Rite of the Dragoncaller – Foundations
Date Reviewed: December 3, 2024
Ratings:
Constructed: 3.5
Casual: 4.5
Limited: 4.13
Multiplayer: 3.88
Commander [EDH]: 4.13
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale. 1 is bad. 3 is average. 5 is great.
Reviews Below:
At long last, we have a red analogue for Sigil of the Empty Throne, unless I missed another one in the 4725591 cards that came out since 2019. Maybe this will become the next ultra-mega-cycle like Mirrodin‘s mythic swords (unless there are other ones that I also missed in the 4725591 cards that came out since 2019). Much like its predecessor on Bant, Rite of the Dragoncaller reads as slow and late to the flow of most games, which can be similarly deceptive. In particular, it gives you the option of pairing it with cantrips that keep the instants and sorceries coming, and with direct damage which really puts the pressure on the opponent/s. Getting it into play is non-trivial, and so is the way your opponent/s will immediately know what the threat is, but it’s quite plausible to arrange it so there’s no time for them to do anything about it.
Constructed: 3.5
Casual: 4.5
Limited: 4
Multiplayer: 4
Commander [EDH]: 4
Another spellslinger-type payoff, Rite of the Dragoncaller is simple: cast spells, then swoop. A free 5/5 with evasion when you cast an instant or sorcery, even if it gets countered, can add up quickly, and it’s a good way to present a more immediate threat in a shell that sometimes struggles to put up pressure. That said, this costing 6 mana is not nothing, and while deeper formats have a bevy of spells you can bypass the mana costs of, shallower formats don’t always allow for this to the same degree. Still, a free dragon with each spell is quite the payoff, and while I suspect this might be a touch too costly to make a splash in Constructed, I could well be proven wrong, and players everywhere can prove why swooping is, indeed, bad.
Constructed: 3.5
Casual: 4.5
Limited: 4.25 (a build-around with a potent payoff)
Multiplayer: 3.75
Commander [EDH]: 4.25
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