We start the week with Miracle’s Wake.  It is a Normal Trap card, which makes it reasonably versatile: best case scenario you might be able to chain to another card trying to destroy it for some card advantage.  I say advantage since the effect lets you essentially trade this Trap for a monster from your Graveyard and Special Summon it.  The only “costs” are a target restriction and having to keep this card “alive” until it can go off.  The restriction I am actually quite pleased with: the monster you Special Summon must have been destroyed by battle and sent to your Graveyard during this turn. 

The rulings for this card are as follows: you cannot activate Miracle’s Wake during the Damage Step.  Seems kind of obvious to me, though with more and more cards specifying they can be activated during the Damage Step it probably needed to be said.  The only other ruling is also obvious: it targets the monster you wish you revive with it.  I am rather enjoying the straightforward nature of the card so far. 

This is a card that shows Konami’s R&D are paying attention, though that also means it is demonstrative of power creep.  Past cards that were variations and/or weaker versions of this effect were Time Machine, Grave of Enkindling, Rope of Life, and probably a few more.  Miracle’s Wake gives you a little more flexibility in the timing: it can be activated in the Battle Phase, Main Phase 2, or End Phase.  This can be important to spare the monster being destroyed by battle over again and missing the timing of certain effects (multiple attacks, many monster removal effects, etc.). If you somehow can get a monster destroyed by battle before the Battle Phase, then I suppose you could activate it during an earlier phase as well. 

Miracle’s Wake isn’t going to work its way into every deck.  Monsters die by battle, but to die by other means is just more likely.  The restriction of “death by battle” is an effective balancing agent: this is definitely not Call of the Haunted or Monster Reborn.  Mostly you’ll use it for smaller monsters that weren’t worth killing via effect, either because you just need fodder or because said monster had a useful effect.  You may even use it on your turn: ram a Mystic Tomato into an opponent’s monster to search out a Tuner, then revive it and ram again for a Sangan. 

Should something large actually be destroyed by battle, unless its own effects prevent this, then you can revive it no problem.  Now, if your opponent took something like a Stardust Dragon out this way, odds are they either still have a big monster capable of doing it again or you got nailed by a well timed Shrink or Book of Moon.  In the case of the latter, good deal: traded a Trap for a Spell, Trap, Honest, whatever.  In the case of a big monster running the resurrected monster over, it is still a good deal.  Just not as good: I’d still like to have Stardust Dragon back so it can protect me from being blown up, even if it might get taken down again next turn.  You’d have a whole turn to remedy the situation, after all.  The important thing is that it won’t set up for massive swings that will end the game within the first three turns. 

Ratings 

Traditional: 1/5 

Advanced: 3/5 

Summary

I prefer my cards underpowered to needing to be banned, so I still call this card a success.  Your average deck will have better options for fodder and many even have better options for revival.  You can run this and get a decent return from it: your deck just won’t be optimized.  There are even some specialty decks that can probably do well with it: decks where the monsters have some protective effects so your opponent has to take them down in battle, or where “suiciding” into your opponent’s monsters is part of some master plan. 

I am still selling my former collectables on eBay.  I’ve had a lot of hobbies over the years, so at various times I’ll have comic books, manga, action figures, and video games on the auction block.  You can take a look at what’s up for bids here.  I usually add new stuff on Wednesdays and Saturdays.  Just a reminder, Pojo is in no way responsible for any transactions and was merely kind enough to let me mention the auctions here. ;)

Monday
 
Miracle's Wake, a card that's not quite as miraculous as it seems, is a Normal Trap.  You can select one monster that was destroyed by Battle and Special Summon it.  This seems all well and good but for starters, it has to be one destroyed during this turn, and it can only be your monster.  So it can't be something you destroyed of your opponent's...
 
Odds are, if the monster was destroyed during this turn, it will likely be again.  I mean, it's a good thing I suppose that it doesn't specify what position the monster has to be Special Summoned it, and it doesn't disappear after the turn, and this isn't a Continuous Trap, so it's not all bad.
 
Ratings:
 
Traditional:  2/5 
Advanced:   3/5 
Art:  4/5