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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. Announcement Time!
4. What's Next

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

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THOUGHTS OF A TRIBAL HOST
by Kumagoro

 So, Purification verdict: Elves (after getting to a new full set of 5 overall wins, up to 30) add Quirion Ranger to the ban list; and we still had something to add on behalf of Scout, and that's Goblin Charbelcher, just as a way to get rid of it in Pure; and now Construct got to 5 wins (see below) and qualified to a ban choice as well, and that's the always broken Metalworker, despite not being included in the latest Construct winner at all.

  

 If I take a step back, I realize I'm still not satisfied with this system. Some of the cards in the list are cards we don't want around in light of the creation of a "fairer" format; others are cards that make the strongest tribes dominant, and that's all the stuff that directly targets Human, Elf and Goblin; and some of those are there because we want a format that feels different and less "obvious", so for instance, Pure is a format that doesn't allow for 1-mana exilers. But then there are cards that punish tribes for being moderately successful, and in doing so, they basically ban those tribes. I mean, what's the point in playing Ally without Kabira Evangel, which is the card that gives Ally an edge? And are we seriously hating on Knight Exemplar? Is it really that problematic to face?

 

 I think we should agree on a list that shapes a good environment where all the archetypes are preserved (including broad ones like reanimator, colorless ramp and green ramp/tutor), while abandoning the ultimately silly idea of punishing minor tribes when they reach 5 wins, which are still ridiculously few compared to the numbers the Big Three pull. It will result in roughly 90% of the same cards we're banning now, but will make more sense overall, I think.

 Also, moving out of Pure's purview, AJ_Impy said in a comment last week: "It may be an idea to give Dragonlord Atarka, Hornet Queen, Woodfall Primus and Craterhoof Behemoth the Progenitus treatment and limit them to their tribes, given the regularity they show up, individually or together, as off tribe splashes in green creature tutor decks. I acknowledge we want the archetype to be extant, but we don't necessarily want a constantly used go-to set of creatures regardless of tribe."

   

 I think as far as the tutoring goes, trying to limit the targets is a slippery slope. Craterhoof Behemoth is the most powerful in that list, but it's also the card that gives smaller green tribes a chance to win, especially in Underdog. Besides, Beast is not a tribe that can (or want) pull off neither a ramp nor a Natural Order setup, so to restrict the Behemoth there is not that different from banning it altogether.

 Hornet Queen is even more crucial to the survival of green tribes, as it's mostly used defensively as crowd control against fast aggro. It has to be available to balance the environment and give midrange green a chance.

 Woodfall Primus is only one of a similar family of fatties cum removal that includes Terastodon and Sylvan Primordial. There will always be such creatures in green, we can't certainly target them all.

 Now, Dragonlord Atarka I'm more inclined to hate, because it has become a lazy choice for green, that pushed entirely away cards like Simic Sky Swallower. It's because Atarka is undoubtedly the most efficient finisher in green, apart from Cratherhoof Behemoth (which doesn't work on its own, though).

 Let's be honest, though, what we're really saying here is that we don't want these cards to be used by Elves (and to a lesser extent, Wall). That's the crux of the issue. Elves use these to fuel their endgame, again and again. But without these (and I wish I could instruct Gatherling to restrict or ban cards for one tribe only), wouldn't Elves just find their win somewhere else? Once the Elf ramp machine is online, does it really matter what the endgame is (provided it doesn't take 10 minutes of solitaire playing)?

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LAST WEEK ON TRIBAL APOCALYPSE...

• Event Number: 7.19, Week 332 BE
• Date: May 20
• Attendance: 19
• Rounds: 4
• Subformat: Modern
• Winner: BoozeMongoose (Construct)
• 1 Loss: littlefield (Human), Socanelas (Elf), MisterMojoRising (Human), Bandit Keith (Kithkin), Yokai_ (Vampire)
• Underdog Prize: Generalissimo (Spider)
• Tribes: Angel, Beast, Berserker (x2), Construct (x2), Elf (x2), Faerie, Goblin, Human (x4), Kithkin, Kor, Spider, Vampire, Zombie
• Event link (with all players, pairings, standings, decks, and results): here it is

 BoozeMongoose has come on strong with two first places in as many weeks. This time with a very fast Construct build (Blinkmoth Nexus gives it away), using Urzatron lands in place of Cloudposts because Cloudpost.dek is midrange at best and, well, also not legal in Modern. I don't understand what Spire of Industry is about, though, since there's no need of colored mana anywhere in the deck, it seems.

 

 And this is what Elves in Modern looks like, courtesy of a returning Socanelas. See? They tutor up Elesh Norn with Chord of Calling, because, why the heck they shouldn't?

 

 Spiders are showing up a lot, lately. Did they jump tiers? Generalissimo thinks they might. Or he just wanted to play Spiders, in a "graveyard matters" build where Shriekmaw is sorcery-speed Terror with further value.

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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 May 26, 2017):

• BoozeMongoose's Constructs: $367.89
• Socanelas's Elves: $217,25
• Generalissimo's Spiders: $14,53

 The Top 10 Cheapest Decks that Went Undefeated

1. mihahitlor's Warriors, $1.95, 1st place on Event 233
2. morpphling's Vampires, $2.25, 1st place on Event 285
3. morpphling's Goblins, $2.35, 2nd place on Event 102
4. JogandoPelado's Berserkers, $2.80, 1st place on Event 248
5. Gq1rf7's Goblins, $3.32, 1st place on Event 154
6. MisterMojoRising's Insects, $3.55, 2nd place on Event 201
7. Gq1rf7's Goblins, $3.58, 1st place on Event 169
8. Gq1rf7's Goblins, $3.70, 1st place on Event 145
9. Gq1rf7's Goblins, $4.12, 2nd place on Event 141
10. Gq1rf7's Assassins, $4.18, 1st place on Event 147

 The Top 5 Cheapest Non-Goblin Decks that Went Undefeated

1. mihahitlor's Warriors, $1.95, 1st place on Event 233
2. morpphling's Vampires, $2.25, 1st place on Event 285
3. JogandoPelado's Berserkers, $2.80, 1st place on Event 248
4. MisterMojoRising's Insects, $3.55, 2nd place on Event 201
5. Gq1rf7's Assassins, $4.18, 1st place on Event 147

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

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ANNOUNCEMENT TIME!

 Just to remind you of a few things:

 The Bolas Prize: The first player to win a game by activating Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker's third ability for lethal damage will get a 3-tix credit certificate from MTGO Traders. Be cruel or go home!

 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 certificate from MTGO Traders. 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 New Kids on the Block Award: When a new tribe is introduced in the game, or reaches enough members to be played as a proper tribe (i.e. at least 3 members, so you can build a deck that features 4 copies of each plus 8 Changeling creatures), the first player to score a match win with it will get a 3-tix certificate from MTGO Traders. You'll need a hard win, not a BYE or a win by no-show of your opponent. The tribes currently eligible for the award are Camel, Gremlin, Hippo, Hyena, Monkey.

 The Repopulation Award: Some tribes get played only once (to get the New Kids on the Block Award) and then forgotten. Never again! Register one of the following tribes three times in different events, then play all rounds of those events with them, and you'll get a 3-tix certificate from MTGO Traders. The list of these tribes, established May 5, 2017, is as follows: Antelope, Atog, Crocodile, Goat, Homarid, Incarnation, Jackal, Leech, Licid, Manticore, Metathran, Monger, Moonfolk, Nightstalker, Octopus, Orgg, Ouphe, Ox, Processor, Rabbit, Salamander, Siren, Slith.

 The Hamtastic Award: The Biodiversity Prize dedicated to the memory of Erik Friborg rewards each player who registers 10 different tribes (except Human, Elf and Goblin) during the year with a 3-tix certificate from MTGO Traders. You can go on and win the prize multiple times in the year, but you need to keep playing different tribes! (So if you manage to register 50 different tribes in one season, you can get up to 15 tix!)

 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.

 Wanna test your deck? Tell us when you're online, and look who else is there and when! All of this here!

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 WHAT'S NEXT

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

• 7.20 (Week 333 BE), on May 27: Regular
• 7.21 (Week 334 BE), on June 3: Underdog
• 7.22 (Week 335 BE), on June 10: Regular
• 7.23 (Week 336 BE), on June 17: Pure

Check out all the rules for the sub-formats!

Check out the full Tribal Calendar for 2017!

SEE YOU ALL IN THE TRIBAL ROOM!