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Author Topic: IRL I opened with Mint...  (Read 1822 times)

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tolenmar

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IRL I opened with Mint...
« on: March 17, 2013, 10:12:35 pm »
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And I had to think long and hard about doing it, too. I knew it was a gamble, a big gamble.
But, by the time my opponent could afford a mint, I had gained, cloned, and trashed past silver into platinums.

Beat him by 2 points, we split the colonies, bought a province each, still had our three estates, and I had a duchy where he had a great hall. 

That was a fun gamble.  I probably won't be brave enough ever again...
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Robz888

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Re: IRL I opened with Mint...
« Reply #1 on: March 17, 2013, 11:40:21 pm »
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But what did you pair it with?

The Mint opening is brutally powerful with Fool's Gold. It also works well with Squire. Lighthouse is decent enough, and Duchess and Embargo are... doable, if not stellar.

Anything else runs a high risk of failure, but sometimes it can be worth it.
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I have been forced to accept that lackluster play is a town tell for you.

tolenmar

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Re: IRL I opened with Mint...
« Reply #2 on: March 17, 2013, 11:58:42 pm »
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I had to go with lighthouse.  There weren't many attacks on the board, but I knew my opponent would grab them up if I started getting too far ahead.  I don't have all the sets yet, so most of those options are out for now.

Embargo would have been an interesting move.

In trying to recall the kingdom, I know we had Venture and Contraband, plus Merchant Ship, King's Court, Woodcutter, Minion, and Fishing Village. Plus Mint and Great Hall, of course. My first few turns were spent buying cards that would boost my economy back to where it started, accelerated by the Mint.

The funny thing is, I thought I was farther ahead than that when I ended the game.  Had I known it was that close, I would likely have played for time, and then lost.
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Robz888

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Re: IRL I opened with Mint...
« Reply #3 on: March 18, 2013, 12:00:28 am »
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Well, pairing it with Lighthouse, on a board where you would want Lighthouse anyway, is probably a good move. Minion is usually an important card, though. I wonder if you might have been better served by opening Minion/Lighthouse, and then picking a Mint to trash your stuff later.
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I have been forced to accept that lackluster play is a town tell for you.

ednever

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Re: IRL I opened with Mint...
« Reply #4 on: March 18, 2013, 03:37:03 am »
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Agree.

Mint open is almost always a trap. It feels good to kill those copper, but (assuming no FG) even with lighthouse you have to get pretty lucky to make it work.

You end up with 7 cards in your deck:

Lighthouse
Mint
2 copper
3 estates

If you give the LH a value of $2, that's $4 in a deck of 7 cards, or an average hand value of 20/7 - just under $3. In order to buy a silver on turn 3 you need both copper AND the LH to land. Unlikely. You should be able to get another LH though - unless the three estates land with the mint.

But say you get the lighthouse (say 2 copper and 3 estates)
Now you draw LH, mint, and three of:
Copper (2)
LH
Estates (3)

Again, you are likely to have $2, but not $3.

The only way this works is if you really want to be using your initial turns to buy Lighthouses anyway. Then the lack of economy doesn't matter. (Say with a Young Witch with LH bane. Or any early curser for that matter.)


In this board, depending on what else was there, there may be a play with Minion. LH is great with Minion, and it might be difficult (or impossible) to get a five copper hand later.

If there was no other trashing, it may be the way to go after all.

But every time I think it might be feasible and go for it, I get demolished...

Ed
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RTT

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Re: IRL I opened with Mint...
« Reply #5 on: March 18, 2013, 03:47:16 am »
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I have once opened Mint secret chamber. i think that is also a viable option because it secures getting to 4$ for a silver or anything else. in turn 3 or with bad luck turn 4.
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SirPeebles

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Re: IRL I opened with Mint...
« Reply #6 on: March 18, 2013, 08:48:36 am »
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I could see Mint/Beggar working if you expect to be frequently attacked, especially in multiplayer.  The plan would be to reveal Beggar for Silver frequently early on to build economy.
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tolenmar

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Re: IRL I opened with Mint...
« Reply #7 on: March 18, 2013, 11:33:52 am »
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I think what did it was my opponent focusing on Treasure Maps. (Which also means I have mis-remembered at least one card of that kingdom).  He did get them to link up, which led into him and I racing for Colonies, as we both started being able to grab them at around the same time.

I never bought any minions, he bought one, and never got it to hit.  We also started grabbing King's Courts, but he only got one use of them to gain enough coin for a gold.

Otherwise, I bought and played enough lighthouses to be almost continually protected, and that I think was a pretty critical part to rebuilding my economy so quickly.  Plus, it allowed me to pick up a couple more Mints without trashing any important treasures. Mint let me clone my way to eight platinum by the end, with very little in the way of copper or silver.
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Wingnut

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Re: IRL I opened with Mint...
« Reply #8 on: March 18, 2013, 02:26:26 pm »
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I once played a game IRL where I opened Mint/Pawn. It worked great. As long as you don't draw the dreaded Mint/C/EEE hand (a problem even on the Mint/FG open sometimes) this is great on a weak engine board as Pawn will likely be the plus buy source and can generate that one extra coin needed to reach Silver. I wouldn't play it often, but on the right board (maybe a +2 Cards engine or to setup a Golden Deck without Chapel) it can be nice.
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