I have been playing Goa obsessively lately. I tend to agree with David that the new rule makes money more important. Like he said, if more people are going to buy their own tiles they will need to tax more often. If you are going to spend an action taxing, it makes sense that you would want your tax column advanced. Also, this rule makes it more important, not less, to think about "the snake" since people are likely to buy any really good chips they get to auction.
Now, the rule does mean that if you are going to try to play a cash poor game, you at least have the advantage that opponents must overbid your cash holding by two Ducats in order to buy your tile. Since players can estimate how much you have based on the number of Ducat cards you hold, this is a valuable rule for the "I never tax" player. I think a rule which can be used to either emphasize or de-emphasize a given action is probably a good one.
Is it possible to win without going below the Second row of the Expedition column? Yes, it definitely is. You can buy Ex. Cards at auction and you get them for advancing to the fifth and sixth row of each column first. I have had several games where I ended with more than five cards (eight is the most I finished with). With extra cards in-hand, you would have to get pretty lucky to score more by discarding down to two (it would necessarily be a pair, of course) and drawing. If you have more than one pair in you over cards, there is no way it is worth drawing again. That said, the games where I had the overcards, I had advanced to the third row early so that I could use a two card draw as an "out" if I got stuck, unable to ship or colonize (i.e. no direct scoring move available).
One thing I read here which I disagree with strongly is the notion that the Ex. Card and Colonist tracks are the only ones which score two ways. All of the columns do this, if you think about it. Harvest and Ship Building allow you to get your markers down all of your columns faster in addition to their inherent score value (this can also net you Ex. cards). Taxation is probably the most indirect form of scoring. But remember, if you move down the Taxation track quickly and have more money than others, you are more likely to be able to afford things like Mission tokens which provide VP directly and also buy utility cards like plantations, ships and colonists.
All that said, I do not think there is any overpowering strategy in Goa. The best strategy is always the "meta-strategy" of working a different angle from your opponents. If everyone is buying plantations and shipping, you can focus on non-plantations and use all the extra ships, actions, cards, VP tiles, etc. to make up for your reduced spice supply. If everyone is trying not to "waste" actions by taxing, tax more often than normal to take advantage impoverished opponents at auction. If everyone is bidding up the price of every tile at auction, you can get a good price for your auction tiles, be selective in your purchases and never have to tax. Most of all, never corner yourself trying to use the magic, sure-fire winning strategy which only works one way. Each turn, you need to be flexible enough to have or find scoring actions you can complete.
Now, the rule does mean that if you are going to try to play a cash poor game, you at least have the advantage that opponents must overbid your cash holding by two Ducats in order to buy your tile. Since players can estimate how much you have based on the number of Ducat cards you hold, this is a valuable rule for the "I never tax" player. I think a rule which can be used to either emphasize or de-emphasize a given action is probably a good one.
Is it possible to win without going below the Second row of the Expedition column? Yes, it definitely is. You can buy Ex. Cards at auction and you get them for advancing to the fifth and sixth row of each column first. I have had several games where I ended with more than five cards (eight is the most I finished with). With extra cards in-hand, you would have to get pretty lucky to score more by discarding down to two (it would necessarily be a pair, of course) and drawing. If you have more than one pair in you over cards, there is no way it is worth drawing again. That said, the games where I had the overcards, I had advanced to the third row early so that I could use a two card draw as an "out" if I got stuck, unable to ship or colonize (i.e. no direct scoring move available).
One thing I read here which I disagree with strongly is the notion that the Ex. Card and Colonist tracks are the only ones which score two ways. All of the columns do this, if you think about it. Harvest and Ship Building allow you to get your markers down all of your columns faster in addition to their inherent score value (this can also net you Ex. cards). Taxation is probably the most indirect form of scoring. But remember, if you move down the Taxation track quickly and have more money than others, you are more likely to be able to afford things like Mission tokens which provide VP directly and also buy utility cards like plantations, ships and colonists.
All that said, I do not think there is any overpowering strategy in Goa. The best strategy is always the "meta-strategy" of working a different angle from your opponents. If everyone is buying plantations and shipping, you can focus on non-plantations and use all the extra ships, actions, cards, VP tiles, etc. to make up for your reduced spice supply. If everyone is trying not to "waste" actions by taxing, tax more often than normal to take advantage impoverished opponents at auction. If everyone is bidding up the price of every tile at auction, you can get a good price for your auction tiles, be selective in your purchases and never have to tax. Most of all, never corner yourself trying to use the magic, sure-fire winning strategy which only works one way. Each turn, you need to be flexible enough to have or find scoring actions you can complete.