Magic: The Gathering’s Innistrad Remastered drops on January 24, and with the new set comes a reprint of a coveted card. Edgar Markov is more than just MTG’s original vampire; he’s also the go-to option for any Mardu vampire commander deck. But who is Edgar really? And if I made him fight my favorite fictional vampires, who would win?
Horror MTG sets are the highlight of my year, so this is the kind of maladaptive daydreaming I do to get hyped before their launch. If you’d prefer to fill your January with other pastimes, here are some MTG Arena decks and MTG Arena codes that can help you out. Otherwise, join me in my world of hypothetical (im)mortal combat.
Dracula from the literal book Dracula
Beyond the whole ‘vampiric curse’ thing, Edgar Markov and Bram Stoker’s Dracula (the book version) have a lot in common. Both were alchemists in life (though we’d argue, Markov was the more skilled of the two, having literally used alchemy to turn himself into a vampire). Both also had help from demonic forces – Dracula supposedly gained his powers from the devil, while Markov was nudged in that direction by the demon Shilgengar.
Both vampires are ageless and stronger than the average human. Dracula has more abilities going for him, though. These range from telepathy to shapeshifting. Some MTG vampires share such powers, but the Innistrad vampires (like Edgar Markov) aren’t known for much more than immortality and unusual strength.
However, Markov has a serious advantage over the literary Count. Namely, he isn’t affected by sunlight. That means he can simply rock up to Castle Dracula at noon, stake his opponent, and be back in Innistrad by teatime. Dracula has a far broader repertoire of powers, but he’s also pretty much powerless from sunrise to sunset, giving Edgar plenty of opportunity to swoop in.
The victor: Edgar Markov.
Alucard from Castlevania
In the Castlevania games, Alucard is the half-human son of Dracula, though he is no ally to this esteemed vampire. Instead, he uses his supernatural strength, dark magic, and shapeshifting abilities to oppose his father. If you know anything about MTG planeswalkers, this might sound familiar – as the vampire Sorin has an incredibly similar backstory.
Sorin is also a Markov, and he’s actually Edgar’s grandson. When Edgar Markov discovered the key to immortality, he immediately set about turning his cherished relatives into vampires. That included forcing his young grandson, Sorin, to drink the blood of an exsanguinated angel.
Sorin became a broody blonde vampire, but he was so traumatized by the experience that it ignited his planeswalker spark. Since then, Sorin has left his ancestral home to travel the planes – and he’s often taken action in favor of humans over vampires.
In an official Magic: The Gathering story published in 2021, a freshly-fed Sorin was easily able to best Edgar Markov in one-on-one combat. I reckon that means that Alucard is in with a shot at victory.
Plus, Alucard might remind Edgar so much of his kin that he lets his guard down. Despite their differing views, Sorin has often gone to Edgar for advice over the years, so there’s clearly still a familial bond going strong. That might just be the thing that lets Edgar Markov down.
The victor: Alucard.
Strahd von Zarovich from Dungeons and Dragons
Strahd von Zarovich is basically a Dracula ripoff, but he’s a big deal in the world of Dungeons and Dragons. Like Dracula, he is extremely strong, able to transform himself, and can summon bats and wolves as allies. He’s a powerful spellcaster, and he can magically manipulate an enemy if he gets lucky enough.
Once again, sunlight is a problem. You’d think this would mean another sure victory for Edgar Markov, but let’s assume that Edgar is fighting Strahd on his own turf. Strahd lives in a demiplane where natural sunlight is blocked by magic mist, meaning he can fight at any time of day (or night) he pleases.
Suddenly, he and Edgar Markov are on much more equal footing. Things stray even further in Strahd’s favor when you remember that, in life, he had an extensive military history. He’s a master tactician who might even be able to outmaneuver another ancient vampire.
Strahd is smart, but we have to assume that, after thousands of years of life, Edgar Markov is pretty intelligent, too. Plus, Markov has another ace up his sleeve – numbers.
The card Edgar Markov has an ability called Eminence that makes him both loved and loathed among MTG commanders. It means that, whenever you play another vampire card, Markov adds an additional vampire to the battlefield. Its power levels are pretty puny, but Markov also lets you put a +1/+1 counter on every vampire you control when he attacks.
Basically, Markov can summon back-up fast and buff them quickly. Strahd also has summoning powers, but his DnD stats say he can only conjure up a swarm of bats or the occasional hound. Strahd does have vampire spawn, but there aren’t half as many as Markov’s – he is the father of all Innistrad vampires, after all.
The victor: Edgar Markov.
Blade from, er, Blade
There was only one vampire I could think of that might stand a chance in the face of Edgar Markov’s overwhelming vampire-spawning ability. Once again, it’s another vampire-human hybrid: Blade.
The movie version of Blade has pretty much all of a vampire’s strengths and none of their weaknesses. He’s not quite so impenetrable in the Marvel comics these movies are based on, but he’s still fast, powerful, and able to heal with supernatural ease. He’s also a master of most forms of combat, as well as – more importantly – vampire lore.
Blade has killed plenty of uber-powerful vampires, including Dracula (over and over and over and over). His specific vampire-murder training means that he’s perfectly capable of surviving a horde of low-level vamps, so he could take the fight to Markov even with a heap of vampire buddies blocking his way.
Blade also has one superpower these other vampires don’t, and that’s Hollywood movie magic. In the movies, there may be 100 enemies in an epic fight scene, but they only ever charge the hero one or two at a time. Just think back to the iconic opening nightclub scene of the original Blade – a room full of armed vampires cower before the single Blade, and he wipes them out effortlessly.
With that kind of power on his side, Blade’s a good match for Markov. And, now that I think about it, I’d really like to see Blade in a Universes Beyond set.
The victor: Blade.
Colin Robinson from What We Do in the Shadows
So far, we’ve only considered vampires that could (or couldn’t) take Markov in a good old-fashioned fist/claw/fang fight. But Colin Robinson the energy vampire doesn’t need superhuman strength – he just needs to stay out of Markov’s range for long enough to bore him to death.
Colin Robinson has the power of flight (something that, according to his best MTG cards, at least, Markov lacks). He also feeds on the discomfort people feel around him rather than blood, meaning he can easily drain the life from other vampires. If he drains enough energy, he has some pretty impressive healing powers – though it’s situational, and the rest of the time he has the strength and constitution of a squishy human.
This means that a fight between Robinson and Markov would be extremely swingy. If Markov could land one good hit on Robinson or overwhelm him with numbers, the fight is a no-brainer. However, Markov and his non-flying brood will have to catch Colin first. If they can’t, he’ll drain their will to live and their literal life before too long.
The victor: Colin Robinson?
If you’d like to think more serious thoughts about Magic: The Gathering, you can check out all the new sets coming up in 2025’s MTG release schedule. Or, if you’d like to get less serious, here are all the times that people thought Magic: The Gathering was dead.