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GokoDom / IsoDom 3 Qualifier

« on: January 23, 2012, 12:23:54 am »

Welcome to IsoDom 3 Qualifier. There were 45 entrants in this tournament, so the bottom 24 seeds must fight it out for a spot in the top 32! 1-20 are already in, and get a bye:

1. Fabian
2. Geronimoo
3. Rabid
4. RisingJaguar
5. olneyce
6. PerdHapley
7. Smartie
8. michaeljb
9. shark_bait
10. Captain Frisk
11. tlloyd
12. lespeutere
13. KristianBahle
14. PSUmvp
15. greatexpectations
16. Robz888
17. Lekkit
18. DrHades
19. DG
20. Volkmar

The final twelve seeds will be determined by the outcomes of the following matches:

21. Kirian VS Jorbles
22. JanErik VS Qvist
23. Eevee VS Mad Max
24. A_S00 VS Festuca
25. Young Nick VS Brando Commando
26. Socrates VS Dubdubdubdub
27. rspeer VS MORIN FTW
28 Lionel VS Marcus316
29. FerrousWheel VS jimjam
30. Yuma VS ^_^_^_^
31 MonsterBrick VS ccasin
32 Glooble VS Mad Mergus

Please finish your best of seven matches by Monday, January 30. For the sake of expedience there will be no preset Kingdom for the qualifier.

If anyone has any issues please contact me as early as possible.

Good Luck!!

GokoDom / IsoDom 3 Sign-up

« on: January 18, 2012, 10:51:59 am »

Registration Closed.

Cheers!

Dominion Articles / Alchemy: Apothecary

« on: January 07, 2012, 01:38:13 am »

Apothecary is an elite, tricky engine card. It can contribute to strategies that end games extremely quickly, rivaling Governor, Apprentice and even Chapel.

Functions and Shortcomings of Apothecary

Apothecary is a non-terminal action that allows the user to draw a card, reveal the top four cards in the deck, put all revealed Coppers and Potions into the hand and rearrange the remaining cards on top of the deck in any order, for the low cost of 2P. A deck with a high proportion of copper and Apothecaries cycles quickly and can produce great buying power but as the deck fills with other types of cards, notably VP, the pure Apothecary engine slows and later will stall out once a critical mass of green cards populate the deck. Eventually, playing Apothecaries multiple times per turn will leave a clump of useless victory cards on top of the deck in a sort of Rabble effect and the starting Copper will be far too spread out to constitute, by itself, a working economy. Without some other Kingdom support this scenario will develop in almost any game long before the winning amount of VP can be achieved.

Apothecary Deck Styles

There are a multitude of ways to play Apothecary, and as every Kingdom is virtually unique it is impossible to incorporate every possible Apothecary strategy into one definitive article. This article will instead define and discuss three broad and somewhat overlapping Apothecary-based strategies: the Fast Cash Deck, the Cycling Deck and the Engine Support Deck. Each of the deck styles plays upon different aspects of Apothecary and the rest of the Kingdom.

The purpose of the Fast Cash deck is to generate $6 and $7 quickly in order to buy important high cost cards like <a href=http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20110924-223522-c4c601ac.html>Goons</a>, <a href=http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20120106-111407-0114b461.html>King's Court</a>, and <a href=http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20110628-185408-c3b0d914.html>Mint</a>. The Apothecary is not necessarily the driving engine for the long game, but rather a means to an end. The better cards become the focus of the deck, with Apothecary in a secondary role of cycling out weaker cards and forcing reshuffles. This deck can open Potion/Silver but usually harmed by adding additional Silver. Get in, get out and use powerful early purchases to accelerate the end game.

The Cycling Deck is a Copper engine strategy that uses high Apothecary density and anti-Rabble techniques to plow through accumulating piles of clutter that naturally form during heavy Apothecary use. The <a href=http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=884.msg14154>Native Village strategy</a> is an example of this style of deck, but using a mix of other Kingdom cards like <a href=http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20111229-014910-40bcf843.html>Warehouse</a>, <a href=http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20110924-220929-8995ad85.html>Wishing Well</a>, Salvager, Farming Village, <a href=http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20110926-000849-4e3fc408.html>Golem</a>, <a href=http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20110901-003205-d7d0f892.html>Vault</a>, <a href=http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20111119-033835-2dbffb61.html>Coppersmith</a> and Cartographer can work just as well. Any Kingdom that can effectively deal with Rabble or Ghost ship should be fertile Apothecary ground. This deck opens Potion/- rather than Potion/Silver but prefers to open Potion/Cantrip.

The Engine Support deck uses Apothecaries to prepare the way for important powerful combinations like <a href=http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20111213-044649-1cd08e0f.html>Village/Torturer</a> or <a href=http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20110807-212824-4d7c44f4.html>King's Court/King's Court/X</a>. Village and King's Court-based engines can be a bit unreliable and Apothecary can help stabilize a deck by removing unwanted coppers and rearranging the deck order to better serve current and future needs. This deck may open Potion/Silver or not open with Potion; buying key trashing or engine cards may take precedence. Buy the Potion before the second reshuffle or not at all.

Apothecary Openers

Though not always true, in many cases it is not overly beneficial to buy silver while building an Apothecary-based deck. There are terminal and non-terminal actions that can be much better. Apothecary pairs very well with <a href=http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20110908-055830-6175c2d2.html>Ambassador</a> and should probably be considered the dominant strategy in most Kingdoms. Other good $3 openers are <a href=http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20111221-122915-ce74de25.html>Shanty Town</a>, <a href=http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20111211-230604-9cee4f16.html>Lookout</a>, Scheme, and <a href=http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20110811-132335-48a62e27.html>Steward</a>. Opening Potion/Copper is suspect at best.

Apothecary Within Alchemy

Apothecary functions well in an Alchemy-heavy Kingdom, supporting other powerful Potion-cost cards. <a href=http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20110905-195321-0f340b0c.html>Scrying Pool</a> benefits from Apothecary in a couple of important ways. Apothecary allows the user to rearrange the actions for a strong Scrying Pool draw while removing the Copper that will block the draw. With an Apothecary or two it becomes fairly easy to buy both Golem and <a href=http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20111224-194741-4249e2ab.html>Possession</a>; Golem can in turn help Apothecary by clearing out unwanted cards left on the deck and by keeping the chain going. A few Apothecaries will help an <a href=http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20110622-085248-cc9df22d.html>Alchemist engine</a> by seeking out the important Potion needed to top-deck Alchemists and by making it easier to draw the whole deck. Apothecary, through superior cycling, may also help <a href=http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20110413-191451-013248a7.html> win the Familiar curse war</a> and get more uses out of University early in the game.

When to Avoid Apothecary

The number one reason to not play Apothecary is when there is a dominant strategy that does not require or want Apothecary. There are some very solid engine strategies involving cards like Menagerie, Chapel, Grand Market, Embassy, Spice Merchants or Fool's Gold that, depending on the Kingdom, may conflict with or be too fast for Apothecary to deal with. This is a board by board judgement call, and the ability to correctly size up a Kingdom is a distinguishing mark of the better player.

There are some hard counters that should be taken into account as well. Embargo can make a Potion buy dangerous. Swindler may strip out Coppers and replace them with Curses, Rabble can complicate matters and Possession can punish a heavy Apothecary user by using the tactical advantage Apothecary grants against the Possessed by stripping out good cards while leaving behind a pile of junk for the next draw. By doing so the Possessor effectively gains a second free turn.

In Conclusion

While learning to master this card be prepared to lose some games. It is very easy to gain three Provinces with Apothecary but that is often enough to stop an Apothecary deck in its tracks. Being able to spot ways to overcome Apothecary's shortcomings and maximizing the tactical potential of Apothecary's multiple abilities and characteristics is the key to building solid, fast Apothecary-based decks.

Dominion Isotropic / Feature Request: kill the automatic scroll

« on: January 04, 2012, 03:48:49 pm »

Please, if you could be so kind, Isotropic auto-forces the web browser to scroll to the bottom every time a player makes a move, thus making it impossible to read the log on an opponent's turn. Could there be a way to disable this?

Dominion Articles / Hunting Party Combos

« on: December 08, 2011, 12:24:38 am »

For the purpose of this article, each combo described will be the crux of a pretty standard Hunting Party engine; the deck in most of these cases should be built exactly to the same specs: 1-3 Silver, 1 Gold, 1 linchpin card and as many Hunting Parties as can be massed in time to end the game in a win. The linchpin can be described as any Kingdom card that is not a terminal draw or cycle card. These terminals will completely disrupt a Hunting Party engine and should be avoided.

Hunting Party/Horse Traders

Horse Traders is an excellent focus of a Hunting Party engine for two reasons: first of all it can help a lot to get the $5 needed to buy early Hunting Parties, and secondly it gives $2 and a buy once the engine is firing. Any $2 terminal can be used in a Hunting Party deck. Militia, Swindler etc can all be used to success but I feel that Horse Traders is a cut above the standard for the help it gives in getting the engine rolling in the early game.

Hunting Party/Scheme/X

Adding a scheme or two to a Hunting Party deck is pure love. The deck can handle the Schemes rather well, and as a rule I never add extra engine cards to this style of deck. Scheme is the exception. I like to play the Schemes as soon as they appear, before continuing the chain. With two Schemes in a focused deck it is pretty much a given that each turn will begin with two Hunting Party plays.

Hunting Party/Secret Chamber

Typically, a Hunting Party deck can stall once too many victory cards have been added. For this reason I try to avoid Duchies as long as I can get away with it. Duchies cause a flagging Hunting Party deck to die. Secret Chamber transforms a handful of useless greens into cash.

Hunting Party/Mandarin

I do not know how great this is opening 3/4, but with 5/2 it is awesomeness incarnate. Buy the Mandarin, put the $5 back on top and buy the Hunting Party. The really nice thing about this combo is that once the deck has generated enough cash to Province you can use Mandarin to put an extra Hunting Party on top of the deck for a jump start on the next turn. This is a very fast deck unless some serious bad luck occurs.

Hunting Party/Haggler

I have found this to be about the sweetest card to play with Hunting Party. On the typical late turn chain up to $6 + Haggler, buy a Province and gain an extra Hunting Party. This jolt of power will keep the deck running strong all the way to the end.

Dominion Articles / A Few Combos

« on: December 04, 2011, 05:49:45 am »

Oasis/Menagerie

This one is pretty self-explanatory. Menagerie has issues both in the beginning of a match, when there are so many Copper, and also later once the deck starts greening. Oasis is a great cure for both. Plus, it adds some economy to an engine that doesn't want more than one of any single piece of treasure. The main issue with this combo is the opportunity lost with buying too many $3 cards, and also that it doesn't fully get around the need to trash. But, as with most engines, a +buy is usually required in order to justify putting together an intricate engine, and once the single Gold is bought that $6 is not as all-important and can be used to purchase two engine parts.

<a href=http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20111203-224344-71d3c6a9.html>Here is a sample game</a>. I won the Ambassador and Familiar races with the help of this combo, and I was able to continually get good draws long after multiple Provinces were added to my deck.

Shanty Town/Spice Merchant

This is not a combo that I can point to and say, "Buy these two cards and ride them to victory!" Rather, it is a combo that you open with and use to cycle and trash early and often, setting up a strong mid and end game. Other components are clearly required, especially treasure. If the deck that this combo appears in has no terminal action, the Shanty Town becomes a virtual Laboratory, which is a great $3 opener. The "Lab" effect of Spice Merchant is relatively weak when it is used, but it improves all later hands so long as ample treasure is added in a timely manner. Combined, two seemingly weak effects create a surprisingly strong environment to improve, distill and cycle a deck.

After I had <a href=http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20111202-213043-757373e9.html>discovered this combo</a>, I went into solitaire mode to sample it, and I have found that it is pretty good with big money at getting to four Provinces by turn 14, and with some Kingdom support it can improve even more.

Hunting Party/Saboteur

In the last several months I have seen this <a href=http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20110911-164546-3211b316.html>devastating combo</a> in action a few times, and have been on both sides of it, and I have yet to see it fail. DG <a href=http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20111110-091601-625cc79e.html>used it against me</a> in tournament play to win our set, and I <a href=http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20111201-115157-cfbbccac.html>used it a few days ago</a> with the same result. I see people misplay or ignore HP often, so as a tip for you youngsters I'll spell it out: Keep it simple. Keep the number of unique cards in the deck as low as possible, avoid at all cost cards that draw, buy only one strong terminal, and muster as many HPs as you can as quickly you can. This takes some luck as well as skill, as bad draws in the first five or seven turns can doom this engine. One Gold is usually enough, and extra Silver buys early usually do not harm this engine too much.

Saboteur is great if you can play it enough to really put a dent in the opponent's purchases, otherwise it is pathetic. HP makes it happen a lot.

Dominion Articles / Combo: Apothecary/Native Village

« on: October 29, 2011, 01:36:10 am »

I really shouldn't be posting this. This is a tried and true combo that has served me very well and has never been properly mirrored by an opponent. But, in light of the new expansion and in the spirit of brotherhood I will offer up my favorite combo, and the method of playing it successfully.

To begin with, I suggest anyone who wants to learn this engine to go play in solitaire a dozen times in order to really get the flow of the deck. The requirements for a completed deck, hopefully by turn nine, is 8 Copper, 1 Native Village and as many Apothecaries as you can muster. The key to playing this deck is the use of Native Village. NV should never be used blindly. Not even once. Indeed, it is a dead card until the Apothecaries start working. The NV is used to remove a green card from the top of the deck. Thus, it is a simple matter to cycle through the deck using Apothecaries and picking up the greens with NV when they get left behind.

Once the Estates start to disappear, the deck generates $8 with ease. It is okay to buy a second Native Village if it is needed; the spare can be sucked up once the deck has caught up. This engine, once running, is like the bunny with the drum. It never slows because the NV is constantly removing the greens. This deck with great luck can be realized quickly, and with bad luck it can take quite a bit longer, so beware: on very fast boards it might be better to look elsewhere. The true strength of this combo is the staying power and the simplicity.

GokoDom / IsoDom 2 Final

« on: October 29, 2011, 12:28:46 am »

Great job on smoking the competition, Rabid!

Game Reports / Combo: Apprentice/Hag

« on: October 21, 2011, 10:24:52 am »

The idea here is to buy multiple Sea Hags, more than common sense would normally permit. I mean like at least 4. It is also necessary to acquire at least at least one Apprentice before committing to multiple Hags. A lucky $5 hand on turn 3-4 really helps. Once the curses are depleted just turn the Apprentices on the Hags.

If things go well the Curse split will be nowhere close to even, and the extra Hags add the fuel to quickly repair the deck while the opponent flounders. Trashing curses with Apprentice is an extremely low priority until it becomes natural to do so, once the deck has transitioned to economy building.

And yes, this actually works.

Dominion Articles / Advanced Dominion: How to Get Played

« on: September 27, 2011, 08:33:45 am »

<a href=http://dominion.isotropic.org/gamelog/201109/27/game-20110927-014250-7dbae190.html>I Never Had A Chance</a>

In many ways a game of Dominion plays itself; a player makes all of the right moves, and due to draw order or table position loses. The player cannot control the starting hands nor the order in which the deck draws, and must decide how to use the resources presented to him. The function of the Dominion player is mainly to control what is added to the deck and how to play the cards in hand. The mark of good play is be able to to overcome the disadvantages and <a href=http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20110926-220617-704e6a4f.html>win anyway</a>. This is a general strategy article about playing habits, not Kingdoms and cards.

Opening As Player Two

The second player has a deficit to overcome before the game even starts, but he also has one advantage. The first player must reveal his strategy first. The smart defender will take this into account before committing to a strategy, and further will mask his own strategy as long as possible by making his first buy as innocuous as he can get away with. This prevents player one from mirroring, while giving the second player the chance to choose a counter or attack strategy or a faster-tempo opening on turn two.

If the first player chooses the obviously dominant strategy, this is moot, and the second player keeps his disadvantage if he mirrors. There is one way to help prevent this from happening: using Veto mode to dismantle dominating combos and cards. The less synergistic Kingdom is an advantage to the second player in the sense that the game will be longer; the opponent does not have the ability to force a fast mirror match. Player one loses his initiative as the game wears on, and instead he gains the burden of losing a tie.

Establishing a Tempo

The single best way to counter bad shuffle luck and starting in seat two is fast early cycling. Cycling cards that seem like weak openers, because they do not add economy, are actually very good at speeding the tempo of a deck. Whatever the strategy, using the best cards more often is key. Superior cycling wins games.

Is is of utmost importance to consider carefully which cards to buy and how each buy effects the tempo. Adding treasure slows the tempo of the deck, but is usually a requirement for deck development. Sometimes the correct move is to <a href=http://dominion.isotropic.org/gamelog/201109/26/game-20110926-232417-146aacfb.html>do nothing</a>, as any buy will only disrupt the tempo of the deck. Each Silver stands between a very strong card and the reshuffle, and it is important to be aware of that when deciding what to do when presented with a weak hand.

Squaring the Circle or Sticking To the Plan

Sometime the cards do not cooperate at all, and the player is unable to incorporate a strategy fast enough due to lack of resources. This is a very tough position to be in. A decision must be made on whether and how to abandon a strategy. All I can say is that it is better to recognize a hopeless path earlier in the game rather than later, and that developing a fluid playstyle may help mitigate bad draws on turns three to six. Leaving pathways open by not committing to a hard opening strategy can often pay off when a deck draws badly.

(perhaps more later)

Dominion Articles / Combo: Courtyard/Tournament

« on: September 22, 2011, 04:46:46 pm »

This combo works well on three levels. To begin with, a dedicated CY/BMU early game generally can produce an early Province or two, which is all-important in a Tournament match. Secondly, once the Province has been added and a Tournament bought, it becomes easier to match them up because of the return one card rule of CY. The third reason these cards work really well together is that you can chain Provinces over turns to keep your opponent from being able to use his tournaments. This can utterly destroy their tempo in the end game.

Note that with any CY strategy it is okay, sometimes much better, to add multiple CYs. They stack pretty well because if two are drawn in a hand one can be saved for the next turn. You can actually set up a cheap and fast engine this way. It is inferior to Masquerade and will get beat on some boards but it really isn't a bad way to rush.

GokoDom / IsoDom 2 Invitational Sign-Up Closed

« on: September 20, 2011, 03:06:18 pm »

Thanks for joining up! The match-ups will be posted shortly!

Next up, 32 player tourney. Same basic format, with the following changes-

32 players - anyone who is interested, please sign up. The registration period will end on Friday, October 28. If there are not 32 players signed up at that point I will extend until enough register or it proves futile, at which time it will drop back to a 16 player tourney. Again, I ask that anyone who signs up please do so only if you are sure that you will be able to finish your matches. If more than 32 people register, I will take into account forum participation, the number of games played on Isotropic and finally win average. My only goal is to have a successful, competitive tourney. All participants from the last tourney get an automatic entry if you would like to play again.

There will be 8 divisions of four players randomly seeded by ladder position, like before.

Players may play any format that they can agree upon so long as the games are randomly generated. First player to win four matches will move on. Ties are not considered a win or a loss for anyone.

I think the last tourney went swimmingly, but I am open to suggestion on any format changes, but the final decision on this matter will be mine to make. But please, if you have any ideas on how to make the tourney better, please make it in the next two days and I promise to consider all suggestions seriously..

I am hoping that some of you big time posters will play. Rob, Geronimoo, Tinas, Guided, WW, Tim, HME, DG, ack, chaosR, you lot. Put your reps on the line!

IsoDom 1 Final Result
FINALS
shark-bait(1) Congratulations!
vs.
Barsooma(2)

SEMIFINAL ROUND FINAL
shark-bait(1)
vs.
michaeljb(2)

Barsooma(2)
vs.
Mean Mr Mustard(1)

ROUND 2 Final

Division A
shark-bait(1) <a href=http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20111001-112820-034c27b5.html>Game2</a> <a href=http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20111001-113819-8dbd8b15.html>Game4</a> <a href=http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20111001-114349-69578930.html>Game5</a>
Davio(3)<a href=http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20111001-113306-fda2756d.html>Game3</a>
Division B
ehunt(1) Game1
michaeljb(2) Game2 Game3 Game4
Division C
Cminer(3) <a href=http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20110930-081207-e7675681.html>Game1</a> <a href=http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20110930-083612-cbd7005e.html>Game4</a>
Barsooma(2) <a href=http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20110930-081657-6bdb6ef3.html>Game2</a> <a href=http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20110930-082526-cc890555.html>Game3</a> <a href=http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20110930-084059-b36c7ac0.html>Game 5</a>
Division D
boloni(2) <a href=http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20111002-063740-34afeb2c.html>Game3</a> <a href=http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20111002-064608-9ebf592f.html>Game4</a>
Mean Mr Mustard(1) <a href=http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20111002-061750-6c421167.html>Game1</a> <a href=http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20111002-062716-f5e1dcf6.html>Game2</a> <a href=http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20111002-065139-113855a8.html>Game5</a>

ROUND 1 FINAL

Division A
shark-bait(1) <a href=http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20110925-184431-794b88af.html>Game1</a> <a href=http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20110925-190034-876403b0.html>Game2</a> <a href=http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20110925-190822-935bfc5b.html>Game4</a>
greatexpectations(4) <a href=http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20110925-190537-2263d931.html>Game3</a>
Davio(3) <a href=http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20110923-132041-61ac5626.html>Game1</a> <a href=http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20110923-132838-62ccc99a.html>Game2</a> <a href=http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20110923-133942-14530652.html>Game3</a>
theParty(2)
Division B
mergus(4) vs. <a href=http://dominion.isotropic.org/gamelog/201109/22/game-20110922-192726-d6378cb1.html>Game2</a> <a href=http://dominion.isotropic.org/gamelog/201109/22/game-20110922-195934-b1023a39.html>Game4</a>
ehunt(1) <a href=http://dominion.isotropic.org/gamelog/201109/22/game-20110922-191409-da1d462b.html>Game1</a> <a href=http://dominion.isotropic.org/gamelog/201109/22/game-20110922-194220-8093fb15.html>Game3</a> <a href=http://dominion.isotropic.org/gamelog/201109/22/game-20110922-200906-57b6fef5.html>Game5</a>
michaeljb(2) <a href=http://dominion.isotropic.org/gamelog/201109/20/game-20110920-142848-8d6b3abe.html>Game2</a> <a href=http://dominion.isotropic.org/gamelog/201109/20/game-20110920-143544-fee31954.html>Game3</a> <a href=http://dominion.isotropic.org/gamelog/201109/20/game-20110920-145227-efaa64d6.html>game4</a>
Mad Max(3)<a href=http://dominion.isotropic.org/gamelog/201109/20/game-20110920-142135-9bd59c7a.html>Game1</a>
Division C
Cminer(3) <a href=http://dominion.isotropic.org/gamelog/201109/21/game-20110921-094344-5fc3b5cf.html>Game1</a> <a href=http://dominion.isotropic.org/gamelog/201109/21/game-20110921-100324-692361ac.html>Game3</a> <a href=http://dominion.isotropic.org/gamelog/201109/21/game-20110921-100714-320d7b61.html>Game4</a>
mith(1)
Barsooma(2) <a href=http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20110922-193800-ea5d0e96.html>Game1</a> <a href=http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20110922-195319-16295a3c.html>Game2</a> <a href=http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20110922-200445-4ed75907.html>Game3</a>
pooka(4)
Division D
boloni(2) Game1 Game3 Game4
jimmmmm(4) Game2
Mean Mr Mustard(1)<a href=http://dominion.isotropic.org/gamelog/201109/25/game-20110925-071342-bb25cbb9.html>Game2</a> <a href=http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20110925-071904-e93094d3.html>Game3</a> <a href=http://dominion.isotropic.org/gamelog/201109/25/game-20110925-072416-88b79b03.html>Game4</a>
Brando Commando(3)<a href=http://dominion.isotropic.org/gamelog/201109/25/game-20110925-070335-c495e528.html>Game1</a>

GokoDom / IsoDom Tourney SignUp Closed

« on: September 20, 2011, 08:08:30 am »

Format:

16 players.

Players will be ranked 1-4 according to ladder ranking.

Players will be divided into four divisions consisting of one player from each ranking, seeded randomly.

One match-ups are announced players have one week to play each round.

Each round the first player to win three matches will move on, loser is eliminated.

Tourney Rules:

1. First 16 to sign up will win seats, but please do not sign up if there is any chance whatsoever that you will not be able to complete your matches within a week.

2. Games will be played, by default: Identical hands, point counter on, veto mode. Players in any match may agree to play each game however they like, so long as the kingdom is random and both players agree.

3. After each match the game logs will be posted in the tourney results thread.

4. Prize: $25 Walmart gift card, non-negotiable. If you are too proud to shop at Walmart I'll use it for diapers or something.

Players:
Mean Mr Mustard
Davio
Jimmmmm
Brando Commando
boloni
barsooma
shark_bait
ehunt
theParty
[MAD] Max
mith
greatexpectations
Pooka
Michaeljb
merga
Cminer

Alternates:
Buggz
rspeer

Game Reports / Two Stinkers

« on: September 17, 2011, 09:23:24 am »

Last night I played two games in a row that were the absolute worse I have played in a very long time. I suppose I could lay some blame on tiredness or distraction, but these loses were inexcusable. Both games featured bad planning, poor execution and terrible follow through. The ability to learn from our mistakes is what separates us from the politicians, so I am going to explore these games as an exercise in what to not do in a Dominion game if winning is the goal.

<a href=http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20110916-201008-85161a3a.html>Stinker Number One</a>

In sizing up this board I decided on a KC/KC scheme involving Masquerade, Swindler and Pirate Ship. I thought I could mitigate the Minions with Embargo, pass my opponents coppers and KC Swindlers and Pirate Ships, wreaking complete havoc on my their deck. Thinking that curses cripple Minion decks my opponent would be foolish to try that path.

My plan was flawed from the beginning. One big reason why is the lack of +buy on this board; there is really not really a point to spend all of those buys on KC instead of Gold or on a Minion engine that will produce the $8 cap much faster. A second reason was that I was unaware of my opponents 5/2 Minion opening, and I discounted my opponents willingness to eat some curses and his ability to completely shrug them off.

As it turns out, my opponent Embargoed Minions first and then immediately bought a second Minion. My response? Buy a Pirate Ship! That is no doubt about the most terrible buy I could have made on that turn. I hurt my own economy and did nothing but help my opponents.

My opponent built a great cycling deck that reamed my ass while I floundered around buying more crappy terminals and unhelpful villages in the hope of getting some KCs. I never saw the $7. Despite Swindling two of his Minions into Duchies it became all too obvious that I had hosed myself beyond all hope and I threw in the towel.

F-

I should have unplugged my PC and read a book or something. Instead, I got back up on the old trusty steed:

<a href=http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20110916-195541-6e2eb544.html>Stinker Number Two</a>

While deciding on which card to veto, I took my time and studied this Kingdom. I chose a strategy that was actually very good, but I inexplicably derailed an easy win by becoming sidetracked.

The plan was to be Lookout/silver, then only Laboratory, Goons and Farming Villages. My first mistake in this match was missing the Quarry opening, obviously the superior buy. But I felt that I had recovered from that error. My opponent bought a Potion on turn 5, and I rightly ignored it. My deck was beginning to chug along nicely when I drew $4 on turn 7. WTF, i thought... I can cream him with Possession too. This lapse in judgement cost me the game. Had I continued with my original path I think I would have cruised to victory. Instead, I was left with a firing engine that had two diametrically opposing linchpins. Making my third mistake, and compounding my second, I committed to Possession. What shameful decision making.

F-

<a href=http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20110916-054108-5f3bf93b.html>Redemption Song</a>

Purely for vanity reasons I present another game I played earlier in the day yesterday. This is one of my most perfect games and one that I am proud of.

#1 Mean Mr Mustard: 30 points (5 Provinces); 11 turns
opening: Potion / Warehouse
[21 cards] 4 Apothecaries, 3 Peddlers, 1 Salvager, 1 Warehouse, 7 Coppers, 5 Provinces

Dominion Isotropic / Any interest in Isotropic tournaments?

« on: September 15, 2011, 09:51:36 pm »

I am considering setting up a 16-man bracket style tourney. I am also open to suggestion about the format, but initially my idea is best of five or nine matches, seeded by rank. Each round the competing players would have a week to set up and play their matches, and a thread will be opened for the posting of game logs and discussion.

I feel that if there are to be real competitive Dominion tourneys it is going to have to start with us, using the great tools we have available.

Dominion Articles / Combo: Apprentice/Envoy

« on: September 14, 2011, 04:53:29 am »

Here is a combo I discovered today that made for a very fast game: <A href=http://dominion.isotropic.org/gamelog/201109/14/game-20110914-014113-14705461.html>Apprentice/Envoy.</A>

To set up this combo I opened silver/Envoy, bought one Apprentice and a ton of treasures and it was, like, off to the races. The heavy treasure matched well with the envoy, and I used the Apprentice to sacrifice Silvers and Golds, rather than Coppers, to speed through the mid- and end-game. All non-VP buys throughout were for treasure only, so it never stalled.

Dominion Articles / Upgrade

« on: September 09, 2011, 08:28:19 am »

One of the strengths of Upgrade is the cycling ability that comes with it being a self replacing non-terminal. In my mind, the cost difference between Upgrade and Remake is justified by the ability to play them without slowing down your deck progression, since Upgrade replaces itself and gives an extra action. Remake is a powerful trasher, but sometimes buying and using it can potentially fatally slow down the tempo of deck progression: a turn buying or using Remake will often yield no other benefit.

Upgrade rarely is an outright bad buy in the first four rounds, as there are not too many Kingdoms that will be hurt by the easy trashing of Coppers or Estates. Chapel or Apothecary scenarios might not benefit from Upgrade and on scary BMU boards Upgrade may be a deadly distraction, but on the whole it is a very strong card, especially if the Kingdom has $3 non-terminals. Think Menagerie, although even Wishing Wells and Villages can be great targets for Upgraded Estates.

It is certainly possible to go to far and buy too many Upgrades. There are times, however, when it makes sense to buy multiple copies going even into the mid-game. Remember, extra Upgrades can be easily converted into Gold in turn 7-10 to make a strong push into the VP buying stage of the game. This is board dependent. In non-treasure setups it can be a very strong play to buy multiple Upgrades in order to quickly cycle and kill the starting cards. Multiple Upgrades can also help against Cursing attacks, if you can stay on top of it and not let your opponent get too far ahead.

In <a href=http://dominion.isotropic.org/gamelog/201109/09/game-20110909-043915-71a66b40.html>this game</a>, the winning difference is the early inclusion of multiple Upgrades. I was able to quickly trash the starting cards, gain multiple Peddlers and Upgrade those Peddlers into Platinum for an easy win against a very good player.

In <a href=http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20110528-120142-1060940b.html>this game</a>, I used Upgrade to accelerate Alchemist and used Expand to turn the Upgrades into Provinces for a faster close against Saboteur attacks.

In <a href=http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20110725-022058-752cf29a.html>this game</a>, I was able to build a deck made up entirely of non-terminals and Goons, three-pile ending in a win in 15 turns with no VP buys.

In <a href=http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20110628-163405-9b8610ef.html>this game</a>, I way over-gained Upgrades and got spanked by an opponent who never bothered trashing his starting hand, and instead used his Coppers in conjunction with Laboratories and Banks to thoroughly whip me.

Dominion Articles / Combo: Apothecary/Vault

« on: September 01, 2011, 05:09:37 am »

Apothecary is a card with many subtle uses, and here is a combo that I discovered that is very fast to put together and is extremely easy to pull off. Using Apothecary and Vault together, you can pretty much eschew trashing, Silver and Gold and pretty much everything else and move extremely quickly into the greening stage of end game.

<a href=http://dominion.isotropic.org/gamelog/201109/01/game-20110901-003205-d7d0f892.html>This game</a> is not a superb example because both my opponent and myself made some glaring errors, but it illustrates the power of this combo. I focused solely on buying several Apothecaries and one Vault and rode the combo through to a win. It started to clog up pretty severely in the end and a cycling card or another Vault might have helped, but it was enough to win. At any rate, the mistakes of my opponent do not detract from the point that this engine bought four Provinces by turn twelve without either trashing or buying any Gold or Silver.

Game Reports / 8 Provinces on turn 13 with no KC

« on: June 30, 2011, 07:19:14 am »

Who needs King's Court when you have Scrying Pools and Villages?

http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20110629-135209-b42d64f8.html

--- Mean Mr Mustard's turn 13 ---
Mean Mr Mustard plays a Scrying Pool.
... getting +1 action.
... revealing a Walled Village and keeping it.
... (brog reshuffles.)
... making brog discard a Lookout.
... revealing a Walled Village, a Walled Village, a Grand Market, and a Copper and putting them in the hand.
Mean Mr Mustard plays a Scrying Pool.
... getting +1 action.
... revealing an Apprentice and keeping it.
... letting brog keep a Copper.
... revealing an Apprentice, a Grand Market, a Bridge, a Grand Market, a Grand Market, and a Copper and putting them in the hand.
Mean Mr Mustard plays a Grand Market.
... drawing 1 card and getting +1 action, +1 buy, and +$2.
Mean Mr Mustard plays a Grand Market.
... drawing 1 card and getting +1 action, +1 buy, and +$2.
Mean Mr Mustard plays a Grand Market.
... drawing 1 card and getting +1 action, +1 buy, and +$2.
Mean Mr Mustard plays a Grand Market.
... drawing 1 card and getting +1 action, +1 buy, and +$2.
Mean Mr Mustard plays a Walled Village.
... drawing 1 card and getting +2 actions.
Mean Mr Mustard plays a Walled Village.
... drawing 1 card and getting +2 actions.
Mean Mr Mustard plays a Walled Village.
... drawing 1 card and getting +2 actions.
Mean Mr Mustard plays a Walled Village.
... drawing 1 card and getting +2 actions.
Mean Mr Mustard plays a Scrying Pool.
... getting +1 action.
... revealing a Walled Village and keeping it.
... letting brog keep a Copper.
... (Mean Mr Mustard reshuffles.)
... revealing a Walled Village, a Walled Village, a Walled Village, a Bridge, and a Potion and putting them in the hand.
Mean Mr Mustard plays a Grand Market.
... drawing nothing and getting +1 action, +1 buy, and +$2.
Mean Mr Mustard plays a Grand Market.
... drawing nothing and getting +1 action, +1 buy, and +$2.
Mean Mr Mustard plays a Walled Village.
... drawing nothing and getting +2 actions.
Mean Mr Mustard plays a Walled Village.
... drawing nothing and getting +2 actions.
Mean Mr Mustard plays a Walled Village.
... drawing nothing and getting +2 actions.
Mean Mr Mustard plays a Bridge.
... getting +1 buy, +$1, and reducing all costs by $1.
Mean Mr Mustard plays a Bridge.
... getting +1 buy, +$1, and reducing all costs by $1.
Mean Mr Mustard plays a Bridge.
... getting +1 buy, +$1, and reducing all costs by $1.
Mean Mr Mustard plays a Bridge.
... getting +1 buy, +$1, and reducing all costs by $1.
Mean Mr Mustard plays a Bridge.
... getting +1 buy, +$1, and reducing all costs by $1.
Mean Mr Mustard plays a Bridge.
... getting +1 buy, +$1, and reducing all costs by $1.
Mean Mr Mustard plays 3 Coppers and a Potion.
Mean Mr Mustard buys a Province.
Mean Mr Mustard buys a Province.
Mean Mr Mustard buys a Province.
Mean Mr Mustard buys a Province.
Mean Mr Mustard buys a Province.
Mean Mr Mustard buys a Province.
Mean Mr Mustard buys a Province.
Mean Mr Mustard buys a Province.
(Mean Mr Mustard reshuffles.)
(Mean Mr Mustard draws: 2 Walled Villages, 2 Provinces, and a Scrying Pool.)

Dominion Articles / The Reliable Engine Part 1

« on: June 24, 2011, 10:42:55 pm »

The Reliable Engine Part 1

Let's face it: Dominion is a deep strategy game but has a significant luck factor. Learning to mitigate that luck factor is and important skill to learn and can be addressed most directly with proper deck composition. The purpose of this article is to explore some of my favorite reliable engines, or combo decks that are almost guaranteed to produce some very strong turns. They will not win in every setup but I can promise you that they are all viable winners that can do some amazing things.

To begin, a few definitions:

Cantrip ~ non-terminal action; an action that gives +1 action.

Village ~ For the purpose of this article I will use Village to mean any of the Village-class cards: Cards that give +2
actions.

Linchpin ~ A card that doesn't function as part of an engine but is rather the thrust of the deck. Just building an engine isn't enough; It doesn't matter if you draw your whole deck if all it is is 7 coppers and 3 estates. The linchpin cards are the cards that will win your game.

Strong Draw Card ~ A terminal action that draws 3 or more cards

The Reliable Minion Engine

A Dominon staple, the Minion deck is one that anyone who has played 20 games online will instantly recognize. The raw cycling and attack power of this deck is offset by its obviousness. Similar to playing Gardens any competent opponent will instantly know what you are doing and will most likely respond by mirroring your play.

Minions disrupt a lot of strategies and an uncontested Minion buyer should have no fear moving into the end game. Minions can be beaten but the right cards have to be on the board. Beware of Ambassador, Saboteur, heavy cursing and other reliable engines. Minions benefit from moderate trashing. I like Bishop or Moneylender in this role but prefer Loan.

Open with silver and a trasher or +2$ attack card. Buy as little treasure as possible while maintaining $5 buys. On the hands where you draw <5$ try to acquire a +buy, some cantrips and some Village cards. Village is a boon to a Minion deck and allow you to add other linchpins into your deck. Since this deck never draws blind Cantrip cards are a riskless complement. Throne Room is an okay buy too. The main focus though is to win the Minions race, and once you have $5 in your hand I think it is best to stop and buy unless your deck can produce $10 and an extra +buy. Trashing during the middle game will addpotency to the end game and is an important component of a reliable minions deck.

Minions go strong into the VP stage but tend to stall before the Province pile is empty. Often adding one Gold or one Platinum can help push you through, but to become a true reliable engine Minions must complement itself with strong economy cards like Grand Market/Conspirator or Market/Peddler/Tournament or by adding a Village engine. Adding liberal Villages and some +2$ attackers once the Minion stack is depleted is often a strong play; use the Minions cycling ability exclusively and seek out the linchpins. That cycling ability is a strong attack, and discarding spare Minions rather than getting $2 can help innoculate against SDS.

Present in other engine decks but featured here, SDS, or Sudden Death Stall, is the self-inflicted killer of Minions decks. Just when it should be cruising to victory the deck absolutely dies; it start drawing handfulls of VP, a few copper and that old trasher. Next hand, more junk. SDS occurs when this deck had an awesome turn, played out all of its good cards and then triggered a reshuffle. The Draw Deck has nothing but Minion droppings and is empty of engine and linchpin cards. They are all in your discard pile. Loan is a good way to force a reshuffle, and that is why it is preferred; With zero treasure in your deck it becomes a action-free Chancellor. Just be aware of what you are doing and SDS shouldn't be a problem.

The Reliable Alchemist Engine

Some environments are too fast for an Alchemist chain; by the time you put the pieces of a reliable engine together many times an opponent already has a VP advantage. In the face of Kingdom cards that support rapid economy growth an Alchemist deck may not be fast enough to keep up. Both Minions and Masquerade wreak havoc on an Alchemist deck and Swindlers, Jesters and Saboteurs are potentially dangerous.

The strength in the reliable Alchemist engine is its abililty to power through the end game. If this deck is set up properly it should never stall. Having a trasher is the key to making this deck reliable, but Salvager or Trade Route are good enough. Bishop is better.

Like the Minion Engine the Alchemist Engine has a built-in Achilles heel. This engine potentially falls apart on any turn in which a Potion isn't put into play. Therefore use the one-in-one-out method, trashing a weak card for every strong card you buy.

To build a reliable Alchemist engine I recommend an economy of one or two Silver and at least two Potions. Having two or more Potions going into the middle game speed up development double time, as it helps ensure more Alchemist chains while buying more than one Alchemist per shuffle. Buy gold at $P6 once you are able to draw your whole deck. In the turns leading up to this a typical turn is Alchemist>Alchemist>Alchemist/Trasher>$5P>Buy an Alchemist. Once you have enough Alchemists to draw your deck, as you continue to trash one for one you may add whatever economy you want and go into VP stage in a stallproof deck.

The Reliable King's Court Engine

Fun and flashy, the reliable KC engine doesn't attempt to have a series of good hands, but rather one big one that wins the game. The components are basically KC, any strong draw card and linchpin cards. Rabble, Torturer, Smithy and Council Room are great for your engine, but avoid Envoy. Bridge is the infamous linchpin of this type of engine, but it works with other actions as well.

I like to open this deck with an +$2 attacker and a silver. It is important to ramp up the economy fast enough to buy at least 4 KCs without adding a deluge of treasure cards, and KC'ed Swindlers or Jesters are nasty. If you can trash without disrupting steady $5 and $7 do so; Urgrade is my choice here because a KC'd Upgrade can trash 3 Coppers, leave you with a few cards and some extra actions. Through the middle game strive for 4 KCs, 4 strong draw cards and 3 or 4 linchpins. Avoid village cards as they collide too often with KC.

Once the reliable King's Court engine is built it becomes a waiting game, looking for a hand with KC/KC/strong draw. Once this happens the deck explodes, KCing every KC it finds while drawing the whole deck in huge chunks. Once the deck is drawn use the leftover KCs on the right linchpin cards. Game over.

Game Reports / Apprentice beats Ambassador

« on: June 23, 2011, 09:45:34 am »

http://dominion.isotropic.org/gamelog/201106/23/game-20110623-063459-90bafb48.html

Funny board with Ambassador, Masquerade and Possession. My opponent opened with a Tactician, so I thought that I would go big money early and buy a couple of apprentices before buying a Potion. I figured by the time I would get a Possession his deck would be slim enough for me to abuse his Ambassador.

As it turned out, I started hitting 8$ hands before I got around to buying the potion so I decided to race his slow Ambassador hand. I started buying Provinces and Apprentices at $5.

Beat him 4-0 on Provinces. He finished the game on a couple of Possessions but it was too late.

Feedback / Player Rankings

« on: June 17, 2011, 02:19:45 pm »

I guess this would be impossible, but it would be sweet if you could see a user's player rank or level or W/L record under their avatar, so we can all see at a glance who really knows their stuff.

Game Reports / Double Tactician/Conspirator

« on: June 14, 2011, 06:05:34 am »

This was a game where my opponent had a great start and had taken a lead before my engine clicked. Strong Remaking saved my bacon in the end:

--- Mean Mr Mustard's turn 14 ---
Mean Mr Mustard draws 5 cards and gets +1 action and +1 buy from the Tactician.
Mean Mr Mustard plays a Village.
... drawing 1 card and getting +2 actions.
Mean Mr Mustard plays a Village.
... drawing 1 card and getting +2 actions.
Mean Mr Mustard plays a Conspirator.
... drawing 1 card and getting +1 action and +$2.
Mean Mr Mustard plays a Conspirator.
... drawing 1 card and getting +1 action and +$2.
Mean Mr Mustard plays a Conspirator.
... drawing nothing and getting +1 action and +$2.
Mean Mr Mustard plays a Conspirator.
... drawing nothing and getting +1 action and +$2.
Mean Mr Mustard plays a Conspirator.
... drawing nothing and getting +1 action and +$2.
Mean Mr Mustard plays a Conspirator.
... drawing nothing and getting +1 action and +$2.
Mean Mr Mustard plays a Remake.
... trashing a Conspirator.
... gaining a Duchy.
... trashing a Conspirator.
... gaining a Duchy.
Mean Mr Mustard plays a Tactician.
... discarding the hand (2 cards).
Mean Mr Mustard buys a Province.
Mean Mr Mustard buys a Young Witch.
(Mean Mr Mustard reshuffles.)
(Mean Mr Mustard draws: 2 Conspirators, a Duchy, a Remake, and a Province.)

http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20110608-152629-76931722.html

Dominion General Discussion / Advanced Strategy: Managing Game Flow

« on: June 13, 2011, 07:56:01 am »

Ok, I would like some feedback on an area of Dominion that I am struggling with. Managing game flow is a skill that makes or breaks players and is really the core, in my opinion, of Dominion strategy. This can mean anything from managing income, coin vs victory, terminal action density or many other things, but for the purpose of this post I would like to limit the definition to one area.

After looking over the kingdom cards and deciding a path to victory the game starts and you must try to implement your plan. If you are lucky each buy comes at the correct pace and in a good order. Turn 3, say, you have the $5 to buy that first Wharf or Minion, and further actions and buys seem naturally to build the perfect VP Engine and you cruise to victory. Or if your luck is bad you hit $4 for too many early turns and fail miserably. Or, and this is where I am struggling with my game, the luck mocks your plan and you have early $6 hands and must choose whether to build your engine or buy Gold, forestalling good engine cards to improve your coin density. If this happens a lot in a game you are basically tossing your subtle or unsubtle strategy for a lame big money strategy; on the other hand, the early Gold can be a great boon.

I am not asking for card-specific advise or VP buying tips but rather strategy for mitigating the luck part of buying and building engines. If what I am describing is not clear I will try to clarify it.

Jake