Resounding Roar MTG Card


Resounding Roar - Shards of Alara
Mana cost
Converted mana cost2
RarityCommon
TypeInstant
Abilities Cycling
Released2008-10-03
Set symbol
Set nameShards of Alara
Set codeALA
Number144
Frame2003
Layoutnormal
Borderblack
Illustred bySteve Prescott

Key Takeaways

  1. Cycling allows card reuse and grants an edge in card flexibility over match progression.
  2. Instant speed casting of Resounding Roar provides surprise combat advantages during critical moments.
  3. Demanding a card discard and specific mana type can limit this card’s versatility in decks.

Text of card

Target creature gets +3/+3 until end of turn. Cycling (, Discard this card: Draw a card.) When you cycle Resounding Roar, target creature gets +6/+6 until end of turn.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Resounding Roar isn’t just a one-time effect, but rather it has the potential to be reused from the graveyard with its cycling ability, giving you an edge in card flexibility over the course of a match.

Resource Acceleration: While this card does not directly accelerate resources, the ability to choose between casting for its effect or cycling for a new card gives players the strategic advantage of resource management, ensuring no card is wasted.

Instant Speed: The ability to cast Resounding Roar at instant speed provides a tactical advantage, allowing you to surprise opponents by bolstering a creature’s power during combat or at the end of their turn, providing a significant shift in board state when least expected.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Casting Resounding Roar demands that you discard a card as part of its additional cost, which can set you back when your hand is already running low.

Specific Mana Cost: The mana cost for this card includes green mana, which necessitates a deck build focused on or incorporating this particular mana type, potentially limiting its versatility.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: The mana investment for the power boost provided by Resounding Roar could be considered steep, especially when there are alternative spells that can offer similar effects for less mana, thereby affecting its efficiency in gameplay.


Reasons to Include Resounding Roar in Your Collection

Versatility: Resounding Roar is an adaptable card that can be seamlessly included in a variety of deck archetypes. With its ability to temporarily boost a creature’s power, it can be a game-changer in both aggressive and defensive strategies.

Combo Potential: This card excels in combination with creatures that have abilities triggered by power increases or that benefit from temporary buffs. Furthermore, Resounding Roar can be a key piece in strategies aiming to surprise opponents with sudden lethal attacks.

Meta-Relevance: As the MTG meta shifts, the importance of instant-speed answers and threats grows. The ability to catch an opponent off-guard or to turn the tides of battle with a quick power boost can be invaluable, making Resounding Roar a relevant choice for competitive play.


How to Beat Resounding Roar

Resounding Roar can swing a game by boosting a creature’s power significantly and often unexpectedly. Understanding its surprise factor is key when planning your defense against it. To diminish the impact of this card, keeping control of the board state is essential, ensuring you have sufficient blockers or instant removal spells at the ready to respond to the buffed creature. Keeping a removal spell like Swords to Plowshares or a bounce effect such as Unsummon can mitigate the enhanced threat effectively.

Another strategy is to prioritize removing creatures with the potential to become huge threats once amplified by Resounding Roar. Direct damage spells, such as Lightning Bolt, or targeted exile effects, like Path to Exile, can clear the field before your opponent even has the opportunity to cast the pump spell. Finally, countering the card can be an effective method if your deck supports blue. Counter spells like Negate are well-suited to deal with Resounding Roar since they can stop it from affecting the board state altogether.

Dealing with Resounding Roar thus requires a mix of forethought and flexibility. By managing your resources wisely and keeping the pressure on your opponent, you can reduce the risk that Resounding Roar poses to your winning strategy.


Cards like Resounding Roar

Resounding Roar joins the rank of pump spells in Magic: The Gathering, similar to other favorites that can give your creatures the boost they need at crucial moments. One card it can be measured against is Giant Growth, a classic that’s renowned for its efficiency in providing a temporary +3/+3 buff. Where Resounding Roar differentiates itself is the potential late-game advantage it offers with its cycling ability, giving it an edge in versatility over Giant Growth’s singular focus.

Another card worth comparing is Titanic Growth, which gives a more substantial power increase of +4/+4. However, this comes at double the mana cost of Resounding Roar, which makes Roar a more agile option for quick plays. Also in this conversation is Invigorated Rampage, which grants options for either a single creature boost or dividing the bonus among two creatures. However, it lacks the added late-game cycling bonus that Resounding Roar offers, which can draw a card and trigger powerful cycling synergies within a deck.

Resounding Roar thus positions itself as an adaptable choice, able to bolster creatures in the early game or segue into strategic card draws later on, diversifying its applicability in MTG.

Giant Growth - MTG Card versions
Titanic Growth - MTG Card versions
Invigorated Rampage - MTG Card versions
Giant Growth - Limited Edition Alpha (LEA)
Titanic Growth - Magic 2012 (M12)
Invigorated Rampage - Aether Revolt (AER)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Resounding Roar MTG card by a specific set like Shards of Alara, 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 Resounding Roar and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Resounding Roar has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2008-10-01 Cycling is an activated ability. Effects that interact with activated abilities (such as Stifle or Rings of Brighthearth) will interact with cycling. Effects that interact with spells (such as Remove Soul or Faerie Tauntings) will not.
2008-10-01 The cycling ability and the triggered ability are separate. If the triggered ability doesn’t resolve (due to being countered with Stifle, for example, or if all its targets have become illegal), the cycling ability will still resolve and you’ll draw a card.
2008-10-01 When you cycle this card, first the cycling ability goes on the stack, then the triggered ability goes on the stack on top of it. The triggered ability will resolve before you draw a card from the cycling ability.
2008-10-01 You can cycle this card even if there are no targets for the triggered ability. That’s because the cycling ability itself has no targets.

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