Secret Research

Herbalist topdecks Treasures for next turn, keeping Philosopher's Stone's deck+discard count high when it matters.

Re-affirmed in a later blog post — Herbalist keeps Treasures (including Philosopher's Stone) accessible.

Cheap alt-VP piles score best when you can gain/buy many cards per turn to pad the deck count — the generalized Beggar/Gardens pattern.

A single Potion purchase amortizes across piles — a lone Potion-cost card is a cost, two or more is a plan.