Rules for January 31st

Well, Jeff hasn't given me any word that he's back from his vacation yet, so I guess I'll keep doing rules posts until I get the high sign.

I know that Ninube Ogoku can assign on the opposite side of the battle, even from your own units, but I'd like to know about Hida Yakamo and teh Dark Oracle of Water.

Hida Yakamo (I think it's the Thunder) can assign to battle if there are Shadowlands cards in the opposing army 'ignoring assignment restrictions'. Can he be in the opposite army from your own (I think not)?

One of the guys I play with plays a Shadowlands deck (Junzo's Army). Can he use the DOoW to assign with another player? Can he assign to the opposite army?

No in both cases. This is actually a pretty old issue, and is covered in the FAQ. Unless a card specifically says that it breaks a rule, always assume that the card doesn't break the rule. In the case of Yakamo and the Dark Oracle, they both do not *specifically* say that you can assign in opposition to yourself, so they don't break that basic rule of assignment.

On a related note: If you have not assigned a unit to battle as an ally in either Infantry or Cavalry assignment can you move one in to a battle in the Battle Action phase?

As long as you were initially asked to ally, sure. If no one invited you as an ally, though, you would need a card effect that specifically let you move a unit into battle without being invited as an ally.

And what about concealed archers? Can you use it without any units in the battle? It's possibly the worst worded card I've seen.

Yes, you can use Concealed Archers in a battle, for two reasons. One, it's a Reaction, and Reactions are not bound by the normal rules of relevance for battles. You can always play Reactions, regardless of having someone in the battle or not.

Two, because the card says that you resolve the Ranged Attack as if the unit were in the battle. If you're resolving the RA as if the unit were there, that pretty much means that you'd be considered to have a guy there.

Hi everyone,

I have a question over here. For the kiho Void Strike,

Kiho Reaction: Bow one of your Shugenja or Monks when a Personality you control has entered a duel, but before the first Focus card is played. Draw your top Fate card and add that card's Focus value to your personality's chi for the remainder of the duel.

If the opponent does not focus, can i still use void strike? I mean that I am the one initiating the duel and i do not know whether my opponent will focus or strike. So do i still use void strike here?

Yes, you can use Void Strike. The card is kinda poorly worded, but the phrase 'before the first Focus card is played' pretty much means 'before the first opportunity for a Focus card to be played'.

Emergence of the Masters reads: Ritual Battle: Bow one or more of your Shugenja at this battle. The effect depends on how many you bow: One Shugenja: Give a Personality in this battle +1F. Two Shugenja: The same as with one Shugenja, plus give a follower in this battle +3F. Three Shugenja: The same as with two Shugenja, plus send an opposing unit home from this battle. Five Shugenja: The same as with three Shugenja, plus destroy one opposing unit.

The question, really, is whether each of these effects is considered a seperate spell effect, as is suggested by "The effect depends on how many [shugenja] you bow," or if the phrase "the same as with" overrides this and each is considered the same effect as the previous with an additional clause added. Could you clarify?

The first phrase overrides the second. Depending on how many Shugenja you bow, there is a completely different effect generated by the spell. "The same as...plus" pretty clearly implies that each effect is different, regardless of the fact that it references a different available effect on the card.

Celestial Alignment is in play, so that Shugenja don't bow to perform Innates and Spells.

Honorable Seppun Kossori uses her ability to produce 2 Gold, and in the same movement the player uses a Corrupt Holding - and uses The Wind's Truth with Kossori to switch the Honor loss.

Opponent cancels The Wind's Truth, then uses Political Mistake to dishonor Kossori (and make the player lose 7 Honor, but that's beside the point). Another possibility would be, opponent uses Enough Talk! to challenge Kossori, who refuses thanks to Kuro Sensei - thus becoming Dishonored.

Now, does Kossori produce 2 Gold, or none? And does that depend on the order in which the player announces the Gold production? (Kossori's ability is a Reaction, and the Corrupt Holding's is on a trait; does that matter?)

I'd have to say that she produces zero. Kolat Interference and Kolat Bookkeeping both create precedent for the gold production of a holding (or Stronghold) to be changed in the middle of a purchase, and I'd have to say that incidental changes due to external effects would also modify the gold currently being spent. So, if I'm bowing a Blacksmith, and you manage to kill one of my Iron Mines in the middle of my purchase, I suddenly have to come up with another gold.

Whn you take control of an opponent's personality (Say, via Kuni Yori Ex3), and said personality dies, does it go to your discard pile (card's controller) or your opponent's (card's owner)?

It goes to the current controller's discard pile.

#1) now I know you can use Taeruko's ability even if there is nothing to get in your dynasty, but what if she does retrieve a fortification when she has only one province left and tries to attach the fortification she just got to a province that already has the same fortification there?

Taeruko cannot attach a Fortification to a province that already has another copy of that Fort already attached. Matter of fact, she can't even fish it out of the deck. You could still use her action, but it would be an illegal attachment to try and put the second copy of the Fort on the province, and you can't do that. It would essentialy be the same as using her action when you have no Forts left in your deck.

#2) I'm playing towers of the Asako. Someone targets one of my samurai with an action. then i bow one of my shugenja to cancell the action. then the player who targeted my samurai plays Fall on your Knees. Can I then bow another shugenja to try and cancell the action that is still targetting my samurai?

Currently, yes. A cancelled action is considered to have never been attempted, and so you can use a cancelled Reaction again in response to the same trigger. The cancel/reuse ruling is currently under consderation, though, and could change in the future. Stay tuned, Bat-fans.

Konnichiwa,

I've two questions regarding this [Seppun] sensei: 1) How do Deeds Not Words affect me while using this sensei?

It hurts, lots. Because Deeds changes the way that honor is gained before the gain is actually created, it gets around Seppun Sensei. A card that normally creates a gain is not considered to create a gain under DnW. It creates a loss instead, not a gain that immediately gets turned into a loss.

Essentialy, Seppun Sensei only stops things that would modify honor gains and losses after the fact (after they've been created). Anything that would modify them before their creation (i.e. a non-voluntary modification) still modifies them normally.

2) Can I play Lessons of Honor? I'd say yes, because my opponent doesn't have to lose the honor (he can duel my guy's butt out) and that would fall under the same ruling as Iai. Challenge.

Not true. Lessons of Honor is considered to directly cause a loss, because the card itself has no 'out' for the honor loss other than removing it from play. That really doesn't count as a conditional honor loss, so it's illegal under Seppun Sensei (and for the Horde, too).

It's a tight call, but I give the nod to Miya. Are we really THAT scared of Asako Sagoten?

Maybe, he is broken after all.

[Miya Sensei] Won't affect Sagoten. +10 to - is still -. Now, if Sagoten had a 0 HR....

Incorrect. Miya Sensei does not increase their honor requirement by 10, it increases it *to* 10. Asako Sagoten would be affected by Miya Sensei (out of any Stronghold except Spirit, that is).