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 April 2008
So I was just wondering...
I looked this up and for the life of me couldn't determine any previous rulings on it.
My opponent plays draw your blade during a battle. I play misdirection before he assigns targets. May I use misdirection to make him choose a specific type of action on the card, as long as there is targeting involved and the action is still legal?
Misdirection 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.
Draw your blade Battle: Bow a target enemy card without attachments. Battle: Dishonor one of your target Personalities: Bow a target card opposing him.
My opponent would like to choose the first action, I would like him to choose the second. Can I use misdirection to do this if all targeting remains legal?
Thanks
Nate
Brook Cunningham (rules official), 16 April 2008
So I was just wondering...
I looked this up and for the life of me couldn't determine any previous rulings on it.
My opponent plays draw your blade during a battle. I play misdirection before he assigns targets. May I use misdirection to make him choose a specific type of action on the card, as long as there is targeting involved and the action is still legal?
Misdirection 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.
Draw your blade Battle: Bow a target enemy card without attachments. Battle: Dishonor one of your target Personalities: Bow a target card opposing him.
My opponent would like to choose the first action, I would like him to choose the second. Can I use misdirection to do this if all targeting remains legal?
Thanks
Nate
No.
The trigger for Misdirection occurs after your opponent chooses which of Draw Your Blade's actions he's taking by announcing it, so it's too late to change that.
The first two steps of taking an action are:
http://rules.l5r.com/Abilities_and_actions#Using_abilities:
"A. Announce the action...
B. Required targeting..."
In the midst of "B" is where Misdirection would react to Draw Your Blade, after your opponent makes any required cost targeting (i.e. if he had chosen to use the second action, contrary to your example), but before he chooses required targets for the effects.