Since I first stumbled upon the TR/Wharf engine (requiring no +action cards whatsoever), I've had a minor obsession with cobbling together bizarre engines on boards that you might not guess could support any engine at all. And
this one is probably my favorite so far.
cards in supply: Bridge, Colony, Golem, Goons, Horse Traders, Ironworks, Platinum, Potion, Rabble, Remake, Throne Room, Trading Post, and Young Witch ( Chapel♦ )
I stared at the board for a long while before making my opening buy. Goons, Chapel, Young Witch, Bridge... all kinds of delicious candy you'd like to be able to play if you had unlimited actions. And yet, with no Villages, and not even a cantrip in sight to pair with Throne Room, you might guess this is just another boring Big Money-variant board. Open Young Witch and hope to outrace a Chapel opening with some decent luck? Open Chapel and pick up a few Goons over the course of the game, with no other actions in the deck?
Nah, that's boring. Clearly this calls for shoehorning in a really weird engine!
#1 led: 126 points (71 ▼, 4 Colonies, and 5 Duchies); 18 turns
opening: Ironworks / Chapel
[50 cards] 10 Rabbles, 10 Throne Rooms, 8 Goons, 4 Golems, 3 Bridges, 2 Ironworks, 1 Chapel, 1 Silver, 1 Potion, 1 Platinum, 5 Duchies, 4 Colonies
Ultimately the cards that make the engine run are Throne Room, Golem, Rabble, and (semi-critically) Ironworks for +action to keep going after possible aborted Golem chains. Chapel was entirely necessary to provide the density of engine cards required, with Ironworks enabling quick accumulation of engine cards during the initial trimming phase. Bridge makes for some fun Ironworks shenanigans (gaining Goons and Duchies with Ironworks) as well as providing a critical piece of the payload. Would you have guessed looking at the board that dropping 4 Goons in one turn was plausible?
This is maybe the most interesting deck I've ever built, and it was an extra bonus to put it together against a top-flight opponent in ehunt who was himself following a perfectly good strategy.
What weird engines have you forced on action-poor (or draw-poor) boards? I'd love to see some other novel ideas!