Vampires

Vampires have the beauty of humans (some of them even have the beauty of the Angels), and the strength and power of the beast. In Innistrad, they are in the very top of the food chain with only Demons and Angels able to contest their power.

Within the vampire community there are prominent families and a hiearchy.

One of the more preeminent vampires is Olivia Voldaren.

Now let us look at the vampire families. Markov Patrician represents the Markov line.

The Markovs are the first family of vampires. This description being true in both the literal and figurative sense since it was Soren's father who created the vampire species, starting with himself and his son.

We are given card pairs - one showcasing a single vampire the other a group - to introduce us to two other families.

The Stromkirks

And the Falkenraths.

Another card pair show us the two halves of the vampire character.

Night Revelers show the beautiful, elegant side. Vampiric fury shows the bloodlust and savagery.

Here are two cards that give us an idea of the vampires' place in Innistrad's social structure.

Both the dual-sided card Bloodline Keeper/Lord of Lineage and Vampire Interloper show vampires floating above Innistrad's towns. Looking on the hapless (but thankfully, not helpless) human populace - their prey. They remind me of sharks circling effortlessly in the waters before striking.

Newly turned vampires like the Blood Crazed Neonate shown below are nearest to the animal side of vampirism. Just as with humans, refinement comes with age (generally but not universally true).

Maybe I spoke too soon.

Rakish Heir doesn't strike me as a young vampire but he seems to be having a rather unrefined night on the town.

Now for two cards. One that I really, really like and the other one which makes me really, really angry.

This is the one that I like a lot.

Screetching Bat/Stalking Vampire, again a dual faced card, shows the classic bat-vampire, vampire-bat transformation. Of all the vampire cards this is the one that is most representative of the breed.

Now it's time for Victim of Night, the card that makes me angry.

It shows the cruel, slow, agonizing death of a vampire hunter under the hands of Olivia Voldaren. Death to vampires!

Far less tortuous but still depicting vampire cruelty is Dead Weight.

Dead Weight with it's -2/-2 ability is recurring card among Magic sets. This the "vampire" Dead Weight - the others depict other themes with the same '-2/-2' concept.