Amped Raptor

If an effect says you get one or more {E}, you get that many energy counters. To pay one or more {E}, you lose that many energy counters. You can't pay more energy counters than you have. Any effects that interact with counters a player gets, has, or loses can interact with energy counters.

Energy counters are a kind of counter that a player may have. They're not associated with any specific permanents.

Keep track of how many energy counters each player has. Potential ways to track this include writing theme down on paper or using dice, but any method that is clear and mutually agreeable is fine. (At higher levels of tournament play, dice may not be allowed for tracking counters that players have.)

You choose whether or not to cast the exiled nonland card as Amped Raptor's triggered ability resolves. If you do, you do so as part of the resolution of that ability. You can't wait to cast it later in the turn. Timing restrictions based on the card's type are ignored.

If you cast a spell for another cost "rather than paying its mana cost," you can't choose to cast it for any alternative costs. You can, however, pay additional costs, such as kicker costs. If the spell has any mandatory additional costs, those must be paid to cast it.

If a spell or ability with one or more targets states that you "may pay" some amount of {E}, and each permanent that it targets has become an illegal target, the spell or ability won't resolve. You can't pay any {E} even if you want to.