UPDATE:Round 2
() | (_) ^/ 4 - 1 Mad Dog
...
I'll comment on games 3-5 later. Since I have the logs for them, I don't need to try to do a memory dump like I did for the first two.
Game 3:
http://dominion.isotropic.org/gamelog/201212/11/game-20121211-105310-b7eea1f3.htmlSUPER super quick game.
Kingdom: Bridge, City, Explorer, Fool's Gold, Lighthouse, Masquerade, Outpost, Quarry, Tunnel, and Walled Village
#1 Mad Dog opening: Bridge / Fool's Gold
#2 paddyodoors opening: Bridge / Masquerade
Now, of note is that we were just coming off of a game where I beat Mad Dog with tons of Fool's Gold. He opened Bridge, which I think is the only/best Fool's Gold enabler on this board. So, I'm thinking if there is going to be a run on FGs, I should go City which is a HUGE enabler for Bridge. I take a risk, opening Bridge/Masq so that I have the ability to pick up FGs and trash at the same time, getting set for the City rush. I luck out BIG time, buying two FGs and playing my Masq to full effect on Turns 3 and 4 respectively.
Mad Dog wins FGs 7/3, but loses Cities 3/7. I pick up 3 more Bridges.
On Turn 10, I end the game by piledriving Estates along with 3 Province buys, winning 27-14. Much of the credit is due to my luck coming off of my high-risk opening.
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Game 4:
http://dominion.isotropic.org/gamelog/201212/11/game-20121211-110901-9a733126.htmlQuickly turns into a bit of a slog.
Kingdom: Coppersmith, Ghost Ship, Grand Market, Island, Minion, Moat, Scheme, Scout, Stash, and Tunnel
#1 Mad Dog opening: Silver / Silver
#2 paddyodoors opening: Island / Silver
I look at this board, and see Minion/Grand Market. Island is generally a bad opening because it can really hurt you from being able to hit $5, which is crucial here. But I take the chance that the one Silver will get me to $5, and I opt for the very light pseudo-trashing of Island (along with the modest VP gain). For the second game in a row, luck pays off and I get a $5 hand on T3 and a $4/Island/Estate hand on T4.
We each hit $5 on T3, but he goes for a Ghost Ship while I go for a Minion.
We end up splitting the Minions 5/5, and neither of us gains Grand Markets very quickly. With Scheme, I'm able to topdeck a Moat every once in a while, blocking his attacks (unless it was Minion and I didn't like my hand that particular turn). Scheme, however, is generally bad in Minion games.
5/5 Minion splits are hard since it really isn't enough money for one player to really have a Minion-only engine. Eventually, I get some Tunnels and they start to generate Gold for me due to the discarding from both of our Minions.
With the Tunnels and Islands and then Provinces & Duchies in my deck, I decide to buy a couple of Scouts, which actually seemed to help a bunch (see turn 23 -- gaining two more Golds right before my last reshuffle).
We have a super close game, neither one of us able to end it with the last pile (Grand Markets) due to how close in score we were. In the end, with the rewards of my Tunneling (Gold), I am able to get the last Grand Market and buy a Tunnel for a two-point victory (33-31).
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Game 5:
http://dominion.isotropic.org/gamelog/201212/11/game-20121211-112347-f2081049.htmlCrazy attack board.
Kingdom: Ambassador, Bank, Chapel, Embassy, Festival, Goons, Hunting Party, Jester, Margrave, and Smithy
#1 Mad Dog opening: Chapel / Silver
#2 paddyodoors opening: Silver / Ambassador
Oof. Wow. Ambassador or Chapel? Goons/Jester/Margrave? Festivals, as the only village, are going to be key. But Hunting Party is just so strong at finding you that one card that would make this turn perfect, am I right?
I am worried about Ambassador -- if he gets some good Chapeling in and starts on the engine, my Ambassador isn't going to really hurt his deck. If he gets an Ambassador and I don't get good Chapeling, then I'm going to have a terrible deck. I think this situation is actually REALLY swingy, and the fact that all the components for some really nice attack-based engine are sitting right there at $5 makes me very nervous.
I open Silver to see what he pairs with his Chapel opening. He pairs it with Silver, so I go for attack (Ambassador), hoping that by luck he won't be able to keep up with the trashing. Turn 3 gets me a Hunting Party (so as to see Ambassador more).
At first I think I fail -- my T4 has no Ambassador, so that has missed the reshuffle. I decide to "double down" on junking his deck, so I buy another Ambassador. T5? BOTH OF THEM. WITH NO ESTATES IN HAND. Oh my. Meanwhile, across town, his deck has been doing this:
T1: buy Chapel
T2: buy Silver
T3: Trash 2 Estates, buy Silver.
T4: buy Smithy
T5: buy Festival
T6: buy Goons
T7: buy Hunting Party
T8: play Goons, buy Goons AND Hunting Party
After his T8, I'm pretty sure that I'm dead. I've only Ambassadored 2 Coppers and 2 Estates. I even type in the chat: "you're way ahead of me on this one!" However, he's only trashed 2 Estates with his Chapel... so I've got some hope yet of junking his deck.
And, with plenty of luck, that's what happens. I end the game on piles during Turn 20 after only one other multi-Goons turn (two were played on Turn 18). I think I won this one through luck and a few sub-optimal plays from my opponent (like Silver buys after the engine components were in place). The last turn was where I picked up most of the points for the 51-12 point win.