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, 24 July 2010
Do required and optional targeting occur at the same time for the purposes of actions like the one printed on chugo seido? A recent example is the following: I have Akodo Kurogane and 5 other lion clan personalities in play, My opponent has 3 crab personalities defending his province. His first action is to announce Calm Before Death, which has 1 required target and 1 optional target in my army. The concundrum occurs here. He wishes to target Kurogane with the required targeting and hypothetically someone else with the optional targeting. I have chugo seido in play (and unbowed) do I have to react with it before optional targets are chosen? If yes, can he then choose his optional target as Kurogane, meaning that if I do not want him to target Kurogane I would have to use another action to change the intended target? If no, do the triggers to required and optional targeting occur simultaneously?
Searching the comprehensive rules, FAQ, and other sources lead to confusing answers for me. Can you please post the source that helps you answer this question?
Thanks.
Brook Cunningham (rules official), 24 July 2010
Do required and optional targeting occur at the same time...?
No, they don't.
Using Abilities, Step B. Explicit Performing and Required Targeting: "At this step, an action’s explicit performers must be chosen, and required targets from its constraints and effects blocks must be targeted, in the order the performers or targets are mentioned....
...Optional targeting, or targeting that is done by another player, happens when it is described – at the targeting step if it is in the constraints block, or as part of effect resolution if it is in the effects block."
It may seem a bit odd, but whether it's one or two targets, the targeting of Calm Before Death all happens during the Required step, because its player cannot opt to target zero things. He just gets a choice of how MANY required targets he has.
A recent example is the following: I have Akodo Kurogane and 5 other lion clan personalities in play, My opponent has 3 crab personalities defending his province. His first action is to announce Calm Before Death, which has 1 required target and 1 optional target in my army. The concundrum occurs here. He wishes to target Kurogane with the required targeting and hypothetically someone else with the optional targeting. I have chugo seido in play (and unbowed) do I have to react with it before optional targets are chosen?
I'm not exactly sure what you're asking, but I hope the following helps.
There are two options for when you'd wish to trigger Chugo Seido. You may either trigger it during the Required Targeting Step upon his choice to target Kurogane as the required target to change that targeting, or upon his next choice during the same Step to target a second Personality, if you want to change THAT targeting.
[C]an he then choose his optional target as Kurogane, meaning that if I do not want him to target Kurogane I would have to use another action to change the intended target?
Well, remember both targets are required, but yes. If you use Chugo Seido to change the first required targeting of Kurogane to another Lion, he may choose Kurogane as the second target.
EDITED: There are no optional targets in Calm Before Death's action. Oops! My apologies.