Wei Night Raiders MTG Card
1999-05-01 - Number 89
2009-09-07 - Number 81
| Card sets | Released in 2 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 4 |
| Rarity | Uncommon |
| Type | Creature — Human Soldier |
| Abilities | Horsemanship |
| Power | 2 |
| Toughness | 2 |
Key Takeaways
- Your deck gains card advantage and surprise elements with the addition of Wei Night Raiders.
- Instant speed play offers flexibility and strategic depth during crucial game moments.
- Mana specificity and discard requirements inform deck-building decisions around this card.
Text of card
Horsemanship When Wei Night Raiders successfully damages your opponent, he or she chooses and discards a card from his or her hand. (Ignore this effect if your opponent doesn't have any cards.)
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Wei Night Raiders bring the element of surprise and card advantage to your game plan. With their ability to add creature cards from your opponent’s deck to your hand, this MTG card can tilt the scales in your favor by expanding your options while depleting your opponent’s resources.
Resource Acceleration: Not only do the Raiders disrupt the opponent’s strategy, but they also serve as a tool for resource acceleration, potentially providing you with additional creatures to play. This acceleration bolsters your battlefield presence and can quickly escalate your threat level.
Instant Speed: The utility of being able to deploy the Wei Night Raiders at instant speed cannot be stressed enough. This flexibility grants you the freedom to adapt to the evolving board state, reserve mana for reactive spells, or set up unexpected block scenarios during your opponent’s turn, keeping them constantly on the defensive.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: One key drawback of the Wei Night Raiders card is the necessity to discard another card in order to utilize its full potential. This can create unfavorable situations where your hand is depleted, leaving you with fewer options for future plays.
Specific Mana Cost: The Wei Night Raiders card requires a particular combination of mana types to cast. This specificity, consisting of both black and another color, can restrict the card’s flexibility, making it a challenging fit for decks that aren’t tailored to accommodate such costs.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: Taking into account the mana investment needed to bring Wei Night Raiders onto the battlefield, it becomes evident that the card may represent a less efficient choice when compared to other creatures in the same mana range. Players might find that allocating their mana towards this card could lead to missed opportunities for playing other impactful cards with a lower mana requirement.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Wei Night Raiders can adapt to multiple strategies, serving as both an early-game pressure option or as part of a synergistic strategy with cards that benefit from having warriors or black creatures.
Combo Potential: This card has solid potential to be used in combos, especially in decks that capitalize on its ability to deal damage and thereby trigger various on-damage effects.
Meta-Relevance: In a game where aggressive strategies are effective, Wei Night Raiders fits well by applying early pressure and complementing decks that focus on creature-based synergies and incremental advantage.
How to beat
Wei Night Raiders is a card that requires tactical forethought to counter effectively in a game of Magic: The Gathering. Its ability to avoid being blocked as long as you control no Islands makes it a persistent threat on the battlefield, especially in decks lacking blue mana sources. Furthermore, its Horsemanship ability positions it outside the reach of most blockers, emphasizing the need for alternative strategies.
To effectively neutralize Wei Night Raiders, consider utilizing removal spells that can target it, regardless of its blocking restrictions. Cards like Murder, Path to Exile, or even board wipes like Wrath of God can clear the field of this elusive adversary without the need to block it in combat. Red players might lean towards using direct damage spells like Lightning Bolt or Abrade to handle such threats efficiently.
Additionally, enhancing your deck with cards that impose restrictions on attack or combat abilities can be a strong countermeasure. Ensnaring Bridge, for instance, can prevent Wei Night Raiders from attacking altogether if your hand is kept low. Spot removal and strategic deck-building are key to mastering the matchup against this potent card in your duels across the planes.
Cards like Wei Night Raiders
Wei Night Raiders is a fresh card that offers a twist on creature capabilities in the world of Magic: The Gathering. It’s reminiscent of cards like Skulking Knight in terms of being an aggressive black creature. Yet, Wei Night Raiders distinguishes itself with its potential to create card advantage through direct damage to the opponent.
Stacking it against Hypnotic Specter, another storied card, both share the Horsemanship ability, making them difficult to block. However, while Hypnotic Specter discards a card at random from an opponent’s hand upon dealing damage, Wei Night Raiders focuses on drawing cards from your own deck, which can consistently support your hand with options.
Comparatively, we see Dauthi Marauder. Though it shares the unblockability trait through shadow, Dauthi Marauder misses the ability to affect the hand or deck directly. Wei Night Raiders steps up as a versatile card, where it weakens the opponent while bolstering your own resources, staying true to the aggressive and resourceful playstyle black is known for. In sum, Wei Night Raiders efficiently combines aggression with card advantage, marking its place in the strategy of MTG black decks.
Cards similar to Wei Night Raiders by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Wei Night Raiders MTG card by a specific set like Portal Three Kingdoms and Masters Edition III, 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 Wei Night Raiders and other MTG cards:
- eBay
- TCG Player
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
- MTGO Traders Magic Online
See MTG Products
Printings
The Wei Night Raiders Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 1999-05-01 and 2009-09-07. Illustrated by Wang Feng.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1999-05-01 | Portal Three Kingdoms | PTK | 89 | 1997 | Normal | White | Wang Feng | |
| 2 | 2009-09-07 | Masters Edition III | ME3 | 81 | 1997 | Normal | Black | Wang Feng |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Wei Night Raiders has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Restricted |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Predh | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Wei Night Raiders card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2009-10-01 | Despite the similarities between horsemanship and flying, horsemanship doesn’t interact with flying or reach. |
| 2009-10-01 | Wei Night Raiders’s second ability triggers whenever it deals damage to an opponent for any reason. It’s not limited to combat damage. |
