Drake Combo vs Turbo Initiative | Quarterfinals 2 - Quest for the Best Pauper Deck Ever

[@beanofknowledge2125]

Personally favor Drake Combo, but Initiative was so OP in the short time it was legal... Let's see how it goes.

[@gareththerrien3473]

Drake Combo with some of the newer cards we have would feel so consistent. Lorien Revealed with it all would be incredible

[@Badjujumon1]

@@gareththerrien3473😅😅😅

[@wolfetrax]

During game 1, where Carl plays Vicious Battlerager and it just cuts to Felicia saying F***... that's such a mood when your opponent is popping off.

[@saltandpauper]

That's my deck! Let's goooo! For reference @cardmarket I totally approve the game 2 no land keep! Gotta risk it for the win! You did awesome Carl! Can't wait to see the semis!

[@CardmarketMagic]

Thank you so much for piloting the deck in the Swiss! You did a wonderful job :D

[@saltandpauper]

@@CardmarketMagic thanks :) was a blast!

[@fionathegayesttiefling9867]

Carl keeping a zero land hand AND WINNING ANYWAY is fucking wild

[@lukemackinlay5126]

Zero lands on a mull to 5 and he barely even feels it x(

[@kageotaku]

Initiative was that busted.

[@sigurdviskum978]

Seeing the CM youtube universe grow and find its niche has been an awesome journey, here's to you and the gang, Carl! ❤

[@CardmarketMagic]

Thank you :) that's very kind of you to say!

[@CodenameFuyuki]

If i had to stake my life on a deck in this tournament, it would 100% be initiative. Especially because there are so few free counterspells, so you can hyoer turbo it out.

[@croppingchair5538]

Idk chief chatterstorm is absolutely insane. It 5-0 in the Swiss

[@piercearora7681]

I'm really torn between Initiative and Chatterstorm, that's probably going to be the finals though.

[@ursulcx299]

It's strong but it lost to aggro twice in the swiss round, Golbin and Delver both got the drop on it and Goblin is in the top 8 too. Tho I agree, to me turbo initiative and chatterstorm are like the two decks that are the big boogiemans of the tournament.

[@NNNNTTTT-q6c]

I personally feel like Glitters Affinity may beat Initiative if they go against each other, simply because Gingerbrute makes it so easy to take the Initiative from the opponent so it curbs some of the snowballing potential

[@JordanPridgen]

"How is that how traps work?! I don't feel immersed!" That line really made me laugh

[@00BBaker]

So good to see Feli! The commander game where she rocked Wernog was my first card market video, and I’ve been absolutely loving you guys :D

[@jackf1003]

The editing on this video is great. The way the cards in hand are shown and the life total placement its all great. The only thing is I don’t know what cards are being put in bottom after a mulligan. I’m always going back 10 seconds to figure out what they got rid of. If you could put a way to indicate the cards going on bottom that’d be great. Maybe highlight them with a gold boarder right before finishing mulligans? It’s just a suggestion. Great video as always! 9:40

[@yoshthen00b]

Carl really bringing in the lessons from their review with salt and pauper, those decisions were really well explained.

[@ursulcx299]

I dont know or remember who Felicia is, but I'm glad to see you guys bring in more people aboard, she had a good back and forth with Karl and I wouldnt mind more of her. Also Initiative is one heck of a scary deck in pauper. That deck was a menace in legacy so in a format with even less power level like pauper its just domineering. I really hope Chatterstorm doesnt face it in semi-final, I feel like those two are the two top deck and it would be a shame not to have them both in final. Even tho in my heart flicker drake was the deck I rooted for.

[@blueplayer6197]

I can see initiative do exactly that a thousand times and I still can't figure out why it's that strong One of those "it just works" situations, absolutely unreal this wasn't even close

[@CardmarketMagic]

If you look at the raw output, in game 1, for example I did: Turn 2: Play a 3/7 that draws a card Turn 3: Play a 5/3 that deals 5 damage Turn 4: played a 1/4 flying that drew a card and put a 5/5 into Play And with a good hand this deck can start that on turn 1

[@Eltharyon]

It's free, automatic value that closes the games, it gives you mana, it gives you permanents, it draws you cards, it deals damage, it buffs your creatures, it's so OP it needed to be banned in legacy.

[@AlexG0080]

@@CardmarketMagic Also game 2 showed the resiliency of the right hand path when your hand is mid or your opponent disrupts you a lot but you just barely manage to take the initiative, you get to scry 2, get a treasure, then make a 4/1 menace, they seem designed for this exact deck to put you back in the game when all you have is the initiative and nothing else.

[@blueplayer6197]

@@Eltharyon obviously true but let's compare it to the horrible underpowered mechanic venture into the dungeon, featuring the original trio for example which are pretty solid and way better base cards, cannot be stolen from you on attack and all of this with one HUGE downside - no upkeep trigger But generally effects that happen on next upkeep aren't game breaking. It's not that I somehow don't see the absurd value it generates, it's that when you look at it and pretend like you never saw it played, it doesn't look that much better than just venturing into the dungeon - a mechanic that never saw play, because it's like "well ok so 1 more small effect a turn on upkeep, what difference can that possibly make? I'll just play more efficient venture cards and the gap will be closed, no? " and the answer is somehow back breaking difference Now in fairness dungeon of the mage is only stronger if you reach the end and have payoffs and annihilation you need to build around etc Well obviously one mechanic is broken and the other is weak, but it's just that you gotta wonder with better cards and better payoffs venture just never worked in any format, not even standard, it's very hard to grasp how tiny little changes to the quality of each dungeon level (venture has a worse average level) and a single upkeep trigger can push this so far through the roof that a 1/4 flier for 4 becomes an acceptable card

[@calebmills6051]

@@blueplayer6197 The point is that initiative is essentially mana cheating by giving you free hard to interact with value. Whereas venture you have to keep contributing resources to get value.

[@Rob-qe3cg]

Ah! I'm sure I was not the only person to suggest it, but thank you very much for taking recordings of the swiss matches this time! It's nice to have a taste of what didn't make it.

[@serrahool]

Felicia is back! Welcome! Good games overall. Pestilence (2019) is my bet to win this tournament

[@crunchtag]

Pestilence is going to face some difficulty unless Elves manages the upset against Chatterstorm. Feel like the finals might be Glitters vs. Squirrels after a tense semi against Initiative.

[@devilbhrothesavage2807]

Nah Initiative just stomps the hands werent even that good

[@crunchtag]

​@@devilbhrothesavage2807 Glitters has comparable speed, but enough bodies *_and_* evasion to scrap for the emblem. I _did_ forget that it was Jeskai instead of UW, so was imagining some Rebukes/other permission to better stuff resets. We'll have to see if 'gucci piloting a decently pet deck can make it past multiplayer mechanic abuse with Carl at the helm. Either way, likely a fun time.

[@OtherSideLLC]

awesome to see Felicia playing other formats! and that reaction to the Initiative is so relatable

[@berryzada9372]

I played pauper at the time drake was dominant in the format and I never thought I would see a deck that swiped drake so hard like this. geez

[@apass7241]

I was the Drake swiss player (actually using my own 5-0 list from 2016): I was trashed by initiative and chatterstorm but won all the other matches. Power creep is terrible; those decks were at least 2 turn faster than whatever I could do. Definitely different formats

[@berryzada9372]

@apass7241 I think to drake have a chance against those decks it would need godhands with control responses for the first 3 or 4 turns and perfect draws... too much to ask lol

[@bobbyhanson346]

These pauper games are my favorite content on the channel, by a country mile!

[@apass7241]

I re-lived the traumatic experience of the Swiss! 🤣This matchup really shows how paper power creep made a different format over just a few years... we could unban Drake!!! (joking, we should not even if I would love it)

[@CardmarketMagic]

You did so well in the Swiss though! Beating those delver decks is not easy as a combo archetype! :)

[@mikeburns6213]

This is awesome, been pumped for this match up and it drops on my day off. I get to watch it right away! Good luck both decks.

[@hallowedmist4289]

man I just love how y'all display everything easily on par or better production value as tcc (no shade to tcc they're incredible too)

[@hallowedmist4289]

anybody have any other suggestions for channels like these

[@MagicalMasterMind]

That "F*ck" was so funny for no reason😂😂

[@carlosburmester9435]

I started playing pauper recently and really couldn't understand why initiative was banned, now i get it hahaha

[@SyntheticNuclear]

I always thought the same for Legacy

[@kaalesrex2933]

I'll never forget the first game I had against vintage monoW Initiative .. T1 show Chancelor of the Annex, white mox, ancient tomb and the 3 mana initiative ork, T2 cavern of souls and the 4 mana human .. attack with 6/6 protection from creatures, vigilance creature and 5 dmg from the trap .. I was playing a tinker deck and kept my first hand because I had urza's saga, and 2 FoW in hand .. it was a bit sketchy, but I only needed 1 good topdeck with a lot of hits in the deck to win .. I don't remember the rest of my hand, but T2 I'm able to make a karnstruct, have 9 life with lots of counters in hand, facing a 6/6 and a 3/4 .. he cast another dungeoneer .. I've playd against old landdestruction, probably most prison decks ever (one of my friends just loooves stax decks) and I never felt so helpless in a mtg match it was a bit better after board, but I still lost 1-2 nice video although It came close to giving me flashbacks ^^

[@kenzied1831]

Spoilers! That swamp off the top was absolutely brutal. There’s no justice in the world!

[@brentblackwell6180]

This makes me wanna reimagine my initiative deck.

[@sh41]

I love that you keep bringing guest players in. It's really cool to see different faces and styles.

[@thomasmartin1377]

Felicia's back! This series gets better and better. Love the Cardmarket Cinematic Universe.

[@niceguyproductions6527]

I just wanna say, I love your shirt Karl!

[@CardmarketMagic]

Thank you: :)

[@CardmarketMagic]

All decklists & Swiss matches: bit.ly/49tJHSF Decks featured in this video: bit.ly/49WpZzF The Swiss pilot for Drake Combo was @apass7241 The Swiss pilot for Turbo Initiative was @saltandpauper

[@spidery7618]

3:34 That is a hilarious reaction lol, she is so real for that xD

[@Rayan01012]

I love Carls energy😂

[@Valdreag17]

I will admit that I didn’t play with initiative, or any of the Baldur’s Gate cards, in Pauper so I didn’t know how fast that deck went. I’m pretty certain that there will be 0 classic combo decks in the top 4 now. Creatures are just much larger now-a-days.

[@Karthedis]

We need more Felicia in the future.

[@CardmarketMagic]

She'll be piloting Golbins in this tournament as well :)

[@professionalhater3929]

🤢🤮 Less child touching “women” please

[@dantehidemark1397]

Felicia didn't get to play the game much, I hope she comes back and joins you for more videos!

[@CardmarketMagic]

She will also be piloting Goblins in this tournament :)

[@byrontheusurper6505]

Damn, peregrine drake is CRAZY!

[@DaichiAudios]

I'm so excited when I saw Felicia in the thumbnail! Welcome back!

[@michaelpsmith3861]

oooo im excited! best thing to watch in the morning

[@dansacharko9350]

"I won't. This hand is garbage." YEET

[@Aurelius2142]

Had the weirdest sense of de ja vu when I saw this in my feed... but had to watch the magic happen again anyway :3 Great vid! Twice, even! XD

[@DavidFlores-pc8nj]

“I don’t feel immersed” 😂

[@omiq]

Why are all of you so bloody likable, best channel, srsly

[@SananabESU]

“I don’t feel immersed”

[@JarneB]

I LOVE CARDMARKET ❤

[@CardmarketMagic]

WE LOVE YOU

[@byrontheusurper6505]

Initiative is so cool, I rlly gotta pull more Baldurs gate!

[@briandixon9140]

Initiative is such a powerful (re: broken) mechanic. I think it might just go all the way.

[@daedalusdreamjournal5925]

That initiative deck was waaayyyyy too fast for the combo deck to handle. I believe that's what win the game in the hand. And the initiative mechanics is indeed a bit busted. So we have a strong contender for the best pauper deck today. I am anxious to see how it will fare against andrea's all that glitters.

[@timiturret148]

Yeah im a bit worried for future rounds, if the initiative Deck wins with a hand like on the second game 😅.

[@Mightypi]

Hyyyyype. Much as i love drake, the dungeon is going to take it.

[@peiojacob1850]

I love seeing new people in the channel!!! I just think that she should have played a flame slash in the turn were she had 2 mana up and opponent just played the creature 5:21 . She would have saved herself some damage.

[@CardmarketMagic]

She couldn't destroy the battlerager :) it has 5 toughness

[@MindstabThrull]

But wasn't the Apocalypse the third set in Invasion block? For those that are old enough to remember the Block structure :D

[@TravisEatWorld]

Really liked Felicia! Hope we see more of her on this channel. :)

[@Fejocan1710]

This video made me think of a sort of "What If...?" for MTG. Like What if Peregrine Drake was legalcin Modern? You could build a deck around it or insert it in an already existing deck and test it out. See if it would be broken, if it would improve an existing archetype or if it would create an archetype of its own. Could be a fun series to watch.

[@MunetsuguTakeno]

Great Video. I would like to have a question on production though. When you re doing the talk about situation at certain times of the game youre doing it after the games condluded or?

[@Lonk_the_3rd]

Highlight of my week

[@B455PL4Y3R]

I wondered why there was disliked when it was the intro, but then i understood why

[@dancing_odie]

9:48 you gotta believe in the heart of the cards

[@adamkoudsi535]

I think some effects are missing like the Aakorkra in the first round

[@lastnamefirstname8655]

more great decks from pauper!

[@blade6321]

Hell yeah, more felicia! Really fun video. (Man, initiative is so busted lol. It's like monarchy, but MORE powerful in 1v1?!)

[@victhefoxygamer]

Howdy Howdy. It's me, that weird Ooze Stan that asked for a video of "Under-rated" Tribes for a Cardmarket VS video. ANYWAYS I have good news; there's a new Sultai Ooze! His name is Felix, and he's got Five-Boots. The Mimeoplasm has a friend now! (Well in like 3 ish days, but still! _now if only there was a mono blue Ooze_ 🎉 Also, I wanna note how I didn't originally put Inexorable Tide with my Oozes, even when there's an Inexorable Blob I had in my little "standard" deck. Needless to say I recommend have the Inexorable-Duo 😂 "It sounds like the Apocalypse" "I love that" 😂

[@CardmarketMagic]

Felix not only has 5 boots but also is awesome! I hope you enjoyed our Slime Against Humanity episode :)

[@victhefoxygamer]

@@CardmarketMagic I did! I actually forgot that was a card but then my brother pulled one from a pack and gave it to me so that was rad!

[@nathanielreichley4640]

It's the apocalypse. I love that!

[@jshavluk4342]

When they say "common" do they make common and uncommon ?

[@CardmarketMagic]

Any card that was printed at common at least once is legal in pauper :)

[@leress]

Any card that was printed at common in either MTGO or paper.

[@NNNNTTTT-q6c]

No, no uncommons (silver symbol), only commons (black symbol)

[@IsaacBotten]

Which one would win turbo initiative or atg affinity because that matchup is happening soon

[@joshua988]

game 2 if she had played a untapped red source turn one and pyroblast on his creature that would have been a different game

[@felicia7008]

Yeah the good old benefit of hindsight. Totally agree but playing the tapland was probably still very correct. The draw becomes so slow without it but it didnt pan out ideally - thats for sure :/

[@juliolopes7831]

Why every video there are abnned cards on the decks?

[@cloaking111]

I felt that Bleep

[@pdb189]

Initiative is so good at making your opponents one step behind the entire game

[@gamingbattlefield8855]

I love the fact that there all commons so you can throw your hand on the ground and it won’t really matter

[@BHGinthahouse666]

The Undercity Dungeon says it can't be entered unless something says "enter the undercity". What am I missing here or ist this a giant misplay?

[@CardmarketMagic]

The card we showed, The Initiative, the one that is on the table most of the time. It says "Enter the Undercity". We are playing decks famous for being banned or omnipresent 😅 misunderstanding their core mechanic is as realistic as pro basketball players not realizing they can dribble 😛

[@kennethacuna9996]

did he say that if the lady deals him damage she takes the initiative?

[@CardmarketMagic]

Yes but only with a creature. It only counts combat damage

[@JustsomeMTGplayer]

LOVE THIS SERIES

[@Xavi_Shado]

Turbo-initiative looks like fun! Did you enjoy playing it?

[@CardmarketMagic]

Yes of course! But I don't recommend getting it for yourself :P it is very banned in pauper

[@danielkuttel7867]

I love your channel so much.

[@jeromephelps5959]

I’m think a great video would be a 4 player game with a standard deck, a pioneer deck, a modern deck and a pauper deck.

[@jeromephelps5959]

Another one could be a game between a deck of only commons (pauper), only uncommons, only rares, and only mythics (including lands).

[@ShogunApple]

SPOILERS At the end of game 2, wouldn’t it have been better for Felicia to not evoke the mulldrifter and instead just play the tap land and pass? That way, the next turn she would be able to play the drake and mulldrifter, and flicker both for more mana and 2 extra cards. If she draws into archaomancer she just wins the game

[@felicia7008]

You are right. That was a better line than what I played :)

[@tertmemelur1880]

maybe you answered the question somewhere else but I was curious why you got players that are experienced with the decks for the swiss but the team we know and love for the finals ? is it because you know we love yall, is it because people being less experienced with the decks makes for better content, is it purely logistics? (mainly asking because I really wish I could've seen Apass play but also genuinely curious)

[@CardmarketMagic]

There are many reasons for this. Firstly, we simply don't have the budget to fly 8 people from around the world to Berlin and pay for their hotels just to shoot a handful of videos 😅 but the most important reason is that people watch this channel for us. We realized early on that whenever I had two pros play against each other, the video would often get half as many views. Even if it was beloved community staples like Frank Karsten vs Andrea Mengucci. Finally, I'd like to add that we are all rather capable magic players with various levels of competitive success :) it's not like we are piloting the decks poorly. I personally take a lot of time to learn the two archetypes I'm given at every tournament to make sure I give the viewers as close as possible to perfect play :)

[@tertmemelur1880]

​@@CardmarketMagic omg yeah, I wasn't trying to imply you were bad or piloting the decks poorly, sorry if it came out that way :o yall are great and the way you explain your choices is really insightful ! I just have a weak spot for those people who play the same deck again and again for years, good or bad, like Apass prob did with drake and currently does with walls ^-^ (I'm a wall player too) Thank you for taking the time to answer, it all makes alot of sense :) (I do love watching you haha) Also I wanna make clear that I love your content, thank you for making it and putting it out there for us to enjoy :) And a special thank you for helping bring attention to the Pauper format, it needs the visibility haha Can't wait to see the rest of the tournament, I hope chatterstorm wins ! :3

[@CardmarketMagic]

@tertmemelur1880 no worries! It was not taken as criticism :) maybe one day we'll have the budget to film the Swiss rounds and you'll get to see people like Apass play! Maybe even playing walls :D

[@tertmemelur1880]

@@CardmarketMagic I'll be thrilled to see that, and I'll be thrilled to see whatever you guys come up with the budget you have ^-^

[@liamblack3001]

3:00 land for turn??

[@liamblack3001]

i guess wanting the bog kinda makes sense but it still feels wrong to lose the stuck petal for that

[@instabrawl2460]

I was so disappointed when Thorralf wasn't playing.

[@GaybrohamStinkton]

ARG?

[@awesomeguy5451]

chatterstorm is gonna make the finals, calling it now

[@zanebarber8688]

You know, I’m actually really glad that neither of these decks are really in pauper anymore… I’m a little sad that we don’t get to do drake things, but the initiative was way too much value for many decks which couldn’t interact with it at all

[@DrorSuari]

love this channel

[@loganchristiansen564]

game 2 was determined by playing swiftwater cliffs vs mountain on turn 1

[@castanus4343]

Hey guys, you should try to play Duel Commander. It's a weird 1v1 Commander format really fun and competitive. We use the initative a lot and it's kinda nice😂. Good content as always

[@nehebtheunwhorthy3313]

Shouldn't Felicia had cast Curfew before declaring blockers? She could have had another turn.

[@Norgodir]

Curfew returns her only creature to hand too, and also both creatures she didn't block had Menace so Carl was always returning the Sneak she blocked to hand.

[@nehebtheunwhorthy3313]

@@Norgodir Oh, you're right, I didn't read it correctly. It says "each player". Thanks.

[@andreavetrugno9411]

I predict that the final will be Chatterstorm vs Turbo initiative

[@The1AndOnlyGoldenboy]

It's going to be tough to beat Initiative. I think the only decks that really stand a chance are 8 Post and Goblins... and MAYBE Affinity if it gets lucky. Goblins have the potential to outpace the deck, and the other two can generate so much advantage that it can overcome what the Undercity can provide. It wouldn't surprise me if Initiative takes the whole thing though.

[@muditjohar5323]

It’s back! Let’s go intuative. Show why it was broken

[@bricelory9534]

You get a good display of that!

[@oafkad]

I'm not saying Carl is a villain, but only villains play initiative. So~

[@petersan9633]

I wish that the crown for this pauper tournament was a paper crown

[@xkfmwlfy3828]

Its pauper day

[@carlavlund5841]

EVERY DAY IS PAUPER DAY

[@Rodinj10]

I love the gameplay videos so much! Hope we can get more, the top 5 content isn't for me unfortunately

[@CardmarketMagic]

Don't worry :) we've stopped the top5 videos as of last week

[@Rodinj10]

@@CardmarketMagic amazing, you guys keep creating great stuff!

[@betabrett0223]

I know best deck of the best decks of all time would be unbalanced but I would love to see the best standard deck, modern, pauper, and if there is any more yet to be done or I'm forgetting go at the title of best deck of best decks of all time

[@zachariahhuey9876]

Felicia is great! All your guests are amazing 🎉

[@hippolyteseve7741]

After the first video I went out to watch the chatter storm rounds and... I mean it kills t3 like all the time. Without delver in this top8 I don't see how any deck wins against chatter storm

[@jeffe2267]

One of the most egregious things about the initiative is that half of the blazingly fast games are dominated by explaining how the mechanic works.

[@mageius]

I mean, you're taking the initiative to try and win the game lol.

[@soulsilver2012]

A mull to five with a zero land keep, and still it was only slightly close. Yeah that deck is busted

[@chesanceram4842]

I would be surprised if the Turbo Initiative is not about to win the whole challange.

[@youbluethatone1017]

FINALLY!! Twice maybe three times a week would be better for me btw

[@Norgodir]

Ghostly Flicker and Peregrine Drake do not make infinite mana just with those two cards Carl ;) Needs an Archaeomancer too! Felicia was not actually that close to winning.

[@ben668]

Best part of the week