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Game Reports / -Stef- teaches a lesson in endgame management
« on: September 29, 2012, 12:25:09 pm »
Long time lurker, first time poster.
Played a really interesting game with -Stef- today:
http://dominion.isotropic.org/gamelog/201209/29/game-20120929-075728-62141169.html
Due to a combination of good decisions (a second Lookout) and luck (picking up a Potion on T3 despite opening Sea Hag/Lookout, picking up a Familiar on T6), I am actually in position to win the game on T17 -- and then spend the next three turns repeatedly making endgame mistakes that allow -Stef- to pull out a very narrow (and well-deserved) victory.
As it turns out I could have three-piled by buying out the Pearl Divers on on T17, as I have an Estate and a Curse to -Stef-'s Estate and two Curses. However, we weren't using the point tracker (maybe this is an argument for using it) and I have not been tracking our decks perfectly so I'm not sure whether I'm ahead (definitely an argument for doing a better job at this), and as P1 I can't afford to end the game on a tie.
But even if I'm not sure whether to three-pile, I should have bought Province/Pearl Diver to establish a lead and put myself in position to finish the game on T18 -- or at least pass the endgame problem back to -Stef- if I am worried that we are still tied. (Thanks to -Stef- for pointing this out in our post-game discussion.)
Then on T18 when I get a bad draw I think I need to just bite the bullet and buy two Estates, even though it is going to make it tougher to draw my deck the next turn.
Finally, on T19, I need to buy Province/Estate/Estate (rather than Province/Feast), recognizing that -Stef- now has a deck that can sneak by me and close out the game before I will get another turn. This would have at least salvaged a tie from a game that I have already missed the chance to win a couple times.
-Stef-, on the other hand, keeps making good decisions over the endgame that will put him in position to win if I continue to leave the door open: he fortifies his deck on T17 with a Market and Chancellor to give his deck a total spending power of $12 with 3 buys, he grabs Province/Feast on T18, and then on T19 Feasts for a Duchy to go ahead and safely three-piles the Pearl Divers.
I think there are a lot of other interesting decisions in the game, from our openings (Sea Hag/Lookout for me vs. Potion/Lookout for -Stef-) to our midgame choices (-Stef- goes for two Alchemists before dipping into the Scrying Pools; I pick up an early Feast in order to get a Market and grab a second Lookout -- which is really the key decision that put me in position to win). But the endgame choices really illustrate the difference between an elite player and -- well, a not-elite one.
Finally, many thanks to -Stef- for accepting a game with a player more than 30 ranks below his level, for being a fun and gracious opponent, and particularly for sticking around for a couple minutes after the game to debrief what I could have done differently in the endgame. It was a really great learning experience.
Played a really interesting game with -Stef- today:
http://dominion.isotropic.org/gamelog/201209/29/game-20120929-075728-62141169.html
Due to a combination of good decisions (a second Lookout) and luck (picking up a Potion on T3 despite opening Sea Hag/Lookout, picking up a Familiar on T6), I am actually in position to win the game on T17 -- and then spend the next three turns repeatedly making endgame mistakes that allow -Stef- to pull out a very narrow (and well-deserved) victory.
As it turns out I could have three-piled by buying out the Pearl Divers on on T17, as I have an Estate and a Curse to -Stef-'s Estate and two Curses. However, we weren't using the point tracker (maybe this is an argument for using it) and I have not been tracking our decks perfectly so I'm not sure whether I'm ahead (definitely an argument for doing a better job at this), and as P1 I can't afford to end the game on a tie.
But even if I'm not sure whether to three-pile, I should have bought Province/Pearl Diver to establish a lead and put myself in position to finish the game on T18 -- or at least pass the endgame problem back to -Stef- if I am worried that we are still tied. (Thanks to -Stef- for pointing this out in our post-game discussion.)
Then on T18 when I get a bad draw I think I need to just bite the bullet and buy two Estates, even though it is going to make it tougher to draw my deck the next turn.
Finally, on T19, I need to buy Province/Estate/Estate (rather than Province/Feast), recognizing that -Stef- now has a deck that can sneak by me and close out the game before I will get another turn. This would have at least salvaged a tie from a game that I have already missed the chance to win a couple times.
-Stef-, on the other hand, keeps making good decisions over the endgame that will put him in position to win if I continue to leave the door open: he fortifies his deck on T17 with a Market and Chancellor to give his deck a total spending power of $12 with 3 buys, he grabs Province/Feast on T18, and then on T19 Feasts for a Duchy to go ahead and safely three-piles the Pearl Divers.
I think there are a lot of other interesting decisions in the game, from our openings (Sea Hag/Lookout for me vs. Potion/Lookout for -Stef-) to our midgame choices (-Stef- goes for two Alchemists before dipping into the Scrying Pools; I pick up an early Feast in order to get a Market and grab a second Lookout -- which is really the key decision that put me in position to win). But the endgame choices really illustrate the difference between an elite player and -- well, a not-elite one.
Finally, many thanks to -Stef- for accepting a game with a player more than 30 ranks below his level, for being a fun and gracious opponent, and particularly for sticking around for a couple minutes after the game to debrief what I could have done differently in the endgame. It was a really great learning experience.