Honey, why is there a pot roast inside the candle?

Commander / EDH* Aggro Aristocrats Counters Infinite Combo RBW (Mardu) Reanimator Sacrifice Tokens Vampires

Erich_Zann

Land (33)

• 1x Arid Mesa
• 1x Badlands
• 1x Blood Crypt
• 1x Bloodstained Mire
• 1x Cavern of Souls
• 1x City of Brass
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Flooded Strand
• 1x Godless Shrine
• 1x Luxury Suite
• 1x Mana Confluence
• 1x Marsh Flats
• 1x Mountain
• 1x Phyrexian Tower
• 1x Plains
• 1x Plateau
• 1x Polluted Delta
• 1x Reflecting Pool
• 1x Sacred Foundry
• 1x Scalding Tarn
• 1x Scrubland
• 1x Secluded Courtyard
• 1x Silent Clearing
• 1x Sulfurous Springs
• 1x Sunbaked Canyon
• 1x Swamp
• 1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
• 1x Vault of Champions
• 1x Vault of the Archangel
• 1x Verdant Catacombs
• 1x Voldaren Estate
• 1x Windswept Heath
• 1x Wooded Foothills

Enchantment (6)

• 1x Animate Dead
• 1x Dance of the Dead
• 1x Necromancy
• 1x Necropotence
• 1x Shared Animosity
• 1x Stensia Masquerade

Creature (32)

• 1x Esper Sentinel
• 1x Falkenrath Pit Fighter
• 1x Indulgent Aristocrat
• 1x Insolent Neonate
• 1x Knight of the Ebon Legion
• 1x Vampire of the Dire Moon
• 1x Viscera Seer
• 1x Voldaren Epicure
• 1x Archivist of Oghma
• 1x Blood Artist
• 1x Cemetery Gatekeeper
• 1x Cordial Vampire
• 1x Cruel Celebrant
• 1x Dark Confidant
• 1x Dauthi Voidwalker
• 1x Gifted Aetherborn
• 1x Legion Lieutenant
• 1x Vampire Socialite
• 1x Captivating Vampire
• 1x Drana, Liberator of Malakir
• 1x Florian, Voldaren Scion
• 1x Mavren Fein, Dusk Apostle
• 1x Scion of Opulence
• 1x Stromkirk Captain
• 1x Welcoming Vampire
• 1x Yahenni, Undying Partisan
• 1x Bloodline Keeper  ^Flip
• 1x Falkenrath Aristocrat
• 1x Sanctum Seeker
• 1x Twilight Prophet
• 1x Malakir Bloodwitch
• 1x Olivia, Crimson Bride

Sorcery (5)

• 1x Imperial Seal
• 1x Vandalblast
• 1x Demonic Tutor
• 1x Diabolic Intent
• 1x Wheel of Fortune

Commander (1)

Artifact (14)

• 1x Chrome Mox
• 1x Jeweled Lotus
• 1x Lotus Petal
• 1x Mana Crypt
• 1x Mox Diamond
• 1x Mana Vault
• 1x Skullclamp
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Arcane Signet
• 1x Pyre of Heroes
• 1x Talisman of Hierarchy
• 1x Talisman of Indulgence
• 1x Wishclaw Talisman
• 1x Phyrexian Altar

Instant (8)

• 1x Enlightened Tutor
• 1x Pyroblast
• 1x Red Elemental Blast
• 1x Swords to Plowshares
• 1x Vampiric Tutor
• 1x Boros Charm
• 1x Anguished Unmaking
• 1x Teferi's Protection

Planeswalker (1)

• 1x Sorin, Imperious Bloodlord

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Maybeboard

Artifact (3)

• 1x Mox Opal
• 1x Idol of Oblivion
• 1x Throne of the God-Pharaoh

Instant (1)

• 1x Entomb

Sorcery (2)

• 1x Reanimate
• 1x Unmarked Grave

Creature (2)

• 1x Dockside Extortionist
• 1x Aurelia, the Warleader

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What is a man?!

Introduction

A miserable little pile of BULLSHIT! That's what it is, you fucking ass!

A Day in Dracula's Life

Edgar Markov is an underrated general that has an ability called Eminence. Eminence abilities trigger whether your commander is in play or is sitting in the command zone. Edgar Markov's Eminence ability states whenever one casts a vampire spell they create a 1/1 black Vampire creature token. Edgar also has first strike and haste, and whenever Edgar Markov attacks, you put a +1/+1 counter on each vampire you control.

Seems pretty deece.

Pros

• The deck can swarm the field with creatures very quickly.
• The deck runs enough lords and buff effects that make your vampires hurt more.
• Running Mardu colors ({R}{W}{B}) gives access to the best destruction spells WotC has to offer.
• Running {B} gives the pilot the luxury of running tutors.
• Aristocrat effects are more consistent due to the number of tokens this deck produces.

Cons

• Running Edgar Markov means that you aren't given enough wiggle room to run creatures outside your tribe because value is important.
• Mardu ({R}{W}{B}) lacks draw engines outside of Necropotence and Phyrexian Arena which means you'll relie heavily on top decking.
• Aggro decks are susceptible to board wipes.
• Playing aggro makes you more of a target during multiplayer games due to the amount of value you'll generate and the amount of damage you'll be able to deal in a short amount of time.
• Counter Spells
• Has a hard time against Stax decks
• Loses to Hydro Storm.

Edgar Markov is a great aggro and aristocrat general. He's easy to pick up and play, but takes time and patience to master. Piloting aggro requires good threat assessment skills and being able to predict your opponents plays.

Gameplan

The gameplan for piloting Edgar Markov varies from player to player. Generally, players play Edgar as a pure aggro general with either a +1/+1 counter sub theme or aristocrat sub theme that leads to infinite combos, or the deck is entirely aristocrat, netting you a lot of value and finishing them off with an infinite combo.

My build used to be 100% aggro with a +1/+1 sub theme, then I switched recently to shift the sub theme to aristocrats. I find the value aristocrat net you is too good to pass up and it makes your opponent second guess on playing board wipes as you'll punish them with Blood Artist-like spells currently on your board.

Card Discussion

Inclusions

Viscera Seer

A card that provides great insight for the user for the price of sacrificing a creature you control. Since this deck produces a token every time a creature is played you'll usually have things to sacrifice. It's a great way to filter what you draw since we rely heavily on the top deck.

Stromkirk Captain, Legion Lieutenant, Captivating Vampire, Drana, Liberator of Malakir, Lord of Lineage  

Lords are important when playing tribal. They make your creatures more threatening by buffing them and at times come with bonus effects. Stromkirk Captain gives all your vampires first strike while Captivating Vampire can steal any creature your opponent(s) control. Drana, Liberator of Malakir is a little different than the rest of our lords due to her +1/+1 buff kicking in only after she attacks and is only granted to vampires that attack. Lord of Lineage   is another lord, and a great one, too, that provides a +2/+2 buff. Lord of Lineage   is the flipside to Bloodline Keeper  . Having 5+ vampires on the board is cake, so transforming him isn't really an issue.

Indulgent Aristocrat

A card that buffs all vampires you control with a +1/+1 counter by paying {2}, then sacrificing a creature you control. This can be done as many times as you want as long as you have creatures, which is easy in this deck, and available mana.

Forerunner of the Legion

For {2}{W} this card is a tutor for vampire creatures and temporarily buffs a creature until end of turn whenever you cast a vampire from your hand. This one is a no brainer.

Malakir Bloodwitch

This card is a game changer! It's a bomb that does damages based on the number of vampires you control, is a 4/4 flyer and has protection from white. The cool thing about Malikir Bloodwitch is when you cast her Edgar's eminence ability triggers first, adding a vampire token to the board, then she hits the field counting the new vampire token created and herself. She hurts. She hurts a lot.

Purphoros, God of the Forge, Impact Tremors

These two cards act as great clocks that apply large amounts of pressure on your opponent(s). Due to Edgar's eminence ability, both cards effects trigger twice, so every time a creature is cast when Purphoros, God of the Forge is on the board your opponent(s) take 4 and when Impact Tremors is on the board your opponent(s) take 2. If both are out on the board your opponents are more than likely to make hasty plays which will lead to misplays and allow you to capitalize off of it.

Sanctum Seeker

A card that deals 1 damage for every attacking vampire you control. This is another clock in the deck that applies the pressure on your opponent(s), especially if you have a decent to large amount of creatures on the board.

Stensia Masquerade, Akroma's Memorial

You need ways that allow your creatures to connect with your opponent. This is of high importance as you way to push your opponents off the table as soon as possible. Stensia Masquerade gives all your vampires first strike, much like Stromkirk Captain, and adds +1/+1 counters to every vampire that deals damage to a player, much like Rakish Heir. Akroma's Memorial is THE card you want to get on the field when you have a great board state. This card provides you with everything you need to seal the deal on taking the table. It's a bit expensive at {7}; however, the reward is just too good to pass up.

Teferi's Protection, Boros Charm, Rootborn Defenses

Protection spells are a must. A MUST, MUST, MUST!!! Without these spells it will be incredibly difficult to deal with control decks or any deck that plays any number of boardwipes. If you run Teferi's Protection and the creatures you control have +1/+1 counters on them they do not disappear when they blink back into the game. I repeat, they DO NOT disappear! I've been to too many table where people tried to insist that they do, so know the rulings on this card. It'll save your ass.

Skullclamp

An artifact that allows the player to draw 2 cards when the equipped creature is put into the graveyard. Then tokens Edgar Markov produces are 1/1, so for {1} you sacrifice a token and draw 2. This is another no brainer.

Exclusions

Panel Content

Tips

- You're going to want to keep your mana curve on the low side for your creature base to net value off of Edgar Markov's Eminence ability. You do not want to run anything that is 5cmc or more unless it wins you the game.

• Since aggro decks are susceptible to board wipes, over extending is problematic. If you have some sort of protection against mass removal or know your opponents don't have any answers, then fill the field to your hearts content. Running cards that counter blue spells, such as: Pyroblast and Red Elemental Blast assist in making sure your game winning spells resolve.

Conclusion

Edgar Markov is a powerful general that can hold its own against most decks outside of Cedh. There is a cEDH build that capitalizes off of Edgar's Eminence ability and uses the tokens to net value through aristocrat effects, such as Razaketh, the Foulblooded. If you're interested in that build then click the link below:

Edgar Markov cEDH

I still need to finish this primer. It will be done soon, so hang tight.

Top Ranked	Achieved #30 position overall 6 years ago
Date added	6 years
Last updated	1 year
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	11 - 0 Mythic Rares 55 - 0 Rares 23 - 0 Uncommons 8 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	2.12
Tokens	Blood, City's Blessing, Treasure, Vampire 1/1 B, Vampire 1/1 W, Vampire 2/2 B
Folders	Edgar Markov CMD, Decks I want to try, Vampire Ideas, Interesting Commander Decks, Edgar, NetDecks, Edgar Markov, Inspiration decks, Edgar, Cool Decks I Like