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, 11 July 2008
Otomo Sensei All Clans Sensei All cards that would go to your discard pile are instead permanently discarded from play.
Reaction: When a player searches for and gets a card from his or her deck or discard pile, discard from play a card from your hand to discard the player's card from play.
My question is this. If my opponent searches their Dynasty deck using an event like A New Wall (searches for a Holding), can I discard a card from my hand to discard that holding (or whatever else they may search for) from play? And if so, can I do the same effect if they are merely placing the card on top of the resepctive deck (fate or Dynasty)?
-Matt
[Mod edit: Thread title. -ZF]
Brook Cunningham (rules official), 12 July 2008
Otomo Sensei All Clans Sensei All cards that would go to your discard pile are instead permanently discarded from play.
Reaction: When a player searches for and gets a card from his or her deck or discard pile, discard from play a card from your hand to discard the player's card from play.
My question is this. If my opponent searches their Dynasty deck using an event like A New Wall (searches for a Holding), can I discard a card from my hand to discard that holding (or whatever else they may search for) from play? And if so, can I do the same effect if they are merely placing the card on top of the resepctive deck (fate or Dynasty)?
-Matt
[Mod edit: Thread title. -ZF]
Already more-or-less answered here. (Please remember our pal, the Search function.)
But I'll also reiterate...
Whenever a card is searched for (the "and gets" part of Otomo Sensei's text is vague and/or redundant; ignore it), you may use Otomo Sensei's Reaction if you can pay its cost (discarding your own card). And, as is evident from Marty's second answer in the link above, it doesn't matter where that searched-for card is going (into play, hand, Province, top of deck, etc.); it never gets there. It is removed from the game before it reaches that destination.