necrotic Sliver and Harmonic Sliver. Necrotic Sliver in particular can take a little while to set up, but with an active Æther Vial, you can really disrupt your opponent's attempts to get anything going. It's especially powerful to attack with an army of Slivers and then, after your opponent makes a double block, Vial in a Sliver to blow up one of the blockers. Sliver Hive also does a pretty good job of giving you instant Slivers that gain the powers of all your other creatures.
Congrats to Adam for taking a unique strategy all the way to the Top 8 of a 651-player tournament!
Adam Bowman's Slivers
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