Pointed Discussion

He is a great card in a burn deck, just wish he had higher defense or first strike

I wish he had First strike like his sister.

Kamahl the lazor gun

Great in hasty burn deck... one of my favorite mono-colored legends... oh yeah his sister, jeska, turned to become Phage the Untouchable one of my favorites too...

i wish he was at least a 5/2, that 1 toughness always sucked for this card and i always loved kamahl. He is my favorite character.

Guaranteed to smack something in the mouth for 3 damage. If he sticks around, he can really bring the wrath.

Good old Mr. Smash. In one game, my opponent used Shivan Meteor on him - twice. He'd have needed higher toughness to survive those!

his tap ability is basically a first strike ability, just not a 6 power first strike, which would have been ridiculous. Giving him one more toughness wouldn't have made him that much more survivable either

you gotta love Kamahl, you want him to have first strike? So does he! Kamahl's Desire

Seriously you don't need first strike with him just keep pinging them for 3, woried about the 1 toughness give him shroud and keep pinging for three, 3 damage is enough to take out a lot of creatures but if it's not give him death touch with gorgon flail or some thing or if you want to keep using his impresive power use giant strength, he will be an 8/3

This card is not very good. 6 mana for 3 damage to target creature or player and counter removal? No thank you. The only redeeming quality is haste. I'd rather use Sparkmage Apprentice

He wields a Chainsword with dignity.

Use Lightning Crafter instead, if you're worried about his survival.

Actually, use both.

4/5 just for the cost

Great for a burn deck. You can usually clear the board with burn before dropping him (especially now that Earthquake is back) and if you can't you can always use him to help remove any trouble creatures once he is in play. A creature that casts Lightning Bolt each turn is hard to beat, especially when you have your own burn to back it up. If the board is clear, then swing for six. Since the return of Lightning Bolt, anything with less than four toughness is going to be removed by burn fairly easily.

It's also cool they reprinted him in the same core set along with Phage the Untouchable. All they needed to do was reprint Akroma, Angel of Wrath instead of Cho-Manno, Revolutionary and the old party crew would have been back together.

Kamahl's nemesis must be Kuro, Pitlord.

He's a one man lightning bolt

I call him Ball Lightning Bolt.

Needs vigilance. First strike, yes, but also vigilance.

2/5: decent card, not quite as tough as Storm Crow or Squire.

Hey, he might be expensive, but don't forget he also has haste! Someone kills him, do 3 damage in response! Pretty damn expensive Lightning Bolt FTW

Kamahl could really use Akroma's sword. The Sword of Vengeance.

Really quite fun as an EDH General/Commander. He's guaranteed to get general damage through, and the 1 toughness is actually less of an issue, since everyone goes for high power removal like Vindicate rather than Lightning Bolt. He can take out blockers or do damage with the tap, and if you've got an open opponent, he's a beast.

Liquimetal Coating and Voltaic Key can have him tap and bolt something (or somebody) twice. That trio could wreck some shop in EDH. Just be wary of artifact removal, and there's loads of it in recent sets.

Reminds me of Spartacus. 5/5 for flavor.

Has anyone noticed that this dude is the mirror image of Arcanis the Omnipotent? They each have 6 CMC, both of them tap for a boon, their added P/T is 7, Kamahl has an intensely aggro ability in haste while Arcanis has a reactive one in his bounce. Arcanis' flavor text even references a history in the pit.

There exists a fun one turn 20 damage combo with him, Gratuitous Violence, and Dragon Scales. Dragon scales should be in graveyard before Kamahl comes in. Scales attaches to him, smack for 14, tap for 6.

ahahaha i love your hypothetical situation tiggurix. "Imagine if you had a card out and another card that combos with it. now imagine your opponent only has cards that fall to your combo. how cool is that?!" also, if your opponent is playing with wild griffin or grizzly bears, you should always win, because you are playing against a retard. especially if that's his board position by the time you had the chance to cast kamahl and a crab umbra afterwards.

Dies to two Little Girls in combat, which seems wrong...(three if he gets a chance to tap)

Kamahl hates dem hornets.

THE KING OF THE PING

Has anyone noticed that this dude is the mirror image of Arcanis the Omnipotent? They each have 6 CMC, both of them tap for a boon, their added P/T is 7, Kamahl has an intensely aggro ability in haste while Arcanis has a reactive one in his bounce. Arcanis' flavor text even references a history in the pit. - Universe34

Also, they both are have tap abilities which reflect the boon of their color, as in this guy is Lightning Bolt on a stick, while Arcanis the Omnipotent is reusable Ancestral Recall.

I agree that Kamahl is very similar to Arcanis, but I would much rather have a free Ancestral Recall than a lightning bolt, and if you are thinking about Old abilities attached to Pitfighter legends, then we are missing Healing Salve, Giant Growth, and Dark Ritual.

Kamahl is my hero! First off, he is essentially a reuseable lightning bolt every turn, and if you've burned all of your opponent's creatures the previous turn you play him, he can be a reusable Ball Lightning! (without trample, oh well)

Kamahl is awesome and has been my reliable finisher for my mono-red burn/aggro deck. However, he does have some downsides:

#1-The 1 toughness really sucks, especially with lack of trample or first strike. It *is* very embarrassing for Kamahl, Super Barbarian Hero who fought Dominaria's greatest villains (with that huge sword and armor) to be taken down by 2 Little Girls >_<
#2-He is expensive to play, I often pray for that 6th mountain
#3-He is legendary, but since he screams "REMOVE ME ***NOW***", having more than one in your hand is usually a good thing, and the expression on your opponent's face when you re-cast another one the next turn after he *just* burnt him is priceless, especially if your opponent is open for the 6.

Kamahl wound be *Godlike* and easily 5-stars if he had either of the following:

#1-First strike, like his sister, Jeska. That's not cool that that big man's sister can straight up kill him in a fight. Even her ability can kill him! At least with first strike it would take fourteen Little Girls to kill him, and fifteen if he tapped one off! (How funny and sick would it be to see Kamahl chopping down a line of 14 little girls?) That seems more appropriate though...
#2-At least 1 extra toughness. Then he could at least survive a freakin hornet sting! (maybe he's deathly allergic, anyone think of that?)
#3-Trample. Then at least he could suicide win you if he had to chop through some creatures for a glory attack.
#4-Cost Less. Then he can start smashing those Wellwishers a turn earlier!

Anyway, I can dream all day. He is what he is. 4.5/5 stars for usefulness. And I love that art. I certainly wouldn't want him after me! And that flavor text runs chills up my spine.

The Crab Umbra was made for this guy, pretty much.
Imagine this situation: You've just begun your turn with a Kamahl, Pit Fighter on the board enchanted with a Crab Umbra, while your opponent's got Grizzly Bears and Wild Griffin on his side of the table. You skip your main phase since you've got no cards in your hand at the moment, and go on straight to the combat phase. Before you declare attackers you tap Kamahl and kill his Griffin, and then you pay (2)(U) to activate the Umbra's ability and untap Kamahl. You then proceed to tap Kamahl once again and kill his Bears, and then you activate the Umbra for the second time, untap Kamahl, and finally proceed to go on to swing for 6 with Kamahl on your opponent. So in the end you paid (4)(U)(U) to gain board advantage and seriously damage your opponent, all while Kamahl was hidden safely behind the Umbra's Totem Armor. Sounds like a good deal to me.

@Three_Toe: Those were just some random creatures I thought off to prove a point.

Ball Lightning Bolt

Kamahl, Pit Fighter
Slays Shivan Dragons in one slash.
Can summon lightning every few minutes.
Fatally wounds a Grave Titan while taking out one of his zombie buddies.
Can do the same with the other titans.
Dies to a Hornet Sting. Damn allergies!

I'd rather Lightning Crafter for the ping effect, provided your deck has goblins or shamans.

That said, this guy packs a bigger punch, so if you have first strike effects (hello, Claws of Valakut) might want to run him.

I think the flavor here is that he's really a 3/1 - reasonably strong, and capable of a berserker last stand for 6, but not a veteran warrior - but when he gets Kamahl's Desire, he becomes a 6 or 9/1 with first strike. Something like that.

The other option is, his ping ability represents him throwing his sword. I don't think it represents him throwing Lightning Bolts or anything like that, at least.

Godo's Maul? Would that help him out? Gets him to 9/4 trample, haste.

I think it's amusing that Kamahl will die in a Pit Fight almost every single time.

There once was a brute named Kamahl
Who won zero Pit Fights in all.
He'd only one toughness;
The first sign of roughness
Invariably led to his fall.