TheMirrorMan - Liopoil : 2,5 - 3,5.
Yes, 't was the night of the wrong shuffles. And the wrong choices, although I would stick with my plan in each of the games I think. It just ... didn't work.
Dominion is nerve wrecking, ladies and gentlemen. It's the kind of game where you would want to hurl your screen against the wall.
Thankfully I'm a calm guy <rage>Insert tons of swearwords here</end rage>.
Liopoil has an amazingly low pro ranking but plays very well. I think he just doesn't play that much online ?
Well, onto the games :
Game 1 : "Ruined by the curses" : TheMirrorMan begins, Liopoil wins.
http://www.gokosalvager.com/static/logprettifier.html?/20140321/log.50785f090cf28ed55d9d72bf.1395437024382.txtCourtyard, Fool's Gold, Hamlet, Baron, Marauder, Moneylender, Sea Hag, Treasure Map, Cultist, Hunting Grounds
Heavy hitting, no trashing. 5/2 for me against 4/3 for Liopoil. Well I SHOULD be happy, I can get Cultist. Of course Liopoil picks up Sea Hag. The 2 ... Well, Fool's gold ? Maybe a better choice than my CY, but doubtful if your deck is going to be that slow. Liopoil takes the Silver and picks up a Marauder afterwards to even out the ruins.
What happens next is a back and forth of who's in the lead. Liopoil takes the win because of all the curses I was dealt. Not really what I was expecting, I thought my Cultists could outweigh that ...
Game 2 : "Greens folie" : Liopoil begins, TheMirrorMan wins
http://www.gokosalvager.com/static/logprettifier.html?/20140321/log.50785f090cf28ed55d9d72bf.1395437726291.txtGreat Hall, Warehouse, Baron, Feodum, Ironmonger, Taxman, Tournament, Bandit Camp, Rebuild, Tribute
This is a nice one, we start out with shelters and have hovel at $3.
Of course this is tricky - do you really want that Great Hall already with Tournament on the board ?
And then the second question : what next ? Can Rebuild beat the tournament stuff ? Probably so.
What do you get for $4 ? Taxman is an option, but seems immensely slow against the tournament.
Liopoil goes for tournament, I go for Ironmonger (given the harmony with Great Hall).
Next turn Liopoil goes for Rebuild and I follow suit. Then it's just a bit of a luck race and I won that one. The moment I pulled out the followers as a first prize, it was probably game over.
Game 3 : "One piece" - Liopoil begins, tie
http://www.gokosalvager.com/static/logprettifier.html?/20140321/log.50785f090cf28ed55d9d72bf.1395438636602.txtPawn, Masterpiece, Warehouse, Fortress, Trader, Treasure Map, Contraband, Mine, Border Village, Forge
You know that new Japanese show "One piece" ? Where they try to find a treasure and it goes on and on and on ? Well, that's the same feeling I had during this game.
I thought I read an article that Warehouse/Treasure Map is a strong combo. Well, to hell with my shuffle luck then, because I actually only get them at turn ... 8!
So yes, I open WH/TM and Liopoil opens Trader/Silver and suddenly halts at turn 3. Somehow I think he only then saw the combo, but then it's already too late. So he starts going ... MASTER piece (pun intended).
Again, I'm flabbergasted at what happens next - I am unable to draw > $8 until turn 13 when Liopoil is already at 3 provinces while I am at 1. I scramble everything together and am in the end relieved to get a tie out of this.
Did I really play this so horribly ?
Game 4 : "Say, did you hear the one about a Jack, a Governor and a Cultist ?" - TheMirrorMan begins, TheMirrorMan wins
http://www.gokosalvager.com/static/logprettifier.html?/20140321/log.50785f090cf28ed55d9d72bf.1395439412644.txtPoor House, Courtyard, Pearl Diver, Secret Chamber, Baron, JackOfAllTrades, Count, Cultist, Governor, Laboratory
Again some interesting choices : Cultist or Governor ? What role does Lab play here ? Baron is out of the question with shelters ...
We both open 3/4. Liopoil goes Silver/Silver (indicating he's going for the Cultists) but with shelters, I like JoaT (works well with overgrown estate and necropolis). And effectively, I get $5 first and start stocking up cultists. I win the split 7/3. Then we both switch to Governor but ... This is also dangerous. If you remodel and your opponent has a cultist in hand, you're giving him a gold and +3 cards. So it's careful. Also, you can't trash the ruins because of Poor House ...
Although the VP chart doesn't show it too much, I was still very nervous this game of getting it right - in hindsight, I won both the ruins and governor split, so it should be okay ...
Game 5 : "I've never seen this before" - TheMirrorMan begins, Liopoil wins.
Hamlet, Native Village, Masquerade, Wishing Well, Herald, Quarry, Talisman, Counterfeit, Embassy, Laboratory
A nice one, although it didn't turn out so much for me. Note that this is a colony game. With, well, no actions for extra money.
Of course Counterfeit will help you with that. Which is what Liopoil does with his 5/2 (CF + Hamlet) vs. my 4/3 (Quarry + Masq).
So yeah, I'm thinking of picking up enough laboratories first, then go for CF ?
Then I see something happen I've never seen before. He picks up a talisman (is he going Herald ?) and then plays : Quarry, Talisman, CF+copper, copper. So let's see. Action cards cost $2 less, so Lab is now $3. He has six ... With a talisman. So four Labs go his way. Wow. Speechless.
After that, I start overdoing the Labs, drawing more than is necessary, forgetting the Counterfeit. I'm trailing all the way.
Dominion punishes me in the end by giving me the last hand : 2 estates, 1 province, 1 CF and one Masq. Only to get ... Hamlet + a green. But at that point I was already lost.
Game 6 : "Get smart ..." - Liopoil begins, Liopoil wins.
http://www.gokosalvager.com/static/logprettifier.html?/20140321/log.50785f090cf28ed55d9d72bf.1395442225378.txtUniversity, Sage, Remake, Thief, Throne Room, Journeyman, Laboratory, Library, Trading Post, Witch
... with the sage in the university.
So I've gotten a liking for Sage. It skips your rubbish and helps you pick the more interesting cards out of your deck.
Of course you want that pesky witch here but how ?
Liopoil takes option 1 : Silver + Remake.
I go option 2 : Potion + Sage, since I also see Lab, Library and Trading post on the board.
Turn 3 ... $6 for him, witch is there.
But no worries, I get my University, gain the witch, play sage and ... voilą, curse returned.
It goes on a bit like that (he picks up a University on the way) and I feel I'm in the lead here (looking at the decks I should be). But I just can't find the Libraries in a good way or they collide. We both go for Throne Room after that and when I'm looking at the board ... Oh dear, three sages left and throne rooms running out. Nailbiting. I'm just up a few VP ... Now I'm equal ... Now I'm ... Goddammit, three-piled!
The only thing I can say for game 3 and 6 is ..... aaaaaaaaaaaaargh!
But to repeat : I think Liopoil is severely underrated. Watch out for this guy in the next rounds, he's going to do well