How to Mulligan The First Sliver
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Start here: Mulligan Simulator (fast) → then Cost to Finish (money) → Budget Swaps (savings)
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Opening hand priorities
Cascade tribal deck that turns sliver density into explosive chain turns and overwhelming board snowball. The goal is not a pretty seven-card hand. It is a hand that develops mana, lines up colors, and actually points toward the deck first meaningful turns.
Ideal Early Script
- Turn 1: develop mana or the cheapest enabler for five-color Sliver cascade.
- Turn 2: add protection, card flow, or the support piece that makes First Sliver matter.
- Turn 3+: commit the commander or bridge toward the first engine turn only when the board can use it.
Your opener should support
Hands to be suspicious of
- - too many expensive slivers
- - weak early fixing
- - non-sliver cards that dilute cascade quality
Mulligan decisions with The First Sliver start with role clarity: does your opener actually support a real The First Sliver game plan around slivers and cascade? Cascade tribal deck that turns sliver density into explosive chain turns and overwhelming board snowball. The First Sliver rewards discipline on curve more than just raw sliver count. Your cheap slivers and mana need to make every cascade step live, because the deck wins by chaining velocity before the table resets.
What a keepable hand looks like
Keep hands with early fixing and at least one low-cost sliver that matters. , , , and clean five-color mana are what make the commander worth seven mana.
When to ship a hand
Ship hands with no early fixing, hands with only four- and five-mana slivers, and hands that only function if resolves immediately. The deck needs a real floor, not just a high ceiling.
Your first three turns
The first turns should be about fixing and deploying low-cost slivers that still matter once cascade starts. When you finally cast , you want the first cascade to continue a board, not to bail out a stalled hand.
Ready to test real opener quality for The First Sliver? Run your own list through the ManaTap mulligan simulator, compare play versus draw, and check how often your opener actually lines up with the plan above.
Related commander guides
FAQ
- What is the London mulligan?
- You put any number of cards from your hand on the bottom of your library, then draw back up to seven. In Commander, your first mulligan is free.
- How many lands should I keep?
- Most Commander decks want two to four lands in the opener. Low-curve decks can keep two; higher curves want three or four.
- Should I mulligan a hand with no ramp?
- It depends on your curve. If your deck needs early ramp to function, ship hands without it. If you have enough lands and cheap plays, you might keep.
- Does play vs draw affect mulligan strategy?
- Yes. On the draw you get an extra card, so you can sometimes keep slightly weaker hands.
- How can I test my mulligan strategy?
- Use the ManaTap mulligan simulator. Paste your decklist, set parameters, and run thousands of simulations to see keep rates.