This card is inspired by those cute little Pioneer guys from the Settlers (III) PC game.
Pioneer - $3
Action - Victory
1 VP
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Choose one: place a token on your Pioneer mat; or, gain a Victory card worth as much $ as the number of tokens on your Pioneer mat
Wording may need some adjustment, but you get the idea: it's a bit Pirate shippy in the way its usefulness progresses and may help some rush strategies. This way you can get a Workshop that can grab $5+ cards without the need for Highway/Bridge. It can also be combined with mega-turn strategies.
Don't know if it's in any way balanced, but I like to just launch some ideas and let you guys fiddle with it.
What do you think? Feel free to make any changes you'd like to see.