Cautery Sliver MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost2
RarityUncommon
TypeCreature — Sliver
Power 2
Toughness 2

Key Takeaways

  1. Turns slivers into instant threats, utilizing them as both creatures and sources of direct damage.
  2. Requires careful hand resource management due to its discard activation condition.
  3. Pairs well with mana-producing slivers for combo potential and board control.

Text of card

All Slivers have ", Sacrifice this creature: This creature deals 1 damage to target creature or player." All Slivers have ", Sacrifice this creature: Prevent the next 1 damage that would be dealt to target Sliver or player this turn."


Card Pros

Card Advantage: The inherent synergistic nature of Cautery Sliver offers unique card utility, particularly in a deck populated with multiple slivers. Each sliver gains the ability to be a potential source of damage without the need for additional cards, turning each one into a threat that can pressure an opponent’s life total or remove key creatures from the board.

Resource Acceleration: Cautery Sliver isn’t directly a source of mana acceleration; however, the efficiency it grants your sliver creatures could be considered a form of resource acceleration. By converting slivers into direct damage, it bypasses the need for additional damage-dealing spells, effectively speeding up your gameplay and allowing you to allocate resources elsewhere.

Instant Speed: The power to sacrifice slivers at instant speed to deal damage gives you the flexibility to make real-time decisions that can disrupt your opponent’s strategy. Whether it’s removing a creature at a critical moment or dealing the final points of damage to an opponent, the instant-speed aspect ensures that Cautery Sliver can be a surprise factor in any match.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Playing Cautery Sliver needs you to leverage the resources in your hand, requiring a creature card discard to activate its ability. As a Magic player, you understand that this can leave you at a resource disadvantage, hampering your game plan if you’re already dealing with a depleted hand.

Specific Mana Cost: Cautery Sliver’s mana cost includes both red and white, which means it fits specifically into Boros decks or those with a mana base that can support multiple colors. This can restrict its versatility and make it a less flexible pick compared to colorless or single-colored options.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost that includes two specific colors and leans towards the higher end for a creature with its abilities, Cautery Sliver may not always be the most cost-efficient creature in your arsenal. Skilled players will note that other slivers or creatures could potentially offer greater value or a larger impact on the board for a similar, if not lower, mana investment.


Reasons to Include Cautery Sliver in Your Collection

Versatility: Cautery Sliver offers a range of tactical options to Sliver decks, conferring the ability to deal damage directly to creatures or players. This adaptability makes it a significant addition in games where you need both aggression and utility.

Combo Potential: This card shines when paired with slivers that produce mana or increase survivability, potentially setting up devastating turns where you can pick off key enemy creatures or close out the game with direct player damage.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where small creature strategies prevail, Cautery Sliver can be a game-changer. Its presence on the board can deter opponent attacks or break through stalls, providing strategic leverage at critical moments in a match.


How to Beat Cautery Sliver

Cautery Sliver presents a unique challenge on the battlefield with its ability to turn any sliver into a potential source of direct damage or life gain. This capability can quickly tilt the balance of a game in the favor of sliver decks. To effectively counter this card, strategic removal is key. Targeted removal spells that can bypass potential sliver defenses, such as “Path to Exile” or “Fatal Push”, can eliminate Cautery Sliver before its ability becomes a significant threat. Board wipes like “Wrath of God” are also effective, as they clear out multiple slivers at once, ensuring that the synergy Cautery Sliver relies on is disrupted. Moreover, in a pinch, players can also resort to instant-speed interaction during the opponent’s turn to avoid any life-gain or damage before it affects the game’s outcome.

Another tactic is to use enchantments like “Rest in Peace” to neuter graveyard-based strategies that many sliver decks depend on, ensuring that the creatures do not benefit from any recursion abilities. In conclusion, while Cautery Sliver can be a formidable card within its archetype, a well-prepared player with the right answers can effectively nullify its impact and maintain control over the game.


Cards like Cautery Sliver

Cautery Sliver adds a unique dynamic to the Sliver archetypes in Magic: The Gathering. It can be compared to other Slivers like Muscle Sliver, which straightforwardly boosts power and toughness of all Slivers on the field. Yet, Cautery Sliver delivers a different strategic advantage by providing Sliver creatures the capability to directly deal damage to target creature or player at the cost of sacrificing themselves. This is akin to the functionality of Necrotic Sliver, offering removal options but requiring the additional cost of three mana and sacrificing the Sliver.

Looking at Striking Sliver, we find a different augmentation strategy, as this Sliver gives first strike to each Sliver you control. It’s efficient with its low mana cost, but it doesn’t alter gameplay as dramatically as the removal potential provided by Cautery Sliver. Comparatively, Blade Sliver offers an offensive edge by increasing the power of your Slivers, much simpler in application than the tactical versatility offered by Cautery Sliver’s damage-infliction ability.

Hence, within the vast array of Slivers and their plethora of effects, Cautery Sliver makes its stand with a tactical edge, allowing Sliver decks to interact with opponents and control the battlefield in a distinctly direct and impactful way.

Muscle Sliver - MTG Card versions
Necrotic Sliver - MTG Card versions
Striking Sliver - MTG Card versions
Blade Sliver - MTG Card versions
Muscle Sliver - Tempest (TMP)
Necrotic Sliver - Planar Chaos (PLC)
Striking Sliver - Magic 2014 (M14)
Blade Sliver - Legions (LGN)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Cautery Sliver MTG card by a specific set like Planar Chaos and Time Spiral Remastered, 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 Cautery Sliver and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Cautery Sliver Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2007-02-02 and 2021-03-19. Illustrated by Dany Orizio.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12007-02-02Planar ChaosPLC 1542003normalblackDany Orizio
22021-03-19Time Spiral RemasteredTSR 2482015normalblackDany Orizio

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Cautery Sliver has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderRestricted
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Cautery Sliver card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

DateText
2007-02-01 Note that the first ability can affect any kind of creature, but the second ability can affect only Slivers. Both abilities can affect players.
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.

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