Shadows and darkness seemed to ooze all around him as Slan Quince stalked down the alleyway. A lightning bolt screamed a jagged path to the pauement next to him, throwing up dirt and asphalt in a hellfire shower. He felt tiny jolts of electricity dance across his black metal face plate, then moue in quick spirals down his body, along his arm, and out of the tip of the massive, bloody sword held limply at his side.

"One down."

"And that will be your last, Slan," warned Connor McLeod as he stepped from around the corner.

"You think so, Highlander? You really think so?" said Slan. He then began to pace the alleyway in front of Connor, musing to himself, "Let's see here, I haue just sent Flannery's head flying into that trash bin over there, and if I remember correctly, last time we met, you ran away by jumping off the bridge. ~

Slan stopped pacing, looked at Connor for a second, then, shrugging, said, "Well, if you say that it's my last, then I may as well go home." Suddenly, Slan brought up his sword and fired the dagger that was loaded in the pommel directly at his opponent.

Connor quickly dodged the flying blade, sliding forward and drawing his katana in one smooth action. Slan followed his sneak attack by lunging two huge steps forward and bringing his sword in a whistling arc toward Connor's head. Connor swung his blade up to block the powerful blow, and the two blades met with a crack that shot out in all directions, causing the puddles in the street to shake with the sound's intensity.

Quickly Connor took the offensive, sliding his sword down the blade to bite into Slan's hand. Snarling Slan backed away and brought his sword up to block the Scotsman's swings as he pressed the advantage. Connor came in from every direction, hoping to land a few serious blows and end this contest quickly. Slan, not liking to be put on the defensive, stepped into one of Connor's slashes and shoved him against the far wall. He then brought his blade into a low flying attack at Connor's legs.

Connor swung his sword down and to the left, ringing a blow off Slan's mask, as he jumped over the ebony sword. With rage born of this near-fatal encounter, Slan rose up and twirled around with his twohanded sword outstretched, and with all his strength aimed a blow at Connor's neck.

Connor again swung his sword up to block the oncoming attack. This time the hand-crafted Japanese blade shattered as it was hit by the force of a train. Maintaining the attack as his sword blew through his opponent's defense, Slan cleanly severed the head of the Highlander and watched as it bounced down the alley.

Slan stood ouer Connor's heap waiting. Soon, the wind rose up, funneling down the street with hurricane force. Lightning showered down, crackling in from all directions to lance into Slan's massive frame. The electricity writhed about him, exploding street lamps and transformers, shattering windows, and jumping between stalled or abandoned cars.

After a short while the maelstrom subsided, as small hairs or energy bounced along the gutters and car engines until there was silence.

Slan stumbled back a step, barely able to keep his footing as the ecstasy left his body. He looked around to see bursts of sparks sprinkling down from the torn up street light, cars aflame and seueral caued-in roofs where lightning from the two storms turned their support beams to slag.

Slan glanced down and noticed the huge chunk that Connor's blade had taken out of his own. The gigantic blade was ruined, but Slan re-sheathed it anyway and unsteadily walked forward.

After he regained his senses, he began to laugh. Low and slowly at first but building with intensity until he was bellowing and clutching at his stomach. When he his fit of mirth subsided, he reached up and removed the mask, wiping away a tear that had begun to slither its way down his cheek.

"Two down."

Highlander: The Card Game is the first in the SWORDMASTER ™ series being put out by Thunder Castle Games. This collectible card game uses pictures and characters from the Highlander series to simulate a sword fight between two immortals.

The first edition of Highlander: The Card Game will focus on the popular television series starring Adrian Paul. In it one can play a generic immortal, or choose to be a specific character by collecting the proper persona card.

The characters available in the first edition include Duncan and Connor McLeod Slan Quince, and Amanda. These personas will have special abilities, and are restricted to using only cards that match their persona.

For example, a person playing Duncan cannot use a dodge that is slated for Amanda. Generic immortals have more flexibility since they are not restricted to specific persona cards, but they lack the special fighting styles of the characters. Two minor immortals will appear in each edition, having the special ability of using certain restricted cards from several different personas. This adds both options and flavor to the game.

Start

Players start out with 15 cards in their hand, known as their "Ability," while their draw deck represents "Endurance." At the end of every turn, a player is able to refill his hand back up to his ability. Each time a player takes damage from his opponent, his hand size is reduced that many cards.

For example, if Duncan scores a successful hit on Slan (which does 2 points of damage), Slan's hand size is now reduced to 13 (15 - 2). Thus each wound inflicted lowers your ability (or hand size).

Ability is also reduced when a player empties his draw deck. When this happens, the player loses 5 cards from his hand and re-shuffles his discard. He gets his second wind, but at a significant cost to his ability. Once a player starts a turn with no cards in his hand he is dead.

Of course, there is a quicker way of being defeated: losing your head (a special maneuver).

Highlander is a fast paced card game which will be enjoyed by all. The attack/defense play is truly reminiscent of a sword fight, and the players will be able to visualize the action. For fans of the movies and TV series, the actual footage used on the cards will make this a musthave for their collection. All in all, this looks to be an exciting new edition to the collectible card game market.