Dante, Pilgrim of the Burning Abyss

Burning Abyss has typically had a set routine which it has won by, and the deck generally doesn't respond well to alternative play strategies. This is not a terrible card. With 2800 ATK, it can defeat monsters that regular Dante can't. It's semi-protected from the opponent's effects and the discard effect makes the loss of this monster more bearable. However, 3 monsters is a steep requirement. Most of the time you'll just want regular Dante for 2 monsters. The discard/draw effect is nice, but keep in mind, you're already giving up 3 monsters before discarding the 4th. As an Extra Deck monster summonable via "contact fusion", it's only an extra option you have. From a draw-probability standpoint, this card will really only cost you an Extra Deck slot, though I can understand why some would rather use another generic LV3 instead.

3/5

Dante, Pilgrim of the Burning Abyss is a Level 9 Light Fairy-type Fusion monster with 2800 Atk and 2500 Def. Since it can't be Special Summoned by other ways, you're stuck using three Burning Abyss monsters to Fusion Summon him. All 3 Burning Abyss monsters would get their effects, but that still might not grant enough advantage for the cost to summon this card. 2800 Atk is weak for Level 9. All the other stats are comparable to Dante, Traveler who continues to provide advantage from the grave better than Dante, Pilgrim. 
 
His effects are many, but the restriction of Cannot be Special Summoned by other ways really hurts. Defense is good and he cannot be targeted by an opponent's card effects. The problem is the multitude of effects that don't target, but it's better than nothing. Dante, Pilgrim's activated effect is to discard a Burning Abyss card to draw 1 card. It's great that you can activate that once during either player's turn, but this effect cannot be utilized outside of Burning Abyss the way Dante, Traveler or even Virgil can. Finally, when Dante, Pilgrim of the Burning Abyss hits the grave by battle or by an opponent's card effect, you can take a random card from their hand and put it in their Graveyard. Graveyard effects are essential to the Burning Abyss engine, but this one doesn't help you win. Instead it hurts the opponent which is good. However, a Boss monster is supposed to hurt the opponent AND help you win. Once you lose this monster, he isn't coming back, and 2800 Atk either ties or loses to other Boss monsters. The cost is too high for no real guarantees. 
 
Score: 2/5
Art: 4/5
 
-WarlockBlitz

Dante, Pilgrim of the Burning Abyss

I can’t begin to effectively describe how disappointing this card is. Costing four cards to summon should normally be reserved for a card that is assured of staying on the field for a number of turns (See: Number 86: Heroic Champion – Rhongomyniad). Throw in the unnecessary caveat of needing Burning Abyss monsters with different names, and Pilgrim becomes a liability that cannot possibly be sustained in the long-run. Successfully summoning it adds a great probability of winning the duel, especially if any combination of Scarm, Graff, and Ciri are used to fusion summon it, but in the meantime, a Burning Abyss deck that assumes the burden of Polymerization or The Terminus is never going to be as efficient as decks without them. There’s just no way, at least not in the current meta.

Pilgrim has no real foreseeable future to anticipate. Without a card similar to Future Fusion, a card that allows the fusion summon of Pilgrim without the cost to your field or hand, he simply won’t stand the test of time. There aren’t enough Scarms in the world. And even if there was, it would be contradictory to the Burning Abyss engine, which requires them to hit the field first to activate their effects.

Advanced: 1.5/5
Future Potential: 1/5