Serum Raker MTG Card


Serum Raker can disrupt an adversary’s hand, potentially granting you a strategic edge during gameplay. Its ability to dictate the game’s tempo could lead to a swifter victory, despite not producing resources. Serum Raker complements instant-speed strategies, potentially enhancing your deck’s overall performance.
Serum Raker - Mirrodin Besieged
Mana cost
Converted mana cost4
RarityCommon
TypeCreature — Phyrexian Drake
Abilities Flying
Released2011-02-04
Set symbol
Set nameMirrodin Besieged
Set codeMBS
Power 3
Toughness 2
Number31
Frame2003
LayoutNormal
BorderBlack
Illustred byAustin Hsu

Text of card

Flying When Serum Raker is put into a graveyard from the battlefield, each player discards a card.

The serum from the blinkmoths they gather greases the joints of witch engines.


Cards like Serum Raker

Exploring the diverse MTG multiverse, Serum Raker emerges as a creature card with distinct abilities. It belongs to the sphere of cards that leverage both flying and discard mechanisms, akin to creatures like Wind Drake. Like Serum Raker, Wind Drake is also a flying creature, yet it lacks the discard effect upon leaving the battlefield, which can disrupt opponents’ strategies. Serum Raker’s synergy of flight and discard potential provides an edge in certain decks.

Another analog is Mist Raven. Both cards utilize flying and impact the board directly; Mist Raven does so by returning a creature to its owner’s hand when it enters the battlefield. While Serum Raker requires its presence to be removed to trigger its discard effect, Mist Raven acts immediately upon entry. This offers a strategic choice between an immediate response with Mist Raven or a delayed, but potentially game-altering effect with Serum Raker. The choice of creature would depend on the deck’s design and the player’s tactical approach.

In essence, within the realm of MTG, Serum Raker stands out with its unique blend of aerial prowess and strategic discard capability. This duality positions the card as a compelling choice for players crafting decks with a focus on disrupting their opponent’s hand while maintaining a presence in the skies.

Wind Drake - MTG Card versions
Mist Raven - MTG Card versions
Wind Drake - MTG Card versions
Mist Raven - MTG Card versions

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Thieving Magpie - MTG Card versions
Inga Rune-Eyes - MTG Card versions
Sakashima of a Thousand Faces - MTG Card versions
Laboratory Drudge - MTG Card versions
Johnny, Combo Player - MTG Card versions
Dream Prowler - MTG Card versions
Cytoplast Manipulator - MTG Card versions
Crookclaw Transmuter - MTG Card versions
Turtleshell Changeling - MTG Card versions
Glen Elendra Archmage - MTG Card versions
Fatestitcher - MTG Card versions
Argent Sphinx - MTG Card versions
Lumengrid Drake - MTG Card versions
Vedalken Infuser - MTG Card versions
Phantasmal Dragon - MTG Card versions
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Card Pros

Card Advantage: Serum Raker’s ability to make an opponent discard a card can disrupt their hand balance, giving you an upper hand. Plus, if you’ve got the means to reuse or recur Serum Raker from the battlefield or your graveyard, you could gain a repetitive advantage.

Resource Acceleration: By compelling a discard, Serum Raker can indirectly accelerate your resources. If the opponent discards a card that would have otherwise dealt with your threats or developed their board, you maintain momentum, potentially speeding up your path to victory. While Serum Raker doesn’t directly produce mana or treasure tokens, the tempo gained can be just as valuable.

Instant Speed: Although Serum Raker itself isn’t an instant, it can synergize well with instant-speed spells and effects in your deck. Being a creature with flying, it can easily slot into decks that aim to keep mana open to react at instant speed, then add to the board state if no immediate threats appear.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Serum Raker necessitates that you discard a card whenever it leaves the battlefield. This can result in a downside, especially in situations where your hand is already depleted or in control-heavy matchups where preserving each card becomes critical to maintaining an advantage.

Specific Mana Cost: Running a blue and red mana requirement, Serum Raker can strain mana bases that aren’t tailored to support a multicolor strategy. This requirement can be challenging for decks that need to balance a variety of spells across different colors.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Costing four mana to deploy, Serum Raker might not always be the most efficient play. For the same amount of mana, players might access a variety of other creatures or spells that provide greater board presence or more immediate impact on the game state, which is essential in formats where tempo plays a significant role.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Serum Raker offers a blend of aggressive stats and strategic value, making it a smart addition to decks that prize both offensive presence and disruptive effects during play.

Combo Potential: Its flying ability enables it to evade many common defenders, while its discard effect can synergize with strategies that exploit your opponent’s diminished hand size or benefit from graveyard interactions.

Meta-Relevance: In a format where opponents frequently rely on hand resources for control or combo setups, Serum Raker’s windfall effect can be a game-changer, effectively disrupting their plans and tilting the odds in your favor.


How to beat

Serum Raker presents itself as a formidable flyer in the decks of many Magic: The Gathering players. Boasting a decent power and toughness, with the added bonus of causing your opponent to discard a card upon leaving the battlefield, it can be quite the nuisance. To effectively counter this specter of the skies, consider employing removal spells that can handle creatures at instant speed, thus minimizing the window for your opponent to take advantage of the discard effect.

Strategies such as deploying blockers with reach or flying can also help mitigate the damage inflicted by Serum Raker. Cards like Essence Scatter, which can counter creature spells, prove to be another valid tactical move. Direct damage spells that can take down creatures are valuable as well, providing the added benefit to your arsenal of being able to respond to threats swiftly and efficiently. In essence, ensuring you have the means to disrupt your opponent’s plan and maintaining control of the board will help you overcome the challenge posed by Serum Raker.


Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Serum Raker MTG card by a specific set like Mirrodin Besieged, there are several reliable options to consider. One of the primary sources is your local game store, where you can often find booster packs, individual cards, and preconstructed decks from current and some past sets. They often offer the added benefit of a community where you can trade with other players.

For a broader inventory, particularly of older sets, online marketplaces like TCGPlayer, Card Kingdom and Card Market offer extensive selections and allow you to search for cards from specific sets. Larger e-commerce platforms like eBay and Amazon also have listings from various sellers, which can be a good place to look for sealed product and rare finds.

Additionally, Magic’s official site often has a store locator and retailer lists for finding Wizards of the Coast licensed products. Remember to check for authenticity and the condition of the cards when purchasing, especially from individual sellers on larger marketplaces.

Below is a list of some store websites where you can buy the Serum Raker and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Serum Raker has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal