One question, answered plainly from the cards' actual text. First, the card at the center of it: Edgar Markov is a mythic Legendary Crea...
One question, answered plainly from the cards' actual text. First, the card at the center of it: Edgar Markov is a mythic Legendary Creature — Vampire Knight from Innistrad Remastered, mana cost {3}{R}{W}{B}. Its rules text reads: "Eminence — Whenever you cast another Vampire spell, if Edgar is in the command zone or on the battlefield, create a 1/1 black Vampire creature token. First strike, haste Whenever Edgar attacks, put a +1/+1 counter on each Vampire you control." It is legal in Legacy, Commander.
The answer
Most commanders only work from the battlefield. A small number carry abilities that also function in the command zone — Edgar Markov's eminence ability is the famous example, creating Vampire tokens when you cast Vampire spells even while Edgar himself is still in the command zone. Read his text above carefully: the trigger does not require him to be in play. That changes deckbuilding completely — the deck functions from turn one, Edgar's casting becomes a mid-game escalation rather than the plan itself, and opponents cannot shut the engine off with removal aimed at your commander.
Why it works that way
Magic's rules are literal: cards do what their text says, and keywords like hexproof, shroud, and protection have precise definitions that only cover what they name. Most table disputes end the moment someone reads the exact oracle text out loud — which is why the MTGBrew card database shows the current wording of every card. When a card's printed text and its oracle text differ (older printings especially), the oracle text is the official version used in play.
Where to go next
Check the exact wording of every card mentioned here in the MTGBrew card database before you buy or slot anything — oracle text is the final word. Then brew the list in MTGBrew's AI deck builder, which respects your budget as a hard cap and explains how the deck's strength is measured against that budget.
One more consideration
Consistency is the least glamorous stat in Magic and the one that decides the most games. Whatever this article's subject, the practical test is the same: shuffle up, draw opening hands, and ask honestly how often the plan survives a mulligan, an answer from an opponent, and a slow start — all three in the same game. Decks that pass that test are the decks that win pods, and building them is exactly what MTGBrew's tools are for.
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