HIGHLANDER 2E REVAMPED: RULES UPDATE V 3.0

We are proud to officially release the 3.0 Type 2 Rules. After more than a year of coordinated work between the rules team and design team, this release marks a milestone in the evolution of the game you know and love. Think of this as Highlander 2E Revamped.

Alongside the new rule book, we’ve also released the Errata Collection, making every corrected card available in the 2E Database, as downloadable images, or printable through MPC. For the first time in years, the rules and the cards are fully aligned.

Highlander launched in the mid-90s when trading card games were still in their infancy. Many of its innovations—like the Swordmaster combat grid—remain ahead of their time. But some aspects of Highlander showed their age, relics of a past era of TCG design. This update is not about turning Highlander into Magic, Flesh and Blood, Yugioh, or Pokémon. Instead, we audited the foundations of the game, preserving what makes Highlander the game we all know and love, while also modernizing some things.

The update was guided by two goals:

1. Ease of Use. The new comprehensive rule book is structured to be accessible, navigable, and practical. Players should spend less time digging for rules and more time clashing on the battlefield.

2. Revamp and Revitalize. Mechanics have been streamlined, power discrepancies addressed, and older, neglected cards brought back into relevance—so the game feels fresher, fairer, and more dynamic.

   
   

It should be noted, the Comprehensive Rules is a reference document that holds all of the rules and possible corner cases found in HTCG. It is NOT meant to be read beginning to end; instead it's meant to be consulted when specific rules questions come into play.

The new rule book enhances gameplay with modern features.

A Revamped Rule Book

The old Highlander rule book was serviceable, but outdated—long on text, short on clarity, and missing crucial rulings. The new version brings it into the modern age with:

• Images: Visual aids simplify complex rules and mechanics, making them easier to grasp. For instance, illustrations that show turn sequences improve understanding for new players.

  
  

• Table of Contents: We can't remember how long it has been since the Highlander Rule Book had a clickable table of contents.

  
  

• Clickable Links: This feature lets users navigate the document with ease, making it much simpler to reference specific sections during gameplay.

  
  

These modern enhancements not only make the rule book easier to use but also enrich your overall gaming experience.

Tackling the Proboards Problem

If you're new around here, you might be asking, "What is Proboards?". Valid question. The Proboards are a longstanding forum used by Highlander players to stay up-to-date with the game. Former game designers and rules team members frequently answered players questions about corner case rule synergies and more advanced gameplay situations.

For two decades, Highlander rulings lived half in the rule book and half in scattered Proboards forum posts. That created chaos. Some judges enforced the rule book, others enforced forum posts—leading to contradictions that frustrated competitive players.

We combed through twenty years of Proboards rulings, integrating what mattered and discarding what didn’t. The result is clear: the rule book is now the single, authoritative source. Proboards rulings are no longer to be used in official play.

Expanded Advanced Gameplay Section

The most complex rulings and corner cases are now built into the rule book’s Advanced Gameplay section. This includes clarifications on timing, multi-effect interactions, and other high-level mechanics that once lived only in forum threads.

For veterans, this codification removes uncertainty. For new players, it’s a roadmap to mastery. The community’s collective knowledge has been distilled into a single resource that makes everyone’s game stronger.

Tackling Power Drift

Like any long-lived TCG, Highlander faced power drift—where older cards became obsolete or certain effects dominated unchecked. The update recalibrates the balance:

• Broader deckbuilding options. More archetypes are viable, not just the same overpowered strategies.

• Greater gameplay variety. With balance restored, fresh synergies emerge and more cards see play.

This means healthier competition and a richer metagame—vital for keeping Highlander thriving.

The Key Changes

Alias Subtype

New Subtype classification added—Alias. There were currently 3 cards that use the concept of an Alias. Adding this Card Subtype will allow for new design concepts down the road. This will allow for new design concepts.

Ally Rule Update

The longstanding Ally Rule (you cannot play or put into play an In-Game Ally that shares the title of the Persona you or your opponent is playing as) has been updated to negate truly dead cards during deck design. You may now, once per turn, discard an Ally from your Hand that shares a title with your opponent’s Persona to Draw 1 card.  

As if From an Exertion

Updated mechanics to reflect the current state of gameplay. Under the last version of the rules this could be abused by putting into play multiple defenses and attacks per turn, getting around all Costs and Restriction effects.

Attribute Checks vs Attribute Challenges

There is a high level of confusion from players about whether all Attribute Checks are Attribute Challenges and vice versa. We have addressed these issues in this update. Attribute Checks and Attribute Challenges are uses for Soft Exertions, which mirrors the structure for Hard Exertions where there are specific uses or reasons why you are exerting—e.g. exerting for a Defense or Exerting to make an Attack a Power Blow etc. There are cards that say things like, “If this card is found in an Exertion for Attack, “X” happens.” Players all know and understand that if that card is found in an Exertion for a Defense, they do not gain the “X” happens part in an Exertion for another use like exerting for an Attack. With this update,  we wanted to bring that level of detail and ease of play into the world of Attribute Checks and Challenges. 

Beginning of Turn/Phase defined consistently now

We’ve streamlined the rules to clear up confusion about what counts as the “beginning” of your Turn, Defense Phase, and Attack Phase. The rule is now consistent across all Phases: if a card or effect says it happens “at the beginning,” it must be the very first thing you do in that Phase’s May Do/Must Do window.

This isn’t a new mechanic—it’s simply a clarification of how turn structure works. For example, if a card says it must be played at the beginning of your Attack Phase, it has always been understood that you must do so before taking any other actions. Now that same logic tracks in the May Do/Must Do Phase. If a card or effect must be played or used at the beginning of your turn, it must be the first action you take during your May Do/Must Do Phase.

Considered Disarmed is now Temporarily Disarmed

Temporarily Disarmed replaces Considered Disarmed to make it easier to understand and follow. A couple years back "considered Prone" was done away with too, so now the game is truly rid of "considered" game states. All cards that use the phrase “Considered Disarmed” have been errata’d to say Temporarily Disarmed instead.  The overall mechanics have stayed the same, but with some much needed refinement and clarifications.

End Game - 2 New Versions

We’ve given players 2 new styles of End Game to allow for faster resolutions of Games. • End Game Classic

• End Game Standard

• End Game Enhanced

With each version leading to a speedier outcome so for players who only have 30-35 minutes to get a game in, there is now an official End Game version to cover that.

Damage Updates

New damage type added - Residual Damage. This is now the damage taken for not Power Blocking a Power Blow. Previously, this was considered attack damage. Separating them allows for a cleaner interactions with blocked but not power blocked attacks. You can learn more about this change in this blog post. 

Duration Subtype

New card Subtype - Duration. This was a needed addition to keep gameplay smooth because of cards that affected the game state when they were off the table. Things like edges that would create an effect until the end of your next turn etc. You can learn more about this change in this blog post.

Hard Exertions for regaining your feet/recovering your Weapon(s)

When making a Hard Exertion to recover your weapon or to regain your feet, the Exertion must come from the top of an Endurance.

Max Restriction Number Icon - New Icon Added

Just like the diamond icon replaced the need for card text saying you can only have one copy of that card in play at a time, the Max Restriction Number icon replaces the need for Card Text to say, “You cannot increase the Restriction Number of this card”.

MCBC Change

MCBC’s are no longer an extension of your Persona. They can be targeted by Removal effects and ignored or nullified. MCBC’s only protect Generic and Persona Specific Master cards for the Persona you are playing as. The +1 Ability is not affected by removal effects.

Non-Targeted Generic Edge Cards (Vapor)

To keep gameplay balanced, there is now a limit on how many Edge cards without a valid target can be played each turn. This update addresses the “Vapor” concern raised by many players.

We don’t want to punish players for including toolbox-style cards, but it’s also not healthy for the game if someone can drop four Focus cards in a turn when no Situation is even in play. After extensive playtesting, we found that allowing one non-targeted Edge per turn strikes the right balance.

So, if your opponent isn’t running any Situations and you’ve got a Focus in hand, you can still play it un-targeted. You just can’t play more than one this way on the same turn.

Power Blow + Block success vs non-success

When a player blocks a Power Blow with a non-Power Block, ONLY the block is considered successful now. Previously, both the attack and block were considered successful, which could lead to a “successful” Head Shot not ending the game. Players now take -2 Residual Damage for blocking a Power Blow with a non-Power Block. This is not attack damage. 

Ranged Attacks that have Hand Icons

Printed Hand Icons on Ranged Attacks have been restored. Previously, only Pistol, Grayson’s Thrown Dagger, and Xavier’s Gas Canister had Hand Icons per the rules. All Ranged Attacks that have Hand Icons are updated in the 3.0 Errata.

Rip Card Limit

You may not use more than 1 Rip Card Pre-Game card in your entire Pre-Game. This was a needed change due to overpowered Rip Cards that you could prevent from ever being ripped and by the final game of a Tournament, have multiple Rip Cards left. There will be an upcoming Generic Immortal who can run more than one Rip Card.

Sheathing & Unsheathing Weapons

Sheathing weapon(s) is now its own effect independent from Disarm/Unarm effects. If you Sheath all of your Weapons, you are not Unarmed like in previous versions of the game. Your weapons are simply "sheathed".

Suspended Cards List

As the game has evolved, the need for suspended cards became apparent. Any card on the suspended card list is not legal for any formats for 2E/Type 2.

The Gathering Pre-Game Cards

You may only use one Gathering fetch/retrieve per turn and one Gathering remove a card type from play per turn. 

Watcher Hunter Dual Cards Restored

The errata from 2023 turned the dual Watcher/Hunter cards into Watcher cards only. These have all been errata’d now to be similar to their original intent. They are now all titled Watcher/Hunter. Watcher/Hunter is removed form the Card Subtitle.

Wounds Update

Wounds are no longer Subtypes of Situations, they have been transferred to their own card type. They make use of the Duration mechanic. All old  Wound cards have been errata’d to reflect these changes and you may access the updated images for the updated Wound cards in the 3.0 Errata.

https://www.highlanderthecardgame.com/highlander-card-game-rules