51
Dominion: Adventures Previews / Re: Teasers!
« on: March 30, 2015, 09:57:25 am »
Yeah. It feels like your mother telling you that Santa Clause will be late today and you need to wait to be a little bit patient... 
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52
Tournaments and Events / Re: Dominion Team World Cup II (Results Only)
« on: February 21, 2015, 09:00:26 am »
yuuna_tu (JPN) - Psyduck (GER) 5:1
53
Tournaments and Events / Re: Dominion Team World Cup II (Results Only)
« on: January 25, 2015, 12:57:56 pm »
(Finland) Eevee 3:3 Psyduck (Germany)
54
Tournaments and Events / Re: My Escape
« on: January 08, 2015, 02:11:27 pm »If you're really as "competitive" as you rationalize yourself to be (being competitive isn't the same as really hating to lose), and you even have the slightest sense of honor, you'd repack yourself and give it your best to be an example to your team.
This is my point of view as well.
Silverspawn, you really should pull your socks up. At least this is what I would do in such a situation. I don't believe that you lose your skill by playing a different game for some weeks. If you are concentrated, motivated and focused during your games, you will still play well. If you don't, it's because you didn't put yourself into a "competitive" mood. And that's your deliberate decision. Instead, you blame it on the circumstances.
I'm honestly disappointed.
55
Tournaments and Events / Re: Dominion Team World Cup II (Results Only)
« on: January 06, 2015, 04:34:09 pm »
Psyduck (Germany) - dudeabides (USA) 2:4
http://www.gokosalvager.com/static/logprettifier.html?/20150106/log.506b5cfc0cf21d2313f966fe.1420571983250.txt
http://www.gokosalvager.com/static/logprettifier.html?/20150106/log.506b5cfc0cf21d2313f966fe.1420572904738.txt
http://www.gokosalvager.com/static/logprettifier.html?/20150106/log.506b5cfc0cf21d2313f966fe.1420573821678.txt
http://www.gokosalvager.com/static/logprettifier.html?/20150106/log.506b5cfc0cf21d2313f966fe.1420575072369.txt
http://www.gokosalvager.com/static/logprettifier.html?/20150106/log.506b5cfc0cf21d2313f966fe.1420577412011.txt
http://www.gokosalvager.com/static/logprettifier.html?/20150106/log.506b5cfc0cf21d2313f966fe.1420578984239.txt
http://www.gokosalvager.com/static/logprettifier.html?/20150106/log.506b5cfc0cf21d2313f966fe.1420571983250.txt
http://www.gokosalvager.com/static/logprettifier.html?/20150106/log.506b5cfc0cf21d2313f966fe.1420572904738.txt
http://www.gokosalvager.com/static/logprettifier.html?/20150106/log.506b5cfc0cf21d2313f966fe.1420573821678.txt
http://www.gokosalvager.com/static/logprettifier.html?/20150106/log.506b5cfc0cf21d2313f966fe.1420575072369.txt
http://www.gokosalvager.com/static/logprettifier.html?/20150106/log.506b5cfc0cf21d2313f966fe.1420577412011.txt
http://www.gokosalvager.com/static/logprettifier.html?/20150106/log.506b5cfc0cf21d2313f966fe.1420578984239.txt
56
Tournaments and Events / Re: Dominion Team World Cup II Signups
« on: December 10, 2014, 10:05:42 am »
Psyduck
Germany
All sets + Black Market + Stash + Prince
Germany
All sets + Black Market + Stash + Prince
57
GokoDom / Re: Thank you to Kirian!
« on: May 22, 2014, 02:48:58 am »
Adam and Nick, this is the most hilarious thing I've seen in a long time. 
Thank you so much for sharing this. Soo good!
Thank you so much for sharing this. Soo good!
58
GokoDom / Re: GokoDom III: Round 7 Discussion Thread
« on: April 10, 2014, 04:21:22 pm »
Some comments on my match vs. Titandrake:
I really feel that Bishop/GM is the way to go here. Maybe there is even a faster way to get GMs utilizing opponent's Bishops, as MarkowKette pointed out, but HT/Duke should lose here. So I go for Bishop/GM, while he starts HT and after a few turns switches gears. That should allow me to easily win the GM split, right? Well, we split 5-5. My deck should be thinner though and I should still be able to win it. But actually his deck is thin first and he manages to get a huge lead and take the game.
Probably my golden deck-like approach was not so good here in presence of Crossroads, and maybe I got one or two Bishos too much. Still very unhappy about this game. :/
Don't have much to add. The Soothsayer was quite significant, so even though my Margraves met at the bottom of the shuffle, I didn't get into bigger problems.
Titandrake's early Haggler was huge, while I couldn't get to $5 until turn 6. I also ignored Apprentices far too long, and in the end didn't have a chance. Very well played by Titandrake I think.
My best game in the series, maybe even the only good one. Although my Embassies appear three times without any village in hand, I can build up to a nice draw engine with Salvager/Fortress as payload.
Please don't look at this game. If you still do, don't try that at home. I played so badly.
I don't know what I'm doing here. Smuggling Duchies, then remaking them into Golds and play an engine that buys all Provinces and at the same time denies the Duke player enough points seems not all that likely. And it's entirely impossible if you don't have a good plan. Just going for Dukes myself would have been better and much easier. Note to myself: Don't try fancy stuff in tournaments if there is a strong and easy alternative. Completely messed this game up.
Now here I get 5/2, start with Mandarin and can put an Embargo on Gold just before Titandrake hits $6 for the first time. Game over? Not if you plan to buy more Mandarins to remake them into Golds. If I play plain BM with 2-3 Mandarins I should win this.
I really feel a bit sad about that match, clearly my worst performance in this tournament. At least the first and the last game I should have been able to win with better play, maybe also that Duke game. It seems this cost me a spot in the top 16, but at least Titandrake can make it to the next round.
I'd like to say thank you to Titandrake for your patience while Goko kept kicking me out of our games. Good luck for the next rounds, I'll cheer for you.
Also thanks for Kirian and anyone else involved in organizing this event. It's been a pleasure to participate.
http://www.gokosalvager.com/static/logprettifier.html?/20140409/log.505f5ec4a2e6714a97eee844.1397069699823.txt
Crossroads, Trade Route, Philosopher's Stone, Bishop, Bureaucrat, Horse Traders, Duke, Tribute, Farmland, Grand Market
I decide on HT-Duke, then switch my mind on turn 4. I don't remember much besides that, don't know how I managed to win, or what was going on. Just, whatever, forget this game. What I do remember is that on my last turn, I have a 50/50 shot of winning vs losing, in that it all depends on if I draw a victory card or not. I don't, so I win.
I really feel that Bishop/GM is the way to go here. Maybe there is even a faster way to get GMs utilizing opponent's Bishops, as MarkowKette pointed out, but HT/Duke should lose here. So I go for Bishop/GM, while he starts HT and after a few turns switches gears. That should allow me to easily win the GM split, right? Well, we split 5-5. My deck should be thinner though and I should still be able to win it. But actually his deck is thin first and he manages to get a huge lead and take the game.
Probably my golden deck-like approach was not so good here in presence of Crossroads, and maybe I got one or two Bishos too much. Still very unhappy about this game. :/
http://www.gokosalvager.com/static/logprettifier.html?/20140409/log.505f5ec4a2e6714a97eee844.1397073385204.txt
Fool's Gold, Tunnel, Philosopher's Stone, Coppersmith, Ironmonger, Taxman, Baker, Margrave, Soothsayer, Bank
Margrave-Fool's Gold, I buy a Soothsayer, always draw it dead, and it costs me so many Provinces. Psyduck wins pretty easily.
Don't have much to add. The Soothsayer was quite significant, so even though my Margraves met at the bottom of the shuffle, I didn't get into bigger problems.
http://www.gokosalvager.com/static/logprettifier.html?/20140409/log.505f5ec4a2e6714a97eee844.1397074660040.txt
Vineyard, Moat, Oracle, Sage, Advisor, Conspirator, Ironmonger, Smithy, Apprentice, Haggler
No +Buy, but Haggler gives you ways to gain actions. I get an early $5 for Haggler, then start using Haggler to gain Apprentice and Ironmongers and Conspirators. My deck starts up faster, and Apprentice trashes out most of my starting cards. Psyduck doesn't get Apprentice until later, and by then it was too late.
Titandrake's early Haggler was huge, while I couldn't get to $5 until turn 6. I also ignored Apprentices far too long, and in the end didn't have a chance. Very well played by Titandrake I think.
http://www.gokosalvager.com/static/logprettifier.html?/20140409/log.505f5ec4a2e6714a97eee844.1397076013129.txt
Transmute, University, Fortress, Ironmonger, Salvager, Taxman, Embassy, Royal Seal, Adventurer, Border Village
Salvager + Border Village + Fortress is a nice setup. I misplay, buying a Fortress on T3 which should have been Embassy. Psyduck wins the BV split and gets the win with the better engine. Need to remember to buy the cards, then buy the payload.
My best game in the series, maybe even the only good one. Although my Embassies appear three times without any village in hand, I can build up to a nice draw engine with Salvager/Fortress as payload.
http://www.gokosalvager.com/static/logprettifier.html?/20140409/log.505f5ec4a2e6714a97eee844.1397077965776.txt
Courtyard, Haven, Doctor, Smugglers, Storeroom, Trade Route, Advisor, Plaza, Remake, Duke
Really interesting board. Courtyard isn't the best card draw, but you have the trashing, the actions, and the +Buy. I decide on Storeroom/Silver into Duchy Duke. Psyduck opens Remake/Smugglers, with the plan of Smuggling away some Duchies, then Remaking them into Gold and playing the engine. We split Duchies 4-4, which is really bad for me, so I decide I need to end ASAP and start running out the Dukes and Estates. It helps that Trade Route is amazing at this point. I'm not sure which strategy is better: I feel like the engine should be able to get enough Provinces in time, but I'm not sure, and if the Duke player gets 5 Duchies, they win. Overall though, I think I played the Duke deck right.
Please don't look at this game. If you still do, don't try that at home. I played so badly.
I don't know what I'm doing here. Smuggling Duchies, then remaking them into Golds and play an engine that buys all Provinces and at the same time denies the Duke player enough points seems not all that likely. And it's entirely impossible if you don't have a good plan. Just going for Dukes myself would have been better and much easier. Note to myself: Don't try fancy stuff in tournaments if there is a strong and easy alternative. Completely messed this game up.
http://www.gokosalvager.com/static/logprettifier.html?/20140409/log.505f5ec4a2e6714a97eee844.1397079050572.txt
Beggar, Embargo, Village, Moneylender, Nomad Camp, Remake, Explorer, Graverobber, Horn of Plenty, Mandarin
You know your board is slow when the best deck looks like Mandarin-BM. Psyduck has 5-2, Embargoes Gold and plans to use Remake to trash Mandarins and other $5 costs into Gold. Turns out that this is far too fancy and loses to Mandarin and Explorer.
Now here I get 5/2, start with Mandarin and can put an Embargo on Gold just before Titandrake hits $6 for the first time. Game over? Not if you plan to buy more Mandarins to remake them into Golds. If I play plain BM with 2-3 Mandarins I should win this.
I really feel a bit sad about that match, clearly my worst performance in this tournament. At least the first and the last game I should have been able to win with better play, maybe also that Duke game. It seems this cost me a spot in the top 16, but at least Titandrake can make it to the next round.
I'd like to say thank you to Titandrake for your patience while Goko kept kicking me out of our games. Good luck for the next rounds, I'll cheer for you.
Also thanks for Kirian and anyone else involved in organizing this event. It's been a pleasure to participate.
59
GokoDom / Re: GokoDom III: Round 6 Discussion Thread
« on: April 05, 2014, 02:17:48 pm »
Psyduck - markusin 3:1
Game 1
A tense game with Forager, Market Square, Governor and King's Court. Both of us get thin and strong decks quite fast, but markusin focuses stronger on Governors. In turn 13 I miss to buy a Colony as protection, and he punishes that mistake with three-piling the turn after, winning with one Duchy.
Game 2
Ambassador game with Highway, Scheme, Stonemason, Sea Hag and Rats. He starts with Amb/Sea Hag, I react to it with Amb/Rats. I manage to keep my deck thinner, and finally pass him my Rats. Thus I can win the Highway split 6-4 and have a much easier time connecting them, finally causing the win for me.
Game 3
Big Engine with Worker's Village, Catacombs, Junk Dealer, Bridge, Wishing Well, Jester and Squire. We go for the same stuff, except for markusin gets an early Jester which does not too much for him in this game, although it really should help gaining more engine components. I get an early advantage, hitting $5 twice in T3 and T4, while he gets only $4 and $5. My draws are also quite well, and then it snowballs for me. In T11 I needed $1 more to end it, which then happens the turn afterwards.
Game 4
Another interesting game with Fool's Gold, Horse Traders, Swindler, Steward, Spice Merchant and Black Market (with some nice cards in it like Goons, Soothsayer, Sea Hag).
This turns out to be a very tactical game. Normally, FG + Horse Traders is a good combination, but here Swindler can turn FGs into Estates, while Horse Traders reacts to Swindlers. Leaving all the FG to the opponent must be the wrong decision as well, so both of us go for FG and Swindler. He starts FG+HT, I get Swindler and Spice Merchant. He goes for the FG more aggressively and manages to get Provinces early, causing me to trash my FG in order to remove them as Swindler targets.
Later I can catch up with my Golds (which are actually hit by his Swindlers) and the Sea Hag I find in the Black Market. It's very close in the end, but I'm lucky enough to end it.
Thanks again for the games, markusin. I'm looking forward to watching your videos.
Game 1
A tense game with Forager, Market Square, Governor and King's Court. Both of us get thin and strong decks quite fast, but markusin focuses stronger on Governors. In turn 13 I miss to buy a Colony as protection, and he punishes that mistake with three-piling the turn after, winning with one Duchy.
Game 2
Ambassador game with Highway, Scheme, Stonemason, Sea Hag and Rats. He starts with Amb/Sea Hag, I react to it with Amb/Rats. I manage to keep my deck thinner, and finally pass him my Rats. Thus I can win the Highway split 6-4 and have a much easier time connecting them, finally causing the win for me.
Game 3
Big Engine with Worker's Village, Catacombs, Junk Dealer, Bridge, Wishing Well, Jester and Squire. We go for the same stuff, except for markusin gets an early Jester which does not too much for him in this game, although it really should help gaining more engine components. I get an early advantage, hitting $5 twice in T3 and T4, while he gets only $4 and $5. My draws are also quite well, and then it snowballs for me. In T11 I needed $1 more to end it, which then happens the turn afterwards.
Game 4
Another interesting game with Fool's Gold, Horse Traders, Swindler, Steward, Spice Merchant and Black Market (with some nice cards in it like Goons, Soothsayer, Sea Hag).
This turns out to be a very tactical game. Normally, FG + Horse Traders is a good combination, but here Swindler can turn FGs into Estates, while Horse Traders reacts to Swindlers. Leaving all the FG to the opponent must be the wrong decision as well, so both of us go for FG and Swindler. He starts FG+HT, I get Swindler and Spice Merchant. He goes for the FG more aggressively and manages to get Provinces early, causing me to trash my FG in order to remove them as Swindler targets.
Later I can catch up with my Golds (which are actually hit by his Swindlers) and the Sea Hag I find in the Black Market. It's very close in the end, but I'm lucky enough to end it.
Thanks again for the games, markusin. I'm looking forward to watching your videos.
60
GokoDom / Re: GokoDom III: Round 6 Results ONLY
« on: April 05, 2014, 01:49:49 pm »
Psyduck defeats markusin.
61
GokoDom / Re: GokoDom III: Round 5 Discussion Thread
« on: March 27, 2014, 06:21:06 pm »
Psyduck - Emeric 3:0
http://www.gokosalvager.com/static/logprettifier.html?20140326/log.5063625f0cf2b1ff4173dbab.1395870846570.txt
Masterpiece-Feodum with Colonies. Both of us go for the Feoda and a Silver flood. Emeric uses Nomad Camps to get hands with lots of money, while I spend some turns to trash down with Count, which proves to be strong. Soon I get lots of Silvers (21-18 at the end), while Emeric's deck suffers a bit from Masterpieces and his early Feoda. He gets 6 Feoda, but I get 7 Provinces and a Colony (thanks to Haven) for the win.
Thank you Emeric for the games, and good luck in the rest of the tournament.
Hmm this one is interesting. I think i would have done somethink completely different than you two did. In my experience in Feodum Masterpiece games it is most important to get up to big Masterpieces. On 5/2 i think i would have gone Rabble to reach that and on 4/3 i would have even opened Treasure Map/Silver and get another 1 or 2 Treasure Maps the next shuffle. After they collided you will have a 12-14$ hand and can get 9-11 Silvers on a single Masterpiece. You will probably lose the Feodum split 5/3 or even 6/2 this way, but if you lose in 6/2 your opponents economy will be so crippled that you can easily catch up on Points with your AMAZING Economy having 4 Golds and about 13 Silvers in your Deck from around turn 7 on. If your opponent also builds up a bit and doesnt start on Feoda too early you will get at least 3 of them and those will be worth much more than his 5 in that case.
Thanks for your feedback. I certainly agree with you that it's most important here to get big hands as soon as possible. However I still think that Count is quite good to reach that goal. The +$3 bonus helps a lot, but in that game I decided to trash down first. This way I made sure having lots of $8 hands later on. Having 21 Silvers out of 31 cards after turn 9 does not seem slow to me, although I'm not sure if Rabble might accomplish even more. Honestly, Treasure Map is a card that I didn't consider here at all, as I really dislike relying on them to collide. But I agree that they can be strong if they collide early enough.
What I did wrong here is to go for Provinces over Feoda. The Feoda were worth even more, and my opponent could buy them easily even with his weaker economy.
62
GokoDom / Re: GokoDom III: Round 5 Discussion Thread
« on: March 26, 2014, 06:33:39 pm »
Psyduck defeats Emeric 3:0.
Emeric - Psyduck 0:1
http://www.gokosalvager.com/static/logprettifier.html?/20140326/log.5063625f0cf2b1ff4173dbab.1395869579210.txt
Masquerade into a Ironmonger-Cultist-Haggler engine. I add an early Spice Merchant and my engine comes together much better.
Psyduck - Emeric 2:0
http://www.gokosalvager.com/static/logprettifier.html?/20140326/log.5063625f0cf2b1ff4173dbab.1395870205708.txt
Governor-Duke works really well. He gets one Governor, a Smithy and some Crossroads, while I take two Governors and a Courtyard. We split the duchies evenly, but I manage to win the Duke split 5-3. It is really close, as he has a lead in Provinces , until I draw 2 Governors with 2 Golds for the last two Provinces.
Psyduck - Emeric 3:0
http://www.gokosalvager.com/static/logprettifier.html?20140326/log.5063625f0cf2b1ff4173dbab.1395870846570.txt
Masterpiece-Feodum with Colonies. Both of us go for the Feoda and a Silver flood. Emeric uses Nomad Camps to get hands with lots of money, while I spend some turns to trash down with Count, which proves to be strong. Soon I get lots of Silvers (21-18 at the end), while Emeric's deck suffers a bit from Masterpieces and his early Feoda. He gets 6 Feoda, but I get 7 Provinces and a Colony (thanks to Haven) for the win.
Thank you Emeric for the games, and good luck in the rest of the tournament.
Emeric - Psyduck 0:1
http://www.gokosalvager.com/static/logprettifier.html?/20140326/log.5063625f0cf2b1ff4173dbab.1395869579210.txt
Masquerade into a Ironmonger-Cultist-Haggler engine. I add an early Spice Merchant and my engine comes together much better.
Psyduck - Emeric 2:0
http://www.gokosalvager.com/static/logprettifier.html?/20140326/log.5063625f0cf2b1ff4173dbab.1395870205708.txt
Governor-Duke works really well. He gets one Governor, a Smithy and some Crossroads, while I take two Governors and a Courtyard. We split the duchies evenly, but I manage to win the Duke split 5-3. It is really close, as he has a lead in Provinces , until I draw 2 Governors with 2 Golds for the last two Provinces.
Psyduck - Emeric 3:0
http://www.gokosalvager.com/static/logprettifier.html?20140326/log.5063625f0cf2b1ff4173dbab.1395870846570.txt
Masterpiece-Feodum with Colonies. Both of us go for the Feoda and a Silver flood. Emeric uses Nomad Camps to get hands with lots of money, while I spend some turns to trash down with Count, which proves to be strong. Soon I get lots of Silvers (21-18 at the end), while Emeric's deck suffers a bit from Masterpieces and his early Feoda. He gets 6 Feoda, but I get 7 Provinces and a Colony (thanks to Haven) for the win.
Thank you Emeric for the games, and good luck in the rest of the tournament.
63
GokoDom / Re: GokoDom III: Round 5 Results ONLY
« on: March 26, 2014, 05:56:53 pm »
Psyduck defeats Emeric.
64
GokoDom / Re: GokoDom III: Round 3 Discussion Thread
« on: March 13, 2014, 07:07:48 pm »
Rabid - Psyduck 1:3
Game 1
Witch seems dominant on that board, but there is also expensive trashing in Forge, Apprentice and Expand. Rabid opens double Silver, I take Smugglers with a Silver, hoping to smuggle a Witch. This doesn't happen at first, but his Witch misses her first shuffle, while mine doesn't and I also get a second. Later he gets a second which I smuggle, after already having smuggled some Gold.
I'm also very lucky to stop his second Witch play with my only Pillage.
Rabid plays it a bit more moneyish, while I go for Native Villages, Apprentices and a Forge. This causes me to get through my deck quicker and even play more Witches. I win the split 8-2 and can even trash my two Curses.
Game 2
Here, I have the advantage of starting 5/2 (Tactician + Chapel), while Rabid must settle for Chapel/Oasis. I'm still not sure if Tactician is better than Jester here, but it worked out quite well. We trash down, I get a Jester, he gets a Gold, which my Jester directly hits. At this point he has trashed much more agressively (maybe a bit too much?), with his deck consisting of 2xOasis, Gold, Silver, Chapel. He then gets an Explorer and starts going for Provinces. This works well at the beginning. However, I start buying Familiars and clog up his thin deck. By turn 12 he has 3 Provinces, but also 9 Curses and stalls very hard. I manage to get some money by expanding Potion and Familiars and can catch up without big problems.
Game 3
Another interesting one. I see three possible roads to take here: Goons, Ironworks/Island and Duke. I feel there is no strong Duke support (Jester? Goons?) but I'm not sure at all. Goons is always strong, and there is Junk Dealer to get rid of additional Coppers. But there is also Lighthouse as protection. Ironworks/Island is not the classic rush combination, but I thought it would be good with Lighthouses to gain to protect against Goons and go for it. Rabid goes for Goons and Junk Dealers anyway. This turns out to be the better choice, as I fail to get enough points fast enough to threaten three-piling. His two Goons assemble enough points for him to bring home the game safely.
Game 4
I love that board! Highway/(Grand) Market just plays awesome every time. And here we also have Stonemason to gain GMs with Coppers in play. Now the big question is: How to begin? Counterfeit is certainly important to trash Coppers, so Feast is an option. Shanty Town is nice to for cyling and later to find more cantrips. There is also Doctor which can trash stuff. Rabid has 3/4 and goes for Feast/Silver. I have 4/3 and start Doctor/Silver. He then gets another Feast and trashes them for Counterfit and Highway, while I'm busy trashing Coppers and Estates, which works surprisingly well. Having the thinner deck, I use Stonemason to catch up in action cards. The Highways split 6-4 in my favour. As the piles start getting low, Rabid starts greening in turn 11, then I get my super turn and buy 4 Provinces. From then on it's never again really close and I win by stonemasoning a GM into the last two Duchies.
Rabid, like I said in the chat, I enjoyed the games a lot. These were really interesting ones.
Having had a chance to review them I must admit that I got very lucky, though. Winning the curse split 8-2 as second player in game 1 is ridiculuos. In game 2 I think 5/2 was stronger than 3/4. In game 3 your strategy was better, while in game 4 I had 4/3 compared to your 3/4 which made Doctor, which I think made the difference, more appealing. Thanks for these games and see you soon for a couple of revenge games, if you like.
Game 1
Code: [Select]
Native Village, Smugglers, Workshop, Bureaucrat, Noble Brigand, Apprentice, Pillage, Witch, Expand, ForgeWitch seems dominant on that board, but there is also expensive trashing in Forge, Apprentice and Expand. Rabid opens double Silver, I take Smugglers with a Silver, hoping to smuggle a Witch. This doesn't happen at first, but his Witch misses her first shuffle, while mine doesn't and I also get a second. Later he gets a second which I smuggle, after already having smuggled some Gold.
I'm also very lucky to stop his second Witch play with my only Pillage.
Rabid plays it a bit more moneyish, while I go for Native Villages, Apprentices and a Forge. This causes me to get through my deck quicker and even play more Witches. I win the split 8-2 and can even trash my two Curses.
Game 2
Code: [Select]
Chapel, Pearl Diver, Oasis, Familiar, Contraband, Explorer, Jester, Tactician, Harem, ExpandHere, I have the advantage of starting 5/2 (Tactician + Chapel), while Rabid must settle for Chapel/Oasis. I'm still not sure if Tactician is better than Jester here, but it worked out quite well. We trash down, I get a Jester, he gets a Gold, which my Jester directly hits. At this point he has trashed much more agressively (maybe a bit too much?), with his deck consisting of 2xOasis, Gold, Silver, Chapel. He then gets an Explorer and starts going for Provinces. This works well at the beginning. However, I start buying Familiars and clog up his thin deck. By turn 12 he has 3 Provinces, but also 9 Curses and stalls very hard. I manage to get some money by expanding Potion and Familiars and can catch up without big problems.
Game 3
Code: [Select]
Haven, Lighthouse, Ironworks, Island, Remodel, Smithy, Duke, Jester, Junk Dealer, GoonsAnother interesting one. I see three possible roads to take here: Goons, Ironworks/Island and Duke. I feel there is no strong Duke support (Jester? Goons?) but I'm not sure at all. Goons is always strong, and there is Junk Dealer to get rid of additional Coppers. But there is also Lighthouse as protection. Ironworks/Island is not the classic rush combination, but I thought it would be good with Lighthouses to gain to protect against Goons and go for it. Rabid goes for Goons and Junk Dealers anyway. This turns out to be the better choice, as I fail to get enough points fast enough to threaten three-piling. His two Goons assemble enough points for him to bring home the game safely.
Game 4
Code: [Select]
Stonemason, Doctor, Shanty Town, Feast, Rats, Thief, Counterfeit, Highway, Mystic, Grand MarketI love that board! Highway/(Grand) Market just plays awesome every time. And here we also have Stonemason to gain GMs with Coppers in play. Now the big question is: How to begin? Counterfeit is certainly important to trash Coppers, so Feast is an option. Shanty Town is nice to for cyling and later to find more cantrips. There is also Doctor which can trash stuff. Rabid has 3/4 and goes for Feast/Silver. I have 4/3 and start Doctor/Silver. He then gets another Feast and trashes them for Counterfit and Highway, while I'm busy trashing Coppers and Estates, which works surprisingly well. Having the thinner deck, I use Stonemason to catch up in action cards. The Highways split 6-4 in my favour. As the piles start getting low, Rabid starts greening in turn 11, then I get my super turn and buy 4 Provinces. From then on it's never again really close and I win by stonemasoning a GM into the last two Duchies.
Rabid, like I said in the chat, I enjoyed the games a lot. These were really interesting ones.
Having had a chance to review them I must admit that I got very lucky, though. Winning the curse split 8-2 as second player in game 1 is ridiculuos. In game 2 I think 5/2 was stronger than 3/4. In game 3 your strategy was better, while in game 4 I had 4/3 compared to your 3/4 which made Doctor, which I think made the difference, more appealing. Thanks for these games and see you soon for a couple of revenge games, if you like.
65
GokoDom / Re: GokoDom III: Round 3 Results ONLY
« on: March 13, 2014, 04:43:07 pm »
Psyduck defeats Rabid.
66
Dominion General Discussion / Re: The Dominion Cards Lists 2014 Edition: $3 cards
« on: March 13, 2014, 02:57:21 pm »One card I'm missing in the list so far is Doctor. This cards feels awful! Okay, it's a trasher, and trashing is good as we know. But you need to be lucky (and/or track you deck) for Doctor to be really effective. Often you just name the wrong cards and Doctor just wasts your action.Why wouldn't you track your deck?
Doctor shines in engine games without junking, it's almost as fast as Chapel as long as you can clear out most of the starting 10 before you have a deck full of cards that you don't want to trash. It's also nice that it can trigger a reshuffle without having to trash anything in the late game, though it's also a part of the reason why you want to trigger the reshuffle so...
Because I can't. Of course I can during the second shuffle and the third shuffle usually works quite well, too. But from then on I can't remember all cards I've seen during that shuffle, which didn't miss it, along with reconsidering and following a strategy, making tatctical decisions, adapting to opponent and draws etc.
You might argue that this is a problem of my play rather than of the card, but I'm no memory artist and dominion is just a hobby. I feel that the vast majority of players can't track their deck completely.
You compare Doctor with Chapel? Really??
Chapel is so much stronger. I don't think I would ever buy Doctor over Chapel in any game.I've never thought about Doctor's reshuffle-triggering ability in this context, though.
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Dominion General Discussion / Re: The Dominion Cards Lists 2014 Edition: $3 cards
« on: March 13, 2014, 09:32:36 am »
I must certainly agree to what shark_bait said about Masterpiece. It *is* a strong card under certain conditions. These conditions are a) BM, b) slogs with junking and c) Feodum. True, sometimes there are faster options on the board, But sometimes Masterpiece is a really good choice, so it should not be in the bottom $3 cards. Personally, I had it on #14 I think, which might me a little too high actually.
One card I'm missing in the list so far is Doctor. This cards feels awful! Okay, it's a trasher, and trashing is good as we know. But you need to be lucky (and/or track you deck) for Doctor to be really effective. Often you just name the wrong cards and Doctor just wasts your action. It's a big deal that it's terminal. A non-terminal doctor would be a lot stronger. The on-play effect is really weak in my opinion and mostly helps to get rid of some coppers in the early game.
The on-buy effect is much better, but you need to have some money to do it effectively. In games with strong junking, where trashing the junk would help a lot, you don't have much money in your hands because of the junk. And then you get the on-buy effect only once and afterwards have one more junk card in you deck.
I feel that more often than not Doctor is just not worth the effort to buy and play it.
One card I'm missing in the list so far is Doctor. This cards feels awful! Okay, it's a trasher, and trashing is good as we know. But you need to be lucky (and/or track you deck) for Doctor to be really effective. Often you just name the wrong cards and Doctor just wasts your action. It's a big deal that it's terminal. A non-terminal doctor would be a lot stronger. The on-play effect is really weak in my opinion and mostly helps to get rid of some coppers in the early game.
The on-buy effect is much better, but you need to have some money to do it effectively. In games with strong junking, where trashing the junk would help a lot, you don't have much money in your hands because of the junk. And then you get the on-buy effect only once and afterwards have one more junk card in you deck.
I feel that more often than not Doctor is just not worth the effort to buy and play it.
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GokoDom / Re: GokoDom III: Round 2 Discussion Thread
« on: March 05, 2014, 02:54:54 pm »In this first game, I do think you erred big time in trying to shorten the game. You were always going to win long, but there was a chance you could have an off turn and lose by quickly draining piles. So I do think that was a mistake... after he trashed his Mining Villages, he basically had no long game chances, so if I were you I would have taken Duchy/Vagrant on that turn where you emptied the Wells instead.
I've heard some criticism about my trashing Mining Villages too early. I really don't think I trashed my Villages prematurely. The first one was in turn 14, and the sole purpose was to deny Adam the sixth, as I only had $2 without trashing. Then I sacrificed one in turn 18 to get my second Goons. The other two were trashed in my last turn. But I agree that Duchy/Vagrant would've been the safer call for him.
The third game is the biggest question mark in my mind, because I did not leave it convinced that Rebuild should actually lose there! It was not Engine vs. Rebuild, it was Engine vs Double Jack/Rebuild. Psyduck's hybrid strategy was always going to lose. But is Rebuild + Scavenger going to lose to your engine? I don't think so. I mean, while it's definitely a good engine, it still sort of lacks something to do. If Scavenger were Bridge or Monument or Merchant Guild, then yes, engine 100%. But as is, I don't know.
So do you think Rebuild is stronger without a Jack for support? Jack gives you some money, which can make the difference, and countered Margrave nicely. I assume that the second one was too much, though, but I haven't had time to analyse that game deeper.
What I can say by now is that I shouldn't have trashed an Estate with Jack. That was like a reflex. Play Jack, gain Silver, draw a card, trash an Estate. Just dull if you need the Estate as Rebuild fodder.
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GokoDom / Re: GokoDom III: Round 2 Discussion Thread
« on: March 04, 2014, 03:42:50 pm »
Thanks for the interesting games and postgame chats, Adam. I just got kicked out of Goko so I couldn't say bye.
I'm going to add some comments as well, probably tomorrow. First I want to watch your videos to see if my assessment of the games is correct.
Edit: I've had some time to think about the matches, and review the logs and videos.
Game 1 Game log
During the game I felt that my terminals and my villages weren't distributed very favorably (meaning either collisions or village chains). Now I feel my draws were actually a bit better than Adam's, so there is no point blaming shuffle luck in this game. Rather, I noticed three differences in our play, which finally decided the game:
- Second Quarry. Adam got one, I didn't. Simple story. It helped a lot getting Goons and then buying stuff with Goons in play.
- Second Goons. Adam got his very early, while I bought my second as an act of desperation when it was already too late. I should have gotten it instead of Altar, which was a distraction (also for Adam later). Goons was the key card here to score points, so having more than one helped scoring points more frequently and made strong double Goons turns (of which Adam had two) possible. Furthermore, Goons was the stronger attack compared to Ghost Ship at least in the second part of the game, as both of us had multiple cards that countered Ghost Ship (see next point).
- Wishing Well instead of Sage. Both did a good job countering Ghost Ship. Wishing Well lets you return the two cards to your hand (which is good if you have a strong hand), Sage lets you skip two cards (which is good if you have a weak hand). The usual disadvantage of Sage didn't apply here, as we didn't aim at green cards that much. So the best play may have been to start with some Sages to draw past the Coppers and Estates and then switch to Wishing Wells again when the density of good card has increased. Instead, Adam went for Wells, I went for Sages. However, I underestimated the control Wishing Wells offer you for designing your turns. In comparison, I was stuck with the Sages drawing just the next 'good' card.
These were my minor mistakes, I think, but on this level you just don't get away with these.
Game 2 Game log
So here we have Masquerade-BM vs. Vineyards. The first one is quite good, but Vineyards clearly lack support. No +buy, no spammable cheap cards like Vagrant, Wishing Well, Sage (see last game ), Candlestick Maker, Haven, Menagerie, Great Hall etc. And the only gainer is Hermit, which is terminal and lets you only gain cards that cost up to $3, which in addition are quite bad here: Doctor and Duchess, and of course Hermit (which of course is not a bad card at all, but in this context not optimal either). Ah, yeah, and there is Transmute. So I decide to go with Masquerade-BM and take some risk as second player in what seems to become a mirror. My second starting card is Hermit to trash faster and gain Silvers. But then they don't only collide, they do so in turn 5. After three turns I'm so much behind it's not even funny. Thus I switch to Vineyards and buy a Potion, expecting Masq-BM to get some problems buying all the Provinces.
Of course Masq-Hermit is not an optimal start for Vineyards. Hermit is good, but I'm not sure what the best start would've been. Mining Village? Another Hermit? Even Spy? Potion already?
Our goals are clear now, but I think both of us don't play it optimally. I don't like Adam's Taxman, but his Hermit did a good job for his longevity. My biggest mistake is to buy the Vineyards too late. I really needed all of them, but only got 5. I needed more Potions early, and Transmute should've been a Vineyard already. In addition, I completely messed up a turn with Mining Village, Mining Village, Hermit, Potion, Copper in hand. I wanted to buy Vineyard anyway, so playing Hermit, gaining Hermit, buying Vineyard would've been the correct play. Instead I got greedy, played the Mining Villages (hoping for more Hermits), triggered the shuffle and drew..Potion and Silver.
Here I lost two Potion plays.
I'm not sure if I'd had a chance to win the game if I had played that better, but now I certainly didn't have.
Also, Adam played it very well (except for the Taxman
), staying calm and building enough economy to get to 8 Provinces reasonably quick.
Game 3 Game log
This game has been already been subject of discussion during the last days. There is not much more to add from my side. I don't believe I played my Rebuild optimally, but Rebuild was the wrong decision here anyway. I was just afraid Rebuild could be too fast with all that support, so I went for it myself. That was a mistake. Adam played the engine instead, and won.
I'm going to add some comments as well, probably tomorrow. First I want to watch your videos to see if my assessment of the games is correct.
Edit: I've had some time to think about the matches, and review the logs and videos.
Game 1 Game log
During the game I felt that my terminals and my villages weren't distributed very favorably (meaning either collisions or village chains). Now I feel my draws were actually a bit better than Adam's, so there is no point blaming shuffle luck in this game. Rather, I noticed three differences in our play, which finally decided the game:
- Second Quarry. Adam got one, I didn't. Simple story.
It helped a lot getting Goons and then buying stuff with Goons in play.- Second Goons. Adam got his very early, while I bought my second as an act of desperation when it was already too late. I should have gotten it instead of Altar, which was a distraction (also for Adam later). Goons was the key card here to score points, so having more than one helped scoring points more frequently and made strong double Goons turns (of which Adam had two) possible. Furthermore, Goons was the stronger attack compared to Ghost Ship at least in the second part of the game, as both of us had multiple cards that countered Ghost Ship (see next point).
- Wishing Well instead of Sage. Both did a good job countering Ghost Ship. Wishing Well lets you return the two cards to your hand (which is good if you have a strong hand), Sage lets you skip two cards (which is good if you have a weak hand). The usual disadvantage of Sage didn't apply here, as we didn't aim at green cards that much. So the best play may have been to start with some Sages to draw past the Coppers and Estates and then switch to Wishing Wells again when the density of good card has increased. Instead, Adam went for Wells, I went for Sages. However, I underestimated the control Wishing Wells offer you for designing your turns. In comparison, I was stuck with the Sages drawing just the next 'good' card.
These were my minor mistakes, I think, but on this level you just don't get away with these.
Game 2 Game log
So here we have Masquerade-BM vs. Vineyards. The first one is quite good, but Vineyards clearly lack support. No +buy, no spammable cheap cards like Vagrant, Wishing Well, Sage (see last game
), Candlestick Maker, Haven, Menagerie, Great Hall etc. And the only gainer is Hermit, which is terminal and lets you only gain cards that cost up to $3, which in addition are quite bad here: Doctor and Duchess, and of course Hermit (which of course is not a bad card at all, but in this context not optimal either). Ah, yeah, and there is Transmute. So I decide to go with Masquerade-BM and take some risk as second player in what seems to become a mirror. My second starting card is Hermit to trash faster and gain Silvers. But then they don't only collide, they do so in turn 5. After three turns I'm so much behind it's not even funny. Thus I switch to Vineyards and buy a Potion, expecting Masq-BM to get some problems buying all the Provinces.Of course Masq-Hermit is not an optimal start for Vineyards. Hermit is good, but I'm not sure what the best start would've been. Mining Village? Another Hermit? Even Spy? Potion already?
Our goals are clear now, but I think both of us don't play it optimally. I don't like Adam's Taxman, but his Hermit did a good job for his longevity. My biggest mistake is to buy the Vineyards too late. I really needed all of them, but only got 5. I needed more Potions early, and Transmute should've been a Vineyard already. In addition, I completely messed up a turn with Mining Village, Mining Village, Hermit, Potion, Copper in hand. I wanted to buy Vineyard anyway, so playing Hermit, gaining Hermit, buying Vineyard would've been the correct play. Instead I got greedy, played the Mining Villages (hoping for more Hermits), triggered the shuffle and drew..Potion and Silver.
Here I lost two Potion plays.I'm not sure if I'd had a chance to win the game if I had played that better, but now I certainly didn't have.
Also, Adam played it very well (except for the Taxman
), staying calm and building enough economy to get to 8 Provinces reasonably quick.Game 3 Game log
This game has been already been subject of discussion during the last days. There is not much more to add from my side. I don't believe I played my Rebuild optimally, but Rebuild was the wrong decision here anyway. I was just afraid Rebuild could be too fast with all that support, so I went for it myself. That was a mistake. Adam played the engine instead, and won.
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GokoDom / Re: Goko is updating their server...
« on: February 27, 2014, 11:28:06 am »
I agree, this is really bad. The rest of my week is filled with some stuff as well, so I doubt we could find another date. It would be great to extend this round by some days or even a whole week to give everyone a fair chance.
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GokoDom / Re: GokoDom III: Round 1 Discussion Thread
« on: February 23, 2014, 11:15:09 am »So, I was RTT's opponent for these games. I'll start by saying I greatly enjoyed the match and RTT was an excellent opponent!
I'll do my own self analysis here. Psyduck, I know you already commented on RTT's play, but it'd be awesome if you could do the same for me. I'm trying to learn from my mistakes and am constantly trying to improve my play. I know I was outplayed in all three games (and the second was just...bleh), but I still feel like I did a decent job engine building.
I'm really no expert in this, but let's give it a try nevertheless.
http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20140222/log.50baeedee4b07d338bca0a0a.1393092326842.txtCode: [Select]Lighthouse, Ambassador, Great Hall, Market, Rabble, Stables, Witch, Border Village, Goons, Hoard
I think my biggest mistake in the first game was not Ambassadoring aggressively enough (opting to reveal estate instead of copper, for instance). RTT and I talked a bit about our match afterward and this was what we both mentioned. I probably should have bought a Stables or a Rabble on turn 8 instead of another lighthouse (I feared losing the lighthouse split), and some of my silvers probably should have been Great Halls or the remaining lighthouses. Any other comments for me on this first game?
I must agree here. Both in turns 3 and 5 you should've returned two Coppers instead of one Estate. That early Silvers don't do much for you. Concerning turn 8, yeah, I think a Stables would've helped you, at this point you had 10 treasure cards in your deck. It helps you finding your Ambassador and getting past those Coppers. The Lighthouse split is not THAT important to win. You just want to be sure to play one a turn to be protected. This can also be achieved with cycling and drawing. In fact I think 4 Lighthouses is the absolute upper limit here and should even be superior to getting 6 of them.
Later in the game your deck does a good job in picking up Border Villages with Stables and Rabbles. But the junk (Coppers, Silvers, even Lighthouses) finally prevents you from drawing your deck (turn 14 and 16) and doing awesome stuff with Goons.
http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20140222/log.50baeedee4b07d338bca0a0a.1393092853727.txtCode: [Select]Herbalist, Ambassador, Scavenger, Spice Merchant, Tournament, Contraband, Treasury, Adventurer, Nobles, King's Court
This game was just...bad. I honestly don't know what happened here and am embarrassed to even paste the log (we all have games like that!). Turn 4 especially, I have no idea. Just..yeah.
I noticed three things in that game:
- The opening. Ambassador is obvious, but Spice Merchant is a huge amount better here. It cycles AND trashes Coppers. And there is no risk of terminal collisions. In contrast, Scavenger may collide with your Ambassador. Normally, one goes for Scavenger to be able to play a key card more often. Here, the key card is Ambassador. But you goal is to trash down. In a thinner deck, you will see your Ambassador roughly every second turn anyway, so there is no point opening Scavenger.
- Terminal collision in turn 4. This was just bad luck, but sometimes you make your own bad luck (see above)
.- In that turn 4 you didn't play your Spice Merchant. You should've trashed one Copper, drawn Estate and Copper and then returned two Coppers. That nets you -1 Copper and also cycles your deck a bit so you get to see your Amb and Spice Merchant sooner again.
After turn 6 your deck consists of 16 cards (compared to RTT's 7). At this point the outcome is just clear.
http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20140222/log.50baeedee4b07d338bca0a0a.1393093818202.txtCode: [Select]Courtyard, Crossroads, Embargo, Vagrant, Fishing Village, Rats, Laboratory, Merchant Guild, Torturer, Nobles
This one was a heartbreaker for me. I actually thought I was doing quite well for most of the game. In fact, I still think I built the better deck. I think my one mistake was that I did not buy a second Torturer. RTT pointed this out to me afterward. This one oversight cost me the game. I was capable of drawing my entire deck by turn 13 (with some slight overdraw). If I had instead bought another Torturer on turn 8 (and suffered the single curse this would have inflicted), I'd have been hitting double torturer turns every turn. I could have added a silver in there (since I was over drawing anyway), and using a single coin token could have double provinced multiple times. I'd especially like comments on this game, as I feel like I had the right idea with the FV + Nobles + Crossroads engine (and it was working!), but I messed it up by not attacking my opponent strongly enough.
Yeah, that game is much less obvious. I'm unsure about the best opening here, both Courtyard and Embargo don't seem perfect to me, although Courtyard CAN help here if RTT draws it in turn 3. I guess I would have gone for Crossroads, but of course that can be drawn dead as well. Concerning the second Torturer, yeah, a second one would have slowed RTT down. If you don't go for the Torturer, I also would have liked a Merchant Guild here to be able to get cheap engine components (Vagrant, Crossroads, Fishing Village) which all go well with your Nobles. The Lab should be ignorable.
Your engines are quite similar in the end, so it could easily have ended the other way round.
Hope my ideas help you a bit and I did not get anything messed up.
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GokoDom / Re: GokoDom III: Round 1 Discussion Thread
« on: February 22, 2014, 06:42:26 pm »Hi I know recording is out now and streaming is in
[...]
enjoy watching (comments appreciated)
Just watched your games, you played each of them quite well. In game 1 you could have gotten some more VP in some turns with ambassadoring coppers and then buying them back with (multiple) Goons in play. Apart from that I liked the Lighthouse approach, maybe I just would have gained one Stables less in favor of probably Market.
In game 2 Ambassador/Spice Merchant was just a strong opening, your opponent had much trouble getting rid of the junk (also misplayed turn 4). I'm little bit disappointed to see that you did without KC.
Would've loved to see what you could do with Diadem and KC/Nobles/Treasury/Tournament/Trusty Steed. A megaturn was certainly possible (Princess), but I understand your opponent just resigned.In game 3 the early Merchant Guild was key, and I think getting the second Torturer was the right choice. There was a little combo you did not quite use, Nobles/Crossroads/Vagrant, but I guess there was enough power in your engine anyway.
Thanks for the videos!
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GokoDom / Re: GokoDom III: Round 1 Results ONLY
« on: February 20, 2014, 03:48:45 pm »
Psyduck beats Qvist 3:0
Psyduck - Qvist 1:0
http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20140220/log.505f5ec4a2e6714a97eee844.1392924654410.txt
Qvist - Psyduck 0:2
http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20140220/log.505f5ec4a2e6714a97eee844.1392927069692.txt
Qvist - Psyduck 0:3
http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20140220/log.505f5ec4a2e6714a97eee844.1392928759209.txt
Psyduck - Qvist 1:0
http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20140220/log.505f5ec4a2e6714a97eee844.1392924654410.txt
Qvist - Psyduck 0:2
http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20140220/log.505f5ec4a2e6714a97eee844.1392927069692.txt
Qvist - Psyduck 0:3
http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20140220/log.505f5ec4a2e6714a97eee844.1392928759209.txt
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Dominion General Discussion / Re: Best Dominion Moments 2014
« on: February 19, 2014, 05:34:40 pm »
Finally i managed to pull off the strategy which has become famous as *the pin*:
http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20140219/log.505f5ec4a2e6714a97eee844.1392848972659.txt
http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20140219/log.505f5ec4a2e6714a97eee844.1392848972659.txt
75
GokoDom / Re: GokoDom III: Third Theason Thign-up Thread
« on: January 21, 2014, 12:05:14 pm »
In+all.