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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

 Let's talk changelings. With the 10 new additions from Kaldheim, there are now 40 creature cards with the changeling ability. And while the previous batch from Modern Horizons is probably still more impactful due to the two very playable one-drops it brought to the table (the extraordinarily valuable Changeling Outcast and the all-embracing filler Universal Automaton), these new changelings have a few noteworthy specimens among them, including the second mythic rare after Morophon, and two more legendaries. However, neither Orvar nor Moritte feel like the kind of changeling that's going to become commonplace in tribal decks lacking a good member to complete their ranks – the former is a bit too specialized, the latter too color-restricted and mana-intensive to properly adapt to any build.

 

 Looking at the base of the curve, though, green (the color of many small tribes) gets two solid options at CMC 2 and another two at CMC 3. In fact, while Guardian Gladewalker is an okay card that's strictly better than old Woodland Changeling, Masked Vandal for the same cost packs an incredible amount of value with its incidental artifact/enchantment hate. And Realmwalker is going to tempt even major tribes, to the point that it might require some thoughts from the Council if it becomes too ubiquitous. While the colorless Bloodline Pretender makes for a valid midrange alternative to Universal Automaton, when running green is not an option.

  

 Don't be afraid, anymore, Badger and Mongoose! You have good friends to help you out now.

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LAST WEEK ON TRIBAL APOCALYPSE...

• Event Number: Week 525 BE
• Date: January 30
• Attendance: 8
• Rounds: 3
• Subformat: Legacy
• Winner: Bandit Keith with Sliver
• 1-loss: Generalissimo with Rogue, Nagarjuna with Demon, AJ_Impy with Berserker
• Dark Horse Prize: ThyShuffler with Monkey
• New Repopulation Award: -DiamondDust- with Carrier, ThyShuffler with Monkey
• Tribes: Berserker, Carrier, Demon, Giant, Monkey, Rogue, Sliver, Zombie
• Event link (with all players, pairings, standings, decks, and results): here it is

 No tribe represents linear tribal more thoroughly than Sliver. And the old hive mind drones are still capable of effortlessly winning Legacy events, as our Ultimate Champion Bandit Keith just proved once again.

 

 The field was somewhat strange last week, with none of the top tribes showing up and some of the more competitive players making unusual choices. Generalissimo ended up with the best tie-breakers among players with one loss, thanks to a surprisingly effective Legacy porting of the Rogue deck that's been dominating Standard lately, with Drown in the Loch as its prime interaction.

 

 ThyShuffler felt like going Monkey for the week. They have... a lineup. A lot of planeswalking pals. And a Repopulation need.

 

 And did you hear that the Phyrexian tribe is going to be a thing in Magic? -DiamondDust- devotedly paved the way for them, like a real Vorinclex believer. Although, this list will probably be Carrier even after the Oracle update kicks in and adds the Phyrexian subtype to all of them.

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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 February 5, 2021):

• Bandit Keith's Slivers: $167.88
• Generalissimo's Rogues: $53.37
• ThyShuffler's Monkeys: $43.83
• -DiamondDust-'s Carriers: $50.30

 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: 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).

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 WHAT'S NEXT

 The upcoming Tribal Apocalypse events of the Blippian Era (every Saturday at 17:00 GMT):

• 11.05 (Week 526 BE), on February 6: Underdog
• 11.06 (Week 527 BE), on February 13: Standard
• 11.07 (Week 528 BE), on February 20: Pioneer
• 11.08 (Week 529 BE), on February 27: Modern

Check out the ban lists and the event calendar.
Next banned and restricted announcement: March 26.
Current watch list: Aether Vial, Batterskull, Conspicuous Snoop, 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.