Raidraptor Gameplay Guide

By Ljkad Published Sep 4, 2024 Updated Sep 27, 2024

Soar Wings of Courage, get ready for the uprising! Rank-Up, XYZ Evolution!

Raidraptor is an OTK, ultra-aggressive Winged-Beast XYZ archetype controlled by Shay Obsidian in the Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V anime, relying on both destruction and burn damage to end the game. We do this by using a Rank-Up Magic Spell pool (which I'll refer to as RUM from here on out) to crowd the battlefield with ferocious falcons.

The first wave of releases came with Raider's Requiem in 2023 and was updated a year later with Scream of Resistance . The newly revamped Raidraptors were quickly overshadowed by Shay's fellow XYZian Yuto's Phantom Knights, which stole the spotlight. However, the deck is still strong enough to hold its own against many of the threats currently ranked higher up the tier right now.

There are two versions, pure Raidraptors and the mixed version. I will cover the differences as we continue later in the article.

Sections covered in this guide:

1/ Core leaves

2/ Back row of Archetype

3/ Extra Deck Options

4/ XYZ Beast is not Raptor

9/ Conclusion: Our Bright Future and Glorious Times

Core leaves

These are the front line and lifeblood of any deck strategy. These cards are absolutely required in any build.

Raidraptor - Tribute Lanius (x3)

Our starter of choice. It can send any Raidraptor monster from the deck to the graveyard (Great for extended play). It also has another effect that allows you to get a quickplay RUM (rank-up magic) Spell from your deck that would never come up in most cases. Always max this one out.

Raidraptor - Mimicry Lanius (x2-3)

The main purpose of this card is to drop it to the graveyard with Tribute Lanius. It can banish itself to search for any Raidraptor. This is important because we can take our backrow depending on any extender. It is important to have at least two of these cards because you don't want to see the only copy of this card in your hand =)).

Its second effect is a level change, which isn't really necessary but can happen if you run into someone using Mischief of the Gnomes . I'm not kidding about this, that scenario helped me win a fucking victory.

Raidraptor - Strangle Lanius (x2-3)

The third most important card in all Raidraptors variants. It can summon itself (as long as you control a Dark monster) and has the added effect of reviving one of your MainDeck monsters if a Dark XYZ monster is attached as material to another XYZ monster. Unlike the previous two cards, this second effect is quite important, especially if you get Disruption at some point, which will require more meatballs to summon XYZ.

Raidraptor - Fuzzy Lanius (x0-3)

This card is a little different. Whether or not you play it depends entirely on whether you want to play a pure Deck. Fuzzy Lanius can summon itself if there is another Raidraptor on the field, and if it is sent to the graveyard (such as by being detached as a material or by the effect of Raidraptor - Tribute Lanius ), it will add another copy of itself to your hand. This is good for heading into your next turn or as a discard for a Skill.

So what's the catch? You can't use any non-Raidraptor effects the turn you special summon this card, so it's pretty good for pure versions of the deck. As for other variations, you can try any of the following Extenders.

Raidraptor - Vanishing Lanius (x0-3)

You can special summon another Raidraptor from your hand. You can combine it with another copy of Vanishing Lanius to do this again. You don't have to play this card if you're playing a pure Raidraptor Deck, but if you're not playing Fuzzy Lanius, it's a good card to keep around.

Raidraptor - Singing Lanius (x1)

Free body if you manage to summon XYZ. There's not much else to say about this card...

Raidraptor - Pain Lanius (x0-1)

Pain Lanius needs to target a level 4 or lower Raidraptor to summon itself and copy the level, and deal a small amount of damage when the effect resolves. Since the target needs to be face-up on your side of the field, something like Book of Moon or any target removal ability will cause this effect to have no effect. It can also only be used to XYZ summon Winged-Beast.

To be honest, this is probably the Extender card that is most likely to have its part cut off :v

Raidraptor - Heel Eagle (x0)

Free special summon if you have any Raidraptor on the field, but since it's Level 3, we can't summon a rank 4 with it. Not a bad card to play in other formats, but in Duel Links, where we don't have Raidraptor - Wise Strix to link it to, it won't do anything other than being a discard for Skill.

Raidraptor - Necro Vulture (x0)

Trading a chunk of meat for a RUM spell in the grave doesn't seem worth it. Plus the fucking limitation of only summoning XYZ via RUM after using the eeffect is really lame.

Back row of Archetype

Raider's Unbreakable Mind (Skill)

Like Phantom Knights, we get this card on the field for free with the deck's best Skill. This card has the function of destroying the enemy's field, causing interruption on turn 2, and can destroy itself to set RUM of our choice from the graveyard or deck.

Phantom Knights' Rank-Up-Magic Force (x3)

Thanks to Raider's Revolution, we can swap this card for any Raidraptor monster of our choice, making it a starter or even an Extender. It's the best RUM card in this deck, can be used for both turns, and helps your XYZ monsters dodge a lot of the enemy's bad Target effects by Rank-up them into another XYZ monster. Always take these three, no question.

Raidraptor's Phantom Knights Claw (x2)

This is my favorite target when playing Raidraptor - Mimicry Lanius . A Counter trap that doesn't give the enemy any chance to chain. It's also the best way to deal with some annoying cards like Dragon Spirit of White , otherwise they'll pose a big threat to us.

Raidraptor - Nest (x0)

This card's effect is pretty cool, but if you already have 2 monsters on the field, you probably don't need it. It also clogs up your Spell/Trap zone, which is important since Raider's Unbreakable Mind will also take up a space. You'd be better off with Rank-Up-Magic Force Phantom Knights and Phantom Knights Claw Raidraptor than with this silly card.

Rank-Up-Magic Revolution Force (x0-1)

On your turn, this is a simple quickplay Spell RUM. A decent choice when playing pure Raidraptors. However, not worth including if you're not playing any Rank 5 Raidraptors. It also has a secondary effect that isn't very practical and would be a joke if used on your opponent's turn.

Rank-Up-Magic Soul Shave Force (x1)

As the name suggests, it halves your Life Points to revive any Raidraptor XYZ in the Graveyard and immediately Special Summons an XYZ monster two ranks higher. Note that you can summon any XYZ with the right Rank, not just limited to the Raidraptor XYZ pile.

This means that cards like Photon Strike Bounzer and Evolzar Solda will be on the field if you use Raider's Revolution to send a Force Strix to the grave and get this card. That's if you're willing to spend half your life points, but I prefer to use this card from turn 3 onwards to summon a higher Ranked Raidraptor after my board is partially or completely destroyed.

Rank-Up-Magic Raid Force (x0-1)

The first effect is similar to Rank-Up-Magic Revolution Force but this is a normal Spell. Worse than obvious, the graveyard effect is what makes this card worth considering as we can recycle another RUM Spell depending on your choice.

Extra Deck Options

Our most dangerous feathered friends.

Raidraptor - Force Strix (x2)

Search any level 4 Winged-Beast and the effect only happens once per copy. This is usually the first thing you want to summon from your Extra Deck because it can either be for combo expansion or for later turns. For that reason, x2 is the perfect amount.

Raider's Knight (x1)

Symbolizing the unbreakable bond between Shay and Yuto, this card gives us access to not only our own Rank 5 Raidraptor but also the incredibly powerful Arc Rebellion Xyz Dragon . He is also considered a Raidraptor by effect so he won’t clash with Fuzzy Lanius. Without a doubt, this is one of the most incredible cards in the deck.

Raidraptor - Revolution Falcon (x0-1)

One of the pure Raidraptors win conditions, this card's ability to reduce stats to 0 and attack everything makes it a great board clearer. It comes with a target removal effect and some burn damage to round out the ability.

As long as you've dealt with the enemy's effects beforehand, you can easily clear out a bunch of Unchained monsters, and there's nothing more satisfying than doing so. It also has a "secret effect" when summoned on your opponent's turn, it will make your enemy ignore the effect and calmly use their Boss to punch this card :v

However, non-pure deck variants may choose to not include this card for space-saving reasons, as Arc Rebellion Xyz Dragon can serve as a key finisher instead.

Raidraptor - Revolution Falcon - Air Raid (x1-2)

The reworked version of Raidraptor - Revolution Falcon may not be as strong in clearing the board as its predecessor, but it does come with an extremely useful alternative summoning method. Playing RUM later can be a bit risky as your opponent might chain negate it in response, causing your XYZ summon to fail, but with this card, you can simply discard a RUM to put it on top of a Raidraptor - Force Strix , and now you're ready to start blowing cards away with both this card and Raider's Unbreakable Mind , making your future turns a lot easier. It will also transform into Raidraptor - Revolution Falcon when destroyed by your opponent.

You can freely play up to x2 cards because neither the effect nor the summoning condition occurs once per turn.

Raidraptor - Stranger Falcon (x0-1)

This is one of the two Archetype targets for Raider's Knight. Its effect is to target and destroy monsters and deal burn damage (nothing amazing but pretty good). However, being able to transform into any XYZ Raidraptor in the graveyard when destroyed is cool.

Raidraptor - Blaze Falcon (x0-1)

Another option for clearing the board, although Burn Dame may not be as impressive... as its stats suggest. It's also great for destroying cards during the battle phase since your opponent will have exhausted their backrows by then, and our other falcons will be able to deal with the monsters. Play this card with Raidraptor - Stranger Falcon too.

Raidraptor - Satellite Cannon Falcon (x0-1)

This isn't something you'll use often, but the ability to remove the backrow without chaining is hard to ignore. It's a good target for Rank-Up-Magic Soul Shave Force if Raidraptor - Revolution Falcon - Air Raid was destroyed last turn, and can de-buff monsters during the combat phase.

Raidraptor - Rise Falcon (x0)

Despite being part of the greatest DEBUT match in Yu-Gi-Oh! history, this is otherwise a complete embarrassment of an ace monster. Its difficult summoning cost and significantly reduced attack boost compared to what it did in the anime make it impossible to include in any serious deck. It's a shame it was included in the anime instead of something like the much better Raidraptor - Revolution Falcon .

XYZ Beast is not Raptor

Arc Rebellion Xyz Dragon (x1)

This card is like Konami's apology for what they did with Raidraptor - Rise Falcon because it has that card's anime effect, but it's improved by not only gaining the attacks of all monsters on the field but also negating the effects of other monsters, and being immune to destruction effects (meaning Raider's Knight 's drawback of blowing up summoned monsters with its effect won't apply to this card). However, that doesn't matter, because this monster usually signals a quick end to that game.

The only problem? Unlike Raider's Knight, this card is not considered a Raidraptor, meaning you can't use it and Raidraptor - Fuzzy Lanius on the same turn.

Dark Requiem Xyz Dragon and Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon ("Copy Yuto's work")

Raidraptors has the ability to copy Phantom Knights' "homework" by using Dark Requiem Xyz Dragon very smoothly on turn 1. However, this means you will need to bring Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon as a requirement for the negate effect which is awesome. It is basically Apollousa, Bow of the Goddess but can destroy anything it negates, is not one per chain and can even revive XYZ monsters while doing so.

In fact, it's even better here than Phantom Knights, since our Skill doesn't restrict the effect from activating during the opponent's turn, like Raider's Rebellion . It sounds good, but this setup is weak against backrow removal and takes up quite a bit of deck space, so it's not a must-have.

Evolzar Solda and Photon Strike Bounzer (Soul Shave Force)

Evolzar Solda can destroy special summoned monsters while and is not affected by Destroy effects while remaining materials and Photon Strike Bounzer can Negate activated monster effects on the field. Neither of them are really great but I would choose Evolzar Solda between these two monsters. Just wait until we get Cyber Dragon Infinity !

Cairngorgon, Antiluminescent Knight and Evilswarm Nightmare (Rank 4 other)

Evilswarm Nightmare is difficult to deal with since it acts as two copies of Book of Moon for special summoned monsters, and Cairngorgon, Antiluminescent Knight can protect your RUM target from targeted effects like Successor Soul and Sky Striker Mecha - Widow Anchor .

Skill

Raider's Revolution (Skill Card) (96%)

This is the only ability worth considering. The first two effects lock you to its Archetype. The first effect allows you to trade a copy of Phantom Knights' Rank-Up-Magic Force for any Raidraptor you want, hence why it's mandatory to play that card at turn 3.
The second effect allows you, at the cost of sending a monster to the graveyard, to set an immediately-activable Raider's Unbreakable Mind and search for a RUM Spell of your choice. If your opponent controls a monster, you can set any Raidraptor from your deck (which you can flip at any time). Not only is this ability responsible for the majority of our turn 1 setup, but it also allows us to play in and disrupt the enemy board more easily.

Just know that Raidraptor - Tribute Lanius and Raidraptor - Vanishing Lanius will not be able to activate their effects when Flip-up Summoned. Additionally, you will not be able to use Raidraptor - Mimicry Lanius ' graveyard effect when discarded via this skill.

Raptors Rising (Skill Card) (4%)

This is the best Skill to use before we have Raider's Revolution . The only reason to play this skill is when you really want to see the animation of summoning Ace monster Raidraptor - Rise Falcon . Otherwise.... Don't use this skill.

Tech

Our 2/3 backrow on turn 1 will always be Phantom Knights' Rank-Up-Magic Force and Raider's Unbreakable Mind , or Raidraptor's Phantom Knights Claw . However, any general tech is good for the first and second turns, such as handtraps or quickplay removals

Skull Meister and D.D. Crow (Counter grave)

Very useful against Unchained and Zombies, and a minor nuisance against Sharks. The fact that they have the DARK attribute means they can be used as grave material for Phantom Knights' Rank-Up-Magic Force .

Cosmic Cyclone and Mystical Space Typhoon (Counter Backrow)

Backrow hate makes dealing with Star Seraph, Unchained, and Sky Striker much easier. MST can also be used to destroy your own Raider's Unbreakable Mind so you can use its second effect if you used it to target another card on the field to destroy.

Swallow's Nest, Mind Control and Cattle Call (Techs to consider)

Mind Control: We can Succ, which is what Performage is famous for, stealing a monster and using it as the cost of our Skill. Note that you won't be able to set a monster by Skill if we take the enemy's only monster.
Swallow's Nest : Allows a monster on your side of the field to dodge attacks while still providing another lump of meat. Feel free to use as many monsters as you can.
Cattle Call : Has the same function as Swallow's Nest but for your Raidraptor XYZ monster. The monster summoned with it will have no materials and many restrictions, but the purpose is to avoid effects so it doesn't matter as long as you can use the new monster.

Countered by

The Winged Dragon of Ra - Sphere Mode, Left-Hand Shark and Right-Hand Shark (Leaves with too many protective effects)

Things that can't be targeted or destroyed in battle leave us with very few ways to counter. Things like the XYZ monsters created through the Hand Shark combo are extremely difficult for us to remove without a non-engine.

Sky Striker Maneuver - Jamming Waves!, Cosmic Cyclone and Mystical Space Typhoon (Counter back row)

When we are ahead, the most painful thing is to see our opponents destroy our Spell RUM or shoot down our counter trap before executing their strategy.

Combo

This deck is generally better for the second turn because our strongest monster offers very little in the way of interaction during the opponent's turn. Therefore, the goal of Raidraptors is simply to shore up defenses with a few XYZ cards and well-timed interruptions.

Here are some sample combos for your reference:

1. Tribute Lanius + Any Extender:

Click here to view

2. Tribute Lanius + Fuzzy Lanius:

Click here to view

3. Dark Requiem Turbo:

Click here to view

Conclusion: Our Bright Future and Glorious Times

With the current deck, we are currently lacking the most impressive and difficult Boss Monsters. We probably won't see monsters like Raidraptor - Ultimate Falcon anytime soon as current Duel Links decks aren't well equipped to deal with such massive monsters, and Kaiju aren't exactly popular in a format where turn order is always random. We're also waiting for our Link Support in Raidraptor - Wise Strix but our Skill has done a lot to fill that void.

Right now, we have to rely on our mid-tier Bosses. And that creates some problems when relying on cards with little to no protection. Now, with the abundance of decks like Star Seraphs constantly setting up three, or Borrel Link players being able to negate our first Link summon, I'm not saying the fight will always be easy.

Even if the deck isn't quite ready to compete, I'm confident we'll have our day. Because these aren't phoenixes rising from the ashes, they're raptors!