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.
"Fire Battle: Bow Atsushi: Destroy any number of Arrow tokens on him (including zero). Ranged 3 Attack with +2 strength for each Arrow token this destroyed."
Destroying the tokens is an effect and you do not have to target the tokens, right? So you choose the number of tokens destroyed when effects resolve, after the oponent plays cards such as outer walls, misdirection, etc., right?
Thanks.
Destroying the tokens is an effect and you do not have to target the tokens, right? So you choose the number of tokens destroyed when effects resolve, after the oponent plays cards such as outer walls, misdirection, etc., right?
That's all correct.
It doesn't say to "target" the tokens, so you don't.
And the Ranged Attack's own targeting occurs before the effect of destroying the tokens (as seen here), which would make Reactions to its targeting (i.e. Outer Walls, Misdirection) also occur before the token destruction effect.
I understand the logic behind this answer, but I believe it is flawed. The rules people have always said that effects happen as they are printed, such as the honor loss for Hired killer comes before the death, which would cause a -18 fh scorpion player to lose before he kills a dishonored person to make that personalities player lose. So, the token destruction happens before the ranged attack, there is a clear sentence with a period at the beginning of that action, and, unless you can read the cards in any direction you wish, that sentence happens before the ranged attack. The boosting of the ranged attack happens after the fact, but not the token destruction.
I understand the logic behind this answer, but I believe it is flawed. The rules people have always said that effects happen as they are printed, such as the honor loss for Hired killer comes before the death, which would cause a -18 fh scorpion player to lose before he kills a dishonored person to make that personalities player lose. So, the token destruction happens before the ranged attack, there is a clear sentence with a period at the beginning of that action, and, unless you can read the cards in any direction you wish, that sentence happens before the ranged attack. The boosting of the ranged attack happens after the fact, but not the token destruction.
The effect of the Ranged Attack happens after the token destruction, true, but observe the sequence of taking an action in my link above.
An action's required targeting happens before any of its effects. Those Reactions mentioned trigger from the Ranged Attack's targeting, which is required.
Also, please link to previous questions to which you're referring; even if you title your post the same as the original, and even if it's the directly previous post at the time.