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

LAST WEEK ON TRIBAL APOCALYPSE...

• Event Number: Week 648 BE
• Date: July 1
• Attendance: 6
• Rounds: 3
• Subformat: Underdog
• Winner: AJ_Impy with Wraith
• 1-loss: Takeoutree with Monk, Quiritim with Monk
• Dark Horse Prize: Yokai_ with Halfling
• Tribes: Archer, Halfling, Monk (x2), Noble, Wraith
• Event link (with all players, pairings, standings, decks, and results): here it is

 Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth has arrived (and my evaluation as well!), and its impact is immediately felt on the two tribes that have been most affected by Tokien's creation. First and foremost, the semi-forgotten Wraith, which was pretty much abandoned (5 members total, no new additions in 14 years, only one relevant card), and now has been forever reimagined as the Nazgûl tribe! With the help of the Ringwraiths and their Witch-king, AJ_Impy gave the Dark Riders their first event win, albeit in a less-than-full event.

Ash Nazg Durbatulûk

by AJ_Impy

9 Nazgûl 4 Ringwraiths 4 Witch-king of Angmar 2 Witch-king, Bringer of Ruin 1 Street Wraith 4 Fatal Push 4 Damn 4 Vanishing Verse 4 Wayfarer's Bauble	4 Cabal Coffers 2 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth 4 Bloodstained Mire 4 Scrubland 4 Godless Shrine 6 Swamp

 And when the Halflings were introduced as the Dungeons & Dragons diminutive fella Magic had already referenced years prior with the Kithkin, the thought of many went to their literary root, Tolkien's Hobbits. And now there they are, in all of their 3-feet glory, within a Yokai_ list featuring 8 Sams, 3 Frodos, 3 Pippins... and no Merry? How sad for the future Master of Buckland. The theme is, of course, Food.

My Precious

by Yokai_

4 Banquet Guests 4 Feasting Hobbit 3 Farmer Cotton 3 Samwise Gamgee 3 Samwise the Stouthearted 2 Sam, Loyal Attendant 3 Frodo Baggins 3 Pippin, Warden of Isengard 4 Gilded Goose 4 Swords to Plowshares 4 The Battle of Bywater 1 Flowering of the White Tree 4 Cavern of Souls 4 Windswept Heath	2 Wooded Foothills 4 Savannah 1 Bayou 1 The Shire 1 Minas Tirith 1 Karakas 1 Boseiju, Who Endures 1 Eiganjo Castle 1 Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire 1 Okina, Temple to the Grandfathers 1 Volrath's Stronghold

THE HIGH PRICE OF WINNING

 Here's the prices of all the featured decks (MTGO Traders prices as of July 7, 2023):

• AJ_Impy's Nazgûl: $39.62
• Yokai_'s Hobbits: $92.25

 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. -DiamondDust-'s Dinosaurs, $0.98, 2nd place on Event 539
2. mihahitlor's Warriors, $1.95, 1st place on Event 233
3. morpphling's Vampires, $2.25, 1st place on Event 285
4. JogandoPelado's Berserkers, $2.80, 1st place on Event 248
5. kokonade1000's Berserkers, $2.95, 2nd place on Event 354

 NOTES: not adjusted to current prices; data collected since Event 85; Penny Dreadful events aren't counted.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

 Just to remind you of a few things:

 The Up-and-Coming Virtual Plaque: When a tribe wins an event for the first time ever (losing Unhallowed status), its pilot will get bragging rights.

 The New Kids on the Block Imaginary Commemorative Plate: 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 everyone's respect. You'll need a hard win, not a BYE or a win by no-show of your opponent. Tribes currently eligible: none. 

 The Hamtastic Trophy: The Biodiversity distinction dedicated to the memory of Erik Friborg is awarded to each player who registers the most different tribes (except Human, Elf and Goblin) during the year.

 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 in a specific format, they will not be allowed to register the same tribe and deck in that format again for 3 events (i.e. they'll have to register a different deck three times before coming back to the undefeated one). 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):

• 13.26 (Week 649 BE), on July 8: Pioneer
• 13.27 (Week 650 BE), on July 15: Modern
• 13.28 (Week 651 BE), on July 22: Commander
• 13.29 (Week 652 BE), on July 29: Summer Festival

Check out the ban lists and the event calendar.
SEE YOU ALL IN THE #TRIBAL ROOM!

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