Edgar MarkovEdgar Markov | Art by Volkan Baga

We're back with another installment of Commander Makeover, where we take older commanders in the Top 200, and give them a modern facelift.

Today, we're tackling perhaps the best Vampire commander of all time, so let's dive right in.

Newer Cards for Edgar MarkovEdgar Markov Decks

The Vampire commander to overshadow all Vampires, Edgar definitely wants us to play a bunch of Vampires. But what kind of Vampires?

The 2017 precon he originally came from, Vampiric Bloodlust, had a variety of mana values across its Vampire repertoire. That said, Edgar actually benefits more from cheap Vampires to cast, then going wide. Even so, there have been cards from the past couple years that give Vampires more support. I'd even say we got a few Vampires, but sadly, Lost Caverns of Ixalan is beyond our timetable as of writing.

But, hey, at least this won't be an article where it was about one set, right?

Vampires in Lorwyn?

Being a typal-focused set, Lorwyn Eclipsed gave Edgar some tools to use, even though Vampires were not one of the creature types covered in the set.

Firstly, we have cards like Collective InfernoCollective Inferno and Bloodline BiddingBloodline Bidding. Both have convoke, and in a deck where the goal is to go wide, these will be very cheap to cast. The former doubles the damage output, so I imagine this will be scary with Edgar in play. Meanwhile, the latter will bring back our creatures, should we get wiped.

The one Vampire in the set, Kirol, Attentive First-YearKirol, Attentive First-Year can double our triggered abilities, and there are some creatures whose triggers we'd love to copy. Even better is that the cost to activate the ability is nothing in this deck.

On the other hand, Gathering StoneGathering Stone is a new take on Herald's HornHerald's Horn, a card that already finds lots of homes in typal decks. Whether Stone is better than Horn is up for discussion, but my answer will always be: "Why not both?"

The set also gives us a doozy of a card in Chronicle of VictoryChronicle of Victory. This artifact does it all, from card draw, to seriously bolstering our creatures. Unfortunately, it costs a hefty six mana, so this will sit at the top end of our curve, but I'd say it's absolutely worth it.

Bloodthirsty ConquerorBloodthirsty Conqueror

This Vampire Knight commands quite the price tag, and for good reason: It's Exquisite BloodExquisite Blood on a body, and it even references said card in its flavor text. Like I said about Herald's Horn and Gathering Stone, there's little reason why you shouldn't be running both if you had to choose. Pair either with effects akin to Sanguine BondSanguine Bond, and you win off a single point of life loss.

It does, however, cost five mana, like its enchantment predecessor, so mileage may vary. Perhaps one of the best Vampires to come out in the last two years.

Vengeful BloodwitchVengeful Bloodwitch

Hailing from Foundations, the same set as Bloodthirsty Conqueror, Vengeful Bloodwitch is another take on the iconic Blood ArtistBlood Artist effect (and if you're not running that, then I don't know what to tell you. You'd be crazy not to).

Unfortunately, it only affects creatures we control. In fact, this is essentially a functional reprint of the popular Zulaport CutthroatZulaport Cutthroat. The only difference is that Vengeful BloodwitchVengeful Bloodwitch sports the one creature type we need this effect in. So, naturally, this is a slam dunk into Edgar Markov decks.

Baron Bertram GraywaterBaron Bertram Graywater

Hailing from the soon-to-be-rotated-out set (from our two-year timetable, at least) Outlaws of Thunder Junction, the Baron works amazing in tandem with Edgar, allowing you to put two Vampire tokens in for the price of one eminence trigger.

The difference, basically, is that the tokens made from Graywater will have lifelink. He's even a sacrifice outlet, letting us draw cards in a pinch. That is assuming that you have extra mana to do so. Two mana to sacrifice a creature (or artifact) for a card can add up pretty fast.

Ruthless LawbringerRuthless Lawbringer

Also coming from Outlaws of Thunder Junction,Ruthless Lawbringer is spot removal with fangs! Sacrificing another creature is trivial in Edgar decks. On top of that, doing so to destroy a nonland permanent is a worthy effect. That annoying Ghostly PrisonGhostly Prison? Gone. Big lump of beef overrunning your board? Dead.

Of course, this is assuming they can actually be destroyed, so watch out for indestructible.

Another point to consider is that since the Lawbringer's trigger happens when it enters, we can sacrifice the token that Edgar makes when we cast the creature. An easy choice, no?

Vampire GourmandVampire Gourmand

Circling back to Foundations, we have another sacrifice effect in Vampire Gourmand. This sacrifice outlet is a bit different from other Vampires, though. This is an attack trigger rather than an activated ability, and instead of draining life you get a card. On top of that, the Gourmand can't be blocked for the turn.

If we're looking to cast that Bloodlord of VaasgothBloodlord of Vaasgoth with bloodthirst active (or any other Vampire once it's out), this is a sure-fire way to do it. Again, choosing which creature to sacrifice is easy (it's always the weakest creature tokens).

Banner of KinshipBanner of Kinship

Of course, we could always have this down, making token sacrifice not so worth it. If we cast this at the right time, those measly 1/1 tokens won't be so puny after all. Our opponents may have some tricks up their sleeves, though, from pesky counter-magic to straight up destroying our creatures before it comes down. Barbaric!

Though, they are right to try and stop this. If this resolves with a bunch of counters, they'll suddenly be staring down lethal, really raising the stakes unless they want to make the mis-stake of underestimating what this card can do.

What? I'm loaded with Vampire puns. Sorry, not sorry.

Renewed SolidarityRenewed Solidarity

From the Aetherdrift precons, we get a smaller anthem effect, but the second ability is a doozy. This is like Anointed ProcessionAnointed Procession, but the doubling is delayed to the end step, so we'll have blockers if opponents start looking our way (and they will!).

Don't write off that +1/+0 boost. With a deck like Vampires, that'll add up very quickly, and our board will be lethal before our opponents know it. Really solid enchantment for the deck.

Caretaker's TalentCaretaker's Talent

While this doesn't help our nontoken Vampires, we make tokens very often, always getting that draw trigger (which is nice, because we'll run out of gas quickly). While we have little use for the second level, it's the third level that'll have our opponents doing combat math.

Again, the card is rather situational since it only affects the tokens we create, but the impact Caretaker's Talent will have on those tokens can't be understated.

Elspeth, Storm SlayerElspeth, Storm Slayer

While I'm not fond of adding an Angel to a Vampire deck (looking at you, Shilgengar, Sire of FamineShilgengar, Sire of Famine), Elspeth does let us create two Vampire tokens for each Vampire we cast, so that's already a big deal.

Starting at five loyalty counters with a zero ability that buffs our board is a great deal. She even allows our Vampires to (finally!) fly. The -3 can help soften up an opponent's board. They'd better hope they have some stakes handy for the horde of bloodsuckers coming their way.

Three Tree CityThree Tree City

The only entry this time that's a land, Three Tree City is a great card for Vampire decks (or any typal deck for that matter). We're going to get a lot of mana from this alone, and it's easy to reach net positive thanks to Edgar's eminence ability.

Since most of our Vampires are black-aligned, we'll be using this land to generate black mana most, if not all, of the time. It's definitely a land that can help us cast our high-end cards with ease.

Midnight Twilight

Even though I said Vampires suck at the very beginning of the article, they definitely don't suck as a Commander deck. Edgar is the marquee Vampire commander, and he really demonstrates that by holding his place among the top five commanders for so long. Also, this is a commander that will only get more support with time, be it a typal-focused set, or simply a set with a lot of Vampires (or both!).

Next week I'll be back with a take on one (or two) of the commanders from the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles set. I'll be doing that the same way as I did last time. See you all then.