So, I've been doing some reading, and have been following ISBPathfinder's thread closely. I'd come to similar conclusions at around the same time, that Edgar works best with a very low curve, casting cheap vamps for value and recurring to hand. I haven't had an opportunity to update this list in some time, but found myself with spare time recently, so I've retooled my list with this in mind.
Really big changes, and this drops the curve significantly. I've added some of the strongest draw in the game, and leaned out the list of vampires. The blessing and curse of a low curve list is that the one drop vampires are not expensive, generally, but as they're not considered staple they can be hard to track down. I'd still like to get hold of Pulse Tracker, Quag Vampires, Guul Draz Vampire and Vampire Lacerator but dig some crate digging and could not find.
The deck is mainly 1 drops and 2 drops and has no cards that abuse the graveyard and has no artifacts outside of graffdigger’s cage. Without having counterspells I need a way to interact with my opponents.
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Modern
JundBGR
RW Blood MoonRW
Pauper
Delver U
Elves G
Control B
Commander
Edgar Markov BRW
Captain Sisay GW
Niv-Mizzet, Parun UR
Tymna and Ravos WB
Granted, these are all corner cases, but in the right deck some of these can really pull weight. I don't see a lot of combo, so I don't bother. Sounds like you have problems with reanimator combo? If that's the case, Bojuka Bog, Relic of Progenitus, Crypt Incursion, Scrabbling Claws are all great GY exile and could fit into the list as needed.
What sort of issues are you dealing with in your meta? Mardu colours have a surprising amount of answers if needed. Its known for being great judo colours, you just have to think outside the square to some extent.
We were playing a 4 person game and all my opponents were using combo decks, so I was the only one doing damage, and “the right thing” seemed to be to spread it evenly. Every game I got everyone down to 20 or less life and then lost to a combo. One game I got stonewalled by 2 opponents who had cyclonic rift in hand. But if I could use aven mindcensor to prevent them for searching for the rift or imp’s mischief to counter the rift or rest in peace so they can’t get it from their graveyard then I should be able to out-tempo them.
Thanks for the advice. I’m definitely adding Imp’s mischief and Bojuka Bog to my list.
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Modern
JundBGR
RW Blood MoonRW
Pauper
Delver U
Elves G
Control B
Commander
Edgar Markov BRW
Captain Sisay GW
Niv-Mizzet, Parun UR
Tymna and Ravos WB
No problem at all!
Tbh, Cyclonic Rift is strong enough that there's not a lot you can do if its overloaded and resolves. Note also that you can't use Imp's Mischief on its overloaded mode as it doesn't target. You can, however, Mana Tithe it. That being said, it's not the worst thing in the world for this deck. With the amount of one drops we have, casting them again should be a breeze - it's a vampire army in a can.
If you want to get really griefy you could play Stranglehold - definitely a 'can't get mad if it gets blown up' card though.
Oh, the one other card I forgot to mention for graveyard shenanigans is Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet - it's expensive, but there's a reason it is. Leyline of the Void is an option too, I guess.
There's blinking effects too - Eerie Interlude could do stuff - although you still lose your tokens. Really the answers you run depend what sort of combos your meta dreams up.
Personally, I think there's a really important point to keep in mind specific to this kind of deck. We want to make sure that nothing stops us casting cheap vampires to attack with, or Malakir Bloodwitches to bleed off opponents with. Not all combos are equipped to deal with armies in a can, and if they're not, they're probably ok not to run specific answers for. Every answer you run is two less vampires you can cast - one from the library, one from Edgar. It's an efficient machine, but the more contingencies you plan for, the less efficient it becomes. Cyclonic Rift can be brutal - but I think it's LESS bad for this deck than it would be for others.
All around upgrades, really. Drana is a strong 2IC, one drops are great here, and menace is perfect. I'm still looking for a few higher value pieces to add here: Shared Animosity Sword of Light and Shadow - it's the most efficient recursion we're going to get. Guul Draz Vampire
otherwise, I'm pretty happy with where this is sitting at the moment.
I might miss the Entity, but there's not often enough mana for that sort of sink anyway. I'd rather spring for Shared Animosity (and will do so in the near future). New Dawn has pulled some weight, but it does slow things down. I'd rather have efficient draw. Everything else I'm happy with, although the side note building 'pauper vampires' is that if you don't already have them in a box somewhere, crate-digging for them gets extremely tiresome. It took me 3 hours at my LGS this weekend to dig up 3 vampires total. I'm just going to order the next bunch online.
Fein is a little more pricey to cast than I'd like - not the worst card in the world, but one token a turn cycle isn't amazing. I've needed a little more board control anyway, so Command is a solid versatile add. Can clear the board for me in a multitude of ways, so I'm not unhappy to make the swap.
Vindictive Vampire comes in, in place of Hammer of Purphoros. Generally, because I'm not alpha striking, just swinging every turn with what I can, I'm not overly worried about haste. That being said, VV is high on the curve here, fairly similar to Falkenrath Noble but with a global ping. It might stay, it might not.
Been a while since any changes were made here. The deck is relatively solid for a mostly budget build. However, War of the Spark gave us one great gem:
Should be a solid upgrade, all things told. There's bound to be more coming here, with Core 20 promising some really solid low cost vampires in the common and uncommon ranks.
1 Dusk Legion Zealot
1 Stromkirk Noble
1 Guul Draz Assassin
1 Oathsworn Vampire
1 Legion Lieutenant
1 Skymarcher Aspirant
1 Champion of Dusk
1 Zulaport Cutthroat
1 Phyrexian Arena
1 Necropotence
1 Ad Nauseam
1 Wander in Death
1 Skyblade of the Legion
1 War Cadence
1 Child of Night
1 Utter End
1 Bishop of Rebirth
1 Ambition's Cost
1 Nameless Inversion
1 Herald's Horn
1 Go for the Throat
1 Null Profusion
1 Tormenting Voice
1 Faithless Looting
1 Necropolis Regent
1 Patron of the Vein
1 Teferi's Protection
1 Bloodlord of Vaasgoth
1 Nahiri, the Harbinger
Really big changes, and this drops the curve significantly. I've added some of the strongest draw in the game, and leaned out the list of vampires. The blessing and curse of a low curve list is that the one drop vampires are not expensive, generally, but as they're not considered staple they can be hard to track down. I'd still like to get hold of Pulse Tracker, Quag Vampires, Guul Draz Vampire and Vampire Lacerator but dig some crate digging and could not find.
The deck is mainly 1 drops and 2 drops and has no cards that abuse the graveyard and has no artifacts outside of graffdigger’s cage. Without having counterspells I need a way to interact with my opponents.
JundBGR
RW Blood MoonRW
Pauper
Delver U
Elves G
Control B
Commander
Edgar Markov BRW
Captain Sisay GW
Niv-Mizzet, Parun UR
Tymna and Ravos WB
Withering Boon
Imp's Mischief
Mana Tithe
Lapse of Certainty
Dawn Charm
Null Brooch
Kozilek, the Great Distortion
Granted, these are all corner cases, but in the right deck some of these can really pull weight. I don't see a lot of combo, so I don't bother. Sounds like you have problems with reanimator combo? If that's the case, Bojuka Bog, Relic of Progenitus, Crypt Incursion, Scrabbling Claws are all great GY exile and could fit into the list as needed.
What sort of issues are you dealing with in your meta? Mardu colours have a surprising amount of answers if needed. Its known for being great judo colours, you just have to think outside the square to some extent.
Thanks for the advice. I’m definitely adding Imp’s mischief and Bojuka Bog to my list.
JundBGR
RW Blood MoonRW
Pauper
Delver U
Elves G
Control B
Commander
Edgar Markov BRW
Captain Sisay GW
Niv-Mizzet, Parun UR
Tymna and Ravos WB
Tbh, Cyclonic Rift is strong enough that there's not a lot you can do if its overloaded and resolves. Note also that you can't use Imp's Mischief on its overloaded mode as it doesn't target. You can, however, Mana Tithe it. That being said, it's not the worst thing in the world for this deck. With the amount of one drops we have, casting them again should be a breeze - it's a vampire army in a can.
If you want to get really griefy you could play Stranglehold - definitely a 'can't get mad if it gets blown up' card though.
Oh, the one other card I forgot to mention for graveyard shenanigans is Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet - it's expensive, but there's a reason it is. Leyline of the Void is an option too, I guess.
There's blinking effects too - Eerie Interlude could do stuff - although you still lose your tokens. Really the answers you run depend what sort of combos your meta dreams up.
Personally, I think there's a really important point to keep in mind specific to this kind of deck. We want to make sure that nothing stops us casting cheap vampires to attack with, or Malakir Bloodwitches to bleed off opponents with. Not all combos are equipped to deal with armies in a can, and if they're not, they're probably ok not to run specific answers for. Every answer you run is two less vampires you can cast - one from the library, one from Edgar. It's an efficient machine, but the more contingencies you plan for, the less efficient it becomes. Cyclonic Rift can be brutal - but I think it's LESS bad for this deck than it would be for others.
In
Goblin War Drums
Vampire Lacerator
Drana, Liberator of Malakir
Out:
Wander in Death
War Cadence
Stensia Masquerade
All around upgrades, really. Drana is a strong 2IC, one drops are great here, and menace is perfect. I'm still looking for a few higher value pieces to add here:
Shared Animosity
Sword of Light and Shadow - it's the most efficient recursion we're going to get.
Guul Draz Vampire
otherwise, I'm pretty happy with where this is sitting at the moment.
Grasp of Fate comes in for Blind Obedience. Not a biggie.
In:
Guul Draz Vampire
Vampire Interloper
Bloodthrone Vampire
Legion's Landing
Out:
Sigil of the New Dawn
Crib Swap
Mirror Entity
Secluded Steppe
I might miss the Entity, but there's not often enough mana for that sort of sink anyway. I'd rather spring for Shared Animosity (and will do so in the near future). New Dawn has pulled some weight, but it does slow things down. I'd rather have efficient draw. Everything else I'm happy with, although the side note building 'pauper vampires' is that if you don't already have them in a box somewhere, crate-digging for them gets extremely tiresome. It took me 3 hours at my LGS this weekend to dig up 3 vampires total. I'm just going to order the next bunch online.
1 Rocky Tar Pit
1 Quag Vampires
1 Pulse Tracker
1 Shadow Alley Denizen
1 Reconnaissance
2 Cover of Darkness
3 Shared Animosity
4 Minions' Murmurs
3 Fire Covenant
1 Temple of the False God
2 Sign in Blood
2 Night's Whisper
3 Yahenni, Undying Partisan
3 Olivia, Mobilized for War
3 Pawn of Ulamog
1 Authority of the Consuls
1 Vampiric Rites
2 Oversold Cemetery
5 Fell the Mighty
All in all, pretty happy with this. Bargain basement CMCs, efficient combat evasion and pump for cheap, super efficient removal. Should all be good.
In: Bloodline Keeper
Out: Bloodcrazed Paladin
Should be a solid update, I've heard very good things about this guy.
In:
Caves of Koilos
Isolated Chapel
Vault of the Archangel
Out:
Scoured Barrens
Orzhov Guildgate
Orzhov Basilica
I guess just a slight manabase upgrade. I'll be interested to see how well the Vault plays out.
In:
Austere Command
Out:
Mavren Fein, Dusk Apostle
Fein is a little more pricey to cast than I'd like - not the worst card in the world, but one token a turn cycle isn't amazing. I've needed a little more board control anyway, so Command is a solid versatile add. Can clear the board for me in a multitude of ways, so I'm not unhappy to make the swap.
Vindictive Vampire comes in, in place of Hammer of Purphoros. Generally, because I'm not alpha striking, just swinging every turn with what I can, I'm not overly worried about haste. That being said, VV is high on the curve here, fairly similar to Falkenrath Noble but with a global ping. It might stay, it might not.
Child of Night comes out for Cruel Celebrant. This should be a really solid add.
In:
Cordial Vampire
Out:
Vampire Interloper
Should be a solid upgrade, all things told. There's bound to be more coming here, with Core 20 promising some really solid low cost vampires in the common and uncommon ranks.