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Tier 1 This might be the most important category. It is likely to be the most contentious. This tier sort of corresponds to the the “Banned” tier from most of our old tribal games. These are the ultimate elites. Some of the Tier 2 tribes can fight them, but it’s an uphill battle. Player skill...

(Tier 2 Continued) Vampire: I don’t know how much it’s really helped vampires, but they have the distinction of being tagged by WotC as an “iconic” tribe, then shifted to a potential “characteristic” tribe, a role for which they still serve in a kind of substitute role. It’s not necessarily...

(Tier 2 Continued) Pirate: Ahoy there, ye scurvy dogs. Pirates be the finest tribe that ever sailed the seven seas. And if any landlubbin’ fools doubt it, I’ll gut them and make them walk the plank. In days of yore, pirates enjoyed no special advantages. The seas were rough and even the bravest...

(Tier 2 Continued) Druid: Mooseman played a Druid Tribal deck in one of our games. His deck never really got going in that game. Bad beats. Nearly all good druids are either elves or humans. Use Druid Tribal and you get the best of both worlds? I don’t know. Not really. Many druids tap for mana...

Tier 2 All of these tribes should be familiar to experienced players. They’ve had extensive support at one time or another. When you think “casual tribal deck” these are the creature types that spring to mind. Often, these types have been used with tribal synergies in tournament formats. Almost...

(Tier 3 Continued) Skeleton: I played a Skeleton Tribal deck in one of our games. What can I say? I like skeletons. I was quickly and mercilessly beaten to death, but Mooseman was playing a superior tribe. Skeletons are probably OK. They don’t have a lot going for them. Some of them can...

(Tier 3 Continued) Minotaur: While it never showed up in any of the main series of Tribal games we played at the CPA, Minotaur Tribal did make an appearance in the long-forgotten Two-Headed Giant series. I only remember that it exists because I rediscovered the 2HG games while writing a...

Tier 3 Ideally, I think I’d split this tier between the tier above it and the tier below it. This would involve renumbering, but setting that aside, I mean that some of these tribes might fit into Tier 4 and some might fit into Tier 2. I did not do that to start off because I wanted to err on...

(Tier 4 Continued) Pegasus: I mentioned the “steed” problem for drakes. Pegasus Tribal runs into the same problem. Good creatures, but meant to support other creatures and not meant for tribal synergies. But pegasi (pegasuses?) have the problem even worse than drakes and have fewer options. To...

(Tier 4 Continued) Leviathan: Of the sea monster tribes, this one has the most potent individual members. Does that translate to the best Tribal performance? I’m not sure. My instinct from simply looking at the cards is that leviathans pack the most punch once they get a lot of lands out, but...

(Tier 4 Continued) Elder: Possibly the cheesiest tribe in existence. The creature type “Elder” was obviously not put on cards with Tribal formats in mind. It’s a flavor thing for ancient, distinguished monsters. Every single elder creature is legendary. Currently, the tribe comprises fifteen...

(Tier 4 Continued) Centaur: DarthFerret played a Centaur Tribal deck in one of our games. Most centaurs are smaller, but the tribe also contains some surprisingly beefy options that wouldn’t quite be relevant in most other formats. Centaurs can come in fast and keep curving into bigger drops...

Tier 4 The difference between Tier 4 and Tier 5 might be a bit hazy, but I do think I perceive a jump in power level here. Maybe some of the tribes here can’t quite hold a candle to the others and maybe I’m underrating some of the ones I relegated to Tier 5. I’m thinking that if we do set up a...

(Tier 5 Continued) Imp: There are some good imps, but unfortunately, nearly all of them are on the low end of the mana curve. The tribe falls apart in a midrange setting, where most other tribes outscale it. WotC rarely print imps above three-drops and most of the ones they do print above that...

Tier 5 This is where we start seeing real tribes. Some of these turned up in CPA Tribal games. They’re potentially playable. They also have problems. I think one could have fun with these tribes, even though they are kind of weak. Aetherborn: Thematically, they’re cool. The aetherborn were a...

(Tier 6 continued) Manticore: All of these are red and the smallest one costs four mana. No good synergies and they’re just generally outclassed by other red-heavy tribes. Monger: Like the Nephilim, this tribe consists entirely of a five-card cycle within a single set. Playing these would...

Tier 6 It’d be foolish to call it impossible, but building a good deck out of these tribes seems unlikely. Some of them might easily be worse than the tribes in Tier 7. If your tribe has two good creatures and two mediocre ones, you might be able to add an appropriate changeling and get a real...

(Tier 7 continued) Pangolin: Two members. No tribal synergy and the more interesting one is also a beast anyway. Pest: One member. It’s actually a nice offensive creature and if it had a different type it could totally show up in decks. Phelddagrif: Two members. Both of them are very cool...

Tier 7 Not much hope for these guys. Again, you’d need to bring in changelings to legally use any of them. I’ll list them all, mostly just for fun, but in a few corner cases someone could actually make a Tier 7 Tribe into a respectable deck. Aurochs: Four members between Ice Age and Cold Snap...

Tier 8 These are the tribes made for tokens. They exist because of tokens, so they’re not really tribes in the conventional sense. I don’t see much point in commenting on them individually. They all have no real creatures as members (except, of course, for the universal exceptions). I do find it...