The Epic Wave started out as two completely different decks, which combined to make up for each other's weakness and forming this 100-card awesomeness.
I was building two decks in the past - a big mana Omnath, Locus of Mana deck and a spellslinger Melek, Izzet Paragon deck. The decks were supposed to represent two things I love the most in Magic - Omnath's casting bombs and Melek's combo-shenanigans.
However, after initial testing, I easily got bored of Omnath's linear game plan. Ramp, ramp, cast beater, swing. On the other hand, I found it very, very hard to ramp up to respectable mana in Melek, and I found mana rocks really anti-synergistic with the deck's instants and sorceries theme.
Light bulb: Combine the two decks?
I knew that Riku of Two Reflections would be my commander, but honestly at first I thought it was just by default in the URG colors. I looked around the forums and got directed to DramaTurtle’s thread after reading through Sonik’s excellent primer.
DramaTurtle’s Riku Flare list inspired my own build of a Mana Flare / X-spells deck, which sort of acted as my training wheels in handling spellslinger Riku. After understanding what makes the deck tick and adding in my own personal touch, the deck morphed into a dedicated combo deck, which has now become a hybrid control/combo deck.
I really love how the deck just stays back, keeping other players in check, keeping down low - until it pulls off infinite mana and Lightning Bolts everyone to their deaths.
The Epic Wave functions as a hybrid control/combo deck that stays alive just long enough, through properly placed control cards and politics, to generate enough card/resource advantage to explode for the win.
Riku is such a great spellslinger general. It provides access to green ramp to fuel the shenanigans of Izzet. I love copying bombs such Genesis Wave and Epic Experiment, but even just copying "smaller" spells such as Explosive Vegetation and Fact or Fiction puts you ahead by a wide margin. As Sonik states in his primer, think of Riku as a 5-mana investment that will make your spells more explosive on the next turn.
Additionally, Riku's copy abilities work differently for spells and creatures. While the creature copy ability triggers upon the creatures entering the battlefield, the spell copy ability triggers upon casting the spells, which puts two copies of your instant/sorcery on the stack right away. This means control players need two pieces of countermagic to prevent your spell from resolving. This is awesome at pushing through combo spells through blue players, as well as countering spells using your own countermagic - with two Plasm Captures on that entwined Tooth and Nail, you're almost sure that you'll have nine mana floating next turn.
As I mentioned in the Introduction, I thought I was going to be stuck with Riku of Two Reflections as my general just because of my colors. I was even thinking of using Intet, the Dreamer, as it cheats mana costs for bombs. However, Intet requires a lot of set-up, whereas Riku just needs to be in play to add fuel to the deck's flame.
I hope it didn't take you this long to realize why I named the deck The Epic Wave.
There's a reason why I named the deck after them. They're just so explosively fun. Genesis Wave is more of a ramp/set-up spell, drawing out more lands and stocking up my graveyard with juice. Waving into a Seedborn Muse is awesome as well. Epic Experiment, on the other hand, just goes through the deck quickly, firing off so many spells that it makes it impossible for opponents to catch up. As a bonus, sometimes it just flips all the combo pieces and wins right away.
They're not the win conditions, and I don't need to even see them for the deck to win. However, they're the most iconic spells in the deck and the ones that provide the largest advantage when they resolve.
RAMP
Riku is really mana-hungry for a Wizard.
The deck loves to ramp. It really, REALLY does. I snap keep hands of 5 lands and 2 ramp spells. That's because everything the deck does feeds off of the mana available to it. While that can be said of, well, any EDH deck, this deck just really loves to abuse big mana, more than most.
Riku's copy ability makes ramp spells even more potent. Kodama's Reach becomes a 5cc spell that puts two lands in to the battlefield and two lands into your hand. I don't know about you, but I think that's amazing.
However, when going up against deck which might have mass land destruction, it would be best to keep one ramp spell in hand - losing lands really hurts, but one ramp spell after and you'll be right back in it.
CONTROL/COUNTERS
This is a control/combo deck - with control coming first. No sense pulling off a combo when the rest of the table has moved on because you're DEAD.
The deck features a versatile suite of control cards that will keep your opponents in check. Not in an oppressive manner though, just enough to keep them from winning faster than you. It's best to use them sparingly so that you won't make enemies, and only on things that you absolutely don't want to see.
Also, for a while I refused to run countermagic, thinking that they were bombos with Epic Experiment. However, the need is just too huge too ignore - a small package is now in to wait for mass land destruction, game-winning spells such as Tooth and Nail, and problematic generals that need to be tucked. Cryptic Command can be cast off of Epic Experiment for non-counter modes, while Plasm Capture is awesome at feeding Waves and Experiments.
FLASH BOMBS
So many timing and play options open up when you can play everything at instant speed.
You can wait for a blue player to tap out at anyone's end of turn and pull off your combo in response, flash in Sakura-Tribe Elder and a copy as a surprise blocker and ramp, Regrowth a Plasm Capture to stop a game-breaking spell - the possibilities are endless.
COMBOS / SYNERGIES
The deck utilizes the infinite mana combos of Turnabout/Rude Awakening + Reiterate/Nivix Guildmage. The combo works by putting either of the untap-lands spells on the stack then copying it with Reiterate (with buyback) or Nivix Guildmage's second ability. The copy will resolve first, untapping your lands with the original spell still on the stack. If you have enough lands, you can then just copy the untap-lands spell again, netting you mana every iteration.
Reiterate and Nivix Guildmage also function as parts of the win condition after the infinite mana, with both of them copying whatever kill spell you have in hand ad infinitum. Nivix Guildmage adds a looting ability as a bonus to dig for your win condition if you don't have one in hand.
Take note that Turnabout and Reiterate are both instants, meaning that with both cards in hand, you can just wait for the perfect opportunity to produce infinite mana. Any other instant spell that either deals damage or draws cards will win it for you then.
Don't worry about using a combo piece early on though, such as Reiterate-ing an opponent's ramp spell when yours aren't showing up. You can very easily grab it back from the graveyard with the many recursion options.
A new combo that was added to the deck is the Dualcaster Mage / Rite of Replication combo. Targeting the Rite with Mage's ETB will lead to infinite 2/2's. The copies don't have haste though, but if the combo is done at EOT with one of the flashers, it's as good as any surprise win-con. A major bonus is that Dualcaster Mage can be cast to target the Rite of another player, which leads to the same effect.
As mentioned, flash enablers (Alchemist's Refuge, Vedalken Orrery, and Leyline of Anticipation) combined with Seedborn Muse gives the deck so much versatility and raw power, as you are technically able to take your turn alongside every other player. Muse is a kill-on-sight card though, so this doesn't usually last long. However, for the turns that it does, you will be able to get incredible advantage.
These two types of cards are nowhere near useless when the other type isn't in play, however. Flash enablers give what any control deck loves - the possibility to interact with anything at any point of the turn. Seedborn allow you the option to bait spells at their end of turn so that you can have one massive one on yours. A fun thing to do with the Muse is use Kessig Wolf Run on creatures that are attacking your opponents, pushing them to deal damage to each other instead of you.
There is a healthy amount of recursion in the deck to keep you in a good position with the control spells you've drawn and the combo pieces that you've used. As a bonus, any of the recursion spells (Regrowth, Recollect, Mystic Retrieval), combined with Riku of Two Reflections, allows you to keep casting any card, copying the recursion spell to get the card and the other recursion spell from the graveyard. This is a game-ending infinite turns combo with Time Warp.
Another recursion-based but more versatile combination is Eternal Witness or Archaeomancer and Cryptic Command or any mass bounce spell such as Evacuation. With Riku in play, Witness and its copy grabs two things back - the Command and any other card. When you cast the Command with its copy, you can bounce the Witness and any another permanent plus double the effect of whatever second mode you choose. With Witness in hand and Command in grave, you're all set to do it again.
STRENGTHS / WEAKNESSES
The biggest strength of the deck is its ability to adapt and respond to whatever board state comes up in a game of Commander. It runs just enough control to keep the game fair, just enough draw to refill the hand, just enough tutors to grab what's needed, and just enough kill cards to come out on top. The myriad of ways that the deck can take to win surprises even me, and I feel that I learn something about the deck every time that I take it out for a spin.
Additionally, the deck has the ability to keep a low profile. With only lands and Riku in play, most wouldn't look at you as a threat. Unlike other decks that drop bombs and combo pieces onto the table, you just while away your turns, reacting only when needed and diverting the attention to other, scarier board states. They just don't know that "lands and Riku" is all you need to win.
As for weaknesses, the deck's major weakness is mass land destruction. That's exactly how you kill a deck that loves and thrives through ramp. As mentioned above, MLD is the main reason why I had to put in a few pieces of countermagic to try to answer this. Additionally, holding back some lands and a ramp spell helps when you know that you're up against a deck that loves its MLD.
Another weakness for the deck is mass discard. The deck aims to gather incremental card advantage and collects combo pieces and answers in hand, so a discard spell that kills your entire hand is very painful.
Added:
Reflecting Pool
Thespian's Stage
Riptide Laboratory
3 Chord of Calling
3 Sea Gate Oracle
3 Dualcaster Mage
4 Archaeomancer
4 Clever Impersonator
4 Rite of Replication
5 Illusory Ambusher
5 Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
5 Bribery
Explanation in latest post.
WANT TO ADDS / DROPS - 06/26/16
I am always looking to add more early-game defense to the deck, as it has been drawing a lot of heat lately in my playgroup. I have been considering pillowfort enchantments such as Propaganda and Collective Restraint, as well as defensive spells such as Reins of Power and Illusionist's Gambit.
As always, the tough part is deciding what to cut. I have been actually thinking of dropping the deck's namesakes, Genesis Wave and Epic Experiment, as the deck functions cleanly even without them.
So there you have it, The Epic Wave. Comments and suggestions are always welcome, of course.
After initial testing with Steam Augury, it looks like I won't be running it. It's a better card than most people give it credit, but it just doesn't fit here. =|
Any suggestions for a draw spell to replace it? Preferably instant speed, but I'll listen to cases for sorceries. All I have in my mind right now are Stroke of Genius and Recurring Insight.
OK, the deck really needs more card draw. I had Ponder, Preordain and Brainstorm in there before. Should I put those back in, along with bigger draw spells like Recurring Insight? What do I take out for those, ramp?
Massive update. Really loving my draw package right now. Scratch what I said about Steam Augury, I now understand how to use it effectively and it's been crazy good.
This is the Riku spellslinger build I've been testing. It's based off of my Nin Spellslinger.
Perhaps it can be of help. I haven't finalized it, and there are a couple of flex slots; I run no infinite combos though.
Your deck is a wheel deck, which is an interesting build for Riku to helm. While I do see the merits, this is a direction that I do not want my deck to go because then it would be too similar to my other deck - a Nekusar draw-punisher deck.
Just got off a game where I realized that I could just Comet Storm everyone to death, after a Boundless Realms and dropping Doubling Cube. I could practically hear the comets smashing them into oblivion.
The wheels are what fuels the draw. I was tossing around the idea of playing mana severance to get those pesky colorless lands out of my deck, but I haven't convinced myself that it will work.
Comet Storm is a great wincon; I'm always considering adding that, but I don't generate insane mana. May try out doubling cube, but have to find a colorless card to cut for it.
Memory's Journey is good in that it has flashback, but have you considered Gaea's Blessing? It does essentially the same thing for one green and a colorless but you sacrifice the flashback for mill protection. I have found this card to be exceptionally helpful since many of the people I play with either run mill cards or Sword of Body and Mind. Just a suggestion.
Incidentally, also have some extra cash to put into the deck. Will probably get some shocks and other lands to tidy up the mana base, but also looking at adding Cryptic Command and Intuition.
The big thing about Cryptic Command, against most other counterspells, is that I can still cast it off of Epic Experiment. The modes are also really strong when copied.
As for Intuition, I've been trying out different piles in my head. Any two instant/sorceries with Mystic Retrieval means I can get both of those cards into my hand no matter what the opponent chooses. Along with Retrieval, Regrowth, Recollect and Past In Flames love juicy graveyards. However, this might open me up a bit more to grave hate, hence why I think I still need to find room for Memory's Journey and Krosan Reclamation.
Cards on the chopping block are Doubling Cube (makes me go too all-in on one turn, which I rarely have the luxury to do so), Curse of the Swine (sorcery speed really kills it as the Bacon will surely be swinging at me, the exile effect has also never really been a factor), Firemind's Foresight (this has won me a lot of games, grabbing Reiterate, Comet Storm, Mystical Tutor, which tutors for Turnabout. I doubt Intuition will be able to replace it, but the high cc has been problematic at times), and any of the 4cc draw spells.
EDIT: Thinking of replacing Past in Flames with Eternal Witness. It's very rare that I actually need to cast several cards in my graveyard at a time. Exiling the cards after resolution is also a bummer, as I can't do buyback shenanigans with it. Eternal Witness will make my Genesis Waves a bit better, and goes well with the Cryptic Command that I'm adding, especially with Prophet of Kruphix in play.
Thank you for directing me here. You actually gave me the idea to take your deck idea in another direction: no counter magic, no combo-wombos, full on burn, ramp and draw. Use a couple of creatures like Goblin Electromancer to ease up the casting of instants and sorceries. Melek, Izzet Paragon for the occasional double-up spell. Seedborn Muse and Prophet of Kruphix for the untap shenanigans and lots of Blaze like effects.
This deck idea is not to be used in a competitive environment, it's just a "chaos" deck.
What do you think?
TSZ:
I've got a similar list of Cockatrice (with a bit of enchantment and artifact removal and creatures bounce to get around some annoying things.)
I don't add any mana doublers, but it is an extremely fun deck. I can post the list if you want.
The deck can actually be taken into a non-combo direction and is something that I might do in the near future, simply replacing all combo pieces with bombs such as Rite of Replication, Blatant Thievery, etc. The foundation of the deck is as solid as I think it could be.
As for Boseiji, Who Shelters All, i have thought about. However, the deck already grinds out well enough that sometimes, countermagic isn't an issue. The 2 life per mana can also add up, as I want to maximize my mana every turn cycle.
After playing around with an infinite turn list of riku with a mostly artifact based ramp package, I stumbled upon your list which was kind of a list I used to run I took your list and made a few changes and it seems to be right up my alley.
A couple of things i like are dualcaster mage and riptide laboratory combo not to mention lab combos well with glen elandra arch mage which i also added and protects all you wizards including riku from spot removal.
I also added reset to fully take advantage of fireminds forsight since you can get your whole combo with it now.
I cut magus of the future for Azami and mystic retrieval for archeomancer to take advantage of prophet/seedborn
and utilize laboratory with archeomancer.
Lastly I added swan song fow and pact to protect combos I cut hinder and and plasm capture but I may cut the temporal manipulation I put in over time warp because misdirection sucks for the plasm capture I feel the time warp is probably unnecessary.
After initial testing with Steam Augury, it looks like I won't be running it. It's a better card than most people give it credit, but it just doesn't fit here. =|
Any suggestions for a draw spell to replace it? Preferably instant speed, but I'll listen to cases for sorceries. All I have in my mind right now are Stroke of Genius and Recurring Insight.
This may seem costly but I like Prophetic Bolt because it is an instant that does a finishing 8 damage with riku in the late game to either kill a big threat on the board or end your opponent; furthermore, it allows you to draw and dig cards.
Cerebral Vortex is also worth a mention. The downside is doing damage to yourself. However, you may force your opponent to card draws near the end of the game to do a bit of added damage.
A personal favourite is Browbeat, although it is not an instant, it is versatile at either doing damage or drawing you cards.
First change is a fix on the manabase, which also saw me add Riptide Laboratory. The card functions as a Riku-saver, but also combos with the newly-added Archaeomancer for infinite turns by recurring Time Warps.
I also removed burn spells which were functioning mostly as Reiterate targets post-combo. They felt kind of win-more, as it is very easy to find a way to win with infinite mana. With Lightning Bolt and Comet Storm out, I felt that Firemind's Foresight was no longer needed.
With Chord in the deck, I added a few more creatures that can be tutored, and which can also serve as blockers in the early game. Also added was Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir, also a wizard and offers half of what Prophet was capable of.
I have also added the Dualcaster Mage / Rite of Replication combo, as the pieces fit so well with the rest of the deck and it's pretty good for a back-up win-con.
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INTRODUCTION
The Epic Wave started out as two completely different decks, which combined to make up for each other's weakness and forming this 100-card awesomeness.
I was building two decks in the past - a big mana Omnath, Locus of Mana deck and a spellslinger Melek, Izzet Paragon deck. The decks were supposed to represent two things I love the most in Magic - Omnath's casting bombs and Melek's combo-shenanigans.
However, after initial testing, I easily got bored of Omnath's linear game plan. Ramp, ramp, cast beater, swing. On the other hand, I found it very, very hard to ramp up to respectable mana in Melek, and I found mana rocks really anti-synergistic with the deck's instants and sorceries theme.
Light bulb: Combine the two decks?
I knew that Riku of Two Reflections would be my commander, but honestly at first I thought it was just by default in the URG colors. I looked around the forums and got directed to DramaTurtle’s thread after reading through Sonik’s excellent primer.
DramaTurtle’s Riku Flare list inspired my own build of a Mana Flare / X-spells deck, which sort of acted as my training wheels in handling spellslinger Riku. After understanding what makes the deck tick and adding in my own personal touch, the deck morphed into a dedicated combo deck, which has now become a hybrid control/combo deck.
I really love how the deck just stays back, keeping other players in check, keeping down low - until it pulls off infinite mana and Lightning Bolts everyone to their deaths.
"Pongify Kaalia of the Vast, sorry. Cryptic Command that Armageddon, because it's going to make it harder for every one. Why are you attacking me? I'm not a threat, I don't have creatures out! Plasm Capture that Tooth and Nail, because the table wants me to. Oh look, infinite mana. FEEL THE PROPHETIC BOLTS RAINING DOWN ON YOU ALL."
This is The Epic Wave.
DECKLIST - as of 06/26/16
The Epic Wave functions as a hybrid control/combo deck that stays alive just long enough, through properly placed control cards and politics, to generate enough card/resource advantage to explode for the win.
6 Mountain
6 Island
1 Breeding Pool
1 Steam Vents
1 Stomping Ground
1 Hinterland Harbor
1 Sulfur Falls
1 Rootbound Crag
1 Karplusan Forest
1 Shivan Reef
1 Yavimaya Coast
1 Temple of Abandon
1 Temple of Epiphany
1 Temple of Mystery
1 Reflecting Pool
1 Thespian's Stage
1 Riptide Laboratory
1 Command Tower
1 Kessig Wolf Run
1 Alchemist's Refuge
1 Reliquary Tower
1 Frontier Bivouac
1 Sol Ring
2 Sakura-Tribe Elder
2 Rampant Growth
3 Farseek
3 Cultivate
3 Kodama's Reach
3 Chromatic Lantern
3 Harrow
4 Explosive Vegetation
4 Solemn Simulacrum
4 Reap and Sow
2 Twincast
2 Reverberate
3 Reiterate
3 Dualcaster Mage
4 Clever Impersonator
4 Rite of Replication
5 Bribery
1 Mystical Tutor
2 Merchant Scroll
3 Intuition
3 Chord of Calling
1 Sensei's Divining Top
2 Impulse
2 Anticipate
3 Blue Sun's Zenith
3 Stroke of Genius
3 Sea Gate Oracle
4 Fact or Fiction
5 Prophetic Bolt
5 Illusory Ambusher
1 Pongify
1 Rapid Hybridization
2 Cyclonic Rift
2 Starstorm
3 Capsize
3 Beast Within
4 Chain Reaction
5 Evacuation
5 Devastation Tide
9 Blasphemous Act
4 Plasm Capture
4 Cryptic Command
5 Mystic Confluence
2 Epic Experiment
3 Genesis Wave
4 Vedalken Orrery
4 Leyline of Anticipation
5 Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
4 Turnabout
5 Rude Awakening
5 Seedborn Muse
2 Regrowth
3 Recollect
3 Eternal Witness
4 Mystic Retrieval
4 Archaeomancer
5 Time Warp
6 Walk The Aeons
CARD CHOICES
COMMANDER - RIKU OF TWO REFLECTIONS
Explosiveness in a 2/2 body.
Riku is such a great spellslinger general. It provides access to green ramp to fuel the shenanigans of Izzet. I love copying bombs such Genesis Wave and Epic Experiment, but even just copying "smaller" spells such as Explosive Vegetation and Fact or Fiction puts you ahead by a wide margin. As Sonik states in his primer, think of Riku as a 5-mana investment that will make your spells more explosive on the next turn.
Additionally, Riku's copy abilities work differently for spells and creatures. While the creature copy ability triggers upon the creatures entering the battlefield, the spell copy ability triggers upon casting the spells, which puts two copies of your instant/sorcery on the stack right away. This means control players need two pieces of countermagic to prevent your spell from resolving. This is awesome at pushing through combo spells through blue players, as well as countering spells using your own countermagic - with two Plasm Captures on that entwined Tooth and Nail, you're almost sure that you'll have nine mana floating next turn.
As I mentioned in the Introduction, I thought I was going to be stuck with Riku of Two Reflections as my general just because of my colors. I was even thinking of using Intet, the Dreamer, as it cheats mana costs for bombs. However, Intet requires a lot of set-up, whereas Riku just needs to be in play to add fuel to the deck's flame.
THE NAMESAKES - GENESIS WAVE/EPIC EXPERIMENT
I hope it didn't take you this long to realize why I named the deck The Epic Wave.
There's a reason why I named the deck after them. They're just so explosively fun. Genesis Wave is more of a ramp/set-up spell, drawing out more lands and stocking up my graveyard with juice. Waving into a Seedborn Muse is awesome as well. Epic Experiment, on the other hand, just goes through the deck quickly, firing off so many spells that it makes it impossible for opponents to catch up. As a bonus, sometimes it just flips all the combo pieces and wins right away.
They're not the win conditions, and I don't need to even see them for the deck to win. However, they're the most iconic spells in the deck and the ones that provide the largest advantage when they resolve.
RAMP
Riku is really mana-hungry for a Wizard.
The deck loves to ramp. It really, REALLY does. I snap keep hands of 5 lands and 2 ramp spells. That's because everything the deck does feeds off of the mana available to it. While that can be said of, well, any EDH deck, this deck just really loves to abuse big mana, more than most.
Riku's copy ability makes ramp spells even more potent. Kodama's Reach becomes a 5cc spell that puts two lands in to the battlefield and two lands into your hand. I don't know about you, but I think that's amazing.
However, when going up against deck which might have mass land destruction, it would be best to keep one ramp spell in hand - losing lands really hurts, but one ramp spell after and you'll be right back in it.
CONTROL/COUNTERS
This is a control/combo deck - with control coming first. No sense pulling off a combo when the rest of the table has moved on because you're DEAD.
The deck features a versatile suite of control cards that will keep your opponents in check. Not in an oppressive manner though, just enough to keep them from winning faster than you. It's best to use them sparingly so that you won't make enemies, and only on things that you absolutely don't want to see.
Also, for a while I refused to run countermagic, thinking that they were bombos with Epic Experiment. However, the need is just too huge too ignore - a small package is now in to wait for mass land destruction, game-winning spells such as Tooth and Nail, and problematic generals that need to be tucked. Cryptic Command can be cast off of Epic Experiment for non-counter modes, while Plasm Capture is awesome at feeding Waves and Experiments.
FLASH BOMBS
So many timing and play options open up when you can play everything at instant speed.
Vedalken Orrery, Leyline of Anticipation, and Alchemist's Refuge grant the ability to play all spells at instant speed, which gives the deck so much versatility. The effect is indispensable, and combined with Seedborn Muse, lets me take my turns during each of my opponent's turns as well. EOT Epic Experiment, anyone?
You can wait for a blue player to tap out at anyone's end of turn and pull off your combo in response, flash in Sakura-Tribe Elder and a copy as a surprise blocker and ramp, Regrowth a Plasm Capture to stop a game-breaking spell - the possibilities are endless.
COMBOS / SYNERGIES
The deck utilizes the infinite mana combos of Turnabout/Rude Awakening + Reiterate/Nivix Guildmage. The combo works by putting either of the untap-lands spells on the stack then copying it with Reiterate (with buyback) or Nivix Guildmage's second ability. The copy will resolve first, untapping your lands with the original spell still on the stack. If you have enough lands, you can then just copy the untap-lands spell again, netting you mana every iteration.
Reiterate and Nivix Guildmage also function as parts of the win condition after the infinite mana, with both of them copying whatever kill spell you have in hand ad infinitum. Nivix Guildmage adds a looting ability as a bonus to dig for your win condition if you don't have one in hand.
Take note that Turnabout and Reiterate are both instants, meaning that with both cards in hand, you can just wait for the perfect opportunity to produce infinite mana. Any other instant spell that either deals damage or draws cards will win it for you then.
Don't worry about using a combo piece early on though, such as Reiterate-ing an opponent's ramp spell when yours aren't showing up. You can very easily grab it back from the graveyard with the many recursion options.
A new combo that was added to the deck is the Dualcaster Mage / Rite of Replication combo. Targeting the Rite with Mage's ETB will lead to infinite 2/2's. The copies don't have haste though, but if the combo is done at EOT with one of the flashers, it's as good as any surprise win-con. A major bonus is that Dualcaster Mage can be cast to target the Rite of another player, which leads to the same effect.
As mentioned, flash enablers (Alchemist's Refuge, Vedalken Orrery, and Leyline of Anticipation) combined with Seedborn Muse gives the deck so much versatility and raw power, as you are technically able to take your turn alongside every other player. Muse is a kill-on-sight card though, so this doesn't usually last long. However, for the turns that it does, you will be able to get incredible advantage.
These two types of cards are nowhere near useless when the other type isn't in play, however. Flash enablers give what any control deck loves - the possibility to interact with anything at any point of the turn. Seedborn allow you the option to bait spells at their end of turn so that you can have one massive one on yours. A fun thing to do with the Muse is use Kessig Wolf Run on creatures that are attacking your opponents, pushing them to deal damage to each other instead of you.
There is a healthy amount of recursion in the deck to keep you in a good position with the control spells you've drawn and the combo pieces that you've used. As a bonus, any of the recursion spells (Regrowth, Recollect, Mystic Retrieval), combined with Riku of Two Reflections, allows you to keep casting any card, copying the recursion spell to get the card and the other recursion spell from the graveyard. This is a game-ending infinite turns combo with Time Warp.
Another recursion-based but more versatile combination is Eternal Witness or Archaeomancer and Cryptic Command or any mass bounce spell such as Evacuation. With Riku in play, Witness and its copy grabs two things back - the Command and any other card. When you cast the Command with its copy, you can bounce the Witness and any another permanent plus double the effect of whatever second mode you choose. With Witness in hand and Command in grave, you're all set to do it again.
STRENGTHS / WEAKNESSES
The biggest strength of the deck is its ability to adapt and respond to whatever board state comes up in a game of Commander. It runs just enough control to keep the game fair, just enough draw to refill the hand, just enough tutors to grab what's needed, and just enough kill cards to come out on top. The myriad of ways that the deck can take to win surprises even me, and I feel that I learn something about the deck every time that I take it out for a spin.
Additionally, the deck has the ability to keep a low profile. With only lands and Riku in play, most wouldn't look at you as a threat. Unlike other decks that drop bombs and combo pieces onto the table, you just while away your turns, reacting only when needed and diverting the attention to other, scarier board states. They just don't know that "lands and Riku" is all you need to win.
As for weaknesses, the deck's major weakness is mass land destruction. That's exactly how you kill a deck that loves and thrives through ramp. As mentioned above, MLD is the main reason why I had to put in a few pieces of countermagic to try to answer this. Additionally, holding back some lands and a ramp spell helps when you know that you're up against a deck that loves its MLD.
Another weakness for the deck is mass discard. The deck aims to gather incremental card advantage and collects combo pieces and answers in hand, so a discard spell that kills your entire hand is very painful.
CHANGE LOG
Changes for 06/26/16
Removed:
Vivid lands
1 Lightning Bolt
2 Turn//Burn
2 Comet Storm
5 Gilded Lotus
5 Mirari
5 Primal Command
5 Prophet of Kruphix
5 Mana Geyser
7 Firemind's Foresight
Added:
Reflecting Pool
Thespian's Stage
Riptide Laboratory
3 Chord of Calling
3 Sea Gate Oracle
3 Dualcaster Mage
4 Archaeomancer
4 Clever Impersonator
4 Rite of Replication
5 Illusory Ambusher
5 Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
5 Bribery
Explanation in latest post.
WANT TO ADDS / DROPS - 06/26/16
I am always looking to add more early-game defense to the deck, as it has been drawing a lot of heat lately in my playgroup. I have been considering pillowfort enchantments such as Propaganda and Collective Restraint, as well as defensive spells such as Reins of Power and Illusionist's Gambit.
As always, the tough part is deciding what to cut. I have been actually thinking of dropping the deck's namesakes, Genesis Wave and Epic Experiment, as the deck functions cleanly even without them.
So there you have it, The Epic Wave. Comments and suggestions are always welcome, of course.
Any suggestions for a draw spell to replace it? Preferably instant speed, but I'll listen to cases for sorceries. All I have in my mind right now are Stroke of Genius and Recurring Insight.
This is the Riku spellslinger build I've been testing. It's based off of my Nin Spellslinger.
Perhaps it can be of help. I haven't finalized it, and there are a couple of flex slots; I run no infinite combos though.
http://mtgdeckbuilder.net/Decks/ViewDeck/1012385
Just got off a game where I realized that I could just Comet Storm everyone to death, after a Boundless Realms and dropping Doubling Cube. I could practically hear the comets smashing them into oblivion.
Comet Storm is a great wincon; I'm always considering adding that, but I don't generate insane mana. May try out doubling cube, but have to find a colorless card to cut for it.
I will be testing Memory's Journey and Krosan Reclamation later over Magus of the Future and Future Sight.
Incidentally, also have some extra cash to put into the deck. Will probably get some shocks and other lands to tidy up the mana base, but also looking at adding Cryptic Command and Intuition.
The big thing about Cryptic Command, against most other counterspells, is that I can still cast it off of Epic Experiment. The modes are also really strong when copied.
As for Intuition, I've been trying out different piles in my head. Any two instant/sorceries with Mystic Retrieval means I can get both of those cards into my hand no matter what the opponent chooses. Along with Retrieval, Regrowth, Recollect and Past In Flames love juicy graveyards. However, this might open me up a bit more to grave hate, hence why I think I still need to find room for Memory's Journey and Krosan Reclamation.
Cards on the chopping block are Doubling Cube (makes me go too all-in on one turn, which I rarely have the luxury to do so), Curse of the Swine (sorcery speed really kills it as the Bacon will surely be swinging at me, the exile effect has also never really been a factor), Firemind's Foresight (this has won me a lot of games, grabbing Reiterate, Comet Storm, Mystical Tutor, which tutors for Turnabout. I doubt Intuition will be able to replace it, but the high cc has been problematic at times), and any of the 4cc draw spells.
EDIT: Thinking of replacing Past in Flames with Eternal Witness. It's very rare that I actually need to cast several cards in my graveyard at a time. Exiling the cards after resolution is also a bummer, as I can't do buyback shenanigans with it. Eternal Witness will make my Genesis Waves a bit better, and goes well with the Cryptic Command that I'm adding, especially with Prophet of Kruphix in play.
I've got a similar list of Cockatrice (with a bit of enchantment and artifact removal and creatures bounce to get around some annoying things.)
I don't add any mana doublers, but it is an extremely fun deck. I can post the list if you want.
1 Anger of the Gods
1 Banefire
1 Blasphemous Act
1 Blaze
1 Boundless Realms
1 Brilliant Plan
1 Browbeat
1 Clan Defiance
1 Comet Storm
1 Concentrate
1 Cultivate
1 Curse of the Swine
1 Decimate
1 Deep Reconnaissance
1 Demonfire
1 Destructive Revelry
1 Devil's Play
1 Disintegrate
1 Epic Experiment
1 Exploding Borders
1 Explosive Vegetation
1 Far Wanderings
1 Fireball
1 Flame Wave
12 Forest
1 Frantic Search
1 Frenzied Tilling
1 Ghitu Fire
1 Ground Assault
1 Growth Spasm
1 Harmonize
1 Hull Breach
12 Island
1 Jace's Ingenuity
1 Journey of Discovery
1 Kaervek's Torch
1 Kodama's Reach
1 Lava Burst
1 Magmaquake
12 Mountain
1 Mwonvuli Acid-Moss
1 Mysteries of the Deep
1 Opportunity
1 Petals of Insight
1 Reap and Sow
1 Red Sun's Zenith
1 Savage Twister
1 Search for Tomorrow
1 Sift
1 Slagstorm
1 Street Spasm
1 Thassa's Bounty
1 Thoughtflare
1 Tidings
1 Urban Evolution
1 Volcanic Fallout
1 Foresee
1 Vengeful Rebirth
1 Compulsive Research
1 Back to Nature
1 Tranquility
1 Reverent Silence
1 Creeping Corrosion
1 Shatterstorm
1 Pulverize
As for Boseiji, Who Shelters All, i have thought about. However, the deck already grinds out well enough that sometimes, countermagic isn't an issue. The 2 life per mana can also add up, as I want to maximize my mana every turn cycle.
A couple of things i like are dualcaster mage and riptide laboratory combo not to mention lab combos well with glen elandra arch mage which i also added and protects all you wizards including riku from spot removal.
I also added reset to fully take advantage of fireminds forsight since you can get your whole combo with it now.
I cut magus of the future for Azami and mystic retrieval for archeomancer to take advantage of prophet/seedborn
and utilize laboratory with archeomancer.
Lastly I added swan song fow and pact to protect combos I cut hinder and and plasm capture but I may cut the temporal manipulation I put in over time warp because misdirection sucks for the plasm capture I feel the time warp is probably unnecessary.
This may seem costly but I like Prophetic Bolt because it is an instant that does a finishing 8 damage with riku in the late game to either kill a big threat on the board or end your opponent; furthermore, it allows you to draw and dig cards.
Cerebral Vortex is also worth a mention. The downside is doing damage to yourself. However, you may force your opponent to card draws near the end of the game to do a bit of added damage.
A personal favourite is Browbeat, although it is not an instant, it is versatile at either doing damage or drawing you cards.
The opening post has been updated to reflect its reborn state.
Removed:
Added:
First change is a fix on the manabase, which also saw me add Riptide Laboratory. The card functions as a Riku-saver, but also combos with the newly-added Archaeomancer for infinite turns by recurring Time Warps.
I also removed burn spells which were functioning mostly as Reiterate targets post-combo. They felt kind of win-more, as it is very easy to find a way to win with infinite mana. With Lightning Bolt and Comet Storm out, I felt that Firemind's Foresight was no longer needed.
With the ban of Prophet of Kruphix, I felt that the next best thing was to tutor for her untapping partner, Seedborn Muse. Primal Command felt too slow for what would be its primary task, so I replaced that with Chord of Calling.
With Chord in the deck, I added a few more creatures that can be tutored, and which can also serve as blockers in the early game. Also added was Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir, also a wizard and offers half of what Prophet was capable of.
I have also added the Dualcaster Mage / Rite of Replication combo, as the pieces fit so well with the rest of the deck and it's pretty good for a back-up win-con.