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[zahlman]

http://dominion.isotropic.org/gamelog/201211/01/game-20121101-231311-02f94423.html

Key cards: everything?

I saw Duchy and Duke and Feast and University and Alchemist, and figured I could put all those pieces together to do Duchy-Duke. But nothing worked. He got more money, he got more of the Alchs with a second potion (and they stacked consistently), he seemed never to get slowed down by greening while I did, the Trading Post hardly did anything for me, etc. etc. etc. Everything about it was absolutely infuriating.

(Edit: and of course it figures that the very next game also features Alchemists, but also no trashing and no +Buy... oh, and also Outpost. Should be an incredibly boring mirror, right? So I think, I've learned my lesson, and make sure to get two Potions early this time and not try anything fancy, but I lose anyway despite going first... he just keeps managing to stack the Alchs and play Outpost while none of it ever comes together for me except for like one turn where I randomly have $16pp... I'm getting really incredibly frustrated with this sort of thing.)

[dondon151]

1. Don't go for Dukes on a Colony board (in general), or you'll have a bad time
2. This is a great Alchemist engine board. Trading Post thins your deck and gives you coin in the form of Silvers, Worker's Villages give +buy and +action, and Island sets aside your Colony so that your engine doesn't gum up. That should be overwhelmingly dominant here. Get a second Potion to increase consistency of the Alchemist stack, pick up a Salvager and a couple of WVs, then salvage your second Potion and Trading Post once you can reliably draw nearly your entire deck.

[-Stef-]

Also: don't underestimate the bad luck you have here.

You put your two opening cards on the bottom, and then on t5 you finally get the potion and don't even draw $2 with it.
I'm not saying everything is lost at this point, but you are behind by a lot. You'd have to seriously outplay your opponent to get back from something like this and that didn't happen.

On the overall strategy I agree with dondons plan, although second potion wouldn't be a must for me, and university a viable option. Depends a bit on the draws I get.
Gold is better then Harem in this plan, and your harem buy on t9 is the first one I disagree with.

[DG]

I'd agree with the previous comments. Also add a worker's village, potion, or even salvager instead of the island on turn 7. Again with the island, you didn't need to use it on turn 10 so that would have given you an extra alchemist.

[dondon151]

On the overall strategy I agree with dondons plan, although second potion wouldn't be a must for me, and university a viable option. Depends a bit on the draws I get.

I tried eschewing the second Potion, but you pick up Alchemists slower as a result and also topdeck them less frequently during your build-up phase, which slows you down by a substantial amount. Once you don't need the second Potion anymore, salvage it and buy something nicer.

University is something that I hadn't thought about earlier. It's good for picking up Islands.

[-Stef-]

I just tried quite some single player sample games on this set.

* Lots of variance. (as expected with potions)

* In general, I don't like the second potion. Any of Trade Route/Salvager/Trading Post will help adding consistency fast enough.

* Opening trade route/potion is really great if you can get an alchemist on your second shuffle.
 success -> You do not need a second potion, in fact it hurts more then it helps.
 failure -> This deck kind of breaks down. Adding university hurts more on hitting $3P, and adding silvers is the opposite of what you want. If you're forced to add silver, second potion becomes more viable.

* An opponent 'enabling' the trade route by buying any green card solves all problems the previous deck might have. Which means I don't want to be that opponent.

* If I'd play this set now 2 player, I would open silver/potion. Getting the alchemist next shuffle is important enough. Also it gives me a reasonable chance at $5 for a trading post or $4 for a Salvager as second buy.

After a 5/2 opening (Trading Post) it works out just fine with a potion on second shuffle.

[timchen]

Was trying to say that potion+trade route is a bit questionable, but Stef said it all.

[eHalcyon]

Question: is Trading Post all that useful if trying for Duchy/Duke?  My intuition says no, but I'm not sure.

[DG]

Trading post will suit duchy/duke when your deck is under some attack, such as ambassador or cursing, and is frequently a good opening card regardless of the continuation. This isn't a duchy/duke kingdom though.

[Titandrake]

I'd think that Duchy/Duke might not necessarily like Trading Post. At first it's good because you're turning dead cards (Estates) into money. But then, Trading Post condenses your existing Copper into Silvers, which is bad for consistently getting $5 while buying lots of Duchies.

So as DG said, if you're under attack, the "dead card" phase is a lot longer, so it works out better. It could also work if you play Trading Post a bit weirdly and don't try to trash all your Coppers, but don't quote me on that.

Edit: If there's +Buy and you're picking up Coppers on the side, then you shouldn't worry about overtrashing copper