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Pojo's Pokemon Card of the Day

Bill
Base Set

Pojo's Average Rating -
Standard: 3.85 (based on 7 reviews)
Modified: 4.39 
(based on 7 reviews)
Draft: 4.87
(based on 7 reviews)
Reviewed April 5, 2002

Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale
1 being the worst.  3 ... average.  
5 is the highest rating.


Pokepop

Aha! A sneak peek at the upcoming Champions set! DMTM is the Dark Master!

Well, it appears that draw power will be hard to come by in the upcoming Modified, when Team Rocket, Gym Heroes, and Gym Challenge will be dropped. Luckily, it looks like we are getting some old friends back. We will lose Secret Mission, Misty's Wrath, and the various Blaine's draw trainers. Professor Elm is the best drawing card from Neo but is won't let you use any more Trainers after you use it.

Bill is a good, solid card. You spend one card and you get two new ones in return. The only reason it fell out of favor is because Oak and Computer Search were just too good. Bill will start showing up in a lot of decks once Modified is updated. The below ratings reflect those changes.

Unlimited: It's a good card, but as I mentioned, there are better. 3.5/5

Modified: Unless they put Oak in Champions, Bill will be in a lot of decks. 4.25/5

Draft: Never turn down free draw power in Draft! 5.0/5 


Dark Master
Trainer Mike

-

Guest Reviewer

Bill

Hmm...two cards for one card. This is a classic "thin your deck" card. I think it can be useful in certain environments/formats. It really all depends on how tight your deck runs, and will drawing two cards mathematically help the ratios you need in that particular deck. Gengar, well Gengar hates him.

Unlimited: Can really help you get what you need at times without losing a bunch of cards. 3.5/5

Modified: Guess what folks! He may not be legal in Modified now, but I have a feeling he will be soon. You may even find a Foil version of him! Could be very useful here. Once again it all depends on how your deck is designed. 3.5/5

Draft: Are you kidding! Two words: Draw Power. He is a must draft, only thing better is more draw power. Trainers are always at a premium in draft. 4.5/5

I would like to thank Bill for inviting me to be a guest on your Card of the Day forum. I had a blast! Looking forward to seeing some of you in Chicago, San Diego, and at Worlds!

DMTM

TwInSeN21

Bill

Aah, good 'ol Bill! ^_^

Once the staple of many decks, it was suddenly forgotten once Misty's Wrath, Cleffa, and Professor Elm came out. It is still one of the best draw cards ever printed since it has NO drawbacks whatsoever. With Oak, you lose your hand. With Misty's Wrath, you lose 5 cards. With Cleffa, you can't deal damage. With Erika and Computer Error, your opponent benefits as well. With Professor Elm, you can't play Trainers. With's Bill's Teleporter, you have to flip a coin. On the other hand, Bill is pure card advantage. A one for two trade. Really an awesome card!

In Unlimited, it's still good. However, a deck running 4 Oaks, 4 Computer Search, 3 Item Finder, and 3-4 Cleffas, already have sufficient draw power. Bill is just not good enough.

In Modified, I was going to say that it's NOT playable. However, DMTM said and I quote,

"For arguments sake lets just say you could play Bill in modified ;)"

This lead me to believe that Bill will be re-printed in Challenge!! ^_^ When the new Modified "Modified" Format rolls in, with the absence of Misty's Wrath, Bill would definitely be played in every deck! Imagine, a Foil Bill! The elusive Reverse Holo Promo Bill that was a joke at the Pokemon Chats MIGHT come true!  Assuming that Bill WILL be allowed in Modified in the future, it's gonna be a staple in every deck.

In Draft, any draw power is good. Bill has NO drawbacks whatsoever. Definitely a 1st pick (unless the rare is Electabuzz or the uncommon is Oak!). ~_^

Unlimited Rating: 4/5 (Would've been a 5 but there are better choices...)
Modified Rating: 5/5 (Pure card advantage. Will replace Misty's Wrath in the future if reprinted!)
Draft Rating: 5/5 (Draw power is exceptionally powerful in Draft!) 


Random

Well, we're reviewing Bill! And it's "ok" to use in modified? Hmmm... well lets see. Bill used to own a lot more than it does now. I remember the days before modified, before anything like an STS, where Bill was the hottest card on the market. Decks were common that played 4 oak, 4 computer search, 4 item finder, 4 bill. Bill was one of the best card drawers in the game.

Then elm came... and Bill resigned.

If Bill were playable in modified, I doubt we'd see much use. We already have the Erika/Imposter Oak's Revenge combo, and Misty's Wrath, Secret Mission, Professor Elm. Trust me, it wouldn't make a big difference.

Standard Rating: 2.5/5

Modified Rating: 3/5

Draft Rating: 5/5 to the Nth power! Bill > all in draft! Heck, in draft, Maintenance should get a 4/5! Drawing is totally needed. If you ever talk to someone who's played a lot of drafts, they'll tell you to draft card drawers before anything else. =\


Lurili

Bill!!!

Unlimited: I have always preached the way of the Bill in any format where he has been legal. The amount of raw advantage it generates is higher than any other card and the fact that it replaces itself adds to versatility. No need to explain further why 4 Bill is something you should always start your deck off with ;.)

Modified: /me is giggling like a school girl. Whee!!! I would rather want Oak in the upcoming Challenge series, but hey, can’t get it all, eh? ;.) Bill is still a great trade off. 4 of these in every Neo-Modified deck will spice things up. But still, Erika is cool and I’ll miss her *sniff*…

Limited: If you’re drafting a set with Bill in it, make sure you don’t pass them off! Yes, Oaks and Elms are good, but Bill is great because he’s a common! And if you draft a load of Bills and build up a functional line of Pokémon you are assured a good number of victories. There is no drawback with Bill, 2 cards for 1, 1 total card advantage which is a big difference in Limited play.

Unlimited (Standard): 5/5
Modified (Neo-On): 5/5
Limited (Draft): 5/5

Lord Gothmog

Ah, Bill. Bill is Alma Mater of the Old School. Good solid card drawing.

In unlimited, I stopped playing it in every deck when Neo Genesis came out, bringing Professor Elm and Cleffa with it. But for when you need to play the cards right then, Bill is superior. Elm prevents any more trainers, and Cleffa prevents playing ANYTHING else that turn. Bill doesn't. 2 cards for the price of one is called "card advantage." And it's a good thing. 3.5/5

In modified, let's say it's playable, just for a larf. In unlimited, you play Oak, Elm and Cleffa. In modified, there's no Oak, so for decks that don't like discarding 5 cards with Misty's Wrath, Bil, Elm and Cleffa would be a good draw engine. 4.0/5

In limited, card drawing is never a bad pick, especially considering you can have 20 Bills if you wanted. Unless I open a power rare, I'll take draw cards, and Bill is a good one. 4.6/5

  Bill!

"What's that?"

Bill!

"Once more?"

Bill!

Yes, the CotD is Bill. And yes, it has a MODIFIED FORMAT rating. :O

...let's let that sink in for a moment.

Okay, pick your jaws up off of the ground please. =P

=STANDARD=

Well, he's often overshadowed by his big brothers Professors Oak and Elm these days, but Bill is still and forever shall be the first even no drawback trainer engine. Slap it down, draw two. No penalties, no drawbacks, no finacing until spring of 2005. I mean, how sweet is that, exactly?

"Very sweet, Tashi."

Damn right.

However, as we've all seen, Bill just doesn't cut it in most decks these days. There are just too many other cards that make better use of his once nearly mandatory three/four spaces. But that doesn't mean he's not still one hell of a guy. I mean, come on...his HAIR alone gets him the five! ;o

Standard: 5/5 (leet hair bonus-if Bill were bald, it would be 4.5/5)

=MODIFIED=

Let me just say that Bill oWnz you here. Seriously. Two cards, no nasty drawback like with Professor Elm. And when Rocket, and the Gyms cycle out, Bill becomes even more useable in this format. Solid draw power, baby. It's a good thing. =D

MODIFIED: 5/5

=DRAFT=

What the-?! Who drafts Base anymore, lol. But anyways, if you do draft Base for some odd reason, this guy and Professor Oak rule the scene. And considering Bill is a common....

DRAFT: 5/5

Wow! Look at that! A three-way 5/5 rating! Just goes to prove that whole "oldie but goodie" thing, I guess. But despite all that, the real question remains...what's with the brick wall? :\

 


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