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By: Kumagoro42, Gianluca Aicardi
Apr 20 2018 12:00pm
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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. Announcement Time!
  4. What's Next

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


THOUGHTS OF A TRIBAL HOST

by Kumagoro

 And we bounced back, attendance-wise. Can't really tell how, but I guess some degree of my "we're going extinct!" alarm came through. We'll see if it lasts. I'm becoming more and more convinced that Tribal Wars shouldn't allow turn 1-3 wins, just like Modern. It's not like Modern can't be cutthroat, it's just a matter of ensuring minimal length of play. The pool is Legacy, but since we don't have a sideboard, this makes harder than normal Legacy to deal with early endgame threats.

 Speaking of sideboard, I'm also doubting my previously unwavering position that the "no sideboard" rule is deeply ingrained in the nature of Tribal Wars, a crucial element (one of just two) defining what the format is. Maybe it's not. Maybe it was just an easy, pragmatic solution to having no way to re-check the tribal legality after sideboarding, but it doesn't mean anything per se. So I thought we may experiment with a sideboard week in one of the special slots this year (next one coming is June 30). But the only way I could envision it, since of course I share the concern (as anybody should) of post-sideboard lists not being tribal anymore, it's by having only creatures in the sideboard. This should still allow for some answer to specific strategies, shouldn't it?

 After all, we're the only custodians of the format that we know of, and who knows what would it look like by now, had it kept being supported officially by WotC? All formats are tweaked over time. We have 60-card Standard Commander with planeswalkers allowed as commanders now, who would've thought? (By the way, that's another special week I'd like to try, of course just as 1v1).


LAST WEEK ON TRIBAL APOCALYPSE...

  • Event Number: 8.14, Week 379 BE
  • Date: April 14
  • Attendance: 16
  • Rounds: 4
  • Subformat: Regular
  • Winner: Yokai_ (Bird)
  • 1 Loss: Bandit Keith (Kithkin), Socanelas (Sliver), Generalissimo (Zombie), totalhate (Wall)
  • Underdog Prize: lovetapsmtg (Leech)
  • Repopulation Award: lovetapsmtg (Leech)
  • Tribes: Artificer, Bird, Construct, Elf, Faerie, Golem, Human, Kithkin, Leech, Myr, Plant, Rogue, Sliver, Wall, Zombie (x2)
  • Event link (with all players, pairings, standings, decks, and results): here it is

 Four rounds for the first time this year (actually, since last October). And on top, Yokai_ with Aluren Birds. See, Aluren is okay in my book because it doesn't win within the first three turns (well, technically, it could, but you need to have everything in your hand, it isn't very likely).

 

 Next up, though with one loss, Kithkin. Which I consider to be a very underrated tribe. They can be lethal if played correctly. And Bandit Keith certainly knows how to.

 

 Finally, here's the Leech deck with which lovetapsmtg set yet another Repopulation goal. I want to emphasize the part where it's a Leech deck, though.


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 April 20, 2018):

  • Yokai_'s Birds: $208.04
  • Bandit Keith's Kithkins: $6.86
  • lovetapsmtg's Leeches: $0.78

 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. kokonade1000's Berserkers, $2.95, 2nd place on Event 354
  6. Gq1rf7's Goblins, $3.32, 1st place on Event 154
  7. MisterMojoRising's Insects, $3.55, 2nd place on Event 201
  8. Gq1rf7's Goblins, $3.58, 1st place on Event 169
  9. Gq1rf7's Goblins, $3.70, 1st place on Event 145
  10. Gq1rf7's Goblins, $4.12, 2nd place on Event 141

 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. kokonade1000's Berserkers, $2.95, 2nd place on Event 354
  5. MisterMojoRising's Insects, $3.55, 2nd place on Event 201

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


ANNOUNCEMENT TIME!

 Just to remind you of a few things:

 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, 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, Licid, Monger, Nightstalker, Orgg, Ouphe, Rabbit, Salamander, Slith. Already cleared: Jackal, Leech, Manticore, Metathran, Moonfolk, Octopus, Ox, Processor, Siren.

 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!


 WHAT'S NEXT

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

  • 8.15 (Week 380 BE), on April 21: Pure
  • 8.16 (Week 381 BE), on April 28: Regular
  • 8.17 (Week 382 BE), on May 5: Underdog
  • 8.18 (Week 383 BE), on May 12: Regular

Check out all the rules for the sub-formats!

Check out the full Tribal Calendar for 2018!

SEE YOU ALL IN THE TRIBAL ROOM!