I like using this card to boost willpower in Lore and its stats compare to many 4 cost allies (Ranger of Cardolan, Haldir of Lórien, Thalion). Cheap and quick to get into play and I have found the threat increase to be pretty manageable. It's nice having a 2 Lore ally for 2 resources and I have used the 2 attack plenty of times as well.

There are five other 2 , 2 cost Lore allies (Quickbeam, Mablung, Robin Smallburrow, Wandering Ent, and Lindon Navigator). Quickbeam, Mablung, and Robin Smallburrow make a good 3-card combination if you are looking to boost willpower without paying a threat increase. Wandering Ent (enters play exhausted) and Lindon Navigator (requires discarding cards) have their own additional costs to use.

I like the Soldier of Isengard. With 1 point of Doomed being roughly equivalent to 1 resource, he's a 4-cost for 8 total stats. In the early game, getting a well-rounded ally like this is often going to be worth the 2 Doomed, whether you need more or a combat ally. Later on, when threat is a scarcer resource, you can turn the Soldier into a 2-cost for 8 stat points with Saruman's Staff, which also comes with this pack. That, too, is very valuable. I also like his ability. If your Doomed deck has accidentally put your friend in peril, perhaps by raising their threat above the engagement cost of an enemy they wished to avoid, you can send the Soldier of Isengard to help them out and plug the breach you've created. It might help your friend feel better about your choice of deck!

My only complaint is that--like all the Isengard allies (not couting Saruman--the Soldier only has the Isengard trait. With a name like 'Soldier of Isengard', I would wish for him to have the Warrior trait, which would open him up for things like Warrior Sword or Raiment of War which, while out of sphere, would improve his versatility even further.