... what would it be? Noldor discard, Silvan pop in and out of play, Dunedain reap benefits from keeping enemies engaged, etc. What flavor would you give to Beornings if this trait were developed?

To an extent, the developers seem to look at the existing card pool, then find a way to emphasize existing strengths when developing a trait. For Dunedain they've given a it of love to Signals, and they developed the whole archetype around engaging enemies, which already existed with the Son or Arnor from the core set. There was also precedent for the Noldor discard mechanic (the two tactics allies and all Erestor). Developing a trait around these existing functions breathes life into old cards.

Right now we have a Beorn hero and ally, and the Beorning Beekeeper. One does direct damage, one does a big combat round then disappears from play, and the other is a beast but is immune to player card effects. Pretty disparate set of effects, other than being combat-oriented... wonder how we could tie them all together?

It is hard to develop anything around the immune Beorn hero, but both the Beekeeper and the Beorn ally have effects that cause them to leave play. What about this: a series of "bear" form Beorning cards that can't be played or put into play by the normal means, but have text such as: "Response: When a Beorning ally leaves play without being destroyed, you may play this card from your hand as if it were the Planning Phase."

And give them some hardy card draw to help you get the right cards into your hand, so that you don't end up holding a bunch of dead cards. But the card draw would have to be limited to drawing these "bear" form cards... And each of the "bear" cards could also be immune to player card effects.

Then, you could even add a card somewhere that gives you a boost for each player card on the table that is immune to player card effects.

Each bear card would need text similar to this: "You may not play or put into play <this card> except by its Response."

Most of the tribes have a dual color thing going, but not all. I think the Beornings are predominantly red, with maybe a touch of green. But those are the net colors. Maybe that's fitting.

How about putting Toughness on an ally?

Maybe something along these lines, playing up combat-powerful, self-destructive characters that are generally immune to player card effects (with a handful of exceptions):

We already have enough traits tied to entering/leaving play in my opinion. If I were to design them, I would give them actions that give some big bonus (like more attack or readying) that carry the penalty of not having them refresh during the refresh phase that round.

Well, existing Beorning characters don't help with defining that flavor like at all

I would go for shapeshifting and then wandering off to the wilds, like original Beorn from the Core Set has.

" Action: Do something spectacular, then get shuffled into your owner's deck at the end of the phase."

There is also the Beorning objective ally in the battle of Carrock scenario. The common thread is not exhausting to defend, which makes me think of Beornings as protectors. Even the Beekeeper ability feels similar to Boromir's. In Boromir's case his ability reflects when he sacrificed himself to protect the Hobbits. The Beekeeper ability then has a similar feel. So, I would have protector flavor abilities, involving self sacrifice, not exhausting to defend, and surprise appearences or demonstrations of strength at critical moments. I think Beornings should feature valour abilities quite a bit. The Beekeeper would have excellent flavor, for instance, if his sacrifice did 2 damage while in valour.

My instinct would be to center the trait around some big beefy Tactics allies with high attack and hit points and not much defense (the beserker style of the hero), combined with various creature allies that play more of a support function. And somehow there is an interaction with the Beornings protecting the creatures, as was the case with Beorn in the Hobbit.

I'd really like to see the shapeshifting side represented in a unique way (that is why I had the bear form cards "replace" Beorning allies that are already on the table).

The Beorn ally represents shapeshifting by having him leave play and go back into your deck, but I don't think I could get excited about a whole archetype that revolves around that.

Seeing the Beornings get some love really brings joy to an old Bear's heart. I'll leave this link here, in case anyone hasn't seen my take on the Beorning faction.

https://hallofbeorn.wordpress.com/2015/10/21/custom-cards-defenders-of-the-carrock/

As you can see from the cards, I also prefer the "shuffle them into your deck" as a core mechanic of the faction. Another theme that I have is advantages when engaged with damaged enemies. The not only makes thematic sense (smell the blood, battle rage, etc.), but it makes Beorning Beekeeper a bit more relevant for a 4 cost ally with a discard effect.

To go into shapeshifting even further, there can be something crazy like two traits: Human and Bear , with humans having the abilities like:

Refresh Action: Exhaust and discard this ally to search your deck for a Bear ally with the same title and put it into play, under your control. Shuffle your deck.

But this would be very tideous.

I was thinking of this kind of relationship:

(please excuse the typo, had some computer trouble and didn't save the file properly, now I don't feel like re-making the card just to fix that)

None of the 10 or so Silvan characters in the first two cycles had anything to do with entering/leaving play. We have what, 4 or so Beornings? It's not a huge loss to push the mechanic in a different direction. I like the thematic sense of shuffling into the deck after they rage, but that becomes unpractical when you have a whole deck of them. That's why I suggested having them stay exhausted for a round, so they can "recover" from their rampage. Same thematic idea, a lot less tedious.

Generally speaking it is better to avoid mechanics that ask you to remember to do something (or not do something) at a later point in time. If Beornings stay exhausted then you have to remember which ones went into a rage and which did not. This can also become tedious or impractical once you have a deck full of them, especially when you are playing a quest with things like time counters and other clerical work. You can mitigate the problem by using resource or progress tokens to signify the post rage exhaustion, but I'd say just find something that works better. Having used curios brandybuck, I do agree that too many allies with "shuffle into deck" mechanics would get pretty annoying.

The Silvan-Celeborn archetype requires you to remember which allies entered play that turn, and I have found it tedious at times, so I agree with you. But I can also see just putting the beorning off to one side of your play area if it rampages, to remind you that it did.

The toughness idea could also work but it would have to be modified to not prevent archery damage I think.

Making the trait around immunity to card effects does not excite me much as a deckbuilder. There would be no interactions to explore with the existing card pool.

GrandSpleen, I like your replacement idea, but should you be able to play the Creature for free when the human is killed? It doesn't seem right.

Chicken.

I had to say it.

GrandSpleen, I like your replacement idea, but should you be able to play the Creature for free when the human is killed? It doesn't seem right.

The wording "play from your hand as if it were the planning phase" is meant to force you to pay the cost of the card... I think if you say "play" the card and not "put into play," you have to pay for it? (Vilya says "play for no cost")

I like the idea of the human form as farmers, merchants, beekeepers, with useful abilities. And then the bear form mostly being a series of 'immune to player card effects' powerhouses. Once you're in full-on bear mode the trait would be combat-strong but lose utility, so you'd have to make decisions about when to morph your allies.

Playing around with a permanent card flip mechanic. Here's Beorn's granddaughter exhibiting the mechanic in action:

Side A Side B

GrandSpleen, I like your replacement idea, but should you be able to play the Creature for free when the human is killed? It doesn't seem right.

The wording "play from your hand as if it were the planning phase" is meant to force you to pay the cost of the card... I think if you say "play" the card and not "put into play," you have to pay for it? (Vilya says "play for no cost")

I like the idea of the human form as farmers, merchants, beekeepers, with useful abilities. And then the bear form mostly being a series of 'immune to player card effects' powerhouses. Once you're in full-on bear mode the trait would be combat-strong but lose utility, so you'd have to make decisions about when to morph your allies.

Sorry, you are right about it not being free but that wasn't what I found strange. I found it strange that it can trigger off the human form being killed.

Oh that -- yes, I had that fixed in the first version of the card. As I mentioned, I had some computer trouble. That card originally said "When a Beorning ally without the Creature trait leaves play (without being destroyed)...." But then the work didn't get saved and I re-made the thing in a rush.

I suppose it could just say "is discarded," actually.

Really? I always thought that destroyed characters are discarded, but discarded characters are not necessarily destroyed.

Edit: Looking at the FAQ, it seems destroyed characters are not discarded, even though they are put in the discard pile. I guess that's why Gamling uses the phrase "discarded from play" to clear up the confusion.

I would love to see the Beorning trait boosted. I think it is actually much easier to design the traits with fewer cards because one can more easily see the power level of the trait. I certainly hope we shall see Grimbeorn the Old -- hopefully as a hero that somehow works well with Beorn. He could probably be Leadership as he leads the Beorning at the time of the War of the Ring.

The do not exhaust to defend is a good idea.

Then, one of the few things mentioned in the books (by Glóin) is that Beorning have high tolls. Perhaps that could be somehow incorporated into the mechanics? Judging by the only existing player card ally in the game, Beorning Beekeeper, he is quite over-priced, for the stats. Perhaps they should be more costly in general but gain some bonus as they get together? Not like Outlands, of course… well, I am just writing thoughts without much thinking I guess.

Then, one of the few things mentioned in the books (by Glóin) is that Beorning have high tolls.

The "high tolls" refers to the deadly nature of their job protecting the upper reaches of the Anduin Valley between Mirkwood and the High Pass. The men of the Carrock were valiant warriors, but many of them died in battle, the toll for their valor.

I do like the idea of a leadership/tactics sphere mix, and also the idea of them going out with a big bang in battle. Not so much the at-will discard from play for a benefit -- like Rohan -- but more of a bonus for their sacrifice like we see on Descendant of Thorondor. It would be cool to see the valor trait mixed in as well (as was mentioned earlier), and I also think there could be the possibility to explore cooperative synergy between the nascent Woodman trait and the Beorning trait. It seems thematically appropriate that they worked together, given that both come from roughly the same stock. Perhaps Grimbeorn the Old could bring them together somehow, as a leader of both factions?