Im thinking of building a Riku deck, but I want to get some opinions and feedback on the Commander itself and the general deck performance first.
EDIT: At this point I want feedback one good cards I can run, and any other deck advice I have questions about/things that you feel are helpful that I should know while running Temur color Commanders
Im still debating cost-wise whether to build this deck up solely from scratch, or get a precon (discounting the original release Riku originally came in, that stuff is expensive as hell nowadays) deck to "modify"
***Please do note that I play both 1v1 and Multiplayer, so my deck should be made with the banlists and restrictions of both in mind
Never seen it piloted. That being said, there are a lot of ways to build him. 1v1 vs multiplayer.... to me, that's just a matter of deckbuilding. I find 1 for 1 removal / countermagic to be kinda bad in multiplayer, but amazing in 1v1. You need to strike a balance that makes sense. With Riku's abilities, you probably can play more 1 for 1 spells as you are copying them to get 2 for 1s.
I would not buy a pre-con with the idea of building a single deck. I buy pre-cons to play as pre-cons or to take apart for multiple decks. You could buy the Ezuri, Claw of Progress deck, I suppose... but it won't get you very far. Same with the Mizzix deck.
I like to buy precons to start decks off as I get a whole package ready to go from the start, which I can then modify to various degrees as my time and money permits. I can see where you come from though
And when did Animar get so expensive? Doesn't he only see play in Commander?
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How am I an Ascended Mage? I only play tabletop casual, and I dont even know if I'm playing the game correctly
Riku is highly modular. My general rule is to make things where copying them has some sort of benefit. So while I might use Creeping Corrosion or Bane of Progress, those types of effects take up fewer slots than they would normally. (Note that Riku can copy split second instants and sorceries because it's a triggered ability.)
You want things that reduce casting cost, blink effects, and things like Sneak Attack. Parallel Lives and friends are useful, but not required. Extra mana ramp (mana dorks might actually be nearly as good as mana rocks here), especially in the form of ramp sorceries, are also nice. Your curve will be high, and do remember that not every spell requires "copy for two more".
Naturally, "legendary" is a downside in a Riku deck. I only use really good legends like Zegana or Animar or possibly Arcanis.
But again, Riku is a highly modular commander, unlike Kaalia or Animar, both also featured in original Commander decks.
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Card advantage is not the same thing as card draw. Something for 2B cannot be strictly worse than something for BBB or 3BB. If you're taking out Swords to Plowshares for Plummet, you're a fool. Stop doing these things!
Naturally, "legendary" is a downside in a Riku deck. I only use really good legends like Zegana or Animar or possibly Arcanis.
There are a few legends who still copy really well, particularly after the last legend rule change. Prime Speaker Zegana still draws you a boatload of cards when copied (7, if your highest power creature is Riku). Venser, Shaper Savant works like Capsize but can also hit spells (copy trigger then bounce trigger on the stack, use the bounce trigger to return the original). Anyone with an etb ability like Godo, Bandit Warlord still gets doubled up.
The best things to copy are the ones that build on themselves. Something like Overwhelming Stampede that would normally double power will actually give you x8 altogether, where something like Chancellor of the Forge or Saproling Symbiosis will triple your creatures. Turning one target into two targets is nice but it's not the ceiling for Riku.
He does take a ton of mana and sometimes has trouble staying on the table though. Even someone who's never seen him in actiona is going to remove him after you try and go crazy the first time and he's not a very resilient creature.
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Riku is highly modular. My general rule is to make things where copying them has some sort of benefit. So while I might use Creeping Corrosion or Bane of Progress, those types of effects take up fewer slots than they would normally. (Note that Riku can copy split second instants and sorceries because it's a triggered ability.)
You want things that reduce casting cost, blink effects, and things like Sneak Attack. Parallel Lives and friends are useful, but not required. Extra mana ramp (mana dorks might actually be nearly as good as mana rocks here), especially in the form of ramp sorceries, are also nice. Your curve will be high, and do remember that not every spell requires "copy for two more".
Naturally, "legendary" is a downside in a Riku deck. I only use really good legends like Zegana or Animar or possibly Arcanis.
But again, Riku is a highly modular commander, unlike Kaalia or Animar, both also featured in original Commander decks.
Yup thats one of the big reasons Im looking at him. I like versatility/ the ability to make my deck "Brand new" without changing the Comamander
What cards out there "reduce cost"??? Wouldn't it just be more effective to have more ramp instead???
Also speaking of the Legend rule, how well do Planeswalkers work with Riku? I know some are still worth running despite the fact I won't be copying them, but how much I should run? I can think of many good PW in these colors but at the same time, I'd rater save space for things I can take advantage of with Riku
Naturally, "legendary" is a downside in a Riku deck. I only use really good legends like Zegana or Animar or possibly Arcanis.
There are a few legends who still copy really well, particularly after the last legend rule change. Prime Speaker Zegana still draws you a boatload of cards when copied (7, if your highest power creature is Riku). Venser, Shaper Savant works like Capsize but can also hit spells (copy trigger then bounce trigger on the stack, use the bounce trigger to return the original). Anyone with an etb ability like Godo, Bandit Warlord still gets doubled up.
The best things to copy are the ones that build on themselves. Something like Overwhelming Stampede that would normally double power will actually give you x8 altogether, where something like Chancellor of the Forge or Saproling Symbiosis will triple your creatures. Turning one target into two targets is nice but it's not the ceiling for Riku.
He does take a ton of mana and sometimes has trouble staying on the table though. Even someone who's never seen him in actiona is going to remove him after you try and go crazy the first time and he's not a very resilient creature.
Thanks! Any other recommendations for Legendaries???
And that last part is one of my big concerns. Can Riku decks stand on their own if he is constantly taken out/ kept off the board?? How much protection/evasion should I run for him? What would be the best way to protect him?
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How am I an Ascended Mage? I only play tabletop casual, and I dont even know if I'm playing the game correctly
Riku is rather expensive at 5 mana, and requires you to untap. This makes him less useful overall in 1v1, where your focus will be trying to cast him on your opponent's turn, preferably with protection. He's still possible (anyone is), but far from ideal or tier 1.
3. How hated/loved is he??
Fairly hated, in that it's a common conception that if you untap with him, you get bajillion amounts of value and can probably easily win. He feels like a card that's easy to 'accidentally' break, and there are a few auto-combos with him, such as Palinchron if you go down that route. I often find that you have to build him with self-restrictions to make him acceptable in friendly metas, but if you're in a higher powered meta, I guess no-holds barred. He'll still be a kill of sight, and his 2 toughness makes him weak to Sword of Fire and Ice and Umezawa's Jitte.
4. Are there any particular must must have cards for him aside from standard staples?
Most builds are typically creature-value builds, so Parallel lives and Doubling Season rank highly on the list to exponentially increase that value. Chancellor of the Forge I dare say is better than Avenger of Zendikar in this deck, due to the haste. With just Riku and Parrallel lives out, Chancellor makes over a hundred goblins.
Birthing Pod is insane value with riku creature value builds, since you get to copy the pod finds, and you have extra tokens to sac.
Clone effects can be quite strong, and Hellrider is a personal favorite of mine in Riku. Sakashima, the imposter is a notable mention, despite legendary, since he can copy Riku - giving you more riku fun (this may not be optimal play though )
Counterspells are considered weaker in Riku, due to an inability to copy, but are still needed to protect the boardstate. Keep in mind that copying counterspells makes it easier to win counter wars, since they'll have 2 copies they need to deal with. Also, creature-based counterspells, like Glen-Elendra Archmage are nice, the copy will give you an extra shot.
Riptide Laboratory is useful to save Riku, or reset your powerful wizards.
===
On the other side, there are a number of spellslinger and storm lists with Riku at the helm as well, though they are less popular/common. Those decks share a base with Wort, the Raidmother and can be quite interesting.
Thanks! Any other recommendations for Legendaries???
And that last part is one of my big concerns. Can Riku decks stand on their own if he is constantly taken out/ kept off the board?? How much protection/evasion should I run for him? What would be the best way to protect him?
There's really no incentive to run legendary creatures. My point was mostly that you shouldn't shy away from using a creature just because it's legendary, because some of them work well with Riku despite the dis-synergy. Being legendary is still a downside as 1/99 in a Riku list. The only ones I would lean towards are Venser in most lists, Zegana in creature lists, and Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker in creature lists. You never want to copy Kiki, but he works well with the kinds of creatures you want to be playing alongside Riku.
As for whether they can stand on their own, a lot of Riku lists are kind of goodstuff anyways. If you're just playing the best the colors have to offer and using Riku to turbocharge that when he sticks, you're not losing a lot of game if he gets removed. That has pluses and minuses. On one hand, Riku being removed doesn't cripple the deck. On the other hand, I find it difficult to stay interested in goodstuff-y decks. If you don't have that problem, have fun.
On the other side, there are a number of spellslinger and storm lists with Riku at the helm as well, though they are less popular/common. Those decks share a base with Wort, the Raidmother and can be quite interesting.
Riku storm was one of the most fun decks I've ever played. I don't put it together often because it tends towards long turns when you go off and people don't appreciate that. The perfect storm of mana doubling, cost reduction, and draw that you have access to makes for a really good spell based list. Plays like turning Skyshroud Claim into a ritual because of Mana Reflection and Arcane Melee, then doubling a Rude Awakening to float 40 mana feels like a very EDH-y play. I don't think I actually killed with storm cards all that often but the deck was still a blast.
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Riku is highly modular. My general rule is to make things where copying them has some sort of benefit. So while I might use Creeping Corrosion or Bane of Progress, those types of effects take up fewer slots than they would normally. (Note that Riku can copy split second instants and sorceries because it's a triggered ability.)
You want things that reduce casting cost, blink effects, and things like Sneak Attack. Parallel Lives and friends are useful, but not required. Extra mana ramp (mana dorks might actually be nearly as good as mana rocks here), especially in the form of ramp sorceries, are also nice. Your curve will be high, and do remember that not every spell requires "copy for two more".
Naturally, "legendary" is a downside in a Riku deck. I only use really good legends like Zegana or Animar or possibly Arcanis.
But again, Riku is a highly modular commander, unlike Kaalia or Animar, both also featured in original Commander decks.
Yup thats one of the big reasons Im looking at him. I like versatility/ the ability to make my deck "Brand new" without changing the Comamander
What cards out there "reduce cost"??? Wouldn't it just be more effective to have more ramp instead???
Things like Animar, diamonds, Arcane Melee...If you're playing multiple spells each turn, you benefit multiple times.
Also speaking of the Legend rule, how well do Planeswalkers work with Riku? I know some are still worth running despite the fact I won't be copying them, but how much I should run? I can think of many good PW in these colors but at the same time, I'd rater save space for things I can take advantage of with Riku
But more than anything, you want Riku to copy things that themselves stack.
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Card advantage is not the same thing as card draw. Something for 2B cannot be strictly worse than something for BBB or 3BB. If you're taking out Swords to Plowshares for Plummet, you're a fool. Stop doing these things!
Nissa is actually very interesting. If you can get a land into play in between the Riku copy trigger, you can transform Nissa, and have a token of Nissa at the same time. Shame that you can't transform the token.
PW don't have inherent value with Riku, but since you'll have some token support, the ones that make tokens will still interact favorably with that. Plus, Doubling Season.
Nissa is actually very interesting. If you can get a land into play in between the Riku copy trigger, you can transform Nissa, and have a token of Nissa at the same time. Shame that you can't transform the token.
Jace, Vryn's Prodigy is even more interesting there. He's pretty easy to flip with the trigger on the stack as long as you have haste, which is already important in a creature heavy deck, and the unflippable looter half of him is not terrible to have around. Definitely better than Nissa's 2/2 body (ignoring the land search for the moment). His walker side is a little less relevant than Nissa's unless you're pretty heavy on instants and sorceries. There's also the downside of his standard inflated price tag, but I might try him out just for the quirky rules interaction if I had one around.
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Yeah, I guessed. To be honest, at first I was thinking along the lines of "cast one, trigger on stack, flip it, activate it, token, flip token, ditch old walker, activate new walker, e.witt walker back to hand, repeat!"
And then I realized that doesn't work on many, many, many levels. And I was sad.
How would a Cloning theme Riku deck fare? Like stacking the deck with tons of cloning effects? There's ton of fun stuff to clone in Commander, and cloning a clone effect for more clones is even more fun right? (I think? Though I can see this being much stronger in Multiplayer over 1v1)
And about Artifacts, since you cant really clone them with Riku (unless its an artifact creature), how big of a role do they have in his deck? I know the format staples are definite must have, but what about all the other stuff? Do Riku decks usually run less of these overall then in comparison to other decks? So from my thinking Im seeing Riku decks running artifacts only if they re format staples, good artifact creatures with some sort of value, or combo pieces. Am I right???
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How am I an Ascended Mage? I only play tabletop casual, and I dont even know if I'm playing the game correctly
What you want are ETB effects and ramp spells/effects to increase your mana supply then followed with ways to protect the homeboy such as the Magical Pants cycle. There's the list at the above page, that you can look at to get some ideas and read the threads a bit to get a larger idea on what to do.
Rest is play testing.
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Life is a beautiful engineer, yet a brutal scientist.
How would a Cloning theme Riku deck fare? Like stacking the deck with tons of cloning effects? There's ton of fun stuff to clone in Commander, and cloning a clone effect for more clones is even more fun right? (I think? Though I can see this being much stronger in Multiplayer over 1v1)
Not as well as you would hope, but clones are still a very valuable part of Riku.
For one thing, the clone becomes the creature before it enters the battlefield, Riku triggers after it enters. Copying a Clone with Riku will not give you 2 clone effects, but simply a second copy of whatever you wanted in the first place. Still, there's plenty of excellent value to get in there.
And about Artifacts, since you cant really clone them with Riku (unless its an artifact creature), how big of a role do they have in his deck? I know the format staples are definite must have, but what about all the other stuff? Do Riku decks usually run less of these overall then in comparison to other decks? So from my thinking Im seeing Riku decks running artifacts only if they re format staples, good artifact creatures with some sort of value, or combo pieces. Am I right???
Good artifacts are still good. Simply because you can't get more value out of them does not reduce their value. Getting Riku out a few turns early is quite a challenge, and some artifact ramp can be useful. Otherwise, many of the things artifacts and enchantments can do for you can be tailored other ways to get more value, so you'll end up generally lighter on artifacts, but there are still unique outliers. Skullclamp is always good in any deck that runs creatures. I've already mentioned Birthing Pod, but I also like Druids Repository, Citanul Flute, Vicious Shadows, etc, and of course Doubling Season/Parallel Lives.
Thanks guys! I'm definitely getting an idea of what I need/should be looking for
In general, does anyone know which of his three colors he tends to gravitate towards using (so I can start figuring out the mana base)? Im suspecting U/G with a smattering of R.
Any lands in particular that Riku/his decks have strong synergy with?
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How am I an Ascended Mage? I only play tabletop casual, and I dont even know if I'm playing the game correctly
Glen Elendra Archmage is amazing, Cards with persist allow you to get Riku's etb trigger twice. It gets better if you clone the Archmage as the clone copy of the Archmage will give persist to the card but upon re entering the battlefield the Card enters as the clone would enter, except with the -1/-1. Also there are times when you just need to have counterspells and Voidslime is an option in the colors, if someone has multiple beginning of upkeep triggers you can use it to respond multiples on the Twincast and it pretty much will get work done.
Prophet of Kuphrix is 100% bonkers in a creature build, since it's straight "all turns are my turn" aside from attacking. If you stick that and it's not dealt with fast you win. Plus, it helps the whole "need to untap with Riku out" problem.
Fathom Mage is my favorite card advantage. It's not hard for it to quickly become a pair of 5/5 or bigger bodies and net 8 cards for a 6 mana investment.
Deadwood Treefolk is a nice way to keep recycling your creatures. As a bonus, the copy can return the original when they vanish.
Aethersnipe has done a lot of tempo work for me because I can evoke, copy, bounce the original to save it, and then bounce something annoying. It's slow, grinding advantage but it works.
Glen-Elendra Archmage needs seconding. Since persist triggers ETB again, you can get up to four counters out of it, and that's before accounting for how trivially you can keep creatures coming back with green around.
Also, how doable is Riku with a more budget land base? Im not quite rich enough to have those crazily optimized landbases full of fetches, expensive duals, and whatnot (Im willing to shell out for cards like Riku and Animar, buts that because they're Commanders, the whole point of this format, but over a dozen $20+ lands? Noppppeee).........
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How am I an Ascended Mage? I only play tabletop casual, and I dont even know if I'm playing the game correctly
Also, how doable is Riku with a more budget land base? Im not quite rich enough to have those crazily optimized landbases full of fetches, expensive duals, and whatnot (Im willing to shell out for cards like Riku and Animar, buts that because they're Commanders, the whole point of this format, but over a dozen $20+ lands? Noppppeee).........
I built my Riku deck on a $50 budget at the time (several cards have gone considerably up in value since then, so it no longer is), with an entirely basic landbase.
There's the occasional game where I don't get a forest to start, which puts a damper on things, but those were rare.
Also, how doable is Riku with a more budget land base? Im not quite rich enough to have those crazily optimized landbases full of fetches, expensive duals, and whatnot (Im willing to shell out for cards like Riku and Animar, buts that because they're Commanders, the whole point of this format, but over a dozen $20+ lands? Noppppeee).........
You could build a decent manabase using entirely basics, thanks to green and the fact that you have a mana hungry commander. If you weight it towards forests you'll see more of them early. Run a bunch of cheap ramp (Rampant Growth, Farseek, Sakura-Tribe Elder) and you'll have all of your colors pretty quickly. Ramp stays useful through the game in a Riku list thanks to how mana and color hungry he is.
I wouldn't actually recommend strictly basics with the number of cheap duals out there, but you don't need to spend a lot on lands.
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EDIT: At this point I want feedback one good cards I can run, and any other deck advice I have questions about/things that you feel are helpful that I should know while running Temur color Commanders
Im still debating cost-wise whether to build this deck up solely from scratch, or get a precon (discounting the original release Riku originally came in, that stuff is expensive as hell nowadays) deck to "modify"
***Please do note that I play both 1v1 and Multiplayer, so my deck should be made with the banlists and restrictions of both in mind
Happy Holidays!
How am I an Ascended Mage? I only play tabletop casual, and I dont even know if I'm playing the game correctly
Modern
GStompyG/UBNinjasUB
Legacy
UPhasenoughtU
EDH
RNorin the WaryR
UBRThraximundarUBR
How am I an Ascended Mage? I only play tabletop casual, and I dont even know if I'm playing the game correctly
Modern
GStompyG/UBNinjasUB
Legacy
UPhasenoughtU
EDH
RNorin the WaryR
UBRThraximundarUBR
I would not buy a pre-con with the idea of building a single deck. I buy pre-cons to play as pre-cons or to take apart for multiple decks. You could buy the Ezuri, Claw of Progress deck, I suppose... but it won't get you very far. Same with the Mizzix deck.
I don't think anything is a must-have here. A lot of ETB creatures. You can play things like Conjurer's Closet and Cloudstone Curio. Animar, Soul of Elements probably makes most decks, but is not really required. You can just use Sneak Attack make tokens.
8.RG Green Devotion Ramp/Combo 9.UR Draw Triggers 10.WUR Group stalling 11.WUR Voltron Spellslinger 12.WB Sacrificial Shenanigans
13.BR Creatureless Panharmonicon 14.BR Pingers and Eldrazi 15.URG Untapped Cascading
16.Reyhan, last of the Abzan's WUBG +1/+1 Counter Craziness 17.WUBRG Dragons aka Why did I make this?
Building: The Gitrog Monster lands, Glissa the Traitor stax, Muldrotha, the Gravetide Planeswalker Combo, Kydele, Chosen of Kruphix + Sidar Kondo of Jamuraa Clues, and Tribal Scarecrow Planeswalkers
And when did Animar get so expensive? Doesn't he only see play in Commander?
How am I an Ascended Mage? I only play tabletop casual, and I dont even know if I'm playing the game correctly
Modern
GStompyG/UBNinjasUB
Legacy
UPhasenoughtU
EDH
RNorin the WaryR
UBRThraximundarUBR
You want things that reduce casting cost, blink effects, and things like Sneak Attack. Parallel Lives and friends are useful, but not required. Extra mana ramp (mana dorks might actually be nearly as good as mana rocks here), especially in the form of ramp sorceries, are also nice. Your curve will be high, and do remember that not every spell requires "copy for two more".
Naturally, "legendary" is a downside in a Riku deck. I only use really good legends like Zegana or Animar or possibly Arcanis.
But again, Riku is a highly modular commander, unlike Kaalia or Animar, both also featured in original Commander decks.
On phasing:
The best things to copy are the ones that build on themselves. Something like Overwhelming Stampede that would normally double power will actually give you x8 altogether, where something like Chancellor of the Forge or Saproling Symbiosis will triple your creatures. Turning one target into two targets is nice but it's not the ceiling for Riku.
He does take a ton of mana and sometimes has trouble staying on the table though. Even someone who's never seen him in actiona is going to remove him after you try and go crazy the first time and he's not a very resilient creature.
Yup thats one of the big reasons Im looking at him. I like versatility/ the ability to make my deck "Brand new" without changing the Comamander
What cards out there "reduce cost"??? Wouldn't it just be more effective to have more ramp instead???
Also speaking of the Legend rule, how well do Planeswalkers work with Riku? I know some are still worth running despite the fact I won't be copying them, but how much I should run? I can think of many good PW in these colors but at the same time, I'd rater save space for things I can take advantage of with Riku
Thanks! Any other recommendations for Legendaries???
And that last part is one of my big concerns. Can Riku decks stand on their own if he is constantly taken out/ kept off the board?? How much protection/evasion should I run for him? What would be the best way to protect him?
How am I an Ascended Mage? I only play tabletop casual, and I dont even know if I'm playing the game correctly
Modern
GStompyG/UBNinjasUB
Legacy
UPhasenoughtU
EDH
RNorin the WaryR
UBRThraximundarUBR
Fairly hated, in that it's a common conception that if you untap with him, you get bajillion amounts of value and can probably easily win. He feels like a card that's easy to 'accidentally' break, and there are a few auto-combos with him, such as Palinchron if you go down that route. I often find that you have to build him with self-restrictions to make him acceptable in friendly metas, but if you're in a higher powered meta, I guess no-holds barred. He'll still be a kill of sight, and his 2 toughness makes him weak to Sword of Fire and Ice and Umezawa's Jitte.
Most builds are typically creature-value builds, so Parallel lives and Doubling Season rank highly on the list to exponentially increase that value. Chancellor of the Forge I dare say is better than Avenger of Zendikar in this deck, due to the haste. With just Riku and Parrallel lives out, Chancellor makes over a hundred goblins.
Birthing Pod is insane value with riku creature value builds, since you get to copy the pod finds, and you have extra tokens to sac.
Clone effects can be quite strong, and Hellrider is a personal favorite of mine in Riku. Sakashima, the imposter is a notable mention, despite legendary, since he can copy Riku - giving you more riku fun (this may not be optimal play though )
If you want to power up, Alchemist's Refuge, Winding Canyons, Seedborn Muse, and Prophet of Kruphix let you start going crazy.
Counterspells are considered weaker in Riku, due to an inability to copy, but are still needed to protect the boardstate. Keep in mind that copying counterspells makes it easier to win counter wars, since they'll have 2 copies they need to deal with. Also, creature-based counterspells, like Glen-Elendra Archmage are nice, the copy will give you an extra shot.
Riptide Laboratory is useful to save Riku, or reset your powerful wizards.
===
On the other side, there are a number of spellslinger and storm lists with Riku at the helm as well, though they are less popular/common. Those decks share a base with Wort, the Raidmother and can be quite interesting.
Retired EDH - Tibor and Lumia | [PR]Nemata |Ramirez dePietro | [C]Edric | Riku | Jenara | Lazav | Heliod | Daxos | Roon | Kozilek
As for whether they can stand on their own, a lot of Riku lists are kind of goodstuff anyways. If you're just playing the best the colors have to offer and using Riku to turbocharge that when he sticks, you're not losing a lot of game if he gets removed. That has pluses and minuses. On one hand, Riku being removed doesn't cripple the deck. On the other hand, I find it difficult to stay interested in goodstuff-y decks. If you don't have that problem, have fun.
Riku storm was one of the most fun decks I've ever played. I don't put it together often because it tends towards long turns when you go off and people don't appreciate that. The perfect storm of mana doubling, cost reduction, and draw that you have access to makes for a really good spell based list. Plays like turning Skyshroud Claim into a ritual because of Mana Reflection and Arcane Melee, then doubling a Rude Awakening to float 40 mana feels like a very EDH-y play. I don't think I actually killed with storm cards all that often but the deck was still a blast.
Things like Animar, diamonds, Arcane Melee...If you're playing multiple spells each turn, you benefit multiple times.
About as well as anywhere else. I tend to at least consider ones that ramp. Garruk Wildspeaker, Koth of the Hammer, Xenagos, the Reveler, Freyalise, Llanowar's Fury, Kiora, Master of the Depths...Nissa, Vastwood Seer can still double her ETB trigger, just make sure to sac the token when state-based actions are checked. Sarkhan, Unbroken also has value as card draw and mana. Karn Liberated is of course useful since you don't have many answers to creatures.
But more than anything, you want Riku to copy things that themselves stack.
On phasing:
PW don't have inherent value with Riku, but since you'll have some token support, the ones that make tokens will still interact favorably with that. Plus, Doubling Season.
Retired EDH - Tibor and Lumia | [PR]Nemata |Ramirez dePietro | [C]Edric | Riku | Jenara | Lazav | Heliod | Daxos | Roon | Kozilek
Retired EDH - Tibor and Lumia | [PR]Nemata |Ramirez dePietro | [C]Edric | Riku | Jenara | Lazav | Heliod | Daxos | Roon | Kozilek
It does make Nissa's token body kind of irrelevant unless you use her to chump before making another land drop. Might as well sac the token anyways.
And then I realized that doesn't work on many, many, many levels. And I was sad.
Retired EDH - Tibor and Lumia | [PR]Nemata |Ramirez dePietro | [C]Edric | Riku | Jenara | Lazav | Heliod | Daxos | Roon | Kozilek
How would a Cloning theme Riku deck fare? Like stacking the deck with tons of cloning effects? There's ton of fun stuff to clone in Commander, and cloning a clone effect for more clones is even more fun right? (I think? Though I can see this being much stronger in Multiplayer over 1v1)
And about Artifacts, since you cant really clone them with Riku (unless its an artifact creature), how big of a role do they have in his deck? I know the format staples are definite must have, but what about all the other stuff? Do Riku decks usually run less of these overall then in comparison to other decks? So from my thinking Im seeing Riku decks running artifacts only if they re format staples, good artifact creatures with some sort of value, or combo pieces. Am I right???
How am I an Ascended Mage? I only play tabletop casual, and I dont even know if I'm playing the game correctly
Modern
GStompyG/UBNinjasUB
Legacy
UPhasenoughtU
EDH
RNorin the WaryR
UBRThraximundarUBR
Rest is play testing.
Modern
Commander
Cube
<a href="http://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/the-cube-forum/cube-lists/588020-unpowered-themed-enchantment-an-enchanted-evening">An Enchanted Evening Cube </a>
For one thing, the clone becomes the creature before it enters the battlefield, Riku triggers after it enters. Copying a Clone with Riku will not give you 2 clone effects, but simply a second copy of whatever you wanted in the first place. Still, there's plenty of excellent value to get in there.
Good artifacts are still good. Simply because you can't get more value out of them does not reduce their value. Getting Riku out a few turns early is quite a challenge, and some artifact ramp can be useful. Otherwise, many of the things artifacts and enchantments can do for you can be tailored other ways to get more value, so you'll end up generally lighter on artifacts, but there are still unique outliers. Skullclamp is always good in any deck that runs creatures. I've already mentioned Birthing Pod, but I also like Druids Repository, Citanul Flute, Vicious Shadows, etc, and of course Doubling Season/Parallel Lives.
Retired EDH - Tibor and Lumia | [PR]Nemata |Ramirez dePietro | [C]Edric | Riku | Jenara | Lazav | Heliod | Daxos | Roon | Kozilek
In general, does anyone know which of his three colors he tends to gravitate towards using (so I can start figuring out the mana base)? Im suspecting U/G with a smattering of R.
Any lands in particular that Riku/his decks have strong synergy with?
How am I an Ascended Mage? I only play tabletop casual, and I dont even know if I'm playing the game correctly
Modern
GStompyG/UBNinjasUB
Legacy
UPhasenoughtU
EDH
RNorin the WaryR
UBRThraximundarUBR
Fathom Mage is my favorite card advantage. It's not hard for it to quickly become a pair of 5/5 or bigger bodies and net 8 cards for a 6 mana investment.
Deadwood Treefolk is a nice way to keep recycling your creatures. As a bonus, the copy can return the original when they vanish.
Aethersnipe has done a lot of tempo work for me because I can evoke, copy, bounce the original to save it, and then bounce something annoying. It's slow, grinding advantage but it works.
Glen-Elendra Archmage needs seconding. Since persist triggers ETB again, you can get up to four counters out of it, and that's before accounting for how trivially you can keep creatures coming back with green around.
Also, how doable is Riku with a more budget land base? Im not quite rich enough to have those crazily optimized landbases full of fetches, expensive duals, and whatnot (Im willing to shell out for cards like Riku and Animar, buts that because they're Commanders, the whole point of this format, but over a dozen $20+ lands? Noppppeee).........
How am I an Ascended Mage? I only play tabletop casual, and I dont even know if I'm playing the game correctly
Modern
GStompyG/UBNinjasUB
Legacy
UPhasenoughtU
EDH
RNorin the WaryR
UBRThraximundarUBR
I built my Riku deck on a $50 budget at the time (several cards have gone considerably up in value since then, so it no longer is), with an entirely basic landbase.
There's the occasional game where I don't get a forest to start, which puts a damper on things, but those were rare.
Adding Evolving Wilds, Terramorphic Expanse, Myriad Landscape, and Terminal Moraine would be a quick fix to help, that would cost almost nothing. Colorless ramp, like Wayfarer's Bauble and Burnished Hart would also serve to protect against that, and this isn't even getting into budget dual or tri lands. BFZ duals are dirt cheap right now, so you have a R/G source that's easily fetchable with Wood Elves or Yavimaya Dryad, that goes a long way.
Retired EDH - Tibor and Lumia | [PR]Nemata |Ramirez dePietro | [C]Edric | Riku | Jenara | Lazav | Heliod | Daxos | Roon | Kozilek
I wouldn't actually recommend strictly basics with the number of cheap duals out there, but you don't need to spend a lot on lands.