Out of all the archetypes in MTG, Sliver Typal is arguably the most volatile. Thanks to the immense synergy that this archetype offers, even a single new card can cause prices to spike massively. Unlike other price spikes, which require specific synergies for maximum value, Slivers will just spike like mad at the drop of a hat.
For better or worse, this is exactly what we’ve seen recently following the reveal of Thrumming Hivepool. Teased by Wizards multiple times ahead of its official reveal, it’s safe to say MTG players were seriously excited by this card. It might not be the most powerful new Sliver spoiler we’ve ever seen, but it’s more than done the trick.
Lazotep Sliver
Following the reveal of Thrumming Hivepool, Lazotep Sliver was one of the first cards to spike in price. While it was pipped at the post by Sliver Gravemother MTG players still couldn’t get enough of this card. This is somewhat surprising, as Lazotep Sliver isn’t actually that powerful in the grand scheme of MTG.
While useful, giving your Slivers Afflict 2 isn’t the biggest increase in their damage. When it’s easy to build a synergistic army with Trample, First Strike, Deathtouch, and more, an extra two damage on top is hardly game-breaking. That being said, damage is damage, and if you’ve got a wide board, this ability can dish out the hurt.
On top of Afflict, Lazotep Sliver also lets you Amass Slivers 2 whenever another one dies. While this can help to keep your Sliver synergies going and make your deck more survivable, it too isn’t perfect. Most of the time, Amass will just create one tall threat, which often isn’t difficult to deal with.
Despite the abilities on Lazotep Sliver being somewhat suspect, this MTG card has seriously spiked in price. This time last month, copies were selling for around $1.62 on average on TCGplayer. Sales at this price were incredibly slow, showing the general lack of demand for this card.
Following the reveal of Thrumming Hivepool, however, prices quickly shot up. Several days with high sales volume drained much of the available supply, pushing prices to now $8.99 on average. As if this 454% price spike wasn’t enough, new listings start at around $10 on average.
Sliver Hivelord
As much as it’s nice that Thrumming Hivepool is colorless, letting it go in any deck, color identity doesn’t matter for Slivers. In this archetype, each of the six legendary options is a five-color card. For better or worse, this means there’s little reason not to play them all when building a Sliver Typal deck.
While you can play every five-color Sliver in the same deck, admittedly, they’re not all made equal. Cards like Sliver Legion, The First Sliver, and Sliver Overlord are undeniably hugely powerful. Sliver Hivelord, on the other hand, just gives Slivers you control Indestructible.
Considering each of these cards costs the exact same, there’s no doubt that Hivelord has drawn the short straw. Indestructible isn’t a bad ability to grant, of course, but it’s by no means the be-all and end-all for protection anymore. Thanks to the prevalence of exile-based removal and board wipes, Hivelord definitely isn’t unbeatable.
On top of this card’s power level, it’s also one of the few legendary Slivers to be meaningfully reprinted. Appearing in both Magic 2015 and Commander Masters, this is the cheapest of the bunch by far. That said, it has been climbing in price recently.
Back in June, near-mint copies of Sliver Hivelord were selling for around $4.82 on average. Thanks to the new support in Edge of Eternities, that price has steadily climbed up to a market price of $7.11. This figure is slightly misleading, however, as near-mint listings start at $12.99, which players have been paying.
Hatchery Sliver
Last, but by no means least, Hatchery Sliver has also been on the up and up recently. If we’re honest, it’s a surprise that this card hasn’t spiked in price as much as Lazotep Sliver. Both cards hail from the Sliver Swarm precon, however, their spikes are surprisingly different.
For Lazotep, the Collector Booster exclusive Extended Art variant spiked. For Hatchery Sliver, however, it’s the default variant, from the precon, which has been climbing. Typically, you’d expect the Extended Art variant to climb more, since that’s often rarer. Despite this trend, the Extended Art variant of Hatchery Sliver starts at around $5.
Meanwhile, the default variant of this card is now selling for around $10 on average. Considering the card was worth only $4.74 back in June, this moderate climb feels rather tame. As a card, Hatchery Sliver is definitely worth a decent amount of money, as it can build you an insane board very quickly.
By giving itself and other Slivers you control Replicate, Hatchery Sliver can churn out token copies of your Slivers. The only downside to this ability is that you need to pay to Replicate each card you cast. Sadly, this means this process can be very mana-intensive, depending on what you’re casting.
While it’s not rare to have an abundance of mana in Commander, Hatchery Sliver can be somewhat situational. Despite this, the card has a huge power ceiling that arguably deserves more money. Whether or not this card will continue to spike, however, remains to be seen.
Ups and Downs
Ultimately, these three cards definitely aren’t the only Slivers to be climbing in price right now. While not every card is seeing an explosive rise, the increased demand across the board is pushing costs up. Thankfully, while this may sound rather expensive, prices should dip eventually.
Looking back at the price history of The First Sliver above, we can see that the price spikes don’t always last. Whenever new Sliver support comes out, it’s no surprise that prices jump quite a bit. More often than not, a little bit of the price spike will carry over, making cards steadily more expensive over time.
For better or worse, this means it’s unlikely that each of the cards discussed today will stay at $10 forever. Some of the cards may arguably deserve this price point, but supply and demand will always rule the markets. Should demand dry up when new and exciting cards come out, we’ll naturally see prices fall.
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