Here was a fun game with Border Village/Torturer on the board. I like how it highlights different responses to Torturer chains, and why it's often desirable to take the curse.
http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20120121-000534-6915b222.htmlFirst Four Turns:My opponent opens three Silvers and a Cartographer; I go for Silver/Smithy/Native Village and am the first to get a Border Village/Torturer.
Turns 5-8:Opponent follows suit by buying BV/Torturer three times, and Torturer the fourth. This is not looking good! She is also the first to play Torturer, which she does on turns 7 and 8. Meanwhile, I pick up a Native Village, Silver, Border Village, and 2 Torturers.
Looking back, this is where my opponent's stronger money/Cartographer opening started to shine. I probably should have skipped the Smithy, since I was going for a deck full of Torturers, right?
Turns 9-12Now the fun begins. She tortures me 3 times on Turn 9 (I take 2 curses), and picks up another BV/Torturer. I fire right back with 3 attacks and a BV/Torturer pickup of my own. She strongly prefers the discard option, so she's left with just one good card when her turn starts. Unfortunately, it's a BV, which digs down to a Torturer and pulls off
another 3-Torturer turn. I manage a double-Torturer in response, and we each pause to pick up a Trading Post to deal with all the Curses.
My turn 11, things get interesting. I quadruple-Torturer my opponent, and she never takes a Curse. I think this is usually a mistake, especially with Trading Post available to kill 2 Curses at a time, and Torturer increasing handsize to bring them all together. This Curse-Averseness on her part will come to define the rest of the game.
Oh, and I also pick up a Duchy, starting to think about the endgame.
Final four turns:She recovers from her missed turn, and plays a triple-Torturer attack; I take 2 Curses and she keeps pace with a Duchy of her own. By keeping my handsize intact, I can fire back with
four Torturers, turn those Curses into a Silver, and pick up a Colony (note there is
no +Buy). Next turn is the same story: four Torturers, trash a Curse, gain a Colony.
Both times, she never takes a curse, preferring instead to discard her whole hand. I think this was the key mistake where the game was lost. In a 16-turn game, you can't afford to throw away three of those turns entirely.
Now one thing I've picked up from these forums is that good players look for 3-pile opportunities when they have a solid lead -- I'd say 2 Colonies with no +Buy qualifies! I notice there is 1 Border Village and 2 Curses left -- sounds like a plan. I take the last BV on Turn 15, and pick up a Curse with it (I love doing that!).
Now I'm grinning, just waiting for my opponent to play a hand for the first time in 3 Turns. She's got 6 Torturers and no other strong draw -- surely she can't resist "attacking" me! Sure enough, the Torturers come, and I gleefully gain a Curse in hand to empty the third pile.
And that's how I won a game by my
opponent playing a Torturer.
Final thoughts:I think she had the stronger opening in retrospect, and she had more Torturers. During the game, I certainly felt like I was getting hammered worse than I was dishing it out, so it was very satisfying to outlast it and emerge victorious. I think this game highlights the importance of taking Curses sometimes during multiple-Torturer onslaughts; losing a whole turn just hurts too much.
Also, I'm just now noticing this was a Colony game with no treasures higher than Silver involved. Interesting.
It is also extremely fun to win by emptying the Curses. In retrospect, it would have been smarter to take a Duchy with the Border Village, since I could expect multiple Torturers on her turn. But grabbing a Curse with my BV was too fun to pass up.
