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David Metzger vs Kevin Broh-Kahn
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GM Lexi Shea chaperones her
finalists.
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In Defense of the Crown ...
San Juan dropped below its triple digit standing with 93 players participating early Monday morning. More people are arriving on Sunday afternoon, but there is also more competition from early Monday heats. However, the demo on Sunday afternoon garnered more attention than ever.
There were four continuous rounds of 2-player games. There was a twist this year with the second edition games making a first-time appearance after being published late in 2014. This edition features ten new buildings (including one 6 and one 7 cost end-game buildings), and three rule changes to existing cards in addition to new artwork. This version also gives many more strategic avenues for garnering cards and victory points than in the previous edition. Players had the option of playing either edition, with about four to five of the new games included in each round. It will be interesting to see how popular this new version becomes in the future.
After the initial four rounds, there were 28 players that garnered the required three wins to advance. The playoff field included three of 2014’s top four (defending champ Jeff Mullet, Rich Meyer, and Mark Kennel plus former champ Bruce Reiff. Because only 28 advanced, four random byes were drawn to create a 32-person elimination bracket. Therefore, Marvin Birnbaum, Mark Kennel, Christopher McCurry, and Lexi Shea had the good fortune of avoiding the initial elimination round.
In that opening round, there was a high-scoring battle between Rich Fetzer and Reiff. At the end of the game, Rich had in play nine production buildings (including four Silver Smelters) and the Palace while Bruce had all three monuments plus the Palace. The final score was 50 to 42, leaving Bruce still a Former champion.
The quarterfinal round featured close contests. Three games were decided by two, one, and zero points. Lexi Shea and Derek Glenn were tied at 21 and the decision went to Derek on the second tiebreaker. The difference was one additional building built.
The semifinal featured two very different games, one between Jeff Mullet and Rob Kircher, and the other pairing Derek Glenn and Mark Kennel. Mark attempted to play the production strategy by ending the game early with many cheap indigo and tobacco builds. However, an early quarry build left him short of cards even with acquiring the smithy and prefecture He ended the game with Guild Hall and 29 points, but that was not enough. Derek featured a purple building strategy, and early Carpenter and Chapel builds paid off along with his Library. Derek ended with two monuments, City Hall, and Palace giving him a hefty 45 points to advance.
The other side of the bracket was not so clear cut. Rob came out of the gate strong with a production strategy, building the smithy first then racking up every production possible thereafter. Like Rich Fetzer in earlier rounds, he put out four silver smelters to aid in garnering cards. He ended with ten production buildings and the Guild Hall, producing 42 points. On the flip side, Jeff put up a good fight with a purple building strategy. Early on, he was able to put out the Carpenter, Quarry, Library, and Prefecture in succession to build a formidable engine of his own. He then was able to start putting out 6-cost buildings which included both City hall and Triumphal Arch. The game came down to the last round, with the final Councilor and Builder phase. In a turn of events, Jeff built a Hero, which gained him eight points (5 base points +1 for city hall, +2 for the Triumphal Arch) for a tie. Jeff won the tiebreaker because of his extra 6 building built (the third tiebreaker).
Jeff, unlike his previous game, rolled out the production strategy in the Final with an early Smithy build. Derek fell several build phases behind, focusing more on quality than quantity. Derek had a first round Prefecture build (always a strong choice) but ended up having to build the Palace soon afterwards in order to keep pace. This, along with following Quarry and Hero builds, depleted his cards and prevented acquiring a strong engine. Jeff pushed for a quick end with nine production buildings (only two Silver Smelters this time!) and a Guild Hall to tally 37 points. Derek ended with only eight buildings including a last-minute City Hall to go along with his early Palace. However, his 25 points was not enough to keep Jeff from successfully defending his San Juan title. Congratulations! |