The other problem I see with this is that tasks just don’t seem to change the game. Yeah, if I have the extra $ and buy I’ll buy a task since there’s no downside. I’ll take them. And if I happen to complete the task it’s cool. Maybe it’ll convince me to play one card over another once, but it won’t really change the game at all. So what’s the point?
i like these questions because it gives the start of a good design brief. "i want this card to change the game using tasks", etc
I don't think all fan mechanics need to change the game in a significant way. Would this get included in a real expansion? Likely not. Could some casual players add this to some games they play? Sure. Is it swingy? Sometimes... but so are Boons, shuffling, and some other parts of the game.
I mean, design however you want, but I certainly don't want to spend time designing some cards around a mechanic just for the mechanic to do nothing. Note that this is different from being swingy or unfun, which you seem to be confusing with the concept of "doing something"... all the mechanics in the official game (except maybe some dud cards like pstone) *do something*.
In general, I think fan mechanics contests should center around mechanics that actually change the game in some way so that people who want to enter don't have to waste time on a mechanic that has no reason to be in a game. Like, you might as well get rid of the mechanic and nothing would change, but the game will become simpler. I might try to implement this in a way I like better and post a card around that (unless someone already made a better implementation of this idea, which might be the case).