Many people run pingers but I'm a big fan of running shadow creatures in my rakdos deck. Pingers are nice and all and I do run Thermo-Alchemist in my build but equip Quietus Spike on a Dauthi Horror and people get real nervous real fast. Works nicely with Sword of the Animist and Mask of Memory too. You can't really get the same mileage out of pingers in that regard.
Bloodcrazed Paladin: Replace one of the smaller vamps. I am not crazy about this guy but he can come down as a huge post-wrath beater. At two mana, he's better than some of the other generic vampires you could run.
Mavren Fein, Dusk Apostle: He is an obvious include. While not particularly broken or anything, Mavren does help the deck do what it wants to do, i.e. overwhelm your opponents by attacking with a legion of blood sucking fiends. Even if he only drops an extra token a turn, he does so at no cost whatsoever save for having to tap guys sideways.
Sanctum Seeker: Replaced Kalitas for budget reasons. This guy is probably the biggest boon to come out of Ixalan for this particular deck. Swing and deal 5-10 damage no matter what happens.
Legion's Landing: At first, I wasn't too excited about this card. Then I realized that it give us the ability to play the long game. The deck wasn't originally designed to play out long grindy match-ups but cards like this are giving us the ability to regain some ground mid to late game. It doubles as ramp and a mana sink. Combine with Skullclamp for silliness.
Campaign of Vengeance: Much like Sanctum Seeker, this adds to our bleeding theme which the deck tries to achieve through incremental damage as opposed to running cards like Sanguine Bond or Exquisite Blood which go for bigger chunks of damage at a time.
The deck stands at 96 cards including Edgar at the moment. Coat of Arms and Cathars' Crusade are likely going to the make the cut but the slots are open to suggestions.
What are your thoughts on Conqueror's Galleon as another source of late game recursion?
Vanquisher's Banner is another interesting option especially for the card draw. But at 5 mana, it is a bit up there on the curve.
There's also Dark Triumph over something like Rally the Peasants mostly because it is essentially free to play and could possibly take out an opponent when they least expect it. It would be more of a pet card but I enjoy throwing in some sneaky tech whenever possible.
I am not entirely convinced on the aristocrats angle. It could be fine. I'm running the sac outlets and pingers anyway but I'm thinking Bontu's Monument might be better off as Grave Pact.
I still want to test it though. It does hit everyone at the table. These things stack up and could be a good way to wittle down life totals.
@TheDeathMessage: Thanks again for a great post. I totally agree with Black Market which is why I don't run it in the first place. If I did want to produce more colored mana, then Nykthos is definitely worth the inclusion (and will be included down the road). And yep. You noticed that I am essentially black devotion because 1) budget as discussed and 2) believe it or not I wanted to max out my ability to abuse Vampire Nocturnus which is such a beater when active, especially with Edgar. Some people bend over backwards to fit red in for Stromkirk Captain or Olivia, Mobilized for War (but mostly for Shared Animosity which I totally get). I went the other way and focused on Nocturnus. You average, and I'm being very modest here, six vampires in play at any given time. With an active Nocturnus alone, that's at least 20 damage in the air assuning Nocutrnus and five 1/1s. It was his casting cost, ability and other cards such as Necropolis Regent, Dark Prophecy and Beseech the Queen that pretty much birthed the concept of sticking to essentially mono black. The deck I have on tapped out is actually called Mono Black Edgar so good eye on you.
Mana Echoes will produce an insane amount of colorless mana which is good if you're running cards with a higher casting cost or several mana sinks. My deck doesn't run either save for Dark Imposter. Still, Urza's Incubator on steroids is Urza's Incubator on steroids. It would be a worthy addition in builds that are more readily able to fully benefit or that could affors the mana base and actual card.
Being a long time budget player, I often try to focus on a main color while avoiding any double colored mana on off color cards. This has worked incredibly well for me and has made my decks consistent while also benefiting from tools that would otherwise not be available to me in my main color. It's the only reason I haven't added Cathars Crusade... Yet. Because realistically, I should be able to run and drop it on curve without a problem so my fears are not quite warranted. And it is such a strong card in swarm decks. I'll find a spot for it.
Speaking of mana bases. I've been testing my current budget base and have found that it is surprisingly balanced. I usually have access to at least one source of red mana in the early game which means casting Edgar on turn 6 is something that I can now do. The tweak was well worth it. Budget options and/or staples like Command Tower, the new Path of Ancestry, Sulfurous Springs, Exotic Orchard, Mana Confluence and Tainted Peak (and the less budget Graven Cairns) allow me to actually cast my general without breaking the bank and without bogging myself down by playing tap lands or having to worry about having the wrong colors or not enough of a particular color at any given time.
With regards to boardwipes. The creature density means you'll be up and running so fast it will make their heads spin. Be cautious of everextending but if you keep a couple of mid range beaters in hand, you can cast them post wipe and you're back with four creatures on the board ready to keep the pressure going.
If anything, I would probably add an Oath of Ghouls or another form of repeatable recursion engine and wipes will hurt even less.
Why remove Toxic Deluge though? I'm trying to find space for it in my list. It's just too powerful to ignore and Avacyn, Angel of Hope needs to die.
That or Sudden Spoiling which, honestly, I think is just better than Teferi's Protection. I'm definitely not jumping on that hype train. Sure, Angel's Grace which can save your board is nice. But Sudden Spoiling is way, way, way more versatile. Fog? Yep. One-sided wrath? Yeah. About to combo off, bro? Nope. You got counters? Nah B.
I already run Crovax the Cursed as my pet card. Mirri is one pet card too many.
Mirri doesn't do much other than beat face. Meanwhile, Irini Sengir costs the same and hates on Green and White enchantments, which are fairly common in EDH. She's also a Vampire Dwarf.
True, Irini is a bit of a non-bo with Crescendo of War but let's face it. It probably hurts our opponents more than it does our deck.
Boros Charm is good for sure but I am not too concerned with wipes since we can rebuild twice as fast with Edgar. Free token producers from the command zone are strong. The surprise double strike is cool though. The red lords are fine too but here's what I run:
I honestly think it's enough but I do realize that some of these are conditional and not necessarily true lords. They do have their pros and cons though.
Holy crap. Maybe I should run Grave Pact and Dictate haha. But in all honesty, my meta is a very mixed bag. Half the games I play in are actually creature light so I tend to avoid Grave Pact and Dictate unless I run a sac outlet from the command zone. They are great cards but a tad high up on the curve, even if I consider my list casual. They are too expensive to cast only to end up dead in half the games I play. I would probably stick with Deluge and Harsh Mercy.
The reason why I run so many sac outlets is that I have a fairly high creature count so Edgar will provide a steady stream of fodder that we can turn into value off engines such as Attrition, Skullclamp and Sadistic Hypnotist.
You might want to add Falkenrath Noble for some more life gain while protecting yourself from a suicidal Dark Prophecy. Sangromancer, which you already run, can also gain us some bizarre amounts of life.
I also run Malakir Bloodwitch. It's no Gary and I have thought of cutting it before but here's the thing: While it won't be killing the table as efficiently as Gary, it can still net you say an average of 15 life when it drops. Add any kind of recursion package (Phyrexian Reclamation, Oversold Cemetery, etc.) and you've got yourself a steady source of life gain and drain.
If you're desperate for more life gain, I would replace Blood Baron of Vizkopa with Whip of Erebos. It's not the best in here since you probably won't be able to abuse the reanimation ability but paying 4 mana to give your army lifelink is not bad if you really want it.
@TheDeathMessage: Thanks for the reply, man. I think you get where I'm coming from the most. The deck is pseudo budget so I can splash a few 10-15$ cards here and there but adding red would be costly especially since that there are the only two reasons to go red in my mind: Mana Echoes and Shared Animosity. Rakdos Charm would be another card I would splash but ultimately red brings absolutely nothing to the deck.
I have found Crescendo of War to be my Shared Animosity substitute. It gives other players incentive to attack into each other while you sit back behind your army of buffed tokens after it comes into play. Then swing in with impunity on our following turn with an army 5/1 vampire tokens.
Honestly, what else is there? Even Vandalblast could be subbed for the more versatile Merciless Eviction if you're looking to include that effect.
Extra attack phases would be another tool that red brings to the table but again ultimately I do not believe is the worth the include as most of these come with a RR in their cost and the deck, at it's core, is very B intensive. Running Mardu may work for you but I have my doubts, regardless of budget.
I do agree with you with regard to redundancy but there are still a few tools available to me in Orzhov or even Artifacts if I wanted more copies of a certain effect. I don't have access to the mana generation that Mana Echoes provides but my average cc is pretty low to the ground. Again, what most people seem to miss while brewing Edgar is that black vampires have up to BBB in their mana cost which makes colorless mana significantly less useful unless you're running X spells or heavy mana sinks. If anything, Black Market would be better in some aspects.
You are right about my opinion on actually casting Edgar. I underestimated his presence on the board. I'm in the midst of remedying that by adding a few red sources in the mana base but they will be added solely for the possibility of casting Edgar and not for splashing random red cards into the actual deck.
My small list of red mana sources so far. I am considering the signets as well.
@Jusstice: Some great suggestions! Much appreciated. You guys finally convinced me to add Mirror Entity. It's not a "real" vampire so I tried to avoid it but since I won't be running Shared Animosity, ME is a great global pump on a stick that also triggers Markov's eminence ability.
I've also went ahead and cut Exsanguinate. Since I am not running a real tutor suite, chances of pushing out a fatal drain are slim. Having said that, it might make it's way back into the deck if I ever acquire a copy of Nirkana Revenant.
Herald's Horn is in since it pretty much acts as another copy of Phyrexian Arena and more steady card draw is good in this build. The cost reduction, while not a huge boon, is a nice bonus.
The thing I found by running more 1 and 2 drops is that it gives you the ability to curve into Captivating Vampire or Bloodline Keeper. This means you can start stealing creatures or swinging with a fat army really early and can potentially steal games against unprepared opponents.
Going the recursion route could work but I had a hard time making the most of Markov while running with fewer creatures. My current recursion package includes Oversold Cemetery, Immortal Servitude and Athreos, God of Passage. Bloodline Necromancer is also probably going to find a way into the deck. Just need to mind the curve.
Added Settle The Wreckage
Added Cathars' Crusade
Bloodcrazed Paladin: Replace one of the smaller vamps. I am not crazy about this guy but he can come down as a huge post-wrath beater. At two mana, he's better than some of the other generic vampires you could run.
Mavren Fein, Dusk Apostle: He is an obvious include. While not particularly broken or anything, Mavren does help the deck do what it wants to do, i.e. overwhelm your opponents by attacking with a legion of blood sucking fiends. Even if he only drops an extra token a turn, he does so at no cost whatsoever save for having to tap guys sideways.
Sanctum Seeker: Replaced Kalitas for budget reasons. This guy is probably the biggest boon to come out of Ixalan for this particular deck. Swing and deal 5-10 damage no matter what happens.
Legion's Landing: At first, I wasn't too excited about this card. Then I realized that it give us the ability to play the long game. The deck wasn't originally designed to play out long grindy match-ups but cards like this are giving us the ability to regain some ground mid to late game. It doubles as ramp and a mana sink. Combine with Skullclamp for silliness.
Campaign of Vengeance: Much like Sanctum Seeker, this adds to our bleeding theme which the deck tries to achieve through incremental damage as opposed to running cards like Sanguine Bond or Exquisite Blood which go for bigger chunks of damage at a time.
The deck stands at 96 cards including Edgar at the moment. Coat of Arms and Cathars' Crusade are likely going to the make the cut but the slots are open to suggestions.
What are your thoughts on Conqueror's Galleon as another source of late game recursion?
Vanquisher's Banner is another interesting option especially for the card draw. But at 5 mana, it is a bit up there on the curve.
There's also Dark Triumph over something like Rally the Peasants mostly because it is essentially free to play and could possibly take out an opponent when they least expect it. It would be more of a pet card but I enjoy throwing in some sneaky tech whenever possible.
I still want to test it though. It does hit everyone at the table. These things stack up and could be a good way to wittle down life totals.
Mana Echoes will produce an insane amount of colorless mana which is good if you're running cards with a higher casting cost or several mana sinks. My deck doesn't run either save for Dark Imposter. Still, Urza's Incubator on steroids is Urza's Incubator on steroids. It would be a worthy addition in builds that are more readily able to fully benefit or that could affors the mana base and actual card.
Being a long time budget player, I often try to focus on a main color while avoiding any double colored mana on off color cards. This has worked incredibly well for me and has made my decks consistent while also benefiting from tools that would otherwise not be available to me in my main color. It's the only reason I haven't added Cathars Crusade... Yet. Because realistically, I should be able to run and drop it on curve without a problem so my fears are not quite warranted. And it is such a strong card in swarm decks. I'll find a spot for it.
Speaking of mana bases. I've been testing my current budget base and have found that it is surprisingly balanced. I usually have access to at least one source of red mana in the early game which means casting Edgar on turn 6 is something that I can now do. The tweak was well worth it. Budget options and/or staples like Command Tower, the new Path of Ancestry, Sulfurous Springs, Exotic Orchard, Mana Confluence and Tainted Peak (and the less budget Graven Cairns) allow me to actually cast my general without breaking the bank and without bogging myself down by playing tap lands or having to worry about having the wrong colors or not enough of a particular color at any given time.
With regards to boardwipes. The creature density means you'll be up and running so fast it will make their heads spin. Be cautious of everextending but if you keep a couple of mid range beaters in hand, you can cast them post wipe and you're back with four creatures on the board ready to keep the pressure going.
If anything, I would probably add an Oath of Ghouls or another form of repeatable recursion engine and wipes will hurt even less.
Why remove Toxic Deluge though? I'm trying to find space for it in my list. It's just too powerful to ignore and Avacyn, Angel of Hope needs to die.
That or Sudden Spoiling which, honestly, I think is just better than Teferi's Protection. I'm definitely not jumping on that hype train. Sure, Angel's Grace which can save your board is nice. But Sudden Spoiling is way, way, way more versatile. Fog? Yep. One-sided wrath? Yeah. About to combo off, bro? Nope. You got counters? Nah B.
It's just bonkers.
OUT
Mirri the Cursed
IN
Irini Sengir
I already run Crovax the Cursed as my pet card. Mirri is one pet card too many.
Mirri doesn't do much other than beat face. Meanwhile, Irini Sengir costs the same and hates on Green and White enchantments, which are fairly common in EDH. She's also a Vampire Dwarf.
True, Irini is a bit of a non-bo with Crescendo of War but let's face it. It probably hurts our opponents more than it does our deck.
OUT
Guul Draz Assassin
IN
Zulaport Cutthroat
Indulgent Aristocrat
Stromkirk Condemned
Captivating Vampire
Drana, Liberator of Malakir
Bloodline Keeper
Vampire Nocturnus
Necropolis Regent
Patron of the Vein
Mirror Entity
I honestly think it's enough but I do realize that some of these are conditional and not necessarily true lords. They do have their pros and cons though.
Update: I replaced Herald's Horn with Bontu's Monument. Same mana cost, doesn't net me a card but does bleed the table. Note that I am developing a pseudo aristocrats theme with Blood Artist, Falkenrath Noble, Athreos, God of Passage, Kalastria Highborn and to a lesser extent Malakir Bloodwitch and now the Monument.
Added Throne of the God-Pharaoh.
Replaced Bloodghast with Blood Seeker.
Attrition
Indulgent Aristocrat
Sadistic Hypnotist
Bloodflow Connoisseur
Indulgent Aristocrat
Voldaren Pariah
Bloodthrone Vampire
Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
Crovax the Cursed
Viscera Seer
Vampiric Rites
Holy crap. Maybe I should run Grave Pact and Dictate haha. But in all honesty, my meta is a very mixed bag. Half the games I play in are actually creature light so I tend to avoid Grave Pact and Dictate unless I run a sac outlet from the command zone. They are great cards but a tad high up on the curve, even if I consider my list casual. They are too expensive to cast only to end up dead in half the games I play. I would probably stick with Deluge and Harsh Mercy.
The reason why I run so many sac outlets is that I have a fairly high creature count so Edgar will provide a steady stream of fodder that we can turn into value off engines such as Attrition, Skullclamp and Sadistic Hypnotist.
You might want to add Falkenrath Noble for some more life gain while protecting yourself from a suicidal Dark Prophecy. Sangromancer, which you already run, can also gain us some bizarre amounts of life.
I also run Malakir Bloodwitch. It's no Gary and I have thought of cutting it before but here's the thing: While it won't be killing the table as efficiently as Gary, it can still net you say an average of 15 life when it drops. Add any kind of recursion package (Phyrexian Reclamation, Oversold Cemetery, etc.) and you've got yourself a steady source of life gain and drain.
If you're desperate for more life gain, I would replace Blood Baron of Vizkopa with Whip of Erebos. It's not the best in here since you probably won't be able to abuse the reanimation ability but paying 4 mana to give your army lifelink is not bad if you really want it.
I have found Crescendo of War to be my Shared Animosity substitute. It gives other players incentive to attack into each other while you sit back behind your army of buffed tokens after it comes into play. Then swing in with impunity on our following turn with an army 5/1 vampire tokens.
Honestly, what else is there? Even Vandalblast could be subbed for the more versatile Merciless Eviction if you're looking to include that effect.
Extra attack phases would be another tool that red brings to the table but again ultimately I do not believe is the worth the include as most of these come with a RR in their cost and the deck, at it's core, is very B intensive. Running Mardu may work for you but I have my doubts, regardless of budget.
I do agree with you with regard to redundancy but there are still a few tools available to me in Orzhov or even Artifacts if I wanted more copies of a certain effect. I don't have access to the mana generation that Mana Echoes provides but my average cc is pretty low to the ground. Again, what most people seem to miss while brewing Edgar is that black vampires have up to BBB in their mana cost which makes colorless mana significantly less useful unless you're running X spells or heavy mana sinks. If anything, Black Market would be better in some aspects.
You are right about my opinion on actually casting Edgar. I underestimated his presence on the board. I'm in the midst of remedying that by adding a few red sources in the mana base but they will be added solely for the possibility of casting Edgar and not for splashing random red cards into the actual deck.
My small list of red mana sources so far. I am considering the signets as well.
1x Exotic Orchard
1x Nomad Outpost
1x Path of Ancestry
1x Tainted Peak
1x Unclaimed Territory
1x Sulfurous Spring
1x Graven Cairns
1x Mana Confluence
I've also went ahead and cut Exsanguinate. Since I am not running a real tutor suite, chances of pushing out a fatal drain are slim. Having said that, it might make it's way back into the deck if I ever acquire a copy of Nirkana Revenant.
Herald's Horn is in since it pretty much acts as another copy of Phyrexian Arena and more steady card draw is good in this build. The cost reduction, while not a huge boon, is a nice bonus.
The thing I found by running more 1 and 2 drops is that it gives you the ability to curve into Captivating Vampire or Bloodline Keeper. This means you can start stealing creatures or swinging with a fat army really early and can potentially steal games against unprepared opponents.
Going the recursion route could work but I had a hard time making the most of Markov while running with fewer creatures. My current recursion package includes Oversold Cemetery, Immortal Servitude and Athreos, God of Passage. Bloodline Necromancer is also probably going to find a way into the deck. Just need to mind the curve.