Tribal Synergistic Power Rankings: Analysis of Standard Tribes (Merfolk,Pirates,Dinosaurs,Vampires)
The big question on most MTG players minds is:
Which tribe in standard is the strongest?
The answer:
Pirates (but wait...there's more)
I hate to jump to the end of the story, but I think it makes more sense to start the discussion here. I ranked 5 tribes (Merfolk, Pirates, Dinosaurs, Vampires and Zombies (as a control)) using a standardized ranking scale that I will explain below. I used two scores:
1. Power Ranking: the raw power of the creatures, enchantments, and other spells that support a specific tribe to include synergy effects, individual merits and accessibility. This ranking takes into account the following:
Tribal Effects:
-Effects that can resonate throughout every member of a tribe. (10 pts)
-Effects that can resonate throughout most of a tribe. (9 pts)
-Effects that can target a single member of a tribe. (7 pts)
-Effects that add a tribe member. (7 pts)
-Effects that occur within a tribe member and make it beneficial for it to be part of a tribe. (5 pts)
Game Effects:
-Negative effects on opponent's life total. (4 pts)
-Positive effects on your life total. (3 pts)
-Card draw. (4 pt)
-Evasion (Menace/Unblockable/Flying etc...) (1 pt)
-Self protection (Indestructible/Hexproof) (2 pts)
-Removal (Deathtouch/Activated removal abilities) (2 pts)
-Cost reducing effects. (2 pts)
-Power/Toughness plus up ability. (4 pts)
Additional points were given to creatures that both had an effect and were part of the tribe that was affected.
-Creature that is part of the tribe and included in the effect (3)
-Creature that is not part of the tribe or isn't included in the effect (2)
-All other (1)
2. CMC Power Ranking: the Power Ranking divided by the spells Converted Mana Cost.
The CMC Power Ranking helps identify creatures that, while they may have a powerful ability, might not be accessible if you have to wait until turn 12 to cast it.
After scoring 246 unique spells and ranking them as explained above, I can safely say that Pirates carry the most power in Standard.
You can see that Dinosaurs carried the highest power ranking, but when converted into a CMC Power Ranking, they were closer to the bottom of the list. Zombies, as expected, were the lowest. What was most surprising was the placement of Merfolk, which was placed below Vampires. I believe this occurred due to the many effects that targeted the opponent's life total in the Vampire tribe.
It's important to note that there were 53 Dinosaur spells, 40 Merfolk spells, 42 Vampire spells, 38 Zombie spells and a whopping 73 Pirate Spells. This would definitely lower the average CMC of the group and push that tribe into a higher ranking. The list of all the spells considered is below.
What was not considered in this mini-study were the universal tribal cards that any tribe could use. They are the following:
The rest of the story.
While Pirates received the highest cumulative rank, there were still some unanswered questions. I've seen the Pirate cards and I can tell you that there are some really good Standard playable cards in there, but as for being the most powerful tribe...I'm not too sure I could hang my hat on that. So if you drill down into the data a bit, the real truth comes out. Take a look at each tribe's power levels as compared to their CMC.
What will be plainly visible to anyone who stares at these cards as much as I do is just how much more efficient Merfolk is as a tribe. Dinosaurs have high power earlier in the game but it drops off relatively early, then you get less bang for your buck. Compare that to Merfolk. Merfolk hold the their power as the mana curve increases. That means as your forces grow, your mana is not being wasted. Vampires follows the same pattern. That is why ultimately, you should look to these two tribes to find the most powerful tribal deck in standard. Pirates will work well, will be consistent and strong, but Merfolk and Vampires, in my opinion, and based on this analysis will ultimately overpower every other tribe.
Thanks for reading. Please let me know if you have any questions or feedback.
Cards considered:
Which tribe in standard is the strongest?
The answer:
Pirates (but wait...there's more)
I hate to jump to the end of the story, but I think it makes more sense to start the discussion here. I ranked 5 tribes (Merfolk, Pirates, Dinosaurs, Vampires and Zombies (as a control)) using a standardized ranking scale that I will explain below. I used two scores:
1. Power Ranking: the raw power of the creatures, enchantments, and other spells that support a specific tribe to include synergy effects, individual merits and accessibility. This ranking takes into account the following:
Tribal Effects:
-Effects that can resonate throughout every member of a tribe. (10 pts)
-Effects that can resonate throughout most of a tribe. (9 pts)
-Effects that can target a single member of a tribe. (7 pts)
-Effects that add a tribe member. (7 pts)
-Effects that occur within a tribe member and make it beneficial for it to be part of a tribe. (5 pts)
Game Effects:
-Negative effects on opponent's life total. (4 pts)
-Positive effects on your life total. (3 pts)
-Card draw. (4 pt)
-Evasion (Menace/Unblockable/Flying etc...) (1 pt)
-Self protection (Indestructible/Hexproof) (2 pts)
-Removal (Deathtouch/Activated removal abilities) (2 pts)
-Cost reducing effects. (2 pts)
-Power/Toughness plus up ability. (4 pts)
Additional points were given to creatures that both had an effect and were part of the tribe that was affected.
-Creature that is part of the tribe and included in the effect (3)
-Creature that is not part of the tribe or isn't included in the effect (2)
-All other (1)
2. CMC Power Ranking: the Power Ranking divided by the spells Converted Mana Cost.
The CMC Power Ranking helps identify creatures that, while they may have a powerful ability, might not be accessible if you have to wait until turn 12 to cast it.
After scoring 246 unique spells and ranking them as explained above, I can safely say that Pirates carry the most power in Standard.
You can see that Dinosaurs carried the highest power ranking, but when converted into a CMC Power Ranking, they were closer to the bottom of the list. Zombies, as expected, were the lowest. What was most surprising was the placement of Merfolk, which was placed below Vampires. I believe this occurred due to the many effects that targeted the opponent's life total in the Vampire tribe.
It's important to note that there were 53 Dinosaur spells, 40 Merfolk spells, 42 Vampire spells, 38 Zombie spells and a whopping 73 Pirate Spells. This would definitely lower the average CMC of the group and push that tribe into a higher ranking. The list of all the spells considered is below.
What was not considered in this mini-study were the universal tribal cards that any tribe could use. They are the following:
The rest of the story.
While Pirates received the highest cumulative rank, there were still some unanswered questions. I've seen the Pirate cards and I can tell you that there are some really good Standard playable cards in there, but as for being the most powerful tribe...I'm not too sure I could hang my hat on that. So if you drill down into the data a bit, the real truth comes out. Take a look at each tribe's power levels as compared to their CMC.
What will be plainly visible to anyone who stares at these cards as much as I do is just how much more efficient Merfolk is as a tribe. Dinosaurs have high power earlier in the game but it drops off relatively early, then you get less bang for your buck. Compare that to Merfolk. Merfolk hold the their power as the mana curve increases. That means as your forces grow, your mana is not being wasted. Vampires follows the same pattern. That is why ultimately, you should look to these two tribes to find the most powerful tribal deck in standard. Pirates will work well, will be consistent and strong, but Merfolk and Vampires, in my opinion, and based on this analysis will ultimately overpower every other tribe.
Thanks for reading. Please let me know if you have any questions or feedback.
Cards considered:
Comments
Post a Comment