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« on: January 14, 2013, 10:18:38 pm »
Oh, yay, this fun one. I didn't think through everything W outlined above. I boiled it down to Jacks vs. Scrying Pools and Saboteurs. They both seemed strong, but I worried that all the Jack-Silvers would counter the Saboteurs. So I basically just played it safe. And it was pretty tense throughout. I had completely forgotten how much the Spy-power of Pools enhances Saboteurs.
Anyway, here are some things I noticed playing against the engine W built, which, when it kicked in, was very strong and intimidating, but still a bit tricky to play.
1. The only village is Nobles, which is costly and doesn't draw. So, at first, the + Actions come from Throne Rooms on Pools or on Warehouses. The money all comes from Duchesses. The buy all comes from Council Room. You need a Remake to trash. You need a Potion. And you need Saboteurs at some point to compete with Jacks. With all these cards in your deck, there's the potential for semi-dead hands. I got away with a few free turns because a couple times W didn't have a Pool in his hand.
2. Council Room and Duchess both helped me out. There were definitely at least two hands for me that only bought Provinces because of extra coin from Council Rooms. Saboteur felt like it had the potential to help me out also, since it can help drain piles. Especially with Duchesses out there. But I didn't see how to take advantage of this until too late.
3. 5-2 is an unlucky opening. I got the best-case scenario out of Double-Jack.
4. The Scry-Spying helps Saboteur, but it doesn't double-help Throne Roomed Saboteurs. So, you're not as much in the driver seat as you'd like to be. Especially if you're forced to play these tricky Throne Room chains, as opposed to just playing all your villages and then playing your attacks in the order that you'd like.
5. Would a Talisman have helped? I dunno.
6. Stef is right; playing the engine is more fun. I was basically just a bot.
Anyway, even though Jacks won this time, it's still inconclusive to me which is better. Thanks for posting this, W! Now I am famous.
