This is the first in a series of profiles of some of the planeswalkers appearing in War of the Spark. In this article, we look at the life and adventures of Sorin Markov, a vampiric aristocrat from the plane of Innistrad.
Sorin’s Origin
Thousands of years ago, Sorin’s grandfather Edgar Markov made a deal with a demon to protect his people from famine by turning them into vampires. When Sorin was transformed, the trauma of becoming a vampire ignited his planeswalker spark. Some time later, he met Nahiri, a planeswalker from the plane of Zendikar, and became her mentor. The two of them worked together with the elder dragon Ugin to protect Zendikar from the Eldrazi titans, trapping them underground. Sorin promised to return to Zendikar if the the Eldrazi ever escaped and help to seal them away again.
Sorin returned to Innistrad and continued his grandfather’s work, protecting Innistrad’s vampires and their human food supply from the plane’s other monsters. He created the archangel Avacyn to protect the humans, and the Helvault to lock away dangerous demons and keep away threats from outside the plane. During this time, the Eldrazi tried to escape from their prison on Zendikar, but the Helvault prevented Sorin from hearing Nahiri’s call for help.
Rivalry with Nahiri
After barely containing the Eldrazi, Nahiri came to Innistrad to challenge Sorin on his broken promise. Not content with Sorin’s explanation of how the Helvault worked, Nahiri attacked Sorin. Sorin ordered Avacyn to fight Nahiri, and threw both of them into the Helvault. Satisfied that his plane was safe, he left Innistrad to seek adventure on other planes.
When Sorin returned to Innistrad, he found that Nahiri and Avacyn were no longer in the Helvault. Nahiri had vowed to get revenge on Sorin for letting the Eldrazi escape again and destroy most of Zendikar. She lured the Eldrazi titan Emrakul to Innistrad, hoping she would destroy Innistrad as she had ravaged Zendikar. Emrakul’s presence warped the land and people of Innistrad, driving Avacyn insane and leading her to attack her own people to try to cleanse them of Emrakul’s presence. Sorin was forced to destroy Avacyn, allowing Emrakul to emerge on Innistrad.
Sorin and Nahiri continued to fight until Nahiri sealed Sorin into a stone wall and abandoned him to watch Emrakul destroy his plane. But his imprisonment was apparently not permanent: in War of the Spark, Sorin appears on Ravnica, ready to settle his score with Nahiri.
Vengeful Bloodlord
The following decklist represents Sorin as the leader of
Innistrad’s vampires and protector of their human food supply. It sacrifices creatures to hungry vampires,
and uses Blood Artist effects to turn those sacrifices into damage.
Creatures
4 Bloodflow Connoisseur
4 Blood Artist
2 Elenda, the Dusk Rose
4 Indulgent Aristocrat
4 Kalastria Highborn
2 Malakir Bloodwitch
Noncreature Spells
2 Sorin, Vengeful Bloodlord
4 Vindicate
2 Sorin, Solemn Visitor
3 Campaign of Vengeance
2 Sorin, Grim Nemesis
3 The Eldest Reborn
Lands
4 Isolated Chapel
4 Godless Shrine
4 Mortuary Mire
4 Plains
8 Swamp
Alex is an Azorius bureaucrat who dreams of joining the Selesnya Conclave. Their favorite color of mana is green, and they love brewing for Commander variants.