If you ask anyone involved in the R/D scene for the past couple of years about technique, you'll get an earful on tag raids, the reflexes required to initiate and prevent them, or the difficulty of getting five or six recruits to work together come update time. If you're lucky, you'll hear about occupation raiding, the practice of grabbing and holding onto a region until the 'fendas give up. Yup, liberations and occupations committed by brave and cunning people make up the bread and butter of military operations, and that's not something to be taken lightly. Many a soldier has made their mark by being a trigger for an occupation or a liberation, or at least been promoted. Indeed, there's nothing wrong with the modern tagging or occupation (despite what some might say). But, my dear readers, it seems as if these two things rely on reflexes, numbers, and knowledge of a trigger only. What about regions that can't be raided due to sheer influence and power? An example: the Pacifics. You can't just up and eject Yuno or Tsunamy or whomever, right? Enter stage right, the stealth raid (informally, the coup.)
A stealth raid is a far more complex and timely operation than the humble tag-a-bout. The basic mechanic at work involves one or a few sleeper nations (posing as new recruits to a region) steadily gaining influence and power until the perfect moment, at which point they dispose of every native disloyal to them and restructure in a way that suits them more. It is not quick business going about a stealth raid; rather, it's a test of patience and charisma that can last from hours to years depending on regional size. When they fail, it can be disastrous and lead to years of 'fenda memeing. But when they succeed, it can turn into a display of power unseen for years, striking awe into the hearts of the most jaded nations.
But why don't the Raiders do this sort of thing (much) anymore? I hear you ask. Ask that to any current or past raider and they'll tell you, vaguely and from the shadows, that they have sleepers everywhere. With the snap of Jakker's finger, you could find every Sinker couped in an instant. Eyes and ears everywhere, man. Same response if you ask a paranoid kook like me who likes to play up drama in their own head. However, the generally agreed upon current consensus is that stealth raids and coups are a dying form of raids. How have we lost this noble art? Well, you can chalk it up to inter-regional co-operation and enhanced espionage. You see, inter-regional pacts, alliances, agreements, charters, and treaties made it difficult to coup a major region without turning the entire world on yourself. You can stealth raid a small region, but that only inspires fear at that power level and below. Besides, it's almost like hunting rabbits with an elephant gun, don't you think? Plus, the rise of interregional espionage has led to better identification and nullification of sleepers. With the advent of anti-coup measures like the endocap and regional endotarting procedures, it grows ever harder and harder to successfully coup. Still, Raiders maintain hope for and strive to produce a victorious coup. I personally salute their industry, if not their reasons or creeds.
Then again, Stealth may not be as dead as I make it out to be. After all, many regions have covert branches of their military whose actions aren't officially logged until ex post facto. There's a very good chance that every major region has a significant sleeper population from various forces. For all we know, it might just be a matter of time before the coordinated coup-ing of every GCR, causing a major societal change across the NS-verse and ushering in an era of autocratic dictatorships (now I think of it, that would be one hell of a cool story, an alternate NationStates like that.) More realistically, the practice is alive and well in the service of dissolving remnants of fascism that haven't already been expunged. Thus, an art becomes a vital utility in the arsenals of raiders everywhere while still retaining its complexity and nobility. I'd go so far as to wager that, as long as there are barriers that tagging can't cross and there are still raiders, the act of stealth raiding will live on as a crucial part of gameplay.
To conclude, the art of stealth raiding is much like the creation of fine wine. Months, years of painstaking effort leading to a beautiful finished product if cared for correctly. If not, well, you get vinegar. Some say that the work is worth it, others turn their nose up at the result. But whatever the conclusion, the process is a learning experience and a catharsis. I bid you, good day.
Critiscm, corrections, suggestions, and/or comments are welcomed with open arms.
