Waves of Aggression MTG Card


Waves of Aggression - Eventide
Mana cost
Converted mana cost5
RarityRare
TypeSorcery
Abilities Retrace
Released2008-07-25
Set symbol
Set nameEventide
Set codeEVE
Number148
Frame2003
Layoutnormal
Borderblack
Illustred byJim Pavelec

Key Takeaways

  1. Retrace ability allows repeated use, converting lands into aggressive plays and combat advantages.
  2. Instants speed use adds surprise tactical depth, enhancing combat phase manipulation.
  3. Requires card discard and specific mana, which can limit its utility in non-Boros decks.

Text of card

Untap all creatures that attacked this turn. After this main phase, there is an additional combat phase followed by an additional main phase. Retrace (You may play this card from your graveyard by discarding a land card in addition to paying its other costs.)


Card Pros

Card Advantage: With Waves of Aggression, you have the opportunity to recycle the card from your graveyard, granting you repeated attacks in a single turn. This effectively turns every land discarded into a potential new wave of assault, keeping your hand fluid and the pressure on your opponent.

Resource Acceleration: While not directly providing mana or tokens, the Retrace ability allows you to use excess land cards as a resource for repeated aggressive plays. This optimizes the use of all cards in hand, ensuring that lands late in the game turn into strategic advantages for additional combat phases.

Instant Speed: Acting at instant speed adds a layer of surprise and tactical depth. You can unleash an unexpected additional combat phase after blockers are declared, potentially turning the tide of battle in your favor when your opponent least expects it.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Also known as the “Retrace” ability, the Waves of Aggression card necessitates discarding another card to play it from your graveyard. This can deplete your hand quickly, particularly if you’re playing an aggressive strategy that relies on maintaining pressure on your opponent.

Specific Mana Cost: The mana cost of Waves of Aggression includes both red and white mana. This dual requirement restricts the card to specific decks, primarily those running Boros colors. If you’re not playing a red-white combination, integrating this card into your deck can be challenging and less optimal.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a cost of five mana – 3 generic and one each of red and white – Waves of Aggression is quite the investment, especially since its primary benefit is the extra combat phase. There are scenarios when the card’s cost will outweigh the strategic advantage it provides, making it less appealing compared to lower cost cards that enable additional combat or provide other forms of advantage.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Waves of Aggression offers a unique blend of aggression and reusability with its Retrace ability, allowing players to cast it multiple times in longer games. This makes it a solid pick for various deck builds focused on combat and sustained pressure.

Combo Potential: This card has immense synergy with Landfall decks or strategies that capitalize on extra combat phases. With the right setup, you can turn what appears to be a single attack into a cascading series of powerful strikes, catching opponents off guard.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where games are drawn out or where opponents build formidable defenses, Waves of Aggression cuts through the stalemate. It forces the action and can be the key to victory against decks that thrive on prolonging the match.


How to Beat Waves of Aggression

Waves of Aggression in MTG stands out as a powerhouse card, offering repeated opportunities for aggressive assaults due to its innovative Retrace ability. Navigating around its potential to take games by storm requires strategic planning and a tight control over the game’s pace. Cards with abilities to set limits on attack phases, such as ‘Silent Arbiter’ or those that prevent combat damage like ‘Ghostly Prison’, can be critical in deterring the Waves of Aggression impact on the board.

Effective counterplay may also involve keeping a vigilant eye for land drops, which Wave of Aggression relies on for its Retrace mechanic. Utilizing land destruction or denial strategies with cards such as ‘Sinkhole’ or ‘Aven Mindcensor’ can hinder an opponent’s capability to fuel consecutive assaults and maintain battlefield dominance. Moreover, instant-speed removal spells can dismantle the waves before they crash in, ensuring that one’s life total remains protected from unexpected tide changes.

Ultimately, countering Waves of Aggression is about preparation and disruption. By anticipating your opponent’s moves and disrupting the flow of their resources, you can mitigate the impact of this formidable card and secure your position in the game. Balancing defensive measures and resource denial will be key to outlasting the aggression and emerging victorious.


BurnMana Recommendations

Mastery in MTG is achieved through understanding every card’s potential impact and strategic value. With Waves of Aggression, players can repeatedly rally their forces for game-changing assaults. This card provides versatility and combo potential that may distinguish your deck in a crowded field. If your MTG strategy leans towards sustained pressure and leveraging multiple attack phases, Waves of Aggression is an essential card to consider. Learn more about maximizing its power and weaving it into your combative tapestry to outmaneuver opponents who stand in your way to victory. Enhance your collection and embrace the strategic depth MTG offers with our insights.


Cards like Waves of Aggression

In the realm of combat-centric spells in MTG, Waves of Aggression stands out for its ability to unleash multiple attack phases. This trait aligns closely with cards like Relentless Assault, which also offers additional combat phases. While Relentless Assault guarantees an extra attack, its use is restricted to the turn it’s played. Waves of Aggression, with its Retrace ability, allows players to cast it again from the graveyard, thus providing ongoing potential for aggression throughout the game.

Another spell worthy of comparison is World at War. Much like Waves of Aggression, it allows for a following attack phase after the current one. However, Waves of Aggression’s edge comes from its flexibility, castable multiple times versus World at War’s singular upfront impact. Then there’s Fury of the Horde, a red spell that forfeits card advantage for an alternate casting cost—exiling two red cards from hand rather than paying mana, but it lacks the recurring nature of Waves of Aggression.

Overall, when we scrutinize these cards for their ability to turn the tide of battle, Waves of Aggression is uniquely advantageous. The combination of immediate impact and repeated usability offers a blend of tactical assault that appeals to strategic MTG players who value persistence on the battlefield.

Relentless Assault - MTG Card versions
World at War - MTG Card versions
Fury of the Horde - MTG Card versions
Relentless Assault - Visions (VIS)
World at War - Rise of the Eldrazi (ROE)
Fury of the Horde - Coldsnap (CSP)

Cards similar to Waves of Aggression by color, type and mana cost

Campus Renovation - MTG Card versions
Taunt from the Rampart - MTG Card versions
Campus Renovation - March of the Machine: The Aftermath (MAT)
Taunt from the Rampart - Tales of Middle-earth Commander (LTC)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Waves of Aggression MTG card by a specific set like Eventide, there are several reliable options to consider. One of the primary sources is your local game store, where you can often find booster packs, individual cards, and preconstructed decks from current and some past sets. They often offer the added benefit of a community where you can trade with other players.

For a broader inventory, particularly of older sets, online marketplaces like TCGPlayer, Card Kingdom and Card Market offer extensive selections and allow you to search for cards from specific sets. Larger e-commerce platforms like eBay and Amazon also have listings from various sellers, which can be a good place to look for sealed product and rare finds.

Additionally, Magic’s official site often has a store locator and retailer lists for finding Wizards of the Coast licensed products. Remember to check for authenticity and the condition of the cards when purchasing, especially from individual sellers on larger marketplaces.

Below is a list of some store websites where you can buy the Waves of Aggression and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Waves of Aggression has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Waves of Aggression card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

DateText
2008-08-01 A retrace card cast from your graveyard follows the normal timing rules for its card type.
2008-08-01 Casting a card by using its retrace ability works just like casting any other spell, with two exceptions: You’re casting it from your graveyard rather than your hand, and you must discard a land card in addition to any other costs.
2008-08-01 If it’s somehow not a main phase when Waves of Aggression resolves, all it does is untap all creatures that attacked that turn. No new phases are created.
2008-08-01 If the active player casts a spell that has retrace, that player may cast that card again after it resolves, before another player can remove the card from the graveyard. The active player has priority after the spell resolves, so they can immediately cast a new spell. Since casting a card with retrace from the graveyard moves that card onto the stack, no one else would have the chance to affect it while it’s still in the graveyard.
2008-08-01 Waves of Aggression untaps all creatures that attacked this turn, not just those that attacked during the most recent combat phase.
2008-08-01 When a retrace card you cast from your graveyard resolves, fails to resolve, or is countered, it’s put back into your graveyard. You may use the retrace ability to cast it again.

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