For several weeks now I've been using Pyroblast and Reverberate to great effect against the mostly blue metagame in SM North. Pyroblast can counter Lazav and kill Consecrated Sphinx with just one red mana while Reverberate can copy an overloaded Cyclonic Rift and deal with countermagic with two. Both are very efficient and I have won scores of games because of how they are unexpected and powerful.
But now I'm going to be rocking these two new cards:
Rise of the Dark Realms is going to give me a stronger mid to late game. All I have to do is wait for people to summon their creatures to the battlefield before someone decides it's too dangerous and casts a mass removal spell. That's the time to spring this beauty! Typically, there won't be a follow-up sweeper so I can wreak havoc for several turns, possibly ending the lives of my opponents by my next combat step. In the case that someone does have an answer for my reanimated army before I could attack with it, I can reasonably assume that most of the creatures had abilities that triggered upon coming into play which still puts me ahead by a wide margin in terms of board position.
To illustrate what can be done with this card, I will cite what I did earlier today when I used this spell. In one game, I was able to bring back from the grave more than a dozen creatures including an Aurelia and Grand Abolisher. I had planned for this happening so there was a Fervor when this occurred which gave everybody haste. Upon declaring combat, I entwined Savage Beating to garner three attack phases (including one from Aurelia) and grant double strike to all my troops. In one fell swoop, I massacred five opponents.
I don't know if this is a solid card moving forward but I will test it extensively for a month or so. My guess is that it's a bomb in the same vein as Insurrection. For now, I know it is something that has Kaalia excited again.
Strionic Resonator, on the other hand, is effective anytime it hits the table. In fact, Kaalia will deploy two creatures from my hand if it copies her triggered ability. Imagine playing Iona and naming two colors. Fantastic and brutal, right? I guess it was for this reason that my friend Austin destroyed it immediately. Thus, I wasn't able to explore its full potential in the same game where I won with Rise from the Dark Realms. The only benefit I squeezed out of it was searching for a second basic land with Solemn Simulacrum which was actually not too shabby.
I believe that this card has the makings of a Commander staple. It can imprint two creatures inside Mimic Vat. You can extort twice. Or return two creatures to the battlefield with Sheoldred's ability. The possibilities are numerous. This is why it will probably only take a short time for me to confirm its place in the deck as opposed to Rise of the Dark Realms. In fact, it has me wanting to get a Sun Titan and Grave Titan. Those giants work extremely well with the Resonator. Seriously, it will only be a matter of time before this artifact becomes a must-kill item. I mean, it's just begging/screaming to be abused.
And with these additions, Kaalia has become a joy to pilot again. She has gotten her groove back. And that is bad news to those who want to ruin her fun.
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