post for 18 December 2001

Help Please

I have two questions. I hope someone can help me.

1° I read that after you play "Inner Fire" to a tactician personality you can´t use his tactician ability. Does it happens the same thing with "A Test of Courage"?

Yes.

2° If I have a personality with both "Dragon Tattoo" and "Hummingbird Tattoo". Can I straight the personality with the "Hummingbird Tattoo" ability or does the "Dragon Tattoo" text go first?

Cards that prevent straightening take priority over cards that straighten extra times. The Hummingbird Tattoo cannot be used to straighten if the Personality has a Dragon Tattoo and fire tokens.

If the last thing is true, Can I destroy then one token?

No. By card text, a token is only destroyed by trying to straighten during a Straighten Phase.

L5R officially unreleased promos

OK - so what should have been in my Welcome Back pack?

I got Kuso (and nothing else). What should have been in there?

Chiang-Tsu.

AOF questions

1.) My Wind is Hantei Naseru. I have the Imperial Favor in play, as well as a Lobbyist. At the beginning of my opponent's turn, I ditch the Favor to reduce all his gains in his Action Phase by half. I then bow and destroy the Lobbyist for exactly the same effect. Are my opponent's honor gains during the Action Phase then *quartered*?

As people have pointed out, A) Naseru is only usable at the beginning of your own turn, and B) he can only be used once, irrespective of how many times you can pay the cost of discarding the Favor, because of the rule against using a single printed Reaction multiple times on the same trigger.

2.) Argued the point, request confirmation: If Hida Sunao is sent home with a Block Supply Lines, Refugees, Tsudao favor, or other send-home action that bows the target, I can straighten him using his reaction once the battle ends?

Yes.

3.) Not AOF-related, but: I have Doji Kurohito XP in a battle and want to duel an opposing personality. To produce the Gold required, I use Asahina Sekawa's ability. My opponent says "aha, a Reaction" and plays Fall On Your Knees. Now:

1.) It works because it's a Reaction during a battle. 2.) It doesn't work because it's a Reaction all right, but taken by a card outside battle and not relevant to the battle either (because Sekawa reacts to the payment of Gold - IE, I am bowing zero holdings and augmenting said production with Sekawa).

Which?

1.) It works because it's a Reaction during a battle. You now have the option of generating more Gold or allowing Kurohito's action to be canceled.

4.) A New Legacy: "Permanently increase the Gold Cost of all Experienced Personalities in the game by 2." As worded, doesn't that only count for Experienced peeps *in play*?

No. "In the game" is different.

5.) Bayushi Ambushers: "Battle: Bow one or more of your Bayushi ambushers attached to Scorpion Clan personalities in this army to discard an equal number of Fate cards." Is that from my hand, off the top of my deck, or my choice?

Unless otherwise clarified, discards come from your hand.

6.) Ancestral Shrine: "Bow to produce 2 Gold plus 1 Gold for each of your Ancestors." Since it doesn't specify Ancestors IN PLAY, what's to stop me from putting six ancestors or so in my Fate deck, leaving them there, and then getting a 8G-producing holding?

It says "your". "Your" = "controlled by you" = "in play".

7.) Moto Chagatai XP - are there plans to errata him with a "Will only join Unicorn Clan players"?

No.

8.) Yogo Tjeke:

a.) If my opponent is below zero, can I hit myself (when I am above zero), and Kaukatsu the loss to my opponent? Since he is below zero, does his loss get cancelled, or is the loss considered to come from Kaukatsu in this instance?

The loss generated by Kaukatsu is a brand new loss. The only similarity with the original is its size. It does not share the property that Tjeki's does. It mqy reduce your opponent's Honor below his starting Honor.

b.) Same question, but replace "Kaukatsu" with "The Wind's Truth".

The source here remains Tjeki, since all the Wind's Truth does is change who it affects. It would be immediately negated.

9.) Ranged attacks on Cascading Fire may not be combined - but can I boost them with Arrows From The Woods?

Yes. That is not combining.

Jeff! What are you thinking?

You can bow Kitsune Gohei to destroy a personality that does not have unbowed cards attached.

That is correct.

I've been gone for awhile so I'm not sure if this has been dinged. Jeff don't you have to bow Kintsune Gohei to use his fear ability? So how can I bow him twice?

I've already corrected myself on that one. I was wrong. He can't.

The Spawning Ground & The Shosuro Gardens

Also, are the Shosuro Gardens only allowed to target legal targets, or when someone targets my attacking samurai with Refugees, can I redirect it to another samurai at home?

As long as they're unbowed yes.

Sorry, no. When redirecting an action, you are bound by, and ONLY by, the action's original targeting requirements (plus the redirecting action's own restrictions, of course). Shosuro Gardens can redirect a Refugees to any of your own Personalities, bowed or unbowed, in the current battle who have no Followers.

Does Kaneka have Ambition?

2) If i was to refuse a duel then bow Kakatsu to share the 7 honor lose I could then winds truth my own 7 honor lose to my openent so he would lose 14 honor and i would lose none right?

Wrong. Koukatsu's Reaction can only happen after you have lost Honor. If you wait until it's legal to use him, it's too late to modify the loss in any way -- it's already happened to you.

Paneki exp rules QN...

I was just reading Bayushi Paneki exp 's card and a few questions popped to mind...

His battle ability reads -

Battle: Once per battle, move a Scorpion Clan Personality into this battle.

Now for the questions - 1. The way his ability is worded, one assumes you can move ANY Scorpion Clan peep into the battle, including other players. Is this correct?

Yes.

2. If the above is correct, could you move an other players bowed personality into the battle?

Yes.

3. Can you move another players Scorp Peep into battle if they are not part of the current battle (assume multiplayer here)? And if so which side of the battle would the personality join, yours or your opponents?

You can only move people in if it's legal for them to be in it. You cannot move in a Personality belonging to a player who has not been invited to ally by either the Attacker or the Defender. If a player has only been invited by one, or he's been invited by both and has already committed or moved a unit into one side earlier this attack, Paneki can only move that player's Personalities into that side. You only get to pick which army the foreign unit enters if its controller has been invited by both Attacker and Defender and he's not yet done anyhing to commit himself to one side or the other.

Rules questions

I know that the rulings have been made, but I have another questions.

Is Yojiro affect itself, meaning If I enter Yojiro in play full cost, do I gain 2 or 3 honnor as a Scorpion Player? Does it auto-trigger himself?

3. He boosts himself first.

Alliance and Yukue xp

Ok I actually have a semi working mantis deck which uses the Yasuki Palaces/crane. Here is my question. If my alliance pops and i name Mantis that reduces my Mantis personalities by 2. If Yukue xp comes out could i then name Mantis again because I am according to gold currently playing Crane to futher reduce my Mantis people by 2?

Yes.

Basically I would end up paying 4 less gold for Mantis personalities correct? Assuming they bother go off. Man I love Friendly traveler villages in this deck pay 2 gold to get 4 gold :)

Friendly Traveler Village won't pay 4 if the Personality says "Mantis Clan" or "Yoritomo's Alliance". Those are faction traits.

Plight of Phx (Who do you support?)

I do have a question though. This next GST is concerning the Last Wish. Which ever clan wins gets Isawa's Last Wish. Am I totally off base here? Am I the only one that is upset about another clan getting their hands on one of the most prized and important Phx artifacts of the last century? For Gods sake it is ISAWA'S Last Wish. Shouldn't it atleast go to an Isawa?

Considering they've had about as much luck trying to control it as anyone else...

Nezumi Technique

Just out of curiosity, can I use Nezumi Technique with a Ratling if there are no opposing Items, just to draw a card?

No. Targeted actions cannot be taken if there is no legal target to use them on.

question about Stand against the waves...

I had a situation come up in our session last night.

Player A ambushes player B. Player B plays Stand against the waves. Player A responds with Inner Fire. Player B plays another SATW. Here is where the argument started. Player A says that it doesn't work because he is restricted from targeting his personality by Inner Fire, player B says that because all of his personalities are covered by SATW, the blanket effect takes precedent, and he has to bow his personality. Now, I agreed with player B, was this correct?

"Your opponent must bow as many Personalities in his or her army who have no Followers as you have units in your army. If he or she cannot do so, bow all opposing Personalities without Followers."

You were correct. He can't target his Personality for bowing due to Inner Fire, so he can't "bow as many Personalities in his or her army who have no Followers as you have units in your army", so all his Personalities without Followers are bowed as an untargeted effect.

question-Gaijutsu no Shiryo

Well, I have read this card several times, and looked at the "Official" post on it, and I still have no clue how this works, though I suspect that I want ot put it in my Dragon deck.

Here is the response from J Alexander on December 11:

Gaijutsu no Shiryo

A Personality who currently does not have a Dragon Tattoo (or the non-Experienced Togashi Mitsu's ability) is not prohibited from straightening by Fire tokens, does not lose Fire tokens each turn, and is not prohibited from having more than a certain number of Fire tokens.

So, does this mean, I attach the ancestor, and give the ancestor a Dragon Tattoo, then pump 3 +1/+1 tokens, then move the ancestor to another Tattooed personality, pump again (after the ancestor straightens),

There's no need to wait until the Ancestor straightens.

and essentially, give one of my personalities a permanent +3/+3 every turn???

Correct.

Also, can I pump the fire tokens more than once on the same personality?

Trick answer: yes, but you have to pump by less than the full 3 tokens.

Can I essentially give one personality a +3/+3 on each of my AND my opponent's turns?

On the turn after you first attach the Ancestor, yes. Or two Personalities on your turn and none on your opponent's: attach Ancestor (last turn), Dragon Tattoo on Ancestor, pump, move Ancestor, pump. On subsequent turns you'll only be able to pump one additional Personality each.

Again, this doesn't sound right at all, very abusive, so some clarification on how this puppy works would be greatly appreciated.

Any Tattoos the Ancestor has are treated as being on his Personality instead, unless that would give the Personality the same Tattoo twice. Then they're basically ignored.

With respect to the Dragon Tattoo, there is nothing special about the Fire tokens it creates. The only qualities they possess are +1F, +1C, and the "Fire" keyword. The extra restrictions about:

* not being able to have more than three Fire tokens, * not being able to straighten while bowed and holding Fire tokens, and * while bowed and holding Fire tokens, removing one Fire token instead of straightening during the Straighten Phase

come from the Tattoo. If you end up with Fire tokens on a Personality who does not have a Dragon Tattoo, they don't do anything funky. They give +1/+1 each and that's it.

question about Stand against the waves...

I thought that Jeff ruled that bowing your personalities was a targeted action and that if you could not bow your personalities due to an extraneous circumstance (i.e. Kitsu Kaagi's Journal, A Test of Courage), they were safe from the second aspect of Stand.

I ruled that the first, targeted effect always occurred (or attempted to) rather than Stand Against the Waves sometimes skipping directly to the second, untargeted effect, and therefore Reactions to an action targeting the victim's Personalities are always playable (and, hence, that SAtW is always an action that targets Personalities). I did not rule that the global bowing effect was targeted.

Jade champion

Hi, i have a question about test of the jade champion. if i have kuni utagu exp (the one with the jade champion trait) in play, and the test of the jade champion comes up, if utagu does not win the test, can he still cast a kiho once per turn without bowing?

No. The phrase "the Jade Champion" on this card is self- referential and applies only to the winner of the faux duel (if any).

This is NOT the case with the New Emerald Champion Event in An Oni's Fury.