Rejoice, folks, the dreadful 2020 is over, and 2021 is here with the promise of a brand new world that we will not get (but at least Snow is back! 'Tis the season!). Despite what was going on in the rest of the planet, or perhaps because of it, Tribal Apocalypse had a great 2020, marked by a +17% increase in attendance from 2019. We've been declining steadily since 2016, so the first year signaling a trend reversal is a big deal for us. Excelsior!
2011: 910 registrations
2012: 889 registrations
2013: 1014 registrations
2014: 866 registrations
2015: 1031 registrations
2016: 884 registrations
2017: 729 registrations
2018: 564 registrations
2019: 510 registrations
2020: 597 registrations
LAST WEEK ON TRIBAL APOCALYPSE...
Event Number: Week 521 BE
Date: January 2
Attendance: 14
Rounds: 3
Subformat: Underdog
Winner: Bandit Keith with Serpent
Runner-up: Yokai_ with Dryad
1-loss: -DiamondDust- with Rat, Generalissimo with Drake, ThyShuffler with Scout, AJ_Impy with Minotaur, GringoP with Giant
Event link (with all players, pairings, standings, decks, and results): here it is
First event of the year, and first confirmation for 2020 Player of the Year Bandit Keith, as well as second win for the Serpents. The sea monsters prove to be a perfect shell for a Living End strategy in Underdog, something the new Tribal Council (which will install itself on January 22, after the Invitational) is going to have to ponder.
We came close to the first Dryad victory – something I had attempted a couple times always achieving no more than a virtual 3rd place, but I'm pretty sure Yokai_ is a better player than me, and his list was lower to the ground – although I still maintain Bramble Sovereign is the cream of the tribal crop. Opposition is an interesting addition, though, due to the Dryads always having early drops with Dryad Arbor being easily fetched, and later on featuring some powerful token makers like Tendershoot Dryad and Trostani Discordant.
Generalissimo had a take on one of the real Cinderellas among the big tribes, Drake. And since we're finally in sync with his Show and Tell videos, we are able to witness the whole endeavor down there.
Finally, the New Repopulation Award started its course by raising the nearly forgotten Thalakos from two to three appearances. Of course, the pilot still was repopulation technician lovetapsmtg.
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
Double Show and Double Tell! First we see Generalissimo tackling the Slivers, from two weeks ago (the All Creatures event).
And here is his most recent adventure, with Drakes.
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: Otter.
The New Repopulation Award: Play all rounds of a Tribal Apocalypse event with a tribe that's been played only three times or fewer, and you'll get a 1-tix certificate from MTGO Traders. The list of eligible tribes is here (the leftmost column, from the end).
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 five times before coming back to the undefeated one). This means a different tribe; in some cases, specific combo or archetype-defining cards will also be locked out. 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):
11.02 (Week 522 BE), on January 9: Pioneer
Special (Week 523 BE), on January 16: 2020 Invitational