Top Enablers for Hell-Bent Raider in MTG

Hell-Bent Raider charging forward with a spear in a red-tinted battlefield, eyes blazing and gears ready for melee

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Top Enablers for Hell-Bent Raider in MTG

Few red critters carry the tempo punch and reckless bravado of Hell-Bent Raider. A rare from Torment, this 2/2 Human Barbarian wears its color identity on its sleeve: a mana cost of {1}{R}{R}, first strike, and haste. The kicker? Its ability asks you to discard a card at random, and then it gains protection from white until end of turn. That twist makes building around it a fun puzzle: you want to maximize its aggression while managing risk. The lore line—“He doesn't slow until his spear is weighted with corpses”—feels like a battle cry you can hear at a table close to sunset, as you push through with red's speed ⚔️🔥. In the right shell, Hell-Bent Raider becomes a blazing finisher that punishes slow starts and misaligned removal. This article highlights five top enablers that help you unlock its full potential, from hand-refill engines to disruptive finishers. 🧙‍♂️

Red’s strength in this matchup isn’t just raw damage; it’s the ability to control the clock. Hell-Bent Raider thrives when you’re loading your hand with options, then carefully trimming away the ones you can live without to cast the Raider and threaten lethal blows before your opponent can set up a defense. The random discard aspect isn’t just a cost—it’s a mechanic that rewards bold deck-building choices and a willingness to lean into risk for explosive reward. Let’s dive into the top enablers that turn that risk into a reliable plan. 🧙‍♂️

1) Hand-refill engines: keep the pressure coming

When you’re playing a red tempo shell around Hell-Bent Raider, you want to ensure you don’t run dry the moment you need to activate its discard-driven protection. That means leaning on reliable card draw and discard engines to refill your hand while you’re feeding the Raider its cost. Classic options include Faithless Looting and —both red staples that replace what you lose and help you sculpt the right mix of fuel and threat. And yes, we’ll tip our hat to the legend of Wheel of Fortune and similar wheels, which make your draws wild and your discard costs less painful in exchange for a big tempo swing. The beauty? These spells ensure you’re not stuck with hand-value mismatches when you need to discard for Hell-Bent Raider’s buff. In red, the easiest way to keep the spark alive is to feed the furnace. 🔥💎

Practical tip: prioritize cards that you’re comfortable discarding or that replace themselves when lost. You don’t want to be left with a clutch of dead removal when you really need a Lightning Bolt to push damage through. This dual-fuel strategy—refill and discard—lets you swing with first-strike and haste on turn three or four, keeping pressure on an opponent who’s busy rebuilding. 🧙‍♂️

2) Haste and aggression enablers: push the tempo, not the brakes

Hell-Bent Raider already arrives with haste and first strike, which makes acceleration the name of the game. To capitalize, pair it with classic red enablers that push all your threats into combat the moment they hit the battlefield. Look for haste accelerants that buff your team or clear blockers, so your Raider can connect, trigger its own combat damage, and threaten a lethal blow before the opponent can stabilize. Think along the lines of red instant-speed buffs or global haste effects that let multiple attackers threaten on the same turn. The result is a crisp, furious tempo line: you drop the Raider (or a pair of fast threats), you compel blocks, and you finish with a few well-placed spells while your opponent scrambles to answer. ⚔️

As you tune your deck, you’ll notice how these enablers minimize the window in which white-control plans can solidify a response. The Raider’s protection-from-white twist can be a sneaky reveal when you’ve got a rapid-fire plan ready to punish a sighing removal spell or a tap-out turn by your opponent. The rhythm should feel like a well-timed drumbeat—one beat, two, and then a third that finishes the game. 🥁🔥

3) Graveyard synergy: keep the dream alive, even after the discard

Red often leans into quick, exclamatory plays, but Hell-Bent Raider benefits from a subtle graveyard element as well. Cards that leverage the graveyard—either by reanimating threats or by keeping red threats looping through the yard—help maintain inevitability when your hand is thinning. Enablers like Anger, the red enchantment that grants haste to creatures in your graveyard, are a cheeky tool for turning your discarded Raider or other red threats into an ongoing menace. It’s a reminder that, in the world of Torment, even the battlefield’s dead can sprint toward your foe. And if you happen to have a reanimation in your mix, Hell-Bent Raider can return as a second strike weapon, keeping pressure up even through sweepers. The flavor is grim and glorious, a perfect match for the lore behind a spear-weighted march toward glory. 🧙‍♂️

In practice, build around the idea that you’re not just discarding for a one-shot buff; you’re carving pathways to recast and re-attack. Pair discard engines with cheap reanimation or recursion spells, and your opponent will feel the heat of a relentless red tidal wave. 💎

4) Red removal and reach: clear the path and finish the job

Red offers lean, efficient removal and reach that helps you clear blockers or finish off partially damaged boards. Enablers here include low-cost burn and direct removal options to clear a path for Hell-Bent Raider’s assault. The idea isn’t to overpay for removal; it’s to keep the board clear long enough for your Raiders to land a string of blows while your hand is still loaded with sizzle. A well-timed burn spell or a cheap ping can be the difference between a closing stun and a drawn-out game where your opponent stabilizes. After all, a Raider with a clean lane is a Raider that turns face-first into the red sun of victory. 🔥🎯

5) Finishing power: the final push

Finally, having reliable backup finishers ensures that once Hell-Bent Raider has already done the heavy lifting, you can seal the deal. Use a mix of instant-speed damage, pump spells, and multi-drop fires to push through for the last points. The synergy is simple but brutal: you present threats that force negative trades, you discard to activate protection at opportune moments, and you follow up with a deluge of damage to push through the final chunk of life. It’s red’s signature move—a fast, furious closer that leaves opponents staring at a board they barely recognized from the start of the game. ⚔️⚡

As you refine the deck, you’ll discover that Hell-Bent Raider rewards decisive play and bold discards. The card’s lore line—like a warning shouted across a smoky battlefield—invites you to lean into the chaos. And when you land the Raider on turn three, with first strike and haste blazing, you’ll feel the old thrill of red’s relentless tempo return to MTG tables everywhere. 🧙‍♂️🔥

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