Sliver Gravemother costs {W}{U}{B}{R}{G} and is a 6/6. The "legend rule" does not apply to Slivers you control, each Sliver creature card in your graveyard has encore {X} where X is its mana value, and Gravemother has encore {5} herself. A Sliver that dies comes back for its mana value and attacks every opponent.
The precon already has the lords and the mana, including Gemhide Sliver, Manaweft Sliver, Cloudshredder Sliver, Sliver Hivelord and Bonescythe Sliver. Each swap below pairs a cut with an add, and every card is scored with the same numbers the Oracle uses to build decks: synergy and inclusion from the Gravemother decks, plus lift, which shows how much more often a card turns up in Gravemother decks than in decks that could play it. Only about two thousand decks exist, so lift is high across the board.
Looking for the unmodified list first? Read the Sliver Swarm precon guide.
What is holding the deck back
Missing Sliver lords
Predatory Sliver, Muscle Sliver and Homing Sliver are cheap Slivers that grow the swarm or tutor for another one. They score far above the cards they replace.
A token engine the deck can pay for
Thrumming Hivepool makes two Sliver tokens every upkeep, gives every Sliver double strike and haste, and costs {1} less for each Sliver you control.
Non-Sliver cards
Decimate and Icon of Ancestry do not make or pump Slivers, and Rukarumel, Biologist and Blade Sliver are each played in about one Gravemother deck in five.
The 4 swaps
Each pair shows the numbers for the card coming out and the card going in. Click a card image to zoom.
Rukarumel, Biologist is a five-color 3/3 that makes a chosen creature type for your creatures and a 1/1 Sliver for {3}. It is played in about one Gravemother deck in five.
Thrumming Hivepool is a six-mana artifact with affinity for Slivers. Slivers you control have double strike and haste, and at the beginning of your upkeep you create two 1/1 Sliver tokens. It is the highest-scoring card the precon leaves out, and each token is another Sliver for the lords.
Blade Sliver is a 2/2 for {2}{R} that gives all Slivers +1/+0. It is played in about one Gravemother deck in four.
Homing Sliver is a 2/2 for {2}{R}. Each Sliver card in each player's hand has slivercycling {3}, so you can discard a Sliver in hand for {3} to search your library for another. A lord that finds the lord you need.
Icon of Ancestry is a three-mana artifact that gives creatures of a chosen type +1/+1 and digs for them. It is played in about one Gravemother deck in four.
Predatory Sliver is a 1/1 for {1}{G}. Sliver creatures you control get +1/+1. The same anthem on a creature, for two mana, and it is a Sliver for Gravemother's encore.
Decimate destroys an artifact, a creature, an enchantment and a land, and needs a legal target for each. It is played in about one Gravemother deck in three, and none of its effect helps Slivers.
Muscle Sliver is a 1/1 for {1}{G}. All Sliver creatures get +1/+1. A second +1/+1 on every Sliver, and a body that comes back from the graveyard with encore.
The full swap list
Cut
- Rukarumel, Biologist
- Blade Sliver
- Icon of Ancestry
- Decimate
Add
- Thrumming Hivepool
- Homing Sliver
- Predatory Sliver
- Muscle Sliver
What to keep
These cards are doing the deck's heavy lifting. Do not cut them.
- Gemhide Sliver$0.27
Played in 92% of Gravemother decks. Every Sliver taps for mana of any color. - Manaweft Sliver$1.74
Sliver creatures you control have a mana ability of their own. - Cloudshredder Sliver$3.43
Gives your Slivers flying and haste. - Sliver Hivelord$15.77
Gives your Slivers indestructible. - Bonescythe Sliver$5.17
Gives your Slivers double strike.
If you want to spend more
These are strong but sit outside a budget upgrade. Prices are the cheapest paper printing.
- Morophon, the Boundless$7.39
A seven-mana changeling that makes spells of a chosen type cost five colored mana less. It costs more than a budget upgrade should. - Kindred Discovery$5.16
Draws a card whenever a Sliver you control enters or attacks. - Root Sliver$5.99
Makes your Sliver spells uncounterable.
Sliver Swarm is a deck that most Sliver Gravemother lists barely change, so four swaps are enough. They add a token engine and three Sliver lords in place of a non-Sliver removal spell, an artifact and two cards played less often. These four swaps cost about $3 in total.
Want a full 100-card list built around Sliver Gravemother from today's data?
Build with The Oracle →Frequently asked questions
What are the best upgrades for the Sliver Swarm precon?
Using data from 2,303 Sliver Gravemother decks, the highest-scoring additions are Thrumming Hivepool (for Rukarumel, Biologist), Homing Sliver (for Blade Sliver) and Predatory Sliver (for Icon of Ancestry). The full list has 4 swaps, each scored with synergy, inclusion and lift.
How much does it cost to upgrade Sliver Swarm?
All 4 swaps cost about $2.94 at the cheapest paper printings (TCGplayer market prices via Scryfall, 2026-10-27). If you want to spend more, the guide also covers Morophon, the Boundless ($7.39), Kindred Discovery ($5.16) and Root Sliver ($5.99).
What should I cut from Sliver Swarm?
The weakest cards for this commander are Rukarumel, Biologist, Blade Sliver and Icon of Ancestry. The guide explains the reason for every cut, and swaps each one for a card that scores higher.
Which cards should I keep in Sliver Swarm?
Keep Gemhide Sliver, Manaweft Sliver, Cloudshredder Sliver, Sliver Hivelord and Bonescythe Sliver. These are the cards doing the deck's heavy lifting.
What does Sliver Gravemother do?
Sliver Gravemother costs {W}{U}{B}{R}{G} and is a 6/6. The "legend rule" does not apply to Slivers you control, each Sliver creature card in your graveyard has encore {X} where X is its mana value, and Gravemother has encore {5} herself. A Sliver that dies comes back for its mana value and attacks every opponent.
More Commander Masters upgrade guides
How the numbers work
Inclusion is the share of Sliver Gravemother decks (2,303 of them when this was written, 2026-10-27) that play the card. Synergy is how much more often they play it than other decks in the same colours. Oracle score is synergy × 0.6 plus inclusion × 0.4, the same blend The Oracle uses to rank cards for a deck. Lift compares how often the card appears in these decks with how often it could, capped at 8× here; it is shown for context and does not change the score.
Two cautions. Players who run the precon unmodified count as Sliver Gravemother decks, which flatters every card the precon contains. Lift is high because only about two thousand Gravemother decks exist, so use lift to compare cards, not to judge one in isolation. Prices are the cheapest non-foil paper printing on TCGplayer (via Scryfall), in USD, and move daily.