HIGHLANDER Card of The Week #21 Week of 25 March 1996 Copyright 1996, Hank Driskill (driskill@d2.com) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- COLLECT Situation "For each Collect card you have in play, you may increase or decrease by 1 the number of cards you draw when making an Exertion. You must announce how many cards you intend to draw before you draw the first card." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- As Gabriel Piton exited the limousine in front of his home, he felt the familiar "buzz" of a nearby immortal. He rushed into the house, up the stairs, knowing where he'd find his unseen foe... He ran into his bedroom, sword in hand, and (as he suspected) the hidden door to his private vault was open. He stepped over to the entryway, and saw his adversary: young-looking, dark hair and eyes, his leather-clad form speaking of nothing but violence. He didn't *deserve* to be in this room... The room was filled with works of art... statues, paintings, the works of several dozen of the greatests artists of any age. Many of the items in this room have never been outside this place, no mortal knows they exist... "Cool stuff, guy," the punk said, as he picked up his own blade. "Wonder how much it'll be worth, when you're gone..." Gabriel erupted, and with a primal scream and a flurry of blows pushed the young man back. Mercilessly, he pounded at the man, again and again, with sword, with fist, with kicks. The man went down in moments, unconscious and bleeding from a dozen wounds... bleeding all over a priceless Oriental rug... Gabriel dragged the man down the stairs by his heel, head bouncing on every step. He dragged him out into the backyard, and there he took his head. Every window in the back of the house blew out from the Quickening, but Gabriel didn't notice... As the lightning died down, and the dust settled, Gabriel turned to look at the headless form. "No appreciation for a man's collection," was all he had to say... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Collect is one of the promotional cards released in February-March 1996, in anticipation of the upcoming Movie Edition of the Highlander CCG. While it seems at first to be only mildly useful, its strength comes from further examination. Collect is a Situation, and at first glance seems similar to Master: Sword Master and Tessa, two cards from the Series Edition. The advantages of Collect are many, however. Tessa allows one to draw an extra card if necessary at the end of an Exertion, which makes it better than a single Collect in that respect (the number of cards to be drawn must be decided beforehand with Collect). Collect is more flexible, however, since it allows 4, 5, or 6 card Exertions. Two Collects in play becomes more interesting. One may now make 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7 card Exertions, which makes things *much* more interesting than Master (since it'd take two Police: Remove Situation cards to remove the two Collects, and the one Master just allows for 3 or 5 card Exertions). More Collects become even more exciting. Five in play means a Connor or Duncan whose every swing is a Power Blow (zero card Exertions, and the ability to see the Hidden response), or a Katana who removes Situations every turn (for a zero card Exertion). It means Battle Rages almost guaranteed to have 5 attacks in them (if one is willing to spend 10 cards on it). It means a final 10 card Exertion to find a defense for that Head Shot... it means the same ability as Luther or Slan in regards to Power Blocks, and Slan for Power Blows. Of course, five Collects probably won't make it into play... but, on the other hand, how many of the five will your opponent be willing to remove? By time a few are out, it's too late... With the advent of Movie Edition, and the emphasis of swordfighting effects, Power Blows and Hidden Blows will likely become more and more useful. The ability to effectively Exert will become a more necessary part of the game, and Collect allows a great deal of flexibility in this regard. As a Situation, it's a card that can be played at any time, and an opponent will have trouble removing them all. It's a keeper. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Highlander is a protected trademark of Gaumont Television, used under license by Thunder Castle Games. The card text is copyright 1996 by Thunder Castle Games. All rights reserved. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------