Raiding Raptor is a triassic legendary zombie card in Plants vs. Zombies Heroes and a member of the Sneaky class. It costs 3 to play and has 2/4. It does not have any traits, and its ability Conjures a card that costs 2 or less every time it does damage to the plant hero, while its Dino-Roar ability gives it +2.
Origins
It is based on a raptor, also called a dromaeosaurid, a family of feathered theropod dinosaurs, specifically the one in Plants vs. Zombies 2.
Its name is a combination of "raiding," referring to its ability, and "raptor," the real-life dinosaur it is based on.
The term "Amazomb" in its description references the Amazons, a tribe of female warriors from Greek mythology, and is a portmanteau of said word and "zombie".
Statisitics
- Class: Sneaky
- Tribes: History Pet Zombie
- Traits: None
- Abilities: Dino-Roar: This gets +2. When this hurts the Plant Hero, Conjure a card that costs 2 or less.
- Set - Rarity: Triassic - Legendary
Card description
Amazomb helmets mostly protect their ears from all the roaring.
Update history
Update 1.24.6
Strategies
With
Raiding Raptor may have average stats, but it is very powerful if you manage it well. It has decent base health, and its Dino-Roar ability gives it lots of strength. The Sneaky class can also draw cards via Imp Commander, albeit somewhat limited. However, Raiding Raptor's strength also lies in its normal ability, which Conjures a card every time it hurts your opponent. While it is more situational than simply drawing a card, it can still activate other Dino-Roar abilities including its own, making it stronger as it hurts your opponent, and you won't have to worry about your hand being empty at the very least.
You can pair it with Dr. Spacetime to make the Conjured cards even cheaper, Laser Base Alpha for Raiding Raptor to always hit your opponent, or Smoke Bomb to to avoid combat with plants entirely.
Raiding Raptor's weakness, however, is its inability to boost health. While it can hit very hard if it hits your opponent many times, it will not fare well when confronted by many plants.
Its Dino-Roar ability is potent, as you can swarm your opponent with it since they will be very cheap, and give them a hard time. However, since almost all cards Conjured by it are weak, they will be more of a hindrance to you as you go later into the late game. The only exception is if you are planning to use them for something like Bad Moon Rising or Evolution.
Impfinity appreciates Raiding Raptor's ability to supply him with low-cost zombies, which supports his rush decks, even if they are a little unreliable, but he can play Final Mission to destroy the useless ones. He can also give Raiding Raptor Overshoot with Moon Base Z or Disco Dance Floor, and wipe out any plant in front with damaging tricks. And while the Crazy class lacks in card draw, it does have Unexpected Gifts which gives Raiding Raptor a whopping +6.
Super Brainz and Huge-Gigantacus can synergize with Raiding Raptor very well, as they can draw even more cards reliably and use bonus attacks to make Raiding Raptor wreak more havoc. However, these two have different superpowers, which means both have slightly different strategies on using it. Super Brainz can give Raiding Raptor a big boost with Telepathy, or give it more safety and power at the same time with Carried Away. Meanwhile, Huge-Gigantacus can play Ice Moon on Raiding Raptor's lane to guarantee a hit on his opponent, and even save Raiding Raptor if there are plants there, or gain Teleports via Teleportation Station. While all these superpowers can be substituted with normal cards, they are cheaper and save you some space in your deck.
Brain Freeze and Neptuna can give it dearly needed health boosts to Raiding Raptor. They can also take advantage of its rapidly increasing strength by giving it Frenzy. Brain Freeze can use Raiding Raptor in a pet deck, and Raiding Raptor can possibly supply him with more pets. However, Imp decks are better at activating Raiding Raptor's Dino-Roar ability, which any Sneaky hero can run. Neptuna can shield it with Escape through Time (which also activates its Dino-Roar ability) or Zombot Battlecruiser 5000.
Against
Raiding Raptor can grow to be very dangerous, especially if you let it hit you. Its strength, while initially low, can be boosted very quickly due to both its abilities combined, and while it will fall if you play a few plants on it, it does result in a loss of plants. Your opponent can also support it to make it harder to remove.
If Raiding Raptor is played on turn 3, you can play Whack-a-Zombie to destroy it before it gains any strength. If it has gained any strength, you can play Shamrocket. Lawnmower and Squash are also options for Solar heroes without Shamrocket.
However, if you don't have any of these and it keeps gaining strength, dealing with it is going to be harder. The Guardian class can stall it with Team-Up walls, although it is a temporary solution. Smarty heroes can Freeze it to stall a turn (although it can't stop its Dino-Roar ability), or Bounce it (although it is more expensive than Freezing, and Raiding Raptor can be replayed again). Kabloom heroes can easily remove it with damaging tricks, although it will take two Banana Bombs or Berry Blasts, which hurts their card supply a bit. But Mega-Grow heroes have it the worst, as the only way to destroy Raiding Raptor for them is to boost their own plants, which will still result in losing the boosted plant. Fortunately, they aren't completely helpless, as they have another class to assist them.
Gallery
Raiding Raptor's statistics
Raiding Raptor's grayed out card
Raiding Raptor's card image
Raiding Raptor's textures (1)
Raiding Raptor's textures (2)
Raiding Raptor being played
Raiding Raptor with the Deadly trait attacking
Raiding Raptor activating its ability
Raiding Raptor activating its Dino-Roar ability
Raiding Raptor destroyed (1)
Raiding Raptor destroyed (2)
Raiding Raptor tinted gray due to a glitch
Raiding Raptor being the featured card in the menu for the March 6th, 2019 Daily Challenge
Trivia
- The raptor in this game has feathers on the back on its head, while the ones in Plants vs. Zombies 2 lacked them completely.