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[Jack Rudd]

No Colonies, no Shelters.

Stonemason, Apothecary, Sage, Menagerie, Gladiator, Magpie, Militia, Worker's Village, Governor, Treasury
Pilgrimage

I just won a tight game with this layout 39-35, but probably neither of us played it anywhere close to optimally.

[dedicateddan]

I'd open Magpie/Gladiator, looking to play Governor/Militia

[aku_chi]

I'd open with Militia/Silver, looking to grab a Governor or two on turns 3+4.  I'd grab a Magpie on the next $4 hand.  Grab a couple Worker's Villages on subsequent $4s or Governor remodels.  I'd get as many Governors as I can, using Stonemason overbuy whenever I can.  Stonemason can trash some Copper, and maybe a Governor-gained Gold to win the Governor split.  Use Governor draw aggressively, because you can follow it up with Militia.

Once the Governors are gone, it's time to start thinking about the end of the game.  Magpies are going to empty, so this looks like a 3-pile finish.  The more Stonemasons and Governors you have, the more control you have over the end of the game.  Look for Stonemason plays to empty piles and gain Duchies.

I don't think there's time for Gladiator, but if the opponent puts in the work to expose Fortune, you should grab it, of course.  I don't think Pilgrimage can pay off, but maybe a great opportunity presents itself.  Taking advantage of your opponent's Governor's remodels to turn an Estate or two into a Menagerie seems decent; it's easy to start with an activated Menagerie or two if your opponent is doing the Governor-draw into Militia thing.

[Chris is me]

Governor games are always weird and fucky because you have to play them by ear so much based on the situation.

Generally with a game where Governor is dominant, you get a lot of Governors, and you use all your other gains on cards that can either mitigate the downsides of Governor or replace one of Governor’s core functions. So you try to add draw, or remodeling, or Gold gaining, so you can save your Governors for the function you have less access to.

Stonemason changes a lot here. It offers a really quick way to get multiple Governors, so you want to hit high cost targets very quickly. I am not sure if Apothecary or Magpie is the way to do that, so I would say Magpie since it can be a lot faster. Magpie for pseudo-draw is a big help here, and later on those Magpie can threaten to become Duchy in a pinch which plays into the end game a bit.

Obviously you grab a Militia at some point, I would actually say fairly early so you can potentially stop some $7 turns, probably the back of the second top of the third shuffle. You can also Remodel an Estate into it with Governor.

Otherwise it is fairly standard Governor fare. There is likely no time for Gladiator. Get a Worker’s Village or two so you can buy more than one thing - ideally Remodel Estates into it. Pilgrimage seems really good if you can time it to get you Magpie Governor and WV or Gold or something.

So my plan: Open Magpie Silver, get a Governor quickly to Remodel those Estates, splash in Militia, Magpie, WV as you can, Stonemason for Governor any time you can, watch those piles.

[Commodore Chuckles]

Stonemason + Apothecary is a super strong combo. Get 2 Apothocaries with only 1 potion, then Stonemason your other Stonemasons and Estates into more coppers.

[markusin]

Stonemason + Apothecary is a super strong combo. Get 2 Apothocaries with only 1 potion, then Stonemason your other Stonemasons and Estates into more coppers.

That sounds reasonable, but on this particular board it has to contend with Governor, which can gain multiple Provinces a turn with the help of Magpie. You also have to worry about Silvers given to you by the opponent's Governors. Still, Apothecary can be fairly consistent.

Militia sounds like a decent despite Menagerie, since you'd probably want Sage over Menagerie here.

[Chris is me]

Stonemason + Apothecary is a super strong combo. Get 2 Apothocaries with only 1 potion, then Stonemason your other Stonemasons and Estates into more coppers.

This would absolutely be worth exploring on this board if it weren’t for the presence of Governor. It’s unlikely this game will last more than 12 turns, really limiting the amount of time you can spend exploiting the interaction.

[tripwire]

I'm a little surprised that people aren't opening militia, but buying it later. On a board where I want militia and getting five-costs is important, I have a hard time not opening with it in the hope that I can prevent my opponent from getting that early 5 (especially if I'm first player).

So is there something about this board that makes that not matter? Or am I overestimating how much of a set back a potential missed 5-cost would be? Is the extra cycling of something like Magpie just more important early game?

[dedicateddan]

I'm a little surprised that people aren't opening militia, but buying it later. On a board where I want militia and getting five-costs is important, I have a hard time not opening with it in the hope that I can prevent my opponent from getting that early 5 (especially if I'm first player).

So is there something about this board that makes that not matter? Or am I overestimating how much of a set back a potential missed 5-cost would be? Is the extra cycling of something like Magpie just more important early game?

The Magpie lead snowballs, and getting an early Magpie can help.

Magpie/Sage is an interesting opening as well, although I think the Sage might trigger too many bad shuffles.

[Chris is me]

I'm a little surprised that people aren't opening militia, but buying it later. On a board where I want militia and getting five-costs is important, I have a hard time not opening with it in the hope that I can prevent my opponent from getting that early 5 (especially if I'm first player).

So is there something about this board that makes that not matter? Or am I overestimating how much of a set back a potential missed 5-cost would be? Is the extra cycling of something like Magpie just more important early game?

The sooner you get a Magpie, the more likely you are to win the split. Additionally, the cycling helps accelerate you more consistently than Militia gets a somewhat luck based early $5 disruption.

I don’t like Sage opening because I think Silver is better at helping you hit $5 early which you do need.