soulnet 3 - 1 KingZog3
Game 1:
http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20140301/log.51467e35e4b0de86766bf3f3.1393685578434.txtApothecary, Masquerade, Steward, Death Cart, Remodel, Horn of Plenty, Merchant Ship, Stables, Witch, Border Village
Pretty clearly HoP engine, with Stables for draw, Masq for trashing and even Border Village / Remodel tricks that neither ends up doing because the game is so fast. The only difference is that he goes Apothecary, but I think it is going to be slow and choose to try to trash faster with Masq. He speeds up first, with my Masq missing the first shuffle, but then I get HoP early, which speeds up the building. In the end, it is pretty close. I green early without trashing the HoPs because the piles are running low. I think he overbuilds and then cashes into triple-Province, but I have 3 HoPs, so all I need is a reasonably good turn, which I get, to get the last 4 Provinces and win.
Game 2:
http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20140301/log.51467e35e4b0de86766bf3f3.1393686240262.txtBeggar, Oasis, Warehouse, Wishing Well, Quarry, Worker's Village, Jester, Mandarin, Rogue, Hunting Grounds
This is pretty clearly Worker's Village / Hunting Grounds engine with Quarry. Quarry makes Hunting Grounds not so expensive, and with the best village for it, it is impossible to pass on the engine. We basically mirror opening Warehouse/Quarry. I think I got way worse draws and he builds the engine well, including horrible Jester luck and not matching the Villages with Quarry or the terminals early, so he wins handily.
Game 3:
http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20140301/log.51467e35e4b0de86766bf3f3.1393686731987.txtCandlestick Maker, Cellar, Hamlet, Fishing Village, Scheme, Trade Route, Philosopher's Stone, Ill-Gotten Gains, Inn, Altar
Pretty weak board, clearly IGG rush with Altar for support. There is not even time to get villages and double on Altar. We both open double Silver. I get $3 on T3 and I gamble with Scheme because there is a reasonable chance to get $6 for Altar on the next turn, but it does not happen. In any case, I have enough economy to get Altar and the Scheme is more important than more Silver. IGG provides money anyway. In the end, it is a pretty close mirror. After some horrible draws, I gamble in a double Duchy turn leaving one Duchy and taking a 4 point lead. He is first player, so he needs to trash Curse, Gain Duchy and buy Estate, but I know from Scheme he has the Altar in hand. Since I have less economy and already greened, I think it is better to gamble than to do Duchy/Estate. He does have the Curse but not the money for the Estate, but still finishes up the Duchies instead of dragging the game, so I win on turns. In the afterchat, he said he was not aware that he was losing on turns, he thought he was taking a tie. He took it graciously, refusing a rematch offer.
Game 4:
http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20140301/log.51467e35e4b0de86766bf3f3.1393687858510.txtApothecary, Fortune Teller, Advisor, Gardens, Throne Room, Bandit Camp, Duke, Mandarin, Merchant Ship, Grand Market
There are several options here, and I was not sure what to do. There is not great support for Duke, but the Province engine is slow and there is not even a great BM enabler. I choose to take Apothecary into Merchant Ships and some Grand Markets. I think it is good to overbuid, because you have Dukes if you fall behind on Provinces. He finds himself in better shape with faster Apothecary build, so he goes straight from Apothecary with one Advisor plus Merchant Ships and Throne Rooms into Provinces. He spikes the Provinces fast and I start grabbing Duchies. He did not finish the Province pile on time and I get to 6 VP Dukes thanks to having the +Buy from Grand Markets and a larger and stronger deck. After I surpass the 6 VP lead, there is almost no way he can catch up. I am worried that Gardens may give him points, but he keeps taking Dukes (possibly also necessary to deny them to me).
Thanks KingZog3, it was nice to play with you, even if we did not get the most fun boards.
If someone can comment, especially on the last game, it would be great.