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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

 We're in need of a special event for the August 29 extra Saturday. We previously had scheduled some still undefined companion event, but after the mechanic got nerfed, I don't think it'd be too interesting to do. The existing companions have also been overplayed by now, companion fatigue arised even before the change. So what to do, what to do? Any suggestions? Maybe something celebrating the fact that this is Tribal Apocalypse's 10th season?

Lavinia is the only card  generically referencing "the Tenth".

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LAST WEEK ON TRIBAL APOCALYPSE...

• Event Number: Week 495 BE
• Date: July 4
• Attendance: 15
• Rounds: 3
• Subformat: Underdog
• Winner: Yokai_ with Dinosaur
• Runner-up: pk87 with Ninja
• 1-loss: romellos with Werewolf, Takeoutree with Bear, _Kumagoro_ with Ooze, GringoP with Fungus, Deonmag with Dinosaur, Bandit Keith with Serpent
• Dark Horse Prize: lovetapsmtg with Pangolin
• Tribes: Advisor, Ape, Avatar, Bear, Dinosaur (x3), Fungus, Masticore, Ninja, Ooze, Pangolin, Praetor, Serpent, Werewolf
• Event link (with all players, pairings, standings, decks, and results): here it is

 Ah, Dinosaur vs. Ninja! What could better represent our Underdog battles? Yokai_'s winning Dino list used an ideal Gruul lineup without Human intrusions (no clunky Forerunner of the Empire, no Drover of the Mighty, let alone mana dorks that die to Marauding Raptor), which also allows for Kaheera, the Orphanguard as companions. Utopia Sprawl provides extra ramp & fixing, and the rest is just cheap removal, especially the old Punishing Fire combo with Grove of the Burnwillows, which we hadn't seen in a while and has even become budget-friendly after the reprint of the Future Sight land in Iconic Masters. Reason for concern?

 

 The Ninjas almost managed to grab their first event win, thanks to pk87's piloting skills and a thorough selection of all the best ninjutsu practitioners available, including big fellas like Fallen Shinobi, Higure, the Still Wind and Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni, all protected by Force of Will's watchful eye.

 

 And if that last sentence sounded expensive, why not play some humble Bears for 80 cents and still get top 4 placement? It's what Takeoutree did, even adding some flavorful noncreature spells like Grizzly Fate and Bear Umbra.

 

 That's still out of your budget? What about 60-cent Fungus? Fear of losing all the games? Nonsense, look at GringoP almost triplicating the initial investment! We're talking a deck capable of winning two out of three matches of a Legacy event while running Evolving Wilds as fetchland and Blossoming Sands as dual. It makes you think.

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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 July 10, 2020):

• Yokai_'s Dinosaurs: $86.36
• pk87's Ninjas: $188.61
• Takeoutree's Bears: $0.80
• GringoP's Fungi: $0.60

 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. MisterMojoRising's Beasts, $.3.01, 1st place on Event 484
8. Gq1rf7's Goblins, $3.32, 1st place on Event 154
9. Bandit Keith's Soldiers, $3.48, 1st place on Event 422
10. MisterMojoRising's Insects, $3.55, 2nd place on Event 201

 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 Beasts, $3.01, 1st place on Event 484

 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. Tribes currently eligible for the award: Demigod, Otter, Pangolin, 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 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):

• 10.27 (Week 496 BE), on July 11: Pioneer
• 10.28 (Week 497 BE), on July 18: Modern
• 10.29 (Week 498 BE), on July 25: Legacy

Check out the ban lists and the event calendar.
Next banned and restricted announcement: September 25.
Current watch list: Aether Vial, Batterskull, Cloudpost, Hymn to Tourach,
Necromancy, Shrieking Affliction, Sinkhole, Witch's Vengeance.

SEE YOU ALL IN THE #TRIBAL ROOM!

 

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