olneyce (8 seed) vs. Redwoods (57 seed) in the Chapel divisionolneyce wins 4-1, with one draw. Some of the wins were razor thin, though. This did not feel at ALL like an easy match against a low seed. Really enjoyable games, most of which were extremely tense.
Game 1: olneyce 55 - 44 Redwoods
http://dominion.isotropic.org/gamelog/201111/29/game-20111129-140740-0a595421.htmlLaboratories, Nobles, Crossroads, and Hoard. I started out 5/2, which let me get two parts of the engine before the first shuffle. That was a huge difference. I ended up 5-3 on Nobles, and obtained several of them using Hoard, so I had a ton of Gold, too. A +buy could have really changed this game. I was repeatedly hitting upwards of $15 dollars but had no way to use it. And early in the game he had several hands with extra cash he couldn't spend.
Game 2: olneyce 54 - 54 Redwoods
http://dominion.isotropic.org/gamelog/201111/29/game-20111129-142438-55f143db.htmlThe major defining feature he was an incredibly drawn-out and ugly endgame. I opened Trader/Steward on a Hunting Party board, hoping to use the Trader to clear out the green a bit and give me the money to quickly purchase a few Hunting Parties. I think the Trader was a bad buy, though. I did use it twice early but then it was a dead card in my hand the rest of the game. He bought Markets, which I thought was a mistake, but he did a much better job of early trashing, which meant he could consistently hit $8 early. He bought Provinces on three straight turns from 10-12 and I was really anxious. So I started buying Duchies, hoping to eke out an advantage on Dukes - and use the superior drawing ability of my Hunting Parties to slog through the mess. This worked surprisingly less well than I had hoped.
The 7th Province was bought on turn 17, but thanks to all the green neither of us was able to ever buy the 8th. I won the Duke race 5-3, which was enough to salvage a draw. But really, I had no business surviving this game.
Game 3: olneyce 40 - 38 Redwoods
http://dominion.isotropic.org/gamelog/201111/29/game-20111129-143743-2a5ef18c.htmlFishing Villages + Cities. I got the lion's share of the FVs (7-3), and we split the Cities. The main difference is that he invested in Gold, while I went for engine parts. I was pretty convinced 3/4 of the way through the game that I had made a big mistake. His economy seemed a lot stronger. I was up one Province after turn 17, but then he hit me with two Provinces and a Duchy the next two turns. My big decision, with $6 on turn 18 was where to invest that. I knew I needed to get one of the last two Provinces, was up by a point or two, and was about to trigger a reshuffle. So I went for a second Baron and a Cellar. I think that was the right call. Certainly, I was only able to win because my turn 20 I used a Baron to bump myself up to $12.
Game 4: olneyce 23 - 22 Redwoods
http://dominion.isotropic.org/gamelog/201111/29/game-20111129-145210-3ecaca30.htmlFishing Villages, Witches, and Remodel, and Peddler. We split the curses and then mostly floundered. My goal was to Remodel the Peddlers into Provinces, which I did do twice, but was not able to manage nearly enough. I thought I could do that a couple times, build a solid lead, and then just deplete three piles (Curses, Fishing Villages, and Peddlers). But he quickly caught up to me, so while I had plenty of opportunities to end the game, I was always trailing by a point or two. We agreed after the game that he probably could have won if he had bought the last Fishing Village, but looking back at the log I don't think he was ever ahead, with the capability to buy. He could have tied the game, but as first player would have still lost. I eventually ended it on piles by Remodeling a couple Curses into Estates and buying the last one.
Game 5: olneyce 40 -
44 RedwoodsI forgot to grab the log on this one, unfortunately. It was one of our most interesting games, with me going for Embassy+Fool's Gold (with the help of a Talisman snagged out of the Black Market) and him going for Goons. I shifted my strategy in the middle of the second shuffle; I was originally going to go for Goons. I'm not sure that was the right call. If we had been racing for Provinces, I think I had the advantage. But he let me snag the first six and then used one monster turn to take the last two. That, plus VPs and a few Duchies was enough to take it.
Game 6: olneyce 42 - 23 Redwoods
http://dominion.isotropic.org/gamelog/201111/29/game-20111129-152502-e9bb7824.htmlThis one was pretty straightforward. I bought silver at 3, Caravans at 4, a Haggler and then Governors at 5, gold at 6, and Provinces at 8. The Haggler meant I got a bunch of gold even while greening, and the Governors meant I could cycle to them quickly. I never used the Governor as anything other than a super-Lab, which was not my intention. But the economy from the Haggler meant that I never really needed it for anything else.