Vampire: The Dark Ages

Commander / EDH Aggro Aristocrats Counters Lifegain RBW (Mardu) Tokens Vampires

aekrusty

Creature (34)

• 1x Anowon, the Ruin Sage
• 1x Blood Artist
• 1x Bloodline Keeper  ^Flip
• 1x Captivating Vampire
• 1x Cemetery Gatekeeper
• 1x Champion of Dusk
• 1x Cordial Vampire
• 1x Crossway Troublemakers
• 1x Cruel Celebrant
• 1x Drana, Liberator of Malakir
• 1x Elenda, the Dusk Rose
• 1x Falkenrath Pit Fighter
• 1x Forerunner of the Legion
• 1x Gifted Aetherborn
• 1x Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
• 1x Knight of the Ebon Legion
• 1x Legion Lieutenant
• 1x Malakir Bloodwitch
• 1x Markov Baron
• 1x Mavren Fein, Dusk Apostle
• 1x Nullpriest of Oblivion
• 1x Olivia's Bloodsworn
• 1x Patron of the Vein
• 1x Rakish Heir
• 1x Sanctum Seeker
• 1x Stromkirk Captain
• 1x Twilight Prophet
• 1x Vampire Cutthroat
• 1x Vampire Nighthawk
• 1x Vampire of the Dire Moon
• 1x Vampire Socialite
• 1x Vicious Conquistador
• 1x Welcoming Vampire
• 1x Yahenni, Undying Partisan

Planeswalker (1)

• 1x Sorin, Lord of Innistrad

Land (36)

• 1x Blood Crypt
• 1x Bojuka Bog
• 1x Caves of Koilos
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Dragonskull Summit
• 1x Exotic Orchard
• 1x Fetid Heath
• 1x Foreboding Ruins
• 1x Godless Shrine
• 1x Graven Cairns
• 1x Isolated Chapel
• 1x Luxury Suite
• 3x Mountain
• 1x Nomad Outpost
• 1x Path of Ancestry
• 3x Plains
• 1x Secluded Courtyard
• 1x Shineshadow Snarl
• 1x Sulfurous Springs
• 6x Swamp
• 1x Temple of Malice
• 1x Temple of Silence
• 1x Unclaimed Territory
• 1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
• 1x Vault of Champions
• 1x Vault of the Archangel
• 1x Voldaren Estate

Instant (6)

• 1x Anguished Unmaking
• 1x Boros Charm
• 1x Go for the Throat
• 1x Hero's Downfall
• 1x Swords to Plowshares
• 1x Teferi's Protection

Commander (1)

Artifact (10)

• 1x Arcane Signet
• 1x Chromatic Lantern
• 1x Chrome MoxGC
• 1x Coat of Arms
• 1x Door of Destinies
• 1x Herald's Horn
• 1x Mind Stone
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Vanquisher's Banner
• 1x Whip of Erebos

Enchantment (6)

• 1x Anointed Procession
• 1x Impact Tremors
• 1x Necropotence
• 1x Shared Animosity
• 1x Smothering TitheGC
• 1x Tocasia's Welcome

Sorcery (6)

• 1x Blasphemous Act
• 1x New Blood
• 1x Olivia's Wrath
• 1x Read the Bones
• 1x Scheming Symmetry
• 1x Vindicate

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Vampire: The Dark Ages

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Edgar Markov

Edgar Markov is the progenitor of vampirism on the plane of Innistrad, a brilliant alchemist who turned to dark magic to save his family and homeland during a time of famine. Desperate to find a cure, Edgar made a pact with a demon, performing forbidden experiments that led to the first vampires. As the first of his kind, Edgar is revered as a godlike figure by his descendants, wielding immense power and unyielding authority over the vampire clans.

In the multiverse, Edgar Markov is more than a legendary vampire. He embodies ambition, cunning, and the relentless pursuit of immortality. This deck reflects his leadership as he summons an endless legion of vampires to dominate the battlefield, turning his allies' bloodlust into overwhelming strength.

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How the Deck Works

This Edgar Markov deck is an aggressive Vampire tribal strategy that uses Edgar's Eminence ability to swarm the battlefield with vampires, enhance their power through tribal synergy, and punish opponents with devastating combat and life-drain effects.

For the sake of speed it's mainly a {B} deck with a little {W} and {R} splash. The curve is kept to a minimum, curving around cmc 3. There are a ton of buff effects, so even a swing with 3 or 4 vamps can do some serious damage.

We're looking to establish a strong board presence and deal significant damage before the other decks can really get going. This is go-wide strategy looking to flood the board with small creatures until you reach a critical mass and then swing for lethal. The deck is fast and brutally efficient, able to take a decisive lead over the others within a couple of turns if you have a decent draw and left alone.

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Key Strategies:

1. Eminence: A Swarm of Vampires
2. Edgar Markov’s Eminence ability creates a 1/1 Vampire token every time you cast a vampire spell. This provides a constant stream of creatures even before Edgar enters the battlefield, overwhelming your opponents with sheer numbers.

3. Cards like Mavren Fein, Preacher of the Schism, Charismatic Conqueror, and Anointed Procession amplify this strategy, flooding the board with tokens to pressure your enemies early.

4. Vampire Tribal Synergies

5. Your vampires are more than just numbers; they’re deadly. Captivating Vampire, Legion Lieutenant, and Stromkirk Captain provide tribal buffs and utility to make your army stronger.

6. Cards like Vanquisher's Banner, Coat of Arms, and Shared Animosity turn every attack into a lethal assault by exponentially increasing your damage output.

7. Sacrifice and Aristocrats

8. Leverage aristocrat-style effects with cards like Cruel Celebrant, Blood Artist, to drain opponents while benefiting from your creatures dying, while cards like Cordial Vampire buff your creatures.

9. Yahenni, Undying Partisan thrive on sacrifice mechanics, allowing you to control the board while gaining advantage.

10. Card Advantage and Ramp

11. Champion of Dusk, Welcoming Vampire, Phyrexian Arena and Tocasia'a Welcome ensure that you never run out of gas, letting you draw into more vampires and synergy pieces.

12. Ramp through Herald's Horn, Patchwork Banner, and Arcane Signet to maintain a smooth curve and deploy threats efficiently.

13. Removal and Protection

14. Cards like Anguished Unmaking, Stroke of Midnight, and Bedevil provide versatile answers to problematic threats.

15. Teferi's Protection and Boros Charm shield your board from wipes and ensure your survival in critical moments.

16. Finishing Moves

17. Sanctum Seeker, Impact Tremors, and Malakir Bloodwitch punish opponents for every vampire you attack with, turning your swarms into unavoidable damage.
18. Coat of Arms and Shared Animosity create a crushing alpha strike by making your vampires absurdly powerful in a single swing.

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Win Conditions

• Swarm Tactics: Flood the board with vampires and attack relentlessly. Use buffs to deal lethal damage.
• Life Drain: Use cards like Cruel Celebrant, Sanctum Seeker, and Twilight Prophet to drain life while stabilizing your own.
• Board Control: Sacrifice engines and removal spells ensure you can clear the way for your vampires to finish off opponents.

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Edgar Markov’s Leadership

This deck encapsulates the essence of Edgar Markov as a commander. His Eminence ability ensures you're always in the fight, and his presence on the battlefield amplifies your vampires into a relentless, unstoppable force. Whether you're swarming the board, draining opponents' life totals, or striking for massive damage, Edgar's eternal dominion is felt in every game.

Final thoughts

Remember, don't play mardu like you're playing simic ignoring combat steps. If you have good board presence and your opponents are without blockers, keeping slow hands or just ramping, let your vamps taste some blood. If you're running out of cards and your opponents are running out of life it's allright. However, this is not a cEDH deck, and it's very unlikely for any aggro Commander to ever be a cEDH deck. This is a deck that can be competitive in a "75%" meta.

Spread the Blood Curse. Rule Eternal.

Top Ranked	Achieved #4 position overall 8 years ago Achieved #1 position in Commander / EDH Aggro 6 years ago Achieved #1 position in Commander / EDH Aristocrats 5 years ago Achieved #1 position in Commander / EDH Lifegain 6 years ago
Date added	8 years
Last updated	1 week
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	10 - 0 Mythic Rares 48 - 0 Rares 24 - 0 Uncommons 6 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.08
Tokens	Blood, City's Blessing, Emblem Sorin, Lord of Innistrad, Treasure, Vampire 1/1 B, Vampire 1/1 B w/ Lifelink, Vampire 1/1 W, Vampire 2/2 B, Zombie 2/2 B
Folders	+1 Non-Budget, stealy tech, Charlie's Angels, EDH, EDH, Cards sets im looking into, EDH, EDH, Aggro decks, commander inspiration