The island of Zakaz is no stranger to conflict, and when the Cataclysm caused the Brotherhood’s blockade to break, the war-like Skakdi finally had a reason to cooperate with each other, loosely uniting under a few leaders and taking the name of the Skakdi Raiders.  They have turned their abundant animosity toward the rest of the universe, vowing that they will never again serve a higher power than their own.

As their name implies, the armies of the Skakdi Raiders are made up almost entirely of Skakdi, as they have found time and time again that there is almost no one that they can trust or rely upon besides themselves.  They revel in warfare and bloodshed, but are also remarkably cunning - a fact that many opponents overlook until it is too late. Skakdi are gifted (or perhaps cursed) with an eclectic variety of abilities, which can make them hard to predict on the battlefield; in cooperation, two Skakdi can even use elemental powers, often with far more lethal displays than those of the Toa.  Their ranks further include vicious creatures taken from the far reaches of Zakaz, as well as legions of robotic Nektann and beings who were unfortunate enough to be captured during previous battles.

The Skakdi Raiders are led by seven of the strongest among them, who rule primarily through a combination of fear and incredible violence.  Six of them are perhaps better known as the Piraka, the ruthless gang of criminals who once sought out the Mask of Life; after they were stymied in this pursuit, they eventually chose to return to Zakaz to join the war effort.  The seventh is the Chief Varrak of Zakaz - a ruthless warlord named Nektann - who is as cruel as he is calculated in his conquests.