Emotion polyregulation involves employing multiple strategies to manage stress, with effectiveness depending on their alignment with personal and situational contexts. The ideal sequence of strategies to reduce negative affect remains unclear. This study aimed to compare sequences of attention deployment and cognitive reappraisal tactics (i.e., reinterpretation and psychological distancing), while also examining contextual factors like image intensity. Seventy participants (n = 66, Age = 22.04 ± 5.8; 19% Male; 48% White) completed a negative image rating task across four blocks of 24 trials: look neutral, look negative, and regulate negative. In regulate trials, participants switched regulation strategies at 5 s and rating their negative affect at 5 and 10 s. Blocks varied by cue sequence: reengage (attention deployment first) or unburden (cognitive reappraisal tactic first). In a linear mixed model, the unburden condition led to lower negative affect ratings compared to the reengage condition t(1157) = -5.12, p <.001, and showed a unique, significant decrease in negative affect from cue 1 to cue 2, t(1157) = 6.05, p <.001, indicating a synergistic effect. While cognitive reappraisal tactics did not benefit from the reengage condition, it remained an effective means of reducing negative affect in either sequence position. High-intensity images predicted higher negative affect ratings overall (p <.001), and the synergistic effects were heightened during high-intensity images. This study highlights the potential of sequential emotion regulation strategies—particularly using attention deployment as relief after cognitive reappraisal—to improve emotional outcomes, with promising implications for clinical therapy.