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Article:  The Viability of Bill

By Edo (hrzic@hawaii.edu)


Let me start off by mentioning a few things.  First of all,
"Pokemon" is not "Magic: The Gathering".  However, I'll be using
some terminology and referring to that card game within this
article.
  This issue concerns the use of the Trainer card "Bill" in
decks, namely four (4) of them.  There has been a heated debate
on that usefulness of this card, and whether or not it should be
included in EVERY deck.
  My opinion is that it has a place in EVERY deck.  Yes, each and
EVERY deck.  Four of them.  This card helps you get to the vital
cards that you need.
  In "Magic: The Gathering", speed counts.  What does speed mean? 
It is getting to the cards that you need quickly, and playing
them.  In Pokemon, this would be getting your Pokemon Centers,
Venusaur out quickly in the "Venucenter" deck, or your Blastoise
and Water Energy cards out for the "Raindance" deck.
  Bill helps you get to those cards.  How so?  By just drawing
them?  In that light, no.  Card games are based upon luck and
chance, and by reducing those factors by as much as possible you
can base your entire strategy upon what will be coming up next.
  I used the following example in a PokeGym forum post,  but it
serves well in this article.
  Bill increases your odds of getting a particular card.  Let's
say that it is mid-game, and the card that you need to turn the
tide would be a Hitmonchan.  You have thirty (30) cards left, and
it is now the beginning of your turn.  You are about to draw your
card.
  What are your chances of drawing the Hitmonchan, if you have
one left in your deck? (For the sake of argument, we'll assume
that it IS in your deck, and not your remaining prizes).
  1 in 30, correct?  So, you have about a 3.3% chance of drawing
the card that you need.
  Now, let us say that you drew a Bill as that card.  You would
now have twenty-nine cards left in your deck, and you play Bill. 
What are your chances of drawing the Hitmonchan now?
  2 in 29, or 1 in 14.5.  So, you now have about a 6.89% chance
of drawing it.  See how your chances have more than DOUBLED for
using a Bill?  Now, imagine that EVERY time that you play a Bill. 
The figures speak for themselves.
  If you don't want to use Bills, then I can't force you to. 
However, you have to know that most tournament-level decks DO use
Bill.  And in a tournament, you can't afford to pussy-foot
around.  You're there to WIN.  So, Bill not only increases your
chances of getting cards, but it also increases your chances of
winning not only the match, but the tournament as well.  In
casual play, however, the game is far less cutthroat, and you can
afford to play for fun.
  Can you do well without Bill?  Yes.  If you do well without
Bills in your deck, you will probably do even better WITH Bill.
  In Type-One tournaments in "Magic" (Type-One is a tournament
style that allows you to use cards from every expansion), any
decks that can use a card called "Ancestrall Recall", do.  (For
non-Magic players, that card is essentially a Bill, but you get
to draw 3 cards instead).  Why?  Because they know that getting
cards equals controlling the game.
  And control is what just about every card game is about.

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Fin.