The Obscure Tribe Challenge 2: Electric Boogaloo

Challenges and Articles forum

Posted on Oct. 18, 2014, 6:54 a.m. by pookypuppy6

A long time ago when the Magna Carta was being signed I held The Obscure Tribe Challenge, where small and unsupported creatures types had decks built for them by community memhers that endeavoured to be the best obscure tribe in all of Magic. From Beebles to Eyes, from Bringers to Aurochs, in the end it was the Gargoyles that reigned supreme.

Now the war rages anew, with slightly altered deckbuilding rules. Your challenge is to make a deck based around your chosen obscure tribe. Forget Dragons and Elves and Humans, PAH! We are looking at small, unsupported or otherwise obscure creature types. Then, competing decks will be fighting in a variety of matches against their opponents and be scored on their performance, the awesomeness of their chosen tribe, AND the deck's creativity in using them to their full potential. HERE ARE THE RULES!!

1) 60 card minimum Legacy legal deck. However, your creatures will all be of the same type. Choosing Octopus as your tribe will grant you a maximum of 16 Octopi thanks to the 4 in the game. If you choose Nautilus as your creature type, your deck is confined to Crystalline Nautilus and Chambered Nautilus . And if you choose Lamia... well, your deck has 4 Thoughtrender Lamia in it, what with the ONE Lamia in the game.

2) However, there is one exception to this. In addition to your chosen creatures, there is one creature that you can include that is NOT from your chosen tribe. To celebrate the Lord Of All Unsupported Tribes, Adaptive Automaton is available to you as well. His creature type will always be chosen to be the type your deck is based around, so imagine a construct with eyes forming into the creature type of your choice. So your Lamia deck is supported, you can have 4 Adaptive Automaton and 4 Thoughtrender Lamia for a total of 8 creatures.

However, there will be no Changelings in your decks unless you specifically choose Shapeshifter as your tribe (and while interesting, that's not the most obscure one you could be going for).

3) Less a rule and more advice. If you want to score highly with your deck on the deck's creativity, let me define terms. The deck will be scored on the way it uses its MAIN CREATURES to win. That's right, I'm not just asking you to make a combo deck that just happens to have Beebles in it. I want your Beebles to be the focal point of your entire strategy, your win condition, or have the deck thematically built around them (flavourfully and/or mechanically). THIS is what will score you good points in this category.

Here is as a sample deck: Obscure Tribe Challenge: Horse Force!. This deals with an unsupported (if medium-sized) tribe that ONLY uses horses and nothing else, and also uses a strategy revolving around the mad stallions. It is okay if you choose a creature type with a few cards, as long as it is low on support. Rhinos for example are a good choice, despite having a few creatures in Magic over the years. Minotaurs are less of a good choice nowadays thanks to the tribal support in Theros. Eldrazi are not a good choice, as they have a set named after them and focused around them with plenty of support cards.

The cutoff point for deck submission is nconfirmed but I will make sure to make it plenty clear to everyone competing, and then keep you updated on the progress and results of the WAAAARRRRRR!!! Happy deckbuilding, and may Brushwagg reign supreme!

pookypuppy6 says... #1

Bless Heliod himself, a new thread! The Obscure Tribe Challenge 2: Combat Begins! is up and about like Bouncing Beebles on a seesaw. I find this all very exciting!

Keep this thread readily available to you though, you'll need it to check up on your opponent's decks. However, I'd be happier if you were honest and not sneakily change your deck to suit your coming matchups. Keep it pure, peeps!

October 27, 2014 10:04 a.m.