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, 10 July 2008
I have a little question about Defining the essence. I want to know if I understand well about how it work in samurai edition.
Defining the Essence Kiho Battle: Bow one of your target Shugenja at any location: If you control a Samurai at the current battle, destroy a target Terrain. Kiho Limited: Target one of your unbowed Shugenja: Draw an additional card during your next End Phase. Kiho Reaction: Before an Event resolves, bow one of your target Shugenja: Negate that Event’s effects. For the rest of the game, copies of that Event can not resolve.
I guess the sentence "if you control a samurai at the current battle" is a condition and you cannot play this card if you do not have any samurai at the battle even if you have a shugenja to bow and a terrain in play.
I just want to be sure this is the good way to play it. Thanks.
Brook Cunningham (rules official), 10 July 2008
I guess the sentence "if you control a samurai at the current battle" is a condition and you cannot play this card if you do not have any samurai at the battle even if you have a shugenja to bow and a terrain in play.
Actually, no. Conditions upon playing an action at all go on the left side of the colon, in the "constraints" block. As long as you have Presence (because it's a Battle action), can meet required targeting (the Shugenja who's paying by bowing and a Terrain that's in play), and can pay the cost (bowing said Shugenja), you can legally announce and take the first action on Defining the Essence no matter what's going to happen in the effects section.
Then, when it comes time to apply the effects, its sole effect has a condition upon whether it will occur. If you control a Samurai at the current battle, the Terrain you targeted will be destroyed. If not, the effect will fail.