In case you missed it, the release of Ikoria: Lair of Behemothshas been delayed to May 15 (except in Asia, where it's moved back to April 17 instead), with no prerelease, due to the coronavirus pandemic. Good news is, the spoilers will start on April 2 (to end pretty quickly on April 10), and digital platforms will release on April 16. So get ready to receive a robust dose of majestic, colossal monsters like Brushwagg, Squirrel and the newly introduced Otter, finally available to field in our magical fantasy wars.
Doesn't it look threatening?
LAST WEEK ON TRIBAL APOCALYPSE...
Event Number: Week 480 BE
Date: March 21
Attendance: 11
Rounds: 3
Subformat: Pioneer
Winner: Generalissimo with Dragon
1-loss: ThyShuffler with Vampire, Nydethess with Merfolk, Bandit Keith with Vampire, BoozeMongoose with Spirit
Event link (with all players, pairings, standings, decks, and results): here it is
Dracarys! In a somewhat surprising turn of events, Dragon reached the first place of an event (in Pioneer, which is still not super-easy), for the first time since 2013, the third time overall – and the previous was even a Commander event (won by endless_nameless with a Scion of the Ur-Dragon deck), while the original Dragon victory is so old (event 17, won by raf.azevedo), no document exists of it, but I bet it was a Dragonstorm build. So cheers to Generalissimo for achieving the very first event win where the flying lizards just get cast, drop onto the battlefield and swing, assisted by exquisite tribal cards like Shivan Fire and Sarkhan, Fireblood.
We already knew Vampires are strong in Pioneer, so that's not surprise they took two placements in the Top 4 with seasonal leaders ThyShuffler and Bandit Keith. What about Merfolk, though? What do they look like in Pioneer? Well, according to remaining Top 4 player, Nydethess, they look similar to their blue-green incarnation from last year's Ixalan Standard.
We bid a warm welcome to BoozeMongoose, back in the battle after quite a while. Spirit is a major tribe in Modern, but has something to say in Pioneer too, going Bant for Collected Company.
This deck didn't bring home a really unforgettable result, but deathtouch tribal with the usually overlooked Vraska, Swarm's Eminence as lord? It's cool enough a way for building Assassin to deserve a feature. Courtesy of AJ_Impy.
Finally, the Demigods have been aiming for that first match win for weeks now, but still no cigar. And not for the lack of effort from lovetapsmtg, who's trying anything with the tribe, from Hero's Blade to Sword of the Chosen. The legendary sorcery package, including Yawgmoth's Vile Offering and especially Urza's Ruinous Blast might just work, but didn't yet.
The Top 5 Cheapest Non-Goblin Decks that Went Undefeated
mihahitlor's Warriors, $1.95, 1st place on Event 233
morpphling's Vampires, $2.25, 1st place on Event 285
JogandoPelado's Berserkers, $2.80, 1st place on Event 248
kokonade1000's Berserkers, $2.95, 2nd place on Event 354
Bandit Keith's Soldiers, $3.48, 1st place on Event 422
NOTE: not adjusted to current prices; data collected since Event 85.
SHOW AND TELL
I present to you: Generalissimo's Dragon KO!
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 currently is one eligible tribe for the award: Demigod.
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. Already cleared: 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.
We're on Discord! Join us fromhere, 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).
WHAT'S NEXT
The upcoming Tribal Apocalypse events of the Blippian Era (every Saturday at 17:00 GMT):
