My opinions, and they are only my opinions:
I'm convinced that any opening that doesn't include Steward has to be a mistake. Strong, early trashing on this board just has to be priority number 1 with everything else waaaaay behind. Of course, Steward is my favorite card so I may be a touch biased...
In that same vein, draw has to be important as well. The only sources of draw here are Herald and Journeyman (OK Steward is draw too in a pinch, but I'd like to think of that as a last resort). After playing those games, I find that you don't necessarily want the kind of action-dense deck that Herald needs to serve as reliably as you want for both Villagey-ness and Draw-ness. You need some Golds and you eventually need some green. Journeyman I think fits the bill here as you can always filter out what you don't want: Copper, Gold, and later Province. With so many ways to gain tons of cards, I think the opportunity cost of getting a Village+Journeyman here is lower, and you have a thin deck so colliding them isn't an issue.
I think Butcher is a real powerhouse here. Really, any trash-for-benefit would work and Butcher just fits that role the best here. Between Butcher, Market Square, and Stonemason, you really don't need any "economy" since Golds are really just cards that cost 6. I guess it's an added bonus that if you can re-draw your deck you get a few extra dollars to spend by playing them.
Anything else I don't feel certain about at all. Such a fun board to play, though :-D