Kambal, Profiteering Mayor
OTJ · rare · Released 2024-04-19
Tiers
Commander Bracket
Archetypes
No active conflicts.
Roles
Risks
Mechanics
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Typal
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Structural
Rationale
Kambal is a 3-mana 2/4 that steals copies of opponents' tokens (once per turn) and drains each opponent for each token you control entering. The combination of token copying and life-drain makes him a premier engine in Orzhov tokens-go-wide and aristocrats shells — he generates board presence for free from opponents' strategies while also functioning as a passive drain. In stax-prison builds, copying and taxing tokens disrupts token-reliant opponents while accruing value. Loses some punch in Brawl vs. 1v1 (drain hits only one opponent) but token copying remains powerful.
Learnings (3)
The first triggered ability (copy opponent tokens) triggers only once per turn regardless of how many token-producing events occur, so mass token producers like Doubling Season resolving on an opponent's turn still only yield one copy trigger.
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Kambal's drain trigger fires for YOUR tokens entering, not opponents' — so he rewards both the free copies he generates from opponents AND any tokens you produce yourself, making him a dual-engine even without opponents generating tokens.
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In multiplayer Commander, Kambal copied tokens enter tapped, so they cannot be used for surprise blocks — however they immediately fuel the drain trigger on the same turn they enter.
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Popularity
- EDHREC rank: #1,115
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