Scryordie(50) and ednever played ahead to the next round.
Result: ednever over 50, 4-2
Games below:
Game one: ednever
Key cards: Goons, Throne Room, Lab, Wishing Well, Gardens
Really close game with both players hitting !details almost every turn. I utilized most of my buys every turn, loading up on Wishing Wells and Throne Rooms. 50 went a little heavier into Goons and Labs, then transitioned into Gardens. It was very very tight - to the point where we both seemed to take turns running down piles. Then I got one mega-mega turn at the end and finished it off. But I was sweating!
http://dominion.isotropic.org/gamelog/201301/04/game-20130104-171635-18512e3f.htmlGame 2: 50
Key Cards: Embargo, Hoard, Stables, Monument, Mandarin
A Big Money match made interesting with Embargo. 50 just plays it better. Mandarin opening worked for him I think with the ability to smooth $s.
http://dominion.isotropic.org/gamelog/201301/04/game-20130104-172239-f45d9d85.htmlGame 3: ednever
Key Cards: Young Witch (Workshop Bane), Wishing Well, Alchemist, Fool's Gold, Upgrade
50 ignored YW way too long (maybe the psychological effect of me opening with the Bane card. I took advantage and used workshop to load up on Wishing Wells so I could use the Alchemists to draw my deck and always have a potion in hand. Upgrade later let me load up on YWs and play them whenever he didn't have a Workshop in hand.
I had won the curse war 7-0 (three in the trash) and was able to draw my deck every turn.
Then tragedy struck. I played a wishing well and triple clicked on copper. Instead of playing my treasure (and potion) and buying a Province, instead I purchased a Copper - and my alchemist stack disappeared.
Without any prompting or requests from me 50 resigned and gave me the game. A very very good sport. I still had a reasonable shot of re-building the stack and still winning the game, but if it hadn't happened I had it locked. 50 definitely wins the true spirit award!
http://dominion.isotropic.org/gamelog/201301/04/game-20130104-173354-81ae65e2.htmlGame 4: 50
Easily the most interesting game. Maybe the most interesting game I've played in a long long time.
Key Cards: Embargo, IGG, Scrying Pool, Worker's Village, Steward, Hunting Party, Navigator, Merchant Ship
50 goes for Potions, so I pick up an Embargo and Embago Pools. He picks up a few anyway and uses his Steward to trash the curses + the curses I hand him from IGG. He picks up an Embargo too and Embagos IGG stoping me from the classic rush. Then he Embargos Provinces which slows me down some more. He uses the time to build up a huge engine: 7 worker's Village, 4 Merchant Ships, 3 Stewards, a Navigator and 3 Hunting Parties.
He makes a pretty huge mistake at one point and buys a double-embargo'd Scrying Pool, but he still recovers!
It comes down to a photo finish where I have to start making choices about staying ahead with VP, or ending it on piles. I don't think I have the two turns to end it on piles - curse gone, one card remaining in HP and WV. I decide to stay ahead on VP and pick up a duchy. It's over two turns later after 50 plays it exactly right not letting me end it with provinces. He double provinces for the win.
Hell of a game and really really well played by 50.
http://dominion.isotropic.org/gamelog/201301/04/game-20130104-174927-9ffa42d9.html(We are now tied 2-2)
Game 5: ednever
This one is my type of kingdom. I open Bishop+Silver. Then pick up Spy+Oasis. Then Menageries and Hunting Parties. Between My Bishop, his, and the Menageries I'm drawing my deck pretty fast and picking up provinces and trashing them with Bishop. I run away with this one.
http://dominion.isotropic.org/gamelog/201301/04/game-20130104-175628-e5c1385e.htmlGame 6: ednever
Another really really interesting match.
Key Cards: Masquerade, Torturer, Village, Haggler, Apprentice, Pawn, Silk Road (You can tell it's interesting when there are 7 key cards)
We both open Masq-Silver and start to build Torturer chains. I pick up a Haggler first though. I think that I can handle a little bit of cursing due to the Masq, and I think the Haggler will help me pick up the Torturer-Village combo faster to over take him.
That's kind of what happens, only to the extreme. He starts walloping me with Torturer Chains. I take a lot of curses. But slowly with Masq I'm able to recover. Key turning point is when I hit him with a Torturer, he discards, then I play a Masq and get him to pass me a Torturer.
then I transition into Greening- my Haggler lets me pick up Province + Gold or Apprentice. My deck gets pretty lean as I kill all the curses and the coppers. I have to start passing Villages over to 50 a few times. But by this point I am 15 points ahead and can consistently pick up a Province every turn.
When 50 is ready to start greening he hesitates.
I chime in (trying my best to return the favor from Game 3):
18:07 ednever: I think your only hope is to pick up Pawns and get extra buys
18:07 50: Big silk road transition?
18:07 ednever: and go the Silk Roads
18:07 ednever: Yeah. It's a long shot but I don't think you can do it with Provinces
18:07 50: Yeah
So he does. I start taking down the Provinces one by one. When there is one province left and I am ahead by about 17 points, 50 finishes his turn and does a calculation: He can get to within 3 points on me and end the game. A hell of a come back.
He picks up Duchies instead and I kill a Province with my Apprentice to end it.
Crazy game: From Masq to P1 Torturer engine to recovery and P2 Torturer engine to Apprentice fueled single province turns vs. multi-buy Silk Roads "rush". Not many games have the number of transitions seen here. Great way to end the series.
http://dominion.isotropic.org/gamelog/201301/04/game-20130104-181811-ebf5a72f.htmlThanks 50. It was a real pleasure.
Ed