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by Hans ten Cate
Sunday, 22 September 1996
The Monty Python & The Holy Grail Collectible Card Game is great
fun. Any Python fan's dream, really. Reciting lines from the Holy Grail
film is, after all, a national pastime. There are a number of cards
we found in the game, however, that were just too brilliant for words.
They were either extremely nasty or just down-right hilarious. So we
present to you some of the coolest cards we have come across so far...
LEGENDARY BLACK
BEAST OF ARRRGHHH! - This is the toughest monster in the
game short of the Killer Rabbit. Sacrifice one knight just for encountering
the damned thing.
Card Number: 172 / Type:
Peril / Frequency: Uncommon |
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INTERMISSION
- Getting bombarded with taunts and adversaries? Tell your opponent
to take a break. Play the Intermission card to take your turn unhindered
by any cards.
Card Number: 157 / Type:
Event / Frequency: Rare |
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ECCENTRIC PERFORMANCE - Stunned
by the eccentric performance of Tim the Enchanter, players must
discard their entire hand and draw 7 new cards. Comes in handy
when the pickens are slim and you need some new cards fast!
Card Number: 91 / Type:
Event / Frequency: Uncommon
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A NEWT? - Choose a member
of opponent's Round Table to be turned into a newt. It's OK though,
because they get better. But only after a certain number of turns,
as dictated by the grail number you draw from the top of your
deck. Pretty neat if you want to disable your opponent's strongest
knight for a while.
Card Number: 200 / Type:
Event / Frequency: Common
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GET ON WITH IT
- This card shows the Knights of Camelot, ready for combat
and yelling "Get On With It!" If you feel that your opponent
is moving too slow, you play this card so that your opponent's turn
ends immediately and it becomes your turn.
Card Number: 123 / Type:
Event / Frequency: Common |
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FAMOUS HISTORIAN - This card
will allow you to peek at your opponent's hand or force him into
a battle of wits which may result in the loss of some of his cards.
Not bad. Unless, of course, your opponent throws in the dreaded...
Card Number: 102 / Type:
Persona / Frequency: Common
SLAYING OF THE HISTORIAN -
Just as in the film, the death of the historian puts the police
hot on King Arthur's trail. The game will end in 2-plus-grail-number-draw
turns. This can be a game winner and is "darkly hilarious
at the same time."
Card Number: 273 / Type:
Event / Frequency: Rare
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MAJOR TAUNT -
A few of the rare "Taunt" cards are particularly nasty.
This Major Taunt, as evidenced by the large number of Frenchmen
on the battlements, forces your opponent to send 10 cards to the
dead cart from any combination of her hand, deck, or cards in her
Round Table. Ouch!
Card Number: 185 / Type:
Taunt / Frequency: Rare |
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SIR PASTE YOUR PICTURE HERE -
Not really a Write Yer Own card but still customizable! If you
have actually glued a photograph of your face here, he's a Combat
4, Wits 4 knight. Without the picture, he's just a Combat 1, Wits
1.
Card Number: 270 / Type:
Knight / Frequency: Common
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DUMB IDEA - "Look, if
we built this large wooden badger..." Sir Bedevere's botched
plan to invade the French castle of Guy de Loimbard forces you
to lose a battle of wits. This will mean that in the next round,
your opponent will have to fight an adversary in combat.
Card Number: 90 / Type:
Event / Frequency: Uncommon
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FARM ANIMALS - One member
of your opponent's Round Table (chosen by opponent, though) is
killed instantly by one of many farm animals catapulted over the
castle walls. "Jeeeeeesus Christ! Run away! Run away!"
Card Number: 104 / Type:
Event / Frequency: Uncommon
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SIR NOT-APPEARING-IN-THIS-FILM -
Little Tommy Palin never thought he'd actually be a knight in
combat. Michael Palin's son is a Combat 2, Wits 0 knight. He can
be found in castles and doesn't like being disturbed during his
mid-afternoon nap.
Card Number: 269 / Type:
Knight / Frequency: Common
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GET SLOP POURED ON YOU - This
one's great in combination with a fierce adversary. Target knight
is forced to combat the current adversary or peril and may not
run away this turn. Use this card in combination with the Legendary
Black Beast of Arrrghhh! This will kill at least two of his knights
because of the beast's 18-point combat value. Hilarious (unless,
of course, you're the victim).
Card Number: 124 / Type:
Event / Frequency: Common
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BRING OUT YOUR DEAD - Lost
some really good cards to your dead cart recently? Have no fear.
Play this card to reshuffle the dead cart back into your deck.
You have to remove this card from play after use, however.
Card Number: 50 / Type:
Event / Frequency: Common
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MESSAGE - You sacrifice one
of your pages into your dead cart to get a peak at your opponent's
hand. The page may not be quite dead, however. Draw a grail number,
if it's a 4, 5, or 6, return him to play.
Card Number: 189 / Type:
Event / Frequency: Common
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MODEL - "It's only a
model," quips Patsy, Arthur's trusty page. If you are having
problems passing a village or castle, get rid of it by playing
this card. Items can also be removed from play this way. Perhaps
a good one to play on your opponent?
Card Number: 191 / Type:
Event / Frequency: Uncommon
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KILLER RABBIT - Here's a creature
"so foul, so cruel that no man yet has fought with it and
lived!" Every one of your knights has to fight this little
bastard. And at least one of your knights is thrown into the dead
cart from the start. This is the worst! Things don't get any nastier
than this card, trust me.
Card Number: 161 / Type:
Peril / Frequency: Rare
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