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, 12 August 2008
Misdirection Focus Effect: You may Shuffle up to 3 Personalities from your discard pile into your Dynasty deck. Political Gozoku Reaction: Before another player would choose targets for one of his actions’ effects during a battle, target one of your Courtier or Gozoku Personalities: You choose the targets instead.
One Final March Heroic Battle: If any enemy units are at the current battlefield, target two of your Personalities with different Clan alignments, or one to two of your Heroes: Move the targets to the current battlefield. Straighten them if they moved.
I have a courtier at the current battlefield. My opponent has 3 hero personalities that are not at the current battlefield.
He announces he is playing One Final March. I try to use misdirection on his One Final March to only choose one of his two personalities. 1.Legal or not?
Note that One Final March has the same targets listed in the cost as the effect. Misdirection allows me to choose the targets for the effects. 2.How does that work if at all? 2a.Can I choose a different target for an effect that is originally intended for the same target as the cost?
He targets Hida Bob (hero) and Hida Jane (hero) for the cost. 3.I choose Hida Larry (hero) for the effects. OR I choose Hida Larry (hero) and Hida Jane (hero) for the effects. ???
I'm guessing this doesn't work, but how it's worded, Misdirection seems to allow me to choose targets for the effects, even though they are referring to the same cost targets.
Thanks!
A player, 12 August 2008
I have a courtier at the current battlefield. My opponent has 3 hero personalities that are not at the current battlefield. He announces he is playing One Final March. I try to use misdirection on his One Final March to only choose one of his two personalities. 1.Legal or not?
Legal but useless. One Final March has no target for its effects: you are allowed to play Misdirection legally but you will choose no target, because all targets of One Final March are in its constraints block. See also "Misdirection".
Note that One Final March has the same targets listed in the cost as the effect.
Incorrect. In the effects block of One Final March, "the targets" is just a reference to the previously chosen targets, not a new instance of targeting. The first effect's text is equivalent to "Move the targeted Personalities to the current battlefield".
Abilities and actions, B. Required targeting: "Targeting can be shown either by the verb “target” or the adjective “target” before the object of targeting. For example, “target one of your Samurai” is functionally equivalent to “one of your target Samurai” for purposes of targeting. EXCEPTION: When the adjective "target" is used to refer to a target that has been selected in the sequence of targeting, using a definite article such as "the target Personality" or "that target Holding," it does not imply an additional instance of targeting."
This exception also applies to the noun "target" in One Final March's text.