Just a few tweaks to Vampiric Lineage

Out of the box this deck is really good. I have to admit that nothing I am doing is necessary to make the deck function. 

 Commander

Stefan, Maurer Progenitor

Appropriately Strefan, Maurer Progenitor sets the tone for the rest of the deck. He is going to generate some Blood Tokens for you. I love the Blood Token mechanic. It sets this deck apart from other Vampire Commanders. He also rewards you for leaning into Blood Tokens  by giving you the option to sacrifice a pair of them to drop a Vampire from your hand tapped and attacking with the added bonus of a turn of indestructible. That is brilliant. Gross, but brilliant. 

There is a temptation to drop in steady damage dealers like Dogged Pursuit to exploit getting Blood Tokens each turn. I stayed away from that personally because I have a creatureless Rakdos Enchantment/ Artifact Commander deck I am going to rebuild and write a post about. 

Creature (35)

1 Timothar, Baron of Bats

Dark skinned Vampire Akouma is awesome both mechanically and thematically. One of your vamps dies and for 1 mana you turn it into a bat. When the bat bites the other player and drinks some blood, poof, your vampire is back. All the while the vampire card is protected from graveyard hate. 

1 Crossway Troublemakers

I really like that WotC has leaned into the popularity of Commander. I also appreciate that people tear these decks apart and sell off staples for a profit. This beauty will drop into any Vampire Commander which include the color Black. I ordered an extra to update my Orzhov Commander. The value is super obvious.

1 Kamber, the Plunderer

I said it when talking about Spirit Squadron, but I really like the partner mechanic. Kamber is gross on her own gaining you life and generating those invaluable Blood tokens whenever one of your creatures dies. So solid. 

1 Shadowgrange Archfiend Olivia, Crimson Bride 

I have wanted to include a version of Olivia in a deck for a long time, but I really struggle with the madness and discard-centric decks. With Crimson Bride we finally have a vampire focused version that works well in this Commander. Best of all with several other legendary Vampires in the deck you can likely keep your returned vampires on the field fairly easily barring those infamous Commander board wipes.  

1 Laurine, the Diversion

Honestly, after I get a chance to playtest this deck, I suspect that Laurine end up coming out. I kept her in for the partnering effect. She doesn't have a great amount of synergy. I simply do not have a card at hand I want to get into the deck. Maybe Zagras.... hmmm. 

1 Markov Enforcer

I adore the fight mechanic and think it plays better in red than green. Drop the Markov Enforcer, off a creature or commander, and create a blood token. This is GOLD. 

1 Midnight Arsonist

This is a vampire Shatterstorm. In format, this could be a game changer. Also, burning all of your opponents mana rocks in one turn in just mean. 

1 Scion of Opulence

In a deck without a bunch of card draw this is excellent. It gave me another reason to leave in the usual suspects of mana rocks plus it exploits another use for Blood Tokens. 

1 Anowon, the Ruin Sage

1 Bloodlord of Vaasgoth

1 Bloodtracker

1 Butcher of Malakir

1 Champion of Dusk

1 Cordial Vampire

1 Dark Impostor

1 Malakir Bloodwitch

1 Necropolis Regent

1 Nirkana Revenant Anje, Maid of Dishonor

Anje just looks like she doesn't want to be at the wedding. She is drinking herself silly to compensate. She is enough of a Blood Token generator if she wasn't limited to once per turn she would be the Commander. For 2 of any color though she generates 2 damage, gains you 2 life and provides great synergy for other pieces of the deck particularly Strefan giving you back a Blood Token. 

1 Patron of the Vein

1 Sanctum Seeker

1 Stromkirk Condemned

1 Anje's Ravager Voldaren Bloodcaster

1 Bloodsworn Steward

1 Crimson Honor Guard

1 Falkenrath Gorger Olivia’s Attendant’s

1 Stromkirk Occultist Vampire Socialite

1 Vampiric Dragon Bloodline Keeper// Lord of Lineage

1 Bloodtithe Harvester

1 Blood Artist

1 Bloodline Necromancer

1 Falkenrath Noble

1 Indulgent Aristocrat

1 Vampire Nighthawk

1 Rakish Heir

1 Stromkirk Captain

Sorcery (12)

1 Olivia's Wrath

1 Predators' Hour

1 Imposing Grandeur Haunting Voyage

1 Sinister Waltz

1 Damnable Pact Bloody Betrayal

1 Avacyn's Judgment Grisly Ritual

1 Blasphemous Act

1 Mob Rule

1 Ancient Craving

1 Feed the Swarm

1 Night's Whisper

1 Vandalblast

Instant (2)

1 Urge to Feed

1 Rakdos Charm

Artifact (9)

1 Glass-Cast Heart

1 Arcane Signet

1 Charcoal Diamond

1 Commander's Sphere

1 Fire Diamond

1 Rakdos Signet

1 Sol Ring

1 Swiftfoot Boots Vampires’ Vengeance

1 Unstable Obelisk

Enchantment (4)

1 Arterial Alchemy

1 Underworld Connections

1 Molten Echoes

1 Stensia Masquerade

Land (37)

1 Exotic Orchard

1 Foreboding Ruins

1 Shadowblood Ridge

1 Smoldering Marsh

1 Temple of Malice

1 Command Tower

1 Myriad Landscape

1 Path of Ancestry

1 Rakdos Carnarium

1 Tainted Peak

1 Temple of the False God

1 Unclaimed Territory

14 Swamp

11 Mountain

Most of the rest of the changes to do the deck are just performance based. They add a bit of synergy or just fit because of the vampire tribe. Once I get in some games, I suspect I will revisit the landbase and a few other aspects of the deck. 

There is a completely different path you can lean into with Rakdos Vampires building out discard with Madness, but it requires quite a bit more of a retrofit. Since I am not a fan of madness, I don't really want to build it, but I would love to look over someone else's Rakdos madness with the cards made available by Vampiric Lineage.