HIGHLANDER Card of The Week #5 Week of 04 December 1995 Copyright 1995, Jeff Barnes (barnejd@wkuvx1.wku.edu) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- SCORN Event "Target is rejected by a loved one because of his immortality. Target loses 2 from Ability for 2 of his turns." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Seattle, 1985 The horror in her eyes is sharper than any blade I have ever faced, cutting through all defenses and plunging into my heart. And I know at last what Hassan meant. "Cumber not yourself with mortals, boy," he would say with his usual disdain. "Best for all involved. An immortal's heart must withstand the pain of hundreds of mortal lifetimes, and mortals are too fragile for the likes of us. Stick with your own. It may cost you your head, but at least it will not cost you your sanity." This is what he spoke of, I now see. I will never be like her, and now that Katrina knows that, it will be the end. "What are you?" she almost screams at me. I reach for her to comfort her, but she pulls away, scrambling to put distance between us. "Dearest," I begin. The blood on my hands -- my own, for once -- drips to the carpet unnoticed. But she wants no part of me. "Stay away!" She backs away toward the door. Fumbling with the handle, she opens it and flees my life forever. I stand there for several moments, hand still extended in entreaty. How could I have been so wrong about her, I wonder. Finally, my hand falls as I realize she is gone and not coming back. And, yet again, Hassan's words spring unbidden to my mind. Will I never be free of the man? I slump into the couch, weak as a kitten. If Taylor were to appear in this moment, I might well beg him to take my head -- for another has already taken my heart. My radio continues its playing; I recognize the song's ironic title: "I Don't Want To Live Without Your Love." In that instant, I wonder: Has an immortal ever taken his own life? ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- SCORN is among the nastiest tricks one immortal can pull on another. However, while it may seem like an underpowered Alliance or a mutated form of Street Punk to most, Scorn has more than a few uses all its own. First and foremost of the advantages Scorn has over similar cards (Alliance, Street Punk, etc.) is that a player may have up to six in his deck. Of course, this is balanced by the disadvantage that only one or at most two will actually be in effect at at time due to Scorn's time limit. So while drawing a Scorn may be more likely than drawing a Street Punk or Alliance, it will not be as powerful as either in the long run. Thus, a player logically can get the maximum use out of Scorn if the duel ends before the card's limit expires. There are two primary ways to do this. First, you can employ Scorn when your foe is low enough on ability (one or two) that it will reduce him to zero. His turn will end with him at zero, and the Scorn will not have expired by the time of his next turn. However, if you use the official errata from Thunder Castle Games, you will note that Scorn has been changed so that it no longer will take ability below 1. I personally recommend ignoring this change (as the above example illustrates, scorn from a loved one can make even an immortal suicidal), but you should be aware that you will most likely not have this option in tournament play. Because of this, we are left with only the second option. Second (and perhaps most often used), you can employ Scorn in conjunction with a Pedestrian: 5 Turns. Right before his fourth or fifth turn under the Pedestrian, play Scorn on him, thus effectively negating Scorn's temporary nature. Of course, should your opponent find a way to dispose of the Pedestrian, the Scorn will be effectively wasted, but such are the risks of the combination. There are, of course, other uses for Scorn. It tends to work moderately well in a discard deck, where it effectively serves to lower the other player's maximum number of cards for two turns (unless that player is also Nefertiri, in which case your discard deck is almost certainly dead on arrival anyway). It can, as has already been mentioned, be used as a poor man's Alliance in non-Xavier decks. Or it can simply be employed as a closer card in any attack deck -- if you feel like being patient. To sum up what has been said, Scorn is an easily underestimated card, most useful in a deck built around Pedestrian: 5 Turns but dangerous in any deck. Ignore it at your own peril. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Highlander is a protected trademark of Gaumont Television, used under license by Thunder Castle Games. The card text is copyright 1995 by Thunder Castle Games. All rights reserved. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------