Editing Bill the Pony (3U106)

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{{CardTabs|Shire}}

[[{{ROOTPAGENAME}}]] is a {{C|Shire}} [[Possession]] from the [[Realms of the Elf-Lords]] set.
{{CardInfobox|3U106}}
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= Strategy =
'''Bill the Pony''' is one of the core [[choke]] cards of [[Fellowship Block]]. Similarly to {{Card|No Stranger to the Shadows}} or {{Card|A Talent for not being Seen}}, he offsets the [[twilight]] generated by having a [[companion]] in your [[Fellowship]] when you move. Bill the Pony can be played on [[Frodo]], and is thus useful in every Fellowship in the main [[format]]s where he is legal.

The more choke cards you stack, the more effective they become, so he's often played with those two cards, as well as {{Card|Aragorn, Heir to the White City}}, {{Card|Consorting with Wizards}}, {{Card|Sting}}, and occasionally {{Card|Galadriel, Lady of Light}} and {{Card|Gimli, Dwarf of the Mountain-Race}}. In [[Fellowship Block]], he's always discarded at {{Card|The Bridge of Khazad-Dum}}, and often discarded at [[site]] 4, so you'll need to play him twice. {{Card|Sam, Faithful Companion}} can help with that, [[downloading]] Bill twice, but keeping Sam around long enough to do that is usually counterproductive to keeping your twilight generation down, so Sam often ends up as a [[chump blocker]] instead.

In [[Tower Block]] and [[Towers Standard]], there are fewer [[underground]] sites to get Bill down. While some of the other choke cards are [[X-list]]ed, he's often played alongside {{Card|Legolas, Dauntless Hunter}}. In later [[format]]s, Bill is consigned to the X-list himself along with most of the other choke cards.

Bill the Pony comes back off the X-list for [[Expanded]], where he is only on the [[R-list]], limiting you to one copy of him per deck. It hardly matters, though, because [[underground]] sites are far too popular in that format. Even if you packed strong [[Site Manipulation|site manipulation]], the one sote that can't ever be manipulated, {{Card|Mount Doom}}, is underground.

= Strengths and Weaknesses =
== Synergizes With... ==

* Other [[choke]] cards, like {{Card|No Stranger to the Shadows}}, {{Card|Aragorn, Heir to the White City}}, {{Card|A Talent for not being Seen}}, {{Card|Consorting with Wizards}}, {{Card|Sting}}, {{Card|Galadriel, Lady of Light}}, {{Card|Gimli, Dwarf of the Mountain-Race}}, and {{Card|Legolas, Dauntless Hunter}}.
* {{Card|Sam, Faithful Companion}} can [[download]] him, repeatedly if necessary because of underground sites.

== Strong Versus... ==

* Expensive Shadow sides, like [[Nazgul Beatdown]].

== Weak Versus... ==

* [[Underground]] [[site]]s. In [[Fellowship Block]], Bill always gets discarded at {{Card|The Bridge of Khazad-Dum}}, and can be discarded at [[site]] 4 if it's {{Card|Balin's Tomb}}, {{Card|Great Chasm}}, {{Card|Mithril Mine}}, or {{Card|Moria Stairway}}. In [[Tower Block]]/[[Towers Standard]], it's just {{Card|Caves of Aglarond}} and {{Card|Cavern Entrance}}. (Technically, {{Card|Caverns of Isengard}} also discards Bill, but since it's the last site and Bill still reduces the twilight generated at that site, it doesn't matter.)
* Shadow sides that do well with relatively little twilight, such as {{C|Moria}} [[swarm]] and [[Isenorcs]].

= Rulings =

* From the 2002 FAQ: When the fellowship moves with Bill the Pony to an underground site, the Shadow number of that site is reduced before Bill the Pony is discarded.

= Alternate Versions =
{{AlternateVersionTable|3U106}}

= See Also =
* [https://lotrtcgwiki.com/forums/index.php?topic=9366 Fellowship: The Original FSG/Nazgul], a [[Fellowship Block]] deck by ket_the_jet on The Last Homely House forums
* [https://lotrtcgwiki.com/forums/index.php?topic=8759.msg86001#msg86001 A unnamed Dauntless Hunter deck], a [[Towers Standard]] deck by zen89 on The Last Homely House forums