Pointed Discussion

One of the better 2-drops in Magic printed during this period, I've used this card time and time again, especially in Shandalar...

It was good until i saw the 1 in the mana cost

I actually quite like Erg Raiders, and it's mostly because he has one more toughness than you might expect. There are far more 2/2s for CMC 2 than there are 3/3s for CMC 3; to me, this means that in a creature combat war, your opponent is not likely to want to block this guy until turn 4, on average, when it can be killed without trading. It's a crappy enough creature that you'd feel bad using removal on him, but he's tough enough that he is a pain to kill while blocking.

I can testify that over all the games I've played with him, Erg Raiders has caused far more frustration to my opponents than he has to me.

It looks like a great card. It's WAY ahead of the curve for black, even accounting for power creep.
I mean, black's 2/2's for still can't block. And not only can this guy block the turn he comes into play (The only turn you shouldn't be attacking with him), he's a 2/3.
If this were a vampire, I have no doubt that virtually every vampire deck would run it.

I still like Erg Raiders. As has already been mentioned, the drawback is hardly relevant with an aggressive weenie such as this card. Furthermore, it's a Warrior, which combines nicely with cards such as Obsidian Battle-Axe and Lovisa Coldeyes. It's good to see that the Raiders still hold up in casual circles.