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[Dingan]

I love Embassy.  It's an elegantly simple card, relatively easy to understand and use, and it's quite often clear when it's the most powerful card in the Kingdom.  What I mean by that is, when (1) there is no possibility of a fancy engine deck, and (2) there are no powerful attack cards (especially hand-size-reducers), Embassy-BM is very often the way to go.  In a BM deck, playing an Embassy almost always spikes at least a Gold and (perhaps more importantly) sifts really well.

Therefore, it is quite often that players end up in an Embassy-BM mirror.  In which case, the game often seems to come down to luck (who's Embassiess don't collide, who hits $8 in the end game instead of $7, etc.).  In such mirrors, I was wondering if there is a reliable way to break the green split without relying so much on that luck.  Specifically, is there any sort of consensus on things like

• What is the best opener -- Embassy/-, Embassy/good-$2-card, or Silver/Silver?
• How many Embassies should I get (2, 3, ...) vs. Golds?
• At what point are Duchies better than Golds?  (I would assume earlier than normal because of Embassy's awesome sifting and ability to spike Provinces even with a lot of green in deck.)
• When there are 2 provinces left and players are nearly tied in VP, we usually each start buying Duchies... in which case, what is a reliable way to break the tie?
• How do these things change in a Colony game?

All of these are inspired by this game.

[DG]

Simulators can give you the answers to many of your questions. It's the best use of the simulators.

[jaybeez]

Not to pooh-pooh the OP, but how common is an Embassy-BM mirror, really?  I agree that Embassy is an elite BM enabler, one of the best.  But given the current state of the online game, I think the presence of Embassy in the kingdom pushes you toward engine at least as often as it pushes you toward playing Embassy-BM: the on-gain effect can actually slow down an opponent that is also going for an engine, and the tremendous sifting ability can help you build an engine if trashing is limited or unavailable (at least with other good support, like a way of gaining lots of villages quickly).

[Dingan]

Not to pooh-pooh the OP, but how common is an Embassy-BM mirror, really?  I agree that Embassy is an elite BM enabler, one of the best.  But given the current state of the online game, I think the presence of Embassy in the kingdom pushes you toward engine at least as often as it pushes you toward playing Embassy-BM: the on-gain effect can actually slow down an opponent that is also going for an engine, and the tremendous sifting ability can help you build an engine if trashing is limited or unavailable (at least with other good support, like a way of gaining lots of villages quickly).

No doubt Embassy has other uses, i.e. in an engine, in which its perks (draw & sifting) are just as useful.  But I guess the OP was for when there is no possibility whatsoever for an engine, or thinning, or anything.

And agreed, giving your opponent the Silver can sometimes hurt them depending on what their plan is.  But obviously, that will apply more often when they are not going BM.