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[Dingan]

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Scrying Pool, Market Square, Steward, Caravan, Marauder, Nomad Camp, Bandit Camp, Bazaar, Journeyman, Mine
http://gokosalvager.com/static/logprettifier.html?http://dominion-game-logs.s3.amazonaws.com/game_logs/20160128/log.0.1453957344431.txt

I am at a loss here (literally).  This is why I can't reach that next level in Dominion.  I think critically about the board, try to base every decision I make on tried-and-true facts instead of on "gut feeling", and try to apply everything I've learned on the forums and elsewhere to these types of games.  But I still get completely crushed.  And boy, I've been in quite a slump lately.

Ok, I feel better after that rant.  Anyways... about this board.. I see Scrying Pool, good thinning, +buy, virtual economy, and also real economy with Golds from Market Square.  I see Marauder, but (1) there is good thinning, (2) Ruins gel with Scrying Pool, and (3) I don't necessarily want Spoils (at least I think I don't).  So I ignore Marauader, and open Potion/Steward.  Opponent opens Marauder (Ok, I'm fine with that) and Market Square (seem bad if you're not playing a Steward).

Game goes on.  I get somewhat bad luck, not getting to trash Estates (or Ruins) until T8 and drawing Potion dead on T4.  Meanwhile my opponent is giving me Ruins.  I still sort of feel like I'm in good shape.  Also, opponent is buying Bandit Camps, Journeymen, and a Caravan along the way.  I feel Bazaar is better than Bandit Camp early in the game here because Spoils no bueno for Scrying Pool.  I also feel you just don't need Caravan nor Journeymen at all as long as you have Scrying Pool for draw.

Long story short, I got completely owned.  I could never really recover from the Ruins.  I didn't pick up a Bazaar until T14 (!).

So, what is best here??  I was so incredibly confident that I was playing it correctly, but then was beaten so incredibly badly.

[WanderingWinder]

There are several improvements to make here.

First of all, Ruins don't gel with Scrying Pool. Pool makes them less bad than normal, but you still draw fewer non-ruin cards with your pools, and more importantly, you're less likely to get a pool to start with. Having said that, you should seriously consider keeping them over coppers, since coppers are more dead to your deck.

Next, you talk about getting Golds, and then you do it pretty early. That's a pretty serious mistake. I don't think you want want a free gold even if you got that offer, but you definitely don't want to waste drawing a card for it. At some point, you might need to take one to be able to hit $5. You don't want to do that until your deck is pretty thin and under control though.

Also, you should get a second Steward pretty fast - especially considering how you drew, turn 5 was an excellent chance for this. You just need the trashing to thin down.


Your draw was very very bad though. That happens sometimes.

[singletee]

Your second shuffle was brutal, not much to be done about that. I agree you should get a second Steward fast. Don't be enticed by free Golds until your deck is under control.

Just because you're getting Pools is no reason not to get other draw, too. Keep in mind you're only getting one Pool per shuffle, and you want to draw your deck as soon as possible. Once you're drawing your deck, Bandit Camps and Market Squares are good economy and you will need some way to draw those treasures you're generating. And if you're not drawing your deck, then clearly more draw is not a bad thing.

[dedicateddan]

Yup.

Potion/Steward opening is great, but you really want the second Steward on turn 5 to thin.

The Market Square->Gold plan slows your development and leaves you with gold that leads to a fatter deck and extra cards that gum up scrying pool.

The target endgame payload here is bandit camp with some +buy, since you can pick it up with scrying pool, draw deck, then play a bunch of bandit camps and draw the spoils.

Also, despite your opponent's weird marauder/market square opening, they quickly transitioned into potion/steward as well, and they had much, much better draws

[CG19]

I'm only going to echo all the points above, because they are so good.

T5 - Steward instead of Market Square, you won't need the Golds for a while.
T8 - Probably trash Estate, Copper instead of the Ruin. And don't reveal Market Square until your deck is much sexier.
T14 - You bought SP, Bazaar, and Estate? The Estate seems pointless here, unless I'm missing something.

Also as stated above, your payload is going to be treasures. It definitely would help to pick up a Journeyman or 2 (possibly Caravans) to help your pools draw that. Your opponent seemed to do a good job of this.

Anyways, tiny mistakes can really add up to losing...especially early! If you really want to get better, check out some live streams from players on the forums. They are immensely helpful.

[Roadrunner7671]

I haven't looked at the log, but your shuffle luck must've been absolutely terrible. This is like a perfect board for Scrying Pool. You ignore Journeyman and focus on getting tons of Pools. Maybe pick up an early Nomad Camp so you can do things like Steward/Pool. Market Square is only here for +buy, golds are bad. And your payload can be Bazaars, Nomad Camps and Stewards. Treasures are dumb.

[Dingan]

Thanks for the help!  In hindsight I can see that the early Market Square should have been a Steward and that Golds are bad, at least early.

T14 - You bought SP, Bazaar, and Estate?

I don't remember why I bought Estate.  Maybe I was thinking I could 3-pile for a win somehow, or that I thought we would (in best case scenario) split the Provinces.  Not sure.  Or maybe I had just given up at that point.