My lists are pretty shitty but I'm taking the "done is better than perfect" approach this year. So far I've done $0-2 and $3.
$0-2 (I ignored Tax):
1.) Chapel [X]
2.) Peasant [X]
3.) Page [X]
4.) Hamlet [X]
5.) Coin of the Realm [X]
6.) Save [X]
7.) Encampment [X]
8.) Stonemason [X]
9.) Fool's Gold [X]
10.) Borrow [X]
11.) Travelling Fair [X]
12.) Raze [X]
13.) Alms [X]
14.) Advance [X]
15.) Courtyard [X]
16.) Squire [X]
17.) Ratcatcher [X]
18.) Pawn [X]
19.) Scouting Party [X]
20.) Patrician [X]
21.) Lighthouse [X]
22.) Candlestick Maker [X]
23.) Settlers [X]
24.) Cellar [X]
25.) Poor House [X]
26.) Herbalist [X]
27.) Delve [X]
28.) Native Village [X]
29.) Haven [X]
30.) Crossroads [X]
31.) Beggar [X]
32.) Vagrant [X]
33.) Embargo [X]
34.) Moat [X]
35.) Pearl Diver [X]
36.) Quest [X]
37.) Duchess [X]
38.) Secret Chamber [X]
Notable decisions:
Chapel, Peasant, Page: Peasant is better than Page. Fuck you, it just is. Page games are all the same. You buy two Pages, you go through the thing, you hope Warrior misses, you end up trashing maybe 2 cards with Warrior if you're really lucky, but the attack does nothing because you both go for Champion anyway so you have no time to build a big Warrior chain. You then end up with infinite Actions, yippee. But it's not really a guarantee of an engine or anything. Peasant almost guarantees an engine is possible, and it's a lot more versatile and just fun to play with. I genuinely think the options Peasant gives you are just better. I have picked each of the token options as the first choice at one point or another. It's so cool. But Chapel is still better than both of them.
CoTR at 5: This seems really high, but it's probably one of the best Villages in the game. It's really two Villages in one, and you never need to line it up with anything. You don't even care that it's a dead card in your deck when you call it.
Save at 6: Save is super important and you should buy it in every game it appears in.
Encampment at 7: This is probably too high, I know, but it certainly is a very good card worth fighting for in most games it appears in.
CSM should probably be above Pawn. Herbalist is way too high but I really value +Buy more than most of the things below it.
$3 cards:
1.) Ambassador [X]
2.) Masquerade [X]
3.) Fishing Village [X]
4.) Ferry [X]
5.) Urchin [X]
6.) Steward [X]
7.) Gear [X]
8.) Amulet [X]
9.) Menagerie [X]
10.) Bonfire [X]
11.) Scheme [X]
12.) Forager [X]
13.) Guide [X]
14.) Black Market [X]
15.) Swindler [X]
16.) Village [X]
17.) Warehouse [X]
18.) Wishing Well [X]
19.) Watchtower [X]
20.) Market Square [X]
21.) Dungeon [X]
22.) Hermit [X]
23.) Lookout [X]
24.) Enchantress [X]
25.) Farmers' Market [X]
26.) Oasis [X]
27.) Expedition [X]
28.) Plan [X]
29.) Sage [X]
30.) Smugglers [X]
31.) Workshop [X]
32.) Storeroom [X]
33.) Oracle [X]
34.) Doctor [X]
35.) Gladiator [X]
36.) Shanty Town [X]
37.) Chariot Race [X]
38.) Tunnel [X]
39.) Fortune Teller [X]
40.) Banquet [X]
41.) Loan [X]
42.) Catapult [X]
43.) Develop [X]
44.) Trade Route [X]
45.) Woodcutter [X]
46.) Caravan Guard [X]
47.) Masterpiece [X]
48.) Chancellor [X]
49.) Great Hall [X]
Notable decisions:
Amb, Masq: I think Amb is still better. Maybe that's just me, but the nerf to Masq pins combined with the inherent risk factor of using it makes Amb better in my book. More control.
Fishing Village, Ferry: Might be a bit high, but it's the Village you buy so you never have to think about terminal space. Ferry is definitely correct at 4th though, it's super powerful and game defining.
Urchin, Steward, Gear, Amulet: This seems like the right order. I'm less high on Mercenary than I used to be. It's very good still. I vastly prefer Steward to Amulet but they are both good. Gear is just powerful in any deck, like you wouldn't believe if it weren't already hyped up so much on this forum.
Bonfire at 10: Bonfire is among the fastest trashers in the game, of course it should be this high.
Guide at 13: This seems Too High and should probably be lower, but it is seriously underrated. If you think Guide is bad, you're bad. It bails you out of any handsize attack or bad turn, vastly reducing the effects of shuffle luck on your game. You actually start to welcome bad hands because they make your Guide replacement hand better.
Enchantress at 24: This seems kind of low actually, Enchantress is very good. The extra draw moreso than the attack, but the attack is very infuriating early on regardless. Later it's just a draw card basically.