Nocturnal Raid

Nocturnal Raid was released in 1996 as part of the Mirage expansion set for Magic: The Gathering. As the eleventh expansion in the game's history, Mirage was notable for being the first set designed as a standalone draft environment, shifting the game's mechanical focus toward better integrated limited play. It was set in the fictional continent of Jamuraa, a region inspired by various African cultures and aesthetics, which moved away from the high-fantasy European tropes of the game’s early years.

The card was illustrated by Brian Snoddy, a prolific artist during the game's formative period. His design aimed to capture the theme of black-aligned sorcery within the Mirage block, utilizing his signature style of layered, illustrative textures. While the card is a functional piece of gameplay history rather than a marquee collectible, it remains a recognized artifact of the mid-90s era, reflecting a time when Wizards of the Coast was expanding its world-building efforts and establishing the complex color pie mechanics that define the game today.