Resounding Scream MTG Card


Resounding Scream - Shards of Alara
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityCommon
TypeSorcery
Abilities Cycling
Released2008-10-03
Set symbol
Set nameShards of Alara
Set codeALA
Number83
Frame2003
Layoutnormal
Borderblack
Illustred byThomas M. Baxa

Key Takeaways

  1. Resounding Scream offers card balance by disrupting opponents while accessing discarded cards.
  2. Its instant speed enables strategic reactions and threat mitigation at crucial moments.
  3. The card’s mana specificity may limit its inclusion in a variety of deck types.

Text of card

Target player discards a card at random. Cycling (, Discard this card: Draw a card.) When you cycle Resounding Scream, target player discards two cards at random.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Resounding Scream offers the flexibility to disrupt your opponent’s hand while also potentially giving you access to any card you discard, maintaining overall card balance.

Resource Acceleration: While not directly a resource acceleration tool, it can pave the way for future plays by removing potential threats or obstacles that could impede your game plan.

Instant Speed: The instant nature of Resounding Scream allows for tactical plays, responding swiftly to the dynamic state of the game or deftly dealing with threats at the most opportune moment.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Resounding Scream demands you to discard another card to activate its enhanced ability. This can be quite the drawback when your hand is already running low, forcing you to lose grip on potentially vital strategies or resources.

Specific Mana Cost: This card requires a precise combination of black and blue mana to cast. This specificity could restrain its inclusion in decks, especially those that are not built around these colors, limiting its versatility across various deck types.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: To harness the full power of Resounding Scream, a considerable investment of mana is essential, which could be deemed steep for its return. When competing cards may provide similar or better effects for less mana, the calculus of including Resounding Scream in your deck becomes more complex.


Reasons to Include Resounding Scream in Your Collection

Versatility: Resounding Scream offers the ability to disrupt opponents’ hands while also potentially serving as a surprise win condition with its Unearth ability.

Combo Potential: Its discard effect can be combined with graveyard-based strategies, enabling you to reanimate powerful threats or benefit from other cards that play well with the graveyard mechanics.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where hand information and control are crucial, Resounding Scream can give you an edge by removing key components from the opponent’s hand and adjusting to the pace of the game.


How to beat

Resounding Scream is a unique card that can throw a wrench in your strategy if you aren’t prepared for its effects in MTG. Players need to adopt effective tactics to overcome this disruptive force. One key approach is to ensure a diverse hand that can withstand the discard effect triggered by Resounding Scream. Keeping a wider range of low-cost cards can mitigate the impact of its discard, allowing you to maintain presence on the board and recover more swiftly.

Additionally, incorporating graveyard interaction abilities into your deck can turn the potential setback into an advantage. Cards with flashback or other mechanics that allow you to play from the graveyard can thrive in such an environment. Consider including spells that offer graveyard retrieval so that cards discarded by Resounding Scream can be recast or reutilized, ensuring your game plan remains unhindered.

Lastly, maintaining a vigilant stance against this card’s unearth ability is critical. Be prepared with instant-speed removal to counteract the surprise assault that Resounding Scream can facilitate from the graveyard. By considering these strategies, you can ensure that Resounding Scream doesn’t destabilize your gameplay and that your MTG sessions remain competitive and enjoyable.


Cards like Resounding Scream

Resounding Scream emerges as a versatile card in Magic: The Gathering’s array of multi-faceted spells. It mirrors cards like Grisly Spectacle by offering both a creature-impacting ability and triggering a cascade of additional card effects. While Grisly Spectacle destroys a creature and forces a mill equal to that creature’s power, Resounding Scream goes beyond by giving players the choice to disrupt an opponent’s hand, alongside the option to cycle it for a late-game advantage.

Unnerving Assault shares a kinship with Resounding Scream through its hand disruption aspect. However, Unnerving Assault lacks the cycling benefit, underscoring Resounding Scream’s utility and flexibility. Mind Rot stands as a classic hand disruption spell, compelling an opponent to discard two cards at sorcery speed. Although a reliable consideration, it doesn’t match Resounding Scream’s potential for cycling-induced card draw or the indirect battlefield impact.

Within MTG’s broad spectrum of cards, Resounding Scream stands out for its dual nature and strategic depth. Players can exploit its immediate effect or leverage the cycling ability for a stronger position in the latter stages of the game, making it a distinguished card to hold in your deck.

Grisly Spectacle - MTG Card versions
Unnerving Assault - MTG Card versions
Mind Rot - MTG Card versions
Grisly Spectacle - Gatecrash (GTC)
Unnerving Assault - Eventide (EVE)
Mind Rot - Portal (POR)

Cards similar to Resounding Scream by color, type and mana cost

Seek Bolas's Counsel - MTG Card versions
Seek Bolas's Counsel - Mystery Booster Playtest Cards 2021 (CMB2)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Resounding Scream 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 Scream and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Resounding Scream has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Resounding Scream 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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