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, 3 February 2012
I target three of my samurai (A,B,C) with Brothers in Battle. # In a subsequent battle, Samuari A uses his ranged attack. My opponent then sends Samurai A home. He is no longer in an army with Samurai B and C, so loses his +1F and his Ranged Attack ability. I move Samurai A back into the battle. He now 'gains' the +1F and 'Battle: Ranged 4 attack'.
Can he use his newly gained Ranged 4?
My argument is that he can as it is a newly added action, just as if I had played a second BiB in the battle as an action, not a second use of an action previously used this turn . Am I wrong?
Specifically, my reasoning is that BiB is not granting a conditional ranged attack, in which case it would say 'Until the end of the turn, this Samurai has the ability Battle: If this Samurai is in an army with another Samurai also targeted by the same copy of Brothers in Battle: Ranged 4 attack'
Brook Cunningham (rules official), 3 February 2012
I target three of my samurai (A,B,C) with Brothers in Battle. # In a subsequent battle, Samuari A uses his ranged attack. My opponent then sends Samurai A home. He is no longer in an army with Samurai B and C, so loses his +1F and his Ranged Attack ability. I move Samurai A back into the battle. He now 'gains' the +1F and 'Battle: Ranged 4 attack'.
Can he use his newly gained Ranged 4?
My argument is that he can as it is a newly added action, just as if I had played a second BiB in the battle as an action, not a second use of an action previously used this turn . Am I wrong?
Specifically, my reasoning is that BiB is not granting a conditional ranged attack, in which case it would say 'Until the end of the turn, this Samurai has the ability Battle: If this Samurai is in an army with another Samurai also targeted by the same copy of Brothers in Battle: Ranged 4 attack'
No, the Ranged Attack ability is not new. It's the same one coming back; quite different from being under the effects of two different Brothers in Battle.
Ongoing Effects: "An ongoing effect that is applied “while” some condition is true ends when that condition is no longer true, and takes effect again if the condition becomes true within the stated duration of the effect. Nevertheless, a conditional ongoing effect is a single effect, regardless of how many times it is reapplied. If it is negated or prevented, it remains negated or prevented if the effect is reapplied due to the condition being met anew."