Just played this game:
Apprentice, Bazaar, Laboratory, Mint, Torturer, Bishop, Conspirator, Ironworks, Wishing Well, Chapel. I was behind from the start, as my opponent opened Chapel/Torturer to my Chapel/Silver. His first couple of Torturers were inconsequential, as I discarded Estates without my Chapel in hand, and by the end of my 6th turn, my deck was Chapel, Silver, Silver, Copper, Estate. From then on, I took a Curse every time a Torturer was played (including twice on three different turns), and promptly trashed it. In my next few turns, I bought a Gold, then a Bazaar, then a Bishop. Then I started Bishoping Silvers and Golds and buying more Golds. I also bought a single Laboratory to help me draw my whole deck.
Soon the Curses ran out (all trashed), so I Bishoped my Chapel, and soon enough my deck consisted of a Bishop, two Golds, a Silver, and some Bazaars and a Lab which I no longer needed. I then Bishoped and bought a Gold every turn, keeping careful track of the score. By the time I had my Bishop deck going, my opponent had bought five or six Provinces and a Duchy, and was up by at least 20 points. But his deck slowed down enough for me to finally Bishop one of my Bazaars, buy the last Province and win the game 48-45.
His response: 'wtf?'
Now, although I was unlucky with the opening hands, I'll admit I was lucky that my first two Chapels didn't collide with my Silver (or his Torturer), so I could slim my deck down really quickly. But I think what won me the game was an early realisation that his deck was a heck of a lot better than mine, at least in the traditional sense, and even though I had plenty of $8+ turns (with no possibility of a +buy), buying a Province would not only speed the game up and limit the time I had to catch up, but it would clog up my small deck a lot worse than my opponent's.
One thing I should note in hindsight: my turns 17-22 were all Bishop a Gold, buy a Gold, except turn 19 when I realised I didn't need 3 Golds, and bought nothing. I would have actually been better off with this Gold, as even with it I only had 4 non-cantrips, and I could have Bishoped a Gold (rather than a Bazaar) and still bought a Province to win the game. What would have been better, however, would have been to buy a second Bishop so that I could convert my spare Bazaar and Lab into more VPs without interrupting my Bishop a Gold, buy a Gold. I then could have won the game one turn earlier.
What this game shows, for me, is how much I love Bishop on the right board. I always look out for Bishop + Chapel. While I'm pumping up Bishop, here's a bonus game, with
something for everyone, including Ambassador, Bishop, Ghost Ship, King's Court, Throne Room and Witch. I love ending games with a tiny deck and a massive pile of VP tokens!
