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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

 Some official communications this week. We have a new host! I call it "executive host", because I'll still manage the other aspects of the tournament (including its future form) , but I won't be running the weekly events anymore. So let's say hello and a big thank you to our new executive host Takeoutree!

 Next item: the Tribal Council's 2021 term has expired and a new council hasn't been formed yet (I'll get to that, but it's intertwined with the committee I need to create to brainstorm ideas for the reform that'll take place next year). So in the meantime, I resume temporarily those powers, because it's time to put an end to two cards that have been warping results for a while now. The first is Splinter Twin in Underdog events, which has led to an improbable series of wins for Fish; the second is Energy Field, which creates a lock with Rest in Peace that particularly affects the tribal format. Both cards have by now a long history of successes, and it was time to deal with them. So that's done.

• Splinter Twin is banned in Underdog
• Energy Field is banned in Underdog and Legacy

 

 Speaking of the need for a reform and the use of certain cards that create miserable game play, I was told by one player last week that they felt forced to play Energy Field because there is one other player who occasionally does, and they wouldn't "unilaterally disarm" (that's a direct quote). This is clearly taking the "wars" in Tribal Wars a bit too seriously. I was also told, by the same person, that their intent was actually selfless, since it aimed to force a ban. Which is like saying that your idea of pushing for weapon control is to go out and start killing people on the street to prove your point.

 This kind of thought process is generally alarming, and it stems from what I would call Degenerate Spike Syndrome. Because, when you look at pros who stream their content, most of them are perfectly capable of bringing casual decks to casual events and having fun. Learning to have fun regardless of the outcome of a game, and in general to read a room and not be "that person", are important skills in life. Just imagine someone being asked to bring some sparklers to a kid's birthday party, showing up with a tank that destroys half the neighborhood, and then being surprised everyone else found that insane.

 Winning at all costs is like renting a tennis court to play with a friend on a Sunday morning, but then being genuinely happy your friend is called away midway through the first exchange, so you can take the win without even getting to serve once. Nobody plays, but you win, so that's good. This is what being an Energy Field player at a free casual tournament is like. Let me tell you, it's not a good look.

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LAST WEEK ON TRIBAL APOCALYPSE...

• Event Number: Week 576 BE
• Date: February 5
• Attendance: 8
• Rounds: 3
• Subformat: Underdog
• Winner: ThyShuffler with Fish
• 1-loss: Bandit Keith with Artificer, AJ_Impy with Squirrel, Winter.Wolf with Werewolf
• Dark Horse Prize: AJ_Impy with Squirrel
• New Repopulation Award: GringoP with Trilobite
• Tribes: Artificer, Bear, Fish, Insect, Ooze, Squirrel, Trilobite, Werewolf
• Event link (with all players, pairings, standings, decks, and results): here it is

 So, here's Spike #1 with Splinter Twin taking the win, and Spike #2 failing to do so with Energy Field. As a rule, I'll refrain from ever featuring that kind of list again in this digital space.

 Instead, here's what a proper Underdog deck looks like. Monogreen Insects! They had some good addition recently, chief among them Scute Swarm.

 

 Squirrels! They're also getting there, since Modern Horizons 2.

 

 Last but not least, welcome back to one of Tribal Apocalypse's old glories, Winter.Wolf! Who of course was playing Werewolves! Awooo!

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THE HIGH PRICE OF WINNING

  

 Here's the prices of all the featured decks (MTGO Traders prices as of February 11, 2022):

• -DiamondDust-'s Insects: $7.98
• AJ_Impy's Squirrels: $89.30
• Winter.Wolf's Werewolves: $149.12

 The Top 10 Cheapest Decks that Went Undefeated

1. -DiamondDust-'s Dinosaurs, $0.98, 2nd place on Event 539
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

 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 Dark Horse 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: Beholder.

 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). Tribes that didn't exist before this season aren't eligible.

 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):

• 12.05 (Week 577 BE), on February 12: Standard
• 12.06 (Week 578 BE), on February 19: Pioneer
• 12.07 (Week 579 BE), on February 26: Modern

Check out the ban lists and the event calendar.
Next banned and restricted announcement: TBD.
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.