Earlier this week, Magic: The Gathering Senior Designer, Gavin Verhey, posted a short video on Twitter explaining the playtest process for the iconic Vampire commander – Edgar Markov.
As a playtest card, Edgar Markov went through a series of changes – beginning initially as a six-mana 5/5 with a three-mana activated ability. The activated ability was later replaced with “Whenever Edgar Markov attacks, put a +1/+1 counter on each Vampire you control” and the keywords Haste and First Strike were added on.
Markov’s converted mana cost (CMC), power, and toughness were also changed several times – transitioning from a six-mana 5/5 to five-mana 4/3, before eventually being printed as a six-mana 4/4.
In addition to the design backstory for Edgar Markov, Verhey also released a follow-up video detailing the history of playtest cards.