Welcome, and thanks for checking out my post. This is the first time I'm posting my commander decklist onto MTGSalvation and any and all feedback is welcome. I also need to give a huge shout out to Sonik and his retired primer for Riku of Two Reflections Which you can find here. That is the thread that fist gave me the inspiration to build this deck and helped me through the process of building. It is worth the read if you are looking at using Riku as your commander.
The Dream Team is what I call the combination of Riku and Intet. These two work very well together and in combination with a few other cards such as Scroll Rack. While I mainly use Riku as my Commander he can easily be swapped out for Intet Which I often do for more causal games or when I'm playing against less powerful decks.
A couple of things to note about the deck: First of all, beyond tweaks here and there, it is basically complete. The only thing I am missing are the two fetchlands. (At no point in the foreseeable future will I be getting all three original dual lands) Second of all at my LGS PrimeTime and Prophet of Kruphix remain off the ban list which is why I am playing them.
Strategy:
The basic strategy of this deck is to use Riku and his abilities to generate value. However my list gets much more in depth. In Sonik's Primer he mentions several ways you can play the Riku deck. One of the examples he gave were a Birthing Pod ladder, using the general pod strategies. Another was a more Izzet themed deck which made use of Riku's Instant/Sorcery copying ability. My list attempts to combine the two into what I'm calling "Izzet Green" It makes use of a pod chain of creatures that either work well with instant/sorceries or have "instant/sorcery like effects". Then with cards like Prophet of Kruphix out you can play your turns during your opponent's and get extra value out of cards like birthing pod. The end result is a very effective answer based deck that, thanks to cards like Noxious Revival and Reclaim, along with all the tutors, gets to play with the hand, library, and graveyard all at once.
Academy RuinsThere are enough artifacts for me to justify running this card Kessig Wolf RunWith the amount of mana you will have at your disposal this card is great for pushing damage Alchemist's RefugeThis card is a must if you can't use the Prophet. Works great in combination with Seedborn Muse Dryad ArborThis is basically just in here for the turn one ramp with Green Sun's Zenith Spellskite Protection for Riku Sakura-Tribe Elder Ramp Goblin Electromancer Again this deck is very mana hungry and this guy really helps Trinket Mage Sonik mentions in his Primer that you really want to be at four drops with Riku because then you can play Riku and the turn after you can use his ability to cast and copy a four drop. In my opinion this guy is one better. T5 you cast Riku T6 you cast and copy this guy fetching Sol Ring and Top, You then cast the Ring then the top, then you top. Perfect Fierce Empath We have a lot of big things and searching for them is nice Eternal Witness I mean... it's Ewit Venser, Shaper Savant If you have triple blue on T6 with Riku on the field this guy will take care of any permanent/ spell even if the spell is "uncounterable" You cast him and then copy him, the first one hits the field and bounces the spell/permenant, the copy hits the field bouncing the real one back to hand. Reusable counter CloneThe three clone effects we have in this deck are absolutely instrumental to the pod chain and I don't think it would work without them. These things copy everything about the target including mana cost so they can fill in for a missing mana cost or get you from a 3 drop to 6 drop depending on what your opponents are playing. Oracle of Mul Daya Extra land drops and clears the top of the library. Archaeomancer Gets stuff back Galvanoth With all the topdeck manipulation we have in this deck we can reliably make this guy hit good stuff Prophet of Kruphix I was running Master Biomancer before I found out this guy was not banned at the LGS and really there is no replacement but whatever you feel like running. Vesuvan Doppelganger This card has become one of my pet cards. It comes down and gets the ETB effect of whatever and then next upkeep it transforms into whatever you need. Be it a certain CMC for the pod or just a defensive creature like an opponents Gisela, Blade of Goldnight Seedborn Muse Prophet's unappreciated older sister. Not nearly as good but still good enough to be in the deck. Plus with Alchemist's refuge they are basically the same thing. Melek, Izzet Paragon Again there is enough topdeck manipulation for this guy to be good. Plus he doubles stuff and then Riku can double the stuff again. Primeval TitanThis is where most of the ramp comes from. If hes banned at your LGS then just play Prime Speaker Zeganaor something Intet, The DreamerThe back up General. I really like her for flavor reasons and shes pretty good. Also amazing with Scroll Rack Progenitor MimicA clone that copies itself each upkeep? sign me right the heck up. I have wanted to play with this card since it was spoiled and it fits perfectly here. Chancellor of the SpiresNeeded a seven drop and this guy can be really good. I was thinking about cutting him but then I used him and a combination of clones to cast and opponent's Cruel Ultimatum13 times killing all of my opponents TerastodonHe is really good when you copy him then follow it up with an overloaded mizzium mortars or cyclonic rift Utvara Hellkite Needed another 8 drop but I might replace him with Baelfire Dragon soon. Mystical Tutor Lets us find things. Noxious Revival/Reclaim Lets us play with the graveyard and also interacts well with miracle cards.
[card]Counterspell[/cards] I walways like to play at least one counter in any blue deck just to keep opponents guessing. ReverberateCopy stuff. Cyclonic RiftIt's not fair and feels pretty dirty. It feels even dirtier in response to a miracled Reforge the Soul... lol Krosan GripMostly just to deal with artifact combo players HarrowRamp Beast WithinTakes care of anything Fact or FicitonSo much card advantage especially when copied PreordainSaves some otherwise iffy hands VandalblastHonestly this card sucks 90% of the time you draw it but that 10% is very important
[card]Green Sun's Zenith[/cards]This card is amazing in the opening hand because of dryad arbor and it's amazing to draw. Win Win
[card]Mizzium Mortars[/cards]Boardwipe is important and this is basically the best we get in Temur colors Rampant GrowthCultivateKodama's ReachSkyshroud ClaimRamp FabricateThis will mostly be going after pod Past in FlamesLets us replay key spells from the graveyard that may have gotten countered or just for extra value Reforge the SoulWe have enough topdeck manipulation that we shouldn't be drawing this when we aren't ready to miracle it. Urban evolutionIdk if 7 mana to draw 6 and play 2 additional lands is worth it but it feels good whenever I do it. Æther GaleI prefer this over evacuation just because it interacts better with reforge the soul Stolen IdentityMore clones, also you can copy the spell then cast it twice each combat and it just gets ridiculous after a while. Temporal MasteryMiracling this and copying it can really take over some games fast Blasphemous ActAnother good board wipe that is usually going to be pretty cheap. Eternal DominionThis card used to be tooth and nail but I found that to be kind of boring so I replaced it with this. Based on my calculations if you have all your red mana out; reverberate, reclaim, and noxious revival in hand; Riku, and Melek on the Field; you can copy this a total of 14 times. You would be able to cast it more but you run out of red mana for reverberate. Sensei's Divining TopMost of the time I don't see why people jam this into every EDH deck, but this deck actually uses a lot of topdeck manipulation so it is necessary. Sol RingBecause sol ring Scroll RackInteracts well with Melek and Intet as well as miracle cards that end up in your hand Lightning GreavesProtection for the Commander plus haste for Intet if we are using her Crystal ShardActs as protection for our stuff and also prevents people from tapping out if they have a creature they would like to keep on the field. Crystal BallAgain we need topdeck manipulation. If I had sylvan library I would probably run it in place of this but I might actually just run both Mimc VatGets us extra value out of pod. Also if they kill one of our utility ETB creatures with this on the field we can start getting major value. Birthing PodHalf the base of this deck. Another Card I have wanted to play with for a long time. Parallel LivesGets us extra value off of Riku Nature's WillHidden gem/ pet card. It's really good with Intet but just gets you so much extra value in each of your turns Possibility StormThis card is Amazing with Riku. While everyone else is struggling to do anything you are copying your spells with Riku thus getting your original card plus a bonus from your deck. Is also just amazing with Scroll Rack. And because it has the "from hand" Clause you can play this before Riku and have protection for him when he hits the field.
Again I just want to thank you for taking the time to look at my deck. If you have any questions/feedback please leave a reply. Thanks!
Welcome, and thanks for checking out my post. This is the first time I'm posting my commander decklist onto MTGSalvation and any and all feedback is welcome. I also need to give a huge shout out to Sonik and his retired primer for Riku of Two Reflections Which you can find here. That is the thread that fist gave me the inspiration to build this deck and helped me through the process of building. It is worth the read if you are looking at using Riku as your commander.
5 Riku of Two Reflections
Land(39):
0 Academy Ruins
0 Kessig Wolf Run
0 Alchemist's Refuge
0 Ghost Quarter
0 Dryad Arbor
0 Temple of the False God
0 Command Tower
0 Frontier Bivouac
0 Cinder Glade
0 Stomping Ground
0 Breeding Pool
0 Steam Vents
0 Wooded Foothills
8x Mountain
9x Island
9x Forest
Creature(21):
2 Spellskite
2 Sakura-Tribe Elder
2 Goblin Electromancer
3 Trinket Mage
3 Fierce Empath
3 Eternal Witness
4 Venser, Shaper Savant
4 Clone
4 Oracle of Mul Daya
4 Archaeomancer
5 Galvanoth
5 Prophet of Kruphix
5 Vesuvan Doppelganger
5 Seedborn Muse
6 Melek, Izzet Paragon
6 Primeval titan
6 Intet, The Dreamer
6 Progenitor Mimic
7 Chancellor of the Spires
8 Terastodon
8 Utvara Hellkite
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Noxious Revival
1 Reclaim
2 Counterspell
2 Reverberate
2 Cyclonic Rift
3 Krosan Grip
3 Harrow
3 Beast Within
4 Fact or Fiction
2 Turn//Burn
Sorcery(17):
1 Preordain
1 Vandalblast
1x Green Sun's Zenith
2 Mizzium Mortars
2 Rampant Growth
3 Fabricate
3 Cultivate
3 Kodama's Reach
4 Skyshroud Claim
4 Past in Flames
5 Reforge the Soul
5 Urban Evolution
5 Æther Gale
6 Stolen Identity
7 Temporal Mastery
9 Blasphemous Act
10 Eternal Dominion
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Sol ring
2 Scroll Rack
2 Lightning Greaves
3 Crystal Shard
3 Crystal Ball
3 Mimic Vat
4 Birthing Pod
Enchantment(3):
4 Parallel Lives
4 Nature's Will
5 Possibility Storm
Academy RuinsThere are enough artifacts for me to justify running this card
Kessig Wolf RunWith the amount of mana you will have at your disposal this card is great for pushing damage
Alchemist's RefugeThis card is a must if you can't use the Prophet. Works great in combination with Seedborn Muse
Dryad ArborThis is basically just in here for the turn one ramp with Green Sun's Zenith
Spellskite Protection for Riku
Sakura-Tribe Elder Ramp
Goblin Electromancer Again this deck is very mana hungry and this guy really helps
Trinket Mage Sonik mentions in his Primer that you really want to be at four drops with Riku because then you can play Riku and the turn after you can use his ability to cast and copy a four drop. In my opinion this guy is one better. T5 you cast Riku T6 you cast and copy this guy fetching Sol Ring and Top, You then cast the Ring then the top, then you top. Perfect
Fierce Empath We have a lot of big things and searching for them is nice
Eternal Witness I mean... it's Ewit
Venser, Shaper Savant If you have triple blue on T6 with Riku on the field this guy will take care of any permanent/ spell even if the spell is "uncounterable" You cast him and then copy him, the first one hits the field and bounces the spell/permenant, the copy hits the field bouncing the real one back to hand. Reusable counter
CloneThe three clone effects we have in this deck are absolutely instrumental to the pod chain and I don't think it would work without them. These things copy everything about the target including mana cost so they can fill in for a missing mana cost or get you from a 3 drop to 6 drop depending on what your opponents are playing.
Oracle of Mul Daya Extra land drops and clears the top of the library.
Archaeomancer Gets stuff back
Galvanoth With all the topdeck manipulation we have in this deck we can reliably make this guy hit good stuff
Prophet of Kruphix I was running Master Biomancer before I found out this guy was not banned at the LGS and really there is no replacement but whatever you feel like running.
Vesuvan Doppelganger This card has become one of my pet cards. It comes down and gets the ETB effect of whatever and then next upkeep it transforms into whatever you need. Be it a certain CMC for the pod or just a defensive creature like an opponents Gisela, Blade of Goldnight
Seedborn Muse Prophet's unappreciated older sister. Not nearly as good but still good enough to be in the deck. Plus with Alchemist's refuge they are basically the same thing.
Melek, Izzet Paragon Again there is enough topdeck manipulation for this guy to be good. Plus he doubles stuff and then Riku can double the stuff again.
Primeval TitanThis is where most of the ramp comes from. If hes banned at your LGS then just play Prime Speaker Zeganaor something
Intet, The DreamerThe back up General. I really like her for flavor reasons and shes pretty good. Also amazing with Scroll Rack
Progenitor MimicA clone that copies itself each upkeep? sign me right the heck up. I have wanted to play with this card since it was spoiled and it fits perfectly here.
Chancellor of the SpiresNeeded a seven drop and this guy can be really good. I was thinking about cutting him but then I used him and a combination of clones to cast and opponent's Cruel Ultimatum13 times killing all of my opponents
TerastodonHe is really good when you copy him then follow it up with an overloaded mizzium mortars or cyclonic rift
Utvara Hellkite Needed another 8 drop but I might replace him with Baelfire Dragon soon.
Mystical Tutor Lets us find things.
Noxious Revival/Reclaim Lets us play with the graveyard and also interacts well with miracle cards.
[card]Counterspell[/cards] I walways like to play at least one counter in any blue deck just to keep opponents guessing.
ReverberateCopy stuff.
Cyclonic RiftIt's not fair and feels pretty dirty. It feels even dirtier in response to a miracled Reforge the Soul... lol
Krosan GripMostly just to deal with artifact combo players
HarrowRamp
Beast WithinTakes care of anything
Fact or FicitonSo much card advantage especially when copied
PreordainSaves some otherwise iffy hands
VandalblastHonestly this card sucks 90% of the time you draw it but that 10% is very important
[card]Green Sun's Zenith[/cards]This card is amazing in the opening hand because of dryad arbor and it's amazing to draw. Win Win
[card]Mizzium Mortars[/cards]Boardwipe is important and this is basically the best we get in Temur colors
Rampant GrowthCultivateKodama's ReachSkyshroud ClaimRamp
FabricateThis will mostly be going after pod
Past in FlamesLets us replay key spells from the graveyard that may have gotten countered or just for extra value
Reforge the SoulWe have enough topdeck manipulation that we shouldn't be drawing this when we aren't ready to miracle it.
Urban evolutionIdk if 7 mana to draw 6 and play 2 additional lands is worth it but it feels good whenever I do it.
Æther GaleI prefer this over evacuation just because it interacts better with reforge the soul
Stolen IdentityMore clones, also you can copy the spell then cast it twice each combat and it just gets ridiculous after a while.
Temporal MasteryMiracling this and copying it can really take over some games fast
Blasphemous ActAnother good board wipe that is usually going to be pretty cheap.
Eternal DominionThis card used to be tooth and nail but I found that to be kind of boring so I replaced it with this. Based on my calculations if you have all your red mana out; reverberate, reclaim, and noxious revival in hand; Riku, and Melek on the Field; you can copy this a total of 14 times. You would be able to cast it more but you run out of red mana for reverberate.
Sensei's Divining TopMost of the time I don't see why people jam this into every EDH deck, but this deck actually uses a lot of topdeck manipulation so it is necessary.
Sol RingBecause sol ring
Scroll RackInteracts well with Melek and Intet as well as miracle cards that end up in your hand
Lightning GreavesProtection for the Commander plus haste for Intet if we are using her
Crystal ShardActs as protection for our stuff and also prevents people from tapping out if they have a creature they would like to keep on the field.
Crystal BallAgain we need topdeck manipulation. If I had sylvan library I would probably run it in place of this but I might actually just run both
Mimc VatGets us extra value out of pod. Also if they kill one of our utility ETB creatures with this on the field we can start getting major value.
Birthing PodHalf the base of this deck. Another Card I have wanted to play with for a long time.
Parallel LivesGets us extra value off of Riku
Nature's WillHidden gem/ pet card. It's really good with Intet but just gets you so much extra value in each of your turns
Possibility StormThis card is Amazing with Riku. While everyone else is struggling to do anything you are copying your spells with Riku thus getting your original card plus a bonus from your deck. Is also just amazing with Scroll Rack. And because it has the "from hand" Clause you can play this before Riku and have protection for him when he hits the field.
Again I just want to thank you for taking the time to look at my deck. If you have any questions/feedback please leave a reply. Thanks!
| Omnath | Zada | Alesha | Scion |
| Mazirek | Animar |
Modern
UR Storm RU
UBRG Dredge GRBU
Standard
UR Thermo-Thing RU