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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

 It remained at the top for 150 events and three years, but finally someone went undefeated (albeit ending second place) with a deck that was worth less money than the $1.54 you had to spend to build the Goblins with which SirFalcon2008 won Event 389 (which was wrongly marked down as Event 289 all this time! Ouch!), in June 2018. The new budget king is -DiamonDust- with a Dinosaur deck that clocks at less than one single dollar for the whole thing. Congrats! It's definite its own feat, triumphing in the face of economic restraints. So topical.

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LAST WEEK ON TRIBAL APOCALYPSE...

• Event Number: Week 539 BE
• Date: May 8
• Attendance: 11
• Rounds: 3
• Subformat: Pioneer
• Winner: Generalissimo with Snake
• Runner-up: -DiamondDust- with Dinosaur
• 1-loss: Bandit Keith with Spirit, Nydethess with Elf, Yokai_ with Angel
• Dark Horse Prize: ThyShuffler with Aetherborn
• Tribes: Aetherborn, Angel, Cat, Dinosaur, Dwarf, Elder, Elf, Snake, Spirit, Vampire, Zombie
• Event link (with all players, pairings, standings, decks, and results): here it is

 In another, back to back singularity event (no duplicate tribe), the first place was taken by the +1/+1 counters bonanza of Generalissimo and his Snakes. The tribe is very well-positioned to serve the strategy in Pioneer, with Winding Constrictor certainly paving the way, but Hagra Constrictor as another payoff but also Stonecoil Serpent and Hooded Hydra as excellent carriers. Generalissimo's list also include one of my favorite Nissas, Nissa, Voice of Zendikar, and the rarely seen but not at all bad Jiang Yanggu, Wildcrafter.

 

 And this is the $0.98 Dinosaur list by -DiamondDust-. The author admitted it needs some updates. For one, Prey Upon has been entirely obsoleted by the strictly better Primal Might. But hey, it still does its job.

 

 Here's two cool lists that didn't perform as expected. Nagarjuna's Dwarf deck puts the focus on a very disregarded subtype, Vehicle. Those Oxen sure know how to single-handedly man a battleship!

 

 AJ_Impy had some fun with Elder Dragons before, but there are now two one-sided sweeper to exploit. And some of the new College Founders from Strixhaven as well. Plus, it had to be featured for the deck name alone.

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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 May 14, 2021):

• Generalissimo's Snakes: $20.19
• -DiamondDust-'s Dinosaurs: $0.98
• Nagarjuna's Dwarves: $11.69
• AJ_Impy's Elders: $110.30

 The Top 10 Cheapest Decks that Went Undefeated

1. -DiamondDust-'s Dinosaurs, $0.98
2. SirFalcon2008's Goblins, $1.54, 1st place on Event 389
3. mihahitlor's Warriors, $1.95, 1st place on Event 233
4. morpphling's Vampires, $2.25, 1st place on Event 285
5. morpphling's Goblins, $2.35, 2nd place on Event 102
6. JogandoPelado's Berserkers, $2.80, 1st place on Event 248
7. kokonade1000's Berserkers, $2.95, 2nd place on Event 354
8. MisterMojoRising's Beasts, $.3.01, 1st place on Event 484
9. Gq1rf7's Goblins, $3.32, 1st place on Event 154
10. Bandit Keith's Soldiers, $3.48, 1st place on Event 422
11. 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):

• 11.19 (Week 540 BE), on May 15: Modern
• 11.20 (Week 541 BE), on May 22: Legacy
• 11.21 (Week 542 BE), on May 29: Penny Dreadful

Check out the ban lists and the event calendar.
Next banned and restricted announcement: June 25.
Current watch list: Conspicuous Snoop, Crippling Fear Shrieking Affliction.

SEE YOU ALL IN THE #TRIBAL ROOM!

 

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