Precon Upgrade Guide
Vampiric Bloodlust Upgrade Guide
What to cut, what to add, and how to play the Mardu Vampire precon from Commander 2017, commanded by Edgar Markov.
Commander 2017
Vampiric Bloodlust
One of the most iconic tribal commanders ever printed, and straightforward to pilot. Out of the box, before any upgrades. How we rate precons
Buy Vampiric Bloodlust on TCGplayer →Quick verdict
Vampiric Bloodlust is one of the stronger precons out of the box, and most of that comes from its commander. Edgar Markov makes a 1/1 Vampire every time you cast another Vampire, even while it sits in the command zone, so the deck builds a board from turn one. The Vampires themselves are good, with Vampire Nighthawk , Captivating Vampire and Stromkirk Captain among them. The weak parts are the lands, which nearly all enter tapped, a pair of curses that help opponents, and board wipes that cut against a go-wide plan.
TurnZero HQ rates Vampiric Bloodlust a 2 out of 5 on difficulty and a 4 out of 5 on power, as it comes in the box. That is our editorial read, not an official Wizards rating. The full hundred cards are on the Vampiric Bloodlust decklist page, and every other precon we cover is on the precon directory.
How the precon plays
Edgar Markov has eminence: whenever you cast another Vampire spell, if Edgar is in the command zone or on the battlefield, you create a 1/1 black Vampire token. That means a cheap Vampire on turn two is really two creatures, before Edgar is ever cast. Once Edgar is on the battlefield it is a six-mana 4/4 with first strike and haste, and each time it attacks every Vampire you control gets a +1/+1 counter.
The deck wants to cast as many Vampires as possible and then turn the tokens into damage. Lords like Captivating Vampire and Stromkirk Captain pump the team, Door of Destinies grows with every Vampire you cast, and Edgar's attack trigger puts counters on everything. Captivating Vampire can also tap five Vampires to steal any creature, which the tokens make easy.
A drain package backs up the attack. Blood Artist and Falkenrath Noble drain on every creature death, Sanguine Bond turns lifegain into lost life, and Malakir Bloodwitch drains each opponent for every Vampire you control.
What works out of the box
Edgar Markov ↗
Makes a Vampire token with every other Vampire you cast, even from the command zone, and grows the whole team each time it attacks.
Captivating Vampire ↗
Other Vampires get +1/+1, and tapping five Vampires steals any creature. Edgar's tokens pay that cost easily.
Stromkirk Captain ↗
A three-mana lord that gives other Vampires +1/+1 and first strike. With Edgar's counters, the team wins most combats.
Malakir Bloodwitch ↗
When it enters, each opponent loses life equal to your Vampire count and you gain that much. With tokens out, that is a large swing.
Door of Destinies ↗
Name Vampire and every Vampire you cast adds a charge counter, so your Vampires get bigger each turn.
Blood Artist ↗
Drains a player for 1 whenever any creature dies, so trades in combat and board wipes from opponents still hurt them.
What needs improvement
The mana base is slow. Almost every nonbasic land enters tapped, including three Guildgates, three bounce lands, several gain lands and Stone Quarry . A deck that wants to cast a Vampire every turn from turn two loses a lot to that.
A few cards work against the plan. Curse of Vitality and Curse of Disturbance reward every player who attacks the cursed opponent, Mathas, Fiend Seeker gives opponents cards, and Merciless Eviction and Fell the Mighty can wipe out a board of tokens that took several turns to build.
Upgrade ideas
Each upgrade below starts from something the deck does poorly and says what a replacement card has to do. The cards named are examples, not the only answer: if you own something else that does the same job, or a newer printing does it better, it goes in the same slot. Make one change at a time and play a few games between them, so you can tell which change helped. The general method is in how to upgrade a Commander precon →
1. Untap the lands
Edgar rewards casting a Vampire every turn, starting early. Tapped lands that do nothing else delay those turns.
What to look for Two-color lands in this deck's pairs that usually enter untapped. Check lands work well since the deck plays plenty of basics.
Cut, for example
Stone Quarry A red-white land that always enters tapped and does nothing else.
Cinder Barrens The black-red version of the same plain tapped land.
Forsaken Sanctuary The white-black version. At least the gain lands give 1 life; these give nothing.
2. Cast more cheap Vampires
Every Vampire spell makes an extra token through Edgar's eminence. One-mana Vampires turn that into two bodies on turn one or two, and they are cheap enough to double up later.
What to look for Vampires costing one or two mana, ideally with an ability that uses the tokens, like a sacrifice outlet or a counter payoff.
Cut, for example
Curse of Vitality Gives life to everyone who attacks the cursed player, including your opponents. It doesn't add to the board.
Curse of Disturbance Zombie tokens for attacking the cursed player, which opponents get too. The deck would rather cast a Vampire and get its own token.
Fell the Mighty Destroys every creature with more power than a target creature. With Edgar's counters on your team, it usually hits your own board as hard as anyone's.
Add, for example
Vampire of the Dire Moon ↗
One mana for a 1/1 with deathtouch and lifelink. With Edgar's eminence it is two bodies on turn one.
Viscera Seer ↗
A one-mana Vampire that sacrifices a creature to scry 1. With Blood Artist out, every token becomes a drain.
Indulgent Aristocrat ↗
One-mana lifelink Vampire. For two mana and a sacrificed creature, every Vampire you control gets a +1/+1 counter.
3. Protect the board instead of wiping it
This deck is the one that wants a wide board, so a board wipe of its own rarely helps. Cheap instants that save your creatures are worth more.
What to look for Instants costing three mana or less that give your creatures indestructible, ideally ones you can cast for free or that add a second use.
Cut, for example
Merciless Eviction Six mana and it can exile all creatures, yours included. In a go-wide deck it is mostly a last resort.
Crimson Honor Guard Deals 4 damage each end step to a player without a commander out. In Commander most players keep theirs out, so it is often a vanilla 4/5.
Add, for example
Flawless Maneuver ↗
Free while you control your commander, and your creatures gain indestructible for the turn. It stops a destroy-based wipe with no mana open.
Boros Charm ↗
Two mana: your permanents gain indestructible, or Edgar gets double strike, or a player takes 4 damage.
Unbreakable Formation ↗
Indestructible for your creatures at instant speed, and on your main phase it also puts a +1/+1 counter on each one.
4. Turn tokens into bigger threats
Edgar makes plenty of 1/1s, and the deck wins faster when each new creature makes the whole team bigger. A couple of slots spent on cards that don't do this can go to counter payoffs.
What to look for Cards that put +1/+1 counters on every Vampire or every creature when something enters or dies.
Cut, for example
Mathas, Fiend Seeker Puts a bounty on an opponent's creature, and when it dies each opponent draws a card and gains 2 life. That hands value to the table.
Worn Powerstone Three mana for a tapped rock. The deck's Signets and Sol Ring already cover ramp, and its curve is low enough without it.
Add, for example
Cordial Vampire ↗
Two mana. Whenever any creature dies, each Vampire you control gets a +1/+1 counter, so trades and sacrifices grow the team.
Cathars' Crusade ↗
Each creature that enters under your control puts a +1/+1 counter on every creature you control. With Edgar tokens, that grows the team twice per Vampire cast.
Win conditions
Most games are won in combat. Cast Vampires to build a board of tokens, pump them with lords and Door of Destinies , then attack with Edgar Markov to add a counter to every Vampire. Blood Artist , Falkenrath Noble and Sanguine Bond finish off players who stabilize, and Blood Tribute can take half of one player's life at once. The upgrades above add more cheap Vampires and keep the board alive through a wipe.
Who should buy this precon
A strong choice for a newer player who wants a deck that does something powerful every game. The plan is simple: cast Vampires, attack, and let Edgar make tokens and counters. There are a few decisions about when to sacrifice or tap Vampires, but nothing heavy to track. Experienced players will find it hits hard enough to stay interesting.
Checked against the printed decklist on October 10, 2026.
Track how the upgrades actually perform.
TurnZero HQ keeps a win rate per deck version, so you can change a few cards, play some games, and see the difference instead of guessing.
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