First off, much respect for my opponent. I know how much time and effort it takes to get into the 40's in level. As I commented at the start of the match, I was having a good day (7-1-0) up to that point, and the last thing I wanted to do was play a level 44.
http://dominion.isotropic.org/gamelog/201204/14/game-20120414-120624-31305b8f.htmlI wanted to go with a straight 2 Merchant Ship strategy, but with his opening of 5/2 to my 4/3 I thought I was doomed right out of the gates. Still, I played with a very fast game in mind, thinking that if I got lucky, and we split the Provinces, my opening of Monument could make the difference.
Everything went pretty straight forward. We ended up with almost identical decks. Ben had a Crossroads (thanks to his 2 coin opening), and a caravan that I didn't have. He also had one more gold, and a few less silvers (maybe those made the difference?)
We both started greening at the same time (technically he was a turn ahead, from second position), and went 2x Province. He picked up his first Duchy over me on turn 13, but I was able to come back and answer with a third straight Province. We both followed up with a Duchy each, and he finished out turn 15 with his third Province, leaving him 1 Duchy up on me overall, and into a full on Duchy dance.
Turn 16 saw us both gain another Duchy, leaving just 3 in the pile. However, I knew that:
A) I was 2 points ahead in VP tokens
B) I had just reshuffled, meaning all 3 terminals were in my deck
C) He hadn't reshuffled since playing a Merchant Ship, AND his Monument
Given my strong draw on turn 17 then, which included a Merchant ship and 8 coins, I decided to risk breaking PPR and gamble for a straight win. I couldn't know that he had drawn a terrible hand obviously, but I thought my deck was set up at that time as good as it ever was gonna get. In the end, I bought my 4th Province turn 17, and my 5th on turn 18 to take a solid victory.
I recognize that, had Ben had 8 coins in hand, and bought that last Province, I would have lost by 1. I still would have been very happy with the overall game though. Perhaps, had I thought about it a little further, I should have realized that I was more likely to snag 2 of the last 3 Duchy's evening us out, and leaving me in the lead on straight VP tokens, with only Estates left (nothing he was likely to catch up on at that point). However, had I done so, and a reverse flip happened where he got two good draws and I was stuck floundering trying to find 8 coins, he very well could have ended on Provinces over me instead.
So, did I make the right decision at the time? It was, I think, a very well played game on both sides. I don't
feel that I was overly lucky, although maybe I was. Who ever feels they actually are? So, any thoughts, comments, or ideas anybody here has, I'd love to hear them.
Cheers
Edit:
Quick question, and maybe there is no easy answer. We both had Merchant Ship and Monument collide in our hands twice. I played my Monument, thinking that giving up 2 coins next turn (and I especially believed this early, before greening began, turns 8 and turns 9 for me) was worth gaining 1 VP. Since I thought the game would be close, this seemed right. Ben played his Merchant Ship both times, turns 4 and 10. Given his level of experience, was I wrong?