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 October 2011
This may seem a bit noobish, but bear with me.
I live in a very small town, where we do not have a stronghold anywhere near us, or in any feasible driving distance. A small group of us formed a local sealed league about the time the Celestial 15th Anniversary merchandise came out--some had played previous editions of l5r, others were simply CCG players in general. There were 9 of us, we each bought and opened a starter, studied the rules, and began to play. Each week we opened packs and distributed cards, and generally had a fun time playing.
I just now (yes, now) discovered the rule that honor gain from bringing a clan-aligned personality into play for full cost can only occur once per turn, regardless of how many personalities you bring in this way. I found out when I saw the new proclaim Reaction, asked about it, and was told that the only change was that it was now the base personal honor of the personality. I found my old Celestial Rulebook, looked up the dynasty phase, and sure enough..."once per Dynasty phase."
First of all, I have no clue how all 9 of us missed that...we were reading the rulebook all the time, looking things up, and not one of us ever found it.
But more than that, how was honor supposed to ever win against...anyone? In our league we had close matches, with honor hitting 40 and then barely managing to hold that last province. Lion honor did very well, Crane dueling won a lot, Phoenix honor less so. Was it even possible for honor to beat military, as fast as some decks got? What about dishonor? How were honor decks supposed to counter strong dishonor decks with multiple honor losses in a turn and only one personality to compensate? Or enlightenment...it just seems like a race honor can't win.
Jon Palmer (rules official), 24 October 2011
This may seem a bit noobish, but bear with me.
I live in a very small town, where we do not have a stronghold anywhere near us, or in any feasible driving distance. A small group of us formed a local sealed league about the time the Celestial 15th Anniversary merchandise came out--some had played previous editions of l5r, others were simply CCG players in general. There were 9 of us, we each bought and opened a starter, studied the rules, and began to play. Each week we opened packs and distributed cards, and generally had a fun time playing.
I just now (yes, now) discovered the rule that honor gain from bringing a clan-aligned personality into play for full cost can only occur once per turn, regardless of how many personalities you bring in this way. I found out when I saw the new proclaim Reaction, asked about it, and was told that the only change was that it was now the base personal honor of the personality. I found my old Celestial Rulebook, looked up the dynasty phase, and sure enough..."once per Dynasty phase."
First of all, I have no clue how all 9 of us missed that...we were reading the rulebook all the time, looking things up, and not one of us ever found it.
But more than that, how was honor supposed to ever win against...anyone? In our league we had close matches, with honor hitting 40 and then barely managing to hold that last province. Lion honor did very well, Crane dueling won a lot, Phoenix honor less so. Was it even possible for honor to beat military, as fast as some decks got? What about dishonor? How were honor decks supposed to counter strong dishonor decks with multiple honor losses in a turn and only one personality to compensate? Or enlightenment...it just seems like a race honor can't win.
Not sure this is entirely a rules question, but in general, honor wins by gains outside those for buying Personalities for full. Cards such as Impromptu Duel, Hamstrung, Duel of Haiku, Peaceful Discourse, Wall of Honor, Acrobat Troupe, Patrolling the Roads, Taxing the Scum, Last Step Castle, and many others can provide honor outside that of buying Personalities for full.
Crane honor was the second most successful deck last Kotei season, so I'd suggest those decklists as a start.