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By: Tribal Apocalypse, Tribal Apocalypse
Jan 02 2015 1:00pm
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 Welcome back to Tribal Apocalypse!

   Table of Contents 

  1. Last Week on Tribal Apocalypse...
  2. The High Price of Winning
  3. The Unhallowed
  4. Announcement Time!
  5. What's Next

Check the full archive for the "Diaries of the Apocalypse" series


THOUGHTS OF A TRIBAL HOST
by Kumagoro

 Here we are again, to salute and congratulate our fourth Tribal Player of the Year, romellos! Hip hip hooray!

 It was a long due accomplishment for one of the two players (along with mihahitlor) who won the most in Tribal Apocalypse history, and one who arrives to the goal, after coming so close last year, with a record 12 event wins in a single year.

 We'll have time to do some math for Tribal Year 2014 (in short: not a very good year, attendance-wise) in the following weeks, plus we'll also have the required interview with romellos where we'll finally learn more about our Turkish champion. In the meantime, let's get ready for the new battle, and especially the Tribal Apocalypse Invitational, that will happen January 17. The first 16 players of the 2014 leaderboard are qualified, but the players ranked after those are still eligible as reserves (those who will be present in the event room before the beginning of the Invitational will get to replace any qualified player who didn't show up. The ranking order takes precedence, so the #23 player will get to play over #37; the reserves will be ranked at the bottom of the ranking, they won't directly take the place earned by the qualified player they replace).

  1. romellos, 424 pts.
  2. MisterMojoRising, 346 pts.
  3. mihahitlor, 344 pts.
  4. Gq1rf7, 186 pts.
  5. ML_Berlin, 178 pts.
  6. _Kumagoro_, 164 pts.
  7. AJ_Impy, 149 pts.
  8. ScionOfJustice, 125 pts.
  9. fliebana, 123 pts.
  10. smawatts, 110 pts.
  11. Deonmag, 105 pts.
  12. Bazaar of Baghdad, 102 pts.
  13. Robin88, 72 pts.
  14. justcanceled, 71 pts.
  15. brettmemphis1989, 68 pts.
  16. milegyenanevem, 62 pts.
  17. m4vis
  18. arcbounddaylabor
  19. Gonzzy
  20. Golden_Lin
  21. pk23
  22. pfirpfel
  23. RexDart
  24. Dawwy

 As for the Invitational rules, it'll be like last year, but the 4th round "on the fly" deckbuilding challenge will have a new set of rules, which will be disclosed only right before the beginning of the round.

 Looking at the upcoming 2015 season, I compiled a new, more austere calendar (you can see it here). The monthly rotation will only include three formats now, with Regular being duplicate in an effort to lure back all those players who, reportedly, got annoyed not to be able to play proper Tribal Wars but once per month, and who couldn't care less about gimmick events. I'd rather try and fix the basic ban list, should problematic or too frequent patterns emerge (I can foretell Goblin Lackey going back to the negative zone eventually), than to further disperse the player base. Underdog and Pure are both well-established sub-formats, so they'll stay where they are (on the first and last week of each month, respectively). But we never found a viable third format to replace what originally was a second Regular event anyway, so second Regular it is, possibly with minor twists now and then, like the No Elves & Goblin week we recently tried (there might be a No Human week, for instance). Besides, 2015 is a year featuring just 4 months with an additional Saturday, one of which coincides with the Invitational in January 17. Of the remaining three, I salvaged two Singleton events (on May 16 and August 15), and we'll do the traditional Halloween event, this year happening right on October 31 (so you'll have to play while wearing a costume!).

 Also, and unfortunately, the Tribal Achievements have been discontinued. They made for a few fun seasons, but they had entirely lost steam and financial support (the two things are obviously linked), so they'll be retired until further notice. I can't honestly ask MTGO Traders for more support, since they already give the event more than its due, but if another sponsorship specifically aimed at the Achievements will show up at some point, we could reinstate them. In the meantime, congratulations to AJ_Impy for being the latest, possibly final Achievement Master!


LAST WEEK ON TRIBAL APOCALYPSE...

  • Event Number: 4.51, Week 208 BE
  • Date: December 27
  • Attendance: 15
  • Rounds: 3
  • Subformat: Pure
  • Winner: Gq1rf7 (Elf)
  • 1 Loss: DrunkenSailor15 (Merfolk), MisterMojoRising (Elf), romellos (Elf), Golden_Lin (Sliver), AJ_Impy (Wizard)
  • Underdog Prize: m4vis (Elf)
  • Tribes: Angel, Beast, Druid, Elf (x4), Elk, Goblin, Merfolk, Sliver (x2), Specter, Vampire, Zombie
  • Event link (with all players, pairings, standings, decks, and results): here it is

 And congratulations to Gq1rf7, too, for being the last winner of 2014, and more importantly to end up with a Top 4 placement in the seasonal leaderboard, essentially first of the "others", the players who couldn't keep the insane winning pace of the three leads. And the final win goes to Elf, in a year when Elf showed up less than usual, but still scored a grand total of 6 first places. Including this one, featuring a new twist on Elf builds: land destruction.

 

 All the deck's support cards are land killers (with Roiling Terrain providing some damage as well), and the only Elf Lord in the list, Imperious Perfect, is not used in a way that really calls for Purification, while the more powerful card in the build, Bloodbraid Elf, would be missed by Berserker decks more than by Elf decks. So I'm going to once again forego any Purification here. Which is a good sign, actually, as it means players are approaching Pure events trying to come up with new ideas rather than sticking to the safe old ones as long as they're available.

 To celebrate the new year, what's better than saying hello to new blood? DrunkenSailor15 is a new(ish) player that got close to his first win thanks to these Merfolks (in a great synergy nickname/tribe). A classic tribe that's still somehow underplayed and underwinning in Tribal Apocalypse (just 6 victories in 4 years), possibly due to the misconception that you absolutely need to build them like you do in regular Legacy, with playsets of Force of Will and Wasteland. You don't.

 

 And here we have our brand new Player of the Year romellos with the latest trend of Elves in Pure events: infect stompy. Now, this is a list that, should ever end undefeated (again: the first time it got a pass for novelty), would definitely see some Purification, probably in the form of Berserk or Invigorate.

 

 Finally, this is AJ_Impy's holiday deck (see also m4vis's section for his own take on the festivities): the (Lethal) Adoration of the Magi!

 

  


THE HIGH PRICE OF WINNING

  

 Here's the prices of all the featured decks, courtesy of the amazing Deck Pricer from mtgGoldfish (MTGO Traders prices as of January 1, 2014):

  • Gq1rf7's Elves: $42.96
  • DrunkenSailor15's Merfolks: $143.53
  • romellos's Elves: $169.99
  • AJ_Impy's Wizards: $83.44

 Do you know how much would AJ's deck cost in the paper world? $742! Think about it next time you feel like complaining about MTGO!

 The Top 10 Cheapest Decks that Went Undefeated

  1. morpphling's Goblins, $2.35, 2nd place on Event 102
  2. Gq1rf7's Goblins, $3.32, 1st place on Event 154 (cheapest event winner)
  3. MisterMojoRising's Insects, $3.55, 2nd place on Event 201
  4. Gq1rf7's Goblins, $3.58, 1st place on Event 169
  5. Gq1rf7's Goblins, $3.70, 1st place on Event 145
  6. Gq1rf7's Goblins, $4.12, 2nd place on Event 141
  7. Gq1rf7's Assassins, $4.18, 1st place on Event 147
  8. Trickerie's Golems, $4.31, 1st place on Event 138
  9. Gq1rf7's Vampires, $4.38, 2nd place on Event 188
  10. arcbounddaylabor's Goblins, $4.46, 1st place on Event 111

 NOTE: not adjusted to current prices; data collected since Event 85.


THE UNHALLOWED
by m4vis

 

 Hey, folks! I'm here to allow you a glimpse into the mind of a man who would dare to dream of an Elk deck winning on Xmas. Red/green, reindeer... it had to be done. I am compelled to love this deck, since I spent 3 months of MTGO budget monies getting a playset of Scapeshift just for this list. Yes, I know, I can use Scapeshift in other formats too, but I'm so busy lately that the tribal Saturdays are the only time I am on MTGO at all. What you are about to observe is not a carefully structured assembly of digital cards, but a window into my soul.

 I'll get you next time, AJ!


ANNOUNCEMENT TIME!

 Just to remind you of a few things:

 

 Cockatrice Wants You! And Badger, too! Be the first to win a match with these new eligible tribes and you'll win a 1-tix certificate from MTGO Traders. Remember: only tribes with at least 3 members are effectively considered tribes in Tribal Apocalypse (since tribes that field an equal or greater number of Changelings than actual members count as Shapeshifter decks). Tribes with exactly 3 members are allowed to play in Underdog events with 8 slots filled by Changelings, whereas nobody else (but, of course, Shapeshifter decks) can play with more than 4 Changelings in those events. And of course this will happen only as soon as the Changelings will work on V4 as promised.

 The Underdog Prize: During any event of the regular rotation (but not during the one-time special events), all players who are running an Underdog Tribe are eligible for a 1-tix credit on Pennybot. The tie-breakers are first the number of Underdog categories (for instance, a tribe that's simultaneously Endangered and Unhallowed will take the prize over one that's only Endangered), then the points achieved in the final standings. During Underdog events, only the True Underdog tribes are rewarded (those are the tribes belonging to all three categories of Underdog at once).

 The Up-and-Coming Prize: When a tribe wins an event for the first time ever (losing Unhallowed status), its pilot will get a 3-tix certificate from MTGO Traders.

 The Hamtastic Award: The Biodiversity Prize dedicated to the memory of Erik Friborg has started the first quarter of 2015. The quarter will end March 28. By that date, the player or players who registered the greatest number of different tribes will get a 5-tix certificate from MTGO Traders

 The Champion's Challenge: AJ_Impy, our reigning Ultimate Tribal Champion (still for a couple weeks!), has issued a running challenge of his own: play with a deck featuring 4 copies of a card he'll nominate, and win at least 1 match and at least a total of 3 games with it during a single event, and AJ will reward you with 1 tix (which you'll keep as eternal memento because it's the tix the Ultimate Champion gave you). You'll be required to prove through a screenshot (or calling either me or him as witnesses, but only if we're not playing!) that you actually played the card and/or activated the card's abilities at least once during the event. The current card is... Kusari-Gama! Good luck, folks!

 The Top Players Lockout: Every time a Top Player (either a Google Era Top 8, an Ultimate Champion/Tribal Player of the Year, or a seasonal Top 8) will end undefeated, they will not be allowed to register the same tribe and deck again for 5 events (i.e. they'll have to register a different deck or decks 5 times before coming back to the undefeated one). With "deck" is meant a specific, recognizable archetype (e.g. Wall-Drazi), which in some case will be linked to a specific combo card (e.g. Helm of Obedience). A list of the current lockouts is maintained here.

 Videos: Send us replays of your games and we'll feature them in these articles! Don't know how? Read this quick guide in 5 easy steps and start saving your tribal feats for posterity!


 WHAT'S NEXT

 The upcoming Tribal Apocalypse events of the Blippian Era (every Saturday at 17:00 GMT):

  • 5.01 (Week 209 BE), on January 3: Underdog
  • 5.02 (Week 210 BE), on January 10: Regular
  • 5.03 (Week 211 BE), on January 17: Invitational
  • 5.04 (Week 212 BE), on January 24: Regular
  • 5.05 (Week 213 BE), on January 31: Pure

Check out all the rules for the sub-formats!

Check out the full Tribal Calendar for 2015!

Vote for your favorite Flyer on the Topdeck Awards!

SEE YOU ALL IN THE TRIBAL ROOM!

9 Comments

Elf as the underdog prize eh? by m4vis at Fri, 01/02/2015 - 17:58
m4vis's picture

Elf as the underdog prize eh? You've really loosened the definition of an underdog :)

If your elves build was by Paul Leicht at Fri, 01/02/2015 - 18:44
Paul Leicht's picture

If your elf build was anything like some of the elf builds Ive brought "underdog" could be a fitting prize/title.

It's all Santa's people. by Tribal Apocalypse at Sat, 01/03/2015 - 08:43
Tribal Apocalypse's picture

It's all Santa's people.

8th Place! Not bad by ScionOfJustice at Fri, 01/02/2015 - 18:57
ScionOfJustice's picture

8th Place! Not bad considering I re-started playing Magic in April after being gone for about three years or so.

You're welcome to try, M4vis. by AJ_Impy at Fri, 01/02/2015 - 19:19
AJ_Impy's picture
5

You're welcome to try, M4vis. :D

It's on brah. I got your by m4vis at Fri, 01/02/2015 - 22:58
m4vis's picture

It's on brah. I got your number.

Tribal decks at high noon. by AJ_Impy at Sat, 01/03/2015 - 06:07
AJ_Impy's picture

Tribal decks at high noon. Have your second bring a shovel.

Also, sod it. I'll sponsor by AJ_Impy at Sat, 01/03/2015 - 06:05
AJ_Impy's picture
5

Also, sod it. I'll sponsor the achievements myself this year. No lower limit, 5 tickets a quarter, 5 for best of year, awarded quarterly. They're a fun challenge and I know at least one person was looking forward to going for them.

That's good news! We'll work by Tribal Apocalypse at Sat, 01/03/2015 - 08:42
Tribal Apocalypse's picture

That's good news! We'll work on the details for next week's article (email me with your plan).