Jimmmmm 3.5, AdamH 2.5
A very close and hard-fought match comes down to the last game where our scores were tied. Yeah I wish things had gone differently, but you make your own shuffle luck.
Link to the Twitch streamLink to the video playlist on YouTubeGame 1: AdamH 6,
Jimmmmm 12Kingdom Cards: Vineyard, Chapel, Hermit, Market Square, Smugglers, Monument, Young Witch, Stash, Upgrade, Vault, Bank
Game log Twitch Video YouTube VideoYeah well this game. Hermit/Market Square dominates the scene and I'm stuck with a terrible 5/2 opening. I waffle a little bit about maybe opening with an Upgrade to try and get more Hermits that way but eventually just decide to cry and open nothing/Hermit. Terrible start. My opponents sees me pass T1 without a Chapel and says "wow" which makes me think he's not aware of the combo (which he wasn't) so I have a pretty good chance here as he's going for a Vineyards rush that I didn't think was super-strong. He contests the Hermits and they split 5-5, partially because a lovely four-Hermit hand I had, then the Market Squares split 5-5 as well.
Then on turn 10 it's time to pull the trigger. With one Madman in my hand I quickly calculate that I really don't need much to pile the Estates and win this turn so I go for it. The plan fails fantastically as I draw my Madman only after playing one too many Market Squares so that I can't get enough Gold to buy the Estates I need. At this point the game is just totally lost while I desperately scramble around to try and come up with something.
Actually if there's one game in this match I'm bummed about it's this one: after the match a couple of people and I were talking about anything I could have done differently and we couldn't come up with anything -- that shuffle starting at T10 doomed me to lose the game no matter what happened, and I gave myself the highest chance of winning (over 80%) by doing what I did -- we even considered getting more Madmen and using Chapels to trigger MS instead of Hermit but even that doesn't work because Jimm just empties the Chapels too fast and wins. Top that with the fact that things would have been very different on a 3/4 opening or if I hadn't drawn four Hermits on T5 and I'm finally ready to say this game breaks my "you make your own shuffle luck" rule. Oh yeah, and if I had won this game the match outcome would have been different. It's just a little depressing to lose like this when playing such a better strategy, but it's just a game.
Game 2: Jimmmmm 25,
AdamH 46Kingdom Cards: Native Village, University, Great Hall, Market Square, Caravan, Ironmonger, Wandering Minstrel, Worker's Village, Counterfeit, Governor
Game log Twitch Video YouTube VideoSemi-interesting Governor game. I open 5/2 on a Governor board which helps a lot, but I really like my play here. The interesting thing is that there are no terminals on the board so Market Square becomes Strictly Better™ than Worker's Village. Not much else to say about it though.
Game 3: Jimmmmm 34, AdamH 34Kingdom Cards: Duchess, Market Square, Envoy, Nomad Camp, Counting House, Governor, Junk Dealer, Knights, Laboratory, Treasury, with Shelters
Game log Twitch Video YouTube VideoSlightly more interesting Governor game here -- this time Jimmmmm gets the 5/2 and is leading throughout the game, but focuses a lot more on Market Squares and Gold and less on draw which gives me a window to get back in it. The endgame is tense where I'm trying to find situations where I can not-lose the game, and a fortunate draw on my last turn gives me the chance to take a tie which I'm very glad to accept.
Game 4: AdamH 28,
Jimmmmm 34Kingdom Cards: Pawn, Forager, Armory, Coppersmith, JackOfAllTrades, Noble Brigand, Spice Merchant, Treasure Map, Contraband, Horn of Plenty
Game log Twitch Video YouTube VideoJack and money with support. It was a mirror and he won. Maybe it was because his Foragers collided with his Jacks more often? I dunno.
Game 5: AdamH 27, Jimmmmm 22
Kingdom Cards: Cellar, Courtyard, Lookout, Swindler, Advisor, Gardens, Rats, Market, Merchant Ship, Stables, with Shelters
Game log Twitch Video YouTube VideoThis game was probably the most interesting in the series, especially after reading the chat. Swindler is Always Good™ and it certainly is here. With no village and Stables as non-terminal draw I decide to go for a draw engine while Jimmmmm goes for a more money-ish, more "Swindler-proof" deck. The chat is calling me crazy for trying this, but Cellar is a wonderful card. The chat is telling me I need to buy Coppers to help out my Stables but I didn't want them to become Purples so I thin them out with great deck tracking skills and strategic Lookout plays. I really really like the way I played this board and I'm really happy with this game.
Game 6: Jimmmmm 50, AdamH 40
Kingdom Cards: Pearl Diver, Fishing Village, Philosopher's Stone, Taxman, Counterfeit, Mandarin, Merchant Ship, Trading Post, Treasury, Harem, with Shelters
Game log Twitch Video YouTube VideoIt all comes down to this last game and it's money?! Ugh! I was hoping for something a little more high-skill. Here it's Taxman and money with some trasher on $5. Jimmmmm chooses Trading Post but I can't hit $5 on my second shuffle so I skip it and go directly for Counterfeit (he gets one later too). I think that makes a big difference because he gets into a great position until T21 where he can buy the last Province and win, but he miscounts the Provinces and grabs Double Duchy instead. Confident in my ability to count (lol) I get the last two Duchies on my next turn and then it all comes down to the last Province! He gets it first and has a pleasant surprise when he finds out he wins the game because of it.
Anyways, it's kinda sad for me that the H/MS game went the way it did and I'm out of the finals because of it, but the rest of the match was fun and exciting to play and that's why I'm in the tournament anyways. Thanks for the match!