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, 26 July 2009
This question is about both the battle actions and the Focus Effects on Low Stance and Traditions of Steel.
For the Battle actions, as Low Stance activates "After this Combat Segment ends" and Traditions of Steel activates "Before this battle's resolution" can I safely assume that Traditions trumps Low Stance since its Force bonus happens just slightly after Stance's penalty?
As for the Focus Effects, would it matter who focused them? If the two cards were focused by opposing duelists, would the active player get to decide whose Focus effects happened first? If the two cards were both focused by the same player, would they happen simultaneously, and then would Low Stance negate the bonus from Traditions?
Thanks for your help in clarifying these cards which from their art are clearly meant to oppose one another.
Zen Faulkes (rules official), 26 July 2009
(Does Traditions of Steel) trump Low Stance since its Force bonus happens just slightly after Stance's penalty?
Yes.
If the two cards were focused by opposing duelists, would the active player get to decide whose Focus effects happened first?
See above.
If the two cards were both focused by the same player, would they happen simultaneously, and then would Low Stance negate the bonus from Traditions?
"Simultaneously"? Blasphemer! Again, "All Focus Effect traits on focused cards resolve, one after the other, in an order chosen by the active player" (http://rules.l5r.com/Challenges_and_duels).
A player, 27 July 2009
While I agree with Zen's primary ruling, I think his explanation is going to cause a lot of problems (no offense to Zen). While the active player does get to decide the order of Focus Effects, is it not true that these two cards have a very specific timing for their Focus Effects? Or would the active player get to decide that an opponents Low Stance resolves, and then they get to resolve their own Weigh the Cost, thus essentially having the Low Stance do nothing?
Low Stance Focus Effect: Before this duel’s resolution, negate all bonuses to each focused card’s Focus Value.
Traditions of Steel Focus Effect: Before this duel’s resolution, raise the Focus Value of each of your focused cards to 3.
Weigh the Cost Focus Effect: Add 1 to the Focus Values of this card and one other of your focused cards.
Dan Jacobson (rules official), 27 July 2009
While I agree with Zen's primary ruling, I think his explanation is going to cause a lot of problems (no offense to Zen). While the active player does get to decide the order of Focus Effects, is it not true that these two cards have a very specific timing for their Focus Effects? Or would the active player get to decide that an opponents Low Stance resolves, and then they get to resolve their own Weigh the Cost, thus essentially having the Low Stance do nothing?
Low Stance Focus Effect: Before this duel’s resolution, negate all bonuses to each focused card’s Focus Value.
Traditions of Steel Focus Effect: Before this duel’s resolution, raise the Focus Value of each of your focused cards to 3.
Weigh the Cost Focus Effect: Add 1 to the Focus Values of this card and one other of your focused cards.
Weight the Cost's Focus Effect has a different timing than both Low Stance and Traditions of Steel.
Weigh The Cost's Focus Effect will always occur before Low Stance and Traditions of Steel, as they are worded to act after all other Focus Effects occur (as the Focus Effect of Low Stance and Traditions of Steel happen "Before the Duel's Resolution" which is after all normal Focus Effects.
The active player does get to decide the order in which all Low Stances and Traditions of Steel occur, however.
Zen Faulkes (rules official), 27 July 2009
I think his explanation is going to cause a lot of problems (no offense to Zen).
A little offense from time to time keeps me honest.
While the active player does get to decide the order of Focus Effects, is it not true that these two cards have a very specific timing for their Focus Effects? Or would the active player get to decide that an opponents Low Stance resolves, and then they get to resolve their own Weigh the Cost, thus essentially having the Low Stance do nothing?
Weigh the Cost has different text, which in turn gives it a different timing than the other cards in question. The effect of Low Stance will always be applied after Weigh the Cost.
It is true that the relevant "active player chooses" section of the rules is the timing section of the wiki rather than the duels section, which I'd initially included.