How good is Riku of Many Paths in cEDH? Malcolm/Vial Smasher vs Etali vs Riku vs Zirda

Deck Strategies

• 

  Riku of Many Paths

  Focuses on copying spells and creatures to generate exponential value, often leveraging infinite mana combos to deploy a massive board presence and finish the game with overwhelming damage.

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  Etali, Primal Conqueror

  Aims to attack and exile opponent cards to generate card advantage and tempo, disrupting opponents while fueling aggressive plays and leveraging the cascade effect of his attack triggers.

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  Vial Smasher the Fierce & Malcolm, Keen-Eyed Navigator

  Combines damage-based disruption with efficient creature combos like Breach or Glen Elendra to finish games quickly, utilizing aggressive tempo and direct damage to control the board.

• 

  Zirda, the Dawnwaker

  Seeks to generate infinite mana by reducing artifact activation costs and uses artifact synergies to repeatedly damage opponents with creatures like Walking Ballista, enabling combo kills and control elements.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  Riku’s use of Finale of Devastation to return key combo pieces and generate treasure tokens was a critical turning point that allowed for explosive mana and card advantage.

• 2

  The stacking and resolving of multiple triggers in response to opponent actions demonstrated the complex timing and priority management crucial in cEDH.

• 3

  The interaction between artifact mana sources and treasure token generation enabled efficient and repeated casting of spells, sustaining pressure on opponents.

• 4

  Disruption spells like Chaos Warp and Dismember were used strategically to delay opponents’ board development and combos, buying time for Riku’s engine to assemble.

• 5

  Players leveraged recursion effects, such as Eternal Witness and Noxious Revival, to reuse key spells like Twinflame, maintaining combo potential despite removal attempts.

Notable Cards

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  Finale of Devastation

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  Imperial Recruiter

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  Eternal Witness

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  Twinflame

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  Vexing Shusher

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  Wheel of Misfortune

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  Storm-Kiln Artist

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  Gemstone Mine

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  Lightning Bolt

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  Mana Vault

Summary

The game featured a competitive four-player cEDH match with Riku of Many Paths, Etali, Primal Conqueror, Vial Smasher the Fierce paired with Malcolm, Keen-Eyed Navigator, and Zirda, the Dawnwaker. Early turns saw players developing mana and establishing board presence with key ramp and utility creatures, such as Elvish Mystic, Imperial Recruiter, and Eternal Witness. The gameplay involved strategic interactions around artifact synergies, treasure generation, and incremental value plays, notably with Riku leveraging his ability to copy spells and Etali exploiting card advantage through his attack triggers. A pivotal moment occurred when Riku used Finale of Devastation to return key cards to hand, generate massive board presence, and create a treasure token engine that fueled further spellcasting and value. This led to a massive board state with numerous treasures and +1/+1 counters on Riku, setting up a lethal swing. Meanwhile, the other players attempted to disrupt this by targeting Riku's creatures and mana sources, but Riku's combination of haste, copying spells, and treasure generation proved overwhelming. The game highlighted intricate stack interactions, including responses to triggers and well-timed uses of removal and recursion to maintain pressure and extend combos. Ultimately, Riku's ability to generate infinite mana and apply overwhelming pressure with copied spells and creatures secured the win condition through a massive combat phase.