Not a lot to say about this card. I expect it's a little better than catacombs, usually. Its advantage is more prevalent earlier on, when you can skip cards you don't want a lot more realistically. Of course, later on those few dead things hurt more. Probably reasonably into engine games you will be naming chapel or doctor, just to pass up that now-dead trasher, but of course, with other strong trashers a la steward, skipping them is not such a big deal. So mostly good in light-trash engines or big money. Though money, you will name estate most of the game if you get this early in a shuffle. I do like that this rewards deck tracking, as actually seems to be what competitively might be called a theme of the set.
Actually, this card somehow reminds me a good bit of wandering minstrel. I wouldn't be terribly surprised to find this is a top-3 terminal draw card (though I expect wharf, torturer, margrave all will still be generally better, knocking this to fourth; and of course, witch and ghost ship, but really drawing is not much of their purpose).
To continue my theme: How does this affect the opening? It doesn't, at least much. Probably a pretty good opener, can skip estates.