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, 18 July 2009
When searching this forum to see what happens when my opponent uses Reinforce the Gates to negate my Naval Equip to my Isawa Mizuhiko out of City of Tears, I encountered this old thread which states that I do not have to pay the costs of the spell and it stays in my hand.
However, when I searched the Celestial Edition Comprehensive Rules I found this under Mandatory Costs which states that if I cannot pay the cost for a card to enter play, it is discarded.
Has the original ruling changed? I know that Reinforce the Gates negates the effects of an action, not the costs, but I've always been a little bit fuzzy on the negation of Naval/Sneak Equipping and would appreciate any clarification you could provide.
Thanks, D.
A player, 19 July 2009
Aside: Reinforce the Gates no longer negates all effects of the action, they do not happen, which implies that even effects that will not be negated will not happen.
The effect of Equip is to attach a card from your hand to your Personality. For an attachment card to enter play, you must pay its Gold cost (see Using attachments) but this is a cost of the card itself, not of the Equip action (see below, emphasis mine). Because of Reinforce the Gates, this effect does not happen so the card does not enter play and you are never required to pay its cost.
Card types, Attachments, Using attachments: An attachment's Gold cost and other costs on the card apply separately to the act of attaching; they are not costs of the action or trait that allows attaching.