Mechanics Overview: Raid

In today's Mechanic's Overview Segment, let's talk about Raid, the aggressive, attack-centric mechanic that's now back in the spotlight thanks to the latest MTG Standard set, Foundations (2024). Whether you're a seasoned veteran who loves declaring "math is for blockers" or a newcomer ready to learn more about the all-important combat phase (and that other phase that comes right after it), Raid offers a literal treasure trove of potential just waiting for you to discover. So, without further ado, let's dive headfirst into what Raid is, how it works, and how you can wield it like a true raider.

What Is Raid?

Raid is an ability word that's all about rewarding you for doing what MTG often tries to incentivize us to do: attacking. If you've attacked with a creature during your turn, cards with Raid will grant you a bonus, sometimes immediately, sometimes during Main Phase 2, and sometimes even at the beginning of your End Phase. The effect could be just about anything: drawing cards, making tokens, dealing damage, or even reanimating something (spoiler alert: Raid can somehow reanimate creatures now).

How Raid Works

While Raid is a relatively straightforward mechanic (turn things sideways, profit, am I right?), it's still worth knowing a few of its finer details:

One Attack Is All It Takes

Raid only cares that you attacked with at least one creature during your turn. It doesn't matter how many attackers you sent, whether they survived, or what they attacked.

Checks the Whole Turn

Raid evaluates the entire turn. Even if your attacking creature died in combat (or got removed afterward), Raid still triggers as long as the attack happened in some shape or form.

Post-Combat Benefits

Most Raid cards are designed to be played in your Second Main Phase, which unironically encourages a distinct swing-first-and-see-what-happens kind of approach.

Raiding Foundations

Even though I've been a long-time raider since Khans of Tarkir (2014), with the recent release of Foundations, I wanted to quickly highlight the three new Raid cards that I feel are particularly noteworthy:

1. Alesha, Who Laughs at Fate

None of the text on Alesha, Who Laughs at Fate, matters except for its Raid ability. I'm serious. Sure, the First Strike can somewhat deter blockers when Alesha attacks and sure, it gets a +1/+1 counter every time it connects.

But what we're really looking to do here is just to declare an attack with something (literally, anything is fine here), then go to end phase and just cast a Monstrous Rage targeting Alesha so that we can reanimate a Sheoldred, the Apocalypse with shipping and fees included.

Don't need a Sheoldred for some reason? Grab a Deep-Cavern Bat and steal the control player's sweeper (we wouldn't even need a pump spell here, isn't that crazy?). For these reasons alone, if I were a Standard player, Rakdos Aggro would definitely be at the top of my list for brewing this season.

2. Perforating Artist

What do you know, another Rakdos card. Perforating Artist is a three-mana Devil with a "Punisher" effect tacked onto a 3/2 Deathtouch body. Now, while this is nowhere near as exciting as Alesha, I did want to mention that I feel this creature was designed quite well.

With its Deathtouch, not only would it often prove difficult to block profitably in combat (which helps to ensure future instances of Raid), but it also has that Punisher effect, which forces opponents to lose resources one way or another.

Granted, like with all Punisher effects, your opponent will always choose the option that's best for them at any given time. But in the one instance where they choose to lose three life and don't block? That's three mana; deal six damage. And at that point, we're already living every Burn player's dream.

3. Searslicer Goblin

Need even more Goblins for Goblin Tribal? Need to fill the ever-elusive 2-drop slot in an aggressive shell? Need an extra non-human generator for Winota, Joiner of Forces? Searslicer Goblin is here to do it all. Enough said.

The Future of Raid

Raid's unexpected return in Foundations has certainly shown us that the mechanic still has room to grow. So, now, I'm here to ask:

What if, in future sets, we got:

More Color Diversity

While Raid is traditionally tied to aggressive colors like Red, Black, and White, Laura Croft, Tomb Raider from Secret Lair x Tomb Raider (2019), has already proven that Green can bring its own flavor when it comes to the mechanic. So, if given enough time, maybe even Blue may find a way to better incorporate Raid so that the mechanic doesn't just translate to "draw a card" for a million extra mana.

Broader Triggers

The current Raid ability rewards attacking, but what if future iterations rewarded the number of creatures you attacked with, the damage dealt, or maybe even how many of your creatures died in combat? See, this could, hypothetically, help to fix Blue's current Raid issue.

If a Skyship Buccaneer's effect got upgraded to something like "Pirates' Raid - When this creature enters, if you attacked this turn, draw a card for each Pirate that attacked," then the card might just be playable. In this instance, if you attacked with three Pirates, you've essentially paid five for a 4/3 Flying Human Pirate that draws three cards. And even in this fringe Christmas-land-esque example, Blue still wouldn't be super-efficient, but it'd be more serviceable, to say the least.

It's certainly a tough thing to balance since card draw is so inherently strong in MTG but I have faith in you, Mark.

"I think Raid might be a mechanic we revisit more than most because it's well liked, plays well and has a lot of design space..." - Mark Rosewater.

Multiplayer Raiding

Rose, Cutthroat Raider already gave us a glimpse of what Raid can look like in multiplayer formats like Commander. I, for one, am looking forward to future designs that might lean even further into this concept of encouraging group interaction or rewarding politicking alongside combat.

So, with all that said, whether you're an old-school raider like me or someone who's just discovering the joys of turning cards sideways for the first time, one thing is certain: the future of Raid is as exciting and aggressive as ever!

That's it for me this time around. As always, happy brewing, and may you always remember to keep attacking. Until next time!