I ran some numbers and it looks like your way is better against late-defectors.
Here are 3 ways you could design Afterparty:
v1. D-C on 95-96, then D 97-100 against non-clones (your original proposal) v2. first D on 95, then D 96-100 against non-clones (my suggestion) v3. first D on 96, then D 97-100 against non-clones (a variation on my suggestion)
My intuition was that v3 would be better than v1, even if v2 was not, but it turns out that’s not the case. Version 1 scores the most against TFT (or variations of TFT that defect on up to the last 3 rounds). Compared to the others v1 has an extra CD and an extra DC (worth 7 points in total), v2 has two extra DD’s (worth 2 points in total), and v3 has an extra CC and an extra DD (worth 5 points in total).
Things only change if the opponent is designed to play D for the last several rounds. If the opponent is TFT with D on the last 4 rounds then v3 does best and v1 does worst, and if the opponent plays D on the last 5 rounds then v2 does best and v3 does worst.
I ran some numbers and it looks like your way is better against late-defectors.
Here are 3 ways you could design Afterparty:
v1. D-C on 95-96, then D 97-100 against non-clones (your original proposal)
v2. first D on 95, then D 96-100 against non-clones (my suggestion)
v3. first D on 96, then D 97-100 against non-clones (a variation on my suggestion)
My intuition was that v3 would be better than v1, even if v2 was not, but it turns out that’s not the case. Version 1 scores the most against TFT (or variations of TFT that defect on up to the last 3 rounds). Compared to the others v1 has an extra CD and an extra DC (worth 7 points in total), v2 has two extra DD’s (worth 2 points in total), and v3 has an extra CC and an extra DD (worth 5 points in total).
Things only change if the opponent is designed to play D for the last several rounds. If the opponent is TFT with D on the last 4 rounds then v3 does best and v1 does worst, and if the opponent plays D on the last 5 rounds then v2 does best and v3 does worst.
I already ran the numbers, and I think that Late Afterparty, version 4 with D-C on 96, 97, would have been most likely to have won this tournament.