This is no longer even remotely current. The list has been torn apart and put back together a couple times. The most current version can be found here.
This is not actually a new list. It started as a pretty heavily modified version of my old shapeshifter/copy-themed Intet list, which was extraordinarily happy to see a new commander themed around copying. It has gone through quite a few changes already, and is likely to go through a few more as my philosophy on the deck shifts. First, the deck.
Primeval Titan - This is probably the last time I'm interested in raising the curve in the deck, and he doesn't even really count towards that. I'll slot the big guy in here pretty soon (read: when I find employment) now that he's dropped to a much more manageable price.
Volcanic Island/Tropical Island - Seeing how Primetime, with his fairly reasonable price tag, still isn't here, these should be easily explained. Someday, perhaps.
Tooth and Nail - Partly because I only have one currently tied up in another deck, partly because I want to rethink how the deck runs. More on that later.
Next, some explanations of card choices. A lot of the creature base is holdover from that Intet deck I mentioned earlier, like the large (though shrinking) number of shapeshifters in the deck. The significant amount of spell copying is in there for the same reason.
The other goal here is to play this almost like a Wort deck with some blue thrown in. Spell copying is fun, and I'd like to do more of it.
Last thing for now: the shift in philosophy I mentioned earlier. After playing this deck a couple times, this particular general, and EDH in general (get it?), I want to try and make a shift to a leaner, more utility focused build. By using low cost, efficient creatures and spells that scale well, you can have a much more solid early game without giving up the late game. Riku is in a good spot for this, because his copies can pick up some slack when everyone else is playing EDHSuperbomb.dec and you've just topdecked Coiling Oracle. Thanks for reading - if you did - and hit me with your best suggestions. Anything I don't already have will likely take me a little longer to try out, but I'll give everything a fair hearing.
List has been updated a few times since the original posting. I've played several games with it. Generally holds its own, though I think I want to find some more draw. Being the deck that runs more or less on the stack is fun when everyone else is running board-based stuff.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
[Pr]Jaya | Estrid | A rotating cast of decks built out of my box.
He's really not. This deck doesn't maintain enough of a board presence or run heavy enough control to deal with the hate of the entire table at once. It likes to lie low and deal with major threats as they appear while slowly developing mana, then try and win with a large x spell or some other overly explosive turn. Add in that Riku can't copy him and that he's significantly higher on the curve than this deck really wants, and you end up with a creature that's pretty much useless to me.
Thanks for looking at the list though!
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
[Pr]Jaya | Estrid | A rotating cast of decks built out of my box.
He's really not. This deck doesn't maintain enough of a board presence or run heavy enough control to deal with the hate of the entire table at once. It likes to lie low and deal with major threats as they appear while slowly developing mana, then try and win with a large x spell or some other overly explosive turn. Add in that Riku can't copy him and that he's significantly higher on the curve than this deck really wants, and you end up with a creature that's pretty much useless to me.
Thanks for looking at the list though!
I have no issues getting him out due to all the copying of ramp spells and what not! him plus riku and mana reflection can do some dirty things ie 25 mana redsuns copied when i get a chance ill post my list and you can help me with it..I really like some of your card choices tho...just dont under stand why there is no primeval and woodfall primus in it...and Phyrexian metamorph...4 primeval/primus seem good.. and it has happened the last 4 games ive played with this general
t3/4 riku t4/5 primeval copied usually is game over...epically if i have wonder and anger in my grave yard by chance due two a turn two fauna shaman/survival
I have no issues getting him out due to all the copying of ramp spells and what not! him plus riku and mana reflection can do some dirty things ie 25 mana redsuns copied when i get a chance ill post my list and you can help me with it..I really like some of your card choices tho...just dont under stand why there is no primeval and woodfall primus in it...and Phyrexian metamorph...4 primeval/primus seem good.. and it has happened the last 4 games ive played with this general
t3/4 riku t4/5 primeval copied usually is game over...epically if i have wonder and anger in my grave yard by chance due two a turn two fauna shaman/survival
No Primeval for the same reason there's no Tropical Island. I'm unemployed and broke. Even with the drop in price, he's still more than I can afford right now. Metamorph keeps slipping my mind, because my copies are slapped in a T2 deck at the moment, but it needs to find a home. No Primus because I'm trying to lower the curve and win on the stack with copied spells, rather than drop big beasties and swing in. Same reason I'm not running Anger and Wonder.
I don't doubt that I'd be able to play the big stuff, as I routinely hit 15+ lands on the board. The trick is that I frequently don't have much beyond that, and can't really deal with some of the hate that I'll catch. Something like Mana Reflection is worth the risk, because it's not going to die a tragic sweeper related death before I get to use it. It also doesn't interfere with anyone else, just rushes me merrily along. Clex drops in, and everyone wants to deal with him - and by extension, me - ASAP.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
[Pr]Jaya | Estrid | A rotating cast of decks built out of my box.
This is not actually a new list. It started as a pretty heavily modified version of my old shapeshifter/copy-themed Intet list, which was extraordinarily happy to see a new commander themed around copying. It has gone through quite a few changes already, and is likely to go through a few more as my philosophy on the deck shifts. First, the deck.
1 Riku of Two Reflections
//Lands (36)
5 Forest
7 Island
4 Mountain
1 Boseiju, Who Shelters All
1 Breeding Pool
1 Cascade Bluffs
1 Command Tower
1 Dryad Arbor
1 Fire-Lit Thicket
1 Flooded Grove
1 Forgotten Cave
1 Lonely Sandbar
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Reliquary Tower
1 Scalding Tarn
1 Steam Vents
1 Stomping Ground
1 Taiga
1 Temple of the False God
1 Terramorphic Expanse
1 Tolaria West
1 Tranquil Thicket
1 Wooded Foothills
//Creatures (22)
1 Æthersnipe
1 Avenger of Zendikar
1 Body Double
1 Brutalizer Exarch
1 Coiling Oracle
1 Consecrated Sphinx
1 Dragonmaster Outcast
1 Echo Mage
1 Eternal Witness
1 Ingot Chewer
1 Izzet Chronarch
1 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
1 Morphling
1 Mulldrifter
1 Phantasmal Image
1 Phyrexian Metamorph
1 Sakura-Tribe Elder
1 Shapesharer
1 Sigil Tracer
1 Vesuvan Shapeshifter
1 Wort, the Raidmother
1 Yavimaya Elder
1 Darksteel Ingot
1 Mimic Vat
1 Mirari
1 Sol Ring
//Enchantments (4)
1 Cast Through Time
1 Mana Reflection
1 Mystic Remora
1 Night Soil
//Sorceries (16)
1 Cultivate
1 Farseek
1 Frenzied Tilling
1 Gamble
1 Gelatinous Genesis
1 Kodama's Reach
1 Life from the Loam
1 Mwonvuli Acid-Moss
1 Nostalgic Dreams
1 Praetor's Counsel
1 Reap and Sow
1 Recurring Insight
1 Red Sun's Zenith
1 Regrowth
1 Skyshroud Claim
1 Three Visits
//Instants (17)
1 Beast Within
1 Blue Sun's Zenith
1 Brainstorm
1 Chaos Warp
1 Comet Storm
1 Fault Line
1 Intuition
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Radiate
1 Reiterate
1 Reverberate
1 Rushing River
1 Spell Crumple
1 Starstorm
1 Telling Time
1 Wild Ricochet
1 Worldly Tutor
Volcanic Island/Tropical Island - Seeing how Primetime, with his fairly reasonable price tag, still isn't here, these should be easily explained. Someday, perhaps.
Tooth and Nail - Partly because I only have one currently tied up in another deck, partly because I want to rethink how the deck runs. More on that later.
Next, some explanations of card choices. A lot of the creature base is holdover from that Intet deck I mentioned earlier, like the large (though shrinking) number of shapeshifters in the deck. The significant amount of spell copying is in there for the same reason.
The other goal here is to play this almost like a Wort deck with some blue thrown in. Spell copying is fun, and I'd like to do more of it.
Last thing for now: the shift in philosophy I mentioned earlier. After playing this deck a couple times, this particular general, and EDH in general (get it?), I want to try and make a shift to a leaner, more utility focused build. By using low cost, efficient creatures and spells that scale well, you can have a much more solid early game without giving up the late game. Riku is in a good spot for this, because his copies can pick up some slack when everyone else is playing EDHSuperbomb.dec and you've just topdecked Coiling Oracle. Thanks for reading - if you did - and hit me with your best suggestions. Anything I don't already have will likely take me a little longer to try out, but I'll give everything a fair hearing.
He's really not. This deck doesn't maintain enough of a board presence or run heavy enough control to deal with the hate of the entire table at once. It likes to lie low and deal with major threats as they appear while slowly developing mana, then try and win with a large x spell or some other overly explosive turn. Add in that Riku can't copy him and that he's significantly higher on the curve than this deck really wants, and you end up with a creature that's pretty much useless to me.
Thanks for looking at the list though!
I have no issues getting him out due to all the copying of ramp spells and what not! him plus riku and mana reflection can do some dirty things ie 25 mana redsuns copied when i get a chance ill post my list and you can help me with it..I really like some of your card choices tho...just dont under stand why there is no primeval and woodfall primus in it...and Phyrexian metamorph...4 primeval/primus seem good.. and it has happened the last 4 games ive played with this general
t3/4 riku t4/5 primeval copied usually is game over...epically if i have wonder and anger in my grave yard by chance due two a turn two fauna shaman/survival
No Primeval for the same reason there's no Tropical Island. I'm unemployed and broke. Even with the drop in price, he's still more than I can afford right now. Metamorph keeps slipping my mind, because my copies are slapped in a T2 deck at the moment, but it needs to find a home. No Primus because I'm trying to lower the curve and win on the stack with copied spells, rather than drop big beasties and swing in. Same reason I'm not running Anger and Wonder.
I don't doubt that I'd be able to play the big stuff, as I routinely hit 15+ lands on the board. The trick is that I frequently don't have much beyond that, and can't really deal with some of the hate that I'll catch. Something like Mana Reflection is worth the risk, because it's not going to die a tragic sweeper related death before I get to use it. It also doesn't interfere with anyone else, just rushes me merrily along. Clex drops in, and everyone wants to deal with him - and by extension, me - ASAP.