Well, the Prerelease is over, and Lorwyn is officially here. Lorwyn brings us a lot of new cards, and the return of tribal themes to Magic for the first time since Onslaught Block was around. There are however, quite a few significant changes between the two blocks. For one thing, unlike Onslaught, this set is almost completely devoid of mass removal. For another, rather than have a secondary theme in the set, Wizards just decided to up the number of tribes.

So, the burning questions on everyone's mind are: what tribes are good? What tribes are bad? Well, I'm here to answer that for you. Or at least pretend like I know.

Faeries

To start off with, we'll use the Faeries. Mostly because people seem to be dissing them on a much-larger-than-is-practical basis.

Faeries!
Total Faeries: 21 Counters 4 Familiar's Ruse 4 Spellstutter Sprite 3 Cryptic Command Discard 4 Thoughtseize 4 Thieving Sprite Draw 4 Ponder 2 Tidings Removal 4 Psionic Blast 3 Sower of Temptation	Faeries 4 Scion of Oona 2 Mistblind Clique Lands 4 Secluded Glen 4 River of Tears 4 Underground River 3 Island 3 Swamp 4 Faerie Conclave	Sideboard: 4 Sudden Death 3 Think Twice 3 Stupor 4 Faerie Tauntings 2 Cryptic Command

Faeries have a couple of points in their favor. First, they play largely at Instant speed, with the majority of the creatures having flash and the majority of the spells being Instants. Basically, you play a counter-based aggro control with EOT beaters. Faeries are also the only member of the Lorwyn tribes that has a manland with a relevant creature type. Being Blue/Black, they also pick up a very useful Future Sight dual in River of Tears. Finally, they have the best Control Magic variant ever printed in Sower of Temptation. The included sideboard is largely transformational, allowing the deck to shift into a more counter-everything mode with the win condition coming from the Tauntings. Sudden Death provides an out against Teferi. Sprite Noble might look tempting at first glance, but really, it just kind of bites, working only as a severely crippled Scion of Oona. Familiar's Ruse is probably the most abusive card in the deck, as in addition to countering a spell it gives you back a counterspell (Spellstutter Sprite) or a discard spell (Theiving Sprite).

Goblins (Boggarts)

Hi, we're the Goblins. Wizards didn't like how we dominated Block Constructed in the last tribal set, so they made us weaker so we couldn't do it again. Then they went ahead and made us graveyard/recursion based in a set with absolutely no graveyard hate. We're gonna dominate block again. Wooohooooo!

Goblins!
Total Goblins: 38 Recursion 4 Boggart Birth Rite 3 Wort, Boggart Auntie 3 Warren Pilferer's Burn 4 Boggart Shenanigans 4 Mogg Fanatic 4 Tarfire 2 Fodder Launch Tokens 4 Mogg War Marshal 2 Siege-Gang Commander	Champions 2 Boggart Mob 2 Changeling Berserker Search 4 Boggart Harbinger Lands 4 Graven Cairns 4 Sulfurous Springs 4 Auntie's Hovel 7 Swamp 3 Mountain	Sideboard 4 Goblin King 4 Mad Auntie 4 Thoughtseize 3 Stupor

The most important thing to remember about this deck is that, for some ungodly reason, Wizards essentially printed Disciple of the Vault v2.0 in Boggart Shenanigans. Which can be recurred by Boggart Birth Rite and Wort, Boggart Auntie. Shenanigans won't be quite the disaster Disciple was because it costs 3 and doesn't trigger off of your lands, but its still going to be the cause of a LOT of game losses over at least the next two years.

Goblins has by far the most playable cards not included in the decklist; these include things as varied as Emberwilde Augur and Sardapian Empires, Vol. VII (it produces goblin tokens). Goblins also has the best dual lands in Standard and the most crossover between its two colors of any of the Lorwyn tribes. So yeah, goblins are the best . . . again.

Elementals

Five colors, and based in Red . . . right. Red, as you may know, isn't the most color-fixing-y color around. In fact, I can't think of a single Red color-fixing card in existence outside of Agent of Stromgald. But, creative genius that I am, I hit on a solution. And no, it WASN'T Smokebraider.

Elementals!
Total Elementals: 36 Red 4 Flamekin Harbinger 3 Ashling the Pilgrim 1 Ingot Chewer 2 Nova Chaser 4 Incandescent Soulstoke Green 1 Cloudthresher 1 Eyes of the Wisent Blue 4 Mulldrifter White 3 Purity 1 Wispmare 3 Crib Swap	Black 2 Nameless Inversion 4 Shreikmaw Multi-Color 3 Horde of Notions Lands 4 Mountain 4 Vivid Thicket 4 Vivid Creek 4 Vivid Crag 4 Vivid Marsh 4 Vivid Meadow	Sideboard 3 Eyes of the Wisent 2 Wispmare 2 Ingot Chewer 4 Faultgrinder 2 Cloudthresher 2 Nameless Inversion

The Elementals probably get more out of their Harbinger than any other tribe, since it can be used almost as a neo-Vampiric Tutor, enabling access to removal, card draw, or just big dudes.

I decided to use only Lorwyn Elementals because there are just so many Elementals in Standard right now, ranging from the obvious (Sulfur Elemental) to the not so obvious (Molimo, Maro-Sorcerer), that this could have very quickly become a non-Lorwyn themed deck. There are a lot of domain-enabling cards in Standard right now in addition to the Vivid land cycle (like Legacy Weapon) that mean Elementals just might be worth checking out. Also, Horde does let you play instants and sorceries from the graveyard as long as they are also Elementals.

Treefolk

The Treefolk: they're folk, and they're trees. Pretty cool in general, I think. However, they fall victim to two cardinal sins in competitive Magic. They cost a lot, and they're in three colors. Despite all that, however, they randomly have a lot more potential than you'd think, though most of it rests on the back of a few specific cards. Fortunately for the woodies, they have tutors to find those cards.

Treefolk!
Total Treefolk: 27 Draw/Search 4 Treefolk Harbinger 4 Heartwood Storyteller 3 Seedguide Ash Acceleration 4 Birds of Paradise 4 Wall of Roots Beats 4 Doran, the Siege Tower 4 Dauntless Dourbark 4 Timber Protector 4 Battlewand Oak	Lands 4 Vivid Thicket 2 Brushland 2 Llanowar Wastes 14 Forest 3 Dryad Arbor	Sideboard 4 Cloudreach Oak 3 Eyes of the Wisent 4 Rootgrapple 4 Lignify

The deck ends up being pretty much just straight green and splashing for Doran because there are literally no Treefolk worth playing in either Black or White. When Wizards said they were just splashing into those colors, they meant it. However, Crib Swap and Oblivion Ring probably ARE worth using, and were left off of this list solely because I wanted to showcase Heartwood Storyteller. Deadwood Treefolk is a staggeringly good card advantage engine for this deck, and is definitely worthy of consideration.

I'd like to take a second and point out that this tribe is significantly better than it looks at first glance. Vs. Aggro, they have to get through a bunch of 0/5 walls and 0/3 harbingers before they can start dealing damage, by which point you should have out significantly bigger creatures than they. Vs. control, they have to contend with Storyteller and Eyes, both of which can potentially generate card advantage on the order of Compost. Finally, Timber Protector does just that, and really, really wants someone to pair him with an Armageddon-type effect.

Kithkin

The little guys first introduced as a one-of in Legends are back, in force. Mostly a White Weenie tribe, they pick up a very minor green splash and pair it with a fairly revolutionary concept: protection from mana costs. WW is good when it has efficient beaters, solid support cards, and great removal. Kithkin have all three.

Kithkin!
Total Kithkin: 36 One Drops 4 Goldmeadow Harrier 4 Goldmeadow Stalwart Two Drops 4 Knight of Meadowgrain 4 Wizened Cenn 3 Gaddock Teeg Three Drops 4 Kithkin Mourncaller 2 Mirror Entity Four Drops 3 Thoughtweft Trio	Support 4 Surge of Thoughtweft 4 Oblivion Ring 4 Crib Swap Lands 4 Brushland 4 Horizon Canopy 2 Forest 10 Plains	Sideboard 4 Tormod's Crypt 4 Dodecapod 4 Thorn of Amethyst 3 Deathrender

It's really surprising to me on some levels that the Kithkin don't have their own dual land, on another level, given how incredibly not represented in Green they are though, its not really that hard to swallow. Gaddock is much more useful in Standard and Extended than Block, due to the current eight Wrath effects existing in the first two. Also, Block just doesn't have that many X spells or non-creature spells with CMC > 3. The Kithkin have some great weenies, and if this tribe is expanded upon in future sets, I could see them having a real impact in multiple formats. The main thing hurting the little fellas now is a simple lack of numbers, as there are very few Kithkin in Magic that predate Lorwyn.

Giants

Like Treefolk, we suffer from the "too big and pricey" problem. Unlike Treefolk, we don't compensate with grossly overpowered legends or a good early game.

Giants!
Total Giants: 16 Removal 4 Oblivion Ring 4 Incinerate 4 Rift Bolt 4 Pyroclasm 4 Desolation Giant Beats 4 Brion Stoutarm 4 Sunrise Soverign 4 Giant Harbinger 4 Foriysian Totem	Lands 4 Ancient Ampitheater 4 Battlefield Forge 4 Plains 12 Mountain	Sideboard 4 Disintegrate 4 Dodecapod 4 Tormod's Crypt 3 Giant's Ire

They're the Timmy tribe. Brion will see Constructed play in decks that have absolutely nothing to do with Giants, and that will probably be it. Which is kind of disappointing; I mean, will Wizards ever make some of the "bigger" tribes like Angels, Dragons, Giants, etc. playable? Or are they just cursed into Timmy/Casual Land for all time?

Merfolk (Merrow)

Fishy! Fishy! No, that's not Flipper—it’s the sound of Magic players thrilled that Wizards finally decided to bring back the Merfolk after killing them because "it doesn't make sense from a flavor standpoint for creatures that live in the water to be fighting on land." Yeah, like a 0/1 Bird carrying a Sword is any better. And that's not even mentioning the whole FANTASY SETTING THING. Not one of Wizards' better decisions, but its good to see it starting to be fixed.

Merfolk!
Total Merfolk: 31 Tappers 4 Springleaf Drum 4 Surgespanner Untappers 3 Thousand Year Elixir 4 Merrow Commerce 4 Stonybrook Angler Effects 3 Summon the School 3 Lord of Atlantis 3 Merrow Reejeray 3 Sygg, River Guide	Draw 3 Fallowsage 4 Silvergill Adept Lands 4 Wanderwine Hub 4 Adarkar Wastes 3 Plains 11 Island	Sideboard 4 Riptide Pilferer 4 Voidmage Prodigy 4 Rune Snag 3 Familiar's Ruse

The sideboard is mainly set up to deal with the unpleasantness that is mass removal. Mass removal is actually the only thing I don't like about the Merrow. You can get some truly stupid cycles and effects going with them fairly quickly, but it requires lots of fishies on the board to make it happen. Most likely significantly better in Block than Standard, though Sygg, River Guide can do a solid number on keeping your dudes alive—if you have the mana for it. Some of the cooler historic Merfolk interactions, like War Barge + Merfolk Assassin are available to this deck. Other nifty tricks include Aquitect's Will plus Lord of Atlantis for an unblockable army, and the heavy interaction between the entire deck and Springleaf Drum/Thousand Year Elixir.

Elves

Finally, we got to those pointy eared freaks, the Elves. They briefly showed up competitively during Onslaught block and ODY/ONS standard as a Madness foil, but for most of their existence they've been strictly a casual/tribal tribe. Lorwyn changes that.

Elves!
Total Elves: 35 Acceleration 4 Llanowar Elves 4 Boreal Druid Tokens 2 Prowess of the Fair Pump 4 Imperious Perfect 2 Elvish Champion 3 Immaculate Magistrate Beats 4 Wren's Run Vanquisher 4 Wren's Run Packmaster	Draw 4 Harmonize 4 Masked Admirers Removal 4 Lys Alana Scarblade Lands 4 Gilt-Leaf Palace 4 Llanowar Wastes 11 Forest 2 Mosswort Bridge	Sideboard 2 Prowess of the Fair 4 Jagged Scar Archers 4 Thornweald Archer 4 Essence Warden 1 Elvish Eulogist

The elves have more token generating than any other tribe, and they pair that with copious amounts of card draw and acceleration. This means that the deck jumps out front quickly, then refills its hand while swarming the board with expendable dudes that increase its pump effects. And there's lots of deathtouch to handle bigger guys. In other words, they're pretty good and might be strong enough to jump into Extended alongside goblins as a playable tribe.

Changelings

Even though Changelings aren't a "Tribe" in Lorwyn, they are probably the single most important difference between Onslaught and Lorwyn. Changelings give every tribe access to things they would otherwise be missing, be it cheap creatures, flyers, or big finishers, Changelings plug a lot of holes into a lot of places. Changelings also allow for decks to cross multiple tribes into a coherent whole and provide a way to leech off of your opponents' Tribal buffs.

The Changelings will determine if some of the more "Timmy" oriented tribes, such as Giants, end up working or not; they will greatly smooth out limited games, and they just may end up enabling the multi-tribe "zoo" deck. ( featuring Flamekin Bladewhirl, Goldmeadow Stalwart, Oona's Prowler and Wren's Run Vanquisher looks rather promising)

Overview, Ranking, and Summary

In terms of competitive play in Standard, the tribes rank out something like this:

1. Goblins
2. Elves
3. Kithkin
4. Elementals
5. Treefolk
6. Merfolk
7. Faeries
8. Giants

If you wanted to try and take these guys into Extended for some reason, remember that Goblins, Elves, and Merfolk all have Ringleader-type cards in Apocalypse, but only Goblins and Elves are present in ONS, LOR, and INV.

In Block Constructed, the environment is going to be excessively more like Limited than in any previous set. First off, unlike ONS block, which included copious amounts of removal (of both the spot and mass variety), LOR deals with the conflict of mass removal in a creature block in two ways: one, there isn't any. Hurly Burly, Incendiary Command, and Ashling the Pilgrim are it for Red. Black got Final Revels, Green has Cloudthresher, and White has Austere Command. That's it. None of it's what you would necessarily call "good" or "playable." The second thing Wizards did in Lorwyn to nerf mass removal was to print a lot of cards that hose it. The entire "Champion" mechanic, Deathrender, Gaddock Teeg, and the various anti-removal Tribal effects (Timber Protector, Boggarts’ recursion theme, Faeries' instant-speediness, etc.) will really force players to do lots of blocking and attacking and make combat tricks somewhat valuable. In Constructed Magic, this leads to a whole new style of play.

This leads me to believe that, in Block Constructed, the Merrow may be slightly overdone with the kind of silliness that can be pulled off by Surgespanner if he's given any time on the board at all. Or maybe the Kithkin will be able to keep him in check with their low cost and speed. But I have a sneaking suspicion of not so much. The Merrow may in fact be the reason there is great spot removal in every color, because any deck that lacks a way to deal with the more devastating fish will quickly find itself locked out of the game. Of course, as long as Goblins have Tar Pitcher, they will be the deck to beat in Lorwyn Block. Note to Wizards, costing Sparksmith at four and removing the "pay life" part of his ability is still a bad idea in a Tribal block that's supposed to be all about creatures.