Hive Mind

Slivers and Omenpath

New 30 Mar 2024 Asked by xansor 26 Comments

Can slivers traverse through an omenpath?


Sure. The hive mind doesn’t work cross planes, or really even that far away on the same plane.

Grist's Swarm

New 29 Mar 2024 Asked by beechdallama 33 Comments

May I invoke the sacred rite of birthday trivia to ask a question that hath been plaguing my mind for years now?When Grist planeswalks, does she bring her hive mind of insects with her, or does she have to rebuild her swarm every time she visits a new plane?Furthermore, if the answer is the latter, when revisiting an old plane, do her swarm remember her and instinctively flock to her?


I think just Grist planeswalks and she has to get new insects, but that’s more a guess than something I definitively know.

Artificial Hiveminds

New 29 Oct 2023 Asked by supaquazi 37 Comments

About hiveminds. I get that naturally occuring hiveminds would be Green/White as it's a naturally occuring social structure, but wouldn't an artificial hivemind such as the borg be Blue/White since the hivemind is unnatural to the species it's being applied to, essentially usurping the natural order in search of perfection?


If the hive mind is technological or psionic in nature, we could consider blue.

Failing to Find Booster

New 14 Aug 2022 Asked by emancipationangel 40 Comments

Re: Hive Mind + Booster Tutor: Can you fail to find a booster? The same way you can fail to find a land from something like a Field of Ruin?


You can fail to find a booster.

Booster Tutor Interaction

New 14 Aug 2022 Asked by coboney 28 Comments

You mention there each player casts Booster Tutor is played while Hive Mind is in play - what happens if the other players don't you know, have a booster? Seems like that could create a bad time with people feeling like they might need to buy one or other stuff there


If someone doesn’t have the ability to get a booster (and no one else can lend them one), they don’t open a booster. In a casual game, you could let someone get the remnants of someone else’s booster.

Hive Mind Mechanics

New 13 Aug 2022 Asked by havensglow-reblogs 25 Comments

Un-Rules question. If an opponent controls a Hive Mind and I cast Booster Tutor, what happens?


Each player casts a Booster Tutor. Each player casting it has to provide their own booster pack.

Slivers Design Trivia

New 17 May 2022 Asked by hoiohoi 45 Comments

It’s my birthday, and also my first time asking trivia! Could I get any trivia on the design for slivers? Why do they look like they do?


Tempest had the very first in-house worldbuilding team, including a number of artists (including Mark Tedin and Anson Maddocks) and they were tasked with coming up with the look for the Slivers. The one constraint was it had to be a creature that could grow body parts as they’re shapechangers that gain abilities by learning how to form new body parts through their hive mind. That look is what they came up with.Happy Birthday!

Can Slivers Possess a Spark

New 02 Mar 2022 Asked by cardhoarder 85 Comments

Can slivers get a spark and would it be shared if they did?


It’s possible, but no they wouldn’t share it. Slivers are a telepathic hive mind of shapeshifters that can share information. Winged Sliver grants flying to other Slivers because it shares the knowledge of how to form wings. You can’t shapeshift a spark.

Diversity within Audience Groups

New 17 Sep 2021 Asked by ichthysfreak 40 Comments

"The audience is not a unified group mind." This a such an important statement in life, and it applies to so many more elements that just Magic. I hear people talk about other groups as if everyone in that group us part of a hive mind. Its import to step back and remember that every group is comprised of individuals. "I can't get a date because all [group criteria] are looking for [characteristic]" is such an unhealthy world view to hold. Thank you for imparting wisdom amongst the nerdery =)


Always happy to help.

Sliver that Penalizes Non-Slivers

New 31 Jul 2021 Asked by havensglow-reblogs 38 Comments

I think the previous asker wanted a sliver that penalizes creatures that are NOT slivers


That’s not what Slivers do. They’re a hive mind.

Slivers and Eldrazi Correlation

New 18 Jul 2021 Asked by nightfiremelody 46 Comments

You've argued many times that Slivers could not collectively planeswalk even if one of them were to gain a spark. But what about if a Sliver were corrupted by an Eldrazi? Since smaller/corrupted Eldrazi are just offshoots of the main Titans, which themselves can travel between planes, would a Sliver corrupted by Eldrazi grant its Eldraziness to other Slivers?


No. That’s not how slivers work. They’re shapeshifters with a hive mind (when close enough to one another). They can only gain abilities that comes from changing you’re shape. None of that helps you planeswalk.

White's Access to Hive Mind

New 04 Dec 2020 Asked by definitely-not-a-squirrel-blog 32 Comments

Could white get access to the hive mind mechanic?


Spell copying is quite afar from white philosophically. We let white copy tokens (flavored as recruiting), but that’s about it.

Eldrazi Planeswalker Possibility

New 10 Aug 2020 Asked by tabbycatbat 63 Comments

If or when, eldrazi planeswalkers, legendary 5 color devoid eldrazi and/or sliver planeswalkers?


The first doesn’t make any sense as Eldrazi can already travel between planes through a different means. The middle one is tricky as it requires a set to have Eldrazi, devoid and five-color cards. The sliver Planeswalker seems like it would be unsatisfying as a hive mind creature seems like an odd creature to travel alone through the multiverse. Note that one sliver having a spark doesn’t grant the spark to other slivers. That’s not how their abilities work.

Sliver Planeswalker Concerns

New 04 Feb 2020 Asked by gus-goose 38 Comments

I would like to voice that I think a sliver planeswalker would detract from the hive mind feeling and also if you did it you’d have dozens of question marks criticizing you for it😜


It’s a hard concept to work with. Slivers are defined by the group and planeswalkers are defined by the individual.

Sliver Planeswalker Concept

New 04 Feb 2020 Asked by mathweasels 79 Comments

As long as they're a hive queen, being a sliver isn't a barrier to being sapient; nor, by extension, a planeswalker.


What exactly is the point of having a Sliver Planeswalker? Their whole identity is defined by their connection with the hive mind. So we can show how alone and isolated they feel?

Slivers Planeswalker Possibility

New 03 Dec 2019 Asked by symphonic-sync 60 Comments

Given how sparks are ignited by some great emotional state (Love, terror, extreme meh, etc.), would a hive mind such as the Slivers basically have every member of their race turn into planeswalkers all at once?


Bring a hive mind doesn’t mean you share physical qualities. For example, if one Sliver catch the flu, the whole hive mind doesn’t catch the flu. Also remember, you need to be sapient to have a spark and the majority of Slivers aren’t sapient.

Slivers' Hive Mind

New 05 Nov 2019 Asked by extreme-office-narcisist-blog 33 Comments

What level of hive mind do slivers have? Are they sapient or are only the leaders sapient? Do they have free will? If so, do they lose it while hooked up to the hive mind?


Most of the slivers aren’t sapient, but the Sliver Queen was.

Slivers Origin Story

New 05 Nov 2019 Asked by nikmurphy13 40 Comments

Hi mark! Today is my birthday and it’s tome for my bday question. May I request is a set of some sort exploring the origins of the slivers race?


Slivers first appeared in Mike Elliott’s self-made set Astral Ways. They were mechanically inspired by Plague Rats. When Mike was hired by Wizards, they bought his set. Mike then turned them in during Tempest design.In Astral Ways, the represented pieces of a being that fell from the Astral Ways. In Tempest, Michael Ryan and I turned them into shape shifting creatures with a hive mind. Happy Birthday!

Sliver Design Philosophy

New 30 Jun 2019 Asked by gamma-3 34 Comments

The question was not about a sliver affecting opponent's slivers. It was about a sliver affecting opponents non-slivers, i.e. everything that is not a sliver.


The flavor of Slivers is that they are shapeshifters that share a hive mind. That’s why Slivers grant abilities to Slivers. Affecting non-Slivers makes no flavor sense.

Sliver Character Potential

New 23 Mar 2019 Asked by guardgomabroa 52 Comments

Mark, when you say that a sliver planeswalker wouldn't make for a compelling character, you come across as a little dismissive. Seven of Nine from Star Trek: Voyager was a really interesting character who had to learn how to be an individual after being raised as part of a hive mind. I don't see any reason why a sliver planeswalker couldn't have a similar level of depth and growth.


But she was a sapient being capable of intelligent thought and communication. It’s not a fair comparison.


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