a day early because I suck at planningThanks for the submissions! This contest was kind of versatile and your submissions definitely delivered on that front. Lots of distinct cards that do a lot of things here, but which one wins?
Endure by GubumpRoyal Galleying every card of a pile? Interesting concept. There's probably a bit of improvement on the wording that could be done, but I'm not a stickler for that kind of stuff. That being said, the concept is really cool, if there ever was a return to Adventures-style tokens I'd love to see this. Could definitely cost $9 or $10 given Pathfinding costs $8, but that aside I like it.
Way of the Bear by JoxeftA Way variant of a Chapel that forces you to guess how many cards in your next hand are going to be junk. As much as I like it, I think this would be better suited as a regular card and not a way. Given it's a Way, though, being able to play a terminal Silver as it, trashing cards, then guaranteeing having $3 or more seems to be the play with this.
Architect by 4estA weird Village that also gets you cards. One or two might leave you a bit behind, but piling up 5 or 6 in your deck and consistently getting Smithies or other huge payloads is insane... but with a cost. Definitely a card you want as many of as you can (Winning the split 8-2 allows you to double-Province!), but with a downside of costing $5, how worth it is it to get these early? Being a Village really helps here as that's something only this card in the Kingdom might be.
Oratory by AJL828Like Tomb, nuts but only on boards with trashing. Unlike Tomb, you gotta buy it first then work for it. Seems like a no-brainer to always get despite that (the only boards I think I'd skip it are Hermit and JoaT as the only trasher boards) but still manages to be interesting. Quality card, I don't think I have anything else to say on it.
Wine Cellar by Builder_RobertsDominion is a very fast game, and this forces you to reconsider how much you need a card
now versus getting more from your coin at the cost of having to wait a bit. Powerful, but you might not want to stack 4 tokens on it every time, and if you're using this card to gain Provinces quick you might end up having to slow down due to not having enough coins to stack. Also, some nice interactions with Black Market and Storyteller.
Provisions by X-traCool card, being able to vary between being a Smithy, ultra-Necropolis, or anything in between. Like others have said, it feels a bit weak in decks without too many Actions, though that might not be very many. I think placing a Buy on this would solve that, but nitpicks aside, great card.
Crooked Smithy by Xen3kDouble-Lab but forces you to discard cards or suffer a debt penalty. This feels like a fixed version of Tide Pools oddly enough as you can just take debt instead of having to discard if you need cards for your Buy phase, but in return you have to discard more or take more. Not always better than either Tide Pools or Warehouse but gives you more interesting decisions to make than either.
Hidden Village by CommodoreChucklesYou did it. You found a way to make the +1 Card token costing $5 balanced. I'm impressed and honestly really want to play with this. In games where this is the only Village, this is going to bounce from pile to pile, but with others you have a bit more control over where it ends up. A Village that likes other Villages in the kingdom, not too new a concept but pulled off well here. Good Lost City variant, and can be better if you have the right tool.
Scrimp by spineflu...Way too weak in comparison to Research. No +Action, can only trash Treasures, and you sift instead of just drawing? For $3? I'm sorry, I don't see many Kingdoms where I'd get this. (JoaT being like the one exception)
Lumberjack's Camp by xyz123Choose one: Cantrip or Candlestick Maker. Yeah, uh, this is kind of weak, and Villagers being the token that gathers on it doesn't really give it the power boost it needs. Probably salvageable if it cost $3 and played itself on gain, but as it stands, I don't see too many boards I'd buy this on.
Wartime by spheremonkTake the spoils while you still can! Some good reward early, but the later you get unique cards, the more hurt your deck's gonna get. Very thematic and avoids Tax's problem of not being fun to play with.
House of the Rising Sun by emtzalexIncredibly overpowered. Love the idea, but you've played Kingdoms with Horn of Plenty, right? You play that around gaining $8 or higher cost cards with it, and even not considering that, you're still very likely to gain $5s with it. This is ridiculously better than Den of Sin to the point where it's not even funny. Fun broken, and thank god it's not Throneable, but this should probably stay a fan card.
Busker by NoMoreFunFalls into the "good in ridiculous amounts" category of $2s. Either play it like Ghost Town and stack all your Tokens onto one copy of it to get multiple sets of village effects or give up a turn to pseudo-Tactician your next turn's draw power heavily. Lots of things you can do with it while still being a bit weak; perfect for a 2-cost. I like it.
Honorable Mentions: Endure, Oratory, Crooked Village, Wine Cellar, Busker
Runners-Up: Architect, Wartime
Winner: Hidden VillageCongrats to all who entered!