Card Comparison:  Bill vs. Kangaskhan

This might seem like a strange comparison; one is a trainer card and one
is a basic pokemon.  But their uses can be very similar.

Bill:  Draw 2 cards.

Kangaskhan:  Fetch. Draw 1 card.

When considering any card, you must think about the net effect of that
card on your 60-card deck (because if you didn't include that card, you
could have had another card in your deck).  At first glance, Bill looks
like an excellent card, and many people use it in their decks.  But,
although you draw 2 cards, the net effect is that you are only drawing 1
extra card--because if you didn't draw Bill, you would have drawn the
first card anyway.  Also, since Bill is taking up one card position in
your 60-card deck, you have one less card to use for other purposes.  So
the net effect for Bill:  draw 1 extra card, and use up one card slot
when building your deck.

Using Kangaskhan as one of your pokemon will usually allow you to use
Fetch several times, while building up to a Comet Punch.  As far as card
drawing, each Fetch is worth 1 Bill; even though you only draw 1 card
(as opposed to 2 for Bill) the net draw effect is the same: draw 1 extra
card.  But if Kangaskhan is used as one of your pokemon, then you are
not sacrificing the card slot that Bill is using.  In addition, you can
use Fetch repeatedly; so each Fetch is really better than 1 Bill. 
(Suppose you Fetch 3 times; that means you draw 3 net cards.  The same
would happen if you used 3 Bill cards, but with 3 Bill cards you would
have given up 3 other cards when building your deck.)

Of course there are times when Bill would be more useful than
Kangaskhan's Fetch.  For example, the extra card you draw with Bill may be
a pokemon you want to place in play and use to attack now, but with
Kangaskhan, Fetch is the attack itself, so you cannot use the card until
your next turn--and Kangaskhan has a very high retreat cost which you
might be unable/unwilling to pay.  With Bill, in addition to drawing the
extra card you can attack the opposing pokemon and do damage; with Fetch
you are having no effect on the opposing pokemon during your turn.  And
Kangaskhan is very vulnerable to attacks from fighting pokemon like
Hitmonchan.  On the other hand, Kangaskhan is a great wall against a
psychic deck, allowing you to draw card after card as you build up for
your Comet Punch.

When all sides are considered, I consider Kangaskhan a much better card
than Bill, and far more useful, because it can repeatedly obtain a card
and then attack during later turns.  If you ordinarily use 2 or 3 Bill
cards in your deck, you might try using Kangaskhan instead, and see if
you do better. 

Bruce Long
bruce@asu.edu