Barbed Sliver MTG Card
1997-10-14 - Number 163
2009-11-20 - Number 18
2015-05-06 - Number 126
| Card sets | Released in 3 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 3 |
| Rarity | Uncommon |
| Type | Creature — Sliver |
| Power | 2 |
| Toughness | 2 |
Text of card
Each Sliver gains ": This creature gets +1/+0 until end of turn."
Spans of spines leapt from one sliver to the next, forming a deadly hedge around the *Weatherlight*.
Cards like Barbed Sliver
Barbed Sliver holds its own within the labyrinthine world of sliver cards in Magic: The Gathering. This particular card allows any sliver the chance to be a threat by granting a piercing offensive ability. Looking at Muscle Sliver, you’ll notice it simply provides a flat power boost to your sliver army. While this is certainly a formidable advantage, it doesn’t come with the added combat trick functionality that Barbed Sliver offers.
Not too different is the Venom Sliver, infusing your slivers with deathtouch, which can be a significant game-changer during combat. Although deathtouch and the Barbed Sliver’s ability both revolve around combat, Barbed Sliver’s conditional power boost can lead to more aggressive strategies. Then we have the Striking Sliver, giving your slivers first strike. This can dramatically alter combat outcomes, similar to Barbed Sliver’s influence, yet in a distinctly direct manner.
Ultimately, in the grand tapestry of slivers, Barbed Sliver proves to be valuable for its unique role in escalating your slivers’ offensive capabilities while seamlessly integrating into various sliver-based strategies across the realm of Magic: The Gathering.
Cards similar to Barbed Sliver by color, type and mana cost
Card Pros
Card Advantage: The Barbed Sliver ensures that all Slivers have the potential to deal additional combat damage. When fielded together with a swarm of Slivers, this can quickly tip the card advantage in your favor as your creatures become more threatening and difficult for your opponent to handle without losing their own cards.
Resource Acceleration: Although not directly involved in resource acceleration, the Barbed Sliver’s ability to amplify the power of your Sliver creatures can turn them into efficient attackers, putting pressure on your opponent and potentially accelerating your path to victory by depleting their resources more quickly.
Instant Speed: While Barbed Sliver itself isn’t an instant, it contributes to the Slivers’ versatility by providing an always-on ability that enhances all your Sliver creatures. This means your entire Sliver arsenal benefits from increased offensive capabilities, which, in turn, can dictate the pace of the game and force opponents to respond at inopportune times.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: While Barbed Sliver can be a valuable asset in a Sliver deck, its ability requires you to discard a card, which may not be ideal when your hand is already depleting. This can put you at a disadvantage, especially in longer games where every card in hand counts towards your strategy.
Specific Mana Cost: Barbed Sliver demands a specific mana alignment to cast, requiring both red and green. This can be restrictive as it might not fit seamlessly into all Sliver decks, particularly those running on a different color base or those looking to maintain a consistency in mana curve.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of three mana including one red and one green, Barbed Sliver can be somewhat costly for its given effect. In the realm of MTG, this can be considered a high investment for an ability that provides a limited offensive boost. Other creatures or slivers come with abilities that might have a larger impact on the game for a similar or even lower mana investment.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Barbed Sliver offers a flexible buff to your Sliver creatures, turning each of them into a potential threat with its extra damage ability. It seamlessly integrates into Sliver decks of all varieties, enhancing the offensive capabilities of your swarm.
Combo Potential: This card shines when combined with other Slivers, enabling dynamic gameplay as it interacts with the varied abilities of your Sliver legion. As part of a combo, Barbed Sliver can quickly escalate the power on the board and overwhelm opponents.
Meta-Relevance: Given its synergistic nature within Sliver decks, Barbed Sliver maintains relevance in metas where creature-based strategies are prevalent. Its ability to turn every Sliver into a more formidable combatant makes it a key piece in Sliver-focused builds.
How to beat
Barbed Sliver serves as an innovative combat amplifier for Sliver decks in Magic: The Gathering, comparable to other creature enhancers. This Sliver’s unique ability gives each Sliver the skill to deal additional damage, similar to an intrinsic pike or thorn. Such a trait makes any opposing encounter potentially more perilous, especially when Slivers gather in numbers.
One way to tackle this spiny adversary is to prevent the gathering of its kin. Single-target removal spells can prune away the growing Sliver army before they become a united force. Sweeper spells that clear the board can dismantle the synergistic fortress that Slivers are known to build. It’s also worth considering alterations to your gameplay that emphasize speed and efficiency. Move to dismantle their tribal strategy before their numbers can overwhelm you with unavoidable damage. In the absence of their kin, Barbed Slivers, like lone wolves, lose the bulk of their threat, making them easier to contend with and outmaneuver.
In conclusion, while Barbed Sliver boasts the potential to escalate the already formidable Sliver strategy, navigating through the MTG landscape with strategic removal and keeping a beat on tempo can assure your victory over this prickly opponent.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Barbed Sliver MTG card by a specific set like Tempest and Premium Deck Series: Slivers, there are several reliable options to consider. One of the primary sources is your local game store, where you can often find booster packs, individual cards, and preconstructed decks from current and some past sets. They often offer the added benefit of a community where you can trade with other players.
For a broader inventory, particularly of older sets, online marketplaces like TCGPlayer, Card Kingdom and Card Market offer extensive selections and allow you to search for cards from specific sets. Larger e-commerce platforms like eBay and Amazon also have listings from various sellers, which can be a good place to look for sealed product and rare finds.
Additionally, Magic’s official site often has a store locator and retailer lists for finding Wizards of the Coast licensed products. Remember to check for authenticity and the condition of the cards when purchasing, especially from individual sellers on larger marketplaces.
Below is a list of some store websites where you can buy the Barbed Sliver and other MTG cards:
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- eBay
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
- MTGO Traders Magic Online
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Printings
The Barbed Sliver Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 1997-10-14 and 2015-05-06. Illustrated by Scott Kirschner.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1997-10-14 | Tempest | TMP | 163 | 1997 | Normal | Black | Scott Kirschner | |
| 2 | 2009-11-20 | Premium Deck Series: Slivers | H09 | 18 | 2003 | Normal | Black | Scott Kirschner | |
| 3 | 2015-05-06 | Tempest Remastered | TPR | 126 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Scott Kirschner |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Barbed Sliver has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Pauper | Legal |
| Premodern | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Predh | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Barbed Sliver card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2013-07-01 | Abilities that Slivers grant, as well as power/toughness boosts, are cumulative. However, for some abilities, like flying, having more than one instance of the ability doesn’t provide any additional benefit. |
| 2013-07-01 | If the creature type of a Sliver changes so it’s no longer a Sliver, it will no longer be affected by its own ability. Its ability will continue to affect other Sliver creatures. |