Bill Ferny, Swarthy Sneering Fellow (2R75)

Whip of Many Thongs (2R74)

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Helpless (2U76)

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Data

Bill Ferny, Swarthy Sneering Fellow (2R75) is a Ringwraith Minion from the Mines of Moria set.

EN Revision 1 (PC) EN Nonfoil First Edition EN Foil First Edition DE Nonfoil First Edition DE Foil First Edition FR Nonfoil First Edition FR Foil First Edition IT Nonfoil First Edition IT Foil First Edition ES Nonfoil First Edition ES Foil First Edition PL Nonfoil First Edition PL Foil First Edition

Revision 1 · Player's Council · 2021-03-28 Collection Info Title Bill Ferny Subtitle Swarthy Sneering Fellow Unique Yes Collectible No Set 2 - Mines of Moria Rarity R - Rare Card Number 75 Language EN - English Revision 1 (Player's Council) Release Date 2021-03-28 Notes Lists: ERL Decipher Notes: There was talk of adding Bill Ferny to the X-List while we worked on Reflections. Clearly, he works well against the alternate Ring-bearers and deters some players from using them. But at that time, we felt that the scales were not tipped far enough against the new Ring-bearers to warrant removing Ferny. But now Shadows gives resistance a much larger role in the game, and the fact that Ring-bearers other than Frodo have a lower resistance is becoming a greater liability in and of itself. That new liability, combined with the existence of Bill Ferny, threatened to make one of the most well-liked aspects of Reflections too unreliable in a tournament environment for most players to consider. Also, as one more strike against Bill Ferny (though an unneeded one), Shadows introduces a couple of new cards to the Wraith culture (renamed from the Ringwraith culture) which, because they work for the whole culture and aren't Nazgûl specific, would have made Ferny a truly frightening force to be reckoned with. Simply put, Bill Ferny is a nightmare for Alternate Ring-bearers that take wounds or burdens when assigned to a skirmish, since Bill can saunter on up and trigger those deleterious effects whenever he feels like it. The errata ensures that the self-assign only works if Frodo is around, or if you’ve brought Sam, Son of Hamfast (1C311) or some other Hobbit splash along for the ride. Either way, the Free Peoples player now has a bit of counterplay available by not including such cards with their ARBs. Gameplay Info Playable Yes Culture Ringwraith Side Shadow Card Type Minion Race Man Twilight Cost 2 Strength 4 Vitality 1 Site Number 2 Game Text Nazgûl are not roaming. While you can spot a Hobbit, the Free Peoples player may not assign a character to skirmish Bill Ferny. Discard Bill Ferny if underground. Lore “‘...as for Ferny, he would sell anything to anybody; or make mischief for amusement.'” Technical Info Wiki Base Card ID LOTR-EN02S075.0 Wiki Release ID LOTR-EN02S075.1 TLHH ID LOTR02075 GEMP ID 2_75 LOTRO Hex ID 6B 4C E8 01 LOTRO Image ID 02_075 First edition · Decipher Collection Info Title Bill Ferny Subtitle Swarthy Sneering Fellow Unique Yes Collectible Yes Set 2 - Mines of Moria Rarity R - Rare Card Number 75 Language EN - English Revision 0 Notes Lists: ERL Gameplay Info Playable Yes Culture Ringwraith Side Shadow Card Type Minion Race Man Twilight Cost 2 Strength 4 Vitality 1 Site Number 2 Game Text Nazgûl are not roaming. The Free Peoples player may not assign a character to skirmish Bill Ferny. Discard Bill Ferny if underground. Lore “‘...as for Ferny, he would sell anything to anybody; or make mischief for amusement.'” Technical Info Wiki Base Card ID LOTR-EN02S075.0 TLHH ID LOTR02075 GEMP ID 2_75 LOTRO Hex ID 6B 4C E8 01 LOTRO Image ID 02_075

Translations DE - German Card Name Lutz Farning,Finsterer Geselle Game Text Nazgûl sind nicht wandernd. Der Freie Völker Spieler darf Lutz Farning keinen Charakter zuweisen. Lutz Farning muss an unterirdischen Orten abgelegt werden. Lore "...und was Farning betrifft, so würde er jedem alles verraten; oder Unheil anrichten bloß zum Spaß.“ FR - French Card Name Bill Fougeron,Noiraud Ricaneur Game Text Les Nazgûl ne sont pas errants. Le joueur des Peuples Libres ne peut pas affecter un personnage au combat contre Bill Fougeron. Défaussez Bill Fougeron s’il se trouve à un site Souterrain. Lore « “... quant à Fougeron, il vendrait n'importe quoi à n'importe qui, ou il ferait du mal par simple plaisir.” » IT - Italian Card Name Billy Felci,Tipo Oscuro e Sarcastico Game Text I Nazgûl non sono considerati vaganti. Il giocatore dei Popoli Liberi non può assegnare un personaggio a una schermaglia con Billy Felci. Scarta Billy Felci se in un Sotterraneo. Lore “‘...quanto a Felci, venderebbe l'anima e farebbe cattiverie per puro divertimento.'” ES - Spanish Card Name Bill Helechal,Tipo Sarcástico de Tez Morena Game Text Los Nazgûl no están vagando. El jugador de Gentes Libres no puede asignar un personaje a una escaramuza contra Bill Helechal. Descarta a Bill Helechal si esta en un sitio Subterráneo. Lore “...y de Helechal, vendería lo que fuera a cualquiera, y causaría problemas por pura diversión.” PL - Polish

Strategy

Because of his assignment restriction, the shadow player can assign Bill Ferny to any companion, even one already in a skirmish. This is helpful because it means Ferny can act as a strength + 4 pump for one of your Nazgul. Alternatively, assign him to hobbits like Merry, FtS (To hinder his ability), Sam, SoH (To wound/kill him, as he's often exhausted from removing burdens) or even Frodo himself. Bill Ferny is often vulnerable to archery however, and many players will use Aragorn's Bow or Greenleaf to snipe him before he can act. The fact that he prevents Nazgul from roaming is useful only at site 2 in Fellowship Block (And rarely helps Ulaire Nelya, whose site number is typically 2), but in later sets it's helpful against Rangers that try to make minions roaming (With cards such as Ancient Roads in The Two Towers and Madril, DoO in Expanded). You can combine Bill Ferny with Weatherhills for a very cheap Nazgul attack at site 2; bear in mind his ability does not stack with Bree Streets. Bill Ferny can also assign himself to Alternate Ring-Bearers to force their assignment penalties to trigger.

Although Bill Ferny is generally used as a support card to boost Nazgul strength and give them more of an early game kick, one strategy which centres around Bill Ferny in Fellowship Block uses [isengard] Weather conditions such as Saruman's Frost and Saruman's Snows to immobilise Frodo, and then kill him with Ferny.

In Movie Block, with the appearing of initiative-dependant bonuses, Bill Ferny became not only a strength +4 aid to your minion of choice, but also with Stooping to the Kill a Damage +1 bonus too if the Shadow has initiative (or a strength +2 to Ferny if you discard such condition). Considering he's usually packed in [Wraith] decks, Stooping to the Kill will grant a cumulative damage +1 to any other Wraith minion for easy kills. Unhindered comes in handy to get initiative directly if you use Nazgûl. Keep in mind that such a disruptive combo is mostly used in Movie Block, as the other formats that have access to Stooping (which is a Set 10 card) are Standard (doesn't include Bill Ferny's Set 2) and Expanded (where Ferny is R-listed).

Strengths and Weaknesses

Strong Versus...

• Feeble companions (Can assassinate)
• Average Strength companions (Can an assist an overwhelm when combined with another Nazgul)
• Powerful companions (Can help win the skirmish when combined with another Nazgul)

Weak Versus...

• Direct Wounding
• Underground sites
• Caras Galadhon* (doesn't allow Ferny to assist another minion)

Alternate Personas

Portrait	Name	Game Text
	Bill Ferny, Agent of Saruman (15R72)	If Bill Ferny is unwounded, the Free Peoples player cannot assign him to skirmish a companion. Shadow: Exert Bill Ferny twice and spot a site you control to add . ​

See Also

Decks

• Ferny Frost - http://lotrtcgwiki.com/forums/index.php/topic,8475.0.html