{"ops":[{"insert":"Rukarumel, Biologist: Sliver Modal"},{"attributes":{"header":1},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"What this deck is"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"A Sliver deck where the commander decides what \"Sliver\" means. You play a wide creature board, switch the named type to match the situation, and win through combat most of the time. There is a combo finish, but no card in the deck can find Intruder Alarm, so treat it as a bonus you sometimes draw into, not a plan.\n"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"The card"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"{W}{U}{B}{R}{G}, Legendary Creature, Human Wizard, 3/3"},{"insert":"\nAs Rukarumel enters, choose a creature type. Slivers you control and nontoken creatures you control are the chosen type in addition to their other creature types. The same is true for creature spells you control and creature cards you own that aren't on the battlefield. "},{"attributes":{"code":true},"insert":"{3}"},{"insert":", "},{"attributes":{"code":true},"insert":"{T}"},{"insert":": Create a 1/1 colorless Sliver creature token."},{"attributes":{"blockquote":true},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Three things matter, in this order:\nShe doesn't grant Sliver. She grants whatever you name. Name Sliver and your nontoken creatures join the hive. Name anything else and they leave it, unless an anchor is out."},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"The effect reaches your hand, library, graveyard and stack. That's what turns Sliver Overlord into a universal tutor and Rooftop Storm into a broken card."},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Her tokens are natively Slivers, so they get Gemhide, Bonescythe, Cloudshredder, Sliver Hivelord and Thrumming Hivepool with no anchor at all. This is the pivot of the combo."},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"She is a Wizard. Remember it: that's both a game mode and a manabase constraint.\n"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Two layers"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Default layer:"},{"insert":" Rukarumel names Sliver. Your non-Sliver creatures join the hive, every lord switches on, Sliver Overlord tutors any creature in the deck.\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Anchor layer:"},{"insert":" Hivestone, Arcane Adaptation, Maskwood Nexus. They make your creatures Slivers on their own, which frees Rukarumel to name something else. No anchor, no modal plan.\nAnchor Battlefield Tokens Hand and library"},{"attributes":{"table":"1"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":" Hivestone"},{"attributes":{"table":"2"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"yes"},{"attributes":{"table":"2"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"yes"},{"attributes":{"table":"2"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"no"},{"attributes":{"table":"2"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Arcane Adaptation"},{"attributes":{"table":"3"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"yes"},{"attributes":{"table":"3"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"yes"},{"attributes":{"table":"3"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"yes"},{"attributes":{"table":"3"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Maskwood Nexus"},{"attributes":{"table":"4"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"yes"},{"attributes":{"table":"4"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"yes"},{"attributes":{"table":"4"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"yes, and every type at once"},{"attributes":{"table":"4"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Arcane Adaptation at 3 mana is the efficient one. Maskwood Nexus is the powerful one since it runs every mode in parallel.\nMirror Entity is a temporary anchor at instant speed plus a finisher. Firdoch Core, Morophon and Unsettled Mariner are changelings, so they're Slivers permanently no matter what you name.\n"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Four modes"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Sliver, the default."},{"insert":" Switches on Gemhide, Manaweft, Bonescythe, Cloudshredder, Shifting, Quick, Sliver Hivelord, Sliver Legion, The First Sliver, Hatchery Sliver, Brood Sliver, Thrumming Hivepool and Sliver Overlord. You spend most games here.\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Elemental, the value mode."},{"insert":" Risen Reef triggers on every creature that enters, tokens included, and puts a land onto the battlefield or a card into your hand. One creature a turn is already good. In the Intruder Alarm loop it draws your deck and lands everything.\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Wizard, the draw mode."},{"insert":" Azami taps an untapped Wizard to draw a card. Two details make this better than it looks. The cost taps another creature, so summoning sickness doesn't apply and fresh tokens draw immediately. And Rukarumel is natively a Wizard, so Azami does something before you name it. Tradeoff: a creature only taps once, so it's Gemhide or Azami, not both.\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Zombie, the dump mode."},{"insert":" Rooftop Storm makes Zombie creature spells free, and the cards in your hand are Zombies, so every creature costs "},{"attributes":{"code":true},"insert":"{0}"},{"insert":". Mana value doesn't change, so Hatchery Sliver's replicate still costs the printed cost and The First Sliver's cascades still hit the right range.\nThe three non default modes go "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"on top of an anchor"},{"insert":", never instead of one. One exception worth knowing: your mana still works without an anchor, because Gemhide is natively a Sliver and so are Rukarumel's tokens.\n"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Naming cheat sheet"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Everything with a locked choice names Sliver: Herald's Horn, Urza's Incubator, Gathering Stone, Vanquisher's Banner, Kindred Discovery, Morophon, Realmwalker, Reflections of Littjara, Titan of Littjara.\nYour type lands split: Sliver on Unclaimed Territory, "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Wizard on Secluded Courtyard"},{"insert":". Rukarumel isn't a Sliver, and you don't want to be locked out of casting your own commander. Sliver Hive has no such issue since it taps for colorless as well.\nPath of Ancestry taps for any color in your identity and scrys on almost every spell, since your creatures always share a type with her.\n"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Mulligan"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Keep: 3 or 4 lands covering two colors, a 1 or 2 mana accelerant, and one card that advances the plan (tutor, anchor, or Sliver Overlord).\nShip: no route to WUBRG by turn 5, all payoffs and no engine, or a hand that only works if Rukarumel resolves and lives.\nYour best hands don't contain Rukarumel. She's always available. What you're missing is the board under her.\nLeyline of the Guildpact and Prismatic Omen turn every basic and fetch into a five color source. Leyline also makes your nonland permanents all colors. Either one early settles the fixing question for the game.\n"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Training Grounds"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"It reduces activated abilities of your creatures by up to "},{"attributes":{"code":true},"insert":"{2}"},{"insert":", and it changes three cards at once:\nRukarumel goes from "},{"attributes":{"code":true},"insert":"{3}"},{"insert":", "},{"attributes":{"code":true},"insert":"{T}"},{"insert":" to "},{"attributes":{"code":true},"insert":"{1}"},{"insert":", "},{"attributes":{"code":true},"insert":"{T}"},{"insert":" per token."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Sliver Overlord tutors for "},{"attributes":{"code":true},"insert":"{1}"},{"insert":", so you chain four searches on a normal turn."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Mirror Entity's "},{"attributes":{"code":true},"insert":"{X}"},{"insert":" gets 2 cheaper, so a lethal pump costs a third less."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"It can't reduce a cost below one mana, and it does nothing for Gemhide, since that ability has no mana cost.\n"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"The combo"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Rukarumel + Intruder Alarm + Gemhide (or Manaweft) + other mana creatures."},{"insert":"\nTap your creatures for mana. Rukarumel's tokens are Slivers, so Gemhide gives them \""},{"attributes":{"code":true},"insert":"{T}"},{"insert":": add one mana of any color.\""},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Pay the activation, tap Rukarumel, make a token."},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"The token enters, Intruder Alarm untaps everything."},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Repeat."},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Without Training Grounds you need four untapped producers for the loop to go positive. With it you need two. That's the single biggest reason it's in the deck.\nFresh tokens are summoning sick and don't produce, unless Cloudshredder Sliver or Thrumming Hivepool is out. Then your production grows every loop too.\nConverting:\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Impact Tremors"},{"insert":" ends it on the spot, no combat, no haste, no blockers involved. This is the clean line."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Thrumming Hivepool gives Slivers haste and double strike, so you attack instead."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Coat of Arms or Sliver Legion makes every token enormous."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Infinite mana means Sliver Overlord tutors your whole library and Hatchery Sliver replicates everything."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Two warnings. Intruder Alarm untaps your opponents' creatures too, and your own creatures stop untapping normally, so don't cast it speculatively. And nothing in the deck can search for it, which is why the combo is a finish and not a game plan.\n"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Other lines"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Sliver Overlord, universal tutor."},{"insert":" "},{"attributes":{"code":true},"insert":"{3}"},{"insert":" searches for a Sliver card, and with Sliver named every creature card in your library qualifies. Repeatable, and it costs "},{"attributes":{"code":true},"insert":"{1}"},{"insert":" under Training Grounds. This is your consistency engine. Without it the deck runs on draw steps.\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"The First Sliver."},{"insert":" Sliver spells get cascade, so under Rukarumel every creature spell you cast cascades, and creature hits cascade again.\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Hatchery Sliver."},{"insert":" Every Sliver spell you cast gets replicate for its mana cost. Doubling a key creature at retail is already good, and each copy also triggers Impact Tremors and Risen Reef. Note the copies are tokens and not Slivers on their own, so they stay outside the hive until Hivestone, Arcane Adaptation or Maskwood Nexus is out. Same caveat for Reflections of Littjara and Double Major.\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Patriarch's Bidding."},{"insert":" Name Sliver with an anchor out and your whole graveyard comes back while the table gets almost nothing. It's your only real rebuild, so hold it for that.\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Combat."},{"insert":" Coat of Arms on a single type board is brutal. Shifting Sliver makes everything unblockable except by Slivers, Cloudshredder adds flying and haste, Bonescythe double strike, Sliver Legion pumps. An alpha strike out of a board that looked harmless is your most common kill.\n"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Rules notes"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"The type choice happens as she enters. It's a replacement effect, nobody can respond, and it applies before anyone acts.\nBlinking dodges commander tax. Cloudshift, Ephemerate and Ghostly Flicker change the mode for almost nothing. Thassa, Deep-Dwelling does it free every end step.\nBlasphemous Act is one sided under Sliver Hivelord, but only for your nontoken creatures unless an anchor covers tokens as well. Check before you cast it.\nCoat of Arms is symmetrical. Against another tribal deck it can lose you the game. Read the table first.\nRukarumel is not a Sliver. Unclaimed Territory naming Sliver will not cast her.\n"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Traps"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Switching modes with no anchor."},{"insert":" Naming Wizard, Zombie or Elemental turns off Sliver Overlord's tutor and every lord. It's never free. Land Hivestone or Arcane Adaptation first.\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Blinking at the wrong moment."},{"insert":" The type is gone while she's in exile. If Sliver Hivelord is what makes your board indestructible, blinking in response to a wrath loses everything.\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Forgetting copy tokens aren't Slivers."},{"insert":" Hatchery Sliver, Reflections of Littjara and Double Major all make tokens that sit outside the hive without an anchor.\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Overextending before Patriarch's Bidding."},{"insert":" The deck looks terrifying long before it's lethal, which draws wraths. Hold a resilience card or deploy in two waves.\n"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Tutor priority"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Sliver Overlord, the engine that finds everything else."},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Training Grounds if Rukarumel or Sliver Overlord is already down."},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Gemhide or Manaweft Sliver, ramp and combo piece."},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"An anchor. Arcane Adaptation first, Maskwood Nexus if you want the modes."},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Sliver Hivelord if a wrath is coming."},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Eladamri's Call is your most flexible early tutor. Instant speed, 2 mana, and it grabs Sliver Overlord or Rukarumel depending on what's missing.\n"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"How you lose"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Targeted removal on Rukarumel. Recasting her in five colors is expensive, so blinks and anchors are the real protection."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Graveyard hate, which turns off Patriarch's Bidding and your only rebuild."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Artifact removal. Maskwood Nexus, Hivestone and Thrumming Hivepool are fragile, which is the argument for Arcane Adaptation being an enchantment."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Repeated wraths. Without Sliver Hivelord or Heroic Intervention you rebuild slowly. One more reason to find Sliver Overlord before the expensive payoffs."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"}]}