Indur vs. SirSlugma: 3.5 - 1.5
Some nice games, 1 boring (but very short) game, and one kingdom that was awesome, but terribly hard.
Short rundown.
1 Start: SirSlugma
http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130907/log.5064086b0cf20d995bd2b5eb.1378560474923.txtLoan, Shanty Town, Urchin, Baron, Bureaucrat, Quarry, City, Merchant Guild, Merchant Ship, Torturer
His opening of Shanty Town/Urchin/Urchin surprised me. Then again, my Urchin/Urchin/Urchin doesn't get me a Merc until turn 6, to his turn 5.
Rest of the game is pretty much a torturer battle until the curses run out. I go for Cities earlier than my opponent (he buys a first Province turn 17), and use my Mercenaries to turn curses into money into provinces on turns 18, 19, 20, 21 and 22. He tries to set up a megaturn with Merchant Guild, but doesn't have enough buys to overtake my lead.
1-0
2 Start: Indur
http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130907/log.5064086b0cf20d995bd2b5eb.1378560891131.txtNative Village, Chancellor, Scheme, Moneylender, Noble Brigand, Scout, City, Embassy, Mandarin, Mystic
Easily the most boring game of the match. I open 5/2 and, with no extra buys on the board, decide to go for Embassy big money right away, even though the silver will really help my opponent. I draw pretty well and buy gold on turns 4, 5 and 6. His second Embassy can't compete with my extra gold and silver.
2-0.
3 Start: Indur
http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130907/log.5064086b0cf20d995bd2b5eb.1378561325539.txtChapel, Loan, Masquerade, Workshop, Bishop, Caravan, Remake, Remodel, Junk Dealer, Saboteur
Quite an interesting board, what with 8 kingdom cards that trash!
I decide to skip Chapel and open Masq/Silver. Opponent has 5/2 and goes for Masq/Chapel. Interesting! I scoop up an early Gold and a second Masquerade and some more Gold while he thins his deck and buys only some money before starting greening early; getting him a big lead. After turn 12 we both have 3 provinces and he has 2 Duchies to go with them. I decide to break PPR, both because a tie is not good enough for me as starting player, and I feel his deck is light on money. To do this I play masquerade, having to pass another one across the table to still reach 8. Ouch! Still I have good hopes. Then I draw a terrible hand of Province/Province/Silver/Silver/Gold, which means I have to pass him a silver when he plays Masquerade; dramatically increasing his chance of hitting 8. His masquerade apparently doesn't draw him enough to buy a province without passing me a Duchy, thus making it a tie. I'm not sure whether that was the best play here (especially if you're 2-0 behind in a tournament match). What do you think?
2.5-0.5
4 Start: SirSlugma:
http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130907/log.5064086b0cf20d995bd2b5eb.1378562349551.txtUniversity, Armory, Gardens, JackOfAllTrades, Nomad Camp, Band of Misfits, Cartographer, Stables, Adventurer, Possession
Interesting game I thought I had clinched, but which managed to just elude me in the last turn.
Opponent goes for University, which I thought was too slow. My 5/2 is not very good here, and I go for Band of Misfits, thinking to go straight for double Jack. I take a big lead in points, while he is sculpting his deck, picking up all 10 Stables and lots of cartographers. His first Possession hits a hand of Province/Province/Province/Copper/Copper, and I think I'm golden. However his Gardens steadily pick up value, and the one hand I have with 8 in the last couple of turns is Possessed away. His last turn he manages to hit 13, the extra Duchy giving him the 3 point lead and the win. I have a feeling I could have played this somewhat better, but grats to my opponent for going for this cool deck and winning with it!
2.5-1.5
5 Start: SirSlugma:
http://dom.retrobox.eu/?/20130907/log.5064086b0cf20d995bd2b5eb.1378563259628.txtSecret Chamber, Stonemason, Scrying Pool, Hermit, Tunnel, Alchemist, Marauder, Remake, Bandit Camp
Really an awesome kingdom here, with quite a lot going for it. No +buys (well, maybe deeper in the Ruins pile), but Stonemason for shenanigans galore.
My opponent thought Scrying Pools would be too slow and opts to go for Silver/Remake. I feel like there is an engine in there that is good enough, and go for it. I'm lucky and hit 4P three times for lots of Scrying Pools and some stonemasons. Meanwhile, he stacks up on Nobles and Bandit Camps and again starts buying Provinces early.
Due to the lack of buys, and the fact that he has lots on Nobles, making it hard to rush provinces, I have to resort to an exotic engine that I really liked, generating Gold with Tunnels (via Scrying Pool/Secret Chamber) and Stonemasoning them into Duchies, while hitting 8 pretty much every turn. He tries to keep up buying/gaining lots of Nobles and Tunnels through Stonemason, but stays stuck at 2 provinces, sealing the deal.
I'm pretty sure we both played this one suboptimal, what with all the options available. Any thoughts on our decks?
Interesting side note: if the top Ruins had been the +buy one I might have opened Potion/Ruins here!
3.5-1.5
Thanks SirSlugma for the nice and pretty tense matches and for accommodating to my schedule. Good luck in the rest of the tournament.