I’m with Gazbag here: Ports merit Pathfinding.
Whoever wins the Groundskeeper split should be in prime position to win so that is the first objective. Sprawling Castle ... is worth 27 points. Whomever gains this likely wins the game.
I think this is too slow:
I would go hard for the ports split, not for the groundskeeper split. The main reason is that it is much faster for two reasons:
- you merely need 4 buys,
- there will likely be some situations where we hit exactly 4$ (there is already a 5/6 chance in T1/2). If so, I believe that ports are the correct buy either way - even if you don’t plan to pathfind it.
@shark-bait: Assume that we both hit 4$ twice (buying ports), we both go hard for pathfinding (e. g., buy butcher, save coins for Pathfinding) and achieve it at the same time, the only difference being that
I spent four buys on eight pathfinding ports,
you spent these buys for four ports and two pathfinding Groundskeeper.
First, I am not sure if this will win you the groundskeeper split, because I am much closer to draw my deck. If you don’t win your split, you’re kinda lost.
Second, even if you win it, the VP/turn rate is not determined by the number of groundskeeper alone, but rather by the product ((number of Groundskeeper+VP/card) * number of gains). I believe that concerning the number of gains, I will have the upper hand because I draw my deck much earlier to support multiple butchers per turn.
However, it’s going to end on three piles, whether the third pile will be islands or estates depends on the situational tactics. In other words, I am almost sure we will never see sprawling castle.