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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

 Throne of Eldraine is almost here, you guys! What is shaping up to be one of the most successful top-down sets in Magic history (though I still don't agree with the inclusion of Robin Hood references a midst fairy tales and Arthurian myths) is also going to originate several new creature types, a couple of which have the potential for a huge retroactive application. In fact, Mark Rosewater himself has stated (here, here, and here) that, according to what he knows – since he's not in charge of these things – we will see a massive proliferation of the Noble subtype onto whatever kind of nobility we previously had in the game.

   

   

 The same should apply to the other wide-ranging subtype that's going to debut on Throne of Eldraine – namely, Warlock.

  

 Warlock is indeed going to be a big deal in the future, as it's set to become the new default for black spellcasters, completing a type supercycle that has Cleric in white (magic bestowed by the gods), Wizard in blue (magic learned on tomes), Shaman in red (magic achieved through spiritual or elemental connection), and Druid in green (magic coming from the leylines i.e. the land itself). As Warlock is a gender-neutral term for "witch", we can expect them to get their powers from a deal with a demon or similar being. It's all pretty cool, and the update of old cards threatens to have the tribe launch as a major presence right away.

   

 (So many blood witches).

 But Throne of Eldraine doesn't stop at introducing Noble and Warlock (and seriously boosting Knight and Faerie), it also inaugurates other unprecedented (unnecessary?) types like Peasant and Mouse – the latter for now probably only on tokens, but it might mark a first step towards a tongue-in-cheek rodent supercycle with Mouse in white, Rat in black, Squirrel in green... and then Beaver in blue and Lemming in red?

  

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LAST WEEK ON TRIBAL APOCALYPSE...

• Event Number: 9.35, Week 452 BE
• Date: September 7
• Attendance: 12
• Rounds: 3
• Subformat: Underdog
• Winner: Generalissimo with Scout
• Runner-up: CruelHellraiser with Troll
• 1 Loss: Nagarjuna with Wolf, Nydethess with Avatar, ThyShuffler with Phoenix
• Underdog Prize: CruelHellraiser with Troll
• Tribes: Aetherborn, Avatar, Berserker, Dinosaur, Dryad, Naga, Phoenix, Rat, Scout, Troll, Werewolf, Wolf
• Event link (with all players, pairings, standings, decks, and results): here it is

 Behold, Generalissimo is back, and so are his infinite-friendly Scouts, a toolbox combo deck that exploits the interaction between Safehold Elite and Blasting Station when the former benefits from the +1/+1 counter boosting from Metallic Mimic or Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit, or the -1/-1 counter negation from fellow scout Melira, Sylvok Outcast. Saffi Eriksdotter is also there to oversee the proceedings. Why does Saffi have an Icelandic surname, I wonder.

 

 Good showing for Troll, too, in a novel build concocted by CruelHellraiser that ended up getting very close to achieving the tribe's first event win by overcharging Varolz, the Scar-Striped's scavenge ability with the two self-sacrificing creatures with the highest body/cost ratio in the game: Phyrexian Dreadnought and Death's Shadow. Neat stuff. The last time something similar was attempted was five years ago – and it didn't end that well (Varolz has indeed a terrible track record on Tribal Apocalypse, winning only 22 of the 50 games it took part in since 2013). Also, please note how this is a budget list with a mana base almost entirely composed by basic lands. Impressive, isn't it?

 

 Wolf is quickly becoming one of my favorite tribes (so I'm excited for the new ones from Throne of Eldraine) and Nagarjuna did them justice with this build. But I still remain the only player to ever win an event with the tribe. Twice! Ah!

 

 This Avatar deck by Nydethess caused some turmoil because, you know, Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis is a scary, meta-warping card. Angry mobs were assembled, torches and pitchforks were brandished. Look, guys, I get it. But can you maybe consider this is the third time ever that Hogaak showed up on Tribal Apocalypse, and the first one (which happened less than one month ago!) it ended up taking home a resounding 0-3? So maybe chill a little before shouting insults at the host because there are powerful cards allowed to exist in Legacy instead of being banned on sight without any data being collected first? Sheesh. Magic players, amirite? 

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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 September 13 2019):

• Generalissimo's Scouts: $44.36
• CruelHellraiser's Trolls: $25.41
• Nagarjuna's Wolves: $32.08
• Nydethess's Avatars: $153.58

 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 no eligible tribe for the award.

 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):

• 9.36 (Week 453 BE), on September 14: Standard
• 9.37 (Week 454 BE), on September 21: Modern
• 9.38 (Week 455 BE), on September 28: Legacy
• 9.39 (Week 456 BE), on October 5: Underdog

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

SEE YOU ALL IN THE #TRIBAL ROOM!

 

Art disclaimers. Revel in Riches art by Eric Deschamps; Show and Tell art by Jeff Laubenstein; Herald of Anafenza art by Aaron Miller.