Wyeast 1388 Starter Size Help

So this weekend I’m planning on making a Belgian Golden Strong and I have a Wyeast 1388 smack pack manufactured on 1/9/2012. The recipe I’m planning on using has 2.5# of sugar that I plan to add a few days into fermentation. So without the sugar the OG will be about 1.050 and with it is calculated to be 1.073. After consulting Stan Hieronymus’s Brew Like a Monk I’ve considered underpitching to the point of roughly 450k cells per ml per degree Plato, as Moorgrat does (pg 186). So with all of that considered which option should I go with to calculate the number of yeast cells I need to pitch to achieve the best attenuation?

A) Mr. Malty pitching rate for 1.073?
B) Mr. Malty pitching rate for 1.050?
C) Brew Like a Monk rate for 1.073?
D) Brew Like a Monk rate for 1.050?
E) None of the above

I’m leaning towards option C which gives me about 148 billion cells for a 5 gallon batch. Mr Malty calculates 251 billion for option A. I feel C gives me a middle ground where the yeast will be pitched into a lower gravity beer and have time to reproduce some before having the 2.5# of sugar added. However having no experience with this yeast means I’m open to any suggestions.

I imagine A is what you want for best attenuation, if that is your only concern. But I imagine there are flavor reasons for underpitching, so I would go with either B or C, figuring that you will be pitching into 1.050 wort.  I agree that is a good middle ground. If it works, try D for your next batch.

Option D, aerate well, in a couple days you will have enough yeast to handle the extra sugar you will be adding then.

Thanks for the replies fellas. I’m going to make a 1 liter starter and not put it on the stir plate. BeerSmith calculates this will give me 142 billion cells. I’ll report back in a couple of weeks to let you know how it went.