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1

Game Reports / Worst Game Ever… Seriously

« on: March 10, 2015, 01:37:14 pm »

I fall flat on my face in this game.  Seriously the worst game I've ever played, and possibly the worst game anyone has ever played.  I'd like to blame it on luck.  But it was also me being stubborn and failing to adapt when my plan went awry.
Kingdom:
Transmute, Loan, Death Cart, Marauder, Scout, Minion, Mountebank, Outpost, Witch, Peddler

So my idea here was to open double Loan, buy Death Cart with first $4.  I get perfect luck on Turn 3, drawing 2 Coppers, 2 Loans and an Estate.  I trash 2 Coppers and get a Death Cart.  I'm not planning to buy Silvers, because I want a super thin deck.  I'm hoping to connect Death Cart with one of the Ruins to get a Mountebank and then get into Minions.

By Turn 12, I have only 9 cards in my deck, yet I still haven't connected Death Cart with either of the 2 Ruins.  I get frustrated and trash Death Cart to get a Minion.  My ruins are a Ruined Village and a Ruined Market.  I'm now hoping to connect Ruined Village and Minion, discard to draw Ruined Market and my Loan and Copper.  This would enable me to buy a Peddler.  I finally do this on Turn 31.  I went 18 turns without buying anything. 

Here's the log if you want to laugh at how terribly things went for me.
http://www.gokosalvager.com/static/logprettifier.html?/20150310/log.50ab1a76e4b02bf1d5a3c855.1426007165773.txt

2

Game Reports / Best Swindler luck ever?

« on: January 18, 2015, 11:58:52 am »

I really feel for AdamH on this one.  The kingdom is:
Vineyard, Fool's Gold, Swindler, Urchin, Alchemist, Spy, Mandarin, Upgrade, Hoard, Nobles

Clearly, the strategy here is to convert an Urchin (or two) to Mercenary(ies) to thin your deck. 

I open Swindler/Urchin to Adam's Urchin/Urchin.

T3: I have 3 Coppers and 2 Estates, buy 2nd Urchin.  I draw Urchin/Swindler.  Adam plays one Urchin, does not connect, buys 3rd Urchin.
T4: I play Urchin/Swindler, get a Merc.  Swindler reveals Urchin, and I turn it into a Silver; and buy Potion.  Adam has 3 Coppers/2 Estates, buys 4th Urchin (but only has 3 thanks to my Swindling).
T5: I buy Alchemist, Adam doesn't connect, buys Swindler.
T6: I play Swindler, hit Urchin again, give Adam a Silver.  Adam plays Urchin, draws Silver (which would have been an Urchin, were it not for my Swindler), and concedes.

Here's the log:
http://www.gokosalvager.com/static/logprettifier.html?/20150118/log.5085f5130cf270038ff92212.1421597116880.txt

3

Game Reports / New Dominion Card on Goko

« on: April 18, 2014, 09:35:43 am »

Maybe others have noticed this, but I think they added the card during the server shutdown last night.

Check out what I do on turn 11:
dudeabides   plays Journeyman
dudeabides   names Ace of Spades

Log here: http://www.gokosalvager.com/static/logprettifier.html?/20140418/log.506333f0a2e62dfc41a45a88.1397827859656.txt

What a great addition to the game!

4

Game Reports / "Merchant Guild and Herald" is the Answer

« on: July 09, 2013, 09:10:14 pm »

In pre-game chat with Warrior, he said "Another interesting board," to which I replied "I know where I want to go, but I don't know how to get there.  I want 6 Colonies to your 2."

Supply: Lookout, Urchin, Feast, Herald, Noble Brigand, Graverobber, Merchant Guild, Rebuild, Altar, Hoard, Colony

Log here: http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130709/log.506b5cfc0cf21d2313f966fe.1373417145396.txt

Given Colonies and Shelters, Rebuild seemed too slow here.  With Altar/Mercenary for trashing, big money seemed okay, but boring.  With no Villages or reliable draws, the engine seemed difficult, but challenging.  Herald with Urchin support provided the solution to the draw and the +Actions problem, and Merchant Guilds provided the $ and buys for a mega-turn.  As you may have guessed, I got the 6 Colonies I wanted.

5

Game Reports / All the Curses Are All for Me

« on: June 07, 2013, 08:49:56 pm »

When I first saw the board, I saw Torturer but no Villages for +Actions.  I thought, "Cool, no Torturer chains."  When Wandering Winder bought his first Inn, I thought "Oops.  This is going to be torture."

Here's the board:  Herbalist, Chancellor, Armory, Pirate Ship, Silk Road, Inn, Outpost, Pillage, Torturer, Forge

In first player position, knowing WW likes the alt-VP, I open Armory/Silver, figuring the Silk Road/Estate/X three-pile ending.  Playing the game to solve for X, I found that it equals curses... and victory for me. 

Log here http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130607/log.506b5cfc0cf21d2313f966fe.1370651633835.txt

Sorry for the bad pun.

6

Game Reports / Knights vs. Rats (That's B.S.)

« on: May 25, 2013, 05:51:26 pm »

Supply cards: Transmute, Embargo, Ambassador, Warehouse, Rats, Talisman, Ghost Ship, Junk Dealer, Knights, Merchant Ship

My opponent beats me to Knights, and gets the one that makes you discard (I don't know the name).  I get my deck down to 5 cards, he makes me discard.  He trashes things I want.  I get frustrated, so I get an Embargo, Embargo Silvers, buy Silver, give opponent the Curse.  Wash, rinse, repeat.  Every turn, my hand is Silver, Embargo, Necropolis, Ambassador, Curse.  I run the Embargo pile out with 2 Curses left, Embargo the Rats, buy a Rats.  Give opponent a curse without returning it to empty the curse pile.  Then I run the Rats pile out on my next turn to win 0 to -1.  Opponent sees what I'm doing during my last turn and says, "That's BS."  He left before I could tell him the "S" had nothing to do with bulls and everything to do with Rats. 

Log here:  http://dominionlogs.goko.com//20130525/log.50ce6dcae4b05a98b546d9ac.1369518105111.txt

7

Game Reports / Trying to find a balance on a Vineyards board

« on: March 13, 2013, 12:51:08 pm »

I'm curious to hear thoughts on the strategy to employ in this kingdom:
Cards in supply: Bank, Crossroads, Haggler, Inn, Margrave, Potion, Spice Merchant, Spy, Talisman, Vineyard, and Walled Village

In order to get some original ideas, I'd like to hear your thoughts before you look at the log and my comments on this game below (in "spoiler" font).

http://dominion.isotropic.org/gamelog/201303/13/game-20130313-093852-4a135a11.html

We both open Talsiman/Silver, but our strategies quickly diverge.  Gamesou gets 2 Potions on T3 and T4, while I get a Spice Merchant and a Haggler.  As a result, Gamesou has 3 Vineyards by the time I get my first.  At the end of the game, Gamesou has 6 Vineyards to my 2, but I have 20 action cards to his 4.  Luckily, I'm able to turn this into a 13-turn game before Gamesou can accumulate more action cards.  Clearly, I'm going for a rush while Gamesou is preparing for a longer haul.  Is there a middle ground?  Is a game with this kingdom ever likely to last much longer than 13 turns?

8

Game Reports / Scrying Pool/Steward Conundrum

« on: March 06, 2013, 10:29:49 am »

So the board is relatively straightforward--Scrying Pool engine is clearly the dominant strategy.  As such, both my opponent and I open Potion/Steward.  My opponent's T3 draw is terrible: Steward, Estate, 2 Coppers, and a Potion.  What do you do with that?

Do you not even bother playing Steward and just buy a Scrying Pool, hoping that the small probability of a $5 T4 is realized? Do you use Steward to draw 2 Cards to expedite the reshuffle?  Do you trash Estate and Copper and wait for the next Potion before buying the Pool?  I'm curious to get hear what others would do with his terrible draw.

Here's the log:

http://dominion.isotropic.org/gamelog/201303/06/game-20130306-070952-0ed44116.html

9

Game Reports / Semi-Golden Deck

« on: March 05, 2013, 10:12:09 am »

After the game below, my opponent asked:

"how did you manage to be the one who built basically a golden deck when I was the one who actually grabbed more trashing early?"

Here's the log:
http://dominion.isotropic.org/gamelog/201303/05/game-20130305-070100-664feea7.html

I personally think that my opponent's T3 Great Hall and T5 Trade Route purchases were not as strong as the two Silvers I bought.  The extra trashing from Trade Route seems like overkill given the opportunity to trash on the opponent's playing Bishop.  Furthermore, the Ventures make it such that I don't really need to get to the "pure" Golden Deck, and the Haven helped me set aside excess treasures for next turn or VP cards that I don't want to go back into the shuffle. 

I'm curious to hear others' thoughts on this game.  Cheers!

10

Game Reports / If you're destroying your opponent and can end the game...

« on: February 13, 2013, 06:27:39 pm »

Don't get greedy and try to rub their face in it!  Not only is it a bit rude, but you can also lose the game.

On an Alchemist, Goons, City kingdom, we both open Potion/Silver.  I hit $2/$6 on T3/T4, and my Potion misses the reshuffle.  As I don't want to lose the Alchemist split 6/4 and I want to make sure I return Alchemists every turn, I (in a likely stupid move) get a 2nd Potion on T6.  Things quickly go downhill from there.  Alchemists are split 5/5, but my opponent wins the City split 7/3 after Alchemists are already gone.  On his turn 19, Cities are fully enabled, my opponent has a 20-point lead, $12 and 5 Buys with only 4 Hamlets remaining.  Rather than buying out the Hamlets, winning the game, and putting me out of my misery, he buys 2 Goons to put him up 22 VP.  I hit 8 Buys, $16, and empty Estates to win the game by 2. 

Log: http://dominion.isotropic.org/gamelog/201302/13/game-20130213-141018-26cecd23.html

11

Introductions / The Dude abides. I don't know about you but I take comfort in that.

« on: January 15, 2013, 08:48:05 pm »

Howdy forum!

I've been playing regularly on Isotropic for about a year and a half now.  I wasn't aware of the DomionStrategy site until zaubererer asked me (on the last day of signups) if I had registered for the tournament.  A big thanks to zaubererer for pointing me in this direction!  Anyways, it's a great site, a great forum, and I wish I had been made aware of it much sooner--I would have spent a lot less time in the high 20s/low 30s. 

I'm working on a PhD in Finance, yet I try my best to avoid Big Money, go figure.  I'm finished with my coursework, so I only have my dissertation to complete.  Isotropic provides a great means to procrastinate on actually getting anything done on that.

What do I do for recreation?  Oh, the usual.  I play Dominion, drive around, the occasional acid flashback.  I also like long walks on the beach, candlelit dinners, and small children.  Sometimes, I like to light some incense to set the mood, get myself drunk off Boone's Farm, and then take advantage of myself.  I like sex, the physical act of love, coitus.  Filthy humor, sarcasm, and references to The Big Lebowski are also much appreciated. 

Anyways, I love the game and the forum.  Uh, I'm just gonna go find a cash machine.

12

Game Reports / Most painful loss ever

« on: December 08, 2012, 04:07:50 pm »

In Round 2 of the DominionStrategy tournament, I am facing elimination in game 6.  Log is here:
http://dominion.isotropic.org/gamelog/201212/08/game-20121208-101942-33b98560.html
I open Swindler instead of Masquerade (big mistake) and get passed back all the curses I dish to my opponent.  I buy a Masquerade later in the game to try to correct my early mistake.  Then, in an attempt to further rectify my early Swindler purchase mistake, I use the Masquerade to pass my Swindler to my opponent.  This drops my action cards from 12 to 11, dropping the VP of my three Vineyards by 1 point each.  I end the game 1 point behind and get eliminated from the tournament.  D'oh!

13

Game Reports / Native Village, Black Market, Watchtower, Tactician, Outpost Combo

« on: October 17, 2012, 08:48:28 pm »

This may be the most fun combo I've ever played.  And with plenty of strong cards at the black market (King's Court, Stables, Bazaar, Baron, Crossroads, Hamlet, etc.), it was an especially effective strategy.  With Tactician/Outpost, I could take 2 turns, one starting with 10 cards in hand followed by an Outpost turn with 8 cards.  Then being able to play treasures with Black Market to get them out of my hand, I could use Watchtower to top-deck cards bought at Black Market and then draw more cards.  Furthermore, Baron and Hamlet helped me discard victory cards before playing Watchtower. 

Anyways, here's the log: 
http://dominion.isotropic.org/gamelog/201210/17/game-20121017-170350-1a4d3cda.html

14

Game Reports / Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory by forgetting to play Horns before Buy

« on: September 26, 2012, 02:04:52 pm »

In a Duke game, I have 9 Cities, 7 Hunting Parties, and 6 Horns of Plenty and am losing 46 (7 provinces, 2 islands) to 6 (2 islands, 2 estates).  Before I start my turn, my opponent says "Interesting to see if you can pull this off."  Needless to say, I put my entire deck into my hand.  I have $25, 6 Horns, and 11 buys.  I buy 5 duchies, forgetting to play the Horns first.  Epic come-from-behind victory becomes epic failure.  D'oh!

See for yourself:
http://dominion.isotropic.org/gamelog/201209/26/game-20120926-103445-a9ae3429.html

Lesson: Play Horn of Plenty BEFORE initiating buy phase.