Game 1Poor House, Hamlet, Alchemist, Philosopher's Stone, Armory, Harvest, Highway, Laboratory, Vault
Pretty standard game. I figure I'd like to use highway to bring down the price, and hamlet to load up on buys, and otherwise try to avoid buying treasure. Of course, relying on cantrips requires some source of +cards so I try alchemist. Since I start 5/2 I open with lab, and pick a few more up here and there. Aidan also goes hamlet/highway and due to relying more on silvers and not buying lab, he wins the highway split. However, he doesn't get his draw going until late in the game. We both start greening, and between his win of the highway split and more silvers, I start to get a little nervous. However, I manage to get a good turn in with enough buys to pull off a tight 3-pile win.
http://gokosalvager.com/static/logprettifier.html?20140527/log.516d3566e4b082c74d7b3ec8.1401179230399.txtGame 2Chapel, Moat, Oracle, Scheme, Warehouse, Conspirator, Spy, Baker, Laboratory, Peddler, Copper
If only there were buys!
So, we both get the same sort of idea, which is to get a cantrip engine thing going on. I plan things out a little better and rely on conspirators more than Aidan, and start to stock up coin tokens. By turn 10 it's basically guaranteed that we both will hit provinces every turn until the piles run out. I could have started greening turn 9, but I get slightly worried that I might choke so I wait until turn 10. So, naturally it ends in a draw.
http://gokosalvager.com/static/logprettifier.html?20140527/log.516d3566e4b082c74d7b3ec8.1401179708697.txtGame 3Vineyard, Stonemason, Hermit, Menagerie, Oasis, Monument, Governor, Haggler, Mystic, Stables
Governor is the only way to multi-province in this game, and stonemason allows for some double-gains of nice cards where possible. To avoid giving your opponent +1 card from governor (and wasting a governor use on it's weakest ability) menagerie and stables can come in handy. I open monument/hermit to get a few VP tokens stored up and to trash, as well, I figure hermit's gain for menagerie or oasis will come in handy, not to mention a possible madman turn down the road. Unfortunately, the opportunity to get madman comes a little earlier than I would have liked, but it works out anyway.
Aidan gets 5/2 so he goes directly for governor and picks up a stonemason, ostensibly to trash coppers. We both start loading up on menageries, and governors, I pick up some oasis's, to hopefully get more draw out of my menageries (by being able to discard duplicates) Turn 9 I make a horrible mistake, while trying to pick up a stonemason to get a Governor and Stables, I hit the wrong button by accident and get 3 stonemasons instead. However, I notice my engine is coming together better than Aidan's so I'm not too worried. Turn 12 I realize that my horrible mistake may pay off anyways, when I cause a 3-pile while slightly ahead.
http://gokosalvager.com/static/logprettifier.html?20140527/log.516d3566e4b082c74d7b3ec8.1401180197332.txtGame 4Chancellor, Forager, Fortress, Nomad Camp, Remodel, Tournament, Cache, Cartographer, Mint, Rogue
I am really bad at tournament. I can never quite figure out how to get it working right. To boot, I get a 5/2 start. I decide to be clever and go rogue, hoping to catch forager or tournament from Aidan. However, Forager/Tournament is much better. My strategy backfires when Mint ends up in the trash, and then I'm stuck with dead cards. I figured I could go with a less efficient deck, hoping that boosting buying power will get me to 8 faster (since trimming costs you a few turns). I know I have limited time to hit my first province, since Aidan's tight deck will connect province every turn if he can just get up to 8. Unfortunately, I'm just short 2-3 turns in a row, and after that it's all over. The game goes on for another 9 turns, but it's just a formality, Aidan creams me.
http://gokosalvager.com/static/logprettifier.html?20140527/log.516d3566e4b082c74d7b3ec8.1401180931724.txtGame 5Lighthouse, Pearl Diver, Smugglers, Woodcutter, Caravan, Remake, Spice Merchant, Count, Soothsayer, Trading Post
This is a big of a funky one. I hoped to get count, and move into a caravan engine. Maybe pick up Soothsayer for gold (if it gives curses to the other guy, bonus) and see where things go. Aidan gets a 2/5 so I decide to be clever and pick up smugglers/caravan (on the hope that I can steal Count turn 3). Alas, it was not to be. I get Remake to at least get some trashing going since count after t4 won't be a great buy on this board. We start greening, Aidan starts taking a lead, so I get a little desperate and use remake to get myself 2 duchies from caravans. Aidan hits 7 a few turns in a row, preventing him from finishing me off, and I get lucky eventually. I can't really say I played better this game, it kind of came down to luck more or less.
http://gokosalvager.com/static/logprettifier.html?20140527/log.516d3566e4b082c74d7b3ec8.1401181441250.txtGame 6Chancellor, Develop, Watchtower, Spice Merchant, Taxman, Harvest, Knights, Merchant Ship, Torturer, Possession
I love possession. I don't always win with it, but if it looks like it could work I might as well try. In general, the key to a good possession deck is to be easily able to hit 6, (so it won't be too much work to hit 6p) but very difficult to hit 8. Specifically though, it may be okay to have a nice deck if you know they won't possess you too much, for a subjective level of too much.
I am not sure if Aidan will also go with Possession, but since there are no villages, I figure I can make my deck nice as he won't play it more often than I will. I'm not worried about Torturer or Knights, as the lack of villages makes them weaker, and I certainly don't want to hurt Aidan's deck! I will need it! We both open Spice Merchant/Watchtower, but I start going for treasure immediately after, to be sure I can hit 6p easily. I go $2+buy from Spice Merchant twice to get buying power, and pick up potion. As a slight hedge for a tight game, I buy an estate to trash hovel. Aidan gets another Spice Merchant, probably wanting to trash down more. Turn 9 Aidan makes a head-scratching decision to buy Merchant Ship, but hey, I don't mind using up his duration cards for him. (In the end, it turns out to be a neutral decision on his part, it ends up being a dead card when I possess him as often as I get to benefit from him).
He doesn't go for possession in the end, perhaps hoping he could do fine without it.
Turn 13 I get a chance to buy a province with Aidan's deck, and also trigger a reshuffle causing many of his nice cards to get missed. It was a lucky time to possess him, and it probably clinched the game for me. After that, me taking about 2 turns to his 1 turn, plus his merchant ship, won the game for me.
http://gokosalvager.com/static/logprettifier.html?20140527/log.516d3566e4b082c74d7b3ec8.1401182076108.txt