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, 8 March 2010
I have a bowed samurai with an unbowed Hand Of The Jade Dragon attached. Isawa Reido Blows up this samurai to destroy an opposing personality. Can I react with Hand Of The Jade Dragon to negate the samurai's death and still destroy the opposing personality? I ask because Reido's text doesn't state that the person has to have been destroyed for the effect to go off, only that the person was targeted. Relevant text Below...
Isawa Reido Phoenix Clan • Fire • Shugenja • Unique Battle: Destroy your target Personality or Follower: Destroy a target Personality or Follower without attachments and with equal or lower Force than your targeted Personality or Follower.
Hand Of The Jade Dragon Jade • Unique Attaches to Matsu Benika paying 2 less Gold. This Personality has Hero. Reaction: Before an action's resolution: Negate this Personality's destruction from the action's effects.
Alex Jones (rules official), 8 March 2010
I have a bowed samurai with an unbowed Hand Of The Jade Dragon attached. Isawa Reido Blows up this samurai to destroy an opposing personality. Can I react with Hand Of The Jade Dragon to negate the samurai's death and still destroy the opposing personality? I ask because Reido's text doesn't state that the person has to have been destroyed for the effect to go off, only that the person was targeted. Relevant text Below...
Isawa Reido Phoenix Clan • Fire • Shugenja • Unique Battle: Destroy your target Personality or Follower: Destroy a target Personality or Follower without attachments and with equal or lower Force than your targeted Personality or Follower.
Hand Of The Jade Dragon Jade • Unique Attaches to Matsu Benika paying 2 less Gold. This Personality has Hero. Reaction: Before an action's resolution: Negate this Personality's destruction from the action's effects.
No, for several reasons.
Firstly, Hand of the Jade Dragon's ability only negates the destruction of its Personality from an action's effects, whereas Isawa Reido destroys the Personality as a cost. See Mandatory costs: The mandatory cost of an action is found in the constraints block and Definition of effects: An effect is anything, other than a cost, that changes the stats, traits, abilities, restrictions, or capabilities of a card, a player, a game entity (such as Provinces), or the game state.
Secondly, Hand of the Jade Dragon's ability reacts "Before an action's resolution", which is after costs are paid. See Using abilities: A. Announce the action B. Required targeting C. Pay costs D. Action resolution E. Action ends
Thirdly, because the Personality is destroyed as a cost of the action - that is, the destruction is listed between the two colons - if the Personality is not destroyed, the action's costs cannot be paid and the action fails. See Interference with mandatory costs.