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Chord of Calling

Instant

Convoke (Your creatures can help cast this spell. Each creature you tap while casting this spell pays for {1} or one mana of that creature's color.)
Search your library for a creature card with mana value X or less, put it onto the battlefield, then shuffle.

CMC
3
Mana cost
{X}{G}{G}{G}
Color identity
G
Rarity
rare
Set
Ravnica Remastered
Price
$5.13
EDHREC rank
#536
Buy on TCGplayer
Chord of Calling card art
Chord of Calling puts any creature directly onto the battlefield at instant speed — the convoke cost means a board full of tokens or mana dorks pays most of the bill. Creature-dense combo decks like Preston, the Vanisher and Thrasios, Triton Hero // Yoshimaru, Ever Faithful run it because the difference between a sorcery-speed tutor and an instant-speed one is often the difference between winning on your turn and winning on theirs.

Best Commanders

Commanders with the highest synergy

01
Thrasios, Triton HeroYoshimaru, Ever Faithful

Thrasios, Triton Hero // Yoshimaru, Ever Faithful

79.7% of decks · synergy 0.74

Thrasios, Triton Hero // Yoshimaru, Ever Faithful is the premier cEDH creature-combo shell, and Chord of Calling is the instant-speed line to whatever piece closes the loop — typically fetching a win-condition creature through interaction on the final turn.

02
Tevesh Szat, Doom of FoolsThrasios, Triton Hero

Tevesh Szat, Doom of Fools // Thrasios, Triton Hero

56.7% of decks · synergy 0.53

Tevesh Szat, Doom of Fools // Thrasios, Triton Hero generates a stream of creature tokens that subsidize Chord of Calling's convoke cost, turning the tutor into a near-free silver-bullet fetch in the late game.

03
Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy

Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy

56.2% of decks · synergy 0.49

Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy floods the board with mana dorks, which convoke down Chord of Calling for next to nothing — often letting Kinnan decks fetch their infinite-mana outlet the same turn they go off.

04
Yisan, the Wanderer Bard

Yisan, the Wanderer Bard

52.7% of decks · synergy 0.42

Yisan, the Wanderer Bard already runs a creature-chain gameplan, and Chord of Calling fills a parallel role at instant speed, reaching curve-steps Yisan can't hit in time or pulling a creature outside his numbered chain.

05
Tayam, Luminous Enigma

Tayam, Luminous Enigma

39.2% of decks · synergy 0.33

Tayam, Luminous Enigma rewards permanent-dense builds packed with small creatures, giving Chord of Calling cheap convoke fuel and a reason to tutor up the exact three-counter creature that restarts the engine.

Format Analysis

Where it lives, where it can’t

FormatVerdict
commander legal
legacy legal
modern legal
pioneer legal
standard not legal
vintage legal
pauper not legal
oathbreaker legal

Commander is where Chord of Calling does its best work — singleton formats reward instant-speed creature tutors heavily, and the convoke mechanic scales with the token and mana-dork packages those decks already want. In Modern, Chord of Calling still sees play in creature toolbox builds that want to find a hate piece or combo finisher at end of turn, though the format's speed puts a premium on having creatures already in play to convoke with. Legacy is legal but largely irrelevant — Green Sun's Zenith and Imperial Recruiter outclass it in most contexts. Pioneer gives it room to breathe in creature-combo shells without the same density of competition, making it a reasonable toolbox piece there. Pauper and Standard are off the table entirely.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

1,571 decks
Preston, the VanisherFelidar GuardianChord of Calling

Preston, the VanisherFelidar GuardianChord of Calling

Exile all nonland permanents opponents control; Infinite ETB; Infinite LTB; Infinite blinking of permanents; Infinite creature tokens; Infinite landfall triggers; Infinite mana lands you control can produce; Infinite mana lands you control that enter the battlefield untapped can produce

View on Commander Spellbook ↗

Budget Alternatives

Cheaper options that do most of the same work

Finale of Devastation covers similar ground at a comparable price and can function as a finisher when X is large enough, though it's a sorcery — you lose the instant-speed ambush that makes Chord of Calling worth the slot. Green Sun's Zenith is the true closest substitute, cheaper at lower X values and easily recurrable, but it's restricted to green creatures and banned in Modern, so the right swap depends entirely on format and whether your target colors overlap.

Price Context

Current price

$5.13 mid tier

At $5.13, Chord of Calling sits in the mid tier — not a casual impulse buy, but nowhere near a budget obstacle for a deck that actually wants it. Demand from competitive Commander and Modern toolbox builds keeps a floor under the price, so this is unlikely to crater; if you're building a deck that wants it, pay the five dollars now rather than waiting.

Explore

Sources

Mentioned

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Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.