Here we go. I played nine tournament games of Dominion, yet I found none of them tense. There was no pressure at all. I guess we'll get right into the games.
Game One
I'm sorry, but I can't really post the kingdom from a phone. It's so much work. But I played this kingdom with Iguanaiguana and some guy named...Michael. Michael was the kind of guy who would pick up Coppers if he remembered. No offense Michael, I didn't see you as a threat. Iguanaiguana on the other hand was on fire in the tournament!
So this board had JOAT, Storyteller, Gardens, Mining Village, Forager, Throne Room, and some other cards. No events though, the only attack was Rogue.
So I knew Iguanaiguana could outplay me in any mirror, I still know that. He went for a Storyteller unreliable engine that could've blown anything else out of the water. I went for double Jack with two Foragers. Look at how boring I am! Iguanaiguana didn't win by so many points, and I think I made a mistake where I should've broken PPE. I took second place that game.
Game Two
I got to play my mom (Alyce) and AHoppy. The cards that mattered with Thief, Gardens, Taxman, Contraband, Hunting Party and Poor House (just kidding, Poor House was terrible).
Alyce did what she normally did, bought random cards (including two Contrabands) and AHoppy didn't let her get Hunting Parties.
No offense AHoppy, but you and this board did not get along. He went for Horn with space for one terminal. He got too fancy, and I think he was a tad frustrated.
I tried to do like a Hunting Party stack with only a few Hunting Parties. I opened Mandarin though. I ended up ending the game and losing by one point to Alyce. So she got her win for the evening on that board.
Game Three
Ah yes, the 'we hate RR now!!!11' board. There was Scrying Pool, Herald, Plan, Training, Stables, Vineyards, Crossroads, and no +buy.
I used both the events on Scrying Pool and grabbed six of them. With a Herald, a Crossroads, and a Stables, I had enough support to humiliate my opponents and win by about 50 points. Sorry guys.
One of my opponents didn't thin and went for a Stables stack. He also picked up Heralds, which was an error in my opinion.
One of my Opponents tried Scrying Pool, but they planned on Heralds. With less thinning and only like two Pools, she had a lot of trouble. I felt bad playing this. Be my opponents, proud adults entering the Dominion tournament. Some nervous, tousled kid sits down at your table, then cracks the game open. It must've sucked.
Game Four
Hello Voltaire! I met him over a Cultist board! Welcome to a one card kingdom! I got perfect shuffle luck, split the Ruins 9-8-3, picked up two Counterfeits and won a joke of a game.
But it wasn't that simple. If Laura is on the forum, she should read this too. There was a woman playing with us who ignored Cultist named Laura. But she was very...strange. All the cards had to be facing the same way! She sorted all the piles, then got poor ADK to sort the Ruins. No offense Laura, but I am slightly scarred.
I ended up with a shocking 16 points, enough to keep me alive. I watched a brutal five player game, then the semis started.
Game One
The kingdom was Doctor, Oracle, Nobles and Market Square. I think that was it. There was also Lost Arts and Pathfinding.
Voltaire missed the 4/3 Doctor opening and was DOI. My opponent got his Golds first, and that was that. He only bought Pathfinding, which he put on Market Square. I put both my events on Oracle, which didn't feel super.
Game Two
Oh, boy. It was me, Shark Bait (his real name is Bruce, that's awesome.) and my bitter adversary, Iguanaiguana. It was a dramatic showdown between ole Bruce and Iguanaiguana. They built Prince engines with Necro and Spy for Prince food. Watchtower was draw for Bruce, Iguanaiguana stuck with Hunting Grounds. I cowered on my side of the table and played Hunting Grounds BM. It was so good. Borrow is a very interesting card. I hate Ghost Shop even more, even with a Lookout. When Shark Bait lost and Iguanaiguana won, they eliminated each other. That was amazing news for me.
I would like to point out that Iguanaiguana's neck is very long and Shark Bait has an amazing mustache.
Game Three
Ah yes, the best game I ever playef. Scrying Pool, Trader, Save, Scouting Party, Cultist, Familiar, Vineyards, Ambassador, Pirate Ship, Procession, Silk Road, Pillage, the works. I could go on and on about this board, but I already did that earlier in this thread. I'm glad liopoli didn't take the game personally though, he's a cool guy. I feel like this board was the best one. I would love to have more discussion about it.
Onto the finals!
It came down to this: Adam (his body was ready), me (an underdeveloped 13 year old), and Sam Dave Ben.
Fun board. Upgrade ruined it! I wanted to do the Peasent line, Adam wanted to three pile. Ben wanted to buy the shiny action cards! It was a depressing board. 10/10 would not recommond. Adam won with his impressive 55 points (he obviously did not get 55 points, he got 3).
Now it's midnight
Ben and I are still tied at 0-0. He was ready to split the second and third place prize (store credit). I was not. Ben's wife and my mom, however, were totally ready to call it quits. So what do you do? Well, of course you make Ben feel bad about not being able to beat a 13 year old.
Our tiebreaker
Disclaimer: I am not trying to offend Elestan.
BUT WHAT AN AWFUL BOARD!!! There was a nice Border Village/Chapel/Bridge/Coucil Room engine. Ben went for it. What did I do? I did stupid Ironworks/Gardens! Ben helped me three pile the Market Squares, I had support with Travelling Fair, and I won. The game sucked though. Apparently it's the same board (with one modification) every year.
So, people like me in real life.
I don't know if people want me sharing this, but I am Facebook friends with several of the people who were there, and I am still searching for a few.
It was an awesome event. Totally worth the drive that I slept through.