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By: Kumagoro42, Gianluca Aicardi
Jan 08 2021 1:00pm
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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. Show and Tell
  4. Announcements
  5. What's Next

Check the full archive for the "Diaries of the Apocalypse" series


THOUGHTS OF A TRIBAL HOST
by Kumagoro

 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
  • Dark Horse Prize: 
  • Repopulation Award: lovetapsmtg with Thalakos
  • Tribes: Artificer (x2), Crab, Drake, Dryad, Giant, Minotaur (x2), Rat, Scout, Serpent, Specter, Thalakos, Whale
  • 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.


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 January 8, 2021):

  • Bandit Keith's Serpents: $148.76
  • Yokai_'s Dryads: $204.67
  • Generalissimo's Drakes: $143.18
  • lovetapsmtg's Thalakos: $11.54

 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.


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 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).


 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
  • 11.03 (Week 524 BE), on January 23: Modern
  • 11.04 (Week 525 BE), on January 30: Legacy

Check out the ban lists and the event calendar.
Next banned and restricted announcement: March 26.
Current watch list:
 Aether VialBatterskullConspicuous SnoopHymn to Tourach,
NecromancyShrieking AfflictionSinkholeWitch's Vengeance.

SEE YOU ALL IN THE #TRIBAL ROOM!

 

Art disclaimers. Revel in Riches art by Eric Deschamps; Show and Tell art by Jeff Laubenstein; Herald of Anafenza art by Aaron Miller.