I'd like to request a Silver Sliver

Metallic Sliver, all the way back in Tempest when Slivers premiered, was supposed to be Silver Sliver, but the art came back and it wasn’t silver, so we had to change the name.

Hi Mark! Un Rules question: I know Assembled Ensemble is an Un card but how do you determine what is an artifact creature based on the art alone? Does Disenchant from Tempest count? The artificial sliver depicted in the set would imply that. Thanks!

There’s some common sense needed. In the case of Tempest Disenchant, the card show Hanna using Disenchant on a Sliver and the only one it would make sense on is the Metallic Sliver which is an artifact creature. Also, if you check Metallic Sliver, they look the same.

If Pauper is a hot topic, one thing I'd request as a Pauper fan is modern borders and modern art for Pauper staples, like a non-foil but modern layout of Metallic Sliver (for the Sliver deck). Or maybe an updated version of Slivers with the modern Sliver style, like Muscle Sliver.

That’s an easier request to consider.

Hey Mark, yesterday was my birthday and I guess it got lost in your messages. Can I get some new unheard trivia on Slivers?

Slivers first appeared in a set made by designer Mike Elliott before he came to Wizards. When he got hired, Wizards bought the set. The Slivers were still called Slivers in Mike’s set but they were the result of a character “falling from the heavens” and splintering into many pieces. The Slivers were all named after body parts. The Magic version of Slivers were created by Michael Ryan and I when we made the Tempest story. They became hive-minded shapeshifters that Volrarh discovered on another plane and brought to Rath to study (he also being a shapeshifter). Metallic Sliver was the artificial slivers he made to spy on them and that is why it’s the only sliver in Tempest block to not grant an ability. Happy Birthday!

I recently discovered the tradition of asking about trivia as a birthday gift. My birthday is November 4th. exactly 30 days ago. Can I ask for some obscure Sliver trivia?

We don’t know what planes slivers originate from. Volrath brought some to Rath to study. He built the metallic sliver as a spy to study them. The reason it’s the only sliver to receive abilities and not grant them is it’s an artificial sliver. Slivers are shapeshifting creatures that share a hive mind when in close enough proximity. If one know how to make wings it allows any slivers near it the knowledge of how to make wings. Happy Belated Birthday!

Wait, Slivers aren't from Rath?!

Nope. Volrath brought them to Rath from another world to experiment on. He then made the Metallic Sliver to spy on them. It’s not a real sliver which is why it’s the only sliver that gets abilities but never grants anything.

It's my Birthday and so it means I get to ask for some trivia I believe. What can you tell me about Slivers?

Slivers were created by Magic designer Mike Elliott. Before Mike came to Wizards he had built his own set. On his first design team, Tempest, Mike brought many elements from that design. One of his designs was a mechanic that reflected a powerful creature that had been broken apart into “slivers”. Each one was named after a body part of the original creature. When I put it into the set, Michael Ryan and I were doing the Weatherlight Saga so we changed them to fit the story. We turned them into hive mind creatures which had the ability to change their bodies. If one of them learned how to grow wings, all the hive in range learned as well. The back story was that Volrath found these creatures on another plane and brought some if them to Rath to study. As a fellow shapeshifter, he was fascinated by them. The metallic sliver was created by Volrath to spy on them. The slivers were an instant hit and have returned three different times in Onslaught block, Time Spiral block and the most recent core set. Happy birthday!

Nirvana named one of their songs "Sliver" knowing that many would mispronounce it as "Silver." Have you seen much of the same with the card "Quick Sliver?"

Metallic Sliver in Tempest was originally called Silver Sliver but the art came back and ruined all our fun.