Mirkwood Pioneer is the evolution of Bombur in dark locations ^^

This is the worst spoiler to get because MNT and I already figured out his ability. We just needed to see his numbers, which are kinda disappointing.

This is the worst spoiler to get because MNT and I already figured out his ability. We just needed to see his numbers, which are kinda disappointing.

if only he was 2 WP instead of 1, he would have been playable. Or maybe 1 Attack and 1 defence instead.

Great thematic concept and art, terrible ally, for reason already said. Disappointing card, I never expected to see only 0's in those stats.

This card gives you the feeling like a Grima in the movies. Really meeeh.. Too situational and only his doomedability is usefull. Maybe the Woodman trait gets some great boost so he'll make some sense..

His art is cool though, but the card himself makes you feel like lady Galadriel was secretly a really ugly Orc..

I don't see why people are so sad about this card. I like him and offcourse he is only useful by usng it's ability but next to that I think he is comparible to the Escort of Edoras but with some more options. The Doomed 1 is no issue and the ability to quest for 5+ for 1 round makes him pretty valuable to a lot of decks in my opinion. Next to that he can be used as chum blocker afterwards.

Questing hard 1 round and being a chum afterwards or just 1 willpower isnt that bad. I like him more than the Galadriel ally, he is a lot more versatile to use and he also makes the players think about how to use it. Galadriel on the contrary makes a very powerful ally but not that interesting to see in play.

Next to that we have got a new trait whoch could get explored. So I'm rather curious if they ever explore it.

I like him!

He fits well into Lore, which struggles a bit in the willpower department (certain allies like Gildor excepting), but has some neat tricks that temporaily nullify existing threat in the staging area. But yeah, at least 1 attack, or a useful trait. What?

Remember location from Anduin Nmode? 10 threat 10 quest point. Woodman know the way

Gladden Marshlands is a serious threat, but Pioneer is only a temporary help, and after Marshlands gets one "hit" in. He can't be flashed in like Emery and when Marshlands drops you really want to travel there as soon as possible. I just don't see him as that much help, possibly for one turn, which might matter once in a while I guess but he won't find a slot in my solo decks. In multiplayer he could though.

As good as the Galadhon archer is, as bad is this one.

2 resources for just 1wp & a very situational ability is not worth the deck space imo.

1.sleeved - 2.stored - 3.forgotten

As good as the Galadhon archer is, as bad is this one.

2 resources for just 1wp & a very situational ability is not worth the deck space imo.

1.sleeved - 2.stored - 3.forgotten

Oh, don't break the guy's heart... He waited so long to get released...

A tragic story of a dud card:

Day 1: Dear Player, my adventure pack hasn't reached the shelves yet, but I have all my stats spoiled. I love the sound of your shuffling. Every time I hear it, I wave my arms and axe. The sound of your threat tracker is my favorite lullaby.

Day Two: Dear Player, today my card was posted in the official forums! If you could see me, you could definitely tell that I am lore. I'm not big enough to survive in Mirkwood though. It is so nice and warm in my pack.

Day Three: You know what dear player, I'm a woodman!! I hope my traits makes you happy. I always want you to be happy. I don't like it when you fail the quests. You sound so sad. It makes me sad too, and I cry with you even though you can't hear me.

Day Four: Dear Player, my beard is starting to grow. It is very long and thick and I will have a lot of it. I spend a lot of my time deckbuilding. I can quest for a whole point and block a misty mountains goblin, and stretch my arms and axe. I am becoming quite good at it too. I am a Doom card! I can't wait to join your deck Player.

Day Five: You went to the forums today. Dear Player, they lied to you. They said that I'm not viable. That my stats are too low. I am viable Player, I am your new card. I quest and block. Dear Player, what's a coaster?

Day Six: I can read those forum posts again. I don't like them. They seem cold and powergaming.. Something is covering me up. The posters called it a penny sleeve. Dear Player, what is it? Its dark! Please make it stop! I can't get away from it! Player!! HELP me!! No...

Day Seven: Dear Player, I am okay. I am in Brok Ironfist's arms. He is holding me and caressing my beard in the cardboard box. He told me about coaster cards. Why didn't you want me Player? We would have been so happy together.

Like and share this if you cry every time...

I don't see why people are so sad about this card. I like him and offcourse he is only useful by usng it's ability but next to that I think he is comparible to the Escort of Edoras but with some more options. The Doomed 1 is no issue and the ability to quest for 5+ for 1 round makes him pretty valuable to a lot of decks in my opinion. Next to that he can be used as chum blocker afterwards.

Questing hard 1 round and being a chum afterwards or just 1 willpower isnt that bad. I like him more than the Galadriel ally, he is a lot more versatile to use and he also makes the players think about how to use it. Galadriel on the contrary makes a very powerful ally but not that interesting to see in play.

I agree - I think the comparison with Escort From Edoras is a very valid comparison to make. When are you not going to have a 2 or 3 threat card in the staging area? A brief look at the 36-card Trouble in Tharbad encounter deck shows over half have 2 or 3 threat. 2 of the 1-threat cards (Orc Hound) will surge. 6 of the 10 treacheries could surge, and only one card (The Crossing at Tharbad) is immune to player card effects. You are likely to have something worthwhile to target.

It's the equivalent of a one round 2 or 3 willpower boost (like the Escort) as well as hanging around as a chump, to soak up an archery point (or two), or to add questing power for subsequent rounds.

I like him. He's not one of the most powerful cards by any means, but I don't think he's as situational as some are saying.

I agree. He's not super powerful, and he isn't as "fast" as the similar events, but he offers more versatility in the encounter cards you can choose and he has more usefulness beyond the ability's effect.

For solo play I could see him useful in really any scenario that has a large threat card stuck in the staging area (that isn't immune to player card effects). Like unique trolls, for instance, where a chump blocker is fantastic. When you think of him as Radagast's Courage/Secret Paths + chump blocker, his cost is worth it.

His cost and ability are not that bad, but I believe there are other card that could be of more use than this one when making a deck. Is his trait a new one?

He could be of use in NM though

My hope are that his numbers will get a little updated by the release, like Legacy of Numenor's did.

For people saying that the Woodman is a solution to high-threat locations I disagree. I would rather play 3 copies of Strider's Path than 3 copies of the Woodman. The issue is that I want a way of dealing with the 10 threat location *when it enters play*. Being able to mitigate its threat the next round, after it has already ruined my questing efforts and raised my threat, does me no good. The fact that I can't even use Sneak Attack or other ally mustering to use this effect during the quest phase gives this card a negligible value. In order to use him, you are adopting a strategy that I find questionable - even dangerous in some scenarios.

I prefer to use location-control (Asfaloth, Northern Tracker, The Riddermark's Finest) and travel trickery (West Road Traveler, Strider's Path, Thror's Map) coupled with an aggressive traveling strategy (i.e. always travel when possible) so the Woodman simply does not fit into my strategy. Even in nightmare decks with very high-threat encounter cards, I would rather include the above options, along with Secret Paths and Radagast's Cunning. The alternatives are either less expensive, more effective, or both. Most importantly, I am not forced to leave high-threat card in the staging area, just so I can trigger a doom-based ability.

I am not saying that he can't be useful in some scenarios, like Nightmare, where there are locations you will never travel to. At that point, I would still rather use location control or Thror's Key (with recursion) before I would turn to a relatively expensive and niche ally. As I see it, Mirkwood Pioneer is an extreme example of a sideboard card - one that will be totally worthless in almost all of my decks because of my preferred play style.

Exactly. If he could be "flashed" into play he would help immensely, but as he is, his help is often too late.

I get the feeling he is better for multiplayer for a lot of the reasons you mentioned. In mutiplayer, locations stack up more quickly. Also, he can be used on big enemies that you just could not deal with on the previous turn. I mostly agree that I would not replace Radagast's Cunning or Secret Paths, but I might put him into the deck along side those cards in a deck dedicated to staging area control and encounter deck manipulation. I agree with the assessment that he is similar to Escort From Edoras. If you change his ability to say that he grants a character bonus willpower equal to the threat of a chosen enemy in the staging area, people will start comparing him to a completely different set of cards. In any case, he can at the very least be decent for a strong quest push, or to prevent a failed questing phase when you know you will be a few willpower short.

I do not want to go around giving the impression that he is a top tier card, but if you like Escort From Edoras, then you don't really have a good reason to dislike this guy.

Except that those do essentially the same thing but in completely different ways. Escort is 4 willpower right away, which can be used to do the final quest push, mitigate locations, etc. Pioneer works only if there is an encounter card with hight threat already in play, and since the card had to be in play for at least one previous round, so it already did damage. They are completely different and I think Escort is much better.

It is very common to not have a clear staging area, so this guy really isn't unreliable that way. Also he sticks around to keep contributing willpower. You could also think of him as a more reliable single use Ithilien Tracker. Finally, he is Lore, so if you are playing Lore and no Spirit, then you can't choose EfE over this guy.

I've heard Caleb defend card designs before when the community generally frowned on them. I think it would be very interesting to hear his reasoning behind this card.

So when do we get a Leadership Beorn that boosts all Woodmen?

So when do we get a Leadership Beorn that boosts all Woodmen?

All 3 Mirkwood Pioneers? That would be a blast!