I haven't seen the bracket posted this week for Mustard's half of the bracket. I have completed my match with Kirian and wanted to post the results/commentary while I am still thinking about it.
andwilk defeats Kirian 5-2 (10 pts - 4 pts)
We chose to play with exactly 4 Alchemy cards in each game, providing for more than enough of an Alchemy feel in most of the games.
Game 1:
andwilk 29-25 Kirian (
http://dominion.isotropic.org/gamelog/201204/14/game-20120414-121435-ea84853d.html)
He wins the early cursing battle 6-4 with Familiars, but I win the Vineyard war 5-3 and that is the difference.
Game 2: andwilk 9-
27 Kirian (
http://dominion.isotropic.org/gamelog/201204/14/game-20120414-122408-27ce852c.html)
I was a hot mess in this one. Another, Vineyards/Familiar game where Kirian heads for the Vineyards first. I start to grab some too, but I also for some reason was using Apprentices to trash my actions for +cards, not helping my case for Vineyards.
Game 3:
andwilk 44-resigned Kirian (
http://dominion.isotropic.org/gamelog/201204/14/game-20120414-123426-b32b53cc.html)
I was able to grab a turn 6 Grand Market with Mining Village (trash)/Militia/Silver and by the time he resigned on turn 21, I had amassed a 6-1 GM lead, 4-1 Province lead, and we had split the Vineyards.
Game 4:
andwilk 42-27 Kirian (
http://dominion.isotropic.org/gamelog/201204/14/game-20120414-124229-9b5255d5.html)
Grand Markets are in play again, so I open Silver/Silver vs. Silver/Watchtower. I add a Trading Post on turn 3 I was was fortunate enough to draw TP/Silver/Silver on turn 6 to allow me another early GM purchase. This game was going to be too fast for an engine (I had bought a potion early on anticipating later Scrying Pool buys), so I transition to a Province rush at turn 11 and don't look back.
Game 5:
andwilk 12-resigned Kirian (
http://dominion.isotropic.org/gamelog/201204/14/game-20120414-125057-e48f11d8.html)
This game was over after turn 1. He opts for Apprentice while I pick up an Upgrade (we both buy Cellar on turn 2). Seeing that there was ample discarding opportunities (Cellar, Cartographer, Goons), I Upgrade my 3 Estates into 3 Tunnels. By the time he resigned on turn 9, I already had an 8-1 Gold advantage.
Game 6: andwilk 33-
43 Kirian (
http://dominion.isotropic.org/gamelog/201204/14/game-20120414-130149-673cca5d.html)
The key to this game was the Universities that he bought and I chose to forgo. I thought with Masq/Remake (which I opened) in the mix, this game was going to be way too fast for Universities to really matter too much. I go for more of a BM strategy but start to choke on green in the mid-game. He uses the Universities to drain the Market pile to keep me honest and threaten the 3-pile ending.
Game 7:
andwilk 37-32 Kirian (
http://dominion.isotropic.org/gamelog/201204/14/game-20120414-131652-95e9dd8b.html)
Again, Universities are the difference. This time I build a University/Margrave/Stables engine vs. his Tournaments. He is able to grab the first 3 prizes (Followers/Trusty Steed/Bag of Gold) before I get any, but he is a bit unlucky to not hit a Tournament/Province until turn 12. I grab the final two prizes, Princess and Diadem which both play a huge role in my win since I really didn't have much of an economy. I hit a bit turn on turn 20 to grab 2 Provinces and the lead at that point. I'm able to end the game on turn 23 in 3 piles. It was tough for him to get anything going after I amassed a ton of Margraves in my deck and was playing one almost every turn from turn 11 until the end of the game.
Overall, I had most of the luck throughout the series especially in the games with Grand Markets (you have to be a bit lucky to grab GMs on turn 6!) Enjoyable series and I really enjoyed the discussion about the games afterwards.