My match against QwertZuiop ...
Now I see some of you guys thinking ... What ? Qwert... Z ? Well, that's the German keyboard layout for you.
Did you know ... That the Qwerty/Azerty/Qwertz keyboards were actually constructed for people to type slower ? In the time when there were typewriters, the inventors wanted to avoid the ink hammers clashing. That's why they invented this weird layout.
On to the games? Yes. They were nerve wrecking.
Game 1 : "Nobles isn't THAT good ?" - TheMirrorMan (MM) begins, Qwertzuiop (QW) wins.
Log :
http://www.gokosalvager.com/static/logprettifier.html?/20140530/log.50785f090cf28ed55d9d72bf.1401442009575.txtCourtyard, Lookout, Monument, Butcher, Mine, Stables, Adventurer, Fairgrounds, Nobles, Forge
No shelters, provinces.
Soooo ... A lot of stuff plays a role here. First off, no +buy but Butcher can help with that. Engine in Nobles/Courtyard or the easier Stables. Trashing with lookout/butcher/forge. Also, look out (!) for Fairgrounds - you will need to diversify the deck a bit.
We both have 3/4 and diverge : I take Silver/Monument, QW takes Lookout/Monument. My plan was to go for Nobles asap and I didn't want to trash coppers since the stables need them (but later I mistakenly forget this).
Well my plan works, I'm at 4 Nobles when QW is at one, but of course, I have my estates still in my deck. At $3 I prefer CY over silver, hoping to hit a gold soon ?
But then I forget everything I planned. T13 I take a province already (way too early), then a forge and in a dud hand of 3 coppers, Province, Forge, I decide to trash the coppers too ... Leaving me with no fuel for the stables. QW keeps on building up on Fairgrounds/Provinces and because I have too little money to keep the engine going with the stables. Two crucial errors and it hurts. QW picks up 6 FGs, each worth at least four and I can't even get a decent province. So yeah, I threw myself in the deep water. QW played it well, although I'm still doubting on the lookout opening. Comments welcome.
Game 2 : "The one where ambassador ... just is not that good" - QW begins, MM wins.
Log :
http://www.gokosalvager.com/static/logprettifier.html?/20140530/log.50785f090cf28ed55d9d72bf.1401443193312.txtVineyard, Apothecary, Ambassador, Storeroom, Contraband, Ill-Gotten Gains, Mine, Mystic, Vault, Grand Market
Now this board is already a nerve wrecker. There's ambassador, but we both decide to skip it because of the Apothecary/Storeroom/Grand Market/Mystic(/Vault maybe) engine here. 4/3 is Potion/Storeroom for both.
Now there are some crucial questions here in building this :
1) Do you take more coppers ?
2) Do you take all the apothecaries first or take a grand market when you can ?
Answers to 1 :
QW takes extra coppers, MM says ... when I can already draw my deck.
Answers to 2 :
QW takes apothecaries first (but also because he couldn't get to GM quickly enough), I take Grand markets first.
For the endgame, the potion is equally as important for vineyards.
Then QW gets a horrible T10. He draws his whole deck (it' 4 apos against 2 apos and two GMs) except for ... the storeroom. So he has Potion + 10 ... And buys an apothecary. I can really understand that this is frustrating.
In the end I'm getting scared because he has 7 apos against my 3 but I've stocked up seriously with GMs (6 vs. 1) and this is just begging for a megaturn. With the GMs in, I can start buying extra action cards for the vineyards. I'm down 2 provinces, but my vineyards start gaining points. In the end he buys the last province ... Only to be confronted with me having the explosive Apo/GM/Mystic/storeroom combo.
Very close. Again, would like to know how you guys would have played it.
Game 3 : Start of the black market shenanigans - MM begins, MM wins.
Log :
http://www.gokosalvager.com/static/logprettifier.html?/20140530/log.50785f090cf28ed55d9d72bf.1401444531671.txtVagrant, Black Market, Urchin, Bridge, JackOfAllTrades, Wandering Minstrel, Explorer, Ghost Ship, Journeyman, Mandarin
No shelters, provinces
I think this one is a win mostly due to luck, but let's analyze the board here, because there's a LOT going on.
BM has some interesting cards (mainly the +$2 is to get GS asap), but a lot of engine pieces are already on the board.
Now with GS on the board and Urchin, this looks like a trashing game, although ... Where do you get extra cards from to trash ? So you need +buy from Bridge or BM, but then you're not drawing enough ...
Also, Journeyman counter the GS attack, JoaT can counter both GS and Mercenary, but do you really want silvers here ... Well maybe, for the mercenaries to trash ...
You need to prioritize here. QW's 2/5 becomes Vagrant/GS, my 3/4 becomes BM/WM, picking up a GS on T3.
QW can't get the Mercenary quick enough (I got a lucky Urchin GS combo on T6) and that probably decides it. That and the awesome stuff I draw out of the BM deck (HoP, Herald, CM, Fairgrounds!!!). I get a WM/Bridge deck going and that starts doing the trick. I take a few provinces and three pile with Vagrants.
Unlucky for QW - I admit.
Game 4 : "I wanna do everything!" - MM begins, QW wins.
Log :
http://www.gokosalvager.com/static/logprettifier.html?/20140530/log.50785f090cf28ed55d9d72bf.1401445764921.txtVineyard, Crossroads, Ambassador, Black Market, Doctor, Workshop, Militia, Mine, Rabble, Peddler
No shelters, provinces.
Wow. What a nice board. Biggest problem : no villages, no + buy (except BM). BM will help with this of course. But there's Ambassador, Doctor ?, Militia, Rabble ... So confusing.
I decide I need at least 2 villages here in the form of CR and skip the BM for now. I want to counter Amb with Militia, so I open CR/Militia. Mweh, I'll pick up an Amb and/or BM later. He'll probably be throwing over estates in any case.
My plan is just way too slow and it shows. And I think I missed the key ingredient : BM gives actions, actions give peddlers ...
QW opens Amb/BM. And the BM ... is giving him all he needs. Tactician, Merchant Guild, Ironmonger, Scheme, Salvager ... They all work so incredible with the peddlers on the board. I can't even get a decent had together and with the MG/Tactician, he gets coins a plenty and Peddlers a plenty. Two megaturns (T16 + T18) seal the trick. The 44-13 shows that I got a severe beating here. Overrun by QW, nicely played.
Game 5 : "BM again, confusing ... again" - QW begins, MM wins.
Crossroads, Pearl Diver, Secret Chamber, Black Market, Alchemist, Cutpurse, Young Witch, Bazaar, Count, Harvest, Mystic
No shelters, provinces.
Meh, it's 2 - 2 and he can start two times now. Not a happy bunny.
A few things to consider here : BM is the bane and we have an extra coin token because baker is in the BM deck.
Nerve wrecking again. Now count/BM looks so interesting, but there's a lack of draw. There's a few interesting cards (Witch, Oracle, HP ...) in the deck, but ... yeah ... What do you do ?
Count/BM is QW's opening, I decide to take it somewhere else with Potion/YW (although I seriously considered the same opening). I'm hoping YW will also help me get the potion soon.
The power of young witch should be less of course, since with count, he will probably put BM back on top and trash the rest. Unfortunately for him, I get the YW in the hand where he DOESN'T get the BM in. I build up alchemists soon, he gets some nice witch/oracle, but can't really get the hands he wants. He has a thin deck, but the total draw just is missing. And with count (later on) I can get +$3, put something back, while I still have enough in hand (I don't care about trashing the curses anymore, also because I want to keep the potion in hand).
I counter significantly by getting Golem, GS and lighthouse out of the BM deck. LH protects me from the oracle discards and the curses and with so many actions ... But I have no +buy!!! Then BM rewards me with a Trade route, which becomes strong, since the duchies are being dealt with the count. I win.
Game 6 : "About prizes, cartographers and mountebanks"Log :
http://www.gokosalvager.com/static/logprettifier.html?/20140530/log.50785f090cf28ed55d9d72bf.1401449309786.txtHerbalist, Fishing Village, Menagerie, Advisor, Ironworks, Tournament, Baker, Cartographer, Mountebank, Royal Seal
No shelters, provinces. Jeez, Goko, again ... Can I get a non-standard game please ?
QW to start, Baker on the board ... Well yeah, we don't have to think twice. No trashing means ... Mountebank.
What else plays a role here ? IW/Advisor : not a good idea here. Cartographer to skip the junk AND also interesting to connect Tournament/Province, Menagerie/FV maybe ? - you need to watch out for the discard attack of the followers.
Another important point : no +buy. If we contest prizes, it's going to be Princess first probably.
It's 2 vs. 2 on mountebanks (I need to mirror him). To my surprise however, he gets a herbalist in. I don't like that choice here - Too much junk already in the deck. I understand you like +buy but I think Big Money is going to overrun you.
$6 is mostly spent on cartographers until all the curses are dealt out. I'm first to get the province, but he connects his to the tournament earlier and ... no surprise - he gets the princess. Damn.
But he has no menageries so my next prize will be ... Followers, even though there are no curses left. I hurt his hand 2 times in a row and I start building up seriously on Provinces. It still remains very close, we go for duchies next with the provinces and that means ... 2 piles already done. Okay, he now has the + buy but the followers keep on hurting and I'm up 8 points. With only 6 estates left, he will need to get a double estates and a province ... It proves impossible.
Very nerve wrecking, yet very interesting games. I'm glad I showed more decent strategy this time. Thanks for the games Qwertzuiop.
Note : he needed to play assemble_meme 1/2 hour later, I'm playing EgorK this afternoon ... I think we both will be very nervous