post for 8 May 2002

Touch of Death

Hey there,

A french player recently brought up a situation that felt... odd. When you read the targeting rules p.46 in the DA rulebook it is said that you cannot target your own bowed personnalities with your actions, *EXCEPT ACTIONS THAT STRAIGTHEN CARDS*.

If we read this litterally, and since Touch of Death does not straighten a bowed personality, nor explicitely contradicts this rule (cardinal rule #1), can I use Touch of Death on my own bowed personnalities ?

No.

Touch of Death

Well, since cards in your dead pile and in your discard pile are not considered bowed, then killing a bowed personality will straighten them (in a roundabout way, perhaps).

Cards in the discard pile are neither bowed nor straight, so this can't be considered "straightening" them. Sorry.

On a similar note, now that the Imperial Favor has been shattered, is there any way to rehonor one of your dead personalities?

I don't believe so.

Extension of Avoid Fate Targeting Ruling

So by extension, since Avoid Fate / Dharma Technique / Shrine of the Dragon Champion targets Events, Seppun Isei can Redirect an Avoid Fate from Kolat Courtiers to himself and Kohuri can Cancel an Avoid directed at Toturi's Last Stand, Imperial Gift, Census, Funeral, etc. right?

Right. Weird. Isei would be reshuffled into the deck. No Province would be refilled because Isei is not in a Province.

Also, can Kohuri cancel Isawa's Last wish targetting Toturi Sezaru/Tsudao since they are now cards?

Certainly.

post for 7 May 2002

If the action creating the challenge is canceled, there is no challenge. Responses to a challenge can't be made.

Since Tsuge's ability is a trait, are not traits faster than reacions, there for you draw the card before anyone can react to the challenge. Correct?

No.

Traits only automatically apply before Reactions can be used if both are worded to begin at the same time. You can't just look at a trait on Card A and a Reaction on Card B and blindly say "Card A goes first!". Typically, a Reaction that cancels an action will do so before any of its effects begin, which would mean, in this case, that no challenge is issued.

Asako Yuya Question for the Rules Folk

My first few days on this list, so I don't know if this has been already addressed:

Asako Yuya's text says that she can bow a spell instead of herself to satisfy the 'Bow a Shugenja' part of the cost. She also states that a Spell cannot be cast while it is bowed (since it has an Action written in the basic types).

What I am wondering is, can she bow to cast a spell, then have a spell on herself bow to cast itself?

Yes.

Ancestral Protection and Agasha Hamanari

If someone is using Touch of Death on my Personality with an Ancestor and I use Ancestral Protection to cancel the Touch of Death, does the Ancestral Protection target their Touch of Death, thus allowing Agasha Hamanari to prevent it?

No.

Strength of Purity / Destiny; checklists; etc

There are (according to L5RSearch) 67 personalities in gold that can use Strength of Purity. However there is 320 personalities that can use Destiny has no secrets. With out something like Last gift / Yoshis Fan ect, you cant draw a comparison between strength of purity versus Destiny.

We're all agreed that "balance" is a good thing, yeah?

I reckon that almost by definition, a card that gives a *bigger* bonus to *fewer* Personalities (thus is more readily used by only some clans) is *less* balanced than one that gives a *smaller* bonus to more Personalities.

Higher opportunity cost = stronger effect. On a per-card basis, that's an accepted balancing mechanism (though if you take it too far you get things like the Narrow Salvo rule in Starfleet Battles, which is not used in tournaments because it decides games on a single lucky die roll -- or Iris Festival, which is missing from Gold for much the same reason). Certainly, card games that invert that guideline are exceptionally poor ones.

I think your argument is "Strength isn't balanced because, although most Factions find it difficult to use, some can build some decks where its use is almost trivial, therefore it doesn't matter how hard it is to play overall -- decks that do play it play it just as easily as they play Destiny." And in that, you're ignoring the other cards in the environment that are *easier* to play by the Clans that have trouble with Strength, like Dead Eyes and Frenzy. You're also ignoring the hidden costs behind Strength of Purity: high PH Personalities have high Honor Requirements as well, mandating a deck that's good at gaining honor and not just lacking in its own honor losses, but resistant to others'.