michaeljb vs DG
Game 1Vineyard, Chapel, Courtyard, Duchess, Pawn, Develop, Masquerade, Library, Market, Merchant Ship
Looks like there's enough +Buy and cheap actions for Vineyard to be good, but I was torn between Chapel and Masquerade. I didn't want to be caught giving away good cards to Masquerade after Chapelling down, so I opened Silver/Masquerade and DG opened Silver/Chapel. I got my Vineyards up to 6 points apiece, but DG's Chapelled deck was able to buy 6 of the Vineyards as well a Province and Duchy.
michaeljb 16 - 33 DGGame 2Moat, Scrying Pool, Fishing Village, Oasis, Monument, Talisman, Bazaar, Festival, Library, Adventurer
A big Scrying Pool board. DG's early reshuffles were a bit better than mine, getting him the first Festival, allowing him to pick up a Moat with his second SP on turn 6. I didn't buy any Moats until near the end, but the extra bit of draw and the protection from SP's spying definitely were valuable. DG also bought a Talisman for more end game control, but that didn't seem to have too much of an impact on the game either way. If I had been closer it probably would have had a larger influence. Ultimately DG got the action cards needed for SP earlier than I did, and it snowballed from there.
DG 54 - 33 michaeljbGame 3Beggar, Courtyard, Great Hall, Swindler, Philosopher's Stone, JackOfAllTrades, Counting House, Highway, Pillage, Vault
Facing elimination from the p2 seat and the kind of BM board where I'm really unsure of what to do, I settled on opening Swindler/Jack, hoping to get lucky with my Swindler and turn a Jack into Potion or something like that. That was somewhat contingent on DG opening 4/3; instead, he opened 5/2 and went full Beggar/Counting House, buying his first Province on turn 4. Now I was really worried and really hoping for some early Swindler luck, but in the early game I only hit one Estate and some Silvers that Beggar had put there. I supplemented the Swindlers with some Pillage buys, and even though I hadn't planned on this effect, he only managed to play Beggar once (they were busy reacting), on turn 3, so he didn't have piles of Copper for his Counting House.
While my attacks did slow his Counting House power, Silvers from the Beggars added up. I had a Vault, one Gold, and some Spoils from Pillage, and things were looking grim. On my last shuffle I got the draws I needed and just managed to get the last Province, just as DG would have nabbed it with another turn.
DG 37 - 43 michaeljbGame 4Black Market, Great Hall, Smugglers, Bishop, Herald, Harvest, Jester, Mint, Stash, Farmland
Black market deck cards: Forge, Hermit, City, Nomad Camp, Wharf, Venture, Haven,
Tournament, Apprentice, Shanty Town, Fairgrounds, Wandering Minstrel, Embargo,
Scrying Pool, Swindler, Throne Room, Spy, Courtyard, Vagrant, Beggar, Laboratory,
Horn of Plenty, Taxman, Harem, Margrave
I was first player again, so it was time to make this come back happen. I started 5/2; Jester/- isn't the greatest opening, but it could have been worse. I dealt out a Curse and bought a Bishop on turn 3, DG responded by starting on the Heralds. I was a little nervous about Tournament out of the Black Market, especially when DG pulled it on turn 4.
Fortunately for me, I drew 5 Copper again on turn 5, and I could easily afford Mint then.
My Jester effectively balanced the positive effect my Bishop had on DG's deck, and even gained me a couple of Heralds and a Gold. I got to a point where my deck was relatively thin and I was happily Minting Golds. DG couldn't get his deck down to size, and his single Tournament from the Black Market never found its Prize; turn 12 in particular was a bummer for him, as his Heralds first revealed a Province his Tournament couldn't match, and then a Gold his Mint couldn't match.
As I began to pull away, DG pulled the plug.
michaeljb 36 - 14 (resigned) DGGame 5Embargo, Loan, Familiar, Silk Road, Talisman, Throne Room, Count, Embassy, Junk Dealer, Nobles
I opened Silver/Embargo, which was definitely a mistake. I had a vague idea of wanting to Embargo Familiars, but between Junk Dealer and Count, Familiar doesn't seem that great anyway, and I would have been much better off with a Silver than Embargo (I ended up Embargoing the Embargoes). DG got the Nobles split, 5-3 and got his engine up and running sooner. Apart from my opening failure, we did more or less the same, with Nobles, Count, Junk Dealer and Throne Rooms. I Cursed myself much more than DG did (that is, I ended the game with 7 Silvers to his 3; one of those was a gift from his Embassy), and couldn't keep my draw going very well. This game drew out a bit longer than the others, but as you can see from the points graph it was DG's all the way.
michaeljb 40 - 58 DGGame 6Crossroads, Embargo, Steward, Bridge, Thief, Treasure Map, Golem, Cultist, Junk Dealer, Saboteur
Once again facing elimination from p2, and I couldn't ask for a better time or board to get the 5/2 against 4/3. Or for worse draws for my opponent; DG's turn 3 hand was both of his opening Stewards with 3 Coppers, turn 4 was 2 Coppers, 3 Estates. DG Embargoed Golds, Provinces, and Duchies, but there was no stopping the Cultist train. The only chances DG had to reach $5 would have required that he choose coins over trashing with his Stewards.
To get around the Gold Embargo, I bought a Bridge and eventually a pair of Treasure Maps. Shortly after I went green, DG resigned. After that first reshuffle, the game was mine to lose, but I managed to not misclick my way to disaster.
DG (resigned) 2 - 18 michaeljbGame 7Squire, Loan, Trade Route, Advisor, Farming Village, JackOfAllTrades, Taxman, Mine, Wharf, King's Court
Our tiebreaker game featured a board that, as DG said, was not going to lead to a tie; it was all down to this game. Fortunately for me, I was the higher seed and happily took the first turn advantage. After we both open Jack/Silver, I got the better reshuffle for Squire/Wharf against two Farming Villages. DG got stuck on $4 another turn, and didn't get his first Wharf until I had my first King's Court. We went back and forth buying up engine pieces, but I was the first to connect KC+Wharf. I used my Squire to collect more Silvers to keep my economy high; after the opening hands, DG never drew less than $4, so buying a Squire would have meant passing on a Farming Village. (on turn 9 he got Farming Village+Wharf, he could have had KC+Squire then, but I think he probably made the right move).
After drawing KC+Wharf, the game snowballed my direction, but Squire was an important part of that, and DG never did get one. The Silver gain gave me way more economy than DG, and after playing 13 Silvers on turn 13, I was able to easily count that DG only had 5 Silvers, letting me push the KC pile closer to the edge without going too far. In the end, DG resigned-by-PPR, allowing me to pile out the Provinces and take a handful of victory Duchies.
michaeljb 45 - 22 DGThis was quite an intense series, and I definitely got a decent helping of shuffle luck in each of my victories, and DG's wins were well deserved. I also appreciate DG's help in defeating Stef
I'm glad that I was able to win it in 7, unlike my Avs losing in overtime in 7