Commander 2020 (aka Ikoria Commander) is due online later this month, through the Treasure Chests. So more Ikoria-based cards are coming, more mutate (but thankfully, no more companions!), and a few new members from tiny tribes, including the third ever Otter, and the fourth Badger (not counting one that's not online), Hyena, and Trilobite.
That Otter's ability is intriguing, isn't it? It clearly feels meant for multiplayer, but I bet there'll be ways to exploit it in 1v1 too. Johnnies, get to work!
LAST WEEK ON TRIBAL APOCALYPSE...
Event Number: Week 485 BE
Date: April 25
Attendance: 14
Rounds: 3
Subformat: Legacy
Winner: Bandit Keith with Eldrazi
Runner-up: apaulogy with Shapeshifter
1-loss: Nydethess with Druid, arcbounddaylabor with Cat, ThyShuffler with Wizard, Generalissimo with Wizard, AJ_Impy with with Warrior
Event link (with all players, pairings, standings, decks, and results): here it is
This event's final match wasn't actually played, since one of the two finalists dropped after round 3. The win defaulted to Bandit Keith and his Eldrazi.
I know, Eldrazi decks have become tiresome. Battle for Zendikar block really was a mistake. And, by the way, you can see there are no Wastes in this list, so Ghost Quarter works exactly like Wasteland against it. And guess what, if you actually go check on Gatherling, you'll find no successful Eldrazi build runs Wastes in Legacy (of course they don't, Wastes would make their mana base worse). There's one 3-0 list that did so in Modern, back in 2018. Just saying.
The other finalist was a Gyruda, Doom of Depths deck, concocted by returning tribal veteran apaulogy within a Shapeshifter shell. Which seems obvious enough, Gyruda decks aim to clone or flicker the demonic kraken as much as possible, and in Legacy there are a ton of ways to do it. The result is very very powerful. Then again, this was a $400 list that lost a game to a $10 Shark deck, so I'm not entirely sure who the joke was on at that point.
Here's another deck with a powerful companion, Yorion, Sky Nomad. Sure, it causes you to run 80 cards, but you get a guaranteed medium-sized flyer and some universal blinking. Generalissimo applied Yorion's companionship to his already flicker-ready Wizard list.
On the other hand, no new tech was required to these other Wizards by ThyShuffler. In fact, they're a Delver/Adeliz build with Brainstorm and Ponder feeding the miracle mechanic from Avacyn Restored.
Bandit Keith's Soldiers, $3.48, 1st place on Event 422
MisterMojoRising's Insects, $3.55, 2nd place on Event 201
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
MisterMojoRising's Beasts, $3.01, 1st place on Event 484
NOTE: not adjusted to current prices; data collected since Event 85.
SHOW AND TELL
Meet the new incarnation of the deck formerly known as "Tramampoline! Trambopoline!"
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. Tribes currently eligible for the award: Demigod, Otter (as soon as Commander 2020 gets online), Pangolin, Shark, Squirrel.
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):
