Workshop 970 - Edgar Markov / Victre151 - OPEN (EDH / Commander)

GENERAL:

A lengthy conversation about the goals of the tune was conducted. We concluded that even though the original goal was cEDH we're going to settle for a high power approach instead to retain the flavourful Vampire tribal theme.

Upon sorting the deck it was noted that the deck doesn't have much in the way of ramp - especially low to the ground mana value 2 or less ramp.

We also noticed the deck was lacking a bit in finishing power: some big bombs were added.

Our goal with the addition of draw spells is to introduce continuity. We're aiming for a situation where the additional draw lets us cast at least a single Vampire each turn despite having all those support spells. This should be achieved by using existing draw engines and adding in more burst draw that grant us access to the cards right now instead of next turn or the turn after that.

The deck could also use a couple of reanimation spells to bring back threats that were removed earlier. This change is optional - it can be substituted with a lot of draw as we don't generally care about the quality of the drawn Vampires. Quantity is key here.

Grim Tutor was removed but a case can be made for Open the Armory and Stoneforge Mystic in order to find Skullclamp which is a super efficient draw engine. This deck is low on draw spells so it might turn out later that Skullclamp needs some additional love. On the other hand Skullclamp is not a very useful card late game when the tokens are bigger due to Edgar Markov.

Infiltration Lens offers dual functionality: it draws cards and discourages blocking. This is a win-win situation because equipping it to a big creature will either force a bad block netting us cards or the opponent letting a good deal of damage go through.

Overall it feels like this deck wants to play a 1-drop Vampire on turn 1, then use the subsequent turns to ramp into Edgar. We're supporting this plan by moving most of our ramp to mana value 2 with most small Vampires costing just 1 mana (or 3 but not 2).

Sideboard contains cards worth considering if the deck needs a bit more oomph late game and Maybeboard contains all the cut cards.

ADDITIONS:

The entire Signet cycle was added. Talisman cycle was completed. A couple of rituals were added, too: Dockside Extortionist, Dark Ritual, Mana Vault and Culling the Weak were added.

Land count was increased by adding one of each basic land and Vault of the Archangel for a grand total of 38 lands. The number might still change as 36 would be ideal.

Tutor count was increased: Enlightened Tutor and Vampiric Tutor were added.

Dolmen Gate to make attacking safer.

Cathar's Crusade is an incredibly powerful pseudo-anthem effect.

Sevinne's Reclamation is a great multipurpose recursion spell since the deck is somewhat lean.

Coat of Arms is a big bomb that usually results in an immediate win with swarming token decks.

Sanguine Bond for redundancy and tutorability to complement the already existing Exquisite Blood.

Night's Whisper, Sign in Blood and Read the Bones provide some much needed burst draw to the deck.

Vilis, Broker of Blood has synergies with a lot of the "lose life" effects in the deck. It's both spot removal and draw in the same package. In addition to that it's also a big body to attack with.

Jeweled Lotus, some Moxen and Gemstone Caverns were added to help Edgar Markov out faster.

Mari, the Killing Quill is a small Vampire that may draw cards and ramp. It also provides deathtouch to some of our creatures. All in all a very well rounded card.

CUTS:

Herald's Horn was made redundant with all the low mana value ramp.

Plumb the Forbidden is actively making us lose tokens.

Dusk // Dawn is a good card but can actively hurt us if we've managed to make big Vampires. Returning small stuff to hand from the grave is a good thing but can be covered with other spells.

Cover of Darkness provides Fear but there are better sources of evasion available to us.

Urza's Incubator was cut because it costs a lot compared to our other ramp and most vampires we have don't have more than one colourless pip in their mana cost.

Grim Tutor was cut because this deck does not necessarily rely on finding any specific card (instead it amasses Vampires to achieve its goal) and it's rather expensive at 3 mana.

While FLawless Maneuver is a free spell it does take up a spell slot that could be a Vampire. It might be easier to rebuild the board than try to protect it in the case of a wipe since the deck has a high Vampire density.

A bunch of interaction was removed (Anguished Unmaking, Fracture, Generous Gift, Toxic Deluge) for the sole reason that the deck is aiming to be pretty fast and these cards are not Vampires that could create more tokens. Board control should be established via edict type effects (Gatekeeper of Malakir) and a couple of creature spot removal spells that can get rid of singular big threats. Otherwise all our tokens should be able to take care of the rest of the board and force unfavourable blocks from our opponents. This deck is not a control deck nor does it pretend to be one.

Nighthawk Scavenger was cut because its power is not guaranteed, it's more expensive than most of our Vampires and finally the double black cost is rough in a three-colour deck. It has good keywords but they're not integral to the plan.

Gifted Aetherborn was cut because it contains a rough double black cost, it has low power and while the keywords are very useful it's a French vanilla creature in the end.

Bloodthirsty Adversary is a good creature but won't make the cut because it doesn't really synergise with the rest of the deck. There aren't enough sorceries and instants to copy in the deck.

Blood Seeker is a 1/1 with no combat related keywords and an ability that relies on our opponents doing something with a relatively small effect on the board.