Resounding Wave MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Common
Type	Instant
Abilities	Cycling
Released	2008-10-03
Set symbol
Set name	Shards of Alara
Set code	ALA
Number	54
Frame	2003
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Izzy

Key Takeaways

Resounding Wave can bounce two permanents, disrupting opponent strategies and providing card advantage.
Demands careful deck construction due to specific mana requirements and its higher mana cost.
Despite its costs, it’s a versatile card with potential for impactful combos and meta relevance.

Text of card

Return target permanent to its owner's hand. Cycling (, Discard this card: Draw a card.) When you cycle Resounding Wave, return two target permanents to their owners' hands.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Resounding Wave offers the ability to return not just one, but potentially two permanents back to their owner’s hands when its cycling ability is activated. This disruption can provide you with a valuable edge by bouncing key threats or crucial components of an opponent’s strategy.

Resource Acceleration: By cycling Resounding Wave and triggering its bonus effects, you can recover important lands or other permanents to prevent them from being locked down by opponent’s control measures or removal, allowing for a smooth flow of resources and maintaining your tempo on the battlefield.

Instant Speed: The flexibility of casting Resounding Wave at instant speed means you can adeptly respond to threats at the most opportune moment. Strategically delaying the use of resources until the latest possible timing can lead to more informed decisions and superior board control during the course of a match.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: In the case of Resounding Wave, having to discard a card might not always be a favorable trade-off, especially when your hand is already depleted or each card holds significant strategic value.

Specific Mana Cost: With a mana cost that includes blue, not all decks can accommodate Resounding Wave without affecting their mana base consistency. Players running multi-color decks might find the blue mana requirement a bit restrictive.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: While Resounding Wave offers a unique effect, the mana investment is considerable compared to other bounce spells. This can impact your tempo, particularly during the early to mid-game stages where mana efficiency is crucial.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Resounding Wave brings flexibility to blue-based decks, adept at bouncing not only individual threats but also multitargeting when its conditions are met. It can be a game-changer in both casual and commander games where multiple permanents pose a threat.

Combo Potential: This card’s synergetic capabilities shine when paired with other cards that capitalize on return-to-hand mechanics. It can reset your own permanents for value or disrupt an opponent’s strategy at a crucial moment, proving to be a versatile combo enabler.

Meta-Relevance: In an environment heavy with enchantments, artifacts, or aggressive creature strategies, Resounding Wave can act as a tempo swing, often clearing the way for a decisive turn or disrupting key synergies on the board.

How to beat

Resounding Wave is known for its versatility on the battlefield, offering Magic: The Gathering players the unique ability to bounce not one but two targets back to their owners’ hands. While the potential for turning the tide is inherent, there are strategic approaches to mitigate the advantage this card grants. Maintaining a low-profile board presence can minimize the impact of Resounding Wave, ensuring that the tempo loss is manageable and that critical pieces of your strategy aren’t bounced back.

Another effective method is to deploy cards with enter-the-battlefield effects that offer value when they’re played repeatedly. Utilizing creatures with haste or flash can also help you react swiftly, post-Wave. In essence, by crafting a deck that capitalizes on resilience and recuperation, you can nullify the swinging power of Resounding Wave and keep your opponents on their toes.

Remember, a clear understanding of your deck’s dynamics and a well-planned sideboard to counter specific threats like Resounding Wave can transform a challenging matchup into a victory. Adaptability and foresight are key to outmaneuvering and ultimately overcoming the disruption caused by such flexible cards.

Cards like Resounding Wave

Resounding Wave is a versatile card within the Magic: The Gathering universe, bridging the gap between bounce spells and multicolored card utility. Resounding Wave shares some similarities with the classic blue spell Unsummon, which allows players to return target creature to its owner’s hand at a low cost. What makes Resounding Wave stand out is its potential to bounce two permanents when its cycling ability is activated, albeit at a higher mana investment compared to Unsummon’s single mana requirement.

Another card that comes to mind is Boomerang, which offers the flexibility to return any permanent to its owner’s hand, not just creatures. While Boomerang is more immediate with its effect due to its lower cost, Resounding Wave compensates by offering the late-game advantage through its cycling effect for additional power. Equally intriguing is Into the Roil, which provides kicker benefits, granting card draw on top of the bounce effect.

When you weigh the pros and cons of these alternatives, Resounding Wave presents itself as a dynamic option in a player’s arsenal, capable of adapting to various board states and offering big plays when the moment is ripe.

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

Where to buy

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

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Resounding Wave has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Predh	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
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.