Edgar Markov costs {3}{R}{W}{B} and is a 4/4 Legendary Vampire Knight with first strike and haste. Its eminence creates a 1/1 black Vampire token whenever you cast another Vampire spell while Edgar is in the command zone or on the battlefield, and whenever Edgar attacks it puts a +1/+1 counter on each Vampire you control. Every Vampire you cast makes another Vampire.
The precon already has the best Vampire lords and drain payoffs, including Captivating Vampire, Blood Artist, Stromkirk Captain, Malakir Bloodwitch and Sanguine Bond. Each swap below pairs a cut with an add, and every card is scored with the same numbers the Oracle uses to build decks: synergy and inclusion from the Edgar decks, plus lift, which shows how much more often a card turns up in Edgar decks than in decks that could play it.
Looking for the unmodified list first? Read the Vampiric Bloodlust precon guide.
What is holding the deck back
Not enough cheap Vampires
Cordial Vampire, Indulgent Aristocrat, Legion Lieutenant, Sanctum Seeker and Markov Baron are all Vampires that cost one to four mana, and each one triggers Edgar's eminence. They are among the top-scoring cards the precon leaves out.
Draw sorceries and artifacts outside the lists
Skeletal Scrying, Well of Lost Dreams, Worn Powerstone, Ambition's Cost, Consuming Vapors and Damnable Pact are not cards Edgar Markov decks usually play.
Off-plan red and white sorceries
Disrupt Decorum, Fell the Mighty and Kindred Charge are not cards Edgar Markov either decks usually play.
The 9 swaps
Each pair shows the numbers for the card coming out and the card going in. Click a card image to zoom.
Skeletal Scrying is an instant that exiles X cards from your graveyard to draw X cards and lose X life. It is not a card Edgar Markov decks usually play.
Indulgent Aristocrat is a 1/1 Vampire Noble for {B} with lifelink. For {2} and a sacrificed creature, you put a +1/+1 counter on each Vampire you control. A one-drop Vampire that triggers Edgar's eminence and grows the team.
Well of Lost Dreams is a four-mana artifact that draws cards when you gain life. It is not a card Edgar Markov decks usually play.
Cordial Vampire is a 1/1 Vampire for {B}{B}. Whenever it or another creature dies, you put a +1/+1 counter on each Vampire you control. A two-drop Vampire that grows the whole team every time a creature dies, and the highest-scoring card the precon leaves out.
Worn Powerstone is a three-mana rock that enters tapped and taps for two colourless. It is not a card Edgar Markov decks usually play.
Legion Lieutenant is a 2/2 Vampire Knight for {W}{B}. Other Vampires you control get +1/+1. A two-drop Vampire lord in exactly two of Edgar's colours.
Ambition's Cost is a four-mana sorcery that draws three cards and loses 3 life. It is not a card Edgar Markov decks usually play.
Champion of Dusk is a 4/4 Vampire Knight for {3}{B}{B}. When it enters you draw X cards and lose X life, where X is the number of Vampires you control. A five-drop Vampire that draws a card for each Vampire you control.
Consuming Vapors is a four-mana sorcery with rebound that makes a player sacrifice a creature. It is not a card Edgar Markov decks usually play.
Sanctum Seeker is a 3/4 Vampire Knight for {2}{B}{B}. Whenever a Vampire you control attacks, each opponent loses 1 life and you gain 1 life. A four-drop Vampire that drains once for every attacking Vampire.
Damnable Pact is a sorcery that makes a player draw X cards and lose X life. It is not a card Edgar Markov decks usually play.
Markov Baron is a 2/2 Vampire Noble for {2}{B} with convoke and lifelink. Other Vampires you control get +1/+1, and it has madness {2}{B}. A three-drop Vampire lord that your other Vampires can help cast.
Disrupt Decorum is a four-mana sorcery that goads all creatures you don't control. It is not a card Edgar Markov decks usually play.
Drana, Liberator of Malakir is a 2/3 Legendary Vampire Ally for {1}{B}{B} with flying and first strike. Whenever Drana deals combat damage to a player, you put a +1/+1 counter on each attacking creature you control. A three-drop Vampire that grows the whole attack.
Fell the Mighty is a five-mana sorcery that destroys all creatures with power greater than a target creature's. It is not a card Edgar Markov decks usually play.
Olivia's Wrath costs {4}{B}. Each non-Vampire creature gets -X/-X until end of turn, where X is the number of Vampires you control. A five-mana sweeper that only hits the other side of the board.
Kindred Charge is a six-mana sorcery that makes hasty copies of your creatures of a chosen type. It is not a card Edgar Markov decks usually play.
Mavren Fein, Dusk Apostle is a 2/2 Legendary Vampire Cleric for {2}{W}. Whenever one or more nontoken Vampires you control attack, you create a 1/1 white Vampire creature token with lifelink. A three-drop Vampire that makes a token every time you attack.
The full swap list
Cut
- Skeletal Scrying
- Well of Lost Dreams
- Worn Powerstone
- Ambition's Cost
- Consuming Vapors
- Damnable Pact
- Disrupt Decorum
- Fell the Mighty
- Kindred Charge
Add
- Indulgent Aristocrat
- Cordial Vampire
- Legion Lieutenant
- Champion of Dusk
- Sanctum Seeker
- Markov Baron
- Drana, Liberator of Malakir
- Olivia's Wrath
- Mavren Fein, Dusk Apostle
What to keep
These cards are doing the deck's heavy lifting. Do not cut them.
- Captivating Vampire$2.04
Played in 82% of Edgar decks. Gives other Vampires +1/+1 and can steal a creature by tapping five Vampires. - Blood Artist$2.84
Played in 82% of Edgar decks. Drains one life whenever any creature dies. - Stromkirk Captain$0.47
Played in 74% of Edgar decks. Gives other Vampires +1/+1 and first strike. - Malakir Bloodwitch$4.05
Played in 52% of Edgar decks. A 4/4 flyer that drains for the number of Vampires you control. - Sanguine Bond$5.61
Played in 45% of Edgar decks. Turns every life gain into life loss for an opponent.
If you want to spend more
These are strong but sit outside a budget upgrade. Prices are the cheapest paper printing.
- Elenda, the Dusk Rose$6.28
A four-mana lifelink Vampire that grows whenever another creature dies and leaves Vampire tokens behind. It costs more than a budget upgrade should. - Welcoming Vampire$2.63
A three-mana 2/3 flying Vampire that draws a card when small creatures enter. It costs more than a budget upgrade should.
Vampiric Bloodlust already has the Vampire lords, the drain payoffs and Edgar's attack trigger. The upgrade is cheap Vampires that trigger Edgar's eminence and grow the team, in place of draw sorceries and artifacts that Edgar decks leave out. These nine swaps cost about $6 in total.
Want a full 100-card list built around Edgar Markov from today's data?
Build with The Oracle →Frequently asked questions
What are the best upgrades for the Vampiric Bloodlust precon?
Using data from 52,296 Edgar Markov decks, the highest-scoring additions are Cordial Vampire (for Well of Lost Dreams), Indulgent Aristocrat (for Skeletal Scrying) and Legion Lieutenant (for Worn Powerstone). The full list has 9 swaps, each scored with synergy, inclusion and lift.
How much does it cost to upgrade Vampiric Bloodlust?
All 9 swaps cost about $5.65 at the cheapest paper printings (TCGplayer market prices via Scryfall, 2026-10-28). If you want to spend more, the guide also covers Elenda, the Dusk Rose ($6.28) and Welcoming Vampire ($2.63).
What should I cut from Vampiric Bloodlust?
The weakest cards for this commander are Skeletal Scrying, Well of Lost Dreams and Worn Powerstone. The guide explains the reason for every cut, and swaps each one for a card that scores higher.
Which cards should I keep in Vampiric Bloodlust?
Keep Captivating Vampire, Blood Artist, Stromkirk Captain, Malakir Bloodwitch and Sanguine Bond. These are the cards doing the deck's heavy lifting.
What does Edgar Markov do?
Edgar Markov costs {3}{R}{W}{B} and is a 4/4 Legendary Vampire Knight with first strike and haste. Its eminence creates a 1/1 black Vampire token whenever you cast another Vampire spell while Edgar is in the command zone or on the battlefield, and whenever Edgar attacks it puts a +1/+1 counter on each Vampire you control. Every Vampire you cast makes another Vampire.
More Commander 2017 upgrade guides
How the numbers work
Inclusion is the share of Edgar Markov decks (52,296 of them when this was written, 2026-10-28) that play the card. Synergy is how much more often they play it than other decks in the same colours. Oracle score is synergy × 0.6 plus inclusion × 0.4, the same blend The Oracle uses to rank cards for a deck. Lift compares how often the card appears in these decks with how often it could, capped at 8× here; it is shown for context and does not change the score.
Two cautions. Players who run the precon unmodified count as Edgar Markov decks, which flatters every card the precon contains. Lift is high for many Vampire cards because few decks play them outside a Vampires deck, so use lift to compare cards, not to judge one in isolation. A card the commander's decks do not usually play counts as 0 in the average score. Prices are the cheapest non-foil paper printing on TCGplayer (via Scryfall), in USD, and move daily.