The release notes are up and they don't help, so since I've seen plentiful confusion regarding this card, I'll ask the question:
For Impact Resonance, does "the greatest amount of damage dealt by a source to a permanent or player this turn" count one instance of damage or the sum of them all? For example, if I cast Impact Resonance in response to Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle dealing lethal damage to me from my 20 life (i.e. 6 Valakut triggers have resolved so far, so Valakut has dealt 18 damage to me in 6 3-damage instances), does X = 3 or 18?
We argued about this to no avail in the original thread, but still no official word... I'd say that it should count 18 for the simple reason that there is actually no term in magic for an "instance of damage" dealt at one time...
I'm pretty sure in the Valakut instance, you would only be getting 3 damage. The greatest amount of damage dealt by Valakut this turn was 3. That's why they included the word greatest. If it counted the total, then the word greatest would be redundant; it would be no different from saying "the amount of damage dealt by a source...". That's also probably why they said "permanent or player." If it was a total amount, it would just say "(total) amount of damage dealt by a source to permanents and players.."
I'm pretty sure in the Valakut instance, you would only be getting 3 damage. The greatest amount of damage dealt by Valakut this turn was 3. That's why they included the word greatest. If it counted the total, then the word greatest would be redundant; it would be no different from saying "the amount of damage dealt by a source...". That's also probably why they said "permanent or player." If it was a total amount, it would just say "(total) amount of damage dealt by a source to permanents and players.."
This doesn't actually address the ambiguity the OP is concerned with. The reason it says "greatest" is because there could have been multiple sources that dealt damage this turn. For example, after a Magma Jet and a Stoke the Flames resolve, the greatest amount is 4. Your wording would allow a player to choose 2 (the Magma Jet's damage), which while not necessarily a big deal is functionally different.
The root of the (potential) ambiguity lies in the interpretation of "amount of damage dealt by a source to a permanent or player this turn." However, precedent (with replacement effects and triggers that care about damage) tells us how to look at this kind of event (instances of damage): since the text refers to both a source and a damage recipient, there is one event for each source/recipient pair for each instruction to deal damage. Therefore, in the OP's case, the greatest amount is 3, out of the 3, 3, 3, 3, 3 and 3 damage that Valakut dealt to the OP.
This doesn't actually address the ambiguity the OP is concerned with. The reason it says "greatest" is because there could have been multiple sources that dealt damage this turn. For example, after a Magma Jet and a Stoke the Flames resolve, the greatest amount is 4. Your wording would allow a player to choose 2 (the Magma Jet's damage), which while not necessarily a big deal is functionally different.
so in this instance X = 4
The root of the (potential) ambiguity lies in the interpretation of "amount of damage dealt by a source to a permanent or player this turn." However, precedent (with replacement effects and triggers that care about damage) tells us how to look at this kind of event (instances of damage): since the text refers to both a source and a damage recipient, there is one event for each source/recipient pair for each instruction to deal damage. Therefore, in the OP's case, the greatest amount is 3, out of the 3, 3, 3, 3, 3 and 3 damage that Valakut dealt to the OP.
and in this one X = 3
edit: so to make it this simple, just use Impact Resonance on the end of a turn, then pick the highest / greatest damage from one source.
i don't know why, but this card remind me a lot of like Arnold Schwarzenegger's movie "Collateral Damage".
Wizards print good rares, players complain about cash grab. They print underwhelming rares, players complain that the cards suck. They spoil the best cards first, players complain about the insane prices of preorders. They spoil the meh cards first, players complain that this is the worst set ever.
So. I think I understand now.
As far as these forums are concerned, WotC can never do anything good because:
Card that is new and probably good = "pushed"
Card that is new and probably bad = "EDH/casual fodder"
Card that is a reprint = "lazy"
Card that is a better version of an older card = "power creep"
Card that is a weaker version of an older card = "worthless"
Does that about sum things up?
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For Impact Resonance, does "the greatest amount of damage dealt by a source to a permanent or player this turn" count one instance of damage or the sum of them all? For example, if I cast Impact Resonance in response to Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle dealing lethal damage to me from my 20 life (i.e. 6 Valakut triggers have resolved so far, so Valakut has dealt 18 damage to me in 6 3-damage instances), does X = 3 or 18?
This doesn't actually address the ambiguity the OP is concerned with. The reason it says "greatest" is because there could have been multiple sources that dealt damage this turn. For example, after a Magma Jet and a Stoke the Flames resolve, the greatest amount is 4. Your wording would allow a player to choose 2 (the Magma Jet's damage), which while not necessarily a big deal is functionally different.
The root of the (potential) ambiguity lies in the interpretation of "amount of damage dealt by a source to a permanent or player this turn." However, precedent (with replacement effects and triggers that care about damage) tells us how to look at this kind of event (instances of damage): since the text refers to both a source and a damage recipient, there is one event for each source/recipient pair for each instruction to deal damage. Therefore, in the OP's case, the greatest amount is 3, out of the 3, 3, 3, 3, 3 and 3 damage that Valakut dealt to the OP.
so in this instance X = 4
and in this one X = 3
edit: so to make it this simple, just use Impact Resonance on the end of a turn, then pick the highest / greatest damage from one source.
i don't know why, but this card remind me a lot of like Arnold Schwarzenegger's movie "Collateral Damage".