by denominator on Fri Jul 01, 2011 11:32 am
I personally feel that this is a fair strategy, as all tournament games are part of a bigger picture than simply winning the game. In all tournaments, there comes a time when, in certain games, players need to make the decision to either go for the win and risk finishing poorly or playing conservatively and finishing second.
Again, as in each particular game, moving ahead in the scoreboard early into a dominant position can make you a target for the other players. If you've won 3 straight games, it is to everyone else's advantage to ensure that you don't win the fourth. I believe that this is simply an aspect of tournament play, and as far as I am aware, this is how CC views it as well.
I always play for the win, but when it becomes apparent that someone else is going to do so (for example, taking the Deep Lands on Clandemonium is nearly unstoppable) it is a good play to go for second place and hope that the leader chooses to eliminate other players first. Some people will employ this strategy from the beginning of the game, and to that I say if they're willing to lose the CC points in exchange for tournament points, all the power to them.