Riven, Savior of the People

Commander / EDH* Aggro Casual Counterspell Jank Sacrifice Tokens UB (Dimir)

DreadKhan

Draw (17)

• 1x Desert of the Mindful
• 1x Sensei's Divining Top
• 1x Arcane Denial
• 1x Night's Whisper
• 1x Sygg, River Cutthroat
• 1x Exclude
• 1x Morbid Opportunist
• 1x Phyrexian Arena
• 1x Unfulfilled Desires
• 1x Coastal Piracy
• 1x Notion Thief
• 1x Solemn Simulacrum
• 1x Tevesh Szat, Doom of Fools
• 1x The Scarab God
• 1x Bolas's CitadelGC
• 1x Coveted Jewel
• 1x Professor Onyx

Land (33)

• 1x Ash Barrens
• 1x Desert of the Mindful
• 1x Dimir Guildgate
• 1x Dismal Backwater
• 1x Exotic Orchard
• 13x Island
• 1x Mistvault Bridge
• 1x Myriad Landscape
• 1x Mystic Sanctuary
• 1x Phyrexian Tower
• 1x Shipwreck Marsh
• 10x Swamp

Tokens (8)

• 1x Hunted Horror
• 1x Resculpt
• 1x Ophiomancer
• 1x Sedgemoor Witch
• 1x Golden Guardian  ^Flip
• 1x Tevesh Szat, Doom of Fools
• 1x Grave Titan
• 1x Oona, Queen of the Fae

Recursion (5)

• 1x Mystic Sanctuary
• 1x Amphin Mutineer
• 1x The Eldest Reborn
• 1x The Scarab God
• 1x Sheoldred, Whispering One

Combo Piece (3)

• 1x Chain of Smog
• 1x Sedgemoor Witch
• 1x Professor Onyx

Lifegain (2)

• 1x Aetherflux Reservoir
• 1x Exquisite Blood

Copy (1)

• 1x Imposter Mech

Interaction (14)

• 1x Flood
• 1x Arcane Denial
• 1x Counterbalance
• 1x Counterspell
• 1x Drown in the Loch
• 1x Negate
• 1x Spellskite
• 1x Exclude
• 1x Saw it Coming
• 1x Stronghold Biologist
• 1x Stronghold Machinist
• 1x Thalakos Dreamsower
• 1x Glen Elendra Archmage
• 1x Oona, Queen of the Fae

Removal (13)

• 1x Drown in the Loch
• 1x Feed the Swarm
• 1x Reality Shift
• 1x Resculpt
• 1x Ashes to Ashes
• 1x Imprisoned in the Moon
• 1x Soul Shatter
• 1x Xenic Poltergeist
• 1x Amphin Mutineer
• 1x Grim Hireling
• 1x Bladegriff Prototype
• 1x The Eldest Reborn
• 1x Sheoldred, Whispering One

Evasive (8)

• 1x Thieving Skydiver
• 1x Sedgemoor Witch
• 1x Thalakos Dreamsower
• 1x Glen Elendra Archmage
• 1x Sower of Temptation
• 1x Bladegriff Prototype
• 1x Oona, Queen of the Fae
• 1x Sheoldred, Whispering One

Theft (7)

• 1x Thieving Skydiver
• 1x Visions of Duplicity
• 1x Hostage Taker
• 1x Sower of Temptation
• 1x Empress Galina
• 1x Fealty to the Realm
• 1x Tevesh Szat, Doom of Fools

Tutor (3)

• 1x Grim Tutor
• 1x Solve the Equation
• 1x Beseech the Mirror

Blocker (1)

• 1x Spellskite

Stax (1)

• 1x Notion Thief

Commander (1)

Ramp (14)

• 1x Astral Cornucopia
• 1x Everflowing Chalice
• 1x Myriad Landscape
• 1x Phyrexian Tower
• 1x Wayfarer's Bauble
• 1x Arcane Signet
• 1x Dimir Signet
• 1x Dreamscape Artist
• 1x Talisman of Dominance
• 1x Golden Guardian  ^Flip
• 1x Grim Hireling
• 1x Solemn Simulacrum
• 1x Bolas's CitadelGC
• 1x Coveted Jewel

Politics (11)

• 1x Arcane Denial
• 1x Hunted Horror
• 1x Resculpt
• 1x Spellskite
• 1x Visions of Duplicity
• 1x War Tax
• 1x Xenic Poltergeist
• 1x Amphin Mutineer
• 1x Bladegriff Prototype
• 1x Fealty to the Realm
• 1x Coveted Jewel

Discard (5)

• 1x Chain of Smog
• 1x Dreamscape Artist
• 1x Stronghold Biologist
• 1x Stronghold Machinist
• 1x Unfulfilled Desires

Riven's Scale (5)

• 1x Sensei's Divining Top
• 1x Counterbalance
• 1x Unfulfilled Desires
• 1x Aetherflux Reservoir
• 1x Bolas's CitadelGC

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Riven Turnbull, Philanthropist Firebrand or Populist Blackguard?

Headline For an Unfinished Expose By a Deceased Reporter

The Riddle of Riven

What's 8 Feet Tall And Hunts These Down for Funsies

This Guy!!!

Honestly not sure how to justify him being a 5/7, but if he's 8 feet tall I guess it might make more sense? I mean, maybe it's a really big skull in the art? Coincidentally? Because seriously Riven can go toe to toe with an unholy number of Legendary creatures, yet we know nothing but his flavor text at this point.

Flavor

Riven Turnbull was a bit of a nomad, never sticking to one place, using his strong back to pay for travel in caravans and on ships. His curiosity about what lay beyond was considerable, but what really piqued his interest was the great, well, things that these new lands inevitably had to offer. Sure, they didn't always have what the old land had, but that wasn't important: what mattered was the new, the old would be there if he wanted to go back. As he became more of an old hand, he began to take on more of a leadership role, and eventually he began to organize some of the larger groups he worked among. Initially this was for the greater good, but in time he came to remember his love of comfort and luxury, and began to take bribes from the employers to betray his fellow workers. He was smart, so he wasn't caught, but as he traveled further and organized larger and larger groups, making both more connections and accruing more wealth, he eventually wished to 'settle down'. He picked a large, central city to start entrenching himself, and he used his discrete wealth to buy favors his connections alone couldn't achieve. At this point Riven is a mysterious fixture in the background of organized crime, using his public persona as a hero of the working man to avoid negative attention that his shadowy crime network would attract, and to find new recruits.

Primer

This is a Casual deck that plays a little dirty, it usually wins via combo, making it unique in my Legends Casual pod of 5 decks. I settled on combo in part because Dimir struggles to do certain things in Casual, but it can still just assemble a combo, so this should allow it to compete. It's not the best at assembling it's win cons, Chain of Smog + Professor Onyx , or Chain of Smog + Sedgemoor Witch , so it's rarely a 'problem' in a less pushed meta, but it can win games fairly suddenly. The deck has added some more support for Riven's Crooked Weight, it's very useful when used in Riven's Citadel/ It's Superlaser, and with his Scales while trading. They are further supported by his quest to satisfy all his Unfulfilled Desires, which can help fiddle with the top card as needed. It's very possible to hold up sufficient interaction to actually protect a combo as well. This deck is pretty heavy on creature removal, and less interested in wiping the board, but it's own creatures are rarely going to be big enough to close via combat, most of this deck's bodies are either evasive weenies (to synergize with combat payoffs) or tend to be utility creatures. There are some token generators in here, mostly to provide chumps.

Known Combos Show

Some known combos, for the algo. Chain of Smog + Professor Onyx Chain of Smog + Sedgemoor Witch Aetherflux Reservoir + Bolas's Citadel + Sensei's Divining Top Counterbalance + Sensei's Divining Top If I notice more I'd add more.

Known Issues

This deck can struggle if it attracts too much attention while packing too few blockers/deterrants, so playing this deck effectively usually requires more politics than is usual, people should be aware of the threat of Counters and Removal as this deck is brimming with both. I think this deck could use some more graveyard synergies, and it probably wants a few more wipes, but what it really wants is access to White's Wraths that kill everything over a certain size, as this deck is not especially tall.

Date added	2 years
Last updated	3 months
Key combos	Counterbalance + Sensei's Divining Top Aetherflux Reservoir + Bolas's Citadel + Sensei's Divining Top Chain of Smog + Professor Onyx Chain of Smog + Sedgemoor Witch
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	8 - 0 Mythic Rares 34 - 0 Rares 18 - 0 Uncommons 15 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.25
Tokens	Centaur 3/3 G w/ Pro Black, Copy Clone, Elemental 4/4 UR, Faerie Rogue 1/1 UB, Foretell, Golem 4/4 C, Manifest 2/2 C, Pest 1/1 BG, Snake 1/1 B, The Monarch, Thrull 0/1 B, Treasure, Zombie 2/2 B
Folders	Commander/EDH