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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. Announcements
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

 Here's a new thing: given that the end (of this Standard cycle) is near, let's see what's going to happen to the Standard tribes on October 4, when rotation will kick in (it's possible it'll be even earlier online). Starting with last week's winner, Dinosaur.

  

 It's easy to expect dire straits for the big lizards bird ancestors, since their Magic history sort of began with Ixalan block, which is going to rotate. Weirdly enough, though, it's Core Set 2020 that really pushed them into tier-1 status, thanks to those three amazing new members above. What the tribe will lose, in the current award-winning configuration, are these other three crucial slots:

  

 Will we ever see these back in Standard? I'm afraid the odds are very low, and outright non-existent in at least one case. In fact, Ripjaw Raptor could only be reprinted if enrage somehow became an evergreen mechanic, which I strongly doubt; Ghalta, Primal Hunger is Legendary, so it won't be reprinted in a Standard legal set, not even a core set; Regisaur Alpha seems the one with the better chances – it's a tribal lord, so reprinting it on its own is kinda awkward, but its first ability works with the second one, so it makes some sense.

 To replace them, we're currently left with the following trio (and it's worth noting that Throne of Eldraine, with its setting based on fairy tales and Arthurian myths, almost certainly won't provide any new member for the tribe).

  

 Sadly, we'll go from 76 options down to only six. Thrashing Brontodon is a good reprint, it could replace Ripjaw, even if its role is completely different. Ripscale Predator is okay, brings some degree of evasion, but its power level is clearly not comparable with Ghalta's. Huatli's Raptor is a good card, but does essentially nothing in a Dinosaur deck, and it's not worth the splash into a fourth color.

 On top of that, the Dinosaurs also lose key cards like Savage Stomp, Otepec Huntmaster, Drover of the Mighty, and Commune with Dinosaurs. Not to mention, Llanowar Elves.

   

 In summation, Dinosaur will remain playable post-rotation, but they don't seem likely to win another event anytime soon.

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LAST WEEK ON TRIBAL APOCALYPSE...

• Event Number: 9.31, Week 448 BE
• Date: August 10
• Attendance: 7
• Rounds: 3
• Subformat: Standard
• Winner: _Kumagoro_ with Dinosaur
• 1 Loss: Nydethess with Pirate, CruelHellraiser with Wall
• Tribes: Dinosaur, Elemental (x2), Pirate, Soldier, Vampire, Wall
• Event link (with all players, pairings, standings, decks, and results): here it is

 So, here's my little Dino deck that could. This was my fourth time trying Dinosaur in Standard, and during the three previous attempts I had only won a single game, while here I only lost one. Turns out that, in order to be good, all that the Dinosaurs needed was a 7/6 on turn two. Could you believe it? Like with my Warrior deck that got to first place in June, this is 100% the same deck I'm using in the regular Standard meta on Arena. Tribal doesn't exist only in Tribal Wars.

 

 And here's Pirate, another of the Ixalan tribes doing well thanks to the most recent additions from M20. Nydethess modeled it after the Standard Monoblue Tempo deck, complete with off-tribe Tempest Djinn. It's interesting to note that the whole deck is little more than one ticket on MTGO.

 

 And look at that, Walls with Arcades, the Strategist and High Alert did very good. To take them to the next level, I'd suggest CruelHellraiser to include Tetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive, for out of nowhere inevitability, and Tower Defense, for a whopping +5/+5 to the team for two mana at instant speed.

 

 Another meta deck that gets easily ported into Tribal Wars: Feather, the Redeemed. Despite Feather being an Angel, the tribe chosen by Bandi Keith here is Soldier, which feels right, considering Feather is a leader of the Boros Legion.

 

 One of the tribe that generated more buzz after Core Set 2020, Elemental, didn't express its power around these parts yet. Nagarjuna built it as a Flood of Tears combo, aiming to draw the entire deck and win through Jace, Wielder of Mysteries. It's probably an overcomplicated battleplan with not enough non-tribal slots to work properly. Maybe the correct approach is just go the midrange value route on the back of Risen Reef.

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THE HIGH PRICE OF WINNING

  

 Here's the prices of all the featured decks, courtesy of the Deck Pricer from mtgGoldfish (MTGO Traders prices as of August 16, 2019):

• Kumagoro's Dinosaurs: $20.55
• Nydethess's Pirates: $1.27
• CruelHellraiser's Walls: $1.98
• Bandit Keith's Soldiers: $4.94
• Nagarjuna's Elementals: $6.02

 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. Bandit Keith's Soldiers, $3.48, 1st place on Event 422
9. MisterMojoRising's Insects, $3.55, 2nd place on Event 201
10. Gq1rf7's Goblins, $3.58, 1st place on Event 169

 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. Bandit Keith's Soldiers, $3.48, 1st place on Event 422

 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. There's currently one eligible tribe for the award: Trilobite.

 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. Still to clear: Antelope, Goat. Already cleared: Atog, Crocodile, 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.

 We're on Discord! Join us from here, chat about tribal things with other tribal players and arrange tribal games on MTGO all week long! (Or your can just keep using our Google Sheets bulletin board).

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 WHAT'S NEXT

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

• 9.32 (Week 449 BE), on August 17: Modern
• 9.33 (Week 450 BE), on August 24: Legacy
• 9.34 (Week 451 BE), on August 31: Planeswalker Tribal
• 9.35 (Week 452 BE), on September 7: Underdog

Check out the ban lists and the event calendar.
Next banned and restricted announcement: October 4.
Current watch list: Aether Vial, Mutavault, Thalia's Lieutenant.

SEE YOU ALL IN THE #TRIBAL ROOM!

 

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