I feel like tribal decks are something that are way underused by WotC.

Goblins/elves we don't need more of, but most lords are often woefully underpowered and don't make a tribal deck actually worth it. Flavorwise it makes a lot of sense too. Who's more likely to form an alliance... Vizzerdrix + Cloud of Faeries or Cloud of Faeries + Pestermite?


Of course there have been random instances of decks like faery/soldier tribal being relevant, but largely you might see elves and goblins and not much else.

So... good idea or just pointless fetish?

Lords are really secondary to a good tribal deck. I mean, yes, obviously, you need a good lord, but the problem with the lack of tribal isn't the lack of lords. After all, the spirit "captain" (forgot the exact name) was pretty solid, I mean, a 2/2 flyer for 3 is decent (better than most lords) and hexproof is certainly something that you want from your lord. The problem was the lack of other synergy and support as well as a lack of critical mass (obviously, midnight haunting and lingering souls are amazing, but it wasn't quite enough).

I see the same problem with the minotaur right now. The lord is a little weak (I don't care too much for trample), but the other guy that gives them haste and +2/+0 is pretty solid finisher. The problem is that you can't get enough playable minotaurs to get anything relevant going.

The problem is that if you put too much tribal support in a set, then people feel WotC is building the deck for them, so it's something they should do occasionally, not constantly. Tribal as a block mechanic is fine. Minimal tribal support now and then is alright as well, but I'd rather they don't push it too hard, too often.

Well they are super buffing every creature it seems.

I'm merely saying giving reason to group these super creatures.

You don't have to go completely berserk with 10 lords that each give +3/+3.

Also doesn't even have to be lords, just guys that have good synergy.

I think we just need more creature types that have synergist abilities. eg. vampires or atogs
Thus if you have cards that exploit that ability, making a tribal deck makes sense and is not only flavor driven.

Like Filobel said, it's more about the surrounding cast than the lord. All the Innistrad lords were pretty good. But playing UW Spirits means you probably can't play Delver of Secrets or any of the good UW 1-drops from that era, really. They either make enough creatures for those lords to be constructed relevant or they don't.

I've never had issues with lords.

I do wish more mechanics like Goblins of the Flarg and Dwarven Soldier existed.

I like tribal and it's something I'd like to see support for. It can be tough to design around though. Some of the issues -

The regular "3 mana lord that grants +1/+1" can't just be applied to every tribe and every strategy, since that kind of effect is strongest when you can get out a large number of creatures. It works for tribes that have lots of one drops or have spells that make token creatures and where the main path to victory is attacking.

There might be some other tribes that like getting a p/t boost, but because their creatures are more expensive mana wise, you are not going to get as many out in a short time so the boost needs to be bigger. Vampire Nocturnus is a good example. But for some others, like Sunrise Sovereign and Crucible of Fire, even the bigger boost wasn't worth it if you were only going to get out one or two creatures of that type if you were lucky.

But some tribes run even fewer creatures, or their strategy is something other than attacking, and completely different tribal effects are needed.

Like the resilient Gravecrawler. You don't have to run as many zombies as possible to maximize its power, but you need a few in your deck.

Or the merfolk milling strategy based on Drowner of Secrets.

Some tribes only really work in Limited because you have more time to mix and match the different effects. In Constructed, you're never going to run any of those six mana Treefolk that only trigger when you cast another treefolk afterwards.

Perhaps tribes need to be a bit more like Slivers - not just the lord buffing the rank and file, but the rank and file having tribal effects too. There have been some pretty unique effects like Elvish Eulogist.

I would agree that lords are fine as they are. My elemental deck gets along fine without the Horde of Notions when Incandescent Soulstoke is in play. Both could be considered lords, but you can easily build without them. I think that's the right balance.