Kirian 21-43 jonts26 Ambassador double-hits twice FTL
Kirian 25-36 jonts26 T3 Tactician into T6 Maps
Kirian 39-31 jonts26 Sea Hag lucks out, Outpost strikes out
Kirian 11-15 jonts26 FV/Wharf/Mountebank --> Three-pile
Kirian 35-36 jonts26 Stables blunder loses a close game
Kirian 39-48 jonts26 Extra Lighthouses turn $5s into $6s
Kirian 27-24 jonts26 Remake's virtual +Buy saves the day
A very fun match against Kirian. A few close games which could have gone either way. I did record the matches, but the audio got all messed up. I'm going to re-record the audio, probably sometime this weekend, and post them then. But for now, I'll use written words.
Game 1 - Ambassador, Caravan, Treasury, Expand
Ambassador makes an early appearance. We both open Amb/Caravan. Treasury is a very strong card with ambassador so I actually forgo a second Amb for silver, hoping to stock up on couple treasuries. I even prefer the first one to Gold, trying to keep as many cantrips in my deck so as not to get too clogged too early. Kirian gets a second amb early, and has it collide several times, with predictable results. I use Expand to speed up the end game.
Game 2 - Tactician, Treasure Map, Salvager, Pawn
We open 5/2 with Tactician. I opt for Pawn, he goes Native Village. I think Pawn has to be the right opening here. It brings me up to $8, which is what I need to get two Maps. I do pull my Tactician turn 3, which is huge, and perhaps a little fortunate (~50%). Kirian does not draw Tact until turn 4, which puts him a turn behind. However, it should be noted that if he did get tact turn 3, he couldn't have afforded double maps because of his opening. Turn 5 I get a little more fortunate to draw tactician again, setting up a Map collision for turn 6. Kirian doesn't get his maps off until turn 8, so I buy a salvager to speed up the game and press my advantage.
Game 3 - Tactician, Sea Hag, Outpost, Lookout
Another 5/2 split with tactician. I consider opening Sea Hag, but figure if I can get one early enough the tactician is more useful as an open. Well I get some unfortunate early luck. Kirian draws 4 for a sea hag, I settle for a lookout which gets flipped by his hag before I can play it. Once I do get a hag, it gets flipped before I can play it. Now being at a severe disadvantage, I need to switch up my plan. Tactician/Outpost is a bit unreliable, but potentially powerful. With curses, it's even more unreliable, but I was hoping the havens I had would help me line things up, which they really didn't that much. That said, this game came down to the final turn anyway. 2 Provinces left, tie score, Kirian had just played a tactician and was likely to get at least a province. I was looking at $8, 3 buys and an outpost. My only hope is to be able to run piles. 3 Tunnels and a Haven left. I play outpost, buying 2 tunnels and a haven and then draw ... $2. Kirian double provinces to win.
Game 4 - Mountebank, Wharf, Fishing Village, Warehouse, Salvager
Guess what? We open 5/2. And while Mr. tactician is back, we both opt to open Mountebank. I focus hard on the wharves and fishing villages. Kirian spreads himself out a bit more getting a bit of everything. I think in the end my more focused wharf/FV engine let me better control the end game and ultimately 3 pile it with the lead. I actually never got around to buying any treasures.
Game 5 - Witch, Smugglers, Trade Route
In a stunning turn of events, we both open 5/2. Witch is the clear open. He opts for a moat and I pass my $2. I play pretty much Witch/Big Money. I do get an early smugglers, thinking with the curses and being second player, I'd get some decent use out of it. Despite his moat and first position, we split the curses evenly, which is really what you have to hope for as 2P. The game is decently uninteresting, though the end game has some good aspects. With 2 provinces and no duchies left, I have a decent lead. Kirian needs either both provinces or one provinces and about half of the estates. Once I hit my final reshuffle, I start hitting the estates hard. Kirian has an interesting choice of whether to not fall behind on them, or let me drain them by myself hoping to get 2 province hands. At this point, with all the junk, provinces are not too likely. He opts to fight on the estates. He does get his 1 province but I eek out just enough estates for a 1 point win.
Game 6 - Ambassador, Lighthouse, Haggler
Ambassadors and Sea Hags and a lighthouse. We both open amb/lighthouse. I miss my amb in the first shuffle, but my more steady dedication to getting lighthouses helps me not worry about his attacks. I was planning on getting a Haggler at some point, but I wasn't going to prefer it to Gold and it was a long while before I drew exactly $5. He buys spies, which I think is probably a mistake, as the attack is unlikely to hit anyway and he needs to build his economy more. Still, a close game which I close out buying the last province.
Game 7 - Remake, Caravan, Menagerie, Warehouse, Haven, Merchant Ship, Scheme
This is my favorite game of the set. Just a beautiful example of dominion at its most elegant. It's not often 4 provinces in 12 turns isn't enough. I open remake/scheme to his remake/warehouse. We both get perfect turn 3's, though the ceiling on scheme/remake is higher. This sets us both up for very fast engines. I opt for a menagerie, warehouse deal, using scheme and haven to keep it triggering every turn. I buy provinces from turns 9-12 and could have kept going at least a couple more before I had the chance of missing. Kirian starts with a menagerie but transitions to caravan for his main draw. He buys provinces starting turn 10. I do think he got a little fortunate to not miss a province turn as he was only drawing 2/3 to 4/5 of his deck the last couple turns and if he misses his lone Gold even once, I win. However, I should have noted his 3 caravans and 2 havens in play on turn 12 and figured he stood a good shot of grabbing province/duchy to close it out. I should have bought duchy, and forced the draw on turn 13.
All in all, a great series. Thanks for the games!
