Post by Tim Small on Jun 7, 2008 16:07:51 GMT -5
Advanced Rules
In the advanced rules section, we'll show you how to liven up your sword battles with Power Blows, how to use your Special cards for interesting card combinations, and how to go about fine-tuning your HighlanderTM deck. You may want to tackle these rules one section at a time. Each one you master will add another dimension to your sword battles -- and put you that much closer to the Prize.
Playing Your Hand
During your turn, you must either a) Play a card or b) Make a Hard Exertion (see below).
There are rules of etiquette to follow when you play your cards. When you play a card that affects your opponent, especially attacks and defenses, turn it toward your opponent so that it can be read and so the grid is easily visible in the corner. This helps you quickly see the attacks and defenses you need to play.
Remember to leave any cards you play during your turn in play until the Sweep Phase of your next turn. This way you and your opponent can easily see what cards were played during your turn and how they may effect your opponent's next turn. Also, you can quickly see how many cards you played each turn, and you won't have to keep counting the cards in your hand when you draw up at the end of your turn.
'Must Do' and 'May Do' Effects
A golden rule you must remember is that you may not do anything if it is not your turn. This rule not only keeps you from effecting your opponent during his turn, but it also means that nothing can happen to you until your turn. If your opponent plays a card, or there is a card in play, which informs you to do a certain action, you must wait until the beginning of your turn to perform that action. These effects fall into two categories; "Must Do" and "May Do" effects.
When your turn begins you discard all your old cards during your Sweep Phase. Now you must take care of all 'Must Do' and 'May Do' effects before you can continue with your turn.
You may have multiple effects that you have to resolve during your May Do/Must Do Phase. You get to choose the order in which these effects occur.
The only cards that may be played during this phase are Edge Cards. If you have any Discard to Use effects, you may also use them during this phase.
Guards and other Standing Defenses
Think of Standing Defenses as a fighting stance. They come in many different types, but by far the most common Standing Defenses are Guards. A Guard allows you to block several areas at once, and unlike a normal block or dodge, you do not discard a Guard after you use it. You can leave it in play and block with it again next turn!
Some special rules apply to Guards. First, you can play a single Guard on your turn even if your opponent did not attack. Second, Guards are considered blocks, so attacks that cannot be blocked cannot be stopped with a Guard, either. You can also play multiple Guards in your turn if there are several attacks coming at you. Finally, you can drop a Guard at will in order to play a better defense or to move in to attack. Remember, though, that if you used the Guard as the last defense, you cannot attack to any of the areas blocked by the Guard, even if you drop the Guard. Any Block with Guard in the title (i.e. Double Guard, Master’s Guard, etc.) is also considered a Guard by cards that effect Guards.
Some Situations also have text that designates them as a Standing Defense. Since Standing Defense is in the text of the card and not the Title or Type, if this card’s text is ignored, then it is no longer considered a Standing Defense which it is ignored. Like Guards, these Sitautions may be removed from play by their controller at any time.
Successful Attacks
An attack is considered successful if it is does damage or if it is not successfully defended or avoided by playing a Special Card. Avoiding the damage is not the same as avoiding the attack. A card that reduces an attack by two damage will not prevent it from being a successful attack. It will just keep you from taking damage. It is possible for an attack to be successful even if a successful defense was played against it.
Some attacks or other cards will cause an effect if the attack is successful. These effects will occur at the time the attack is declared successful. An attack is declared successful whenever the defender announces the attack as successful, an unsuccessful defense is played and the defender cannot Exert for a defense, or if the Defense Phase ends and the defender did not play a successful defense.
Playing and Resolving Multiple Attacks
Normally you may only play one attack during the Attack Phase of your turn. Consider this your one 'opportunity' in which to play one attack card, whether it is from your hand or if you make an Exertion to search for an attack.
It is quite possible, due to a Persona power or cards in play, that a player is able to play more then one attack during his turn. These cards or powers determine the number of 'opportunities' in which to play an attack or give you additional 'opportunities' on top of any others you may already have.
For each 'opportunity' you have you may play one attack from your hand, play a card which is played 'in place of' an attack (i.e. Disarm), or you may make an Exertion to search for an attack. Remember, however, that after making an Exertion (See Below) you are no longer able to play cards from your hand for the remainder of that phase. So be sure to play any attacks you wish to from your hand that you are able, then make any Exertions; whether they are to search for an attack, make one of the attacks you played a Power Blow, or for some other effect pertaining to your Persona's power or a card in play.
The sequence of your attacks is important. The first attack you played is considered the first attack your opponent must defend against during his turn, the second attack you play is the next attack he must defend, etc. This is important to determine if any of the defenses your opponent will block or avoid more then one attack (see Playing and Resolving Multiple Defenses). You will want to play your attacks from your right to your left. This is so your opponent knows which attack is first, second and so on.
The one exception to this is if you make an Exertion to search for an attack. If after playing several attacks you still have an 'opportunity' to play an attack, you may make an Exertion to search for an attack to play. This attack can be placed anywhere along the sequence of attacks you have already played.
Playing and Resolving Multiple Defenses
During your Defense Phase you may normally play one defense for each attack played against you. Your opponent will have played his attacks in a specific sequence which is important to how you will play your defenses against them.
Any defenses you play can block or avoid more then one attack along the sequence of attacks if they cover the same areas as those attacks. As soon as you play another defense, previously played defenses will no longer block or avoid further attacks.
The only time you can play a defense out of sequence is if you make an Exertion to search for a defense. After making the Exertion you can pull one defense from the Exertion and play it anywhere along the sequence of attacks. Be careful, though, for this may change how your other defenses block or avoid more then one attack.
Once a defense is played, it is immediately determined to be successful or unsuccessful. Any effects of successful attack occur immediately before playing the next defense. The one exception is if the defender announces that they will make an Exertion to for a defense during that phase. If that occurs, attack resolution is delayed until the end of that Exertion.
Example: Duncan and Amanda are sparring together. To catch Amanda off guard, Duncan plays a Leg Sweep. The Leg Sweep allows Duncan to play an additional attack, and if it is successful, that additional attack cannot be dodged. He follows with a Thrust and plays a Trip as his Special Card. His Trip makes Dodges not avoid consecutive attacks, so Amanda would have to play to two Dodges to avoid both attacks. If Amanda does not defend the Leg Sweep, then the next attack cannot be dodged and she would be forced to play a block against it. If Amanda wanted to, she could play a Dodge from her hand against the Thrust and announce that she will make an Exertion for a Defense. In this case, the Leg Sweep is not yet successful and all attack resolution is delayed until the end of the Exertion. If she finds a defense in the Exertion that stops the Leg Sweep, then her Dodge becomes successful against the Thrust. If she does not, then she would either have to play a Block from the Exertion that defended the Thrust, or declare the Thrust successful.
Exertions and Power Blows
Hard Exertions
Dueling is more than just polite parry and thrust. Digging deep down into their reserves, the combatants try to overpower their enemy. Discard the top five cards from the top of your deck -- just turn them straight over into your discard pile - to make what is called an Exertion.. There are many things you can do with an Exertion. The four most common are: Make a Power Blow, Block a Power Blow, Search for an attack, or Search for a defense. Though it's not obvious at first, you may find yourself wanting to Exert for no reason, in which case you would declare you are making an Exertion for nothing. These five types of Exertions are known as Hard Exertions.
Other than some cards requiring Exertions for their effects, there are still others which modify Exertions. Some increase or decrease the number of cards you may discard from your Endurance, while still others may be used instead of making an Exertion.
You must always declare what an Exertion is being used for and the number of cards in an Exertion before making the Exertion.
Exertion Caveat
You may make only ONE Hard Exertion per turn. If you Exert to find a defense, you cannot make an Exertion in the same turn to find an attack, and so on. Furthermore, when you make an Exertion, you cannot play any further cards from your hand for the rest of the current phase. For this reason, it is important to remember to play all defenses or attacks from your hand first, then make any Exertions you need to modify the cards you played.
1. Making a Power Blow
You may only make one Power Blow per turn. Play your attack as normal, then turn the top 5 cards of your Endurance over into your discard pile. Power Blows add two damage to any attack and are harder to block. If you make a Power Blow, your opponent has the right to make his next attack Hidden (see below). Exertions made to make an attack a Power Blow must be made during your Attack Phase. You may not make an attack a Power Blow if it is already a Power Blow.
2. Making a Power Block
You can also make a Power Block when playing a block against a Power Blow. Play the block as normal, then make an Exertion by turning the top 5 cards of your Endurance over into your discard pile. You can play a block against a Power Blow without making an Exertion, but you only stop two of the damage. You can also play a dodge to avoid the attack, thereby taking no damage; this does not require an Exertion. Exertions made to make a block a Power Block, must be made during your Defense Phase and only against Power Blows. You may not make a block a Power Block if it is already a Power Block.
3. Searching for an attack
If you find yourself in need of an attack, you can make an Exertion to find one. This may happen if you want to attack your opponent but have no attacks in your hand or would prefer an attack other than ones in your hand. Tell your opponent you are searching for an attack, then turn over the top five cards of your Endurance. If, within those cards, there is a non-Special attack you can use, pull it out and play it. The other cards go to the discard pile. Exertions made to search for an attack must be made during your Attack Phase.
There are many cards which require you to play them in conjunction with an attack. You may play these cards then make an Exertion to search for an attack to play with such cards. If no attack is found, then the cards played are discarded and have no effect.
3. Searching for a defense
You can use an Exertion to search for a defense exactly as you would an attack. You may find that you do not have a defense which will block or dodge an attack your opponent has played or would prefer a defense other than ones in your hand. To make an Exertion to search for a defense tell your opponent you are searching for a defense, then turn over the top five cards of your Endurance. If, within those cards, there is a defense you can use against an attack your opponent has played, pull it out and play it. The other cards go to the discard pile. Exertions made to search for a defense must be made during your Defense Phase.
You may find yourself defending against multiple attacks played by your opponent. In this case you can play any proper defense against the attacks played and if you find there are still attacks you haven't played defenses for, you may then make an Exertion to search for a defense. This can be tricky as after playing all your defense, they will resolve in order. Remember that blocks can block multiple attacks as can dodges, but if you Exert for a defense and play one, then you may interrupt your chain of defense.
There are many cards which require you to play them in conjunction with an defense. You may play these cards then make an Exertion to search for an defense to play with such cards. If no attack is found, then the cards played are discarded and have no effect. If you played a Special Card, it counts as playing the Special for your turn, even if it ends up having no effect.
5. Other uses for Exertions
During the game many card effects may require or allow you to make a HardExertion to perform various functions. These effects will explain what you should do with the cards from a Hard Exertion, but if they do not you will simply discard them all. All Hard Exertions involve discarding the top 5 cards of your Endurance, but there may be other effects in play altering the size of Exertions you make. These effects will also inform you when to make these Exertions, which may be in a certain phase of your turn or even anytime during your turn.
6. Soft Exertions
Sometimes you will have cards that require you to make a Soft Exertion and look for certain Attributes in order to trigger the effect. For example you may have a card that says “Make a soft exertions avoid one damage for every agility gem you find.” In this case you would five 5 cards and for every agility icon on those 5 cards you would avoid 1 damage. This is a Tiered Exertion. The more gems you draw the better it works. Another example would be “Make a soft exertion for three agility gems, disarm your opponent.” In this case out of the 5 cards you draw you must find at least 3 agility gems in order for the card to take effect. If you find less than 3 your opponent is not disarmed and the card has no effect. This is a Threshold exertion. In all cases a soft exertion is not placed in your discard pile but placed at the bottom of your endurance. You may make multiple Soft Exertions per turn.
7. Attribute Checks
An Attribute Check is any Exertion made specifically looking for any number of Attribute Gems. You may have multiple effects allowing you to make Attribute Checks during your turn. You may only attempt each Attribute Check once during your turn. You may still only make one Hard Exertion during your turn, even if you have multiple Attribute Checks requiring a Hard Exertion. For the sake of making Attribute Checks, the Master (White) Gem is not considered an Attribute.
Hidden Attacks
In certain circumstances you may have the opportunity to make Hidden Attacks. There are cards that specifically allow you to do this, though you may decline the benefit. You may make a Hidden attack on an opponent who has just made a Power Blow (see Power Blows, above).
To make a Hidden attack, play an attack card as normal but play it FACE DOWN. Your opponent attempts to defend against the Hidden attack on his turn by guessing which defense he'll need to play. After he's played the defense, turn over the attack card and see if he got lucky. This is one of the few exceptions where a player may play an "inappropriate" defense. Because you do not know where the attack is aimed, you may play any defense, even if it turns out that the defense is not even close!
If his defense does not stop the attack, it is immediately discarded and he may make an Exertion to search for a better defense, but he may not play another defense from his hand.
Special Attacks
Special attacks require some knowledge or preparation on the part of the attacker. They are marked with a gold grid instead of a red grid, and they will also have the words "Special Attack" at the top of the text box. Special Attacks are governed by these additional rules: they may not be Power Blows (or Head Shots), they may not be Hidden, and they may not be pulled from an Exertion when searching for an attack. Also, Edge cards may not be played in conjunction with Special Attacks.
Ranged Attacks
Ranged Attacks are a specific kind of Special Attack. Ranged Attacks include such things as guns, throwing knives, or even improvised weapons like rocks or bottles -- anything you can shoot or throw at your opponent as an attack. Ranged Attacks follow all of the rules of Special Attacks. Blocks cannot be played against Ranged Attacks, though Ranged Attacks are not considered to be 'unblockable'. You can identify a Ranged Attack by the label 'Ranged Attack' at the top of the text box.
Dirty Tricks
Dirty Tricks are Non-Special Attacks that represent fighting hand-to-hand and not with a Weapon. All Dirty Tricks follow these rules: They cannot be blocked. They can be played while Disarmed. They do no damage. They cannot be a Power Blow. Any attack with Dirty Trick in the title (i.e. Master’s Dirty Trick, etc.) is considered a Dirty Trick.
Running out of Cards (Exhaustion)
When you draw the last card in your deck, you are Exhausted. You lose 5 Ability during your next Ability Adjustment Phase. Shuffle the cards in your discard pile back into a deck, offer your opponent a cut, and continue playing.
If you draw the last card from your Endurance during your Draw/Discard phase, you are not required to discard down at that time. Because you never both draw and discard in your Draw/Discard phase, you may hold all of the cards you drew until your next ability adjustment phase, at which time you must adjust your Ability and discard as normal.
Head Shots
One key concept to the HighlanderTM game is the Head Shot. With one mighty swing and the familiar refrain, "There can be only one!" you strike the one blow that ends an Immortal's life. You must play the Head Shot card with an Upper attack. That attack instantly becomes a Power Blow, and if your opponent does not play a successful defense against the attack, and it is a successful attack, then you immediately win the game. If your opponent blocks, dodges, or otherwise avoids the attack, the Head Shot fails and play continues. Note, however, that even though your opponent doesn't lose his head by playing a block; since the Head Shot is considered a Power Blow, if he does not make the block a Power Block, but he will still take 2 damage.
There are other ways to make attacks Head Shots without the use of the Head Shot card and in some instances attacks themselves can be considered Head Shots. In all cases, attacks that are considered Head Shots follow all of the above rules.
Disarming and Breaking Weapons
There are Special cards that can disarm your opponent -- even some cards that can break your opponent's weapon. The weapons require a Disarm Check for a specific Attribute. The person that played the card that initiates the Disarm Check immediately makes a Soft Exertion for the Attribute. At the end of their May Do/Must Do Phase, the opposing player makes a Soft Exertion for that Attribute as well. If the attacker’s check is greater, the defender is Disarmed. A Disarm Check is a type of Attribute Check.
If you have no weapon (because you were disarmed or your weapon was broken or lost) you may not play attacks, and you may not play blocks, but you may still play dodges.
At the beginning of any turn when you do not have your weapon, you may try to retrieve your weapon. Name an attribute then make a hard exertion looking for gems of that attribute. If you draw 2 then you recover your weapon. You may make a soft exertion to look for 3 gems. You only get to make one exertion a turn to attempt this. You do NOT get to attempt this each turn if your weapon was broken.
While you are disarmed you may not play any Weapon of choice cards or any Hilt. Any Hilt already in play is turned face down and has no effect on game play.
You cannot attempt to Disarm or break a player's weapon that is already Disarmed
If a player is using two Weapon of Choice, that player is not considered Disarmed until both Weapons have been removed or broken. When attempting to Disarm a player using two Weapon of Choice, the attacker announces which Weapon they are targeting before disarm checks are made.
Edge Cards
Edge cards are not Special cards. You may play as many Edge cards during your turn as you wish, in the appropriate manner. However, if the only cards you play during your turn are Edge cards, then you must make an Exertion for not playing a card other than an Edge card (see Playing Your Hand).
If an Edge card is played in conjunction with a Special card and the Special card is countered in some way, so are all the Edge cards played with that Special card.
Edge cards may not be played in conjunction with Special Attacks.
Special Cards
You may play a Special card during either the attack or defense phase, but YOU MAY ONLY PLAY ONE SPECIAL CARD PER TURN. Special cards include Events, Situations, Objects, Plots and Locations.
Events
Event cards allow you to briefly affect the battle to favor you or hinder your opponent. Events "happen" as soon as they are played, but depending on the kind of Event they may not actually resolve until later in your turn, or even in your opponent's turn:
• Events that modify your attacks take effect immediately. If you play a Combination, for example, you may then play another attack.
• Events that damage your opponent or modifies their Ability take effect in their Defense Phase. This gives your opponent an opportunity to stop the effect during their turn.
• Events that damage both players take effect twice: once in the Ability Adjustment step of the first player, then again in the other player's turn during their Defense Phase, any actual damage done to your opponent is then done to them during their Ability Adjustment Phase..
• If your Event forces your opponent to discard, this is a 'Must Do' effect which he must resolve at the end of his Sweep Phase, before he plays any other cards, unless the card he plays directly effects him discard those cards.
• Events that put cards into play, or remove cards already in play, take effect as soon as they are played.
Objects
Extra weapons, quality blades, armor -- these are all Objects. Once put into play, Objects remain in play. You may have more than one Object in play at a time.
Although most Objects take effect as soon as you put them into play, some require you to discard them from play in order to trigger their effects. These are known as 'Discard to Use' effects. To use these cards, you must play them ahead of time. When you need them, simply place them in your discard pile in order to gain the benefit of the Object. You cannot discard an Object on the turn it is played.
Object: Hilts
You may only have one Object: Hilt in play. Some Object: Hilts do allow you to have another in play, these are Off-Hand Hilts for Offhand Weapons of Choice. You may never replace a Object: Hilt with another Object: Hilt in your hand.
Situations
Like Objects, Situations remain in play, but there are cards that will remove your Situations from play, and some even remove themselves after a period of time. In any case, the effects of a Situation cease as soon as it leaves play.
You may have more than one Situation in play at a time -- you may even have multiples of the same Situation out at once.
In most cases, the effects of a Situation begin as soon as it is played. However, some Situations must be discarded in order to take effect. Once again these are 'Discard to Use' effects. Once you play these Situations, they should remain on the table until such time as you wish to use them. Then, discard the Situation in order to trigger its effects. You cannot discard a Situation in this way on the turn it is played.
Plots
Typically, Plot cards must be played in a particular sequence, in conjunction with other, similar Plot cards. When they are successfully played in the correct sequence, they have a particular effect on yourself or on your opponent. This effect may be short-term, resolving on your opponents next turn, or have a longer impact.
Even if your opponent completes a plot sequence, you may be able to escape some or all of the resulting effects. If you can neutralize the Plot while it is still affecting you, you suffer no further effects from that Plot. Some cards, or your Persona Power, may give you immunity to the effects of Particular completed Plots.
After a Plot is completed (usually three or two cards played in a certain sequence), they are removed from play and then they have an affect on you or your opponent. Your opponent may not play a card that affects the Plots that are removed from play, only the affect they produce.
Example: Your opponent completes a Plot that says their opponent must discard a card from their Endurance for each
you have in your discard. Lets say you have 20 in your discard, but your opponent has a card in play that lets them discard from their hand instead of from their Endurance.
There are some Plot cards that have no requirements for play and do not need to be played in a certain sequence. Most of these Plots are single cards which have immediate effects on the game.
Locations
Once a Location is played, it remains in play. But there can only be one Location in play at a time; if you play a Location, remove any previous Location from play and discard it. Locations in play affect all players.
Weapons of Choice
Weapons of Choice are Pre-Game cards which determine the most likely weapon used by your Persona or Generic Immortal during the game. Each Weapon of Choice has specific advantages and drawbacks during game play which may affect the way you attack or defend against your opponent.
Like all Pre-Game cards, Weapons of Choice are put into play before the game begins. Normally you may have only one Weapon of Choice in play. The Weapon of Choice is considered an extension of your Persona or Generic Immortal so it cannot be discarded from the game by any means (Ex: Divine Intervention). However it can be disarmed (see below).
Each Weapon of Choice has one or more Hand Icons on it showing how may hands it takes to wield the weapon. If the Weapon of Choice has one Hand Icon, it is considered a one-handed weapon. If it has two Hand Icons, it is a two-handed weapon. You can never have more then two Hand Icons among all of the cards you have in play during the game. If you already have two Hand Icons among the cards you have in play, you cannot play a card with a Hand Icon on it. Any player not using a Weapon of Choice is still considered to be using a one-handed weapon (1 Hand Icon).
Hand Icons
As stated above, some cards will have a Hand Icon on them other than just Weapons of Choice. In any case, you cannot play any cards with Hand Icons on them if, after playing that card, you would have more than two Hand Icons in play. You must have a "Free Hand" to play such cards (less than two Hand Icons in play).
Though Ranged Attacks do not have Hand Icons on them, the rules for Ranged Attacks require that you have a "Free Hand" to play them.
Weapon Specific Cards
Weapons of Choice have several cards known as Weapon Specific cards which you can include in your deck; much like Immortal Specific cards. You can only include and play a Weapon Specific card if you are actually using the proper Weapon of Choice. Each Weapon Specific card is like any other card you might find in the Highlander: The Card Game; whether it be an attack, defense, Event, Situation, etc.
Disarming a Weapon of Choice
If your opponent manages to successfully Disarm you, turn the Weapon of Choice you are using face down as a reminder. If you happen to be using more than one Weapon of Choice, then your opponent chooses which one has been disarmed. While your Weapon of Choice is disarmed, it no longer has any effect on the game and you are unable to play any Weapon Specific cards for that Weapon of Choice. Also, a Weapon of Choice that is disarmed may bring the number of Hand Icons in your Pre-Game cards below 2; in which case you may now play cards with Hand Icons as long as you don't exceed more then two Hand Icons in play.
While you have a Weapon of Choice that is disarmed, you may attempt to regain that Weapon of Choice like you would normally. If you have another Weapon of Choice in play, you may continue to use it as if you are not disarmed. If all of your Weapon of Choice cards are disarmed (or you are not using a Weapon of Choice and are disarmed), then follow all the normal rules for being disarmed. If you manage to recover a disarmed weapon and you have more than one Weapon of Choice in play, you may choose which one is recovered.
Anytime you recover your weapon after being disarmed, gain an Extra Weapon, or even steal your opponent's weapon (i.e. Connor MacLeod's or Nakano's Master's Disarm (these are future cardss)) you are considered to have recovered your Weapon of Choice.
Prone
During the game it is possible that a player may become Prone; in other words, knocked on his Immortal butt. While a player is considered Prone, he must discard a card from his hand with the same Icon as a card he is playing from his hand. For instance he must discard an Event to play an Event, a Location to play a Location, an attack to play an attack, and so on. A prone player may still play attacks or defenses from exertions without discarding a card from his hand.
At the beginning of each of his turns, a player that is considered Prone may attempt to stand up. Name an attribute then make a hard exertion looking for gems of that attribute. If you draw 2 then you stand up. You may make it a Soft Exertion, but you must find 3 of the Attribute.
Ignoring or Nullifying a Card and It's Effects
Some cards may give you the option or instruct you to ignore, nullify, or neutralize a card in play or it's effects. The only effects which can be ignored are those effects which directly affect you; be it an instruction for you to perform some action, a restriction preventing you from performing some action, or even an effect that does damage or Ability Loss. However, any other effects that instruct your opponent to do something or affect cards in play or being played cannot be ignored as they do not directly affect you.
Here's an example: Player A has Master's Sanctuary in play. Master's Sanctuary instructs Player A that he must ignore the effects of any Location he has in play. Player A then plays the Factory Location. Factory says, "No player may draw cards during his Draw/Discard Phase while Factory is in play. If any player's hand drops below 5 cards, remove Factory from play." The first sentence is an instruction that all players are restricted in drawing cards. This part directly affects you so it can be ignored. The second sentence is a condition of Factory and doesn't instruct you to perform an action or restrict you from performing an action. So it cannot be ignored. If any player's hand falls below 5 cards, Factory will be removed.
Damage and Loss of Ability
Some cards do damage, other cards lower Ability. Cards that read, "..loses Ability" may not be countered with cards that prevent damage.
Discard to Use Cards and Countering Cards
There are some Special cards which must be discarded after being put into play for their effects to occur. These types of cards are commonly known as Discard to Use cards. These cards are most likely Situations and Objects.
You can never discard a Discard To Use card the turn you put it into play..
Removing Cards From The Game
There are some cards and effects which cause some cards to be removed from the game. Such cards are set aside outside of the game playing area and cannot be returned to your deck until the current game ends. In some cases a card may be removed which allowed you to add cards to your deck. Such cards leaving the game may force you to remove these added cards. You should search your discard pile first, then your Endurance, then your Hand, and finally look to see if the card needed to be removed is in play. When you find the card which was added to your deck, remove it from the game as well.
Deck Construction
Minimum and Maximum Deck Size
You must use a minimum of 50 cards. You are also required to use one of each basic attack and defense.
It may occur during your game that a card or cards are removed from the game reducing the size of your deck below 50 cards. This is fine, as long as you begin the game with at least 50 cards.
Pre-Game cards do not count toward the number of cards in your deck.
Basic Attacks:
Upper Left Attack, Upper Middle Attack, Upper Right Attack, Middle Left Attack, Thrust, Middle Right Attack, Lower Left Attack, Lower Center Attack, and Lower Right Attack.
Basic Defenses: All of the basic defenses are blocks.
Upper Left Block, Upper Center Block, Upper Right Block, Lower Left Block, Lower Center Block, and Lower Right Block.
Attribute Restrictions
Each Persona has a limited number of cards that they can use based off their special abilities. These are represented by six basic Attributes. The attributes are Master (White), Agility (Light Blue), Strength (Red), Toughness (Dark Blue), Empathy (Purple), Reason (Yellow). During deck construction, you may only include a number of Master Cards equal to the Master stat on your Persona. You may only include a number of Agility, Strength, Toughness, Empathy, and Reason cards in your deck equal to three times the stat on your Persona.
Restricted Cards
Your deck may not contain more than 6 of any one card title. If a number appears on the right hand side of the title bar, that indicates the maximum number of that specific card that may be included in your deck. Several cards may have the same title but different pictures and text; each card with a different text can be considered a specific and unique card under that title. Different pictures do mean that the card is unique.
Example: Rameriz has a Master Block has a restriciton of two, with two different images, but the text is exactly the same. You may only include two of these in your deck. Grayson has three cards called Business as usual, with a restriction of two on each. Each has a different text and you are able to include two of each of these in your deck.
Signature Cards
Much like the Reserved cards, only the Immortal named on the card may include Signature cards in his deck. However, under no circumstance can any other Immortal include this card in their deck. This is important because there are some Persona powers and card effects which will allow you to include cards in your deck that you are not normally allowed to; meaning you can use Reserved cards from other Personas, but not Signature cards. Also, if a Signature card has a Restriction number, the Restriction cannot be altered in anyway.
Persona Cards
These are rare cards that allow you to play as your favorite Immortal. When you play a specific Persona, you may not use cards with any other Persona's name in the title bar. If you want to play The Kurgan, for example, you may not use cards with Connor's name on them. Persona Cards are "pre-game" cards; you do not shuffle them into your deck with the rest of your cards. Instead, put them on the table before play begins.
Premium Cards
These are extremely rare cards which are played in conjunction with a Persona and confer some other ability to you during a game.
Furthermore, since Premium cards are considered an extension to the Persona you are playing, even if you are playing a Generic Immortal, they may not be removed from the game by effects which can normally do so (i.e. Divine Intervention - Promotional Card).
Quickening Cards
Quickening cards may only be acquired if the player is a NEXUS league member and wins a tournament sanctioned by the NEXUS World League. Quickening cards are Pre-Game cards which allow you to use the power of other Immortals along with your own. Of course, if you already own one or more of these you don't really need to be reading these rules, do you?
Watcher Pre-Game Cards
Watcher pre-game cards are cards that allow you to assign a member of the Watcher Society to your Immortal. While being your Watcher, he will confer some sort of power to you during the game.
You may only have one Watcher or one Hunter Pre-Game associated with your deck.
Watcher Cards
Watcher cards are any cards you would include in your Endurance (not pre-game cards) that have the word 'Watcher' in the title of the card. You may only include these if you have a Watcher Pre-Game associated with your Deck.
Hunter Pre-Game Cards
Hunter Pre-Game cards are cards that allow you to assign a member of the Watcher Society to your Immortal. While being your Hunter, he will confer some sort of power to you during the game.
You may only have one Watcher or one Hunter Pre-Game associated with your deck.
Hunter Cards
Hunter cards are any cards you would include in your Endurance (not Pre-Game cards) that have the word 'Hunter' in the title of the card. You may only include these if you have a Hunter Pre-Game associated with your Deck.
Master Cards
A Master card is any card with the word "Master" in any form in the title. On the back of your Persona card, you will find the number of Master cards that you are permitted to include in your Endurance. If you do not use a Persona card, you may not include Master cards in your deck.
Allies
Some cards are considered to be allies. An Ally is any card which depicts a person or persons from the television series or movies and has their name(s) as the title of the card. You may only have one Situation: Immortal or Mortal Ally in play at a time. This does not impede you or your opponent from having the same Ally in play.
In the advanced rules section, we'll show you how to liven up your sword battles with Power Blows, how to use your Special cards for interesting card combinations, and how to go about fine-tuning your HighlanderTM deck. You may want to tackle these rules one section at a time. Each one you master will add another dimension to your sword battles -- and put you that much closer to the Prize.
Playing Your Hand
During your turn, you must either a) Play a card or b) Make a Hard Exertion (see below).
There are rules of etiquette to follow when you play your cards. When you play a card that affects your opponent, especially attacks and defenses, turn it toward your opponent so that it can be read and so the grid is easily visible in the corner. This helps you quickly see the attacks and defenses you need to play.
Remember to leave any cards you play during your turn in play until the Sweep Phase of your next turn. This way you and your opponent can easily see what cards were played during your turn and how they may effect your opponent's next turn. Also, you can quickly see how many cards you played each turn, and you won't have to keep counting the cards in your hand when you draw up at the end of your turn.
'Must Do' and 'May Do' Effects
A golden rule you must remember is that you may not do anything if it is not your turn. This rule not only keeps you from effecting your opponent during his turn, but it also means that nothing can happen to you until your turn. If your opponent plays a card, or there is a card in play, which informs you to do a certain action, you must wait until the beginning of your turn to perform that action. These effects fall into two categories; "Must Do" and "May Do" effects.
When your turn begins you discard all your old cards during your Sweep Phase. Now you must take care of all 'Must Do' and 'May Do' effects before you can continue with your turn.
You may have multiple effects that you have to resolve during your May Do/Must Do Phase. You get to choose the order in which these effects occur.
The only cards that may be played during this phase are Edge Cards. If you have any Discard to Use effects, you may also use them during this phase.
Guards and other Standing Defenses
Think of Standing Defenses as a fighting stance. They come in many different types, but by far the most common Standing Defenses are Guards. A Guard allows you to block several areas at once, and unlike a normal block or dodge, you do not discard a Guard after you use it. You can leave it in play and block with it again next turn!
Some special rules apply to Guards. First, you can play a single Guard on your turn even if your opponent did not attack. Second, Guards are considered blocks, so attacks that cannot be blocked cannot be stopped with a Guard, either. You can also play multiple Guards in your turn if there are several attacks coming at you. Finally, you can drop a Guard at will in order to play a better defense or to move in to attack. Remember, though, that if you used the Guard as the last defense, you cannot attack to any of the areas blocked by the Guard, even if you drop the Guard. Any Block with Guard in the title (i.e. Double Guard, Master’s Guard, etc.) is also considered a Guard by cards that effect Guards.
Some Situations also have text that designates them as a Standing Defense. Since Standing Defense is in the text of the card and not the Title or Type, if this card’s text is ignored, then it is no longer considered a Standing Defense which it is ignored. Like Guards, these Sitautions may be removed from play by their controller at any time.
Successful Attacks
An attack is considered successful if it is does damage or if it is not successfully defended or avoided by playing a Special Card. Avoiding the damage is not the same as avoiding the attack. A card that reduces an attack by two damage will not prevent it from being a successful attack. It will just keep you from taking damage. It is possible for an attack to be successful even if a successful defense was played against it.
Some attacks or other cards will cause an effect if the attack is successful. These effects will occur at the time the attack is declared successful. An attack is declared successful whenever the defender announces the attack as successful, an unsuccessful defense is played and the defender cannot Exert for a defense, or if the Defense Phase ends and the defender did not play a successful defense.
Playing and Resolving Multiple Attacks
Normally you may only play one attack during the Attack Phase of your turn. Consider this your one 'opportunity' in which to play one attack card, whether it is from your hand or if you make an Exertion to search for an attack.
It is quite possible, due to a Persona power or cards in play, that a player is able to play more then one attack during his turn. These cards or powers determine the number of 'opportunities' in which to play an attack or give you additional 'opportunities' on top of any others you may already have.
For each 'opportunity' you have you may play one attack from your hand, play a card which is played 'in place of' an attack (i.e. Disarm), or you may make an Exertion to search for an attack. Remember, however, that after making an Exertion (See Below) you are no longer able to play cards from your hand for the remainder of that phase. So be sure to play any attacks you wish to from your hand that you are able, then make any Exertions; whether they are to search for an attack, make one of the attacks you played a Power Blow, or for some other effect pertaining to your Persona's power or a card in play.
The sequence of your attacks is important. The first attack you played is considered the first attack your opponent must defend against during his turn, the second attack you play is the next attack he must defend, etc. This is important to determine if any of the defenses your opponent will block or avoid more then one attack (see Playing and Resolving Multiple Defenses). You will want to play your attacks from your right to your left. This is so your opponent knows which attack is first, second and so on.
The one exception to this is if you make an Exertion to search for an attack. If after playing several attacks you still have an 'opportunity' to play an attack, you may make an Exertion to search for an attack to play. This attack can be placed anywhere along the sequence of attacks you have already played.
Playing and Resolving Multiple Defenses
During your Defense Phase you may normally play one defense for each attack played against you. Your opponent will have played his attacks in a specific sequence which is important to how you will play your defenses against them.
Any defenses you play can block or avoid more then one attack along the sequence of attacks if they cover the same areas as those attacks. As soon as you play another defense, previously played defenses will no longer block or avoid further attacks.
The only time you can play a defense out of sequence is if you make an Exertion to search for a defense. After making the Exertion you can pull one defense from the Exertion and play it anywhere along the sequence of attacks. Be careful, though, for this may change how your other defenses block or avoid more then one attack.
Once a defense is played, it is immediately determined to be successful or unsuccessful. Any effects of successful attack occur immediately before playing the next defense. The one exception is if the defender announces that they will make an Exertion to for a defense during that phase. If that occurs, attack resolution is delayed until the end of that Exertion.
Example: Duncan and Amanda are sparring together. To catch Amanda off guard, Duncan plays a Leg Sweep. The Leg Sweep allows Duncan to play an additional attack, and if it is successful, that additional attack cannot be dodged. He follows with a Thrust and plays a Trip as his Special Card. His Trip makes Dodges not avoid consecutive attacks, so Amanda would have to play to two Dodges to avoid both attacks. If Amanda does not defend the Leg Sweep, then the next attack cannot be dodged and she would be forced to play a block against it. If Amanda wanted to, she could play a Dodge from her hand against the Thrust and announce that she will make an Exertion for a Defense. In this case, the Leg Sweep is not yet successful and all attack resolution is delayed until the end of the Exertion. If she finds a defense in the Exertion that stops the Leg Sweep, then her Dodge becomes successful against the Thrust. If she does not, then she would either have to play a Block from the Exertion that defended the Thrust, or declare the Thrust successful.
Exertions and Power Blows
Hard Exertions
Dueling is more than just polite parry and thrust. Digging deep down into their reserves, the combatants try to overpower their enemy. Discard the top five cards from the top of your deck -- just turn them straight over into your discard pile - to make what is called an Exertion.. There are many things you can do with an Exertion. The four most common are: Make a Power Blow, Block a Power Blow, Search for an attack, or Search for a defense. Though it's not obvious at first, you may find yourself wanting to Exert for no reason, in which case you would declare you are making an Exertion for nothing. These five types of Exertions are known as Hard Exertions.
Other than some cards requiring Exertions for their effects, there are still others which modify Exertions. Some increase or decrease the number of cards you may discard from your Endurance, while still others may be used instead of making an Exertion.
You must always declare what an Exertion is being used for and the number of cards in an Exertion before making the Exertion.
Exertion Caveat
You may make only ONE Hard Exertion per turn. If you Exert to find a defense, you cannot make an Exertion in the same turn to find an attack, and so on. Furthermore, when you make an Exertion, you cannot play any further cards from your hand for the rest of the current phase. For this reason, it is important to remember to play all defenses or attacks from your hand first, then make any Exertions you need to modify the cards you played.
1. Making a Power Blow
You may only make one Power Blow per turn. Play your attack as normal, then turn the top 5 cards of your Endurance over into your discard pile. Power Blows add two damage to any attack and are harder to block. If you make a Power Blow, your opponent has the right to make his next attack Hidden (see below). Exertions made to make an attack a Power Blow must be made during your Attack Phase. You may not make an attack a Power Blow if it is already a Power Blow.
2. Making a Power Block
You can also make a Power Block when playing a block against a Power Blow. Play the block as normal, then make an Exertion by turning the top 5 cards of your Endurance over into your discard pile. You can play a block against a Power Blow without making an Exertion, but you only stop two of the damage. You can also play a dodge to avoid the attack, thereby taking no damage; this does not require an Exertion. Exertions made to make a block a Power Block, must be made during your Defense Phase and only against Power Blows. You may not make a block a Power Block if it is already a Power Block.
3. Searching for an attack
If you find yourself in need of an attack, you can make an Exertion to find one. This may happen if you want to attack your opponent but have no attacks in your hand or would prefer an attack other than ones in your hand. Tell your opponent you are searching for an attack, then turn over the top five cards of your Endurance. If, within those cards, there is a non-Special attack you can use, pull it out and play it. The other cards go to the discard pile. Exertions made to search for an attack must be made during your Attack Phase.
There are many cards which require you to play them in conjunction with an attack. You may play these cards then make an Exertion to search for an attack to play with such cards. If no attack is found, then the cards played are discarded and have no effect.
3. Searching for a defense
You can use an Exertion to search for a defense exactly as you would an attack. You may find that you do not have a defense which will block or dodge an attack your opponent has played or would prefer a defense other than ones in your hand. To make an Exertion to search for a defense tell your opponent you are searching for a defense, then turn over the top five cards of your Endurance. If, within those cards, there is a defense you can use against an attack your opponent has played, pull it out and play it. The other cards go to the discard pile. Exertions made to search for a defense must be made during your Defense Phase.
You may find yourself defending against multiple attacks played by your opponent. In this case you can play any proper defense against the attacks played and if you find there are still attacks you haven't played defenses for, you may then make an Exertion to search for a defense. This can be tricky as after playing all your defense, they will resolve in order. Remember that blocks can block multiple attacks as can dodges, but if you Exert for a defense and play one, then you may interrupt your chain of defense.
There are many cards which require you to play them in conjunction with an defense. You may play these cards then make an Exertion to search for an defense to play with such cards. If no attack is found, then the cards played are discarded and have no effect. If you played a Special Card, it counts as playing the Special for your turn, even if it ends up having no effect.
5. Other uses for Exertions
During the game many card effects may require or allow you to make a HardExertion to perform various functions. These effects will explain what you should do with the cards from a Hard Exertion, but if they do not you will simply discard them all. All Hard Exertions involve discarding the top 5 cards of your Endurance, but there may be other effects in play altering the size of Exertions you make. These effects will also inform you when to make these Exertions, which may be in a certain phase of your turn or even anytime during your turn.
6. Soft Exertions
Sometimes you will have cards that require you to make a Soft Exertion and look for certain Attributes in order to trigger the effect. For example you may have a card that says “Make a soft exertions avoid one damage for every agility gem you find.” In this case you would five 5 cards and for every agility icon on those 5 cards you would avoid 1 damage. This is a Tiered Exertion. The more gems you draw the better it works. Another example would be “Make a soft exertion for three agility gems, disarm your opponent.” In this case out of the 5 cards you draw you must find at least 3 agility gems in order for the card to take effect. If you find less than 3 your opponent is not disarmed and the card has no effect. This is a Threshold exertion. In all cases a soft exertion is not placed in your discard pile but placed at the bottom of your endurance. You may make multiple Soft Exertions per turn.
7. Attribute Checks
An Attribute Check is any Exertion made specifically looking for any number of Attribute Gems. You may have multiple effects allowing you to make Attribute Checks during your turn. You may only attempt each Attribute Check once during your turn. You may still only make one Hard Exertion during your turn, even if you have multiple Attribute Checks requiring a Hard Exertion. For the sake of making Attribute Checks, the Master (White) Gem is not considered an Attribute.
Hidden Attacks
In certain circumstances you may have the opportunity to make Hidden Attacks. There are cards that specifically allow you to do this, though you may decline the benefit. You may make a Hidden attack on an opponent who has just made a Power Blow (see Power Blows, above).
To make a Hidden attack, play an attack card as normal but play it FACE DOWN. Your opponent attempts to defend against the Hidden attack on his turn by guessing which defense he'll need to play. After he's played the defense, turn over the attack card and see if he got lucky. This is one of the few exceptions where a player may play an "inappropriate" defense. Because you do not know where the attack is aimed, you may play any defense, even if it turns out that the defense is not even close!
If his defense does not stop the attack, it is immediately discarded and he may make an Exertion to search for a better defense, but he may not play another defense from his hand.
Special Attacks
Special attacks require some knowledge or preparation on the part of the attacker. They are marked with a gold grid instead of a red grid, and they will also have the words "Special Attack" at the top of the text box. Special Attacks are governed by these additional rules: they may not be Power Blows (or Head Shots), they may not be Hidden, and they may not be pulled from an Exertion when searching for an attack. Also, Edge cards may not be played in conjunction with Special Attacks.
Ranged Attacks
Ranged Attacks are a specific kind of Special Attack. Ranged Attacks include such things as guns, throwing knives, or even improvised weapons like rocks or bottles -- anything you can shoot or throw at your opponent as an attack. Ranged Attacks follow all of the rules of Special Attacks. Blocks cannot be played against Ranged Attacks, though Ranged Attacks are not considered to be 'unblockable'. You can identify a Ranged Attack by the label 'Ranged Attack' at the top of the text box.
Dirty Tricks
Dirty Tricks are Non-Special Attacks that represent fighting hand-to-hand and not with a Weapon. All Dirty Tricks follow these rules: They cannot be blocked. They can be played while Disarmed. They do no damage. They cannot be a Power Blow. Any attack with Dirty Trick in the title (i.e. Master’s Dirty Trick, etc.) is considered a Dirty Trick.
Running out of Cards (Exhaustion)
When you draw the last card in your deck, you are Exhausted. You lose 5 Ability during your next Ability Adjustment Phase. Shuffle the cards in your discard pile back into a deck, offer your opponent a cut, and continue playing.
If you draw the last card from your Endurance during your Draw/Discard phase, you are not required to discard down at that time. Because you never both draw and discard in your Draw/Discard phase, you may hold all of the cards you drew until your next ability adjustment phase, at which time you must adjust your Ability and discard as normal.
Head Shots
One key concept to the HighlanderTM game is the Head Shot. With one mighty swing and the familiar refrain, "There can be only one!" you strike the one blow that ends an Immortal's life. You must play the Head Shot card with an Upper attack. That attack instantly becomes a Power Blow, and if your opponent does not play a successful defense against the attack, and it is a successful attack, then you immediately win the game. If your opponent blocks, dodges, or otherwise avoids the attack, the Head Shot fails and play continues. Note, however, that even though your opponent doesn't lose his head by playing a block; since the Head Shot is considered a Power Blow, if he does not make the block a Power Block, but he will still take 2 damage.
There are other ways to make attacks Head Shots without the use of the Head Shot card and in some instances attacks themselves can be considered Head Shots. In all cases, attacks that are considered Head Shots follow all of the above rules.
Disarming and Breaking Weapons
There are Special cards that can disarm your opponent -- even some cards that can break your opponent's weapon. The weapons require a Disarm Check for a specific Attribute. The person that played the card that initiates the Disarm Check immediately makes a Soft Exertion for the Attribute. At the end of their May Do/Must Do Phase, the opposing player makes a Soft Exertion for that Attribute as well. If the attacker’s check is greater, the defender is Disarmed. A Disarm Check is a type of Attribute Check.
If you have no weapon (because you were disarmed or your weapon was broken or lost) you may not play attacks, and you may not play blocks, but you may still play dodges.
At the beginning of any turn when you do not have your weapon, you may try to retrieve your weapon. Name an attribute then make a hard exertion looking for gems of that attribute. If you draw 2 then you recover your weapon. You may make a soft exertion to look for 3 gems. You only get to make one exertion a turn to attempt this. You do NOT get to attempt this each turn if your weapon was broken.
While you are disarmed you may not play any Weapon of choice cards or any Hilt. Any Hilt already in play is turned face down and has no effect on game play.
You cannot attempt to Disarm or break a player's weapon that is already Disarmed
If a player is using two Weapon of Choice, that player is not considered Disarmed until both Weapons have been removed or broken. When attempting to Disarm a player using two Weapon of Choice, the attacker announces which Weapon they are targeting before disarm checks are made.
Edge Cards
Edge cards are not Special cards. You may play as many Edge cards during your turn as you wish, in the appropriate manner. However, if the only cards you play during your turn are Edge cards, then you must make an Exertion for not playing a card other than an Edge card (see Playing Your Hand).
If an Edge card is played in conjunction with a Special card and the Special card is countered in some way, so are all the Edge cards played with that Special card.
Edge cards may not be played in conjunction with Special Attacks.
Special Cards
You may play a Special card during either the attack or defense phase, but YOU MAY ONLY PLAY ONE SPECIAL CARD PER TURN. Special cards include Events, Situations, Objects, Plots and Locations.
Events
Event cards allow you to briefly affect the battle to favor you or hinder your opponent. Events "happen" as soon as they are played, but depending on the kind of Event they may not actually resolve until later in your turn, or even in your opponent's turn:
• Events that modify your attacks take effect immediately. If you play a Combination, for example, you may then play another attack.
• Events that damage your opponent or modifies their Ability take effect in their Defense Phase. This gives your opponent an opportunity to stop the effect during their turn.
• Events that damage both players take effect twice: once in the Ability Adjustment step of the first player, then again in the other player's turn during their Defense Phase, any actual damage done to your opponent is then done to them during their Ability Adjustment Phase..
• If your Event forces your opponent to discard, this is a 'Must Do' effect which he must resolve at the end of his Sweep Phase, before he plays any other cards, unless the card he plays directly effects him discard those cards.
• Events that put cards into play, or remove cards already in play, take effect as soon as they are played.
Objects
Extra weapons, quality blades, armor -- these are all Objects. Once put into play, Objects remain in play. You may have more than one Object in play at a time.
Although most Objects take effect as soon as you put them into play, some require you to discard them from play in order to trigger their effects. These are known as 'Discard to Use' effects. To use these cards, you must play them ahead of time. When you need them, simply place them in your discard pile in order to gain the benefit of the Object. You cannot discard an Object on the turn it is played.
Object: Hilts
You may only have one Object: Hilt in play. Some Object: Hilts do allow you to have another in play, these are Off-Hand Hilts for Offhand Weapons of Choice. You may never replace a Object: Hilt with another Object: Hilt in your hand.
Situations
Like Objects, Situations remain in play, but there are cards that will remove your Situations from play, and some even remove themselves after a period of time. In any case, the effects of a Situation cease as soon as it leaves play.
You may have more than one Situation in play at a time -- you may even have multiples of the same Situation out at once.
In most cases, the effects of a Situation begin as soon as it is played. However, some Situations must be discarded in order to take effect. Once again these are 'Discard to Use' effects. Once you play these Situations, they should remain on the table until such time as you wish to use them. Then, discard the Situation in order to trigger its effects. You cannot discard a Situation in this way on the turn it is played.
Plots
Typically, Plot cards must be played in a particular sequence, in conjunction with other, similar Plot cards. When they are successfully played in the correct sequence, they have a particular effect on yourself or on your opponent. This effect may be short-term, resolving on your opponents next turn, or have a longer impact.
Even if your opponent completes a plot sequence, you may be able to escape some or all of the resulting effects. If you can neutralize the Plot while it is still affecting you, you suffer no further effects from that Plot. Some cards, or your Persona Power, may give you immunity to the effects of Particular completed Plots.
After a Plot is completed (usually three or two cards played in a certain sequence), they are removed from play and then they have an affect on you or your opponent. Your opponent may not play a card that affects the Plots that are removed from play, only the affect they produce.
Example: Your opponent completes a Plot that says their opponent must discard a card from their Endurance for each
you have in your discard. Lets say you have 20 in your discard, but your opponent has a card in play that lets them discard from their hand instead of from their Endurance.There are some Plot cards that have no requirements for play and do not need to be played in a certain sequence. Most of these Plots are single cards which have immediate effects on the game.
Locations
Once a Location is played, it remains in play. But there can only be one Location in play at a time; if you play a Location, remove any previous Location from play and discard it. Locations in play affect all players.
Weapons of Choice
Weapons of Choice are Pre-Game cards which determine the most likely weapon used by your Persona or Generic Immortal during the game. Each Weapon of Choice has specific advantages and drawbacks during game play which may affect the way you attack or defend against your opponent.
Like all Pre-Game cards, Weapons of Choice are put into play before the game begins. Normally you may have only one Weapon of Choice in play. The Weapon of Choice is considered an extension of your Persona or Generic Immortal so it cannot be discarded from the game by any means (Ex: Divine Intervention). However it can be disarmed (see below).
Each Weapon of Choice has one or more Hand Icons on it showing how may hands it takes to wield the weapon. If the Weapon of Choice has one Hand Icon, it is considered a one-handed weapon. If it has two Hand Icons, it is a two-handed weapon. You can never have more then two Hand Icons among all of the cards you have in play during the game. If you already have two Hand Icons among the cards you have in play, you cannot play a card with a Hand Icon on it. Any player not using a Weapon of Choice is still considered to be using a one-handed weapon (1 Hand Icon).
Hand Icons
As stated above, some cards will have a Hand Icon on them other than just Weapons of Choice. In any case, you cannot play any cards with Hand Icons on them if, after playing that card, you would have more than two Hand Icons in play. You must have a "Free Hand" to play such cards (less than two Hand Icons in play).
Though Ranged Attacks do not have Hand Icons on them, the rules for Ranged Attacks require that you have a "Free Hand" to play them.
Weapon Specific Cards
Weapons of Choice have several cards known as Weapon Specific cards which you can include in your deck; much like Immortal Specific cards. You can only include and play a Weapon Specific card if you are actually using the proper Weapon of Choice. Each Weapon Specific card is like any other card you might find in the Highlander: The Card Game; whether it be an attack, defense, Event, Situation, etc.
Disarming a Weapon of Choice
If your opponent manages to successfully Disarm you, turn the Weapon of Choice you are using face down as a reminder. If you happen to be using more than one Weapon of Choice, then your opponent chooses which one has been disarmed. While your Weapon of Choice is disarmed, it no longer has any effect on the game and you are unable to play any Weapon Specific cards for that Weapon of Choice. Also, a Weapon of Choice that is disarmed may bring the number of Hand Icons in your Pre-Game cards below 2; in which case you may now play cards with Hand Icons as long as you don't exceed more then two Hand Icons in play.
While you have a Weapon of Choice that is disarmed, you may attempt to regain that Weapon of Choice like you would normally. If you have another Weapon of Choice in play, you may continue to use it as if you are not disarmed. If all of your Weapon of Choice cards are disarmed (or you are not using a Weapon of Choice and are disarmed), then follow all the normal rules for being disarmed. If you manage to recover a disarmed weapon and you have more than one Weapon of Choice in play, you may choose which one is recovered.
Anytime you recover your weapon after being disarmed, gain an Extra Weapon, or even steal your opponent's weapon (i.e. Connor MacLeod's or Nakano's Master's Disarm (these are future cardss)) you are considered to have recovered your Weapon of Choice.
Prone
During the game it is possible that a player may become Prone; in other words, knocked on his Immortal butt. While a player is considered Prone, he must discard a card from his hand with the same Icon as a card he is playing from his hand. For instance he must discard an Event to play an Event, a Location to play a Location, an attack to play an attack, and so on. A prone player may still play attacks or defenses from exertions without discarding a card from his hand.
At the beginning of each of his turns, a player that is considered Prone may attempt to stand up. Name an attribute then make a hard exertion looking for gems of that attribute. If you draw 2 then you stand up. You may make it a Soft Exertion, but you must find 3 of the Attribute.
Ignoring or Nullifying a Card and It's Effects
Some cards may give you the option or instruct you to ignore, nullify, or neutralize a card in play or it's effects. The only effects which can be ignored are those effects which directly affect you; be it an instruction for you to perform some action, a restriction preventing you from performing some action, or even an effect that does damage or Ability Loss. However, any other effects that instruct your opponent to do something or affect cards in play or being played cannot be ignored as they do not directly affect you.
Here's an example: Player A has Master's Sanctuary in play. Master's Sanctuary instructs Player A that he must ignore the effects of any Location he has in play. Player A then plays the Factory Location. Factory says, "No player may draw cards during his Draw/Discard Phase while Factory is in play. If any player's hand drops below 5 cards, remove Factory from play." The first sentence is an instruction that all players are restricted in drawing cards. This part directly affects you so it can be ignored. The second sentence is a condition of Factory and doesn't instruct you to perform an action or restrict you from performing an action. So it cannot be ignored. If any player's hand falls below 5 cards, Factory will be removed.
Damage and Loss of Ability
Some cards do damage, other cards lower Ability. Cards that read, "..loses Ability" may not be countered with cards that prevent damage.
Discard to Use Cards and Countering Cards
There are some Special cards which must be discarded after being put into play for their effects to occur. These types of cards are commonly known as Discard to Use cards. These cards are most likely Situations and Objects.
You can never discard a Discard To Use card the turn you put it into play..
Removing Cards From The Game
There are some cards and effects which cause some cards to be removed from the game. Such cards are set aside outside of the game playing area and cannot be returned to your deck until the current game ends. In some cases a card may be removed which allowed you to add cards to your deck. Such cards leaving the game may force you to remove these added cards. You should search your discard pile first, then your Endurance, then your Hand, and finally look to see if the card needed to be removed is in play. When you find the card which was added to your deck, remove it from the game as well.
Deck Construction
Minimum and Maximum Deck Size
You must use a minimum of 50 cards. You are also required to use one of each basic attack and defense.
It may occur during your game that a card or cards are removed from the game reducing the size of your deck below 50 cards. This is fine, as long as you begin the game with at least 50 cards.
Pre-Game cards do not count toward the number of cards in your deck.
Basic Attacks:
Upper Left Attack, Upper Middle Attack, Upper Right Attack, Middle Left Attack, Thrust, Middle Right Attack, Lower Left Attack, Lower Center Attack, and Lower Right Attack.
Basic Defenses: All of the basic defenses are blocks.
Upper Left Block, Upper Center Block, Upper Right Block, Lower Left Block, Lower Center Block, and Lower Right Block.
Attribute Restrictions
Each Persona has a limited number of cards that they can use based off their special abilities. These are represented by six basic Attributes. The attributes are Master (White), Agility (Light Blue), Strength (Red), Toughness (Dark Blue), Empathy (Purple), Reason (Yellow). During deck construction, you may only include a number of Master Cards equal to the Master stat on your Persona. You may only include a number of Agility, Strength, Toughness, Empathy, and Reason cards in your deck equal to three times the stat on your Persona.
Restricted Cards
Your deck may not contain more than 6 of any one card title. If a number appears on the right hand side of the title bar, that indicates the maximum number of that specific card that may be included in your deck. Several cards may have the same title but different pictures and text; each card with a different text can be considered a specific and unique card under that title. Different pictures do mean that the card is unique.
Example: Rameriz has a Master Block has a restriciton of two, with two different images, but the text is exactly the same. You may only include two of these in your deck. Grayson has three cards called Business as usual, with a restriction of two on each. Each has a different text and you are able to include two of each of these in your deck.
Signature Cards
Much like the Reserved cards, only the Immortal named on the card may include Signature cards in his deck. However, under no circumstance can any other Immortal include this card in their deck. This is important because there are some Persona powers and card effects which will allow you to include cards in your deck that you are not normally allowed to; meaning you can use Reserved cards from other Personas, but not Signature cards. Also, if a Signature card has a Restriction number, the Restriction cannot be altered in anyway.
Persona Cards
These are rare cards that allow you to play as your favorite Immortal. When you play a specific Persona, you may not use cards with any other Persona's name in the title bar. If you want to play The Kurgan, for example, you may not use cards with Connor's name on them. Persona Cards are "pre-game" cards; you do not shuffle them into your deck with the rest of your cards. Instead, put them on the table before play begins.
Premium Cards
These are extremely rare cards which are played in conjunction with a Persona and confer some other ability to you during a game.
Furthermore, since Premium cards are considered an extension to the Persona you are playing, even if you are playing a Generic Immortal, they may not be removed from the game by effects which can normally do so (i.e. Divine Intervention - Promotional Card).
Quickening Cards
Quickening cards may only be acquired if the player is a NEXUS league member and wins a tournament sanctioned by the NEXUS World League. Quickening cards are Pre-Game cards which allow you to use the power of other Immortals along with your own. Of course, if you already own one or more of these you don't really need to be reading these rules, do you?
Watcher Pre-Game Cards
Watcher pre-game cards are cards that allow you to assign a member of the Watcher Society to your Immortal. While being your Watcher, he will confer some sort of power to you during the game.
You may only have one Watcher or one Hunter Pre-Game associated with your deck.
Watcher Cards
Watcher cards are any cards you would include in your Endurance (not pre-game cards) that have the word 'Watcher' in the title of the card. You may only include these if you have a Watcher Pre-Game associated with your Deck.
Hunter Pre-Game Cards
Hunter Pre-Game cards are cards that allow you to assign a member of the Watcher Society to your Immortal. While being your Hunter, he will confer some sort of power to you during the game.
You may only have one Watcher or one Hunter Pre-Game associated with your deck.
Hunter Cards
Hunter cards are any cards you would include in your Endurance (not Pre-Game cards) that have the word 'Hunter' in the title of the card. You may only include these if you have a Hunter Pre-Game associated with your Deck.
Master Cards
A Master card is any card with the word "Master" in any form in the title. On the back of your Persona card, you will find the number of Master cards that you are permitted to include in your Endurance. If you do not use a Persona card, you may not include Master cards in your deck.
Allies
Some cards are considered to be allies. An Ally is any card which depicts a person or persons from the television series or movies and has their name(s) as the title of the card. You may only have one Situation: Immortal or Mortal Ally in play at a time. This does not impede you or your opponent from having the same Ally in play.
