OK here is the log from my last full game -
http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20130315-170636-80fc044c.htmlI'll give it a nice breakdown.
Supply: Alchemist, Governor, Great Hall, Haggler, Herbalist, Oracle, Philosopher's Stone, Potion, Saboteur, Woodcutter, and Worker's Village
We both open 4/3.
There are a number of different possibilities but I think at the heart of any of them, you have to be aiming for a Governor fueled engine. There is herbalist/P.Stone, but it's going to be way too slow here I think. Governor/BM is of course strong, but there's just so much support to improve upon it.
The big thing with governors is you want to use them for +cards as little as possible. So getting card draw from elsewhere is ideal. We have 2 options here, alchemist and oracle. Alchemist is non-terminal and very consistent, but slow setting up. Oracle is more inconsistent, but also attacks, but needs villages.
We both opt for opening potion, going into the alchemist route. I decided that if I went alchemist and the other guy didn't, I'd probably lose the governor split 6-4, or we might split them due to my first turn. But the huge card draw would let me much more effectively gain and remodel gold to provinces that it wouldn't matter. However, that theory wasn't tested as we both got potions. I opened Potion/Woodcutter, thinking the plus buy would be useful early on. However, thinking back, I would have preferred potion/oracle. Titandrake opened potion/herbalist, and while herbalist is garbage later on, it can act as an early accelerant with good luck, so it's the sort of high variance move I might make as 2P. Of course, he gets terrible early luck which most likely decides much of the game.
The basic game plan for me was then, get alchemists, get a haggler and then buy as many governors and worker's villages, gaining more villages and oracles. Use the governor's to trash extra 3's into more governors and then once I'm drawing my deck start gaining and remodeling gold as much as possible. I have the opportunity to drain three piles prematurely thanks to haggler and I take it for the win.
An interesting game, and would have been more so if luck was more equal. Thanks Titandrake for closing out my Isotropic Dominion career. It's been a blast.