If you already have an iPad “Mononoke” from Bram Bos might be a very cost effective option:
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Cheapest Blofeld or Virus (snow even) you can find. Else use software and save a bunch? I think ambient is not too difficult for most synths to do. FX boxes might work by itself.
Another shout for Microfreak, incredible for evolving pads and textures, needs effects but you can get those cheap
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My go to for sample drones since I started in 2008!
its difficult to recommend you something without knowing what you already have.
i agree that sampling is great for these kinds of sounds.
but i also think that you have to have an expressive/flexible sound source to create those samples from.
microfreak is what i would suggest. its insane value, whole modular rack in a cheap synth, with true poly aftertouch/modulation interface. would argue that its cheaper than buying vsts + poly aftertouch controller.
would not suggest a mono synth for this, neutron and typhon are great, but youd need to know exactly what sound you want, then multisample them into a daw or a sampler, losing the expression possibilities in the process.
i used microfreak for a while and i miss it! im closely familiar with ico sountrack and id say that, from sound modules/synths, micro was the closest to that vibe. I wouldnt get it for bass or leads, because it has that arturia “thin” sound, but because of what micro actually is, it makes it even better for those airy swells and distant soundscapes.
obviously you need FX, but since you are adding to your existing setup, i assume you have something that can work 
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Thank everyone for the answers. So far the best synth option I have seen from here and watching demo videos is the microfreak, I see a bunch of people selling these for 250 euros which is perfect for me and the interface seems to be fun to play with.
I am more clueless about samplers, but knowing now that Burial ambient tracks are only samples make me wonder if I should not just skip the synth route and just grab a sampler and quality fx…
I am afraid that for this budget, It might end up being harder to find a good hardware sampler…
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Are you married to it being hardware? I am definitely a hardware guy, but I have to say that if my budget was 300 euro even I would do it ITB instead.
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PaulXStretch plugin is all you need (works great on Samples) (and a Reverb).
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Aside from the Burial track which is 100% samples it sounds to me like both the others are pretty sample based too, so yeah if I were you I would definitely look into samplers. The nice thing about a sampler is that you have endless timbres, you can even sample other synths.
Try a sampler in a DAW + effects for now to see what kind of sound to expect and what the workflow is like. If you setup to record internally from a browser etc on a computer you can try sampling snippets of anything, something I like to do on the Octatrack, then playing it chromatically, filtering etc.
You could look at using a MIDI controller with a DAW sampler as a cheap way of getting a lot of capability and excellent sound, I’d really like to get a MIDI Fighter Twister for use with my Reaper setup atm.
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Also consider a used MPC or SP404 or something like that. You want to check for polyphony capability, and personally I much prefer stereo sampling over mono, when you slow stuff right down it tends to exaggerate the reverb and having both channels is nice for that. Birdsong slowed right down is very cool.
Um…Elektron Model:Samples?
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Thinking about it it’s actually kind of odd and unfortunate that there isn’t more hardware samplers geared around polyphonic playing and with built in keyboards, most of them atm are pad based and more about being used as drum machines.
I wish someone would make a proper bit of hardware to do this, with various high quality pitch/time algorithms, filters and so on.
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I find it more inspiring to work with hardware on more “ambient” stuff. But maybe the best would be to try out some of the softwares suggested here like the PaulXStretch which seems very interesting (and free)…
So far synth wise, the microfreak seems cheap enough, and for hardware sampler I think I see a few sp-404 at around 300 euros but the sp-404 mkII are a bit too expensive for me for now.
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If you aren’t against software, I’d say that the KORG Volca Keys w. Valhalla Shimmer is an inexpensive compact way to make some crazy fun ambient drones.
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1010Music Blackbox ? I think it meets the polyphony criteria, though it doesn’t have a built-in keyboard (unless you count the screen, and I think most people would not count that).
EDIT: Sorry, slightly OT as it doesn’t meet the OPs criteria of ‘budget’ either.
Yeah something like the Blackbox + a MIDI keyboard would be pretty nice.
There’s not much like it for less money sadly. I know it’s annoying but I might recommend playing around with software for now and try to save up for something like the Blackbox or SP404.
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For a cheap ambient sound take a large pot, put your face in it, and breathe out very slowly while moving your mouth about.
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You might find a used Korg Electribe Sampler 2 within your budget.
Or grab a copy of Ableton Live (they have a free 90 day trial) and watch this:
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I was just looking at the options and was about to mention the Electribe Sampler too, seems like a good hands-on device.
Another possible contender is the Novation Circuit Rhythm.
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