A topic from AEG's L5R CCG Rules forum, copied for Oracle of the Void from a copy of the forum saved in October 2015, so pages it didn't save are missing. Players' names are left out; the rules officials are named. Rulings are as they stood on these dates; later rulings, the rulebooks and the Rules Archive may differ.
A player, 28 May 2013
I've got a question about this annoying strategy for kensai and other big units to deal with. If I enter a battlefield and my opponent reacts with a watchers in the dark to shut down one unit will his attachments still be useless only on that particular unit effected by it? For example, I attack with 2 Mirumoto Kouzeis and one has a cursed relic and wyrmbone and the other has a nightingale blade. My opponent reacts with watchers to shut down the kouzei with both attachments. I then use Hundred Fold Cut to destroy my cursed relic. My opponent passes and I use the foothills keep stronghold ability to reattach the cursed relic to the Kouzei with the nightingale blade. Would the cursed relic's abilities now be useable on the second kouzei since she was not effected by watchers or does the attachment have memory of its abilities being shut off originally?
Another question about watchers in the dark. Is my unit's abilities all shut off only until the battle where watchers was played at ends? For example both Kouzeis above go into the battle and one with the two weapons gets effected by watchers in the dark. I play ring of water to move the Kouzei effected home. I resolve the battle and then go into another battlefield with Brave New World where there are enemy units. Will my Kouzei's abilities be returned or does the effect of watchers effect the unit until the turn ends?
Finally, even if you send your personality home and she is brought back into the same battlefield she will still have her abilities shut off I'd imagine?
A player, 28 May 2013
I've got a question about this annoying strategy for kensai and other big units to deal with. If I enter a battlefield and my opponent reacts with a watchers in the dark to shut down one unit will his attachments still be useless only on that particular unit effected by it? For example, I attack with 2 Mirumoto Kouzeis and one has a cursed relic and wyrmbone and the other has a nightingale blade. My opponent reacts with watchers to shut down the kouzei with both attachments. I then use Hundred Fold Cut to destroy my cursed relic. My opponent passes and I use the foothills keep stronghold ability to reattach the cursed relic to the Kouzei with the nightingale blade. Would the cursed relic's abilities now be useable on the second kouzei since she was not effected by watchers or does the attachment have memory of its abilities being shut off originally?
Ok, this one is really complex. I'll try my best to put it in simple terms but I can't promise
I'm assuming that when you say "enter a battlefield", you mean that you assigned to the battlefield, and during the "engaging" part of the battle, your Kouzei was targeted by Watchers in the Dark. (It doesn't work if you "enter" the battlefield later during the battle itself) Note the wording in Watchers in the Dark, though.
Reaction: After engaging, choose your performing Scout at the current battlefield and target a card in a unit there: You have Reconnaissance there. Abilities on cards (now) in the target's unit may not be used.
The effect of Watchers in the Dark affects directly the attachments, so when they are transferred / somehow relocated somewhere else, they're *still* affected by Watchers in the Dark. If you destroy the Cursed Relic, this puts it out of play but face-up -> therefore the Tracking Rule says the effect remains, and Cursed Relic's abilities are yet "disabled". They keep memory of being "shut off", yes, because the effect is on them, not just on the kensai they were attached to at the beginning of the battle.
In order to forget the effect , Tracking Rule says they must be both out of play and face-down. The discard pile is out-of-pile but face-up.
Another question about watchers in the dark. Is my unit's abilities all shut off only until the battle where watchers was played at ends?
The effects from Night Watchers last until the end of the turn, as most ongoing effects (at least those without a specified duration)
Finally, even if you send your personality home and she is brought back into the same battlefield she will still have her abilities shut off I'd imagine?
Yes. The effects last until the end of the turn and they aren't interrupted by changing locations.