Robz888 wins 3.5 - 2.5 over TheMirrorMan. This was one of the tensest tournament rounds I have ever played. All very interesting games and razor-thin margins of victory. I do think luck decided a lot of these games, unfortunately.
Yeah I am honestly very happy with my way of playing against a higher rated opponent and I agree, it was razor sharp.
http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130831/log.50785f090cf28ed55d9d72bf.1377968256148.txt
Transmute, Black Market, Lookout, Sage, Wishing Well, Feast, Procession, Worker's Village, Apprentice, Adventurer
Actually, this was the only not very interesting game. My strategy was fairly unfocused; there's just so little going on here. Of course the power vacuum makes Black Market a compelling purchase. He manages to pull Sir Michael (the discard Knight) from the BMarket which is sort of super strong since I have no Knights to counteract. I think that basically decided the game.
That Sir Michael pulled off everything and I got it often enough to slow down your strategy. Very lucky to draw that one.
http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130831/log.50785f090cf28ed55d9d72bf.1377969320111.txt
Crossroads, Hamlet, Black Market, Scheme, Bishop, Throne Room, Bazaar, Ghost Ship, Hunting Party, Minion
A more interesting game, although Black Market luck decided it once again. Our strategies do diverge from the get-go, though. He opens Bishop/Silver. I don't think I like that--the trashing will help me, and hitting $5 is so important! So I'm BM/Silver. He does hit $5 though, and gets into gear pretty quickly. Luckily, I pull Goons for the BM deck, and my deck comes roaring back. I really, really make use of the extra buy VP chips (I'm getting like a Duchy's worth of extra points every turn), and he's in a bad way by the end.
Well the idea was to thin out the deck making it optimal for the Minions and picking up VPs on the way. But then I bought a throne room in between and the colliding started. I had a hand where I minioned enough only to receive throne room + nothing, then I got one hand with no Minions at all. When I see the Goons appearing, yeah, there go my VPs, especially with hamlets on the board. In the end, Robz pulls it off. Indeed, a bit of luck with BM but it counters my luck in the first game.
http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130831/log.50785f090cf28ed55d9d72bf.1377970180115.txt
Courtyard, Lighthouse, Warehouse, Navigator, Spy, Wandering Minstrel, Golem, Library, Venture, Nobles
I lose this game, but I would play it exactly the same if we did this set again. The engine just looks so weak to me without +buy or gaining, and Venture should be pretty good for the Courtyard BM play. Well, I never got a Venture, just because I never hit $5 until Duchy time, but I don't think that's such a big deal. Hate to blame shuffle luck, but all my good cards clumped at the end of my last shuffle, and that allowed him to go Province-Province-Province. Maybe you guys can tell me if I am wrong, and the engine is actually better?
I was actually considering exactly the same thing (going for Big Money), but still decided to go for the engine. The main point was : how to pick up money here ? So lighthouse + navigator, although it seems slow, it seemed to pull it off. Unfortunately Robz drew terribly in the end - I thought I was lost.
http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130831/log.50785f090cf28ed55d9d72bf.1377970737437.txt
Courtyard, University, Steward, Bridge, Remodel, Talisman, Bazaar, Jester, Rogue, Grand Market
I love sets like these. I notice the Bridge/University for GMs interaction right away, and I plan to build my deck for that purpose. He focuses more on Rogues, which could just be a symptom of his draws. Anyway, I really prioritize Steward trashing, I draw my Bridges at the right times, and my engine goes off big time. I drain GMs, Bazaars, and $0 Courtyards all at once to end the game in a decisive win. I played well, but I also drew really well here. Think his Rogues wouldn't have helped him enough here, though--you really want to be playing more Bridges and Courtyards.
Nah, I disagree. Luck had nothing to do with this. I didn't see the combo of bridge - university - big market and when I suddenly saw you buying it ... Well, game over. Too late. I thought the Rogue would help me trash your thinned out deck but it rewarded me with a talisman dropping and needing to be picked up. It also serves me right for not picking Steward. *Slap on the head*
http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130831/log.50785f090cf28ed55d9d72bf.1377971395561.txt
Doctor, Masterpiece, Swindler, Conspirator, Farming Village, JackOfAllTrades, Throne Room, Inn, Mandarin, Adventurer
I get the 5/2, which is sort of manifestly worse here, I think. Should just be a Jack game. Again, there IS an engine here with Conspirators and Inns and Throne Rooms, but without +buy or gainers, it just seems too slow to me. So I'm Jack/nothing to his Jack/Swindler. I actually don't like the Swindler here against Jack. And then he ends up going for the engine anyway, which delights me. Well, maybe I underestimated it. What he CAN do is definitely Province every other turn (on the other turns, he buys Inn to set himself up). And he Swindles a bunch of my Silvers into Masterpieces, which is quite bad. But, I have enough of a lead that all he can do is take the tie.
Again, was doubting on going big money, but saw Swindler and Masterpiece on the board. Reducing your Silvers to masterpieces and then the engine (Inn - Jack - Conspirator) seemed plausible. I pulled it off a bit too late (bought an Inn when there were no actions in the deck - yuck).
http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130831/log.50785f090cf28ed55d9d72bf.1377972078694.txt
Poor House, Apothecary, Mining Village, Rats, Remake, Apprentice, Baker, Counting House, Outpost, Hoard
I see Remake, but then I see that Poor House obsoletes it here. Well, there's Rats, but is Remake/Rates really a thing? I think not. Then I notice Apprentice, and Apprentice/Rats is definitely a thing. The Baker token makes it sort of interesting, what order to do what. The presence of Shelters makes an opening Apprentice a little less appealing. I go for that anyway. He opens Baker instead. Yeah, Baker is pretty good, I've found. I spike an early $6 and grab Hoard--Gold trashing with Hoard and Apprentice is really nice. My Rats come a little unevenly, but soon I have it under control and my deck is going nicely. He has a bunch of Bakers, and that's good, too, but what I am doing is just a tad better. I play my last three turns very cautiously, taking Duchies instead of risky trashes, because I assume he can't Province-Province (he is too reliant on Baker tokens). That works out, I trash my Hoard, and win.
Well the rats - apprentice engine was quite clear, but where to get the extra money from ? That's why I went for the baker. You were more than right to go for the hoard. The engine was soaring, also due to an "error" of my part - my two apprentices decided to trash my two remaining rats, leaving me a bit helpless.
All in all, like I said, very happy with the games.
Two sidenotes :
* For once, Goko decided that it would give out the starting player as it should (last time I had to restart games 7 times).
* We both forgot half the time to put VPON
