Bill · HeartGold & SoulSilver (HS) #89

7 comments

1. 

   feyblade

   (10 years ago)

   A ruinous reprint of Bill. Probably one of the most hated cards out there, due to starting a tradition of bizarre, on-the-fly erratas. It just takes a load of mental gymnastics to explain why players can’t play their old Computer Searches in modified (but instead can play four of them alongside the ACE SPEC version in unlimited) but they COULD play their Bills as errata’d substitutes for the nerfed version in its modified rotation
   One has to wonder if the rulings team is more interested in ensuring that the price of the modern computer search remains artificially high than actually creating a consistent set of rulings.

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   • 

     Curtis feyblade

     (10 years ago)

     Base set is the best selling set of all time. In order to sell Boundaries Crossed packs, they had to make up a stupid ruling that they’ll probably reverse when they stop making money on the set.

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       Blob TakeshiCurtis

       (5 years ago)

       So they’re scorning people who have Base Set Bill, because money?

       Well, at least this print has different artwork.

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         OtakuBlob Takeshi

         (4 years ago)

         I’d argue that the powers-that-be behind organized play were just being generous allowing folks to use their older copies of Bill. At the time this all went down, they allowed players to use nearly 8-, 10-, and 11-year-old copies of cards with incorrect rules text instead of insisting folks use only the new card.

         Not especially generous, given that Bill was obsolete in the Unlimited Format and too weak for the then current Modified (Standard) Format, but they were well within their rights to say “If you want to play using the Unlimited Format and following the official rules, then the old Bill is completely prohibited!”. Yes, the Ace Spec version of Computer Search was one of the cards which drove sales of BW – Boundaries Crossed, but the change to the card’s text was significant even if simple.

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     Ambassadorfeyblade

     (6 months ago)

     “Actually creating a consistent set of rulings.”

     I may be misunderstanding the issue being brought up here from 9 years ago (particularly with regard to what’s going on with Computer Search, which seems a different issue entirely), but printing Bill as a supporter in HGSS is actually a question of consistency. Back in the e-Card era, Bill was reprinted as a Supporter, 009/P – why WOTC declined to reprint it is beyond me, but from the Japanese POV, it would probably make 0 sense to flip flop and print Bill as a Trainer after having already “retconned” him into a Supporter back in the day.

     I vaguely recall but am probably wrong, but I think an errata was issued insofar as whether Trainer Bill was errata’d by WOTC into a Supporter for the e-Card era, but even if they didn’t, it’s nearly irrelevant – the question is how PCL handled Bill in Japan to because if you want to talk consistency, it’s international organized play that usually has to play catch up to ensure consistency with how Japan does things, and I imagine at the time e-Card came out and they were rolling out their 30+30 (30 ‘old’ back cards and 30 ‘new’ back cards could comprise a deck) transitional format, a ruling might’ve been made regarding the question of the two Bills and how the old one could be played. The ruling made by PCL in 2001/2002 was probably carried through as a legacy ruling for the 2009/2010 print of Bill, and global OP had to try and mirror that as best as they could.

     Computer Search could conceivably have been issued a completely different ruling because they didn’t have to worry about the legacy of the 30+30 format and consistency on that front. (Just to be clear, Computer Search was not reprinted during the e-Card era.)

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       TwylisAmbassador

       (6 months ago)

       So long story short, basically another thing that’s ultimately the fault of Wizards. Had they listened to TPC and adopted the new card back then the discourse around Computer Search would never have occurred since there could just be a blanket ban on old-back cards, and Bill would’ve become a supporter way back in gen 2.

       As an aside, I think an e-Card onward semi-unlimited format would actually be surprisingly healthy. Most the serious problem cards are from gen 1. Lots of unhealthy combos, but less high-speed consistency to facilitate them in one turn. Could’ve had an established unlimited format that doesn’t suck in an alt timeline :/

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2. 

   NosrednaTrebor

   (3 years ago)

   Bill’s Kindness

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