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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. Show and Tell
4. Announcements
5. 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

 Commander 2018 was released in the paper world this month (my evaluation is coming soon), and once again I'm sad that MTGO is making it so hard for us to get our hands on those new cards. The Treasure Chests system need to be revised. I recently wanted to acquire a copy of Meren of Clan Nel Toth for my Golgari Shaman deck, and she's almost 20 tix apiece, despite being around since three years after her printing on Commander 2015, and then being reprinted in Commander Anthology, which makes her twice as expensive on MTGO than she is in paper form.

 And the Commander cards are typically useful for Tribal Wars, because they have a good power level in average (if usually involving multiple colors) and they're free to explore minor tribes that aren't often eligible to be part of a Standard set. In Commander 2018, this means for instance getting a new Kraken, Ninja, Nymph and Unicorn, all tribes with fewer than 15 members that could seriously use a strong addition (the Unicorn isn't that great in formats that don't use commanders, but still).

   

 And while its roster is comparatively larger, Minion is such a rare tribe to get a new member for that this is just the second one ever to be originally printed with a Modern border (after Tidewater Minion, which wasn't even a Minion at the time of its release).

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LAST WEEK ON TRIBAL APOCALYPSE...

• Event Number: 8.31, Week 396 BE
• Date: August 11
• Attendance: 8
• Rounds: 3
• Subformat: Standard
• Winner: Goblin_hero with Human
• 1 Loss: CruelHellraiser with Elf, lovetapsmtg with Horse, Nagarjuna with Aetherborn
• Underdog Prize: lovetapsmtg with Horse
• Tribes: Aetherborn, Drake, Elf, Horse, Human, Vampire, Wall, Wizard
• Event link (with all players, pairings, standings, decks, and results): here it is

 Red is the protagonist of this last stretch of the Kaladesh/Amonkhet/Ixalan/Dominaria Standard season, so it makes sense for it to be a force to be reckoned with in Standard Tribal Wars, too, as demonstrated by Goblin_hero and his RDW Humans.

 

 On the other hand, Elves have been taken over the top only by two recent releases, Steel Leaf Champion and Elvish Clancaller. They have an excellent lineup now; on top of the ones CruelHellraiser was running here, there's the always useful Reclamation Sage, too. Also, Vivien Reid is really great.

 

 Horse is a less obvious presence in current Standard, but it's the tribe's mythic moment thanks to Crested Sunmare, which has received two enablers in M19, in the form of Diamond Mare and Shield Mare (is there even a stallion in this deck? Dusk Charger, perhaps?) And lovetapsmtg jumped at the occasion of running the most Underdog tribe of any given event, as per usual.

 

 Even more so, Aetherborn is a tribe that started its existence during this Standard cycle, and it can fend for itself just fine, especially when piloted by our reigning Ultimate Champion Nagarjuna. By the way, the deck's name reminds me of a Kaladesh story with a similar title, Born of Aether, which is pretty good and part of the cycle narrated from the point of view of poor Yahenni, documenting the Aetherborn's heartbreaking approach to their limited lifespan.

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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 August 17, 2018):

• Goblin_hero's Humans: $24.99
• CruelHellraiser's Elves: $33.83
• lovetapsmtg's Horses: $8.62
• Nagarjuna's Aetherborn: $5.34

 The Top 10 Cheapest Decks that Went Undefeated

1. SirFalcon2008's Goblins, $1.54, 1st place on Event 289
2. mihahitlor's Warriors, $1.95, 1st place on Event 233
3. morpphling's Vampires, $2.25, 1st place on Event 285
4. morpphling's Goblins, $2.35, 2nd place on Event 102
5. JogandoPelado's Berserkers, $2.80, 1st place on Event 248
6. kokonade1000's Berserkers, $2.95, 2nd place on Event 354
7. Gq1rf7's Goblins, $3.32, 1st place on Event 154
8. MisterMojoRising's Insects, $3.55, 2nd place on Event 201
9. Gq1rf7's Goblins, $3.58, 1st place on Event 169
10. Gq1rf7's Goblins, $3.70, 1st place on Event 145

 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.

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ANNOUNCEMENTS

 Just to remind you of a few things:

 The Underdog Prize: During any event of the regular rotation (but not necessarily 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.

 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 and Hippo.

 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, Goat, Incarnation, Licid, Monger, Nightstalker, Orgg, Ouphe, Rabbit, Salamander, Slith. Already cleared: Atog, Crocodile, Homarid, 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!

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 WHAT'S NEXT

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

• 8.32 (Week 397 BE), on August 18: Modern
• 8.33 (Week 398 BE), on August 25: Legacy
• 8.34 (Week 399 BE), on September 1: Underdog
• 8.35 (Week 400 BE), on September 8: Standard

Check out the ban lists and the event calendar
SEE YOU ALL IN THE #TRIBAL ROOM!

Art disclaimers. Revel in Riches art by Eric Deschamps; Herald of Anafenza art by Aaron Miller.