Beings of Tash Kalar

War Drummer

Pattern
Originally, it was just meant as a big drum. Later, it may be also seen as our representation of bears (see Hungry Bear card).

Effect
The drum sound wakes another piece or pieces, encouraging them to move.

Strategy tips
This is one of the rare Highland effects that allow you to move other pieces.

The fact you may move another heroic piece, together with the fact you may summon heroic Drummer any of four spaces of its pattern, may be very helpful when summoning legends.

And finally, this is the only Highland piece that is summoned over another piece of your color (good for you if you can destroy an enemy piece on summon space using improvised summoning or War Summoner).

Interesting facts
The War Drummer is one of the first created beings. It always had this shape (although in the very first version, it was not summoned over your piece, having the shape the Gun Tower has now). The effect was different originally, though - you had to choose another of your heroic pieces and inspire it to heroic deeds: "destroy all adjacent enemy common pieces". Later, when I decided this is rather trollish than "heroic" changed (see Mountain Troll and Champion :), and also when I needed to put also something other than destructive effects to Highland, it got a moving effect instead.

Also, graphically, I originally imagined big fat orc with a big drum or pair of drums hanging on his neck. Probably affected by some Warcraft/Warhammer archetypes :). I was using this googled image in my prototype:

But when David Cochard put the drums on a bear in one of the early drafts, I said - why not. It is this bulky shape, and when we have two eagles and two wolves, why not to have two bears in the Highland deck.