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[Kirian]

Pairings are posted here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AkuKfENQMyHadFhmN2prbUZNR3JqRlFVN0J2ZThJclE#gid=7

Please post results below!

[kn1tt3r]

Just for clarification, what are the exact rules for the playoffs (if it has been posted before, I can't find it)?

Is it still the case that after a 2-2, if the original first player wins the fifth game, you play a sixth one? And since draws are no longer a reasonable end result, do you after that play a seventh decisive game? And is it still the case that you always play the sixth game if any game was a tie?

[Kirian]

Yes, yes, and yes... I think that's the only set of answers to that question that provides for a fair result.

[Rabid]

Would it make sense to go back to the old first to X wins system for the knock out stage?
First to 4 wins, loser starts, no points for a draw but start player swaps.

[kn1tt3r]

Would it make sense to go back to the old first to X wins system for the knock out stage?
First to 4 wins, loser starts, no points for a draw but start player swaps.

Maybe it would, but I think it's a bit too late for rules discussions.

[Rabid]

True, ready when you are, with rules as you posted above.

[kn1tt3r]

Rabid vs. kn1tt3r - 0:3


Game 1:
Log: http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130521/log.505c84d751c3249282789115.1369156281317.txt
Video:
Basically Big Money/Stables with Bishop and a Navigator for him, which I ignore. Navigator aside, this one was a mirror match where I get my economy going a bit faster, and due to some better draw luck and 1st player advantage I can win this after he's broken PPR (which was a mistake I think...?). At one point I had the choice whether to trash a Gold, a Silver or a Copper with my Bishop and I opted for Copper in fear the trashed Gold would cripple my economy too much for the end game. This was probably quite a mistake, but luckily in the end it didn't matter.

Game 2:
Log: http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130521/log.505c84d751c3249282789115.1369157343698.txt
Video:
Sea Hag, Chapel, Hunting Party, Possession, Golem. Hunting Party seems obvious here, possibly with Possession. The interesting question is how to open here. Hunting Party doesn't really need Chapel, but Hunting Party with Curse probably does. On the other hand, a thin deck makes you vulnerable to Possession. Then there is Sea Hag... Chapel/Sea Hag seems too slow to get to Hunting Parties fast enough, Sea Hag only is maybe too weak for a trashed down deck, but has the potential to slow down the opponent enough to make something happen. Well, finally I opted for Sea Hag/Silver to get a Chapel later. In the end I probably got my Chapel too early, and maybe it wasn't even necessary, but I also had quite a lucky 4th and 5th turn where I can trash 2 Estates and 2 Coppers AND get a Hunting Party. Rabid ignored Sea Hag and tried to get a Hunting Party deck with Chapel trashing going. Maybe there was some bad draw luck involved, but may Sea Hag slowed him down more than he probably expected. At some point my deck just flows, I get a Possession and one or two Golems, and he just cannot catch up fast enough.

Game 3:
http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130521/log.505c84d751c3249282789115.1369158748838.txt
Video:
A Colony game with Urchin/Mercenary, Spice Merchant, Scrying Pool, Bazaar, Hunting Party and Jester. There also was Vineyard, but surprisingly it never was important (it was in my mind, but it turned out otherwise). We basically did the same thing, which was an engine of Hunting Parties, Bazaars, Jesters (!), and Scrying Pools (!!!). We both get a Mercenary for trashing (he a bit earlier), and due to Jesters our decks get denser and more reliable by the minute. The only difference was the Spice Merchant that I got and he didn't, which accelerated me in the early game and more importantly provided the quite decisive +Buy for the end game. I originally got the +Buy for Vineyards, but at the point I used it for Victory cards I could do better than Colony+Vineyard, and so they never got bought. I probably made several tactical mistakes here, but that just happens in those Scrying Pool/Jester decks, unless you are a machine or -Stef- of course.


Thanks for the games, Rabid. We both know that I'm not 3-0 better than you, and with some different draws at least 1-2 of the games could have ended in your favour.

[Rabid]

Thanks for the games Knitter, good luck in the Semi Final.
A well deserved win, you played it well and I made several mistakes.

Rabid vs. kn1tt3r - 0:3
Game 1:
Log: http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130521/log.505c84d751c3249282789115.1369156281317.txt
Video:
Basically Big Money/Stables with Bishop and a Navigator for him, which I ignore. Navigator aside, this one was a mirror match where I get my economy going a bit faster, and due to some better draw luck and 1st player advantage I can win this after he's broken PPR (which was a mistake I think...?). At one point I had the choice whether to trash a Gold, a Silver or a Copper with my Bishop and I opted for Copper in fear the trashed Gold would cripple my economy too much for the end game. This was probably quite a mistake, but luckily in the end it didn't matter.

I like Navigator here especially as 2nd player. Unfortunately I misclick discarding my T4 CCCCS hand. I had to break PPR I think, with only 1 gold to your 3, and you having already played a lot of $ this shuffle I think it gave me better odds than duchy dancing.

Game 2:
Log: http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130521/log.505c84d751c3249282789115.1369157343698.txt
Video: (uploading)
Sea Hag, Chapel, Hunting Party, Possession, Golem. Hunting Party seems obvious here, possibly with Possession. The interesting question is how to open here. Hunting Party doesn't really need Chapel, but Hunting Party with Curse probably does. On the other hand, a thin deck makes you vulnerable to Possession. Then there is Sea Hag... Chapel/Sea Hag seems to slow to get to Hunting Parties fast enough, Sea Hag only is maybe too weak for a trashed down deck, but has the potential to slow down the opponent enough to make something happen. Well, finally I opted for Sea Hag/Silver to get a Chapel later. In the end I probably got my Chapel too early, and maybe it wasn't even necessary, but I also had quite a lucky 4th and 5th turn where I can trash 2 Estates and 2 Coppers AND get a Hunting Party. Rabid ignored Sea Hag and tried to get a Hunting Party deck with Chapel trashing going. Maybe there was some bad draw luck involved, but may Sea Hag slowed him down more than he probably expected. At some point my deck just flows, I get a Possession and one or two Golems, and he just cannot catch up fast enough.

I was expecting this to turn into a golum + possession, chapel away all my money game.
I buy a potion to early, then get terrible draws in the late game. (3 of your provinces were with my deck for example)
EDIT: Just watched this video, wasn't late game bad luck, but your possession turns causing bad HP reshuffles for me. Nicely done.

Game 3:
http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130521/log.505c84d751c3249282789115.1369158748838.txt
Video: coming soon
A Colony game with Urchin/Mercenary, Spice Merchant, Scrying Pool, Bazaar, Hunting Party and Jester. There also was Vineyard, but surprisingly it never was important (it was in my mind, but it turned out otherwise). We basically did the same thing, which was an engine of Hunting Parties, Bazaars, Jesters (!), and Scrying Pools (!!!). We both get a Mercenary for trashing (he a bit earlier), and due to Jesters our decks get denser and more reliable by the minute. The only difference was the Spice Merchant that I got and he didn't, which accelerated me in the early game and more importantly provided the quite decisive +Buy for the end game. I originally got the +Buy for Vineyards, but at the point I used it for Victory cards I could do better than Colony+Vineyard, and so they never got bought. I probably made several tactical mistakes here, but that just happens in those Scrying Pool/Jester decks, unless you are a machine or -Stef- of course.

Yep I played this one poorly, I definitely needed + buy early.
Maybe you can even go for bishop + talisman + spice merchant "golden deck"?

[Qvist]

Wow, that was - well - unexpected if you ask me. Congrats kn1tt3r!

[Watno]

Well, that didn't go well.
DG wins 3-1, he will post the logs soon.

Thx Kirian for organizing, looking forward to the next season.

[DG]

DG 3-1 Watno

This was a rematch of the last round of the swiss. The games in that series seemed to have plenty of play but this series was quite swingy on draws.

Watno 44 - 27 DG http://dominionlogs.goko.com//20130523/log.505c626fa2e6c78ad2ed5aa6.1369314391339.txt
Watno 41 - 74 DG http://dominionlogs.goko.com//20130523/log.505c626fa2e6c78ad2ed5aa6.1369315611761.txt
Watno 27 - 48 DG http://dominionlogs.goko.com//20130523/log.505c626fa2e6c78ad2ed5aa6.1369316073068.txt
Watno 14 - 36 DG http://dominionlogs.goko.com//20130523/log.505c626fa2e6c78ad2ed5aa6.1369316845142.txt

First game was witch+other: scavenger or steward. Interesting choice, but since I drew my steward with the witch every time it probably didn't make much difference to the result.
Second game, hmm, well I just don't trust death carts. After seeing it played through I'm thinking Watno had fair strategy playing death carts against the pirate and his draws were poor. I'd neglected the +buy coming from one of the ruins and it does make a difference.
Third game is duchy/duke again. We had two in the last series. Maybe he needs an ironworks instead more traders. After a couple of shuffles the whole cache/trader thing comes too late for the duchy/duke.
Fourth game is a university power kingdom. It's probably not going to be derailed by an embargo. I expected to lose as second player but after we build similar decks his draws desert him and give me a winning turn.

So thanks again to Watno for some good games even if they were a bit swingy.

[RTT]

just to allready spoil it Mic_Qsenoch wins against RTT 4-3

some great matches thank to Mic for his fairplay in the first match where he unluckily disconnected when I was i an pretty good lead so he gave that win to me.

all 6 Matches where won by firstplayer so we did a deciding 7th Game with random first player.(who was me)

Looking forward to the next tournament it was a lot of fun.

Good Luck for Mic in the next round

[Mic Qsenoch]

Mic Qsenoch wins 4 - 3 over RTT

Game 1: no log, cards: Forge, Grand Market, Haggler, Council Room, Fortress, Feodum (that's all I remember)
In this game my opponent got out to a big Province lead (4-1 I think). He had a good deck with a few GM, Haggler, a Council Room, lots of money. I was trying to build an engine but could not pair up Fortress and Council Room. At some point I manage to draw my deck and I am able to trash away everything. My big comeback plan is to use x3 Hagglers next turn and pick up a ton of Feoda + x3 Silver. But my internet connection died, and the page reloaded and I was out of the game. My opponent was going to get his 5th Province the next turn anyway, so my chances looked slim. Game 1 goes to RTT.

Game 2: http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130523/log.50bfbb9ae4b0a380e35fa23b.1369337170552.txt
This is a mirror match with Crossroads/Menagerie/Forager/Rabble/Haggler engines. Our decks look pretty similar throughout the game. I have more engine pieces, but he has more money. I get out to a lead. He can almost double Province for a tie at the end, but is $1 short.

Game 3: http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130523/log.50bfbb9ae4b0a380e35fa23b.1369338468123.txt
This game featured the Hermit/Scheme trick, which my opponent didn't know about until I did it. I open Hermit/Hermit while he opens Hermit/Silver. I just work on gaining some Madmen, while he picks up some Vaults. In my head, I would be able to have a couple mega-turns using Madmen and Worker's Village for plus buy, but it doesn't ultimately pan out. I'm not sure how to play this best, but I think I needed to pick up more Madmen, and another Worker's Village would have been nice. Instead I manage a single big turn to pick up a few Feoda, and I start pounding Silvers with my Hermits. My opponent correctly contests Feoda. The game drags on for a long time. He has a big Province lead, but I slowly come back with Duchies and Silvers. At the very end, I am getting very close to 9 VP Feoda, but he picks up the last Province to end it. My huge mistake here is trashing one of my first Feoda with Hermit.

Game 4: http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130523/log.50bfbb9ae4b0a380e35fa23b.1369339179265.txt
This is a board that is almost the right shape for a big engine, but rushing VP will be strong as well. I go a little more action heavy, and I do set up KC-Scheme. Lack of plus buy hurts here,  I'm not sure if Graverobber is worth it to build into KC-KC turns, you will run out of actions to remodel pretty quickly. Ultimately, the KC-Scheme gives my deck very strong consistency and this lets me outlast my opponent. Band of Misfits also was very useful here, as Scheme/Militia/Scavenger.

Game 5: http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130523/log.50bfbb9ae4b0a380e35fa23b.1369339522561.txt
Catacombs/Hoard/Counterfeit/Silk Roads. My opponent really outplays me here. For some reason I decide to ignore Counterfeit, but the deck thinning lets him use Hoard a lot more frequently, and he beats me soundly. I try Ventures instead and it doesn't work out as well.

Game 6: http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130523/log.50bfbb9ae4b0a380e35fa23b.1369340156764.txt
Colony board. Openings are Remodel/Forager for me, Tournament/Forager for him. I can convert Estates to Tournaments and it helps me get a slight money lead and the first Province. I thought I'd have a good chance at a complete Prize sweep, but it takes me some time to grab the first one. I take Followers. He gets Trusty Steed and then Princess. I take Diadem and Bag of Gold. In the end, my better economy plus Followers gives me more longevity and the win.

Game 7: http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130523/log.50bfbb9ae4b0a380e35fa23b.1369340984986.txt
A Chapel/Market Square dream board. My opponent doesn't use this combo and takes himself out of the game. Border Village/Catacombs for draw, Counterfeit to help print and play all that sweet Gold. This one went very fast. I bought 6 Provinces and 2 Duchies in 13 turns, and I made several little misplays (forgetting to buy Copper to feed the Squares) that probably added a turn to the game.

I thought all of the games were interesting, and most of them were competitive as well. A very close match. Thanks for hosting RTT!

[Polk5440]

Results of Polk5440 versus SheCantSayNo: SheCantSayNo defeats Polk 3-2

Game 1: http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130525/log.50ba29b8e4b015dcbac5f45a.1369487567369.txt

Transmute, Cellar, Lighthouse, Smugglers, Bridge, Conspirator, Horn of Plenty, Jester, Mine, Border Village

This was interesting because there was no real drawing. We both go for a Conspirator-Cellar-Lighthouse-Border Village thing with one Jester. He picks up a Bridge and I get a Mine. I pick up a Bridge later when I feel I'll need the buy, and he gets HoP before me, as well. I like Mine here for increasing money density; however, I got too many Conspirators before having enough other cards, so there were too many terminal clashes early. Because of my Mining, I was able to get two Provinces, but my deck wasn't really ready to handle them as much as it should have been. He was able to very nicely end the game on piles.

This was a good game overall. I think this might have been my favorite of the match, actually, because it's the one I would like to go back and play again to try to get the deck balance right early.

Game 2: http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130525/log.50ba29b8e4b015dcbac5f45a.1369488015759.txt

Secret Chamber, Shanty Town, Smugglers, Baron, Caravan, Feodum, Island, Catacombs, Rabble, Saboteur (+Shelters)

Not much to say here. I went Catacombs + money with timely Island buys, and he went Rabbles + money with timely Island buys. He also picked up a Baron. I'm not sure what his plan was with that. I think I had the better strategy, and I won. (However, the Necropolis featured in the one brutal Rabble-Rabble turn for him, which left me with Province-Province-Overgrown Estate on the deck which was made extra brutal because I didn't have Catacombs in hand).

Game 3: http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130525/log.50ba29b8e4b015dcbac5f45a.1369489307179.txt

Herbalist, Lookout, Workshop, Ironworks, Marauder, Trader, Ghost Ship, Border Village, Hunting Grounds, Bank (+Colony)

Lookout-Marauder openings for both of us. I was unable to commit to staying the Lookout deck-thinning course (I chickened out), and I lost because of it. I do like picking up a Trader at some point this game. However, when my Lookout and Trader collide, I trash the Lookout, which was a big mistake at that time which I really didn't realize until later. I should have thinned a lot more. He rightly wins this one by a mile.

Game 4: http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130525/log.50ba29b8e4b015dcbac5f45a.1369489941593.txt

Oracle, Armory, Militia, Noble Brigand, Thief, Trader, Counting House, Graverobber, Stables, Possession

This one I win, but I am not sure I had the winning strategy. He goes heavy on Noble Brigand and money picking up Stables later. I open Silver-Militia and go for Stables and money. His NB misses early, but eventually he does get two of my Golds. I got out to a lead, and he couldn't catch up. Eventually I got more than half of the total points, and he bought the last Province to end the game and move on to the next one.

I do like Militia here, but I am not sure I did the right thing by never picking up a NB. I also contemplated picking up a Graverobber late instead of another Stables to expand a stables into a Province in the end game. I decided it was Duchy time instead. It worked out in the end, but I'm not sure what's right.

Game 5: http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130525/log.50ba29b8e4b015dcbac5f45a.1369490729455.txt

Quarry, Silk Road, Treasure Map, City, Explorer, Jester, Mint, Tactician, Trading Post, Goons

Ok. So this one I am a little bummed about. We both go Tac-City-Goons with one Trading Post. I pick up two Quarries, he one then a second much later. I win the City Goons split and get out to a sizable lead. My last two turns I draw almost dead. Very bad luck -- that was self-made. SheCantSayNo suggests I should have left one city and one goons in each pile. That was a good suggestion, and something that I didn't consider. What I did consider, and regretted not doing, was buying a Mint. I first considered it on turn 10, and I think it was right not to, but on turn 14, I really proabably should have. This would have also left one City in the pile not giving the buy bonus to SheCantSayNo which was critical to three pile on me. Minting away my treasures would have given me a much better shot at connecting my Cities and Goons since I had won the split and I just needed to get a few of them together to rack up some more points and pile out for a win. Nice risk at the end by him to buy all the Estates but one, too.

Thanks for the games, SheCantSayNo, you played better than me overall today, so I don't feel bad about the loss at all. I wish you luck in round 2!

 

[SCSN]

Game 1: http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130525/log.50ba29b8e4b015dcbac5f45a.1369487567369.txt

Transmute, Cellar, Lighthouse, Smugglers, Bridge, Conspirator, Horn of Plenty, Jester, Mine, Border Village

This was interesting because there was no real drawing. We both go for a Conspirator-Cellar-Lighthouse-Border Village thing with one Jester. He picks up a Bridge and I get a Mine. I pick up a Bridge later when I feel I'll need the buy, and he gets HoP before me, as well. I like Mine here for increasing money density; however, I got too many Conspirators before having enough other cards, so there were too many terminal clashes early. Because of my Mining, I was able to get two Provinces, but my deck wasn't really ready to handle them as much as it should have been. He was able to very nicely end the game on piles.

This was a good game overall. I think this might have been my favorite of the match, actually, because it's the one I would like to go back and play again to try to get the deck balance right early.

We both had alot of dead Conspirator turns here and in hindsight I think Conspirator just isn't good. Border Village was the only cantrip, which is too expensive, and using Lighthouse and Cellar as activators makes life very difficult. The lack of trashing makes it even worse, because when you do finally activate a Conspirator, you'll often draw just a Copper or Estate. Any sort of cheap cantrip or something like Lab would have made this kingdom much more interesting, but as it is I think BM + Jester would have been best.

Game 2: http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130525/log.50ba29b8e4b015dcbac5f45a.1369488015759.txt

Secret Chamber, Shanty Town, Smugglers, Baron, Caravan, Feodum, Island, Catacombs, Rabble, Saboteur (+Shelters)

Not much to say here. I went Catacombs + money with timely Island buys, and he went Rabbles + money with timely Island buys. He also picked up a Baron. I'm not sure what his plan was with that. I think I had the better strategy, and I won. (However, the Necropolis featured in the one brutal Rabble-Rabble turn for him, which left me with Province-Province-Overgrown Estate on the deck which was made extra brutal because I didn't have Catacombs in hand).

Your strategy was definitely best here. I misplayed this game horribly. I really wanted to go engine here with Shanty Town, Caravan and Rabble, but the only +buy was Baron, which is pretty terrible when you're playing with Shelters. So I decided not to open Baron and instead get one later(!?), once I had actually some use for the buys. I didn't quite realize that Catacombs-BM is just very fast and strong, so I made the terrible mistake of buying a Ruined Market Baron for $8 without having any Estates in my deck, still planning to go Engine. That should of course just have been a Province, and while I realized my mistake not long after, it was too late to have any sort of chance.

Game 3: http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130525/log.50ba29b8e4b015dcbac5f45a.1369489307179.txt

Herbalist, Lookout, Workshop, Ironworks, Marauder, Trader, Ghost Ship, Border Village, Hunting Grounds, Bank (+Colony)

Lookout-Marauder openings for both of us. I was unable to commit to staying the Lookout deck-thinning course (I chickened out), and I lost because of it. I do like picking up a Trader at some point this game. However, when my Lookout and Trader collide, I trash the Lookout, which was a big mistake at that time which I really didn't realize until later. I should have thinned a lot more. He rightly wins this one by a mile.

Yeah, I think Lookout is the main thing that cost you the game. I don't like Trader here though, mainly because it's yet another terminal and villages are scarse. You really want to spend those actions on Marauder, Ghost Ship and Hunting Grounds. Lookout takes care of the trashing well enough, and is especially powerful against a Ghost Ship attack, as you can top deck your bad cards to trash one and discard the other.

Game 4: http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130525/log.50ba29b8e4b015dcbac5f45a.1369489941593.txt

Oracle, Armory, Militia, Noble Brigand, Thief, Trader, Counting House, Graverobber, Stables, Possession

This one I win, but I am not sure I had the winning strategy. He goes heavy on Noble Brigand and money picking up Stables later. I open Silver-Militia and go for Stables and money. His NB misses early, but eventually he does get two of my Golds. I got out to a lead, and he couldn't catch up. Eventually I got more than half of the total points, and he bought the last Province to end the game and move on to the next one.

I do like Militia here, but I am not sure I did the right thing by never picking up a NB. I also contemplated picking up a Graverobber late instead of another Stables to expand a stables into a Province in the end game. I decided it was Duchy time instead. It worked out in the end, but I'm not sure what's right.

Here I didn't want to play a mirror as P2, so I picked Noble Brigand instead of Militia. I don't hit anything for awhile, get frustrated and buy some more NB's, half out of frustration, half thinking "the only way I can catch up is to trash alot of his treasure". I also should have prioritized Stables over gold early on. You played it well, and I wouldn't add Graverobber as you were far ahead, and trashing Stables here increases the chance that you'd stall before having over half of the VP.

Game 5: http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130525/log.50ba29b8e4b015dcbac5f45a.1369490729455.txt

Quarry, Silk Road, Treasure Map, City, Explorer, Jester, Mint, Tactician, Trading Post, Goons

Ok. So this one I am a little bummed about. We both go Tac-City-Goons with one Trading Post. I pick up two Quarries, he one then a second much later. I win the City Goons split and get out to a sizable lead. My last two turns I draw almost dead. Very bad luck -- that was self-made. SheCantSayNo suggests I should have left one city and one goons in each pile. That was a good suggestion, and something that I didn't consider. What I did consider, and regretted not doing, was buying a Mint. I first considered it on turn 10, and I think it was right not to, but on turn 14, I really proabably should have. This would have also left one City in the pile not giving the buy bonus to SheCantSayNo which was critical to three pile on me. Minting away my treasures would have given me a much better shot at connecting my Cities and Goons since I had won the split and I just needed to get a few of them together to rack up some more points and pile out for a win. Nice risk at the end by him to buy all the Estates but one, too.

Yes, I think emptying the Goons and Cities cost you the game. Had you left one of each, you'd have had 5 Goons and 5 Cities to my 4 - 4, in addition to a decent point lead. Buying the last City while leaving a Goons might have been ok, but making them level 2 is just an unnecessary risk. You were ahead in points and had the better deck, so there was no reason at all to end the game as soon as possible.

Thanks for the games, SheCantSayNo, you played better than me overall today, so I don't feel bad about the loss at all. I wish you luck in round 2!

Thanks! I enjoyed the games and would like to play you some more in the future

[Polk5440]

Game 1:

... as it is I think BM + Jester would have been best.

Interesting. I didn't consider that option at all.

Game 3:

I don't like Trader here though, mainly because it's yet another terminal and villages are scarse. You really want to spend those actions on Marauder, Ghost Ship and Hunting Grounds. Lookout takes care of the trashing well enough, and is especially powerful against a Ghost Ship attack, as you can top deck your bad cards to trash one and discard the other.

That's true. The main reason I liked it was because it could trash coppers and ruins, and prevent ruins from coming into the deck in the first place. Silvers to be able to afford more border villages are nice. Maybe getting a second Marauder would have been a better move for me.

Game 5:

You were ahead in points and had the better deck, so there was no reason at all to end the game as soon as possible.

I got antsy, and thought I could quickly end it. Not smart on my part, that's for sure. It's not like it was a slow moving game. What's a few more turns? This was mostly a mental mistake.

Thanks! I enjoyed the games and would like to play you some more in the future

Same here. Good luck again.

[DG]

DG 3 : 1 kn1tt3r

DG 10 : 18 kn1tt3r http://dominionlogs.goko.com//20130528/log.505c84d751c3249282789115.1369766376617.txt
DG 39 : 34 kn1tt3r http://dominionlogs.goko.com//20130528/log.505c84d751c3249282789115.1369767117940.txt
DG 35 : 28 kn1tt3r http://dominionlogs.goko.com//20130528/log.505c84d751c3249282789115.1369768310698.txt
DG 20 : 16 kn1tt3r http://dominionlogs.goko.com//20130528/log.505c84d751c3249282789115.1369768826684.txt

So semi-final match and maybe not the most interesting kingdoms. We go for mirrored strategies on most of them with some advantage coming through draws as much as anything else. So game #1 is marauders into rebuild and I'm not sure really if there's an alternative strategy. It would be nice to know if there was. Game #2 is a straightforward mountebank game with only minor decisions along the way. Game #3 is slightly more tricky but any advantage I get from a good militia is probably less advantage than lucky bane cards. Now Game #4 has two opposing strategies, Remodel + fool's gold vs cutpurse + Iggs, so there's a nice contrast but it plays out quite straightforwardly.

Thanks to kn1tt3r for the series.

[kn1tt3r]

DG vs. kn1tt3r - 3:1


1:
Log: http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130528/log.505c84d751c3249282789115.1369766376617.txt
Video:
Rebuild with Marauder. Shelters make Rebuild a bit weaker, but since there's not a lot more going on here, it's bascially a Rebuild rush. I get to $5 better, achieve a 5:3 Duchy split, and that's it. In the end I win by emptying the Ruins pile.

2:
Log: http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130528/log.505c84d751c3249282789115.1369767117940.txt
Video:
Mountebank/Big Money. Not very much to say here - he got to money better (maybe due to my Feast buys which he ignored), and with maybe some better draws, probably a slightly better play, and 1st turn advantage he takes this one.

3:
Log: http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130528/log.505c84d751c3249282789115.1369768310698.txt
Video:
Young Witch with Oasis support is the dominant thing here, later transitioning into Hunting Parties. I get more Oases early on, only during midgame he gets his 3rd too, but somehow I ended up with 5:1 curses. This basically decided the game, because apart from an early Milita, which I only got sometime later, we do more or less the same thing.

4:
Log: http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130528/log.505c84d751c3249282789115.1369768826684.txt
Video:
The only game with different strategies, and also the only one I absolutely and undoubtly deserved to lose. I struggle with myself whether to go for Remodel/Fools Gold or IGG, and ultimately make the wrong decision (IGG). He gets those Fool's Golds far faster than I imagenined and cruises to victory.


Congrats DG and good luck in the finals. Was a fun match.

[SCSN]

Just for clarification, what are the exact rules for the playoffs (if it has been posted before, I can't find it)?

Is it still the case that after a 2-2, if the original first player wins the fifth game, you play a sixth one? And since draws are no longer a reasonable end result, do you after that play a seventh decisive game? And is it still the case that you always play the sixth game if any game was a tie?

Yes, yes, and yes... I think that's the only set of answers to that question that provides for a fair result.

After 5 games Mic Qsenoch beat me 3 - 1 - 1, I assume we don't have to play a sixth game because even if I'd win that one, he'd still win the match?

Here are the logs, I'll add some comments later:

http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130601/log.505d732a51c359e6597efeb8.1370109921551.txt

http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130601/log.505d732a51c359e6597efeb8.1370110524856.txt

http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130601/log.505d732a51c359e6597efeb8.1370111429863.txt

http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130601/log.505d732a51c359e6597efeb8.1370111937018.txt

http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130601/log.505d732a51c359e6597efeb8.1370112614524.txt

[Mic Qsenoch]

Here are my thoughts:

Game 1 - This is a mirror match more or less, except I have my five dollar hands taken down to $4 so I can't grab the Stables I desperately need. This is my own fault though, because I use my first $6 on a Hoard that should be a Gold. He cycles really well at the start of the game. It ends up close so he probably had some bad draws also. My last hand has enough for a 5th Province but he draws $5 off a Stables for the win.

Game 2 - A neat board, which we maybe could have played a little differently. We both green once we are hitting $8, but a case could be made for really building up the engine with a lot of Caravans and Farming Village/Ghost Ship for draw as well as Worker's Village for +buy. Sort of interesting Ghost Ship/Jester interaction (put something good back and your opponent gains it or put back green and take a curse). The Jester also counters Farming Village countering Ghost Ship. Probably the best thing to put back on top is Copper or Silver. Well I'm not sure that we played all that differently, but I get a decent lead in deck quality and it keeps me going for the win.

Game 3 - I go second and win the Minion split 6-4, so that is a good bit of luck for me. But, my opponent is conservative with his early Minion plays and takes cash over attacking, and as a result he never knocks me down below $5. I'm also not sure about his second Bishop over Throne Room. He also takes money before discarding on some Throne Roomed Minions. Other than those things I just get the better draws for the win.

Game 4 - Nothing comes to mind for this one, another Hoard game where we probably should take Golds first and hold off on greening a bit. We both have some hard Masqerade passes to make, but my Turn 15 has him choosing between Duchy,Duchy,Gold,Gold,Gold. Luckily I get to keep the last estate from the Masquerade fight so I can tie the game at the end.

Game 5 - COUNTING HOUSE! Time to put Mountebank in his place with Sage/Counting House on a Colony board. We both get lucky $5 hands after first reshuffle despite both opening Caravan/Hermit. I just want one Mountebank so I don't take all the Curses. He's looking at Watchtower/Festival, but this doesn't go fast without some early copper trashing, and Forge will be slow. I take Caravans on $4, Festival or Counting House on $5, Sage with $3 or Hermit gains. I pick up a couple of Colonies before it ends on a three pile. I never use Counting House so I likely made some mistakes playing this one.

Thanks for the match SheCantSayNo! And for providing the cards!

[SCSN]

http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130601/log.505d732a51c359e6597efeb8.1370109921551.txt
Cellar, Village, Cutpurse, Feodum, Scout, Smithy, Bandit Camp, Graverobber, Stables, Hoard

Obvious BM-Hoard game. I start with a lucky 5/2 and open Stables/Cellar, whereas Mic opens Silver/Cutpurse, which I copy on the next two turns while he picks up another Silver and a Hoard. I don't hit more than $5 for quite some time (thanks in part to his Cutpurse), and pick up 2 more Stables. Then on turn 9 I have $9, with which I buy my first Hoard. One turn later I buy a second Hoard, right after he got his first Province + Gold. The rest of the game I buy the most expensive green cards I can afford, which eventually brings me the win, probably due to the better drawing/sifting of my deck (3x Stables + Cellar vs. 1x Stables) and a lucky last turn where my Stables draws exactly enough for the last Province.


http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130601/log.505d732a51c359e6597efeb8.1370110524856.txt
Bureaucrat, Caravan, Farming Village, Feast, Moneylender, Spice Merchant, Worker's Village, Ghost Ship, Graverobber, Jester

Now he's the one to open 5/2, picking Ghost Ship/nothing. I open Spice Merchant/Silver, planning to build an Engine with Caravans, Ghost Ships, Jesters and possibly Graverobber in the end. Unfortunately that plan never materializes, as I'm constantly under attack by his Ghost Ship and don't manage to hit $5 until T7 (maybe I should have opened Silver/Silver or Silver/Caravan and skip Spice Merchant?). On T8 he buys a Jester, with which he hits my Ghost Ship on T9, so that he now has 2 copies of that monster and I don't get to play my first GS attack until T11, after he has already played 5 of them...

What is worse than having bad luck, however, is that I let it affect my play. I mentally checked out and started doing things on auto-pilot, which culminated in a horrible play on T16 where I put back a Copper and Gold against his GS attack, with the Gold on top... Hello, Jester! Such a blunder really doesn't sit well with me. If I chose not to resign, I should at least keep making my best possible decisions, regardless of how grim the situation looks.


http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130601/log.505d732a51c359e6597efeb8.1370111429863.txt
Beggar, Cellar, Haven, Bishop, Ironmonger, Throne Room, Highway, Minion, Tribute, Border Village, Colony

Oh Minion, how you make me miss veto mode! As I see my least favorite card popping up in the generator, I'm tempted to smash "Randomize Cards" for a different set. I mean, no one would ever notice, right? Goko is kind enough to reward my honesty with a 4- 6 Minion split as P1 :/

After that I pick up two Bishops and a Throne Room, which I'm not at all sure about. Maybe 2xTR or 3xTR would have been better, but I figured I'd have zero chance going forward in anything resembling a mirror. In hindsight the best play would have been to resign, as that would have spared me some additional frustration and slightly boosted my sense of control.


http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130601/log.505d732a51c359e6597efeb8.1370111937018.txt
Embargo, Herbalist, Masquerade, Warehouse, Noble Brigand, Trader, Harvest, Junk Dealer, Grand Market, Hoard

The one good thing about the last two games is that it can't get any worse, right? And indeed, I quickly build up a slight lead and maintain it consistently throughout the game. On turn 15 I buy the penultimate province, giving me a 36-28 lead:

SheCantSayNo: turn 15
...
SheCantSayNo   buys Province
SheCantSayNo   gains Province
SheCantSayNo   draws Gold, Duchy, Gold, Gold, Duchy

Ah, now that puts a smile on my face! See? You win some, you lose some; all misfortune evens out in the long run. There was no need for all that frustration, it will be 2-2 and I'll still have a good shot at making it to the finals!

Mic Qsenoch: turn 15
Mic Qsenoch   plays Masquerade


http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130601/log.505d732a51c359e6597efeb8.1370112614524.txt
Hermit, Sage, Watchtower, Armory, Caravan, Counting House, Festival, Mountebank, Vault, Forge, Colony

I wanted to build an engine here with Watchtower and Festival, and assumed I'd have plenty of time for that due to Mountebank's junking and the presence of Colonies. Mic grabbed the first two Colonies, but I wasn't at all concerned. Not until I saw two empty piles and only 2 Sages left... It's strange how satisfying a loss can feel when you at least know that you totally deserved it

Thanks for the games, Mic Qsenoch. I can't honestly say that I enjoyed them, but there's no doubt in my mind that you ultimately deserved the win, and I'm happy to have made it to the last 4 in my first tournament Congrats, and good luck in the final!

[Kirian]

And so it is Mic Qsenoch vs. DG in our finals!

[SCSN]

But, my opponent is conservative with his early Minion plays and takes cash over attacking, and as a result he never knocks me down below $5.

I totally don't understand Minion (beyond "get lots of them and you win"). Would you mind pointing out where in the early game you would have done something differently? I thought that taking cash and being guaranteed a Minion is better than playing attack where I *might* deprive you of a Minion, but where it's equally likely that I'll deprive myself of one (more likely, in fact, since you were one Minion ahead of me). I would have attacked had two of my Minions collided, but that just didn't happen.

He also takes money before discarding on some Throne Roomed Minions.

Woah, if you discard first you still get to play it again, doh! I just got it in my head that I was playing two Minions, and therefore shouldn't discard until all money was extracted. Not that it would have made the slightest difference, but this is at least a valuable lesson!

another Hoard game where we probably should take Golds first and hold off on greening a bit.

This I don't understand either. The game was very fast, so holding off on greening for a bit sounds like suicide, since you'd just be overbuilding with no chance for a double-province turn. Two Hoards give you plenty of Golds once you start greening, so why waste time buying them first?

I never use Counting House so I likely made some mistakes playing this one.

Except for the two turns where you actually bought a Colony and your last turn where you could have bought one but instead ended the game on piles

[Mic Qsenoch]

But, my opponent is conservative with his early Minion plays and takes cash over attacking, and as a result he never knocks me down below $5.

I totally don't understand Minion (beyond "get lots of them and you win"). Would you mind pointing out where in the early game you would have done something differently? I thought that taking cash and being guaranteed a Minion is better than playing attack where I *might* deprive you of a Minion, but where it's equally likely that I'll deprive myself of one (more likely, in fact, since you were one Minion ahead of me). I would have attacked had two of my Minions collided, but that just didn't happen.

He also takes money before discarding on some Throne Roomed Minions.

Woah, if you discard first you still get to play it again, doh! I just got it in my head that I was playing two Minions, and therefore shouldn't discard until all money was extracted. Not that it would have made the slightest difference, but this is at least a valuable lesson!

another Hoard game where we probably should take Golds first and hold off on greening a bit.

This I don't understand either. The game was very fast, so holding off on greening for a bit sounds like suicide, since you'd just be overbuilding with no chance for a double-province turn. Two Hoards give you plenty of Golds once you start greening, so why waste time buying them first?

I never use Counting House so I likely made some mistakes playing this one.

Except for the two turns where you actually bought a Colony and your last turn where you could have bought one but instead ended the game on piles

For the Minion thing, Turn 8 you have played two Ironmongers for coin so discarding there let's you attack and still have a very good shot at buying a Minion. It also cycles you faster after you just triggered a reshuffle that turn.

The Hoard vs Gold and when to green. Sometimes you want the Gold because it is better at getting $5 and $6. It might make later Hoard purchases more likely. You are right though, this game is very fast with Masquerade. A Junk Dealer opening makes Grand Market at least possible, but probably still too slow. I'm not confident on this one, but I'm generally opposed to buying Duchies with Hoard early in the game just to get the Gold. Purchasing that Duchy might cost a Province later on. Of course, our Estates are gone so maybe the decks can handle Duchies just fine. That comment was just my first impression looking back on the game, I don't have a lot of confidence in my assessment. Although I really do think people feel obligated to buy Victory cards with Hoard out even if it isn't the best play.

When I said "I never use Counting House" I meant I don't buy it generally, not this game specifically.

[Mic Qsenoch]

Mic Qsenoch wins 3 - 0 over DG

The sets we had available were Base, Hinterlands and Hoard/Haven/Nobles

Game 1: http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130606/log.5083d05fa2e6ac658be2b342.1370552447135.txt
Workshop/Silk Roads board, I am going first. We both have a lot of bad collisions, so I'm not sure who had worse luck on the shuffles. We split the Silk Roads, but I am able to win the Estate split, and DG's Remodels arrive one turn late for him to grab Duchies. First turn gives me this.

Game 2: http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130606/log.5083d05fa2e6ac658be2b342.1370553143946.txt
This game has decisions, but heck if I know what the right ones are. I try to keep it simple, my deck is mostly money with one Noble Brigand and one Embassy. DG is a little more action heavy with Inns and more Embassies. A big turning point is my Noble Brigand hitting his single Gold. My economy just ends up a lot stronger than his in the end of the game. Militia seems important here, but I never have a turn where I think it's the right buy.

For what it's worth, I do think Inn is a trap card on a lot of boards, though I'm not sure whether it's a trap on this board.

Game 3: http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130606/log.5083d05fa2e6ac658be2b342.1370554338937.txt
This is a Market/Highway megaturn board with support from BV/Oracle, Lab and Develop. Our decks don't come together very quickly and my opponent deviates for Tunnels (Cartographer also on board). This gives me the game once I get my deck under control. I play it a little carelessly, and he gets very close to stealing it with a three-pile, but is a few coins short.

So these games were not terribly exciting, but sometimes that's what happens. DG and I are much closer matched than the outcome suggests. Thanks to Kirian for organizing the tournament and everybody I played against (except that cheapskate Rabid) for letting me mooch off all your shiny electronic Dominion cards!

[DG]

Anyway so game 1 I don't see much going on.  I go for the silk roads a bit early but maybe I need to gamble in second seat. Game 2 I suspect looks pretty even. Game 3 I knew was highway/market but neither of us could get the thing going and I was eventually staring a hand where I could buy and gain a 3 cost card with 3 oracles already in my deck. I switched to some tunnel business and immediately regretted it. I knew the border villages could offer up a 3 card finish and it almost came lucky but there you go.

Well done to Mic Qsenoch and maybe we should get some more sets on Goko. I'm still apparently rubbish with Hinterlands!

[Kirian]

Congratulations to Mic Qsenoch!

[StrongRhino]

Congrats to MQ!

Kirian, when will the next GokoDom dig ups begin?

[Kirian]

The next GokoDom will start sometime in late July, with signups going up a couple of weeks before.

[loppo]

just make sure to inform ooksoo. Would be a pity for the "maybe best player in all of Dominion" to miss out again.

[yed]

The next GokoDom will start sometime in late July, with signups going up a couple of weeks before.

Shouldn't the sign-ups start now?