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, 14 October 2007
When I target a personality with Crippling Cut does it compare to one stat for the targeting that I choose or rather does it check each consecutively to see if the target is legal? For example: A: Daigotsu (7F/6C) targets Shiba Aikune (6F/5C, in an army with other personalities) with Crippling Cut. I name Force. He uses A Soldier's Fate to have more force (goes up to 9F). Crippling Cut Fizzles.
-or-
A: Daigotsu (7F/6C) targets Shiba Aikune (6F/5C, in an army with other personalities) with Crippling Cut. I name Force. He uses A Soldier's Fate to have more force (goes up to 9F). Crippling Cut compares against Chi now, and he goes home anyway.
Zen Faulkes (rules official), 14 October 2007
When I target a personality with Crippling Cut does it compare to one stat for the targeting that I choose or rather does it check each consecutively to see if the target is legal?
Stat changes made after targeting won't prevent the effect.
http://rules.l5r.com/Abilities_and_acti ... _targeting: "If any of an action's targeting becomes illegal at any point after all targeting and reactions to targeting occurs, the effects of the action still occur, subject only to interference with paying costs."
Additional: A Soldier's Fate has its own specific text that overrides the general rule.