Commander Deck Tech: Edgar Markov
So Edgar has been around approximately 4-5 years now from when it came out back in 2017. The precon deck is amazing and now fetches anywhere from $350 to $410 on the open market. They are definitely hard to come by, and even Edgar Markov by himself will fetch $90-$120. It seems like a large majority of my friends have at least the precon and several have updated the decks overtime. Now with all the new Vampires from Innistrad Crimson Vow I thought it was time to reVAMP the deck. When I first started out I just put every good Vampire in the decklist and when I was finished the deck had 60 Vampires. I knew that was way too many and I ended up being able to cut it down to 38. I wanted to play with more Innistrad Crimson Vow Vampires with the Blood mechanic, but some of the Creatures did not seem good enough compared to the other choices. I ended up cutting Blood Artist and Cruel Celebrant, so there isn't much life drain in the build. I know other builds will run these, I just did not think they fit this particular build.
This is a pretty straight forward aggro deck. You just jam Creatures, try to not run into wrath effects, and attack. The deck can be very aggressive with Edgar Markov's Eminence ability. I tried to run all the Vampires lords and creatures that give all Vampires +1/+1 and/or other abilities. Most of the decks I've seen do run anthem type effects as well, but I just don't think they are good enough when you can get them on a body vs. an Enchantment.
The lords in the deck consist of: Edgar, Charmed Groom, Stromkirk Captain, Captivating Vampire, and Legion Lieutenant. In my opinion these are a must start in all Edgar Markov decks. You'll also have several Creatures that will add bonuses to your Vampires, but not necessarily a static +1/+1. Several of the other Vampires will add +1/+1 counters if a Vampire has dealt damage this turn, or if an opponent lost life during the turn.
We don't run a ton of mana ramp, but I did want some acceleration and mana fixing where possible. These consist of: Temple of the False God, Ancient Tomb, Arcane Signet, Sol Ring, Orzhov Signet, and Rakdos Signet. Keep in mind the Artifacts (mana rocks) do play a dual purpose as they also help you “Ascend” on Vona's Hunger and Twilight Prophet.
The new kids on the block are: Vampire Socialite, Dominating Vampire, Florian, Voldaren Scion, Welcoming Vampire, Anje, Maid of Dishonor, Edgar Charmed Groom, Henrika Domnathi, Olivia, Crimson Bride, Voldaren Estate, and Sorin the Mirthless.
You will also see several cards from Commander Legends and Zendikar Rising. I think that Commander Legends is still a smash hit and every deck I have made has cards from the set in it. If you were not able to purchase cards from that set I highly recommend you make room for it in your Magic budget and grab a few boxes while you can before the prices increase.
The deck also runs several pieces of spot removal and sacrifice abilities. We have a total of 8 spot removal spells in: Utter End, Anguished Unmaking, Terminate, Mortify, Bedevil, Swords to Plowshares, and Patron of the Vein. There are also 5 cards that make an opponent(s) sacrifice Creatures in: Vona's Hunger, Crackling Doom, Anowon, the Ruin Sage, Henrika Domnathi, and Gatekeeper of Malakir. We have 4 wrath effects in the deck with: Ruinous Ultimatum, Kindred Dominance, Damn, and Olivia's Wrath. Some of these spells do have certain drawbacks but overall they will work well for most 4 player games of Commander.
The current build is probably about a $1200 deck which I know is not realistic for everyone. You can make several changes to the mana base to bring the cost of the deck down anywhere from $100-$200. You also have tons of options for Vampires now where you could swap certain ones out for others to bring the cost down. Playtest with what you have and eventually upgrade a card or two here and there. Eventually you'll get to a point where the deck runs efficiently, is fun to play, and is a force to be reckoned with.
Hopefully this deck will give you a great starting point at creating your own Edgar Markov deck. Make sure you let the blood flow and I hope to see you in Innistrad at the Crimson Wedding.
Happy Gaming and Happy Holidays!
Until next time,
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