I played a
game yesterday against The Laughing Storm. The kingdom was Bank, Baron, Cellar, Familiar, Fishing Village, Mandarin, Outpost, Potion, Spy, Tribute, and Woodcutter.
Going second in a Familiar game is bad enough as is. We both opened Fishing Village/Potion, which in retrospect probably should have been Silver/Potion. My Potion came turn 5, so I already knew I was in trouble. Knowing this, I figure that if I am looking at 5 Coppers on turn 4, I ought to pick up an Outpost to help cycle my deck faster to make up for the late Familiar. For similar reasons, I pick up three Cellars by the start of my seventh turn.
Still, though, my deck is noticeably worse due to his turn 8 Bank. Yet with dedicated Cellar cycling and Outpost play, I manage to win the Curse split 6-4. Still, his economy is so much better. He gets his two Gold on turns 10 and 11, while mine are on 16 and 18.
Somehow, through all of this, I come out with the win. Fishing Villages piled out early (he took 8(!) of them) and VP piles started to run. I see this, and have to screw around with the PDR and even the PER (acronyms = PPR for lesser VP cards) to avoid ending the game with fewer VP's on my turn. Luckily, he does not attack the Estates as aggressively as he should.
In my penultimate turn, I take the second-to-last Estate with $6 and play an Outpost. Down five, I know I can't simply take the last Duchy and lose. Even if I buy the Estate and buy a Duchy on the Outpost turn, I still will lose by one. So I figure I have to play for the Province:
(Young Nick drains the jumper as he draws: a Province, a Cellar, and an Estate.)
— Young Nick drains the jumper as he's extra turn (from Outpost) —
Young Nick drains the jumper as he plays a Cellar.
... getting +1 action.
... discarding 2 cards.
... drawing 2 cards.
Young Nick drains the jumper as he plays a Gold and a Silver.
Young Nick drains the jumper as he buys a Mandarin.
... putting a Gold and a Silver back on the deck (in some order).
(Young Nick drains the jumper as he draws: a Gold, 2 Silvers, and 2 Coppers.)
The Mandarin purchase pays off as well as it could, as long as my opponent can't muster the final Estate and 3-pile. Fittingly, he had just $1 and did nothing as I bought the last Province for a stunning come-from-behind victory.
PPE: Yeah, I guess buying that penultimate Estate didn't help me at all, seeing as I needed the Province either way and it could have allowed for the 3-pile loss, but that is not the point. The point is using Mandarin effectively and super-cycling to win the Curse split.