If you go salvager, and they don't It's really easy to win the duchy dancing (or in this case, province dancing war.) Once it get's down to 2 colonies left, and people keep buying provinces instead. You just salvage a colony and buy a colony for the win. Or salvage a platinum and buy 2 provinces letting you safely buy colony next turn. It's not quite as good in colony games because it's hard to get salv+colony+11$. But especially in wharf games starting with 7 card hands, salvager gives you the ability to end the game on your terms like no other card. And yes, it will often be a dead card throughout the midgame. But if you buy it first turn, and wharf/money for your next 4 turns, it will probably hit twice. And I'd take salvager (trashed estate) (trashed copper/estate) over silver - estate - copper in my deck.