I decided to choose interacting with what is in play as the theme for the competition because of the wide varieties in the way the official cards do so. I was keen to see what new and innovative ways people could come up with. You didn't disappoint. There are some really good and creative cards here.
Arsenal by Timinouhttp://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=20912.msg877796#msg877796I see this having two sweetspots. I see it being very strong in slogs, particularly if ruins are involved, where it is unlikely to affect shuffles. In engines the gain onto your deck ability can help set up your next turn. In weaker/less reliable engines what is better, the gaining onto your deck or not discarding your better cards? Difficult to say. I can see this being a skill card.
Dorp by Spinefluhttp://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=20912.msg877368#msg877368I think there is a nice balance here in that it is worth powering up and can power itself up, but doesn't create a monolythic strategy. The dynamics of where this is the only village could be interesting. It will probably create a rush for it, as you might need to use some Dorps to power it up. One possible edge case issue is that in games with more than 2 players and no other spammable cards not every player is going to be able to fully power it up.
Florist by NoMoreFunhttp://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=20912.msg877408#msg877408A worry I have with this card is whether or not it adds a new type of luck that previously didn't exist. You want this card hand at the beginning of your turn where it is very powerful. If you happen to draw it later on in your turn, it could end up being an overpriced Warehouse or worse.
Four Leaf Clover by AJL828http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=20912.msg877462#msg877462Original and innovative, I like the idea of using the total cost of cards in play. One minor quibble, is that it might be possible to have triggered it accidently and not realised. Personally I think gaining a treasure might be a bit underwhelming, I think I would have preferred a reward that synergised better with a strategy that leads to someone playing $21 worth of action cards, even if that might have pushed the cost up to 6.
HauntedHouse by LibraryAdventurerhttp://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=20912.msg877425#msg877425Very interesting and original concept. The draw and topdecking for money could be very powerful. The compulsory trashing of a Province in hand is an interesting effect. Bishop has already proved the concept that trashing a province for VP is worthwhile, so I can see that you would want to trash one to gain the Ghost. This will have some very strong interactions, Farming Village for example. When there is no sifting I am wondering how much of a drawback the choice of trashing or topdecking a Province will be. I can see the card being very strong on some boards and weak on others. As the compulsory trashing only applies to Province, will this push players to alt VP strategies when they are available? It also gets a boost when Cemetary or Exoricst are in the kingdom as they provide other methods of gaining a Ghost.
Hostile Village by Aquilahttp://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=20912.msg877817#msg877817Nice. I think the trashing clause stops the card from being overpowered whilst still being worth playing.
Labormen by Xen3khttp://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=20912.msg877429#msg877429My gut feeling is that this could be like Jack of all Trades, where a card does a number of different things that add up to a strong card. I like the way the cost reduction works means that it cannot reduce its own cost. This means it will be hard to gain enough of them to set up a mega turn, even though the cost of victory cards will be reduced. End game dynamics could be interesting.
Recast by Mathdudehttp://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=20912.msg878157#msg878157I think this would be better if it allowed to gain cards costing up to $1 more than the trashed card, not exactly $1 more. I think currently its strength is quite board dependent. The card could open up some interesting end game options as you could trash cards you have played to gain victory cards.
Ring by Gubumphttp://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=20912.msg877376#msg877376A Copper gainer is a neat and simple idea. I agree with one of the comments that the concept could make a great heirloom. The problem is that what can be gained does need to be capped in some way. I also agree with the issue that others have pointed out. You can play one copy of a high power treasure you have multiple copies of, play a Ring to gain another copy of that, then play the rest of them.
Shadow by Grephttp://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=20912.msg877917#msg877917Nice and simple idea. Agree that only certain action cards can be worth playing in the night phase, but there is enough of them to make this a worthwhile card.
Stroke of Luck by Arowdokhttp://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=20912.msg877901#msg877901The only submission that is an event. A Copper, Silver and Gold is 9$ and 3 buys. In return you get 4VP without having a dead card in your deck or it costing you a buy. Would this be a way of getting rid of treasures for reward after bootstrapping your deck or could it be a strategy in its own right. It could be either depending on what support is available. It could be very interesting in the end game on money boards. Once you are sure you are on your last shuffle, you might as well get this for the points each time you have a Copper, Silver and Gold in play.
Trading Village by JWhttp://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=20912.msg877367#msg877367I don't think powering it up would be a problem on most boards. I think this would be most interesting on boards where it is the only village. You would obviously have to play some that are not powered up, trying to minimise the number could impact strategy.
Treasure Cove by Segurahttp://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=20912.msg877936#msg877936With no other kingdom treasures of victory cards, this could up to $4 per turn and 4VP at the end of the game for a cost of $7. Looks good in comparison to Harem. In a game with Castles this is going cost a minimum of $15. Is that intended? In games with Knights you would also need to remember Dame Josephine bumps up the cost too.
Treetop Village by Mahowrathhttp://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=20912.msg877788#msg877788The cost clause has some weird effects, but I don't think any of them cause any major problems and overall I like it. Has a strong synergy is you KC it, as the card will activate it's extra draw if you play a card costing up to 6. Gainers get a bit weird, Workshop can gain this but University can't.
Trophy by Fausthttp://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=20912.msg877381#msg877381My initial reaction to this was could it be swingy if you get a dud starting hand at the wrong time and your engine fails to fire. Whilst this can happen, the more I thought about it, the more I don't think this is a problem. This card will more often reward the player who builds the more reliable engine. I think would turn out to be a card for the player who most skilfully executes their strategy.
Twin by 4esthttp://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=20912.msg877433#msg877433This card wants you to have cards in your deck that you already have in play. Is this going to discourage diversity in strategies and create demand for the key cards in a kingdom? The card does have a self synergy, but it wants something else in order to make a strategy. Has it got the balance right? I think it is a difficult one to call.
Visigoth by Mandioca15http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=20912.msg877381#msg877381A 4 cost card that you can trash when you play it for 3, maybe 4 or even or VP if you have built your deck a certain way. Yes please, looks good to me when the kingdom will support it. There will also be some boards (for example, if it is the only +buy) where you might want to hang onto it and build your deck in a way to try to avoid activating the trash for points. In such games the final turns might be interesting, having deliberately tried to keep the card, can you then activate the trash for points clause? I like the way it could make you play differently on different boards.
Workroom by The Alchemisthttp://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=20912.msg877919#msg877919Alternates between a Lab and a cantrip gainer. I can see it being powerful on boards where it can gain plenty of engine components. I like that it cannot gain itself under normal circumstances to drain the pile. With cost reduction this can happen, but official cards like Magpie can run its own pile if it has the right support, so I don't see that as a problem.
Warlock by emtzalexhttp://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=20912.msg878230#msg878230Interesting idea. I can see this being very powerful, the question is how long it takes to set up by getting the right cards onto your Warlock mat. I wonder if this could be a golden deck enabler by getting the right cards onto the Warlock mat.
And now for the bit I guess you are looking for.
WINNER!!!Haunted House by LibraryAdventurer
Runner UpsTreetop Village by Mahowrath
Labormen by Xen3k
Honorable MentionsTrophy by Faust
Visigoth by Mandioca15
Dorp by Spineflu
Arsenal by Timinou
Congratulations LibraryAdventurer.
Thanks to everyone who entered.
you overpaid +1 Coffers