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, 13 August 2012
I have a question about when the targeting for the Onyx Championship ability is done.
Is the Oni personality brought into play targeted during the effects rather than the required targeting stage since you can't really target cards in your deck until you start searching it? What I'm really asking is can I destroy a Oni in play to pay costs then bring the same Oni back into play from my discard pile?
Onyx Championship
Choose one of your Shugenja in play. Permanently give him Shadowlands and the ability, "Maho Limited: Bow this Shugenja and destroy your target Personality: Search your deck then discard then provinces for an Oni Personality. Bring him into play paying all costs. Lose 3 honor"
Alex Jones (rules official), 14 August 2012
I have a question about when the targeting for the Onyx Championship ability is done.
Is the Oni personality brought into play targeted during the effects rather than the required targeting stage since you can't really target cards in your deck until you start searching it? What I'm really asking is can I destroy a Oni in play to pay costs then bring the same Oni back into play from my discard pile?
Onyx Championship
Choose one of your Shugenja in play. Permanently give him Shadowlands and the ability, "Maho Limited: Bow this Shugenja and destroy your target Personality: Search your deck then discard then provinces for an Oni Personality. Bring him into play paying all costs. Lose 3 honor"
Firstly, the correct wording for the granted ability is "Maho Limited: Bow this Shugenja and destroy your target Personality: Search your discard pile, then deck, then provinces for an Oni Personality. Bring him into play, paying all costs. Lose 3 Honor."
Secondly, you'll note that the effects of this ability do not say "target": the Oni Personality is never targeted by the action.
Because the Personality you destroy enters the discard pile during the Pay Costs step, you may indeed then find him when you search during the Action Resolution step.