Typal

"Tribal" is Magic slang for a block, set, or deck that places heavy emphasis on creature types. The concept has been around since Limited Edition Alpha, but was not explored in depth until Fallen Empires. The Onslaught block was the first to delve very deeply into the mechanics of the tribal theme, to be followed several years later by the Lorwyn block. Many other blocks and sets have employed the tribal theme in a more minor capacity, most notably the Kamigawa block.

History of the Tribal Theme

The tribal concept is as old as the game itself, going back to Limited Edition Alpha. The three "lords" — Goblin King, Lord of Atlantis, and Zombie Master — each encouraged players to build decks with creatures of their respective type (goblins, merfolk, and zombies respectively), although this was hampered by the fact that none of these creatures actually had that creature type (all three would later be issued errata to change this) and that each lord had very few cards of their creature type to call subjects (two goblins, one merfolk, and one zombie). Ensuing sets would add a handful of new cards to each tribe, but for most of the game's early history, creating a tribal deck meant simply picking a large number of creatures of the same type and just throwing them in a deck together.

Arabian Nights and Antiquities added little to the the tribal theme (despite the preponderance of djinn and efreet in the former). Legends employed the tribal theme with the addition of the "legend" creature type (which has since been changed to a supertype) with numerous cards that helped or hindered legends; the set also included the kobolds, which are viewed by many as a failed early experiment in tribal design. The Dark added a few more goblins to players' arsenals, a handful of cards that rewarded players for playing with them (Goblin Caves, Goblin Shrine, Orc General) or against them (Tivadar's Crusade), setting goblins on their way to becoming Magic's preeminent tribe.

Fallen Empires was the first set to bring the tribal theme into the limelight. Numerous cards were created that cared about certain existing creature types (mainly goblins, but also elves, dwarves, merfolk, and orcs). Soldiers emerged as white's preeminent creature type (though they wouldn't get considerable support until Invasion, years later). The set also introduced three new tribes — fungus, homarids, and thrulls — but despite the enduring popularity of the fungus/saproling concept none of these made much of a splash. Despite adding new fodder to tribal decks, however, Fallen Empires is regarded as something of a failure, as each tribe (with the possible exception of the goblins) received very little useful support; like many early sets, it was built from a "flavor-first" perspective, and as such the set's mechanics suffered.

The rest of Magic's early, pre-Weatherlight sets did little to expand the tribal theme. Ice Age and Alliances both brought in more goblins, elves, soldiers, and zombies, but without much in-game support. Homelands tried to encourage players to use unusual tribes (dwarves, faeries, minotaurs, vampires), but like much about the set, it fell flat. Mirage, Visions, and Weatherlight tossed in yet more new goblins and had a few cards that encouraged players to use knights and griffins, but did not play up the tribal concept.

With the release of the Tempest block and the beginning of the Rath Cycle (kicking off the long-running Weatherlight Saga), Magic began moving toward a different model in which consistent game rules took precedence over the set's flavor, a model that would later be cemented by Invasion. Tempest was not a "tribal" set, but it and the following set, Stronghold, did introduce a new tribe that has proven enduringly popular and deadly: The slivers. Each and every one of these creatures rewarded players for putting them in a deck together, making truly powerful decks built around a single creature type possible for the first time. Tempest also saw the creation of the beast tribe, but it wouldn't receive adequate support until Onslaught.

The last set of the Tempest block, Exodus, added little to the tribal theme, as did the ensuing Urza block, although Priest of Titania from Urza's Saga empowered elf decks. The Masques block did not play up the tribal theme, but it did include widespread support for two new tribes: Rebels and mercenaries.

The Invasion block was the first time an entire block was built around a single concept (in this case, multi-color cards), laying the groundwork for the Onslaught and Lorwyn blocks to come. It also formally solidified in many players' minds Magic's five major tribes with the five "tribal callers" in Apocalypse: Soldiers in white, merfolk in blue, zombies in black, goblins in red, and elves in green; the five enemy-color two-drop creatures from the same set reinforced this. The Invasion block also featured the kavu tribe across several colors.