I'm disappointed he lost the Beastmaster ability. Even if it's only a 1 soul stone tax to bring in an OOK beast now it still feels bad, as that's one of the things I like about playing him in NB (although I acknowledge I still have Myranda to shapeshift). With all that said, I like the passive upgrade mechanic and I really like that they didn't make it an aura around him, so you can spread your "packs" across the board. I also really like that he has the most bizarre defensive tech I've ever read on a card (permanent cover by virtue of the fact that he's constantly surrounded by weedy undergrowth). Overall I'm excited to get him on the table, and this may finally be the excuse I needed to get the Slate Ridge box so I'll have the bears to bring in instead of my NB beasts