Fire and Ice: Which Cards Are Hot and Cold for Zhulodok, Void Gorger?

<p style="text-align: right;"><em><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Edgar Markov" href="#" target="_blank">Edgar Markov</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Illustrated by <a href="https://www.artofmtg.com/artist/volkan-baga/">Volkan Baga</a></em></p>
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<p>In a stunning turn of events, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Edgar Markov" href="#" target="_blank">Edgar Markov</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> has claimed the #2 Most Popular Commander ranking, beating out <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Atraxa, Praetors&#039; Voice" href="#" target="_blank">Atraxa, Praetors&#039; Voice</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. This news comes a few short days after <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="The Ur-Dragon" href="#" target="_blank">The Ur-Dragon</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> claimed the #1 spot for Most Popular Commander, also overtaking Atraxa's throne.</p>
<p>The data is provided by EDHREC's deck database. Our database uses deck information from a variety of sources, including <a href="http://archidekt.com">Archidekt</a> among others, to aggregate this ranking. This new information came last night, on the evening of September 22nd, 2025.</p>
<p>Traditionally, Atraxa, Praetors' Voice is a notably ubiquitous commander option due to her versatility. The ability to proliferate counters as freely as she can is an ability that has widespread usage. Conversely, Edgar Markov and The Ur-Dragon are both specific typal commanders, only particularly useful for decks containing Vampires and Dragons, respectively.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="The Ur-Dragon"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Edgar Markov"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Atraxa, Praetors&#039; Voice"></div></div>
<h2>Atraxa's Decline</h2>
<p>So, why has Atraxa fallen slightly out of favor with players to sink to the #3 spot? There are a couple of possible reasons for this occurrence.</p>
<p>For one, Atraxa's decline comes a while after the end of the Multiversal Phyrexian Invasion storyline arc. We haven't seen much of the Phyrexians since, save for a very veiled cameo in <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Virulent Silencer" href="#" target="_blank">Virulent Silencer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> from <em>Edge of Eternities</em>. We also haven't seen much new poison, except for that card, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bloodroot Apothecary" href="#" target="_blank">Bloodroot Apothecary</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> from the <em>Bloomburrow </em>Commander decks, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Persuasive Interrogators" href="#" target="_blank">Persuasive Interrogators</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> from last year's <em>Murders at Karlov Manor</em>. For reasons along these lines, Atraxa may be seen as a little less enticing than other options for counter manipulation.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Bloodroot Apothecary"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Virulent Silencer"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Persuasive Interrogators"></div></div>
<h2>The Rise of Edgar Markov</h2>
<p>On the other hand, certain other reasons may also indicate why Edgar Markov and The Ur-Dragon have climbed past Atraxa in this race to the top of the popularity rankings. Generally, recency bias tends to affect <span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">the interest of many <em>Magic: The Gathering</em> players</span> in new commanders. Both Edgar Markov and The Ur-Dragon were very sparsely populating the secondary market until quite recently. The Ur-Dragon spiked in population with <em>Commander Masters</em>, where it got four different printings, and then again with the Festival In A Box promo for MagicCon Atlanta. Meanwhile, copies of Edgar Markov were relatively scarce until <em>Innistrad Remastered</em>, where it got four printings as well, including one serialized version.</p>
<p>As a sidebar, while this note may be rooted in confirmation bias, I personally noticed that many players local to me opened copies of Edgar Markov when buying sealed product for <em>Innistrad Remastered</em>. One could wonder if the card in its many frames was seeded more often in the set than other mythic rares.</p>
<p>In any event, The Ur-Dragon and Edgar Markov have both overtaken Atraxa, relegating her to the #3 spot of popularity amongst players. How long will this last? It's hard to tell, but Edgar only has six more decks than Atraxa does right now, so this position may not last long for the patriarch of House Markov.</p>
<p>You can see more data about the top commanders on EDHREC <a href="https://edhrec.com/commanders">here</a>. In the meantime, I would like to openthe floor to you, dear readers! Place your imaginary bets about how long Edgar Markov will stick around in this #2 spot. Tell us if you have any other ideas about why Atraxa has sunk so low (in a relative sense). Sound off in the comments below!</p>


statistics

Fire and Ice: Which Cards Are Hot and Cold for Zhulodok, Void Gorger?

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