Hey all! Kya here once again!

Been a busy April for me this year. It was my birthday recently and instead of the normal Magic: the Gathering gifts, someone got me Warhammer 40k miniatures! I've always been a fan of the lore and love my little Tyranids, but it's not enough for me to quit Magic outright. However it made me antsy to spread the Hive Mind to all those I come in contact with. I've always had a bit of an obsessive personality, so now it's time to infect my older hobbies with my newfound love!

One question I often receive from newer players is along the lines of how they should make their own deck. Of course they want to compete with their local meta, but aside from that they don't know where to focus. Without a love for your deck, you'll quickly become bored of it even if it preforms well against others. I've always believed that the key to building a lasting EDH deck is finding a theme or style that fits you. This could be a fun mechanic you find appealing, or a theme you are in love with. Of course, lore is always a huge selling point, but why keep it to just Magic? Let's find some inspiration from outside sources to create new decks I normally wouldn't create!

The Hive Mind

So how do I mix my new hobby with my old one? What in Magic: the Gathering can satiate my new Tyranid desire to consume all in my path? Hmm...

Tell me Sliver Hivelord doesn't look just like a Tyrant Warrior? No... a Hive Tyrant! No! This new love shall be my Swarm Lord! Okay, let's be honest ...we all know Sliver Overlord would be the Swarm Lord, but we're not going that route. "But Kya, Sliver Overlord is so much bette-" No. Just no. Kya isn't playing dirty.

Now that we got our HQ-I mean Commander, it's time to have some pawns to spread out the Hive Mind to all 4 corners of the multiverse! Granted I don't know much about Slivers so lets see what the Hive Mind- I mean EDHREC has to say about building a Sliver Deck

I wish Tyranids would work this well together. I'm sad to say I think Slivers would wreck them if they ever came face to face. Look how quickly they build on one another? They will spread the Synapse links to the other Slivers for total domination!

Of course we need protection. These little guys may not have a high wound count, but they will protect our Hive Swarm from being defeated. Seriously though, it's absolutely bonkers how low mana cost these creatures are. Who allowed this? Why can't we have this sort of support for Werewolves?

What's that? You thought our little Slivers were something to laugh at? Well look at them now! Alone a single Genestealer might not amount to much, but add in an army of them and anyone can tell you someone's about to have a bad day! No worries though, all they want to do is hug... with their giant loving scythe talons!

Of course being a tribal, having tribal support is a must. These cards above are auto includes to getting beefy Slivers out quick. Wait, they even have their own land? Where were these kinds of lands in our last tribal set? Well that's enough to sell this girl. Although I gave a slight jab at the last commander set, they did give us some awesome tools. The Kindred card cycle will be most welcomed in the Hive.

It Smells Like Orcs

Of course it's not very fun to have a new ultimate army of destruction and nothing to devour. What other 40k-style army can I have to match my murderous Slivers? Well there is one maniac race off the top of my head willing to take up the challenge...

The Orks! I mean Orcs! The only ones insane to enjoy the challenge of taking up the Slivers. Did you know that Orc Tribal is a thing? I bet not. You can find it on EDHREC Here

There is some awesome Orcs around. And they seem crazy enough to punch a Sliver right in their teethy mouths. Let's take a look at some of our green but not green baddies.

How do you defeat an enemy that doesn't care for their own well being? Destroying all those in their path without hesitation is what makes the Orcs even more of a threat then even the mighty Slivers! They'll gladly jump face-first into the Jaws of a Sliver if it means they can use the Sliver's organs as their personal punching bag!

Nothing expresses this ideology more then the above cards. Catapulting themselves forward into combat, Orcs don't care about themselves in the slightest. Not if it means taking an enemy or two with them. Of course centuries of this kind of life style can make them fairly durable. Zurgo Helmsmasher can brush the dirt off his shoulders after the land becomes a barren wasteland.

Of course Orcs need their gear. As much as they want to just take a swing at their problems, let's help our little troublemakers out by arming them with massive weapons of destruction. Being 40k themed, naturally we need war machines to join the fray! I'm pretty sure Untethered Express should have haste because it's red...

I actually own a nasty Zurgo deck, so editing out will be easy. Below is an example of a potential new Orc menece that Gork and Mork would be proud of.

Conclusion

So who would you bet on? Or better yet, who would you really want left after these two titans clash? I feel like the poor inhabitants of any Plane these two fight on won't be too happy dealing with the aftermath. So who would be our Space Marines in Magic lore? I'm personally thinking of the poor humans on Innistrad would probably be the closest to the Imperium of Man.

I hope you all enjoyed. I'd love to hear about how the various influences outside of Magic: the Gathering influence your decks. I think the happiest EDH players are the ones giddy to dive into a long history of how they build their own kingdom within their deck based on a single idea or a surrounding lore. I hope everyone has a great May!

-Norn Queen Kya