No, no, no. You guys got it all wrong. The best target is Ixidron!.
Totally agree on the "toolbox" comment that Iceman made above. That's what I use him for, for sure. He can tutor up any category of creature for me. Ramp, destruction, etc.
I would really discourage against mono blue right now. The card pool just isn't there. There's not even a good finisher in mono blue. The counterspells are awful, the draw is mediocre. If you want to increase the quality of your deck 1000%, consider splashing another color. Niv-Mizzet is a great finisher, and red gives you great removal (even against zombies!). There's also UW, with Drogskol Reaver and the Archon of the Triumverate. Both great finishers. And W actually has some removal to keep you alive along the way as well.
1) If I cast Yawgmoth's Will, and have an angel/demon/dragon in the graveyard, and I attack with Kaalia of the Vast, can I use her trigger to grab one of the guys out the graveyard and put it on the battlefield, tapped and attacking?
Sonik, I like your M13 assessment. I always appreciate your thoughts on things, so thanks for taking the time to do that.
I'm trying to decide if I like Void Stalker or not. I've been looking for more good creature removal on a stick for a while, but he does require one trip around the table to use. I guess if he eats removal that's a card someone used up on him. He's better than, say, Sower of Temptation, in that his removal is permanent at least. :-D And a 2 drop! That's awesome.
I'm still testing out the Elgaud Shieldmate. I thought she was the bees knees until I realized I misunderstood how the whole soulbond thing works (I thought that anytime something ETB'ed, it could bond, whether it was already bonded or not), so instead of AWESOME it's probably just good. You have to picky, I guess, haha. I'm still excited to test it more though, since there are so few things in my deck to protect my evil plans.
Yeah, I've been going through my deck and I realized Recruiter can fetch 20 of my 30 creatures...
At the extreme risk of sounding like a broken record (forgive me Sonik), consider Ixidron if you do put in the recruiter. Most hilarious card to fetch, by far. :-D
I am hoping to get a Mana Drain and an Imperial Recruiter, and if I do then the Drain will go in for Remand and I will find a place for the Recruiter.
I bought a Recruiter a while back, and I literally cannot say enough good things about it. It fetches every effect I have in my deck, every time I draw it I am excited to see it. LOVE it. Wish it wasn't as expensive as it was, but if you can afford it, it's awesome sauce.
Greetings! I put this deck together because my 12 year old son plays with me, and I wanted to make something that would be relatively straightforward for him to play. Cast, make bigger, beat. Pretty simple! I also didn't include any tutors for that reason - just keeping it simple.
I decided to include a Proliferate theme in the deck to help overcome the weakness that allies have generally - they're small. I've seen some Ally decks focus on repeating the ETB triggers, but if you have a few guys with counters on them, you don't want to blink them!
Okay! So... this is still somewhat of a work in progress. I'm very light on removal, and I'm sure my manabase could use some work (never done 5 color before). Other than that - I think this deck will be really fun to play! And also pretty straightforward for my son.
Hey Nuclear, thanks for commenting! I always like discussing Riku. :-D
Well... those are cards that I considered, (along with a lot of others! These colors are great! Lots of good stuff.) but for me it came down to a couple of reasons why I didn't include them. I feel like to make the most of those cards, the deck needs to be a dedicated token build. I often play without Riku - he eats a LOT of removal. People sometimes freak out when they see him hit the board, to the point where I am usually surprised if I get to untap with him. So the rest of the deck would need to be built to take advantage of those cards, for when Riku isn't in play, so they aren't wasted.
The other reason I didnt put them in is because these colors have very, very little enchantment tutoring. Gamble and Intution, that's all I've been able to come up with. So... if I have Riku out, and I can maximize those cards, I have no way to go get them.
My deck is mostly a toolbox deck. Problem situation? Search for an answer. That's how mine works for the most part. Hope that makes sense.
Hi fieryseraph...been lurking in this thread a few days. I really am a fan of Riku. I'm wondering why you don't play Parallel Lives and / or Doubling Season? Both have obvious synergies with Riku and things like Rite of Replication and Spitting Image. I play Siege-Gang Commander and Deranged Hermit as well, so I get extra mileage out of them (Deranged Hermit copied with Riku, double Hermits, each puts 8 Squirrels out, total of 24 squirrels) (they are absoulutely just nuts with either or both enchantments out) and I use Garruk, Primal Hunter for its card-drawing power along with its synergy with Doubling Season to make a quick army of Wurms. Riku is such a blast.
Natural Order -> Intuition. Reducing my green utility count by 2 makes Natural Order a bit less profitable. And I tried Intuition out for a couple of games, and I was very impressed by the versatility. Tutoring up Survival of the Fittest in these colors is very hard, and this is a card that does it. Plus anything else I need, if I pick the right cards. I am a little hesitant to make my deck look even more like Sonik's, but... well... it's a good card. :-D
Lightning Greaves -> Elgaud Shieldmate. She makes more sense than the greaves, for her tutorability and her interaction with all my engines. I tried it out one game, and I rather liked it.
Ghostly Flicker -> Deadeye Navigator. This increases the CMC of the deck slightly, but I can tutor for the Navigator. I've played 3 games so far where I wished this change was in place.
I'm seriously thinking about going: Farhaven Elf -> Kodama's Reach and Coiling Oracle -> Cultivate. Since removing the "bounce" stuff (Equilibrium, Erratic Portal, etc.) and replaced it with the "flicker" stuff which is more expensive, re-using the ramp guys at the beginning of the game isn't happening really, so I need other ways to make sure I'm hitting my land drops reliably. I do dislike moving away from creatures, but it's hard to deny the ramp spells are more efficient.
Also thinking about: Lightning Greaves -> Elgaud Shieldmate. The shieldmate is tutorable. I hardly ever see the Greaves. Still thinking about this one. Mostly trying to decide how much I would miss the haste.
Looks pretty solid to me, I don't know that I have much to say about it - Riku has SO much good stuff in the colors he's in, with a lot of stuff it's hard to go wrong.
I might suggest -1 Elvish Piper, +1 Sneak Attack. Sneak Attack is a grand slam in this deck. It's really hard to lose once you get it out. You may also want to consider -1 Fabricate, +1 Gamble, so you can search for Survival and Sneak.
You mentioned there was only one combo in your deck - but don't forget the Eternal Witness + Time Warp + Kiki-Jiki, that's a slight tweak of the one you mentioned.
I'm sure people are tired of hearing me harp about these cards, but I can't tell you how many hopeless situations either Kederekt Leviathan or Ixidron bailed me out of. Seriously - they're both like get out of jail free cards. So amazing. Just something to think about. They're probably pretty meta dependent. I don't think Sonik shares my zeal for them, but I LOVE them. :-D
I'm not a huge fan of Man-o-War, your mileage may vary. You may want to consider Duplicant, since he's a more permanent solution and also fetchable with Imperial Recruiter. :-D
Your lands might need another look. No Academy Ruins? Also Gaea's Cradle is the sickness. I also love Dryad Arbor. It's copyable, pitchable to Survival if you draw it later, etc.
Haha, I don't mean to try to turn your deck into mine - but just a few things to keep in mind while you're playing. You're gonna have fun with your deck, Riku is the bomb shizzle. He's much more powerful than I originally thought he was going to be.
Equilibrium -> Ghostly Flicker. I'm a bit hesitant about this, but I'll try it out a few games. Equilibrium can act as pseudo-removal, but the problem with using it to bounce my own dudes and then recasting them (the reason it was in there), is that it's very mana intensive. Ghostly Flicker lets me re-use the effects of TWO dudes for 3 mana. Much more mana efficient, even if it's only once.
Erratic Portal -> Nephalia Smuggler. Again, bouncing and then re-casting my guys to get their effect again is a huge mana requirement. Hopefully the smuggler can help reduce my mana needs, even though his ability costs 4. I think it's really going to help, especially late game, when I'm re-using big dudes. PLUS - he's a creature, so he works much better with all my engines.
I tried to find a spot for Deadeye Navigator, but that 6 mana cost is causing me to hesitate. He's amazing, but I need more time to think about it. Crystal Shard might the choice here, but the problem with that is the shard is cheaper, and has helped me ramp at the beginning of the game, by bouncing Wood Elves or whatever. I can't re-use Wood Elves with the navigator if I'm not at 6 mana yet. More thought required here. I'm sure I'll find space to try it out eventually.
Oh! Also, since the deck now has more engines that allow the re-use of ETB effects right away:
Totally agree on the "toolbox" comment that Iceman made above. That's what I use him for, for sure. He can tutor up any category of creature for me. Ramp, destruction, etc.
You know you want to... come on...
1) If I cast Yawgmoth's Will, and have an angel/demon/dragon in the graveyard, and I attack with Kaalia of the Vast, can I use her trigger to grab one of the guys out the graveyard and put it on the battlefield, tapped and attacking?
2) If I cast Yawgmoth's Will, can I use my Quicksilver Amulet to grab a creature out of the graveyard, and put it into play?
My suspicion is no to both, but I thought I would ask.
I'm trying to decide if I like Void Stalker or not. I've been looking for more good creature removal on a stick for a while, but he does require one trip around the table to use. I guess if he eats removal that's a card someone used up on him. He's better than, say, Sower of Temptation, in that his removal is permanent at least. :-D And a 2 drop! That's awesome.
I'm still testing out the Elgaud Shieldmate. I thought she was the bees knees until I realized I misunderstood how the whole soulbond thing works (I thought that anytime something ETB'ed, it could bond, whether it was already bonded or not), so instead of AWESOME it's probably just good. You have to picky, I guess, haha. I'm still excited to test it more though, since there are so few things in my deck to protect my evil plans.
At the extreme risk of sounding like a broken record (forgive me Sonik), consider Ixidron if you do put in the recruiter. Most hilarious card to fetch, by far. :-D
I bought a Recruiter a while back, and I literally cannot say enough good things about it. It fetches every effect I have in my deck, every time I draw it I am excited to see it. LOVE it. Wish it wasn't as expensive as it was, but if you can afford it, it's awesome sauce.
I decided to include a Proliferate theme in the deck to help overcome the weakness that allies have generally - they're small. I've seen some Ally decks focus on repeating the ETB triggers, but if you have a few guys with counters on them, you don't want to blink them!
Okay! The list!!
1 Karona, False God
Allies (22)
1 Graypelt Hunter
1 Talus Paladin
1 Kazandu Blademaster
1 Turntimber Ranger
1 Hada Freeblade
1 Oran-Rief Survivalist
1 Umara Raptor
1 Kazuul Warlord
1 Tuktuk Grunts
1 Nimana Sell-Sword
1 Bojuka Brigand
1 Kabira Evangel
1 Murasa Pyromancer
1 Hagra Diabolist
1 Seascape Aerialist
1 Harabaz Druid
1 Sea Gate Loremaster
1 Ondu Cleric
1 Join the Ranks
1 Tuktuk Scrapper
1 Tajuru Archer
1 Joraga Bard
Honorary Allies (7)
1 Phantasmal Image
1 Mirror Entity
1 Phyrexian Metamorph
1 Rite of Replication
1 Vesuvan Doppelganger
1 Chameleon Colossus
1 Taurean Mauler
Proliferation! (6)
1 Juniper Order Ranger
1 Forgotten Ancient
1 Contagion Engine
1 Doubling Season
1 Inexorable Tide
1 Cathars' Crusade
1 Darksteel Ingot
1 Vessel of Endless Rest
1 Sakura-Tribe Elder
1 Oracle of Mul Daya
1 Fertilid
Protection/Recursion (4)
1 Steely Resolve
1 Dauntless Escort
1 Sun Titan
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
Awesome (2)
1 Lurking Predators
1 Elesh Norn
Removal (4)
1 Qasali Pridemage
1 Fleshbag Marauder
1 Vindicate
1 Maelstrom Pulse
Win Cons (6)
1 Venser, the Sojourner
1 Coat of Arms
1 Door of Destinies
1 Cover of Darkness
1 Overwhelming Stampede
1 Triumph of the Hordes
Draw (5)
1 Consecrated Sphinx
1 Graveborn Muse
1 Rhystic Study
1 Bloodgift Demon
1 Tezzeret's Gambit
Land (38)
1 Exotic Orchard
1 Seaside Citadel
4 Forest
1 Oran-Rief, the Vastwood
1 Isolated Chapel
1 Jungle Shrine
1 Rupture Spire
1 Reflecting Pool
1 Raging Ravine
1 Novijen, Heart of Progress
1 Mutavault
1 Llanowar Reborn
1 Woodland Cemetery
1 Vivid Grove
1 Vivid Crag
1 Vivid Creek
2 Island
1 Sulfur Falls
1 Glacial Fortress
1 Gavony Township
1 Drowned Catacomb
1 Command Tower
1 Cavern of Souls
1 Arcane Sanctum
1 Clifftop Retreat
1 Hinterland Harbor
3 Plains
1 Mountain
1 Swamp
1 Volrath's Stronghold
1 Vivid Marsh
1 Vivid Meadow
Okay! So... this is still somewhat of a work in progress. I'm very light on removal, and I'm sure my manabase could use some work (never done 5 color before). Other than that - I think this deck will be really fun to play! And also pretty straightforward for my son.
Stuff that works AWESOMELY with proliferate:
Allies I left out:
Tutors I'd include if this were my deck:
Stuff that might warrant a spot:
Removal that might need a spot:
Well... those are cards that I considered, (along with a lot of others! These colors are great! Lots of good stuff.) but for me it came down to a couple of reasons why I didn't include them. I feel like to make the most of those cards, the deck needs to be a dedicated token build. I often play without Riku - he eats a LOT of removal. People sometimes freak out when they see him hit the board, to the point where I am usually surprised if I get to untap with him. So the rest of the deck would need to be built to take advantage of those cards, for when Riku isn't in play, so they aren't wasted.
The other reason I didnt put them in is because these colors have very, very little enchantment tutoring. Gamble and Intution, that's all I've been able to come up with. So... if I have Riku out, and I can maximize those cards, I have no way to go get them.
My deck is mostly a toolbox deck. Problem situation? Search for an answer. That's how mine works for the most part. Hope that makes sense.
Sakura Tribe Elder -> Cultivate and
Farhaven Elf -> Kodama's Reach
Natural Order -> Intuition. Reducing my green utility count by 2 makes Natural Order a bit less profitable. And I tried Intuition out for a couple of games, and I was very impressed by the versatility. Tutoring up Survival of the Fittest in these colors is very hard, and this is a card that does it. Plus anything else I need, if I pick the right cards. I am a little hesitant to make my deck look even more like Sonik's, but... well... it's a good card. :-D
Lightning Greaves -> Elgaud Shieldmate. She makes more sense than the greaves, for her tutorability and her interaction with all my engines. I tried it out one game, and I rather liked it.
Ghostly Flicker -> Deadeye Navigator. This increases the CMC of the deck slightly, but I can tutor for the Navigator. I've played 3 games so far where I wished this change was in place.
Dryad Arbor -> Alchemist's Refuge and Forest -> Winding Canyons. Two games I've played where I wished I had the ability to flash in guys when I went Avenger of Zendikar in one round, then the next went Craterhoof Behemoth. That gives opponent's way too much time to react.
Caldera Hellion -> Crater Hellion. Not a fan of the echo cost, but a game against Luminarch Ascension that was making 4/4 tokens changed my mind.
I'm seriously thinking about going:
Farhaven Elf -> Kodama's Reach and Coiling Oracle -> Cultivate. Since removing the "bounce" stuff (Equilibrium, Erratic Portal, etc.) and replaced it with the "flicker" stuff which is more expensive, re-using the ramp guys at the beginning of the game isn't happening really, so I need other ways to make sure I'm hitting my land drops reliably. I do dislike moving away from creatures, but it's hard to deny the ramp spells are more efficient.
Also thinking about:
Lightning Greaves -> Elgaud Shieldmate. The shieldmate is tutorable. I hardly ever see the Greaves. Still thinking about this one. Mostly trying to decide how much I would miss the haste.
I might suggest -1 Elvish Piper, +1 Sneak Attack. Sneak Attack is a grand slam in this deck. It's really hard to lose once you get it out. You may also want to consider -1 Fabricate, +1 Gamble, so you can search for Survival and Sneak.
You mentioned there was only one combo in your deck - but don't forget the Eternal Witness + Time Warp + Kiki-Jiki, that's a slight tweak of the one you mentioned.
I'm sure people are tired of hearing me harp about these cards, but I can't tell you how many hopeless situations either Kederekt Leviathan or Ixidron bailed me out of. Seriously - they're both like get out of jail free cards. So amazing. Just something to think about. They're probably pretty meta dependent. I don't think Sonik shares my zeal for them, but I LOVE them. :-D
I'm not a huge fan of Man-o-War, your mileage may vary. You may want to consider Duplicant, since he's a more permanent solution and also fetchable with Imperial Recruiter. :-D
Your lands might need another look. No Academy Ruins? Also Gaea's Cradle is the sickness. I also love Dryad Arbor. It's copyable, pitchable to Survival if you draw it later, etc.
Haha, I don't mean to try to turn your deck into mine - but just a few things to keep in mind while you're playing. You're gonna have fun with your deck, Riku is the bomb shizzle. He's much more powerful than I originally thought he was going to be.
Cloudstone Curio -> Conjurer's Closet. Closet is so much value. This is gonna be great.
Equilibrium -> Ghostly Flicker. I'm a bit hesitant about this, but I'll try it out a few games. Equilibrium can act as pseudo-removal, but the problem with using it to bounce my own dudes and then recasting them (the reason it was in there), is that it's very mana intensive. Ghostly Flicker lets me re-use the effects of TWO dudes for 3 mana. Much more mana efficient, even if it's only once.
Erratic Portal -> Nephalia Smuggler. Again, bouncing and then re-casting my guys to get their effect again is a huge mana requirement. Hopefully the smuggler can help reduce my mana needs, even though his ability costs 4. I think it's really going to help, especially late game, when I'm re-using big dudes. PLUS - he's a creature, so he works much better with all my engines.
I tried to find a spot for Deadeye Navigator, but that 6 mana cost is causing me to hesitate. He's amazing, but I need more time to think about it. Crystal Shard might the choice here, but the problem with that is the shard is cheaper, and has helped me ramp at the beginning of the game, by bouncing Wood Elves or whatever. I can't re-use Wood Elves with the navigator if I'm not at 6 mana yet. More thought required here. I'm sure I'll find space to try it out eventually.
Oh! Also, since the deck now has more engines that allow the re-use of ETB effects right away:
Trygon Predator -> Uktabi Orangutan (thanks Sonik for pointing this guy out)
Bloodfire Colossus -> Caldera Hellion. I really wanted to use Crater Hellion here, since he's tutorable with Fierce Empath and does more damage, but... an Echo cost? Naw man, just naw.
Okay! Off to kick some more heiny...