Rules Question - New Player

[n107]

I'd like to try some of the later immortals but these are likely the only cards I'll ever have. I already feel very lucky that I got my hands on so many cards, thanks to the kindness of others on this board so I am content with what I have. However, I know the game really took on a new life and direction with the 2nd edition and onward and it would be interesting to try that some day if the chance ever comes my way.

I just did a Kalas vs Xavier match. Xavier won again but I could NOT get any attacks out of my Kalas deck. I don't know what happened to them. I thought I put in far more than appeared. So after the game, I tweaked the deck. The first time I put my decks together, I gave them a 75 card limit, which I filled. But as I edit these decks, I bring them down to 70. Just that simple 5 card decrease appears to make the cards come out in the ratio I imagine. I'll have to test it again in the morning with the slimmer style. I also brought my Duncan deck down to 70, though I haven't really tested it out yet. Perhaps tomorrow for that as well.

Question:

If Xavier's opponent plays the Watcher card that causes 2 damage, that damage would not appear until the Ability Adjust phase of Xavier's turn, correct? Could Xavier, on his turn, play the Situation "Forsight" and immediately use it to cancel that event before the damage is reflected in the Ability Adjust phase? Can a Situation be played onto the table and "activated" on the same turn?

Would a card that increases Ability, like Kalas' Master's Advice, raise the ability by however many points as soon as it's played? Or does it mean that the maximum ability is increased but the current ability doesn't change?

On a strategic point, any advice on when and when not to exert, especially in regards to blocking Power Blows? In my amateur trials, I've been exerting frequently in the early game to maintain a high ability but, obviously, after a few exertions the Endurance deck gets to the bottom quickly so I pretty much can't afford to exert then, especially if I feel I'm even with my opponent.

Any thoughts into the strategy behind it? Also, any thoughts into general strategies? Keep in mind, I'll only be playing against people I can talk into using my decks so I'll never face any tournament-level players. But what are some ways us players without experience can think about how to utilize our decks effectively?

[prowler7]

All things dealing with Ability happen in the Ability Adjustment Phase.

Situations that are "Discard to use" like Forethought cannot be used the same turn they are played (which isn't a problem for Forethought, as you will see in my example). Also, you have to discard Forethought on your opponents turn to counter the card he just played. For Example -

Player 1 is playing as Xavier
Player 2 is playing as Kalas

On Player 1 turn, he plays Forethought.
On Player 2 turn, he plays Angry Mob
Player 1 must immediately, before Player 2 plays any more cards, announce he is Discarding Forethought to counter the Angry Mob card. Do not be afraid to ask your opponent to please stop his play so that you may consider using an Interrupt (like Forethought or even a RIP card).

Another example of a Discard to use card -
Player 1 plays an Upper Right Attack and a "Nexus"
Player 2 begins his turn by playing a Block.
Player 1 may now discard his Nexus from play and reshuffle his Discard into his Endurance. You may use Discard To Use cards on your opponents turn after you played the card, but your opponent MUST be able to play a card first before you can use your card. This gives your opponent an opportunity to do something about your card before you can use it.

The 1e Master's Advice cards raise both your Ability and your Maximum Ability. So the turn you play it, during your Ability Adjustment Phase, you would raise Ability by 2. Conversely, if that card leaves play, you lose both 2 Ability AND your Maximum Ability.

Exerting. There are different schools of thought on it, and mostly it comes down to 3 things - Play Style, Deck Style and Opportunity.

Your play style has a lot to do with Exerting. Some people have great luck with Exerting: never losing cards they need, always finding ones they do need, etc etc. Some others will always lose the one card they have been waiting for in the only Exertion they make all game. You need to recognize your own style and adjust accordingly.

Deck Style is another big factor. Some decks are MADE to Exert. Take Kern for instance. He LOVES to Exert. In 2e we have introduced Illusions, which can only be pulled from Exertions, so those Immortals love to Exert as well.

Opportunity is the hardest to nail down. Sometime in a match you know your opponent is on the ropes and so Exerting is your best option to take him out. Maybe its to keep making Power Blows. Maybe its to cycle your deck so you can get back all those cards in your Discard. Whatever the reason, you need to recognize opportunity when you see it.

How do you utilize a deck more effectively? Here are some pointers -

Build smaller decks. There are those that will disagree with me (Jerry Schattenburg, I am looking at you), but overall smaller decks operate much more efficiently than larger ones. You saw that just by removing 5 cards you were getting the cards you needed more quickly. Here is an experiment for you - Try building some Lean & Mean decks. This will teach you to make more from less.

Know your play style and your deck. Maximize your deck to your play style. Since you are only playing for fun, why don't you get on one of the card databases and write down the particulars for cards you don't have and make proxy cards to play with. This will give you a much wider base of cards to work with and expand what you can do, deck building wise. It is hard to find your style when you only have a handful of cards to work with.

[n107]

Great information and great advice, thanks!

I'm interested to see that Forethought is played on the opponent's turn. I really could get no sense from the rule book that you were allowed to do anything on your opponent's turn. Does this just apply to Situations that are already in play? Or are there other cards you could use on your opponent's turn?

For example: the event card "Underworld Contacts" neutralizes the effect of one Plot card. Let's say Xavier completes his "Unholy Alliance" plot. Can I play UC to neutralize it on his turn or is it there a chance to play it on my turn before the Ability Adjust phase to prevent the effects from harming me?

Definitely some good information to keep in mind about Exertions and strategy.

As for your suggestion on making proxies, as wonderful an idea as that is, I really can't do that. I'm too much a stickler for rules and have always stood by the thought that if I don't have a card then I can't proxy it. The only proxies I ever made were for the Star Wars CCG and it was to represent the Ultra Rares I owned, but didn't want to take out of the protective case to add to the deck.

Likewise, because of this personality trait (flaw?) of mine, I find making decks in the HL TCG quite difficult since the rules, especially the original rules, don't specify deck building limits. I see in the rules for later sets that there are constraints on how big a deck could be, but the original rules leaves it wide open and that really frustrates me. I like having a framework to build my deck within. That's why I'm now settling on a 70 card limit for all of my decks.

Do you happen to know of any videos on YouTube or elsewhere that show the TCG in action? Such as a convention report or even players' personal videos? I'd really like to see this game as done by people who are familiar with the ins and outs of it.

[prowler7]

In 1e there arent any cards other than "Discard to use" Situations and Objects or RIP cards that you can use on your opponents turn.

Underworld Contact will neutralize the effect of 1 Plot your opponent completed on his turn. So, if the Plot was "Unholy Alliance", and on your turn (right after he completed the Plot) you played Underworld Contact, you would not take the Ability Loss from the Plot. Since Underworld Contact is an Event, you can only play it on your turn, which is OK because it will still work in this case.

As far as I know, there are no videos of Highlander gameplay. None of us are photogenic enough to want to be on camera, and certainly none of us have a voice for radio to narrate the play. Sadly Highlander was at its zenith before internet video really took off and once it came back, none of us had the drive to want to do videos. Maybe somebody can talk Nigel into doing one, being a teacher he is qualified to show us how its done, and his accent is cool to listen to.

[n107]

That's too bad. Some veterans should get together and make some videos. I'd love to see them.

I don't recall reading it anywhere in my rulebook, but is it possible to voluntarily discard cards from your hand to draw new ones? So far in my trial runs, when a player gets down to low Ability, if his cards aren't useful he becomes almost completely useless. So is there a way to get rid of what you don't need in hopes of bouncing back from low Ability?

[thestrangedude]

Jul 6, 2013 1:51:14 GMT -5 n107 said:

That's too bad. Some veterans should get together and make some videos. I'd love to see them.

I don't recall reading it anywhere in my rulebook, but is it possible to voluntarily discard cards from your hand to draw new ones? So far in my trial runs, when a player gets down to low Ability, if his cards aren't useful he becomes almost completely useless. So is there a way to get rid of what you don't need in hopes of bouncing back from low Ability?

Nope short of cards/effects that allow you to discard the only way is to play them, the only exception I can think of is if your opponent plays no attack you may discard any one defence card in your defence phase.

As to strategies/tactics there are many simple seeming cards that have a level of tactical thought to use them that is unapparent at first glance. Take the simple combination (not the hugh or kanwulf version) which reads play an extra attack this turn if you play more than one attack this turn this extra attack is hidden. Pretty straight forward right? Well for a start this gives you 2 basic uses getting an attack after something removes an attack (dodge being the biggest I can think of) the other is allowing you 2 attacks in a turn.

And here is the game within the game what do you use for that extra attack? The most obvious is to play a corner as your first attack and it's opposite as the hidden attack so for example upper left with lower right but this becomes an obvious choice; so the next way to mix it up is to go for the mirror so upper left with an upper right; now lets look at the sneakier options start with a thrust and any card you like as your opponent has to guess with no idea where the next shot is going; make the hidden attack a slash limiting the number of blocks that can stop it; or make them both the same attack so upper left upper left your opponent will most likely block the first then guess the second at another spot (as common sense dictates) meaning they have to exert for a defence; Riposte as the first attacks means that both are hidden giving you a wealth of options; lastly adding a flashin blades to the hidden attack means your opponent can't just dodge both (though I am happy for my opponent to waste dodges on simple attacks).

[n107]

Thanks for the tips on strategy.

Speaking of Dodges, can a Dodge defend multiple attacks much like how a regular block can stop multiple attacks if they fall within its coverage zone?

[prowler7]

Thestrangedude is correct, there is no regular way to Discard cards from your Hand, you need a card effect to do it.

Yes, unless otherwise stated, Dodges will avoid multiple attacks. This is why the card Flashing Blade is so powerful in 1e and was not reprinted as a Generic card in 2e.