Tribal Update Report: War of the Spark

[Oversoul]

By now, you've probably seen my original report on the possibility of arranging tribes in tiers for some kind of 60-card constructed format. Aside from some interesting insights from Mooseman, that thread didn't really go anywhere and things continue to be quiet. But even as I prepared that report, Ravnia Allegiance was about to come out, with a lot of new contributions to both weak tribes and strong tribes, especially with some of the strange hybrids to fit the latest incarnation of the Simic Combine guild. I included Ravnia Allegiance in my report, as all of the new cards from the upcoming set had been revealed. But this made it readily apparent that later sets my make my report outdated. So I figured that for new sets, I'd make updates to go along with the original report. How long will I keep this up? As long as I can muster the effort, I guess. We still have no Tribal gameplay here at the CPA and I haven't been involved in any elsewhere either. It seems that among local Magic players in my area, if it's not a Commander format of some sort, the interest level is very low. I still find it an interesting thought experiment even if my reports aren't useful, so I'll try to keep it up. And hey, maybe someone here will actually find it useful in some way. So here's my first update.

The earliest tribal variant I know of was called "Tribal Wars." And War of the Spark strikes me as a pretty power-packed set. From those facts, it might seem promising that this set would really do a lot to shake things up for tribal formats. However, much of the power in this set is loaded onto the planeswalkers, and only a few of those provide boosts to specific tribes. My initial assessment is that the impact of this new set on potential tribal gameplay is rather low, or at least it's lower than the previous set. Being part of the endless Ravnica Super Ultra Mega Block, the creature types that get boosts tend to be the ones established as native to the world of Ravnica.

Since my initial report included all of Magic up to the previous set (Ravnica Allegiance), this is my first update specific to a set. I suspect a common theme for this updates might be that the strongest tribes get new tools that they don't really need anyway and most of the weaker tribes get nothing at all. Because it's bound to happen a lot, I'll try not to belabor that point.

New tribes
Most new tribes start out rather weak, but they might get more to work with later. If I'd been doing these reports a few years ago when Kaladesh came out, I'd think that the Aetherborn tribe would have been an obvious new contender. Perhaps later sets will have more points of interest in this category. The only new creature type in War of the Spark is "Army" and it's a Tier 8 tribe by default. No actual creatures get the army subtype. So this joins the list of unusable tribes that only exist to provide a type for tokens generated by other cards. Specifically, one gets an army with the new "Amass" mechanic.

While I don't intend to say a lot about new mechanics in these updates, "Amass" is noteworthy because the "Army" is also a zombie, which means it slots into an existing, powerful tribe. However, scrutiny suggests that "Amass" is one of those mechanics that's a bomb in Limited formats and basically unplayable in constructed formats with larger card pools. Considering that zombies are one of the most powerful tribes in the game, the use of the "Amass" mechanic probably does nothing for them at all. If this same mechanic had been heavily connected to a Tier 5 tribe, it'd be a big deal for that tribe.

 

[Oversoul]

New additions to existing tribes
Angel: This was already an especially strong tribe. Angels get two new members, and doesn't really need help. However, if an Angels deck does choose to include red, there's a new legendary creature with a powerful ability. Feather, the Redeemed has a unique synergy with your spells that target your own creatures.

Assassin: I had assassins in Tier 3, as a roughly average (or above average) tribe. They get three new members. The standout addition for this set is Massacre Girl, a potential board wipe creature. If this new card lives up to its full potential, it strengthens the position of an Assassins deck against other Tier 3 decks. But it's probably too situational.

Avatar: The only new avatar for this set is Niv-Mizzet Reborn. I think it's a bad card that doesn't help the tribe at all.

Bear: The only new bear is Vivien's Grizzly, a mediocre card. However, Bear Tribal is so unbelievably bad that this card probably makes the archetype slightly better.

Beast: There are a few new beasts in this set, but they're mediocre. I suspect none of the new additions make the cut. Beasts already have what they need.

Berserker: Just one new card here, but it might actually make the cut for Berserker Tribal.

Bird: Four new cards. They’re bad.

Boar: Just one new card, but it’s a big one. Ilharg, the Raze-Boar is a literal boar god, and synergizes with End-Raze Forerunners. This is a huge boon to a weak tribe. We’re getting close to making Boar Tribal a real option!

Cat: There are three new cats in this set, and one that got reprinted with new text that makes it weaker than it used to be. This is kind of a wash. Cat Tribal probably doesn’t use the cats from this set because older options have so much depth. Dreadmalkin would be a nice one-drop to update a weaker tribe, but I suspect it doesn’t matter for cats.

Centaur: Just one and it’s an inefficient mana dork. This is a tribe that I contend doesn’t quite have what it takes to be competitive, and the addition of Centaur Nurturer doesn’t change that.

Crocodile: Just one new card and it’s nothing special. I pegged crocodiles as a tribe that probably exists on the lower end of Tier 4. Wardscale Crocodile is unremarkable and doesn’t really change things.

Cyclops: Two new cards. They’re five-drops and utterly fail to solve the glaring problems this tribe has.

Devil: Two new cards. And one of them is actually interesting. Mayhem Devil doesn’t look like much, but Devil Tribal had very little going for it previously. In my initial report, I noted that the best option might be a black/red recursion engine with Flayer of the Hatebound. Mayhem Devil synergizes with sacrifice engines. While it’s not enough to make Devil Tribal as strong as the tribes in Tier 3, I’m confident that it is a real boost.

Dinosaur: Just one new card. Huatli’s Raptor is a decent option, too. In the right deck, the Proliferate mechanic is extremely strong. I don’t know if this card makes the cut in Dinosaur Tribal, but even if it does, I already ranked this tribe in Tier 2. I suspect it’s toward the bottom of Tier 2, and Huatli’s Raptor wouldn’t change its position.

Dragon: See remarks for the Avatar tribe.

Drake: Two new cards. They don’t really shore up the problems that drakes face.

Druid: Four new cards, including the aforementioned Centaur Nurturer and three more that are elves. Druid Tribal is weird and I don’t really know what to make of it. In the event that a deck heavily employing counters is a strong Druid Tribal deck, this set probably contributes something (Evolution Sage in particular). Otherwise, these guys don’t make the cut.

Elemental: Three new cards. And they strike me as Limited fodder. Elemental Tribal has hundreds of options already and some of them are much better than these. No impact, I think.

Elephant: One new card. Limited fodder.

Elf: Five new cards. If these new cards went to some especially weak tribe, they’d be a huge boon to that tribe. They don’t even register as a blip for Elf Tribal, which is already one of the strongest tribes, if not the strongest of them all. A couple of these aren’t even bad, they’re just part of a huge mob of elves that aren’t quite as useful as the very best ones.

Faerie: One new card. Basically just a worse version of Thrummingbird. Not bad, but not good enough to use in such a strong tribe.

Giant: Two new cards. They’re bad six-drops. No impact.

Goblin: Three new cards. Two of them are lackluster. The new Krenko looks promising. I suspect that Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin doesn’t really make its way into a Goblin Tribal deck. It’s strong, but the tribe is already so stacked. It’s a pity the card doesn’t have a second creature type for possible use in a different, less overpowered tribe. I should also admit it’s remotely possible that the new Krenko actually does make the cut for a top-level Goblin Tribal deck and slightly shifts the balance of power between the tribes in Tier 1. I doubt it, but I don’t want to completely rule it out.

God: Five new cards. God Tribal is so wonky that every new set with gods in it could potentially contribute to it. One of the biggest reasons I relegated God Tribal to Tier 4 in my initial report was the lack of coverage on the lower end of the mana curve (the cheapest gods are only enchantments until you accumulate enough devotion to specific colors or they can’t engage in combat until you jump through certain hoops, which means you effectively get no cheap creatures). These cards don’t change that, but a few of them are very powerful.

Golem: Two new cards. It might be harsh to call them Limited fodder, but even if they are moderately useful, they don’t really fit into what a Golem Tribal deck would be trying to do. So I’d predict no effect on the position of Golem Tribal currently.

Gorgon: Just one new card. It’s at the bottom of the mana curve for its tribe, but its ability requires damage to have been dealt to a creature or planeswalker, so you’re either holding it to play it off-curve or you’re using some specialized support spells.

Hellion: One new card. Notably this is at the bottom of the mana curve for Hellion Tribal and sticks around, unlike Lathnu Hellion. But its ability conflicts with its position at the bottom of a mana curve. Not a bad card, but not an appropriate card for trying to make Hellion Tribal work.

Hippo: One new card. It’s entirely unremarkable except for one thing. This printing automatically bumps Hippo Tribal out of Tier 7 and into Tier 6. Congratulations?

Homunculus: One new card. And its abilities are unusual, almost demanding to be exploited for some silly combo. Because of how disjointed this tribe is and how it would be relying on support spells, Fblthp might actually make the cut.

Hound: Two new cards. Like most of the tribes I placed in Tier 4, it’s probably going to take something special to bump them up into Tier 3. Hound Tribal has some efficient attackers on a nice mana curve, but lacks the explosive aggro that would make such efficiency a good lead for a multiplayer deck. Banehound is a solid new black one-drop, but the lack of hasty one-drops wasn’t the problem for this archetype. Mowu, Loyal Companion is a reasonable card for a deck based around +1/+1 counters, but Hound Tribal doesn’t really support that theme. These cards may or may not make it into a Hound Tribal deck, but they don’t really change the competitive potential of the creature type.

Human: 17 new cards. See my remarks in the original report on this tribe. It is, by far, the deepest tribe, with so many options it can do practically anything. A new human has to be jaw-drop amazing to register as an important addition to Human Tribal.

Hydra: Just one new card. I’ll admit it’s interesting and unique, but I don’t think it fits with what a Hydra Tribal deck would be trying to do.

Illusion: Oops, I missed this tribe when I first started this update. Went back and added it in before I finalized it. Hopefully it was the only one I missed. Anyway, there are three new cards here. The white one is mediocre, but the blue ones are of interest. Both of them have mechanics that work well with planeswalkers, and that’s a decent niche. Four drops aren’t what most tribes need in order to see improvement, which does put a damper on this development.

 

[Oversoul]

Insect: Just one new card and it’s Limited fodder. No impact.

Leviathan: One new card. Doesn’t really contribute anything to the tribe.

Manticore: One new card. Fits the existing pattern that makes Manticore Tribal so bad. More bad cards won’t help this miserable tribe.

Merfolk: One card. There are two in the set, but one is a reprint. Ixalan Block established a new trend that Merfolk Tribal probably dips heavily into green for some excellent support. And the brand new Merfolk Skydiver continues that trend. The question then is: does a top-level Merfolk Tribal deck go mono-blue or does it go blue/green? It matters a great deal in assessing cards like this. As Merfolk is already Tier 1 and this card arguably makes the cut in a deck, that’s a big deal. There’s also a strong possibility that blue/green Merfolk Tribal is awesome and that this card doesn’t make the cut anyway. Actually, now that I think about it, that’s almost certainly the case. Oh well.

Minotaur: Two new cards. I’ve pondered this one a bit. I think my initial report got it right. Minotaurs were weak for many years, but WotC keeps pushing them and they’ll quite possibly get the tools they need to push them up into Tier 2 some day. But the tribe is currently shallow and suffers from a color distribution issue and a mana curve issue. The standout for this set is Neheb, Dreadhorde Champion. But the problem for Minotaur Tribal was never a dearth of strong red four-drops, so this addition is superficial.

Monk: One card. This is a disjointed tribe that I’ve never properly evaluated. I don’t see a way that Ugin’s Conjurant fits into it, though.

Mutant: Three new cards. The problem for Mutant Tribal continues to be that most of the themes one could use would simply work better in other tribes. The best mutants are also members of better tribes anyway. This creature type has been seeing more new additions than usual, as War of the Spark and Ravnica Allegiance feature mutants as a theme in the Simic Combine. I’m starting to suspect that this matters a lot. I evaluated Mutant Tribal as Tier 5 in my initial report. A blue/green deck with this tribe is probably stronger than most of the rest of the tier. Good enough for Tier 4? Well, I’m not so sure.

Nightmare: Three new cards. This once abandoned tribe is getting some attention. As I noted in my initial report, nightmares were heavily weighted toward Torment and Judgment where they were a major part of the story. The mechanics on those nightmares make them extremely bad for multiplayer and incentivize your opponents to kill your stuff so that they can get their own stuff back. The new nightmares contribute a lot, but one of them requires green mana, a color that never appeared on previous nightmares. The tribe is still in a bad spot.

Ogre: One new card. It fails to shore up any of the weaknesses of this tribe and is probably Limited fodder anyway. Even for a weaker tribe, mediocre four-drops aren’t helpful.

Pegasus: One new card. Same problem as this tribe has always had. It’s got a thematic “steed” ability that isn’t helpful for Pegasus Tribal.

Plant: One new card. On the one hand, Bloom Hulk is definitely mediocre. On the other hand, Plant Tribal can make use of the Proliferate mechanic, so I wouldn’t rule it out completely. I initially placed these guys in Tier 3 and they don’t have a lot going for them. If they were already in Tier 4, new cards that could manipulate counters would be of real interest because the tribe has decent coverage and more defensive potential than most of Tier 4 would normally be dealing with. But the new card is a four-drop anyway. So it’s probably just a bad card.

Rhino: One new card. This tribe is well out of range of Tier 2 for multiple reasons, but its lack of coverage on the lower end of the mana curve is the biggest one. Rhino Tribal has access to some decent five-drops and some bad ones. The new addition is one of the bad ones.

Rogue: See remarks for the Faerie tribe.

Scout: Just one card, but it’s a heavy-hitter. In my initial report I theorized that the niche for Scout Tribal is to take advantage of the land-manipulation abilities of these relatively weak creatures to have a kind of clumsy mana ramp engine, then just do big mana stuff. I do not mean this statement to be trite in any way. I’ve found that in low-power environments, mana acceleration of any variety to race toward big late-game spells when other decks are still in a midrange position can be surprisingly effective. Tolsimir, Friend to Wolves has nothing to do with that and synergizes with wolves, not scouts. But it’s a reasonably high-performance five-drop that can pick off a dangerous utility creature.

Soldier: Seven new cards. A few of them are fine. If they were typed to go into weaker tribes, they might actually be important. Soldiers have better options.

Sphinx: One new card. This has some potential for Sphinx Tribal. I’d say it’s in the realm of “probably not” but running it in a Sphinx Tribal deck seems reasonable if you really value its bounce ability.

Spider: One new card that just adds to the pool of “cards that are efficient at blocking fliers.” Almost certainly no effect on the tribe. Notably, when compared specifically to the other two-drop spiders, Snarespinner is better for the exact task for blocking fliers and surviving than previous options. But that’s not much of a niche.

 

[Oversoul]

Spirit: Three new cards. They’ve got a lot of competition, with how powerful Spirit Tribal can be. Grateful Apparition could be useful in some decks, but my vision of what optimal Spirit Tribal would look like probably excludes that sort of thing. The other two new additions just aren’t that good.

Troll: One new card. I was just about to dismiss Challenger Troll as Limited fodder, but on reflection, that ability really messes with combat against some opponents. Enough warrant including Challenger Troll in a deck? Probably not. It’s a five-drop that seems less useful than some of the four-drop trolls.

Vampire: Two new cards. Reasonably efficient and versatile. If this tribe weren’t already so overpowered, they’d easily see play. Unlike most tribes, Vampire Tribal already has awesome two-drops.

Wall: Just one (bad) card. No impact.

Warrior: A whopping fourteen new cards. Most of them are bad, but a few have potential. If I were actively building Warrior Tribal decks, I’d have an eye on Grim Initiate, Dreadhorde Butcher, and the new Neheb. Trouble is, there are hundreds of warriors in the game and I’ve never really witnessed a proper Warrior Tribal deck at all. With so many options, are these guys just left by the wayside, or do they improve a hypothetical deck? Either way, I remain convinced that warriors have the resources to earn a place in Tier 2, but they’re probably not close to the top of the tier.

Weird: Two new creatures, one in red, one in blue. Does either make the cut in a Gelectrode deck? Well, this situation is, amusingly, a weird one. The tribe previously included only seven creatures and Gelectrode was the only likely build-around. Most of the others didn’t do much for Gelectrode, but Blistercoil Weird was a nice one-drop that could potentially be used in some sort of combo and the hefty six-drop Melek, Izzet Paragon also had some potential. Now it’s up to nine creatures and both new additions work nicely in a Gelectrode deck. With so few options, I’m convinced that both of the new weirds make the cut in a Weird Tribal deck. And if your opponents can’t kill Spellkeeper Weird, you’re in an excellent position.

Wizard: Twelve new cards. Mostly Limited fodder. Standouts are Jace’s Projection, Soul Diviner, and Flux Channeler. As with most Tier 2 tribes, new additions probably just don’t make the cut because the tribes already have great cards to work with anyway. For a weaker tribe, Flux Channeler would be a big deal. Wizards can probably do better.

Wolf: One new card. Wolf Tribal probably doesn’t ever use it.

Wurm: One new card. It’s bad.

Zombie: A whole bunch of new cards. As a Tier 1 tribe, zombies probably don’t actually use any of these. Did I say “probably”? Sorry, none of these make the cut in Zombie Tribal. I’ve considered Eternal Taskmaster, which is a good card, but the competition for strong two-drops in Zombie Tribal is severe.

New tribal synergy cards to watch out for
Finale of Glory: Although both Soldier Tribal and Angel Tribal are quite powerful and probably don’t use the card, it makes for an intimidating finisher and mana sink.

God-Eternal Oketra: Aside from being a good card overall, the tokens this makes are both zombies and warriors.

Kasmina, Enigmatic Mentor: Makes wizard tokens, which isn’t amazing. But the passive ability could protect a creature-based engine in Wizard Tribal. Depending on the form a deck takes, this card could actually be worth it.

Liliana, Dreadhorde General: These set is chock-full of cards that do zombie stuff, and there’s no point in listing them all. Might not be a point in listing any of them. Zombie Tribal has such depth already that these new additions are generally irrelevant. But I should point out that this new Liliana actually has some potential for a zombie-based deck, depending on the rules of your format. It’s good.

Sarkhan the Masterless: Some previous Sarkhan planeswalker cards have also had synergies for Dragon Tribal. Do such cards make the cut? I’d guess not, but they’re not too bad. This one scales very nicely with the number of dragons on your battlefield.

Teyo, the Shieldmage: The passive isn’t always going to be useful, but if a Wall Tribal deck does opt to use white, this planeswalker could actually see play.

Tibalt, Rakish Instigator: I don’t think this offers Devil Tribal much of interest, but it’d be strong in certain matchups, at least.

Tolsimir, Friend to Wolves: If this doesn’t offer much to Scout Tribal, it could potentially be a support card in a Wolf Tribal deck, where it gets a very nice tribal synergy.

Ugin, the Ineffable: This does make spirit tokens, although that part is only barely worth mentioning.

Vraska, Swarm’s Eminence: I seriously think this one makes the cut in an Assassin Tribal deck.

 

[Oversoul]

Overall set analysis
As sets go, this one has a pretty low level of emphasis on tribal synergies. Some of the new creatures are nice cards, but most of the really promising ones are competing for space in the deepest, most established creature types. Cards like Eternal Taskmaster and Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin would be huge updates for an underperforming tribe, but they don’t really make zombies or goblins better. I believe that the overall power level of this set is high, but most of the effects on Tribal formats would have to come from support spells. In particular, this set has a record-high number of planeswalkers. Mostly, they’re not tribally focused, but they are powerful cards.

Winners and losers for this set? Tier adjustments?
Winners in my mind are...

• Angels
• Boars
• Devils
• Druids
• Gods
• Hellions
• Illusions
• Mutants
• Nightmares
• Scouts
• Spiders
• Spirits
• Vampires
• Weirds
• Wizards
• Wolves

Losers call for some explanation, but some tribes do seem to get the short end of the stick…

• Cats and soldiers both probably lose just as much as they gained here, with the errata nerf to Ajani’s Pridemate.
• Bears and manticores miss out, yet again, on getting a playable card. These tribes continue to get bland leftovers, Limited fodder, when they get anything at all.
• Constructs and horrors are strong tribes that got absolutely nothing this time around, although it seemed like the story could have accommodated them. Fortunately, they don’t really need help anyway.
• Zombies didn’t need help, but they got far more emphasis in this set than any other tribe, and came away with nothing to show for it. Missed opportunity for the tribe.

Do I put in a section for tier adjustments with every new set? Seems optimistic. I don’t predict that much shift in these tiers based on new printings. Not that my initial system was perfect, just that there’s a lot of flexibility in most of those tiers and things balance each other out. Of course, this does present the opportunity to reevaluate my initial choices, and I could always move a tribe up or down even if it didn’t get any new cards, just owing to my overall assessment of how gameplay might go. Anyway, this time around is maybe more tame than normal, but we’ll see. I suspect that none of the new cards do much to sway anything in Tier 1 or Tier 2. Below that?

Devil Tribal gets some potential new tools, but those just help ensure that the tribe really does warrant Tier 4 status. It’s a tribe that can do stuff now, if it was a little too disjointed before. But it’s not especially competitive.

God Tribal is gaining a real foothold in Tier 4. It’s awkward, but it just about has enough options to do some powerful, albeit exotic, stuff. With the right support spells.

Illusion Tribal might be able to move up within Tier 2. It was a weaker Tier 2 tribe, but I deemed it too strong for Tier 3. Well, it did get some new tools. Not sure if they matter, but they’re there.

Weird Tribal might get the biggest boost in this whole set, but I already pretty generously put them in Tier 3. Looking at them now, I honestly suspect that they were only Tier 4 until this set. I rated them higher on the back of the powerful Gelectrode. But this set really makes them worthy of Tier 3. In fact, they’re looking pretty good. These guys just need a good new two-drop weird that really synergizes with the spellcasting-based theme of Gelectrode and they could be gunning for Tier 2 status.

Wow, this whole document sure has been a lot of word. OK, ready for it? Here it is…

I am promoting Boar Tribal from Tier 4 to Tier 3 because of Ilharg, the Raze-Boar. I only barely placed them in Tier 4 initially, on the back of the brand new End-Raze Forerunners. But this new boar contributes so much that I think the tribe has a real cohesive identity now. The card is crazy-good.

I am promoting Hippo Tribal from Tier 7 to Tier 6. Or rather, they’re promoting themselves on a technicality, because that’s how I set up the tiers to work in the first place.

Conclusion
This set probably does more than average to affect general gameplay, but it’s not a high-impact set for matters relating to creature types. As tribes go, the biggest winners are probably boars and weirds. We also see potential improvements for devils and illusions. Gods are in such a strange position as a tribe that there’s too much uncertainty for me to guess if this set does much for them. Depending on the exact rules of a tribal format, the new tools available to the other tribes I noted as “winners” could be useful. The closest thing to a real tribal mechanic is Amass, but I am particularly cynical about the power level of that mechanic.

Every “Tribal” format I’ve ever heard of getting real gameplay (including the versions we’ve done here at the CPA) has been generally focused on the stuff in Tier 1 and Tier 2. So, if we’re being realistic, this set is mostly negligible when it comes to tribal updates, while hitting planeswalker-related aspects of gameplay like a ton of bricks. However, if anyone out there ever does play a more constrained Tribal format, one where the focus is on tribes that are Tier 3 or lower as described in my report, then I’d say boars and weirds are really something to look out for. A few years ago, they’d be considered weak, possibly untenable tribes. But this set is the culmination of a few recent printings that have given these tribes what they need for real decks that do interesting things.

As this is my first update and the focus is necessarily hypothetical (we haven’t started up any Tribal games here at the CPA in a long time), I’m sort of testing the waters. It ran long. My first report ran long too, but that one was supposed to. I think each set doesn’t need such a detailed breakdown. So I’m planning to keep this up, but next time, I’ll try a more abbreviated version. Trying to note every single creature type that has new cards in it probably isn’t warranted. Lesson learned.