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[Kirian]

Click Here for the Tournament Spreadsheet

Round 5 of GokoDom I is here.

How to Play Your Match

1. Go to the spreadsheet and find your name.  Your opponent for this round is right next to your name.  PM that person and work out an agreeable time to play, and choose a room to meet in--I suggest something unlikely to be crowded. Match Results are due no later than Monday 20 May 2013 at 1200 GMT -- 0800 EDT -- 0500 PDT.

2. The player with the most sets will host each game using random cards in Unrated mode.  That player should also take responsibility for saving game logs.

3. The first player for the first game will be decided randomly by Goko.

4. The player who lost the previous game will be the first player for the next game.  This may require you to resign/restart a game.  In Unrated mode, it doesn't matter who resigns.

5. If a game was tied, the player who was the second player in the tie game will be the first player in the next game.

6. Play a minimum of three games, and a maximum of six games, based on the next section.  If any game was a tie, the sixth game will be played.

How to Score Your Match

1. The following situations automatically settle the match:

A. Player A has three wins after 3 or 4 games.  Player A wins.
B. After six games, neither player has won three games.  The match is a draw.

2. If, after 5 games, the match is 3-2, then:

A. If the leader played the first game, win or loss, as the second player, the match is over, and that player wins.
B. If the leader played the first game, win or loss, as the first player, play a sixth game, with the leader as the second player.  If the leader wins or ties that game, he wins the match; otherwise the match ends in a draw.

How to Post Your Match

In this thread, make a post that includes links to your game logs, the final score, and the winner and loser of the match.

You must post your results by the deadline listed above.

What If We Can't Figure Out a Time?

There are two situations here:

If you have sent a PM to your opponent, but they have not responded to two separate PMs, send me a PM.  If they do not respond, you will be awarded a win by default.
If both players are in contact but are unable to find a mutually agreeable time, both players should send me PMs; both players will receive a draw by default.

[SCSN]

Have you explained somewhere what all the different columns mean?

[Kirian]

Have you explained somewhere what all the different columns mean?

I have, but I can do so quickly again.

The "Opp" column should be self-explanatory; it records the opponent's ID each round.
"Score" is your score for that round: 2, 1, or 0.
"Total" is your total score for all rounds up to that one.  Maximum is 10 after five rounds.
"SRd" is your partial Solkoff score for that round: the total score of your opponent at the end of that round.
"Solk" is the total Solkoff score: the sum of your opponents' scores during the tournament.  It is the first tie-breaker.
"Cumul" is your cumulative score: your score after round 1, added to your score after round 2, etc.  It is the second tie-breaker.

Edit: Oh, and "Order" is the ordering parameter after including tie-breakers:  Score*10000 + Solkoff*100 + Cumulative

[soulnet]

Is this the last Swiss round or is there going to be one more? I reviewed other posts in this forum but could not find a definitive answer, and the FAQ says "five or six".

On another note, I've seen several people changed the rules a little bit for their match. I think this is ok, but it would be nice to record somewhere (like the OP, or the FAQ or the Rules and Regulations post) that if players agree, they may change other things about the match, like total number of games or starting player regulation. In particular, for next tournaments, I think it would be important to decide about ties.

There is a bunch of people that may get into the knockout phase with a win but not with a tie, and they are most likely paired against each other, so they would rather have a system that has really low probability of producing a tie instead of the default one (like, play more matches, not count ties, flip coins as tie-breaker or have a sudden-death match with a random player starting, etc). I'm not suggesting this should be done, and I'm not doing it myself (although, I think it is really unlikely that I get into the knockout even if I win, but I'm no expert on understanding the tie breakers and did not take the time to do it) but it should be addressed for next time. I think if the default system has really low probability of producing ties (or even, forbids ties) this can be workarounded and it would be best for the tournament overall (if there are some ties, but a really low number of them, the odd-point buckets will have really few people in them and it will be hard to make the pairings, especially with the additional "all sets" considerations that are needed).

[Robz888]

/tag

[SCSN]

I think this is ok, but it would be nice to record somewhere (like the OP, or the FAQ or the Rules and Regulations post) that if players agree, they may change other things about the match, like total number of games or starting player regulation.

Changing the number of games is definitely not ok. As an example: both my opponent and I will make it to the knock-out with a win, but probably not in case of a tie, so it's in both our interest to increase the number of games, thereby making a tie less likely. However, by doing so we harm the person that would have made it to the knock-out in case we tied.

[soulnet]

FWIW, the only change I've played with in one match was deciding the first player randomly in each game, so we could play Pro. I think the hosts also made some ruling as to how to overcome the Colony problem, but I said I was fine in any case and trusted them. And I agree with SheCantSayNo, of course, I just think something should be decided for this time, and also, pointing out that for the next tournament we should polish the rules on that regard. I would go with a "no ties" rule for next tournament, seems easier.

[Kirian]

Yes, this is the last round: the FAQ says "five or six" because the FAQ is intended to be around for a while.

In general, the only thing players are allowed to change is Pro vs. Casual--and even that stipulation is probably going to get removed next season, as we're likely to move to a different match structure.  In Isodom, the only changes allowed were the use of Veto mode and the VP tracker.

That said, the entire point of a Swiss system is that it can handle ties better than other systems.  In fact, next season we're going to be more likely to see ties more often.  This isn't a bad thing; ties are an inherent part of any tournament.  Switching to a no-tie round in the final round or whatever goes against the spirit of the Swiss system, and also effects some people more than others--in particular, those who had ties in earlier rounds.  Consider that if everyone who currently has 6 points ties (extremely unlikely, but we're working on hypotheticals here), then players who currently have 5 points and win their match suddenly have a shot at the top seat.

The reason we won't use a sudden-death system is that pesky first-player advantage again.  I'm likely to switch to a mandatory even-game match for next season.  In that system, it's possible that a tie-breaker could literally take forever.  That's not terrible in a knockout round, but isn't great in a Swiss round.

[mail-mi]

Yay base!

[soulnet]

soulnet wins 3-0-1 against florrat

soulnet 43 - 30 florrat
http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130514/log.510876c7e4b0ac7a7a0bb212.1368566138341.txt
Storeroom, Tunnel, Familiar, Navigator, Scout, Hagglader, Rogue, Saboteur, Witch, Bank, Copper, Silver, Gold, Estate, Duchy, Province, Curse, Potion

Double Witch for both, with two 5/2 openings, but then I pick up Storeroom while he goes with straight money, and I get Tunnels early. Even when they never collide, the Storerrom proves worthy in my high variance deck, like a better double-Cellar, and I can keep up with the Provinces despite the early greening to mantain the advantage to the end. I also got better luck, as he kept drawing 7 and I have 6s and the 8 a lot.

florrat 34 - 43 soulnet
http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130514/log.510876c7e4b0ac7a7a0bb212.1368566933970.txt
Chapel, Develop, Caravan, Gardens, Highway, Hunting Party, Mint, Rabble, Torturer, Harem, Copper, Silver, Gold, Estate, Duchy, Province, Curse

My 5/2 was better here, with HP accelerating the Chapeling and providing better support for the Duchy dancing. Also, I only need one Gold with the HP, so I can start early on the Harems and get an advantage that proves crucial when the Provinces run low. All in all, I got a couple of crappy hands and HPs missing the reshuffle just to get to the Duchy, but then break PPR in just the right time (mostly due to luck) and steal the win (I think now I should just kept Duchy dancing, because my deck seemed more resilient than his).

florrat 29 - 29 soulnet
http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130514/log.510876c7e4b0ac7a7a0bb212.1368567757170.txt
Courtyard, Hermit, Swindler, Remake, Embassy, Pillage, Saboteur, Stables, Harem, Possession, Copper, Silver, Gold, Estate, Duchy, Province, Curse, Potion

Pretty straightforward BM game with support. We both open Remake, but he supports it with Swindler and Stables and I go the Courtyard route, because, well, BM. We more or less go straight into the tie, splitting the Provinces. In retrospect, Courtyard was better overall, but I get stuck on my $5s a lot, and Stables end up being good for him and so so for me. Not really sure if this could have been done any better for neither.

soulnet 11 - 9 florrat
http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130514/log.510876c7e4b0ac7a7a0bb212.1368568994238.txt
Haven, Moat*, Woodcutter, Coppersmith, Marauder, Moneylender, Young Witch, Bazaar, Minion, Goons, Harem, Copper, Silver, Gold, Estate, Duchy, Province, Curse, Ruins

Attack heavy game, so we both open YW and invest on Moats, complementing with Minions and later Goons. I get a Marauder that was a clear mistake, but otherwise, get more 6s and therefore more Goons and accumulate VP chips and accelerate the inevitable 3-piling just in time before he can overcome my VP advantage with VP cards.

[gman314]

D Bo beats gman314 3 - 1

http://dominionlogs.goko.com//20130514/log.505e26a6a2e6fa3316de1578.1368579035642.txt gman314

http://dominionlogs.goko.com//20130514/log.505e26a6a2e6fa3316de1578.1368579411995.txt D Bo

http://dominionlogs.goko.com//20130514/log.505e26a6a2e6fa3316de1578.1368580005690.txt D Bo

http://dominionlogs.goko.com//20130514/log.505e26a6a2e6fa3316de1578.1368580606632.txt D Bo

[D Bo]

D Bo defeats gman314 3-1

gman314 27-24
http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130514/log.505e26a6a2e6fa3316de1578.1368579035642.txt
I wanted to go with Fishing Village and draw (Embassy/Smithy) but kind of trashed too with Count and just ended up being caught in the middle. Gman wisely picks up a Salvager and accelerates the end game a bit with a nice province trash into 3 duchies on one turn.


D Bo 39-22
http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130514/log.505e26a6a2e6fa3316de1578.1368579411995.txt
I got for Death Cart/Vault/BM and get very lucky with my Death Cart lining up with actions on several turns. Gman starts working up an engine but it just takes a bit too long to get off the ground and I'm able to hold on before he can make it up.

D Bo 37-37 (on turns)
http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130514/log.505e26a6a2e6fa3316de1578.1368580005690.txt
Interesting mirror match essentially, with us splitting the Nobles, going with a single Masquerade, and picking up Festivals and Crossroads for help. I thought gman's Storeroom was actually a decent buy and I should've picked one up myself. I got very lucky being second player when gman bought out the last province - I actually thought he took the lead there but I clearly can't count.

D Bo 42-33
http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130514/log.505e26a6a2e6fa3316de1578.1368580606632.txt
This board didn't seem like much to me so I just went with the simple Alchemist stack. In my last round I got burnt by the extra Bishop points, so I decided to invest in one this time. Got very lucky on my second to last turn because I forgot to play my Counterfeit before treasure...but it still worked out.

Thanks for the games gman! It's been a pleasure to play all of my opponents throughout this tourney. Would've loved to have played better but such is life. At least it's always fun to play Dominion! Good luck to those that make the finals.

[kn1tt3r]

Green Opal vs. kn1tter - 2:3 (plus one draw)

Video:
Log: http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130515/log.505c84d751c3249282789115.1368638247419.txt
Some nice little engine board around Smithy, Bandit Camp, Market, Ironmonger, and Urchin/Mercenary. It's quite an interesting question how to open here. Green Opal has a better start and got his Mercenary first, but at some point I catch up and have the better deck in the end. On my last turn I needed to take the chance to trash a Province with my Mercenary, but I had quite a good feeling about my deck quality, and it turned out well.

Video:
Log: http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130515/log.505c84d751c3249282789115.1368638701958.txt
Rebuild/Tunnel. I probably didn't play perfectly (I seldom do with Rebuild), but I also have horrible luck and cannot activate Tunnel even once with my Rebuild. Very clear win for Green Opal.

Video:
Log: http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130515/log.505c84d751c3249282789115.1368639483876.txt
Jack. I decide to play basically pure Jack with some mild Scheme support, Green Opal tries to go for Grand Markets (with Moneylender), which I don't really believe in here. After several 7$ hands I'm somewhat with my back against the wall, especially because his Fairgrounds (probably the only reason to make Grand Markets viable) are really helping him. In the end it's very close, I have to break PPR, and with a lucky last 8$ hand I pull out the win.

Video:
Log: http://dominionlogs.goko.com/20130515/log.505c84d751c3249282789115.1368639902406.txt
What stands out here is Moneylender/Venture. We basically go for that both, but he also tries to do some Alchemist thing, which I don't like here at all. Probably I need to buy Venture over Gold earlier, and my Venture on turn 12 should have been a Duchy already, but my major mistake was the Trader I got at some point. That's probably what cost me the game, and I can only take the tie.

Video:
Log: http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130515/log.505c84d751c3249282789115.1368640992657.txt
This one's interesting, because on first glance there's not a lot going on. I do see the University/Graverobber thing, but I don't really believe it would be possible to get it going (I also babble something about pulling Graverobbers out of the trash myself in case he goes for this strategy, but that of course never happened). So he spams Universites and Graverobbers, I go for some Alchemist thing. In the end it's very close, but he can pull it off and win. Nicely done.

Video:
Log: http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130515/log.505c84d751c3249282789115.1368642357367.txt
The final game was also very interesting (and complicated) and extremely close. The engine based on University is obvious. There is Torturer, but also tons of counters to it. In the end we both play basically the same thing, which is something around Native Villages, Universitey, Watchtowers, Torturers and Monuments. On my final turn I take quite a risk in trying to 3-pile and buy enough VP to win, but I was rather confident that my Upgrades would draw something useful. Luckily for me it worked out and I can end it with a win.

[RTT]

RTT wins against Emeric 3-1

http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130515/log.5063625f0cf2b1ff4173dbab.1368647256217.txt RTT wins 22-19

pretty boring IGG board. I go with smithy and he starts with Horse trader. we split Curses 6-4 in my favor and my smithy helps me to get 2 Provinces instead of his 1. 3rd pile to empty where duchys. He had a unlucky 7$ in his last round and had to go for the second last duchy. I could buy the last for the win

http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130515/log.5063625f0cf2b1ff4173dbab.1368647668673.txt RTT wins 39-27
BM Board where we both go for bureaocrat. i add a proccesions and a council room to that and get 5 provinces with a few good timed and lucky 8$ hands in the end of the game.


http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130515/log.5063625f0cf2b1ff4173dbab.1368648282397.txt Emeric wins 78-66
colony board with grand market and treasury. I got more platinums therefor he buys more treasurys and GM. we both add a Smithy and a few Hamlets. Seems Like GM are stronger than Platinums =) He took away a solid win.

http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130515/log.5063625f0cf2b1ff4173dbab.1368648841200.txt RTT wins 38 - 17
That was the most interesting board. I open with silver and he buys Noble Brigand and hits my silver imidiatly. I cancel my plan to open caravan and hope for a lucky NB myself and yep I get my Silver back. then we both go for Border Vilages and Laboratorys and Expand with an Inn to reshuffle and get more actions. he bought a few Festivals while I empty the Laboratory and split them 7-3. with the help of the draw i connect more targets for the expand and got even a tripple Province turn in which i trash my own Province while ahead.

ThanKs for the Games Emeric it was fun even besides the mostly uninteresting boards.

[werothegreat]

I lose 3-0 to hsiale.

http://dominionlogs.goko.com//20130515/log.50893139a2e67cff211cd7e5.1368656018674.txt
http://dominionlogs.goko.com//20130515/log.50893139a2e67cff211cd7e5.1368656559930.txt
http://dominionlogs.goko.com//20130515/log.50893139a2e67cff211cd7e5.1368657189851.txt

[hsiale]

hsiale 3-0 werothegreat

http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130515/log.50893139a2e67cff211cd7e5.1368656018674.txt
Going first and opening 5/2 on a Minion board was huge help, I ended up winning Minion split 7-3. Additionally I used Vagrants to fight greening, Loan to get rid of most treasure and Market Square for +buy - used it only once IIRC, but it was to buy last two Minions.

http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130515/log.50893139a2e67cff211cd7e5.1368656559930.txt
His opening of double Hermit made me double check if there's Market Square on the board. He got two Madmen turn 4 and used them to get two Provinces turn 5 and 6, while I was trying to build a Rabble engine which ended up more as Rabble BM. We both stalled late game and started buying any green we could afford with me leading Province split 4-3, finally he used one more Madman to get the last Province but was 8 points behind.

http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130515/log.50893139a2e67cff211cd7e5.1368657189851.txt
I went Squire/Tournament while he tried Squire/Bridge into Tournaments. I managed to be faster to first Province and take Followers, from then things became easy for me, I got enough lead so I could buy out last Squire, Tournament and a few Caravans to end the game.

[andwilk]

andwilk 3-0 liopoil

44-14: http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130515/log.50d27829e4b00e9b124212b1.1368659493027.txt
My Wharf/FV/Fool's Gold engine was way too fast compared to anything else on the board.  My opponent tried something with Scrying Pool that couldn't keep up.

20-36: http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130515/log.50d27829e4b00e9b124212b1.1368660498591.txt
Some heavy attacks here: Familiar, Marauder, and Amabassador.  I open Lighthouse/Ambassador vs. Silver/Potion and I really never get affected by the attacks.  After thinning my deck, a small army of Alchemists allow me to draw my deck or close to it for a Province each turn from turn 16-21.

38-55: http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130515/log.50d27829e4b00e9b124212b1.1368661156483.txt
Basically BM+ with Jack and Courtyard.  He gets unlucky with his first Jack and doesn't draw an Estate to trash and that probably is the difference here.

[jsh357]

jsh357 vs 17and3buys

jsh wins 3-1

Game 1

http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130515/log.505c6645a2e6c78ad2ed5ad3.1368662917055.txt
jsh357 26 17and3buys 51

Game 2

http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130515/log.505c6645a2e6c78ad2ed5ad3.1368663776602.txt
jsh357 45 17and3buys 25

Game 3

http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130515/log.505c6645a2e6c78ad2ed5ad3.1368664172066.txt
jsh357 46 17and3buys 29

Game 4

http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130515/log.505c6645a2e6c78ad2ed5ad3.1368664869145.txt
jsh357 222 17and3buys 25

[AdamH]

Polk5440 over AdamH 3-2

Video Playlist link:

Game 1: AdamH 44, Polk5440 23
Video link:
Game Log: http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130515/log.5085f5130cf270038ff92212.1368664030572.txt
Kingdom Cards: Vineyard, Sage, Alchemist, Ironworks, Nomad Camp, Festival, Graverobber, Mint, Border Village, Grand Market

In my opinion, the most interesting kingdom of the match.

Vineyards and tons of support here. The only draw is Alchemist and the only trashing (besides Graverobber) is Mint, so both of them play a crucial role despite the fact that they don't really play well together.

Some interesting tactical choices for me -- I buy Alchemist over Grand Market until all the Alchemists are gone, and I aim to use Mint for thinning (I end up buying two of them). This plus a second potion for me (along with an unfortunate $2P turn for him) lead to a 7-3 Alchemist split and my deck being thinner, and the game is pretty much over from there even though he still manages to pick up 4 Vineyards.

Game 2: Polk5440 65, AdamH 57
Video link:
Game Log: http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130515/log.5085f5130cf270038ff92212.1368665424236.txt
Kingdom Cards: Shelters, Colony, Vineyard, Apothecary, Develop, Armory, Contraband, Counting House, Mountebank, Venture, Goons, Grand Market -- with Platinum/Colony and Shelters

I try (relatively unsuccessfully) to get some Apothecaries. We each get two Mountebanks, and I get some Goons, too. On five he opts for Ventures, which I think in the end is what cost him with all those Coppers flying around, even though he is somehow able to get 6 -- six!! -- Platinums. I opt for a Contraband once I have enough terminal actions. Late I also pick up two Counting Houses. Why two? I can always count on the first one being drawn on a reshuffle. My last turn is Counting House, Contraband (Colonies blocked), then two Provinces for the win. That's right. Counting House-Contraband is a thing now.

I didn't particularly like the Apothecaries (because a Potion opening is bad for getting to Mountebanks), but I don't think they ended up being that bad for you -- your $1P turns were bad for you (shoulda had a Silver?). I also didn't like your Contraband since this was a money-based game, but I hadn't seen the absolute powerhouse combo that is Counting House/Contraband

I got Ventures on $5 because I wanted Silver and Venture is Strictly Better™. With more of a focus on money I'm not surprised I was able to get a better economy. With $11 in hand I mistakenly observed PCR, even though I feel like I was better set up for a long game; then with $8 I (correctly, I think) observed PPR.

I could whine about the fact that some of my six Platinums really should have been Colonies and that your Colony turns really shouldn't have happened (I think two of them were pretty lucky), but you make your own shuffle luck.

Game 3: AdamH 35, Polk5440 49
Video link:
Game Log: http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130515/log.5085f5130cf270038ff92212.1368666395869.txt
Kingdom Cards: Smugglers, Swindler, Urchin, Philosopher's Stone, Coppersmith, Island, Nomad Camp, Jester, Harem, Hoard

I don't want to count the number of times I hit $7 here, and I don't want to think about Hoards missing reshuffles. But he plays well, takes a lead, and doesn't give me a window to get back in.

Game 4: AdamH 31, Polk5440 28
Video link:
Game Log: http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130515/log.5085f5130cf270038ff92212.1368668184410.txt
Kingdom Cards: Courtyard, Workshop, Ironmonger, Procession, Scout, Council Room, Explorer, Haggler, Nobles, King's Court -- with Shelters

This game was intense; an emotional roller coaster for me, since this was a must-win game and I was hopelessly behind for all but the last ten seconds.

I actually really dislike games like this (and I think this is the reason people dislike King's Court, even though I don't). KC and tons of fireworks, but no trashing, so good luck connecting with your targets. Usually the first person to King something good rockets ahead and doesn't look back while their opponent flounders around; building what is quite possibly a good deck, but one that can never connect KC with anything; and cries into his pillow.

Interesting that Council Room is the only legit +Buy on the board, even though there are tons of gainers. If you manage to kick off, you have to guess how many buys you want and make sure you play exactly that many CRs, because every extra card you give your opponent makes it that much more likely for them to kick off themselves.

He opens Procession, which I don't like, but I don't like opening double Swindler so yeah. I focus on getting some money because you need that to get King's Courts (and you need money in your deck to eventually do stuff) and he focuses on piling Ironmongers. I actually think this was crucial to his early lead -- he builds action density and gets a ton of Courtyards to go with them and can set up sort of a mini-draw engine.

I get to KC first, but he collides Procession and Nobles to get one of his own and he connects his KC first, beginning the snowball. I think the Procession+Nobles collision might have been lucky but he set up his deck well here. He jumps out to a HUGE lead getting 4 Provinces and a million King's Courts, while I sit and spin and manage to grab one Province and two (I think) KCs.

Then it happens...

Late, I have a big turn and decide to leave 3 provinces in the supply instead of 4. The odds are with me, I think, but it is not to be. Thinking about this later, if I had not Processed my first Haggler earlier in the game, piles might have been low enough for me to empty piles on my last turn.

He's got a 4-1 lead on Provinces, plus two Nobles, while I have an Estate I bought just so I could trash my Hovel. I kick off and draw almost all of my deck, and after a KC+Procession-> CR into Nobles, Workshop, Haggler into Nobles, I'm left with $24 in my hand, 4 buys, and one action left. I agonize for about 5 minutes trying to think of a way I can end it with a win, and could only tie on points and lose on turns; but for some reason I thought I only Procession-ed into one extra Nobles. After resigning myself to not being able to win this turn, I decide the best move is to play a Courtyard, seed my next hand, buy as much green as I can and hang on to the small thread of hope I have left.

I've never been so happy to draw two dead Nobles.

...due to good counting, Adam extends the match.

I lol-ed.

Game 5: Polk5440 33, AdamH 22
Video link:
Game Log: http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130515/log.5085f5130cf270038ff92212.1368669295903.txt
Kingdom Cards: Fool's Gold, Pawn, Scheme, Armory, Baron, Monument, Worker's Village, Jester, Border Village, Expand

Anticlimactic.

So it all comes down to Baron+FG, eh? Ugh. Lots of Baron without Estate, and lots of $7 hands for me might seem like bad luck, but his BV+Monument shenanigans had to have been better than my focus on money endgame. Nice win.


Thanks for the games, Polk. It's nice to play a high-stakes match against a high-level opponent, it's the reason why I play in these tournaments.

[Polk5440]

What a close match! Thanks for the games, Adam. I am looking forward to watching the videos and hearing your side of things.

Here's a few of my thoughts on the games:

Game 1

http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130515/log.5085f5130cf270038ff92212.1368664030572.txt

Vineyard, Sage, Alchemist, Ironworks, Nomad Camp, Festival, Graverobber, Mint, Border Village, Grand Market

I am grouchy this game and play the perfect antagonist (for a while, anyway) in Adam's videos.

Adam goes first. Well, it just had to be Alchemist into Vineyard here, right? The trick is getting that stack going and when/if to thin your coppers out by buying Mint. Adam is able to do that and buy a second Potion before I do. Once I get really far behind I get desperate and try to resurrect my chances with Graverobber. It doesn't work. He wins the Alchemist split by a mile and then the game.

Game 2

http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130515/log.5085f5130cf270038ff92212.1368665424236.txt

Shelters, Colony, Vineyard, Apothecary, Develop, Armory, Contraband, Counting House, Mountebank, Venture, Goons, Grand Market

I try (relatively unsuccessfully) to get some Apothecaries. We each get two Mountebanks, and I get some Goons, too. On five he opts for Ventures, which I think in the end is what cost him with all those Coppers flying around, even though he is somehow able to get 6 -- six!! -- Platinums. I opt for a Contraband once I have enough terminal actions. Late I also pick up two Counting Houses. Why two? I can always count on the first one being drawn on a reshuffle. My last turn is Counting House, Contraband (Colonies blocked), then two Provinces for the win. That's right. Counting House-Contraband is a thing now.

Game 3

http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130515/log.5085f5130cf270038ff92212.1368666395869.txt

Smugglers, Swindler, Urchin, Philosopher's Stone, Coppersmith, Island, Nomad Camp, Jester, Harem, Hoard

We both open double Swindler. I hit Estates twice in a row. Bah humbug. But then it gets better. I go for Hoards as soon as I can with Island and Harem on the board. We each get a Jester later. I seem to hit $6 with Hoard more often than him, so the Harems and Golds gave my deck more staying power. I win this one comfortably. 

Game 4

http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130515/log.5085f5130cf270038ff92212.1368668184410.txt

Courtyard, Workshop, Ironmonger, Procession, Scout, Council Room, Explorer, Haggler, Nobles, King's Court

Now this was a game!!!

Knowing I can win the match here, and playing second player, I decide to open Procession-Workshop with the hope of luckily drawing them together. Processing a Necropolis into a Courtyard wouldn't be so bad, either. I get Procession-Workshop on the reshuffle. I like Ironmonger a lot, functioning as a village until KCs are in my deck, and Processing a Workshop gets me three of them. Haggler and KC and Nobles and Council Room and Courtyard. All sorts of stuff to gain lots of actions and go for a megaturn. I think because of all the Ironmongers I get an early lead.

Late, I have a big turn and decide to leave 3 provinces in the supply instead of 4. The odds are with me, I think, but it is not to be. Thinking about this later, if I had not Processed my first Haggler earlier in the game, piles might have been low enough for me to empty piles on my last turn.

This was a very tactical game and due to good counting, Adam extends the match.

Game 5

http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130515/log.5085f5130cf270038ff92212.1368669295903.txt

Fool's Gold, Pawn, Scheme, Armory, Baron, Monument, Worker's Village, Jester, Border Village, Expand

Baron-Fool's Gold for both of us early. What to do late, that's the question. The Fool's Golds need to be converted to Gold or drawn together, and I suspect that will not be so easily done with all those coppers and light drawing. We both grab an Expand. I go Border Village-Monument-Scheme, which I felt very good about. I build a points lead, thanks in part to Monument, then am able to end the game.

My luck was atrocious early, but steadily got better as the match progressed. I feel like I was most lucky in the last game where it really counted, always drawing Baron with an Estate.

Thanks again Adam for the games. It was fun!

[Green Opal]

Thanks for the games Kn1tt3r, was a good set. Only thing I really feel the need to add is the horrible misclick in turn 14 of the final game (playing watchtower as final action with university native village 2x monument in hand) which could well have swinged it. Was still a very close and well-fought match so don't feel that put out by it though.

[SCSN]

SheCantSayNo - Joseph2302: 3 - 0

http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130516/log.505d732a51c359e6597efeb8.1368695893475.txt
Squire, Great Hall, Village, Ironmonger, Nomad Camp, Tribute, Venture, Witch, Adventurer, Farmland

I get lucky early on, opening Nomad Camp/Witch and playing Witch on T3. But then I don't play my Witch again until T7, where it not only triggers a reshuffle, but also draws my second Witch dead, and I end up losing the curse split 6-4. Yet I manage to win the close game on a 3-pile ending (Curses, Estates, Farmlands), I think because Joseph Farmlanded Curses into Squires on T17 and T18, which I think should have been Estates.

http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130516/log.505d732a51c359e6597efeb8.1368696266438.txt
Fortune Teller, Menagerie, Trade Route, Philosopher's Stone, Noble Brigand, Salvager, Scout, Bazaar, Duke, Forge

Noble Brigand is supposed to somewhat negate 2nd player disadvantage, so I open Silver/NB, which pays off when I hit on T3 his freshly bought Gold. He buys a Province on T7, while I intend to go for Duchy/Duke, buying Duchies on T7, T8 and T9. He follows, and on T10 he Salvages his Province and buys 2 Duchies, which we end up splitting 4-4. In the end-game I manage to get a Province by Salvaging a Gold (+6VP), whereas he gets 2 by Salvaging 2 Dukes (which were worth 4VP each, so he nets +4VP), which, together with him Salvaging more of his starting Estates, gives me the edge as we empty the Estate pile.

http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130516/log.505d732a51c359e6597efeb8.1368696785062.txt
Transmute, Moat, Secret Chamber, Menagerie, Watchtower, JackOfAllTrades, Cartographer, Count, Venture, Harem

We both open Jack/Silver, he gets a second Jack and Venture on T3/4 while I get Gold/nothing. On T5 he buys another Venture while I get my second Jack. Then he buys a third Jack on T6 which I definitely think is overkill, as the slightly more Silvers you'll gain don't weigh up against the increased terminal collision. Joseph also gets Cartographers on T12 & 13, which I don't like as they don't do too much for him here and those are two more cards that can potentially be drawn dead by one of his 3 Jacks. On T14 I buy the penultimate Province so that I'd win on turns if he bought the last one on T15. But he can only buy an Estate while I do have enough for the last Province.

Thanks for the games, Joseph, you played well and the games were closer than a 3-0 score would indicate.

[Joseph2302]

Thanks for the games, they were definitely good, close games.

Game :1 I think we both had varying luck (good and bad), which made it close.
Game 2: my Duchy/Duke/Province strategy was definitely a bit messed up, so I deserved to lose- think the Estate/Squire thing didn't end up mattering (lost by 4, and only didn't take estates twice).
Game 3: Not sure why I bought Cartographers, I kind of felt I was behind at that stage and tried to do something different (and useful), duchies probably would have been better.

Nevertheless, good games, and good luck for the rest of the tournament.

[Qvist]

Last game for me of this tournament against AHoppy where the interesting and boring games alternated. I won 3-1
Video:



Game 1: 5/2 on an Ambassador board doesn't look so good, but there's Trading Post. I opened TP / Courtyard, bought only money and one Laboratory. With lucky draws I could soon get a Province each turn while he was still building. He couldn't catch up with his much better deck.

Game 2: I'm still not sure about this board. With Courtyard, Scavenger and Oracle and only Pillage as Attack you could easily play BM here. But I tried the engine with King's Court and the only buy being Storeroom (and Talisman as gainer for all the cheap engine pieces). I did fall behind pretty fast as I couldn't draw a village with a KC in hand very often. I got 2 pretty big turns, but it was still close. With 2 Provinces left and him being 2 points in the lead I opted to buy Province and gain Duchy with Feast as I was pretty confident he couldn't mirror that and win. But he got a pretty good turn and also got the +Buy in Storeroom, so I lost by 2 points.

Game 3: Goons+BM basically. I used Scavenger to get there early and Royal Seals to play them earlier. He did buy more Action cards which was way slower. Boring game in general, with lucky draws on my part as I never drew 2 Goons together.

Game 4: Here again an interesting board. Pretty strong Double Tactician / Conspirator board with Sage, Village, Warehouse for Conspirator support and Horse Traders and Scavenger (yes 3 games in a row with Scavenger) with virtual coins. But there's Witch too. So I decided to buy a Witch first, get a few Warehouses to cycle faster to play Witch more often, got a Tactician and then built up the engine. AHoppy played more money based with a couple of Actions mixed in. This worked out really good for me until I noticed too late that I have no actions over in one turn to play the Tactician. But I could get another Tactician turn before he could catch up in which I could win.



Thanks AHoppy for the series. Good luck in the next tournament.

[Rabid]

Mic Q wins 4 to 2 against Rabid

Game 2
http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130516/log.51201cbee4b04e88c8da4f9a.1368738698940.txt
Chapel Witch board, early shuffle luck win.

[RTT]

Mic Q wins 4 to 2 against Rabid

Game 2
http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130516/log.51201cbee4b04e88c8da4f9a.1368738698940.txt
Chapel Witch board, early shuffle luck win.

was that pure base? but where does the Nobles come from?

[Mic Qsenoch]

It's the moment you've all been waiting for, the Base set (plus Haven, Hoard, Nobles) match you've been dying to see. We're here to prove that Base (with help) Dominion is a rich game with diverging strategies complex engines. Maybe...

Mic Qsenoch wins 4-2 over Rabid

Game 1: http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130516/log.51201cbee4b04e88c8da4f9a.1368738286584.txt

I open 5/2 on a pretty good board for it and go with Festival/Haven. I want to build an engine. My opponent opts for Smithy BM. He plays a Smithy on every turn from 4-10! So he's collected a good chunk of green. Fortunately Nobles is available so I can build and not fall too far behind on points. His early luck disappears and he hits $7 a few too many times. I come back with a couple of double province turns and win with help from my first player advantage. I'm a little dubious on whether Council Room is right for my deck, it draws a lot but could have shortened the game too much for me to overcome the VP deficit. There is other draw available from Smithy/Nobles/Throne Room so the deck can be built without it (but will it be as consistent?). I think Rabid probably picked up too many Nobles over Gold here, but not sure.

Game 2: http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130516/log.51201cbee4b04e88c8da4f9a.1368738698940.txt

We both open Chapel/Silver. Rabid and I have a contest to see who draws worse in the first reshuffle. He goes for drawing Chapel with CCCS. I one up him with both Chapel and Silver missing the shuffle. I make the mistake of buying one too many Silver over Villages. He is able to clean up his deck and bury me.

Game 3: http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130516/log.51201cbee4b04e88c8da4f9a.1368739298212.txt

He goes for Workshop/Gardens. I keep losing to bots trying to play Workshop/Gardens on boards where there's something else to do so I try something else. He has bad Workshop collisions, and I am able to build a bit of an engine, which I sort of wreck by taking the last three Gardens. I get a little nervous about the estates running, but I'm able to put together enough Province buys to win.

Game 4: http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130516/log.51201cbee4b04e88c8da4f9a.1368739855968.txt

I think we both make a mistake completely ignoring Militia here. We play mirrors of Moneylender/Village/Smithy/Hoard/Nobles. He gets out to a nice start and I can't really claw back in. Hoard doesn't really let the decks deteriorate much. Adding Woodcutter for bigger turns seems possible but maybe not faster.

Game 5: http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130516/log.51201cbee4b04e88c8da4f9a.1368740245104.txt

Here we both play a slog strategy using Bureaucrat/Gardens. I also have a Woodcutter. This more or less comes down to me getting two absurdly lucky 4 silver hands that let me buy the only Provinces this game. This happens a long time after we've been greening. Eventually Gardens/Duchies/Estates run out with me in the lead. I think Smithy BM would run out of steam on this board too soon, which leaves what we played as the only viable option.

Game 6: http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130516/log.51201cbee4b04e88c8da4f9a.1368740813044.txt

I used the chat after Game 3 to bash Workshop/Gardens a bit, just so I could trick my opponent and play it in the deciding game! Village helps me have some very nice turns picking up several cards, but I'll admit I had lucky draws. His strategy (Cellar/Festival/Library) looks strong, and he could have won with better draws or a few more turns. Although I think the engine player needs to get a Moneylender, and not a Mine. I can three pile after 14 turns which is very fast.

So look at the logs and decide for yourself if Base Dominion is boring junk (it isn't). Just do me a favor and don't point out that Nobles played a big role in half of the games. Thanks for the match Rabid!

[michaeljb]

michaeljb wins 3-1 over Insomniac

Game 1: http://dominionlogs.goko.com//20130516/log.505ca69b0cf21ba04cfa2f17.1368757476652.txt
Baron, Island, JackOfAllTrades, Pirate Ship, Procession, Wandering Minstrel, City, Library, Rebuild, Upgrade
Baron, Island, and Rebuild are the major players here, and various Victory card piles are quick to run out. In retrospect, I wonder if that would have made City strong...I kind of doubt it, because of the opportunity cost to pick it up, plus there's not a ton of exciting terminals to play once you've played your Cities. I think I just drew a bit better, and win by 2 after 15 turns. Insomniac 30-32 michaeljb


Game 2: http://dominionlogs.goko.com//20130516/log.505ca69b0cf21ba04cfa2f17.1368757900401.txt
Fool's Gold, Hamlet, Herbalist, Moat, Bishop, Conspirator, Spice Merchant, Throne Room, Apprentice, Laboratory

This is the kind of board that just excites me. I think obvious engine is obvious, and I think Insomniac's fatal flaw was a first turn Bishop. On turn 7 I spend $8 on a Hamlet for +Buy, then build up the Lab/Conspirators/TR until I can double Province, picking up a Bishop once my Spice Merchant is nearly useless. Another 15 turn game, but not so close as the first one. Insomniac 26-52 michaeljb


Game 3: http://dominionlogs.goko.com//20130516/log.505ca69b0cf21ba04cfa2f17.1368758132983.txt
Embargo, Pearl Diver, Trade Route, Island, Silk Road, Smithy, Cache, Cartographer, Contraband, Jester

Island+SR looks to be the key, and that also makes Trade Route attractive to me. I probably should have kept buying Coppers with the +Buy, though; I had nothing but green on turns 17 and 18. Insomniac ignores the Trade Route, and gets a Cache with $5 instead of Jester (what I did once). The Cache helps him get 2 Provinces, and my Jester doesn't do much at all. After splitting the Silk Roads and Islands, it's a close one, but Insomniac stays alive. Insomniac 50-45 michaeljb


Game 4: http://dominionlogs.goko.com//20130516/log.505ca69b0cf21ba04cfa2f17.1368758593009.txt
Lighthouse, Loan, Scheme, Steward, Wandering Minstrel, Bandit Camp, Bazaar, Contraband, Counting House, Bank
Platinum and Colony in the Supply, Shelters in starting decks

At first I think it's cool that the Prosperity and Dark Ages special cards are in the game, but then the board overall seems less exciting to me. I pretty much did Steward+money, with a Bandit Camp and Scheme thrown in. I had hoped to Scheme the Bandit Camp more often to get more Spoils, but that didn't particularly work out. Insomniac only trashed OE and Hovel, while I aggressively got rid of all but a pair of Copper.  I was also able to get 1 more Platinum than him, and as Donald X said, "You have to get to $11 for Colonies; that doesn't just happen." It happens for me a few more times, giving me the win. michaeljb 74-54 Insomniac

[michaeljb]

Mic Q wins 4 to 2 against Rabid

Game 2
http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130516/log.51201cbee4b04e88c8da4f9a.1368738698940.txt
Chapel Witch board, early shuffle luck win.

was that pure base? but where does the Nobles come from?

That promo card thing that's in the Dark Ages and Base Cards boxes gives you a small sampler set consisting of Haven, Nobles, and Hoard. I think it was also supposed to include Haggler and something from Dark Ages (Cultist?) so that each big expansion was sampled but it looks like that never happened.

[-Stef-]

Hi Adam,


I'm sitting sick at home, really missing the good old days of dominion online now more then ever.
So I decided to watch your video and comment on it on a turn by turn basis as I went through the video.
Hope you can appreciate it The last game is missing, sorry to read you lost it.

1/2:
nice board analysis, good opening buys

3: Buying silver here is ok-ish, but I think I'd get a Sage.

4: sure

5: yes!

6: sure

7: 2nd potion is ok, but I'd agree with Sage too.

8: good call on playing the Sage. Buying the Silver is horrible. You want to make your deck go round and round at this point. Silver doesn't draw and stops Sages.

9: I totally agree on buying the mint here.

10: agree

11: 100% agree on the festival. You should own this game by now.

11b: unfortunate yes but he just has the lesser deck.

12: agreed on 2nd mint, although waiting a turn with it is also a good option.

13: nice turn again

14: Here I'd pick up ironworks over festival, but apart from that I agree.

chatting: 1st player advantage my a$$. You just played better.
getting alchemists over grand markets is definitely good.

15: double vineyard and GM yes, but why the Nomad Camp? Ironworks is still unbought but gets you a sage on every activation.

16: agree

17: you're ahead, don't worry


----------

1/2: I agree 100% with you opening buys, but your board analysis is somewhat off.
Although I think money into mountebanks is just better, apothecaries into a "real deck" is also an option.
The first on *never* buys a Develop, that's a horrible card in this deck. Counting House is not as bad as you give it credit for.
The second type should open Potion/Develop. It's going to fail here, but what *might* make it work is that you can very often leave a curse op top of your deck to block mountebank.
No matter what you do, you shouldn't mix these up. Silvers are as bad in the Apothecary deck as Develops are in yours.

3: yes! mountebank!

4: Thank god you buy the Silver. Armory???

5: yes

6: nice call.

7: nice again.

8: sure

9: I think I'd add a third terminal to the deck now. (Goons)

10: at this point the game is over, right?

11: sure, silver

12: Grand Market looks better, get a goons on next $6-$8 hand which will be before the reshuffle (unless you hit $9 again)

13: yes

14: agree

15: I'd get a second Goons now.

16: yes

17: hurray!

18: argh. Goons is a great card. Get it!

19: agree on 3rd platinum over province, athough I would consider it for a second.

20: getting a platinum is good, but even just chatting about develop is scary. No way ever develop over silver.

21: Goons. Goons. Gooooooons. Goons over gold now for sure. 3 times in a row if I'd have to.

22: Province looks better (hovel) but platinum is okish too.

23: YESSSS finally. But that scary talk about develop again.

24: getting an extra copper is debateable but I think you're good.

25: Yes! that's exactly what I think about develop. Although it's a tiny little thing, your discards are off here. Because the curses are all gone, necropolis is a better card then curse, so you should shuffle that one back in with your venture.

26: this really feels like a mistake. Province+copper over platinum now, almost 100% sure.

27: ok

28: nope, province

29: yes

30: yes

31: copper for sure. points are good, really. They help you win

32: nice call but you really got yourself into this by greening way too late. You were sooooo ahead.

33: I'd get the province. At this point your lack of goons will actually hurt you if you drag this game for too long. And the counting houses are scary.

34: yes

35: You're ahead by 1 now, and I think I'd get the province. If he plays his contraband you can block provinces, and otherwise he'll have a hard time getting to $8 with an additional buy.

35b: nooo. But even though it was obviously losing, I think you made the right call here.

You lost this one by seriously undervaluating Goons and greening way too late.

-------

1/2: 100% agree. Although Silver-Swindler into a second Swindler is very much ok too. $6 is super important on this board.

3b: bwleugh. He has increadible luck *and* gets to whine about it?

4-6: yes. Silvers. good.

7: good call. nice not to even consider provinces.

8: yes

9: silver, yes

9b: yes! thats a very good reason to get silvers indeed.

10: With so many alt green, and the risk of one getting swindled away, I'd actually get a third hoard.

11: yes

12: agree

13: sure

14: agree

15: harem for sure

16: I'd still get harem over duchy.

sorry, you just lost this one.

------------------

1/2: a coinflip? no way. This is an interesting board where opening buys will be very important.
I think I'd go for Ironmonger-courtyard. His opening is super speculative (bad)

3: no, almost definately wrong. You either go for the lots of $2-$4 cards, or you try to go up for haggler, nobles & KC fast.
You opened with the second plan (which is probably the better) and should definately stick to it. Get a second courtyard now.

4: Gold is a ok here, but I would have taken Nobles. Haggler ok too.

5: agree

6: here I'd get Nobles again, but haggler is ok.

7: I wouldn't have put courtyard back with the ironmonger, but it's ok.
   I would buy Courtyard over second workshop.

8: You're pretty terminal-heavy, so should consider putting silver back over workshop.
   At this point you want to buy only stuff that makes your deck tick. So no gold. Council Room, Iron Monger, Procession all would be ok.

9: agree. You should be losing now

10: buying nothing seems better (nobles)

11: yes

12: agree

13: agree

14: very complicated turn. Somehow you play quite fast when you still have a lot of options, and then slow down when you have one decision left.
Maybe you should try to reverse that. 22:37 - I hear you claim you have 1 nobles, but I can see one in play and one in your graveyard.
From here on I just kept praying you'd at some point realize.
Your chances diminish when you reshuffle and the picture of the nobles on top of your graveyard disappears.
But then you play the final courtyard, hoping to draw two silvers. My only hope for you was you'd draw both nobles, and yes...
congrats.

[Qvist]

1.) I hope you get well soon.
2.) Game 5:
3.)

really missing the good old days of dominion online now more then ever.

You know you can play on Goko too?
4.)

graveyard

This is Dominion, not M:tG.

[Kirian]

graveyard

This is Dominion, not M:tG.

The next GokoDom will, instead of Dominion, use Dominion: the Gathering: the Masquerade: the Movie: the Game.

[Watno]

DG - Watno: 4 - 2
Game 1: Watno wins
http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130517/log.505c626fa2e6c78ad2ed5aa6.1368800453553.txt
Game 2: DG wins
http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130517/log.505c626fa2e6c78ad2ed5aa6.1368801344431.txt
Game 3: DG wins
http://dominionlogs.goko.com//20130517/log.505c626fa2e6c78ad2ed5aa6.1368803366201.txt
Game 4: Watno wins
http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130517/log.505c626fa2e6c78ad2ed5aa6.1368803849494.txt
Game 5: DG wins
http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130517/log.505c626fa2e6c78ad2ed5aa6.1368804416853.txt
Game 6: DG wins
http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130517/log.505c626fa2e6c78ad2ed5aa6.1368805093040.txt

Gl DG in the playoffs.

Can all the people who have one exactly 3 games so far tie please? And those they played against loose? Thank you.

[soulnet]

Can all the people who have one exactly 3 games so far tie please? And those they played against loose? Thank you.

Its too late for that, some have already won. And also, I think you would get behind people with 5 points that win on this round, but I cannot say I understand the tie-breakers all that well.

[DG]

DG 4 - Watno 2

I seem to be getting very forgetful of the logs nowaday, and eveything else really. We played without a point counter and we both probably regretted it.

#3 : DG 51 - 30 Watno http://dominionlogs.goko.com//20130517/log.505c626fa2e6c78ad2ed5aa6.1368803366201.txt
#4 : DG resigned http://dominionlogs.goko.com//20130517/log.505c626fa2e6c78ad2ed5aa6.1368803849494.txt
#6 : DG 56 - 29 Watno http://dominionlogs.goko.com//20130517/log.505c626fa2e6c78ad2ed5aa6.1368805093040.txt

Game 1 had good drawing with caravan, stables and attacks from urchin, swindler, and mountebank. Watno did the right things and I fell behind badly on deck development after getting an early mercenary, maybe a mistake, but my deck was trimmer and almost recovered.
Game 2 was a messy affair with marauders, militias, goons, highways, tactician, dukes. It doesn't all go together, despite our trying, and I think I won by picking out duchy/duke even with a misplayed ending and probably a misplayed middle too.
Game 3 had a tactician/storeroom combo with interesting support from wandering minstrels, poor houses, goons, and knights. I'm guessing that my flavour of deck was slightly better but it may have been down to the various failures we had in using the storerooms. It just doesn't seem intuitive on Goko. I noticed that Qvist had desperate problems with king's court and storeroom in one of his videos.
Game 4 was university/city and with my turn 3-4 draws I just didn't get into it. Deserved win for Watno.
Game 5 was quite a dull marauder into dukes game. Watno almost won it with a good counterfeit but he perhaps went awry with the province/duke play.
Game 6 was a swindler game and seeing my opponent take double swindler (and pillages) I went into lighthouses and they seemed to do very well for me. With a salvager to trash out some junk I could reach up to gold then provinces. I actually bought an adventurer, rather than just have one swindled into my deck, but I sadly never played him.

Thanks to Watno for some interesting games. I don't think any were decided by first turn advantage or lucky swindles.

[Kirian]

Can all the people who have one exactly 3 games so far tie please? And those they played against loose? Thank you.

Its too late for that, some have already won. And also, I think you would get behind people with 5 points that win on this round, but I cannot say I understand the tie-breakers all that well.

It's a tough call on the tie-breakers.  No matter what, at least one person with 7 points will be in the playoff rounds.  Right now, we have two players with 10, three with 8, and two more 6 v 6 matches.  Even if neither of those matches tie, that still leaves the highest 7-point player in the playoffs.  Those tie-breakers will come down to the wire depending on when other players' matches are played.

[AdamH]

Hi Adam,

I'm sitting sick at home, really missing the good old days of dominion online now more then ever.
So I decided to watch your video and comment on it on a turn by turn basis as I went through the video.
Hope you can appreciate it The last game is missing, sorry to read you lost it.

This is the most amazing thing ever. This is probably what I dreamed of when I first started making videos, having high-level opponents tell you what they agree and disagree with -- I realize saying my entire thought process can be time-consuming, but stuff like this makes it all worth it.

[fanboy]
To think that the World Champion Dominion Player would take time to comment on my videos, it's like a dream come true, man. I totally bragged to all my friends when you played like 3 games with me on iso -- I even won one of them before we decided to play the same kingdom again and you slaughtered me! Good times, man. AND your level at the time was 53, which is my favorite number! *SQUEE*
[/fanboy]

Seriously, +1 is not enough. Thank you.

Video 5 took a while to upload, so it's possible that it wasn't ready when you watched. It's available now if you want to watch it, but it was a comparatively uninteresting game that I didn't play very well, looking back.

So all the things you disagree with I can remember in my head, and I'll comment, but I want to watch again and make sure I understand the good decisions I made, too (which should be just as helpful). Unfortunately, I won't get a chance to do that until after the weekend.

Game 1:

3: Buying silver here is ok-ish, but I think I'd get a Sage.

My thinking was that I'd need Silvers in my deck to get Grand Markets eventually. If I had only thought about the fact that I'd be buying Alchemist over GM all game, I would have preferred Sage here.

14: Here I'd pick up ironworks over festival, but apart from that I agree.

[...]

15: double vineyard and GM yes, but why the Nomad Camp? Ironworks is still unbought but gets you a sage on every activation.

I got Ironworks too late here for sure. The reason I preferred those cards at the time was because I was in the mentality that I was drawing my deck and I needed to increase my buying power until I drained the Grand Markets. I wasn't thinking about how to end the game quickly with a lead, because I wasn't in an endgame frame of mind until the GMs were empty.

Game 2:
Somehow I was thinking that I would have to get like 6 Colonies because his deck wouldn't be able to get up to $11. While I still think two of his Colonies were a little lucky, he was going to get there eventually and I should have bought Provinces when you said (especially with the Hovel, which I totally missed). I was feeling like I should have won this game and I lost it due to some crazy luck, but after seeing your comments I realize I made my own shuffle luck here, so thank you for that.

In fact, this suggests a weakness in my game: most Colony games you want to go more engine-y, but obviously sometimes that just not going to work. Buying 6 Platinums just seemed like the right move, but in a Province game I would have never bought that many Golds! I need to get a better sense of when to Province-dance in money-based Colony games.

Game 3:

sorry, you just lost this one.

Does this mean my Duchy/Harem decisions and lack of a third Hoard (which I agree with you on) are what lost me this game, or that it was mostly luck?

Game 4:

1/2: a coinflip? no way. This is an interesting board where opening buys will be very important.
I think I'd go for Ironmonger-courtyard.

When you say that, I can't help but think that the best strategy will have a 70-30 winrate over an incoherent strategy because so much of the game hinges on connecting KC with targets and having megaturns, and there's very little you can do in the way of helping that.

And I realized this once he had 6 Ironmongers -- Ironmonger >> Silver. I totally should have opened Ironmonger/CY.

Somehow you play quite fast when you still have a lot of options

My mindset was just to have the biggest turn I could, while using Procession to pick up Nobles for points -- it seemed pretty clear that I needed to Procession $5-cost cards and draw my deck; I thought the quick decisions were reasonably easy to make in that light -- do you think I could have done better? (Yeah I know that's an impossible question to answer)

From here on I just kept praying you'd at some point realize.
Your chances diminish when you reshuffle and the picture of the nobles on top of your graveyard disappears.
But then you play the final courtyard, hoping to draw two silvers. My only hope for you was you'd draw both nobles, and yes...
congrats.

Counting has never been one of my strong points I feel like some of this could have been prevented by the Goko log showing me what cards I draw in my turn, but there's no excuse for my counting.

[Robz888]

"Points are good, really. They help you win  "

- Stef

[loppo]

Avin 2 - Loppo 3

game 1: Avin 57 - Loppo 53
http://dominionlogs.goko.com//20130517/log.50955175e4b013548a3d58f0.1368817677352.txt

game 2: Avin 10 - Loppo 19
http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130517/log.50955175e4b013548a3d58f0.1368818474805.txt

game 3: Avin 15 - Loppo 33
http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130517/log.50955175e4b013548a3d58f0.1368819019554.txt

game 4: Avin 19 - Loppo 12
http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130517/log.50955175e4b013548a3d58f0.1368819483671.txt

game 5: Avin 14 - Loppo 38
http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130517/log.50955175e4b013548a3d58f0.1368820130893.txt

[Polk5440]

The last game is missing, sorry to read you lost it.

I'm not. 

Although, as I was telling Adam after the game, it's so easy to root for the person making the video because it's from his perspective. Rewatching, I still found myself silently rooting for him at certain points (yes, you really do have that extra Nobles!! END THE GAME!! Wait, wait, I want him to lose! Wait, I already know he wins!).

chatting: 1st player advantage my a$$. You just played better.

So, yes. He played better the first game, but mirroring does lose for the second player on this board. Regardless, at this point in the game I was well behind, and this chat helped me begin to clear my mind for the next game while putting the pressure on him to finish this one well or throw away an "inherent" advantage from going first. A bit of metagaming here, on my part, that was really only for my benefit. Not Adam's or yours. This was not meant to be objective Dominion analysis.

Re: Second game. I forgot to mention Goons in my comments on this game. This was a pretty big difference in our games here. Even with 6 platinums in your deck, it's hard to hit $11 with only three cards in hand. And the points mattered at the end.

Re: Game 4.

His opening is super speculative.

You bet it is. I really wanted the chance to pile-drive the Ironmongers, though. If I had to play this again, I would open with the safer Ironmonger - Workshop.

He has the last game up now, by the way.

[AdamH]

but mirroring does lose for the second player on this board.

Mirroring from 2P, assuming I play absolutely perfectly (which if you've watched enough of my videos is a laughable idea) gives you a disadvantage of maybe 60%-40%, whereas doing some high-risk mediocre reward thing (like your Game 4 opening) can only make the situation worse. Is this really what you're saying?

Metagame is great, and if you want to play it I fully encourage that (play two golds then contraband, hoping I'd forget the coppers you picked up with Apothecary? ). It's a high-stakes match and you want to give yourself every edge you can.

[Polk5440]

but mirroring does lose for the second player on this board.

Mirroring from 2P, assuming I play absolutely perfectly (which if you've watched enough of my videos is a laughable idea) gives you a disadvantage of maybe 60%-40%, whereas doing some high-risk mediocre reward thing (like your Game 4 opening) can only make the situation worse. Is this really what you're saying?

Ummm. I'm not sure? I think I am trying to say that the nature of this board is such that mirroring puts second player behind more often than not, so it shouldn't be too surprising that the mirroring second player was behind -- and that chat line was not totally out of line, even if it's primary purpose was to make me feel better about myself, and even though I made some sub-optimal plays, and even though later I wasn't really mirroring.

I really don't want to defend everything I said during the heat of battle, though. Or even after. I just found it funny -Stef- called me on it. It seemed like he was bothered more by it than you were. Though I do appreciate his comments.

play two golds then contraband

That was a legitimate case of playing too fast. I wanted to play Contraband first, but clicked play all treasures instead.

[-Stef-]

3.)

really missing the good old days of dominion online now more then ever.

You know you can play on Goko too?

Yeah, I know. And when I read about the tournament, I really want to. Maybe I should have joined this one, maybe I will join the next.
Apart from that, no matchmaking translates to 'unplayable'. I like playing against strong opponents, and they just don't care about that.
On iso I usually had to wait around 10 minutes for a match (+/- 10 levels). On Goko, those 10 minutes would be hours and the 'waiting' would be 'clicking from one room to the next'.
Where's the fun in that?

It's the moment you've all been waiting for, the Base set (plus Haven, Hoard, Nobles) match you've been dying to see. We're here to prove that Base (with help) Dominion is a rich game with diverging strategies complex engines. Maybe...

Five very good games from both of you and also a very good analysis. I read through the logs and had some comments but you beat me to almost all of them.

I'm a little dubious on whether Council Room is right for my deck, it draws a lot but could have shortened the game too much for me to overcome the VP deficit

I'll admit it's close but I'd say the Council Room is not a good plan. You really don't want to help him. In fact, I would have sneaked in 1-2 Spies. Maybe around turn 9, Festival/Spy in stead of village/gold.

Game 3: ... so I try something else

this one's my favorite. Very good call on going engine here.

Game 6: Although I think the engine player needs to get a Moneylender, and not a Mine

That's a very... polite way to say things. Engine should easily beat Gardens here, but not like this. Very un-Rabid like, usually he's very good at boards like these.

[Rabid]

Game 6: Although I think the engine player needs to get a Moneylender, and not a Mine

That's a very... polite way to say things. Engine should easily beat Gardens here, but not like this. Very un-Rabid like, usually he's very good at boards like these.

Yep I really messed this game up.
I want to blame it on not recognising the picture, because my initial board analysis was that Mine was the only "trashing". (Although without Moneylender I think the board favour gardens rush)

[mail-mi]

No time only posting results
mail-mi wins vs. bama: 3-2-1

Game 1:
http://dominionlogs.goko.com//20130518/log.50e20cf4e4b0a47150882831.1368930409420.txt
he wins 38-15

Game 2
http://dominionlogs.goko.com//20130518/log.50e20cf4e4b0a47150882831.1368931058727.txt
i win 36-31

Game 3
http://dominionlogs.goko.com//20130518/log.50e20cf4e4b0a47150882831.1368931593436.txt
tie at 36

Game 4
http://dominionlogs.goko.com//20130518/log.50e20cf4e4b0a47150882831.1368932470868.txt
I win 36-28

Game 5
http://dominionlogs.goko.com//20130518/log.50e20cf4e4b0a47150882831.1368932834471.txt
he wins 37-34

Game 6
http://dominionlogs.goko.com//20130518/log.50e20cf4e4b0a47150882831.1368933529689.txt
I win 46-25

[ftl]

I've been trying to get in touch with SirPeebles for my last match, but he hasn't responded to my PMs

[Kirian]

I've been trying to get in touch with SirPeebles for my last match, but he hasn't responded to my PMs

Gotcha

[Kirian]

Geronimoo?  Lespeutere?  Stealth Tomato?  Zauberererererer?  I'd hate for people to get bumped out of the finals for not playing the last match...

Edit:  Though I'm certain there are people with 3-1-1 records who wouldn't mind.

[zaubererer]

hmmmm we tried to arrange a time with geronimo, but he wanted to play at the first days and i prefered saturday sunday, so i told him no. I told him to play at saturday or sunday but i sent the mail at friday, too late it seems and he didnt reply. I think it would be better to give us 1 weak and start quarterfinals in 1 weak, if you and the 6 people who already qualified aggree.

[Kirian]

I think it would be better to give us 1 weak and start quarterfinals in 1 weak, if you and the 6 people who already qualified aggree.

That's really not particularly fair to the people who scheduled their matches.  No one in the current top 8 has been involved in a default or missed match.

I'll think on it; something will go in the regs next season for final round problems like this.

[Kirian]

Which reminds me!

I want to give a shout out here to ftl, bama, mail-mi, D Bo, and gman314, who all came into this round with three losses--and in a couple of cases their only win was a win by default or bye--yet stuck around to play (or try to play) their final matches.  Also to yed, who went into round 4 with just one point and played that match (he received a bye this round).

Thank you for continuing to play despite your losses, and therefore for making my math easier.

[gman314]

Sure, I could give up, but why would I give up a good excuse to play some Dominion? With good opponents too!

[mail-mi]

Sure, I could give up, but why would I give up a good excuse to play some Dominion? With good opponents too!

[soulnet]

Geronimoo?  Lespeutere?  Stealth Tomato?  Zauberererererer?  I'd hate for people to get bumped out of the finals for not playing the last match...

Edit:  Though I'm certain there are people with 3-1-1 records who wouldn't mind.

As one of the potential  beneficiaries of the situation (although I actually have 2-3-0), I feel obliged to ask, shouldn't they all receive draws if they could not schedule their match?

BTW, idea for next season, using "number of actually played matches" or similar as tie-breaker to give people less incentive to not play to get a draw.

[Kirian]

Geronimoo?  Lespeutere?  Stealth Tomato?  Zauberererererer?  I'd hate for people to get bumped out of the finals for not playing the last match...

Edit:  Though I'm certain there are people with 3-1-1 records who wouldn't mind.

As one of the potential  beneficiaries of the situation (although I actually have 2-3-0), I feel obliged to ask, shouldn't they all receive draws if they could not schedule their match?

BTW, idea for next season, using "number of actually played matches" or similar as tie-breaker to give people less incentive to not play to get a draw.

"For scoring purposes, a win, draw, or loss by default still counts as 2, 1, or 0 points.  For tie-breaker scores, a win by default counts as 1 point, and a draw or loss by default counts as 0 points."

There already is such a rule... I just never stated it mathematically.  I will be certain to do so next season.  By the rules as written, though, there are a pair of people who stand to lose by not having sent a PM, which gives a win-by-default to vault two people into the 8-point range.  It's an odd situation.

[SCSN]

I think it would be better to give us 1 weak and start quarterfinals in 1 weak, if you and the 6 people who already qualified aggree.

That's really not particularly fair to the people who scheduled their matches.  No one in the current top 8 has been involved in a default or missed match.

I'll think on it; something will go in the regs next season for final round problems like this.

What about giving them two more days, and if they still haven't played their match by then make them ties by default, even if someone had more time during those two days than the other?

[yed]

I think it would be better to give us 1 weak and start quarterfinals in 1 weak, if you and the 6 people who already qualified aggree.

That's really not particularly fair to the people who scheduled their matches.  No one in the current top 8 has been involved in a default or missed match.

I'll think on it; something will go in the regs next season for final round problems like this.

What about giving them two more days, and if they still haven't played their match by then make them ties by default, even if someone had more time during those two days than the other?

I think we should stick to the rules as stated before tournament.

[Tdog]

Heatthespurs Defeats Tdog 3-0 in 3 action packed  base games.

http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130520/log.505cb4ec51c3c35f7e45ae66.1369042750797.txt
http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130520/log.505cb4ec51c3c35f7e45ae66.1369043494224.txt
http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130520/log.505cb4ec51c3c35f7e45ae66.1369044260424.txt

[Kirian]

And a late thank you to Tdog and heatthespurs for also finishing their last match, again despite going in with just 2 points each.

Final Top 8, after accounting for tiebreakers and missed matches:

Mic Qsenoch
DG
Rabid
Polk5440
SheCantSayNo
kn1tt3r
Watno
RTT

Congratulations to the playoff participants, including some names we haven't seen at the top of a list like this previously.  I'll have a results thread posted shortly.  Matches will be based on seed:

MicQsenoch vs. RTT
DG vs. Watno
Rabid vs. kn1tt3r
Polk5440 vs. SheCantSayNo

[AdamH]

Me: "You're probably watching this video and thinking 'You moron, don't get a Develop! That's STOOPID!'"

25: Yes! that's exactly what I think about develop.

I lol-ed.

Also about the finals, I'm glad that people who didn't bother to play their round 5 match aren't getting there over people who did. Nice call, Kirian.

[shraeye]

Oh, me and Drowned Kernel are still in the middle of our match, he had connection issues last night.

[lespeutere]

In case everyone of these 8 has a better score than I have, there's obviously nothing to be said against it (I can't access the score result sheet atm). Otherwise, I'd like to ask: so the match against ST I "missed" was not counted then? I don't believe this is particularly fair, as it was (for me, at least) clearly not my fault it was not played. I don't know what I could've done more to have it been played. I waited for several hours, yesterday, and could've played this morning had I been contacted.

[soulnet]

Also about the finals, I'm glad that people who didn't bother to play their round 5 match aren't getting there over people who did. Nice call, Kirian.

so the match against ST I "missed" was not counted then?

Actually, there is a tie by default between lespeteure and Stealth Tomate, and both are not in the final eight. I think its fair given the posted rules, and I DO NOT suspect anything wrong has been done, but for next season, probably last round should give no draws by default.

The only thing I can add is "snif", but, hey, at least 2 of my drawn matches I could have won if I did not make stupid mistakes (assuming the rival mantained their stupid mistakes in place), so...

Thanks Kirian for the hard job putting this together.

EDIT: Ups, I've misinterpreted the rankings in the spreadsheet.

[AdamH]

Also about the finals, I'm glad that people who didn't bother to play their round 5 match aren't getting there over people who did. Nice call, Kirian.

Actually, there is a tie by default between lespeteure and Stealth Tomate, and both are in the final eight. I think its fair given the posted rules, and I DO NOT suspect anything wrong has been done, but for next season, probably last round should give no draws by default.

The only thing I can add is "snif", but, hey, at least 2 of my drawn matches I could have won if I did not make stupid mistakes (assuming the rival mantained their stupid mistakes in place), so...

Thanks Kirian for the hard job putting this together.

Going into the last round, I could have just been absolutely unavailable all the times my opponent could have played and gotten a draw out of the match. Due to my good tiebreaker score I would have a very good shot at making the finals with that outcome.

I'm not saying that's what anyone here actually did, and there a bunch of info I don't have, but that's a situation where giving people a tie might be unfair.

[soulnet]

Going into the last round, I could have just been absolutely unavailable all the times my opponent could have played and gotten a draw out of the match. Due to my good tiebreaker score I would have a very good shot at making the finals with that outcome.

I'm not saying that's what anyone here actually did, and there a bunch of info I don't have, but that's a situation where giving people a tie might be unfair.

Exactly my point, although there was no rule stating that something different than tie by default would be done for the last round, so I don't think its fair to do it after-the-fact. We are not JoaTs.

[Kirian]

Going into the last round, I could have just been absolutely unavailable all the times my opponent could have played and gotten a draw out of the match. Due to my good tiebreaker score I would have a very good shot at making the finals with that outcome.

I'm not saying that's what anyone here actually did, and there a bunch of info I don't have, but that's a situation where giving people a tie might be unfair.

Exactly my point, although there was no rule stating that something different than tie by default would be done for the last round, so I don't think its fair to do it after-the-fact. We are not JoaTs.

No, but there is a rule about tie-by-default being a technically worse outcome than an actual tie.  If we assign lespeutere and Stealth Tomato a tie by default, then both of them have a lower score than someone with 7 points from actual matches.  This was not spelled out mathematically, unfortunately; it will be next time.

The difficulty here is one of assigning "blame."  Is lespeutere to blame for not playing their match?  It would appear not (from his PM to me).  Is Stealth Tomato to blame for not playing their match?  It would appear not from lespeutere's PM to me... but of course lespeutere sees it differently, and I'll admit it's less clear.  It's similarly unclear for the zaubererer-Geronimoo match, based on the post in this thread.

So, do we assign wins by default--that is, blame one or the other player--or ties by default?  If we assign the former, then lespeutere and zaubererer go into the playoffs, and Watno and RTT get dropped out.  Which is the better player:  Someone with a 3-1-0 record, or someone with a (3+/-1)-(0+/-1)-(0+/-1) record?

Basically I had to make a benevolent dictator decision; in this case, I assigned ties by default.  This puts all four players below anyone else with 7 points.

I know this will make lespuetere and zaubererer annoyed with me; the other choice, of course, makes Watno and RTT annoyed with me.  Thankfully, this tournament is entirely for S&G, and there will be another one soon enough.  I hope that those who may be annoyed by this decision will play again next round; there will be a better mathematical decision before-the-fact next time, rather than an ambiguity in the rules.

[Kirian]

And of course as I post that I get a PM from Stealth Tomato offering a forfeit.  Damn it.

----

No.  Brackets are already posted; PMs are likely already flying between playoff contestants.  What's done is done

----

My apologies to lespeutere.  Someone will always feel slighted, whether by the luck of the cards, the math of the tiebreakers, or the necessary executive decisions.  The by-default ordering will be more clear next season.

[lespeutere]

Needless to say I do believe it's not a good way how things have been resolved.

Regardless of this personal view: if "Solk" is the first tie-breaker, how come there are people with less "Solk" AND people with more "Solk" than I have in the last 8? Do I miss something?

[zaubererer]

kirian, I believe your decision not to give the qualification to anyone from us 4 was right. But, i dont think there would be  a big problem with the organization of the tournamement if we had some more days to play. ( i would have prefered to lose from geronimo than losing the qualification because i didnt play). Moreover, it was dificult for me to play at the first days, but i would have if i werent so sure you would give us some more days. Nevermind, thx for the organization of the tournament, and good luck to all 8 qualifiers.

[Kirian]

BTW, idea for next season, using "number of actually played matches" or similar as tie-breaker to give people less incentive to not play to get a draw.

"For scoring purposes, a win, draw, or loss by default still counts as 2, 1, or 0 points.  For tie-breaker scores, a win by default counts as 1 point, and a draw or loss by default counts as 0 points."

There already is such a rule... I just never stated it mathematically.  I will be certain to do so next season.

In other words, there is a tiebreaker which was only intended for use in the last round, and therefore was not calculated explicitly in the rankings.  All of the players with 7 points and a default are behind those with 7 points and no defaults.

[lespeutere]

kirian, I believe your decision not to give the qualification to anyone from us 4 was right.

Not that it changes anything, but I don't think you can judge on ST's and my case as I tried to solve it via PM before today.

BTW, idea for next season, using "number of actually played matches" or similar as tie-breaker to give people less incentive to not play to get a draw.

"For scoring purposes, a win, draw, or loss by default still counts as 2, 1, or 0 points.  For tie-breaker scores, a win by default counts as 1 point, and a draw or loss by default counts as 0 points."

There already is such a rule... I just never stated it mathematically.  I will be certain to do so next season.

In other words, there is a tiebreaker which was only intended for use in the last round, and therefore was not calculated explicitly in the rankings.  All of the players with 7 points and a default are behind those with 7 points and no defaults.

Thanks, got it.

[A Drowned Kernel]

I'm sorry to report that shraeye had a number of scheduling conflicts and techincal difficulties and were unable to complete our match. We managed to get two and a half rounds last night going 1-1, but then my connection died during the third game and I couldn't log back into goko. We're going to have to call it a tie. Here's the games we managed to finish.

http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130519/log.51102f16e4b0fb53a9f92227.1369020143192.txt
Ironmonger shines with both nobles and harem on the board.

http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130519/log.51102f16e4b0fb53a9f92227.1369020767104.txt
A board with a lot of power cards. I focus on goons and try to strategically upgrade silvers into silk roads but it's not enough against a governor stack.

http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130519/log.51102f16e4b0fb53a9f92227.1369021660582.txt
The interrupted game. Shraeye goes for deck thinning while I try Count/Gardens. I have a lead when my connection dies but he was starting to pick up Provinces so who's to say.

Thanks for what games we did manage Shraeye, sorry this was such a mess and kind of an anticlimactic way to end the tournament. Good luck in future gokodoms!

[Stealth Tomato]

Going into the last round, I could have just been absolutely unavailable all the times my opponent could have played and gotten a draw out of the match. Due to my good tiebreaker score I would have a very good shot at making the finals with that outcome.

I'm not saying that's what anyone here actually did, and there a bunch of info I don't have, but that's a situation where giving people a tie might be unfair.

Exactly my point, although there was no rule stating that something different than tie by default would be done for the last round, so I don't think its fair to do it after-the-fact. We are not JoaTs.

No, but there is a rule about tie-by-default being a technically worse outcome than an actual tie.  If we assign lespeutere and Stealth Tomato a tie by default, then both of them have a lower score than someone with 7 points from actual matches.  This was not spelled out mathematically, unfortunately; it will be next time.

The difficulty here is one of assigning "blame."  Is lespeutere to blame for not playing their match?  It would appear not (from his PM to me).  Is Stealth Tomato to blame for not playing their match?  It would appear not from lespeutere's PM to me... but of course lespeutere sees it differently, and I'll admit it's less clear.  It's similarly unclear for the zaubererer-Geronimoo match, based on the post in this thread.

So, do we assign wins by default--that is, blame one or the other player--or ties by default?  If we assign the former, then lespeutere and zaubererer go into the playoffs, and Watno and RTT get dropped out.  Which is the better player:  Someone with a 3-1-0 record, or someone with a (3+/-1)-(0+/-1)-(0+/-1) record?

Basically I had to make a benevolent dictator decision; in this case, I assigned ties by default.  This puts all four players below anyone else with 7 points.

I know this will make lespuetere and zaubererer annoyed with me; the other choice, of course, makes Watno and RTT annoyed with me.  Thankfully, this tournament is entirely for S&G, and there will be another one soon enough.  I hope that those who may be annoyed by this decision will play again next round; there will be a better mathematical decision before-the-fact next time, rather than an ambiguity in the rules.

As noted in the PM I sent to you, I am totally at fault for our match not being played. There were tight time constraints but I agreed to work within them and then wasn't able to due to circumstances partially within my control. That's on me.

My apologies to lespeutere if this prevents him from having a shot at the final eight.