Welcome back to Tribal Apocalypse!
Table of Contents
- Last Week on Tribal Apocalypse...
- The High Price of Winning
- Announcements
- What's Next
Check the full archive for the "Diaries of the Apocalypse" series
THOUGHTS OF A TRIBAL HOST
by Kumagoro
It finally happened! The Phyrexians are here! This week's MTGO update added the creature type introduced last January to 224 creatures that the lore had previously established as members of the Machine Ortodoxy.
The errata was in the works since Kaldheim first printed Vorinclex, Monstrous Raider
with the Phyrexian subtype, but it was previously if unofficially stated that they were waiting for a set with several Phyrexians in it, which many presumed was a reference to a return to New Phyrexia being planned for next year. How does this stealth and sudden update, still not officially commented upon, change things? Has the New Phyrexia set been postponed? Meanwhile, the idea that every premier set from Kaldheim onward would include a different Praetor leading to the Phyrexian-based set was already debunked by the fact that Strixhaven didn't in fact have any. Which makes some sense, considering Elesh Norn is currently in charge and she wouldn't be bothered doing scouting work on the field, while Urabrask rebelled and wouldn't follow Elesh's plans anyway. And maybe Vorinclex was the only one biologically suited to use the new planar travel technology, which involve the disintegration of the organic matter of the traveler. Gruesome stuff. Then again, it's the Phyrexians we're talking about.
LAST WEEK ON TRIBAL APOCALYPSE...
- Event Number: Week 542 BE
- Date: May 29
- Attendance: 14
- Rounds: 3
- Subformat: Penny Dreadful
- Winner: Quiritim with Elf
- Runner-up: Bandit Keith with Merfolk
- 1-loss: Torres6 with Goblin, Nagarjuna with Dragon, Yokai_ with Vampire, GringoP with Elf
- Dark Horse Prize: -IceBR- with Licid, lovetapsmtg with Surrakar
- New Repopulation Award: lovetapsmtg with Surrakar
- Tribes: Bear (x2), Dragon, Elf (x2), Goblin, Human, Licid, Merfolk, Surrakar, Vampire (x2), Wizard, Zombie
- Event link (with all players, pairings, standings, decks, and results): here it is
Penny Dreadful Tribal Wars happened! And after the budget-friendly dust settled, what was left on top was a very classic Elf list by first time winner Quiritim. Congrats!
Bandit Keith achieved a very unusual and unique record: three second places in a row with each of the three seminal tribes, Elf, Goblin and now Merfolk. The latter had to face Quiritim's Elves in the final round, two very linear builds adopting the quintessential tribal strategy of dropping a curve of creatures and then boosting them with anthem lords. In the format, Elves might just be better equipped for this game than Merfolk.
The third of those mentioned prototypical tribe, Goblin, was also in the event, and came close to the final with this list by Penny Dreadful specialist Torres6. It incorporates a combo with First Day of Class
and persist creatures, but for the rest it's not too different from the regular Legacy versions of the tribe, as the Top 10 Cheapest Undefeated Decks already suggest Gobbos don't have to be expensive to be effective. By the way, of course this event won't be counted for that particular ranking.
On the other hand, most surprising finish at the top: Dragon by Nagarjuna. Or maybe it's not that surprising, once we learned that old tribal bogeyman Hypergenesis
is legal in the format, alongside most of its cascade enablers. Even its usual accelerant Simian Spirit Guide
is there!
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 June 4, 2021):
- Quiritim's Elves: $1.22
- Bandit Keith's Merfolk: $1.58
- Torres6's Goblins: $1.69
- Nagarjuna's Dragons: $2.39
The Top 10 Cheapest Decks that Went Undefeated
- -DiamondDust-'s Dinosaurs, $0.98, 2n place on Event 539
- SirFalcon2008's Goblins, $1.54, 1st place on Event 389
- mihahitlor's Warriors, $1.95, 1st place on Event 233
- morpphling's Vampires, $2.25, 1st place on Event 285
- morpphling's Goblins, $2.35, 2nd place on Event 102
- 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
- Gq1rf7's Goblins, $3.32, 1st place on Event 154
- Bandit Keith's Soldiers, $3.48, 1st place on Event 422
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.
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: Eye, Otter, Phyrexian.
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):
- 11.22 (Week 543 BE), on June 5: Underdog
- 11.23 (Week 544 BE), on June 12: Standard
- 11.24 (Week 545 BE), on June 19: Pioneer
- 11.25 (Week 546 BE), on June 26: Modern
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.
