Mind Raker MTG Card

Mind Raker allows for hand disruption, indirectly tipping card balance in your favor. Instant speed provides adaptability and opponent strategy disruption. Demands card discard for its devoid ability, which may reduce options.

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	4
Rarity	Common
Type	Creature — Eldrazi Processor
Abilities	Devoid
Released	2015-10-02
Set symbol
Set name	Battle for Zendikar
Set code	BFZ
Power	3
Toughness	3
Number	95
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Lius Lasahido

Text of card

Devoid (This card has no color.) When Mind Raker enters the battlefield, you may put a card an opponent owns from exile into that player's graveyard. If you do, each opponent discards a card.

It consumes any dreams of victory.

Cards like Mind Raker

Mind Raker takes its place among the intriguing Mind rot effects within Magic: The Gathering. It’s closely related to the classic Mind Rot itself, a card known for forcing an opponent to discard two cards. Mind Raker, however, has a distinct advantage with its Devoid ability, meaning it has no color, which can be a serious strategic benefit in certain decks that capitalize on colorless aspects.

Another similar card is Wrench Mind, which also causes an opponent to discard two cards, albeit at a lower cost. The key difference lies in Wrench Mind’s potential downside – it can be negated by discarding an artifact card. Conversely, there’s Unburden, which shares the same mana cost as Mind Raker, with an additional cycling ability, giving it a slight edge in terms of versatility. Finally, there’s the more recent Vicious Rumors from Guilds of Ravnica set, offering the discard effect at a single mana, along with additional incremental damage and life loss.

While Mind Raker may not be as mana-efficient as some alternatives, its synergy with colorless strategies makes it worthy of consideration for players crafting a deck around such themes.

Cards similar to Mind Raker by color, type and mana cost

Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed - MTG Card versions

Demon of Catastrophes - MTG Card versions

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Mind Raker ensures that you leverage each turn optimally by allowing the disruption of your opponent’s hand, thereby indirectly working towards a favorable card balance.

Resource Acceleration: Aside from its primary function, the card often interacts with other mechanics that thrive on discarding, such as delirium or madness, potentially speeding up your game plan and resource development.

Instant Speed: Operating at instant speed adds a layer of versatility, permitting you to react to your opponent’s moves by casting it at a moment’s notice, thus keeping them on edge and disrupting their strategy while you remain in control.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Mind Raker imposes a notable constraint for its Devoid ability to trigger, demanding the player to discard a card. In game scenarios where your hand is already depleted, this cost could further diminish your strategic options, especially if you have to let go of critical spells or creatures.

Specific Mana Cost: Among the hurdles players face with Mind Raker is its specific mana requirement, which includes two colors. This restricts its integration into multicolored decks that may not consistently access the needed color mana, thereby impacting deck flexibility and mana base construction.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Sporting a mana cost of three and one specific color, Mind Raker’s overall impact on the game may not align with its casting price. Given the pace at which most games unfold, there are alternative creatures or spells that could provide immediate board presence or more valuable interactions for the same or less mana investment.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Mind Raker offers a unique blend of control and disruption that makes it usable in various deck strategies. Whether you’re aiming for aggressive tempo plays or setting up for late-game dominance, Mind Raker can adapt to your tactical needs, providing both a body on the board and a way to disrupt your opponent’s hand.

Combo Potential: With the ability to force a discard when processing an exiled card, Mind Raker can be pivotal in decks that exploit the ingest and process mechanics. It’s a key piece that can weave together intricate combos and open up new pathways to victory through the strategic management of both graveyards.

Meta-Relevance: Given its capability to throw opponents off balance and its synergy with prevalent graveyard strategies, Mind Raker remains relevant in diverse metas. This places the card in an advantageous position in matchups where hand disruption and graveyard interaction can tip the scales in your favor.

How to beat

Mind Raker poses an interesting challenge on the battlefield in Magic: The Gathering, demanding both strategy and foresight to effectively counter. This creature, with its ability to force opponents to discard a card upon processing another creature, can disrupt your game plan and hand composition. To mitigate the effects of Mind Raker, consider maintaining a hand with disposable cards that are less impactful when discarded. It’s also helpful to utilize instant-speed removal spells or abilities to eliminate Mind Raker before its ability can be triggered.

Another effective strategy is to limit the number of creatures that go into exile, thus hampering the process mechanic that Mind Raker relies upon. This can be achieved by using graveyard-focused strategies, such as reanimation or recursion abilities that keep your creatures cycling from the graveyard back to the battlefield rather than exile. Enchantment and artifact removal can also be key in dismantling any support cards that enhance Mind Raker’s discard ability.

Remain vigilant of Mind Raker’s presence on the board and prioritize its removal. In doing so, you safeguard your hand and maintain the upper hand in card advantage, a crucial aspect of winning in Magic: The Gathering. Adapting your playstyle and including effective counters in your deck can significantly diminish the disruption caused by Mind Raker.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Mind Raker MTG card by a specific set like Battle for Zendikar, 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 Mind Raker and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Mind Raker has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Penny	Legal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Mind Raker card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

Date	Text
2015-08-25	A card with devoid is just colorless. It’s not colorless and the colors of mana in its mana cost.
2015-08-25	Cards with devoid use frames that are variations of the transparent frame traditionally used for Eldrazi. The top part of the card features some color over a background based on the texture of the hedrons that once imprisoned the Eldrazi. This coloration is intended to aid deckbuilding and game play.
2015-08-25	Devoid works in all zones, not just on the battlefield.
2015-08-25	Face-down cards in exile are grouped using two criteria: what caused them to be exiled face down and when they were exiled face down. If you want to put a face-down card in exile into its owner’s graveyard, you must first choose one of these groups and then choose a card from within that group at random. For example, say an artifact causes your opponent to exile their hand of three cards face down. Then on a later turn, that artifact causes your opponent to exile another two cards face down. If you use Wasteland Strangler to put one of those cards into their graveyard, you would pick the first or second pile and put a card chosen at random from that pile into the graveyard.
2015-08-25	If a card loses devoid, it will still be colorless. This is because effects that change an object’s color (like the one created by devoid) are considered before the object loses devoid.
2015-08-25	If a replacement effect will cause cards that would be put into a graveyard from anywhere to be exiled instead (such as the one created by Anafenza, the Foremost), you can still put an exiled card into its opponent’s graveyard. The card becomes a new object and remains in exile. In this situation, you can’t use a single exiled card if required to put more than one exiled card into the graveyard. Conversely, you could use the same card in this situation if two separate spells or abilities each required you to put a single exiled card into its owner’s graveyard.
2015-08-25	If a spell or ability requires that you put more than one exiled card into the graveyard, you may choose cards owned by different opponents. Each card chosen will be put into its owner’s graveyard.
2015-08-25	Other cards and abilities can give a card with devoid color. If that happens, it’s just the new color, not that color and colorless.
2015-08-25	You can’t look at face-down cards in exile unless an effect allows you to.