Page values for "Data:Bill the Pony (3U106)/Data"

Decipher here simply mentions the problems with choke in general, as opposed to specific problems that make Bill worthy of getting singled out. They do later mention that at least Talent For Not Being Seen requires more than just Frodo, and so we’ve taken that logic at face value.

Bill's errata here is designed to kill two birds with one stone: first, by requiring it go on Sam, the lore nerds in all of us are finally satisfied.

...what, did you need a second reason? Well in that case, notice that this can no longer be used in a solo Frodo context, nor can Bill be bounced around between whichever hobbits happen to be the least expendable at the time. Sam in general should end up as less of a pump-n-dump, which should continue to make Son of Hamfast a tiny bit worse. Just a little.

Decipher Notes:

Bill the Pony – Choke appears to be a major focus of the X-list. Why? What is it about cards like Bill that make them prime candidates for the list?

Trevor: Resource denial has proven to be a huge issue with Lord of the Rings TCG.

Geoff: I think the most important thing to note here is that when people play card games, we actually want them to be able to play their cards. It’s one thing if passive denial (playing little to no cards) leads to a small pool of resources for your opponent. It’s another thing entirely if active denial (playing cards that reduce the opponent’s resources) is forcing an opponent’s entire deck to shut down. Unfortunately, in the system we have, your Free Peoples ‘choke’ strategy does more than just hinder your opponent’s Shadow strategy. It hinders their deck’s cycling…in turn hindering their Free Peoples strategy’s ability to handle your own Shadow strategy. It has a very negative cyclic effect that many players can’t fathom a way out of once they’re stuck in it.