Kami's Flare
Instant
Kami's Flare deals 3 damage to target creature or planeswalker. Kami's Flare also deals 2 damage to that permanent's controller if you control a modified creature. (Equipment, Auras you control, and counters are modifications.)
- CMC
- 2
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- R
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty
- Price
- $0.14
- EDHREC rank
- #20980
Kami's Flare deals 3 damage to any target for one red mana — as long as you control a legendary creature, which in Commander is almost always true. It's one of the most efficient burn spells available in the format and an easy inclusion in any red deck built around a legendary commander.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Kami's Flare is effectively a one-mana Lightning Bolt the moment you've cast your commander, which means it's live by turn two in the vast majority of games. In Pauper, it competes directly with Lightning Bolt itself, which makes the legendary requirement a real cost — Bolt is strictly better there unless you're running a legendary-creature-heavy build. In Modern and Pioneer the same comparison applies: Bolt exists in Modern and Kami's Flare offers nothing Bolt doesn't, while Pioneer's absence of Bolt makes Kami's Flare a genuine consideration in aggressive red shells that lean on legendary creatures. Legacy and Vintage have so much redundancy at one mana that Kami's Flare rarely makes the cut outside of niche legendary-tribal strategies.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.14 bulk tier
At $0.14, Kami's Flare is firmly bulk — pick it up in any common box without a second thought. Given its functional overlap with Lightning Bolt in Commander, there's no price pressure pushing it higher, and it should stay at this floor indefinitely.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.