Edgar MarkovEdgar Markov | Illustrated by Volkan Baga

In a stunning turn of events, Edgar MarkovEdgar Markov has claimed the #2 Most Popular Commander ranking, beating out Atraxa, Praetors' VoiceAtraxa, Praetors' Voice. This news comes a few short days after The Ur-DragonThe Ur-Dragon claimed the #1 spot for Most Popular Commander, also overtaking Atraxa's throne.

The data is provided by EDHREC's deck database. Our database uses deck information from a variety of sources, including Archidekt among others, to aggregate this ranking. This new information came last night, on the evening of September 22nd, 2025.

Traditionally, Atraxa, Praetors' Voice is a notably ubiquitous commander option due to her versatility. The ability to proliferate counters as freely as she can is an ability that has widespread usage. Conversely, Edgar Markov and The Ur-Dragon are both specific typal commanders, only particularly useful for decks containing Vampires and Dragons, respectively.

Atraxa's Decline

So, why has Atraxa fallen slightly out of favor with players to sink to the #3 spot? There are a couple of possible reasons for this occurrence.

For one, Atraxa's decline comes a while after the end of the Multiversal Phyrexian Invasion storyline arc. We haven't seen much of the Phyrexians since, save for a very veiled cameo in Virulent SilencerVirulent Silencer from Edge of Eternities. We also haven't seen much new poison, except for that card, Bloodroot ApothecaryBloodroot Apothecary from the Bloomburrow Commander decks, and Persuasive InterrogatorsPersuasive Interrogators from last year's Murders at Karlov Manor. For reasons along these lines, Atraxa may be seen as a little less enticing than other options for counter manipulation.

The Rise of Edgar Markov

On the other hand, certain other reasons may also indicate why Edgar Markov and The Ur-Dragon have climbed past Atraxa in this race to the top of the popularity rankings. Generally, recency bias tends to affect the interest of many Magic: The Gathering players in new commanders. Both Edgar Markov and The Ur-Dragon were very sparsely populating the secondary market until quite recently. The Ur-Dragon spiked in population with Commander Masters, where it got four different printings, and then again with the Festival In A Box promo for MagicCon Atlanta. Meanwhile, copies of Edgar Markov were relatively scarce until Innistrad Remastered, where it got four printings as well, including one serialized version.

As a sidebar, while this note may be rooted in confirmation bias, I personally noticed that many players local to me opened copies of Edgar Markov when buying sealed product for Innistrad Remastered. One could wonder if the card in its many frames was seeded more often in the set than other mythic rares.

In any event, The Ur-Dragon and Edgar Markov have both overtaken Atraxa, relegating her to the #3 spot of popularity amongst players. How long will this last? It's hard to tell, but Edgar only has six more decks than Atraxa does right now, so this position may not last long for the patriarch of House Markov.

You can see more data about the top commanders on EDHREC here. In the meantime, I would like to openthe floor to you, dear readers! Place your imaginary bets about how long Edgar Markov will stick around in this #2 spot. Tell us if you have any other ideas about why Atraxa has sunk so low (in a relative sense). Sound off in the comments below!