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, 16 November 2014
I have a simple question about this card wording:
Battle: Target a non-Ring card in another player's discard pile. If the card was discarded by a Strike First this turn, put it in your hand, and you may target your Scout and discard a card to search your deck for a Show No Mercy, show it, and put it in your hand; otherwise, remove the first target from the game. You may take an additional action to play Show No Mercy.
Is otherwise part referring only to "targeted by Strike First" condition or it also checks if I have searched deck for Show No Mercy?
For example, I use Strike First and discard, lets say Spearman, from my opponent hand. I search deck for Press the Advantage and take additional action to play it. I target mentioned Spearman and put it in my hand, buy I don't want to discard a card to search Show No Mercy (lets say I have good hand or I already used all 3 SNM earlier), Nnw the question is Spearman in my hand removed from the game, as I didn't do it?
Brook Cunningham (rules official), 16 November 2014
I have a simple question about this card wording:
Is otherwise part referring only to "targeted by Strike First" condition or it also checks if I have searched deck for Show No Mercy?
For example, I use Strike First and discard, lets say Spearman, from my opponent hand. I search deck for Press the Advantage and take additional action to play it. I target mentioned Spearman and put it in my hand, buy I don't want to discard a card to search Show No Mercy (lets say I have good hand or I already used all 3 SNM earlier), Nnw the question is Spearman in my hand removed from the game, as I didn't do it?
The only contingent is if the card was discarded by Strike First. As long as it was, the "otherwise" won't happen; it will not be removed from the game if you don't search for a Show No Mercy.