michaeljb beats Marcus316 4-1
Game 1:
michaeljb 33 - 26 Marcus316
Caravan, Embargo, Familiar, Hamlet, Merchant Ship, Moneylender, Steward, Torturer, University, WatchtowerI wanted to avoid Familiar, and imagined a Torturer engine was feasible. I opened Moneylender/Steward, hoping to get slim down and transition into University/Torturer. That didn't really work out as planned, as my opening buys collided on Turn 3, and the first time I actually played a Torturer was on Turn 11 and all 10 Curses were already in my deck. Diligent trashing with the Steward (played 10 times throughout the game, the first 9 for trashing, and once for the coin on my final turn) helped get my deck back under control, and my Universities were crucial in building draw power, and money--I ended up with piles of Caravans, Torturers, and Merchant Ships.
Marcus wasn't as successful at getting his deck slimmed down or building a strong engine, and I managed to pull out the win.
Game 2:
michaeljb 31 - 24 Marcus316
Ambassador, Bazaar, Conspirator, Crossroads, Develop, Great Hall, Herbalist, Lookout, Throne Room, TournamentThis board has me all kinds of excited--it's perfect for Double Ambassador --> Engine. Bazaar/Conspirator/Throne Room with Crossroads+Great Hall for a little real (handsize-increasing, that is) drawing power, plus a late Tournament for an extra boost and an Herbalist thrown in for the +Buy. I open Ambassador/Ambassador, but got a little careless and worked my deck down to a mere 2 Coppers, and had to slowly build back up. In the end I managed to build the engine I was hoping for, though in retrospect Bazaar may not have been necessary, considering Crossroads and Throne Room+Conspirator. (edit: I've changed my mind again, I do think Bazaar was important, having a sure cantrip is great for Conspirator, though of course this wasn't really Bazaar's strongest environment)
Marcus went for Tournaments from the start, eventually winning the first one, but making the mistake of taking Followers, which in the end saved me having to buy the Curse for my Ambassadors (though since I did have Herbalist, I would have had the spare Buy anyway). My final turn saw my only Tournament play, which gave me just enough to buy the last 2 Provinces and the win.
One of my favorite (though admittedly a little mean) Ambassador game events happened--my total deck size was 25 cards, and my opponent's total number of junk cards (Coppers, Curses and Estates) was 26.
Game 3:
michaeljb 48 - 42 Marcus316
Bank, Bishop, Council Room, Great Hall, Hamlet, Jester, Mine, Oasis, Spy, TransmuteContrary to the more complex engines from the first 2 games, I figured 1 or 2 Council Rooms+Banks+Hamlets was the way to go. Marcus focused on Bishops, and ended with a nice pile of VP chips--24. I did open with a Bishop, figuring that getting the Estates out of the way would help out CR+Bank, but I'm not sure straight up CR+Money wouldn't have been best. In the end, I edged out the win; Marcus ended up Bishoping away all his Treasure and couldn't keep up.
Game 4: michaeljb 27 - 30
Marcus316Cache, Festival, Fortune Teller, Jester, Navigator, Pearl Diver, Trader, Treasure Map, Warehouse, Worker's VillageWarehouse/Treasure Map looked like the way to go, and away we went. Marcus found the Treasure on Turn 6, I found it Turn 7. We each ended with 3 Warehouses, I had a Jester, and he had a Festival and Worker's Village. Those other buys were pretty ineffectual, not really doing much for either of us. The key play was Marcus's Turn 14 Duchy, following PPR. I broke PPR the following turn and ended with the loss.
Game 5:
michaeljb 39 - 32 Marcus316
Ambassador, Apothecary, Chapel, Coppersmith, Embargo, Highway, Ill-Gotten Gains, Loan, Stables, Trade RouteThe first thing I notice is that I want to Embargo IGG. Apart from that, I'm unsure how to proceed--no great engine for Ambassador to transition to (since Stables and Apothecary want to keep Coppers around), Highway's only support is Trade Route, nothing to thrilling for Chapel to do. Despite Highway's lack of support, I decide to try for a Stables engine with some Highways thrown in and Trade Route for my terminal action. I opened Embargo/Trade Route, and as in Game 1, my opening buys collide. My first priority is shutting out IGG, so I played the Embargo. After we've each picked up a Stables, Marcus Embargoed them, shutting down my plans.
We end up with similar and simple decks, and noticing the number of turns again, looks like we both played somewhat sub-optimally.
And looking at this I just noticed a combo which I think is stronger than what we actually did: Apothecary+Coppersmith. Oh well.
Overall, it was a fun series, and it was pretty cool playing a tailor-made setup. Thanks again to Marcus316 for playing!