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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

 The Zendikar Rising spoilers are in full bloom. Nissa is Golgari now (and not too great, I'm afraid), the lands have two faces, and the Dungeons & Dragons cross-pollitation is coming.

  

 Speaking of the party mechanic, does this suggest any possible tribal application to you? At first sight, I'd go with no, since four tribes batched together doesn't seem of any interest for a special event. I mean, I guess you could do a Tribal Party with all decks requiring equal part of each subtype (they don't overlap much, so by forcing, say, 5 creatures of each, you'd probably end up with 20 distinct cards). And in a Legacy pool, the party payoff cards would be paired with the best possible enablers. But would that be any fun?

   

 For the record, there are 15 mythic Clerics, 7 mythic Rogues (two of which only due to reprints), 26 mythic Warriors, and about 50 mythic Wizards.

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LAST WEEK ON TRIBAL APOCALYPSE...

• Event Number: Week 503 BE
• Date: August 29
• Attendance: 10
• Rounds: 3
• Subformat: Modern
• Winner: AJ_Impy with Goblin
• Runner-up: Nagarjuna with Elf
• 1-loss: Yokai_ with Construct, Bandit Keith with Beast, Nydethess with Eldrazi
• Dark Horse Prize: lovetapsmtg with Pilot
• Tribes: Beast, Construct, Eldrazi (x2), Elf, Goblin, Pilot, Shaman, Vampire, Wizard
• Event link (with all players, pairings, standings, decks, and results): here it is

 Final round: Goblin vs. Elf. What is this, 2012? (Or 2003, for that matter). Well, this most classic of showdowns actually took an intriguing form this time around. For one, the ultimately victorious Goblins fielded by AJ_Impy weren't designed to do what Goblins usually do, which is swinging at the opponent's face. These were stationary Goblins, with Munitions Expert as the main win condition, supported by similar non-combat sources of damage like Sling-Gang Lieutenant and Pashalik Mons. Modern Horizons really built into this theme.

 

 As for the Elves, what does the forest-dwellers are most known for in Magic? Ramp has to be the first answer, but Nagarjuna took the rarely traveled Bogle route instead, helped by Gladecover Scout having been part of the archetype since the beginning, and now assisted by Paradise Druid, provided you give her vigilance, which is where Daybreak Coronet comes in.

 

 I feel like I haven't featured a Construct deck in a long time. The tribe is not very popular in Cloudpost builds anymore, but it's still a perfect fit for Hardened Scales decks, like this one by Yokai_.

 

 Lastly, Pilot popped up, courtesy of lovetapsmtg, reminding us the Kaladesh tribe is still a thing that exists. Considering vehicles are a deciduous mechanic now, you'd think we'd get one of their drivers every once in a while – although I suppose calling a coachman or charioteer a pilot might be a stretch? (They narrowed the tribe's scope too much, then).

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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 4, 2020):

• AJ_Impy's Goblins: $265.36
• Nagarjuna's Elves: $28.35
• Yokai_'s Constructs: $40.43
• lovetapsmtg's Pilots: $18.78

 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, 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):

• 10.35 (Week 504 BE), on September 5: Underdog
• 10.36 (Week 505 BE), on September 12: Pioneer
• 10.37 (Week 506 BE), on September 19: Modern
• 10.38 (Week 507 BE), on September 26: 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.