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, 20 February 2008
I have a situation that came up in a game today. Misdirection reads Political Gozoku Reaction: Before another player would choose targets for one of his action’s effects during a battle, target one of your Courtier or Gozoku Personalities: You choose the targets instead.
Consider the following: Contested Ground has been played, which reads: Terrain Battle: Each player has the ability, “Battle: Any number of times per turn, bow one or more of your target cards, in one unit, which have equal or greater total Force than the enemy target: Destroy a target enemy Follower, or Personality without Followers.” I have a 5 force personality at the battlefield with a 3 force followered attached. I am opposing a 3 force personality and a 4 force personality, both of which are courtiers.
I announce the ability given to me from contested ground. I declare that my 3f follower in my unit is being targetted. I declare that I wish to target the 3 force personality. My opponent wishes to play Misdirection to direct the action away from the 3 force personality.
Can he legally play Misdirection in any way to stop his 3 force personality from dying?
Martin Lund (rules official), 26 February 2008
I have a situation that came up in a game today. Misdirection reads Political Gozoku Reaction: Before another player would choose targets for one of his action’s effects during a battle, target one of your Courtier or Gozoku Personalities: You choose the targets instead.
Consider the following: Contested Ground has been played, which reads: Terrain Battle: Each player has the ability, “Battle: Any number of times per turn, bow one or more of your target cards, in one unit, which have equal or greater total Force than the enemy target: Destroy a target enemy Follower, or Personality without Followers.” I have a 5 force personality at the battlefield with a 3 force followered attached. I am opposing a 3 force personality and a 4 force personality, both of which are courtiers.
I announce the ability given to me from contested ground. I declare that my 3f follower in my unit is being targetted. I declare that I wish to target the 3 force personality. My opponent wishes to play Misdirection to direct the action away from the 3 force personality.
Can he legally play Misdirection in any way to stop his 3 force personality from dying?
Misdirection only let's you choose the targets of the effect - not the targets of the cost. You targeted your 3F Follower as a cost and he can't change that. Misdirection's player can only choose a target of 3F or less for the effect - the same restriction placed upon your selection once you chose the 3F Follower for the cost. Further, the rules say that targets are chosen in the order they appear on the card, so he can't play Misdirection until you've done the targeting in the Constraints Block.
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