Well I differ from you here. I think that Ishamael's power is well established as a duelist. On most occasions he was trying to convert Rand rather than kill him, and that has nothing to do with combat. I think he's the worst converter to the Shadow I've ever seen, but that was his tactic.

When he finally decided to kill Rand in TDR, he tells him he's given him two chances to convert and he refused, and now he will die. Ishamael then hurled everything from balefire, to every other kind of weave at Rand in the Stone, and Rand was only saved by using one of the most powerful sa'angreal ever made. I thought that of all the Forsaken battles, this one was the most technically impressive, but it looks like he literally tried every flow against Rand to find his weakness.

It's also important to remember that his nemesis is an extremely powerful ta'veren who bends the pattern around him. I'm not sure if such a man actually can be beaten. Even so, I don't think it's a coincidence that Ishamael was the one to fight Lews Therin in a duel in the War of Power. Otherwise it would have been Demandred or Lanfear if the Shadow had someone better.



Well the Power is a funny thing - it actually is one discipline even if there are many Talents. He was certainly an exceptionally strong and gifted channeler. There were probably a few hundred channelers on his level, and many thousands with special abilities he didn't have. But he was made First among Servants because he was so powerful and because he was a nice guy. Even Moghedien and Be'lal hated that about him.