Final score: LordHedgie 4, Marin 2
I was worried about this matchup, given the great difference in rankings. This is the first matchup I took the time to look over logs from my opponent's games to see their style. Marin wanted veto and point counter, I prefer playing with neither. I compromised and went with no veto but point counter allowed (iso only).
Game 1 - Lordhedgie 49, Marin 33
I admit I got lucky with my Watchtower repeatedly defending me against attack after attack here. Watchtower served as a defense against Swindler, Minion, and Ghost Ship, and I blocked almost all of them. I think my real advantage was in Marin taking Harems without buying a single gold; although eventually I took three Harems, my four golds earned me six provinces.
http://dominion.isotropic.org/gamelog/201212/17/game-20121217-120904-147099ac.htmlGame 2 - Marin 51, LordHedgie 45
I blew the pooch on this one. I saw a mediocre board and decided I'd ride Philosopher's Stone to a win. I bought my potion, then he bought Embargo, and I said "Dangit! I didn't notice embargo!" Rookie mistake, and I paid for it. The number of times I had 7 and a potion made me realize I easily could have won this game if I had played it well, but I didn't. Marin blocked me perfectly.
http://dominion.isotropic.org/gamelog/201212/17/game-20121217-121538-63f77c91.htmlGame 3 - LordHedgie 37, Marin 13
This was a game of speed. Marin built a great Minion engine while slowing me down with curses, but I just took too much green while it did it. I picked up five Provinces before Marin started buying VP's, and by that point there just wasn't enough time left.
http://dominion.isotropic.org/gamelog/201212/17/game-20121217-122424-8d7bef21.htmlGame 4 - LordHedgie 45, Marin 44
A super close game where Marin's choice to use the point counter came to help me tremendously. I took an early lead with lucky Chapel combos, and Marin said he thought he would lose. I remember saying I'm prone to rookie mistakes, and sure enough I let him come back and take a lead through creative use of Farmlands. On my final turn I was down seven with one buy, and I bought a Farmland, trashed a gold, and gained a Province to take the lead and end the game. This could have easily gone either way.
http://dominion.isotropic.org/gamelog/201212/17/game-20121217-123525-8e6b8234.htmlGame 5 - Marin 55, LordHedgie 34
A kingdom full of attack cards and no defenses... and few +actions. I made the mistake of ignoring Stables, which was about the only chainable card on the board, and I got crushed. Playing with three cards most turns, I really couldn't do anything as he drew most his deck turn after turn.
http://dominion.isotropic.org/gamelog/201212/17/game-20121217-124646-ca41f5de.htmlGame 6 - LordHedgie 96, Marin 40
This was a Crossroads win, with a twist. I decided early on that Crossroads would build me large hands, and I'd use Great Hall to help it work. With Mine on the board, I didn't need to buy many silvers, so I frequently bought Great Hall or Crossroads with $5. Eventually I was drawing giant hands, so Mine was improving my deck quickly, and I got a Horse Traders for the extra buy.
http://dominion.isotropic.org/gamelog/201212/17/game-20121217-125834-ab052dbe.htmlIn all, there certainly was some luck involved in some of these games, but that's how the game is played. I knew Marin was good, and I played aggressively and fast to capitalize on any good luck I might get, rather than playing conservatively and trying to win through superior strategy alone.
If I helps, I picked up third in the PAX Prime Dominion tournament the year before last; I didn't go last year. Glad I made you feel a little better, though.