Is there a Saint Petersburg strategy that doesn't involve buying Aristocrats?

Question

Is there a viable strategy in Saint Petersburg that involves focusing on buildings (blue cards) while buying at most, say, one or two aristocrats (orange cards)?

Please clarify whether your analysis is with or without the expansion.

Answer 1

If you can claim the aristocrats that provide income based on the number of buildings (or, to a lesser degree, workers) you have early in the game then a strategy that orients on maximizing that type of card, particularly cheap ones, becomes viable.