A good companion to Barliman Butterbur + Pint / Half-pint (with or without Nob), or Hobbit heroes (think of Frodo Baggins). Attaching two of these on a Hobbit when you control Bill the Pony implies that Hobbit get +3 hit points.
A good and interesting hero who may be included in a thematic Alep Bree deck or a more generic deck when attaching for instance The One Ring + Well Preserved to him. That mix between the ally Barliman Butterbur, Bombur and some drawing thematic lore option, resolves the major problem of its ally-avatar (too few hit points and handy affordable healing solutions to repeat, use and abuse of the undefended attacks).
Here not only the Gap of Rohan package provides all you need to make its mechanics work (Bree Pony, Pint, Half-pint and its resources recursivity engine Seasoned Forager), but also you are not limited to Bree or Hobbit decks. It extends the deck-building for undefended attacks, in order to change from the classic Glóin + Elrond + Warden of Healing, while it underlines one of the Lore advantage (the drawing).
Among the many archetypes which could benefit from Barliman Butterbur's response, apart from Hobbits, think to Silvan decks where the Silvan characters are pretty flimsy in defense, and one needs a third hero in sphere to complete the Celeborn + Galadriel classic duo and accelerate the drawing and the deck-thinning...
Technically, always commit Barliman Butterbur in quest and let him take undefended attacks when needed. This low-threat swiss-army-knife hero is a very clever addition to that wonderful game.
The previous reviews have highlighted how well this card works with a unique Hobbit character. Even without such a character, this can be a wonderful card to help you find your key card(s) and set up your engine. But you know who hasn't been mentioned, who sings just as good a drunken song as any Hobbit? Gandalf, that's who!
If you play this card from the top of your deck, it completely replaces your whole hand, just like it would if you controlled a unique Hobbit. What's more, Gandalf loves cheap events that he can play when not in the planning phase to maximize his ability and give pseudo-card draw.
What's more, if you are in control of both Gandalf and a unique Hobbit and play Drinking Song from the top of your deck, this acts as actual card draw: you replace your hand fully, draw one more card due to your unique Hobbit, and even expose a new card on top of your deck that you might be able to play. Consistency, card draw, you could even generate resources in combination with Love of Tales, what's not to love?
A deck heavy loaded with location attachments, event recursion, South Away, and Haldan would be a fun little burner. Drop 10 cheap attachments for 10 threat loss and draw 10 cards. Do it all again for even more. Switch to another active location, keep the loaded one to the side, and pile it on.
Master of Lore is not only a cost reducer that needs 3 rounds to justify its payment. It's an ally too. So even if it is an errata card it's always good to pay 3 for its multi-fonction nature : questing (with its 1 willpower or 1 defense in Siege mode), chump-blocking, or cost reducing (that can be increased by Leather Boots or Spare Hood and Cloak for instance). Plus, with its Gondor trait, he could benefit from Visionary Leadership bonus in some bi or tri-sphere Gondor deck.